Toots 🦣 from 10/09 to 10/13

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 don’t include here unless their creators happen to have released them for use under a free license, and I notice. Most have not, or I don’t notice. But I now add my commentary here, where I don’t feel restricted by message length.

Oh, we have Picked Last on the National Hero Playground Day, too, if you need your annual dose of genocide and fraud.

Also, I don’t generally attach pictures to posts with quotations.

9:02 – Mon 09 October 2023

Content Warning: Genocide

Image Not Shown: A paper face laid over half a picture of skulls and a sketchy map

‘Gukurahundi’ genocide survivors struggle for closure in Zimbabwe from Global Voices

The government, under then Prime Minister Mugabe, deployed a specialized army unit known as the Fifth Brigade to the western parts of the country — strongholds of the opposition PF-ZAPU.

Hashtags: #Zimbabwe #Genocide

I hope that they can get past this unfortunate situation compounded by a disinterest by some parties in getting to the truth.

12:04 – Mon 09 October 2023

Quoted on Mastodon

For decades, people have known the chemical-propulsion approach to space travel is really not going to get us that far. Chemical propulsion is essentially like the horse-and-cart approach to the exploration of the American West, instead of the steamboat or the railroad.

Franklin Chang-Díaz

Hashtags: #Quotes #HispanicHeritage

9:05 – Tue 10 October 2023

Image Not Shown: Woman in pink/purple canvas vintage shoes and blue jeans

Climbing enough stairs a day could cut heart disease risk by 20% from Futurity

Atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) along with coronary artery disease and stroke are the leading causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide.

Hashtags: #Health #Exercise

Their target of fifty steps seems worryingly low, suggesting that either benefits start there, or most people with heart disease could benefit from almost any exercise at all.

12:02 – Tue 10 October 2023

Quoted on Mastodon

If we take the opportunity we have in front of us to move science forward by deepening our partnerships and exploring new ways of doing science and imaginative ways to it, our history — a history of incredible accomplishments — foreshadows a frontier of endless possibilities.

France A. Córdova

Hashtags: #Quotes #HispanicHeritage

9:03 – Wed 11 October 2023

Image Not Shown: Armenian lawmakers attend a plenary session at the parliament in Yerevan on Oct. 3, 2023.

Armenia’s Parliament Votes to Join the International Criminal Court, Straining Ties With Ally Russia from Voice of America

Armenian officials say the effort to join ICC has nothing to do with Russia and was prompted by Azerbaijan’s aggression against the country.

Hashtags: #Armenia #ICC

Now, if large companies—such as the United States—can bother ourselves to join, we’ll really have something.

12:05 – Wed 11 October 2023

Quoted on Mastodon

…Fortitude is key. More than anything, be consistent. Go at it. Go at it. Go at it. When you succeed, don’t forget the responsibility of making somebody else succeed with you.

Antonia Novello

Hashtags: #Quotes #HispanicHeritage

9:04 – Thu 12 October 2023

Content Warning: Twitter

Image Not Shown: A picture of Twitter scrolling on a smartphone screen

Twitter’s death will shape the 2024 US presidential election from openDemocracy

Cops with tear gas breaking up a protest? Twitter could help you navigate your way out of the situation.

Hashtags: #Twitter #Politics

Yep. This can’t possibly go wrong.

12:03 – Thu 12 October 2023

Quoted on Mastodon

…it’s important that we enjoy the journey to the destination.

José M. Hernández

Hashtags: #Quotes #HispanicHeritage

9:07 – Fri 13 October 2023

Image Not Shown: Two people in suits and ties sitting in front of a giant hundred-dollar bill, with their heads replaced by meat

For 40 years, Big Meat has openly colluded to rig prices from Pluralistic

In particular, they insist that “greedflation” can’t be real, because it would require the kind of conspiracy that Smith warned of, and that their sickly antitrust enforcement is sufficient to prevent.

Hashtags: #Meat #MarketConcentration

You’ll notice how, for all the talk about how organizing and unifying doesn’t help, wealthy people will band together at a moment’s notice if it’ll rake in a few extra pennies…

12:01 – Fri 13 October 2023

Quoted on Mastodon

Where Art and Genius had their birth — The loveliest, fairest spot on earth.

Estelle Anna Lewis

Hashtags: #Quotes #HispanicHeritage

Bonus

Because it accidentally became a tradition early on in the life of the blog, I drop any additional articles that didn’t fit into the one-article-per-day week, but too weird or important to not mention, here.

Image Not Shown: Injured former Amazon workers protest the company's safety practices in Chicago, December 2019

The Price of Amazon’s “Prime” Business Model Is Our Bodies from OtherWords

No one should be kept in the dark about their employment when they have families to feed and roofs to keep over their heads. And no one should be discriminated against or harassed because of their disabilities.

If you needed another reason to find alternatives to shopping at Amazon, well, here you go…

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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.