hippie | solarpunk | human

Saving the Earth one step at a time. Follow for lots of plants, sustainability ideas, and lots of things I find aesthetically pleasing.

[kawuli]

random PSA, I know a lot of people use duckduckgo as a Google alternative search engine, but it always kind of annoyed me when I was using it because it felt like No Name Brand Google

I have switched to using Startpage.com and vastly prefer it. for one thing, instead of displaying an "AI summary" at the top of the search results (unless you turn it off, yes I know), it displays the first paragraph of the Wikipedia article, with link, whenever it finds one that's relevant.

also a waaayyyyy better sense of design than duckduckgo

also private, European based, least annoying search I've used lately (RIP old "don't be evil" Google)

[yomikoreadsbooks]

Keeping a list of Google alternatives just in case…

[saxifraga-x-urbium]

i have one of those, scraped from multiple different rec posts:

Search Engines

Infinity Search is an alternative search engine with a special focus on privacy

DuckDuckGo is a popular search engine for those who value their privacy and are put off by the thought of their every query being tracked and logged. Uses bangs, ![site] for in-page search (sells your data to microsoft and draws from fucking bing)

WolframAlpha is a privately owned search engine that allows you to “compute expert-level answers using Wolfram’s breakthrough algorithms, knowledgebase, and AI technology.” A data search engine.

Boardreader is a search engine for forums and message boards. It allows you to search forums and then filter down results by date and language.

Based in France, Qwant is a privacy-based search engine that won’t record your searches or use your personal details for advertising. Uses “&” as a bang search.

Another privacy-based search engine is Search Encrypt, which uses local encryption to ensure that users’ identifiable information cannot be tracked. Metasearch across multiple engines. 

Offering unbiased results from several sources, SearX is a metasearch engine that aims to present a free, decentralized view of the internet. Can be self-hosted. 

Gibiru’s tagline is “Unfiltered private search” and that’s exactly what it offers. Requires AnonymoX Firefox add-on for privacy. 

Disconnect allows you to conduct anonymous searches through a search engine of your choice.

Swisscows provides fully encrypted searches to protect your privacy and security. Built-in violence/porn filter cannot be overridden. 

MetaGer offers “Privacy Protected Search & Find” through its anonymised search. A plugin will allow it to be made a default.

Gigablast is a private search engine that indexes millions of websites and servers real-time information without tracking your data, keeping you hidden from marketers and spammers. Variety of filtration and refinement options for searching. 

Oscobo is a search engine that protects your privacy while you search the web. By not using any third-party tools or scripts, your data is protected from hacking and misuse. Has a Chrome extension to allow use in toolbar. 

https://search.marginalia.nu/ an independent DIY search engine that focuses on non-commercial content, and attempts to show you sites you perhaps weren't aware of in favor of the sort of sites you probably already knew existed. Use old-school searching rather than query-based for the best results. 

https://www.mojeek.com/ 

https://wiby.me/ - It’s goal is to index as many personalized websites as possible, and NOT commercial sites. 

https://4get.ca/ it works a lot like SearX, but honestly better. It doesn’t have its own index, but pulls from many others. I think it’s the best for research, since it allows you to search for answers from different indexes, is easy to configure, add free, and avoids censorship as much as it can.

https://www.searchenginemap.com/ for more on how search engines relate to each other.

https://yep.com/ is a crawler

https://www.etools.ch/ retrieves from Google, Mojeek, Bing, and Yandex, like Searx

https://www.dogpile.com/ 

https://searxng.org/ (next gen Searx)

https://luxxle.com/ - possibly conservative?

https://presearch.com/ - good for academic?

https://kagi.com/smallweb - free/randomised Kagi.

Other Searchers

www.refseek.com - Academic Resource Search. More than a billion sources: encyclopedia, monographies, magazines.

www.worldcat.org - a search for the contents of 20 thousand worldwide libraries. Find out where lies the nearest rare book you need.

https://link.springer.com - access to more than 10 million scientific documents: books, articles, research protocols.

www.bioline.org.br is a library of scientific bioscience journals published in developing countries.

http://repec.org - volunteers from 102 countries have collected almost 4 million publications on economics and related science.

www.science.gov is an American state search engine on 2200+ scientific sites. More than 200 million articles are indexed.

www.base-search.net is one of the most powerful researches on academic studies texts. More than 100 million scientific documents, 70% of them are free.https://cosine.club/ is an electronic music similarity search engine

[saxifraga-x-urbium]

[ralfmaximus]

The note inside a bullet.

B-17 bomber is riddled with German anti-aircraft fire but miraculously survives. Later they discover the explosive shells were all inert; sabotaged by Nazi slaves working in armament factories.

Inside one empty shell is a written note: it's all we can do for you now.

[gothlovingoth]

The most important part of all this is that these small acts of bravery and noncompliance cannot be known as long as the enemy still stands, and might never be known. Just because it doesn’t seem like anyone is doing anything doesn’t mean it’s true. The best malicious compliance or subtle sabotage is the one that’s never detected, but makes ravages nonetheless.

[weshallbekind]

A critical part of any resistance is

Do not post your crimes

Do not brag. Do not look for brownie points. Do not publicly recruit. Keep your mouth shut.

[wokeuphighbyvanessacarlton]

Hey guys.

I hate to do this again but after some unforseen expenses, I'm having to do some crowdfunding to 1, pay the remainder of my security deposit, and 2, just keep gas in my car until I get my first paycheck. Totally not a priority but any amount or a reblog helps.

Donate to Help with my deposit and keeping above water, organized by Rebecca Steele

Hi there! Recently I ended a live-in relationship after losing my job,… Rebecca Steele needs your support for Help with my deposit and k

[wokeuphighbyvanessacarlton]

Hey I know this is annoying and repetitive, but I do have to at least get my landlord paid and had more shit pop up, any reblogs or donations would be really helpful.

[thejournallingsolarpunk]

My dear friend, 🌹

Welcome, I hope you are well. 🙏

I am writing to kindly ask for your support in reblogging my pinned post on my page❤🙏.

My name is Enas Hajjo. I am from Gaza.

I gave birth just a few days ago, but my heart is already broken. My baby cries constantly, hungry and in pain, and I can’t give him what he needs most—his mother’s milk.

I am suffering from severe malnutrition. My body is too weak and empty to feed him. I hold him close, hoping he feels my love, even if I cannot nourish him.

This is not how motherhood should begin.

Please, help me buy milk for my baby. I am begging you.

We are not asking for much—just the right to live, to feed our children, to survive.

Please, don’t look away.

✅️Vetted by @gazavetters, my number verified on the list is ( #425 )✅️

.

[run-of-the-milf]

I highly recommend watching this testimony from Aliya Rahman, the disabled woman who was dragged out of her car and kidnapped by ICE on her way to a doctor appointment in Minneapolis a few weeks ago.

Truly my worst nightmare.

[liitohauki]

Transcript of Aliya Rahman's speech:

Thank you members, for taking the time to be here today, and thank you staff for making this happen.

My name is Aliya Rahman, and I am a resident of South Minneapolis. I am a Bangladeshi American born in Northern Wisconsin. And I’m a disabled person with autism and a traumatic brain injury.

Not all autistic brains do this, but mine fixates on sounds, numbers, and patterns. And while what the world saw happen to me exactly three weeks ago today on video was a terrible violation it is still nothing compared to the horrific practices I saw inside the Whipple center.

So I am here today with a duty to the people who have not had the privilege of coming home, and I offer this data because these practices must end now.

On January 13th on the way to my 39th appointment at Hennepin County’s traumatic brain injury center, I encountered a traffic jam caused by ICE vehicles and no signs indicating how to get around it. I had not wanted to pull in to a blocked, chaotic intersection, but verbally agreed to do so and rolled down my window after an agent yelled, “Move! I will break your f-ing window!”

His first instruction.

Agents on all sides of my vehicle yelled conflicting threats and instructions that I could not process while watching for pedestrians.

Then, the glass of the passenger side window flew across my face.

I yelled, “I’m disabled!” at the hands grabbing at me and an agent said, “Too late.”

I felt immersed in a pattern, and I thought of Jenoah Donald, an autistic black man killed by the police during a traffic stop in 2021.

I remembered mister Silverio Villegas González, who was killed by ICE in his vehicle last year.

An agent pulled a large combat knife in front of my face, which I thought was for cutting me, and later learned was used to cut off my seat belt. Shooting pain went through my head, neck, and wrists when I hit the ground face first and people leaned on my back.

I felt the pattern, and I thought of mister George Floyd, who was killed four blocks away.

I was carried face down through the street by my cuffed arms and legs while yelling that I had a brain injury and was disabled. I now cannot lift my arms normally.

I was never asked for ID.

Never told I was under arrest.

Never read my rights.

And never charged with a crime.

Approaching the Whipple center, I saw black and brown bodies shackled together, chained together, being marched by yelling agents outdoors. I continued to hear the word “bodies”, because that is how agents referred to us:

“We’re bringing in a body.”

“They’re bringing in bodies 7, 8 at a time, where do I put ‘em?”

“We can’t use that room, there’s already a body in there.”

You have no reason to believe you will make it out alive if you’re already being called a body.

Agents repeatedly had to stop and ask how to do tasks. I received no medical screening, phone call, or access to a lawyer. I was denied a communication navigator when my speech began to slur. Agents laughed as I tried to immobilize my own neck. I asked for my cane and was told no, pulled up by my arms and prodded forward in leg irons by agents laughing and saying, “Walk! You can do it, walk.”

Agents did not know if the facility had a wheelchair.

When I was finally placed in one to be taken to interrogation an agent taunted, “You were driving, right? So your legs do work.”

I pleaded for emergency medical care for over an hour after my vision had become blurry, my heart rate went through the roof, and the pain in my neck and head became unbearable.

It was denied.

When I became unable to speak my cellmate pleaded for me.

The last sounds I remember before I blacked out on the cell floor were my cellmate banging on the door, pleading for a medic, and a voice outside saying, “We don’t wanna step on ICE’s toes.”

When I opened my eyes at Hennepin County’s emergency room, I learned I was brought there to be treated for assault.

The impacts of DHS detention on my physical, mental and financial well-being and safety have been very severe, but I do not deserve more humane treatment than anyone else, US citizen or not. And I am here today with a strong spirit and a duty to the many people who haven’t had the privilege to tell their stories or see their loved ones come home. I am extremely distressed by the pattern that violence from law enforcement has been happening to black and indigenous communities for centuries, and to DHS survivors for over 20 years.

We call ourselves a civilized nation, but we lack rules and accountability around what a person claiming to be law enforcement is permitted to do to another human being.

I am not afraid, and I’m not afraid to keep working on this problem even after ICE is gone. Thank you for your time.

[miketalkstrash-deactivated20170]

Let’s not forget to acknowledge Alexandre Dumas this Black History Month

The writer of two of the most well known stories worldwide, The Three Musketeers and The Count of Monte Cristo was a black man. 

That’s excellence.

[latinagabi]

Let’s not forget that he was played on screen by a white man. And the fact that he was black is barely ever mentioned or the book he wrote inspired by his experiences.

[princessnijireiki]

Other things not to forget about Alexandre Dumas:

chose to take on his slave grandmother’s last name, Dumas, like his father did before him.

grew up too poor for formal education, so was largely self-taught, including becoming a prolific reader, multilingual, well-travelled, and a foodie, resulting in his writing both a combination encyclopedia/cookbook (which just— is fucking outrageous to me) AND the adaptation of The Nutcracker on which Tchaikovsky based his ballet

he also wrote a LOOOOT of nonfiction and fiction about history, politics, and revolution, bc he was pro-monarchy, but a radical cuss, and that got him in a lot of hot water at home and abroad.

even beyond that, he generally put up with a lot of racist bullshit in France, so he went and wrote a novel about colonialism and a BLATANTLY self-insert anti-slavery vigilante hero (which he then cribbed from to write the Count of Monte Cristo, the main character of which, Edmond Dantés, Dumas also based on himself).

(…a novel which also features a LOAD of PoC beyond the Count, and at LEAST one queer character, btw, bc EVERY MOVIE ADAPTATION OF ANYTHING BY DUMAS IS A LIE; seriously, at LEAST one of the four Musketeers is Black, y'all.)

famously, when some fuckshit or other wanted to come at Dumas with some anti-Black foolishness, Dumas replied, “My father was a mulatto, my grandfather was a Negro, and my great-grandfather a monkey. You see, Sir, my family starts where yours ends.”

for the bicentennial of his birthday, Pres. Jacques Cirac was like, “…sorry about the hella racism,” and had Dumas’s ashes reinterred at the Panthéon of Paris, bc if you’re gonna keep the corpses of the cream of the crop all together, Dumas’s more widely read and translated than literally everybody else.

and they are still finding stuff old dude wrote, seriously; like discovering “lost” works as recently as 2002, publishing stuff for the first time as recently as 2005.

ALSO IMPORTANT:

SWAG

[sugaryumyum-deactivated20170907]

I am absolutely ashamed to admit I had NO idea Dumas was black.

[elodieunderglass]

when this post first went around (a year ago apparently) I was like BUT WHAT ABOUT DADDY DUMAS THOUGH because basically

daddy general dumas was an immense fierce french warrior who was a 6 foot plus, stunningly gorgeous and charismatic Black gentleman 

he invaded egypt

the native egyptians said “is this napoleon? this must be napoleon. we for one welcome our majestic new overlord”

then napoleon showed up

napoleon has all the presence of yesterday’s plain Tesco hummus

the native egyptians were like “… no… no, we’ve thought very hard and we’ll have General Dumas actually”

this did not make napoleon happy

in fact it made him jealous

napoleon felt so emasculated that he launched a campaign of revenge against General Dumas, including taking away his pension, that probably inspired a lot of Alexandre’s rather satisfying scenes in which fathers are nobly avenged and the money-grubbing villains are rubbed in the mud

[liza-not-lisa-deactivated202401]

I was never taught that he was Black either. WTF.

[petermorwood]

General Dumas (aka Thomas Alexandre Davy de La Pailleterie) looked like this…

…and like this…

…while “Napoleon has all the presence of yesterday’s plain Tesco hummus“…

:-D

I suspect Alexandre Dumas would have laughed at that, because besides looking like someone who laughed a lot…

…he was also a foodie.

[sicktress]

He was also born in present-day Haiti. Back then, it was the French colony of Saint-Domingue.

[you-are-talking-about-this-deac]

General Dumas was also the highest ranking officer of African descent to have command of a European army. EVER. 

[biblioaesthetica]

His stuff is in the public domain, you can find them on Project Gutenberg here:

Project Gutenberg offers 73,007 free eBooks for Kindle, iPad, Nook, Android, and iPhone.

And for those of you who would like to try audio versions, this is what is on LibriVox, the free, volunteer run audiobook version of Project Gutenberg:

LibriVox

[save-the-child-qais]

Every morning I watch my baby Qais fade, bleeding and crying, while I stand powerless as hope disappears. I will never forgive being watched, ignored, and passed by without even a single share.

[save-the-child-qais]

Qais needs urgent treatment, and every delay steals a piece of his future. The medicine, care, and chance to leave for treatment all cost more than I can carry alone. Please donate now. Your support can turn waiting into survival.

[save-the-child-qais]

I am a mother begging with a broken heart. Please don’t let my child fade in silence. Share this post, speak his name, and donate to save Qais. Your compassion today can be the reason my baby lives tomorrow.

Gofundme - Vetted#679

[qais-chiild]

There may be no reason for you to notice me, but I am ready to kiss your feet in exchange for helping my little boy, Qais, who was injured in the war on Gaza. You are our last and only hope to save his life 😭💔😔

Hi friend,

I’m Esraa from Gaza. As the war resumes, my family and I are enduring unimaginable suffering. We urgently need food, safety, and basic necessities. Even the smallest act of kindness could make a world of difference.

Please, help us in any way you can 🇵🇸💔.

@paper-mario-wiki @argentsunshine @valtsv @komsomolka @prisonhannibal @r0zeclawz @marxism-transgenderism @teaboot @rickybabyboy @chokulit @3000s @ot3 @punkitt-is-here @b0tster @vampiricvenus @noble-kale @remindertoclick @dyrdeer @omegaversereloaded @redrunningmoogles @postanagramgenerator @memingursa @certifiedsexed @afro-elf @11thsense @spacebeyonce @beserkerjewel @beetledrink @halalchampagnesocialist @infectiouspiss @spaghettioverdose @specialmouse @tlirsgender @grox @minmos @paparoach @coughloop @slimetony @redbuddi @liberalsarecool @charlott2n @juney-blues @hollowtones @rickybabyboy @skunkes @gojinka @yekkes @sealsdaily @angkis @st-hedge @violentdevotion @magemars @toskarin

[leebrontide]

Ok the US Attorney General says that she will remove ICE if MN drops all our sanctuary laws, complies with ICE, hands over all our SNAP, Medicaid and voter rolls. They demand control over our voter registration so they can "ensure free and fair elections".

They want to control our elections.

I am dead serious people call your representatives. Get volunteering. Get protesting. Get LOUD.

They released a letter full of straight up lies. Spread the truth. MAKE NOISE.

Source

[rederiswrites]

How interesting. How very interesting. They rejected my Blaze of this post.

Well, y'all. Make of this what you will, eh?

[a-krogan-skald-and-bearsark]

Then I guess we'll just have to Blaze it the old fashioned way, eh?

[megpie71]

Boosting signal. AGAIN.

[crow-thing]

@our-trans-punk-experience

[bl00dy-brass-knuckles]

Tagging a bunch of bigger blogs I know

@sexy-people-contests-2026 @certifiedsexed @reallyreallyreallytrying @pukicho @joy-and-whimsy-detector-official @joy-and-whimsy-official @anti-terf-posts @redstonedust

[joy-and-whimsy-detector-official]

oh this is so not joyous and whimsical. I dont know many ppl but hey everyone! Tag! Spread the word!

@guest-1337-detecter yo can you spread this to the swarm

[joy-and-whimsy-official]

Joy and whimsy not detected! Controlling votes and making stupid demands is not joyful and whimsical!

[malcolm-reeds-pineapple]

Sesame Street posting techniques for comforting children during traumatic world events feels so fucking dystopian but here are the slides they posted just in case you or a loved one has any little critters at home right now

No one is doing well right now, but being a little critter right now has got to be terrifying. This is such a crushing series of images, especially considering PBS’s funding got slashed. While I’m happy Sesame Street continues to keep the wellbeing and education of children as a major priority, there’s a certain amount of innocence that Sesame Street represents and this is giving me such a visceral feeling rn

[theheartmold]

great news guys. got a call over the weekend that my parents summarily took me off their medical card so none of my psych visits for the past month have been covered and I’m now over a hundred dollars outstanding to them 😌 I have. Exactly 3 dollars in my bank account atm from dealing with other emergencies. I hate asking but any help would be appreciated

Kofi: @/transkingjulian

PayPal: @/[email protected]

[yamelcakes]

things I learned from community members recently:

ICE is tapping into Bluetooth. Turn off Bluetooth if you are observing.

ICE is following ambulances so they can arrest people at the hospital. At this point, it is safer for people at risk to be driven to the hospital by community members.

ICE might back off if you threaten to call 911. The relationship between local law enforcement and ICE is extremely tense right now. ICE agents are cowards and will usually slink off if they know local law enforcement is watching. They know Minnesota will prosecute them if Dems regain political power.

Likewise, if you are being tailed by ICE head to your local police station or other public space with many cameras. Do NOT drive home under any circumstances. Heard directly from folks that they are being stalked by ICE and ICE will make an “I’m watching you” gesture when they find them at their homes.

Choose between delivering items to people who can’t leave their homes or observing ICE. Do NOT do both. If you are identified while observing, ICE will log your license plate and track you to the people you are trying to help.

Far right agitators are on the ground. Stay safe.

[saxifraga-x-urbium]

Repair cafes: Pre-loved items getting new lease of life in Northern Ireland

Repair cafes, where damaged items are being restored to their former glories are popping up all over Northern Ireland.

A puppet without strings rests limply on the countertop, while a robot hoover remains silent, no suction to be heard.

A family plate lies in pieces – toppled from its prized place on the wall.

Yet, a black bin bag was not in store for these sorry items, as each made its way in to the capable hands of a "fixer" at Toome's very first repair cafe.

Volunteers at the County Antrim cafe have been busy sewing, gluing and painting to restore them to their former glory.

What is a repair cafe?

Repair cafes are pop-up community events where people can bring their broken items and volunteers will try their best to fix them.

The idea was born in Amsterdam in 2009 with the hopes of cutting waste and building community.

The concept made its way to Northern Ireland in February 2018, when the first event was held in a community centre in South Belfast.

Since then, 14 branches have opened or are set to open in Northern Ireland.

They hold their place among 2,500 repair cafes worldwide.

Repair cafe Antrim and Newtownabbey hosts regular pop-ups across the area.

The most recent event saw fixers descend on the Tidal centre in the village of Toome with sewing machines and screwdrivers at the ready.

Daniel Robinson arrived with a family name plate that had seen better days.

It was one of six plates commissioned for each of six sisters in the family by a relative from America.

Daniel inherited this piece of family history.

It took pride of place on the wall until it was accidentally knocked off.

"I picked as many pieces as I could and it was put up into the roof space. It's been there for five years", he said.

But it was not over for this heirloom.

'It's more than words can say'

The task of reassembling the plate was assigned to fixer Sean O'Shea who has been volunteering with the group for six years.

"We're through the worst of it now, we've glued together the bigger pieces, but there are a few fragments missing," Sean said.

He put some fine epoxy filler in and gold nail polish to restore the item.

Daniel said he was "delighted" with the repair.

"It's more than words can say, because there's a lot of sentimental value in it for me", he said.

"All the grandchildren would have been held up to the plate and said: 'Night night' to God before my mother put them to bed.

"Lots of memories are flooding back now."

There is also a social aspect to the meet-ups, as the community gathers for hot drinks and baked goods.

Seamstresses Alison Kirk and Roz Bashford met at a Repair Cafe a few years ago and now frequently combine their skills to take on Antrim and Newtownabbey's fabric needs.

"You meet people that you didn't know before, but they're like minded and that's the joy," Alison said.

Having learnt to mend fabric at a young age, the women said clothing should not be viewed as disposable.

"I have done somebody's jumper that was so threadbare, but they absolutely loved it, so we fixed round the cuffs and they were just delighted", Roz said.

On the schedule for that day was a kilt, dressing gowns and a sparkly dress.

As we left them, a puppet in need of re-stringing arrived.

What is the impact?

The group says the repairs are good for the environment too.

Jo Templeton is the deputy chair of Repair Cafe for Antrim and Newtownabbey and helped to establish the group in the district, with support from the original team in Belfast.

She says the "fabulous" fixers usually manage to repair two-thirds of the items that come through the door.

More widely, the group said its volunteers have mended at least 3,500 items across Northern Ireland and saved eight tonnes of goods from going to landfill.

"We get to spread the message that it's really important that people don't just automatically throw things away", Jo said.

"Can they give it to someone else? Can it be fixed? Can it be repurposed?".

Chris McCartney, who supports the network across Northern Ireland said that new branches have recently been established along the north coast and in Augher in County Tyrone.

In the New Year, there are plans for hubs in Aghalee and Glenravel in the Glens of Antrim.

Chris said "all shapes and sizes" of communities can make an event work, from small villages to large cities.

"They're seeing the benefits of what repair cafes can do and they want to get started as well," she told BBC News NI.

Where is my nearest repair cafe?

Belfast

Antrim and Newtownabbey

Bangor

Carryduff

Dromore

Foyle

Laurencetown

Moira

North Coast (Portrush, Portstewart and Coleraine)

South Down

Whitehead

Augher

Plans for Aghalee and Glenravel

Find your local branch here, external.

[animentality]

[ao3cassandraic]

It matters that we refuse.

It matters that we resist.

It matters that we be loud about our refusal and resistance.

[shutyourmoustache]

If you have the means to donate gifts to toy drives or shelters, please keep the above tips in mind so you can help meet people’s wants and needs! 💓

[titleknown]

Blogging this tweet because this explains SO MUCH about the mindset of pretty much all the folks I’ve known who’re against single-payer, it’s not even funny…

[hopesterling]

This….

This never occurred to me. Not once. That Americans are against Health Care because they think it actually costs tens of thousands of dollars for a broken arm, hundreds of thousands for a complicated birth, millions for cancer treatment.

Because they’ve never known anything different. The idea that a broken arm is only a couple hundred bucks; a complicated birth a couple thousand; cancer treatment only tens of thousands; all easily covered by existing tax structures.

[withasmoothroundstone]

This explains a lot.  And it’s a good example of what I was talking about in my post on scarcity being used to prop up ableism – always question the idea that a resource is genuinely scarce.  Even if it seems obvious that it is, quite often that’s the result of careful manipulation and misconceptions that you’re not even aware of.  

And never think you’re too smart to be fooled by that kind of thing, it doesn’t work like that.  Similarly, don’t think people who are fooled by something are stupid.  Nobody can have all the information about everything, and nobody has the time and energy to investigate and put together conscious conclusions about every piece of information they’re given.  It doesn’t take being stupid, or even just gullible, to believe something like this.

[lizardtitties]

I currently live in a country without free medical care and still, it’s enormously cheap compared to the USA. An American expat wrote a piece for our English language paper about how she paid more for parking at the hospital than giving birth to her baby that’s pretty interesting:

https://grapevine.is/mag/articles/2016/01/06/healthcare-in-iceland-vs-the-us-weve-got-it-so-good/

[thebibliosphere]

Yesterday I had to go to the hospital cause I injured my eye, I’m frankly dreading what the bill is going to be, but what made me balk was being told in the pharmacy that my insurance was denied for the antibiotic eye drops and it’d be over $100 out of pocket. So I didn’t get my eyedrops.

I’ve had these same drops before living in the UK. They cost me seven GBP.

It’s the exact same drug, same steroid, same strain of antibiotic. But somehow the US gets away with charging $100 for a generic non brand version of a drug which is easy to create and widely used. It’s downright robbery, but also a form of eugenics through poverty and class warfare. You keep the poor poor by making sure basic necessities remain unattainable and then you make it seem like the norm so no one fights it.

The rest of the world is not like this.

Eat the rich. Resist.

[dyannehs]

When I was travelling in Germany once, I seriously hurt my ankle. In a few hours, it had swollen to twice its size, and I went to a little ER in a tiny town. I spoke no German and only one nurse spoke English. They ran an X-ray and an MRI to determine what had happened (turned out I had bruised my peroneus brevis muscle and pulled the tendon), gave me a ton of very regulated meds for the pain and swelling, including some supports so I could walk…and my poor little 22-year-old ass was sat there, knowing all of this would cost thousands, if not tens of thousands, back in the US. I was shaking.

I’m in the exam room, post diagnosis and with pill bottles in hand, and in walks the one nurse I’ve been able to speak to the entire time. She pats my hand and tells me (and this is verbatim—I will never forget this conversation as long as I live), “I’m so sorry. We had to run those tests, and they are expensive. You don’t have insurance so you will have to cover the full cost.”

I start crying.

She continues, softly, as if telling me someone has died, “It’s going to be three hundred.”

I start sobbing, certain I’ve misheard, certain that I would be absolutely fucked, broke and going into debt in a foreign country. “Thousand?” I clarify.

Her entire demeanor changed, and she looked at me as if I had sprouted four extra heads. “No,” she says, “euros.”

That moment radicalised me.

[queern-bn]

My family got charged several thousand dollars for a late-night trip to the ER when I was a kid after an oops at home resulted in a large cut that needed almost 40 sutures. We lived in the US at the time.

Now we live in Canada. Last year my leg got rolled over by one of the front tires on a pickup truck. I spent 3 weeks in hospital, had 3 surgeries, one of which included skin grafting to cover the half of my leg that was degloved in my accident. I had IV antibiotics 4 times a day, I had physiotherapy daily, I was on a lot of meds for pain and having complex wound dressings changed every day. After all that, I had a home care nurse visit me every 1-2 days for 6 weeks to help with my wound care. The greatest expense to us as a family for the amazing care I received was my parents and husband using the parkade next to the hospital, which was like $13 a day. If we’d lived in the US, that injury absolutely could have bankrupted us.

[cranquis]

This information needs to be part of the US med school curriculum.

[beaniebaneenie]

I remember the moment that radicalized me.

I went to the UK for graduate school, and being there for that long meant I had to buy insurance for the duration. 18 months was something like £800 (this was in the early 2010’s). I, being American, figured “oh ok, that’s the premium and if I need serious medical care, I’ll get charged deductibles and all other kinds of fees at the time of care), because that’s how it works here.

Some time in the early part of that winter, I got incredibly sick. I’m immunocompromised, so sometimes that happens. But being a broke ass grad student in a foreign country, and dealing with unrelated financial abuse from family members, I figured I couldn’t afford going to the hospital. I figured I’d go to their version of Walgreen’s (Superdrug, and yes that is really that store’s name, load up on cough drops, some OTC meds, and try to ride it out as best I could.

One of my friends in my program came over to check on me and offer help. When she got to my room and saw how sick I was, she asked why I hadn’t gone to hospital. I was near tears and said I couldn’t afford it.

This is when I suspect my friend knew she was dealing with an American who was ignorant of how socialized healthcare actually worked, and realized that I couldn’t really be reasoned with. So she said, “I’ll pay for it- let’s go.”

Off we went to hospital, my friend did the talking bc my voice was so shot. The receptionist said, “as you don’t have an appointment, you may need to wait quite a bit.” I heard that and figured 5+ hours was at least what I was in for.

23 minutes later, my name was called.

My friend went back with me, bc I was pretty out of it. The nurse leading us back apologized for the “huge wait” because having a sick patient wait “nearly half an hour just for medical care” was unacceptable. I was stunned.

The nurse and doc asked some questions, looked at the medical records I had on my phone (bc I was a foreigner with very little medical history in the country), did a few rapid tests. The whole time, I’m seeing an old-timey calculator ringing up charges and freaking out… even though my friend said she’d pay, I was so conditioned to believe this would cost a fortune.

About 30 mins later, the rapid tests confirm I have both bronchitis and pneumonia. Doc writes me a prescription for some serious heavy-duty meds. My American ass is thinking, “ok, so now I go home, wait for 4 days for the pharmacy to fill it, then go get it.” The doc tells me that there’s a pharmacy counter on the way out, and I can stop there to collect the meds before heading home.

I’m skeptical but thank him. My friend gets me to the pharmacy counter. I give my name and hand over the paper, fully expecting to be told that it’ll take days to fill. The pharmacist turns around, pulls a bag off the shelf, hands it to me. Because my meds were already filled and waiting.

Me: you had them already?

Pharmacist: of course- there’d be no point in sending you home without medication, that’s why you came here. To get medical help.

Me: that’s so fast? (I am very confused)

Pharmacist: well, we expect people to have these illnesses at a higher rate this time of year, so we do our best to stock up on our end.

Me: that’s so nice? Also, what do I owe you?

Pharm: sorry, love?

Me: what do I owe you? For the medication? And the visit. All of it, how much do I need to pay?

Chat, her whole fact changed. She realized I didn’t just sound funny because I was in respiratory distress. I had an American accent. She reached over and patted my hand.

“Love, that’s what the health insurance is meant to be for. You’ve already paid for this. We’re not taking extra money off you, we don’t do that here.”

The entire visit was less than 2 hours, absolutely free, and everyone worked to be as efficient as possible in the goal of providing comprehensive healthcare for me, the patient.

Once I got home with the meds, I did actually recover pretty well (and relatively quickly, as far as I’m concerned). I talked to the friend after, and she admitted that she knew it was going to be free, but that I wouldn’t or couldn’t understand that in the brain fog of serious illness, so she said what she had to in order to get my stubborn (and terrified of bankruptcy) ass to the doctor.

That’s what healthcare should be. A goal of providing comprehensive and compassionate care to your patients, being well-staffed enough that no one waits for hours, anticipating medication needs, ensuring that patients leave with the medical care they sought- and that they’re not afraid to seek it, because they know medical care won’t make them homeless.

[junglejim4322]

This person wrote a manifesto I ain’t reading all that but this is literally the type of behavior im talking about the idea hobbies all cost money is so removed from reality if you have the time to pick up your phone and write 7 paragraphs on how im victimizing you with my offhanded post you have the time to watch a movie on YouTube with your very same phone instead come on now. How is you freaking out on the internet helping any of these issues

[turbozarky]

things that dont cost money: hiking, walking, birdwatching, identifying plants, drawing (you have a pen, reading (library), collecting rocks, dancing, singing.... etc wtc etc

if you cant find a hobby you can afford, thats a you problem. and if youre posting online, you have a device to do that, get some free games, trawl wikipedia, study something. stop picking fights online and do something else.

[theonceandfutureharpy]

[saxifraga-x-urbium]

if you can write an essay about it on your phone you can write fanfic or poetry or something on your phone also and it will be much nicer for everyone involved, including you

[strawhatsufi]

boo hoo the white house is so historic!

the united states paved over babylon to build a military base in iraq. like the actual ancient city of babylon

[elbiotipo]

Conquest Archaeology: The Military Occupation of Babylon in the Iraq War

In the spring of 2003, US troops invaded Iraq and began an 8-year military occupation, resulting in extensive and long-term damage to tangib

U.S. admits military damaged Babylon ruins

A senior U.S. military officer said Friday he is willing to apologize for damage troops in Iraq caused to the ancient ruins of Babylon.

You would think "the United States occupies the actual ancient city of Babylon" would be some kind of exaggeration but it's not.