Gaythia Weis @Gaythia@qoto.org

BREAKING -- It is now once again legal to provide food and water to people waiting in line to vote in Georgia.

A federal court just struck down Governor Brian Kemp's attempt at voter suppression.

Young people: The GOP is floating an amendment to raise the voting age from 18 to 25. Vivek Ramaswamy is openly promoting it. They’re scared of your votes and want to silence you. Act appropriately in 2024.

#Maui sued #BigOil 3 years ago, saying #ClimateChange would lead to #wildfires of “increased frequency, intensity and destructive force.” https://news.yahoo.com/maui-sued-big-oil-2020-113828101.html

I remember the 2000 Election. There were enough votes for Ralph Nader to hand the election to George W. Bush.

I remember the 2016 Election. There were enough votes for Jill Stein to hand the election to Donald Trump.

In 2024 the Green Party is running Cornell West. Let’s not repeat this history, friends

Your vote is not a marriage. You’re not choosing a life partner. It’s a chess move for what’s best for the country and the world.

Data brokers are launching an attack on proposed CA legislation #SB362 that would let people opt out from all #databroker services en masse. Because they know everyone will do it if they can. The #DELETEAct would be good for Californians. Tell your legislator you support it and don't let these dodgy businesses kill it. https://www.politico.com/news/2023/08/16/ad-industry-tries-to-quash-proposed-data-broker-regulations-00111513

This is Arp 271, a pair of spiral galaxies locked in a gravitational dance. In a few billion years the #MilkyWay and the Andromeda galaxy might look like this!

This is the very last #photo ever taken with the VIMOS instrument at ESO's Very Large #Telescope in #Chile, back in 2018. After I finished the decommissioning procedures that night, I decided to take one last image as a farewell, and this was the result.

➡️ https://www.eso.org/public/images/potw1821a/

#astrodon #astronomy #space #astrophotography

Updates from the Mayor of #Yellowknife, Rebecca Alty:

- Please Evacuate
- if you can drive out, please do so asap
- if you don't have a vehicle, please register now for air lift evacuation (free)
- commercial flights are still running, you can also buy a flight out on a commercial flight

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BaHVblAk4Vw

#Canada #NWT #Wildfires #Emergency

Why was there no water to fight the fire in Maui?

"Big corporations, golf courses and hotels have been taking water from locals for years. Now the fire may result in even more devastating water theft."

"All over Maui, golf courses glisten emerald green, hotels manage to fill their pools and corporations stockpile water to sell to luxury estates. And yet, when it came time to fight the fires, some hoses ran dry. Why?"

"This is a classic case of the most craven disaster capitalism: a small elite group using a profound human tragedy as their window to roll back a hard-won grassroots victory for water rights, while removing civil servants who pose a political inconvenience to the administration’s pro-developer agenda."...
by Naomi Klein and Kapuaʻala Sproat

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/aug/17/hawaii-fires-maui-water-rights-disaster-capitalism
#bushfires #disasters #water #rights #theft #golf #plantations #developers #resorts #SettlerCulture

The elites organize and grab all for themselves as the commoners grieve and struggle. Please don’t turn a blind eye. #Water #Maui #Justice #Greed #Power https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/aug/17/hawaii-fires-maui-water-rights-disaster-capitalism

@Gaythia my understanding is that's not quite accurate even though the thought process was as you say. The siren definitely was intended to be an "all hazard" warning and not just a tsunami siren; it's described that way on official state emergency response pages and in discussion of the system from before the fire. But I think the idea that in the moment many people wouldn't realize that distinction and would react *as if it was* a tsunami warning is at least plausible. So a minor point here.

The decision to take away the ability to block on Twitter epitomizes the rightwing project to restore dominance: It creates a paradise for racists, misogynists, bigots of all kind to attack and abuse anyone they refuse to accept as equal, anyone who has the audacity to demand respect.

JUST IN: Federal appeals court derails Uinta Basin Railway plan to send billions more gallons of Utah crude through Colorado

https://coloradosun.com/2023/08/18/uinta-basin-railway-waxy-crude-colorado/?utm_content=buffer7d6a2&utm_medium=social&utm_source=Mastodon&utm_campaign=buffer

Today is a good day to learn more about LA County Flood Risks. League of Women Voters posted some links and a video https://lwvbeachcities.org/natural-resources.html (Scroll down to Nov 2022)

We learned in the Berkeley Hills & Santa Barbara fires that traffic chokepoints are deadly. Yet, we build still entire subdivisions with a few chokepoints (RED X). One cul-de-sac can only evacuate through a flood point (BLACK X)

One of the things that scares me is that the western approach to the closest major hospital, Torrance Memorial MC, would be under 6' of water. The airport to the S and the discontinuous street grid (everyone in Torrance wants to live in a cul de sac) means a long ambulance detour

New probe confirms Trump officials blocked Puerto Rico from receiving hurricane aid https://www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/new-probe-confirms-trump-officials-blocked-puerto-rico-receiving-hurri-rcna749

At five years old, I couldn't grasp the concept of a scapegoat; all I understood was that, because of Japan’s aggression that pulled the United States into the war, my family and I had to leave our home at gunpoint, taking with us only what we could carry. As I got older, I understood scapegoating for what it is: a channel for hate, blame, and bigotry.

My lifelong mission has been preventing this from happening again, yet my heart aches as the LGBTQ+ community faces it now. We've fought for our rights to live, love, and be ourselves—a vibrant, misunderstood, and often mistreated rainbow of identities.

I have seen where scapegoating, if left unchallenged, leads. And it is a very dark place. This week, I chose to share my story with you in the hopes that we never repeat the heinous mistakes of the past. https://thinkbigpicture.substack.com/p/takei-scapegoating-lgbtq-japanese-internment