View from The Cloud

A page which links to internet articles which your Editor recommends. Any items posted here do not necessarily align with the views of the Diary or your Editor, but are considered worth paying attention to.


The Insect Apocalypse is here.
What does it mean of the rest of life on Earth?


By Brooke Jarvis
From the New York Times Magazine.






The 1930s were humanity's darkest hour: Are you paying attention?


by JONATHAN FREEDLAND
A decade haunted by mass poverty, violent extremism and world war gives us one crucial advantage: the chance to learn the era’s lessons and avoid its mistakes.

Cyber war for sale


By MATTATHIAS SCHWARTZ
From the New York Times Magazine. After a maker of surveillance software was hacked, its leaked documents shed light on a shadowy global industry that has turned email theft into a terrifying — and lucrative — political weapon.

Civility and respect beat political correctness every time


By BREDA O'BRIEN
From Irish Times. Denying a platform to those who disagree with you drives dissent underground.


Fake News Sites are more than Social Media drivers — they're powerful profit drivers


By SORYA CHEMALY
From Salon. Banning fake-news sites doesn't address the real problem: Social-media companies make big money off lies and hate.


The Social Advantage of Pockets


By CLARE MULLANEY
From The Atlantic. Who can use a pocket, and what it can carry, has historically depended on the person doing the pocketing.


A Time for Refusal


By TEJU COLE
From the New York Times. On the necessity of resisting the new normal.


Please stop entertaining my kid — I want him to be bored


From Salon. A thought that will echo with many of today's parents.




War Goes Viral


From The Atlantic, a very thoughtful and comprehensive piece about the impact of social media on the waging of war. Long Read, so leave time for it.

A comet smashing into ancient Earth may have set off catastrophic global warming


From WAtoday. It's not the first time for global warming, but we didn't start it before.



How American Politics Went Insane


From The Atlantic, a scary imagining of the future of politics in America, scary for Americans ... and for the rest of us too.