I broadly agree with you, but I think the above comment is saying that in the context of what the right wing media pushes

Like, there are some groups for whom religion is less about the teachings and more about in-group mentality, and fox etc have successfully weaponised that and made Republicanism a central tenet of the in-group

It’s not a universal thing by any means, but it has been part of the fox agenda

Yeah kind of - the provisional license is what you get so you can learn. It’s a different colour

It’s not technically for non-drivers, but a lot of non-drivers have one and use it for their ID. It’s a convenient size, known format etc

Is it a coincidence that he’s had this bright idea while visiting with Starmer? Maybe they had some nice chats about pensioners being arrested for having Palestine flags

Save our children? No, children stabbed!

The Nepali media are referring to the whole thing as the Gen-Z protest (जेन-जे विरोध). It might still be weird, or it might be less weird not in translation

This is being referred to as the Gen-Z Protests by all media, not just the above. It comes from Nepali media (जेन-जे विरोध, literally ‘Gen-J protests’) and possibly has a different tone or connotations in Nepali, I don’t know.

There’s been some discontent in Nepal for a while now, the government being viewed as authoritarian and corrupt.

But what’s kicked this off is the government banning social media apps.

So, all these social media companies had a week to register with the government, because of a new law, but most didn’t. So the government banned them and blocked access (nearly all the big ones - apparently tiktok registered and stayed up, as far as I can tell). This happened on the 4th September.

Some people think that curtailing social media use is a direct attempt to stop people drawing attention to corruption: the leading hashtag in Nepal was apparently ‘#NepoKids’ (as in nepotism). I don’t know if that is in English or in translation though.

Yesterday, on the 8th, there were big protests and demonstrations. It’s hard to get a breakdown of what exactly happened - I don’t speak Nepali - but protesters tried to enter parliament, the military responded with tear gas, and before long 19 protesters had been killed.

This obviously sparked a reaction, and it’s still ongoing. The PM has resigned, some officials have apparently fled or tried to flee the country. Lots of places are being set on fire, including prisons (it seems like prisoners are escaping rather than being burnt alive). Some sites say that the social media apps are back online and unblocked now, I don’t know.

I went down a rabbit hole about globes and maps recently

Basically, to find the shortest distant between two places on a globe (a ‘straight’ line), imagine a hoop or circle round the earth that cuts it exactly in half, and rotate it until it passes through both places (still cutting it exactly in half)

That’s a great circle.

There are 2d map projections that are built around this, but they only work when one of the locations is at the center of the map. So it could show the shortest distance from, say, London to anywhere with a straight line, but it wouldn’t work for a route not including London

It’s an interesting question (or at least it would be if it wasn’t so traumatically impactful and real)

The Epstein thing is the thing most likely to stick and cause division in the MAGA base

But the fascism stuff is worse, really, at least from a utilitarian standpoint if not morally.

So what’s the best thing to focus messaging on?

I hate that I sound like a political strategist instead of a moral person here, but it is a tough question

A year or so ago, the new UK government sent a delegation to China to improve relations and shore up trade and investment deals, ignoring criticism from the left about Uyghur genocide

This is what the Tankies get fundamentally wrong about the modern world - the idea that anything anti-China is a smear to further Western Imperialism is a throwback to the cold war dichotomy of The West vs Communism.

In reality now, it’s all about investment and global trade, neoliberal wealth generation over human rights. Of course propaganda is real and everywhere, but the framing of it all as West vs East is just incredibly outdated and oversimplified.

Downplaying or waving away mistreatment of the Uyghurs puts you on the same side as Western Governments, so dismissing the issue as Western Propaganda is fundamentally flawed

There is so much toxicity in this it’s hard to know where to start

First of all, all disabilities are a spectrum, they effect people with different severities. One person might be ‘functional’ with depression, another literally not.

Some people with chronic pain, physical vulnerabilities and weaknesses etc can still work, other are bedbound.

Do you think that bedbound disabled people just ‘laze around’ all day?

Are you really so goddamn privileged and dense that you think disabilities are 'all in [people’s] head? Or is it just mental disabilities?

Or are you like, doing the 1950s thing of ‘depression isn’t real just cheer up’?

And this excess wealth bullshit? Are you advocating for a system that leaves people to starve if they can’t work? Is disability welfare a bad thing to you?

Never mind that there’s a huge issue with disabled people having higher expenses because of relying on deliveries etc. Fuck them, right?

You’ve basically replied to a bedbound disabled person to tell them that theyre just a lazy privileged rich slob who’s making it all up, and I think that’s fucked

So what you’re saying is, ‘don’t organise, sit around and wait for someone else to start the violence’

Super helpful, well done

I think his name is Wile. Wile E. Coyote

The door is open for her

As far as I know, one could be elected as California Governer in 26 and still legally run for president in 28, but it would be a lot, and open to attack for using CA as a stepping stone etc

Kamala not going for CA governor in 26 is being used as evidence for a 28 presidential run - it is kinda tenuous, but not completely out of nothing

He’s threatening to redistrict California in response to Republican Leaders gerrymandering Texas

He states he has found a way to gerrymander California to eliminate 5 Republican seats whilest abiding by the Voting Rights Act

He has held multiple press conferences and public appearances drawing attention to this

This tweet is about - and part of - this effort to draw national attention to gerrymandering

It’s too soon to say if he’ll follow through with his threat, but he’s done a lot.

I don’t like Newsome, but respect this - don’t just shit on it. This is the action you’re asking for

If in doubt, focus on a point in the low forehead just above the bridge of the nose

It avoids the too much eye contact thing while having the benefits of looking directly allowing them to do eye contact with you etc

This is actually a general interview tip I’ve heard, but it does well for me as a neurodivergent person

Was/were are verbs, not pronouns (yes I am fun at parties thanks)

Regardless of what we think about the ad, why is the scrutiny on the model and not the brand or the marketing company?

Ah yes, the answer to any social problem: eugenics

And this is also why ‘black people have big dicks’ is a historical stereotype. Sure they have big dicks, like horses or cattle…

And it’s a weird thing where people now think it’s a ‘positive’ stereotype

I remember a Man U chant about a player having a big dick - anti-racism organisations called it out and the chanters were shocked. It’s a ‘positive’ thing, right?

History is kinda weird and very racist

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