#so this is set to be before the official reinstatement of linda back into the royal house | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

evita-shelby · 2 years

Text

Between the Shadow and the Soul

Chapter 32

Michael looks pensive and hides the subtle looks of longing at the bag of apples the nurse hid. Polly didn’t like her son keeping ties with his foster family and everyone else was a little concerned how easily the boy cut them out of his life. Tommy most especially. Set off warning bells, he had confided in her long ago.

“Before we start this extraordinary general meeting of the board of the Shelby Company Limited, I’d like to note the absence of the Deputy Vice President who has not yet arrived. We will continue without his presence.” He throws a knowing look at her and she plays the innocent dove to his chagrin.

“Item number one. The reinstatement of the Shelby Company Limited Company Treasurer. The board welcomes back the former treasurer, with generously improved terms and conditions.”

And boy were they generous, Polly was still angry and breathing through the wounds. It would be a long time before she fully moves on.

“Due to the exceptionally difficult circumstances the company now finds itself in. The proposed treasurer will now check the terms and conditions to see if they are in order.” He hands out the papers from his brief case to the corresponding people and continues. Business was his element, and from business it was only a step away from politics.

“Item number two. During the absence of the Company Accountant, due to ill health, all responsibility for the keeping of company accounts pass to the head of acquisitions.

Item number three. The Company Treasurer, having read the terms and condition, lodges a signed contract of employment agreeing to the terms and conditions with the temporary head of accounts. All those in favor of the reinstatement of Mrs. Elizabeth Gray, to the position of Shelby Company Limited Company Treasurer, please raise your hands.”

The vote is unanimous, and Polly says wryly, “Why goodness, thank you.”

“Any other business?” he looks at her and she shakes her head. The official meeting will be short, while the house was a legally owned property it was hers not company property therefore there was no need to ask Ada’s permission to sell it.

“Right. I declare this extraordinary general meeting over. Now we can talk about the real business. But for that we need Arthur.

Where the fuck is Arthur?”

He won’t get there. They can wait all they want, but he isn’t coming. He’s too busy fucking Linda.

“Alright, since this part of business doesn’t really concern Arthur, I’ll start.” Eva hardly takes a speaking role since 1925, but it’s a new year and the information had come from Florence whom only Polly and Lizzie here know. “I do apologize for not putting it in the agenda, but it’s one of those things no one else should have proof of.”

“Eva has a friend who’s interests currently align with ours and is willing to provide information and use of their network for the right price.” Thomas explains taking a seat and resuming his cigarette. Polly hides her faux surprise and Ada has no fucking clue.

She brings out the manila envelopes. “They have been so kind to have the Yankees agree to pay Shelby Company Limited the fifty grand on Changretta’s head in exchange for a luxury property I own in Mexico City. They only require that his death be traced to us and not people affiliated with the American Government.”

“Which property?” Michael asks the question on Ada’s tongue. He knew how much some things on her portfolio are worth, and her relatives could use that as proof of her instability.

“My townhouse near the British Embassy, not the one Ada stayed in last summer, but the one that my grandparents left me.” Ada was not hunted by the president, so as a birthday gift for her and Karl, Eva had mailed her the keys to a house where she could invite communists if she wanted and not get the attention of the British Embassy. “It's worth about twice that, but my friend is willing to open communications for us with other people who want Changretta dead to make up for how little the fucker is actually worth. Ten percent was paid to me three days ago, and the rest of the legal reward will be paid once he’s dealt with.”

“Can we trust this friend of yours, Eva?” Polly plays her part so well. Too bad there is a Ten of Swords in the latest reading.

“Yes, they trained me, I know their birth name and they know about my curse. Tiago can vouch for them, if any of you would like.” because the magic word is Tiago now that they don’t trust her. Unfortunately, Tiago was off doing something for Florence as thanks for the first-class cabin.

“Why is the money being wired to you and not Tommy?” ah yes, Eva knows her relatives keep track of her income and spending through Polly’s son, they would need to know why suddenly Eva had fifty grand to her name alone, or why she’d sell a house that expensive for so little.

“Because I sold a beautiful townhouse built in the late 17th century to an old acquaintance who changes their name like they change their underwear. Don't worry, Michael, you can still rat me out to Jack or Patricio so they can continue calling me crazy.” it’s a low blow because not even Tommy knew his trusty accountant was scheming to diminish her role in either company.

Why he wants her as far away as possible from the business, she has some few guesses. Ambition runs deep in Shelby blood and Thomas was more than willing to let him die for her. Esme had joked that John agreed he too would throw Michael to the wolves to save his wife, or anyone given he doesn't like his cousin. Then there was also the whole thing with Nayeli, but he could’ve kept a long-distance relationship like Nayeli had hoped for instead of ending things through a telegram and then proceed to blame her for it.

“What are you talking about, Evie?” Ada asks confused.

“One of the changes her family is making, aside from changing the name to Riley and Associates, is replacing her with Thomas by having him declare her unfit to manage her portion.” Lizzie takes a drag of her cigarette. “Only way for them to override her parents’ will, according to my husband.”

“What does that have to do with my son?” Polly asks and her anger is real this time.

“Her uncles asked me to keep an eye on her to make sure she wasn’t affecting either company. Nayeli told me she was very reckless after her family died, and her uncles wanted to be sure the kidnapping wouldn’t result their family’s reputation being damaged.” he explains, making her look like they might be right to have him spy on her. “I didn’t know they planned to use that against you.”

Always about optics with them, after all, they are trying to assimilate in America.

“Still, Michael, you were supposed to tell me these things.” Thomas’ anger is cold, like his eyes. His trust on his cousin had been waning and now that he knew who their source was, Michael was facing an uphill battle.

Thomas had created his future rival, and neither man knew it yet. “We could have stopped it from turning into blackmail they will try and use against our company, but that can wait.”

Or his future career in politics. Can’t have the wife of an MP be declared insane by her own fucking family.

“Which brings us to the business that does concern Arthur.” Lizzie says, reminding everyone that they cannot afford to wait for said man.

“All right, he's late. Fuck him. This business directly affects Arthur, but he's not here, so we'll take a vote without him.” Thomas gets on with it and Eva and Polly stop praying Linda can keep him busy for longer than thirty minutes.

“What business?” Ada doesn’t like exclusion of Arthur, but its best that he isn’t here.

“Official business that can’t be written down, Ada.” Eva answers, she didn’t mean to snap at her, but unofficial meetings remain unofficial for a reason. Less proof something happened the better. “Six years ago, Luca Changretta came from New York to Birmingham to be best man at his cousin's wedding. That is unfortunately the most recent photograph of him.”

“We found out that they used Reid and Dunn on Broadgate for the photographs. The photographer kept the negatives. I persuaded him to give us copies.” Polly pulls out the photographs she got this morning after giving the photographer more than just a monetary bribe. “And to enlarge this one.”

“That is Luca Changretta. I've seen his face, so I could pick him out. Half the men in the photograph are Changrettas, which means the chances are they are the men who come to kill us. We need to get both these photographs into pubs and on street corners. Then we put it about that there's a reward for information.” he explains and pauses looking for the right words to say the next bit.

“We also propose that we give a copy of this photograph to Mr. Aberama Gold.” Polly says and Ada looks up, surprised.

“We need to forget the idea that it has to be Arthur who needs to pull the trigger. Tradition will just fuck us up.” his hands are in his pockets, hiding his own relief that Arthur wasn’t there, and his eyes are on his sister who is not relieved that Arthur is not present.

“We should wait for Arthur.” she says defiantly.

“He’s not coming, Ada, and all we need is Luca Changretta dead, that’s it.” Thomas says and continues with the meeting. The sooner it was over the better.

“Dropping the law of the bullet is part of the process of modernization that I was working on before I...” Polly pauses and finishes the thing that’s fucked up her life. “Before I was executed.”

It takes a while to get over that, Eva had taken years to deal with it, and her coping mechanisms were bad enough to make her relatives afraid of what she’d do. A similar recklessness as the one Polly had acquired. Michael’s comment certainly didn’t help.

“Right. Let's take a vote. I'll deal with Arthur. All those in favor of giving the photographs to Mr. Gold, raise your hand.” Tommy briefly acknowledged Polly’s outburst and raised his hand first, followed by Lizzie, Michael, Ada and lastly Polly. Eva’s vote is reluctant, but hers was merely a formality.

“Then it will be done.”

The meeting ends shortly after that, it had been a slow month, and it wasn't like they could manage any more shit on their plate.

He kissed her goodbye and held her by the waist like they used to. Its sweet moments like that that remind her that her marriage is far from over. The factory was attacked by communists and 13 or 15 Italians, number were conflicting, but all that mattered was Arthur’s safety.

“He will understand, you’ll see.” she tells him. “If he doesn’t, I will tell him why he can’t do it, now go.”

“I’ll try to get home early, but I can’t make any promises, love.” he won’t come early, not when Devlin’s train is to leave tonight. “Don’t wait up, the last thing I want is to cause you more sleepless nights.”

She kisses him this time, not wanting to let go. Times like this make her wish she didn’t spend most of 1919 avoiding him. In three days, it will be the anniversary of the day he first showed up to her grandmother’s house. Eva had used her grandmother’s worsening health to keep things platonic until that very sweet candlelight moment in the Garrison made her open the window to him. Like a very good thief he didn’t hesitate to steal her heart.

---

Its afternoon when Eden finds her, more like corners her, grocery shopping with Charlie holding her hand. He used to have a little baby harness, but she forgot to pack it, or more like Thomas felt offended on his son’s behalf and threw it out of the suitcase when she wasn’t looking. Diane was too young to be out on a crispy day, or so Polly said as she took her to Ada’s while Eva ran errands.

Charles is still afraid of strangers, mostly men in black and priests. Eventually he will outgrow it, and for now Jessie Eden doesn’t look offended when the cute little boy hides behind her tailored trousers.

“He is an adorable little thing, isn’t he?” she smiles at him, and he clings tighter to his mother. “Shy, unlike his daddy.” she chuckles as if they were friends.

“He doesn’t like strangers, which is good because his sister will go with anyone who catches her interest.” Eva pats her son’s brown hair ---which will turn darker as he grows--- and quietly assures him in Spanish that he isn’t in danger. She doesn’t introduce her to him, it's not like it mattes if he does know her name. “I’m sure Kitty Jurossi told you what happened a year ago.”

It surprised Jessie to know Eva knew who her informant was, good. “Yes, I heard. I also heard your husband’s cousin killed the man who did it.”

News traveled fast and almost very accurate here. Eva hears the ‘but’ she didn’t say.

“That is the official account of the story, Mrs. Eden” let's leave it at that, we’re in public, she means.

Eva doesn’t care if she’s rude as she keeps doing her shopping and wondering if she should make canned foods her next investment. Besides shipping and transportation, food was the other essential thing that wouldn’t go under in the years of the skinny cows. She didn't want to rely on Thomas' illegal business on this fast-approaching Great Depression.

“It's Miss now, Mrs. Shelby.” Once Eva would’ve kept her cheerful manner and asked her to call her Eva, but Eva Shelby is not as kind and accepting as she was before.

“Good to know, so why are you here pretending you didn’t make me the spoiled rich bitch married to their evil boss, rich bitch being the least dehumanizing words they’ve used to describe me.” She doesn’t like being in the house when the betting shop downstairs is filled to the brim, but she’d run there right now to avoid talking to her.

“I am sorry for that, I didn’t know that it would spiral into that, but in hindsight I should’ve remembered that race is a sensitive subject I should’ve taken in consideration.” It's almost genuine, or maybe it is and Eva is just paranoid, but it's not enough.

Eva hesitates, putting a can of apricot slices into the basket, she craved sweet foods now and she missed the fruit trees in her Mama’s Garden in Mexico. “Good, but you will need more than an apology to pacify me, Miss. Eden. You see I am not in a forgiving mood, and I’m trying this thing where I don’t forgive people until I see results.”

Eden frowns, but keeps doing her own shopping. “I will talk about it at my next meeting, I will remind them that racism is not part of communism.”

To that Eva snorts. “Marx and Engel think people who are not white are subhuman and that my country deserved to be invaded by the yankees, don’t fucking say communism isn’t founded in racism when it was made by two racist Germans, Miss. Eden. I thought you were smarter than that.”

They move to the next aisle and by now Charlie is confidently walking hand in hand with her.

“Kitty told me you were smuggled out of your country in a crate on one of your many ships.” She brings it up in an effort to get her to change her views on communism.

“Yes, I don’t recommend it, but I do recommend sleeping pills before boarding a ship like that. Would’ve gotten myself caught at the dock if my aunt didn’t make me take them, tiny spaces make skittish.” She was nervous in small spaces and had a death wish, two things that made her aunt Olivia give her sleeping pills, so she wouldn’t ruin everything they had done to save her.

“I saw you once, when I was younger. You and Mr. Shelby had gone to pick out your wedding ring at a shop in Hockley. Everyone, including me, thought you were just some poor girl who didn’t know the man she was marrying.” She changes the topic and Eva wonders why the girl is still talking to her. "But you are a smart woman, so I can assume you did and just didn't care.

“You must’ve been eighteen then, I was around your age at the time.” Eva smiles to herself. “God, I sound ancient and I’m not thirty yet.”

“Kitty said no one thought he’d love again after Greta, but they were glad he had moved on to the perfect Miss Smith. No one can say a bad thing about you and it's not because they’re afraid of him, you know.” Jessie trails around her, looking at the things and choosing things to buy. By then Charlie has lost his fear of her, he smiles and chatters and begs for candy.

“It's just my foreign blood and my skin ---that’s not even that tan to begin with--- that are the problem. Tom made all the dirty looks; the slurs and their disgust stop unless they wanted a Peaky Blinder waiting for them in a dark alley. And now you’ve made that all return because you are convinced that we have to be enemies, Eden.”

“And I am sorry for that. I should’ve done better.” Now that is genuine and heartfelt. She was discriminated against for being a woman, but she had never really seen that no matter how much money you have people will still discriminate you for superficial things like race and sex.

“Eva, call me Eva.” That is as close to an apology she’ll get until she makes good on her promise. “Mrs. Shelby is only for official business and people I don’t particularly like, but you aren’t as awful as I assumed you’d be.”

---

Notes:

the skinny cows is a reference to the dreams Joseph interpreted for the Pharoh, told him the seven healthy and fat cows represented prosperity and the ugly and skinny cows meant years of scarcity.

Karl Marx and Frederich Engels were incredibly racist and originally planned for communism to be for white people not people of color whom they considered subhuman, which is one of the reasons why Eva thinks communism is full of shit and prefers the almost identical ideals Villa and Zapata championed in Mexico.

Jessie here, having not really faced discrimination based on race and nationality, didn't realize going against Tommy also meant empowering racists in his factories.

#between the shadow and the soul #tommy shelby x oc #tommy shelby fanfic #thomas shelby x oc #thomas shelby fanfic #peaky blinder fanfic #oc fanfiction

38 notes · View notes

obclus · 7 years

Photo

—————— • ❝ uneasy lies the head that wears a crown ! ❞ the date is january 17th, the sounds of a newborn child echo through hospital walls — tradition breaks like the thinnest sheet of glass. this is your heir, your future, your legacy. washed away by the thing you fault most, an emotion, love. . . . — the history of you starts well before your birth, and as fate would have it, this was to be a tale of deceit. a betrayal most foul. should anyone ever question your lineage all they would have to do was read the story of your ancestors and be off running with their tails between their legs. yet, like all good stories, it was soon lost in time. blood began to wash away with the inauguration of each new heir. so that by the time your grandmother came around, house elison had been known for nothing but charity, temperance and grace. but you share blood with sirens, con artists and deceivers. you are the product of millennia coming to a staggering crescendo — and you are not meant to go gentle into that goodnight. elosie — your mother. a blonde warrior of a woman with a heart as strong and cruel to match the iron she surrounded herself in. originally she was second in the line of succession to the throne. but then there is fate, that calculated bastard, an attack descends on the royal family. your mother was still only a child, the softness of such an age, sixteen. sixteen years in her sister’s shadow, sixteen years standing shorter than her. here is where time introduces itself as your most valuable ally. exactly one month prior to silvia’s coronation, the attack occurs. the assailant is murdered on sight but not before he has wreaked his havoc. frenzy consumes the streets of the dutch square as your mother stares, face wet with the blood of her sister who lies on the carriage floor beside her. elosie’s screams pierce through the crowd as she tries to call attention to any surrounding guards, somewhere in the distance she can hear her parents voices, her father’s bellowing above the rest. her throat goes sore and the raven is silenced. she kneels down closer to her sister in fear, fingers hovering above her rigid body — she looks like a bird, so fragile and delicate. eventually silvia would succumb to head injuries and pass away. this led to elosie becoming the heir apparent. however, elosie had never been one who did quite fit into a family of royals. she did love her country ? of course, she’d be happy to die and defend it to her last dying breath, but after sixteen years as an extra piece of a puzzle that was not lacking, she found the newly imposed position too heavy for her to bear. most importantly she was not willing to give up her iron heart. and when she met maximilian dils at one of the royal family’s events, the two fell harder than lucifer from heaven. in the end, she had only just turned eighteen when they married. elosie also did not seek parliamentary approval for their marriage, as this is required in the netherlands, resulting in her having ceased to be in line to inherit the throne. the title of princess remained hers as she had only ceased the ability of becoming queen. regardless elosie moved to london with maximiliane, leaving your grandparents to rule over a broken country. then came along you, moth girl. you were a ripple that turned into a tsunami. you were the water so still, serene and patient, but it took you long to get there. your parents died when you were only seven years old. by that time you had visited your mother’s homeland only twice. once seven months after your birth, and the other when you turned four. both events were private as the grief your family had endured still felt fresh. your grandmother often visited you and saw the face of her lost daughter whenever she looked upon you. it tore at her heart when she had to leave your side, but what could she do ? she had a country waiting for her. and your mother tried her hardest to forge you of her own steel, but iron and steel weather to rust. after their untimely deaths, your grandparents swept you away to their lands full of castles. you see another side of luxury. sure you always had silk, lace and other fine linens but this was different. the air had a constant ringing now, like the sound of a knife clinking across a crystal glass, or the soung of an angel humming in your ear. your grandmother pushes a decree — HER ROYAL HIGHNESS princess ADALINDA of elison. you are to bare a crown on your head, it is not the same as that of a king or queen’s. it is light, but in that light you remember all the death and bloodshed that has placed the molded gold at the top of your head. though you may be ineligible of inheriting the throne — if your mother taught you anything at all, it is that you do not need a crown nor title to RULE.

#so this is set to be before the official reinstatement of linda back into the royal house #i just wanted to post something today #probably should have posted this one first but #*shrug* idk it's late again and i'm taking a break from studying my calc notes #( let this remind you why you once feared the dark — edits. )

0 notes

garkomedia1 · 5 years

Text

How the U.S. and U.K. are partners in chaos

Editor’s Note: This edition of Free Morning Money is published weekdays at 8 a.m. POLITICO Pro Financial Services subscribers hold exclusive early access to the newsletter each morning at 5:15 a.m. To learn more about POLITICO Pro’s comprehensive policy intelligence coverage, policy tools and services, click here.

PROGRAMMING NOTE: Morning Money will not publish on Thursday Nov. 22 and Friday Nov. 23. Our next Morning Money newsletter will publish on Monday Nov. 26.

Story Continued Below

HOW THE U.K. AND THE U.S. ARE PARTNERS IN CHAOS — A little thought bubble as we head into the weekend and the short Thanksgiving week. MM spent some time over the last several days in Washington and New York with a variety of executives who are sifting through the 2018 midterm election results and trying to make some sense of the path of U.S. politics.

Many are trying to figure out where America is headed with a growing schism between a metro-area dominated, more highly educated electorate trending toward the Democrats and smaller town and rural voters sticking with President Donald Trump and the GOP and embracing the president’s hardline trade and immigration policies and his culture war appeals.

Consensus among these executives (and frankly among anyone else) is that American politics is a directionless wreck with no path forward on anything from health care to education to retirement savings to climate change and gun violence and long-term fiscal deficits. One British banker mused about how he’s never seen the U.S. so screwed up or derelict on the world stage.

Then he stopped himself almost immediately to say how the U.K. was really wasn’t any better with no consensus on how to deal with Brexit, a potential end to Prime Minister Theresa May’s tenure, a civil war inside the Conservative party and a plunging pound. It remains largely unclear in the U.K. whether May’s softer Brexit plan will somehow survive or no deal will emerge leading to a hard Brexit or a new referendum will take place to reverse Brexit entirely.

Tensions in the U.S. and U.K. are different in many ways but they share commonalities of fractured politics and deep divisions on fundamental identities as either insular and nationalistic or more globally integrated and diverse. We got no revelatory insight in these conversations beyond a morbid sense that only grave and immediate crisis that cannot be ignored will jolt either nation into clarity. And maybe not even then. Happy thoughts for your Friday!

SPEAKING OF THE TWO AMERICAS… CNBC’s John Harwood writes on data compiled by Brookings’ Mark Munro that show that “districts won by Democrats account for 61 percent of America’s gross domestic product, districts won by Republicans 38 percent. That economic separation underpins cultural divisions that usually command more attention. … Residents of districts won by Democrats generate 22% more output per worker, and have a 15% higher median household income.” Read more.

** A message from The National Association of Manufacturers and U.S. Chamber of Commerce: Proxy advisory firms—secretive companies most Americans have never heard of—are putting Americans’ retirement savings at risk. These firms can give inaccurate, conflict-ridden and sometimes politically motivated recommendations that jeopardize Americans’ retirement savings. Learn More: https://proxyreforms.com/ **

MORE WILBUR ROSS DRAMA — POLITICO’s Nancy Cook and Andrew Restuccia with the details: “To hear Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross and his allies tell it, rumors of his demise have been greatly exaggerated. Administration officials and close White House advisers say the 80-year-old Ross could be out of a job in a broader Cabinet shakeup as soon as January or as late as mid-2019. Ross, long said to be on thin ice with President Donald Trump, denies either scenario. ‘I’ll serve as long as the president wants and I have no indication to the contrary,’ he told an audience at a Yahoo! Finance event on Nov. 13.

“But in a sign of Ross’s perceived weakness, at least one influential Trump ally has begun speaking openly about his desire for the Commerce job if and when it becomes vacant: Office of Management and Budget chief Mick Mulvaney. …

“Other names circulating for the top Commerce slot include Small Business Administration Administrator Linda McMahon; Ray Washburne, a major Republican donor and the President and CEO of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation; and Karen Dunn Kelly, undersecretary for economic affairs at Commerce, who is jockeying for the job internally at the department.” Read more.

Restuccia (@AndrewRestuccia) also tweeted that McMahon would meet with Trump in the Oval on Friday.

GOP INVESTORS MORE BULLISH POST MIDTERMS — Somewhat counter-intuitive findings in this E-Trade survey of investors after midterm elections in which Democrats took back the House: “Republicans skew more bullish … with 38% saying they are more bullish toward the market than they were before the election. Democrats are slightly less optimistic, with 33% expressing more bullishness.

“Yet Republicans are also less positive about the personal impact of the results: Republicans are significantly more pessimistic across every measure tested, including how the new Congress will impact their investing portfolio, taxes, savings and bond yields, inflation, debt interest, and cost of goods and services.” Read more.

FIRST LOOK: ABA ON THE CRA — The ABA has a new comment letter out this morning to the OCC in response to its request for ideas to change the Community Reinvestment Act. From the comment: “Regulators should revise the CRA framework to incorporate fully the electronic channels through which many consumers prefer to conduct financial transactions. In addition, amendments to the CRA regulations must reflect that banks of all sizes are no longer restricted to conducting business in a limited geographic location.

WARNINGS SIGNS IN RETAIL SALES? — Pantheon’s Ian Shepherdson: “The headline retail sales numbers for October looked good, but the details were less comforting. Gains in auto sales, building materials—due to the hurricanes, likely— and higher gasoline prices cannot be the foundation of solid broad growth, and the core numbers were rather weaker.

“The key message from the recent data, in our view, is that the impact of the tax cuts, which pushed sales up sharply in the spring, is fading rapidly. Our measure of core retail sales, which excludes autos, gasoline and food, rose at a mere 2.7% annualized rate in the three months to October, slowing from the 9.9% peak in the three months to July.”

TRANSITIONS— Jacqueline Corba, a POLITICO alum, has joined CNBC’s Squawk Box team as anchor Andrew Ross Sorkin’s producer. She was previously Senior Producer of special programming at Cheddar. Good get!

DEMS FLOAT POTENTIALLY BIG RULE CHANGES — Washington Examiner’s Colin Wilhelm and Laura Barrón-López on new proposed rules changes drafted by Democrats in the House: “One change would require a three-fifths majority to raise taxes on individuals outside the top 20 percent of income earners.

“The draft rules would also eliminate dynamic budgetary scoring, which takes economic growth under consideration when determining the cost of legislation in federal spending. … If agreed upon by a majority of members in the House, the new rules would also effectively do away with standalone debt ceiling votes in the chamber, reinstating a rule that deems the debt ceiling raised if a budget is passed.” Read more.

MUELLER ANXIETY GRIPS THE WHITE HOUSE — Good read from POLITICO’s Darren Samuelsohn: “Lawyers for President Donald Trump and his son Donald Trump Jr. insist they aren’t worried about special counsel Robert Mueller. But half a dozen people in contact with the White House and other Trump officials say a deep anxiety has started to set in that Mueller is about to pounce after his self-imposed quiet period, and that any number of Trump’s allies and family members may soon be staring down the barrel of an indictment.

“Then there are the president’s own tweets, which have turned back to attacking Mueller after a near two-month break. … ‘You can see it in Trump’s body language all week long. There’s something troubling him. It’s not just a couple staff screw ups with Melania,’ said a senior Republican official in touch with the White House. ‘It led me to believe the walls are closing in and they’ve been notified by counsel of some actions about to happen. Folks are preparing for the worst.’” Read more.

GOOD FRIDAY MORNING — Happy weekend everyone! Next week is Thanksgiving. Thank God. Email me at [email protected] and follow me on Twitter @morningmoneyben. Email Aubree Eliza Weaver at [email protected] and follow her on Twitter @AubreeEWeaver..

DRIVING THE DAY — President Trump at 1:00 p.m. awards the Presidential Medal of Freedom to several recipients including Miriam Edelson, wife of billionaire GOP donor Sheldon Adelson … Industrial production at 9:15 a.m. expected to rise 0.2 percent with manufacturing up 0.3 percent …

BOWMAN CONFIRMED; WHAT ABOUT NELLIE LIANG? — POLITICO’s Victoria Guida: “The Senate in a 64-34 vote … confirmed Kansas State Banking Commissioner Michelle Bowman as a member of the Federal Reserve Board, the culmination of a yearslong push by community bankers to guarantee that someone who shares their experience sits at the central bank.

“Bowman, nominated in April, is the first person confirmed to the Fed seat reserved for a community banker, a position created in 2015. The seven-member Fed board now has five members, after dwindling to as low as three over the past year. The Fed’s newest governor has served as Kansas’ top bank regulator since Jan. 31, 2017.” Read more.

Trump now has two more Fed nominees awaiting Senate votes, Marvin Goodfriend and Nellie Liang, a long-time Fed staff member who played a critical role during the financial crisis. The White House continues to telegraph confidence that they can get Liang through the Senate Banking Committee and to the floor for a vote.

But banking groups and some Senate Banking members including Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) have expressed significant opposition and suggested Liang could interfere with efforts to reduce regulatory burdens on large financial institutions. So far, GOP Senate leadership has mostly stayed out of it, waiting to see what happens at the committee level.

FED UNVEILS COMMUNICATION REFORM PLAN — POLITICO’s Zachary Warmbrodt: “The Federal Reserve … unveiled plans for a review of the way it conducts monetary policy. The review the Fed has mapped out for next year will include outreach to the public, including a June 4-5 research conference at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, the central bank said. Federal Reserve Banks will host a series of public events around the country to get input, the Fed said.

“Beginning around the middle of next year, Fed policymakers will discuss the feedback received from the events. ‘With labor market conditions close to maximum employment and inflation near our 2 percent objective, now is a good time to take stock of how we formulate, conduct, and communicate monetary policy,’ Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said in a statement.” Read more.

QUARLES, TAKE TWO — Cap Alpha’s Ian Katz: “Fed regulatory czar Randy Quarles put in his second consecutive day of congressional testimony on Thursday. This one before the Senate Banking Committee was barely an hour … Overall, the message was again broadly positive for banks.

“He tried to convince Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) that the Fed is carefully monitoring leveraged lending, and contested assertions from Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) that he’s making the stress tests too easy.”

TECH, BANKS LEAD STOCK REBOUND — AP’s Alex Veiga: “A rebound in technology companies and banks helped reverse an early slide for U.S. stocks Thursday, breaking a five-day losing streak for the market.

“Health care and industrial stocks also rose, offsetting losses in retailers, homebuilders, utilities and other sectors. Energy stocks also helped lift the market as the price of U.S. crude oil rose for the second straight day. … The late-afternoon market rebound marked the latest episode of volatile trading for the market this week.” Read more.

POUND SLIDES AMID BREXIT TURMOIL — NYT’s Peter Eavis: “Big declines in Britain’s currency, the pound, often have signaled wrenching changes for the country. Could this be the case again as … May struggles to win support for her plan to take Britain out of the European Union?

“The British pound on Thursday fell 2 percent against the dollar. That’s a large decline for a currency belonging to a developed economy and is the biggest one-day drop since the weeks after Britain’s vote in June 2016 to leave the European Union … Though the pound is down 15 percent since that vote, it remains well above the lows it hit in January 2017, when it was becoming clear that Mrs. May’s government favored a more drastic separation from important economic arrangements with the European Union.” Read more.

ECONOMISTS SPLIT ON MIDTERMS OUTCOME — WSJ’s Harriet Torry: “Economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal were roughly split on whether the outcome of the recent midterm elections would dispel or increase uncertainty for the economy and financial markets in the coming months. The vote means that come January, Democrats will take control of the House of Representatives, while Republicans will retain control of the U.S. Senate.

“Nearly half of respondents in the economists’ survey, 46 percent, said economic uncertainty would increase somewhat following the midterms, while 40 percent of respondents expected it would decline somewhat after the vote.” Read more.

HOUSE PANEL TO LOOK AT FINANCE SECTOR DIVERSITY — Reuters’ Pete Schroeder: “Democrats are planning to dramatically step up their focus on improving financial services for underserved communities when they take control of the U.S. House of Representatives in January, according to several people briefed on the matter.

“Representative Maxine Waters, who is poised to take over the chair of the Financial Services Committee after Democrats won a majority in the House in Nov. 6 elections, is considering creating a subcommittee dedicated to financial inclusion and diversity in the sector, as well as a taskforce to focus on financial technology innovation, the people said. Waters had previously said the issue would be a priority.” Read more.

GOLDMAN CEO ‘PERSONALLY OUTRAGED’ BY 1MDB SCANDAL — Bloomberg’s Keith Campbell and Jennifer Surane: “David Solomon had a message for Goldman Sachs Group Inc. employees shaken by the firm’s involvement in a multibillion fraud scandal: This isn’t us.

“‘I am personally outraged that any employee of the firm would undertake the actions spelled out in the government’s pleadings,’ the firm’s chief executive officer said in a voicemail left with employees on Wednesday. ‘The behavior of those individuals is reprehensible and inconsistent with the good work and integrity that defines work that 40,000 of you do every day.’” Read more.

CREDIT UNIONS HAVE MORE WOMEN CEOs — Per new research from economists at the Credit Union National Association (CUNA): “In the financial sector where females are significantly underrepresented in management positions, credit unions create and sustain opportunities for female leaders to serve their communities.

“We measured credit union success in three key categories, and here’s what we found: Female executives are significantly more common at credit unions compared to other financial institutions: A majority (52%) of credit union CEOs are female. Accounting for differences in asset size, there is no evidence for a gender pay gap at credit unions” Read more.

ANOTHER DEM PICKUP IN THE HOUSE — POLITICO’s Elena Schneider: “Democrat Jared Golden has defeated GOP Rep. Bruce Poliquin in Maine’s 2nd District, bringing Democrats’ net gain in the House to 36 seats with five GOP seats still uncalled — and with Poliquin still embroiled in a lawsuit against Maine’s secretary of state over the vote.

“Golden had 50.5 percent of the vote to Poliquin’s 49.5 percent, according to the Maine secretary of state’s office. Golden’s victory — the first House race ever decided by a ranked-choice voting system — also marked the 20th district that Democrats won that had been carried by … Trump in 2016.” Read more.

AND ONE MORE… POLITICO’s Brent D. Griffiths: “Southern California Rep. Mimi Walters was ousted Thursday night, the latest House Republican to lose their seat in the formerly deep-red Orange County. The Associated Press called the 45th congressional district race with Democrat Katie Porter leading Walters, a two-term incumbent who previously served in the California senate, by just over 6,000 votes as ballots continue to be counted.” Read more.

** A message from The National Association of Manufacturers and U.S. Chamber of Commerce: Proxy advisory firms have no obligation to look out for investors’ best interests, and the recommendations of these secretive companies can put Americans’ personal investments and retirement savings at risk. Put simply, these firms give advice that is often at odds with the best interests of Main Street investors.

That leads to bad decisions that can undermine company performance and drag down retirement account balances for American workers. Thankfully, the Securities and Exchange Commission is exploring ways to provide much-needed oversight. And Main Street investors can take action by telling Washington to look out for working Americans and their savings. Learn more: https://proxyreforms.com/ **

Source link

from RSSUnify feed https://hashtaghighways.com/2018/11/16/how-the-u-s-and-u-k-are-partners-in-chaos/

0 notes

blogwonderwebsites · 6 years

Text

Nature Russia’s Antidoping Agency Is Reinstated by WADA

Nature Russia’s Antidoping Agency Is Reinstated by WADA Nature Russia’s Antidoping Agency Is Reinstated by WADA http://www.nature-business.com/nature-russias-antidoping-agency-is-reinstated-by-wada/

Nature

Image

Craig Reedie, the head of the World Anti-Doping Agency. WADA voted on Thursday to reinstate Russia’s antidoping agency.CreditCreditIshara S. Kodikara/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

The global regulator of drugs in sports on Thursday voted to allow Russia to resume testing its athletes for performance-enhancing drugs, despite an outcry from athletes and watchdogs that Moscow has not done enough to clean up its record of corruption in competitions.

Russia, whose drug-testing agency has been banned for three years, will now be able to certify on its own that its athletes are not using illicit drugs, allowing them easier entry to a range of competitions. Russia will also be able to issue what are known as therapeutic use exemptions, which permit athletes to use certain prohibited drugs for medical reasons.

The executive board of the World Anti-Doping Agency made the move despite a series of independent investigations that found Russia had orchestrated a vast, state-sponsored doping scheme that tainted the Olympics and other major sports events.

It comes at a time of mounting skepticism about the fairness of international sports competitions as the use of performance-enhancing drugs remains pervasive. Athletes say they do not have faith that their competitors are not doping. They also say the governing bodies of their sports have failed to ensure the integrity of the competition, even at the highest-profile events, like the Olympics.

The decision clears Russia to start hosting international sports events again. In addition, it paves the way for Russian athletes to begin competing under their own flag in every sport. Russia’s track and field athletes might be welcomed back at all international events; the I.A.A.F., track and field’s world governing body, had refused to accept Russian athletes while the country’s antidoping agency was not considered in compliance with WADA standards.

Minutes after Russia was cleared by WADA, the organizers of the European Games, a multisport event, named Kazan, Russia, to a shortlist of three cities to host the event in 2023.

The vote by WADA’s board was 9 to 2, with one abstention, to reinstate Russia’s antidoping agency, which had been banned since 2015 after investigators found it was at the center of the doping conspiracy at the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi, Russia.

The conspiracy included, among other methods, substituting clean urine for tainted samples through a hidden hole in the wall at the agency’s testing laboratory in Sochi. The lab was guarded by members of Russia’s state security services, according to the investigations.

The doping conspiracy led the International Olympic Committee to ban Russia from the Winter Olympics this year in Pyeongchang, South Korea.

Nearly 170 Russian athletes ultimately participated through special dispensations from the international sports federations. But Russia’s National Olympic Committee was prohibited from attending. The Russian flag was not officially displayed and the athletes had to wear neutral uniforms with “Olympic Athlete From Russia” printed on them.

After the Games, Russia continued to deny the state had sponsored the doping and it declined to give investigators access to its testing labs and possibly tainted urine samples. Russia, in an agreement with WADA, was supposed to admit to the doping scheme and turn over data and samples before the agency reinstated it.

After negotiations between Russian officials and leaders of international sports organizations, however, a WADA committee unexpectedly recommended the reinstatement last Friday. The full board, meeting in the Seychelles, affirmed it.

The organization backed off insisting that Russia accept the findings of an investigation by Richard McLaren that laid out evidence of a state-supported doping program in Sochi. Instead, WADA asked Russia to accept the less harsh findings on the government’s role in what is known as the Schmid report, produced by an International Olympic Committee commission.

Pavel Kolobkov, Russia’s sports minister, said in a letter to WADA that his government accepted the findings of the Schmid report and agreed to turn over data and stored samples from Russian athletes.

WADA’s president, Craig Reedie, said that the reinstatement came with “strict conditions” and that Russia could be ruled noncompliant again if it failed to follow a timeline for allowing access to Russian data and samples before Dec. 31. That data is crucial for adjudicating hundreds of possible cases of cheating from years ago.

The decision brought renewed criticism of WADA, which had angered athletes and other antidoping officials by softening some of the demands it made of Russia.

Travis Tygart, chief executive of the United States Anti-Doping Agency, called the decision “a devastating blow to the world’s clean athletes.”

Mr. Tygart and other antidoping leaders and athletes critical of the decision said going back on the so-called “road map” for Russia’s reinstatement was akin to putting the desires of sports officials and a powerful nation above the rights of clean athletes.

He vowed to use the decision to build momentum for a significant reformation of WADA so the organization does not include representatives from sports organizations. The world’s athletes “want a WADA with teeth, authority, sanctioning power and the determination to get the job done of cleaning up sport and restoring the trust of the billions of sports fans and athletes worldwide.”

Richard Pound, the I.O.C. member who was the first president of WADA and who conducted an initial report on Russian doping in 2015, defended the deal as the only way to guarantee access to all the information necessary to pursue cases of cheating. The original requirements for reinstatement did not explicitly state that the Russians must provide the computer records of each athlete’s cheating, but the latest ones do. In exchange for that, WADA essentially dropped its demand that Russia admit to state-sponsored doping.

“When you’re dealing with issues diplomatically, sometimes you can’t go at them directly,” Mr. Pound said. “Sometimes by circling you get at it.”

Mr. Tygart and WADA’s other critics have long complained that the organization includes too many leaders of sports organizations with conflicted loyalties in positions of power. Six members of WADA’s 12-person executive committee have positions with an international or national sports organization.

Linda Hofstad Helleland of Norway, who voted against reinstatement, said the vote “casts a dark shadow over the credibility of the antidoping movement.”

Max Cobb, a member of the International Biathlon Union’s executive board, said WADA needed to get access to the lab data as quickly as possible. “I want to see these cases adjudicated,” Mr. Cobb said.

Mr. Reedie told the BBC before the vote on Thursday: “I think it’s entirely within the road map that was specified. The second condition still requires a copy of the database and raw data to come to us. If they don’t deliver, they won’t be compliant.”

But many athletes and officials expressed dismay.

Beckie Scott, a former cross-country skier from Canada who resigned from the WADA compliance review committee after it endorsed readmitting the Russian antidoping authorities, said after the decision on Thursday that she was “profoundly disappointed.”

In a statement on Thursday, the I.A.A.F. said it had its own set of criteria for reinstating Russia. Rune Andersen, an antidoping expert from Norway who has been leading the track federation’s task force on Russia, will review WADA’s decision and make a recommendation to the I.A.A.F in December. But the federation suggested that it might continue to take a hard line on Russia and insist that Russia admit to state-sponsored doping.

“The setting of our own criteria and the process of evaluating progress against these criteria has served the sport of athletics well over the last three years, so we will continue to rely on the task force and our clear road map,” said Sebastian Coe, the Olympic champion who is the president of the I.A.A.F.

In a statement, U.K. Sport, the United Kingdom’s government agency charged with the development of elite athletes, said it was disappointed in the decision: “We call on WADA to fully and transparently explain how it came to the compromise of reinstating Russia — and how it will ensure that the new conditions are fully met and implemented. A strong WADA and a unified antidoping community are vital to the integrity of sport and to ensure public trust and support is maintained.”

Ahead of the decision, in an opinion article in The New York Times, Edwin Moses, the former hurdling star and chairman of the United States Anti-Doping Agency, said, “Having spoken to athletes, I know they overwhelmingly support the right decision being made in the Seychelles — they overwhelmingly support WADA’s sticking to its road map.”

Dr. Grigory Rodchenkov, the whistle-blower who revealed Russia’s doping program, urged against the decision in an opinion article published by USA Today. “WADA must not fall prey to manipulation and false assertions from the ministry, the same arm of the Kremlin that facilitated the doping program and asserted false compliance,” Dr. Rodchenkov wrote. “To do so would be nothing short of a catastrophe for clean sport.”

His lawyer, Jim Walden, said after the decision, “WADA’s decision to reinstate Russia represents the greatest treachery against clean athletes in Olympic history.”

Victor Mather contributed reporting.

Read More | https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/20/sports/olympics/russia-wada-antidoping-reinstated.html |

Nature Russia’s Antidoping Agency Is Reinstated by WADA, in 2018-09-20 23:45:16

#Nature of Business in the Current Market

0 notes

douglasacogan · 6 years

Text

Anyone eager to draw sentencing lessons in the wake of mass murderer Charlie Manson's demise?

There are any number of old and new California sentencing stories that surround the murderous Manson family, especially as some members of the "family" continue to pursue parole. With the death of the leader, this extended Daily Beast article, headlined "Charles Manson’s Prosecutor Says He Deserved to Be Killed Years Ago," provides a useful reminder of the awful carnage and legacy of Manson. Here are snippets with some of the enduring sentencing details:

Charles Manson should have died a long time before today. That’s according to one of the prosecutors who sent Manson and his murderous followers to Death Row, only to see their sentences later commuted to life in prison.

Manson, 83, died Sunday at Kern County hospital in California, corrections officials said. Manson’s death spells “the end of a very evil man,” Stephen R. Kay told The Daily Beast in an exclusive interview earlier this year prior to Manson’s death.

Kay was a Los Angeles County deputy district attorney who worked with fellow deputy Vincent Bugliosi to secure guilty verdicts for Manson and his flock of killers, who came to be known as “The Family.” Manson, Susan Atkins, Leslie Van Houten, Patricia Krenwinkel, Charles “Tex” Watson, Steve “Clem” Grogan, and Bruce Davis were convicted in all or some of the 1969 murders of nine people, including actress Sharon Tate, who was pregnant with director Roman Polanski’s child.

“No, that was a pretty easy decision based on the gruesomeness of the crimes and the motives: wanting to start a race war,” Kay said. “I think there are some crimes that are so heinous that in order for us to exist as a society that we have to say we will absolutely not accept this type of behavior and the person will have to suffer the ultimate penalty. “It’s not that we’re giving Charles Manson the death penalty; it’s that he earned it.”...

At 73, and now retired, Kay said he can still hear the sinister threats on his life made by Manson and his disciples. “Squeaky [Fromme] and Sandy Good snuck up behind me and said they’re going to do to my house what was done at the Tate house,” Kay said.... During one of Manson’s many parole hearings, the death-cult leader detailed how he was going to take out Kay. “The most direct one was after the parole hearing—he told me he was going to have me killed out in the parking lot on the way to my car,” he said. “I mean, that to me was the most memorable one. It was so direct.” Kay acknowledged even with protection, he was merely testing fate if he felt like he was immune to becoming another Manson victim. “When Manson says something like that after what he’s done, you have to take it seriously,” he said.

It’s the kind of power wielded by Manson that the former prosecutor feels was lorded over Fromme, who was caught with a pistol trying to shoot President Gerald Ford in 1975. “I happen to believe that there’s no way Squeaky Fromme on her own would have thought up the idea of trying to assassinate President Ford in the park in Sacramento,” he said. “I believe Manson put her up to that.”

In 1970, Manson, Atkins, Krenwinkel, and Watson (in a separate trial later) were convicted of murder and conspiracy for the Tate-LaBianca killings and were all sentenced to death. Sealing their fates was fellow Family member Linda Kasabian, who testified against them in exchange for immunity. In a 1971 trial, Manson was convicted and sentenced to life for the 1969 murders of Donald “Shorty” Shea and Gary Hinman. When Shea, who was a ranch hand and stuntman on Wild Western films returned to Spahn Ranch with a black wife, it allegedly set Manson off. Manson was also convinced that Shea had “snitched” on the group, having tipped off cops on a boosted car, which led to an Aug. 16, 1969, raid at dawn on their compound by police....

All of the Family members who were sentenced to death, including Manson, were spared when the California Supreme Court overturned the death penalty back in 1972 and commuted their sentences to life in prison. The state would later bring back the death penalty, but the life sentences for Manson and his killer kin stuck. “It would be ex post facto violation of the Constitution to go back and reinstate it because you can only be prosecuted with what the law was when you committed the crime, and these laws were committed in 1969,” Kay said. “And the death penalty that was in effect in ’69 was held to be unconstitutional.”...

Ironically, most of Manson’s former followers have outlived him, save for Susan Atkins, who died in prison from brain cancer back in 2009. Leslie Van Houten, now 68, held Rosemary Labianca down and covered her face with a pillowcase while another Family member carved “War” into her husband’s stomach after stabbing him in the couple’s home. (Then they helped themselves to chocolate milk in the fridge.) Van Houten was also the one who scribbled missives on the house walls using their victims’ blood. “I don’t let myself off the hook,” Van Houten told a parole panel. “I don’t find parts in any of this that makes me feel the slightest bit good about myself.” Van Houten was granted parole in September, but Gov. Jerry Brown is expected to reverse the decision as he did last spring.

Charles “Tex” Watson, now 72, did a stint in Atascadero State Mental Hospital and said he has since found God while serving his life sentence as a chaplain at Mule Creek Prison in Ione. Watson failed more than a dozen times to convince a parole board to free him for his part in being Manson’s hitman; his was the last face so many victims saw before they were tortured and slain with a wrench, knife, or pistol.

Patricia “Krenny” Krenwinkel, 70, remains California’s oldest female inmate and has been serving life at California Institution for Women in Corona. She has since renounced Manson and The Family. “What a coward that I found myself to be when I look at the situation,” Krenwinkel said during a 2014 interview with The New York Times. Lynette “Squeaky” Fromme, 61, was granted parole back in 2009 after serving 34 years hard time for the attempt on President Ford’s life. She has reportedly relocated to upstate New York, where she lives in isolation....

That Manson managed to hold on for this long was like an open wound for so many families. “It made the case go on forever,” Kay said. “If the penalty was put into effect then the case would have been done in the 1970s. There’s never really any closure.”... Tate’s mother, who died in 1992, became an outspoken crusader for justice. “I think at one time she was the most powerful woman for victims rights in California,” Kay said, adding that if you were a politician worth your salt in California you sought out Tate’s endorsement. “She really started the victims’ rights movement that is still so powerful even today.”

Kay isn’t blind to the irony that had the sentence gone forward Manson wouldn’t have become quite the diabolical deity that has haunted popular culture for decades. “We wouldn’t be having this conversation,” Kay said.

from RSSMix.com Mix ID 8247011 http://sentencing.typepad.com/sentencing_law_and_policy/2017/11/anyone-eager-to-draw-sentencing-lessons-in-the-wake-of-mass-murderer-charlie-mansons-demise.html via http://www.rssmix.com/

0 notes

benrleeusa · 6 years

Text

Anyone eager to draw sentencing lessons in the wake of mass murderer Charlie Manson's demise?

0 notes