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masterofd1saster · 2 months

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CJ current events 11apr24

National Review comments on free speech & vagueness in Scotland

After the implementation of Scotland’s new hate-crime law, which criminalizes conduct and language perceived to be insulting to protected identity groups, J. K. Rowling challenged the Scottish police to arrest her. On April Fools’ Day, when the law went into effect, Rowling posted a series of tweets describing various trans-identifying men as men and accusing Scottish lawmakers of placing a “higher value on the feelings of men performing their idea of females” than on “the rights and freedoms of actual women and girls.” Many complaints were then filed against Rowling, but the police declined to prosecute, stating that her comments were “not assessed to be criminal.” Really? The law appears to make any comment perceived as offensive to those who identify as transgender a potential crime punishable by up to seven years’ imprisonment. The trans activists who reported Rowling were certainly under that impression, as are any citizens still fearful of expressing themselves freely. The law relies on subjective and arbitrary judgments. No specific victim is required. Third-party reporting is encouraged. The law prohibits “stirring up hatred” against some characteristics (transgenderism) while neglecting others (sex). “I trust that all women—irrespective of profile or financial means — will be treated equally under the law,” Rowling wrote, pointedly. We won’t hold our breath.

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Probably not scared of our jails after that

An elderly concentration camp survivor faces 11 years in prison for allegedly obstructing access to an abortion clinic. This week, a court convicted Eva Edl, 89, and three others — Eva Zastrow, 25, James Zastrow, 27, and Paul Place, 26 — for misdemeanor violations of the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Law. FACE prohibits interfering with a woman seeking to get an abortion at a clinic. Authorities charged the defendants after they sang hymns and prayed at the Carafem Health Center in Mount Juliet, Tennessee, on March 5, 2021. The Biden Department of Justice described their actions as an illegal “blockade.”*** https://thenationalpulse.com/2024/04/04/89-year-old-concentration-camp-survivor-faces-11-years-in-jail-for-praying-at-abortion-clinic

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Figures don't lie, but liars figure

***A combination of forces are at play, particularly in the manner of reporting crimes, and this is leading to deeply misleading reports. In more than one way we are seeing a lax approach to enforcement of the laws in this country, and yet the press is touting how we are experiencing a significant drop in the crime rate. This is being done to burnish the character of President Biden and shield him from responsibility in the realities witnessed by citizens. In one outlet they did manage to couch this good news with a curious detail included. The Guardian dared to say that approaching this data should be done cautiously, as it is relying on “incomplete” data. What is this all about then? The primary issue here is a new crime reporting system implemented by the FBI, used to compile its annual crime statistics. In 2021 the FBI instituted a new state of the art reporting system; great for the Bureau, but as we will see it became horrible for accuracy. The main issue is the Feds would rely only on data submitted into this new system, yet many local law enforcement agencies were incapable, for a number of reasons, of implementing this new reporting method. As a result, the FBI had to rely upon incomplete data to put out its annual statistical reports. The Marshall Project analyzed the submission process and found that thousands of LEO crime reports were not filed with the FBI, many from the largest metropolitan areas, including New York City. What this leads to are the claims that in 2023 saw a -13% drop in murders, -6% drop in all violent crimes, and -5% drops in aggravated assaults, as well as with robberies. However, this is all based on collected data from only 79% of municipal law enforcement authorities. Other cities that failed to include data included Phoenix, and Los Angeles. As the Marshall Project showed, these omissions are significant. In just one category - hate crimes - the FBI initially posted numbers showing a significant decrease. But the conclusion was made while missing reports from 40% of LEOs. The FBI was compelled to reach out to seven thousand police departments and have them submit hate crime stats into the old reporting system. Once that data came in - hate crimes were shown to have climbed by 12%.*** https://townhall.com/columnists/bradslager/2024/04/03/claims-that-crime-rates-are-plunging-by-the-media-those-are-criminally-inaccurate-n2637338

townhall.com

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DoJ says Ashley Biden's diary is authentic.

https://thepostmillennial.com/bidens-doj-seeks-prison-time-for-woman-who-allegedly-stole-ashley-bidens-diary-sold-it-to-project-veritas

The Department of Justice has recommended prison time for 40-year-old Aimee Harris, the woman who allegedly stole a diary belonging to Ashley Biden ahead of the 2020 election. In a letter to Chief United States District Judge for the Southern District of the New York Laura Taylor Swain, the DOJ argued that a sentence of four to 10 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release would be an adequate punishment. "The defendant, as noted in the Government’s September 2023 sentencing submission, is being sentenced for 'scandalous conduct [that] is appalling and must not be overlooked,' and which, in and of itself, exhibited a clear disrespect for the law," the DOJ wrote***

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follow up on fbi & social media spying

In an alarming episode highlighting the ever intrusive government surveillance in US society, Rolla Abdeljawad of Stillwater, Oklahoma, faced an unsettling encounter at her doorstep. FBI agents arrived, unannounced and unwelcome, seeking to interrogate her about her social media posts regarding the conflict between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. Abdeljawad asserted her constitutional rights, refused to engage without legal counsel and demanded the agents show their badges, which they allegedly did not do.*** What’s more disturbing is Facebook’s complicity, allegedly providing screenshots of Abdeljawad’s posts to the FBI. This raises profound concerns about privacy and the unchecked power of tech giants in collusion with government agencies. Abdeljawad’s ordeal reflects a broader pattern of surveillance disproportionately targeting certain communities, as evidenced by her posts about the ongoing conflict in Gaza and her support for Palestine. Clearly these are no longer private companies if they are acting at the behest of the government. The federal government was never supposed to have the power to engage in this kind of surveillance and restraint on speech.*** https://ampamerica.com/the-unsettling-encounter-at-an-oklahoma-doorstep-and-the-fight-for-free-speech/

ampamerica.com

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another d/v prosecution dies

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Stop playing and do your job

President Joe Biden’s Department of Justice is dragging its feet in prosecuting Nicholas Roske, the man accused of trying to assassinate Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, leaving legal experts perplexed about the slow-moving pace of the case. Roske was indicted for attempted murder of a Supreme Court justice nearly two years ago in June 2022, after allegedly traveling from his parent’s home in California to the Maryland suburbs of Washington, D.C., with the intent to kill Kavanaugh. Roske, a biological male who identified in some online posts as a transgender woman, was upset over the leaked Supreme Court draft opinion overturning Roe v. Wade, according to court documents. After arriving by taxi at Kavanaugh’s house, Roske called the police on himself and was eventually found with a suitcase full of guns, ammo, zip ties, and other tools to carry out the attack. However, the case—which one legal expert who spoke to the Washington Free Beacon called a "slam dunk" for federal prosecutors—has seen almost a dozen continuances since Roske last appeared in court in October 2022, and still no plea has been reached or trial date set.*** Neither federal prosecutors from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland, nor Roske’s defense counsel, responded to requests for comment.*** https://freebeacon.com/courts/biden-doj-slow-walks-slam-dunk-case-against-man-who-allegedly-tried-to-kill-justice-kavanaugh-baffling-experts/

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1st Amendment case

BURLINGTON, Vt. – Alliance Defending Freedom attorneys reached a favorable settlement agreement with the Vermont Agency of Education, the Vermont Principals’ Association, and a Vermont school district after the district fired a high-school snowboarding coach for respectfully expressing his view that males are biologically different than females and that those differences generally give males an advantage in sports. As part of the settlement in Bloch v. Bouchey, a case filed last July, state and school officials agreed to pay $75,000—nearly 17 times the coach’s annual salary—for terminating Coach David Bloch’s job after he expressed his views. Both the Agency of Education and school district admitted that Coach Bloch’s conversation did not violate the state-mandated Harassment, Hazing, and Bullying policy. “All Americans should be able to express their beliefs without fear of government punishment,” said ADF Legal Counsel Mathew Hoffmann. “For more than a decade, Coach Bloch led the Woodstock Union snowboarding program to enormous success in terms of both athletic accomplishment and personal growth of the snowboarders. But the school district fired him because he simply expressed his views that males and females are biologically different and questioned the appropriateness of a teenage male competing against teenage females in an athletic competition. We’re pleased to favorably settle this case on behalf of Coach Bloch, and we’ll continue our work to ensure that the First Amendment protects all viewpoints, not just those favored by the government.”*** https://adflegal.org/press-release/vt-snowboard-coach-favorably-settles-after-being-fired-stating-biological-fact

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Good willful blindness/deliberate ignorance case

BOSTON (CBS DETROIT) - A Detroit-area woman was charged after she allegedly tried to get on a flight to London from Boston with 74 pounds of cannabis, which would have had a street value of $370,000, officials said. Nalexus Palmer, 28, was charged with trafficking marijuana between 50 and 100 pounds, according to the Suffolk County District Attorney's Office. On Saturday, April 30, troopers were called to Logan Airport after receiving a report that U.S. Customs and Border Protections seized 74 pounds of suspect cannabis from a passenger, who was later identified as Palmer. Authorities seized two large suitcases that had several vacuum-sealed bags of cannabis inside, and each bag had an Apple AirTag with them. Palmer flew from Detroit to Boston and was planning to fly from Boston to London, officials said. She told authorities that she didn't know the cannabis was inside the bags and that a woman, who she did not know, dropped them off to her earlier that same day. In addition, Palmer said a man whose name she didn't know organized the suitcase drop off. She told authorities she met the man in Atlanta four years ago and he gives her money through Zelle and Cash App. This man was allegedly going to give her cash for a car once she got to London. Cannabis has an illicit-market street value of approximately $5,000 per pound in London, officials said. *** https://www.cbsnews.com/detroit/news/michigan-woman-allegedly-tried-to-fly-from-boston-to-london-with-74-pounds-of-cannabis/

Duplicate of United States v. Jewell, 532 F.2d 697 (9th Cir. 1976).

She'll probably plead to simple possession of the weed.

The median sentence for Border offenders was six months and almost all received a sentence of imprisonment (97.9%). Weighing the Charges-- Simple Possession of Drugs in the Federal Criminal Justice System. (Sep. 2016). U.S.S.C. https://www.ussc.gov/sites/default/files/pdf/research-and-publications/backgrounders/RG-simple-possession.pdf

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Whose harm reduction?

Addiction Activists Say They’re ‘Reducing Harm’ in Philly. Locals Say They’re Causing It.

Addicts have turned a minority neighborhood into an open-air drug market. Residents blame the mostly white advocates for ‘destroying’ their community.

By Olivia Reingold

April 8, 202

For three years, Sonja Bingham, a 55-year-old mother of three, started every day the same way: with a broom. At dawn, she would come out to sweep away the damage from the previous night—the syringes, the fentanyl baggies, the cigarette butts, and the half-eaten sandwiches. And sometimes as she swept, she couldn’t help but think that the city of Philadelphia would’ve never let this fly during the crack epidemic. “They threw our black asses in jail,” says Bingham, who’s speaking to me in her living room where there’s a TV streaming the live feed of four security cameras placed throughout her property. “Now that the color of the addicts has changed, they’re going to meet them where they are in our community and allow them to destroy it. So, now you have the children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, watching how once again, our lives don’t matter.” Her problem is not just with the hundreds of drug users camped out in Kensington—her neighborhood in northeast Philly that’s been dubbed ground zero for the city’s opioid crisis. It’s with an ecosystem of activists that call themselves “harm reductionists.” ***

Earlier last month, Laurel and her Savage Sisters volunteers stormed through City Hall chanting, “What do we want? Harm reduction. When do we want it—now.” Many wore N95 masks while holding up signs with messages like “Banning harm reduction is genocide” and “Why do you want to kill my family?” They were there to push back against an effort led by council member Quetcy Lozada, who founded the Kensington Caucus, an initiative to crack down on the area’s open-air drug market. ***

https://www.thefp.com/p/harm-reduction-kensington-causes-harm

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Georgiduh woman

BONIFAY, Fla.- Today, Florida Highway Patrol Troopers responded to a report of an active shooter in Holmes County. The suspect was reportedly a female who had recently checked out of a local hotel and told the staff she was going on a shooting spree, directed by “God” in relation to the solar eclipse. The suspect, driving a purple Dodge Challenger with Georgia plates, entered Interstate 10 (I-10) at the 112-mile marker and traveled westbound. Within 5 miles of entering the interstate, the suspect fired multiple shots into another vehicle traveling along the interstate, striking the passing car multiple times. The driver was struck by glass fragments from the window and grazed on the arm by a bullet; however, he was able to steer his vehicle onto the shoulder of the road, away from the suspect. Continuing westbound on I-10, the suspect shot at another vehicle near the 107- mile marker, hitting the driver in the neck. The victim was taken to a nearby hospital and is currently receiving treatment. Responding Troopers located the suspect near the 96- mile marker and conducted a felony traffic stop. After the suspect was taken into custody, troopers recovered an AR-15 and a 9mm handgun within the purple Challenger. The suspect, identified as Taylon Nichelle Celestine, 22, of Georgia, was taken into custody without incident and transported to the Holmes County Jail *** https://www.flhsmv.gov/2024/04/08/florida-highway-patrol-arrest-active-shooter-suspected-of-firing-rifle-at-vehicles-on-i-10/

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Wed

Place is pretty safe when your security detail sweeps it

Mayor Pete took to the airwaves of MSNBC Sunday to proclaim that Washington, D.C. is safe—super safe—and that he can walk his dog unmolested to the Capitol. He went on to say, “You couldn’t do that when we all got here!” as if to imply that somehow D.C. was safer now than it was when Biden came into a office, a provably false assertion.

There’s a bit of a problem with his claim (bolding theirs):

DC saw its deadliest year in more than two decades, with 274 people killed and a homicide rate that makes it among the deadliest cities in the country. Violent crime also spiked nearly 40 percent in the nation’s capital, driven largely by a surge of armed robberies and carjackings, many of them perpetrated by kids. The city reported more than 950 carjackings in 2023, and shocking news coverage about teen carjacking rings rattled residents and people who worked there.

Oops. Don't tell that to Buttigieg: https://twitter.com/RNCResearch/status/1777026614833946705

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Crumbleys get what they so richly deserve

PONTIAC, Mich. — The first parents to ever be charged, then convicted, in their child’s mass shooting at a U.S. school were both sentenced Tuesday to 10 to 15 years in prison after facing the victims during a sentencing hearing in a Michigan courtroom. James Crumbley, 47, and wife Jennifer, 46, were sentenced one after another by Circuit Court Judge Cheryl Matthews as they appeared together for the first time since they attended joint hearings before their landmark trials were separated last fall. Their son, Ethan, now 17, pleaded guilty as an adult to the 2021 shooting at Oxford High School in suburban Detroit and was sentenced to life in prison. Matthews' sentencing decision was in line with what Oakland County prosecutors had asked for after both parents were found guilty on four counts of involuntary manslaughter, one for each of the students their son killed.*** https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/crumbley-parents-face-school-shooting-victims-families-sentencing-rcna145902

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CamPen false sex trafficking allegation

PFC. Avery L. Rosario, a Marine assigned to Camp Pendleton pleaded guilty to breaking restriction. Restriction is basically like being grounded for big teenagers. He was restricted because he had smoked weed.

***Investigation Timeline: Teen Found on Camp Pendleton

June 13, 2023:

A 14-year-old San Diego County girl is reported missing to the San Diego County Sheriff's Department by her grandmother

The teen’s grandmother tells a deputy her granddaughter ran away from home on June 9

June 26-28, 2023:

Rosario and "Kayla" engage in messages on multiple social media applications, including Tinder and Instagram

June 28, 2023:

Military police at Camp Pendleton locate the teen and inform the San Diego County Sheriff's Department

Rosario is taken into custody for questioning***

Turned out "Kayla" had a history. On 9apr24, sex charges were dismissed, and Rosario pleaded guilty to breaking restriction at a special court-martial. A SPCM is a court for military misdemeanors.

Rosario had been in the brig for months, and his sentence was going less than time served.

If you use drugs in the armed forces, they'll kick you out, but you have some Due Process rights. It sounds as if Rosario waived his right to consideration of his case by an administrative discharge board.

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Ashley Biden diary case

Aimee Harris sentenced to a month in federal prison. https://twitter.com/libsoftiktok/status/1777828117240766536

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HRC problem too

→ Amnesty for terrorists: You know Amnesty International. They’re the good guys. The nice human right-sy types who are on the Right Side of History. They stick up for prisoners of conscience: brave people unjustly imprisoned for standing up for what they believe in. People like Walid Daqqah, whose death from cancer they noted with this tweet yesterday:

RIP, brother. Except, as well as being a “Palestinian writer,” Walid Daqqah was also a Palestinian terrorist. In 1986 he was convicted of ordering members of a terror group called the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine to abduct and murder a 19-year-old Israeli soldier two years earlier. It was an especially gruesome crime. From The Jewish Chronicle: “Tamam’s killers gouged out his eyes, mutilated his body, and castrated him before taking him to an olive grove and shooting him dead.” Seems to me that Daqqah deserved his life sentence. It also seems like something has gone very wrong at Amnesty. The organization throws its weight behind the likes of Walid Daqqah but pulled support for the late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny because of “concerns relating to discriminatory statements.” Does torture count as discriminatory at Amnesty?

HRC & AI aren't really that keen on human rights; they just hate everything western.

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Chemerinsky gets it right

→ Your constitutional right to. . . crash a party?: Every year, Erwin Chemerinsky, the dean of Berkeley Law School, invites students to his home for dinner. For that crime, Berkeley’s pro-Hamas crowd put up posters on campus that read “No dinner with Zionist Chem while Gaza starves” with this image:

Professor Chemerinsky, a leading First Amendment scholar and an advocate for free speech on campus, took this antisemitic attack remarkably well, arguing that the posters should be kept up because they were protected speech under the First Amendment. When Chemerinsky learned that activist students were threatening to protest the dinner, he decided he and his wife “would not be intimidated” and that they would go ahead with it. On Tuesday night he hosted the first of three dinners, and sure enough, anti-Israel activists made a scene. When Chemerinsky asked a protester giving a speech with a microphone to leave, she claimed she had a First Amendment right to stay put and keep talking. As Chemerinsky pointed out, that’s not really how it works. There is no First Amendment right to overstay your welcome at a dinner party. Though some of my friends act like it. Throughout all this, Chemerinsky has been a class act. “The dinners will go forward Wednesday and Thursday,” he said in his statement yesterday. “I hope there will be no disruptions; my home is not a forum for free speech. https://www.thefp.com/p/assange-curb-larry-david-cass-review-transgender

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Powerful friends are a great defense

*** it’s safe to say Combs’s reign of terror rivals other big-name perpetrators of grievous abuse. If even a fraction of the worst of rumors are proven true, Combs may yet succeed in becoming the most depraved and villainous character in the history of American entertainment. Credible accusations against Combs include beating and drugging his girlfriend Cassie so regularly that she has been diagnosed with memory loss, blowing up fellow rapper Kid Cudi’s car for flirting with her, and “pimping out” Cassie and other women under his influence at sex trafficking parties held at his various estates. There are numerous other accusations of a similar nature, in addition to a prolonged history of violence dating back decades. While his many celebrity friends and allies in the media now claim “shock” at the allegations, it appears that Combs’s dark reputation was widely known among industry figures. Like Weinstein before him, Combs cultivated relationships with the most powerful people in American secular culture to conceal his nefarious behavior. His annual White Party, which afforded him the reputation of a modern-day Gatsby, attracted A-list guests for 25 years. And his longtime friendships with esteemed public figures such as Oprah Winfrey and Prince Harry lent his persona a philanthropic sheen. But perhaps nothing gave Diddy’s depravity cover quite like his status as a major figure in Democratic Party politics. He’s a well-established friend of former President Barack Obama — the two have been photographed “hanging out” on numerous occasions over the years, including in his post-presidency — and Obama was fond of joking about Combs’s numerous name changes. “When Puff Daddy changed his name to P. Diddy, he wanted to change it to ‘Pimp Daddy,’” Obama once joked in an interview. “But he didn’t think we would approve.” It stands to reason that Diddy fancied himself untouchable. And why wouldn’t he?*** https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/restoring-america/fairness-justice/2960933/like-weinstein-diddys-powerful-democratic-friends-concealed-alleged-depravity/

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No evidence anyone slashed his throat with a knife

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In other football news

The Dallas Police Department issued an arrest warrant on Wednesday for Kansas City Chiefs player Rashee Rice for his role in a traffic accident in Texas in March. Rice, 23, is a wide receiver for the Chiefs and won the Super Bowl with the team in February. The Dallas Police Department’s investigation into the crash revealed that Rice, who was driving a Lamborghini, and another man, who was driving a Corvette, were speeding on U.S. Highway 75 in Dallas. The two men lost control of their cars and crashed into other drivers on the highway, resulting in a string of collisions that included four additional vehicles. Additionally, law enforcement officials claimed that a video from a witness showed the drivers and others in the cars at the time of the accident, all fleeing from the scene. ***https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/2962162/police-issue-arrest-warrant-for-super-bowl-champion-after-car-crash/

NFL rules require an immediate trade to the Raidfilthy if he is convicted of a serious crime.

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Dexter Reed shooting

Dexter Reed was a 26 y/o man pulled over in Chicago on 21mar24 for a minor violation. "five Chicago Police officers assigned to an 11th District tactical unit" ended up shooting him to death.

***What the videos show

In one video, an officer wearing a hooded jacket, a baseball cap and a tactical vest with a badge on it approaches the driver of a white vehicle with dark-tinted windows. “Roll the window down. Roll the window down,” the officer tells the driver. The driver initially rolled his window down but then kept rolling it back up. “What are you doing?” the officer asks. “Don’t roll the window up. Do not roll the window up!” The officer pulls on the driver’s door handle – which appears to be locked – and then draws a gun. “Unlock the doors now! Unlock the doors now!” the officer screams as another officer shouts the same demands. The driver apparently says, “OK, I’m trying to.” Seconds later, as the officer retreats from the vehicle, gunfire breaks out. Dozens of gunshots are then heard in rapid succession. Other bodycam videos show at least two other officers firing toward Reed from across the street in the residential neighborhood. Both of those officers paused to reload their guns. After the barrage of gunfire ends, Reed’s body is found lying face down behind the vehicle. “He started shooting at us,” an officer said in one of the videos. About a minute later, an officer examines Reed’s bullet-ridden car. “The gun’s right there,” the officer says, shining a flashlight into the vehicle. One officer was shot in the wrist during the gunfire and was hospitalized in good condition, Chicago police said. Now, multiple agencies are investigating whether the officers’ actions were justified.*** https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/96-shots-fired-in-a-fatal-traffic-stop-here-s-what-the-bodycam-footage-shows/ar-BB1lkrTh

Five officers stopped him? A tactical unit stopped him for a traffic violation? Why did Reed have his pistol ready? Something more is going on here.

The police reports and body cam videos are at https://www.chicagocopa.org/case/2024-0003052/. Reach your own conclusions.

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Pretty good arson sentence

Hridindu Sankar Roychowdhury, 29, of Madison, Wisconsin, was sentenced today to 90 months in federal prison for attempting to cause damage by means of fire or an explosive to a building in Madison. Roychowdhury attacked the building with a Molotov cocktail in the wake of the leak of the draft opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, overruling Roe v. Wade. He targeted the building because it was occupied by an organization that opposed abortion. Roychowdhury pleaded guilty on Dec. 1, 2023. “The sentence imposed today is the result of innovative work by the FBI and Justice Department prosecutors who tirelessly investigated this case,” said Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco. “It is also a reminder that the Justice Department will hold accountable those who turn to violence as a means of intimidation.”*** On May 8, 2022, at approximately 6:06 a.m., law enforcement responded to an active fire at an office building located in Madison. Once inside the building, police observed a mason jar under a broken window; the jar was broken and the lid and screw top were burned black. The police also saw a purple disposable lighter near the mason jar. On the opposite wall from the window, the police saw another mason jar with the lid on and a blue cloth tucked into the top; the cloth was singed. The jar was about half full of a clear fluid that smelled like an accelerant. Outside of the building, someone spray painted on one wall, “If abortions aren’t safe then you aren’t either” and, on another wall, a large “A” with a circle around it and the number “1312.” During the investigation, law enforcement collected DNA from the scene of the attack. In January 2023, after reviewing surveillance video of an individual spray painting “We will get revenge” on the grounds of the Wisconsin State Capitol, law enforcement observed visual similarities to the graffiti that had been spray painted at the scene of the firebombing the year before. In March 2023, law enforcement identified Roychowdhury as a possible suspect. Local police officers observed Roychowdhury dispose of food in a public trash can; the officers recovered the leftover food and related items and law enforcement collected DNA from the food. The contents of the bag included a quarter portion of a partially eaten burrito. Law enforcement swabbed the burrito for DNA and sent the swab to an ATF lab. On March 17, 2023, law enforcement advised that a forensic biologist examined the DNA evidence recovered from the attack scene and compared it to the DNA collected from the food contents. The forensic biologist found the two samples matched and likely were the same individual. In March 2023, Roychowdhury travelled from Madison to Portland, Maine, and he purchased a one-way ticket from Boston to Guatemala City, departing March 28, 2023. Law enforcement arrested Roychowdhury at Boston Logan International Airport that day.*** https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/wisconsin-man-sentenced-prison-2022-firebombing-madison-building

looks like an advocacy organization. Obviously, Roychowdhury disagreed with their view point.

0 notes

drwilfredwaterson · 3 months

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March 4, 2024: Midnights and Earthquakes in Various Places and the January 3, 2025 Impeachment of the Six Criminal Lawless Insurrectionist SCOTUS Judges: Part 3/4.

On March 8th, 2024: E. Jean Carroll becomes the rightful owner of the chump 757-200 airplane, the chump Bedminster goat and hay farm/golf course, and chump marred-a-LAME0.

On March 25th, 2024: The State of New York becomes the rightful owner of chump 40 Wall Street and chump tower, New York.

Plus, on March 25th, 2024, connie j. chump's 2016 Stormy Daniels election interference case will remind the world what a disgusting, disloyal, anti-family, and anti-Christian piece of trash connie j. chump is for leaving his wife and 4 month old baby at home to pursue "horseface-fantasy/fetish" pornstar sex because he believes his wife is far less attractive and appealing to him than a so-called "horse-faced" pornstar.

And then there'll be the daily reminders that the only reason(s) real Americans are being denied a full accounting and briefing on the irrefutable evidence supporting 91 criminal charges and 4 indictments against connie j. chump, is because the six MAGA insurrectionist SCOTUS judges are doing exactly what Michael Cohen did under the direct orders of connie j. chump to interfere with the 2016 presidential election that connie j. chump lost to Hillary Clinton by more than 2 million real American votes.

And because all of the chump money is gone, it wouldn't be the least bit surprising for melania to make a desperate play to assure her and barron's future via an immediate divorce IF there's any blood left in that chump "2.6 billion fortune" after all the OTHER judgments against LIDDLE Cognitively Crippled Crybaby connie j. chump.

That 31.7% of real American "Never trump" voters is probably going to grow exponentially leading up to the November election; and it wouldn't be surprising it connie j. chump ended up losing to President Joe Biden by at least 80 million real American votes due, in large part, to the undeniable illegal and criminal election interference of the six Corrupt and Lawless MAGA Insurrectionist SCOTUS judges.

2025 Patriotic Real American SCOTUS can simply revisit and reverse any and all decisions anti-American Lawless, Criminal MAGA insurrectionist SCOTUS issued. It's as simple and easy as that!

TANAKH (Jewish Publication Society, Hebrew-English) Page 1604: Proverbs 3:31 Do not envy a lawless man, Or choose any of his ways; Proverbs 3:32 For the devious man is an abomination to the Lord, But He is intimate with the straightforward. Proverbs 3:33 The curse of the Lord is on the house of the wicked, But He blesses the abode of the righteous. Proverbs 3:34 At scoffers He scoffs, But to the lowly He shows grace. Proverbs 3:35 The wise shall obtain honor, But dullards get disgrace as their portion.

TANAKH (Jewish Publication Society, Hebrew-English) Page 872: Isaiah 12:1 In that day, you shall say: "I give thanks to You, O Lord! Although You were wroth with me, Your wrath has turned back and You comfort me, Isaiah 12:2 Behold the God who gives me triumph! I am confident, unafraid; For Yah the Lord is my strength and might, And He has been my deliverance." Isaiah 12:3 Joyfully shall you draw water from the fountains of triumph, Isaiah 12:4 And you shall say on that day: "Praise the Lord, proclaim His name. Make His deeds known among the peoples; Declare that His name is exalted. Isaiah 12:5 Hymn the Lord, For He has done gloriously; Let this be made known In all the world!

TANAKH (Jewish Publication Society, Hebrew-English) Page 1834: Daniel 12:1 "At that time, the great prince, Michael, who stands beside the sons of your people, will appear. It will be a time of trouble, the like of which has never been since the nation came into being. At that time, your people will be rescued, all who are found inscribed in the book. Daniel 12:2 Many of those that sleep in the dust of the eath will awake, some to eternal life, others to reproaches, to everlasting abhorrence. Daniel 12:3 And the knowledgeable will be radiant like the bright expanse of sky, and those who lead the many to righteousness will be like the stars forever and ever.

TANAKH (Jewish Publication Society, Hebrew-English) Page 1634: Proverbs 21:1 Like channeled water is the mind of the king in the Lord's hand; He directs it to whatever He wishes. Proverbs 21:2 All the ways of a man seem right to him, But the Lord probes the mind. Proverbs 21:3 To do what is right and just Is more desired by the Lord than sacrifice. Proverbs 21:4 Haughty looks, a proud heart--The tillage of the wicked is sinful. Proverbs 21:5 The plans of the diligent make only for gain; All rash haste makes only for loss. Proverbs 21:6 Treasures acquired by a lying tongue Are like driven vapor, heading for extinction. Proverbs 21:7 The violence of the wicked sweeps them away, For they refuse to act justly.

TANAKH (Jewish Publication Society, Hebrew-English) Page 1512: Psalm 79:1 A psalm of Asaph. O God, heathens have entered Your domain, defiled Your holy temple, and turned Jerusalem into ruins. Psalm 79:2 They have left Your servants' corpses as food for the fowl of heaven, and the flesh of Your faithful for the wild beasts. Psalm 79:3 Their blood was shed like water around Jerusalem, with none to bury them.

Guardians of the Galaxy 2: Super Yaka Justice and Retribution

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May 5, 2017 (125th day) Duration: 3:22 (202 seconds) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mhc3CinJHYY mhc3CinJHYY (3) mhcCinJHYY cchhijmnyy 3+3+8+8+9+600+30+40+400+400=1501. 1501+3=1504. 1504+202=1706. 1706+125=1831.

Strong's Concordance #1831 dema: From dama'; a tear, to weep; figuratively, juice -- liquor, vintage. Original Word: דֶּמַע

TANAKH (Jewish Publication Society, Hebrew-English) Page 161: Exodus 22:27 You shall not revile God, nor put a curse upon a chieftain among your people. Exodus 22:28 You shall not put off the skimming of the first yield of your vats. You shall give Me the first-born among your sons.

TANAKH (Jewish Publication Society, Hebrew-English) Page 960: Isaiah 49:1 Listen, O coastlands, to me, And give heed, O nations afar: The Lord appointed me before I was born, He named me while I was in my mother's womb. Isaiah 49:2 He made my mouth like a sharpened blade, He hid me in the shadow of His hand, And He made me like a polished arrow; He concealed me in His quiver. Isaiah 49:3 And He said to me, "You are My servant, Israel in whom I glory." Isaiah 49:4 I thought, "I have labored in vain, I have spent my strength for empty breath." But my case rested with the Lord, My recompense was in the hands of my God.

TANAKH (Jewish Publication Society, Hebrew-English) Page 1470: Psalm 49:1 For the leader. Of the Korahites. A psalm. Psalm 49:2 Hear this, all you peoples; give ear, all inhabitants of the world, Psalm 49:3 men of all estates, rich and poor alike. Psalm 49:4 My mouth utters wisdom, my speech is full of insight. Psalm 49:5 I will turn my attention to a theme, set forth my lesson to the music of a lyre.

TANAKH (Jewish Publication Society, Hebrew-English) Page 1775: Ecclesiastes 7:5 It is better to listen to a wise man's reproof than to listen to the praise of fools. Ecclesiastes 7:6 For the levity of the fool is like the crackling of nettles under a kettle. But that too is illusory; Ecclesiastes 7:7 for cheating may rob the wise man of reason and destroy the prudence of the cautious. Ecclesiastes 7:8 The end of a matter is better than the beginning of it. Better a patient spirit than a haughty spirit. Ecclesiastes 7:9 Don't let your spirit be quickly vexed, for vexation abides in the breasts of fools. Ecclesiastes 7:10 Don't say, "How has it happened that former times were better than these?" For it is not wise of you to ask that question.

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pointsincase · 2 years

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Hey, guys. Can we pause for a second? I’m glad we’re having fun and all, but something isn’t sitting right with me. Does no one else here give a flying fuck about winning? If you aren’t going to put your neck on the line, we may as well be doing the crossword, or, I dunno, coloring a wittle picture. How about we all start acting like adults and take this seriously? Does your heart not beat for your nation (green)? Does it not sing the battle hymns of your people (green)? Strap in and suit up, motherfuckers, because I came to forge rivalries that can only be resolved in death. I came to build a road so long it could hold your hand and slap your ass at the same time. Above all, I came to indulge in some loaded nachos. Victory demands much of the stomach. I’ve been hearing a lot of side conversations about Kaley’s date last week, and I’m going to be honest, I don’t give a rat’s ass. If “Bradley from Sweet Green” isn’t approaching from the left flank with a mutually beneficial trade, can it. Pay close attention to this next move—you might learn something. Yes, it seems illegal at first glance, but one who is as intimately familiar with the rulebook as myself knows how to exploit its gifts. Don’t paint me the villain. You could have done this, too, if only you’d had the foresight to study the game’s many intricacies last night as I had, like a soft and withholding lover. We had a beautiful night together, she (the game) and I. I know her like you never will. Was that a six? Oh, sorry, a seven. Sometimes I forget how to count, lol. — Article by @freddie.shanel1 Link in bio to full inquisition https://www.instagram.com/p/Clo4PauJBV_/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

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irvinenewshq · 2 years

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Crimean magnificence queen fined for singing patriotic Ukrainian track

Kyiv CNN — A Crimean magnificence queen has been fined 40,000 Russian rubles (round $680) by occupying Russian authorities for singing the patriotic Ukrainian track “Chervona Kalyna,” in accordance with Russian state media and pro-Russian regional authorities. Olga Valeeva, who was named Mrs Queen Magnificence – Crimea 2022, was spared a jail sentence as a result of she has youngsters who’re underage, Russian state information company TASS reported on Monday. A spokesperson for the Ministry of Inner Affairs in Crimea stated in a video that it recognized a video on-line wherein “two ladies sang a track that’s the battle anthem of an extremist group.” It stated that the pair have been detained on suspicion of “committing unlawful actions aimed toward discrediting using the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, in addition to publicly displaying prohibited symbols.” They have been subsequently discovered responsible by a court docket, the ministry stated, and Valeeva’s good friend was sentenced to 10 days detention. “Chervona Kalyna” is a patriotic Ukrainian track that has gone viral throughout Russia’s invasion, and rock band Pink Floyd has launched a canopy model. The lyrics urge the Ukrainian nation to stand up and “rejoice” like a crimson kalyna shrub (“chervona kalyna”) that’s rising in a area. “In Crimea, nobody is punished for regular Ukrainian songs,” stated Oleg Kriuchkov, adviser to the Russian administration head of occupied Crimea, on Telegram Sunday. “However! Nobody will enable nationalist hymns to be sung right here! If you wish to sing ‘Chervona Kalyna’ or ‘Our father is Bandera…’ we’ll present a platform – we’ll take you to impartial territory to Nikolaev or Zaporozhzhia. Sing all you need,” Kriuchkov added. The Ukrainian area of Crimea was illegally annexed by Russia in 2014. Since annexation, human rights observers have described Crimea’s descent right into a police state, with native authorities and Russian safety companies persecuting and arresting these perceived to be loyal to Ukraine, together with members of the Crimean Tatar group. A 2020 US State Division report described a sample of “illegal or arbitrary killings, together with extrajudicial killings by Russia or Russia-led “authorities”; pressured disappearances by Russia or Russia-led “authorities”; torture and merciless, inhuman, or degrading therapy or punishment” in Crimea. Originally published at Irvine News HQ

#Irvine News HQ

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dealgemeneverwarring · 2 years

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De Algemene Verwarring #79 - 3 October 2022

The seventy-ninth episode of De Algemene Verwarring was broadcast on Monday October 3, 2022, and you can listen to it by clicking on the Mixcloud widget below. And if that does not work, here’s the direct link to the Mixcloud page:

https://www.mixcloud.com/MedialabKortrijk/de-algemene-verwarring-79-3-oktober-2022/

Pictured below is Philadelphia, US band Executive Slacks. They are one of the bands that always remind me of those mid and late eighties, where the only possible way of listening to music was radio, because I didn’t have the monye yet to buy records. I was dubbing music from national radio, but also from illegal radio stations broadcasting from the North of France, where they played the kind of dark industrial stuff that I’m still into nowadays. That’s where it all began, folks. There was of course Luc Janssen with his Domino radio show on Saturday nights, that’s the show where I first heard bands such as Sonic Youth, Big Black, Coil, Swans, Einstürzende Neubauten, and also Executive Slacks, and in fact, the track I played in this episode, “Our Lady”, was the very first track I ever heard of the band and I just recently picked up that 12″ on a local record fair. Those were exciting years and I sill have a lot of tapes from those times, I should dig them up and give them a listen. Anyway, there’s still only one record player available in the Quindo studio, so I’m switching between vinyl and cds, which means there is some old music from the likes of Girls Against Boys, Tussle, Yellow Swans, The Little Killers, Wire and Come, but there’s also new music from Bad Mojos, Amateur Hour, Pinch Points, and Delphine Dora. And beneath the photo you can find the playlist for this show. Enjoy!

Playlist:

Bad Mojos: Autobahn (LP “Songs That Make You Wanna Die” on Voodoo Rhythm Records, 2022)

The Little Killers: Some Of These Days (CD “A Real Good One” on Gern Blandsten, 2006)

Attrix: Lost Lenoré (7” “Lost Lenoré/Hard Times”, reissue on Munster Records, originally released in 1978 on Attrix Records)

Wire: Reuters (CD “Pink Flag” reissue on EMI, 1994, originally released on Harvest Records, 1977)

The Dicks: Hate The Police (7” “The Dicks Hate The Police”, reissue on 1-2-3-4 Go! Records, 2020, originally released on Radical Records, 1980)

Girls Against Boys: My Night Of Pleasure (CD “Tropic Of Scorpio” on Adult Swim, 1992)

Pinch Points: Reasons To Be Anxious (LP “Proces” on Mistletone Records & Exploding in Soud Records, 2022)

Come: Yr Reign (CD “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” on Beggars Banquet, 1994)

Honeymoon Killers: Kansas City Milkman (7” Kansas City Milkman” on Insipid Records, 1991)

Billy Childish & Dan Melchior: Length Of Pipe (CD V/A “Root Damage” on Sympathy For The Record Industry, 2003)

The Sundays: Can’t Be Sure (7” “Can’t Be Sure” on Rough Trade, 1989)

Delphine Dora: S’extraire de l’abîme (CD “Hymnes Apophatiques” on Morc Records, 2022)

Amateur Hour: Baby You’re All That I Want (LP “Krökta Tankar Och Brända Vanor” on Appetite Records, 2022)

Yellow Swans: Our Oases (CD “At All Ends” on Load Records, 2007)

Executive Slacks: Our Lady (12” “Our Lady” on Red Music, 1984)

Tussle: Warning (CD “Telescope Mind” on Smalltown Supersound, 2006)

Läuten Der Seele: Irres Flackern Vor Den Altglascontainern (LP “Läuten Der Seele” on Hands In The Dark, 2022)

#radio show #de algemene verwarring #punk #post punk #new wave #independent music #experimental music #drones

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tanadrin · 3 years

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if i could unilaterally amend the constitution:

amendment 34: parliamentary system

amendment 35: electoral reform, public financing of elections

amendment 36: slight update to the Bill of Rights to improve overlooked protections like privacy and digital communication, and to abolish the death penalty

amendment 37: a set of conditions under which new states are automatically admitted to the Union, no congressional action required

amendment 38: new national anthem is “battle hymn of the republic.” new flag is one that isn’t ugly AF. new demonym is Statesian or Stater.

amendment 39: passports are now 105% less cringe. fuck. i am so glad i don’t have to show that thing at airports anymore. just awful.

amendment 40: open borders, and anybody who has lived in the US for six months is a citizen.

amendment 41: UBI, the official form of address for the president is now “Hey, Asshole,” and all aircraft carriers have to have Iain Banks-style names highlighting the absurdity of war

amendment 42: dolphins eligible to vote

amendment 43: we stop appending amendments to the end of the damn thing and actually include them in the main text. you know, like normal people.

amendment 44: repeal the Declaration of Independence and take over Britain from the inside.

amendment 45: abolish the Queen, cede Northern Ireland to the Republic, apply to re-join the EU. offer to move capital to Europe if necessary (but not London. Fuck London.)

amendment 46: release all government info on UFOs

amendment 47: abolish the CIA and NSA, put a maximum five year lifetime on all secrecy restrictions

amendment 48: all indian reservations get representation in Congress

amendment 49: enshrine Monroe Doctrine into the constitution, demand liberation of Greenland, French Guyana and St. Pierre and Miquelon (but the Falklands are US territory now so it’s fine)

amendment 50: maximum age for members of congress

amendment 51: revoke Statute of Westminster, re-annex Canada and Australia (as individual states; naturally Australian and Canadian first nations get seats in Congress too)

amendment 52: outlaw remakes of movies less than 75 years old

amendment 53: outlaw new Tolkien-based adaptations; you know they’re just gonna break your heart again. it’ll be like the Hobbit all over. Christ, why do I get my hopes up every time?

amendment 54: make Spanish an official language (since the US has no official language, Spanish would be the only official language). invite Mexico to join the Union on favorable terms

amendment 55: re-fund the Superconducting Supercollider. Yes, it’s probably outdated at this point, but it’s the principle of the thing.

amendment 56: moon base moon base moon base moon base

amendment 57: bitcoin is illegal. not because people use it for drugs, but because it would just be really funny to ban it

amendment 58: video game sequels are banned until further notice. come up with something more original

amendment 59: patrick rothfuss has to put up or shut up. Either finish the damn trilogy or admit it’s never coming.

amendment 60: second statue of liberty next to the first one, argonath-style

amendment 61: grand canyon named National Hole

amendment 62: we’re just gonna go crazy on nuclear power, okay? just, nuclear power everywhere. it’ll be fine, i promise.

amendment 63: all streaming services nationalized; rightsholders must license their products on request; nobody has to have five different subscriptions anymore, geez

amendment 64: outdoor advertising is banned

amendment 65: all restrooms must be re-designated into “restroom for people who believe in the inviolable gender binary” and “restroom for people who don’t.”

amendment 66: people who complain loudly about really common harmless things (pumpkin spice, vocal fry, etc) to be banished to the moon base

amendment 67: churches to be taxed as for-profit businesses, anybody who invokes religion at an official public function banished to the moon base

amendment 68: avery brooks on the $5 bill

amendment 69: nice

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obsidian-aurora · 3 years

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Why I feel so sad for Xiao Zhan for winning the Weibo King award again in 2021

Right now you might see a lot of people spreading the fact that Xiao Zhan won Weibo King again with joy and happiness. I can only personally feel sadness and regret. Because when I look back at the year 2020, and what Xiao Zhan went through, Weibo had a big part to play in that story. They took advantage of his pain to make money and profit from it. They did little to stop what was happening because to them it was traffic.

His fans who left the 85 million votes for him for Weibo King probably weren’t thinking about what Weibo means to Xiao Zhan. They weren’t thinking about how Xiao Zhan disengaged from the platform completely, moving his small interactions over to Oasis and Douyin to escape the toxicity inherent in the conversations taking place on Weibo. All that they were thinking was “We want to show him how much we love him!”

Well you know what I think is love? Listening to your own idol’s words.

Let’s take a small journey back through 2020 and listen to Xiao Zhan’s own words on what he wanted his fans to do this year.

I won’t rehash 227 itself - if you want my take on that event, then I’ll write another blog post about that, it being almost a year I’m probably finally reaching a point where I can discuss it rationally without bursting into tears remembering my own personal experience with it. But rather, let’s take a look at what happened after 227.

On March 1, Xiao Zhan studio issued their first official statement. What did they say?

Recently, we have noticed some controversies about Xiao Zhan fans, occupying some social public resources, and also causing trouble to everyone. We deeply regret and apologize for the impact of this incident. We are very grateful to all fans for their support and love to Xiao Zhan. At the same time, we also sincerely call on all love to be positive, and hope that everyone can chase stars rationally. While doing a good job of self-protection during the epidemic, we will work together in a more positive way and support things that bring positive energy to society.

On April 24, Xiao Zhan said something and his studio reposted.

@X玖少年团肖战DAYTOY What’s past is past, I’ll remember it by heart. Thank you for all the criticism with good intensions, I’m working hard to improve.

Xiao Zhan Studio April 25th 00:03 #肖战新歌光点# The light spot moves towards love. Please listen, @X玖少年团小战DAYTOY 's voice. ♥

And again, Xiao Zhan studio.

Xiao Zhan Studio April 25th at 14:27 Thank you for your love and support for Mr. Xiao Zhan and his works. In this studio, as always, I solemnly appeal to everyone to continue to take care of their study, work and life at the same time, and to distinguish the truth and not blindly follow in the thousands of voices. Thank you for your wise support. Every love, no matter how big or small, is a meaningful point of light, gathered together to form the most beautiful light.

When He Jiong was attacked, Xiao Zhan jumped in to say:

@X玖少年团肖战DAYTOY Sorry to disturb everyone, don't hurt others!

Xiao Zhan Studio April 27, 15:04 Please stop slandering and spreading rumors!

He gave his first interview after 227 on May 6. He expanded upon the statement he made on April 24 when he said he was working hard to improve. He spoke about the controversy, the responsibility he feels as a public figure, and his desire not to control his fans but to guide them to do positive works like participate in charity that improves society. He felt like as an artist, his role was to continue to improve his acting and his singing.

“As for the people who love and support me, I hope they won’t do some extreme things, or hurt other people, or even hurt themselves. I hope that they can protect and love themselves, and live their lives well. Live their lives well.” “And if it’s possible, outside of school and work, we can do things together to help others and contribute to society in a meaningful way.” “I think charity is a part of an ordinary person’s social responsibility.”

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Again in May, following a controversy when a teacher recorded her classroom cheering him on, Xiao Zhan was forced to make statements encouraging his fans to live their lives well.

@X玖少年团肖战DAYTOY Please listen to me carefully again! I hope everyone puts their studies, work, and life in front of star chasing. Study hard and work hard. Do your responsibilities and obligations, and abide by professional standards and industry bottom lines. I don't need help.

Xiao Zhan Studio May 10 at 23:26 I hope everyone puts their work and life first 🙏

Xiao Zhan Studio May 11 at 21:14 Starting from us, we hope that each of us can do things that are beneficial to society and be positive.

A school is a temple of knowledge, a place for preaching and teaching, not a fan factory for celebrities. Children's education is related to the future of the country, and the development of youth values is related to the hope of the nation, and it must not become a tool for chasing stars.

Furthermore, over the course of this time period Xiao Zhan Studio met with the organizers of his official fan organization and they rebranded the Fanclub to Xiao Zhan Film and Television Support Club to emphasize their goal to focus on his works and his works only. They released a statement with their intent and called on all members to do the following:

Xiao Zhan Studio May 15 20:01 If you see the good, you will move, and if you have, you will change. Start with me and work hard together. 1. Do not support business and works with behaviors beyond our own economic capacity. 2. No more activities such as ranking, controlling and appraising and cheering. 3. Accept all well-intentioned criticism and don't maliciously attack others. 4. Continue to actively participate in public welfare advocacy. 5. Focus on Xiao Zhan's work such as film and music.

Take particular note here of the specific call out not to participate in activities such as ranking (like the Weibo King votes).

In July, when his own fans were accused of cyber bullying others again, Xiao Zhan studio released a statement saying that they would defend any victim of cyber bullying, even someone bullied by his own fans.

Xiao Zhan Studio June 30 at 21:42 No matter who is responsible for his words and deeds, we support all those who are suffering from cyber violence or personal attacks on the Internet, and bravely take up legal weapons to protect themselves. Regardless of who’s a fan, taking legal measures is a legitimate behavior

@易胜华律师 Recently, some netizens posted on Weibo that they had suffered online violence for publicly publishing criticisms against Mr. Xiao Zhan. Entrusted by Mr. Xiao Zhan, we issued the following lawyer's statement: We welcome all kind criticisms and reminders, and resolutely oppose and resist all cyber violence. No matter who the cyber violence is directed at, it is an illegal act and should bear corresponding legal responsibilities. We are willing to provide legal assistance to the above-mentioned parties who have been violated by online violence, and we are also willing to provide assistance within our capacity for their rights protection operations. Yi Shenghua Lawyer Wang Xiaoyan Lawyer June 30, 2020

In July, Xiao Zhan and Xiao Zhan Studio met up with representatives from Weibo to discuss the cyber bullying that he had been subjected to this year. But was this at Weibo’s own desire to clean up their platform? No. This whole time Weibo was profiting from every hot search that drove more traffic to their platform. It was the Cyberspace Administration of China that DIRECTED Weibo to clean up their mess.

Over the years we have seen Weibo ban accounts from time to time that are so blatant with their cyber attacks that they have no other choice. But often they will wait until stars pursue legal action before doing so. And they will only release the real-world IDs of users when under a police investigation pursuant to a lawsuit. I’m not suggesting the platform should start doxxing its own users, but rather ban all malicious and slanderous behaviour from the outset. Right now under Chinese law anyone with over 30,000 fans who says slander against another can be pursued by the law. Weibo should act before it needs to come to that.

Chinese Star News did an interesting video on Fanquan culture and the ways in which Weibo profits from it. If you haven’t seen it yet, it’s worth a watch.

Ever since the summer, Xiao Zhan has been very careful and direct in all his public interactions. Most of his events were pre-recorded. Only at the end of the year did he start doing live events again, and when he was surrounded by friends he was okay, but as we could see from the recent iQiyi event when he is without friends around him he still struggles.

April 12 - Hymn of the Red Plum Blossom (pre-recorded)

May 6 - Interview with China News Service (pre-recorded)

May 9 - Bamboo in the Stone (pre-recorded)

May 10 - Mother's Day live stream (live) (unannounced) (no fan interactions)

June 11 - Xiao Zhan goes to do agricultural charity activity (pre-recorded)

June 15 - Xiao Zhan releases summer cocktail video (pre-recorded)

Aug 17 - Xiao Zhan RoseOnly live stream (pre-recorded)

October 19 - Xiao Zhan at Shanghai Reading Film and Television event (pre-recorded)

October 25 - Xiao Zhan sang Brightest Star in the Night Skies (pre-recorded)

Dec 20 - Xiao Zhan attends Tencent Awards (live) with friends around him

Dec 31 - Xiao Zhan attends New Year party (live) with friends around him

Jan 15 2021 - Xiao Zhan attends iQiyi Scream Night (no friends) (does not look happy/comfortable)

It must have been SO hard for Xiao Zhan to continue to work behind the scenes in 2020, recording his new show Ace Troops, attending some events in secret, shooting some advertisements that he wasn’t sure would be able to make it to the air - and some events that got leaked and then had his portion cut out. It must have been so, so hard.

So to me, the least that we can do as fans is to listen to what Xiao Zhan has asked of us. And over and over again he said that all he wanted from his fans was for us to live our lives well. To not do extreme things. He wants things to go smoothly. He wants to take his time, to choose his events carefully, and come back at his own pace.

So what do his fans do? They massively vote for him to win the Weibo King award. This has put him in an impossible position.

Either he needs to decline the award, and face criticism from everyone about being arrogant in a year that he should be grateful. Or he has to suck it up and show up to an award hosted by a platform that did little to nothing to help him when he was in pain, and instead in fact profited from his pain.

He will have to put a smile on his face and say thank you for recognizing that I was a high traffic star last year, even when the majority of his traffic was due to cyber attacks.

Why would his fans put him in this impossible position? Back when this award was first announced, his own major fan club leaders requested fans not to vote for Weibo King. If you wanted to vote for anything, then you should vote for his acting role in The Wolf, because that was about his professional work - not for Weibo King, which is literally like an award for Prom King. It’s a popularity award, nothing more.

Will Weibo King help him to come back faster? No. Will it make industry leaders want to sign him on for more TV and film works? No. Speaking from experience working in the industry for many years, the only thing that industry professionals care about is ratings on the shows that are produced. And Xiao Zhan cannot rely on his fans alone for ratings. If his ratings are going to continue to increase, then he needs to attract the respect of a wider audience. And if that wider audience is already of the impression that Xiao Zhan is a loose canon because his fans are out of control, this massive over-rating of Weibo King only reinforces that belief.

Just look at this graph.

Xiao Zhan fans are posting it with pride, saying look how well we did! Xiao Zhan trounced the competition! But the reality is that all other stars’ fan groups had also instructed their fans not to vote for this award, because they all see it for what it is - a popularity contest that can hurt more than it can help. Xiao Zhan winning by such a large margin only shows how little his fans listen to him.

Now instead of Xiao Zhan deciding for himself when and where to come back, what events he wishes to attend, he’s going to have to make an appearance at this awards show and slap a smile on his face and say thank you.

Thank you Weibo, for profiting off my pain.

It makes me sick.

If you voted for Xiao Zhan in this award, take a moment to think about Xiao Zhan’s words for your future behaviour.

Live your lives well

Don’t do extreme things

Don’t spread rumours

Accept criticism and don’t attack others

Don’t protect me

If you can, do charity and help others

If you are following your own idol’s wishes, then I salute you. You are the type of fan Xiao Zhan will cherish.

#xiao zhan #227 #weibo king #xiao zhan weibo king #weibo

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allfathertoday · 4 years

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DIVORCE AGREEMENT

THIS IS INCREDIBLY WELL-PUT, AND I CAN HARDLY BELIEVE IT'S WRITTEN BY A STUDENT!!! WHATEVER HE RUNS FOR, I'LL VOTE FOR HIM.

Dear American liberals, leftists, social progressives, socialists, Marxists, and Obama supporters, et al:

We have stuck together since the late 1950s for the sake of the kids, but the whole of this latest election process has made me realize that I want a divorce. I know we tolerated each other for many years for the sake of future generations, but sadly, this relationship has clearly run its course.

Our two ideological sides of America cannot and will not ever agree on what is right for us all, so let's just end it on friendly terms. We can smile and chalk it up to irreconcilable differences and go our own way.

Here is our separation agreement:

Our two groups can equitably divide up the country by land mass, each taking a similar portion. That will be the difficult part, but I am sure our two sides can come to a friendly agreement. After that, it should be relatively easy! Our respective representatives can effortlessly divide other assets, since both sides have such distinct and disparate tastes.

—We don't like redistributive taxes, so you can keep them.

--You are welcome to the liberal judges and the ACLU.

--Since you hate guns and war, we'll take our firearms, the cops, the NRA, and the military.

--We'll take the nasty, smelly oil industry and the coal mines, and you can go with wind, solar, and bio-diesel.

--You can keep Oprah, Whoopi, Bill Maher, Michael Moore and Rosie O'Donnell. You are, however, responsible for finding a bio-diesel vehicle big enough to move all five of them.

--We'll keep capitalism, greedy corporations, pharmaceutical companies, Wal-Mart, and Wall Street.

--You can have your beloved lifelong welfare dwellers, food stamps, homeless, homeboys, hippies, druggies, and illegal aliens.

--We'll keep the hot Alaskan hockey moms, greedy CEOs, and rednecks.

--We'll keep Bill O’Reilly and Bibles and give you NBC and Hollywood.

--You can make nice with Iran and Palestine and we'll retain the right to invade and hammer places that threaten us.

--You can have the peaceniks and war protesters.

--When our allies or our way of life are under assault, we'll help provide them security.

--We'll keep our Judeo-Christian values.

--You are welcome to Islam, Scientology, Humanism, political correctness, and Shirley McLaine. You can also have the UN., but we will no longer be paying the bill.

--We'll keep the SUVs, pickup trucks, and oversized luxury cars. You can take every Volt and Leaf you can find.

--You can give everyone health care if you can find any practicing doctors.

--We'll keep "The Battle Hymn of the Republic" and "The National Anthem."

--I'm sure you'll be happy to substitute "Imagine," "I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing," "Kum Baya," or "We Are the World."

--We'll practice trickle-down economics and you can continue to give trickle-up poverty your best shot.

--Since it often so offends you, we'll keep our history, our name, and our flag.

Would you agree to this? If so, please pass it along to other like-minded liberal and conservative patriots and if you do not agree, just hit delete. In the spirit of friendly parting, I'll bet you might think about which one of us will need whose help in 15 years.

Sincerely,

John J. Wall

Law Student and an American

P.S. Also, please take George Clooney, Ted Turner, Sean Penn, Martin Short, Charlie Sheen, Barbra Streisand, and (Hanoi) Jane Fonda with you.

P.P.S. And you won't have to press 1 for English when you call our country.

Forward This Every Time You Get It !

Let's Keep This Going, Maybe Some Of It Will Start Sink in.

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mrscorpio · 4 years

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pyrrhiccomedy You know, this scene is so powerful to me that sometimes I forget that not everyone who watches it will understand its significance, or will have seen Casablanca. So, because this scene means so much to me, I hope it’s okay if I take a minute to explain what’s going on here for anyone who’s feeling left out. Casablanca takes place in, well, Casablanca, the largest city in (neutral) Morocco in 1941, at Rick’s American Cafe (Rick is Humphrey Bogart’s character you see there). In 1941, America was also still neutral, and Rick’s establishment is open to everyone: Nazi German officials, officials from Vichy (occupied) France, and refugees from all across Europe desperate to escape the German war engine. A neutral cafe in a netural country is probably the only place you’d have seen a cross-section like this in 1941, only six months after the fall of France. So, the scene opens with Rick arguing with Laszlo, who is a Czech Resistance fighter fleeing from the Nazis (if you’re wondering what they’re arguing about: Rick has illegal transit papers which would allow Laszlo and his wife, Ilsa, to escape to America, so he could continue raising support against the Germans. Rick refuses to sell because he’s in love with Laszlo’s wife). They’re interrupted by that cadre of German officers singing Die Wacht am Rhein: a German patriotic hymn which was adopted with great verve by the Nazi regime, and which is particularly steeped in anti-French history. This depresses the hell out of everybody at the club, and infuriates Laszlo, who storms downstairs and orders the house band to play La Marseillaise: the national anthem of France. Wait, but when I say “it’s the national anthem of France,” I don’t want you to think of your national anthem, okay? Wherever you’re from. Because France’s anthem isn’t talking about some glorious long-ago battle, or France’s beautiful hills and countrysides. La Marseillaise is FUCKING BRUTAL. Here’s a translation of what they’re singing: Arise, children of the Fatherland! The day of glory has arrived! Against us, tyranny raises its bloody banner. Do you hear, in the countryside, the roar of those ferocious soldiers? They’re coming to your land to cut the throats of your women and children! To arms, citizens! Form your battalions! Let’s march, let’s march! Let their impure blood water our fields! BRUTAL, like I said. DEFIANT, in these circumstances. And the entire cafe stands up and sings it passionately, drowning out the Germans. The Germans who are, in 1941, still terrifyingly ascendant, and seemingly invincible. “Vive la France! Vive la France!” the crowd cries when it’s over. France has already been defeated, the German war machine roars on, and the people still refuse to give up hope. But here’s the real kicker, for me: Casablanca came out in 1942. None of this was ‘history’ to the people who first saw it. Real refugees from the Nazis, afraid for their lives, watched this movie and took heart. These were current events when this aired. Victory over Germany was still far from certain. The hope it gave to people then was as desperately needed as it has been at any time in history. God I love this scene. freekicks not only did refugees see this movie, real refugees made this movie. most of the european cast members wound up in hollywood after fleeing the nazis and wound up. paul heinreid, who played laszlo the resistance leader, was a famous austrian actor; he was so anti-hitler that he was named an enemy of the reich. ugarte, the petty thief who stole the illegal transit papers laszlo and victor are arguing about? was played by peter lorre, a jewish refugee. carl, the head waiter? played by s.z. sakall, a hungarian-jew whose three sisters died in the holocaust. even the main nazi character was played by a german refugee: conrad veidt, who starred in one of the first sympathetic films about gay men and who fled the nazis with his jewish wife. there’s one person in this scene that deserves special mention. did you notice the woman at the bar, on the verge of tears as she belts out la marseillaise? she’s yvonne, rick’s ex-girlfriend in the film. in real life, the actress’s name is madeleine lebeau and she basically lived the plot of this film: she and her jewish husband fled paris ahead of the germans in 1940. her husband, macel dalio, is also in the film, playing the guy working the roulette table. after they occupied paris, the nazis used his face on posters to represent a “typical jew.” madeleine and marcel managed to get to lisbon (the goal of all the characters in casablanca), and boarded a ship to the americas… but then they were stranded for two months when it turned out their visa papers were forgeries. they eventually entered the US after securing temporary canadian visas. marcel dalio’s entire family died in concentration camps. go back and rewatch the clip. watch madeleine lebeau’s face. https://78.media.tumblr.com/eb576ea3f782ea59d435b8da875e79a0/tumblr_inline_oky3pnIElT1qe7a3m_540.png https://78.media.tumblr.com/10057f222566275d8853a4a8047e0183/tumblr_inline_oky3b3bfpr1qe7a3m_540.png https://78.media.tumblr.com/44e8f5e0745cedf253e819eba07c039d/tumblr_inline_oky3s0TiBp1qe7a3m_540.png casablanca is a classic, full of classic acting performances. but in this moment, madeleine lebeau isn’t acting. this isn’t yvonne the jilted lover onscreen. this is madeleine lebeau, singing “la marseillaise” after she and her husband fled france for their lives. this is a real-life refugee, her real agony and loss and hope and resilience, preserved in the midst of one of the greatest films of all time. http://notmypresidentno.tumblr.com/post/175638713168/thebibliosphere-blood-on-my-french-fries

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cmoroneybooks · 3 years

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Unmasking: Part One

Order is the ruling concept of the Andalan faith and the nations that bow before it. Anything done in the name of maintaining order is considered justified, no matter how perverse or cruel. Anything powerful, unpredictable, or free is regulated or destroyed. It is this thinking from which the Dagasi Order, a system of legal assassination was born.

Designed to keep the grudges of the petty and powerful from spilling into open warfare and stealing the lives of the innocent and weak, the Order is a mysterious but widely accepted part of life in the upper echelons of Andalan society. Andalan nobles scoff at the barbarians to the East who call the Dagasi Order and its practices savage. They tut at the unruly and unregulated magics which lie beyond the invisible line that divides the continent between Andalan and other. They worship the Gods of Order and Chaos, but only one affects their judgement.

Georgiana served the Order despite its cruelty. She excelled despite her slight stature and sex. She killed for her freedom and killed some more for her fortune. It was all supposed to end in peace and serenity, but unfortunately for Georgiana she fell in love with an ambitious man and he loves her just as much.

Her dress rustled with every step, the layered black silk whispering secrets to anyone who paused to listen. 𝘐'𝘮 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦! 𝘐'𝘮 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦! 𝘐'𝘮 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦! Even amongst the hubris of the crowded antechamber full of slow-moving aristocrats, petty rulers, and merchant princes, her ears caught every whisper her skirts made. This announcement of her presence brought a prickle of unease between her shoulder blades.

Georgiana clutched tightly to Marcel's arm, perhaps a little too tightly. He had repeatedly glanced over at her as they made their way through the stream of over-decorated butterflies. His face was impassive, green eyes unreadable even to her, but the gesture alone spoke of concern. She loosened her grip and forced herself to relax. At least, she forced her body to relax, over that she had complete control, even now after so many hours spent at a writing desk instead of training. Her shoulders fell back, her torso shifted in line with her pelvis and she curved her lips just slightly, in an imitation of an unconscious smile. Marcel wouldn't be fooled; he would carry the concern all night. A tightness in his jaw, a slight curve of his spine as he walked. Little things only she would notice, but there all the same.

"Relax," he breathed, his words not going past her ears.

Georgiana shot him a look that would have withered up and blown away lesser men, but her husband only smiled.

Balls and upper-class gatherings of all kinds brought up memories of her time in the Dagasi Order as one of Andala's sanctified assassins. Hours spent crouched in shadows, blood splatters on fine fabric and priceless floors, the surprise on each and every face.

Memories Georgiana preferred to repress.

It wasn't remembering the people she had killed that bothered her. In fact, she was proud of several of those assassinations. No, it was remembering how easy it had been to kill them, even the trained fighters.

"We're on hallowed ground,' Marcel reminded her as a stern-faced guardsman, who barely remembered to incline his head in acknowledgement, ushered them through one large, ornate antechamber and into another. "Violence is strictly prohibited."

"So is politics," Georgiana shot back as they moved into a room illuminated by green light. Marcel didn't reply, his attention caught up by the source of the light.

In the center of the room was a portal's whirling vortex within an archway formed of entwined vines of emerald fire. Trailing tendrils of flame crept down the marble pathway that led to the fiery arch as if reaching for the guests. Here the disorganized mass of moving people stopped, being directed through the fiery portal in small groups by two hulking guardsmen.

To the side of the archway, behind the guardsmen, an unusually tall mage stood. His skin was completely hairless, devoid of eyebrows, lashes, or any hair at all upon his head, limbs, or face. His skin was almost supernaturally pale. His eyes had only the barest hint of blue and were nearly colourless. The black band of a slave, glittering with enchantments encircled his neck. She openly stared at him as she passed, but he didn't return her gaze, his disturbing eyes fixed on the pulsating light of the entrance. An albino with power, and a lot of it judging by his bland expression. He was quite the prize.

Perhaps he was a gift from some influential popinjay that wanted to get in Zahra's good graces now that her daughter was The Fire That Sustains. As the spiritual guide of the South she could command the hearts and minds of half the people on the continent -, commons, and nobles alike. A capability that Zahra, by extension, now also enjoyed.

Stepping through the archway burned cold; a breath later and they were through the other side. The warm air was a shock against her skin and the blazing light of hundreds of candles reflected against their crystalline chandeliers burned her eyes. A hand squeezed her stomach painfully as she blinked away blind spots, the skin between her shoulder blades burned, and her chest tightened. Sensing her anxiety Marcel dropped the arm her hand delicately rested on, abandoning formality to wrap his arm around her shoulders instead.

Georgiana pushed back unwelcome memories of dark rooms, burning light, and pain. She clenched her hands into tight fists to help fight off the urge to reach up and touch the two bladed pins that held her hair in place. It was a precarious thing the hairstyle that kept the blades away from her scalp. She didn't want to undo her maid's good work out of mere paranoia.

Once her vision cleared Georgiana recognised the entrance hall of Andefor Manor, some thousand miles away from the corridors of the Hall of Ascendancy where they had been a second before.

𝘚𝘰 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘥 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥.

Despite losing the protection hallowed ground offered against violence, the sight of Andefor Manor's entrance hall calmed her. It was as familiar as the Hall of Ascendancy was alien. It was here that she had completed both her first and final contract for the Order.

Since she had last visited, the manor had been redone in the classical style. Columns of aged marble reached up to support the vaulted ceiling as ever, but now golden vines had been painted around them twining up towards the sky. The floors had been redone in milky quartz, polished to shining, and the walls were draped in lengths of satin. Alternating between the shining gold and crimson emblem of The Fire That Sustains, and the green and black coat of arms of the House of Andefor. Gentle piano music hung in the air and an unseen choir sung a wordless hymn, their voices brimming with reverence.

"A bit much wouldn't you say?" Marcel murmured, leaning in towards her ear as he did. Georgiana repressed a shiver at her husband's closeness, and she felt his lips twist into a smile.

"I preferred the marble floors myself."

"Yes, you would," he said with an exaggerated sigh. Georgiana just smiled beatifically; she had just spent an exorbitant amount of money having the façade of their townhouse in Halossa sheathed in marble.

"I suppose it's difficult to really enjoy the carousing in the Hall of Ascendancy."

"Nothing like being reminded of the gods to turn you off sin for the night," Marcel said. "And a sinless celebration would be something of a failure."

"Especially given the tastes of Iman," Georgiana agreed, thinking of the party she had attended the year before when she had first met the ruler of the Vestika Imperium. Most brothels were a picture of chastity and innocence compared to the debauchery she witnessed that night.

"Apparently he prefers blondes," Marcel said as they navigated the crowds.

"He does," Georgiana agreed looking out into the crowd. There was a disgusting amount of taffeta and satin, which was unfortunate as the next several years in fashion would be directly inspired by what was worn tonight. There was also an unusual number of blonde women whose faces she couldn't put a name to.

"I don't know her," Marcel said, having followed her gaze to the face of a silver-eyed blonde girl, barely more than a child by the look of her.

"I doubt anyone here does."

The many guests, most already familiar with the layout of Andefor Manor, were moving through the open double doors at the far end of the room, which led to the reception hall and ballroom beyond. The reception hall had been redecorated similarly to the entrance hall, but with the added addition of a golden throne set on a raised platform in the very centre of the room.

Georgiana recognised most of the guests that swirled around them, as they pushed further into the reception hall. Courtiers from the Attessan city-states, high ranking priests, wealthy commoners like herself and Marcel, Imperial aristocrats, and the sovereign lord of not one, but nine nations. There was an unusual energy among them all. A thrumming excitement, unseen but unmistakable.

"It's a holy day, they can relax" Marcel said, noticing her staring off into the crowd. "So, can you."

Georgiana would love to believe him, but she couldn't. Her Dagasi price had been inquired after two moons past. She was only lucky her service to the Order meant it was exorbitantly high. Apparently, her would-be murderer couldn't afford it, but that was cold comfort. At the night market in Halossa - known for illegal activity -, a well-dressed man had been asking around for the services of an illegitimate, non-Dagasi, assassin.

Someone wanted her dead.

Someone who was willing to sacrifice their honour and integrity to see it done. Willing to deal with cut-throats and side-step the ancient system, which had kept the continent from dissolving into open warfare for centuries. Perhaps even dirty their own hands. And what better time to catch her unaware than on a holy day?

No, she couldn't relax, especially with Marcel on her arm. Her husband had many talents, but self-defense was not one of them.

They had crossed the breadth of the reception room now and Marcel steered them towards the far corner of the room. The Dominus and Domina of Milkain, a wealthy, aristocratic couple of some standing in the Imperium, were sitting there together on one of the deep purple velvet lounges, a table laden with fruits and cheeses in front of them. The Dominus, Ibrahim, was an intelligent man who shared many of Marcel's drier areas of interest and so, despite his pleasant temperament, was a rather boring man. His wife, Amira, made up for him. She was a vivacious and engaging woman who was considered by many to be the most fashionable woman on the continent and supposedly one of the purest Varani living. She certainly looked it. In a room filled with coffee-brown Estans and ebony-black Varani purists she had the darkest skin of any. No small feat, and her eyes, which lit up with welcome as they approached, were a vibrant purple that was never seen in anything less than pure-blooded Varani. Blessedly, she was in fine linen dyed a soft grey and embroidered with silver flowers. If Amira had worn taffeta, it would have cemented the trend irreversibly.

Ibrahim rose, gesturing for Georgiana to take his place beside Amira. Grateful to get off her feet she sat down beside Amira who flung her arms around Georgiana's shoulders with unembarrassed affection. Georgiana gave her a genuine smile. She didn't often attach herself to people, but Amira had found a place in her heart from their first meeting.

"How did you like the ceremony?" Amira asked in a conspiratorial whisper as their husbands waved over one of the many servants in gold-trimmed livery who hovered around the guests.

"We were seated in the sixteenth row, so we didn't see a great deal. The music was very good, however."

"That is very close for a commoner," Amira remarked. "Marcel must have been pleased."

"He was, especially given the Comte of Avada was in the row behind us."

"The seventeenth row?" Amira looked shocked. "Blood feuds have been started over smaller insults."

"He must have done something to offend Zahra. I'm told she saw to the seating chart personally."

"I imagine he is not long for this world."

"I, for one, will not miss him." It was Ibrahim who spoke, he and Marcel returning to them, a servant following anxiously at their heels, his lips moving soundlessly in some incantation.

"He's a bit of an idiot," Marcel agreed sitting down in the winged armchair the servant had materialised out of nowhere. Purple velvet, a perfect match for the lounge. A twin armchair materialised beside it and Ibrahim dismissed the server with a smile and nod.

"I would have said poorly educated."

"Only because you're a snob."

Ibrahim waved a hand at Marcel dismissively. "You are uncouth."

"I'm shocked to hear you use such language, Your Excellency," Georgiana said with a grin that Ibrahim returned.

"Your husband has been a bad influence on my behavior, I fear, ma'am."

"Naturally," Marcel said with a sly grin. "But you're better for it. So, how was the ceremony from the sixth row? I noticed you two have moved up in the world recently."

"It was -" Amira shook her head, a far-off look in her violet eyes. She leaned in closer. "It was disturbing if I am honest. You could see the spirit take her. One moment a little girl, the next -"

"The Fire That Sustains," Marcel finished for her.

"I only hope that Johanna herself wasn't burnt away in that fire."

"Well, tradition tells us that both the spirit and the bearer are present in that holy union."

"As does our personal experience with Johanna's predecessor," Ibrahim added. "No one could say Nasira lacked for her own, distinct, personality." A servant appeared at his elbow, a golden tray with four glasses of rich, red liquid held out.

"Your drinks Your Excellencies, sir and ma'am."

"I asked for cherry wine and they've got Bavordan vintages," Ibrahim said as they all accepted their drinks from the servant, who bowed when Marcel took the last drink off the tray and quickly scurried away.

Amira held her drink aloft. "The Fire That Sustains, long may she burn."

The rest of them raised their glasses, repeating "long may she burn," and they all took a drink. The wine was tart despite the sweetness of cherries and rich like all Bavordan reds.

As they toasted a hush fell over the room. Georgiana looked over Marcel's shoulder to see Johanna Andefor, The Fire That Sustains, representative of the Mother Creator on earth and spiritual guide of the South standing in the doorway. She was small, even for an eight-year-old girl. The badge of her rank, a crown of fire opals and gold carved into the likeness of roses on a vine, sat precariously on her head. Tilted back so it didn't fall over her face. She was Zahra in miniature, with her silky black braids and delicate features, but her eyes had turned grey where they were once her mother's warm brown. She looked out at them all for a moment and Georgiana scrambled to her feet so that she, like the rest of the assembled guests, could drop to her knees and press her face into the ground.

"Rise," she said, her soft, soprano voice carrying across the room.

Georgiana waited a moment before getting to her feet. There was a delicate balance of ego amongst the more sensitive nobility that she had no interest in upsetting by rising before them. Marcel followed suit. Amira and Ibrahim watched them with amusement, having stood immediately.

"I always forget the two of you are commoners," Ibrahim said as Johanna strode purposefully towards her throne, people melting out of her path.

"I'm also a literal bastard," Georgiana added to a snort of laughter Ibrahim tried to cover up as a cough. "But I'm a rich bastard and that's really all that matters."

"As I am to celebrate my flower day in less than a month I could not agree more," Amira said with a wide smile, linking her arm in Georgiana's. "Rich bastards tend to be excellent gift-givers." Georgiana returned the smile thinking of the purple tourmaline and gold jewelry set, inlaid with outrageously expensive protective charms, she had commissioned for her friend.

"We should probably mingle," Ibrahim said. "Taxation reform is never popular, and I promised His Illustriousness we would try to curry favour for it."

"We?" Marcel asked with a raised eyebrow. "I don't remember Iman offering to pay me."

"Considering the new reforms would let you expand your venture beyond the Attessan states and into the Imperium - "

"Well in that case." The two of them shared a slow, satisfied smile. Amira too was smiling but Georgiana had to hold back a sigh, polite small talk with people who looked down on her wasn't her idea of fun. Reluctantly she followed them further into the room and towards a group of Imperial nobles.

"Do not look so sullen, Georgie," Amira said in a singsong voice. "You should learn to love occasions like this!"

Georgiana opened her mouth, a witty retort on the tip of her tongue, but the words died in her throat as she felt a breeze on her neck and her gut twisted with the primal knowledge she was being watched. Without conscious thought, she doubled over, dragging Amira down with her and neatly avoiding a blade aimed for her head.

A dull, wet thud and a scream. A blade thrown in a crowded room was always sure to hit someone. Georgiana pushed Amira behind her and into the crowd which had erupted in startled shouts and curses. Guardsmen who had before been trying to look unobtrusive now forced the crowd apart, pushing aside aristocrats and priests without care. As she moved, her would -be killer, a middle-aged balding man, made to slam into her only to find empty air. She nearly laughed as she finished the movement she had begun, sweeping her right foot into a wide circle as she spun, her feet never once losing contact with the ground. She slammed her shin into the back of his knee, knocking him to the floor in front of her.

𝘈𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘶𝘳.

The fear of before was gone. Waiting for an unseen assailant was one thing, but with the violence out in the open she was again in her element. She straightened, hand flying to the ornamental hairpin holding her dark locks in place. That would have been it for him, her instincts told her to kill first and ask questions later. But a second attacker, a young man with taunting eyes, saved him when Georgiana was forced to duck out of the way as he came hurtling towards her. She moved backwards and to her left, letting him barrel past her she slashed her arm. The hairpin caught him in the cheek, and he screamed as blood gushed down his face. Georgiana felt a breeze of movement on her right arm and twisted out of the path of another attacker. A short, lithe blonde woman rushed past her, going further than she planned without Georgiana to slow her momentum. She ran right into the blade of a quicker guardsmen's sword, impaling herself. Georgiana swiveled back to face the man she had slashed, the half-impaled girl already forgotten. He moved more cautiously now but still smirked at her. She wanted to slap that look off his face.

"You're very young to die," her voice was low and husky, as they circled each other, ignoring the shouts and ringing steel as guardsmen and military-minded guests alike moved to engage the other ambushers. They had apparently come in numbers. "Surrendering might save your life."

He didn't answer, rushing her instead. Evade and strike, a memory whispered. She rolled out of the way – her first mistake. Her layered silk dress wasn't designed with acrobatics in mind and the roll tangled her up in it. Her attacker noticed and that obnoxious grin lit his face again and so Georgiana made her second mistake. Her blade shot across the room, following the path of her eyes to bury itself in his throat. He made a retching noise, clutching at his throat and dropping to his knees. The shock on his face was almost worth losing her only weapon, the other hairpin had fallen out of her hair during the fight. She was free for only a second. Just long enough to get to her feet and see that Marcel was safe behind the battle lines the guardsmen had drawn up to entrap the would-be assassins.

Then her fourth attacker was upon her.

He was at a disadvantage, having fought his way to her. Blood stained his brown breeches dark on his right side. His face pale under coffee brown skin, sable eyes very wide. He didn't rush her, holding back from the move that had proved fatal for his compatriots. Instead they circled, the dance of death a teacher had once called it. It was something to be avoided according to that teacher, best to throw them off, give them no time to think. No time to fear. Fear could sharpen or break an opponent. That teaching had been a warning. But in Georgiana's opinion, if wielded properly, fear was a potent weapon.

She pushed her circle out wider, edging herself towards the blade lodged in his comrade's throat. It took him longer than it should have to notice she was getting closer to a weapon. As he stepped in to block her path, she pivoted so that for a second his back was to her. She slammed her elbow and forearm into his shoulder blades and lower neck. He stumbled forward, his sword clattering away out of his grasp. She didn't give him time to regain his balance, slamming into him with her entire body weight and the not insignificant added weight of her dress. He fell, face first into the marble floor. His nose broke with an audible crunch. He'd probably lost teeth. Georgiana went down with him, though her fall was controlled, her weight falling on top of him and winding him again. She didn't give him a chance to catch his breath. She caught his arm, twisting it backwards and forced a knee down onto his cheek, pinning his head to the ground. He struggled, trying to break her balance and grip, but despite the inconvenience of her layered skirts his attempts didn't shift her.

She leaned down close to her prisoner's ear. "Too late."

"What are you planning to do to that man Madame Allegra?"

Georgiana looked up to see the guards had ringed the room, shutting off all exits and separating the crowd from the bloody scene Georgiana found herself in the middle of. There had been two dozen assassins in total, but only four had made it to Georgiana, guardsmen and guests alike cutting them down. Of the four who had reached her, three were dead. Ibrahim's badge of office, a ceremonial dagger with a bloodstone blade and a ruby encrusted hilt, was buried in the back of the middle-aged man, which explained his disappearance. She had killed the second attacker; he lay in a pool of his own blood, unmoving, eyes no longer taunting. The girl had impaled herself. Two others were still living, being restrained by guards. In front of her stood Johanna, Iman and Zahra only a pace behind. The three most important people in Andala had their attention focused solely on Georgiana.

This is part one of ‘Unmasking’ the first installment of ‘The Dagasi Saga.’ The entirety of ‘Unmasking is available for free on webnovel, and the second installment ‘Anathema’ is available for 0.99cents USD on Amazon. If you don’t want to pay don’t worry! Everything will be released on webnovel, it will just take more time. If you don’t want to wait, Amazon is the way.

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flatheadsforever · 4 years

Text

DIVORCE AGREEMENT Between Republicans & Democrats

WRITTEN BY A YOUNG COLLEGE STUDENT

The person who wrote this is a college (law) student. Perhaps there is hope for us after all.

THIS IS SO INCREDIBLY WELL PUT AND I CAN HARDLY BELIEVE IT'S BY A YOUNG PERSON, A STUDENT! WHATEVER HE RUNS FOR, I'LL VOTE FOR HIM.

Dear American liberals, leftists, social progressives, socialists, Marxists and Obama supporters, et al:

We have stuck together since the late 1950's for the sake of the kids, but the whole of this latest election process has made me realize that I want a divorce. I know we tolerated each other for many years for the sake of future generations, but sadly, this relationship has clearly run its course. Our two ideological sides of America cannot and will not ever agree on what is right for us all, so let's just end it on friendly terms. We can smile and chalk it up to irreconcilable differences and go our own way.

Here is our separation agreement: --Our two groups can equitably divide up the country by landmass each taking a similar portion. That will be the difficult part, but I am sure our two sides can come to a friendly agreement. After that, it should be relatively easy! Our respective representatives can effortlessly divide other assets since both sides have such distinct and disparate tastes.

--We don't like re-distributive taxes so you can keep them.

--You are welcome to the liberal judges and the ACLU.

--Since you hate guns and war, we'll take our firearms, the cops, the NRA, and the military.

--We'll take the nasty, smelly oil industry and the coal mines, and you can go with wind, solar and bio-diesel.

--You can keep Oprah, Michael Moore, and Rosie O'Donnell. You are, however, responsible for finding a bio-diesel vehicle big enough to move all three of them.

--We'll keep capitalism, greedy corporations, pharmaceutical companies, Wal-Mart, and Wall Street.

--You can have your beloved lifelong welfare dwellers, food stamps, hippies, druggies, and illegal aliens .

--We'll keep the hot Alaskan hockey moms, greedy CEOs, and rednecks.

We’ll keep Hannity, Carlson, and Bibles, and give you NBC, CNN, ABC, CBS, and Hollywood.

--You can make nice with Iran and Palestine and we'll retain the right to invade and hammer places that threaten us.

--You can have the peaceniks and war protesters.

-- When our allies or our way of life are under assault, we'll help provide them security.

-We'll keep our Judeo-Christian values.

--You are welcome to Islam, Scientology, Humanism, political correctness and Shirley McClain. You can also have the UN but we will no longer pay the bill.

--We'll keep the SUVs, pickup trucks, and oversized luxury cars. You can take every Volt, Tesla, and Leaf you can find .

--You can give everyone healthcare if you can find any practicing doctors.

--We'll keep "The Battle Hymn of the Republic" and "The National Anthem".

--I'm sure you'll be happy to substitute "Imagine," "I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing," "Kumbaya “or” We Are the World."

--We'll practice trickle-down economics and you can continue to give trickle up poverty your best shot.

--Since it often so offends you, we'll keep our history, our name and our flag.

Sincerely,

John J Wall

Law Student and American!

P. S. Also, please take Ted Turner, Sean Penn, Martin & Charlie Sheen, George Clooney, Barbara Streisand, and (Hanoi) Jane Fonda with you.

P.P.S. And you won't have to press 1 for English when you call our country.

Forward This Every Time You Get It! Let's Keep This Going. Maybe Some of It Will Start Sinking In!

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rwood2477 · 4 years

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