Wednesday roundup

This unusual mid-week roundup is brought to you by Michelle's couch: I had to turn on my laptop to post the freecycle notice for my own couch, so here we are.

If you aren't horrified and saddened by Chapel Hill hate-crime murders, regardless of your politics or religious affiliation or lack thereof, let me know when and how you lost your humanity.

"The Hezbollah Connection" is not short or light, but it's fascinating and it's a must-read. Pair with this piece on Argentina's "suicides."

Our graphic reminder that the Ukraine war is a real war with real suffering.

The (not-quite) latest in gratuitous police violence and the prison industrial complex.

You also have to read this piece (I'm embedding my tweet because that's the only link by which you can access it:

When a black German woman discovered her grandfather was the Nazi villain of 'Schindler's List' http://t.co/yUxNGbdj1V
— Rose glow barberry (@rgbrb) February 12, 2015

Nerdy misogyny is no better than any other kind.

This is old news by now, but if you haven't already, check out these crazy tweets from the guy now-fired from Jeb Bush's campaign.
 
Surprise! Obamacare plaintiffs aren't affected by the law.  

I was going to call out Grist for neglecting to mention meat consumption as a food security issue, but they ultimately did include it (in the last paragraphs, as an afterthought).

Well, this cactus thing is certainly new and intriguing.

I'm shocked that Russians aren't higher-up in the fat-consumption stats. My people love us some fat.

A fascinating oral history of Chipotle. My favorite part:

They [McDonald’s] invited Steve to go to their chicken farm in Arkansas. He came back and said it was absolutely the most disgusting thing he’d ever seen in his life.

Better science fiction respects science (makes me think of how bad "Lucy" was).

Yes, purveyors of dating advice are prone to confirmation bias, among other things.

I bet #advicetoyoungjournalists didn't include insights like the one shared in this article on gluten sensitivity:

The groups also differed on such measures as “satisfaction with stool consistency,” a phrase that I honestly never thought I would write. 

On the flip side, you also get to do stuff like graph cursing.

Um, if you're gonna start a hashtag, make sure it's not stupid. If you're gonna invite people to something, don't attach your unflattering assessments of them.

Best valentines ever?

More beautiful wave stills.