#Disabled quota appointment

[mariacallous]

Mexico is in the throes of its first presidential campaign with two women leading the race. Former Mexico City Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum and former Sen. Xóchitl Gálvez top polls ahead of the June 2 general elections, virtually guaranteeing that the country will soon inaugurate its first female head of state.

It is a milestone both for Mexico and for Latin America. Countries across the region have embraced mandatory gender quotas in public offices, and none with more fervor than Mexico. A 2019 constitutional reform mandated that elected and appointed positions at all levels of government must be gender-balanced. As a result, political parties looked to women to fill senior candidate slots.

Sheinbaum has at least a 15 percent advantage over Gálvez in most recent polls. But even the third-ranking, male presidential candidate Jorge Álvarez Máynez reflects the reach of Mexican feminism: He chose a veteran feminist politician, Patricia Mercado, to coordinate his platform for part of the campaign; Mexican magazine Quién called her the “third woman” in the race.

Although they stand for different political ideologies—Sheinbaum represents the governing left-leaning Morena party, Gálvez heads a more pro-market opposition alliance, and Álvarez fronts a centrist group—the candidates agree on many gender-related issues.

All three say they support the Mexican Supreme Court’s 2023 decision to decriminalize abortion in federal health centers. They also promise to launch a publicly funded system to provide different types of care work and pledge to reduce gender-based violence. In Mexican politics today, openly criticizing feminism usually leads to candidates “being canceled on social media and losing votes,” abortion rights lawyer Ninde Molina told Foreign Policy.

Still, Molina and many other activists are approaching the milestone election with a mindset of determination rather than euphoria. The fact that a politician is a woman “does not guarantee that she is a democrat or a defender of human rights” or feminist principles, Molina wrote for Este País this month.

According to Molina, the woman presidential candidates have shied away from offering detailed stances on abortion during the campaign, other than to support the Supreme Court decision. The same goes for Álvarez. That nuance matters because 19 of Mexico’s 32 federal jurisdictions have yet to decriminalize the procedure. Many public hospitals don’t offer abortions even where they are legal, Molina added, and Mexico’s public health care system is often short on abortion pills.

The candidates have been more specific about their plans to combat gender-based violence. All three pledged to create new violence prevention programs and strengthen prosecutors’ capacity to investigate femicides.

As Mexico City mayor, Sheinbaum carried out similar policies on the local level, Mexican doctoral candidate Ana Sofía Rodríguez Everaert wrote in a profile of the politician for Foreign Policy. These included staffing prosecutors’ offices with female lawyers trained to work from a gendered perspective. During Sheinbaum’s tenure, lethal violence in the capital fell by 32 percent, according to estimates made by feminist group Intersecta.

Plans for a national care system endorsed by all three candidates, meanwhile, have advanced in Mexico’s congress but not yet become law. Broadly, the program would devote more public money to funding care workers and facilities for newborns, children, the elderly, and disabled people. It would also reorganize existing day-care, disability, and pension systems to allow people without formal work contracts to pay for and receive care.

When it comes to feminist demands in Mexico, there is significant consensus—including on the ideological right, political scientist Mónica Tapia told Foreign Policy. The challenge is translating that agenda into results. “Our big lesson learned here in Mexico is that parity is necessary, but not sufficient” to advance progressive gender goals, Tapia said.

To help promote lasting change, Tapia helped co-found Aúna, a group that recruits and trains female candidates for political office who are committed to a range of policies intended to reduce gender and economic inequalities and boost environmental protection.

Aúna has coached candidates from both left-wing and right wing-parties; some have later cooperated on legislation while serving in the Mexico City government. Aúna is inspired by similar initiatives for women and nontraditional candidates in the United States, Colombia, and Brazil. Fifty Aúna candidates are running in the June 2 elections at the legislative and gubernatorial level.

While parity requirements have helped lead Mexico to its symbolic presidential election, Tapía said, “a wider ecosystem” of activists is moving feminist demands forward across the country.

[copperbadge]

Just in case you haven’t stumbled across this fact elsewhere, you should be aware that pharmacies are often out of adderall and it has nothing to do with the pandemic. Or, at least, it USUALLY has nothing to do with the pandemic.

My understand is that there are multiple and fluctuating reasons for this, all stemming from the fact that the drug is highly regulated, and—yes—all of them at the expense of the people who actually need the meds. That said, the most consistent explanation I’ve received from more than one pharmacist over the years is that they’re limited in the number they can actually stock at a time, and demand exceeds that quota.

Yes, this is rage inducing. It’s also been a problem since the early aughts and I don’t see it going away, though it’s improved somewhat.

I recommend talking to your pharmacist and finding out whether this is a consistent problem at your pharmacy specifically. It can also help to have your psychologist reach out to your pharmacy ahead of time and confirm the meds are available—if not, there may be a generic available that they can prescribe instead. You can also see whether it’s possible to get your prescription a few days early, just in case.

Yeah there are some yikesy stories in my comments about access to Adderall and the other stimulant-side drugs for ADHD. It does seem to be a combination of "can't stock much at once" and "can't refill your prescription for you until two days before it needs it" and "But so like...are you an addict?" It's the typical bar to entry that people with disabilities face getting medication -- which I was prepared for, given I know people who struggle to get their meds each month and I've handled a lot of RFM issues surrounding them as well. I was honestly braced to spend several days getting that initial prescription filled, I was shocked when it just...went through.

In multiple ways I'm fortunate -- I don't face physical access issues, and I've spent long enough without the meds that I'm capable of wrangling the prescription without having to be ON the prescription. Like, I was actually able to fairly easily call the pharmacy about the length of delay, and that seemed to spur them into locating at least sixty of the little blue fuckers. I am also a middle class white guy in my forties, so I don’t get profiled as drug-seeking. 

I've booked out my psych appointments so that I'll generally see him on day 32 of a 30 day prescription, and my diagnosis is mild enough that there are days where I feel the meds wearing off and go "Well, I'm ok without the second dose" so even my first 30-day supply lasted me 40 days. Next session I may speak to him about the automated mailed-to-home service that his clinic is partnered with and if that would simplify matters -- a genuine question given the recent scandals about some of those services overprescribing.

The most common thing I've heard -- here and from other people outside of tumblr -- is that a lot of people have convinced their prescriber that they need a slightly higher dose than they do, so they can get a 30-day supply of 20mg doses and split them, thus turning it into a 60-day supply of their actual dose which they can stockpile. Which is ripe for a satirical novel of some kind, because while none of the people I'm talking to are addicts, they're forced to behave like addicts in order to maintain a consistent supply of a necessary disability aid. I don't think I'm the one to write it -- at any rate, not yet -- but there's content in the idea of our cultural fear of addiction being so epic and hallucinatory that we actually force people into addictive behaviors because you can't exist as a disabled person within the letter of the law.

[b-blushes]

let me be a hater for a second. every stupid day at the moment i'm taking background stupid psychic damage from 2 stupid life things:

i need to take some returns to the post office but my uhhh disability-limited 'leaving the house once per week unless i want to get So Sick™' quota has been full for as long as i remember (like i never have any 'free' time i'm always recovering or resting to be able to do the next thing for months and months and months and months and years) and i gotta go to the dr tomorrow (on a saturday!!) and be well enough to go to the dentist in the middle of next week so it's gonna be at LEAST another week at the latest (if i can squeeze it in between the hospital appointment i have the week after which my dad is taking me to so i don't have to drive) and these packages are HAUNTING ME. and it's really hard to ask my parents to take it for me bc the post office is licherally 5 minutes away. it's fine i'll figure it out i'll probably just take them next week if i'm not too sick from the dentist but ARGH.

recycling here SUCKS and once again due to the 'hey uhhh ~extravagant~ activities such as going out are illegal for you btw unless they're super rationed due to the Disabilities' quota i have been collecting 'recycle with bags at the supermarket' plastics in my car boot for literal months because i can't *go* to the supermarket to do my shopping i have to get it delivered because i am physically unable to do a weekly shop. and because i can't get to the supermarket i can't take my stupid recycling that has to go to a special place!!!!!!!!! MY CAR IS FULL! and i am dreading the time when i actually do figure out being able to go because 1) supermarket 2) i have no joke a full trolley's worth of recycling by now which is weird as hell (luckily you're allowed to be weird but still) so i will have to roll up like Plastics Georg and 3) the recycling place moves within the store so i have to ask the security guard where the hell i am going. and 4) i'm a hater of the whole situation.

sorry for my absolutely rancid vibes i am being tormented by being so sick forever. BUT we stay silly :3

[italian-wall-lizard]

here's my two cents on the recent overturning of roe vs wade:

as i'm guessing all of you know, roe vs wade is a law protecting abortion rights throughout the country (supported by 67% of people living in america), recently overturned after fifty years by these five shitbag "pro-lifers" of the supreme court (with, might i add, an average age of 61), three of which were appointed by our former president, donald trump:

amy coney barrett (nominated by trump): the woman who was appointed by trump in october 2020, going against ruth bader ginsburg's dying wish to wait until the election was over to replace her- also worth mentioning that she didn't know the five rights of freedom in the first amendment of the constitution

clarence thomas: an accused rapist who recently said that in light of the roe vs wade overturning, they should reconsider the laws protecting gay marriage, gay relations, and contraception i.e. birth control, plan b, condoms, etc

samuel alito: accused of sexually abusing a 14 year old, as well as writing against the majority opinion in the obergefell vs hodges case in 2015 (the one that legalized gay marriage). he also suggested that the reason that a team of nearly all white firefighters were denied promotions because of a plot between the mayor of new haven and a black preacher, which just. what

brett kavanaugh (appointed by trump): accused three times of sexual misconduct, one of which was him thrusting his penis at a girl while drunk at a party at yale, another of which he forced a different girl down on a bed, groped her, tried to take her clothes off, and covered her mouth so she couldn't scream for help until another man came into the room and stopped it

neil gorsuch (appointed by trump): voted in favor of the thompson r2-j school district in the thompson r2-j school district vs luke p. case, which was essentially the school district refusing to provide reimbursement for denying luke, an autistic boy, the education that he needed to be able to, quote, "generalize his skills", as well as voting in favor of UPS in the strickland vs UPS case which was when carole strickland accused UPS of being sexist towards her for making her attend one on one meetings with the supervisor telling her to do better even though she made 93-104% of her sales quota and there were many other people (men) in the office who were making less of their sales quota, not denied assistance when they made less than 100% of their sales quota, never called in to have meetings with their supervisor, and weren't counselled at all for poor performance

these five near corpses have made a single decision that will ruin the lives of millions of women (or anyone with a uterus) for decades. these so called pro-lifers are SO pro-life that they've decided that instead of letting you abort a literal fetus who cannot think or feel, they'll wait until the kid goes to school and let mass shooters kill them off because they refuse gun-control. these so called pro-lifers are so incredibly pro-life that they won't do anything to fix the dozens of problems in the foster care system. these so called pro-lifers won't provide paid maternal leave or free healthcare so that the mother doesn't have to work her ass off to pay for having the goddamn baby you forced her to have. these so called pro-lifers will force you to have a baby and say they care about it, until the baby's gay. or trans, or black, or jewish, or disabled, or anything that isn't a straight white christian abled conservative man. "but if the mother's life is in danger then they'll be able to get an abortion!" did you know that the only states to have an "exception" for abortion if the mothers life is in danger are texas, louisiana, idaho, and oklahoma? the laws state that in texas an abortion can happen if it is a "medical emergency", in louisiana it states that an exception could happen if there could be "death or a substantial risk of death", in idaho it states that an exception could happen if it would "prevent the death of a pregnant woman", and oklahoma states that an exception could happen if it was "in a medical emergency". all of these laws are so incredibly vague that it makes me want to slap the governor's of these states across the face. how about if a woman had a 20% chance of dying, texas? is that enough of an emergency for you? because the chance is never 0%, and it's never 100%. it seems to me that these lawmakers are so "pro-life" that they don't care that over 800 women die from maternity related incidents every YEAR. that's not very pro-life of you, is it?

this goes directly against the first amendment. if you don't know what it is, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances." did you notice that it said "congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion"? let me put it in simple terms for the five dinosaur aged supreme court members who voted against roe; SEPARATE CHURCH FROM STATE. did you know that all five of the justices who voted to overturn roe are christian? this is not to say all christians are bad, far from it. but a hell of a lot of the political leaders who are christian sure like to reference what the second amendment says about "right to bear arms" but never seem to mention the first that tells them to get your fucking bible out of my rights. NO ONE IS FORCING YOU TO GET AN ABORTION!!!! if you think it goes against the bible, cool! don't get one! no one is forcing it onto you! if it goes against your religion, okay. that's chill, but for the people who aren't christian? or the people who are but who interpret the bible differently? they can get an abortion if they want! if in the future i want to get an abortion, i shouldnt be stopped because "well the bible says this" because i am not a christian!! i do not believe in god!! and while pro-lifers talk about what the bible says, they completely ignore that other religions exist. judaism has a law that if the mothers life is in danger, they must abort the baby because the mother's life is more important than the unborn baby's. the pilgrims came to america for religious freedom, to separate from the laws that forced them to be apart of the church of england. freedom was always supposed to be the basis of america, and that includes the right to not be christian.

you talk of what the founding fathers would say, and this is my response: the founding fathers were a bunch of old white men from the 1700s that believed in slavery and didn't have running water. before you ask what the founding fathers would have wanted, put your smart phone down. turn off your electricity. turn off running water. get rid of anything invented after 1788. now, think: these were the conditions the founding fathers were under while writing the constitution. we've made a couple inventions since 1788, no? why shouldn't we have different opinions? just because they decided they should be the ones to write a paper that controlled everything that everyone in america did doesn't mean they were good people, or even decently smart people. slavery is bad, yes? well they sure as hell didn't think so. that makes them BAD PEOPLE. let me spell it out for you if you didn't pass the third grade, which i'm guessing a lot of the justices didn't: b-a-d-p-e-o-p-l-e

this was never about "pro-life" or abortion or saving children's lives. this was always about control, money, and now we're stuck in this dystopia of a country. are you happy now, amy coney barrett? are you happy that millions of lives around the country are now in danger because you wanted to save the lives of a couple of fetuses the size of literal jelly beans with no brain power? look at what you've done. i hope you live to see the day the consequences this will cause, cause there's going to be a hell of a lot of them.

this post goes out to the thousands of women who have died from at-home abortions. you can't stop abortions, you can only ban safe ones.

[latestgovtjobnews]

South Eastern Railway seeks Indian nationals with 12th pass, experienced in music for Cultural Quota; tests included, Rs. 500 fee.

New Post has been published on https://www.jobsarkari.in/south-eastern-railway-seeks-indian-nationals-with-12th-pass-experienced-in-music-for-cultural-quota-tests-included-rs-500-fee/

South Eastern Railway seeks Indian nationals with 12th pass, experienced in music for Cultural Quota; tests included, Rs. 500 fee.

The South Eastern Railway is seeking applications from Indian nationals for recruitment against Cultural Quota vacancies in Gr.C grade. There is one vacancy available for the post of Vocal Music (Carnatic/Hindustani) and one vacancy for the post of Instrumental (Violin/Guitar/Flute/Veena/Harmonium/Sitar/Sarod). The posts are open to all candidates, with SC/ST/OBC candidates receiving age relaxation. Candidates must possess a degree/diploma/certificate in Vocal Music or Instrumental from a government recognized institute. They should also have experience in their respective disciplines and may submit proof of performance on AIR/Doordarshan and prizes won at the national level. The minimum educational qualification required is 12th (+2 stage) or its equivalent with not less than 50% marks. For NTPC categories, 50% marks are required, while SC/ST/Ex-servicemen candidates are exempt from this requirement. Candidates must be between 18-30 years of age for UR category, 18-33 years for SC/ST category, and 18-35 years for OBC category. Age relaxation is provided for various categories such as serving railway employees, widows/divorced women, persons with disabilities, ex-servicemen, and those who were domiciled in Jammu & Kashmir from 1980-1989. The application form can be downloaded from the RRC/South Eastern Railway website and must be filled out in English or Hindi using a blue/black ballpoint pen. A recent passport size photograph should be affixed to the application form and an extra photograph should be attached as well. Candidates must copy a paragraph in their own handwriting and provide two visible marks of identification on their body. The application form should be sent to the Chairman, Railway Recruitment Cell, South Eastern Railway, Kolkata-700043. The selection process includes a written test, practical demonstration, and assessment of testimonials/prizes. The written test consists of 50 objective type questions on general knowledge, arithmetic, and reasoning. There will be negative marking for wrong answers. Candidates who secure a minimum of 40% marks in the written test will be called for the practical demonstration and assessment of testimonials/prizes. The date, time, and venue of the examination will be intimated to eligible candidates. The application fee is Rs. 500 for all candidates except those belonging to SC/ST/Ex-servicemen/Persons with Disabilities, women, minorities, and economically backward classes, who must pay Rs. 250. The fee can be paid through IPO or bank draft. Candidates should ensure that they fulfill the eligibility criteria before applying for the post. The Railway Administration has the right to reject any application that does not meet the criteria. The candidates should also note that their applications may be accepted or rejected on scrutiny, and they should provide their mobile number and e-mail address for communication purposes. The selected candidates may be posted anywhere in South Eastern Railway after successful completion of all pre-appointment formalities. The jurisdiction for any legal dispute will be the Central Administrative Tribunal, Calcutta. Candidates are advised to read the employment notice carefully and submit their applications in accordance with the terms and conditions mentioned therein.

South Eastern Railway is recruiting against Cultural Quota for the year 2023-24.

The vacancies are in Gr.C grade in PB-1 Grade Pay-Rs.1900/- or level-2.

The eligibility criteria include possessing a degree/diploma/certificate in Vocal Music (Carnatic/Hindustani) & Instrumental and passing the 12th (+2 stage) or its equivalent examination.

The selection procedure includes a written test, practical demonstration, and assessment of testimonials/prizes.

The application form can be downloaded from the RRC/South Eastern Railway website.

Introduction

South Eastern Railway is recruiting against Cultural Quota for the year 2023-24.

Vacancies are in Gr.C grade in PB-1 Grade Pay-Rs.1900/- or level-2.

Eligibility criteria include possessing a degree/diploma/certificate in Vocal Music (Carnatic/Hindustani) & Instrumental and passing the 12th (+2 stage) or its equivalent examination.

Selection procedure includes a written test, practical demonstration, and assessment of testimonials/prizes.

Application form can be downloaded from the RRC/South Eastern Railway website.

Details of Vacancies

Post: Vocal Music (Carnatic/Hindustani)

Scale: Group ‘C’ I PB-1; (Rs.5,200-20,200/-) and GP Rs.1,900/- or Level-2

No. of Post: 01

Details of Vacancies (contd.)

Post: Instrumental (Violin/Guitar/Flute/Veena/Harmonium (including keyboard)/Sitar/Sarod)

Scale: Group ‘C’ I PB-1; (Rs.5,200-20,200/-) and GP Rs.1,900/- or Level-2

No. of Post: 01

Eligibility Norms

Possession of degree/diploma/certificate in Vocal Music (Carnatic/Hindustani) & Instrumental from a government recognized institute.

Experience in Vocal Music (Carnatic/Hindustani) & Instrumental in the field and performance given on AIR / Doordarshan etc.

Prizes won at the national level.

Eligibility Norms (contd.)

Educational Qualifications: 12th (+2 stage) or its equivalent examination with not less than 50% marks in the aggregate.

Age Limit: UR – 18-30 years, OBC – 18-33 years, SC/ST – 18-35 years.

Extent of Age Relaxation

Serving Railway employees: Maximum Age – UR-40 years, OBC-43 years & SC/ST-45 years.

Widows/Divorced women and women judicially separated but not remarried: Maximum Age – UR-35 years, OBC-38 years, SC/ST-40 years.

Persons with Disabilities(PwWBD): Age relaxation of 10 years in respective communities subject to production of Disability Certificate.

Ex Servicemen: Upper Age limit is relaxable for Ex-Servicemen up to the extent of service rendered in Defence Forces plus 3 years.

Persons who had ordinarily domiciled in the State of Jammu & Kashmir during the period from 01/01/1980 to 31/12/1989: Relaxation up to 5 years.

Selection Procedure

Written Test: 50 objective type questions (50 marks) relating to General Knowledge, Arithmetic, and Reasoning. Duration: 60 minutes.

Practical Demonstration: Assessment of talent in the relevant cultural discipline. (35 marks)

Assessment of Testimonials / Prizes: Assessment of talent based on testimonials/prizes. (15 marks)

Candidates equal to 5 times the number of notified vacancies will be called for performance/practical demonstration and assessment of testimonials/prizes.

Instructions for Application

Application form can be downloaded from the RRC/South Eastern Railway website.

Fill up required information in your own handwriting using blue/black ballpoint pen.

Affix a recent passport size photograph (4cm x 5cm) on the application form.

Attach a loose extra photograph with name, date of birth, and signature of the candidate written on the backside.

Send filled-in applications to the mentioned address by post or drop them in the drop box provided at the RRC office premises.

Other Terms and Conditions

Applications fulfilling all terms and conditions will be accepted, and others will be rejected.

Selected candidates may be posted anywhere in South Eastern Railway after successful completion of pre-appointment formalities.

The jurisdiction for any legal dispute will be the Central Administrative Tribunal, Calcutta.

Key Takeaways

South Eastern Railway is recruiting against Cultural Quota for the year 2023-24.

Eligibility criteria include possessing a degree/diploma/certificate in Vocal Music (Carnatic/Hindustani) & Instrumental and passing the 12th (+2 stage) or its equivalent examination.

Selection procedure includes a written test, practical demonstration, and assessment of testimonials/prizes.

Application form can be downloaded from the RRC/South Eastern Railway website.

[disabilityinsuranceforphysicians]

Best Way to Save Money on Disability Insurance

Own Occupation Disability Insurance is Expensive

If you are a physician the cost of not owning Own Occupation/Own Specialty Disability Insurance is far more expensive then cost associated with actually paying for the coverage. That being said, the cost associated with paying for the coverage isn’t cheap. From our experience, the average physician that purchased their coverage in their early 40’s is paying approximately $6,000 a year for Own Specialty coverage. This number can vary based on Age, Sex, Benefit Amounts, and Riders as well as your health history. In some cases, even the state you live in may affect the rate you pay for coverage.

Only 6 carriers offer Physicians Own Specialty/Own Occupation Disability Insurance

Ameritas – Guardian – MassMutual – Ohio National – Principal – The Standard

If you are looking for disability insurance for the first time, It’s not easy to find a Disability Broker who understands the importance of owning the Own Specialty Disability Insurance.

Through our years of working with White Coat Physicians, we’ve noticed that the majority of Physicians who come to us looking for advice after having already met with another disability broker have only been quoted between 1 and 3 of the above Own Specialty Disability carriers.

Why?

The Truth is, it’s hard for an agent to maintain appointments with more than just a couple of disability carriers. Disability Carriers want to work with agents who are going to produce business by selling their products. Often setting production quotas for agents. These production quotas control the percentage the agent is commissioned for a sale as well as the agent’s ability to maintain their appointment to sell products for the carrier. With only a few million physicians in the United States, the market for selling disability insurance is very small which makes it very difficult for an agent to submit enough business to each carrier. This results in the majority of brokers only presenting to their physician clients the carriers they have the strongest relationship with.

If you’ve ever met with one of these brokers, you may have noticed your broker had made statements suggesting that one carrier is stronger or better than another at paying claims. This just isn’t true. The facts are that the above carriers pay claims without hassle for qualifying disabilities, but sadly brokers often need us to think otherwise in order to drive more business to a carrier that might not be the best option for you based on price.

We don’t necessarily blame the brokers for this, we blame the carriers. Carriers don’t want to compete on price – so they do everything in their power to work with Agents/Brokers who will push their product regardless of cost.

Even here at White Coat Insurance Group, we show our clients a quote from every carrier side by side. Our willingness to do this has resulted in some of the above-named Insurance carriers going as far as to demand we cease and desist showing the physician consumer all the available disability options side by side.

We are strong advocates for the purchase of Own Specialty/Own Occupation Disability insurance to our physician clients. We recognize that 6 carriers offer an excellent Own

Specialty Disability Product. We also are aware that some carriers are priced better than others for a definition of Own Specialty that is exactly the same, so what’s wrong with showing our clients all 6 of them so you can make an educated decision on what’s best for you? Nothing!

The Best Way for a physician to save money on Disability Insurance is to shop for quotes from all 6 carriers and compare them side by side.

Make sure you work with an agency like ours that will quote you all the available options from the 6 different carriers who offer Own Specialty Disability Insurance. Just through shopping, our clients save about 30% a year on their premiums for life.

Discounts may be available from certain carriers based on Hospital affiliations or professional association affiliations.  Make sure you let your agent know about your affiliations in order to maximize your savings.

Disability Insurance is a product you will be paying for throughout your entire career and the cost may seem expensive. Work with an Agency like ours who will shop the rates and discounts from all the available carriers to ensure you are getting the best value for your money.

Remember, the cost of not owning disability insurance is far more expensive than paying for it. Let us help you compare all the options and show you how to save up to 50% a year on your premiums just through shopping.

[careerjobs92]

Wildlife Jobs-Govt Jobs-BSc Jobs-Supervisor Jobs

Wildlife Jobs-Govt Jobs-BSc Jobs-Supervisor Jobs

Wildlife Jobs-Govt Jobs-BSc Jobs Wildlife Jobs. GOVERNMENT OF THE PUNJAB PUNJAB WILDLIFE & PARKS DEPARTMENT SITUATION VACANT The applications are invited from the candidates having domiciles of Punjab Province to fill the following post under 3% disable quota on regular basis. Vacant Post: Wildlife Supervisor Qualification: BSC Zology Age: 20 to 25 Years Appointing Authority: Director General,…

[tezlivenews]

कार्रवाई : विकलांग कोटे से नियुक्त 173 शिक्षकों की नौकरी पर लटकी तलवार

कार्रवाई : विकलांग कोटे से नियुक्त 173 शिक्षकों की नौकरी पर लटकी तलवार

बेसिक शिक्षा परिषद के स्कूलों में काम करने वाले 173 दिव्यांग शिक्षकों की नौकरी पर तलवार लटक रही है। ये शिक्षक आज तक कभी मेडिकल बोर्ड के सामने सत्यापन के लिए आए ही नहीं। अब इन शिक्षकों को लखनऊ सीएमओ… Source link

[funkytoes]

it’s just,,, Mind Boggling to me that there are people out there my age with like, their life more put together than me--and that’s not saying anything, cause like, my life is not put together at all but still i?? can’t fathom that there are people around my age who are like, at ALL put together and got their life in order in any LITTLE WAY--hat’s off to y’all share your secrets i’m jealous

[hatari-translations]

can you maybe tell us a bit more about the parties in icelandic politics? that is super interesting for me after reading your last post

Well, sure! Please bear in mind that as you may have gathered I am not unbiased, and I'm by no means the most knowledgeable person about this.

Sjálfstæðisflokkurinn (The Independence Party)

Originally founded in 1929, this party's name originally referred to independence from Denmark (achieved in 1944), but today it's just Iceland's dominant right-wing party. On other countries' scales they're fairly center-right in terms of policies; they want a strong welfare system, they're pro-immigration, they're not against LGBT rights, etc. However, they are very much the party of Iceland's rich elite establishment, and in particular have close ties to Iceland's largest corporations, and every other political scandal involves them being varying degrees of terrible, from "Independence Party minister breaking COVID restrictions" to "Independence Party minister in the Panama Papers" to "Independence Party minister's father signs a letter to 'restore the honor' of a convicted pedophile" (these three were all the same minister, who by the way still leads the party and is still finance minister) to "terrible corrupt fishing company Samherji introduced the Independence Party's health minister as 'our guy in the government' at meetings with the Namibian officials they were bribing".

The Independence Party opposes the new constitution, ostensibly because blah blah stability distractions about how changes to the constitution need to be approved through the appropriate process (yes, we know, we want that process to happen), but we all know it's really because the new constitution would have the fishing companies pay a fair price for their access to Iceland's natural resources, and that would be bad for their bottom line. They are also opposed to joining the EU.

The Independence Party has been the largest party in every single Icelandic election since it was founded except the 2009 one (which was right on the heels of another scandal - believe me, I barely scratched the surface above - as well as the 2008 financial crisis), where they managed to dip below the Social-Democratic Alliance with 23.7% of the vote, their lowest parliamentary election result ever. Historically they'd get upwards of 40% or even more of the vote; these days it's more like 25%, and this election's result of 24.4% is their second lowest ever. Even in polls days right after a huge scandal, the lowest I've ever seen the Independence Party poll at was something like 19%; that's why I've said here that 20% of the country will just vote for them no matter what. This means the Independence Party is always the most powerful party, and them not being in the government coalition is very much the exception.

Framsóknarflokkurinn (The Progressive Party)

Iceland's oldest political party, founded in 1916. Originally it was the farmers' party, and they've historically been most popular in rural areas, where they have longstanding loyalty. They're more or less center to center-right. Historically, they've formed coalitions with both the right and the left, but particularly in the past few decades they have been glued to the Independence Party in particular. They have occasional particular pet issues that they latch onto, but overall it doesn't really feel like they stand for much of anything in particular, other than wanting to maintain the status quo and be in government with (preferably) the Independence Party. They are also against the new constitution and the EU.

Vinstrihreyfingin - grænt framboð (The Left-Green Movement)

Founded in a 1999 split on the left, the Left-Greens are a left-wing party with a focus on equality and the environment, but with enough of a semi-conservative bent to have some common ground with Independence and Progressives on matters like opposing EU membership and being hesitant about the Constitutional Committee's draft constitution. A lot of their voters were very unhappy with them entering into the current coalition with the Independence Party and the Progressive Party (the former in particular); two of their MPs actually left the party after that decision, reducing but not destroying the government's majority.

Samfylkingin (The Social-Democratic Alliance)

Founded in 2000 as a fusion of two parties (hence the 'alliance'), the Social-Democratic Alliance is a center-left social democratic party. They were very popular in the early 2000s, almost rivaling the Independence Party for votes, and formed a coalition government with Independence in 2007, which oversaw the 2008 financial crisis; initially people mostly blamed the Independence Party, allowing the Alliance to become the biggest party in the 2009 election with 29.8% of the vote, but as the following coalition with the Left-Greens had to deal with the fallout of the recession, a lot of anger was directed at the Alliance too, and the party has never managed to recover since, instead hovering between 5-15% of the vote (but still stands strong in some municipal elections and currently leads the Reykjavík city council). They want to join the EU and ratify the new constitution.

Píratar (The Pirate Party of Iceland)

You may have heard of Pirate Parties before, originating with the Pirate Party of Sweden. Iceland is the only country where the Pirate Party has actually managed to get elected to the national parliament, and is an entirely serious political movement. At one point after the revelation of the Panama Papers, the Pirate Party was miraculously polling at 43%; sadly, by the time there was an actual election they'd gone down to 15%. Their primary concerns are transparency, democracy, privacy, human rights and freedoms, and "no bullshit", and among other things they want to establish a universal basic income. A lot of its founders were computer scientists and geeks of various stripes.

They refuse to be classified on the left-right scale, but in practice, their policies are strongly aligned with the leftier parties (one popular website comparing the parties on concrete policy questions for this election classed them as having 90% agreement with the Social-Democratic Alliance, 87% with the Socialists, and 83% with the Left-Greens). They are strongly in favor of ratifying the new constitution.

Miðflokkurinn (The Center Party)

After the 2008 financial crisis, the Progressive Party gained a more populist bent, led by Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson, who was prime minister from 2013 until 2016 when he was implicated in the Panama Papers. He was reluctant to resign as prime minister and fully intended to stay as the leader of the party, until the party chose to boot him and replace him with current Progressive leader Sigurður Ingi Jóhannsson; Sigmundur Davíð went off to form his own party instead, the Center Party, and took the populist arm of the Progressive Party with him. They're where most of the anti-immigration and anti-LGBTQ vote goes, and along with the People's Party, some of their MPs were implicated in "Klausturgate", a scandal where a disabled woman at a bar overheard and discreetly recorded several MPs (including Sigmundur Davíð) who were drinking together while making a variety of sexist, homophobic and ableist comments about named people including members of their own parties. The Center Party was perfectly happy to keep them on board, which really says all you need to know.

I am unendingly disappointed that the Center Party managed to scrape past the 5% threshold to get parliamentary seats this election; for a glorious moment the early numbers looked like they wouldn't. Last election they managed to get seven MPs, and then the two guys from the People's Party involved in Klausturgate joined up with the Center Party too, giving them nine, so seeing them reduced to almost nothing was still deeply pleasing.

Viðreisn (The Reform Party)

A center-right party that split off from the Independence Party in 2016, largely over the latter's opposition to the EU, while the Reform Party supports EU membership, but also because of the endless scandals, cronyism, etc. The Reform Party instead claim to be proponents of "ethical capitalism" and have so far avoided the major scandals and general douchebaggery of their parent party.

Flokkur fólksins (The People's Party)

A populist party with a primary emphasis on eradicating poverty, especially for the elderly and disabled, letting the nation reap the benefits of our fish instead of the few large fishing companies, funding health care to reduce wait times, and so on. All this is lovely in theory, but unfortunately their rhetoric then goes off into pitting the poor/elderly/disabled against immigrants, Muslims, etc. Chairperson Inga Sæland seems totally well-meaning to me off what I've seen of her (disclaimer: have not actually seen that much), but it also contains less savoury people and sentiments, as seen by two of their MPs being part of the aforementioned Klausturgate. To the party's credit, they did expel those guys, but it's not the only example of the party attracting questionable people.

Sósíalistaflokkur Íslands (The Icelandic Socialist Party)

A hardline democratic socialist party founded in 2017, with this as their first parliamentary election. It looked like they would get MPs in polls, but in the end they didn't. They're led by Gunnar Smári Egilsson, one of the original founders of free newspaper Fréttablaðið, and have a much more radical left rhetoric going on than the other lefty parties, focusing on economic equality, housing, free health care, and a shorter work week. They made some pretty controversial remarks campaigning for this election, such as suggesting replacing all the judges of the Supreme Court if they won't agree to changing the fishing quota system (the argument being that the Independence Party appointed all the judges in an organized bid to maintain the current system), but who knows if that dampened their following or something else. They also want to ratify the new constitution.

[politijohn]

Hey, my dad claims that Bernie hasn't been properly vetted and hasn't really done anything while being a senator. There's no use getting through to him but maybe you can disprove this in case others face the same arguments.

What has Bernie accomplished exclusively as a Senator?

2006 - Sanders defeats Vermont’s richest man to be elected to the U.S. Senate as an Independent. Gets endorsed by the Vermont Democratic Party and is supported by the Dem. Senatorial Campaign Committee

2007 - Sanders’ authored energy efficiency and conservation grant program passes into law. Later secures $3.2 billion in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act in 2009

2008 - Thanks to Sen. Sanders, funding for Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program doubles, helping millions of low-income Americans

2008/09 - Sanders voted against the Wall St. Bailout

2009 - Works with Chuck Grassley ® to pass amendment to an economic recovery bill preventing Wall St. banks that take taxpayer bailouts from replacing laid-off U.S. workers with exploited and poorly-paid foreign workers

2009 - Passes language in the ACA to allow states to apply for waivers to implement pilot health care systems, which allows states to adopt more comprehensive systems to cover more people at lower costs

2009 - Sanders was only 1 of 4 senators to vote against the appointment of Timothy Geithner 

2010 - Voted to overturn ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’

2010 - ACA passes, Sanders secures $12.5 billion in funding for the program which now serves more than 25 million Americans. Another $1.5 billion from a Sanders provision went to the National Health Service Corps for scholarships and loan repayment for doctors & nurses working in under-served communities

2010 - Worked with Ron Paul ® in the House to pass a measure as part of Dodd-Frank Wall Street reform bill to audit Federal Reserve, revealing how the independent agency gave $16 trillion in near zero-interest loans to big banks/businesses after ‘08 economic collapse.

2010- Sanders delivered an ​8 1⁄2–hour speech against the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010

2013 - Sanders, now chairman of Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, & backed by seniors, women, veterans, unions & disabled Americans, leads a successful effort to stop a “chained-CPI” proposal supported by Republicans and the Administration to cut Social Security & disabled veterans’ benefits.

2013 - Sanders introduces legislation to break up major Wall St. banks so large that the collapse of one could send the overall economy into a downward spiral.

2013 - Sanders’ Veterans’ Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment Act passes

2014 - A bipartisan $16.5 billion veterans bill written by Sen. Sanders, Sen. McCain and Rep. Miller is signed into law by President Barack Obama. The measure includes $5 billion for the VA to hire more doctors and health professionals to meet growing demand for care.

2015 - Sanders takes over as ranking member of Senate Budget Committee, using the platform to fight for his economic agenda for the middle class.

2015 - Sanders votes against Keystone XL pipeline, which would allow multinational corporation TransCanada to transport dirty tar sands oil from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico.

2015 - Sanders introduced legislation to expand benefits and strengthen the retirement program for generations to come. The Social Security Expansion Act was filed on the same day Sanders and other senators received the petitions signed by 2 million Americans, gathered by National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare.

2015 - Sanders, Rep. Raúl M. Grijalva (D), Rep. Keith Ellison (D) and Rep. Bobby Rush (D) introduced bills to ban private prisons [which have been 3 to 4 times as expensive with much higher rates of prisoner abuse, guard injury than government run prisons], reinstate the federal parole system and eliminate quotas for the number of immigrants held in detention.

2016 - Sanders places hold on FDA nominee Dr. Robert Califf because of his close ties to big pharma and lack of commitment to lowering drug prices. There is no reason to believe he would make the FDA work for ordinary Americans over CEOs of pharmaceutical companies

2016 - Sanders voted for the Federal Reserve Transparency Act

2017 - Sanders introduced a bill that would raise the minimum wage for federal contract workers to $15/hr

2017 - Opposed the appointment of Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court

2018/19 - Sanders’ Yemen War Resolution passes in the Senate and House

2018 - Sanders pressures Disney and Amazon to raise their minimum wage to $15/hr

2018 - Sanders introduced the Workplace Democracy Act to expand labor rights

2018 - Sanders introduced the Stop Bad Employers by Zeroing Out Subsidies (Stop BEZOS) Act to require corporations to pay for employees’ food stamps and Medicaid benefits

2020 - Sanders sponsors a bill preventing unauthorized war in Iran

Present - Sanders is a ranking member of Senate Budget Committee

Present - Sanders travels the country promoting progressive groups and causes, using the bully pulpit to elevate issues to the national level

2016 - Present- Bernie garnered enormous support among young Americans, encouraging thousands, if not millions of voters into politics

[neriad13]

I spent today fleshing out my Persephone headcanons and inventing Rapture-specific prison slang. =D

Persephone Prison Slang

Upstairs - Fontaine Futuristics, i.e. “They took him upstairs two nights ago. Ain’t seen him since.”

FF - Fontaine Futuristics, i.e. “Ay Dios mio! The ‘ol FF didn’t get that one right!”

Penthouse - the rest of Rapture, i.e. “Well...okay...maybe things are like that up in the Penthouse but here...they don’t have to be.”

Basement-level - Persephone, i.e. “So what’d you do to make it Basement-level, comrade?”

Sub-basement - Persephone’s woman’s wing, which is smaller and has less amenities than the men’s, i.e. “She’s Sub-basement. Apparently their infirmary can’t handle fourth degree burns.”

Sun - the surface, i.e. “Yeah, I’ve got two sons under the sun. I was planning to invite them down once I was settled but...well…” 

Splicy - a badly deformed splicer, i.e. “You think you’re ever gonna see sun again, splicy?”

Square - inmate who has not been notably deformed by splicing, i.e. “So, in here, you’ve got your splicys and you’ve got your squares. It’s best to stick to your own group.”

Meatpackers - infirmary workers. Best known for packing the bodies of inmates who have died of something interesting in ice, for shipment to Fontaine Futuristics for further study, i.e. “Goddamn meatpackers wouldn’t refill my morphine drip.”

Chronic - an inmate who returns to Fontaine Futuristics for product testing more often than what’s required in order to get high/satisfy ADAM cravings, i.e. “Poor guy’s a chronic now. Won’t be long before he takes the big nap.”

Matchstick - a new arrival who has never spliced before, i.e. “That matchstick you’re bunking with get burnt up yet?”

The Brig - solitary confinement, i.e. “They threw him in the brig after he dumped a load of bees on Wilson’s head.”

Big Man - Sinclair, i.e. “Plasmids, gene tonics - whatever it is, it goes through us first. The Big Man turns a profit renting us out.”

Cherry Juice - ADAM. Also shortened to ‘Juice’, i.e. “You got the juice, bucko?”

Steve - covert way of referring to EVE, i.e. “Seen Steve lately?” “Nah, he’s been gone awhile.”

Persephone Headcanons

 - Warden Weir isn’t spliced - he’s just badass. He maintains control through sheer brutality and force of personality. He regularly wades into splicer fights to break them up himself.

 - The woman’s wing is badly overcrowded and understaffed, which gave Lamb a lot more freedom to move around it than she would have otherwise. Sinclair’s plans to expand it were cancelled after control of Persephone was wrested from him. 

 - There’s a system of appeals that a prisoner can go through to attempt to secure their freedom, but most everyone knows that the paperwork gets thrown away the second you file it. A few people become obsessed with the desperate hope of getting themselves out this way but most accept that they’re going to be here for the long haul. Harold Parson appealed for years before losing hope.

 - The commissary is stocked with overpriced luxury items to tempt inmates into volunteering for product testing and can be accessed during all daylight hours. Non-slop food can also be purchased from the “Sinclair’s Deluxe Meals” menu. A lot of people stay sane by buying little luxuries for themselves now and then. But there’s a danger in falling too deeply into that mindset and needing those luxuries to get by. The more money they need, the more money they need to earn and the only way most people can earn money, they well know, is by exchanging their health and humanity at Fontaine Futuristics.

 - In the beginning, all test subjects were chosen at random, drugged and shipped off to Fontaine Futuristics. After Sinclair implemented the volunteer system, the number of involuntary testing stints dropped, but did not cease. Fontaine Futuristics sends Persephone a weekly quota they need filled, which often cannot be done with volunteers alone. Inmates are chosen based on how recently they were Upstairs, how many times they’ve tested products and how many favors the guard doing the kidnapping (usually after lights out) owes them. Old timers who have done this multiple times are pretty chill about it and try to get it over with as quickly and smoothly as possible. It’s considerably scarier for first timers, for whom they often have to break out the ether.

 - There’s a huge, overt gambling ring headed by Dodge, a former mafia don. His lackeys are always somewhere close by to facilitate bets on fights, games and cockroach races. He’s also in the business of loans. Every so often, after a fight caused by a gambling dispute or a mysterious death happens, there’s a crackdown on his business, but it never lasts. After all, a good chunk of the prison staff are in his pocket too.

 - The Persephone economy is entirely cash-based, in order to facilitate spending in the commissary. Everyone has a spot where they hide their savings and they can usually whip out a wad of cash from nowhere at a second’s notice. Stealing from a cell in which its occupant is not present is considered to be an action of the lowest parasitical caliber. But beating up the occupant and then taking their things is fine, as they did earn the things with the sweat of their brow.

 - Persephone is home to common thieves, murderers and grifters, but a not-insignificant part of the population are political prisoners who have been jailed for their outspoken Collectivist views. These are the ones who try to make Persephone a better place than the one they were exiled from. They help the ones who are suffering the most as best they can. They do favors without expecting recompense. When someone threatens a weaker inmate, if they are able to, they step in to help. The rare occasions they are allowed to be together are the thing that keeps them going.

  - There’s a divide between the Splicys and the Squares - partially staff mandated, partially cultural. The general rule of thumb is that the more heavily spliced someone is, the more unstable they are and the more danger they present to the general population. Splicys and Squares are generally kept in separate cell blocks. In the cafeteria, they sit at different tables. Interaction between them is minimized as much as possible. The Squares are afraid of the Splicys because in them, they see their own future. Sometimes this fear manifests as outright anger, which leads to devastating violence. Every Square knows that he’ll become a Splicy himself someday.

 - The line between Splicy and Square is not always clear and is based more on physical deformity than anything else. A Splicy could be someone whose single splice led to a very visible physical deformity. A Square could be someone who’s spliced over and over but experienced little in side effects. 

 - Not all Splicys have lost their minds. A lot of them are just disabled individuals who are now dealing with ostracization on top of everything else.There are Squares who secretly keep up contact with their friends who have gone over to the other side.

 - Plasmid Theater contestants are chosen based on who has the least messed up face. Can’t be showing the public any horrifying side effects. Every so often someone will volunteer for the job, but it tends to be a very short lived appointment, as it’s an environment where things can go wrong very, very easily.

 -  The majority of Plasmid Theater demonstrations are supposed to be non-lethal, but accidents and “accidents” are rampant. Every so often a rich investor will sponsor a lethal fight, either for fun or to witness the destructive potential of plasmids for personal security use. A prisoner is normally worth more alive than dead to Sinclair, but if the price is right, he’ll provide.

[bigskydreaming]

Thank you again and still for all the help and support! I really truly can not imagine making it through the past couple days without it, considering I spent most of it awake and in the bathroom puking from the constant migraines that come with your head not being happy about its bones not being in the right place. Stress aggravates them, or at least my awareness of them, and because of how little work there is currently and how expensive being broke and disabled in LA is, let’s just say, there’s been stress, lol.

I’m feeling a bit better today, or at least I’m making myself pretend that and act like that since I’ve got another appointment at that clinic where I get my juicy and tasty IV bags of nutrients pumped into me since I barely even CAN eat, physically, which combined with the lack of sleep and the nausea, like, also not a great combination.

So, I mean it when I say your donations and support have absolutely been invaluable, everything from a couple dollars to an anonymous message, like, its all amazing and appreciated and invaluable. Yeah. I already said that, whoops, anyway, BUT I DIGRESS.

That’s about all of an update I have there, lol, so in other news, I should be around more today since like I said, I’m feeling a bit better and have possibly plateau-ed on this latest pain level. (My super-annoying superpower....ever since I was a kid I’ve been able to adapt to increases in pain like a pro. As in, being able to manage/function despite it. Course, I still feel it, but give me a day or two to adjust to a new norm in how much my body hates me currently, and then I can power through).

So, like I said, I should be around more today, and I’ll probably be random as hell. Like I’ve mentioned before, my blog is where I spew literally everything from inane thoughts to fandom feels, since its like.....my only social outlet these past couple years and the only way I get to interact with people who aren’t doctors. Expect no pattern in topics until I find whatever sticks and keeps me focused on it enough to serve as a distraction from, y’know, the broke body and broke bank account.

SO! Absolutely feel free to hit me up about anything and everything. ESPECIALLY if you’ve made a donation or sent me something. Like, I know some people who have sent money don’t even follow me or know me at all and are just generous spirits who saw my post somewhere, but for any of you who have sent any kind of support just cuz you like, like me and my rambles, lol, totally feel free to drop into my messages even on anon and say what kind of posts or content from me you really engage with and would love to see more of. I can’t make any promises or guarantees, unfortunately, given I didn’t expect or plan on crashing so hard these last couple days, bleh, and just....literally, like, writing more of the kind of stuff or posts people who have helped me stay alive is pretty much the only way I have of kinda giving at least something back, so I mean, I am happy to pounce on anything in that direction. 

Again, just can’t make any guarantees given how unpredictable my life is and depending on how many people send requests or prompts or messages, etc, but I don’t delete anything of that nature and I usually get back around to stuff EVENTUALLY. For instance, I’m REALLY hoping to finish up two one-shots today, one that’s focused on Duke, Dick and Cass from that prompt you sent me a couple weeks ago, @zee-gee, and the other uh.....that umm, TW/X-Men fusion you commissioned way longer ago than my pride will allow me to admit in public @camelotpark, lol. And like, those posts you see me making to @russianspacegeckosexparty about the changelings project I talk about a lot, like.....Adam basically just sends me random thoughts and prompts about it all the time, and its like a running thread that’s easy for me to pick back up and sink into whenever I see a new one in my inbox and I’ve got enough spoons at the moment to dig in.

Also have a couple other things I want to respond to today while I have the energy and a destined-to-be-longer-than-it-needs-to-be meta about Dick’s positioning in narratives with various other characters and WHY I think it so usually works out that way, and I’m aiming to keep that more like....musing-esque than rant-errific, but uh, let’s see how that actually goes, lmfao.

Anyway, that’s what I have in mind for today, aside from my going to get my IV buffet at ten and emailing and calling people from listings about rooms to rent, but tbh, I might just end up being even more random and sporadic than usual, if I can’t focus on any of those long enough to stay sufficiently distracted today. (Like, my other annoying superpower as long-time followers have heard before, is my ridiculously fast metabolism. I know, “oh no, I’m so skinny, poor me,” but like....its never been about weight gain or loss for me, its about how fast my body processes various medications, meaning pretty much every painkiller I’ve ever tried is largely useless to me, or at most wears off in a couple hours.....whereas my ADHD meds actually provide me MORE relief from the pain than any of them. Basically, they let me actually focus on something OTHER than pain and not get interrupted/distracted by the occasional pain spike that likes to remind me its there and wants my attention......so I mean, I still feel everything that comes with my head being physically out of whack, but for the hours vyvanse is working for me, coupled with some heavy duty pain meds, I can like.....just sorta....not care about it for awhile. Like, it hasn’t gone away but its more shoved to the back of my mind at least. And all of that, I’m happy to stuff in a closet whenever I can, lol).

And that’s enough rambles for this post, I think. LOLOLOL, as if I have a quota. But yeah. Just wanted to express how much your support has meant and continues to mean, and like.....I’m still here and alive and crossing fingers that I’ll hear about an actual surgery date soon, but in the meanwhile like......I’m kinda stuck in a perpetual Limbo, one that’s largely confined to whatever is in hobbling distance from my bed of the day, and as much as donations help me physically, in remaining able to at least stay that way, just, any and all interactions on here help by keeping me engaged with the world on at least some level, and make it so I have stuff to think or talk about beyond my own situation and how I’m not a super huge fan of that.

(Okay, I shouldn’t say any and ALL interactions are appreciated, since I have my fun little runs of anon hate in my inbox, but I mean, all of the above is why they’re not really a big deal to me and never have been. Its like, dude, my own body has been trying to take me out for the past three years, and you think a few insults from an anonymous stranger are gonna do the trick? LOLOL, please. Tbh, the only real negative effect anon hate has on me is that it makes me a bit more snappish and quick to assume the worst than I’d like, when people @ me in a way that I misread as aggressive or in bad faith. I’m aware that my day-to-day temperment is a lot more irritable and open to fights than I usually like to be, as self-control is kinda a big deal to me, and my situation and stress and other shit kinda keep me constantly operating at a level best described as itchy, and none of that is an excuse for any times I read an interaction wrong and go for the throat. I just mean like.....I’m a very blunt and straight-forward person, and I do appreciate when people take a similar approach to me as it really helps keep those misreads to a minimum. Any time someone wants to engage with me in some way, I promise I am SO much easier to talk to if you just....put it out there, whatever it is. Its the games people play online (and in real life) that just frustrate the hell out of me and...yeah. Again, I’m not saying any of that as an excuse or a request for a free pass any time I fuck up an interaction or cross a line, I’m just saying, if anyone’s held back on interacting with me because they think I might snap at them or mistake it for them trying to start a fight, like......just be direct with me. Honestly, thats just....always gonna be more productive when it comes to me.)

But yeah. So that’s the current state of me and all that jazz. Again, I so appreciate everything everyone’s done to support me, not just these past couple days but over the course of these past three years as well. I notice and remember all of it, and its why even though I rant and complain and am critical about so much in society and fandoms and all that.....I really truly am a believer in the idea that there’s more good in people and the world than bad, and the bad just tends to be louder is all. It was especially loud for me the last couple days, the volume got way jacked up, but the goodwill from you guys has been more than enough to drown it out and give me some reprieve.

Alright, shutting up now. All done. The end.

[eldunea]

THE ATAXTE MAARI AND GALRAS’ FIRST ENCOUNTER: TWO PERSPECTIVES

What actually happened

the galra first came to the moon elves as refugees fleeing political corruption and environmental degradation in their homeland. they wanted to find an uninhabited territory to call their own. when they arrived in the great altean desert, the massive scar-shaped sandscape that cut across the planet in a jagged band, they were utterly blown away. unlike the environment of daibazaal, so polluted that even clean water was a luxury only the elite could afford, the uninhabited parts of the land had been so well-kept by the people who lived on it that it looked as though no one had ever lived there at all. they thought they had reached an incomprehensible paradise--finally, a new and perfect home waiting for them with open arms. little did they know that the land was already taken.

the leader of the galra had hijacked warships for their escape, and outfitted them to be suitable for habitation. unbeknownst to them, every spacefaring people in this sector had signed a treaty never to bring armed ships into each others’ airspace and outerspace, and so the moon elvish warriors who saw these ships immediately believed them to be a hostile foreign threat from another galactic sector looking to conquer. sensing that the fleet could easily be destroyed, they warned the galra to turn back or else be annihilated. the galra refused, and so 90% of their ships were wiped out. the other 10% were able to land, after which they were surrounded. the warriors sent to scout for survivors had donned their space armor, which served to protect against foreign agents of disease.

the moon elves were shocked to discover that their new prisoners of war were not legions of fit soldiers, but rather sick and dying families with children. the people commanding the warships had given no indication that they had been in fact harboring refugees, instead posturing as though they meant to destroy every single moon elf that stood in their way. the 10,500 or so remaining galra were immediately taken into quarantine, where they were inspected and treated. almost every single one of them carried some sort of contagion--whether it be parasites such as fleas and worms, bacteria, viruses, even prions. many would have died if not for moon elvish intervention. luckily for them, the moon elves were able to instantaneously sequence the DNA of the pathogens and parasites, and invent cures for all unknown ailments within a matter of days. development and distribution took a fair bit longer than that, and so some still died waiting for the cure. but it was fast enough to save several thousand lives, something for which the galra have never thanked their hosts.

this did not come easily, however. the elites of the galra kingdom were so corrupt and greedy that the common people either did not have access to medicine and hygiene or believed them to be unhealthy, or both. (honestly, it was a miracle that they even managed to get into space, let alone come so far from their homeworld and homestar. while the elites wasted the peoples’ money on extravagant space trips and on building warships that might one day conquer distant galaxies, many of the more isolated communities had grown up thinking outer space was just a myth.) when the moon elves attempted to bathe the galra in steamy hot water, they fought tooth and nail, thinking they were to be boiled alive. when the moon elves attempted to give treatments such as healing balms, vaccinations, pills and serums, their patients balked. some galra were particularly scared of the concept of vaccination, fearing that if pathogens were put into their bodies they would catch the disease; they were also terrified of pills, because pills resembled the bioweapons that power-hungry elites would slip in each others’ food--they contained bioengineered parasites that could eat someone from the inside out. thousands of galra had to be sedated even to receive simple basic checkups because they would otherwise attempt to attack and kill their healers.

when the galra leader was finally declared free of all infections and safe to interact with general society, he was not thankful, he was furious. he came before the ataxte maari clan council and demanded compensation for the killing of 90% of his fleet, and also demanded to know where the rest of his people were being kept. he was informed that the council would attempt to present compensation in due time--also that some of the quarantined galra had been released; others were still in quarantine, and still others had died. he told the elders that he “knew” his people were being tortured in quarantine, and that he would accept only one form of compensation for the deaths of his compatriots. he said one galra life was worth at least ten of the “savages,” so he demanded the arbitrary killing of at least ten times as many moon elves as the number of galra who had died. 

he and the council then got into an argument about restorative vs retributive justice and about the nature of the treatment that the galra received, in which it was apparent that he understood neither basic science nor basic decency. he insisted loudly and vulgarly that his people would have been “fine” on their own and that they didn’t need the help of those who were lower than them. the council leader retorted that many other spacefaring species would have killed him for his insults and turned his people out to die, but it was only altean values of compassion and hospitality that stayed her hand. at the very end, he tired of using his brain, and instead rushed the clan council intending to kill the five matriarchs seated before him. suddenly, he found himself dead on the floor with six poison arrows sticking out of his body, each one embedded in a vital organ.

the council never told the galra that their leader had been killed. instead, the council leader’s son shapeshifted into his form and took his place among the purple. this was part of the matriarchs’ overarching plan. they decided to let the galra stay on their land temporarily before sending them off to an uninhabited desert planet several hundred lightyears away that they thought was suitable for the galras’ new home. during this time, they would teach the galra proper values for interacting among themselves and other species--such as the concepts that every sapient being deserves to live happily, that it’s not okay to just slit peoples’ throats when they’re too old, weak or disabled to take care of themselves, and that it is also not okay to kill someone over a scrap of food found in a garbage dump. they would also teach about scientific concepts such as sustainable land management, space travel (including maintenance of spaceships) and medicinal and hygiene practices. the false galra leader would pose as the exemplar of these positive behaviors and willingness to learn the new knowledge, in the hopes that the refugees would look to him as a model.

and it worked………with some of them. some of the galra did their darnedest to keep up with the alteans’ teachings, and even though they didn’t understand things like showing compassion to the weak, they rolled with it anyway. they admired the elaborate city planning and horticulture that they had never had on daibazaal; when they stepped into moon elvish cities for the first time, they thought they were dreaming. back home where everything had to be fought for or else it was not “deserved,” they could never have conceived of a society with free food, free water, free healthcare and free housing--and they were definitely starting to see the perks of the altean way of life. 

but then there were the greedy fucking bastards who were just there for the benefits and none of the teachings. they ate all the food while never offering to help hunt, squandered their water quotas then demanded gallons more, and constantly mocked their teachers’ language and dress. they also disparaged the galra who seemed to be assimilating with the alteans, accusing them of being in league with the “transgendered degenerates” (the galra hated altean acceptance of LGBTQ identities). when these galra started becoming a violent threat to the alteans, the moon elves had them deported to the uninhabited desert planet. they sent along some of the “good” galra volunteers to continue the training, but these volunteers were soon killed as "traitors” to their culture. having murdered the only people who could have taught them about sustainable land and resource management, the galra deportees eventually ruined the entire planet they were planted in due to unchecked warfare and environmental irresponsibility, thus killing themselves off within a matter of centuries.

the tale, however, does not end here. 

[TW for the consumption of sapient beings.]

even the “good” colonizers had a bad side. as i have discussed in previous headcanons, galra are instinctively drawn to eating alteans due to the extremely high amount of quintessence in their bodies. even the ones that promised to play nice and learn moon elvish values had a barely-quenched thirst for altean blood. some of them started having this extreme hunger around the council leader’s son; shapeshifted though he was, something about him made them feel half-starved and ready for a meal. finally, one galra couldn’t resist any longer, attacked him and killed him for food. when his corpse automatically shapeshifted back into altean form, the deception was discovered.

the galra, understandably, were furious. but instead of acting in the regular galra way and immediately attempting to kill the moon elvish leaders in revenge, they had learned a thing or two from their hosts. alteans can be very deceptive, and if there’s one thing they learned from the moon elves, fighting smart can outlast fighting hard. so they played along. they said that he had died in an accident and appointed a new leader to carry out their task. 

following the appointment of the new leader, for some reason hundreds of moon elves started to go missing from their communities--several children disappeared, but most of them were of childbearing age. the ataxte maari nation wound up missing enough people in so short a time that a national emergency was declared, but for a while, they had no idea the source of this tragedy. the truth was, their people were being rounded up and slaughtered or bred for their meat in underground factory farms. it was the galras’ intention to get revenge for the killing of their people by taking over the paradise they had landed in and enslaving as meat the people who had taught them everything they knew. 

in the end they were caught, and their surviving victims were rescued. the ringleaders were killed and they, too, were deported--this time not to a warm desert but to a cold one, an icy wasteland devoid of nearly all life. unlike their brethren who were sent to the desert, they were able to survive. the new leader’s line were in power on and off for hundreds of thousands of years, lasting all the way down to the days of the galra empire. eventually, a commander was born from that line who would once again wreak havoc upon alteans--a commander with an almighty grudge against the supposed wrong that the moon elves had committed. that commander’s name was sendak.

Modern-day Galra perspective

[TW racism]

once there was a band of noble warriors seeking to colonize other worlds for the glorious name of the galra empire. since they came from a desert, they naturally sought out other deserts to colonize first, and found one on the planet altea. this desert was inhabited by near-naked brown-skinned savages in face paint and loincloths who had, instead of a language, strings of incomprehensible garble. the warriors drew their swords and cut down massive swathes of these savages, who had nothing more than simplistic bows and arrows with which to defend themselves. the galra had the option to conquer them and make them their slaves, but they were so pathetic that the warriors did not even find them worth subjugating. so they moved on to conquer newer, better worlds, leaving the savages to squat forever in their anarchistic squalor. the end.

(wow, that was really fucking painful to write.)

[zubairkhalid09]

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