#policy makers

[handwashingday]

Maintaining and improving hand hygiene behaviors remains crucial beyond public health emergencies.

The October 15th, Global Handwashing Day 2024 theme reflects an important question, “Why are clean hands still important?” 

[coopsday]

Celebrating UNCTAD’s achievements of the past 60 years - Charting a New Development Course in a Changing World.

Marking its 60th Anniversary, UNCTAD Rebrands to “UN Trade and Development” and Convenes a Global Leaders Forum

UNCTAD’s 60th anniversary Rebrands as "UN Trade and Development" and convenes Global Leaders Forum with the UN Secretary-General, Heads of State, leading economists and Nobel Laureates in June 2024.

UN Trade and Development’s Secretary-General, Rebeca Grynspan, emphasized the organization’s transformative approach and commitment to supporting developing countries in an increasingly polarized world.

The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) announced today its landmark rebranding as "UN Trade and Development," commemorating its 60th anniversary this year. This strategic move underscores the organization's commitment to greater impact with a new, clearer visual identity aiming to better reflect its work and values aiming to amplify its global voice on behalf of developing countries.

Charting a New Course

Under the leadership of Secretary-General Rebeca Grynspan, the organization has been adapting to a rapidly changing global trade landscape impacted by the COVD19 pandemic, geopolitical tensions and climate change, with initiatives that enhance the organization's capacity to rapidly analyze new challenges and support efforts in developing nations.

The rebranding marks a pivotal moment- the first ever comprehensive review of UNCTAD’s global communication footprint and a bold forward-looking strategy to communicate its work and values.

At the presentation of the organization’s new brand as part of its 60th anniversary celebrations, Secretary-General Grynspan underlined "Visible, transformational change is our objective. We are celebrating UNCTAD’s achievements of the past 60 years as a forward-looking, renewed organization, building on our legacy but ready to respond to the new complexities of the global economy. We will continue to work to ensure development is at the core of global economic decisions, and the voice of developing countries is heard."

The organization will adopt its new name and logo across all official channels, in the six UN languages, marking its first rebranding in sixty years.

60th anniversary celebration:  Global Leaders Forum

The rebranding marks the start of the 60th anniversary of the organization. UN Trade and Development will convene a Global Leaders Forum from 12-14 June at the Palais des Nations in Geneva, inaugurated by UN Secretary-General, António Guterres and UN Trade and Development Secretary-General, Rebeca Grynspan, alongside Heads of State and Government, and the participation of civil society organizations, private sector representatives and some of the world’s leading economists. Under the theme "Charting a New Development Course in a Changing World", the Forum will emphasize the organization’s integrated approach to trade and development, addressing finance, technology, investment, and sustainable development, with a specific focus on the needs of developing countries, and UNCTAD’s work in Africa, the least developed countries, small island developing states (SIDs), and landlocked developing countries.

It will also be an important occasion to explore innovative approaches and pioneering solutions with the world’s top policy makers and thinkers.

For more information about UN Trade and Development and its 60th-anniversary events, click here.

Download the video here.

**About UN Trade and Development: **

UN Trade and Development (formerly known as UNCTAD) is dedicated to promoting inclusive and sustainable development through trade and investment. With a diverse membership, it empowers countries to harness trade for prosperity.

[detainedstaffday]

United Nations Rules for the Treatment of Women Prisoners and Non-custodial Measures for Women Offenders (“Bangkok Rules”).

International human rights law provides a clear and universal framework relating to detention, enshrined by the following rule:

United Nations Rules for the Treatment of Women Prisoners and Non-custodial Measures for Women Offenders (“Bangkok Rules”)

Bad food and medical care and even worse problems make prison reform a must.

The Bangkok Rules give guidance to policy makers, legislators, sentencing authorities and prison staff to reduce the imprisonment of women, and to meet the specific needs of women in case of imprisonment.

[emergingpakistan]

معاملہ صرف معیشت کا نہیں ہے

1992 کے امریکی صدارتی مقابلے کے دوران بل کلنٹن کی انتخابی ٹیم نے ’یہ معیشت ہے، بےوقوف!‘ کا جملہ تخلیق کیا تاکہ اس بات پر زور دیا جا سکے کہ کسی کو ووٹ دینے کا فیصلہ کرنے میں رائے دہندگان کے لیے معیشت اہم مسئلہ ہے۔ یہ یاد رکھنا ضروری ہے کہ یہ ایک جمہوری نظام کے اندر ہوا تھا، جہاں سیاسی مخالفین کی طرف سے مختلف دیگر امور سمیت متبادل معاشی ترجیحات کا بھی بھرپور مقابلہ کیا گیا۔ حال ہی میں پاکستانی سیاست کی کشمکش میں یہاں کی معیشت بھی مرکزی حیثیت اختیار کر چکی ہے۔ معیشت کی بحالی کو بہت سے ماہرین اور پالیسی ساز قومی سلامتی سمیت ملک کی تمام خرابیوں کے علاج کے طور پر دیکھتے ہیں۔ طاقت کے روایتی مراکز، جو سیاسی حیثیت کو برقرار رکھنے کے خواہاں ہیں اور ساتھ ہی ٹیکنوکریٹ حکومت کے حامی، ’معیشت کا چارٹر،‘ ’قومی سلامتی کی پالیسی،‘ ’خصوصی سرمایہ کاری سہولت کونسل (ایس آئی ایف سی)‘ اور ’جیو اکنامکس‘ جیسے ڈھانچوں کو اپنا کر معاشی معاملات پر اتفاق رائے پیدا کرنا چاہتے ہیں۔ انہیں تبدیلی لانے کے لیے عوامی مینڈیٹ حاصل کرنے کے بظاہر افراتفری والے جمہوری عمل کے متبادل کے طور پر فروغ دیا جاتا ہے۔ ایسا لگتا ہے کہ ان کا مقصد اہم معاشی فیصلوں کو مبینہ طور پر ’گندے‘ سیاسی مباحثے اور عوامی جانچ پڑتال کے دائرے سے باہر رکھنا ہے۔

معیشت بلاشبہ اہم ہے، لیکن نہ صرف یہ کسی قوم کی صحت کا واحد تعین کنندہ نہیں، بلکہ یہ مختلف جہتوں پر بھی منحصر ہے جو معاشی معیارات سے بالاتر ہو کر معاشرے کی زندگی میں حصہ ڈالتے ہیں۔ معاشی اشاریوں پر توجہ مرکوز کرنے کی کوشش، خاص طور پر جب اسے سیاسی گفتگو سے الگ کرنے کی کوشش کی جاتی ہے، ان عوامل کے پیچیدہ تجزیے کو مبہم بنا دیتی ہے، جو اجتماعی طور پر لوگوں کی فلاح و بہبود اور قوموں کی تقدیر بناتے ہیں۔ سب سے پہلے، سماجی ہم آہنگی اور سب کی شمولیت ایک قوم کی تشکیل میں اہم کردار ادا کرتے ہیں۔ ایک معاشرے کی طاقت نہ صرف اس کی معاشی خوشحالی بلکہ اس میں بھی ہے کہ وہ اپنے شہریوں میں کمیونٹی اور وابستگی کے احساس کو کس طرح پروان چڑھاتا ہے۔ کسی قوم کی فلاح و بہبود کا اندازہ سماجی اعتماد کی سطح، باہمی تعلقات کے معیار اور اس کے اداروں کی شمولیت سے لگایا جا سکتا ہے۔ ان پہلوؤں کو نظر انداز کرتے ہوئے صرف معیشت پر توجہ مرکوز کرنے کا نتیجہ ایک منقسم معاشرے کی صورت میں نکل سکتا ہے، جہاں عدم مساوات بڑھتی اور سماجی تعلقات کمزور ہوتے ہیں۔

مزید برآں، اظہار رائے کی آزادی، اجتماع اور تنقیدی فکر کی پرورش نہ صرف سماجی اور سیاسی ترقی کے اہم اجزا ہیں بلکہ ایک متحرک معیشت کا لازمی جزو بھی ہیں۔ خیالات کا آزادانہ تبادلہ متنوع برادریوں کو پروان چڑھاتا، تخلیقی صلاحیتوں اور جدت طرازی کے لیے موزوں ماحول کو فروغ دیتا ہے۔ اس تناظر میں، جوزف شمپیٹر کا ’تخلیقی تباہی‘ کا تصور خاص طور پر متعلقہ ہو جاتا ہے۔ جمہوری عمل سیاسی میدان سے باہر تک پھیلا ہوا ہے، جس سے مروجہ خیالات اور طریقوں کے مقابلے کی اجازت ملتی ہے۔ وہ مضبوط تجارتی منصوبوں اور قائم شدہ اداروں کو بھی متاثر کرتے ہیں۔ یہ دائمی چیلنج صنعتوں اور وسیع تر معیشت کے اندر موجود اداروں کو مسلسل کارکردگی بڑھانے پر مجبور کرتا ہے۔ جدت طرازی اور ترقی موجودہ ڈھانچوں کے خاتمے اور نئے اور زیادہ متعلقہ ڈھانچوں کے ابھرنے سے ہوتی ہے جو معاشرے کی معاصر ضروریات کو بہتر طریقے سے پورا کرتے ہیں۔ ایک جمہوری نظام میں، لامتناہی مسابقت نئے خیالات اور ڈھانچے کے ابھرنے کے لیے محرک کے طور پر کام کرتی ہے اور اس کے لحاظ سے وسائل کو ان کے سب سے موثر استعمال کے لیے مختص کرنے پر مجبور کرتی ہے۔

اس متحرک ماحول سے نہ صرف متنوع امنگوں کے لیے راہیں کھلتی ہیں بلکہ بہترین قابلیت بھی پیدا ہوتی ہے۔ پالیسی سازوں کو ملک کی تاریخ کا مطالعہ کرنا چاہیے تاکہ یہ سمجھا جاسکے کہ ترقی کی پیمائش کے لیے معاشی اعداد و شمار پر حد سے زیادہ انحصار کتنا دھوکہ ثابت ہوسکتا ہے۔ پاکستان پائیدار جامع ترقی کے حصول کے لیے جدوجہد کر رہا ہے۔ اس کی بڑی وجہ سیاسی استحکام کا فقدان ہے، جسے صرف ایک صحت مند جمہوریت ہی یقینی بنا سکتی ہے۔ پالیسی سازوں کو ملک کی تاریخ کا مطالعہ کرنا چاہیے تاکہ یہ سمجھا جاسکے کہ ترقی کی پیمائش کے لیے معاشی اعدادوشمار پر حد سے زیادہ انحصار کتنا دھوکہ ثابت ہو سکتا ہے۔ 1960 کی دہائی میں ترقی کی دہائی ختم ہو گئی کیونکہ آمریت کا دور سیاسی امنگوں کو پورا کرنے میں ناکام رہا۔ نمائندہ حکومت کے لیے عوام کی خواہش کو دبانے کی کوشش ملک کے مشرقی نصف حصے میں عسکریت پسندی میں اضافے کا سبب بنی۔ بالآخر اس کے نتیجے میں بنگلہ دیش کا قیام عمل میں آیا۔ یہ نہ صرف پاکستان کی تاریخ کے سب سے تکلیف دہ باب میں سے ایک تھا بلکہ یہ بھی ثابت ہوا کہ معیشت کے نام نہاد سنہری دور کی ترقی کے فوائد اگر مضبوط جمہوری بنیادوں پر نہ ہوں تو آسانی سے الٹ سکتے ہیں۔

آج پاکستان جنوبی ایشیا کے ’مردِ بیمار‘ کے طور پر کھڑا ہے، جو حکمرانی اور فلاح و بہبود کے تقریباً ہر معاملے میں اپنے علاقائی سا��ھیوں سے پیچھے ہے۔ حکومتی اداروں میں عوامی مینڈیٹ کا فقدان ہے اور اس وجہ سے ضروری اصلاحات کرنے کا اعتماد نہیں ہے۔ پالیسی سازوں کی توجہ بنیادی مسائل سے ہٹ چکی ہے جو ملک کو متاثر کرتے ہیں۔ یہ ایک غلط خیال ہے کہ الٹ کام کر کے معیشت پر توجہ دے کر متعدد بحران حل کیے جا سکتے ہیں۔ جیسا کہ ماہر معاشیات ثاقب شیرانی نے حال ہی میں کہا تھا: ’نہیں، یہ صرف معیشت ہی نہیں ہے، احمق! پاکستان کو درپیش بحرانوں سے نمٹنے اور لوگوں کی زندگیوں کو بہتر بنانے کے لیے بنیادی طور پر معاشی اشاریوں پر توجہ مرکوز کرنے کے بجائے گورننس ماڈل کو آئینی جمہوریت، قانون کی حکمرانی اور ہر پاکستانی کی نمائندگی کو یقینی بنانا ہو گا۔ پھر اس بات کا امکان ہو سکتا ہے کہ ہم معیشت ٹھیک کر لیں گے۔

جاوید حسن

(بشکریہ عرب نیوز) - جاوید حسن انویسٹمنٹ بینکر ہیں جو لندن، ہانگ کانگ اور کراچی میں کام کر چکے ہیں۔  

[dgnotetechnologies]

Dg Note Technology is a leading marine insurance provider company in Mumbai.

[remittancesday]

Support the one billion people to reach their own Sustainable Development Goals.

The event will provide a platform to exchange good practices, that can guide Member States, the private sector and civil society in the implementation of Objective 20 of the Global Compact for Migration.

The meeting has four main objectives: 1. To exchange practical examples and strategies of successful initiatives at national, regional and global level aimed at maximizing remittances and migrant investment for sustainable development and promoting financial inclusion for migrants and their families. 2. To explore the role of private sector entities involved in the remittance market as well as central banks in promoting the implementation of relevant goals and targets of the Addis Ababa Action Agenda, the SDGs as well as Objective 20 of the GCM. 3. To promote multi-stakeholder partnerships to develop practical solutions for implementing the 2030 Agenda and the GCM. 4. To "explore options for policy makers at national and local levels to enhance positive and mitigate negative effects of migration and remittances in the transformation of rural areas" in response to the 2019 GFMD Roundtable 3.2 Goals (SDGs).

Panel Discussion: Supporting one billion people reach their own SDGs.

[vaguely-concerned]

I don't know what I love more, the fact that as rook you can make a statement in NO uncertain terms that you are NOT responsible one way or the other for the theological implications of the shit you're discovering in the 'regrets of the dread wolf' memories. not my jurisdiction. quite simply none of my business. not my chantry circus not my chantry monkeys. irrelevant to the matter at hand here we'll kill that god if we get to him he can get in line. or if the best thing about it is seeing the lone little 'lucanis approves' that pops up right after choosing it. corvid with a knife about to commit deicide keeping it real and sensibly, pragmatically, wilfully agnostic with me here in this magical lighthouse today

[communist-hatsunemiku]

As someone who's been there, the "identity stuff" is way more confusing than answering what do you want to do. I knew I wanted to get on feminizing HRT 10 years before I accepted I'm a trans woman.

In general I believe that both gender identity and gender expression belong to the "do what you want forever" category. Do you want to try out these specific clothes? Just do. Do you want to get on fem-HRT? Just do. Do you want to present yourself in a specific way on the net? Just do. Surgeries? Just do.

EXACTLY its such an obvious truth to me that we should all do whatever we want with our bodies and identities and the only reason this is a radical idea is because other people(mostly right wingers but even so-called leftists do this shit) think its their fucking life mission to police everybody around them and make sure no one is living their life the 'wrong' way.

[pahorans-letter]

The Savior’s Abiding Compassion

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2021/10/14soares?lang=eng

[miraculouspaon]

Started reading Powerless but I can’t focus on the budding enemies to lovers romance because all I can think about is how dumb you have to be to have an entire country of the only superpowered people in the world and then to make a regular practice and official royal policy of murdering their loved ones and then exiling them to the neighboring country? And they’ve been doing this for thirty years? Like, do you want an enemy country full of Batmen? Because that’s how you get Batmen.

[nineinchclawz]

Sorry, anon! Shitlr said my censored cropped artwork was too explicit. Here's my repost 🤡

Yes, I have!! I see Eriwagon as strictly queerplatonic (ship analysis & explanation under the cut!).

In the context of this drawing, they're simply putting on a show for Jonathan. Uncensored here.

I like to imagine that Erina & Speedwagon are in a queerplatonic relationship- I mean, they likely sleep in the same bed. They're married to the same man. Sex would occasionally become a group activity at that point.

Even though Speedwagon is gay, I believe it wouldn't be outside the realm of possibility for him to step out of his sexual comfort zone every once in a while.

Speedwagon and Erina enjoy putting on a show for Jonathan on rare occasions. It gets Jonathan riled up & Speedwagon trusts Erina to respect his boundaries.

And in regards to the canon timeline- I feel that Speedwagon & Erina's relationship definitely qualifies as queerplatonic. Speedwagon goes above & beyond providing. It's clear that he & Erina are bonded by their common love for Jonathan- so much so that Joseph picks up on it.

Jonaeriwagon already pushes the boundaries of conventional relationships. QPR Eriwagon doesn't erase Speedwagon's homosexuality & it accurately describes his intimate but non-romantic relationship with Erina. QPRs are also underrated & deserve more representation :3

(I think patrOnDyi1ing's adorable drawing perfectly captures Speedwagon and Erina's relationship 🥺)

[nikkoliferous]

IN RECENT WEEKS, as Palestinians rose up in their homeland, in the wider Middle East, and around the world, you probably heard the slogan “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.” In cities across the globe, protesters responded to the pending expulsions of Palestinian residents from their homes in Jerusalem, Israeli attacks on holy sites, and the bombardment of Gaza. If you watched or attended any of these protests, you likely saw the slogan printed on a sign, or heard it drifting over the crowd.

You may also have heard claims that this slogan is antisemitic or even genocidal. On May 19th, for example, the New Yorker Union was widely attacked for tweeting, “Solidarity with Palestinians from the river to the sea who went on a 24-hour strike yesterday for dignity and liberation.” Whether in earnest ignorance or in bad faith, critics of the river-to-the-sea formulation argued that the union, and others who used the slogan last month, were implicitly calling for not only dismantling the State of Israel, but cleansing the entire region—from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea, an area encompassing the West Bank, Gaza, and all of Israel within its internationally recognized pre-1967 borders—of its Jewish population. (Unfortunately, the union backed down in the face of these smears.)

Like many Palestinians, I’ve long used this phrase. About a decade ago, Peter Beinart started a blog at The Daily Beast called “Open Zion” aimed at bringing together a range of perspectives on Israel/Palestine. He invited me to participate regularly, and at first I was hesitant, given the name. Would a project called “Open Zion” really be open to arguments that challenged the tenets of Zionism? I agreed to participate on the condition that I could write what I wanted and that my column could be called “From the River to the Sea.” As I explained to Peter, I wasn’t concerned with Israel’s identity crisis over whether it could be both Jewish and democratic; I was concerned that Palestinians were being denied basic rights throughout their homeland. My column, “From the River to the Sea,” would be focused on the unity of the Palestinian experience and how all Palestinians faced a shared struggle with Zionism regardless of where they lived.

Today, I believe the conversation has increasingly shifted in this direction. This is due in part to a general intellectual and moral awakening—in media, in academia, in activist spaces, and even among certain elected officials—on the subject of Israel/Palestine, but also because of the increasingly horrific realities on the ground. More than ever before, people around the world are accepting that the problem goes well beyond the occupation of the West Bank, and that discrimination against Palestinians occurs on both sides of the Green Line.

The recent Palestinian uprising foreshadowed a future struggle in which the Green Line is unimportant if existent at all, because across the country, Palestinians mobilized collectively on a large scale under their national banner. The phrase “from the river to the sea” captures this future as no other can, because it encompasses the entire space in which Palestinian rights are denied. It is in this space that Palestinians seek to live freely. It is across this space—and across the political and geographic divisions that Israeli rule has imposed—that Palestinians must unite to create change. It is this space that Palestinians call home, regardless of what anyone else calls it.

“From the river to the sea” is a rejoinder to the fragmentation of Palestinian land and people by Israeli occupation and discrimination. Palestinians have been divided in a myriad of ways by Israeli policy. There are Palestinian refugees denied repatriation because of discriminatory Israeli laws. There are Palestinians denied equal rights living within Israel’s internationally recognized territory as second-class citizens. There are Palestinians living with no citizenship rights under Israeli military occupation in the West Bank. There are Palestinians in legal limbo in occupied Jerusalem and facing expulsion. There are Palestinians in Gaza living under an Israeli siege. All of them suffer from a range of policies in a singular system of discrimination and apartheid—a system that can only be challenged by their unified opposition. All of them have a right to live freely in the land from the river to the sea.

But it is precisely because Zionist settler colonialism has benefitted from and pursued Palestinian fragmentation that it seeks to mischaracterize and destroy inclusive and unifying rhetorical frameworks. For example, journalist Marc Lamont Hill was attacked and ultimately removed from his position at CNN for calling for Palestinian freedom “from the river to the sea.” After all, it is far easier to dominate a divided people fighting different battles on different fronts than it is to dominate one people united in a single battle for the same universal rights.

Since Zionists struggle to make a persuasive argument against freedom, justice, and equality for all people throughout the land, they seek instead to attack the message and messenger. When Palestinians proclaim “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,” many Zionists argue that this is a Palestinian call for genocide. But as historian Maha Nassar has noted, there has never been an “official Palestinian position calling for the forced removal of Jews from Palestine.” The links between this phrase and eliminationism might be the product of “an Israeli media campaign following the 1967 war that claimed Palestinians wished to ‘throw Jews into the sea.’” Jewish groups such as the American Jewish Committee also claim that the slogan is antisemitic because it has been taken up by militant groups such as the Palestine Liberation Organization, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, and Hamas. But as Nassar writes, the phrase predates these uses, and has its origins as “part of a larger call to see a secular democratic state established in all of historic Palestine.”

The claim that the phrase “from the river to the sea” carries a genocidal intent relies not on the historical record, but rather on racism and Islamophobia. These Palestinians, the logic goes, cannot be trusted—even if they are calling for equality, their real intention is extermination. In order to justify unending violence against Palestinians, this logic seeks to caricature us as irrational savages hell-bent on killing Jews. Nor does the attempt to link Palestinians to eliminationism stop at the deliberate mischaracterization of this slogan; rather, it is deployed in many other contexts. In 2015, for instance, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu engaged in Holocaust revisionism by stating that it was really a Palestinian, not Hitler, who inspired the final solution. Angela Merkel, the German Chancellor, actually had to remind the Israeli Prime Minister that it was the Germans who were responsible for the Holocaust. Raising the constant specter of eliminationism has political utility for Zionists; in such a threatening environment, perpetual abuses of Palestinians can be rationalized.

This twisted logic is not only reserved for Palestinians. Marginalized groups are often accused of not being trustworthy and of having deep-seated ulterior motives aimed at destroying society. Jews should know this trope well, as it has long been a central feature of antisemitism. In fact, the worst antisemitic attack in American history was carried out in recent years by a murderer who attacked a synagogue because he thought Jews were destroying white Christian-dominated society by bringing in brown immigrants under the guise of humanitarianism.

Fundamentally, such arguments disregard what Palestinians are calling for when they use the phrase in question: a state in which Palestinians can live in their homeland as free and equal citizens, neither dominated by others nor dominating them. When we call for a free Palestine from the river to the sea, it is precisely the existing system of domination that we seek to end.

(article dated June 11th, 2021)

[sleepyorchidmonster]

Once upon a time, a couple of assassins sneaked into NRC, but no one knew the targets (they were after all of the princes, so Leona, Kalim and Malleus), so everyone was in high alert.

Silver, Lillia and Sebek were constantly patrolling the grounds, but they coudn't do much during housewarden meetings (even though Malleus always misses those, he made an effort to actually be present so he could protect the others).

So Silver and Sebek asked Riddle to keep an eye on everyone, especially considering how useful "Off With Your Head" is in those types of situations.

A few days later, right before the meeting, the criminals attacked Riddle (he wasn't the main target, they just wanted to keep him and his unique magic out of the way. Imagine you're gearing up to fight The Malleus Draconia and this tiny gremlin with anger issues cancels out your magic and then throws a fireball at your face.)

Riddle came out of the attack mostly unscathed and then rushed to the dormleader meeting (if the assassins didn't want him there, then he was DEFINETELY going, also the rules said so and he was LATE).

When he finally arrived in the Hall of Mirrors, there was already an all out brawl between the dormheads and the criminals, with Leona and Malleus being absolute monsters and Kalim and Azul teaming up.

Needless to say, the enemies didn't last long, even without the redheads interference.

Then everyone went to the infirmary, because the assassins came prepared and threw everything made of iron they could find at Malleus, not to mention a few explosive potions, also Riddle had at least 3 stab wounds.

One minute of silence to mourn Idia's tablet.

[orcelito]

Reading up on the people on my election ballot and there's some combination of "can ANYONE tell me what their policies actually are???" (Specifically with the smaller offices) VS "Oh, so YOU'RE the reason why Indiana has an abortion ban! Duly noted!"

[identitty-dickruption]

the fucked thing about being in an environment with high negative polarisation is that it incentivises policy convergence. which means the more we hate each other, the more incentive there is for the political class to act the same as each other. but if you talk about this too much it either makes people hopeless (which contributes to polarisation) or people call you a psyop (which also contributes to polarisation). it’s all a big loop we are in the bad place

[kingofmyborrowedheart]

imma be controversial

the hate on Taylor for being times most influential person is very politically based and in my opinion it’s wrong.

I find it weird as an adult people wait for celebrities and influencers to talk on political topics because? Well they aren’t really qualified and it doesn’t really change anything but please fans.

the people that we should listen to are politicians. Yes Palestine needs help but like? Taylor swift speaking out won’t change what’s happening there because they need a person in POWER to speak up.

in my mind the hate centered on her winning is crazy. Men are saying she should get ra*ed getting THOUSANDS of likes, people slut shaming her wishing she’d die… it’s horrible.

One of my biggest issues with that critique is that the Person of The Year is picked months in advance and parts of the interview for the profile were done prior to October 7. I didn’t see anything about people wanting Palestinian journalists being to be named when the shortlist was released on Monday. It’s like people are asking for the TIME journalists and editor board to time travel and make their decision. Even if they did pick something dealing with Palestine, they’d probably choose the IDF or Netanyahu given how Western media is still primarily supporting Israel even though they’re blatantly committing genocide. The work that Palestinian journalists are doing is brave, courageous and devastating, and unfortunately most of western media is refusing to show their work and bring attention to it when they should be.

I don’t know when or why we decided that we need to hear and know every single celebrity’s stance on every big political issue, especially when they most likely know nothing about it and are making a statement for the sake of optics. I agree with you anon and that the people we should care about knowing their stance is the elected officials who actually make decisions and have influence over these situations. I literally don’t think Taylor Swift making an Instagram story or post is going to change any politician’s minds or actually end any of the conflict; it won’t have any actual effect beside being a statement. Have the statements from any of the other hundreds of celebrities done anything to change the minds of politicians or impact policy?

People getting annoyed or mad at Taylor for something that isn’t in her control is seemingly becoming common place. I’m not sure there would be as much backlash if the title had gone to one of the world leaders on the shortlist, I’m sure there would be different kinds of backlash though. TIME picks the person or group based on the influence, positive or negative, that they had around the world during the year and as I said earlier, the western media only started paying attention to what was happening to the Palestinian people on October 7th and the days following.