#official dan cooper

[officialdancooper]

Happy Holidays!!

#happy holidays #merey christmas #official dan cooper #dan cooper #d b cooper

[freckliedan]

shoutout to @yonpote and @dnphobe for inspiration to read about dan and phil—here's what i've got. ry, i asked approximately the same questions as you, but my cards were not cooperating so there's a lot more of them here.

what are dan and phil up to? for that i used the guided hand tarot deck, the top 2 rows of cards.

strength is a tone card—the overall vibe is that of the figure who is strong not because they've overpowered the beast in the card but because they're in harmony with it. very dnp with the phandom at this point in time. the emperor also insisted on being here. i do not know what they have to say yet but they're here. security in the foundation that's been built, maybe? this is not a toxic emperor.

the first card i actually pulled that's answering this question is also the fool, like ry's reading. something completely new, something beyond what we could possibly know at this point in time.

the 2 and 3 of wands, as well as the 6 of wands? those came out when i asked this deck about "what comes straight after" this moment, what announcement there might be coming. in general the deck refused to answer, instead confirming things to me? the 2 and 3 are a phrase: it's already begun. we're the first few steps in to an announcement already. the 6 is interesting though—6 is a victory, a hard won triumph, but is also potentially about the 6th month of the year (june).

all of these being wands when we all Know about the knight of wands? also significant. this is the path of action.

when i pushed for an answer about what they're announcing using the cosmic slumber tarot i got justice and the hierophant, which is this deck telling me it's not answering that question if i'm going to post about it. i have run into refusals like this in readings before. the information is there! it's just not for the public. there's no forcing my way around that.

i asked my rider waite smith deck if they're hard launching and i got. the ace of pentacles (a material new beginning). temperence (the angel that officiates the union of the lovers). the empress (the garden). and the lovers. do i need to elaborate on the lovers or the fact that the other two cards are emphasizing the union and location the lovers exist in?

anyways. thanks for coming to my tarot reading. all signs point to gay.

#jam posts #tarot #phan

[kp777]

By Robert Reich

Common Dreams

April 11, 2023

I hate to say this, but America no longer has two parties devoted to a democratic system of self-government. We have a Democratic Party, which — notwithstanding a few glaring counter-examples such as what the Democratic National Committee did to Bernie in 2016 — is still largely committed to democracy. And we have a Republican Party, which is careening at high-velocity toward authoritarianism. Okay, fascism.

What occurred in Nashville last week is a frightening reminder of the fragility of American democracy when Republicans obtain supermajorities and no longer need to work with Democratic lawmakers.

The two Tennessee Democrats expelled from the Tennessee House were not accused of criminal wrongdoing or even immoral conduct. Their putative offense was to protest Tennessee’s failure to enact stronger gun controls after a shooting at a Christian school in Nashville left three 9-year-old students and three adults dead.

They were technically in violation of House rules, but the state legislature has never before imposed so severe a penalty for rules violations. In fact, over the past few years, a number of Tennessee legislators have kept their posts even after being charged with serious sexual misconduct. And the two who were expelled last week are Black people, while a third legislator who demonstrated in the same manner but was not expelled is white.

***

We are witnessing the logical culmination of win-at-any-cost Trump Republican politics — scorched-earth tactics used by Republicans to entrench their power, with no justification other than that they can.

Democracy is about means. Under it, citizens don’t have to agree on ends (abortion, health care, guns, or whatever else we disagree about) as long as we agree on democratic means for handling our disagreements.

But for Trump Republicans, the ends justify whatever means they choose —including expelling lawmakers, rigging elections through gerrymandering, refusing to raise the debt ceiling, and denying the outcome of a legitimate presidential election.

My friends, the Republican Party is no longer committed to democracy. It is rapidly becoming the American fascist party.

***

Wisconsin may soon offer an even more chilling example. While liberals celebrated the election on Tuesday of Janet Protasiewicz to the Wisconsin Supreme Court because she’ll tip the court against the state’s extreme gerrymandering (the most extreme in the nation) and its fierce laws against abortion (among the most stringent in America), something else occurred in Wisconsin on election day that may well negate Protasiewicz’s victory. Voters in Wisconsin’s 8th senatorial district decided (by a small margin) to send Republican Dan Knodl to the state Senate.

This gives the Wisconsin Republican Party a supermajority — and with it, the power to remove key state officials, including judges, through impeachment. Several weeks ago, Knodl said he would “certainly consider” impeaching Protasiewicz. Although he was then talking about her role as a county judge, his interest in impeaching her presumably has increased now that she’s able to tip the state’s highest court.

As in Tennessee, this could be done without any necessity for a public justification. Under Republican authoritarianism, power is its own justification. Recall that in 2018, after Wisconsin voters elected a Democratic governor and attorney general, the Republican legislature and the lame duck Republican governor responded by significantly cutting back the power of both offices.

North Carolina is another state where a supermajority of GOP legislators has cut deeply into the power of the executive branch, after Democrats won those posts. The GOP now has veto-proof majorities in both of the state’s legislative chambers, which enable Republicans to enact conservative policies over the opposition of Gov. Roy Cooper, including even more extreme gerrymandered districts. Although North Carolina’s constitution bans mid-decade legislative redistricting absent a court order, Republicans just announced they plan to do it anyway.

Meanwhile, a newly installed Republican supermajority in Florida has given Ron DeSantis unbridled control over the state — granting him total authority of the board governing Disney, the theme park giant he has fought over his anti-LGBTQ+ “don’t say gay” law; permission to fly migrants from anywhere in the U.S. to destinations of his own choosing, for political purposes, and then send the bill to Florida’s taxpayers; and unprecedented prosecutorial power in the form of his newly created, hand-picked office of election “integrity,” pursuing supposed cases of voter fraud.Florida has now effectively silenced even Florida residents from speaking out in opposition to Republican proposals. A new rule prohibits rallies at the state house. Those testifying against Republican bills are often allowed to speak for no more than 30 seconds.

***

Without two parties committed to democratic means to resolve differences in ends, the one remaining (small-d) democratic party is at a disadvantage in seeking ends it deems worthy. The inevitable result: Eventually it, too, sacrifices democratic means to its own ends.

When a political party sacrifices democratic means to its own ends, partisanship turns to enmity, and political divisions morph into hatred. In warfare there are no principles, only wins and losses. One hundred sixty years ago, our system of self-government fell apart because Southern states refused to recognize the inherent equality of Black people. What occurred in Tennessee last week is a throwback to that shameful era. I don’t believe Trump alone is responsible for the birth of modern Republican fascism, but he has legitimized and encouraged the vicious rancor that has led much of the GOP into election-denying authoritarianism.

#republicans #american fascism #fascism #democracy #voter suppression #authoritarianism #gerrymandering #rigging elections

[simply-whump]

The Secret Romantic Guesthouse (꽃선비 열애사) - Whump List

Whumpee : Kang San played by Ryeoun, Kim Shi Yeol played by Kang Hoon and Jung Yoo Ha played by Jung Gun Joo

Synopsis : Yoon Dan Oh had enjoyed a comfortable life as the beloved youngest daughter of a well-off family, but no longer. Now the family breadwinner, she runs the Ihwawon Inn. Current guests are scholars taking the civil service entrance exam in the hopes of becoming high-ranking officials. Among them are Kang San, Kim Si Yeol, and Jeong Yoo Ha, who all have deep secrets. They and Yoon Dan Oh will share information and cooperate to find Lee Seol, who disappeared 13 years ago. (MDL)

Genres :  Historical, Mystery, Romance

Warning! Possible spoilers below!

Kang San

Ep 1 : Fighting — More fighting, shielding someone from a falling shelf with his body

Ep 2 : Fighting

Ep 3 : None

Ep 4 : Fighting — Shot by a poisoned arrow, chased, running away with the arrow in his arm, bleeding, heavy breathing — Stumbling, pulls the arrow out (Gif Set) — Weak, looking exhausted and really unwell, vision blurry, stumbling — Collapses unconscious, concern for him (Gif Set)

Ep 5 : Unconscious, bleeding — Laid down on a bed, concern for him, wakes up — Unconscious/asleep in bed, concern for him, treated — Wakes up in bed, told to rest (Gif Set) — Has a hard time getting his clothes off, medicine applied on his wound a bit roughly — Training with his arm still injured, holding his arm

Ep 6 : Arm hurting — Using his bow with an injured arm, bleeding, arms shaking — Chased, hiding 

Ep 7 : Fighting, surrounded by ennemies, at sword point

Ep 8 : Worried for someone — glass smashed on his back while protecting someone — Arm in a sling — Wincing in pain — Injured arm hit, grabbing his arm while wincing in pain, bleeding — Identity revealed 

Ep 9 : Told he looks unwell, injury grabbed accidentally — Arm bleeding, concern for him, injury treated — Drunk, put to bed

Ep 10 : Sparring, hit, more intense sparring — Surrounded, attacked

Ep 11-12 : None

Ep 13 : His legs fell asleep because he squatted for to long, helped up — Surrounded, attacked, fighting

Ep 14 : None

Ep 15 : Fighting multiple ennemies at once, almost shot, falls from a cliff, hits a tree, bleeding from the head, passes out (Gif Set) — Woken up, helped up — Arrested, tied up to a chair

Ep 16 : Worried for someone, fighting, hit, thrown to the ground — Tied to a pole — Frees himself, fighting, at sword point, more fighting

Ep 17 : None

Ep 18 : Fighting, loses his sword, sword at his neck, saved, more fighting — Fighting, crying

Kim Shi Yeol

Ep 1 : Thrown down some stairs, pretends to be unconscious — Punched, blood on his lips — Taken by some guards — Looking disheveled 

Ep 3-4 : None

Ep 5 : Knocked out, arrested and tied to a chair — Sword at his neck

Ep 6 : Tied to a chair, burning iron put on his leg (torture), groaning in pain, heavy breathing — Limping

Ep 7 : Trips and falls while running away

Ep 8-9 : None

Ep 10 : Identity revealed

EP 11 : Fighting

Ep 12 : Scratch on his hand, concern for him — Concern for him, checked out to see if he has any injuries

Ep 13 : Fighting, arm cut — Asleep, concern for him

Ep 14 : None

Ep 15 : Surrounded by ennemies, attacked, fighting while protecting someone, arm cut, bleeding, concern for him — Injury treated, lots of scars shown on his body — Depressed

Ep 16 : Crying — Fighting

Ep 17 : Fighting, crying

Ep 18 : Fighting

Jung Yoo Ha

Ep 1-5 : None

Ep 6 : Watches his mother die, crying

Ep 7 : None

Ep 8 : Teary eyed

Ep 9-11 : None

Ep 12 : At sword point

Ep 13-15 : None

Ep 16 : Tied to a pole — Freed— At sword point, sees someone he cares for die in front of him, crying, shocked, stumbling, stays behind to protect his friends

Ep 17 : Tied to a chair, face grabbed roughly — Brought for a public execution with a bag on his head, hands tied, put to his knees, neck, hands and feet tied so that he can be torn apart

Ep 18 : Limbs pulled by horses (to tear him apart), saved, heavy breathing

>> More Whump Lists

#the secret romantic guesthouse #whump list #asian whump #kdrama #korean drama #ryeoun #kang hoon #jung gun joo

[stedefxckingbonnet]

requests info/intro!

hi, everyone!

i thought i'd take a quick second to introduce myself and to also formally open up requests. i'm already working on a few things, but requests really do always help and feel free to submit them at any point--but, we'll get to all of that in a moment!

my name is lavinia, and i am a uni student studying both theatre (dramaturgy specifically) and creative writing! i love to sing, act, write (obviously haha), read (i am a huge fan of classic literature, as well as donna tartt, mona awad, sally rooney, elif bautman, and ottessa moshfegh's works), go to concerts, go to the movies, style/design clothing, paint, collect records/cds, and so much more! this barely scratches the surface really but, if any of you share these interests, always feel free to reach out!

anyhow, as i said, i will officially be opening requests, and at the moment here is the media and the characters i will write for:

Our Flag Means Death

Izzy Hands (my BELOVED)

Ed Teach

Stede Bonnet

Lucius Spriggs

Jim Jimenez

Oluwande

Mary Bonnet

(more available upon request! these were just sort of my first instincts.)

Gilmore Girls

honestly, i'm pretty open to anything unless it's dean. just request and i'll see what i can do!

Gossip Girl

Blair Waldorf

Serena Van der Woodsen

Dan Humphrey

Nate Archibald

Chuck Bass (like sometimes)

Rufus Humphrey

more available upon request.

The Fosters/The Good Trouble

Callie Adams Foster

Mariana Adams Foster

Brandon Foster

Jamie Hunter

Gael Martinez

Dennis Cooper

Malika Williams

more available upon request.

Select Wes Anderson and Tim Burton characters. just ask!

Enola Holmes

Enola Holmes

Tewkesbury

Sherlock Holmes

Little Women (2019)

Jo March

Amy March

Beth March

Meg March

Laurie

Friedrich Bhaer

Star Wars

Obi-Wan Kenobi

Anakin Skywalker

Padmé Amidala

Luke Skywalker

Han Solo

Leia Organa

Kylo Ren

Finn

Poe Dameron

Ahsoka Tano

more available upon request!

Pride & Prejudice (2005)

Basically me just saying I'll write Mr. Darcy. but more characters available upon request, of course.

Community

Abed Nadir

Troy Barnes

Annie Edison

Jeff and Britta I'm a little iffy on but with the right request, maybe. don't hesitate to ask!

The OC

Seth Cohen

Ryan Atwood

Summer Roberts

Marissa Cooper

The Umbrella Academy

Klaus

Viktor

Ben

Five

Diego

Allison

Luther is like, not preferred for me but if you feel strongly about him and have a good request, i’ll consider it but don’t get your hopes up too high!

Once Upon a Time

Emma Swan

Regina Mills

Killian Jones

Neal Cassidy

August Booth

Jefferson (The Mad Hatter)

Mulan

Ruby Lucas (Red Riding Hood)

Belle French

Mary Margaret Blanchard (Snow White)

David Nolan (Prince Charming)

Peter Pan

Robin Hood

Any others, feel free to ask! I know I left Mr. Gold (Rumple) off, but that's only because it depends with each request. Also, please specify if you want it to take place in Storybrooke pre or post curse, or in The Enchanted Forest.

Merlin

Merlin

Arthur

Gwen

Morgana

Nimueh

Lancelot

any others, feel free to ask. i am just starting S2, keep that in mind.

i'll just start there for now, as honestly it's been a bit since i've written an x reader and i don't want to overwhelm myself much! but please, feel free to request at any time! I will update this frequently, as I am always either getting into new things or remembering things I already love. I am mostly dedicated to OFMD right now, but you may also leave requests for other fandoms and I will keep them on file, or who knows, perhaps even get to them sooner than you may imagine! Have a wonderful day (or night!), and don't forget to request!

yours truly,

lavinia

me filing through all of your requests (hopefully!)

#our flag means death #ofmd #ofmd s2 #gossip girl #gilmore girls #izzy hands #the fosters #the oc #pride and prejudice #little women 2019 #enola holmes #wes anderson #tim burton #community tv show #star wars #obi wan kenobi #x reader #requests open #the umbrella academy #five hargreeves #klaus hargreeves #viktor hargreeves #diego hargreeves #allison hargreeves #ben hargreeves #stede bonnet #ed teach #once upon a time #requests are open #please request

[beardedmrbean]

Police have arrested the girlfriend of Joliet mass murder suspect Romeo Nance for allegedly preventing police from finding her boyfriend after they said he killed seven members of his own family and one other person on 21 January.

Kyleigh Cleveland, 21, was charged with obstruction of justice on Wednesday after she allegedly told police she didn’t know Nance’s phone number as the manhunt was underway.

Police said they first made contact with Ms Cleveland when they were looking for Nance’s three-year-old son after he was not found at either of the two family homes where the shootings took place.

When detectives found the child at a home in Plainfield with Ms Cleveland, the 21-year-old was cooperative with police, and agreed to be questioned, authorities said.

However, detectives believe she withheld critical information from them to prevent them from apprehending Nance.

Ms Cleveland, who is the mother of Nance’s three-year-old son, was ordered by a judge to be placed on home confinement and electronic monitoring.

Police believe Nance went on a deadly shooting spree on 21 January, shooting nine people in the Joliet area, eight of whom were killed.

Seven of the victims are believed to have been related to Nance, police said. The victims were later identified as Nance’s mother, aunt, uncle, brother and three sisters.

He is also believed to have shot two men at random, including the final victim, 28-year-old Toyosi Bakare.

Investigators do not believe that Mr Bakare was related to any of the other victims.

The ninth man, who was shot in the leg, is also not believed to have been connected to any of the other victims.

Nance later took his own life hundreds of miles away in Natalia, Texas, following a confrontation with law enforcement officials, police said.

Following the shootings, it remains unclear why Nance travelled to Natalia, which is more than 18 hours away from Joliet by road. Illinois authorities confirmed on Tuesday that Nance had no known ties to Texas.

Medina County, Texas, sheriff Randy Brown said he believes Nance was trying to reach Mexico.

“It seems like they [criminal suspects] all head to Mexico,” he said.

Police are now working to establish Nance’s motive for the killings.

“We can’t get inside his head,” said Bill Evans, Joliet’s chief of police. “We just don’t have any clue as to why he did what he did.”

“We may never know the truth or motives,” added Dan Jungles, Will County Sheriff’s Office deputy chief of operations.

#nunyas news

[cristina-gomez]

THE UNSOLVED COLD CASE

The man that hijacked an aircraft and escaped with $200,000...

D.B. Cooper, aka Dan Cooper, are epithets for an unidentified individual who was responsible for an aircraft hijacking on November 24th, 1971. There are many details to the case, and the hijacking culminated in the individual parachuting off the aircraft with $200,000. Being officially accused of 'air piracy', D.B. Cooper has been the subject of an ongoing FBI investigation in the years since. In this episode, we will take a look into this mystery. Join Cristina Gomez and Jimmy Church as they dive deep into the mystery with a history.

#mystery #dbcooper #history #livestream #Youtube #dancooper #crime

[warningsine]

BRUSSELS, June 14 (Reuters) - Alphabet's (GOOGL.O) Google may have to sell part of its lucrative adtech business to address concerns about anti-competitive practices, EU regulators said on Wednesday, threatening the company with its harshest regulatory penalty to date.

The European Commission set out its charges in a statement of objections to Google two years after opening an investigation into behaviours such as favouring its own advertising services, which could also lead to a fine of as much as 10% of Google's annual global turnover.

The stakes are higher for Google in this latest clash with regulators as it concerns the company's biggest money maker, with the advertising business accounting for 79% of total revenue last year.

Its 2022 advertising revenue, including from search services, Gmail, Google Play, Google Maps, YouTube adverts, Google Ad Manager, AdMob and AdSense, amounted to $224.5 billion.

Google has a few months to respond to the charge. It can also ask for a closed hearing in front of senior Commission antitrust officials and their national counterparts before the EU issues a decision in a process that could take a year or more. The company also could potentially settle by offering stronger remedies than previously proposed.

EU antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager said Google may have to sell part of its adtech business because a behavioural remedy is unlikely to be effective at stopping the anti-competitive practices.

"For instance, Google could divest its sell-side tools, DFP and AdX. By doing so, we would put an end to the conflicts of interest," she told a news conference.

"Of course I know this is a strong statement but it is a reflection of the nature of the markets, how they function and also why a behavioural commitment seemed to be out of the question."

Google said it disagreed with the Commission's charge.

"The Commission's investigation focuses on a narrow aspect of our advertising business and is not new. We disagree with the EC's view," Dan Taylor, Google's vice president of global ads, said in a statement.

Vestager said investigations would continue into Google's introduction of a privacy sandbox set of tools to block third party cookies on its Chrome browser and its plan to stop making the advertising identifier available to third parties on Android smartphones.

She said the EU had closely cooperated with competition authorities in the United States and the UK.

The European Publishers Council, which filed a complaint to the Commission last year, welcomed the charge.

The Commission said Google favours its own online display advertising technology services to the detriment of competing providers of advertising technology services, advertisers and online publishers.

It said Google has abused its dominance since 2014 by favouring its own ad exchange AdX in the ad selection auction by its dominant publisher ad server DFP, and also by favouring AdX in the way its ad buying tools Google Ads and DV360 place bids on ad exchanges.

Google is the world's dominant digital advertising platform with a 28% market share of global ad revenue, according to research firm Insider Intelligence.

Google had sought to settle the case three months after the investigation was opened but regulators grew frustrated with the slow pace and the lack of substantial concessions, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters previously.

#google #European Commission #europe #technology #news

[a-la-rascasse]

Happy birthday DENNY HULME!!!!!!!!!!!! (18/06/1936 - ∞) 🐻⚡

Denis Clive Hulme, better known as 'Denny', was born in Motueka in the South Island, New Zealand. He grew up, with his younger sister Anita, on his family's farm in the tiny bay of Pongakawa; his father ran a truck business and thanks to those trucks, Denny showed from an early age his interest for the thrill of driving and speed: while sitting on his father's lap, he learned to drive a truck and by the age of six, he could drive it on his own. He left school early and started working in a garage, from that job he saved enough money to buy an MG TF, to enter hillclimb competitions.

After all the success gained, in 1960 he managed to purchase an F2 Cooper-Climax car and subsequently got chosen, along fellow kiwi George Lawton, for the New Zealand driver to Europe program, that gave them the chance to compete in Formula Junior and Formula Two across Europe. Two years after competing in the two categories, and participating at Le Mans for Abarth, the New Zealander, moved to London, and started working as a mechanic in Jack Brabham's garage, but slowly made his way into the cockpit.

Denny raced for Brabham in F2 races and non-championship events, but finally, in 1965, he got the chance he was waiting for: replacing Dan Gurney, who was busy at the indy 500 that weekend, he made his debut at the Monaco Grand Prix; he became officially a memeber of the Brabham team in '66, when Dan left, and had his first full F1 season. He stayed in the team till 1967, the year he won his first, and only, championship.

In 1968 he took a big step: he moved to the McLaren team, owned by fellow Kiwi, Bruce McLaren, with whom was already teammate in the Can-Am series overseas. But in 1970, despite Bruce's passing, and a serious injury caused from methanol fire, that severally burned both his hands, he undeterrely continued racing, feeling that he owed it to Bruce and the McLaren team; he would stay in McLaren till 1974, before retiring from F1.

Even though he retired from f1, he couldn't stop racing: throughtout the 80s he competed in different Touring cars competitions.

Denny would pass away in 1992 due to heart attack, while competing at one of his favourite events, the Bathurst 1000: he managed to safely stop the car at the side of the race track, he later got transported to the hospital, but there wasn't much the doctors could do.

Denny took part in the infamous 1966 Le Mans with teammate Ken Miles, and was a foundamental part of the McLaren team, especially in the Can-Am series.

He was nicknamed 'The Bear', because of his "gruff nature" and "rugged features", but was a sensible man that was unable to express properly his feelings.

Till to this day he ramins the first and only New Zealander to win the World Championship.

#tw death #it's nothing graphic I just talk explicitly about death something that I never did and that rarely will do #especially with graphic stuff you'll never read anything like it because simply I can't bring myself to do it #and because idkw I think it's slightly disrespectful to the memory of the person we should just remember them smiling and happy #(of course unless we're talking about safety and more on medical point of view) #sorry if I digressed but I think I had to make it clear #happy bday to denny!!!!!! <3333 #denny hulme #classic f1 #f1 #formula 1 #retro f1 #f1 1960s #f1 1970s #f1_bdays

[dontmeantobepoliticalbut]

A judge said Monday that he would not delay Steve Bannon’s Contempt of Congress trial, just one week before it is set to begin.

Bannon was indicted last year for refusing to answer questions from the congressional committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. Bannon, who had stonewalled the committee since October, had a last-minute change of heart over the weekend, a decision his lawyer attributed to a letter from former-President Donald Trump that waived a purported claim of executive privilege. The Justice Department maintains that Bannon's offer to testify was nothing more than a “last-ditch attempt to avoid accountability.”

According to the Justice Department, Trump's own lawyer, Justin Clark, told the FBI that Trump “never invoked executive privilege over any particular information or materials" and offered no basis for Bannon's "total noncompliance" with his subpoena.

U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols issued a series of rulings on motions preparing for the trial that largely did not go Bannon’s way, one of them knocking out several potential defenses he had raised. After Nichols concluded, Bannon lawyer David Schoen said in the courtroom, “What is the point of going to trial here if there are no defenses?”

Nichols agreed, suggesting Bannon’s team consider that.

Nichols, who had previously ruled that Bannon could not argue that he was not guilty because he was relying on the advice of his lawyer, ruled Monday that Bannon cannot present evidence that he relied on old opinions from the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel regarding executive privilege, either.

While expressing frustration with the precedent he is bound by, Nichols emphasized how low the bar was in the Bannon case. The government had only to illustrate that Bannon's decision was deliberate and intentional and not by accident.

Nichols also ruled out two affirmative defenses that he said Bannon could not use.

The fact that Bannon was not a government employee at the time of the subpoena "dooms" any "entrapment by estoppel" defense, Nichols said, meaning Bannon cannot argue that he ignored the subpoena and that he believed his actions were legal because of instruction from a government official.

Because Trump was a former government official, Nichols said, Bannon also could not rely on a "public authority" defense, meaning he thought he was acting on the instructions of a government official and believed unlawful activity was authorized.

Nichols also said that Bannon could not present evidence that the Jan. 6 Committee was not properly formed because of the political balance of its members and that he and the jury would have to defer to the House’s interpretation of its own rules. Nichols cited the fact that the entire House had validated the House Select Committee.

Nichols did grant Bannon's motion to prohibit general evidence about the Jan. 6 attack, although he noted that some references to Jan. 6 would be necessary. "I intend to police this line tightly," Nichols said.

Nichols said he would not prevent Bannon from trying to illustrate the political biases of witnesses at trial.

The judge also said he would not allow evidence about any people who had not been prosecuted for Contempt of Congress, such as Mark Meadows and Dan Scavino, Trump's former-White House Chief of Staff and Deputy Chief of Staff, respectively.

And Nichols quashed Bannon's subpoenas for members of Congress to testify, citing the speech and debate clause of the Constitution. Much of the testimony and many of the documents Bannon sought, Nichols said, will be barred.

Bannon was indicted in November. He used the purported executive privilege claim as a reason not to cooperate with the Committee, even though he worked at the White House for only seven months in 2017, more than three years before the Jan. 6 attack.

#us politics #news #nbc news #house select committee #capitol riot investigation #steve bannon #contempt of congress #donald trump #trump administration #department of justice #Justin Clark #fbi #Judge Carl Nichols #David Schoen #Office of Legal Counsel #mark meadows #Dan Scavino #2022

[officialdancooper]

Chad Dan Cooper

#dan cooper #d b cooper #chad #official dan cooper #art #edit

[dsneybuf91]

D. Lee Inosanto’s The Sensei Review

For Women’s History Month 2021, I decided to take a deeper look at part-Filipina-American martial artist Diana Lee Inosanto. Her pedigree includes some legends, including her father, Dan Inosanto, and her godfather, Bruce Lee. While writing my review for her performance in The Mandalorian Chapter 13, I decided to eventually share some more reasons to admire her in her own right.

Some of the most intriguing tidbits I’ve learned about Inosanto involve her efforts to demonstrate talents beyond martial arts. In 2007, she wrote, directed, helped produce, and co-starred in her own movie: The Sensei. It seems pretty obscure nowadays; I couldn’t find it on iTunes or Netflix. Despite this, a Hapa Mag article about Inosanto credits the trailer for convincing Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni to cast her as the magistrate Morgan Elsbeth. Fortunately for me, one of my local public libraries put the movie up through their hoopla streaming app. YouTube and Amazon Prime also have it for free, though the former’s official upload – which I’ve embedded at the bottom of this page – lacks proper captions. Inosanto’s pedigree and hoopla’s plot description both made it sound deserving of a watch.

After punks at school hand him multiple savage beatings, gay teen McClain Evans (Michael O'Laskey, Inosanto's adopted son), discreetly begins martial arts training with Karen O'Neil (D. Lee Inosanto), a mysterious woman who had her own cross to bear with the prejudiced and bigoted small town community. As McClain learns to defend himself from hatred and bigotry, the student and his teacher expose several raw nerves in their rural Colorado community.

The Sensei

Premiere: May 4, 2008

Director: D. Lee Inosanto

Writer: D. Lee Inosanto

Inosanto, and the rest of the skilled cast, deliver her anti-homophobia and anti-sexism lessons in a rather overt manner.  Since these feel like very important lessons, I don't fault her for ensuring that they clearly come across.  The framing device of an older, tougher McClain sharing Karen's lessons with Pastor James (Keith David) helps justify the distinct lines between good and evil, by reminding the viewer - at least one who doesn't waste time wondering how McClain can tell Pastor James about events he wasn't around for - to view this story from the oppressed's intimidated perspective. (Additionally, the older I've gotten, the more naive I find it to apply the belief "No one is purely evil" to bigots.) Conservatives of 2000s Colorado wouldn't always cooperate with Inosanto and her film crew, but her insistence to continue filming her movie there, rather than attempt to pose a more socially-tolerant location as Colorado, went a long way towards ensuring the low-budget production's authentic tone.  The set pieces boast a raw and suspenseful energy, with cuts that usually last long enough for the viewer to appreciate the action and emotion.

While Inosanto doesn't fall on the LGBT+ spectrum, being a mixed-race teenager in the 1980s still subjected her to the tragedy of losing someone close to AIDS, while her parents endured conservatives condemning their love.  Her approach to writing and directing a gay main character emphasizes his status as an underdog, to make his struggles relatable to multiple demographics.  While McClain lacks the qualities of a degrading gay stereotype, the movie's explorations of the AIDS epidemic - and the rise in homophobia it sparked - personally affecting him and Karen ensure that his sexuality doesn't feel incidental at all.  As a character, McClain holds the viewer's interest through his resistance to conformity, standing up for his behavioral differences rather than reversing them.  He also earns the audience's admiration by befriending victims of other unfair forms of discrimination.

With Inosanto credited as the writer and director as well as a co-star, some viewers might wonder if she portrays Karen as a perfect mentor.  Expectedly, she proves kind and brave by taking on McClain as a student, even while the other karate instructors in her family fear having a gay student would ruin their school's business.  However, when McClain's mother (Gina Scalzi) first asks Karen to teach her son self-defense, Karen demonstrates some humanity by taking a while to agree.  When Karen and a trained McClain take on a lynch mob about halfway through the movie, the two end up having to defend each other as well as themselves, rather than one lasting the fight without a scratch.  Additionally, her subplots about opposing sexism and racism, and coming to terms with her own mortality, indicate that her life doesn't revolve entirely around solving a male white teen's problems.

I hope viewers can stand the cheese behind some of the dialogue, such as Karen's brother Peter (Bryan Frank) referring to her as the Good Samaritan.  I'd call such monologues hokey - even for 2008 - but their lessons of social tolerance feel too necessary to groan at.  Despite its flaws, Diana Lee Inosanto's The Sensei proves a compelling, thrilling, and morally-sound watch.

Plugs

Violence towards Asian-American women reached alarming levels by the time I finished writing this review.  I've started donating to charities dedicated to eliminating hate crimes towards AAPI people, and would like my readers to do the same, even if I personally take no share of the funds:

The AAPI Community Fund

Asian Americans Advancing Justice - Atlanta

#diana lee inosanto #movie review #lgbtq #martial arts #stop asian hate #directed by women #Youtube #my posts

[fruitsoflab]

GENERAL RULES

1. Gunakan main account

2. Hanya menerima selective account dengan username yang relate dengan muse, no nick, all stars, dan no twins (kecuali jika charamu memiliki kembaran)

3. Maksimum following dibawah 500 dan minimal 200 tweet

4. Maksimum tergabung dalam 3 OA/SQ aktif, termasuk kami

5. Dimohon untuk selalu berkabar jika tidak bisa mengikuti kegiatan yang diadakan FruitsOfLab seperti daily games, event, mini event dll kepada base dan mutual OA yang bertugas

6. Bersedia menerima sanksi jika tidak mengikuti kegiatan yang diadakan FruitsOfLab melebihi 3x tanpa izin

7. Dimohon untuk tidak terlibat dalam circle in circle, drama, dan war

8. Bercanda sangat diperbolehkan, namun tidak boleh mengandung SARA atau menghina secara berlebihan

9. Sangat dianjurkan melakukan upchar dengan manual. Namun diizinkan meretweet dari akun official, bukan akun fanbase atau konten haram sesuai dengan chara masing-masing

10. Gunakan brackets jika ingin membahas mengenai rl atau ooc, kami lebih menyarankan menggunakan cyber account masing-masing

11. NSFW thingy diperbolehkan dari jam 23.00 - 05.00 wib, dan dilarang menampilkan foto atau video vulgar

12. Love wins

13. Tidak diperkenankan untuk bertukar cyber account (CA) dengan sesama member selama FruitsOfLab masih berjalan

14. Menghargai dan menghormati seluruh Fruities dan seluruh member

15. Dimohon untuk aktif karena waktu kita untuk bersama terbatas ❤️

GDM RULES

1. Gdm hanya ada 2 yang bersifat OFF CONVO dan INFO ONLY dimana hanya fruta dan base yang dapat mengirimkan chat. On convo tidak dilakukan jika tidak dibutuhkan

2. Diperbolehkan share tweet maksimal 3 tweet sehari, dengan syarat sudah mereply tweet yang sebelumnya

3. Jika hendak mengirim tweet, pastikan tweetmu dapat membangun percakapan (contohnya diakhiri dengan tanda tanya)

4. Tidak diperkenankan untuk mengirim tweet yang berasal dari akun rl, seperti misalnya tweet dari akun CA atau PA. Tetapi mengirim tweet untuk meminta likes, retweet, atau reply yang berkaitan dengan akun RP diperbolehkan

5. Bersedia menerima sanksi jika melanggar atau menerobos gdm off convo

CHANGING, UNVER, HIATUS

1. Minimal hiatus 3 hari dan maksimal hiatus 5 hari

2. Move akun dan ganti username dengan sengaja hanya diizinkan sekali

3. Tidak diizinkan untuk unverified sebelum 10 hari sejak verification

4. Jika tidak melakukan verifikasi dalam waktu 1 x 24 jam maka dianggap gugur secara otomatis

5. Tidak aktif selama 3 x 24 jam tanpa izin bisa terkena unverified

6. TS diperbolehkan sekali dalam sebulan dan maksimal selama 3 hari

7. Tidak diperbolehkan ts menjadi anak FruitsOfLab agar tidak menimbulkan kebingungan

8. New owner tanpa sepengetahuan fruta, akan terkena unverified

9. Terlibat dalam circle in circle, drama, atau war akan terkena unverified

10. Diperbolehkan untuk mengganti chara 3 x 24 jam setelah verification. Pastikan chara yang ingin diganti tidak sama dengan member lain

11. Mohon untuk memberi kabar melalui fruta apabila akunmu terkena suspend atau locked. Rentang waktu menunggu dikabari bagi akun suspend atau locked adalah 3 x 24 jam. Apabila tidak ada kabar melewati rentang waktu yang sudah diberikan, maka akan kami unverified

THE CONCEPT

THE FRUITIES / FRUTA

Akash Cooper

twitter.com/FrutaAkash

Sean Marcello

twitter.com/FrutaSean

Esra Roxelana Joozher

twitter.com/FrutaEsra

[jaddl]

LOVE IT!

I woke up early this morning, before 6 am. Work stuff, kid’s sick, whatever. But then I couldn’t really get back to sleep. So I headed out to the bathroom, and on the way, I thought I’d check and see if I landed the New York Football Giants Defense and Special Teams unit that I’d put a waiver wire claim on the night before. Turned on my computer, and guess what? I did land those NY Football Giants![1]

But then I saw something else. And that something else is truly a top 5 moment for me this season. Ladies and Gentlemen, the Matt Ryan Week Seven OMFG Bidding War:

Ironically this all happened about 24 hours before the Moved On From Matt Ryan Bowl between Dan Romans and myself kicks off. As I am sure everyone remembers, I traded Michael Carter, RB for the Jets, for Matt Ryan after week 1.[2] But then I signed the Other Prince Who Was Promised Kenny Pickett ahead of Week 5, which caused me to bench Matt Ryan. And then I watched the Colts play the Broncos on TNF and saw the Corpse formally known as Matt Ryan actually play a football game. Frankly watching a Matt Ryan that I had just benched was one of the prouder moments I’ve had this year, because Matt Ryan looked like the worse QB in the league. He threw 0 TDs, 2 picks, got sacked 6 times, and fumbled twice. So I dropped Matt Ryan.

But then Matt Ryan dropped 31 points week 6. He was 42/58(!) for 389 yards and had 3 TDs and no interceptions last week against the Jags.[3]

The waiver wire is tough.[4] And QBs are scarce. Listen, the Mighty Boom started Skylar Thompson last week in a disaster. And the Falcons QB room makes Ian look like he’s a serial killer collecting the worst QBs in the NFL: He’s got Mac Jones, Cooper Rush and Justin Fields. He’s previously started Baker Mayfield, so Matty Ice would have been a big get for Ian. And you gotta play one QB, you kind of got to play two, right?

But Matt Ryan? I only really listen to one fantasy football podcast. And when they talked about streaming QBs this week, they mentioned Matt Ryan’s Jags line. And they said to pay no attention to that line, because they’ve seen Matt Ryan play football just like I have. It doesn’t mean anything. 

Good luck Boom. Anyways, here are some things on Amazon I found that are much better uses for $569:[5]

[1] I need the Giants because the steady eddy D/St unit I’d signed a few weeks before (Fly Mighty Eagles Fly) are on a bye this week. I really like this Eagles unit and I really really don’t want to drop them. It’s always a struggle to fill out the bottom of your lineup, your TE, D, and K, and I think I’ve finally got the Jesus’s bottom all figured out: Ertz, Eagles & Buttkicker. But that puts me in IR roster hell. If James Connor (currently on IR and now officially questionable) is healthy, he’s gotta go in my starting 10 because BOTH Cooper Kupp and Justin Jefferson are on bye, and my only other two rostered wideouts (SHOUTOUT BERRIOS) are kind of emergency staring this week. James Connor is playing Thursday, along with Jameis Winston, also on my roster, maybe playing probably not but also probably not “out.” If Conner is ruled out before TNF I’m good, I can keep him in the IR, and move the Giants to the starting 10. But if he’s a go, I gotta both play him and cut somebody else. The decision gets much more difficult if Jameis is a go too and he starts. (Last week he was healthy enough to be a back-up a-la Teddy Two Gloves? WTF). Anyways, IR bye week stuff, amirite? Keep your eyes on my roster for updates to this ever-developing situation.

[2] BTW still kinda think I might of won that trade. Dano started Carter week 2, he score 10 points, but Carter hasn’t started for Dano since (scoring 5.6, 4.9, 17.3 on the bench). Meanwhile Breece Hall is the clear front runner in the Jets backfield. Matt Ryan started 3 games for me before getting dropped, and two of those starts were fairly effective: 17.5 in week 3 and 21.4 in week 4. He score 3 point fucking 8 points for me week 3. But if Carter never sees the field again for Dan, then I’m still counting this trade as a win for me. 

[3] Another reason I went for the Giants, they’re playing the Jags, who finally look like a real Jags team.

[4] I paid over $200 for Taysom Hill (verses absolutely no one it turns out) only to cut him a week after, but then he goes off again, so Odouls pays over $400 for him, starts him, and he scores 4 points. Taysom Hill is a tough nut to crack.  

[5] Dan signing Andy Dalton for free this morning as a free agent was the best move of the last 12 hours. There is, what, a better than even chance Andy Dalton scores more points than Matt Ryan this week?        

[aboutanancientenquiry]

Babylonian and Greek sources on the fall of Babylon to the Persians- a text of R. J. van der Spek

“ As we pointed out in the introduction, the Persian conquest inaugurated an important new episode in the history of Babylonia. It is impossible for us to know how the average Babylonian felt about this event. Many will have expected business as usual, but the practices of their own imperial past (deportation of conquered people and imposition of heavy tributes) did not set a comfortable precedent. What we can do is study a number of scholarly texts and observe the political situation. It is clear that many people were prepared to resist. If we believe the Nabonidus Chronicle from Babylon (but see the discussion by Caroline Waerzeggers in ch. 5 and below n. 9), the Babylonian army tried to resist the invasion in the battle of Opis in October 539 b.c.e., but was defeated. It was only after this defeat that the cities of Sippar and Babylon could be taken without battle on 10 and 12 October and that Cyrus, on 9 November, could enter in person. The fact that there was no battle for these cities does not mean that the people welcomed the conqueror. After the defeat they had no choice. According to Herodotus (1.190–191), the Babylonians feared Cyrus very much and prepared for siege.2 Cyrus took the city by a stratagem (diverting the Euphrates) rather than through fighting. Herodotus adds the well-known detail that the people in the center did not notice its capture, due to the size of the city and the fact that a festival was going on, a detail that we find again in Xenophon, Cyropaedia 7.5, and in Dan 5. The chronicle declares that Cyrus ordered peace and the continuation of the cult, but it was of course an imposed peace, a pax Cyriaca. That at least not all Babylonians were happy about Persian rule is further demonstrated by many revolts, two in the first years of Darius I, two in 484 b.c.e. under Xerxes, the latter with horrible effects for the local clergy, as was demonstrated by Waerzeggers.3

Apart from resistance there were certainly all kinds of cooperation or acceptance. A hotly debated question is whether or not the clergy of Babylon was fed up with Nabonidus, because he would have promoted the moon god Sîn (to what extent is also debated) and neglected the New Year’s festival for ten years, and so welcomed Cyrus as a restorer of order. The main issue in this is how we have to value our main sources: the Cyrus Cylinder, the Verse Account, and the Nabonidus Chronicle, all this in combination with Greek and Biblical evidence. 

Let us first of all get rid of a concept of “the” Babylonian clergy. We have no evidence that the Babylonian temple officials were uniformly opposed to or in favor of anyone. It may well be that certain parts of the clergy were indeed critical of Nabonidus. His neglect of the Akītu (New Year) festival was apparently a point of discussion at least, as is also demonstrated by many other chronicles that pay attention to this festival (see below). The Verse Account is another exemplum of criticism.4 It is much too easy to dispose of this document as a piece of propaganda ordained by the new king. It is a satirical literary document that involves in-depth knowledge of cuneiform documents like the royal inscriptions of Nabonidus, the Enūma Anu Enlil texts, and other literary texts.5 This cannot have been conceived by any Persian official; it must have come from learned circles. The former temple officials from the time of Nabonidus were not dismissed at the accession of Cyrus. We know that the high officials Zēria (šatammu, “chief temple administrator”) and Rēmūt (zazakku, “chief secretary”) stayed in office and hailed Cyrus, if we follow Waerzeggers’s reconstruction of this part of the Verse Account (5.8–28).6 Nevertheless, we have no reason to assume that Zēria and Rēmūt had not been loyal to Nabonidus. In any case, they surrendered and somehow came to terms with the new regime.

The same holds true for the Cyrus Cylinder. 7 This document is more likely to have been produced at Persian instigation as can be surmised from the openly propagandistic tone, specific expressions as “King of Anšan” and the genealogy of Cyrus. But also this document cannot have been written without the help of Babylonian scholars and scribes (although the scribe of this document seems to have been second rank in view of his many errors and mediocre Akkadian). These scholars, as Waerzeggers elsewhere observes, expressed their hopes that Cyrus would take his duties as king of Babylon and protector of the temple cult more seriously than his predecessor. These hopes, however, were soon destroyed. Cyrus (or his son Cambyses) only once took part in the New Year festival (if at all) and Babylonia became one of the many provinces of the Persian Empire.8

The Nabonidus Chronicle (ABC 7)9 is a different story. It has long been accepted (by me, among others) that this chronicle dates to the years immediately after the Persian conquest. Most scholars treat this as an example of the Babylonian chronicle genre, which is characterized by a detached treatment of historical facts, which I do too. Others consider it to be a part of pro-Cyrus propaganda, a point of view I reject. Caroline Waerzeggers (ch. 5 herein) gives a lengthy status quaestionis. She now offers a very intriguing new view of the chronicle: it is neither contemporary, nor a typical chronicle, nor a piece of propaganda. It is rather a document from the Hellenistic period (probably the period of Berossus), in which the scribe comes to terms with the Achaemenid Empire, and in particular the founder of that empire, as a response to Greek views on Cyrus. It is written in “an intertextual web” in “dialogue” with other Babylonian and Greek writers. It emerged in the circle of scholars who wrote astronomical diaries and chronicles (see BCHP), and were acquainted, like Berossus, with Greek historiographers such as Herodotus, Xenophon, and Ctesias. Although the document is not dated, the script points to the Hellenistic period, as do the circumstances of the recovery of the tablet as part of the late Achaemenid / early Hellenistic Esagil archive. The Esagil archive contained many copied / reworked / composed epics and chronicles of the past when Babylonian kings such as Nebuchadnezzar I and Nabopolassar successfully fought against foreign kings (cf. also ch. 4 by De Breucker). Hence, the Nabonidus Chronicle is not a reliable recording of facts from the recent past, nor is it a propaganda text, but a historiographical view on the Persian conquest of Babylon for a Hellenistic readership. All this is certainly a startling new approach. Waerzeggers rightly observes that the script and some of the points discussed suggest composition or redaction in the early Hellenistic period. The points discussed, such as the death of queens, point to a Hellenistic rather than early Persian interest. The Nabonidus Chronicle may have interacted with Herodotus’s account of the death of Cyrus’s wife Cassandane (2.1). The sequence of Cyrus’ conquests from Media, via Lydia to Babylonia, which it shares with Herodotus, may be intentional as a response to Herodotus (cf. Waerzeggers, n. 79), although it may also be accidental as it simply was the order of the campaigns.

Nevertheless, I have a somewhat different view as regards the nature of this text. Even if I accept that the document was written in the Hellenistic period (of which I am not certain: the queens do get attention in chronicles, as Waerzeggers admits, the particular mention of Nabonidus’s mother is not strange in view of her prominent place in history and in inscriptions of Nabonidus, while other parallels are simply due to the fact that they reflect historical reality), I do not accept that it is a completely new composition of this period. Waerzeggers assumes that the author’s sources were the Cyrus Cylinder, the royal inscriptions of Nabonidus, the “Royal Chronicle” (which is not a chronicle, but a pro-Nabonidus propaganda text),10 and perhaps  the Verse Account, all of which were available to these scholars. This may be true, but that does not account for the numerous specific dates for events, which do not exist in these texts for his entire reign. So I believe that it is a necessary assumption that there was some “proto-Nabonidus Chronicle.” In addition, though the script may be Hellenistic or at least Late Babylonian, as may be assumed from the way the plural sign MEŠ is written, certain signs are certainly not Hellenistic such as the use of ša instead of šá in ABC 7: 2.2 and 21 in the expression DINGIR.MEŠ ša GN, “the gods of GN,” which we also encounter in the Babylonian Chronicle ABC 1: 3.1, 2 and 29, dated to the reign of Darius (I). This chronicle ends with the accession year of king Šamaš-šuma-ukīn (669 b.c.e.). It was written in the twenty-second year of Darius, and it expressly said that it was “the first section,” suggesting that it was followed by a second section, and perhaps even third section, that may have continued into the early Persian period, as Waerzeggers admits. It also explains why Cyrus could be described as “king of Parsu.”

In my discussion of the chronicles with the help of a “ladder” of characteristics classifying historiographical texts in the widest sense, I have argued that chronicles deviate from true historiography in the fullest sense as they are “not narrative; there is no story, no plot, no introduction or conclusion, nor is there any attempt to explain, to find causes and effects, to see relations between recorded events.”11 According to Waerzeggers “none of this applies to the Nabonidus Chronicle. It narrates, it values, it compares, it explains and it argues. Its format may be that of a chronicle, but it breaks free of the limitations of the genre.” This I can hardly follow. It may be a matter of taste, but I still find this a dull enumeration of facts, year-by-year; to call this “narrative” implies a very wide definition of storytelling. I agree, of course, that objectivity does not exist: the selection of the recorded facts is the choice of the author who shapes the information, and the concerns of the Hellenistic period will have shaped the choices, and I agree that omission of facts colors the information. I still maintain that the text gives no value judgments, nor arguments, nor explanations. We do not find any judgments such as “the king brought evil to the land,” nor is any cause given: there are no words such as “because” or “consequently.” Commentators of chronicles  often mistakenly assume that sentences are meaningfully connected, but usually this is not the case. Every new sentence may be regarded as new information with no relation to the preceding sentence. Explicit mention of the anger of a god or king, as frequently used in royal inscriptions, is missing. Though I admit that the chronicle has an interest in comparing Nabonidus with Cyrus, I see no value judgments. Thus the text, even if Hellenistic in final redaction, sticks to the genre of the chronicle by abstaining from value judgments. The reader may make his or her own judgment. It is true that it is reported that the Akītu festival did not take place, but this derived easily from the fact that the king was in Tayma. No value judgment is given that the king was in Tayma. A king on campaign can also be positively evaluated, especially as he had organized the government well in Babylon and had the šešgallu (high priest) oversee the ritual “properly” (kī šalmu12) as far as was possible in absence of the king. When Nabonidus returned, the Akītu festival in its entirety was conducted “properly,” that is, according to the rules (kī šalmu, 3.).

The repetitious recording of the absence of the Akītu festival indeed demonstrates the interest of chroniclers, as this topic is recorded in many other chronicles, such as the Akītu Chronicle (ABC 16), the Esarhaddon Chronicle (ABC 14), the Šamaš-šuma-ukīn Chronicle (ABC 15) and the Religious Chronicle (ABC 17). ABC 7 thus stands in a firm chronicle tradition. Our author may have seen the Ehulhul Cylinder of Nabonidus, but he probably did not use this source for naming Cyrus king of Anšan (KUR An-šá-an, 2.1 and 4), as it was written KUR An-za-an (I 27) there. The chronicler may have seen a copy of the Cyrus Cylinder, but he did not take his information from that document concerning Nabonidus’s removal of the gods of Marad, Kish, and Hursagkalamma, with the note that the gods of Borsippa, Cuthah and Sippar were not deported (3.8–12). Cyrus reports that he brought back the statues of the gods of Aššur, Susa, Akkad, Eshnunna, Zamban, Me-Turnu, Der, and Gutium (30–32) and refers to the gods that were removed by Nabonidus only as “the gods of Sumer and Akkad,” with a value judgment indeed (“to the anger of the gods,” 33), an addition that is conspicuously missing in the Nabonidus Chronicle. There is no reason to assume that the chronicler valued the removal of the gods to Babylon as bad. As was observed by Beaulieu and myself, the removal may be regarded a pious deed, as it defends the statues against the attacks of the enemy, and in so doing the king hoped to acquire the support of these gods.13 If the chronicler used the Cyrus Cylinder and the Verse Account and wanted to depict Nabonidus in dark colors, he would certainly mention the latter’s preference for Sîn, which is not the case.14 

Another point of interest is the report on the death of two important women, the death of the mother of Nabonidus (2.13–15) and the wife of Cyrus (3.22–24). The fact that these women get so much attention may indeed be due to Hellenistic influence, as Waerzeggers observes. We see this interest in many Greek inscriptions and in the Ezida inscription of Antiochus I, mentioning his wife Stratonice. On the other hand, as Waerzeggers admits, deaths of queens were mentioned earlier in chronicles, and especially the death of the mother of Nabonidus, who even had set up a stela in her own name15, must have had impact. So indeed, Hellenistic zeitgeist may well be present, but again difficult to prove. And again I can detect no value judgement. Both queens are appropriately mourned. One might even argue that Cyrus imitates Nabonidus in this. Everything still fits in with the interest of chronicle composers, which lies in the interpretation of omens. Thus the issues of the chronicles concur with the issues of the omens: accessions and deaths of kings (and queens), battles, plagues, and some cultic events as the Akītu festival. All this we have in the Nabonidus Chronicle. The method is that of the authors of the astronomical diaries (possibly the same persons) who recorded the “events” in the sky. They also made their choices what to record and what not, but what they recorded, be it lunar eclipses or movements of planets in the sky, is reliable. This also explains the use of archaic geographical terms in chronicles, such as Elam, Umman-manda, Hanî, Hatti, Subartu, Amurru. It is used because of their occurrence in omens, and it makes these designations timeless. That it is not negative is exemplified by the fact that, e.g., the Umman-manda come to the aid of Nabopolassar (ABC 3:59 and 65) and Ugbaru is the governor of Gutium and the Gutians protect the temple (ABC 7:16–18). Even though it is not historiography in the fullest sense, the related facts are reliable.16 Thus, it is very difficult to glean opinions about the Persian Empire from this chronicle. About Cyrus and Nabonidus both negative and positive notations are made. Cyrus proclaims peace to the Babylonians (3.18–20) and the rituals in the temple are not disturbed (3.16–18), but before he had slaughtered the people of Akkad (3.13), and later he made his son, dressed in Elamite robes, king of Babylon, which may have disturbed the chronicler, although he does not say so. The “proto-chronicler” may have cherished the same hopes as the author of the Cyrus Cylinder and the Verse Account, that Cyrus would respect Babylon’s traditions. The same will have been the attitude of early Hellenistic Babylonian scholars. Babylonians in the Persian period were soon disappointed. Alexander made similar promises as Cyrus (and much earlier, Sargon II),17 but here again the Babylonians were probably not satisfied, though they could see more promising measures. Alexander intended Babylon as his new capital (the Persians never did that) and at least tried to rebuild the temple tower. He had the army level the ground at the tower complex at his return in 323 b.c.e. Antiochus I again made an effort (BCHP 6) and he apparently ordered restorations of Ezida and Esagil and in 268 b.c.e. buried the last known royal cylinder in the foundations of Ezida to commemorate this.18 Alexander, however, did not provide the necessary resources; private donations of Babylonians had to finance it.19 Babylonia was for a time the core of the Seleucid Empire, but Babylon suffered much from the war for the hegemony over Asia between Seleucus and Antigonus in the years 311 to 308 b.c.e. (Diadochi Chronicle, BCHP 3) and the city finally was degraded to a second rank position after the founding of Seleucia. This was still in Babylonia, and it marked Babylonia as a more important province than Persis, the former center of empire, but it was not good for the prominence of the old city. In addition, Syria, with Antioch on the Orontes, gradually turned into the main center of the empire. 

What remains is the interesting and important observation that the chronicle might have been produced, or rather adapted, in a later period than is usually assumed, just as the book of Jeremiah was once adapted (Jer 36:32). The same is true, for instance, for the Akitu ritual text.20 The first editor, Thureau-Dangin,21 postulated that the document probably dates to the Hellenistic period, and Zimmern22 argued already in 1922 that this document might well be a free conceptualization of the New year festival ritual for the priesthood of the Esagil temple in Babylon in the Seleucid-Parthian period, a point of view all too often ignored in later studies of the Babylonian Akitu ritual. It is interesting to note the important role of the šešgallu in this ritual, which is also at issue in the Nabonidus chronicle (see above).

Another point that may point to a late date for the Nabonidus chronicle is the number of details in the description of some entries, as the chronicles of the Hellenistic period become increasingly more detailed. The same is true for the historical sections of the Astronomical Diaries. This may reflect a growing interest in history per se. The interactions with Herodotus, the Dynastic Prophecy, and Berossus are certainly worth considering, but we must at the same time be wary of reading too much of our own concerns into these texts. Actually, texts like the Dynastic Prophecy are more suitable for learning about views on Persian kingship. In this document Nabonidus is valued negatively (2.16: “He will plot evil against Akkad”), while Cyrus is valued positively (2.24: “During his reign Akkad [will live] in security”23). How the author thought of the Macedonians is more difficult to establish due to serious lacunae in the tablet. The least one can say is that it is an exhortation to the new rulers to respect old rights of tax exemptions (zakûtu) for ancient religious centers in Babylonia, a time honored theme indeed.

As has been pointed out by Waerzeggers,24 the conquest of Babylon by Cyrus inaugurated a period in which Babylon would never again be a leading city and central to the empire. The people, especially Babylonian scholars and scribes, had to deal with this. They had a few things to go on. In whatever kind of foreign rule, the best thing one could hope for (apart from recovering independence) is recognition of privileged status, including tax exemption, respect for Marduk as supreme god (at least for Babylonia, but possibly more), respect for religious practices, especially the New Year Festival, and at least some special status as preferential center of power and interest. Waerzeggers also demonstrated that not much came of this and that disappointment was the result. 

In their scholarly literature, scribes tried to find comfort in the past, just as Greek intellectuals did in the Roman Empire.25 They liked to write chronicles about kings who defeated foreign enemies. They stressed the importance of the god Marduk and collected and commented upon documents that promoted his status as supreme god, especially since the days of Nebuchadnezzar I (cf. ch. 3 by Nielsen). The importance of the god is also indicated by the fact that Marduk may use foreign countries to punish Babylonia temporarily. Marduk is depicted as the god who called upon Elam to punish Babylon and who even willingly left Babylon, finally to be returned by Nebuchadnezzar I. It is part of the motif of “divine abandonment,” described at length by Morton Cogan,26 and also well-known from the Hebrew Bible, where God uses Assyrian and Babylonian kings to punish Israel and Judah and even allows Jerusalem and its temple to be destroyed and the treasures to be taken to Babylon. Such a motif we find back in the Cyrus Cylinder and the Verse Account, where the foreign king Cyrus reinstalls Marduk as supreme deity. The startling reality of 539  b.c.e. is that now a king of Elam is chosen by Marduk as restorer of the godly order. Though Cyrus is not called king of Elam in so many words, it does not alter this fact. He is called King of Anšan, which had been a major city of Elam for millennia. Cyrus might well be of Elamite extraction, as his name is probably Elamite.27 So, in 539 b.c.e., he was actually the king of Elam. As in Nebuchadnezzar I’s days, Elam was an instrument in the hands of Marduk, but different: “the relationship with Persian rule could be expressed as a positive or a negative depending how the tradition was utilized,” as Nielsen (ch. 3 herein) rightly observed. As pointed out above, a geographical name like “Elam” need not in itself have negative connotations, though readers might read it in them.

Another point is kingship. The above interpretation of Cyrus is a new coming-to-terms with Achaemenid kingship. It was a way of accepting the new situation. Although Cyrus was a foreign king, he was also accepted as king of Babylon. Many kings are called “king of Babylon” in their official royal titles, and the Persian kings figure in the king lists, just as do their Macedonian successors (see ch. 4 herein by De Breucker). At the same time we see that kingship in itself lost importance in the Babylonian literature. Religious offices and scribal tradition gradually became more important next to and perhaps even instead of kingship. This can be derived from the list of sages and kings, where sages became as important as kings in the early Seleucid period.28 We see it also in the more important role of the priesthood, or at least the šešgallu (or: ahu rabû, “high priest,” lit. “big brother” = “highest colleague”). In the Nabonidus Chronicle (ABC 7 ii 8) as well as in the Religious Chronicle (ABC 17 ii 5) it is this officer who takes care that the ritual goes on kī šalmu, “properly.” 

We also see that the šatammu, the head of the temple administration, gradually becomes the most important local official, a situation most clearly apparent in the Seleucid period when Babylon was governed by the šatammu and the kiništu (“temple council,” related to Hebrew knesseth) of Babylon, a situation not much different from the rule of Jerusalem by the high priest and the Sanhedrin.29 In addition, there was a governor (pāhatu or šaknu), just as there was a governor (peḥāh) in Jerusalem. From the time of Antiochus IV, this person was the head of the Greek community in Babylon. The supremacy of Babylon in Babylonia ended, so that in Uruk Anu could rise to the position of major deity with a new temple (in this book discussed by De Breucker, ch. 4). The new political situation had a deep impact on political and religious thought in Babylonia, but it led to very diverse reactions.”

From the paper of R. J. van der Spek  Coming to terms with the Persian Empire: some concluding remarks and responses, in  Political Memory in and after the Persian Empire,  by Jason M. Silverman (Editor), Caroline Waerzeggers (Editor),  SBL Press; Illustrated edition (4 Dec. 2015)

Source with the entirety of the paper https://research.vu.nl/ws/portalfiles/portal/1378318/Coming+to+Terms+Silverman-Waerzeggers+Political+Memory+Persian+Empirech18.pdf

Robartus Johannes (Bert) van der Spek is a Dutch ancient historian, specializing in the Seleucid Empire. He was a full professor in Ancient Studies at VU University Amsterdam from 1993 to his retirement in 2014, and is currently working on the Babylonian Chronicles of the Hellenistic Age (source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bert_van_der_Spek ) 

#babylon #persian empire #herodotus #assyriology #r. j. van der spek

[rickmoya]

the books I read in 2023

Welp, time to finally face this post and submit it. I'm kind of embarrassed because I am so bad at reading anymore. No explanation, no excuses. I used to read twice this many books as a matter of course, and now I ... like, don't. My TBR barely budged ... I cleared some stuff out thanks to summer camp, but then I got new stuff to fill it back up.

I don't know. Maybe one day I'll start reading again. Not today, though, probably. This year's list has two books on it so far, both of which I'm maybe a quarter into. Ugh.

Wired Style, Constance Hale & Jessie Scanlon

Once Upon Atari, Howard Scott Warshaw

Dragonwatch: Master of the Phantom Isle, Brandon Mull

The Illustrated Al, ed. Josh Bernstein

Fucking Apostrophes, Simon Griffin

Jazz in the Bittersweet Blues of Life, Wynton Marsalis and Carl Vigeland

The Kitchen Detective, Christopher Kimball

Decoding Boys, Cara Natterson

The Maxx (1-35, complete), Sam Kieth (1)

Bury My Heart at Chuck E. Cheese’s, Tiffany Midge

Barely Functional Adult, Meichi Ng

What If? 2, Randall Munroe

8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter, W. Bruce Cameron (2)

Over Sea, Under Stone, Susan Cooper

This Mournable Body, Tsitsi Dangarembga

The Goldfinch, Donna Tartt

The Rapture of the Nerds, Cory Doctorow and Charles Stross

The New Hacker’s Dictionary, ed. Eric S. Raymond (3)

All You Need is Kill, Hiroshi Sakurazaka

Wind/Pinball, Haruki Murakami

Disappearing Earth, Julia Phillips

Where Nobody Knows Your Name, John Feinstein

We Should Hang Out Sometime, Josh Sundquist

Watchmen, Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons

The Philosophy of Modern Song, Bob Dylan

Guardians of the Galaxy: The Complete Collection, Dan Abnett & Andy Lanning, et al.

The Dark is Rising, Susan Cooper (4)

Banana Ball, Jesse Cole

A Love Supreme: The Story of John Coltrane’s Signature Album, Ashley Kahn

Free Lunch, Rex Ogle (5)

Greenwitch, Susan Cooper (6)

The Shepherd, the Angel, and Walter the Christmas Miracle Dog, Dave Barry

italics: read it before bold: read it to my kid in bed struck: unfinished

I’d read the first ten or so issues of this before, out of interest because I watched the animated series on MTV. This is the first time all the way through and I didn’t realize it was so dark and triggering.

I read this one when mine was a toddler, and remembered it being pretty patriarchal and victorian. Thought maybe it would hit different now that she’s actually teenaged, and ... like, it did! it’s even worse! Absolutely zero of this shit fits a kid who is not 100% straight and searching. I got through four essays and took it back to the library.

I got up through the Bs and then I LOST MY COPY.

The more I read of this, the more I realized I maybe only read the first couple chapters. Still keeping the italics (making up for claiming I never previously read The Maxx).

I subbed a middle school reading class where this was the text. Ended up reading the whole thing across the day.

This could be the last new book I ever read to my own children. We generally don't read to sleep during holiday breaks, instead allowing them to fall asleep in front of a TV. But when school restarted, my youngest (officially a teenager) didn't want me to read to him at bedtime anymore. The end of an era. I may have cried a little bit. I expect the Dave Barry on Christmas Eve tradition to continue at least another year (my oldest likes it and specifically requested it again), but maybe no more new ones.

#books i read