Admittedly chances are slim but this would be such a brilliant win on so many levels. Either way, these numbers are no joke and should tell you something about the love for the human candidate also in the race.
@CountBinface, it's time to swap the universe for the fediverse.
Andrius Kubilius, the EU Commissioner for Defence, brings a banger of a piece and some forecasting on the next 70 years for Europe and the world.
"Although the dominant trend in the West today appears to be increasing nationalization of everything, it is possible that this will eventually give way to a new phase of Westernization – a growing recognition that only a united West can successfully compete with the rising powers of the East."
full article: https://andriuskubilius.lt/en/what-are-we-living-through
It seems the European people are finally waking up to the devastation of climate change, and we know there's a vast majority who wants our leaders to act.
Now what has me worried is that it seems likely we elect the absolutely wrong people to fix things if not make it worse. And, frankly, the current crop - national and on the EU level - isn't exactly putting in the work either.
What the hell do we do? Genuinely, is there anyway to actually activate the fediverse into real, positive action and are we anywhere near large enough to have an impact?
#ClimateChange #EuropeanUnion #Europe #Activism #EuropeanPolitics
I have just decided that Laila Medina is the coolest European - oh the vibes and the suit.
She's the Latvian Advocate General to the Court of Justice of the European Union
@Curia.
Move over Nana Mouskouri.
If you want to keep up with EU news, I've found the Europe Morning Post by @davidcarretta a good source. Daily quick read with a deep dive on one issue and a summary on several others. (it's free)
in English
https://europemorningpost.substack.com
in Italian
https://davidcarretta.substack.com
in Spanish
https://lamatinaleuropea.substack.com
@davidcarretta
writes about Ceuta:
Ceuta was not a migrant crisis. The sudden arrival of 60,000 migrants in the Spanish enclave in Africa last week was a shock. But it was handled rapidly and effectively by Pedro Sánchez’s government. In less than 72 hours, virtually all the migrants who had entered within the European Union’s borders had returned to Morocco. But in those 72 hours, Ceuta opened a serious rift within the EU. What followed was far more damaging.
The European People's Party and its allies in the far right treated a resolved border incident as a political opportunity. Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission president, took her cue. Rather than standing by a fellow EU member state under pressure, she stood with its critics. In doing so, she made the EU's vaunted solidarity look like what many have long suspected it to be: a principle that holds only when it costs nothing. On the initiative of Giorgia Meloni and Mette Frederiksen, the large majority of member state leaders placed narrow national electoral interests above solidarity and loyal cooperation. With Ceuta, petty politics and populist demagoguery have taken the place of the rule of law and solidarity — two of the foundations of the EU.
https://europemorningpost.substack.com/p/ceuta-meloni-and-von-der-leyen-put
I've been listening to the podcast miniseries Unsung: Cleaners.
It dives into the lives of, primarily, migrant women who clean the offices, hospitals and other buildings across Europe and their plight.
When I got lost in the corporate world for a few years I never quite understood why the cleaning crew (and catering, security, etc) were typically ignored by my co-workers. Not even a basic 'hello'. Or the startled faces when I did greet them and made small talk.
These days I understand it on a rational level, but as a fellow human it will continue to baffle me.
Anyway - this is a pod worth listening to. A perspective not often heard and the voices are from across Europe.
Non-Europeans may find it interesting too, just remember that as poor as the situation is in Europe, it's probably better than just about anywhere else in the world.
Right. Introduction post.
It’s a little complicated (and probably too long and too much).
I’ve been lieven for a few years now but it’s not my actual name. My real name is that rare I can find only about 5 people with the same name in the world (but none with the same spelling). Seemingly I’m the only one in Europe, at least in modern times.
That’s what happens when you choose your name with care and take a few years to find it. My previous name was also rare though shared with a famous cartoon (not intentional). There’s a story why that name became history too. Maybe one day I’ll share.
The name originally given to me came alongside a traumatising religious event by the two people who ended up abusing me until I was removed from the home at 13 and those two eventually had a judge revoke their parental rights.
I take a lot of pride in the person I’ve become – me. It was not easy to get here. At the same time, there’s still a lot of lingering trauma and I’ve yet to find my tribe.
As an outspoken queer neurodivergent mixed-race writer who consistently writes about society’s errors and highlights the lives of the vulnerable among us I’ve made a lot of enemies and have seen a lot of violence.
I’m an activist who doesn’t hold up a protest sign but a mirror.
Proud as I am of my identity, I am also deliberately anonymous online. Not by choice, but for my safety. I hope you understand.
That said, I am very much human. Too human, at times.
I care and am fiercely political. Given my identity I have no choice. I wish more people cared.
Beyond all that, I mentor queer youth. I am a storyteller and help others tell their stories. I am an artist who works primarily online, with text; sound and sometimes animation.
I build pretty little confrontational worlds.
I have a diverse professional background and am occasionally hired to do other things as well. Sometimes you just need the money.
I’m a millennial but I’ve come to the conclusion linear time no longer serves me.
If I am not online I am probably working out, reading or sleeping.
I’m barophobic but that’s only sensible.
Want to seduce me? Contemporary art, politics, music, sustainability, interior design, fashion and empathy turn me on. As long as you make an effort and don’t just go for the easy and the obvious.
The fediverse seems a nicer, better, place to be. I’m glad I’m finally here.
#introduction #lgbt2sqia #lgbtq #queer #writer #art #artist #story
Music Mood. Also still trying to find my Mastodon vibe. Let's share some European summer bops. 10 countries, 10 genres. All unexpected (hopefully).
I'd love for anyone to add their own to the list.
(also, I really wish we had a better platform than youtube, but it’s the only thing anyone can access and where all the content’s at.)
1/10
Probass ∆ Hardi – Viter ta Iskra.
Let's start with Ukraine. Just released but it gives millennial turn of the century lounge vibes. I am in awe of the Ukrainians. Fighting not just for their country but for Europe, in the meantime life goes on and even the music keeps coming.
#ukraine #probassandhardi #electro #lounge #music #musicmood #summer #euromaxxing #europe
it reminds me of Thomas Was Alone which is a brilliant video game.
What a fantastic 1965 short this is (with an incredible pun right at the end).
So incredibly tired of being told that I am AI. I don't use it to write, I despise AI writing in general and couldn't care less if someone has a few typos going on or if their wording is a bit fumbled. Human writing for the win.
Some of us put care in their words, take effort to write, and somehow this has become 'proof of AI'. The em dash was used by humans first.
Marcus Olang' wrote a good piece about it from his perspective. Different but I recognise myself in his words.
https://marcusolang.substack.com/p/im-kenyan-i-dont-write-like-chatgpt