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pop-punklouis · 3 years

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when you say that boyband’s work on a shelf-life and theyre thought of as a cash crop what do you mean? that they’re only an object to the industry?

i mean, let’s break it down. boybands, more times than not, are curated by someone else. it isn’t exactly the boys that come together, find each other, and then start a career. usually, a higher up will pluck 4-5 boys from the crowd and put them in a group together expecting them to be puppets to their success. from the beginning, a boyband is fundamentally under the thumb of the industry due to their origins. then, of course, you have the image branding. these boys, at a young age, are given labels to be to sell records and garner favorites from the fans— which in turn gives more reason to sell more individual product with a certain boy on them. the boys will go through image training/publicity training, and besides putting on a character depending on their branding (zayn malik literally talked about how he couldn’t even really grow a beard in the band), they’re also walking on eggshells to present to the media in a way that is not only broad enough for most of the GP to favor them, but also to give just enough personality away that most of what one knows about them is either created in a boardroom or acts as surface level for fans to push their own attitudes onto them without compromising this carefully patched together image. this doesn’t mean these boys aren’t genuine in how they perform, but there is a lot of tightening of screws and pushing into molds at a young age that can fuck with them when carried out for long periods of time. it’s like appearing as yourself but mimicking someone else’s idea of who you ought to be. it’s the alien impersonator. it makes me think of NSYNC’s music video where they were all puppets on a string, being controlled by the omniscient puppet master. do i think that visual was pointed in makeup? not necessarily, but it is a good reference point for how i’m sure many boybands feel throughout their lifespan

then, you get into the lucrative amount of $$$ people are making off these groups. the global merchandise. the touring. the albums pumped out every 12 months. the chosen teams that surround the boys to keep them on track and keep them feeding into the machine as long as their contract permits. when the $$ begins raking in, that’s what the label begins to view you as. your expectation revolves around their bank accounts, and the more $$ you generate, the harder it is to have freedom and orchestrate a life outside of the spotlight that isn’t predominantly cast in the form of making more $$ for these companies. and these companies know that the pop-sphere only has a general attention span of 5-6 years before a revolving door of new talent comes in, so they’re even heavier handed with how they pump the content out knowing the shelf-life is waning, and there’s only a specific area of time they can milk them for what they are— using it as a justification for dehumanizing a group to line their own pockets.

and god forbid one of them tries to “mess” with that money. even if the intention isn’t malicious. take for example, Brian Littrell from the Backstreet Boys or Niall Horan. Brian had to get open heart surgery, and they pushed him back into a worldwide tour and promo cycle almost straight after. Niall Horan has had knee surgeries that were prolonged for long enough until they were mandatory and he was on crutches during promo stints. their health and well-being is on the back burner if it compromises their ability to be a cash crop. their agency is stripped to be objects to an industry who looks at them and instantly sees wealth. they walk in a room not as individual people but as a well-oiled machine, which can mess with how you think people view you outside of the group. “would these people speak with me if i wasn’t apart of this?” “would i be able to get into the studio with certain producers/song writers if i was on my own?” “would i have the same opportunities without this goliath presence on my back?” “will i always have that part of my life carried on my back, unable to pick apart if my own talents or my past talents is what’s given me the success i have now?” “is this image the only thing people see and use me for when i walk in a room now?” “what is success if it isn’t the success i had in the band?” a lot of identity issues are created in this isolated bubble, and it’s no wonder why any member of a boyband has insecurities and doubts when they leave that model, not knowing who they are or what they represent.

and finally, you have to take into consideration how tightly controlled their entire life is beyond just promo or images. their schedules are blocked months if not years in advance, not being able to have personal freedom unless it works around things that have already been confirmed for the group (i mean let’s example girl group little mix here. two of them were afraid of becoming pregnant when they did bc their schedules are confirmed ages in advance, and they thought they’d be scolded for it). their agency is gone. their independence is gone. their freedom of just existing is gone. they exist in relation to the label and their “handlers.” they have lives, and they can do things, but many of those things have to be worked through the system and approved. think about how isolating the 1D bubble was. almost none of them had gaggles of famous friends that weren’t also there to sell a certain image of the group. they were contained for most of their youth to just those five boys. from 16+, their teen years and growth into adulthood was centered around this bubble mentality. they were stunted, and you can see the affects of that even now— years later.

so, i don’t blame these groups for taking indefinite breaks or disbanding altogether. that environment is toxic and erasing and superficial. it’s harmful. and i think it’s important to know this. because there’s no foul in loving boybands/girl groups and who they are, what their music sounds like, and what they represent to you. they’re a special type of celebrity that many connect with in different ways than they do individual artists. in ways, who they showed to you was genuine and loving and their friendships within the band cannot be faked. most times, they only have each other through the chaos of fame so they rely on themselves and their fans every night as their support beams so, don’t feel guilty or shameful for liking a band and supporting a band as you weren’t the ones who created this for them— it’s the age-old history of how the boyband model operates and tbh until it “breaks” i unfortunately don’t believe it’ll be fixed.

#grey #ugh sorry this is long #long post

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rwby-redux · 3 years

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Amendment

Grimm: Threat Level Assessment

Generally speaking, the scale conceived of eight decades ago has undergone little in the way of revision. Although some archotherologists might occasionally debate the placement of a species within a category, by and large, the current rankings are uncontested. When new Grimm are discovered, a panel consisting of researchers and Huntsmen will convene to discuss and ratify its official categorization, based on rigorous criteria.

The following list contains the five recognized categories, and the Grimm species that have been filed under them.

Species Placement

Category 1: Anguilline, Attercop, Aurochs, Beowolf, Boarbatusk, Chorus Beast, Creep, Elytrap, Enfield, Felifiend, Grendel, Grimalkin, Haozhenjiu, Hartless, Juggernaut, Lagartodile, Nevermore, Ouroboa, Preying Mantis, Razorwing, Sabyr, Scapegoat, Typhang, Ursa, Userper

Category 2: Andras, Basilisk, Capyre, Centinel, Cingrenada, Cockatrice, Death Stalker, Flotsam, Galvanist, Imp, Isbjorn, Ixodida, Jackalope, Jetsam, King Taijitu, Lamentia, Lepice, Long Tongue, Mortiposa, Needleback, Pestilouse, Ravager, Rotweiler, Shryke, Stolas, Sunshorner, Trawl-Kite, Tyrant, Undertaker, Whisp, Wickhed, Wojtek

Category 3: Alabastet, Beringel, Blind Worm, Brachia, Cenitaur, Dromedon, Elegy, Gargoyle, Griffon, Hellcat, Hellhound, Hobbesgoblin, Lancer, Manticore, Marellen, Nemagi, Nightmare, Paralykeet, Peryton, Seafret, Seer, Seraph, Sphere Fisher, Sulfur Fish, Swarmer, Teryx, Tsavo, Virovultr, Warverine, Wringwyrm

Category 4: Apathy, Bandersnatch, Charybdis, Chimera, Fen Feilong, Geist, Goliath, Helion, Hydra, Megoliath, Mesmereyes, Necromancer, Sea Feilong, Sphinx, Suchian, Tempest, Terrapin, Tiamat, Ziraph

Category 5: Dreadnought, Leviathan, Monstra, Nuckelavee, Wyvern

#amendment #worldbuilding #grimm #archotherology #the sciences #writing #grimm species #threat level assessment #lore #the list will get updated as new species are added to the canon or created by me

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itsyourchoicedevotionals · 3 years

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Seven Mountains

“Here is the mind which has wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains upon which the woman sits,” Revelation 17:9NASB

Growing up, teachers of eschatology taught end times would center around the city with seven hills. A single city with seven mountains causing the world encompassing distress of epic proportions seems distorted. But what then could the seven mountains represent?

Enter prophet, Johnny Enlow. Let’s establish his right to discern and prophesy with scripture. “…The Lord God does nothing without revealing His secret to His servants the prophets.” Amos 3:7ESV Enlow’s teaching the most astoundingly reasonable seven mountain theory, which I fully embrace. ***Mountain one— religion— covers the religion of the one true God, Yahweh. Plus the plethora of demon gods, idols, and false religions of the world. ***Mountain two— family— every subject regarding relatives, marriage, medical-dental-physical body care ***Mountain three— education— all formal education, pre-school throughout secondary, and universities ***Mountain four— government— encompasses from running a village, to running a nation in every aspect ***Mountain five— business— every exchange of goods and services ***Mountain six— media— encompasses communication of news, social media, all forums of information exchange ***Mountain seven— arts and entertainment— movies, everything programming on television; everywhere people perform for others to watch. Assuredly, the dividing lines of the mountains interacts, even criss-crosses. These seven mountains reveals all of the systems of society, making enormous sense of how one woman could sit in control of society.

Looking at what happened in the elections this past year; common knowledge of the ‘desired’ one world government by major players in all governments; corporate America desiring business freedom with China all adds up to making one sitting upon the tops of all seven mountains feasible.

“In that day the Lord with His hard and great and strong sword will punish Leviathan the fleeing serpent, Leviathan the twisting serpent, and He will slay the dragon that is in the sea” Isaiah 27:1ESV. Daily more lies are being exposed regarding each of the mountains. Leviathan is actually a demon which twists truth to overcome everyone not washed and covered in the blood of Jesus. Discernment is needed to know the truth. Example: Look how they twisted the lie about medical care to the point people line up like sheep, too afraid to think for themselves, to be guinea pigs for an experimental drug.

God is calling out to His children to retake the seven mountains of society. This will take a terrific amount of coordination, perseverance, stamina and God. “Unless the Lord builds the house, the builders labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the guards stand watch in vain.” Psalm 127:1NIV. He’s guaranteeing His angel armies will assist us, Hebrews 1:14, if-and-when we begin the task of reclaiming the mountains.

Every person alive has a calling on their lives. Each calling is to the mountain in their sphere of influence. Where is your passion? Are you passionate about family, medical? Perhaps media? Government? Seek God for the area you are to influence.

Some are prayer warriors, but Holy Spirit has other tasks assigned to them too. Whatever God has called you to do, find wisdom from God, then go with the armies of heaven and take your mountain. Be a David slaying Goliath, bring down those demonic strongholds on your mountain. Use 2Corinthians 10:3-5, V4 “The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world…” Weapons are angels wielding God’s Words from your mouth.

For everyone who will awake and go take their mountain God has promised to supply all they need to win the war against satan. “To the one who is victorious and does My will to the end, I will give authority over the nations” Revelation 2:26NIV. Are you one of them? It’s your choice. You choose.

PRAYER: Lord God, We will be Your body. Do Your work through us, in the name of Jesus Christ I pray.

#Jesus Christ #lord of lords #Word of God #Holy Spirit #God #it's your choice #devotional #mountain #builds #calling #lies #truth #guards #government #love #hope #faith

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critrolestats · 5 years

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Media References and Puns of The Search for Grog

To the Ace! Throw it back now, y'all. Vox Machina, let's go to work! One card this time! ...No cards this time! Slide to Vasselheim! Slide to Pandemonium! Plane shift real smooth.

Media References

(0:23:20) Sam: *singing* I have slayed Chroma Conclave, I have taught Vecna Counterspell, only to be with you, only to be with you! But we still gotta find our goliath friend! (“I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For” by U2)

(0:24:08) Sam: Not a U2 fan!

(0:37:18) Sam: I’m going to command my Unseen Servant to puppeteer Grog’s arms, Weekend at Bernie’s style.

(0:46:53) Sam: I wish, it’s not for me, it’s for my friend! (“Prologue” from Into the Woods)

(1:40:10) Travis: You’re like f***ing E.T. Matt: In a true E.T. moment…

(1:48:18) Matt: It’s a brave new world!

(1:51:45) Liam: Could you give us five small pain reacts then five medium reacts? (voice direction)

(2:29:19) Marisha: Inside the sphere of silence. (“The Sounds of Silence” by Simon & Garfunkel)

Read more at critrolestats.com

#critical role #critical role puns #media references #search for grog #one-shot

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what-the-crit-is-going-on · 6 years

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Episode 43

With the threat of being discovered of their thievery, Caleb casts a wall of flames into a large U separating the Nein from the crew of the Squall Eater. Beau runs over to the human wizard and grabs Avantica’s journal, assuring him she's going to stick to the plan to get it up to the Plank King. Avantica calls on her newly gained water control powers to dose the fire but is countered by Caleb when he hears her casting.

Jester grabs Beau and summons her doorway to get them as far from the ship and as close to the Plank King as they can get, they end up by the Bloated Cup Tavern. Seeing Jester and Beau flee, Yasha and Caduceus begin their retreat as well, making it off the ship and onto the docks. Fjord takes a hold of Caleb's shoulder and begins casting thunderstep, waiting for Nott to move before finishing his spell. Nott makes it down to Yasha and Caduceus and Fjord and Caleb thunderstep the hell out of there.

Vera slows down the escape of the two on the docks already by casting a hail storm over them. Caleb expedites his retreat and manages to get pretty far before being shot in the back with a heavy bolt, knocking him unconscious, and skidding to a halt on his face. The “guards” of the island begin to rush to the battle and halt Fjord. Being unable to move without triggering these guards he turns and summons a greater demon onto the deck of the Squall Eater, right by Vera, and gives it one command, to fuck up the crew.

Vera, seeing the mass of guards now coming to investigate, sends out a mass suggestion to them, claiming they've crossed Avantica and they need to be stopped. Fjord manages to make it over to Caleb and pours a healing potion into him, bringing him back into the fight. Once he's back on his feet, Caleb sends out a fireball to the ship. He incinerates almost five people, with Vera managing to only fall to the ground, crispy and unconscious. With these fiery deaths of course, memories flood back of his past and he goes stunned once again.

Beau convinces the guards at the steps to escort her to the Plank King using Caleb's explosion to further her point of it being urgent. Ocme there she discusses with him what proof she has of the captain wanting to overthrow him and take Darktow, and the illegal means of how she got it. The Plank King will still hold his own judgement until he hears Avantica's side of the story, but tells Beau if she's right then the Squall Eater will be theirs and they will leave the island alive, but if they aren't then their heads will be on the warning pikes outside his throne room. He gathers his intellectual lackey, Solon, to help decipher the book and the hooded figure that passed the Nein on the way up the night before, who reveals himself to be Jamedi, and they head down to the docks.

The fighting stops as the Nein accept the manacles and grapples of the pirate guards and wait for the arrival of the goliath Plank King. Once there he hears from Avantica why the Nein took up with her, as she slanders the team saying they were the ones who were interested in Uk'otoa and dragged her along for it. Beau counters this by saying the reason she's here is to investigate Avantica on behalf of the Cobalt Soul and the expositors that she's a part of. The Plank King seems to appreciate her connections and permits her to punch the truth out of Avantica.

With only one minute to get his answers from her the goliath steps forward and asks if that journal is hers and I it does indeed contain proof of a coup against him. She doesn't answer. He steps closer and repeats himself to the elven woman who refused to look at him. Still no answer. The Plank King kneels down to her level and brings their faces so close they almost touch foreheads and he demands she look him in the eye. Of course, keeping her mouth shut, she avoids his piercing gaze and that is proof enough to him that she did in fact plan to use her powers to have him and the rest of Darktow bend their knees to her.

He backs off a bit, stating his disappointment in her and grabs her by the neck. He calls her a warning to others, and tells Avantica he “hopes her god, whatever it may be, is a merciful one” before snapping her neck like it was nothing and dropping her body to the wood of the dock.

With the answer he desired he turns to the Nein, and judges them with breaking many of their laws within one day of even being on the island (which honestly is a new record for them and kind of impressive) and punishes them with banishment from the island. Should they ever return they will be sent to the depths of the ocean, effective immediately. They gather their hired crew and board the heavily damaged Squall Eater, setting sail for the open seas at less than half the speed they should have.

While out on the water, Caduceus prays to the Wild Mother for direction on where they should go now and she sends them in the direction of Basaft. Beau, Nott, and Caleb search the Captain's quarters for any information or traps and end up talking on about Beau's expositor reveal. Nott is entirely enthralled by the fact that she's basically a secret agent and Caleb isn't as surprised, claiming she knows too much to just be out here for adventure and to chase around “our barbarian friend”.

Meanwhile, Fjord and Jester talk above deck, she asks him how he feels about everything so far and their plans for what's next. Of course he wants to find the shipwreck and his old captain Vandren. Jester asks if, once they find Vandren, alive or dead, “are you going to stop talking like him?”. After a bit of silence Fjord nods slightly with a maybe. She also offers to send message to the Plank King to ask about Vandren as it seems the island new him, and comments on his tusks growing in before they awkwardly dismiss the conversation and head off to deal with whatever they have to deal with.

Once close to where Fjord's shipwreck should be, Caduceus and Jester begin casting locate object on both a sphere of Uk’otoa and the shipwreck itself. Caduceus gets a ping on the wreck and they send Frumpkin down to check it out. Confirming it is a wreck below them, the Nein rest up before executing their plan to dive with the help of Fjord's underwater breathing spell. Their feet touch the sand hidden beneath the waves and they begin searching for the wreck. After many hours the Nein are faced with the looking, familiar wreck, of Vandren's ship, and Fjord's past.

#cr #critical role #beau #caleb #fjord #jester #nott #critical role spoilers #beauregard #yasha #Caduceus #caduceus clay #cr spoilers #what a great episode wtf #c2e43

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honeebee1 · 3 years

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God Can’t Bless Who You Pretend to Be When you’re marked you must know that God anointed HIS creation, not YOUR creation. Because you are God’s masterpiece, created in His image, He wants to use you exactly how you are. God cannot bless who you pretend to be, but He desires to bless who He created you to be. When we begin to operate out of insecurities or go through life without God’s direction, we can easily fall into comparison. Copycat callings are not cute and have 0% effectiveness. You cannot conform to anyone else’s idea of purpose. When David goes to fight Goliath he is offered someone else’s armor and eventually declines because it was not fit for him. God had already given David victory in his situation and prepared five stones and the infamous slingshot for David to slay the giant, but what would have happened if David chose to fight a battle using someone else’s weapons? The entire trajectory of his purpose would have been changed! As the esteemed philosopher, Dr. Seuss says, “Today you are you, that is truer than true. There is no one alive that is you-er than you.” God marked you for a specific purpose and there are things in this world that can only come from the inside of you. There are books, inventions, healing words, and prayers that can only be produced by you! Johnny’s anointing will not work for Jerome’s and Adina’s will not work for Udoba’s. We all have gifting's and anointing's that are integral to the global church. If we do not operate in the specific anointing that was placed over our lives, we limit the ability to be used in the fullness of our capacity. God has called us to represent Him differently, which means that in our sphere of influence, using the anointing given to us, we are called to give, show, and promote God in a way that only WE can. We were marked for a purpose on purpose and because of the beauty of our differences, God has a perfectly crafted plan to reach the lost and found for transformation in Christ. Reflection: Today, reflect on your identity in Christ and how He has uniquely marked you to make a Godly impact! Prayer:: Lord, Thank you for uniquely creating me! Help me continue to lean into my uniqu https://www.instagram.com/p/CIp5Sv-AdPr7oks-QPAHrEgKfk-F8SOf24K5Jo0/?igshid=3d6p86bwgoen

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khojinindia · 4 years

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How a business can benefit from a KHOJinINDIA B2B marketplace

#marketplace marketingdigital o digital events seo like innovation marketingstrategy contentmarketing sme emailmarketing onlineshop fashion e

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famouswritings-blog · 5 years

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The Art of Following Esther

1. THE ART OF FOLLOWING ESTHER IS THE ART OF Learning from those ahead of you.

On the seventh day, when the heart of the king was merry with wine, he commanded Mehuman, Biztha, Harbona, Bigtha, and Abagtha, Zethar, and Carcas, the seven chamberlains that served in the presence of Ahasuerus the king, To bring Vashti the queen before the king with the crown royal, to shew the people and the princes her beauty: for she was fair to look on. But the queen Vashti refused to come at the king’s commandment by his chamberlains: therefore was the king very wroth, and his anger burned in him. Esther 1:10-12

Living Signs in Front of You

Many years ago the Lord showed me that everyone was a replacement of someone else. I am a replacement of someone and you are a replacement of someone ! There is always a reason why people are replaced. It is important to understand the reasons why you replaced the person ahead of you. Esther learnt from the mistake of Vashti. She knew she must never make the mistake of defying her king and husband. She knew she must never act proudly or she would be cast down as a withered branch. She had to remember the lesson of Vashti!

All through the Bible, God allowed His prophets to be living signs before the people. He would have them act out a drama so that the people would see what would happen. In so doing, God gave them a living sign – a sign that was clear.

The Day Isaiah Was Naked and Barefoot

At the same time spake the Lord by Isaiah the son of Amoz, saying, Go and loose the sackcloth from off thy loins, and put off thy shoe from thy foot. And he did so, walking naked and barefoot. And the Lord said, like as my servant Isaiah hath walked naked and barefoot three years for a sign and wonder upon Egypt and upon Ethiopia; So shall the king of Assyria lead away the Egyptians prisoners, and the Ethiopians captives, young and old, naked and barefoot, even with their buttocks uncovered, to the shame of Egypt. Isaiah 20:2-4

People ahead of you are signs from God to you. They are signs of how you can fall and also how you can rise. Because God has graciously given you living signs and living lessons, you must determine not to fall into the exact same problem that destroyed your predecessor.

Whom has God allowed to stumble right in front of you? It is a message to you of what can happen and how to avoid it. There will definitely be problems and temptations that will come to you that you know little or nothing about. But God has allowed certain things to occur in front of you so that you learn firsthand about what to do and what not to do.

2. THE ART OF FOLLOWING ESTHER IS THE ART OF PREPARATION.

Now when the turn of each young lady came to go in to King Ahasuerus, after the end of her twelve months under the regulations for the women - for the days of their beautification were completed as follows: six months with oil of myrrh and six months with spices and the cosmetics for women... Esther 2:12 (NASB)

Preparation is the vital key that generates speed and success. Long and proper preparation is necessary for success in almost every sphere of life. Esther prepared long and hard for the day she would meet the king. She planned over a long period and rehearsed ahead of time, training for the specific task that lay ahead of her. Esther used the five keys of successful preparation to make herself ready for her possible role as a first lady.

Five Keys to Esther’s Preparation

1. Plan for a long time. She planned over a long period of time. She had a long time to decide what to do and what to say to the king. Short-term plans are more likely to fail than long-term plans. “Therefore thus will I do unto thee, O Israel: and because I will do this unto thee, prepare to meet thy God, O Israel” (Amos 4:12).

2. Foresee problems. Esther foresaw problems that she would encounter. She knew that she would only have a few minutes with a king who was spoilt for choice. She knew she would have to do something impressive within the short time she was given. The king had seen thousands of beautiful girls and was not easily impressed. Also, there were lingering questions. Why was Vashti thrown out? What problems did first ladies often encounter? What could she do to avoid them? “A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself: but the simple pass on, and are punished” (Proverbs 22:3).

3. Rehearse ahead of time. Esther rehearsed ahead of time. Preparation is often finalised by having a rehearsal. Doing difficult jobs is made possible by practising and rehearsing. David had practised killing giants by killing equally dangerous beasts in the wilderness. His rehearsals made him ready to take on the beast called Goliath. God may be giving you rehearsals for your future ministry. Do not despise the opportunities for training.

4. Train for specific tasks. Esther trained for her specific task. Preparation involves detailed training for specific jobs. Once you know what you are going to be doing you can train specifically for the task. There are many things God will use you to do and will train you by giving you tasks which are similar to your future assignment.

5. Acquire special knowledge. Esther was taught with special knowledge. Indeed, you need special knowledge to be a wife. You would have needed even more special knowledge to be the wife of Ahasuerus. Preparation involves training with special knowledge. Special knowledge is required for special tasks. If you do not acquire the special knowledge that is required for your special task you will be unprepared to fulfil your calling.

3. THE ART OF FOLLOWING ESTHER IS THE ART OF TAKING YOUR APPEARANCE SERIOUSLY.

Now when the turn of each young lady came to go in to King Ahasuerus, after the end of her twelve months under the regulations for the women- - for the days of their beautification were completed as follows: six months with oil of myrrh and six months with spices and the cosmetics for women... Esther 2:12 (NASB)

Many spiritual people despise the importance of their physical and outward appearance. But the Scripture teaches us to be ready to give an answer to those who glory in the outward. Indeed, the outward appearance has its place and those who trivialise its importance will pay the price. Esther got into this important position by investing in her outward appearance. She spent months preparing to be the most beautiful woman in Persia.

The Importance of “Natural” Instructions

Every spiritual quest usually has corresponding natural issues that are important to the success of that spiritual mission. You may have to be successfully married for you to be a successful pastor. Marriage is a completely physical and domestic arrangement with many natural obligations and demands. Without fulfilling these, you may not be successful in your spiritual mission. Do not despise the instruction of the Lord in natural things. They may be seemingly insignificant but when they are from the Lord they will make the difference for your mission.

Although golf is just a game, I find my decision to play golf to be one of the most important natural steps I have ever taken. It has become a true aid to my spiritual quest and mission.

A spiritual person often struggles with instructions from the Lord about natural things. Choosing to ignore God’s instructions on natural subjects like sex are often costly to super spiritual people who prefer to stick their heads in the ground and pretend as if the natural issues are not there.

4. THE ART OF FOLLOWING ESTHER IS THE ART OF BEING ABLE TO PLEASE THE RIGHT PERSON IN THE RIGHT WAY.

So Esther was taken unto king Ahasuerus into his house royal in the tenth month, which is the month Tebeth, in the seventh year of his reign. And the king loved Esther above all the women, and she obtained grace and favour in his sight more than all the virgins; so that he set the royal crown upon her head, and made her queen instead of Vashti. Esther 2:16-17

Different people require different things to please them. Lions eat meat and are not pleased with grass, leaves and herbs. So are human beings who have different desires and peculiarities. To please a man, you must understand what pleases him. Unfortunately, many women try to please a man with the things that please a woman! Men also try to please women with what pleases a man! Indeed, Esther would have had to find out how to speak to the king in a way that would please him.

Why Did Esther Please the King?

I suspect that there were two things that Esther did to please the king. First of all, she must have spoken in a way that impressed the king. Your communication and way of speaking are important if you are to please anyone! Ladies who are very quiet and do not speak much, don’t easily get married. They may be beautiful but no one notices or is impressed by them. Often, no one is attracted to them. Beauty alone is not enough to impress a man. Often, it is how a lady speaks that attracts and impresses a man. Secondly, she would have had to please him sexually. The average man is impressed by good and exciting sex.

Some marriages have “good” food and “bad” sex!

Some marriages have “bad” food and “good” sex!

Some marriages even have “bad” food and “bad” sex. What a shock!

The best marriages have “good” food and “good” sex!

To ignore the importance of exciting, innovative and satisfying sex is to be deceptive and hypocritical! A cursory glance at nature and wildlife reveals such a burning desire and need for the male species to copulate and to breed. This innate and sometimes uncontrollable urge is what Christians battle with in order to confine themselves to one partner. A Christian sexual partner has to provide all the sexual needs that are natural, basic, biological and physiological in nature.

Esther was a trained, prepared and highly motivated sexual partner to the king.

Was Esther an Unmotivated Sexual Partner?

Unfortunately, many Christians have little or no motivation to be good sexual partners. When ladies are lovers and girlfriends to some men they love, they are highly motivated to perform exciting sexual antics. They will do anything, anytime and anywhere to the delight of their uncommitted boyfriend. Yet, these same girls, when married to Christian men have little or no motivation to perform the manoeuvres they used to perform.

As wives, they have little motivation because they have a committed Christian guy who they can take for granted.

They have little motivation because they have achieved the social status of being married!

Christian wives have little motivation because they have children and see no further need for any meaningless sexual acrobatics.

But you will remember that these same unmotivated wives, who turn up their noses at the mention of sex in church, were once highly motivated, agile, aerobic and sexual gymnasts. They used to enthusiastically twirl around their boyfriends belly and skip around in the bedroom without clothes, smiling, laughing and giggling to the delight of their uncommitted boyfriends.

Today, after becoming the wives of committed Christian brothers, having a child or two and having learnt to despise their husbands, they have no energy or enthusiasm for what they consider a mundane, boring, dirty and senseless act of intrusion and discomfort.

They have no more thrills or twirls to offer their boring Christian husbands. After all, this Christian husband will never go away because he has too much to lose if he leaves his wife for another.

I suppose that Esther was a highly motivated sexual partner and the king truly enjoyed his night with her.

Do you think that Esther told the king that she wasn’t feeling well or that she had a headache?

Do you think Esther made a face at the king when he tried to have sex with her?

Do you think Esther had a bad attitude towards the king that night? Obviously not! Those bad attitudes are the hallmark of unmotivated Christian wives who no longer care about ministering happiness and excitement privately to their husbands.

5. THE ART OF FOLLOWING ESTHER IS THE ART MAXIMISING YOUR MOMENT.

So Esther was taken unto king Ahasuerus into his house royal in the tenth month, which is the month Tebeth, in the seventh year of his reign.And the king loved Esther above all the women, and she obtained grace and favour in his sight more than all the virgins; so that he set the royal crown upon her head, and made her queen instead of Vashti.

Esther 2:16-17

Like all the other virgins, Esther was to have one night with the king. In that moment she would have to do things and say things that would impress the king. She had a moment of opportunity, a glimpse into glory and she simply had to maximise that moment.

This is often the way life goes. You have just a moment to say the right things and do the right things. If you do not maximise the “moment” and make the most of your opportunity you will lose everything. Many people complain and say,

“If I had more time, I could prove myself.”

“If I had more time, I would be able to say what I really wanted to say.”

“If I had more time, I would show everybody who I really am.”

Unfortunately there is no time or opportunity for you to prove yourself. You will be presented with brief moments of opportunity and that is when you have to make your mark.

Sometimes when people are invited to preach, they go on and on and try to say everything they know, sharing all the Scriptures they know about that subject. But this often kills the message.

One day, there was a minister who was invited to a church and given about thirty minutes to preach. Somehow, he could not compress his message into the thirty-minute slot. He kept giving Scriptures that emphasised his point until the scriptural basis of his teaching was beyond any reasonable doubt. Even though he made his point, those who invited him were not happy with his message nor with the time that he had taken to deliver it. What he did not realize was that, he just had “a moment” and he was supposed to maximise that moment.

Every preacher has a thousand messages but you must know the art of coming up with the right message for the right moment. It is because people fail to maximise the moment they are given that they fall and fail in life.

The principle of maximising the moment is seen in examinations when you are given an hour or two to write what you know. How to use that hour properly is what takes you forward or backwards.

Job interviews are also based on this principle – the principle of maximising the moment. At an interview, you may have ten minutes to look good and to sound good. You may have many things bottled up in you but you will be given only a moment to express yourself.

So How Do You Maximise the “Moment”

1. You must anticipate that you will have a very short time to do whatever you have to do.

2. You must be aware of stupid things that you must never do during the “moment”. For instance, I was once advised by some of my seniors in medical school not to answer a question in an oral exam by saying, “I don’t know!” That answer seemed to anger the professors. When you are a guest minister you must never go over the time allotted. Most host pastors really want to close the service on time and keep to their intended schedule. Most host pastors become irritated when your ministration goes over the time allotted. You will hurt yourself by annoying your host.

3. Learn how to do things quickly and in a “moment”. I have been to many places where people offer to serve us some food and drinks. Sometimes they take so long to come up with what they have, that everyone loses interest. It is not just about serving food and drinks but about serving nice food and drinks at the moment it is required.

4. Be yourself and be as natural as possible during the “moment” you have to be impressive. Why should you be yourself and why should you be natural? You must be yourself because your best performance is your most natural performance! Your worst performance will be your made up and artificial presentation. It is so funny to watch people try to speak with an accent, only to give themselves away after a few sentences. A discerning person will always be able to make out the picture of false pretences.

5. Prepare for the “moment” like Esther did. When opportunities present themselves, everyone sees how well you have prepared. Most of the super talented artistes practise more than anyone else. A close study of their lives will always lead you to a question, “Are these people really talented or do they just practise a lot?”

6. Be relaxed. Tension is the thief of your best performance. When it is time to maximise the moment you do not need to be tense. You preach better when you are relaxed. When I started my preaching career I was surprised that I ministered better when I was unprepared than when I was filled with tensions, fastings and whole-day prayers.

6. THE ART OF FOLLOWING ESTHER IS THE ART OF STAYING SMALL IN YOUR OWN EYES.

You must persist in your submission to the father you have always known. Even when you are promoted, you must know within yourself that you are but a child. Oral Roberts said that he was advised by his mother to stay small in his own eyes. This is the problem with promotion. We become “big” in our own eyes and feel we are no longer in need of inputs from those who once guided us.

It is true that you will grow and cut the umbilical cord but you will always need to maintain the humility that makes you open to input in your “exalted” position. This was the problem with Saul. He did not stay small in his own eyes and became disconnected from God. The prophet told him:

And Samuel said, When thou wast little in thine own sight, wast thou not made the head of the tribes of Israel, and the Lord anointed thee king over Israel?

1 Samuel 15:17

Moses, on the other hand, was not too “big” to receive input from his father in law. Even though he had seen angels and Jethro had not, he opened himself up to advice from his father in law.

Esther remained small in her own eyes. She had grown up in the house of her uncle and heard him advising her all her life. Amazingly, when she became the queen, Uncle Mordecai still had something to say about what she should do and what she should not do. He told her, “Don’t tell anyone where you come from. That is my advice for you in your marriage!” This advice was the key to her survival and success as a queen.

Esther did not make known her people or her kindred, for Mordecai had instructed her that she should not make them known.

Esther 2:10 (NASB)

Esther had not yet made known her kindred or her people, even as Mordecai had commanded her, for Esther did what Mordecai told her as she had done when under his care.

Esther 2:20 (NASB)

Perhaps, your father, mother or pastor is yet to give you the advice that will make or break you in the future. Will you be able to receive the inputs? Will you listen to advice in spite of your success and current status? If you want to follow Esther, you must follow her ability to stay small in her own eyes, listening to her father and her mentor even when she was a queen.

7. THE ART OF FOLLOWING ESTHER IS THE ART OF not grasping at power, privilege and position.

Then Mordecai commanded to answer Esther, Think not with thyself that thou shalt escape in the king’s house, more than all the Jews.

Esther 4:13

Esther was prepared to give up the treasured position of living in the king’s house. She was prepared to lose her privileges and her recognition for the sake of her high calling.

Position-conscious and privilege-conscious people cannot and do not achieve much! This is because the position is more important to them than the job.

Many years ago, a man called Uncle James said to me, “Some people have ‘the post’ but they don’t have ‘the job’. And some have ‘the job’ but don’t have ‘the post’.” Uncle James was encouraging me to do the job of ministry and not to be too concerned about whether I had the recognised post or position.

Indeed, you may be called “Reverend” but there may be nothing reverential about you. You may call yourself “Bishop” but you may not oversee anything substantial. A bishop is an overseer. There may be people who do not have the title “Bishop” but actually oversee many churches and people.

Indeed, today, there are many position-conscious people and title-conscious people who claim to be doing the work of ministry but are actually doing nothing.

You must focus on the job you are called to do, whether it goes with the position, title or not. Esther was in the king’s house. The trappings of the palace and the corridors of power in which she walked, were not able to sway her from her real job of saving God’s people in their time of need. Concern yourself with your real calling and not with the trappings of power and position.

There are many people who come into power and immediately start asking for the privileges that go with the position. One day, a pastor was appointed as the chairman of a board. Within a week, he had contacted the Human Resource Manager to find out what was due him since he was now the chairman. Unfortunately, there were no benefits because his services were expected free of charge. Such requests only reveal a desire for the position and its associated advantages.

8. THE ART OF FOLLOWING ESTHER IS THE ART OF playing your special role when it is time.

You must understand your prophetic significance and purpose at a particular time.

For if thou altogether holdest thy peace at this time, then shall there enlargement and deliverance arise to the Jews from another place; but thou and thy father’s house shall be destroyed: and who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this?

Esther 4:14

There is a reason why God raised you up – to do a specific job for Him. Sometimes people do not realise how important they are in God’s overall plan. This is because everybody thinks that being a pastor or evangelist is the only important job that a person could be raised up to do. Because of this, most people do not recognize other strategic and prophetic roles that they are supposed to play.

Dear friend, apart from being a pastor or an evangelist, there are many other things that are of great strategic consequence. The ability to recognise wider and varied roles that you may be called to is key to fulfilling your prophetic vision.

Esther’s role was to be planted in the king’s palace and to speak to her husband in defence of the Jews. She played her part and will never be forgotten for her role in saving God’s people. She was never a pastor, an evangelist or even a singer. She was to play the role of an enchanting, enthusiastic and pleasing wife who would one day use her access and favour to save the people of God.

What is your special role? Is it to help a man of God? Is it to provide food for the house of the Lord? Is it to sing? Is it to give comfort? Is it to be a wife? Is it to be an accountant? Is it to help financially? Is it to be a defender? Is it to be a forerunner? Is it to be a holy friend? Is it to be an advisor to an important person? Is it to be a listener to a lonely leader’s rambling discussions? Is it to be an administrator? Is it to be a son or a daughter? Is it to be an intercessor? Is it to be a teacher? Is it to be an interpreter? Is it to prevent the presence of evil?

For which strategic purpose have you come into this world? Make sure you fulfil it because fulfilling that special role may do more for the will of God than being the pastor of a large church.

9. THE ART OF FOLLOWING ESTHER IS THE ART OF Being prepared to lay down your life.

Then Esther bade them return Mordecai this answer, Go, gather together all the Jews that are present in Shushan, and fast ye for me, and neither eat nor drink three days, night or day: I also and my maidens will fast likewise; and so will I go in unto the king, which is not according to the law: and if I perish, I perish.

Esther 4:15-16

In a sense no one becomes anything great unless he is ready to give up his life for his beliefs. There are two ways to give up your life for something. First of all, you could actually die for what you believe or die whilst doing what you believe in.

Secondly, you could do something dangerous which could potentially cost you your life. Esther did not actually die for her people. But what she did could have cost her her life.

When I came into the ministry I did not give up wealth and riches to serve the Lord. I actually had no wealth or riches to give up. The step I took into ministry was a step in which I lost all potential wealth and riches due me through my profession. I think that is the same as giving up the wealth and riches.

Abraham did not actually sacrifice or kill his son Isaac. But God rewarded him as though he had.

This is an important key in the dynamics of success. People who are successful have often given up their lives for what they believe.

What do you believe in? What have you given up your life for? Esther is remembered eternally because she gave up her life for her beliefs. Yes, she did not actually die but she gave up her life for what she believed.

10. THE ART OF FOLLOWING ESTHER IS THE ART OF REMEMBERing WHERE YOU CAME FROM.

Listen to me, you who pursue righteousness, Who seek the Lord: Look to the rock from which you were hewn And to the quarry from which you were dug.

Isaiah 51:1 (NASB)

Everyone has origins. God’s Word encourages us to remember the rock from which we were taken. Esther remembered who she was and where she came from.

Because she remembered who she was and where she came from, Esther was used to save an entire nation.

Your calling is often connected to who you are and where you come from. People who disconnect, dissociate and do not remember where they came from often fulfil only a fraction of their real calling.

Do you want to fulfil only a fraction of your calling? Certainly not! You must remember where you came from and how you came to be where you are. There are many Africans who desire to be Americans. They spend their lives trying to speak like Americans and never quite make the mark. It is so easy to see through their unreal accents because the reality keeps breaking out. They never have a great ministry because they do not remember (and do not want to remember) their origins. If ministers remembered their origins they would have larger fields of harvest to work with and larger congregations to preach to.

Your calling is often related to your origins. Your thick accent will not work amongst people who do not have that accent and God knows that very well.

Then Esther the queen answered and said, If I have found favour in thy sight, O king, and if it please the king, let my life be given me at my petition, and my people at my request: For we are sold, I and my people, to be destroyed, to be slain, and to perish. But if we had been sold for bondmen and bondwomen, I had held my tongue, although the enemy could not countervail the king’s damage.

Esther 7:3-4

Esther remembered where she came from and God used her to do a mighty and strategic work for which she will never be forgotten. Stop having fantasies about God’s work! The formula is simple: start in Jerusalem (where you come from), go to Judea, Samaria and then to the uttermost parts of the world! Never forget this; your hometown will always be connected to your calling!

by Dag Heward-Mills

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tiramizou · 6 years

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AbandonBnB

Worthy alternatives to the AirBnB invasion

Brendan Horn

It’s your first trip to Florence and you are trying to find a place to stay. You’ve thought of restaurants, art museums and even weekend trips, but in the flood of it all, you’ve put your lodging situation on the back burner. Your friends flood your ears with recommendations to an almost aneurysm-inducing level. Every avenue on the internet seems to leave you either distracted by an article about food, or the options are so overwhelming you feel like a five-year-old trying to figure out why your parents keep throwing around the word deductible.

There is a solution, but it’s probably not the social-media hyped Airbnb trend you’ve been hearing about. It’s traditional. It’s an anti-trend. It’s the Youth Hostel.

Airbnb is a website founded in 2008 that allows rent or lease a variety of living spaces throughout the world. The company made 2.6 billion dollars last year, according to Business Insider. Airbnb’s website says, the company verifies each residence for “quality and comfort” so each guest feels at home. It is undeniable the company, particularly in Florence, has grown at the rate of an airborne virus. According to Forbes, it is now available in 191 countries and has approximately 4 million listings.

Dependability

In all honesty, both Airbnb and hostels have affordable options for travelers. This is nothing new in the travel sphere. You can find traditional hostels for cheap in any city. The key distinction between Airbnb and hostels though is the predictability. According to the Airbnb website, “Some hosts have custom prices that override the default or minimum for specific dates or time periods.” This means prices can change upon your purchase of the Airbnb and most likely the price that you see advertised is subject to change. Travel is an unpredictable goliath, especially to young people who have never done it before. With the hostel, you know what you’re getting in terms of price. The flat rate advertised is what you will pay each night. That predictability is a comforting aspect that makes hostels still standout as a worthy option to a traveler more worried about their weekend trip to Lake Como than their lodging in Florence.

That same predictability of hostels is useful when changing plans last minute. Since hostels will never deny you unless they are at capacity, you can make the reservation with confidence or change it to another hostel. An Airbnb host can technically cancel the reservation at any time with no penalty you could theoretically be walking there and receive a notification that that Airbnb is no longer available for you. There is difficulty as well when you try and get the keys from the owner. If your cellphone has limited international features that leaves you with the equivalent of a Motorola flip phone (remember those?), then it will just add to the difficulty of getting the keys to your Airbnb. Hostels make the whole process of your initial arrival much more simple.

Choosing the Tradition

It may be odd, especially to a millenial looking at the glossy Airbnb app, to browse Youth Hostels when looking for lodging in Florence. A simple internet search will reveal an almost overwhelming amount of hostel options in the city. The key difference between hostel options and Airbnb is the tradition of catering to the traveler. As a young, most likely intimidated traveler, youth hostels are designed to make you feel at home with a sense of community.

“All our guests feel at home during their stay, they feel safe, they are in the heart of the city in a simple place with all the amenities a young man wants. The Staff always has an attention to the person, not the tourist and welcoming our guests with all the care is our strength,” says the staff in an email at Santa Monaca Hostel.

A typical room at Santa Monaca Hostel in Florence. Photo is courtesy of the Santa Monaca Hostel website. There are also six-man and double rooms pictured below.

Santa Monaca is one of the several hostels in Florence that provide an abundance of services, and has been around since 1966. According to their website, the Santa Monaca Hostel provides services like a safe luggage room, regularly changed bed linens and 24-hour security to name just a few. If you’re worried your new flowy Florence pants will be stolen in the middle of the night while you clutch your travel bag, rest assured at Santa Monaca you will be fine. The beauty of this anti-trend is the fact that the options vary from hostels within five minutes of each other, which ensures you can find the best option for you preferences. Hostels like Academy Hostel in Florence provide a complimentary breakfast. Hostel Greci provides private bathrooms as opposed to the communal bathrooms which you still might be scarred from during your freshman year of college when you stepped on mystery liquid before deciding shower shoes were a worthwhile investment.

If you’re a traveler with a tight budget, there are ways a hostel can help you. Aside from cheap options to begin with, most hostels in Florence include a kitchen open to everyone. You can use this for a meal or two a day to save your euros that can go toward more gelato. This euro you save can also be used for train, bus or taxi rides, which a lot of hostels are located near.

The fact that hostels are staffed provides an experience not available in an Airbnb. Aside from replacing linens, making sure your baggage is secure and keeping the hostel clean, the staff is there to put the traveler at ease. Hostels like Academy Hostel, Santa Monaca and WoW Florence Hostel are just a few which, based on customer reviews, have professional and friendly staff who are approachable for any recommendations or tips for navigating the city. If you are clueless on how to get around Florence, or what you should see, the staff can give you recommendations and instructions so you won’t be wandering the streets looking at the maps on your phone. You might as well scream that you’re an American tourist at that point.

Hostels may seem old fashioned to a millenial browsing the overhyped Airbnb app on their phone. There is no way around that. They are old fashioned, but that is part of the charm. That is why they are still around. That is why they are the anti-trend. What you’re getting with a Youth Hostel may not be flashy, but you get the tradition. You get the experience of meeting fellow travelers and having a staff that can serve as a guide to the unknown.

As the staff at Academy Hostel says, “it is not superior so much as it is different. It is better for those who want to stay in company and meet new people.”

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thetrumpdebacle · 6 years

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VLAD’S VENGEANCE: Part of an occasional series

Debate rages in Washington over the true scale and impact of Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, but intelligence sources say Moscow’s hacking, fake news and social media manipulation ignited a global trend that now threatens some of the world’s most fragile democracies.

“It’s as if David slung a rock into Goliath’s eye and Goliath actually stumbled,” said one source, who added that “if America could be shaken by such a campaign, imagine what would happen if it were repeated in a place like Kenya.”

SEE ALSO: Botched Russia assessment raises questions of intel chiefs’ motives

What the Russians did, according to a leading international political consultant, was create a blueprint for 21st-century subversion that is now being mimicked by spin doctors and elusive digital data firms to sow chaos in elections wherever they can.

It’s a troubling aspect of how the rest of the world absorbed accusations — made roughly a year ago by President Obama’s intelligence chiefs — that Russia meddled in the U.S. election to give Donald Trump an edge over Hillary Clinton.

In the global perception wars, people see different things, and reactions have varied widely among America’s adversaries, allies and admirers.

SEE ALSO: Putin’s rage triggered by Obama’s moves

Interviews The Washington Times has conducted with more than three dozen current and former lawmakers, diplomats and U.S. and international intelligence officials show a solid consensus that Kremlin operatives cared less about whether Mr. Trump or Mrs. Clinton came out victorious.

To the contrary, they say, Moscow’s goal was more simple: Wreak havoc on the American political and media landscape in a way that would make U.S. citizens doubt the integrity of the Democratic process.

If the past year of unprecedented public American anger over the issue of Russian interference is any indication, it would seem the Kremlin has achieved its goal.

Some international observers told The Times that the divisions emanating from the American political and media sphere appear — from afar — like nothing else since the 1960s.

With Washington’s most combative president in decades battling five ongoing federal and congressional investigations into suspected Russian meddling, the fissure feels like it widens a bit more each day.

“Russia must be laughing up their sleeves watching as the U.S. tears itself apart over a Democrat EXCUSE for losing the election,” Mr. Trump tweeted over the summer.

As for America’s allies and admirers, many who had grown accustomed to America’s role as a beacon of freedom and clarity in the post-World War II era, acknowledge they are perplexed. Some have described the events and reports about the election as “beyond shocking.”

“America has been a model of law and order and Democratic principles,” Moldova’s former U.N. Ambassador Vlad Lupan told The Times. Pro-Western and also a target of Moscow’s disinformation campaigns, Mr. Lupan said many former Soviet states reacted with disbelief that Washington could have fallen victim to Russian manipulation.

“We hope this is just a hiccup and the U.S. can clean up and correct whatever might have gone on,” he said.

Some of America’s adversaries, meanwhile, say the appearance that Russia somehow influenced the election fed perceptions that the United States is a nation in decline.

“I don’t know if this particular narrative made Russia look strong, but it certainly made the U.S. look weak,” University of Tehran professor Seyed Mohammad Marandi told The Times.

Digital graffiti

Congressional investigations into Russian meddling have highlighted the central role the Kremlin’s social media manipulation campaign played in tarnishing the election.

Like digital graffiti, Moscow-backed trolls pumped disinformation, fake news and Russian propaganda across the U.S. internet — a media space that, unlike American radio or TV, had virtually no government oversight.

During the year since the election, the trend of spreading fake news via social media has exploded internationally, particularly in Africa.

The most prominent example was in Kenya, where social media caught fire after the August presidential election with reports of widespread violence in the streets.

The catch was that the reports were bogus.

The disinformation grew so divisive and dangerous that Kenya Red Cross Society Secretary General Abbas Gullett was forced to launch a rapid-reaction public safety campaign to debunk fake graphic footage spreading on Twitter, Facebook and WhatsApp that falsely hyped election disputes in certain slums and villages as bloody mayhem.

“It’s become the name of the game when it comes to trying to influence a Democratic election, especially in countries where there’s limited outside interest or oversight,” said the international political consultant, who spoke with The Times.

The consultant, who has advised foreign governments and candidates in more than 40 countries, asked to remain anonymous in order to speak freely on the matter.

A former high-level CIA source confirmed the trend, assuring that the agency has been tracking the whole phenomenon of social media manipulation. “What we’re talking about here is not some big outside power doing the manipulation,” said the source, “but local power players hiring outside firms to come in and rip through the social media landscape with fake news.”

While a range of international companies are involved, global headlines were made in September when a local fake news scheme in South Africa backfired, causing one of the world’s most powerful public relations firms to file for bankruptcy.

Bell Pottinger, co-founded by Timothy Bell, a former public relations adviser to British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, saw clients depart overnight after running what the South African press called a “massive racist fake news propaganda war” complete with an army of fake Twitter accounts and a massive document leak.

European fears and realities

In Europe, some observers fear a kind of “digital curtain” has descended across the Continent.

Juergen Hardt, a leading member of German parliament, told The Times that Russia’s actions against the United States were sobering.

But Mr. Hardt, the foreign policy spokesman for German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s ruling Christian Democratic Union party, said Berlin was not surprised because Moscow had engaged — during the summer of 2015 — in subversion against Germany with a hacking that shuttered the nation’s parliament for a week.

“When I first saw the allegations about Russian hacking of the DNC computer network, I thought it seemed like a logical progression that Moscow would also be trying to influence the U.S. political landscape,” he told The Times. “If they started to attack the German Bundestag, they might be able and willing to attack the U.S. digital world.”

In Britain, Parliament is investigating reports that Moscow attempted to manipulate social media to influence the United Kingdom’s 2016 “Brexit” referendum to leave the European Union.

A highly touted meeting last week between British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov devolved into a public spectacle when the two men suddenly lashed out at each other before a crowd of journalists and diplomats in Moscow.

Mr. Johnson issued a direct warning to Russia to stop cyberinterference in U.S., German, Danish and French elections.

Mr. Lavrov repeated Moscow’s denial of any such shenanigans. “I think you have made all this up in your Western community, and unfortunately right now you are hostage to this subject,” he said. “It is very difficult for you to climb down from the fence you have climbed.”

Machiavellian geopolitics — and China

In Iran, where the news media operate in a repressive environment and anti-Americanism is never far beneath the surface, Mr. Marandi said the topic is not widely discussed, but when it does come up, “there is a general skepticism regarding the accusations of Russian meddling.”

“Trump is quite unpopular over here,” the Tehran-based political scientist told The Times. “But it seems to me that most believe U.S. intelligence services are deeply politicized and that the accusations are mostly untrue even though the Russians preferred Trump over Clinton.”

As for the world’s largest nation, China, sentiments about Russian meddling have been less about social media manipulation than pure Machiavellian geopolitics.

Beijing has in place what technologists call a “Great Firewall” around internet access for Chinese citizens. The virtual wall completely blocks Facebook, Twitter and thousands of other websites.

But bits of news about America still find their way inside.

Mr. Trump, for instance, is known to have several online Chinese fan clubs, which local media say stem from what many see as his honesty and flamboyant but pragmatic businessman’s demeanor — an apparently refreshing change from Beijing’s straight-faced leaders.

But the official Chinese government line toward reports of Russian meddling in U.S. elections have shed a different kind of light on Beijing’s posture toward both Washington and Moscow.

In January, three days after the U.S. intelligence allegations were leveled against Russia, Chinese state media weighed in with an article asserting that Americans must “have either a short memory or are just plan ignorant” of their nation’s long history of meddling in the domestic affairs of foreign governments.

The article, by Chen Weihua, China Daily’s chief Washington correspondent, also detailed a recent Carnegie-Mellon Institute for Politics and Strategy study that documented U.S. or Soviet Union/Russian intervention in roughly “one in every nine of the 937 competitive national-level executive elections” from 1946 to 2000.

The study, by Milwaukee native Dov Levin, found that America had meddled about twice as much as Russia, and even in the elections of its closest allies Italy, Japan and Israel.

“The fact that the U.S. has been interfering in the national elections of other countries has been no secret to people the world over,” Mr. Chen wrote.

He reminded China Daily readers that President Clinton endorsed a $10.2 billion loan in 1996 from the International Monetary Fund to Russia, a critical factor in the re-election that year of Boris Yeltsin.

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dorotheabarreto-blog · 7 years

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Gardening Webpage 1

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interrum · 7 years

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bully’s are not boolean

Getting involved in someone else's wallet is a very easy way to bully them without ever needing their input. Sometimes a person may make a lot of money and convene at social events, his financial security becomes scrutinized by his peers and he is left shamed by both society and close friends due to his awkward inclusion in lower middle class conventions. Someone who may be poor can be the highlight of a series of concentrated and repeated attacks both financially and socially, which renders the victim unable to compete fairly in the financial market, even after acquiring a proper job/financial situation.

Involving yourself with where a person lives is another fantastic way to bully people without reprieve. A person's living arrangements have more to do with their financial background and personal preference, however people who live at home, or by themselves, or even in unusual standards have often been the center for many types of bullying where the person is invalidated both socially and financially.

Questions like, "how often do you sleep," and "do you get enough exercise," are completely normal questions to ask. They become malicious and harmful when appose them to social settings that are consistent with maligning and functional prejudices. Asking about someone's health, or making excuses as to why someone can outperform or underperforms, while ignorant of that person's feelings is crucial in bullying circles, it's one of the primary methods a bullying habit survives.

Questions like, "How often do you masturbate," "do you make friends easily," "how great is your sex life," are all questions that are more fantastic than realistic. If you ask these, you are likely to get answers that range from uncanny to normal, ostracizing the uncanny for the sake of normalcy is popular behavior among people especially bullies. People who have sex very often are bullied constantly, while those who masturbate too little are targets of social and developmental stigmas.

Often when you complain about victims with bullying problems, you run into the habit of blaming the victim even further for his own misfortune. We say things like, "you have to do something in order for the bullying to stop," which is entirely insincere. Often a victim tries many different methods for preventing his life from becoming harder, but the repeated action has only spurred on a more retaliatory attitude from his perpetrators. Sometimes the best thing to do when you have a bullying problem is to alert those who can put a stop to it as soon as possible. If you are bullied at work, seek a foundation with the management, if that doesn't work, you can undermine the bullying itself by making their threats more and more innocuous. Repeated attempts to try and fix the problem, even by people who "just want to help," is one of the most popular ways a bullying problem can turn into a stigma and create an environment where the person cannot break free from his social and political prisons.

More importantly, there is nothing primarily interesting in challenging a bully. A girl you're interested in who uses the new popularity to humiliate you is not a very entertaining villain. A man who emasculates you and tries to develop a symbiotic relationship with your strength or lack of it is also not a very exciting person to challenge. Bullies love being challenged because bullies are narcissistic. They develop by creating illusions of security and delusions of power, and solidify them through fear. Bullies don't have much strength in ecumenical terms, they're often seen as people who are good at one thing and only that. David and Goliath, the Devil Wears Prada, Slaughterhouse-Five and so on are all examples where challenging a bully come with very reasonable rewards, but life is not a mythology. Bullies can be and most of the time are good at many things making them impossible to challenge reasonably without causing the problem to go from bad to worse. If you acknowledge that there is a problem, then not only is there a problem, but now there is another to take its place as soon as it's gone. A bully doesn't want to be seen as a bully, and subsequently, now values you as a person who will undercut him in order to get your way. The best thing to do when you have a problem like this is to ask if doing something about it will rectify the situation. Proactive attitudes are great, but it takes two people for bullying to occur, and if your bully doesn't really care for your newfound ability to take action, all you can really do after the fact is try again. Of course this leads the victim into a puzzling problem. "How can I get him to stop if I'm not supposed to do anything?" The short answer is you can't. It's a hard truth and a grim reality but the more and more you try and struggle and challenge a bully, in most cases, the more he feels validated and assured he is doing the right thing. It's up to you to decide what is the right amount of action and inaction, and you have to provide reasonable excuses for these behaviors lest you seem complicit with the behavior.

Sometimes people feel like they don't have to do what's asked of them because they do the right thing all the time. Maybe they feel that, because they do what they are supposed to do, that these things accumulate in a sort of way akin to points, and can be spent later to do bad or disreputable things. This is childish. I don't get turned on by children, as you know. If you are going to be a villain, you might as well be a full-fledged villain instead of requiring polity and policy from moral standards that you just invented. Anyway, it doesn't help that people, especially bullies can feel this way. What could be worse than a person who thinks he is justified in his behavior because he has committed to the social roles he was supposed to. "I have gone to school today, so I deserve to treat my brother the way I want," "today is payday, so I deserve to exploit my partner sexually," "I have come home from the army, and now deserve a time of great humility and joy." You can't reason with a person like this because they don't care about your input. The sexual employee only wants to reach a higher climax, the school boy only wants to stay away from school for a couple hours longer, the soldier only wants people to understand how painful war can be. These are really popular in the sphere of bullying, which leads into some earlier themes.

"It's not bullying if it's the truth." I hear this one a lot, especially when the truth just so happens to coincide with some awful and contorted, mendacious advice. The truth is a lot of things, but one thing it is not is hard to describe. Sometimes people try and give you advice, and they use this opportunity to malleate the advice so as to hurt your feelings, counter to what the advice should be doing. What's also ironic about this is that the person will then identify with the victim's pain, and explain that it isn't his fault that the truth hurts. The truth, like many other axioms, can be expressed in many ways, so why is it so coincidental that the truth hurts, a lot of the time? Is it because humans are soft, and designed for taking tender throes with life's struggles? Or is it because people are vindictive and have more to get out of making the truth into a weapon than expressing it wholly?

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