Hatesquash - GenX-Rage

Red hot actionable news: the website StopKOSA.com will send a letter from you about this godawful bill to your legislators. Zero effort. You literally just give them your e and mailing address.

You can see the text they’re going to use, and it’s editable, so you have the option (and it’s much easier than writing from scratch) to add a few words up front or tinker and paraphrase if you like, but you very much don’t have to. They will also offer you your legislators’ phone numbers — WITH handy talking points notes — for optional follow-up after the letter is taken care of.

(Hat tip to Julia Serano for alerting me to it. She has more to say about the potential of this bill to effectively eradicate LGBTQ+ content from the internet. If you thought FOSTA/SESTA was bad…)

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KOSA is a censorship bill that won’t make kids safe. Instead, it'll put all internet users at risk, especially LGBTQ+ youth. If you believe in a free and open internet, tell your lawmakers to reject #KOSA! https://stopkosa.com/

Fight for the Future

Stop KOSA

KOSA is a censorship bill that won’t make kids safe. Instead, it'll put all internet users at risk, especially youth. If you believe in a fr

TWO HOURS AGO: an incredible photo taken by a ut austin student capturing something deeply poetic in my opinion, a line of state troopers eagerly waiting to arrest student protesters standing just behind a sign that reads "what starts here changes the world. its starts with you and what you do each day."

Study was of 17 subjects, interesting but not enough information yet.

PubMed Central (PMC)

Avascular necrosis of femoral head following COVID-19 infection

It is crucial to be aware of post-COVID-19 non-pulmonary complications. Avascular necrosis (AVN) is one of these complications. It should be

This is a new Covid side effect I did not know about. If you have a sore hip after Covid this could be why.

🇵🇸 From Friend of Al-Aqsa (FOA):

What exactly is Coca Cola’s role in Israel's occupation? Coca-Cola has a factory in Atarot, an illegal Israeli settlement built on stolen Palestinian land. Palestinian communities are forcibly removed for illegal Israeli settlements like this to be built. These settlements are illegal under international law. By having an Israeli franchise in the illegal Israeli settlement of Atarot, Coca-Cola is ignoring international law and profiting from the illegal occupation. There are currently up to 750,000 Israeli settlers living in at least 250 illegal Israeli settlements across the occupied West Bank and East Jeruasalem. By drinking Coca-Cola, we as consumers are turning a blind eye to the illegal occupation of Palestine. In 2022 American food company General Mills announced it was divesting from Atarot as a direct result of pressure from human rights groups, activists and others. Let's keep up the pressure on Coca-Cola to stop operating in Atarot! Join our call to #BoycottCocaCola until it stops operating in Atarot illegal Israeli settlement. Make a pledge to boycott Coca-Cola until it stops operating on stolen Palestinian land.

For more info, check out FOA's webpage.

If you're in the UK, they have several upcoming campaign and events you can participate in.

thegauntlet.news

COVID lulls aren't being earned by policy; they're being bought with infections and deaths

Celebrating a COVID lull years into the Biden Administration's utter abandonment is woefully out of touch with the science

Cases are low right now for one simple reason: most people have recently had COVID. If not during the massive winter JN.1 surge, which infected an estimated 100 million people, then in the previous variant-soup wave of late summer 2023. COVID infections confer a temporary immunity, meaning that after a big surge- when tens of millions of people are infected in a matter of months- the public has a transient “wall” of immunity that lowers transmission in the short-term. Celebrating lulls that were “bought” with a surge is celebrating the successful mass infection of the public, thousands of new Long COVID cases, overall worsened health of the public, and tens of thousands of dead people. That’s the cost of every lull that wasn’t earned with policy.

75,603 people died of COVID in 2023 according to death certificates, which is certainly an undercount. (I would note that death certificate flu was 5,999, also a significant undercount and not the number the CDC uses when reporting flu burden). But let’s take the 75k number at face value and provide some perspective about this level of mortality.

75,603 deaths in one year makes COVID the infectious disease killing the most people in the US by far, and likely to remain so.

@startorrent02

BOYCOTT STRANGER THINGS SEASON 5 I am NOT joking.

In Brazil, this couple planted 2 million trees in 18 years, returning 172 bird species, 33 mammals, 15 amphibians, 15 reptiles and 293 plant species to the area.

The whole world should know them. This is Lélia Wanick and Sebastião Salgado.

The couple decided to start the Terra Institute, a small organization that planted 2 million plants and revived the forest.

"There is only one creature that can convert carbon dioxide into oxygen, and that is a tree. We need to replant the forests."

Using only local plants, the couple rebuilt the entire ecosystem from scratch and the area flourished significantly, allowing the fauna to return; thanks to their work, Lélia and Sebastião saved dozens of endangered species.

"The earth was sad as I was, everything was destroyed. Then my wife got a fantastic idea to replant this forest: all the insects, fish and birds returned, and thanks to the new growth of the trees I was born again."

"Report: 2.5 millions Sudanese could die from starvation by September."

The RSF -a genocial militia- is mass starving Sudanese people. They are cutting off or denying food access to many through inflation of necessities and it's beyond horrific to see.

This is 5% of the population, and extends to interrelated issues. It has also been reported that roughly 80% of Sudanese people are not able to farm their lands adequately. So please continue to keep eyes on Sudan. Educate yourself, stay informed, and continue to share and donate to GFM's of Sudanese families. I post them on my page as I see them here, as well as when I come across them elsewhere. And as always, free Sudan.

CARE

2.5 million South Sudanese Face Severe Hunger, Figures Reveal - CARE

As many as 2.5 million South Sudanese will be living in severe hunger in the next three months, according to figures released today by the I