The late, great speculative fiction writer Jay Lake used to write these wonderful story roundups on his blog that he called Link Salad. The feature was basically just a bunch of links to stories that had caught his eye during his daily/weekly Internet wanderings.
I know that many of you follow me on other social media outlets, where the sharing of stories is something that I do with gusto. But I’ve received a general complaint about these posts: Both Facebook and Twitter make it so hard to find ’em. That’s where “The Week That Was” comes in. In this feature, I’ll highlight a handful of my favorite shares from the previous week, just in case you missed them the first time around.
And here we go:
STORIES
Syria Suffers Record Death Toll – Syria’s three-year civil war has already killed more than 170,000 people, nearly a third of them civilians.
Ukraine Rebel Chief Igor Bezler Threatens To Execute Interviewer – When interviewing a rebel leader nicknamed “the Demon,” don’t be surprised when he goes on a rant that suggests shooting the messenger.
NRA Member Who Lost Sister To Gun Violence Tearfully Asks Senate To Protect Women – American women account for 84 percent of all female gun victims in the developed world, and more than a quarter of female homicide victims in the U.S. are killed by an intimate partner.
2,500 Ground Zero Workers Have Cancer – The grim toll has skyrocketed from the 1,140 cancer cases reported last year.
Homicide Victims’ Families Seek Justice, Retribution And Closure From Death Penalty – An AP reporter decided to talk to murder victims’ families about capital punishment. This is a side of the story that is rarely shared.
In Push To Protect Big Coal, Alabama Officials Say New EPA Regulations Violate God’s Will – “I hope all the citizens of Alabama will be in prayer that the right thing will be done,” Alabama Public Service Commission President Twinkle Andress Cavanaugh said, calling on Alabamians to pray for a divine intervention.
California Drought Reaches A Terrifying Milestone:
(Image by U.S. Department of Agriculture)
OBITS
Margot Adler, NPR Journalist And Pagan Activist, Died At 68 – Her book “Drawing Down the Moon” launched me on a spiritual journey when I was a teenager.
Josefa A. Platzer, Founder Of Jo’s Cafe, Died At 81 – This is the first obit that actually made hungry.
Carlo Bergonzi, Italian Tenor And WWII POW, Died At 90 – Can’t say I’m a huge fan of opera. However, Carlo had some serious pipes.
VIDEO
Hope For Paws Rescues Abused Pit Bull – These vids have the unique ability of simultaneously making me hate humanity and love people.
QUOTE
“Don’t think that if we’re all good girls, if we’re properly meek, if we don’t provoke our men, we’ll be safe. Good girls get hurt all the time. We are not the problem. I refuse to quietly accept that there is one set of rules for how men live and another set of rules for how women live. And still, at night in a dark parking lot, I will walk to my car with my keys splayed between my fingers like blades. Ain’t that some shit?” –Roxane Gay
(Photo by Mishooo. Used with permission)
