Another of these ones, it's like 1 am I should be asleep but am tearing up at 480p vids of dancing aunties lmao

Edit: if you want to turn off the danmu scrolling comments, hit the button in the image. Idk where it is on pc browser probably the same spot, just look for the character 弹

The (queer) kids are alright.

Recently, I went to a (historically extremely lib and very performative but I repeat myself) LGBT meetup and figured I'd test the waters with this patch from Off Color Decals. I was feeling a little fighty.

All my encounters were comrades. Best comment to summarize the vibe: "I used to worry about gun control a lot, but if the folks on the other side of the protest are armed, I'd much rather have rifles on our side too."

I got to invite a bunch of fresh-out-of-college queers to shooting lessons!

Oh and the guest speaker dropped three "fuck capitalism"s. Some of the oldheads bitched about it online later on, and basically got "Ok Boomer"ed.

I thought I could cause a scene/start an argument, and maybe grab one or two folks. Instead, the vibes may be shifting, and this gives me great hope.

I love my comrades (especially my trans comrades. We miss you @BrookeBaybee@hexbear.net )

I'm so proud of my nephews and niece (what's the plural for both nephews and nieces in english?) My oldest nephew is going to his first sleepover, they're gonna play switch, which is what I would be doing if I were his age nowadays. My middle nephew is getting really into sports, he's a lil trooper. My youngest nephew started taekwondo and loves it! My niece is happy and healthy, she's little over a year old and my big sis is already playing the classics for her, "More Than a Feeling" by Boston.

We watched that Imaginary movie which was pretty forgettable, then we went to get sushi and talked a bit about her recent move and my personal history and picked each others' brains. After that we went to a nearby park and walked around a few times while chatting some more, planning a second date, and after that we went to get some boba smoothies and talked even more. We made each other laugh a bunch and there's mutual good feelings.

All told we spent 7 hours together and I'm feeling good. I've never gotten a second date before. We're meeting again on Sunday for a hike at Vasquez Rocks. I'm going to soyface at all the Star Trek shooting locations and bring snacks and such. Feels good.

This comment made my day, just felt it was something more people should see. Thank you, @ShimmeringKoi@hexbear.net

https://hexbear.net/comment/4673355

Don't forget comrades, this Friday is International Women's Day! In case you didn't know, IWD is originally a socialist and communist holiday that was started by workers and officially made a national holiday on March 8th in the good ol' USSR in 1917 (dont let the libs take credit). I first learned about from my Russian language professor in college, who taught us that in the Soviet Union citizens made it a tradition to get the women in their lives, mothers, sisters, friends, coworkers, flowers and other gifts to honor all that they do for us as workers and human beings. My sister learned about it and now puts it on our family calendar every year.

March 8th is a good day to keep this tradition alive. You don't even have to get anyone a material gift if you're hard up for money, like I am, its just a good day to give the women in your life a phone call or wish them a happy IWD in person. I even made a group chat for all my boys to remind them about the holiday this year.

Let's spread some love and appreciation this March 8th

have a great day, if you can.

cross-posted from: https://hexbear.net/post/1949756

call me a softie but i love these kind of candid/slice of life compilations

tag your fave. Mine is the older bloke cheersing his mate over the video call

So in that sense, I’m somewhat hopeful that the narrative can switch

Today is a really big day for me. I was able to overcome a major anxiety hurdle and join my first in person rally! It was with the psl top, as I'm actually becoming a member.

May this bring you happiness during hard times

The last weeks have been really stressful and my exam prep suffered greatly, the last two days I was catatonic with anxiety, I was going through the options of whether it's better to pass with a bad grade or to throw and get more prep time (and more stress) for another attempt.

Well the questions were absolute softballs, compared to what I was preparing. My anxiety kept tripping me up so the prof had to give me hints otherwise I would have scored even higher! So even through all the sicknesses, the current high levels of stress and sickening anxiety and 4 hours of sleep I got freaking 85%!

Also in large parts thanks to my wife who basically carried me through this period.

This kid is reaching levels of cuteness that might give me a heart attack. He cant purse his lips so he puts his hand over his mouth and then extends it forward while making a smacking sound and then delights in all the adults around him losing any sense of propriety or dignity aahing and oohing and trying to get him to send them kisses as well lol

Then he shits himself. I love him so much.

Whats some cool animal stuff you've learned lately? I found out bats smash into each other constantly while swarming and got really into the weeds of the wolf/raven alliance, it is cool. Wombats are also now my most feared land animal.

Hello,

I've had a bad few weeks. Got kicked out of my apartment, can't find a job, consumed true crime content for some ungodly reason, and obviously the state of the world is depressing as hell. If you could help me find some optimism to get me through the unfortunate situation I've found myself in, I could really use it right now.

Pss pss pss

China is "the hero of global biodiversity" and plays a fundamental role in the sustainable development agenda, the head of the newly launched Nature Positive Initiative told Xinhua in a recent interview.

Speaking ahead of the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, next week, Marco Lambertini said that China is leading the way in reversing biodiversity loss and combating the global climate crisis.

"China is the hero of the Global Biodiversity Framework, leading almost 200 nations to agree to the most ambitious and comprehensive global plan for nature ever adopted," he said.

In December 2022, China held the presidency of the 15th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (COP15) and spearheaded a series of achievements, including the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.

The adoption of the landmark framework under the UN Convention on Biological Diversity has been described as the "Paris moment" for nature.

Lambertini, a former director general of the World Wildlife Fund, said: "China has shown leadership, particularly in the energy sector. Honestly, if China was not to invest what they invested in the development of new technologies, of renewable energies, and scale up the production, we wouldn't be where we are now with solar energy being competitive with oil, gas and even coal."

Last September, 27 of the world's largest nature conservation organizations, institutes, business and finance coalitions, and sustainability standard-setting agencies came together to launch the Nature Positive Initiative. It is aimed at driving alignment around the definition, integrity and use of the term "nature positive" and supporting broader, longer-term efforts to deliver nature-positive outcomes.

"Nature positive by 2030" refers to halting and reversing biodiversity loss by 2030 from a 2020 baseline through measurable gains in the health, abundance, diversity and resilience of species, ecosystems, and natural processes.

"China has played a fundamental role in that phase of the sustainable development agenda," Lambertini said.

"The government is discussing right now, through the China Council for International Cooperation on Environment and Development, the exact recommendations and approaches that will deliver a net positive outcome for nature, while developing the economy," he said.

Sustainability fuels growth

Lambertini stressed that a positive economic outlook for any country is closely linked to sustainability.

"China has already demonstrated the ability to do that in the energy sector. Now it's time to demonstrate the same in agriculture, fishing, forestry infrastructure and all sectors with a high ecological footprint. The only way to achieve a resilient and strong economy is to embrace environmental sustainability," he said.

In its latest World Economic Outlook in October, the International Monetary Fund forecast global real gross domestic product GDP) growth in 2023 at 3.0 percent, but cut its 2024 forecast to 2.9 percent.

Meanwhile, China's economy is expected to have grown by 5.4 percent last year thanks to a "strong" post-COVID recovery, the global lender said in November.

Erqi Bridge over the Yangtze River, a highway bridge in Wuhan City, central China Lambertini said: "China has a lot to teach and share with the rest of the world in terms of their domestic successes in nature conservation. The whole discussion around the conservation of priority ecosystems and threatened species, the sustainable management of freshwater resources, and the plan around the Yangtze River are great examples."

"All these are incredible successes at the domestic level that can be shared internationally, and equally, China can learn from the rest of the world," he noted.

Under the theme "Rebuilding Trust," the WEF's 54th annual meeting will bring together over 100 governments, major international organizations, civil society leaders, experts, youth representatives, social entrepreneurs, and news outlets in the Swiss mountain town of Davos from January 15-19.

Lambertini said: "The dependence of business on nature has never been more recognized than today. The WEF program this year will feature a lot of nature topics, from the conservation of the oceans, forests, freshwater, to the link between nature and climate."

2023 was a hard year. I went through more jobs than I've worked my whole life, I prolly did more drugs last year than I ever have before, I honestly wasn't a good friend to people I care about. I think I'm doing better now, hopefully this job sticks, I have to work in a kitchen by myself, but I kinda like that cuz I get to just focus on my specific space, and make pizza most of the time.

BUT the thing that got me through it all was my friends and coworkers. Really, all the workers. I've met a lot of people, and it always brings me to tears how much shit people deal with and they STILL find ways to give. Two of my new coworkers are twins who don't really have a family. Today I met a woman who became their mom, cuz they dont really have one. I have a friend, I've known since we were kids, who was struggling with depression while starting her transition. This year tho it wasnt me helping her, she helped out, with money, with talking about feelings, all while working like 60 hours a week in a place she cant really be herself.

Idk, its been a lot to take in. The capos are gonna call us every name in the book, but at the end of the day our culture will be one of love and generosity. The People are what really keeps me going, I love all you

Some day, yeah
We'll put it together and we'll get it undone
Some day
When your head is much lighter
Some day, yeah
We'll walk in the rays of a beautiful sun
Some day
When the world is much brighter

Wanted to take a second to make some positive cases for why we believe in Scientific Socialism/Anarchism. We spend a lot of time belittling historically illiterate smug lords (which is awesome) but I think it’s important to take a second to appreciate why these ideas resonate with us so much and why we find these ideas so important that they are worth fighting for online and IRL. I’ll go first;

Demystification: that’s a big thing for me. The imperial core is a place that is full of institutions that, can technically be understood, and yet do not make a whole lot of sense in their function. Health insurance companies are a great example of this. The entire process of acquiring and using insurance in the U.S. is a Kafka-esque beauracratic nightmare. And at every step there are individuals who are happy to help you understand the process, and yet even once you gain the understanding they impart, it all still feels wildly inefficient and punitive. Even to a very young person, it doesn’t make sense. It is Only beneficial In comparison to the monstrous social violence of medically induced poverty. Meaning it only makes sense when you accept that violence as a necessary societal inevitably.

So growing up in the U.S. you are faced all the time with complex and baroque financial institutions and practices that society insists you understand even if doubt persists that what you are understanding doesn’t really make sense. Ultimately when this practice confers practical economic benefit the cognitive dissonance is assuaged and is even completely resolved in some individuals. Credit cards and credit scores are another great example of this.

Understanding Mystification as a Marxist term finally gave me the vocabulary to understand this phenomenon and hence be less bothered by trying to make sense of things that I understand and yet don’t make any sense.

Another big thing: The labor theory of value; perhaps my understanding is too cursory but when I tried reading Capital this part really stuck with me because it is profound even though it seemed rather obvious to me from my lived experience.

Without trying to get out of my depth In philosophical jargon, my understanding of the LTV is that the value of currency is derived from the surplus value generated by the application of labor to raw materials. I know the states ability to enforce the transaction is also key. I welcome any clarification/insight on LTV.

The point I’m trying to make about LTV and why I find it profound and worth Blooming about is that it means that as workers we generate the force that actually changes the world. That force is labor. It’s not money, It’s not Gold, it’s not big ideas from big job titles. It is the people who turn the earth, teach the young, or just sell their labor hours doing any number of things.

It’s easy to be pessimistic in the face of the incredible accumulated political power the west still holds. Yet we should have hope, because the power that money has is only ever borrowed from labor. Under that framework it becomes a struggle to organize enough unalienated labor hours to put towards building something better.

Our labor hours are the most important building block we have towards revolution. That is the real “capital” that reshapes the world. The struggle is to take as many back from your boss as you can, and if you can, invest those hours into something bigger than yourself.

That’s what gets me blooming. Constructive feedback always welcome (would love more insight on LTV)

What makes you feel hopeful about communism/anarchism?