Oh my god my nano novel is basically just me talking to myself about worldbuilding but I am having a great time.
Today I get to throw an inclusive holiday party and make all my characters dress up and be awkward over the charcuterie. And then drop a (figurative) bomb on them.
Yes I have spent more time planning a set of charcuteries that you can serve to a crowd that includes people who are diabetic, vegan, jewish, muslim, and fae than I have the “plot”, so sue me.
Currently finding theme songs for all my ships.
My roommate, who is also doing nano, wrote There’s Only One Bed in the same room as I did while I wrote this thanksgiving grandma 200-year-old werewolf coworker and I just came out to each other, both of us giggling the whole time.This novel was the best idea I’ve had all year.
“Indisposed” is a fantastic word because it can mean either “unable due to illness” or “unwilling due to lack of interest”, and if anybody tries to pry into which one you meant you can tell them it’s none of their damn business and they’ll look like the unreasonable one.
this doesn’t apply to me but in case anyone is using this app apparently muslimpro is selling your location data to the us military lol. i guess you could deny access to your location?
also included the Craigslist app and more
there are so many articles like this that come out OFTEN about apps and services in the US. do not let anyone tell you it is just companies spying on you or “i dont have anything incriminating” or “spooky Chinese surveillance on TikTok,” the apps you use are directly spying on you for law enforcement, and making a LOT of money doing it.
i could give you hundreds of these. and these are just this year. there’s everything from ISPs and cell phone companies selling your data to law enforcement, to Twitter and the CIA co-investing in a “newsgathering” startup.
[ID: Two tweets about a vice.com article titled “How the U.S. Military Buys Location Data from Ordinary Apps.” The first is from @/overdramatique. It links reads, “I can’t believe MuslimPro is selling us out like this, time to start using a stick and checking the shadows to figure out salah times.”
The second tweet, from @/jason_koebler, says, “The companies and apps that are doing this - which include a Craigslist app I was using until I edited this story, a level app, a Muslim dating app, a storm weather app, among others - largely said they don’t give a shit what happens with the data.” This is followed by an excerpt from the article, which reads,
“YanFlex, the developer behind the CPlus for Craigslist app, also did not appear to know that X-Mode works with military contractors. “I don’t think what you described is true,” they incorrectly wrote in an email when asked for comment.
“Accupedo, the step tracking app, told Motherboard in an email that “We do not speak publicly about the relationships we have with our partners. If you are interested in our relationship with X-Mode, you can contact them directly.”
“"We are comfortable with how X-Mode uses location data,“ Neil Kelly, president and chief developer of Kelly Technology, which makes the Global Storms app, told Motherboard in an email.”
I feel like it’s time we talked about how there is no such thing as universal accessibility. One space cannot be accessible for every single person. And I don’t say that to suggest that we just shouldn’t try making spaces as accessible as possible, but rather to say how important it is that we have multiple, different spaces.
A place that is well-lit and has lots of natural light will help many visually impaired people, but it will be a nightmare for anyone with photo-sensitivity. A small, dimly lit, quiet space might be ideal for somebody with sensory overload, but not for somebody with claustrophobia. A solarpunk utopia where the cities are filled with plants and trees and green might massively help the population’s depression and general spirits, but it would be hell for anyone with autoimmune disorders and allergies.
At the LGBTQ+ Christian group I go to, there are some really flamboyant, loud, and excitable extroverts there, who love to sing their hearts out and clap and dance during worship. There are also people who have sensory issues and anxiety exacerbated by loud noise. It cannot be a safe-space for everyone to express themselves freely, if it’s also a safe space for those with anxiety.
In a learning environment, one child with ADHD may need to bounce their leg or fidget with something in order to concentrate, while another autistic child finds that incredibly distracting and makes them anxious.
A small, tight, cosy space that’s reminiscent of a village pub or small cottage might be ideal for making me feel comfortable, sheltered and reducing my anxiety and social exhaustion, but it wouldn’t be very accessible for a wheelchair user or someone with physical mobility issues. I am both of those people.
Nobody is doing anything wrong, nobody is being victimised by another person, there’s no right and wrong in these situations. It’s just that those people have opposing needs that can’t be accommodated in the same space at the same time. And we need to talk about that.
What’s important is that we create different spaces to cater to a multitude of needs, and that we listen to people’s needs. Most importantly we need to look at which groups of people and which needs are often ignored, and which people have very little access to spaces.
This is incredibly important.
This is definitely true, and although I know this was mentioned in the original post I do want to reiterate that situations like these aren’t any individual disabled person’s fault and it’s not up to you to make your own needs smaller so that you’re not infringing on someone else’s
I find it difficult with situations like this because it’s easy for internalized ableism to act up and tell you that you should be smaller and try to stay out of the way and not bother other people with your needs.
But that’s not true, and your needs do matter, even if it’s difficult to meet everybody’s needs at the same time. The problem is not your needs. The problem is a society that isn’t prioritizing ways to create a variety of spaces and solutions that meet everybody’s needs
Taken from the Facebook page of Natalie Mehra, the executive director of Ontario Health Coalition, November 16, 2020:
VERY QUICK UPDATE & MESSAGE - BILL 218 JUST PASSED
The Ontario Legislature just voted on Bill 218, the law that indemnifies for-profit long-term care homes among other for liability for their negligence in the pandemic. The Ford government MPPs voted for Bill 218 and the NDP and Liberals voted against it. The Bill passed. One of the Opposition Parties (I could not see who on the livestream) requested a recorded vote: the result was 52 ayes and 38 nays.
The NDP had brought an amendment earlier in the Standing Committee to carve out long-term care and retirement homes that the Conservative MPPs used their majority to vote down.
The message to the long-term care industry is that they will not be held legally liable for negligence and that they are not required even to act with the normal requirement which, prior to this law, would have required a reasonable and competent effort to protect residents from harm from COVID-19. It is reprehensible that the Ford government has passed this legislation.
The lawsuits will go ahead. The lawyers I have heard from are refiling their claims as “gross negligence”. It will be a steeper hill to climb but they intend to try to climb it on behalf of their clients who are the families who have lost loved ones.
We will pursue our complaint to the Integrity Commissioner. It is our position that the government MPPs, including a number of government Ministers, Premier and other MPPs who brought this bill forward and voted for it, have received donations and have close ties with the for-profit long-term care industry, and that these should be investigated for conflict-of-interest and those MPPs should have recused themselves from the vote.
I also want to add a note for those who are not aware. The Ford government has changed the rules of the Legislature to limit debate to just a few hours. It would have been impossible to pass this Bill so quickly before they did that. They also limited the public hearings to just one part-day, cutting out more than four dozen people, including family members of the deceased, from even being heard. The hearings were not televised, which I have never seen before, and the media could not watch them. These decisions are profoundly undemocratic, not to mention callous.
To the families who are directly impacted: we feel your heartbreak and your anger. We promise to continue to do everything we can do to improve care, protect those who rely on our health care system for their care, and finally achieve some accountability and justice for all that has happened.
I am sorry to report such bad news. We will keep you apprised as we figure out next steps.
Don't give up. Unless you have to for a little while. Then don't panic. CONTAINS: Star Trek, Dungeons and Dragons, Critical Role, History, Current Affairs, Space, Cats, and Etc. Adult.
