#74 civic changes

[vampmilf]

hello i am looking to get convinced to get into that nightvale thing i know nothing about it

honestly what can i even tell you to sell night vale without risking the vague yet menacing government agency sweeping me up in a van and making me disappear. wouldnt want to lose my blog after all the effort i put in to teaching spiders how to read, ive just barely escaped death the few times that i went to fetch books from the library, those librarians are fast as hell. and then who would feed the cat thats hovering four feet above the sink in the bathroom? and his kittens he birthed just last week?? with how wheat and wheat byproducts have been outlawed now its hard enough to provide for myself if im honest. anyways, gotta dig myself back out of this dirt before the angel turns me into a tree again.

[skittzdaskittle]

I'm listening to ep 74, civic changes, and so far there's a set of lyrics from a Bo Burnham song that perfectly represents the plot currently as I understand it (though it's Night Vale so who knows)

"Good girl,

In a straw hat,

With her arms out,

In a cornfield,

That is a scarecrow. "

[kevin--of-desert-bluffs]

"Desert Bluffs has been in a steep year-long recession. I mean it's an awful city, but it's hard not to feel bad. The town is facing record unemployment and major setbacks in city programming after the buy-out and subsequent major restructuring last year of the only employer in town, Strexcorp. DBHS has had to cut their athletic programs, as well as all music, history, trial-mocking, and math classes." - Ep 74 'Civic Changes'

😬

[mariacallous]

WARSAW, Oct 17 (Reuters) - Poland's opposition parties led by Donald Tusk's Civic Coalition (KO) prepared for coalition talks on Tuesday after official results from Sunday's election showed they had won enough seats to oust the ruling nationalist Law and Justice (PiS) party.

A new government led by pro-EU centrists will mark a massive shift in Poland after eight years of conflict between PiS and Brussels over democratic standards, media freedom, minority rights and migration.

"In the coming days, after the (final) results are announced, we will talk," said Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz, a leader of the centre-right Third Way, which along with the New Left is expected to join a KO-led coalition.

The Electoral Commission confirmed on Tuesday that PiS remained the largest party in the lower house of parliament, the Sejm, after winning 35.38% of the vote. This would give it around 190 seats in the 460-seat chamber.

Tusk's KO won 30.70% of the vote. Third Way took third place with 14.40% and the New Left had 8.61%, the Commission said. The far-right Confederation won 7.16% of the vote.

KO, the Third Way and the New Left, combined, will have around 250 seats, the results suggested, enough for them to form a stable coalition government.

However, that prospect could still be weeks, if not months, away. President Andrzej Duda, a PiS ally, said before the vote that he would give the first shot at forming a cabinet to the group or party that won most ballots.

With no party indicating a willingness to join a PiS-led government, the nationalist party led by Jaroslaw Kaczynski seems unlikely to be able to secure a third term at the helm of the European Union's largest eastern member state.

"Evil has prevailed in Poland, temporarily," Marek Suski, a senior PiS official, told public broadcaster TVP. "PiS is likely moving into a really democratic opposition."

MASS MOBILISATION

Turnout in Sunday's election exceeded 74%, the highest in Poland since the collapse of communism in 1989, after the parties managed to galvanise large numbers of especially younger voters for the first time.

But the election campaign was marred by harsh, divisive rhetoric, reflecting deep polarisation within Polish society.

Vowing to protect Polish borders and sovereignty, PiS cast the vote as a fight against unfettered migration and against unwarranted interference in national life by remote, unelected EU bureaucrats.

Opposition leaders including Tusk, a former European Council president, said PiS would take Poland out of the EU if it won a third term - a charge denied by the ruling party despite its constant legal and political feuds with Brussels.

The opposition parties have yet to name a candidate for the post of prime minister but Tusk, 66, is widely expected to be their nominee. He served as premier from 2007 to 2014.

"Nobody doubts today that without Donald Tusk's energy and determination, change in Poland would not have been possible," Marcin Kierwinski, a senior KO official, told Polsat News broadcaster.

Still, the three parties are likely to face complex talks over issues such as abortion and LGBT rights.

On abortion, Kosiniak-Kamysz of Third Way said on Tuesday his party would support reversing a 2021 near-total ban on terminations by reinstating the right to abortion in cases of fetal defects, but would not agree upfront to further liberalisation.

KO and the New Left also want to allow abortions up to 12 weeks without limitations. Third Way wants Poles to decide the matter in a referendum.

"No ideological issues can be part of any coalition agreement," Kosiniak-Kamysz said.

[lboogie1906]

Rev. Martin Luther King Sr. (Michael King; December 19, 1899 – November 11, 1984) was a Baptist pastor, missionary, and an early figure in the Civil Rights Movement. He was the father and namesake of the civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. He was the senior pastor of Atlanta’s Ebenezer Baptist Church (1931-75).

He was born in Stockbridge, Georgia, the son of Delia (née Linsey and James Albert King.

He was a member of the Baptist Church and decided to become a preacher after being inspired by ministers who were prepared to stand up for racial equality. He was boarding with Reverend A.D. Williams, pastor of the Ebenezer Baptist Church.

While working daytime as a mechanic’s helper and railroad firefighter. He obtained a BA from Morehouse College.

In 1927, he became assistant pastor at the Ebenezer Baptist Church and senior pastor in 1931. By 1934, he had become a respected leader of the local church. That year, he changed his name, and that of his eldest son, from Michael King to Martin Luther King after a period of gradual transition on his part. He was inspired during a trip to Germany for that year’s meeting of the Baptist World Alliance.

He was a major figure in the Civil Rights Movement in Georgia, where he rose to become the head of the NAACP in Atlanta and the Civic and Political League. He led the fight for equal teachers’ salaries in Atlanta. He played an instrumental role in ending Jim Crow laws in the state. He refused to ride on Atlanta’s bus system since the 1920s after a vicious attack on African American passengers with no action against those responsible. He stressed the need for an educated, politically active Black ministry.

In 1980, he published his autobiography.

He married Alberta (1926-74). The couple had three children: a daughter, Willie Christine King, Martin Luther King Jr., and Alfred Daniel Williams King. #africanhistory365 #africanexcellence

[kspp]

74 years of Independence; have we learnt nothing?

A simple Google search will show you the meaning of the word Dalit as ‘broken/scattered’ in Sanskrit. The word ‘Dalit’ was first used by Indian social activist Jyotiba Phule and was translated as a meaning for the oppressed or depressed classes, the term Scheduled Castes (SC) is used in legal terms. Then Dr. B.R. Ambedkar started using the word Dalit in a much wider context, including people at the lowest rungs of the caste hierarchy. A community that has been subjected to all kinds of oppression or discrimination.

There are a lot of questions that come to my mind when I read about the Dalit atrocities. Why is it that even after 74 years of Independence, a community with a population as large as 200 million is living under horrifying conditions? Why do basic human rights not apply to Dalits? Why does the dominant caste only pay attention to caste issues when monstrous acts are inflicted on their community? Why did the Uttar Pradesh government think an ‘international plot’ to defame the party was more plausible than a gang-rape of a 19-year-old Dalit girl? According to the National Crimes Bureau, Uttar Pradesh records the highest number of atrocities against SC in India. Why then, did it take the CM almost a month to reluctantly order a CBI probe in the Hathras case?

The history of injustices faced by this community, and the emotional and physical trauma they are put through, is dehumanising. They live in constant fear of oppression by the upper castes, face segregation in their neighbourhood, are given menial jobs; 1 million Dalits work as manual scavengers. Most of them are not entitled to education, they are deprived of the resources and access to affordable living. Government bodies, media, and dominant castes citizens do not value the humanity of Dalits. Caste is used as per the convenience of the ruling party and the privileged sections of society. Civic protests are given the name of riots, when the rights of the marginalised communities are in question.

We talk about India’s development in terms of education, healthcare and electricity for all, but an entire quarter of India’s population living in appalling conditions is ignored. Dalits only get a minimum number of seats in the parliament. Their representation in government, media, entertainment, offices, newsrooms etc., is only bare minimum. How will their voices be amplified if they are not present in any leadership roles? Policies for the oppressed castes are made by the dominant castes; they are oblivious of the experiences, yet they are responsible for making decisions for them

India’s Constitution is glorified, liberal, modern and forward-looking, but we live by the mindsets which are a thousand years old. We do not live by the principles and the values that our Constitution laid down for us. Ironically, the father of the constitution, Dr B.R Ambedkar, was a Dalit man himself. Reservation should be made more acceptable and expandable as even today, it can change the lives of a huge chunk of India’s population.

There are gender and caste-based hierarchies within the community as well, where it is way worse off for Dalit women. They are treated as almost dispensable, hence facing the largest number of crimes, majority of which go unreported. According to the NCRB data, more than 4 Dalit women are raped every day. There is a sheer lack of justice for these women.

Sumeet Blue, a student activist, said, “If a small section of Dalit women activists had to debate the fundamental ground of Caste in the incident to famed urban educated feminists, one could only imagine what Dalits in these villages & small towns have to live through amidst Thakurs living in their medieval feudal pride.” It is about time the privileged castes passed the baton to the oppressed castes, sensitise with their issues and amplify their voices. And in order to be allies in this process, the first step is to educate ourselves. Read, listen and understand the plight and injustices faced by our fellow citizens, make the legal systems more accountable. There is a need for change, for structural reforms, for appropriate and long due representation. The change will be a drastic one, not readily accepted, and in the words of Divya Malhari (a Dalit writer), this change can take place when you “Make it your cause, and fight.”

References :

Crime against Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes saw a rise of 7% and 26% in 2019: NCRB

UP CM Adityanath recommends CBI probe in Hathras case

Four Dalit women are raped every day, with several on multiple occasions

[italwaysflinchesfirst]

Today’s show is sponsored by...

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[arthurtaylorlester]

thanks you cecil gershwin palmer for getting me to watch Hannibal by writing slash poetry of it 💕

ep. 74, Civic Changes

[wtnvproverbs]

The word “motel” is an amalgam of the words “hotel” and “murder”.

Civic Changes

[someawesomeamvs]

Warning: Spoilers, violence, gore

Title: Commercial Break: KNIFE

Editor: JamesBlond

Audio Source: Welcome to Night Vale, Episode 74 - Civic Changes

Anime: Higurashi no Naku Koro ni

Category: Comedy

[mysteries-of-history]

RIP to the original #Woodstock 1969 organizer/promoter #MichaelLang who, at the age of 24, and against impossible odds, pulled off the first and most historic outdoor #music #festival ever.

In a sea of 600,000 muddy, hungry, wet young people, somehow no one was seriously injured or died during the three-day festival. That's otherwise unheard of in most cities that size and smaller.

I had just turned 2 years old the week before the festival. Growing up in western Mass. my hometown was only about an hour drive to the location of the festival. Growing up, I heard many stories from the hippies all around me - especially a number of our teachers in grade school. Say what you want about the hippies, they had a huge positive impact on my life.

The 'true hippies' original agenda was the pursuit of a simple, peaceful, compassionate, happy, self-sustaining, healthy and humble lifestyle filled with music, arts, meditation, books, social gatherings, organic farming, and yeah, some pot-smoking and occasional LSD 'sessions.'

For the most part, 'hippies' did not drink alcohol - it was frowned upon in many settings and groups of socially-conscious, educated young people at the time. In fact, abstinence from alcohol was a central value of the hippie lifestyle, and still is today.

One of my teachers, Ms. Myers, was one of the original, true-to-spirit hippie girls - not simply a tag-along who wanted to be popular and party. Ms. Myers was probably no older than 23 or 24 (at the time I'm thinking of - circa 1973-74), very pretty with shoulder-length, straight blond hair that glistened in the sunlight. But most memorable were her big blue eyes and gorgeous white teeth.

She not only left an impression with her attractiveness, but more so with her personality - happy, smiling, loving, calm and collected, and obviously committed to her kids, as if we were her own children.

That generation; basically the baby boomers, who turned on and understood what they wanted from life, people, their country and the world - and who truly wanted to help make the world a better place, left us with so many good things that it would take considerable time and ink to fetter it all out. Just a few are music and arts, organic food, spiritualism, yoga, meditation, activism, civics, inclusion, legalization, and of course - festivals.

Ms. Myers was a shining example of the best of her generation - one that sought out and celebrated the best of and from and for humanity, and thus their own lives and those of all children.

She told us about her Woodstock story. In fact, she had gone with a couple of friends, including one of the janitors at school. I remember she said a long section of the interstate thru-way had been closed by the New York state police because of the amount of traffic trying to get to the Woodstock fest.

I remember her talking in front of the class about all of the people who were parking their cars on the side of the highway and walking once the word got out that the interstate was closed and traffic wasn't going anywhere.

The janitor, I never forgot, gave her a piggy-back the rest of the way when she was unable to continue walking. I was jealous I guess because he got to be her hero that day - at Woodstock. The original Woodstock. The one cultural event almost everyone - despite their age - has heard of.

Despite popular urban tales, however, the festival was held in #Bethel, NY, not Woodstock, NY. Lang had originally booked the festival for the Woodstock location, and promoted it as such, but when the location was changed at the last minute, Lang, and his crew, somehow pulled it off again.

Even though the festival was a financial failure - due to the crashing of the gates from the hundreds of thousands who flocked to the site from all across the northeast - it is still considered the best outdoor festival ever held - in the world. That record seems to still hold today despite the fact that there have been hundreds of outdoor music festivals since the original Woodstock.

If you've never seen the festival movie Woodstock, definitely see it. Look out especially for performances from Jimi Hendrix, Santana, Crosby, Stills Nash and Young, The Who, Richie Havens, Sly, and Ravi Shankar.

My personal favorite moment of the festival footage is Santana's performance of "Soul Sacrafice" that went on for some eight minutes of blazing, impossibly-fast, brilliant and other-worldly performances by the individual band members, including the 19-year-old drummer Michael Shrieve.

Carlos Santana, who was completely tearing it up, said years later in an interview that he was tripping on mescaline and that's why he is making so many faces because he was trying to hold on to the guitar which he said was (but it wasn't) melting, moving, and falling on his hands. For real?

It's hard to believe watching (or even just listening) to the performance. That captivating, electrically-charged and unified performance made Santana. At the time, Santana was a relatively unknown band from San Francisco. Woodstock minted many historic music acts.

Thank you to the original hippie promoter Michael Lang and may he rest in peace. And may his vision of the perfect music festival be present wherever it seeds and grows. RIP.

[finnishcrimestory]

Double murder in Lammi

On 25th of October 1958 a man named Aarre Lampinen had plans to go visit his 74 year old mother Aleksandra and 43 year old sister Eeva in their farm located in Lammi. He decided to call first, but when no one answered, he sensed something was wrong and hurried to the place with his car.

He arrived around 2 pm and noticed Aleksandra laying on the yard. At first he thought she had gotten some sort of a seizure, but very soon her horrible fate became clear to him. From inside the house he found Eeva laying on a puddle of blood. Both of them had been murdered with an edged weapon. Aarre soon called for a doctor and a rural police chief.

When the police arrived they immediately started to investigate. Important thing was to find out what the murder weapon had been. The police heard that from a house nearby an axe had went missing, but it’s not clear if that turned out to be significant. They also tried to figure out the exact time of the murder. On the fateful day, cows had already been milked but autopsy revealed that the victims hadn't yet eaten breakfast. Couple containers of milk were cooling in a bucket near the well. 

(People investigating the well in hopes of finding the murder weapon.)

The police interrogated over 1 000 people, made some arrests and even one local farmer became a suspect. Later he was declared innocent. The investigation didn't really go anywhere and time passed. The family of Aleksandra and Eeva promised 150 000 Finnish marks to the one who would give the hint that would solve the case. It made many people contact the police but nothing important was revealed. Even some clairvoyants offered their help.

Revelation

In Spring 1961 a police was called to a house near Aleksandra’s farm to calm down an argument between a married couple. When the police asked what was the argument about, the woman, named Annikki told that it was about a bottle of liquor. Her husband however told that it was because he knew too much about the murder in Aleksandra’s farm. Later, Annikki tried to commit suicide by overdosing on sleeping pills. When she was hurried to the hospital, people were able to pick up some interesting things from her disorderly speech. These things led to the arrest of her 22 year old sister, Irma Vuorinen. She was interrogated for the first time on 25th of April 1961 in Rovaniemi, later also in Tampere.

Irma was from Lammi as well, but she had moved to Sodankylä, Lapland because she met her partner (from what I’ve understood they weren’t married) who apparently was from there. She had three children at the time of her arrest (two of them with her partner). On 24th of October 1958 she had came to Lammi to visit her family. At first she denied murdering Aleksandra and Eeva, but very soon she confessed. 

First she explained that she had went to purchase eggs from Aleksandra and Eeva. She told she had taken this little axe with her because she wanted to cut some spruce branches, so they could later be put on a porch steps (if it’s icy outside they prevent people from slipping).  Aleksandra didn’t sell her the eggs because Irma only had 260 Finnish marks and the eggs cost 300 Finnish marks. Irma tried to buy the eggs into debt, but Aleksandra denied this as well because Irma already owed her 3 000 Finnish marks. She also added that Irma was “tainted” because she had illegitimate children. According to Irma the speech had hurt her very much and she had gotten furious. Then she had fetched the axe from outside and hit Alexandra on the head with it. She murdered Eeva as well when she had told that she would tell everything to Aarre. 

During the interrogation in Tampere, Irma changed her story. Now she told that she had went to borrow 10 000 Finnish marks from Aleksandra. When she had left around 10 am, she had took her father’s axe with her so that she could take the money any means necessary. She told she left the axe outside when she entered the house. After a while Eeva went outside and this is when Irma asked Aleksandra if she would loan the money. Aleksandra said she doesn’t have that much money. Irma went outside and fetched the axe. Aleksandra denied loaning the money to Irma multiple times, and then Irma decided to use the axe and hit Aleksandra with it. When Eeva had said the thing that she would tell Aarre, had Irma also hit her with the axe. After murdering them she rummaged through their cabinets looking for the money, but had to leave empty handed.

Irma left the house cutting through a forest. In the forest there was a small pond in which Irma washed her bloody hands. She also threw the axe in to the pond. Annikki told the police that Irma had been away all morning and when she came back she didn’t tell where she had been. She had the branches with her and she put them on the steps as she had planned. Annikki and their mother had also noticed some red stains on Irma’s dress. "Berry juice", was Irma’s response. 

On the next day, the murders had already been discovered. According to Annikki, Irma had only laughed a bit when hearing about them. During that day, the police arrived to their house to interrogate them. Irma had been washing her clothes and told that she didn’t know anything about the murders. However, Annikki and their mother had already started to suspect Irma indeed had something do to with the murders. However they weren’t sure about it, which is why they didn’t say anything to the police. Irma then spent another week in Lammi and then left home to Sodankylä.

Everyone in Lammi and Sodankylä were shocked to hear who the murderer was. Irma had been living a completely normal life and hadn't told anyone about the case. Though, according to her partner from time to time she had seemed to be a little restless and had stayed up late just aimlessly walking around the house. Irma’s family was also very shocked. According to Annikki’s husband, Irma had always been cheerful and brisk, but when she got mad she got furious. "What could be the purpose for all of this?", cried Irma’s mother when the press interviewed her.

Trial

In June 1961 district court of Hollola sentenced Irma to penitentiary for life for two murders. She was also sentenced to lose her civic confidence forever. The court didn't believe Irma’s explanation that she had murdered the two women just on a whim. The court saw that she had went to the house with an axe to indeed borrow money, and she was determined to get the money, no matter what. Irma was also sentenced for attempt of robbery. The district court denied Irma’s plea to be mentally evaluated.

The sentencing was rare in Finland, as so was the murder itself. Irma became the fourth female inmate who was serving a life sentence. This sentencing however didn’t acquire legal standing and the case went to be handled in court of appeals. Now the mental evaluation was also conducted in Lapinlahti hospital. The shortened version goes as follows: “Irma is normal build, prone to lying and she doesn’t have emotional durability. She doesn’t use alcohol, but she is eager to get married. She is very particular of her appearance, but self-conscious and untrustworthy character. She is moody and she has strong affects. Her intellect is basic average level, IQ 90. Her understanding of reality breaks off easily. While committing the deed she wasn’t criminally responsible, nor was she mentally ill.”

In May 1962 the court of appeals of Turku sentenced her again. Irma couldn't be held criminally responsible. She was sentenced to 15 years in penitentiary and she lost her civic confidence for 15 years.

[mariacallous]

After the EU elections on June 9, the campaign for the country’s presidency will begin. This poll in mid-2025 will represent the last battle in the current election cycle and a huge moment in Polish politics.

Poland’s political landscape underwent a seismic shift last year, when voters ushered out the populist-nationalist Law and Justice (PiS) government after eight years in power. Many hailed this as a triumph for democracy, a sign of renewed hope for the nation. Yet, six months on, the resurgence of the PiS party in April’s local and regional elections showed the party has proven more formidable than expected.

In October 2023, a democratic coalition comprising four political forces successfully ousted the PiS government, on an impressive 74 per cent voter turnout. While the three groups that make up the new ruling coalition managed to muster 248 seats in the 460-seat Sejm (parliament), PiS still remains the largest single party with 194 MPs. The new ruling majority is composed of the Civic Coalition (157 MPs), whose largest party is the Civic Platform of Donald Tusk, as well as the centrist-conservative Third Way (65 MPs) and the New Left (26 MPs).

Tusk reclaimed the prime minister’s office in December, though the transition was marred by two months of delays orchestrated by the PiS-partisan president, Andrzej Duda.

The restoration of democracy and the rule of law commenced with Adam Bodnar, the new justice minister, endeavouring to rectify the legacy of his predecessor Zbigniew Ziobro’s tenure. Moreover, Poland’s accession to the European Public Prosecution Office signalled a renewed commitment to European norms, as did the European Commission’s decision on Monday to drop the Article 7 sanctions procedure against Poland for breaches of the rule of law.

As post-pandemic EU recovery funds have begun to flow again, significant reforms, particularly in energy transition, were set in motion. This transformation has extended to the public sphere, with the democratic takeover of TVP, Poland’s public service broadcaster, marking the end of PiS propaganda. However, concerns linger about the broadcaster’s independence under the new government’s influence.

While changes in state-owned enterprises were anticipated, the transition will clearly take more time than many had hoped. Notably, PKN Orlen, Poland’s largest oil and gas company, saw the departure of PiS-appointed CEO Daniel Obajtek in February, who subsequently became a candidate for the European Parliament.

For democratic leaders, the October 2023 parliamentary election victory was merely the beginning of a protracted battle to reclaim power at all levels of government. The April local and regional elections constituted the second phase, revealing enduring support for PiS in certain sections and growing disillusionment among democratic voters.

Lack of progress and apathy

Despite pledges made by Tusk’s coalition, progress on liberalising abortion laws and introducing registered partnerships has been sluggish. President Duda’s frequent vetoes have exacerbated legislative gridlock, underscoring the challenges facing the ruling coalition.

The recent elections showcased voter apathy, particularly among the youth, highlighting the need for greater engagement and mobilisation. While the democratic coalition secured victories in key areas, including Silesia, crucial for the nation’s energy transition, PiS defended its strongholds in five (out of 16) regions.

The elections for the municipalities as well as the districts were dominated by the parties’ local committees. Among the mayors of the largest cities, virtually all either belong to the ruling democratic coalition or come from local committees. Rafal Trzaskowski, mayor of Warsaw and Civic Coalition’s second-in-command, won re-election with a landslide. It’s noteworthy that the largest city to be governed by a PiS politician is Jastrzebie-Zdroj, population just 82,000.

The elections for the regional parliaments (sejmiks) are traditionally seen as proxy votes for the major political parties, as local committees rarely garner significant support at the regional level. Among 16 regions, PiS won 34 per cent of the vote, the same share as five years ago. Civic Coalition came in second with 30.5 per cent (+3.5 points). The Third Way secured third place with 14 per cent, followed by the far-right Confederacy with 7 per cent and the New Left with 6 per cent.

Despite a similar level of support, the geographic distribution of the support for PiS has shifted away from the northern, western, southern and central regions, to South-East and Eastern Poland. In 2018, PiS obtained 34 per cent, giving them control over eight regions, while the same result in 2024 is likely to result in local governments in only five regions.

However, PiS remains a potent force, controlling key institutions such as the presidency, Constitutional Tribunal and National Bank. With Jaroslaw Kaczynski (who will turn 75 in a few weeks) at the helm, the party shows no signs of waning, its longevity assured by his leadership and strategic manoeuvring.

EU elections and presidency

Looking ahead, the upcoming European elections may offer insights into PiS’s enduring appeal, though its outcome may not significantly impact the party’s trajectory.

The Civic Coalition and PiS are neck-and-neck in the opinion polls, each with about 30 per cent. The Third Way, the Confederacy and the Left will also send members to the European Parliament. There are 53 MEPs to be elected from Poland.

That said, amidst broader expectations of the rise of the radical right in Europe, there should be fewer such MEPs from Poland come June 9. In 2019, PiS won the elections with 45 per cent against the European Coalition (38 per cent), which included parties now part of the Civic Coalition, the Third Way and the Left. The only new progressive party Spring managed to win seats for their three MEPs. As of today, Spring has merged into the New Left.

Come June 10, the campaign for the country’s presidency will begin. This will be the real battle for Poland’s future. On the one hand, PiS will try to defend its most precious bulwark against what it sees as leftist-progressivism. On the other hand, the democratic coalition will seek to advance the progressive reforms as well as to safeguard democracy.

If the PiS candidate wins the presidential election, to be held no later than May 18, 2025, the democratic momentum is likely to dissipate.

However, should a democratic coalition candidate win the 2025 vote, a major obstacle to the reintroduction of the rule of law in Poland, as well as implementing the long-awaited reforms, would be removed. This would coincide with the expiration in office of many PiS-appointed term-holders, such as members of the Constitutional Tribunal and the president of the central bank.

In either scenario, it is evident today that PiS is proving much more resilient than anticipated half a year ago. Therefore, its future evolution post-Kaczynski era will be highly interesting to observe. Presently, the leading figure representing the moderates within the party is likely to be the former premier, Mateusz Morawiecki. On the other hand, the leading figure signaling an even more radical turn is that of the former education minister, Przemyslaw Czarnek.

[indierockcafe]

RIP to the original #Woodstock 1969 organizer/promoter #MichaelLang who, at the age of 24, and against impossible odds, pulled off the first and most historic outdoor #music #festival ever. In a sea of a half-million muddy, hungry, wet young people, somehow no one was seriously injured or died during the three-day fest. That's otherwise unheard of in most big cities that size and smaller. I had just turned 2 years old the week before the festival. Growing up in western Mass. my hometown was only about an hour's drive to the location of the festival. Growing up, I heard many stories from the hippies all around me - especially a number of our teachers in grade school. Say what you want about the hippies, they had a huge positive impact on my life. The 'true hippies' original agenda was the pursuit of a simple, peaceful, compassionate, happy, self-sustaining, healthy and humble lifestyle filled with music, arts, meditation, books, social gatherings, organic farming, and yeah, some pot-smoking and occasional LSD 'sessions.' For the most part, 'hippies' did not drink alcohol - it was frowned upon in many settings and groups of socially-conscious, educated young people at the time. In fact, abstinence from alcohol was a central value of the hippie lifestyle, and still is today. One of my teachers, Ms. Myers, was one of the original, true-to-spirit hippie girls - not simply a tag-along who wanted to be popular and party. Ms. Myers was probably no older than 23 or 24 (at the time I'm thinking of - circa 1973-74), very pretty with shoulder-length, straight blond hair that glistened in the sunlight. But most memorable were her big blue eyes and gorgeous white teeth. She not only left an impression with her attractiveness, but more so with her personality - happy, smiling, loving, calm and collected, and obviously committed to her kids, as if we were her own children. That generation; basically the baby boomers, who turned on and understood what they wanted from life, people, their country and the world - and who truly wanted to help make the world a better place, left us with so many good things that it would take considerable time and ink to fetter it all out. Just a few are music and arts, organic food, spiritualism, yoga, meditation, activism, civics, inclusion, legalization, and of course - festivals. Ms. Myers was a shining example of the best of her generation - one that sought out and celebrated the best of and from and for humanity, and thus their own lives and those of all children. She told us about her Woodstock story. In fact, she had gone with a couple of friends, including one of the janitors at school. I remember she said a long section of the interstate thru-way had been closed by the New York state police because of the amount of traffic trying to get to the Woodstock fest. I remember her talking in front of the class about all of the people who were parking their cars on the side of the highway and walking once the word got out that the interstate was closed and traffic wasn't going anywhere. The janitor, I never forgot, gave her a piggy-back the rest of the way when she was unable to continue walking. I was jealous I guess because he got to be her hero that day - at Woodstock. The original Woodstock. The one cultural event almost everyone - despite their age - has heard of. Despite popular urban tales, however, the festival was held in #Bethel, NY, not Woodstock, NY. Lang had originally booked the festival for the Woodstock location, and promoted it as such, but when the location was changed at the last minute, Lang, and his crew, somehow pulled it off again. Even though the festival was a financial failure - due to the crashing of the gates from the hundreds of thousands who flocked to the site from all across the northeast - it is still considered the best outdoor festival ever held - in the world. That record seems to still hold today despite the fact that there have been hundreds of outdoor music festivals since the original Woodstock. If you've never seen the festival movie Woodstock, definitely see it. Look out especially for performances from Jimi Hendrix, Santana, Crosby, Stills Nash and Young, The Who, Richie Havens, Sly, and Ravi Shankar. My personal favorite moment of the festival footage is Santana's performance of "Soul Sacrafice" that went on for some eight minutes of blazing, impossibly-fast, brilliant and other-worldly performances by the individual band members, including the 19-year-old drummer Michael Shrieve. Carlos Santana, who was completely tearing it up, said years later in an interview that he was tripping on mescaline and that's why he is making so many faces because he was trying to hold on to the guitar which he said was (but it wasn't) melting, moving, and falling on his hands. For real? It's hard to believe watching (or even just listening) to the performance. That captivating, electrically-charged and unified performance made Santana. At the time, Santana was a relatively unknown band from San Francisco. Woodstock minted many historic music acts. Thank you to the original hippie promoter Michael Lang and may he rest in peace. And may his vision of the perfect music festival be present wherever it seeds and grows. RIP.

[hearticho]

Quarantine Day 74: On the cusp between API heritage month and pride month, there’s been A LOT to think about. I worry for my friends who’ve already been harassed/assaulted by the police and the ones who are going to keep risking their lives. They’re protesting bc they value justice and have so much empathy for other people. I love them and I’m thankful for them

During and after quarantine, I want to continuously strengthen my commitment to racial justice. Which means making thoughtful/more impactful financial decisions (recurring payments instead of one-time payments, donating to multiple non-white orgs, thinking locally, finding out exactly where the money’s going). Which means educating myself more on abolition and law. Which means being civically engaged and knowing my neighbors (the hardest challenge of all)

There’s a popular belief that 2020 will reveal the radical potential in people. The pessimist in me isn’t so sure about that, but I really hope that things do change for the better 

[laconservancy]

The Erasure of Rancho Los Amigos, and L.A.’s Public Health Care Story

At a time when societal inequity is heightened, places like Rancho Los Amigos Historic District remind us of our humanity and the importance of providing medical care to those who are most vulnerable. 

Yet, the road to health care in the United States and Greater Los Angeles is a complex story with highs and lows throughout history.

Communities have generally adapted, and our built environment evolved, in response to public needs—establishing new types of hospital facilities, zoning laws to ensure to fresh air and light access and separation of incompatible land uses, and sanitation infrastructure providing clean water and sewer systems.

Various health scares over the years have also left their physical imprint, whether it be the polio epidemic or tuberculosis (TB), both contagious and infectious diseases. The 1902 Barlow Sanatorium and Respiratory Hospital, for instance, provided patients with TB a slow recovery treatment centered on the clean, dry air of the West. Tucked in the Elysian Park neighborhood of Echo Park, Barlow continues today in its original location and historic bungalows, which are listed as an L.A. Historic-Cultural Monument (HCM). 

One of the oldest places representing local public health care is the currently endangered Rancho Los Amigos in Downey. From poor farm to a nationally renowned medical facility, Rancho’s campus tells the stories of the thousands of people who passed through their doors—people who have been traditionally marginalized and forgotten, including those with medical and mental health issues, and those who are elderly or experiencing destitution.

Today, Rancho Los Amigos (south campus) is threatened with nearly wholesale demolition, as the County seeks to fast track its effort to use portions of the site for a massive expansion of operations for the county and a Probation Headquarters. Please help us preserve this part of L.A.’s history before it is too late.

A Rarely Told Chapter 

 In Los Angeles County, the public health system traces its roots to 1878 with the opening of the first county hospital. Ten years later, the County opened a Poor Farm—later renamed Rancho Los Amigos.

The poor farm system was based on the simple idea to offer people experiencing destitution access to work, housing, and medical care. Throughout the U.S. various state and county administrations assumed this role and responsibility, especially prior to the establishment of the Social Security safeguard.

While some are unfamiliar with poor farms, there are many others for whom ‘ending up on the poor farm’ has negative connotations. One reason is that poor farms shared the County’s responsibility for treating patients with psychiatric diagnoses, something they were ill-equipped to handle. Poor farms established themselves as early examples of sustainable, self-sufficient living, with residents���then referred to “inmates”—providing the labor to run the agricultural operations, raising livestock and growing food. In many ways, poor farms were early forms of the American welfare system.

With its initial 124.4 acres of rural farmland, Rancho operated as a classic poor farm. As its medical operations and the number of people served grew, its agricultural roots and farming operation decreased. The farm became more of a convalescent hospital than a traditional county poor farm. In the early 1930s, the Poor Farm officially changed its name to Rancho Los Amigos (“ranch of the friends”).

Contagious outbreaks, now and then 

By the late 1940s and early ‘50s, the U.S. was experiencing a surge in polio outbreaks, including L.A. County. Like COVID-19, there was no known vaccine at the time for the infectious disease. Polio was also referred to as the “invisible enemy” with the virus spreading through person-to-person contact. Social distancing was employed, as were travel and commerce restrictions in hot zones.

The difference between now and then is polio primarily affected the young, children who could catch the virus and ultimately experience death or paralysis and a lifetime of crutches, wheelchair, or being placed in an iron lung (respirator allowing them to breath). During the summer season polio flared up with swimming and wading pools feared especially as transmitters for the virus. Concerned parents pressed on civic leaders to drain or fill in the pools. Today you can still find remnants of this remedy.

To address the growing epidemic Rancho adapted its focus in the mid-1940s and operation as a polio respiratory center, expanding to a northern campus and eventually becoming one of the leading post-polio respiratory centers in the world. By 1955 polio was finally addressed through a vaccine developed by Jonas Salk. Rancho would then slowly transform itself into a respected rehabilitation center.

Throughout its history, Rancho Los Amigos ebbed and flowed in terms of its operation, with a constant theme of overcrowding, expansion periods with new facilities, and evolving its focus and mission. It would grow to well over 500 acres in size and serve nearly 3,000 patients at its peak. By the late ‘40s, it was primarily operating as a hospital with minimal agricultural operations, prompting the selling off of the property.

Planned demolition of a historic district 

 By the early 1990s Rancho’s south campus was whittled down to 74 acres and effectively abandoned with most of its 100+ buildings vacant. For well over a decade, the Conservancy has been working closely with various County representatives in regards to Rancho and its future, with numerous reuse and redevelopment proposals coming and going. During this time Rancho has been listed on the California Register and determined eligible as a national historic district.

Without adequate security and maintenance Rancho has been allowed to deteriorate and buildings fall into accelerated disrepair. In recent years, contributing buildings within the historic district have been destroyed due to neglect, vandalism, and a recent spate of numerous arson fires.

The current deteriorated conditions and neglect which have occurred under the County’s stewardship are now cited by the County as a health and safety concern and justification for the proposed demolition of the historic district. Despite not planning to redevelop the entire site or impact all the remaining historic buildings, the County is planning to virtually demolish it all.

Under a new proposal by the County, the historic district would be lost; 105 structures and resources, including 61 historic buildings. Even buildings not impacted by the proposed project are planned to be removed with no meaningful alternatives, a failure by the County to adhere to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). Overall, the project would retain just five contributors to the current historic district: the 1926 Administration Staff building;1930 Casa Consuelo patient; 1913 water tower; 1909-26 Power Plant building; and a Moreton Bay fig tree.

We strongly believe there is a “win-win” scenario available to the County where both preservation and new construction is possible. The opportunity exists to modify the County’s plans by pairing new construction with adaptive reuse, and a potential public-private partnership. 

Our job in preservation is to unpack and better understand our public health care past, and show how places like Rancho help make this story real and, if lost, so much more difficult to understand. If we do not stand up for the places and people that represent our public health care past and show us how we got here, we stand the risk of forgetting where we have been and how far we have come. 

Rancho Los Amigos and all it represents to our public health care past and present is deserving of a better fate than demolition. Help us convince the County that we can do better.