Toots đ from 04/17 to 04/21
As discussed previously, on Fridays, I present my weekly social media roundups. Note that toots of articles generally include header images from the articles, which I donât include here unless their creators happen to have released them for use under a free license, and I notice. Most have not, or I donât notice. But I now add my commentary here, where I donât feel restricted by message length.
Also, I donât generally attach pictures to posts with quotations.
9:03 â Mon 17 April 2023
Image Not Shown: A series of yellow tubular batteries, marked-positive ends up, on a blue background
Findings are a step toward water-based batteries from Futurity
The groupâs goal of researching metal-free batteries stems from having better control over the domestic supply chain since cobalt and lithium are outsourced. This safer chemistry would also prevent battery fires.
Hashtags: #Energy #Batteries
I assume that this causes other problems, but I donât suppose that they could make much worse than we have todayâŠ
12:07 â Mon 17 April 2023
If he mourns, the spirits are in his tears, and if he is distressed, then love is in his tunes. He weeps with the faraway over his homelands.
Hashtags: #Quotes #ArabAmericanHeritage
9:05 â Tue 18 April 2023
Image Not Shown: Zoe Sahloul, executive director of the New England Arab American Organization, center, celebrates Eid-al-Fitr in Maine
Arab Americans are a much more diverse group than many of their neighbors mistakenly assume from The Conversation
From TV stations to entertainment media, people of Arab descent are often stereotyped as violent, oppressed or exotic.
Hashtags: #ArabAmericans #Diversity
I unfortunately forget who, but one Arab-American comedianâprobably not Maz Jobrani, though nobody elseâs voice comes to mind on thisâused to talk about how he desperately wanted to audition for an acting gig where he didnât need to hold his eyes open wide enough to show his entire iris for the entire roleâŠ
12:01 â Tue 18 April 2023
Four months ago, a star returned to the horizons in the space of Arab literature in me. In the diaspora, after the passing of this period of time, she loosened the threads of her radiance from the light of the world of literature.
Hashtags: #Quotes #ArabAmericanHeritage
9:01 â Wed 19 April 2023
Image Not Shown: Abortion rights activists call for abortion and mifepristone to be legal across America at a protest in New York City in March 2023
Mifepristone ruling shows we need to fight attack on US abortion rights from openDemocracy
While there have been a few incidents of vandalism at deceptive anti-abortion âcrisis pregnancy centersâ, itâs hardly privileged and powerful conservative Christians such as Kacsmaryk who need to be concerned about their safety.
Hashtags: #Abortion
Iâll say what I always say when big issues come up: Write your representatives, at the level that you care about (federally, in this case) and one level down (state). Explain your position in the community, such as a homeowner, entrepreneur, church official, whatever youâve got. Explain your stake in the matter, even if you only consider yourself a concerned citizen worried about the treatment of half the population, but any expertise on the issue would help at this point. And state your views on the topic.
Do it on paper, to both their local office and their âofficialâ officeâfor example, the Capitol building or the state capitalâand mention especially to the lower offices that youâd like them to put pressure on the others.
If you can manage it, make an appointment to speak with your representatives, as well. I like to say that, if your legislators donât recognize your name and maybe roll their eyes when they hear it, then youâll only get your way accidentally.
12:06 â Wed 19 April 2023
Think as if your every thought were to be etched in fire upon the sky for all and everything to see. For so, in truth, it is.
Hashtags: #Quotes #ArabAmericanHeritage
9:04 â Thu 20 April 2023
Image Not Shown: The end of an institutional hallway with a brown tile floor, dingy walls with wood and metal railings, and double doors at the far end
Medicaid Cutoffs: An American Horror Story from OtherWords
The stated purpose of all this surveillance is to prevent âwaste, fraud, and abuseâ by those on Medicaid. But as anyone whoâs dealt with the American health care system can tell you, the real fraud comes from profiteering health care corporations, not patients.
Hashtags: #Medicaid
I suppose that I should make the point that Republicans hate Medicaid because it actually works. Theyâd much rather an onerous system that fails to help anybody, so that they can go back to telling people about how Big Government always fails everyoneâŠ
12:02 â Thu 20 April 2023
We reflect a sensitive feeling burdened with the secrets of the soul, spirits, and the bonds of life and existence.
Hashtags: #Quotes #ArabAmericanHeritage
9:06 â Fri 21 April 2023
Content Warning: A lot of Ted Cruz
Image Not Shown: Close-up of Ted Cruz
News awareness means not just knowing whatâs in the news, but who wanted you to know it from Daily Kos
We now know how the story came to be. One or both of the reporters were invited to a âwide-ranging interviewâ held in Sen. Ted Cruzâs own Capitol Hill office, and thatâs where Cruz told the reporters what he was âseeking.â
Hashtags: #MediaLiteracy #TedCruz
Honestly, even if you donât care about Tedâs dopey and destructive antics, the headline does a lot, here. I always object when people talk about the âgood old days,â when reporters only presented facts and didnât take sides, because they did take sides. They chose to prioritize one story over another, one source over another, and one framing over another. They might not have done so maliciouslyâthey only had so much time and space to work withâbut they definitely made those decisions, and the news only makes any sense when we understand that and apply it in reading.
12:04 â Fri 21 April 2023
If you see the wind, beware â snow is the bride of the mountains.
Hashtags: #Quotes #ArabAmericanHeritage
Bonus
Because it accidentally became a tradition early on in the life of the blog, I drop any additional articles that didnât fit into the one-article-per-day week, but too weird or important to not mention, here.
Image credit: https://www.flickr.com/photos/96884693@N00/52782084003/ by Zeinab Mohamed. Flickr. CC BY-SA 2.0
Snapshots of Ramadan: Capturing a few spiritual and communal moments from Global Voices
There is however, another side to Ramadan. It is a highly anticipated and celebrated occasion in the Islamic world, as it provides a unique opportunity for communities to come together to socialize, share cultural experiences, and give to charity.
A blessed Eid to those who celebrate. May every year find you in good health. (And apologies if I fouled that greeting up in trying to not embarrass myself by making a mess of Arabic.)
Image Not Shown: A person (probably a woman) covering their eyes beneath their glasses, while sitting at a desk
Typing and mouse clicking can show your work stress from Futurity
Whatâs more, people who feel stressed in the office make more mistakes when typing. They write in fits and starts with many brief pauses. Relaxed people take fewer but longer pauses when typing on a keyboard.
Many years ago, I remember researchers looking to use typing patterns as biometric identification; I guess that we now know why that never became a product.
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Credits: Header image is Circular diagrams showing the division of the day and of the week from a manuscript drafted during the Carolingian Dynasty.
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