so why. why why why. Do I so often come across fic where the author clearly a) doesn't have any idea how far apart two places are, or how to get from one to the other, and b) never thought to check google maps?
Just read a fic where one character is thinking that "it's only an 8-hour plane ride!"
and. I have driven basically between those two places.
It's a 6-hour drive unless traffic is really bad. if you hit the most congested bits exactly at rush hour, it might take you 8 hours. to drive.
Flying? Well, if you were starting at a small regional airport and needed to make a connection, it might take you four hours.
I actually mind this shit more than the big stuff. The big stuff is hard to research. Google Maps is really really quick and easy.
Finally put up a new chapter of WWMBD? (Ao3’s going down for a few hours tomorrow, for a code update or something, so read it tonight or wait): WWMBD (15246 words) by moon_custafer Chapters: 10/? Fandom: Original Work Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Characters: Original Characters Additional Tags: Musicians, Academia, Romantic Comedy, Rock and Roll, Age Difference, 1990s, Smoking, Bodyswap, Trans Character
I'm in Massachusetts visiting friends and family, and the US border guard was even brusquer and more unfriendly than the one the last time I crossed the border. They used to be reliably genial-while-professional, and now they're barking grumpy questions at me -- and I'm a white English-speaking US citizen with a NEXUS card (pre-screened, "trusted traveler"). A Canadian friend who drove across the border last year said that guards were going down the line of cars waiting to approach the booth and pulling people out to interrogate them on the side of the road, and who'd a thunk it, everyone they pulled out was brown. (When I crossed yesterday, I was the only car in sight, which I'd love to think was because Canadian travel to the US is way down, but probably had more to do with the extremely bad weather forecast that day. I managed to get south of the storm band before it hit, though.)
My obsession with Heated Rivalry continues, though I'm trying hard not to be That Fan at people. I have successfully recommended it to two board members at my church 😈 A friend I'll spend a week with this summer wants to watch it with me then, so I have that to look forward to, and there's a chance I'll get to watch it with other friends this weekend, if they're interested. Meanwhile I'm reading a lot of fic, but also freely DNFing anything that isn't working for me, whether for characterization or bad grammar or spelling it "Rosanov."
["Why, oh why, do people keep incorrectly capitalizing dialog-tag fragments like this?" She wailed. -- I mean, I know why they do it: because autocorrect sees the punctuation ending the quotation and thinks the dialog tag is a new sentence, and the writer is foolishly trusting autocorrect over the evidence of every published text they've ever read. But it drives me nuts; my sense of the flow and pacing of a sentence is very much guided by its punctuation, and this is like hitting a pothole every time.]
Geoff and I have started the new season of The Pitt, and certainly I'm liking it so far! It's interesting how much less chaotic the ER seems than it was in the first couple episodes of the first season. I'm very curious about all the characters they've introduced (and about where Mateo, the World's Hottest Nurse™️, is), and I love seeing Whitaker now a fully qualified MD with his own little ducklings following him around. (Is he still living with Santos?) I don't see an overarching plot yet other than "just how suicidal is Dr. Robby?" but/and I'm looking forward to seeing where it's going.
History will really not be kind to the people who could have stopped this, some of them years ago, people who were not True Believers but who refused to act when they could.
I think this is the last year I do fandomtrees because like last time I didn't make as many gifts as I wanted and feel bad...
But I did write a post-canon Silksong drabble I'm quite proud of: Silk Snare for knave_of_swords post-canon Lace(&Hornet) drabble Summary: Much Silk was needed to see her sustained. Notes: One of my favorite fannish drabbles I've written, I think it works very well.
And I also got two other Silksong gifts recently: Sunlight Dyed by CrushingOnGogh stained glass art Summary: Hornet from Silksong, depicted in stained glass So pretty! The lights and the colors and the shapes!
reprieve by strifetxt 1k, Hornet & Shakra gen Summary: Hornet, a conversation, and a musing. Aaah the Hornet feelings <3
Last year I played a game a month, and actually accomplished it! This year...I did not. I had plans but everything was overthrown in the first part of the year. These are the games I played in 2025:
I was originally playing Horizon's Gate and then Vintage Story hit me like a truck and consumed all of my time. I spent the first six months or so of the year playing that, then played some Cataclysm and other games for a bit before picking up Jupiter Hell, played Witch Spring R but didn't beat it--I'm playing in Japanese so it's taking quite a while--and near the end of the year I bought Clair Obscur on sale and played it right through the end of the year. No review yet because I'm cleaning up all the post-game stuff, but soon.
Not as many games as last year, but boy did I enjoy all that time with Vintage Story.
Written for smallfandomfest prompt, ' An undercover assignment gone wrong,' from 2013 Title: One Way Out Author: Cat Moon Fandom: Miami Vice (tv) Pairing/Characters: Sonny/Rico, OC Rating/Category: R/Slash Summary: An undercover deal goes bad, leaving Rico and Sonny only one choice: protect each other. They’re partners, it’s what they do. Sometimes, that gets out of hand and goes way over the top. The repercussions of this one will change their partnership forever. Notes/Warnings: Inspired by the scene in the ep, "Smuggler's Blues," where Rico gets frisked and Sonny's interesting reaction to that. SA is mentioned but does not occur. Word Count: 3848
Do you watch educational TV shows or documentaries? What makes these shows watchable or interesting to you? Are there particular ones that spoke to you?
Canada often hears a misleading narrative about Iran: isolated protests, a crackdown, then silence. This view wrongly frames Iran’s crisis as cyclical instead of structural, discouraging meaningful international engagement.
What is unfolding is not a single-issue movement about wearing the hijab or the price of bread. It is a national rejection of a governing system that has fused ideology with coercion and turned daily life into surveillance, censorship, arbitrary detention and routine state violence.
This is not just a distant humanitarian crisis; it directly impacts Canada’s commitments to human rights, diaspora safety and international norms.
The question is whether Canada will go beyond existing sanctions to stop legitimizing a violent, corrupt regime and defend the right of Iranian citizens to choose democracy.
How the 2025-26 uprising began
The current wave of protests began on December 28, 2025, when merchants in Tehran’s Grand Bazaar – a historic political and economic centre – walked out in protest against inflation, currency collapse and rising living costs. Iran’s rial had plunged to a record low of 1.42 million per U.S. dollar, while annual inflation reached 42.2 per cent, with food prices rising 72 per cent year-over-year, sharply eroding household purchasing power.
This trajectory had been predicted. In 2023, the World Bank cautioned that 40 per cent of Iranians faced a significant risk of falling into poverty over the next two years. In 2026, that vulnerability has materialized into a nationwide revolution. What began in Tehran quickly spread to cities and towns across all 31 provinces, with protests becoming increasingly co-ordinated and politically explicit.
Protesters voiced clear demands for regime change, chanting “Death to the dictator” at Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and calling for the return of Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi, the son of Iran’s last Shah. Pahlavi, a prominent opposition figure in exile, has long supported Iran’s resistance from abroad, but in this phase of unrest, he has become a direct mobilizing figure, calling for protests on specific days and framing ongoing demonstrations to push the international community to act under the United Nations’ responsibility to protect principle. Protest participation has followed these appeals.
The recent revolution has become one of the most serious challenges to the Islamic Republic since the 2022-23 Woman, Life, Freedom movement sparked by the murder of Mahsa Amini while in custody for wearing a hijab improperly. However, reducing Iran’s uprising to a hijab protest or an inflation crisis misses the broader context. Protesters are pushing back against the Islamic regime’s censorship, mass surveillance, discriminatory laws and prolific use of the death penalty; the Islamic regime consistently ranks among the world’s top executioners.
Economic collapse is driven by corruption and political priorities that divert resources from public welfare to security forces and global terrorism. Water and electricity shortages have become routine, despite Iran’s natural resources, driven by drought, aging infrastructure and mismanagement. These failures have further eroded public trust in the state.
Protesters are demanding an entirely new system, following principles articulated within the Pahlavi-led political framework, which emphasizes territorial integrity, secular governance, equality for citizens and elections as non-negotiables of a democratic transition.
The regime’s response
Security forces have deployed lethal force against unarmed demonstrators. By January 13, 2026, Human Rights Activists News Agency reported 614 nationwide protest gatherings; 18,434 arrests; 1,134 with severe injuries; and 2,403 confirmed protester deaths, including 12 children. Sources inside Iran cite figures as high as 12,000 to 20,000 deaths. These numbers show why wait and see is not a morally neutral stance.
Independent verification remains difficult under blackout conditions. Authorities imposed a nationwide internet and phone blackout on January 8, cutting access to messaging apps, foreign news and emergency services. Information control has become a central tool of repression, blocking the verification of abuses and isolating communities so that fear replaces solidarity.
Officials have framed the protests as foreign-backed terrorism, threatening harsh penalties, including death sentences, while staging pro-government rallies to project stability. The message is clear: dissent will be crushed, and the country will be sealed off from the outside world.
Europe is moving
In January 2026, the European Union expressed solidarity with Iranian protesters, condemned the use of violence and arbitrary detention, and called for the full restoration of internet access. Importantly, the European Parliament announced plans to restrict access for Iranian diplomatic representatives to its premises, explicitly to avoid legitimizing the regime during an active crackdown on civilians.
European governments are no longer treating Iran’s repression as a purely domestic issue, framing it, instead, as a breach of international norms.
This matters for Canada in two ways. It shows that democratic states are treating legitimacy as a policy variable that can be withdrawn when repression escalates, and it provides diplomatic cover for co-ordinated action.
One of few images of anti-government protests that has emerged from Iran, dated January 9, 2026. (AP)
Canada’s critical role
This crisis is not confined to Iran’s borders. Canada has designated the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist organization, imposed sanctions on Iranian officials involved in human-rights abuses under the Special Economic Measures Act and issued repeated joint statements condemning repression since the death of Mahsa Amini in 2022. These measures restrict financial access and signal diplomatic disapproval. However, symbolic pressure alone has not curbed escalating violence.
Unlike the European Parliament’s move to bar Iranian diplomats, Canada has not tied sanctions to clear benchmarks such as restoring internet access or halting executions. Canada should now shift from general condemnation to strategic enforcement.
Canada should move beyond vague “reform” language and adopt clear political positioning.
Canadian governments must match rhetoric with policy action. While Ottawa has condemned Iran’s human-rights abuses, its statements focus on behavioural change rather than systemic transformation. These calls stop short of endorsing protesters’ demands for secular governance, equal citizenship and democratic elections. Canada’s messaging should have emphasized that cosmetic reforms cannot dismantle Iran’s security courts, censorship system or ideological policing.
Transnational repression should be treated as a national security issue.
Iranian-Canadians have reported intimidation linked to regime networks. Ottawa should strengthen reporting mechanisms, ensure proper investigations and visibly protect diaspora communities. Safeguarding Canadians from foreign intimidation is not only a human-rights obligation but a matter of domestic security.
Canada should treat internet shutdowns as human rights violations.
Iran’s blackout has concealed civilian casualties and cut access to emergency services. While some Iranians have relied on smuggled satellite internet, reporting shows that authorities now use drones, signal jamming and house raids to hunt for Starlink terminals. As satellite access now carries severe risks, Canada should prioritize diplomatic pressure, fund secure non-hardware communication tools and support independent Persian-language media.
Canada should support Iranian-led civil society.
This includes supporting credible human-rights organizations, amplifying verified reporting, engaging with Iranian-Canadian advocacy groups and pressing for accountability in international forums.
Iran’s crisis tests whether democracies will consistently defend human rights, even when there are diplomatic costs. Iranians are asking Canada to stop empowering the system that crushes them, and to stand for the right of a people to choose a secular, democratic future.
By: Dena Abtahi
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<p class="has-text-align-right"><em>(Version française disponible <a href="https://policyoptions.irpp.org/fr/2026/01/iran-canada-stand/">ici</a>) </em></p>
<!-- /wp:paragraph -->
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<p>Canada often hears a misleading narrative about Iran: isolated protests, a crackdown, then silence. This view wrongly frames Iran’s crisis as cyclical instead of structural, discouraging meaningful international engagement.</p>
<!-- /wp:paragraph -->
<!-- wp:paragraph -->
<p>What is unfolding is not a single-issue movement about wearing the hijab or the price of bread. It is a national rejection of a governing system that has fused ideology with coercion and turned daily life into surveillance, censorship, arbitrary detention and routine state violence.</p>
<!-- /wp:paragraph -->
<!-- wp:paragraph -->
<p>This is not just a distant humanitarian crisis; it directly impacts Canada’s commitments to human rights, diaspora safety and international norms.</p>
<!-- /wp:paragraph -->
<!-- wp:paragraph -->
<p>The question is whether Canada will go beyond existing <a href="https://www.international.gc.ca/world-monde/international_relations-relations_internationales/sanctions/iran.aspx?lang=eng">sanctions</a> to stop legitimizing a violent, corrupt regime and defend the right of Iranian citizens to choose democracy.</p>
<!-- /wp:paragraph -->
<!-- wp:heading -->
<h2 class="wp-block-heading">How the 2025-26 uprising began</h2>
<!-- /wp:heading -->
<!-- wp:paragraph -->
<p>The current wave of protests began on December 28, 2025, when merchants in <a href="https://www.iranintl.com/en/202512291642">Tehran’s Grand Bazaar</a> – a historic political and economic centre – walked out in protest against <a href="https://tradingeconomics.com/iran/inflation-cpi">inflation</a>, <a href="https://www.investing.com/analysis/inside-irans-economic-meltdown-currency-collapse-inflation-and-social-unrest-200673212">currency collapse</a> and rising living costs. Iran’s rial had plunged to a record low of <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2025/12/29/middleeast/iran-protests-currency-low-latam-intl">1.42 million per U.S. dollar</a>, while annual inflation reached 42.2 per cent, with food prices rising 72 per cent year-over-year, sharply eroding household purchasing power.</p>
<!-- /wp:paragraph -->
<!-- wp:paragraph -->
<p>This trajectory had been predicted. In 2023, the <a href="https://documents1.worldbank.org/curated/en/099110623175541902/pdf/P1777150fa1dcd02108b55086af5f3268f5.pdf">World Bank</a> cautioned that 40 per cent of Iranians faced a <a>significant risk</a> of falling into poverty over the next two years. In 2026, that vulnerability has materialized into a nationwide revolution. What began in Tehran <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cg7y0579lp8o">quickly spread to cities and towns across all 31 provinces</a>, with protests becoming increasingly co-ordinated and politically explicit.</p>
<!-- /wp:paragraph -->
<!-- wp:paragraph -->
<p><a href="https://www.iranintl.com/en/202601086452">Protesters</a> voiced clear demands for regime change, chanting “Death to the dictator” at Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and calling for the return of Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi, the son of Iran’s last Shah. <a href="https://iranopasmigirim.com/en/prince-reza-pahlavi">Pahlavi</a>, a prominent opposition figure in exile, has long supported Iran’s resistance from abroad, but in this phase of unrest, he has become a direct mobilizing figure, calling for protests on specific days and framing ongoing demonstrations to push the international community to act under the United Nations’ <a href="https://www.un.org/en/genocide-prevention/responsibility-protect/about">responsibility to protect principle</a>. Protest participation has followed these appeals.</p>
<!-- /wp:paragraph -->
<!-- wp:quote -->
<blockquote class="wp-block-quote"><!-- wp:paragraph -->
<p><a class="" href="https://policyoptions.irpp.org/2026/01/canada-iran-turning-point/">Canada must be ready for Iran’s democratic turning point</a></p>
<!-- /wp:paragraph -->
<!-- wp:paragraph -->
<p><a href="https://policyoptions.irpp.org/2025/10/iran-nuclear-program-diplomacy/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Diplomacy without pressure won’t end Iran’s nuclear program</a></p>
<!-- /wp:paragraph -->
<!-- wp:paragraph -->
<p><a href="https://policyoptions.irpp.org/2025/08/iranian-regime-canada-immigration/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Iranian regime officials are entering Canada with alarming ease</a></p>
<!-- /wp:paragraph --></blockquote>
<!-- /wp:quote -->
<!-- wp:paragraph -->
<p>The recent revolution has become one of the most serious challenges to the Islamic Republic since the 2022-23 <a href="https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2024/09/iran-two-years-after-woman-life-freedom-uprising-impunity-for-crimes-reigns-supreme/">Woman, Life, Freedom</a> movement sparked by the murder of Mahsa Amini while in custody for wearing a hijab improperly. However, reducing Iran’s uprising to a hijab protest or an inflation crisis misses the broader context. Protesters are pushing back against the Islamic regime’s censorship, mass surveillance, discriminatory laws and prolific use of the death penalty; the Islamic regime consistently ranks among the world’s <a href="https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2025/09/un-experts-appalled-unprecedented-execution-spree-iran-over-1000-killed-nine">top executioners</a>.</p>
<!-- /wp:paragraph -->
<!-- wp:paragraph -->
<p>Economic collapse is driven by <a href="https://www.newarab.com/news/its-economy-mullah-how-financial-crash-fuel-iran-protests">corruption and political priorities</a> that divert resources from public welfare to security forces and global terrorism. Water and electricity shortages have become routine, despite Iran’s natural resources, driven by drought, aging infrastructure and mismanagement. These failures have further eroded public trust in the state.</p>
<!-- /wp:paragraph -->
<!-- wp:paragraph -->
<p>The regime also exploits ethnic, religious and gender divisions, presenting a false choice between stability and chaos. UN investigations show <a href="https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2024/03/iran-institutional-discrimination-against-women-and-girls-enabled-human">institutional discrimination against women and girls</a>, <a href="https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2024/08/minorities-iran-have-been-disproportionally-impacted-ongoing-crackdown">disproportionate targeting of ethnic and religious minorities</a>, and <a href="https://www.en-hrana.org/woman-life-freedom-comprehensive-report-of-20-days-of-protest-across-iran/">widespread arrests, violence and executions against protesters across Iran</a>.</p>
<!-- /wp:paragraph -->
<!-- wp:paragraph -->
<p>Protesters are demanding an entirely new system, following principles articulated within the <a href="https://iranopasmigirim.com/en/unity">Pahlavi-led political framework</a>, which emphasizes territorial integrity, secular governance, equality for citizens and elections as non-negotiables of a democratic transition.</p>
<!-- /wp:paragraph -->
<!-- wp:heading -->
<h2 class="wp-block-heading">The regime’s response</h2>
<!-- /wp:heading -->
<!-- wp:paragraph -->
<p>Security forces have deployed lethal force against unarmed demonstrators. By January 13, 2026, <a href="https://www.en-hrana.org/day-seventeen-of-irans-protests-continued-internet-shutdown-spike-in-figures-and-intensifying-global-reactions/">Human Rights Activists News Agency</a> reported 614 nationwide protest gatherings; 18,434 arrests; 1,134 with severe injuries; and 2,403 confirmed protester deaths, including 12 children. Sources inside Iran cite figures as high as <a href="https://www.iranintl.com/en/202601130145">12,000</a> to <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/iran-protest-death-toll-over-12000-feared-higher-video-bodies-at-morgue/">20,000 deaths</a>. These numbers show why wait and see is not a morally neutral <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2026/01/12/middleeast/iran-kahrizak-tehran-morgue-protest-crackdown-dissent-intl-latam">stance</a>.</p>
<!-- /wp:paragraph -->
<!-- wp:paragraph -->
<p>Independent verification remains difficult under blackout conditions. Authorities imposed a nationwide internet and phone blackout on January 8, cutting access to messaging apps, foreign news and emergency services. Information control has become a central tool of repression, blocking the verification of abuses and isolating communities so that fear replaces solidarity.</p>
<!-- /wp:paragraph -->
<!-- wp:paragraph -->
<p>Officials have framed the protests as foreign-backed terrorism, threatening harsh penalties, including death sentences, while staging pro-government rallies to project stability. The message is clear: dissent will be crushed, and the country will be sealed off from the outside world.</p>
<!-- /wp:paragraph -->
<!-- wp:heading -->
<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Europe is moving</h2>
<!-- /wp:heading -->
<!-- wp:paragraph -->
<p>In <a href="https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/policies/sanctions-against-iran/timeline-eu-sanctions-against-iran/">January 2026</a>, the European Union expressed solidarity with Iranian protesters, condemned the use of violence and arbitrary detention, and called for the full restoration of internet access. Importantly, the European Parliament <a href="https://www.politico.eu/article/iranian-diplomats-banned-from-european-parliament/">announced plans</a> to restrict access for Iranian diplomatic representatives to its premises, explicitly to avoid legitimizing the regime during an active crackdown on civilians.</p>
<!-- /wp:paragraph -->
<!-- wp:paragraph -->
<p>European governments are no longer treating Iran’s repression as a purely domestic issue, framing it, instead, as a breach of international norms.</p>
<!-- /wp:paragraph -->
<!-- wp:paragraph -->
<p>This matters for Canada in two ways. It shows that democratic states are treating legitimacy as a policy variable that can be withdrawn when repression escalates, and it provides diplomatic cover for co-ordinated action.</p>
<!-- /wp:paragraph -->
<!-- wp:image {"id":303190,"sizeSlug":"full","linkDestination":"none"} -->
<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img src="https://policyoptions.irpp.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Iran-protest-fire.jpg" alt="A group of people around a fire, out of focus. " class="wp-image-303190"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">One of few images of anti-government protests that has emerged from Iran, dated January 9, 2026. (AP) </figcaption></figure>
<!-- /wp:image -->
<!-- wp:heading -->
<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Canada’s critical role</h2>
<!-- /wp:heading -->
<!-- wp:paragraph -->
<p>This crisis is not confined to Iran’s borders. Canada has designated the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/public-safety-canada/news/2024/06/government-of-canada-lists-the-irgc-as-a-terrorist-entity.html">a terrorist organization</a>, imposed <a href="https://www.international.gc.ca/world-monde/international_relations-relations_internationales/sanctions/iran.aspx?lang=eng">sanctions</a> on Iranian officials involved in human-rights abuses under the <a href="https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/S-14.5/index.html"><em>Special Economic Measures Act</em></a> and issued repeated j<a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/global-affairs/news/2022/10/joint-statement-by-women-foreign-ministers-on-events-in-iran.html">oint statements</a> condemning repression since the death of Mahsa Amini in 2022. These measures restrict financial access and signal diplomatic disapproval. However, symbolic pressure alone has not curbed escalating violence.</p>
<!-- /wp:paragraph -->
<!-- wp:paragraph -->
<p>Unlike the European Parliament’s move to bar Iranian diplomats, Canada has not tied sanctions to clear benchmarks such as restoring internet access or halting executions. Canada should now shift from general condemnation to strategic enforcement.</p>
<!-- /wp:paragraph -->
<!-- wp:heading {"level":3} -->
<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Canada should move beyond vague “reform” language and adopt clear political positioning.</h3>
<!-- /wp:heading -->
<!-- wp:list -->
<ul class="wp-block-list"><!-- wp:list-item -->
<li>Canadian governments must match rhetoric with policy action. While Ottawa has condemned Iran’s human-rights abuses, its <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/global-affairs/news/2024/09/joint-statement-marking-two-years-since-death-of-mahsa-zhina-amini.html">statements</a> focus on behavioural change rather than systemic transformation. These calls stop short of endorsing protesters’ demands for secular governance, equal citizenship and democratic elections. Canada’s messaging should have emphasized that cosmetic reforms cannot dismantle Iran’s security courts, censorship system or ideological policing.</li>
<!-- /wp:list-item --></ul>
<!-- /wp:list -->
<!-- wp:heading {"level":3} -->
<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Transnational repression should be treated as a national security issue.</h3>
<!-- /wp:heading -->
<!-- wp:list -->
<ul class="wp-block-list"><!-- wp:list-item -->
<li><a href="https://www.meforum.org/fwi/fwi-news/irans-irgc-targets-canadian-counter-islamist-raheel-raza">Iranian-Canadians have reported intimidation</a> linked to regime networks. Ottawa should strengthen reporting mechanisms, ensure proper investigations and visibly protect diaspora communities. Safeguarding Canadians from foreign intimidation is not only a human-rights obligation but a matter of domestic security.</li>
<!-- /wp:list-item --></ul>
<!-- /wp:list -->
<!-- wp:heading {"level":3} -->
<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Canada should treat internet shutdowns as human rights violations.</h3>
<!-- /wp:heading -->
<!-- wp:list -->
<ul class="wp-block-list"><!-- wp:list-item -->
<li>Iran’s blackout has concealed civilian casualties and cut access to emergency services. While some Iranians have relied on smuggled satellite internet, reporting shows that authorities now use <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/jan/13/ecosystem-smuggled-tech-iran-last-link-outside-world-internet">drones, signal jamming</a> and <a href="https://www.iranintl.com/en/202601145172">house raids to hunt for Starlink terminals</a>. As satellite access now carries severe risks, Canada should prioritize diplomatic pressure, fund secure non-hardware communication tools and support independent Persian-language media.</li>
<!-- /wp:list-item --></ul>
<!-- /wp:list -->
<!-- wp:heading {"level":3} -->
<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Canada should support Iranian-led civil society.</h3>
<!-- /wp:heading -->
<!-- wp:list -->
<ul class="wp-block-list"><!-- wp:list-item -->
<li>This includes supporting credible human-rights organizations, <a href="https://honestreporting.com/irans-uprising-and-the-western-medias-moral-failure/">amplifying verified</a> reporting, engaging with Iranian-Canadian advocacy groups and pressing for accountability in international forums.</li>
<!-- /wp:list-item --></ul>
<!-- /wp:list -->
<!-- wp:paragraph -->
<p>Iran’s crisis tests whether democracies will consistently defend human rights, even when there are diplomatic costs. Iranians are asking Canada to stop empowering the system that crushes them, and to stand for the right of a people to choose a secular, democratic future.</p>
<!-- /wp:paragraph -->
ysabetwordsmith suggested I share this short list of resources for printing stickers and other relevant accessories.
This is old news, but Stickermule has shown their asses again by giving away free pro-ICE merchandise, so people have been scrambling for other suppliers for custom stickers. I'm thinking about ordering stickers of my art by Harmonycon. I can't keep up with a million tweets and my Bluesky feed is already scrambled, so here's what I've found:
Your daily laser-eyed loon, this one facing forward, determined, shooting its lasers to say "Melt Ice." (by Rin Mix)
Yesterday, as noted it was one of our colder days. It was also Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, so Shawn had the day off work. I decided to limit my activities, though I did sign up to a Discord group which is organizing around doing laundry for people who have now been stuck indoors for so long trying to wait out the gestapo occupation.
One of the things I decided to do, however, was go singing. Our hyper-local singing group decided that due to the temperature, people would start inside a coffee shop. Our organizer made sure it was okay for us to sing a little bit indoors, but since people in the Twin Cities often gather at coffee shops to do work, we kept our indoor songs to a minimum. We then braved the outdoors for a couple of rounds of various songs, including this incredible re-working of Pete Seeger's "Which Side Are You On?"
The chorous remains the same, but the verses now read:
Come all you good people Some news to you I'll tell Of how your loving neighbors Have come to give ICE hell
Chorus: Which side are you on? Which side are you on? Which side are you on? Which side are you on?
Another neighbor killed today Oh when will this all cease? Another mother dead, my friends Murdered by police.
[chorus]
My mother was a feminst And she taught me how to see The road to ruin is paved with gold by the patriarchy
[chorus]
So let the North Star* guide us Back towards democracy Reject the threats of fascists Or we can not be free
[chorus]
Oh, neighbors, can you feel it? Oh, tell me that you can. Will you stay silent? Or will you take a stand?
[chorus x2]
I found this version to be incredibly powerful and while we were standing outside the coffee shop on Snelling Avenue singing our hearts out, a car at the stoplight opened its doors. I turned, expecting the worst, but it was a beat-up Toyota and probably the window crank didn't work and so the people inside were trying to hear what we were singing/saying. They were a couple of Lantinx guys and hearing what we were singing brought HUGE SMILES to their faces. When they noticed us noticing them they gave us big thumbs up, smiles, and waves.
That reminded me that even small acts are sustaining... to the fighters and those we fight for.
I also ran into a friend of a friend who also lives in Midway, so it was really nice to actually see a familiar face while out and about.
I was also happy to see that the New York Times finally had a big article about the mutual aid efforts in today's paper.They focused exculsively on the food donattions, and again, I wish that people could see the whole huge variety of things people are doing--the scope of which is truly staggering. However, it's a good article and if you are local (or are interested in what I'm talking about), naomikritzer did a lovely round-up of ways to get involved on her blog: https://naomikritzer.com/2026/01/19/how-to-help-twin-cities-residents/ She has promised to work on a similar list for folks from out-of-town/national/international who want to help as well. I'll post that here once she writes it.
All right, comrades. Stay warm! Stay strong!
===
For those of you who might not know, the Minnesota state motto is E'toile du Nord (in French) which translates as The Star of the North. If you see protestors shouting that phrase, they are not Canadian (or French) agitators, but folks who have decided that being the star of the north means that we are leading the country in how to defend democracy.
Somehow slept through a whole bunch of Monday, both before and after not eating dinner. Now I'm hoping to sleep through a whole bunch of today, although I might not be able to, being slept out from Monday. At least a fairly dense morning haze is dimming the sun, which will give me a fighting chance of getting to sleep. That is if the various aches and pains that aging brings don't irritate me wakeful. At the moment my head is aching enough that I'll probably take an aspirin, which is rare for me. But when you can't get to a chiropractor for a neck adjustment, opening a drawer in the bathroom is the easiest alternative.
Welcome to our fourth special round! First of all, this round will run independently from the regular pass-it-on, which means you can still enter single icons and keep the rainbow going.
THEME: FAVOURITE(S) 2025
Show us what you loved last year - shows, movies, characters, comics, video games etc. It doesn't have to be released in 2025, just your personal favourites. You can write what you loved about them as a bonus if you want.
♦ for this round you have to make a full set of 7 icons, 1 for each color of the rainbow (example above) ♦ post your set to the community with subject RAINBOW: username ♦ if you have any questions, ask in the comments ♦ the round will be open for one month, deadline is February 21st
I worked through the holiday. Both jobs aren't finished yet but one pretty much is (there's error handling stuff that's not all there, but the actual logic has been tested front-to-back) and at least the second job is rough-draft finished and now I've worked through bugs in some of the common code. Anyway, it was pretty alright progress and now back to it. Also, I finished reading The Only Ones by Carola Dibbell and it was very good. At night Mary Beth and I watched a couple Marlon Riggs movies.
Current Mood:blah
Current Music:Eric Dolphy - Iron Man [Musical Prophet: the Expanded 1963 New York Studio Sessions]
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