Image 1: https://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/news-photo/protesters-make-signs-with-their-arms-in-front-of-kenya-news-photo/2157587094
Image 2: https://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/news-photo/protesters-chant-anti-government-slogans-during-a-news-photo/2157587157
Image 3: https://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/news-photo/protesters-hold-a-kenyan-flag-outside-the-kenyan-parliament-news-photo/2158620244

maybe there are better images online but gettyimages tend to look pretty good

for context, a finance bill was brought by Ruto's government to bring in austerity measures, mainly by increasing taxes - initially including 16% sales tax on bread and 25% duty on cooking oil - to reduce national debt with notable pressure from the IMF.

protestors have been notably agitated as Ruto was voted on a platform of increase the wealth of the poor, leading to relatively large protests in Kenya and especially in Nairobi.

I don't even know where to begin with this. I've had relatives reaching an almost rage state because I was wearing a keffiyeh. I've gone to charity walks and some random uncle asks me where I'm from (basically trying to interrogate whether I'm Muslim or "from Pakistan"). I've seen a temple that I've gone to many times suddenly allow a BJP overseas group to rent their hall. At that same event I just happened to walk in, so I took some shots with my camera only for some thug to try to physically remove my phone from my hand and push me back to the exit/door with the help of his buddies. They immediately were like "why are you wearing Muslim thing?" because I was wearing a keffiyeh (nevermind the fact that I was wearing a regular indian kurta, etc., it was even their "favorite color" orange lol).

These guys are totally foaming from the mouth hindu nationalists (actually fascists is more appropriate) and they're not just in India, they're in the US as well. I've never had any white person say anything to me when I wear a keffiyeh. In fact I've had ppl low key give thumbs ups or say "nice" but with these fucking uncles (and yes they are always middle-aged indian uncles) it's like a coin toss. Some think it looks cool (and have no idea what it means), whereas others see it and immediately think I'm some sort of terrorist. And btw my family is moderately high caste Hindu, and I think caste is complete bullshit, but I only mention it because if these fucking fash uncles don't know that ahead of time, they'll immediatley think you're Muslim/Pakistani/terrorist by the things you wear. I'm going to continue rocking the keffiyeh but fuck these fucks.

Comrades, keep an eye out for these shitheads.

Also would love to hear any sort of stories from other comrades about family/friends/etc who have hindu nationalist views and how you dealt with it.

hey yall! how we doin? im feeling pretty great, got some positive life developments, and im going to the aquarium tomorrow! come chat, vent, or joke!

cross-posted from: https://hexbear.net/post/2828077

The Patriotic Liberation Front, which is fighting for the release of former president Mohamed Bazoum, who was overthrown in a coup last July, said it was behind the attack earlier this week.

anyone heard of the "Patriotic Liberation Front"? i can't find them anywhere and my general assumption for random armed groups with no prior info is that this is a Western-backed op

That's all...

hey yall, hows it going. come chat, vent , joke around! em poc only!

cross-posted from: https://hexbear.net/post/2777622

piped: https://piped.kavin.rocks/watch?v=E_AdBqXbbXs

very good playlist

have it on loop rn

so sorry for the delay yall. ive been touching tons of grass lately. how about yall, whats going in in the real world? ive been doing org, stuff, jobs stuff, reading stuff, friends stuff, and concert stuff. lots of stuff but somehow at the same time not enough stuff. you know when you come out of a depression and you wanna overload yourself? anyway how the heck are ya? em poc only

how are yall doing this week? ive been pretty stressed myself but good things are around the corner. come chat, vent and joke! em poc only thread.

With this month being pride month and my partner's birth month, I've been thinking a lot about celebrations, but there's also another one I want to acknowledge as well: Caribbean American Heritage Month.

My Afro-Caribbean family has definitely shaped me with a lot of the cultural considerations of where they come from. Although I've had a rocky path with many of my family members and in the way their culture gets them to think about queer people, I don't want to feel shame in it.

As I'm learning while still struggling to move toward a path of self-love for myself in all respects, as hard as it's been as of late, I don't want to forget about including all respects. Accepting myself as black is one thing, but acknowledging how my family and heritage has shaped me is another. I have a long history of wanting zero to do with my cultural upbringing, even to a point where I upset my uncle one time by being ashamed of saying that my folks hail from Trinidad and Tobago, and as I lessen my internalized racism more and more, I hope to not only overcome shame in my skin color but also acknowledge that Caribbean culture and people can be beautiful as well.

i live in a predominantly white area so i get some racially-motivated and provocative comments from time to time

i just ignore them with a clear look of disapproval (+ sometimes a side-eye) because i don't have the time to educate every single random stranger and it's just not something i want to bother myself with (though i know i should to an extent).

i feel like replying with an insult that they won't understand would make it very clear that i take offence with that they said/did without them reacting to what i actually said and would make me feel better that i retaliated rather than keeping quiet.

(plus responding to an ignorant comment with something they'll be ignorant of feels pretty retaliatory to me)

so what are some non-English (or obscure English) retaliatory insults? ideally they should be a common insult (though it's optional ig), short and should sound like an insult to an English speaker

EDIT: to clarify, i'm not concerned about further escalations as virtually all of these exchanges happen in passing where no one is able to continue the conversation (which is why i'm okay with responding in a potentially rude way).

but maybe ignore the last point about the insult sounding like an insult. saying an unknown phrase in a different language should be enough to suggest my disapproval

cross-posted from: https://hexbear.net/post/2653829

instead of usb booting a custom Tails instance every time to defend their glorious revolution

SO SORRY FOR POSING LATE FOLKS, the 3 day weekend threw me off. yall got today off? if so what are ya up to? come chat, vibe. vent. as usual no crackers, em poc only

this was an interview between contributing editor Ann Garrison and Execute Director of Friends of the Congo Maurice Carney.

on May 19, 2024, he [Christian Malanga] died in a quixotic coup attempt involving a force of some 50 armed men and lasting for all of three hours in Congo’s capital, Kinshasa. Reports are that three of his men and two Congolese police officers were also killed, and that the rest of the men were arrested.

On the same day, in a more serious and significant undertaking, two Morehouse College professors [Samuel Livingston and Cynthia Hewitt] held up a Congolese flag behind President Joe Biden as he addressed the 2024 graduating class.

how is everyone doing this week? im ready for it to be June already. come chat, vent, joke around. also, what is your personal song of the summer so far? for me its still alter ego by doechi.

hey yall, how are yall doing this week? sorry for the late post i was up past 5 am talking to my friends. whats new with yall?

GUYS! THE KENDRICK DRAKE BEEF IS INCREDIBLE I THOUGHT THAT MEGAN V NIKKI WAS GONNA BE THE BEST BEEF ALL YEAR BUT NOOOO. i hope drake is over over. also if kenny doesn't get megan on a track what are we even doing here. come chat, vibe vent about what ever!

hey yall! come chat vent vibe! yall know the drill, how was your week? em poc only!

weekly thread yall, whats up whats new? come chat, vent, vibe

Very good article from a very good website

come vent, chat, celebrate, share a life update, and complain about the crackers. EM POC ONLY.

I say ehm-POC but ehm-pok sounds easier to pronounce