#source: the society instagram

[hauntedradiotower]

media I wish i could show my 10 year old self

[northgazaupdates]

A group of journalists held a public appeal yesterday for an end to Israel’s siege of the northern Gaza Strip, where practically no food aid has entered since October 2023. People in the north are living and dying in famine due to the complete blockade by the IOF.

To make matters worse, most mainstream media outlets are ignoring the plight of north Gaza, as the journalists and other people remaining in the north are predominantly Arabic-speaking. The north of Gaza is starving in silence.

Instagram user faridaek has been kind enough to repost the appeal with English subtitles added. This is a significant undertaking that we greatly appreciate, and we ask everyone with an Instagram account to share the video.

The journalist speaking is Islam Bader. He and his colleagues are making this appeal on behalf of the people of northern Gaza. The journalists present include Abed Alqadr Sabbah, Mahmoud Al-Awadia, Momin Abu Owda, Mahmoud Sabbah, Mahmoud El-Shareef, Anas Al-Sharif, Islam Bader, Mohammed Ahmed, and Fadi Al-Whidi, among others. The subtitles read

From the north of the Gaza Strip, we, as journalists still stationed here in the north stand today driven by our ethical responsibility and national duty as a voice for all those who remain steadfast in Gaza and its north who are being subjected to a policy of extermination and a policy of starvation which is no less than extermination. The markets have been emptied of all essentials, and there is no flour available except in rare instances. The occupation does not allow aid to enter, maintaining its obstinate siege against our people and our families. We are of this people, and today we speak for Palestinians, for the besieged and for those denied life’s essentials. The most basic necessities have now become extremely rare in Gaza.

Therefore, we issue this call as a final warning, about a severe famine that is unprecedented on a global scale and impacting all facets of life, particularly children, individuals with chronic conditions and society’s most vulnerable groups. We hold the Israeli occupation and the international community especially the United States responsible for this starvation because it is happening in front of the eyes and ears of the entire world without any concrete action [on the ground] to stop it. The occupation’s claims of aid delivery are deceptive and unfounded. In reality, nothing has entered the north of the Gaza Strip.

Therefore, this final call, on behalf of all these people, on behalf of our fellow journalists, on behalf of our families and on behalf of Palestinians and the displaced in the north of the Gaza Strip is for the world to uphold its responsibility. North Gaza is starving, and this famine must be stopped.

Source: Islam Bader et al via faridaek on Instagram

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Farida EK (@faridaek)

[fairuzfan]

shalom sister. i love your blog and your writing. reading your posts always fills me with fire, i can tell you have a good heart. donating to your campaign makes me feel so good because i trust you and truly you are doing gds work. anyway i wanted to ask you a question!

when i hear new things from gaza, stories of hamas doing X and IOF doing Y, i ask around and i’m not sure what parts of that story is true, if any. anyway idk what to believe all i know is that israel is committing acts of genocide and while the rest of the world is allowing this greatest evil, israel pretends that to be jewish is to be a colonizer. anyway some of my family are zionists, but i cannot sway them because they only know farsi persian and hebrew, aka only trust extremely biased sources.

anyway i am fluent in english farsi and hebrew but my arabic is trash ): so i feel like i can’t get the full picture from palestinians. all i can read are bonkers iranian papers and the disgusting zionist articles, it’s horrible because i know they’re both lying, just about different things. a palestinian opinion is the only opinion i care about right now! anyway it got me thinking. i just wanted to know if you have tips for verifying online research? or go-to non arabic websites? or even a translation app haha. i just want my family to see the truth!

shalom<3

shalom! thank you so much for reaching out, i really appreciate it.

personally, i use different sources for different material. i use middle east eye (specifically maha hussaini) and also mahmoud abusalama for videos of what it's like in the north. i use the electronic intifada interview podcasts to learn about specific things happening (i just finished watching this one about the collapse of healthcare in gaza). i would check out @northgazaupdates on here too. there's euromedmonitor as well.

and really, there are a lot of diaspora palestinians who are relaying what their family tells them, and they post on twitter a lot. someone i know does this is samah fadil. there's also @el-shab-hussein who translates things from Mona. here's mohammad smiry who is in gaza and tweets primarily in english. dr. mustafa elmasri also tweets in english too.

i would use al-jazeera, i have a fact checking guide here about any news source really. i don't use it as much but there's also the palestine chronicle. sometimes i use quds news network.

i really don't know much about hebrew media so i can't really tell you about sources i recommend there. i don't know if @bringmemyrocks or @rodeodeparis can perhaps provide some input?

i will say, if you're looking for hebrew palestinian media, i dont think there's too much because there's a ridiculous amount of censorship in '48 right now (honestly it's been going on for years atp) but what a lot of palestinians are doing is relying on internal networks. if you want, there are some israeli historians like Ilan Pappe and Avi Shlaim but I'm not sure if they write in hebrew. but they for sure write in english and provide a historical perspective from within israeli society itself.

this is what comes to mind rn honestly, but i haven't even touched on instagram because i haven't been on it in a while. i might add on later if i remember any really vital ones that i recommend.

[amourdivine]

୨ ♡ ୧︰ TAROT 101: developing your intuition.

Hello lovelies, welcome to the first post of my Tarot 101 series! After receiving a few questions, I decided to incorporate a series of tips and tutorials for other self-taught readers. Today, I'm answering a follower's asks sent in my DM's. I'm tackling it separately, so it makes more sense to other people to read it. PS: Since this is a major work in progress and I'm not an all-knowing, almighty entity, please provide feedback, comments or concerns you might have! Thank you.

☁️ ˚ NAVIGATE ༉ ‧

INSTAGRAM ୭ YOUTUBE ୭ MASTERLIST ୭ PAYHIP

How you develop your intuition and psychic abilities while reading tarot?

There is not one size fits all. While many readers recommend connecting to oneself, that's just the basis of it, really, but the main concept is to look at yourself, compassionately. Without the judgment of our everyday lives and the chaos of getting things right in the first attempt. You cannot be honest with yourself (or your intuition), if self-denial is the state you're living in. Or worse: if you view the truth as punishment.

It's always going to be a journey of discovery, and the first thing about spirituality is that you need to keep an open heart to the magic. Skepticism may get you far ahead in your career or financial matters, but when it comes to intuition, you can't grasp onto logic all the time.

With tarot, it's a little more practical: learn and lean into the cards. Notice I didn't say memorize, because many of us are busy enough with our everyday schedules. Just tap into them. Look at them. What does The Lovers remind you of? Maybe it takes you to the story about the Garden of Eden. Or- maybe it reminds you of your parents, their golden youth before marrying.

Again. No judgement. Let your stream of consciousness free. A huge part of reading tarot is allowing your imagination to run wild. Although the Devil card can symbolize obsession or addiction at first, take into account the spread, the topic. The context. What is your body telling you about the images you see?

We often underestimate the symbolism behind the cards. Without considering the traditional meanings,take one card out of your deck and just look at it. What colors are prominent? What do these colors represent in modern society? Do these people look happy? Are there any people at all? Where are they? Let your mind weave a story.

As a tarot reader, what you do on daily basis for intuition and tarot reading? What practices, book, or some kind of information which help you for tarot readings?

There are many things that have helped me, personally, but I'm going to mention some of the best practices I've seen, both for myself and for others.

› Stay creative. If it means drawing, writing, or painting, then stay creative. Find whatever little (or big) ways you can express your creativity. Remember you don't have to be "good". You can just be. Creativity exists in a lot of ways.

› Engage with other readers. Observe them. You can find a tarot reader that deeply resonates with you and watch how they read. Test if it works for you. Remember this is your practice, it's your sacred space, so you don't have to follow someone else's rules.

› Read, if and when you can. I personally recommend the book "History of Tarot" by Isabelle Nadolny, but not everyone can afford books or the time to read them. There are plenty of Youtube tutorials and free guidebooks on Biddy Tarot, for example. I also love Servant of The Fates' blog. They're both different and great, reliable sources.

› Start small. You can pull one card a day. Get a journal, write its meaning (or what it means to you) and record your progress. In a few months, when you return to it, you might find it surprising.

› Let yourself not know everything. No one does. Sometimes, you'll need to pause, go back to a guidebook and read the meaning all over again. Other times, you'll look at the spread and feel nothing. That's okay too. We're not meant to know all the answers.

Is meditation really important for reading tarot? Why? How much time do you spend daily for tarot readings and spiritual practices?

Since this is more of a personal matter, I'll be talking about myself. I don't meditate as often as most readers. Three times a month, maybe? I have a busy schedule and I can only meditate before bed, if I'm not too sleepy. Many people find that meditation makes them anxious or they're not able to fully let go. Other people find it that being in silence or taking a walk is more useful to them. Relaxation and meditation come in many, many forms. The important thing is to nurture your body and soul more than to adhere to rigid rules.

However, when it comes to saving time for readings or spiritual practices, I don't set rules for myself. It never works for me.

I let it flow. Sometimes, I go weeks on end without really consuming tarot content and I bond with my decks occasionally. And other times, I'm reading daily, journaling and trying to improve my skills. Since I have a billion other things to care for, I'm not always able to prioritize tarot as much as I'd like, but the important thing is to stay passionate, stay curious and get back to it. Better late than never.

When you're getting started, let yourself try. If you get it wrong, at least you'll be one step closer to getting it right.

amourdivine. 2021 - 2024 © do not copy, redistribute or edit my content.

[dostoyevsky-official]

The use of the internet to obtain information is an increasingly common part of hiring processes. This often takes the form of ‘cybervetting’, which Berger and Zickar (2016) describe as ‘performing supplemental background checks in prescreening and selection by ‘Googling’ job applicants and reviewing their profiles on Social Network Sites like Facebook’ (p. 43). Survey results from the Society for Human Resource Management (2016) show that 43% of organizations in the US engage in some form of cybervetting, though other surveys suggest that the figure may be as high as 70% (CareerBuilder, 2018). According to SHRM (2016), 36% of organizations claim to have disqualified an applicant because of the information they found online. There are few laws to restrict cybervetting [...]

First, many employers use cybervetting as a form of risk management, a way of ‘reducing uncertainty’ about job candidates. For instance, they look for evidence of problematic behaviors and report eliminating job candidates based on online content revealing provocative behavior, substance abuse and expletive language. Second, employers use online content to infer the extent to which candidates fit well with organizational goals and ‘culture’. They look for evidence of ‘professionalism’ online in the form of broad interests, creativity, good communication skills and high status network connections. Content deemed ‘unprofessional’ negatively affects applicant ratings, as well as hiring and salary recommendations.

Cybervetting practitioners—usually HR personnel or other hiring agents—often take its purported organizational benefits at face value and interpret online content as accurately reflecting mental ability and personality. In actuality, correlations between online content and personality scoring are modest and personality assessments of online content offer little predictive value for subsequent job performance and turnover.

[...] About 70% of the [interviewed] HR professionals were engaged in some form of online screening. They looked at a variety of online sources, including resumes on job boards, social media profiles on sites like Instagram and Facebook, Twitter feeds and even Craigslist posts.  

[...] Risk management is pursued through the search for two types of signals: ‘red flags’, which indicate a potentially risky employee, and ‘professionalism’, an indicator of positive qualities and low risk. Red flags include signs of immaturity, lewdness, criminality or dishonesty; they generate uncertainty about a candidate’s character or judgment. [...] Another ‘red flag’ was online blog and status posts where candidates ‘bad-mouthed’ their employers. 

[...] These assessments are highly subjective and emotionally charged, as Alicia, an accounting firm recruiter, recounted:

Alicia: Honestly, the thing that scares me away more than anything is just somebody who looks mean. If you have a mean photo, because I'm kind of a softie, I don't like that. It doesn't make me feel good. I won't not send [the job candidate] on to the hiring manager because of that, but it will linger with me.

Steve McDonald, Amanda K Damarin, Hannah McQueen, Scott T Grether, "The hunt for red flags: cybervetting as morally performative practice"

[saraswritingtipps]

Writing prompts about vampires

1. In a modern-day city, vampires live among humans, hidden in plain sight. Write a story about a vampire who struggles to resist their primal instincts while maintaining a normal life, until they meet someone who changes everything.

2. In a post-apocalyptic world overrun by vampires, a group of survivors discovers a hidden sanctuary where humans and vampires coexist peacefully. Explore the challenges and conflicts that arise as they attempt to bridge the gap between the two species.

3. A vampire hunter dedicated to eradicating vampires realizes that they have been turned into a vampire themselves. Describe their internal struggle as they come to terms with their new existence and decide whether to embrace it or fight against it.

4. A vampire with a conscience decides to only feed on criminals and wrongdoers, seeing it as a way to serve justice. Write about their encounters with both human and supernatural adversaries who question their moral code.

5. Two vampires from rival clans fall in love with each other, sparking a forbidden romance. Explore the challenges they face, including their families' disapproval and the consequences of breaking the ancient vampire laws.

6. A vampire wakes up one night with no memory of their past and embarks on a journey to uncover their true identity. Along the way, they discover dark secrets about their vampire lineage and their own role in a centuries-old prophecy.

7. In a society where vampires are enslaved and used as a source of nourishment, a young vampire rises as a leader, rallying others to fight for their freedom. Write about their struggle for equality and the sacrifices they make along the way.

8. A vampire who has lived for centuries develops a deep fascination with human art and culture. Describe their attempts to blend into human society, learning and adapting to the ever-changing world while keeping their true nature hidden.

9. A vampire coven finds themselves targeted by a powerful vampire hunter who possesses unique abilities and knowledge. Explore the intense cat-and-mouse game as the coven members fight for their survival and uncover the hunter's true motivations.

10. In a world where vampires are a dominant species and humans are on the brink of extinction, a human survivor discovers a way to turn the tide and bring balance back to the world. Tell the story of their journey to rally other humans and challenge the vampire regime.

Follow me on my IG for more Content. https://instagram.com/saraswritingtipps?igshid=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ==

[icedsodapop]

(Instagram source)

So, Sim Kern has a tiktok on moral injury and leftist spaces. My problem isn't with the video itself (I found it quite insightful and now have another book rec to add to my ever growing tbr list) but with a particular comment on Sim Kern's instagram post of this tiktok:

To explain, the reason why I have an issue with this comment is because there is a tendency for left-leaning military veterans (esp those from the US) to prioritize/privilege/center their own hurt feelings over being "rejected" from leftist spaces. And what's even more frustrating is how so many pple, including Sim Kerns themselves, are jumping into the replies to comfort alexramos8485.

And this is frustrating to me because as a society, we are often expected to understand why military veterans, esp those from the imperial core, chose to serve in the military as evidenced in this reply:

And this is because we have been conditioned by Western media to sympathize with military veterans from the imperial core (also becos the West has a lot of cultural softpower). So many tv shows and movies from the West are devoted to understanding the psyche of these soldiers, the troubles facing them when they return home from a tour, uncovering the backstories that led to them making the choice to serve in the military.

So here we are understanding why military veterans make the choices that they make, however these military veterans often do not make the same effort to understand why there are leftist spaces that are "hostile" towards them. This reply really sums my thoughts:

I'm not saying that we should reject military veterans from leftist spaces, they provide unique perspectives and experiences that are of use when building movements and coalitions. I just wish that for veterans from the imperial core wanting to enter leftist spaces, y'all have to do the work, y'all have to learn to de-center your feelings and actually listen to the pple impacted by the wars caused by your country's military forces which you are also complicit in, actually prioritize their feelings. One of the greatest strengths of leftism is that we leftists are a very diverse and ecclectic bunch so there are tons of leftist circles that exist, but remember that you are neither entitled to forgiveness by those affected by your complicity in your country's military nor to being in all leftist circles.

[evilautisticsociety]

Making a master list for all the great Hopepunk Solarpunk posts ive seen (IT UPDATES!!)

you don’t have to read all of this! you can scroll and find ones that interest you, id bold the ones that i want you to see but then all the links would be bold lmao

giving this to my future self

recipes under 45 minutes, 5 or less ingredients

What is conformity?

What is Solarpunk? (reddit masterpost)

Hattie Carthan- A 60 year old black women who paved the way (website)

Rules of Guerrilla Gardening (youtube)

When to do Guerrilla Gardening (and when not to

Easy way to do Guerrila Gardening (no seed bombs needed) (youtube)

Hope is not mindless optimism

Solar punks are against a shitty future

Deeeefinitely don’t look at the native plants and plant them alongside sidewalks to make the world greener and prettier

How to really make a difference

It is the cohabitation that makes all things beautiful.

Buy Nothing group; becoming a community

Fixing clothes- how to do it

Know your local communities

What if we stop an apocalypse?

Individual action into collective action

Wallgardens- More accessible and less space needed

Gardening for a climate resistance

Social Ecology

Actual solarpunk vs misconception

How to help with little energy/effort

An actual ecovillage!!

Attracting native birds

Amazing Ecovillage (tiktok vid)

Reconstructed Railway Bridge (tiktok vid)

What is Solarpunk? (youtube(

How can we make Solarpunk a reality? (youtube)

A cool guerrilla gardening group (youtube)

How radical gardeners took back centeral city (yourube)

Trees bring rain

Minimalism vs Solarpunk

The first guerrilla gardener (website)

More about Hattie Carthan (website)

Project of homes for homeless

Recommended youruber for Solarpunk

The problem with individualism

California has passed a food law! (Website)

How to be a Druid

How to make Biomass sustainable again

Indigenous Climate Plan!!! (Website)

What is Solarpunk? (website)

Permaculture

Conventional vs Unconventional Permaculture

Independent Gardening is NOT Inaccessible!

Role of Poor Soil

Example of a Guerilla Gardening Community

Seed Companies

How to Start a Garden (for FREE!!)

Affective Mousetrap (no rat poison needed)

How to get started with a new climate project (Instagram)

A district in Japan which works together with fish

How to start medicinal garden

Solar panels work

Ideas to improve bus stop

Kinetic energy power sources

Solar farms

Solarpunk Poetry

Food map :0 (where wild fruit/owned fruit trees are)

How to choose hope

How to turn your neighbourhood into a village

Creating a liberating society this sets off my warning sirens but idk look into it

Creating a Solarpunk city

Ableism, Cottagecire, and Solarpunk

Increasing soil capacity for water

Sourdough Recipe :3

Anarchists Calisthetics (anarcht every day!)

Guerilla gardening tutorial

[cvrnelians]

unfollowed - chapter one

Kendall has been building up the courage to talk to you for a while now. When he finds your Twitter account, he sees this as the perfect opportunity to get to know you anonymously, without any preconceived notions.

He didn’t mean for it to go this far. He’s planning on telling you the truth eventually, he really is! One day. When it’s the right time.

Ideally, before you figure out he’s not Greg.

chapter two

-

chapter one

You figured you knew all there was to know (and more than you ever even wanted to know) about the Roys. Who didn't? They were that perfect mix of arrogance and absurd wealth that made news outlets go apeshit. You tried your best to tune them out as you scrolled through social media, but your attempts to evade them were simply unrealistic at this point.

When you were away from your phone, you were still inundated with information about whatever scandal of they week they were involved with. You would catch a blip of Roman being hounded by paparazzi on the news, or one of your professors would bring up Shiv's campaign strategies as a controversial talking point. They were even a source of conversation during forced family functions, somehow melding into a foolproof way to break the ice. You were doubtful of many things in this life, but if there was one thing you knew for certain, it was this:

Nothing created stronger bonds between people than by banding together to talk shit about other people.

Everyone seemed to have something to say about that family. There were so many of them, and they were so awful, and their power and influence only made them even more awful. You likened them to the popular kids at school, or the Kardashians or something. The general consensus was that everyone hated them, and yet, no one turned down an opportunity to see what they were up to, twenty four hours a day, seven days a week, three hundred and sixty five days a year. They were a guilty pleasure for the masses, actors in a soap opera designed to make everyone stop and stare.

But mostly point and laugh.

It all started with a Twitter DM. Seriously. A Twitter DM.

In retrospect, you couldn’t help but think about how comical it all was—being romantically pursued through a Twitter DM. 

At least it wasn’t Instagram. Whenever someone messaged you there, you never gave it a second look. Instagram DMs from strange men you didn't know typically manifested as a reaction to one of your photos, which you were none too crazy about. A Twitter DM was strange in a different way. You had little to no identifying information on your account, just your first name and your birthday. Your avi was a photo of your cat taking a nap. If someone had something to say to you on Twitter, it wasn't appearance based. It was a genuine reaction to something stupid you said, plain and simple.

And so, because you had a grand total of seven followers (two friends you barely spoke to, your sister, three acquaintances from college, and one bot), the message stood out. As one could expect from someone with seven followers, your tweets were nothing groundbreaking. You treated Twitter like it was your personal diary, or some kind of vat to pour your stream of consciousness into.

Your most popular tweets?

i'm exhausted

i dyed my hair all by myself and it actually looks ok ( o :

should i go vegan

oh god i'm so exhaustedddddd rn

that one song by the gorillaz about sunshine in a bag??? that's my shit

i'm. so. EXHAUSTED ): ): ):

You were quite the wordsmith, if you said so yourself.

Best (or worst) of all, though?

can we as a society please make a pact to collectively block the roy family on every platform? i’m so sick of hearing about them and seeing their dumbass posts on my feed. i’m honestly going to have a mental breakdown make it stop please

Within ten minutes, someone favorited what you wrote. When you went to check your notifications, you were surprised to find that the person who liked it wasn’t anyone you knew personally, or the bot. When you tapped on the profile, you felt a pit in your stomach. You reminded yourself that you should really make your account private, simply to avoid such a bizarre, anxiety-ridden feeling. You hadn’t thought anyone would actually try and contact you. Why would they?

You breathed a sigh of relief when you pulled up the account, which was nothing too crazy. The impression you got from the very limited information you had (considering the person’s avi was the Gucci logo, which elicited a massive eye roll) was that it was most likely a man, probably in his twenties or thirties. Very into bitcoin. Very into US stocks. Very into retweeting disparaging things about Harvard and trashing various platforms’ “algos” and other things that were totally irrelevant to your life.

The one thing that broke up the monotony of it all?

The Beastie Boys.

Oh, and Wu-Tang Clan.

Whoever this dude was, he had a Spotify account, and he wasn’t afraid to use it. He had a penchant for screenshotting whatever (predominantly 90s of any and every genre, and occasionally EDM) song he was listening to and posting it for all the world (aka his 35 followers) to see.

As if anyone cared. You couldn’t be too hard on him, though, not when you had done the same thing on your own account multiple times, and continued to do so. You actually had similar taste in music, which you thought was always a fun commonality to share.

Just as soon as you started to lurk the profile, you got a message in your inbox. It happened so fast that it almost made you jump, like he knew you were looking at it.

I would have to agree. They’re pretty awful, but definitely not worth the mental breakdown.

Then, a few seconds later…

Kendall doesn’t seem so bad, though.

You weren't planning on responding. It was rare that you had any interaction with strangers on the internet. It wasn’t like you were avidly against it or anything. You just…never really found the time. But it was 4:30 in the morning, you were wide awake, your tv wasn't working, and you wanted something to keep your mind occupied. 

You got home from your sister’s wedding at around midnight, but you felt too wired to sleep. It had been a nice evening overall. The ceremony was beautiful, the reception was fun. You were beyond happy for your sister and her now husband, who you suspected she was going to marry for years now. There was drinking and dancing and you saw family members you actually liked, family members you hadn’t seen in years. Your mom had flown in from California. Even though you spoke on the phone nearly everyday, getting the chance to actually see her was always wonderful.

Conversely, Aria’s wedding had forced you to come into contact with someone you hadn’t seen in years, someone you hated more than anyone else in the world.

Well, maybe that was dramatic. There were worse people in the world. But you did hate him. A lot.

Your father.

Crazy, how just one drop could poison the well, ruining a perfectly good night.

You shoved those thoughts down, instead redirecting your focus towards the weird little man on your phone. You decided you had reached your allotted crying limit for that week.

You both replied at the same time.

Really? I get weird vibes off him.

Not to make you feel weird or anything, but I'm scrolling through your tweets and you listen to some pretty good music.

That did make you feel weird—but a good weird, an amused sort of weird. This random person was scrolling through your tweets, developing a positive opinion of you based on your disdain for the Roys and the your penchant for blaring the Blood Sugar Sex Magik album in your car on the way to work. You had stalked his profile too, so you supposed it was only fair to allow him to do the same.

Wait. Weird how?

Oh thanks. I know no one really cares what music I’m listening to but idk, I just like posting about it.

I’m the same. It’s like, I like my music so I want other people to like it, too.

Weird how though??

Meanwhile everyone else is just listening to *their* music, thinking the exact same thing.

I can’t really pinpoint it. It just seems like there’s more than meets the eye with him, but maybe not in a good way. Like there’s a lot going on under the surface that we don’t get to see.

I get the impression that he has a lot to hide, you know what I mean?

Hah. I think you’re dead on with that one actually.

I read somewhere that he’s a pretty private person, which I think is kind of understandable all things considered.

Yeah, maybe. I don’t know, for some reason I get this weird feeling that in a few years it’s gonna come out that he’s done some seriously bad things that got covered up because he has money.

It’s one thing to keep things to yourself, but I think there’s more to it than that.

There’s private and then there’s secretive, if that makes any sense.

Yeah, I get that.

But what do I know? This is coming from someone that posts their every waking moment on twitter. I’m mostly anonymous on here, but maybe I need to “take a page out of his book” or whatever.

I would prefer not to, though.

Too complicated?

Yeah. And bleak. 

At least, that’s how it seems to me.

His replies had been coming in fast, but this one took a bit longer to arrive. You could see the little dots indicating that he was typing pop up and disappear a few times, like he kept writing something and deleting it. He seemed to actually care about your reaction to what he was saying, trying to come up with the right thing to say next...which was odd.

Then again, you kind of did, too.

Wow. Tell me how you really feel.

I’m not normally this judgmental. It’s just with that family in particular. They’re so oversaturated in the press. Maybe he’s a nice guy. He clearly has some depth to him. Who knows, though? I’ll never actually meet him lol.

I mean, not that I should care what some random on twitter thinks of me anyway. But idk.

“Some random” lol. Thanks for that.

I do have a name, you know.

What is it, then? I MUST know.

You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.

You scoffed and rolled your eyes.

Post Malone??? Is that u????

Lol Jesus Christ. No.

Jesus Christ???? I didn’t know you had a secret twitter. Do you have a finsta, too?

Alright smartass. My name is Kendall, ironically.

Also, what’s a finsta?

You couldn’t help but laugh at that. You didn’t want to make him feel bad, though. If he didn’t know, he didn’t know.

Wait, how old are you?

My guess? Probably older than you. Actually, definitely older than you.

Oh???

But not by much.

Wow. Very elusive. Are you sure you’re not Kendall Roy?

Again, you were left waiting. The dots popped up and disappeared. Once, twice, three times.

I could only dream of being that handsome and powerful. But no, I’m not. Sadly. 

Lol I like how you had to think about it.

I was sending an e-mail for work, geez. I’m not obligated to respond to you immediately.

At 4 in the morning?

You must be a workaholic.

Oh, you have no idea…

You wondered if he was bored, too. He seemed genuinely interested in keeping the conversation going.

Usually I don’t like to give out my info but you seem fairly non-threatening. So, ballpark estimate, I’m somewhere in my late thirties.

It probably wasn’t the brightest idea to be talking to a stranger who claimed to be in his late thirties, which was, in fact, older than you. He easily could’ve been lying. Maybe he was twenty, maybe he was eighty. There was no way for you to know definitively what was real and what wasn’t, unless you did a bit of digging. You didn’t have much to go on, but you supposed it didn’t matter. You were just talking, and this little conversation would likely end within the next twenty minutes or so, when you finally willed yourself to shut your eyes and go to sleep.

What are you doing up so late, anyway? Assuming you’re in the US. You did mention that it was 4am.

Ah. So he was having trouble sleeping, too.

For context, I’m on the east coast, where it is also 4am. Which is ungodly late. Or early, depending on how you look at it.

I’m on the east coast, too.

You’re just as crazy as I am, then.

Speak for yourself, House of Gucci.

Lol wow you really are kind of a smartass, aren’t you?

I’m in New York.

No way! I’m in New York too. Upstate or downstate?

I don’t like giving out my info, remember?

You just opted to tell me you lived in New York completely unprovoked but ok.

And you’re right. You are older than me. "Ballpark” I’m in my twenties. But it’s nice to hear that you’re thirty and flirty and thriving.

Wow. I would love to be even just one of those things right now. 

You frowned at that.

Aw. I can relate.

Well, maybe we can commiserate together.

Maybe tomorrow? I really need to try and sleep. I have work in the morning.

I kind of figured. What do you do?

Damn. He really did want to keep this going, what with completely ignoring everything you just said about wanting to go to sleep.

I don’t like giving out my info, REMEMBER?

Yeah, yeah. Sorry, I’ll let you sleep. Sorry if this was weird, I’m at the airport right now and my flight got delayed. I wanted to kill some time and you seemed like you might be cool, so

Have a good night, alright?

You smiled to yourself, leaning back into your cocoon of pillows. Texting had actually made your eyes a little tired.

You too.

As you set your phone down on your nightstand, you saw it light up one more time. You wanted to groan. Was this guy seriously trying to keep it going even after you said goodnight? Were you going to have to block him?

But no. It was just a notification that he had followed you.

“Cute,” you mumbled to yourself, following him back.

If this weird, pleasant little interaction was any reflection of what “internet friends” might be like, maybe you would leave your account public.

…for now.

[daughterofprofit96]

So, I did a post about Netflix in honour of #renewshadowandbone day. Thought I'd bring it here.

Remember to sign and share the petition! You can look it up as "Save Shadow and Bone". Also, remember to follow the savethegrishaverse account to hear all about the campaign!

Instagram: rescatedelgrishaverse

Twitter and Spotify: barrelboss96

Onto the post:

Netflix has gone under a series of changes lately.

One of them is the Extra Member policy, in which one account can't be used by people who aren't members of a household. If you want to allow access to someone that doesn't live in your household, you have to pay an extra fee (currently in places like the US).

Okay, so Netflix wants to stay relevant and make more money. What are they doing with it?

As of late, we've all seen Netflix focusing in new markets (i.e. the release of new reality shows and games)

Especially considering the amount of competition Netflix has nowadays, this is clever. And sure, they've been known to release good content once in a while (like Society of the Snow or The Umbrella Academy).

But then, we have content like Love is Blind, which has caused a lot of controversy with the several allegations that the cast is forced to filmed under the influence of alcohol, that they are underfed and that the whole thing is very detrimental to their mental health.

Another thing is that many of Netflix's most popular shows are ending in 2024-2025. The Umbrella Academy, Stranger Things and One Piece, to name a few (and all of them relatively expensive if we take into account their production costs).

Of course, Netflix has new content on its way (like the fantastic Greta Gerwig's Narnia) but the thing is, the number of shows that are cancelled after its second season is astoundingly high so, what does that mean for the viewer's trust in Netflix new material? That we're going to get new shows only to have them cancelled? That the only ones they're going to see through are the realities? I for one, am hesitant to trust this.

Netflix argued that the increase of fees, the change of their policy when it comes to shared accounts and even the introduction of ads would serve for development of new content. I would argue that a better use would be finishing the shows they've already released, like Shadow and Bone. With an established fanbase, finished script for a Spin-off, a lot of source material and even an Emmy nomination, it's really a no-brainer.

Netflix, finish what you start. First in the agenda: #renewshadowandbone.

[witchescollection]

notes on the craft #1

(feat sources bc credibility and further reading is good! also please discuss these with me below if you want!)

the wheel of the year isn't super historical! especially a lot of the modern rites we have (Hutton, 2008). In fact contemporary paganism as a whole is new and has... not the most reputable origins (York, 1999). What I infer from this is that, since the origins of a lot of contemporary paganism is stretching the truth at best, and downright fictitious at worst, the "tradition" of witchcraft is untrustworthy. there is no doctrine, no guidebook - only suggestions, and you can absolutely ignore them.

lots of articles and videos glamourise witchcraft. there are a lot of (and i mean a lot of) issues within contemporary pagan spaces, in varying degrees of severity (nazis, superiority complexes, cults, a disrespect for others). with articles entitled "How To Use Magic To Get Over Someone You Dated" (vogue, 2019), and tiktoks about "being the strongest witch in North America" (@/mami.onami, n.d), an appeal to witchcraft has been made for people who have been mistreated by society and ache to have power over those who have hurt them. whilst it's true that witchcraft is powerful, if the draw to a religion or practice is rooted in revenge or anger, the practitioner is not going to stay in the craft for long. furthermore, this shallow depiction of witchcraft is the reason why even people who seek out the craft for other reasons may struggle to stick with witchcraft. it's not seen as a part of your being, it's seen as an aesthetic or a tool to control others, and is then discarded when the goal has been achieved or the aesthetic becomes boring or out of fashion.

and finally, hot take: if you're doing all your research from tiktok, or tumblr, or instagram and then complain your craft is not fulfilling, that is why. because tiktok is filled with videos rooted in nothing but myths or beliefs masquerading as facts or science (see here, here [which seems to be referencing a variety of folklore that isn't fae, and generic horror tropes], and here). social media can be absolutely beneficial in your practice, but factchecking is key. contrary to popular belief, rosemary and clear quartz are not substitutes for everything (unless you decide them to be).

[bfpnola]

image description by @swosheep

ID 1: All images are screenshots of a post made by walidalwawi on Instagram. They are all of black text on a plain white background. The first image is titled "Indigeneity in Palestine and Israel's Co-Opting of Indigenous Struggles" in large font. The body text, much smaller, reads: "Any discussion of Indigeneity regarding a group of people must delve into colonialism, particularly settler colonialism." Below the body text there is text reading: "1/10", with an arrow pointing left.

ID 2: The second image is titled: "1. What Is Indigeneity?" in underlined text. The body text reads: "In a broader scientific context, the term 'Indigeneity' or 'Indigenous' refers to the origin of a species or organism from a specific location. However, when referring to a people in the context of human rights and international law, 'Indigenous' refers to the original inhabitants of a particular region who have lived there for generations before the arrival of colonial settlers from another country. The immigrants view the natives as detrimental to the colony; therefore, they dispossess them of their lands, resources, and cultural heritage and marginalise or suppress their rights and identities."

ID 3: The third image reads: "In 2007, The UN formally recognised the rights of indigenous peoples by adopting the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP). The working definition of 'Indigenous Peoples': '…those communities, peoples and nations who, having a 1. historical continuity with pre-colonial and/or pre-settler societies that developed on their territories, consider themselves 2. distinct from other sectors of the societies now prevailing in those territories, or parts of them. They 3. form at present non-dominant sectors of society and are 4. determined to preserve, develop and transmit to future generations their ancestral territories, and their ethnic identity, as the basis of their continued existence as peoples…'"

ID 4: The fourth image reads: "Example of indigenous people: - First Nations, Inuit and Métis in Canada - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in Australia A group is not referred to as indigenous if they are not within or experienced a colonial power structure, even if they practically originate from their current locality, for example: - Frankish People in France - Anglo-Saxon Englishmen in the British Isles - Dutch, Italians, Germans. In face, Indigenous groups may cease to be referred to as indigenous if their colonial relation is dismantled. Thus, to Identify the Indigenous we must identify the coloniser as the two are often closely intertwined."

ID 5: The fifth image is titled: "2. Israel, A Proud Colonial State." In underlined text. The body text reads: "Historically, colonial expansion was a source of European pride, with no understanding of Indigeneity as a right to land but as a negative status indicating savagery and backwardness. Political Zionism, a movement that emerged in late 19th century Europe, was heavily influenced by colonial ideologies of the time, a fact that is well- documented in the writings of Zionist thinkers and politicians, including Theodor Herzl, regarded as the 'Father of Modern Zionism.' In his quest for support and recognition, Herzl sought alliances with colonial powers such as France and the United Kingdom and other settler colonial states like the United States and Canada."

ID 6: The sixth image reads: "In 1902, Herzl famously wrote to Cecil Rhodes, one of the most significant British colonial figures in Africa, seeking support for his Zionist endeavour:". A block quote, all in underlined text, reads: "You are being invited to help make history. That cannot frighten you, nor will you laugh at it. It is not in your accustomed line; it doesn't involve Africa, but a piece of Asia Minor, not Englishmen but Jews. But had this been on your path, you would have done it by now. How, then, do I happen to turn to you, since this is an out-of-the-way matter for you? How indeed? Because it is something colonial.!" Body text continues: "In his address to the first Zionist Congress, Herzl rationalises his colonial mission in Palestine:". Another block quote with underlined text reads: "It is more and more to the interest of the civilised nations and of civilisation in general that a cultural station be established on the shortest road to Asia. Palestine is this station and we Jews are the bearers of culture who are ready to give our property and our lives to bring about its creation."

ID 7: the seventh image reads: "Jabotinsky, a Russian Jewish Zionist leader and founder of the Zionist terrorist organisation Irgun which helped establish israel. Wrote in his book The Iron Wall:". A block quote, all in underlined text, reads: "'Zionist colonisation must either be terminated or carried out against the wishes of the native population. This colonisation can, therefore, be continued and make progress only under the protection of a power independent of the native population an iron wall, which will be in a position to resist the pressure to the native population. This is, in toto, our policy towards the Arabs…' "'If you wish to colonise a land in which people are already living, you must find a garrison for the land, or find a benefactor who will provide a garrison on your behalf…. Zionism is a colonising venture and, therefore, it stands or falls on the question of armed forces.'" Body text continues: "This colonial history is not limited to the past, as we can see it vividly today in israel's colonial practice of daily oppression against the Palestinian natives."

ID 8: The eighth image reads: "Examples of standard methods used by settler colonies to oppress indigenous peoples: a. Land Theft and Dispossession: 1948, upon the establishment of israel, around 700,000 Palestinians were forced to flee or were expelled from their homes by israeli forces 1950, israel established the "Absentee Property Law", which allows the israeli government to seize control of land belonging to Palestinians who fled or were forced to leave during the 1948 war. b. Forced Assimilation: The "Judaization" of Palestinian neighbourhoods by promoting Jewish settlement and adopting Hebrew as the official language in education and public life while restricting Palestinian cultural expression, including banning books, films, and other media that are critical of israeli policies. E.g. The ban of the Palestinian flag in the occupied Gaza Strip and West Bank in 1967 and the prohibition of artworks containing the flag's four colours in 1980. c. Economical Exploitation: israel controls the majority of the water resources in the region as well as exploits Palestinian natural resources, including minerals, quarries, and agricultural land. Palestinian farmers have reported that israeli settlers have uprooted their olive trees, destroyed their crops, and polluted their farmland."

ID 9: The ninth image is titled: "Israeli Exploitation Of Indigeneity." in underlined text. The body text reads: "The international community's significant shift towards acknowledging indigenous people's struggles against colonisation, and the broad negative sentiment towards colonialism, forced israel to rethink its history and create a new narrative to legitimise its presence in the region and strip Palestinians from their indigenous status. By reframing its colonial mission as one of indigenous people's decolonisation of their rightful territory, israel appropriates the rhetoric of indigenous empowerment while in contradiction continuing to seek funding and legitimisation from other settler colonial states, who continue to suppress other indigenous groups, as well as openly and publicly practices settler colonial oppression against the Palestinians."

ID 10: The tenth image reads: "israel bases its argument on a supremacist ethno-nationalist and misleading definition of Indigeneity, claiming it to be an innate Jewish characteristic and not one imposed by colonialism. Such a claim severely harms indigenous groups on their mission to decolonisation by providing a legitimising framework for colonial tactics like ethnic cleansing, land theft and genocide to any group that claims ancestral ties to the land. Yet, even if one was to entertain the Zionist claim of Indigeneity through lineage, multiple genetic studies have already shown that many Jews and Palestinians share ancestry, rendering such claim unjustifiable, as the ethnically cleansed Palestinian are population shares the same ancestral history."

[northgazaupdates]

20 December 2023

Journalist Ismail Al-Ghoul reports that the IOF have bulldozed and razed Sheikh Shaaban cemetery, destroying graves and leaving the desecrated bodies to rot. Journalist Fadi Al-Whidi has documented this practice as well at another site.

The purpose of this act is likely three-fold: to terrorize and dishearten the population, to erase traces that Palestinians ever had a society in Gaza, and to expose the people of north Gaza to disease vectors from decaying corpses. Dr. Tamer Al-Najjar has previously documented that the amount of unburied bodies, combined with the collapse of waste and water systems, as well as the onset of flood from heavy rain, pose a significant risk to public health.

I will not post Ismail Al-Ghoul’s video here because parts of it are graphic and disturbing. However, I will post a link to it here for anyone who wants to verify.

Source: Ismail Al-Ghoul on Instagram

[intersectionalpraxis]

The idea behind a boycott truly seems lost on some. Percy Jackson and the Olympians was watched 13.3 million times since it's release, what, a couple days ago? It's on Disney+ aka the Pressure list on BDS, the author wrote a stupid blog post after 10/7 saying there are "two sides" to the issue, and many people who worked on the show are Zionists. What happened to the good ol' days of pirating? It's all Free Palestine until a show you want drops, huh? And from an author who has never written Arab/Muslim characters well.

I was reading a post on X recently about how someone had to tell her friends to boycott Starbucks because they didn't know it was one of the major companies that so many creators decided to start with because they were the most direct and influential (alongside McD's and Disney). Her friends were happy to do so, it's just they were 'unaware.'

This person also argued that unless you're "chronically online," you wouldn't know about what is happening, and depending on the media you are consuming (especially if it's mainstream western sources because we know they weave a VERY and vastly different story about what is happening in Palestine). I can understand a fraction of what she is saying, while at the same time I think this automatically reveals the willful ignorance that permeates our societies. How so many people can 'turn off,' and not engage or at least not know about what is going on across the globe based on many factors (which includes their governments and censorship -like in Canada it's hard to access videos on the ground in Palestine on Instagram unless you see it on X or Facebook or use a VPN, otherwise we/I can't access Eyes on Palestine on Instagram), is all very confounding to me. Because even without being 'online,' I do believe it's our responsibility to know, at bare minimum, what is happening.

I think at the crux of this (and these are just my opinions of course) is that many people in the global north, firstly, don't want to unpack their complicity in imperialistic and colonialist structures of violence in the global south because of their degree of consumerism (how the systems set up -and how so much of how we live depends on the mass hyper-exploitation of people 'elsewhere' where 'we don't have to see.'). So that in itself is something I think of when I see that there are people who either refuse to boycott big tech or industries that align or support genocidal regimes and powers, extensively so -because that would mean getting uncomfortable, being reflexive, demanding changes from these despicable companies (like refusing to buy from them until the are ethical and sustainable beyond paper), and overall changing your habits. And I don't mean shaming working class/poor people to stop shopping at major conglomerates to buy their groceries because that's not fair -not everyone can afford to buy local and go to farmer's markets. I'm talking about the excessive aspects of capitalism. Or watching/viewing content from places like Disney because they have the privilege to 'look away.'

We all know that if no one consumed a damn thing from these companies, that they'd change their tune very quickly, and it's just frustrating and beyond tragic to see Disney thrive despite how evil that corporation is, and only recently became 'inclusive,' but even so there's many stories and voices they leave out, or don't do justice. I hear you. I know what you mean, and seeing it is disappointing. Because even if you wanted to see those fucking films or series -yes there are OTHER means, but the fact that people will pay to see it and subscribe to it is just frustrating.

As always, boycott Disney.

[valkyriesexual]

the daily wire is a conservative media outlet founded by ben shapiro.  yeah, the guy who admitted that he doesn’t make his wife wet when trying to criticize the absolute banger WAP by megan thee stallion/cardi B. 

but when he’s not making himself into an international laughingstock, ben shapiro is really fucking dangerous.  he was an editor for breitbart, the misogynistic, xenophobic, and racist right-wing propaganda content machine.  ben shapiro’s podcast is, right now, one of the most listened to podcasts out there (x) ben shapiro is a misogynist.  he supports a total ban on abortion with no exception for rape or incest, and a limited exception if the woman might fucking die if forced to remain pregnant.  he supports prosecuting doctors who provide reproductive health care. (x).  ben shapiro is a racist. he supports expelling arab-israeli citizens and all palestinians from “Judea, Samaria, Gaza and Israel proper” (x) he says, “israelis like to build. arabs like to bomb crap and live in open sewage” (x) he doesn’t believe that systemic racism is a problem in american society (x)  ben shapiro is a homophobe and transphobe. he argues that “homosexuality should be listed as a mental illness in the DSM”. he believes transgender people suffer from mental illness (x).  

ben shapiro’s media outlet, the daily wire, spent between $35,000 and $47,000 on Facebook and Instagram ads promoting articles about the depp v. heard trial, eliciting some four million impressions. the majority of the ads promoted one-sided articles and videos with a clear bias against amber heard. the ads are part of an ecosystem of ad-supported “news” sites, bogus content platforms and click-bait websites which facilitate the spread of misleading, false and polarizing content.

Nandini Jammi, co-founder of adtech industry watchdog Check My Ads described identifying and weighing in on narratives with high engagement on social media as “a tried and true playbook that all the disinformation websites that pose as conservative websites are using now as part of their business model.”  the ongoing Depp-Heard case in Virginia has been low hanging fruit for such operations. (X)

according to Jammi, ‘social media users are in a “symbiotic relationship” with outlets like the Daily Wire, which benefit financially from users peddling controversial content. Social media users provide “relevancy to a narrative that is very lucrative” for sites like the Daily Wire which are motivated to publish more content around it. This in turn gives social media users a sense of legitimacy to continue posting these narratives on platforms like Facebook and Twitter’ (and TikTok). (X)

tl;dr:

social media isn’t just “Like That”.  there are huge sums of money coming from overtly political, fascist, misogynistic, homophobic, conservative players in the american media ecosystem prompting the one-sided pro-depp blanketing of social media that we saw throughout the trial.  

[if you found this post helpful or informative, please consider subscribing to my substack, it does take me a decent amount of time to research, write, and source posts like this, and substack subscriptions are deeply appreciated]

[mafaldaknows]

Finally, a legitimate news source calling out this situation for what it is.

It’s fascinating to hear the media use the evidence and language we ourselves in this fandom have been using in defense of Armie Hammer on social media. Holding this two-year long vigil may finally have opened the eyes that needed to see this situation for exactly what it is.

Armie Hammer is the victim of defamation by opportunists perverting the original intentions of #metoo and #believewomen in the virtual town square for their own selfish, nefarious purposes by exploiting those among the general public who love nothing more than to throw a rich and famous man with perceived privileges under the nearest bus, just because they can.

The perversion of #MeToo in the name of faux-militant feminist ideology is driving this popular online movement of indicting and condemning famous men in the court of public opinion without legitimate evidence of criminal wrongdoing, without the presumption of innocence, without due process, and without the possibility of redemption in any form.

Hammer’s accusers, as well as his ex-wife, recognized the window of opportunity presenting itself in the post-Weinstein zeitgeist, and climbed right in, in the search for the 15 minutes of internet fame to which they assumed they were guaranteed, and to which they felt wholly entitled, by any means necessary.

All it takes is one biased source with a fragile ego and a personal vendetta using gullible people mindlessly consuming internet content without due diligence or critical thinking skills to accept their even marginally plausible lies as if they were facts and spreading them like wildfire about their target on the internet. All the better for instant believability without the requirements of facts and evidence, if their lies come spewing forth from Instagram-ready, artificially-enhanced, telegenic faces.

People really are that simple. And the rush to judgment is what makes the internet go ‘round, after all.

We must aim to be more mindful and responsible consumers and creators of content on social media, lest we end up eating ourselves, as a functional and civil society.

Enough already.