#2017/01/16

[mostlysignssomeportents]

Ad-tech targeting is an existential threat

I'm on a 20+ city book tour for my new novel PICKS AND SHOVELS. Catch me TORONTO on SUNDAY (Feb 23) at Another Story Books, and in NYC on WEDNESDAY (26 Feb) with JOHN HODGMAN. More tour dates here.

The commercial surveillance industry is almost totally unregulated. Data brokers, ad-tech, and everyone in between – they harvest, store, analyze, sell and rent every intimate, sensitive, potentially compromising fact about your life.

Late last year, I testified at a Consumer Finance Protection Bureau hearing about a proposed new rule to kill off data brokers, who are the lynchpin of the industry:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/08/16/the-second-best-time-is-now/#the-point-of-a-system-is-what-it-does

The other witnesses were fascinating – and chilling, There was a lawyer from the AARP who explained how data-brokers would let you target ads to categories like "seniors with dementia." Then there was someone from the Pentagon, discussing how anyone could do an ad-buy targeting "people enlisted in the armed forces who have gambling problems." Sure, I thought, and you don't even need these explicit categories: if you served an ad to "people 25-40 with Ivy League/Big Ten law or political science degrees within 5 miles of Congress," you could serve an ad with a malicious payload to every Congressional staffer.

Now, that's just the data brokers. The real action is in ad-tech, a sector dominated by two giant companies, Meta and Google. These companies claim that they are better than the unregulated data-broker cowboys at the bottom of the food-chain. They say they're responsible wielders of unregulated monopoly surveillance power. Reader, they are not.

Meta has been repeatedly caught offering ad-targeting like "depressed teenagers" (great for your next incel recruiting drive):

https://www.technologyreview.com/2017/05/01/105987/is-facebook-targeting-ads-at-sad-teens/

And Google? They just keep on getting caught with both hands in the creepy commercial surveillance cookie-jar. Today, Wired's Dell Cameron and Dhruv Mehrotra report on a way to use Google to target people with chronic illnesses, people in financial distress, and national security "decision makers":

https://www.wired.com/story/google-dv360-banned-audience-segments-national-security/

Google doesn't offer these categories itself, they just allow data-brokers to assemble them and offer them for sale via Google. Just as it's possible to generate a target of "Congressional staffers" by using location and education data, it's possible to target people with chronic illnesses based on things like whether they regularly travel to clinics that treat HIV, asthma, chronic pain, etc.

Google claims that this violates their policies, and that they have best-of-breed technical measures to prevent this from happening, but when Wired asked how this data-broker was able to sell these audiences – including people in menopause, or with "chronic pain, fibromyalgia, psoriasis, arthritis, high cholesterol, and hypertension" – Google did not reply.

The data broker in the report also sold access to people based on which medications they took (including Ambien), people who abuse opioids or are recovering from opioid addiction, people with endocrine disorders, and "contractors with access to restricted US defense-related technologies."

It's easy to see how these categories could enable blackmail, spear-phishing, scams, malvertising, and many other crimes that threaten individuals, groups, and the nation as a whole. The US Office of Naval Intelligence has already published details of how "anonymous" people targeted by ads can be identified:

https://www.odni.gov/files/ODNI/documents/assessments/ODNI-Declassified-Report-on-CAI-January2022.pdf

The most amazing part is how the 33,000 targeting segments came to public light: an activist just pretended to be an ad buyer, and the data-broker sent him the whole package, no questions asked. Johnny Ryan is a brilliant Irish privacy activist with the Irish Council for Civil Liberties. He created a fake data analytics website for a company that wasn't registered anywhere, then sent out a sales query to a brokerage (the brokerage isn't identified in the piece, to prevent bad actors from using it to attack targeted categories of people).

Foreign states, including China – a favorite boogeyman of the US national security establishment – can buy Google's data and target users based on Google ad-tech stack. In the past, Chinese spies have used malvertising – serving targeted ads loaded with malware – to attack their adversaries. Chinese firms spend billions every year to target ads to Americans:

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/06/business/google-meta-temu-shein.html

Google and Meta have no meaningful checks to prevent anyone from establishing a shell company that buys and targets ads with their services, and the data-brokers that feed into those services are even less well-protected against fraud and other malicious act.

All of this is only possible because Congress has failed to act on privacy since 1988. That's the year that Congress passed the Video Privacy Protection Act, which bans video store clerks from telling the newspapers which VHS cassettes you have at home. That's also the last time Congress passed a federal consumer privacy law:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video_Privacy_Protection_Act

The legislative history of the VPPA is telling: it was passed after a newspaper published the leaked video-rental history of a far-right judge named Robert Bork, whom Reagan hoped to elevate to the Supreme Court. Bork failed his Senate confirmation hearings, but not because of his video rentals (he actually had pretty good taste in movies). Rather, it was because he was a Nixonite criminal and virulent loudmouth racist whose record was strewn with the most disgusting nonsense imaginable).

But the leak of Bork's video-rental history gave Congress the cold grue. His video rental history wasn't embarrassing, but it sure seemed like Congress had some stuff in its video-rental records that they didn't want voters finding out about. They beat all land-speed records in making it a crime to tell anyone what kind of movies they (and we) were watching.

And that was it. For 37 years, Congress has completely failed to pass another consumer privacy law. Which is how we got here – to this moment where you can target ads to suicidal teens, gambling addicted soldiers in Minuteman silos, grannies with Alzheimer's, and every Congressional staffer on the Hill.

Some people think the problem with mass surveillance is a kind of machine-driven, automated mind-control ray. They believe the self-aggrandizing claims of tech bros to have finally perfected the elusive mind-control ray, using big data and machine learning.

But you don't need to accept these outlandish claims – which come from Big Tech's sales literature, wherein they boast to potential advertisers that surveillance ads are devastatingly effective – to understand how and why this is harmful. If you're struggling with opioid addiction and I target an ad to you for a fake cure or rehab center, I haven't brainwashed you – I've just tricked you. We don't have to believe in mind-control to believe that targeted lies can cause unlimited harms.

And those harms are indeed grave. Stein's Law predicts that "anything that can't go on forever eventually stops." Congress's failure on privacy has put us all at risk – including Congress. It's only a matter of time until the commercial surveillance industry is responsible for a massive leak, targeted phishing campaign, or a ghastly national security incident involving Congress. Perhaps then we will get action.

In the meantime, the coalition of people whose problems can be blamed on the failure to update privacy law continues to grow. That coalition includes protesters whose identities were served up to cops, teenagers who were tracked to out-of-state abortion clinics, people of color who were discriminated against in hiring and lending, and anyone who's been harassed with deepfake porn:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/12/06/privacy-first/#but-not-just-privacy

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2025/02/20/privacy-first-second-third/#malvertising

Image: Cryteria (modified) https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:HAL9000.svg

CC BY 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/deed.en

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[https-rediation]

A Complete and (Hopefully) Accurate Timeline of Carmen Sandiego

During my second rewatch of this show (I only found it in December okay) I suddenly found myself with a burning question, when the hell is all of this going on?

I quickly realized I could go and find out

So I began my 3rd rewatch, and a month later here we are

Each date is bolded with a brief description of the event and the episode in which you can find the information. Any quotes are taken from what is said within the show and only altered in order to flow with my sentence structure

As a disclaimer this is my first pass at the timeline and what I've immediately noticed while rewatching the show, please tell me if I've missed anything 🙏

March 01, 1999 - Carmen Sandiego is born (Season 2 Episode 10)

Carmen's birthday in previous media has been declared as March 1st, so I'm keeping that for simplicities sake. The year 1999 comes from Vera Cruz's tombstone; Vera Cruz "died" two weeks before her estate burned down, and as Carmen was beginning to walk at this time it places her at anywhere between 9-18 months of age.

This does give leeway for her to be born in 1998 (born in March 1998, house burns in Jan-Sep 1999) or 1999 (born in March 1999, house burns around December 1999) I chose 1999 because it would mean Carmen would be 20 (what Duane has declared Carmen's age during the events of the show) in 2019 (when the show aired) which I found fitting.

December 1999 - Vera Cruz's estate in burns down, Dexter Wolfe is killed. (Season 2 Episode 10)

June 2000 - Carlotta Valdez opens an orphanage (Season 4 Episode 8)

Chief relays while going over Dexter Wolfe and Carlotta Valdez's files that Valdez founded an orphanage 6 months after Wolfe's death.

March 01, 2015 - Carmen turns 16 (Season 1 Episode 1)

September 2015-February 2016 - Carmen receives her first call from Player (Season 1 Episode 1)

Duane has stated that Carmen was 16 when Player first called. Under the assumption that VILE follows a standard school year for the area (September-June), Carmen has to get this call after September so she enrolls in the following year, when she's instead 17. If she starts her first year at 17 as opposed to 16 it gets her closer to 20 when the show starts.

tl;dr: Player calls Carmen after the school year begins in September but before she turns 17 in March so it's as close to accurate to Duane's estimation of age later in the timeline.

March 01, 2016 - Carmen turns 17 (Season 1 Episode 1)

September 2016 - Carmen's first year at VILE Academy begins (Season 1 Episode 1)

December 01, 2016 - Cookie Booker arrives at VILE Island, Carmen and her classmates pull prank and get detention. (Season 1 Episode 1)

March 01, 2017 - Carmen turns 18 (Season 1 Episode 1)

June 2017 - VILE final exams, graduation, and Casablanca Caper (Season 1 Episodes 1-2)

July 2017-August 2017 - Carmen spends her summer under close scrutiny by the Faculty for her actions in Casablanca (Season 1 Episode 2)

Player, once Carmen retrieves her phone as she's attempting to escape the island, claims that Carmen hadn't "called [him] all summer long". Player is Canadian, their school years typically follow the September-June schedule, further implying that this same schedule is implemented at VILE Academy.

September 2017 - Carmen's holdover year begins (Season 1 Episode 2)

December 01, 2017 - Cookie Booker arrives with VILE hard drive, Carmen escapes the island (Season 1 Episode 2)

March 01, 2018 - Carmen turns 19

March 2018-May 2018 - Events of the Boston Tea Party Caper (Season 2 Episode 5)

Carmen recalls that the Boston Tea Party Caper had "been a few months since [she] escaped from VILE Island" and that "months of preparation were about to be put to the test" "A few months" is pretty vague, I'd say it's more than 2 months but less than 6. With graduation presumably happening in June, and El Topo being confused in his confrontation with Carmen because she "did not graduate", we can assume the new year had not yet concluded. This makes the cutoff for the Caper's events May.

May-June 2018 - Switzerland, Cairo, and Shanghai Capers (Season 1 Episode 1)

Carmen engaged in at least 3 additional Capers following the Boston Tea Party Caper (Season 2 Episode 5) but prior to the events of the first episode, information given to us courtesy of Devineaux and Julia's conversation at the beginning of the first episode.

Devineaux claims that "in just the last few weeks, this Carmen Sandiego has managed to rob millions of euros combined". A few weeks is a broad range of time, but likely not more than a month or so, which is why I've placed these three capers only slightly before the Poitiers robbery.

June 2018 - Carmen robs Cleo's vault in Poitier, runs into Crackle on train to Paris (Season 1 Episodes 1-2)

This event is 18 months prior to ACME taking Graham into custody and restoring his memories. As Devineaux is questioning him in the Big Bad Ivy Caper (Season 4 Episode 2), he asks if Graham would "care to tell [him] what [he was] doing on the train from Poitiers to Paris 18 months ago".

The events of the Big Bad Ivy Caper happen in December 2019, which if we track to 18 months prior, would be June. December 2019 is explained later in the timeline.

June-August 2018 - Events of the Sticky Rice Caper (Season 1 Episode 3)

August 2018 - Julia Argent and Chase Devineaux transfer employment from Interpol to ACME (Season 1 Episode 4)

In the French Connection Caper (Season 1 Episode 9), Devineaux's transfer from Interpol is stated to be "nearly 6 months ago" by Bellum as the Faculty observes the data they had managed to collect on him. With the French Connection Caper taking place in February 2019 (right before Hot Rocks of Rio Caper (Season 2 Episodes 1-2), which is Carnival, which is celebrated in February), August is "nearly 6 months" prior to that.

August 2018-February 2019 - Events of Season 1 Episodes 5-8

February 2019 - Events of the French Connection Caper (Season 1 Episode 9)

Early-Mid February 2019 - Events of The Hot Rocks of Rio Caper (Season 2 Episodes 1-2)

Mid February 2019 - Events of The Daisho Caper (Season 2 Episode 3)

February 19, 2019-February 25, 2019 - Events of The Fashionista Caper (Season 2 Episode 4)

To explain the previous five dates, the Hot Rocks of Rio (Season 2 Episodes 1-2) and Fashionista Capers both have events that only happen at a specific time of year, that being Carnival and Milan's Fashion Week respectively. They happen in late February to early March depending on the year. As Season 2 is set in 2019, this happens to be a bit inconvenient. Carnival actually happens in March while the fashion show occurs in February during 2019.

Since these dates conflict with the linearity of the show I've decided to push back Carnival to be sometime earlier in February as it has been in past years to fit with the show's continuity. I kept Milan's Fashion Week as it was in the real world because it's easiest that way.

It's entirely unsurprising to me that this kind of conflict has occurred as Season 2 was released in 2019 itself, meaning it was most definitely developed prior with general estimates of dates in mind.

With these capers directly following the French Connection Caper (as Devineaux is still in the hospital when Carmen is in Rio) that places The French Connection Caper in February as well.

March 01, 2019 - Carmen turns 20

March 2019-April 2019 - Events of Season 2 Episodes 6-7

April 2019 - Events of The Stockholm Syndrome Caper (Season 2 Episode 8)

The Need for Speed (Season 2 Episode 6) and Crackle Goes Kiwi (Season 2 Episode 7) Capers don't really have any indicators of when they occur, but The Stockholm Syndrome Caper happens while snow is still falling in Stockholm, Sweden. This places it in April at the latest, which is likely actually the month it takes place because at the end of the episode when Maelstrom and the rest of the faculty are addressing VILE's final graduating class Maelstrom mentions Valborg, a Swedish holiday that is celebrated at the end of April to announce the end of winter and coming of spring.

May 2019 - Shadowsan's goes on Capers during Carmen's recovery (Season 2 Episode 9)

As Valborg happens at the end of April, and so too does presumably the Stockholm Syndrome Caper (Season 2 Episode 8) as well, this means that Shadowsan's capers occur throughout the duration of May. He goes on at least four capers during Carmen's recovery period, which we can discern through what is briefly relayed by Player. These Capers take place in Belgium, Poland, Taiwan, and an area in the Austrian Alps; their cities being Antwerp, Krakow, and Taipei respectively. Her absence likely spans the majority of this month between the amount of rest she needed and the time it took to train so that she would be in the best condition to return to capers.

June 2019 - VILE Headquarters is blown up (Season 2 Episode 10)

June 2019 (1 week after explosion) - Devineaux arrives at VILE Island (Season 2 Episode 10)

June 2019 - Events of The African Ice Caper (Season 2 Episode 9)

June-July 2019 (1 week after Devineaux's arrival) - Carmen arrives at VILE Island (Season 2 Episode 10)

VILE Headquarters is blown up following the graduation of VILE Academy's final class. Back at the end of the Stockholm Syndrome Caper (Season 2 Episode 8), Coach Brunt tells the students that "upon graduating, it will be [their] prime directive to take [Carmen] down". This implies that at the time of the faculty's speech, those students were not yet graduating, so VILE would have to wait until after the school year had closed to wipe the island.

Since this school year likely ends in June, as previously gone over in this timeline, that means that the events occurring in the African Ice (Season 2 Episode 9) and Deep Dive (Season 2 Episode 10) Capers were sometime in June as well. This is further supported by the fact that in the Luchadora Tango Caper (Season 3 Episode 1), VILE had seen "no sign of [Carmen] all summer long" and ACME had not "heard nor seen any sign of her for weeks". Her last appearance until the Luchadora Tango Caper was when she stole information from ACME directly after the African Ice Caper, right at the edge of summer.

October 30, 2019 - Events of The Luchadora Tango Caper (Season 3 Episode 1)

We know this caper has to take place sometime in the fall, as per the summer statements made by VILE and ACME. It's clarified that this is specifically October because at the end of the episode Maelstom mentions that "Halloween is nearly upon [them]". As Halloween is at the end of October, you can put two and two together. 30th is further defined in the Day of the Dead Caper (Season 3 Episode 2), which takes place on the 31st (VILE is dressed up for Halloween), when you see Julia and Chase talking to Chief directly after the events of the Luchadora Tango Caper.

October 31, 2019 - Events of The Day of the Dead Caper (Season 3 Episode 2)

The Day of the Dead is traditionally celebrated November 1st and 2nd, though dates prior and post can also be included depending on the location. In this case, the episode showcases the celebrations on October 31st, aka Halloween.

Vlad and Boris are seen "trick or treating" and VILE is dressed up for the occasion, with it decidedly being Cleo's "worst Halloween ever" after Spinkick and Flytrap's failure at the end of the Caper.

Player also directly addresses the fact that "festivities typically begin the night before, on All Hallows' Eve", with All Hallows' Eve being an alternative name for Halloween.

On a slightly different note, the episode also addresses part of VILE's school year, as there were "delays caused by the move", they were forced to begin classes in "the winter quarter [that] year". This further proves their September-June schedule as it implies that the school year typically begins in the fall.

November 02, 2019 - Events of The Haunted Bayou Caper (Season 3 Episode 3)

The "Crawfish King", local celebrity chef in New Orleans, hosts a costume gala at his historic mansion "the first Saturday after Halloween" every year, stated in the episode by CK himself. With Season 3 presumably occurring in 2019, this makes Halloween a Thursday and the first Saturday thereafter November 2nd.

November 04, 2019 - Events of the Masks of Venice Caper (Season 3 Episode 4)

At the beginning of the episode, the VILE Faculty are seen eating excess Halloween candy; while Cleo complains about their indulgence, Maelstrom addresses "last night's bayou fiasco", and that they're looking forward to Cleo's "mask-themed scheme".

Since the operatives were "preparing to rendezvous as [they spoke]", this means the caper happens directly after they address it in conversation. This also means both Devineaux and Carmen are flying to Italy the morning of November 3rd, after the Bayou Caper. As this flight is about 12 hours, they would have landed in the evening/very early morning in Italy, meaning that their exploration around the city and actual Caper would have had to have happened the next day, November 4th.

November 05, 2019 - Events of The Jolly Good Show Caper (Season 3 Episode 5)

Player clearly says in the episode that "it's the 5th of November, a British holiday" when Carmen asks why VILE would want to steal the British crown jewels on that specific day.

You can also deduce that it's the 5th because a the end of the Masks of Venice Caper as Mimebomb is reporting the night's events, Roundabout reassures the faculty that "before the day [was] over, [they would] have Neal the Eel slithering free, and Carmen Sandiego in [their] clutches". As this report is happening the morning after the failed caper, this would place the Jolly Good Show Caper the ensuing night of November 5th as well.

November 2019 - Events of the Beijin Bullion Caper (Season 4 Episode 1)

The fourth season begins with Roundabout and Neal's mind wipe, though it goes awry. As it's presumably the morning after the Crown Jewels disaster, very little time passes between the Jolly Good Show and Beijing Bullion Caper.

Early December 2019 - Events of The Big Bad Ivy Caper (Season 4 Episode 2)

Player begins attending school this episode in December (with the Big Bad Ivy Caper happening on his first day of school).

We can deduce this month based on the calendar in Julia's office, observable in the V.I.L.E. History (Season 4 Episode 5) and Egyptian Decryption (Season 4 Episode 6) Capers. The month they are in during this time is composed of 5 weeks, with the last four days grayed-out, presumably cutting into the next month. This makes the month 31 days, lining up well with December.

Originally I had believed that this calendar had perfectly lined up with that of December 2019 (with the 1st of the month being a Sunday and the 31st a Tuesday), but then I realized the calendar Julia has is likely one that follows the month by Monday-Sunday rather than Sunday-Saturday.

This does mean that is is slightly off from what I thought previously, but still rather fitting nonetheless. Friday the 26th, as Julia had marked for her and Devineax's meeting, would instead be Friday the 27th on the 2019 calendar, so everything still more or less works out.

Now, to explain how this all relates to Player in school and the Big Bad Ivy Caper, we need to actually look forward into the Himalayan Rescue Caper (Season 4 Episode 4) as well. During the Himalayan Rescue Caper, Devineaux attempts to talk to Julia about Carmen and she postpones their conversation until "next Friday, at noon". This places the Himalayan Rescue Caper a week prior to the Egyptian Decryption Caper (when Devineaux arrives for lunch and finds Julia missing).

It is also addressed in the Himalayan Rescue Caper that Carmen didn't want to involve Player on the mission because he had "already been sent to detention on [her] account, and [it was] only his first week in school". THIS means that the Big Bad Ivy Caper (Player's first day of school) was about a week prior to the Himalayan Rescue Caper which is a week prior to the Egyptian Decryption Caper

tl;dr 2nd Week of December: Player starts school, Big Bad Ivy Caper

3rd Week of December: Robo + Himalayan Rescue Caper ("it's only his first week in school")

4th Week of December: V.I.L.E. History and Egyptian Decryption Capers (calendar lines up with Dec 2019, Devineaux lunch meeting marked for 26th)

Mid December 2019 - Events of The Robo Caper and The Himalayan Rescue Caper (Season 4 Episodes 3-4)

These events are back to back, with Graham's kidnapping and then ensuing rescue being a time-sensitive issue. Reason for December already explained.

Mid-Late December 2019 - Carmen acquires the ancient VILE relics (Season 4 Episodes 5-6)

Carmen hunts the VILE relics in two episodes, likely only a few days prior to her escapade in Egypt as she's actively racing VILE from location to location.

December 27, 2019 (~1 week post Himalayan Rescue Caper) - Devineaux goes to Julia's office for lunch, Carmen and Devineaux save Julia in Egypt (Season 4 Episode 6)

The calendar on Julia's desk is marked for the 26th, with it likely following the month from Mon-Sun as opposed to Sun-Sat (previously gone over in the Big Bad Ivy Caper). This would in fact make the 26th a Friday, though in 2019 this was not actually the case. The 26th was a Thursday and 27th a Friday, so I've pushed the date a day forward to match.

I doubt the creators were observing a 2019 calendar in order to precisely select a date for this event so I'm just rolling with what I've got.

Devineaux leaves Oxford for Egypt sometime after noon (when he was meant to meet Julia), and he and Carmen rendezvous at the pyramids to save Julia later in the day as the sun is setting, not quite cutting into the 28th.

December 28, 2019 - Julia and Devineaux give statements to the reporters for their historic find in the pyramids, Julia meets with Chief (Season 4 Episode 6)

It is the following morning when Julia and Devineaux talk to the press, as it's now light out.

Julia is seen in her office later in the day (back in Oxford), observing the footage when Chief appears to speak to her and schedule a meeting with Carmen.

December 29, 2019 - Carmen and Chief meet, Carmen is kidnapped (Season 4 Episode 6)

When Player analyzes Julia's most recent blog post, he tells Carmen that "if you line it up like a date and time, it's tomorrow, at 8 AM", in reference to the coded numbers at the end of each paragraph.

After Carmen and Chief's brief conversation on the 29th Carmen sits on a bench sometime later observing the city, and is subsequently kidnapped by VILE.

December 30, 2019 - Team Red hunts for clues about Carmen's location, Julia rejoins ACME, Carmen is brainwashed (Season 4 Episode 7)

It is late when we see Shadowsan at the grounds in which Carmen was captured in Seattle. Player claims to have "spent the last 24 hours hacking into every surveillance feed in Seattle [he] could find", meaning Carmen had been missing for an entire day.

In that same time frame across the city, Julia reunites with Devineaux as an ACME agent once again

We proceed to jump to Carmen whose memories are forcibly wiped in order to turn her into a VILE operative, all within the same evening.

January 20-January 26, 2020 - Shadowsan returns to the ruins of VILE Island (Season 4 Episode 7)

The show says that Shadowsan's return is three weeks after Carmen's kidnapping, but it's unclear how long "three weeks" refers to, as it could be exactly 21 days or bordering on four weeks with up to 26.

January 21-January 27 - Carmen goes on her first caper as a VILE Operative (Season 4 Episode 7)

The Caper is held the day after Shadowsan acquires information about the plan while on the island, so depending on when the three week jump is, this is the day after.

March 01, 2020 - Carmen turns 21 July 2020 - Carmen joins VILE faculty (Season 4 Episode 7)

Six months time jump, ACME has been assessing Carmen's crimes and is back to putting all their assets into taking her down.

VILE recognizes Carmen as their finest operative, and votes to have her join the Faculty.

??? 2020 - Carmen attempts to steal the Eye of Vishnu, memories restored (Season 4 Episode 8)

We don't know exactly when this caper happens. There's enough time for rumors about Carmen's plans to circulate, Gray to contact Chief, and Chief to pull strings to get the Eye of Vishnu back on display.

I would give this a few months preparation wise, but not an exponential amount of time.

2022 - Uptick in criminal activity due to prison breaks, Carmen's (presumably first) sighting (Season 4 Episode 8)

2 years after VILE began to crumble, they begin to show signs of activity once again following some prison breakouts. Julia, Devineaux, Zack, and Ivy (now apart of ACME) arrive at the scene of a supposed heist, only to find the culprit (Paperstar) already tied up with Carmen's silhouette on the rooftop.

Ending Ages for Characters with Confirmed Ages During the Show:

Carmen: 23 (20 during most of show)

Ivy: 22 (19 during most of show)

Zack: 21 (18 during most of show)

Player: 19 (16 during most of show)

Anyways that's it guys thank you for reading all my nonsense please again tell me if I missed anything 👍

[thealieninhiding]

The Katie McGrath Archives (WIP)

A repository of my ongoing digital archeology & archival work please contact me if you have anything to contribute and buy me a coffee if you value my content

Updates

(last updated 2025-01-14)

2025-01-14

Scans:

2008-10 InStyle (LQ)

2009 DRAMA Magazine (LQ)

2009-10 The Sunday Times Style (Ireland)

2010-10 Tatler

2010-12 InStyle

2011-02 Instyle (LQ)

2011-07 Tatler (LQ)

2011-10 Sunday Independent

2012-03-14 Sci-FiNow

2012-03-23 The Lady Magazine

2024-07-03

Scans:

2014-02-07 London Times - Dracula sets

Audio:

(Un)likeminded 2x02 How to Survive The Apocalypse

2024-05-24

Video:

2017 Katie McGrath interview [CW|KMcGsource]

2017 Supergirl Season 3 Sweet dreams (are made of this) Music Video

2017 CW SDCC Promo Supergirl and Arrow

2019-01-01 The CW Promo Open To All

2021-04-25 Supergirl Season 6 Katie McGrath Lena Luthor

2021-09-15 Supergirl Season 6 Katie McGrath Reflecting on Supergirl

2024-05-22

Audio:

Interview - 2009-07-17 Katie McGrath Mr Media interview

Interview - 2009-10-15 Geek Syndicate Merlin BTS special

Video:

BTS - 2008-10-08 Blue Peter Merlin BTS

Events - 2009 TV Choice Awards Digital Spy interview

Events - Getty Videos of 2009 TV Choice Awards, 2010 Merlin Series 3 launch, 2011 W.E. premiere, 2017 King Arthur Premiere

2024-05-17

Archived interviews

2008-12-07 Tribune Magazine - What Katie Did

2011-10-14 What's on TV - Merlin's Katie McGrath- 'Bad girls have more fun!'

2012-12-03 Fanhattan Blog - Colin Morgan, Katie McGrath and Bradley James on Season 5 and The Series Finale

2018-08-01 The TV Junkies - Supergirl SDCC 2018 Interviews- Lena’s Impractical Lab Outfits, the Return of Reporter Kara and a More Grounded Season 4

Audio

HHush samples

Interview - 2009-2011 Sci-fi Talk rewind merlin the series specials episode 1

Interview - 2011? Merlin S4 Sci-fi talk byte katie mcgrath on morgana

Interview - 2013 BBC Radio 1xtra part 1 & part 2

(Un)likeminded 1x02 While You Were Dreaming

Trees a crowd- Irish folklore segment

Magazine scans

2008-09-20 Radio Times

2009-06-08 TV Week (Aus)

2010-09-05 Sunday Express

2010-09-30 Totally Merlin Magazine

2011-12 Total Film

2012-03-14 Sci-Fi Now

2012-10-06 Radio Times

2013-04-06 Irish independent

2013-09-02 Marie-Claire (UK)

2013-12 Instyle

2013-12 Total Film

Video:

Fans - 2012-04-16 Merlin4 [carlospyrrhus]

Fans - 2017-08-30 Supergirl cast together on set [Joyce Law]

Interview - 2009-09-?? Merlin S2 audio interview with Katie McGrath [BJsRealm] part 1

Interview - 2010-09-06 Merlin Series 3 - BBC Radio 1xtra Interview with Angel Coulby & Katie McGrath [BJsrealm]

Interview - 2011-10-14 Merlin S4 Colin Morgan, Eoin Macken Katie McGrath on The Late Late Show

Interview - 2012-07-15 Colin Morgan and Katie McGrath at SDCC 2012 - innerSPACE [merlinnetwork2]

Interview - 2012-07-18 Katie McGrath Talks Merlin At Comic Con 2012 [ThinkHeroTV]

Interview - 2012-10-25 BBC Radio 1 Breakfast - Colin & Katie part 1 & part 2 [BJsRealm]

Interview - 2012-12-03 Merlin S5 Katie McGrath interview international press day [BJsRealm]

Interview - 2012-12-03 Colin, Bradley, Katie phone interview [BJsRealm]

Interview - 2013-11-09 Katie McGrath on BBC One Saturday Kitchen [BJsRealm]

Interview - 2019-07-22 ENTREVISTA SUPERGIRL Elenco fala sobre a nova temporada [Warner Channel Brasil]

Interview - 2019-07-23 Melissa Benoist Teases Directing An Episode Of 'Supergirl' [ET Canada]

Interview - 2020-02-21 ‘Supergirl’ Celebrates 100th Episode [ET Canada]

Panels - 2011-07-28 Merlin Comic Con 2011 Panel [ThinkHeroTV]

[luciacaminoz]

GIVE US DA RYAN DEETZ!!!!!!! pls and thank u <3

i went crazy w this forgive me but it was so fun once i started LMAO

CODEX ENTRY:

Ryan Donahue

Bail Bond Enforcer

Name: Ryan Michael Donahue

Aliases: “Montana” (Cartel & Bounty Hunter associates), “Sharkbait” (Miami repo circuit), “Saint Gringo” (affectionately—Mrs. Gutierrez, 68, his widowed hallway neighbor and pseudo-abuela that he’ll repair anything and everything for, free of charge and at the drop of her oversized sunhat)

Birthdate: March 14th, 1990 (Pisces sun, Taurus moon, Sagittarius rising) | (meets Sol in 2017 at the bar Cactus Moon, the AU is set 8 months later in 2018 so he’s just turned 28 when they reunite at Club E11EVEN.)

Height: 6’3 | Weight: 210 lbs (8% body fat)

Nationality: American (Montana-born, Florida-raised)

Affiliation: Independent Contractor (bail bonds, repossession, occasional problem-solving for organized-crime-adjacent clients)

PHYSICAL PROFILE:

Appearance: Caucasian, eternal tan-lines, dirty blond hair (buzzcut fade in 2017, grown-out more by 2018), light stubble, dark blue/gray eyes

Build: NFL Tight End meets Carpentry Jesus — broad shoulders, tapered waist, legs thick from hauling ass.

Maintains physique via manual labor and gym rat habits, dawn weightlifting (235lb bench, 485lb deadlift), weekend MMA sparring with The Boys, and dragging dickheads out of McMansions and meth labs.

Distinguishing Marks/Features:

Medium-sized birthmark on his right shoulder blade

Prowling Tiger backpiece (Japanese traditional/irezumi, 18hrs, Miami Ink, 25th Birthday)

“LIVE FREE” knuckle tattoos (at 20, just ‘cause)

Regrettable star tramp stamp (blackout during Spring Break, Key West ‘07). (Also almost got his grandad’s rodeo belt buckle tattooed: “Giddy Up or Giddy Gone”.)

Scars:

Faint knife slash along ribs on his left side (bar fight)

Burn mark on his left palm (welding accident at 16)

Faded .22 graze above his right knee from Miami PD ‘friendly fire’

Scent: Coppertone sunscreen, Dial Spring Water soap, Cuban espresso; sawdust and gun oil occasionally.

Blood Profile: tastes like sea salt, cedar smoke, a 90-proof shot, the tiniest hint of caramel

Style: Just Some Guy ™️ mixed with Florida Man Drip ™️ and a little athleisure — tank tops, unbuttoned tropical camp shirts, slim-fit henleys with the sleeves rolled. Jeans, sweatpants, board shorts. Dressed up: short-sleeved dress shirts and Cuban-collar linen in solid-colors (creams, bourbons, navies, as well as pastels), silver pinky ring (grandad’s)—he has literally never gotten more formal than that…

Voice: Baritone drawl (Montana gravel honeyed with half a life spent in Miami), laughs like a diesel engine turning over

Language(s): English, kitchen-table Spanish (bad pronunciation always to Mrs. G’s and Sol’s amusements)

BACKGROUND (Lite):

Born in Butte, MT, to a roofer dad and ER nurse mom. Has a sister 4 years older, Lisa. Spent summers on grandad Frank’s ranch mending fences, tracking elk, learning to spot rattlesnakes by sound. Family moved to Miami after dad’s death (‘99) and mom remarried (‘01). HATED the city until he discovered his love for the ocean.

Dropped out of FSU Marine Bio program when mom got sick after her divorce. Fell into repo work to help pay chemo bills, found he had a knack for persuasion. Has twin nieces—Lisa had baby girls Elle and Frankie in 2014.

Collects vintage bottle openers and plays Animal Crossing: New Horizons to unwind

PERSONALITY & PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT (Lite):

Enneagram: Type 8, bounces between 8w7 and 8w9

Symptoms of Mild OCD

Core Fear: Helplessness

Core Desire: Autonomy

Fatal Flaw: Assuming everyone is as straightforward as him

MBTI: ISTP (The Virtuoso). Tries to fix what’s broken while ignoring what’s making things complicated

Defining Traits:

Preternatural Calm (BP stays 120/80 even evading gunfire)

Moral Flexibility (steals from criminals, lies to cops… repos yachts, not souls—but hey, if the cash is REALLY good…)

Protective Without Paternalism (you’re a grown ass woman Sol for fuck’s sake act like it)

Sunset Nostalgia (prone to unprompted childhood stories, buying overpriced cowboy boots and expensive artisanal coffee grounds for Mrs. G, FaceTiming his sister’s kids)

Resilience (survives Sol accidentally over-feeding with only mild anemia and a request for Waffle House)

Sunburn (Celtic genes + Miami UV = often in Lobster-mode)

SKILLSET & MISC:

Combat: Krav Maga basics, Dirty Boxing (street rules), Expert Marksman (Glock 19, sawed-off Mossberg)

Mechanical: Rudimentary engine repair and maintenance, hotwiring (down to 13.2 secs avg) (Sol is 8.3 when he tests her. Girl was born in the garage what do you expect)

Wilderness: Tracking, decent survivalist camping (though would be incredibly rusty), fly-fishing (GRAMPS)

Digital Footprint: Instagram (@ryan.donahue, 3,284 followers. Posts: sunsets over Biscayne Bay, his nights out with The Boys, an octopus called Dale that was found in the glove compartment of a repo’d Lamborghini Aventador in 2016.)

Safehouse: 1 bed condo in Little Havana. Bachelor pad IKEA minimalism, some nautical kitsch.

service top

[us-cj]

Operation Condor

This outline is the story of how the FBI Counterintelligence Division and DOJ National Security Division were weaponized. This outline is the full story of what House Intelligence Chairman Devin Nunes is currently working to expose. This outline exposes the biggest political scandal in U.S. history. This outline is also the story of how one man’s action likely saved our constitutional republic.

His name is Admiral Mike Rogers.

I’m calling the back-story to the 2016 FISA 702(16)(17) political corruption by the Obama administration “Operation Condor”. Those of you familiar with the film “Three Days of The Condor” will note how the real life storyline almost mirrors the Hollywood film. For the real life version, NSA Director Admiral Mike Rogers plays the role of “Condor”.

“SCIF” – a Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility. To understand the larger FISA 702(16)(17) issues in 2016 it is important to focus on the word “compartmented”.

Intelligence information is housed by compartments within the larger intelligence community network. Each intelligence unit holds intelligence unique to that compartment and task. The FBI Counterintelligence unit would hold the intelligence information specific to their task or assignment; the DOJ National Security Division would hold their own compartmented intelligence; again, specific to their task and objectives. So too would the DOJ, DoD (Pentagon), State Dept., or CIA.

This compartmented structure is what led to the creation of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, ODNI. The 911 commission recommended the office to serve as a hub able to ensure intelligence sharing; that is – to ensure intelligence was not intentionally withheld from other compartments when needed.

In 2016 the ODNI for President Obama was James Clapper.

It is doubtful the 911 commission ever gave thought to what might happen when intelligence is weaponized as a political tool. The DNI is a political appointment, a cabinet member, of the President. If the executive branch, the President, wanted to weaponize intelligence as a political tool, he/she would have control over such weaponization as an outcome of their political appointees within the: FBI (Comey, McCabe), DOJ (Lynch/Yates), CIA (Brennan), DNI (Clapper), or DoD (Ash Carter), etc.

The civilian (representative) oversight into the compartmented intelligence falls to a very select group known as the Intelligence Gang of Eight.

Four Democrats and Four Republicans (four minority party and four majority party political leaders) for a total of eight. Four from the House and Four from the Senate. –Understand the Gang of Eight (https://theconservativetreehouse.com/2017/01/02/united-states-national-intelligence-oversight-the-gang-of-eight/) – The Gang-of-Eight can, if they choose, interact with the intelligence product with the same level of security clearance as the compartment being reviewed.

Only these eight members can interact with the intelligence product in this way. This ensures their ability to conduct oversight.

It is critical to understand the difference between the House Intelligence Committee, the Senate Intelligence Committee and the Gang of Eight. Only two members from the House Intelligence Committee (chair and minority), and two members of the Senate Intelligence Committee (chair and vice-chair) are participants. The other four are Speaker of the House, minority leader of House, Leader of Senate and Minority leader of Senate. The latter four are not part of any other intel committee.

On March 20th 2017 congressional testimony, James Comey was asked why the FBI Director did not inform congressional oversight about the counterintelligence operation that began in July 2016.

FBI Director Comey said he did not tell congressional oversight he was investigating presidential candidate Donald Trump because the Director of Counterintelligence suggested he not do so. *Very important detail.*

I cannot emphasize this enough. *VERY* important detail. Again, notice how Comey doesn’t use FBI Counterintelligence Director WH “Bill” Priestap’s actual name, but refers to his position and title. Again, watch the first three minutes:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=HlXXZQgh72Y

FBI Director James Comey was caught entirely off guard by that first three minutes of that questioning. He simply didn’t anticipate it.

Oversight protocol requires the FBI Director to tell the congressional intelligence “Gang of Eight” of any counterintelligence operations. The Go8 has oversight into these ops at the highest level of classification. In July 2016 the time the operation began, oversight was the responsibility of this group, the Gang of Eight:

Obviously, based on what we have learned since March 2017, and what has surfaced recently, we can all see why the FBI would want to keep it hidden that they were running a counterintelligence operation against a presidential candidate. After all, as FBI Agent Peter Strzok said it in his text messages, it was an “insurance policy”.

REMINDER – FBI Agent Strzok to FBI Attorney Page:

“I want to believe the path you threw out for consideration in Andy’s office that there’s no way he gets elected – but I’m afraid we can’t take that risk. It’s like an insurance policy in the unlikely event you die before you’re 40.”

FBI Director James Comey told congress on March 20th, 2017, the reason he didn’t inform the statutory oversight “Gang of Eight” was because Bill Priestap (Director of Counterintelligence) recommended he didn’t do it.

The originating intelligence agency agency, in these examples the DOJ National Security Division and/or FBI Counterintelligence Division, holds the proprietary intelligence they create in their SCIF. They may also receive intelligence products created for them, which they will also host in their unique SCIF. Thus, intelligence is compartmentalized.

In 2015 Sally Yates blocked any inspector general oversight of the DOJ National Security Division (SEE Pdf https://t.co/b2VmsRhQ42). The Office of Inspector General. Michael Horowitz, requested oversight over the DOJ National Security Division and it was Sally Yates who responded with a lengthy 58-page legal explanation saying, essentially, ‘nope – not allowed.’ (PDF https://t.co/b2VmsRhQ42) All of the DOJ is subject to oversight, except the NSD.

The White House -the executive branch- is also a host of intelligence information and consequently the White House has their own SCIF which holds intelligence products they would create (very little), or intelligence products created for them (the vast majority).

An example of a product created for the executive branch would be the President’s Daily Briefing (PDB).

The PDB as a whole product would only exist in the White House SCIF. Parts of the PDB would be hosted by the originating participant, ex. NSA, FBI, DOJ, DoD, CIA State Dept. etc., but only the White House would have the fully assembled product. After all, it’s assembled for the President.

Putting the “Oversight” structure together with the “Compartmented” intelligence security you will note that only a few people ‘could’ traditionally access the full PDB. However, under President Obama the President’s Daily Brief went to almost everyone at top levels in his administration. Regarding the Obama PDB:

[…] But while through most of its history the document has been marked “For the President’s Eyes Only,” the PDB has never gone to the president alone. The most restricted dissemination was in the early 1970s, when the book went only to President Richard Nixon and Henry Kissinger, who was dual-hatted as national security adviser and secretary of state.

In other administrations, the circle of readers has also included the vice president, the secretary of defense and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, along with additional White House staffers.

By 2013, Obama’s PDB was making its way to more than 30 recipients, including the president’s top strategic communications aide and speechwriter, and deputy secretaries of national security departments. (link)

Pay attention to that last part. According to the Washington Post outline Obama’s PDB’s were going to more than 30 recipients including: “Deputy Secretaries of national security departments”. (https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/five-myths-about-the-presidents-daily-brief/2016/12/29/eeb4bbec-c862-11e6-8bee-54e800ef2a63_story.html?utm_term=.7590754fb293)

During an MSNBC interview about her unmasking U.S. citizens within intelligence reports, in April 2017, President Obama’s National Security Adviser, Susan Rice, defined the Obama national security departments to include: “State” – “Defense” (Pentagon includes NSA) and “CIA”….

So under President Obama’s watch Deputy Asst. Secretaries of Defense had daily access to the PDB. An example of an Obama Deputy Asst. Secretary of Defense, Evelyn Farkas. (https://theconservativetreehouse.com/2017/03/28/oh-my-president-obamas-own-defense-deputy-admits-obama-white-house-spied-on-candidatepresident-elect-trump/)

With dozens of people having access to President Obama’s PDB, Rice’s unmasking of names within the intelligence product gave dozens of people direct access to unmasked intelligence – including Obama officials who could, likely did, use the PDB for specific and intentional political purposes. This political outcome was essentially confirmed by Evelyn Farkas who was one of the downstream recipients of the unmasked intelligence. (https://theconservativetreehouse.com/2017/03/28/oh-my-president-obamas-own-defense-deputy-admits-obama-white-house-spied-on-candidatepresident-elect-trump/)

If the House Intelligence Committee, or Senate Intelligence Committee, as a whole – wanted to see the President’s Daily Briefing, they would have to request the individual components from the individual intelligence agencies because the PDB product was not created for them; it was created for the Office of The President.

Only the Chairman and Minority leader from each Intel committee could go to the White House to see the PDB end product. [Remember, they alone are four of the Gang-of-Eight.]

This is why Devin Nunes, who is a Go8 member, has to request the intelligence from each department (NSA, DOJ, FBI etc.) in order to share it with the oversight committee. Nunes can review the ‘executive SCIF product’ but cannot export or import intelligence product he did not create.

The Congressional SCIF would then hold the compartmented information after delivery for the committee members to review under very tight controls. The intelligence is removed/deleted after review. No systems are connected.

Our research indicates that in February and March 2017 Chairman Devin Nunes, a gang of eight member, reviewed intelligence reports (most likely PDB’s) that were assembled exclusively for the office of the former President (Obama). That is why he went to the Eisenhower Executive Office Building (EEOB) Information Facility to review.

The intelligence product would be delivered to that SCIF system for his review, most likely by the ODNI (Dan Coats) or NSA (Mike Rogers). It would be removed from that SCIF system after Nunes review, (no systems are connected). It is important to note here that President Trump nominated Senator Dan Coats as ODNI on January 5th, 2017 (https://theconservativetreehouse.com/2017/01/05/report-president-elect-trump-to-announce-dan-coats-nominee-for-director-of-national-intelligence/) – however, Democrats held up that nomination until March 16th, 2017. (https://theconservativetreehouse.com/2017/03/16/senator-dan-coats-accepts-his-presidential-commission-as-director-of-national-intelligence/)

It is not coincidental that immediately following DNI Dan Coat’s ability to provide that information Chairman Devin Nunes first reported his concerns. After Devin Nunes review the information March 22nd 2017, Nunes stated the intelligence product he reviewed was “not related to Russia, or the FBI Russian counter-intelligence investigation”.

House Intelligence Committee Chairman, Devin Nunes, then held a brief press conference and stated he has been provided intelligence reports brought to him by unnamed sources that include ‘significant information’ about President-Elect Trump and his transition team.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=VtEz57_KZGk

1.) …”On numerous occasions the [Obama] intelligence community incidentally collected information about U.S. citizens involved in the Trump transition.”

2.) “Details about U.S. persons associated with the incoming administration; details with little or no apparent foreign intelligence value were widely disseminated in intelligence community reporting.”

3.) “Third, I have confirmed that additional names of Trump transition members were unmasked.”

4.) “Fourth and finally, I want to be clear; none of this surveillance was related to Russia, or the investigation of Russian activities.

“The House Intelligence Committee will thoroughly investigate surveillance and its subsequent dissemination, to determine a few things here that I want to read off:”

•“Who was aware of it?”

•“Why it was not disclosed to congress?”

•“Who requested and authorized the additional unmasking?”

•“Whether anyone directed the intelligence community to focus on Trump associates?”

•“And whether any laws, regulations or procedures were violated?”

“I have asked the Directors of the FBI, NSA and CIA to expeditiously comply with my March 15th (2017) letter -that you all received a couple of weeks ago- and to provide a full account of these surveillance activities.”

Again, this is why the intelligence reports seem likely to have been political opposition research -that was part of Obama’s PDB– unless it was a separate intelligence product, apart from the PDB, which was created for the Office of the President. [I view the latter as highly doubtful because it would be too risky for the President to be asking for specific ‘stand alone’ intelligence against political adversaries, ie candidate Donald Trump.]

…Here’s where all the dots connect:

Fast forward to 2018 – Aside from the larger Russian conspiracy narrative, up to now the controversial media story has been around the origin of the 2016 FISA warrant(s).

As previously stated by all reporting there was a June 2016 FISA application that was denied (https://heatst.com/world/exclusive-fbi-granted-fisa-warrant-covering-trump-camps-ties-to-russia/), and an October 2016 application that was approved. (http://www.nationalreview.com/article/443768/obama-fisa-trump-wiretap) The current line of congressional inquiry surrounds the underlying content of the requested FISA warrant, and whether it was built upon fraud and manipulated content (the ‘Steele Dossier’) presented to the FISA Court (FISC).

Recently the media have been working frantically, against an entire year of prior support for the Steele Dossier, to distance the origin of the FBI counterintelligence operation from the dossier. The reason why reveals the bigger underlying story.

When Intelligence Chairman Devin Nunes explained his concern in March 2017 about what he saw from a review of 2016 intelligence gathering, reporting and subsequent unmasking, the issue behind his concern was clouded in mystery. Indeed the larger headlines at the time were about demanding a special prosecutor and driving the Russia conspiracy narrative. (https://theconservativetreehouse.com/2017/03/29/understanding-the-nunes-paradox/)

In hindsight, and with information from our assembled timelines of 2016 though today, we can now revisit that concern expressed by Chairman Nunes with a great deal more perspective and information. Understanding the latest information will help us all understand the totality of Nunes original frame of reference. (https://theconservativetreehouse.com/2017/03/29/understanding-the-nunes-paradox/)

As many of you are aware, immediately following the 2016 presidential election NSA Director Admiral Mike Rogers traveled to Trump Tower to meet with president-elect Donald Trump. (https://theconservativetreehouse.com/2017/03/03/occams-razor-did-nsa-admiral-mike-rogers-warn-trump-on-november-17th-2016/) The day AFTER the Rogers visit, President-elect Trump moved his transition team out of Trump Tower to Bedminister New Jersey. (http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2016/nov/17/donald-trump-moves-transition-meetings-private-gol/)

We always suspected NSA Director Rogers gave President-elect Trump a head’s up of sorts.

Later, during the December 2016 and Jan, Feb, March, April 2017 Russian Conspiracy frenzy, when the entire intelligence community seemed to be collectively leaking against Trump’s interests, those suspicions gained even greater likelihood. However, what we learned in 2017 about the activity in 2016 almost guarantees that was exactly what happened. That back-story also ties into both the FISA issue and the Devin Nunes concern.

Admiral Mike Rogers became NSA director in April 2014.

Sometime in early 2016 Admiral Rogers became aware of “ongoing” and “intentional” violations of Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), Section 702 surveillance. Specifically item #17 which includes the unauthorized upstream data collection of U.S. individuals within NSA surveillance.

Section 702 – Item #17 “About Queries” is specifically the collection of emails, and phone call surveillance of U.S. persons.

The public doesn’t discover this issue, and NSA Director Rogers action, until May 2017when we learn that Rogers told the FISA court he became aware of unlawful surveillance and collection of U.S. persons. Put into context, with the full back-story, it appears that 2016 surveillance was the political surveillance now in the headlines; the stuff Chairman Nunes is currently questioning.

The dates here are important as they tell a story.

As a result of Rogers suspecting [FISA 702 (#17 – email and phone calls)] surveillance activity was being used for reasons he deemed unlawful, in mid 2016 Rogers ordered the NSA compliance officer to run a full audit on 702 NSA compliance.

Again, 702 is basically spying on Americans; the actual “spying” part is 702. Item 17 is “About Queries“, which allows queries or searches of content of email and phone conversations based on any subject matter put into the search field.

The NSA compliance officer identified several strange 702 “About Queries” that were being conducted. These were violations of the fourth amendment (search and seizure), ie. unlawful surveillance and gathering. Admiral Rogers was briefed by the compliance officer on October 20th, 2016.

Admiral Mike Rogers ordered the “About Query” activity to stop, reported the activity to the DOJ, and then went to the FISA court.

On October 26th, 2016, full FISC assembly, NSA Director Rogers personally informed the court of the 702(17) violations. Additionally, Rogers also stopped “About Query” permanently.

[Things to note: ♦Note the sequencing; ♦note that Rogers a career military person, followed the chain of command; ♦note the dates as they align with the Trump FISA application (https://theconservativetreehouse.com/2017/12/28/the-mistresses-of-mirrored-halls-looking-at-the-corrupt-doj-side-of-operation-trump/) from the FBI and DOJ-NSD, (ie. early October 2016); ♦and note amid this sequence/time-line the head of DOJ-National Security Divsion, John P Carlin resigns.]

IMPORTANT – WATCH The first two and a half minutes of this video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=2&v=CIJGH9RS2Fc

The DOJ National Security Division set Admiral Mike Rogers up to take the fall for their unlawful conduct. They preempted Rogers by filing a notification with the FISA Court on 26th September 2016 (look at the pdf). DOJ-NSD head John P Carlin was setting up Rogers as the scapegoat while knowing the NSA FISA compliance officer was still reviewing their conduct. Carlin wouldn’t notify the court unless he was trying to cover something. Carlin then announced his resignation. The NSA compliance officer did not brief Admiral Rogers until 20th Oct 2016. Admiral Rogers notified the FISC on 26th Oct 2016.

October 2016 is a very important month:

♦DOJ Deputy Attorney Bruce Ohr was “demoted” in the summer of 2017 after the Inspector General discovered unreported 2016 contacts between Ohr and Russian Dossier author Christopher Steele, as well as contact with Fusion GPS founder Glenn Simpson, in October 2016.

♦Also in October 2016 the DOJ lawyers formatted the FBI information (Steele Dossier etc.) for the Trump FISA application; the head of the NSD, Asst. Attorney General John P Carlin, left his job. It would have specifically been John Carlin’s responsibility to ensure a valid legal basis for the FISA application submitted to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC).

♦In October 2016 the NSA compliance officer completes a review and briefs Rogers of FISA(17) violations, email collection and phone surveillance. Rogers informs FISC – [FISA Court Ruling Link]

Now Look At This – October 2016: On Friday November 18th, 2016, The Washington Post reported on a recommendation in “October” that Mike Rogers be removed from his NSA position:

The heads of the Pentagon and the nation’s intelligence community have recommended to President Obama that the director of the National Security Agency, Adm. Michael S. Rogers, be removed.

The recommendation, delivered to the White House last month, was made by Defense Secretary Ashton B. Carter and Director of National Intelligence James R. Clapper Jr., according to several U.S. officials familiar with the matter.

[…] In a move apparently unprecedented for a military officer, Rogers, without notifying superiors, traveled to New York to meet with Trump on Thursday at Trump Tower. That caused consternation at senior levels of the administration, according to the officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal personnel matters. (link)

clapper-comey-rogers-brennan-1

Important reminder. Remember, in 2015 Sally Yates blocked any inspector general oversight of the DOJ National Security Division (SEE Pdf HERE). The OIG, Michael Horowitz, requested oversight and it was Sally Yates who responded with a lengthy 58-page legal explanation saying, essentially, ‘nope – not allowed.’ (PDF HERE) All of the DOJ is subject to oversight, except the NSD.

There’s a pretty clear picture here.

Obama’s political operatives within the DOJ-NSD were using FISA 702(17) surveillance “about inquiries” that would deliver email and phone communication for U.S. people (Trump campaign). The NSD unit was working in coordination with the FBI Counterintelligence Unit (Peter Strzok etc.). In an effort to stop the activity NSA Director Mike Rogers initiated a full 702 compliance review. However, before the review was complete the DOJ-NSD had enough information for their unlawful FISA warrant which worked retroactively to make the prior FBI surveillance (began in July ’16 per James Comey) lawful. Rogers stopped the process on October 26th 2016. As a result of his not going along, Rogers became a risk; Clapper demanded he be fired.

Ten days after the election, November 17th 2016, Admiral Rogers travels to Trump Tower without telling ODNI James Clapper. Rogers likely informs President-elect Trump of the prior activity by the FBI and DOJ, including the probability that all of Trump Tower’s email and phone communication was being collected.

♦ On November 17th, 2016, NSA Director Admiral Mike Rogers went to see President-Elect Donald Trump in Trump Tower, New York. –SEE https://theconservativetreehouse.com/2017/03/03/occams-razor-did-nsa-admiral-mike-rogers-warn-trump-on-november-17th-2016/ – Director Rogers never told his boss DNI, James Clapper.

♦ On November 18th, 2016, the Trump Transition Team announced they were moving all transition activity to Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, New Jersey. –SEE http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2016/nov/17/donald-trump-moves-transition-meetings-private-gol/ – Where they interviewed and discussed the most sensitive positions to fill. Defense, State, CIA, ODNI.

The transition team was set up in Trump Tower. The very next day, November 18th 2016, Trump moves the entire transition team to Bedminister New Jersey?

Does this make more sense now?

It would appear Obama’s Director of National Intelligence, James Clapper, is up to his eyeballs in this; though he denies participating. The FBI counterintelligence unit was monitoring Trump through FISA 702(17) upstream surveillance collected by a DOJ National Security Division that had no oversight.

The information the FBI collected, and the stuff Fusion GPS was creating via Christopher Steele, was used to create the Russian Narrative and also to manipulate the FISC into giving them a FISA warrant. ie. “The Insurance Policy”.

Ultimately, the people within all of these intercepts is what Devin Nunes discovered when he looked at the “unmasking requests” which were a result of those FISA 702(17) collections on Team Trump. That’s why Devin Nunes was so stunned at what he saw in February and March 2017.

This is why Chairman Devin Nunes is currently gathering evidence.

source https://theconservativetreehouse.com/2018/01/05/operation-condor-how-nsa-director-mike-rogers-saved-the-u-s-from-a-massive-constitutional-crisis/

[sofs16]

perceval shark

charles! fake photographer x singer!reader

HEY! i know that may sound alarming as he is a fake but its quite silly… i think… im about to write it so enjoy <3

— just finished writing; not proofread at all

yn.yln

liked by charles_jpg, and 10,484,393 others

yn.yln hi friends! im currently looking for a photographer to join me on tour for the next month since my cousin (usual photographer) got injured and can’t travel:( send me a message or email in my bio and ill send more deets:) thanks a lot!!! 💌

view all 2,484,393 comments

ynsphoto will she acc reply to like millions of people tho 😭

⤷ yn.yln i really am trying but my instagram dms are glitching now 🫠 my team and i have replied to most of the emails tho:))

july 31, 2023

— mail app, you’ve got 16,483 inbox!

INBOX

From: Charles Perceval >

To: Yn Yln >

July 31, 2023 at 4:18

Hello, Yn!

If you are still in need of a photographer, I would love to help out!

Though I have no real experience aside from taking pictures of my friends, I have a large passion for music as you do.

I hope to hear from you:)

P.S Here is a link to some of my work. Have a good day:)

All the best,

Charles Perceval

NEW EMAIL

To: Charles Perceval >

From: Yn Yln >

Subject: reply asap pls :))

July 31, 2023 at 11:01

Hey, Charles!

I’ve really spent quite a while being mesmerized at your photos and I would loveeee if you could come with us on tour this month!!

The notice is quite short but the schedule would be August 4 to August 28 with us circling Europe. Let me know if there’s any issues and we could work around it:)

Hope to hear from you as well.

All the love,

Yn Yln 🤍

To: Yn Yln

From: Charles Perceval

July 31 at 16:22

Hello, Yn!

I am so glad! There may be a minor issue but could maybe we could talk about it on Instagram.

Would that be alright?:)

All the best,

Charles

Charles Perceval

charles_jpg • Instagram

12 Followers • 83 Posts

Following you since 2017

yn 💌

i must say, the 12 followers and private account is very sketchy, perceval 🤷🏻‍♀️

Charles Perceval

Hello Yn! Why are you judging me on my followers 😂

yn💌

NO IM NOT

im just saying i hope you dont rob me when we meet in real life 😔

Charles Perceval

Thank you for the trust in me. But I would not do that to you😁

yn 💌

sigh.. i guess it’s my fault if i end up dead in a ditch… ANYWAYS!

are you free to meet tomorrow 😁

Charles Perceval

Where exactly?

yn💌

Where are you now?

Charles Perceval

Spa

yn💌

you’re.. in a spa?

Charles Perceval

No! Spa, Belgium

yn💌

that one was NOT on me! But perfect the first stop there is actually Belgium! I can go there if it’s not a problem for you?

Charles Perceval

It is no problem for me:)

yn💌

Charles, don’t take this personally or rudely, but how old are you?

Charles Perceval

26 This October

yn💌

alright! just making sure youre not an old man😁

Charles Perceval

Aw, thank you.

yn💌

my manager will send more details, thanks charles and see you tomorrow:)

charles.jpg

Follow Requests

f1babes + 5,383,292 others

yn.yln has requested to follow you. 1m

confirm | delete

yn.yln

belgium

liked by charles_jpg, and 8,018,382 others

yn.yln i may look fine but i have been hiccuping for the last 2 hours i fret i am getting a six pack

view all 1,198,292 comments

ynsbabe i bet if u turned it to a sing, it’d be a bop

⤷ yn.yln too emotional to turn it into a song

august 2, 2023

yn.updated

liked by 2,483 others

yn.updated yn.yln just landed in Belgium where she will be performing for the first time this Friday!

view all 318 comments

liviesyn streets say she went to dinner with a guy 💔😭😭😭😭😭😭

⤷ ynsday chill. she can have guy friends

⤷ author not this one 😅

august 2, 2023

ynshit

liked by oliviarodrighoe, and 16 others

ynshit NOT WHAT I EXPECTED EMAILING THIS MAN.

view all 10 comments

oliviarodrighoe cant believ u didnt know charles leclerc THATS SO SO SUTPID IM LAUGJGING

⤷ ynshit HE SAID PERCEVAL DUMBASSSSS

⤷lauflaufey if he said leclerc would you have known anyway😭

⤷ ynshit 🙂

⤷ oliviarodrighoe how did you even find out

⤷ ynshit HE TOLD ME BCUZ HE’S LIKE A SHIT LIAR (thank you very much)

reneewrap did you hire him anyways

⤷ ynshit yes… MAN IS RICHER THAN ME THO

⤷ oliviarodrighoe HAHAHAHAHAHA

⤷ ynshit fuck you

⤷oliviarodrighoe or…

⤷ ynshit STOP

august 3, 2023

charles_jpg

yn.yln has requested to follow you. 4d

confirmed | decline

— instagram notification!

• yn.yln has followed charles_jpg and charles_leclerc!

charles.jpg

liked by yn, lando.jpg, and 7 others

charles.jpg Thank you, Lewis for the camera 😘

view all 10 comments

lewis.jpg Anytime mate! yn yes, thank you lewis hamilton

[liked by charles.jpg]

august 3, 2023

ynswife

liked by 10,483 others

ynswife what do you MEAN yn followed charles leclerc on his main AND jpg acc which NO ONE ELSE BUT THE GRID AND HIS FAMILY FOLLOWS. view all 3,485 comments

ynsferrari bro has been liking all of yns posts since 2015 with that acc 😭😭😭😭

august 3, 2023

yn.yln

tagged: charles_leclerc liked by charles_leclerc, and 14,393,292 others

yn.yln belgium 🤍 got a special guy with us too

view all 3,696,607 comments

charles_leclerc Sooo excited for this month! ⤷ yn.yln bring it on, perceval;)

maxverstappen1 🎉

taylorswift Gorgeous! ⤷ yn.yln i told u guys that song was abt me

august 3, 2023

charles_leclerc

tagged: yn.yln liked by yn.yln, and 2,293,596 others

charles_leclerc London 😎📷

view all 583,797 comments

yn.yln youre so talented, perceval:,) you make me like my smile

⤷charles_leclerc Haha thank you, ynn. You have an pretty smile to begin with! ⤷ lestappen1661 I can hear the church bells

charles1166 no because the way charles always captures her best moments like the happiness in the first slide and how she’s literally a star on the 2nd 😭

august 6, 2023

FERR4RI.YLN

liked by 3,282 others

FERR4RI.YLN “you make my like my smile” “you have a pretty smile to begin with” OH ITS OVER FOR US

view all 27 comments

ylnleclerc MOM AND DAD

august 6, 2023

yn.yln

tagged: charles_leclerc

liked by charles_leclerc, scuderiaferrari, and 7,383,494 others

yn.yln my turn to jpg 🤭

view all 3,585,922 comments

charles_leclerc Loving the first slide ❤️

⤷ yn.yln thanks!

oliviarodrgio ❤️‍🔥❤️‍🩹❣️❤️💗💟😘

⤷ yn.yln fuck off. f1rraris yn sitting with charles on the plane😭 his whipped smile😭 them eating together😭 the heart emoji😭

august 8, 2023

yn.updated

liked by 18,493 others

yn.updated yn sings unreleased song “slut” at monaco soundcheck today?!?! some lyrics :

• “got love struck, went straight to my head”

• “and if they call me a slut you know if might be worth it for once”

• “everyone wants him that was my crime”

• “i break down then he’s pulling me in. in a world of boys, he’s a gentleman”

view all 4,586 comments

chleclercs bye. august 10, 2023

yn.yln

liked by charles_leclerc, and 9,193,492 others

yn.yln monacoooo!!! thanks for being so kind to me and charles:,)

august 10, 2023

yn.yln

monaco

liked by charles_leclerc, and 11,737,292 others

yn.yln a day in shark lerklerk’s life

view all 4,697,922 comments

lewishamilton shark lerklerk

⤷ maxverstappen1 shark lerklerk

⤷ fernandoalo_oficial shark lerklerk

⤷ pierregasly shark lerklerk

⤷ landonorris shark lerklerk

charles_leclerc 🤦‍♂️

⤷ yn.yln💆🏼‍♀️

cru3lsumma entering gf yn time.

august 11, 2023

ynshit

liked by oliviarodrighoe, and 8 others

ynshit this isnt funny im ac down bad. ITS BEEN LIKE 10 DAYS

view all 6 comments

oliviarodrighoe MATCHMAKER ERA 🙋‍♀️

august 11, 2023

sharkie !!❤️

ynn💗

sharkie! wana dinner 2nite 🎉

sharkie !!❤️

Of course! Where should I pick you up? :)

ynn💗

my my what a gentleman

at the hotel we’re staying in🤷🏻‍♀️

sharkie !!❤️

see you:)

ynshit

liked by 11 others

ynshit HE LET ME EAT IN HIS CAR. …… 🙂

view all 32 comments

laufey oh she’s whipped! oliviarodrighoe LALALALALALAL HELLO?

august 11, 2023

charles_leclerc

liked by 7,282,595 others

view all 1,201,833 comments

charlec11 the random an posting no caption is so bf

yn.yln wait. why do i look snatched here.

⤷ charles_leclerc You most certainly are ;)

⤷ f1111zoom HOLD TH E PHONEZ

august 15, 2023

yn.yln

liked by charles_leclerc, and 15,393,393 others

yn.yln little ep out now:)

[ COMMENTS DISABLED ]

august 22, 2023

charles_leclerc

liked by 21,383,696 others

charles_leclerc Might as well be worth it for once❤️

view all 5,707,707 comments

yn.yln thanks for the last pic, love 🧘‍♀️

yn.yln STOPP IM GOING TO MISS YOU FOR TOUR

⤷ charles_leclerc you could always come to the pasdock😘

⤷ yn.yln WAGGING HERE I COME

august 25, 2023

[hinge]

Hinge presents an anthology of love stories almost never told. Read more on https://no-ordinary-love.co

[bumblebeeappletree]

✅ Making cities resilient to floods

About 44% of all disaster events around the world are flood-related.

In our new explainer episode, we show how ‘sponging’ cities can help them overcome the challenge of flooding while strengthening the local ecology, and boosting the economic and social well-being of residents.

In this episode, you will learn:

🟡 What a sponge city is (and how it works)

🟡 The benefits of ‘sponging’ cities (beyond flood-resilience)

🟡 Projects that demonstrate the principles and benefits of a sponge city at various scales (and what we can learn from them)

🟡 Why developers should be in favour of sponge city initiatives (they can save millions in costs)

And much more!

💚 If you gain value from this conversation, we hope you will subscribe to the channel 💚

Thank you to Holcim Foundation for Sustainable Construction for supporting season 5 of Ecogradia.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Timestamps

00:00 Intro

01:43 What is a sponge city?

02:08 Features of a sponge city

04:16 Is 'sponging' expensive?

04:44 Benefits of a sponge city

08:19 The man who pioneered sponge cities

09:01 Yanweizhou Park | Jinhua, China

09:46 Why Bangkok and Jakarta are sinking

10:39 Tebet Eco Park | Jakarta, Indonesia

11:36 Chulalongkorn University Centenary Park | Bangkok, Thailand

12:13 Copenhagen's Cloudburst Management Plan

13:14 Sankt Kjelds Plads | Copenhagen, Denmark

14:06 How sponge cities can profit: Bishan-Ang Mo Kio Park | Singapore

15:46 How sponge cities can profit: Portland | USA

16:21 Outro

----------------------------------------------------------------------

This episode features the following projects:

Yanweizhou Park | Jinhua, China (2014)

Designed by Turenscape

Tebet Eco Park | Jakarta, Indonesia (2022)

Designed by SIURA Studio

Chulalongkorn University Centenary Park | Bangkok, Thailand (2017)

Designed by LANDPROCESS

Sankt Kjeld's Square & Bryggervangen | Copenhagen, Denmark (2019)

Designed by SLA

Bishan-Ang Mo Kio Park | Singapore (2012)

Designed by Henning Larsen

Also featuring:

Fish Tail Park | Nanchang, China (2022)

Designed by Turenscape

Benjakitti Park | Bangkok, Thailand (2022)

Designed by Turenscape + Arsomsilp Community and Environmental Architect

Hunter’s Point South Waterfront Park | New York City, USA (2018)

Designed by SWA/Balsley + Weiss/Manfredi in collaboration with Arup

Houtan Park | Shanghai, China (2010)

Designed by Turenscape

High Plains Environmental Center | Loveland, USA

Designed by Hauser Architects

Thammasat Urban Rooftop Farm | Bangkok, Thailand (2019)

Designed by LANDPROCESS

Khoo Teck Puat Hospital | Singapore (2010)

Designed by CPG Consultants in collaboration with RMJM Architecture

Shangrao Xinjiang Ecological Park | Shangrao, China

Designed by Turenscape

Telok Blangah Hill Park | Singapore

Interlace Apartments | Singapore (2013)

Designed by OMA in collaboration with RSP

Jiangsu—Victoria Sponge City Innovation Park | Kunshan, China

Designed by CRC for Water Sensitive Cities

Quzhou Luming Park | Quzhou, China (2015)

Designed by Turenscape

OCT OH BAY Retail Park | Shenzhen, China (2021)

Designed by Laguarda.Low Architects

Tanghe 'Red Ribbon' Park | Qinhuangdao, China (2007)

Designed by Turenscape

Sanya Mangrove Park | Sanya, China (2019)

Designed by Turenscape

----------------------------------------------------------------------

We are also available on

Spotify: https://open.spotify.c...

Apple podcasts: https://podcasts.apple...

Website

https://www.ecogradia....

Read about sustainable projects on

https://www.ecogradia....

Subscribe to our fortnightly newsletter

https://ecogradia.us5....

No spamming here! :)

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Follow us on 🖱️

Instagram:   / ecogradia  

LinkedIn:   / ecogradia  

Twitter: https://x.com/Ecogradia

#Ecogradia #Sustainability #Architecture #SpongeCity #FloodproofCity #ResilientCity #FloodProofCity #GreenSpace

[sustainability, architecture, sponge city, green spaces, floodproof city, resilient city]

[nicola-fiore]

A selection of the daily letters (sent but undelivered) to Gio Fiore:

26 August 2017

Dear Gio, I'm writing you this letter because even as summer's ended, my father has yet to give me back my phone and laptop. So I hope that, somehow, this gets to you. Papa, Enzo and I are back in Milan. It's only an hour's drive away from Laglio, but it felt like it went on forever. The whole ride over, I couldn't stop thinking about you, and why you didn't show. You promised last night you'd come see me off but there was no sign of you at all. No call, no text, not even a note. Have I said something last night that's offended you? Or maybe done something to push you away? Whatever it is, please tell me, so I can make things right. I miss you so much already, but love you even more. I hope to hear from you soon. Yours always, Nicola xo

01 September 2017

My dearest Gio, It's been a week since I've seen or heard from you, and every day, I miss you more and more. It's another few days until school starts, but my father's announced at dinner tonight that we'll be moving all the way to the other end of the country — far, far away from you, to his hometown in Palermo, Sicily. At first I didn't understand why he would be pulling me out of school my senior year, but eventually, he came clean. It's to protect the baby, he said. But I don't know if I can fully believe him. Something in me feels like it might have more to do with not letting anyone in Milan know that his teenage daughter is with child. I wish you were here. More than anything. Love always, Nicola xo

08 September 2017

Tesoro mio, Palermo is beautiful, not unlike Laglio. It's sunny here most of the time, and I spend my days taking walks. My doctor here said it's good for both me and the baby. But I get tired often. That's to be expected, she said and I just nod along. I don't tell her that I don't really sleep well at night. I'd hate for it to somehow reach my father's ears. Everyone here knows everybody. But it's okay, I don't really mind the walks. I don't know anyone else here so walking passes the time. I've attached our address at the back of this letter, in case you can come and visit. I hope you do. I miss you terribly. Until then, Nicola xo

15 September 2017

My darling Gio, I had an ultrasound appointment this morning. Our baby's heartbeat is getting stronger with each visit. I wish I could somehow send you a snippet of it but I've no way to send it to you. My father has given me back my laptop, for school, but there's no internet in the house. We should appreciate nature more, he said. As if me taking my daily walks isn't enough. Still, I'll keep the audio file for when I can send you things online again. Thinking about you Nicola xo

03 October 2017

Cuore mio, This letter's a little bulkier than usual. I found this cute birthday card the other day and thought you might find it funny. I've also attached a photo of me and baby. As you can see, my bump's more noticeable now. I hope you're celebrating your special day as wonderfully as we had planned it should be. I'm sorry I'm not there to personally wish you a happy birthday. But please know that I'm thinking of you always. Happy birthday, my love. May you have many, many more to come. Love you forever, Nicola xo

16 October 2017

My love! We're having a boy! I just got back from another ultrasound check and was told that we're having a boy! I've included a snapshot of him in the envelope. It's a little hard to see but I promise, it's there! Haha! I know it's late but perhaps this can serve as my late birthday present. :) Wish you were here, Nicola xo

28 November 2017

Dear Gio, Felt our son kick for the very first time just now, and the first thing I thought of was to tell you so you could feel it, too. That is, until I remembered that you're not here. Oh well, at least you'll know when this gets to you. Better late than never, I guess. Goodnight for now, Nicola xo

25 December 2017

Dearest darling, I hope you're keeping warm there in Laglio. When my mother was still alive, she used to tell me of how the winters there can get quite cold. So, please don't forget to wear your jacket. And gloves. And a hat! I'd hate for you to ever get sick, especially during the holidays. I wish we were spending Christmas together but hearing from you would be more than enough for me. Either way, I wish you and your family a very happy holiday season. And I hope you receive everything you've wished for. Merry Christmas, amore mio. I love you. Forever yours, Nicola xo

27 December 2017

Love of my life, I hope that by the time this reaches you, it'd be New Year's Eve, so that in a way, I'm there with you when the new year rolls around. As the year slowly comes to a close, I find myself torn. Saying goodbye to this year feels like bidding you — and our memory together — a final farewell. But as much as it pains me that we won't be starting 2018 like we wanted to, in three months' time, our son will be here. And I can only pray that you will be with us by then, too. Please never forget how much I love you. Until my last breath, I am forever yours. Your Nicola xo

[scotianostra]

Born on May 15th 1857 in Dundee, Williamina Paton Stevens Fleming became one of the leading lights in astronomy.

Her father had died when she was seven; at 14, she had become a student teacher to help support her mother and siblings.

At 20, she had married a Dundee bank employee and widower, James Orr Fleming, 16 years her senior—who would abandon her and their unborn child shortly after her arrival in the United States a year later.

Willamina worked as a maid in the home of Professor Edward Charles Pickering, who was director of the Harvard College Observatory. The story was told that Pickering was often frustrated with the performance of the (all-male) “computers” at the observatory and, reportedly, would complain loudly: “My Scottish maid could do better!” And so it was she went to work for him at Harvard.

Fleming became a full time employee at the observatory in 1881 despite a lack of any math, astronomy, or physics background. She eventually became the first woman to be designated Curator of Astronomical Photographs in 1899. This was the first corporate appointment of a woman at Harvard ever.

Fleming contributed to the cataloging of stars that later were published as the Henry Draper Catalogue. In nine years’ effort she cataloged more than 10,000 stars. During her career she discovered 59 gaseous nebulae, over 310 variable stars, and 10 novae. In 1907 she published a list of 222 variable stars she had discovered.

In 1888, Fleming she made her most well known discovery, the Horsehead Nebula.

The second phot is a depiction of the lady by Greg Moodie, artist and writer, you can see his work in the Scottish newspaper The National, there is a gallery of his work at the Torphichen Inn, West Lothian, where I took the photo.

Read more about her in this Harvard Magazine article here. http://harvardmagazine.com/2017/01/williamina-fleming

[themaveriqueagenda]

it's trans+ history week, so i finally have an opportunity to make a detailed post about maverique history.

so here it is:

a detailed timeline of maverique history.

31/05/2014 — @queerascat coined maverique as "a non-binary gender characterized by an unconventional and unothodox internal sense of self and the interrelationship between that sense of self and society"

15/06/2014 — queerascat reworded the definition as: "a non-binary gender characterized by autonomy and inner conviction regarding a sense of gender which is unorthodox, unconventional and entirely independent of conventional concepts of gender". they created the maverique flag on the same day.

18/06/2014 — tearun suggested maver as an equivalent to man/woman and rique as an equivalent for boy/girl, the latter was never heard of again due to it sounding like "reek"

19/06/2014 — someone suggested mav as an equivalent to boy/girl, @whatdoesenbymean suggested Mv (pronounced "mav") as a title

21/06/2014 — after some confusion, queerascat reworded the definition one last time as "a gender characterized by autonomy and inner conviction regarding a sense of self that is entirely independent of male/masculinity, female/femininity or anything which derives from the two while still being neither without gender nor of a neutral gender"

22/06/2014 — the @maveriques blog was created

24/06/2014 — maveriques posted a CMYK analogy to explain maverique

28/06/2014 — maveriques posted a list of proposed maverique terms

29/06/2014 — someone suggested Mv (pronounced "miv") as a title

06/07/2014 — queerascat uploaded a video about their label change and the term maverique in their youtube channel

12/03/2015 — maveriques clearly defined maverique as not an umbrella term

11/10/2015 — queerascat posted a gender tag video from a maverique perspective on their youtube channel

13/10/2015 — someone suggested maveriquine as an equivalent for masculine/feminine

~2015/16 — there was discourse on aliagender and aporagender being racist, and that maverique was a good term to use instead because it was coined by a Black person, queerascat pushed back against this

31/07/2016 — maverine was suggested as an equivalent to masculine/feminine

18/11/2016 — @moonstruck-melts suggested the earth and sun symbols for maverique, and @feekins suggested pluto as a symbol

03/02/2017 — @the-christian-closet suggested the comet symbol for maverique, mistaking it for an alternative sun symbol

05/02/2017 — maveriques posted a poll asking how people feel about the sun as a maverique symbol

12/02/2017 — maveriques posted the results, with most maveriques liking it but having reservations

24/02/2017 — courage-archive-deactivated2018 / sneer posted the symbol with the two extending arms

17/07/2017 — veriquinity was suggested as an equivalent to masculine/feminine

~2021: the maverique subreddit was created

06/01/2022 — renée yoxon went on the fifty shades of gender podcast to talk about being maverique, trans, nonbinary and genderqueer

06/2022 — reddit user ChaoticStrange suggested a maverique visibility day on 31/05 and others agreed

16/01/2023 — renée yoxon briefly spoke about being maverique on the gender reveal podcast

18/06/2023 — @themaveriqueagenda on tumblr was born

20/08/2023 — themaveriqueagenda on instagram was born

[stickybasementobject]

Johnny Depp Horror Icon

01. A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)

02. Edward Scissorhands (1990)

03. Ed Wood (1994)

04. Sleepy Hollow (1999)

05. The Astronaut's Wife (1999)

06. The Ninth Gate (1999)

07. Corpse Bride (2005)

08. Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare (1991)

09. Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007)

10. From Hell (2001)

11. Secret Window (2004)

12. Dark Shadows (2012)

13. Murder on the Orient Express (2017)

14. Transcendence (2014)

15. Marilyn Manson: Kill4Me (2017)

16. London Fields (2018))

17. Tusk (2014)

18. Yoga Hosers (2016)

[new-jersey-appreciation]

Morris Frank:

-Born March 1908 in Nashville Tennessee 

-Jewish

-Assisted his blind mother

-Lost his right eye in a horse riding incident at age 6

-Lost his left eye in a boxing incident, at age 16

-Later went to Vanderbilt University

-At age 19 he read an article, by Dorthy Eustis, about the potential for seeing eye dogs for ww1 veterans

- He proceeded to travel to the swiss alps and adopt a dog which he named Buddy

-He proceeded to train with Buddy and then head back to America

- Back within the states he and Buddy were immediately meet with sceptics and taunted with challenges; Frank and Buddy proceeded to prove these doubts wrong

- After this, Frank and Eustis founded The Seeing Eye in Nashville, a non profit for training seeing eye dogs and pairing them with vision impaired folk.

- Two years later The Seeing Eye moved to Morristown NJ, were the school is still in operation

Photos. IDs in ALT.

Sources:

https://news.vanderbilt.edu/2010/12/06/through-buddys-eyes/

https://www.tnhistoryforkids.org/history/people/morris-frank-buddy/

https://www.accidentaltalmudist.org/heroes/2017/01/11/the-blind-pioneer-and-his-very-special-dog/

https://seeingeye.org/about-us/our-history/

https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/morris-frank-and-buddy-statue

https://www.jewishpress.com/sections/features/features-on-jewish-world/helen-keller-and-the-jewish-seeing-eye-dog/2014/11/27/

https://americacomesalive.com/buddy-seeing-eye-dog/

https://library.nashville.org/blog/2019/01/90-years-ago-nashville-makes-history-seeing-eye

https://seeingeye.org/about-us/visit-us/#:~:text=The%20Seeing%20Eye's%20locations%20are,educational%20programs%20held%20each%20month.

[black-arcana]

IN THIS MOMENT Announces Summer 2025 U.S. Tour With WARGASM, KAT VON D And THE PRETTY WILD

IN THIS MOMENT has announced the 2025 "Hell Hath No Fury" tour. The 22-city trek, featuring special guests WARGASM, Kat Von D and THE PRETTY WILD, will kick off on July 16 at Epic Events Center in Green Bay, making stops across the U.S. in Nashville, Memphis, Detroit and more before wrapping up in Atlantic City at Tropicana Showroom at Tropicana Atlantic City on August 16.

A special BLABBERMOUTH.NET presale will begin on Wednesday, May 7 at 2:00 p.m. EDT and end on Thursday, May 8 at 10:00 p.m. local time. When prompted, type in the presale code "ITMBBM25" to access tickets before the general public. Check back here on Wednesday for ticketing links to individual shows. General on-sale will be Friday, May 9 at 10 a.m. local time.

"Hell Hath No Fury" tour dates:

Jul. 16 - Green Bay, WI - Epic Events Center Jul. 18 - Cadott, WI - Rock Fest + Jul. 19 - Peoria, IL - Prairie Home Alliance Theater Jul. 20 - Mansfield, OH - Inkcarceration Festival + Jul. 22 - Nashville, TN - Marathon Music Works Jul. 23 - Chattanooga, TN - The Signal Jul. 24 - Chesterfield, MO - The Factory Jul. 26 - Council Bluffs, IA - Harrah's Stir Cove Jul. 27 - Denver, CO - Unhinged Fest + Jul. 29 - Springfield, MO - Gillioz Theatre Jul. 30 - Memphis, TN - Graceland Sound Stage Aug. 01 - Dubuque, IA - Q Casino - Back Waters Stage Aug. 02 - Grand Rapids, MI - GLC Live at 20 Monroe Aug. 03 - Wheeling, WV - Capitol Theatre Aug. 05 - Rochester, NY - Kodak Center Theater Aug. 06 - Schenectady, NY - Proctors Theatre Aug. 08 - Detroit, MI - Masonic Temple Theatre Aug. 09 - Hammond, IN - The Venue at Horseshoe Aug. 10 - Indianapolis, IN - Egyptian Room at Old National Centre Aug. 12 - Richmond, VA - The National Thu Aug 14 - Worcester, MA - Palladium Aug. 15 - Hanover, MD - The Hall at Live! Aug. 16 - Atlantic City, NJ - Tropicana Showroom at Tropicana Atlantic City

+ Festival date

Since coming to life in 2005, the Grammy Award-nominated act IN THIS MOMENT has presided over a diehard fan base under the watch of "mother" figure and frontwoman Maria Brink — joined by co-founder and lead guitarist Chris Howorth, bassist Travis Johnson, guitarist Randy Weitzel and drummer Kent Diimmel. As millions convened upon the group's otherworldly and unforgettable concerts, they quietly emerged as one of the most influential and impactful bands of the 21st century.

To date, in addition to the gold-selling album "Blood" (2012),the quintet has garnered six gold and platinum singles, followed by a trifecta of Top 25 entries on the Billboard 200 with "Black Widow" (2014) and "Ritual" (2017). With a total stream tally well past 200 million as of 2020, "Ritual" elevated them to new creative and critical peaks as well. Between selling out headline tours coast to coast, the group performed in arenas everywhere alongside DISTURBED and appeared at countless festivals from Lollapalooza to Sonic Temple. Along the way, they assembled their seventh full-length, the aptly titled "Mother" (Roadrunner Records) with longtime trusted collaborator Kevin Churko (OZZY OSBOURNE, FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH). Whereas "Ritual" hinted at a bluesy sonic sorcery, "Mother" breathes the activating mantra of an unbreakable spell, commenced on first single "The In-Between".

In 2022, the band released "Blood 1983" (BMG),a reimagined EP commemorating the tenth anniversary of "Blood". Then in 2023, the longtime staples of heavy music released their eighth studio album "Godmode" (BMG),a 10-song record featuring the powerful lead single "The Purge", the band's stunning cover of Björk's "Army Of Me", the collaborative track "Damaged" which features Spencer Charnas of ICE NINE KILLS, and "I Would Die For You", which appears on the soundtrack for "John Wick: Chapter 4".

IN THIS MOMENT recently joined forces with a new label, Better Noise Music, and is working on new music.

Photo credit: Joe Cotela

[autumnslance]

LynMars's FFXIV Write 2024 Master Post

We're back again! The list and links for all of my completed prompts for this year's FFXIV Write. Stats and ramblings about writing will go under the Read More cut. Eventually these will be revised in some manner and tossed onto Ao3.

Asterisks again mean there's wolship nonsense happening.

01. Steer - Vignettes of less sociable times over Aeryn's life. 02. Horizon - WoL at the end of Ultima Thule, EW 6.0. 03. Tempest - WoL returns to Amaurot to contemplate, EW 6.4. 04. Reticent - C'oretta & Dark Autumn have a chat. Sort of. 05. Stamp - Aeryn finds a memento while cleaning, post-EW 6.0 06. Halcyon - Tanzel, Emelia, & understanding grief. Backstory. 07. Morsel - Zenos heading to Camp Broken Glass, EW 6.0. 08. Free Day! 09. Lend an Ear - Emperor Varis is very much alone. StB patches. 10. Stable - Hydaelyn as the avatar of Light. Endwalker. 11. Surrogate - Weird West AU. Unexpected new roles for the Strikers. 12. Quarry* - Dominants AU. Thavnair comes to Tural's aid. DT 7.0. 13. Butte - Dark Autumn versus seedkin in Xak Tural. DT 7.0. 14. Telling - WoL reflects on Emet-Selch's expected reaction. EW 6.0. 15. Free Day! 16. Third-Rate - Aeryn's annoyed by the Unbound. DT Role Quests. 17. Sally - Dark pays a final visit to a traitor, post-StB 4.1. 18. Hackneyed* - Aeryn, Thancred, & terrible literature. 19. Taken - A young wood warder tries to save his sibling. Backstory. 20. Duel - Wuk Lamat's challenge does not go as expected. DT 7.0. 21. Shade - WoL ruminates on some of their ghosts. Thru DT 7.0. 22. Free Day! 23. On Cloud Nine - A chocobo & her Warrior of Light. End ShB 5.0. 24. Bar - 2 different adventurers starting out. Legacy & ARR. 25. Perpetuity - Aeryn, Deryk, & questions of faith. EW 24man raid. 26. Zip - C'oretta helping out Hamon at the Coliseum. Technically DT. 27. Memory - In a future, music makes Iyna remember. EW Patches. 28. Deleterious - Aeryn & Shale discuss regulators & history. DT 7.0. 29. (Free) Deleterious 2* - Thancred & self-recrimination. ShB 5.0. 30. Two Heads are Better than One - Gulool Ja Ja muses. DT 7.0.

Previous years: 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023

Ended up a touch Aeryn-heavy this year, though Generic WoL, various NPCs, the other OCs, forays in the FC's AUs, and some supporting family cast members make appearances. There's even a callback to a previous FFXIV Write entry. Lots of Endwalker and Dawntrail due to recency bias, but it manages to span the spectrum from backstories through various expansions.

I only did 1 Free Day, due to having 2 solid ideas I ended up writing for that prompt. It was right at the end of my annual birthday vacation week, so I was pretty rested (may also be why they're among the longer entries!). Unusually, the rest of that week's works are not any longer than the others.

I'm also still working on some original writing, though, so that did cut into fanfiction time.

Below 500 words: #2 Horizon (347), #3 Tempest (415), #7 Morsel (499), #10 Stable (400), #13 Butte (477), #14 Telling (355), #17 Sally (464), #20 Duel (499), #24 Bar (462).

500 - 1,000 words: #1 Steer (944), #4 Reticent (581), #5 Stamp (588), #11 Surrogate (964), #12 Quarry (844), #16 Third-Rate (564), #18 Hackneyed (577), #19 Taken (915), #21 Shade (764), #23 On Cloud Nine (728), #25 Perpetuity (958), #26 Zip (592), #27 Memory (810), #30 Two Heads are Better than One (500).

Over 1,000 words: #6 Halcyon (2,479), #9 Lend an Ear (1,326), #28 Deleterious (1,099), #29 Deleterious 2 (1,231).

Shortest: #2 Horizon Longest: #6 Halcyon

Total: 20,382 words. Not my shortest but far from my longest. Comparing with the previous years, I can see a clear improvement in my grasp of both NPC and OC voices, and more confidence in general.

Even so, "Butte", "Sally", "Bar", and "Zip" were the hardest for me this year, and I may need to warm up to them. I love "Halcyon" for a lot of reasons, and am also fond of the lighter offerings in "Duel" and "On Cloud Nine." I like a lot of the others, particularly when trying to get into NPC heads (even if they're really weird places to be ffs, Zenos).

Not too many shippy entries this year, one of them for one of the AUs, one mostly talking about it rather than seeing it, but I like "Hackneyed" a lot as it's been awhile since I've written about Aeryn & Thancred's literary tastes (and opposite ways of treating their books).

These will eventually be revised and added to Ao3, and then we await next year!

[senkucookie]

My Current List of Hari / YGO Doujins + Updates {Pinned}

The list is going to be in order of date.

HARI / QUARTZSHOW

Double Buddy - June 28, 2009

Exodus from this world to the underworld - August 14, 2010

Happy Happy Birthday - June 26, 2011

Aurora 1 - August 12, 2011

Aurora 2 - December 29, 2011

Yes, I am Your Servant! - May 3, 2012 [Vol. 21] [I'm assuming 2012 is when she started numbering her doujins]

Aurora 3 - August 11, 2012 [Vol. 24]

Aurora 4 - December 30, 2012 Vol. 26

Would you go to the pyramid with me? (PLAY AT 1) - September 29, 2013 [Vol. 30]

Please make bread every day for me. (PLAY AT 2) April 20, 2014 [Vol. 31]

I’ll always be by your side. (PLAY AT 3) August 16, 2014 [Vol. 32]

Show me your dreams (PLAY AT 4) December 28, 2014 Vol. 33

I want to know your dreams. Please tell me. (PLAY AT 5) August 15, 2015 [Vol 35]

I want to tell you that I love you. (PLAY AT 6) August 15, 2015 [Vol. 36]

I wanted to tell you that I love you (PLAY AT 7) December 29 2015 [Vol. 37]

I desperately want to connect July 18 2016 [Vol. 40]

Raisondêtre Sain December 2016, [Vol. 42]

The star where God is playing Games (01) May 2017, [Vol. 44]

The day the letter arrived October 1, 2017 [Vol. 45]

The Spoiled King Takes a Defeat October 7, 2018 [Vol. 49]

The Star Where God Is Playing Games (05) October 14, 2019 [Vol. 50]

YU-GI-OH! DOUJINSHI

The Pharaoh's Guest [Vol. 6] | October 7th, 2018, by WALK-IN CLOSET

PRIORITY LIST

FINISHED

Aurora 1 - [ Link ]

QUEUE

Aurora 2 - [ Translating - 0%] (lost notes during move)

Aurora 3

Aurora 4

[hinge]

Hinge presents an anthology of love stories almost never told. Read more on https://no-ordinary-love.co