Even though they are living through a genocide and have no means if income, my friends in Gaza must pay for everything you and I pay for at steep prices. They have to pay hundreds of dollars in rent, $60 for a water truck delivery, $50 for a cooking gas cylinder, $30 for mobile internet access. All this before even accounting for the costs of food ($40 for a 25kg bag of flour, let alone anything nutritious). All this before the costs of medicine or healthcare bills.

My friend Mahrah (@freepaleatine955) lives in Gaza, taking care of her elderly parents. My wife (@cannilyuncanny) hosts their family's fundraiser (vetted by 90-ghost and shared by fairuzfan) and wires transfers of donations directly to Mahrah. The money that we are able to raise is the entirety of their budget for the bare essentials of survival. Please donate if you can afford to. Keep them in your thoughts.

I may die after being thrown out of a hospital in Gaza today. My only crime is that there is no treatment available for me.

It’s 6:00 AM, and I still haven’t slept because of the endless thoughts.

I'm writing to you amidst this siege, with pain gnawing at my body. Since our house was bombed, shrapnel has been lodged in my body, tearing me apart and causing unbearable pain. I haven't been able to have surgery to remove it because the entire healthcare system here has been destroyed, and I need to raise the m0ney for travel to have my operation in another country. I need your stand by me.

On top of this suffering, I'm suffering from severe anemia, which causes me to faint frequently. I urgently need your h@lp now to buy anemia medication and painkillers to alleviate this agony, and to cover the costs of my treatment, I hope you will all stand by my side.

I would love to make one post about aotearoa without people bringing up hobbits on it to be so honest with you guys

listen I understand. they're amazing movies and I do think it's awesome that they were filmed here!!!!! but holy shit! it's the only thing anyone seems to be able to talk about when there is ANY discussion of these islands!! I would super love to be able to discuss our ecology, politics, culture, landscapes, and people without needing to hear about hobbiton every single time

I don't knowwww. it shouldn't be a huge deal but at the same time, the image an overwhelming amount of people have of aotearoa comes from those movies. our struggling ecosystems get overshadowed by fields and grassy hills and other non-native biomes that were explicitly chosen to depict the england-inspired fantasy land of middle earth. these same biomes only exist here because english settlers historically slashed and burned massive swaths of forest to create them, and now they're framed as famous and beautiful. mass deforestation of precious native forests. I don't know man. it annoys me juuuuust a little when every other post I make about this place gets a lotr joke plastered on it.