I have tinnitus, and bought a Bluetooth audio sleep mask so that I could sleep with the TV off and not keep my partner awake. That in itself was a game changer, but on top of that, I sleep way better with my eyes covered and I use it now even when I’m not listening.
(It’s extra weird because I have thick eyelids and see black when I close my eyes even in a well lit room, so I never considered that I’d need one.)
Totally agree. I’m British, so bearing responsibility for all the horrific and stupid shit the people in charge of the place I was born have done is especially unappealing. Abolishing Israel isn’t the answer, nor is blaming powerless Israeli citizens. Even worse is attacking the Jewish diaspora around the world as if they have anything to do with it, that’s clear and unambiguous racism.
Similar is the disgust for China/the CCP.
Fuck the CCP --> valid criticism
Fuck China --> ambiguous, could be either
Fuck the Chinese --> outright racism
The problem is the racist can hide behind the likes of the middle statement, using it as a dog whistle, and it can seem like it has huge support, even though most of the people agreeing think they are agreeing with the top statement.
Would you prevaricate thusly when speaking about, say, the third Reich? Or would you “delegitimise” that entire state? Maybe you should think twice before publicly “demonising” the Nazis?
Sometimes a “whole state” bears criticism. Israel does, right now, because it is committing war crimes with western support.
The 3D test unfortunately proves nothing. It would be very useful if we could prove criticism of Israel was coming from an anti-semitic place, but you can’t, because you can’t read minds. It’s one of the most insidious features of all racism: it’s very easy to hide. At the moment, though, it is fair to assume that a majority of the criticism of Israel comes from common decency and human compassion, because the IDF are dropping tower blocks on children in their thousands in “self-defense”. Anyone enabling those types of actions is the worst of humanity because of their actions and decisions, not because of which god they pray to.
Isn’t Israel quite happy to keep Israel and Judaism undifferentiated, though? They seem happy to conflate anti-zionism with anti-semitism, and even any criticism of the state of Israel, or support of Palestine as anti-semitism. With such broad and frankly ridiculous definitions, I’m not surprised to see a rise in so-called anti-semitism.
I wouldn’t be surprised if hateful people did take delight in the genocide Israel is perpetrating, but I don’t see it. And criticising genocidal actions doesn’t require hatred for the perpetrators in order to be valid. Anti-semites were clear to lambast Israel at any point in the past 100 or so years, even more so now. And so were normal people.
Here’s a criticism of Israel for you:
The rise in anti-semitism is primarily Israel’s fault.
“Common sense is just the set of prejudices acquired by the age of eighteen.”
~Albert Einstein
Gender identity is important in all contexts because it helps you to make someone feel comfortable. This is critical in providing medical care.
The terms AFAB and AMAB serve perfectly well for this medical purpose. Equally, an extra column for gender. Gender: M, Sex: F.
Not that tricky really. Doesn’t need to go any further than that.
You forgot “fully automatic”
Do you think we will be able to create or import enough renewable energy to fill the hole left by gas in the time it would take to build these reactors? How? And what is your response to the legitimate concern that renewable energy technology at its current maturity does not provide a stable power base?
Nuclear energy is much much cleaner than gas. If we can replace our reliance on gas with nuclear then that’s a step in the right direction. If, for any reason whatsoever, nuclear is a more viable option than renewable, even if that reason is corporate greed, then we take it and then phase nuclear out later as we increase the renewable load. The situation is too urgent to quibble over which green energy to use. We just need to get shut of gas and coal.
Some facts:
Nuclear energy is not a contributor to greenhouse gases.
Nuclear power plants are safe.
I think the best response to this is to just show them your next few meetings on your calendar, with an air of bemusement.
If they’re talking about hidden motives then they need to prove you have one first.
~Ford Prefect