#even move to ukraine

[dancerdiaries]

So apparently the lady running the warm-up classes for the performance this weekend asked about me???!!!?!??!? Like, she was really impressed!!??!!?

I guess the moral of this story is, don't be so sure that your audition examiner/master teacher/etc. isn't impressed by you. They may have to look professional on the outside, but you never know what they're really thinking.

[justacynicalromantic]

There are a lot of different kinds of Ukrainians who have chosen to fight this war against Russia. This war against Moscow’s unapologetic aggression. This war to keep all of us free.

One of those was Captain Arsen Fedosenko. His photographs of the war are all throughout this piece. On Thursday, his friends and family and the men and women he served with and for in the Armed Forces of Ukraine gathered in Kyiv for his burial. He died from injuries sustained in the line of duty in the Kharkiv region.

I asked Fedosenko’s commander if he knew why he had chosen to sign up. “Because he was a patriot” was the instantaneous answer.

We minimize what is at risk in Ukraine to insulate ourselves from the cost of our failures to support the Ukrainians who have chosen to fight in a war they never wanted and did not ask for, but now must win if they are to survive as a people, a nation, a language, a culture, a history. Fedosenko showed us the faces of those Ukrainians. Fedosenko was one of those Ukrainians.

We know this war — for Russia — is as much about us as Ukrainians. But we don’t yet believe that this war is as much about us as the Ukrainians. We keep avoiding the necessary choices. We are losing opportunities to remember what we are. We keep forgetting what this war is.

It is a war to subjugate a people who managed to escape the inexorable gravity of Moscow — no matter how much money Russia used to corrupt Ukraine and its political class, no matter how many Russian agents were devoted to the task of Ukrainian captivity, Ukrainians said no, no, and chose again to revolt, to be free, to forge a different life in another direction.

I write these stories in the hopes that we — and in particular America we — will decide to remember what it means to be a great power, and to exercise great power in the world.

Great power speaks with action, not with force. Great power is not a wall to keep enemies out — but an umbrella to welcome those who are still hungry enough for what we have to bolster it, fight for it, make it new again. The will to look at those who would take everything, and at the right moment to say — no.

[featherymainffins]

What the fuck man

[the-jam-to-the-unicorn]

Easter Greetings by the President of Ukraine

Great People of Great Ukraine!

Today we celebrate a significant holiday — the Resurrection of the Lord. Easter. Easter symbolizes the liberation of the human soul from the slavery of evil and darkness. It symbolizes the victory of goodness and justice, the victory of life over death.

We have been fighting for all of this for 802 days in a row. 802 days of freedom standing up to darkness, valor standing up to terror. 802 days of our resistance, which can be described by the words from the Gospel of John: "The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it…"

The exact same words are dedicated to one of the exhibitions at St. Sophia Cathedral, where I am now. Together, this exhibition and the other works by various Ukrainian artists convey a deep meaning. These are the icons on ammunition boxes. They are saturated with the smoke of our land and the spirit of our people. They are the symbols of great trials and great power that helps us overcome them. Each of these icons is like a divine manifestation, a proof that the heavens are with us, an answer to the question of why Ukrainians have withstood. It is because in the most difficult circumstances and in the darkest times we are able to create light. We can do it on boards scorched by fire and grief, that came from Ukrainian cities and villages exhausted by suffering. We can do this by combining the seemingly incompatible: the war and the Lord, by overcoming evil with faith, overcoming adversity with hope.

When taking a closer look at these icons, one can understand the feelings of our entire nation. It's a mirror that reflects our reality in times of war, the path we have already taken, and this Easter, and our entire present. This is what our amulets look like today. This is how we feel that God is protecting us through the hands of our warriors. This is how we see the protection of the heavenly forces, embodied in the Security and Defense Forces of Ukraine, every Ukrainian who devotes themself to the sacred cause of defending their native land from darkness and evil.

These icons bear the names of heroes who sacrificed their lives to protect us. They showed that Ukrainians kneel only to pray. And never do they kneel in front of invaders and occupiers.

The Bible teaches us to love our neighbor. And the present has shown us the true meaning of this word. When we support and help each other even hundreds of kilometers away from one another. We protect each other. We pray for each other. When we all have become closer to each other, we have become each other's neighbors. And our former neighbor, who was always making us take him for a brother, remains distant from us for centuries. They have broken all the commandments, coveted our house, and come to kill us. The world sees it.

God knows it. And we believe that there is a chevron with the Ukrainian flag on the shoulder of God. Therefore, with such an ally, life will definitely prevail over death.

As we overcome a common path and experience common pain, we are all united today by one common prayer. We pray for all our warriors who are celebrating Easter in the trenches and on the positions. We pray for our warriors of light, who restrain demons in all directions. We pray for those who keep another commandment in their lives: to defend Ukraine. We pray that they all come back alive.

We pray for all our civilians who work hard every day to strengthen our state and ensure that it successfully overcomes evil. We pray for those who live and work for this purpose.

We pray for all our children, for all the boys and girls brave far beyond their years, whose childhood was stolen from them by Russia, but who, despite everything, have not forgotten how to smile and believe in miracles.

We pray for all our mothers and fathers who were robbed of a happy, peaceful aging, and who, despite everything, are holding on and taking care of us.

We pray for all our cities and villages, that should feel the Lord's grace, not the constant terror of evil, and which have black clouds hanging over them, and bombs and missiles coming from those who belong in hell, not in the Ukrainian sky.

We pray for our lands and our people, whose spirit cannot be broken. And we remember the words written in St. Sophia Cathedral above the Oranta image, which came true in our lives: "God is in the midst of the city, and it will not be shaken. God will help it before dawn.”

Today, we are praying for all Ukrainians who are waiting for this dawn and will certainly see it. They will find peace, truth, and God, who will return to the scorched land, the land scarred with craters and trenches. He will return with peace, tranquility, and flowers instead of mines in the fields. He will return with children's laughter instead of the roar of an air alarm. The light that will return to all of our Lord-given land, to all the territories that are temporarily occupied by the devils. God will return to Mariupol. To the slag heaps and the seashores. It has always been so. It will definitely be so. I believe in this every day, especially on this glorious day in this glorious place, the history of which reminds us that neither the Horde invasion, nor the Nazi occupation, nor the Russian terror will be able to wipe us off the face of the Earth.

May the heavens strengthen our will in the battle against thralldom. May they give us courage for new achievements and wisdom to appreciate all that we have already gained. May they give us the strength to maintain unity, and give us unity to enhance our strength. May God grant eternal rest to all those who gave their lives for Ukraine and everlasting peace to their descendants, to all our children and grandchildren, and to all our future generations. They have the sacred right to know what a peaceful Easter in a peaceful Ukraine is.

Today we pray for it and we fight for it.

And the light shines in the darkness...

Happy Easter to all of you, dear Ukrainians!

Christ is risen!

He is risen indeed!

[pears-trinkets]

.

[discworldwitches]

……………………………………………………………………………………………….i don’t even know where to start

[freifraufischer]

So I followed the Russian coup for most of the time it was active, I think I have a good handle on what happened. The end feels like the last season of a television show where they've been unexpectedly cancelled and the writers decided to make an ending that makes no sense to the actors or the people watching the show.

[mystacoceti]

the invasion of ukraine and the hamas terror attack showed how many american leftists are just motivated by a guilt over being american which struggles to expresses itself as anything other than a reactionary anti-americanism. and then the fucking kicker is how many of the "radical" leftists protest and organize in ways that are comfortably within the wheelhouse of liberal protest.

[oncewild]

my uncle c was one of the few given conscientious objector status after being drafted during the Viet Nam War, and I can tell you people were not good to him for doing it "the right way" either

because there is no right way to oppose the State in the eyes of people who choose to align themselves with it.

it sounds like a joke but literally so many of you would've been supportive of the vietnam invasion by america and would've accused draft dodgers and draft card burners of being divisive

[imaginesomethingrand]

You, my dear, cannot solve the russia Ukraine war, so why are you even thinking about it? You can't even think about this election without going insane and not being able to sleep. You care because you're fragile but you're too fragile to do anything. You can't even talk to real live people or get your life in any semblance of order. No wonder no one listens to you

Just stop thinking about it. The extent of your responsibility is to vote, because that's all the action you're capable of

After this perhaps just pretend the world doesn't exist as far as you can and hide until it all falls down on your head... put your energy in trying to live, you can't solve global problems, you can't make one bit of difference. Shut up bc no one cares what you think or say. They never have and never will bc you're almost nothing, no credibility. Silly little thing who can't even do anything, why are you talking about world affairs? You get emotions all tangled and for what? You've always been alone and you'll always be alone. None of this does anything. Talking about it on tumrblr and fb, comments on YouTube and insta? What even. So? Just emotions ... small drop of tears in the ocean. So what? Just end up up tired just from this and unable to sleep, the thoughts going around. And your plans? Somehow you think they can make a difference even if you can do them?

If you go to another country you'll just end up messing up and being a burden. Writing... what's that? Helping from here...?? Haven't been able to so far. Barely any money to give. Learn international relations in 2 years and then what? Too late to help even if u were able to do school

People don't want fragile people with nothing to recommend them anyway. Just end up smashing ur fist against against wall, bruising it, and it doing NOTHING

[cup-of-red-tea]

Ah so apparently we don't do deliveries and clinics cancel appointments during air alert, ok gotcha

[wilwheaton]

The notion that the United States is “polarized” into two conflicting, equally stubborn and extreme camps infects much of the mainstream news coverage and everyday chatter about politics. Washington is “broken.” “Gridlock” is a problem. “No one goes out to dinner with someone on the other side.” Such mealy-mouthed language masks a stark dichotomy: Democrats have to move to the center to get bipartisan support; Republicans have become radicalized and unmovable. This is not “polarization.” It is the authoritarian capture of much of the GOP by a right-wing movement bent on sowing chaos. Turkey, Hungary and other countries with autocratic strongmen are not polarized; democratic forces try their best to prevent their country’s ruin and collapse into total dictatorship. Our political scene, sadly, has come to resemble the global authoritarian assault on democracy. [...] The bipartisan border compromise ... was sunk by Republicans. Republicans in the House overwhelmingly opposed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, commonly known as the “Bipartisan” Infrastructure Bill (which President Biden modified to get bipartisan support); almost every Republican voted against the Chips Act, they all voted against the Inflation Reduction Act, and some even voted against the Pact Act, which would have helped veterans. House Republicans have launched phony, baseless impeachment hearings. Senate Republicans filibustered reenactment of a key part of the Voting Rights Act, blocked a bipartisan Jan. 6, 2021, commission and overwhelmingly refused to convict four-times-indicted former president Donald Trump. The assertion that hyper-partisanship, chaos and nihilism (e.g., threatening to shut down the government, egging on a default and refusing to even vote on Ukraine aide) is equally divided amounts to an outright fabrication — or utter cluelessness.

The radicalization of the Republican Party is not ‘polarization’

[aliceundrground]

Best grade I ever got was my high school creative writing class. When were going over Shakespeare, our teacher was explaining all the euphemisms and we were discussing current day versions. I can't remember if it was his idea or mine but somehow we agreed on 1% extra course credit if you brought in a list of your favorite 50 euphemisms. I brought in 100.

Final grade: 102%

The best grade I ever got in school was in my AP art class because I was the only sculptor in a class full of sketch artists and the teacher was like "Natalie I don't know why you're here but if you show up every day and finish a project every couple weeks I guess I'll pass you"

[miraphoenix]

Trying to figure out what the fresh hell is going on right now is very difficult when two of the largest claims being made are, according to the major news sources I can find, unverified.

Link at the Forward about claims of rape (discusses claims made by other outlets as well; contains graphic detail of claims made) Link at CNN about beheadings

(If you click through those links, there will be graphic discussion. No pictures of the dead.)

If folks have links to verify things, let me know; all I'm getting are citation circles, which aren't exactly helpful in circumstances like these. Update: Have gotten some clarifying sources on the latter.

[queermania]

i am angry. and i'm upset and hurt and disappointed and reeling etc. and i have my own personal feelings about what people have or have not been advocating for over the last few months leading up to this but i'm not sure any of it matters right now and i'm not sure why everyone is so ready to turn on each other. it seems pretty obvious right now that the problem wasn't third party voters or even people who abstained. it wasn't harris's stance on palestine/israel (in either direction). it wasn't the cheney endorsement. it wasn't anything related to her policies one way or another or anything we've all been arguing about for months now. none of it even fucking mattered, based on the numbers.

it's not a secret that this country hates women and loves white supremacy. i'm not going to make it easier for them to get rid of me, or you. i refuse to hold a knife to the throats of the people who are ultimately on my side, just because we might disagree about how to accomplish something. i am going to link arms with you and we're going to move forward together. we're going to do our daily clicks for palestine. we're going to donate e-sims and to pcrf. we're going to donate to ukraine. and abortion funds. we're going to continue helping with the border crisis. and trying to unfuck the climate. and whatever else we need to. we're going to get organized and we're not going to wait until the next election cycle to do it. we are also going to make sure we sign up for healthcare and take care of ourselves.

there are a billion things we need to do (and feel free to add links and resources to this post if you want to pass them on) but i'm simply not going to waste my energy fighting with people who aren't trying to kill me when so many others want me dead.

[cazort]

Why I'm Enthusiastic About Kamala Harris

I've seen so much negative talk about Trump and we all agree with that, but I want to highlight what I like most about Kamala Harris and why I'm actively enthusiastic and excited about voting for her:

She is pro-abortion rights and pro- comprehensive sex ed

She would appoint good Supreme Court Justices.

She respects people with a diverse range of political views and would include some voices from both progressive and conservative perspectives in her administration.

She is unambiguously pro-LGBTQ rights, including not just on gay rights but also trans rights.

She would represent continuity with the Biden administration, an administration that I think has done a good job on most issues.

On the issue of Palestine/Israel/Gaza (where I am most critical of Biden), I think Harris is a significant improvement over Biden, and also offers the better path of the only two viable candidates, towards ending the genocide. She has spoken out against the civilian deaths and she has snubbed Netanyahu which is a huge plus in my book.

She has shown a willingness to change her views, such as how she moved from being opposed to decriminalizing sex work in 2008, to being supportive of it in 2019, and being initially skeptical of marijuana legalization in 2010, but coming to support it in 2015. I like a candidate who can change their views, but more importantly, she is changing in a direction I like.

She would be good on the economy; she opposes tariffs, and would continue the Biden administration policies which have led to economic prosperity.

She has a solid and fairly diverse track record of experience, working as attorney general for the largest state, then senator for that state, then VP.

She has worked to combat over-incarceration and cruel treatment of people in prison, doing things like reducing mandatory minimum sentences and working to reduce recidivism, opposing solitary confinement, ending private prisons, and ending cash bail. She has also pledged to use the president's clemency powers to release a lot of people who have been imprisoned unjustly or given unfairly harsh sentences.

She has a concrete plan to enact immigration reform that would adequately fund the processing of asylum applications and fix the backlog of immigrants at the border. And the plan has broad bipartisan support.

On top of this she also has already done some things to address the root causes of migration in Latin America, particularly people fleeing Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador

She is pro-net-neutrality.

She supports universal healthcare, but also has concrete recommendations for how to improve the current status quo.

She is pro-science, including on issues like climate change, COVID, vaccinations, and health and nutrition. Her mom was a scientist!

She is pro-Ukraine, wanting to keep Russia out of Ukraine and ensure Ukraine wins their war of defense and maintains their independence.

She is across-the-board better on women's issues, not just reproductive rights but also sexual violence and domestic violence, workplace equality and the pay gap, and women's issues in Latin America (which is related to the immigration pressure I mentioned above.)

She generally takes stances on foreign policy I agree with, being skeptical of leaders (Putin, Orban, Netanyahu) I want us to be skeptical of, and working with and looking up to the ones I want us to work with and look up to (Olaf Scholz, Emmanuel Macron). She already has a working relationship with many of these leaders too, and has a reputation of being both personable and tough, just what I'd want.

She's smart, well-educated, and surrounded with smart, well-educated, and wise people. Her campaign is stable and well-run, and I trust her to put together a team of competent advisors and run this country competently, probably even more so than Biden has done, and Biden has done a pretty decent job, exceeding my expectations even.

Harris also has an impressive list of endorsements. I can't possibly be comprehensive here, but it includes people as diverse as the most progressive Democrat Lawmakers (Bernie Sanders and AOC), some of the most conservative former GOP legislators (Jeff Flake, Liz Cheney), and over 100 former GOP staffers including a disturbing number of insiders from the Trump administration. This is telling! You don't see this sort of whistleblowing and defection from within the Biden administration.

The fact that Harris has racked up endorsements from people spanning the whole political spectrum from solid-right to solid-left and everything in between, impresses me. This is the sign of someone who is going to be good at getting people to work together, someone who will listen to a wide range of viewpoints and develop better policy and take better courses of action as a result. It's what I always want in a president.

In some elections I have been frustrated that I'm voting for a "lesser of two evils" but this time around I actually feel actively enthusiastic about Harris. I am excited to vote tomorrow and excited to finally be done with this election, and I am cautiously optimistic that it is going to turn out really well.

I encourage everyone to vote and make sure to make sure everyone close to you is also voting!