• 0 Posts
  • 47 Comments
Joined 1 year ago
Cake day: June 12th, 2023
  • indomara@lemmy.worldtoAsk Lemmy@lemmy.world•People outside the US, how do you feel US expats or exiles would do in your country or region?English
    251·
    3 days ago

    I am originally from the US but moved to AU and am now a citizen. I got lucky and got out just before Trump’s first presidency.

    Life here is good. Like, better than most Americans can really understand. Healthcare is free, education is good and includes topics like critical thinking and understanding how to spot “fake news”.

    There is only a small aisle of frozen food in the grocery store, not nearly as much pre-packaged food. There are affordable fresh fruits and vegetables, and outside most grocery stores is an independent baker, butcher, fishmonger, and fruit and veg stand.

    Minimum wage is $24.10 an hour, and you cannot be fired for no reason if you are a full time employee.

    If you compare things (and adjust for AUD to USD) like rent, gas, milk, bread, eggs… Things cost about the same here as in the US.

    We pay around the same amount in taxes, and get so much more.

    Things aren’t completely rosy, distressingly, Australia seems to want to emulate the US in certain ways which worries me.

    There is also currently a bit of an economic downturn and while it’s nothing like what I left behind, it does mean things cost more and luxuries have to be budgeted for.

    I think anyone who isn’t a dick would be welcome here. There are racist cunts here like everywhere, but generally Aussies are the kindest and most welcoming people.

  • indomara@lemmy.worldtoNews@lemmy.world•Anti-slavery measure Prop. 6 fails, allowing forced labor to continue in California prisonsEnglish
    40·
    5 days ago

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penal_labor_in_the_United_States#Modern_prison_labor_systems

    It’s bad.

    Alabama: Inmates that refuse to labor face a range of consequences, including solitary confinement and extensions of their sentences.

    Florida: Inmates in Florida are forced to perform labor, often under threat of solitary confinement and beatings. These inmates are not paid for the labor they’re made to perform, and unsatisfactory performance can also lead to solitary confinement. In one instance, a prisoner working as a barber was sent to solitary for dropping a hair clipper, while in another, a woman who suffered a breakdown and refused to clean a set of toilets was beaten to the point of full body paralysis.

    Louisiana: Refusal to work can be met with solitary confinement and physical beatings.

    New York: The jobs inmates are mandated to work range from mundane ones such as tailoring and taxi driving, to more hazardous ones as lead paint and asbestos removal. Inadequate work and/or refusal to work can be punished with beatings.

  • indomara@lemmy.worldtoPolitical Memes@lemmy.world•I Want to Give UpEnglish
    551·
    11 days ago

    Remember to vote in all local elections. The more sensible people you get into office the more change you create. Look up all the candidates, even for things like education, water treatment, family court judges.

    These are all offices that we vote (or not) into office.

    When I went to look at who to vote for in the shitty midwest state I am from, (I am an expat. ) sometimes the choice wasn’t clear. Some had no party affiliation, but those who seek positions of power often move on to other positions of power. Starting at the bottom we must vote in good people.

    So I looked up their campaign websites or facebook pages, and made my choice from there. Do I want the girl with little background in the subject who has republican affiliations supporting her campaign for the office?

    Or maybe the guy who runs free name change clinics for people who need it and works at the local food bank.

    The choice was clear to me.

    I am sorry fellow Americans. This was an outcome I had greatly feared.

    Don’t give up.

  • indomara@lemmy.worldtoAsklemmy@lemmy.ml•What spider is this ?English
    7·
    18 days ago

    I’m from Australia, that looks like a huntsman.

    When I first moved here and saw one I freaked out and begged my husband to catch it. He laughed and said they are good spiders, and very fast so hard to catch anyway.

    That spider lived above the window blinds, and I realised I would have to sweep the dead bugs off the windowsill every few days.

    He definitely became an honoured guest!

  • indomara@lemmy.worldtoAsk Lemmy@lemmy.world•How do you perceive pain meds and treatments internally on the deepest levels of your psychology?English
    4·
    29 days ago

    I have nerve pain and understand the feeling of the meds not taking the pain away, and the knowledge that there is a trade off with taking them. I have refused to up my dose, but try literally everything else.

    Unfortunately I am allergic to codiene and natural opoids, and so tramadol is my long term pain management medication.

    I also take broad spectrum cbd oil and flower, triple strength fish oil for inflammation, magnesium, etc. I have also been using lignocaine patches over the nerve roots after reading a study that showed promising results, and despite it not making any sense to me that they should work topically, it does seem to help.

    Besides medications and supplements, I use a TENS unit, IR heating pad, ice packs, massage gun, and positioning to reduce pain on bad days.

    I have tried every locally available treatment, experimental medication, therapy, consulted with pain doctors and surgeons. Unfortunately nothing has helped so far.

    On good days, I can spend 4 - 5 hours up at most, and will pay for it the next day. Most of my time is spent in a zero gravity bed.

    I don’t like taking the pain meds, but acknowledge that taking them means I can do more. Push further. It’s not a tradeoff I like either, so most of the time I don’t.