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2 weeks ago | 
newrepublic.com | Mike Pearl
If you blinked, you may have missed the way Saudi Arabia’s utopian economic diversification program known as Saudi Vision 2030 has been unofficially rebranded “Vision 2034,” named for the year Saudi Arabia will host the World Cup. Greenwashing—a term for companies or organizations portraying themselves as more sustainable than they really are—is on its way out, and “sportswashing” is in.
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2 weeks ago | 
yahoo.com | Mike Pearl
If you blinked, you may have missed the way Saudi Arabia’s utopian economic diversification program known as Saudi Vision 2030 has been unofficially rebranded “Vision 2034,” named for the year Saudi Arabia will host the World Cup. Greenwashing—a term for companies or organizations portraying themselves as more sustainable than they really are—is on its way out, and “sportswashing” is in.
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4 weeks ago | 
bloodinthemachine.com | Mike Pearl
Greetings all — I’ve got something a little different today: The first original BITM guest post, from the great writer and editor Mike Pearl. Mike is a former VICE columnist, the author of The Day It Finally Happens, a frequent contributor to the New Republic, and a good friend. After the Studio Ghibli AI slopfest hit critical mass a couple weeks ago—it is, unfortunately, still ongoing—Mike sent me the following essay.
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2 months ago | 
theatlantic.com | Mike Pearl
My father-in-law, Bill, and I watch sports differently. Picture Clint Eastwood sitting in front of the TV with Jesse Eisenberg. When a college football game is on, Bill becomes serious, and my surface-level commentary—things like “Not looking good,” when Arizona State is trailing—is usually met with silence. I wasn’t raised a college-football fan; casually saying terms like “Big Ten” or “Ole Miss” still seems unnatural to me.
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2 months ago | 
flipboard.com | Mike Pearl
1 hour ago‘Anora’ is a genre-toggling romp with a hidden political messageHow the film puts one of the most uncomfortable realities of class structure on full display. On the surface, Sean Baker’s “Anora,” which has been …2 hours ago90 Incredible Forgotten Photos From Oscar Nights PastAs awards seasons go, it’s been a strange one.
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Feb 12, 2025 | 
newrepublic.com | Mike Pearl
Last month, much of the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles was declared a federal disaster area, opening up eligibility for dearly needed assistance after what may have been the most catastrophic fires in the city’s history. But one could practically hear the late Mike Davis, California’s doom prophet laureate, letting out an unearthly sigh of frustration from beyond the grave.
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Feb 12, 2025 | 
yahoo.com | Mike Pearl
Last month, much of the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles was declared a federal disaster area, opening up eligibility for dearly needed assistance after what may have been the most catastrophic fires in the city’s history. But one could practically hear the late Mike Davis, California’s doom prophet laureate, letting out an unearthly sigh of frustration from beyond the grave.
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Jan 30, 2025 | 
newrepublic.com | Mike Pearl
California’s water wars are almost twocenturies old, and the constant give-take-and-give of claims on scarce wateramong urban, agricultural, and environmental interests in California neverends. “If you’re the water Board, you’re trying to maximize all beneficialuses,” Marcus told me. “And every few years when the administration changes, itfeels like there’s a big swing.
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Jan 30, 2025 | 
yahoo.com | Mike Pearl
As the smoke from the Pacific Palisades and Eaton fires started to clear on the rainy night of January 27, President Trump put the finishing flourish on his fire response by posting to Truth Social that “The United States Military just entered the Great State of California and, under Emergency Powers, TURNED ON THE WATER flowing abundantly from the Pacific Northwest, and beyond.”Here in California, it wasn’t clear what the president was jabbering about this time.
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Dec 29, 2024 | 
me.mashable.com | Mike Pearl
Jan. 1 is Public Domain Day, meaning artworks from 1929 (or 1924 in the case of sound recordings) are now free for all creators to use and abuse to their hearts' content. The works of art, music, literature, and film now entering the public domain will be yours, mine, and everyone's. You can try and do something rude or irreverent with the characters they depict, or if you want you can do something truly subversive: make them into something beautiful.
