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2009.09.16 23:41 The Twin Cities - the front page of Minneapolis and St. Paul
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2023.06.10 19:46 redperson6233 My(m35) friend (f27) dropped our plans two times in a row without so much as a heads up, then told me I need to get over it and i'm actually the badguy for talking about it.
I could really use some advice because i'm honestly feeling gaslit. So I (m35) met this friend(f27) on a dating app around ten months ago. After our first date she displayed some behavior that made it very apparent that we were completely incompatible romantically. I still thought she was a cool person aside from that and wanted to be friends. While she was initially disappointed, we quickly became very close, even best friends. We talked a lot but honestly hung out only a few times total, because literally all of her free time was taken up by dating a bunch of different guys. I of course have no problem with her dating people. That would be weird to say the least. The problem ended up becoming apparent, in my opinion, as her inability to balance dating and friendship. This point of view only became clear to me after I went on a trip a few months ago.
A couple of weeks before the trip she invited me to a st patricks day event. I was going to return from my trip before st patricks day and she was aware of this. During the trip we kept in touch with her saying how she can't wait for me to get back. When I got back I was feeling mentally pretty crappy. It felt like the trip had pointed out things in my life I needed to change. Some sort of existential ennui. I messaged her on a messaging app letting her know I was back, we exchanged multiple messages back and forth in under two minutes in which she stated she was happy I was back “Although idk when ima see u but still.” st patricks day was in a few days. I was like “wait what?! I thought you invited me to your st patricks day thing?” she then set her status to invisible and did not reply for three hours, until I eventually texted her that I needed to talk to her. When we got in touch, she answered asking what was up, appearing completely oblivious to the situation. I was polite and asked how she was, as she acted as though she had no idea what I wanted to talk about. She sounded strange, very flat, in my opinion. Honestly she sounded like she had been caught or something. But maybe that was just in my head. After the awkward mechanical platitudes were exchanged, I inquired about the st patricks day thing. she then non-nonchalantly stated that is was actually last week and that she didn't go. She did mention that she had a date that weekend of course. If there was an apology it was so brief and emotionless I don't remember it. I was quite hurt by the entire situation, and it was clear in my voice. I ended the call. She then messaged me asking if I was ok. We ended up having another conversation soon after about how I was feeling but I only spoke about the problem of my ennui, but not my biggest problem at that moment, her behavior. Later that night after the call I decided to travel some more. The next day I spoke with her about her handling of the situation. I repeated myself multiple times in an effort to let her know that I was hurt by her actions and didn't think what she did was ok. After initial defensiveness she finally seemed to accept fault and and became apologetic. She then said “we are going to hang out when you come back, when are you coming back?” I gave her the date and after my reply she said “it's gonna be our weekend we're gonna do xyz fun things.” The convo went on longer after that. just regular friend stuff. This was two weeks from my return date.
After returning from my trip in the middle of the week I messaged her. At one point I brought up our plans for the weekend. she then said that she couldn't hang out. She had a date that weekend on the day I was expecting us to hang out. I was shocked. I asked her if it was a bad joke. She loled and replied no, the guy was cool and they had been talking for a while. This time I was pissed, but felt like there must be something I'm missing. She can't really be doing this. I called her the next day rather than that day, in an effort to talk in a better, calmer frame of mind.
Now according to what her online “friend” later told me, she had been telling him that she wanted to be with him romantically for quite some time. She had previously told me not to mention anything about her dating to him. I found that an odd dynamic between “friends” but not my business. Also, they met online I believe when she was 14 and he was 21. I don't know. maybe that's neither here nor there.
Anyways apparently, he had found out about her dating very recently. They had apparently had a fight over it the night before and he had said some cruel things. She believed their “friendship” was over. Shortly thereafter is when I got in touch with her, Unbeknownst to me.
When she picked up my call she sounded strangely flat again, and again acting completely unaware of any problem. Exactly like before in my opinion. I was deliberately non-accusatory, asking her about her understanding about the previous situation in an attempt to see what her thought process was that would lead her to do a very similar thing two times in a row to her “best friend.” She then said she didn't recall me saying much about her actions being a big problem. All she really remembered was my travel ennui. I tried to explain yet again how it wasn't cool then, and it was even less cool now - in the calmest least accusatory way possible, but her demeanor was unchanged, emotionless, and totally unapologetic. What was worse is she started getting defensive about the previous incident all over again. After a while I became angrier and began to mirror her disposition. She explained that apparently when we talked, she didn't mean that we were going to hang out the weekend when I returned. She meant at some unknown point in the future after I got back. A week from then, a year from then, who knows. After she told me it was ok if I was disappointed, I corrected in a calm tone that i was "pissed." She graciously said that that was ok. She gave me a very brief, very half-assed very emotionless, “sorry for the miscommunication.” I could practically hear a shrug in her voice. I was in disbelief of her coldness and lack of caring as we sat there in silence for a while before I ended the call. That is where the messages start (i did link them in an AITA post). The tldr of the conversation can be summarized by the first 5 exchanges
her:i know I was non-chalant but I just had a friend breakup I care about our friendship, me:then you should have told me that because I just wrote off our friendship, her:yeah i'm sorry he was really mean to me, me:i'd rather feel physical pain than emotional, I can't have you hurting me like this i'm trying not to cut you off emotionally right now, her: “I know and i share that shutting down. And thats why i feel like youre already trying to shut me out but OP thats not fair. Im going to make mistakes. Im human. What matters is owning it, you sharing with me openly the problem ive caused, and you have to forgive me because i would hope by now youd know i am NOT other people. I am not those people. I essentially mentally kill myself when i fuck up and i dont need you to add to it[...] I always feel very deeply when ive caused any issue for anyone or made a mistake big or small so you being really hard on me is unhealthy for me and very hurtful. I need you to express your issue which you have now done and let me take it and apologize and you forgive me because you know me better than that OP.” I can't accept someone saying sorry I care so much while simultaneously being defensive, telling me i'm in the wrong for saying anything, and telling me that I need to instantly get over it - as an apology. The conversation ended with me telling her to just get some sleep and we can talk about it later.
A day passed without communication. The day after that she messaged me if we were going to hang out the next weekend or not. Her intent was to ask me if I was over it, or if she needed to replace my presence with the guy she had not yet gone on a date with, and didn't even know if she liked (it was confirmed by her during our next call weeks later that this was the meaning behind her inquiry, with her admitting to it being “bitchy”). On the day of the first call I didn't want to exacerbate her stress. I wanted to give her time to recover from her emotional distress and have a proper conversation later, and hopefully a proper apology. The problem is she never changed her tune from that first day. The subsequent messages over the span of two months was the result of my efforts to properly address the situation. In my opinion it was nothing but her refusing to talk about it, minimizing all her actions as a “miscommunication,” telling me i'm really the one responsible for the ongoing conflict for needing to talk about it and that my feelings aren't valid, and her asking if I want to hang out like normal. When we finally did talk, it was like pulling teeth to get her to see how anything she did was wrong when it came to her handling of the situation. To get her to see everything as more than a simple miscommunication. Asking her how she would feel if I had done x,y, and z as she did. After I finally managed to get her to see some wrong, she explained that she too was “pissed.” Pissed at me from day one, and remained pissed at me the whole time. She was pissed at me - because I was angry with her about her actions and response when confronted about them. So in response to having to be dragged kicking and screaming into seeing/admitting some tiny modicum of fault, and giving me the most forced, single sentence, half-assed apology, she then asked if I could understand her point of view of her being pissed at me. I absolutely can not. is the way she handled this situation worthy of ending a friendship. or should I just “get over it” as she has been directly saying and implying ever since the beginning of the issue? how can i make her see my point of view?
TLDR, I feel like my friend was careless about my feelings and was willing to throw our friendship in the trash for every random guy in the city. After raising the issue, I feel the way she reacted with defensiveness, indifference, and passive aggression was pretty much as bad as it gets. Is this worthy of ending the friendship or should I just “get over it” like she says.
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2023.06.10 18:23 FelicitySmoak_ On This Day In Michael Jackson HIStory - June 10th
| 1970 - The Jackson 5 perform "The Love You Save" & "ABC" on the Groovy Show TV program in Los Angeles. 1972 - Michael third solo single, "I Wanna be Where You Are", on Motown enters the Billboard US Top 40 singles chart at #38. It will peak at #16 during a 9 week run. 1972 - Lookin' Through the Windows by The Jackson 5 on Motown Records enters the Billboard US Black Albums Chart where it will peak at #3 during a 29 week run 1975 - “Forever Came Today” is the last official single of the Jackson 5 released by Motown 1979 - Last concert of the first US leg of the Destiny World Tour at the War Memorial Auditorium (now Greensboro Coliseum) in Greensboro, North Carolina. Tour resumes in October 1993 - Michael makes an appearance at an afternoon rally at a middle school in Los Angeles to launch a new DARE programme called DAREPLUS (‘Play and Learn Under Supervision’) program for the school, an initiative educating children on the perils of substance abuse and gang membership Jackson was a member of the Board of Directors of DARE (‘Drug Abuse Resistance Education’) and he was presented with a t-shirt for which he said: “Thank you very much. I love you all. Thank you.” All members of the 'Challengers Boys & Girls Club' were invited to Neverland 1993 - Michael announces that "HTW"s total earnings of $1.25 million, along with his entire Super Bowl XXVII proceeds from that year will be funneled to "Heal L.A.", for the children having suffered from the Los Angeles’ riots at the time. The Big Brothers of Los Angeles give Jackson a rocking chair made by a woman who made them for President Kennedy and the Pope. Another group of children visiting the ranch get a sneak peak preview of Tom & Jerry: The Movie. The film wasn't scheduled to begin running in theaters until July 30th, but Michael received an advance copy from Joseph Barbera. 1997 - Michael plays the second of two nights at the Amsterdam Arena (now Johan Cruyff Arena) in Amsterdam,Netherlands , to an audience of 50.000. 1999 - Michael is in Paris, France. He stayed one day at Le Crillon hotel as he shopped around the town on his brief stop there for business related meetings 1999 - It is reported that the opening of the first 'Michael Jackson Dance Studio' (formerly announced as the 'Michael Jackson Entertainment School') happened in Tokyo. Michael couldn't attend the inauguration of the school but planned on going soon. 2002 - Michael Jackson arrives in London and checks in the Marriott Renaissance Hotel. 2003 - Michael finally gives his deposition in Indianapolis before going to Merville, Indiana Last month, Jackson he fell ill and was hospitalized before he could be deposed in a lawsuit filed by Gordon Keith (who signed the Jackson 5 to his Gary, Indiana-based Steeltown Records in 1967) and musician Elvy Woodard. The men claim that the Jackson 5 used the name of another Gary band and two of their songs without license. Jackson’s attorney, Bob Meyer, says the suit has no merit, noting that Michael was only 9 years old at the time. The deposition took place at a hotel from 11:21 a.m. to 5:10 p.m “Michael was extremely comfortable today,” he said. “He really surprised me.” Meanwhile, an attorney for the plaintiffs, Norman Reed, described Jackson’s deportment as “jovial,” though he went on to say that Jackson couldn’t answer every question because certain events in question occurred more than three decades ago Later in the evening, Michael was the main attraction at the Circle Center Mall in Indianapolis, as he tried to make his way through the crowds with his entourage to get a little personal shopping done at Brookstone, while also being followed by a mob of fans. https://preview.redd.it/sp4svpszu75b1.jpg?width=592&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d1b1056d939e4aa7bf9e3024ce83f8f231301dcb https://preview.redd.it/serywml0v75b1.jpg?width=592&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c53017f317ede1af988bb0d1d9749de552c1bdd6 https://preview.redd.it/1ndy87z2v75b1.jpg?width=592&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=66a48a5731167222b122a03a92b27b1b933ed1de Michael hires Charles Koppleman as his new business adviser. 2004 - Ray Charles passes away and Michael issues a statement: "I am saddened to hear of the death of my friend, Ray Charles. He was a true legend...an American Treasure. His music is timeless; his contributions to the music industry...unequaled; and his influence, unparalleled. His caring and humility spoke volumes. He paved the way for so many of us, and I will forever remember him in my heart." 2005 - Jury Deliberations Day 6 Jurors in the trial will be back again on Monday after ending their first full week of deliberations without reaching a verdict The jurors asked a number of questions today and also requested to have some testimony read back to them. Judge Melville held at least three meetings with attorneys from each side Legal experts say the lengthy and complex instructions issued by the Judge may be responsible for the extended deliberations. "This is a huge, huge celebrity trial, so you can bet that they're going to want to read those jury instructions pretty carefully," said Donna Shestowsky, a law professor at the University of California. Shari Seidman Diamond, a law professor at Northwestern University, agreed: "Running through these instructions is the use of words that are real words in everyday life that have different legal meanings." She said that terms such as "attempt," "reasonable" and "conspiracy" have specific meaning in criminal law and "we know that makes instructions harder to deal with." Diamond said that judges could make jury instructions more palatable but rarely did so as they were more concerned with making sure the instructions were unflawed and would not lead to a reversal on appeal. Peter Tiersma, a member of the California Judicial Council's task force on criminal jury instructions, said it was easier for a judge to simply copy the text of a legal opinion or of a statute in the instructions. He said that no matter how dense or incomprehensible the instructions were, "if you changed it, you risked getting it wrong." As an example, Diamond pointed out that the explanation of 'reasonable doubt' was buried on page 45 of the instructions, which offered little explanation of why jurors should ignore certain pieces of evidence. https://preview.redd.it/g4pfd1hyu75b1.jpg?width=612&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=6a542f1df50e258fd78dde3779f904c1b4941bbb About 2,200 journalists received press credentials to cover the Michael Jackson trial, more than the O.J. Simpson and Scott Peterson trials combined. Major TV networks have committed dozens of staff members and some news organizations have even installed land lines, fearing that the explosion of phone calls following a verdict could jam the region's cell phone networks. Reporters from every continent except Antarctica are covering the story, a reminder that Michael's popularity remains intense outside the US. News organizations from more than 30 countries were represented "The appetite for Michael Jackson is insatiable," said Graeme Massie, who has covered the trial for Splash, a British news agency. "In the U.S., people may believe that Jackson's star has fallen, but in Europe it still shines brightly." The case is being closely watched in Japan where they are thinking of moving to a jury system. "People in Japan are interested in the King of Pop, but they also want to know how the jury will treat celebrities," said Wataru Ezaki, who works for a Japanese news organization in Southern California. "They want to see if jurors can be fair. It's a very unique case." Deliberations will resume Monday morning at 8:30 a.m. 2009 - AllGood Entertainment Inc. filed a $40 million lawsuit against Michael claiming breach of contract and fraud in an attempt to stop Jackson from performing in London. The New Jersey-based company filed the suit in federal court in New York stating that it signed a deal with Jackson's manager, Frank DiLeo for a pay per view reunion concert with the other Jackson siblings 2013 - Jackson v AEG Trial Day 26 Katherine Jackson was at court for the morning session Randy Phillips Testimony Jackson direct Panish showed a June 20th email from Tim Leiweke (CEO of AEG) to Dan Beckerman (CFO/COO of AEG) in which Beckerman described Phillips as jittery: "Trouble with Michael. Big trouble." Beckerman responded: "I figured something might be wrong given how jittery Randy has been this week. Is it "pre-show nerves" bad or "get a straight jacket/call our insurance carrier" bad?" Phillips said he was not jittery, but concerned with the show. Jittery meaning shaking and he said he doesn't think that's how he was. Phillips said Dr. Murray receiving $150k per month being the cause of Michael's sickness in June of 2009 never crossed his mind Phillips said he did not recall what was discussed in a phone conversation with Murray. In his video deposition that was shown to the jury, Phillips first said the conversation lasted three minutes. He was shown phone records that showed it lasted 25 minutes. Phone records show Phillips had a 25 minute phone call with Conrad Murray after Kenny Ortega's emails on June 20, 2009. Phillips said he didn't think the call lasted that long, doesn't recall what they talked about. "It's very possible I might have even read him these emails," Phillips testified, referring to the "Trouble at the Front" chain. "I would not have discussed his health other than what it was in the content of the emails" Phillips said everyone in the This Is It production got a list with everyone's phone numbers. He doesn't know how Dr. Murray got the list. Phillips was asking about how Conrad Murray got his home phone number. He initially said it might have been on a list given to tour personnel. Phillips then said that Murray may have gotten it from Jackson's former manager, Frank Dileo. Phillips testified that Dr. Murray called his home number. Panish showed picture of the business card Phillips gave Dr. Murray with his cell number on the back. The card was found in the doctor's car. Panish then asked Phillips about an email he sent director Kenny Ortega, telling him Murray was "unbiased and ethical", the email serves as Phillips' best recollection of his conversation with Dr. Murray. This morning, Panish frequently asked Randy Phillips whether he was truthful with Ortega. Panish: "Did you make that up and lie to Mr. Ortega?" Phillips: "No, I don't lie" Panish talked about email Phillips wrote to Ortega on Jun 20: "Kenny, it's critical that neither you, me or anyone else around this show become amateur psychiatrist or physicians. I had a lengthy conversation with Dr. Murray, who I'm gaining immense respect for as I get to deal with him more. He said that Michael is not only physically equipped to perform and, that discouraging him to, will hasten his decline instead of stopping it. Dr. Murray also reiterated that he's mentally able to and was speaking to me from the house where he has spent the morning with Michael. This doctor is extremely successful (we check everyone out) and does not need this gig so he is totally unbiased and ethical. It is critical we surround Michael with love and support and listen to how he wants to get ready for July 13th... You cannot imagine the harm and ramifications of stopping this show now. It would far outweigh "calling this game in the 7th inning". I'm not just talking about AEG's interests here, but the myriad of stuff/lawsuits swirling around Michael that I crisis manage every day and also his well-being. I am meeting with him today at 4p at the Forum. Please stay steady. Enough alarms have sounded. It is time to out out the fire, not burning the building down. Sorry for all the analogies. Randy" Phillips said he thought Dr. Murray was extremely successful based on the clinics he had and business he would've to close to go on tour. Phillips: "It was an assumption I made" Panish: "And that was not true, correct?" Phillips: "In retrospect, that's correct" As to the "we check everyone out" reference in the email, Panish asked if that was a true statement or untrue. Phillips: "It's not, it's hard to say yes or no on that. It is not true because everyone would imply everyone" Panish: "'We check everyone out'" is a false statement you wrote to Mr. Ortega, correct?" Phillips: "In retrospect, yes" Panish asked about the reference "he doesn't need the gig". "I made another assumption based on the information I had," Phillips explained, "I didn't have any basis to say he was unbiased and ethical" Panish used the email to try to show that 3 people _ Ortega, Murray and John Hougdahl _ were warning Phillips about Jackson's health. Phillips said Murray didn't agree with the assessments of Michael's health by Ortega and Hougdahl (the tour production manager). After multiple questions, Phillips said many of the statements in the email about Murray weren't true. Those statements included that AEG Live checked everyone out, and that Murray was an accomplished doctor who was unbiased and ethical. "At the time, I thought it was the truth", Phillips said of the above statements Phillips testified he wrote email to Sony exec asking her to remind him to tell her where Dr Murray was the night he was to be caring for Michael. Judge only allowed plaintiffs' attorney to say it was a social establishment, but the place was a strip club Panish then asked Phillips about the suggestion that Jackson needed a psychiatrist. Phillips confirmed what he said last week -- he never consulted a psychiatrist. He said today it wouldn't have been appropriate. As to having a mental health professional, "no one brought a psychiatrist," Phillips said, "because Michael didn't need one" Phillips testified he had conflicting information coming from Dr. Murray and Kenny Ortega regarding Michael. Panish pressed Phillips about the fact that he sent completely opposite emails to Ortega and AEG high ups. "It was because they were sent for different purposes," Phillips explained. Of the statements to Ortega, Phillips told the jury: "I just wanted to calm things down until we had this meeting" Before the morning break, Panish showed some of the emails he showed Phillips last week. Panish only had his copy, which had notes on it. Panish gave Phillips his annotated version of the email, but Phillips refused to look at them. Flipped them over so he couldn't see them. "I don't want to help you with your case", Phillips said of reviewing Panish's annotated copies of the emails. That brought some laughter. Phillips was ultimately given a clean copy of the emails, provided by his defense lawyers. Phillips said he remembers the meeting on June 20th lasted at least an hour. Dr. Murray and Phillips were sitting on one couch, Michael was on a bench and Ortega on another couch. In his deposition, Phillips said Ortega talked about Michael's physical and mental status. On the stand today, Phillips explained Ortega did very little talking in the meeting. "He addressed Michael coming to rehearsals. I do not believe he talked about Michael's physical condition and mental state. Dr. Murray did most of the talking," Phillips testified. Panish pressured Phillips about him changing the testimony. "My memory is getting better about the events of four years ago," Phillips said. "The purpose of the meeting was to find out what was happening with Michael because of the events on the 19th" Panish: "Did Mr. Ortega say he was concerned Michael was not getting enough sleep?" Phillips: "I don't remember if he asked that question. I know he asked about the food, but I'm not sure if he asked about the sleep" Panish: "Dr. Murray contradicted what Ortega said in the email, correct, sir?" Phillips: "Yes, Dr. Murray, said there wasn't anything wrong with Michael. Michael said there wasn't anything wrong with Michael. I don't know if there was a mental problem" Without getting into details, Phillips said Ortega and Murray "were a little combative" at the meeting. Phillips said Murray reassured everyone that Jackson's health was fine. He said Jackson also assured them nothing was wrong with him. He said Murray told the group that Jackson may have had the flu, or some similar ailment. He said Jackson's health was discussed. Phillips said he couldn't recall whether Jackson's sleep issues were discussed. A portion of Randy Phillips' deposition was played in which he said sleep issues were discussed at the June 20, 2009 meeting The meeting happened in the afternoon, Phillips said. Panish asked if Michael was shaking in that meeting. Phillips said "No, not at all" A vase was broken in one of the production meetings, Phillips explained. He said Frank Dileo, Paul Gongaware & himself were present. Phillips said he doesn't know who broke the vase, but he thinks it may have been Frank DiLeo. Phillips denied a vase was broken during the June 20th meeting at Michael's house. Panish: "Did you have a meeting with Michael where you threatened to pull the plug and take everything he had?" Phillips: "No" Panish: "Did you tell him he would lose everything, including his children, if the show didn't happen?" Phillips:"That's ridiculous, no" Phillips said Michael was a phenomenal father & denied ever saying to anyone at the meeting that Michael was on skid row or going to become homeless. Panish: "Did you ever tell Michael you were paying for his toilet paper?" Phillips: "No" Phillips denied that Murray said during the June 20th meeting that he "couldn't take it anymore." Phillips denied that Murray's contract was discussed at the meeting, saying that would have been inappropriate. Phillips was also again asked about emails a couple of AEG executives (former CEO Tim Leiweke and Dan Beckerman) traded about him. The email described Randy Phillips as jittery, and alluded to either him or Jackson having a "mental breakdown." Phillips denied he was having a mental breakdown, and said he didn't want to put words in the other executives' mouths. In the deposition played to the jury, Tim Leiweke said the reference to "mental breakdown" in the email could've been to Randy Phillips not Michael. Panish played depo of Dan Beckerman, in which he said he didn't recall what prompted him to say Phillips was jittery. Panish: "Did you think that Michael needed a straight jacket?" Phillips: "It was a generic comment" Phillips said it was a question of "stage fright and the show will go on" or "I can't do this let's cancel" scenario. Panish: "Do you think Michael needed a straight jacket?" Phillips: "No, I don't think Michael needed a straight jacket" Regarding the straight jacket email, Phillips said the way he read it he can't tell if it was referring to him or Michael. Panish pointed out that insurance was only if Michael had a break down, not Phillips. Thus, the email must've referred to Michael Questioning then moved back to the June 20th meeting, with Phillips describing Murray as "demonstrative" toward director Kenny Ortega. Phillips said Murray's message to Ortega was essentially "stay in your lane" and not to interfere with medical issues. "The meeting got a little bit heated when Dr. Murray was admonishing Kenny," Phillips recalled, but said hostile is too harsh of a word. Phillips said lack of sleep was discussed in the June 20th meeting, but wasn't the main focus. Phillips said the reason of the meeting was to find out what happened in the night before, what was the issue and also Michael missing rehearsals. Phillips said Michael had the best two rehearsals after the June 20th meeting. "Kenny told Michael to take the next two days off, spend some time with the kids," Phillips testified. Phillips was then asked about emails he sent to Leiweke, others, about the results of the June 20th meeting at Jackson's house. This was after Jackson's attorney, John Branca, earlier in the day had suggested a counselor to work with Jackson. Phillips email: "Anyway, things are not as bleak as Kenny's emails. John, now is not the right time to introduce a new person into his life" After this email is when Phillips made the "badgering" comment to Panish that prompted Judge Palazuelos' admonition to him. Suddenly, judge decides to take a break at 2:24 pm and sends the jury out of the courtroom. Outside the presence of the jurors, judge admonished Phillips for not answering the questions asked. "Mr. Phillips you need to answer questions," said Judge Yvette Palazuelos, frustrated. "Lawyers are trying to getting the answers." Judge told Phillips that arguing with the lawyers isn't really going to help his case, it will just lengthen his testimony. She noted his testimony is taking much longer than expected, and at this pace he will be here for another week. Phillips told the judge he's just trying not to say the wrong things or be caught in tricky questions. Judge: "It seems like they are pretty straight forward questions, but when you offer info, it may not be good for you" AEG's attorney Jessica Bina defends Phillips saying the questions are compound, but that she believes he's trying to answer the questions. Panish said he wants to finish today, that he hasn't argued with the witness or judge. "I really tried hard, for me, it's hard!" Panish said. Phillips said he understood and wants to go back to work as well. Promised to be better. Phillips said the email he wrote saying "this guy is trying to concern me" was referring to Kenny Ortega. "I had two concerns: wanted Kenny to be open minded until the meeting and I didn't want Kenny to quit," Phillips explained. At this point they were about $30 million plus in advance, Panish said. Phillips said it was about $28 million, which was a lot of money. Email on 3/13/09 from Leiweke to Phillips: "Phil (Anschutz) can be such a paranoid scrooge. He thinks he's smarter than everyone" After a break and admonition, Phillips testified about some of his concerns surrounding the show.He said he was concerned about Ortega. Phillips said he was concerned that Ortega as getting into an "entrenched position" regarding Jackson's health and rehearsals. Phillips: "I was also quite concerned that Kenny would throw up his hands in the air and quit." The CEO was talking directly to the jury. Phillips said again that his concern with Ortega was that he wasn't going into the meeting with an open mind and that he was going to quit. Panish played Phillips deposition where he said he didn't remember what he was concerned about regarding Ortega. "I think my answer today is clarification," Phillips said, adding he did not change his testimony. Panish questioned whether his description was something he "just remembered right now." Phillips responded, "I'm remembering a lot of things now." Panish shot back that Phillips hadn't remembered many things during his deposition. In his depo, played to the jury, Phillips said there were no discussions on June 20th about Michael taking a couple of days off. However, in court today, Phillips testified Ortega suggested that he take two days off After the June 20th meeting, Jackson took two days off and resumed rehearsals. At that point, Phillips began working out of Staples Center. Phillips said one of the changes to come out of the June 20th meeting was that he would be at Staples, looking in on rehearsals. Phillips was also shown an email from his assistant, looking for a physical therapist for Jackson on June 22, 2009 At this point, Phillips was asked about Arnold Klein. He was shown a June 23rd email from Jackson's business manager Michael Kane. Kane: "On the list of doctors that will help get (us) from today to the opening night, where does Arnold Klein stand on the list?" Phillips responded about Klein: "He scares us to death because he is shooting him up with something" Kane responded: "Well since we owe him $48k and he wants payment maybe I should stop paying him and he'll stop shooting him up. I have the details of what he is doing" Phillips told jurors the email was a response to a $48,000 bill that Jackson's manager received for the treatments by Dr. Arnold Klein. The treatments included numerous shots of cosmetic drugs such as Restalyne and botox, as well as other unidentified intramuscular shots, Phillips said, citing the bill. Phillips said he maintains his position that he didn't know what, if anything, any doctor was giving Michael. Phillips was asked about Jackson's rehearsals on June 23 and 24. He said he couldn't remember which songs were performed which day. Phillips said he watched them in its entirety, which lasted about 3 hours. He said Michael was engaged about an hour and a half to two hours. Panish: "Michael never did the whole show, did he, sir?" Phillips: "No, he wouldn't have, they were not ready for that" Panish: "Was Michael cold on the 23rd?" Phillips: "I don't remember" Panish: "Did you ever see Michael walking around in blankets?" Phillips: "It's possible, because the place was freezing. But I don't remember" On 6/25/09 the insurance broker wrote to Dr. Murray at 12:54:15 pm, probably London time (approximately 5am LA time): " We are dealing with a matter of great importance and your urgent attention would be greatly appreciated" The email talked about getting Michael's medical records. Phillips said he learned from the media that Dr. Murray had been treating Michael since 2006. Panish: "This is Dr. Murray doing something to help AEG get insurance, fair enough?" Phillips: "Fair enough" On 8/18/09 Phillips wrote email to Michael Roth: "I think I know what Michael died of and this would exonerate Conrad" Lionel Richie's ex-wife Brenda called Philips and said Michael died of a combination of other drugs and Propofol. Phillips said he never told police, the DA or Dr. Murray's attorneys about it because he thought the info was not reliable. Panish: "Did you want Dr. Murray to get exonerated?" Phillips: "I'd always want an innocent man not to get convicted" Panish played video of Phillips' deposition where he said he didn't remember what the information was but his memory has been refreshed Judge then adjourned session for the day. Trial resumes tomorrow morning. Panish said he has one more hour of questioning. The attorneys estimated Phillips will be done testifying by Wednesday afternoon Court Transcript submitted by FelicitySmoak_ to MichaelJackson [link] [comments] |
2023.06.10 18:15 Simonvilla1 Deeper insight into the complexities associated with crypto forensics
With the decent developments associated with the recent cryptocurrencies exchange hacks that have occured in the past week, and the solicitation of the service of top cryptocurrency forensics (Chainlysis) company to trace and recover the assets.
It is also important to take a deeper dive into the steps that would most ultimately be taken by Crypto investigators in this particular case.
I think the most common question would be
"what kind of information can be traced in this hack/scam"
Well I believe the twin goals of cryptocurrency forensics and asset tracing — identify the perpetrator, and find their funds, which in most cases can be easy for us to handle and extremely complex in other cases.
The first notable data that would be investigated would be the “Attribution Data”
There are a few Blockchain intelligence tools that allow the collection and analyzation of ownership attribution information for thousands of entities, which can be used to de-anonymize blockchain addresses for identification of criminals and investigative subjects.
It is also important that I must mention that these systems rarely provide personally identifying information (PII) for individual owners of specific cryptocurrency assets. But may identify known associations with criminal groups or fraud schemes, as well as transactions with other relevant entities, such as exchanges and fiat off-ramps where criminal proceeds are converted to cash. In the case where the scammers involved in this hack decide to go down this obvious route. The attribution data would most certainly solve the case.
Another important step Investigators would take is “Transaction Mapping” Transactional data is converted into visual maps and flowcharts, showing interactions by the subject with known exchanges and other entities. I have found it extremely helpful to use automated mapping and evidence collection which would most definitely be the same approach I expect chainlysis to would adopt
This approach is more efficient and more effective than basic blockchain search engines or open-source explorers that require manual review of ledger entries.
Cluster Analysis: Cluster analysis is often used in cases where a fake exchange or a group of cryptocurrency addresses are controlled by the same person or entity. Expanding the focus of an investigation from one address to a larger cluster can dramatically increase the amount of available evidence for de-anonymization and asset tracing. I doubt this would be a usable technique in a hack or an exploit scenario.
Risk Profiling: Automated risk-scoring is conducted through advanced algorithms that trace activity of target address(es) and identify associations with known entities such as exchanges, mixers, peer-to-peer exchanges, sanctioned parties, ransomware rings, and darknet markets. A few notable mentions are Netwrix auditor which is excellent for determining methods used by scammers for crypto related data breeches.
The key to most successful traces lie within the confines of linking onchain transaction identities to real world identities, and in most cases this is done through Geo-location.
It’s no longer enough to simply rely on an IP addresses, IP addresses are vulnerable to manipulation and spoofing, and they are definitely not a reliable or accurate indicator (when solely relied upon) of an individual’s true location.
Instead, the collection and use of multiple geolocation data points that can be verified and authenticated is required to accurately and reliably determine a person’s true location Analyzing and verifying the authenticity of geolocation data will create regulatory efficiencies, while making sure that companies and exchanges can adequately track stolen assets effectively, also ensuring they remain in anti-money laundering/Bank Secrecy Act (AML/BSA) compliance as well.
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2023.06.10 17:52 duffcalifornia r/churning will go dark starting June 12
reddit
Given the overwhelming lack of opposition to the poll question, starting June 12,
churning will go private in protest of Reddit’s hostile actions against users and third party developers.
We are making this decision because Reddit has chosen to charge very high prices for accessing their API combined with a very short timeline for these developers to come up with a way to continue providing their app for users to use while not bankrupting themselves. We are here because Reddit has decided to
blame third party app developers for this situation and then
had the CEO double down on that stance. We are here because Reddit’s decision could very likely mean that
visually impaired users may lose their ability to use Reddit at all, forever.
What does this mean?
This means that starting on June 12, nobody will be able to view any content on
churning. You can’t comment. None of the posts here will be visible to anybody. It will be like we didn’t exist.
How long will this last?
At this point, that’s a great question. Most subreddits have pledged to stay dark through at least June 14, and we commit to do the same. However, given how Spez’s AMA went today and the lack of faith it has given us in the overall direction of Reddit, we (along with a surprising number of subreddits) feel that two days may simply not be enough. We will try to judge the situation over the next few days. Maybe we will come back on June 15. Maybe it will be a few days later than that. Maybe this place will only come back when the admins pry this place from our cold dead hands. Only time will tell.
If you would like to easily see just the scale of this protest, as well as whether us or any of your favorite subreddits have come back to life, you can check out
this page here.
In the mean time, get off Reddit. Go spend time making some MO runs. Flirt with the teller at the bank. Burn some points on a subpar redemption just because it makes you happy. Just do something else for a bit.
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2023.06.10 17:03 maylene777 Can you get in trouble for cashing someone else’s government check without their knowledge?
My wife got a stimulus check for a couple hundred dollars. Most of everyone else that got one had direct deposit depending on how they filed taxes but my wife didn’t because she switched bank accounts and they were sending a paper check in the mail. She kept checking on it to see when it was arriving and it said up to 10 business days. Well, those days came and went so she decided to call and see what was up. She spoke to a representative that said the check was sent to her old address and it was cashed about 10 days ago. It wasn’t her, she never signed the back or anything for anyone to cash it, never went with a person to get it cashed, and she hasn’t lived at that address in almost a year. The person she spoke to said they were getting an investigation team on it but it could take up to 6 months for anything to happen. I guess my question is, are they really gonna look into this? How did they cash a check that wasn’t theirs? It absolutely infuriates me that someone would do this. That check was equivalent to a car payment or could have helped us with groceries. We’re not rich by any means. We live paycheck to paycheck and are blessed to make it, but some cushion for a minute would have been nice. Also, if this person gets caught what are the consequences? Will we ever know who did this?
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2023.06.10 17:02 TheADHDad A DEFECT IN NEUROLOGY, NOT A DEFECT OF HUMANITY ADHD: A National Crisis
A DEFECT IN NEUROLOGY, NOT A DEFECT OF HUMANITY ADHD: A National Crisis
2023
To Larrakia Country I write to you from the lands and home of Larrakia, in the Northern Territory, which I am grateful to call my home too. Their elders, leaders and children are the owners and protectors of this land and its stories and songs. I am grateful for their hospitality and grace, considering the intolerance and violence that they continue to endure. I dedicate my work and myself to support their stewardship, in whatever role I am asked.
To my sons You are incredible people already. This is one of the biggest things I think I will ever do to make the world you are growing up in a better place than the one I was born into. We have already endured so much together, yet you go from strength to strength. The Blue Witch’s days are numbered.
To E, A, J, M, Ki, N, P, B, Ke, and all the Spirited Children Some might think I paint a bleak picture in this document. You all know this isn’t even the half of it. You deserve the life you want to lead, anything less is a failure, and should be unacceptable to all.
To Dad, Star, Cat, Moh. It is a comfort to know you are somewhere better, when we are left here.
A DEFECT IN NEUROLOGY, NOT A DEFECT IN HUMANITY ADHD: A National Crisis
Abstract ADHD is the biggest and easiest dealt with human challenge of our time. It is a debilitating impairment, that is lifelong and brings no inherent benefits or superpowers. It has likely been a part of hominid neurology for 300,000 years, and in that time it has been systematically rejected by genetic evolution as an enormous set of risks to the survival of the human race. It brings earlier death, more disease, isolation, hopelessness. Making the people who live with it even more remarkable. I have seen neglect, abuse, cruelty and ignorance that would make Dickens blanch. ADHD is routinely rejected, shunned and left in-addressed by Psychiatrists, Paediatricians, Nurses, Teachers, Judges, Police, leaving families in ruins, good and vibrant people be turned to husks, and children as young as 7 turn to suicide.
Not understanding it, not treating it costs our economy $20.5baud a year, if not more.
The need for a national effort to tackle the challenges is paramount to the future success of all Australians.
Self and Evidenced Truths.
- People with ADHD deserve recognition as living beings with rights, dignity, and aspirations despite our impairments.
- Fundamental to those rights, dignity and aspirations being observed we deserve guaranteed access to our medications, support, workplace arrangements and other accommodations across our lifespan.
- ADHD is a current and emerging Australian national crisis that demands immediate response in kind.
- ADHD is a chronic neurodevelopmental and psychiatric disorder that impairs many aspects of living, at all points of the lifespan (Faraone et al., 2015).
- People diagnosed with ADHD face higher risks of other neurodevelopmental disorders, of suffering child abuse, experience school exclusions and engagement, discrimination, financial predation, other mental health problems, physical disorders, substance use, accidental injuries, chronic health problems and premature death, including suicide attempts and completions. Children are twice as likely to die by age 10, adults are 5 times more likely to be dead by age 25 (Barkley et al., 2022).
- Stimulant medications should be used as soon as possible and practicable following a diagnosis. Several Stimulant medications are safe and effective for treating ADHD and for preventing many adverse outcomes. Non-Stimulant and Non-medication treatments are less effective. (Storebø et al., 2015).
- ADHD costs Australia $20.4 billion per year in lost productivity, wellbeing, and public services (Deloitte Access Economics, 2019).
- There is a need for more awareness, education, and training explaining what ADHD is, as many people with ADHD remain undiagnosed and untreated due to ignorance, bias, or incompetence (Faraone et al., 2019).
- Australia’s attitude towards ADHD costly, uncoordinated, and unfair. This harms people with ADHD in multiple ways, such as limiting their ability to manage their symptoms, increasing their financial burden, and reducing their social support (Australian Clinical Practice Guidelines for ADHD Working Group, 2022).
As a Matter of Urgency
- The Commonwealth Government must fund a co-designed national awareness campaign for ADHD, highlighting its medical nature, the importance of early and persistent intervention and its impacts across the lifespan, and all aspects of modern life as a matter of priority. a. With particular focus on key peak bodies; Australian Health Practitioners Registration Agency and its members, the Australian Council of Unions and its Members, Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority Curriculum, Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Australian Finance Industry Association, Law Council of Australia, Police Federation of Australia, Universities Australia, and Australian Council for Private Education and Training.
- The Commonwealth Government must expand the professions that can screen, assess and diagnose ADHD to include Teachers, General Practitioners, Mental Health Nurse Practitioners, Midwives and Remote Area Nurses, as well as expand telehealth options for remote areas.
- The Commonwealth Government must establish a national framework for ADHD assessment and support that clarifies roles and responsibilities of different agencies and ensures seamless transitions across life stages and reduce costs for government.
- The Commonwealth Government should mandate that bachelors, postgraduate degrees, and Community Service certificates and diplomas in health sciences, enrolled and registered nursing, education, community health, criminal and industrial law and allied health fields include compulsory modules in ADHD, co-designed with people with ADHD.
- The Commonwealth Government must delist methylphenidate, amphetamines, and their various formulations as Schedule 8 drugs and relist them as Schedule 4, they must also expand Medicare and PBS coverage for ADHD medication to include all people with a diagnosis of ADHD. This would reduce the stigma and discrimination associated with ADHD medication use as well as simplify the prescription and dispensing process for people with ADHD and their prescribers.
- The Commonwealth Government must fund presentation sensitive research on ADHD and its comorbidities, as well as presentation responsive training for anyone who cares for, educates, works with, or employs people with ADHD.
- The Commonwealth Government must direct new training and mentoring programs for practitioners, staff and community and health service delivery areas, focusing on Peri-Natal Services, Daycare and Primary School staff. Rationales Personal Experience My personal experience is as a father of a child with ADHD and as a sufferer of undiagnosed ADHD myself. My professional experience with government, hospitals, mental health, drug and alcohol case management, and the elderly, has led me to being an Advocate.
I suffered countless unnecessary medical, emotional, economic hardships and injustices throughout my life because of my undiagnosed ADHD. As a child I experienced routine ridicule, shame, and punishments. I was regularly abused and excluded by teachers, both immediate and extended family, peers, and random members of the public, verbally and physically. For symptoms, colloquially and incorrectly referred to as behaviours, of my Combined Presentation of ADHD. Combined Presentation of ADHD means that I have both inattentive and hyperactive-impulsive symptoms. Symptoms are the observable signs of ADHD, such as difficulty paying attention, being easily distracted, fidgeting, talking excessively, not saying much, daydreaming, working memory issues, etc. Symptoms that informed my personality and identity, that I was targeted for, abused for.
As I grew up, contrary to popular belief that ADHD symptoms get better as people age, the effects of my undiagnosed ADHD quickly got worse. The lack of access to university due to needing to work to support myself and look after my ailing father put me in unskilled retail positions, which became administrative positions before accidentally falling into Community Services. Through those careers, the constant workplace bullying and harassment prior to my diagnosis, needing to leave positions that were constantly either short contract or put up for recruitment where my skills, knowledge and wisdom meant nothing has left me with a colourful and varied career. The experience is nice but puts me at a significant disadvantage as I get older. My undiagnosed ADHD made it possible for me to perform well in different jobs. But as I juggled time management, organisation, communication, and self-regulation I would be burnt out as I self-medicated with work, and I would become expendable. Less time in positions, less experience, less expertise, less money, less able to provide for my family, less able to take part in society.
Despite my experience with health systems and supporting disabilities, my son who is 5, is facing similar barriers already and he is aware of himself. Being unable to access practical support for his disability, medication has been rationed as though we should be grateful to be receiving any assistance at all. We are 6 months post the last review, and the practitioner we saw last, hopefully mistakenly, provided us with incorrect information. Both his school and education department in the Northern Territory refused to allow therapists into the school to do observations without onerous and impractical limitations, not least of which was opposing observations in classes which effectively means no inclusive practices. It has come to the point where, to conserve his and my own mental well-being we will have to close his plan out. This shows how the education system continues to fail to accommodate the needs of children with ADHD and violates their right to inclusive education, and not much has changed in 30 years.
The emotional and physical toll of everyday life with ADHD and past traumas makes life an ongoing struggle. My Combined Presentation ADHD, physically, is managed, but even that is tenuous. My health is up in the air, as getting regular reviews with a psychiatrist is impossible, despite the medication I am on being perfectly safe and the prognosis of my condition is unremarkable while on medication. Regular reviews with a psychiatrist are essential for monitoring my medication dosage, side effects, and effectiveness, as well as for addressing any other mental health issues that I endure. You’ll need to start another Inquiry before I talk about those though.
ADHD has meant more serious consequences, and harder to rectify situations: homelessness joblessness, discrimination, isolation. I am still standing but am never safe from them. These are some of the ways that ADHD, diagnosed and undiagnosed, has impacted my life. Due to the lack of recognition, respect, dignity that I deserve as a person, disability or not. I received my Diagnosis less than 3 years ago and already I have experienced the best stability and success I have ever had. In this 3 years I have been homeless, unemployed, suffering severe trauma and depression. All dealt with alone.
My NDIS application is now 18 months into its appeal. I wonder if it will survive longer than the AAT?
ADHD assessments and diagnosis: Children and adults with ADHD often face various gaps and barriers in accessing appropriate assessment, diagnosis, and treatment services for their condition. These include lack of awareness and recognition of ADHD among health professionals and the public; stigma and discrimination associated with ADHD; variability in diagnostic practices and criteria; limited availability and accessibility of specialist services; high out-of-pocket costs for diagnosis and treatment; lack of coordination and integration of care across different sectors; insufficient monitoring and evaluation of treatment outcomes; and lack of evidence-based guidelines and quality standards for ADHD care. These gaps and barriers contribute to the underdiagnoses and under treatment of ADHD in Australia and limit the potential benefits of early intervention and quality care.
ADHD management: Qualified and experienced practitioners who can assess and diagnose ADHD in children and adults are in short supply, especially in rural and remote areas. This leads to long waiting times, inflated costs, and inconsistent quality of assessments, and cascading health outcomes. People with the Inattentive presentation of ADHD, which is predominantly girls and women, face significant gender bias in ADHD assessments, support services and research. This leads to under recognition, misdiagnosis and inadequate treatment and supports of both inattentive presentation ADHD and female-specific issues related to ADHD. Different sectors and levels of government fail to coordinate and integrate their support services for people with ADHD. This creates gaps, overlaps and confusion in accessing education, health, disability, and social services. The National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) staff, and feeder service staff incorrectly prevent and discourage people with ADHD as a primary disability from making access requests. This flows to review mechanisms, including the Australian Administrative Tribunal. This excludes and isolates many people with ADHD from accessing not just NDIS support, but any support at all. Many people with ADHD cannot afford or access ADHD medication, especially those who are not eligible for Medicare or PBS subsidies. This limits their treatment options and affects their quality of life.
The impact of ADHD on individuals, families, and society: Children and adults with ADHD have a significantly reduced life expectancy and are more likely to die prematurely from various causes, such as accidents, suicide, cardiovascular disease, cancer, and substance abuse. The reduction in life expectancy ranges from 9 to 13 years for people with ADHD compared to those without ADHD. The risk of premature death is higher for those with more severe ADHD symptoms, comorbid disorders, and untreated ADHD. In Australia, this means that (statistically) about 1,900 deaths per year would be attributable to ADHD, but further study would be necessary to investigate. Children and adults with ADHD are more likely to suffer from various chronic physical and mental health conditions, such as obesity, diabetes, hypertension, asthma, allergies, sleep disorders, anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder, personality disorders, substance use disorders, and antisocial behavior. These conditions can impair the quality of life and functioning of people with ADHD and increase their health care costs and utilization. In Australia, the annual health system cost of ADHD is estimated to be $546 million. Children and adults with ADHD face various economic challenges and disadvantages, such as lower educational attainment, lower income, higher unemployment, higher poverty, lower productivity, higher criminality, higher health care expenses, and higher social service costs. The annual cost of ADHD to the Australian society is estimated to be $20.4 billion, which comprises $12.8 billion in financial costs and $7.6 billion in wellbeing costs.
Awareness of ADHD: ADHD is not a result of poor parenting, low intelligence, or moral weakness. ADHD is a lifelong condition that can persist from childhood to adulthood and affect various aspects of life. The importance of recognising ADHD as a genetic, neurological medical condition, requiring medication as a first line of successful management, and not a behavioural issue, cannot be overstated. Health professionals, educators, employers and the public lack awareness and understanding of ADHD, which causes stigma, discrimination and underdiagnoses of ADHD. Research funding for ADHD in Australia is inadequate, which hampers the development of evidence-based practice guidelines, interventions, and policies for people with ADHD. This also limits the opportunities for innovation and collaboration in addressing the challenges posed by ADHD. Children with ADHD typically receive a disproportionate percentage of school based harassment, both from peers, and education staff. Routinely EAPs are formulated in opposition to recommendations made by specialist practitioners, and children are severely punished for not meeting the often odious or impossible goals. Detentions, responsibilities, suspensions, supervision and expulsions are common place. In the classroom, ignorant and unqualified teachers harass students and parents to stop behaviours they, from no basis, deem developmentally inappropriate. Time off to be with the excluded children is often supported by employers, higher education facilities, until they decide that enough is enough. ADHD is a neurodevelopmental disorder that has a strong genetic basis. ADHD is associated with structural and functional differences in the brain, especially in the regions involved in attention, executive function, emotion regulation and reward processing. ADHD is also influenced by environmental factors that can affect gene expression and brain development. The name ADHD (Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder) is inadequate and misleading for several reasons. First, it implies that the core symptoms of the disorder are only attention deficit and hyperactivity, while ignoring the causal and key features such as impulsivity, emotional dysregulation, and executive dysfunction. Second, it suggests that attention deficit and hyperactivity are always present and equally severe in all cases of ADHD, while ignoring the heterogeneity and variability of the disorder across individuals, subtypes, and contexts. Third, it conveys a negative and stigmatising view of the disorder as a deficit or a problem, while ignoring the strengths and potential of people with ADHD.
Conclusion The writing is on the wall, whether you read it or not is irrelevant to its truth; improve the outcomes for people with ADHD and the entire nation will benefit, go on ignoring its magnitude and we will continue the cycle again, until the next generation finally addresses it. Addressing it represents net savings for the Commonwealth Government, and the states and territories. I think we could find other ways to spend $7 billion dollars than on badly managing ADHD in Australia.
I am happy to answer more questions or speak to any of the points raised herein.
References: Barkley, R. A. (2015). Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder: A handbook for diagnosis and treatment (4th ed.). Guilford Press. Biederman, J., Faraone, S. V., Monuteaux, M. C., Bober, M., & Cadogen, E. (2006). Gender effects on attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder in adults, revisited. Biological Psychiatry, 59(12), 1123-1131.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsych.2005.12.036 Doshi, J. A., Hodgkins, P., Kahle, J., Sikirica, V., Cangelosi, M. J., Setyawan, J., Erder, M. H., & Neumann, P. J. (2012). Economic impact of childhood and adult attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder in the United States. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 51(10), 990-1002.e2.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaac.2012.07.008 DuPaul, G. J., Weyandt, L. L., O’Dell, S. M., & Varejao, M. (2009). College students with ADHD: Current status and future directions. Journal of Attention Disorders, 13(3), 234-250.
https://doi.org/10. 1177/1087054709340650 Efron, D., Sciberras, E., Hassell, P. (2015). Are Australian children with ADHD being adequately treated? Archives of Disease in Childhood, 100(10), 914-916.
https://doi.org/10. 1136/archdischild-2014-307467 Faraone, S. V., Asherson, P., Banaschewski, T. et al. (2015). Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Nature Reviews Disease Primers, 1, 15020.
https://doi.org/10. 1038/nrdp. 2015. 20 Faraone, S. V., Banaschewski, T., Coghill, D. et al. (2020). The World Federation of ADHD International Consensus Statement: 208 evidence-based conclusions about the disorder. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, 108, 1-18.
https://doi.org/10. 1016/j.neubiorev. 2019. 11. 022 Garg, S., Lillystone, D., Dossetor, D. (2018). Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: an update for paediatricians. Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health, 54(2), 120-125.
https://doi.org/10. 1111/jpc. 13717 Kooij, J. J., Bijlenga, D., Salerno, L., Jaeschke, R., Bitter, I., Balázs, J., … & Stes, S. (2019). Updated European Consensus Statement on diagnosis and treatment of adult ADHD. European Psychiatry, 56, 14-34.
https://doi.org/10. 1016/j.eurpsy. 2018. 11.001 Le, H. H., Hodgkins, P., Postma, M. J., Kahle, J., Sikirica, V., Setyawan, J., Erder, M. H., & Doshi, J. A. (2014). Economic impact of childhood/adolescent ADHD in a European setting: the Netherlands as a reference case. European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 23(7), 587-598.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00787-013-0495-0 Nigg, J. T., Greven, C. U., & Wilmot, B. (2015). Neurodevelopmental problems: an overview. In A. Thapar, D. S. Pine, J. F. Leckman et al. (Eds.), Rutter’s child and adolescent psychiatry (6th ed., pp. 1-14). Wiley Blackwell. Russell, A. E., Ford, T., Williams, R., & Russell, G. (2019). The association between socioeconomic disadvantage and attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD): a systematic review. Child Psychiatry & Human Development, 50(3), 487-503.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10578-018-0842-6 Sayal, K., Prasad, V., Daley, D., Ford, T., & Coghill, D. (2018). ADHD in children and young people: prevalence, care pathways and service provision. The Lancet Psychiatry, 5(2), 175-186.
https://doi.org/10.1016/S2215-0366(17)30167-0 Sciberras, E., Mulraney, M., Silva, D., & Coghill, D. (2014). Prenatal risk factors and the etiology of ADHD—review of existing evidence. Current Psychiatry Reports, 16(1), 431.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11920-013-0431-3 Taylor, E., Döpfner, M., Sergeant, J. et al. (2004). European clinical guidelines for hyperkinetic disorder—first upgrade. European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 13(Suppl 1), I7–I30.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00787-004-1002-x Coghill, D. R., Banaschewski, T., Zuddas, A. et al. (2011). European guidelines on managing adverse effects of medication for ADHD. European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 20(1), 17–37.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00787-010-0140-6 Deloitte Access Economics. (2019). The social and economic costs of ADHD in Australia.
https://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/Deloitte/au/Documents/Economics/deloitte-au-economics-social-costs-adhd-australia-270819.pdf Australian ADHD Professionals Association. (2019). The social and economic costs of ADHD in Australia.
https://aadpa.com.au/the-social-and-economic-costs-of-adhd-in-australia/ Doshi, J. A., Hodgkins, P., Kahle-Wrobleski, K., Erder, M. H., & Gericke, C. A. (2020). Social and economic costs of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder across the lifespan: a systematic review and meta-analysis. PharmacoEconomics, 38(11), 1205-1222.
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2023.06.10 16:48 TheBlackCycloneOrder If You Gamble Against a Man With a Hat for a Face, Know What Your Wager Is
All I ever wanted was for my wife and I to live comfortably. But the longer we stayed together, the higher our bills increased. We’d already fought off debts from college, barely scraping by. Even after we paid them off, we were only able to afford a tiny apartment on the outskirts of New York City.
Sidewalks laid cracked everywhere while condemned buildings sat sadly against their crooked foundations. Crooked lampposts would hang only by electrical wires. Graffiti marked every street corner in bland art that existed without rhyme or reason. Homeless people could be found on every street corner, a constant reminder of what would happen if my wife and I failed to keep up with our payments.
However, I managed to make somewhat decent money as a plumber. But even then, it sometimes wasn’t enough to deal with loan sharks, the hefty utility bills, food prices, and gas money. I was willing to do anything to get us out.
And that is where I encountered gambling. I was willing to take the risks. I’d take any chance to obtain a reward, even just a small one. It started out with just a handful of poker games. Then I moved on to scratch tickets and slot machines. All I needed was enough to get by. Unfortunately, obtaining a payday from the casinos was impossible. I started growing desperate, which only led to more debt. The whole cycle sucked me down like Odysseus’ ship in Charybdis’ maw. And just like that, my relationship with my wife began to tear us apart.
My wife and I were once so close together. Before we married, there would be days where we’d work together at wood shops, creating 3D prints of various sci-fi characters and video games. Other times we’d study the components of circuits and use them to create elaborate lighting displays whenever Christmas arrived. Our wedding day was supposed to be the greatest day of our lives. Instead of relying on the help of others back like we did in college, we relied on ourselves.
But my actions tore all that apart. I didn’t know what else to do, either.
—
A few nights ago, I arrived at my shitty apartment, having completed a ten hour shift fixing the drains of several upper class folks. I rested my hand on the knob, expecting the worst from my wife. Sighing, I pushed the door. The moment I did, she was already in the front hall. Her eyes were scrunched and she was holding a bank statement, smacking it for emphasis.
“Care for an explanation?” She demanded.
I rubbed my temples, removing my scum covered overalls and plopping them right into the nearest laundry hamper. We locked eyes. Breaking eye contact with her would only ignite her anger further. She was holding another piece of evidence of my failures. My failure to strike it rich. All I could do was stand there sheepishly, tail tucked behind me, and wait to get ripped a new one. No words could come out of my mouth.
She marched up to me, holding it in my face. “Frank, you wasted three-thousand dollars at the casino AGAIN?!” my wife bellowed.
I set my tool box down and washed the pipe gunk from my hands, looking down just for a bit.
“Turn around and look me in the eyes.”
Resting a hand on my eyes, I glanced over at her petite frame. Then, I began to speak. “We can live comfortably if you just give-“
“Enough of the excuses! We nearly lost our apartment twice by you betting on slots, you wasted our heating money on roulette, and now this!”
I held up my hands reassuringly. “Look, just let me figure this out! I’ll think of some way to get the money!”
“You’d better. Otherwise we’re getting a divorce. Got it?”
Without another word, I put on a casual outfit, exiting for some fresh air. Shutting the door behind me, I gazed back at the unpolished apartment number on the frame. Wincing, I clenched a fist and descended the rickety stairs. Eventually, my boots hit the cracked pavement, and I headed off.
---
I had only made it a few blocks from my apartment, when I noticed shadows lurking in one of the alleyways. Picking up my stride, I try to evade the figures. They drew closer and closer. My stride changed into a sprint. Another alleyway comes into my sights. I make a break for it, hoping for an opportunity to escape. Only a dead end greets me. Before long, the figures cornered me. The light from a street lamp illuminated two shady faces. Loan sharks. Before I could react, the duo held me up by my throat.
“What the hell are you guys doing?!” I strained, feebly kicking back one of the thugs. He jammed a fist right under my rib cage. My lips pursed as I lost my breath. The other grabbed me by the chin, grinning like a maniac and revealing his tobacco rotted jaw. I gulped.
“Frank, calm down. Take it easy,” every word he said ground my inner ears. Brown saliva sprayed on my cheeks. “We just want to have a little talk…” I didn’t have the courage to speak up. All I could do was let them tell me everything.
“Your landlord is getting rather impatient with your payments. We just came to send a little message. He has some demands.” The other guy snarled.
I tugged on my collar. “What…demands?”
“The landlord wants you to cough up $18,000 for your next payment!”
My hands grew clammy. Were they out of their minds? I was a plumber, not a heart surgeon! I didn’t have that kind of money! Besides, the rent was only $500 a month.
“You have until the end of the month,” one of the goons croaked.
That was only two weeks! I couldn’t have made that kind of money with such constraints! I’d barely be able to afford food and electricity! Negotiating was out of the question. God knows what would have happened to me if I dared speak up.
“The landlord has given you chance after chance to pay up. But you’ve never followed through. He’s let it slide for three months. You haven’t paid shit in that time frame. Do you realize how much he has to pay for his own apartment? If you fail to pay at that time, there will be consequences…” He makes a capiche gesture.
I nodded. The moment I complied, they released me, disappearing into the smog.
—
I stood outside a graffiti covered subway station, pacing around, hands in my pockets. My fists constricted as I pounded a nearby wall. There’s no way I would have been able to make that kind of money! Craps were too unpredictable, arcade machines were always rigged, and roulette was too high in stakes. Seeing red, I screamed and kicked a wall as hard as I could. My foot throbbed and once I was done with my fit, I broke down sobbing. The sidewalk darkened with my tears. I pressed my head against it, clawing at it until my fingernails turned crimson.
Then, I felt a tap on my shoulder. Wiping the tears away, I glanced over my shoulder. A card was lying on the floor. Its borders were covered in green dollar symbols. The rest of the card was a silver color shiny enough to reflect my face in it. Written in gold letters were the following:
ACES HIGH CASINO
WIN ONE ROUND OF BLACKJACK
AND EARN FIFTY MILLION DOLLARS!
NO MONETARY WAGER NEEDED
TABLE 777
My eyes lit up. All I had to do was win one game of blackjack, and I’d be rich? Dimples formed on my cheeks and I pumped my fist. I nearly clicked my heels in joy, but decided against it. I’d already caused enough of a scene already, and I wanted to make sure nobody knew my secret. When I flipped it around, it had an address also written in golden letters.
---
Despite the address being in an unknown area, I still managed to pull it up on my phone’s map and arrived without any struggle. The casino itself was a pigsty, to say the least. Smokers polluted the air in the prison gray interior. Slot machines with broken lights clicked and whirred while cheap dice clattered against tables with peeling felt. Meanwhile, the concrete floor was covered in colonies of roaches while neglected beer bottles sat against the rungs of several tables. The only thing that was kept well was the bar and a room draped with navy blue curtains with golden sashes. Emblazoned above the doorway was the number 777.
This was the first time I had entered a casino smiling. For once, I thought that this was my lucky night.
When I pushed the curtains away, they revealed a room with ornate black wallpaper, an assortment of oak desks and other furniture. The walls were covered in fine Baroque paintings. On the floor was a single blue carpet covered in opulent tapestry. I followed the back wall to a single dealer table coated in green felt. Two seats were present with one patron taking the seat on the left. He was shaking with what I assumed was excitement.
Behind him was the dealer, a trim man with long blond hair and a top hat over his nose and eyes. He wore a dapper tuxedo free of blemishes that shimmered in the light of a single hanging glass lamp. His skin was pure and free of moles, glistening with slight amounts of glitter.
“Why, hello there…” The man spoke in a voice slicker than the gel in his hair. “Are you here to win big?” Unlike the loan sharks, his teeth were cleaner than a freshly washed plate.
“Yup. Deal me in.” I said, straightening my back, shuffling into the last seat. The other player had his jaw locked together. His eyes were drooping and bloodshot. Sweat pooled around his brow like glass beads. Just like him, I always felt nervous about losing, so their reaction was understandable.
“You know the rules of blackjack. I deal out cards. You can say ‘hit me’ if you want more cards. Get closest to twenty one without going over. Dealer only draws two cards. And you can also surrender your cards for half your bet. When you don’t want any more cards, say the word ‘stand.’” The dealer said, shuffling the cards through his hands and manipulating them like a sculptor with a ceramic pot.
I double blinked. Wager? “What do I bet with?”
The mysterious man just focused on passing out his cards. First, he brought out two cards for himself and dealt two more to each player. Instantly, he flipped over his cards. A jack and a king. Twenty.
I clutched the velvet backed cards, seeing what I was dealt.
A ten and a seven of hearts. I forced my face into a neutral smile. My stomach twisted. There was no way I could get twenty one that easily. “Surrender,” I said, pushing my cards to the dealer. All he did was reshuffle the cards and toss me two more. They didn’t even bother looking back up at me during the process.
The other player started clutching his stomach. My smile vanished. I carefully looked over the left guy’s cards. A seven and a two of clubs.
“Hit me…” the guy on the left choked out. An ace of spades. A total of ten. Sweat trickled down his head like a shower in April. His eyes welled up with tears while foam developed around his mouth. I raised a brow, wondering what his deal was.
I knew the stakes of gambling, but my sixth sense kept telling me something was just not right. No. That couldn’t be true. Even if there was some kind of string attached or fine print I didn’t read, I couldn’t risk giving up that money. Besides, this might have been my only chance to obtain such a vast award without much risk.
“Hit me…” The man wheezed. A five of hearts. His teeth chattered.
While I waited for my turn, I stood up and walked around the room, getting a closer look at all the ornate gadgets and such. My eyes focused on a painting on the leftmost wall. It resembled a man in rich military regalia. But something made my hair stand on end. Their upturned white mustache looked damp, and their face sagged like they were crying. Linear, stick-like shadows were cast on the sleeves. Edging forward, they came into focus.
Hands. I followed their forms outward, which extended into oily, dripping arms.
“Husssssssssh…” A faint noise echoed from somewhere in the room.
“What?” I mouthed, turning an ear to the source.
“Husssssssssh…” It came from the painting. I backed away, hands out at my sides. Was someone dragged in that painting?
“Where are you going? You forgot to pay up!” The dealer yelled back, hands slamming on the table and pulling out a sack of navy blue poker chips.
I double took. “I thought the card said there was no monetary wager needed?”
“There isn’t.”
Then, I looked at the ground. There was a second rug on the ground. The tapestry matched, but its patterns didn’t match with the other rug. It was off center from the rest of the decorations, like someone didn’t even bother setting it up properly. Taking a closer look, I could hear faint whispers coming from it, too. When I looked back up, the guy on the left was gone. I rushed over, checking his cards. A total of twenty five.
Swallowing saliva, I stood in confusion, wondering what to do next. I scraped my fingernails against my palms. I needed that money. If I didn’t get it, I’d lose my wife and my apartment. And what about the loan sharks? Only God knew what would happen to me if I didn’t pay up. What was I going to do? What would happen if I lost? Would I turn into another object just like the other guy? Or would I be in for a worse fate?
“That’s because there isn’t a MONETARY wager. I’m still taking half of what you owe.”
A sharp pain punched my left side. My left side felt heavier than before, like my veins were replaced with tungsten. I grabbed my fingers around my chest. The area around the pain almost felt solid like a tumor. Brushing around the area, I could make out a cylindrical mass. I tried to inspect it some more, but the pain overwhelmed me, and I crumpled to the ground.
I crouched down on all fours, trying to get back to my seat, but the pain froze me in place. Reaching out a hand, I called out for help. Nothing.
Slithering away, I pulled back the curtains to the entrance of the casino. I spat on the ground from the bludgeoning pain.
“Don’t feel out of luck. You can still surrender once more and you still have two chances left!” The dealer smiled, adjusting his hat. It was only a glimpse, but I caught a look at his upper face. His eyes were on his hat and his forehead was blank. The dealer looked like they were plucked straight out of an Alice in Wonderland book. What or who was this dealer?
“Think long and hard about this. I saw you arguing with your wife. And those ruffians nearly killed you.”
I clambered back to my seat. I still didn’t know what that dealer did to me. Something in me forced me to get back up and keep playing. More questions ate at me the longer I played. How did he know that information?
Then, I remembered feeling a tap back at Grand Central Station. And the card that brought me here. He couldn’t have been human. Was he some kind of demon? I didn’t bother asking. There wasn’t any way he would spill the beans about his nature.
After what seemed like hours, I managed to writhe back into my seat, slumping over the table like I’d just had the worst hangover.
“Ready to try again?” The charming man said, resting his chin on his interlocked hands.
Reluctantly, I gave him a thumbs up. He took back the cards and began manipulating the split deck once more. I analyzed every move he made. None of the cards were tricked. He wasn’t second dealing and didn’t have any aces up his sleeve. Never revealed anything under the table, either. The only thing that brought me reassurance was that he was honest. Still, keeping an eye out was critical.
The dealer revealed his cards. Two tens again. One of spades, one of hearts. His face was harder than diamond and glowed like one, too. Not a pleasing glow, but one that would hex anyone that dared gaze at it for too long.
I looked at my cards. An ace and a seven. Eighteen. Gripping my lower abdomen, I stayed crumpled in agony. The odds of getting a blackjack were slim and the stabbing pain skewed my thoughts.
“Surrender…” I wheezed. The words slipped out of my mouth like the dying breath of a wounded soldier. The dealer smiled, holding a pile of blue poker chips around him. He waved his hand over the mound and made an inaudible chant. Then, they vanished.
I held my hands over my face, bracing myself. Suddenly, the pain doubled, shifting to my right like a mudslide down a hill. Now I knew everything the previous player was going through.
I vomited out something hard and blue. A poker chip. Suddenly, my guts turned and another seven spilled out. My esophagus wound itself into knots more contorted than cobwebs. “I…forfeit!”
The man started to smile. “Without these?” With a thud, the hat faced dealer pulled out a jar filled with a kidney and a piece of liver. They still were oozing with blood that plumed and fit their containers. I remembered how the dealer said that there was no monetary wager. He never said there wasn’t a wager at all. My wager…was my organs.
“You want them back? Win them.” He set them back on the ground.
Now there was no choice. My fate was sealed if I tried to leave. I started to shed tears. If I didn’t get these organs back and fast, I was done for. Even if someone saw me passed out on the floor, finding donors for organs wasn’t guaranteed. And even then, I’d be put further in debt. Nothing would be solved. Then again, was trying to beat this guy even worth it? No. The reward was too great. Taking a few deep breaths, I sat back down. Reluctantly, I asked that he proceed.
The dealer drew out cards just like before. He took the cards and gave them a good shuffle. Plucking two cards out of the stack, he revealed them. A king and a nine. Another poker chip tumbled out my throat. I spat it out in a red and blue plastic heap. Not paying attention to the mess I made, he handed me two cards. A jack and a two. Twelve.
“Hit…me.” An ace. Aces could count as one or eleven depending on what other cards were drawn. I still had a fighting chance.
“Hit me.” A five.
His dead stare tore at my soul. I scratched against the felt, the wounds in my fingers reopening. From the corner of my eyes, I could see him frowning. “Are you going to play, or do you want all that money to go to waste?”
I gritted my teeth. “Shut up…Hit me…” Swallowing saliva, I watched the dealer play out my last card. A queen.
“You lose.” The dealer said coldly, grabbing a pile of poker chips and holding them close. He waved his hand over the mound and made another incantation. Then, they vanished once more. Everywhere at once, burning pain sears my skin, making me blackout.
---
When I wake up and feel my arms, they are covered in something hard, blue and plastic. My clothes were gone. I examined my extremities and my torso.
My skin was missing and replaced with poker chips. They were shaped to fit every part of my body. Cracks filled with blood gushed out with each slight movement I made. Horrified, I spilled my guts. More poker chips slid out my throat. Piles of skin laid clumped on the side of the table in hideous pink and blood red sheets.
“I think you know what’s at stake now. One try left. Better make it count. You want to end up in an object for an eternity?” He taunted.
The rigidity of my plastic coated skin made each movement expose more of the cracks, searing my muscles. I groaned as I raised myself up. Crimson liquid dampened the table. I pounded at the table. This was it. I either walked out with my money and saved my marriage and tied up all those knots. Or I lost and suffered a fate worse than death. Giving up was not an option. I gave the mysterious man a death glare, not even bothered by his resistance.
He plucks out two cards. A nine and a ten. This was my chance.
Then, my cards were revealed. A ten and a two. Fingers rattling, I took a deep breath and let calmness seep into me.
“Hit…Me…” I sputtered. Another two.
Huffing, I opened my mouth to speak again. The dealer just stared into me, tilting his head like a vulture waiting for roadkill. The poker chips rattled again, grinding against each other.
“Hit…” I paused for a moment, recollecting my thoughts. At a value of fourteen, I needed at least a six to beat the dealer. But an eight or higher would result in disaster. Gulping down another chaser of saliva, I spoke. “Hit…me.”
To my chagrin, a five slipped out of the hand. I was now tied. Staring at the pile of skin and my other organs, I closed my eyes and shook in horror. An ace or a two were the only cards I could draw in order to win. I looked down at my cards, sweat dripping on the table. With a quick glance, I gazed at the eyes on the man’s silk hat.
“Don’t keep me waiting.” The man demanded.
I’d begun hyperventilating. His stare grew more intense the longer I waited. His confident smile turned into a frown of irritation. Eyebrows and mouth twisted into a hideous snarl. He rattled his fingers against the dealing table. The cacophony made my ears go numb.
Then, I whispered my answer.
“Hit…me…”
The man darted up, smiling back in anticipation. “I’m sorry, what was that?”
I closed my eyes, expecting the worst.
“HIT ME!” I screamed at the top of my lungs.
Then, the last card was revealed:
A two.
I’d won!
My mouth dropped. The sheets of skin unfurled themselves and flattened over me. Two organ jars spilled over, their contents rising in a beam of white and torpedoing back into my body. Immediately, I yelped at the top of my lungs, skipping my heels and doing a jig. I regained my strength, instantly looking around for traces of my prize. For several minutes, I wasn’t able to uncover anything. Staring directly at the dealer’s face, I asked him to reveal my prize.
“I don’t have it with me.” He said, blankly.
Not listening, I scrutinized every inch of the room, looking behind his station, checking under the table, everything.
I searched everywhere for my prize, my happiness dissipating. With each step I took, my smile faded even further, twisting into a frown. My nose crinkled. “Where is the fifty million?” I demanded, overturning the table, ripping off the ornate paintings and yanking the tasseled rugs off the floor. “You promised me fifty million dollars if I beat you! Do you realize what’s gonna happen to me if I don’t get that money, you charlatan?!”
The strange man just stood there, not even acknowledging my pleas.
“YOU PROMISED ME MONEY! You’re a thief!” I roared, pointing an accusing finger at him. “I only did this for my wife, to save my marriage! I almost gave up my life trying to help my family out! How can you take that away from me?!”
The demon stuck his hands behind his back and shook his head. He rolled his eyes back in thought. Something was up with him. “You aren’t like the other gamblers.” He said.
“Other gamblers?” I said, stepping back.
“They all wanted the money for worthless things. A mansion with fountains and a view, hookers, a trip to Tahiti…” He paced around me. His face was rather relaxed and calm. Never once did he lose eye contact with me. “But you had so much determination to help your wife out that you would risk it all. I admire that. It took me a while to figure out that you were actually a kind hearted person.”
I saw red and tried to punch him. He grabbed my fist, shoving it back.
“Listen to me. I understand your rage. There never was a prize in the first place. It was nothing but a lure to capture those that wasted their lives away. But there is one thing that you don’t understand.”
I saw red and I thrusted my hands back. “You nearly killed me all for nothing?!”
“Yes, but that was before I saw you the way you really were. Listen to my words.”
Slowly, I relaxed my posture, but still remained firm. “Why should I listen to you?”
“I can help you out of your situation.” The man said.
My nostrils flared. “You owe me money you snake!”
“You never needed the money in the first place.”
Taken aback, I retreated. “What do you mean?” My arms relaxed once more.
“You are a plumber, aren’t you? I saw you come home from work, just barely catching a glimpse of your schedule. Forty hours a week for thirty-eight dollars an hour for five days a week. That’s $15200 a week for two weeks. You already have everything you need.”
“But you don’t understand. They need $18000!” I pleaded.
He wouldn’t budge. “Trying to earn this money via dumb risks and chances will not get you anywhere. Look at all the things that you’ve done wrong.”
Tears began to well up. “And I want to change that.” I wiped my eyes. “But what am I supposed to do now?”
“The only way you can earn that money is through grit and spit,” He said, walking around me. “You aren’t going to find solace through good luck alone. You have to work for it. And you already have the tools that some people don’t have. If you give up now, you might as well have lost. Think about it.” With those last words, he raised his hand and snapped it, disappearing without a trace. Slowly, I gathered my things and walked out of the casino, head hanging low.
---
The following day, I sat outside an old woman’s faucet, inspecting how to fix a leak. I wondered what the demon’s words meant to me. Before I stuck the wrench up to a U trap, I remembered my pay. If I worked the same amount of hours as before, I’d only make $15200. But if I pulled off some overtime and worked several extra hours, I might just be able to pay off my debts.
I started staying up much later than before. Not long after, my wife started to become suspicious. Eventually, she confronted me.
“Frank, you’ve been staying up late. Are you going back to the casinos again?” she asked, hands on her hips.
I closed my eyes. Instead of fear, calmness filled my veins and my blood stilled. “Not this time. I’ve been working overtime.”
Her face loosened up for just a moment before hardening back up. I held my hands up and motioned my palms downward. “Listen, I have been horrible lately. All my gambling did was drown us in deeper debt.”
Her expression began to soften up again, her frown vanishing.
“I want to change things. We used to work so well together, doing everything to help each other. Instead of fighting against each other, it’s time we made peace. And we bring us out of our debt, together.” I held out my hand for her to shake it. She kept her arm pulled back and folded like the pincer of a mantis. Inch by inch, she extended it and took it.
The following day, my wife convinced me to go to therapy to get out of my addiction, which I gladly obliged. Simultaneously, she decided to start up another job working as an electrician. Day by day passed and we pooled all our resources as one. Before our eyes, bills were paid and debt disappeared faster than eye floaters. Our financial status wasn’t the only thing that changed. Her once crusty mood lightened up and she began to smile more. She began to believe my words and began to respect the changes I made.
And then, we paid off our rent. We got a letter from our landlord, saying that we now were even. The moment that letter came in, we embraced each other. The only question now was, what were we going to do with this extra money?
Not too long ago, we ended up earning enough money to create another 3d project, this time of a Companion Cube. Day after day, we created more projects. Although we weren’t as happy as our days back in college, we still could make the best with what we had. In retrospect, the hat-faced man put up a good fight, but I managed to come out of a casino with more than I came in with. It wasn’t exactly money, but it wasn’t worthless, either.
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2023.06.10 15:55 TessaBissolli Rederina? Red is RR? Third man? How the ending makes an already stupid long series even more pointless, especially after Nachalo AKA "The Dumpster Fire" TM. Part 3: Seasons 6 to 8. Descent to Hades.
In
part 1 we examined what the different endings would make of season 1 through 4, looking at where we were there. Red's confession to Kirk had eliminated the possibility of Third Man, and left us knowing Liz was Red's daughter. We examine the nonsense Rederina would make of those four seasons with balderdash moments and dialogue where there was no need to lie.
Part 2 was devoted to season 5, for the bones were pivotal. We concluded that to let stand the bones were the remains of the "real Raymond Reddington" was wither nonsense, or terrible writing and even worse continuity. But that is how we left it. With Garvey, Ross, Red and Dembe talking nonsense if indeed we are to believe that. Certainly it was what Liz believed, and by extension the task force as nobody sought to confirm this assertion. A report, shown to Liz by Jennifer for a few seconds, before Ross punched her at her request, that became the truth for all.
Now we come to season 6, or as it should be known, the pointless season with no real baddie that made any sense, storytelling wise. Jennifer as the real baddie of the season made far more sense, extending Kate's arc with the bones, if she had forged a DNA test to make Liz believe Red was not their father, and take her revenge on both Red and Liz. But alas, this has not come to be and I have no hopes left by now.
The arc of the season made no sense. Why on earth was Bastian Moreau bombing the UN? In theory, he was hired to carry out the assassination. Anna McMahon made no sense because her motives were never explained. It felt like the direction of the season was improvised. The first part of the season was devoted to the pursuit of Liz and Jennifer of Red's identity, which included sending Red to jail. Jennifer thinks the fire may have been at their beach house, in Rehoboth Beach, and they go there.
This brings us to this nonsense, which seems to indicate that Jennifer indeed remembered who Liz was, and that both sisters had been together in that beach house. Why was that there?
What is more intriguing is a few lines that make the whole Rederina idea ridiculous. Let us go back to season 5, for a quick look at a momentous episode, the 100th episode of the series, the story was written by Dave Metzger & Jon Bokenkamp and the teleplay was by Jon Bokenkamp & John Eisendrath, Abraham Stern.
Remember that according to the disastrous season 8B, Red is supposed to be Russian. You know, growing up in Russia. Nachalo has the scenes of Katarina in growing up in Russia. Not the USA.
The scene is between Red and Dembe. Dembe who knows the true identity.
"
I haven't felt this giddy since Herbie Hunnicutt and I pooled our box tops and sent away for the decoder ring and periscope." Do I need to say it? Decoder rings, periscopes and cereal box tops? Not 1960s Russia, and no Herbie in Russia either. And then season 6 featured these lines, from when Red is facing lethal injection, his instructions for disposal of his body, written by Bokenkamp and Eisendrath in 6.11 Bastian Moreau:
“I've made arrangements to be cremated, have my ashes placed into Mama Lu's opium pipes. The users won't mind, and on the off chance there is an afterlife, I'd like to be high in it” But in Konets, written by the same writers,, Jon Bokenkamp & John Eisendrath, Red says he wants his ashes into a Russian River. WTF?
This clearly speaks to a re-direction, or lies, or a monumental misdirection, for there was no such indication. TWO episodes featuring the same writers, Bastian Moreau and Konets.
The fathers situation
Season 6 had Red speak of his father more. He reflected he was not a good man, adding to earlier seasons, when he spoke of his father cutting him down to size, using bylcreem and having an admiration for cadillacs.
"
That stuff you use in your hair– is that Brylcreem? My father used Brylcreem" In Berlin, season 1, written by same two, Bokenkamp and Eisendrath.
"
You know, as my father used to say to me, just because you’ve been bumped up to first chair in the orchestra doesn’t mean you can compose a symphony " The Troll Farmer written by Bekenkamp and Eisendrath.
"What is this? A ‘78…. My father loved Cadillacs." in The Judge, written by same two, season 1
And then this one where his father was a sticker for keeping one's word, Dr. James Covington, written by J. Orci and Lukas Reiter. Season 2
"
I asked my father for advice.All he wanted to know was whether I’d given my word to Mr. Kodagolian that I’d work the summer.I told him I had. My father suggested I stick it out. I’d given my word." How does that fit with Red is Reddington? Not an issue. But we certainly have a giant issue in the Rederina hypothesis.
That father Red describes up to season 6 does NOT fit with Dom. Let us review what he tells Liz in what he believes would be his last converversation with Liz, witten by Jon Bokenkamp & John Eisendrath:
I was a difficult child. People saw me one way I saw myself another. I felt misunderstood acted out. My father fancied himself a disciplinarian. Very moralistic. Instead of trying to understand me, he excommunicated me.
Difficult child, misanderstood, a disciplinarian father, excommunicated, disowned. NOT language of things happening to an adult, but to a child.
Our Rederina issue?
We SAW Katarina, an obedient child, doing exactly as Dom wanted. Not difficult. right up to being a woman, marrying who her father wanted, sleeping with who he wanted, keeping a child she did not want because Dom wanted.
BUT it works beautifully for Red is Reddington. Red is disowned by his father, changes his name to Reddington, and enters the US Naval Academy, likely with the help of someone like Fitch. And see what happens in this season when Ressler keeps digging into Katarina, and finds Dom, without knowing his name, but the Russians tell him who he is to Katarina.
LIZ: You didn't stop, did you, trying to find his real identity?
RESSLER: No, I didn't. I don't know who he was, but I think I found someone who might. Your grandfather.
LIZ You found Reddington's father?
RESSLER: Katarina's. Look, all I have is a photo.....Look, I know you were asking me not to pursue this, and if you're pissed at me, I get it, but I felt like I had a right to know. My only regret is that I hit a dead end.'Cause that guy he's a ghost.
The fact Liz is surprised when she thinks Ressler found Reddington's father (NOT RED'S), her paternal grandfather, is HUGE. Because Liz was obsessed with blood relatives, and she had all the resources of the FBI to find her paternal relatives, including grandparents. Birth, death, graduation, military service, tax, educational, census, marriage, financial records. And she has NOT found her paternal grandfather. This tells us that the man known as Raymond Reddington was not born as such. Reddington was an alias. A name that begins in the US Naval Academy. Which then makes sense of his excommunication. Disowned, he gets another name. Works for Red is Reddington.
Dom was many things, but a man of his word he was not. Katarina was also many things, but neither was she big on her word, as seen by her betrayal of her country, family and friends. Red is. Loyalty and keeping his word is paramount:
"My word is my bond. My currency." The Mothers situation
Red may have had a mother with Russian ancestry, but sure was not the same woman we saw as Katarina's mother. Let us review what Red gratuistuly says to Aram to who he is indebted for saving Liz in season 3, written by Daniel Cerone in The Director, part 1:
"
There are foundational elements in our lives. People that form the brick and mortar of who we are. People that are so deeply imbedded that we take their existence for granted until suddenly, they’re not there. And we collapse into rubble. I’ve stood over the open grave of someone I’ve loved too often. Once for my mother. And then the others." Red has then by then already lost his mother. mind this is season 3, a full 3 seasons before Ressler manages to find Dom, via finding Katarina's mother, who had died earlier that year, in 2019.
Cerone vs. Kattie Bockes and the Coopers.
If Rederina was to be a thing back then, then the continuity person should have been fired, instead of posting stupid things in instagram, and I stand by this even if I turn to be right. We ARE paying attention, Ms. Gee.
u/Anselmo123 has a lot to say about this.
u/Jen5225 and I had written volumes about the mother issue.
But then we have the issue of Red's actions when Katarina's mother died, which is right about the time Red gets out of prison, and gives an enormous party, with everyone attending. No mourning, because he is not Rederina. His own mother had died years ago, and he was not involved with Katarina's mother. He sees Katarina's father, and does not even know the story of why Dom likes buttermilk in season 3.
He then goes on a treasure hunt with Vesco underneath the Philadelphia Opera House.
The Rassvet tale. The episode was written by Sean Hennen. We know is not all true, as Dom says, but there were not all lies either. It will be The Orion relocation Services and others that will confirm pieces of it.
And that includes Ilya's groundhog day where he learns TWICE that Katarina was alive. WTF?
https://preview.redd.it/7380lz09375b1.png?width=500&format=png&auto=webp&s=19328dad8e2634837b7f24b420a2f1c7a8ce69c7 Season 7
This season belongs to Fakerina. Bear in mind that until the disaster Nachalo aired, Katarina was referred to by the writers and by the characters in situations where lying was unnecessary as "Katarina". Also not by novice writers either, but Reiter and Cerone. Note that Nachalo was the "proud" baby of Bokenkamp, Eisendrath and Reiter.
RED TO DOM: "
Katarina's been surprisingly formidable." written by Daniel Cerone in Roanoke.
RED TO DEMBE: "
We know Katarina is holding Dom somewhere in this 2-mile radius." written by Lukas Reiter in Katarina Rostova, conclusion.
RED TO FAKERINA
: "Katarina.... It's not safe. You're not safe." written by Jon Bokenkamp, John Eisendrath & Lukas Reiter.
RED TO DEALER: "
an enemy of mine contacted you." & "Where's Rostova? Nine days ago, a painting was commissioned. It was sent to this address, shipped to you-- Mr. Paul Allond." in Drexel, season 3, written by Dave Metzger.
And note this interview by Bokenkamp regarding the character played by Layla Robbins:
“Remember, this is Elizabeth Keen's mother who not only abandoned her, but sent her child away to be raised by somebody else.” (May 17, 2019) with thanks to
u/outofwedlock for the exact quote.
There are two options for us to consider: One that the writers, and show runners lie continuously to the audience, or that at the time, it was intended that she was Katarina Rostova, but this is contradicted by the showrunners saying the ending has not changed. Well then.
But it is not them who call her Katarina Rostova. It is herself, both to the people who want her dead, and to the people she hires:
WOMAN: May I ask who's calling?
FAKERINA: Katarina Rostova....You believe the Kazanjian Brothers killed me because that's what I wanted you to believe. It was a good plan. It tricked Townsend into paying the bounty on my head, part of which I used to prove my innocence.
to Red: "
Dom promised me no one would get hurt. Said he loved his child and just wanted her to be safe. Do I seem safe to you? Hunted, chased into the shadows." written by Lukas Reiter.
What Frankie knew her as:
"
that's your daughter? Katarina Rostova? ... Your own daughter wants to kill you because you betrayed her?" "
All I know is Katarina Rostova hired him because she thinks people are trying to kill her and that you might know how to stop them. The plan was to con you, not kill you, to get you to tell Inspector Oban who the assassins are and what they, or you, might know about her sources and safe houses." Then we have the Orion Relocation Services, written by Sean Hennen & Taylor Martin
FAKERINA: "
Help me to remember." And in "Katarina Rostova, Conclusion" written by Lukas Reiter
FAKERINA TO DOCTOR: "
I want the truth, doctor. I don't care if he tells the woman I am now, or the woman I was then." Were all of this writers lying in their lines, lying in interviews? Jon Bokenkamp, John Eisendrath, Daniel Cerone, Sean Hennen? Fakerina is credited as Katarina Rostova, and has the longest arc of any baddie.
Of course the pandemic ended season 7 earlier, so the episodes that would have ended it were at the beginning of season 8. A season which made sense to half way, then it became a three ring circus.
We have a number of abandoned plot lines, such as Liz's hallucinations with Kate, which last the duration of season 8A, from the time she is on the run in 8.04 to 8.14, which comprises 3 months in show time. Then we have Red confirming this state of affairs with Liz chasing him and wanting to kill him is directly related to Kate.
LIZ: You and Kate underestimate me.
RED: Oh, so she's here, too.
LIZ: Do you see her?
RED: I do, without even having to look.
Most things Liz did in season 8A was driven by her conversation with Kate, including going to Townsend.
We also had the kill order on Liz who Panabaker advices them, which is also forgotten:
Panabaker: This certainly makes me feel better about the DOJ’s directive.... The one I came here to tell you about. They just issued a burn notice on Keen. They want her scrubbed.
Aram: Scrubbed? What does that even mean? Scrubbed, like killed scrubbed?
Panabaker: It means – eliminated. Knowing too much is one thing, but she now demonstrates an obvious liability to the Bureau.... As soon as Keen’s handled, the DOJ will disavow all knowledge of the Task Force, kick Reddington free– : You never existed.
The plot holes of season 8B are well documented, including the change of the Friend From the East menacing prior self, to the weeping fool of later times. A meeting in Paris that leads them to him, which include decoding ads they did not have with a machine they did not either, and Cooper approving the abduction of a Russian national, a member of a elite team, who is nonetheless abducted by being oblivious of his surroundings by a team of a few guys?
Starting by the premise of the disastrous if entertaining Russian Knot, written by Katie Bockes, in which the script coordinator seemed to have forgotten we have SEEN Red and the Friend from the East talk on freeing phones, not a rusty relic.
https://preview.redd.it/duhcjmcht65b1.png?width=1916&format=png&auto=webp&s=9785f01203abe9ada39b5175f8572ac09e49f09a Where was the script coordinator? Was there a bible? Do ANYONE remembers anything about the show they are paid to write? It goes downhill from there.
And we continue to spin in the same exact point in season 8 as we were in season 3:
TOWNSEND: "
Elizabeth? You in there? I do hope you're in there, Elizabeth, 'cause I'm gonna need you for this next part, which promises to be rather awful. While you have a moment, I suggest that you and Raymond reflect upon the concept of loss. I know it well. I feel it in every breath I take, every moment that... that I sleep. Loss became a part of me when I watched my wife and children die before my very eyes! But today, Raymond, I'm gonna give you that burden! I'm gonna show you loss! Today, I'm going to kill Elizabeth while you watch." RED TO CONSTANTIN:
KIRK: Is Masha your daughter?
RED: What do you want me to say? Yes she is. Is that what you want me to say? Yes, Elizabeth is my daughter.
We have then now, as we did in season 3, two options, Red is Reddington or he is Katarina, yet so many lines written by the show runners and main writers contradict directly Rederina.
We have two letters addressed to Liz, his own, that Red destroys in season 4 and one that he kept, from Katarina.
And then we have Nachalo, the dumpster fire. I have written enough about it, many series, but
this is handier:
We have obvious things:
Season 1:
Most of all, I want to sleep. I want to sleep like I slept when I was a boy.
Season 6: "
I was a difficult child." All I know is that unless this people had no idea what they were writing and are basically functional illiterates, Rederina was a red-herring, since season 3 got the third guy theory defenestrated. FOWLER:
I know the truth, Red about that night, about what happened to your family. Do you want to know the truth?
RED:
More than anything in the world.
Except he DOES know. Why tell a lie to someone he will kill? Fun stuff? like when he and Dembe tell lies to each other, like Herbie?
"
I haven't felt this giddy since Herbie Hunnicutt and I pooled our box tops and sent away for the decoder ring and periscope." => Jon Bokenkamp & John Eisendrath
Red remembering Jennifer in the blue house, by J. R. Orci:
https://preview.redd.it/z50t4z3ss65b1.png?width=648&format=png&auto=webp&s=6738b76751f0bb9a9edca9694230e2240ade3726 "I raised my family in this house." A lie according to Nachalo if Rederina were the solution.
KATE TO RED:
This business with your wife, this pursuit, it's pushing you in ways that I don't like. KATE TO RED:
Take a moment. Read a book. You will find your wife. Why not write "this business with Naomi", and "you will find her"? Too hard for Daniel Knauff who co-wrote Monarch Douglas Bank?
The Zombie Mama a product of Daniel Cerone, Katie Bockes and the Coopers:
"
I've stood over the open grave of someone I've loved too often. Once for my mother." A mother dead by 2016 and a mother who died in 2019 found in The Third State, and Lady Luck.
"
Where's Rostova?." So Rederina thinks this woman is still going by Rostova, a name not her own supposedly? by Dave Metzger.
"I was just imagining young Katarina covered in glitter. As an adult, it's easy to dismiss this stuff as girlish frivolity." Written by Dawn DeNoon. Come on, this is just ridiculous.
NAVABI: "
Yes, and we can't disprove it with DNA because there's nothing on file from 1990 when Reddington disappeared." Once we had established this, courtesy of Daniel Knauff who write the episode Gregory Devry, was it too hard to add a line about how on earth did it come to be in CODIS?
NIK:
Reddington's her father? I can't say I'm surprised. I'm sad for her. That sucks, but what does this have to do with me? He really is NOT surprised a trans man turned to be someone's father? written by Lukas Reiter and Bokenkamp.
FAKERINA:
Katarina Rostova. ...You believe the Kazanjian Brothers killed me because that's what I wanted you to believe. It was a good plan. It tricked Townsend into paying the bounty on my head, part of which I used to prove my innocence." She must be daft, to keep using a name that is not her when they already thought Rostova was dead. It only worked if she WAS Rostova, trying to clear her own name.
RED TO DEMBE: "
We know Katarina is holding Dom somewhere in this 2-mile radius." => Lukas Reiter
RED TO DOM: "
Katarina's been surprisingly formidable." => Daniel Cerone
from Kate Kaplan, conclusion, Teleplay by : Jon Bokenkamp, John Eisendrath, Daniel Cerone Story by : Lukas Reiter, J. R. Orci
KATE TO RED:
I made a promise to Elizabeth's mother to protect her girl at all costs. [Not HIS girl]
KATE TO LIZ:
I loved Raymond. And your mother. I loved her, too. Oh boy.
and from Sutton Ross, by LR, JB, and JE
DEMBE:
Ross wants blood. He thinks you [RED = RR] ruined his life.....
he thinks you [RED NOT THE BONES IN THE BAG] did, and because of that, he wants to world to know what's inside the duffel.
Not to mention what it does to some hilarious lines:
"Elizabeth, I knew your mother better than she knew herself." becomes "I knew myself better than I knew myself"
"We shared to affection of Katarina" "Yep, I loved my former self and myself now too. "
"I was just imagining young Katarina covered in glitter. As an adult, it's easy to dismiss this stuff as girlish frivolity." One cannot imagine what one can remember.
"She's gone because of choices you made for both of them. First for Katarina, then Masha." Where who we start in this one?
To me the only way this mess made any sense is if Red was Reddington, protecting Katarina as well as Liz and having a noble endeavor such as taking down the cabal completely worth him not telling Liz who he was. otherwise is monstrous, stupid, nonsensical, cowardly, and a general clusterfuck of nonsense. Rederina amplifies this tenfold to be the stupidest story about the clownish people who created trouble after trouble and then instead of telling Liz Rederina let her descend into madness, had her husband killed, and caused the death of countless people.
Dembe is an idiot who should have told Liz, instead of suffering torture and anguish.
On what planet is causing all this trouble to keep someone alive instead of saying "I am your mother" is a good story?
And now it seems we will not even get a clear answer? And we are insulted by the person responsible for keeping details straight that if we pay attention we already know?
Greed in this extreme form is bad. Extending the story killed it. Now no matter what it will always be a clusterfuck of lies and bad writing.
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2023.06.10 13:23 humanarystew83 Cloud City Realistic RP QBCore Davidscloud RolePlay Non-Whitelisted Active Staff FREQUENT UPDATES
About Davidscloud: Davidscloud is a long-standing gaming community that believes in creating a place for all gamers to get together and enjoy playing various games together without worry of pay-to-win spoiling the enjoyment. Our community is friendly and works together to achieve a place everyone can find something to enjoy. Cloud City is a community of mature roleplayers who are looking to recruit other like-minded adults for some drama-free, action/comedy-rich roleplay. We have a special place in our hearts for people that are brand new to GTA RP. We’ve all been there ourselves, and know it can be hard to take that leap. We could be your first home, or your new one! Here, you’ll find a fully developed city with all the bells and whistles, with more on the way. Come join us, and see what all the fun is about!
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2023.06.10 13:23 humanarystew83 Cloud City Realistic RP QBCore Davidscloud RolePlay Non-Whitelisted Active Staff FREQUENT UPDATES
About Davidscloud: Davidscloud is a long-standing gaming community that believes in creating a place for all gamers to get together and enjoy playing various games together without worry of pay-to-win spoiling the enjoyment. Our community is friendly and works together to achieve a place everyone can find something to enjoy. Cloud City is a community of mature roleplayers who are looking to recruit other like-minded adults for some drama-free, action/comedy-rich roleplay. We have a special place in our hearts for people that are brand new to GTA RP. We’ve all been there ourselves, and know it can be hard to take that leap. We could be your first home, or your new one! Here, you’ll find a fully developed city with all the bells and whistles, with more on the way. Come join us, and see what all the fun is about!
Features: Something for everyone! -Fleshed out discord for members to hang out and communicate outside of roleplay. -QBCore framework -Actual custom content/scripts (written and actively worked on by our team). -Active Development with daily updates and planned DLCs -18+ populated city with men and women, at all hours of the day and night. Members from multiple continents. Drama and Greifer free, no shit lording tolerated. -200+ Imported Cars, 1500+ imported clothing items (Non-Esl) -Buy and customize your own house -Own/Stock/Price items at your own store -Available activities include restaurants, paintball, hunting, gambling, fishing, trucking, and more for civilian RP. Many more activities are coming in planned DLC's! -Hiring citizens for Local PD, State PD, Judges, Lawyers, Car Dealer, the highest paying jobs in the city -Unlimited business potentials! -Criminals can rob convenience stores, NPC's, Jewelry Stores and Banks. They can also start their own Gangs/Criminal Organizations -You can find and craft items and weapons at locations all across the State -You can find, cultivate, process and sell Weed, Coke, Meth, Heroin, Vicodin, LSD! -You can chop cars for useful and valuable parts! -A 30-day daily rewards system that rewards money, weapons, and vehicles -Free Casino spins every 24 hours for a chance to win casino chips, money, and vehicles, if you're lucky
How to get started: Join the fun! 1.) FiveM Server Address: Search “Cloud City RP” in FiveM and connect. No whitelist application needed. 2.) Join us on Discord at:
https://discord.gg/wDPY5yr submitted by
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2023.06.10 12:28 TinyFlan4013 "Sustainable clothing brand Patagonia manufactures in the same factories as fast-fashion; textile workers are being exploited"
The Dutch independent investigative journalism platform 'Follow the Money' wrote a article about Patagonia.
"Sustainable clothing brand Patagonia manufactures in the same factories as fast-fashion; textile workers are being exploited" Clothing brand Patagonia seems to be doing everything right: for its employees, for the people who make the clothes and for the environment. The company’s image – they say they’re in business to save our home planet – is very different from fast-fashion brands like asos, Primark and Nike. But Patagonia’s clothes are manufactured in exactly the same factories and under the same deplorable conditions. When Yvon Chouinard started creating climbing equipment in his parents’ backyard in Burbank, California, he used steel. Soon he earned a reputation for making the ‘best’ climbing equipment in America. But every time a climber slammed one of those steel pegs into a rock, the gap got a little bigger and eventually unusable. Chouinard realised he was making money by destroying the rocks and therefore also the sport. And so he switched to aluminium blocks, which did not damagethe rocks.
The change was expensive and risky for the young company, but the moral dilemma was reason enough for Chouinard to implement the change. And to be very outspoken about it. It was a success: within a year, 40 per cent of the US climbing community stopped using steel.
Chouinard applied this experience when he started the outdoor brand Patagonia in 1973. He wanted to make only high-quality clothing that would last. And limit the impact on the environment as much as possible. In 1996, the brand switched to 100 per cent organic cotton, only to increasingly replace it with recycled materials. But the responsibility that Chouinard attributed to the company extended further.
In 2002 he decided to give one per cent of sales to environmental organisations every year. In 2011, Patagonia placed a full-page ad in the New York Times calling on consumers to ‘not buy this jacket’ in order to draw attention to the problematic nature of overconsumption in the clothing industry.
In addition, the clothing had to be manufactured fairly: in 2012, the top of the company made paying living wages to everyone who makes Patagonia products a ‘priority’. In 2020, Patagonia launched a campaign encouraging consumers to demand more from clothing brands: ‘
Demand recycled. Demand organic. Demand Fair Trade,’ Patagonia urged its viewers.
In 2022, the then 84-year-old Chouinard caused worldwide astonishment, when he gave away 98 per cent of his shares to a newly formed NGO, the Holdfast Collective, which is ‘committed in its fight against the environmental crisis and protecting nature.’ Henceforth, the company’s profits would no longer flow to himself or his children but to the climate. ‘Earth is now our only shareholder,’ Chouinard said.
Billionaire gives company away to climate, newspapers like
The New York Times, The Washington Post and
The Guardian reported*.*
This construction saved the NGO an estimated 700 million dollars that Chouinard would have had to pay in tax if he had sold the company and donated the proceeds to the same NGO. But according to Chouinard, this option allowed him to do something else: protect Patagonia’s values. Because he did not give the voting shares to Holdfast Collective but to a family trust. This allows his family to continue determining the company’s direction.
The company’s turnover – its European headquarters are in Amsterdam − grew by more than 50 per cent that year to about 1.5 billion dollars.
The actions earned Patagonia an image as being the ultimate sustainable frontrunner. In April,
Time Magazine named Chouinard one of the world’s 100 most influential people. ‘Patagonia is a company people look up to in awe,’ the magazine wrote.
The complete opposite of Patagonia is a company like Primark. The Irish retail chain is known for selling on-trend low-quality clothes at low prices. Its revenue model is based on mass: high volumes with low margins.
Primark continuously creates new garment collections designed to be worn only a few times, after which they fall apart. The company uses advertising, clearance sales and influencers to urge consumers to keep buying as much as possible.
Media regularly report on the subsequent consequences. One, in particular, is that the people who make the clothes suffer from high production pressure at low cost. ‘Primark supplier accused of locking up factory workers in Myanmar protests,’
The Guardian headline read in 2021. That same year, The Clean Clothes Campaign NGO
wrote: ‘Primark uses pandemic to put further pressure on factory workers in manufacturing countries.’
Patagonia and Primark seem like two extremes on the slow versus fast-fashion spectrum. Yet the brands have something in common. Some of their clothing is manufactured in the exact same factory.
PATAGONIA IN AMSTERDAM In 2014, Patagonia moved its European headquarters from Annecy town in the French Alps to Amsterdam. Reflecting on this, current CEO Ryan Gellert told the city marketing website I Amsterdam: ‘We established headquarters here in 2014 because we wanted a place where we could attract and retain pan-European and global talent, [...] and where there was an active community working on sustainability issues. As we searched potential locations across Europe, Amsterdam remained high on our list.’
According to Tax Law Professor Jan van de Streek, tax benefits may also have played a role in the choice of the Netherlands. This is because Patagonia did not register in the Netherlands as a BV but as a cooperative with two US members: Patagonia International Inc and Patagonia Global LLC. ‘Why choose something as strange as a cooperative structure?’ Van de Streek remarks to Follow the Money. ‘Because it is exempt from dividend tax. I think it’s naive to think there’s any other reason for that.’
Responding to questions about this, Patagonia said: ‘Since its inception, Patagonia Europe Coöperatief has paid regular corporate income taxes in all European countries where we do business, including the Netherlands, and has never used the tax efficiencies of a cooperative.’
‘At the suggestion of our advisors', Patagonia chose a cooperative structure ‘because it's the most flexible type of entity that suited our business purpose. However, Patagonia has chosen not to pursue any of the tax advantages available under the cooperative entity type. Patagonia Europe has not paid dividends to its parent company.'
‘No difference’
That factory is called Regal Image and is located in Sri Lanka. To be precise, in the Free Trade Zone of Katunayake, less than two kilometres from the international airport. The industrial estate is guarded 24/7 by Sri Lankan police. Access is only possible with a special pass.
In the factory hall, there are long tables with pieces of white fabric on them. An employee walks past with sea-green paint and a stencil forming the letters ‘asics’. Further along, a machine prints a grey logo on a purple tank top for Decathlon.
‘So far, we don’t really notice any difference between working with Patagonia and working with Primark or Decathlon,’ says Kevin Fernando. Fernando is the manager at the factory, which dyes, prints or embroiders logos and prints on fabrics. Regal Image was recently approved as a supplier to Patagonia, a process that took nine months. Fernando shows the designs for the 2024 summer collection. Light blue fabric features ‘Patagonia’ in pink letters, and a rainbow is printed on orange fabric.
‘Like most clothing companies, we do not make our products, nor do we own any of the factories that do,’ Patagonia writes on its website about the decision to outsource the manufacturing process. ‘We design, test, market and sell Patagonia gear. These are our areas of strength. We pay other companies [...] to produce fabrics and do the actual cutting and sewing.’
‘No control over working conditions’
Patagonia promises to only partner with factories that are ‘like-minded’ and who share their ‘philosophy.’ Patagonia has found
sixty-one suitable factories: two in the US, one in Portugal and the remainder in 12 different low-wage countries. The bulk of the products are made in Vietnam and Sri Lanka.
At least two-thirds of the factories that manufacture Patagonia clothing also work for clothing brands that, according to the consumer website Good on You, have little or no sustainability policies in place (Patagonia itself is touted by Good on You as sustainable). This is evident from an analysis by Follow the Money based on data from Open Supply Hub, which aims to make supply chains in the clothing industry more transparent.
One day people make clothing for Patagonia, and the next day, they make items for brands such as GAP, Levi Strauss, Calvin Klein, Hugo Boss, Tommy Hilfiger, Nike, Amer Sports, Asics, US department store chain Target, e-commerce platform Amazon, supermarket Aldi and fast-fashion icons ASOS, Boohoo, H&M and Zara.
‘How is this possible?’ visual culture professor Anneke Smelik responds. Smelik researches sustainable fashion at Radboud University. ‘I know Patagonia as the most sustainable brand out there. I expected them to manufacture in small factories close to home. This means they have absolutely no control over working conditions.’
PATAGONIA IN SRI LANKA Patagonia works with 14 factories in Sri Lanka that are part of (or partner with) two companies: MAS Holdings and the Hirdaramani Group.
MAS Holdings was founded in 1987 by three brothers: Mahesh, Ajay and Sharad Amalean. The company began manufacturing lingerie and later expanded to sportswear, swimwear and T-shirts. With factories in 17 countries and roughly 2.4 billion dollars in turnover by 2022, MAS is Sri Lanka’s largest clothing manufacturer. The Amalean brothers are among the wealthiest men in the country.
The company emphatically presents itself as a sustainable clothing manufacturer. For instance, the company promises to emit 25 per cent less CO2 by 2025 than in 2019, and CEO Suren Fernando expects the group to earn half its revenue from sustainable products by then.
In May 2023, MAS received a
Presidential Environment Award from President Ranil Wickremesinghe for the company’s commitment to the environment. The company describes the welfare of its employees as ‘its top priority’. On the subject of paying a living wage, the company makes no promises.
In the early 1900s, Parmanand Hirdaramani, then 16 years old, started a clothing shop in Sri Lanka’s capital Colombo. Today, his great-grandson Aroon Hirdaramani runs the Hirdaramani Group, which has grown into an international clothing conglomerate with factories in Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Vietnam and a turnover of around 900 million US dollars.
Hirdaramani also presents itself as a sustainable producer. The company’s website states: ‘At Hirdaramani, we do the right thing. We have always done that. It’s about making good decisions today that benefit everyone in the long run.’
Since 2019, all Hirdaramani factories in Sri Lanka have been producing climate neutrally. For 2025, the company has set several targets on material use, water use, waste and leadership. Paying a living or higher wage is not a target.
In 2016, Aroon Hirdaramani and his wife Mona surfaced in the Pandora Papers. It emerged that Hirdaramani owned two investment companies in the British Virgin Islands. The reason for this is unclear. The fact is that companies based there do not have to pay tax on income, profits, dividends and interest, among other things.
Sixteen-hour workdays
Eligibility to manufacture Patagonia products requires a supplier to meet a list of sustainability criteria. Those criteria are set out in a
code of conduct for suppliers. For example, child labour, forced labour, or physical, sexual or verbal harassment are not allowed. All national laws must be respected. Suppliers must respect workers’ right to freedom of association, may not force workers to work overtime and must ensure healthy working conditions. Working weeks of more than 60 hours or more than six days in a row is not acceptable to Patagonia.
Patagonia checks whether a factory complies with these standards through independent auditor visits at least once a year, says the brand after being questioned by Follow the Money. Checks are also carried out by the Fair Labor Association (FLA) and FairTrade: two NGOs that provide Patagonia’s manufacturing process and clothing with a sustainability label.
A part of those audits is public. Since 2016, the FLA has
publishedassessments of seven Patagonia factories, including three in Vietnam, three in Sri Lanka and one in China. During those inspections, auditors found dozens of violations, varying greatly in severity.
For instance, almost 2000 employees at a factory in Vietnam were paid less for their overtime than what they should have received and employees’ ages were not recorded (thus child labour cannot be ruled out). Another check found out that applicants had to provide their menstrual date. Employees told the interviewers they were not allowed to become pregnant in the first six months of their employment. Less serious violations dealt with issues such as working without protective equipment, blocked emergency exits, or a lack of policies on harassment or discrimination.
One problem crops up in every report. Textile workers in factories manufacturing clothes for Patagonia work far longer hours than legally permitted: up to 17 hours a day and more than 80 hours a week, well beyond what is permissible according to Patagonia’s code of conduct.
‘Long working hours with insufficient breaks often lead to health problems,’ the Clean Clothes Campaign recently
wrote about this issue. ‘Managers pressure employees to work 10- to 12-hour and sometimes even 16- to 18-hour days. The number of hours increases as the deadline approaches. Those who protest are simply fired. Moreover, workers depend on overtime to supplement their low wages.’
At the Regal Image factory in Sri Lanka, manager Fernando assures that his employees work a maximum of five days a week and 10 hours a day. But during the tour, a line manager starts talking about the duration of his shift: from eight in the morning to a quarter to 10 in the evening – almost 14 hours. ‘It’s busy,’ says Fernando, casually.
‘This is what the fast-fashion model does,’ says Smelik. ‘Brands want their products to be in store within a few weeks. So when a factory receives an order from such a brand, the production targets and overtime skyrocket.’
‘They talk to us like we are animals’
The office of Stand Up Lanka, a union led by Ashila Niroshine Dandeniya, is located just outside the Free-Trade Zone. She started working in a MAS factory, part of MAS Holdings that is a supplier to Patagonia, in 2003. Her colleagues elected her to represent them as a member of the factory’s employees council. But when she addressed the matter of wages, she was fired. She challenged her dismissal, got compensation, and discovered that there were laws in place to protect people like her.
Now, almost 20 years later, she knows Sri Lankan labour law like the back of her hand. Her office is a hexagon with five windows, all open. Textile workers from nearby factories approach her via these windows to greet her or ask for help.
When a transman walks past, she says, ‘He applied to MAS Shadowline [one of Patagonia’s suppliers, ed] a month ago. They said they didn’t want him because he is transgender. He can’t get work anywhere. And he cannot go back to his village because he is Muslim. His family will shoot him.’
When about six women wearing yellow MAS polos come and ask for a food parcel, Dandeniya shakes her head. ‘We don’t have enough. Since the country’s economic crisis, some families barely eat two meals a day. How am I supposed to choose who can eat and who can’t?’
That evening, she introduces Priya (31). Priya has been working for MAS Shadowline for almost two years, sewing the side seams on leggings or T-shirts. She makes many clothes for yoga brand Lululemon and for Lacoste (famous through the crocodile logo), but sometimes also for Patagonia.
‘The worst part is the scolding,’ she says in her home a few streets away: a room of about 12 square metres. It contains a double bed, a small kitchenette and a wardrobe. Despite the fan on the wall, it is sweltering hot inside. She shares a toilet and a shower with others.
‘My supervisor’s manager is a terrible man. He touches everyone in a bad way, and if you say you don’t want that, you have a problem. He yells at me if I have to go to the bank or the doctor. “Then who will do the work? Who will meet the target?” And he’s not the only one. They talk to us like we are animals.’
When asked about her production targets, she breathes a deep sigh. ‘The other day, Lululemon placed a huge order, and now everyone is stressed. On the first day, we had to make seventy items per hour, but on the second day, it was suddenly a hundred. Otherwise, we won’t make the delivery date.’ During the working day, she does not drink water so that she does not waste time going to the toilet. Despite this, she seldom meets the target. And that means: no bonus.
Without that bonus, Priya earns 32,000 rupees a month (97 euros). Her room costs 7,000 rupees (21 euros), and a meal 300 rupees (1 euro). She has no money left for other things.
‘Since the crisis, we are increasingly hearing stories from our members of textile workers using drugs,’ says Dandeniya. ‘Also in MAS factories that Patagonia works with. They use it to work faster. Sometimes also against the hunger.’
Chamila Thushari, union leader of Dabindu Collective, confirms the story. ‘They use Ice (Crystal Meth) or Babul.’ She points to her collar and to the sole of her shoe. ‘This is how they smuggle it in. The management knows this happens but allows it. All they care about is production targets are being met.’
An employee of a third union, GTZ-GSEU, confirms that drug use among textile workers in the Free Trade Zone is a problem.
Patagonia says these claims are ‘new’ to them and ‘serious’, but says, without evidence, it cannot comment.
A living wage
That Patagonia, known for being sustainable, has its clothes manufactured in the same factories as other much less sustainable brands is seen as an advantage by the company. ‘Patagonia has a powerful brand voice, but we are a quite small player in the apparel sector. Therefore, we are always looking for ways to scale our impact and to elevate the industry standards across the board, bringing other apparel retailers along on the journey with us. So, continuing to engage in shared production facilities is crucial to this work.’
Patagonia wants all people who make clothes to earn a decent wage. In 2015, the company promised that within 10 years, all employees in its supply chain would be earning a living wage that would be enough to live on. That is, enough for food, water, housing, education, healthcare, transport and other essential needs.
With 18 months to go, only 40 per cent of its factories pay a living wage,
according to Patagonia. They would not reveal the factories concerned. Suppliers reportedly ‘have the right to maintain their factories’ wage data confidential’.
Patagonia wants all people who make clothes to earn a decent wage. In 2015, the company promised that within 10 years, all employees in its supply chain would be earning a living wage that would be enough to live on. That is, enough for food, water, housing, education, healthcare, transport and other essential needs.
With 18 months to go, only 40 per cent of its factories pay a living wage,
according to Patagonia. They would not reveal the factories concerned. Suppliers reportedly ‘have the right to maintain their factories’ wage data confidential’.
To determine a living wage, Patagonia uses the Anker Research Institute’s calculation method. According to that method, you can live decently in urban Sri Lanka if you earn a minimum of 83,231 Sri Lankan rupees (263 euro) a month. Priya’s salary does not even cover half that. And at the recently approved Regal Image print factory, the basic wage is even lower: 21,000 rupees (66 euro), says Fernando.
Thulsi Narayanasamy is frustrated by Patagonia’s approach to sustainability. She is director of advocacy at the Worker Rights Consortium, an independent non-profit organization that monitors and investigates labor conditions in the global apparel and textile industry. ‘Patagonia spends millions on green initiatives. Why can’t they pay the people who make their clothes properly?’
Patagonia says it ‘has no authority over how much textile workers get paid, as they are in no way, shape or form the employer of these workers.’ Narayanasamy, however, is convinced Patagonia can pay a living wage, if the brand would want to. ‘They could bring production in-house or pay more to suppliers that’s ringfenced for wages high enough to achieve a living income. It’s so well established that brand’s pricing practices directly impact wage levels, it’s a fallacy to deny this.’
‘I think we should ask ourselves: why don't clothing brands have their own factories?’ She asks the question, then answers it. 'Brands don't want to be responsible for the people who produce their clothes. All brands benefit from that, including Patagonia.
RESPONSE FROM PATAGONIA When asked why it does not pay its suppliers more for decent wages for workers, Patagonia replied: ‘Relying on one brand to simply cover the gap is a band-aid solution and does not serve the factory in the long run. If the one brand that pays the gap were to leave the factory, then those wages for workers would go away, leaving the factory with a shortfall they would not be able to cover. Additionally, if the brand just writes a check to the factory, then there is no guarantee that the money would go towards workers’ wages. The brand has no authority over how much workers get paid as they are in no way, shape or form the employer of those workers.’
About the long working hours, Patagonia says: ‘Excessive overtime is pervasive globally, which is why it is audited regularly. If we find a problem that can be resolved, we work with our factory partners to implement sustainable solutions. This can take many years, but we find this is the best outcome for the workers and the factory.’
In response to the allegations about drug use among textile workers, Patagonia says: ‘These are serious and new allegations, however without evidence, we are not able to comment on them. We are continuing to conduct our ongoing monitoring program and we remain committed to addressing systemic issues to ensure workers’ wellbeing across our supply chain.’
Link to the article: https://www.ftm.eu/articles/sustainable-clothing-brand-patagonia-uses-same-suppliers-fast-fashion-brands-do-workers-exploited?share=p8cq84oSmbUiJtEQUObUZSPZh8ZNReEKHj0wGJnBMQUMqLcwK9PC1kpMJCev5Mo%3D%26utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=sharebuttonnietleden&utm_source=linkbutton
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2023.06.10 11:47 AceYourGPTuition Ace Your GP
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2023.06.10 11:26 Gareth-101 Wizardly qualifications
As wizardry seems to be a very academic thing, it occurs to me that there will be tests and exams that wizards would need to pass in the course of their studies.
So, thinking about this, combined with the fact that my character is a gnome (and we all know how gnomes attract names like magnets around iron filings), I came up with some magical qualifications, based on the levels at which PCs get their archetype upgrades.
[Some notes: (1) The Latin is as accurate as I can be bothered to make it, don’t judge it too harshly! (2) I believe that, in the FR, magic is called ‘the Art’ (‘Artis’), but I’ve not gone with that as the base term for the qualifications.]
Anyway, here they are:
L2 Bachelor of Magic (MBacc) Baccalaureatus Magicae ‘Magus’ (wizard) Qualification equivalent to our undergraduate degrees (BA, BSc, etc). Title used in academic/wizarding circles only. In official correspondence, ‘Mag.’ used, much like our ‘Mr.’ or ‘Mrs.’, etc.
L6 Certificate of Expertise (PLib) Libellum Peritia ‘Peritus’ (expert) Qualification equivalent to our postgraduate diploma. Title mainly only used in academic/wizarding circles. In official correspondence, ‘Per.’ used, much like our ‘Mr.’ or ‘Mrs.’, etc. ‘I’m working towards my Libellum.’
L10 Master’s Parchment (MD) Membrana Domini Title earned: Magus Dominus (master mage) ‘Dominus’ or ‘Domina’ Qualification equivalent to our postgraduate Masters’ degree (MA MSc etc) Title employed in academic/wizarding circles but - unlike with our MAs etc - and wizards being wizards, many insist on its use as a general term of address by everyone. In official correspondence, ‘Dom.’ used, much like our ‘Dr.’ ‘Dominus Rattlebone!’ exclaimed the mayor. ‘It is a pleasure to see you!’ ‘Well, what does he know? He hasn’t even got his MD.’
L14 Book of the Master Weaver (LMT) Liber Magistri Textoris Title earned: Textor Magister (master weaver) ‘Textor’ Qualification equivalent to our PhD doctorates. Title used as a general term of address, like our ‘Doctor’, ‘Professor’ or ‘Reverend’. Some (clearly uncouth, non-wizarding, rough and ready types) have been known to shorten it in speech to ‘Tex’. In official correspondence, ‘Txr’ used, much like our ‘Dr.’ ‘Thank you for joining us, Textor Jones.’ ‘Ehhh… What’s up, Tex?’ ‘I’m sorry, I can’t join your quest. I have my final exam for my Liber next week and I have to study.’
L18 Magus Magnam (great wizard) No qualification - an honorific title only. ‘Magnus’ or ‘Magna’ Title expected to be used by all. Not dissimilar to our ‘Excellency’. ‘Magnus,’ nodded the sweating flunkey. ‘It shall be done.’ ‘Magnus. Forgive me, I didn’t mean to…what are you…no, Magnus, no, please, not that! Anything but th…argh!’
*Bonus content for all the gnome fans out there. My character’s (current) full name, as he introduces himself to all and sundry:
‘Delighted to make your acquaintance! Dorian Dalrymple St.John Cowparsley Minible, MBacc PLib, at your service. Call me Dorian.’
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2023.06.10 09:58 WWE_Network_Bot This Day in History: 06/10/2023
The following events happened on this day in history!
What event was your favorite in this list?
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2023.06.10 09:51 The1stCitizenOfTheIn Twitter Files Extra: How the World's "No-Kidding Decision Makers" Got Organized
In honor of this week’s RightsCon and 360/OS Summit, we dug into the #TwitterFiles to revisit the integration of the Atlantic Council’s anti-disinformation arm, the Digital Forensic Research Labs (DFRLabs), while also highlighting its relationship with weapons manufacturers, Big Oil, Big Tech, and others who fund the NATO-aligned think tank.
The Atlantic Council is unique among “non-governmental” organizations thanks to its lavish support from governments and the energy, finance, and weapons sectors. It’s been a key player in the development of the “anti-disinformation” sector from the beginning.
It wasn’t an accident when its DFRLabs was chosen in 2018 to help Facebook “monitor for misinformation and foreign interference,” after the platform came under intense congressional scrutiny as a supposed unwitting participant in a Russian influence campaign.
Press uniformly described DFRLabs as an independent actor that would merely “improve security,” and it was left to media watchdog FAIR to point out that the Council was and is “dead center in what former President Obama’s deputy national security advisor Ben Rhodes called ‘the blob.’”
What’s “the blob”? FAIR described it as “Washington’s bipartisan foreign-policy consensus,” but thanks to the Twitter Files, we can give a more comprehensive portrait.
In the runup to the 360/OS event in that same year, 2018, Graham Brookie of the Atlantic Council boasted to Twitter executives that the attendees would include the crème de la crème of international influence, people he explained resided at the “no-kidding decision-maker level”
Similar correspondence to and from DFRLabs and Twitter outlined early efforts to bring together as partners groups that traditionally served as watchdogs of one another.
Perhaps more even than the World Economic Forum meetings at Davos or gatherings of the Aspen Institute in the US, the Atlantic Council 360/OS confabs are as expansive a portrait of the Censorship-Industrial Complex as we’ve found collected in one place.
In October 2018, DFRLab was instrumental in helping Facebook identify accounts for what became known as “the purge,” a first set of deletions of sites accused of “coordinated inauthentic behavior.”
Facebook in its announcement of these removals said it was taking steps against accounts created to “stir up political debate,” and the October 2018 “purge” indeed included the likes of Punk Rock Libertarians, Cop Block, and Right Wing News, among others. Even the progressive Reverb Press, founded by a relatively mainstream progressive named James Reader, found his site zapped after years of pouring thousands of dollars a month into Facebook marketing tools.
In the years since, DFRLab has become the central coordination node in the Censorship Industrial Complex as well as a key protagonist in the Election Integrity Partnership and the Virality Project.
Its high-profile role at RightsCon, the biggest civil society digital rights event on the calendar, should concern human rights and free expression activists.
According to their London 2019 event “360/OS brings together journalists, activists, innovators, and leaders from around the world as part of our grassroots digital solidarity movement fighting for objective truth as a foundation of democracy.”
Their Digital Sherlocks program aims to “identify, expose, and explain disinformation.”
The Twitter Files reveal DFRLabs labeled as “disinformation” content that often turned out to be correct, that they participated in disinformation campaigns and the suppression of “true” information, and that they lead the coordination of a host of actors who do the same.
Twitter Files #17 showed how DFRLabs sent Twitter more than 40,000 names of alleged BJP (India’s ruling nationalist party) accounts that they suggested be taken down.
DFRLab said it suspected these were “paid employees or possibly volunteers.” However as Racket’s Matt Taibbi noted, “the list was full of ordinary Americans, many with no connection to India and no clue about Indian politics.”
Twitter recognized there was little illegitimate about them, resulting in DFRLabs pulling the project and cutting ties with the researcher.
Twitter Files #19 further revealed DFRLab was a core partner in the Election Integrity Partnership (EIP), which “came together in June of 2020 at the encouragement of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, or CISA” in order to “fill the gaps legally” that government couldn’t.
As a result, there are serious questions as to whether the EIP violated the US First Amendment.
DFRLabs was also a core partner on the Virality Project, which pushed its seven Big Tech partners to censor “stories of true vaccine side-effects.”
The Stanford Internet Observatory, which led the project, is now being sued by the New Civil Liberties Alliance for its censorship of “online support groups catering to those injured by Covid vaccines.”
Debate as to the frequency of serious adverse events is ongoing, however. The German health minister put it at 1 in 10,000, while others claim it is higher.
The Virality Project sought to suppress any public safety signals at all. The Stanford Internet Observatory is also at the moment reportedly resisting a House Judiciary Committee subpoena into its activities.
TwitterFiles #20 revealed some of the Digital Forensic Lab’s 2018 360/0S events, which brought together military leaders, human rights organizations, the Huffington Post, Facebook and Twitter, Edelman (the world’s biggest PR firm), the head of the Munich Security Conference, the head of the World Economic Forum (Borge Brende) a former President, Prime Minister and CIA head, intel front BellingCat and future Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Ressa, all to combat “disinformation.” We can now reveal more.
The Atlantic Council is a NATO-aligned think tank established in 1961. Its board of directors and advisory board are a Who’s Who of corporate, intelligence and military power, including:
- James Clapper – former Director of National Intelligence whose tenure included overseeing the NSA during the time of the Snowden leaks. Asked whether intelligence officials collect data on Americans Clapper responded “No, sir,” and, “Not wittingly.” Clapper also coordinated intelligence community activity through the early stages of Russiagate, and his office authored a key January 2017 report concluding that Russians interfered in 2016 to help Donald Trump. Clapper has been a 360/OS attendee.
- Stephen Hadley, United States National Security Advisor from 2005 to 2009 (also a 360/OS attendee)
- Henry Kissinger, former US Secretary of State who oversaw the carpet bombing of Vietnam, among other crimes against humanity
- Pfizer CEO Anthony Bourla
- Stephen A. Schwarzman, Chairman, CEO, and Co-Founder, The Blackstone Group
- Meta’s President for Global Affairs, Nick Clegg
- Richard Edelman, CEO of the world’s largest PR firm (and 360/OS attendee)
- The Rt. Hon. Lord Robertson of Port Ellen, Former Secretary General of NATO
- Ambassador Robert B. Zoellick, Former President of the World Bank
- Leon Panetta, former US Secretary of Defense & CIA Director. Panetta oversaw the US’s massive growth in drone strikes.
- John F. W. Rogers. Goldman Sachs Secretary of the Board
Chuck Hagel, chairman of the Council, sits on the board of Chevron and is also a former US Secretary of Defence.
The Atlantic Council raised $70 million in 2022, $25 million of which came from corporate interests.
Among the biggest donors were: the US Departments of Defense State, Goldman Sachs, the Rockefeller Foundation, Craigslist founder Craig Newmark, Google, Crescent Petroleum, Chevron, Lockheed Martin, General Atomics, Meta, Blackstone, Apple, BP, eBay founder Pierre Omidyar, Raytheon, ExxonMobil, Shell, Twitter, and many more.
Ukraine’s scandal-ridden energy company, Burisma, whose links to Hunter Biden were suppressed by the August 2020 table-top exercise coordinated by the Aspen Institute, also made a contribution.
You can view the full 2022 “honor roll” by clicking here.
The Atlantic Council and DFRLabs don’t hide their militarist affiliations.
This week’s OS/360 event at RightsCon Costa Rica runs together with a 360/OS at NATO’s Riga StratCom Dialogue, which DFRLab note they have “worked closely with” “since 2016.”
DFRLabs was founded in 2016, and has been a major catalyst in expanding the “anti-disinformation” industry.
Among non-governmental entities, perhaps only the Aspen Institute comes close to matching the scope, scale and funding power of DFRLabs.
DFRLabs claims to chart “the evolution of disinformation and other online and technological harms, especially as they relate to the DFRLab’s leadership role in establishing shared definitions, frameworks, and mitigation practices.”
Almost $7 million of the Atlantic Council’s $61 million spent last year went to the DRFLabs, according to their 2022 annual financial report.
Through its fellowship program, it has incubated leading figures in the “disinformation” field.
Richard Stengel, the first director of the Global Engagement Center (GEC), was a fellow.
GEC is an interagency group “within” the State Department (also a funder of the Atlantic Council), whose initial partners included the FBI, DHS, NSA, CIA, DARPA, Special Operations Command (SOCOM), and others.
GEC is now a major funder of DFRLabs and a frequent partner
In this video, Stengel says, “I’m not against propaganda. Every country does it, they have to do it to their own population, and I don’t think it’s that awful.”
Stengel was true to his word, and apart from DFRLab, the GEC funded the Global Disinformation Index, which set out to demonetize conservative media outlets it claimed were “disinformation.” (See 37. in the censorship list)
He thought the now-disgraced Hamilton68 was “fantastic.” In total, GEC funded 39 organizations in 2017.
Despite Freedom of Information requests, only 3 have been made public to date.
Roughly $78 million of GEC’s initial $100 million budget outlay for fiscal year 2017 came from the Pentagon, though the budgetary burden has shifted more toward the State Department in the years since.
The Global Engagement Center was established in the last year of Barack Obama’s presidency, via a combination of an executive order and a bipartisan congressional appropriation, led by Ohio Republican Rob Portman and Connecticut Democrat Chris Murphy.
The GEC was and remains virtually unknown, but reporting in the Twitter Files and by outlets like the Washington Examiner have revealed it to be a significant financial and logistical supporter of “anti-disinformation” causes.
Though tasked by Obama with countering “foreign state and non-state propaganda and disinformation efforts aimed at undermining United States national security interests,” its money has repeatedly worked its way back in the direction of policing domestic content, with Gabe Kaminsky’s Examiner reports on the GDI providing the most graphic example.
GEC frequently sent lists of “disinformation agents to Twitter.” Yoel Roth, former head of Trust and Safety referred to one list as a “total crock.” Roth is now a member of DFRLab’s Task Force for a Trustworthy Future Web. Let’s hope he brings more trust than Stengel. You can read more on GEC’s funding here.
Other DFRLab luminaries include Simon Clark, Chairman of the Center for Countering Digital Hate (a UK “anti-disinformation” outfit that aggressively deplatforms dissidents), Ben Nimmo (previously a NATO press officer, then of Graphika (EIP and the Virality Project partners) and now Facebook’s Global Threat Intelligence Lead), and Eliot Higgins of Bellingcat.
Bellingcat has an ominous reputation, which it’s earned in numerous ways, including its funding by the National Endowment for Democracy...
Most recently, Bellingcat assisted in the arrest of the 21-year-old Pentagon leaker, further speeding up the abandonment of the Pentagon Papers Principal where the media protected, rather than persecuted, leakers.
Bellingcat was part of 360/OS backroom meetings with former intel chiefs, the head of Davos and the Munich security conference among many others, as we will see soon.
The Virality Project built on the EIP and had partnerships with Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Youtube, Google, TikTok and more to combat vaccine “misinformation.”
Stanford and DFRLab partnered with the University of Washington’s Center for an Informed Public, Graphika, NYU Tandon School of Engineering and Center for Social Media and Politics, and the National Congress on Citizenship.
Through a shared Jira ticketing system they connected these Big Tech platforms together, with Graphika using sophisticated AI to surveil the online conversation at scale in order to catch “misinformation” troublemakers.
VP went far beyond any kind of misinformation remit, most infamously recommending to their Big Tech partners that they consider “true stories of vaccine side effects” as “standard misinformation on your platform.”
A Virality Project partner called the Algorithmic Transparency Initiative (a project of the National Congress on Citizenship) went further.
Their Junkipedia initiative sought to address “problematic content” via the “automated collection of data” from “closed messaging apps,” and by building a Stasi-like “civic listening corps,” which in recent years has taken on a truly sinister-sounding mission.
The current incarnation might as well be called “SnitchCorps,” as “volunteers have an opportunity to join a guided monitoring shift to actively participate in monitoring topics that disrupt communities”
Garret Graff, who oversaw the Aspen Hunter Biden table-top exercise, was chairman of that same National Congress on Citizenship when they collaborated on the Virality Project.
Both EIP and VP were led by Renee DiResta of the Stanford Internet Observatory, a former CIA fellow who engineered the now disgraced New Knowledge initiative, which developed fake Russian bots to discredit a 2017 Alabama senate race candidate, as acknowledged by the Washington Post.
DFRLab are the elite of the “anti-disinformation” elite.
They work closely with a wide range of actors who have participated in actual disinformation initiatives.
Here they’re invited to an elite Twitter group set up by Nick Pickles of “anti-disinformation” luminaries First Draft, also participants in the Hunter Biden laptop tabletop, and the Alliance for Security Democracy, part of the RussiaGate Hamilton68 disinformation operation.
The 360/OS event marries this tarnished record with the financial, political, military, NGO, academic and intelligence elite. Some of this is visible through publicly available materials.
Twitter Files however reveal the behind the scenes, including closed door, off-the-record meetings.
“I’ve just arrived in Kyiv” Brookie notes in 2017, as he seeks to line up a meeting with Public Policy Director Nick Pickles as they discuss Twitter providing a USD $150K contribution to OS/360 (seemingly secured), and to garner high level Twitter participation.
Pickles is visiting DC and Brookie suggests he also meet with the GEC and former FBI agent Clint Watts of Hamilton 68 renown. “Happy to make those connections,” he chimes.
360/OS events are elite and expensive — $1 million according to Brookie — so closer collaboration with Twitter, especially in the form of funding, is a high priority.
Twitter offers $150,000
When Brookie mentions the attendees at the “no-kidding decision maker level” he isn’t kidding.
Parallel to the 360/OS public program is the much more important off-the-record meeting of “decision makers ranging from the C-Suite to the Situation Room.”
Here, he is explicit about a convening of military and financial power.
Vanguard 25 is presented as a way to “create a discreet and honest way to close the information gap on challenges like disinformation between key decision makers from government, tech, and media.”
The document boasts of its high-level participants
More are revealed in email exchanges, including Madeleine Albright and the head of the WEF
They go on to list a bizarre mishmash of media leaders, intelligence officials, and current or former heads of state
...Germany’s Angela Merkel was out of reach in the end, but many of the others attended this behind the scenes meeting on “disinformation.” Who are they?
- Matthias Dopfner – CEO and 22% owner of German media empire Axel Springer SE, the biggest media publishing firm in Europe
- Borge Brende – head of the World Economic Forum and former Norwegian foreign minister
- Toomas Hendrick Ilves – former President of Estonia who co-chairs the World Economic Forum’s Global Futures Council on Blockchain Technology. Hendrick is also a fellow at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies (where the Stanford Internet Observatory is housed) and is on the advisory council of the Alliance for Securing Democracy, of Hamilton 68 renown.
- Chris Sacca – billionaire venture capitalist
- Mounir Mahjoubi – previously Digital Manager for President Macron’s presidential campaign, and former Chairman of the French Digital Council
- Reid Hoffman – billionaire and Linkedin co-founder
- Ev Williams – Former CEO of Twitter and on the Twitter board at the time
- Kara Swisher – New York Times opinion writer, who founded Vox Media Recode
- Wolfgang Ischinger - Head of the Munich Security Conference
- Aleksander Kwasniewski – Former President of Poland. Led Poland into NATO and the EU.
- Richard Edelman – CEO of the largest PR company in the world
- Elliot Shrage – previously Vice-President of Public Policy at Facebook (DFRLab had election integrity projects with Facebook)
- Lydia Polgreen – Huffington Post Editor in Chief
- Jim Clapper –former US Director of National Intelligence
- Maria Ressa – co-founder of Rappler and soon to be winner of the Nobel Peace Prize
Why would such a group all gather specifically around the question of “disinformation”?
Is disinformation truly at such a level that it requires bringing together the world’s most popular author with military and intelligence leaders, the world’s biggest PR company, journalists, billionaires, Big Tech and more?
Or is this work to build the case that there is a disinformation crisis, to then justify the creation of a massive infrastructure for censorship? A glimpse of the agenda offers clues
Here the head of the most important military and intelligence conference in the world (Munich) sits down in a closed door meeting with a former Secretary of State and the Executive Vice-Chair of the Atlantic Council.
Which is followed by a closed door session with the Editor-in Chief of the ...Huffington Post and peace-maker Maria Ressa who presented to the same group of military, intelligence, corporate and other elites.
Is the role of a journalist and Nobel laureate to work behind closed doors with militarists and billionaires, or to hold them to account?
At 2022’s OS/360 at RightsCon Ressa conducted a softball interview on disinformation with current US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken.
In testimony last April 2023, former CIA deputy director Michael Morrell stated that Blinken “set in motion the events that led to the issuance of the public statement” by more than 50 former intelligence officials that the Hunter Biden laptop had “all the classic earmarks of a Russia information operation.”
The Twitter Files also revealed that in August 2020 the Aspen Institute organized a table-top exercise to practice how best to respond to a “hack and leak” of a Hunter Biden laptop.
The laptop only came to light however two months later.
In attendance was First Draft (now the Information Futures Lab), the New York Times, Washington Post, Rolling Stone, CNN, Yahoo! News, Facebook, Twitter and more.
Here, DFRLab head Graham Brookie speaks with the Aspen Institute’s Garret Graff, who coordinated the Hunter Biden tabletop exercise.
After it turned out the Hunter Biden laptop was real, and the disinformation operation was more appropriately described as having been led by the likes of Blinken and the Aspen Institute.
The appropriate response is apparently for RightsCon, DFRLab, Blinken and Ressa to put on a nice forum to promote these figures as “anti-disinformation” leaders.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E8YTPuTC9xs
Former DFRLab fellow and intel front Bellingcat founder Eliot Higgins is also invited to the closed door sessions with a former head of the CIA, a former Prime Minister and a President.
How do you keep power accountable when you are in the same cozy club? This theme runs throughout.
Bellingcat is featured heavily at the public sessions also
On the public side, we see Amnesty International participating to further collapse the distinction between those who are meant to hold power to account, and the powerful themselves.
The Iraq war gave us embedded journalists, and the “anti-disinformation” field gives us embedded digital rights activists.
The Department of Homeland Security’s Chris Krebs also joined the closed door session.
Krebs was Co-Chair of the Aspen Institute’s Commission on Information Disorder.
Other members included Prince Harry, the Virality Project’s Alex Stamos (Stanford Internet Observatory) and Kate Starbird (University of Washington and previous 360/OS participant), Katie Couric, and more. Craig Newmark attended as an observer.
Meanwhile Renee DiResta, former CIA fellow and Stanford Internet Observatory Research Director, presented with the former Prime Minister of Sweden.
This was years before she would launch the Virality Project, and take on the bugbear of “true stories of vaccine side effects.”
The President of the Atlantic Council participated in an “off-the-record, “ behind closed doors conversation on “trust” with the CEO of the world’s biggest PR firm, Edelman.
“Public relations” and “trust” may well be opposites, and trust is being destroyed not by the disinformation street crime that these groups claim to target, but by the disinformation corporate crime protected by, or in some cases created by these same people.
Disinformation is real, but its biggest purveyors are governments and powerful corporate interests.
DFRLab and RightsCon show just how far the capture of civil society by elite interests has come. Again, I made a mistake helping to co-organize RightsCon in 2015.
The jumping in bed with the government and Big Tech was arguably there in 2015, though to a much lesser degree.
It now partners with militarists in the form of the Atlantic Council and is an enabler of the “disinformation” grift that is so deeply impacting freedom of speech and expression.
The air-gaps that should separate civil society, media, military, billionaires, intelligence and government have collapsed, and many of these actors have formed a new alliance to advance their shared interests.
If weapons manufacturers funding human rights is considered legitimate then where is the red line? Effectively, there is none.
This collapse however has also been pushed by funders, who have been proactive in asking NGOs to collaborate more with Big Tech and government - something I successfully resisted for my almost 18 years at EngageMedia, critically RightsCon was the only time I let my guard down.
The RightsCon sponsor matrix wouldn’t be out of place at NASCAR
This is the equivalent of hosting a Climate Change conference sponsored by Shell, BP, Chevron, and ExxonMobil.
How do you keep power accountable when Big Tech pays your wage? The “let’s all work together” approach has failed.
The weakest partner, civil society, got captured and we lost.
Many more lost their way and have acquiesced to and often enabled much of the new censorship regime.
https://www.racket.news/p/twitter-files-extra-how-the-worlds
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2023.06.10 09:10 RevolutionaryBook135 Ang hirap umintindi ng mga mayayaman
Required ba sa pagiging mayaman ang pagiging obob?
Nagwowork ako sa Travel Agency, nagpoprocess ako ng Visa and may mga clients kaming mapepera na sobrang tamad magpasa ng requirements. Kesho meron na daw sila before, di na daw need yan ksi may record na, kesho andami naman daw kailangan ipasa. Tangina ako ba may kailangan ng mga punyetang requirements na yan kung hindi hinihingi ng embassy yan di ko hihihingin.
Mag aapply ng Japan Visa , sasabihin may previous na sil ngayon hahanapin ko shempre yung previous sasabihin nasa isang passport ok na yan bago kasi may US Visa naman. Anak nag pucha talaga. Minsan gusto ko na lang punitin ung mga documento nila sa harap nila eh. Tapos pag nagkaproblema sa application sa akin isisi.
Tangina nakaka asar. Tapos etong boss ko n mn kinukunsiti kesho gawan nlng ng praan . Ako na daw magprint or kumuha nung lacking docs nila (ex. birth certificate, bank cert) GRRRRRR nakakabwisit talaga sobrang pahirap sa buhay dagdag trabaho
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2023.06.10 08:37 Huongcaobeo Khám phá phố cổ Gyor Hungary
| TP Gyor là một trong những đô thị quan trọng ở Hungary. Khi đến đây có nhiều tòa nhà lịch sử và còn được gọi là thành phố của các cuộc họp. Nó nằm giữa Vienna và Budapest và có một số kho tàng kiến trúc, văn hóa và tự nhiên tuyệt hảo. Đặt vé máy bay giá rẻ khuyến mãi và hành khách sẽ có cơ hội tìm hiểu thêm nhiều địa điểm thu hút cùng các trải nghiệm đặc sắc. Giới thiệu về thành phố Gyor Hungary Gyor là thành phố có khoảng 130.000 cư dân, tọa lạc ở phía tây bắc của Hungary, ngay bên kia biên giới với Slovakia và không xa biên giới với Áo. Budapest - thủ đô của Hungary tọa lạc cách Gyor khoảng 120 km. Dường như một thủ đô Trung Âu khác là Bratislava thậm chí còn gần hơn, cách Gyor 80 km. Vienna, thủ đô của Áo, cũng cách đó 120 km. https://preview.redd.it/cjkbjjnhy45b1.jpg?width=750&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=4135a6a0fbbac30b0747f7346b4d0330c5bb3e00 thành phố Gyor là một trong những đô thị lâu đời nhất trong khu vực, những khu định cư đầu tiên ở đây đã có từ thế kỷ thứ 5 trước Công nguyên. Do địa điểm nằm tại ngã ba sông Danube, Raba và Rabca, Gyor đã đóng một vai trò quan trọng của khu vực trong nhiều thế kỷ. TP này được biết đến với kiến trúc Baroque ấn tượng. Trong thời kỳ tạo ra kiến trúc baroque, quá trình tái thiết lớn đã diễn ra ở thành phố và những tác động vẫn còn được nhìn thấy cho đến ngày nay. Ở Gyor, du khách sẽ tìm thấy vài trăm tòa nhà được coi là di tích. May mắn thay, đa phần trong số chúng tọa lạc ở trung tâm nên bạn có thể đơn giản nhìn thấy chúng. https://preview.redd.it/vr9dl3aiy45b1.jpg?width=750&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=6f4c1b68170182fb21c0f86bee933e21b9a362e2 Mua ve may bay ha noi da nang và bạn sẽ có cơ hội tìm hiểu thêm nhiều địa danh thu hút cùng các trải nghiệm độc đáo. Cách đến Gyor, Hungary Đến thành phố Gyor thực sự rất dễ dàng, không quan trọng bạn đến từ phía nào. Có các chuyến tàu thường xuyên từ Budapest (mỗi chuyến di chuyển khoảng 1 giờ, chủ đạo là từ ga Keleti). Từ Vienna, du khách có một chuyến tàu mỗi giờ, hành trình mất 1 giờ 10 phút. Để đến Gyor từ Bratislava, các bạn cần đi xe buýt. Các trạm xe lửa và xe buýt ở Gyor nằm cạnh nhau, cách trung tâm khoảng 10 phút đi bộ. https://preview.redd.it/1wyu1juiy45b1.jpg?width=750&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=29083289fa2c9b4e2494a1b82385a97955b5c772 Những điểm du lịch nổi bật ở TP Gyor Phố cổ Győr Sau Budapest và Sopron, Győr là thành phố giàu thứ ba ở Hungary về di tích lịch sử. Hầu hết các đường phố của khu phố cổ đều tọa lạc trên các đường thẳng đưa bạn đến các quảng trường trang nghiêm như Bécsi Kapu Tér và Széchenyi Tér. Kiến trúc chính yếu ở khu phố cổ theo phong cách Baroque và Tân cổ đại, cơ bản được xây từ thế kỷ 18 và 19 với mặt tiền bằng vữa vương giả được sơn màu vàng nhạt và tông màu nhạt. Đi dạo ở phố cổ Gyor, bạn sẽ bắt gặp nhiều công trình ấn tượng, trong đó phải kể đến nhà thờ lớn và Püspökvár (cung điện của giám mục). https://preview.redd.it/hkll0xvjy45b1.jpg?width=750&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c88fa8fbefda0e7e5e6cf9a2871a531c20f8da80 Đặt vé máy bay cần thơ phú quốc để có du lịch cùng nhiều trải nghiệm đặc sắc Vương Cung Thánh Đường Đức Mẹ Hồn Xác Lên Trời Nhà thờ kiểu Baroque rực rỡ trên Đồi Káptalan còn có tên gọi là Vương Cung Thánh Đường Đức Mẹ Hồn Xác Lên Trời. Công trình này đã có một lịch sử đầy sóng gió kể từ khi được Vua Stephen I thánh hiến vào đầu thế kỷ 11. Tượng đài theo phong cách La Mã ở đây thuở đầu đã bị người Mông Cổ san bằng vào năm 1241 và ngôi nhà thay thế phải được xây dựng lại hoàn toàn từ những năm 1630 sau khi Ottoman chiếm đóng thành phố Gyor trong thời gian ngắn. Người chịu bổn phận kiến tạo nhà thờ là Giovanni Battista Rava người Ý và công việc này diễn ra cho đến những năm 1770. Hình ảnh của Đức Trinh Nữ Maria trên bàn thờ ở phía bắc của gian giữa là một trong những điểm đến hành hương được tôn kính nhất của Hungary. Các bàn thờ của nhà thờ được chạm khắc ở Vienna và các họa sĩ ưu tú như Franz Anton Maulbertsch hay các sinh viên của ông đã được thuê để vẽ các bàn thờ và những bức bích họa đặc sắc trên hầm thùng. https://preview.redd.it/e0ivcwjky45b1.jpg?width=750&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=377c6c6bf8ed818cb6048069e4523db1082ab5dd Nhà thờ St Ignatius of Loyola Benedictine Hai bên là trường ngữ pháp liên thông và tòa nhà tu viện trên Széchenyi Tér là nhà thờ do người Ý kiến tạo và biến thành ví dụ sớm nhất về kiến trúc tôn giáo kiểu Baroque ở Hungary. Nhà thờ có tên gọi là St Ignatius of Loyola Benedictine. Nhà thờ và tu viện liền kề của nó được thành lập bởi Dòng Tên và được thành lập từ năm 1634 đến 1641. Nguyên mẫu của công trình được cho là lấy từ Nhà thờ Gesù của Rome - một nguyên mẫu cho nhà thờ Dòng Tên trên khắp thế giới. Có một dòng chữ trên thanh ngang xác nhận ngày khánh thành nhà thờ vào năm 1641. Nội thất trang trí có từ thế kỷ 18 với những bức bích họa trang trọng trên trần kiểu trompe-l'œil được vẽ bởi bậc thầy Paul Troger người Vienna theo đẳng cấp Rococo. https://preview.redd.it/utycsb9ly45b1.jpg?width=750&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7f3664eb88b701d223d6a466e2988f91cae85723 Săn vé máy bay giá rẻ đi nha trang và khách tham quan sẽ có cơ hội khám phá thêm nhiều địa điểm hấp dẫn cùng các trải nghiệm độc đáo. Püspökvár (Lâu đài và Cung điện Giám mục) Trên đỉnh Đồi Káptalan là dinh thự kiên cố của các giám mục Győr, nơi có sự cấu kết giữa kiến trúc Gothic, Phục hưng và Baroque. Cốt lõi của khu phức tạp pháo đài kiên cố với các yếu tố Gothic ở các tầng thấp hơn. Công trình được xây dựng sau cuộc xâm lược của người Mông Cổ vào thế kỷ 13, cùng một bệ đỡ và lan can kiểu Baroque ở trên cùng. Nhà nguyện nối với bức tường phía đông của khu phức hợp là một tòa nhà nhiều tầng khác biệt, xây dựng vào thế kỷ 15. Cung điện và lâu đài được trùng tu lần cuối vào năm 1984 và có các du lịch có hướng dẫn viên hàng giờ vào các ngày từ Thứ Ba đến Chủ Nhật. https://preview.redd.it/8lnja62my45b1.jpg?width=750&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=192456c526b58f09459cd1e523ec85b95908f1f7 Városháza (Tòa thị chính) Tại vị trí nhộn nhịp nhất của TP Gyor là Tòa thị chính. Công trình này là một địa danh dễ nhận biết ở Hungary và có xây đắp theo phong cách tân Baroque do kiến trúc sư Hübner Jenő xuất hiện vào những năm 1890. Tòa nhà có hơn 200 phòng, dài 85 mét và tòa tháp trung tâm cao 59 mét so với những khu vườn trang trọng nhỏ trong quảng trường. Ở mặt tiền, hành khách có thể nhận ra huy hiệu của Győr và nếu vào chuyến du lịch bên trong sảnh sẽ nhìn thấy các thành quả điêu khắc bằng đá cẩm thạch Carrara có kích thước thật của Vua Stephen V thế kỷ 13. https://preview.redd.it/l2ycneomy45b1.jpg?width=750&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f267af86f02b96544c7d9e4f4dbb28ced06fe764 Mua vé máy bay đi Mỹ Vietnam Airline và hành khách sẽ có cơ hội khám phá thêm nhiều địa điểm thu hút và hấp dẫn. Kármelita Templom (Nhà thờ Cát Minh) Cảnh tượng hấp dẫn nhiều sự xem xét nhất ở Bécsi Kapu Tér (Gyor) là nhà thờ Carmelite sơn màu vàng tuyệt vời. Nhà thờ kiểu Ý này được xây dựng vào nửa đầu những năm 1720. Trên mặt tiền có các đường cong và hoa văn kiểu Baroque đặc trưng và hình ảnh Đức mẹ đồng trinh Mary trên bệ. Trên các hốc ở hai bên cổng là những bức tượng của Carmelites nổi tiếng, Teresa of Ávila và John of the Cross. Các tác phẩm có giá trị nhất bên trong nhà thờ là bàn thờ và bàn thờ phụ, được thi công vào những năm 1720 bởi tu sĩ Carmelite Ferenc Richter. Các bàn thờ phụ rất đáng để ý với các sản phẩm bàn thờ của họa sĩ sinh ra ở Napoli, Martino Altomonte. https://preview.redd.it/hcuyye7ny45b1.jpg?width=750&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=5012050a3e833c2fc0751170621e143d3a40917b Giáo đường Do Thái Giáo đường Do Thái Neolog là một trong những điểm tour du lịch ở TP Gyor. Công trình gây ấn tượng nhờ mái vòm màu xám hùng vĩ của nó. Tòa nhà này được dựng lên vào cuối những năm 1860 theo đẳng cấp tân La Mã và là minh chứng cho sự dồi dào tài chính của các nhà công nghiệp của TP vào thời điểm này. Giáo đường Do Thái hơi xuống cấp nhưng việc trùng tu đang diễn ra. Tòa nhà có ý nghĩa kiến trúc thực sự vì nó được sử dụng làm khuôn mẫu cho các giáo đường Do Thái trên khắp Trung Âu vào cuối thế kỷ 19. Kể từ năm 1990, các buổi hòa nhạc và sự kiện văn hóa thường xuyên như liên hoan phim Mediawave đã được tổ chức nơi đây và bộ sưu tập nghệ thuật của doanh nhân thế kỷ 20 János Vasilescu cũng được trưng bày bên trong. https://preview.redd.it/ugtjyuqny45b1.jpg?width=750&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=2dfe96449424381348854e7e06dcd7643f1ef3d6 TP Gyor mang trong mình sự hấp dẫn và rung cảm điển hình của Trung Âu và nếu khách tham quan đang tìm kiếm một điểm du lịch hấp dẫn không kém so với các thành phố đông đúc khác của Hungary thì Gyor là sự lựa chọn tuyệt vời. Mua vé máy bay tại đại lý vé máy bay Eva Air hà nội và khách du lịch sẽ có cơ hội tìm hiểu thêm nhiều điểm đến lôi cuốn cùng các trải nghiệm độc đáo. submitted by Huongcaobeo to u/Huongcaobeo [link] [comments] |
2023.06.10 06:57 rdk67 Spring Day 81: Sweetness Remembered
(This is a nonviolent text.)
Life! Exclamation point! Today’s speaker is made of clock parts and possesses encyclopedic knowledge about the nature of natural life. Life! Exclamation point! Though biographies in the back of conference programs won’t ever tell the whole story, they tempt us with the true face of authority. Today’s speaker – Life! – is made of clock parts, probably a grandfather clock to begin with, young for its age, but then he started slapping on extra clock parts, moved by an urge he couldn’t explain, until the function of tolling the hour was more of a hobby, a weekend pass-time, compare to what all those precision instruments were up to on a regular basis. As a vision on stage, the speaker’s machinations were there for all to see – the whirring of gears and belts, the clanking of chains. Where his heart chakra was thought to manifest, swung a pendulum.
The nature of natural life is not an easy expertise to build a vocation around – Life! Exclamation point! – but what a sentence to say aloud. At this point in the address, one of the speaker’s mainsprings uncoils where his belly button would normally be. He uses the longer of his hands to poke it back into place without breaking stride, continues: What is a natural life? More to the point, what is a natural lifespan? Who better to know than me! He points to himself when he says this, does a quick spin in place, revealing the dozens of differently styled clock faces that cover the surface of his body, continues: I’m after the author’s natural lifespan, like to pretend I’m playing along, but the whole time, I’m thinking about his natural lifespan. Hmm, hmm, I wonder why? Ha! // The author changes the subject – today’s speaker thinks of something else.
When you discover someone living an unnatural lifespan, you seek to find out why. Not that the reason is the point – not by a longshot – but call me curious. Maybe they tripped at the right moment and tumbled past the grave. Maybe they did a few extra calisthenics before the cock crowed. Or – perish the thought – they succumbed to an unholy pact at a vulnerable moment. I have taken it upon myself to sniff them out – and when he says this, the regulators above his eyes both arch significantly. And what then? We usually have a quiet chat before I recite my speech and complete my visit. It isn’t personal, I begin – time sometimes wells up, spills over its banks, and floods the village. If we could avoid such catastrophe, we should – don’t you agree? The time nature intends, through natural lifespans, would never, let’s be honest, flood a valley.
And what, then, would I do? Proprietary information! hoots today’s speaker from the stage, does another quick spin, stage lights flickering off his crystals, his gleaming metals. About the author’s natural lifespan – oh, you thought I’d forgotten! Were you 18 when you first died? Had it happened before then? Were you but a child under-supervised? Under-supervision-ed, we might say. Remember the day? You rode a toy out into the street, and a car’s front bumper rushed forward to kiss you on the left side of your head, the temple, a stone flung by the age of automobiles. Don’t you remember? Of course you do – the passionate screeching of tires, as those around you stopped and turned to look, surprise gradually replaced by horror at what they knew happened but couldn’t bear to see. You thought you survived – didn’t you? – but thereafter, what appeared on your left temple? A knotted cist so prominent, people stopped you and asked what happened. You saw exactly two physicians over the next 10 years, both telling you not to worry about it, and so you didn’t. You didn’t! When you probed the spot with your fingers, it felt like a rounded room, a shelter built by something trying to survive. As for that 18-year-old involved in that off-road motor vehicle accident – nominee number two, let’s call it – true, you were far more aware of mortality by then, but your own? You climbed aboard a 3-wheeled vehicle that could travel at more than 50mph, completely lacking a seatbelt, headrest, or protective frame – without a helmet, boots, or jacket – and the brakes were less than half there that fateful day, a means of slowing down – a vehicle that would be rendered illegal to operate within a matter of years of the accident . . . the accident . . . remember the accident? August, you were traveling off-road to do farm work, the cornfield you were riding beside with several rows chopped out for silage, and on impulse, you decided to turn into the field to see where it went, then really opened her up because of the green blur of all that corn. Did you secretly expect the drainage ditch? Was this more of a suicide mission? Over the side you went, face first into the opposite bank, and if anyone was wondering – the effect was not of pain but of the lights going out all at once. Imagine the nature of reality that allows for: the inevitability of the crash, followed by all the lights going out – this is really happening – followed by some utterly absent experience, like a film editor cutting in a blankness where reality normally insists scenes of existence should be. The film projectionist would have been instructed to fast-forward through this part of the film, such that no time seems to pass, and the next thing we know, he is trying to push a 3-wheeler out of a drainage ditch. That thing weighing more than he does, and he’s trying to heave it above his head, up and out of the drainage ditch. What had he become? What time-wise tricks were in play? He finally gave up trying to free torment from its channel, staggered through the field toward the truck, face covered in blood, never went to the hospital. When the story is recounted later by his dad, the story became how dad fixed the 3-wheeler by prying the front wheel out of the frame with his truck and a chain. Can you imagine that chain now? They called it a log chain, and the links were cast iron. It was completely covered in rust.
The author knows all this already, receives a spiritual visitation during the writing of the phrase suicide mission, wondering if he’s okay. Yes, he replies, knowing this particular metaphysical weather report has a lot of ground to cover. Today’s guest speaker picks at one of his stems in a distracted way, lets the matter rest, inquires about whether – uh-hum! – he might be permitted to carry on. The author gets up, refills his coffee, returns to one of the picnic tables arrayed in front of the derelict peace church where he lives. He is surrounded by millions of individual affirmations of life, many of which are visibly in bloom or going to seed. A bumble bee flies by. A yellowish bug with zigzags on either side ambles up, its antennae twice as long as its body, tapping at the world in front of it. Among the local insect population, it’s regarded as a savant.
Uh-hum! How many more brushes with death would the author experience before it finally took? There was the time a few years later, same farm but different brother, taking turns firing a handgun at a target. This would be the last time he would fire a gun for any reason, was it not? They climb into the brother’s wedge-shaped sports car, named after the grasping part of a bird of prey, and into fate’s hands did fly. The car was totaled, the two of them, without seatbelts or airbags, unhurt inside the crumpled remnants of the crash, mere inches from winding up once more inside drainage infrastructure, this one built by municipal authority, and therefore of a substance that would have been altogether worse on an unsuspecting traveler headed straight down. Yes, you might have been saved from becoming the remains of the day – but by what?
The child who caused the crash, the one who pulled out in front of that bird of prey, barely old enough to drive, who had two younger passengers inside with him, taking them out for ice cream maybe – that young driver sat nearby while police sorted out the story. He was crying on the side of the road like he would never stop, like he had identified the crash as the latest in a series of personal failings that would stretch into the future of his adulthood like a hot blacktop road and which, at every stop along the way, tragic suffering would be the font of consolation. Was this the way reality was supposed to work? The author recognized the boy as himself at an earlier age, bent down beside him, put a hand on his shoulder, and said, you will be okay. No one was hurt, and the rest can be replaced – your heart is true, and your soul will find its relief.
Ah, yes, the crash, says the author – ah, yes, the crash. Ah, yes, the crash, says the author – ah, yes, the crash. Ah, yes, the crash, says the author – ah, yes, the crash. The late days of spring may be the most forgotten of the year. If we aren’t anticipating summer – it’s still spring? – then we’re longing for those moments when the world was still opening its mouth, and then its eyes, and then its hands. The trees are all open by now, those late-arriving sycamores even filling out their leaves, such that the twigs and branches are all mildly bowed by the extra weight. After spring assumes its labor, the rest of the season finds its dedication, and I imagine the beads of water rising through capillaries beneath the wood – call it a space program – and a sweetness spreads throughout the tubular organisms we call trees. Late spring – sweetness remembered.
Life! Exclamation point! Chronobiology knows nature has much to say about what is cyclical, when, and for how long – much less to say about the natural length of one’s existence. Is death something one develops a knack for? The next notable death in the author’s life occurred a few years later – the death that would make dying into a full-time vocation. And where again do we find the author? Beside a drain. This one introducing the age of indoor plumbing, as the author lay on the floor of a friend’s bathroom, his life flashing before his eyes, as he vomits into a toilet. This time the world does not go dark all at once but feels like fuses blowing out, like a timed demolition, flashing like a string of firecrackers across the structural frame of a building, and a voice not his own telling the author: you’ll be okay, ride it out, remain present, you’ll be okay.
Would he though? For this fourth death, another blank spot appeared, no two – two instances of nothingness, orbiting each other, during which time, during which time, during which time – perhaps language hasn’t the proper security clearance to convey the negotiations that must have taken place to bring about a return to the living. The author remembers his friend opening the bathroom door, before which she would have been knocking and calling his name. When the door struck him in the back, and he came back to life, had he landed in the place where that drain did lead? While his friend cleaned up the bathroom floor with a towel, he sat on a bed with his hands covering his face. The hideousness he’d just passed through was the abbreviated version of what was to come – he knew the drill by now. The knot on his forehead was gone.
Destiny had finally shown him to his home, gave him a tour of the place, before scraping him off the floor, then setting up a series of baffling crises – from autumn 2002 to May 2003 – that would occupy the author’s attention for decades to come. The will toward dying had finally brought the world to life, and the mind of the universe was both ecstatic and enraged about it. Down there, at the bottom of the drain, they were fighting a global war on terror, war on terror, war on terror, and if wars on terror sum up preferred formulations of self-annihilation – symbol of invocation: fighting a reflection – then perhaps the author’s presence was meant to form a mirror-in-mirror infinity from which sustainable futures would emerge. Welcome to Mirror World! Where reflectivity gives us an evolutionary future! Where a universal narrative unfolds!
The author is making me write this, I must confess, but to everyone’s surprise, I am forcing the author to make me! The author is mine! And the author wrote that, too, I must additionally confess, and the two of us go around and around like this – symbol of invocation: two snails having sex in midair. The flatness and hardness we associate with reflectivity is something we will all outgrow eventually, and the hologram of hyper-reality will appear within our being like a flying saucer, and we will all be both abductees and witnesses, shown around the universe in style. Too much to ask? The last such alien contact – the insinuation of verbal and mathematical language into the genome of big-brained primates – gave us the keys to earthly reality. We are now exiting the stone age, evolving the means to make benevolence a fixture of human life.
The author made me write that, too, and even though I am just as surely making him write this, we must admit the mutability within the fabric of reality was not won without a struggle. The author faced death 11 times that year, faced death the next year, and the year after that. Each point along the way wanted to finish what the others couldn’t, and soon death felt like an echo, and in that moment of not really distinguishing the source and the reflection – when they both look somewhat the same – he could tell life and death were likewise difficult to discern. Life! Exclamation point! Are you merely an extension of entropy? A quicker way of dissipating the heat from a rocky-bodied planetoid like the earth? And if you are, then is life really just another form of death? But death! Didn’t you show us the way? Wasn’t dying the source of the cure?
Today’s speaker made me write that, just as I made him think it. And as thoughts passed from gear to gear around his body – as cuckoos sprang forth through tiny doors at various angles – as a series of chimes and tones issued forth from the stage like the ringing of a bell, if the bell could tell time and was tolled by committee – then the river of the natural lifespan, subject of such grand speculation in a previous incarnation, could now take its course. Perhaps indeed valleys would flood, but such is the natural origin of certain fertile fields. Springtime couldn’t agree with me more, its will toward abundance glad to splay its fingers before another epic growing season. As the author considers ways to wind up this report – knowing such lived truth inspires concern – whether death equals life or life equals death, he reasserts a will toward world peace.
Peace.
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