(no subject)

[gwydion]

* "Danes to double penalty for ghetto crime:" http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-43214596

* "At French Outpost in African Migrant Hub, Asylum for a Select Few:" https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/25/world/africa/france-africa-migrants-asylum-niger.html

* "‘This Route Doesn’t Exist on the Map’:" https://newrepublic.com/article/146919/this-route-doesnt-exist-map

* TW: Rape. "‘Don’t struggle if you’re raped’: People smuggler gives chilling warning to undercover CNN reporter:" https://www.cnn.com/2018/02/27/africa/nigeria-migrant-smugglers-intl/index.html

* "Afghan boy launches UK legal challenge against refugee policy:" https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/feb/28/teenage-refugees-high-court-challenge-could-give-hope-to-thousands?utm_source=ECRE+Newsletters&utm_campaign=a0b01df1da-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2018_03_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_3ec9497afd-a0b01df1da-422318169

* "Women stand up for right to work in Turkey:" http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-43197642

* "Russian millennials look to their future: 'If we don't do anything now, we will keep living like our parents':" http://www.latimes.com/world/la-fg-russia-profiles-of-youth-20180223-htmlstory.html

* TW: Domestic Violence "Why Russia’s #MeToo moment hasn’t happened:" https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/why-russias-metoo-moment-hasnt-happened/2018/02/25/0b8bbf92-0514-11e8-aa61-f3391373867e_story.html?utm_term=.bd749ec92e70

* "Russia to expel 23 UK diplomats in spy row:" http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-43440992

* "Vladimir Putin secures landslide victory in Russian election:" https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/mar/18/vladimir-putin-wins-russian-election-with-more-than-70-of-vote-exit-poll

* This has Russian emigres talking about various Russia related stuff and is worth watching. "Russia’s Vladimir Putin expected to win election:" http://www.msnbc.com/am-joy/watch/russia-s-vladimir-putin-expected-to-win-election-1188949571973

* "Trump: General questions Putin’s influence over president:" http://www.msnbc.com/am-joy/watch/trump-general-questions-putin-s-influence-over-president-1188955203812

* "Cambridge Analytica: Facebook data of 50 million allegedly seized:" http://www.msnbc.com/am-joy/watch/cambridge-analytica-facebook-data-of-50-million-allegedly-seized-1188990531822

* "Russian Roulette Book: Putin, Trump and the 2016 election:" http://www.msnbc.com/am-joy/watch/russian-roulette-book-putin-trump-and-the-2016-election-1188517955628

* "Andrew McCabe: Rep. Gutierrez offers job to secure pension:" http://www.msnbc.com/am-joy/watch/andrew-mccabe-rep-gutierrez-offers-job-to-secure-pension-1188943427979

* By the time I was teaching these were a thing. It was obvious to me it was as bullshit as those duck and cover drills. I mean, theoretically one could hide in the science rooms with the big massive teacher "l" desk with bunson burner outlets, but good luck trying to get the middle schoolers to shut up entirely for five whole minutes (since in any given group of 6th-8th graders some giggle in a tense situation and others make fart sounds or poke people to relieve tension and then every one has to complain about it and once one gets them quiet, you get a long tense pause of a couple of minutes and then someone makes a fart sound or someone starts complaining about who poked them or the like.), let alone the full length of the drill, and most of the rooms had those individual table style desks, so making kids duck and cover under them was pure security theater. No way would an active shooter be fooled by 35-38 middle schoolers not really fitting under their desks. It infuriated me that we were wasting their time and stressing them out for no reason I could see. (And yes, that last year when I was literally in the process of dying for the whole first term to the point that I wasn't expected to live until Spring unless my family could raise surgery money, I used to turn off my lights, draw my shades, and hide behind my desk during planning period and pep rallies, because I was in danger from passing out from the standing and walking whenever the kids were there and I never got caught, but I was alone and reading silently under there, not crouching half in the open with a room full of anxious 6-8th graders, just saying. And before you judge me, I was twice in a straight to the ER once I was allowed to leave work at the end of the day, and on the second of these occasions, I looked so bad by the end of Wednesday it freaked out the 7th Graders and when I wasn't there the next day a rumor started I had died and they were really upset and wildly relieved. Again, a couple months to live if we didn't raise surgery money by Christmas Break, wearing a Winter coat inside, clutching the podium trying not to sway or shiver bad enough for the kids in the front row to see enough to panic, really real dying). Anyway, we were shit out of luck, in pretty much any room I taught in a real situation, and anyway a student shooter would know the procedures from the active shooter drill like it said in the article. The kids knew it too and would complain about how useless it was. "What Are the Psychological Effects of 'Active-Shooter Drills'?:" https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2018/02/effects-of-active-shooter/554150/

* "Marielle Franco: Brazil’s favelas mourn the death of a champion:" https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/mar/18/marielle-franco-brazil-favelas-mourn-death-champion

* "More than 100 cities now mostly powered by renewable energy, data shows :" https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2018/feb/27/cities-powered-clean-energy-renewable

* "Flood risk from American rivers is greatly underestimated:" https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/02/180228112520.htm

* "The First (Documented) Black Woman to Serve in the U.S. Army:" https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/cathay-williams-buffalo-soldier

* Correction: Apparently it's a Windows 8 Computer. I'd mismembered which one was mostly patching and re-branding. So Windows 8 vs 10.

* TW: Rape. We need to talk about Neegan.

Look, I get it, Walking Dead Fandom, Jeffrey Dean Morgan is an extremely sexy guy. He's good looking, he has an appealing laugh, he moves in a particularly appealing way, he seems really comfortable in his masculinity when he's out of character, and it was delightful watching him flirt with Craig Ferguson on the Late Late Show. Trust me, I Get It. You also have every right to ship whoever the fuck you want without being hassled or kink shamed for it. The thing I am about to say does not even a little apply to shippers. If loss of control fantasies are your thing, there is nothing wrong with that. Again, what I'm saying has 0% to do with shipping.

My issue is not with shipping, but with the Mainstream non-porn related discourse, mostly between straight cis men, which treats the Character Neegan as the moral equivalent of Rick. Look, I strongly dislike Rick and think he makes a lot of shitty decisions and don't think he's half the leader show!Maggie or Book!Michonne is or any Glen was, or example. At the same time? Rick never raped any one. Neegan? Has a rape camp in his compound. He forces woman to have sex with him and his lieutenant on pain of starvation, torture, or death. Canonically, the women in the rape camp tried to kill him in a recent season because he is their rapist. Whatever one can say about shitty straight white cis male leader on the Walking Dead show and their bad and good leadership choices, I can tell Neegan is the villain because he goes around murdering and torturing people and he has a rape camp. I have to side eye everyone making the argument that if Neegan had been the main character of Walking Dead from the start of the show we'd see him as the hero.

No. I wouldn't. I point again to the Rape Camp. No one regularly raping and women and causing them to be raped is a Good Guy. This is not a gray area. There are gray areas about say, whether a particular killing can be justified for the good of the group, for example. At the same time even weaselly, self agendaed, back stabbing Gregory didn't rape any one we know of. Sex in Alexandra, the Kingdom, Oceancide, and Hilltop is consensual as far as we've seen except for possibly in that one Domestic violence situation where I can't remember what all went on and they killed that guy. Just saying.

Neegan is a rapist, and any discourse claiming that really he's a good guy who is just misunderstood ignores the literal iron burns on that one guy's face and Neegan raping all those women. It ignores the murder of Glen. It ignores a couple of seasons of seemingly endless atrocities. So, no. Not redeemable. Not Misunderstood. Not the Good Guy.

* I used all my money on housing and insurance this month. I need to raise 200-240 for the other bills, so it's ebay time. 3ish days left, 1 no bid last I looked: https://www.ebay.com/sch/lethran/m.html?_nkw=&_armrs=1&_ipg=&_from=



BPAL: Hard Cider Cake (LE, Yule) & Chaos Theory VII: Gourmand (LE,Chaos Theory ): https://www.ebay.com/itm/BPAL-Hard-Cider-Cake-LE-Yule-Chaos-Theory-VII-Gourmand-LE-Chaos-Theory/302665683328?hash=item467847d180:g:i6cAAOSw3dtao5gr

BPAL: Tombstone (Wanderlust) & Durian Fruit Infused Honey with Brandy: https://www.ebay.com/itm/BPAL-Tombstone-Wanderlust-Durian-Fruit-Infused-Honey-with-Brandy/302665528174?hash=item467845736e:g:t7wAAOSwm9Jao3or

BPAL: Hellcat (Diabolus) & Mother Shub's Gingerbread Temples 2012 (LE, Yule): https://www.ebay.com/itm/BPAL-Hellcat-Diabolus-Mother-Shubs-Gingerbread-Temples-2012-LE-Yule/302665544835?hash=item467845b483:g:TpcAAOSwADtao4QK

BPAL: Dungeon Crawl (LE, Event Exclusive) & Oak Moon (LE, A Little Lunacy): https://www.ebay.com/itm/BPAL-Dungeon-Crawl-LE-Event-Exclusive-Oak-Moon-LE-A-Little-Lunacy/302665599531?hash=item4678468a2b:g:opwAAOSwKNhao4dF

BPAL: Who in the World am I? (LE) & Shadows of What May Be (LE, Yule): https://www.ebay.com/itm/BPAL-Who-in-the-World-am-I-LE-Shadows-of-What-May-Be-LE-Yule/302665639010?hash=item4678472462:g:dNQAAOSwUUdao5LQ

BPAL: Gold Phoenix (LE, Anniversary) & Night's Bridge (Neil Gaiman : Neverwhere): https://www.ebay.com/itm/BPAL-Gold-Phoenix-LE-Anniversary-Nights-Bridge-Neil-Gaiman-Neverwhere/302665487538?hash=item467844d4b2:g:Of8AAOSwwq1ao3an



*****
* Full list of Resistance and charity links has been migrated to my profile as it was getting out of hand.

* "Help us stop the humanitarian crisis on Manus:" https://www.asrc.org.au/donate-now/

* "RISE (Refugees, Survivors and Ex-Detainees):" https://www.givenow.com.au/riserefugee/donate

* How to help Rohingya refugees: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/29/world/asia/rohingya-aid-myanmar-bangladesh.html?emc=edit_nn_20171012&nl=morning-briefing&nlid=50784086&te=1&_r=0

* Help fight for Net Neutrality restoration: http://gwydionmisha.tumblr.com/post/170010496350/democrats-are-just-one-vote-shy-of-restoring-net

* A list of organizations to help you run for office: http://lovingmyselfishard.tumblr.com/post/167330144634/psst-hey

* Trans Lifeline is one of those organizations you can call at (877) 565-8860 in the US and in Canada (877) 330- 6366.

* The Trevor Project has a 24 hour hotline geared toward helping our youth, and you can call it at 1-866-488-7386

* Call the Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224-3121 and ask to be connected to the representative of your choice.

* This App phones your rep for you: http://takeastance.us/

* Here is one that will send your reps a fax: https://resistbot.io/

* Help pay for cat food, litter, meds, medical copays: Paypal Lethran@gmail.com

* Birthday/Solstice master list: https://gwydion.dreamwidth.org/1925021.html

* Want Game of Thrones without the creepy? We need new players. We are very inclusive. "Game of Bones MUSH:" gobmush.wikidot.com