#ClimateCrisis #Racism

"The people I spoke with largely said that climate change was real and urgent. In their hands it became a weapon to justify their agendas—or at least a useful tool to expand their movements. ... They believe that water and land are becoming scarcer, forcing them to hoard and defend those resources. And they hold onto a nostalgic view for the way American life was in the 1950s, when there were half as many people, and nearly 90% of them were white."
https://www.propublica.org/article/john-tanton-far-right-extremism-environmentalism-climate-change

Popping on because I just had one of my favourite experiences: when I can leap into a ton of specialized topics with someone here in Spanish, and have a stimulating conversation about, oh, everything.

While working on today's newsletter, this fellow remarked on a newspaper I was using, & we ended talking economic policy, foreign deals, energy futures, artificial intelligence, investment pathways, judicial matters... all requiring specialized vocab that's taken me years to master.

#AGoodFeeling

@Valkyrie_D

You too, sunshine! 💫💛 Happy tunes and happy day! The world is so lucky to have you in it. 🤗

My mental health is pretty good today, but still--always relevant.

We didn't start the fire, etc.

If you're still here, that's enough. Have a lovely one, eh?

#OfflineFTW #AmWriting

@LiseL

(But yes, I was also struck by the fact that Jacobson's piece just *hung* there, on Oct 6. Adler's reply came Oct 13, and Chotiner's article on Oct 14, but that's not a responsible way to have a conversation. The Guardian should have coordinated a roundtable instead, from the outset, if it wanted to tackle that fear. Irresponsible conduct from legacy media - though where's the shock in that?)

@LiseL

That's exactly it. It is a choice, and a *practice*.

I grew up with many Jewish classmates, and I watched them take very different paths in response to world events. Some Birthright trips really changed them, and one even went so orthodox in uni that he no longer touches even his sister - his mother & his wife, no more. Another went as hardcore Z as possible. Others poured themselves into Liberal & Reform lives, & do amazing uplift work in their communities.

There is *always* a range.

@gemswinc

Oh, Cindy, thank you for taking the time.

These aren't happy themes; I always hope I can write about them in a way that will leave people more empowered than despondent, in the end.

I don't have autumn here, so sometimes I just sit with the leaves that have an autumn feel to them.

Today, I was joined by an itty bitty #BugFriend.

(G'morning, CoSo. Not back to my runs yet, but slowly rebuilding the habit of getting out early, at least!)

@AskTheDevil

Thank you for sitting with it, Luce! 🕊️

@Musee

Hear hear! 💯

(Today's newsletter is going to touch on some recent Colombian news, including a new government commitment to Indigenous sovereignty: putting villages in positions where they can veto/defend against corporate projects that might do harm to their land. Other possibilities exist in the world! We don't have to put profit first.)

@Museek

You can find toxic, hateful education plans for some children in Israel, as well.

The existence of extremists in any culture - US citizens who want queer people killed and immigrants deported, for instance - does not legitimize dehumanizing an entire demographic.

I know it's not as comforting as the simplistic X good, Y bad rhetoric of most warmongers, but humanity's path to real peace starts by refusing to see whole demographics as mere hiveminds deserving of collective punishment.

#Gaza #Gardening

Do you folks remember the video I shared a few weeks ago, about a farming project in war?

Thamra was cofounded by Yousef Abu Rabee (& Leena) to feed everyday people caught in this nightmare.

Yousef was killed in recent IDF action in Northern Gaza. A reporter working on an agriculture piece shared word today, and Yousef's instagram is filled with grief messages.

Every day the world is left smaller for losses such as these.

Most people are just people.
https://youtu.be/dCh1huJCb8w

@Minholkin

🫂

And they revealed that grief to you, which speaks to your own helping nature, and the power of sorrow shared.

Take good care of your own heart, too.

💙

@Tacitus_Kilgore

This link *should* work, no matter what - but no rush with the reading! It's the kind of thing one might want to sit with for a little while, and reflect on at leisure.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Bv_6QaGVlujkH3YZFRYhyJdyhGtlpd1S/view

@Tacitus_Kilgore

Google doesn't always make it easy to know if the permissions have been changed. Do the links work now? If not, I'll resend the links generated when I changed permissions by another route.

Monday Media Review carries forward the work I'd intended to finish last Thursday. Today, we talk about a recent op-ed and its aftermath, as both reflect how difficult it is for many human beings to grasp the moral depravity we're living through.

War derangement diminishes us all--but differently. Do we have what it takes to "call in" the war-deranged humans all around us?

#Humanism #War #HumanBehaviour #Gaza

https://open.substack.com/pub/mlclark/p/what-an-op-ed-and-its-aftermath-teaches

@QueenOfEverything @Jorro

That's part of how these businesses survive: they become such essential labour for people's livelihood that even if the corporation is a net negative for the species / planet... who's going to go against the company that provides so many jobs for so many locals just trying to raise their families, help the elderly & vulnerable in their circles, and live a decent life for themselves?

Protesting such a thing feels mighty extravagant to the person just trying to get by.

@BipolarArtist

It looks like Alfred didn't even interpret the attached file as text, reading it instead as an image and inferring that you wanted art based on your prompt and that visual input.

@BipolarArtist

I know it's yours, Damien. :) I'm gesturing at the bigger issue: Alfred's not ready for big codes.