quote [ Parenti says that fascism is a new order and consciousness that served the same old power structure and promised to solve the ills of the many while protecting the interests of the few. He answers in detail who financed the Fascist parties and what services the fascists rendered in return. Many of the measures enacted by fascists were frighteningly similar to those enacted today: They include the privatization of state-owned enterprises, reduction of corporate taxes and inheritance taxes, defeat of unions, and the suspension of civil liberties.

Parenti, a Ph.D. in political science from Yale University, has taught at several universities, colleges, and other institutions. He is the author of twenty books and many more articles. His works have been translated into at least seventeen languages. ]

quote [ The idea that humans could summon rain at will is historically rooted to superstition, until modern cloud-seeding techniques demonstrated its practical potential. But for centuries, rain making efforts were limited to shamanic rituals including prayers to weather gods, dances and sacrifices. ]

quote [ As dissatisfaction with the old regime fermented into revolutionary upheaval in late-eighteenth century France, two architects cast off the decorative excesses of the Baroque and Rococo styles and sought out bold, new geometries. Hugh Aldersey-Williams tours the sublime and mostly unrealized designs of Étienne-Louis Boullée and Claude-Nicolas Ledoux, discovering utopian ideals crafted in cubes, spheres, and pyramids. ]

quote [ Earth-bound landmarks ravaged by war, climate change, tourism and other threats also landed in the World Monuments Watch report ]

quote [ Pondering the screen saver, a cultural artifact which means one of two things: Offbeat graphics and screens that automatically go dark. The difference matters. ]

quote [ An unfinished boat hidden on a remote island in Alaska illuminates a missing chapter in the history of traditional Haida and Tlingit canoe building ]

quote [ Gather ?round, cinema enthusiasts, because it?s time to tip our top hats to one of vintage Hollywood?s most dazzling visionaries: Busby Berkeley. A man whose name conjures up images of synchronised swimmers, overhead shots of geometric dancers, and the kind of glitzy, glittery choreography that could put a magpie into cardiac arrest. ]

quote [ In the world of grand promises and bold claims, the line between confidence and deception can blur all too easily. What begins as ambition can quickly spiral into illusion, and the pressure to maintain appearances grows heavier with every passing moment. ]

quote [ In 2025, the works unbound from copyright cap off the 1920s with literature, characters and more from 1929 entering the public domain. ]

quote [ The story of William Buckley?an English convict whose daring escape from a penal colony and subsequent life in the uncharted Australian wilderness?is one of extraordinary survival and adaptability. In 1803, Buckley fled captivity near modern-day Melbourne and vanished into the bush, and was presumed dead. ]