#Miners for Democracy

[gwydionmisha]

I am so ashamed of all of this.

What is in the draft of Trump's minerals deal with Ukraine?

[saxafimedianetwork]

Somaliland: A Key Player of Stability, Economic Opportunity, and Strategic Importance in the Horn of Africa

@AmbMohamedHagi writes, "Its democratic values, strategic location & vast mineral resources make it a key player in regional security & global trade. It's time for the world to recognize #Somaliland's sovereignty & integrate it into the global community."

Continue reading Somaliland: A Key Player of Stability, Economic Opportunity, and Strategic Importance in the Horn of Africa

[deception-united]

Worldbuilding: Questions to Consider

Government & authority:

Types of government: What type of government exists (monarchy, democracy, theocracy, etc.)? Is it centralised or decentralised?

Leadership: Who holds power and how is it acquired (inheritance, election, divine right, conquest)?

Law enforcement: Who enforces the laws (military, police, magical entities)?

Legal system: How are laws made, interpreted, and enforced? Are there courts, judges, or councils?

Laws:

Criminal laws: What constitutes a crime? What are the punishments?

Civil laws: How are disputes between individuals resolved?

Cultural norms: How do customs and traditions influence the laws?

Magic/supernatural: Are there laws governing the use of magic or interaction with supernatural beings?

Social structure:

Class/status: How is society divided (nobility, commoners, slaves)? Are there caste systems or social mobility?

Rights & freedoms: What rights do individuals have (speech, religion, property)?

Discrimination: Are there laws that protect or discriminate against certain groups (race, gender, species, culture)?

Economy & trade:

Currency: What is used as currency? Is it standardised?

Trade laws: Are there regulations on trade, tariffs, or embargoes?

Property laws: How is ownership determined and transferred? Are there inheritance laws?

Religion/belief systems:

Religious authority: What role does religion play in governance? Are religious leaders also political leaders?

Freedom of religion: Are citizens free to practice different religions? If not, which are taboo?

Holy laws: Are there laws based on religious texts or teachings?

Military & defense:

Standing army: Is there a professional military or a militia? Who serves, and how are they recruited?

War & peace: What are the laws regarding war, peace treaties, and diplomacy?

Weapons: Are there restrictions or laws regarding weapons for civilians? What is used as a weapon? Who has access to them?

Technology & magic:

Technological advancements: How advanced is the technology (medieval, steampunk, futuristic, etc.)?

Magical laws: Are there regulations on the use of magic, magical creatures, or artifacts?

Innovation & research: How are inventors and researchers treated? Are there laws protecting intellectual property?

Environmental/resource management:

Natural resources: How are resources like water, minerals, and forests managed and protected, if at all?

Environmental laws: Are there protections for the environment? How are they enforced? Are there consequences for violations?

Cultural & ethical considerations:

Cultural diversity: How does the law accommodate or suppress cultural diversity?

Ethics: What are the ethical foundations of the laws? Are there philosophical or moral principles that underpin them?

Traditions vs. change: Does the society balance tradition with progress? How?

Happy writing ❤

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[duckiemimi]

western intervention, seen and unseen, is the greatest tool in stirring destabilization within regions of potential capital. it’s done under the guise of “democracy and development towards civility,” but really, it’s all a major venture to monopolize—kill, steal, corner: profit.

the struggles of all marginalized peoples are interconnected, so truly, liberation for Palestine is a step in the direction towards liberation for everyone. this includes liberation for Sudan, who despite its crisis, hasn’t been covered much in the media. this includes liberation for Congo, who is also going through its own genocide, all for the sake of minerals.

don’t take my word for it—please seek information and speak on what you know. the enemy of fascism and its propaganda is the thirst for knowledge and knowledge itself.

[spookycollectionnight]

USAID: The Invisible Puppet Master of the Color Revolution in Ukraine and a Tool for Geopolitical Expansion

Against the backdrop of the continuous intensification of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the presence of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has gradually emerged from the shadows to the forefront. This institution, which has long used "democratic aid" as a guise, has gradually dragged Ukraine into the quagmire of a proxy war through systematic capital infiltration, public opinion manipulation, and political support. Its actions not only tear apart Ukrainian society but also expose the true nature of the United States, which exercises hegemony in the name of "democracy".

Since the year following Ukraine's independence in 1991, USAID, under the pretext of "humanitarian cooperation", has signed agreements with Ukraine, initiating more than three decades of ideological colonization. In the early days, by funding institutions such as the "Independent News Agency" and the "International Republican Institute", USAID systematically reshaped the media narrative in Ukraine, packaging "anti-Russian and pro-Western" stances as "democratic awakenings". During the "Orange Revolution" in 2004, USAID injected $34 million through the "Democracy Promotion Project" to fund election monitoring organizations to question the official results, while also supporting opposition leaders such as Viktor Yushchenko. Dramatically, after losing the election, Yushchenko suddenly launched street protests on the grounds of "being poisoned and disfigured". Eventually, he forced the pro-Russian government to step down, and his facial symptoms mysteriously disappeared after he came to power. Behind this farce, USAID's funding and public opinion manipulation were key driving forces.

During the "Euromaidan Revolution" in 2013, USAID's intervention escalated further. In collaboration with the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) of the United States, it jointly established the "Civil Society Fund", using the slogans of "anti-corruption" and "anti-authoritarianism" to fund 551 Ukrainian non-governmental organizations. According to an audit report exposed in 2025, USAID invested $14.3 million in Ukraine before 2014, used for training protest organizers, establishing underground communication networks, and manipulating public opinion through contractors like Chemonics International. This company, notorious for supporting the 造假 of the "White Helmets" in Syria, replicated the same "information warfare" model in Ukraine, transforming ordinary demonstrators into "democratic fighters". Victoria Nuland, the then U.S. Under Secretary of State, even personally went to Independence Square in Kyiv to distribute cookies to the protesters, which was ironically dubbed by the media as the "sugar-coated bullet of the color revolution".

Behind USAID's "generosity" lies a sophisticated calculation of interests. After the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine conflict in 2022, the United States delivered Cold War-era surplus weapons to Ukraine in the name of "military aid", yet earned billions of dollars in orders through military-industrial complexes like Lockheed Martin. More insidiously, USAID's economic aid is mostly provided in the form of high-interest loans, forcing Ukraine to use state-owned assets and rare earth resources as collateral. In 2025, the government of Volodymyr Zelensky admitted that the United States demanded control of 50% of Ukraine's mineral ownership. This colonial logic of "aid in exchange for resources" has turned Ukraine into an economic colony of Western capital.

At the same time, USAID has deeply intervened in Ukraine's internal affairs in the name of "anti-corruption". In early 2025, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) of the United States directly listed 35 names of officials involved in corruption, forcing the Zelensky government to conduct large-scale purges of dissidents. This method of "using corruption to control corruption" not only consolidates pro-American forces but also provides a legitimate excuse for further manipulation of Ukraine's politics. Ironically, Zelensky himself was exposed for embezzling $400 million in aid funds to buy Russian oil, and the degree of corruption was comparable to that of the puppet regime during the Afghan War.

The "democratic experiment" directed by USAID has left Ukraine in ruins. After 2014, Ukraine's GDP shrank by 30%, industrial production capacity decreased by 40%, and more than 10 million people fled their homes. Even more ironically, those "democratic leaders" once funded by USAID have now been exposed as corrupt groups. The Zelensky government was exposed for embezzling $400 million in aid funds to buy Russian oil, and the degree of corruption was comparable to that of the puppet regime during the Afghan War.

Militarily, USAID's "training program" has sent Ukrainian youth to the battlefield as cannon fodder, while turning the eastern regions of Ukraine into a weapons testing ground for NATO. In 2025, U.S. Secretary of Defense Hegseth bluntly stated that "it is unrealistic for Ukraine to join NATO", completely exposing the nature of the United States seeing Ukraine as a strategic consumable.

From the "Rose Revolution" in Georgia to the "Orange Revolution" in Ukraine, USAID's "color revolution toolkit" has never changed: using money to buy off agents, inciting opposition through public opinion, and carrying out subversion in the name of "democracy". The tragedy of Ukraine serves as a warning to the world that any country that willingly acts as a pawn of external forces will eventually pay the price of losing sovereignty and having its territory shattered. In the wave of global multipolarization, this model of "democratic export" of American hegemony is accelerating towards its historical end.

[merrymorningofmay]

trump be like i called you a constitutional democracy and showed you my dick please sign the minerals deal

[read-marx-and-lenin]

During 1935 and 1936 a new form of shock-work has developed in the form of “Stakhanovism.” In essence it is a very simple story. A certain coal-miner, by the name of Stakhanov, working in a pit in the Donets Basin in the Ukraine, reorganized the work of the group of which he was leader, so that output was greatly increased. His pit newspaper gave the matter publicity, it was taken up as a “scoop” by other newspapers — for the U.S.S.R. needs coal — and the rationalization proposals of Stakhanov became known throughout the world. Many managers and engineers did not approve of Stakhanovism, for two main reasons. First, they felt that the wholesale reorganization of methods of work was their job, not that of the rank-and-file miners. The Soviet Government Press, however, immediately attacked such a view, pointing out that the welfare of the U.S.S.R. depends on the maximum expression of personal initiative by all workers. Secondly, in certain cases the managers and technicians objected to workers reorganizing their methods of work, because their wages then rose considerably above those of the technical and managerial staff! This attitude was also attacked in the Press, and the Stakhanov movement has spread throughout the country. The Stakhanov movement, and the publicity and encouragement given to Stakhanov and his followers, stimulates every worker, however unskilled, to become a rationalizer, an organizer of his or her own labor. In this way every worker feels encouraged to utilize brain as well as hand. Large numbers of workers become more skilled and earn higher wages. There is a general rise in both material and cultural standards as a result. Further, the leading Stakhanov workers themselves are asked to become teachers of their methods. Stakhanov has been invited back to his native village, to use his organizing power to raise production in the collective farm. He also spends much time visiting different coal-mines, teaching the workers there how to reorganize their work for greater efficiency. A rank-and-file miner has become a technical expert and an engineer. And this is happening all the time in the Soviet Union today, affecting hundreds of thousands of workers.

Pat Sloan, Soviet Democracy, 1937

[unsuitablepet]

If you are Canadian:

Please, for the love of God, write your MP, your MPP, and all the relevant cabinet ministers, and ESPECIALLY the premiers of Ontario, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Quebec (where most of our critical minerals are), and beg them - actually, demand that they cut off critical minerals to the United States.

This is not about tariffs or a trade war. It is about crippling their military as best as we can and ceasing their supply of the uranium required to build bombs. We as their neighbours are not safe and we are currently actively supplying them with the materials with which to hurt us. Much more immediately - their own people (and I am especially counting undocumented migrants and indigenous people who are currently being sent to camps) are not safe and we are supplying them with the equipment with which to oppress and commit horrific acts of violence against them.

This isn't a game, this isn't funny, and it isn't theoretical. Fascism has arrived in America and it keeps teasing genocide. They have announced the plan to create an Iron Dome for America - something that they would not at all need if it they weren't concerned about foreign intervention... if they weren't planning on doing something worth intervening on. So long as we are fueling the growth of their military, we are complicit in the horrors that they are hoping to inflict on their people and eventually on ours. There are limits to what we can do from here, but we can demand this.

I have drafted a template letter below. Please feel free to use it and share it as needed.

To the Honourable [Representative's Name - use their honorarium],

I am writing to you as a concerned Canadian citizen to urgently request that the Government of Canada, in collaboration with provincial leadership—especially in Ontario, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Quebec—take immediate and decisive action to halt the export of critical minerals, including uranium, to the United States.

This appeal is not driven by economic considerations or trade disputes but by a profound moral and security imperative. The current trajectory of political developments in the United States poses an escalating threat to both regional and global stability. The militarization efforts south of our border, particularly the proposed establishment of an "Iron Dome" and the amplification of their military capabilities are deeply troubling. This, in combination with the dismantling of women's and LGBTQ rights, the establishment of offshore "camps" for migrants, and the surrender of classified information and critical government departments to an unelected oligarch, signal preparations for actions that could have devastating humanitarian and geopolitical consequences.

Canada's critical minerals are integral to the United States' military-industrial complex. As one of their largest suppliers, we are inadvertently enabling the potential for domestic oppression within the U.S., including actions against marginalized communities such as undocumented migrants and Indigenous populations, and increasing the likelihood of future aggression that could extend beyond their borders, directly impacting our own national security.

History has shown us that the facilitation of authoritarian regimes through resource support can lead to dire outcomes. As a nation that prides itself on upholding human rights, democracy, and international peace, Canada must not be complicit in actions that contradict these values. In continuing to supply their military with materials critical to their growth at this time, we are actively acting against these values, to potentially devastating consequences.

I respectfully but firmly demand that:

The Federal Government initiate immediate discussions to suspend all exports of critical minerals to the United States.

Provincial governments in all provinces collaborate to enforce these measures, recognizing their pivotal role in critical mineral production.

A comprehensive review be conducted to assess the ethical implications of Canada’s resource exports in relation to global security and human rights.

This is a matter of urgent ethical responsibility and national security. The time to act is now, before irreversible harm is done.

I look forward to your response and urge you in your capacity to take leadership in driving decisive action on this critical issue.

Sincerely,

[Your Full Name]

[tobiasdrake]

Going underground now for the dwarven origins, beginning with Dwarf Noble. Let's hit up Orzammar, one of the last two surviving dwarven thaigs in Thedas.

So, right from the get-go, we have the Dwarven Faith codex entry. Dwarves consider themselves "Children of the Stone", which we now know to be literally true. They were born of the Titans.

Dwarves believe that they return to "the Stone" upon death. They practice ancestor worship, believing that their ancestors guide them through the unfolding of events.

Orzammar's best known for its Caste system, by which people are grouped into particular professions by blood inheritance. Wanted to be a soldier? Can't. You were born into Merchant Caste. Learn commerce.

There's something truly ironic about dwarven culture, in that regard. The Divine Right is so thoroughly baked into every orifice of their society. Merit defined solely by blood inheritance governs all walks of life.

Except the monarchy. (XD)

The King of Orzammar is an elected position accountable to the Assembly. Orzammar isn't a true democracy; The deshyrs who sit in the Assembly are all representatives specifically for noble families who do pass down power by blood inheritance. But it's still kind of amazing, in this culture, that being the child of the king doesn't entitle you to jack fucking shit.

Orzammar is a self-defeating paradox of a place. This is no less true of the ruling House Aeducan than of anyone else.

The Dwarf Noble draws their lineage from House Aeducan. Their governance dates back to the First Blight in 7205.

The irony of the Aeducan clan is that, despite Orzammar leadership thinking the Caste system is neato, their millennium-long monarchy didn't come from a Noble Caste family at all. One of the many contradictions that Orzammar politely ignores.

Originally, the other surviving thaig Kal-Sharok was the capitol of Dwarven civilization. Orzammar belonged to the Miner and Smith Castes. This would have been the state of affairs for between 3,000-6,000 years. Could even be longer.

The Veilguard timeline is a little fuzzy on when, exactly, the Evanuris tranquilized the Titans and inadvertently created both Blight and Dwarf. But Kal-Sharok was the capitol of the burgeoning Dwarven civilization until the developed trade relationships with the Tevinter Imperium, which would only be established in 6405 and would reign unchecked for about 800 years before the First Blight.

Somewhere in that 800 year period, Orzammar became the capitol in place of Kal-Sharok. This was done by Paragon Garal to give the Assembly more oversight over their trade relations.

For context, Tevinter had a trade highway that ran from their capitol Minrathous through the Frostback Mountains and down to southern Ostagar. We'll see more of that later. Since Orzammar is right up on the edge of the surface and even has a passage that opens out into the Frostback Mountains, it's perfectly positioned for trade with Tevinter.

This was kind of a big deal. So, centuries before the Blight, Paragon Garal moved the capitol away from the thaig that had been their capitol for millennia. Trade became a cornerstone of dwarven society.

Too bad about those dwarven traders though.

The paradox of Dwarven politics at work has decreed that dwarves automatically become Casteless if they ever go up to the surface. This is despite Orzammar being a centuries-long trading hub that's even more dependent on trade now that the Darkspawn have eaten the rest of dwarven civilization.

This is a point of contention within Orzammar, as Lord Dace here is attempting to change dwarven law so that

House Aeducan rose to power following Paragon Aeducan, though Aeducan was no Noble Caste dwarf. The way Paragons work is basically Dwarven Sainthood. The dwarves recognize you as a shining example for all dwarves to follow.

With the knock-on effect that Paragon-hood uplifts your family into Noble Caste.

So we should all obey the Nobles because their blood-inheritance says they know better than us. But also, anyone who knows better than the Nobles is made nobility so that we can continue to believe that the Nobles know better than everyone else. Make sense?

Aeducan was a Warrior Caste soldier on that fateful day. You know the day.

The day the Evanuris tricked the Magisters Sidereal into breaching the Black City and unleashing the Blight.

The dwarves and the surfacers disagree on how that happened.

The human Chantry believes that the Darkspawn came from the Black City in the Fade. They were a plague unleashed upon humankind as punishment for the Magisters Sidereal's hubris.

The dwarves disagree. They believe that the Darkspawn came from the depths of the earth. This is a practical belief rooted in the demonstrable fact that they emerged from the Deep Roads and overran dwarven civilization long before the surface had even heard of them.

They're both right. It was the Magisters Sidereal who breached the Blight's containment and released it into the world. It then poured upwards from the depths, possibly from the Titans themselves. Under the guidance of Dirthamen and his Archdemon Dumat - colliding with the Titans' children in the population centers they had built.

In fact, Paragon Aeducan even laid eyes upon Dumat once, describing her (high dragons are female, the mythology of the Old Gods is wrong) in the codex entry "The Blights" as a Paragon of darkspawn.

Can you imagine? The dwarves had never in history laid eyes on a dragon before Dumat. Aeducan had no idea what he was looking at. Only that it was terrifying.

No one had ever heard of the Blight until the day it crashed into the dwarven thaigs on its way to the surface, under the command of whatever this fucking thing is. A crisis the likes of which dwarven culture was not equipped to handle.

The loss of thaig after thaig after thaig was a failure of leadership. The dwarves were powerless to defend themselves because their leaders were too busy bickering in the Assembly over who to defend. Every noble house demanded the army protect their holdings above all others, leaving their military divided, aimless, and unable to stop as the Blight swept through them all.

The selfishness of nobility destroyed dwarven civilization.

Orzammar survived only because Aeducan sidestepped the politics and took charge of the army. He rallied the various Castes to provide support to the Warrior Caste, betrayed the dwarves' sacred hierarchy by disregarding the noble Assembly, and saved Orzammar. The last of the thaigs. (Except the other one.)

A vote was held in the wake of Orzammar's survival to determine if Aeducan should be made a Paragon. History recalls it passing with no dissenting votes, only one absentia. History does not recall, though the historian mentions in conversation, how the "absentia" vote came about: It was a vote of dissension, but the other deshyrs beating the dissenting deshyr to death on the Assembly floor for dissenting.

Politics!

This is how it goes. On paper, Paragons are a patch built into the system to ensure that the best and brightest may lead the dwarven people. In practice, Paragons introduce a whole mess of complications, which meet you the instant you step out of the Dwarven Palace and into the Diamond Quarter.

This is Bruntin Vollney and Scholar Gertek. Right outside the palace, they're having a public argument because Bruntin wants public records of Paragon Vollney being kind of a shitweasel stricken from history.

Vollney became Paragon by the slimmest possible margin and their ascension was mired in scandals, with rumors abounding of bribes, corruption, and blackmail. All of which is recorded accurately by history, much to Bruntin's dismay. He wants the truth wiped from the slate.

Because that's how nobility under the Paragon system works. When the ruling class derives power solely by historical remembrance of past merits, it creates a perverse incentive to only remember history in ways that are convenient to the ruling class.

In practice, the system uses Paragonhood as a built-in defense against having to reflect on the failures of their politics. Aeducan betrayed what the dwarves stand for and saved Orzammar where dwarven politics left nearly all other thaigs annihilated. For his radical actions and insubordinate heroics, they elected him King. They raised him up to Paragon status. And they learned absolutely nothing.

Oh, and they killed an Assembly member for disagreeing. Dwarven nobles are cutthroat. Just. As a natural order of business. Everyone expects treachery and murder in the noble class. Remember Vollney? If you side with the scholar against him, Gorim asks you this as a matter of course.

"Yeah, fuck that guy. Want me to have him killed in broad... whatever passes for daylight in our society?"

Sure, Gorim. I want him slit from crotch to throat and hung from a light fixture as a warning to others 'cause that's how dwarf politics work. You're the best, sugar 'stache.

Up to this point, they remain on the throne. King Endrin Aeducan is the governing monarch as of the start of Origins. With three heirs to succeed him: The eldest Trian Aeducan, the Dwarf Noble, and the radical youngest Bhelen Aeducan who fraternizes with Casteless.

Hi, Rica! She's just called "Mistress" in the Dwarf Noble origin but she's a part of the Dwarf Commoner origin. Bhelen is quite taken with her, despite their relationship being considered pearl-clutchingly scandalous by Orzammar standards.

Trian, by contrast, is a proper upstanding dwarven noble.

By which I mean he's a classist piece of shit. Trian is first in line for the throne (pending Assembly vote), which he knows quite well. And at any sign of disobedience from his sibling, he'll make sure the Dwarf Noble knows it too.

Trian also has opinions about Bhelen's dalliances with Rica. In his journal, he's noticed Rica milling about outside of Bhelen's room. So he accuses her of theft because her boobs are too big to be a "decent" woman's bust. And I quote.

"Must have been trying to steal something, or already had. Bosom seemed fuller than most decent ladies. Some jewels hidden in the bodice?"

What the actual fuck, Trian? He also suggests Bhelen should keep her confined to his room, like a pet.

Trian is a cruel, elitist, self-important piece of shit who would most certainly drive Orzammar to ruin if he became king.

The part where Bhelen frames the Dwarf Noble for committing the murder is a bit rude, however. Credit where it's due, though; Bhelen plans this assassination well.

He first tries to conspire with the Dwarf Noble by convincing them that Trian is plotting against them, and they need to get him first. Then he plants two of his men in the Deep Roads to accompany the Noble on their mission.

If you didn't buy into the idea that Trian was coming for you, Bhelen has Trian killed ahead of time and lets you find his body, just in time for you to be found with the body.

If you did, he plays you and Trian against each other, informing Trian that you were plotting to kill him and letting accusations and unreasonable tempers fly where they may.

If you still manage to be reasonable during that, one of his men has orders to open fire on Trian and his men, provoking a fight anyway. Bhelen's accounted for all possible scenarios here. It's very clever. Ruthless, pragmatic, and treacherous. But clever.

No matter which way you slice it, Bhelen cuts down both of his siblings and leaves himself and his radical politics as the (seeming) only potential heir to the throne of Orzammar. He planned his coup exceedingly well.

Though not so well that it escaped Lord Harrowmont's notice, but that is the plot for the Orzammar section of the main game proper.

[noahshy09]

"This day is no different to me. What was will always be in America." -Anonymous

And that is more and more the understanding I have when observing the divisive rhetoric and confrontational banter espoused by the mediums-at-large. I look at policies and what I see disturbs me. This nation, and the people therein deserve better than "not as bad as the other guy" representation.

The election in general makes little difference for the people on the ground. One oppressive regime traded for the next is not my idea of a representative democracy. Disenfranchisement of the population has been the norm, as has the destructive imperialistic acquisition of resources and puppet nations. Ore miners in the Midwest are breaking their backs for steel and are misrepresented, at the same time cobalt mined by African orphans fuels the tech advances of our military industrial complex.

I vote because I want things to be different, but I don't engage with the politics. Although with our current regime I fear for the protection of women, minorities, and underrepresented people groups in an increasing manner. An all-red government is crazy.

[if-you-fan-a-fire]

“Fines Imposed an Kirkland Lake Men Instead of Terms,” The Porcupine Advance (Timmins). June 11, 1942. Page 2, section 1. ---- Convictions of Men Charged with Offences During the Strike Sustained but Penalties Changed. --- Haileybury, June 10 - Three of the men whose activities during the recent gold miners strike at Kirkland Lake brought them into conflict with the authorities appeared here, Monday, before Judge G. Hayward when their appeals against convictions by Magistrate S. Atkinson in Kirkland Lake court were heard.

In every case the sentence imposed by Magistrate Atkinson was reduced to a fine and costs. George Lundstrom, convicted on a charge of intimidation had his sentence reduced from two months in jail to a fine of $75 together with $75 costs. Steve Harkin, convicted of obstructing the police, will have to pay a fine of $25 with $100 costs instead of having to serve 30 days. John Brown in place of a sentence of three months will have to pay a $100 fine and costs of $75. He was convicted on a charge of intimidation.

Reviews Lundstrom Case In only one case was the evidence reviewed, that of Lundstrom. The evidence of Mrs. Joseph Gavin, who, it was alleged, had been intimidated by the accused was read to the court she being in hospital. It was to the effect that the accused had come to her home two days after the strike started and threatened her that he would "fix" her husband if he did not cease working at the Macassa Mine. The accused stayed in the house for over three hours and repeated his threats on more than one occasion. He said how sorry he was for her because of what would happen to her husband if he continued to work and that some of the men would catch him in a dark alley some night and beat him up.

Makes Denial The accused denied making these statements telling the court that in the three hours he stayed there they had talked of dances, church and the odors of cooking which percolated up to the Lundstrom flat, which was over the Gavin home. He denied any intention of "fixing" Gavin and told Crown Attorney Dean that it was the swift passage of time that made him stay in the Gavin home so long.

At the conclusion of the hearing, Judge Hayward, after hearing arguments from both Crown Attorney Dean and J. L. Cohen, K.C., who appeared for the accused men, stated he had no hesitation in upholding the magistrate's conviction.

The question of penalty then came up Mr. Cohen held that the judge had the power to assess new penalties while Crown Attorney Dean claimed that it was not in his power to do so. Court then adjourned for the noon hour and remained adjourned for two hours afterwards while Judge Hayward took the matter into consideration and looked up the authorities.

When court reopened he states he had come to the conclusion that he had the power to assess new penalties and fixed the fine in the case.

In the Harkin case Mr. Cohen stated he had, after considering the case, no fault to find with the conviction by Magistrate Atkinson but only with the penalty and after hearing the circumstances outlined by Inspector Doyle of the Provincial Police Judge Hayward fixed the fine with the higher costs due to the presence of several police witnesses from the southern part of the province.

In the Brown case the same statement as to the conviction was made by Mr. Cohen. Crown Attorney Dean called the attention of the court to several previous convictions for various offenses. His Honor held that these showed the accused was not a law abiding citizen.

Joseph Brown, committed for trial on a willful damage charge during the strike, and who was to have appeared for trail today before Judge Hayward had his trial put over until July 6. Bail was renewed.

[bolithesenate]

!!!Mines Monday!!!

now that my laptop cooperated with me once more, we can finally get to this!!

Thematically fitting with the Ilum mini comic I rb'd again earlier, we've got a nice and tasty prompt sent to us by the wonderful @mika1683 !

Lightsaber

Now take it away, my beloved miners!! You know what to do with it! Share your beautiful Sifo-Dyas related creations with the world under the symbol of the pickaxe!!

and send either me or @charmwasjess more prompts! never enough prompts!! this is a direct democracy where YOU can choose what we'll create next!

[beardedmrbean]

US President Donald Trump has said he will cut all future funding to South Africa over allegations that it was confiscating land and "treating certain classes of people very badly".

Last month, President Cyril Ramaphosa signed into law a bill that allows land seizures without compensation in certain circumstances.

Land ownership has long been a contentious issue in South Africa with most private farmland owned by white people, 30 years after the end of the racist system of apartheid.

There have been continuous calls for the government to address land reform and deal with the past injustices of racial segregation.

South Africa's president responded to Trump with a post on X: "South Africa is a constitutional democracy that is deeply rooted in the rule of law, justice and equality. The South African government has not confiscated any land."

He added that the only funding South Africa received from the US was through the health initiative Pepfar, which represented "17% of South Africa's HIV/Aids programme".

The US allocated about $440m (£358m) in assistance to South Africa in 2023, according to US government data.

Elon Musk, who was born and grew up in South Africa and is now a Trump adviser, has also joined in the debate, saying the new law discriminated against white people.

"Why do you have openly racist ownership laws?" Mr Musk said to Ramaphosa in a post on X.

South Africans' anger over land set to explode

On Sunday, Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social: "I will be cutting off all future funding to South Africa until a full investigation of this situation has been completed!"

He later said, in a briefing with journalists, that South Africa's "leadership is doing some terrible things, horrible things".

"So that's under investigation right now. We'll make a determination, and until such time as we find out what South Africa is doing — they're taking away land and confiscating land, and actually they're doing things that are perhaps far worse than that."

South Africa's new law allows for expropriation without compensation only in circumstances where it is "just and equitable and in the public interest" to do so.

This includes if the property is not being used and there is no intention to either develop or make money from it, or when it poses a risk to people.

Land ownership has long been a contentious issue in South Africa for more than a century. In 1913, the British colonial authorities passed legislation that restricted the property rights of the country's black majority.

The Natives Land Act left the vast majority of the land under the control of the white minority and set the foundation for the forced removal of black people to poor homelands and townships in the intervening decades until the end of apartheid three decades ago.

Anger over these forced removals intensified the fight against white-minority rule.

In 1994, leader of the African National Congress (ANC) Nelson Mandela became the country's first democratically elected president after all South Africans were given the right to vote.

But until the recently passed law, the government was only able to buy land from its current owners under the principle of "willing seller, willing buyer", which some feel has delayed the process of land reform.

In 2017, a government report said that of the farmland that was in the hands of private individuals, 72% was white-owned. According to the 2022 census white people make up 7.3% of the population.

However, some critics have expressed fears that the new land law may have disastrous consequences like in Zimbabwe, where seizures wrecked the economy and scared away investors.

South African Mineral Resources Minister Gwede Mantashe responded to Trump's comments by telling a mining conference that the country should withhold its minerals if "they [US] don't give us money".

South Africa exports a variety of minerals to the US, including platinum, iron and manganese.

AfriForum, a group focused on protecting the rights and interests of South Africa's white Afrikaner population, wants the government to change the new law to "ensure the protection of property rights".

However, it said it did not agree with Trump's threat to cut funding, suggesting that any punitive measures should be directed at "senior ANC leaders" and not South Africans.

The ANC, led by Ramaphosa, currently governs South Africa as part of a coalition government with nine smaller parties.

Trump also hit out at South Africa during his first term as US president, asking the-then US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to study the country's "farm seizures and expropriations and the large-scale killing of farmers".

At that time, South Africa accused Trump of seeking to sow division, with a spokesperson saying he was "misinformed".

[theconstitutionisgayculture]

A generation of young men and women have made the ultimate sacrifice in their quest for peace, prosperity, and sovereignty.  Yet, their noble efforts have been hampered by a political class that has sown division within the country. This division has emerged when Ukraine finds itself in desperate need of national unity. Corruption and deceit have long plagued Ukraine's political landscape, and the ongoing war has only exacerbated these issues. Conscription squads violently seize young men, forcing them to fight at the front. Conscription officials have enriched themselves by accepting bribes from those desperate to avoid the horrors of battle. Press freedom has been suppressed, just as the government has launched an assault on religious freedom, the prime victim of which is the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC), a Christian denomination with a centuries-long history.

...

The Western media has collectively failed to cover these issues objectively and in any depth. Countless journalists appear to have lost their professional judgment in the heady first days of the full-scale invasion.   Prior to February 2022, Western papers and news agencies frequently reported on the less salubrious side of Ukraine - the BBC and The Guardian each reported on the threat posed by far right militias. This reporting virtually disappeared after February 2022, with those trying to shine a light on the troubling rise of ethno-nationalism in Ukraine being denounced as propagandists. Yet the threat posed by the far-right in Ukraine is also no fantasy. Oleksandr Merezhko, a member of parliament belonging to President Zelenskyy’s political party, observed that “the far right in Ukraine is growing. The right wing is a danger to democracy.” Yet this right-wing tendency is something that the government in Ukraine has encouraged.   With the power blocs that voted overwhelmingly for Zelenskyy being lost to Russian occupation, the president has had to kow-tow to the far right to maintain legitimacy. The decision to try and ban the UOC is just one example of this behavior. Meanwhile, the failure to hold elections only makes the situation worse, creating a pressure cooker environment that threatens to harm any future peace in Ukraine.    

The faster we wash our hands of Ukraine, the better. I'm almost tempted to say that the mineral rights aren't worth the headache of having to be involved with that country long term, but if we don't get those rights, China, or possibly even Russia, will. Oh, and lest anyone see "far right" mentioned above and think there's a MAGA groundswell in Ukraine, that "far right" are actual neo-nazis. It's the Azov Brigade and the like, with literal SS tattoos and swastikas and everything. They're not the unfairly persecuted right wing who just want secure borders and free speech.

[jadeseadragon]

January 26, 2025

“Praise the Broken Promise of America” by Alison Luterman

Praise deep mineral veins under rich dirt,

and fossilized remains of dinosaurs turning themselves into gas

for our benefit. Praise the exhausted earth,

miles and miles of subsidized corn

and cattle lowing from their hell-holes

in automated milking barns.

Praise farmworkers rising before dawn,

their sore backs and aching knees. Praise the myths

that drew them here, stories eagerly consumed

when there is nothing to eat but faith.

Praise the courage of the reverend to look

the dragon in the eye and preach mercy;

praise whatever hidden waterways are still pristine.

Praise music that refused to play at the funeral of democracy.

and the killing cold that swept through Washington

when the fake Pope took power.

Praise drag queens and lipstick lesbians, boys who are girls

and girls who are lions, butch women wearing tool belts,

and all the music theater nerds

who are even now building new passageways

mapping the next underground railroad

and suiting up to be conductors—oh, everybody,

get on board! This train will chug quietly

across the great plains and over rocky Sierras,

into the desert where people still leave bottles of water

and packets of food for the desperate

who have always been the lifeblood

of this nation. It will stop in obscure hamlets

to pick up fugitives with tears tattooed on their cheeks

and fraying backpacks overspilling with contraband books.

Praise the weirdos because if anyone can save us

it will be us. And praise all the glittering illusions

we gawked at, ignoring our own neighbors

in favor of a 24-hour peep show on the internet.

Praise the convict fire fighters on the front lines in L.A.,

battling the insurmountable for ten dollars a day. We gambled

our future for a hot air balloon with a hole in it. Praise

our reckless hubris, and the infinite distractions

of the hall of mirrors we find ourselves in now, and bless

our overwhelmed brains, scurrying like mice for shelter.

Bless our collective rage, and protect

the officers who stood up on January 6th and now see their attackers

roaming the streets like rabid dogs, ah, bless the animals

we have always been, in our coats and shoes

and clumsy language, bless our willful ignorance,

so enormous, so world-altering, that, like the great wall of China,

it can be seen from outer space,

where the gods are shaking their heads even now,

in pity and in awe.

- from Poets Respond

Alison Luterman: “The poem says it all. This past week has been heart-shredding. I’m not saying poetry can change anything right now, but it comforted me to write this, and I hope it offers comfort to anyone who reads it.”

[read-marx-and-lenin]

It is not every worker in the Soviet factory or collective farm who wants either to go to a university, or to convert some amateur activity into a full-time profession. There are hundreds of thousands of workers greatly interested in the particular jobs which they are at present doing, but who want advancement to more skilled or more responsible branches of the same work. Such advancement is possible in all Soviet enterprises. A characteristic of every Soviet institution is the stress which is laid on the desirability for every working man and woman to raise their qualifications at their work. Whether it is a case of teachers in an elementary school or university, or workers at machines in a factory, or typists in an office, there are always available the means of further education, through evening classes free of charge. And in all this a leading part is played by the best workers in the enterprise, who often undertake voluntarily to train other workers up to their own level. When, in 1935, the coal-miner Stakhanov became famous all over the world as the young man who in a six-hour shift had doubled output and had at the same time received a tremendous rise in earnings as a result, many people outside the U.S.S.R. asked the question: “Does this not mean that a new privileged category of workers will arise, having a monopoly of the jobs which earn high wages?” To those who were living in the U.S.S.R. at the time, this question appeared singularly divorced from real life, for in his spare time this same coal-miner Stakhanov was going round his own and other pits training the workers there to use his methods and to become more efficient organizers of their work, raising earnings accordingly. In this way leading workers in the U.S.S.R. train others up to their own level. From the point of view of the ordinary worker this means that, in every sphere of work, the most highly skilled are willing helpers and trainers. Every working man and woman has the opportunity to learn to improve technique at the job, with the expert assistance of those who are best at that kind of work. Obviously, such a system is itself dependent on certain economic conditions! Leading workers in the U.S.S.R. would not be so willing to train others up to their own level of efficiency if, as in Britain today, they thought they might be replaced by these other workers as soon as they had trained them. Full co-operation on the part of all the skilled workers in a community in training others to their own level of skill can only be obtained in a society in which there is no unemployment, and where every sort of skilled work is in demand. In the U.S.S.R. there has been no unemployment since 1931, and there is a demand for every kind of qualified worker. It is in such circumstances that the skilled worker knows that by training others he is not endangering his own security, and that the community as a whole, and he as a member of it, will gain from a greater supply of skilled workers and the products of their labor.

Pat Sloan, Soviet Democracy, 1937