#fair and equitable treatment

[livelocalorganic]

What Does it Mean to Live a Sustainable Lifestyle

In today’s world, where environmental concerns are at the forefront of global conversations, more and more people are seeking ways to live a sustainable lifestyle. But what exactly does it mean to live sustainably? In this blog post, we will delve into the concept of sustainable living and explore its various aspects, from eco-friendly practices to conscious consumption. Join us on this…

[curiosity-killed]

we do not need to engage with all posts. sometimes people can be stupid on the internet and it's fine, actually. we do not need to correct people for making grandiose statements based on knowledge they acquired at age 11 and haven't updated since <- said through gritted teeth

[felassan]

SAG AFTRA news update:

"SAG-AFTRA Members Who Work on Video Games Go on Strike July 25th A.I. Protections Remain the Sticking Point SAG-AFTRA National Executive Director & Chief Negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, acting under the authority delegated by the SAG-AFTRA National Board, and with the unanimous advice and counsel of the Interactive Media Agreement Negotiating Committee, called a strike of the Interactive Media Agreement, effective July 26 at 12:01 a.m. Today’s vote to strike comes after more than a year and a half of negotiations without a deal. The convenience bargaining group with whom SAG-AFTRA is negotiating includes Activision Productions Inc., Blindlight LLC, Disney Character Voices Inc., Electronic Arts Productions Inc., Formosa Interactive LLC, Insomniac Games Inc., Llama Productions LLC, Take 2 Productions Inc., VoiceWorks Productions Inc., and WB Games Inc. Any game looking to employ SAG-AFTRA talent to perform covered work must sign on to the new Tiered-Budget Independent Interactive Media Agreement, the Interim Interactive Media Agreement or the Interim Interactive Localization Agreement. These agreements offer critical A.I. protections for members. Negotiations began in October 2022 and on Sept. 24, 2023, SAG-AFTRA members approved a video game strike authorization with a 98.32% yes vote. Although agreements have been reached on many issues important to SAG-AFTRA members, the employers refuse to plainly affirm, in clear and enforceable language, that they will protect all performers covered by this contract in their A.I. language. “We’re not going to consent to a contract that allows companies to abuse A.I. to the detriment of our members. Enough is enough. When these companies get serious about offering an agreement our members can live — and work — with, we will be here, ready to negotiate,” stated SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher.   “The video game industry generates billions of dollars in profit annually. The driving force behind that success is the creative people who design and create those games. That includes the SAG-AFTRA members who bring memorable and beloved game characters to life, and they deserve and demand the same fundamental protections as performers in film, television, streaming, and music: fair compensation and the right of informed consent for the A.I. use of their faces, voices, and bodies. Frankly, it’s stunning that these video game studios haven’t learned anything from the lessons of last year - that our members can and will stand up and demand fair and equitable treatment with respect to A.I., and the public supports us in that,” said Crabtree-Ireland. “Eighteen months of negotiations have shown us that our employers are not interested in fair, reasonable A.I. protections, but rather flagrant exploitation. We refuse this paradigm – we will not leave any of our members behind, nor will we wait for sufficient protection any longer. We look forward to collaborating with teams on our Interim and Independent contracts, which provide A.I. transparency, consent and compensation to all performers, and to continuing to negotiate in good faith with this bargaining group when they are ready to join us in the world we all deserve." said Interactive Media Agreement Negotiating Committee Chair Sarah Elmaleh.  For more information and to search whether a video game is struck, please visit sagaftra.org/videogamestrike."

[source]

[probablyasocialecologist]

Following prolonged negotiations with many of the biggest companies in video games, the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) has called for a video game performer and voice actor strike, beginning on July 26. Try as they might, the two sides have been unable to see eye to eye on the issue of AI.  “The video game industry generates billions of dollars in profit annually," said SAG-AFTRA national executive director and chief negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland in a statement to Aftermath. "The driving force behind that success is the creative people who design and create those games. That includes the SAG-AFTRA members who bring memorable and beloved game characters to life, and they deserve and demand the same fundamental protections as performers in film, television, streaming, and music: fair compensation and the right of informed consent for the AI use of their faces, voices, and bodies. Frankly, it’s stunning that these video game studios haven’t learned anything from the lessons of last year - that our members can and will stand up and demand fair and equitable treatment with respect to AI, and the public supports us in that." Workers can now strike at ten companies: Activision, Blindlight, Disney Character Voices, EA, Epic, Formosa Interactive, Insomniac Games, Take-Two, VoiceWorks, and WB Games.

July 25, 2024

[ceo-of-sloppy-men]

I’ve said it before I’ll say it again: I am pro union. Pro strike. Pro eat the rich. Do not let mega corporations convince you that unionized labour is too extreme, and complain about strikes - but not that the workers are an inconvenience, complain that the corporation’s inability to meet demands is an inconvenience. The unions are not the problem. It is the 1% who refuse to give up a sliver of their silver platter that is the problem.

I will gladly wait for any postal strike to be over if it means workers get fairer treatment (both benefits and pay, not one or the other). I will gladly wait for new shows if it means actors and writers do not need to live in fear of AI or being unable to pay their bills. I will gladly wait for everyone to be treated fairly and equitably.

And if you don’t like it, get off my lawn and go learn why you should. We all deserve to be treated like people. Not disposable toothbrushes.

Fair treatment is not an inconvenience. The 1% is.

[humanrightsupdates]

A Rights-Based Global Response to Mpox Emergency in Africa

Global Solidarity Needed to Ensure Equitable Access to Treatments, Prevent Further Spread

On August 14, following the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention’s (Africa CDC) declaration of mpox as a public health emergency of continental security, the World Health Organization (WHO) recognized it as a public health emergency of international concern.

Mpox, a highly contagious disease transmitted primarily through close contact with infected individuals, has seen a significant rise in cases this year, with more than 17,000 reported cases and more than 500 deaths, predominantly in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Symptoms include a blistering rash, swollen lymph nodes, fever, and muscle aches. Experts told Human Rights Watch the current variant of the virus seems to differ from previous outbreaks, with increased transmission occurring heterosexually and spreading to children through close interactions within families.

The Africa CDC has emphasized the need for global solidarity in combating this outbreak. Dr. Jean Kaseya, the Africa CDC’s director-general, has called on the international community to avoid punitive measures such as travel bans against African countries. There is a critical need for support, particularly access to vaccines, from countries with substantial stockpiles that are not experiencing any active outbreaks. “Don’t punish Africa,” Kaseya urged, pointing to the unfair treatment the continent endured during the Covid-19 pandemic and stressing the importance of a fair and equitable global response.

Global health experts have warned that the African continent is “always last in line for access to lifesaving tools.” The continent’s delayed access to HIV/AIDS treatments, Ebola response resources, Covid-19 vaccines, and now mpox interventions, underscores the persistent inequities in global health access. The response to the 2022 mpox outbreak, which primarily affected men who have sex with men, highlighted the risks of stigmatizing gay men. Human Rights Watch has previously warned that some actors exploit public health crises to marginalize vulnerable groups and stressed the need to place human rights at the center of any response.

[mariacallous]

In Liu Cixin’s science fiction novel The Dark Forest—part of the popular Three-Body Problem series recently serialized by Netflix—humanity is faced with the prospect of an alien invasion. The extraterrestrials are on their way to conquer Earth but are still light years away; humanity has hundreds of years to prepare for their hostile arrival.

Amid a need to bolster defense spending globally and, crucially, to foster innovation across the entire world, representatives of the global south make a proposal at the United Nations. Developing countries demand a universal waiver of intellectual property protections on inventions relevant to defense to enable them to develop their own technologies and contribute to planetary fortification. In Liu’s story, the global south’s call meets staunch opposition from wealthier states, which veto the proposal. Although set in an imagined future, Liu’s point resonates clearly in our own time.

The most recent parallel is the global vaccine hoarding that occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic.

At the height of the emergency, rich countries bought up and hoarded COVID-19 vaccine supplies, which left many developing countries unable to obtain sufficient vaccines during 2021-22. Even when they arrived, donations of leftover doses from high-income countries were often too close to their expiration dates for developing countries to actually use them.

Global south states sought to build up their own secure vaccine production capacity but were stymied. Critically, vaccine manufacturers, such as Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech, refused to share IP-protected technology with World Health Organization (WHO) initiatives, such as C-TAP and the mRNA vaccine technology transfer hub, that were attempting to create a network of distributed vaccine production. It is estimated that such hoarding cost more than 1 million lives in developing states.

Remarkably, the global south saw this coming. Even before a single COVID-19 vaccine had been administered, developing countries accurately anticipated that they would be left at the back of the line for supplies. Burned by the experience of HIV/AIDS medicine shortages in the late 1990s and early 2000s, the global south predicted similar inequities occurring during the COVID-19 crisis—and they tried to act to prevent this.

In October 2020, this foresight motivated developing countries, led by South Africa and India at the World Trade Organization (WTO), to propose an international waiver of IP protections—known as a TRIPS waiver—on COVID-19 vaccines, treatments, and other health technologies. Much as in Liu’s story, the global north firmly rejected the proposal, leading to a delayed and watered-down WTO decision in June 2022 that I, and other academic experts, argued was too little, too late.

Crucially, we can observe the same pattern emerging yet again in the current negotiations over the WHO Pandemic Accord. Just like Liu’s vision of humanity preparing for an inevitable alien invasion but unwilling to share technologies globally, the world remains stuck in a doom loop. Another pandemic is foreseeable. A new treaty could provide a way for the international community to learn the lessons of COVID-19 and boost pandemic preparedness. Yet the world is making the same mistakes all over again.

Given the failures of the WTO process, experienced commentators such as Ellen ‘t Hoen anticipated that shifting the debate to WHO could help ensure that similar inequalities do not arise during the next pandemic. Many hoped that WHO, with its overriding focus on global health, would be a more receptive forum to the global south’s equity concerns than the WTO, which prioritizes IP via TRIPS, one of its foundational 1995 agreements.

However, thus far, the negotiations have been hampered by the same issue that blighted the WTO TRIPS waiver process: Rich states are unwilling to agree to any potential pandemic-related limitation of international IP rights or to expand IP flexibilities to include nonvoluntary options such as a mechanism for the compulsory licensing of trade secrets on pharmaceutical manufacturing processes needed for scaling up production of pandemic products.

Broadly speaking, developing countries want terms that would mandate technology transfer of key health technologies, such as vaccines, to the global south. Rich countries decry this suggestion, claiming it could undermine IP rights.

Hence, wealthy nations are balking at the use of progressive language on the compulsory use of IP in Article 11 of the draft accord. Instead, the U.S. government emphasizes supporting voluntary agreements—without acknowledging that the voluntary systems, including COVAX, failed to provide for the needs of citizens in many global south countries during the COVID-19 era.

In these negotiations, several key parties, such as the European Union and the United Kingdom, argue that a WHO treaty cannot deal with IP issues because that would equate to trespassing on rules that the WTO created. This back-and-forth between the WTO and WHO reflects an asymmetric power game that the global south is not well placed to win.

With no movement on IP, developing countries seem less willing to agree on a rare point of leverage, namely, the terms of Article 12, which addresses pathogen access and benefit-sharing. Put simply, developing countries are concerned that if they agree to terms on restriction-free sharing of pathogens with pandemic potential, without reciprocal guarantees of technology-sharing and health product distribution, they will be left at the back of the line again in the next pandemic.

Wealthy countries may be succeeding at reducing this leverage; recent news reports suggest that detailed provisions on pathogen-sharing may be shifted to a separate instrument.

It seems that for rich states, property is sacrosanct; global health is not. Yet, rather than property, it is worth recalling that patents were originally considered to be a form of state-granted privilege. In the 19th century, industrial states viewed IP not as an instrument of free trade but rather as a form of trade protectionism.

This idea of IP as protectionist privilege remains a more accurate description of what global IP law is intended to achieve. Much as in Liu’s novel, the stark reality is that there is no circumstance—not a new pandemic, not even an alien invasion—in which the global north would be willing to give up its protectionist privileges by sharing its technology with the global south.

With the WTO in decline and the WHO multilateral process in trouble, the global south may have to examine alternative options for building up pandemic preparedness. Intriguingly, Netflix’s 3 Body Problem envisages this. Unlike in the book, on TV the U.N. resolution for open technology-sharing is never even proposed.

Instead, a Mexican national who happens to be the chief scientific officer of a cutting-edge nanotech company becomes frustrated by Western corporate-military obstructionism and decides to upload all her London-based employer’s source code and trade secrets to open-source platforms with the aim of assisting developing countries to produce the technology. She even includes a downloadable guide on how to copy the functionality of the technology while avoiding IP infringement.

This fictional feint away from the multilateral forum and toward individual decision-making parallels real-world moves toward open-source biotech. This approach has been pioneered by Peter Hotez and Maria Elena Bottazzi of Baylor University, who created the patent-free COVID-19 vaccine Corbevax. They successfully transferred the vaccine technology openly to producers in Botswana and India. Meanwhile, the WHO mRNA hub at Afrigen in South Africa led by Petro Terblanche is encouraging open south-south collaboration on new vaccine technologies.

If the Pandemic Accord negotiations falter before the World Health Assembly begins on May 27 or they fail to produce a just treaty, efforts such as these will take on even greater importance. An inequitable Pandemic Accord will signal that Liu was right: The global north will continue to hoard technologies even in the face of looming Armageddon, and south-south collaboration on producing health technologies may be the only way forward for enhancing global pandemic preparedness.

[thepsychologicalpeacock]

I was so excited to join in on the fun to support Adam Moore’s campaign last night. Kentucky does deserve Moore, and I am so excited to see people like Adam helping to create a Kentucky that works for all.

Here is Adam’s view on Fairness: “Every person in Kentucky deserves to live their lives without fear of discrimination or unfair treatment. It's time to prioritize the rights of our LGBTQ community, who make up an estimated 144,000 Kentuckians. They are our friends, our family members, our colleagues, and our neighbors, and they deserve equal protections under the law. This includes housing, employment, and access to healthcare. The passage of a statewide Fairness Act is long overdue and would help to break down the barriers and injustices that too often hold back our LGBTQ community. It's time for us to come together and fight for a more just and equitable Kentucky, where everyone can live their American Dream.”

If you would like to see other viewpoints, or chip in to support their campaign, please visit: https://www.kydeservesmoore.com/

Thank you so much Adam! Manifesting great things for this election! 💙🫶

[lira456]

Naruto failure of hokage in every front like his ancestors

Many things needed fair conclusions which were overlooked so what naruto did what kind of reform he enforced regarding clan laws and treatments because of uchiha tragedy, regarding reformation of child soldiers and anbu matters becuase of rin and itachi, regarding reforming continental laws and regulation if invasion of small coutries and villages happening and their rebuilding and reparation because of wrongdoings 5 NATIONS AND KAGE have caused in the past,

also how he gonna bind all shinobi villages and even countries in the mutual trust and common ground so that nothing unlawful conclusion happen like that of shikimaru shinden and who gonna maintain or correct it in future that's why you need solid effective laws that equally and equitably benefit and treat and question everyone( author only just blink of some years bring phone,computer and video games but still maintains feudal sytem does not have international laws we have under UN so that no one can easily go to war even israelis are condemned against by UN but in naruto we don't have any such organization,laws,platform for time to time problem which can connect all shinobi countries and villages on the continent, even villages can not oppose their daimyo's order meaning they have no alternative source of income so naruto did not find another way for complete econmical survival without shinobi missions on 80 percent level such as using chakra and exporting chakra tech not for warfare especially and chakra natures lol feels like he still wants to maintain system in 60 percent ground: pure bad writing to continue boruto),

also what about orphanage system for other villages especially orphan from small villages or destructive land or from remote area like that of ryogi and kabuto and kara children and ame child how did not naruto send no shadow clone or shinobi for such purpose as he always preach about how he understand everyone's pain so called messiah or any welfare like system for poor shinobi from impoverished village shinobi or even his own village especially their widows and orphans did not shown or pension like something for shinobi especially who lost their body parts such as guy or some especial payment for shinobi like kawaki's father and give him alternative employment becuase of being war hero could have saved kawaki feels like villages abandoned many remaining shinobi or why not give them alternative employment because of their past service (just simply dispose of them if they lost value so cruel, just how pain said), by checking all the shinobi they could have but becuase they don't have correct and effective database like system even without tech that's how inaffective their shinobi system is because it's only focus on deciphering stupid message that would do no good for average shinobi and their family, collect tax from people building hiring,build some stupid building, maintain shinobi academy and its doctrination and missions and ranks and secret non transparent scheme meaning they don't have any citizen or shinobi benefit only jonin and upper echelon have that luxury even nothing special fund for orphan that's why ryogi doest not send to kabuto nothing specific, only all connected to glrifying and worshipping their anscestor that's why they don't have effective database maintained because of that after the war they lost track many shinobi and who knows how their family survived not shown not even regarding the other villages saddening, also about their individual desire or dream for that can they stop being shinobi suddenly or leave the village, did not shown regarding such issues especially how they panicked when mitsuki left and send their kids to die really sad.

it seems they even don't have unique trade that could connect all in a way that not one can lie or go to war meaning kakashi did not create any trade system only how they can rebuild and maintain ninja system which was in threat because lack of manpower(losing most of the shinobi in the war) meaning focused mostly making buildings,transportation,long distant upgraded message device and sharing shinobi missions with other villages, so kakashi did not change any political,children curriculam,ideological and law related issues in the village, naruto not even focused on changing of dangerous social struture in kiri village and lack of resources problem in iwa country and village, even we did not see how sand village's lack of resouce problem and how they solved it under gaara, really half baked, so many things overlooked,

so even did not even focus on what law or regulation he would establish to maintain clan's inner environment and conflicts becuase hyuga slavery( ther are maybe no large clans left in konoha anymore because in boruto we never see any clan meeting like that of hyuga or many clan fighting together like sarutobi and akimichi only showed some yamanaka power but not said whether they are members of yamanaka or not that's likely most died in the war, ony maybe at bare minimum members around 20 to 30 and they maintain no more clan positive harmonious tradition like clan meeting and practice just stop the heritage as we are not shown, meaning some cultural genocide, naruto as hokage could have celebrated each clan's power as culture festival making it show in public like we see chinese,european cultures etc. in many carnival and festival, in this way he could have connected and create harmony and pleasure for these lost heritage clans because naruto was suppose to be a hope that connect people it seems he has forgotten his own theme in boruto cooperation through understanding and sharing pain lol he is not doing that kind of effort to maintain harmony,peace and love among village,clan and outsider instead he is busy in collecting more power and benefit from amado and eida and katasuke and even from kawaki, that's strategic why both kawaki and boruto remained in konoha and not in other village, so much for mutual trust lol.

This is why naruto as a hokage and MC is complete bulshite and loser especially kishimoto's false half baked writing surrounding lack of insight of political atmosphere felt so underserving and hypocritical because i felt so much ideological and behavioral difference between zabusa arc naruto and ending &boruto naruto, really dissapointing.

[techtow]

Understanding Social Justice: A Simple Guide

Social justice is the view that everyone deserves and gives equal political, economic, Cultural and social rights and opportunities.

Introduction:

Social justice is a term that resonates across various conversations about fairness, equality, and the well-being of communities. In this article, we'll delve into the concept of social justice, its definition, types, and why it holds such importance in our society.

Defining Social Justice:

Social justice is a principle that seeks fairness and equal opportunities for all members of a society. It revolves around ensuring that every individual, regardless of their background, has the chance to thrive, with their basic human rights protected. Essentially, it's about creating a community where everyone is treated with dignity and respect.

Example of Social Justice:

Imagine a scenario where everyone in a community has access to quality education, irrespective of their socio-economic status. In this context, social justice would mean that no child is denied educational opportunities based on financial constraints. Ensuring equal access to education is a tangible example of promoting social justice.

Types of Social Justice:

Economic Justice:

Addressing disparities in wealth and income to ensure that economic opportunities are accessible to everyone.

Racial Justice:

Focusing on eradicating racial discrimination and promoting equal treatment and opportunities for people of all races and ethnicities.

Gender Justice:

Advocating for gender equality, dismantling gender-based discrimination, and ensuring that all genders have the same rights and opportunities.

Environmental Justice:

Recognizing and rectifying the disproportionate impact of environmental issues on marginalized communities.

Why is Social Justice Important?

Equality and Fairness:

Social justice ensures that every person, regardless of their background, is treated fairly. It strives to eliminate discrimination and bias, fostering a more equal and just society.

Community Well-being:

A socially just society prioritizes the well-being of its members, acknowledging that the collective health and happiness of a community contribute to its overall success.

Preventing Exploitation:

Social justice works to prevent the exploitation of vulnerable individuals or groups, ensuring that power dynamics are balanced and that no one is taken advantage of.

Strengthening Democracy:

A commitment to social justice strengthens democratic principles by promoting inclusivity, civic engagement, and the protection of individual rights.

In Conclusion:

Understanding social justice is pivotal for building a society that values equality, fairness, and the well-being of all its members. By addressing various types of injustices and actively working towards creating an inclusive community, we contribute to a world where everyone has the opportunity to reach their full potential. Social justice is not just a concept; it's a shared responsibility that can shape a brighter and more equitable future for all.

[supergirlmayhem]

I’m excited about the Supergirl May-hem event, you guys are doing a great job but I can’t help but wish that supercorp wasn’t allowed at least this time. After seeing that 90% of the recs were supercorp I fear this event will barely have some more ‘rare’ ships and that’s a pity.

Hi Anon!

Thanks for reaching out with your concern. We have a few reasons why we decided not to exclude Supercorp and I'll list them below for you. Please excuse the ramble. I'll start with our main reason for making this an inclusive event for every WLW ship in the Supergirl fandom. We want to uplift every ship and give them a space to express themselves. We don't want to exclude anyone and leave them on the sidelines while we actively promote other people. That wouldn't be fair and the thought leaves a bad taste in our mouths.

Another reason is that the ship lines aren't as black and white as a lot of people believe. Many people have multiple ships in the fandom and care deeply about all of them even if they also ship Supercorp. Many Supercorp writers have expressed interest in writing for multiple ships and artists have shown they're open to creating for multiple ships. Many of the Supercorp creators would not join the event if Supercorp was excluded and that would mean that there would be a lot less content for the 'smaller' ships as they are interested in writing/creating additional pieces for other ships.

Whether Supercorp is in the event or not, there'll still be a very similar number of fics/art created for the smaller fics. To exclude them would simply deprive Supercorp of also having new fics/art created for them.

As a multi-ship event, there's always going to be a ship that is more popular than the others. Whether that's Supercorp, Supercat or Agentcorp. One will always have the majority. Yes, that majority increases with Supercorp but they're not getting any special treatment. We're putting an equitable amount of time and effort into promoting each ship. We understand that some ships are smaller and need more of a shove to get them seen, so we've done our best to make that happen.

As for the fic list, fics are added from the community. There are 3 of us, and we can't be in every ship fandom at once. We need help from those ship communities to add the fics. We've reached out to each community and asked for recs. If there are none on the list, that's because nobody recommended any. If there's only a few, that's because those are what we were sent. We're always adding to the list and will always keep updating it so people can send us links at any time to their favourite fics. Supercorp might have the majority, but even if they weren't on the list, there would be the same amount of other ship's fics on the list.

The sad truth is that while many of the fandoms are still alive, there are a few that are running on fumes and barely have any active members left. This event would not be what we envision it to be with a lack of people involved. We're trying to get as many members of those communities involved as possible but time has played a big part in the dwindling numbers for all ships, Supercorp included, although there are still a lot of active members for that particular ship.

We're doing everything we can to reach out to every ship we can think of, and want everyone to be included. If there's more you think we can do, other than excluding people, feel free to reach out and let us know. We're all ears and would love tips on how to reach them.

The final reason as to why we're including Supercorp is simple. As the event creators, we're fans of multiple ships and we've created this event to showcase our passion for those ships. We're not going to ban Supercorp from an event we created to make other people happy when this is a passion project. We don't get paid for creating the event and we're putting in hours upon hours of work into making it. We're not going to change it to appease other people because that would simply take away our passion and make the event worthless.

We understand where you're coming from with your worries. You don't want the smaller ships to be drowned out by Supercorp. There's only two places that may happen, and that's our socials when we start promoting each fic/art as it's posted on posting week. That's unavoidable. However, the clicks aren't all going to come from us. Each person is responsible for also promoting their work and while we'll do our best to help, we physically won't be able to put masses of effort into each and every one.

The second place is the collection. The collection will have all of the fics stored in one place. The good news is that AO3 has a great filtering system so people will find the ship they want out of the collection with ease. Other people will discover new ships through looking through the collection too, and may end up being inspired.

We've seen a lot of people expressing worry or anger about other ships being included, or not getting enough attention but there's not enough attention on how this is beneficial for every ship. Everyone gets to display their work in one place full of like-minded individuals, showing off their love for their ships of choice. You're showing off your work and showing everyone why you love them in a place where it's going to get attention. The attention you want on your ships will come from you proudly displaying your work in an event made to provide a safe space for everyone.

Of course, we're also taking measures to ensure there's a safe space for everyone individually too. Our Discord server (which will open after sign-ups) has individual channels for ships as well as general channels so you can choose to mingle or simply stay within your ships without being drowned out by chats from other ships.

Finally, we're taking the ship disputes very seriously. We understand that people have different preferences and we won't tolerate any hate being thrown at anyone else for who they ship. You can like or dislike any ship you want, but anyone who is making our safe space unsafe for anyone else will be removed from the event and banned from future events. We're very strict on that policy.

All in all, I apologize for the long answer and would like to say that this response is not just for the person who asked the question but to spread our views on the matter to everyone. Thank you, Anon, for giving us this opportunity to properly give an in-depth answer to everyone asking the same question as you.

[omegaphilosophia]

The Individual's Expectations of The State

In political philosophy and social contract theory, the relationship between the state and its citizens is often framed in terms of mutual obligations and expectations. The state owes certain fundamental duties to individuals in exchange for their consent to be governed and their adherence to the laws and regulations set forth by the state. These obligations are crucial for maintaining a just, stable, and functional society. Here are some key areas where the state owes duties to individuals:

1. Protection of Rights

Life, Liberty, and Property: One of the primary duties of the state is to protect the fundamental rights of its citizens, including the right to life, liberty, and property. This protection is essential for ensuring that individuals can live securely and freely within the society.

Civil Rights: The state must safeguard civil rights such as freedom of speech, freedom of religion, the right to privacy, and the right to equal treatment under the law. These rights are critical for the functioning of a democratic society where individuals can express themselves and participate in civic life.

2. Provision of Public Goods and Services

Law and Order: The state is responsible for maintaining law and order through a system of justice that includes law enforcement agencies, courts, and correctional facilities. This ensures that laws are enforced fairly and that justice is served.

Infrastructure: The state must provide essential infrastructure such as roads, bridges, public transportation, and utilities (water, electricity, sanitation) that support the daily activities and economic productivity of its citizens.

Education and Health: Access to quality education and healthcare is a fundamental duty of the state. Providing these services ensures that individuals can lead healthy, informed, and productive lives.

3. Economic Stability and Welfare

Economic Opportunities: The state should create and sustain conditions that promote economic growth and provide opportunities for employment and entrepreneurship. This includes regulating markets to prevent monopolies and ensure fair competition.

Social Welfare: The state has a duty to provide social safety nets for its citizens, including unemployment benefits, social security, and assistance for the disadvantaged and vulnerable populations. This helps to reduce poverty and inequality.

4. Protection from External Threats

National Defense: The state is responsible for protecting its citizens from external threats, which involves maintaining a military and defense system capable of deterring and responding to potential aggressors.

5. Democratic Governance and Representation

Political Participation: The state must ensure that individuals have the right to participate in the political process through voting, running for office, and engaging in political discourse. This participation is vital for the legitimacy of the government.

Accountability and Transparency: The state owes its citizens a transparent and accountable governance system. This includes mechanisms for checking the abuse of power, corruption, and ensuring that government actions are open to public scrutiny.

6. Environmental Protection

Sustainable Development: The state has a duty to protect the environment and promote sustainable development practices. This ensures that natural resources are preserved for future generations and that environmental degradation is minimized.

The obligations of the state to its individuals are comprehensive and multifaceted, encompassing the protection of rights, provision of essential services, ensuring economic stability, defending against external threats, fostering democratic governance, and protecting the environment. By fulfilling these duties, the state upholds its end of the social contract, fostering a just, equitable, and thriving society where individuals can achieve their full potential.

[fiapple]

honestly, i think a huge source of the conflict between btvs fans- especially as it pertains to fucking shipcourse- is the commonality of judging some characters’ morality on a watsonian level & others on a doylist one based on personal bias/convenience, & then acting as though this is fair treatment.

& as stated, this especially applies to shipcourse, particularly as it pertains to angel & spike, but also things like the hypocrisy surrounding how characters like the scoobies or faith, or the fuck ups within the phenomena of various instances magical sex get treated by the audience at large.

for example, if you are claiming to be fair/equitable, & you are going to judge spike for seeing red, you have to judge angel for dating a teen girl while being over 200 years old, or fully examine the issues with consent at play in what willow did to tara in once more with feeling, so on & so forth. & if you judge those instances based how they were influenced by out-of-universe factors, the same applies if you want to claim it is a reading that is not suffering from abject & blatant personal bias.

like, due to both the poor politics behind the scenes, and the era it was written in, Buffy fumbles the ball a lot in terms of its feminist messaging. we all know this. and yet, at a frequency i’m yet to witness in any other fan space, so often whether or not that gets taken into account when approaching character analysis & morality is entirely dependent on whether or not a character is liked by the speaker.

and this, in and of itself, isn’t a bad thing. i don’t mean to claim that, in fact it’s quite normal. but so often in the btvs fandom this approach is not only framed as equal, but also as the one true reading of the text as far as the speaker is concerned. and that is a problem because, inherently, judging characters by two different standards is an unfair approach that colours any reading with more bias than would otherwise present itself.

& mind you, i know that no one is obligated to be fair, people can do what they want & explore the text in the way they find most interesting. but i do think the reason so many portions of this fan-base are constantly at each other’s throats is because so many people refuse to just be upfront about that. like admittance that one is being unfair for personal enjoyment isn’t immoral, it’s just honest.

[ober-affen-geil]

“You have now plainly and flatly told us, without any Colouring or Disguise, that you renounce all Subjection whatever to the Legislature of the Parent-State; and that you will not acknowledge, that she has any other Authority or Jurisdiction over you;---but what you yourselves shall please to give her. This is speaking plainly and to the Purpose: And so far you have acted a fair and consistent Part. But, Gentlemen, are you and your Constituents, (for here I include you all) equally consistent and uniform in other Parts of your Conduct? And can it be affirmed, that you are as strenuous Advocates for Liberty in other Cases, as you are in this? You bravely declare, “That by the immutable Laws of Nature, you are entitled to Life, Liberty, and Property.” Certainly you are: And the Reason you give is not a bad one, when soberly understood, viz. “Because you have never ceded to any Sovereign Power whatever, a Right to dispose of either without your Consent.” Permit me therefore to ask, Why are not the poor Negroes, and the poor Indians entitled to the like Rights and Benefits? And how comes it to pass, that these immutable Laws of Nature are become so very mutable, and so very insignificant in respect to them? They probably never ceded to any Power,---most certainly they never ceded to you, a Right of disposing of their Lives, Liberties, and Properties, just as you please. And yet what horrid Cruelties do you daily practice on the Bodies of the poor Negros; over whom you can have no Claim, according to your own Principles? What shameful Robberies and Usurpations are you daily guilty of in respect to the poor Indians, the only true and rightful Proprietors of the Country which you inhabit? These Things, Gentlemen, ought not to be: For whilst you, and your Constituents, are chargeable with so much real Tyranny, Injustice, and Oppression; you declaim with a very ill Grace against the imaginary Tyranny, and the pretended Oppression of the Mother Country. I am not unacquainted with you Manner of carrying on your bartering Trade with the Indians, any more than with your Treatment of your unhappy Slaves the Blacks. I could also give some Specimens of your equitable Mode of measuring, and making Purchases of Lands from the Natives;---even when you condescend to the Formality and Farce of making a Purchase from them:---Also how you contrive to thin the Numbers of these unhappy Tribes by Means of your grand Engines of Death, Rum, and the Small-Pox: And then how you drive the miserable Survivors away, and seize their Lands.” - Josiah Tucker, The respective pleas and arguments of the mother country and of the colonies, distinctly set forth: and the impossibility of a compromise of differences or a mutual concession of rights, plainly demonstrated: with a prefatory epistle to the plenipotentiaries of the late congress at Philadelphia, 1775 x

[lucysweatslove]

We're halfway through disability pride month and I want to bring something up that many of us don't know or don't think about.

We know that the medical system, at least here in the US, is not very disability-friendly. Have you ever wondered where that starts? Why so many docs do this bullshit?

Medical education is incredibly hostile towards their own students with disabilities.

It's such a problem that the American Medical Association has written ethical discussions about this only two years ago. Schools may say they are inclusive/want to foster diversity via disability status, but in practice, most only do the bare minimum required legally. They also cultivate a culture that does not respect disabilities- including not just physical disabilities such as mobility limitations and limb differences but psychological and learning disabilities and chronic health conditions.

We, as medical students, are told indirectly through policies + para- and non-verbal communication that disabilities are burdensome and do not belong in medicine. Our accommodations are given in accordance to law, not out of desire to create an inclusive environment. Psychological disabilities are still heavily stigmatized to the point that when potential students apply, they are nearly universally advised against disclosure. Once accepted, accommodations for reasonable time off for adequate rest, access to private spaces for medical telehealth appointments, time off for required in-person appointments, and even during learning, accommodations like extra time on tests or taking exams in private areas to reduce distraction are seen as "unfair advantaged." Being able to act "abled" as much as possible may not be an outwardly spoken goal, but the subtext in conversation is that if there is something we as disabled students can do to make everybody else more comfortable around us and seem "less" disabled, we should do that.

Physical disabilities that are common enough that most people reasonably accommodate for them- such as being deaf or HOH or blind- are not viewed favorably even when assistive technology gets them up to technical standards. A deaf/HOH physician can use specialized stethoscopes to visualize sound patterns, or they may use an amplifier that can bluetooth to hearing aids or cochlear implants, but they are still experience push-back for not being able to use "regular" stethoscopes.

When disabilities cannot be accommodated, the language and tone used sends the message that the person with the disability is wrong or unfit. Programs do not take often accountability for having inaccessible facilities or policies.

The "hidden curriculum" in medical education is that people with disabilities are burdens. Difficult to accommodate. And that we should make ourselves and our needs as small as possible. For those of us with disabilities- we learn internalized ableism even if we didn't come in with much.

Why would doctors, trained in an ableist environment, trained to view disabilities as burdens and accommodations as unfair, treat YOU, their disabled patient, with dignity and respect?

Disability inclusion is needed at every single step to ensure fair and equitable treatment for all.

[thoughtportal]

Delta Air Lines has been caught pouring tens of millions of dollars into anti-unionization efforts, producing appalling flyers encouraging employees to buy video games instead of joining a union, and maintaining a culture of intimidation through emails, videos, meetings, and signs degrading those who support unions.

Delta's major shareholder meeting on June 15, 2023, provides CEO Ed Bastian, Chairman Frank Blake, Vanguard Group, BlackRock, Capital World Investors, and other shareholders with an opportunity to demonstrate their commitment to treating 50,000 workers with respect.

A shareholder resolution known as Proposal 6 requests that Delta Air Lines adopt a 'Freedom of Association and Collective Bargaining Policy' to enable workers to advocate for safety, paid sick and family leave, and fair compensation.

Add your name to tell Delta shareholders to vote FOR Proposal 6.

Why is this important?

50,000 Delta Air Lines workers including ramp, cargo, and tower workers, attendants, and mechanics are being denied workplace representation that has been earned by pilots and dispatchers.

There is no way to explain this other than to say that wealthy executives and powerful shareholders do not trust or respect workers enough to provide a fair and equitable workplace for all employees.

The Association of Flight Attendants, International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, and International Brotherhood of Teamsters are offering support, but it’s so important to show that the airline customers nationwide also support Proposal 6, because the ultrawealthy pay attention when their reputation and bottom line are at stake.

Supporters of Proposal 6 firmly believe that all workers deserve dignity and safety. We are fighting hard for Proposal 6 because we know that it will help us advocate for better health and safety practices, provide pathways for professional development, and establish guardrails to ensure fair, equitable, and humane treatment for all workers.

The Proposal’s opponents claim that, “Delta has always respected its employees' choice, encouraged honest, transparent, and respectful dialogue among its people, and has not suggested stifling any group or point of view.”

It's simply unbelievable knowing that Delta has been caught pouring tens of millions of dollars into anti-unionization efforts, produced appalling flyers encouraging employees to buy video games instead of joining a union, and maintains a culture of intimidation through emails, videos, meetings, and signs degrading those who support unions.

Sign the petition to demand Delta to stop union-busting. Tell the shareholders you know to vote FOR Proposal 6 (Adoption of Freedom of Association and Collective Bargaining Policy).