#the internet especially has been such a drag recently

[soxcietyy]

Star 18+

Gojo x reader

A trouble maker pop star who was planning on meeting an influencer gets caught by her annoyingly smart bodyguard.

You walk off the stage panting from the Philippines heat wave. You were currently going on tour in Asia having back to back dates in different cities. You thought it was going to be hard but thankfully you had your trusty crew touring with you.

Handing your microphone to a staff member you walk to your changing room to take off all the makeup and clothes you were wearing. As much as you loved it and looked great in it you couldn’t help but want to feel free from them. If someone had warned you about how hot it got here you would have probably had better costumes and clothes suited for the weather.

You began by taking your jewelry off, that being rings, bracelets and necklaces. It wasn’t a bad process but on exhausting days you would dread it. It had happened too many times but once you fell asleep in the corner after a show and everyone had been looking for you frantically. They thought you had gotten kidnapped or worst. After a few hours you were found and scolded for it. That is why you had a bodyguard keeping an eye out for you now.

"Gojo, you don’t have to stay in here, you can wait outside." You say as you look in the mirror to see him standing right behind you. It was hard to notice his presence at first but now you could tell when he was there or not.

"No can do siren I have to keep a hard eye on you. Don’t you remember what happened last time?"

"Would you quit with that nickname?"

Last time you tried to go to a club after a show by climbing through a window. Unfortunately he had caught you when half of your body was out. He’d grabbed you by the leg and yanked you back inside. You weren’t allowed to go to such places because of the risk of getting seen and dragged into a scandal. Your PR team would hate if that happened again. So there was a rule of only being allowed to go to the hotel and stadium.

That was fine though, the rule was that you had to only be at those two locations . Nothing about when and with who. Recently you’ve been sneaking guys into the back so you could hook up with them. Nothing wrong with a bit of after relaxation.

"No can do Siren, hurry up so I can go home." He said.

You roll you eyes and make him turn around as you dress into a skirt, baby tee, and some chunky sneakers. You made sure to put a hat on before leaving the room with Gojo.

"Alright I’ll be on my way, see you tomorrow night." You glance at him before walking down the hall. You watched from the corner of your eye as he stood there watching you walk away.

By the time you made it down stairs you went into a stairwell where a guy in all black sat waiting for you. You didn’t really have a type, all they needed was to be was attractive. They were quite easy to find on the internet. Especially if they were influencers because they could not afford to have there reputation tainted. You could always build yourself back up with your talent. They couldn’t. Today you got lucky enough to get with one of the Philippines most popular vlogger.

Had over 160 million followers, was rich, had such a nice body and was a real looker.

You made sure to take your time back up to the dressing room. He should definitely be gone by now so that gave you the chance to use this room to let of some stea-

"Leave before I slam you to the ground." Gojo said as he leaned on the makeup table.

You looked at him in disbelief until the guy behind you quickly ran away. How did he know? Did he never leave? Has he known about this? You weren’t able to see his facial expression’s clearly due to him wearing those stupid sunglasses inside. You just wanted to tear them off and slap the smug smirk off his face.

Letting out a heavy sigh you turn around to leave but his voice stopped you from taking any further action.

"Not you"

Your heels turn once more to see him approaching you. It took him two strides to reach your personal space. You tilted your head up to look at those glossy sunglasses peering over you.

"Pull your skirt up and bend over the table."

Your eyes widen.

"Excuse me?! What the hell are you telling me to do?! You think you can get me to do anything because you’re my body guard?! Well I have news for you! Your fi-"

"A new rule was established Siren, they caught up with your little sneak ins and now have me making sure you don’t meet up with anyone outside the stadium or hotel. They don’t want you having relations with anyone they don’t have investigated." He smiled.

"Fine, just let me go I haven’t even done anything with him yet." You cross your arms.

"Sorry but you took a while to get back here, from all I know you guys already have done it." He says before taunting his head at the table.

You bit your cheek before dragging your legs towards the mirror. You scrunch your skirt up and bend over the table.

You were definitely going to say something about this to the company! No maybe you should file a lawsuit because this had to be a violation. You have your lawyers on speed dial so this shouldn’t be a problem. You just had to wait for him to put his hands on you so you could file one.

He was now behind you looking at what was Infront of him. You saw as he bent down and pulled your panties down to your ankles. He made you step out of them so he could spread your legs apart. You hid your face as you felt him spread your folds too. This was so humiliating. It just had to be that jerk.

"Hm I don’t know siren your pretty wet down here. I’m going to have to inspect further. Just keep standing still and don’t move." He said as he shoved his fingers in your hole. You jolt from the sudden feeling and bite your lip.

He was moving his fingers aggressively and quickly. You cover your mouth as he kept moving but you could help but let some whimpers escape. Your legs would twitch everything his fingers pressed on a certain spot and once he realized this he kept pestering it. Your legs began to buckle as you were close to your climax but before you could he slipped his fingers out of you.

"Siren, you feel pretty good down there but something feels off. Be honest," he stood up and leaned over you. Removing a hand from your mouth he held it as he took his sunglasses off so you could meet his cold gaze. "Did you play with yourself using these fingers?"

Your face turned into a crimson red.

"Naughty Siren." He whispers making you rub your heat onto him. "Such a needy thing. From now on if you’re going to play with yourself you need to tell me so we don’t have to go through this whole process. I’ll need to watch though to make sure it’s your fingers you’re using and not someone else’s." He kisses the top of your head.

"Saturo I can’t anymore, stop teasing me and put it in." You bite out.

"No relations remember siren?"

You turn around and shove him onto the makeup chair. You quickly climb on top and straddle him. He had no idea how badly you wanted this, wanted him. Never have you felt this desperate till now.

"I’ll stop sneaking out, I’ll stop meeting other men only if you do it with me. Anytime I want day and night. It will make your job easier and it well help me get the released I need." You say.

He analyzed you before letting out a laugh.

"Alright alright siren, didn’t know you were so needy. Here hold these for me." He said as he placed his sunglasses on you to wear. He turned you around to face the mirror as he undid his pants. Once his member sprang free he aligned you with it and slammed you down sending electricity down your spine.

He held you by your thighs as he used you as his sleeves. Using you to his hearts content. This was such a great view for the bodyguard to look at in the mirror. Having a pop star on his dick as you wore his sunglasses. Seeing how much you were enjoying him.

He knew anyone would kill to have you like this, to even see you in such a state. Such a shame that you were for his eyes only from now on. He was going to make sure that you became so obsessed with him and you wouldn’t want to leave him.

With a few more slams you became a mess. You moaned out his name as you rode your orgasm.

"That’s it my siren, sing for me."

[possiblyunhinged]

In the past year, especially with the recent elections across Europe and in the US, it’s become blazingly clear that regardless of your political leanings, everyone is fucking fed up to the nines. You can see it in our attitudes towards traditional media and government. Sure, we land on different conclusions about what might get us out of this mess, but the reality is—it’s not in our hands. It probably never has been.

The Luigi Mangione situation has truly blown my head off my shoulders—the sheer arrogance and disconnect from normal people that traditional media and government officials have shown. Take the Mayor of New York, for instance. Sweet Jesus. He’s like a character from a shit pantomime. Whether you’re on the left or the right, he’s the villain of the piece. People are done. And let’s be real, it’s only going to get worse—because I’m a positive princess like that.

Trump isn’t going to magically make prices drop; he’s literally said as much. I can’t fathom a single politician who could genuinely make a difference when the CEOs already hold all the power. Musk and his ilk were invited to the table long ago, and let’s not forget the donors—pouring huge amounts of money into all political parties. It’s a silent agreement: their influence comes first, their profits are prioritised, and the rest of us are left to scrape by.

What gets me is how people still talk about “the rich” like it’s actors and musicians pulling the strings. Sure, they’re rolling in it, and the entertainment industry has plenty of rot, but compared to the wealth of CEOs? Negligible. The real bastards are the ones we couldn’t even name. The ones cutting corners, exploiting workers, and choking the planet with plastic while pocketing the profits.

Meanwhile, the entertainment industry puts on this Truman Show pantomime—a performance of accountability so we can cheer and boo. Every public takedown, every cancellation, every PR scandal—it’s all theatre designed to make us believe the system works. And while we’re caught up in the spectacle, what the fuck are the people at the top of the means of production doing? Bumping up their profit margins and giving themselves bonuses.

These people live without consequences. And when the internet (rightly or wrongfully) memed the murder of a CEO, they responded with Gotham-level theatrics to reassure their donors that they’ll always protect their own. They even tried to pin terrorism charges on a man whose frustrations most normal people can empathise with.

Why is it that those in power are never arsed about creating a spectacle of a CEO in handcuffs, dragged out for decades of exploitation? Because the system doesn’t just protect them—it is them.

At this point, the only thing these people are achieving is making everyone angrier. And the politicians we like? They’re the ones who seem to reflect the nonstop screaming going on in our heads. The incompetence, the lack of solutions, the sheer disregard for normal lives—it’s all making tensions worse. And it’s going to blow up in their faces. (Not literally—calm down, loves.)

I know I sound like David Icke, okay? But sincerely, I’m fed up and I would love nothing more than a shred of accountability for billionaires—and for politicians and journalists alike to do their fucking jobs.

It’s embarrassing.

[lukolabrainrot]

Long ask anon with an even longer ask (I truly don’t know how to make long story short, but I can do the reverse), sorry. I am dividing this in two parts in case you decide to post this, so it would not be such an essay.

Part 1. Intro

Something has been eating up at me for a while but I only recently gathered the courage to do anything more than lurking. I actually am quite new to this, mostly because I was not allowing myself to even get into this in the first place. I am a very chill person when it comes to celebrities, I truly couldn’t care less about their lives, don’t even follow them on SM (L and N included) (not that I use SM all that much to begin with), I don’t know why but it always seems strange for me to be invested in strangers’ lives. I am not big of a fan girl either, especially media wise, I am much more interested in books and have no patience for tv shows most of the time. All of this to say, this is unusual behavior for me, watching all of the interviews with repetitive questions (those poor actors having to repeat themselves over and over again), paying attention to actors (beyond just knowing their names).

Polin is one of the rare ships that captured my interest, so I was very excited to learn about s3 being them, and when the wait for even the slightest info seem to be dragging on endlessly those interviews served as a great entertainment. Until they were not, until I started noticing things I wished not to. What started as “oh, they are so cute, and charming, and their friendship is so endearing!” very quickly turned into “babes, WHAT THE F*CK DID I JUST SAW/HEARD?” At one point I was honestly thinking “did I miss something? Are they together? What is going on?” So I checked, out of curiosity nothing more, but found nothing OFFICIAL suggesting that (as in N nor L never claimed anything). So I moved on, watched the show, other interviews (my brows still rising at some points), and then post Part 2 premiere I saw the picture on IG.

Everyone on internet seemed to be screaming about Ls’ GF, and being absolutely vile to him, which I found so disgusting I immediately checked out of the situation and turned my attention back on fiction again. It would be insincere of me not to admit to a certain disappoint on such a development, but that was as far as it would go. Though I can also truthfully say that that girl was not giving me the best impression based on the picture, something just seemed off. I only saw one at that point, where it appeared as if they were holding hands, why did it seem off? Because L looked displeased, almost angry, his eyes averted from cameras, while she was boldly looking right on them smiling as if she was walking her red carpet. As I said that was that, just continued watching the show, reading Polin fanfiction, hung out on a Polin reddit account and some Polin Tumblr blogs. And then I stumbled upon your blog (it was already past papgate 2.0), and now I’m on this bloody ship, and can not seem to force myself overboard, because those two are so soulmate coded (and yes, I realize how cheesy that sounds).

What has been bugging me, is that most, if not all, in this fandom seem to be of the opinion that L is the primary reason why N/L are yet to develop into lovers phase of this friends to lovers arc. From outright blaming him to passive aggressively calling him a dummy for not going after N. And I comprehend that most of it comes from the presence of a certain adjacent. But putting aside the OBVIOUS, LOGICAL point that we, non of us, are privy to their real lives, and bts truth, I still don’t see where that point of view comes from. I know that everyone says L is most like his character, so perhaps part of it is projection of that, but for me it always seems that L is actually a Penelope of this situation. To me, he himself gives it away.

Same Anon... same!

I have never thought L was the hang up in this situation. I think N has been burned in love, is pretty closed off with this stuff, and a TOTAL workaholic. L DEFINITELY fell first (no one can convince me otherwise). L also seems to kind of be a hopeless romantic and public lover boy, which I don't think N is use to. But I feel like that is why they kind of balance each other out ❤️️

[bagels-and-cream-cheese333]

PLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASE MONA LISA CONTENT PRETTY PLEASE‼‼‼

It can be literally anything like, what's her favourite colour? What's with her feud with Donnie? Why is she literally so gorgeous???????

I love your version of her so much....................🥀💔💔

IM CRYING TYSM

ANYWAY OKAY OKAY OKAY!! Her fav color is pink but once she meets raph she lowkey likes red a lot more than she did before…. (She did NOT fw red before she met raph) her feud with donnie is quite literally nothing for no reason whatsoever. She genuinely just got off on the wrong foot with him when she was introduced. It basically went like

Mona: “okay so ima call you inhaler because that’s what your head looks like”

donnie: “WHAT THE FUCK? NO. INSULTS ARE RESTRICTED TO FAMILIAL USE ONLY”

Mona: “okay well too bad INHALER”

Donnie: “I FUCKING HATE YOU”

and then they just start punchin’ eachother (she wins the fight (donnie refuses to accept that she did))

she and Raph met at her job while the boys were just strolling around the hidden city, there were a bunch of boxes she knew damn well she couldn’t lift so she was like “yo. Pretty Boy. Get over here” and Raph IMMEDIATELY pushed all of his siblings forward like “which one” and she’s like “HOLY FUCK, I GUESS BEING PRETTY MEANS YOU CANT BE SMART” and runs over and grabs his wrist and drags him over.

Her mom is like VERY protective over her, especially when Mona brings home someone she’s dating, because in her mom’s eyes no one will be good enough and everyone is a potential threat (because of how she was treated while she was married to Mona’s stepfather). So when Mona brang home Raph you can best BELIEVE her mom was not happy.

I have a bunch of stupid incorrect quotes of her if you want *throws them to the wolves*

again y’all. I have an entire relationship plot planned out for RaMona so if you wanna know just aassskkk

ANYWAYS here are a couple like. Theme songs of hers? Songs that fit her scarily well.

Breaking Dishes is her relationship with her dad and the world rn, MOTHER is her relationship with her mom, especially when she was young, and Internet Baby is just a song she hasn’t been able to stop playing recently. If you couldn’t tell from the playlist, her fav music artists are Doechii, Doja Cat, PinkPantheress, KALI UCHIS KALI UCHIS SHE LOOOVES KALI UCHIS, and SZA. Also casual Tyler, The Creator fan.

When she gets rlly attached to someone she likes to make them a playlist that reminds her of them, sometimes she gives it to them, sometimes not. (She did it with her past gf, her mom, and now Raph.)

She has warm hands which is kinda silly bc it contrasts her personality.

She thinks SHE had an eventful life but once she meets the boys she’s like “0.0 . what the fuck.”

idk if I already mentioned this but she has a soft spot for Mikey as well as Raph <333

Anyway THATS ALL THE LIL RANDOM TIDBITS I CAN REMEMBER <333 MONA LOVERS PEACE OUT

p.s…. If ya want more art……… there are some incredibly cool ppl who made fanart of her here and here…. show them some love please <3333

[blitzschnitz]

T.E. Lawrence in fiction

There have been numerous works of published fiction and drama who deal with T.E. Lawrence, either directly as their hero or through more hidden reference. For the few who are interested, I will go through a selection of them, starting with the novels (the plays really should be done seperately).

I am starting with Robert Ryan „Empire of Sand“ (Headline Publishing, 2008), one of the most recent works of fiction not to be released in self publishing or on the internet.

Lawrence of Cairo and Wassmuss of Persia

In Robert Ryan's novel "Empire of Sand", a young TE Lawrence gets inspired by a clever German agent

Writing about real people in fiction is a tricky business, especially if the person was a writer himself. Robert Ryan did therefore pick a safe period which Lawrence himself did not cover in SPoW and during which his letters were censored, namely the time in Cairo at the Arab Bureau in 1915.            

So we got young Lawrence in the map making department, and as this job was probably mindnumbingly boring, Ryan adds a whole plot of espionage and action with a bit of archaeology thrown in. Lawrence hunts for gunrunners, gets a skinned cat thrown in his room at the „Savoy“ (as a warning) and witnesses a few grisly events regarding murdered informants and dead foes.

A parallel plot deals with the effects oft he shenanigans of the (also real) German agent Wilhelm Wassmuss in the wilderness around Bushire where he is instigating local uprise against the British, very much acting like the later Lawrence of Arabia.  

As the events in Cairo drag on, Lawrence goes to Persia on a secret mission with a certain Captain Quinn to help rescue a group of Brits who were taken ransom by local leaders. The Persians are acting in the name of above Wassmuss, who wants certain belongings back he lost whilst escaping British soldiers. Lawrence is part of a team of different– more or less interesting – characters, united in driving a hijacked Rolls Royce through the desert and fighting Wassmuss‘ warriors in order to actually find out that a lot more is at stake than just the lives of a few boring Brits.

Basically the whole thing is a solid boy’s own adventure story, it could have been a lot better, regarding the glittering main characters, but – to give it some credit - it also could have been a lot worse. The idea of letting Lawrence of Arabia and Wassmuss of Persia (the Germans do indeed call him this) actually meet is in fact quite good, because there are a lot of parallels in the way they tried to achieve their respective goals and suffered from the consequences after the war. Wassmuss even serves as some kind of blueprint for Lawrence, who is still to set off for his real adventures in the Arab Revolt.

Unfortunately Ryan never gets into the psyche of either man, he sacrifies characterization for action plot. It gets very cringey when Ryan’s sneaks in references to T.E. Lawrence’s own writings or to the film by David Lean. Let’s say the word „lemonade“ gets mentioned frequently.

Then there are a few scenes in which Lawrence, who Ryan has studied admittedly quite closely, acts wildly out of character. For example he gets a nice long massage at the local hamam in Cairo where he fleds to get rid of the stench of above mentioned skinned cat. To remind us: Ryan is writing about the man who very often stated that he really hated to be touched.

Ryan’s Lawrence is a bit of a pocket James Bond, pulling strings in Cairo and later astonishing his accomplices in the Persian desert by pulling clever stunts. The Cairo chapters don’t lack atmosphere, Ryan is best at depicting the mingling of colonialists, criminals, military and locals, one can tell he did spend time in this city. And he includes the Arab Bureau personnel from Colonel Clayton to Ronald Storrs, which adds some entertainment for TE-nerds.

Ryan even does have a sense of humour at times, his Lawrence for example is a notorious storyteller who nearly gets caught when he is asked to repeat an account of events from his travels in the Levant at the Ladies Archaeological Club of Cairo.  

Lawrence tried hard to recall which version of the incident with the footpads he had told her. He tended to change the details according to his audience. ‘I’m not sure they’d be interested. I was roughed up a little, that was all.’ ‘Nonesense. It’s very dramatic. And you were close to death, but for the farmer and his family.’ Ah, that version.

An American expat lady counters resolutely his complaints when he reprimands her for using his childhood name:

‘Please don’t call me Ned. It’s a family name. It sounds silly out here.’ ‘What nonsense. It’s a perfectly fine name and I shall call you Ned if I want to. It’s better than Tee-Ee, that’s just stupid. As if you can’t make up your mind what you want to be called.’

But facing Cairo expat ladies is the most uncomfortable it gets for young action Lawrence, everything else like shooting people and travelling the desert seems to roll of his back like water from a duck’s feathers. Ok, the death of brother Frank does rattle him a bit, so does another – very gory and cruel – murder (trying not to give everything away, in case people still want to read the book).

On the whole this is a harmless book, entertaining in places even, but actually a wasted opportunity. If you want to give this a go, just for the fun of spotting references and the hustle and bustle of wartime Cairo, it’s a cheap buy if you want to read it on Kindle.

[thatorchian]

not the usual post from me — i’m so frustrated with the world right now, especially the political climate of this hell hole we call earth.

a british politician nigel firage said something along the lines of “we now live in a world where you can assault a member of parliament and get away with it” which shocked me when i read it. is that unreasonable in any way? how has the earth been molded into a place where politicians who make horrific, self-driven decisions for an entire nation are hidden behind a veil of protection. we used to execute these motherfuckers. we used to invade their pretty homes adorned with gold while the nations starved, drag them out by their arms and cut off their fucking heads. we used to burn them at a pyre for their lack of democracy.

as of recent, the internet has taken to storm saying trump is a ‘hero’ because he reversed the tiktok ban…. first of all, this bigoted whitecentric, heterocentric, is a 30+ count felon and could not be further from a hero because he is a crook, a liar, a thief. he has raped women. he has done irreversible damage to the queer community, especially trans folk. and yet, he’s the hero because he’s letting people scroll. WAKE THE FUCK UP.

kill every fucking corrupt CEO, kill your local politicians, kill the president, kill every person with immense power that uses it to make their pockets heavier, the working man work harder, and their future brighter. storm their homes and take everything they have. shoot their brains out.

in this capitalist (almost dystopian) society all we have are our voices and our guns. our voices have been ignored AGAIN and AGAIN. so what now? fucking kill them. purge the earth of these crooks. we deserve better.

[lavender-bundle-blithe]

Modern!BSD but...

Atsushi, a criminally underrated fashion designer with his sketches more or less being taken off the internet and reused by the more greedy designers. And his muse, a model and internet sensation, and what seems to be the only outsider that sees through the bulls--t, Akutagawa. The same muse that inspired Atsushi to start designing in the first place. And mutually, the same designer that Akutagawa has followed since the very beginning.

Burnt out and, rightfully, done with the world, Atsushi is left with little to no will of himself. He hasn't been able to sketch outfits nor touched his sewing machine that it could practically collect dust. And while laying on bed, watching his designs being thrown around for what feels like the nth time that week, Atsushi impulsively decided on going on a trip, disabling his account temporarily and taking a step back from media. That impulsive decision landed him back in his hometown, to visit his sister and reunite with his previous roommates and roommates. Meanwhile, Akutagawa finds himself getting dragged along by his sister and her friends to what could be explained as an isolated village. But the insist on visiting for the weekend at the very least. His schedule was free, so they jumped at the opportunity regardless.

And in all honesty, this trip was all that Atsushi needed. To take in the fresh air, see how much (or how little) his hometown has changed, hanging out with friends, and especially the village cats that took a liking to him almost instantly. Maybe the village cats Atsushi remembered as a kid has told its kids about him and it just continued one with its several generations. Coincidentally, that's how he comes face to face with his muse, Atsushi pausing his sketching to pet some cats while Akutagawa peering over his shoulder, at first intently staring at the cats, but then noticing and recognizing the outfit sketches in the sketchbook.

Obviously, that encounter spooked both of them at their personal revelations about the other that Atsushi all but scrambled off back to his current stay, unfortunately leaving behind his sketchbook. And obviously, the companions of both ushered them to talk to each other. So after bumping into each other in the same place, with Akutagawa the one petting the cats, they start talking. And kept talking. If anything, Akutagawa's entire weekend was just him getting to know this faceless designer he has admired for quite a while.

By the end of the weekend and Akutagawa having to catch the train back home, Atsushi catches him in time to give him something; his most recent sketches that was inspired by this trip. Specifically: his time with Akutagawa. His previous sketches, Atsushi has only ever seen Akutagawa through a screen. But meeting him in person, Akutagawa was an entirely unique person. And for Akutagawa, this designer has always been faceless, only showing off their most recent sketches and getting angry over the fact that it was just being taken. And by GOD he's pretty.

It came to no surprise from either party that they developed a crush even as they continued talking and messaging each other. And when Akutagawa was given an invitation to some sort of awards ceremony with a theme, he goes right to Atsushi.

(tbh that was a weak ending on my end =~="" | My brain was slowly but surely failing on me towards the end, but hopefully my vision still went through and I could understand it later when I come back to this)

[mostlysignssomeportents]

Biden should support the UAW

On September 22, I'm (virtually) presenting at the DIG Festival in Modena, Italy. That night, I'll be in person at LA's Book Soup for the launch of Justin C Key's "The World Wasn’t Ready for You." On September 27, I'll be at Chevalier's Books in Los Angeles with Brian Merchant for a joint launch for my new book The Internet Con and his new book, Blood in the Machine.

The UAW are on strike against the Big Three automakers. Biden should be roaring his full-throated support for the strike. Doing so would be both just and shrewd. But instead, the White House is waffling…and if recent history is any indication, they might actually come out against the strike.

The Biden administration is a mix of appointees from the party's left Sanders/Warren wing, and the corporatist, "Third Way" wing associated with Clinton and Obama, which has been ascendant since the Reagan years. The neoliberal wing presided over NAFTA, the foreclosure crisis, charter schools and the bailout for the bankers – but not the people. They voted for the war in Iraq, supported NSA mass-surveillance, failed to use their majorities to codify abortion rights, and waved through mega-merger after mega-merger.

By contrast, the left wing of the party has consistently fought monopoly, war, spying, privatized education and elite impunity – but forever in the shadow of the triangulation wing, who hate the left far more than they hate Republicans. But with the Sanders campaign, the party's left became a force that the party could no longer ignore.

That led to the Biden administration's chimeric approach to key personnel. On the one hand, you have key positions being filled by ghouls who cheered on mass foreclosures under Obama:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/03/06/personnel-are-policy/#janice-eberly

And on the other, you have shrewd tacticians who are revolutionizing labor law enforcement in America, delivering real, material benefits for American workers:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/09/06/goons-ginks-and-company-finks/#if-blood-be-the-price-of-your-cursed-wealth

Progressives in the Biden administration have often delivered the goods, but they're all-too-often hamstrung by the corporate cheerleaders the party's right wing secured – think of Lina Khan losing her bid to block the Microsoft/Activision merger thanks to a Biden-appointed, big-money-loving judge:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/07/14/making-good-trouble/#the-peoples-champion

These self-immolating own-goals are especially visible when it comes to strikes. The Biden admin intervened to clobber railway workers, who were fighting some of the country's cruelest, most reckless monopolists, whose greed threatens the nation:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/02/11/dinah-wont-you-blow/#ecp

The White House didn't have the power to block the Teamsters threat of an historic strike against UPS, but it publicly sided with UPS bosses, fretting about "the economy" while the workers were trying to win a living wage and air conditioning for the roasting ovens they spend all day in.

Now, with the UAW on strike against the monopolistic auto-makers – who received repeated billions in public funds, gave their top execs massive raises, shipped jobs offshore, and used public money to lobby against transit and decarbonization – Biden is sitting on the sidelines, failing to champion the workers' cause.

Writing in his newsletter, labor reporter Hamilton Nolan makes the case that the White House should – must! – stand behind the autoworkers:

https://www.hamiltonnolan.com/p/whose-fault-is-it?

Nolan points out that workers who strike without the support of the government have historically lost their battles. When workers win labor fights, it's typically by first winning political ones, dragging the government to the table to back them. Biden's failure to support workers isn't "neutral" – it's siding with the bosses.

Today, union support is at historic highs not seen in generations. The hot labor summer wasn't a moment, it was a turning point. Backing labor isn't just the moral thing to do, it's also the right political move:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/09/14/prop-22-never-again/#norms-code-laws-markets

Biden is already partway there. He rejected the Clinton/Obama position that workers would have to vote for Democrats because "we are your only choice." Maybe he did that out of personal conviction, but it's also no longer politically possible for Democrats to turn out worker votes while screwing over workers.

The faux-populism of the Republicans' Trump wing has killed that strategy. As Naomi Klein writes in her new book Doppelganger, Steve Bannon's tactical genius is to zero in on the areas where Democrats have failed key blocks and offer faux-populist promises to deliver for those voters:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/09/05/not-that-naomi/#if-the-naomi-be-klein-youre-doing-just-fine

When Democrats fail to bat for workers, they don't just lose worker votes – they send voters to the Republicans. As Nolan writes, "working people know that the class war is real. They are living it. Make the Democratic Party the party that is theirs! Stop equivocating! Draw a line in the sand and stand on the right side of it and make that your message!"

The GOP and Democrats are "sorting themselves around the issue of inequality, because inequality is the issue that defines our time, and that fuels all the other issues that people perceive as a decline in the quality of their own lives." If the Democrats have a future, they need to be on the right side of that issue.

Biden should have allowed a railroad strike. He should have cheered the Teamsters. He should be on the side of the autoworkers. These aren't "isolated squabbles," they're "critical battles in the larger class war." Every union victory transfers funds from the ruling class to the working class, and erodes the power of the wealthy to corrupt our politics.

When Democrats have held legislative majorities, they've refused to use them to strengthen labor law to address inequality and the corruption it engenders. Striking workers are achieving the gains that Democrats couldn't or wouldn't take for themselves. As Nolan writes:

Democratic politicians should be sending the unions thank you notes when they undertake these hard strikes, because the unions are doing the work that the Democrats have failed to accomplish with legislation for the past half fucking century. Say thank you! Say you support the workers! They are striking because the one party that was responsible for ensuring that the rich didn’t take all the money away from the middle class has thoroughly and completely failed to do so.

Republican's can't win elections by fighting on the class war. Democrats should acknowledge that this is the defining issue of our day and lean into it.

Whose fault is a strike at the railroads, or at UPS, or in Hollywood, or at the auto companies? It is the fault of the greedy fuckers who took all the workers’ money for years and years. It is the fault of the executives and investors and corporate boards that treated the people who do the work like shit. When the workers, at great personal risk, strike to take back a measure of what is theirs, they are the right side. There is no winning the class war without accepting this premise.

Autoworkers' strikes have been rare for a half-century, but in their heyday, they Got Shit Done. Writing in The American Prospect, Harold Meyerson tells the tale of the 1945/46 GM strike:

https://prospect.org/labor/2023-09-18-uaw-strikes-built-american-middle-class/

In that strike, the UAW made history: they didn't just demand higher wages for workers, but they also demanded that GM finance these wages with lower profits, not higher prices. This demand was so popular that Harry Truman – hardly a socialist! – stepped in and demanded that GM turn over its books so he could determine whether they could afford to pay a living wage without hiking prices.

Truman released the figures proving that higher wages didn't have to come with higher prices. GM caved. Workers got their raise. Truman touched the "third rail of American capitalism" – co-determination, the idea that workers should have a say in how their employers ran their businesses.

Co-determination is common in other countries – notably Germany – but American capitalists are violently allergic to the idea. The GM strike of 45/6 didn't lead to co-determination, but it did effectively create the American middle-class. The UAW's contract included cost-of-living allowances, wage hikes that tracked gains in national productivity, health care and a defined-benefits pension.

These provisions were quickly replicated in contracts with other automakers, and then across the entire manufacturing sector. Non-union employers were pressured to match them in order to attract talent. The UAW strike of 45/6 set in motion the entire period of postwar prosperity.

As Meyerson points out, today's press coverage of the UAW strike of 2023 is full of hand-wringing about what a work-stoppage will do to the economy. This is short-sighted indeed: when the UAW prevails against the automakers, they will rescue both the economy and the Democratic party from the neo-feudal Gilded Age the country's ultrawealthy are creating around us:

https://doctorow.medium.com/the-end-of-the-road-to-serfdom-bfad6f3b35a9?sk=207d6afdb89b0351b92233cc3318ab94

There's a name for a political strategy that seeks to win votes by making voters' lives better – it's called "deliverism." It's the one thing the Trump Republican's won't and can't do – they can talk about bringing back jobs or making life better for American workers, but all they can deliver is cruelty to disfavored minorities and tax-breaks for the ultra-rich:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/07/10/thanks-obama/#triangulation

Deliverism is how the Democrats can win the commanding majorities to deliver the major transformations America and the world need to address the climate emergency and dismantle our new oligarchy. Letting the party's right wing dominate turns the Democrats into caffeine-free Republicans.

When the Dems allowed the Child Tax Credit to lapse – because Joe Manchin insisted that poor people would spend the money on drugs – they killed a program that had done more to lift Americans out of poverty than anything else. Today, American poverty is skyrocketing:

https://thehill.com/opinion/finance/4206837-poverty-made-an-alarming-jump-congress-could-have-stopped-it/

Four million children have fallen back into poverty since the Dems allowed the Child Tax Credit to lapse. The rate of child poverty in America has doubled over the past year.

The triangulators on the party's right insist that they are the adults in the room, realists who don't let sentiment interfere with good politics. They're lying. You don't get working parents to vote Democrat by letting their children starve.

America's workers can defeat its oligarchs. They did it before. Biden says he's a union man. It's time for him to prove it. He should be on TV every night, pounding a podium and demanding that the Big Three give in to their workers. If he doesn't, he's handing the country to Trump.

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/09/18/co-determination/#now-make-me-do-it

[solarsturniolo]

question, how was Chris the first one to become big on social media? I just started watching them back in November and even I can tell that the recent video was off-putting. Adding, their fans are insane for harassing that one girl for speaking up. She’s doing the same thing that the triplets are doing.

They made a video = she brings up the situation on her own as a former viewer. Matt & Nick makes comments about the situation = she does the same especially because she’s being harassed. The Triplets make TikTok content mocking the situation = she does the same because they are also milking it. They proceed to make a YouTube video, adding her content in it = she does a response video. And yet with all of this, she is seen as the bad guy DESPITE how respectful she was in her post. They know what they put onto the internet can be taken one way or another, so getting upset about what you put onto YouTube and Instagram isn’t a viewer issue, the call is coming from WITHIN THE HOUSE. If their viewership is that low at the moment then they need to set up more meetings on where they want to go from now on.

Everyone’s sibling dynamic is different, we can admit that, but you cannot tell me siblings constantly wanting to be hit on by their siblings, fun or not, is healthy. Honestly who is the adult in this situation because I’m not seeing any besides former / current older fans😭

( I’ve also heard how they almost never speak up about situations regarding them or people around them so some are side eyeing the fact they are dragging this out for long. )

Chris was the first to really blow up on the internet. He was known as the orange hoodie guy because he’d often be wearing an orange hoodie. He had a handful of viral videos that happened before Nick and Matt started receiving the same attention. Their niche was them being triplets because it’s not something that most people see, so it gave them the leg up for being ‘different’ and ‘interesting’.

The triplets have a very bad habit of getting frustrated when people call them out on their poor habits and behavior. Nick and Matt especially like to throw shade and talk shit, but Chris usually doesn’t indulge in that very much because I think he’s the only one that truly takes their job seriously. From the start, Chris has put in the effort and held onto his dream. Nick and Matt make their contributions, but they don’t think of the consequences that can come with some of the things that they do. If they’re not careful, it could potentially tank their career, which I think Chris is beginning to realize and that’s why i believe he’s been staying out of it for the most part.

Like i said before, the triplets don’t like people who aren’t enablers. That’s why they get so heated when they get called out, it’s also why they interact so much with their more impressionable fans that worship them like gods. (I have spoken to fans who have literally said that they see them as gods and will treat them as such…that’s weird.)

They’re just men at the end of the day. You can act however you want to act with your siblings, but you also can’t pick and choose the reactions you get from people when you publicly post it to the internet. Someone inboxed me saying fans like me are ‘insufferable’ because they don’t need to take accountability and that it wasn’t abuse. I’m not saying and have never said that Matt is ABUSIVE. But laying your hands on someone aggressively, with the intention to hurt them (and doing it regularly or repetitively) IS abuse. It is the literal dictionary definition of the word.

At 21 years old, you shouldn’t be laying your hands on anyone in an aggressive manner. If you can’t find the words to express how you feel, maybe that’s a sign that you should take some classes in communication.

They SHOULD be held accountable, because they NEVER take accountability for ANYTHING. EVER. And the best thing about accountability? ITS ABSOLUTELY FREE!! ALL THE TIME!! EVERY SINGLE DAY!!!!

Unfortunately, their egos are too far gone and they probably never will take accountability for the things that they do that frustrate their fanbase. They know they have so many fans that will dickride until the sun burns out, so they feel no need to keep the ones that find their actions and behavior odd and discomforting.

[toldbytendo]

"𝑛𝑜 𝑚𝑜𝑟𝑒 𝑚𝑖𝑐𝑟𝑜𝑝𝘩𝑜𝑛𝑒𝑠: 𝘩𝑜𝑤 𝑚𝑖𝑠𝑜𝑔𝑦𝑛𝑜𝑖𝑟 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑢𝑒𝑠 𝑡𝑜 𝑟𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑎𝑙 𝑖𝑡𝑠𝑒𝑙𝑓 — 𝑖𝑡’𝑠 𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑝𝑜𝑑𝑐𝑎𝑠𝑡 𝑙𝑖𝑐𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑒𝑠." 🙄

Hey lovelies,

I’m tired and I wanna talk about it…🤦🏾‍♀️

Podcast licenses should most definitely be a thing. Honestly, if this is the kind of content that "free speech" allows, maybe we need to rethink it altogether. Imagine the peace we'd have if people (men) needed approval before being handed a mic—because right now, it seems like anyone (men) with an internet connection and a bad opinion gets a platform. If a little censorship could keep this kind of nonsense rubbish out of our ears, it may be worth it!

Watching the recent controversy unfold with James and Fuhad from Shxts and Gigs has actually really irritated and annoyed me. James and Fuhad’s comments about Black women weren’t just offhand or "jokes." They were rooted in a long-standing pattern of dehumanising, belittling, and degrading Black women in ways that are too familiar to ignore. I saw their apology, if you can even call it that, and I was left wondering—do they really believe they did something wrong, or are they just trying to calm the storm? When Andrew joined in, laughing at their apology on his own platform, it only made it worse. This is the circle we keep going around in. Men laughing at other men for even attempting to apologise for their wrongdoing, while we, Black women, are left sitting with the pain of being torn apart by the same people we would naturally expect to come to our defence.

First and foremost, it’s absolutely nobody’s place besides Black women to tell us how we should feel about this controversy. We were the ones disrespected and degraded, and it is entirely our right to process and cope with that in whatever way we see fit. Whether that means speaking out, stepping back, or holding onto our anger for as long as we need, it’s not up to anyone else—especially not Black men or those defending these actions—to dictate how we react. We are the offended party here, and we deserve the space to feel, grieve, and respond on our own terms.

My initial thoughts were simple: we (Black women) need to stop expecting Black men with microphones, who *very clearly* do not like Black women, to run to our defense. I’ve spent too much time hoping for the men in our community to step up and recognise the harm they perpetuate, but the truth is, many of them simply won’t. They don’t have the emotional maturity, nor the desire, or mental capacity to understand the nuances of what it means to be a Black woman in this world.

But my perspective has since shifted. It’s not just about expecting them to be ‘pro-Black’ or ‘pro-Black women’. That’s too idealistic at this point. It’s about speaking up against blatant racism and disrespect, especially when it’s directed at women in their own community. This isn’t about policing preference. I truly support and encourage anyone, Black men included to love who they love, wholeheartedly. It’s literally not about who you’re attracted to. It’s about the line that gets crossed when Black women are made to feel inferior, unworthy, and less-than in the eyes of Black men who have been indoctrinated with the same anti-Blackness that white supremacy relies on. You can quite literally see it playing out in this situation, Andrew (a known misogynist, racist and white suprematist) is quite literally getting exactly what he hoped out of this situation.

We’re not even talking about accountability anymore. At this point, it’s about survival. We truly deserve better, but I personally can no longer waste my energy demanding something that feels like it's constantly being denied. I feel so defeated. It’s such a debilitating and depressing experience opening social media and seeing your community, Black women, being dragged, laughed at, bullied and degraded online. We’re only human. We keep calling out the harmful rhetoric. We keep showing how deeply it affects us. Yet, there’s always a flood of Black men defending their behavior, telling us we’re “too sensitive” or that “it’s never that serious.” They show up to silence us rather than holding their brothers accountable.

Would it have been “not that serious” if they had spent an entire podcast episode dragging Black men instead? Would Andrew have laughed and mocked an apology if the target wasn’t Black women, but someone who looked like him? There’s no question that they would have had something to say. But when it’s about us?

Crickets. 🦗

I don’t have the energy to argue anymore. We’re in 2024. If Black men haven’t unlearned their internalized racism by now, then they never will. Anti-Blackness runs rampant within our own community, and it breaks my heart. I’ve said all I can, and I know many of you feel the same—tired, heartbroken, and utterly defeated.

The truth is, we don’t need validation from these men, and we don’t need to keep begging for respect. We’ve seen time and time again that some of them just aren’t capable of giving it. But what we do need is to recognise that our hurt is valid, and it’s okay to feel disturbed by what’s happening. It’s okay to be bothered when you see these “apologies” that do nothing but laugh in the face of accountability. It’s okay to disengage, to stop pouring your energy into a well that doesn’t run deep enough to support you.

At times like these, the importance of looking to one another, to other Black women, for a sense of community is more crucial than ever. We need to uplift one another because, as painful as it is, controversies like this reveal some dark realities that come with being a Black woman. But it’s just one part of the experience—it doesn’t define us. Unionising and speaking out when disrespect like this occurs is essential, not just to raise awareness but for ourselves—to make it clear that we see what’s happening and we will not forget. But once we’ve spoken up, we also need to remind ourselves to move on from these moments of disrespect.

This ridiculousness will never define Black womanhood, because only we have the power to define who we are. Black womanhood is not aggression, manipulation, or whatever else they try to paint us as. We know better. It’s a multifaceted, beautiful experience that can never be reduced to the tired, harmful stereotypes these men keep pushing. We don’t need to rely on podcasts hosted by racists, misogynists, and anti-Black clowns to tell us who we are. Our sense of self, our strength, and our beauty is something only we can shape, and we do.

Because at the end of the day, it’s not about expecting better from them anymore. It’s about demanding respect for ourselves—whether they give it to us or not. And sometimes, that means stepping back to protect your peace.

Just had to get that off my chest, feeling a lot at the moment. 🫠🥴

[uncle-alam]

sigh I hope I'm not bothering you with this indopak shabang

Y'know if I'm being honest, how long are we going to drag the past with us? It's clearly not doing either of the nations any good. I feel it's just the egos of those involved initially (I mean both the parties involved) from way back then, continuously being able to propagate their fantasies to the later generations involved and running the show even today.

Of course letting go is easier said than done, but they should consider at least thinking about. And then generation that was there back then, gone through all of it, aren't they tired too? Was it not just a few people shepherding the rest of the masses for their idontknowwhatwentonintheirhead cause? The sentiments involved, people must think of where the sentiments have stemmed from?

Is all of this really worth the hate and enmity? Does everybody actually want this? Do we really not have a choice to stop it?

And yes, of course I'm not delusional enough to think it's all gone stop one with a few signatures here and there but.. is there really no way out?

What's your take on this?

[p.s: I won't call myself completely caught up with everything that has happened in the 7 decades, I'll eventually do it, but that's just my opinion, no hate, nothing whatsoever-]

hi anon. sorry for not replying to you earlier - I've been really scattered. I've gotten so many followers on my otherwise comfortably obscure blog that it's honestly thrown me for a loop. I didn't want to ignore your ask though since you've put it forward with fairly sincere intentions.

I just want to begin by saying that I'm just another teenager on the internet. You shouldn't be turning to me for political insights in order to guide you while you form your own opinions. I know I've been posting a lot about the recent indo-pak tensions but I was mostly doing that because, as a Lahori, it was on my mind. I didn't expect it to get traction, especially among so many indian bloggers. I really don't want to talk too much about politics online - my opinions are my personal business - but as a prospective uni student hoping study subcontinental history this is admittedly a subject I have a lot of feelings about. So I'm just going to say a few things that are on my mind.

I understand what you're trying to say here and agree with parts of it - yes this current political climate has been worsened because of the egos of men in power. Yes it can be disillusioning to be suddenly and abruptly surrounded with so much hate from nationalists on either side of the border. The conclusion that you've reached seems reasonable and straightforward in your mind and I can see why it is that way. I don't disagree with your outlook here, but do have some comments on it.

I mean, I also wish we could simply wish away nationalism and fascism and live in some kind of imagined world of harmony and peace. I know it seems like such a simple and straightforward solution to just make everyone simply drop their senseless hate. But this kind of thinking seems very detached to me, it doesn't take into consideration the ground reality of the world we live in. I know our present circumstances are ugly and hateful and frankly quite depressing - but it's where we are. The best we can do right now is understand why we are in this situation to begin with, rather than writing off reactionary points of view as foolish and hateful we should try to figure out where exactly they come from.

There is one thing you said that I disagree with. We must drag the past with us. Under no circumstances should we ignore it, brush it under the carpet and move on. Any understanding of the present can only be reached once you have some kind of grasp on the layers and layers of history that lie behind every headline. The scars of partition are deep and they are still raw. The generation which saw it is still alive. Nothing is too long ago. All of history is relevant to us in the present. My suggestion to you is to channel your frustrations about the current situation toward trying to do a bit of research in your own time. I know it's a chore but nothing is more rewarding than learning about the past and then watching your understanding of the present unfold.

Yeah anyway that's my two cents. I don't know if it helped at all.

[zeeph-containment-zone]

//sa discussion: really not digging the "you can be seen but never heard" mentality the internet has adapted towards depictions of SA, mainly seeing it today in the recent Hazbin Hotel discourse. "Respectful Depictions," according to the web, apparently can ONLY tell the viewer they were assaulted but the minute they show anything, the fetishization fingers start being pointed and the creators are deemed bad people. As an SA victim and someone who writes about their own experience using their characters, this sits terribly with me. I hate how the internet has created this "sunshine and rainbows" effect regarding discussions of sa because sa is the exact opposite of that. It's messy, it's scary, it's uncomfortable. And if YOU, ESPECIALLY if you're someone who's never been, are upset that you are uncomfortable because you saw an SA scene in a movie, TV show, or otherwise, take a moment to think about how people who actually lived through a situation like that feel before writing a twitter rant about how the scary sides of SA shouldn't be explicitly shown in media. It takes a lot of guts for people to come forward and write about their abuse and they don't deserve to be accused of fetishizing their own experience because they weren't afraid to show the world what happened to them. It's also important to show the dark side of SA because you never know who could be living in a similar situation. That stuff being shown as a bad thing actually™ can help a lot of people process things that have happened to them. It also helps dispel the stereotypical depiction of topics like these (aka the "creepy man in a back alley who drags a random woman behind a dumpster" trope.) There's a very distinct bold line that divides fetishization and genuine portrayal and it's ignored by so many people.

That being said you're allowed to be uncomfortable and feel triggered by depictions. That is extremely valid and people should respect that. You can skip the scenes if you need to, there's resources out there that'll tell you exactly what to skip + they're required to list that content contains things like that in the rating description. What ISN'T okay though is assuming the creator had bad intent because you were uncomfortable and for no other reason, and attacking, speaking over or downlplaying SA victims for feeling differently. (also in terms of referencing this to the hazbin hotel drama, yes i've seen the tweet she made about the MV. I really really think she was actually referencing the dancing spider and not the flashbacks, and I agree it's in distaste because she was probably too dense to think about that. And also no, I'm not watching that shit nor have I ever liked it to begin with. I hate it for several other reasons.)

[spacetimewithstuartgary]

Climate change will reduce the number of satellites that can safely orbit in space

MIT aerospace engineers have found that greenhouse gas emissions are changing the environment of near-Earth space in ways that, over time, will reduce the number of satellites that can sustainably operate there. 

In a study that will appear in Nature Sustainability, the researchers report that carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases can cause the upper atmosphere to shrink. An atmospheric layer of special interest is the thermosphere, where the International Space Station and most satellites orbit today. When the thermosphere contracts, the decreasing density reduces atmospheric drag— a force that pulls old satellites and other debris down to altitudes where they will encounter air molecules and burn up.

Less drag therefore means extended lifetimes for space junk, which will litter sought-after regions for decades and increase the potential for collisions in orbit.

The team carried out simulations of how carbon emissions affect the upper atmosphere and orbital dynamics, in order to estimate the “satellite carrying capacity” of low-Earth orbit. These simulations predict that by the year 2100, the carrying capacity of the most popular regions could be reduced by 50-66 percent due to the effects of greenhouse gases.

“Our behavior with greenhouse gases here on Earth over the past 100 years is having an effect on how we operate satellites over the next 100 years,” says study author Richard Linares, associate professor in MIT’s Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AeroAstro). 

“The upper atmosphere is in a fragile state as climate change disrupts the status quo,” adds lead author William Parker, a graduate student in AeroAstro. “At the same time, there’s been a massive increase in the number of satellites launched, especially for delivering broadband internet from space. If we don't manage this activity carefully and work to reduce our emissions, space could become too crowded, leading to more collisions and debris.”

The study includes co-author Matthew Brown of the University of Birmingham.

Sky fall

The thermosphere naturally contracts and expands every 11 years in response to the sun’s regular activity cycle. When the sun’s activity is low, the Earth receives less radiation, and its outermost atmosphere temporarily cools and contracts before expanding again during solar maximum. 

In the 1990s, scientists wondered what response the thermosphere might have to greenhouse gases. Their preliminary modeling showed that, while the gases trap heat in the lower atmosphere, where we experience global warming and weather, the same gases radiate heat at much higher altitudes, effectively cooling the thermosphere. With this cooling, the researchers predicted that the thermosphere should shrink, reducing atmospheric density at high altitudes. 

In the last decade, scientists have been able to measure changes in drag on satellites, which has provided some evidence that the thermosphere is contracting in response to something more than the sun’s natural, 11-year cycle.

“The sky is quite literally falling — just at a rate that’s on the scale of decades,” Parker says. “And we can see this by how the drag on our satellites is changing.”

The MIT team wondered how that response will affect the number of satellites that can safely operate in Earth’s orbit. Today, there are over 10,000 satellites drifting through low-Earth orbit, which describes the region of space up to1,200 miles, or 2,000 kilometers, from Earth's surface. These satellites deliver essential services, including internet, communications, navigation, weather forecasting, and banking. The satellite population has ballooned in recent years, requiring operators to perform regular collision-avoidance maneuvers to keep safe. Any collisions that do occur can generate debris that remains in orbit for decades or centuries, increasing the chance for follow-on collisions with satellites, both old and new.

“More satellites have been launched in the last five years than in the preceding 60 years combined,” Parker says. “One of key things we’re trying to understand is whether the path we’re on today is sustainable.”

Crowded shells

In their new study, the researchers simulated different greenhouse gas emissions scenarios over the next century to investigate impacts on atmospheric density and drag. For each “shell,” or altitude range of interest, they then modeled the orbital dynamics and the risk of satellite collisions based on the number of objects within the shell. They used this approach to identify each shell’s “carrying capacity” — a term that is typically used in studies of ecology to describe the number of individuals that an ecosystem can support. 

“We’re taking that carrying capacity idea and translating it to this space sustainability problem, to understand how many satellites low-Earth orbit can sustain,” Parker explains. 

The team compared several scenarios: one in which greenhouse gas concentrations remain at their level from the year 2000 and others where emissions change according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Shared Socioeconomic Pathways (SSPs). They found that scenarios with continuing increases in emissions would lead to a significantly reduced carrying capacity throughout low-Earth orbit. 

In particular, the team estimates that by the end of this century, the number of satellites safely accommodated within the altitudes of 200 and 1,000 kilometers could be reduced by 50 to 66 percent compared with a scenario in which emissions remain at year-2000 levels. If satellite capacity is exceeded, even in a local region, the researchers predict that the region will experience a “runaway instability,” or a cascade of collisions that would create so much debris that satellites could no longer safely operate there. 

Their predictions forecast out to the year 2100, but the team says that certain shells in the atmosphere today are already crowding up with satellites, particularly from recent “megaconstellations” such as SpaceX’s Starlink, which comprises fleets of thousands of small internet satellites.

“The megaconstellation is a new trend, and we’re showing, because of climate change, we’re going to have a reduced capacity in orbit,” Linares says. “And in local regions, we’re close to approaching this capacity value today.”

“We rely on the atmosphere to clean up our debris. And if the atmosphere is changing, then the debris environment will change too,” Parker adds. “We show the long-term outlook on orbital debris is critically dependent on curbing our greenhouse gas emissions.”

This research is supported in part by the U.S. National Science Foundation, the U.S. Air Force, and the U.K. Natural Environment Research Council. 

[enbyleighlines]

Miscellaneous Ike/Soren/Ranulf thoughts that have been on my mind recently:

Road trip AU. Ike takes Soren and Ranulf on a road trip. Soren is the backseat driver, ensuring that they don’t get lost. He 100% has planned everything ahead of time, and has physical maps in addition to his phone’s GPS. Yet Ranulf is constantly suggesting detours, to Soren’s frustration. Ike drives most of the time, finding it relaxing. Ranulf is also in charge of the music. They stay in various cheap motels and occasionally squeeze together on one bed. Soren complains the first time that they will break the bed, but between Ike’s plush chest proving to be a self-heating pillow and Ranulf draping his limbs over Soren like a weighted blanket that also purrs, Soren ends up having one of the best nights of sleep of his night.

Another modern AU where Ike, Soren, and Ranulf get trapped inside a vacation home together because there is a big tropical storm and it floods all the roads. Maybe they started vacationing with friends and family, but decided to leave later in the evening, and end up stranded for another couple of days. They lose power and internet access, which forces them to light candles and such. Maybe it happens pre-relationship and it forces them to admit to the fact that Soren and Ranulf both have feelings for Ike. Maybe during a game of truth and dare. Maybe the games they play get a little spicy, and by the time the roads are open again, all three of them have learned a whole lot about themselves and each other.

Food is a love language they all share. Ike will sneak food onto Soren’s plate when no one is looking: especially pastries, which Soren loves but rarely indulges in. Soren will research local restaurants to find new and interesting dishes that Ike might like. Ranulf loves to go out and hunt or catch fish and then cook them up with all of Ike’s favorite spices and side dishes. Further into their relationship, Ranulf will drag Soren to stands selling sweets, and order enough for them to share. And even further into their relationship, Soren will start bringing new recipes to Ranulf and ask him for help so that they can work together to make a meal for Ike.

[emptymanuscript]

Historically speaking, as far as studies have been able to find the facts - which even they have admitted is extremely difficult so we'll probably never know for sure - the actions and trends being railed against in this video are exactly the same reasons the majority of people who joined the literal, historical Nazi political party, the one that gave us the name Nazi, back in the day.

The MAJORITY of absolutely literal historical Nazis became Nazis, who joined the party after it came to power.

They joined less for the philosophy and more for the political benefits, protections, and to avoid the very serious possible repercussions of NOT being party members.

Why did the majority of Nazi Party Members became Nazis in the equivalent of this historical period, not before?

For the exact same reasons that are repeatably demonstrable under all manner of circumstances. Because from nothing but a self preservation perspective, the alternative is obviously worse. Sometimes it is demonstrated so blatantly you can't miss it. Especially if the country it happens in is an enemy nation of your own.

But mostly...

It's experienced as we're experiencing it now, from our own politicians realizing they're now in the position to seize control for themselves, including the controls they have previously needed to cede others. Even those others supposedly on their own side. It's why I used the Saddam Hussein video. It wasn't the OTHER political opposition party that Hussein dragged out, tried, and executed. It was members of his own Baathist party. His version of the RINOs.

The political opposition party is convenient for the narrative.

They get to play the role of the bad guy in every political exposition. It depends on the day. Some days they're obstructionist. Some days they're crooked. Some days they're weak and incapable and just plain stupid. Some days they're strong and conniving and utterly destructive. When things go wrong, they're the fall guys. They're the scapegoat. When things go right, they're the people to mock. Feast and grow drunk upon the enemy's tears.

They are all things bad, as needed, by the rulership and for the rulership.

Unless they actually manage to win a battle or prove actually inconvenient to a goal. Or, God forbid, try and hold the rulership accountable to the boundaries that are supposed to exist on their power.

Then the real goal shows up.

To make all barriers work FOR the rulership. Heads they win, tails the other side loses. It only exists for them as a narrative to push their goals, never to hold them back. If they actually hold them back, they have to go. Any reason at all will do.

Even a blatantly false one that has no legal reason at all. Such as the recent ICE arrest of Mahmoud Khalil, initially for no given reason. See 6:12 in this next video.

Then giving the reason as him being in violation of the terms of his student visa.

Here's Marco Rubio making an initial mistake of where we are in the narrative right now.

He gets there eventually but it does lay bare the essential problem. The problem is that any actual opposition to rulership's goals is the problem. Everything else can be made up along the way according to any narrative rulership thinks will work.

It's a legal sentence that advances the administration's goals in search of a legal crime to justify that sentence. It's guilty until the crime that will fit is found. The essential opposite of innocent until proven guilty of a specific crime.

Because the law is just another barrier that MUST serve rulership. Otherwise, we just go back to Fanni Willis and it is the law that is guilty of whatever justification can be found to return it to its proper subservient role.

So when I say, Trump is a Fascist, I'm not using hyperbole. When I say Trump is like Hitler, I'm not falling to the tendency to let the internet exaggerate all arguments out of proportion. I am saying that history rhymes. I am saying that Trump is an Authoritarian ruler who is hell bent on using his own political faction, (waning) popular support, position, and power in the way that we have seen demonstrated previously as inherently dangerous to human rights and therefore dangerously attractive for no reason other than to just save our own skins.

Because alliance, like the law, exists FOR Trump.

Even Musk, who is currently doing the brunt of the economic damage and incurring the majority of the public ire, is serving Trump's interests because he, too, is a great scapegoat. That's not to say Musk doesn't deserve every ounce of hate he is getting. He's evil, too. But he is also a tool. He's great for Trump to use. And he'll be easy to discard as a scapegoat once this gambit is over.

[sevenmothz]

Honestly, the way people have been talking about Veilguard that actually have been enjoying themselves is exactly how it was when Andromeda dropped.

If you enjoyed Andromeda, you were constantly pre-facing anything positive you had to say about the game with shit like “Well yeah, it has it’s faults it’s not perfect and I acknowledge that” and AAAAAHHHHH. I got sick of that shit back then, and I’m still sick of it now.

If someone comes into your post about being happy with the game you got and tries to drag you down for having a good time, tell them to fuck off. You don’t need to shrink yourself down so other people’s opinions can take up more space than your own, especially when it comes to your own personal spaces on the internet.

And that isn’t fucking toxic positivity or whatever bullshit dumbfucks online want to label you with.

It’s so fucking stupid that people assume those of us having a good time with our games means we have absolutely no criticisms of them just because we make a few gushing posts. I’ve basically made talking trash about the ways Inquisition shit the bed a fucking sport at this point, and I’m sure I’ll have plenty to think and say as I play Veilguard more. I mean jfc just look at the posts I made while playing Origins recently. I wasn’t exactly exuding sparkles and sunshine at every turn.

What I ain’t gonna do is kowtow to some precious little fucking babies that can’t handle that other people like something they don’t.