i love it when moths are shaped like this and rthen you get them in a glass to let them outside and you see them from underneath and they look like this
I often despair at the state of politics in my country but one thing I Just Don't Get - why are Labour like this? Maybe this is just my ignorance showing but wasn't the whole point of them being different from the Tories? What's the point if they're just gonna do the same shit? What the hell is going on? How did this happen?
An aggressively cynical view would be that the Labour Party previously existed to manage the working class as a voting bloc. I don’t think it’s 100% the case, but I can see why folk would think it.
People will point Tony Blair being elected as the paradigm shift. It was the point when Labour went full on neoliberal where instead of opposing the conservative economic worldview, they accepted that thats how the world works.
So their whole argument shifted to ‘We can just manage the economy better than the conservatives (but in accordance to how they think things should work)’
I don’t think it was purely Tony Blair that started the shift though, I think it started when Labour started to appoint members to the House of Lords.
There’s also a shift in view, from the idea that the party exists to enact the will of its membership to the idea that the membership exists to enable the party.
If you believe that the important thing is the party, then stances on issues are no longer important. (Incidentally, corruption is also unimportant, as long as it doesn’t get punished. Preferably not punished because it isn’t discovered, but the important thing is the punishment.) And that means the party will perform what is called “triangulation” — it will base its positions not on what its membership/voters want to see enacted, but on what it believes will get it the most votes in the general election, which is not always the same thing — if the party’s voters don’t care very much about a contentious issue, it may be better to take a position contrary to their preference if it will bring in votes from outside the party.
The UK government is effectively 2-party; there has not been a government which was not led — usually controlled outright — by Labour or the Tories since the end of the second world war, and the government during that war was basically a coalition of Labour and the Tories; ignoring that, the two parties led every government back to the end of the first world war, when — in essence — Labour picked up the mantle dropped by the Liberal party, which disintegrated because of the war. Before that, every government was led by the Liberals or the Tories back to 1858, when the Liberals were formed as a coalition including the former Whig party; until that time, all governments were led by either the Whigs or the Tories all the way back to when the government was first put into this form. When one or both parties in such a system starts triangulating, very strange — and undesirable, usually — things happen. This is metaphorically illustrated by ice cream carts on a beach.
Imagine a mile-long beach where there are two ice cream sellers, and the people on the beach are more or less randomly distributed. The best arrangement of ice cream sellers for the people on the beach in such a situation is for there to be one a quarter mile from each end — nobody will have to walk more than a quarter of a mile to reach the nearest ice cream seller. But suppose that all customers always go to the nearest ice cream seller, and one of the sellers is in a stand with a fixed position, but the other one is a cart. The cart can maximize the number of customers it gets by moving to be right next to the stand, on whichever side has more of the beach on it. Since the people on the beach go to the nearest supplier, the cart will get everyone on that side of the stand. If the stand is a quarter mile from one end of the beach, the cart will be just barely further in — and every single person on the second half of the beach has to walk more than a quarter mile to get ice cream.
Well, when there are two parties, one of them usually has very fixed positions on most issues, because it will be the party of the rich, devoted to policy beneficial to the rich. As soon as the other party starts triangulating, it will gravitate to positions as close as possible to those of the party of the rich without exceeding them, assuming that the majority of the population will (metaphorically speaking) buy their ice cream from the nearest cart, rather than go to the trouble of building and stocking another one on the other half of the beach. In practice, what this means is that a lot of people on the other half of the beach stop buying ice cream. The Tories have basically entrenched all their positions by trying to enact and then enthusiatically defend Brexit, which influences nearly everything, and Labour is triangulating its way into being a party of unenthusiastic defenders of Brexit, because that’s what “just this side of the ice cream stand” looks like in context.
It enrages me everytime it dawns on me that there is no graduating class in Gaza this year.
How maddening it is to think that just last summer I watched as Al-Shaima Akram celebrated received the news that she got the highest score in all of Palestine in her high school examination, not knowing that come October, Israel will kill her and her family and all the joy that was left.
No tawjihi celebration videos will come out of Gaza this year and that is devastating.
Since October, Israel had destroyed every university in Gaza and destroyed 80% of schools, killing hundreds of teachers and professor and thousands of students in its deliberate attempt to destroy Gaza’s education system along with everything else.
In the words of Gazan poet Khaled Juma “the school year that never started in Gaza has come to an end”. No last day of school bells, no kids celebrating the last day of school. All these joyful sounds have been drowned out by the sounds of bombs. No deadline extension requests for final projects, missiles had their final say.
No graduation ceremonies when parents are instead burying their children. No plans are made for the summer either, when everyone is busy counting the days and the dead.
I say this with a lot of frustration because you cannot mistake how deliberate this is, knowing how important education is for Palestinians. It’s the one thing we know that even if Israel tries to kill us off, you cannot kill our ideas.
This is why Palestinians in Gaza have opened temporary schools and got innovative with prioritising education while trying to survive, like Noor’s moving school initiative and many many makeshift schools that have been set up in displacement camps.
Oh so you think that queer folk in a country can’t celebrate their rights?
I thought that queer rights for every person was a good thing?
Or is it only a good thing if you like the country and if you don’t like a country, queer people there should suffer?
Cause that doesn’t sound very “Queer rights!” to me.
It’s so bizzare to me. do they thing the Tel Aviv pride parade is funded by the IDF or something??? do they think the gay laws Israeli activists fought so hard to achieve are only allowed to pass because Israel is a “bloodthirsty genocide machine” and is trying to distract the world??? do they think queer people existing in Israel is a lie???
pinkwashing as a concept is so fucking weird. why are you mad queer people are getting rights????????????
It’s the Israeli “promotional material” featuring queer symbols that people have a problem with.
It’s Israel’s “promotional efforts” (propaganda) which they used, that tried to convince people that Israel is the more moral actor because they supposedly embody more western values like supporting queer people that is problematic.
Saying that people against the Palestinian genocide are mad at queer people in Israel because they’re celebrating their rights is a strawman, you have simply misunderstood what those people are saying and what “pink washing” even means.
Dude you’re the one strawmanning us
Guess why you’re here prev?
Which part of what I said was attacking Jews or spreading antisemitic messaging?
the part where you tried to refute that queer washing was anything other than
“people against the Palestinian genocide are mad at queer people in Israel because they’re celebrating their rights”
by bringing into antisemtic conspiracies that the only reason Israelis have rights is a cover up for how they deal with palestineans
if you don’t think that’s antisemitic and want to defend that position and die on your hypocritical little hill where you don’t think Israel is capable doing moral things because they’re right go ahead. Be my guest, give me more material
I never said that the only reason Israelis have rights is to cover up for how they deal with Palestinians?
I’m sure that the Israelis had to fight hard to get the rights that they do have.
The US government, basically every corporation and many other organisations do pinkwashing all the damned time even though they fought tooth and nail against queer rights, so why would Israel require some kind of nonsensical conspiracy to do it?
If someone believes there is a conspiracy which is the real reason Israelis have rights, in an attempt to cover up their human rights track record, then I disagree with them.
Additionally, in that last paragraph, did you mean to say Israelis or actually Israel?
Ok so you’re NOT an antisemite you’re a conspiracy theorist who thinks all gays rights are a sinisther ploy to win queers over.
Guys OP here thinks governments can pinkwash!
“Additionally, in that last paragraph, did you mean to say Israelis or actually Israel?”
OMG guys we have someone who can separate Am Yisrael from Medinat Yisrael!
I meant the goverment/state of Israel. Please tell you didn’t mean the people and we’re on the same page here
You are clearly engaging in bad faith, did you even read my post?
If you purposely misinterpret everything I say, then we can’t have a conversation.
Oh so you think that queer folk in a country can’t celebrate their rights?
I thought that queer rights for every person was a good thing?
Or is it only a good thing if you like the country and if you don’t like a country, queer people there should suffer?
Cause that doesn’t sound very “Queer rights!” to me.
It’s so bizzare to me. do they thing the Tel Aviv pride parade is funded by the IDF or something??? do they think the gay laws Israeli activists fought so hard to achieve are only allowed to pass because Israel is a “bloodthirsty genocide machine” and is trying to distract the world??? do they think queer people existing in Israel is a lie???
pinkwashing as a concept is so fucking weird. why are you mad queer people are getting rights????????????
It’s the Israeli “promotional material” featuring queer symbols that people have a problem with.
It’s Israel’s “promotional efforts” (propaganda) which they used, that tried to convince people that Israel is the more moral actor because they supposedly embody more western values like supporting queer people that is problematic.
Saying that people against the Palestinian genocide are mad at queer people in Israel because they’re celebrating their rights is a strawman, you have simply misunderstood what those people are saying and what “pink washing” even means.
Dude you’re the one strawmanning us
Guess why you’re here prev?
Which part of what I said was attacking Jews or spreading antisemitic messaging?
the part where you tried to refute that queer washing was anything other than
“people against the Palestinian genocide are mad at queer people in Israel because they’re celebrating their rights”
by bringing into antisemtic conspiracies that the only reason Israelis have rights is a cover up for how they deal with palestineans
if you don’t think that’s antisemitic and want to defend that position and die on your hypocritical little hill where you don’t think Israel is capable doing moral things because they’re right go ahead. Be my guest, give me more material
I never said that the only reason Israelis have rights is to cover up for how they deal with Palestinians?
I’m sure that the Israelis had to fight hard to get the rights that they do have.
The US government, basically every corporation and many other organisations do pinkwashing all the damned time even though they fought tooth and nail against queer rights, so why would Israel require some kind of nonsensical conspiracy to do it?
If someone believes there is a conspiracy which is the real reason Israelis have rights, in an attempt to cover up their human rights track record, then I disagree with them.
Additionally, in that last paragraph, did you mean to say Israelis or actually Israel?
i dont think whites understand how being white makes literally everything easier.
it effects everything.
being trans is easier when youre white.
being gay is easier when youre white.
being disabled is easier when youre white.
being a woman is easier when youre white.
being autistic is easier when youre white.
oppression is eased when you are white, as you get extra privileges, and your whiteness is seen as a positive characteristic that in some ways counter-balances your other forms of being a minority. whiteness controls everything.
you are automatically way more innocent in your own oppression as a gay, trans, disabled person because of your whiteness.
never forget this.
three things:
1. it’s true
2. white people get pissed when i bring this up/wear this shirt
3. the comments to this thread melted my fucking eyeballs seriously why the fuck are y’all like this
Love the idea that Velma clocks Shaggy even before he realizes it and tries to be supportive by calling him “sir” BUT…!
Shaggy, even at such a tender age, insists he’ll never be a “sir” and after he’s older, he explains it’s because “a Sir is someone who works for The Man” and he’s just not about that.
oh my fucking god Oh My Fucking God OH MY FUCKJNG GOD YES
hiring a wizard to break whatever curse is holding henry kissingers shitty body together and laughing with childish glee as he instantly collapses into individual limbs like a lego character
Posts that become infinitely funnier with timestamps hall of fame
Still remember when a homo- and transphobic acquaintance tried to bring up JKR’s views on trans people in conversation and I shut it down with «oh yeah she’s been saying a lot of dumb shit on Twitter after she finished writing Harry Potter, like when she claimed Dumbledore was gay, just to be politically correct», which made it absolutely impossible for him to admit that he agreed with anything JKR had ever said. Sometimes you just have to weaponise people’s homophobia against their transphobia.
Other ways to stop family members/acquaintances from going on bigoted rants:
«Isn’t this all a bit silly? I mean, I’m more concerned about the economy/the war in Ukraine/covid/my job» - weaponised whataboutism
«Do you work with a lot of trans people? Because it seems like this is a problem you frequently encounter in everyday life from the way you talk about it» and when they say they don’t, follow up with «well then I don’t see what you’re making such a fuss about»
«Idk, I haven’t been much on social media lately, I think Twitter is a waste of time» - make them feel like they’re the ones who are terminally online
«Idk, I’m not that concernced with other people’s genitals and sex lives» - creep shaming
The point is that I’ve used all of these in various contexts and they’ve saved a good number of dinner table conversations from derailing into pointless debating. You don’t de-radicalise friends and family members by entering into political discussions they initiate just to stir up shit. You de-radicalise them by shifting the focus away from their shitty opinions and onto the things you have in common and the practical everyday stuff that exists outside their internet echo chambers.
Oh so you think that queer folk in a country can’t celebrate their rights?
I thought that queer rights for every person was a good thing?
Or is it only a good thing if you like the country and if you don’t like a country, queer people there should suffer?
Cause that doesn’t sound very “Queer rights!” to me.
It’s so bizzare to me. do they thing the Tel Aviv pride parade is funded by the IDF or something??? do they think the gay laws Israeli activists fought so hard to achieve are only allowed to pass because Israel is a “bloodthirsty genocide machine” and is trying to distract the world??? do they think queer people existing in Israel is a lie???
pinkwashing as a concept is so fucking weird. why are you mad queer people are getting rights????????????
It’s the Israeli “promotional material” featuring queer symbols that people have a problem with.
It’s Israel’s “promotional efforts” (propaganda) which they used, that tried to convince people that Israel is the more moral actor because they supposedly embody more western values like supporting queer people that is problematic.
Saying that people against the Palestinian genocide are mad at queer people in Israel because they’re celebrating their rights is a strawman, you have simply misunderstood what those people are saying and what “pink washing” even means.
Dude you’re the one strawmanning us
Guess why you’re here prev?
Which part of what I said was attacking Jews or spreading antisemitic messaging?
thinking about that kakapo egg that got crushed but the conservation team patched it up and it survived
life will persist against all odds
For those who don’t follow kakapo conservation, they are critically endangered parrots who only breed on years where the rimu tree they rely on meet a certain threshold of fruit production. One breeding season in 4 years can be typical, and about half of all eggs laid by kakapo are infertile (they still aren’t completely certain why, it could be a recent population bottleneck) so each fertile egg is worth its weight in gold.
This was one of only 5 fertile eggs laid on the Whenua Hou island population in the 2014 breeding season and it got crushed by its mother on accident. It was mended with glue and tape and incubated by the rangers until hatching.
At 150 days old kakapo chicks are officially added to the population total and given a unique name, until then they are given their mother’s name and a number for birth order laid in the clutch. This chick was known as Lisa-one before officially being given the name Ruapuke by local indigenous Ngai Tahu people.Here he is grown up:
It’s sad when a species is so rare we know them all individually but at the same time I love that you can point at this one bird and say oh that’s Ruapuke, his mom sat on him too hard
me: *googling what kind of bike helmet i should get*
search result 1, AI-generated article: Since the dawn of time, humans have wondered what kind of bike helmet is best for protecting their cranium and lower intestine. In the event that you find yourself with a bike helmet, you must find a way to save your family. Therefore, we have compiled a list of qualities to look for. First, sodium content is of great importance when biking your helmet.
search results 2, 3, and 4: sponsored ads for bike helmets on amazon
search result 5, reddit thread: bikeaholic363736: hey guys, do any of you have experience with the windslapper 30g helmet from spronklegear?
spokejunkie666: it’s probably the best helmet on the market right now. if you’re not using the windslapper you might as well just be riding your bike into a woodchipper
handlebar_hamburglar: idiot. we’ve had this thread a hundred times. don’t the mods enforce the repost ban anymore? OP, don’t listen to spokejunkie. the windslapper is the leading cause of death in the netherlands
Getting really sick of all the “There’s No Place Like Chrome” ads on youtube. There’s Firefox. Firefox saves your passwords. Firefox autofills things if you want. Firefox also does things that Chrome doesn’t like allow adblockers, and it does not mine your data and sell your information for advertising purposes. Google is really trying to push people to use Chrome so they can take as much data from users as possible in order to make as much money as possible and it’s borderline sinister.
Anyway, download Firefox.
The irony of this is because of the ad blockers on my Firefox, I’ve never seen any such ad.
Getting really sick of all the “There’s No Place Like Chrome” ads on youtube. There’s Firefox. Firefox saves your passwords. Firefox autofills things if you want. Firefox also does things that Chrome doesn’t like allow adblockers, and it does not mine your data and sell your information for advertising purposes. Google is really trying to push people to use Chrome so they can take as much data from users as possible in order to make as much money as possible and it’s borderline sinister.
Anyway, download Firefox.
The irony of this is because of the ad blockers on my Firefox, I’ve never seen any such ad.
people are so mean about horror movie victims like. sorry but if i had gone to a cabin in the woods with my friends as a teenager you couldn’t have stopped us from reading aloud from the evil tome. how were they supposed to know the ancient curse was real they’re like 17
people are so mean about horror movie victims like. sorry but if i had gone to a cabin in the woods with my friends as a teenager you couldn’t have stopped us from reading aloud from the evil tome. how were they supposed to know the ancient curse was real they’re like 17
A fawn curled up beside a fake deer which is used for target practice.
Please note the calm looking fawn.
It’s mother has most likely used the fake deer as cover for the fawn to sleep near. I’ve personally witnessed a doe direct a fawn to lay in a patch of tall weeds and go lay on a hill where she could see me and the tall patch of weeds. That’s what they do, find something bigger than the fawn to sleep near so they’re hidden while they sleep.
This isn’t a sad child looking for something mother-like, this is a kid getting put to bed.
so the mom just managed to find the most haunting large object behind which to hide a child
my cats name is шарик (SHA-reek, roll the r) but his legal name is soap just to make it easier on americans and also its a cute name. anyways the vet called him “mr. soap” which i really appreciated
baby boy!
me, escorting this beautiful boy onto my blog: Right this way, Mr. Soap.
[image description: a photo of a fluffy grey cat sitting on the floor and looking up at the camera]
