Jules @afewbugs@librem.one

Fediverse: I’m looking for places to donate some money before the end of the year—especially interested in supporting trans and other Black women and women of color, indigenous sovereignty, global climate justice, reproductive rights. What are your suggestions of effective organizations? Please #boost so I can get more ideas! #donation #justicework (@BlackAzizAnansi can you help?)

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"Let's get something straight. Growing old doesn't make people #conservative. In fact the more marginalized identity statuses a person has, the LESS conservative they grow over time.
The reason we equate "old" with "conservative" is that #marginalization kills people off younger.

Some of the most radical people you know are old.

It's just a lot of others died before they could get there, so there's a diminishing proportion. (2/5)

I was today years old when I found out that Fly Me To The Moon is a gay love song!
Composer Bart Howard wrote the song for his partner Thomas Fowler. They were together for 58 years! ❤️🏳️‍🌈

In case you needed to hear it today: Some of us have been told our whole lives to put our feelings aside and be “okay” so we don’t ruin anyone else’s fun at this time of year. But it’s okay to feel however we feel about it.

Normalise being wrong. Normalise admitting to mistakes and changing your opinion as you learn more. It's how we learn. It's part of being human.

Why do we call them “central banks” and not “apex creditors”?

Devastating article on the pressure #NHS staff are under. So many #nurses, #paramedics, doctors and other staff are near breaking point, yet they're painted as the villains by the government. I see #Sunak has said today that he won't discuss pay ... They *want* the strikes to happen in the hope that the public will turn against NHS staff. Stand firm!
#SupportTheStrikes #NursesStrike #Solidarity #RCN
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2022/dec/20/ive-never-seen-the-nhs-pushed-so-hard-its-not-the-system-thats-breaking-now-its-the-people?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other

Good timing: annual solar PV installations in the EU leaping ahead: 41 GW this year, up 47% from last year's record 28 GW!
And a way broader base than the spike driven by German and Italian support schemes in 2011.

Day two of a deeply #transphobic hashtag trending at number 2 on Twitter in the UK (am not sharing screenshot). Trying to imagine a similar hashtag trending for so long that targeted any another marginalised, minority group. Least of all a hashtag targeting a group where 40% have attempted suicide, rising to 56% of young people (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32345113/) and where the risk of experiencing violence is four times (!) higher than cisgendered people (https://williamsinstitute.law.ucla.edu/press/ncvs-trans-press-release/).

Snakes have clitorises
https://theconversation.com/snakes-have-clitorises-196553

First evidence of hemiclitores in #snakes: Megan Folwell et al. https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspb.2022.1702

Across all species, researchers have given female #genitalia a lot less attention compared to its male counterpart. What’s more, it’s hard to get a good look at #snake genitalia. It’s all internal to the snake’s tail, for the most part. There has been quite a bit of research into the snake #penis, but the snake #clitoris has been missed.

Thor's Helmet

Image Credit & Copyright: Hannah Rochford

https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap221220.html #APOD

Which European nations are handling the energy crisis best? | Business and Economy | Al Jazeera
https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2022/12/20/which-european-nations-are-handling-the-energy-crisis-best

France, Spain, Germany, Italy and Greece are doing some things right, but face challenging times ahead, say experts. And the United Kingdom is struggling.

@Molly The skillsets and mindsets required for solving the first, often bring unforseen and serendipitous benefits that aid solving the second.

However such a view of STEM encourages a utilitarian outlook which is problematic in itself.

What we should promote is the sheer joy of discovery and problem solving in every sphere and not judging worth based on expected outcome.

Been in the Uk for a few days. The extent to which the place is coming apart at the seams is alarming. Trains don’t work. Ambulances don’t work. Post doesn’t work. Electricity is a luxury good. It feels like a fairly advanced stage of terminal decline.

The answer is a return to social democracy and EU membership, but no political parties are advocating either because trying to halt this decline is, itself, seen as toxic.

1/ Today I learnt that "Carol of the bells" is originally a Ukrainan New Year song from pre-Christian times. Here's a small thread about the story of "Shchedryk", with lyrics, music, and how a 1916 arrangement of the song played a role in 20th century Ukraine history.

This is how "Shchedryk" may have sounded like originally:

https://www.polyphonyproject.com/en/song/BMI_UK17050383

#UkraineFolkMusic #FolkMusic #CarolOfTheBells #Shchedryk