(no subject)

* "Where the bloody hell was he? How Scott Morrison spent the past week of the bushfire crisis:" https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/jan/03/where-the-bloody-hell-was-he-how-scott-morrison-spent-the-past-week-of-the-bushfire-crisis

* "Angry Australians berate PM in fire-hit town:" https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-50973232

* "Australia Is Committing Climate Suicide:" https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/03/opinion/australia-fires-climate-change.html

"Mr. Morrison made his name as immigration minister, perfecting the cruelty of a policy that interns refugees in hellish Pacific-island camps, and seems indifferent to human suffering. Now his government has taken a disturbing authoritarian turn, cracking down on unions, civic organizations and journalists. Under legislation pending in Tasmania, and expected to be copied across Australia, environmental protesters now face up to 21 years in jail for demonstrating."

* Meanwhile. "Beautiful gestures: the good news stories coming out of Australia's bushfires:" https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/jan/04/beautiful-gestures-the-good-news-stories-coming-out-of-australias-bushfires

So to recap, Scott Morrison went on vacation during one of the worst fires in the modern history of the world, returned only to force people to do photo ops against their will instead of bringing food and water to the fire survivors, but the Muslim refugees Morrison and his party have been trying to keep out and vilify as part of their white nationalist agenda turned up to feed people where he didn't. Meanwhile they have criminalized peaceful climate protesters and are handing out semi-autmaic weapons to police even though climate change caused drought is clearly at fault here and you can't shoot climate change or droughts to stop fires and the peaceful protesters are not the enemy here, but the voice of resown with actual solutions.

* "Australian magpie mimics emergency siren during NSW bushfires:"

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* "Iran's past suggests range of potential threats to US interests:" http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow/watch/iran-s-past-suggests-range-of-potential-threats-to-us-interests-76040261653

* "US servicemembers abroad at increased risk after Trump Iran attack:" http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow/watch/us-servicemembers-abroad-at-increased-risk-after-trump-iran-attack-76041285719

* "Shiite protests in Baghdad hold potential for conflict with U.S.:" http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow/watch/shiite-protests-in-baghdad-hold-potential-for-conflict-with-u-s-76041285774

* "Rice: Risks likely outweigh benefits of killing Qassem Soleimani:" http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow/watch/rice-risks-likely-outweigh-benefits-of-killing-qassem-soleimani-76039749935

* "Asymmetry of Iranian attacks makes defense difficult to plan for:" http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow/watch/asymmetry-of-iranian-attacks-makes-defense-difficult-to-plan-for-76039749887

* "‘No question there will be retaliation:’ Majd on Iran’s imminent response:" http://www.msnbc.com/all-in/watch/-no-question-there-will-be-retaliation-majd-on-iran-s-imminent-response-76038725694

* "Chris Hayes breaks down Soleimani's influence in the Middle East:" http://www.msnbc.com/all-in/watch/chris-hayes-breaks-down-soleimani-s-influence-in-the-middle-east-76039749564

* "Rep. Max Rose on the importance of diplomacy throughout history:" http://www.msnbc.com/all-in/watch/rep-max-rose-on-the-importance-of-diplomacy-throughout-history-76037189985

* "Australian Doctors Already Have Signs Up Saying They Won't Provide Contraception Or Pregnancy Terminations:" https://www.buzzfeed.com/ginarushton/religious-discrimination-bill-reproductive-conscientious

* "Anti-LGBTQ Iranian Regime Promises Retaliation Against U.S.:" https://www.advocate.com/world/2020/1/03/anti-lgbtq-iranian-regime-promises-retaliation-against-us

* "Boris Johnson adviser Dominic Cummings says Westminster doesn’t need any more ‘drivel’ about gender identity:" https://www.pinknews.co.uk/2020/01/03/dominic-cummings-boris-johnson-number-10-westminster-blog-job-post-gender-identity/

* "With Keir Starmer the current frontrunner for new Labour leader, here’s an in-depth look into his record on queer rights:" https://www.pinknews.co.uk/2020/01/03/keir-starmer-labour-leadership-contest-lgbt-rights/

* "John Barrowman claims he had to lie about his sexuality to get a mortgage with his husband:" https://www.pinknews.co.uk/2020/01/03/john-barrowman-husband-lie-sexuality-mortgage-loose-women/

* "US linguists select singular ‘they’ as word of the decade:" https://www.pinknews.co.uk/2020/01/04/word-of-the-decade-us-linguists-american-dialect-society-singular-they-them-pronouns-trans-non-binary/

* "Homophobe Bryan Fischer: 'The Nazi Party Started in a Gay Bar':" https://www.advocate.com/media/2020/1/03/homophobe-bryan-fischer-nazi-party-started-gay-bar

"In reality, gay people were persecuted in Nazi Germany and were among the marginalized groups sent to concentration camps. While Fischer acknowledged that gay men were killed in the Holocaust, he claimed that it was only feminine men who were targeted."

* "Republican politician introduces law to ban trans athletes from playing on teams that match their gender identity:" https://www.pinknews.co.uk/2020/01/03/republican-politician-introduces-law-ban-trans-athletes-playing-teams-gender-identity/

* "Republican politician refuses to apologise after somehow using homophobic slur in comment about church shooting:" https://www.pinknews.co.uk/2020/01/03/republican-politician-chris-rowe-refuses-apologise-homophobic-slur-resigns-locker-room-talk/

* Friday I got five scammer calls in the last hour and ten minutes before the alarm went off. Oky, technically, I don't know the first one was a scammer, but they were cold calling me for a "pledge drive" for an organization who's name they mumbled, so I'm assuming scam.

Thus instead of getting out with lots of extra time, I needed an extra nap and barely found parking in hobbling distance to forage before they closed. It was good I went as they had pistachios again and stockpiling them is well worth the pain.

Then it was off to do the worst of the in person bureaucracy. This is grueling at the best of times, but they contrived to make it so much worse by replacing the copier I could load a hopper and sit while it printed with one in a new location inaccessible to people in wheelchairs without help, where I a person in a huge amount of pain and damaging myself every second I am standing up, had to individually load, flip, and remove every piece of paper in the big ass stack I have to hand in. Did I mention that it feels like I have a knife bisecting my heel when I put any weight on it at all? Because it does. however, this saves them money since people can't steal copies as easily, so it is worth it to them. Ouch.

And then I still needed to replenish supplies after holiday baking and the fridge disaster now my EBT is in. Also where there was no parking, but it was right there and I can't afford to waste gas on a separate trip. By the time I got home, I was exhasted and horrible pain and struggling to breath. Squirrel was out, which meant carrying all the forage and groceries in myself. he turned up in time to carry the last bag and help me get them from patio to kitchen once I went around to open the door. Then putting it all away.

I am struggling to make it to and from the bathroom, but the lung treatment helped at least.

* "Evgenia Medvedeva SP Rostelecom Cup 2019 Moscow:"

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* "Alena Kostornaia's record-breaking short program at NHK Trophy:"

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* "Kévin Aymoz Short Program Championnat de France Elite Patinage 2018:"

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* "WC2019 Yuzuru HANYU SP:"

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* "Yuzuru Hanyu FS NHK Trophy 2019:"

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* The NHK Men's short program was pretty brutal. I feel really bad for poor Jason Brown who had a chance at the final after the way he skated in france, but pretty much fell apart here. I was heart broken for him. Hanyu, of course, skated like a god in both programs.

* If you are interested in helping with Livia's recovery, right now the Cat things we need are:
https://www.chewy.com/wellness-core-signature-selects/dp/147047

The dry food I was going to try is this one: https://www.chewy.com/blue-buffalo-wilderness-flatland/dp/176663

Or possibly this: https://www.chewy.com/instinct-by-natures-variety-limited/dp/44654

Alternately: Paypal Lethran@gmail.com or paypal.me/Gwydion

* "All The LGBTQ Books We Loved in 2019:" https://www.advocate.com/exclusives/2020/1/03/all-lgbtq-books-we-loved-2019

* I just rewatched he season one B5 episode with the disgraced Doctor and the alien healing/killing machine. Watching it, I realized that they were telling Dr. Franklin his future, giving him a warning. You really can see the advantages of having the whole five year arc pre-plotted.

Now I just rewatched the Nw Year's episode at the end of Season one when the seeds of the catastrophic great war are planted by assassination of a human leader and the death of so many Narn civilians. I just spent new a years watching much the same out here in reality....

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

* A small, cheap thing to help climate change if you have little money to spare: https://onetreeplanted.org/products/amazon-rainforest-peru

* How to donate to Rainbow Road: https://www.rainbowrailroad.com/donate

* Here are a bunch of state level links to help people in immigrant detention: https://taibhsearachd.tumblr.com/post/186058182962/woundability-this-4th-of-july-celebrate-the

* Angry about the concentration camps on our Southern Border? Here is a list of useful things you can do: https://medium.com/@togetherandfree/feel-helpless-amidst-the-horrific-immigration-news-youre-not-how-you-can-make-difference-today-108dc42de88e

* "More Organizations to Support Helping Kids in Concentration Camps:" https://thisfinecrew.dreamwidth.org/201920.html

* Here is a massive list of things you can do to help refugees inside and outside of the Camps: https://s-leary.tumblr.com/post/185783586806/so-youve-probably-seen-the-post-going-around

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

* The Indivisble guide exists to help you organize effective resistance: https://indivisible.org/

* Want to support Christy Smith in the primary for Katie Hill's seat?: https://secure.actblue.com/donate/dw_ca25

* Want to get rid of Mitch McConnell? Help Amy McGrath: https://secure.actblue.com/donate/am-website?refcode=website-nav

* Want to get rid of Lindsey Graham? Help Jaime Harrison: https://secure.actblue.com/donate/ms_harrison_fr_q12019_jaime-a?refcode=MS_AD_D-DD_2019.03.08_X_GG_KW__X__eyJjcmVhdGl2ZSI6IkFkZCBEb25hdGlvbiBOb3ciLCJhdWRpZW5jZSI6IkphaW1lSGFycmlzb24ifQ&recurring=TRUE&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIn4a_583I5gIVC8RkCh0MowFeEAAYASAAEgIXZfD_BwE

* Have something you want to tell your Congress Critters? If you can not protest in person, here are some other options:

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/

* Some RL friends of mine who were barely scraping by just lost one of the part time jobs they collectively hold and it's really fucking things up for them. These are good people, who do so much for others. Want to help? https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-a-gig-worker-get-through-the-winter/share

* HorrorMux is currently running a Max Mad type thing. Available Archetypes are here. I'm Martyr if you want to find me.: http://horrormu.com/index.php/Available

* Help pay for cat food, litter, meds, medical copays: Paypal Lethran@gmail.com or paypal.me/Gwydion

* If you are interested in helping, right now the Cat thing we need most is:
https://www.chewy.com/wellness-core-signature-selects/dp/147047

The dry food I was going to try is this one: https://www.chewy.com/blue-buffalo-wilderness-flatland/dp/176663

Or possibly this: https://www.chewy.com/instinct-by-natures-variety-limited/dp/44654

* Birthday/Solstice master list: https://gwydion.dreamwidth.org/2108835.html