Eric J. Korpela @SETIEric@social.cleverlibre.org

My mother-in-law who is immunocompromised was just told by HER DOCTOR to NOT get the New Covid Booster. He said he “knows someone” who had a stroke after getting it… FU@K!!! This is the world we live in today!!!🤦🏻

I definitely need to explain this better to people who aren’t American, because it’s reading like a callous joke - and it’s really completely honest and serious dark humor. Let me explain what happens when I rate a person down for unsafe rideshare driving in America:

They’re probably immediately banned from driving for the service, and they’re not paid for the (lengthy in my case) ride or tip, so no money that evening, and they now need to find a new job. In this economy.

Most people in America live paycheck to paycheck. Now no money is coming for them or their family that day. They have no safety net of savings.

Most rideshare drivers don’t have the most basic protections as employees they general American workers do. They may not qualify for unemployment quickly or at all. Either way they aren’t getting any food, shelter, or money immediately. They own or lease expensive cars, too.

If you don’t get food or rent assistance through those convoluted and hard to qualify for assistance programs, you’re pretty much dependent on charities with resources that week that do or do not deem you and your family godly enough to help. Unhoused people are all over in most US cities because there just are not enough resources or eligibility.

That’s the math empathetic Americans do every time we choose how to rate or tip service workers. Especially gig workers at unscrupulous companies. It’s legitimately- “ha ha… I could die, but this driver has little kids who need to eat and I don’t… ha… ha…”

I hope that explains.

The cheese has flipped.

This is yuge.

Scale on 1-10 how screwed is Trump?

Chesebro gets five years probation and a $5,000 fine for his part in dismantling our republic. …And he lives in Puerto Rico. Justice was not meted out in his plea deal. The damage he wrought is immeasurable. He should be housed in a jail cell for the rest of his natural life.

Why can’t we do that “man without a country” dealio where we strip their citizenship, put those traitors on a boat and send them out to sea?

Speaking of support for Hamas, let’s ask what Netanyahu was doing all this time:

“Anyone who wants to thwart the establishment of a Palestinian state has to support bolstering Hamas and transferring money to Hamas. This is a part of our strategy.” - Netanyahu to Likud members, 2019

https://www.thenation.com/article/world/gaza-war-facts-misnformation/tnamp/

I am told that my second novel STARTIDE RISING - which kind of launched my career and won all the awards - dolphins in spaces - will have its e-version available tomorrow (Friday) on most sites for $1.99.

http://www.davidbrin.com/startiderising.html

If you have a 23andMe profile, it is possible that you have been affected by their latest data breach. Just to be safe, you should take a minute now to change your DNA.

I once had a white South African roommate. The things she said, like "it was a fair split of land," "they destroyed their part bc they're savages," "we had to protect ourselves from their violence," I was only 19 and knew it was bullshit. What's the excuse of educated adults now?

God-fucking-damn.

Just… the contrast between the two posts. One is a babbling buffoon speaking like a total moron, the other is an educated human pointing out facts and making an argument.

I can’t get over how perfect this exchange is.

"One war crime is not met by another. That’s the path to hell, which is precisely the path we’re on now."

“American indulgence has done a terrible disservice to Israeli public choices and Israeli political decision-making. I would certainly draw a causal line from there to the hubris and the dismissive way that Israel has dealt with the Palestinian issue.”

#Israel
#Palestine
#USA

https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2023/10/daniel-levy-q-and-a-impact-of-united-states-support-for-israel-gaza-hamas/

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) says that Gaza #water "rations are down to 1 liter of water per person per day to cover drinking and all other needs."

For context, the minimum survival needs are ~5 liters per person per day, just for drinking, not including sanitation, cooking, cleaning, bathing.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/live-blog/israel-hamas-war-live-updates-rcna120545?s=09#rcrd21578

This is America.

Geez.

Via Josh Marshall:

at some point people will realize that having an electoral movement which routinely threatens to kill its opponents is a major problem.

Juliegrace Brufke:

Per a senior GOP source, “Ferguson told the conference that he‘s had to have a sheriff stationed at his daughter’s school over death threats from the far right. Also one at his house.” #JimJordan

Starting Friday, the students at Menomonee Falls High School won't have access to Margaret Atwood's "The Handmaid's Tale" or Kurt Vonnegut's "Slaughterhouse-Five." These and 30 others are being pulled from the shelves tomorrow.

https://wausaupilotandreview.com/2023/10/19/menomonee-falls-school-district-removing-more-than-30-book-titles-from-high-school-library/

WTH is wrong with Cornel West. I used to value his opinions when I saw him on MSNBC. Such a disappointment. He says “brother Harlan Crow”. Is he oblivious to what Clarence Thomas has done and his bromance with Harlan Crow.

#xTwitter #Twitter #Politics

An old post, but one which I think a few men of Mastodon could perhaps do with reading.

Tl;dr - I understand if you can't share my work (not everyone can!), but don't use my blog posts as a springboard to initiate long conversations with me via private message. You don't have to *help* me, but please try not to *hinder* me.

https://www.girlonthenet.com/blog/letter-guys-essays/