“You Must Never Give In To Despair. Allow Yourself To Slip Down That Road And You Surrender To Your

friendly reminder for washingtonians, vote NO on all the initiatives! the seattle stranger has a good run down of them as well as thorough endorsements of the candidates.

Guys.

Guess what?

It’s officially…

HALLOWEEN!!!!

euronews

EU targets food and fast fashion in new war on waste

Polish presidency of the EU Council announced breakthrough in early hours after marathon overnight talks on food waste reduction targets and

"Polish presidency of the EU Council announced breakthrough in early hours after marathon overnight talks on food waste reduction targets and measures to limit a throwaway clothing culture.

The EU has set its first ever legally binding targets for member states to cut food waste, with lawmakers agreeing on a 30% cut across retailers, restaurants, caterers and households by the end of the decade.

For food processors and manufacturers, the 2030 goal is a 10% reduction, with both targets based on the average in the three years to 2023. EU estimates suggest that over 59 million tonnes of food is shovelled into dustbins every year, representing a loss of €132 billion.

Reforms to the EU’s waste framework directive, agreed this morning [February 19, 2025] after a marathon negotiating session behind closed doors between MEPs and government delegates, also target the textiles industry.

New harmonised rules on extended producer responsibility (EPR) mean textile producers and fashion brands will have to pay a fee to help fund waste collection, sorting and recycling, based on how circular and sustainable their products are.

In a measure directly targeting ‘fast fashion’ practices such as cheap, almost disposable clothes from online platforms, EU governments are also empowered to adapt these fees based on the durability of garments.

“The rapidly growing e-commerce market brings many opportunities, but also represents a significant challenge, especially in terms of environmental protection,” the agreed text runs.

The legislation gives leeway to penalise aggressive marketing strategies that encourage clothes to be discarded before they are worn out, practices that according to the legislation are “likely resulting in an overconsumption of textile products and, consequently, an overgeneration of waste”.

Criteria that can be considered include the width of the product range offered by a retailer, and the provision or lack of a repair services and incentives.

Anti-waste campaigners welcomed EU action, but were disappointed by the level of ambition reflected in the headline targets.

“The EU and its member states committed to the UN Sustainable Development Goals 10 years ago, including a 50% reduction of food waste across the entire supply chain,” said Theresa Mörsen, a policy officer at the Brussels-based NGO Zero Waste Europe...

The agreement is provisional, subject to a rubber stamp from government ministers at an EU Council summit – a procedure which is normally a formality."

-via EuroNews, February 19, 2025

I hope every writer who sees this writes LOADS the next few months. Like freetime opens up, no writers block, the ability to focus, etc etc you're able to write loads & make lots of progress <3

dear americans,

as a polish queer woman and human rights activist, i know exactly how you're feeling right now and what to expect from these elections. i lived through the 2015-2023 regime of pis, a right-wing populist party that divided families in the same way trump did. i’ve experienced the rise of fascism in poland, the influence of far-right parties like konfederacja, and their “santa’s little helpers”—ordo iuris, an ultra-conservative catholic organization (banned in many countries, mind you) that helped enforce a near-total abortion ban and runs anti-queer campaigns in public spaces. i supported the black protests in 2016 as a middle schooler when they first tried to ban abortion. as an adult, i actively participated in the 2020 women’s strike, running from police tear gas daily after they finally passed the ban. i supported friends who faced charges.

i’ve lived through intense homophobia in poland as a queer teen and adult. i survived the first pride march in my hometown, where far-right extremists threw stones and glass at us. i endured the anti-queer propaganda spread by the ruling party in state-owned media. i survived the “rainbow night,” poland’s own stonewall moment in summer 2020, when police arrested around 50 queer activists following the arrest of margo, a nonbinary activist. i survived the "lgbt-free zones," the targeted violence, the slurs from strangers on the street, and the protests i held against queerphobia. it was hard as fuck, but i survived.

but just because i survived, it doesn’t mean others did. many women died because of the abortion ban—marta, justyna, izabela, dorota, joanna, maria, and many others who didn’t survive pis’s draconian anti-abortion laws. milo, kacper, michał, zuzia (she was 12), wiktor, and other queer and trans kids and young adults took their own lives because of the relentless queerphobia.

despite all of this, our experience in poland can serve as a guide now. here are some tips for staying safe and how we, polish queers and women, organized under the regime:

safety first, always. if you know someone who’s had an abortion, no you don’t. if you know someone is trans, no you don’t. if you know people who help with safe abortions, no you don’t—at least not until you know it’s 100% safe to share. if you are queer or have had an abortion, only share this with people you trust fully. most importantly, not everyone has to be an activist just because they’re part of a minority. if it feels unsafe to share that you're queer, trans, etc., then don’t. it doesn’t make you any less queer.

use secure, encrypted messaging like signal for conversations on potentially risky topics, such as queerness, abortion, organizing counter-actions, protests—anything that might be used against you.

stay anonymous online. if you want to research or report something without surveillance, do not use regular internet. get a vpn (mullvad is affordable and reliable), download the tor browser (for both onion and standard links), and if you plan to whistleblow, consider using a riseup email account.

organize and build networks. community is everything now. support each other, foster independence, because your government won’t have your back. set up collectives, grassroots movements. create lists of trusted professionals—lawyers, doctors, etc.—who can offer support.

to lawyers and doctors: please consider pro-bono work. this is what got us through poland’s hardest times. your work will be needed now more than ever.

for protests or risky actions: always write a pro-bono lawyer’s number on your arm with a permanent marker.

get to know the anarchist black cross federation and other resources on safety culture: "Starting an anarchist black cross group: A guide"; Still We Rise - A resource pack for transgender and non-gender conforming people in prison; Safe OUTside the system by the Audre Lorde Project;

for safe abortion info or involvement: get familiar with womenhelpwomen.

stay radical, stay strong, stay informed: The Anarchist Library

if i forgot to (or didn't) include something, don't hesitate to reblog this post with other resources.

Trans Visibility Day activities

(image id in alt, i hope!)

t.co

🌵 Mochilas y Bolsos de la artesania wayuu 100% originales 🌵

➤ 🌵 Bienvenidos a la tienda online de mochilas colombianas 🌵 Te contamos la historia, tradición y cultura que hay detrás de estas mochilas w

https://t.co/tQNM37KsB0

Tu Tienda Wayúu

Tienda de artesanias Wayúu

Tienda de artesanias Wayúu, Artesanias Colombianas, Bolsos Wayúu, Mochilas Wayúu, Venta de Mochilas Wayúu, Pulseras Wayúu, Tobilleras Wayúu,

Shout out to all the Black ppl that can no longer participate directly in the fandom they love because of the stresses of racism 👍🏾 you contain multitudes of value and I'm sorry that the color of your skin and the power of your voice makes people not want to acknowledge that.

Everyone say thank you american indigenous people for cultivating corn, potatoes, peppers, tomatoes, cacao, pumpkin, squash, and anything i missed. Makes life more meaningful globally