#give Babs the billion dollars

[pluckyredhead]

i really wanna know your ideal dc publishing cause seriously they could be doing so much and instead choose the absolute worst trashy choices

Lol thank you for indulging me, anon. I have thought about this EXTENSIVELY so sorry not sorry for the tusnami of opinions you have unleashed.

Before I get into the list, a few points to explain my approach:

ONGOINGS. I am a firm believer in the importance of ongoing series. There's nothing wrong with a miniseries but you can't get any forward momentum or character development with them because things keep getting reset to their baseline. Get really strong teams on your ongoings and let them develop their stories for years at a time. That's where all the legendary runs come from.

To that end, I am proposing a list of 30 books, which is a little more than 7 per week, which is roughly what DC publishes now (not including things like Sandman, Looney Tunes, etc.). They can add on as many minis as they want but will need fewer since so many more characters are accounted for with ongoings.

I am a strong believer in backup features - more value for your dollar and double the amount of characters included - so you'll see a lot of those.

I tried to balance what I personally think would be the most holistic representation of the DCU with what I believe will sell, so you're still going to see a lot of Bats. It should be understood that books without Bats are not going to be treated like throwaways like they sometimes are now. They are going to get top tier creators with long, sustained runs, just like Bruce always gets.

It will not be a publishing slate of all straight white guys from the 30s-60s.

Books with an asterisk* mean they will be kid-friendly. Not exclusively for kids, but appealing and accessible to young readers, the way Young Justice and its members' books were in the 90s. They can still include ongoing plots and queer characters and serious topics! They just shouldn't be relentlessly grim.

OKAY THE BOOKS!

Super Books:

Superman*: The lead Superman title, with a backup featuring starring Jon.

Action Comics*: Focuses more on the Superfamily as a whole, though the plot can dovetail and cross over with the main Superman book. (This is basically what's happening now.) Backup feature rotates between Kon, John Henry, Natasha, Kenan, Lois, and Jimmy.

Supergirl*: Why did I give Kara her own book and not Kon or Jon? Because a) DC needs more female-led books and b) I want to. The primary audience for this book is women who watched the CW show, or girls who have outgrown TTGo! and DC Super Hero Girls, NOT ADULT MEN. (Optional: Kon or Natasha backup feature.)

Bat Books:

Batman: Like the Super books, this would be the central title and focus on Bruce. Backup feature can rotate between the nine billion Gotham characters who need a home.

Detective Comics: Focuses more on mysteries/the family. Another rotating backup feature. NOTE: These backup features CANNOT star a character with their own book (Bruce, Dick, Damian, Selina, or Harley).

Nightwing: Dick sells. ;)

Robin*: Starring Damian, Tim gets a team book further down.

Batwoman: Perhaps we could try letting a queer woman write this for once? Revolutionary, I know.

Catwoman: Because she fucking rules.

Harley Quinn: Because she fucking sells.

Birds of Prey: I prefer a classic Babs/Dinah/Helena lineup but I'm flexible.

Batgirls*: If it’s too messy to have Babs in BoP and this, take her out and add Harper.

Red Hood and the Outlaws: Imagine if this book was good! In my universe, it will be.

Solo Books:

Wonder Woman

Flash: This will star Wally. Optional backup rotates between Jay, Bart, Ace, and Avery. Barry can show up sometimes I guess.

Green Lantern: Starring Hal, John, or Kyle. Whoever is the lead CANNOT also be on the Justice League.

Green Lantern Corps: Okay yes technically this is a team book. Shhh. Guy should always be on this book since he does better in an ensemble. The plot should dovetail loosely with the main GL book with an annual crossover but you don't have to read both if you don't want to. I am flexible about how to fit all the Earth GLs in (including Simon and Jessica), whether that's backup features or just including them in the GLC ensemble, but all six should always have a publishing home. Jo should get as many prestige graphic novels as N. K. Jemisin and Jamal Campbell care to bless us with.

Aquaman: Jackson backup. Please let him go back to being Aqualad and stop making everyone grow up so fast.

Green Arrow: This book is currently perfect, no notes.

Blue Beetle*: Starring Jaime, though Ted may show up to be annoying if he would like. A Booster backup is permissible.

Vixen: If they have a Webtoon they should have a comic for $ too.

Zatanna: See above.

...I'm torn between Shazam!* or Stargirl* here. I feel like they both kind of fizzled? I guess it depends on which book gets the better pitch.

Team Books:

Justice League: I mostly don't care who is on this but if it's a bunch of white guys plus Wonder Woman and either John Stewart or Cyborg as tokens, AGAIN, DC gets shut down permanently. I don't make the rules.

Justice Society: This is also not allowed to be only old white guys. I know that's harder with the JSA. I don't care.

Titans: I'm going to be honest, I'm not convinced the OG/New Teen Titans can star in a decent book anymore, since they haven't done so in two decades. But I will give them one more try. They can call themselves the Outsiders instead if that helps.

Young Justice*: They also maybe need a new name because they are all legal adults, but this is Tim's book. I'm highly skeptical of success here as well but I think the right creative team could make something really soapy and New Adult and queer work. Please keep in mind that there are nine trillion characters in the DCU who are roughly Tim's age to draw from; the "Core Four" (ugh I hate that term so much) can all be members but they are not the only members. (Cassie cannot be the only girl and it cannot be all white.)

Teen Titans*: Damian's team! I vote for characters like Emiko, Ace, and Jackson here, but I'm flexible. THE AUDIENCE FOR THIS BOOK IS MIDDLE SCHOOLERS, NOT PEOPLE WHO GREW UP ON WOLFMAN/PEREZ. Jesus, DC.

Suicide Squad: I truly do not care about this book but we need to do something to appease the edgelords.

The New Gods: I'm thinking EPIC, I'm thinking KIRBY, I'm thinking SIMONSON. Everyone talks in a serif font and it should be impossible to explain out loud with human words. It's what Kirby would want.

So there it is, there's my pitch. Again, this doesn't cover minis (Elongated Man miniseries WHEN), event books, etc., but I think it gets most of the key players on the board!

(And yes, I know I left the Legion out. I'm sorry. But not very sorry. They can cameo in Kara's book.)

#comics #meta

[out-of-context-batfam]

Nightwing (2016) #79

#BABS FACE IN THE LAST PANEL: NOW WE ARE TALKING TIGHT PANTS!!! #WHY GIVE DICK THE BILLION DOLLARS HE IS GONNA SPEND MOST OF IT ON CEREAL ANYWAYS #HONESTLY I THINK BABS WOULD HAVE BEEN A FAR BETTER CHOICE TO RECIEVE ALFREDS FORTUNE THAN DICK #LOOK AT WHAT SHE WAS ABLE TO DO WITH HER RESOURCES WHEN SHE OWNED THAT COMPANY!! SHE DID SO MUCH GOOD!! #dc comics #batfam #batfamily #out of context #Nightwing #dick Grayson #glutemaster #oracle #Barbara Gordon #hackerbat #funny #dammit dick #Babs will always hold the one brain cell #very well done dick #give Babs the billion dollars #1k

[incorrectbatfam]

i'd love to hear your criticisms of tom taylor, i'm a new-ish comic fan and enjoying his nightwing run so far so all thoughts appreciated

Personally, my biggest issue with the Tom Taylor run is how he, like several writers before him, erased Barbara Gordon's disability and wedged her back into the Batgirl mantle even though she outgrew it a long time ago. I can't speak on behalf of physically disabled people specifically, but I know that disability representation is hard to come by especially in this corner of entertainment. From what I'm aware, Babs as Oracle meant a lot to people because she showed how being a hero transcends abilities. So reverting her back to Batgirl felt as if DC was saying, "Oh, you guys don't actually matter."

The part where Dick inherits like a billion dollars from Alfred, regardless of how he uses the money, feels like they're trying to get Dick to one-up Bruce. There's a line that talks about how Bruce feels he should "only be a hero in his costume", which disregards Bruce's whole history of funneling money to keep Gotham standing. Additionally, Dick has always been a character that's been grounded in—superheroics aside—being like one of us, compared to characters that feel more distant (like Bruce). Suddenly giving him this huge inheritance is jarring in an unpleasant way because it severs one of the lines connecting him to the readers. It also felt out of character for Alfred, who no doubt loves Dick but would not leave all his money to him.

There were some moments where I felt like the artwork unnecessarily sexualized him (again). The humor also fell flat for me in some places—the jokes felt like something a teenager would make and didn't really match his age. The latter really depends on reader's tastes, but I feel like many writers stumble over his roadblock where the character himself is a grown man with a job and everything, but then his actions and dialogue don't reflect that growth. I've also heard some negative feedback from the Jewish and Romani communities; I can't recall exactly what off the top of my head but I'm sure you can find them, and since I'm not from either of those communities I won't add much other than to say their criticisms are valid.

That's not to say the Tom Taylor run is terrible. Again, like I mentioned in another ask, it portrays Dick's characterization in a way that brings back the essence of who he is and the different art style fits the story. But like anything else, it's important to break it down in order to see where we've improved and what we need to work on.

#ask #personal #dick grayson #nightwing #batfamily #batfam #batman family #dc comics #tw just in case

[olivia-anderson-fanfic]

Canary, Part 5

First

Previous

Tim tipped his head to the side as he considered the woman in front of him.

She had a slightly nervous smile as she pulled one of her earbuds out of her ears. “Hi.”

Her eyes flicked past him and, after quickly glancing back to make sure no one was about to attack him, he realized she was feeling cornered.

… probably because she was currently being cornered.

He hesitantly took a few steps to the side until he could lean against the wall. “I’m not here to hurt you or anything, I just want to talk,” he promised.

Her hand slipped out of her pocket. He was willing to bet that she had some kind of weapon in there.

Which was good, honestly. Gotham was a dangerous place for newcomers like her.

“... so, what’re you here for?” She asked when he didn’t say anything for a while.

He bit his lip as he considered her.

Marinette Dupain-Cheng, 27.

The first time they’d spotted her following them around, they’d assumed she was just another alias of Canary… but the fourteen aliases they had found for Canary so far had always had one thing in common: despite how far back it may have gone or how many connections she may have had, there was never anyone alive to corroborate her story.

She would have definitely done that this time since there was a 100% chance that the bats would notice her. Canary would have made sure that, no matter what, they couldn’t pop on over to anyone’s house and ask about her.

But Marinette had two parents. They were back in Paris, of course, but they still existed. Babs had spotted them walking to the grocery store just yesterday. They had a consistent call history with them dating back years.

He had entertained the idea that they could be paid actors… but Canary worked alone. She had informants and sponsors, sure, but partners? No. It had been nine years, if she was going to start working with people she probably would have done that already.

Marinette checked out.

… or, at least, she checked out in all ways but two.

“How did you get here?” Asked Tim.

Marinette frowned a little. “... plane?”

He shook his head. “We have footage of you at Roissy Airport, but you never arrived in Gotham.”

Her skin paled. “Must be a glitch.”

Okay. That’s definitely not suspicious at all, no way.

He raised his eyebrows. “I don’t think so, no.”

“Maybe you missed me.”

“With our facial recognition scanners? And three people checking it over?”

Her hand was back in her pocket and her eyes were flicking to the exit nervously.

“I’m not going to deport you or anything,” he added quickly. “Lots of people here aren’t documented and that’s totally fine, the immigration system is totally messed up… I’ll shut up about that now, that’s not helping... I just… want to know. Curious.”

“Paranoid,” she corrected with a hesitant grin.

“... cautious,” he said after a few seconds.

“Sure, if that’s what you want to call it.”

“It’s much nicer than paranoid, that’s for sure,” he said, crossing his arms over his chest.

She rolled her eyes and he smiled as some of the tension in her shoulders disappeared.

“The horse miraculous,” she said after a few seconds. “That’s how I got here.”

He sighed internally. Metas in Gotham. Not good. There was a reason that rule was in place. If metas -- even good ones -- started coming then there was nothing stopping the huge, otherworldly threats from following them over. They’d stick with their overdramatic fucks that need therapy, thanks, their gadgets didn’t exactly hold up against literal gods.

And then Marinette giggled. “You don’t need to look so scared. The weird old guy who holds onto all the miraculous… he doesn’t really use them, he just keeps them locked in a weird box thing. I just…” She shrugged. “I had something on him and he was more than happy to get rid of me.”

… well, that’s a little concerning, thought Tim.

Not exactly unexpected, though. She’d very publicly gotten a restraining order by Chat Noir around ten years prior and, while none of the other miraculous holders had come out against her, many of the ones that had revealed themselves as holders had already denounced her. Tim wouldn’t have been surprised if she had stalked more of them -- hell, she was stalking him and his family, clearly she hadn’t limited herself to Chat Noir.

But this raised his second question: “Why now?”

She cringed. “Well, I’d thought about moving a long time ago. No place in France was going to hire me with the whole ‘stalking one of their beloved superheroes’ thing… but I decided to stay for a while. I didn’t want it to seem like I was running away, y’know?”

He nodded his understanding slowly. That made sense. It wasn’t a decision based on logic, but not all decisions are.

She smiled awkwardly, rubbing the back of her neck. “Also, I kind of missed having superheroes, to be honest.”

Tim raised his eyebrows. He wasn’t going to correct her use of the word ‘superheroes’ instead of ‘vigilantes’, English was at least her second language and that would be rude, so he went down a different route: “I thought they still had their miraculous. It’d be stupid if they didn’t. Mayura is still out there and all.”

“As far as I know, everyone but Ladybug and Chat Noir gave up their miraculous. Everyone knows Mayura is just Adrien Agreste even if we can’t prove it. Nothing else makes sense,” she said with a shrug.

He bit his lip. “I thought that the secretary disappeared that day, though. Wasn’t it her?”

“Nathalie Sancoeur? I heard she moved to America,” Marinette said with a shrug. “But America hasn’t had any attacks, so no one in Paris thinks it was her. Adrien is probably just waiting until the miraculous holders drop their guards.”

He nodded slowly. He didn’t realize he was going to be gossiping and discussing conspiracy theories with a person who stalked heroes but, he had to admit, it was kind of fun. Reminded him of the good old days when he was just a kid who followed the bats around for fun.

… but that wasn’t how things were anymore. He had responsibilities now. Which he was currently not doing. Oops.

“I should get back to work.”

“I should get back to watching you work,” she half-joked.

He hesitated. “Is there any way I can convince you not to do that? Gotham isn’t Paris, it’s dangerous here.”

She grinned. “I stalked a guy who had a literal god at his beck and call. I can handle a few odd goons,” she said.

He bit his lip but nodded. “Call for help if you ever need it.”

“Fine. Fine.”

He got the distinct feeling that she wasn’t going to but he was going to give her the benefit of the doubt just for now.

He pulled his grapple gun from his belt and hooked it around the rooftop.

“See you later.”

“Well, you will see me later, I’ll --,” she began, only to cut herself off with a gasp: “NO!”

He quickly checked over his shoulder but he didn’t see anything. He turned back to her, questioning look on his face, only to see her devastated expression.

“Cedric died,” she said sadly, pointing at the ear with the earbud still in it.

…?

~

Marinette sat in a coffee shop, sipping at a drink as she worked on her computer.

Tim Drake had five coffee shops that he enjoyed. The tiny tweet she’d sent out a little over a week ago ensured that he wasn’t going to be allowed coffee at his place of work. So, he was likely to go and get coffee somewhere else. She was currently sitting at the one closest to WE.

… it was very expensive. She needed to drink her coffee slower.

She squinted at her resume with a frown.

She was pretty sure it was good enough to get in, but…

Marinette sighed lightly and let her head hit the table. Fuck. She hated this stupid job so much.

She heard the chair across from her scrape against the wooden floors and slowly lifted her head. She squinted at the guy in front of her for a minute.

“Hello,” she said carefully.

The brown-haired man smiled at her.

She glanced him up and down. He was clean in a slimy kind of way. He was too nice. His hair was coiffed perfectly, his suit neatly pressed, his face clean-shaven. People who had the guts to dress like that in Gotham were always the worst of the worst.

“Hi!” he said cheerfully.

She sighed. “You weren’t even going to ask if you could sit here?”

“You’ve been alone for a while. Figured it was safe to assume you didn’t have anyone.”

Cool. Cool cool cool. Her hand slipped to the dagger hidden in her hoodie pocket. She may not know what kind of bad he was, but he was definitely bad news.

“No, actually, I was just waiting for my friend to get off work so they could join me.”

“Oh! I’ll keep you company until they show up!”

Damn. She hated when people called her bluff.

She forced her most pleasant smile to her face. “No thanks. I have work to do, actually.”

“Applying for jobs, right?”

She paled.

“Sorry, but I was curious so I just peeked over your shoulder a little bit. I actually had a couple of openings at my job, and you seem like a good candidate, if you’d like --.”

“No!” She said quickly.

His smile didn’t waver, but his eyes narrowed just a little. “I was just offering you a job.”

“I don’t want to get a job this way. I prefer the formal interview process and everything,” she lied.

“Oh, well, my company is having interviews tomorrow and there should be an open spot around --.”

A hand came to rest on the man’s shoulder.

“Hey, bud, she said no.”

~~~

TheBetterCanary: @/BrucieWayne give me a hundred million dollars and ill stop doing crime

BrucieWayne: Done.

TheBetterCanary: i take it back five hundred million

BrucieWayne: Sure.

TheBetterCanary: a billion

BrucieWayne: Alright.

TheBetterCanary: what the fuck

~~~~~

Next

Perma taglist: @nathleigh @peachmuses

Canary taglist: @jayjayspixiepop @unoriginalmess @miraculousfanfic127 @probably-a-hologram

#my little cousin stole my phone #:( havent seen it in days #its lost to the void #helpppppp #canary #maribat #timinette #timari #shutterbug #timmari #marinette dupain cheng #ladybug #tim drake #red robin

[herstarburststories]

I was wondering if you could do a headcanon for Jason. If the so was this really awkward person but she’s this kick-ass vigilante and he takes the longest time to figure it out when he starts dating her.

You met Jason through Babs

He goes to Gotham's public library where she works someday and trips on you talking to her

When he gets himself in the conversation, Jason notices your peculiar way of being

You bite inside your cheek instead of laughing at his jokes, you excessively adjust your bangs, and don't look him in the eye

Jason thinks you must be shy, so he doesn't pay much attention to it

He isn't going to admit it, but he usually picks up books to read online or on the Manor's library, but after your first bizarre interaction... Jaybird was just drowned to you somehow

Maybe it was your weird personality, or the fact that you were holding an exemplar of Dom Casmurgo that day

Anyway, did reasons really matter now?

Answer: nope

Jason was attracted to you, so he went to the public library the next day 

Barbara: What are you doing here again? Waiting for me to turn around, so you can get a book when you think I'm not looking?

Jason: As if I care about books. That girl from yesterday, Y/N, is here?

Babs just shakes her head with a laughter and points at you

Jason trying to deny his obviously crush on you is as clear to her as he trying to hide his intelligence

He makes his way to you and casually sits on the table

You two start talking and you were acting relatively more chilly today, but you still awkward

Jason finds it so cute

It doesn't take longer before you started dating

Meanwhile, Red Hood's nights weren't being that tranquil

There was a new vigilant around, and the big bat told Jason to check on her

He tried to talk to her, get some information and even help her on a fight

Which ended with the villain knocked out on top of a building and Jason with a black eye as her advice for him to stay the fuck away from her business

He had to lie to you about the bruise

He had to lie about many thing to you

And you lied back about the mark on your arm that looked a lot like a punch

Thing is, you were able to deal with any situation during your nocturnal vigilant job, but sometimes it meant getting some aggression and not just giving

Months pass by, and then a year

It's your and Jason's anniversary!

But neither of you are on the restaurant to met your 7:15pm reservation

Instead, you are commemorating through almost fighting each other

Jason: Can we get this done? I kind of have a date today.

You find the similarity weird, but you don't bring it up, just rolling your eyes in response

You two arrive at the restaurant together

And you have a cut near you brow

Exactly on the spot he beat Comet with a empty gun

Wait

Your schudele is as irregular as his, you're never suspicious on his night sneak out because you are never home either

And you often show up with hurtings and stupid excuses that just aren't more obvious than his

But it wasn't possible, was it?

Nah. He knew you. You were socially awkward and cute. Comet was a whole new level of kickass vigilant. Totally different. 

Maybe. Or not. He had to ask.

He goes straight to the point and put all cards on the table, surprisingly you aren't impressed

He really should consider buying a voice modificator 

Jason: I can't believe you are her. All your personality changes when you are out here.

Y/N: Comet is a part of my personality, Jason.

Jason: Yeah but-- Wait, one billion dollars question: why the fuck Comet?

Y/N: Because I'm gonna show up when you aren't expecting and end with your criminal species.

Y/N: You know, like what happened to the dinosaurs. 

Yeah, you were still his awkward girlfriend

Masterlist, more of all Batboys!

Yep, I'm getting to my requests and finally posting. Comment/Reblog if you liked it, feedback is magic! Get tagged on batboys or just Jason works: Ask me to add you on my taglist!

#jason todd #jason todd imagines #jason todd x reader #jason todd headcanons #jason todd headcanon #jason todd imagine #jason todd x you #jason todd x y/n #batfamily headcanons #batfamly #batboys #batfamily #batboys imagine #batboys headcanons #batboys headcanon #batboys x you #batboys x reader #batfam headcanon #batfam headcanons #batfam #batfam x you #batfam x reader #incorrect batfam quotes #incorrect batfamily #incorrect batfam #dick grayson x reader #batman x reader #damian wayne x reader #jason todd x superhero!reader #batfam imagine

[outoftheframework]

batfamily on reality tv headcanons

The Beginnings

Bruce Wayne is approached by a popular reality TV studio with a specific request

They want the Waynes to appear in an episode of a show that follows prominent families to film their dynamics and ways of living

And it so happens that every bat kid LOVES THIS SHOW

They sometimes skip out on patrol to watch it as it airs

They easily get sucked into the drama

“Hey, did you see that Katie from the Mayron family disowned her daughter last night?”

“she WHAT??”

“Hey guys I love the show and everything but can we focus on the gun that pointed at my head right now? Thanks.”

Bruce, at Sunday dinner: “So everyone, for full transparency I must disclose that yesterday I was approached by the makers of some show called ‘Keep-’”

“YES YES 100% YES”

The Episode

It wasn’t even arguable at that point

Bruce went along with it, supposedly because turning it down would look “suspicious” but really he saw how happy it made his family

Their episode is WILD and widely regarded as the best one of the series

Starts out with a house tour led by Bruce and Alfred with meddling kids littered throughout the place

After that it follows them around a typical day and literally every scene is turned into a meme

Tim goes face first into a bowl of cereal after accidentally falling asleep at breakfast

The kids have a handstand contest to see who sits shotgun

There’s not enough room for all the kids in one car

Duke sits on Cass’ lap

Dick and Damian squeeze into the trunk between the jumper cables and a spare tire

Tim just jogs beside the car because he got there last

CARPOOL KARAOKE

Follows the kids getting ready for a press conference

No one can find Jason

Stephanie wears bright blue eyeshadow and refuses to take it off

Bruce goes to yell at Dick but literally cycles through every other name before he gives up

This happens

After the popularity, Bruce is again approached for a spinoff series

*deep sigh* “I can’t do this again.... I’m too weak…”

Notable Quotes

“And here’s the grand staircase whose- *loud crash* -railings are not intended to be a sliding board, Richard-”

Jason: “And here’s my room. Well, it was my room until some crackhead moved in.” Tim, off camera: “Stop calling me a crackhead! You know I was afraid of getting my flu shot!”

Camera man: “so you named your cat after your butler? Isn’t that a little weird?” Damian: “Look this cat in the eyes and tell me that he is not an Alfred.”

“I’m the only sane person in this family.” -everyone, at least once

“Screw you, Bruce! I wish Batman was my dad!”

“Superman wouldn’t treat me like this!”

Tim: “I’m running away to join the circus!” Dick: “Okay, first of all, any self-respecting circus wouldn’t even consider taking you. Secondly-”

Interviewer: “So Barbara, do you consider yourself a part of the Wayne family?” Babs: “Yes, but I’m hoping the emancipation papers go through smoothly.”

“Bruce trusted me, a seventeen year old, to run his entire billion dollar company and y’all think he’s Batman? Sad.”

Steph, to Bruce: “you’re just not that interesting to look at.”

ask and you shall receive - feel free to add on - requests open

#batfamily #batfam #batman #bruce wayne #dick grayson #barbara gordon #jason todd #tim drake #stephanie brown #duke thomas #cassandra cain #damian wayne #robin #batgirl #signal #red robin #red hood #nightwing #superman #clark kent

[greycappedjester]

"If ATFO isn’t up by the end of the month, feel free to ask me for an already written scene from one-shot from that universe." is the offer still open?

Gotcha! Sorry this is late 😬

Here is young Jason's POV. It's from right after Year 4 so before Tim and right after Jason was formally adopted (still in training to be Robin)

Here's the first eight pages

-------

Year 4.5: The Vacation

Alright, so here’s the thing.

Jason is a city boy. He grew up in a city. It was Gotham so it was a shit city and the part that he lived in even shittier; but, it was, without question, a city. And one where he had lived the entire fourteen years of his somewhat depressing life. Jason was familiar with said city.

So, Jason is decidedly not familiar with the so-called “great” outdoors. Fuck, he’s pretty sure the closest he’s come to nature is fights with Poison Ivy.

All of which is just too fricking bad because Jason also happens to be the recently adopted brother of Dick Grayson, who has for some unimaginable reason decided camping is the best way to spend a vacation.

And Jason is coming along.

Why? Because apparently Dick’s first thought had been this was a great time for brotherly bonding. Okay, actually his first was that it was perfect for Jason’s birthday but Jason had flat out refused and Dick moved it to the week after.

So, now, the newly fourteen year old is watching as Dick somehow crams a tent, sleeping bags, and camping gear into one of the Wayne’s very fancy and very compact sports cars.

Jason looks back wistfully to the manor door.

It’s probably not too late to back out.

But, as lame as it most definitely sounds, this camping trip actually seems really important to Dick. Like important enough to give Donna his Titans duties for a few days and ask Roy to be back up for Barbara in Gotham if she needed it. Plus, more terrifying, getting Barbara to agree to that.

And, as much as he refused to say it aloud, Jason could privately admit that Dick Grayson may have a very large part in why his recently somewhat depressing life is a now a lot less depressing.

Whatever. So, Jason might not actually think it’s too terrible to spend a few days with his older brother. Even with the camping.

That still doesn’t explain the other part.

“Why can’t we bring our uniforms again,” Jason complains, crossing his arms.

Dick doesn’t stop in his work to get the trunk shut. “Because that would mean we’re working and I’ve been informed by both Raquel and Zatanna that working vacations don’t actually count as vacations.” The trunk pops back open and Dick’s head disappears inside. “Besides, we won’t need them where we’re going.”

“Yeah, cause that doesn’t sound ominous,” Jason mutters under his breath.

“What was that?”

“Nothing!”

Dick emerges and the trunk finally closes with only a slight creak of protest. “Ha, there! What did I tell you? Circus performers always know the best packing tips.”

Jason is reluctantly somewhat impressed.

“Come on, get in! We’ve gotta get to the grounds while there’s still light to set up the tent.”

Jason slumps into the passenger seat. “Are you sure this isn’t like you stealthily training me in advanced wilderness survival or something?”

“It’s a vacation, Jason,” Dick insists, starting the car and backing down the drive way. “Believe me, if it was training, I’d pick a lot trickier place than twenty minutes out of Gotham city limits.”

Crap, if it was training, Jason would at least know it sucked for a reason. Doing it for fun makes it even worse.

“You know you’re an heir to like billions of dollars, right?”

“We’re the heirs,” Dick corrects because of course, he does.

Jason rolls his eyes. “I’m just saying if you wanted nature, we could go to like the Bahamas or the Galapagos or even just buy an island if that’s what you really wanted.”

“We don’t need an island.”

“Sure, we do. We could even use it as a secret prison for supervillains when we’re done. It would be great!”

Dick’s grinning, checking briefly before pulling into Gotham traffic. “Secret island prison bases definitely fall a bit too far into the supervillian category, Jay. They'll sue us for trademark infringement.”

“Still beats camping.”

“Camping’s fun!” Dick laughs. “Trust me. Millions of people do it every year. They can’t all be wrong.”

Per usual, Jason is far less trusting of the populace’s intelligence than Dick is.

As if to spite his skepticism, the hour or so drive out to the woods doesn’t go so bad. Jason commandeers the radio so they’re listening to a good classic rock station instead of being subjected to the weird mix of folk songs and pop music that Dick likes. The dark buildings and usual smog of Gotham starts to fade out around the forty minute mark, somewhere between one of Dick’s Titans stories and Jason complaining about a plot thread in the last book he read.

The drive is nice. Peaceful, even.

You know like most horror movies start.

“We’re here!”

Jason eyes the stretch of trees for any kind of sign or even a distinguishing feature. There’s nothing.

“Dick, this is definitely not a campsite.”

“It’s a few miles off,” Dick explains, dropping a bag in Jason’s arms. “I wanted to avoid the usual campgrounds in case the tabloid reporters found us. Don’t worry, I checked with the owner. No one’s used this stretch in years.”

Jason thinks there’s probably a reason for that since there’s not one hint of a trail in sight.

“Where are we even going to set up a tent?”

“Not sure,” Dick says way too cheerfully. “Finding a spot’s part of the fun!”

Jason gives him a look.

Dick rolls his eyes. “Relax, Jay. The owner told me there’s a stream about half a mile in. We’ll set up camp there.”

Jason still gives a token grumble just because.

By the time night rolls around, they do manage to find a camping spot, set up the tent, and Dick even starts up a small fire right in the middle of the campsite.

If pushed, Jason would admit the entire thing is a bit picturesque.

He bites down on his hot dog as Dick digs through the rest of their stuff.

“Oh! I almost forgot to tell you!” Dick pulls something out of the bag. “Look, I brought stuff to make s'mores!”

“Cool, hand them over” Jason grabs for the bag of marshmallows only for Dick to pull them away.

“Not yet, they’re for our last day. Gotta ration out the food.”

Jason rolls his eyes. “You’re ridiculous. Why not bring enough for every night?”

“Cause then it’s less special,” Dick answers sagely. “Think about it like a prize for surviving camping.”

Because Jason is the generous sort, he doesn’t even make a crack about “surviving”.

“So, okay, let’s say I buy that camping is a vacation,” he says instead between bites.

“It is a vacation.”

“Yeah, fine, sure. Real question though, why are we taking a vacation?” He waves a hand. “What ever happened to ‘crime never sleeps’ and everything?”

“I’ve never said that!”

“You said it to Babs last week!”

“That was so she’d help me run the Poison Ivy samples! That doesn’t count! She didn’t even believe me!”

“Definitely counts!”

Dick rolls his eyes. “You know most kids don’t need a reason to go on vacation before school starts.”

“So, that’s what this is,” Jason accuses. “This is for you! You wanted a vacation before college!”

Dick turns his face down to poke at the fire. “I’m not going to college...not this year anyway.”

Jason frowns. “I thought you got accepted to Gotham U. Shit, I know you did. Alfred still has the letter hanging on the fridge.”

Dick shrugs. “I’m going to turn it down. There’s too much going on right now. Gotham. The Titans. I’ve gotta start sitting in at the Wayne Enterprise meetings soon, too. I don’t have time for classes.”

“Pretty sure, the classes would help with the Wayne Enterprise crap,” Jason says. “And you know Roy and Donna can help with the Titans and Babs and I can cover more in Gotham if--”

“Jay, it’s fine,” Dick cuts him off. “I need to choose what to focus on and it just can’t be college right now. It’s okay.”

Jason wants to argue more but then Dick’s continuing

“And, hey, I know camping’s not exactly your thing; but, I’m glad you decided to come anyway.” Dick gives him a blinding grin. “You deserve to do some normal summer stuff after all the Robin training. And I’m glad I get to spend some time with my favorite little brother.

Jason glares, ignoring the way his cheeks have gone warm. “Shut up, I’m your only brother. And you know I hate it when you say stuff like that.”

“No, you don’t,” Dick says, shit eating grin in place.

Jason flings the bag of hot dog buns at him.

He catches it, still grinning. The asshole.

-----

Something that’s always jarring but becomes really fucking obvious once he thinks about it is the fact that Dick gets nightmares.

Of course, he does. How could he not? Jason’s doesn’t know why he never expects it.

It’s not even loud nightmares with like screaming and flailing arms and shit. It’s just these short, sharp little gasps as his body goes entirely too stiff and face twists in pain. Sometimes, Jason thinks that’s worse than screaming.

Jason shifts in his sleeping bag, turning to face the top of the tent. He briefly contemplates waking Dick up; but, he knows from experience, it won’t help much. Better to let him get some rest until the nightmare goes away on its own.

Only problem is that Jason still can’t fall asleep. It’s kind of funny. He’s never really thought of himself as a picky sleeper before. Fuck knows he’s slept on way too many of Gotham’s mold infested roofs back when his dad was on parole. But, there’s something about the cold feeling of hard dirt that he swears he can feel even under the layers of sleeping bag and tent.

Camping sucks.

Screw it. Jason’s not just going to lay here all night. Least he can do is get up and explore around the campsite so he can have a better idea of whatever “fun” activities he’s sure Dick has planned for tomorrow.

He slips out of the tent without waking up Dick--which actually does serve as a fairly good challenge for his new Robin training--and heads into the woods, careful to keep note of how far away he goes from camp. He feels ridiculously like he should have bread crumbs or some other kind of fairy tale stuff to track his way through the forest.

He swears if he survived living in Crime Alley, Black Mask, and a freaking explosion just to get lost and die in the woods, he’s going to haunt Dick forever. Jason the Unfriendly Ghost.

He gets to the stream that he and Dick found earlier so at least he’s not that lost.

SNAP!

Jason’s head whips around in the direction of the noise.

Nothing.

He lets out a long breath. Dumb, of course, it’s nothing. It’s the forest. Forests make weird noises. It’s reason #357 why they’re terrible.

SNAP!

Okay...that definitely sounded like something big….but, maybe it’s something normal like a tree branch snapping or--

Snap!...Snap!...Snap!

That’s footsteps.

Jason moves back into the tree line, crouching down until he’s covered in the darkness of the bushes. His hands run over the ground, trying to find anything even remotely useful other than a slightly pointy stick.

Snap!...Snap!

Shit, he really is going to die here, isn’t he? In this stupid forest before he even gets to go out as Robin. Of all the dumb fucking--

Snap!...snap!...snap...snap.

The footsteps are getting further away. Echoing deeper and deeper into the forest on the other side of the stream.

snap...snap...snap…

Jason listens, in slight amazement, as the sounds slowly fade off into the distance until they finally disappear. Slowly, Jason counts in his mind to sixty, then a hundred and twenty, then two hundred.

On three hundred, he bolts--tearing through the forest in the direction of the camp until he finally catches sight of the obnoxiously bright yellow of the tent Dick bought, shining in front of him like a heavenly beacon.

He tears through the opening, breathing heavily, just a half a second before there’s an arm jammed hard against his neck.

“Jay?”

The pressure disappears and then Dick’s looking down at him with wide eyes and a slight blush. “Sorry about that. Was surprised. What’s wrong?”

Jason’s heart rate’s finally slowing down. And here in the safety of the tent, in the face of Dick’s patented concerned face, admitting to getting freaked out by noises in the woods seems beyond stupid.

“Nothing,” he mutters. “Just thought I heard something?”

“Heard something?”

“Yeah, like footsteps.”

Dick frowns. “We’re on private camp land. There shouldn’t be anyone around here. You sure?”

Jason shakes his head, face feeling hot, as he sits back down on his sleeping bag. “No. Don’t worry about it. Like I said, it was probably nothing. Maybe it’s just a mountain lion that’s gonna eat us in our sleep.”

Dick pats his shoulder. “Mountain lions don’t really live in this region, Jay.”

Jason rolls his eyes before turning over pointedly to try to get some more sleep.

“It’s bears you need to worry about.”

#atfo

[brynnmck]

So. BIRDS OF PREY. (Non-spoilery outside the cut.) The short-short version is that this is the woman-driven superhero/action movie I've been waiting for and I have been fizzing with excitement and glee ever since I saw it and I really REALLY encourage you all to check it out because a) I truly feel it might very well improve your lives and b) I want it to make a billion dollars so that they make more because I NEED IT.

Also I want to make clear that you do not have to have seen or liked Suicide Squad, or have read the comics, in order to understand and enjoy this movie. (One of the best tributes I can pay to it, though, is that BOP was/is my first and truest comics love, and even though this movie is a pretty drastically different take on them and in fact leaves out my favorite character entirely, I still ADORED it. In large part because it DOES contain one of things I loved most about the comics, namely: a variety of interesting, complex, and multifaceted women interacting with and supporting each other. And ALSO kicking ass using a variety of skill sets!)

Just. THIS MOVIE IS SO FUN. As a warning, there is some pretty brutal violence in it (though mostly not against women, for a pleasant change). But it's also hilarious, and really cleverly set up and executed, and grounded in real and relatable feelings, and bright candy colored and just the right amount of unhinged and the soundtrack is PHENOMENAL and the costumes are incredible and the fights were fantastic and honestly, I don't recall a single line in the whole movie that made me cringe for the person saying it. All the performances are brilliant, especially Margot Robbie (who gets the most to do, since Harley is the central character here, but she crushes it all), and Ewan McGregor cheerfully devouring scenery, and Jurnee Smollet-Bell is just. The PERFECT stunning badass Dinah. (Also I found out that she does her own singing in this and it has ruined my life because ONE PERSON SHOULD NOT BE ABLE TO DO AND BE ALL OF THOSE THINGS it's TOO MUCH.) Also it is just generally PACKED with extraordinarily hot women who have agency and depth. So. I THOROUGHLY enjoyed the ride and I wanted it to be at least an hour longer and I am absolutely going again as soon as I feasibly can.

Spoilery thoughts and feelings under the cut!

Okay, first of all, I have never had strong feelings about Harley as a character but holy shit, I had no idea Margot Robbie was such a good actress, and I loooooooooved what they did with Harley here. She's definitely unstable, but I adored that they kept reminding us how smart she is, and the fact that she's got all this education and this ability to analyze people that's a vital element of her power. And she's so much FUN, and her drive to be her own person and to figure out what that means is so poignant and so relatable, I really thought they struck the ideal balance with her of making her larger-than-life but still grounded and complex, someone we could care about and sympathize with. And I loved that she ultimately came into her own, and ultimately did it in part because she chose to make connections with people who fundamentally value her.

And then DINAH. MY BELOVED. I love that even though she starts out working for the enemy, she still has that essential kindness and sense of justice that I feel like is so crucial to the character, and I thought using her mother's death as context for how she ended up where she is now was really clever and gave the story space to show her becoming a hero instead of just being born as one. (And she ALSO gets to parallel what Harley is experiencing, i.e. she's not sure who she is without the man who's been exerting control over her for so long, but she's increasingly ready to find out.) I loved seeing the way that slowly built in her over the course of the movie, that "I'm not getting involved I'm not getting involved FUCK IT I'M GETTING EXTREMELY INVOLVED" bursting of the dam that happened a few different times in a few different ways, all leading up to the Canary Cry moment, which was SO MUCH MORE than the plot device it could have been because we know EXACTLY what she's choosing to embrace by using her powers, backed by all the catharsis of "I'm not fucking taking this anymore and I'm going to defend what I love and what is right with every ounce of my strength and RAAAAAAAAAAAAR." SO GOOD. Also I never thought I would ship Harley/Dinah but here I am? That first meeting between them in Roman's club hit me HARD, just that moment of connection, and actually that was one of my favorite things about the way the movie was structured: a lot of times with team-up movies I feel like things don't really get going until the team-up happens, but here I thought they included so many lovely moments with different combinations of the characters that they felt connected even when they weren't actually all together, so the team-up was still enormously satisfying but it also didn't feel to me like the rest of the movie was just waiting for that moment. (Also clearly the shipping potential here is OFF THE CHARTS because any or all of the four adults in this movie would be FASCINATING together so I'm very much here for THAT.)

Cass was also DELIGHTFUL despite bearing almost no resemblance to any canon version of Cass that I've ever seen, but she was still a LOT of fun and resourceful and snarky and secretly sweet and her pragmatic-and-then-actually-affectionate bond with Harley was absolutely adorable. I love that Cass is the only one who doesn't know anything about the Joker, so she just takes Harley for who she is, and that's part of what Harley responds to (eventually).

I also LOVED Renee, how SMART she is (her breaking down that crime scene early on was soooooo fucking cool and also HOT AF), how snarky she is, how OVER IT she is. I also loved that she was a little bit older, and obviously CANON LESBIAN YAY (as was Harley being canonically bi!!! see how easy that was???), and I loved that she was flawed but still doing her best (as are all of them, really). I loved the way they used her to illustrate all the bullshit that women face in so many workplaces, and it was INCREDIBLY satisfying when she quit at the end. (Also her telling Dinah that Dinah wouldn't have been abandoned on her watch gave me CHILLS. The conviction!!! The dedication!!!)

Huntress gets left out a little, and I wouldn't have minded seeing her explored more, though I ADORE BEYOND WORDS what they chose to do with her, up to and including her being kind of disconnected until she shows up at the end and she's like "uhhhh, look, I'm just here to kill this guy, I don't want any of this drama," HEEEEEE. But Helena is so broody (though also extremely snarky!) in the comics and I love her very much but it's not my favorite quality, so choosing to show her deliberately cultivating that broody exterior (and somewhat failing at it) was GENIUS and made me love her SO MUCH. Her moment with Cass during the last battle was such a fantastic one, too--that was a moment that very easily could have been skimmed over, and honestly I don't know that I'd have thought of it, but it was PERFECT and such economical character development for her and just generally evidence of a writer/writers who think of all these characters as three-dimensional people with their own thoughts and feelings and experiences. Also Harley's heart-eyes when Helena rolls up on her motorcycle to save her were BEAUTIFUL.

Also beautiful: the fight scene once they all team up, seeing all their different styles and how they support each other and how they take care of Cass. And that scene in the diner at the end was just. ALL I EVER WANT IS THAT SCENE AND THEY GAVE IT TO ME. The snark! The margaritas and shitty food! The exhausted, semi-awkward bonding (Helena being like, "Um… you also… did cool things…! Is this how humans communicate?" was AMAZING)! And even ending with Harley stealing Canary's car was perfect, because at the end of the day she's not really a long-term team player, so I loved them all kind of sharing this moment and then Harley and Cass go on to do their thing, their way, and Renee/Dinah/Helena do THEIR thing, their way, and everyone gets to live their best lives, fundamentally. And it would also be VERY VERY EASY to slot in Babs (Oracle Babs PLEASE, this movie was so good in a lot of ways about diverse casting and I'd love to see them take that a step further) in a future iteration of this, like, I can perfectly see her just being like, "Uh, you guys are doing okay but you could really use some help" and coming in with all her technology and her strategic bat brain and taking things to the next level. (Also Christina Hodson, who wrote this, is also supposedly writing the Batgirl movie, so… hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.)

Basically it was just… everything I wanted and pretty much nothing that I didn't (though I couldn’t help noticing that there were a lot of POC in this movie who were… not great people, though there were also three central POC who WERE great people, and the two main villains were white, so maybe that helps give a more multi-faceted perspective, but). It has SO MUCH POTENTIAL as a franchise but even if this is all we ever get, I think it's a glorious shiny batshit heartfelt gift and I'm so SO glad we got it, and hats off to all of the amazing women involved who pushed so hard to make this as amazing as it was. YOU ALL DID FANTASTICALLY.

#birds of prey #LIFE: CHANGED #i love everyone in this bar

[inertia-is-a-statue-of-a-man]

Hey what’s your opinion on the Wayne kids? Dick Grayson, Jason Todd, Tim Drake, Damian Wayne, and Cassandra Cain

Okay so.... this is gonna be long I have... thoughts. 

I love Dick Grayson in theory. He seems very nice and he clearly means well, and as a fellow disaster bi, I get it. (He’s also beautiful). But he’s a cop. I was fully prepared to love him- things were going so well in my perception of him, and then he became a cop - joining a force that is notoriously corrupt in a misguided attempt to what? Save the system by joining the system? When has that ever worked? He of all people should not have been a cop. HE WENT TO JUVIE. Why did he go- “hah yeah that was terrible- gonna go join the system that put me there”? I hate it. -10/10 career move. Would love to give him a piece of my mind. Like I’m a lot of things, and likely to get arrested for direct action is one of them, I think America would be a better place if people stopped being cops- just in general. What have they really accomplished except enforcing racial and class distinctions in an effort to prevent the common man from rising up against our oppressors? I don’t care how fat that ass is, I refuse to find a cop hot on moral grounds (also not an ass girl so it’s fairly easy to ignore). This being said, I feel so much pity for him. Not only for what he went through with his parents, but also the culture shock of adjusting to Gotham high society after coming from the circus- having experienced Gotham’s social services and juvie? Being a known Romani person in white culture, especially RICH WHITE CULTURE? I also wish death and suffering to anyone who started sexualizing him as soon as he hit puberty- any woman can tell you how that shit hurts, and being in the public eye only makes it worse- I will legitimately fight anyone, but especially the adult women I saw sexualizing him when he was 16, catch these fucking hands, death to pedophiles. I can’t even imagine what he’s been through and I sincerely hope that he has someone he can confide in at the very least a friend but hopefully a professional. 

Jason Todd- I don’t know that much about him. He wasn’t super in the public eye like Grayson was/is and he died young which is... unfortunate. I feel like Wayne didn’t get enough flack for Todd dying - like I’ve mentioned this before, Bruce Wayne, beacon of Gotham adoption had one of his kids die, and like nobody talks about it? What the actual fuck? But I mean, he was from the Bowery and seemed like a spunky kid so like I’m on board with Jason Todd. He didn’t live long enough to become a cop, but he’s from the Bowery so who are we kidding, he wouldn’t have done that anyway.

Tim Drake is complicated. On one hand he’s a literal child who dropped out of high school to take over a multi-billion dollar corporation for his adopted father- and that is SO fucked up on so many levels. Let him be a kid? Look me in the eyes and tell me he wouldn’t be happier with kids his own age at a skatepark instead of sitting in an office all day dealing with investors. I also understand that his childhood was neglectful, and boy howdy do I know what that feels like, I’ve called my parents by their first names since I was 8 for a reason. I don’t feel comfortable passing a lot of judgement on a teenager, and especially not one in his position. I didn’t know who I was at his age, and I still don’t really know who I am- he’s in a crucial state of development and in position where the opinions of strangers mean everything. He’s under so much stress, I hope he’s okay and that he’s mentally and physically healthy.  

Damian Wayne is an even smaller literal child. He’s a goddamn BABY. I’m not going to give moral judgement on such a wee bab. That is absolutely not happening. I am gonna say that I hope he’s getting the love and attention he needs to flourish, that he’s happy and healthy, and that he’s given the freedom to form genuine human connections rather than being forced to network for his father/brother’s company. He deserves to be a child, and I hate that A. because of his race, and B. because of who his father is that that’s not likely to happen in American society. I wish Damian well. 

Uhm... Cassandra is really pretty and has some nice arm and shoulder muscles. I’m a raging bisexual so this shouldn’t surprise any of you. But uhm, she seems cool. She likes to dance and seems good at it. It’s nice to see her being given the freedom to pursue her passions. She’s fairly quiet. She has nice arms. I genuinely don’t know a lot about her, she’s managed to be in the press less often than her brothers. She’s also newer to the family, so there’s been less time for me to form an opinion. 

[libertariantaoist]

Trump’s first budget will call for a $54 billion dollar increase in defense spending. This is roughly a 9% increase in the defense budget. [Link]

A bar owner is facing $30,000 in fines and 18 months in prison for buying liquor from a retail store and not a wholesaler. [Link]

Grant Neal was expelled from a Colorado college after the school’s administration pushed an investigation against him claiming he raped another student at the college. The student that the school alleges Neal raped never made a claim that Neal raped her and insisted that all sex between the two was consensual. The school ignored all evidence that suggested that Neal did nothing wrong. [Link]

The City of Chicago is expanding surveillance on its citizens. Chicago is putting more cameras around the city, expanding the area covered by ShotSpotter to 13.5 sq miles, and will start using HunchLab to try to predict where crimes will happen. [Link]

Gareth Porter writes this article on intelligence agencies pushing Trump to a more hawkish foreign policy on Russia. [Link]

Israel carried out five airstrikes on Gaza after Hamas reportedly fired some rockets into Israel. Four people in Gaza were reported to be injured by the Israeli airstrikes. Israel also carried out airstrikes in Syria against the Syrian army. The Syrian army troops that were targeted were moving weapons to Hezbollah. [Link]

Iraqi forces are nearing the first of five bridges that cross from East to West Mosul. All five of the bridges have been destroyed by US airstrikes. Iraqi forces have taken several casualties in fighting so far. However, exact numbers are not known because they Iraqi government no longer releases that information. [Link]

The Pentagon’s plan on how to defeat ISIS was delivered to the White House today. The plan was not revealed to the public, but talking points from the plan suggest more US troops in Syria and increased airstrikes against ISIS worldwide. [Link]

A documentary on the Syrian White Helmets won an Oscar. The documentary is supportive of the White Helmets who help turn public opinion in favor of al-Qaeda-linked rebel groups over the Syrian government. [Link]

Turkish-backed Syrian rebels and the Syrian army started fighting South of al-Bab. The fighting was started by the rebels. Russia had worked out a deal between Turkey and Syria not to fight in this region. [Link]

On Foreign Policy Focus #7, I explain what Americans do not understand about our foreign policy. I go into detail about a father’s reaction to learning his son has been killed overseas and how people in other countries feel the same way when their family members are killed.  I also give news updates on the Mosul invasion, the Iraqi Kurd’s plans for independence, Nikki Haley’s new sanctions proposal, ISIS actions in Syria, Famine in Yemen, Iran following the nuke deal, the Pentagon’s push for more war in Somalia, and Trump blocking the North Korean delegation from coming to the US. LISTEN HERE!!

#kyle anzalone #libertarian institute #news roundup #foreign policy focus

[ambereyedcetra]

🐶- Favorite animal?🔶- Favorite color(s)?💸- If you had a billion dollars and could only spend it, what would you buy first?🐋- share a Weird/funny story?

Ooc:

🐶- Favorite animal?

My top favorite animals are the sugar glider, raccoon, gray wolf, and spotted hyena. Sugar gliders and raccoons have a special place in my heart as I rescued and raised them. 

I always felt a connection to the wolf and spotted hyena, mostly because they’re very family oriented animals and tend to be the fiercest hunters.

🔶- Favorite color(s)

I’m not sure if it really has a name, but I love pale grayish-blue. It’s always made me think of the Northwest coast, like the ocean, mist, the forest and mountains there. 

💸- If you had a billion dollars and could only spend it, what would you buy first?

A large, beautiful house in the country for my parents to live in. They deserve so much, and it’s always been my biggest hope to give back for everything they’ve done for me and my siblings. 

🐋- share a Weird/funny story?

Hmm, a funny or weird story...

When my sister ( @misericorsmxrtyris) and I were babs just learned how to walk, our parents took us to see some of the historic places in Washington DC. One of the places, Monticello (Jefferson’s house), had  these lemon trees. Harm-mun and I wanted some of these lemons so we tried to take as many as we could find on the ground. 

We held out the hems of our shirts so we could use our shirts as kind of baskets of sorts to help carry these lemons. We thought we were so clever and tried to run off with them, but toddlers waddling with shirts full of lemons and ending up leaving a trail of fruit can’t really go that far. 

#theshadowofawielder #Thanks! #the-shadow-of-a-wielder

[arts-dance]

Destination Egypt

A 'secret' tour inside the long-awaited Grand Egyptian Museum

Stephanie Vermillion, CNN • Published 9th August 2019FacebookTwitterEmail

1/8Long-awaited opening: Cairo's Grand Egyptian Museum was originally set to launch in 2012, but this has now been pushed back to 2020.Mohamed-El-Shahed/AFP/Getty ImagesEditor's Note — Editor's Note — CNN Travel's series often carry sponsorship originating from the countries and regions we profile. However, CNN retains full editorial control over all of its reports.

Read the policy.

(CNN) — When it finally opens, Cairo's Grand Egyptian Museum will be the largest museum dedicated to a single civilization.Standing just two kilometers away from the pyramids of Giza, the monument, which will house some of

Egypt's

most precious relics, is expected to attract around five million visitors a year.More than a decade in the making, and with its opening being pushed back once again in 2018, there's one "secret" way travelers can visit the 5.2-million-square-foot structure before it officially launches in 2020.A private behind-the-scenes tour is currently in operation -- albeit with a $250 price tag.This exclusive experience provides a very select few with a sneak preview of the $1 billion project before the rest of the world gets a look in.Grand Egyptian Museum international relations representative Faten Mohammad is one of the leaders of the tour, which lasts four hours and runs every day.

CNN Travel

joined one of her tours earlier this year. Mohammad kicks things off by detailing the museum's ongoing conservation efforts."The conservation center has received 46,000 artifacts until now [April 2019], and we've finished the refurbishment of 42,000," she explains.After running through the center's tight security measures -- no photographs unless authorized and absolutely no touching -- Mohammad opens the door to the organic lab. Here hundreds of King Tut's textile, leather and papyrus artifacts lie ready for restoration. His refurbished necklaces, shoes and even a loincloth (yes, King Tut's underwear) are shown without the typical glass casing. New artifacts

THE GEM was originally set to launch in 2012, but this has now been pushed back to 2020.Mohamed-El-Shahed/AFP/Getty ImagesWhile one third of the Egyptian pharaoh's artifacts were previously on display at Cairo's Egyptian Museum, the GEM is to house all 5,000 known objects."We will display the collection of King Tut in one place for the first time since we discovered the tomb in 1922," adds Mohammad. "His treasures will be displayed in two halls of about 7,000 square meters."Officials plan to arrange the pieces to look as they did when British archaeologist Howard Carter discovered King Tut's tomb in Luxor in 1922. Some may consider the GEM's behind-the-scenes tour as nothing but a moneymaking marketing gimmick. But the draw of this high-priced expedition is the chance to privately witness the inner workings of one of the world's largest museums. In the wooden lab, Mohammad delivers on that promise."When Carter discovered [King Tut's] tomb, he tried to conserve the artifacts by covering them in wax. We discovered this has bad effects," she says. Conservation project

The Tutankhamun collection is going through the restoration process at the museum's conservation lab.Mohamed-El-Shahed/AFP/Getty Images"Our colleagues try to remove wax before they're displayed. When we removed the wax [on a chariot of King Tut], we discovered new scenes we didn't see before."As visitors peruse the decorated gold chariots -- smartphone photos are allowed at this point -- Mohammad continues with the Egyptian trivia."We have three funeral beds of King Tut made for his afterlife journey," she says, gesturing towards a set of intricate wooden structures. "When we made a photo scan, we discovered the black color you see isn't actually black. It's Egyptian blue [an ancient pigment now commonly known as cerulean]."King Tut did not use these beds during his reign in 1300 BCE --  they were solely for his death. The beds have carvings of the goddess Ammit, a hippopotamus representing divine retribution, and the cow goddess Hathor, who Egyptians believed helped deceased souls transition into the afterlife. The tour's next stop, the heavy stone lab, feels more warehouse than museum, until Mohammad highlights the facility's ancient 1,000-pound ruins. This working lab houses granite, limestone and basalt statues, as well as remains from temples all over Egypt. The goal is to clean and support these massive artifacts before moving them to the museum's main entrance. "All huge objects will be displayed along the grand stairs in the museum," Mohammad says. "A Ramses II [statue] is in front of the main entrance; beside him all over the stairs you will see more than 87 huge objects."Related content

Egypt announces discovery of ancient port used by temple builders

Billion-dollar project

The building's facade is designed  to subtly mirror the nearby pyramids.Courtesy Stephanie Vermillion At this point Yusuf steps in to lead visitors on a quick hard hat tour of the massive GEM construction site. The museum was set to open in 2012. Then came the Egyptian revolution. Due to security concerns and dwindling funds, the government stopped construction from 2011 to 2014, according to GEM representative Basma Yusuf.As the project ramped back up with loans from Japan, officials predicted a partial opening in 2018, which then became 2019. But in late 2018, news broke that it had been postponed once again, with a 2020 opening date announced this time.Since then, the GEM and select guide partners have been taking small private groups through the museum's entrance and restoration facilities as a way to help fund the $1 billion project. While expensive, the tours appeal to many Giza travelers. The town's allure typically stops at the pyramids for most. But with the upcoming museum and, until it opens, the behind-the-scenes tour, travelers can really make the most of their time in Egypt. The GEM curated its 100,000 total artifacts from Egypt and beyond; 20,000 of those will be on display for the first time. Officials moved many pieces from the cramped Egyptian Museum due to the 117-year-old facility's lack of space. This staple in central Cairo's Tahrir Square will now focus on art."When we visit the Giza Pyramids, we spend too long in traffic to go to the old [Egyptian Museum] in Tahrir Square," said Azmy Salama, tour consultant with Explore Egypt Tours. "This will save time and, also important, help us exhibit our valuable collections which we have in the [catalogs] that nobody sees."After five minutes driving from the conservation center to the entrance -- yes, the complex is that big -- visitors get their first full look at the immaculate museum. The entrance's nearly 2,000-foot-tall translucent façade is designed to subtly mirror the nearby pyramids. A palm-fringed "Nile Park" will pay homage to the life-giving river through peaceful fountains. Related content

The best of ancient Egypt

Work in progress

An 83-ton Ramses II statue will welcome guests in the Grand Egyptian Museum's entrance.Mohamed-El-Shahed/AFP/Getty ImagesBut these features require quite the imagination one year away from the opening. Yusuf knows there's a lot of work ahead, but she's confident they'll get there. "We have 7,000 people in three shifts working day and night," she says while handing out hard hats. "In the conservation center we have about 400 people working." While the building looked sparse on the April 2019 tour, it's progressing more quickly than meets the eye. In February 2019, the Minister of Antiquities Khaled al-Anani announced the museum was 88% ready, according to the Egyptian Independent newspaper.As guests walk toward the entrance, Yusuf talks through the interactive children's museum and the GEM's new solar panels -- it will be the first Egyptian museum to use solar energy. At this point, though, visitors are pretty distracted. Even Ahmed, the Explore Egypt Tours guide, is too mesmerized by the 83-ton Ramses II statue to focus. This red-granite colossus was originally discovered in Memphis in 1820. It was restored in Cairo in 1954 and served as a beacon in the city's Bab Al-Hadid square for decades. The government moved it to Giza for safekeeping in 2006, with Ramses II arriving safely in his new home, the GEM's nearly finished entrance atrium, in January 2018.With cranes, jackhammers and makeshift fencing surrounding us, this encounter with the 39-foot-tall colossus peaceful is far from peaceful.But given the GEM expects to draw eight million tourists annually, this raw, crowd-free moment with the ancient Ramses II is well worth the price of admission.

Grand Egyptian Museum: El Remayah Sq.,Cairo-Alex. Road, Pyramids, Giza, Egypt; + 202 33 776 893

Behind-the-Scenes Grand Egyptian Museum Tour

https://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/grand-egyptian-museum-secret-tour-egypt/index.html

#Egypt #Grand Egyptian Museum

[vsplusonline]

UN pushes for virus vaccine as Trump disinfectant theory sparks outrage

New Post has been published on https://apzweb.com/un-pushes-for-virus-vaccine-as-trump-disinfectant-theory-sparks-outrage/

UN pushes for virus vaccine as Trump disinfectant theory sparks outrage

The United Nations on Friday launched a global push to speed up production of a vaccine for the new coronavirus as U.S. President Donald Trump came under fire for suggesting injecting patients with disinfectant.

The pandemic has upended life around the planet as nations try to stop the spread of the disease that has so far claimed more than 190,000 lives, infected nearly three million people and hammered the global economy.

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said defeating the pandemic will require the biggest health effort ever seen as the United Nations joined forces with world leaders and the private sector to develop, produce and distribute a vaccine for COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus.

“We face a global public enemy like no other,” Guterres told a virtual briefing. “A world free of COVID-19 requires the most massive public health effort in history.”

“None of us is safe until all of us are safe,” the UN chief said. “COVID-19 respects no borders. COVID-19 anywhere is a threat to people everywhere.”

While the disease appears to be peaking in Europe and the United States, other nations are still in the early stages of the fight and the WHO has warned strict measures should remain until there is a viable treatment or vaccine.

The race is on around the world to develop one, with the University of Oxford launching a human trial, while Germany announced similar trials will start by next week.

In a briefing at the White House, scientists said they had found the virus was quickly destroyed by sunlight, raising hopes that the pandemic could ease as the northern hemisphere summer approaches.

It prompted Trump to suggest researchers investigate whether it would be possible to inject light and disinfectant into the body to cure the disease — comments that sparked outrage among experts and medical professionals.

“Is there a way we can do something like that, by injection inside or almost a cleaning?” Trump said. “It sounds interesting to me.”

But his suggestion was met with disbelief by many experts who cautioned against any such experiment.

“This notion of injecting or ingesting any type of cleansing product into the body is irresponsible, and it’s dangerous,” Vin Gupta, pulmonologist and health expert told NBC News.

The United States is now the worst-affected nation in the world, with about 50,000 coronavirus deaths. 

In a bid to restart its economy, the US state of Georgia will lift restrictions further than most on Friday when it allows businesses like gyms and hair salons to reopen — a move seen as too far by some.

“This is an irresponsible move that is based solely on dollars over science,” Randy Adler, owner of Babs Midtown restaurant, told AFP. “It is not the right thing to do.”

Ramadan on lockdown

Across the globe more than four billion people are still under some form of lockdown or stay-at-home order even as governments begin easing restrictions, weighing the risk of more infections against growing economic fallout.

Muslims across the world began marking the holy month of Ramadan under the confinement orders on Friday, with bans on prayers in mosques and large gatherings of families and friends to break the daily fast — a centrepiece of the holy month.

In the Saudi holy city of Mecca, the Grand Mosque, usually packed with tens of thousands of pilgrims during Ramadan, was deserted as religious authorities suspended the year-round umrah pilgrimage.

“We are used to seeing the holy mosque crowded with people during the day, night, all the time… I feel pain deep inside,” said Ali Mulla, the muezzin who gives the call to prayer at the Grand Mosque.

But despite the coronavirus threat, clerics and conservatives in some countries including Bangladesh, Pakistan and Indonesia — the world’s largest Muslim-majority nation — have pushed back against social distancing rules, refusing to stop gatherings in mosques.

Several thousand people attended evening prayers on Thursday at the biggest mosque in the capital of Indonesia’s conservative Aceh province, and there were similar scenes at many sites in Pakistan.

The WHO called for a stop to some Ramadan activities to lower the risk of infections, and authorities in several countries have explicitly warned of the threat from large religious gatherings.

Distancing measures and the severe economic impact of the pandemic have also meant many charitable activities during Ramadan, especially food distribution and other donations, have been hit hard.

Massive economic stimulus

The economic devastation wreaked by lockdowns indoors is huge, with the world facing its worst downturn since the Great Depression.

U.S. lawmakers covered their faces with masks and voted in small groups to approve a US$483 billion stimulus plan, on top of a $2.2 trillion package already enacted.

The money will back small businesses on the brink of bankruptcy and hard-pressed hospitals as the world’s biggest economy reels, with more than 26 million people losing their jobs since the pandemic hit.

In Europe — the hardest-hit continent —  leaders haggled by video conference over their own package that could top one trillion euros, as the European Central Bank chief warned of the risk of “acting too little, too late”.

The 27-nation European Union agreed to ask the bloc’s executive arm to come up with a rescue plan by May 6, sources told AFP.

The crucial economic discussions come as parts of Europe slowly loosen restrictions after progress on reducing the number of new infections.

But experts have warned of a possible second wave, and authorities are ramping up their capacity to deal with it in Germany — where curbs on public life have been eased recently.

Virologist Christian Drosten of Berlin’s Charite hospital warned that the coronavirus could return with a “totally different force”.

The German Football League says it is ready for the Bundesliga to resume from May 9, though without fans in stadiums and with strict player hygiene measures. A final government decision is expected next week.

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#Health

[kerahlekung]

Luck might be running out for chubby Jho...

Luck might be running out for chubby Jho... .

But It Would Spell Trouble 

For Ex-PM Najib Razak...

What former Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Mohamad Fuzi Harun could not do in 1 year since the new government took over, it seems the new IGP Abdul Hamid Bador could probably do in 1 month. The new police chief has just dropped the strongest hint that luck might be running out for chubby Jho Low, the partner-in-crime of former Prime Minister Najib Razak. During a police programme at the Taman Tun Dr Ismail Bazaar Ramadan on Thursday (May 30), IGP Hamid Bador was asked about the status of Jho Low whose full name is Low Taek Jho. Hamid Bador, who took over as the new police chief from Fuzi Harun on May 1, said – “Insya-Allah (God willing), when I say we are sure of bringing him back soon, it means soon.” But was IGP Bador, like his predecessor Fuzi, blowing hot air just to boost his popularity? After all, there had been too many false starts – fake promises even – from the Royal Malaysia Police under the previous leadership of Fuzi, one of 17,000 political appointees of the previous corrupt regime of Najib Razak. Mr. Fuzi went on compulsory retirement from May. Mr. Fuzi was so controversial that PM Mahathir had to assure the public that the new IGP (Bador) will conduct the investigation into allegations that the Special Branch was behind the kidnapping or abduction of Pastor Raymond Koh and a social activist Amri Che Mat. Fuzi was the Special Branch director at the time of the disappearance of the two men in 2017 and 2016 respectively. Mohamad Fuzi Harun, during his tenure as the head of the Royal Malaysia Police, one of the most corrupt institutions in the country, was largely condemned for protecting his crooked boss – PM Najib Razak. His loyalty to Najib was proven when he declared in March 2018 (2 months before Najib regime collapsed) that there was no link between Jho Low and 1MDB scandal.

IGP Abdul Hamid Bador 

The disgraced Fuzi said – “Based on the investigation, Low never worked for the company nor did he make any business decision for the company. All business decisions were made by the 1MDB board of directors.” He also defended Najib from the 1MDB scandal, claiming that the seizure of the Equanimity yacht in Bali was merely a civil forfeiture against Low and not against 1MDB. For almost his entire life as the country’s police chief, Mohamad Fuzi Harun had never been serious about apprehending Jho Low. Even after Najib and his Barisan Nasional government lost everything in the last May general election, Fuzi had continued singing the same old song – that Jho Low had yet to be found and efforts to locate him were still underway. Last week, IGP Bador revealed that his boys have obtained new leads of Jho Low’s whereabouts, thus promising that the police would do their best to bring the fugitive back home to assist investigations in the 1MDB scandal. The police chief, in urging Jho Low to surrender, has promised to guarantee the safety of the fugitive and his family – if they come back to Malaysia. Mr. Bador said – “I encourage them (Jho Low and his accomplices) to come back and don’t waste our time, for they can’t run forever. We have laws, so return. Do not only issue statements remotely through lawyers, denying this and that. Why does he himself not return here? I give my assurance of safety for his family and himself. Come back and face the law.” The police also exposed that besides Jho Low, the authorities are also trying to bring the fugitive’s 6 right-hand men out from hiding. In what appeared to be a message to Jho Low that the authorities were not bluffing and knew more than he thought, the top cop said Jho Low’s move to hide behind his lawyers in Macau and Hong Kong when making statements is nothing short of cowardice.

Fugitive Jho Low

Abdul Hamid Bador’s performance so far in tracking down Jho Low has been positive and commendable. At least, he has been proactive hunting the fugitive, unlike his predecessor Mohamad Fuzi Harun. However, many aren’t sure the police can be trusted, not to mention it was strategically dumb to raise the alarm before Jho Low is arrested for real. But Hamid Bador’s assurance of safety for Jho Low and his family suggests that certain “hidden hands” are out to “silence” him from testifying against Najib Razak. After all, Mongolian Altantuya Shariibuu was killed and her body was exterminated with military grade C4 explosive during Najib’s scandal involving the controversial purchase of French Scorpene submarines. Jho Low looks like a man who still treasures family dignity, or whatever little left of it. He is believed to have had siphoned billions of dollars from 1MDB. He can absolutely live comfortably for the rest of his life, even as a fugitive. Yet, he is fighting to get back a three-storey house in Tanjung Bungah Park in Penang, the RM15 million properties seized by the authorities under AMLA law. “My parents worked tirelessly for many decades to provide their children with a safe, comfortable upbringing. Before I was born, my mother enjoyed good success in her investments. It is thanks to these prudent decisions that they were not only able to purchase and build 69, Tanjung Bungah Park, but also selflessly donate to and support their local communities for decades similar to my late grandfather,” – said Jho Low. Clearly, there were some family heritage and sentimental values in the house that the 37-year-old Penangite would like to preserve. And this could be his Achilles’ heel. Besides, it’s not a long-term solution moving between hotel suites and luxury apartments around Shanghai, Hong Kong and Macau, especially with his wife and the need to provide a normal life for his two children.

Najib - Jho Low and Nik Faisal scam me...

What is still unknown is the secret deal behind the closed doors struck between both governments of Malaysia and China after the re-negotiation of the East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) and the revival of Bandar Malaysia mega projects. As Mahathir throws more supports behind Beijing, the latest being Huawei, it’s a matter of time before Jho Low loses the protection altogether. But if it’s true that IGP Hamid Bador is moving closer to detaining the country’s most wanted fugitive, it would mean serious trouble for Najib Razak. With nowhere to hide, the former premier’s hotshot lawyer, Shafee Abdullah, has thrown Jho Low and Joanna Yu, Najib’s relationship liaison manager at Ambank, under the bus – blaming the duo as the real culprits and criminals. Attorney Shafee declared in court – “My client does not deal with his account himself. He was misled and is a victim.” The strategy was to lead the court into believing that fugitive Jho Low was the mastermind who had allegedly scammed and misled Najib Razak. Najib’s lawyer has also accused Nik Faisal Ariff Kamil (former CEO of SRC International) of conspiring against his client. In exchange for his extremely damaging testimony against Najib, and the returns of tens of billions of Ringgit, Jho Low might be required to serve between 1 to 3 years imprisonment. That is still a good deal since he can live a free life with his family thereafter, not to mention a very comfortable lifestyle as he would definitely hide some money elsewhere for retirement. Hamid Bador has very little reason to win the popularity contest. He despised Najib’s 1MDB scandal from the beginning and as a result, he was transferred out of Special Branch as deputy chief. He had chosen early retirement in 2015 instead, until Mahathir got him installed as the country’s police chief early this month. He also knew people were fast losing patience after tons of broken promises from the police. Therefore, for the IGP to confidently tell all and sundry that Jho Low is expected to be detained soon, it carries weight. One has to remember that Hamid Bador was the second man in the Special Branch, the intelligence agency attached to the Royal Malaysia Police. And there’s a reason why Najib had not dared fire him, but instead transferred him to the Prime Minister’s Office. Like it or not, Bador is the best bet to bring Jho Low in. - FT

Duit raya peneroka FELDA...

Apabila Azmin Ali kata tidak ada duit raya untuk peneroka Felda hati kecil saya sudah tidak percaya apa dikata Azmin itu. Dengan mengambil pengalaman cara dia berpolitik saya sudah mengagak apa yang ada disebalik tabir. Lebih kukuh lagi apabila Mahathir suruh tanya Azmin bab duit raya itu. Ia makin jelas apa yang akan berlaku. Azmin sengaja test market. Ditambah pula dengan rayuan bersurat oleh Mazlan Aliman yang meminta wang raya untuk peneroka Felda.

Dan akhirnya peneroka dapat wang raya RM300 seorang. Kesimpulannya disini boleh difahami begitulah cara Azmin berpolitik. Ada nilai tambah untuknya disebalik apa yang berlaku itu. Mazlan juga boleh tumpang semangkok kononnya rayuan dialah membuka hati Azmin untuk bagi duit raya kepada peneroka. Tetapi dalam hal ini kesediaan Azmin menyediakan peruntukkan untuk peneroka itu sedikit sebanyak kerana ada campur tangan Anwar Ibrahim juga. Apa pun bermainlah politik jenis apa pun asalkan ia memberi laba kepada rakyat. - MSO

Anakku Sazali...

1. Pesan orang tua - tua , 'Jika Nak Melentur Buluh Biarlah Dari Rebungnya’. 2. Begitu juga perumpamaan Melayu yang ada kaitan: - ‘Bagaimana Acuan Begitulah Kuihnya’. 3. Kita juga sering dengar pepatah ini - ‘Ke Mana Tumpah Lauk Jika Tidak Ke Nasi’. 4. Kesimpulannya , ibu bapa adalah guru pertama yang mendidik dan membentuk kelakuan dan adab sopan anak-anak. 5. Jika ada sikap biadab dan tidak mempunyai budi pekerti dan akhlak yang baik yang dipamerkan oleh anak - anak, maka ia adalah bayangan dari cermin yang dilihat daripada ibu bapa mereka. 6. Lakunan P Ramlee (Alfatihah) dalam filem berjodol ' Anak Ku Sazali ' yang ditayangkan dalam tahun 1956 , iaitu setahun sebelum Merdeka , memberi ingatan dan peringatan kepada kita betapa bahayanya memanjakan anak - anak terlampau berlebihan. 7. Lupakah akan pesanan datuk nenek kita dahulu yang berbunyi, 'Sayang Anak Tangan - Tangankan’. 8. P Ramlee yang memainkan 2 watak , Hassan sebagai ayah dan Sazali sebagai anak dalam filem tersebut telah menyedarkan kita sebagai ibu bapa yang dipertanggungjawabkan mencorak dan membimbing anak - anak dengan sempurna dari awal lagi. 9. Semoga di dalam Bulan Ramadhan ini kita berusaha membaiki diri dan memperbaiki anak - anak yang lupa diri ; ini termasuklah Sultan - Sultan dan keluarga mereka. 10. Mungkin oleh kerana kurang diajar dengan sempurna dari segi akhlak dan budi pekerti yang baik termasuk menghormati rakyat terutama sekali menghormati pemimpin rakyat sama ada Perdana Menteri maupun Menteri Besar, maka rakyat kini melihat telatah Ismail, anak Sultan Johor yang amat celupar dan biadab. 11. Oleh kerana itulah akhirnya Perdana Menteri sendiri menggelarkannya sebagai ‘Young Boy , He Is Stupid ' atau dalam bahasa Melayu 'Budak Kecil , Dia Tu Bodoh'. 12. Ada juga ejekan di kalangan rakyat Johor terhadap beliau sebagai ‘Stupid Shortie ' atau 'Budak Pendek Bodoh’.

13. Jika dibandingkan dengan anak - anak Sultan lain , beliau langsung  tidak mencerminkan  sebagai ahli keluarga bangsawan yang boleh dihormati ; berkelakuan buruk tak ubah seperti budak yang terancat akal. 14. Apakah beliau sudah merasa hebat dengan jambang dan uniform askar yang dipakai itu? 15. Sebenarnya beliau sedang berusaha menutup kegagalannya dalam mata pelajaran. 16. Difahamkan seperti bapanya , beliau juga gagal mendapat kelulusan Sijil Pelajaran Rendah atau LCE. 17. Bagi menyelamatkan keadaan, beliau telah dimasukan ke Pusat Latihan Tentera di India pada awal umur dan oleh kerana beliau bukan rakyat India serta bagi menghormati datuknya yang ketika itu Sultan Johor, beliau telah dianugerahkan pangkat Kapten Kehormat ; ini berbeza dengan pangkat Kapten sebenar. 18. Kini beliau menggelarkan diri dan memakai uniform dan bintang sebagai Major General dengan jumlah Askar Setia Timbalan atau Johor Military Force tak lebih 200 anggota sahaja. 19. Sudah sampai masanya Kerajaan khasnya Kementerian Pertahanan mengkaji dan jika ada asas kukuh, mengisytiharkan apa yang dilakuan oleh budak ini adalah bertentangan dengan aturan peraturan ketenteraan - ini bagi menjaga imej Angkatan Tentera agar tidak terus dicemari. 20. Jika sifat dan perangai celupar, biadab, samseng dan kurang ajar ini gagal diperbaiki ia bukan sahaja memalukan rakyat dan negeri Johor malah ia pasti akan merugikan keseluruhan Institusi Raja Berperlembagaan itu sendiri. 21.  Jangan biarkan setitik nila merosakan susu sebelanga. 22. Adalah lebih baik bertindak terhadap seekor kerbau yang sudah terpalit lumpur bagi menjaga keharmonian dan nama baik sebuah kampung. 23. Semoga kita dan Sultan di beri petunjuk di hari yang mulai ini,selamat berpuasa. - Tamrin Tun Ghafar

Dr.M kata Malaysia akan guna juga Huawei sebab negara kita 

takdak benda pun yang nak disorok... 

Dulu kebai. Sekarang bebai...

Atok dah balik...

cheers.

Sumber asal: Luck might be running out for chubby Jho... Baca selebihnya di Luck might be running out for chubby Jho...

#Blogger

[fillypeskykitten]

Printed solar panels: Overhyped pipedream or renewable game changer?

A research team from the University of Newcastle made headlines last week when they installed a 200-square-metre array of working solar panels on a factory roof in Newcastle. Which isn't very impressive in its own right ... except that the solar cells were printed on a reel-to-reel printer. Advocates of the new technology say it can revolutionise the way solar panels are made and distributed in Australia and around the world. But hype aside, printed panels are less efficient than silicon-based panels, they only last a couple of years, and making them isn't as simple as hitting print on your home computer. So do they deserve the hype? Could printed solar panels make renewable energy an affordable option? How do you print a solar panel?

Printed solar is less efficient than silicon-based panels, and only lasts a few years. (CSIRO)

Printed solar is less efficient than silicon-based panels, and only lasts a few years. Printing solar cells is nothing new. Teams around the world have been working on the technology for more than a decade, including at the CSIRO and Monash University. However, the University of Newcastle's latest installation, which is undergoing a six-month testing period on the CHEP company factory, puts them at the head of the game and brings them within "about two years" of launching their product onto the commercial market. Solar cells are made from a semi-conducting material something that can be positively or negatively "doped" to carry more or less electrons and thus, have positive or negative conductivity. Most semi-conductors, like silicon, are brittle, so the Newcastle team led by Paul Dastoor created inks from semi-conducting, flexible polymers. The first layer of semi-conducting ink is printed on a transparent plastic sheet, and then numerous layers are printed, one on top of the other, until the cells are about 200 microns thick. A human hair is around 50 microns. "Then we produce a top contact layer which is done again, reel-to-reel, using a technique known as sputter coating," Professor Dastoor said. "It's the same technique you use to make the metallisation on chip packets. So that makes my top electrode, and then we seal the whole lot up in a top layer of plastic." They printed the panels onto 10-metre rolls and, for the CHEP building, 640 metres of printed solar was rolled out and connected in series to form a 200-square-metre bank of panels. How is this better than a regular solar panel?

Silicon-based panels are much heavier than printed models. (ABC Rural: Babs McHugh)

Silicon-based panels are much heavier than printed models. ABC Rural: Babs McHugh So if you can't make these on your printer at home, is this better than a regular solar panel? From one perspective no. Printed panels are less efficient, and at the moment, only last about two to three years, according to Professor Dastoor. But proponents see their advantage in cost, ease of manufacture and weight. The Newcastle solar array was installed in an afternoon, and fixed to the roof using double-sided tape. "The best question is, what's the cost of the energy," Professor Dastoor said. "Because they're so cheap to manufacture, even though they have low efficiency and they don't last very long ... those costs still mean that it's highly economic to go down this path of printing solar." The cost of a semiconductor fabrication plant, where silicon for panels is refined, runs into the billions of dollars; the set-up cost for printing panels is in the thousands. For comparison, the combined cost of CSIRO's printers used for their printed solar comes to less than $500,000. The Newcastle team estimate the cost of their modules at less than $10 per square metre. At that price, 200 square metres of panels would cost under $2,000. Currently the printed panels are about one fifth as efficient as silicon-based panels. If their efficiency can be doubled, the team estimate that a 150-square-metre array could cover the power needs of an average household. They've doubled the efficiency of their panels in the last year, and expect to double it again in as little as the next 12 weeks. CSIRO are already achieving those numbers, according to senior research technician for printed photovoltaics Jyothi Ramamurthy. Ms Ramamurthy said CSIRO are aiming to integrate their technology into things like awnings, blinds, and tents. "We'd like to harness solar from everywhere," she said. The initial investment in silicon-based solar panels makes them prohibitively expensive for many homeowners and most renters. But cheaper printed panels would allow a short-term payoff that could be within reach for renters, according to Professor Dastoor. "I see it very much working like mobile phones work," he said. "I think what's more likely is we're going to say, 'oh yeah I'll go with that energy plan', and someone's going to come and put it up and take it down and you won't know." Like mobile phones, he said we can expect that each time we upgrade, the technology will have improved. Shouldn't we be moving away from a disposable model?

The team estimate they will be able to power an average house on 150 square metres of panels. (University of Newcastle.)

The team estimate they will be able to power an average house on 150 square metres of panels. University of Newcastle. Printed solar panels rely heavily on plastic and, with their short lifespan, have the potential to add a significant amount of plastic to our waste stream. Part of the Newcastle University project will attempt to recycle the plastic at the end of the install. "This trial is a six-month install; we put them up, test their performance, and in the end we're taking them down and recycling them," Professor Dastoor said. Ideally, they will be recycled back into panels, but that is untested at this stage. If these panels are to roll out commercially, recycling or reuse of the plastic components would need to be mandatory in order to avoid adding to Australia's waste problems. The plastic used in the production of CSIRO's printed solar is recyclable PET the same as is used in soft-drink bottles, according to Ms Ramamurthy. "In theory, some of the materials printed on the PET should be recovered before disposal and more work is required in this area," she said. While some in Canberra have been arguing that renewables have been driving up power prices, a Renewable Energy Index report from July has shown the exact opposite. Power prices have risen in response to the shutdown of power stations like Hazelwood and Northern Power Station, but have been driven down by renewables. Wholesale power prices are forecast to halve over the next four years due to the addition of extra large-scale renewables since October 2016. And an Australian Energy Market Operator report has found that the most economical way to replace our ageing coal plants is with renewables. "The lowest cost replacement for this retiring capacity and energy will be a portfolio of resources, including solar (28 gigawatts), wind (10.5 GW) and storage (17 GW and 90 GWh), complemented by 500 megawatts of flexible gas plant and transmission investment," the report said. The University of Newcastle's economic modelling shows that if they can double the efficiency of their panels, and with a lifespan of 5-6 years, printed solar panels can be a cheaper power option than coal. A criticism of rooftop solar is that the high initial cost outlay excludes renters and low-income earners from the market. If the efficiency of printed solar panels can be improved, and if recycling of the plastic waste is accounted for in the business model, printed solar could give renewable energy a much needed egalitarian boost. ABC science promo Want more science from across the ABC? http://www.abc.net.au/news/science/2018-09-06/printed-solar-panels-renewable-energy/10186950

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China’s drive for global influence

Ned Temko, CS Monitor, August 6, 2018

LONDON--Trade War with China! The very phrase conveys the potential gravity of Washington’s campaign to rebalance the relationship between the world’s two largest economies, and address what the United States and many other countries view as unfair commercial practices by the Chinese.

But as sometimes happens, the drumbeat of daily headlines can mask a deeper story: in this case, that trade may not be the main test posed by Chinese policies. A more serious, long-term challenge could lie in the ambitious program being undertaken under President Xi Jinping to parlay China’s economic clout into expanded financial, political, and strategic influence across the globe.

If that sounds familiar, that’s perhaps because of echoes from the dueling cold war campaigns by the Soviet Union and the US for influence in post-colonial Asia, Africa, and Latin America through the late 1970s.

But the historical differences outweigh the parallels. The Chinese initiative is far larger and more economically robust than the Soviets’ mix of aid and arms sales to the developing world. And the USSR was, in some respects, not that much more developed economically than the states it sought to partner and influence.

China, like the old USSR, does have a political system rooted in control by the Communist Party, and increasingly in President Xi himself. But it has a modern economy, with powerful trade and financial links to the rest of the developed world, giving muscle to its drive for new relationships across Asia and Africa. That effort is part of an overall geopolitical strategy, portrayed by Xi as ending China’s relative lack of assertiveness since Mao Zedong’s Cultural Revolution and reconnecting the country with its historic identity as a world power.

Its trillion-dollar centerpiece is called Belt and Road. It aims to revive the old Silk Road trading routes between China and the West through infrastructure projects in dozens of countries, beginning with its near neighbors in central Asia and fanning out across southern Asia and into Africa. The official narrative is that this is a “win-win” for all involved. When the Chinese have come calling--with plans for roads and railways, pipelines and ports, in countries that undeniably need new infrastructure--recipient states have almost invariably said “yes.”

But there’s a rub, increasingly concerning to the US and allied countries. Typically, the projects are built by Chinese companies. They’re funded by a mix of concessionary exports of raw materials back to China and by billions of dollars in loans. A number of China’s Belt and Road partners are already deep in debt, however. They run the risk of not being able to repay, giving Beijing leverage to secure wider geopolitical gains.

This isn’t just theoretical. In Sri Lanka, China built a port on the island nation’s southern coast. Late last year, after protracted negotiations over the Sri Lankans’ inability to repay, Chinese state companies were given control of the facility, a few hundred miles off the coast of India.

Djibouti, on the Horn of Africa, is a small state with outsized strategic significance. It sits on the Bab el Mandeb strait, across from Yemen at the foot of the Red Sea, and is home to the only permanent US military base in Africa.

There, too, China has built a port, as well as a railway and other projects. But shortly after opening the port last year, it also inaugurated its first overseas naval base a few miles away. Given the likelihood Djibouti will find it hard to repay its infrastructure loans, there is now concern the government may end up ceding a wider military footprint to the Chinese.

The question for US policymakers has been how to respond. In recent days, the Trump administration has unveiled what seems the beginning of an answer. As the Monitor reported, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced a plan to fund infrastructure and development partnerships across Asia, ahead of his own visit to the region, which just concluded.

Still, the initial sum--$113 million--was microscopic compared with Belt and Road.

The issue of how the US deals with allies in responding to Chinese trade and overseas infrastructure policies has now brought a more fundamental question about the administration’s future course into focus. In a surprise visit last January to the annual World Economic Forum in Davos, the president declared: “America First does not mean America alone.” His next words made clear what he meant: that by directing all his policy energies to American economic growth, the rest of the world would benefit, too. But with China, he may be faced with deciding whether America’s own interests can be secured without calling on the kind of alliances previous administrations have long relied upon.

#China #US-China relations #Belt and Road