i think you can recognize that the usage of ai by students of all grades and all around the world to cheat through their assignments is not a personal moral failing but just yet another symptom of the mechanistic if not, at this point, basically dehumanized processes of our education systems which are nowadays almost solely focused on demanding production from students and churning out degrees required for jobs while ignoring any tangible verification of their actual knowledge, intellectual development and critical thinking skills, much less their mental health, while also pointing out that using ai to write your essay isn't a power move to cheat a flawed system, it is behaving exactly as the system designed, it is cheating yourself by giving up your ability to speak, think for and challenge yourself and bowing your head to powers who will only benefit from not being questioned, and the only reason text genai is so widespread right now is because it was born on the perfect breeding ground that is anti intellectualism
the trials and tribulations of evan buckley. a tragedy in ninety-seven acts.
slight flash/strobe warning
nicky sitting at a campfire with joe, a couple of years after they met
also my laptop fucked up the colours, they're actually higher in contrast and way more vibrant (more orange/red-ish). it was fine everywhere else, so I hope it's just my laptop. I know that it can show up differently on different devices but I never had it this extreme??
Below the cut is a template email to send to Edinburgh Pride regarding sponsorship from Aegon, who have investments linked to the genocide in Palestine. Please feel free to use this text or edit it and make it your own and send it to contact@prideedinburgh.co.uk
Dear Edinburgh Pride,
As a queer person living in Edinburgh, I was deeply saddened to learn that the march partner for Edinburgh Pride 2024 is Aegon.
In December 2023 the ‘Don’t Buy Into Occupation Coalition’ published a report that showed Aegon have US$564million invested via shares and bonds in companies operating in illegal settlements in Occupied Palestinian Territories. Source: https://dontbuyintooccupation.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/2023_DBIO-III-Report_11-December-2023.pdf
We are watching a live-streamed genocide every day - over 36,000 people in Palestine have been murdered by Israeli forces, including at least 15,000 children. The brutality of these atrocities are unthinkable, with evidence of torture and targeting of hospitals, ambulances and refugee camps.
We all have a responsibility to do what we can to end this genocide. As queer people, we are part of a rich history of resisting oppression and dehumanisation - of both ourselves and those we stand in solidarity with. Pride started as a protest against homophobia, transphobia and police violence. It is an important moment to come together as a community to celebrate queer joy and resilience.
But how can we celebrate using profits stained with the blood of our siblings in Palestine?
Aegon has $564million invested in companies that have been listed by the UN as “raising human rights concerns” for their operations in illegal settlements in Occupied Palestinian Territories, In 1948, 750,000 Palestinian people were displaced from their homes and lands and since then, Israeli settlements have been used to spread this process of colonisation.
In addition to this figure, Aegon also has major investments in Eaton Corp Plc., who supply parts for helicopters and fighter jets to the Israeli military and have recently been the target of major protests at their factory in Dorset. They also invest in Amazon, who support the Israeli military with surveillance technology used against Palestians.
Israel has long used ‘pinkwashing’ as a tactic to justify the brutal repression of Palestinians, using queer people to legitimise this horrific violence. We refuse to allow this to be done in our name.
The tide is turning on companies like Aegon that profit from investments in the companies complicit in genocide. Recently, both Hay and Edinburgh Book Festival have dropped Baillie Gifford as a sponsor after over 800 authors called on them to divest from companies involved in Israel and the fossil fuel industry.
I ask that Edinburgh Pride:
Calls on Aegon to commit to divest from companies involved in supplying technology to Israel and operating in illegal settlements.
Drop Aegon as a sponsor until they are able to show evidence of divestment.
Publicly call for a ceasefire and a free Palestine.
There is no pride in genocide.
I look forward to hearing your response.
XX
Sources:
Investments in companies operating in illegal settlements https://dontbuyintooccupation.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/2023_DBIO-III-Report_11-December-2023.pdf
Investments in Eaton https://extranet.secure.aegon.co.uk/static/sxhub/pdf/client-pen-distribution.pdf
Investments in Amazon https://www.aegon.co.uk/content/dam/auk/assets/publication/fund-factsheet/standard_bkj9zs0.pdf
Israel’s pinkwashing: https://bdsmovement.net/pinkwashing
War on Gaza statistics: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/longform/2023/10/9/israel-hamas-war-in-maps-and-charts-live-tracker
Edinburgh book festival ends Baillie Gifford sponsorship: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cm553zrr3e4o
I revisit this video often and wonder: How successful was I in creating a dichotomy between the hell breaking loose outside the house and a healing atmosphere of fun for the children inside? However, my family members evacuated to dangerous nylon tents and makeshift shelters this time where the outside and the inside are hellish and dangerous. All I can hope for now is to bring them to safety in Egypt because I can not begin to imagine my life without them.
I would rather die before they do. Please consider donating and sharing my story to help them survive.
gay 70s copaganda thesis is actually about the inherent homoeroticism of the western genre and the cultural image of the male cowboy it borrows from. or as Susan Sarandon once put it, "They got their guns out because they couldn't get their dicks out"
the best person I know.
Inspiration has struck that thing where I tried to make a crochet granny square for every episode of MASH was stupid, I will instead be making one mini cross stitch pattern for every episode and then putting them all together in one giant cross stitch