Notices by Looking for explanations… (susan60@aus.social)

RE: https://mastodon.social/@IndyMediaAus/115587031935636383

The Euro or Westerncentric view of history is so fraught.

World War II is said to have started in September 1939, after the UK & France declared war on Germany, after their invasion of Poland.

And yet Japan, one of the Axis powers, had invaded Manchuria in 1931, and remained in occupation until August 1945. Their occupation there was even more brutal than in SE Asia, in the same way that Nazi Germany’s attacks in Russia were so much more brutal than in Western Europe.

Both China & Russia have very good reasons to feel extremely defensive about Japan & Germany/Western Europe.

That doesn’t justify Putin’s war crimes in Ukraine, but it does help to explain how easily propaganda can be used to whip up fear in Russia & China. And that is something western countries need to try harder to understand.

Having a quiet afternoon. The phone is there in case an important call comes in for me.

@tofugolem

I do. That doesn’t mean I’m not very frustrated by such people. But I get that there are those who are ignorant, disengaged etc. And that the corruption of the democratic process in the most capitalistic country in the world is what is behind all of this.

It is the rich power brokers who actually bear responsibility for this situation.

#USPol

@BlueWaver22 @bmacDonald94

I’m in Australia. Our system is deeply flawed, & the incarceration rates for Indigenous Australians are ridiculously disproportionate. And yet I don’t think our systems are quite as corrupted as those in the US, from what I can gather. However I can’t claim to really know.

@bmacDonald94

Hmmm, I think of them as colleges, to school hardened criminals.

Don’t get me wrong, we do need prisons and crimes must have consequences. But a caring society which seeks to encourage and support people to live a decent life will have much less need of prisons. And the prisons it does have will rehabilitate much larger proportions of inmates than what happens now.

Of course if prisons are privately run, with profit as the primary goal…

So I wonder who actually shot Kirk… He called for the unredacted publication of the Epstein files. And making him a martyr serves a very useful function for the right.

#USPol

@dedicto @PhoenixSerenity @chris

Australia has a mix of horror stories & successes of this type. Such experiments are very carefully controlled & monitored now.

Great article from a non-verbal autistic person.

#Actuallyautistic
#Neurodivergent

https://theconversation.com/im-autistic-and-dont-speak-heres-what-i-want-you-to-know-262198

@roadriverrail

I bought some, but it was 10mm, too big, & twisted. I found that the sisal on the tree had stretched & broken, & that I could just rewind it, trim it & glue it back on. I’ll keep my eyes open for the right size sisal for next time.

I bought a glue gun & did some repairs on the scratching posts of our cat tree. Good as new.

When Fred thinks it’s time for me to get out of bed, he comes up from my feet & sits in my chest. George however, bounces into the room & onto partner’s tender bits, or uses the side of the bed as a scratching post (the only time he does this) or attacks my feet from above the doona.

#CatsOfMastodon

@sister_ratched @MarkAsser @skyfire747 @Heliograph

Some courier services are suspending services as well. No one knows how the tariff system is going to work, how payments will be made & what happens if recipients refuse to pay. Services could end up with facilities overflowing with parcels while the situation is sorted. And given the incompetence of the Trump government…

There was a lot of fanfare about this book when it came out in 2019. I saw Jess on TV several times (mostly on that excellent show, The Drum) & meant to read it. Then Covid came along, & The Trump Show Pt1, and I didn’t need to read something about yet another upsetting subject.

Finally doing it now. I’m only a few pages in, and in spite of being an ardent feminist with a major in Feminist studies, I’ve already learned something.

Something I did know, is that most domestic abuse isn’t violent. Violence only happens when the abuse is out of control. The violence we hear about, is the tip of the iceberg.

#DomesticAbuse
##DomesticViolence

@hellomiakoda @pathfinder

Just the kind of humorous response I’d expect from an autistic person! 😂😂😂

@pathfinder @hellomiakoda

If there’s no profile, or no posts, I’ll ignore or reject a follow request, let alone if there’s nasty stuff there. Ditto if they’re purely marketing their wares. I don’t mind a plug every now & then, but if the account is purely for commercial purposes, nup.

Poor George has been in disgrace for getting over the fence, again. We’re going to have to keep him on a lead when we go outside until we put something up to make it harder. They’re never unsupervised, but he’s much quicker & quieter. Fred would also like to wander, but is much more wary of displeasing us.

They love their catio, but the thrill of escape & wandering for sensory seeking ADHD adolescent George is very strong.

#Caturday

@Sarah111well @Troggie

A problem is that pre-cut fruit & veg loses nutritional value quite quickly. Frozen is probably better, but less varieties & mixtures are available.

Of course one solution would be to reduce the amount of plastic being used in the home. We have a plastic colander and plastic storage containers. I’ve got old Tupperware containers in my pantry that are slowly being replaced by glass jars. I’ve got plastic lids on some glass containers, & some large plastic mixing bowls & storage containers for baked goods.

None of this stuff gets washed in the dishwasher, but I don’t know if handwashing is any less likely to release microplastics.

Baked goods always used to be stored in tins or “cookie jars”.

Tupperware & it’s cheaper replacements has a lot to answer for.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-07-02/dishwasher-microplastics-research-need-for-australian-standard/105481834?utm_source=abc_news_app&utm_medium=content_shared&utm_campaign=abc_news_app&utm_content=other

There are some people who think First Nations people should just “move on” and leave the past behind.

We know that generational wealth & privilege confer enormous benefits on people - better living conditions, nutrition, education, less financial stress resulting in less violence & other abuse, better social connections resulting in access to better jobs etc.

It therefore makes sense that today’s, First Nations people are still suffering significant disadvantage from the crimes & human rights abuses committed against their forbears, & in some cases, still being committed today.

We know that cycles of generational disadvantage can be hard to break. We also know that with adequate support, such cycles can be broken and that an important step is to stop victim blaming.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-07-02/yoorrook-justice-inquiry-key-findings-takeaways/105483168?utm_source=abc_news_app&utm_medium=content_shared&utm_campaign=abc_news_app&utm_content=other

I’m glad that the media has moved on quickly from the Iran distraction, and is once again reporting on atrocities in Gaza & the West Bank. I feel sad that Ukraine is not getting sufficient attention. I fear that too many people have switched off to some extent, either desensitised or to preserve their own mental health. And to some extent, I’m probably one of the latter. 😢

@bmacDonald94

Sorry, is that a #gravy recipe?