#Money Plant Benefits facts

[txttletale]

I'm asking this genuinely, as a 19 yo with no education in economics and a pretty surface level understanding of socialism: can you explain the whole Bananas discourse in a way someone like me might understand? In my understanding it's just "This is just a product we can give up to create better worker conditions and that's fine" but apparently that's not the full picture?

alright so some pretty important background to all this is that we're all talking about the fact that bananas, grown in the global south, are available year-round at extremely low prices all around europe and the USA. it's not really about bananas per so--the banana in this discourse is a synechdoche for all the economic benefits of imperialism.

so how are cheap bananas a result of imperialism? first of all i want to tackle a common and v. silly counterargument: 'oh, these ridiculous communists think it's imperialist for produce to be shipped internationally'. nah. believing that this is the communist objection requires believing in a deeply naive view of international traide. this view goes something like 'well, if honduras has lots of bananas, and people in the usa want bananas and are willing to pay for them, surely everyone wins when the usa buys bananas!'.

there are of course two key errors here and they are both packed into 'honduras has lots of bananas'. for a start, although the bananas are grown in honduras, honduras doesn't really 'have' them, because the plantations are mostly owned by chiquita (formerly known as united fruit) dole, del monte, and other multinationals--when they're not, those multinationals will usually purchase the bananas from honduran growers and conduct the export themselves. and wouldn't you know it, it's those intervening middleman steps--export, import, and retail, where the vast majority of money is made off bananas! so in the process of a banana making its way from honduras to a 7/11, usamerican multinationals make money selling the bananas to usamerican importers who make money selling them to usamerican retailers who make money selling them to usamerican customers.

when chiquita sells a banana to be sold in walmart, a magic trick is being performed: a banana is disappearing from honduras, and yet somehow an american company is paying a second american company for it! this is economic imperialism, the usamerican multinational extracting resources from a nation while simultaneously pocketing the value of those resources.

why does the honduran government allow this? if selling bananas is such a bad deal for the nation, why do they continue to export millions of dollars of banans a year? well, obviously, there's the fact that if they didn't, they would face a coup. the united states is more than willing to intervene and cause mass death and war to protect the profits of its multinationals. but the second, more subtle thing keeping honduras bound to this ridiculously unbalanced relationship is the need for dollars. because the US dollar is the global reserve currency, and the de facto currency of international trade, exporting to the USA is a basic necessity for nations like honduras, guatemala, &c. why is the dollar the global reserve currency? because of usamerican military and economic hegemony, of course. imperialism built upon imperialism!

this is unequal exchange, the neoimperialist terms of international trade that make the 'global economy' a tool of siphoning value and resources from the global south to the imperial core. & this is the second flaw to unravel in 'honduras has a lot of bananas' -- honduras only 'has a lot of bananas' because this global economic hegemony has led to vast unsustainable monoculture banana plantations to dominate the agriculture of honduras. it's long-attested how monoculture growth is unsustainable because it destroys soil and leads to easily-wiped-out-by-infection plants.

so, bananas in the USA are cheap because:

the workers that grow them are barely paid, mistreated, prevented from unionizing, and sometimes murdered

the nations in which the bananas are grown accept brutally unfair trade and tariff terms with the USA because they desperately need a supply of US dollars and so have little position to negotiate

shipping is also much cheaper than it should be because sailors are chronically underpaid and often not paid at all or forced to pay to work (!)

bananas are cheap, in conclusion, because they're produced by underpaid and brutalized workers and then imported on extortionate and unfair terms.

so what, should we all give up bananas? no, and it's a sign of total lack of understanding of socialism as a global movement that all the pearl-clutching usamericans have latched onto the scary communists telling them to stop buying bananas. communism does not care about you as a consumer. individual consumptive choices are not a meaningful arena of political action. the socialist position is not "if there was a socialist reovlution in the usa, we would all stop eating bananas like good little boys", but rather, "if there's a socialist revolution in the countries where bananas are grown, then the availability of bananas in the usa is going to drop, and if you want to be an anti-imperialist in the imperial core you have to accept that".

(this is where the second argument i see about this, 'oh what are you catholic you want me to eat dirt like a monk?' reveals itself as a silly fucking solipsistic misunderstanding)

and again, let's note that the case of the banana can very easily be generalised out to coffee, chocolate, sugar, etc, and that it's not about individual consumptive habits, but about global economic systems. if you are donkey fucking kong and you eat 100 bananas a day i don't care and neither does anyone else. it's about trying to illustrate just one tiny mundane way in which economic imperialism makes the lives of people in the global north more convenient and simpler and so of course there is enormous pushback from people who attach moral value to this and therefore feel like the mean commies are personally calling them evil for eating a nutella or whatever which is frankly pretty tiring. Sad!

tldr: it is not imperialism when produce go on boat but it is imperialism when produce grown for dirt cheap by underpaid workers in a country with a devalued currency is then bought and exported and sold by usamerican companies creating huge amounts of economic value of which the nation in which the banana was grown, let alone the people who actually fucking grew it, don't see a cent -- and this is the engine behind the cheap, available-every-day-all-year-everywhere presence of bananas in the usa (and other places!)

[aparrotandaqrow]

"This, more than anything else, seems like the underlying point of the AI hype cycle of 2023. Sure, there is a material thing being produced here. And that thing might one day have real value. But investors and executives — the big players with market-shaping power — don’t actually live in the future. They just enjoy LARPing at it."

I don’t see how else to make sense of it. 2022 was the year the 20-year tech bubble finally burst. 2023 was still bad for startups, and was full of bad headlines for the big platforms. And yet, in the markets, tech investors just took a deep collective breath and started inflating the next bubble, as though the previous year had never happened.

Silicon Valley runs on Futurity

[anipgarden]

Un-Actions, or Restriction of Activities

This is my first post in a series I’ll be making on how to increase biodiversity on a budget! I’m not an expert--just an enthusiast--but I hope something you find here helps! 

There’s a good handful of ways you can help increase biodiversity in your yard that don’t require buying things--in fact, these may actually help you save money in the long run! They may seem small and simple, but every bit counts! Whether you can do these in totality, or just limit how often you do these actions, it’ll make a difference.

Not Mowing, or Mowing Less Often

Turf grass lawns are considered a monoculture, meaning they don’t provide much opportunity for insects to find habitat--so few other creatures find them enjoyable either. An expanse of turf grass is, in many ways, a barren wasteland in the eyes of wildlife--too exposed to cross, with few to no opportunities for food or shelter, leaving them exposed to blazing hot sun, freezing cold, or any predators that may be lurking nearby. A place to be avoided. The simple act of letting your grass grow unbothered gives a chance for wildflowers to grow, and for your grass to grow taller--providing more habitat for insects, which then provides more habitat to birds and other creatures that feed on said insects. Wildlife want nothing more than to skirt by unnoticed, so even leaving the grass tall along the edges of a fence or yard can help a little. Even restricting mowing to every other week, or at a higher blade setting, can be a huge help. If HOAs or city ordinances are fussy about lawn length in the front yard, you can likely still keep grass higher in the backyard. Or, you can create a ‘feature’ where grass is allowed to grow long in a specific area. If it looks purposeful, people are more likely to accept it. Not mowing under trees or close to shrubs not only leaves space for wildflowers to grow, but also means you don’t have to deal with mowing over bumpy roots and other difficulties. Cutting different areas at different times can be an option for letting grass grow long in some areas while still having available places for play and entertainment. I’ve seen some people plant flower bulbs when pulling up weeds, so in the future they'll bloom in early spring before mowing is usually necessary. This could be another fun way of adding biodiversity to a lawn without--or before you--begin mowing in spring.

Not worrying about mowing, or doing it less often, saves you in time, money, and energy. You won’t have to buy as much gasoline for your mower, and Saturday afternoons can be free to be enjoyed in other ways aside from being sticky and sweaty and covered in grass stains. In addition, you’ll likely be lowering your own carbon emissions!

If you do have to mow your lawn, I’ve got ways you can use your grass clippings to boost biodiversity later in the post series!

Not using pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, etc.

One of the next-biggest non-actions you can do asides from not mowing is using fewer fewer to no herbicides, fungicides, and pesticides in your yard. This’ll easily allow for more biodiversity. Allowing more insects and a wide array of plants to thrive will feed back into the entire food chain in your area. In addition, these types of chemicals have been tied to algae blooms, death of beneficial insects, harm to birds, fish, and even humans. Soil is supposed to be full of fungi, especially fungal mycelium that essentially acts as a network for plants to communicate, share nutrients, and support each other--fungicide kills that, and typically makes all other lawn problems even worse in a negative feedback loop. It may take awhile to see the benefits of avoiding these chemicals, but once you see it, it really is astounding.

However! I can’t lie and say that there haven’t been points where I needed to use pesticides at some points in my gardening journey. In these cases, try to use products that are organic--like diatomaceous earth, neem oil, etc--and use them accurately, correctly, and sparingly. Follow instructions on how to apply them safely and responsibly--for example, on non-windy days and during times when bees and other pollinators aren’t likely to be out and about. With some pests (read: oleander aphids, in my experience), a simple jetstream of water is enough to force them off the plant where they’ll be too weak to get back. Eventually, you should have a balanced enough ecosystem that no one insect pest causes a major issue with the work you’re doing to boost biodiversity.

If you can bear to, try handling pests manually. Squishing pest bugs in your hand is a pretty foolproof way to get rid of some problems, or spraying them with a mix of soap and water can do the trick on some insects. Alternatively, picking them off your plants and into a bucket of soapy water is also a valid option. You’ve heard of baptism by fire, now get ready for… baptism by soap?

But also! Try reconsidering what you consider a pest! Tomato hornworms are hated by gardeners, for devouring the foliage of beloved tomato, pepper, and potato plants. But killing the tomato and tobacco hornworm means getting rid of sphinx moths, also known as hummingbird or hawk moths! Hawk moths are vital to the survival of many native plants, and are sometimes even the only species that pollinates them. If you can bear to, consider sacrificing a few tomato plants, or growing a few extras, so we can continue having these beautiful moths for years to come. After all, they may not even do significant damage to the plants!

With that in mind, be friendly to your natural pest managers! Lacewings, ladybugs, praying mantises, wasps, birds, bats, and more will help manage pest populations in your environment! Encourage them by planting things they like, providing habitat, and leaving them be to do their work! Avoiding pesticides helps make your garden a livable environment for them, too!

Letting Weeds Grow

Many of the plants we know as 'weeds' are actually secondary succession species and native wildflowers. Milkweed was regarded as a noxious, annoying weed for a long time, and now people are actively trying to plant them after learning about the important role they play in our environments! Weeds are adapted to take over areas that have been cleared out of other plants after a disaster, so they're doing much of the initial work in making a habitat for other creatures. In fact, many of them will simply die back as the environment repairs itself.

An important thing to note is to please make sure that your ‘weeds’ are not invasive species. Work on learning how to identify native and invasive species in your area, and pull out what’s harmful to leave room for what’s good!

Don’t Rake (Or At Least Don’t Bag Your Leaves)

Many insects overwinter in piles of leaves that we often rake away and bag up in the fall and winter. By doing this, we are actively throwing away the biodiversity of our neighborhoods! If you can, leave the leaves where they fall! 

If you do need to rake, put the leaves in places wildlife can still access it instead of bagging it up. Move your leaves into garden beds to serve as mulch, or along the edge of fences to rest while keeping egg cases and hiding bugs intact and free to release come spring.

Leave Snags Where They Are

Snags are dead trees/dead branches on living trees. They provide an important wildlife habitat--many birds nest in them, or use them to seek cover from rain, and many insects will also live in snags (making them an additional food source for birds and other creatures). Tree cavities are used as nests by hundreds of bird species in the US, and many mammals use them as well, such as bats, squirrels, raccoons, and sometimes even bears. Some trees form cavities while they’re still alive, but in conifers they’re more likely to form after death. Crevices between the trunk of a dead tree and its peeling bark provide sun protection for bats and amphibians, and leafless branches make great perching areas for birds of prey to hunt from above. The decaying wood is home to insects and fungi, who then feed birds, mammals, amphibians, and reptiles.  Do check on the snags regularly to ensure they don’t serve a threat to any nearby structures, but whenever possible, leave them be! 

Keep Your Cat Inside

If you have an outdoor cat, consider making the adjustments to have it be an indoor cat. If you have an indoor cat, keep it as an indoor cat. Free ranging cats impact biodiversity through predation, fear effects, competition for resources, disease, and more. Keeping little Mittens inside does a lot more to help than it may seem from the outside.

That’s the end of this post! My next one’s gonna be on things you can add to your space that aren’t directly related to growing plants. For now, I hope this advice helps! Feel free to reply with any questions, success stories, or anything you think I may have forgotten to add in! 

[queeranarchism]

[Opening panel of a comic, reading: “On July 1st we celebrate Keti Koti, ‘chains broken’ (say ‘kitty kotty’). The end of Dutch slavery! or well...]

[On this day 160 years ago (1863) slavery was officially abolished in the Dutch colonies Suriname & the Netherlands Antilles. 45.000 enslaved people are now free. Slaveowner: “but now what am I going to do without my free labour?!” Government official: “oh so sad! here’s compensation!”]

[Formed enslaved person: “Now what about compensation for the CENTURIES of free labour my ancestors and I were forced to do?” Slave owner and state official: “Hahahahaha nope” Slave owner: “In fact: to make is easier for ME you’ll be forced to work another DECADE for me! but I’ll pay you. A little.”]

[The Netherlands made a lot of money from enslaved people; by selling them & by the work they did on the plantations in Dutch colonies. The power & wealth of my country is partially build on SLAVERY and 160 years later we still benefit from this.]

[But until recently our colonial past was only seen as something positive... Former prime minister: “We need that VOC mentality!] (VOC= United East India Company)

[White person: “Why should I celebrate Keti Koti?! My ancestors weren’t enslaved!” Other white person: “No, but YOUR ancestors might have been SLAVE OWNERS! just saying.”]

[We all still benefit OR sugger from our history. And we can’t change the past... but we should ACKNOWLEDGE it. Image of a person planting a large flag with the word SLAVERY on the timeline of Dutch history.]

[And because there are too many people like this White person: “What does some Surinamese holiday has to do with ME?!” ...we could definitely use a NATIONAL holiday! Other white person holding up a Dutch flag with the words “Built by enslaved people” on it.]

By Maaike Hartjes: https://comichouse.nl/author/hartjes/

[rjzimmerman]

Excerpt from this story from Truthout/Floodlight:

The IRA is the Biden Administration’s signature climate law. The historic act is the most aggressive climate policy in U.S. history, rolling out billions in tax breaks and other incentives with the goal of cutting economy-wide carbon emissions 40% by 2030.

Every congressional Republican voted against the bill, arguing it was nothing more than handouts to prop up climate and social justice programs. Some on the extreme right continue to argue that climate change is a hoax. But now some GOP House members who voted against the IRA are urging their leader to consider saving key portions of it.

In fact, it is the red states that overwhelmingly have benefitted from the federal government’s infusion of clean energy money, according to a report released today by, a national nonpartisan group of more than 10,000 business leaders that advocates for a cleaner economy and environment.

Friday marks two years since Biden inked his signature on the IRA. Companies have announced roughly 330 clean energy and vehicle projects since that time, efforts that could create 109,278 jobs and bring in a whopping $126 billion in private investments, if completed, according to the E2 report.

E2’s report breaks down IRA-boosted projects by state, sector and industry as well as by congressional district. It found that “nearly 60% of the announced projects — representing 85% of the investments and 68% of the jobs — are in Republican congressional districts.”

Among the major projects is the South Korea-based solar manufacturer QCells. Last year it announced a $2.5 billion expansion in Dalton, Georgia, spurring more than 2,500 jobs and helping change a town known as the “carpet capital of the world” into a destination for clean energy manufacturing.

Since 2022, the northern third of Nevada has added more than 5,000 jobs from a $6.6 billion investment in projects such as the Rhyolite Ridge and Thacker Pass lithium mines as the state aims toward becoming the lithium capital of the United States.

And in North Carolina, $19.7 billion has been poured into the state, creating 22 clean energy projects and more than 10,000 jobs in solar, recycling, electric vehicle and battery manufacturing. The investments include a $13.9 billion Toyota Motor North America EV/hybrid battery plant slated to open next year.

E2’s report is based on publicly available information, including news releases and formal government announcements. Roughly one-third of the information did not include how much money was being invested or how many jobs a project was expected to create, E2 stated.

In other words, the impact of the IRA is likely broader than the nonprofit’s tally. That bodes well for environmentalists and clean energy advocates.

18 congressional Republicans signed a letter to GOP House Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana urging him to be cautious in repealing all or parts of the IRA — something Trump has vowed to do if he is again elected president.

“Energy tax credits have spurred innovation, incentivized investment and created good jobs in many parts of the country — including many districts represented by members of our conference,” the Aug. 6 letter to Johnson said.

The Congress members said they had heard from industry and constituents that clawing back previously issued energy tax credits, especially on projects that already broke ground, would undermine private investments and stop development.

“A full repeal would create a worst-case scenario where we would have spent billions of taxpayer dollars and received next to nothing in return,” the letter states.

[mr-double-downer]

So since a jerkoff tonight wanted to mention “entry level positions” here’s the starting pay for grade 1’s/2’s for the waste water industry here california.

For a small fee of 99 dollars at my local community college (where I saw a flyer for this since I had gone in to take my Brit Lit final) I can take a three hour online course from 9am to 12 pm for a duration of four months. I’ll get my credentials for my grade one and will be eligible to take my grade 2 immediately. Even the minimum starting salary at 60 grand a year is very much doable to live on my own and save up to buy a house, even around here. There are five grades for operators as well as other types of positions for plant management and leadership that require a degree.

My father makes last time I checked 52 an hour as a grade two (he can’t pass his grade three because he’s not good at taking tests) along with all sorts of other benefits due to working for the city/county. He has no education higher than a high school diploma and he’s been doing this for over two decades. In fact the only reason why he learned about the job in the first place was because he knew a guy.

So what’s my point?

Opportunities like this in spite of the seeming ease of entry, are hard to come by. If I hadn’t taken a class in the building this flyer was posted in, I might not have seen it, and if my dad didn’t know a guy, he never would’ve found a breadwinner job so easily.

And sure 99 dollars isn’t much of an expenditure for me, but someone who is actually living paycheck to paycheck might have to think about it, even though it pays well because they’re always hiring operators as they build more plants. 9am to 12pm might be hard for some people to schedule around as it is kind of awkward time placement wise, and unless you have a laptop or computer (which can be another couple hundred dollar investment that some people might not have money to spend if they’re making minimum wage and living paycheck to paycheck) you’re going to have to find a public library with good internet access and hope they have computers available if at all, and honestly online classes really aren’t for everyone especially if you get distracted easy or find the lack of direct access to an instructor discouraging.

Social mobility/advancement has always been gatekept by money, because a lot of time to make money you need to spend money you might not have. This is really nothing to me money wise because I’ll be the first to admit I’m privileged in a lot of ways but a lot of people aren’t me. People don’t even talk about wastewater as industry because it’s also dirty work, the kind of work people turn their nose up to because you work with literal shit and shit water and piss and all sorts of other gross stuff.

Yet the entry level position that requires a 99 dollar enrollment fee and spending 3 hours a week for four months pays a lot better than most jobs that require a degree or trade school/apprenticeship.

So when people say entry level positions shouldn’t be livable I’m going to share this, and say “I bet you feel real stupid now huh?”

And some will say “but downer waste water is really important work our society couldn’t function without it!” yeah you’re right so would every other entry level wagie shit because I doubt most people have the means to live on their own without having to go to the grocery store every couple of weeks. Not even that but people lose their shit about not having access to caffeine, and if you have a pet especially an exotic one like a snake that requires mice whether dead or frozen how are you going to feed without some schmuck like me grabbing it for you?

now never did I say wagie shit needs to be a high paying career cause I’m a firm believer in a job being a job till the next one, but if people take me saying what amounts to “I don’t think people should have to struggle to live even a little comfortable” as some kind of… attack? then I really don’t know what to say other than go fuck yourself and develop real issues to be angry about.

[sneakerdoodle]

earlier this month i posted about Medo Halimy's campaign, alongside two others, in an attempt to call attention to the fact that there are multiple ways to assure the validity of a campaign, including directly following the Gazan creators that are livestreaming their displacement from their personal long-standing Instagram/TikTok accounts; there is a way for pretty much anyone to find a trustworthy way of verifying a specific fundraiser, be it through getting in touch with the campaign organizer, following a project like Operation Olive Branch and others, or seeking out active online creators from Gaza directly.

Medo was martyred on August 26th, a week after the martyrdom of his 11-year-old cousin.

Medo started planting in displacement, posting videos in which he tended to tiny shoots and nurtured them into stronger plants, referring to it as an act of resistance.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Medo Halimy (@medo_halimy)

it's important to acknowledge that while Medo's death has left a tangible trail - we had his online presence, and now we do not, we heard his voice and now we will not - this is not a "new stage", this is not a crossing of a line. the line was crossed many awful months ago, and people just like Medo, young and old, die every single day.

i want the people who contribute to any sense of cynicism, apathy, or skepticism around the very fact of existence of Palestinian evacuation fundraisers to sit with that: here, we have a person who we undeniably know was suffering displacement in Gaza; we have a person who was trying to shed light on his and his family and friends' daily lives, and was trying to get his loved ones to safety; we have a person who was never supposed to have anything to prove, but has now paid the highest price possible, because he was, in fact, a real living breathing human being, and he was, in fact, Gazan.

this is one person that could've lived, and didn't; and so many more like him are dying, every single day. it is not in your right to feign helplessness in the face of the very fact of existence of online scammers, because telling them apart from real people is somehow too confusing for you. find a way, for yourself, to make sure that you trust the source that tells you a campaign is legitimate, and stick to it, and act on it, so that the voices of people like Medo do not fall on deaf ears.

i want to be careful not to exploit Medo's passing as a rhetorical device or a convenient illustration; so i want to strongly and directly encourage you to please, please support his family through their loss, and donate to their GoFundMe campaign so that the rest of them could have a chance at safety.

join the people leaving loving, grieving notes with their donations in Medo's memory. that is the easiest thing you can do in honor of a life lost. keep him in your prayers, too, use your voice to stand in solidarity with him and every other person trapped in Gaza and subjugated across Palestine.

Medo's family still has ~$12,000 USD to raise; please contribute to meeting that goal, and once it is met, move on to the next one, stay engaged, stay empathetic, stay determined. i repeat, there is no excuse to deny these people a chance at safety and escape. not one of us has any right to decide that they do not deserve it. you don't get to decide for them if their choices in the middle of a devastating genocidal assault are ones you approve of, or can "justify" supporting. (<- this, specifically, is directed at people who have argued that it's somehow wrong to support specific individuals trying to evacuate because a) it would benefit corrupt officials in Egypt, b) it wouldn't help everyone who is forced to stay behind) and, again, there are multiple ways for you to know who your money is going to. don't become apathetic just because you don't believe you have one right now.

Medo deserved life, and so did every other martyr, and so does every single Gazan that is still here, still fighting for their survival and still asking for your participation.

[bitacrytic]

Before I turn in for the day, let me just say this.

We're all judging Joe for allowing Ming to arrange his guts after what he said to Sol.

But when Joe said it, he knew he was going to fuck Ming. He took the house and the money. His ass belongs to Ming for another year. Ming's been circling him for days now and eventually, Ming's audacity was going to kick again and he'd demand the sex he paid for.

Joe knew this when he said-

Not because he's a liar or because he had no idea of the extent of his feelings.

Because we know how Joe treats Ming now. He talks back. He ignores him. He tells Ming he's busy. Joe wasn't saying that shit for Sol's benefit.

He was saying it because he meant it. Based on what he's examined about himself in the second life. He was going all gooey inside for Ming until he heard about Ming smiling for Tong. Everytime he's nearly faltered, Joe has reminded himself that he's just a stand in.

And as long as that information remains uncontested, Joe's feelings will remain in his old body.

Yes, we know he'll eventually fall back in love. But he's not a fool this time. Hes been carefil with his affection. However his body is a human body. You touch it the right way and it will get excited.

ESPECIALLY WHEN YOU CONSENTED TO IT. AND ALSO WHEN THE PERSON DOING IT KNOWS WHAT YOU LIKE.

Joe knows this.

Sol knows this too, which why he said-

And this was after Joe had already told Wut-

Sol knew the reality of the situation. He knew that Joe was going to leave that conversation and probably go plant it on a flat surface for Ming to get access.

Joe wasn't lying. He was just stating a fact.

[creature-wizard]

Something that the folks into New Age beliefs (ascension, starseeds, etc) need to understand is that conspiratorial worldviews (like the idea that there's an ancient global conspiracy manipulating everything behind the scenes) are inherently divisive. It doesn't matter how much you like the idea of peace, harmony, and unity consciousness, and it doesn't matter how much you personally try to keep your vibrations up; if you believe that everyone who disagrees with you is secretly controlled by the shadow government or whatever, you're never going to be able to maintain any kind of long-term relationship with most people, including the ones who generally share in your beliefs and values, because at some point you're going to disagree with each other on something, and when that happens, you're going to suspect each other of being government plants, controlled opposition, disinfo agents, or whatever. Conspiracy theorists are constantly accusing each other of being agents of the conspiracy.

Now like, there's a bunch of scammers in New Age communities, sure. And said scammers just make up whatever to make money. And that's bad, but that's not the same thing as being a government plant, ya know? Also, conspiratorial narratives actually benefit the scammers, because whenever anyone tries to call them out on their shit, they'll just say the government is out to get them and people will believe them.

But most of you? Most of you are just incredibly passionate people with firm convictions. You're not disagreeing because one of you is a double agent; you're disagreeing because you're people and people always have different points of view because no two people live the exact same life experience. Now sure, some of you are real dicks sometimes, and some of you get carried away by your own egos, but none of you are part of an ancient global conspiracy.

You need to understand, this conspiracy narrative does not come from good people. It comes from some of the worst, in fact. It's made from the same tropes used to justify the witch hunts and the Holocaust. Now, I know conspiracy theorists often believe that these people were actually part of the conspiracy and put this information out there in this form to throw people off the scent, but you gotta understand, there's no evidence of this, because there's no actual evidence of the conspiracy in the first place. Literally it's always been a bunch of assholes thinking of the most heinous actions they can imagine to slander those they hate and want to oppress, it's just that simple. When you adopt a conspiratorial worldview, you are internalizing this hatred and making it part of your inner matrix. Even if you're experiencing a high vibrational state 99% of the time, these beliefs - this programming - is going to affect how you perceive and respond to those who don't believe the same way as you in a very, very negative way.

[flyingbroommate]

Time to post my dunmeshi OC!! His name is Gnicholas Howz

Gnicholas 'Gnic' Howz

Gnome

75yrs

140cm

Healer and reviver

Has 2 younger brothers and his grandparents

Story

In his hometown he set out to the dungeon to make money for his family

Started out being hired by small parties to revive/heal them

Some parties took his magic for granted and they could keep going forever with his healing, Gnic didn't like this

Gnic made a once off comment that he should be charging for how often he has to revive his teammates, this escalated into some rumours

Most new parties end up avoiding him

Rumours went around that he was a money hungry gnome that charges his parties for every time they die, making him less popular

He ended up moving to Merini Village, even cutting and dying his hair black to throw off anyone that might recognise him

To avoid a repeat of what happened before he decided to rather roam the upper levels by himself and revive or heal parties that need it, for a price

While he does ask for payment he never tries to upsell his services, usually just taking what is first offered, even if it's a few coins or some food

"It's not much but it's honest work"

Life on the Surface

He stays in an inn belonging to a close friend, the reason why he can still find a place to stay for relatively cheap

Runs errands for the friend as a way to pay them back

They're engaged, not many people know

Inbetween dungeon dives he takes care of plants, some he found in the dungeon

Still tries to keep a low profile

Sends most of what he earns back home to his family along with herbs he grows for his grandfather

Random Facts

Slight farsightedness

Owns glasses but never wears them in the dungeon, says he doesn't need them

Has punched a corpse retriever before (thinks they're too greedy/underhanded)

Studied botany before magic

His staff is really heavy

Has been told that elves are selfish and only do what benefits them

His hometown had a mix of dwarves and gnomes

Can read dwarvish, but not a very good speaker

[houseofbrat]

It appears that William and Catherine are demanding half in and half out, and yet the Sussexs were nailed to the cross for similar demands. Not that I think these demands are reasonable, but they are IDENTICAL. Who knows what William does with his day, but Catherine seemingly wants to faff around with her camera and plant daffodils with her children and attend four events a year and, essentially, abandon her patronages. William couldn't even be arsed to look semi-professional at Earthshot.

I don't even know what to say about it anymore.

It's so obvious that Will & Kate aren't doing their jobs. Kate's "cancer" is just an excuse to hide behind. It's really only the diehard Wales fans who keep making excuses for them now.

William can hardly make a visit unless it's related to his foundation initiatives. Kate isn't going to do anything except the major events--Trooping, Remembrance, Christmas concert, and maybe Wimbledon in the future.

Otherwise, Will & Kate don't care, but their diehard fans will keep insisting that they are going to be the bestest royals who ever royaled.

Here are some throw backs from @helenaaurelia's blog on W&K's work focus:

It’s extremely important. It’s just not her job. Her job is not to be running a foundation that changes how babies will be treated in the first weeks of their lives. That’s for wealthy philanthropists or for the government. Her job is to thank the people whose job it is for doing all of it. If Kate wants to be a philanthropist in her spare time,(and with other people’s money) kudos for her and I’m sure babies all around the world will benefit from her work. But she’s doing it at the expense of doing her job. To give a drastic example, let’s say a surgeon develops a cure for cancer, but he does it while he was supposed to be operating on his patients. He should be given loads of awards and praise for the cure, but he should also have been fired from his job as a surgeon the first time he just didn’t show up when he was supposed to perform a surgery. It isn’t the job of a surgeon to find a cure for cancer, it’s his job to operate on patients.

and

They are serving the nation. It’s just that they are doing it the way they want to do it rather than the way the nation seems to want them to do it.

and

I don’t think that she’s doing it for her image, but because she wants to make a difference. I just also think that it isn’t her job to make a difference, at least not like that. Its her job to go and congragulate people, or comfort them, or encourage them. She’s doing it now, but it does seem wrong that people who work in maternity wards have a much higher chance of meeting the Princess of Wales than just about anyone else in a hospital, or that primary school teachers are more likely to get a royal visit than sanitation workers. I personally would much rather visit a day care than a sewage treatment plant, but the fact remains that both are very necessary for society, and the sanitation workers probably need the appreciation more than the teachers, since they aren’t often recognized as much. It’s one of the reasons I admire Anne so much. She actually paid an official visit to the London Sewers, to celebrate those who work there.

and

I used to think it was a great idea but recently I’ve noticed the issue that you pointed out. I’m starting to think that only focusing on the causes you feel passionate about is a form of selfishness, and that their main goal should be serving their country. They should be visiting places all around the country and be going to places that the people in that part of the country want to show them rather than the places that they personally care about. No one knows what causes Elizabeth II was the most passionate about because she treated all engagements and all duties the same. I’m sure she would have loved to spend most of her time at animal rescue places , especially those with horses or dogs, but she didn’t. She served her people the way they wanted her to serve them, rather than the way she felt was best.

[sassyfrassboss]

Where did all the money go?

So we keep coming back to the fact that Harry & Meghan are broke, like on the verge of bankruptcy broke.

Going back over the past 5 years I am going to delve into their finances.

Meghan was estimates to be worth $5m when she married Harry. Now, we know this just isn’t in fact true. While Meghan may have earned close to $5m while appearing on Suits, she also had to pay her agent, PR people, attorneys, etc. By the time that is all said and done, she was probably closer to $1.5 million, and that’s being generous.

Now Harry is said to have had about $20m at the time from his inheritance from Diana. This was due to not having to touch that money so it was able to accumulate over time. There are also rumors that he received about $3m from The Queen Mother (this has been heavily disputed) and will be set to receive about another $4m from that trust on his 40th birthday.

While a working royal, Harry was only responsible for paying for personal items such as clothing and travel. He never had to pay a mortgage, electricity bill, or car payment.

I am going to give him the benefit of the doubt that he had about $25m at the time he married Meghan. With her income we can say that as of May 2018 they were worth a combined $26.5m (this does not include her merching money from 2016).

So they lived in Nott Cott and according to them, had no staff because the place was just “so tiny!”

From November 2017 until March 2020, I would say Meghan has probably earned close to $20m in merching contracts. Plant has stated that she knows for a fact Meghan, at one point, was earning $250k per item she was merching per outfit, so up to $1m a day. I do believe this money has been set aside and Meghan is using this as her fallback plan. I truly don’t think she has touched this money.

So Fiscal year 2018 they had $3.5m minus any personal expenses. We know she wasn’t paying for her clothing and they were getting free private jet rides and free stays so I am going to say at the end of 2018 they had about $3m of that $3.5 remaining.

When H&M moved into Frogmore in March 2019, the UK paid the refurbishment bill of close to $4m USD. While living there they paid for household staff such as the chef they had, housekeeper, and nannies.  So I am going to take about $250k off of the $3.5 and let’s say another $500k for personal expenses. Fiscal year 2019 they ended with $2.75m.

January 2020 I am going to estimate they went into the year with a possible savings of $5.75m from Charles. We know they stayed for free in Canada and didn’t have to pay for security at the time.

By March 2020, I estimate that they went into being “private citizens” with close to a possible $32m in the bank (not including her merch money).

Their house was $14m and rumor is that Charles gave them an approximately $4m down payment. Let’s say H&M put down an additional $3m out of their own pocket. Now they have $29m and a mortgage of $50k a month, plus staff salaries. I estimated that their yearly expenses were close to $4m a year for household and security. To have spending money I figured they would need to earn about $6m a year.

So if they were to earn no income, that $29m would last about 7 years. However, we know they have received about $13m to Archewell plus whatever they earned from Spotify & Netlfix. Which I doubt was a lot after overhead for their projects.

$29m plus the $13m and approximately $4m from Netlfix & Spotify combined is about $46m, plus Harry’s $35m three book deal ($10 million because he only wrote one book).

This would put them at possible $56m (up to $81m) net worth from 2018 until current if they were careful with their money.

Rumors of them being beyond broke means that they have spent a total of $56m in 5 years, but probably closer to $70m.

Yet they have nothing to show for their insane spending other than their house.

[melishade]

In the Peaceful Timeline, how's Hanji going to find out about the alien robots? There's no way she hadn't noticed anything going on with Eren, Mikasa, and Armin.

Previous Episode of the Peaceful Timeline

Oh Hanji's absolutely been suspicious about Eren, Mikasa, and Armin in the Peaceful Timeline.

See, because the Modern Day Trio come up to them and ask them questions about the Ghost Car (Optimus Prime) and the Demon Plane (Megatron). They've been talking about it for weeks. And they suddenly just...drop it. They stop talking about it. They stop asking about it. It's suspicious. Hanji notices the truck still coming into town, but nothing else.

Hanji knows for a fact that they found something. They are hiding something. So who better to employ in their mission than a former criminal?

Levi deadpanning as Hanji is grinning at them:...No.

Hanji: Yes!

Hanji asks Levi to plant a recording device on one of them to figure out what's going on, which is a huge risk for the both of them. Levi is trying to recover from a life of crime and start off fresh with Erwin's help. Doing this will violate his parole and all of his progress. Meanwhile, planting a bug and spying on the students will look bad for Hanji, who is a teacher at the school with an already outlandish reputation. Hanji's on their knees begging Levi, stating they will do anything for Levi for the next week.

Levi pointing at the hell storm that is their desk: Keep your shit clean.

Hanji: Except for that!

Levi gets paid extra, and he gets better cleaning products. Device is on Armin for about a day before Levi manages to snag it back from him without knowing. Erwin finds out and is obviously mad at the both of them, but Hanji insists that they listen to the recording first. If there's nothing important on them, Hanji will take full blame for it and will resign from their job. Hanji, Levi, and Erwin listen to the recording and are completely shook at the sounds of two new voices and the fact that there is a confession that the Ghost Car and the Demon Plane are actually aliens!

Hanji: ALIENS!!!!!! THERE ARE ALIENS!!!! THE GHOST CAR IS AN ALIEN!!!!!

Erwin:....you owe Mike so much money.

Levi: You don't tell him shit.

This ultimately turns into that Friends Episode where everyone knows about Monica and Chandler excluding Ross and they're trying to get it out of the other side. Like "They know that we know" and "They know that we know what they know" Erwin and Hanji definitely see a benefit. Like discovering alien life? That's the biggest accomplishment you could ever achieve. Levi's thinking of their safety, especially one of them sounds like the biggest fucking asshole of the year.

The teachers aren't able to get a confession, not without exposing themselves for spying on students, but they do keep a close eye on the trio, waiting for one of them to slip up. They do end up getting involved when Starscream comes into the picture because they've been keeping a close eye on them. And Hanji gets really excited to test something completely unsanctioned that Erwin had to lock away in storage.

(I would have spoiled some stuff regarding that final confrontation, but I've decided to hold off on that for now. Lol.)

[elkieselkiewrites]

About the Postmaster WIP world:

Rappenrath, where most of our story takes place; an Empire ruled over by Emperor Ansgar Lamprecht Gasparsen with his niece and consort Princess Odilie Verena Arendtse, consisting of the Imperial capital of Thedenfast in Munland (Duchies that once belonged to the Wodefolk before their disappearance and retreat to the depth of their forests in the West), Rotherel, Eathel and Luzzelmark to the South, Staithland to the West, contested Vyskavia to the East, and the desolate Hollow Fens to the North.

Each territory has its own distinct dialects and cultures from before the Imperial take-over, but all speak Theden Common as the Lingua Franca, and use Rappenrath currency (5 Bronze Choughs to 1 Copper Crow, 10 Copper Crows to 1 Silver Rook, 20 Silver Rooks to 1 Golden Raven).

The Empire stretches from the shores of The Whiting Strand in the North, through the Moonwoods and the Golden Forest, over the vast peaks of the White Hind Mountains in the West and the along the spires of the Giant’s Spine to the Serpents’ Pass in the East, all the way down to the rolling plains and vast lakes of Eathel in the South. This supplies the Empire with almost everything it could require with little reliance on other countries, and makes it a formidable trade partner for its neighbours. The late emperor, Gaspar, had made a point of quantifying and delineating his rule not with his armies or battle prowess, but with infrastructure. The unification of currency, language, and transport within the boundaries of the Empire made it difficult to simply invade and plant a flag,and helped cement Rappenrath rule across the continent.

The Weterlands are peaceful water-faring communities separated from most of the Empire by the wild and unforgiving Hollows, and the more prosperous Staithland. Though the Empire once set out to conquer the Weterlands too, it became apparent that the energy and manpower it would take to cross the marshlands would significantly outweigh the benefits of holding the Weterland coast.

The Weterlands are the home of the Favalan, the river people who are thought by Theden to look like river rats, with their small stature, broad noses, and twitchy ears and tails, but are in fact a very sophisticated and cultural people who care a lot about social stature. They call themselves Weys, and live in waterwheels and windmills on the marshlands. Originally those with money lived on the waterways and the less fortunate folk lived in the bogs, but with the Hollows slowly but surely encroaching on the Weterlands, the waterways had been drying up and those with windmills suddenly became the fortunate ones. Because of this catastrophe, many Weys started to migrate South into Staithland and Western Munland.

Goria is a country to the East of the Empire and the Empire's constant foe, often fighting over Vyskavia, which had once been a part of Goria. Outer Goria had also once belonged to Goria proper, but had since gained its independence. Goria is a mountainous and more tempestuous country than much of the Empire, with more dangerous creatures and stronger Resonance due to its closer proximity to the Delflands.

The Delflands to the far, far North are strange and wild places even to the Gorians who live on their borders. Cold, harsh, unforgiving landscapes ravaged by volcanic activity. There are few who venture there willingly. However, little to the knowledge of many Theden and even Wodefolk, the Delflands were the birthplace of The Resonance, the very thrum of magic that brought about the Muin and the Theden.

Notes on the Resonance: The impact of the Traveller, the first being of magic, made of singing stone from the stars, made the rock of the earth sing with them. The vibrations brought magic to the forests, the birth of the first Muin as the songs thrummed through the living wood, and the sound drew the Theden from the South to the new Muin Lands, by that point filled with Muin tree people. The Delven people are all carved from singing stone, but when they inevitably begin to slow and crack, they are brought back to the Delflands, to the Traveller's Landing, a vast magma chamber, to be recast under their watchful eye.

[rjalker]

one of these days I'm gonna grow a tree from seed and after multiple years it'll flower and reveal it has a mutation for double or triple or more petals and I'm gonna be so disappointed.

Edit: Here's why:

Wild flowers tend to have only a "single" layer of petals, leaving the center of the flower open for pollinators to reach, giving them nectar, and helping the plant reproduce by being pollinated.

Most cultivated flowers on the other hand are chosen from mutations that give the plant multiple layers of petals, making it almost, if not outright impossble for the flower to be pollinated at all, meaning pollinators don't benefit, and the plant can't reproduce, either.

This is done because the extra petals look cool, and, nowadays, because if your only choice is to go and buy more plants because you can't save seeds (and it's usually illegal to clone these ones, too), it makes companies more money because you have to keep buying from them when you want new plants.

[ID: Two photos of roses. One is a wild cherokee rose, with a five-petaled white flower with a golden center. The other is a cultivated rose with many layers of overlapping petals which are pale pink on the outermost layer, and golden yellow towards the center, where the petals are so tightly folded together the center of the flower cannot be seen. End ID.]

Also as a fun fact, apples and pears and a lot more plants than you'd think are in the rose family!

Edit 2: Also PSA both photos of the roses used are public domain, as is this combo, so feel free to save and us it if you want, for anything you want.

[monsteradmirer]

I really really hope she comes back for the final arc

Not just because her character design is pretty but I do have my suspicions about her

Theories + speculation ↓

With how crazy the whole betrayal arc was Im not surprised people glossed over the fact this woman is a magical girl.

Just from her job as the hostess for Kamakura's party we can glean alot of info about her role in his schemes. Kamakura was a very paranoid man. He would've had no reason to pass off an important task like this to a random person. Kaede had to work under him for ten years and destroy Magilumiere to earn a close position to Kamakura so no doubt this woman has done the same.

Within in the magic industry jobs fall into three categories: corporate, technical, and frontline. Between the corporate and technical side of things, Kamakura and Manao have thoroughly manipulated the industry for over two decades. They've done everything in their power to make sure no information leaks out. So in order to cover all of their bases they employed this woman to act as their frontline.

Since she would need an extensive history with Kamakura I believe she started as a beta tester for the magic development lab. She could've been assigned to the lab by the state and then pulled in by Kamakura and Manao's personal agenda. This conversation gives some insight on how Manao may have lured this woman into helping. He's was prodding Shigemoto on his values to see if he's either willing/gullible enough to join in.

But what benefit would this woman get out of working with them? Simple. money and power. Manao talks about picking out the "lazy employees not willing to work above their pay grade" for experiments so it's likely she was taken in by that sort of offer. While the hostess mainly talks about how Rabbit benefits investors, it could also bring stability to the magical girl job. Hypothetically magical girls would no longer need to worry about when or what the next job is gonna be because investors would consistently conjure up a new one. These kaii outbreaks can completely wipe out competition, be it the front liners or the industry buildings themselves. And while this woman could die from these experiments there's also a chance she can become stronger from them. Since the true purpose of these experiments is the artificial enhancement of magical girls. I believe this woman to be the culmination of these experiments.

There arent a lot of specifics but we do know that overusing magic can cause physical damage/strain to the user. Kamakura and Manao's "solution" to this is amplifying frontliners' magical stamina. With a longer lasting battery life, these optimized magical girls could pull off more large scale magic spells without much strain. More large scale magic means more residual magic creating stronger and more frequent kaii outbreaks. Ultimately a manmade feedback loop for disaster.

The "Cellular manipulation" part implies that these experiments worked like a cell therapy plan. These treatments take months for results to appear so Kamakura couldve kept the hostess close to observe her. They couldve kept her around to continue the experiments on her to refine the procedure. If this woman is the most success theyve had with artificial enhancement then the next big thing to do is to test it.

I think this "artificial magical girl test" was the first kaii calamity. While there isnt a lot of info, we do know that the original site was a vacant lot and it expanded rapidly. The way that Kamakura orchestras the 2nd kaii calamity shows how he planned out the first. The main difference being Kamakura trying to fill in the role of an artificial magical girl. This whole page shows Kamakura using the same logic behind the first kaii calamity thinking it would work out the same way but it didnt. He underestimated how big the role of magical girls were to his plan and it lead to his downfall.

So I believe the test started with Manao luring Alice to the site with a planted mutated kaii, then an undercover magical girl (the hostess) fed residual magic to it from afar leading to the infamous kaii calamity incident. Even before the calamity/Manao's disappearance, one of the last notable conversations we see is about his interest in magical girl experiments specially ones that "achieves maximum output." Hauntingly how Manao talks in the last panel reminds me of war propaganda saying to "have pride dying for the greater good." It was all a test to see how far they can get from exchanging people's livelihoods for economic growth.