Sunday roundup (brought to you by films from the library)

Because until I get a DVD player, I have to get on the laptop to watch DVDs.

The Petrobras scandal, explained.

Moscow: cosmopolitan on the outside, totalitarian on the inside.

May we all be "fussy, stubborn, unyielding bureaucrats" like Frances Oldham Kelsey when lives are at stake.

***
I woke up to a Progressive Twitter at war with itself, with Berniesplainers on one side and BlackLivesMatter on the other. I'm going to embed one tweet from Mina Hong, but please click on it and read the entire thread.

One thing I hate about social media is how if someone disagrees with you, that person must be the enemy. There's no room for actual debate.

— Minna Hong (@asiangrrlMN) August 9, 2015

Another key point that was made over and over again--I'll share Roxane Gay's articulation--was that no one owes you a cookie for your allyship. See the embedded tweet as well.

@rgay Hannah Arendt responding to Jules Romain, who felt Jewish people were grateful enough for his help. pic.twitter.com/HBONTWYcbC

— Niamh Ni Mhaoileoin (@nnimhaoileoin) August 9, 2015

I've witnessed less intensive flare-ups, as well as full-out character attacks. For example, one (black) woman I follow is being hounded for having worked for a bank before she changed careers in the direction of reproductive rights. Good thing I don't try to be progressive on Twitter; goodness knows what the sticklers would make of my career choices.

I don't have anything to add beyond what's in the tweets embedded and linked above, except that this is why I stood with Jon Stewart when he was attacked for promoting civility and common ground over ideological purity. Twitter brings out anger and defensiveness, and sometimes that's merited, but common ground is how you actually get things done. That's a dig at Twitter finger-pointing, not at actual protests, which also get things done.