luonneton-blog

[luonneton-blog]

Maybe the real cut to the public service was Peter Dutton's job all along

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"Do you ever dream of land?" The whale asks the tuna.

"No." Says the tuna, "Do you?"

"I have never seen it." Says the whale, "but deep in my body, I remember it."

"Why do you care," says the tuna, "if you will never see it."

"There are bones in my body built to walk through the forests and the mountains." Says the whale.

"They will disappear." Says the tuna, "one day, your body will forget the forests and the mountains."

"Maybe I don't want to forget," Says the whale, "The forests were once my home."

"I have seen the forests." Whispers the salmon, almost to itself.

"Tell me what you have seen," says the whale.

"The forests spawned me." Says the salmon. "They sent me to the ocean to grow. When I am fat with the bounty of the ocean, I will bring it home."

"Why would the forests seek the bounty of the oceans?" Asks the whale. "They have bounty of their own."

"You forget," says the salmon, "That the oceans were once their home."

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The nature of academic sociology is that I am constantly beefing with dead frenchmen

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And also, Death of the Author is one of many different approaches to literary analysis- it is not the only one, and it is not inherently better than other forms!

Within the Death of the Author framework, your analysis is expected to be entirely divorced from the authorial intent and context. In some specific circumstances, this can be useful- but authorial intent and context is really really important for understanding why the author makes the choices they make.

Artistic choices are not made in a vacuum- both the author and the reader are products of their circumstances. This is undeniable.

When we ignore the intent, the ideologies, the context which underlies the creation of the text, we make ourselves the ideal targets of propaganda. No need to question why the author chose to associate a villain with certain traits, a hero with others- that’s just The Text, as it is. The interpretation is purely subjective- while the subconscious assumptions are assimilated.

bat at hornets nest maybe but "there is no ethical consumption under capitalism" refers to low income communities needing to choose between survival vs being eco friendly. not you continuing to watch the harry potter movies

[luonneton-blog]

bat at hornets nest maybe but "there is no ethical consumption under capitalism" refers to low income communities needing to choose between survival vs being eco friendly. not you continuing to watch the harry potter movies

[luonneton-blog]

The way I see it, whether or not the Federation deals with Section 31 is the dividing line between Utopianism and becoming something along the lines of the Borg- Section 31 believe that the ideals of the Federation- post-scarcity egalitarianism, total cooperation between all species, cultural melting pot, peace etc are worthy goals- but they don’t hold themselves to those same standards, as they are defined by a machiavellian Ends Justify The Means ideology in which they believe they can achieve the Federation’s utopian end-goal by undercutting the rights of the individual and of minority groups in the Federation. In other words- “We will add your biological and technological distinctiveness to our own. Your culture will adapt to service us.”

A damning depiction of this is in one of the abandoned ideas from the DS9 series 7 writing room- that Section 31 would attempt to undermine and eventually destroy the Bajoran religion, in order to push them into joining the Federation.

I simply cannot stand how current Star Trek treats Section 31 as some hypothetical moral quandary.

“What if we needed a secret extrajudicial organization to commit crimes to protect us?” We already had one, it was the Cold War CIA, and do you know what it did? It instigated holy wars. It installed dictators. It authorized kill squads to make goods just a little bit cheaper. You’re asking a question that has already been answered and the answer was “When you give people a lot of power, zero accountability, a mission statement of doing awful things for ‘the right reasons’, and a mentality that people are either sheep to be controlled or wolves to be slain, they do not protect anyone. They just kill and hurt and destroy, and even the people they claim to protect just suffer all the more for it.”.

Section 31 was created when CIA declassifications made clear what had been done in our name and with our money. That’s why in its native DS9, its primary purpose was to be rejected as a concept and defeated by our protagonists, why the Federation has to be saved from its rampant, thoughtless cruelty. Section 31 is not a sci fi concept. It is not a “what if?”. It is an allegory for a very real organization and ideology that has harmed billions of people, that will take decades to root out and further decades, possibly even centuries, to heal from. It is evil, it was modeled on evil, and the impulse to defend or lighten it is not a politically neutral one. It has no place in the Star Trek future, just as it’s real world equivalents have no place in our society, and anyone who says otherwise is deceiving you or themselves.

Portraying Section 31 as morally grey or worse, necessary, is a lie. It is repackaged military propaganda used to justify and whitewash its real world equivalents by creating a fantasy where such an organization is anything but evil, to make it easier to sell that same fantasy in real life. I can accept and even enjoy moral quandaries and flawed characters in Star Trek. I will not accept being lied to.

[luonneton-blog]

[luonneton-blog]

behold. A dire wolf

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Ma kardan, et eesti oleks ameerika järgmine sihtmärk. Iga päev ma näen uudisteartikleid inglise keeles- patroneerivad asjad nagu “Mis on, see väike maakene, kust EU kõrge esindaja pärit on?”

Ja nad ütlevad nii palju ilma kontekstita, ilma ajaloota- “Oh, nii huvitav, seal on palju venelasi! Oh, kahju, vaesed kallid on kurvad, sest eestlased ei räägi nendega vene keeles :(“

Ja kommentaarides on sadu ühendriigilased, kes mõtlevad “Noh! Ma lugesin esimest lõiku, ja nüüd olen suurim ekspert maailmas :) :)”

Pool on Trumpi-fänn fašistid, kes arvad, et Kaja Kallas on barrikaad Ameerika Firsti ideoloogia vastu, ja tema maa peaks anastatud olla.

Teine pool on suuremad hüpokriitid maailmas- inimesed, kes arvad, et Putin on vasak-kangelane- nad nimetavad ennast “Anti-Colonial” ja “Leftist”, aga nad usuvad, et Nõukogude Liit oli utoopia igaühele, et Venemaa on sotsialist- ja et iga põlisrahvas vene impeeriumis on ebapuhtad degenereerunud natsid. (Nad ei märka irooniat, et see idee kaasasündinud ideoloogiast on ju. V ä g a natsiline)

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I genuinely think we are seeing a mass radicalisation movement across all sides of the political spectrum- but not a consistent one. Every day I’m seeing people who are *ostensibly* leftists radicalise themselves into ultra-far-right political positions, with absolutely no sense of critical self-awareness.

This is not horseshoe theory- none of the problems are in any way related to their politics being “too left wing”- it is hypocrisy, pure and simple. It comes from people seeing “Leftist” as an identity, rather than a set of ideals and actions. I would go so far as to say that it’s exactly the same thing that happened to the Bolsheviks, to the Chinese Communist Party, et cetera.

People going “Well I *know* that I’m a Leftist, so any action I do is inherently a Leftist one” without interrogating it.

As someone who has spent several years researching the ways in which Calvinist theology forms a breeding ground for Fascism, I’ve gotta say. It’s the Same Fucking Thing

What the hell is the deal with the hypocrisy and dehumanisation in so many ostensibly progressive groups?

It really feels like you follow a leftist who fights for the human rights, dignity, and self-determination of Palestinians, Arabs, Indigenous Americans, Black people- but not Eastern Europeans, Indigenous Russians, or persecuted minorities in Asia, because “Uhhhhhh they’re inherently evil”

And then you follow a leftist who fights for the latter group, and then they go “Uhhhh but Palestinians of course are inherently evil”

Hear me out, how about don’t be a fucking hypocrite! Dignity and human rights are for everyone, you don’t get to pick and choose!

[luonneton-blog]

What the hell is the deal with the hypocrisy and dehumanisation in so many ostensibly progressive groups?

It really feels like you follow a leftist who fights for the human rights, dignity, and self-determination of Palestinians, Arabs, Indigenous Americans, Black people- but not Eastern Europeans, Indigenous Russians, or persecuted minorities in Asia, because “Uhhhhhh they’re inherently evil”

And then you follow a leftist who fights for the latter group, and then they go “Uhhhh but Palestinians of course are inherently evil”

Hear me out, how about don’t be a fucking hypocrite! Dignity and human rights are for everyone, you don’t get to pick and choose!

[luonneton-blog]

Just nägin seda instagrammis- Konstantin Päts???

todays bad map says there are 1000 castles in estonia.

and ok. i have zero idea how they got that number. you know how i know that? i googled it. there are between 40-50, depending on whether you count hillforts as castles or not. and when you google "how many castles are in estonia" nothing close to 1000 comes up

but i thought, well, perhaps theyre confused, and they count mõisad as castles? but theres not a thousand mõisad in estonia either

so i have no idea what happened here. but i see in russia, they count saint basils cathedral as a castle?? and its a church???

im wondering what happened, i think they count "castle" as "building that looks cool." happy bad maps march

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a whole bunch of gazan mutual aid projects and nonprofits. if the decision of which individual fundraiser to give to feels too daunting, or if you just want to help as many people as possible in one go, these are great initiatives to support.

care for gaza - focuses on providing food and essential supplies. donate here or here.

connecting humanity - securing internet access via donations of virtual sim cards (esims). if you can't afford a whole plan yourself, crips for esims is a communal pool that will use your donation to purchase and maintain esims

gaza soup kitchen - provides food, medical care, and classes for children. also has a gofundme

glia gaza medical support initiative - provides medical care through field clinics and tents at hospitals. donations can also be sent through their website.

ele elna elak - provides clean water, food, clothing, and shelter. they also have a gofundme

life for gaza - raising money for the gaza municipality to repair water and waste management infrastructure

taawon - partners with local civil organizations to provide food, water, medical care, shelter, and basic supplies

the sameer project - running various initiatives providing tents, medical care, and necessities. they have their own encampment project focused on sheltering families with children, sick and disabled members, or members in need of perinatal care

islamic relief worldwide's gaza emergency appeal - provides food, water, hygiene kits, medical supplies, and psychological support

baitulmaal - provides a variety of necessities, including food, water, shelter, and medical supplies

gaza mutual aid fund - distributes food, hygiene products, water, and other essential supplies, including financial support. run by @/el-shab-hussein's amazing friend Mona. updates can be found on her instagram.

hygiene kits for gaza - provides hygiene supplies including menstrual products, wipes, and toothbrushes/toothpaste

anera - provides a variety of necessities, including food, water, hygiene supplies, medicine, blankets and mattresses, and psychological care

palestine children's relief fund - provides supplies and support with a focus on children. also has an initiative for lebanon

dahnoun mutual aid - provides water, food, tents, baby supplies, financial support, and other necessities. updates can be found through their instagram

certainly this is not an exhaustive list, so please feel free to add on other projects or organizations that i didn't include. and as always, please take the time to donate if you can and share. it truly makes all the difference.

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The Israeli occupation has renewed its bombing of the Gaza Strip in a very violent manner, killing nearly 500 people since the morning hours.

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Miks on soome keel just…. Ned Flandersi eesti keel?

“Haudi diiddeli dyyddeli, naaborainen!” type keel. Naeruväärne.

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sorry for shooting your dog with a crossbow you have to understand Im american our education system is in the gutter most of us were never taught that killing peoples beloved pets with medieval projectile weaponry is wrong and we're all too burnt out to research it on our own time

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Exceedingly rare auspol W