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some cool stuff i saw in the forest last sunday!!

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Hi everyone! Here's your Daily Reminder to Click for Palestine!

And if you can spare a dollar, donate to ANERA!

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lets photosynthesize with mama

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Why should I care about AI if they still haven’t made a pdf I can easily copy/paste from……………………. the letters are right there I can see them

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40% y'all...

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By now, you all must have seen the news that Gaza had officially run out of food, as one of the main aid suppliers in Gaza, World Food Program, had announced that their stock has been completely depleted, leaving just a few days for community kitchens to function.

This comes after more than 50 days (and counting) of Israel's complete closure of the borders, preventing food and medicine, among other life essentials, from entering Gaza. There are children crying out of hunger with trucks loaded with over 100,000 tons of food mere minutes away from them, which Israel continues to prevent from entering besieged Gaza.

This also comes after Israel had deliberately destroyed swaths of farmlands in Gaza, specifically targeting them with bombs and chemical weapons that destroy the chance of growing crops. Israel also made sure bakeries are destroyed as well as water sources.

Diabolical is an understatement when it comes to the Zionist entity.

There are still things you can do. On top of raising awareness and protesting when possible, independent organisations like APN are working directly with farmers in Gaza to rehabilitate the agricultural sector and restore local food systems to combat famine, counter the blockade and build food sovereignty. You can donate to their Revive Gaza's Farmlands initiative here.

Additionally, keep in mind that this means whatever food supplies remain available in Gaza now costs astronomical amounts of money, so keep sharing and donating to individual fundraising campaigns. Gazafunds is a good source if you're not sure where to start. Remember that your donations and shares are often the only source of hope for these families.

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In honor of sleepover satueday starting I finally bought the rain barrel of my dreams!! And have already started getting inspo to paint it

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On the news I saw that they were talking about this thing called No Mow May where people don't mow their lawns in May because it's good for the bees. As an Autistic person I thought this was a great idea as I hate the sound of the wretched lawnmower.

Image Description:

Two people are shaking hands. One person is labelled as "some Autistic People" and the other person is labelled as "bees". The hands ate both shaking to agree on "No mow May". End Description.

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Sooooo few people are actually willing to defend the basic human rights of people who have committed crimes. Like I know it's not fun but if you genuinely believe in human rights as a concept you can't be okay with the state violating them in prisons I'm sorrrrry. Having moral principles is not always a fun time.

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The Public Comment Process (+ how to write effective public comments)

The US federal rule-making process is founded around the right to comment: the public's opportunity to publicly address the agency responsible for a decision. This right is enshrined by the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) of 1946 and reinforced by the National Environmental Policy Act of 1970, which both require that citizens be able to take part in pre-decision communication with a federal agency.

Public comments are important for a number of reasons:

Agencies must consider all new information received during the comment period and address that new information before publishing the final rule; this includes revising the proposed rule.

A good comment can be the basis for a court challenge. If the agency does not adequately address the new information in the comment, they can then be sued and the rule placed on hold until the issues raised by the new information are resolved.

Advocacy groups and journalists often scour public comments to get ideas for their own comments and campaigns, and to contextualize proposed rules.

Submitting a public comment on proposed federal rules and regulations is not like commenting on social media, though. Substantive comments that require agency response are those that contain information pertinent to the actions proposed in the regulation, such as community impacts, scientific evidence, or other data. Non-substantive comments ("I don't like this!") don't require any response beyond maybe a "Comment noted."

Here's a brief set of tips from the Public Comment Project:

“The most valuable public comments are unique, fact-based, and succinct. The agency will have to sort through many identical form letters and expressions of personal opinion.  

Your comment can report on scientific evidence that opposes or supports the theory behind the regulation. Providing additional supporting evidence helps strengthen the agency's position by creating a stronger scientific foundation for their action.

Use an opening sentence to establish your credibility. State who you are and summarize any of your experiences that are relevant to the topic of the proposal.

You do not have to come to a conclusion or judgement regarding the entirety of the regulation, but you do have to clearly communicate the implications of the research you present. Avoid leaving it up to the agency to infer how research or data relates to the regulation. 

Check out the agency's mission statement and any statutes relevant to the regulation. Federal agencies' actions are driven by their mission and held to the standards dictated by statutes, so make your comment stronger by explaining how your information contributes to their mission.”

You can also find templates here: https://publiccommentproject.org/comment-templates

Sources:

The Public Comment Project https://publiccommentproject.org

Democracy in Practice: Public Participation in Environmental Decisions, Beierle and Cayford 2002

Union of Concerned Scientists https://www.ucs.org/resources/participating-federal-rulemaking

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If your life is horrible and you need a new source of meaning and direction.... Do NOT find religion. Learn to identify plants.

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https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-fda-suspends-food-safety-quality-checks-after-staff-cuts-2025-04-17/

fda food safety lab closing, i am screaming

haha. uh oh

everybody do your part and use iwaspoisoned. encourage people you know to use iwaspoisoned. if you suspect something or somewhere gave you food poisoning in the united states you need to not keep it a secret. consider right now whether or not you are up for helping prevent unnecessary deaths, suffering, and lifelong disability from foodborne illness

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UK folks, here's the current list of all trans rights/liberation protests and demos happening in the next week that I've seen so far (in light of the Supreme Court's recent ruling). I will add more as I see them.

Please reblog and add more that you're aware of. And just reblog generally.

Manchester - Fri 18 Apr, 3pm, St Peter's Square

Leeds - Sat 18 Apr, 5pm, Dortmund Square

Plymouth - Sat 19 Apr, 12pm, The Sundial

London - Sat 19 Apr, 1pm, Parliament Square

Swansea - Sat 19 Apr, 1pm, Castle Square

Sheffield - Sat 19 Apr, 2pm, Town Hall

Nottingham - Sun 20 Apr, 12pm, Brian Clough Statue

Orkney - Sun 20 Apr, 2pm, footpath between Ayre Mills Roundabout and Shipinsay Slip Car Park

Cardiff - Mon Apr 21, 1pm, Aneurin Bevan Statue, Queen Street

York - Sat 26 Apr, 1pm, St Helens Square

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Last year I got a little wasp problem when wasps decided that my balcony's wooden ceiling would be a perfect spot for a nest. The nest apparently was never finished and I found large pieces of it on the floor but I still contacted maintenance to ask what to do.

The maintenance came to visit and didn't find any nest, so that's good. I was told that I should put a crocheted fake wasp nest on my balcony, near the spot wasps favor, because they refuse to built a nest on someone else's territory. Better yet, fill the nest with newspaper because it smells like a wasp nest.

I found some handmade nests online and I'm going to give it a try! Many of the sellers said that they and their friends and family have been using the fake nests successfully for years in home, summer cottages, outdoor buildings etc.

Here are some patterns (in English) for crafty people.

Sharing this here because I didn't even know about such a solution! I hope it helps anyone who wants to keep unwanted wasps away from certain parts of their home and yard.

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Im gonna be so real can yall actually talk about ways we can support trans women in the UK instead of giving all the attention to fucking JKR. I already know that Harry Poter sucks, I wanna know how to actually HELP people. Something something you have to love the oppressed more than you hate the oppressor