Hello Friends,

So it started, as things have lately, over on Mastodon, which I am enjoying immensely. I also bopped over to Discord for a bit, but things are relatively quiet this morning in my groups there so I left a couple of responses and bopped back out. I have spent my time waking up and sipping coffee and reading some news and information pieces of my choosing and contemplating the world.

It can be so very easy to become overwhelmed by things, I find, unless we are careful in HOW we consume the news and from where. I have more than a few ideas and theories about this but that is a rant for another day. Today is about sipping some coffee and exploring before I pull myself together to try and get some things done before work.

The first domino in today’s scrolling was a link to this article over on CrimethInc about the Boobs not Bombs initiative, a group of activists creating homemade Estrogen HRT for private distribution. This lead to some rummaging around the Internet to a few different sites and resources that I’ve bookmarked for a deep-dive into later, including this link about Mutual Aid. From here I bopped over to NPR and this article about recent changes to the gun laws in Oregon and concerns from LGBTQIA activists that the new laws vague wording and giving local Sherriff’s and Police Chief’s to determine who qualifies for fire arms permits. I also updated myself on a story I had listened to earlier today on my way home from the overnight shift, about the current and massive Covid surge in China.

From there I checked up on Reuters news service, who I find do a good job of unbiased reporting. This story about a recent vote in the U.S. House of Representatives sending a bill for an Independence Vote for Puerto Rico to Congress caught my eye, because Central Florida where I live has such a large Puerto Rican population. I then noticed this story about how Russian manufacturers have apparently been able to skirt a U.S. embargo to get high-tech computer parts from U.S. manufacturers to construct drones for their War on Ukraine. I also noticed this story about President Biden blacklisting certain Chinese micro-chip manufacturers.

News, knowledge, and information, are what we make of them. They can overwhelm us into retreat, or inspire us into thought and action. I am currently choosing thought, and some judicious sharing in the hopes of starting conversations.

What recent news stories have been catching your eye and stirring your thoughts?

Bliss and Blessed Be,
Pax / Geoffrey