Some in the #German parliament say they should deploy #NATO air defense on the borders of countries which border #ukraine to cover Ukraine's western areas. This follows a number of #Western countries intercepting missiles bound for Israel earlier in the year.
In 2023, the largest #Western#banks still operating in #Russia paid taxes that were four times the amount they paid before the full-scale invasion. This is due partly to international #sanctions on Russian banks.
Today's review! Lone Star on a Cowboy Heart by Marie S. Crosswell:
"I first read it in 2016, and it's still one of my favorite stories, well worth reading over again... I highly recommend it. Sam and Montgomery are two unforgettable and emotionally powerful characters."
I've finished: Six-Guns Snow White by Catherynne M. Valente
This one has been on my wishlist for a while. It was hard to get in audio with an Israeli credit cart and I wasn't completely sure about it since I'm not much of a western fan.
I'm very glad I managed to get my hands on it.
I love Velente's writing. I love that the Snow White reimagining is only one aspect of the novella. I love that Snow isn't the only character in distress and that the oppression and dispossession is explored in more than one way. I love how far she had to go to find peace, that there was no quick magic fix.
Talks were underway for a prisoner swap for Russian opposition leader Alexei #Navalny when he died on Feb. 16, according to two #Western officials informed on the discussions, but no deal had been offered to the #Kremlin.
Another Western official also confirmed that negotiations were in process, but stressed that not even an informal offer was sent to #Moscow.
On the other hand, relegating these notions to the past is the best way not to learn from #History & to repeat its errors (what's happening). New words would bring artificial differences where there's none. It'd be kind of fake. I think the biggest problem is the current #western frame & huge trend for bad faith. It's the denial of the actual situation & the "official" inaudible spiel that drowns urgency in nonsense. On every subject. #genocide, #climate, #social...
Interessante analisi delle storie di Amelia, personaggio creato da #CarlBarks, e uscite sugli albi editi dalla #Western licenziataria #Disney per gli USA fino al 1984
White guilt and Biden’s support for the genocide in Gaza
Underlying the unqualified American support for Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza are feelings of white guilt over antisemitism, which have been projected onto a people that had nothing to do with these crimes.
They don't feel guilty of killing. Would be simpler if it was the case. So no excuse. "Antisemitism" is not the question. These #Western politicians just are fascist #warmongers. Like the #nazis.
"The Biden administration plan for the “day after” in Gaza is rooted in American hubris and ignorance, and therefore doomed to failure."
"The United States has a long history of misunderstanding the Mideast, but this level of ignorance and willful blindness far surpass anything we’ve seen before."
Just left the group chats for two social groups where I live.
I chronically feel "less than" when I attend, and I have a sneaking feeling there's been backbiting going on, too. There's strong circumstantial evidence of that: for example, workshops I've given have been poorly attended, in contrast to those given by other group members.
The groups are not supporting me in subtle ways, which usually means "don't let the door hit you in the can on the way out" to us #Autistic folks. Truth, Ruth.
Also, much of what goes on in group meetings has to do with Chatting Over Food-Laden Tables, which isn't a great place to be for folks with #EatingDisorders.
If Allah SWT wants me to have the typical kinds of #Social relationships that so many people seem to arrive at without much fuss, He will put that in my life. I'm tired of putting effort into it when it usually backfires on me. And now that I'm a #Muslim, I have plenty to do just learning and praying.
Watching the events in #Palestine, those folks know what's important. It's the afterlife, not what goes on here. #Family too, but as a refugee from #Western#Secular culture, I don't have that. But, in my own way, I thrive anyway, Alhamdulillah.
I'm NOT looking for pity. Statements about similar experiences would be welcome, however.
I find it a relief just to tell the truth and stop flailing at attempts to look and feel "normal." That flailing is all about fear, not growth, recovery, or faith.
Republican judge Laurence Silberman sent email to other judges suggesting students protesting a right wing speaker at a talk should not be considered for clerkships.
In no other #Western country that I know of is the #justice system as politicised as in the #USA, especially at the higher court levels. While there is always some influence of the #Federal or #State governments that are in charge at a given moment, in the USA its seems to go much deeper than that.
Not very fitting for a country that self-proclaims itself as being the "Leader of the Western World".
A couple nights ago I watched The Great Silence and holy hell is that a damn good western. I get why it wasn't released in the US at the time, but it is GOOD. #western#movie#movies
Today's new queer fantasy release: Eric Alan Westfall has a MM gay fantasy: The Thousand-and-One Rides of the Devil’s Horse:
Diablo. Big as one o’ them beer-pullin’ horses, quarter horse sleek, blacker’n the blackest black ya kin see inside yer head er elsewheres. They said as how he was...
I've always hated #Malaysian#media/#journalism. All the important things/information always somehow gets missed out or ignored by #news sites (big and small) here, especially when involving #tech.
There were too many occurrences where I see #American/#Western journalism talk about things like what bullshit #Apple did to their new hardware that is unacceptable, and our tech sites here are somehow completely oblivious about this topic and ravishes instead about how pretty and shiny the new product is, pay no mind how Apple cut some vital corners and how it performs/endures as a result, etc. Company X was called to court for anti-consumer behaviours? Who cares.
At the same time, I see them now talking about #Threads and how cool it is, and everyone's jumping on it when I've never ever seen any serious content at all about #Mastodon and the #Fediverse like what The Verge did for the past X number of months since it grew in popularity/awareness. This might apply to other #SouthEastAsian journalism too. Feels like we're all just kids and fanboys with eyes only on the big, shiny things instead of anything or everything that actually matters.
Here below are graphs of discrimination ratios over time by racialized group. The shaded area is 95% confidence region. You may notice that #discrimination has been stable since the #1970s except for a rise against MENA-passing persons since 1990.