On Sunday, August 14, Latina weightlifter Sarah Robles won an Olympic bronze medal in the women’s over-75 kg. category. She is the first U.S. lifter to win a medal in 16 years.
August 14 was the date set for the end of Flint’s state of emergency. That means that the federal government will no longer pay for bottled water, water filters and cartridges and home testing kits to be distributed at no cost to residents. The State of Michigan will now pay for these items, estimated to cost about $3.5 million per month.
“If the federal declaration wasn’t in place, the state of Michigan would have paid more than $117,400 per day in May for water resources provided to Flint residents,” says Ron Leix of the state’s Joint Information Center in Flint.
“It’s hard to say what future costs may be – it all depends on the demand for bottled water and if residents use the filters. With the warmer weather, there may be a larger demand for water supplies. Colder weather may lessen the demand. It’s variable,” Leix says.
The continued access to free bottled water is a big deal, because even though experts say it’s now safe to drink filtered water, many Flint residents still don’t trust that.
Really? Ya don’t say!
With so much else going on in the world you may need a quick refresher course on the Flint crisis:
The problem began when the city switched its water supply in 2014. Almost immediately, residents of Flint — a majority-black city where 40 percent of people live in poverty — started complaining about the quality of the water. City and state officials denied for months that there was a serious problem.
By that time, supply pipes had sustained major corrosion and lead was leaching into the water. The city switched back to its original water supply late last year, but it was too late to reverse the damage to the pipes.
Even though officials in Flint knew something was wrong months before they actually came out and said it. Shame, shame, shame on Gov. Rick Snyder and the State of Michigan. Shame.
Wait, so, after being chosen as the fourth TriWizard Champion, Harry was immediately asked if he had an older student put his name in for him. So, like, was it actually that easy? Because if it was, you can’t tell me that some broke-ass Slytherin seventh-year didn’t immediately realize this and start raking in the cash. Like damn, they don’t want to be a part of this Insane Danger Stunt Show themselves, but they’ll put basically any scrap of paper you want into that stupid cup for a sickle.
You’re a first-year who can’t cast Wingardium Leviosa yet? Whatever, sure, just pay up. There’s no way you’re going to be chosen against Angelina “Can Probably Crush You With Her Thighs” Johnson, but at least you can tell all your eleven-year-old buddies that you Did A Cool Thing.
You wanna forcibly enter your friend without their consent? Hell no, get that shit out of here. I’m a Slytherin, not a complete bastard. If I’ve hear about you trying this shit again, I’mma curse your butt into the Lake and report you to Flitwick. You might think that’s funny because he’s short, but you will learn, young padawan. You will fear the Flitwick.
You’re a third-year who thinks that becoming the Hogwarts Champion will impress your crush? Okay, into the fiery cup. But also lmfao, have you even seen Cedric “Hottie McDreamy the Hufflepuff” Diggory? Like, hot damn.
You wanna enter your owl? Your cat? Your toad? Go for it, man, that’d be effing hilarious. I would actually pay to see that Tournament.
You’re a fifth-year who genuinely wants to enter the Tournament? Well, okay, but man, I am roomies with Cassius “Wake Up Before Noon At Your Own Risk” Warrington and he’d be grinding you into the floor under the heel of his handmade, Italian, dragon-hide shoes before you even knew what hit you.
You wanna enter… McGonagall? No, no, nonononono. That’s how people effing die, man. Like, she would destroy the competition and it would be glorious to behold and I would cry tears of awe at the sheer beauty of her wrath… but also, I am too young and beautiful to die. She would find us and we would die. Best scenario is she keeps us as pet mice forever.
So after the Weasley twins get their Age Potion issues fixed, a tiny Slytherin first-year girl sidles up to them in the halls and whispers, “You wanna enter the Tournament? Phil can hook you up. But you didn’t hear it from me!” And so the Weasley twins go find Phil, and Phil tells them straight up, “One slip for a sickle, three for two, five for three, and ten for four.”
Fred’s like, “Does entering your name more than once actually do anything?”
Phil, “Don’t know, don’t care.” (It doesn’t, Phil’s checked. He’d charge more if it did.)
And how does Phil get away with entering all these names? He tells all the supervising professors that he’s entering his own name - again and again and again - for a better chance at being selected. Professor Sprout informs him gently that this won’t make a difference and Phil tells her with the wide-eyed innocence of someone running a major scam operation that “Might as well try, Professor! Maybe diligence with pay off in the long run!”
Sprout’s heart melts, and everyone in the know facepalms. Everyone not in the know looks at him with “cheating Slytherin!” expressions and Phil dgaf because he’s got a giant pile of money now, suckers. [Snape noticed something was up, but didn’t care enough to stop it. Moody also noticed, but didn’t do anything. (Barty approves.)]
Entering more names doesn’t help because it’s not a lottery, the Goblet actually chooses, so a person can only really be entered once. It’s probably actually a good thing that Cedric “Tried to have a won Quidditch match made invalid out of fairness” Diggory and Harry “I am confused and I don’t want to be here” Potter were chosen. Because if fourth-year Ravenclaw Travis Collins had been chosen, the Goblet would have spat out all one-hundred and eighty-three scraps of paper with his name on it.
“Kids these days have too much pocket-money,” Phil comments as he comforts his boyfriend, Cassius Warrington, for being passed over in favor of Cedric “Made of Sugar, Spice, and Everything Nice” Diggory, and counts the massive pile of money he’s collected. “Kinda wish the fiery cup had picked that kid’s Kneazle, though. That would’ve been awesome.”
I wanna read more about Phil and his boyfriend Cassius Warrington.
OK, but I read the part about entering your pets and all I can think about is the name ‘Trevor Longbottom’ coming out of the cup and the teachers are all confused because “did we somehow miss or forget that Neville has an older brother? Did Frank and Alice have a secret hidden love child during their Hogwarts years?” Meanwhile, half the Gryffindors are groaning and face palming because who doesn’t know about Trevor ‘constantly lost but probably actually trying to escape this insane asylum of a school’ Longbottom? and poor little nervous Neville, who certainly had nothing to do with Trevor’s name being entered, slowly makes his way too the front of the room and Dumbledore just looks at him curiously and Neville gulps and extends his hands, which Trevor is sitting in and as realisation dawns on the various professor’s faces, everyone collectively looses their shit.
I’m laughing so hard. Also also just imagine Errol’s name coming out. Oh man. Just… Oh man…
This is my favorite hc ever and I need a fic on this desperately
(OP here) Oh man, you are all my favorite people. But that animal thing is totally technically possible, because Barty Confunded the Goblet of Fire, right? It would take an exceptionally powerful and talented witch or wizard to enchant such an ancient magical artifact, right? But seriously, what if Barty had fucked up? That thing is ancient, there’s no way anyone in modern day really knows how the fuck it works.
Frankly, I am completely convinced that the Goblet of Fire is a horrible hodgepodge of experimental magic as some random witch tries to create some way to choose Champions. I have henceforth named her Gonilda and she is the magical computer programmer of 1294, and the creation process of the Goblet was a fucking disaster.
Like, “Shit, I’ve got this super ugly pot that my kid made me in his pottery class the other day, will that do?” “Okay, okay, how do I make the Goblet have only three schools?” “Fuck, Fredreich, made a note to make sure that it won’t explode if more than 13 students are entered because apparently this stubborn piece of ceramics can’t count for shit.” “HOW THE FUCK IS THIS JUDGING PROCESS SUPPOSED TO WORK? IF THIS SON OF A PITCH DOESN’T COOPERATE, I’M MAKING THIS SHIT RANDOM.” (’Gonilda, no.” “GONILDA, YES, DAMN IT!”) “Okay, okay, I think it works now. But also, I have no idea how to reset it. Can we only hold this shitty tournament once?” (”Gonilda, no.” “Fuck you, Fredreich.”) “OKAY, NOW IT WORKS! Just one more tiny detail an- Shit, it’s on fire now. …Can I just leave it on fire? I’m leaving it on fire.” (”Gonilda, no.” “I’m done, I’m out. It’s on fire and I’m not going to do shit about it.”)
Person in charge of running the Triwizard Tournament: “Ah, Fredreich, wonderful! And you met our deadline! Please give ours thanks to Mistress Gonilda for her exceptional wo- … Why is it on fire?”
Gonilda (in the distance): “BECAUSE FUCK YOU, THAT’S WHY.”
So basically, the Goblet of Fire works because nobody fucking touch it. It’s on fire, we don’t need to make it explode, folks. Just nobody do anything weird to it and we all collectively pray it keeps working.
And then along comes Barty Crouch Junior and he’s like, “I’mma Confund this cup for this Evil Plot by the Dark Lord Voldemort so it chooses Harry Potter.” Except the Goblet of Fire is a disaster and Barty’s Confundus works for maybe five minutes before something in it breaks, and it’s magical programming is basically just flipping through magical error messages.
Error 400: Bad Request - What the Fuck Are You Doing, Dipshit?!?
Error 403: Forbidden - Dear Fredreich, Stop Doing Shit, You Don’t Know Crap. With Much Love, Mistress Gonilda.
Error 405: Method Not Allowed - Seriously, Dipshit, What the Fuck?
Error 409: Conflict - With Literally Everything. Great Going, Assface.
Barty, why? Why would you try and poke an ancient disaster like this? You were so preoccupied with whether you could do it that you didn’t stop to think if you should. You did it, you crazy son of a bitch, you did it. See, here I am now by myself, talking to myself. That’s Chaos Theory.
Anyway…
Cue small, adorable, innocent first-year voice rising out of the crowd at the Champion Selection Ceremony: “Headmaster Dumbledore? Why is there black smoke coming out of it?”
Cue second small, adorable, innocent first-year voice: “Is it supposed to be making that tea-kettle sound? Why is it screaming?”
Then the Goblet just starts spitting out Champions like it’s freakin’ Oprah or something. Set fire to the fucking rain. YOU GET TO BE A TRIWIZARD CHAMPION!YOU GET TO BE A TRIWIZARD CHAMPION! EVERYBODY GETS TO BE A TRIWIZARD CHAMPION!
(Errol Weasley, Trevor Longbottom, every female Durmstrang student, Professor Trelawny, the Weasley twins twice, a Hogwarts seventh-year from every house, Fleur Delacour and a group of Beauxbatons boys that looks like a boy-band in disguise, Harry Potter five times over, that one kid’s Kneazle, etc. The list goes on.)
Cassius Warrington looks beside him to his boyfriend, who is currently trying to slide underneath a table and maybe phase himself out of existence by sheer willpower, muttering about how he’s now going to die at the hands of Minerva McGonagall and running away to Barbados.
“Phil,” Cassius says seriously, “What the fuck did you do.”
Activists William Lucka and Antonio Cosme are facing up to $75,000 in fines and four years in prison for allegedly painting “Free the Water” in large block letters up the side of a water tower in Highland Park. They added the graphic of a fist to make the painting look authentic and to show their own attitude.
Living in Detroit these folks reveal the conflict between residents and the authorities who don’t give a damn about citizens and highlight one of the biggest social crises - water service shutoffs.
The Detroit media blames Cosme and Lucka for vandalism, while they are raising money to support local organizations like Black Youth Project, New Era Detroit, BlackLivesMatter, the People’s Water Board.
Supporters have formed a Free the Water Defense Campaign for Antonio Cosme and William Lucka’s defense fund. The same group is hosting a fundraiser featuring Lucka’s artwork on August 13 and a crowdfunding campaign, Funded Justice, that continues through August 31.
Again Black activists face prison for raising awareness of things that matter. There comes a time when silence is betrayal.
George has worked in the publishing industry for years and understands the relationship between fans and creators of free online content. [rest of the tweets here]
Purina tidy cats lightweight litter has caused serious health issues in cats. They include wheezing, bloody nose, bloody urine and respiratory problems. If you are currently using this product, please keep a close eye on your feline’s health. Please consider avoiding purchasing this product if possible as it is not worth the risk.
This isn’t the first time a Purina product has been reported to adversely affect pets, we posted earlier this year that Beneful is facing a class action lawsuit for the death of 4,000 dogs.
As parents of furchildren, we need to be more aware of the food and products we give our babies and not be blinded by big budget campaigns and advertisements from giant pet brands. They may claim to have our pets’ best interests at heart but that is not always the case.
Every single one of you, please please reblog this to help inform others.
Actually gonna reblog this to my main blog because this should get more exposure
Be careful, pet owners, this is not a hoax. Some of the Amazon reviews are painful and sickening to read, this stuff is so damaging to pets. Don’t buy it, don’t let others buy it.
I literally just bought this at the store today. I will promptly return it.
Fair warning, this product is, in my experience, really, really terrible for people who have asthma or any kind of respiratory problems as well.
it contains perlite which is an industrial insulator. also silica and bentonite, which if fine enough are respiratory hazards.
From the MSDS sheet:
Dust may be irritating to skin, eyes and nasal passages.
Maintaining occupation exposures to dust to levels less than the occupational
exposure levels are recommended to minimize the potential for
silicosis, respiratory tract, eyes and skin irritation.
Health Hazard – Carcinogenicity
Inhalation:
Short Term: Dust may irritate the nasal passages.
Long Term: Breathing small particles can be hazardous to lungs. This product
contains crystalline silica in extremely small amounts. Crystalline silica in high
concentrations can cause lung disease.
Even the MSDS sheet says you need to be in a well ventilated area and minimize exposure if using. That alone is a red flag.
So glad to hear that you have found condoms or a copper IUD to be the only type of birth control you need.
Also chuffed to know you don’t suffer from any mental or physical disorders or disabilities that may necessitate any medication because they can be really hard.
Similarly I am so excited to hear you earn enough each week to buy a cornucopia of fresh fruit and veggies, enough to last you through every meal.
That’s super.
My prescription pills aren’t pretty and colourful like yours, they don’t fill me up or taste very good at all but they do help correct my genetic neurotransmitter deficiency a bit. So that’s something.
But yeah, go on with your super inspired comparison of eating a banana to taking prescription medication. It’s not coming off as privileged or sanctimonious at all.
so among other things i need medication for, my bone disease means I need to take 5000IUD of vitamin D every day, and some jackass recently was like “ummm sweetie you should just eat almonds, they are high in vitamin D, you just need to change your diet”
Do you know how many almonds I would need to eat every day to replenish the vitamin D my bones refuse to store? a kilo. two fucking pounds of almonds a day. Do you know how many almonds that is?
thats also enough to give me fucking cynanide poisoning but thats fine.
people need to chill with this paranoid idea of body ‘purity’. your body isn’t more pure and untainted and cleansed because you ate 5lbs of bananas for dinner and someone else takes antidepressants. i’m sure we were all real squeaky clean inside 2000 years ago with our paleo diets but we were still dying left and right of preventable disease and deficiencies.
please spare me the juice cleanses and yoga and isopods
I’ve been a vegetarian since I was five years old. My entire diet is plant products with some dairy and eggs. And yet here I am suffering from chronic migraines and a stomach disorder that my gastro has just kind of identified as “*shrug emoji*”.
So I’m pretttttty fucking sick of smug assholes who think it’s just as easy as ‘eat more veggies’, because no. Having a poor diet can cause some problems, and maybe some people have fixed those by making lifestyle changes, but you know what? Sometimes bodies just fuck up for no real fault of your own. Sometimes brains just fuck up for no real fault of your own. Our fragile flesh prisons are absurdly complicated systems exposed to a variety of situations and sometimes they just don’t handle it ideally. And no amount of shoving avocados up your ass is going to fix that. Pills, however, have a much better shot.
So a state audit of CalGang, a database widely used in California to identify gang members, has 42 infants listed in it. Possibly because of “typos”. People are supposed to be deleted from the system if there hasn’t been any new info in five years, but the system had hundreds of files that weren’t scheduled to be removed for more than 100 years. A review of 100 individuals from 4 different areas showed that only 13 of those entires had substantial information that warranted an entry. 70% of the juveniles added to the list were not notified, violating a 2014 state law. 85.4% of that entire database is made up of black men and Latinos. 64.9% of the people listed are Latinos.
None of this information would’ve been made public if Shirley Weber, a black assemblywoman for San Diego, hadn’t pressed her inquires. This system has allowed officers to racially profile dozens of thousands of people, label 28 babies under the age of 1 as admitting to having gang affiliations, and destroy lives. A black woman is responsible for the public discovery of this. Eliminating racial disparities in office is crucial, and this is an important example of that.
In it are all the things they told you would be bad for you.
Your own truth. Justice. A certain kind of body. A certain way the mind folds or unfolds. The facts about the world you live in. Your own past. Reckless decisions. Careful choices. Love of self. Love of others. Being believed. Adulthood. Childhood. Engaging. Abstaining. Selfhood. Friendship. Freedom. Willpower. Staying. Leaving. Waiting. Leaping. Love. A new beginning. The breaking of all the chains around you, the fraying of every rope, the slipping of every collar.
The kind of selfishness that will save you.
saying “you are a burden on society” is just such a weird framing of priorities
It’s like saying “wow, think how much better gas mileage your car would get if you weren’t sitting in it” or “think how dry that umbrella would be if you weren’t holding it in between you and the rainstorm”.
the things we create? they’re for us. they are meant to carry us. they are meant to protect us. we are meant to hold them up to keep us dry.
“Icarus. The original myth had two parts. Daedalus said to his son, ‘I fashioned these wings for you. Two rules. Don’t fly too high, or the sun will melt the wax. But, more important, son, don’t fly too low. Because if you fly too low, the water and the waves will surely weigh down the wings, and you will die.’ We’ve left out the second part of the myth. We don’t say to people anymore, ‘Don’t fly too low.’ All we do from the time they are 4 years old is warn them against hubris. We have created this industrially led structure that says: How dare you.”
These “sidewalk counselors” are wearing attire that is very similar to PP’s logo and name to trick patients into thinking they are actual clinic escorts. These are the most deceptive ones I’ve seen yet.
Well this is fucking nauseating.
If you have to trick people into talking to you that means they probably do not want your help or opinion.
“Some people survive and talk about it. Some people survive and go silent. Some people survive and create. Everyone deals with unimaginable pain in their own way, and everyone is entitled to that, without judgement. So the next time you look at someone’s life covetously, remember…you may not want to endure what they are enduring right now, at this moment, whilst they sit so quietly before you, looking like a calm ocean on a sunny day. Remember how vast the ocean’s boundaries are. Whilst somewhere the water is calm, in another place in the very same ocean, there is a colossal storm.”
- People Survive in Different Ways | Nikita Gill (via jly)
