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#and some resources/places to donate
o-mellowy · 1 month
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Lotty! <3
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I have such a crush on her oh my god
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dreamlanddoll · 2 months
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If you’re someone like me who struggles with anxiety around calling people on the phone, especially important/authority figures, here’s a site with some short scripts I found that you can read off of for when you call your reps for ceasefire in Palestine. It’s not as complicated or long winded as you think it has to be, nor do you have to answer any questions. All you have to do is fill up their inboxes with demands for a ceasefire, they can’t ignore us forever.
also, if you really really cannot under any circumstances call, please at LEAST send as many emails and sign as many petitions as you can.
here are a few more petitions for you to sign
amnesty.org
oxfam.org
take action.amnesty.international
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purgetrooperfox · 3 months
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how come you do post much about gaza?
assuming you meant don't*? because this makes no sense otherwise? anyway
that you don't see my activism doesn't mean it isn't happening. tumblr is a terrible platform for activism, so I don't use it for that
#i won't pull up donation receipts for a fuckign tumblr anon#i won't sit here and try to explain that tumblr activism is typically restrained to tumblr. people rb the posts and never do anything else#people here notoriously do not click on links#so what i do. what i donate. where i protest. my household's boycotting. i do it and i talk to people about it but i don't do it here#because it won't do jack shit here and i'm trying to connect with people who might actually participate. for tangible results#sorry if that sounds Angry. it's because it is.#if y'all want to free palestine then you have to participate more than just reblogging. boosting voices is good but it takes more than that#tumblr rbs don't put pressure on politicians. they don't fund relief efforts. they don't pay for esims. they don't demonstrate organized#support for palestine in a Visible Manner to your city or state or country#they aren't disruptive#that's why you don't see me post on here. i'm trying to concentrate my efforts where they might do something#NOW. before you come for my throat. obviously there is nothing wrong with circulating posts about aid and resources to help#but then you should really consider like. contributing to those resources. that's key. that's the point. and some people here do! great!#i just. am more likely to be able to find and reach people who do in other places#maybe i should've said all that in the post instead of the tags but i really don't want to bring a bunch of misunderstanding down on myself#asks answered#'i wont sit here and explain' and then i did. damn
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chryblossomjjk · 1 year
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Kiki 🤍🥺, thank you so much for posting about turkey ! i was so concerned on why it wasn‘t talked about on here but i just saw your post and it made me really happy ! as a turk myself, I hope people in Turkey, Syria ( especially them since the world just forgot about them ), Lebanon and Iraq will get all the help they need…
- 🧚🏻
hi friend. natural disasters are probably one of the most terrifying things any nation can go through. i saw only a same snippet of the devastation it caused and its so heartbreaking. hopefully those who have the ability to can help out and share some resources. im not sure if you're anywhere close to an effected area but if you need anything please reach out (and this goes to anyone effected by the earthquake).
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spoonyruncible · 2 years
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Through no real fault of either my own or any one else I’ve acquired an alarming number of free candy bars. I’ve absolutely no notion at all of what to do with them. This is by far the most wonderful problem I’ve endured in months.
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hanggarae · 6 months
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WAYS WE CAN HELP PALESTINE:
as of 9am today, 8131 palestinians were killed, 20438 are injured and 1.4 million have been displaced. it’s important for all of us to help palestine in as many ways as we can.
i also cannot stress how much just spreading awareness in general can help. staying silent because of your discomfort is not an excuse to sit by while a genocide takes place. when we learn about these events in history we often think “how was this allowed to happen?” but that’s exactly what’s happening now and it’s our responsibility to not sit by and let an entire country be wiped out. i will continue adding more ways to help to this post and i’d really appreciate it if anyone can spread this as much as possible.
it’s important to get educated on everything going on in palestine right now, here are some sources that could help!
decolonize palestine - made by two palestinians, answers a lot of questions regarding everything right now (including debunking a lot of myths from biased news stations) and provides a lot of historical context.
list of documentaries to watch if you want to gain further knowledge
list of accounts to follow on twitter that can also provide information
linktree with information
you can also donate to organisations! even if you can’t donate tons of money, you can help by spreading these links so others can also try to donate!
red crescent
PCRF
MAP
doctors w/o borders
palestinian social fund
palestinian in pain launch good
this website is free and uses ad revenue for donations, all you need to do is click it once daily!
some more places you can donate to and some more
boycotting will also help!! also some of the kpop idols we stan have brand deals with ones that support 🇮🇱 so please let’s not interact with their posts with those brands
list from BDS of companies to boycott
signing petitions!
write to representatives and demand they retract their support of 🇮🇱
ways to contact local governments about helping palestine
if you’re in the uk here’s a link to contact your local MP
change org ceasefire petition
Text "CEASEFIRE" to 51905 if you live in America. The link provided leads you to a page to sign and call for a ceasefire once the goal is met. They are so close to meeting its goal!!
here's a link that lets you send a letter directly to your state representatives
here are some threads that will also give you ways to help.
thread of things we can do to help palestine
HOW TO HELP PALESTINE!! resources and links to other threads on how to donate and spread awareness of what's happening in palestine currently!!! a thread 🧵
here’s what we know, and links to donate to help aid palestinians, a thread:
Here is a list of list of resources and people you can follow to educate yourself on what’s going on in Palestine RIGHT NOW🇵🇸
Ways US, Canada, and UK residents can reach out to their state representatives and MPs to call for ceasefire in Gaza:
if there are any more sources that you would like me to add pls send me an ask or dm me !!
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dear-indies · 2 months
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posted by cripthegig on instagram:
(finally) here’s the updated version of accessible ways to protest for palestine ! hopefully this will be more legible :) mentioned links and more accessible ways to support palestine in my linktree in my bio ! if you have any other suggestions about accessible action for palestine, please comment them below i’ve also amended a few outdated elements of the post. go to the original post’s comments for some really valuable extra insights on the topic ! note to say that nothing in this list will be accessible to all, it is merely a list of suggestions for more accessible action. the topic is incredibly nuanced and that can be hard to get across through the limited means of an infographic.
-
slide 1: an infographic with green imagery on a white background. dark green text at the top of the image reads ‘the revolution will be from bed’. in the middle of the image is a dark green outlined image of a double bed. in the bottom of the image is dark green smaller text that reads ‘a guide to protesting for disabled activists’
slide 2: an infographic with green imagery on a white background. dark green text at the top of the image reads ‘accessible ways to protest’. below the text, is smaller text in dark green that reads ‘for many, in-person protests are inaccessible. luckily, there are other ways to get involved. these include:’ the focus of the image is a dark green rectangle with white text inside it. the text reads ‘1. share posts on social media
educate yourself (and others)
donate
contact your political representatives
join organisations
sign petitions
boycott companies’ in the bottom of the image is dark green smaller text that reads ‘a guide to protesting for disabled activists’
slide 3: an infographic with green imagery on a white background. dark green text at the top of the image reads ‘amplify palestinian voices on social media’. the focus of the image is a dark green rectangle with white text inside it. the text reads ‘ - while social media activism is often critiqued as being performative, for many it is the only form of action that is accessible
social media can be an important tool for amplifying marginalised voices who otherwise would be ignored by mainstream media
people in gaza are urging the west to raise awareness of the emergency by amplifying palestinian voices on social media
sharing your solidarity with palestine on social media is also an effective way of combating mainstream media's bias towards israel’
at the bottom of the image is dark green text that reads ‘a guide to protesting for disabled activists’
slide 4: an infographic with green imagery on a white background. dark green text at the top of the image reads ‘educate yourself and others’. the focus of the image is a dark green rectangle with white text inside it. the text reads ‘education is a crucial part of activism that can be done from home
you can learn about palestine from books, articles, podcasts, films and much, much more
sites like decolonisepalestine.com, palestinesolisarity.org and bdsmovement.net are good places to start
social medica can be a good source of on-the-ground information from accounts like @eye.on.palestine
share these resources on social media and in person, have uncomfortable conversations
at the bottom of the image is dark green text that reads ‘a guide to protesting for disabled activists’
slide 5: an infographic with green imagery on a white background. dark green text at the top of the image reads ‘donate’. the focus of the image is a dark green rectangle with white text inside it. the text reads ‘- donating is often the best way to help global emergencies from home
however, many people in gaza have urged the rest of the world to stop donating money to gaza, as israel is blocking them from receiving any relief
instead, donations can be spent on supporting organisations outside of gaza, who are fighting for a ceasefire and an end to the occupation
money can support marches, direct action, legal funds etc.
this is a good option for crips who can afford it and are unable to participate in the action themselves’
at the bottom of the image is dark green text that reads ‘a guide to protesting for disabled activists’
slide 6: an infographic with green imagery on a white background. dark green text at the top of the image reads ‘email politicians, sign petitions, join orgs’. the focus of the image is a dark green rectangle with white text inside it. the text reads ‘- if you are in the UK or US (+ many other countries) your govt is complicit in the genocide of palestine
protest this by emailing your representatives and signing petitions
in the UK, parliament will only recognise petitions from petitions.parliament.uk
accessible forms of protest are not solely individual, many organisations also offer accessible / remote roles
in the UK, orgs to get involved with include: @palestinesolidarityuk, @palaction, @naaom and @londonpalestineaction
in the US, orgs include: palestineyouthmovement, @jewishvoicesforpeace, @adalahjusticeproject @ifnotnoworg’
at the bottom of the image is dark green text that reads ‘a guide to protesting for disabled activists’
slide 7: an infographic with green imagery on a white background. dark green text at the top of the image reads 'boycott, divesment, sanctions’ the focus of the image is a dark green rectangle with white text inside it. the text reads ' - boycotting companies complicit in israeli apartheid is another accessible way to protest
@bdsnationalcommittee is an organisation that has worked long-term on ending international support for israel
their consumer boycott targets are currently: axa, puma, carrefour, siemens, ahava, HP, sabra and sodastream
people separate to BDS are also encouraging the boycott of mcdonald's, disney and starbucks
go to @bdsnational committee for more info' at the bottom of the image is dark green text that reads 'a guide to protesting for disabled activists'
slide 8: an infographic with green imagery on a white background. dark green text at the top of the image reads 'advice for crips attending a march’ the focus of the image is a dark green rectangle with white text inside it. the text reads '- going to a march can pose serious risks to crips and it is important to consider these before attending
where they can, organisers should make efforts to ensure marches are accessible (eg an accessible route, info about accessible loos + covid caution)
plan your route (for london crips a document is made every week with info about the march's accessibility)
bring a buddy who knows your access needs
know your rights; go to greenandblackcross.org for bustcards
mask up, to protect your fellow crip and avoid surveillance’
at the bottom of the image is dark green text that reads ‘a guide to protesting for disabled activists’.
slide 9: an infographic with green imagery on a white background. dark green text at the top of the image reads 'a crip’s guide to packing for a protest’ the focus of the image is a dark green rectangle with white text inside it. the text reads ’ - a radar key to unlock accessible loos
medication (bring han expedie you're out for longer
energy sustaining drinks and snacks
earplugs / defenders for noise sensitivity
pain relief devices
check the weather - bring suncream / umbrellas and dress accordingly
a fully charged phone with a battery pack
a sunflower lanyard / pritned out medical information -a mask (ideally N95)
a bustcard for legal advice in case of arrest’
at the bottom of the image is dark green text that reads ‘a guide to protesting for disabled activists’.
slide 10: an infographic with green imagery on a white background. dark green text at the top of the image reads 'crip solidarity with palestine’ the focus of the image is a dark green rectangle with white text inside it. the text reads ’- disability justice is palestinian justice, crip liberation is palestinian liberation
all of our struggles - against ableism, against colonialism, against fascism - are connected
in 2022, at least 48,360 disabled people lived in the gaza strip, a sector of society among the most affected by Israel's attacks
israel's 17-year siege on gaza has curbed access to vital healthcare for gaza's disabled population
when israel cuts off power in gaza, this has a greater impact on disabled folk who rely on electricity for aids and mobility
disability justice cannot exist under settler colonialism
solidarity from the streets, from the home, from the sickbed, from the phone’
at the bottom of the image is dark green text that reads ‘a guide to protesting for disabled activists’.
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i-am-a-fish · 3 months
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Here are some of the ways that you can support Palestine
Attend protests:
Here is a link listing several protests. If you do not see a protest that you were planning to attend or if you would like to organize one, you can submit that information into this website. This is not the only website for finding protests, I recommend searching for this on your own, but this was the most prominent website I could find.
Be informed:
Here is an interview with Omar Barghouti, the founder of Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel.
This video contains no gore, has closed captions, and is well organized with a clear call to action. There are many videos and articles that should be watched and read, this is just one example.
youtube
Specifically at 29:44, Omar Barghouti explains what you can do as a viewer, though I believe the entire video should be watched.
Boycott:
In the previous video, Omar Barghouti explained that an economic boycott needs to be organized in order to incite change. Targeting your boycotts is an effective strategy that has worked in the past. Here is a website listing every company that is actively supporting Israel during the Palestinian genocide.
This list is regularly updated by the Article's author. Do not harass the customer service employees that are working at these places.
Be strategic and organized, there are many companies on this list. Boycott whatever you are able, and be vocal to these companies on social media, particularly on Twitter if you have an account. These companies care a lot about their reputation, and many of them may relent if called out on a large scale.
Donate:
This is Anera, they are credible non-profit. There are many other organizations, but this one in particular has been around since 1968, and donates 96% of revenue to Palestine, Lebanon, and Jordan.
This is a small list of resources to get started. Do research, be vocal, boycott, and donate if you are financially able to do so.
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abbyshands · 2 months
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PALESTINE LINKS
in honor of the media blackout this week, i wanted to compile a list of links and resources regarding what’s going on in gaza. i advise all of you to give these links a look at, or to at least reblog them. the people in gaza need the bare minimum from us in that sense. &, well, if you can’t take enough time out of your day to give these links at least a look, a like, or share, then, bye !
& for all the the last of us fans out there, you need to see this. it’s genuinely a must. not to call anyone out, but i see a lot of people who have not spoken out about this at all, who, for example, keep publishing or reblogging fics etc during the blackout. i love a good fic as much as anyone else, but you can wait a week. there’s really no excuses here. if you didn’t know about the previous blackout, then now is your chance. don’t turn a blind eye to this.
at the end of this post are links specifically for those engaged in the last of us tumblr. if you aren’t going to look at the links before that, then at least look at those.
oh, & for the dumbasses who are unfollowing me for spending a week to post about a fucking genocide? fuck you, & good fucking riddance. you are not and never were welcome on my page. i don’t want you here anyways!
PALESTINE LINKS
SEVERAL ways you can help the people in gaza. some of which are fully free.
SEVERAL links regarding info around this genocide, such as places to boycott, and ways to learn more about the nature of it all.
SEVERAL ways you can help, including ways to donate, petitions you can sign, and campaigns you can join.
places you NEED to boycott. don’t buy from them, regardless of if they really fund israel or not. if they support them, that is more than enough. boycotting is a way to resist, so do it. at the end of this post are also places that are helping those who are in gaza, and families you can help escape by donating.
know that this issue did NOT begin oct. 7th. this is so much deeper than you know, and has been going on for 70+ years. click the above link to educate yourself on that front.
CLICK HERE TO HELP PALESTINE! this site has already been debunked on if it really helps the people in gaza or not, and it does. just one click is all you need. one button, once per day. you can even do it on different devices or browsers so you get more than one click in. click it daily!
CALL YOUR REPRESENTATIVES using this link, and this link (this will help you find ways to call or email them depending on where you live). also, urge biden and congress to do right by the people in gaza. the U.S. sends billions of dollars to israel every year, funding the genocide that’s ensuing as we watch on from the comfort our homes. do the bare minimum, & hold them accountable. please.
HERE ARE WAYS YOU CAN DONATE or find a PROTEST near you! not everyone is readily available to do these things, i know that. but looking into them could never hurt, or at least sharing it elsewhere so there is more awareness surrounding it.
LEARN OF AFRO-PALESTINIAN EXPERIENCES, & the efforts they have made over the years. i think it’s so, so crucial that we hear their voices, &, god, learning of all that they’ve been through, & all that they’ve done, is so inspiring.
here is some more info regarding BOYCOTTING. boycotting does, and has been proven to work. this post explains the subject a bit more in case it happens to confuse anybody, along w/companies and such that need to be boycotted, & why. as i said before, boycotting is a way to resist. so do it!
HERE IS A 🇵🇸 MASTERLIST including ways to educate yourself, donate, books you can read, & films you can watch. this is one of the best links i have regarding this genocide, and i highly recommend you look at it!
SOUTH AFRICA took israel to court for this genocide! read about it in the above link.
FOR THE LAST OF US FANS
do not remain in the dark about the last of us’s link to the ongoing conflict in gaza. neil druckmann, the director of the game, is a ZIONIST. he grew up in israel, and TLOU2 is rooted in israeli themes. now, no one is saying you have to quit playing the game, or dislike it, for all you dense ones out there. but i ask that you remain aware of this aspect of it, especially if you are regularly engaged in the last of us tumblr.
this is a link that i highly, highly recommend you read through. it discusses the HEAVILY ISRAELI THEMES TLOU2 displays. click the following link to learn more on TLOU2 & NEIL DRUCKMANN.
DO NOT BUY TLOU, TLOU REMASTERED, TLOU2, TLOU2 REMASTERED, OR ANY GAME FROM ND! neil druckmann has donated money to the IDF in the past. & where do you think he’s getting his money from? yeah, you got that. watch gameplays, pirate these games, or buy them secondhand. several shops sell used games. & for those of you who went and purchased the game anyway, knowing about all of this? fuck you.
if you think your $10 doesn’t matter, then think about this: okay, one person spends $10 on the game. whatever. but when 100,000 people do it? that’s a million dollars, going into the hands of a zionist, who is using YOUR money to help kill innocent men, women, and children. put that in your pipe and smoke it.
it is not just the games you need to boycott. HBO’S show also needs to be. follow this link to learn of more movies and shows you need to boycott, & the reasons why, including the last of us. let’s also not forget that dina & abby’s actresses are in support of israel, and BELLA RAMSEY, ellie’s actress, has also shown support.
boycott. the fucking. show. there are a million websites where you can pirate it, so you are not giving any of your support to it. resist.
i understand that not everyone is educated on this subject, and that not everyone knew of the previous media blackout. for the last of us fans, i understand that not everyone knew about the game or show’s israeli nature. but it is never too late to take part. it is never too late to care. i promise you that. if you purchased the game, at least donate to one of the sources above. that’s just bare minimum.
get educated, get loud, & GET PROUD! these are innocent people who are dying as you read this from your bed, couch, whatever. the least you can do is like & reblog so this reaches more people. your voice matters, big account or small.
FROM THE RIVER TO THE SEA, PALESTINE WILL BE FREE 🇵🇸🍉
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lyesander · 10 months
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Not crazy about people writing off the Titan submersible incident as some schadenfreudic buzzstory they can rag on for a handful of internet funny points. I get the frustration, I really do. At least three of the passengers had to shell out $250,000 a ticket for a glorified deep sea Disney ride. The CEO of OceanGate is a capitalist wackjob who has been complaining about and bypassing safety regulations for years, despite multiple warnings, and now the retrieval is taking up time and resources from multiple countries that could have been put to better use. But one of the crew members on board was also the nineteen year old son of another passenger. I doubt his involvement extended much beyond “I’m going on a fun trip with my dad.” Another was an unaffiliated researcher who joined the expedition to collect environmental samples for DNA analysis. Not everyone on board was a high-rolling corporate yuppie. (And even if they were, it’s still a pretty objectively horrific way to die.) Instead of memes, I’d rather see this prompt a discussion on the ethics and potential regulation of scientific tourism.
The above also doesn’t change the fact that this is dragging media attention away from more pressing issues, such as the sinking of the Andriana. I guess “THE TITANIC CLAIMS ANOTHER FIVE VICTIMS” is a more colorful headline than “the EU’s xenophobic migration policies have led to the deaths of hundreds of migrants seeking asylum in Italy, and an active cover up is now taking place, headed by Greek authorities.” Seeing all this energy be funneled towards dragging this tiny capsule out of the Atlantic when up to five hundred refugees - mostly women and children - were locked in the hull of a ship and left to suffer the exact same fate, while Coast Guard vessels looked on and did nothing (or even had an active role in the capsize after a botched attempt to tow it, according to some testimonies), illustrates the sway money and race have in what we pay attention to. It’s a gruesome example of inequity in action.
I had compared what happened to the Titan to the Kursk incident, but the Andriana doesn’t have the luxury of being a freak accident. Over 25,000 migrants have disappeared or drowned trying to cross the Mediterranean since 2014, with over 2,000 deaths taking place in 2022 alone. Those are staggering numbers. Protests have broken out across Greece over the past week in the wake of the tragedy, advocating for migration reform.
While these sorts of mass casualty events tend to leave us feeling disheartened and helpless, there are ways to help. Below is a link to SOS Humanity’s donation page. Reputable search and rescue organizations such as SOS Humanity or SOS Mediterranée built their mission statements around helping migrants like the ones on board the Andriana. Donate if you can, spread the word if you can’t.
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mangocheesecakes · 2 months
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the scammer @/rescueplease has now been deleted, but since a lot of people are still reblogging my posts about it, i'm changing my pinned post to a list of currently active scam accounts
scammers with the same m.o., sometimes similar profile pics and linktrees/paypal addresses:
> numberonegoateeeagle (paypal name 'Jeff Owino') new
> nour-samr (paypal name 'Nour Samar') >> nour-samr0 new/remake
scammer pretending to be a sick Black person, using the paypal name, 'Alafred Opondo'
> enchantingqueencreator
the 'insulin scammer''s latest blog (at least i think it's their latest blog:
> fancycoffeepeanut
empty blogs who are mass-reblogging the scam posts and are likely just the scammers sock puppet accounts used to pad the notes of their posts, pls block them too:
> chopra-79
> futuristicphilosopherartisan new
deleted/deactivated/changed url:
maina-3
immariaanszz >> iammarinassaa >> iammarinassaass
jovialsuitdonutai (paypal name 'jeff owino')
khalilhan (paypal name 'samuel obiya') >> khaliilhan
marylinfwaznassar (paypal name 'maryline lucy')
stickytreephilosopher (paypal name 'jeff owino')
perfectlyminiatureface (paypal name 'jeff owino')
optimisticalpacalady (paypal 'jeff owino')
omarkhalini (paypal 'fred odhiambo')
marylinefwaznassar (paypal 'maryline lucy')
khalilhani (paypal 'samuel obiya')
weepingpersondestiny (paypal 'jeff owino')
as always, please block and report these blogs, and more importantly, warn your friends, mutuals, and followers if you see them reblogging their scam posts. if you see a donation post/blog that you believe may be a scam, please do look their url up first on the tumblr search bar to see if someone has already called them out. i will try to update this post with the scammers' new accounts/url as we discover them. please also go to @kyra45's blog, as they are faster and more thorough in updating about newly discovered scams.
some red flags to look out for before sharing donation posts/donating:
new blog, or a couple years old but has only a few random, sporadic posts
backdated posts
spamming asks to a lot of other users, even the ones they don't know or have just followed, and even when the user has made it clear they don't want to receive requests to boost dono posts
is asking you to answer their asks privately, or is sending you a message directly
is straight up asking you for money, and usually for impossibly large amounts
do not put their paypal/money transfer links on their post itself, usually claiming it's to protect their 'privacy'
is using Zelle for their money transfer account, especially if the person is claiming to be in Palestine
please don't be so quick to entertain donation requests and to give away your money, especially if the user ticks a lot of these boxes. if you are familiar with the place they say they are from or the language they are supposed to speak, try conversing with them for a bit to see if their claims would hold. you can also browse my 'donation scam' tag or kyra45's blog to compare if the user has any similarities with past scammers that we've discovered.
that's it po. let's all try our best to look out for each other and make sure that our resources are going to the actual people in need, especially in the case of Palestinians asking for help. the last thing they need right now is for shitty lowlifes to use their suffering to make a profit.
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centaurianthropology · 11 months
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One thing that I think a lot of Disco Elysium meta misses (likely because a lot of it is very clearly written by young Americans writing from an intensely American-centric cultural perspective without even really realizing it) is that one of the singular and central themes of the game is massive-scale generational trauma in a home that is economically collapsing as its resources and people are being drained by an occupation.  People have noted that no one tries to help Harry, despite the fact his mental illness is incredibly obvious to everyone around him.  He tells Kim that he completely lost his memory, and Kim politely asks him to focus on the work.  He tells Gottlieb that he had a heart attack, and Gottlieb tells him that if he’s still alive it couldn’t have been that bad.  That he’ll drop dead sooner or later, but then so does everyone.
And that’s the most important thing: so does everyone.  Look at Martinaise.  Look at the world in which Harry lives.  It is not our own, but it is adjacent to ours.  More specifically, it is clearly adjacent to the states of the Eastern Bloc: overtaken and occupied by a faraway government that clearly doesn’t care about Revachol or its people.  And that is obvious in every tired face, every defeated citizen, everyone trying to eke out a little happiness or meaning in spite of the overwhelming trauma and damage around them.  The buildings are still half-destroyed.  The bullet holes are still in the walls.  The revolution was decades before, but it still feels to the people there like a fresh wound.  The number of men of Harry’s generation who are not alcoholic or otherwise deeply fucked up are very few.  Some, like Kim, hide it better, but the deeper you dig into his history, the more you realize how damaged Kim is.  He’s more than a little trigger happy, and hates that about himself, but he is a product of his environment: Kim’s entire life is seeing people he cared about shot and killed, so his instinct now is to shoot first himself, to protect those few people left who still matter to him.
Harry is not unique in his trauma.  He is a distillation of an entire culture of people who tried to rise up and make something beautiful, and were instead routed and occupied.  He is trapped between the occupation and the people on the ground, along with all the rest of the RCM.  Their authority comes from the occupying government, but it is implied that they were formed out of the remnants of the citizens militia which sprung up from Revachol itself as a way to try to mitigate some of the horrors being committed on its streets.  The Moralintern sure as hell wasn’t going to get their hands dirty, so they happily conscripted (and therefore could better control) this group, who are only recognized in certain places, and whose authority mostly amounts to giving out fines.  The RCM is corrupt, but it is corrupt in the same way its culture is.  Bribes are considered standard with them, not a moral failing, but a necessity, so long as those bribes are correctly logged as ‘donations’.  It’s how the RCM stays afloat, and the rest of Revachol completely understands that.  Everyone would take a bribe if it meant they kept eating.  Everyone would take a little under-the-table money if it meant keeping a roof over their heads.  The officersof the RCM certainly don’t make enough to see a doctor.  They have an in-house lazarus, and if he can’t fix them they just die.  Mental health care?  What mental health care?  Harry doesn’t get it for the same reason no one else does: it doesn’t really seem to exist.  There are no counselors, no psychologists, no psychiatrists.  How would they even start?  If the world is what is broken, if everyone is suffering a similar catastrophic amount, it makes sense that Harry’s trauma would simply get rolled up with all the rest.  Kim asks him to get on with the job because Harry’s suffering is not remarkable in Revachol.  He is one of an entire generation who have an astronomical number of orphans from the revolution, and so many younger people are left more or less orphans as their parents drink themselves into oblivion like Cuno’s father.  So Harry’s truly unique attribute is embodying all that trauma, having it all inside of him, filling him to bursting.
To really engage with the themes of the game, engaging first and foremost with the reality of Revachol is imperative.  Imposing our own reality onto Revachol, particularly if coming from an American perspective (which tend to have the habit of both viewing the world through an American lens and not realizing they’re doing it because they’ve never experienced a different lens), will always feel shallow to me because of this.
All that is to say, I would love to hear some more explicitly European meta about this game, and especially Eastern European meta.  If anyone can point me to some good, juicy essays from that perspective, I would be grateful!
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fatehbaz · 8 months
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This April [2021], the Iowa Department of Corrections issued a ban on charities, family members, and other outside parties donating books to prisoners. Under the state’s new guidelines, incarcerated people can get books only from a handful of “approved vendors.” Used books are prohibited altogether [...].
In 2018, the Michigan prison system introduced an almost identical set of rules, and Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Washington have all made attempts to block book donations, which were only rolled back after public outcry. Across the United States, the agencies responsible for mass imprisonment are trying to severely limit incarcerated people’s access to the written word [...].
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The official narrative is that donated books could contain “contraband [...]" -- the language used in Michigan [...]. This is a flimsy justification that begins to fall apart under even the lightest scrutiny. [...] [Contraband] [...] [is] not originating from nonprofit groups like the Appalachian Prison Book Project or Philadelphia’s Books Through Bars. [....] The old cartoon scenario of a hollow book with a saw or a gun inside just isn’t realistic, and its invocation is a sign that something else is going on.
That “something else,” predictably enough, is profit. With free books banned, prisoners are forced to rely on the small list of “approved vendors” chosen for them by the prison administration. These retailers directly benefit when states introduce restrictions. In Iowa, the approved sources include [B&N] and [B-a-M], some of America’s largest retail chains -- and, notably, ones which charge the full MSRP value for each book, quickly draining prisoners’ accounts. An incarcerated person with, say, $20 to spend can now only get one book, as opposed to three or four used ones; in states where prisoners make as little as 25 cents an hour for their labor, many can’t afford even that.
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With e-books, the situation is even worse, as companies like [GTL] supply supposedly “free” tablets which actually charge their users by the minute to read.
Even public-domain classics, available on Project Gutenberg, are only available at a price under these systems -- and prisons, in turn, receive a 5% commission on every charge. All of this amounts to rampant price-gouging and profiteering on an industrial scale.
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The rise of these private vendors has also been mirrored by the systematic dismantling of the prison library system. In the last ten years, budgets for literacy and educational resources have seen dramatic cuts, reducing funding to almost nothing [...]. In Illinois, for instance, the Department of Corrections spent just $276 on books across the entire state in 2017, down from an already meager $605 the previous year. (This means, incidentally, that each of the state’s roughly 39,000 prisoners was allotted seven-tenths of a cent.)
Oklahoma, meanwhile, has no dedicated budget for books at all, requiring prison librarians to purchase them out-of-pocket. [...]
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These practices become all the more abhorrent when you consider the impact books can have behind bars. By now, the social science on their benefits is well-established [...]. [O]ther inmates have reported that reading meant “the difference between just giving up mentally and emotionally and making it through another day, week, or year,” countering the dehumanizing effects of their imprisonment. A book can offer a brief, irreplaceable moment of calm in hellish circumstances. [...]
[There is] a shameful pattern in American society, where many people simply don’t think about the incarcerated on a day-to-day basis, let alone sympathize with their worsening conditions. [...] One of the most common arguments for the American carceral system, and its continued existence, is that of rehabilitation. According to its defenders, a prison is not simply a place of suffering, where unwanted populations are sent to disappear. Nor is it a callous money-making machine, intended to squeeze free labor from them in a regime of functional slavery. Instead, prison rehabilitates -- so the story goes. [...] In these terms, the basic legitimacy of mass imprisonment, and its allegedly positive social role, is taken for granted. [...] But the practice of book banning exposes the lie. Not only do American prisons have little interest in education, healing, and growth, but they will actively prevent them the moment there is a dollar to be made or an ounce of power to be secured.
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Text by: Alex Skopic. "The American Prison System's War on Reading". Protean (Protean magazine online). 29 November 2021. [Bold emphasis and some paragraph breaks/contractions added by me.]
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perplexedhedgehog · 2 years
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Hey, I've seen a lot of people saying that you should support smaller-scale abortion facilities instead of spending on Planned Parenthood because, according to them, PP already has plenty of money.
While I totally support donating to local abortion care facilities, I think it's really dangerous to be spreading around misinformation about Planned Parenthood, so here are a list of reasons that Planned Parenthood is a really worthwhile resource right about now:
Planned Parenthood has a large legal fund and they know how to use it. Not only will they work on-the-ground to provide reproductive health services, they will work on the legislative level in every state to fight the legal battles that are about to become very fucking necessary. Donate directly to abortion services, yes - but if you want to protect the legality of abortion and the right to privacy in the doctor's office, Planned Parenthood's legal team will fight in the places where you, as an individual, cannot.
I've heard some people saying that Planned Parenthood actually does damage to the reproductive justice community because they "take up all the talking space" and then they'll say "well, abortion is only a small amount of what Planned Parenthood does" thus stigmatizing abortion. While I can't speak for every PP facility, in my experience during my volunteer trainings, THIS IS MISINFORMATION. Outside supporters of PP will say this ABOUT Planned Parenthood, but at my volunteer trainings the workers actually had us do spoken activities to de-stigmatize abortion for anyone who needed it. We were given multiple "abortion is good, actually" talks.
On that note, the things PP does aside from abortion are actually very important. One thing they do is distribute INFORMATION on a widespread scale. This information will often focus on important things to know about pregnancy health, when abortion might be needed, and communicative campaigns to spread abortion stories with specific participants' consent in order to de-stigmatize abortion and spread awareness.
A number of smaller "Pregnancy Crisis Centers" disguise themselves as abortion providers, but are really fundamentalist Christian centers in disguise. These centers will abuse and psychologically torture people who were planning on coming in for abortions. However, a Planned Parenthood is always what it says it will be. I support Planned Parenthood because I know exactly what my money is going to when I make donations.
If you do know of a smaller abortion facility that needs funding, by all means, donate! (Also if you go on PP's website you can choose a PP facility to fund directly, if you don't want your donation to go into their large legal fund.) But if you're supporting a smaller center, do make sure that they really are a legitimate abortion provider before you donate.
Let's not spread misinformation or be divisive, people! That will only hurt reproductive justice, in the end. If you want to support small-scale abortion care centers, absolutely do that. It will be very much needed in the coming months. But you can do that without dunking on Planned Parenthood and all that they do for reproductive rights, justice, and healthcare. It is entirely possible to be supportive of both.
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sulkybbarnes · 1 year
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I've seen a lot of posts bringing attention to the devastating earthquake that hit Turkey and Syria, but with a focus mainly on Turkey, so allow me to talk about Syria.
The earthquake hit several areas of Syria (Aleppo, Idlib, Latakia, Hama, and Tartus) that were already devastated by war over the past 13 years. As of me writing this post, there are over 1700 people dead in Syria alone, and hundreds injured and wounded, not counting people still stuck under the rubble. I'm too emotionally drained to try to appeal to people's humanity, but please take a moment to look through the following sources of Syrian people reporting directly from Syria, and help if you can.
Syrian accounts reporting Syrian news in English and Arabic:
mashrouwanabqa
mysyria_
Post with some resources to help
And some western news articles to confirm what I'm saying:
News article with campaigns and organisations to donate to
Same news and places to donate from the New York Times
And perhaps most importantly, I ask you to read up on sanctions on Syria and educate yourself on the slow, painful genocide Syrians are suffering at the hand of Western countries. No electricity, gas, or medicine reaching the Syrian people for 13 years now. No economy allowed to flourish. No hope for the Syrian people under these sanctions to survive normal every day life or a cold winter, let alone disaster of this magnitude. There's a campaign to stop the sanctions on Syria, but it's led by Syrians when we are the least able to affect this type of change. Read on it. Talk to your representatives if you can and demand for sanctions to be dropped and help put stop to this. Just look through the Syrian accounts I linked for more perspective. Thank you.
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luulapants · 2 years
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things you should know about books and incarceration
I recently started working with a program that sends books to incarcerated people upon request. There are programs like this in many places throughout the US, under names like “Prison Books Project” or “Books to Prisoners.” Here’s some things you should know:
The most requested book, by far, is the English dictionary. The Spanish dictionary is also highly requested, as are GED prep materials, thesauruses, almanacs, and other reference books. If you have anything like that laying around unused, please consider donating.
Prisons are legally required to maintain libraries of legal resources (this falls under one’s right to counsel), but otherwise generally do not fund or maintain libraries, even for basic educational materials. The law libraries are also often filled with irrelevant law texts (e.g. real estate and civil procedures) instead of what prisoners actually need information about: appeals, civil rights, etc.
There are strict requirements on what books can and cannot be received, which vary from prison to prison and even depending on which staff member is processing the shipments. There are a thousand different reasons prison staff can pull a book from a shipment. Individuals, unfamiliar with the complex restrictions, are often unsuccessful at sending books to incarcerated loved ones.
Prison staff often don’t like prison book programs, despite the fact that they reduce recidivism and keep prisoners occupied and out of trouble. Why? Because it makes more work for them in the mail room. Yes, really.
Immigrants are the fastest growing prison population, so we get lots of requests for books in Spanish or English learning materials. Unfortunately, these are less frequently donated, so our selection is slim.
We also get requests for books about sign language, usually from people with Deaf cellmates who have no other way to communicate.
Books about starting businesses, trades, and reintroduction are extremely common from those planning their lives after release. It’s extremely difficult for convicted felons to find work after release.
We also get many requests about psychology or self-help books. A large percentage of our incarcerated population suffer from some mental illness or have loved ones who do.
Many prisoners were not properly supported in their education. We receive letters from low-literacy people who have severe learning disabilities, whose letters are difficult to read because they never learned to write properly. Comic books/manga are common requests from low-literacy people because they can look at the pictures.
Prison book programs are usually not well funded and must ration how often incarcerated people can write us and how often they can request certain types of high-demand books. Volunteers frequently find there are no suitable books to fill a request and buy books with their own money to make sure someone gets what they’ve asked for. Cash donations to prison book programs will go to buying high-demand books such as dictionaries, GED prep, and other basic education texts.
See if you have a program like this in your area, and consider volunteering or donating books or money. There are over 2 million people incarcerated in the US, and giving them access to books is the very least we can do.
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