instead of arguing about the no-fly list and the memes it spawned, please consider donating to CAIR (Center for American Islamic Relations) or the CCR (Center for Constitutional Rights)
CAIR, specifically, is group of muslim lawyers who routinely represent muslim americans fighting for their legal rights - all for free
both groups have already won multiple cases for muslim americans who have been wrongfully profiled and surveilled by the government, and they’ve announced plans to take even broader legal initiative to protect our rights. it’s because of their work thus far that the supreme court recently ruled that muslims who have been wrongfully placed on no-fly lists are now allowed to sue the government for damages
we still have a long way to go, but organizations like these are doing so much work to make sure we get there
This is a tufted ground squirrel. IUCN Vulnerable to extinction and endemic to the island of Borneo/Kalimantan.
It has the largest tail to body size ratio of any mammal, with the tail being 130% the size of its body.
I just think everyone should see it
I feel like this bears repeating: the reason that manufacturing has moved out of the US and into other, poorer countries is that labor is less expensive in those countries, because labor laws are worse. It's cheaper for companies to produce things in Bangladesh because in Bangladesh you can pay your workers less and extract longer hours from them and generally treat them worse. This means that if you're an American who has been hurt by manufacturing moving out of the US, your most important allies are labor activists in the countries to which manufacturing has moved.
The US achieved the labor protections it did (like basic safety regulations, the 8-hour workday, and the weekend) through the work of unions and of the broad left-wing coalition that was the labor movement of the early twentieth century. These rights are among the principle reasons that labor is expensive here. If you don't want labor to be moved abroad, it is literally in your own self interest to support labor movements in poor countries where labor is cheep. If people in in places like Bangladesh had these same rights, there wouldn't be nearly the same incentive for companies to move labor out of the country.
If you're an American suffering from industrial decline in the Rust Belt, for instance, then supporting these movements isn't bleeding heart altruism, it is a policy in your rational self-interest.
A deep look at the insidious Domestic Terrorism charges of the Forest Protectors
There is only one minority “ruining this country”: The rich.
There is only one
minority “ruining
this country”: The rich.
Beep boop! I look for accidental haiku posts. Sometimes I mess up.
““The Great Pacific Garbage Patch can now be cleaned,” announced Dutch entrepreneur Boyan Slat, the wonderkid inventor who’s spent a decade inventing systems for waterborne litter collection.
Recent tests on his Ocean Cleanup rig called System 002, invented to tackle the 1.8 trillion pieces of plastic pollution, were a success, leading Slat to predict that most of the oceanic garbage patches could be removed by 2040.
Intersections of ocean currents have created the massive floating islands of plastic trash—five slow-moving whirlpools that pull litter from thousands of miles away into a single radius.
The largest one sits between California and Hawaii, and 27-year-old Slat has been designing and testing his systems out there, launching from San Francisco since 2013.
GNN has reported on his original design for the floating device, but his engineering team improved upon it. System 002, nicknamed “Jenny,” successfully netted 9,000 kilograms, or around 20,000 pounds in its first trial.
It’s carbon-neutral, able to capture microplastics as small as 1 millimeter in diameter, and was designed to pose absolutely no threat to wildlife thanks to its wide capture area, slow motion, alerts, and camera monitors that allow operators to spy any overly-curious marine life…
Slat estimates ten Jennies could clean half the garbage patch in five years, and if 10 Jennies were deployed to the five major ocean gyres, then 90% of all floating plastic could be removed by 2040.” -via Good News Network, 10/19/21
Ea-Naṣir Reassures Two Men (UET V 72)
In this unpublished tablet, held by the British Museum, we find the copper merchant Ea-Naṣir and his associate Ilushu-illassu writing to a couple of men to reassure them. Although the situation is missing some context, there are some real gems in the context of the famous letter to Ea-Naṣir.
- One of the men intimidating the recipients is named Mr. Shorty (kurûm).
- Ea-Naṣir complains that people don’t believe him.
- Ea-Naṣir mentions giving “the ingots that we talked about” to someone.
- The repeated encouragements — “don’t be scared!” “don’t be critical!” “don’t worry!” — sound a lot like Ea-Naṣir is trying to reassure someone that a situation hasn’t gone sideways (but it has).
…
Say to Shumun-libshi and the Zabardabbû: [1]
Ea-Naṣir and Ilushu-illassu say:
As for the situation with Mr. “Shorty” and Erissum-matim, who came here, don’t be scared.
I made them enter the temple of the Sun-God and take an oath. They said, “We didn’t come about these matters; we came for our businesses.”
I said, “I will write to them” — but they didn’t believe me!
He said, “I had a quarrel with Mr. Shumun-libshi.” He said, “[…] to his partner. I took, and you did not […] You didn’t give to me.”
Within 3 days, I’ll come to the city of Larsa.
Also, I spoke with Erissum-matim and said, “What is your sign?” [2]
I said to the kettle-maker (?), “Go with Ilum-gamil the Zabardabbû, and take the shortfall for me, and put it in the city of Enimma.”
Also, don’t neglect your […].
Also, I have given the ingots that we talked about to the men.
P.S. Don’t be critical! Get the […] from them! Don’t worry! We’ll come to you. [3]
sup y’all, new ea-nasir lore just dropped
wait so does “Ea-Naṣ︎ir” mean it’s been pronounced nashir all this time? where is that coming from?! (I’m only basing this on Sanskrit romanisation using ṣ︎ as a soft sh so I’ve no idea of the context here but)
In Akkadian transliteration, “ṣ” means a “ts” sound. So his name is pronounced “E-a-nat-SEAR.” (It comes from the verb naṣāru, “to guard, to watch over,” so it means “The god Ea watches over [him].”)
Guys look at this GIANT millipede!! Free pattern from Projectarian! 🐛✨
Definitely want to make one myself!
OH MY GOD. A MILLIPEDE BIG ENOUGH FOR ME TO HUG.....HOLY FUCKING SHIT
Want to learn something new in 2022??
Absolute beginner adult ballet series (fabulous beginning teacher)
40 piano lessons for beginners (some of the best explanations for piano I’ve ever seen)
Basic knitting (probably the best how to knit video out there)
Pre-Free Figure Skate Levels A-D guides and practice activities (each video builds up with exercises to the actual moves!)
How to draw character faces video (very funny, surprisingly instructive?)
Playing the guitar for beginners (well paced and excellent instructor)
Playing the violin for beginners (really good practical tips mixed in)
Color theory in digital art (not of the children’s hospital variety)
Retake classes you hated but now there’s zero stakes:
Calculus 1 (full semester class)
Learn basic statistics (free textbook)
Introduction to college physics (free textbook)
Introduction to accounting (free textbook)
Learn a language:
Japanese (grammar guide) (for dummies)
Russian (pretty good cyrillic guide!)
Want to learn something new in 2023??
Cooking with flavor bootcamp (used what I learned in this a LOT this year)
Learn Interior Design from the British Academy of Interior Design (free to audit course - just choose the free option when you register)
How to ride a bike (listen. some of us never learned, and that's okay.)
How to cornrow-braid hair (I have it on good authority that this video is a godsend for doing your baby niece's black hair)
Making mead at home (I actually did this last summer and it was SO good)
Basics of snowboarding (proceed with caution)
How to draw for people who (think they) suck at art (I know this website looks like a 2003 monstrosity, but the tutorials are excellent)
Pixel art for beginners so you can make the next great indie game
Go (back) to school
Introduction to Astronomy (high school course - free textbook w/ practice problems)
Principals of Economics (high school course - free textbook w/ practice problems)
Introduction to philosophy (free college course)
Computer science basics (full-semester Harvard course free online)
Learn a language
Japanese for Dummies (link fix from 2022)
Portuguese (Brazil)
American Sign Language (as somebody who works with Deaf people professionally, I also strongly advise you to read up on Deaf/HoH culture and history!)
Chinese (Simplified)
Quenya (LOTR fantasy elf language)
Today’s It Could Happen Here eposide does a very good job of covering the murder of Tortuguita by the cops, the vigils and protests that followed, the arrests and ridiculous terrorism charges that took place, the absolutely dire need for more money for the Atlanta Solidarity Fund and Anti-Repression Committee and more people to flock to Atlanta and to the community that works to survive this moment and carry on the struggle.
protesters in Atlanta just got hit with $700k bail for two people who were arrested at the night of rage for Tortuguita. if you guys could donate to the Atlanta Solidarity Fund and spread the word that they need funds, that would be really helpful to the local scene, including the forest defenders who are still mourning their murdered comrade.
New spell just dropped