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blackswaneuroparedux · 4 years

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Anonymous asked: Do the intellectual elites basically set the direction of how society thinks? Over the centuries, the general public has followed philosophical trends in the academic world so how do these beliefs and academic theories filter down into the mainstream? Is there anything we can do to stop it?

It may seem like in our current turbulent times that the elites do the thinking for the masses. And if one stands back to look at the flash points of intellectual history that indeed feels true. But equally one can stand back and ask critically if this is really so?

Who are you actually talking about? Who are these intellectual elites? I dislike these generalisations because they are unhelpful. How does one define elite? Is it intellect? Is it cachet of social position? I think our so-called university elites - professors etc - are in their own existential crisis because of how commodified a university education is becoming. They are beholden to students as consumers. It’s a worrying trend.

Of course it didn’t use to be like that because then our intellectual elites had both recognised intellectual prowess and a social cachet. In other words they had power. I think the modern day academic is many ways a powerless and even pitiful figure at the mercy of university managers and money men.

Nor do I think one thinker dominates over others as they might have done in the past.

A case van be made that ideas today are democratised. Power resides wherever their is a vacuum. It doesn’t reside in the class room but on social media.

In our more recent times intellectual trends like post-modernism and now social critical theory have been seeping into the mainstream. Even Donald Trump has brought up critical race theory to the wider watching populace as a beating stick over the left.

But many ordinary people would be hard pressed to name the actual thinkers (outside of just lumping people together as an amorphous mass e.g. cultural marxists or far right conservatives). It’s more true to say that all ideas now fight in the market place of ideas as a product for people to consume blindly.

But why one idea takes off and another doesn’t is something I don’t have answer for. Or where is the point where ideas from top down meet reality from bottom up and create some kind of intellectual and social momentum? I don’t have time to get into that here.

Another thing is that like an MP4 download the compression size of the complexity gets eroded the more it is downloaded and passed around. In other words people start arguing over labels and top line arguments than actually grapple with the deeper and more complex ideas contained.

This isn’t to say there are no problems with such theories - e.g. critical race theory - because there are. For the record, I am hostile to such philosophies as a Tory as I am towards many lefty isms plaguing the modern university campus that find their way into the public square.

Rather than attack the messenger (ie people) one should critically examine the arguments from every side. This is true for any theory and wherever it comes from. We engage ideas not people.

I don’t want to sound like a broken record so let me play devil’s advocate and suggest an alternative if only to muse upon on it.

I was having a stimulating series of conversations with a professor of intellectual history and other academic historians and political scientists from prestigious French institutions at a friend’s dinner party not so long ago. Like any French dinner good conversation is expected along with good food and wine. Arguments are meant to be robust and even heated but never personal. Arguments are won as much by charm and wit as it is by intellect. It’s all very convival and civilised.

Anyway, we touched on many things from the sorry state French politics, Brexit, Trump, and Covid of course. The usual stuff I imagine. But because of who was around the table the discussion enjoyably explored much wider issues.

For me it’s always interesting to hear the premise from where people build their arguments. For the left secularist the Enlightenment becomes the cornerstone from which the lens of history is viewed and interpreted. For the conservative it’s anything before the 1789 Revolution. Both actually looked at change and the ideas therein as from top down. The ground up (or the view from below) was given short thrift.

I suggested an alternative premise more from a playful motivation than absolute empirical evidence - if only to liven things up a little as the conversation was becoming stale and even predictable.

Perhaps the direction of influence could also be seen the other way round? That is to say that philosophical theories formalise and develop ideas that are already in circulation in society and culture.

Did you get that? Let me explain.

Remember Hegel's beautiful and profound observation that 'the owl of Minerva spreads its wings only with the falling of the dusk. In the words what Hegel was saying was that philosophical theory comes afterwards, reflectively, when a development of ideas or institutions is complete and (he would add) in decline.

Plato's 'Republic', at least its political portion, was as the late Michael Oakeshott once put it, 'animated by the errors of Athenian democracy'. Any citizen could participate in politics and help determine policies and legislation without any knowledge of the relevant matters. Plato saw democracy as the politics of ignorance. If every other human inquiry or activity recognised expert knowledge - in his famous example, you wouldn't let just anyone, regardless of their lack of specialist skills, navigate a ship - why not politics, too ? Why should politics be special in not requiring knowledge of the proper ends and means of political action as a condition of participation. Think of this what you will, but the 'Republic' was rooted in its contemporary context and was a response to it.

Aristotle's 'Politics' is a theorisation of the Greek polis, which was already passing out of independent existence under the impact of Alexander the Great's conquests. Athens was a city-state, and a democracy (albeit a limited one). Even though Aristotle was not born in Athens his views were accepted until he was shunned after the death of Alexander.

Aquinas' 'Summa' was a response to the recovery of Aristotle's writings and to the ongoing beliefs and practice of the Catholic Church - as well, of course, to movements which he opposed in theology.

Hobbes' 'Leviathan' is clearly a recipe for avoiding the kind of political and social chaos caused by the French Wars of Religion and the English Civil Wars. They were in his rear-view mirror when he wrote his tome.

Hume's 'atomistic' view of the nature of experience as composed of distinct impressions and ideas drew on the model of Newtonian 'corpuscular' physics.

Kant's Critique of Pure Reason asks how knowledge is possible, with the glories of Newtonian physics in the background. His emphasis on the place of reason in ethics is fully in the spirit of the Enlightenment's celebration of reason.

John Stuart Mill's 'On Liberty' was a counter-blast to the pressure toward conformity which he thought he saw in the England of his day.

Logical Positivism was a response to the huge, brilliant developments in science - relativity and quantum theory - and took the form of scientism, the view that scientific knowledge is the only form of deep and accurate knowledge (of all real knowledge).

Marxism was a response to the embryonic birth of the modern capitalist system after the industrial revolution in Britain. Both Hegel and Marx formulated their theories by what they observed was happening with the birthing pains of modern industrial capital society. Cultural Marxism is a different beast entirely.

I could go on.

I am not suggesting, of course, that there was anything crude or mechanical in the way these philosophies emerged from their contexts. They all added independent thought of great subtlety. But their problems and the terms of their solutions were set by their times, at least as they understood them. It’s plausible but may not be completely true. But that’s part of the enjoyment of musing upon whimsical thoughts without the conceit of being certain.

Anyway something to think about.

Thanks for your question.

#question #ask #hilosophy #ideas #society #ideology #culture

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digimartusa · 3 years

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7 Insider Trade-Secrets to Double Your Sales & Profits from Your FB Ads Campaigns!

Explore How to Advertise on Facebook and Learn the Hidden-Secrets Of Running Your Successful Facebook Ad Campaign With these 7 Steps...

If you’ve ever dreamed of running “a successful Facebook ad campaign,” now is your chance — as long as you’ve got a good marketing mind.

In this article, you’ll learn 7 secret strategies to increase your sales and profits from Facebook Ad Campaigns

Want to learn how to advertise on Facebook profitably?

If Yes, So Let's dive in right away...

✓ How to create a Facebook business page.

✓ How to Promote your business on Facebook

✓ How to create a Facebook Ad

✓ How much does it cost to advertise on Facebook?

✓ 7 Facebook Ad Strategy Secrets

✓ Conclusion

Facebook advertising is a vital feature that connects you with your audience on the world’s largest social network. It has 2.80 billion monthly active users

If you want to get the top results, it’s vital to learn the basics of Facebook Marketing and its algorithm before you learn the 7 Facebook Ad Strategy Secrets.

How to create a Facebook Business Page

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Your First priority to market your services or products on Facebook, you must have a Facebook page up and running. By doing that, you will become a part of the 2.80 billion monthly active users community from all over the world.

It sounds amazing, I know, but that’s why this step is so important. Crafting a killer page can really make a huge difference in the whole marketing process.

Before you start posting engaging content, you need to have a customized page, first. If you already own a personal account, then you might know how this works.

To connect with people, you’ll need to add them as friends, and follow businesses by liking their fan pages.

Remember: Don’t open a profile for your business instead of a page, Facebook may shut it down permanently since it’s against their rules.

To begin creating a Facebook page, go to https://www.facebook.com/pages/creation/. There, you will find two different categories to choose from:

✓ Business or Brand

✓ Community or Public Figure Assuming you are a business, Hit on ‘Get Started’ under ‘Business or Brand’ to start the process.

Everything starts with your page name; Think about the name carefully as it is the name that your audience will see. There is an option available for you to change the URL.

After you’ve chosen your page name, you should select the category that your business falls under. Include the details such as an address, phone number, etc., and click on ‘Continue’. You will then land on your own fan page.

Vital Features of the Page:

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Profile Picture:

The first step you need to take care of is to include a profile picture on your business page. Think of this picture as your business’ identity and make sure it is something that represents your company well, like a well-crafted logo.

Your Facebook Fan Page profile picture should be your number one weapon for your brand marketing, so make sure it is recognizable. You’ll be required to upload a photo with 180 x 180 pixels, but do not panic if you don’t have a square photo. Facebook will give you an option of cropping, but the important thing is that your entire logo (if uploading a logo) fits into the cropped picture.

Cover Photo:

Your cover photo is the widest image on your Facebook business page that is found on the top of your page, in addition to your profile picture, which is what gives personality to your page. You can add this photo to promote special offerings, discounts, etc.

To upload your cover photo just click the ‘Add a cover photo’ button from your Facebook welcome menu. The perfect dimension for cover photos are 851 x 315 pixels,

Description:

You will need a well-crafted and well-written couple of sentences to introduce your brand. You can only use a maximum of 155 characters so choose your words carefully. Keep in mind that this description will help you rank better in the search results so make sure it is creatively descriptive.

Username:

The username appears in your Facebook URL so help customers find you more easily. Facebook only allows 50 characters for your username; make sure to use them for something unique that is not already being used by other companies.

Setting Up the Roles:

Now that you have added the page information, it is time to set up the roles. The best part about the Facebook business page is that they are kept completely separate from your personal Facebook account.

That means you can give access to other people from your organization. They can also maintain the page without having to log in through your personal account. Nevertheless, it depends on your role assignment part.

Page Roles:

The admin of the page manages everything From sending messages, responding to comments, publishing and deleting posts, to advertising and even assigning the roles. You should select the person carefully as it’ll receive an authority to manage your page

There are also other Page Members options such as Editor, Moderator, and Advertiser. Analyst, and Live Contributor.

Call-to-Action:

Call-to-action is a very convenient way for customers to take action with your business. You can set it up on Click on ‘Add a Button’ found above your cover and choose what the button should allow customers to do: get in touch, download, purchase a product, donate, book your services, etc. then include a link that sends them to your website, or another landing page.

Page Tabs:

To organize the content that customers will find on your Page, it is required that you add custom tabs. It’ll help your audience to see your photos, look for open jobs, go to your website, visit your other social media accounts, etc.

In your Page left navigation, there is a ‘Manage Tabs’ button. Hit on it to change your tabs.

Audience Trust those pages that have verified batch, it’s as simple as that.

It is not required, but if you want to add more value to your page and include a degree of authority, it is recommended.

You’ll need to head to ‘Settings’ ‘General’ ‘Page Verification’ to enter your phone number, country, etc. You will receive a Facebook verification code.

How to Promote your business on Facebook:

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You’ll need to head to ‘Settings’ ‘General’ ‘Page Verification’ to enter your phone number, country, etc. You will receive a Facebook verification code. Facebook is one of my best social platforms to produce targeted traffic to the squeeze pages, Lead Page, and website. Facebook is a goldmine if you follow the strategies I’m about to share.

Algorithm Slap:

Did you know only 7% to 10% of your fans can see your post in their timelines? To Become Prominent on Facebook, You’ll need to beat the Algorithm in their own game..

All of those fans who like or follow you want to see your content regularly, but people barely see your content due to algorithm changes.

Action:

To increase the reach of your content, you’ll need first to identify the right audience and their pain points, needs, and wants. You can view your Facebook page analytics to find the right audience, demographics, interests, and age.

How to Create A Facebook Ad:

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First, you’ve to choose the marketing goal that’s right for your business. Then, craft your first ad with the following options below.

Select Your Audience:

With this option, you can reach your ideal audiences, such as age and location. Select the Demographics, interests, and behaviors that perfectly match your audience

Placement:

You can place your ad on Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, and Audience Network or across them all. you can also choose the placement manually.

Define Your budget:

You can add your budget on campaign-level, ad set-level, or lifetime budget. You can use all of these budget strategies that perform well, and you’re comfortable with.

Choose Ad Creative:

You can choose a single image, video, or multi-image format.

Submit:

Once you submit your ad, It’ll go for the review process and start working once it gets approval.

Measure & Optimize Your Ads:

You can track the performance of your ad through the Ad manager. And Measure your No#1 metric that generates ROAS.

How much does it cost to advertise on Facebook?

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There are many types of bidding models in Facebook, like Cost-per-click (CPC), cost-thousand-thousand-impressions (CPM), etc.

The CPC bidding model usually costs around $0.97 per click, while the CPM advertising cost is about $7.19 per 1000 impressions.

AVERAGE FACEBOOK ADVERTISING COST

BIDDING MODEL

$0.97 Cost-per-click (CPC)

$7.19 Cost-per-thousand-impressions (CPM)

$1.07 Cost-per-like (CPL)

$5.47 Cost-per-download (CPA)

But these bidding models advertising cost isn’t 100% accurate. Its large depends on ad copy, landing page, target audience, and creative ad strategies.

7 Facebook Ad Strategy Secrets

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#1 - Use the Facebook Pixel To Create a Custom & Look-Alike Audience!

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One of the most common problems businesses face is they don’t have their audience data and don’t know which funnel step is converting most… This problem could cause severe head-ache to the owners, and frequent money loss makes the business wheel crash.

Want to Explore the Secrets How to Store your audience Data & Retarget them continuously so they can buy from you.

Here are steps you can follow to integrate your Facebook pixel on your website.

✓ Create a Facebook Pixel(Connect to Data Sources & Select Web)

✓ Select a Connection Method(Choose Facebook Pixel)

✓ Name the Pixel and Enter Your Website

✓ Integrate a Facebook Pixel Code to your website (You can either manually add pixel code to the website or Add through Partner Integration.

✓ Set up Pixel Event(Open Event Setup Tool & Enter Your Website)

✓ Make Sure Your Pixel is integrated successfully through Facebook Pixel Helper

#2 – Map Out Your Customer Journeys

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Customer Journey is the process in which customers go through from the informational phase to a raving-fan stage.

Whether you are running an e-commerce store or a Services-based Business, ideally, your customer journey starts from informational searches, comparison-based searches to purchasing a product or service.

You’ll need to map this journey and target each step of the journey with offers, discounts, contests, free-trial, lead magnets, and referrals.

#3 – Funnel Creation

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Now, as you map out your customer journey, you’ll find the steps customers use to grab your product or service.

So You can divide those steps into a 3-Step funnel Which is TOFU, MOFU, and BOFU.

You’ll need to map this journey and target each step of the journey with offers, discounts, contests, free-trial, lead magnets, and referrals.

✓ Awareness (top-of-funnel or ToFu)

✓ Engagement (middle-of-funnel or MoFu)

✓Conversion (bottom-of-funnel or BoFu)

#4 - Influencer-generated-content

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You can start working on an influencer marketing & outreach program as soon as you have found out your ideal audience.

You can leverage the power of the influencers in your industry just by persuading them to present our offers, services, and product in front of their audience.

#5 - THE ILLUSION OF SCARCITY & Urgency

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We, humans, find something far more attractive and desirable if it’s only available in limited quantities and for a limited time. Ever wondered why e-commerce sites often put time-sensitive calls-to-action on their website, such as “Only 2 left in stock. Buy now to avoid missing out”?

People know that it is quite frustrating to miss an opportunity that is offering in discounted rates.

#6 – Research Your Competitors Ads

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Before you begin crafting ads for your business, you’ll need to dive into the ocean of your competitor’s ad strategies. .

You may judge your competitors based on their ad copy, ad creative, and their call-to-actions.

Here you’ll find all the competitor’s ads.

Ads Library

#7 – Three Types of Campaign

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You can leverage the power of Three types of Ad Campaigns: Creative Sandbox Campaign, Initial Data Collection Campaign, & Finally Data-Driven Campaign. In the Creative Sandbox Campaign, You’ll have to craft 3 Ads with only one unique variable in each Ad. In this way, you’ll find the best creative you can launch in the Initial Data Collection Campaign.

You’ll begin launching Initial Data Collection Campaign, Once you found out the best ad creative in the Creative sandbox Campaign. To establish an Initial Data Collection, You’ll need a custom and lookalike audience.

Once you find the Data >500 Pixel Events, You should launch a Data-Driven Campaign with warm audiences.

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Facebook Advertising can make or break how much traffic & Conversions you get. An excellent Facebook Ad Strategy will allow your business to grow leaps and bound.

If you want to reach your ideal audience, be sure to experiment with different ad creative, ad copies, and targeting strategies to see what gets your business the most results!

Want a Free Step-By-Step Guidebook For Your Business Growth? Here is the link

#facebook #facebook marketing #facbookadvertising #socialmedia #socialmediamarketing #digitalmarketing #digitalmarketingagency

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miniatureworlds · 3 years

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New York Times: The Dollhouses of Instagram

'Instagram-inspired enthusiasts are making their interior-design dreams real — only 12 times smaller.

(Image: Trisha Krauss)

By Ronda Kaysen, March 13, 2020

'The kitchen that Jessica Coffee designed checked all the trendy boxes: white Shaker cabinets, a subway-tile backsplash, wide oak-plank floors and an open-concept floor plan, with views into the living room’s shiplap walls. The photographs she posted on her Instagram page evoked enthusiastic comments from followers, who gushed about high-end details like the water filler above the stove.

The only drawback? Ms. Coffee, 40, can’t actually serve a meal in her kitchen, at least not a real one, because the room, like the rest of the house, is built to a 1:12 scale — that 36-inch chef’s stove is actually three inches long. It’s in a dollhouse that sits in the real-life master bedroom of her home in Walla Walla, Wash., which looks nothing like her amazing tiny one.

“People are always like, ‘Ooh! I would like to see your real house.’ No you wouldn’t. I live in a house that is barely 1,000 square feet with three kids and a Great Dane,” said Ms. Coffee, who sells her miniature designs and posts online tutorials at Jessica Cloe Miniatures. “My dollhouse square footage is much better than my actual square footage.”

'Ms. Coffee is among a growing community of artisans who have turned the craft of dollhouse making into an exercise in aspirational home design on an itty-bitty scale, with their tiny rooms and furnishings displayed on well-curated Instagram accounts with glossy photographs and videos set to music reminiscent of “The Fixer Upper” on HGTV. Scroll too quickly, or miss the photograph with a human-scale hand surreally poking into the scene, and a viewer might confuse the image for a real-life one, the type of image that leaves you feeling equally amazed by and envious of the enormous kitchen island with a soapstone countertop.

These dollhouse makers and collectors say we’ve entered a miniature Renaissance. Call it a Mini-Aissance. “We’re living in it now,” said Kate Esme Ünver, who curates miniatures on her Instagram page Dailymini, and is the author of the 2019 book “The Book of Mini: Inside the Big World of Tiny Things.”

Social media has turned what was once a niche hobby into a decidedly trendy and increasingly profitable business, making it easier for artisans to find each other and potential customers online. The Instagram hashtag #dollhouse has 1.65 million posts and #miniature has almost 4.3 million, a mix of posts from people making miniatures and those sharing what they’ve found. Victorian-era lace and antique armoires are being scrapped for midcentury modern chairs, fiddle-leaf fig plants and sputnik chandeliers. House Beautiful took notice and commissioned 11 interior designers to reimagine a Victorian dollhouse in their own style, auctioning the decidedly contemporary finished products at the New York Design Center on Feb. 27.

In the past six months, searches on Etsy for 1:12 scale furniture were up 39 percent and searches for dollhouse rugs and miniature items were up 20 percent from the same period a year ago. A search on the site for dollhouses yields 237,000 results. “It’s certainly a trend that’s rising,” said Dayna Isom Johnson, an Etsy trend expert. The popular items — miniature succulents, bath salts, word art — point to an interest from the grown-ups, not their children. “Maybe there are very sophisticated 10-year-olds out there who want a midcentury sofa, but I assume these are adults who want to take this on as a new hobby.”

Chris Toledo, 34, who showcases his diminutive creations on the Instagram account I Build Small Things, has watched his business soar in the past two years thanks to social media. He now sells his dollhouses, designed in a nod to the 1920s architecture of Los Angeles, where he lives, for $150,000 to $200,000 apiece.

“Before, miniatures were only publicized through miniature magazines,” he said. “Social media put it in everybody’s face.” His homes feature intricately detailed rooms, like a kitchen with a subway-tile backsplash and a schoolhouse pendant light that would look real if it weren’t for the life-size head of garlic positioned in the middle of the room.

'While some artisans specialize in furnishings and décor, Mr. Toledo focuses on the architecture, selling complete dollhouses as well as individual rooms — like a bathroom in a shadow box — for as much as $20,000. He designs the rooms by hand, milling moldings and using miniature tools, like a table saw the size of a shoe box, for carpentry work.

The advent of 3-D printers has opened the door for people without such advanced woodworking skills, too — to the disappointment of traditional dollhouse makers, who view such technology as taboo. Ms. Coffee of Walla Walla, for example, uses a 3-D printer to make smaller objects, like decorative pumpkins, which she sells for $5. She makes other items, such as throw pillows, using everyday materials and tools like glue, fabric, tweezers and quilt batting.

A year into her craft, Ms. Coffee now sells enough printable herringbone floors and cowhide rugs on her website to turn a profit, although still not enough to give up her day job as a graphic designer. She also uses the dollhouses to work out design challenges in the real-life houses that she and her husband renovate and flip. If she’s not sure about a floor color or a pattern for a rug, she can try it out on a tiny scale for a few dollars. Her actual home has the same rustic wide-plank flooring as her dollhouses.

While miniatures have long had their enthusiasts, this new generation of dollhouse makers is turning to idealized contemporary homes at a time when the real-life version is increasingly out of reach for many Americans. High real estate prices and stagnating wages make it difficult for many homeowners to consider a $100,000 kitchen with a farmhouse sink and a Wolf stove. But you could have a very little one — or three of them, and fill them with teensy espresso makers, cheese boards and bottles of Dom Pérignon. Like the idea of a barn door, but don’t actually have a place to install one? Tuck it into the dollhouse attic, and if it grows tiresome, refurnish the entire room with rattan chairs, a shag rug and a soft pink palette.

'Kwandaa Roberts, an OB-GYN in Philadelphia, says she has found a following on her Instagram account, Tiny House Calls, among millennial women who pine for a prettier house. “They don’t have any money and a lot of them can’t afford to buy houses and they’re living at home with their parents or in a tiny apartment with roommates and they can’t do design and all the things that they want to do,” she said. “But like me, they can get a lot of their creative energy out on a dollhouse.”

Dr. Roberts, 47, a single mother of two, started her hobby two years ago when she bought a dollhouse at Target. She intended to give it to her daughter, now 5, but instead found that it filled a creative longing she had to be an interior designer. She painted it, added wallpaper, and details like a brass soaking tub and a kitchen with a waterfall countertop. She made furniture by hand with supplies she bought at Michaels. “I’ve always loved interior design, had a huge passion for it, and may have gone into it as a career had I known that was a thing,” she said. But when she was growing up, “there was no HGTV. Home Depot sold lumber; it was not what it is today.”

In her tiny houses, Dr. Roberts has found an outlet, and an opportunity to reveal her projects on videos and photos she shares with her 47,000 followers. “I don’t have to redo my house,” she said. Instead, “I can have 10,000 kitchens and they will be fantastic.”...'

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surveys-at-your-service · 3 years

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Survey #385

“I am a human being, capable of doing terrible things”

Who in your family has been married the longest? (and how long?) Uhhhh. I don't know. Do you take your shoes off when you come inside? Yes. What’s your favorite movie series? I think Shrek when you consider all the movies' (well, I haven't seen the last one, but...) quality. No memeage here, I just genuinely love Shrek, haha. I would say The Lion King, but miraculously when you consider the focus on meerkats, I actually don't like 1 1/2 much. What was the first color you ever dyed your hair? Hm... I think I got purple highlights? Do you want to move anytime soon? Even though we haven't even lived here a year, yes. I don't like living in an urban area, and I also reeeeaaaally don't like our family friend being our landlord. I know that sounds very weird, but she's just a very controlling person who forcefully inserts herself into my family's lives now more than ever, and I have a pretty deep fear that a potential argument finally erupting will lead to us being kicked out. I genuinely don't think Tobey would ever do that, but the fear is still there. How good/bad was the quality of education you received in high school? Average, I guess? What was the most interesting year of your life, and why? "Interesting," maybe... 2017 or 2018? I learned a lot about myself in that time range. But at the same time, my life was (and still is) VERY uneventful. Just a lot of mental stuff went on. What was the first social media site you ever used? Myspace. Do you have any exes you really regret dating? REALLY regret? No. I wish I'd never dated Tyler, but it's not a massive regret or anything. He was still a cool guy that I have a few nice memories with. Have you ever lied on a resume? Or even in a job interview? Ha, I'd definitely stretch the truth about being more of a people-person than I am. I couldn't go too far with lying, though; I'm just not comfortable doing that, 'cuz like, they're gonna find out eventually that it's not true. Of all your friends & family, who has the most nicely-decorated home? Maybe my friend Summer. Her room has always been super cool. What brought about the end of the worst relationship you’ve been in? Apparently, not talking to him every second of every day two weeks into a relationship was a no-no. Where was the last place you spent the night other than your own home? The sleep study building or whatever it's considered in the medical plaza. Do you have any step- or half-siblings? I have both. What do people always seem to think is weird about you? The fact I don't watch TV. Do you ever braid your hair? It's way too short for that. Even when it was long, I didn't do it frequently at all. Is there any certain style of architecture you really enjoy? Roman, in particular. What was the last thing you gave up on? uhhhhhhhhhhh If you watch Parks and Recreation, who is your favorite character? I don't. What’s the last DIY project you did, if any? If you can’t remember, what’s something you’d be interested in doing? I'm not really into DIY stuff, honestly. I'd rather just buy products that were made better than I could, or commission someone who can. What's a song that makes you feel happy? I dunno. It's rare a song alone makes me happy. What is your favorite clothing store? Rebel's Market. How did you meet your best friend? YouTube, back when it was a more social platform. What is something you do well? Catastrophize any situation. Assume the worst of everything. What's a good idea you've had recently? Probably to re-engage with a calorie-counting app I used to use. I'm back to trying to use it consistently. Do you like to wear high heels? Does ANY person LIKE to? How many slices of pizza do you usually eat? Two or three depending on my appetite and the size of the pizza. Do you play any instruments? Not anymore. Do you always smile for pictures? Not always. What are you most excited about right now? To see the results of my TMS therapy. What's the last song you listened to? "Ex’s and Oh’s” by Elle King. What's the last YouTube video you watched? I'm watching an Erosium livestream rn. Newest channel binge, haha. Do you know anyone who's died in childbirth? No. Would you ever consider moving to another country for your career? No. I don't want to leave my family. Do you wear foundation? No, I hate the feeling of that crap. Do you know anyone who has run for public office? No. Do you have a cartilage piercing? I used to, but the hole closed when I had to take it out for the hospital. :/ I plan on getting it repierced. Have you ever been taken to the emergency room or urgent care? If so, why? Yes; for being suicidal, a suicide attempt, and when I had a horribly infected cyst and just existing made me want to sob with pain. Have you ever had to visit anyone in the hospital? Yeah, a few times. What is the most pain (physical, mental, emotional) you've ever felt? Physical: having the aforementioned cyst drained when I was not nearly numbed enough. Mental and emotional (what's really the difference?): my breakup with my first real boyfriend. What is the longest time you've spent crying? Oh, hours on end, fluctuating with intensity. Have you ever been stolen from? Yes. Have you ever been to a ghost town? No, but I would FUCKING LOVE to. Let me bring my camera and it's a field day. Has anything in your house ever caught on fire? Not in this current house. Have you ever been inside of a vacant house? No. Have you ever been attacked by a dog? No. What is the most disgusting thing you've ever seen? The massive cyst my late dog Teddy developed on his lower belly. That fucking thing hung on by a THREAD and was absolutely nauseating to look at. How old were you when you learned how to read? I don't recall, I just know it was earlier than most children. Do you prefer cats or dogs? Cats. Which book series was the first you read? I want to say Hank the Cowdog. I was hooked on it. Would you rather write a book or direct a movie? Haha, what a question, as I've considered both of these as potential careers. I think write a book. What dream that you’ve had has stuck in your head the most? Describe: A nightmare about my dad that I'm not going into. What emotion do you find yourself trying to hide from others? I'm very uncomfortable revealing jealousy or envy. How emotional/sentimental would you say you are? Extremely. What is the most fun game to play? Shadow of the Colossus, probably. What is your sense of humor like (dry, dark, sarcastic, etc.)? I don't know, maybe dry. How many languages can you say "hello my name is…" in? Two. What language do you think sounds the nicest? I don't know, it's not like I've heard every language be spoken. What language do you want to learn more of? German. Do you have any form of OCD? I'm diagnosed with OCD. Do you make promises often? No. I take promises VERY seriously and am not about to make one unless I'm certain I can keep it. What is it that you are responsible for? My pets, keeping my room clean, stuff like that. Do you have a lot of secrets? Not "a lot," no. Are you more likely to be verbally aggressive or physically? Verbally. I'm only physically aggressive in my nightmares. What warning has someone given you that you wish you’d have listened to? Hm. What warning has someone given you you are glad you didn’t take? I also don't know. What is your favourite video of on YouTube? I can't pick just one. Name one creature that freaks you out/scares you? Maggots. Just the word makes me squirm. What was the last thing you wrote down on paper? My signature. Have you ever watched Breaking Bad? No. Are your fingernails always painted? They never are. What color is your bed frame? A rich brown. Did any of your neighbors come over to welcome you when you moved into your current house? No. What's something you didn't realize how bad it was until it happened to you? Heartbreak. Do you like Taylor Swift's singing voice? No. It's squeaky and annoying to me. Does it bother you when people get super emotional? Why the fuck would it bother me? Let people be in touch with their emotions. Have you ever worked in a restaurant? No. What was the last drive-thru you went through? Ummm I want to say Starbuck's w/ Mom after my TMS appointment. Do you know anyone who claims they can see/feel spirits or other supernatural "things?" No. Does your house have any unoccupied bedrooms? Yes. Do either of your parents have a mental illness? My mom has depression, and she personally suspects something's up with Dad, but idk. He's never seen a doctor about that kinda stuff. What fun things are there to do where you live? Ha! Do you know anyone with a really poorly-trained dog? I know many like that. When you were growing up, did your family rent or own your home? My parents owned it. Can you see the stars at night where you live? I actually haven't paid attention at this house. I'm certain it'd be harder now living in an urban area, though. What job do you know you'd be terrible at? Like, everything? I'd probably be worst at promoting stuff to people and trying to push them into buying something. No being a salesperson for me. Do you do meal-prepping? No. Do you know anyone who got preggo less than a year into their relationship? Who doesn't? And now, for the greatest question of all time! Toilet paper- should it go over or under? I literally couldn't care less about this. Fun fact though to "end" the argument, the original concept art of the idea (the word for that is evading me...) has it designed to go over. Are you afraid of mice? Not at all, they're adorable. What type of souvenir do you usually purchase when on vacation? I don't have a specific "type" of thing I get, really. It depends. Do you vacation often? Not at all. Are you comfortable wearing your pajamas in public places? It depends on the place, really. Generally, I really don't care, so long as I put a bra on. What’s your favorite candy bar? That one that's a bunch of Reese's squares composed into a rectangle. It. Is so. Fucking. Good. Do you own more than one copy or edition of a book? No. If you could see any musical on Broadway right now, what would it be? I don't like musicals. Do you own a helmet of any sorts? No. Does your family generally decorate for most holidays? Just for Christmas, really. Do you eat soup when you’re sick? I'm not a soup person. Have you ever watched Doctor Who? I saw one or two episodes with Sara. If so, what do you think is the scariest creature yet? N/A Do you read tour guide type books before you visit places? No.

#survey #surveys #questions #lyrics: ''run'' by awolnation

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thasminlove · 5 years

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STOP SCROLLING

Some facts for you that will affect every last living and non- living thing on this planet:

“That so many feel already acclimated to the prospect of a near-future world with dramatically higher oceans should be as dispiriting and disconcerting as if we’d already come to accept the inevitability it extended nuclear war- because that is the scale of devastation the rising oceans will bring.”

“Every return flight from London to New York costs the Arctic 3 metres squared of ice.”

“For every half degree of warming, societies see a 10-20% increase in the likelihood of armed conflict”

“Global plastic production is expected to triple by 2050, by which point there will be more plastic than fish in the oceans.”

WE AREN’T STOPPING THIS EITHER:

“We are now burning 80% more coal than we were just in the year 2000”

“The big problem is the huge number of people and governments who acknowledge the true scale of of the problem, and still act as if it’s not happening.”

BUT WE HAVE THE POWER TO AVOID THE WORST OF WHAT’S TO COME:

“A carbon tax and the political apparatus to aggressively phase out dirty energy; a new approach to agricultural practices and a shift away from beef and dairy in the global diet; and public investment in green energy and carbon capture”

These are all relatively straightforward to put in place, but we need governments to help, and they’re not going to listen unless we kick up a hullabaloo with protests in every way shape and form.

The Youth Strikes for Climate are taking place globally- so attend your nearest one in support. See fridaysforfuture.org, for your nearest strike. Anyone can attend, just remember it is the youth leading the strike so if you attend as an adult come in support of the youth, not with your own agenda. Remember- it is the youngest generations who are most likely to suffer most from the impacts.

Edit: Next global Youth Strike is on the 24th May in many countries around the world, and individual countries also do national ones on other dates, so find your next local one and get involved.

Edit: Extinction Rebellion protests (just UK I think, but I’m sure there are other forms of this in other countries ) are also taking place- any age can join so find your nearest one and join in.

Shout about it on social media and to all your friends and colleagues.

Write to your MP or local government representative about it.

Don’t ever be silent until we have done worldwide all we can do to prevent major catastrophe.

Sources:

Book of the week in the Guardian Review 2/3/19: The Uninhabitable Earth by David Wallace-Wells

YouthStrike4Climate Facebook page

#climate change #youth climate strike #fridays for future #environment #major catastrophe

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ourkinfolx · 4 years

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No. 1: Fania

Fania Noel is a woman with plans. And not just the vast, sweeping plans like the dismantling of capitalism and black liberation. She also has smaller, but no less important, plans like brunch with friends, hitting the gym.

“Every week, I put in my calendar the times I need to be efficient,” she explains. “So I put what time I work out, with my friends, my time to watch TV shows, to read. And after, I can give people the link to put obligations.”

The link she’s referring to is her online scheduling system connected to her personal website. It’s one I’ve become well acquainted with after our first two failed attempts to schedule interviews. We had plans to meet in person, in a Parisian Brasserie she’d recommended, but between canceled flights and buses, Skype turned out to be the most practical option. Our disrupted travel was just one in a long list of inconveniences brought on by the virus safety measures. It might even be said that the coronavirus also had plans.

The global pandemic and subsequent slowing of—well, everything comes up a few times in our conversation. Like some of the other activists I’ve talked to, Fania sees a silver lining, an opportunity.

“This might be the only sequence of events in the history of humanity that you have the whole planet living at the same tempo, being in quarantine or locked down or slowed activity,” she says.

“So we all have a lot of time to think about how [society is] fucked up or the weight of our lives in terms of this society. And I think we have to ask if we want to go back to this rushed kind of living. It’s really a game changer.”

I first heard of Fania, a Haitian born afro-feminist, earlier in the year, while talking to a Parisian friend about the need for more black spaces in the city. She angrily described how a few years ago, Fania tried to have an event for black women, only to be met with fierce backlash and derision from not just right-wing groups, but anti-racist and anti-Semitic groups. The event wasn’t actually Fania’s alone; it was an effort by Mwasi Collective, a French afro-feminist group that she’s involved with.

Either way, it was a minor scandal. Hotly debated on French TV and radio. Even Anne Hidalgo, Paris’s mayor, voiced disapproval. Critics claimed the event, called Nyansapo Festival, was racist itself by exclusion because most of the space had been designated for black women only.

Despite all the fuss, the Nyansapo Festival went on as planned. Several years later, following the killing of George Floyd and the international movement that followed, Anne Hidalgo published a tweet ending with the hashtag #BlackLivesMatter. I found it curious, she’s always struck me as more of an #AllLivesMatter type.

I ask Fania if, given the tweet and possible change of heart from the mayor, she thinks her event would be better received in the current climate. She points out that there had been two Nyansapo Festivals since, with little to no media coverage, but seems overall uninterested in rehashing the drama.

“We’re way beyond that now,” she says, shaking her head. She ends it in a way that will be familiar to anyone who’s ever been almost imperceptibly corrected by a black woman, and I quickly move on to the next topic.

It’s not until later, when reading some of her other interviews, that I’m able to fully contextualize our exchange. It’s common for activists, especially those working in or belonging to a culture where their identity makes them a minority, to be asked to view their work through the lens of conditional acceptance of a larger group of oppressors and/or gatekeepers. Asking feminists what men think, asking LGBT how they plan to placate heterosexuals. In her dismissal, Fania resists the line of questioning altogether, and in another interview, she makes the point more succinctly when explaining why she doesn’t believe in the concept of public opinion:

“As an activist, the core ‘public’ is black people and to think about the antagonism and balance of power in terms of our politics rather than its reception. It’s normal in a racist, capitalist, patriarchal society that a political [movement] proposing the abolition of the system is not welcomed.”

One might argue if you’re not pissing anyone off, you’re not doing anything important.

Rolling Stone’s July cover is a painting featuring a dark-skinned black woman, braids pulled into a round bun on her crown. She has George Floyd’s face on her T-shirt and an American flag bandana around her neck. One of her hands is raised in a fist, the other holds the hand of a young black boy next to her. Behind her, a crowd, some with fists also raised, carry signs with phrases like Our Lives Matter and Justice For All Now.

According to Rolling Stone, they tasked the artist, Kadir Nelson, with creating something hopeful and inspirational and he “immediately thought of Eugène Delacroix’s ‘Liberty Leading the People,’ the iconic 1830 painting that depicts a woman leading the French Revolution.”

Regarding his choice to center a black woman in the piece, he explains: “The people who were pushing for those changes were African American women. They are very much at the forefront in spearheading this change, so I thought it was very important for an African American woman to be at the very center of this painting, because they have very much been at the center of this movement.”

During our call, I mention the painting and ask Fania her thoughts on why, so often, we find black women at the forefront of any social justice or human rights movement.

“Women have always organized,” she says simply. “Women work collectively, they run organizations.” She points to the church and organized religion as an example.

“Look at the composition of church. Who’s going to church, who’s going to ask for help from God?”

Anyone who’s spent time in the houses of worship for a patriarchal religion has vivid memories of the very present men in the room. From the booming voices and squared shoulders of the pulpit to the stern, sometimes shaming looks of brothers, uncles, fathers. But the women, often more numerous, run the councils and the choirs. Around the world women pray more, attend church and are generally more religious. And the men?

“In a context of church, it’s really acceptable to ask for help from God. Because it’s God,” Fania says. “But you don’t have a lot of black men, a lot of men in any kind of church.”

That isn’t to say that men, especially black men, are complacent. Fania notes that traditional activism goes against the patriarchy’s narrow view of masculinity.

Activism, she explains, requires one to acknowledge they’ve been a victim of a system before they can demand power. And for a lot of men, that’s not an option.

“They want to be seen as strong,” she says. “As leaders. They want to exert control.”

In short, both black men and women acknowledge the system would have us powerless, but while women organize to collectively dismantle it, men tend to stake out on their own to dominate it.

Black capitalism as resistance isn’t new, and was more prominent during the civil rights movement, which was largely led by men. In 1968, Roy Innis, co-national director for the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) opined,

“We are past the stage where we can talk seriously of whites acting toward blacks out of moral imperatives.” While CORE’s other director, Floyd McKissick, reasoned,

“If a Black man has no bread in his pocket, the solution to his problem is not integration; it’s to get some bread.”

More recently the dynamics of this played out in real time on Twitter as Telfar, a black, queer-owned fashion label, sent out notifications of a handbag restock only to be immediately descended upon by a group of largely black, male resellers. Telfar describes itself as affordable luxury for everyone, and for many of the black women who buy Telfar, it exists as proof that class and fashion need not be so inextricably linked. But for the men who bulk purchased the bags just to triple the price and resell, these were just more items to wring capital out of on their quest to buy a seat at the table.

Of course, it’s not unreasonable to argue that the purchase of a product, regardless of who makes it, as a path to liberation is still black capitalism. And in another interview, Fania specifically warns against this type of consumption. “Neoliberal Afrofeminism is more focused on representation, making the elite more diverse, and integration. This kind of afrofeminism is very media compatible. Like great Konbini-style videos about hair, lack of shades of makeup, and [other forms of] commodification.” But, she explains, “The goal is a mass movement where our people are involved, not just passively or as consumers.”

But can consumption be divorced from black liberation if it’s such a key aspect in how so many black people organize? I bring up all the calls to “buy black” that happened in the wake of George Floyd. Some of it could be attributed to the cabin-fever induced retail therapy we all engaged in during quarantine. And for those of us who, for whatever reason, were unable to add our bodies to a protest, money seemed like an easy thing to offer. Buy a candle. A tub of shea butter. A tube of lip gloss. But what did it all really accomplish, in retrospect?

“We have to think about solidarity,” Fania explains. “Solidarity is a project. When we say support black-owned business, we still have to think about the goal, the project. So if we support coffee shops, bookshops, hair dressers that have a special place in the community and are open to the community and in conversation with the community, it’s good and it can help. But if it’s just to make some individual black people richer, it’s really limited.”

Black capitalism vs anti-capitalism remains an ongoing debate, but shouldn’t be a distraction. In the end, everyone will contribute how they best see fit and we still share a common goal. Besides, we’ll need all hands on deck to best make use of our current momentum. And that’s something Fania underscores in one of the last points she makes during our conversation:

“Something we have to repeat to people is that these protests: keep doing them. Because you have years and years of organization behind you. People came out against police brutality and a week later we’re talking about how we move towards the abolition of police, how we go towards the abolition of prison. How we move towards the end of capitalism. And this is possible because you have a grassroots organization thinking about the question even when no one else was asking it. So now we have the New York Times and the media asking if these things are possible. But that’s because even when we didn’t have the spotlight, we were working on the questions about the world after. And every day radical organizations, black liberation organizations, are thinking about the world after and the end of this system. And when protests and revolts happen, we can get there and say ‘we have a plan for this.’”

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lovehaswonangelnumbers · 4 years

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New Post has been published on https://lovehaswonangelnumbers.org/waking-up-to-our-new-reality/

Waking Up To Our New Reality

By Sarah Varcas

All dates are UT

When embroiled in the midst of a crisis, the longer view can sometimes help. Reflecting on how we got here, where we want to get to and how we can do so gives both context and meaning to our current trials. It transforms us from the victim of fate to the creator of our reality, and to some extent or other we all created where we find ourselves today. It’s been difficult not to. Modern life has become increasingly unbalanced over time. Estranged from our inherent wisdom we’ve handed responsibility for our health to the ‘experts’; for our security to self-interested politicians; for our meaning to the cult of celebrity and the narrative of hatred and fear peddled by mainstream media. We’ve allowed ourselves, to some degree or other, to be numbed to the consequences of our choices by the drip-fed mindless distraction of social media. And no, we haven’t all done all these things. But everyone’s done something. Just as many have also acted to counter this descent into ever deepening unconsciousness. But as consciousness is raised, so too are the stakes for those who fear exposure of what lies in the shadows. The equal and opposite reaction continues unabated.

At one level, where we find ourselves now shouldn’t surprise anyone. In a world where our immune systems are under attack from suppressive rather than curative health regimes to air pollution to toxins in the food chain and all around us in our throw-away culture, of course disease would eventually have its way! Why wouldn’t it? But on another level there are questions to be asked about why this one and why now? On a planet where over four million people die every year as a result of exposure to outdoor pollution, why weren’t those lives important enough for us to stop what we were doing before? Why haven’t governments the world over mobilised to eradicate that pollution, as they have to stop the spread of Covid-19? Why did humankind largely numb-out to the consequences of its modern lifestyle and carry on as normal until now? What’s so special about this moment in time? What’s changed?

Confronting our fear

The Saturn / Pluto conjunction in January 2020 pulled back the veil to reveal the consequences of humanity’s arrogance. The assumption that we could simply continue forever raping and exploiting this planet with impunity has been thrown into stark relief by the narrative of a virus that threatens the continuation of life as we know it. Many see this as Mother Nature’s revenge. Others believe it to be manmade. Still others see an act of obfuscation to test just how far humanity’s behaviour can be shaped by a narrative of fear. We may never know definitively how we got to where we are now, but all these perspectives contribute important angles to the debate about where we go from here. Whilst a virus is the core narrative, the many attendant issues are just as much a part of the picture being painted in the months to come.

The scientific rationalism of the modern age has fostered a monumental fear of death such that aging has become our nemesis and youth idealised beyond all reason. We must stamp out disease and battle it into submission rather than listen to its message and change accordingly. When disease and death are perceived as the enemy we wage a constant war upon them in our own bodies and minds. Our very life becomes a battleground, against an enemy that will always win eventually. A time such as this forces us to consider our attitude towards death. Is it a demonic presence forever waiting in the wings to snatch away all that we love with a sweep of its mighty hand? Or is it the wisest teacher worthy of respect, who frames a life and gives it meaning? Pluto’s conjunction with Jupiter throughout the rest of this year provides us an opportunity to reflect deeply on our mortality. Not because we’re all doomed, but because if we don’t we may well be not so far down the line! If the mass sublimation of our death-fear continues to manifest as an on-going subjugation of nature to prove our immortal superiority, our morbid dread of death will ironically hasten our collective demise.

The beginning of the end or a fresh start?

Which brings me back to that longer-term overview I mentioned. Where are we going from here? Is this the beginning of the end or an opportunity to forge a fresh start? Have we arrived so rapidly in our new reality that shaping how it develops is beyond our capabilities? What can we do when confined to our homes?! Must we simply hunker down and hope for the best, trying to resist the growing despair that’s settling upon many as the reality of our brave new world begins to sink in? Or do we use this time to wake up? To plan a path forward that looks nothing like the one that led us here in the first place…

It’s fair to say the next few months will test us. Lockdown and other manifestations of virus-related anxiety will be with us for some time to come. An ease in June/July 2020 as Jupiter and Pluto conjunct for the second time whilst retrograde may well coincide with a lessening of the panic, followed by an increase once more from the end of September / beginning of October as they both turn direct. When they conjunct for the last time inmid-November their final say on the matter may not be particularly edifying. However, Saturn’s one-time conjunction with Jupiter in the first degree of Aquarius on 21stDecember presages yet another layer of this global conundrum. Aquarius is the sign of humanity and sister/brotherhood. Saturn – Lord of Karma – and Jupiter – the Great Benefic – joining hands here may well deliver some hope and greater context for what’s been going on. But not without affording us all the weighty responsibility of shifting our own sense of self, reality and perspective to accommodate newly revealed truths around this time.

Onward into 2021

A square between Saturn in Aquarius and Uranus in Taurus throughout 2021 will test our mettle in this regard. Do we resolve to do things differently on a global scale? Or do we resist the necessary changes and allow frustration over losing the past to rob us of a positive future? Do we embrace innovative ways to live in the wake of this crisis or turn to the ‘tried and tested’ methods that got us into this mess in the first place? This is the key challenge next year. Life (and business) cannot continue as before. And to the extent that it does, we will face far greater threats to our health and liberty before too long.

When Uranus and Saturn form a square we must act. There’s no avoiding it. This is us taking stock of our life after the hurricane has passed. The terrain may be changed beyond recognition and many of the landmarks we knew so well, gone forever. But this square provides the impetus and inspiration to begin afresh and move forward in a productive way. If we choose to.

This will apply as much in our private world as our public one. If you’re spending your lockdown dreaming of when things ‘get back to normal’, you may well be disappointed. A new normal is taking root and we must prepare to run with it when the time’s right. We’ll eventually return to a world unburdened of our pollution, released from the unrelenting impact of humanity for a considerable period of time. That world is already starting to flourish. We are part of it and can choose to flourish too or pollute it once more with our resentment and frustration over things lost. There will be grief of course, and for some people much of it. But grief allowed to flow doesn’t pollute. Only when it’s denied or blocked does it become stagnant resentment or entropic despair.

In essence, we are currently suspended in a state of global shock. When faced with a crisis, old trauma reawakens, building layer upon layer of emotion and pain. As such, we’re not simply processing the present, but all its ripples into our personal and collective past. All those unresolved times when the rug was ripped from beneath us and we were faced with situations we struggled to bear. This shock will need to dissipate through the collective energy field in the coming months. The more we can generate a calm and loving space to receive it the better, for we all have wounds to nurse and care to give in equal measure. This is how we gain the clarity to perceive what’s really going on and discern with wisdom and unflinching presence what truly needs to be done about it.

Waking up to our new reality

The North Node’s arrival in Gemini on 5th May 2020 reminds us to lighten up and allow in some fresh air. The sensitive emotionality of the North Node in Cancer since November 2018 gives way to thinking, not feeling, connecting with others not protecting our own. This nodal shift exhorts us to wake up to our new reality and live it, not avoid, detach from or fear it. It encourages us to look outside as much as within; to join together in a spirit of collaboration. New ideas will form that could not have been conceived before. As the impact of prolonged restriction begins to bite, this nodal shift gives us a positive boost and lifts us out of frustration and fear into fresh perspectives and an inquisitive attitude toward the potential of this strange new world.

Mars enters its own sign of Aries on 28th June, remaining there until the beginning of January 2021. This is a long time for Mars to remain in a sign, extended by virtue of its retrograde passage between 9th September and 14th November. Here Mars is a true warrior. But, focused intensely on its own needs, it struggles to consider those of others if it even bothers to try. Mars is our core life force which gets us out of bed each morning, puts food on our table, enforces our boundaries and protects our personal interests. Its journey through Aries may reveal a dark underbelly of selfishness if supply chains begin to struggle and anxiety about personal stability increases in the wake of loss of income and liberty. Anger and frustration may spill over. The most vulnerable will need a louder, more insistent voice. No one must be left behind nor deemed more important than another. Which is why the lighter touch of the Gemini North Node is important, with its focus on community well-being balancing the more self-centred drives of this time.

In a conjunction of Mars and Eris between August and December 2020 we face a significant challenge to stay the course in a balanced way. Refuse to allow a narrative of fear or frustration to demonise others. Use this energy to speak up for people and protect their rights alongside your own. Take a stand in the interests of community cohesion not individual protection. Beware narratives that divide at this time. Never forget we’re all in this together. Mars and Eris can be our most noble selves rising up to fight the good fight or our most base selves rising up to grab what we can from those who can’t fight back. Greed may be exposed and selfishness rife. But both are a choice that we don’t have to make. Mars, God of War, and his sister Eris, Goddess of Discord, are capable of much mischief, but when aligned with the greater good they become a formidable force of courageous protection and fearless naming of truths denied.

Sovereignty and control

Fear has been a great leveller in this process. From royalty to the street homeless, we are told, all are at risk and none immune. Motivated by it, previously unimaginable curtailments of civil liberties have been imposed and accepted, largely without question. As Jupiter conjuncts Saturn in December 2020 that may begin to change, for Jupiter affords us a bigger perspective, a broader view and instils within us a lust for the future. If the future looks too constrained at this point people may begin getting very itchy feet! And if authorities seek to over-extend virus-related powers into 2021 under the gaze of the aforementioned Saturn/Uranus square, they may be surprised at the strength of feeling amongst the people. In its shadow face, Saturn in Aquarius seeks to control (Saturn) the masses (Aquarius). It fears individuality and self-determination, moving to curtail it. Uranus, on the other hand, insists upon freedom at any cost and in Taurus is unrelenting in that demand!

As such, the issue of control – Who has it? How do they use it? How do we behave when we lose it? Who do we give it up to and why?– is as fundamental to this time as any other. It’s easy to lose connection with your sovereign self when confined to barracks and fearful of what lurks ‘out there’. But our innate sovereignty isn’t diminished by circumstances, whatever they may be. And the core task of living doesn’t change. We are here to awaken. Pure and simple. To reclaim the Self and offer it up in service of Life. We can do that wherever we are, whoever we are and whatever’s happening around us.

Nothing and no one can steal our wisdom or curtail our growing awareness. If increasing numbers dedicate this unprecedented time to knowing the true Self more deeply, just think how different our future can be! How bold and bright and beautiful. Like an embodied evolutionary leap we could emerge anew, understanding profoundly how we arrived here and how to ensure we never return again, before embarking upon our next adventure. Together.

Sarah Varcas

*****

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achraf1149 · 4 years

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TWELVE HILARIOUSLY FUNNY BOOK CLUB BOOKS

Are you trying to find funny book club books to enliven your next meet? notice hysterical, quirky, and utterly relatable titles during this book list!

Disclosure: This web site contains affiliate links for products and services I like to recommend. after you create a buying deal through Associate in a Nursing affiliate link, at no extra price to you, I'll earn a little commission.

Because generally you only want a decent laugh. And your book club buddies don’t invariably wish to over-analyze serious sh*t.

I love a decent WWII novel, however genre alliance aside, a number of my best book discussions are over lightsome, realistically funny books. have to say a handful of bottles of wine, a comfortable couch, and your best girlfriends and you’ve got yourself a direction for the proper night.

Whether you’re a mama trying to find an evening away or a dedicated reader simply trying to find one thing lighter, these kinky and funny book club books can speak to your heart.

TWELVE FUNNY BOOKS FOR YOUR NEXT BOOK CLUB

funny book club books - The Rosie Project

THE ROSIE PROJECT BY GRAEME SIMSION

I don’t assume there’s a book I’ve suggested additionally like a professional person than The Rosie Project. Simsion’s novel may be a good balance of queerness and humor.

Single, psychoneurotic compulsive biology faculty member, Don Tillman decides it’s time to search out a better half. His set up – The better half Project – is to eliminate undesirable candidates through an easy form.

Rosie is on a probe of her own, to search out her birth father. once she asks Don for facilitating, the 2 square measures drawn to at least one another, although square measure a terrible match on paper.

Rosie challenges Don’s psychoneurotic habits and encourages him to be spontaneous. will these 2 truly be a match?

The Rosie Project is Associate in Nursing intelligent, a however sweet romantic comedy with protagonists World Health Organization square measure awkward misfits, however winners in their ways that.

funny book club books - Where'd You Go, Bernadette,

WHERE’D YOU GO, BERNADETTE BY MARIA SEMPLE

My coworker and that I have a running joke. She recommends Where’d You Go, Bernadette, like I like to recommend The Rosie Project. Laugh aloud funny. Literally.

Where’d You Go Bernadette is one among those spit your sip of wine out funny books, good for an evening of book club laughs.

15-year-old Bee Branch’s folks, software system genius, Elgin, and former creator, Bernadette, promise their female offspring a cruise to the continent. Bernadette although, is on the brink of disaster.

After a feud with a neighbor and a faculty fundraiser went wrong, Bernadette disappears. Bee determined to induce everybody on board – virtually – together with her cruise, picks up her mother’s path. She weaves along with emails, faculty memos, and conversations together with her Bernadette’s Indian assistant, Manjula.

Will Bee and her father notice Bernadette? Is she fully insane of simply sane enough? this can speak to the little bit of crazy all told people.

ELEANOR OLIPHANT is FINE BY GAIL HONEYMAN

We all understand Associate in Nursing Eleanor. Socially awkward. Hasn’t cut her hair since she was 13. will crossword puzzle puzzles throughout lunch. Weekends square measure bookended with bottles of hard drink and phone conversations together with her mother. Her coworkers assume she’s socially underdeveloped and she or he thinks them, idiots.

Eleanor doesn’t understand that life ought to be something over fine. however, an opportunity encounter Eleanor and Raymond, a coworker, have with Associate in Nursing senior man World Health Organization collapses on the road changes everything.

As clues to Eleanor’s unhappy, troubled past surface, her new relationship with Raymond drives her to break from isolation.

But wait, this doesn’t sound funny…

Eleanor Oliphant is Fine is kinky and affirmative, despite themes of loneliness and psychological injury, funny. Awkwardly humorous and bizarre, Eleanor charms the hearts of readers and rakes in additional than a handful of guffaws.

funny book club books - a person known as Ove

A MAN knew as OVE BY FREDRIK BACKMAN

Ove may be a miserable, senior citizen of Associate in Nursing previous man. At fifty-nine years previous, Ove may be a widowman who’s tried (and failed) to kill himself multiple times. His neighbors decision him the bitter neighbor from hell.

But, one morning, his chatty new neighbors accidentally run over Ove’s mailbox, and he, sadly, must refer to them. And apparently, teach them a way to drive. What follows a funny tale of human values, community, and relationship.

A Man known as Ove speaks to what it suggests that to not simply live, however, be alive. Humor mixed with real human feelings can have you ever crying one moment and happy following.

funny book club books - Confessions of a Domestic Failure

CONFESSIONS OF A DOMESTIC FAILURE BY BUNMI LADITAN

Ashley Helen Adams Keller may be a career girl turned to occupy home hot-mess, momma, to eight-month previous Aubrey. Emily Walker keeps a Pinterest-worthy home and runs a palmy momma journal and media empire.

When Ashley snags a spot in Emily’s maternity higher Bootcamp, she sees an opportunity to boost as a mother and housewife. Ashely tries to navigate her manner through crafts, momma teams, and makeovers.

But hot mess mater may be a title more durable to abandon than she realizes. however, she’s on the point of the amendment during a manner the maternity higher Bootcamp may ne'er have ready her for.

Speaking to the pressures of period parenting – Associate in Nursingd living – this title can resonate with anyone World Health Organization owns a telephone or has an Instagram account. Or anyone World Health Organization has ever felt or laughed at the requirement to be good.

funny book club books - St. Brigid Jones's Diary

BRIDGET JONES’S DIARY BY Helen FIELDING.

Bridget Jones’s Diary chronicles the lifetime of {bridget|Bridget|Saint St. Brigid|St. Bridget|Brigid|Saint Brigid|St. Brigid|Bride|Saint Bride|St. Bride|abbess|mother superior|prioress|saint} Jones, one thirties living in London. Through her journal entries, we tend to follow her struggles with weight loss, career advancements, family and friends, and, most significantly, finding love.

She’s smitten for her boss, however, her folks have their sights on Mark Darcy, a single-family friend. the net gets pretty tangled.

Loosely supported Pride and Prejudice, this adaptation marks the start of the chick-lit movement. jam-packed with trendy, romantic humor (even twenty years later) St. Brigid Jones’s Diary may be a must-read for ladies all over.

WOMAN LAST SEEN IN HER THIRTIES BY CAMILLE PAGAN

Maggie Harris is gayly married with 2 healthy youngsters. Anxious naturally, she contains several not invariably rational fears, like fraud and falling air-conditioners.

The least of her worries is finding herself single at thirty 3. however once her husband walks out on her, Maggie comes face to face together with her biggest concern – herself.

After years of caring for everybody however, Maggie embarks on a visit to Rome, begins a brand new career, and even enters into a brand new relationship. however, once disaster strikes – once more – what's going to Maggie risk to keep up her new sense of self. And avoid a nervous breakdown?

BOSSYPANTS BY TINA FEY

Tina Fey tells her own story. Not simply the story of Saturday Night Live and Liz Lemon, however her story.

Through biographic essays, Fey delivers magazine vogue parodies of her beauty program, faculty romance, and her “me time” as a brand new parent (ha!). beat jest, of course, this provides a novel angle into however this comedienne came to be.

WHEN LIFE provides YOU LULULEMONS BY LAUREN WEISBERGER

Emily Charlton, a la The Devil Wears Prada, returns post-Miranda Priestly. A somewhat palmy authority herself, Emily lands in borough CT with the work of relaunching former model Karolina.

Karolina finds herself in plight when her legislator husband’s public indiscretion and her arrest for drunk driving. Her solely friend is Miriam, a brand new dynasty lawyer turned to occupy the home mater.

Together they’ll navigate this new territory…the suburbs.

THE 100-YEAR-OLD MAN World Health Organization CLIMBED OUT THE WINDOW AND DISAPPEARED BY JONAS JONASSON

Alan Karlsson had Associated in Nursing eventful life. He turns a hundred in exactly daily and his rest home is coming up with an enormous celebration…though he’d like that there be additional hard drink.

He’s in good health and isn’t all that fascinated by celebrating. therefore Alan escapes out the window and embarks on a humorous and stunning journey, complete with a grip jam-packed with cash Associate in Nursingd an elephant.

Alternating together with his adventures square measure flashbacks from his wildly fantastic past. Alan befriended President Truman, helped create the atomic bomb, dined with Charles Charles de Gaulle, and have become a spy. maybe the rest home was simply too quiet for him.

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jessicasellsnashville-blog · 5 years

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Springfield, Miles From Ordinary

The town of Springfield was established in 1798 with a plan of 50 acres to use for a public square. This square included 10 streets and 66 lots that were sold to the public for just $8 each. The first Courthouse was made of hand-hewn logs.

This public square is still flourishing today with many locally owned businesses that reside in renovated buildings dating back to the 19th century. The restored court house sits in the middle of this downtown commercial district with a bell that still chimes at every hour.

This charming town is just a 30 minute drive from Nashville and a true breath of fresh air. There is no lack of friendly faces, hand crafted shops and artisan foods. Not to mention the scenic tobacco farms and greenways. You can spend a day, two or lifetime in this town and never get bored.

I have spent the last two years living and falling in love with this small, quirky town. From the people to the places I feel at home here. I am excited to share my love for this place in my very first blog post by highlighting some of my favorite places to go and things to do. I hope you enjoy reading it and decide to come visit!

My first stop on the square is always Historic Perk. This coffee shop welcomes you with the delightful smell and delicious taste of their in house brewed coffee. The is my favorite rainy day spot; the friendly, cozy atmosphere is perfect to get lost in your work or a good book. https://www.historicperk.com/

Maybe coffee isn’t your thing? Don’t worry the square has something for you. Burdett’s Tea Shop is not even a block away and if granny chic is a thing this place would be it. From the decor to the delicious varieties of tea and comforting food; you really feel as if you are at grandma’s for lunch. http://www.burdettsteashop.com/

After your caffeine fix now it’s time to do some shopping. Most of the boutiques and shops are stocked with handmade locally sourced items. Shopping small businesses is always a plus; especially when you are getting one of a kind treasures.

Wild Hearts Trading Company is one of my favorites; you can find a variety of local products from plants and decor to bath and body products. Their speciality is custom made shirts with adorable designs. They even take special orders! https://www.wildheartstrading.com/

If you like unique boutique clothing you have to check out Hey Belle. They offer a variety of different styles from casual to formal. If you are tired of trying to find something that stands out at these department stores; this is the place to go. You’ll be able to get some special pieces to add to your wardrobe or that perfect dress for any occasion! http://www.heybelletn.com/

Main Street Boutique is another place you can find boutique clothing, jewelry, home decor, and a variety of uniquely designed kitchen ware. There is even a section in the store dedicated to children, with clothing, toys, and other necessities. https://www.facebook.com/mainstreetboutiquespringfield/

Speaking of children, just up from Main Street Boutique is Pretty Opossum; a children’s boutique! There are always some really cute choices here; not only for children but for the expecting mother as well. I highly suggest stopping here first for all of your baby shower gifts; you can’t go wrong with anything they have to offer; trust me. https://www.theprettyopossum.com/

The owner is also an artist; she has many of her creations for purchase inside the store such as stamp prints, mugs, and candles. She had made stamps for many of the local farms and businesses around town! The majority of her creations can be found in her online store; Dusty Rose Block Press. https://dustyroseblockpress.bigcartel.com/

If you are wanting some natural, local foods and remedies for you and your pets I suggest you check out Our Serenity Shop. They have a multitude of products including essential oils, CBD products, organic and local foods, and so much more.The pet section is my absolute favorite. I’ve found products for my cat’s skin irritation and nervous behavior; both have worked wonders in my fur baby’s life. https://www.ourserenityshop.com/

Among all these shops there are a couple of places you have to go into just because! Maker Table is a metal fabrication shop and these guys are a hoot. They have created many things around town such as the dog park sign, bike racks, and the newest addition to the square the Jail Alley gate. The alley was once used to take prisoners over to the court house. Maker Table offer custom pieces you can take home as well. https://makertable.com/

Another creator’s shop is Caleb Woodard Furniture Co. There is a workshop in the back of this place where these guys create one of a kind pieces of furniture. From tables, to cutting boards you can appreciate the craftsmanship of everything in this place. https://www.calebwoodardfurniture.com/

If you are wanting to explore your own creative side I suggest stopping by Willow Oak Center for Arts and Learning. This is a space that host numerous art centered events not only in the center but around the community. You can take music lessons, a cuisine class, attend a painting party or just admire some amazing art work at one of their gallery events. Check out their website to see the upcoming activities! http://www.willowoakarts.org/

After a day of exploring the town it’s probably time to get your grub on again. There are some one of a kind dinner choices around the square with chef created menus. You will be in for some outstanding dining experiences that your taste buds will surely thank you for.

The Depot Bar and Grill located right next to the train tracks offers a full menu as well as daily specials. This is probably the only place that you will be able to find Smoked Duck Breast Quesadillas and Texas Tails on the menu. There is a full service bar and a specific menu for wines and dessert. From the delicious food to the friendly staff, I think you will find yourself wanting to come back again and again! http://www.thedepotbarandgrill.com/

If you are looking for a place that offers vegan options The Copper Vault is the place to go. They offer a vegan specific menu with some unique options including their impossible burger and kimchi sweet potato fries. There is a cafe inside as well if you are looking for a day time place to catch a bite and do some work. The dinner room is beautifully staged and makes for the perfect date night atmosphere. Their traveling chef brings back things to incorporate into the dishes so I suggest you keep up with them on social media so you don’t miss out on some delicious meal options! https://www.coppervault.co/

📸: @coppervault on Facebook

Public House is another great place to grab some drinks and some tasty food. They just launched a brand new menu and I am excited to try it all. Though my favorite at the moment is the Pimento Cheese BLT. You can dine in this cozy place or you can have them cater any of your events. They have some really nice dinnerware options and the food is exceptional! https://m.facebook.com/PublicHouseTN

Though I think this town is absolute perfection already it keeps expanding. There are a few places in the works to open up this year that are just going to add to the overall Springfield experience, making it even more exceptional. Born and Raised Market is one that I am most excited about! They have been hard at work remodeling the little white building to bring us a deli and general store where you can grab lunch. https://www.bornandraisedmarket.com/

BS Brew Works has been bringing a building back to life to bring their brew out of the kitchen and into a place for us all to enjoy. I know that this brewery and taproom is going to be a fantastic place to socialize and enjoy some cold ones! https://www.bsbrewers.com/

Though an opening date has yet to be set on the old movie theater on the square it has recently been purchased and a dumpster has been filling up from the start of their renovation process. The plan is for the space to be used for ongoing events including live music, shows and movies.

Before you head back home I suggest you take a sunset cruise down some back roads. Those breathtaking views and sweet country air really do the soul good. Springfield is truly a gem, far from Ordinary.

📸: @imagoluxphotography on Instagram

Find me on other social sites: @jessicasellsnashville

#lifestyle #hometown #nashvilletn #springfieldtn #realtor #real estate #realtorlife #places to go #places to see #places to eat #art #create #shop #boutique #locally owned #locally made

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coopdigitalnewsletter · 5 years

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5 Nov 2018: Walk out

Hello, this is the Co-op Digital newsletter - it looks at what's happening in the internet/digital world and how it's relevant to the Co-op, to retail businesses, and most importantly to people, communities and society. Thank you for reading and please do send ideas, questions, corrections etc to @rod on Twitter. If you have enjoyed reading please consider telling a friend about it!

[Image: Sainsbury’s, modified]

Unintended consequences in checkoutless stores

In Amazon Go, no one thinks I'm stealing - “No one cared what I was doing. Is this what it feels like to shop when you're not black?”. The cameras don’t care what colour you are, removing the employees gets rid of the human biases. As with all automated systems, it’s possible though that new algorithmic biases are introduced, ones that are less visible to a shopper, or harder for them to get a handle on and influence. An economic look on this story and discrimination in shopping.

But! Maybe the humans will game your system if you’re doing checkoutless but haven’t built the full Amazon Go. Perhaps shoplifters will wander in, theatrically wave a mobile at some goods, and confidently strut out. It’s harder for staff to tell who is using the mobile app and who’s nicking stuff. (Some ways to fix that problem. Accounting: do what self-checkout stores do and accept more shrinkage because you now have reduced cost of checkout staff. Tickets please: have every shopper show receipt to a machine or a security on the way out (see Sam’s Club below). Expensive IT: tag all the produce and tie it to the purchasing system. Costco: club members get access and cheaper prices. Panopticon: tag and track the shoppers by having them check in through a barrier and using cameras, which is what Amazon Go does.)

Related: Sam’s Club (Walmart) is close to launching its own checkoutless store format - though it won’t be “just walk out”: when shoppers are ready to check out, they find a store associate and scan a barcode on their phone.

Luxury convenience stores

Hipster convenience stores in New York. And hipster office landlord WeWork plans to open 500 in-house WeMRKTs in the next few years, to maximise the productivity of the young workers in its office spaces.

Traceability and provenance

M&S has a good map of its factories and suppliers for own-label food, clothing and household products. “As a condition of trade, we require all direct suppliers and contracted factories to join the Supplier Ethical Data Exchange (Sedex), a web-based database where suppliers disclose information (labour standards, health and safety, environmental) including self-assessments and site audit reports. Factory information and data is based on self-declared information disclosed on our internal order management systems and Sedex which is then reviewed by our specialist Regional Office teams located in the UK, Turkey, India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, China, Cambodia and Vietnam.”

Google Walkout

Thousands of Google employees walked out of their jobs to register their discomfort with Google’s handling of harassment cases against a few of its former top brass. And here is a great list of articles about women working in tech, and being prevented from working.

Big Tech employees becoming politically activated is a good thing, and you wonder if this will lead to similar reactions to the effects Big Tech’s work has on wider society.

UK Budget: digital tax

The Treasury plans to introduce a 2% “digital services tax” on search engine, social media platforms and online marketplace revenue of global companies like Google, Facebook and Amazon.

Language

Weaponised design: “electronic systems whose designs either do not account for abusive application or whose user experiences directly empower attackers” and which is “facilitated by designers who are oblivious to the politics of digital infrastructure or consider their design practice output to be apolitical”. Interesting piece, though “weaponised design” seems a problematic term. You immediately think about intent, about who is turning the thing into a weapon. In one of the first examples in that piece, is it Snap, the journalist, the mobile phone, or even Google Maps who does the weaponising? When Russian botfarms spam political ads and fake news onto FB, is that “weaponising” a platform, or actually using a platform pretty much as it was designed? Maybe it is better if the language is simply “unintended consequences”.

Cryptocurrencies

The newsletter hasn’t talked about cryptocurrencies for a while. Bitcoin‘s whitepaper was published 10 years ago. This is quite young by the standards of other technology or money infrastructure: the internet hadn’t really got going when it was 10, and to be honest this newsletter isn’t sure how double-entry book-keeping or credit ledgers were doing a decade after 1494.

“Stablecoins” are becoming quite popular. The idea is that they have the advantages of digital assets (quick and easy to sub-divide infinitely and send somewhere, hard to double-spend) and the advantages of a fiat currency (predictable price, indirectly backed by a government). “A programmable dollar”, as this VC puts it. Weirdly though, plain old bitcoin has been less volatile than the stock markets of late, so maybe it too is maturing into a stable coin, pegged against the dollar.

But: “If bitcoin becomes more widely adopted, the huge amounts of electricity used to trade the cryptocurrency could push global temperatures above 2 degrees Celsius by 2033.”

UK gov is considering regulating crypto assets and banning crypto-based derivative products. “The FCA has made clear that in its view cryptoassets have no intrinsic value and investors should therefore be prepared to lose all the value they have put in”. An economist put that view in stronger terms when testifying to the senate: “Crypto is the mother of all scams and (now busted) bubbles while blockchain is the most over-hyped technology ever, no better than a spreadsheet/database”.

Finally, there is a new Wu-Tang Clan affiliated cryptocurrency, ODB coin. (Had ODB still been with us, he’d have told his son to give it a better name, Ol’ Dirty Blockcoin or something like that.)

Psychoanalytic tool

Musk tweeted that he’s deleted his titles. Obviously that doesn’t mean that he’s *actually* resigned as CEO etc, just that he had someone delete <p>CEO</p> from the website (or maybe he does the front-end code himself!). He sometimes gets himself into trouble with the SEC for using Special Terms like “funding secured”, but generally it’s safer to see everything he does on Twitter as an unfiltered internal monologue made public, prompting the thought that maybe Twitter could be used as a psychoanalytic tool. Related: Musk is the id of Silicon Valley.

Events

Is a co-op right for you? - several sessions in several towns 11 Sep - 27 Nov.

Delivery community of practice meetup - Mon 5 Nov 1pm at Federation House.

Engineering community of practice meetup - Wed 5 Nov 1pm at Federation House 5th floor.

TICTeC Local - by mySociety Where Civic Technology meets Local gov - Tue 6 Nov 9.30am at Federation House.

Local.co.uk show & tell - Tue 6 Nov 1pm at Federation House 6th floor.

Funeralcare show & tell - Tue 6 Nov 2pm at Angel Square 12th floor breakout.

Web team show & tell - Wed 7 Nov 2.30pm at Federation House 5th floor.

Line management drop-in clinic - Thu 8 Nov 1pm at Federation House.

Heads of practice community of practice meetup - Thu 8 Nov 2pm at Federation House 5th floor.

Digital Risk discovery show & tell - Thu 8 Nov 3.30pm at Angel Square 5th floor breakout.

More events at Federation House. And TechNW has a useful calendar of events happening in the North West.

Thanks for reading. If you want to find out more about Co-op Digital, follow us @CoopDigital on Twitter and read the Co-op Digital Blog.

#google #´cryptos #bitcoin #provenance #supplychain #amazon #checkoutless #trust

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softnorwegians · 6 years

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What was the deal with the Skam Italia director not liking to do focus groups? I think some people are attributing very altruistic motives to all these remakes, that there's a public-service element to them, and that might be true but ... they're also trying to profit from the original show's popularity. They're using the Skam brand name. It doesn't mean they're inherently bad but it's fair to question certain creative choices or the production's motives, it's not unreasonable to be skeptical.

Oh man, the director (?) of Skam Italia seems like… something. I only heard about it a couple days ago and take it with a grain of salt but apparently someone translated a post he made on Facebook about the production last fall. Although he does make a nice observation about teenagers not being as estranged and reliant on social media as he thought and emphasizes adapting it to his own country, there’s also this edge where it seems like he’s looking down his nose at not only the original show but both Norwegians and teenagers in general, ahjsdfjgg

Here’s the text, I don’t have a link to the original or know its accuracy, I’m just trusting the translator on this pls keep that in mind:

A hundred interviews with kids in order to write better (about them). Basically just hoping to confirm what you’ve already written. That (the weather) is hot. That nobody feels like studying. And that after all we have the original show. The Norwegian one. The one about which they say “we’ve written the best teen show ever”. Shame that as I can see Norwegians live on their own at 16 and at 19 they talk about love with a surety that I will never have.

Willian taught me things about women. How to kiss a girl on the forehead for example. I’m not joking.

And mostly, their school is totally obsessed with organizing a weird and goliardic graduation party called Russ. Three days of complete mayhem in which you go around Oslo on a rented bus filling yourself with pure alcohol and of which the most important aspect is having toilet paper. Tons of toilet paper.

I still don’t know why. But 3 years before Russ these people start putting together toilet paper and ask for money so to not end up as the one with less toilet paper. It seems like it’s a huge shame being without toilet paper. Stuff that the whole university should be censored.

Basically: we have to adapt (*as in make changes, adjust). Seriously.

And so you end up in schools. Because Norwegians, such perfectionists, don’t give you the rights unless you do focus groups. “We even forced the Americans.”

So we meet them (*the kids in school.) In the afternoons in June. With that tired curiosity that you experience at an art gallery and you want to love a painting after only looking at it for 5 minutes. And the kids are there, happy to tell you stuff. And you find out the ones who live in central have all you can eat sushi every Saturday night (fuck, all of them), and then they go to the main square (*place where people meet) because the Bangladeshi (vendors) don’t give a fuck if you’re 16 and they sell you Tennent’s (*beer?). They talk. And they seem so boring to me. So unaware. Many of them have never been beyond the Tevere (*river in Rome). They don’t know what’s the Monti or San Lorenzo neighborhood. Some do know this.

And anyway, you don’t use Facebook anymore, “only to see events.” Because after all at 16 you don’t need to find and spy on your friends. You see them every day in school. “And if you hit on a girl in a chat you’re a loser.” How do you hit on girls? “You like her Instagram pic. Not the first you see. The third and fourth. So she sees that you spied on her profile. But not the 20th. Otherwise you look like a stalker. And if she does the same, the next day you go and talk to her at recess. Not in a chat. Face to face. How can you start a relationship if you don’t have the guts to look each other in the eye straight away?”

Real life love lessons by someone from the online generation. Who knew.

So I kinda understand that the social digitalization is an adult thing. Made up by adults. Bought by adults and used by adults to fill the gap left by the ending of high school. And yet we pretend we are the ones who have real life thoughts. Romantic thoughts. Accusing the new generations of something they don’t do. Or which at least they don’t do until the social denuclearization after school.

Oh yes. But now report cards are online. And parents can check grades on an app. As well as absences and tardiness. And so they do fuck all. You can’t lie about grades. Or you can. “Apps don’t really work well and teachers can’t use them. So you can always tell your mother that it’s a glitch in the website, because 50% of times it’s true.”

We are in Italy and not in Norway. And this weekend, we need to adapt (*again, as in adjust, change). A lot.

#lightsandlostbells #replies #the remakes

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lucybuntonfmpyr2 · 3 years

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Here I have created a mind map with the theme life relating to resourceful. I have started to branch off other areas from the start in words leading me to pick three subject matters in which I believe will be relatable to resourceful. The theme resource full is all about making better with less, for a more respectful and sustainable future. The three themes I have chosen to research into further our fast fashion, sustainability and Extinct Rebellion. I believe these three themes really relate to resourceful as a whole. I have attached below the mind map that I created. I want natural beauty to shine through this trend as-well.

Extinct rebellion are an international activist organisation, which use non-violent methods to encourage those in power to take action on climate and environmental issues that we struggle with to this day. The group was launched in 2018 and now has several other groups in other countries. They call them self ‘XR’ for short.

The group want to make a change and they want the government to declare a climate and ecological emergency, they want everyone to work together in other institutes to help spread the message calling for things to change. People do say that the groups demands are really unrealistic and they have no chance of things changing any time soon. However, research is at the Centre for alternative technology said that it would be a huge challenge to get zero emissions by 2025 but they would support the ambitious goals. To get these results people would have to drastically change their behaviour for example eating less meat and eating less dairy in the diet and potentially changing to a vegan or vegetarian diet which lowers these carbon emissions. In order to get enough renewable energy to replace gas boilers Britain would need Thousands of extra turbines.

On the 31st of October 2018 they assembled on Parliament Square in London to announce the declaration of rebellion against the UK government. They said they only expected a couple of hundred people instead of 1500 people came to participate in this protest. They said ‘the energy was contagious’. 6000 of these believers came together in London to peacefully block five major bridges across the Thames. They planted trees in the middle of Parliament Square and dug a hole that bury a Coffin representing our future. They also glued themselves to the gates of Buckingham Palace as they read a letter to the Queen. Their actions generated a huge national and international publicity and ,as new spread, their ideas connected with tens and thousands of people around the world. Since then dozens of countries now have groups springing up from the Solomon Islands to Australia, from Spain to South Africa, the US to India. They are constantly working relentlessly to build a new movement and in the hoping that things will change.

I feel like Extinct Rebellion really relates to the theme resourceful as they want a more sustainable future and to make better decisions in life that won't affect our planet. This leads onto my next points which will be about fast fashion and sustainability.

Fast fashion is a design, manufacturing, and marketing method focused on rapidly producing high volumes of clothing. Garment production utilises trends replication and low quality materials in order to bring inexpensive styles to the public.He is a cheaply made, trendy pieces have resulted in an industrywide moment was overwhelming amounts of consumption. Unfortunately this is a result in harmful impact on the environment garment workers and unlimitedly consumers wallets.

A few decades ago when fast fashion reached a point of no return, According to the Sunday Style Times, “It particularly came to the fore during the vogue for ‘boho chic’ in the mid-2000s.” Fast fashion also has a huge impact on the environment. For example brands like boo-hoo is toxic chemicals, dangerous dies, synthetic fabrics that seep into water supplies, and each year 11 million tons of clothing is thrown out in the US alone. As an affect of fast fashion it means that all these clothing items will sit in line fields releasing toxins into the air. Fast fashion is carbon footprint gives industries like air travel and oil a run for their money. People these days don't even think of his impulsive buys. They just have to have these items to get in with these new trends. Each piece of clothing is hardly worn or only just one occasion, the item gets stuffed back at the bottom of the wardrobe and never worn again.

Fast fashion industry is often called out for the exploitative working conditions in its factories that are staffed primarily by impoverished women — especially in Asia. Many of these workers toil for little pay and have few rights, largely so clothing manufacturers in Europe and the US can keep costs low. In 2012, a fire killed 258 people in the Ali Enterprises textile factory in Karachi. It's the first case of its kind held in Germany and will determine whether corporations should be held accountable for the working conditions of their suppliers abroad. Some examples of poor working condition include; working hours, health and safety conditions, wages, child labour, forced labour and restriction of freedom of association.

As a fashion consumer I try my best to be sustainable and reduce my fashion environmental impact. Firstly, I try to avoid huge brands and try to shop at independent shops, for example shops on Depop and on Instagram. If I do go into a fast fashion shop or on the online stores, I always look in the sale for items first as I know these items will end up in land field if they are not sold. I also go to charity shops to find items for myself or to actually sell on my Depop.

If I don’t wear any clothing anymore and I don’t need it anymore, I always try and sell it on Depop or on my social medias. If I can’t sell if on there I always take it to the charity shops. If the item is damaged and can’t be used again it try and rework it into something else to wear.

When it comes to packaging I always reuse the postal bag. I either use them again when I have sold something on Depop, I will keep them and use them again. I try my hardest to be sustainable when it comes to fashion as all of the factors I have spoken about is what happens and it is real, and it needs to change.

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theliterateape · 3 years

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I Can't Drive 55 | Lessons Learned in the 55th Year

By Don Hall

In my thirty-second year I felt incredibly sorry for myself. I was getting my first divorce, was living in a one-room studio in Uptown, my theater company was imploding over ego-driven bullshit. I drank myself into a state of suicidal yearning. It was a rough year.

I called my mom. Mom is that voice of reason in good and bad times.

"This has been a really shitty year. Maybe I should move back to Kansas."

"How old are you?"

"Thirty-two."

"And in thirty-two years you've lived on the planet, how many of those years were bad?"

I thought about it for a moment. "Really bad? Two. No three. Three years. Why?"

"Well, three out of thirty-two is a pretty solid track record. Seems to me that you weathered those other bad years and had good years to spare. Maybe you decide to quit wallowing in how bad this year has been and get to work on next year because based on your experience you probably have another cluster of good years in store."

Some have the Dali Lama. Others have a priest or a shelf of self-help books. I have my mom.

My fifty-fifth year (or the specter of 2020) was a rough year for so many people in the world it's almost a joke. The whole year has been covered in shit—from the campaign to unseat the least capable and most destructive president in my lifetime to three months in a pandemic shutting down the planet and economic hardship most of us have only read about in Steinbeck novels—2020 looks like the toilet bowl moments after a morning constitutional from a night of White Castle and rum.

Sure, the act of comparing one's life with those around is a narcissistic self-loathing experiment best suited for recently jilted lesbians and Instagram junkies, but while the entire world has been burning down in both literal and figurative ways, fifty-five has been a damn good year for me.

In January, I was well into my year and a half managing a casino on the corner of I-15 and Tropicana. I had done my due diligence in training and had hit the sweet spot of knowing enough about the business to be an effective leader on the floor. I knew my high rollers and had figured out the best approach to dealing with the meth-addicts and prostitutes. I could fix 90 percent of the machines and could process a jackpot inside of four minutes consistently.

Then came the pandemic and the economic shutdown of Las Vegas in March. Most were laid off and in free fall but I had stumbled into working for one of two gambling corporations in Nevada that committed to keeping the payroll rolling despite losing millions per day.

The three months of closure saw me coming in to work every day, cleaning the bar and the machines, and hanging out to make sure no one ransacked the place while it was closed. I did a lot of writing in my office during that time.

In terms of personal tragedy, my nineteen year old nephew overdosed in a parking lot in April and, virus be damned, Dana and I flew out the next day to help my sister.

We re-opened the casino in June.

Seven months of balancing life in a pandemic with idiots motivated to gamble, arguing with people about the necessity to wear masks, and submitting essays to everyone. Getting paid to write (even in small increments) was a genuine drug.

Over the summer both Dana and I were asked to write for an anthology of essays. Las Vegas writers writing about Las Vegas. It was a boost, man. Don't get me wrong, the casino gig was solid and, for the most part, enjoyable. Getting paid to write words and sentences was fucking delicious.

The book came out in October launched with a Zoomesque gathering.

The casino gig, while solid and simple, was becoming dull. Rote. Combining the fact that my best (and meager) talents were not usable during a pandemic in a struggling casino, I told my General Manager that I needed more money for such routine grind and that I’d start looking aggressively for something more in tune with my skills that also paid a bit more on my year-and-a-half mark.

Six days after I started the search, I was hired by a Denver-based firm as a Senior Copywriter.

Turns out I’m pretty good at it. Getting a salary for writing words and sentences is sweet and working from home as the pandemic continues to rage on is smart and comfortable. No longer a slave to the swings shift, my schedule is my own.

I can, for the first time in my life when asked what I do for a living, answer “I am a writer.” In a career path marked by ten year gigs followed by "gotta pay the bills" gigs, it looks like Casino Manager is the latter and "Writer" is the former. Now it’s time to write some books, yeah?

It’s been a year, my friends.

Here are the lessons that landed in my 55th annum.

Always Leave ‘Em Wanting More

Over the course of my bizarre career as a “Writer. Teacher. Storyteller. Consultant.” to refer to my donhall.vegas website, I’ve had a tendency to overstay my welcome.

Instead of leaving circumstances on good terms, by the time I was ready to go, I was all Fuck these people! What a bunch of dickseeds! and at least a few of the people were Fuck him! What a dickseed!

I stayed one year longer than I should have as a public school teacher. I stayed at least a year too long in my second marriage and, despite some incredible shows toward the end of the WNEP Theater years, I stayed too long with that company. I should’ve left WBEZ at least a year earlier and I waited until things got weird in the storytelling scene before leaving Chicago.

With the casino, I left long before things become too rote or sour. I found the new gig, jumped on it, and was told if it didn’t work out, I always had a place to land. That I was a part of the Station Casinos “family.” My staff bought me booze and when I swung by just to see them, they are happy to be seen.

Hell, the GM even gave me one of the chairs from the Craps Table for my home office!

As I get older, recognizing the signs that perhaps it’s time to go is an essential skill. At fifty-five, maybe I’m finally into that.

Family is Always More Important Than Work

Last year, working the first 24/7/365 job in my life, I was told I had to work on Christmas. It was the first Christmas in decades I hadn’t spent with my family in Kansas. It wasn’t bad—Joe flew in from Chicago, he took Dana and I to see Penn Gillette at Rio, Kelli joined Dana and Joe on the casino floor while I worked.

This year, especially after the death of my nephew, it became obvious that family had to come first. Months before I landed the writing gig, I let my GM know I was taking the week of Christmas off, COVID be damned. I was clear that if the company couldn’t pay me for the time off I understood and if I was to be let go because of it, then that was fine, too.

The casino was incredibly cool about the request that wasn’t really a request. In fact, even though I gave my two week’s notice before the Christmas vacation pay would kick in, my GM allowed me to be paid for it anyway (see that first lesson again).

It was in every possible way the correct call. My sister needed me. I needed my mom and dad. We got to reconnect with a cousin I hadn’t seen in years. Turns out she’s a professional copywriter in Austin, TX. It was a soul-filling holiday and I’ll never miss Christmas in Kansas again.

It’s Pointless to Argue with Zealots

Maybe it’s in part due to my new-found desert surroundings or my distance from the increasingly Woke Chicago Arts scene but this last year of Trump and the ridiculous nature of angrier social media has pushed me closer to Left Center than Full-On Progressive.

As a younger man I decided that religion was simply not for me. Too emotionally charged without a sense of rationality. At the distance Nevada gives me I can see how irrational both the Extreme Right—the overtly white nationalist taint with the individualism bordering on sociopathy—and the Progressive Left—the quasi-religious circular logic of white privilege, erasure of women as a category, and focus on tribalism over all—have become. Or maybe they were always this way and it took some time away from a major urban center to see it.

Whichever the case, arguing with either side has become synonymous with filing my teeth with a dremel. Besides being as productive as screaming into an Amazon Box, taping it up, and shipping it to Congress, it’s fucking annoying.

If there is a resolution I’m attempting to adopt in the latter half of my fifties, it is this: find common ground with everyone and if I encounter someone so far into conspiracy territory that I cannot, walk away and don’t look back.

Social Media Enables the Very Worst in Us (and Me)

I can’t remember if I shed myself of Faceborg, Twitter, Instagram, and the host of social media this or last year but I’ve spent most (if not all) of my fifty-fifth year absent the noise and it was an excellent decision.

Mobs of imbeciles canceling professors, trolling J.K. Rowling, threatening violence to strangers, and organizing a breach of the Capitol all using tools for communication that should be extraordinary made me hate people I had never met. This cannot be a good ‘chicken soup for the soul’ arena to spend time in.

I’ll admit that I do feel left out of the mix some yet I’m happier for it. I jumped back recently with a new LinkedIn account (which is sortof like social media but with jobs) and the only good thing about that has been being able to message with Rob Kozlowski.

I’m a Social Distancing Jedi

Five years ago, Dana threw me a birthday party and there was a room full of friends in attendance. This year, I’ll be lucky if even Dana remembers my birthday.

The culling effect of both getting rid of social media and the pandemic has been like a hoarder finally ridding himself of boxes of empty Altoid tins and those square plastic bread ties. Always a bit of a misanthrope, this year has cleared out so much noise and my new gig at home has me isolated from the wash of the unwashed.

Turns out I’m good with this. My interactions with people are more intentional rather than surface level and while life has made me more cautious when it comes to whom I genuinely trust, those whom I do choose teach me things I wouldn’t know and enrich my dwindling time on the planet.

Your Reality is Dictated by Your Optimism

Optimism isn’t merely hope. It isn’t happiness or a cheery disposition.

Optimism is an act of resilience against the brutal harshness of living the existential crisis.

It’s darkest just before the dawn implies that there will be a dawn. What if there won’t be? What if it’s just more darkness? If the implacable timpani of human greed, a self correcting planetary environment, and the algorithm that defines our modern interaction has no end, should that result in giving in to the despair?

As optimism is a breeze when things are going your way, despair is the path of least resistance when things turn to shit. Seeing through the mist at a better future takes effort and commitment like a solid marriage or a massive novel you’ve committed to writing. It’s a project to be managed not a feeling to languish within.

One cannot truly call himself an optimist who refuses to see the horror. Pretending that people are essentially kind and generous is stuffing the ostrich head in the sand. People are apes with higher brain functions and follow the rules of the jungle. Tribalism, essentialism, war for resources, the history of brutality of all humanity goes far beyond Hannah Jones 1619 Project. Taken in whole, we aren’t a very enlightened and forgiving species.

Further, optimism is an individual choice. It’s not something that can be enforced but it is something that can be inspired. The American Experiment, despite its many missteps and flaws, is grounded in a belief that humans can govern themselves justly and effectively. Given the larger picture, belief in democracy is only slightly more delusional than the guy playing slots so he can pay his rent. The odds are astronomically against success and yet the choice to persevere is made.

When you see someone who has one of those death camp tattoos on their arm you are witnessing a genuine, tried and true, bona fide optimist.

Optimism is hardest when things turn to shit but it is then when it is most necessary.

Becoming Antique is a Journey

For the first time I see that more of my life has been lived than I have left to live.

I recognize that I wish I could give the years I have left to my nephew because I have done a lot in my five and a half decades and he didn't get the chance. I wonder, absent the obsessive drive to achieve I had in my younger days, what I have to offer in the next ten years? What value does my existence provide to others and how do I manifest that value in pragmatic terms?

Like an old car or a pair of worn-out shoes, we all must acknowledge a certain sense of obsolescence. The pandemic has up-ended so many of the fictions we lived with up until this point and finding North on the compass is a challenge these days. Becoming irrelevant is like that boiling frog—slowly and without even recognizing the boil—we all find ourselves as vintage.

Perhaps that's what I've become. Not the rusted Coca Cola sign in the corner but the "like new" vinyl Def Leppard album with slightly tattered and stained liner notes.

In my next ten years (if I have that much time in store or more) I'd like to read more. Write a lot more. Listen to more live music. Be a better husband. Become that cool old man on the block with good advise and a snort of rye in case it's a little chilly. Christ, I already smoke a pipe.

There is so much more to learn that, in order to avoid feeling useless, I need to learn more.

In a Pandemic, Look For the Simple Things to Keep You Sane

A really well-made sandwich

A cold beer in 115˚ weather

A road trip with your Soul Mate

A book by a new author

A slideshow of you and your Soul Mate doing things together

A long walk

Recognizing that you have a Soul Mate

Sometimes I wonder if there’s anything else. I wonder if I’d miss anything important if I simply ceased to breathe on the couch I bought back in Chicago as it sits in Nevada.

In those moments of melodramatic existentialism, I remind myself that the experience of living is this annual letter to you. A summation of the things I’ve learned and the life I’ve lived.

If I had finished this race last year, my mettle wouldn’t have been tested by a pandemic. I wouldn't have found my sister again. I wouldn’t have seen Trump slink away to Florida. I wouldn’t be sitting in a Craps Chair in a home office of my design.

I wouldn’t have learned anything at all (you know, because dead people stop moving forward).

Here’s to another year and what adventures I will have!

#Fifty-Fifth Birthday #Birthday Lessons

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expatimes · 3 years

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How Turkey became a hub for Arab Spring exiles | Arab Spring: 10 years on News

As a charismatic revolutionary from a scrappy Cairo neighbourhood, Ahmed Hassan was one of the stars of Jehane Noujaim’s 2013 documentary The Square, which followed a group of Egyptian activists as they toppled longtime ruler Hosni Mubarak in 2011 and then fought to keep their faltering revolution alive.

The film won three Emmy Awards and was nominated for the Oscars. But Hassan’s life got harder after it was released.

His work as a cinematographer and filmmaker dried up as production companies stopped hiring him, perhaps because he was blacklisted.

He had to abandon a film project after receiving threats. He could not carry a camera in the street without being harassed. Most of his friends were in prison, some had died.

“I felt like I was just centimetres from jail,” Hassan told Al Jazeera.

In 2018, he jumped at an opportunity to escape and went to Turkey, which has become a major hub for Arab exiles as many of the Arab Spring uprisings that first emerged a decade ago descended into violence and repression.

“You are able to carry a camera in Turkey. That is beautiful actually,” Hassan said. “Here, I’m walking and I feel free.

“I feel there is a government. I see the police but I’m not scared, it’s not like Egypt. I feel like there is law here.”

But life is also hard. Hassan says that, for him, Turkey looks like a watermelon with vivid, enticing red flesh.

“But when you bite into it, it’s salty, not sweet.”

In 2018, Hassan jumped at an opportunity to escape and went to Turkey

Place of exile

“There is no Arab city like that, with large populations from different parts of the Arab world having these tools of cultural and political expression, like Istanbul at the moment,” Mohanad Hage Ali, a research fellow at the Carnegie Middle East Center, told Al Jazeera.

Ali said this trend first emerged from the soft power policies pursued by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Justice and Development Party (AK Party), in power since 2002, which sought to extend Turkey’s influence and relations in the region through greater diplomacy, investment and educational projects.

It was aided by popular culture as Turkish TV series also became wildly popular across the Middle East and often glamorised Istanbul and glorified its Ottoman past.

“Look at Turkey before Erdogan, at the heart of the Arab world the way it is now,” Ali said.

The trend of Arab exiles heading to Turkey accelerated sharply with the fallout from the Arab Spring.

Turkey is now home to about four million refugees – mostly Syrians – along with activists, journalists and political figures from countries across the Arab world.

Neighbourhoods in Istanbul have been transformed by an influx of Arab communities and businesses, with the city’s Arab population likely to be well over one million. Turkey is home to an estimated 700,000 Iraqis. More than 500,000 mostly Syrian refugees live in the southern Turkish city of Gaziantep.

Turkey was broadly supportive of the Arab Spring uprisings, particularly as a staunch opponent of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and a supporter of Egypt’s short-lived Muslim Brotherhood-linked government of Mohamed Morsi.

Istanbul became a significant Muslim Brotherhood hub, especially after Morsi was overthrown by the military led by general-turned-President Abdul Fattah el-Sisi in 2013.

Islam Akel, an Egyptian journalist and TV presenter, almost died in August 2013 after he was shot and a bullet lodged in his lung at the pro-Morsi sit-in at Cairo’s Rabaa Square, at which at least 1,000 people were killed by the security forces.

He escaped to Lebanon, and then spent time in Sudan, before going to Turkey in 2014. He now works as a presenter at the Muslim Brotherhood-linked Watan TV in Istanbul. Akel praised Turkey for welcoming exiles.

“As an Egyptian Arab Muslim, being in Turkey was not a difficult thing for me, as being in a country where I hear the voices of the muezzins to pray and find mosques in front of me in every street is a matter of reassurance, connection and integration,” he said.

The trend of Arab exiles heading to Turkey accelerated sharply with the fallout from the Arab Spring

Hamza Zawba, a former spokesman of Morsi’s Freedom and Justice Party, arrived in Turkey in 2014 and now presents a show on the Mekameleen television channel.

“Turkey accepted us to live here as exiles, nobody else did that,” he told Al Jazeera, adding that Turkey provided them with a vital space to challenge el-Sisi’s narrative.

“ is a venue to express my views and to give some analysis, to face the claims of the media of the coup and to raise awareness over what’s going on,” he said.

The Egyptian liberal reformist politician Ayman Nour also moved to Istanbul and set up his own television channel, Al-Sharq TV.

Istanbul’s Arab Media Association has more than 800 members. Exiles from countries such as Libya, Yemen and Syria have also established media outlets, think-tanks, schools, charities and NGOs. Istanbul has also become a place where some LGBTQ Arabs feel safer and can live a more open life.

But while some exiles have thrived, others have struggled, and Turkey’s role as a safe haven has changed over the decade.

‘Shrinking space’

Bassam Alahmad is the executive director of Syrians for Truth and Justice, a non-profit organisation that documents rights violations by all parties in Syria. He came to Turkey from Syria in 2012.

“It was a good atmosphere for us to act and work in,” he said.

But he said the atmosphere became more restrictive over time, especially after Turkey’s first direct military intervention in northern Syria in 2016, and he felt he was no longer able to publish some of the human rights abuses he had documented. He says he was interrogated by Turkish security services over his work in 2018.

Turkish soldiers patrol the northern Syrian Kurdish town of Tal Abyad, on the border between Syria and Turkey

He was also threatened by someone he believes is connected to al-Assad’s security forces, but says that although he reported it to the police, they took no action. Murders of prominent activists in Turkey also unnerved some exiles and undermined the country’s reputation as a safe haven.

A Turkish government media spokesperson said they would not respond to Alahmad’s specific claims but provided a statement from a senior Turkish official that said: “Turkey provides a safe haven to nearly 4 million Syrian refugees. We take all necessary steps to ensure that asylum seekers feel at home and safe.”

Alahmad also said that attitudes in Turkey have become more resentful, hostile and racist towards Syrian refugees over time. Many Syrians also struggle to access services and education, can rarely acquire citizenship and are often exploited in informal jobs.

“We felt that it was a shrinking space,” Alahmad said. He and his wife managed to gain asylum in France and moved there in 2019.

“Here, you can say or write anything.”

Hassan praised Erdogan and Turkey for its generosity in welcoming so many refugees and dissidents, but he also mentioned anti-Arab racism as a significant problem.

“When they hear you speak Arabic, things become weird. People look at you and treat you differently. Sometimes when I’m with my friends we don’t speak in Arabic on public transport,” he said.

Turkey is now home to about four million refugees

Some exiles have also been changed by living in Turkey.

Mustafa Menshawy, a research postdoctoral fellow at the SEPAD project, University of Lancaster, told Al Jazeera that many rank and file members of the Muslim Brotherhood have become less conservative in their views or even left the movement after being exposed to a more socially liberal climate in Turkey.

But he also said that the Brotherhood become less hierarchical and more open to debate than it was in Egypt.

“The fact that Turkey, which is authoritarian in the way it treats its own media, is allowing members of the Brotherhood to have a voice, and how democratising that is, is a bit paradoxical,” he said.

“Turkey gives a voice to individuals who were not provided a voice either by the organisation itself in Egypt or by the regime, and this is very revitalising.”

But Menshawy characterises the group’s relationship with the Turkish authorities as a “marriage of convenience”, and he and others say Turkey’s status as an Arab hub is vulnerable to shifting political trends.

The next decade

“I see this presence as useful to project power and put Turkey up front as a major player in Arab politics,” Ali said.

But he said hosting so many Arab dissidents can become a problem and “very limiting for Turkey’s options” if it decides to pursue rapprochement with el-Sisi or al-Assad, who now appear entrenched in power, as well as proving unpopular domestically.

He also said Turkey’s role as such a strong Arab hub is very much contingent on Erdogan remaining in office.

“This Arab presence and this Arab experience ends with Erdogan,” he said.

Akel said exiles such as himself worry most about “political vicissitudes and fears about the rise of nationalists” at the expense of the AK Party.

Meanwhile, while Hassan has a lot of Turkish friends, most of his deepest friendships are with people back in Egypt.

“I still feel lonely in Turkey,” he said.

He is also struggling with the economic problems besetting the country, including high inflation, low wages and a lack of employment opportunities. He has been unable to get permission to shoot scenes for a documentary he is making, and says he will try to leave for a Western country when the coronavirus pandemic eases.

“I cannot stay here much longer, it’s become more complicated, it’s not easy to shoot sensitive subjects. And everything is going so slowly, I feel like I’m not stable. But it’s better than Egypt.”

#humanrights Read full article: https://expatimes.com/?p=15917&feed_id=24516 #arabspring10yearson #humanrights #middleeast #news #turkey

#ArabSpring10yearson #HumanRights #MiddleEast #News #Turkey

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deniscollins · 4 years

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To Do Politics or Not Do Politics? Tech Start-Ups Are Divided

If you were CEO of Expensify, a business software start-up with 10 million customers, would you send them an email telling them how you plan to vote in the upcoming presidential election and note that “Anything less than a vote for Biden is a vote against democracy” : (1) Yes, (2) No? Why? What are the ethics underlying your decision?

Rob Rhinehart, a co-founder of nutritional drink start-up Soylent, declared in a blog post last week that he was supporting Kanye West for president.

“I am so sick of politics,” Mr. Rhinehart wrote. “Politics are suddenly everywhere. I cannot avoid them.”

David Barrett, the chief executive of Expensify, a business software start-up, went in another direction. In an email to his company’s 10 million customers last week, he implored them to embrace politics by choosing the Democratic presidential nominee, Joseph R. Biden Jr.

“Anything less than a vote for Biden is a vote against democracy,” Mr. Barrett proclaimed.

With days to go before the election on Tuesday, Mr. Rhinehart and Mr. Barrett represent the twin poles of a start-up culture war that has openly erupted in Silicon Valley. Start-ups such as the cryptocurrency company Coinbase and the audio app Clubhouse have become embroiled in a debate over how much politics should be part of the workplace. And venture capitalists and other tech executives have weighed in on social media with their own views.

“I have never seen another instance like this in my career,” said Bradley Tusk, a venture capitalist and political consultant. “There’s no real separation anymore, in the current political climate, between politics and everything else. It has permeated absolutely everything.”

Silicon Valley tech workers have long been regarded as liberal but not politically overactive. After President Trump’s victory in 2016, however, workers at large tech companies such as Google and Amazon began agitating more on issues like the ethics of artificial intelligence, immigration and climate change.

Now many start-up workers, who have been sold on a mission of changing the world, expect their employers to support their social and political causes, entrepreneurs and investors said. This summer’s protests against police violence prompted many tech companies to re-examine their own issues with race. And the pressure to make political moves before the election has only intensified.

The shift has grown partly out of a realization that no tech platform is completely neutral, said Katie Jacobs Stanton, who invests in start-ups through her venture capital firm, Moxxie Ventures. Founders who build companies with millions of users “really have an obligation to have a point of view and make sure their products are being used for good,” Ms. Stanton said.

“It’s disingenuous and it’s also the luxury of the privileged to say, ‘We don’t have a point of view,’” she added.

But others said they feared becoming a lightning rod or inflaming tensions at a hypersensitive moment during the coronavirus pandemic. Some worried that their companies could be sued by employees who might say they were discriminated against because of their political beliefs. Others said any move could be attacked by those who found the actions inauthentic or not enough.

Those tensions exploded in public last month when Brian Armstrong, the chief executive of Coinbase, penned a 2,000-word blog post to “clarify” his company’s culture. Mr. Armstrong wrote that he wanted Coinbase to generally avoid engaging with broader social issues and workplace conversations about politics. He said it was a way to minimize distraction and focus on the start-up’s mission of creating “an open financial system for the world.”

Two months earlier, dozens of Coinbase employees had staged a walkout after executives were slow to express solidarity with Black Lives Matter protesters and minority employees, several workers said. In his post, Mr. Armstrong said employees who disagreed with his “no politics” stance could leave.

His position immediately created waves across Silicon Valley. Some praised the move, with one Coinbase investor comparing Mr. Armstrong to Michael “Jordan in his prime.” Others said opting out of politics was itself a political statement.

Dick Costolo, a former chief executive of Twitter, tweeted that “me-first capitalists who think you can separate society from business” would be shot in “the revolution.” He deleted the post after, he said, it set off violent threats and harassment.

In an interview, Mr. Costolo said it was impossible for companies to separate their mission from their impact on the world. “If you try to separate the social contract from the economic contract, don’t be surprised when there’s an uprising, because they’re linked,” he said.

Some Coinbase workers disagreed with Mr. Armstrong. “I’m just so mystified by the apparent lack of awareness in the blog post,” Ryan King, a Coinbase engineer, wrote on the company’s internal Slack messaging system. The message was reviewed by The New York Times. “A declaration that we’re not going to touch ‘broader societal issues’ fails to acknowledge that we’re a part of society.”

About 60 Coinbase employees, or 5 percent of the work force, have resigned, the company said. A spokeswoman declined further comment.

Fred Wilson, an investor at Union Square Ventures and a Coinbase board member, said in an interview that there were no easy answers for start-up leaders. “Many, many C.E.O.s have told me privately that they would like to have done what Brian did but don’t want to take the heat that he has taken,” he said.

On Monday, Mr. Wilson wrote a blog post about removing start-up chief executives who have “failed to manage numerous important challenges.” The post prompted speculation that he was referring to Mr. Armstrong, but Mr. Wilson said it was a metaphor for President Trump.

The political debates among Silicon Valley start-ups have ramped up since the Coinbase episode. Last week, Soylent’s Mr. Rhinehart published his post supporting Mr. West’s presidential bid. Mr. Rhinehart, who is on the board but not involved in the company’s day-to-day operations, also attacked the political system and the media, writing that “politics has always been based on jokes.”

Demir Vangelov, Soylent’s chief executive, said Mr. Rhinehart’s post did not represent the company. Soylent’s focus is on bringing “the best complete nutrition to everyone,” he said, and it does not take political stances.

At Expensify, based in Portland, Ore., Mr. Barrett took a different position. After spending more than a decade in Silicon Valley, where he found a “uniform view” that politics was not good for business, he moved to Portland four years ago. Now, he said, “choosing not to participate is also a choice — it’s a choice to defend the status quo.”

So when Expensify employees drafted an email to tell customers to vote for Mr. Biden, after concluding in an internal discussion that re-electing Mr. Trump would be a threat to democracy, Mr. Barrett favored sending it out. While roughly a third of Expensify’s top management opposed sending the email because it could alienate customers, the majority ruled, Mr. Barrett said.

Last Thursday, Expensify blasted its message to its 10 million users. “Not many expense reports get filed during a civil war,” Mr. Barrett wrote.

The email instantly drew criticism and praise on social media. Job applications, web traffic and customer sign-ups have since spiked, Mr. Barrett said. But he also received death threats, prompting him to hire private security. No customers have quit, potentially because Expensify’s system takes months to switch out of, he said.

Tayo Oviosu, chief executive of Paga, a payments start-up in Lagos, Nigeria, said Expensify’s email had crossed a line. Mr. Oviosu isn’t opposed to companies’ speaking up on social justice issues, “but that is very different than leveraging the fact that you used my personal information to tell me I have to vote in a certain way,” he said. “That is wrong.”

Mr. Oviosu, who was using a trial version of Expensify and was considering adopting the paid version, said he now planned to look at alternatives. “I think they lost me completely on this,” he said.

The start-up culture wars are also evident on Clubhouse, where people join rooms and chat with one another. The app has been a popular place for investors such as Marc Andreessen and other techies to hang out in the pandemic. (Mr. Andreessen’s venture firm, Andreessen Horowitz, has invested in Clubhouse, Coinbase and Soylent.)

On Oct. 6, Mr. Andreessen started a Clubhouse room called “Holding Space for Karens,” which describes having empathy for “Karens,” a slang term for a pushy privileged woman. Another group, “Holding Space for Marc Andreeeeeeeeeeeeeeeessen,” soon popped up. There, people discussed their disappointment with the Karen discussion and other instances when, they said, Clubhouse was hostile to people of color.

Mr. Andreessen and others later started a Clubhouse room called “Silence,” where no one spoke. Andreessen Horowitz declined to comment.

At a “town hall” inside the app on Sunday, Clubhouse’s founders, Paul Davison and Rohan Seth, were asked about Coinbase’s and Expensify’s political statements and where Clubhouse stood. They said the company was still deciding how Clubhouse would publicly back social causes and felt the platform should allow for multiple points of view, a spokeswoman said. She declined to comment further.

Yet even those wishing to stay out of politics are finding it hard to avoid. On Saturday, Mr. Armstrong shared Mr. Rhinehart’s blog post endorsing Mr. West on Twitter. “Epic,” tweeted Mr. Armstrong.

Several users pointed out the hypocrisy in Mr. Armstrong’s sharing something political after telling employees to abstain. One of his employees, Jesse Pollak, wrote that Mr. Armstrong had shared something with “a large number of inaccuracies, conspiracy theories, and misplaced assumptions.”

Soon after, Mr. Pollak and Mr. Armstrong deleted their tweets.

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