Monthly Archives: February 2022

Cyber conflicts are fought in the shadows, but in the case of Russias invasion of Ukraine, it is a group that calls itself Anonymous that has made the most public declaration of war. Late on Thursday the hacker collective tweeted from an account linked to Anonymous, @YourAnonOne, that it had Vladimir Putins regime in its sights.

In the days since, the group has claimed credit for several cyber incidents including distributed denial of service attacks where a site is rendered unreachable by being bombarded with traffic that have brought down government websites and that of Russia Today, the state-backed news service. The DDoS attacks still appeared to be working on Sunday afternoon, with the official sites for the Kremlin and Ministry of Defence still inaccessible.

Anonymous also said it had hacked the Ministry of Defence database, while on Sunday it was claimed the group had hacked Russian state TV channels, posting pro-Ukraine content including patriotic songs and images from the invasion.

The groups nature as an informal collective makes it difficult to attribute these attacks to Anonymous definitively. Jamie Collier, a consultant at US cybersecurity firm Mandiant, said: It can be difficult to directly tie this activity to Anonymous, as targeted entities will likely be reluctant to publish related technical data. However, the Anonymous collective has a track record of conducting this sort of activity and it is very much in line with their capabilities.

Its targets in the past have included the CIA, the Church of Scientology and Islamic State, and although the collective was left reeling by a number of arrests in the US in the early 2010s, it revived activity after the murder of George Floyd. One former Anonymous member has described its guiding principle as anti-oppression.

Russia Today openly attributed the problems with its website to Anonymous, and claimed the attacks came from the US after the group had published its declaration of war. A spokesperson for the channel said: After the statement by Anonymous, RTs websites became the subject of massive DDoS attacks from some 100 million devices, mostly based in the US.

By contrast, cyber activity against Ukraine has been muted so far, despite widespread predictions that a Russian military assault on the country would be combined with digital shock and awe. Ukrainian websites were hit with DDoS attacks ahead of the offensive, including the Ukrainian defence ministry and PrivatBank, Ukraines largest commercial bank, but there has been nothing on the scale of the NotPetya assault in 2017 when a devastating malware attack attributed to Russia destroyed computers in Ukraine and around the world. Cloudflare, a US tech firm that protects companies against DDoS attacks, described the initial denial of service sorties last week as relatively modest. The UK and US governments have already blamed an earlier set of DDoS attacks against Ukrainian websites, on 15 and 16 February, on Moscow.

As with the attacks claimed by Anonymous, DDoS salvos are designed to sow confusion and damage morale, whereas malware can cause serious and irreparable damage. NotPetya, a so-called wiper virus that was inserted into tax accounting software used by Ukrainian firms but spilled into other countries, caused $10bn (7.5bn) of damage worldwide by encrypting computers permanently.

Last week Ukraine was hit by an attempted wiper attack, via a new strain of malware dubbed HermeticWiper that prevented computers from rebooting. However, the scale of the attack left only several hundred machines affected and its geographic reach beyond Ukraine has been limited to Latvia and Lithuania.

There have been cyber skirmishes elsewhere in the conflict. Partial restrictions have been imposed on Facebook by the Russian government after officials accused the social network of censoring state-backed media on the platform, prompting Facebook to ban ads from Russian state media. Googles YouTube platform has also banned state media adverts. Another US tech titan, Elon Musk, is providing satellite internet access to Ukraine via his Starlink satellites, while the Ukrainian government is openly seeking international donations in cryptocurrency and has reportedly received millions of dollars in response.

Nonetheless, the cyber dimension to the Ukraine conflict has been low-key up to this point. Ciaran Martin, professor of practice at the Blavatnik school of government at Oxford University and former head of the UKs National Cyber Security Centre, says cyber has played remarkably little part in the conflict, at least so far.

The cyber activity from Russia against Ukraine has been there, but is consistent with Russias cyber harassment of the country going back years. Similarly, from what we can see, the response against Russia from the west has not had a strong cyber component so far it has been about stringent sanctions. All of this might change, and the west is right to remain on high alert for increased cyber activity.

Go here to read the rest:

Anonymous: the hacker collective that has declared cyberwar on Russia - The Guardian

Russia and its ally Belarus marched into Ukraine, its sovereign neighbor, bombing cities and townships and killing brave Ukrainian troops and frightened civilians. Debates rage across the political landscape in the United States and around the globe concerning what steps each nation should take to protect the people in Eastern Europe and their own national economic and security self-interests.

On the far right of the Republican Party in the U.S., many have taken an isolationist stance, with some coming out in support of the autocratic Russian dictator, Vladimir Putin.

Related:The GOP is bragging on Twitter about reaching out to minority voters & its not going over well

For example, the twice impeached and disgraced former President of the United States, Donald Trump, continues to heap praise on his alleged friend and fellow narcissistic sociopath in the Kremlin.

Regarding Putins actions, Trump was downright giddy with praise.

I said, This is genius, Trumpsaid on a right-wing podcastafter the dictator invaded. Putin declared a big portion of Ukraine as independent. Oh, thats wonderful. I said, How smart is that? And hes going to go in and be a peacekeeper.We could use that on our southern border. Thats the strongest peace force Ive ever seen. There were more army tanks than Ive ever seen. Theyre going to keep the peace all right. Heres a guy whos very savvy I know him very well. Very, very well.

Trump is still lauding Putin, but hes not alone. Theres always Tucker Carlson, who seems to be auditioning for a primetime spot on Russian television (which hes already getting). In the days leading up the invasion, the Fox News commentator said he had nothing against Putinsince Putin had never tried to get him fired, unlike the demonic libs.

GOP Senate candidate from Ohio, J.D. Vance said on an episode of Steve Bannons War Room show,I gotta be honest with you, I dont really care what happens to Ukraine one way or another.

I do care, he continued, about the fact that in my community right now the leading cause of death among 18-45-year-olds is Mexican fentanyl thats coming across the southern border.

Missouri Senator Josh Hawley (R) took an isolationist stance regarding Ukraine on Tucker Carlsons Fox Network broadcast, And right now, weve got to put American security interests first. And that means weve got to focus on China, and weve got to focus on our own borders. We need to ask our European allies to do more.

Carlson on his own show considered Putin a member of his home team: Why shouldnt I root for Russia? Because I am! And he dismissed what he considered the hyperbole over Putins intention to gobble up more territory stating: Whatever [Putins] many faults, [he] has no intention of invading Western Europe.

Isolationism on the matter of Ukrainian sovereignty, unfortunately, can also be found on the left side of the political spectrum in the U.S. Rather than challenging Putin, supported by his tight circle of oligarchs and kleptocrats patently illegal and immoral incursion into Ukraine, some on the left in the U.S. are playing the dangerous game of Whataboutism:

It is time to rally together and root out the evils of the American oligarchical system, the atrocity that is American imperialist foreign policy, the inherent racism engrained in American institutions and the corruption of American government. -Name withheld, Real Progressives Facebook Group

On the Real Progressives Facebook Group, I posted a picture of the Ukrainian flag I painted on a poster board and placed in a stake on my front lawn. Above the posted picture, I wrote on Facebook:

I painted a Ukrainian Flag for my home. Hopefully, others will do the same, as well as support the brave people in Eastern Europe any and every way you can. Lobby legislators and executives to impose THE most severe sanctions possible on Belarusian and Russian oligarchs and Putin himself. Call out conservative Republicans in the U.S. who are siding with fascist autocrats. Write letters to the editor. Open your homes to refugees. Donate to Ukraine through reputable relief organizations. Protest in the streets. Boycott all goods from Russia and Belarus. Inform yourselves. Keep vigilant. STUDY HISTORY!!!!

Within an hour, several participants wrote messages challenging my assumption that most if not all progressives would welcome my posting and that they were concerned with suffering around the globe and would come to the aid of innocents in Ukraine and the sovereignty of their nation.

Though I have been a member of the group for many years, regarding my latest posting, one participant wrote that it was not appropriate for me to place it on that Facebook group.

Another referred to President Joe Biden as a war criminal and an anti-humanitarian by supporting continuing wars and oppressive governments in places like Yemen and Guatemala.

Yes, the United States has sided with the Saudis and Emirates and against the Iranians in the multilateral Yemeni Civil War since 2014 between the Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi-led government and the Houthi armed insurgency.

This has caused extreme hardships and deaths as a direct result of war with ensuing famine and malnutrition upon civilian populations, which we have been calling out for years with little response on the part of the proxy governments supporting the war efforts. And yes, most likely because the people highest at risk are black and brown people, the world has turned its gaze elsewhere allowing the horrors to continue.

This point is in line with another participant who challenged my posting about Ukraine who argued that the world only takes notice when white people are terrorized, but forgets and turns away its gaze when people of color need aid, like the massive number of refuges from Syria.

To be clear, I fully appreciate and agree with these participants concerns, which I too share. We must perceive injustice as intersectional, and that when any group based on their social identities are targets of oppression, then no group is free.

Concern must never depend on skin color, or gender, or sexual identity, or socioeconomic background, or ethnicity, or ability, or age, or any another other identifying factors.

Though I do not personalize the force of the fury directed against my plea for the Ukrainian people, I do, however, have deep fears in what appeared to be this Facebook participants challenges, or more likely, their list of conditions for taking concerted actions against the Russian and Belarusian regimes.

Basically, they were at least implying that when the world begins to take notice of suffering in areas of the world in addition to Europe, then and only then will they join in efforts to bring down oppressive regimes and mitigate suffering in Europe.

This is not only self-defeating, but it is anti-humanitarian. It inhibits chances for coalitions and alliances to improve all the many troubled spots around the world.

And this is how the far left and far right come together in hand-held closed circles of inaction (isolationism) in times of impending genocide.

In the end, Whataboutism is a form of isolationism used to justify inaction in the face of oppression.

Continued here:

American right wing isolationism & left wing whataboutism are fueling the Ukrainian war - LGBTQ Nation

//= do_shortcode('[in-content-square]')?> Picture by the Senedd Commission of the Senedd lit up in the colours of the Ukrainian flag

A rally will be held at 6pm this evening on the steps of the Senedd in Cardiff Bay to show solidarity with the people of Ukraine and to call for an end to the war.

Speakers at the rally will include Svitlana Phillips, of Voice of Ukraine Wales, Adam Price MS, leader of Plaid Cymru, and Mick Antoniw MS, the Welsh Governments Counsel General, who is of Ukrainian descent.

Adam Price and Mick Antoniw recently returned from a delegation to Ukraine, in which they discussed the realities facing the people of Ukraine.

The rally comes after Russia invaded Ukraine on Thursday of last week.

Speaking ahead of the rallySvitlana Phillips, of Voice of Ukraine Wales, said: I would like to urge people to come to the rally tonight at the Senedd. Our main concern, around the world, is that we stand together against what Putin is doing in Ukraine.

The resistance to what Putin is doing can be seen on the streets of Ukraine, but Putin must also see that we are all pulling together around the world against him.

In recent days, I have received calls from family saying that tanks on the border are moving through people are terrified, people are not looking for explanation, they just want to see an end to the invasion.

People in Ukraine are grateful for all the support from UK. If we stand together, we can prevent the horrible events that might happen. So, Id like to appeal for people to not watch the news this evening, but to make it.

Cancel Ukraines debt

Plaid Cymru leader, Adam Price, said that in Kyiv last week he had heard harrowing stories of those who have already been living under Putins fascist regime.

He called on the UK Government to tighten the embargo on Russia and to help Ukraine financially.

Now, he has declared war not just on the right of the Ukrainian nation to exist but on freedom, democracy and human rights everywhere.

By gathering tonight, we in Wales will show that we stand in complete solidarity with the people of Ukraine and against Putins war.

We call upon the UK Government to impose a total economic embargo on Putins government including on oil and gas sales, cancel Ukraines foreign debt, and provide a visa-waiver and fast-track residency status to all Ukrainians fleeing war.

Finally, we should signal our intention to bring an indictment against Putin, Lavrov and others for the crime of aggression so that one day they will be held accountable at the Hague.

Mick Antoniw MS, said that the war in Ukraine has become a peoples war against Russian oppression and for freedom.

We must ensure a total economic, political and cultural boycott of Russia and from Wales give full support to those refugees who want to come to Wales for safety, he said.

We must all protest against Russias attack on democracy.

I thank all Welsh people for their support so far, but there is much more to do over the coming dark days ahead. Ukraine will be free!

For the price of a cup of coffee a month you can help us create an independent, not-for-profit, national news service for the people of Wales, by the people of Wales.

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Rally to be held on the steps of the Senedd to show solidarity with Ukraine - Nation.Cymru

As news reports reveal that Ukrainians have adopted Twisted Sister's defiant anthem We're Not Gonna Take It as their rallying cry in resisting Russian military aggression in their country, the band's former frontman Dee Snider has taken to Twitter to offer his thoughts.

I absolutely approve of Ukrainians using Were Not Gonna Take It as their battlecry" the musician wrote.

"My grandfather was Ukrainian, before it was swallowed up by the USSR after WW2. This cant happen to these people again! #FUCKRUSSIA.

Shortly after the tweet was posted, Snider received some backlash for blaming Russia and its people, not Russian leader Vladimir Putin, for the invasion of Ukraine, and for disallowing the use of the same song for anti-maskers protesting Covid mandates.

Engaging in back and forth discussions with fans, Snider wrote "Understood (though they are claiming 60 percent of Russians support this invasion). But the Russian people (many who are already protesting) need to take responsibility for the piece of shit they have allowed to stay in power for 22 years.

Clarifying his statistical comment, he adds: Unfortunately they are being fed a stream of propaganda by the Russian government telling them that the Ukraine is the aggressor.

Revealing why he did not condone anti-maskers using the song, he wrote "People are asking me why I endorsed the use of Were Not Gonna Take It for the Ukrainian people and did not for the anti-maskers.

"Well, one use is for a righteous battle against oppression; the other is a infantile feet stomping against an inconvenience.

Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered an attack on Ukraine on February 24. According to Ukraine's Health Minister, there has been nearly 200 deaths so far, including civilians and children.

We're Not Gonna Take It was written by Snider and was released on Twisted Sister's 1984 album Stay Hungry.

More:

Dee Snider says he "absolutely" approves of Ukrainians using Twisted Sister's We're Not Gonna Take It as their battlecry - Louder

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In January, the government suffered a huge number of defeats on the bill in the Lords. Some last-minute amendments it introduced such as making locking on a criminal offence andgiving police the right to stop and search without suspicion were removed by the Lords and can only be re-introduced in a separate piece of legislation.

But a number of amendments inserted by the Lords will be in front of parliament today. Two anti-protest measures are of particular significance, with MPs given the opportunity to decide whether to keep these watering-down amendments or scrap them.

The original bill gave police power to impose noise restrictions on protests but the Lords added an amendment to remove this. The Commons will now vote on whether to put the power back in by rejecting the Lords amendment.

MPs will also decide whether to agree to limit the offence of wilful obstruction of highway. The bill would, in effect, make blocking roads punishable by up to 51 weeks in prison. The Lords passed amendment 88 to limit this offence to the Strategic Road Network mostly motorways and A-roads rather than all roads.

Non-protest measures will also be voted on today, including making sex for rent a crime, making misogyny a hate crime, and imposing a duty of transparency, candour and frankness on the police. The government is expected to vote against these.

Take action today and join a movement to create a better future for today.

The Police, Crime, Sentencing, and Courts bill is at its final stage before it receives royal assent and becomes law.

The bill and its amendments totalling nearly 400 pages do not mention the word protest but the measures are being dubbed the biggest restriction on the right to protest in our lifetimes.

After todays votes, the Lords can decide whether to accept or reject what the Commons has decided. The convention is that they defer to the Commons, as it is the elected house, rather than dig their heels in. They can also offer watered down versions of their amendments in the hope MPs will accept these.

The government has a huge parliamentary majority so, barring a huge Conservative rebellion, votes will almost certainly go the way it wants. Beginning just after 3.30pm, with six hours of debate and votes scheduled, it is the main piece of business in the Commons today.

A protest, the latest in the long line of Kill the Bill protests against the legislation, is planned for this evening.

Scheduled for 6-8pm in Abingdon Street Gardens, outside the Lords, the protests organisers promise lots of music, and say we need your voice to amplify the movement.

The Kill the Bill official Twitter account wrote: We fully intend to express ourselves and have fun as we protest. Oppression is miserable and violent, but we can resist through joy and creativity.

Read the original here:

MPs to vote on keeping 'draconian' anti-protest measures in the Policing Bill today - Big Issue

War is here. We are all Ukrainians now.

Once again, we have to oil the jaws of the war machine and feed it with our babies. In the fields, the bodies are burning as the war machine keeps turning.

As shocking, appalling and troubling as this is not least because a wider nuclear war in Europe is not the least likely outcome we need to use it as a corrective moment. To stop walking down this long road out of Eden and take a different direction. Obviously, this relies on the whole of western Europe not being a smouldering wasteland in the near future. And football looks small and puny in the shadow of mass destruction so maybe this isnt the time to talk about this. Yet it feels apposite.

Behind every great fortune there is a crime. That is the epigraph to The Godfather, by Mario Puzo, adapted from Balzac and illustrated every day by the modern football ecosystem with its litany of super-wealthy people, their companies, their countries, their states all buying up high-profile English and European football clubs to use for their own malign purposes.

Roman Abramovichs acquisition of Chelsea was the Premier Leagues first hit of the hard gear, injected into the games arteries, soon making the whole body of football addicted to Big Money. His vague, meaningless statement of Saturday nightwas an attempt to preserve ownership of an asset that, at last, the government believes is unacceptable.

It always has been. Pity the government and the football authorities did not think that before he was allowed to buy Chelsea. Pity they did not think that super wealthy foreign nationals, oligarchs, sheikhs and states owning our football clubs and much of the infrastructure and utilities of this country was actually surrendering our nation to powers who do not have our best interests at heart. Vladimir Putin wanted to destabilise and weaken the EU and he used Brexit and Donald Trump to do it. It made Putins self-belief stronger. Look at how he could manipulate the western fools. Now look where that has led.

The love of money and of football have been mated and spawned a monster. And we have laid down and let it happen, supine in the face of wealth, exactly as we have been taught to be by capitalisms false promise of contentment for those obedient to its dogma.

We were told we could not serve both God and mammon, so we made a choice and got into bed with the demon and, like an insatiable succubus, tried to f**k our way to football heaven.

We replaced community with cash. We sold footballs soul to whomever would buy it for the most money and we gained absolutely nothing by doing this, but were told time and again we had and so eventually many believed the myth. We tugged our forelock and got down on our knees and we fellated our oppressors, swallowing their seed like it was holy water.

As players wages and fees went ever upwards, did we get ever happier or content? No, of course not. Football doesnt work like that. Rather the opposite. A taste of the devils nectar just makes you want more and makes you feel like youre missing out on the real sweetness. Happiness is replaced with discontent as we seek ever more money to make ever bigger transfers and pay ever bigger wages. It could never deliver what it promised to deliver.

Moneys glow blinds us or, more specifically, weve allowed it to blind us. It sends us onto social media to defend it and to do, not merely its dirty work, but the foetid work of Beelzebub. Weve seen this time and again with fans of club after club.

It has been a lust for money that goes right to the top of government with oligarchs and petrodollar families funding political parties, buying up property all over Londongrad, putting their kids into expensive private schools, largely unaccountable and anonymous but shot through the whole of society like a poisonous mycelium.

Given this, its not surprising that the best league in the world is the sordid playground for crony capitalism and other repressive regimes. They never wanted our cultural assets for good reasons. And it should surprise no-one that people who actively support, or will not stand against murderous regimes, can also do altruistic things with their money. They can give to charity and back a warmonger at the same time. Mass murderers can have lovely manners, but they are still killers and they laugh at our slack-jawed obeisance.

Thats another habit we have to shed once the fog of war clears.

Now is the time to stop this madness. Kick the habit and return football to a more sane, modest financial regime. I know it is hard to stop this bingeing once you get a taste, but we must decouple from the mindset. Look at who we have hitched our wagon to to feed it.

After all, most of football in the UK is not part of this. It is only in the top flight and a few clubs further down that are so intoxicated by perverted wealth and prepared to overlook things that should never be overlooked in return for transfer money. Can we overlook war, murder and death for a higher league finish? If we can, we need to fix that.

Football is a simple business and it need not be a big business attracting money from the darkest corners of hell. Many, indeed most clubs are still run as community organisations by decent people for the enjoyment of decent people. The lives of those who watch these clubs are no less rewarding than those watching teams built with the bloodiest hands. If we think otherwise, we need to fix that as well.

Let this vile, irrational, insane war give us a new perspective. No more leveraging wealth to create success because that success is no success at all when it is intravenously connected to the economics and morality of evil people. We should not feel good if our team wins on the back of dirty money. And Big Money is always, always, always the dirtiest money.

The calls for Abramovich to be dethroned from Chelsea and his assets taken off him are right, but it will make no difference if the same mindset exists afterwards. Say goodbye to one monster, say hello to another. Oh, they may have a cleaner veneer or more honeyed words but remember: Behind every great fortune there is a great crime. We dont want football invested in that great crime and for too long, at the highest levels, it has been. We need to fix that.

On Friday, the UAE abstained along with China and India from a vote at the US Security Council demanding Moscow withdraw its troops. Saudi Arabia has not reacted to the Ukrainian invasion, much like the UAE, Bahrain and Oman. Kuwait and Qatar have only denounced the violence, stopping short of criticising Moscow. But some of our football clubs are dancing to these peoples tunes. On top of that, Gianni Infantino, President of FIFA, is so far in blood with Putin that he ruled Russia must play World Cup play-offs in a neutral venue, under a different name, without anthem, fans or flag. That will obviously not be acceptable to anyone and shows how FIFA is not fit for purpose and its president is a corrupt and compromised idiot.

It is the desperate craving for cash that has led football down the wrong road. It has led it into the arms of bloody dictators and their pals. It has led us into the arms of exploitative sports investment portfolios, into the death grip of middle-eastern autocracies, into Russian oligarchs who support war against the innocent and steal money from their own people. We have accepted Chinese capi-communists whose state has a vested interest in undermining ours. And then theres the out and out corporate profiteers for whom only the bottom line matters, no matter the economic collateral damage.

It has led to welcoming money from the energy supplier of an oppressive state, from global corporate brands whose products come with a side order of political and economic oppression. The sports governing bodies have been riddled from top to bottom with corruption of every flavour, all bending over backwards to accommodate the super-wealthy and the powerful. We need to fix that.

This mindset has got us all into this crippled, addicted state. So crippled and addicted that clubs and their fans will take money from literally anyone, even from people who are known to be violent, bloody oppressors and supporters of war mongers who will happily kill us, the way they are murdering our Ukrainian sisters and brothers. And why are we craven to them? To buy more expensive players and pay them ever more money. Thats a terrible deal. We need to fix that, too.

Familiarity may breed contempt but more often it breeds complacency. When something is so common, we stop seeing it for what it really is. Now it doesnt even seem weird if a gulf state buys a football club. We just shrug. But underneath, most of us know its wrong.

When this is over, lets start again. Let us call for and support fundamental change in the governance and finance of football. Lets put a different head on. Lets stop craving Big Money. Let us defenestrate the oligarchs, petrodollar states, international finance groups, sports portfolio investment groups and murdering bastards, enact a fundamental restructuring of the game without the stench of rotting and corrupt institutions like UEFA and FIFA. Replace them with an open, democratic, accountable, transparent, modern organisation. Introduce sensible financial levels, limited by legislation to ensure footballs finances resemble a grapefruit instead of a very tall pyramid.

With fairness, equality and togetherness as our motto, after the war, we can rebuild in a more modest fashion, not craven to the next friend of a bloody warmonger. Because it still is the peoples game. Fixing it requires fixing our attitude to money. I might be a nave idealist, but profound change is possible. A new world can emerge from the ashes of the old. That is one thing that war teaches us, one big thing we can fix. So lets fix it.

View original post here:

Once the fog of war clears, football must decouple from Big Money and rebuild - Football365

Texas Governor Greg Abbott added that "prompt and thorough investigations" into gender-affirming care for trans-youth would take place.

In a statement to Variety, Elliot said: "I am horrified by the inhumane and downright dangerous declarations by the Texas Governor and Attorney General.

"Trans youth deserve gender-affirming care and to be able to live their true, authentic selves without fear and oppression. I stand with trans youth and their families."

Gabrielle Union has also hit out at the new laws, with similar legislation being passed in Florida.

She tweeted: "This is where we are.

"We shot past dangerous and horrific a long time ago. The rubber has hit the road so who is standing shoulder to shoulder in this fight? Who truly gives a s*** and whose on that performative bs? Let's see. (sic)"

Prominent trans actor Jen Richards also slammed the politicians for their proposals.

The 'Better Things' star wrote on Twitter: "Texas has dec lared that the kind of care recommended by every major medical and paediatric association, with decades of proof of efficacy, and provided by doctors in full cooperation with parents... is child abuse."

Richards added: "We know what the result will be. Because trans people exist, have always existed, and will always exist, it just means that trans youth will be more at risk, more vulnerable, at home and in schools. They will be kicked out or run away and suicide rates will spike."

Go here to read the rest:

Elliot Page has condemned Texas government officials for declaring that medical care for transgender youths is child abuse - 01-Mar-2022 - NZ...

The first time DePaul junior, Ariana Collazo heard of an Afro-Latina individual in school was last year during her Afro Caribbean class when Haitian American novelist Edwidge Danticat came to speak to her class.

Listening to her story was really inspiring and Ill never forget watching her, said Collazo.

Collazo said she felt connected to the authors experience of being ostracized and the way classmates treated her differently growing up, coming from a Puerto Rican and African American background.

Collazo said she remembers being teased by elementary school kids when they found out that her mom was African American. Of course, not speaking Spanish, theyd always be like How are you a real Puerto Rican if you cant even speak Spanish, and your mom is Black? Collazo said.

Although in the U.S 5 percent of the population identifies as Afro-Latino according to2019 Pew Research,there are around 150 million Afro Latinos in Latin Americas 540 million total population according to aCRS Report.

The histories of Afro-Latinas have been largely erased from most educational discourses leaving individuals to learn about it on their own and deal with the repercussions of not seeing themselves represented.

The invisibility of Afro-Latinos in popular discourse and media leads many young individuals to wrestle with the validity of their ethnic identity.

Dr. Jacqueline Laz associate dean and professor at Depaul said, Not having your narratives centered in any historical tradition, cultural tradition, that you belong to makes you feel excluded. It makes you feel like youre not worthy, it makes you feel like your experience and your history and who you are doesnt matter.

The community also holds colorist ties causing Afro-Latinos to feel that they must favor their Latino instead of their Black roots in order to avoid prejudice, a common occurrence if they have a lighter complexion.

Michelle Bueno Vasquez a Ph.D. candidate at Northwestern University studying political science and transnational Afro-Latino diaspora, said For some people, thats a difficult thing to reckon with, that youre going to introduce that difference and expose yourself to racist harm, subconsciously some folks just dont want to go there, they would rather not identify as Black.

According to a study by the State University of New York at Albany, Latinos who identify themselves as Black have lower-incomes, higher unemployment rates, higher poverty rates, less education, and fewer opportunities than those who identify themselves as White or other.

Bueno Vasquez said the mobilization of Latino political organizations has encouraged many Afro-Latinos to identify themselves with Latinos instead of their Black roots in order to gain more funding from the government.

This tactical behavior leads to minority movement essentialization when minority movements set defining cultural or biological characteristics that are shared by all members to create a unified category that benefits the majority within the minority.

It leaves people like myself, Afro-Latinos or indigenous Latinos, or Latinos who dont speak Spanish like Brazilians, Haitians in the dust and doesnt provide for our safety, our inclusion, and our benefits, and uses funds that essentially we helped them get, said Bueno Vasquez.

Afro-Latinos denying their Blackness, It also means you have to deny parts of yourself and probably encounter a lot of microaggressions in order to be in those spaces, said Bueno Vasquez.

Bueno Vasquez and Collazo were among the many Afro-Latina women that experienced low self-esteem in their youth.

Bueno Vasquez said she recalls around the ages of nine or 10, I would pray to God that I would wake up being lighter and having straighter hair and green eyes whereas Collazo said she remembers thinking she was ugly.

Bueno Vasquez said educating girls of Afro-Latina histories and seeing them in the media at an early age can be beneficial because it can help bypass the self-hatred and self-effacing period many go through.

Bueno Vasquez advises people to acknowledge the internal racism that everyone has in terms of ones appearance and others. She said to question why one may find certain qualities to be attractive because When we think of sexual attraction or taste, its a lot of times reproduction of learned racist hierarchies and things we think afford privilege.

Laz said that the problem lies within the dominant Westernized beauty standards that Latin America and the United States have constructed to purposefully cast a negative image of people with dark complexions.

Laz said Afro-Latinas must be willing to understand and change the ways in which we may ourselves be even unwittingly complicit in reinforcing those beauty standards and systems of oppression. We should demand representation and advocate for the inclusion of Black and Indigenous women in the spaces we see us missing.

For more information on advancing the visibility of Black Latinidad visit theAfro-Latino Forumonline.

Cover Graphic by Jocelyn Diaz

Jacqueline Cardenas is an undergrad sophomore majoring in journalism with a concentration in Latino Communication at DePaul University. She is a first-generation Mexican-American student and aspires to diversify the news industry. She loves nature and reading in her spare time.Twitter: @jackiecardenas_

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Afro-Latinas Stress The Complexity Of Their Roots - Chicago Reporter