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queenie-says-free-palestine · 7 months

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helpful links to support palestine - this could save lives.

decolonize palestine - extremely helpful website which helps debunk myths, answers faqs, and provides other helpful resources

middle east eye - provides news about palestine, especially concerning the conflict

human rights watch - provides reports about the human rights situation in palestine/israel

palestine remembered - preserves the memory of what palestine was like before the nakba

bbc the key questions - link to an article addressing key questions abt the conflict

palestine is - website w a resource library and learning modules to correct misrepresentation of the conflict

history.com - link to an article detailing the nakba

al-shabaka - somewhat of a think tank dedicated to palestine

electronic intifada - online chicago-based news publication providing a palestinian perspective on the conflict

adalah justice project - an israeli organization trying to protect the human rights of palestinians living under occupation

imeu fundraiser - shares stories of the palestinian struggle for freedom

medical aid for palestinians - british charity that advocates for palestinians' rights to health and dignity (donate here)

palestine children’s relief fund - an organization that locates free medical care in the united states and europe for children in the middle east (esp palestinians) who dont have access to good healthcare

addameer - non government organization that helps support palestinians who are imprisoned in israel, provides free legal aid to political prisoners, advocates their rights, and works to "end torture and other violations of prisoners' rights through monitoring, legal procedures and solidarity campaigns"

muslim aid - uk based islamic non government organisation that works to support people suffering through poverty, war, or natural disasters using emergency relief and sustainable programmes. prominently offer their help in the palestinian territories

palestine red crescent - humanitarian organization that provide hospitals, emergency medicine and ambulance services, and primary health care centers in the west bank and gaza strip

gaza mutual aid collective - fundraising group for gaza (their patreon to donate is here)

united nations relief and works agency for palestine refugees in the near east - un agency that supports the relief and human development of palestinian refugees (the only un agency that helps a specific nationality of refugees)

palestine solidarity campaign - activist organization in england and wales that arranges protests and boycotts israeli goods

help with a click - all you have to do is go to the link and click. its completely free, but every click helps deliver support to palestinian families

#free palestine #helpful links #save palestine #from the river to the sea palestine will be free

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jessicamessicavillageofspillage · 5 months

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Apparently transpeople will also die from the inaccurate recording of Sex within statistics

The collection of data on a person’s sex – that is, whether they are male or female – has become controversial in recent years, and a number of public bodies have moved away from collecting data on sex as a result. For example, Scotland’s chief statistician recently issued guidance stating that data on sex should only be collected in exceptional circumstances. This move has been greeted with alarm by quantitative social scientists who believe that data on sex is vitally important and that data on both gender identity and sex is needed.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) was also embroiled in controversy when it proposed to guide respondents to the 2021 England and Wales census that they may answer the sex question in terms of their subjective gender identity, rather than their sex. This was despite the fact that the 2021 census also included a new separate question on gender identity. The ONS was forced to change its proposed guidance on the sex question by a judicial review and went on to advise that people should answer the first question to reflect their legal sex. The Scottish census authorities have been criticised for disregarding the implications of that judgment.

Statistics on employment, health, crime and education have all been affected by this trend.

The Government Equalities Office has issued guidance to employers who are legally bound to report on their gender pay gap to provide data on their employees’ gender identity, not their sex, and to exclude employees who “do not identify as ‘men’ or ‘women’” from the data. This makes it impossible to assess whether natal males who identify as trans or non-binary may have different labour-market experiences from natal females who identify as trans or non-binary. Yet non-binary or transgender identification may not protect females from discrimination, for example, on the basis of pregnancy or maternity or the perceived risk of becoming pregnant.

The NHS decides who to call for routine medical screenings based on the gender marker a person has recorded with their GP rather than their sex as recorded as birth. The NHS’s failure to record biological sex on patient records has led to trans patients not being called in for screening for conditions that may affect them due to their sex, such as ovarian cancer or prostate cancer. If trans patients are not screened for such conditions, the consequences are potentially fatal. The use of gender identity rather than sex has also led to confusion for some trans patients attempting to use sexual health services.

Freedom of information requests have revealed that multiple police forces in England now record crimes by male suspects as committed by women if the perpetrator requests to be recorded as such. Even small numbers of cases misclassified in this way can lead to substantial bias in crime statistics.

Differences between the sexes are an important factor for analysis in most, if not all, of the areas that social and health scientists address. Sex, alongside age, is a fundamental demographic variable, vital for projections regarding fertility and life expectancy. Sex has systematic effects on physical health and is also linked to mental health. And the importance of sex extends to all aspects of social life, including employment, education and crime.

We know that many differences between the sexes have changed dramatically over time – education and labour market participation are two examples. Without consistent data on sex, social scientists would not be able to track this change over time or to understand whether efforts to improve the representation of women and girls in domains where they are underrepresented have been effective.

We have been losing data on sex, as public sector bodies have switched to collecting data on gender identity instead. But the tide may have turned. The UK Statistics Authority has recently published guidance that recommends that “sex, age and ethnic group should be routinely collected and reported in all administrative data and in-service process data, including statistics collected within health and care settings and by police, courts and prisons”. It also says data producers should clearly distinguish between concepts such as sex, gender and gender identity.

Both people’s material circumstances and their identities are important to their lives. We know that sex matters, and we have much to learn about the ways in which gender identity matters, too. Rather than removing data on sex, we should collect data on both sex and gender identity, in order to develop a better understanding of the influence of both of these factors and the intersection between them.

Original article in The Conversation

Professor Alice Sullivan’s academic profile

UCL Social Research Institute

#social science #data #Erasure of equality measures for everyone #radblr #radical feminism

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workersolidarity · 6 days

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[ 📹 Scenes from destruction evident in the Nuseirat Refugee Camp, in the central Gaza Strip, following a week of Israeli occupation ground operations and non-stop bombardment of the camp, destroying the vast majority of the camp's residential buildings.]

🇮🇱⚔️🇵🇸 🚀🏘️💥🚑 🚨

CARNAGE IN THE GAZA STRIP CONTINUES AS ISRAELI OCCUPATION TARGETS NUSEIRAT CAMP BEFORE PLANNED ATTACK ON RAFAH

On the 196th day of "Israel's" ongoing special genocide operation in the Gaza Strip, the Israeli occupation forces (IOF) committed a total of 4 new massacres of Palestinian families, resulting in the deaths of no less than 42 citizens, mostly women and children, while another 63 others were wounded over the previous 24-hours.

The Palestinian Ministry of Health stated on Friday that over 730'000 Palestinian citizens of Gaza, in particular the north of the enclave, suffer from a severe lack of healthcare services and accused the Zionist occupation of deliberately destroying Gaza's healthcare system.

In the meantime, at a meeting of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), the United States vetoed a resolution which would have granted full membership status at the United Nations for the State of Palestine.

The Security Council overwhelmingly supported the measure to induct Palestine into the United Nations with full statehood rights, with 12 member-states voting in favor, two abstaining (UK and Switzerland), and only the United States voting against the resolution, vetoing the measure.

In other news, a battalion commander with the IOF announced on Thursday while speaking with his Battalion's soldiers, that the Israeli occupation army would be entering Rafah following the end of the current ground operation concentrated on the outskirts of the Al-Nuseirat Refugee Camp, in the central Gaza Strip.

Meanwhile, the Israeli occupation army's 162nd military division said it had completed its ground operation inside the Nuseirat Camp, which lasted about a week, as occupation warplanes hammered the camp with endless airstrikes. The occupation army also attempted to isolate the two halves of the Gaza Strip from one another and prevented displaced Palestinians from returning to their homes in the north of the enclave.

The Commander of the Israeli occupation forces' 932nd battalion said that following the end of its ground operations on the outskirts of the Nuseirat Camp, “We are going to Rafah, and the people of Israel are counting on you to implement this in the best way, as in Nuseirat, Zaytoun, and Burj al-Tuffah, and as in Al-Shifa (hospital), so in Rafah as well," portending future mass massacres of Palestinian civilians in the city of Rafah.

Elsewhere in Gaza, the carnage continued with the Israeli occupation forces renewing intense airstrikes targeting the Al-Shati Refugee Camp, west of Gaza City, in the northern Gaza Strip.

According to local reporting, at least four Palestinian were killed, and several others wounded, after Zionist occupation fighter jets bombed a residential home belonging to the Al-Sir family, which at the time of the bombardment was sheltering displaced Palestinians, including members of the Abu Jiyab family in the Al-Shati refugee camp.

At the same time, IOF warplanes bombed a residential building in the Sheikh Radwan neighborhood, north of Gaza City, resulting in the deaths of five Palestinian civilians and wounding a number of others. Victims were transported to the Arab al-Ahli Hospital, also in Gaza City.

Similarly, occupation forces bombed 10th Street, south of Gaza City.

Yet another occupation airstrike targeted in the vicinity of the Al-Shati Camp, west of Gaza City, killing one Palestinian civilian and wounding at least three others.

In another bit of horrific news, the decomposing corpses of about 30 Palestinians were discovered in two mass graves dug in the courtyard of the Al-Shifa medical complex, in the Al-Rimal neighborhood of Gaza City, including the bodies of women and the elderly, while the fates of roughly 1'000 Palestinians who were present in the hospital during the Israeli raid remain unknown at this time.

Israeli occupation warplanes also bombed several sites in Beit Lahia, in the northern Gaza Strip.

At the same time, Zionist soldiers opened gunfire on displaced Palestinians east of Jabalia, in the north of Gaza, martyring three civilians and wounding several others.

Elsewhere in Gaza, Zionist occupation aircraft bombarded a civilian residence belonging to the Qishlan family in the New Camp area of the Nuseirat Refugee Camp, in the central Gaza Strip, after which, local paramedic and civil defense crews retrieved the bodies of two Palestinians killed in the strike. The bodies of the dead were taken to nearby Al-Awda Hospital in the camp.

As a result of a previous IOF airstrike, which targeted a tent belonging to the Ayyad family, east of Rafah City, in the southern Gaza Strip, the death toll rose to 11 overnight as victims succumbed to their injuries.

In the Khan Yunis Governate, local civil defense personnel managed to recover the decomposing bodies of four civilians from various areas of the city over the last day, while paramedic crews from the north of the Nuseirat Camp, in central Gaza, recovered the bodies of another 9 martyrs following the withdrawal of occupation forces from the area.

Additionally, warplanes with the Israeli occupation army bombed several sites in the Al-Mughraqa area, in the central Gaza Strip, wounding several citizens, while another young man was murdered by the bullets of the Israeli occupation's snipers east of Deir al-Balah, also in central Gaza.

As a result of "Israel's" ongoing special genocide operation in the Gaza Strip, the death toll among the population of Gaza now exceeds 34'012 Palestinians killed, including over 14'560 children and 9'582 women, while another 76'833 others have been wounded since the start of the current round of Zionist aggression, beginning with the events of October 7th, 2023.

April 19th, 2024

#source1

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#videosource

@WorkerSolidarityNews

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beardedmrbean · 1 year

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Is there like a cultural reason why male circumcision is so popular in the US? I'm from Brazil where it's just seen as the treatment for phimosis, and when I hear about babies getting it I think "oh so they're jewish". But apparently non-jews do that frequently in your country?

Gonna start out with this so that the people that already know can get a laugh first.

I promise you it's relevant too. found a couple infographics that will cover it in a much less drawn out way than I would

Admittedly he was not advocating for infant genital mutilation, not that that makes it any better especially since he specifically stated no anesthesia, but people figured why not when they're infants I'd guess.

There's a bit of a different take on it here.

First, it helps to know a bit of history. Although religious practitioners have been snipping foreskins for thousands of years, the medical practice dates from the late 19th century—a time when the causes of most diseases were poorly understood. Mystified by everything from epilepsy to madness, some physicians in both America and England began to suspect that the real trouble was phimosis, a condition when an overly tight foreskin hinders normal function. By removing the foreskin, surgeons believed they could heal all sorts of maladies, from hernias to lunacy.

Around the turn of the 20th century, American epidemiologists were also trying to explain why Jews lived longer than other groups of people. Jews tended to have lower rates of infectious diseases, such as syphilis and tuberculosis, in part because they had little sexual contact with non-Jews. But some scientists began to suspect their rude health was a product of circumcision.

At the time, surgical interventions of all kinds were becoming more popular, owing to better anesthesia and greater concern over cleanliness, which reduced hospital contagion. Doctors began recommending the operation as part of the neonatal routine. Not only did the procedure prevent phimosis, but it was also believed to make the penis more hygienic and less tempting for wayward masturbating boys (a notion that might have been quashed by something known as the scientific method). As David Gollaher explains in his book Circumcision: A History of the World’s Most Controversial Surgery, a circumcised penis swiftly became a mark of distinction, a sign of good breeding, sound hygiene and the best medicine money could buy.

In Britain, too, circumcision became a habit of the upper classes, including the royal family. Anyone who could afford to have a child delivered by a doctor rather than a midwife was keen to heed the latest scientific advice.

But this changed in the UK with the launch of the publicly funded National Health Service in 1948. Because British doctors could not agree that circumcision was necessary, the practice was not covered. At a time when most Brits were financially strapped, few cared to pay for something that suddenly seemed frivolous. Circumcision rates swiftly dropped.

In America, however, the postwar boom years created a glut of jobs, and employers often wooed workers with plush health benefits, which typically covered circumcision. A growing number of Americans could suddenly afford to give birth in hospitals, and routine infant circumcisions spiked.

This helped entrench an elective medical practice, creating generations of foreskinless fathers and doctors who were inclined to believe it was best for their sons, too. It is a trend that America’s unwieldy fee-for-service health-care handily reinforces, as doctors and hospitals have incentives for offering interventions deemed unnecessary most everywhere else.

___________

not sure how much I agree with the greed section, but this one also looks to reinforce that Kellogg has some responsibility for it as well.

There's similar weirdness when it comes to graham crackers too, trying to stop masturbation and all.

#anonymous

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saintmeghanmarkle · 1 month

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Allegedly and Pure Speculation from Benjamin Smallbook on Quora Tonight - Its Time We Turned Up The Heat in the Markle Kitchen. Is this plausible? Is our Saint angering British Media to the Brink? by u/daisybeach23

Allegedly and Pure Speculation from Benjamin Smallbook on Quora Tonight - “It’s Time We Turned Up The Heat in the Markle Kitchen.” Is this plausible? Is our Saint angering British Media to the Brink? From Quora:Journalists at one of the UK’s top news agencies are getting together with colleagues at France’s biggest agency, Agence France Press, to put pressure on Markle and her husband, to come clean about the kids that nobody can mention. I believe, but have no firm evidence of this, other than whispers, that the Anglo-French media operation is being supported by the Palace.Clearly the Palace feels that enough is enough. Maybe they think that now is the time to regroup, and introduce Eugenia and Beatrice as A-lister working Royals. The recent health scares in the Family seems to have focused the minds of the ‘men in grey suits’ at the Palace.The awful news is soon to be released that the Princess of Wales has been suffering from an undisclosed form of cancer. The new direction, with a new start, doesn’t need any distraction from the duplicitous actress and her husband.Press-releases have flown from Montecito, and they have angered those who have been gagged.One press-release told, “The Duchess of Sussex has instructed Jake Rosenberg, a New York-based photographer, to take pictures of Prince Archie and his sister Princess Lilibet. The photoshoot will coincide with the launch of the Duchess’s lifestyle and cookery brand, American Riviera Orchard.”But what angered people was the sentence, “The photos of the children will be for our own family, and not distributed for general use.”What game is this woman playing? And what stupidity is the public displaying by going along with this idiotic charade?No births have ever been officially medically verified, and her pregnancies were suspect, to say the least. Remember, Markle and her dipsy husband lied to us about the birth of the ‘Archie Doll’. Their announcement stated The Actress was in labour, when in reality, the ‘child’ had already been born! And when Harry was filmed holding a baby which was supposedly only two hours old, he said, “It’s surprising how babies change in the first two weeks.” What the hell was that all about?The late Queen would have been informed by her own security services, long before the immaculate birth took place! It would be naïve to think otherwise. At the same time, the media would have been issued with a gagging order. From that day on, none of the UK national publications mentioned ‘surrogacy, Markle and fake pregnancy’ in the same sentence. In fact, they couldn’t even announce that a gagging order was in place.Even the birth certificates were suspect, as was the non-naming of the Godparents. The paparazzi were out in force, but not one picture emerged of any cars leaving or driving back to Frogmore Cottage. This is one big scam that hopefully will be busted very soon.Rumours as to why the Royal Family is going along with this, are rife. Blackmail and ‘playing the race card’ are top of the list. The Royal Family is as white as white can be, and the despicable woman knows it. She also knows what she’s doing. post link: https://ift.tt/jBsziPG author: daisybeach23 submitted: March 23, 2024 at 06:09AM via SaintMeghanMarkle on Reddit disclaimer: all views + opinions expressed by the author of this post, as well as any comments and reblogs, are solely the author's own; they do not necessarily reflect the views of the administrator of this Tumblr blog. For entertainment only.

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spiritualdirections · 10 days

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England's National Health Service to stop offering gender transitions to adolescents

Britain's NHS has accepted the recommendations by Dr. Hilary Cass and her team of researchers, after a four-year study, which showed that the "gender affirming care" for adolescents with gender dysphoria was not working and should be replaced by normal psychological therapies.

Here's a summary:

"The concept of 'gender-affirming care' – the notion that the doctors must accept children’s declarations of identity at face value and must assist them in gender change as early as possible– actually originated in the United States, and only then spread internationally.

"The Cass Report provides a scathing assessment of the gender-affirming approach in general, and the gender-clinic model of care, which operationalized this approach of on-demand provision of gender-reassignment interventions, in particular. Going forward, England will treat gender dysphoric youth <18 using standard psychological and psychotherapeutic approaches, with very few young people receiving endocrine gender reassignment interventions (gender-transition surgeries for <18s have never been allowed in England). Further, the review noted that the group of young adults 18-25 is subject to many of the same concerns as the <18s, and recommended that the new regional “hubs” being set up to help gender dysphoric youth be expanded to include patients up to 25 years old.

"NHS England (NHSE) welcomed the Cass Report's recommendations and expressed a firm commitment to implement the recommended changes. However, NHSE went one major step further, announcing that they will be initiating a Cass-style review into the adult gender dysphoria clinics (GDCs) in England. NHSE had already decided to bring forward to 2024 its periodic review of the adult 'service specifications,' which set out what clinical services adult clinics provide; as a consequence of Cass’ recommendations, they are additionally launching a much broader review of the entire adult gender clinic system. This was in part due to the concerns raised by the Cass review that a vulnerable group of 17-25-year-olds (who can access adult GDCs) represents fundamentally the same group of youth as the <18s, and needs similar protections from non-evidence-based practices. Further, whistleblower complaints from adult clinics corroborated concerns that vulnerable adults were not receiving proper evidence-based care. The refusal by all but one adult gender clinic to cooperate in the outcome analysis for the 9,000 patients as part of the Cass review likely contributed to NHSE’s determination to investigate the adult service. Adult gender dysphoria clinics see patients aged 17 and upwards, and NHSE has written to require them to halt appointments with 17-year-olds.

"In summary, the care for <18s in England will no longer be based on the 'gender-affirming' model of care but instead will treat youth with gender distress similarly to how it treats youth with other developmental struggles. Further, with the announcement of the adult gender clinic review, England starts a new chapter in the history of gender medicine, with a new focus on vulnerable gender-dysphoric young adults.

"Many more developments are expected from England in the coming months. To what extent the UK changes will impact the West’s approach to helping young gender-dysphoric individuals remains to be seen. In SEGM’s view, the impact will likely be significant, even if delayed, as other countries contend with England’s findings and their implications for evidence-based clinical practice."

Read the original report here: https://cass.independent-review.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/CassReview_Final.pdf

Read the National Health Service's response here: https://www.england.nhs.uk/2024/04/nhs-england-responds-to-the-publication-of-the-independent-review-of-gender-identity-services-for-children-and-young-people/

Source:

https://segm.org/Final-Cass-Report-2024-NHS-Response-Summary

#transgender #gender ideology #gender dysphoria

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ukftm · 5 months

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Pretty urgent:

I finally reached the medical team at Sandyford and a request was put to my GP to do my blood tests. My appointment was booked for tomorrow morning, and they’ve just called me at 5pm to cancel and tell me that Sandyford need to do the bloods themselves. Can the GP refuse to do the blood test if it was ordered by an NHS service? And what can I do?

Hi Anon,

No your GP has no reason to cancel this, especially at the request of the GIC.

Contact your GP surgery and ask for the SPECIFIC reason why they are refusing to do your bloods? Then say “so to confirm you are refusing me treatment?” Then tell them you know that the general medical council clearly state: “GPs must co-operate with gender identity clinics and specialists to provide effective and timely treatment for trans and non-binary people.” (Link below). Then you say I also know that if a GP does refuse treatment, they must provide the SPECIFIC reason IN WRITING. Then you say as your GP is refusing you treatment without giving this in writing and is clearly acting out of discrimination and personal bias you will report them to your local NHS board or the general medical council.

They should hopefully totally back down at this stage as they know you have done your research. So you then say you want an appointment as soon as possible to get your bloods done and if you come up against any further issues like this you will take this to the GMC.

If they continue to refuse tell them you want to make an official complaint as you are being refused treatment because of your transgender identity. Take their name and the name of the GP that is refusing you treatment.

Tell them you will also now make a complaint to your local NHS board on grounds of gender discrimination and will be informing the GMC as that they are refusing you treatment, especially when this comes directly at the request of the GIC.

More and more GPs are doing things like this and there are no grounds for this other than PERSONAL opinion. Situations like this are simply a GP hoping you won’t know your rights and hoping you won’t take this any further.

You may also find this link helpful on getting help from the Patient Advice and Support Service:

https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/scotland/health/nhs-healthcare-s/nhs-patients-rights-s/#:~:text=If%20this%20happens%2C%20you%20should,Support%20Service%20for%20more%20help.

I have also attached the General Medical Councils guidelines for GPs so you can quote this when you are on the phone and can take this further. This is just one section of it:

Doctors personal beliefs:

Doctors may practise medicine in accordance with their beliefs, provided that they act in accordance with relevant legislation and:

do not treat patients unfairly

***do not deny patients access to appropriate medical treatment or services***

do not cause patients distress.

#testosterone #GP

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ecologyalike · 10 months

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Debt at the heart of the growth paradigm

Before industrialization, much of the world’s population lived in a society with very low per capita economic growth rates. In the 1930’s with the invention of econometrics, economic growth became a symbol of a modern state, and an aspirational goal of the nation to demonstrate progress in comparison to other nations.

However, sustained economic growth comes with an immense social and ecological cost. There is little doubt that increasing pollution and waste generated by the growth economies threaten the well-being of future generations. Likewise, the overuse of the world’s natural resources is eliminating the possibility of people in the majority world achieving the same levels of income as people in high-income countries.

Photo by Alexander Grey on Unsplash

If the problems of the hegemony of growth are obvious, what is creating a “growth trap” so hard to escape?

In today’s economy money is primarily created through the issuance of loans by the private banking sector. Most of the money circulating in the economy is created by private banks. When a person gets a mortgage to buy a new home, the bank creates a deposit account with an equivalent amount of money in the ledger (no new money is printed). However, this deposit is equivalent to other types of money, in fact over 99% of total transactions by value in the UK are bank deposits! Only a fraction of the money is physical cash created by the state.

The problem with this type of money production is that we need to maintain a high level of loans to have money circulating in the economy. Understanding how money is created in the modern economy, and the role of debt in the process of money creation, helps to understand one of the key obstacles to escaping the hegemony of growth.

At the individual level, dept economy means that people must constantly work more than they consume, to be able to pay back their loans. Having a shorter working week, and earning less, is not an option if one needs to pay back a home mortgage or student loan. It is difficult to reduce private debt in the absence of growth.

Likewise, in the non-growing economy, the country governments struggle to pay down their public debt and may need to cut spending on education, health care or other social services. Particularly low and middle-income countries, with large debts issued in foreign currency, are often unable to invest in public infrastructure without taking more loans.

In the worst case to manage their loan payments to international creditors, they must resort to privatising the state assets such as electricity production or drinking water, exposing these “public goods” under speculation of private markets, and making them too expensive to most of the people in the country.

If all loans would be paid back, there would not be money in the economy.

Dept drives growth, which in turn is necessary to avoid financial crises. High levels of public debt mean that growth is the only option to manage the loan without hurting the people living in the country. Likewise, high levels of private debt mean that people have no option other than to continue to contribute their labour to the growth economy.

However, in the current financial system, private banks continue to issue new loans for profit, without any consideration of whether these loans contribute to the economy operating within planetary boundaries or advance equality and social justice.

And while banks and asset mangers cash in profits, the circle of more debt and demands for more growth goes on and on and on….

References

Escaping Growth Dependency – Why reforming money will reduce the need to pursue economic growth at any cost to the environment by PositiveMoney

https://positivemoney.org/publications/escaping-growth-dependency/

Sovereign Money - An Introduction by Ben Dyson, Graham Hodgson and Frank van Lerven

https://www.insearchofsteadystate.org/downloads/Sovereign-Money,-An-Introduction-Dyson-Positive-Money-2016.pdf

#debt #degrowth #economy #money

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coochiequeens · 2 years

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Dear TQ+ whatever your pronouns are - You do NOT have to be included in everything. You do NOT have to be centered in everything. You already have organizations just for you.

Trans activists are furious after a UK-based charity announced it had been granted funding to create a new helpline for lesbian, gay and bisexual young people.

On June 10, LGB Alliance announced on their social media pages that they had been awarded funding from the National Lottery Community Fund in an effort to establish a helpline to support lesbian, gay and bisexual young people. The Alliance was founded in 2019 in opposition to Stonewall’s stance on gender identity issues, specifically that of medically transitioning children, which the Alliance argues is a form of gay “conversion therapy.”

According to the organization, the recently-announced helpline effort aims to support persons aged 13-25, as well as their family and friends, by facilitating up to 60,000 calls per year.

In their announcement on Twitter, LGB Alliance state that the phone lines will be operated by a fully-trained staff of professionals.

LGB Alliance went on to state that there is currently no “dedicated national service of this type for LGB young people” and that they helpline will help fill a gap in existing provisions.

Speaking with Reduxx, Kate Barker, the Managing Director of LGB Alliance, said that the charity was “thrilled” to receive the funding.

“This grant was the culmination of months of work by a brilliant team of volunteers who were truly delighted by the news. We believe young lesbian, gay and bisexual people deserve to know that being same-sex attracted is natural,” Barker said.

“[LGB young people] should be able to speak to someone who accepts them just as they are – their bodies and who they are attracted to. We say, unequivocally, you’re amazing and being same-sex attracted is valid, positive and to be celebrated.”

While women’s rights advocates and LGB people expressed excitement at the news, trans activists immediately slammed the decision as ‘transphobic’ and ‘exclusionary’ as the focus would not be on transgender-identified people.

“This is harmful. LGB is nothing without the T. @LottoGoodCauses do us a good cause and support trans lives just as much as others.” User @domvlogs user said in response to the funding announcement.

“There is something deeply sinister about groups that aim to protect marginalized social groups but pointedly NOT trans people. Especially children. That is so despicable,” wrote another.

One Twitter user even went so far as to state that the helpline was “going to kill kids,” with the tweet receiving over 24,000 ‘likes’ at the time of this writing.

Multiple helpline services currently exist in the UK which support LGB, transgender, and “queer” people. One such example is Switchboard, which has been in operation since 1975. Specific helpline services exclusively for trans people are also available, such as Mindline Trans which “is an emotional and mental health support helpline for anyone identifying as transgender, non-binary, genderfluid.”

Despite similar services existing that specifically support those with issues relating to gender identity, trans activists have begun pushing back against the National Lottery Community Funds decision to grand LGB Alliance funding, and have launched a campaign urging people to file complaints in an effort to get the grant pulled.

One activist, Kieran James, posted a copy of his complaint on social media. The message read: “I beg you to reconsider this decision, taking into account the profound distress, anxiety and fear of the LGBTQ+ community that such a blatantly exclusionary project could be allowed to exist.”

Rob McDowall, chair of Welfare Scotland, also stated that he would be “raising concerns” with the National Lottery Community Fund over this decision.

Reacting to the backlash, Kate Barker says, “whilst the response from LGB people was overwhelmingly positive, we were disappointed by others who appear to be vehemently anti-choice.”

Barker points out that there are many existing specialized support services for people with specific gender identifications, but none exclusively for same-sex attracted youth.

“The view that lesbian, gay and bisexual young people should be denied the same opportunity to be helped smacks of homophobia.”

Barker’s sentiment was shared by many, some of whom took to the National lottery Community Fund’s Twitter replies to thank them for supporting the initiative.

“It’s 2022 and homophobes are giving LGB Alliance a hard time. They deserve the money to do what they do to help support [same sex attracted] people. Thank you for the support”, one user wrote.

See rest of article

And this is a link to trans/ non-binary/ whatever organizations in the UK

#lgb alliance #uk #Trans people upset because they aren’t being centered

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revcleo · 10 months

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June in the UK is technically Gypsies, Travellers and Roma History Month but all our months tend to get supersceded by American history months, so while it's not June any more here's some useful information for people on the British GTR Communities:

Despite only making up an estimated 0.1-0.5% of the population in England and Wales, Gypsy, Roma and Traveller people make up:

6% of the Prison Population

15% of children in secure training units

8% of children in Young Offender Insitutes

Gypsy, Roma and Traveller people are more likely to face harsher sentences, and experience difficulties with employment and accommodation on release.

The overuse of punishment as discipline towards Gypsy, Roma and Traveller children, means that they are at higher risk of coming into contact with the Criminal Justice System as adults.

It doesn’t have to be this way. Tackling the root cause can pave the way for a kinder, fairer future. Schools can invest in understanding and teaching about Gypsy, Roma and Traveller cultures, and work with parents to build a trusting and nonjudgemental relationship.

Rather than over policing families who have nowhere else to go, local authorities should establish temporary stopping places, allowing families to rest without fear of retribution.

(stopping places are places where people can park their caravans for a while before travelling onwards, negotiated stopping is something local authorities can do to ensure that people have a place to stop where their services will be looked after and waste will be collected)

There are a bunch of traditionally travelling communties in the UK which include: Romany Gypsy, Irish Traveller, Roma, New Travellers, Liveaboard Boater/Bargee and Showmen communities.

Short explainations of these groups can be found here: https://travellermovement.org.uk/gypsy-roma-and-traveller-history-and-culture

These are all separate groups who are affected by the same issues, many people from outside the UK might confuse Romany people with Roma people, while they share a history Roma people tend to have arrived within the last 100 years, and Romany Gypsies have been in the UK for over 500 years.

#GTR #Gypsies travellers and roma #GTR history month

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traumacatholic · 5 months

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Praying for you right now. Currently going through a lot of health scares with no health insurance and no clue what to do. Hoping God can provide us with relief in any type of way. God bless ❤️

God bless you, and I'm sorry you're having to deal with health scares on top of the struggles of trying to access support without insurance.

I don't have any real knowledge of the American healthcare system because I'm from the UK, so I might be repeating some things that you've already looked through. But just incase:

So it seems that Non-Profit care centres are a thing. Where they offer free or low cost support even if you're not insured. They may also be able to offer you some advice on the kinds of resources you might be able to access, even if you can't access them. It might be worth looking into non profit care centres in your area (or that you can feasibly get to) and research the kind of treatment and care that they can provide. While looking, I did find a site called https://www.freeclinics.com/. I'm not sure how trustworthy it is, but at the very least it does provide different care centres that you can use as a stepping stone for research.

It seems that state healthcare might be able to provide access to some forms of support if you meet their eligibility. I'm not sure exactly what the eligibility criteria is or whether they could provide the particular support you're needing. But again it might be worth checking out and getting in contact with them to see what they can advise. They might at the very least be particularly well versed in recommending some resources that you can access: https://www.usa.gov/state-health.

Reach out to local Churches too. They likely have a lot of experience with dealing with people in similar situations, and may be able to offer you some guidance and support in some capacity. Don't feel like you just have to reach out to the local Church that you attend though, feel free to reach out to other ones. You don't have to give them your religious background, but you could just say that you're in need of help and as a Church you trust that they could provide you with some guidance and prayers.

Urgent Care Centers provide treatment for non-life threatening conditions that still require urgent care for free or low cost, including to those without insurance. Often they will have their prices listed on the website. You can also get in touch with them to find out if going to one of them would be suitable. There's a directory you can access here https://urgentcarelist.com/directory/

I'm not sure what health scares you're experiencing but local pharmacies will often provide free basic healthcare checks. Such as blood pressure checking, screenings for certain conditions etc. Have a look into local pharmacies and see what kind of support they might be able to provide. Again, they might also be able to pinpoint you to resources.

You can use the National Association of Free & Charitable Clinics website to search for health clinics and pharmacies in your area that offer free or low cost services.

"The association is dedicated to caring for people who are uninsured or underinsured. There are more than 1,400 clinics and pharmacies in the association."

"Aunt Bertha is a social and human services database you can search to find programs in your area. This includes programs that can help you pay for healthcare.

You can enter your ZIP code and a category to find programs that will meet your needs."

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I just thought I'd put forward some suggestions. I know that it can be really tough to find resources when you're struggling. If you find it hard to reach out to these different organisations, then perhaps your Priest could help find someone able and willing to do it. You would still have to get in touch with a Priest, but it would vastly minimise the extent of work you're having to do.

If any of my American followers have any other kinds of suggestions, that would also be great. I just gathered some info from a very quick search. It's hard to do a full research because a lot of American governmental websites are blocked to people outside of the US

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mental-health-matters112 · 6 months

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Environment and Context

In order to fully understand the scope of mental health stigma, historical context, current events, and perspectives from various organizations and state authorities must all be considered. This problem has a lengthy history, it is not new. Individuals who suffer from mental health disorders frequently experience discrimination, exclusion, and difficulty accessing necessary support. In the past, it is clear that society frequently regarded people with mental health problems cruelly and inhumanely, particularly in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. These actions strengthened the stigma associated with mental health and contributed to negative views. There have been efforts to fight this stigma over time. Community-based therapy replaced institutional care in the middle of the 20th century, but it didn't completely address the stigma in society. More recently, efforts to combat stigma have included "Time to Change" in the UK and "Stamp Out Stigma" in the US, with the goals of exposing beliefs and encouraging understanding. Organizations like Mental Health America and NAMI, as well as regional ones, are actively trying to reduce the stigma associated with mental illness today. State and local government organizations are putting policies into place to improve mental health care accessibility and fight discrimination.

Local Organization #1: NAMI Oregon

NAMI Oregon is like the local branch of the National Alliance on Mental Illness. They're all about grassroots efforts to help people and families dealing with mental health issues. They do not just talk; they provide education, and support, and even advocate for better mental health services and less stigma. You'll find them running all sorts of programs, support groups, and community events, all with the goal of making things better for those touched by mental health conditions.

Local Organization #2: The Mental Health Association of Oregon

The Mental Health Association of Oregon is a non-profit group with a clear mission, making mental health and well-being a priority in our state. They're all about providing educational resources, advocating for change, and engaging with the community to break down stigma and improve access to mental health services. Their aim is to empower individuals, giving them the tools they need to take charge of their mental health. It's all about making mental health a part of everyday conversations and life in Oregon.

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saintandrew123 · 26 days

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United Kingdom Travel Insurance

When traveling to the United Kingdom, it's important to have adequate travel insurance to protect yourself against unexpected events. Here are some key considerations when purchasing travel insurance for the UK:

Medical Coverage: Ensure your policy provides comprehensive coverage for medical emergencies, including hospitalization, doctor visits, and emergency medical evacuation. The UK has a National Health Service (NHS), but medical treatment for tourists may incur charges, so having insurance can help cover these costs.

Trip Cancellation and Interruption: Look for coverage that reimburses non-refundable trip expenses if you need to cancel or cut short your trip due to unforeseen circumstances such as illness, injury, or family emergencies.

Baggage and Personal Belongings: Choose a policy that offers coverage for lost, stolen, or damaged baggage and personal items. This can include reimbursement for essential items you may need to purchase if your baggage is delayed or lost.

Travel Delays and Missed Connections: Opt for coverage that compensates for unexpected travel delays, such as flight cancellations or missed connections. This can help cover additional expenses incurred due to delays, such as accommodation and meals.

Emergency Assistance Services: Ensure your policy includes access to 24/7 emergency assistance services. This can be invaluable in navigating medical emergencies, arranging travel arrangements, or obtaining help in case of lost documents or legal issues.

Coverage for Activities and Sports: If you plan to engage in adventure activities or sports during your trip to the UK, verify that your policy covers these activities. Some insurers offer optional coverage for high-risk activities such as skiing, hiking, or water sports.

Pre-existing Medical Conditions: If you have pre-existing medical conditions, disclose them when purchasing insurance. Some policies offer coverage for pre-existing conditions, while others may require additional premiums or exclusions.

Policy Exclusions and Limitations: Carefully review the policy exclusions and limitations to understand what is and isn't covered. Pay attention to coverage limits, deductibles, and any restrictions that may apply.

Documentation and Claims Process: Familiarize yourself with the documentation required to file a claim and the claims process. Keep copies of your policy documents, receipts, and other relevant information in case you need to make a claim.

Compare Quotes and Coverage: Compare quotes and coverage from multiple insurers to find the best policy for your needs and budget. Consider factors such as coverage limits, deductibles, and customer reviews when making your decision.

By selecting a comprehensive travel insurance policy tailored to your specific needs, you can enjoy peace of mind during your visit to the United Kingdom, knowing that you're protected against unforeseen events.

#travel insurance

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john-langley-bristol-blogger · 2 months

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So, Today's Skidmarks on the Underpants of Humanity are (26 Feb 2024).....

Would you punt a guess from the cornucopia of British, and beyond news today? Spoilt for choice, perhaps? Well, allow me to help you out then.

Let's begin with the asylum known as Bristol, my adopted, current home city. As I've already written at some length about this in my autobiography 'The Sexual Philanthropist' (out now on Amazon/Kindle - and, 4-star reviewed, by the way), (a) there's little point in repeating it, and (b) I simply cannot be arsed. Suffice to say Bristol is populated by more knobs than Ikea has in its entire UK national warehouse facility. Indigenous Bristolians, by the way, are generally the soundest people you'll find anywhere. You know, good-humoured, easy-going, salt-of-the-earth types who Colston would be proud of if he were alive today, and if it wasn't for the small side issue of slavery, that is. But, we'll not go there, as this was mentioned in yesterday's musings.

No, those I'm referring to are the migrants to this once great city who came here to study for degrees in subjects that result in an 'ology' of one sort, or another, and a myriad of similar fields of study that will enable them to leave university up to their neck in debt for the majority of their lives ahead, and somewhat disappointingly after three, perhaps even four years of non-stop partying, copious drugs, and enough alcohol to float the Bibby Stockholm, they find themselves qualified to serve fries and other sundries in high-end restaurants such as MacDonalds.

Having said that, in all fairness, a great many other people of all ages and walks of life come to reside in Bristol as they've found themselves attracted by national media headlines that extol the many benefits Bristol has to offer, such as the second most expensive city in which to live outside of London, and it's breathtaking public events - such as the Bridewell Riot, the Stokes Croft riot, the random bathing ceremony of Colston's statue, and perhaps by far the greatest public spectacle to be seen in decades - the slow decimation of an entire city centre by a council that's so out of kilter with its population that it's rather like an Ofsted report that tells a school it 'lacks vision', when the school is for the blind. Or, maybe even a broadcaster thinking it would be a brilliant idea to provide a radio service for the stone deaf. Now, I'm by no means a maths genius by a long chalk, but when it comes to the city council on one side of the fence, and its citizens on the other, all three quite simply aren't in any way compatible.

Now, as an isolated case, the city council could be forgiven for its ineptitude and stupidity, if it wasn't for the fact that it's somehow become viral in a way that appears to only infect those who consider themselves better educated than the rest of us poor dopes, and it appears that the better-educated someone is the more of a numpty they turn into because something as simple as common sense seems to evaporate and disappear off into the ether, never to return. Similar to yesterday's spat on Golden Syrup, today it's the turn of Bristol University. Why, you may ask? Because it has decided to remove a dolphin from its logo. Seriously, who even noticed?

I bet students were rocking up to mental health services in their thousands because a minute dolphin on the uni's logo kept them sufficiently awake at night to impact on their studies. Get bloody real! You see, the entire problem boils down to one thing in this city as much as it does everywhere else around the country nowadays, that feelings have overridden plain old common sense, and because that poor little innocent dolphin has connections with Edward Colston the mammal is the victim of the piece. So, taking this lunacy further, let's rule out the sea, boats, and ships, and maybe even demolish the university too so it can be rebuilt in its entirety. Furthermore, every student who passed through the university with a degree should hand it back immediately. Would this then finally satisfy the numptyism for once and all? Well, we can all live the dream, so probably not because the numpties will find something else just as insignificant to focus on.

Sadly, this is a pandemic there is no vaccine for, and if there were, and it was legal, euthanasia would work every time.

#john langley #bristol #john langley blog #john langley bristol writer #john langley author #john langley tumblr #google #bristol live #Bristolian #edward colston #racism #trans

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college-girl199328 · 3 months

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The UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), which is the humanitarian agency in Gaza, has been facing an unprecedented funding crisis after its international donors, led by the United States, cut its funding over “terror” allegations. The UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini has dubbed the steps to suspend funding an “additional collective punishment” for Palestinians already reeling from nearly four months of non-stop Israeli bombardment.

The Palestinians have accused Israel of falsifying information to tarnish UNRWA in Gaza, which employs 13,000 people who run schools, healthcare clinics, and other essential services. Experts have said the Israeli allegations remain unverified. UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said on Tuesday that Israel has not yet shared the intelligence dossier with the UN.

Yasmine Ahmed, the UK director of Human Rights Watch (HRW), told Al Jazeera that HRW is not aware that the UN, or any of the states that fund UNRWA, have seen any written documentation of evidence that establishes what has been alleged by Israel.

Ahmed said that HRW has asked the UK government what written evidence they saw of the allegations that led them to suspend the funding.

UNRWA was created by the UN General Assembly on December 8, 1949, to provide support, including food, healthcare, and education, to tens of thousands of Palestinian refugees. More than 700,000 Palestinians were forcefully displaced leading up to Israel’s creation in 1948, which Palestinians remember as the Nakba or the catastrophe. The UNRWA operations are spread across the occupied West Bank – including East Jerusalem, the Gaza Strip, Syria, Lebanon, and Jordan.

UNRWA supports some six million Palestinian refugees who live within and outside Palestine. It is like a quasi-state providing direct services, such as schools, primary health centers, and other social services. It also loans to Palestinians. However, it does not run refugee camps, as the maintenance of law and order and security are not part of its mandate.

UNRWA operates separately from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), which was also established in 1949. While UNHCR provides temporary protection and assistance to refugees, it does not have a mandate over Palestinian refugees within the UNRWA fields of operations. Although it delivers humanitarian aid to Palestinians, the UNRWA body does not have a mandate to resettle Palestine refugees, which Israel opposes.

In 2021, about 545,000 children were enrolled in UNRWA schools; Social Safety Net Programme (SSNP) assistance reached 398,044 beneficiaries, and 1.7 million received critical humanitarian aid.

UNRWA helps Palestinians in multiple ways, providing them with numerous resources. Since Israel launched its war on Gaza on October 7, approximately a million Palestinians from Gaza, or nearly 45 percent of the enclave’s population, have been sheltering in UNRWA schools, clinics, and other public buildings. UNRWA schools and buildings operate beyond capacity to provide shelter to internally displaced Palestinians who have very limited safe spaces to go to.

Nearly the entire population in Gaza now relies on UNRWA for basic necessities, including food, water, and hygiene supplies. The UN agency employs thousands of Palestinians in its schools, healthcare centers, and other social programs, providing much-needed employment opportunities to Palestinians living under Israeli occupation for the past seven decades.

More than 30,000 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, West Bank, and vast refugee camps in neighboring Arab countries work for the UNRWA. Its services in Gaza have increased in importance since 2005, when Israel and Egypt imposed a blockade, causing an economic collapse with one of the highest unemployment rates in the world. In December 2023, the International Labour Organisation and the Palestinian Statistics Bureau determined that at least 66 percent of employment was lost in Gaza since the war broke. UNRWA helps curb the unemployment gap among Palestinians by providing them with employment.

In 2022, the UNRWA’s top government donors were the US, Germany, the European Union, Sweden, Norway, Japan, France, Saudi Arabia, Switzerland and Turkey.

The US, Germany, and Switzerland have suspended funding to UNRWA following the allegations. The European Union (EU) announced on Monday that it would review whether it could continue to fund UNRWA in light of the allegations. However, the body does not foresee any additional funding for the organization until the end of February.

Norway, one of the top donors, urged fellow donor countries to reflect on the more expansive consequences of the funding cuts.

Now that UNRWA’s most significant donors have frozen aid to it, there is a dire starvation threat to Palestinians in and outside of Gaza.

Israel has long advocated for the dismantling of UNRWA, arguing that its mission is obsolete. On Monday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed that UNRWA is “perforated with Hamas. Netanyahu’s accusations against UNRWA have not been backed by facts. His assertion that UNRWA has been infiltrated by Hamas has been questioned because the UN agency shares the list of its staff with Israel.

Israel has long sought to end UNRWA, arguing that the UN body “perpetuated” the issue of Palestinian refugees because it allows Palestinians to transfer refugee status across generations, and Israel has refused to accept the right of return to these refugees. Israel’s recent allegations towards UNRWA employees surfaced the same day as the ICJ’s interim ruling ordering Israel to prevent genocidal acts and scale up aid to Gaza.

Former UK Ambassador to Uzbekistan Craig Murray wrote that accusations against the 12 UNRWA staff members provide a propaganda counter-narrative to the ICJ judgment and reduce the credibility of UNRWA’s evidence before the court.

Israel also wants to eliminate UNRWA to force Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank to migrate elsewhere, according to Zaid Amali, a UNRWA and a civilian in the West Bank. There is evidence that Israel has consistently tried to displace forcefully Palestinians aside from the long of state-backed settlers displacing Palestinians from the West Bank and East Jerusalem, Israeli ministers Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich have recently reiterated ideas for Palestinians “voluntarily migrating” out of Gaza for forced.

The United Nations Agency for Palestinian Refugees says it has opened an investigation into some employees Israel alleges were involved in the October 7 attacks and that it has severed ties with those staff members.

Lazzarini did not disclose the number of employees allegedly involved in the attacks nor the nature of their alleged involvement. He said, however, that “any UNRWA employee who was involved in acts of terror” would be held accountable, including through criminal prosecution. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was “horrified by this news, according to his spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric. He added that the UN chief had asked Lazzarini to conduct a probe to ensure any UNRWA employee guilty of abetting the October 7 attacks be terminated and referred for potential criminal prosecution.

The US Department of State said it was troubled by the allegations, which it said pertained to 12 UNRWA employees. It said it would provide no additional funding to the agency until it addressed the allegations.

European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said in a statement that the 27-member bloc would “assess further steps and draw lessons based on the result of the comprehensive investigation. UNRWA, whose biggest donors in 2022 included the US, Germany, and the EU, has repeatedly said its capacity to render humanitarian assistance to people in Gaza is on the verge of collapse.

Established in 1949 following the first Arab-Israeli war, the agency provides services, including schooling, primary healthcare, and humanitarian aid to Palestinians in Gaza, the West Bank, Jordan, Syria, and Lebanon.

Since the onset of the war on Gaza, Israeli authorities, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, have accused it of fuelling anti-Israeli incitement – allegations it denies. UNRWA says it has provided aid to desperate people in Gaza and used its facilities to shelter those fleeing Israeli attacks.

The agency’s shelters have also been repeatedly targeted by Israeli missiles during the war, despite pleas for safe passages to deliver humanitarian aid and assistance.

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