#yes even the links & articles

[mieczyhale]

OKAY

PLANS / TO-DO LIST

1. Hang up more laundry, set aside the stuff Josh needs to fold

2. Work on sorting the new jewelry section now that I have acquired more push pins

3. Send my timesheet to Carol & Karen bc the one on the church computer has not been updated and I would like to get paid

4. Check the discords did this earlier but this is gonna be an ongoing thing so.. putting it here was kinda silly huh??

5. Continue my links & articles journey (i know!! i'm way tf behind!!! i've barely been at an actual computer in days so it's been impossible :/ ) Started making progress but Josh is snoring and I forgot to grab my fucking headphones, which means I can't take in shit. Will continue this tomorrow (actually today now, it's 12:10 AM) when I don't have an inconsistent lawnmower next to me. I love him but jesus fucking christ Made more progress, hoping to make even more tonight (as long as josh doesn't snore again)

6. Throw down the mountain of dirty laundry

7. Clean up any trash

8. Re-glue the shorter perch of the cat tower so it STOPS FUCKING WIGGLING

9. Finally post that stupid / silly stucky "comic" I did based on a tumblr post bc its been done for weeks at this point, I just keep forgetting

10. Nair the legs bc while shaving isn't necessary (I rarely care and Josh doesn't give a fuck) I feel like having some smooth goddamn legs I can rub together comfy cricket style, but actual shaving comes with The Horrors. so.

hmm... i think that might be it. but like quite possibly not so.. might update later with more Tasks

[ryebunny]

I-

I hate being autistic because I don't understand when things are a joke and then end up embarrassing myself greatly

[somerunner]

You think alloys of a few metals are the smallest type of catalyst (see: platinum alloys in catalytic converters), but it was I, the muon!

(I meant to look for a source on both of these but gave up. It's kind of common knowledge that platinum is a major component in catalytic converters and that muons catalyze fusion. Nevertheless, here are two articles that at least mention both of these things.

Platinum: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2023.08.343

Muon: https://ntrs.nasa.gov/api/citations/20080040752/downloads/20080040752.pdf

)

[bunnyboy-juice]

GRAAAAAAAH MISREPRESENTING DATA DOES NOTHING FOR ANYONE EXCEPT FEED TROLLS WHO ARE TRYIGN TO TAKE OYU IN BAD FAITH ANYWAY OH MY GD

[jlf23tumble]

Jen what do you think about the Louis ban on UK and US radio stations?

I think it demonstrates a singularly spectacular lack of reading comprehension and/or curiosity about current music played on UK and US radio stations

[andersunmenschlich]

A Vanishing Post

There was a Tumblr post containing a video of two interviews done by the same interviewer, one with someone from Hamas, the other with someone from Israel.

I reblogged this post and saved it as a draft because I intended to add a transcript (and summary).

The post disappeared from my drafts. I went to the blog where I'd seen it, and it wasn't there either. I couldn't remember any other usernames. I couldn't remember the interviewer's name or the names of the people they were interviewing.

I'm a stubborn cuss, however, and I pummeled Google until it turned up the video I remembered.

The interviewer was a man named Marc Lamont Hill, the host of Al Jazeera English's current affairs program Up Front. The person from Hamas was Osama Hamdan, the senior spokesperson for Hamas, and the person from Israel was Danny Ayalon, Israel's former deputy foreign minister and former foreign policy advisor to Netanyahu. The date was October 13, 2023.

A Brief Summary

Hamas shot rockets from Gaza into Israel, then attacked multiple places on foot, killing people and taking hostages. Israel cut off Gaza's food, water, electricity, etc., and started bombing it.

Interviewer: Hamas, why did you attack civilians?

Hamas: Civilians, non-civilians, potayto, potahto. They're invaders who have been stealing our land and lives, killing our men and women and children, for 75 years.

Interviewer: How can you attack Israel when you know the retaliation will kill innocent Palestinians?

Hamas: Israel is always killing innocent Palestinians no matter what we do. They kill us if we're violent. They kill us if we're peaceful. And no one in the world cares. We might as well at least try to resist.

Interviewer: Israel, why are you hurting and killing everyone in Gaza, civilians included?

Israel: It's Hamas's fault—they won't surrender and they won't let the civilians leave. So we're going to keep hurting and killing those civilians until Hamas either surrenders or lets the civilians leave. This is all Hamas's fault. Look what they're making us do!

Interviewer: Hurting and killing civilians is bad.

Israel: Yes, but it's not our fault! We're not bad! The whole world is on our side because we're in the right here! Hamas is bad! They're making us kill innocent Palestinians! .

full transcript below readmore

Hill On October 7th, Hamas launched a barrage of rockets from Gaza, followed by a coordinated incursion into Israel by Hamas fighters. Scores of unarmed civilians were killed and many taken hostage. In response to the attack, Israeli prime minister Netanyahu swore, quote, "a mighty vengeance" against the group.

Israel has since retaliated with a complete siege of Gaza, launching air strikes that razed entire districts, killing hundreds and injuring thousands in the Palestinian enclave.

On today's show we'll delve deep into the conflict. Coming up in the second half of the show, we'll speak to the former deputy foreign minister for Israel and former foreign policy advisor to Netanyahu, Danny Ayalon. With us first is senior spokesperson for Hamas, Osama Hamdan.

[cut, show title]

Hill Osama Hamdan, senior spokesperson for Hamas, thank you so much for joining me on Up Front.

Hamdan Thank you.

Hill On October 7th, Hamas launched an attack when they launched thousands of rockets into Israel. Militants entered the country and took scores of civilians hostage, including women, children, and the elderly.

While the right of resistance is absolutely secured for all occupied people under international law, the use of force is not unlimited, and targeting civilians and taking hostages are war crimes.

How can you justify attacking civilian targets?

Hamdan Well, thank you for having me. First of all, I have to say that this is the story from the Israeli side, which is not really true. I have to turn you to Oren Ziv, who is an Israeli journalist. He was today in Kfar Aza settlement, and he said there is no evidence that Hamas slaughtered children.

I'm sorry that the Israeli government is using that to commit its crimes in Gaza.

So this is the first part of the answer: we have also some Israelis who are telling this has not happened, and it's used—it's a story, a fake story, used to kill more Palestinians. But this is the, the other part—

Hill But the question was "how do you justify attacking civilian targets?" That was the actual question. One second, nono, the question was "how can you justify attacking civilian targets."

Hamdan You are asking the wrong question.

Hill No, no, no; the question was "how can you justify attacking civilian targets."

Hamdan You are asking—you are asking the wrong question.

Hill We may disagree on what the right question is, but I do want—I would like you to answer this question. How do you justify attacking civilian targets?

Hamdan But this is a wrong question. This is a wrong question, and I'm not going to the same game of the Israelis.

Hill I'm asking a very clear question about civilians. Let—let me ask a very direct question: have any civilians been killed?

Hamdan Well, I don't know exactly, because this is what is told by the Israelis. What I'm telling you is that for this Israeli government—

Hill You—you just cited Oren Ziv: he says civilians were killed.

Hamdan No, he didn't say—he said, "no evidence that children were slaughtered."

Hill [incoherent sound]

Hamdan I don't—I don't—

Hill He said—he said, "dozens of bodies of Israelis murdered in their homes."

Hamdan Excuse me!

Hill Those were his words.

Hamdan You are—you are wasting the time. It's your time. It's not my time. You are wasting the time.

Hill All right, let's pause for a moment, sir. My question is, if you find out that civilians have been killed, would you consider that justified or would you consider that unjustified?

Hamdan There is—three hundred children have been killed today in Gaza by the Israelis. Two hundred women have been killed today, by the Israelis, in Gaza. One thousand two hundred children were injured. One thousand women were injured today, just today and yesterday, in Gaza.

You are asking me the wrong question. You have to ask about what is happening in Gaza, which is under the siege for the last seventeen years, which is under the offensive Israeli attack for the last four days.

You keep asking about the Israelis: why don't you ask about the Palestinians?

Hill So, so that's a—that's a fair—

Hamdan Can I understand that you don't care about the Palestinians?

Hill Sir, sir, sir, that's a, that is a fair question, that—

Hamdan Excuse me! I have to continue. You are asking about the Israelis. You don't ask about the Palestinians. No one cares about the Palestinians. This is the story: the story is the occupation. 75 years of occupation for the Palestinians. We have to talk about the occupation and how the Palestinians are looking to—for this occupation, and how can we make an end for this occupation.

This is the story! It's not the story about what you are asking about.

Hill Okay, I—I, I understand your perspective. To be clear, after this interview I will be interviewing a representative of the Israeli military, and I will be asking him about Israel's war crimes.

I absolutely acknowledge that Israel has committed war crimes. In fact, I have written a book with a whole chapter about Gaza and the war crimes that have been committed against Gaza there, so please do not suggest to me that I do not take this issue seriously. However—

Hamdan Thank—thank you—

Hill However, let me finish, I—I allowed you to finish—

Hamdan —thank you for clarifying that—

Hill —yeah, so, so now—

Hamdan —thank you for clarifying that, but I also—

Hill —now that—sir, sir—

Hamdan —you can't compare—

Hill —sir, I—I'm not comparing anything, but—

Hamdan Okay.

Hill —please allow me to finish. My question for you is, "Is everyone living inside a settlement a legitimate military target for Hamas?"

Hamdan According to the international law, the settlers are not civilians.

Hill So, sir, again, human rights organizations have said the legal status of settlements under international humanitarian law does not negate the rights of the civilians living there.

The fact that a person lives in a settlement, whether legal or not, does not make him or her a legitimate military target.

So, in light of the fact that human rights organizations would argue that even if settlements are illegal the people living inside of them are still considered civilians, how do you see, moving forward, Hamas's vision of whether or not settlements are legitimate military targets?

Hamdan Well, uh, the "legitimate" thing which I believe in is that Palestine is our land.

Our people are living on our land, challenging the occupation for the last 75 years. On those 75 years, the women, the children were killed by the Israeli soldiers, the Israeli settlers. Their homeland was taken. They were replaced by Israelis who came from everywhere in the world. They talk different languages and they claim that this land is for them.

If you ask any one of them about the grave of his father, he will take you to Poland, or to Argentina.

But if you ask any Palestinian about the grave of his seventeenth grandfather, he will take you to some place in Palestine, showing you the graves, telling you, "This is where my seventeenth grandfather was buried"—or maybe before that.

We are in this land from the days of Jesus Christ! Don't ask me about those settlers and those soldiers who are killing my people every day, every time—and this is the fact which creates the resistance of the Palestinians. The Palestinians did not start the war.

Hill Let's talk about the Israeli response to the Hamas attack, which has been horrific.

Israel is bombing Gaza and has declared a complete siege. It's cut off food, fuel, and water from being admitted to over two million people. Thousands of Palestinians are going to die. One resident from Khan Yunis said, "This is a bloody war that is different from previous wars. What is going on right now is total annihilation."

We see this horrific response by the Israeli government—my question for you is, "Have the actions of Hamas over the past week made things worse for Palestinians on the ground?"

Hamdan The Israelis have done this before. They did that in 2014. They cut the electricity from Gaza, in 2014, for seventeen days. They cut the aid for the hospitals. In 2014, two thousand five hundred Palestinians were killed. In 2021, more than one thousand Palestinians were killed. No one remembers the numbers, because they are only Palestinians.

But I want to tell you, they were shocked by what had happened to their army. Eleven military points were attacked by the militants of Hamas. The soldiers were killed, or taken as war prisoners, and the Israelis were shocked. This is the main troops attacking Gaza for the last ten years: they fall down in a few hours. This is a shock! They want to get back the image of Israel army. They want to show everyone that Israel can destroy everyone—

Hill That's an interesting point, sir—

Hamdan —by the supervision of the American and the support of the—

Hill —that's, that's an important point you're making. You're saying that Israel sort of commits to a certain kind of response when it looks bad; that Israel responds disproportionately, and that Israel already wants to use this as a pretext for destroying the Palestinian people.

I'm saying, if you know that's going to happen, then how do you calculate the decision to launch an attack, knowing that a university is going to be bombed, knowing that power is going to be cut off, knowing that fuel's going to be cut off, knowing that people are going to die because of the Israeli response—if you know that, why do you still make the attack?

Particularly when the Palestinian people don't have a say in whether or not that's going to happen?

Hamdan This is a good question. You know, the fact that the Israelis are killing the Palestinians on all the ways, all the times.... For example, in West Bank, in the last ten months, more than five hundred Palestinians were killed.

Most of them were civilians. They were shot in the streets, just demonstrating peacefully against the Israeli troops!

The fact that everyone has to understand is that this occupation is killing the Palestinians all the time. He's not giving them any chance to have normal lives. He's not giving them the chance to be independent and to have their independent sovereign state—even after thirty years of signature of Oslo agreement, he's not implementing any international resolutions. He doesn't care about the international law.

So we are facing this fact: the Israelis are killing you if you are treating them peacefully or if you are resisting them.

At the end of the day, the occupation is still there. So it's better to resist than be slaughtered daily without even resisting the occupation.

Hill What was the goal of last week's actions? What was the immediate goal of last week's actions—what would you say the target or goal was?

Hamdan The goal is to make an end for the Israeli attacks against the Palestinians. To make an end for the Israeli attacks on Jerusalem, [place name I couldn't catch], in West Bank; taking over the lands and to lift the siege on Gaza.

The Israelis are planning for a long, long occupation on Palestine, and I think if they don't get the lesson from what has happened the last four days: this army will not protect them. Their violence will not protect them. Even if they were supported by the United States. If they want to be protected, they have to acknowledge the Palestinian rights and to implement the international resolutions which gave the Palestinian people their rights—without negotiations.

Those are rights. No one can negotiate our rights.

Hill Osama Hamdan, thank you so much for joining me on Up Front.

Hamdan Thank you.

[cut]

Hill We tried repeatedly to get an Israeli Army spokesperson on the show to respond to Hamas, but they canceled the scheduled interviews. For more on the developments in Gaza, we are joined by Israel's former deputy foreign minister and a former foreign policy advisor to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Danny Ayalon.

[cut, show title]

Hill Danny Ayalon, thank you so much for joining me on Up Front.

Ayalon My pleasure.

Hill Danny, last Saturday, the 7th, Hamas launched a devastating attack. Thousands of rockets were fired towards Israel, and hundreds of Hamas fighters crossed into the country. There are reports of horrific killings of Israeli civilians: a clear, clear violation of international law.

In response, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu threatened to turn the Gaza Strip into, quote, "rubble," and the government announced a, quote, "complete siege of the enclave."

Since then, we've seen mass bombing in Gaza, with reports that hundreds of civilians have been killed—and while the actions of Hamas are a clear, and I want to emphasize that, a clear violation of international law, isn't the collective punishment of all Gazans also, by definition, a war crime?

Ayalon Not really, because the situation is very clear.

You know, as you mentioned—rightly so—Hamas perpetrated an attack (which was a surprise attack, the IDF was caught unprepared), and they got a major victory for the first 24 hours: but who was this victory against? Babies and children and all families that were massacred in bed. The IDF was nowhere to be seen. When the IDF came back, now, they pushed them back into Gaza.

Now, the problem with Hamas is that they're committing a double war crime, because they are targeting only civilians, and they're using their own civilians, the poor Palestinians of Gaza, as human shields.

What Israel did gave them a fair warning, and I think this is the only way to do with them, is we told the Gazan people to clear the area temporarily so we can go and take Hamas out—and then, of course, they can come back.

So this, by definition, is not a war crime.

We understand the plight of the Palestinians. They deserve their dignity and everything else. But nothing justifies butchering families.

You know, this day, as you mentioned, the 7th of October, was the day that more Jews were killed in 24 hours than any other day since the Holocaust. So you see, I mean—

Hill Without—without question, respectfully, this is a devastating moment. An extraordinary act of violence that, again, is a violation of international law. But you said a couple of things that I want to push you on.

The idea of collective punishment is one of the things that we're talking about here.

Electricity has been cut. Power has been cut. Fuel has been cut. The Gazan people right now are being punished for the actions of Hamas. How is that not, by definition, collective punishment?

Ayalon Two things. First of all, Hamas has turned Gaza into an enemy state. So there is no law, nothing in international law, that compels a country you are in a war with, to supply them the electricity. Now, what do they use the electricity for?

Hill As, as—as an occupying power, international law does say that you have certain responsibilities by law... but before we get there, even if we—we'll hold it for a moment, the power thing—there are residential buildings being hit. There are hospitals being hit. This is a densely populated area. The idea of being able to run away or to escape or go to a safe area seems impossible.

Also, according to your own military representatives, you've abandoned the idea of knocking on roofs: that is to say, giving a warning, of dropping a non-explosive munition on buildings before people go.

So people aren't getting a warning, they have nowhere to go, residential buildings, schools, and hospitals are being hit.

How is this not, again, an act of collective punishment, and how is this not a target of civilians—unless, of course, you're regarding everybody in Gaza as an enemy combatant?

Ayalon Okay, well, I hear you, I hear you. But again, what we gave the population is a fair warning.

What would you do, you know, what would you do if—

Hill What—what, what was the fair warning? This—I just want to make sure we're on the same page here. Benjamin Netanyahu told everyone to leave the area. Where were they to go?

Ayalon Okay. Very, very—I mean, this was thought out. It's not something that we tell them, "Go to the beaches, go drown yourselves," God forbid, not at all. There is a huge expanse, almost endless space in the Sinai Desert just on the other side of Gaza.

The idea is—and this is not the first time it will be done—the idea is for them to leave over to the open areas where we and the international community will prepare the infrastructure. You know, ten cities with food and with water. You know what, just like for the refugees of Syria that fled the butchering of Assad a few years ago to Turkey. Turkey received two million of them. This is the idea.

Now, Egypt will have to play ball here, because once the population is out of sight, then we can go. You know what the Palast—what the, what Hamas did. You know, we—

Hill When the—you said, "the population out of sight," is that practically possible in such a densely populated area?

And, and forty—you have two million people in a densely populated enclave. Forty-seven percent of the inhabitants are children. Is it reasonable or plausible to think that all those people are going to relocate to this excluded area and be safe from a bombing attack? And again, the warn—we're saying there's warnings, but there are numerous reports on the ground that there are no warnings, that people are getting hit, that families have been killed from these attacks!

Ayalon I'll tell you in a practical manner what we should do and what we can do. Create, like in the past, in history, a humanitarian corridor. When there is a humanitarian corridor—and we have been discussing this with the United States—then we can guarantee, in this corridor, that nobody will get hurt.

Now, again I say there is a way to receive them all on the other side for temporary time in Sinai. Because, what did Hamas turn out on Gaza, Gaza—

Hill On the other side? Are we talking about—are you, are you saying, "the other side," they go to Egypt?

Ayalon Yes. Absolutely, absolutely, and Egypt will have to play ball because this is—human life is at stake, and if you are—

Hill [disbelieving laugh] But, but sir, human life is at stake because you're cutting off power, you're, you're shutting down hospitals, you're bombing residential buildings—

Right now, there is a hospital that does not have sufficient power. There is a hospital where people are literally going to die. And Israel's energy minister Israel Katz said, "No electrical switch will be turned on, no hydrant will be open, no fuel truck will enter until the Israeli abductees are returned home."

Now, the ICRC spokesperson Hisham Mhanna said that by cutting that power "hospitals are going to turn into graveyards."

This is not an ideologue. This is the International Committee of the Red Cross. They're saying that because of your country's actions—not the actions of Hamas, not the actions of Egypt, but because of Israel's actions—the hospitals are going to turn into graveyards.

How is that not a war crime? How is that defensible by any standard?

Ayalon First of all, the war crime, if anything, is Hamas. They are the ones. And I know exactly what you're talking about. Hamas does not allow—sometimes, when they can, they keep those civilians captive. They don't allow them to run away, because this is what they want.

Now, I know the area. And I suppose you're talking about the main hospital, which is the Shifa Hospital.

Hill Yep.

Ayalon The Shifa Hospital has been turned into a Hamas bunker. If Hamas wants to save them, they should just leave their arms, come out, and nothing will happen. But as long as they keep the Shifa Hospital, just like schools and kindergartens, as bunkers and they fight out from there, there is no law—there is no law in this universe that protects them. And this is what we're doing, and this is why the world is—

Hill Sir, sir! Sir, is there any independent reports—are there any intelligence reports that show that the Shifa Hospital is primarily a Hamas bunker and not an actual medical site?

Ayalon Yes, and you know—and you know what—

Hill W-where? Who? Where?

Ayalon A-and you know what, mark my words, and, and you can show it again, because I know it's recorded. When this war is over and we bring in the international press to Shifa and to all the bunkers, the underground tunnels that Hamas has created in Gaza—ask intelligence services of every country in the world, they know it—but anyway, what I'm saying is—

Hill No, no, no—just to be clear, for the audience's benefit, no intelligence service has claimed that. Not one government has claimed that the Shifa Hospital is a Hamas bunker. That is your claim, and I want to be very clear that that is your claim.

And you're saying that you don't have any reports, but that I should just trust you.

Ayalon No!

Hill Mark your words, trust you, and later on it'll be proven true.

Ayalon I'm telling you, everybody will see.

Hill Okay.

Ayalon After the war is over.

Hill Fair enough.

Ayalon Even—

Hill I have—I have to move on just in the interests of time, but I want to continue on the same vein, because the Secretary-General of the UN, António Guterres, said that he was deeply distressed by Israel's announcement of a siege on the Gaza Strip. He said that the humanitarian situation, quote, "will only deteriorate exponentially," and that crucial life-saving supplies, including fuel, food, and water must be allowed into Gaza.

So the UN is saying, "You must do this." You are saying you're not going to do this. How do you—

Ayalon No. We're not, we're not saying that.

Hill He's saying "do it immediately." What I'm saying is, what you're—he's saying, "do it immediately."

Ayalon I got you. I'll tell you exactly what we're saying. I'm saying, we will do everything for the Gazan people, once—and now we demand immediate surrender, unconditional surrender of Hamas. If Hamas people come out with their hands up and clear their weapons, believe me, everything will be restored to Gaza. It is Hamas, in Hamas hands. If they care—

Hill Okay, now I understand. Thank you for clarifying that, sir. I think we're actually on the same page here. You're saying that once Hamas leaves, you'll grant the Gazan people food, shelter, fuel, electricity, hospitals, schooling. And if Hamas doesn't leave, then they'll continue to starve and die in hospitals.

You are defining for the international community, right now, collective punishment.

You're saying, "Until Hamas acts differently, the two million people in Gaza are going to be treated this way. And once Hamas acts differently, these two million people in Gaza will be treated better."

That is exactly what collective punishment is: you're holding them accountable for the actions of others; that is the definition, the textbook definition, of collective punishment, sir. Now, you—you may accept that that's what you want to do, but this is absolutely a contravention of international law.

Ayalon Well, I'll tell you exactly—no! Had we had no—if we had pushed them into the wall—we're not pushing them to the wall! We want to open a humanitarian corridor so they can leave. But if Hamas—

Hill So that who can leave? Citizens? You're saying civilians can leave, but only through the Rafah Border, correct?

Ayalon At this point, yes.

Hill So they can't—

Ayalon Because, where else—

Hill Your country! They can come into Israel!

Ayalon [big fake smile, long pause] I'm telling you one more thing I want to say—

Hill I-I want you to address that point—

Ayalon [another big smile]

Hill —don't just smile, sir, respectfully. You're saying—

Ayalon [smile vanishes] I'm not smiling!

Hill —they, you're making a corridor, they can go to Egypt—you're bombing them! You say you want to save them, but you—they can't come in.

Ayalon I—first of all, I'm not smiling. I'm crying in my heart. I'm crying in my heart for all the butchery of thousands of Israelis. Why do you think the world is with us? Why do you think the world is wise? All the international media was there.

So don't talk to me about collective punishment, don't talk to me about humanitarian—these are new rules of the game.

There is no coexistence with Hamas, which is worse than Isis, and we will not stop. We are allowing the population to leave. But if Hamas will surrender, there won't be any problem whatsoever.

Hill Danny Ayalon, thank you so much for joining me on Up Front.

Ayalon Pleasure.

Hill All right, that is our show. Up Front will be back next week.

[end cut, show title]

[agnesandhilda]

when I used to do arnis (filipino stick fighting/martial arts, which has a handful of different names, but that’s what the group I practiced with called it) we practiced chokeholds and I, understandably, was kind of freaked out about the idea of being choked even though I understood it wasn’t real.

we were doing triangle chokes. to clarify how that works, you’d be facing someone (we’d usually run through some brief drill before this to simulate a “fight” that someone would “lose” and end up positioned for the chokehold) with their throat pressed to your bicep and your stick against the left side of their neck, resting against your own shoulder, to keep them in place. your stick and arm together would make a triangle shape with someone’s head in the center---that’s where the name comes from---and you’d press in against the side of their neck, not directly on the front of the throat but to one of the soft, fleshy sides on either side of the neck to restrict blood flow. (and, fun fact, not all chokeholds work by targeting the airway! some, like triangle chokes, affect circulation)

so we pair off to practice and I’m with this dude I’ll call andrew, a mild-mannered older man, and he walks me through it. I tell him I’m nervous, and he explains that I can tap out, (which is common practice for martial arts, and means exactly what it sounds like--you tap your partner to signal that they stop. I had done this before for exercises related to joint locks and takedowns, so I was already familiar with the concept, though I was never nervous for those) whenever I feel like.

anyway, I’m still skittish, but I’ve known andrew for like a year at this point and know he’s a responsible guy to partner with for drills, so whatever. we’re doing this. we get into position. he’s got me in the crook of his arm, and he starts to press down very, very slowly. now, if you’ve never been put in a triangle choke, I’ll tell you that it feels like there’s pressure building up in your face, inside your head---or at least that’s how I remember it feeling now, years after last doing it, so take that with a grain of salt if you want. anyway, I let that feeling of pressure build a little, and then tap his arm twice, solidly. and he lets me go on the spot. 

we do that a few more times. he catches me, gradually increases the pressure on my neck, and whenever I feel like I’ve hit this natural threshold of discomfort I tap out and he releases me instantly. at some point, I think, oh, he’ll stop whenever I tell him to, and it was oddly empowering.

like, I know it sounds weird to say, but I was what, sixteen at the time? and like most kids I had never gotten much of a say in what happened to me or my body---you can’t dress too boyish, it’s rude and improper, (even if I just wanted to wear what cis boys would in that same situation), you can’t refuse physical affection in polite company, even if it’s from people you despise---it was novel to me to be able to give my no and have it respected instantly and without question.

andrew’s turn to practice ends, and mine starts. I put him in the chokehold and he corrects my stance so I do it properly, and I start to actually choke the guy. now, if letting someone practice their chokehold on you is nerve-wracking so is being the one to do the choke, in an equal and opposite way---I did martial arts for years, and I never got entirely comfortable with hitting another person with force, even though they always consented to it! fuck, I do taekwondo now (sort of, I’m bad about actually showing up), and I’m still hesitant to strike up until my partner pretty much up and tells me to go for it already. 

anyway, I’m a bit shy about this whole choking business, so I go in slow as a snail (to be fair, you’re always supposed to go slow for safety reasons during any chokeholds or joint locks or takedowns, but I’m going extra slow), pressing into the side of andrew’s throat with my stick, and after several moments he taps my shoulder once, firmly, and I break the triangle to let him out. 

we do this until my turn to practice the chokehold is over, and then the guy who runs the class stops everybody to tell us to break up and find new partners to practice with, and I make a beeline for one of my favorite partners, one of the few other women in the class, and one of only two female black belts, which left her as one of my only options for a role model. I’ll call her edith! edith was blunt, funny, a no-nonsense teacher, and I thought she was the coolest. 

edith had been practicing there for fifteen years and, unlike andrew, who was a straightforward, no-surprises kind of guy, would mess with you. she’d sometimes break out of the routine of the drill we were supposed to be doing to try something else she knew---because she’d been practicing arnis for about as long as I’d been alive at the time, and blindside me. I remember once we were doing this drill, a fast-paced one, swaying around the room, our sticks clashing loudly, and she snaked her stick around my arm to catch my elbow and pull me in, twist my arm behind my back, and tease me. she said I was stiff and predictable, which was embarrassing advice to get, but also hard to be upset about when the whole situation was fun for me. 

anyway. I went over to her immediately so she could choke me next

[reasonsforhope]

By the way, you can improve your executive function. You can literally build it like a muscle.

Yes, even if you're neurodivergent. I don't have ADHD, but it is allegedly a thing with ADHD as well. And I am autistic, and after a bunch of nerve damage (severe enough that I was basically housebound for 6 months), I had to completely rebuild my ability to get my brain to Do Things from what felt like nearly scratch.

This is specifically from ADDitude magazine, so written specifically for ADHD (and while focused in large part on kids, also definitely includes adults and adult activities):

Here's a link on this for autism (though as an editor wow did that title need an editor lol):

Resources on this aren't great because they're mainly aimed at neurotypical therapists or parents of neurdivergent children. There's worksheets you can do that help a lot too or thought work you can do to sort of build the neuro-infrastructure for tasks.

But a lot of the stuff is just like. fun. Pulling from both the first article and my own experience:

Play games or video games where you have to make a lot of decisions. Literally go make a ton of picrews or do online dress-up dolls if you like. It helped me.

Art, especially forms of art that require patience, planning ahead, or in contrast improvisation

Listening to longform storytelling without visuals, e.g. just listening regularly to audiobooks or narrative podcasts, etc.

Meditation

Martial arts

Sports in general

Board games like chess or Catan (I actually found a big list of what board games are good for building what executive functioning skills here)

Woodworking

Cooking

If you're bad at time management play games or video games with a bunch of timers

Things can be easier. You might always have a disability around this (I certainly always will), but it can be easier. You do not have to be this stuck forever.

[slogthor]

Re the rehabilitated alt right people thing- that’s the way it always is. I’m not trying to educate anyone on the subject I think you should look it up yourself but formerly radicalized people who are part of hate groups and remove themselves have like. Seems like fuckin lifelong struggles with not being racist. Self reported. Oops I had a wretched thought again my bad I relapsed on my racism addiction

[booksinmythorax]

"Don't use Libby because it costs libraries too much, pirate instead" is such a weird, anti-patron, anti-author take that somehow manages to also be anti-library, in my professional librarian-ass opinion.

It's well documented that pirating books negatively affects authors directly* in a way that pirating movies or TV shows doesn't affect actors or writers, so I will likely always be anti-book piracy unless there's absolutely, positively no other option (i.e. the book simply doesn't exist outside of online archives at all, or in a particular language).

Also, yeah, Libby and Hoopla licenses are really expensive, but libraries buy them SO THAT PATRONS CAN USE THEM. If you're gonna be pissed at anybody about this shitty state of affairs, be pissed at publishing companies and continue to use Libby or Hoopla at your library so we can continue to justify having it to our funding bodies.

One of the best ways to support your library having services you like is to USE THOSE SERVICES. Yes, even if they are expensive.

*Yes, this is a blog post, but it's a blog post filled with links to news articles. If you can click one link, you can click another.

[curlicuecal]

playing science telephone

Hi folks. Let's play a fun game today called "unravelling bad science communication back to its source."

Journey with me.

Saw a comment going around on a tumblr thread that "sometimes the life expectancy of autism is cited in the 30s"

That number seemed..... strange. The commenter DID go on to say that that was "situational on people being awful and not… anything autism actually does", but you know what? Still a strange number. I feel compelled to fact check.

Quick Google "autism life expectancy" pulls up quite a few websites bandying around the number 39. Which is ~technically~ within the 30s, but already higher than the tumblr factoid would suggest. But, guess what. This number still sounds strange to me.

Most of the websites presenting this factoid present themselves as official autism resources and organizations (for parents, etc), and most of them vaguely wave towards "studies."

Ex: "Above And Beyond Therapy" has a whole article on "Does Autism Affect Life Expectancy" and states:

The link implies that it will take you to the "research studies" being referenced, but it in fact takes you to another random autism resource group called.... Songbird Care?

And on that website we find the factoid again:

Ooh, look. Now they've added the word "some". The average lifespan for SOME autistic people. Which the next group erased from the fact. The message shifts further.

And we have slightly more information about the study! (Which has also shifted from "studies" to a singular "study"). And we have another link!

Wonderfully, this link actually takes us to the actual peer-reviewed 2020 study being discussed. [x]

And here, just by reading the abstract, we find the most important information of all.

This study followed a cohort of adolescent and adult autistic people across a 20 year time period. Within that time period, 6.4% of the cohort died. Within that 6.4%, the average age of death was 39 years.

So this number is VERY MUCH not the average age of death for autistic people, or even the average age of death for the cohort of autistic people in that study. It is the average age of death IF you died young and within the 20 year period of the study (n=26), and also we don't even know the average starting age of participants without digging into earlier papers, except that it was 10 or older. (If you're curious, the researchers in the study suggested reduced self-sufficiency to be among the biggest risk factors for the early mortality group.)

But the number in the study has been removed from it's context, gradually modified and spread around the web, and modified some more, until it is pretty much a nonsense number that everyone is citing from everyone else.

There ARE two other numbers that pop up semi-frequently:

One cites the life expectancy at 58. I will leave finding the context for that number as an exercise for the audience, since none of the places I saw it gave a direct citation for where they were getting it.

And then, probably the best and most relevant number floating around out there (and the least frequently cited) draws from a 2023 study of over 17,000 UK people with an autism diagnosis, across 30 years. [x] This study estimated life expectancies between 70 and 77 years, varying with sex and presence/absence of a learning disability. (As compared to the UK 80-83 average for the population as a whole.)

This is a set of numbers that makes way more sense and is backed by way better data, but isn't quite as snappy a soundbite to pass around the internet. I'm gonna pass it around anyway, because I feel bad about how many scared internet people I stumbled across while doing this search.

People on quora like "I'm autistic, can I live past 38"-- honey, YES. omg.

---

tl;dr, when someone gives you a number out of context, consider that the context is probably important

also, make an amateur fact checker's life easier and CITE YOUR SOURCES

[hellyeahsickaf]

I found an extremely dope disability survival guide for those who are homebound, bedbound, in need of disability accommodations, or would otherwise like resources for how to manage your life as a disabled person. (Link is safe)

It has some great articles and resources and while written by people with ME/CFS, it keeps all disabilities in mind. A lot of it is specific to the USA but even if you're from somewhere else, there are many guides that can still help you. Some really good ones are:

How to live a great disabled life- A guide full of resources to make your life easier and probably the best place to start (including links to some of the below resources). Everything from applying for good quality affordable housing to getting free transportation, affordable medication, how to get enough food stamps, how to get a free phone that doesn't suck, how to find housemates and caregivers, how to be homebound, support groups and Facebook pages (including for specific illnesses), how to help with social change from home, and so many more.

Turning a "no" into a "yes"- A guide on what to say when denied for disability aid/accommodations of many types, particularly over the phone. "Never take no for an answer over the phone. If you have not been turned down in writing, you have not been turned down. Period."

How to be poor in America- A very expansive and helpful guide including things from a directory to find your nearest food bank to resources for getting free home modifications, how to get cheap or free eye and dental care, extremely cheap internet, and financial assistance with vet bills

How to be homebound- This is pretty helpful even if you're not homebound. It includes guides on how to save spoons, getting free and low cost transportation, disability resources in your area, home meals, how to have fun/keep busy while in bed, and a severe bedbound activity master list which includes a link to an audio version of the list on Soundcloud

Master List of Disability Accommodation Letters For Housing- Guides on how to request accommodations and housing as well as your rights, laws, and prewritten sample letters to help you get whatever you need. Includes information on how to request additional bedrooms, stop evictions, request meetings via phone, mail, and email if you can't in person, what you can do if a request is denied, and many other helpful guides

Special Laws to Help Domestic Violence Survivors (Vouchers & Low Income Housing)- Protections, laws, and housing rights for survivors of DV (any gender), and how to get support and protection under the VAWA laws to help you and/or loved ones receive housing and assistance

Dealing With Debt & Disability- Information to assist with debt including student loans, medical debt, how to deal with debt collectors as well as an article with a step by step guide that helped the author cut her overwhelming medical bills by 80%!

There are so many more articles, guides, and tools here that have helped a lot of people. And there are a lot of rights, resources, and protections that people don't know they have and guides that can help you manage your life as a disabled person regardless of income, energy levels, and other factors.

Please boost!

[carolinanadeau]

you're talking shit for the hell of it. and we see you over there on the internet, comparing all the girls who are killing it. but we figured you out, we all know now, we all got crowns, you need to calm down. I've got a list of names and yours is in red, underlined. Mr. Superior Thinking... no, I don't like you. no one likes a mad woman - you made her like that. I can feel the flames on my skin. you did some bad things but I'm the worst of them. maybe I got mine, but you'll all get yours. I'm shaking my head and locking the gates. this is why we can't have nice things. seeing the shape of your name still spells out pain. sometimes I wonder which one'll be your last lie. now I breathe flames each time I talk. do you still feel like you know what you're doing? because I don't think you do. all you are is mean! and a liar! and pathetic! and alone in life and mean!

and you didn't see me here.

[goodbyeapathy8]

I need people to stop glorifying the 4B movement in Korea, from a Western (white) perspective. Stop it. If you are blissfully unaware of this (having not been on TikTok) - in theory, it makes sense. No sex with men, no dating men, no child rearing with men, and no marriage with men. But. BUT. Feminists in Korea are problematic AF. I know this from both personal experience (having been on the receiving end of their ire online) and everything I've read about them, in Korean. I see all these white TikTokers (and even some in the Korean diaspora) fawning over how "we" in the US need this and, no. If your feminism is transphobic, hates gay men, hates men in general, that's not the feminism I'd endorse. Why is Korean feminism transphobic? In 2020, Korean feminists ACTIVELY CAMPAIGNED AGAINST a woman who was accepted to Sookmyung University. An all womens' university. But she was a woman, you say. What could be their problem? According to Korean feminists, they didn't want a "man" in their space. Because she is a trans woman. This is not unusual for Korean feminists. Having lived there for 5 years, to some extent, I understand their anger against misogyny. But if you are truly against the toxic patriarchy that exists in Korea, you must also help dismantle military conscription because that is where a lot of men become radicalized, bullied, etc etc and "grow up" to be the most toxic form of men seen on this earth. But Korean feminists don't give AF about that and in fact, I've read a lot of them express that it's good for men to suffer. Guess what? That view is internalized misogyny and toxic patriarchy, too. And I don't want to hear it about the movement being so "young". Korean women have stepped up to the plate before in our history. We are capable of better than this fucking nonsense. It's a bunch of transphobic, gay hating radicals that have hijacked what was supposed to be about social justice. WOMAD (link is to the Wikipedia article, not their site) and Megalia are the two sites they stem from. It is the most toxic group of people I've ever had the displeasure to encounter online. Any form of criticism is, at best, ignored and worst - I've been "called out" for being Korean-American, and therefore, to "butt out" of "Korean issues". Amongst other bullying I've personally received. And yes, not just on forums but on public articles that I've commented on.

I know it's a catchy title and it appeals in theory but please, please do not glorify these transphobes and TERFs. They don't deserve your attention.

[omgellendean]

So, Sacha Baron Cohen recently endorsed Kamala Harris in a fittingly racist islamophobic manner, by bringing back his character Borat. Yes, it's 2024.

Anyway, here's a 2022 investigation of SBC's vile Zionism and connections to the USA and Israeli intelligence, as well as an insight into the role of the US-American cinema as a propaganda tool.

Article: https://www.mintpressnews.com/closer-scrutiny-reveals-close-state-power-sacha-baron-cohen-really/279355/

Archived link: https://archive.is/7dSTL

Some quotes:

When asked about the national security state’s role in shaping pop culture, the former intelligence officer [John Kiriakou] said that it is “far more cynical” than most people realize, explaining:

” There is a branch inside the CIA’s Office Of Public Affairs whose job is solely to work with Hollywood Studios. This is something that the FBI has been doing since the 1940s. They’ll cooperate and give the red carpet treatment to any Hollywood studio that’s willing to make the CIA look good. “ [...]

In the end, “Brüno’s” production company did interview someone they claimed was a terrorist (in the Letterman interview, Baron Cohen described the man as such eight times in the space of three minutes). However, the person in question – Palestinian grocer and NGO worker Ayman Abu Aita – vigorously denied he was a terrorist at all. He claimed that Baron Cohen had told him the interview would be about his peace activism and that his life and business had been destroyed as a result. Abu Aita sued for nearly $100 million. The case was settled for an undisclosed sum in 2012. [...]

Even from an early age, Sacha was reportedly obsessed with the Jewish state. “He was very Zionist, very involved in Habo,” recalled one friend, referring to Habonim Dror, a left-wing Zionist group of which he was a member. Others remembered him as “a very nerdy, very funny, Israel-oriented guy” who went to live on a kibbutz in his youth. He appears to idolize Shimon Peres, traveling to meet him in 2012 and sharing quotes from the former Israeli president on his social media accounts. Peres, of course, oversaw the genocide of Palestinians in 1948, attempted to sell nuclear weapons to Apartheid South Africa, and carried out the ethnic cleansing of the Galilee region. [...]

Unsurprisingly, Baron Cohen has also campaigned fiercely against the Boycott Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, presenting it as viciously antisemitic. “Boycotting? Yeah, fantastic. As long as they are Jews, it is alright. I’m not a racist, but keep the Jews out,” he said, in an attempt to satirize their position. [...]

Much of the movie is actually spent “on location” in “Kazakhstan,” where Borat takes the viewer around an unimaginably poor-looking village, making fun of how backward “his people” are. There are no Western egos or ignorance being punctured here. In fact, it was shot in a gypsy encampment in Romania, where locals were paid around $3 each to be humiliated by a man who spoke to them in a language they did not understand. The villagers were told they were appearing in a sympathetic documentary highlighting their lives. “Borat” made over $262 million at the box office. [...]

The racism was further amplified with the 2020 release of “Borat Subsequent Moviefilm.” Within the first two minutes of the sequel, Borat informs us that Kazakhstan has canceled their traditional event, “the running of the Jew,” but fortunately his country still has Holocaust Remembrance Day, “when we commemorate our heroic soldiers who ran the camps.” Borat also received an award, which he stated will be “put in our national museum along with other treasure we have confiscated from Jews.” [...]

In actual fact, as many have pointed out, Kazakhstan was a haven for Jewish people during the Holocaust, not a perpetrator of it, saving thousands of Jewish lives by taking in people from Eastern Europe and other states of the U.S.S.R. Today, the country is commended by Jewish groups as a model of tolerance. It is also, notably, not a helplessly sexist nation; Save The Children ranked it higher than the United States in its list of best countries to grow up female.

This is a rather inconvenient truth for the Israeli state-building project Baron Cohen supports. Ironically, perhaps the most shocking and newsworthy case of exposing bigotry Baron Cohen has documented has never been revealed. While in character as Brüno in Jerusalem, Baron Cohen was beaten nearly to death by an enraged crowd of homophobic Israelis, who, angered by his camp and sacrilegious attire, started stoning him, on camera. Baron Cohen was reportedly “nearly killed.” Kiriakou told MintPress that Baron Cohen told him that a rabbi even spat on him. It was the only time in his career that he broke character and desperately yelled that he was an Israeli Jew, not a homosexual foreigner. The comedian fled for his life and found refuge in a nearby store bathroom. This footage has never seen the light of day. Perhaps it sends the “wrong” message.

[wheneverfeasible]

You ever think about Eddie Munson in his early 30s watching Rob Halford coming out on MTV? You ever think about Eddie, knowing he was queer but unable to come out for fear of repercussions? He’d been hunted by one mob before and he didn’t want to go through that again.

Maybe Corroded Coffin made it big. Maybe Eddie started or joined a new band. Maybe he does a solo act. Maybe he’s not famous at all and he’s living a regular life.

And then Halford comes out, and Eddie sees how the metal community accepts him, how the community embraces him, and Eddie realizes that yes it’s scary but also he wants that happiness that Halford has, that wonderful moment of coming out of the closet.

Maybe Eddie understood “Raw Deal” for what it was all along, maybe he’s always gotten the hints sprinkled here and there throughout some of the songs. Maybe he always suspected, always wondered. Sure, he lives in a podunk town in Indiana, but he’s sought out whatever information he could when he first realized he was different. He read zines and articles and listened to hushed talk in bars when he escaped Hawkins for a little while when he was younger.

You ever think about Eddie, coming out in his 30s, because even though he knows it can be dangerous, even though he knows it can go all wrong, he doesn’t want to be in the closet anymore and later he writes a letter to Halford, not really expecting him to ever read it, expressing gratitude for the courage and the strength to finally be true to himself, come what may.

Imagine Steve Harrington, adding his own little postscript, thanking him for helping him find the man of his dreams.

Years later, when it’s finally legalized and they’re both graying and a little soft around the middle, do you ever think about Eddie and Steve inviting Halford to their wedding not really expecting him to ever read it or show up if he even did?

Do you ever think about Rob Halford showing up with his own partner Tom Green and telling Eddie and Steve that they’ve been rooting for them all these years?

You ever think about Eddie, alive, happy, and loved?

Link to Halford’s interview