#bringing shame to leftists everywhere

[drafty-castle]

I’m disabled and I get payed by the state to take care of my severely disabled, nursing-home-level-of-care wife. If I didn’t, we’d be dead. Not homeless, dead.

A lot of people have been saying that voting for Harris is voting for genocide. That voting for her is giving your consent to further killing of babies. That only voting in your own interest - such as in cases like this or her stance on queers or women’s rights - is selfish and that to do so is to be a coward. To be complicit. To be personally responsible for what’s happening in Gaza and Lebanon and everywhere else the US government and army is interfering with.

And…. I don’t know. Maybe? Voting for someone does mean that’s the person you’re hoping to be in charge. But a lot of folks have also argued fairly convincingly that the US is already a fascist state with just a veneer of democracy painted on top - in which case, why do they care who I vote for? And if it’s not yet so, Americas has always been a genocidal state and that is not something I can change. That is not something I can vote away.

I’ve heard told it’s “selfish” to not want my wife and I to die, destitute, unable to afford her medication. I’ve heard told putting myself before the people dying right now in Gaza just makes me one more white colonizer. That people like me deserve to have our rights and privileges removed so we can see how it feels for the rest of the country, the rest of the world. That people like me, who would support a genocider for our own gain, aren’t needed. Aren’t wanted in leftist society.

And I’m left to wonder. Where is the room in leftism for disability - current and severe - in the Glorious Revolution or the anarchist’s dream world or the socialist utopia or whatever comes after… all this. The fall of the USA, end-stage capitalism, Western colonialism. Where is the room for disability when supporting the person who brings policies that would see you live is shamed by the same people you wish to ally with. Where is the room for disability when decades of American policy has been thinly veiled eugenics yet being excited about positive change is seen as spitting on the corpses of babies?

I don’t know what to think. I try not to be swayed by the vitriol that is spewed online. I am heartbroken by the choices Harris has made recently related to Israel, the military, and the border. But I also know that I have to put my own oxygen mask on before I can help anyone else. Because otherwise I’m dead. And maybe that’s fine with strangers on the Internet. But for maybe the first time in my life, I don’t want to die.

Harris is pushing for better funding for at-home caregiving. Which, firstly, is supported by 88% of Americans (not even split between parties! amazing!) We as a country do WAY more putting seniors in nursing homes than other countries, and those nursing homes will drain seniors absolutely dry and funnel all that cash to their shareholders.

As someone in the "sandwich generation" (I have a kid at home and we have a combined total of 6 aging parents who are steadily getting less healthy between my wife and I) this could be great for me and my family in future.

But I want to share a story from back when I was working for a company that provided at-home healthcare. I was in the mental health department, and I was getting really mad at the lack of consistency I saw from the workers who were meant to come and help disabled clients with things like getting food or bathing. They kept just not showing up!!! They kept quitting with no notice! how could they do this to our clients?

I asked a manger why they couldn't find more reliable people to help our shared clients.

She told me they were so unreliable because it's hard to be reliable when you live in a homeless shelter with strict requirements or when you're living out of your car.

These "jobs" were paying wages that were so far below the cost of living that every one of their workers was unable to actually do the job because of the crushing weight of that homelessness.

So, that's where the standards are at. That's the care that much of the US is receiving right now.

That's what this is trying to fix.

[words-and-threads]

I'd like to point out that the idea that men and boys are barely controlled animals is not specifically a leftist idea, although some people with supposedly progressive views seem happy enough to accept it. It's a pervasive, mainstream belief supported by school boards, churches, and governments. Also one that many feminists/leftists have fought and are fighting very publicly.

Nor, by the way, are the people who take advantage of vulnerable men necessarily good for their self-esteem. They're just as likely to insult and abuse their followers, reinforcing one's worst insecurities and, oh yeah, spreading the idea that feminists hate men and that you, cishet white guy, could never be accepted by leftists so you need me. Which would be news to all the lefty politically and socially active cishet white guys I've met.

I'm not saying gender essentialism isn't a systemic problem among leftists. It's fucking everywhere, as is the danger of deciding that since you're one of the Good people you don't have to examine or question your beliefs. Let's give this issue its due: feminists are in fact sometimes unfairly shitty to men, maybe because of their own baggage or out of spite or by accident or to control someone or...lots of possible reasons. Sometimes they just do not have the patience today to answer entry level questions. Sometimes they're hurt by a well-meaning comment or a legitimately cruel joke and lash out. Yknow, people being people for better and worse. Honestly it's unrealistic to expect everyone associated with a large political movement to be cool, but it's also worth pushing back against bad ideas/behavior in your own community. That's just part of the work of being in a community.

In any case, I get concerned when people start talking about how we can't get men on side because there is no place for them in leftist spaces. Because there absolutely is. Has been for decades. No, we can't offer a frictionless social climate where nobody is ever mean to them because that's absurd. But neither can the right wing. Have you seen how Andrew Tate treats his followers? The shit incels say to each other? The abuse alt right foot soldiers are expected to take just so they can bring about a miserable dystopia where their lives will suck even more?

I really don't think the left is uniquely or especially hostile or harmful to men more than any part of our shame-soaked jittery capitalist hellscape. I do think that it's very convenient for the right for men to believe it is.

[richieragz]

A guy from socialist alternative was harassing my mates at the protest so I handed them cards with info about what to do if they were arrested as a nonverbal queue to help them out of the conversation and the little cunt rolled his eyes at ME?? Listen here you little shit, YOU’RE the one peddling your wears with your electronic card reader trying to capitalize on indigenous and poc deaths and drumming up recruits because you have no soul! Outta my fkn way I got information to share and pigs to monitor. “Socialist”, my left fucking NUT

[thezodiaczone]

Aquarius Compatibility

AQUARIUS + ARIES (MARCH 21 - APRIL 19) ♥♥♥♥ You're laugh-a-minute friends who make a fine comedic duo, but the romance isn't as hearty as your side-splitting guffaws. You're amazed by how quickly the other delivers a hilarious comeback or a clever opinion, and it turns you on. Banter leads you to the bedroom fast, where the sex is playful and experimental (though not heavy on the emotional connection). It's as though you've met your twin; and alas, you may soon feel more like siblings than lovers. After a couple weeks, the Bickersons sideshow routine gets old, especially for Aries, and you run out of things to talk about. While casual Aquarius likes to keep the conversation light, Aries has intense, brooding spells that demand way too much emotional attention. For Aquarius, problems are solved with steely logic or left alone, but Aries is unable to curb obsessive thinking, which drives Aquarius mad. Your styles of affection are different, too. Cool Aquarius gets overwhelmed by the Ram's passion and physicality—there's way too much touching, grabbing and kissing for the airy Aquarian temperament. If you're determined to be together, push yourselves to go beyond platonic borders by traveling, taking classes, even performing on stage together. Closeness breeds more ennui than affection. Cultivate mystery through time apart. Your independent signs need to develop your own lives, then reunite with thrilling tales from the road.

AQUARIUS + TAURUS (APRIL 20 - MAY 20) Your signs have so little in common, it's hard to make a go of this. Old-fashioned Taurus craves tradition, order and security. Rebel Aquarius is an oddball who lives to defy rules and convention. Taurus is an Earth sign who plants deep roots; Air sign Aquarius is an adventurous nomad who goes wherever the wind blows. While you may start out fascinated by each other, the magic ends faster than you can say "pixie dust." Taurus will quickly offend Aquarius with his heavy-handed opinions and staunch political views. Free-spirited Aquarius will flee from the Bull's possessive grip, which only clenches tighter the more Aquarius flits about. Then there's the matter of your social circles, which rarely overlap. Aquarius habitually befriends the most eccentric people—the corner wino who's solved the string theory, the local fortune teller, his bus driver. While Taurus may humor these characters in passing, all hell breaks loose when Aquarius invites his tribe of wayward souls to spend the weekend, or to sleep on the couch "until they get their act together." Not on Taurus' leather club chair and alpaca throw pillows! You can try to compromise, but you'll only end up short-changing your natural gifts. Aquarius rules the zodiac's eleventh house of friends and society; he's the unofficial mayor wherever he goes, and is meant to spread himself among the people. Homebody Taurus has much more earthbound goals. Neither of you will get the satisfaction you crave unless you work hard to compromise.

AQUARIUS + GEMINI (MAY 21 - JUNE 20) ♥♥♥♥ This match of compatible Air signs can feel a bit like high school romance—teasing, texting, movie dates with jumbo popcorn and licentious groping during the previews. You bring out each other's breezy, buoyant spirits, and that's a plus. You'll bond over TV shows, favorite sci-fi novels and superheroes, obscure philosophers, music. With your clever comebacks and verbal repartee, you could take a comedy act on the road. Although you can both be overly cerebral at times, you prefer laughter and light conversation to emotional melodrama. Eventually, though, you need to get out of the shallow end of the pool. Intimacy is a challenge for your signs. We're talking true intimacy—being caught with your pants down and no clue how to get them back up. Telling each other your entire life stories in monologue form (which could have happened on the first date) doesn't count. You must soldier through the post-infatuation "awkward phase," or you'll end up feeling like buddies. That would be a shame, as you can make excellent life partners and playmates. The biggie: you'll both need to give up fibs and lies—particularly lies of omission. You're excellent storytellers and politicos, gifted at crafting a spin to fit your agenda. However, the naked truth is the only way out of the Matrix. Though it may topple your PR-friendly public image, it's a necessary risk you must take to build the character and depth of a lasting commitment.

AQUARIUS + CANCER (JUNE 21 - JULY 22) This oddball match is as fascinating and perplexing as a Proenza Schouler pump—and like the highbrow fashion house, few understand its power. Here we have Cancer, sentimental and family-oriented, possessive, anchored by deep roots and tradition. Mix in Aquarius, the sci-fi nomad, a butterfly escaping the net of convention, laughing with you and at you all at once. How on earth…? This is a coupling that doesn't happen often, and for good reason. Cool Aquarius doesn't need much affection, and Cancer withers without physical touch. The Crab clutches his loved ones in powerful pincers, and scuttles after Aquarius, practically begging for love. Naturally, free-spirited Aquarius feels smothered and trapped by these demands for intimacy, and constructs little trap doors everywhere—a basketball team, a drama class, a post on city council. Yet, when wounded Cancer withdraws into his shell, Aquarius is suddenly intrigued. Where did my lifeline go? What Aquarius takes for granted is Cancer's loyalty, which can resemble a mother's love for her troubled teen. The Crab can see the vulnerable child underneath the surly bravado. Beyond that, you owe each other a karmic debt so profound, you can't even articulate it. Explains one Aquarius, who's been with her Cancer mate for 35 years: "I've learned that sometimes you have to do what the other person likes, even if you don't like it." In other words, if you want to stay together, eat your broccoli. You'll certainly grow in spirit and character. Sometimes, your soul needs a challenge more than a smoothly-paved road.

AQUARIUS + LEO (JULY 23 - AUGUST 22) These opposite signs can be volatile match. Leo is the sign of the self, a born star and showstopper who commands attention wherever he goes. Aquarius rules the zodiac's eleventh house of groups and society—he's both the class president and its rabble-rousing radical. You're competitive spotlight-grabbers who can fight dirty, especially as you jostle to outdo each other. Case in point: Leo Whitney Houston and Aquarius Bobby Brown. Their destructive, drug-addled marriage brought Whitney's singing career to its knees. Yet, Leo is a hopeless romantic filled with haughty pride, standing loyally by a mate, fiddling while Rome burns. You both spark each other's jealousy, Leo by flirting with everyone in sight, Aquarius by treating his bazillion friends as though they're on equal par with Leo (they are). Leo is needy, demanding constant attention, but cool-headed Aquarius feels smothered by too much affection and togetherness. Aquarius will listen patiently to Leo's dramas, but only to a point. Leo must keep a stable of supportive friends on hand, and not turn the relationship into an exhausting soap opera script. Aquarius will need to show a little more emotion (besides anger) and tenderness, stepping aside to allow Leo's star to shine.

AQUARIUS + VIRGO (AUGUST 23 - SEPTEMBER 22) To say you're an odd couple is an understatement—and there certainly will be odds to beat. Just figuring each other out could take years, and it might not end well. (Remember tabloid train-wrecks Charlie Sheen and Denise Richards, or Michael Jackson and Lisa Marie Presley?) Judgmental Virgo is an introverted Earth sign with a habit of thinking too much. Breezy Aquarius, a carefree Air sign, is the unofficial town mayor, best friend to everyone from the street sweeper to the CEO. While you complement each other in some ways, your lifestyles are very different. Virgo likes time alone with his books and thoughts, while social Aquarius rarely misses a party and can't be bothered to take life as seriously as Virgo does. Where can you come together? You both like to help people in need, and you're passionate about social change, especially through responsible business practices. Saving the planet is a particular passion for your environmentalist signs. You're as likely to meet at a drum circle as you are at a conference on climate control, or volunteering in the Peace Corps. In fact, this relationship is most likely to succeed if you have a larger common vision. Why not funnel your ideals into a successful enterprise? Go start an eco-village, or open a raw juice bar in an up-and-coming neighborhood—Virgo can grow organic produce in a backyard plot. It will stop Virgo from nagging and nosing into Aquarius's affairs, and will keep restless Aquarius from feeling smothered.

AQUARIUS + LIBRA (SEPTEMBER 23 - OCTOBER 22) ♥♥♥♥ You're one of the zodiac's easiest matches: just two carefree Air signs breezing through life with a full roster of friends, travels and adventures. Together, it's twice the fun. Although Libra is more the dashing diva/dandy and Aquarius the quirky Bohemian, your sunny social dispositions pair well. Every stranger is greeted by your hail-fellow-well-met embrace, and you collect friends wherever you go. Indeed, you may meet while chatting at the cheese counter, lounging poolside on the Riviera, or in a dog park scene reminiscent of an Ephron rom-com (picture Aquarius' retriever pouncing on Libra's dainty teacup terrier—what a metaphor). Your conversational chemistry guarantees a great first date, even if the prevailing vibe is platonic. If you hit it off, you'll host lavish parties with an eclectic mix of Aquarius' artsy, leftist comrades and Libra's highbrow circle, bringing them all together with panache. Caution: your casual natures can impede intimacy. In private, you can both be moody, making pouty, indirect plays for affection and sex. Aquarius is also far less romantic than Libra, at least in the traditional sense. That humanitarian bent will clash with Libra's caviar wishes (animal cruelty!) and fondness of bling (blood diamonds!). Most days, you take those differences in stride. Having a lifelong playmate is worth it.

AQUARIUS + SCORPIO (OCTOBER 23 - NOVEMBER 21) Years after their modern-day Mrs. Robinson relationship ricocheted the term "cougar" into cliché-dom, the Scorpio-Aquarius pairing of Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher can still baffle the naked eye. Scorpio is an intense, seductive creature with ruthless ambition, eagle instincts and a complicated psyche. Aquarius is a silly prankster and a cold-souled nomad who avoids emotion, then releases it in embarrassing blurts of sloppy sentiment. You're certainly an odd couple, down to your values, style and interests. Then there's the power issue to settle. Scorpio wants ultimate control over everything, while rebel Aquarius chafes at any restraint. While Aquarius is happy to hand rulership of the household to Scorpio, any breach of personal freedom will be an instant deal-breaker. Possessive Scorpio must accept that Aquarius is a social creature with friends from all walks of life, and curb the jealousy. Aquarius will need to cut off a few friends (the ex you met at a strip club, the swingers "who are actually really cool") and adopt a few of Scorpio's interests, like Kaballah for Ashton. So where's the click? Different as you are, you both prefer a mate who's hard to figure out: it staves off boredom. To keep this strong, borrow each other's strengths. Aquarius needs Scorpio's depth, and Scorpio lightens up from Aquarius' outrageous jokes and impersonations.

AQUARIUS + SAGITTARIUS (NOVEMBER 22 - DECEMBER 21) ♥♥♥♥ Sagittarius and Aquarius are two of the most free-spirited signs, whose joie de vivre and starry-eyed idealism make you perfect playmates. The "best friends with benefits" label was practically invented for you. Finally, someone who cherishes independence as much as you do! Like Sagittarius Brad Pitt and Aquarius Jennifer Aniston (who shared a hair colorist), you may even look like siblings. It's all so beautiful—until one of you messes up the party by demanding a commitment. Strangely enough, you remain loyal while the terms of the relationship are vague, sneaking out of work for mid-afternoon trysts and leaving with carpet burn. You both love the feeling of "getting away with something," the adventure of the unexpected. Yet, once it becomes an obligation rather than a choice, your libido nosedives. You've now killed off the very thing that attracted you to each other: no-strings attached excitement. Instead of trysting the night away, you're hosting Scrabble tournaments and turning in early. Boring. Because you're so alike, you'll need to work hard to keep each other interested for the long haul. Mix it up by developing separate friends, hobbies and interests—then come back and share your adventurous tales with each other.

AQUARIUS + CAPRICORN (DECEMBER 22 - JANUARY 19) This is the match of the traditionalist and the rebel, the rule-maker and the rule-breaker. Capricorn is the guardian of history, and Aquarius is an innovator who has little regard for the past. If you can meet somewhere in the present, it's sure to be interesting. Disciplined Capricorn can teach Aquarius the value of structure, and Aquarius can help Cap think outside the box. You're both competitive and controlling in your own ways, and few signs can rival your work shared work ethic. The wheeler-dealer light never switches off in either of you—you'll hand out business cards at a funeral. Still, you might be better off as professional partners, since your bedside manner is so different. Lusty Capricorn may be aloof in public, but this sensual Earth sign is a bona fide freak in the sheets. Although Aquarius may love to shock people in public, behind closed doors your interest in sex can be tepid at best. (As the ruler of electricity, gadgets may be preferable.) Socially, Capricorn can be cold or snobbish, choosing friends based on status. Popular Aquarius befriends everyone—don't be surprised if the Chinese food delivery guy ends up at the dinner table sharing your Hunan chicken. Still, Capricorn can be an important grounding force for Air-sign Aquarius, preventing you from floating off into the ether. Life is never dull with an unpredictable Aquarian.

AQUARIUS + AQUARIUS (JANUARY 20 - FEBRUARY 18) Aquarius is the sign of friendship, which would be perfect if you were looking for a platonic pal. But…you're not. Which means you're both going to have to get pretty damn uncomfortable to pass Go and enter the spine-chilling waters of commitment. Intimacy is not your strong suit, and heavy emotions make you break out in hives. Although you may have your own personal guru and swami, spirituality is just an escape hatch—a way of convincing yourself that you're "above" all those petty feelings that mere mortals have. Rather than connect deeply, you compensate with charm, impish pranks or your Obama-watt smile (he's got an Aquarius rising). Trouble is, the funny-guy shtick doesn't work with each other. There are better matches, to be sure—at least ten or eleven of them. Your only hope is working together on a shared humanitarian vision. Love could bloom as you defend labor union picket lines, toss paint on fur-wearing fashionistas, or grow your own medicinal marijuana. At least you'll have something to talk about instead of your feelings. Then…only then…you might just give this piece a chance.

AQUARIUS + PISCES (FEBRUARY 19 - MARCH 20) Old and new come together in an interesting combination. Pisces is an ancient velvet boudoir with dripping candles and fainting couches; Aquarius is a modern, steel-and-glass construction heated by solar panel. Yet, this strange match can work if it's built around a shared cause or passion. You're both die-hard humanitarians, and if you share a common vision, you'll stay together for life. Pisces is a Water sign, more emotional and complex in nature than Aquarius. Contrary to myth, Aquarius is an Air sign (not Water), though it's symbolized by the water-bearer holding an urn. The lighter Aquarian touch lifts Pisces out of the murky, depressive swamp, while enchanting Pisces adds tassels and trim to Aquarius' cold, clinical reality. You both morbidly fear being trapped in a boring, conventional commitment. Since you can never really figure each other out, the attraction stays strong. A little mystery will keep you fascinated, though too much (ahem, Pisces) will make the relationship way too much work for Aquarius.

[newstfionline]

Saturday, September 11, 2021

Record heat, fire danger plague West after hottest summer on record for U.S. (Washington Post) Punishing heat waves have plagued the West all summer and, even at the brink of fall, another sweltering blast has moved over the region. The heat has brought record-setting temperatures in the Southwest and is exacerbating a volatile fire situation farther north. This latest heat wave enveloping the West coincides with an announcement from National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration that the months of June through August matched the Dust Bowl summer of 1936 as the hottest on record for the Lower 48 states. “A record 18.4% of the contiguous U.S. experienced record-warm temperatures,” NOAA wrote. The excessively high temperatures of the moment are being generated by a large and unusually strong zone of high pressure or heat dome parked over the Four Corners area, a situation that has occurred repeatedly in recent months. Temperatures near the core of the heat dome are generally 10 to 20 degrees above average, and its influence extends everywhere west of the Central Plains. On Thursday, record highs in the 90s and low 100s are predicted from California to Colorado. Excessive heat warnings are in effect for parts of the desert Southwest, including Las Vegas, where the forecast high is around 105 degrees. Death Valley could hit 120 degrees.

A foiled fire (SF Chronicle) As California’s Caldor Fire burned through South Lake Tahoe, the blaze destroyed dozens of cabins. Standing tall in the face of the blaze, though, was a shining example of fire prevention: a house wrapped in what appeared to be tin foil. While the building wasn’t actually wrapped in everyone’s favorite food storage material, it was protected. It turns out, wrapping buildings in fire blankets or aluminized structure wrap is a legitimate fire prevention method, and clearly worked in this case. The wraps prevent embers from entering buildings, keep flames from making direct contact with the buildings, and reflect heat from nearby blazes. According to Fumiaki Takahashi, an engineering professor, wrapping houses against fires can block up to 92% of the convective heat and 96% of the radiation from nearby blazes, but is only effective for a short period “while the wildfire front passes—five to 10 minutes—but longer protection would be needed to prevent structure-to-structure ignition.” The foil used is also far from your standard Reynolds Wrap: while its outside is aluminum, its inside is made of woven threads of polyester and fiberglass, and it’s laminated with a high-temperature adhesive. 200-foot rolls are sold for just under $700.

“Death shaming” (The Atlantic) Recently, Elizabeth Bruenig, a staff writer at The Atlantic, called on news organizations to stop “death shaming” unvaccinated victims of COVID. Newspapers and TV stations have covered a number of these deaths as cautionary tales, “with notes of shame or contempt subtle in some tales and bold in others,” Bruenig writes. “If persuasion is the target, then the aim seems off—a general problem in our democracy, where persuasion is a key method of self-governance but something we’re less and less amenable to. In that sense, the strange case of vaccine persuasion is just another entry in the annals of our disillusionment with our own liberal democracy.”

Olaf weakens after hitting Mexico’s Los Cabos as Cat 2 storm (AP) Hurricane Olaf slipped back to tropical storm force on Friday after slamming into the Los Cabos resorts at the tip of Mexico’s Baja California Peninsula and then drenching the region with torrential rains. The storm came ashore near San Jose del Cabo late Thursday as a Category 2 hurricane with winds of 100 mph (155 kph), according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center. But winds had dropped to 50 mph (85 kph) by midday Friday, when it was centered about 20 miles (35 kilometers) south-southeast of Cabo San Lazaro. At least 700 local residents spent the night in shelters while while an estimated 20,000 foreign tourists hunkered down in their hotels. State Civil Defense Deputy Secretary Carlos Alfredo Godínez said he had received no reports of lives lost.

The other 9/11 (Foreign Policy) In the run-up to the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the United States this month, a leading Chilean university, the University of Concepción, held a series of panel discussions on their legacy. The program referred to the events as “the other Sept. 11.” “Other” because, in Chile, Sept. 11 is best known as the date of the country’s own national tragedy: the 1973 U.S.-backed coup against leftist President Salvador Allende that ushered in over 16 years of military rule. The Nixon administration worked to help foment the coup as part of its broader Cold War efforts against real and perceived Soviet-friendly governments across the globe, including in many Latin American countries. In its wake, Washington supported the government of general-turned-dictator Augusto Pinochet, despite knowledge that his security forces had killed political opponents. By the Pinochet dictatorship’s end in 1990, over 3,000 Chileans were dead or missing, and thousands more had gone into exile. In fact, the two 9/11s are linked: The U.S. role in the 1973 coup helps explain why Chile and other Latin American countries were reluctant to embrace the U.S.-led military interventions at the turn of the century.

France bans unvaccinated American travelers (CNN) A French government decree issued on Thursday bumped the United States and Israel from the country's "green" list, down to "orange," effectively prohibiting nonessential travel to France for unvaccinated visitors. Under France's rules, unvaccinated travelers from either country will still be allowed in provided they have an essential reason for travel, however they'll need a negative Covid-19 test before travel and must quarantine for seven days on arrival. France's move follow restrictions imposed on US travelers from several other European destinations. Earlier this week, Spain changed its entry policy for arrivals from the US, requiring them to have a certificate proving double vaccination.

Russia and Belarus Inch Closer to a Full-Blown Merger (NYT) President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia threw his embattled, authoritarian ally in Belarus a fresh lifeline on Thursday, pledging cheap natural gas and more than $600 million in new loans as part of a push to more closely integrate the post-Soviet neighbors. Mr. Putin and President Aleksandr G. Lukashenko of Belarus met in person for the sixth time in the past year, hammering out a long-delayed integration plan that some analysts had speculated could bring the two countries to the brink of a full-blown merger. Late Thursday evening at the Kremlin, the two leaders finally announced the contours of such a plan, but one that focused on aligning the two countries’ economies while leaving aside thornier political questions.

Hong Kong Tiananmen vigil leaders charged with subversion (AP) Three leaders of the group that organized an annual Tiananmen candlelight vigil were being held in custody Friday after they were charged with subversion under Hong Kong’s national security law, as authorities intensify a crackdown on dissent in the city. The Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China’s chairman Lee Cheuk-yan, as well as vice-chairs Albert Ho and Chow Hang-tung were charged with inciting subversion of state power under the national security law. The alliance itself was also charged with subversion. For the past 30 years, the alliance organized the candlelight vigil that saw tens of thousands of people mass in the city’s Victoria Park to commemorate China’s bloody military crackdown against pro-democracy demonstrations in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square on June 4, 1989. It was the only large-scale public commemoration of the crackdown on Chinese soil, featuring crowds of people lighting candles and singing songs to support democracy.

Twin tropical storms threaten flooding, mudslides in Taiwan and Vietnam (CNN) Vietnam and Taiwan are bracing for twin tropical storms which are expected to make landfall over the coming days, with typhoon Chanthu strengthening into a Super Typhoon in the past 24 hours. Taiwan has issued a sea warning on Friday for Super Typhoon Chanthu, known as Kiko in the Philippines, which is currently expected to pass over the island on Saturday before heading north towards Shanghai and the Chinese coastline. Chanthu is currently displaying wind speeds of 240 kilometers per hour (149 miles per hour), although it may weaken slightly as it nears Taiwan. At the same time, in the South China Sea, tropical storm Conson is due to make landfall in Vietnam on Sunday afternoon, with the country putting 500,000 soldiers on standby ahead of its arrival. Conson is known as Jolina in the Philippines.

After over a year of confinement, Singapore looks to ease coronavirus restrictions on migrant laborers (Washington Post) In Singapore, praised by epidemiologists for its swift response to the coronavirus pandemic, and lately for its high vaccination rate—which, at 81 percent, is among the best in the world—migrant laborers have borne the brunt of measures to contain the virus. For nearly 17 months, more than 300,000 low-income workers, mostly men from India, Bangladesh or China, have endured social distancing curbs stricter and longer than the wider population. Since April 2020 they have been largely confined to their dormitories, allowed to leave only for work, essential errands or to visit designated “recreation centers” once a week. What once was seen as a necessary health policy to control the outbreak—which at its peak last year saw infections in the dormitories reach nearly 1,400 a day—now serves as salient reminder of the gap between migrant workers and other residents in the wealthy city-state, who’ve been leading relatively normal lives for months after the virus was almost stamped out. From Sept. 13, Singapore plans to “gradually ease” restrictions on these migrant workers, starting with a month-long trial program that will allow up to 500 each week from dormitories that have had no new cases in the last 14 days to visit preselected places for six hours.

As flights resume, plight of Afghan allies tests Biden’s vow (AP) Evacuation flights have resumed for Westerners, but thousands of at-risk Afghans who had helped the United States are still stranded in their homeland with the U.S. Embassy shuttered, all American diplomats and troops gone and the Taliban now in charge. With the United States and Taliban both insisting on travel documents that may no longer be possible to get in Afghanistan, the plight of those Afghans is testing President Joe Biden’s promises not to leave America’s allies behind. A particular worry are those whose U.S. special immigrant visas—meant for Afghans who helped Americans during the 20-year war—still were in the works when the Taliban took Kabul in a lightning offensive on Aug. 15. The U.S. abandoned its embassy building that same weekend. “For all intents and purposes, these people’s chances of escaping the Taliban ended the day we left them behind,” said Afghanistan war veteran Matt Zeller, founder of No One Left Behind. It’s among dozens of grassroots U.S. groups working to get out Afghan translators and others who supported Americans.

Facebook, Ray-Ban debut picture-taking smart glasses (Axios) Ray-Ban Stories, the smart glasses being debuted by Facebook and Ray-Ban today, are most notable for just how much they look like a standard pair of the brand’s sunglasses. That speaks to both the most promising and troublesome aspect of the $299 glasses: They look and feel just like a standard pair of Ray-Bans while adding the ability to capture photos and video. The $299 glasses have three main “smart” features: they can record photos and 30-second videos via dual 5-megapixel cameras, they can play “open-air” sound without headphones and they allow users to take phone calls. Photos and videos are shared only to a companion smartphone app, where the owner can then decide whether and where to share the images and videos.

Research on beards, wads of gum wins 2021 Ig Nobel prizes (AP) Beards aren’t just cool and trendy—they might also be an evolutionary development to help protect a man’s delicate facial bones from a punch to the face. That’s the conclusion of a trio of scientists from the University of Utah who are among the winners of this year’s Ig Nobel prizes, the Nobel Prize spoofs that honor—or maybe dishonor, depending on your point of view—strange scientific discoveries. The winners of the 31st annual Ig Nobels being announced Thursday included researchers who figured out how to better control cockroaches on U.S. Navy submarines; animal scientists who looked at whether it’s safer to transport an airborne rhinoceros upside-down; and a team that figured out just how disgusting that discarded gum stuck to your shoe is.

[metamatar]

the sparrow is written in direct response to pushback against columbus by the author as colonial apologia [1] and everyone knows orson scott card's a neoconservative. both the sparrow and speaker for the dead – they're technically good books, well paced and i am quite forgiving to the slightly mawkish character work because they ask questions that matter to everyone. in fairness i read speaker for the dead when i was 15 but i read the sparrow yesterday. both authors think of themselves as on the good side (anne edwards calls herself a liberal and is the author's acknowledged self insert) and orson scott card says he's a blue dog democrat.

it was like watching from a funhouse mirror, their constructions of what is revelatory and their attempts to grapple what makes humanity good. the neo fascist obsession with controlling reproduction, the eugenics, the explicit lecture in their books about good sex being reproductive, the inability to consider bonds outside the family structure 'real', an inability to seriously consider the morality of the faithless, their incuriousity about the rest of the world. it was as if we had not all grappled with the problem of evil. the sparrow takes the caricature of the hindu found in 18th century british colonial anthropology (weak, vegetarian, weird religion, not correctly shameful about sex, not serious about Art or Literature, in thrall to the brahmins) for her 'prey' species Runa'a and gives them recognisably hindu names (manuzhai, askama, chaypas.) humans bring them agriculture, sparking off revolt only because a human showed them how to revolt. as an aside, the predator species are called janata, that literally means people. supaari means mercenary.

there is, in a book about jesuits going to space, a main character who is a latino priest from the 'rough streets of puerto rico' no attempt to grapple with the present day legacy of slavery, or colonialism in the church apart from a wink nudge aside to 'bad' 'spanish' 'catholics.' there is no attempt to understand the actual policies that drive drug and gun violence that is destroying his community beyond oh those poor browns. a bleeding heart liberal doctor who helps the said community gets angry that the united states does not have copyright on alien music because they paid for the arecibo space telescope.

i can't do this anymore dear god maybe i am just terminally poisoned and am condemned to read the tiniest subset of genre fiction written by leftists for the rest of my life.

[1] What follows is from the afterword to the Sparrow. When I was reading this book I was uncomfortable but I thought maybe its just really ham handed commentary about colonialism. Turns out the author is Just Like That.

The idea came to me in the summer of 1992 as we were celebrating the 500th anniversary of Columbus’s arrival in the New World. There was a great deal of historical revisionism going on as we examined the mistakes made by Europeans when they first encountered foreign cultures in the Americas and elsewhere. It seemed unfair to me for people living at the end of the twentieth century to hold those explorers and missionaries to standards of sophistication and tolerance that we hardly manage even today. I wanted to show how very difficult first contact would be, even with the benefit of hindsight. That’s when I decided to write a story that put modern, sophisticated, resourceful, well-educated, and well-meaning people in the same position as those early explorers and missionaries—a position of radical ignorance. Unfortunately, there’s no place on Earth today where "first contact" is possible—you can find MTV, CNN, and McDonald’s everywhere you go. The only way to create a "first contact" story like this was to go off-planet

Like. Columbus is bad by the standards of his age. She's a white anthropologist from the 90s, so it's not really a surprise that she's so weak on rigor.

reading maria doria russell is exactly like reading orson scott card actually

[shadowkat678]

I mean. I would like to correct a few things there in the religion aspect. Because I know it's trendy to bash on religion. Especially the Abrahamic faiths...but at least fucking TRY to get some stuff RIGHT beforehand. Please. I would love to just laugh it off, but fuck it. The amount of anti-religion comments that accompany these posts kinda have started pissing me off. Note here I'm not saying to not be critical of the institution that people have created. But shaming having religious faith in and of itself is different.

So.

First off. Those assholes are everywhere, and you will never see me deny that. Trust me. I see them. I'm a pro-life leftist LGBT+ chick living in the midst of the bible belt where "Jesus Saves" stickers are on every other car and churches are more numerous than gas stations. It's ridiculous.

Secondly, as a LGBT+ Christian who has done her damn research, there were same sex marriages in the church recorded at LEAST up to the twelfth and Thirteen centuries. Though it was called a "forming of brothers", roughly translated. Same sex couples weren't anywhere near unheard of, though perceptions and the concepts were understood differently, as things typically are in history when compared to modern times. Also, many parts of the bible were horribly mistranslationed.

It's hard to find good sources that break it down, but there's a site called Hope Remains that was put up by a anonymous group of scholars in the early 2000s that breaks down biblical translations word for word, including historical and linguistic context. Really interesting. Highly recommended. However, since they're anonymous, there is no way to back up their claims and background details they lay out. But from the research I've done and just how damn DETAILED this shit is? I'd give it a vote of confidence.

Third, many religions have a "end times" story. We're not special there. Even if the world doesn't end by religious means, it WILL end. By global warming. By pollution. By super volcanos. By the expanding sun. It's going to happen. So not quite sure why this is so much worse.

And here's the thing. The bible is read by millions of people, each with their own views of the words. So I can't speak of a concrete truth for everything in it, or what others get out of it. I also haven't read it all in it's original context, and we've already established the problem there. So this is my OWN personal belief. I think that there's more to the "you will get to heaven if you accept me" than just following Jesus by name. If you only live in the NAME of Jesus without ACTION, then your not living in him at all. And Jesus had very, very, very pointed opinions on people like these.

(Please refer to the Pharisees.)

Even if you don't know Jesus, or have only heard the name, if you "know him" through your actions than you know him more than most of these "Christians" that are yeah. Shit.

Also, God gave choice. Which in and of itself is the reason everything isn't all hunky dory. Which also leads to that last part. We very much are supposed to think critically, and the bible says as much. Following blindly leads into traps. It makes you easy to manipulate.

(For yet another reference, please look at the corruption of the medieval Catholic Church.)

We're supposed to be informed to be able to follow. We're supposed to be active. Not passive. If you do something just because your told, again, it's hollow works. Hollow actions. Hollow beliefs.

Feel free to call out hateful religious bigots, but please start focusing on the first and last words of that descriptor. Because THAT is what makes them such hypocrites. THAT is what makes them bad Christians. Christianity has done some bad shit. Feel free to point that out. Because it's true. And the bible itself says to bring up a problem if someone acts if they shouldn't. Because doing shit and not being critical of it just leads to more shit.

Talk about how things should change. Talk about the flaws that are found in religious circles due to people using their faith to spread hate. Please. Do that. But shit. Stop demonizing religion, ESPECIALLY if you're just shitting on Islam, Christianity, and Judaism. Because these three are typically the ones you see on this site. Including from other religious people, so if you're a Christian shitting on Islam and Judaism, or a Muslim doing the same, or a Jew shiting on Islam, this is a callout for y'all, too.

This has been a PSA. Fuck off with the religion hate and lets focus on punching some more nazis and extremists.

Those pro-life people the other day: “yeah we’re gonna call you words like ‘murderous psychopath’ and ‘genocidal maniac’ and ‘sadistic lunatic’ for saying people have the right to abort a precious human life their own body is creating and housing”

Also those same people: “we believe people burn forever if they’re gay or raised under a different enough culture and it’s their own fault for being wrong and also we believe our God will eventually end the world and kill everyone. This is a good and great thing, we love him, it’s his right as creator, you should respect that no questions asked”

Is the irony here lost on anybody