Ben Kharakh
Bio
Manic pixie dream goth. With appearances in Fortune, Vice, Gothamist, and McSweeney's.@benkharakh
Stories (63/0)
The Blood on Trump's Hands
There is no end to the amount of suffering that is being perpetrated against the world by virtue of giving so much power to someone as undeserving as Donald Trump. The man has been coasting his entire existence on social privilege and wealth, using it primarily to better his own life at the expense of others.
By Ben Kharakh5 years ago in The Swamp
Albums You Need to Listen to in 2018
There are a lot of albums you need to listen to in 2018, which is great news! There have been great releases in hip-hop, pop, country-pop, R&B, and even rock. There have been first-time releases that were strong out of the gate and long-time artists putting out some of the best releases of their careers. That's a lot of music to get all giddy about with friends and strangers!
By Ben Kharakh5 years ago in Beat
Things to Start Doing If You Want to Lose Weight
I can go on and on about body positivity and the dangers of yo-yo dieting, but, at the end of the day, I'm someone who spends a lot of time at the gym. I pride myself on how many pull-ups I can do, and I'm way too happy to fit into slim-fit jeans. I talk to my friends and people I've just met about working out like the worst. Specific questions, goals, accomplishments—I just go on and on! But I also gain weight sometimes and have to start all over again, which is why I know all of these best things to start doing if you want to lose weight.
By Ben Kharakh5 years ago in Longevity
Why We Need Holocaust Education Now More than Ever in America
The New York Times recently reported that the Holocaust is fading from memory. 31% of Americans and 41% of millennials think that under two million Jews were killed in the Holocaust. Try 6 million. And 41% of Americans and 66% of Millennials don't know what Auschwitz was. Woof. And 52% of Americans don't know that Hitler was democratically elected. It sounds like a lot of people just aren't getting a Holocaust education at all! What they know about the Holocaust they know from popular culture osmosis. They might as well get their facts from Indiana Jones. YOU CAN'T SURVIVE A NUCLEAR BLAST IN A REFRIGERATOR!
By Ben Kharakh5 years ago in Education
10 Beginner Mistakes Every Crypto Trader Should Avoid
You know the pros and cons of investing in cryptocurrencies you should consider, and you've decided to go for it! Before you get started, though, you need to know what you're doing to because the knowledge that it takes to succeed in crypto trading will help you succeed in any type of trading. That's because wisdom is translatable while winning is contingent. There many factors that go into a successful trade; where wisdom comes in is in identifying those factors and knowing what to do when things still don't work out. That's important because a trader needs to know how to win to and lose. That way a loss isn't even a lose; it's just another step on the journey to winning.
By Ben Kharakh5 years ago in The Chain
Why Marijuana Is Illegal in the First Place
Marijuana has countless medicinal applications (including juicing!) and has lead to plenty of good times. Nonetheless, marijuana is illegal for reasons that seemingly make no sense. Marijuana is not associated with overdoses like opioids are, people's behavior under the influence of marijuana is not as reckless as their behavior when under the influence of alcohol, and the criminal associations with marijuana is a direct consequence of it being framed as criminal. Unfortunately, like too many of the laws and social mores in America, the criminalization has more to do with maintaining existing power structures than with protecting the public's general interest.
By Ben Kharakh5 years ago in Potent
Cute, Funny Coffee Mugs to Bring Out the Morning Person in You
Not everyone's a morning person! For a lot of people, getting up in the AM is an arduous journey where every step is a slog. It's a regular Myth of Sisyphussituation. Wait, do you not know what that is? Do you wanna look it up? No, it feels like a slog, just like everything else? That, is a Myth of Sisyphus situation. Luckily, there are cute, funny coffee mugs that make it easier to make it through the morning. There are also coffee lifehacks you can use these mugs for! You start to look forward to drinking out of your "All Vulvas Are Beautiful" mug or your mug that's shaped like a panda that's also giving you a cookie. A win's a win; just as the salty Morton Girl after she's had her morning brew!
By Ben Kharakh5 years ago in Feast
How ICE Abuses Undocumented Immigrants
Donald Trump made bigotry against Latin Americans one of the pillars of his campaign. He's been delivering on that promise with policies of discrimination and abuse ever since he got into office. On what may be a daily basis, migrants are abused, children are being separated from their families, and detained undocumented citizens are being subjected to inhumane treatment. At the center of all this is the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, also known as "ICE."
By Ben Kharakh5 years ago in The Swamp
Facebook in the Wake of Anthony Bourdain's Suicide
My Facebook newsfeed is usually comedians making jokes or sharing articles that highlight the wretched state of the world. But as news of Anthony Bourdain's suicide spread, my news feed was radically transformed into a place where people spoke candidly about their mental illness. My feed was transformed into a place where people were emotionally vulnerable and receptive to emotional vulnerability, and I can think of no more beautiful a sendoff for Anthony Bourdain than that. I only wish that it would last more than one day.
By Ben Kharakh5 years ago in Psyche
Hottest Foot Fetish Models on Twitter
Many of the foot fetish models on Twitter are financial dominatrixes, which means being a dom to at least one submissive (known as a money slave, pay pig, human ATM, cash piggy, etc). In order to understand foot fetishism, you must also consider FDs. FDs offer videos, communicate via means such as KIK or Skype, sell used items of clothing, and much more. As Ceara Lynch, who's been a financial dominatrix for over ten years explains, how to make money as a financial dominatrix takes a lot of work and strategizing. So you foot boys and girls better be grateful!
By Ben Kharakh5 years ago in Filthy
Craziest Pro-Trump Fan Art on the Internet
The internet is littered with pro-Trump fan art. Some of it is crudely photoshopped, other bits are political cartoons, and there are even painstakingly made portraits that reveal significant talent on the part of their creators. Too bad all this effort is going to lift up The Worst of Us! At least this stuff can give us a laugh so long as we don't think about the ways in which these values have already been expressed in American policy and culture for hundreds of years. Whoops; I put that awareness in your head! Ba-Zinga!
By Ben Kharakh5 years ago in The Swamp
Important Organizations That Help Immigrants in the US
In the wake of the news that the Trump administration had been separating immigrant children from their parents as they crossed the US's southern border, many people found themselves asking, "Did the Trump administration separate immigrant children from parents and lose them?" Outrage followed on social media, but so did solidarity.
By Ben Kharakh5 years ago in The Swamp
