Crash Course: How the World Cup got lost in the desert of the real

This World Cup is a farcical disaster, but that's not Qatar's fault. Call it punishment for the sins of capitalism [View in browser](~/AASU4wA~/RgRlXe1MP0REaHR0cHM6Ly9saW5rLndoZXJlYnkudXMvYnRpcGY4ZjF4bC8_bGhfYWlkPTM1NDM5NTImbGhfY2lkPTFrejlvcDh1bDhXA3NwY0IKY3RNaHtjJI0qalIbdHJpc3RyYW1iYWxkd2luODVAZ21haWwuY29tWAQAAAAo) Your daily update from [Salon](~/AASU4wA~/RgRlXe1MP0REaHR0cHM6Ly9saW5rLndoZXJlYnkudXMvenU3djdocmtwei8_bGhfYWlkPTM1NDM5NTImbGhfY2lkPTFrejlvcDh1bDhXA3NwY0IKY3RNaHtjJI0qalIbdHJpc3RyYW1iYWxkd2luODVAZ21haWwuY29tWAQAAAAo). (GABRIEL BOUYS/AFP via Getty Images) Qatar 2022 WTF: How the World Cup got lost in the desert of the real By the time this article is published on Salon, the opening match of the 2022 World Cup tournament will have reached halftime. That match is between teams from Qatar and Ecuador, two nations whose citizens — at least before this week — might have had difficulty finding the other one on a world map. (UPDATE: Just to prove I'm paying attention, Ecuador dominated from beginning to end, winning 2-0. Many Qatari fans left before the game was over, not exactly an encouraging sign.) That is without doubt the most random and least star-powered opener in World Cup history; even hardcore soccer nerds would be stretched to name more than one or two players on either team. (Qatar almost certainly would not have qualified if it weren't the host nation, and Ecuador is the lowest-ranked Western Hemisphere team in this year's tournament.) [Read the rest from Andrew O'Hehir.](~/AASU4wA~/RgRlXe1MP0REaHR0cHM6Ly9saW5rLndoZXJlYnkudXMvcnJkY3QyZXFrbS8_bGhfYWlkPTM1NDM5NTImbGhfY2lkPTFrejlvcDh1bDhXA3NwY0IKY3RNaHtjJI0qalIbdHJpc3RyYW1iYWxkd2luODVAZ21haWwuY29tWAQAAAAo) (Courtesy of Showtime) In defense of "The L Word's" best character, beautiful monster Jenny Schecter When ["The L Word"](~/AASU4wA~/RgRlXe1MP0REaHR0cHM6Ly9saW5rLndoZXJlYnkudXMvMmtmNTB0eWl2cy8_bGhfYWlkPTM1NDM5NTImbGhfY2lkPTFrejlvcDh1bDhXA3NwY0IKY3RNaHtjJI0qalIbdHJpc3RyYW1iYWxkd2luODVAZ21haWwuY29tWAQAAAAo) first debuted on Showtime in the winter of 2004, its core audience of [lesbian](~/AASU4wA~/RgRlXe1MP0REaHR0cHM6Ly9saW5rLndoZXJlYnkudXMvampzcnlucDZpcy8_bGhfYWlkPTM1NDM5NTImbGhfY2lkPTFrejlvcDh1bDhXA3NwY0IKY3RNaHtjJI0qalIbdHJpc3RyYW1iYWxkd2luODVAZ21haWwuY29tWAQAAAAo) and [bisexual women](~/AASU4wA~/RgRlXe1MP0REaHR0cHM6Ly9saW5rLndoZXJlYnkudXMvM2ltZzZiNDdway8_bGhfYWlkPTM1NDM5NTImbGhfY2lkPTFrejlvcDh1bDhXA3NwY0IKY3RNaHtjJI0qalIbdHJpc3RyYW1iYWxkd2luODVAZ21haWwuY29tWAQAAAAo) jumped on it like a metaphorical life raft, and then almost immediately began poking holes in it — continuing to do so until the show, and the raft with it, could no longer hold the weight of everything that was expected of it. In its simplest description, "The L Word" was a show about a group of friends living in West Hollywood who, when not hanging out at the local coffee shop, The Planet, were busy cheating on their partners or seeking out new partners to cheat on. The notoriously bad theme song for the show tipped viewers off as to what was in store for them with the lyrics "talking, laughing, loving, breathing, fighting, f**king, crying, drinking, riding, winning, losing, cheating, kissing, thinking, dreaming." But there was a much more nefarious "ing" at work here: framing. [Read the rest from Kelly McClure.](~/AASU4wA~/RgRlXe1MP0REaHR0cHM6Ly9saW5rLndoZXJlYnkudXMvejUya3RzZjV1OS8_bGhfYWlkPTM1NDM5NTImbGhfY2lkPTFrejlvcDh1bDhXA3NwY0IKY3RNaHtjJI0qalIbdHJpc3RyYW1iYWxkd2luODVAZ21haWwuY29tWAQAAAAo) - The "[Yellowstone](~/AASU4wA~/RgRlXe1MP0REaHR0cHM6Ly9saW5rLndoZXJlYnkudXMvMnlicDlhNTlhNi8_bGhfYWlkPTM1NDM5NTImbGhfY2lkPTFrejlvcDh1bDhXA3NwY0IKY3RNaHtjJI0qalIbdHJpc3RyYW1iYWxkd2luODVAZ21haWwuY29tWAQAAAAo)" effect: Welcome to the new era of TV Westerns - [Astronomer Royal Martin Rees](~/AASU4wA~/RgRlXe1MP0REaHR0cHM6Ly9saW5rLndoZXJlYnkudXMvZXh0eHoyMDUyOS8_bGhfYWlkPTM1NDM5NTImbGhfY2lkPTFrejlvcDh1bDhXA3NwY0IKY3RNaHtjJI0qalIbdHJpc3RyYW1iYWxkd2luODVAZ21haWwuY29tWAQAAAAo): We're in a race between science education and catastrophe - How [James Madison](~/AASU4wA~/RgRlXe1MP0REaHR0cHM6Ly9saW5rLndoZXJlYnkudXMvN3htaGduMml0by8_bGhfYWlkPTM1NDM5NTImbGhfY2lkPTFrejlvcDh1bDhXA3NwY0IKY3RNaHtjJI0qalIbdHJpc3RyYW1iYWxkd2luODVAZ21haWwuY29tWAQAAAAo)'s forensic science work could save American democracy, 200 years later - Elon reinstated [Trump's Twitter account](~/AASU4wA~/RgRlXe1MP0REaHR0cHM6Ly9saW5rLndoZXJlYnkudXMvdWkzaG9jMHBvbi8_bGhfYWlkPTM1NDM5NTImbGhfY2lkPTFrejlvcDh1bDhXA3NwY0IKY3RNaHtjJI0qalIbdHJpc3RyYW1iYWxkd2luODVAZ21haWwuY29tWAQAAAAo) and used a Latin flourish to tell us so - Women on the verge: Is "[Mammals](~/AASU4wA~/RgRlXe1MP0REaHR0cHM6Ly9saW5rLndoZXJlYnkudXMvN2R4dWpzMXRyMC8_bGhfYWlkPTM1NDM5NTImbGhfY2lkPTFrejlvcDh1bDhXA3NwY0IKY3RNaHtjJI0qalIbdHJpc3RyYW1iYWxkd2luODVAZ21haWwuY29tWAQAAAAo)" really about marriage and monogamy after all? - Trump insider gives insight into timing of [Ivanka](~/AASU4wA~/RgRlXe1MP0REaHR0cHM6Ly9saW5rLndoZXJlYnkudXMvZnFrMm94Yzh0Zi8_bGhfYWlkPTM1NDM5NTImbGhfY2lkPTFrejlvcDh1bDhXA3NwY0IKY3RNaHtjJI0qalIbdHJpc3RyYW1iYWxkd2luODVAZ21haWwuY29tWAQAAAAo) turning her back on dad's campaign - The [Jane Goodall](~/AASU4wA~/RgRlXe1MP0REaHR0cHM6Ly9saW5rLndoZXJlYnkudXMvNHg0ZWx3ZWxlaS8_bGhfYWlkPTM1NDM5NTImbGhfY2lkPTFrejlvcDh1bDhXA3NwY0IKY3RNaHtjJI0qalIbdHJpc3RyYW1iYWxkd2luODVAZ21haWwuY29tWAQAAAAo) of neurosurgery - This Thanksgiving, don't f**k with holiday tradition (and give me my [canned cranberries](~/AASU4wA~/RgRlXe1MP0REaHR0cHM6Ly9saW5rLndoZXJlYnkudXMvbTBjNWVyb25hMC8_bGhfYWlkPTM1NDM5NTImbGhfY2lkPTFrejlvcDh1bDhXA3NwY0IKY3RNaHtjJI0qalIbdHJpc3RyYW1iYWxkd2luODVAZ21haWwuY29tWAQAAAAo)) - [Butternut squash](~/AASU4wA~/RgRlXe1MP0REaHR0cHM6Ly9saW5rLndoZXJlYnkudXMvemF6N3ZtYmVuaC8_bGhfYWlkPTM1NDM5NTImbGhfY2lkPTFrejlvcDh1bDhXA3NwY0IKY3RNaHtjJI0qalIbdHJpc3RyYW1iYWxkd2luODVAZ21haWwuY29tWAQAAAAo): Everything you need to know about preparing fall's consummate gourd Not a subscriber yet? [Sign up](~/AASU4wA~/RgRlXe1MP0REaHR0cHM6Ly9saW5rLndoZXJlYnkudXMvNjRzc2p2NWpsYy8_bGhfYWlkPTM1NDM5NTImbGhfY2lkPTFrejlvcDh1bDhXA3NwY0IKY3RNaHtjJI0qalIbdHJpc3RyYW1iYWxkd2luODVAZ21haWwuY29tWAQAAAAo) to receive Crash Course. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images) What the Sam Bankman-Fried debacle can teach us about "longtermism" [Everybody's](~/AASU4wA~/RgRlXe1MP0REaHR0cHM6Ly9saW5rLndoZXJlYnkudXMvOTNhaWM0YWV2ei8_bGhfYWlkPTM1NDM5NTImbGhfY2lkPTFrejlvcDh1bDhXA3NwY0IKY3RNaHtjJI0qalIbdHJpc3RyYW1iYWxkd2luODVAZ21haWwuY29tWAQAAAAo) [talking](~/AASU4wA~/RgRlXe1MP0REaHR0cHM6Ly9saW5rLndoZXJlYnkudXMvc2hieXdycjB5ZC8_bGhfYWlkPTM1NDM5NTImbGhfY2lkPTFrejlvcDh1bDhXA3NwY0IKY3RNaHtjJI0qalIbdHJpc3RyYW1iYWxkd2luODVAZ21haWwuY29tWAQAAAAo) [about](~/AASU4wA~/RgRlXe1MP0REaHR0cHM6Ly9saW5rLndoZXJlYnkudXMvNGpwMGYwNGxsbC8_bGhfYWlkPTM1NDM5NTImbGhfY2lkPTFrejlvcDh1bDhXA3NwY0IKY3RNaHtjJI0qalIbdHJpc3RyYW1iYWxkd2luODVAZ21haWwuY29tWAQAAAAo) Sam Bankman-Fried, effective altruism (EA), and the ideology known as "longtermism" that many effective altruists, [including](~/AASU4wA~/RgRlXe1MP0REaHR0cHM6Ly9saW5rLndoZXJlYnkudXMvaDBrbDEzanEwZC8_bGhfYWlkPTM1NDM5NTImbGhfY2lkPTFrejlvcDh1bDhXA3NwY0IKY3RNaHtjJI0qalIbdHJpc3RyYW1iYWxkd2luODVAZ21haWwuY29tWAQAAAAo) Bankman-Fried, accept. The tidal wave of bad press triggered by the catastrophic collapse of Bankman-Fried's cryptocurrency exchange platform FTX comes at the worst time for the longtermist community: William MacAskill, the poster boy of longtermism and a moral "[adviser](~/AASU4wA~/RgRlXe1MP0REaHR0cHM6Ly9saW5rLndoZXJlYnkudXMvd2FscndjNXR6Yy8_bGhfYWlkPTM1NDM5NTImbGhfY2lkPTFrejlvcDh1bDhXA3NwY0IKY3RNaHtjJI0qalIbdHJpc3RyYW1iYWxkd2luODVAZ21haWwuY29tWAQAAAAo)" to Bankman-Fried, went on a media blitz after his book "[What We Owe the Future](~/AASU4wA~/RgRlXe1MP0REaHR0cHM6Ly9saW5rLndoZXJlYnkudXMva25tdGVkMWFpZS8_bGhfYWlkPTM1NDM5NTImbGhfY2lkPTFrejlvcDh1bDhXA3NwY0IKY3RNaHtjJI0qalIbdHJpc3RyYW1iYWxkd2luODVAZ21haWwuY29tWAQAAAAo)" came out last summer, even making an appearance on "The Daily Show." The reputational damage to longtermism caused by recent events has been significant, and it's unclear whether the movement, which had become immensely powerful over the past few years, can bounce back. [Read the rest from Émile P. Torres.](~/AASU4wA~/RgRlXe1MP0REaHR0cHM6Ly9saW5rLndoZXJlYnkudXMvdDQ3b3JzOHVxeS8_bGhfYWlkPTM1NDM5NTImbGhfY2lkPTFrejlvcDh1bDhXA3NwY0IKY3RNaHtjJI0qalIbdHJpc3RyYW1iYWxkd2luODVAZ21haWwuY29tWAQAAAAo) - "Massive sinkhole threatens to swallow West Virginia police department," [CNN](~/AASU4wA~/RgRlXe1MP0REaHR0cHM6Ly9saW5rLndoZXJlYnkudXMvcWo2MHV4cWhlcC8_bGhfYWlkPTM1NDM5NTImbGhfY2lkPTFrejlvcDh1bDhXA3NwY0IKY3RNaHtjJI0qalIbdHJpc3RyYW1iYWxkd2luODVAZ21haWwuY29tWAQAAAAo) - "Black-naped pheasant-pigeon sighted in PNG for first time in 140 years," [BBC](~/AASU4wA~/RgRlXe1MP0REaHR0cHM6Ly9saW5rLndoZXJlYnkudXMvZm8wano2ZzlzNy8_bGhfYWlkPTM1NDM5NTImbGhfY2lkPTFrejlvcDh1bDhXA3NwY0IKY3RNaHtjJI0qalIbdHJpc3RyYW1iYWxkd2luODVAZ21haWwuY29tWAQAAAAo) - "Skittles Reminds Fans Not to Throw Skittles at Harry Styles With Full-Page L.A. Times Ad," [The Hollywood Reporter](~/AASU4wA~/RgRlXe1MP0REaHR0cHM6Ly9saW5rLndoZXJlYnkudXMvcmQxZG1jNW0ybi8_bGhfYWlkPTM1NDM5NTImbGhfY2lkPTFrejlvcDh1bDhXA3NwY0IKY3RNaHtjJI0qalIbdHJpc3RyYW1iYWxkd2luODVAZ21haWwuY29tWAQAAAAo) - "12 times that Colorado Rep. Lauren Boebert stoked anti-LGBTQ violence that led to a mass shooting," [LGBTQ Nation](~/AASU4wA~/RgRlXe1MP0REaHR0cHM6Ly9saW5rLndoZXJlYnkudXMvbnQ5YTR2aWVzbi8_bGhfYWlkPTM1NDM5NTImbGhfY2lkPTFrejlvcDh1bDhXA3NwY0IKY3RNaHtjJI0qalIbdHJpc3RyYW1iYWxkd2luODVAZ21haWwuY29tWAQAAAAo) (Getty Images/Tetra Images) At least five killed in shooting at Colorado gay nightclub Five people are confirmed dead and at least eighteen more were injured in a mass shooting inside Club Q in Colorado Springs, Colorado late Saturday night, [CNN is reporting](~/AASU4wA~/RgRlXe1MP0REaHR0cHM6Ly9saW5rLndoZXJlYnkudXMvcmxwM2M5YzZ0MS8_bGhfYWlkPTM1NDM5NTImbGhfY2lkPTFrejlvcDh1bDhXA3NwY0IKY3RNaHtjJI0qalIbdHJpc3RyYW1iYWxkd2luODVAZ21haWwuY29tWAQAAAAo). Colorado Springs Police Lieutenant Pamela Castro said in a press statement that her department began receiving "numerous" 911 calls shortly before midnight. "They did locate one individual who we believe to be the suspect inside," she said. "At this point in time, the suspect is being treated, but is in custody." Castro said that "the casualty toll 'is subject to change as the investigation continues,' adding that ambulances and police had transported 'numerous people' to hospitals. The hospitals are helping to notify families of the victims, she added. It was not immediately clear whether the suspect was one of the 18 injured," per [The Washington Post](~/AASU4wA~/RgRlXe1MP0REaHR0cHM6Ly9saW5rLndoZXJlYnkudXMvZGU0aHUzN2d4ai8_bGhfYWlkPTM1NDM5NTImbGhfY2lkPTFrejlvcDh1bDhXA3NwY0IKY3RNaHtjJI0qalIbdHJpc3RyYW1iYWxkd2luODVAZ21haWwuY29tWAQAAAAo). [Read the rest from Brandon Gage.](~/AASU4wA~/RgRlXe1MP0REaHR0cHM6Ly9saW5rLndoZXJlYnkudXMvb3JtY3c0ZmZxdy8_bGhfYWlkPTM1NDM5NTImbGhfY2lkPTFrejlvcDh1bDhXA3NwY0IKY3RNaHtjJI0qalIbdHJpc3RyYW1iYWxkd2luODVAZ21haWwuY29tWAQAAAAo) Have a tip for Salon? Feedback on this newsletter? [Let us know](~/AASU4wA~/RgRlXe1MP0REaHR0cHM6Ly9saW5rLndoZXJlYnkudXMvd242ZXVpd2hzaC8_bGhfYWlkPTM1NDM5NTImbGhfY2lkPTFrejlvcDh1bDhXA3NwY0IKY3RNaHtjJI0qalIbdHJpc3RyYW1iYWxkd2luODVAZ21haWwuY29tWAQAAAAo). Our mailing address: 1000 N. West Street, Suite 1200 Wilmington, DE 19801 [Unsubscribe from this list](~/AASU4wA~/RgRlXe1MP0RCaHR0cHM6Ly9yZWFkLmxldHRlcmhlYWQuZW1haWwvY3Jhc2gtY291cnNlL3Vuc3Vic2NyaWJlP2lkPUAzNTQzOTUyVwNzcGNCCmN0TWh7YySNKmpSG3RyaXN0cmFtYmFsZHdpbjg1QGdtYWlsLmNvbVgEAAAAKA~~) Copyright © 2022 Crash Course, All rights reserved. [Made with Letterhead [Letterhead logo]](~/AASU4wA~/RgRlXe1MP0QiaHR0cHM6Ly9saW5rLndoZXJlYnkudXMvbmVwbm83czh5c1cDc3BjQgpjdE1oe2MkjSpqUht0cmlzdHJhbWJhbGR3aW44NUBnbWFpbC5jb21YBAAAACg~)