As the world finally gets its collective head around the severity of the situation we’re in – in all its challenging permutations – it’s definitely a time of monsters, but also morons. Complete and utter morons. You may have noticed monsters is regularly used to describe these times, mainly with the quote:
“The old world is dying, and the new world struggles to be born: now is the time of monsters.”
This is attributed to the former Italian Communist party leader, Antonio Gramsci, but apparently he never said it (check this out if you want to understand the heritage of this famous phrase). Regardless, it’s still a perfect quote for this time.
But equally, we also have morons. Dangerous morons, but still morons. I was having a discussion recently about the dark triad personality types leading the world right now – in every field – and the person said, but they’re still smart, right?
Unfortunately, dark triad personalities are known to be short term thinkers, and I believe understanding the long term is critical, because, you know, that’s where you consider consequences. Looking at the continued escalation of this war, I’d suggest there’s not a lot of that going on.
I mean do you think Hegseth is mapping out consequences? Talking of Pete, the-Wanna-Be-King-of-the-Manosphere, have you seen the Iranian’s latest diss track? They are trolling like hell. It starts about 1.40 seconds.
And here’s another example of morons, the guys running our global tech infrastructure, including war tech. What a waste of time introspection is! The Very Powerful Men Who Think Introspection Is Dumb – The Atlantic.
But the morons are also evil, and Rory Stewart really nailed a definition of evil in this clip. Check it out.
Spot on, right?
The chaos continues, but it’s the Easter Weekend, so I’m determined to write a shorter blog this week, to ensure I enjoy time with my family. However, before I go, I wanted to highlight a few pieces worth paying attention to.
War crimes are no longer shameful. That should terrify you | US-Israel war on Iran | Al Jazeera. It does! What are we becoming?
Foreign Affairs isn’t my favorite rag, but I think this nicely sums up the situation – What the Iran War Means for China | Foreign Affairs.
There’s FAR too much chatter about nuclear war. Suicidal species!
We’re not content to trash the earth, we’re now ramping it up in space – ‘This feels fragile’: how a satellite-smashing chain reaction could spiral out of control | Space | The Guardian.
Hey #TradWives, apparently your fellas don’t respect you – Men who favor the tradwife lifestyle often view the women in it with derision.
Hot season is already here, and it’s going to be really tough in India. While alcohol isn’t recommended in heat extremes, water is obvs necessary – Iran war could make beer and bottled water pricier for Indians.
With everything else going on, remember, the climate is still changing – ‘On a whole other level’: rapid snow melt-off in American west stuns scientists | US weather | The Guardian.
Sobering, but important to understand – Opinion | Remember the Oil Shocks of the ’70s? This Is Going to Be Worse. Much Worse. – The New York Times.
If you missed it, the full text of the President of Iran’s speech, released the day Trump delivered his speech – Full text of Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian’s letter to Americans | The Straits Times.
There’s a very interesting moment playing out in Bahrain. Worth paying attention to see where this goes.
We all learned a new word this week (well I did) ‘Bimbofication’ – Kristi Noem Responds to Husband’s Bimbofication Fetish Photos.
Ya think? Experts Failing to Account for Ripple Effects from Extreme Weather, Paper Warns – Yale E360.
Another negative impact from all those datacentres being built to drive the AI revolution – Data centers are creating ‘heat islands’ and warming the land around them by up to 16 degrees | CNN.
Northern Thailand is suffering a terrible haze season, well guess what else is coming? Wet bulb temperatures expected to hit 60°C! Completely unliveable. However, guess what else is happening in Thailand and across the Global South this hot season? Energy shortages! Will we see the opening chapter of The Ministry of the Future this month? I have zero doubt this war will kill well beyond the Middle East – Bangkok Post – Heat index could hit 60°C in early April.
This was a read of the week – Opinion | Is It 1914 in America? – The New York Times.
You know all those energy shocks that are about to slam us everywhere on earth? It’s not just war taking out energy infrastructure – Ex-Tropical Cyclone Narelle disrupts WA’s domestic gas supply, port operations – ABC News.
As above, run by the guys who don’t do any introspection – AI got the blame for the Iran school bombing. The truth is far more worrying | Iran | The Guardian.
The Hungarian election is coming up, worth keeping an eye on – In Hungary, the First Post-Reality Political Campaign – The Atlantic.
Enough for now, and yes, I know it’s a grim time but find the joy in your life if you can, educate yourself about the impact coming your way, and let’s all prepare as best we can.
I’m off to watch a funny movie with my husband. It always helps.
Friends content and my own
We didn’t do the show this week, as it’s the Easter Weekend, so including a ‘short’ from Nick Jonsson on The Sh*t Show with his five steps to holistic leadership, great advice, especially at this moment in time.
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Andrea
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