Jules @afewbugs@librem.one

Thinking of Reham from soapandmore.ie who came here as a refugee from Syria and set up her soap company. She’s currently donating all proceeds from sales to earthquake relief in the region - when asked if she could not just encourage people to donate rather than lose her profits, she said she was thinking of the cost of living in Ireland and not wanting to ask too much of people ❤️ what an absolute lady. 💔

https://soapandmore.ie

We have just defederated from an instance running a "blockbot" which was being used to name, and hence draw further harassment to, any fedizen who blocked any user of that instance.

I'd like to invite reports of other such bots, should our members discover them. I can think of a few ways that's a violation of our rules and just basic ethical behaviour in general.

Does the animal we see on Mastodon server error pages have a name, and can it please be Errorphant?

It is obscene that governments effectively require people to have internet connectivity to be able to function in society but abdicate responsibility for ensuring that people actually have that and delegate it to for-profit enterprises instead

Private jets are 10 times more carbon intensive than airliners on average, and 50 times more polluting than trains. Billionaires are keeping our planet hostage, it's time to make them accountable! #TaxFrequentFlyers

Not the kind of thing I relish writing but I'm glad a vigil is being organised for #BriannaGhey in #Sheffield.

#HerNameWasBriannaGhey #SayHerName

https://nowthenmagazine.com/articles/sheffield-vigil-planned-for-murdered-brianna-ghey

Valentine’s Day always reminds me of the time when my mom was in hospice and one of my parents’ elderly neighbor ladies brought a gift basket.

Here’s the thing. Due to being around Valentine’s Day and the likely limited options at the store, this gift basket was a super tacky Valentine’s gift basket with a teddy bear and some chocolates and some other random items.

It was a totally weird gift basket, but my mom thought it was pretty hilarious because WHO BRINGS A VALENTINE’S GIFT BASKET TO THEIR DYING NEIGHBOR?

Anyway, after the neighbor left, my mom and I started looking through the basket to see what was in it and that’s when we realized that it wasn’t just a Valentine’s gift basket, but a SEXY Valentine’s gift basket and the teddy bear wasn’t just a teddy bear, but a SEXY teddy bear and it also came with flavored lotions and oils and other “sexy” stuff.

That poor neighbor clearly had no idea what was in it and likely just grabbed a random gift basket because it had a dumb teddy bear in it, but it seriously provided us with hours of entertainment digging through that sexy gift basket and forcing “sexy” gifts on my mom’s friends whenever they’d come to visit.

Anyway, happy Valentine’s Day, neighbor lady. I hope you’ve made it a tradition of handing out sexy gift baskets to dying people because it really does lighten the mood.

BREAKING NEWS:

Climate activists are blocking the Harrods Aviation private terminal at Luton Airport near London.

The greed of the extreme rich will not go unchallenged in the face of a climate emergency.

#BanPrivateJets

every time ciabatta is eaten or mentioned in my presence i will tell everyone did you know ciabatta wasnt invented until 1982, it is younger than beyonce and natalie portman and pitbull. people always scoff and pull out their phones and then frown and look troubled. i am the ciabatta ruiner

Dandelion, refracted. I like this one because it shows an 'old' flower that almost appears to be dreaming of younger days, with the full-bloom flower refracted through the water droplet. I think it might be one of my favorite photos I've ever taken. (though still some technical aspects I'd like to improve upon...) #PhotoMonday #photography #macro #flowers #reflection #water #WSSA23 #weeds #weedscience

Roses are red,
Your passport is blue.
Now stand over there,
In that very long queue.

Let this be your periodic reminder that your local library has more free fantastic entertainment in the form of books, movies, music, and more than any subscription service you can pay for, especially when you count interlibrary loans.

RT @SR_Netherlands
Scientists and academics are currently blocking the private jet terminal at Schiphol with bikes.

We are in a climate emergency. We cannot allow the rich to continue fueling the flames with their unnecessary, planet-destroying luxury emissions. #BanPrivateJets #TaxFrequentFlyers

It strikes me that the vigils for #BriannaGhey are likely to be the first vigil many will have attended - what questions/tips do you think they have/need? I'm putting together a blog post (aimed at the Manchester one)...

#queer

Medical Transplant Ethics are a sham. Case in point:

If you donate one kidney, they call you a hero.

If you donate two kidneys, they call you a saint.

But, if you donate three kidneys, they call you a monster.

New | The newsletter is out.

Content warning for discussion in general terms of violence against women and of the specific cases mentioned.

THE EXCUSES

The cases of Brianna Ghey, Emma Pattison, and Lettie Pattison show that after certain kinds of killings, the press hunts for distractions and excuses.

*Please read before commenting*

https://brokenbottleboy.substack.com/p/the-excuses

"But the counterpoint in a media environment that demonizes trans people is refusing to acknowledge the very real violence and danger they face. When bad things happen to them and the media can’t get away with ignoring it, it must either be turned around and made their own fault, or turned into something completely decontextualized from their trans identity... nothing to do with the rising tide of hatred trans people face every day for simply living their lives..."

https://www.themarysue.com/transphobic-coverage-brianna-gheys-murder/

Apologies for linking to the other place, but here's a thread of vigils for #BriannaGhey that are happening in the next few days around the country

https://twitter.com/switchboardLGBT/status/1625168488712097792

Floral foam often just there, in the bottom of flower arrangements, ignored. But we need to shine a spotlight on it and find ways to avoid using it. Whatever you think about it, it's obviously a single-use plastic, but the problems go beyond that. There's a great piece here from Hakai magazine about the impact that it can have on marine life. This crumbly foam is an efficient producer of microplastics. #nofloralfoam #ocean #flowers #pollution

https://hakaimagazine.com/features/are-you-giving-flowers-with-a-side-of-plastic/