245 US military bases are polluting, or threatening to pollute, their neighborhood with toxic PFAS.

The PFAS come from firefighting foam. I think people did not initially realize that it was dangerous, perhaps because in the US there is no requirement to test that before using a new substance.

The level of PFAS is not very high above the level considered acceptable. Maybe this will not cause a much harm.

*CIA admits 1953 Iranian coup it backed was undemocratic.*

This coup put the repressive Shah on the throne. That later backfired on the US when it lead to the repressive (and initially murderous) Islamic Revolution. You could say the US "got what it deserved" — but that does not mean the outcome was just, since Iranians got what they did not deserve and they are still stuck with it.

20 years ago, people on Dominica ate the numerous mountain chicken frogs as their national dish. After the chytrid fungus and a big hurricane, hardly any remain.

Was "Fountain", considered to be pioneering "conceptual art", really made by Elsa von Freytag-Loringhoven rather than Marcel Duchamp?

Perhaps we should consider it a hack rather than art. I contend that it has little artistic value but does have some hack value.

The article does not excuse Duchamp of plagiarizing her work; rather it suggests she invited him to present it as his. If they didn't think of it as real art, they would not have felt competitive over artistic credit for it.

I do not appreciate conceptual art. I don't want to reprise the pointless argument about whether it "really is art", I only say that I'd usually prefer to see a concept presented in clear words.

Pakistan's plans to deport Afghans include 700,000 who fled persecution by the Taliban after those took over. It is unconscionable not to give them asylum.