#community Participation South East

[lifestylecommunitycare]

How To Maximise Your Funding For The NDIS Community Participation Program? 

Your NDIS community participation funding can be a pivotal segment in your plan as it can enhance your life by enabling active involvement within your community. In this case, this support category can recognise the overall importance of your community involvement, social interaction and recreation. The highly dedicated team of care providers offering assistance with community participation in South East can help you participate in social activities and build confidence. 

In this blog, we will discuss how you can maximise your funding for the NDIS community participation program. So keep reading. 

Clearly Communicate Your Goals 

To make the most out of your NDIS community participation funding firstly you need to communicate your goals to your NDIS planner. This can help you to get an appropriate allocation which can align with your goals. The highly reliable team of support providers providing disability support services in Frankston can help you stay connected within your community and live a thriving life. 

Explore Available Options

Apart from communicating your goals and preferences you also need to educate yourself on different ways you can use your community participation funds. For this, you can explore the available options for social activities and services within your community. In this case, you can collaborate with your NDIS planner so that you can ensure that it reflects your goals and preferences. 

Stay Updated On NDIS Plans And Policies

With the help of your support professionals, you can pick activities that can be beneficial for your situation. Apart from this, they can also help you to stay updated on the NDIS plans and policies as with this you can effectively utilise your funding. 

Overall Thoughts 

By following the above tips you can maximise your NDIS community participation funding and live a healthy and fulfilling life. 

[metamorphesque]

Monte Melqonyan/Մոնթե Մելքոնյան (1957-1993)

Honestly, I don't even know where to begin. He's one of those extraordinary individuals about whom countless books could be written and numerous movies could be made, yet still, so much would remain untold. You might wonder, "He's a National Armenian Hero—cool, but why should I know about him?" My answer is simple: if the world had more people like him, especially in today's times, it would be a much better place. He fought for justice, embodied culture and education, and radiated a deep love for his people and humanity as a whole. I believe everyone should aspire to have a little bit of Monte's spirit within them, regardless of their nationality.

Now, it's important to note that some things written about him in the Western press can be questionable and inaccurate. So, I would advise taking most of the information from those sources with a grain of salt.

Monte was born on November 25, 1957, into an Armenian family in Visalia, California, that had survived the Armenian Genocide. From 1969 to 1970, his family traveled through Western Armenia, the birthplace of his ancestors. During this journey, Monte, at the age of twelve, began to realize his Armenian identity. While taking Spanish language courses in Spain, his teacher had posed him the question of where he was from. Dissatisfied with Melkonian's answer of "California", the teacher rephrased the question by asking "where did your ancestors come from?" His brother Markar Melqonyan remarked that "her image of us was not at all like our image of ourselves. She did not view us as the Americans we had always assumed we were." From this moment on, for days and months to come, Markar continues, "Monte pondered [their teacher Señorita] Blanca's question Where are you from?"

In high school, he excelled academically and struggled to find new challenges. Instead of graduating early, as suggested by his principal, Monte found an alternative - a study abroad program in East Asia. The decision to go to Japan was not random. He had been attending karate clubs and was the champion of the under-14 category in California. He also studied Japanese culture, including taking Japanese language courses. After completing his studies at a school in Osaka, Japan, he went to South Korea, where he studied under a Buddhist monk. He later traveled to Vietnam, witnessing the war and taking numerous photographs of the conflict. Upon returning to America, he had become proficient in Japanese and karate.

Having graduated from high school, Monte entered the University of California, Berkeley, with a Regents Scholarship, majoring in ancient Asian history and archaeology. In 1978, he helped organize an exhibition of Armenian cultural artifacts at one of the university's libraries. A section of the exhibit dealing with the Armenian Genocide was removed by university authorities at the request of the Turkish consul general in San Francisco, but it was eventually reinstalled following a campus protest movement. Monte completed his undergraduate work in under three years. During his time at the university, he founded the "Armenian Students' Union" and organized an exhibition dedicated to the Armenian Genocide in the late 19th and early 20th centuries in the Ottoman Empire and the Republic of Turkey.

Upon graduating, he was accepted into the archaeology graduate program at the University of Oxford. However, Monte chose to forgo this opportunity and instead began his lifelong struggle for the Armenian Cause.

In the fall of 1978, Monte went to Iran and participated in demonstrations against the Shah. Later that year, he traveled to Lebanon, where the civil war was at its peak. In Beirut, he participated in the defense of the Armenian community. Here, he learned Arabic and, by the age of 22, was fluent in Armenian, English, French, Spanish, Italian, Turkish, Persian, Japanese, and Kurdish.

From 1980, Monte joined the Armenian Secret Army for the Liberation of Armenia (ASALA – I promise to tell you more about them later) and quickly became one of its leaders. In 1981, he participated in the planning of the famous Van operation. In 1981, he was arrested at Orly Airport in France for carrying a false passport and a pistol. During his trial, Monte declared, "All Armenians carry false passports—French, American—they will remain false as long as they are not Armenian." Over the following years, he perfected his military skills at an ASALA training camp, eventually becoming one of the group's principal instructors.

Monte with his wife Seda

After being released from a French prison (once again) in 1989, Monte arrived in Armenia in 1991, where armed clashes between Armenians and azerbaijanis had already begun. He founded the "Patriots" unit and spent seven months in Yerevan working at the Academy of Sciences, writing and publishing the book "Armenia and its Neighbors." In September of the same year, he went to the Republic of Artsakh to fight for his fatherland and its people. Due to his military expertise, he was appointed Chief of Staff of the Martuni defense district in 1992. His sincerity and purity quickly won the love and respect of the local population and the Armenian community as a whole.

Throughout his conscious life, Monte fought for the rights of Armenians, recognition of the Armenian Genocide, and the reclamation of Armenian homeland.

There are various versions of Monte Melqonyan's death circulating in both Armenian and azerbaijani media. According to official Armenian information, Monte was killed on June 12, 1993, by fire from an azerbaijani armored vehicle.

Monte remains a lasting testament to the incredible potential unleashed when the Armenian patriotic heart unites with sharp intellect.

In case you'd like to put a voice to the face and hear about the Artsakh struggle directly from Monte, here he is speaking about it in English.

[meadow-of-daisies-and-lavender]

Deity! 141 AU HCs

A/N: Just some ramblings about the 141 as deities in my poly AU

(18+ only)

Please comment and reblog!

Captain John Price

God of the East Woods, who is represented by winter. He is known for his leadership skills, analytical abilities, and good faith in his men.

As he is known for leadership skills, he is known as the god most worshiped by leaders who seek guidance in their ability to command others. He is also known for being the one sought out by outcasts who are looking for community. He’ll help you find your way, don’t you worry. You belong somewhere; we just have to find where.

Contrary to popular belief, John does not participate in assisting those who force their command over others. He believes in leading by example and earning the privilege of leadership.

 He is most closely associated with cold metal, with his altar decorated in winter wreaths, warm spices, and delicate metalwork.

Kyle Garrick

God of the North Woods, represented by Spring and water. He is courageous, knowledgeable in the social and environmental climate, and can foresee the cause and effects of many actions on the battlefield.

He is worshiped by those beginning new endeavors. As the youngest and newest god (which, how new can ancient beings really be?), myths range from his grand displays of courage to self-doubt. His stories paint imagery of humbleness and of an eager learner. To those seeking new starts, he is the perfect divine being to guide you to ask questions and be courageous in the midst of change.

Kyle, while known best for being the god of changes, is also the patron of mystics for his foreseeing abilities (and beauticians. He likes his skincare and pretty things). As the foreseeing one, he knows all the outcomes and can assist divination practitioners in seeking knowledge of the future.

Just because Kyle can help doesn’t mean he will. Many fortune-tellers have reported trickery and confusion trying to get answers from him. He likes his jokes and finds seeing humans guessing about the future amusing. Won’t they find out eventually?

 His altar is decorated with bowls of water representing spring rain and winds. As spring flowers bloom, they are also decorated upon his altar. The seed of each planted crop is represented on the altar as a blessing for a productive sowing season.

Johnny McTavish

The god of summer and of the southlands. McTavish is known for quick, fiery actions mirrored by a thunderstorm's quick turn or a wildfire's spark.

While he might have fiery emotions, the god is methodological in his delivery of quick actions. For this reason, if you need help finding passion, McTavish is the god for you. He is the patron of athletes and artisans who harness passion into practice and dedication to their craft.

The god of summer is precise! If you seek his help, be specific and think about what you need versus what you want. His help will come on his timing, but it’ll be exactly what you asked for. He finds it funny when mortals get upset by this. Usually, if he is going to be helpful to the mortals, it is on his terms and conditions, and you’ll know by a sudden splash of warmth on your skin or by the way events just so happen to align that it could only be the work of a god.

His altar is decorated with an always-lit candle. There are summer fruits in bowls and an icon of a thunderbolt descending from the sky to represent his passions.

The one they call “Ghost”

The god of the south and autumn season, mortals know the least about him. His mythology is sparse, usually featuring him as a supporting character in someone else’s myth (usually Johnny’s) with a dry sense of humor.

He is the god of the ground that is transitioning into hibernation, the god of intelligence, knowing when to take ground and when to give ground. He is the wisdom gained from remembering the bones and dust from whence you came. He is the patron of the elderly and wise, of those who understand the power of listening before speaking to the aged ideals that came before you.

Hidden by shadows of the unknown, protected by the bones of the dying, Ghost is not a death god, but he represents the bridge between mortals and the spiritual, helping those who are dying.

Ghost is not a god you call upon lightly. He will make you search your shadows, forcing you to gaze upon those fearsome things that hide in all mortal souls. If you ask to see the divine, he will show you it when you are ready. But it will not look pretty or neat or holy. It will be sacred in its raw, awesome terror, a power unleashed that mortals cannot grasp.

Ghost’s alter typically has a buck skull on it- the first buck killed of the season. Black and grey altar cloths are laid beneath the walnut bowls holding the nuts and acorns offered to the god.

Once upon a time, there were four gods. Together, they took turns helping the mortals. But what spirit connects them all, centering their efforts? Of what clear mission banner do they unite under? To whom is the focal point of life’s great mysteries? It had always been assumed human mortals as a collective to be that focal point. But the myths do not end with the death of the old. They continue and will grow with the next generations and generations next.

[fatehbaz]

hi i love your blog and the stuff you've shared has been really invaluable for me writing my dissertation right now! i was wondering if you've ever read anything interesting about police horses, or perhaps horses working for the state more generally? apologies if you've already made a post about this and i've missed it.

Nice. Don't know if your dissertation is specifically about horse histories; if so, then I'd imagine you already know much more than I do. So I don't know how much help I can be.

I've posted about the history of police horses in Australia before, which is just excerpts from Stephen Gapps and Mina Murray, in their "From colonial cavalry to mounted police: a short history of the Australian police horse" (The Conversation, 28 July 2021; "Horse Patrol" aka "Mounted Police" formally established 1825 after Wiradjuri war, used to round-up escaped laborers and attack Aboriginal communities as crucial force in colonial admin in 1830s culminating in Waterloo Creek Massacre.)

I've made some references to US participation in British campaigns of Boer War. (Apparently there was a micro-industry of the New Orleans port shipping 110,000 horses and 81,000 mules on 166 voyages via 65 British steamships for a cost of like hundreds of thousands USD per month for three years to help Britain.)

Similarly, Steve Hewitt and others write about Canadian mounted police and their role in national power in the Great Plains; twentieth-century counter-subversion; monitoring labor strikes and Indigenous/student dissent, etc.

"The Masculine Mountie: The Royal Canadian Mounted Police as a Male Institution, 1914-1939" (Hewitt, Journal of the Canadian Historical Association, 1996)

Riding to the Rescue: The Transformation of the RCMP in Alberta and Saskatchewan, 1914-1939 (Hewitt, 2006)

"Fashioning farmers: ideology, agricultural knowledge and the Manitoba farm movement, 1890-1925" (Hewitt, Journal of Canadian Studies, 1997)

"Canadianizing the West: The North-West Mounted Police as Agents of the National Policy, 1873-1905" (Mcleod, The Prairie West: Historical Readings, edited by Francis and Palmer, 1992)

---

Guessing you've already considered this, but a relevant thing I've read might be Breeds of Empire: The 'Invention' of the Horse in Southeast Asia and Southern Africa 1500-1950 (Greg Bankoff and Sandra Swart, 2007), about "the 'invention' of specific breeds of horse in the context of imperial design and colonial trade routes" and "the historiographical and methodological problems with writing a more species or horse-centric history." There was an earlier influential paper about imperial use of horses by Swart, ""The World the Horses Made": A South African Case Study of Writing Animals into Social History" (International Review of Social History 55:2, 2010).

Last year I read Bellweather Histories: Animals, Humans, and US Environments in Crisis (edited by Susan Nance and Jennifer Marks, 2023), and there was an interesting chapter on horses by Marks: "Chicago's 1872 Equine Influenza Epizootic and the Evolution of Urban Transit Technology."

---

Have you seen Jagjeet Lally's "Empires and Equines: The Horse in Art and Exchange in South Asia, ca. 1600-1850" (Comparative Studies of South Asia, Africa and the Middle East, 35:1, 2015)? It covers Mughal state power and aristocratic prestige as tied to horses, but also refers to the later utility of horseback mobility in East India Company and British power consolidation.

I used to be in a Central Asia-specific program-type thing and there was a long list of academic writing, most if it not in English, about horses as essential for statecraft in Mongol, Persian, Mughal, Chinese, and Ottoman contexts. So I know that there's a huge amount of writing on the subject, but I did not retain much of it. Jagjeet Lally's bibliography here is helpful. This also brings to mind Alan Mikhail's work The Animal in Ottoman Egypt (2013) and Under Osman's Tree: The Ottoman Empire, Egypt, and Environmental History (2017). Though horses aren't the main focus, they're essentially about "animal labor/capital."

---

I think I've seen that you've interacted with my old posts about Sujit Sivasundaram, Rohan Deb Roy, and Jonathan Saha on "interspecies empire"? Saha's most recent stuff includes writing in:

Biocultural Empire: New Histories of Imperial Lifeworlds (2024); Colonial Dimensions of the Global Wildlife Trade (2024); "A Historiography of Great Animal Massacres" (2024); "whiteness, masculinity, and ambivalent British Justice"; imperial use of elephants and "animal agency, undead capital, and imperial science" (2017); Subverting Empire: Deviance and Disorder in the British Colonial World (2015); imperial use of cattle and other livestock in "animals and the politics of colonial sensitibilites" (2015). Sivasundaram covers a lot of that (animality, criminality, imperial imaginaries) but also oceanic thinking.

---

Also thinking of:

The Horse in the City: Living Machines in the Nineteenth Century (Clay McShane and Joel A. Tarr, 2011)

And The Herds Shot Round the World: Native Breeds and the British Empire, 1800-1900 (Rebecca JH Woods, 2017). Though its not really about horses (mostly about sheep and cattle for dairy/meat).

---

But I know there are little niches:

(1) British frontier policing in Australia ("mounted patrols" in campaigns against Aboriginal peoples and keeping them on rangeland labor sites). (2) British metropolitan and urban settings (police horses in industrializing London, patrolling rural periphery during enclosure law era). (3) The settlement of the Great Plains of the US (especially origins of Rangers, the Fence Wars, and policing West Texas). (4) The Spanish colonization of Mexico and especially the Rio Grande Valley (horses in maintaining state power on the northern/desert frontiers; Spanish/Mexican states and Comanche/Apache mobility in southern Great Plains). (5) Argentina's state-building in the Chaco. (6) And then all of that material about Mughal, Mongol, Ottoman horses.

(Also, most recently, I did that annoying silly satirical retelling of horse-drawn sleighs as progenitor of vehicle and pedestrian laws in industrializing Amsterdam, and it alludes to how horse-drawn carriages were important affordances to wealthy aristocrats which shaped industrial urban space in Europe; I don't know much about it, but I know there's a fair amount of lit about both horses-as-vehicles and mounted police in early nineteenth-century Europe.)

Though I'm not really familiar with most of that. In trying to formulate thoughts about "carceral archipelagoes" and "frontiers," I've previously seen titles about the utility of telegraphs, railyards, and police for US power consolidation. But when horses/cattle get involved, I've been scared/disturbed by just how much of that literature seems to be directly produced by "police department museums," "police science" journals, or former police-superintendents-turned-pseudo-historians in their retirement years who study their own noble profession as a novel curiosity.

But I imagine you know better than me if this is true. So please put me back in my place if I've got the wrong impression!

It's my impression that, more recently, the advent of critical animal studies, multispecies ethnography, and critical geography has meant there's a lot of new stuff to check out.

[ashleymilesphil]

The Reality of LGBTQ+ Refugees in East Africa

My name is Ashley, and I am a leader and representative for LGBTIQA+ refugees in East Africa. I write this not just for myself but for my community those of us who have been forced to flee our homes, only to find ourselves trapped in places that offer no real safety.

Many of us fled countries where being queer is criminalized, where living as our true selves meant risking imprisonment, torture, or death. We left everything behind, believing we would find protection in refugee camps. But instead, we were met with more violence, more fear, and a brutal system that refuses to recognize our humanity.

In Kakuma Refugee Camp in Kenya, LGBTQ+ refugees face relentless attacks. We’ve been beaten, raped, and even burned alive, yet our cries for help are ignored. Reporting violence only puts us at greater risk, as the very authorities who should protect us either turn a blind eye or, worse, participate in our persecution.

Seeking a safer place, some of us moved to Gorom Refugee Camp in South Sudan. But here, the dangers are just as severe. The South Sudanese government is openly hostile toward LGBTQ+ people, and authorities actively target activists and community leaders. Armed groups patrol the camps, making it clear that we are not welcome. We live in hiding, knowing that at any moment, we could be identified and silenced permanently.

The conditions in these camps are inhumane. Food and water are scarce, and medical care is almost nonexistent. We are often denied access to aid simply because of who we are. Queer women, especially lesbians, are at high risk of corrective rape, and trans individuals are subjected to brutal violence. Mental health support is unheard of, and many in our community have taken their own lives, unable to bear the constant suffering.

We once had hope for resettlement, believing that the world especially countries that champion human rights would open their doors to us. But restrictive immigration policies, like those under Trump’s administration, have left us stranded in dangerous limbo. The dream of living freely feels further away than ever.

But we refuse to be erased. We refuse to stay silent.

We need the world to hear our voices. We need solidarity. Our struggle is not just about one camp or one country it is about the fundamental right of LGBTQ+ people everywhere to exist without fear. Awareness leads to change, and change begins with those who refuse to look away.

So, to everyone reading this: stand with us. Speak out against the injustice we face. Share our stories. Challenge the systems that keep us in the shadows. We may be silenced at gunpoint, but together, we can break that silence.

Ashleyphil🩵❤️💜💙💛🏳️‍⚧️

[fromthemouthofkings]

holy shit I am genuinely having my mind blown by Starhawk's The Empowerment Manual and what she has to say about making collaborative groups work in the long-term, conflict resolution, social power and how hierarchies can form in supposedly egalitarian groups. Everyone who works in community organizing should read this book.

In brief, she says that to create a sustainable group without dominative hierarchies, that can nonetheless handle conflict and changes over time, you need:

A clearly articulated vision, norms, and expectations so that people can understand how the group functions and whether they want to be a part of it

A clearly articulated power structure, where unearned privilege or even any one person's earned social influence is limited, because authority is given to those who take on responsibilities in the group, and there are ways for newcomers to earn decision-making power by taking on responsibilities and participating in mentoring or training

To build trust within the group by communicating respectfully and constructively and creating accountability for each other

To get just a little woo, she draws this Talisman of Healthy Community that illustrates how these things are held in balance:

[image description: a circle labeled 'Circle of Vision' with two intersecting axes. One is labeled the 'Axis of Action' and runs from the bottom, which is labeled 'South Fire Power' to the top, which is labeled 'North Earth Responsibility.' The other is labeled 'Axis of Learning' and runs from the left, which is labeled 'West Water Trust' to the right, which is labeled 'East Air Communication Accountability.' end id]

[slut-and-falcon]

More Wicked Headcannons (bookiscal canon)

- Elphaba isn’t a women but doesn’t have the language to identify her gender.

-the tribes of the Vinkus (Winkie country) have their own magic, as do the Quadlings. While Elphaba is out and about helping the resistance and animal refugees, she is also learning this magic with those whom are willing to share (some magic is closed to outsiders). She learns the different approaches and theories about magic, and it helps make her a more powerful witch.

-there was already a resistance against the Wizard when Elphaba becomes the face of it. While on the run, she is quickly intercepted by members of the resistance forces, brought to their leadership and everyone starts working collaboratively.

-Elphaba’s family tree is as such:

Oscar Diggs + Melena Thropp= Elphaba

Turtle Heart + Melena Thropp=Nessarose

Frexpar Thropp +Melena Thropp = Shell

A Quadling + Gilkeneese Munchkin=Melena Thropp

So Elphaba has kin ties to all parts of Oz- the north, east, south, and west!

-Shell grows up and becomes part of the resistance, he’s gay and has a great partner who is Vinkin. They live on the western boarder of Oz in an Animal town, and help Animals cross the impassable desert. Elphaba also passes on any orphaned Animals she has in to them if another Animal is not available to raise the orphan(s), so they run a pseudo Animal foster home. They also take in human children if there is a need.

-Elphaba loves politics, and when she is introduced to Fiyero’s father (the King of the Vinkus), they butt heads at first. However, Fiyero’s father eventually sees Elphaba as an equal, and as a strong ally. He also loves to get into political discussions with her, and playing chess with her.

-the Vinkus royal family are Animal sympathizers, but also recognized the Wizard’s plan for total control over Oz. They couldn’t afford a full out civil war, so they contributed heavily to the resistance in secret.

- the resistance in the Emerald City is majority made up of displaced women from Quadling territory, whom are forced to participate in sex work to survive. They end up using sex work as a cover for communicating, blackmailing the Wizard’s supporters, and for getting Animals safely out of the City. Elphaba, for a short time, was one of these sex workers, posing as both the sex worker, and as clientele to pass along information, share supplies and resources, and to extort Wizard supporters.

- Elphaba also poses as a maunt (a nun) to hide from the Wizard’s Gale Force, and to pass along resistance information and resources.

-Fiyero will and does sit on Elphaba’s lap

- once they are forced to leave Oz, Elphaba and Fiyero don’t truely leave Oz, they go live with Shell snd his partner, taking care of the Animals and children. The Vinkus royal family know their location, so that they can send warnings ahead if needed.

- Elphaba, with the help of various other magical folk around Oz, change Fiyero back to human, but can’t reverse the damage done by the Gale Force. They nurse him back to a relativity non-dying state, but he was hurt really badly by the Gale Force. They are able to stabilize his spine enough with magic and physical therapy that he is mobile, though he deals with severe chronic pain. He refuses all pain medication, citing a need to be of clear head in case the worse should happen. He’s also afraid of getting addicted.

-Elphaba doesn’t like getting her hair cut…the longest it ever was, it was down to the backs of her knees.

World building Headcannons:

-the Vinkus has many different climates. In the colder, more norther climates, mammoths roam. There are no Mammoths, and no one knows why. In same region, Dogs work together in teams to transport materials, people, other Animals, etc to places on sleds. Each year they have a Dog only race from Ugabu to the Lesser Kells.

- in Quadling country, there were rubies in the rivers-causing the water to look reddish. Now there are so many Quadling bodies mass dumped in the rivers due to the Wizard’s genocide of them, that the river flows red due to the blood. The surviving Quadlings were those whom were mixed raced, forced to assimilate into other parts of Oz. The rubies were dipped into green dye, and were used to build the Emerald City.

- there are parts of Munchkinland where the people dress extremely modestly- including face and hair coverings. This is where Elphaba gets the idea/fashion inspiration to hide her face (and skin)

- guns are strictly limited in Oz, per the Wizard’s orders. He saw what the American second amendment argued for and didn’t want the public to have such power to form militias.

- Princess Ozma is still alive, but kept prisoner by the Wizard. She is kept in a guarded, but empty Quadling government building in Qhoyre. The building is overgrown with jungle foliage, and is made from clay and clam shells and rubies from the rivers; it’s a beautiful prison.

- pirates sail the Restwater and Kellswater Great Lakes

Hmmm that’s all for now!

[mars00]

MY STORY.

HELP SUFFERING LGBTQ'S IN EAST AFRICA.

I'm Gilbert Rugumbura Ugandan by nationality, aged 28yrs and currently living in Gorom refugees camp located in south Sudan

I finished senior six which is advanced level in Uganda but did not get the chance to join university due to the challenges and misfortune that came in my life because of my gender and sexaul orientation.

After the president of Uganda passed a mass communication criticizing and cursing homosexuality in our country before signing the anti-gay bill act in 2023.

I came to live my home country due to narrowly escaping fear for my life to get in danger,denial from my family,face life imprisonment,shame and complete failure in my life, persecution, torture and death.

Something that forced me to leave,was,the strong suspicion that I'd got from my family members that I'm a homosexual when I was found with my partner having a good time together, close to each other, hugging and kissing by my cousin brother who watched us from a distance when we were at the golf course in the evening back then in Uganda.I feared to face my parents, brothers and sisters when my cousin reported that incidence to my elder brother who also informed my parents, brothers and sisters and my parents asked to meet me with all my brothers and sisters in a meeting in Kampala.Due to the fact that I had had the same case at school in senior five when they also called my father but we settled the issues, making matters worse, our parents had sat us down before as a family and strongly restricted us from such which my father termed as abnormal and scary practices and promised us as his children,not to favour or lightly handle any of us who is known for the act but rather take away there life so that they could not ashame the whole family,chase them from our clan and family linage or handle us to the security with his helping hand to imprison them for life, briefly he strongly condemned it and we very well knew how rude he is.

After all this happening, when my family asked to meet me, I escaped to Kenya and ended at the red cross in Kenya and after three days was taken to Kakuma refugees camp.

CHALLENGES.

When I entered the camp, I thought my life had been rescued to some extent, little knowing that I had just started facing the hardest part of my life.

While in the camp,the rest of the community in the camp, we as lgbtq's,face discrimination, segregation, torture,rampant attacks, trauma, disrespect,stay most of the times indoors, constant hunger, insecurity, lack of enough medical care,lack of participating and exercising our rights, denial of the right to work and face death.

The straight community in the camp say that we're agents of the devil and the spoilt western culture, we're not allowed to move freely but in groups and short distances and if not, we're attacked at any time, brutalized and get seriously injured but what hurts most is that the very same people who are supposed to be helping us, also torture and discriminate us say of the police when we go to report our cases,they chase them away and instead ask us to go back where we live before they arrest us,the medical doctors of the UNHCR clinics say they don't want to touch on us because we're a curse and a burden hence living us to go to private clinics while we can not afford medical bills ,the UNHCR local officials discriminate us by giving us very little food that can not sustain us for even half a month but counted to sustain us for a full month,the owners of shops refuse to sell us goods saying that our money will bring a curse to there businesses, we're not allowed to access jobs because the owners of the jobs say we're a curse.

GOALS:

Rescue the suffering lgbtqi people who have no voice from hunger and other basic needs.

Living a free and desirable life.

Exercising my rights as a human being like others.

Amplify the voice for the lgbtqi people.

Helping our fellow lgbtqi people live a desirable life.

Alerting the rest of the communities and genders that we're people like anyone else.

Creating room

(This is a campaign organized by me)

@rugumbura999 (his profile)

[blackstarlineage]

Anti-Blackness Among Non-Black People of Colour: A Garveyite Perspective on Global Patterns of Oppression

From a Garveyite lens, the history and present-day behavior of non-Black people of color (POC) reveal a global pattern of anti-Blackness, glorification of whiteness, and opportunistic use of Black people and their struggles when it suits their interests. This phenomenon spans North America, Europe, South America, and the African diaspora, rooted in the legacy of colonialism and white supremacy. Marcus Garvey’s teachings on Black self-reliance, Pan-Africanism, and racial pride provide critical insights into the ways in which these dynamics have evolved and persist.

Historical Roots of Anti-Blackness in POC Communities

Colonial Hierarchies and Racial Divides

Colonialism established global racial hierarchies that placed Black people at the bottom. Non-Black POC, while oppressed, were often granted privileges over Black people in exchange for complicity in white supremacy.

1. South Asians in Africa

During British colonial rule, South Asians were brought to East and Southern Africa as indentured labourers and intermediaries in the colonial administration. Positioned above Black Africans, they internalized and perpetuated colonial anti-Black stereotypes, benefiting economically and socially.

2. Arab Slave Trade

Predating European colonialism, the Arab slave trade dehumanized millions of Africans, embedding anti-Blackness in Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) cultures. This legacy persisted under European colonial rule, as MENA communities often aligned with whiteness to maintain their status.

3. Latin America’s Caste System

Spanish and Portuguese colonial powers created rigid racial hierarchies, placing lighter-skinned mestizos above Black and Indigenous peoples. Afro-descendants were relegated to the bottom, excluded from political, economic, and social advancement.

4. East Asia’s Encounter with Whiteness

In East Asia, European imperialism introduced the glorification of whiteness and the stigmatization of darker skin. This colorism remains a key factor in anti-Black attitudes within East Asian communities worldwide.

Modern Anti-Blackness Among POC in North America

Economic Exploitation and Social Distancing

Non-Black POC in North America have historically sought proximity to whiteness by distancing themselves from Blackness.

1. Model Minority Myth (Asian Americans)

The model minority stereotype positions Asian Americans as hardworking and law-abiding, contrasting them with anti-Black stereotypes of laziness and criminality. This myth not only erases systemic racism against Asian Americans but also reinforces anti-Blackness by pitting communities of colour against each other.

2. Latino Communities

While Latinos have faced their own struggles against racism, anti-Blackness is deeply ingrained in many Latin American cultures, often carried into the U.S. Afro-Latinos are frequently erased, and lighter-skinned Latinos receive greater societal acceptance. Additionally, many Latino communities participate in cultural appropriation of Black music, fashion, and slang while ignoring systemic anti-Black racism.

3. Arab and South Asian Communities

In North America, Arab and South Asian immigrants often establish businesses in predominantly Black neighborhoods but fail to invest in or support the community. These businesses profit from Black consumers while perpetuating anti-Black stereotypes and refusing to hire Black employees.

Anti-Blackness in Europe

Historical Context

Europe’s colonial history directly shaped its current racial hierarchies. Non-Black POC in Europe have long been complicit in anti-Blackness to gain acceptance in predominantly white societies.

1. South Asians in Britain

Post-WWII, South Asian immigrants in Britain often distanced themselves from Black communities to assimilate. Anti-Black prejudices from colonial India were reinforced in Britain, as South Asians sought to align themselves with white society.

2. Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) Communities

In France, Italy, and other European countries, MENA immigrants have perpetuated anti-Blackness while facing their own struggles against Islamophobia and xenophobia. This dynamic highlights the complexity of racial hierarchies, as MENA communities simultaneously resist and uphold white supremacy.

3. Eastern Europeans and Anti-Black Stereotypes

In many parts of Europe, Eastern European immigrant communities, despite facing discrimination themselves, have adopted and perpetuated anti-Black stereotypes, particularly in public discourse and employment practices.

Economic Exploitation in the UK

One glaring example is the domination of the Afro-cosmetics industry in Britain by South Asian and Middle Eastern shop owners. These businesses profit from Black women, the primary consumers of Afro hair products, while exhibiting dismissive or disrespectful attitudes toward their clientele. Black entrepreneurs attempting to enter the market face systemic barriers, as non-Black POC control the supply chains.

Anti-Blackness in South America and the Caribbean

Erasure of Afro-Descendants

In countries like Brazil, Colombia, and Venezuela, Afro-descendants constitute significant portions of the population yet remain politically and economically marginalized.

1. Colourism and Whitening Policies

Many South American countries implemented “whitening” policies in the 19th and 20th centuries, encouraging European immigration to dilute Black and Indigenous populations. This legacy persists in cultural and media representations that glorify whiteness and exclude Afro-descendants.

2. Appropriation of Black Culture

Samba, capoeira, and other Afro-Brazilian traditions are celebrated globally, yet Afro-Brazilians themselves are often excluded from economic and social opportunities.

3. The Caribbean

In the Caribbean, divisions between Afro-Caribbean and Indo-Caribbean communities have been exacerbated by colonial histories. Indo-Caribbean communities have at times sought to align themselves with whiteness to gain privileges over Afro-Caribbean populations.

The Diaspora: Global Exploitation and Appropriation

1. Co-Opting Black Struggles

In multiracial coalitions, non-Black POC often tokenize Black leaders to gain visibility while sidelining Black-specific issues. Non-Black POC frequently appropriate Black-led movements, such as Black Lives Matter, to amplify their own struggles while failing to address anti-Blackness within their communities.

2. Cultural Appropriation

Black music, dance, and fashion are consumed and commodified by non-Black POC without acknowledgment of their origins or the systemic racism faced by Black creators.

3. Political Opportunism

During elections or social movements, non-Black POC often appeal to Black communities for support but fail to reciprocate when Black issues are on the line.

Garveyite Solutions to Anti-Blackness

From a Garveyite perspective, the solution to these dynamics lies in Black self-reliance, economic independence, and Pan-African unity.

1. Economic Empowerment

Support Black-owned businesses and entrepreneurs to counteract the exploitation by non-Black POC. Establish Black-controlled supply chains, particularly in industries like beauty and retail.

2. Reject False Solidarity

Critically evaluate multiracial coalitions and alliances, ensuring that Black interests are not co-opted or sidelined. Demand accountability from non-Black POC for perpetuating anti-Blackness.

3. Pan-African Unity

Strengthen connections between Black communities globally to resist systemic oppression. Reclaim African identity and culture, rejecting the glorification of whiteness and internalized anti-Blackness.

4. Education and Advocacy

Raise awareness about the history and persistence of anti-Blackness in non-Black POC communities. Promote Garveyite principles of Black pride, self-reliance, and liberation.

Conclusion

Anti-Blackness among non-Black POC, rooted in colonial histories and perpetuated through modern economic, cultural, and social practices, remains a global issue. From North America to Europe, South America, and across the diaspora, non-Black POC have sought to align themselves with whiteness while exploiting Black people when convenient. Marcus Garvey’s vision offers a powerful framework for resisting these dynamics, emphasizing the need for Black self-reliance, unity, and liberation.

“Up, you mighty race, accomplish what you will!” – Marcus Garvey

[kaitsawamura]

FICS FOR GAZA

I am proud to announce I will be joining the initiative created over at @ficsforgaza! They, along with all the other incredibly talented participants, are doing some really great work. Thank you to FFG for creating a tangible way for us to help those suffering in Palestine, even if some of us can't afford to offer monetary assistance <3

THIS POST WAS LAST UPDATED 6/25/24

I might open requests in the future but for now, I am accepting proof of donation to sponsor current WIPs only.

Select a vetted donation link. You can find a good list -> HERE <-

Send me a screenshot of your donation through my inbox or in a DM. Due to these factors, donations cannot be anonymous at this time. I will also be sharing screenshots/proof of donation with @ficsforgaza for their records and verification. PLEASE MAKE SURE YOU COVER/BLUR ANY PERSONAL INFORMATION ON YOUR PROOF OF DONATION.

I would hope this wouldn't need to be stated but please do not reuse donation screenshots. Make a new donation for each request.

Once you have sent proof of donation and chosen your WIP, you can opt in or out to be listed as a tagged sponsor on the WIP's masterlist. Some of the available WIPs have masterlists already live (I would tag you and repost) and some are oneshots that have yet to be posted (you would be tagged as a sponsor at the time that it is finished and live).

I will label each work individually, but please assume that everything I write will be 18+ MDNI/N*FW at one point or another.

WORD COUNT PER DOLLAR (SUBJECT TO CHANGE)

For every $1 donated, I will write 100 words towards your chosen WIP. I.E: If you donate $5, I will write 500 words.

Current Word Count Cap Per One Request: 1000 Words (You can show proof of a larger donation, but this is currently the most words that can be requested per person ☺︎ )

Current Total Word Cap: 500/5000 words (This is currently the point at which I will pause proof of donations until I catch up ☺︎ )

MONEY RAISED: $15.75

Thank you for reading and respecting my rules!

THIS IS CURRENTLY A PLACEHOLDER

SERIES

East of My Heart (West of My Soul) | Estimated WC: 50K | Current WC: 25.5K | Chapter WC: 5.1K/12K | BNHA Folk Tale AU | Prince!Izuku Midoriya x Reader | 18+ MDNI

Donations Made to Sponsor This WIP: 1

SUMMARY: Your life is one that is abundant with family and the magic in small things.  But when a great white bear comes rumbling at your family’s cottage door one winter’s night, you are obviously taken aback.  Even more so when he speaks to you in a language you can understand and asks for your help.  Come away with him, live with him in the ice castle he calls home for a year and day and release him from the curse that blights him.  You agree to go with him even if as time goes along, it is very apparent that there is more to this polar bear than meets the eye.  There is more to a lot of different things as you learn to love the polar bear as friend and companion during the day but are visited by a mysterious man who insists on sleeping in your bed every night.  Can you last a year and a day to save the bear from this strange enchantment?  Will you learn the true identity of the man you’ve come to care so deeply for?  Will you find yourself (and maybe love) along the way?

The Farmer and The Wizard | Estimated WC: 50K | Current WC: 3.2K | Chapter WC: 1.2K/3K | JJK Stardew Valley AU | Wizard!Gojo x Farmer!Reader | 18+ MDNI

Donations Made to Sponsor This WIP: 1

SUMMARY: You need a change, a big one. When your estranged grandfather passes away and bequeaths you his farm in a little town just south of the middle of nowhere, you take it as the sign you needed to make a change instead of waiting for one. The farm, while having fallen into a state of disrepair, is just the thing to cure your modern-world ailments. The people are kind and always ready to offer help, if a bit unusual. They have old superstitions, a haunted community center, and a resident wizard. Spoiler alert: those last two on the list take some getting used to. Yes, things are different here but you have a sneaking suspicion that the slow pace and a certain alchemical practitioner are going to remind you that sometimes, all you need is time and a little bit of magic.

that's just wasteland, baby | Estimated WC: 15K | Current WC: 2.2K | BotW/TotK!Link and Zelda x Reader | 18+ MDNI

SUMMARY: Calamity Ganon has finally been vanquished for good, Link and Zelda have finally managed to break the wheel. But things are not as either of them had hoped they would be. Zelda is soon to be Queen with all the duties of such a position. Link would remain her knight and yet, he is restless. When he hears of the restoration efforts in Lurelin Village, he decides that he must go. He can’t stay cooped up within the castle walls, not after so long in the wild. Zelda and Link are unsure of the new direction their lives are taking but maybe they’ll find that their true north is you.

ONESHOTS

a shrike and a thorn | Estimated WC: 3K | Current WC: 1.2K | Priest!Kento Nanami x Congregant!Reader | 18+ MDNI

SUMMARY: You save everyone but who saves you? You don’t know what makes you step foot in that church.  But you do and you spend the next year a dutiful congregant to Father Nanami.  Devoted and kind, he’s exactly the kind of man you would expect to be a priest.  And none of this would be a problem if it weren’t for the fact that you can’t stop thinking about what it would be like to see him lose his religion between your legs.  Unbeknownst to you, the good Father is having the same kind of thoughts.  Will the two of you build a new altar at which you might worship?

They Say It's Your Birthday | Estimated WC: 3K | Current WC: 1.6K | Pro Hero!Eijiro Kirishima x Reader | 18+ MDNI

SUMMARY: Strangers to lovers (they meet in the club), birthday smut for the Birthday Boy, I've had this in my drafts for literally three years to post on Eiji's birthday.

The Indomitable Human Spirit | Estimated WC: 2-3K | Current WC: 366 | Modern!Sukuna x Reader | 18+ MDNI

Donations Made to Sponsor This WIP: 1

SUMMARY: No description for this yet either, just wanted to explore the idea of Sukuna putting his claim on you but not in the way you'd think he would, more in like the thing about how a warring alien race comes to earth and is baffled and fascinated by the enduring human spirit.

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All works marked as such belong to Kait of kaitsawamura © 2020-PRESENT. Please do not alter, repost, or copy my content.

[ncts-baes]

‎ˑ ִֶ 𓂃𐙚˙ . . . liv’s profile .ᐟ

୨୧ basics . . .

꒱ birth name: olivia jiah lim

꒱ korean name: im jiah | 림지아

꒱ nicknames: livie, liv, jiji, oli, bae, dance prodigy, selfie queen, miss americana, olive, giggly fox, everyone’s chingu, dream’s girlie.

꒱ birth: 24/11/2001 | sagittarius

꒱ birthplace: boston, usa

꒱ residence: seoul, south korea

꒱ nationality: north american

꒱ mbti: esfj

꒱ blood type: O-

꒱ languages: english (mother language), korean (mother language), japanese (semi-fluent), chinese (basics)

꒱ family: dad, mom, two older brothers

୨୧ career . . .

꒱ stage name: liv | 리브

꒱ positions: main dancer, lead vocalist, sub rapper, center, face of the group (in dream) / main dancer, lead vocalist, face of the group (in 127)

꒱ representative emoji: 🐈‍⬛

꒱ debut date: 2016/08/25

꒱ debut song: chewing gum (nct dream)

୨୧ appearance . . .

꒱ faceclaim: lee chaeryeong (itzy)

꒱ weight: 46kg (101 lbs)

꒱ height: 166cm (5’5”)

꒱ body modifications: two piercings in each ear, three tattoos – left rib, behind the right ear, nape of her neck.

୨୧ social media . . .

꒱ instagram: imolivetree

꒱ weverse: liv-ely 🤍

୨୧ facts . . .

— she’s the little sister of the monsta x’s member im. liv is really proud of her brother but also loves to tease him, so it’s always in between teasing and adoration whenever she talks about him. she’s also often teased about this fact by the other members.

— liv was born in boston right after her family left the middle east to live in the us because of her dad’s work. she lived there up to her three years of life and then went back and forth traveling.

— her favorite nickname is liv. it was given to her by her brothers when their parents announced they were having a girl. from then on, it became her favorite nickname and the reasoning of her english name - olivia.

— she’s a huge sone and was so thrilled when her parents told her she passed her audition for sm in 2013. her personality for about three years was bragging to everyone that she was in the same company as snsd.

— her brothers had a big role in her life as they would always help and encourage her with everything she wanted to try. changkyun was the one who took her to the auditions she wanted and her oldest brother would always prepare her stuff and take her anywhere she desired. she loves them deeply and shows it whenever she’s able to.

— olivia sees jiwon as her real big sister since she grew up around boys. haneul is her feminine influence and biggest fan, the oldest would do anything to see jiah happy. she was the one who helped her with her wardrobe changes and makeup tips, also, her number one on the advice givers list.

— jiah debuted with chewing gum, debuting with 127 only during their second comeback. after the debut with 127 she suffered a massive hate because of her appearance, which led to her trying to change her appearance even as a kid. the members - and even other idols - would always reassure her that she was beautiful that way, but jiah ended up having to take a break mid-2017 and came back only in 2018 (she didn’t participate in the ‘we young’ comeback).

— in dream she’s the closest to mark and jaemin as they would always be there listening to her and keeping her close to them. while in 127 she’s really close to both jiwon and taeyong as she loves being taken care of and having people doting on her.

— in 2021 she had a studio choom performance that went viral and, because of that, she became really famous in the dance community. she was invited to many dance programs and events as people became invested in her talents.

— she’s really known for her body proportions and flexibility.

— jiah is really interested in learning new things. so, she can play about six instruments (and still wants to learn more), which are; guitar, piano, drums, flute, electric guitar and the trumpet. she was a part of her school’s band when she was younger, she would play whatever they put her in.

— she is nicknamed by the kpop community as “queen of selfies” and people often comment that she could actually teach a few idols on how to take pictures of themselves.

— she is really close to aespa, she became friends with ningning during their trainee days and eventually got close to the other girls as they joined the company.

— she’s a brand ambassador for acne studios and a makeup ambassador for maybelline new york.

— she debuted solo in 2023 with the single ‘DUMB DUMB’, which became viral in and out of korea. it quickly became one of the most successful solo songs, with everyone doing the challenge and singing it everywhere.

— she did jazz, hiphop, ballet and some whacking classes as a kid. jiah received some awards when she was younger due to some competitions she participated. she’s more interested in hiphop and kpop dances nowadays though.

— during a trip to japan liv became really interested in the culture and culinary, so, she started to teach herself japanese and learned about the country on her own. when she met yuta they instantly clicked because of that and it’s one of her favorite things to talk to him about. during a live, doyoung revealed that they once stayed up until almost four am just talking and showing each other stuff of the japanese culture.

all rights reserved © ncts-baes, 2024

[scotianostra]

On January 27th 1784 the newspaper the Glasgow Herald was published for the first time.

As the birth of America brought the decline of the city’s lucrative tobacco trade and an end to its first phase of imperial expansion, the first issue of a newspaper called The Glasgow Advertiser was published.

When John Mennons - writer, editor, printer and publisher of The Glasgow Advertiser - sold the few hundred copies of his first issue around the coffee houses of Glasgow in 1783, he was already dealing with international businessmen, the tobacco lords and the other members of the Merchants’ House who traded with the Americas and Caribbean, who owned plantations and mansions across the Atlantic and whose fortunes would provide the basis for Glasgow’s early and hugely successful participation in the Industrial Revolution. The American colonies were lost, but the city continued to trade across the Atlantic, and soon added businesses in Africa, Australia and the Far East.

That first issue of The Herald showed the international interests of the Glasgow business community. On the front page alone there was intelligence from London, Dresden, Hispaniola (now Haiti and the Dominican Republic), Jamaica, New York, Gibraltar and Madrid, and reports of ships belonging to the East India Company sailing for Africa and the South Sea (the South China Sea). In addition, a disapproving account of the princes and princesses of Europe changing their religion “as if it were part of their dress” when marrying for family or national advantage was enlivened by the news that the Sultan of the Ottomans (Turkey) and the Sophia of Persia (Iran) had sent ambassadors to south Germany to ask for the hands in marriage of two princesses of the House of Wurttemberg.

The Glasgow Herald is the longest running national newspaper in the world and is the eighth oldest daily paper in the world. The paper was originally named the Glasgow Advertiser, and after a short spell as The Herald and Advertiser and Commercial Chronicle, became The Glasgow Herald in 1804.

The paper’s first editor John Mennons worked from offices at Duncan’s Land on Gibson’s Wynd, with the company moving to ‘The Lighthouse’ in Mitchell Street in 1895,the building is creditted cto architect John Keppie, but he apprenticed the young Charles Rennie Mackintosh.

On the 19th of July, 1980, the paper moved to offices in Albion Street. It is currently printed at Carmyle just south east of Glasgow.

[riza-jes]

where East Blue is a sea of dancing and silent communication.

Where the whole bloody East Blue has dance as a cultural and linguistic meaning.

Through dance you start a courtship, through dance you can tell that someone is in mourning.

Through dance and movement a person can reveal themselves, through arm movement and a path of steps a person can reveal their soul or reveal their intentions.

Dance is something that is held in common secret and honoured by all the inhabitants of the East.

It just so happens that on the Grand Line, many popular drinking places and bars are run by East Blues people.

Even any travelling musician or dancer can be an East Blue who is looking for friends and friends of his own from his native sea.

It may be that Ace, though born in the South, grew up as one of the East, and this is of great importance.

(That's why nobles and bandits use dance movements in a close circle, and that's how Dragon will also try to understand the past hidden from Sabo himself, but left in his body and in his movements).

And it turns out that through body language and dance he can say and learn a lot of things.

For example, once with one of the whitebreads (who was obviously a spouse of one of the East, not a native) they danced almost a waltz, without touching each other, but their steps were coordinated and smooth.

Ace knows how to tell someone ‘interested in a nice evening’ and someone ‘fuck you’ with gestures and body language.

So suddenly Tatch, who had watched the movement, tries to repeat it at another attempt to feed Portgas in front of Ace, only he didn't know that Ace would choke on the air in shock and stare at him for a couple of seconds until he turns away and tries to hold back his laughter.

The food was taken then, but they threw clearly some wildly amused looks and went round in a wide arc.

Then his brother Shali explained to Thatch that Thatch had somehow managed to repeat an obviously bad gesture that meant, ‘Let's go have a snog in my warehouse’.

Thatch embarrassingly apologised the next day.

And it's worth noting that Ace's presence also sometimes meant more welcome in many drinking places and participation in bigger dances.

There's a dance in every man that can tell you something about his sensual side.

As another Easterner pointed out Ace was clearly a man who was often called to courtship, and it is a pity that such a man is already in mourning(for Sabo).

— The worst punishment for an Eastie is to have his legs broken.

[luxudus]

Merfolk in the Trail of Cryptids (for @jennywolfgal)

woah hey i wasnt expecting to have participated in mermay bet here i am now. This is for @jennywolfgal and her project the Trail of Cryptids which i talked about awhile ago with her dragons. enjoy!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Another group of species endemic to this alternate earth are the legendary Merfolk. Trident wielding Half-man half-fish people of the sea of the myths in our world. The merfolk here aren’t humans or hominids, nor are they even great apes. But instead they are a sister-clade of the family Cebidae. They are related to the Capuchin monkeys of central and south America.

They split off 10 million years ago with a similar evolutionary history to the cetaceans. Allowing an evolution of similar extremeness akin to the time between Pakicetus and Dorudon.

Icthypithicids contain a variety of aquatic monkey species. True merfolk belong in the genus Meralosapiens. With some species inhabiting the mediteranean, coast of east Europe, and their ancestral ground the Caribbean with a leaner build adorned in less fat.

To start off physically, They are like Cetaceans, kind of. their tail extended to an extreme degree to swim. Unlike cetaceans and like some ancient artwork of mermaids of our earth. Their legs still remain useful to swim and hold onto partners. Their arms freed up, remain as manipulators. They remain folded to reduce drag. Which lets them hold onto large objects and young merfolk when breastfeeding.

Uniquely they have a full head of hair like humans in spite of the drag created. This hair is maintained and kept healthy through grooming with the aid of two serrated claws on the lower half of their hand. Their teeth are tipped with canines and slowly become more trident shaped further back. Which they use to flush water out of their mouth. And Lastly their nostrils can completely close like a seal, and are at the very front of the face to ensure they breach the water first.

Ecologically, they are mostly carnivorous. They eat a wide array of fish, squid, and other small marine life. They take a particular liking to seaweeds and copepods, which they use their trident teeth to filter them out of the water. They take so much of a liking to copepods they will even follow their vertical migration.

They are quite social and live in family pods. Like mentioned earlier they will groom each other to strengthen social bonds. While most Icthypithicids are comparable in intelligence to their capuchin cousins. Meralaosapiens are fully sophont organisms that have the capacity for understanding and creating art and complex language. Technologically they are comparable to neolithic humans. Most populations use stone tools or other organisms slightly bred for more cooperation, living tools if you will. While other populations scavenge for more advanced tools left behind by humans.

Overall they are neutral to humans. Often keeping their distance or outright hiding from humans. Some more aggressive merfolk will attack or even hunt humans as a source of preyluring them in with their locks of hair. Which is believed to have arisen from a few merfolk cultures going through famine and growing desperate for food, eventually looking to their cousins beyond the water.

And of course there are others naturally curious of their terrestrial relatives and will frequently come up to human divers, even attempting to communicate with them. The future is uncertain, but hopefully the humanity of this earth will treat these people with respect and maybe even lend them a hand.

[1966jpg]

Critical Theory Recommended Reading List:

Principles of Communism (Friedrich Engels)

Wage-Labour and Capital Value, Price and Profit (Karl Marx)

Das Kapital (Karl Marx)

The Communist Manifesto (Karl Marx)

On Practice & On Contradiction (Mao Zedong)

The Motorcycle Diaries (Che Guevara)

Latin America Diaries (Che Guevara)

Reminiscences of the Cuban Revolutionary War (Che Guevara)

Guerilla Warfare (Che Guevara)

Che (Jon Lee Anderson)

Socialism: Utopian and Scientific (Friedrich Engels)

The Origin of the Family, Private Property and the State (Friedrich Engels)

Orientalism (Edward W. Said)

The Unwomanly Face of War (Svetlana Alexievich)

The Wretched of The Earth (Frantz Fanon)

A Dying Colonialism (Frantz Fanon)

Black Skin White Masks (Frantz Fanon)

Inglorious Empire (Shashi Tharoor)

Remembering Che (Aleida March)

Against Empire (Michael Parenti)

Blackshirts & Reds (Michael Parenti)

Revolutionary Suicide (Huey P. Newton)

Confessions of an Economic Hitman (John Perkins)

The Mismeasure of Man (Stephen Jay Gould)

The State and the Revolution (V.I. Lenin)

Imperialism: The Highest Stage of Capitalism (V.I. Lenin)

Imperialism in The 21st Century (V.I. Lenin)

Liberalism A Counter History (Domenico Losurdo)

23 Things They Don't Tell You About Capitalism (Ha-Joon Chang)

October (China Miéville)

Kill Anything That Moves (Nick Turse)

Blitzed: Drugs in Nazi Germany (Norman Ohler)

Late Victorian Holocausts (Mike Davis)

Ten Myths About Israel (Ilan Pappe)

How Europe Underdeveloped Africa (Walter Rooney)

Reform or Revolution (Rosa Luxemburg)

Settlers: The Mythology of the White Proletariat (J. Sakai)

Killing Hope (William Blum)

Unequal Exchange and the Prospects of Socialism (Arghiri Emmanuel)

Unequal Exchange: A Study of Imperialism and Trade (Arghiri Emmanuel)

The Wealth of Some Nations (Zak Cope)

Divided World Divided Class (Zak Cope)

The Law of Worldwide Value (Samir Amin)

Unequal Development (Samir Amin)

An Economic History of the U.S.S.R (Alec Nove)

Human Rights in the Soviet Union (Albert Szymanski)

Is the Red Flag Flying? (Albert Szymanski)

Soviet Democracy (Pat Sloan)

The Industrialisation of Soviet Russia: The Socialist Offensive (R.W. Davies)

Soviet Communism: A New Civilisation (Sidney and Beatrice Webb)

Socialism in the Soviet Union (Jonathan Aurthur)

The Soviet Form of Popular Government (The U.S.S.R Academy of Sciences)

Workers Participation in the Soviet Union (Mick Costello)

The Great Conspiracy (Michael Sayers and Albert E. Kahn)

The Soviets and Ourselves: Two Commonwealths (K.E. Holme)

The Old Social Classes and the Revolutionary Movements of Iraq (Hanna Baratu)

South Yemen A Marxist Republic in Arabia (Robert W. Stookey)

The Arab Left (Tareq Y. Ismael)

Post-Marxism and The Middle East (Feleh A. Jabar)

The Unmaking of Arab Socialism (Ali Kodri)

The Hundred Years' War on Palestine (Rashid Khalidi)

The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine (Ilan Pape)

A Strategy for the Liberation of Palestine (The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine)

Roadside Picnic (Arkady and Boris Strugatsky)

Blood in My Eye (George Jackson)

Why You Should Be a Trade Unionist (Len McCluskey)

The Pitfalls of Liberalism (Kwame Ture)

[beardedmrbean]

North Korea has started sending troops to fight with Russia in Ukraine, South Korea's spy agency has said as Seoul warned of a "grave security threat".

The allegation comes a day after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he believed 10,000 North Korean soldiers could join the war, based on intelligence information.

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol called for a security meeting on Friday and said the international community must respond with "all available means".

According to the spy agency, 1,500 troops have already arrived in Russia - with anonymous sources telling South Korean media the final figure could be closer to 12,000.

This comes as evidence mounts that North Korea is supplying Russia with ammunition, as recently demonstrated by the recovery of a missile in Ukraine’s Poltava region.

Moscow and Pyongyang have also been deepening their cooperation in recent months. Last week, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un greeted Russian President Vladimir Putin on his birthday, calling him his "closest comrade".

Friday's security meeting was attended by key officials from South Korea's National Security Office, the Ministry of National Defence, and the National Intelligence Service, Yoon's office said.

"[The participants] decided not to ignore the situation and to jointly respond to it with the international community using all available means," it said.

The allegation from the National Intelligence Service (NIS) comes days after Ukrainian military intelligence sources said that Russia's army is forming a unit of North Koreans.

The BBC has asked the NIS for comment.

On Thursday, Ukraine's spy chief Kyrylo Budanov claimed that there were nearly 11,000 North Korean infantry troops training in eastern Russia to fight in Ukraine.

"They will be ready [to fight in Ukraine] on 1 November," Lt Gen Budanov, who heads the Ukrainian Defence Intelligence Directorate, told The Warzone website.

He added that the North Koreans would be using Russian equipment and ammunition, and the first group of 2,600 soldiers would be sent to Russia's western Kursk region, where Ukraine holds a number of settlements after launching its incursion in August.

Earlier this week, Putin introduced a bill to ratify a military pact he made with Kim, which pledges that Russia and North Korea will help each other in the event of "aggression" against either country.

South Korea's spy agency, the NIS, said North Korean troops are training in Russian bases in Vladivostok, Ussuriysk, Khabarovsk, and Vlagoveshensk.

This appears to confirm information from a military source in Russia’s Far East, who told BBC Russian this week that “a number of North Koreans have arrived” and were stationed in one of the military bases near Ussuriysk.

Seoul's spy agency also released aerial photographs of Ussuriysk and Khabarovsk, where they say hundreds of North Korean troops have gathered, and another photo of North Korea's Chongjin port, where a Russian ship was reportedly shown carrying North Korean soldiers.

The NIS said it found that since August, North Korea has sent 13,000 shipping containers carrying shells, missiles, and anti-armour rockets to Russia.

As many as eight million 122-mm and 152-mm shells have been supplied to Russia, it said.

However, some military experts believe the Russian military units will have difficulties incorporating North Korean troops into their frontlines.

Apart from the language barrier, the North Korean army has no recent experience of combat operations, they said.

“They could guard some sections of the Russian-Ukrainian border, which would free Russian units for fighting elsewhere,” said Valeriy Ryabykh, editor of the Ukrainian publication Defence Express.

“I would rule out the possibility that these units will immediately appear on the front line.”