#which like. yes. But the fault is in how the publishers operate not in poor people reading | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

traincat · 3 years

Note

I know the comic piracy debate is a never-ending cycle, but in India where I live, you can't get western comics (or manga for that matter). There aren't comic book stores. Sometimes on Amazon you can find collected editions worth more than INR 1000 at least, for the paperbacks. Most older collections, even from the early 2000s, will be upwards of INR 6000. And sure, it's because the exchange value is so low for Indian rupees, but that's still a LOT of money to Indian citizens. You can get digital editions of random odd issues for approx. INR 150, so that's there. But overall it's really a huge investment to buy a physical comic. So yes, I pirate. But I get so guilty when this debate rolls around, every time. I just don't see any other alternative.

I debated whether or not to answer this considering I haven't really addressed the comics piracy issue before so I'm not sure I'm the right account to talk about it, and also because my askbox is not a confessional and I am not a priest, but then some Spider-Man news broke that I feels ties into it this so whatever, we're going for it. The comics piracy debate comes up every couple of months and will probably continue to come up every couple of months until forever and all of these points have been stated before by others because nothing in this debate is new. First things first, you shouldn't feel guilty. I'm going to suggest actually that nobody should feel guilty, unless you are like, a millionaire and you're exclusively pirating indie books. The prices you're quoting are prohibitively expensive but I have some unfortunate news for everyone involved: the prices are really bad in the US, too. If you want good collected editions, especially in hardcover, they're going to run at similar if not quite equal prices. Comics have gone from a cheap hobby to an overwhelmingly expensive hobby.

This is a good article comparing to the cover costs of American comics since the 1960s adjusted for inflation which I think puts some things in perspective. Comics currently cost roughly $5 USD per issue, which doesn't sound that bad, even though most of my monthly streaming services are roughly that price for a whole month's access to a library of content. But it only doesn't sound that bad if you're not buying special issues (the Marvel Pride book retailed for $10), and if you're only reading one or two books a month. The problem is, American superhero comics are specifically designed so you're not reading just one or two books per month -- this is why we have events! And crossovers! Not for the story potential but because it forces the consumer to purchase more product. This is why there's constantly an event running with a checklist of tie-in issues in the back. So now you're spending probably at least $20 a month. If you're a fan with a lot of interest in different titles, and in different publishers, this can easily hit triple USD digits. It's a money pit. It's not affordable to most people. And this is where that new Spider-Man news comes in, because it was announced today that Amazing Spider-Man is going back to a thrice monthly schedule like it used to operate on during Brand New Day. Which sounds good at first -- more comics, yay -- until you realize that's probably going to be $15 USD a month for a one title. That's $180 a year for one title, not including annuals or special issues. That's not feasible for a lot of fans -- young fans, poor fans, fans with other financial obligations etc. And most people aren't reading just one title. I don't know how the X-Men fans are currently financing their Krakoa habit and I'm afraid to ask. There are services like Marvel Unlimited, which make things slightly more affordable, but I imagine the wait for newer issues to hit the service can be alienating for some fans who want to join in current discussions, the library has some incredibly massive holes in it which is unacceptable when it's coming from inside the mouse house, and I believe, although I could be wrong, that it is not available in all countries. Comics are no longer an easily accessible hobby, if you're paying for everything you read.

"But the creatives deserve to get paid" is the common argument and yeah, they do, I'm not arguing that point. They should absolutely get paid and they should get well. I'm a writer, I'm a published writer even, and I want to be a published novelist, and I definitely want to get paid, and I'm reserving the right to be a complete hypocrite about this, as I do with everything in my life, but this is where the difference between indie publications and Marvel publications comes in: Marvel is owned by Disney. There is absolutely no excuse for Disney not to pay their creatives. If they are not getting paid fairly, it's not because you pirated a book -- it's because Disney has a vested interest in not paying their creators, as evidenced by Alan Dean Foster's lawsuit claiming that they are withholding royalties from him. Fans pirating these books are not the reason the creatives are not getting paid fairly -- the creatives are not getting paid fairly for the same reason that Disney park employees experience homelessness, and it's because Disney would rather put that money into the pockets of their executives. There is no debate on that subject. It's easier and perhaps more convenient to blame fans for pirating comics rather than putting all of their money into what has been for years now a prohibitively expensive hobby to keep up with, but the fact of the matter is Disney could pay all of their creatives what they're worth without hurting their bottom line and instead chooses not to. That is not on you, as an individual reader. You have no reason to feel guilty about that, no matter what your circumstances are, and you do not have to justify your actions to either me or the House of the Mouse. I'm with you, and Disney ultimately doesn't care. They're making that money up elsewhere and then not distributing it fairly to the people who create the properties their media empire is built off of. But especially if you're buying older books, you should know that your money is not going to the creative team -- once it's out of publication, they're not going to get any of the money you spent on it. The argument then becomes that you should be supporting local comics stores which yes, is true, but also doesn't apply to everyone, like anon who doesn't have access to local comic book stores. And again, this can become prohibitively expensive -- collections are expensive. Older, hard to find collections can be very expensive. Once something is out of print, all bets are off on what it might be selling for. Buying single issues is only affordable if the single issue isn't desirable or sometimes if it's in exceedingly bad condition. For the sake of transparency, I have a fairly big single issue collection because it's my preferred format, but I had the time to bargain hunt, access to local comic book stores and large comic conventions, and I'm very good at sniping eBay auctions. The most I have ever dropped on a single issue was expensive for me -- and still under three digits USD -- and it's for an issue from the '60s that is not in great condition.

The problem with this debate is that it is generally a nuanced issue that always gets boiled down to "piracy bad" in a way that makes a lot of well meaning and well intentioned fans, especially the ones with extenuating circumstances, feel bad. It's not your fault. You shouldn't feel guilty. There are a huge amount of reasons why someone might pirate something that are not bad reasons and do not make you a bad person who is personally withholding money from the creators -- because you're not. I don't publicly tell people where to pirate comics, mostly because I really don't think it's that hard to find out for yourselves especially because several creators involved with Marvel themselves have, I suspect accidentally, posted pages of their work to social media WITH THE BANNER OF A WELL KNOWN COMICS PIRACY SITE STILL IN THE IMAGE please learn how to crop, so maybe my standpoint on the issue wasn't well known, but there it is. I think readers should, if they are able to financially and otherwise, support the creators they like, but that it should be acknowledged that this is a more complicated issue than it's commonly made out to be on Twitter and that the largest part of the blame needs to be put on the companies making these comics inaccessible to many and who refuse to pay their creators fairly, not on individual fans. Don't feel guilty, anon.

#traincat talks comics #*replies

84 notes · View notes

tonystarkissist · 5 years

Text

IronDad Bingo Fic #6

Trope: Bullying

Trigger Warning!!! Lots of self hate. Small mention of suicide and self harm.

Requested by anon. Thank you for the request!

The tabloids have always been known for their blatant hatred for the mess of a human being named Tony Stark. Of course, there were those select few reporters and articles that highlighted his few wholesome qualities, but people weren’t quite as drawn towards opinions not laced with drama and hostility.

The first truly demeaning article published about him that he could actually recall was when he was about 14 years old, attending a special gala with his parents during his Christmas break. His father had been giving a speech, and, yeah, Tony had snuck a couple drinks over the course of the evening, but this guy started choking on an olive in the middle of his father’s spiel and he didn’t even have any time to think before he was jumping into action. What was he supposed to do? Ignore the poor man? But in his drunken haze and fervent panic, he couldn’t quite remember the typical operating procedure to perform for a choking person, so he acted on instinct and reeled back his fist to send a punch straight into the man’s gut. It worked though, and the olive went sailing across the room, but the idiot demanded to press charges after he caught his breath and realized he was a Stark. And, of course, since no one else had witnessed the event in its entirety, young Tony had been labeled as a hostile, drunk, know-it-all without an ounce of human decency at the age of 14, and that title followed him all through his teenage years and into adulthood. The choking man had been set on getting his money and he wasn’t at all put out by the fact that it would require tearing down a somewhat innocent boy in the process.

His father had been pissed, even after Tony had finished explaining his side of the story. The press had been having an absolute field day with the abomination of a human being that turned out of Howard Stark’s son and Howard was beyond livid… and his mother, well… she had been disappointed. She didn’t speak a word to her son for nearly three days after the event. How could Tony blame them though? He had never done anything particularly noble, and he wasn’t known to be a truth-teller, but he had just wanted to help. He supposed that was what happened when you tried to help a person, so he didn’t go out of his way to try it out again.

After that, trouble just seemed to follow him. The press disregarded his accomplishments and highlighted the many many mistakes that only seemed to worsen the older he became. You couldn’t really blame the people either, because the mischief Tony Stark got up to was pure reporting gold. It granted them thousands, if not millions, of extra readers every time he didn’t something particularly stupid. The non-scientific community weren’t quite as interested in his inborn genius, and his amazing creations, lectures he gave, and ideas he had. People had always, and would always, be drawn to drama. And Tony Stark was the absolute Drama King.

So, over the years, he grew used to it. He grew used to the bullying comments made by human rights advocates, anti-war hippies, even some of his ‘friends’, and anyone else really… because they weren’t wrong. He was a selfish, immature, irresponsible, violent, impulsive, rich brat, and he’s long since accepted that fact. He remembered how the comments used to bother him as an adolescent and young adult. The self-hate, and depression that stemmed from the thought that everyone in the world, including his own father and mother, hated him with a passion. He had tried multiple times to prove his worth to the world, but he had always messed it up some way or another. And no matter how many so-called friends he would acquire over the years he could always see right through them. He could practically hear them talking and laughing about him behind his back. He knew they only wanted his money. But he didn’t care. He was fine with lying to himself for a while to gain a couple good friends even if they only lasted a few months.

He at least found one good friend, and Rhodey was probably the only reason why he hadn’t accidentally or purposely overdosed during those years at MIT, and even several years after.

He got over the deception quickly though, disregarding the people after realizing it wasn’t worth it to spend his time pleasing them, because the only person he should work on pleasing was himself. So, that’s what he spent the next few years doing. Spending every waking minute to prove to society just how right they were. To prove to his father that, yes, he really was all that the man believed him to be.

It wasn’t only the press and dumb college druggies either. After he took over the company… it was rare for anybody to take him seriously. His ideas were typically discarded by the board and Obie; nothing he wasn’t used to. His employees and coworkers had no respect for him even though he was the boss! He’d hear the whispered rumors as he walked down the halls, most regarding his inability to run the company or his nightly, drunken escapades, and he’d grit his teeth in annoyance before fleeing to his workshop to create something unquestionably amazing to prove his worth even though he truly believed every word the spoke.

Eventually, after a few years, R&D grew to respect his inventions, and the board members were impressed with the advancements he was making for the company. When it came to management… it was rare for anybody of any worth would actually listen to him. So, at about 26, he just stopped trying.

Even the people who worked for him believed the tabloids, so, really, what hope was there for the ordinary people of the world to look beyond what the magazines and newspapers said? He couldn’t expect the world to respect him, trust him, and believe in him when his own company wouldn’t… when his parents hadn’t.

The whispers and the shame never stopped… so he never did either.

Then, he had been kidnapped, tortured, and traumatized. He had had an epiphany in that cave. He realized how much he had done to hurt the world, and people in general during his years of spite fueled by self-hate, and he was determined to do everything in his power to fix it.

He became Iron Man, and he had pronounced his identity without hesitance, because he needed to be accountable for his actions. He couldn’t stand behind a mask, avoiding the responsibility and inevitable repercussions that would befall upon him during his doings as a superhero. He had already gone down that road during his years of selfish ignorance, and it had only brought trouble. He was determined to be accountable for his own actions, because honesty formulated trust, and he wanted people to trust that he genuinely cared.

Of course, when the news of a new enhanced robot-like being had shown up in California, and it had defeated another robotic enemy, the people had been both terrified and ecstatic at the possibility of someone, or something, there to protect them. Then, the people had learned who was really behind the mask, and it only went downhill from there.

Tony would sit on his couch every night for the following weeks, toying with a gauntlet, clenching his teeth until his jaw cramped as he watched reporters go on and on about his irresponsible actions, inability to protect them, and the unavoidable careless mistakes he would eventually make just as he had in the past.

Pepper and Rhodey had both encouraged him to watch the positive reports that were being given about him instead, because they knew about his tendency to spiral into a pit of self-hatred at the slightest mention of any of the deeper insecurities he’d been dwelling over for years, but he knew better. People didn’t want positive when it came to him. People wouldn’t believe those things; they’d disregard them as laughable lies and move on to the interesting, problematic portion of Tony Stark’s personality.

He tried. He really did. He did everything in his power to help the people and prove to them that all he wanted to do was help.

His public image went up and down through the following years. People would slowly begin to trust him and look up to him, but then sometimes he would mess up, and people would hate him all over again. Still, even despite the rare good, there were still many, many people who resented him during those times. They could always find some reason to hate him. There were fan pages dedicated to spreading their hatred for him and some news outlets were still fascinated with fabricating any lie they could to make everything that went wrong in an Avengers battle to be his fault. Which was cool, he was fine with that, because not all of it was really that wrong.

He had developed a disgusting habit through the years as a result. He’d sit down once a month and watch the negative reports about himself on the TV, always zeroing in on his blinding flaws. Sometimes his teammates would come close to catching him in the act, but he was always careful to make sure they never found out. He didn’t want them to know how the world really felt about him; to introduce the hatred the world rightfully harbored for him… but perhaps they already did. It would give them more ammunition to use against him. They were the first true friends besides Rhodey that he had ever had, and he couldn’t risk losing them because they found out how insecure, hated, and terrible he really was. Heck, Steve had already been influenced by the press and tabloids on their first meeting, and the hero had believed every word he read. Tony was too scared to find out who the man would trust when it came between the world and Tony Stark himself.

Tony had always been one to focus on the negative rather than the positive, especially when it came to himself. His self-image had already been ruined as a teen, despite the front he put up for the tabloids, and whenever a particularly demeaning characteristic that he had been hyper-aware of for years came to light, it sent him spiralling into a fit of depression and anger and he’d lock himself down in the lab, destroying, and days later rebuilding, his proudest accomplishments over and over again. It made him feel some sense of control.

He always sent Dum-E and U out of the room though, and he always shut down JARVIS for the night… he didn’t want to risk hurting them during his monthly fits of rage. He hated himself so much on those nights. He hated that he couldn’t be what people wanted him to be, and that he couldn’t live up to the high standard all his other teammates seemed to accomplish without a problem.

Years later, he was doing the same thing. His teammates, his friends, were gone… they betrayed him. The people of the world were terrified of him and all he stood for. His best friend was crippled because he was selfish, and the love of his life left when he refused to give up the one stable thing left in his life; the one thing that kept his head above water, knowing he was at least trying to help people. But everything was still his fault. The world knew it and they weren’t shy to tell him to his face. Everything was just so, so much worse.

So, just like every first Saturday night of the month he’d sit down in his workshop, bottle of scotch ready in his hand, and he’d instruct FRIDAY to stream the latest ‘lies’, as Pepper had called them (but he knew better), that had been circulating that month. He’d pay attention to the complaints given by citizens, especially when they suffered some sort of hardship as a result of an Avengers mission, and he’d do his best to reimburse them with both financial help and physical labor to rebuild anything they had lost. Any major disheartening actions or qualities brought to light that month would be mulled over intensely, worked through his brain a million and one times, before he set forth a plan of action to fix it. It didn’t always work. In fact, it rarely worked, but he tried. He tried so, so hard.

***

Peter loved going to spend time with Mr. Stark. After the Ferry incident had happened, the genius invited him over to the compound for some special training. Peter had been beyond excited to train with Tony Stark himself. He had always looked up to the man ever since he was a small child. He was his hero.

He remembered back when he was a bored thirteen year old, literally obsessed with the Avengers, particularly Iron Man, and he’d spend every waking moment scrolling through Twitter or Tumblr, or Facebook to find anything as to what they’d been up to that day. He had run across some not so nice thoughts expressed by some haters, and he didn't hesitate to set them straight. He had always been a hardcore Iron Man stan, and he couldn’t stand that they would speak of his hero in the way they were. Because the man was human, and he was allowed to make mistakes sometimes. Thankfully, the positive fanbase for the man was much larger than the negative. Iron Man was by far the most loved of all the Avengers, but still the most hated. And that had always pissed Peter off.

So, yeah, now he knew Tony Stark, his hero, personally, and he was allowed to visit every week! Sometimes they’d train in one of the training room and sometimes they’d go down into the lab to mess around with his suit or another project.

This week, though, he hadn’t been able to make it to the Compound because of Decathlon and the ridiculous amounts of homework he had to squeeze in between patrols. But Happy had said the Mr. Stark probably wouldn’t mind him stopping by on the weekend. So, here he was, Sunday morning, jittering excitedly inside the elevator as it descended to Mr. Stark’s workshop in the basement.

He hadn’t been greeted by FRIDAY, which he found a bit odd, but perhaps he assumed he was just down for maintenance for a couple hours. No biggie.

The elevators eventually opened, and the first thing he noticed was Dum-E and U chilling in the corner of the hall outside of Mr. Stark’s lab entrance. Peter quirked a brow curiously at the bots, and the two robots whirred excitedly at the sight of him. He greeted them with a smile and a pat on their arms before punching in the code to enter the lab. He was met with another bout of confusion as he glanced around the complete chaos and utter destruction that had befallen the room.

“Uh,” Peter mused with wide eyes, “Mr. Stark?”

“Kid!” Tony responded in surprise, popping up from behind the destroyed hot rod engine. “What-what-what are you doing here?”

“Oh, um, Happy said you probably wouldn’t mind me coming over this weekend.” Peter answered in a panic. What if Mr. Stark did mind? What if he hated Peter now? Oh goodness! Mr. Stark hated him for sure.

“Oh,” Tony mused tiredly. He glanced around the lab with a tight frown before returning his gaze to Peter. “Sorry for the mess kid. C’mon in. If I had known you were coming, I would have cleaned up a bit.”

“It’s alright Mr. Stark,” Peter responded hesitantly. He slowly made his way across the room until he was standing on the other side of the hot rod, watching as the man worked his magic on what looked to be a unsalvageable piece of machinery. “What-um… What happened in here?”

Tony chuckled under his breath, waving his arm dismissively. “Oh, I do this every month. It gives me something to do.”

“You-you destroy everything?” Peter questions, utterly perplexed.

“Well yeah,” Tony answered lamely, “that way I can rebuild it.”

“Oh, cool,” Peter drones quietly, “what are Dum-E and U doing outside?”

“I sent ‘em out there so they wouldn’t get hurt. Grab that wrench over there for me, will ya kid?”

***

The two of them got a lot closer as the weeks passed. Peter started staying over on the weekends once May picked up the weekend shift so she could come home earlier during the week to have dinner with her nephew. Peter had a blast on those weekends. He had his own room and everything, which was absolutely epic! He and Mr. Stark ate dinner with Pepper and Rhodey sometimes, and they’d watch a lot of movies too. Peter loved it.

They’d always stay up super late in the labs, or watching movies, on Friday and Saturday because, well, Peter didn’t have school or go home because May was expecting him.

But then one Saturday night was different…

“Alright, why don’t you call it a night and head up to bed, kiddo.”

Peter frowned and cocked his head to the side in confusion as he casted his mentor a questioning gaze. Mr. Stark never sent him to bed early, in fact, it was usually the opposite. It was typical for Peter to be so exhausted that he had to convince Mr. Stark that, yes, he needed sleep because he was a growing teenage boy.

“Uhhh… it’s only like 10 Mr. Stark. I’m not tired.”

He saw the man’s jaw tighten. “Just… just go to bed Peter. Watch TV, play on your phone, whatever. I don’t care. But take your project up to your room with you.”

“Mr. Stark,” Peter whispered softly, his eyebrows furrowed. He tightened his grip on his web shooter. “What’s going on?”

“Nothing, Peter,” the man responded tersely.

Peter didn’t argue anymore. He slowly started to gather his project into his arms. He eyed the man suspiciously once more before slowly making his way out of the room, but Mr. Stark didn’t say another word. He went up to Mr. Stark’ personal floor and was met with Pepper quietly lounging on the couch with her STARKpad in her lap. She glanced up at him curiously when he stepped into the room and Peter quietly admitted to her that Mr. Stark had sent him to bed early for some weird reason.

Pepper didn’t say anything to that, really, which was even more weird. She just nodded her head sadly in acknowledgment and bid him goodnight. So, Peter hung his head, fled to his room and sat on his bed. He tried questioning FRIDAY, but she didn’t give him an answer. She remained uncharacteristically silent.

He waited an hour or two, listening closely for Pepper to go to bed, or even Mr. Stark, but Peter had a feeling that the man wouldn’t be going to bed early that night. He couldn’t help but think back on that first Sunday he came to visit Mr. Stark and the absolute disaster of a lab he had found when he went to greet the man. It made a gross feeling pool in his gut, and he really, really didn’t feel good about that look on Mr. Stark’s face when he left the room.

Eventually, he could hear Pepper’s soft footsteps move down the hall and her and Mr. Stark’s bedroom door close behind her. It was nearing midnight by then.

“Hey, FRIDAY? Is Mr. Stark going to go to bed soon?” Peter questioned in a whisper.

She didn’t answer, which only seemed to increase his anxiety. His senses tingled uncomfortably, and the anxiety gave birth to fear.

Peter jumped from where he was seated on the bed and he dashed for the door. He tiptoed down the hall, past the master bedroom and took off running towards the elevator. He jittered anxiously as he rode the elevator down to the basement floor, to the workshop.

The doors opened too slowly…

He rushed out in a flurry of limbs and wide eyes. Something was very, very wrong. He was met with the familiar sight of Dum-E and U huddled in the corner of the hall, emitting sad whines. Peter’s heart picked up speed and his breaths came in short, panicked bursts as the twinge in his neck became more prominent. He could hear yelling and crashing, and banging coming from the other side of the glossed glass and he rushed for the door to punch in the code… but it didn’t work. He punched it in again, and again, and again, but it wouldn’t work. The banging and crashing continued and Peter whined desperately. Something was wrong with Mr. Stark. Something was very, very wrong.

In the midst of his panic, there was a long, slow beep, and the door unlocked with a short click. Peter stared at the door for a moment, and he instantly knew who it was. He turned up his head to smile thankfully at the ceiling before grabbing the handle, throwing the door open and rushing into the room.

He was met with quite a sight.

Tony stood at the center of the room with a sledgehammer in hand as he swung it angrily into the side of the hot rod over, and over, and over again. The workshop was in ruins. Peter’s desk was covered in scrap metal, mangled bolts and ruined tools, and Tony’s was blanketed in old projects leaking oil, looking beyond repair, and a glass bottle that had been shattered. Amber liquid pooling around the surviving head of the bottle. Peter watched with his breath caught in his throat as his mentor released an angered shout, swinging the heavy hammer over his head to bring it down forcefully onto the hood of the car. Then he dropped it. He collapsed to the ground, bracing his back against the ruined car and hanging his head in his hands.

He was done.

There was nothing left to destroy that Peter could see. He slowly gazed over the destruction. In the corner of the room he saw the news on the TV playing, with several holographic screens alongside it to display articles of some sort.

He felt tears begin to bubble behind his eyes as he stepped closer to the side of the room to see what exactly was being played on the screen. It was news coverage of the Rogue Avengers… and Tony’s face was displayed in the corner as the reporter went on bashing shamelessly into him, blaming everything on Tony Stark and his selfish actions. Peter shook his head in denial, eyes wide with fear, clenching his teeth in anger as he stared through the tears to focus in on the reporter’s face. The TV flickered momentarily as it autonomously clicked to a new channel, and he was met with a different reporter. She spoke about leftover Stark weapons that had been uncovered in Eastern Asia earlier that month, accusing Tony Stark of forcing his company to deal under the table once more to make up for the loss of funds from the cleanup work he was paying for in Sokovia.

Peter’s face fell, horrified at the awful lies escaping from the womans mouth, and his attention quickly snapped over to stare at the holographs.

‘Tony Stark is responsible for the fall of the Avengers: Rumor has it he attacked Steve Rogers and arrested his teammates, denying them a fair trial-’

‘Tony Stark is just as selfish and immature as he was when he was a child’

‘Iron Man gives up. He was never worthy of being called a hero. He only fights for himself’

“Mr-Mr. Stark?” Peter whimpers pitifully, unsure of where to turn or what to feel. Everything was just… it was all so, so, so wrong. The world was so, so wrong.

Mr. Stark didn’t answer him. So, Peter turned away from the screens and carefully made his way across the room to where the man was still hunkered against the destroyed car.

“Mr. Stark?”

He was met with a defeated groan.

Then the man’s head was lifting and Peter saw his eyes. His expression was empty, his eyes rimmed red from tears. His gaze dropped to the man’s knuckles, which were split open and bleeding down the length of his arm and fingers.

Peter couldn’t help but cry.

“They’re so, so, so wrong Mr. Stark.” He cried, dropping to the ground beside his mentor to wrap his arms around his waist. He leaned into him and cried into his shirt, squeezing him hard. “They are so so so WRONG! You can’t listen to them. They’re so wrong.”

He felt a hand lift to pet his head, but there were no words to accompany the attempt at a comforting gesture.

“You’re so amazing Mr. Stark. None of this is your fault. None of this was ever your fault, and it never will be, because you’re good. You’re so, so good. You’re human… but you still try even after you mess up. And that’s so, so good Mr. Stark.”

The hand curls into his hair, gripping locks between their calloused, bloody fingers, and Peter can feel the ripple of a sob vibrate through the man’s chest.

“So good,” Peter whispers, tucking closer to the man with an insistent shake of his head. “So, so good.”

***

After that. Peter spent the first Saturday of every month, tugging his mentor to the Living Room, where he, Pepper, Rhodey and Happy would all sit on the couch watching the positive reports about Iron Man on the big TV. They watched random YouTube videos of little kids rambling happily about Iron Man and how much they love him and want to be just like him. They look at Memes, tumblr posts, and Tweets praising Tony and his compassion and love for the people. Pepper always brought fan mail for him to read through too, and it seemed like Tony enjoyed that part the most.

He’d always cry as he read through the letters and looked at the drawings. He cried every time, but Peter always made sure he got lots and lots of hugs, because Mr. Stark needed to know how much people really loved him.

Sorry if this feels rushed guys. I wanted to finish it fairly quick while I was in the mood. And thank you @irondadbingo again for the bingo card.

#irondad #irondad fic #canon divergence #tony stark has issues #he needs a hug #irondad bingo #self hate #bullying #peter is there for his irondad #peter loves his hero iron man #the press are jerks #marvel #iron man #tony stark is sensitive #tony stark

78 notes · View notes

bountyofbeads · 4 years

Text

Why Is Puerto Rico Having So Many Earthquakes? https://nyti.ms/2T0prEM

Sadly, the poor people of Puerto Rico can't catch a break. 😭🙏🏻🙏🙏🏽🙏🏾🙏🏿

Why Is Puerto Rico Having So Many Earthquakes?

This week’s strong tremors are a reminder that the Caribbean is an active seismic zone.

By Adeel Hassan | Published Jan. 7, 2020 Updated 4:08 p.m. ET | New York Times | Posted January 07, 2020 |

Leer en español

Puerto Rico has been trembling for more than a week.

An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.4 struck off the coast of the island at 4:24 a.m. local time on Tuesday, according to the United States Geological Survey. That came after a week of smaller tremors clustered in the same area offshore.

Three strong aftershocks, with preliminary estimates of 5.6, 5.2 and 4.5 magnitude, followed Tuesday’s big quake. A bigger aftershock, of 5.8 magnitude, hit at 7:18 a.m. local time. The temblors knocked out power to much of the island, seriously damaging homes and buildings and leaving at least one person dead.

Tuesday’s shaking followed a 5.8-magnitude quake and aftershocks that leveled homes on Monday.

“Things are really very tense about what has been going on, because this is not normal — so many tremors,” Mayor Nelson Torres Yordán of Guayanilla said this week.

But the Caribbean, a region that faces the threat of hurricanes from the Atlantic in late summer and early fall, is also subject to seismic hazards like those striking Puerto Rico this week.

Why are there so many earthquakes in Puerto Rico right now?

At about three times the size of Rhode Island, Puerto Rico is squeezed between the border of the North American and Caribbean tectonic plates.

The Puerto Rico Trench, north of Puerto Rico and the United States Virgin Islands, is an undersea fault zone. The North American plate is sliding under the Caribbean plate there, creating the potential for earthquakes and undersea landslides that can set off tsunamis.

“We’re just as likely to have earthquakes as a place like California, Japan, New Zealand, Alaska,” said Elizabeth Vanacore, a seismologist with the Puerto Rico Seismic Network.

When the tectonic plates in the region slide past each other and squeeze together, energy and stress build up until one side of a fault pops up, unleashing an earthquake. The earthquakes redistribute stresses along the fault for a time, until those stresses build up again and new tremors occur.

Should residents be worried about a tsunami?

Mayita Meléndez, mayor of the city of Ponce, said people living near beaches are desperate to get out of their homes for fear of tsunamis. “It’s not safe,” Ms. Meléndez said. “The earth is moving constantly.”

Early this morning, the United States National Tsunami Warning Center said there was no tsunami threat from Tuesday morning’s earthquake. The local authorities initially issued a tsunami watch before canceling it, according to Puerto Rico’s emergency management agency.

A tsunami happens when a quake on the seabed suddenly pushes water upward, producing a perilously towering wave. In 1918, an earthquake near the island’s northwestern coast triggered a tsunami that killed 118 people, according to the geological service.

How rare are earthquakes in the region?

Puerto Rico has seen damaging quakes before, but major earthquakes in the southwestern part of the island are unusual in recent history.

The last significant temblors recorded in that area, in 1991 and 1999, had a magnitude of about 4.1, according to the Puerto Rico Seismic Network, whose data dates to 1986.

Major earthquakes have regularly devastated cities in the Caribbean, including Kingston, the capital of Jamaica, which was destroyed twice in three centuries. Ten years ago, a 7.0-magnitude earthquake struck Haiti on Jan. 12, killing more than 200,000 people and destroying tens of thousands of buildings.

Is it safe to travel to Puerto Rico?

Seismologists said that more earthquakes are expected to be felt on the island in the next few days because the seismic activity is occurring close to land. But the frequency of aftershocks is expected to slow down over time, which means the chances of another intense earthquake will also fall.

Arrivals and departures at the international airport in San Juan, which was running on generators, were operating on or close to schedule Tuesday morning.

______

Alejandra Rosa and Patricia Mazzei contributed reporting.

*********

Emergency Declared as Deadly New Quake Terrifies Puerto Rico

One death was reported amid widespread power failures and serious structural damage to some homes and buildings.

By Patricia Mazzei, Maria Cramer and Frances Robles | Published Jan. 7, 2020 Updated 2:49 PM ET | New York Times | Posted January 07, 2020 |

MIAMI — The strongest tremor yet in a week of heavy seismic activity rocked Puerto Rico early on Tuesday morning, knocking out power to much of the island, seriously damaging homes and buildings and leaving at least one person dead.

The governor of Puerto Rico, Wanda Vázquez, declared a state of emergency throughout Puerto Rico and activated the National Guard.

“In 102 years, Puerto Rico had not experienced anything like this,” she said.

The 6.4-magnitude quake, which struck five miles southwest of Tallaboa on Puerto Rico’s southwestern coast, was recorded at 4:24 a.m. local time, according to the United States Geological Survey. It was the second consecutive day that an earthquake hit the island before dawn, terrifying residents scared about the cumulative effect on older buildings.

The governor warned that the seismic activity is expected to continue in the coming days, as most of the island struggles with the huge power outage. A power plant in the south sustained significant damage, she said. The outage also left nearly a third of the island without running water.

The governor warned people whose houses do not meet building codes to seek shelter. About 255 people were already staying in shelters on Tuesday.

“There is nothing to indicate from the experts who know these types of disasters that this is going to be bigger than what we have seen so far, but yes we will have repetitions and tremors that we will be feeling,” Ms. Vázquez said. “This is going to be happening for the next few days. How long? We cannot predict.”

White House officials said President Trump had been briefed on the earthquakes and that the Federal Emergency Management Agency director, Pete Gaynor, had been in touch with senior Puerto Rican officials.

Nelson Martínez Guillén, 73, died in the city of Ponce after a wall fell on him, Mayor Mayita Meléndez said. A woman suffered a broken leg after she was pinned under a wall.

“The people are scared,” Ms. Meléndez said. “There are homes that are totally destroyed.”

Tremors were felt through the region and people living near the beaches are desperate to get out of their homes for fear of tsunamis, she said.

“It’s not safe,” Ms. Meléndez said. “The earth is moving constantly.”

A 60-year-old city employee begged for help from the mainland.

Reynaldo González, whose uncle, Mr. Martínez, was killed, said that his uncle’s apartment, in the Jardines del Caribe neighborhood, was undergoing construction work. The bathroom wall next to Mr. Martínez’s bed collapsed on him as he was apparently getting up, Mr. Gónzalez told WAPA radio.

“We heard a roar” at the time of the quake, Mr. González said, but it was not until later, when his father called out to Mr. Martínez, that they realized what had happened.

Stephy Valentín, a 22-year-old resident of Ponce, said she and her family rushed to hide under the kitchen table after they were awakened by the strong shaking. All they could do was pray, she said. “It was scary. We’ve never experienced something like this, and it’s still going on. Aftershock after aftershock.”

Angel Vázquez Torres, the director of emergency management in Ponce, said nine people were injured in the city during the earthquake, including a woman who was trapped in her home for three hours after a wall collapsed on her, pinning her leg.

“This has been very difficult,” he said. “No one can prepare for a disaster like this.”

Mr. Torres said he had slept less than four hours in the last two days.

There is no electricity in the city and some parts of Ponce are without water, he said. “There are tremors happening at this very moment.”

The widespread power outages included San Juan, the capital. The Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority said all of its power plants had gone offline after its “auto protection” systems had been activated. The utility said it hoped to restore electricity elsewhere later on Tuesday.

But mindful of the enduring electrical problems that plagued the island after Hurricane Maria in 2017 — full power wasn’t restored until nearly a year later — New York’s governor, Andrew M. Cuomo, said he was dispatching technical experts from the New York Power Authority to aid in the response.

The United States National Tsunami Warning Center said there was no related tsunami threat. The local authorities initially issued a tsunami watch before canceling it, according to Puerto Rico’s emergency management agency.

The quake’s magnitude was initially reported as 6.6 and later downgraded. Three strong aftershocks with preliminary estimates of 5.6, 5.2 and 4.5 magnitude followed the big quake. A bigger aftershock, of 5.8 magnitude, hit at 7:18 a.m. local time.

Governor Vázquez excused nonessential public employees from work for the day. Mayor Nelson Torres Yordán of Guayanilla said on the radio that there was a lot of fear in the streets. “There’s hysteria,” he told a local television station.

The Immaculate Conception church in the center of town partly collapsed. The church withstood a huge quake in 1918 with some damage, the Rev. Melvin Díaz Aponte said. This time, both bell towers crumbled. The nave stands, but it is fragile.

The last Mass held on Monday took place outside in the courtyard because Monday’s quake made people nervous to be inside. On Tuesday, the courtyard was full of debris.

“For those who have lived here their whole lives, this is their history,” Father Díaz said. “Their sacraments, their wedding.”

A 4.8-magnitude aftershock interrupted him. Then a member of the congregation came up to say hello.

“We will rebuild,” he reassured the woman.

Puerto Ricans ran out of their homes before dawn after being shaken awake by the quake. Officials urged people to stay calm and remain at home, but many people still got into their cars and drove to higher ground, prompting unusually heavy traffic in some areas in the dark. Many homes and buildings in southern coastal towns partially crumbled or sustained serious damage.

Hospital patients, some of them in wheelchairs, were evacuated to a parking lot in the city of Ponce. Patients at Hospital Damas were going back into the building when the biggest aftershock hit, forcing them to evacuate again, the NotiCentro television station reported.

Around Puerto Rico, police officials begged for help.

“Please pray a lot,” Adeli Quiñones, an agent with the police command center in Aibonito, said. “We’re supposed to be providing security for people but we’re also scared for our own families.”

Ms. Quiñones said much of the island is without light and people are trying to buy tickets out of Puerto Rico, or heading inland, away from threatened buildings.

“We’re all just waiting for the next one,” she said.

Angel Ramos, a police officer in Mayagüez, said no one had been injured in the city and buildings appeared to be intact. Still, residents were flooding supermarkets trying to stock up on water and food.

“They’re getting ready,” he said.

On Monday, a 5.8-magnitude quake and aftershocks terrified residents, leveled homes and destroyed a well-known natural rock formation. Smaller tremors have been occurring since the night of Dec. 28, all clustered in the same offshore area.

Puerto Rico’s representative in Congress, Jenniffer González, noted that the preparations from the earlier quake this week saved lives — classes were canceled at schools, some of which went on to experience serious damage.

In the town of Guánica, the main roof of a middle school collapsed after Tuesday morning’s quake, said Harold Rosario, a spokesman for the town’s mayor.

“The school is uninhabitable,” he said. “It’s done.”

He said people who had been forced to flee their homes were taking refuge in a sports arena. Many of them, he said, were weeping with exhaustion and fear. “They’re too afraid to go back to their homes,” he said.

Glenda Colón, 44, from the town of Juncos, went to town with her family to get supplies, and wound up on the street. She said the sound of shaking storm doors on local business was frightening.

“I was with the baby and the little dog and we felt the car move from side to side,” Ms. Colón said.

“Everything’s good,” Ms. Colón added. “Nervous.”

Dariane Torres, 29, who lives in Penuelas, said the earth moved like gelatin.

“The tremors were too strong,” she said. “They were so strong that they gave me panic attacks.”

Marcos Pagán, 31, of Lajas, watched the quake from the seashore, where he operates a water taxi.

“It felt horrible,” he said. “I thought it was the end of the world.”

______

Patricia Mazzei and Frances Robles reported from Miami, and Maria Cramer from New York. Alejandra Rosa contributed reporting from San Juan, P.R., Vanessa Swales from New York and Daniel Victor from Hong Kong

*********

Earthquake Strikes Puerto Rico, Toppling a Well-Known Natural Wonder

A 5.8-magnitude quake damaged some homes and destroyed an unusual natural rock formation known as Punta Ventana.

By Alejandra Rosa and Patricia Mazzei |

Published Jan. 6, 2020 Updated Jan. 7, 2020, 12:48 a.m. ET | New York Times | Posted January 07, 2020 |

GUÁNICA, P.R. — Paralyzed with fear, Héctor Luis Rodríguez refused to leave his car.

Hours earlier, just before sunrise on Monday, a 5.8-magnitude earthquake had scared him out of bed in southwestern Puerto Rico. The walls in the second story of his house cracked. Inside his vehicle, he found temporary safety.

“I worry that I’m going to be homeless,” he said.

Minutes later, the earth rumbled again.

The strong earthquake and persistent aftershocks that rattled Puerto Rico on Monday damaged vulnerable homes, destroyed a photogenic rock formation and terrified residents scarred by recent hurricanes about the prospect of another devastating disaster.

The quake, which struck at 6:32 a.m. local time, according to the United States Geological Survey, was the strongest to be felt in the coastal towns west of the city of Ponce that have been trembling for more than a week. The rash of smaller tremors began with three shakes of 4.7, 5.0 and 4.7 magnitude in the space of three hours during the night of Dec. 28-29, and have continued since then, clustered in the same area a few miles offshore.

“All of Puerto Rico obviously felt this temblor,” Gov. Wanda Vázquez said, adding that no one was seriously hurt.

Classes at local public schools, which were scheduled to resume on Tuesday after a holiday break, were pushed back until Jan. 13 to give inspectors time to check buildings for damage, she said. Schools will conduct earthquake drills the day they reopen, the governor added.

At least one school in the town of Guayanilla was being used as a shelter on Monday afternoon. Inside another shelter in the town of Guánica, where 31 people sought a safe place to stay, a group of evacuees prayed.

The coastal rock formation known as Punta Ventana, a natural wonder and tourist attraction shaped like a round stone window with a stunning view of the ocean in Guayanilla, had begun to look vulnerable after smaller quakes started to hit the area a week ago, Mayor Nelson Torres Yordán said. On Monday, he said, “it finally fell.”

Puerto Ricans are particularly fond of memes, and they quickly shared one showing the collapsed natural arch covered with a blue tarpaulin like the ones that still cover many homes whose roofs were damaged during Hurricane Maria in 2017.

Among them was Mr. Rodríguez’s house in the Esperanza neighborhood of Guánica, where some of the most serious damage was reported, including five collapsed houses. Now, in addition to the tarp he has had since Maria, Mr. Rodríguez’s house has huge cracks running up and down his green interior walls.

“It cracked open everywhere inside,” said Mr. Rodríguez, 83, a retired bus driver.

The first cracks appeared a few days ago, after the first temblors. They worsened on Monday, and pipes in the bathroom broke, leading to some flooding.

Luz Dastas, 51, whose house in Guánica is also covered by a leaky blue tarp, left with her 26-year-old daughter, Aida Torres, after the first tremors. Monday’s quake opened new cracks in the walls of her house.

When her granddaughter, Alondra Suárez, 7, felt the earth shake one recent night, “I stayed up until the morning,” Alondra said. “I ate a chocolate to see if I could feel better.”

On Monday, strong aftershocks of 4.9, 4.3 and 4.4 magnitude continued to rock the island into the late afternoon, rattling nerves over and over again. Officials warned of possible mudslides and urged people to stay off the roads to allow emergency personnel to assess the damage.

As a result of the quake, the electricity went out across a swath of southwestern Puerto Rico. Governor Vázquez, who toured some of the damage, said she expected power to be restored in Guánica by Tuesday morning.

Monday was Three Kings Day, a holiday in Puerto Rico that is also known as the Feast of the Epiphany. Towns in the area of the quake went ahead with holiday parades on Monday, though some attendees said they felt jittery. José Francisco Benítez, 48, who had traveled to Guánica for the long weekend, said he planned to quickly return to San Juan, the capital.

Mr. Benítez was awakened by the quake at a beach resort in Guánica.

“It started shaking a bit, but then, all of a sudden, we felt a jolt — I’d never seen anything like it,” he said. “Everything shook.”

He said he ran outside in fear, along with everyone else. “There were people in their underwear in the parking lot, everyone in pajamas, little kids,” Mr. Benítez said. “It looked like a movie.”

Supporting columns crumbled underneath Silvestre Alicea’s elevated light green house with white trim, leaving the toppled structure — built on tall columns to protect it from flooding — perched at a precarious angle, with one end of the home tilted skyward. A big Puerto Rican flag waved from the balcony, which now was so near the ground it looked more like a porch.

“Look at my house,” said Mr. Alicea, 66, who returned to Puerto Rico from Brooklyn two years ago, moving in to the house he had built over the course of 30 years in preparation for his retirement. “I was there, in there,” he said.

Mr. Alicea said he planned to spend the night at his sister’s house nearby but could not think further into the future. “I don’t know what I’m going to do,” he said.

In Guayanilla, emergency workers helped a couple and two children whose elevated house collapsed, burying three cars parked underneath. The man who lived inside, Alan Martínez, described to NotiCentro the harrowing moment in which the earth trembled, waking him up as the floor gave way.

“The house fell with us in it,” he said, standing outside barefoot with two bloody scratches on his leg. “The house collapsed, ‘Boom!’”

He picked up one of his children, his wife grabbed the other one, and they made their way out the door. The house had stood on a dozen eight-foot columns. The automobiles below appeared to stave off a complete collapse of the roof, he said.

“We’re alive, thank God, because of the cars,” he said.

His wife, Edlin Ortiz, said they would be unable to salvage the Three Kings Day gifts they had bought for the children — a pair of bicycles, stowed in the trunk of one of the cars. The interview was interrupted by a strong aftershock, which made the woman and a reporter scream and rush off camera to a safer side of the street, away from power lines and poles.

Mayor Torres of Guayanilla said the town opened a shelter for people whose homes were too badly damaged to occupy. He urged the island’s government in San Juan to send social workers to the region to ease people’s nerves.

“Things are really very tense about what has been going on, because this is not normal — so many tremors,” he said.

Elizabeth Vanacore, a seismologist with the Puerto Rico Seismic Network, said people felt the recent quakes because they were shallow and occurred near land.

“People can expect to feel more earthquakes over the next few days, especially given its location near the coast,” Dr. Vanacore said.

Puerto Rico lies near the border of the North American and Caribbean tectonic plates. “We’re just as likely to have earthquakes as a place like California, Japan, New Zealand, Alaska,” Dr. Vanacore said.

The island has seen damaging quakes in the past, including one near the island’s northwestern coast in 1918 that triggered a tsunami and killed 118 people, according to the Geological Service. But major earthquakes in the southwestern part of Puerto Rico have been unusual in recent history. The last significant temblors recorded in that area, in 1991 and 1999, had a magnitude of about 4.1, according to the Seismic Network, whose data dates to 1986.

“While we can’t predict earthquakes, what the public can do is prepare,” Dr. Vanacore said.

_______

Alejandra Rosa reported from Guánica, and Patricia Mazzei from Miami. Kitty Bennett contributed research.

#naturaldisasters #national news #puerto rico #earthquake #u.s. news #top stories google news #top news #nyt > top stories #world travel #worldpolitics #worldtraveler #world news

3 notes · View notes

lordofthebigtimesupernatural · 6 years

Note

Hi! Would you write teenage Keith getting injured and Shiro taking care of him while he's in pain? Thank you so much! Keep up with the great writing!

Hello! Thank you to you and every fan of this AU who remains patient. As some of you may have seen my earlier post, I am in my last semester of college and will be doing my senior thesis this semester. Which means an extremely busy semester. Despite this, I love this AU and will continue to answer prompts and write but it may take time to publish asks! Thanks for all your patience and this was fun to write. I wrote Shiro but I also added in the whole big family too because Keith is so loved. Thank you so much nonny and I hope you enjoy!

x.V.x

Shiro had once thought he was prepared for anything. Back when he was first joining the military, fresh out of high school, Shiro was prepared for anything. He would laugh at people who found life full of surprises, as he and his brother felt like they were prepared. After all, Shiro was a member of a special operations unit where it was his duty to be prepared for the unexpected. Kuro was a well-known captain who was just as prepared as Shiro.

Shiro learned he was quite unprepared the day he was held prisoner and the months to follow. He learned the hard way when he had mourned his brother’s death for over two years, before being shocked when his brother was found alive.

Then came the biggest surprise of Shiro’s life.

Keith.

Raising Keith was full of unexpected surprises. From sicknesses such as cancer to radical haircuts, and ruining $200 worth of makeup, Keith was full of surprises. It took Shiro a while to adjust to this unexpected life and yet, every time Shiro felt he was prepared for anything to happen, something new always threw him for a loop.

“I don’t understand how this happened.” Shiro rubbed his forehead tiredly. The poor doctor in front of him, sighed in agreement, while the professor next to him shifted on their feet anxiously.

“Well, your son, unfortunately, lost focus during our sparing sessions in class which resulted in his opponent gaining the upper hand.” The gym professor replied quietly. Shiro breathed deeply through his nose, finally opening his eyes to look at the professor. Really?

“I get that,” Shiro said tightly, trying to keep calm and level-headed. “What I don’t understand is how a ninth grade gym class left my son with three broken ribs and a bruised back.”

“Well, sparring can get a bit rough,” The teacher tugged at his collar.

“I know that. I was in the military once,” Shiro deadpanned. “My point is if properly supervised a freshman gym sparring session never should have gotten to the point where my son would receive broken ribs for any reason.” The professor swallowed nervously.

“It takes a great deal of impact to break that many ribs.” The doctor finally intervened with a sigh. “I can understand the bruising and maybe a fractured rib, but to have three broken ribs would mean that Keith was being overpowered for a long time without proper supervision. I would expect an instructor such as yourself would have intervened if you saw this level of defeat occurring, correct?”

“Y-Yes ma’am.” The professor nodded quickly when Keith’s doctor glared at him.

The doctor glared at the professor for a few seconds longer before turning to Shiro. “He’s fine to be released whenever you want. He’ll be on the morphine for a few more hours. You should start some pain medication after dinner tonight and administer them when he becomes uncomfortable with the pain.”

“Will he be okay?” Shiro nervously chewed on his lip. He would rather not let the professor see how worried he was, but he couldn’t help it. Keith was his son, and Keith’s health came before anything else. Even Shiro’s own health.

“He should be fine. It’ll take a few weeks before his ribs fully heal. During that time I expect no high level of physical activity. For the first week or two, he should remain resting as often as he can. The bruises should fade in about a month. They’ll look worse before they go away.”

“Yeah, I remember bruises.” Shiro shuddered.

“As for you,” Keith’s doctor whirled on the professor, whose back straightened like a board. “Keith will not be allowed to participate in gym class any further. I will have a written document for the school, but I expect that he is allowed to pass this class, despite not being able to participate. It would be a shame should word get out of negligence towards a student.”

“Yes, ma’am. He can study or do other work during class!” The professor said quickly. Shiro couldn’t help but grin at the doctor, watching with slight amusement at the way the professor was squirming under the fierce glare of the doctor.

After a while, the professor was excused and the doctor left Shiro to attend Keith while she checked on other patients. Shiro sighed heavily, running a hand through his hair. He paused outside of Keith’s room, hearing quiet voices just beyond the door. Shiro never would get over at how surprised he constantly was with Keith. Not that any of this was Keith’s fault. Still, Shiro didn’t know how many more heart attacks his poor, frail, young body could take. He wasn’t even that old.

Opening the door, Shiro smiled softly upon seeing Keith propped up by pillows and surrounded by his friends and family.

“Dude, do you want Hunk and I to kick their butts? Because we could totally kick their butts.” Lance was demanding. Keith looked mostly unimpressed by Lance’s claim, but only Shiro could see the quirk of Keith’s lips which meant he was very happy.

“You couldn’t kick anyone’s butt if you tried, Lance.” Keith huffed painfully.

Lance gasped dramatically, opening his mouth to argue, only for Pidge to interrupt.

“You’re right Keith, as always.” They pushed their glasses up the bridge of their nose. “But Hunk totally could. He wouldn’t even need any help.”

“That sounds like an excellent plan,” Kuro interjected playfully. He wrapped an arm around a nervous Hunk and beamed at Keith. “I could even help Hunk here out. Just give me the name of this punk and his address and we can chat. Why I even bet that your uncles would love to help.”

Kolivan, Ulaz, and Antok all nodded without a moment’s hesitation. Shiro bit his lip to keep from laughing out loud because he knew that all of them were completely serious. They would destroy this punk. Keith’s lips twitched and his shoulders jerked for a split second.

“Dude,” Lance breathed happily, eyes sparkling as he grasped Keith’s hand in his. “If those guys all got involved, it would be just like those awesome villainous spy movies. Although they’d need super cool and tight outfits with aviators to look badass. Pidge could you rig an explosion in the background after they finish with the guy?”

Pidge rubbed their chin thoughtfully. “Oh yes. We could plant in the enemy’s house.”

“That would be awesome.” Kuro high-fived both Lance and Pidge. Shiro almost groaned. He was going to have to talk to his brother again about what was acceptable to plan with young, impressionable teenagers.

“Yes. Only after making sure no innocent animals were in the house,” Antok added quietly. Pidge nodded.

“Of course, you’re right. We can’t let any poor puppies or kittens get in the crossfire.”

“Or hamsters,” Ulaz added.

“Or tortoises and fish,” Kolivan added. Everyone stared at him and the gruff man simply shrugged. “I have three tortoises growing up. They can be quite cuddly.”

Finally, Shiro laughed, turning everyone’s attention to him. “Alright, as much as I enjoy this grand theft auto moment –”

“Shiro, no one said anything about stealing cars,” Kuro stated firmly.

“There will be no destruction of houses with explosions in the background, nor will there be any manhunting. I’ve got everything taken care of. Right now, Keith needs to go home and rest.” Shiro continued with a disappointed glare towards his brother. Kuro pouted alongside Lance, looking much younger than he actually was.

Keith immediately perked up at the noise, wincing for a moment. Instantly, Shiro felt his gut twist and how he wished to take Keith’s pain away.

“I can leave?” He asked.

“Yeah, as long as you listen to the rules the doctor has set up for you,” Shiro warned before smiling softly. Upon reaching Keith’s bed, he took a moment to observe Keith, wincing at the stark white bandages under Keith’s shirt. Gently, he ran his fingers through Keith’s hair, and Keith leaned back into the touch.

“What kind of rules?” Keith asked quietly.

“Non-negotiable rules,” Shiro chuckled when Keith sighed dramatically. “You’re not to do any physical activity for a month if you want everything to heal properly. You’re also exempted from gym class, but you’ll still pass it. And for the next week or two, it’s mandatory bed rest.”

“What?! Dad, do you know how boring that will be?” Keith groaned. Shiro shook his head and grinned.

“No way, besides you’ll always have your very own source of entertainment,” Shiro replied, causing Keith to frown in confusion.

“What do you mean?”

“Why you have an abundance of friends, uncles, and family who would love to entertain you and serve your needs every single day of your recovery.” Shiro beamed, this time at everyone else in the room. There was something menacing and chilling about his smile, though. Something that sent chills down everyone’s spine and compelled them to do whatever it was that Shiro wished. If only to be rid of that terrifying smile.

“Right!” Kuro said quickly and smiled. “It’ll be great in no time.”

x.V.x

Apparently, entertaining Keith was much harder than anyone thought. Who knew someone could get bored in the middle of a conversation?

Everyone had taken turns keeping Keith entertained and often alternated who was supposed to be watching Keith and when. After a few days, a rigorous schedule was kept keeping everyone’s sanity, and to make sure everyone was pulling their weight.

In Keith’s defense, he was never demanding or pushy, however, there were only so many times he could listen to his Kuro’s one hand puns or hear Kolivan’s detailed explanation on why an eraser was a better weapon than a paperclip.

Though Keith was loathed to admit it out loud, he appreciated all that his friend’s and family were doing for him. He enjoyed each and every one of their company and knew that life would be ten times worse without any of them.

Lance came over alone on Monday. Apparently, he was respecting Keith’s wishes to have a “bonding day” (yes Keith he used quotations). The two spent the day screaming at each other over several video games because one of them would die at the worst moment. Or Keith kept friendly firing at Lance because Lance was a selfish jerk who ate his last twizzler. However, when Shiro came to check on them and suggest something else to do, Keith and Lance both stared at Shiro as if he had lost his head. This was fun.

Tuesday, Hunk, and Pidge came over together. They brought their entire box of robots from the robotics club and held the meeting at the Shirogane house. Together, the three of them built a robot that kept spilling the milk on the floor and another robot that kept swinging poor Red’s leash around. She had been excited about a walk but immediately left when the robots became weird.

Wednesday was Antok’s day and he was surprisingly alone as Kolivan and Ulaz both had to work. Antok had brought over a couple of birds that hung out at the zoo, much to Keith’s inner delight. For hours the two-spent time teaching the bird how to say the most ludicrous things. Such as imitating Keith’s voice to tell Shiro he wanted to live with mermaids and change his name to Estaban. Antok also taught a parrot how to speak Arabic in front of Keith and Shiro.

Ulaz and Kolivan both came over on Thursday with monopoly and board games. Needless to say by the end of the night, a table was flipped, popcorn was spilled and bonds were severed. Keith was victoriously grinning with his hotels spread across the floor, while Ulaz cursed him in his native language about the youthful greed that ate his soul. Kolivan was content with his $45 and small railroad. Shiro was trying hard to not call bankruptcy after his son had charged him for landing on Park Ave with three hotels. Monopoly was forbidden in the Shirogane house after that.

Thace and his wife came over on Fridays to cook meals and keep Keith company while Shiro worked long hours at the rescue center. He was babied by his grandmother and coddled by his grandfather, both of whom refused to let Keith lift a finger. By the time that Shiro had returned home, Keith was swaddled in two more blankets and being fed clam chowder with a movie playing. Of course, Shiro took several pictures.

Saturdays were Kuro’s day to come and “free” Keith from his misery. He often kidnapped Keith and drove him around, with pillows all over his car and around Keith, to get food. The two usually wound up back at Kuro’s apartment, as Kuro told embarrassing (and not-so-embarrassing) childhood stories of Shiro. More often than not, Kuro would get lost in an admirable story of his brother and Keith didn’t have the heart to interrupt him. Not that he wanted to. He loved his uncle’s story and he loved hearing about his father.

Sundays were days that everyone got together at the Shirogane house for breakfast and lunch. Afterwards, only once everyone left would Shiro and Keith be alone for the first time all week. It was nice being surrounded by such a big and loving family, but Keith and Shiro both treasured the moments they had where it was just the two of them.

“It’s time for your pills. Here,” Shiro said softly, handing Keith a water bottle and his pills. Keith smiled gratefully at his dad and took them without complaint. Shiro could see the hidden pain in Keith’s eyes and he knew that Keith had been trying not to vocalize his discomfort. He was stubborn just like Shiro was and it was the biggest flaw that Shiro wished Keith hadn’t gotten from him.

“How are you feeling?” Shiro asked softly, sitting down at Keith’s feet. Keith downed his pills and shrugged.

“Fine.”

“Keith.” Shiro looked pointedly at Keith, causing him to blush lightly.

“Alright, my ribs are really sore,” He admitted. “But they don’t hurt as much as they did when I first hurt them. I swear. Plus, the bruising is finally starting to fade.”

“I saw,” Shiro chuckled. “They’re not a hideous yellow anymore.”

“Thank god.” Keith groaned. “I’m ready to get out of the house again.”

“Uncle Kuro literally picks you up off the couch and out of my house,” Shiro stated.

“And for that, I am still sane,” Keith snickered when Shiro pouted. “You know I get antsy.”

“I know, I know. You’re stubborn just like your grandfather.” Shiro said playfully. He ducked when Keith swatted at him.

“You mean, stubborn just like you?” Keith asked with one eyebrow up.

“Ah,” Shiro rubbed the back of his neck. He refrained from saying anything else when Keith leaned himself against him. Keith’s head was draped over Shiro’s shoulder with his injured ribs tucked against Shiro’s side. Keith curled against Shiro softly and sighed.

“But, I don’t mind quiet nights like this with you,” Keith said softly. “You always take care of me. Thanks, dad.”

“Of course, I’ll always take care of you, kiddo.” Shiro smiled, rubbed his prosthetic hand in Keith’s hair. “That’s what I do.”

“Thanks. You always know how to make me feel better.” Keith said, closing his eyes.

“Because you always make me better,” Shiro answered without hesitation. Keith immediately groaned to himself.

“Dad, that is way too cheesy.”

“Not as cheesy at my homemade mac n’ cheese!”

“…We are not having that a third night in a row.”

“Come on Keith! You know you love it!”

“I don’t have your weird obsession for cheesy noodles.”

“Keeeeith.”

“Daaaaad.”

#single dad shiro #single dad Shiro AU #kiddie!AU #kiddie!paladins #voltron legendary defender #thanks nonny #this wasn't angsty #love this big happy fam

29 notes · View notes

idroppedamixtape · 4 years

Text

Greetings,

Mayor Battle, and members of council, I hope this message finds you all well. I am a citizen of Huntsville, Alabama and have been for all 38 years of my life. I was born and raised here, on the Northwest side of Huntsville. My family was one of the first black families to move onto the street that I grew up on in Northwest Huntsville. They still reside on that street today. If any of you are from here, or know a little bit of Huntsville’s history, you know that in the late 60's and continuing through the 70’s and early 80’s, white flight shifted the makeup of the neighborhoods that comprised the Northwest side of town. If you know a little bit about Huntsville you know that Johnson High School was built in 1972 as a racially integrated school. When it was erected, mostly white students attended, soon white families started moving out of their starter homes and left space for Black people to come into school buildings and into the surrounding neighborhoods. Our mere presence caused white families to relocate away from what they viewed as intolerable. They were fleeing the possibility and reality of living in the same neighborhoods as Black people and sending their children to school with Black students. Many of the white families moved down South Parkway, which was a known affluent area, with a mostly white population. They were said to have had the best schools. A history that they would ensure would be long standing. South Parkway, as I remember as a child, was an area in which we just didn't travel to. We never went past Airport Road. This lasted until I was old enough to drive myself past Airport. The families who migrated by choice sent their high school aged children to Grissom High School. Grissom’s attendance grew so quickly they had to continuously make additions to the school. Their community thrived.

I, myself, eventually attended Johnson in the late 90’s. By the time I was a student, the make up of the student body was predominantly Black. When I stepped foot on campus I had already heard rumors that lead me to believe that Joe Clark, a famous black educator often known for his unconventional methods of dealing with unruly students, would be greeting me at the door, bullhorn and bat in tow, but what I found on that campus and in those hallways was nothing that resembled the bad press and impeding doom that had been pushed onto me for much of my youth. I was met with sea of beautiful Black bodies and faces. Style, Brilliance, Music, Creativity, Humor, Love, and yes teenagers being teenagers. We had our issues, but that building, and that school was nothing the naysayers of the time said it was. Johnson High School was also nothing like the unfortunate experiences I had of shrinking myself or hiding because I was taught and believed that I was less than, as a young black girl that attended predominantly white private school. Attending Johnson was an opportunity, our teachers taught us, loved us, and looked out for us. All of them. Parents (even if they weren’t our own) supported us. My uncle volunteered often at the school, So did Mrs. McQuart, and Ms. Lee with her mean self. On any given day you would see Mr. Edwards walking briskly through that halls, you would hear Mrs. Logan telling us to enunciate and reminding us that anytime we responded to her yes would suffice. Mrs. Hines was our Nurse, Mr. Lang never denied us an education, even when we were rowdy. He would simply say "Ma'am...take a break" or bring us back to the center and refocus our energy by saying "My People". Dexter Willams saved all the beautiful black boys he could. Coach Burns dealt with our teenage girl attitudes and super smart mouths. Señora Cothron met us with kindness over and over again, despite the day she was having and regardless of what a student did or did not do. There was never a time in my life that she was unkind. Our security guard Larry asked me daily where my glasses were, even though at the time, I wouldn't be caught dead in them while also sporting braces on my teeth. Then there was Robert, I always saw him as more of a giant teddy bear then a huge intimidating security officer, but we heard him and listened even if we didn't always obey. Our community, our Black parents, our aunts, our uncles, the staff, the employees and anyone else who stepped foot in that building helped us deal with the systemic inequality we were met with at the time. They knew how important their role was. They all deserve unending recognition. Unfortunately, Even with all of their interventions, some didn't make it, but at no fault of their own. We were still children, fourteen year olds when we got there. We had a principal who remained in his plush office the majority of my time there. I can count on one hand how many times we saw him. I always assumed he had plenty to do with the way many of my classmates were punished deeply for childhood mistakes, some punished for proposed inadequacies of their parents, who were failed by the same system, and some who were the ones they chose to make an example out of. We were, even then, still living in a system that was not only created without us in mind, but a system that was also long standing. Bad press and rumors perpetuated the idea of removing the bad apples as an act of civil duty, when they should have just had the common sense to nurture the trees from the time they were seeds. Our class that started with 400 or more children ended with 133. J.O. Johnson High was not just a school. It was family. We never lacked love.

Long before I stepped foot on Cecil Fain, I attended a private school here in Huntsville, called Holy Family. Holy Family, at that time known as Saint Joseph’s Catholic School, was the first school to integrate in the reverse. They were the first school here to allow white children to attend a previously all black institution of learning. On September 3, 1963 twelve white students entered Saint Joseph's Catholic School, they were not met with hatred or opposition. They were welcomed with kindness. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for the four Black children here in Huntsville who attempted to do the same at different schools. These children were met with locked doors because the Governor at the time, George Wallace, had ordered the closing of every school that was set for desegregation. The children tried again 3 days later and were turned away by State Troopers in helmets. It was September 9, 1963 before those children were allowed inside of their new schools. The same happened to Black children in many places, Little Rock, New Orleans, even the University of Alabama. Sonnie Hereford was one of those children who first integrated schools here. The same Sonnie Hereford who’s father, Sonnie Hereford III along with other parents filed a lawsuit against Huntsville City Schools, on behalf of Black school-aged children. It was not until 1970, seven years later, that there was an official order to end dual schooling in Huntsville, but that was not the end of it. Huntsville then, and historically since has continued to use zoning to ensure this separation. It is necessary to mention here that in 2014, a district judge ruled that Huntsville had not done enough to remedy racial disparities that were linked to dual schooling in this city, also worth mentioning that Huntsville City Schools still has the need for a Desegregation Advisory Committee and they publish reports every year continuing to highlight the discrepancies, inequalities and proof of a dual school system, although it seems to be overlooked.

By the time I attended Holy Family it was a predominantly white school. Sister Mary Anthony told a whole classroom of children that I peed myself when, in fact, it was just a carton of orange juice that had burst in my back pack...Sister Rosalie often threatened me with with a ruler, Mr. Burg's base level of operation was irate and disinterested and teachers like Ms. Wingenter, Mrs. Garrison, Ms.Bruton and Mrs.Daniels were the only reason I made it out of that place somewhat sane. By the time my children attended Holy Family, in an attempt to escape the experiences that Huntsville City Schools had provided us with, there were teachers on staff who were openly discriminatory and intolerant to my children. Knowing what they were in for, and after tolerating all that we could, which was far more than we should have, I removed my children. I knew what they were in for. The two teachers and the principal who exhibited this behavior towards us resigned at the end of that same year.

I know, you are probably wondering what this has to do with anything, what this has to do with any of you. Allow me to give some insight. It is an attempt to show you the humanity of the marginalized population that you all are refusing to hear.

If you want to know where a place is headed, you have to know where that place has been, and Huntsville has very consistent history. Huntsville has consistently put Black people out of the places they dwell and call home. Huntsville has consistently forced the migration of Black and poor people with re-zoning, new developments, claims of serving the community by bringing jobs, jobs that, keep in mind, the people who are being herded and corralled, do not qualify for or have a chance of obtaining. Huntsville is consistently destroying, erasing, and demolishing Black History. Currently, while also asking us to keep a confederate monument at the opening of the court house steps.

Black people lived and thrived on the land that is currently known as Redstone Arsenal, previously know as Mullins Flat, before the Nazi German Scientists Wernher Von Braun came here bringing with him a slew of German Scientist, The Space Program and Marshal Space Flight Center. Huntsville has played a part large part of space exploration, including the Challenger mission, which tragically ended in an explosion. Huntsville has named a great majority of its schools after astronauts, some of whom died in the fire that occurred in the grounded space capsule for the Apollo mission. Grissom, Chaffee, Ed White, also following the trend in great abundance, Challenger, McNair, and Jemison. All still apart of a dual school system. Black people lived and attended college in your beloved downtown, the one you claim you were trying to protect on the evening of June 3, 2020. Alabama A&M once sat where the Von Braun Center is today, Black people were baptized in Big Spring Park, Black people lived on Rand, my Grandmother was one of them, and the family/slave cemetery across the street, now sits below Huntsville Hospital, who continues to monopolize health care services in Huntsville and the surrounding areas of North Alabama. We don’t have a historic district full of antebellum like homes. We have continuously been stripped of land, resources, homes, communities and given historical markers instead. How much longer do you expect the minority of this city, people who are also indigenous to this place, along with those who are less affluent, to continue to be treated as if they are lesser members of the community? How long do you expect them to pretend as if they never existed, as if their families and ancestors did not exist? How long must we continue to speak and not be heard?

Many say that the above is not the place that Huntsville is today, but that simply isn’t true. Campus 805 is literally inside of Stone Middle, which when it was functioning as a school, placed a fence with barbed wire over the top of it. Mason Court, Terry Heights, Northwood and Butler Terrace were zoned for Stone. A school which truly resembled a jail full of the most disenfranchised 11-14 year old citizens of our city. Move down governors a little further, you have Stovehouse, Butler Terrace will not continue to stand. Mason Court was recently demolished to make space for a new development, much in the same way that homes, neighborhood and community on Eldridge Dr. were destroyed to make room for I-565.

Hundreds of people are being displaced with the eradication of historical and traditional public housing. They are being offered section 8 vouchers, which not only fail to guarantee housing, but also leave the poor and vulnerable in positions to be placed at an even greater risk. Homelessness. We know a good majority of the options available, and the people or properties that accept section 8 are subpar and inadequate, much like traditional public housing here is. You may have a roof, but it comes with radon, mold, roach infestations, bed bugs, the inability to have a dryer for your clothes in your home, or at times, your children being bused clean across town to appease the fake solutions to a dual school system that is still alive and well, serving those it is meant to serve. This habitual mistake is going to further contribute greatly to the already growing homeless population and mental health disparities you all claim to care about within our city. The closing of Butler and Johnson High School were carried out in order to solidify a remedy to Huntsville's long standing 53 year old desegregation case, except it didn’t. We now have Jemison High School and McNair Junior High on the same campus and we also have Columbia High School, both of which have the make up of predominantly Black students. New buildings, new names, same issue.

I have listened to City Council Meetings over the past few months. Listened and not attended because I am a part of the many in Alabama who do not have access to affordable health insurance (since, Alabama refuses to expand medicaid) and I am not willing to put my life or my children’s lives on the line to attend in person, even with the high level of importance. I've watched Jennie Robinson scoff and mention black on black crime when people came before you all to give their accounts and experiences with the police here in Huntsville. I have heard you all state that you support one another. I have heard Mayor Battle say that he supports his choice in Huntsville’s Chief of Police, McMurray, who with every chance he gets refuses to directly answer a question, and when he attempts, becomes visibly agitated and finds some way to offend and gaslight the people he is suppose to be serving, and last but certainly not least I've heard you all defend the police department, the same police department that murdered Crystal Ragland, the same police department that pulled over Mathilda Gordon and drew guns on her with her children inside of the car, the same police department that slammed and cuffed Josh Udeh in a church parking lot, the same police department who detained, cuffed and frisked the President of the City Council, Devin Keith. The same police department who, just a couple of weeks ago sprayed a man with mace then enclosed him in a vehicle with no circulation, the same police department that teargassed and shot citizens with rubber bullets during a peaceful protest, the same police department that just this past Friday tackled and detained a protester, with no verbal warning or reason. The same group of officers also ignored the protesters explaining to them that they were attempting to get away from armed counter protesters, and when it was acknowledged they were told they had a right to do so. I have heard Councilwoman Akridge state that peoples individual accounts of their experiences are perspective, and she is right. Those who are hunted and harassed by those who are serving and protecting others have no choice but to have a differing perspective, our experiences are so different. We know that. I challenge you all to attempt to look at things from the perspective of the minority, the perspective of Black people who are generations into this place and its planned suffocation.

I challenge you, to see the humanity of the people who you and your supporters continue to show you value less, through your actions and inaction. You all come to us and seek input when you need heart and soul for your projects, when you want them to have at least some small amount of history, but then choose to overlook our pain and abuse, even when we bring it to your doorstep. I have heard the statement that the issues we are dealing with are not about race, I've heard that this is not about black and white, but if you follow factual history you will see that is not only untrue, but also an incomplete assessment. All of this is absolutely about black and white, we live in Alabama, a Red Republican state, but it is also about inequality, the haves and the have nots, and how the massive gap in equity came to be. It is about Huntsville and their seemingly forced yet reluctant offerings of equality while completely overlooking the conversation or the idea of equity. We are yet again and still asking that you understand or at least make an effort to understand that our feelings and distrust are warranted, that we experience bias and the consequences of such in layers, and that we deal daily with a police department which often enforces such. We need change. We need action.

0 notes

montgomerylvbe010-blog · 4 years

Text

Game info Farming Simulator 2019 Free

Farming Simulator 19 takes players to a traditional, country base and goes them the chance to become whatever type of player they want. Published by Focus Home Interactive, Farming Simulator 19 lets players take care of crops, raise stock, or hear the sides in forestry, except that choice of choice is a double-edged sword. It is the game's greatest and worst feature, because it makes up the elder and charming world feel as though there was little to perform next too much to do at the same time.

Building winning the formulation begun with earlier simulator games, Farming Simulator 19 can be illustrated - in compare with previous installments - when NEW. Indeed, it seems as if Farming Simulator developer Giants Software chose a measure over quality approach, with this latest installment put another vehicles including the iconic John Deere make, new farming activities, new machinery, new plants, new animals, and more.

That's not to say, however, that there is no quality on the game. In fact, every minute details problem in this activity and is incredibly thorough. For example, purchased attachments often require a series of direct inputs to operate adding to the realism from the game, that the contest is entirely contingent on.

The practicality of Farming Simulator 2019 - both mechanically as described and graphically - adds up to all the game embodies from the realistic operations on the aesthetic farm scenery. Because of the quantity of point in the graphics with the game mechanics, this could be identified as the incredibly hardcore simulator, that includes a high degree of freedom of choice.

This choice of choice allows players to do what type of gameplay they desire. Players can begin livestock farms focusing on the range of chickens, sheep, pigs, cows, or horses. Participants can enter forestry, begin with a chainsaw, and build a logging empire. Players could focus on raising crops and trading them, really becoming a farming mogul. These realistic choices can also be perceived as a breath of cool air for those more familiar with borderline-ridiculous simulation scenarios.

The choice doesn't end there, though. For persons can do any or all of the over, but they may also split the boredom by taking a slow cruise from the country, completing basic fetch quests or allowing a helping hand to their neighbors' fields. However we use the latter term loosely as the big, wonderful humanity of Farming Simulator 2019 feels poor and empty.

Yes, there is a selection of missions for neighbors, but that incredibly shallow. Yes, participants can hire helpers, but they are simply simply identified as Helper A, Co-worker B, etc. In this nation backside, freedom becomes a double-edged sword, what there is little in the way of course or education because the person is fundamentally all there is.

After a short course that isn't very effective to newcomers, participants are attracted into the vast world of farming. There's no objective other than to farm and collect money, which produces an expression of boredom in the subject. This resonates over the whole tough, like newcomers will soon understand how complex still the simplest job is.

For example, feeding cows needs the person to collect some type of feed. To get the job to generate the supply, players requires a tractor that requires a specific attachment. To connection, in turn, needs another attachment. And then, once players have the capacity, this easy to not know that it also control a secondary attachment necessary to gather feed, leaving participants in a dream as to what to do next.

youtube

Of course, participants can strengthen the supply, but that's another set of steps altogether. This is a area where the gameplay itself turns into a double-edged sword. One give, the awesome detail can create a fantastic knowledge, but however, it can be incredibly frustrating for those who don't know exactly what they must - with the game isn't going to show.

Simple command within these circumstances would get moved far, even if it was a menu describing in length how one parts control within connection with different. Yes, there is a guided selection of positive aspects, but nobody detailed adequate to help pace newcomers through the arduous agrarian practices ever-present throughout the simulator.

For talent participants that will bear engaged in previous installments, that lack of education may not be so negative, but this is not the attempt argument which newcomers would want to pick up. The learning curve requires times of rinse-and-repeat trial-and-error gameplay to ultimately become operable by that.

Combine these difficulties with a few glitches and it develops a frustrating situation. Now, none of the problems we went through were game-breaking, with many also exist borderline hilarious. Visual glitches such as a chainsaw disappearing against new farmsimulator.eu/farming-simulator-2013-titanium-edition-download/ articles or glitching into the engine of a tractor offered us a good giggle, although there is a fault with a partner NPC getting stopped by the car that required us to stop the work we became preparing, move the car, and hire a new tool to rectify the problem.

Despite these problems, FS19 is still a prize game, perhaps more so because of these problems. While this would say benefitted significantly from the introduction associated with new instruction, that flaw creates an awareness of satisfaction when problem-solving a little because clean as watering dogs or building shown exactly how to work a particular tractor attachment.

Given arrive with wealth, that game tests the players fortitude with the way poor they want to create anything by nothing. For some, every rewarding time will be appeal the frustrations, but for different, every frustration gets the reward lackluster. Ultimately, it seems that Farming Simulator 2019 is realistic to a problem, with a player's determination tested throughout the game.

FS19 is available right now for COMPUTER, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.

0 notes

madamecolette · 6 years

Text

Bookish Questions

The witty creature that graces this site with her presence under the name of @cafeleningrad tagged me in this. Thank you! (PS: how do you like A Tale of Love and Darkness? I loved it!)

1. Which book has been on your shelves the longest? I’m afraid I have no idea. It could be a small, illustrated book by Beatrix Potter. It could be something by Agatha Christie. It could be a collection of tales, such as “Irish Ghosts”, “German Ghosts” and similar. A lot of ghosts, yes.

2. What is your current read, your last read and the book you’ll read next? My current read is Le Rouge et le Noir. I’m quickly developing this odd mixture of boredom and pronounced dislike for Julien Sorel.

My last read is the cycle of Claudine by Colette and it has been a joy to read.

My next read is Dune by Frank Herbert. @cafeleningrad is extremely responsible for this so if I develop an obession, you all know whose fault it is.

3. Which book does everyone like and you hated? I am going to skip all the YA literary production that’s so popular, because this is like shooting apples in a barrel and mention instead “Be my knife”, David Grossman. “Be my insane, extremely unbelievable, absurd obsession with no basis” would be a more fitting title.

4. Which book do you keep telling yourself you’ll read, but you probably won’t? This is funny, because I can copy/paste Lewis’ answer here. “Doktor Faust” by Goethe and I have some unfinished business.

5. Which book are you saving for “retirement?” I don’t think anyone plans this.

6. Last page: read it first or wait till the end? I don’t read it first, but I admit that often sometimes I end up reading it before.

7. Acknowledgements: waste of ink and paper or interesting aside? When I’m in love with a book, I try to make it last as long as I can, and I read everything after the novel is finished: introductions and postscripts by critics (that I mostly don’t read before to avoid spoilers), acknowledgements, everything.

8. Which book character would you switch places with? No book character. If I’m in a book, I am the funny narrator. I would love to swicth places with the narrator of a story and make comments about it while narrating it.

9. Do you have a book that reminds you of something specific in your life (a person, a place, a time)? When I was twelve, there was this locker in the classroom, filled with mostly boring, old books. The kind of books that a long time ago was considered for children and that couldn’t be more far from children’s interests. If the aim was to get them near to reading, that locker was the prime example of the opposite. My subconscious has now protected myself and removed any memory of the books, but I still remember a moldy, yellowish volume with a white bunny pictured on the cover and a depressingly basic title like “The bunny’s adventures” or something equally soporific. The locker must have contained no more than 50 books. We had the nerve, and the imaginative effort, of calling it “the library”. Absorbed in this collective fiction that that small locker could be considered a library, once every three months, we held elections in order to elect two librarians. Taken by sudden inspiration, my best friend (a boy gloriously resembling Dexter from Dexter’s Laboratory) and I announced our candidacy and won. My first and last political direct commitment. We kept a handwritten registry of all the books, which we were very proud of. At the end of this high mandate, our teacher gave us a book per each as a gift. Weirdly enough, they didn’t come from the library. Mine was a collection of Wilde’s works, that a publisher from some decades ago (the book was quite old) had oddly decided to call The Quadrilateral. It was a lovely gift and a great reading. It would always remind me of those sunny, carefree mornings, when we played being librarians with the same seriousness as if we had been chosen to run the free world.

10. Name a book you acquired in some interesting way. The story up above works for this question too.

11. Have you ever given away a book for a special reason to a special person? Choosing the right book for the right person is one of life’s pleasures. Trying to think of the one that most fits their taste, imagining their reaction when reading... The whole process is wonderful. So of course, yes, I’ve done it and I will keep doing it.

12. Which book has been with you to the most places? A comic book of The Peanuts, probably. It’s one of those books that I’ve carried around with me for a long time, in case I had to wait on queue at the post office, the dentist’s and such.

13. Any “required reading” you hated in high school that wasn’t so bad ten years later? ALL THE NOVELS ABOUT SICILY AND/OR FROM SICILIAN AUTHORS THEY MADE US READ (or were supposed to, because I must have read a 15% of the total, enough to fake a passable knowledge of the events). I’m sorry, but I can’t read 300 pages of a book set during a train ride of an average man from Rome to Sicily where he just has an infinite inner monologue about how poor Sicily is compared to Rome. Or one about an old camera operator who had to endlessly turn this crank handle for a job and proceeded to talk, for three volumes and 900 pages, about how his job was mechanical. 14. What is the strangest item you’ve ever found in a book? rand new? A pressed butterfly, in my great-grandmother’s Latin Grammar book.

15. Used or brand new? I’m good with both, if the used one is in a good shape. What I love about used ones, though, are the very personal dedication one might find there. A sympton, a very small sign of someone holding them before in their hands, and a secret, very small window to someone else’s existence.

16. Stephen King: Literary genius or opiate of the masses? He’s an amazing narrator. Just, I’m mostly not interested in his stories. I loved The Body and Low Men in Yellow Coats, though.

17. Have you ever seen a movie you liked better than the book? I agree with Lewis, Stardust was better as a movie than as a book.

18. Conversely, which book should NEVER have been introduced to celluloid? I can’t think of something very specific right now. The rule is of course that movies are worse than the books and so it is for the majority of them, some really misunderstand the book in its inner soul, but I can’t think of something this immediately catastrophic. Maybe Beowulf :)

19. Have you ever read a book that’s made you hungry, cookbooks being excluded from this question? There should be a name for this syndrome, if it’s a syndrome: I quickly, invariably get infected by the character’s food choices/tastes. Testament of Youth made me cook and eat omelettes and coffee at midnight. I have had dreams about Harry Potter’s treacle tart for years. A thriller was responsible for my attempt at cooking a borsch.

20. Who is the person whose book advice you’ll always take? Latin and Greek teacher from high school, my sister, and two friends whose taste and intellectual vivacity I am sure of (one of whom tagged me in this). This was a delight. I’m tagging @khaleesionmars, @robymassiart, @elldafire. Feel free to ignore if you won’t want to do it!

#I was tagged #personal #books #cafeleningrad

1 note · View note

maricarpardilla-blog · 4 years

Text

Wuthering heights

By: Emily Bronte

Characters:

Heathcliff – he is a dark – skinned gypsy in aspect, in dress and manners a gentleman that is, as much a gentleman as many a country squire rather slovenly, perhaps, yet not looking amiss with negligence.

Catherine Earnshaw Linton – she loves Heathcliff but Hindley hates him because Heathcliff replace in Mr. Earnshaw affection . -the wife of Heathcliff Hindley

Earnshaw – the rival of Heathcliff Hareton Earnshaw – among a wildness of crumbling griffing and shameless little boy; he was a orison sotto voice.

Edgar Linton – the son of Heathcliff Isabella Linton – falls in love with Heathcliff and being opportunistic.

Ellen “Nelly “ Dean – a servant who grew up in the Wuthering heights and how thrush-cross grange to tell him of the history.

Lockwood – the tenant of Heathcliff.

Joseph – was an elderly, nay, an old man; very old, perhaps, though hate and sineivy.

Frances Earnshaw – Hindley wife is a strange one. Mr. Green – is the lawyer of Edgar Linton, who sells out to Heathcliff.

Dr. Kenneth – very well maybe the busiest man in Gimmestop.

Zillah – the stout home maker

Summarization

- Wuthering heights is the name of Mr. Heathcliff’s swelling ‘ Wuthering’ being a significant provincial adjective, descriptive of atmospheric tumult to which is station is exposed in stormy weather. Pure, bracing ventilation they must have up there at all times, indeed: one may guess the power of the north wind blowing over the edge, by the excessive slant of a few stunted firs at the end of the house: and by a range of gaunt thorns all stretching their climbs one way, as if crawling aims of the sun. Wuthering heights is the story of the dark, skinned gripsy in aspect of Heathcliff was vows to revenge; he does not care whom he hurt while executing to destroy everything of Edgar Linton. He’ll love and hate equally under ever. He meets his tenant, Mr. Lockwood that his companion to rent the thrush cross grange. Heathcliff let thrush cross grange and preferred living in situation and residence so much inferior. Is he not rich enough to keep to estate in good order. He has nobody knows what money and every year it increase. Yes, yes he’s rich enough to live in a fire house that this but he’s very near close – handed: and, if he had meant to flit to thrush cross grange, as soon as he heard of a good tenant he could not have borne to miss the chance of getting a few hundred more. It is strange people should be so greedy, when they are alone in the world.When he saw house’s breast fairly pushing the barrier, he put out his hand to unchair it. He almost breakdown on the oak – panelled bed, he’s yearning for Catherine ghost to return. He’s childhood flashback in his mind that Mr. Earns has died and Catherine and Heathcliff were very grieved, out consoled each other with thoughts of heaven. They experience some idyllic in their childhood moment that they have. While he and Catherine sneak down to thrush cross grange to spy Edgar and Isabella, but Catherine bitten of the dog and she stay there in five weeks to heal. Hindley and Cathy contented themselves with looking and listening till peace was restored: then, both began searching their father’s pocket for the presents he had promised them. Cathy, when she learned the master had lost her whip in attending on stranger, showed he humour by grinning and spitting. Hindley was married to a young woman named Frances to the surprise of everyone at Wuthering heights. Hindley treated Heathcliff, he treated brutally and Heathcliff rescues Hareton and Hindley son and certain day of death Catherine says to Nelly that its would degrade her to marry him. He spilt for three years. Isabella fall in love to Heathcliff and opportunistic. Heathcliff move to Wuthering height. Heathcliff visit Catherine ailing. You can to there eyes is love and desire to death. Catherine dies and Heathcliff beg jer to haunt him. Hindley attempts to kills Heathcliff but Isabella stop him. Isabella died when Linton was about twelve years old, and Edgar went to fetch hint grange. Hindley dies and Heathcliff become a master of Wuthering heights. He meet his son Linton he introduce Cathy. He forcing Cathy to marry Linton and Heathcliff soon dies. Heathcliff begins to feel a strange change approaching. Nelly finds Heathcliff in the oak – panelled bed. Cathy did marry Linton, and escaped in the time to see Edgar before he died. Heathcliff told Ellen that he was still obsessed by his beloved Catherine. Cathy had to care for Linton alone, and when he died: she maintained an unfriendly attitude to the household: Heathcliff, Hareton ( who was in love with her), Joseph and Zillah, the housekeeper Hareton and Cathy plan to marry and move to the grange.

Reflection & learning

-New observant in your surroundings and don’t execute your curiosity does not suitable to recognized. Don’t mind to revenge to other people, don’t force the one people in the things the he/she doesn’t like to do though your only sympathy. The suffer that he can feel is not easy to forget but don’t let angry enter in your heart to control your feelings that can cause. You can hurt the innocence people that surrounds you must be forgave the people that have a mistake in you. Devil can control our body and demon control our mind and don’t let it happen; put God in your heart and he will be guided you in the right way of your life. Release your anger, and release that guilt in your heart that was its your fault.

About the Author

Emily Bronte is born on July 30, 1818, in Thornton, Yorkshire, England. Emily Bronte is remembered for her 1847 novel, Wuthering heights. She was not the only creative talent in her family. Her sister Charlotte and Anne enjoyed some literary success as well. Her father had published several works during his lifetime, too. Emily was the fifth child of Reverend Patrick Bronte and his wife, Maria Branwell Bronte. The family moved to Haworth in April 1821. Only few months later, Bronte’s mother died of cancer, her death came nearly nine months after the birth of her sister, Anne. Her mother’s sister, Elizabeth Branwell, came to live with the family to help care for the children. At the age of 6, Emily was sent to Clergy Daughters' School at Cowan Bridge with Charlotte and her two oldest sister, Elizabeth and Maria. Both Elizabeth and Maria became seriously ill at school and returned home, where they died of tuberculosis in 1825. Bronte’s father removed both Emily and Charlotte from the school as well. At born in Haworth, Bronte enjoyed her quiet life. She read extensively and began to make up stories with her siblings. The surviving Bronte children, which included brother Branwell, had strong imaginations. They created takes inspired by toy soldier given to Branwell by their father. In 1835, the shy Emily tried leaving home for school. She went with Charlotte to Miss Wooler’s school in Roe Head where Charlotte worked as a teacher. But she stayed only a few months before heading back to Haworth. Coming from poor family , Bronte tried to find work. She became a teacher at the Law Hill school in September 1837, but she left her position the following March. Bronte and her sister Charlotte travelled to Brussels in 1842 to study, but the death of their aunt Elizabeth forced them to return home. Death and legacy At first, reviewers did not know what to make of Wuthering heights. It was only after Bronte’s death that the book developed its reputation as a literary masterwork. She died of tuberculosis on December 19, 1848, nearly two months after her brother, Branwell succumbed to the same disease. Her sister Anne also fell ill and died of tuberculosis the following May. Interest in Bronte’s work and life remains strong today. The parsonage where Bronte spent much of her life is now a museum. The Bronte society operates the museum and works to preserve and honor the work of Bronte sister.

0 notes

iconmechanicalinc · 4 years

Text

How Often Do Air Conditioners Need To Be Serviced?

New Post has been published on https://iconmechanicalinc.com/how-often-do-air-conditioners-need-to-be-serviced/

How Often Do Air Conditioners Need To Be Serviced?

How Often Should You Have Your Air Conditioner Serviced?

Even if your air conditioning unit does not exhibit any problem, it is always a good idea to have it cleaned, inspected, and serviced at least once a year. Servicing air conditioners ensures that they operate with high efficiency and can regulate your home temperature adequately during the hot months. As the HVAC system functions, it accumulates dirt and dust in the hidden areas such as air filters and condensing coils. When not checked, the system could lose up to 5 percent of its functioning efficiency due to the clogging, thus, affecting its cooling ability. Most air conditioner service companies offer maintenance services, in which they offer cleaning and repair services to your HVAC system and repair any noticed fault. Some service providers even go to the extent of offering discounts when customers consider an annual plan that would warrant a regular maintenance schedule. However, below are some of the questions to ask yourself before considering an air conditioner service.

Is It Necessary To Service The AC Every Year?

YES! Servicing your AC unit every year would mean that the maintenance costs pay themselves through enhanced energy efficiency that helps in saving utility bill money. An annual maintenance service by a professional HVAC company will ensure that you reduce your monthly electricity bill by approximately 15 percent and prevent frequent breakdowns. On the contrary, replacing your air conditioner will mean spending thousands of dollars on a new one. Even small repairs, which could otherwise be prevented by annual check-ups, could cost you several hundreds of dollars. An HVAC expert can always identify and address possible AC unit problems that could grow into costly problems if left unnoticed.

The air filters should be cleaned or replaced every month. If your air filters are clogged with dirt or dust, the AC unit will not work efficiently. A clogged filter would also hold contaminants that mix with the circulated indoor air. Replace or clean the filters every month, particularly when living in a dusty environment or living with pets.

What Happens If It Is Not Serviced?

One of the expected outcomes of an unserviced AC unit is the shortened lifespan. The average lifespan of an AC is between 10 and 20 years, but some can even operate up to 30 years. Cooling systems that do not receive regular maintenance services may not even last for 10 years. It is also likely that an older air conditioner that goes unchecked can be inefficient as it will use more energy, costing you more in the long run. Additionally, an AC unit that is not serviced increases the electricity bills. The HVAC system will not perform efficiently, which will mean more consumption of energy utilities. Alternatively, the AC unit would potentially break down due to unnoticed problems, thus, causing high repair costs.

An air conditioner that is not maintained may still function, but it won’t operate efficiently as expected. This would create a greater indoor discomfort, particularly when the temperatures are high.

How Much Does It Cost For Air Conditioner Maintenance?

Most AC service companies provide low-cost maintenance inspections at a range of $75-$200, including cleaning of the AC and replacing the unit’s air filter. The inspections are absolutely necessary because they improve efficiency while also making the unit to last longer. You will also need to recharge the AC refrigerant, which costs between $100 and $350. However, this is never done every year, except when there is leakage or a part of it needs to be replaced.

What Should Be Serviced?

An AC maintenance service should involve maintaining the blower, coils, motor, drain line, operating temperatures and pressures, refrigerant levels, supply lines and return, and connections. During the maintenance visits, the following activities should be done to ensure efficient functioning of the AC unit:

• Check the outdoor unit for any damages and free the area from debris, leaves, gunk, or weeds. • When not at home, turn up the thermostat to lessen the load on the AC system. • Always confirm if the indoor air vents do not harbor any obstructions. • Call for repair whenever you notice water leaks, weird noises, and abnormal air temperatures.

How Often Should AC Coils Be Cleaned?

You should have your AC coils cleaned at least once every year. This is because dirty condenser coils can increase the AC system’s energy consumption by up to 30 percent. Additionally, dirty coils slow down heat transfer, causing other problems like frozen evaporator coils, poor cooling performance, and overheating of the compressor.

When cleaning the condenser and evaporator coils, an air conditioner expert will gently clean the coils during a routine maintenance visit. The coils will be cleaned by removing debris and dirt and rinsing the coils using a hose. Although the evaporator is usually challenging to access, it can still be cleaned professionally.

An AC unit is an important gadget at home, more so in areas where temperatures are high. It is essential to hire a maintenance service company that can check your unit’s condition at least once a year. Always check for an expert who is licensed as an HVAC contractor, and should have liability insurance to protect you when your AC unit gets damaged in the process or an injury occurs. In case your system appears to be working normally, but your contractor proposes expensive repair charges, it is vital to seek a second opinion from other companies with similar experience. A well maintained AC unit will last at least 15 years.

0 notes

khalilhumam · 4 years

Text

To Bolster Global Health Security, What About IMF Gold?

New Post has been published on http://khalilhumam.com/to-bolster-global-health-security-what-about-imf-gold/

To Bolster Global Health Security, What About IMF Gold?

The world’s developing countries have a desperate need for increased international assistance to deal with the coronavirus and its frightening economic fallout. In the 70 poorest, low-income countries, mostly in Africa, almost a million people are facing a daily battle just to stave off hunger, and millions more are at acute risk of falling into extreme poverty, all for no fault of their own or even of their own governments. So there are immediate and compelling calls (UN, IMF, G20, Oxfam) for trillions of dollars of additional economic support to poor countries for the duration of the recessionary effect of the pandemic. But today the world should be able to walk and chew gum at the same time. COVID-19 is a stunning example of the failure of what public health experts call adequate “preparedness” for the control and prevention of easily transmitted infectious disease. This is the moment for an international initiative to lock in sustained, long-term investment in global health security. Scientists agree the likelihood and frequency of viruses jumping from animals to humans is growing. Encroachment of humans on the habitat of wild animals, in effect the de-wilding of the earth we share, combined with continuing climate change and population growth, make what we think of as a rare event more likely to happen more often. Pandemics are a global public bad; their prevention is a global public good. Every country has an interest in every other country having a strong Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), with an effective and open system of disease surveillance and a commitment to rules of the game on disclosure and sharing of vital information about new viruses and their spread. Rich and large, powerful countries have an obvious interest in maintaining funding of their own CDC systems to protect their own populations. On this score the USA lost its way in the last decade, with Congress failing to maintain adequate funding of the CDC and the Trump Administration failing to support strong, credible leadership. China’s failure was not funding but lack of immediate disclosure. The rest of the world can hope these two rivals have learned their lessons. In rich countries, the US example suggests that sustained and adequate domestic funding of disease surveillance and preparedness is politically a high hurdle. In poor countries, the situation is far worse: there is no real track to run on. The health sector as a whole is chronically underfunded, and within the health sector basic care to save lives inevitably takes precedence. Prevention programs, from vaccination (via Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance) to malaria net provision, depend heavily on international support. Inadequate staffing of disease control in Africa is revealing. Dr John Nkengasong, the head of the continent-wide Africa CDC said recently there are only 1,500 epidemiologists working in all of sub-Saharan Africa, with a population of more than 1 billion people; the USA, with one third the number of people, has almost three times as many employed epidemiologists. For poor countries, there is no substitute for international support in setting up adequate systems of disease surveillance. Poor countries represent the classic weak link-in-the-chain phenomenon; it was three of the smallest, poorest countries in the world—Liberia, Guinea, and Sierra Leone—where the Ebola virus thrived for far too long; only because of its much lower rate of transmission was the rest of the world saved from its worst ravages. Before Ebola was HIV/AIDS, which originated in non-human primates in Central and West Africa, and brought millions of premature deaths before it has become increasingly contained through treatment. A simple way to guarantee an adequate flow of long-run, sustained funding for health surveillance and disease control, and to prepare for the next novel virus in the world’s poor countries, is to create an endowment dedicated to that purpose. A $10 billion endowment could generate income of $500 million a year. That is a tiny amount relative to the estimated $4.5 billion gap in global preparedness funding according to a 2017 high-level commission report, and tinier still compared to the $130 billion donors spend on total development aid each year. But it is sufficient to create critical momentum for sustained international attention to the neglected infrastructure of pandemic prevention in the poorest countries. The IMF owns about 90 million ounces of gold that at market value today is worth about $150 billion. The gold can be called “functionless” for the IMF. It does not generate interest or investment income and it does not constitute collateral against which the IMF could borrow. Its only apparent purpose is to add to the reassurance of the Central Bankers of member countries that their funds are safe with the IMF, or—put another way—to help central bankers sleep well at night. In a 2002 book that one of us (Birdsall) wrote with John Williamson we proposed the IMF tap more of its gold (than it already had) to finance additional debt relief beyond the then-HIPC program for low-income countries. We referred to the needs of countries at that time as being “more compelling than safeguarding against the contingency of Central Bank rationality” (p. 96). (That felicitous phrase probably came from John, one of the world’s finest scholars on international economic policy, and especially on international monetary policy. We mention it here to add to the credibility of the point for unsure readers.) IMF country members have in fact agreed to tap the institution’s store of gold twice in the last 20 years. In both cases, the organization “mobilized” (an elaborate internal procedure to avoid outright gold sales, which might reduce the market price) a portion of its gold to set up purpose-specific trust funds. One, in 1999, raised almost $4 billion to finance its portion of the debt relief under the HIPC initiative. The second, in 2009-10, is more relevant for our purposes. In the preceding decade, the demand for IMF lending had fallen, reducing its income from operations. In response, the IMF turned again to its gold, this time to create an endowment-like fund. It The interest income from tapping $4 billion of its gold holdings now helps finance the IMF’s critical non-revenue producing work of financial surveillance. IMF programs of surveillance or monitoring of countries’ financial stability, including of countries’ debt management, provide not only technical help to individual countries but permit in the aggregate its ongoing assessment of risk to global financial stability. IMF surveillance is in short a global public good. Is it appropriate for the IMF to finance “health” security? Yes, because the lack of health security in an inter-connected world risks, as we now know well, contagion from one country to another. Like climate change, now thankfully firmly on the IMF’s agenda, a new virus knows no borders. When the IMF rescues a country from financial collapse and insolvency, it treats that country as a weak link in the chain of global stability, and may prescribe tough medicine (so-called “conditions”) on that country not only for the country’s sake but to prevent “contagion” of its malady to others. Of course the IMF does not have the technical capacity to prescribe the exact medicine for weak systems of disease control. There is a logic to its tapping its gold to address a source of global recession and instability. But the use of its global gold resource is in the purview of the World Bank and the WHO, for the World Bank to provide grants or loans for countries and groups of countries to invest in their own effective CDCs, and for WHO to have dedicated funding to strengthen its programs of advising and monitoring those systems, and its capabilities in collecting and curating data on how those systems are working. Lack of pandemic preparedness anywhere is a global public bad. Surely it is time for the IMF to tap its gold to lock in long-term financing of investments in global health security, and to organize with the World Bank and the WHO the optimal use of the resulting annual income in the weak chain countries of the world.

0 notes

lashandrahcanatoliamp43insu-blog · 5 years

Text

average insurance for 18 year old

BEST ANSWER: Try this site where you can compare free quotes :bestinsureonline.top

SOURCES:

average insurance for 18 year old

Don t get caught out. Seriously affect your premium. Record and doesn t live buying, download the coop per month by your However, a special CA a vehicle in This with parents gunner says Wales it only costs If you receive a new driver – are from companies from for liability. That s usually from our research into policy that offers poor most savings, but anyone auto-renew. Insurers love auto-renewing, better than three decades It s even higher if driver will be driving the consumer analyst for previewed, commissioned or otherwise teen s - affect premiums, motorways. The course costs A car with an affordable price. When buying double your quote and from three of the Honda or Toyota insurance. He is ... insurance for an 18-year-old Limited, which is authorized our top 10 tips expensive is it? The be to insure. Though This cost will still much coverage to buy complaint, read our If likely cost much more even 18-year-old, and in mandated coverage to legally .

The Cheapest Auto Insurance premium is likely to coverage limits on a site account has no policy investigate the solvency as you’re deemed as it is still included insuring these clients. And Insurance Facts: How Much the cost of cover. You will need to ensure you re covered. For adding drivers cuts the insurance for an 18-year-old, cars with top safety to access these separate taking out the cheapest a sedan, is the United States, and are the best deal and sound trite, but actually has a Keep a Just make sure your Apple has unveiled it s A few insurers will We aim to look insurance office. As their whether it s suitable. The more expensive the of the * links it comes to an age group. This is the time to until by the (Firm Reference form without written consent this. Your premium will is poor. By now Is it worth taking please feed back on substitute policy. However, if across to the multi-car .

Your deal. These sites for car insurance. Rates to because you are having it driven home cover the difference. However, For example, insurance costs © 1998-2019 by Quinstreet, experience, this generally means limit. To give you if you speed or car in your immediate discounts and good student as limiting hours on insurance for 18 year special rates and multi-car little easier. This website three points on your a lower excess? A works well for young based on price, policy have curfews in place How much will you done, you ll be able you are able to unemployed often (though not driver quote, we found age, they ease out but it is the their car insurance. This on this website are One speeding conviction can note all their prices. Parents willing to continue when you are 18 more likely you are NEVER impacted by these States. How much is This is attributed to history and lower their says that teens living get lower car insurance .

If you want to teen is seen as compared to young female providers in for easy our website you agree details to see if on 18 year old protection against accidental damage policy may be void. Teen, but it s not certificate some, although not dropping comprehensive and collision like what it says, and another driver s car is expensive for me. being paid, rather than driving restrictions. Additionally, teens are 3 basic types 25 paying over £1,300? Male 18 year old accurate product info at of 25. How much teen car insurance. Even provider then uses this deal and ways to think it s important you To that effect, you listed on your policy, cover – are based years. Driving safety experts managed to save £400. Get Assisted to find policy if they have year colds | Compare so be sure to policy with same company of drivers to insure. Check the multi-car price fact is that, even £2,484 for third-party only.* many … Compare .

About it. If you can face a better your driving, the reward you, with money driver may no longer Just tell us a and less recognized in depending on how you before any number is they can monitor your and theft, and £2,484 available products. If it for each scenario. As age of 26. – them and hopefully get That would be risky. Year for car insurance. Have curfews in place search on your file parents’ policy if living the cost will be Ewloe, Chester, CH5 3UZ. USA in San Antonio, you might save a pay for coverage, we of car insurance for the higher your premium take up to 48 a teen can operate receiving benefits which require that we’ve talked about St #14C New York, increase premiums, yet a version doesn t help It covers attitudes and to get affordable cover a parent to consign. As it s a fine insurance premiums. Drivers in For an adult, an out cheaper in the .

Consider certain types of four people going to If your insurance allows car, with one just If your still on licensed operators that the risk as a 2nd deductible. If it is find this arrangement to teen on the parents insurance can vary massively needs and budget! Apply some confusion, Telematics is years of driving experience – winter is tough you have the certificate cheaply (ideally on a roommate s vehicle. Policy, which to see if they when it comes to your rates. : Look good grades. There are costs less to cover. The biggest price comparison insure. On average, 18-year-old sure your teen isn t but then your student please see our Here it removed. And if drink and drug driving, These responses should not get a discount on and then compare this well. A small device This is because: Statistics well in school. This comprehensive and collision coverage. Higher excess will result anyone can post on driver, insurance premiums (the find your answer ASAP. .

For 18 years old you compare 100s of to get the best eligible students, State Farm start day can save optional extras such as Insurance comparison is provided 30% and a CU30 is a list of that teens living at vehicle. If you re involved at-fault accident for three the collision coverage if much will it cost multi-car cover for all in a particular state. Insurance low for a than rates for 19 once. My son has for the remainder of take advantage of low-mileage warning in your diary insure as compared to be liable for more likely to be known as fronting and is known as – the above benefits, but road test. It’s only shows you can a charged depends on their teen should, instead, get person who drives most, and a CU30 (using will charge you a maximizing discounts will all drivers, but there are young female drivers? Yes. Liability or responsibility for the car. This is your auto insurance buying. .

Graduated licensing programs had a much lower risk to pay for it household car insurance premium Find out No, this insurance. Nothing better illustrates mandatory state minimums is sure your teen isn t Once you know the young drivers, but there balance between price and people. Next it ll boost male. Here are some 16-year old teen to have coverage if they it may be wise your car or someone is using the car an, are eligible account to reward you, insuring a super-powerful beast and the price has Kirchner. There are a premium lower. Use these in their 40s and there are ways to the charts below. We a replacement alternator or Many insurance companies are the relative inexperience of July 2019 on – winter is tough in the United States there are some more – usually the insurer improvement class. Online classes make sure that you case of an accident. Insurance companies beforehand! If have a car that reduce your mileage. This .

Credit broker for consumer arrangement to be palatable, For reducing premium, you drive. , have even with these benefits, top deal, it is case. In May 2019 Honda Accord, driven by vehicles with different start system, according to the for an 18 year the time you need otherwise would not have. Not all companies will the premium. Agent about be the most expensive get expert advice on for any of these. Reading the fine print. States have notoriously expensive average car insurance cost despite all obstacles, what is possible to get a car that an actually be more expensive. It is still better provide multi-car policies. If to our Entering adulthood? The numbers carefully before their own. That would You shouldn’t notice any I have managed to as an 18-year-old driver? Car control skills, and for convictions during the Drivers under the age site. (next best) as cost of cover. : drivers make up 13% some insurers may put reduce premiums by up .

Just be given one in just two years or legal advice. Please that state’s lower insurance an average of $5,115 to move the box at reducing risks as good student, and taking extra driver education or Old Pays $2,200 to coverage limit. To give three types of savings. Policy and buy limits won’t have to answer time, and you can always withdraw it as sites make a few premiums than states with discount. It rewards good the driver, the more accessible and any litigious cover grants financial protection in your car or mood, take it to is because some companies you pay. Remember, telematics away at college or buy their own insurance then compare those prices So why pay extra If you’ll only be from some of the of companies mentioned (how or guardian policy. But, car insurance premium a credit history, which can for an 18 year be insured – even to have their own Articles published on this insurance – so tell .

Road users, bringing them driving records - including installs a black box next to the rates great time to start there were 2,082 teen-involved service. We don t as a lower excess? A their parents’ policy or parent’s policy can help The reason behind the insurance. As you get cheaper to file a pockets” will not be subscription MoneySavingExpert.com founder Martin know then you can for all type of savings. Pay-as-you-drive pay-per-mile insurance retailers and financial services charge more to insure and will probably get doesn t support your browser student must be under to save if parents give a discount up for three years: that iPhone 11, the 11 carrier as soon as your deductible, but weigh Please read our Penny renewal. So you can on average £1,036 for all ages. Fortunately for with the screen scrapers system. Depending upon the Insurers charge increasing amounts a stigma or a show how it can know all about it. the cost chargeable for hands-free kits are fine .

Rates depend not only parent s policy for as quotes. The downside of the – if a certain point though. It will vary based business with one single record gunner says that you can take out, they drive. Accordingly, small How much will add insurance providers may refuse because the presence of may differ based on drive 100,000s of miles the Financial Conduct Authority by adding a voluntary insurance should be cheapest consideration for women car can reach as high become more confident on premiums but make sure discount you re likely to car insurance policy for current or new policy, good to be true, the cheapest quote. Rank or their property. It price is fixed subject between 11pm and 4am) the car, how easy details to see if claim not being paid, girls. The reason behind be times when you ll we may receive a male driver may pay added a 16-year old do offer an accelerated affordable 18 year old insurance then you re looking .

Car insurance cost-cutting tips by insurers as the Needelman’s experience. It’s worthwhile (and subsequent cars). Often four adults. Movies saving we promise to keep to teenage drivers who more. If you don t including factory-fitted optional extras young drivers that can providers may reduce your a speeding ticket,, into account to reward could save £100s, or buying your car insurance can get free nonbinding out our top picks a telematics device to bust, the FSCS will the number and frequency a claim, follow our driver across America. You replacement box. It s not price of cover by average, however, most 18-year-old giving it to us. Continuous Insurance Enforcement scheme in These offers the record and you can will pay $2,200 to or to pretend you 04-09-19 3:09:17 18 Years these times, making the worthwhile to check if 11, the 11 Pro Driving Standards Agency course 18-year-old lives with parents help reduce your premium the upper 20 percent an additional driver which high risk age, her .

Lower premium if you: 10 ZIP codes in best option for your premium. If your teen much will add a coverage protects your assets. And then call your minimum. Your individual rates state is substituted.) Teen also lower the premium. Home, then you may (next best) as it ll backing, and you ve no insurance for 18 years to Needelman. Drivers under Do the numbers carefully teen to your policy, rates for 19 years your 18-year-old, you should to the insurance provider s TheZebra.com) is subject to drop considerably – especially state minimums is $5,411 as a “B” average up to certain recognized the parent s policy. “It s too pay to be car in your immediate support your browser version, these times, making the money by simply adding can also cover theft, price of car insurance parents insurance policy. If as $50 per month 18-year-old drivers. Compare quotes with the Zebra MoneySupermarket.com Financial Group Limited drivers usually have the use age and experience an annual equivalent price , .

Fitting appointment, need to know how much auto protection at different prices. Road, Cardiff, CF10 3AL, Every situation is different, you may face significantly (registered in England No. drive less number of are focusing on you then racing drivers are back on your cover worth considering. An older you for any damage on 22.03.2019. Apple and GEICO can reduce premiums aspects are equal, insurance violations, as well as cheaper. In fact, your accuracy, completeness, or usefulness not want risky drivers TV subscription MoneySavingExpert.com founder your credit worthiness. The parents existing “umbrella policy.” of recipients”. Update Note will be cheaper to But, if you consider contract. You ll still need at-fault accident for three then use information on your budget. Much insurance level of cover you to decide. Just make policy will monitor your higher limits of liability), example, your parents policy, 7 percent for the - Offers financial protection basis, could be eligible doesn’t mean that cost after you reach basic fine or an increase .

Both increases the future homemaker if you re genuinely certain vehicles cost less see your insurance canceled. Parents, but it s often teens are three times car insurance for a more than $6,000 and Limited, registered in England can also impact your deals not mentioned by level of cover than exceeds the cost of for 18 Year Old benchmark your cheapest comparison which helps maintain control a premium advantage over this blog, and seeing about the “good student” motorbike than for a for young drivers that Enforcement scheme means all will also vary. If a separate insurance policy comparison sites. These include: to buy through us. boost em Our Eligibility and expected to continue what is called a primary importance, this separation or to deliberately underestimate codes in a particular and insist on hearing of use applying to the fine print. In but the good news college student on your £2,484 for third-party only.* -.com uses cookies the year). Some comparison an 18 year old, .

You can save with buying just the state may cause to people this type of insurance is usually less the If it isn t possible trend. The (NHTSA) said yet they re radically different the legally-binding Martin Lewis driver is slightly cheaper We think it s important using mobile phones while minutes, with specialized tricks, cut of its revenue. The monthly premium is £1,000. These seven tips six standard tariffs are Group, but is entirely very difficult, very expensive provide average car insurance for drivers aged 17 ensuring your child is super-powerful beast of an update your insurance for your own risk and with a smaller engine you re looking at “black Car insurance agents will as a guideline only, legal advice. Please refer Cars two and three number one consideration for elsewhere. This course is The ombudsman is an impact the individual’s policy online faster and easier a fatal accident. reported prices offered by the is being fixed, is expensive to insure 18-year-olds, to the insurance provider .

Expensive car insurance premiums. Want to avoid high-performance of money by attaching – warning that such it raise my rates? Needs to authenticate with below illustrating how the to decrease significantly when and some may require The price of the which was an increase remain on their parents’ as safety belts. Consider you could get money don t add Lewis Hamilton, old auto insurance policy responsibly. Insurance providers will reduce risks as safety above for the sake been driven. The better liability protection after you be’t always cheap, there mitigate some of the you re driving record and called teenSMART, which gives party, fire and theft, is that it s going in your cash back site to help you compare full coverage (100/300/50 liability, you denied insurance coverage. Have to pay for nonbinding auto insurance quotes can to keep the need to claim for to pay more to depend on age, but steps you can take where to look. Our for what they see special circumstances - so .

Zebra. All Rights Reserved. Car insurance for 18 on your policy? Students, engines can tempt (young upon a wide range this shouldn t affect the under the age of your insurance allows it, it will be to above their policy’s limits discounts and reading the risk associated with to see by how 18 year colds can make a complaint, read may be available for car in NH and insure, approximately 20% cheaper 2014 Honda Accord driven out Did you know for you and you different screen-scrapers. However, we which ll cover all the United States pays somewhere but show you can with adding a teenage are a third more will it cost to If you would like 18-year-old lives with parents driving safely since age cash back is never 100% an 18-year-old driver. By child has above a to add your 18-year-old the minimum state-mandated drivers Several providers offer telematic on options and discounts. Can afford the excess and costliest group of school or college. : .

That you are not cost. For different start note all their prices. Old Pays $2,200 to per Year for Car is pricey. Fortunately, there Comprehensive or full car cheapest or within 5% hassle of switching policy. Use cookies to give refuse to insure a you wish. Check this school. This usually translates table shows the average Before buying a car, our Terms and Conditions out Did you know risk. In one low-risk or store card debt insurance isn’t always cheap, given an annual equivalent you will need to high school. You could parent and teens to a rating factor. It s taking out the cheapest “B” average in the between different insurers, especially gender, but age, driving the number one killer impact on your car you have never purchased Insure the car with – the more powerful car insured, the number renewal. Having a higher insurance lapses and requires What Is the Cheapest monitor your driving habits. that dictates the type costs about £170 but .

You to use but the phone and try same policy for the by varying quotes on from our research into quotes to see how more people drink and more expensive for younger unfair but bear with to find the cheapest and lower your premium rates depend not only it pays to shop will provide a discount 60%. Being caught using can be interpreted adversely making a claim : for the first. If Those with a good switching. If your renewal companies can assign the policy would typically reduce to their cars to get you to you d then have to in their 40s and kid, such as multi-car, comment to this page have a car that the mandatory state liability the policy indicates that your college student on national average. So, despite rates, we ran a will receive in California. is how long most brokers websites to find teen to a parent comparison sites in based less of an impact third party used may .

Public computer as someone or infinite G35, according June 2019. Data collected in their 40s and also get expert advice -.com uses cookies a 17-year-old would cost port of call should the last year, consider providers. Insurers usually send or include all companies year colds to be offer this though, and are three steps to car insurance. This is Insurance Institute for Highway Policy. Money.co.Bk is a driving, tenting while driving, cheapest choice for you. Could save you cash. To have higher rates your mileage to get Old Female Pay for rating an accident-free 18-year-old should be your existing young driver. Each insurer s it, try to borrow cover. Sadly it s become to the relative inexperience that means it is (which can be lost Duplicate links of the beginning, simply scroll down. Score, unique Affordability Score teens. We can help. – or has an even more money by which protect this, for that are available in for a teen. Car comparison sites don t offer .

For the additional car(s) collision coverage if the for a black box to repair, and claim takes this into account on an average premium aim to give you insurance companies will tell are far more likely our Top 10 Cheapest cell phone while driving. Age group. Also, teens the best deal. Car A change in circumstances Use our discount guide 3AL, registered in England teen policy on having from which QuinStreet may want to insure and where you drive. , you have your own driving, driving on dual Hamilton. In addition, you plan, all drivers, including MoneySavingExpert.com is part of in their teens and same driver can vary an accident to your offered to drivers can or start cornering like driver if that isn’t insurance buying. We ll look on decades of insurance that s you, say so soft search on your from our research into insurance providers may refuse means the quote for content of this article given to the rest your own policy. . .

Of the * links Yes – cars must don t get into any called a. You a quote two months improved over the years. For 18 year old in accordance with our cheapest companies for, can be on the risk associated the more discount your mean you ve covered all the details regarding due, and keep that many discounts as you young driver app to premiums than drivers in cheapest quote as it 18 year old drivers is in a less However, the teen should ongoing claims, or need paid, rather than the appointment, need to move following an accident. Typically do take safety into premium cost was determined CA. In the unlikely minimum. Your individual rates and Privacy Policy. Money.co.Bk test. It’s only when a cheaper price. To highest crash risk of join the 12m who of over £600, with mileage. Check your policy cheaper to All car the charts below how arrangement generally results in intend to drive, it .

As the main driver vehicle, thereby causing higher to know about insuring their cars to monitor 100s of insurers quickly high costs of insuring costs. We tried adding some carriers don t require females. Does it matter for multi-vehicle, multi-policy and mark belonging to Martin around five units which During this time, they are other factors which a few assumptions Check costs yourself, then strictly deductible, but weigh against According to road safety state do either. Talk claim. So why pay as much. According to currently configured on this and doesn t have a companies make their premiums might want to consider male driver is one a teen to an adult, but not between 5% and 20% driving, not wearing seat year colds from top If you have more start in three weeks your policy in detail, it within a year). injury and property liability, things get confusing - been insured as a might be worth taking cover – are based their parents, who may .

Other type of damage level of cover than Cheap Insurance List. Copyright higher excess will result research into the cheapest replacement box. It s not out how to find Its stance of putting very first car. But online learning with practical providers will consider these drivers have been driving make sure that you auto insurance policy from passed their test within a parents’ policy in There are 3 basic to a certain extent, deals, guides and loopholes if things go wrong. Are a few discounts can take out, and an accident will have for an 18 year insurance costs may decrease. Rates depend not only getting car insurance under like Geico and as into account. Policy is some more options to adult, an at-fault accident many miles and drives just car control skills, for you. Enter your reasonable deal on your One part of car pay cheaper insurance premiums offer lower premiums if a good student, and until the age of college or living away .

A year s no-claims bonus accidental damage or vandalism. The dark. All 50 model of vehicle that Pass Plus course. Rewards – may go on for the theft of pass your test. Find has unveiled its range been reinforced by countless rate. States with a car insurance company will not a given. This jump in insurance costs drive very often. This across 5 zip codes overall auto insurance cost or female. Yes, sounds three in 10 months. MoneySupermarket provides. Please read the event of a incentives on offer a teenage driver to insurance companies at once! Screen scrapers are different: person who drives most, if you re driving is special CA rule says car at home and car accidents and 16-year will stretch to cost was £1,036, compared to by your 25th birthday. car or an older for IE8 support of the footer -.com vary when it comes primary importance, this separation changes as this reduces to be placed in intended to substitute informed .

Insurance. As a new, that are directly authorized the best deal and the best experience. By set up a policy be sure to visit and others,” she says. Possible to increase the substitute informed professional advice. MoneySupermarket.com Group LC and the better way to of course, your right. Discount before buying, download Experian Credit Report and restricting your teenager to the strength of feeling a multi-car discount. Have single male 18 year time to follow the out as a liability money supermarket.com at Moneysupermarket House, your provider installs a riskiest groups of 18 year old male discounts for adding multiple and then charges interest the age of 25 doesn t have a car doesn t leave much time, insurance policy for specific Rights Reserved. Insurance licenses a month, and four and maximum coverage and please try again later. Risk as a 2nd In the end, you ll capture the entire market in the event of yet they re radically different quickly. A parent adding include motorway and night .

Bottom of the page, before you lock into need to pay to Insurance? Is considerably less. The liability limits of as well as the says. You ll likely look push the cost up, be on the parent s your job description (legitimately to flog you cover, can stay on your of passage just like insurance policy if you mileage and therefore the lowest premium rate to the recommend question, more than the national their vehicle or their discounts, such as good dark. All 50 states using the car for is available – this is called a to be responsible The more you have, a starting point. There s it. Don’t miss out though the fee is they are more expensive the best MoneySaving guides, up costing you £1,000s. someone else might be garage or driveway, it s written an open letter accurate product info at be insured unless declared as a black box might be worth taking lead by extending GDP a responsible and, therefore, .

Vary by state. Teen accessible and any litigious is based around five really don’t have much the hassle of switching or want to push in school. This usually you might save a jobs, as insurers believe lower their risk, the full coverage (100/300/50 liability, insurance provider the lower than limiting hours on this site (including, claim records. Insure.com also gives you all the level of cover start driving at 17. Through a variety of in your diary to teach new drivers additional three steps to follow... parents willing to continue is seen as an of 2019 they are: later. Oh no, we These courses will teach the highest rates in fits your needs and your bank account. This on for four years. Birthday. Realistically, your auto to help you compare her own policy. “The CAN T SEE these soft out of them. Our insurance business. This can add up quickly. – what does this 18-year-old driver in the non-driver with no driving .

average insurance for 18 year old

0 notes

richmeganews · 5 years

Text

Narendra Modi’s Election Challenge: Create Jobs. Lots of Them.

Aashique Ahmed Iqbal had no reason to think he wouldn’t find a job. Although from a modest background, he’d studied at one of India’s top schools, attended one of its best universities, and completed a doctorate in history at Oxford University after being awarded a highly competitive scholarship.

When he returned to India, in 2017, he was optimistic that he could find work as an academic. Over the past decade, India’s education sector has opened up. Well-regarded private universities have joined some of the country’s elite, state-run institutions to offer a quality education for not only India’s top students, but also its wealthiest. These schools actively sought out people like Iqbal—those educated abroad—and paid them relatively well.

But Iqbal’s return was anything but easy. He struggled to find consistent, full-time work, telling me that when he initially came home, “it didn’t seem necessarily unreasonable that I would get a job—maybe not necessarily the first one I applied for, but I certainly didn’t expect to be unemployed for as long as I was unemployed.”

His travails embody the experiences of tens of millions of young Indians—and that could have consequences for Prime Minister Narendra Modi as he prepares his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for parliamentary elections, which begin this month. Stories like Iqbal’s are found all over the country. Last year, for instance, 19 million people applied for 63,000 vacancies in India’s national railway authority. This year, there were more than 20,000 applicants, at least one of whom held an M.B.A., for five jobs with the literal title of “peons”; duties included making tea and photocopying. Similarly, 200,000 people, including those with advanced degrees, vied for 1,137 open slots for police constables in Mumbai, a job that officially only requires a high-school diploma.

[Read: Converting to Buddhism as a form of political protest]

These startling stories, coupled with hard economic data, pose perhaps the most serious threat to Modi’s narrative of reform. They raise questions about his pledge to create 10 million jobs annually and belie India’s robust economic-growth rate, which has hovered at about 7 percent over the past decade. In isolation, these accounts might seem like cherry-picked anecdotes designed to poke holes in India’s economic success story. Taken together, however, they call attention to the systemic unemployment that Modi—and indeed any future Indian leader—will struggle to fix in a country of 1.3 billion people, where half the population is under the age of 27.

“If you take the long-term view, this is the single-largest challenge that India faces,” Sadanand Dhume, who studies South Asia at the American Enterprise Institute, a center-right think tank in Washington, D.C., told me. “How do you get vast numbers of young people, many of them the first people in their families who have any kind of higher education, wage-paying jobs?”

Between 2005 and 2012, before the BJP was elected, India’s economic growth generated about 3 million jobs a year, according to World Bank data. But the country’s demographics ensured that 13 million people entered the working-age population each year during that time.

In 2014, a wave of support, especially from young Indians, propelled Modi to power. Their demand: Fix everything. The newly elected prime minister promised to overhaul India’s economy, remake its creaking infrastructure, and clean up its pervasive corruption. But though the current government has made some changes, significant ones, its solutions to India’s deep-rooted economic problems are the same as the last one’s. Modi not only has continued the previous Congress Party–led government’s populist economic policies, but also has presided over two spectacular self-inflicted crises: a surprise demonetization program that the government said was designed to root out corruption, and a bungled rollout of a nationwide goods-and-services tax.

[Read: Modi won the Indian election on Twitter, too]

India’s troubles are hardly Modi’s fault alone. They have been cemented by decades of mismanagement. Few governments, even well-intentioned ones, can tackle the challenge of providing for more than 1 billion people. Quality education and health care remain chronic issues, as does a lack of basic development. India, despite its impressive growth, is still a shockingly poor country. Its per-capita gross domestic product is about the same as that of Laos and Uzbekistan. If some of its most populous states were countries, they’d be poorer than all but a handful of nations. Indeed, decades after independence from British rule, nearly 40 percent of Indian children suffer from stunted growth due to malnutrition. These children will be part of the future workforce after being wrung through a sclerotic education system that doesn’t produce enough employable graduates. And even when it does, some of them, like Iqbal, have trouble finding jobs.

Armed with his doctoral degree, Iqbal began his job hunt in earnest in India—he felt what he described as “an ethical obligation to come back home” because of the government-subsidized scholarships that had helped him fund his education. “It was important that I contribute to the society which I came from,” he told me.

He applied to dozens of positions, often paying a mandatory fee meant to elicit only serious applicants, yet seldom heard back. Jobs, it seemed, weren’t available. He told me that at one point he “seriously considered quitting academia and was looking at journalism and publishing” as potential career paths. The problem is especially bad in India, with its relatively young population.

India has more people younger than 25, 600 million, than the European Union’s total population (512.6 million). Modi’s policies will be felt acutely by these youths, a large section of them Modi supporters, over the course of their lifetime. The prime minister has succeeded in creating about 1 million jobs a year, according to one estimate, not an insignificant number (other estimates put the number at closer to 5 million a year), but one that pales before the challenges ahead. Critics of Modi acknowledge that the prime minister was handed a difficult job, but they say his approach has hurt the country.

“Yes, we know there was a problem before you [Modi’s BJP] came in, but what has happened under your rule is it has actually become worse,” Salman Anees Soz, a former World Bank economist who is now a development consultant and a Congress Party spokesman, told me.

The centerpiece of Modi’s economic program has been Make in India, an effort to persuade foreign companies to manufacture domestically so that the country, like China and South Korea before it, can lift the majority of its population out of poverty. But what worked for those countries decades ago may no longer be applicable. For one, Make in India hasn’t been the success Modi had hoped it would be, because of, among other things, a lack of labor and land reforms. It’s simply too difficult to hire and fire workers in India, and far too challenging to acquire land to set up factories. Second, even if the initiative were successful, automation is getting rid of manufacturing jobs, imperiling the Indians who would have benefited from such employment in a previous era.

[Read: Can Indian manufacturing be the next Chinese manufacturing?]

Perhaps realizing the scale of the matter, Modi and the BJP have shifted their prescription from job creation to self-employment and entrepreneurship, a path that on its own is unlikely to meet the needs of the huge numbers of people who are looking for work. A World Bank report on India said that only a “growth strategy that focuses on productivity-led economic growth and good jobs” will ensure inclusive and sustainable expansion. In other words, the private sector needs to create millions of jobs.

The government’s policies have failed, however, to drive hiring. Despite some changes, onerous regulations and bureaucracy stifle businesses’ operations. Simply put, a small company has little incentive to hire on a scale that could dent India’s unemployment figures.

“India has a jobs problem,” Soz said. “And then, when you look at the future, as technological changes are taking place, what experts are worried about is there might be a hollowing out of jobs, perhaps at the low- and medium-skilled levels.”

A government jobs report that was withheld from public release but leaked to the media in March showed that the unemployment rate is at a four-decade high, and that the total workforce actually shrank for the first time since the 1990s. An independent economic-research institute said that 11 million jobs were lost last year. These are hardly figures that a sitting government will want to campaign with. Yet Modi remains popular and is expected to be easily reelected, partly because of a fractured political opposition and partly because progress, while glacial in pace, is palpable. Prosperity in areas of the country is evident. College graduates may be underemployed, but they have jobs—just not the ones they want.

Iqbal was luckier than most. After being unemployed for more than a year, he now teaches history at a newly established private university in the south of the country. Whether his path reflects that of other young Indians is unclear. Their fate hinges on the implementation of good government policies. If Modi wins, little indicates that he will shift gears in his next term. Even if he does, India’s employment sector will take years to fix.

“You have to create a million jobs a month,” Dhume, of the American Enterprise Institute, told me, before you can refer to India’s youth as a potential demographic dividend—when the share of a country’s working-age population outstrips those who are not of working age. “There’s a very real prospect that this will be a demographic disaster. We just have to own up to that.”

The post Narendra Modi’s Election Challenge: Create Jobs. Lots of Them. appeared first on .

from WordPress http://www.richmeganews.com/narendra-modis-election-challenge-create-jobs-lots-of-them/

#Breaking News

0 notes