#anti-airbnb

[gemsofgreece]

As a Greek i think we should boycott Airbnbs.

We are that we are a small country already ,with the youth not being able to EVEN AFFORD to buy a house, high inflation ,there are now Airbnbs that pressure people to change houses every tourist period, so they can get that extra money.

Greed i tell you, it's a parasite.

We absolutely should do this. I have never been in one, not only due to my beliefs but also because I trust a certified business such as a hotel with good reviews and employees trained in tourism services way more than just anybody's house.

I am an optimist that Airbnb will eventually collapse, it's already getting bad rap in the touristic countries and I am hearing several governments are turning against it gradually.

I believe it will fall but it isn't falling soon enough... it has already caused problems that are hard to reverse.

[radicalgraff]

Stencil spotted in Athens, Greece

[ayeforscotland]

So a little bit more on this image where Tory MSPs stand amongst a crowd of short-term let landlords holding up a variety of signs including weird girlboss slogans, something about shooting a family holiday in the back of the head, an autistic person's 'dream' about being an AirBnB landlord, and - because of course - antisemitism. Scotland is introducing legislation to curb AirBnB and short-term lets which particularly impact Edinburgh. The people in this photo are basically unregulated landlords who believe they are entitled to hoard property. This impacts everything from housing availability to rent in the city. The people above are protesting this legislation, and many are refusing to pay the couple of hundred pounds to apply for a license to continue operating their property empires. They say they'll be automatically rejected. But why? Why would they be automatically rejected?

Could it be that, when they acquired their properties, some of them may have not applied for planning permission to repurpose their flats as commercial properties? (Answer: Yes) Could it be that if they never applied for a 'Change of Use' in accordance with the Town and Country Planning (Use Classes) Scotland Order 1997 - this may perhaps render some of them in breach of their insurance? (Answer: Yes) Could it be that by not complying with planning regulations that some may have in fact committed mortgage fraud? (Answer: Yes)

[spacerockfloater]

Honestly, if you think about it, Azriel’s bonus chapter makes total sense.

Why wouldn’t the pussy whipped/ involuntarily celibate/ stalker/ generally creepy guy nearly cum in his own pants just because he smelled a woman?

[frozenoj]

[jellogram]

Where does the whole "Airbnbs make you clean the place yourself even though they charge a cleaning fee!" thing even come from. I've stayed in at least a dozen and investigated probably a hundred others before booking. Not a single time have I seen a policy like that. The absolute most I have ever been told to do is wash dishes and take out the trash. And I've actually been told NOT to clean before. Requesting guests to clean the place after is simply not a part of how the site works, in my experience. Is this some bullshit from the entire-houses-market-destroying-rich-influencer side of the website or are you guys just fucking lying

[dirty-bear-rick-sanchez]

Also I rewatched the other Inside Job Part 2 trailer and ‘this is the most damaging midlife crisis since Elon Musk’ has aged like the FINEST of wines

[rebelarkey]

I hate you vrbo I hate you airbnb I hate you housing shortage I hate you ghost homes I hate you short term rentals I hate you rent increases I hate you vacant homes I hate you housing market I hate you shelter for profit I hate you housing crisis

[luminiera-merge]

i love venture capital-funded unregulated versions of already existing public services replacing those public services. classifying your workers as contract workers in the name of denying them rights and underpaying them is all i've ever craved. undercutting your opposition to build a captive audience and then slowly jacking the prices sky high makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. won't you practice tax avoidance with me by moving funds through certain countries? my dream has only ever been the privatisation of everything ❤️

[gemsofgreece]

What is a more ethical way to visit Greece in terms of lodging? Like in terms of over development in the tourist sector? Hotels or air bnb or hostiles?

That’s a good question. With the assumption that there is the budget for any of these, my recommendation is definitely:

Hotels >> Hostels >>> Airbnbs

With an ethical perspective. (With a quality perspective I would probably switch hostels with airbnbs.)

Hostels are not particularly developed in Greece. It can be an okay choice though, especially if you do not care about many amenities, you are young and don’t have too particular needs / preferences or are tight on budget. But it is 90% the lowest quality option in Greece.

Greek airbnbs can vary from mediocre to awesome and you can find okay places for very good prices. However, it is the least ethical option. Yes, it’s usually people renting a property for some more income but a) many rich people with a LOT of properties turn all of them into airbnbs or buy more and more properties to use them exclusively as airbnbs and b) Greece is one of the countries that has started facing very serious problems due to the uncontrollable expansion of airbnbs. The government is trying now to set some limitations to them. Especially the most touristy areas have huge issues since all property owners - regardless of income - turn their apartments into airbnbs, making it impossible for local people and critically important professions such as teachers and doctors to find houses on normal rent to stay. As a result they are forced to quit on their jobs and touristy yet remote places such as islands and traditional towns are left without teachers and doctors and generally suffer from an imbalance of necessary services. There are now just tourists, restaurant owners and airbnb owners frenchkissing or something there and that’s it. Sometimes, when the need for them is too bad yet people still insist on turning their houses to airbnbs, teachers and doctors end up sleeping in rooms or yards or rooftops of the local owners. That shit has turned into a dystopia. Furthermore, the rise of airbnbs has been causing big problems in cities and non-touristy areas as the cost of rent has skyrocketed (as the incentive for house owners to not make their property an airbnb) which makes it impossible for students and young people to find apartments in reasonable and affordable prices! I don’t care if anyone reading this has airbnbs and is pissed, airbnb is unethical in touristy countries!!!

Because Greece is a touristy country there is a huge variety of hotels to choose from, all quality types, all types of businesses. Greece is a country with MANY family run hotel businesses that can have great quality and can provide a cozy environment even better than airbnbs do. There are obviously also many big shark hotel chains but they are not the standard. The standard are the family run hotels. You can usually tell by the websites whether a hotel is part of a chain. For example, the Hiltons are foreign sharks. The Domotels are Greek sharks. But even so, even the sharks, honestly they do not cause a lot of problems. Usually they are expensive large hotels with all sorts of amenities, big breakfasts, nice environments.

There are some concerns about hotels lately getting overbuilt in environmentally sensitive areas but that is also the case for private properties intended to be used as airbnbs. This is something you as a tourist can’t possibly guess. But hotels - big chains or not - definitely cause fewer problems in the society compared to airbnbs.

But if you want both an ethical choice and good services opt for a small or medium sized hotel that is not part of a chain. Usually most of them are of the 3 star and the 4 star range, but you can find lower and higher as well. Those are often called boutique hotels.

Last but not least, a whopping 80% of the services sector in Greece is tourism, therefore all these people need tourists to go to hotels to make an income and help economy run smoothly. We are not talking about the sharks here, but simple owners who have to sustain the hotels, receptionists, cleaners, waiters, cooks and all other professions involved in a hotel. Let alone that the sharks employ a gazillion of people that have to make a living - gardeners, physiotherapists, gymnasts, drivers and so on. Airbnbs are antagonising that 80% of the service economy trying to steal tourism’s profit and turn it into their personal side income.

I know I didn’t have to write all this but I am passionate about this topic.

[nando161mando]

From an article titled, "I’m a Gen Zer who makes $96K a year from freelance gigs — I’ll never work 9 to 5 again"

[athenov]

good morning to everyone except people who think airbnb is beneficial

[coochiequeens]

Thousands protest against increasing violence against women in Kenya as they march to the parliamentary building and supreme court in the capital Nairobi [Gerald Anderson/Anadolu Agency]

Published On 27 Jan 202427 Jan 2024

Thousands of people have gathered to protest in cities and towns in Kenya against the recent slayings of more than a dozen women.

The anti-femicide demonstration on Saturday was the largest event ever held in the country against sexual and gender-based violence.

In the capital, Nairobi, protesters wore T-shirts printed with the names of women who became homicide victims this month. The crowd, composed mostly of women, brought traffic to a standstill.

“Stop killing us!” the demonstrators shouted as they waved signs with messages such as “There is no justification to kill women.”

The crowd in Nairobi was hostile to attempts by the parliamentary representative for women, Esther Passaris, to address them. Accusing Passaris of remaining silent during the latest wave of killings, protesters shouted her down with chants of “Where were you?” and “Go home!”

“A country is judged by not how well it treats its rich people, but how well it takes care of the weak and vulnerable,” said Law Society of Kenya President Eric Theuri, who was among the demonstrators.

Kenyan media outlets have reported the slayings of at least 14 women since the start of the year, according to Patricia Andago, a data journalist at media and research firm Odipo Dev who also took part in the march.

Odipo Dev reported this week that news accounts showed at least 500 women were killed in acts of femicide from January 2016 to December 2023. Many more cases go unreported, Andago said.

Two cases that gripped Kenya this month involved two women who were killed at Airbnb accommodations. The second victim was a university student who was dismembered and decapitated after she reportedly was kidnapped for ransom.

Theuri said cases of gender-based violence take too long to be heard in Kenyan court, which he thinks emboldens perpetrators to commit crimes against women.

“As we speak right now, we have a shortage of about 100 judges. We have a shortage of 200 magistrates and adjudicators, and so that means that the wheel of justice grinds slowly as a result of inadequate provisions of resources,” he said.

People gather to protest in an anti-femicide demonstration, the largest event of its kind ever held in Kenya. [Gerald Anderson/Anadolu Agency]

Kenyan media outlets have reported the slayings of at least 14 women since the start of the year. [Gerald Anderson/Anadolu Agency]

A protester holds a Palestinian flag during a march to protest against the rising cases of femicide, in downtown Nairobi. [Brian Inganga/AP Photo]

Women and feminists in Kenya took to the streets to march against the rising cases of femicide. [Brian Inganga/AP Photo]

In Nairobi, protesters wore T-shirts printed with the names of women who became homicide victims this month. [Gerald Anderson/Anadolu Agency]

Protesters react against the rising cases of femicide. [Brian Inganga/AP Photo]

A human rights activist reacts as she attends a protest demanding an end to femicide in the country. [Monicah Mwangi/Reuters]

Protesters gather during the anti-femicide demonstration. [Gerald Anderson/Anadolu Agency]

The crowd, composed mostly of women, brought traffic to a standstill. [Gerald Anderson/Anadolu Agency]

[hotvintagepoll]

What are some screwball comedy pairings you wish had been a thing? Can definitely be gay ones :)

Okay finally!

One of the reasons I made this blog in the first place is that few things bring me as much blinding rage as imagining the movies we could have gotten, if old Hollywood had stopped being racist/homophobic/anti-everyone for ten fucking seconds. There were so many talented hotties working through our tournament era who only got cameo spots or no-budget movies! for no reason beyond white supremacy! there were so many stories that didn't get told because heaven forbid we acknowledge gay people! If this blog has a mission statement, a big chunk of it would be about highlighting all the amazing hotties who never got what they deserved in their heyday.

So! Let's tear Louis B. Mayer a new one and make some better movies.

Diamond Eyes (1946)

Harold Nicholas, the bored but fabulous son of a Manhattan millionaire, decides to take himself off on a transatlantic cruise to recover from the boredoms of socialites, constant martinis, and west side glamor. When working girl Rita Hayworth snags him into a fake dating scheme to throw off a jealous ex (Cesar Romero), he doesn't mean to fall in love with his false fiancé—or to set the ex up with his scheming accountant (Tyrone Power).

To the Tune of Millions (1945)

Ann Miller and Lena Horne are conwomen besties who use a fake dance act to get into casinos, which they then promptly rob. Unfortunately, an over-enthusiastic talent agent (Gene Kelly) sees the act and thinks they're legitimate, hiring them on the spot as the lead number in a newly opened but already failing musicale review. Who can they hustle at a theater that's barely bringing in a dime? The two ex-cons fall in love with show business, Kelly and Horne smooch at the grand finale, and Miller has an intense will-they-or-won't-they sparring relationship with the hot stage manager (Ethel Waters—and they will).

Untitled Three's-a-Crowd Film (1942)

Cary Grant, Jean Arthur, and Ronald Colman are running interference on a corrupt justice system while trying to keep up the act that they are all simply cohabitating in a shared AirBnB and definitely not falling in love with each other. Wait. This is actually The Talk of the Town. This movie actually exists and does veer this hard into polyamorous romance.

Tomatoes and Toast (1928)

Anna May Wong and Greta Garbo eat sandwiches for three hours. It's riveting.

One Soul, Two Bodies (1948)

Farley Granger and Vincent Price star as Alexander the Great and Hephaestion in this sword-and-sandals period piece. Though clearly made on a studio backlot with a budget of $3, the dashing romance grounds the chariot races and cardboard sword battle sequences.

Grand Central Station (1931)

Interconnected narratives of Josephine Baker, Joan Blondell, Dolores del Río, and Fredric March all vying for the last seat on the 5:45 train out to Poughkeepsie. When they realize they're jostling to sit next to the same sugar daddy who's been stringing all of them along, the four decide to unionize. Pre-code thrills; the four-in-a-bunk Pullman car scene remains notable for a reason.

I have more but I think I've gone a bit delirious.

[radicalgraff]

Anti-AirBNB sticker spotted in Madrid

[woodlandwizard77]

A Step by Step Guide to Losing Your D**k

I recently wrote a series of messages to my aunt talking about all the steps I need to do to get bottom surgery, a penile inversion vaginoplasty at Mt. Sinai, in the next year or two. Its a long list. And everytime I added something she had a sort of “wow thats rough” reaction, but to me its just the to do list. So I decided to write them all out.

Start transition DONE

Most insurance companies and surgeons require you to have socially transitioned and have done HRT for at least 1 year at the time of operation

For social transition, this was March of 2024

For HRT it will be January of 2025

Get a referral to a surgeon (I am here)

In my case, Mt. Sinai in Manhattan

My Doctor referred me, but Mt. Sinai takes self referrals

Start laser hair removal

Book a consultation (I am here)

Go to laser frequently enough to satisfy surgeon

Convince Mom and Dad to help out DONE

Get 2 letters

Social Worker (1)

PCP's Office

Social Worker (2)

Mt. Sinai

Get a gender affirmation loan through the local credit union

Work two weeks so I can take in pay stubs

Get a letter from anybody (probably my HRT prescriber

Meet with representative and either open a line of credit or take out a loan

Consultation with Mt. Sinai’s team

Wait 3-6 months (I’m here)

Bring letters

My insurance only requires 2, less than Mt. Sinai thinks insurance will need, and Mt. Sinai provides 1 of them. Meaning the other is through IHS Behavioral

Schedule Social Work pre surgical consult appt

Schedule Mental Health and Medical Clearance with Registrar

Go to NYC for 1-2 nights, maybe for each, hopefully just once

Maybe also for Social Work thing

Consult with Surgeon

Wait until I’ve worked about 12 months to get short term disability

Probably summer (ASAP) and when Mom has time off

Do logistics

Book an airbnb, hotel, etc for recovery

Starting a few days after OR date and lasting a little over a month

Within a 90 minute drive of Mt. Sinai

Rural enough that Mom is comfortable to help and can go home if someone else shows up

Probably New Jersey, maybe Hudson Valley

Has at least 1, preferably 2, separate bedrooms

Has 2 beds

Has ADA accessible entry

Has a kitchen

Has a full bath, preferably and a half

Has internet and preferably a TV

Lodging for Mom + Dad/care team while I’m in OR

Probably 5-7 days

Preferably with a 1-2 day buffer period before OR date (included in the 7 day estimate) so I can enjoy the city

Either within a short walk from Mt. Sinai or on the same subway line as Mt. Sinai

RW, 1, or ACE

Someone to help me get from recovery location to Mt. Sinai while not in NYC

Develop and get list of items needed for recovery

Dilator

Pads

Gowns/loose clothing

Comfort food

Coordinate missing 8-9 weeks of work

Take care with who knows what before I leave

Inform HR, department manager, and work friends whats up

Get cleared for surgery and get an OR date

Probably a 6-12 month date from clearance

Get pre clearance testing through PCP or a lab in hometown

Go to NYC for that if need be

Week Before Surgery

No alcohol, no aspirin, NSAIDs, herbal supplements, or fish oil

Consult for other non aspirin blood thinners (which I am not on)

No alcohol for 3 weeks after as well

Tylenol/Acetaminophen is okay

Go downstate

See friends from NYC?

Bring Mom/Dad?

Do something fun in Manhattan

Get a COVID test

Take an anti-bacterial bath

Day before surgery

Breakfast before 9am

Last meal

Drink Golytely bowel solution around noon

Chemically induced diarrhea

Clear fluids only after golytely

(includes coffee, tea, water, broth, some juices)

Nothing goes in the stomach after midnight

Some medication okay with a sip of water

HRT???

Get surgery (a penile inversion vaginoplasty)

1 to 1+½ days

I’ve heard of as long as three

3-5 day hospital stay

Mom and Dad probably stay in Manhattan then

Go to recovery location

Drive with seat reclined

Stay for 4 weeks, pretty much bedridden

Go to follow ups

Dilate

Go home

Continue recovery for another 2-4 weeks at home

Follow up with PCP

Return to life