Zoom for reasons I donât understand is starting to censor/disallow certain public meetings on Zoom. New York University has scheduled a zoom event about censorship of all things featuring a Palestinian and Zoom wouldnât allow it. Iâm not clear on all the details yet but WTF are they doing that for?
Here is the statement about it from NYU: http://web.nyu-aaup.org/2020/10/statement-from-nyu-aaup-executive.html
Meanwhile, thanks (?) to @markomanka, I have fallen into the rabbithole of the funny and disturbing Epistemological Diarrhea sparkled with obstacles. I could recommend it to @amelia and @katejsim and @Leonie and @Jirka_Kocian and @Wolha, but I am not sure. I am really not sure. At your own risk, guys.
wow feeling personally attacked by the inclusion of k-pop in that list 
I really found this statement by our lovely @iriedawta spot on⌠and a sincere window into the trauma faced by all sides of a war:
The mood over here right now:
I am afraid these discussions about all sides, now, can be a little irritating for me. I am aware to be a potential victim of an info war, but still, I think the amount of crimes committed in the last month by the aggressors should get more attention, and possibly some bloody intervention. The time to break bread together is far away right now, unfortunately. Necessary, yes, but the space for dialogue is super tight, with things being as they are on the front line.
Yes, there is trauma on all sides, and it will linger around for a very long time. Which is one of the nasty side effect of any war: conflicts stick to people, and linger around for generations.
This is especially true if you have an autocratic dictator (like Aliyev for example, his family is running the country since 1993, from father to son) who actively blows on the trauma fire, poisoning generations before you even get to combat, which is the one thing they are allowed to march on the streets for in Azerbaijan it seems⌠but about such restrictions of expression, letâs not take my word for it.
So yes, I would love to be here talking about a healing process, but the one that was tried till now never really properly functioned, because the reality is that in the last 30 years the war was always there, always flaring up in nasty ways. Now that the world is busy not caring about anything but COVID, the US elections, and what not, the Azeris have decided to escalate, to avoid a regime implosion perhaps? Who knows⌠Turkeyâs in dire straits too, also needed to protect its own regime? 
In any event, what we - more likely - do actually know on the Artsakh/Karabakh war is thanks to the one side were journalists are allowed to do their job of reporting (Press Freedom Index in Azerbaijan? 168/200. Foreign journalists are not allowed near the action in Azerbaijan. I wonder whyâŚ
So now, putting history and territorial claims aside for a moment, here are some of the actual things that have been happening in the last month to the army, but especially to the civilian population, that have been attacked (forgive me, if the list is not comprehensive, nor ordered) :
Where is the international communityâs response? Pretty much absent. Some concerned statements, but no action. And there had been stuff like the above, imagine if it was just soldiers killing each other. But you know, the oil and gas from Azerbaijan will be needed to keep us warm in Europe this winter⌠so⌠
I would not be so surprised if there will be a strong backlash to UN and EU as institutions here in Armenia, having been lecturing about human rights and all that jazz, and now⌠nothing of any substance. Unless they will eventually wake up. There is a lot of anger and disappointment all around. Including within the actual peacemakers, like @iriedawta that have tried their best to build bridges. But right now, they are all burning.
So, please, really please, show me now, because I canât see where should the space for dialogue be, right now?!
So. Much. Waste.
Shameful.
Stepanakert reminds me of Sarajevo, for the little that I can remember.
Itâs so so disappointing to see the clock turning back like this, we should have better things to do to keep ourselves occupied, and instead we are looking for the nearest bomb shelter, in freaking 2020, at the edges of Europe⌠and at least we are the lucky ones who are safe. For now at that isâŚ
As long as Trump and his gangs remain in power, Erdogan will always be favored. The Trump real estate business wants too much from them.
Speaking of the US election, it is Tuesday and the consequences of it will reverberate everywhere.
This sentence, from a news email I receive pretty well describes how far the White House and GOP have fallen, âNever before in our history has a candidate openly planned to win an election by gaming the system, but here we are.â
Already any semblance of moral leadership from the US, long in decline and always containing its opposite, sits now in a self-dug grave. Trumpâs reelection would put the dirt over it and lay the tombstone.
I personally do not think it will happen because the opposition is so strong, but I must refer again to the gaming of the system. There is a clear path to victory for them that way and their âpackingâ of the courts over the past several years increases that possibility exponentially.
As long as we donât break the current economy, we have no hope.
By the way, I forgot to add to the list that the mercenaries are paid $100 per head of Armenian they cut off.
Incidents were already being reported by a long time, now they captured a mercenary and he confirmed.
Oh, and this is happening as well, in France. If it reminds you of Nazi Germany, it is because it does. If you are wondering who are these âGrey Wolvesâ, here they areâŚ
I know, nobody cares⌠but I kinda need to put it out there. I guess you should know whatâs happeningâŚ
It is not looking good. No idea how one copes with something like this, or how any of us can help?
Thank you. Although Iâm not even sure about how I could help, this is what I am trying to do:
Some studying has also resumed, a little, now that the worst of the side effects of too much information are going away. I guess you habituate to stress levels.
Wow @Alessandro, such good work - so you had an influence in how these municipalities qualified the issue. Talk about effective democracy 
Me too, and Srebenica. There, even when the UN did intervene in Srebenica it wasnât for long until they too suffered a genocide⌠Srebrenica massacre - Wikipedia
Some influence on my own municipality, and possibly another one is in the making. Not to claim more credit than its due, I should have made it more clear that my tiny contribution was only referring to Reggello (for now) and it was indirect: the writing has been done by friends and their colleagues within the council. What helped is possibly that my friends are in general more aware of the situation as some visited us here, and because we kept sharing news (we still do), so overall they could convey a stronger interest in getting it done.
So now we are planning some events to open up those conversation with various youth groups, and a second neighboring municipality has also been activated on this. Every little helps, I guess? Or hope?
We are really, really bad at history. 
In other news (speaking of I need some normalcy too) I just listened to Blindsight on audiobook, thanks to @albertoâs tweet about this blindsight.space. I see you also read it.
I loved it, but I am unsure I understood it fully⌠I am yet to read the second book, which hopefully will shed some light, but if you are perhaps interested in talking about your impressions and understandings of that book, Iâd be interested to fill the gaps 
This needs a broken heart icon.
By the way, I forgot to add to the list that the mercenaries are paid $100 per head of Armenian they cut off.
It is so so so good. I had to reread it three times to get my head around it. That fan fiction film is a trip. In other news I tried working out using a VR headset yesterday. Yes, it is pretty amazing.
I have been looking to re-read Blindsight and audiobook would be perfect! Where did you find it?
Have you people also read the sequel, Echopraxia? Is it worth it?
I have. Yes.
Everything by Watts is worth it. Manâs not terribly prolific, I wish he would write more. Blindsight is still my favorite, but Echopraxia comes close. Also the Maelstrom series.
