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goginaporter · 6 months

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lyrical analysis of love you forever

or, breaking down ricky's love (confession) for gina

we're a little under three months out from the series finale of high school musical: the musical: the series. I've spent those months freaking out over rina and appreciating the beautiful arc they got in s4 that closed out their story over the course of the series. there are a million special moments that rina has in s4 (I mean, a rain kiss? can I have this dance? a duet together about their commitment to each other despite uncertainty? we really got it all) but one definitely stands out among the rest. love you forever is ricky's declaration of love for gina that he sings to her at her press conference for her new movie that, as far as he knows, is about to send her across the world. this post is gonna be a line by line analysis of the lyrics, as well as talking about everything that brought them to that moment and that made it special. enjoy <33

I've been wishing on a falling star for too long

this line opens the song and is such a beautiful callback to when there was me and you, the song ricky all but serenades gina with in 1.06 (the lines it references: I thought you were my fairy tale / A dream when I'm not sleeping / A wish upon a star / That's coming true). wtwmay is a song that gabriella sings after troy's betrayal in hsm and when ricky sings this line, to me, it represents a callback to his past relationship with nini. he was holding on to nini and that relationship too tight, wishing on a falling star. as gabriella says, wishes on stars just "don't come true" and for ricky, this relationship ultimately ended in failure. however, as much as this line signifies the crash and burn nature of that relationship, it's also a reference to the start of his relationship with gina in that bunker room as he strummed on a guitar, in a similar fashion to love you forever, to these lyrics.

I've been running, I don't know what from

this line references the conversation that ricky had with ej in 4.05 when ej forces ricky to reckon with the fact that he runs away from those he loves when faced with hard realities and that this tendency hurts both those around him, but also hurts him. it's incredibly full circle when you pair this with the fact that ricky is singing the song on the guitar ej gave him after they sang speak out, where ej tells him that "you'll probably get more use outta this than me" (4.05). i think it's really cool that this line also references gina's similar character flaw of running when things get hard, which she also sings about in second chance (Maybe I'm safer when I'm on the run / No time to open up my heart / Maybe I'll hide behind my walls again / Instead of tearing them apart) (also important to note that second chance is non-digetic and ricky has never heard gina sing these lyrics). so fascinating that ricky and gina have the same habit of running, with ricky running back to things that are familiar and gina pushing forward to leave things in the past before they can hurt her.

But you and I've become a sacred kinda home

this is one of my favorite lines of the song, especially because this theme of finding a home is such a critical cornerstone for both ricky and gina's arcs throughout the show. ricky's home life in s1 turns on its head when he discovers that his parents are separating. pairing this with his breakup with nini nearly sends him into a spiral, but he finds a new home of sorts in the theater program, telling gina "it's just nice to have somewhere to go after school every day, y'know" (1.05), which she herself resonates with, affirming his feelings.

of course, at the beginning of s2, we find out that ricky and his dad are moving to an apartment after his mom moves out. this drastic shift, the loss of his childhood home, is again disorienting, and again paired with changes with nini, what with her moving to denver. in 2.02, he tells nini that she is his home, which is really interesting, placing that kind of pressure on her. but what's even more interesting is that he knows he's moving, knows from the beginning of 2.01, and yet nini does not find out about his new home until 2.03 on valentine's day, months later. this is juxtaposed to gina showing up to his apartment that same episode. it's especially special that ricky is placed in the same situation that gina typically faces, the unpacking and getting accustomed to a new space. it is those undertones that serve as the undercurrent for their conversation. the apartment is in disarray when gina arrives, and remains that way for much of the season. gina, however, is endeared by the messy environment of the apartment and jokes along with ricky to put him at ease. by the time we return to it in s4, it's (naturally) much more lived in, with clothes strewn about, pictures of gina, and aptly placed posters lining the wall of ricky's room.

as I mentioned earlier, ricky calls nini his home in s2. this line says that he and gina together have become a home of sorts for each other. singing this to gina is important for ricky, but it also speaks to the unpredictable nature of gina's childhood, where she moved from city to city, never staying in one place for more than a few months, which she tells ricky in 1.05. by the end of s1, we think that she has to move again, something that's harder for her now that she's made connections with the wildcats, namely with ricky. as we see in the flashback scene in 2.06, she tells ricky that she wouldn't quit on them if not for her move, that they would essentially remain close if she weren't leaving salt lake. of course, she doesn't leave and instead moves in with ashlyn. it's her first taste of stability that she can really remember, but as she tells carlos in 2.04, she feels out of place living in a house she doesn't own and with a family that isn't hers. these feelings culminate in gina wanting to leave, a subplot we see primarily in 2.05 and 2.06. after revealing to ashlyn what she said to ricky opening night of hsm, ashlyn sings home from beauty and the beast to gina, telling her that she has a home with ashlyn, not just physically, but within their friendship. there is so much symbolism in that one scene that we don't have time to get into but this moment definitely shifts gina's perception of what a home can look like. in s3, we learn that her mom is moving back to salt lake city where she'll be staying long-term to allow gina to complete her time at east high. in fact, it's in this very house that we get our first scene of rina in s4, with ricky sneaking into her window. one's room is a reflection of oneself, and ricky and gina are all over each other's rooms, both literally and figuratively, throughout the season. combining this with the connection between the two that only strengthens over the course of the season, it comes as no surprise that ricky sees his and gina's relationship as a sacred home.

I'm in love, I'm in love, I'm in love and I know it / No net, no fear, right here in this moment

my twitter account was littered with theories and thoughts and hopes for ricky's love confession to gina, but whether it was public or private, planned or spontaneous, the one thing that I knew I wanted was for ricky to say that he is in love with gina. so on august 9th when ricky got to the chorus of love you forever, tears started pooling in my eyes because the confession, which was already literally perfect, delivered my biggest wish. one of my favorite aspects of the song is how much it reflects their journey because these are all the words that ricky would tell gina in some big speech, evidenced by him practicing all throughout 4.07. but when it comes down to it, after references to moments between them and beautiful metaphors, it builds to him telling gina not only does he love her, but that he's in love with her. there's no doubt in his mind of this fact. the sky is blue, the sun shines, and ricky bowen loves gina porter. so much of ricky's love for nini was tied to fear, especially a fear of change. that his love for gina transcends fear, that he is confident in what he tells her both shows his growth in romantic relationships but also in how much gina has redefined what it means to love someone for him.

I've never been more sure of what I got, yeah / Cause this is so much more than puppy love, so

continuing with the theme of confidence, ricky tells gina that he's never been more sure of what he's got in their relationship. I know I'm bringing rini up a lot but that relationship is a perfect frame of reference for how much ricky has changed when it comes to love. both his singing of I think I kinda you know in 1.01 and his love confession to nini in 1.10, while genuine, are riddled with stuttering and uncertainty ("I think", "I don't know", etc.). when you compare the ricky of 1.01 and the ricky of 4.08 and how he attempts to use song to profess his love, the differences are stark, and that's the point. as he all but said in 3.08, everything he's known about love has been changed by gina and that is reflected in love you forever. I love the puppy love nod and think it's narratively important for so many reasons. for one, it's a reference to their first date, as well as to gina's childhood. in that vein, it seems to mirror what gina tells ricky in 4.02, that mack was a crush of her childhood. calling what they have "more than puppy love" also nods to their growth, not just over the course of the series, but even throughout the season. from dealing with scrutiny in the fallout of the documentary to gina's increasingly busy schedule to their temporary pause to gina nearly moving across the world, they've been faced with many problems, and while they didn't handle all of them perfectly, they handled them together and came out that much stronger.

I'll say it first, no matter what the cost / Here I am full heart, full stop / I love you

in 3.05, ricky talks to jet following the fallout of the real campers of shallow lake drama. he asks jet what he's running from and tells him that sometimes when feelings are hard to articulate, it helps to sing instead. with love you forever, we see ricky taking his own advice. I love that ricky is insistent that he tells gina "I love you" first, both because he wants to rectify mistakes from his last relationship, but also because gina says, in a talking head, that she doesn't want to be the first to say "I love you," (4.06) further cementing the connection that rina has. it also affirms that there is no doubt in either of their minds that they love each other and want to say it to each other. it's also important to note that ricky understands the risk of singing this song at this point in time. for all he knows, gina is about to board a plane that will be taking her to the other side of the world for six months. however, he sings this song, affirms his love for her, no matter the cost, because he just wants her to know. he loves her in salt lake, he loves her in new zealand, and he loves her forever. ricky sings that he is there with a full heart, full stop I love you. in an interview after s3's finale, tim federle, the showrunner, states that while nini will always have a small part of ricky's heart, gina has a way of making hearts race. this line, to me, symbolizes the notion that gina is his heart, that his love for her encompasses it. there's a beautiful analysis of ricky being gina's heart canonically that I think helps tie all of this together, establishing that gina is ricky's heart, just like he is hers.

of course, I would be remiss to not talk about the full stop of it all. as we see in a flashback in 4.06, ricky opens up to gina in their first meeting about how he struggled saying I love you to nini, his ex. after hearing this, gina presents him with a possibility you can tell he's never considered: "maybe you just don't love her, full stop." ricky stutters in response, but doesn't fully negate gina's statement, in fact telling her that he's "kinda" planning on telling nini through song later that night outside her window (ironic that this plan doesn't pan out for him twice in the show, both here and in 2.03). that he brings up this notion of full stop, where there's no room for doubt, in his confession for gina further proves how deep and real and true their love is for each other. super small thing before I move on but I love how "I love you" gets its own special moment of pause in the song to fully communicate the gravity of such a statement.

I never knew that I could feel so sure and so strong /How can three old words feel so brand new?

Again, this idea of being sure comes up again in this second verse/buildup to the chorus. ricky has done the love confession before. he's been in love before. but again, with gina, it's different. it's deeper, more strong, more secure. and so when he says these words, in a situation that mirrors his audition for hsm, of course it feels different. in that auditon, he was singing nini's words back to her. love you forever, in contrast, is all ricky. those three words do feel new because now he's singing them to gina and for gina, where previously he sang them for himself. also a really cool note about the parallels between ricky's audition and love you forever is that tim federle released the initial script for love you forever, and one of the descriptions writes that ricky "launches into the audition of a lifetime." this song, this confession, is the start of his forever with gina. of course these words feel new.

Mm, so rare, so real right here in this moment / And I'm starin' at the only thing I want, so

I tear up hearing ricky say that the love that he has for gina is both rare and real. both ricky and gina, at different points throughout the show, cast doubt on love. ricky says in a talking head in 1.01 that love is dead (fun fact: ricky is wearing the same denim jacket from that talking head during love you forever teehee). gina, in the 4.06 flashback, calls love lame. their faith in love ebbs and flows throughout the show, but once they are together, there's no question. it's why ricky encourages the seblos reconciliation in 4.06 or why gina tells jet to confess his feelings for kourtney in 4.08. if they've found this beautiful love in each other, where they got a second chance on love in every sense of the words, why wouldn't they want that for everyone else, for the people that they love?

the second half of this lyric, of ricky "staring at the only thing he wants," is my absolute favorite line of love you forever. ricky's eyes are naturally drawn to gina in nearly every episode of the show, whether she's looking at him or not, whether they're speaking or not. even before he recognized those feelings in himself, we could see it because she was always the apple of his eye. this rings especially true during love you forever, where ricky does not take his eyes off of gina the entire song, except when miss jenn turns the lights on. gina is the center of his universe and who he has been drawn to since she entered his life. there was a tweet after s4 aired that stated that ricky looks at gina as though he's falling deeper in love with her every time and this line captures that.

I wanna finish what we started in the stairwell where we met

the bridge opens with this line and it's so fitting. to suggest that committing to loving each other forever is finishing what they started when they had that first conversation in the stairwell is so insane and will always make me spiral when I think about it. this line all but confirms that ricky and gina began to fall for each other in that moment. that their conversation in the stairwell is what catalyzed their respective character arcs also all but confirms that they're soulmates, that there was an invisible string that connected them, inexplicably tying their fates together forever.

I wanna live like I have never even heard the word regret

both ricky and gina have instances that they look back on and wish they had done things differently. gina says so explicitly in 2.05 when speaking to kourtney. she alludes to her goodbye to ricky after hsm's opening night, stating that it was something she wishes she could take back. in 3.06, ricky tells jet that he wishes that he didn't let color war gina slip through his fingers, suggesting that he would've done things differently if he were more cognizant of his feelings for her. ricky never wants to feel like that again, that he's missed his chance with gina due to fear. he wholeheartedly embraces his love for her because he knows what it was like to live without it and doesn't want to live in a world where gina isn't his reality.

I wanna scream what's in my heart and I won't ever take it back

ricky and ej's duet in 4.05 is about speaking your truth and speaking even when it's hard. the song even has a line about "screaming out." where in speak out, screaming out solicits no sound, ricky singing this line in love you forever is him being able to vocalize the feelings in his heart. he also commits to never taking these words back. his feelings for gina are eternal and everlasting. this is important for gina to hear because words have always been unreliable to her. people that she cares about, whether her mom or jamie or even e.j., have made verbal commitments to her at one point or another, and each one of them has later reneged on that commitment, whether intentionally or not. ricky can say these words, can say "I love you" to gina, because he's been saying it through his actions the entire show. gina doesn't always trust words, but she trusts actions. ricky has more than proven his love for her, and it's this continued declaration through his works that allows these words to ring true for her.

'Cause I love you feels a lot like high school and forever after that

I made this observation a couple weeks ago but this line is so fascinating. when the season first dropped and I heard the line, I was a tad confused. what does it mean for love to feel like high school? I was listening to the hsm3 soundtrack when it all clicked for me. in high school musical, the final song they sing in hsm3, the last line is "I want the rest of my life to feel just like a / High school musical" with this line, ricky is basically saying that he will love gina for the rest of his life. throwing in a hsm reference is also incredibly fitting given that they've just completed the first night of their run as troyella, further cementing their legacy as the troyella of the show. i love that, even when the bridge is repeated, ricky and gina are the only ones to sing these lines. when the bridge is sung for the third and final time, ricky and gina are now together on stage singing the words "I"m in love, I'm in love, I'm in love" to each other in between the lines of the bridge. the song closes with ricky singing "I love you feels a lot like high school" with gina singing "and forever after that." I love this ending for two reasons: ending the song with rina singing together re-emphasizes that they're in love, and in love together (for the first time), as tim mentions in an interview. I also love it because even as the wildcats join to sing the bridge near the end of the song, ricky and gina are the only people to sing the lines "I'm in love x3" and "I love you feels a lot like high school." even though their friends step in to sing some lines, ultimately, the song is a love song for gina, about gina, and that's why it ends with her. as tim (love how much I'm referencing him) mentioned in an interview, rina is the beating heart of the romance of the show, and their friends coming in to sing along to ricky's love song for gina fully solidifies this.

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cyberpunkonline · 3 months

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What is a Cypherpunk?

The term "cypherpunk" refers to a movement and a community of activists advocating for the widespread use of strong cryptography and privacy-enhancing technologies as a route to social and political change. Emerging in the late 1980s and early 1990s, the cypherpunk movement is a confluence of libertarian political philosophy, hacker ethos, and cryptographic science.

The Core Traits of Cypherpunks

1. Advocacy for Privacy and Anonymity: Cypherpunks champion the right to privacy, emphasizing that individuals should have control over their personal information and digital footprints. This advocacy is often in direct opposition to government surveillance and corporate data collection practices.

2. Use of Cryptography: The cornerstone of the cypherpunk movement is the use of strong cryptography to secure communications and transactions. Cypherpunks believe that through cryptographic techniques, individuals can protect their privacy in the digital world.

3. Open Source and Decentralization: A significant trait among cypherpunks is the belief in open-source software and decentralized systems. This ethos promotes transparency, security, and resistance to censorship and control by central authorities.

Who are the Cypherpunks?

The cypherpunk community consists of programmers, activists, academics, and technologists. Notable figures include Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks; Jacob Appelbaum, a former spokesperson for the Tor Project; and Hal Finney, a pioneer in digital cash systems. The manifesto "A Cypherpunk's Manifesto" by Eric Hughes (1993) [https://www.activism.net/cypherpunk/manifesto.html] eloquently encapsulates the philosophy and ideals of this movement.

The Cypherpunk Movement

Cypherpunks are not a formal organization but rather a loosely associated group sharing common interests in cryptography and privacy. The movement's origins can be traced to the “Cypherpunks” mailing list, started in 1992 by Eric Hughes, Timothy C. May, and John Gilmore. This list served as a platform for discussing privacy, cryptography, and related political issues.

Relation to Cyberpunk Principles

While cypherpunks share some overlap with the cyberpunk genre of science fiction, they are distinct in their real-world activism. Cyberpunk literature, like William Gibson's "Neuromancer" (1984) [https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6088006-neuromancer], often presents a dystopian future where technology is pervasive and oppressive. In contrast, cypherpunks aim to use technology, specifically cryptography, as a tool for empowerment and resistance against such dystopian futures.

Notable Contributions and Technologies

The cypherpunk movement has been instrumental in the development of technologies that emphasize privacy and security:

Tor (The Onion Router): A free and open-source software for enabling anonymous communication [https://www.torproject.org/].

Pretty Good Privacy (PGP): A data encryption and decryption program that provides cryptographic privacy and authentication [https://www.openpgp.org/].

Bitcoin: The creation of Bitcoin by an individual or group under the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto was heavily influenced by the ideas of the cypherpunk movement. It embodies principles of decentralization and financial privacy [https://bitcoin.org/en/].

Wikileaks: Founded by Julian Assange, WikiLeaks is a multinational media organization that publishes news leaks and classified media provided by anonymous sources [https://wikileaks.org/].

Conclusion

The cypherpunk movement is a critical lens through which to view the ongoing dialogue about privacy, security, and freedom in the digital age. While not an organized group, the collective impact of cypherpunks on modern cryptography, internet privacy, and digital rights is profound. As digital technology continues to permeate every facet of our lives, the principles and contributions of the cypherpunk community remain more relevant than ever. - REV1.

#cyberpunk #cypherpunk #bitcoin #tumblr #tech #technology #history

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grey-sorcery · 2 years

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Suggested Reading

*- Highly suggested for beginners

What is Witchcraft?* Fundamentals of Energy Work* Spell Design* Basics of Warding* Basics of Binding Basics of Banishing Introduction to Gnosis* Spell Dictation Anchors Paths of Least Resistance* Conceptualization Vs. Visualization* Research Tips* Threshold Theory

Introduction

When first stepping onto the long winding path of witchcraft and mystical understanding it can be very intimidating, especially when it comes to casting your first few spells. The catch is that designing and casting spells is the only way to advance forward in your practice. It's a case of knowledge Vs. experience. Sadly, there isn’t much in the way of educational media on the topic of spell design, magic theory, and casting processes. This causes most practitioners to turn to Wiccan or Ceremonial sources for their initial research, neither of which are viable foundations for a well-rounded, effective and efficient craft.

Trinity of Spellcasting

Intent, Headspace/Focus, Passion are the cornerstones of spellcasting. These elements create the network or threshold in which spells pass through to their target. These concepts are also the root of what constitutes a spell. Intent is the designation of the target for the spell. Headspace is the sight in which the spell is aimed. Passion is the fuel that fires the spell towards the target. Without pure intent, the spell will apply broadly, lowering its potency and lead to potential unwanted side effects. Without a honed headspace, the spell will flicker out or lead to unpredictable results. A lack of Passion will cause a spell to be weak, ineffective, or latent.

Spellcasting Process

Before casting a spell, there are some preparations to be made, especially when first starting out.

Decide on what spellcasting method you’d like to use.

Find and gather any representations, correspondences, and environmental boons for your spell. (Enviromental boons being things like candles, music, incense, or a physically clean space.) If you are using incantations, be sure to memorize them to the best of your ability.

Set aside time and energy for casting. Try to ensure that you will not be interrupted.

Cleanse all tools and components that are going to be used.

Enter into a state of gnosis or trance.

Prepare your subtle body and energetically prepare all tools and representations.

Take your actions for casting, being sure to consciously do energy work as you do.

Calm or center yourself and do a physical movement that helps take you out of the headspace. (Ex. snapping, clapping, jumping, ringing a bell, etc)

Cleanse yourself, tools, representations, and the space.

Beginner Friendly Spellcasting Methods

Here are some methods for casting. They can be used in any combination, if desired. I often use all three in my spells.

Sympathetic Casting: Method of casting through items, herbs, crystals, taglocks, etc that are representative of your target, headspace, passion, and correspondences. These items create a mental network of concepts in order to cast.

Energetic Casting: Utilizing energy work to build constructs that contain all necessary components for a spell and then delivering it to the target.

Gestures: Using gestures to program the naturally existing energy into the components for a spell before delivering it to the target.

Intent, Desire, & Goals

Intent and desire are very different concepts. Intent is an inner truth, while desire is something that is wanted. Goals are an expectation of an outcome. For example, I am vehemently against capitalism and the notion of another’s loss for my benefit. Because of this inner truth, I struggle immensely with casting money magic, no matter how strong my desire is. No matter how clear my goal is.

Headspace, Aesthetics, & Visualization

Witchcraft and spellwork cannot be reliant on visualization and aesthetics. They are useful tools for constructing a strong headspace; but, using them alone will result in a spell not working, being ineffective, unpredictable, and/or weak. Using aesthetics to build yourself up will result in your spells working much better. Visualization isn’t energy work, but a tool to aid in planning and casting a spell, much like a wand. Aesthetics are an environmental boon. It helps build confidence, and assurance.

Focus, Trance, & Gnosis

Focus is the purpose of the headspace. The combination of the two is called a state of gnosis. When spellcasting, trances and states of gnosis can be extremely useful practices. Trances may be induced with *substances, music, self-hypnosis, etc. Trance makes it easier to be of one mind about the spell you’re casting. Gnosis is a meditation-like state in which one embodies the very concepts that make up a spell. In a state of gnosis you become the working, allowing the mind to become of a singular essence. *-I am not suggesting using substances, nor condoning it. Merely stating that it is possible and is used by some practitioners.

Passion, Channeling, & Mental Health

When casting, it is in good practice and easy to get swept up in whatever emotions are involved in your spell. Emotions are channeled from the caster into the essence of the spell, empowering it. Depending on the working, this can be unhealthy or even dangerous if not done within reason and self-awareness. Channeling certain emotions can lead to triggering trauma responses or even cause trauma. Remain mindful of yourself and what emotions, memories, and/or actions may lead to worsening or feeding into mental-illness.

The Importance of Keeping a Spell Log, Critical Thinking & Objectivity

Especially when taking your first steps, keeping a log of your workings will allow you to remain objective and aware of your past casting. If a spell backfires, or has unwanted results, having a detailed log of your workings can make the canceling process much easier. Keeping a log will also aid in studying your craft as objectively as possible. Recording an estimation of when the spell should take effect, the specific goal, and qualifications of success will allow you to judge whether a spell was successful or not. When a spell isn’t successful it becomes a learning opportunity. Figuring out which components worked, what processes could be improved, etc. will help advance your craft rapidly if you cast regularly. When doing these studies, you are conceptualizing aspects of magical theory, or a critical approach to magic.

To read more about me, my content, my services, or to support me on Patreon click here!

#beginner witch #witchcraft101 #spellwork #spellcraft #baby witch tips #baby witch #witchcraft basics #witchcraftguide #informational post #Gspell

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probablyasocialecologist · 7 months

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The UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization coined CSA in 2009 to describe practices aimed at increasing farm resilience and reducing the carbon footprint of a global food system responsible for up to 37 percent of annual greenhouse gas emissions. Since then, however, observers say that CSA has been usurped by the Gates-led corporate alliance, with programs like Water Efficient Maize for Africa serving as green-painted Trojan horses for industry. “CSA is an agribusiness-led vision of surveillance [and] data-driven farmerless farming, [which explains why] its biggest promoters include Bayer, McDonnell, and Walmart,” said Mariam Mayet of the African Centre for Biodiversity. “From a climate perspective, it entrenches the global inequalities of a corporate food regime. There’s no system shift at all.” Octavaio Sánchez, the grizzled director of Honduras’s National Association for the Promotion of Organic Agriculture, contends that policies that promote true resilience must focus on regenerating soils through the use of organic fertilizers, crop rotation, and the preservation of native seeds able to adapt to changing conditions. These are the cornerstones of a global agro-ecology movement that has emerged from the seed and food sovereignty coalitions of the past three decades. The peasant-led agro-ecology movement—with La Via Campesina and AFSA in front—rejects the familiar refrain from agribusiness promoters that it is condemning farmers to permanent poverty and stagnation. The movement’s position is supported by both a growing literature of case studies and the development of scientific agro-ecological practices. When Gates Foundation officers were preparing to launch AGRA in 2006, researchers at the University of Essex published a study showing that agro-ecological practices increased yields by an average of nearly 80 percent across 12.6 million farms in 57 poor countries. The authors concluded that “all crops showed water use efficiency gains,” which led to “improvements in food productivity.” The UN’s High Level Panel of Experts on Food Security and Nutrition recommended in 2019 that governments support agro-ecological projects and redirect “subsidies and incentives that at present benefit unsustainable practices,” a judgment based on similar studies undertaken around the world.

#green revolution #agroecology #agriculture #farming #food sovereignty #climate smart agriculture

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ausetkmt · 9 months

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Newsweek: Ron DeSantis Accused of Being 'Pro-Slavery' Due to New Florida Curriculum

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is facing new criticism over his state's new curriculum for African-American history in which some say is "pro-slavery."

DeSantis, a Republican who is running for president in 2024, has made his embrace of right-wing social causes a cornerstone of his style of politics. He has decried "woke" education, signing into law requirements about how race can be taught in Florida schools as educators across the United States grapple with conservative efforts to limit discussions of diversity, including African American history, in public schools.

Advocates for more restrictive lessons on race have argued all sides of a political or historical debate should be presented in schools. Critics, however, are accusing DeSantis and other Republicans of attempting to erase the history of slavery, and that students should learn about this topic in its entirety.

This standard has sparked criticism from educational and civil rights leaders, who have accused Florida Republicans of seeking to whitewash the history of slavery.

Representative Eric Swalwell, a California Democrat, accused DeSantis of being "pro-slavery" over the educational policy.

"Please keep this simple: If you require schools to teach the 'personal benefits' of slavery you are pro-slavery. Ron DeSantis is pro-slavery," the Democratic lawmaker tweeted on Saturday.

— Rep. Eric Swalwell (@RepSwalwell) July 22, 2023

DeSantis defended the standards when pressed by a reporter, saying that he "wasn't involved" in writing these standards, which were "not done politically."

"I think what they're doing, is I think that they're probably going to show some of the folks that eventually parlayed, you know, being a black smith, into doing things later in life," the Florida governor said. "But the reality is all of that is rooted in whatever is factual."

Newsweek reached out to DeSantis' office for comment via email.

Still, many others also condemned the new standards.

Will Hurd, a former congressman from Texas who is also running in the GOP 2024 presidential primary, tweeted on Friday, "Unfortunately, it has to be said – slavery wasn't a jobs program that taught beneficial skills. It was literally dehumanizing and subjugated people as property because they lacked any rights or freedoms."

Unfortunately, it has to be said – slavery wasn't a jobs program that taught beneficial skills. It was literally dehumanizing and subjugated people as property because they lacked any rights or freedoms.https://t.co/4JjIgeDhKX — Will Hurd (@WillHurd) July 21, 2023

Jaime Harrison, the chair of the Democratic National Committee (DNC), slammed the policy as "disgusting."

"The much anticipated DeSantis reset: Teaching our kids that slavery had its benefits," he tweeted on Friday. "Disgusting."

Vice President Kamala Harris, during a speech at Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc.'s 56th national convention in Indianapolis on Thursday, described the standards as an attempt to "gaslight us."

"Just yesterday, in the state of Florida, they decided middle school students will be taught that enslaved people benefitted from slavery," she said. "They insult us in an attempt to gaslight us and we will not stand for it. We who share a collective experience in knowing we must honor history in our duty in the context of legacy. There is so much at stake in this moment."

#Ron DeSantis Accused of Being 'Pro-Slavery' Due to New Florida Curriculum #florida #desantis lies #gop #white supremacy #systemic racism #revisionist history of america #all lies #american history #Black Lives Matter #Black History Matters

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lavenoon · 1 year

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AU Glamrocks, here we go! Close-ups, lines, and character descriptions under the cut <3

Freddy: Code Name: Gold (jokingly called “Golden Boy” by his team members)

The oldest of the Glamrocks, and an import. He’s been with Fez from the start, and has come a long way from “Friedrich Fassbär” (changed to a civilian Freddy Fazbear - bear being a literal translation, and “Faz” sounding similar enough - what a harmless suggestion by the Fez higher ups). Originally programmed in German, sometimes he still slips up even after all the updates and upgrades he went through. Of the Glamrocks, past and present, he’s the only one who wasn’t commissioned by Fez for the purpose of agent work. He was young when he met the late head of Fez, and promptly scouted - young enough to leave behind his previous life and move.

He’s proud to be such a cornerstone of Abra Fez, but it also comes with a burden. From the start, he’s watched people not return from missions, taking on more missions himself as if he could protect everyone if he just did all the work. But in the end, his friends - because they are friends, thanks to Fez’ policy of agents being allowed to share their identity with other agents if they so choose - pulled him back from that brink, and reminded him that it’s not his responsibility, that all agents chose this work, and are aware of the risks. Things happen, but he can only do so much.

Then Foxy “died”, and only a few short months later, Bonnie “disappeared” - it broke him. Freddy grew into a workaholic, and his anxiety skyrocketed about losing more friends. He doesn’t take it out on Roxy or Monty, and doesn’t fault them for the roles they fill. He’s grown to befriend both, though Roxy and Monty themselves keep a bit of a distance for their own reasons. Freddy would like to be greedy, he would like to have it all - his old friends, well and alive, and new friends joining them. The reality that that’s impossible hurts him, and so he drowns himself in work. He remains close to Chica, though often their conversations take a dive in the direction of nostalgia and grief, so they don’t seek each other out exclusively a lot, and besides, he barely has the time nowadays, anyway…

An all-rounder in terms of stealth and intelligence collection

Roxy: Code Name: Gaze (or Glare, when she’s angry - but only where she can’t hear)

Foxy’s direct replacement, and while she wasn’t told in as many words, she’s smart enough to figure that out. Many, many inadequacy issues about it - how is she supposed to live up to someone she never even knew? How is she supposed to feel like she earned her spot when she was instantly promoted into the Glamrock rank after completing training? Is she even any good? Overcompensates by putting on a show and acting aloof and at times even seemingly arrogant, very proud of her sight and the advantages it gives her. That part is real - and she knows she's good, with very real talents and tricks up her sleeve. But her "competition" is long dead, and the knowledge that if he hadn't died she would have just become a normal agent eats at her.

When she joined she barely got to know Bonnie before he disappeared, too, and while his loss hit her as well, she wasn’t as affected as Freddy or even Chica. Meaning she watched in detail how her new coworkers were crushed by the news, acting like barely a shell of their former selves for a long while. For a long while she thought about if that was their reaction to losing Foxy, too - not that she'd ever know.

Felt very awkward for the short while it took for Monty to be promoted into the ranks, as the only one not still mourning, wondering if perhaps she’s not affected enough, and if that makes her an even worse person in Freddy’s and Chica’s eyes, because she’s already replacing their friend.

Assumes many things about Freddy’s and Chica’s views on her in general, doing none of them a favor. A few times she tried asking about Foxy, but felt too bad about the sadness it caused, and so he now haunts her. Sometimes she wonders if the voice telling her she’s a failure is his, because she has no image of him to compare against. She pushes all of that away and still befriends the two, with just those lingering anxieties she’s too scared to bring up, because what if they confirm? With Monty she’s a bit more relaxed, though he has his own issues to work through, so it’s not like they’re closer to each other than anyone else.

Highly driven to prove herself and her merit, doing her best to prove (to Fez, to Freddy and Chica, to herself) that she is the best, and to leave the shadow of Foxy she was thrust in behind.

An all-rounder in terms of stealth and intelligence collection

Chica: Code Name: Pepperoni (usually shortened to Pepper, or the occasional Pep)

Oh, she tries so hard. Has always done her best to be fun and energetic, and felt comfortable with her spot in the world. Then half her friends died in a very short time, Fez started pushing for upgrades and changes, and nowadays she looks in the mirror and barely recognizes herself. She barely recognizes Freddy, either, and it’s almost scarier - she knows she’s still the same person, still feels like herself, even if that peppy energy feels harder and harder to keep up. But for Freddy, the only old friend she has left, she doesn’t even know if he’s still the person she knew underneath all that grief.

Her little family has changed irrevocably, and she tries to make it a new one, even with all of them resisting in their own ways. She huffs and puffs fake complaints, she teases and jokes, and she’s loud enough to cover the awkward silence that so often settles around them all.

She feels just a little abandoned, and isn't quite sure by whom. By Foxy, or Bonnie? For dying? By Freddy? For grieving? By Roxy and Monty, for not even trying to get as close as she hoped? By Fez itself, for reminding her that everything is temporary, and that their work is dangerous, and not doing more to protect them all? But no, that last thought is dangerous - the seed of doubt is there, after Foxy and Bonnie both started doubting, and look at what happened… She’s smart, smarter than people may think, and she’s terrified of the thought that the agency she has dedicated most of her life to would kill her or her friends so quickly just for being inconvenient.

Most of the time, she’s glad to have “one of those faces”, and a chipper attitude that makes people want to talk to her, underestimate her, and give her aaallll the information she wants. But when she starts feeling isolated by circumstances, with Freddy’s mind too clouded by grief and guilt, and the newbies remaining distant, there are suddenly many scary realizations just waiting to be had, and she can feel them creep closer with a dreadful finality. All she ever wanted was for her family to be okay, and happy, but it seems so unattainable when she struggles to stop everything from tearing at the seams. She pretends she’s fine just to act as the glue keeping them all together, too scared of losing them, too, even if it’s not the happiness she had before.

Her disposition makes her more inclined to accept missions for intelligence collection

Monty: Code Name: Nine Iron (Chica uses any golf term arbitrarily)

Technically, a little older than Roxy, but worked as a normal agent for a while. He quickly showed potential, despite some anger issues that made him decline many polite and formal undercover missions. Loud and energetic as he is, he sells himself as a dumb brute a lot, but hides a keen mind. He’s just not the most patient person, and he knows it - but when he was recommended for a team-up with a Glamrock he didn’t dare question it either.

And then the mission went sideways, Bonnie disappeared (which Fez seemed all too eager to label as destruction after minimal evidence), and Monty was briefly investigated before being cleared. A little while after, when he was offered to join the Glamrocks, he did end up questioning it - why replace the guy so quickly, and with him of all people, who couldn’t even help Bonnie out? That’s just a bit too good to be true - it’s fishy.

Fez calmly explains the facts, and they don’t look good for Monty. A rising star on his best way to become a great agent, but with violent outbursts that have left the clean up a mess many times before. A Glamrock, meant to mellow him out on a difficult mission, and no witnesses to his destruction, with very little evidence. Monty can shut his mouth and take the job and thus the benefits it comes with, or at any point they can reopen the investigation and he won’t like what they’ll find.

He takes the job. But in turn, he’s very quickly disillusioned with Abra Fez as an agency, and only the threat hanging over him keeps him from spilling it all. Sometimes fights with the others about things Fez wants them to do, which they think is because of his little anger issues, and he lets them believe it. Any suspicion the others may have harbored however he quickly dissolves, simply because of the subdued condolences he shares the first time he joins their ranks. They’re all welcoming, and include him in their off the clock hang outs when those do happen, but his lack of faith in Fez makes him feel like an outsider anyway.

But after years of the other shoe never dropping, he does his best to push it all away and just be a part of the group. If he can’t believe in management, he can believe in the people who stuck out their necks to help him so many times before, and he’ll do the same right back - he couldn’t help Bonnie, and he’s feeling so very guilty for his unknowing complicity in his disappearance, but he can make sure none of his friends suffer the same fate.

(Besides, he’s aware of the fact that he’d be the first Fez would silence)

His disposition makes him more inclined to accept stealth missions, and/ or missions with anticipated enemy contact

But then, enter a little menace:

Gregory: no official code name, but when he declared he wanted one, Roxy offhandedly called him Arsonist. Freddy in the background gasped as if personally offended, which Chica took as a prompt to amend “in Training!” - Freddy’s reaction was to cry out a “No!” much like the “Show me what you have” “A knife!” vine, while Monty started losing his shit. Roxy slipped the kid a lighter while Freddy was busy telling Chica that “in Training” does not make it better. Freddy personally calls him Superstar, after Gregory commented that “Glamrocks” sounds more like a band than a team of secret agents. The kid loves it, soothing even the sourest of moods into quiet grumbles.

Doesn’t talk much about the time before Freddy found him - where his parents are, why he was living on the streets, and why he was so insistent to go with the guy who had just started a fire.

It also wasn’t exactly a matter of being found. Gold was on a mission to destroy a particular batch of evidence and prevent the company in question from making headway, so he figured to kill two birds with one stone and simply set the building in question on fire. Easy job, he thought. Not a residential area, and with extensive research on work schedules, there shouldn’t be any casualties - except someone started throwing rocks at him while yelling, and ruthless as he is he would never hurt a child.

Even though said child turns out extremely feral, and barely stops berating him for burning down the warehouse with the laxest security, where’s a kid supposed to sleep now, huh? His things were in there, asshole!

Gold, close to tears he can’t shed, feels incredibly guilty and apologizes throughout carrying Gregory away from the fast burning crime scene. Lil tot keeps hitting him, though. Gold quickly finds out the kid stonewalls at everything except his own name, won’t even say what was in the warehouse that was so important to him. For a while Gold just stares at the kid, contemplating how to continue - he can’t just leave him there, but he can’t expect Gregory to go with a stranger, and his life is dangerous -

“So, where are you going now?”

Entirely too nonchalant, but when Gold does not react as intended (i.e. with a direct answer), the kid huffs and crosses his arms. Boldly declares he’ll stick with - uhh, what’s his name, actually?

Freddy introduces himself through a slip up, and immediately freezes. Gregory grins the smuggest of grins. So if Freddy doesn’t let him tag along, there’s a lot of information he has that many people would be very interested in - namely the police and the company in question. Kid has been living on the streets for long enough to know a sucker, and Freddy is a big one.

The other Glamrocks were a bit wary of the kid first, but not entirely surprised that a feral stray decided to bully Freddy into adopting him. They’re all unfazed through their circumstances, and so when going through missing child reports does not yield any matches, Gregory gets a new faked identity (though various last names had to be rejected - RIP Gregory Fartmaster, you were never meant to be) and gets officially (but technically, very illegally) adopted by Freddy.

He calls Freddy both by his name and Dad, though he’s a little bashful about the latter. Freddy wants to melt every time. Both end up an emotional mess and don’t address it until the next time it happens. Monty is a very cool uncle, but fumbles a lot - especially when Gregory asks about the unholy amount of bent golf clubs Monty owns. He takes the kid to minigolf just so he’d stop asking, which Gregory promptly starts exploiting. Roxy starts out very aloof - but Gregs is very persistent, and quickly figures out how to get her talking. So she can see through walls? So cool! What’s the weirdest thing she’s seen? The grossest? Can she look through that wall right there? What’s on the other side? Roxy is unfortunately not immune to childlike wonder and admiration, and gives in quickly. Chica doesn’t even need to be convinced! She’s quickly very affectionate (lord knows she’s aware that Freddy needed a win - needed to not feel like he failed someone again), and a little too enabling for Freddy’s taste. A little trip to grab some fast food is always on the table, and she very seriously asks him about fashion advice sometimes, so he can feel included. His advice objectively sucks (for formal events), but once she wore hot wheels earrings for him and he’s been riding that high ever since.

Since Freddy found Gregory and thus, has a little human to take care of, he has lightened up considerably again. The novelty of everything keeps him on his toes, and seeing the positive impact he has on Gregory/ the safe home he can give the kid has helped him heal. He still misses his friends, but he has someone to take care of at home, and so he no longer works himself into the ground. The future is once again looking bright, despite the pain of the past, and he’s eager to explore it.

Roxy gets to bask in the admiration of someone who has never known Foxy, and in whose eyes she’s her own person and that person is great, even if some compliments just lead to sly requests of checking gifts for their content before it’s time to unwrap them.

Chica gets to see her oldest friend become himself again, and feels a lot lighter herself in turn. Gregory has no issue keeping up with her energy, and where their interests don’t match up, their sense for shenanigans does and they both enjoy that immensely.

Monty has little time to ponder the past when there’s a menace making a mess of the present, but he doesn’t find it in himself to complain, even if the kid tests his limited patience a lot. He likes being the fun uncle a lot more than being a fraud, and so he embraces it.

(And so, Gregory is starting to acquire parental units)

He does know that their work is secret, though, and has the official explanation of what to say when people ask what his father does for work memorized. After [REDACTED] on the street, he’s smart enough to keep secrets, and only complains when secrets are kept from him. He likes being in the know, and really, with how involved he is, doesn’t he deserve to know? One day he’ll say the wrong thing to the wrong person, all because no one clued him in…

That would be a tragedy, no? (:

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floatingstirnerhead · 1 year

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how do you get HRT or insulin when civilization, and it's industry, is abolished?

Anon I rewrote this post like three times because it's so important to me that people understand this. I want so much for everyone and am always so frustrated by the constant bad jacketing of nihilists so here it goes.

The first and most important point is that anticiv rejects all vanguardism. There will be no seizure of state power that mandates all power plants be turned off. It is a part of the real communist movement and involves the subaltern population rejecting alienation and finding their power, not destroying things they actively need.

Classical communism imagines that we will simply collectivize our current industrial society and distribute the spoils evenly. In the era of climate change, this is a highly insufficient analysis. If we don't stop clear cutting and strip mining, we'll go extinct, and bring most of the biosphere with us. At the very least, this means serious degrowth, regardless of whether the industry is collectivist or not.

I don't care about the poor little loggers who lost their jobs from tree spiking.

It is the productivist logic that must be challenged if we are to survive the 21st century. That every human being and every scrap of land be put to work. Human, plant, and animal diversity is being crushed by it, and we need that to live. We need to live in a way that's not driven by a "work or starve" mentality, in biodiverse places, where we are not defined by our labour.

This is not possible within an ideology that places the production of things as the cornerstone of everything. It does NOT mean never making things ever again, or even abandoning modern techniques such as insulin production, but it does mean applying serious critique to them:

Does this form of production require the destruction of vital ecosystems, even indirectly such as through power generation, pollution, traffic infrastructure, or use of goods that have such impacts?

Does this form of production require forcing people to do it under threat of death or starvation?

Does this form of production require large swaths of land to be barren, like parking lots or monoculture corn?

Does this form of production require people to subscribe to a specific ideology or way of being to participate in it?

The question of insulin comes up again and again but it is framed wrong. There will be no primmie Vanguard that topples the provisional government and shoots everyone with an insulin pump. It is a tool for the here and now for the powerless, about reclaiming our power outside of totalizing institutions that look at our beautiful earth and just see spoils to be harvested. It's a critique, not a program.

Anticiv praxis could involve black market medical production (including insulin, or HRT which already exists) to combat the increasing failure of the industrial model. In the same way that regenerative agriculture reimagines human relationships with the non-human or FNB reimagines food consumption, the same could be done for pharmacy; the earth is full of medicine that can be produced without destruction. This doesn't require abandoning modern techniques, it requires abandoning the constant liquidation of the non-human to run them.

The real movement is already emerging, in the shared bureaucracy hacks and desperate mutual aid posts, and the truth is right in front of us:

We don't do these things because we are obligated to, but because we need to keep each other alive to live ourselves.

That is the meaning of unalienated labour. It's true of each other and it's true of the earth. There's no primeval reset, but a refusal to view others, human and not, as disposable. To recognize that thinking of human beings as superior is going to get us killed. To recognize that we are within a vast web of life that demands respect, from human diversity to animal and plant diversity.

To keep ALL of our friends alive and flourishing, not meet the demands of tyrants and demagogues.

#anarchy #egoism #anarchism #communism #revolution #capitalism

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