#health&safety

[bunnie-the-idiot]

the kids online safety act passed the u.s. senate.

long story short (for anyone who hadn't heard of this before) the kids online safety act, aka kosa, is a bill that will censor online content and resources for lgbtq+ matters, reproductive healthcare, activism (INCLUDING PALESTINE AND LIKELY OTHER CRISES GOING ON LIKE IN CONGO OR SUDAN), mental health, etc. everywhere--its effects likely won't be contained to just america.

today, july 30th, 2024, the senate passed it 91-3. it has officially moved to the house of representatives.

is this a pretty massive setback? yes. do you have every right to be scared, sad, angry, or whatever else about this happening? absolutely. but should you give up hope completely? NO!

even though kosa passed the senate, the house is on break/august recess at the moment. we have around an entire month to get emails, calls, and faxes in to house reps, maybe more depending on when they decide to vote on it.

should it pass the house and get signed into law, we still have a whole 18 months before it actually goes into effect. this is plenty of time for digital rights orgs (e.g. fight for the future, the electronic frontier foundation) and other groups that oppose it to file a lawsuit against it. even if, worst-case scenario, it flies through the house immediately after the recess ends, we can still fight this up to march 2026.

so, yes, remember what's at stake here, but also remember that it's not over yet. we lost a battle, not the war.

below are some resources to learn more about kosa and how to contact your reps (first link) + a page that lets you directly contact progressive house reps, sign an open letter opposing the bill, and view others' testimonies against it (second link):

FIGHT. FIGHT. FIGHT.

[banner123]

No Smoking Eating Drinking Sign Or Workplace Safety Sign.

No Smoking Eating Drinking Signs are used to inform the people that smoking, eating and drinking is not permitted in a particular area. These No Smoking Eating Drinking Sign can be used in industries, public places, workplaces, schools, offices, airports, and hospitals etc. These signs promote the health and safety of the people. Banner House offers high quality and industry compliant Workplace Safety Signs. Select product from our Online Shop.

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[hermthejewishwyrm]

Just a safety reminder to NEVER try shrooms or LSD if your family has any history of schizoaffective disorders.

[guildofscribes]

Humans are Weird: Caution and Lack Thereof.

Humans are not incredibly “tough” insofar as physical makeup goes in this universe, but humans ARE known for stubbornness/tenacity/whatever-you-want-to-call-it, and general acceptance of their bad decision-making abilities, which calls for measures to keep their unwieldy meat-sacks mostly alive and generally functioning.  When any of another species boards Human transports, they are always blown away by the safety precautions posted everywhere, the failsafes, the evacuation maps tucked everywhere, the plethora of escape pods and emergency buoys, life support systems and backup life support systems... not that the rest of the galaxies don't have safety measures and emergency failsafes, but they don't have as many as Humanity seems to have agreed on putting literally everywhere. Which is a bit odd when one takes into consideration that their vessels are literally pressurized vessels propelled by controlled explosions, the destruction of matter, or literal world-killing substances that are pressurized and used for fuel. Humans will hurl themselves into space using some of the most dangerous methods logged in the history of the universe, to the great endangerment of their lives and those in proximity of their craft if some system fails...

...but they have also planned for and created multiple options for continued survival should any thing indeed go wrong, along a wide variety of potential catastrophes.

To every science-oriented, non-Terran species in the galaxy, this “will to live” and “radiation of dumbass” is an ongoing study. Mainly because the humans keep spreading, and nobody knows just what to do with them. 

[feminist-space]

Anti-mask policies and decision makers are using the momentum of anti-masking in the context of covid to also prevent people from accessing or using respirators to protect their breathing and lungs from other hazards -- things that were accepted in many industries as standard safety protocols before 2020.

"“During his first week, Complainant started coughing up black phlegm, his throat and tongue would burn, and he began having breathing problems due to excessive smoke and fumes from the cupola. He notified Sturgeon but nothing changed, and he was not provided a respirator.”

After not receiving a respirator, the lawsuit said the man went to the dispensary room and picked up a respirator himself.

He wore the respirator for the next week until the lawsuit said the safety supervisor saw him wearing it and “immediately became very upset; he rudely admonished the Complainant in front of his co-workers for wearing the respirator and demanded that he take it off immediately.”

According to the lawsuit, he told the safety supervisor he did not feel safe doing his job without it and was pulled into a meeting the next day where he was told he would not be allowed to wear a respirator.

...

After the meeting, the complaint said he was assigned to shovel gravel for the day before going home for the weekend at the end of his shift. On Monday, his employment was terminated.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) opened an investigation into the company after learning of the alleged retaliation, and the DOL said in a statement that OSHA investigators with the Whistleblower’s Protection Program found the company violated federal protections by terminating the employee who exercised their protected rights to request protective equipment."

[nando161mando]

[amatrudalab]

[batknot]

Internet Etiquette

Devastating! You just saw a take that you don't agree with! This is a check for reading comprehension and the practice of good faith. 

Analyze 

What emotion was this intended to inspire?

What was the goal the speaker was trying to achieve?

How could this be interpreted differently?

Is there context that would change the meaning?

Is the speaker qualified?

Reflect

What is your first reaction and why did you have that specific reaction?

Is it an issue that is harming you and/or did the group being harmed directly state that this harms them?

Do you accept the consequences that could result from interacting?

Is the speaker someone you can reason with?

What assumptions are you making about the speaker?

Speak

What is the goal of your words?

What audience are you catering towards?

Are you talking to the person with respect?

How could your words be interpreted differently?

What reaction will people have towards your words and how is it being achieved?

[greenglowinspooks]

(DCxDP) The obligations of a rogue versus those of a parent (pt. 2)

—

Tw: N/A

Will be crossposted to AO3 eventually

(Pt. 1 here) - (Pt. 3 here)

(Masterlist/subscription post)

—

It was a beautiful morning. Somehow, against all odds, the sun was shining through the thick smog perpetually covering Gotham.

And Danny hated it.

He was in pain, he was exhausted, he was grieving, and all he wanted to do was sleep for at least a week.

In an act of celestial mockery, the sun shone regardless.

After around twenty minutes of tossing and turning in bed, trying to get back to sleep, Danny gave up and pried himself out of bed.

He stumbled through the hallway and into the living room, staring openly at every splash of color he saw in the small apartment. He hadn’t forgotten what color looked like in the time he was in the lab, but it was comforting to see.

Someone cleared their throat. Danny whipped his head around, eyes falling on a scrawny, gangly man sitting down in a worn armchair, hunched over a laptop. He was looking at him with a dull, bored expression.

Right. Scarecrow.

His escape.

The chase.

His mom.

“You look a lot less terrifying without the mask,” Danny blurted out, slapping his hand over his mouth. “I didn’t mean that.”

“Well, I certainly wouldn’t call my normal appearance frightening,” Scarecrow hummed, focusing his attention back onto the laptop, “that’s what the costume is for, after all.”

“Oh.”

After a brief moment of excruciating silence, Scarecrow spoke.

“You any good with computers, Danny? Hacking, and all that?”

Danny jolted. Scarecrow needed his help with something! This was great! Now, he’d have more of a reason not to get rid of him!

“Oh, uh, yeah! Not as good as my friend Tucker, but I think I’m pretty good.”

“And you’re familiar with the GiW’s systems specifically,” Scarecrow continued, beckoning him over. Danny complied, shuffling over awkwardly. “Right?”

“Well, I guess? My friends and I got into their stuff a couple of times before they…”

“Wonderful,” Scarecrow said, standing up with a stretch. He shoved the laptop into Danny’s hands and gestured for him to sit down on the couch. “Then you can hack into their system and extract whatever files you can find.”

Danny stared at the man like he’d lost his mind. He looked back at him expectantly.

Danny sat down.

“Yeah, I-I can do that. Tuck and I built a back door into their system ages ago,” he said, checking the screen. It was clear that for all the skills that Scarecrow had, hacking was definitely not one of them. “But, uh, don’t you have someone else that usually does this sort of thing for you? Not that I’m complaining!”

Scarecrow scowled, and Danny felt his heart fall into his ass.

“Usually, I do,” Scarecrow huffed, “but I chose to leave my most recent job with the Penguin early, so now there’s no way that he or Eddie will help me with anything until I make it up to them somehow.”

“Oh,” Danny said.

He had no clue whatsoever who Eddie was.

Danny got to work quickly, hoping that if he ignored the gangly man, he would leave him be. Luckily, he did just that, leaving to go work on something in another room.

Danny checked the laptop’s security before continuing Scarecrow’s progress, making sure that the GiW wouldn’t be able to grab their location.

It was…threateningly good. Whoever Eddie was, he had somehow crammed the functionality of a top-of-the-line PC into a tiny, beat-up old laptop. It almost reminded Danny of Tucker and his terrifying competence with his PDA.

Tucker.

Amity park.

Home.

Danny snapped himself out of his thoughts, tabbing back into the application Scarecrow had up and began to work his magic.

He had near full access to the entire GiW database within half an hour.

Mumbling out a quick thank-you to Tucker, he called Scarecrow over to appraise his work.

“Fixed up some food for you while you worked,” the rogue said, handing him a bowl of oatmeal, taking the laptop into his lap as he did so, “didn’t know how well you could eat, considering you’re recovering from… surgery, so I decided to stay on the safe side.”

Danny had no clue what this guy’s deal was.

He definitely did not tear up at the first genuine thoughtfulness he encountered in weeks, and he did not look away as he ate so that Scarecrow couldn’t see his face.

At least Scarecrow was too focused on the laptop to notice or care.

Or, maybe, he was just mercifully ignoring him.

Either way, Danny ate slowly, not wanting to make himself sick. He allowed himself to absentmindedly look around the room for the first time, taking everything in.

It was strangely homey. The space was filled with warm browns and yellows, a few splashes of color on the wall in the form of (obviously gifted) paintings. There was a beat-up bookshelf against the wall, clearly second-hand, filled to the brim with psychology books. On every available surface there was a different colored candle, all at different stages of use, clearly collected over the course of years.

Danny knew that the man next to him was a crazed, murderous criminal, but his home was oddly reminiscent of Jazz.

He was not about to cry.

“Danny,” Scarecrow hummed, snapping him out of his spiraling, “can you explain this to me?”

He looked over. The rogue was pointing to a new report, seemingly posted only a few hours ago.

Nodding, he took the computer into his lap, pouring over the contents.

He read the report again.

And again.

And again.

Danny swore loudly, crumpling like a wet paper bag, head in his hands.

“What?”

“It’s…” he swore again, glancing back at the laptop, “they…since you became liminal from synthetic ectoplasm, when we’re within about 500 meters of one another, our ectoplasm signatures resonate, and they can’t track us with any of their technology.”

“How is that a bad thing?”

“If we’re not that close to each other, they can track us down from anywhere in the world.”

Scarecrow went dead quiet. After what felt like the single longest minute of Danny’s life, he let out a truly exasperated sigh, slumping over in his seat.

“Yeah, me too,” Danny mumbled, utterly miserable.

“…I’ll have to move my plans back a little,” Scarecrow sighed, “I can’t drag an injured child with me when I attack the Gotham GiW base, you’ll just get in the way.”

“Oh come on,” Danny whined, “I can take care of myself just fine. Besides, Batman brings kids with him to do dangerous stuff all the time, and he’s fine!”

“Might I remind you that the second Robin died violently,” Scarecrow snapped, “and that Batman most likely has more traumatic brain injuries than all of the Gotham rogues combined. That really isn’t the winning argument you think it is.”

Danny paused, trying to think up some way to win the argument. Then, he realized what he had ignored before.

“Wait, Scarecrow, you’re gonna attack the GiW?”

“That’s the plan,” he nodded, “and call me Dr. Crane. I’m only Scarecrow when I’m in the mask.”

But,” Danny sputtered, “Sca—uh, Dr. Crane—that’s insane! The weapons they’ve got- they’ll rip you apart!”

“Not my first time,” Crane said, making Danny wince. “Besides, I have plenty of experience avoiding gunfire. I’ll live.”

“You…” Danny was silent for a while, trying to think of something to say, “fine, but you have to take me with you wherever you go. As soon as they see either of us on their radars, they’ll hunt us down.”

Dr. Crane sighed.

“…Fine. I need some time to plan anyways. Now, you’re going to help me download these files, properly format them, and send them out.”

“…Why?”

“Well, some of the other rogues might appreciate the heads up, and I’d quite like them to be indebted to me. Besides, I still need to pay back the Penguin for ditching him, and he loves knowing things that other people don’t.”

Danny paused.

“That’s an awful idea, no offense. If any of the rogues know our weaknesses, they—”

“Danny, we’re censoring everything. The only things they need to know about are the GiW specifically, and any sort of laws surrounding them.”

Danny snorted.

“You care about laws now?”

“Yes, because if we get taken to Arkham, they’ll hand us off to the GiW the moment they ask, and it’ll be completely legal.”

Oh. Danny had honestly forgotten that Arkham was an option.

“…Ok. I’ll help you. Who are we telling?”

“I don’t think you really need to know,” Dr. Crane said, the faintest shadow of an amused look on his face, “but I’ll humor you for now. We’re sending the files out to the Penguin, Riddler, Poison Ivy via Harley Quinn, Two-Face, and Red Hood.”

Danny nodded. He could live with that.

“Alright, then let’s get to work.”

—

[ragdolly-rabbit]

Bunny who notices your morning wood and immediately starts grinding against it whining so annoying till you shove their face in the pillow and breed them

[allthecanadianpolitics]

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency says the recent Listeria contamination of several plant-based milks occurred in a Pickering, Ont., factory. It says the contamination happened on a "dedicated production line" at Joriki, which is a third-party beverage packaging facility used by plant-milk manufacturer Danone Canada. The agency says that the production line has been "completely disassembled while inspection at the facility is ongoing." The Public Health Agency of Canada previously confirmed 18 cases of listeriosis linked to Silk brand almond milk, coconut milk, almond-coconut milk and oat milk, as well as Great Value brand almond milk.

Continue Reading

Tagging: @newsfromstolenland

[christadeguchi]

the most rancid man alive

[alwaysbewoke]

hell this is still happening today. how many times have i seen old expired meat being sold at grocery stores in black neighborhoods? whole ass studies have been done on this. smfh the more things change the more they stay the same.

[wtfearth123]

Watch what happens to Germs when you wash your hands with Soap at microscopic level. 🔬 The Soap molecules surround germ cells and disrupt their cell walls, causing them to burst.

Germ cells are surrounded by a cell wall that protects them from the environment. This cell wall is made up of a layer of peptidoglycan, which is a polymer of amino acids and sugars. Soap molecules are made up of two parts: a hydrophobic (water-fearing) tail and a hydrophilic (water-loving) head. When soap is added to water, the hydrophobic tails group together and the hydrophilic heads face outward, forming micelles. These micelles can surround germ cells and the hydrophobic tails can then disrupt the cell walls, causing the cells to burst.

The hydrophobic tails of the soap molecules can disrupt the cell wall in two ways. First, they can bind to the peptidoglycan molecules and weaken the bonds between them. Second, they can create holes in the cell wall. Once the cell wall is disrupted, the germ cells lose their internal contents and die.

It is important to note that soap only works to kill germ cells that are surrounded by a cell wall. Germ cells that do not have a cell wall, such as viruses, are not affected by soap.

The size of the soap micelles is important. Micelles that are too small will not be able to surround the germ cells. Micelles that are too large will not be able to penetrate the cell walls.

The concentration of soap is also important. A higher concentration of soap will be more effective at killing germ cells.

The temperature of the water can also affect the effectiveness of soap. Soap is more effective at killing germ cells in warm water than in cold water.

I hope this post has helped you understand the importance of handwashing and why doctors always ask you to do it regularly. Washing your hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds is one of the best ways to prevent the spread of germs and stay healthy. So please, wash your hands often and help keep yourself and others safe!

Thank you for reading this post. I hope you found it informative and helpful. Please share it with your friends and family so they can learn about the importance of handwashing too. 😊🙏

[i-stare-back]

Why fuck KOSA?

"Its a good act that'll help stop teens and children from being exposed to the worse parts of the internet right?"

NOPE

KOSA is going to basically eliminate most forms of internet anonymity and endanger kids. Let me tell you a few key things;

KOSA is going to make users register their identity to companies. You are no longer anonymous and your activity can be traced back to you.

KOSA is going to make companies that display and distribute social media control what they allow so that it blocks anything loosely deemed "inappropriate". This includes most information about mental health, LGBTQ+, and more. Its essentially going to sweep everything not completely G rated under the rug.

KOSA is going to allow parents full access to see what their child is doing online. This is letting parents completely control what might be their kids only respite from life. Its also going to endanger children of parents who might be homophobic, transphobic, or just extremely strict.

"Well it doesn't say any of that in the .gov site. It says that it'll stop teens from being exposed to stuff that might harm their mental health!"

Do you have any idea how vague that description is? At that point, basically everything could be taken down or hidden because there was a slight debate on whether it was "negatively affecting mental health or not".

This isn't even all of what it could do. I'm just restating everything I've gathered from reading posts and news articles. If you want to know more, there's a ton of information if you go to #kosa or related.

If you want to stop KOSA, spread the word. Protest against it with sites like badinternetbills, reblog and share this post and similar posts on tumblr and other social media sites, and tell your friends and family to as well.

[xiaq]

I'm seeing a lot of folks online and IRL who are (understandably!) excited about Kamala's momentum after the debate (and T Swift's endorsement) last night. But I want to caution people against holding her up as some infallible, ideal candidate. Read the fact-checking transcripts from BBC and NPR. Understand what her position is on subjects that are important to you. Her platform is significantly more moderate than it used to be because she's trying to appeal to Republicans that are disillusioned with their candidate (it's working!).

But that means that if you care about things like the genocide which continues in Gaza, the expansion of fracking and other environmental concerns, decriminalizing border crossings, student loans, disability, and healthcare policies, you need to be attentive to the platform she's running on and the new promises she's making, not what she may have said or promised in the past

If she wins this, it will certainly be a win. Kamala is far and away the best candidate. But a Kamala win won't signal the end of the work we need to do. I don't want to dampen anyone's excitement, but holding any human being up as a faultless icon is a recipe for disappointment.