#Health + Safety

[bunnie-the-idiot]

the kids online safety act passed the u.s. senate.

long story short (for anyone who hadn't heard of this before) the kids online safety act, aka kosa, is a bill that will censor online content and resources for lgbtq+ matters, reproductive healthcare, activism (INCLUDING PALESTINE AND LIKELY OTHER CRISES GOING ON LIKE IN CONGO OR SUDAN), mental health, etc. everywhere--its effects likely won't be contained to just america.

today, july 30th, 2024, the senate passed it 91-3. it has officially moved to the house of representatives.

is this a pretty massive setback? yes. do you have every right to be scared, sad, angry, or whatever else about this happening? absolutely. but should you give up hope completely? NO!

even though kosa passed the senate, the house is on break/august recess at the moment. we have around an entire month to get emails, calls, and faxes in to house reps, maybe more depending on when they decide to vote on it.

should it pass the house and get signed into law, we still have a whole 18 months before it actually goes into effect. this is plenty of time for digital rights orgs (e.g. fight for the future, the electronic frontier foundation) and other groups that oppose it to file a lawsuit against it. even if, worst-case scenario, it flies through the house immediately after the recess ends, we can still fight this up to march 2026.

so, yes, remember what's at stake here, but also remember that it's not over yet. we lost a battle, not the war.

below are some resources to learn more about kosa and how to contact your reps (first link) + a page that lets you directly contact progressive house reps, sign an open letter opposing the bill, and view others' testimonies against it (second link):

FIGHT. FIGHT. FIGHT.

[hermthejewishwyrm]

Just a safety reminder to NEVER try shrooms or LSD if your family has any history of schizoaffective disorders.

[homocidalpotat]

I made a petition to ban/minimise perfume use in schools

You can find the petition on change.org here

Reblog for a greater audience!

(Under the cut is promotion/reasoning and relevant articles)

WHY IT'S BAD

This petition is mostly for people to show to headteachers or similar. Its not exclusively for me and its not exclusively for schools but I made it for schools originally.

Just to clarify, I still think perfume is an okay thing to use. If you put a normal or subtle amount of perfume on, there isn't really a problem. If it's not an overwhelming or obnoxious amount, it's not okay. That's why I made this for schools- students don't tend to be rational with their perfume use. Additionally, it's about where you spray it. If it's outside or not in a public place, it's okay, but if you spray it indoors in a classroom, it's a lot more dangerous. I'm not completely anti-perfume, I'm just fed up with the constant, dangerous, upsetting misuse of the stuff.

You can let me know if you can think of any other points to add to this list. I've already added a lot to it!

Dangerous for asthmatics

Sensory overload

Distracting/annoying

Overused

Smells bad to many people

Trigger meltdowns/arguements/overwhelm

Nausea

Severe allergic reactions (burns, sneezing, hives, swelling, and even anaphylaxis)

‎Skin irritation/triggering excema flares

Dizziness

Fainting

Migraines/headaches/light-headedness

Runny noses/sneezing fits

Air pollution

Dangerous to some animals

Seizures

Lupus flares

Minor allergies

Trigger traumatic episodes (for those who have trauma with someone who uses lots of perfume or a specific smell that reminds you of a traumatic event

Cancer

RELEVANT ARTICLES

Why smelling good could come with a cost to health - The Guardian

Evaluation of pollutants in perfumes, colognes and health effects on the consumer: a systematic review - National Institutes of Health

8 Things to Know About Toxic Fragrances - Force of Nature

Can fragrances be harmful to our health? - Quora

Fragrance Disclosure - Campaign for Safe Cosmetics

Ubiquity, Hazardous Effects, and Risk Assessment of Fragrances in Consumer Products - National Institutes of Health

How to Know If Your Perfume Is Poisoning You - Healthline

What is fragrance? - Environmental Working Group

Is Your Perfume Poisoning Your Family? - Meghan Telpner

How fragrances affect health, and ways to reduce exposure - Ohio State Health & Discovery

Fragrance - Breast Cancer Prevention Partners

Side Effects of Chemical Perfumes - Natural Niche Perfume

Perfume stinks: how fragrances can affect your health - Healthdirect

[nando161mando]

[allthecanadianpolitics]

Canada Post workers in the north took to the picket lines Friday, joining colleagues across the country in striking.

On Tuesday, workers gave Canada Post 72 hours notice ahead of the strike, which has now shut down the company's operations. Canada Post will not deliver mail or parcels, and some post offices will be closed for the duration of the strike.

The walkout happened after the union couldn't reach a negotiated agreement with the employer over wages, expansion of services and worker safety.

The strike affects 55,000 workers nationwide, according to the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW). Canada Post has confirmed with CBC that it was still negotiating with the union as of midday Friday. [...]

Continue Reading.

Tagging: @newsfromstolenland, @vague-humanoid

[vegannerdgirl]

[feminist-space]

Anti-mask policies and decision makers are using the momentum of anti-masking in the context of covid to also prevent people from accessing or using respirators to protect their breathing and lungs from other hazards -- things that were accepted in many industries as standard safety protocols before 2020.

"“During his first week, Complainant started coughing up black phlegm, his throat and tongue would burn, and he began having breathing problems due to excessive smoke and fumes from the cupola. He notified Sturgeon but nothing changed, and he was not provided a respirator.”

After not receiving a respirator, the lawsuit said the man went to the dispensary room and picked up a respirator himself.

He wore the respirator for the next week until the lawsuit said the safety supervisor saw him wearing it and “immediately became very upset; he rudely admonished the Complainant in front of his co-workers for wearing the respirator and demanded that he take it off immediately.”

According to the lawsuit, he told the safety supervisor he did not feel safe doing his job without it and was pulled into a meeting the next day where he was told he would not be allowed to wear a respirator.

...

After the meeting, the complaint said he was assigned to shovel gravel for the day before going home for the weekend at the end of his shift. On Monday, his employment was terminated.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) opened an investigation into the company after learning of the alleged retaliation, and the DOL said in a statement that OSHA investigators with the Whistleblower’s Protection Program found the company violated federal protections by terminating the employee who exercised their protected rights to request protective equipment."

[dispatchesfromtheclasswar]

[kensatou]

the most rancid man alive

[amatrudalab]

[batknot]

Internet Etiquette

Devastating! You just saw a take that you don't agree with! This is a check for reading comprehension and the practice of good faith. 

Analyze 

What emotion was this intended to inspire?

What was the goal the speaker was trying to achieve?

How could this be interpreted differently?

Is there context that would change the meaning?

Is the speaker qualified?

Reflect

What is your first reaction and why did you have that specific reaction?

Is it an issue that is harming you and/or did the group being harmed directly state that this harms them?

Do you accept the consequences that could result from interacting?

Is the speaker someone you can reason with?

What assumptions are you making about the speaker?

Speak

What is the goal of your words?

What audience are you catering towards?

Are you talking to the person with respect?

How could your words be interpreted differently?

What reaction will people have towards your words and how is it being achieved?

[greenglowinspooks]

(DCxDP) The obligations of a rogue versus those of a parent (pt. 2)

—

Tw: N/A

Will be crossposted to AO3 eventually

(Pt. 1 here) - (Pt. 3 here)

(Masterlist/subscription post)

—

It was a beautiful morning. Somehow, against all odds, the sun was shining through the thick smog perpetually covering Gotham.

And Danny hated it.

He was in pain, he was exhausted, he was grieving, and all he wanted to do was sleep for at least a week.

In an act of celestial mockery, the sun shone regardless.

After around twenty minutes of tossing and turning in bed, trying to get back to sleep, Danny gave up and pried himself out of bed.

He stumbled through the hallway and into the living room, staring openly at every splash of color he saw in the small apartment. He hadn’t forgotten what color looked like in the time he was in the lab, but it was comforting to see.

Someone cleared their throat. Danny whipped his head around, eyes falling on a scrawny, gangly man sitting down in a worn armchair, hunched over a laptop. He was looking at him with a dull, bored expression.

Right. Scarecrow.

His escape.

The chase.

His mom.

“You look a lot less terrifying without the mask,” Danny blurted out, slapping his hand over his mouth. “I didn’t mean that.”

“Well, I certainly wouldn’t call my normal appearance frightening,” Scarecrow hummed, focusing his attention back onto the laptop, “that’s what the costume is for, after all.”

“Oh.”

After a brief moment of excruciating silence, Scarecrow spoke.

“You any good with computers, Danny? Hacking, and all that?”

Danny jolted. Scarecrow needed his help with something! This was great! Now, he’d have more of a reason not to get rid of him!

“Oh, uh, yeah! Not as good as my friend Tucker, but I think I’m pretty good.”

“And you’re familiar with the GiW’s systems specifically,” Scarecrow continued, beckoning him over. Danny complied, shuffling over awkwardly. “Right?”

“Well, I guess? My friends and I got into their stuff a couple of times before they…”

“Wonderful,” Scarecrow said, standing up with a stretch. He shoved the laptop into Danny’s hands and gestured for him to sit down on the couch. “Then you can hack into their system and extract whatever files you can find.”

Danny stared at the man like he’d lost his mind. He looked back at him expectantly.

Danny sat down.

“Yeah, I-I can do that. Tuck and I built a back door into their system ages ago,” he said, checking the screen. It was clear that for all the skills that Scarecrow had, hacking was definitely not one of them. “But, uh, don’t you have someone else that usually does this sort of thing for you? Not that I’m complaining!”

Scarecrow scowled, and Danny felt his heart fall into his ass.

“Usually, I do,” Scarecrow huffed, “but I chose to leave my most recent job with the Penguin early, so now there’s no way that he or Eddie will help me with anything until I make it up to them somehow.”

“Oh,” Danny said.

He had no clue whatsoever who Eddie was.

Danny got to work quickly, hoping that if he ignored the gangly man, he would leave him be. Luckily, he did just that, leaving to go work on something in another room.

Danny checked the laptop’s security before continuing Scarecrow’s progress, making sure that the GiW wouldn’t be able to grab their location.

It was…threateningly good. Whoever Eddie was, he had somehow crammed the functionality of a top-of-the-line PC into a tiny, beat-up old laptop. It almost reminded Danny of Tucker and his terrifying competence with his PDA.

Tucker.

Amity park.

Home.

Danny snapped himself out of his thoughts, tabbing back into the application Scarecrow had up and began to work his magic.

He had near full access to the entire GiW database within half an hour.

Mumbling out a quick thank-you to Tucker, he called Scarecrow over to appraise his work.

“Fixed up some food for you while you worked,” the rogue said, handing him a bowl of oatmeal, taking the laptop into his lap as he did so, “didn’t know how well you could eat, considering you’re recovering from… surgery, so I decided to stay on the safe side.”

Danny had no clue what this guy’s deal was.

He definitely did not tear up at the first genuine thoughtfulness he encountered in weeks, and he did not look away as he ate so that Scarecrow couldn’t see his face.

At least Scarecrow was too focused on the laptop to notice or care.

Or, maybe, he was just mercifully ignoring him.

Either way, Danny ate slowly, not wanting to make himself sick. He allowed himself to absentmindedly look around the room for the first time, taking everything in.

It was strangely homey. The space was filled with warm browns and yellows, a few splashes of color on the wall in the form of (obviously gifted) paintings. There was a beat-up bookshelf against the wall, clearly second-hand, filled to the brim with psychology books. On every available surface there was a different colored candle, all at different stages of use, clearly collected over the course of years.

Danny knew that the man next to him was a crazed, murderous criminal, but his home was oddly reminiscent of Jazz.

He was not about to cry.

“Danny,” Scarecrow hummed, snapping him out of his spiraling, “can you explain this to me?”

He looked over. The rogue was pointing to a new report, seemingly posted only a few hours ago.

Nodding, he took the computer into his lap, pouring over the contents.

He read the report again.

And again.

And again.

Danny swore loudly, crumpling like a wet paper bag, head in his hands.

“What?”

“It’s…” he swore again, glancing back at the laptop, “they…since you became liminal from synthetic ectoplasm, when we’re within about 500 meters of one another, our ectoplasm signatures resonate, and they can’t track us with any of their technology.”

“How is that a bad thing?”

“If we’re not that close to each other, they can track us down from anywhere in the world.”

Scarecrow went dead quiet. After what felt like the single longest minute of Danny’s life, he let out a truly exasperated sigh, slumping over in his seat.

“Yeah, me too,” Danny mumbled, utterly miserable.

“…I’ll have to move my plans back a little,” Scarecrow sighed, “I can’t drag an injured child with me when I attack the Gotham GiW base, you’ll just get in the way.”

“Oh come on,” Danny whined, “I can take care of myself just fine. Besides, Batman brings kids with him to do dangerous stuff all the time, and he’s fine!”

“Might I remind you that the second Robin died violently,” Scarecrow snapped, “and that Batman most likely has more traumatic brain injuries than all of the Gotham rogues combined. That really isn’t the winning argument you think it is.”

Danny paused, trying to think up some way to win the argument. Then, he realized what he had ignored before.

“Wait, Scarecrow, you’re gonna attack the GiW?”

“That’s the plan,” he nodded, “and call me Dr. Crane. I’m only Scarecrow when I’m in the mask.”

But,” Danny sputtered, “Sca—uh, Dr. Crane—that’s insane! The weapons they’ve got- they’ll rip you apart!”

“Not my first time,” Crane said, making Danny wince. “Besides, I have plenty of experience avoiding gunfire. I’ll live.”

“You…” Danny was silent for a while, trying to think of something to say, “fine, but you have to take me with you wherever you go. As soon as they see either of us on their radars, they’ll hunt us down.”

Dr. Crane sighed.

“…Fine. I need some time to plan anyways. Now, you’re going to help me download these files, properly format them, and send them out.”

“…Why?”

“Well, some of the other rogues might appreciate the heads up, and I’d quite like them to be indebted to me. Besides, I still need to pay back the Penguin for ditching him, and he loves knowing things that other people don’t.”

Danny paused.

“That’s an awful idea, no offense. If any of the rogues know our weaknesses, they—”

“Danny, we’re censoring everything. The only things they need to know about are the GiW specifically, and any sort of laws surrounding them.”

Danny snorted.

“You care about laws now?”

“Yes, because if we get taken to Arkham, they’ll hand us off to the GiW the moment they ask, and it’ll be completely legal.”

Oh. Danny had honestly forgotten that Arkham was an option.

“…Ok. I’ll help you. Who are we telling?”

“I don’t think you really need to know,” Dr. Crane said, the faintest shadow of an amused look on his face, “but I’ll humor you for now. We’re sending the files out to the Penguin, Riddler, Poison Ivy via Harley Quinn, Two-Face, and Red Hood.”

Danny nodded. He could live with that.

“Alright, then let’s get to work.”

—

[ragdolly-rabbit]

Bunny who notices your morning wood and immediately starts grinding against it whining so annoying till you shove their face in the pillow and breed them

[allthecanadianpolitics]

Various frozen waffle products sold in Canada and the U.S. have been recalled after testing revealed possible listeria bacteria contamination at a manufacturing facility in Brantford, Ont. TreeHouse Foods, a multinational food-processing company, announced the voluntary recall of hundreds of its frozen waffle products on Friday. TreeHouse Foods did not say what stores in Canada were affected, however, the waffle products listed on the recall website include Walmart’s Great Value brand, sold at Walmart stores in Canada; Metro’s Selection brand, sold at Food Basics and Metro grocery stores; Sobeys Inc.’s Compliments brand, sold at Foodland, Sobeys, and Fresh Co stores; and Loblaws’ No Name brand, sold at No Frills stores. TreeHouse Foods said in a press release there have been no illnesses linked to the recalled products to date.

Continue Reading

Tagging: @newsfromstolenland

Article date: October 20, 2024

[unbfacts]