Paul Brownjohn @Paulos_the_fog@qoto.org
Retired software engineer & woodworker.
Anglo-francophone.
Detest tories. Subscribe to green, leftish radical politics but not to any particular political party!.
Love the EU and all it stands for, moreover, I spent the last 10 years of my career working at an EU agency.
Enthusiastic photographer, especially wildlife and most especially butterflies.
Slightly knowledgeable gardener.
Atheist; loathe almost all religions and pity the people deluded enough to follow them. I make exceptions for Buddhism as it isn't really a religion in the strictest sense of the word as it doesn't postulate the existence of any god, and Jainism which is the epitome of peace.
For anyone who is interested, my header photo is of the most stupendous sunset I have ever seen. On the right is the waterfront of Vientiane, the capital of Laos, on the left is Thailand and in the middle, acting as the border between the two countries is the mighty Mekong river.
Joined Nov 2022
Paul Brownjohn
boosted
Rwandan dissidents in exile in Britain have been informed that President Kagame's agents may be trying to kill them.
Paul Brownjohn
boosted
Putin can leave Donbas, Crimea, and abandon its naval base in Sevastopol - those are the terms of a ceasefire.
Ukraine gets back its territory, every inch of it.
Russia pays reparations to rebuild. (Russian oligarchs have assets everywhere waiting to be forfeited and sold)
Putin stands trial for war crimes.
Those are the terms of a "ceasefire".
Paul Brownjohn
boosted
@wannabemystiker
Rampant transmission is bad because it means: 1) more chances for a mutation creating a worse variant, 2) those of us who are high risk are in even more danger than usual, 3) more people will get long COVID (10% or so of cases) or new medical conditions, 4) more people will die.
Sure, less people will probably die than prior surges.
But take it from someone disabled by post-viral illnesses - I'd be more worried about long COVID than death or hospitalizations, if I were you.
Interesting! I wonder how many deaths have occurred due to the immune system consequences of measles rather than directly by the disease itself.
This, it seems to me, makes vaccination against this disease all the more indispensable!
https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20211112-the-people-with-immune-amnesia
Paul Brownjohn
boosted
Palestine
Either
1. Palestine is a separate country, according to some mandated division such as the 1967 or 1948 borders, in which case Israel is waging unjust and genocidal war and illegally occupying land
or
2. Israel is the de-facto state in control of the whole area between the Jordan river and the Mediterranean, and it's enacting horriffic and illegal apartheid
In either case, it's a state of affairs that's been going on for years.
In either case, Palestinians are subject to genocide.
Paul Brownjohn
boosted
There is a CURIOUS OMISSION in the coverage of the murder of Brianna Ghey, in both the NYT and Washington Post.
Neither paper's story included any of the transphobic messages Brianna's teenage killers, obscuring the way her trans identity allowed them to dehumanize her and made her more vulnerable than other young people who encountered the pair.
These messages were central to most other stories about this murder, and their omission is glaring. #trans #news
https://www.assignedmedia.org/breaking-news/nyt-wapo-transphobia-brianna-ghey
Paul Brownjohn
boosted
The President of Ireland's Christmas message is well worth listening to. It includes:
"..may I express my gratitude to the migrants who now call Ireland their home. Their presence enriches our culture, contributes to our society, bringing as they do experiences, traditions, and perspectives that make us stronger as a nation."
https://president.ie/en/diary/details/christmas-message-from-president-michael-d-higgins23/video
Paul Brownjohn
boosted
An Israeli real estate company Harey Zahav, that specializes in developing settlements, posted this pic of destroyed #Gaza with homes and the title 'Wake up, a beach house is not a dream!" (Circulating) @israel @palestine
Paul Brownjohn
boosted
Paul Brownjohn
boosted
"If politicians want to ‘stop the boats’ , the solution is simple; re-open the legal and safe routes for asylum seekers to come to our shore"
https://northeastbylines.co.uk/another-life-lost-in-the-channel-safe-routes-are-needed/
Paul Brownjohn
boosted
Paul Brownjohn
boosted
🤦♂️ December 12, 2023- “Life insurers have been consistently sounding the alarm over these unexpected or, “excess,” deaths, which claimed 158,000 more Americans in the first nine months of 2023 than in the same period in 2019. That exceeds America’s combined losses from every war since Vietnam. Congress should urgently work with insurance experts to investigate this troubling trend. “ - https://thehill.com/opinion/healthcare/4354004-this-is-bigger-than-covid-why-are-so-many-americans-dying-early/
Retired software engineer & woodworker.
Anglo-francophone.
Detest tories. Subscribe to green, leftish radical politics but not to any particular political party!.
Love the EU and all it stands for, moreover, I spent the last 10 years of my career working at an EU agency.
Enthusiastic photographer, especially wildlife and most especially butterflies.
Slightly knowledgeable gardener.
Atheist; loathe almost all religions and pity the people deluded enough to follow them. I make exceptions for Buddhism as it isn't really a religion in the strictest sense of the word as it doesn't postulate the existence of any god, and Jainism which is the epitome of peace.
For anyone who is interested, my header photo is of the most stupendous sunset I have ever seen. On the right is the waterfront of Vientiane, the capital of Laos, on the left is Thailand and in the middle, acting as the border between the two countries is the mighty Mekong river.
Joined Nov 2022
