swampgallows:

swampgallows:

A new strain, dubbed Arcturus (XBB 1.16), is becoming prominent in India, and “an infantile phenotype seems [to be] emerging”. Pediatric cases are on the rise with a new symptom: conjunctivitis, more commonly known as “pink eye”.

XBB.1.16 is a recombinant of two descendants of so-called “stealth Omicron” BA.2. A preprint study updated Sunday from scientists at the University of Tokyo suggests that it spreads about 1.17 to 1.27 times more efficiently than relatives XBB.1 and XBB.1.5, also known as “Kraken,” which currently dominates U.S. cases.

XBB.1.16’s increased ability to outpace other variants suggest that it “will spread worldwide in the near future,” researchers wrote, adding that the variant is “robustly resistant” to antibodies from a variety of COVID variants, including “stealth Omicron” BA.2 and BA.5, which surged globally last summer.

Your vaccine, now woefully outdated especially if you did not receive the bivalent booster, will only marginally protect you. Even if you caught Covid within the last 6 months, your antibodies are negligible. 

If you know anyone who has recently returned from India or any neighboring countries, encourage them to mask and isolate. If you or your children are experiencing mild cold/allergy symptoms, especially red, itchy, watery, and/or sticky eyes, please wear a mask, isolate if you can, and test for Covid.  “Adenovirus, which has symptoms similar to COVID, can also result in conjunctivitis. Adenovirus and COVID are impossible to distinguish from each other without testing.”

At the time of this posting, it looks like XBB 1.16/Arcturus has already made it to the US, UK, most of Europe, and even Australia and New Zealand. The lineage is being tracked here.

gendercensus:

gendercensus:

The 2023 Gender Census is now open!

[ Link to survey ]

The 10th annual international gender census, collecting information about the language we use to refer to ourselves and each other, is now open until 9th May 2023.

It’s short and easy, about 5 minutes probably.

ALT

After the survey is closed I’ll process the results and publish a spreadsheet of the data and a report summarising the main findings. Then anyone can use them for academic or business purposes, self-advocacy, tracking the popularity of language over time, and just feeling like we’re part of a huge and diverse community.

If you think you might have friends and followers who’d be interested, please do reblog this blog post, and share the survey URL by email or at AFK social groups or on other social networks. Every share is extremely helpful - it’s what helped us get 40,000 responses last year.

Survey URL: https://survey.gendercensus.com

The survey is open to anyone anywhere who speaks English and feels that the gender binary doesn’t fully describe their experience of themselves and their gender(s) or lack thereof.

For the curious, you can also spy on some graphs and demographic data for the incoming responses here.

Thank you so much!

[ Link to survey ]

Image credit: Avery at Tradescantia Hub

Monday 1st May 2023 - day 23

Happy 1st May, to anyone who celebrates any of its many meanings!

Things are slowing down here because there’s only 8 days to go, but the survey is well on the way to 36,000, and it’s only about 11am here in the UK so I reckon we’ll manage it by midnight.

There’s three really helpful things followers can do, if anyone’s up for it:

• Share the survey URL far and wide: survey.gendercensus.com
• Tell me about anything not self-published (books, studies/research, etc.) that you know of that uses the Gender Census data, for the Data in Action page
• Stop using pesticides in your garden (for the benefit of bees)

💚

gendercensus:

The 2023 Gender Census is now open!

[ Link to survey ]

The 10th annual international gender census, collecting information about the language we use to refer to ourselves and each other, is now open until 9th May 2023.

It’s short and easy, about 5 minutes probably.

ALT

After the survey is closed I’ll process the results and publish a spreadsheet of the data and a report summarising the main findings. Then anyone can use them for academic or business purposes, self-advocacy, tracking the popularity of language over time, and just feeling like we’re part of a huge and diverse community.

If you think you might have friends and followers who’d be interested, please do reblog this blog post, and share the survey URL by email or at AFK social groups or on other social networks. Every share is extremely helpful - it’s what helped us get 40,000 responses last year.

Survey URL: https://survey.gendercensus.com

The survey is open to anyone anywhere who speaks English and feels that the gender binary doesn’t fully describe their experience of themselves and their gender(s) or lack thereof.

Thank you so much!

[ Link to survey ]

Image credit: Avery at Tradescantia Hub

cryptotheism:

So internet archive lost their lower court case. They’re appealing, and have a good chance with the 2nd circuit, but they need help. Here’s a link directly from one of their librarians for how you can help.

The Fight Continues - Internet Archive Blogs

Today’s lower court decision in Hachette v. Internet Archive is a blow to all libraries and the communities we serve. This decision impacts

Internet Archive Blogs

feminist-space:

“The One Spirit Team has been working tirelessly to help as many families on the Rez as possible through this intense winter season. Road conditions are making it near impossible to distribute firewood and food. Many homes are without power or a reliable and safe heat source.

Any donations received at this time will be used to purchase firewood, supplies, and food to take care of those critically in need.”

Donations can be made here:

Donate — One Spirit

Donate — One Spirit

One Spirit

Donations to Oglala Re-Member organization, which also assists people living in the Pine Ridge Reservation, can be made here:

Ways to Give | Re-Member

Donate money, goods, or time to Re-Member and help Pine Ridge Reservation.

Re-Member

gettin-bi-bi-bi:

a lot of HIV-positive people still face stigmatisation due to prejudices and misinformation. so here is a quick reminder that:

• HIV cannot be transmitted through touch
• HIV cannot be transmitted via saliva, tears or sweat
• HIV cannot pass unbroken skin or gloves, meaning you can help an injured HIV-positive person without fearing infection
• HIV medication is so good these days that it can push the viral load below a detectable amount, which means that the virus CANNOT be transmitted anymore! no, not even during sex!!! (which doesn’t mean you should just have unprotected sex; other STIs and unwanted pregnancy are still a thing that you have to keep in mind!)
• the medication can have strong side effects though, so it is important to do more research and develop even better medication
• not every person in the world has the same access to medication. it is absolutely vital that everyone who needs it can get easy and free access to it.
• HIV is not a death sentence anymore!!! through education and free access to condoms and medicine we can keep pushing the number of new infections with HIV down and prolong the life expectancy of people already infected.

Please share this information, not just online but also with friends and family who might not know it. And if you can, donate to your local AIDS/HIV charity or if you want to support one that’s operating internationally then Elton John AIDS Foundation is the one I’d recommend!

ruimtetijd:

pippii-punkstockings:

Btw you are not knowledgeable about bisexual history just for knowing the bisexual manifesto :/ You’re not even in the shallow end of the pool of bisexual history, your feet are not even wet

List of books about bi history and activism from this reddit post.

• The Bisexual Option - Fritz Klein
• Recognize: The Voices of Bisexual Men - Robyn Ochs & H. Shariff Williams
• Getting Bi: Voices of Bisexuals Around the World - Robyn Ochs and Sarah Rowley
• Bi Lives: Bisexual Women Tell Their Stories - Kata Orndorff
• Closer to Home: Bisexuality and Feminism - Elizabeth Reba Weise
• Plural Desires: Writing Bisexual Women’s Realities - Bisexual Anthology Collective, Nancy Chater
• Bisexuality and the Challenge to Lesbian Politics: Sex, Loyalty, and Revolution - Paula C. Rodriguez Rust
• Bisexual Politics: Theories, Queries, and Visions - Naomi S. Tucker
• Bisexuality: A Critical Reader - Merl Storr
• A History of Bisexuality - Steven Angelides

and this word doc for definitions about bisexuality.

google drive with PDFs and magazines etc. about bisexuality.

studies and statistics word doc about bisexuality.

happy reading and happy pride!

rotationalsymmetry:

If you’re trans – if you have a gender identity that doesn’t exactly match the gender you were assigned at birth, regardless of whether you have transitioned or intend to and whether you’re nonbinary – and live in the US, ok and are 16 or older, you are eligible to fill out the 2022 US Trans Survey, crafted by trans people.

This is a big deal, it’s the largest national trans survey and the last one was in 2015. The next one won’t be for at least another five years.

There’s some fairly personal questions and some heavy ones, like ones about harassment and domestic violence. They don’t ask for your name or other definitively identifying information, and take steps to keep the rest of the data confidential. You can skip (most) questions you don’t want to answer while filling out the rest. Data can be useful for lobbying politicians for things that are good for trans people, especially ones who are basically sympathetic but not sure they should prioritize trans issues. (In their words, “The USTS fills in some of the large gaps in research about transgender people, and it provides critical tools for researchers, policymakers, and advocates seeking to better understand the needs of transgender people and to find ways to improve their lives.”) Most questions have set options, but there’s also an opportunity at the end to share personal stories in your own words.

There’s also a Spanish language version and Spanish speakers, people of color, older people, immigrants, those who live in rural areas, and people who are HIV+ are especially encouraged to fill it out (because when people don’t it’s harder to advocate for services for those people, even when people providing the services know damn well there’s a lot of need.)

grison-in-space:

pinene:

biglawbear:

Y'ALL THIS IS THE NEW WHITE HOUSE MONKEYPOX COORDINATOR HOLY SHIT

Biden really said “I think we need a raging queer leather daddy doctor to run the country’s monkeypox response” and he was RIGHT

yeah this is based

Oh fuck that is a good call: that’s a gentleman whose career started while AIDS was in full swing within his community, who has championed harm reduction approaches to infectious disease, and who is pointed in his insistence on destigmatizing high risk communities rather than setting himself apart from them. This is someone who understands harm reduction and meeting people where they are without judgement, which is precisely the attitude you want to have when you grapple with a stigmatized epidemic.

Here’s an article about his appointment to director of HIV/AIDS prevention from February 2021. Look at his career: he’s been working in HIV/AIDS nearly his entire adult life and career. He’s been working on increasing public health within stigmatized populations by focusing on harm reduction that entire time. Hell, this is someone with the institutional memory to remember Anthony Fauci’s piss poor treatment of HIV during the Reagan administration and carry a grudge because the man didn’t go far enough.

By the way, this is absolutely an example of harm reduction in terms of exercising your right to vote: there is zero chance that an advocate like Daskalakis would have been appointed under a Trump administration, but the incoming Biden administration installed him in the previous director position (which he still holds, as he adds monkeypox to his case load) as early as late 2020, before Biden was even properly inaugurated. That doesn’t mean this administration is perfect or that we can’t continue to agitate for better change, but it does mean that things are better and fewer people are going to die. That’s basic harm reduction in action: you focus on survival for the most people as your metric, you take the route that results in the best outcome for the situation you have, and you do not ever let the imaginary perfect become the enemy of the tangible better.

Fuck, this is delightful good news. Well done Dr. Daskalakis, and all the best of luck to you and yours!