#diversity is our strength

[antifainternational]

[qrfit]

You feel that? The world is watching. We get to show them who we are. So, who are we gonna be?

[religion-is-a-mental-illness]

Joe Lonsdale: So I enjoy the part of the book where you highlight some platitudes about race, that permeate our society, and one of them is like, "diversity is our strength." Like, why is that a dumb thing to say, and how should we be talking about it instead?

Coleman Hughes: Yeah, I think this is something a lot of people say, a lot of people want to believe, though I'm not sure if they deeply believe it in every sense.

So, for example, I've never heard anyone say that Earth, Wind & Fire was great, but they really needed a white guy to round out their sound, or that, like The Beatles were an excellent band, they would have been perfect if they had a Mexican guy.

And so I don't think that at the end of the day, I don't think diversity always makes everything stronger necessarily, and I don't think other people believe that either.

My view is that diversity inherently is neutral in most cases, it's neither good nor bad. I know certainly, you know, for my podcast, if I'm looking to hire someone to do a task, I don't care what they look like. I want to see how good at the task they are and how much they charge.

And so I would make an exception, however, for certain professions where racial diversity might contribute to your ability to do the job. So for example, if the NYPD for some reason were 99% white--

Lonsdale: Yeah, they would need more diversity to do the job.

Hughes: I mean, I think it would actually hurt their ability to effectively police black and Hispanic neighborhoods because they just wouldn't be trusted.

Lonsdale: They'd be seen more as outsiders.

Hughes: That's right, yeah. So that's an exception I think that proves the rule. Most jobs are not like that.

[4qu3er1us-punk]

DNI

anti-agere (but tw for ageres this blog may be mature or cuss), anti-alterhuman, queerphobic (that means transphobic, aphobic, homophobic, lesbophobic, biphobic, terfs, if you hate on neopronouns and xenogenders, or any other hate towards 2LGBTQIAP+ people), sexist, racist, ableist, or if you hate on people because of their religion or their identity at all, Pedo, zoo, age play kink, rape kink, incest, endo, proship. Also if you’d ever blame a victim of rape for what happened to them, that applies. I don’t even need to explain here, unless you don’t know what ED means. No eating disorder-positive people here. I’m not shaming eating disorders, but don’t encourage them, they’re not healthy, and you all are beautiful. If you’re on the side of Russia or Israel and think Gaza/Palestine and/or Ukraine deserve whats happened and is happening to them fuck off right now. this is a bullshit free zone where hate isn’t tolerated

about me

[scottguy]

There's a reason inbreeding is bad. Nature demands diversity.

Diversity is strength.

[santaclausdeadindian]

the choice of music is impeccable, nevertheless, I have a hard time deciding which is my fave part of this circus, it has to be either the cop tackling the wrong guy and immedietally getting stabbed in the neck bythe nu-german, or the policewomen doing their best not to help outside of shrill screeching (not audible in this version, but it is a treat)

[possil]

A DANGEROUS FAILURE

Second in a series looking at ‘The State of the West’. Failure Those of us who can remember past conflicts involving Israel such as the Six-Day War (1967) and the Yom Kippur War (1973) can recall news clips from far away followed by conversations with family and friends admiring Israel’s determination not to be destroyed. What we don’t recall are mass demonstrations throughout the West with…

[heart2heartroses2u]

The hypocrisy that can’t be justified.. our military is the best of the best. The idiocy of Tubervile, Our military are our unsung heroes, savior and protector of our democracy. If you have never served, you don’t truly understand the military. You are only hindering and handicapping our military with your hypocrisy. “The Military is an Equal Opportunity” for everyone.

[qrfit]

Privilege is never having to worry about something like this happening to you.

The hatred and chaos is already beginning.

[healthyartsforseniors]

We are the guests we have been waiting for <3

Halwah by Lubna

With December comes our last session together for "Cooking Up Feminism" a program that has been virtually facilitated for the past 11 weeks at Scarborough Arts. Before dispersing for the holidays, the workshops participants came together for one last hurrah, and a whole lotta sweet tooth. It's time for DESSERT as we unfold our final theme, honouring all of the wonderful sweet dishes we have grown up savouring.

Lubna takes me right back to my childhood with this delicious, velvety, earthy brown Halwah. Traditionally eaten for breakfast with spicy chickpeas, potatoes and Puri (deep fried flat breads), Halwah is a treat we would always look forward to, especially around the Eid holidays and weekends. There are many regionally diverse varieties of Halwah and they come in several colours too. Lubna brings us her unique caramelized version. Let's dig in.

"This caramelized Halwah is a dessert. It is made out of Suji (semolina). I would love to cook it for all of you one day. We usually eat this after dinner as a dessert. Because it's rich and heavy, it can't be eaten all the time, but it is a really special dessert that we look forward to in our family. The sugar is cooked in the oil until it is caramelized. We cook this for a long time. It's also important to soak the Suji in hot water for 5-7 mins. The advantage is that when the Suji is soaked, it softens up and when it is added to the caramelized sugar, it thickens the consistency and turns into an absolutely beautiful Halwah. It doesn't require any extra fragrances, essences or additives. The caramel itself has a very aromatic scent. I garnished this Halwah with silvered almonds. I've included a vase in the background of this photograph. I love it. It was a gift from my daughter." ~ Lubna

Mosaic Cake by Ebru

Ebru transports us to happy times during her childhood, when her mother would make the very decadent Mosaic Cake for the family. The chocolaty glaze peeks out from underneath a blanket of crunchy almonds and we can't wait to know more.

"I am a volunteer at a social innovation centre in Toronto. Usually freelancers, creatives and small business owners rent tables here so they can continue their business. We organize cafe chats often and bring food items for everyone. This time I brought the Mosaic Cake from my childhood, and of course some Turkish coffee.

There is no baking with this cake. We can also call it a "student cake" because the ingredients are so simple and basic. It can be gluten friendly as well. The ingredients are simply mixed up and frozen.

This dessert is a staple from my childhood. Whenever my mother would make it, I remember the beautiful, heart-warming smell and how happy it would make me feel. Now, here in Canada, when I have guests over, I love to make Mosaic Cake for them. Usually Turkish women want to show off their abilities, by making very elaborate, time-consuming desserts. But this cake is so simple and my mother would just whip it up for us whenever we asked for it. For me, this is comfort food. The Mosaic Cake is my happy place." ~ Ebru

Sisters by Ann Marie

The holidays are filled with traditions and Ann Marie invites us to take a glimpse into her family's annual get togethers. Every winter, during the Christmas holidays, Ann Marie and her sisters come together to make their family's traditional Jamaican Christmas Rum Cake and haven't missed a single year for over 15 years.

Jamaican Christmas Rum Cake by Ann Marie

"The test to know when your batter is ready, is to stick your wooden spoon into the centre and push it up and down. If it stands still, that means your batter is ready. This is the test our grandmothers and mothers taught us. This is not a light or airy cake, it's a very dense cake."

Jamaican Christmas Rum Cake

"After the baking process, I pour brandy over the top of the cake while it is still warm. Some people pour white rum. When my daughter was getting married, I baked her a cake. I soaked the fruits for that wedding cake for over a year and a half. I laboured over every single hand-made sugar flower to decorate the cake with. When my sisters and I get together to complete our annual holiday traditions, we make sure to begin the process for next year's Jamaican Christmas Rum Cake too. This is how we commit to, and continue our traditions."

~ Ann Marie

After tasting some very delicious desserts from Madhu (refer to Madhu's South Asian Laddoos in previous posts) , Ann Marie, Lubna and Ebru, we finally arrive at Lady P's vibrant and colourful table, where she has created a tea party for us. There are bite sized Jamaican rum cake slices just waiting to be devoured, along with many other sweet treats, such as shortbread cookies.

"I must confess I made all of these desserts on the morning of our workshop. First, of course we have my famous Jamaican cake, as well as my best banana cake and shortbread cookies. I also decorated the table with fruits and nuts. I served some tea in one of my favourite sets. My father gifted this set to me when we went to England. I brought out the good stuff today. Oh, and of course I made my guava jam a few weeks ago. I gave most of it away, but there was some left so I brought it to our tea party." ~ Lady P

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, so many of our individual and collective joys and traditions came to a standstill. Hosting parties, gathering with friends and families, breaking bread together, celebrating milestones, these are emotionally sustaining activities that we never imagined would be temporarily inaccessible. The "Cooking Up Feminism" workshop series under the Healthy Arts for Seniors program is a testament to the ways in which online platforms can be used to birth new communities. While this is our last virtual workshop together, this is certainly, by no means, the end, but rather a new beginning. As we turn the page, we are heading into a new year, cultivating deeper friendships and wider networks of support. Next year, in March of 2023, all of the "Cooking Up Feminism" participants and the Scarborough Arts team will be uniting for an in person potluck party. Our "Cooking Up Feminism" matriarchal, feminist cookbook will also be launching in the new year.

***All of the recipes and stories we share in "Cooking Up Feminism" will be published in a unique cookbook by Scarborough Arts, available to the public in 2023, so stay tuned. Bookmark our blog and follow along. Thank you for your support.

~Mariam Magsi (Workshop Facilitator, Scarborough Arts)

[gwiazdaerydanu]

CHAOS

[ms-boogie-man]

Angie/Maddie🦇❥✝︎🇺🇸

[cheekedupwhiteboy]

i do think its funny when people are like "you could not waterboard this out of me" "i would never admit this" etc etc about someone mentioning a fetish they have or weird sex they do on the internet. im telling it to some strangers in the computer who don't know who i am not my boss lol

[auxryn]

Always keep your socialism INTERNATIONAL.

I am not kidding. It is an IMPORTANT DISTINCTION.

It's not even "top tier political satire" for a social democrat to side with a nazi. That's literally just the most average social democrat. Both historically and in the present day. They will always end up siding with fascism if it means attacking communism in any way.

Also most European social democrats are always at best one "So what do you think of refugees/Muslims/Romani people?" from going on an ethno-nationalist rant.

[pirates-and-ninja-lover]

fuck politics btw <3

[thornshadowwolf]

I don't remember why but I dreamed about looking up the common religions in different regions of Thailand last night