By the way, the girl in this video, Logan, is a very proud individual of Native American descent and is studying Native American politics for her major! If you have questions regarding the current ongoing struggles of the Native American population here in the states, she gave me permission to refer you to her tumblr page, @littlebittyindian!
If there are any other blogs that specialize in keeping viewers abreast of or educating people on Native American issues, I encourage anyone to add them here!
From Black Friday until Cyber Monday 2015, you can adopt a pet for free from the Best Friends Animal Society and their partner locations. Zappos.com is covering adoption fees and donating an additional $150 for every pet that finds a home.
Enjoying glazed squash, pumpkin pie, and cranberry sauce means enjoying the fruits of many bees’ labor. Much of what we eat is dependent on bees and other pollinators.
There’s a lot to be thankful for – I’m thankful for folks like you, and Adam Cole, and the great science side of tumblr here for reminding us to be thankful for the little guys. Like the bees. Thanks, bees. <3
Here is a comprehensive list of all things that are often labeled as, but are definitelynot Romani, and thus, not “Gypsy”.
1. Princesses: there is no such thing as Romani royalty, despite the fact that it is a common belief. There are some self-appointed Romani “Kings” and “Queens”, but these are usually just prominent members of a particular community. There are no royal families or royal bloodlines within Romani culture, so “Gypsy” princesses do not exist.
2. Crystals: crystal healing was historically used by some East Asian cultures, as well as a few Native American cultures. Crystals are neat; they are quite aesthetically pleasing. However, the “crystal healing” trend is an appropriation of various indigenous religions and often involves the use of “chakras”, which is also appropriative. Crystals have nothing to do with Romani people and we have no history of using crystals in this manner.
3. Bindis: we originated in India, and yes, some Romani people still use facial adornments similar to the bindi, they are not bindis and the bindi is not Romani, nor is it “Gypsy”.
4. Tribal prints: “tribal” anything is often the appropriation and commodification of Native American/First Nations, and various African patterns. Aside from the fact that the term, “tribal”, has many racist undertones, I have yet to see any sort of “tribal” print that has anything to do with traditional Romani motifs and patterns.
5. Kuchi coins: or really, anything Kuchi. The Kuchi people are a nomadic ethnic group from Afghanistan. They are of no relation to Romani people and neither is any of their traditional jewelry or clothing. Despite the fact that they are nomadic, they are not “Gypsies”.
6. Tarot cards: these are a French invention. Sure, they have been used by some Roma in the fortune telling business, but the cards themselves are not Romani at all.
7. The nazar: those blue “evil eye” charms and amulets that are becoming very popular are definitely not “Gypsy”. They are very specific to Mediterranean cultures, like Greece, Turkey, Egypt, etc.. Some Roma from Mediterranean and Balkan countries do own nazar amulets due to cultural exchange and assimilation, however, they are not traditionally part of our culture. We have a concept of the evil eye, but our beliefs and traditions regarding the evil eye are more similar to those held in India and Pakistan, not the Mediterranean and West Asia.
8. Hamsa & Hand of Fatima: “Hamsa hands” are not Romani at all. They are a cultural and religious feature from MENA (Middle Eastern and North African) countries. They are significant in both Islam and Judaism. Muslim and Jewish Roma may use the symbol for religious reasons, but it was never part of Romani culture. It is not at all “Gypsy”.
9. Dream catchers: I really shouldn’t have to put this here, but apparently I do. Dream catchers are a specific to several Native American/First Nations cultures and anyone making, selling, or buying non-Native made dream catchers is engaging in cultural appropriation. Period.
10. Medicine bags: medicine bags of any kind are also not part of Romani culture and not “Gypsy”. Along with dream catchers, medicine bags belong to Native American and First Nations cultures. I understand that they are listed in Patrinella Cooper’s book and she claims they are part of Romani religious practices, but that is completely false.
11. Magic: Magic, Magick, Wicca, Paganism, etc.. none of these are Romani. None of these are “Gypsy”. Our traditional religious beliefs are rooted in Hinduism and contain Christian and Islamic influences. That’s it.
12. Peasant blouses and dresses: these fashions are not related to traditional Romani dress. They are not at all “Gypsy”. The name of this type of clothing is pretty self-explanatory, as well, so I am not sure why everyone insists that peasant blouses and dresses are “Gypsy”.
13. Flower crowns: while flower and wreath crowns are used for certain religious and cultural events by certain Romani communities, it is only due to Slavic influences.
14. Feathers: Roma have never used feathers in any traditional motifs, nor as part of our traditional clothing or jewelry. Feathers are not “Gypsy”. They are just.. feathers.
15. Belly-dance: belly dancing originated in the Middle East and is a feature of various MENA cultures. Because Romani and Domari people have found a niche in the entertainment industry, some Roma and Dom living in MENA countries practice and perform belly-dance. However, belly-dancing is not traditionally part of Romani culture. Traditional Romani dancing is not belly-dance. Belly-dance is not “Gypsy”.
16. Tie-dye: tie-dying, as it is called in the Western world, has roots in parts of Asia and Africa. In fact, the entire method of tie-dying was not introduced to the United States until 1909. Our modern concept of “tie-dye” was not popularized until the late 1960s. The method of tie-dying was an appropriation of dying methods from the previously mentioned regional cultures. Nothing about tie-dying has to do with Romani people.
17. Moroccan “pouf” ottomans: these cool-looking leather ottomans hail from North Africa. They’re super neat and while floor cushions of sorts are a fairly common thing in many Romani homes, these are specific to a certain region of the world and they are not at all “Gypsy”.
18. Your soul: unless you are ethnically Romani, no, your soul is not “Gypsy”.. no ifs, ands, or buts.
So yall just gon act like there’s not a show premiering tonight about Simba and Nala’s son?(kiara and Kovu are in it too as adults) NONE OF YALL WANTED TO TELL ME THIS!? WHY I GOTTA BE LATE!?
It is with heavy hearts that we announce the death of Nola, a critically endangered northern white rhino who lived at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park.
This is a very difficult loss for the animal care staff who worked with
her, our volunteers, guests, and to her species worldwide. Please take a
moment to share your memories of Nola and your sympathy using the
hashtag #Nola4Ever. Nola’s legacy will live forever as her death leaves just 3 northern white rhinos on the planet.
Last week, a barrier that cotained toxic fluids broke in Brazil taking these fluids to one of the most important rivers we have here (Rio Doce). It formed a toxic mud and took over cities nearby, destroying them and killing people. This mud contains metals such as mercury, lead, barium, copper, among others. It’s said there is mud enough to fulfill 20 thousand olympic pools. This river is now officially dead, forever. The whole ecosystem of the area is destroyed. Animals are dead and some species might be extint. The mud keeps going through the river’s course and it’s said it’s gonna get to the seacost, also destroying that area. Another barrier is starting to break and it is 5 times bigger than the first one, which means the damage will be bigger. Cities nearby, such as Governador Valadares, ran out of water system. Mariana, another city, is also going through a hard time. Other cities are said to be destroyed forever. The biggest problem of all is that Brazilian media won’t talk about it. This huge ambiental crime is under Vale’s responsability. Vale is a multinational private mining corporation and they have a huge power over media. Regular brazilian citizenships have no idea of how huge the situation is, as the media makes it seem like it was just a little accident. People are dying, people are suffering, a whole ecossystem is dead. This is the largest ambiental accident in the history of Brazil. We need help to show the world what our media don’t want our people to know.
BHP, one of the mining companies responsible, has provided tanks and trucks to help save any surviving aquatic life. Honestly I don’t think many species will be saved, and their fines are far too small for something of this magnitude.
Phoenix Assistance Dogs is a Pennsylvania-based program that trains service dogs at very low cost for disabled handlers. Due to their mission to produce well-trained service dogs at a low cost for their clients, they have run into a huge vet bill.
If Phoenix Assistance Dogs cannot raise $10,000 by Christmas, they will be FORCED TO SHUT DOWN. This means that 15+ people on their wait list will not receive their service dogs, and they cannot continue to provide SDs to disabled persons at a low cost.
So far, as of November 6th, 2015, PAD has only raised around 11% of the total needed.This means they have LESS THAN TWO MONTHS to raise ALMOST $9,000!
Please help us #SavePAD! Post the links above to social media with the hashtag #SavePAD, hold a fundraiser in your town/city, donate if you can, ANYTHING to help this amazing program continue to help disabled people!
Yo okay. So I really hate to add more sorrow after what has happened /is happening in this world, but my country is going through shit right now, right this minute.
Some people may or may not know that our current “wow-progressive-female-president” is actually the entire opposite. Not only is she the daughter of a past dictator in Korea (this is actually the least of her flaws), but also 1) gender equality has actually flunked - Korea is last out of 37 OECD countries in gender wage gap (aka has the largest gap), 2) job market isn’t doing any better, and most current/recent is 3) attempt to revamp the history textbooks.
Now, you might wonder, what’s so bad about #3. Think of whitewashing-american-textbooks-bad but on a national level.
The government one day announced that it believes that all history books should be revamped because there’s too much inconsistency among the various versions. Okay, that’s reasonable. But here’s where people started to get on the edge: the government said it was “thinking” of it, but they had actually finished planning it and was into the final touches.
And in more detail, people (including myself) are expressing complaints because the government is the inconsistent one. Apparently, anything that is too “pro North Korea” needs to be edited out. And yet, “pro dictators” (aka the current president’s father) and “pro (imperialist)Japan” is fine.
The inconsistencies don’t end there.
At this very moment,
People are trapped in a subway station and police are filling it up with teargas
Outside in the streets, police are aiming teargas/water cannons at protesters (and random passerbys)
They even deliberately aimed at an ambulance that had a 70-yo man who got a concussion from the blasts (the hospital says he’s in dire condition)
Media are calling the protesters a violent mob and blaming them for sudden traffic and disaster: one reported that protesters held one policemen hostage, another (a police fb page) showed citizens breaking the police buses.
BUT the police had surrounded the protesters before the legal and authorized rally (you can register so in Korea) had started - already effectively making traffic, and shot the water cannons at the citizens first
The worst/highest martial law(계엄령) given in Korea history is during the three dictators era, especially Jeon Du Hwan(전두환)’s time. The current president called for martial law just one degree below that.
And where’s our dear president right now? Fled to Turkey.
(ADD-ON) Many said they read news and heard about every other tragedy that happened in the world today (terrorism in France) but they didn’t know what was going in on our very country
(ADD-ON) People from older generations are comparing now with the 1980 5.18 Gwangju Uprising (광주혁명) - when people specifically in Gwangju, Korea started rallies against the then dictator used the media to frame them as “reds”(communists, bc anti-North Korea was worse then) and used police violence.
The most I can do (for now) is spread awareness. Please help signal boost.
#gwanghwamun2015 (still thinking of a better hashtag to represent the shitstorm here)
#fucking_korea
#fucking_korean_government
are the hashtags currently going viral in Korea.
*NOTE:
The protest was legally registered previously. It was called in response not just to oppose against the textbook reform, but also to government plans to change labor regulations to make it easier for employers to fire people and pay lower wages, as well as plans to open up more markets to foreign competition (free trade), which would cost a lot of people their jobs. Other issues that were to be mentioned: basic human rights, democracy, more jobs to lower the unemployment rate for people in their 20s (just entering the market), actual apology and action for the deceased of the Sewol ferry, etc.
TL, DR; Korean citizens are fed up with the president and her government’s bs.
And where’s our dear president right now? Fled to Turkey. In Turkey for the G20 conference.**
**edit has been made (on the original post) to erase my sarcastic tone on the president’s whereabouts.
If you are Korean, I strongly STRONGLY urge you to follow the coverage on OhMyNews and Misfits, both heavily liberal media outlets but are the two of the few outlets that actually covered the rally in the first place.
The next rally is scheduled for the Fifth of December, 2015. I hope to follow it live as much as possible when that happens, perhaps on tumblr too.
And if you are wondering what the demands from the rally are:
Brief translations done earlier:
#Workplace_Reform - Protect labor rights of contractors - Strengthen the workers’ (economic) social security
#Hold_the1%_Accountable - Ask for a return on the
#Agriculture - Repeal Korea’s involvement in TPP - Stop the import on rice - Stabilize the price of agricultural products
#StrikePoverty - Stop cracking down street vendors - Stop burdening families with adult dependents and implement governmental support for these adult dependents through universal care
#Democracy - Stop repressing public officials - Repeal of Nation Security Law (which allows the governments to label any political act against their ideology essentially as a (communist) threat) and Korean National Intelligence Service - Stop distorting Korean history and halt the effort for Government-approved unified history textbook that glorify dictators of modern Korean history
#HumanRights - Enact anti-discirimination law that protect women, immigrant, people living with disabilities, sexual minorities (LGBTIA) living in Korea against hatred and discriminatory action - Ensure independence of National Human Rights Commission from government agencies - Stop the infringement on human rights by government agencies
#Independence_and_Peace - Abolish McCarthyian policies against North Korea, starting with lifting 5.24 measures - Better the South-North Relations and ensure civilian exchange - Oppose THAAD, KR-JP-AM military drills, and Japan’s attempt to militarize itself
#Protect_the_Students - Press on the mega corporations to open up desirable jobs (rather than exploiting their current workers by subjecting them to 80 hour work days without over time payment) - Stop restructuring of universities
#Sewol - Pull up the ferry from the water - Restart the effort to examine and uncover the truth behind the Sewol capsizing - Establishment of a safer society
#Environment - Stop constructing cable cars in national parks - Immediately halt construction of a new nuclear plant - Correctly scrap nuclear plants that outlived its lifespan
#Public_Society - Stop privatization of healthcare, railway, gas, and water - Strengthen public healthcare system and halt attempt to establish a for-profit hospital in Jeju Island
Remember. These are the main points. How the police terrorized the protesters and how some protesters retaliated are important facets of this rally that speaks volumes about the current state of Korea but these are what need to be pass on. Pass it on please.
I also need to say that this rally was made up of a lot different factions of Korean grassroots organizing and the immense amount of representation makes me really proud amidst all of the shameful things that came out of this, namely how the police handled this whole protest. LGBTQ Koreans were there, the farmers in their 60’s and above were there, labor unions and college students were there and so many others often gone unnoticed or busy being oppressed.
This really is history in the making.
I’m so glad there are other people who can translate because just absorbing all the media coming out alone has been a full time affair.
we still have at least a year and a half of her in power. She is too powerful for a scandal to screw her over, and once the textbook is tampered, it will be so for at least 10 years. Unless, someone more powerful get elected next term. Instead of trying to deify your tyrant father, try to care about our broken society, Park.
Considering the captive customer pool that the USPS has in many cases, their posting losses doesn’t make a lot of sense.
The reason the Post Office has losses is because the Republican Party passed laws that were designed to make that happen. They did this so it would appear that the Postal Service is poorly run and then they would be able to privatize it and jack up the prices and cut services.
From Crooks & Liars:
The 109th United States Congress held a vote back in 2006 that did irreparable harm to one of the largest unions in the country and one of the most functional institutes of our government.
A Republican Congress—acting at the behest of the Bush-Cheney administration—enacted a law that required the postal service to “pre-fund” retiree health benefits seventy-five years into the future. (75 YEARS!)
NO corporation has ever been asked to shoulder such insane financial burdens and Americans had no idea this was even happening. The US Post Office is one of the top employers&… Continue reading…
Don’t know why people always trash the post office, I send everything I can through them, plus like they’re cheap as hell.
Hey folks! This is the support fund that was set up for us by Kim Khal, a wonderful member of the rescue community and colleague of mine at the rescue!
Dasha, my foster dog, was misrepresented by her breeder as being “99% wolf” but is most likely a GSD/Malinois mix with no significant wolf content.
Unfortunately, though, due to the breeder’s lies, Dasha’s previous owners assumed that she was a wild animal and decided to treat her like one. She spent months on the end of a six-foot chain in their backyard, developed sores on her hips from laying on nothing but packed dirt, and suffers from minor tremors and a facial tick caused by blunt-force trauma to her head as a result of heavy-handed “training”.
Despite all that she went through, Dasha is still an absolute sweetheart with a lot of potential. She has blossomed since entering my care and even did well on her first socialization walk through Portland yesterday. This precious pup will not have any issues finding a new forever home, but before we can adopt her out, there are some medical expenses that need to be taken care of - primarily, for her spay surgery.
On the low end, the surgery will likely cost $250.00 - this is a “no bells and whistles” estimate. At the most, the surgery will cost bout $500.00, including materials for after care, top-quality pain medications, and laser therapy to aid the healing process. The additional funds will go toward medical bills already incurred (which I paid for out-of-pocket myself), including her rabies and Parvo vaccinations, as well as flea medication since she shares an enclosure with Cabal and Jude.
Every buck helps! Without these funds, Dasha cannot be adopted out to her forever home.
“women don’t know how much rejection hurts” i wasn’t allowed to play with legos or touch a football or look at sports. i wasn’t allowed to eat more. i wasn’t allowed to talk loudly, to laugh too much, to inject myself into male conversations. i wasn’t allowed to be good at science. i was told “oh sweetheart, have another college in mind, STEM fields are hard.” i got turned down from jobs in favor of boys where were less qualified. one boss told me he was hesitant to hire me because my last name is hispanic and i’m pretty and he didn’t want the “controversy.” i couldn’t take up space on the train. i would be talked over in public places. i couldn’t eat steak or drink beer, they were “boy” things. video games were off limits, i wasn’t allowed to ask if i could see more characters like myself in them. super heroes were all men, women were just love interests. i wanted shirts with wonderwoman, with black widow, with harley quinn, i found next to nothing. i wanted pockets and colors other than pink and clothes designed for warmth, not sexy, i got nothing. women change their name to be published nationally. i wasn’t allowed to be emotional, i wasn’t good at driving, i wasn’t in charge of my own body. i wasn’t allowed to show off my body, i wasn’t allowed to dress modestly. i had to be pretty, whatever it took, but my eating was constantly made fun of. “she’s, like, anorexic” was a punchline, not a disorder. “she’s fat” was a death sentence.
boys said no because: i wasn’t pretty i wasn’t small i was too loud i spent too much energy on being funny on because i wouldn’t shut up what a feminazi i wasn’t smart i was too smart for my own good i was always reading i was always busy i was too needy i was too independent i was not who you took home i was too much of a house mom i was perfect and it was scary.
women don’t know. women don’t know. never sat in a room and wrote angsty poetry about this shit. somehow both overemotional and not capable of knowing how much rejection stings. which one is it. which one is it. i’ll give you a hint: we’ve been rejected since the first time our parents said, “no, not the blue blanket, it’s for little boys to play with.” we are used to having “no” slammed in our faces. we got used to it. maybe the reason it seems so unnatural to hear “no” is because for your entire life, you heard “yes.”
The crows she feeds obviously have their own little lives. They go about their business, and they spot *pretty thing* or /unique thing/ in question. What gets me is that the *first* thing on their minds as recipient of this thing is the little girl that feeds them.
They spot a thing, and immediately must think, “that nice girl with delicious foodstuffs must have this to show my gratitude.”
It’s actually more than that, though, if you read the articles or watch the videos. This has taken place over YEARS- it started with these birds following this little girl around because she was a messy eater and it has turned into a ritual for the family. They have a water station and food stations where they daily set out things for these birds and sometimes (but not always), these birds leave ‘payment’ behind for the food.
BUT WAIT THERE’S MORE
These birds are not just taking food and leaving shinies. These birds are watching over this family now. Their lives have become involved. These crows are keeping track of this girl and her mother even when they are out of the yard. How do we know?
One of them is a photographer, and one day while she was photographing some stuff on a bridge, she dropped her camera’s lenscap over the edge. There was no way she could get it back, so she left it. When she got home, the lenscap was sitting on the edge of one of the feeding stations, waiting for her.
Not only were the birds following and watching over her, they were smart enough to realize she dropped an Important Thing and cared enough to bring it back to her.
