#&039;Cause this could be our final time

[fandom-necromancer]

039. Shouldn’t you be with him/her?

This one is a bit longer than my normal, just a headsup! (Finally not only emotions but story XD)

Fandom: Detroit become human | Ship: Reed900 | AU: reverse AU

‘Oh, no, I won’t be ordered around, Detective!’ ‘You- Wait, when did I order you around, Gavin? I just asked you to come with me.’ ‘Exactly.’ ‘Gavin, we are partners, we are supposed to go to missions together!’ ‘Yeah, well, I never asked for a phcking partner! Let alone a damn human. And I’m not becoming someone’s puppet!’ ‘I-I am not trying to make you one, we just have to go. We have been called as backup for the SWAT, me being a former military and you being a state of the art android.’ ‘You have been called out to duty.’ ‘It is implied I take my partner with me.’ ‘Oh and now I'm your property, yes? I imply you should go phck yourself! I’m not following you around like a damn lapdog!’ ‘Fine! I’ll go alone then, partner!’

Gavin watched the human march off. Honestly, he had expected him to hoist him up and pull him with him. Or to complain to the captain resulting in god knows what for the GV200. Or to punish him in any other way. He hadn’t at all expected the man to simply walk away. But then again, Nines wasn’t like other partners he had had. It would be too much to say the man had left him alone and in peace, but he had always ordered him in a polite way, even if it was an order nonetheless. Well, he wouldn’t feel guilty about it. The human had worked alone the whole time. In his file it said he had one or two partners in his career. One in the military that died the first week, one in the beginning of his police-life. Well, they lived to tell the tale, but it wasn’t a pleasant one for sure. Gavin had heard the stories about the uncontrollable Detective that, well, every definition of asshole and self-entitled idiot fit. Nines had been over five years at the force without a partner, he would manage.

GV200 spent the time until the human would get back attending to the menial work no one wanted to do. The android tasks, the ones left for them to complete by the humans. Gavin hated it. He had a whole life of signing papers for his partners, writing reports, filing evidence, sending samples to the lab, waiting for results. He didn’t realise how the hours passed and he wouldn’t have noticed the ruckus in the bullpen weren’t it for a few sheets of paper he had to fetch from the printer.

‘Hey, shouldn’t you be with him?’, someone asked as he passed by and Gavin didn’t spent time looking at them, when his auditory sensors picked up that voice coming out of the headphones somewhere. ‘This is Detective Richard Stern, requesting immediate backup! The perimeter has been overrun, I’m in enemy territory, cut off from the SWAT team. Status-‘ The man held his breath and far-away voices became audible. Then hushed words: ‘I haven’t been spotted yet. I have to keep quiet.’

Gavin ignored the lingering stares at him and the muttered questions why he wasn’t there. He asked himself the same questions.

Before he could think about it, he was out and running down the streets at inhuman speeds. He pinged Nines’ communicator, getting an exact position and looking for the best route there. Ignoring streets, cars and even humans, he bolted through the city. It was one thing to hate his partner and the whole situation of being dependant on him. It was a whole other to let his partner die out of pettiness. He connected to the frequency Nines and the precinct were using, talking without using his mouth: ‘Detective unit GV200 on the way responding to backup-call. Arrival in approximately…’ Instead of following the street he jumped over a fence through a row of gardens, recalculating the time. ‘twelve minutes, twenty-five seconds.’

It were long twelve minutes, the only sign of Nines being a regular ping that yes, he was still alive. Gavin finally arrived at the building, operator van easily spotted behind a overgrown bush. He easily hacked the lock, throwing open the back doors to some equally shocked faces. ‘Where is he?’ No one answered him, at least not fast enough. ‘Detective unite GV200 partner of Detective Richard Stern. He requested backup as he is caught behind enemy lines. Where the phck is he?’ ‘Er… around here…’ A woman pointed to a laptop-screen and Gavin jumped into the back of the car looking over her shoulder at what he supposed were the schematics of the factory-complex. ‘Where is your team?’ ‘Over here.’ That was some distance, Gavin mused. There were multiple rooms in between his partner and the SWAT-team. ‘Our men claim he saw a chance to bypass them and acted although he was ordered not to. We had to fall back not to get caught by the criminals.’ ‘And the hostage?’ ‘We suppose he is kept here.’ Huh? That was relatively close to where Nines hid.

‘Okay, I’m going in. I’ll keep broadcasting to you guys. You! White-jacket-guy! Give it to me!’, he demanded. The man flinched and looked at him confusedly. ‘Give me the damn thing! Holy shit, I’ll buy you a new one when this is over, deal? Just give it to me!’ Hesitantly the cloth was handed over and Gavin laid it flatly on a desk. ‘Perfect. Now does any one of you idiots have a sharpie?’

~

Nines had knelt in a corner behind some crates for what felt like an eternity. Surely the twelve minutes had passed already. He hated waiting had always hated it. Fuck, his plan could have worked. If only he had known there was a guard seated in front of him that had decided to patrol the only doors to this room in a rhythm that wouldn’t allow him to slip by. He was so near, he could hear the hostage promising his captors anything that might cause them to let him leave. An android could have told him that. He still waited for either the SWAT-team to act or backup to arrive, when there was a sudden change on the criminals’ behaviour. ‘Hey, has the android stood here before?’ ‘What do you mean?’ ‘Yeah, well, there’s a fucking android standing here. Seems to be dead though. Doesn’t move, has no light.’ ‘Probably leftover from the factory.’ ‘Shit dude, don’t touch it.’ ‘Why? You scared it’ll go full terminator on us?’

Then there was a second voice. A voice Nines knew, but usually in another tone. ‘Hello! I’m a GV200 work unit. How may I help you?’ It was nearly unnatural as happy and quirky as it sounded. Was that really Gavin? ‘Holy shit. I didn’t think it would wake up. Scared the shit out of us, tin-can!’ ‘I have entered Stasis six years, three months and twenty days ago. My orders were to awaken when prompted.’ ‘Hey, nice, free android! We can sell it and keep the change.’ ‘Or we could take it to the boss. Ey, robot! What can you do?’ ‘I have been built with an enhanced chassis for labour. I am quicker and stronger than a normal human.’ ‘What’s with sensors ‘n stuff?’ ‘Enhanced auditory and visual sensor systems.’ ‘We just got ourselves a guard bot, man.’ ‘Acknowledged. I will guard this building. Are there any more persons with you?’ ‘Yeah, we’re seventeen-‘ ‘Thomas is ill.’ ‘Sixteen humans. I would say to look out for police officers and such.’ ‘You can’t just say that, it’ll know-‘ ‘Search parameters saved. Have a nice day.’

Apparently Gavin had left them standing, because there were footsteps getting lost in the distance while the voices of two men remained. ‘We’ll have to tell the boss before it meets the others.’ ‘Yeah, so much for selling it ourselves, dumbass.’ Okay, Gavin was inside the building, having free access to everything. And he even found out how many people there were. A genius plan, he had to give it to the bot.

It took a while until something happened again. Accompanied with a muttered: ‘Phcking humans, I swear!’, Gavin entered the room. Nines stirred but kept quiet, so the man patrolling wouldn’t hear him. It was a shock for him to be suddenly grabbed by the arm and ruggedly pulled to his feet. ‘Intruder alert!’ ‘Gavin, what the fuck?’, he hissed, looking confused at the stark white of a Cyberlife jacket. Wait, was this even his Gavin? ‘What’s with the Cyberlife-Outfit?’ The android showed him his palm, all the while screaming ‘Intruder alert!’ over and over again. I’ll bring you to the hostage, then we wait for SWAT to arrive. Risky. But he trusted the android to know what he was doing. So, he played along. ‘Let me go, you damn android!’, he pressed out and struggled knowing he wouldn’t stand a chance even if he would have honestly tried to get free.

Immediately the guard from before came running in, looking first at Nines, then at the android. ‘You told me to look out for police and other associated forces. This one is a police detective. I've completed my first patrol through the whole building. He is the only one. I believe someone to collect more information on your operation for later intervention. According to statistical data a raid is set one to two weeks after first investigation.

‘Holy shit, you really are useful, droid. Come, let’s get him to the others.’ The man Nines had observed for the better part of an hour now tried to grab him, but Gavin simply walked off. The human continued to fake-struggle in his grip, once strong enough to earn a slap in the face by the guard. After that he backed down a bit. This wasn't how he had planned his day to go.

~

'The android has found a police officer snooping around!', the asshole following Gavin announced as they stepped into the room where the hostage was held. He was still unharmed. Considering they wanted ransom nothing out of the ordinary, but it didn't mean he was save. Especially if the SWAT-team came barging in the situation could change immediately. 'So... Has it?' A skinny man came over to take a look at Nines or more at his uniform. 'Everyone, be ready to ditch this place, we've been compromised!'

Gavin had been broadcasting what he saw and heard to the operator van as well as the team itself and unbeknownst to the criminals, his data had allowed them to surround the room and clearing the rest of the building while he was on "patrol". They waited only for his sign to attack now and Gavin smirked at the thought of humans in his command for now. The leader of the gang saw his change in expression, but before he could put two and two together, Gavin had grabbed Nines' firearm, let go of the human and took the criminal at gunpoint instead. Nines immediately dipped for the chair the hostage was strapped to as the SWAT-team came running in, taking over. He managed to pull the whole chair into a corner, but he wouldn't have needed it. They had been overwhelmed so quickly that they barely even resisted.

 'I have to say, you are amazing at the job!' Gavin looked up sitting in the passenger seat of Nines' car and knew he must have misunderstood something. 'Excuse me?' 'Yeah, your idea of infiltrating was really something else.' 'You praising me because you liked me being the obedient android?', Gavin asked. 'What? Hell, no! Why... Are you really still on that path?' 'I'm not letting myself be ordered around!' 'I haven't- Gavin, this morning I said and let me quote my own fucking self at you: "We just got a call, Let's go, I'll drive us there." how the hell is that ordering you around? You don't need orders, you just proved it today by saving the whole operation single-handedly!' 'I will not follow you around, doing your work!' 'I have not expected you to!' 'Then why did you left me with all the damn paperwork?' 'I haven't left you with it when I wanted you with me to begin with for fuck's sake! Humans procrastinate, okay? We don't like doing something? We shove it all the way to the back until we have to do it. I didn't mean to load it all on you, I just couldn't bring myself to do it yet.' He sighed, pulling into an empty spot in the parking lot. 'I am honest with you, I'm not a good partner. Today proved it, I can't follow orders very well. But neither can you so, how about we start over? Let's go in there and try again!' 'I won't let you order me around again!' Gavin grinned as the human groaned and planted his face on the steering wheel. He let him suffer for a while, before he punched Nines in the shoulder.

'Hey, I'm just messing with you. Let's go and be partners!'

[yeniyeniseyler]

Alicia Keys - Perfect Way To Die (Video Klip)

Alicia Keys – Perfect Way To Die (Video Klip)

Alicia Keys‘in yeni single çalışması “Perfect Way To Die”ın video klibi yayınlandı. Söz ve müziği Sebastian Kole ve Alicia Keys’e ait olan şarkının video klibini Chris Robinson yönetti.

Alicia Keys – Perfect Way To Die – Şarkı Sözleri

“[Verse 1] Simple walk to the corner store, Mama never thought she would be gettin’ a call from the coroner, Said her son’s been gunned down been gunned down, “Can you…

[a-for-alternative]

My question. A died, B did the whole murder thing. What happened to c, d, e, f, g, h, I, j, and k.

The prodigies of Wammy’s house are mostlyobscured, with the works making mention of them scattered, often not designed to function with the main timeline.

Yet, they have referred to one another in passing throughout.

– For example,  “L: Change the World” very specifically references the case in “Death Note Another Note”. And, “L prologue to Death Note: Spiraling Trap” nods at “L: Change the World”.

Actually, all but 4 (C,O,S, & U) of the 26 letters of the alphabet have appeared in some form.

We know that all fall somewhere within the span of 4 generations, the first generation consisting of at least 5 individuals - A & B and the final children of the first generation, X - Z. J appears to have been the only officially succeeded by another child. And, K is the only letter that clearly demonstrating when letters can be passed on. But, it is not clear whether the letters spanning the entire alphabet must be assigned before a generation is completed. What is clear is that a generation consists of at most all 26 letters.

Letter’s that are (assumed or) confirmed to be deceased are A, B, F, R, T, V, X, Y, and Z. (J and K are alive, though J could be assumed dead). With all these deceased child-agents to L, it leaves one to wonder why the program continues generation after generation. But as we go over the sources involving the letters the answer becomes evident that the existence of Wammy’s children, necessitizes the existence of Wammy’s children…

Reiterating – the stories were not created to function perfectly together, but we can put together a timeline in which some version of these successors could exist together.

F may link the Kira case timeline with L : Prologue to DN (Spiraling Trap), L: Change the World, and DNAN, which we’ll explore.

In the manga, Aizawa and Matsuda describe that among the children, few were selected to be L’s successors and no one knew their true names – It can be assumed that children arriving to Wammy’s House come without a true identity, then are selected to be successors. Most Wammy alumni fit into one of three categories: detectives, scientists, or artists, though some have branched beyond these.

Another description of these children is made in the novelization of “L: Change the World” [013]: 

We will start with what we know of A - Z then draw a timeline.

We begin with the first of the first generation - though, A commits suicide and B commits murder, there is more here to examine…

A is only mentioned once in Death Note another Note,

“…The first child, A, was unable to handle the pressure of living up to L and took their own life…” [105]

It is assumed that A’s alias is “Alternative” due to its use with backup in the English edition:

“  … L’s successors, as L’s alternatives… a copy… a backup.“  [104]

However, the Japanese original does not have an A-rendering word – instead using a word that is actually 代替品 (dai-tai-hin) but the meaning is still equivalent. 

The first child, A’s gender, background, age, cause of death, nor burial is ever expanded upon. However, A is the first attempt at creating a backup for L - presumably orphaned, stripped of all identity and purpose beyond becoming someone else - This gives the character a special place in history of Wammy’s House.

It is unclear how or where A died, but this character may also be the first and only child to have died on the institution’s grounds …

B is not the only Wammy’s alumni to have ended up in prison (one of at least 3) nor the only one to have attempted to attack L in some way.

B as a successor is made mention of several times,

” He had these eyes… which is why a child as strange as he was taken in by our home sweet home - Wammy’s House.“[094-095]

”…the second child in Wammy’s House…“ [095]

”…the second child, Beyond Birthday, was brilliant and deviant…“[105]

” B stood for backup. “ [105]

He was the second child, the backup. Wammy’s does not know his real name, making the search for him in May (year unknown) difficult.

“…B’s disappearance in May…” [117]

“… Wammy’s House only knew him as B - they did not know his real name…” [117]

It may seem flawed that Kira could have gotten Beyond Birthday’s name unless he had given it upon his arrest, but this is a misunderstanding, the novel states Naomi herself could have known his name.

“… and if she had dug deeper would be able to find out that his real name was Beyond Birthday… He wanted them to find out he was Beyond Birthday…” [162]

It is never mentioned why B runs away though there is mention that he does so knowing L will be contacted by the house. [159] This may suggest that others have left before, but it is unclear.

His background is mentioned briefly but no nationality is suggested.

“… Knew the day when his father would be attacked by a thug and die, knew the day when his mother would die in a train crash…”[094]

It is notable that he speaks Japanese like a native, claims to have had every book of Akazukin Chacha as it was serialized (in the 1990s) – the books in Believe Bridesmaid’s home.. may not belong to the victim, B may have brought them with him.

”… He speaks Japanese like a native …“ [098]

”… I read every issue as it was serialized…“ [058]

”… there was no telling if Akazukin Chacha actually belonged to Believe Bridesmaid…“ [062]

Several mentions are made throughout DN:AN that could describe B’s appearance but none are certain to not be part of his Rue persona,

Young man [038-039]

Obviously not a child [044-045]

Wearing Jeans [078]

Applying makeup [106][162]

Scrawny and hunched over [143]

The same can be said for his mannerisms,

Jam eating [048-050]

Crawling on floor [051][057][072][074-076][110]

Wiping hands (knows floor is dirty) [078]

Biting thumb nail [052]

Using percentages [054][086][116][136-137]

Mathematical ability [054][112]

Reads Speedily [062]

Photographic Memory [063]

Cracking neck [074][106]

Laughter [095][106]

“L sitting” [079][085-086]

Drinking ‘sweet dirt’ [080]

Drinking unsweetened coffee [122]

However B’s end, like A’s, was to be suicide had he succeeded…

More on the original text for 1st Generation: [X]

One of the most generous collectives of letters is L’s contact list for Wammy’s shown in “L: Change the World”. 

L brings up the contact list to inform the others that Watari has passed away. (Below)

In the film “ L: Change the World”, L’s a contact list for Wammy’s House consists of 12 members of which four are in grey, the box unable to be checked. These four are B, R, V, and T. There is no particular order to the list, not alphabetical nor in order of induction which would place L at the top or bottom. The four in grey may be disabled due to death of the person holding that letter, based on the assumption that B is the same of “Death Note Another Note” (the film coming out in 2008, while Another Note novel came out in 2006) and that K is not at her computer (idle or unavailable).

Not everyone on the contact list receives this message –  including B, R, V, and T which appear to be grayed out.  (L only clicks 8 )

However, two characters, F and H , also appear in the film but are not in the list. F dies – However, F has been more in contact with Watari directly than with L. H too communicates directly with Watari about F’s demise – H may mean  “Headquaters” or their message may originate from there. 

 Letters from other materials, notably J, do not appear in the contact list.

C has yet to be assigned.

D  does appear in Wammy’s group email.

E  also appears in Wammy’s group email. 

F  is held by a character in two different materials and could be said to be the most reckless of the Wammy’s letters… 

In “L: Change the World”, F (F1225) appears in the movie and credits but does not appear in the novelization - ‘F’ is the character’s name in the credits. 

Note on Novel: F’s absence in the novel is only one of several differences.  

There are entire scenes in the book that do not appear in the film. The most notable of these are those with FBI agent Sugita and Fairman (Naomi’s replacement), Hatsune—a terrorist and killer since the age of 15, as well as Near being an active member of Wammys already and not a boy rescued from Thailand by F. 

Other characters play more active roles including Watari (as a sniper), L (posing in a bear suit and later going on the run from K, the FBI, and Blue Ship), Maki Nikaido (defending an elderly woman and taking a very active role in infecting K).

In the film, F appears in Thailand after a sudden, mysterious, and deadly outbreak. F seems to have taken no precaution to protect himself, secretly observing the investigation being conducted by seemingly foreign scientists. 

There is no direct explanation for F’s presence in the area of pathogen release but F was working undercover for Watari near the area at the time, similar to the situation within the game.

F’s risk-taking behavior aligns with the character in the game L: prologue to Death Note: Spiraling Trap [螺旋の罠 コミュニケーター]. In the game, Watari states that F specializes in the investigation of dangerous places – investigates the interior of all hotels in Ciela which could be rigged with bombs in that instance.

The movie may be the source of F’s mention for the game.

Following this information (after F’s death in the film), H communicates to Watari that the ’biomonitors’ had not been responding (either at the time or after this event). It is unclear what was being measured by the biomonitors, whether they are measuring something within the environment or F’s signs of life, but in trying to escape the area with Near in tow, F succumbs to the deadly pathogen he was exposed to. There is no indication that there is any attempt to retrieve his remains after the explosion that destroys his vehicle.

F may not be of the first generation but appears old enough to have been part of the first generation. Which means that F is a casualty of his peer, K’s, deadly plans…

G  also appears in Wammy’s group email.

H  is mentioned in “L: Change the World”, they may only symbolize Wammy’s [H] eadquarters or perhaps be a individual within Wammy’s itself. 

Roger may be the person behind this letter as H works as the liaison between Watari and the rest of the letters. The message communicating F’s demise says they must select someone else for F’s investigation. It is notably unsentimental and to the point, much like a telegraph though the shortness is unnecessary…

If H is Roger, this may explain Roger’s presence in Wammy’s House despite “How To Read: 13” mentioning that among things he dislikes are children. 

It is also worth a short note that Roger, upon Watari’s death and the disappearances of Near and Mello, makes no attempt to hide the purpose of Wammy’s House from Aizawa and Matsuda. But, despite hating children, Roger was already present in Wammy’s House before L became a famous detective -  in “File. 15″ - Chapter 0, Wammy’s House/Day One:

Though he has evidently not washed his hands of L or his successors – in what has been called chapter 109, the one-shot special (Weekly Shonen Jump, volume 11 ) featuring Near shows that 3 years after Light’s death, Roger is serving as Near’s Watari …

It is not entirely clear whether or not Roger continues the successor program beyond this point. Though, “L: Light Up The New World” does have the IVF Ryuzaki as a new successor, he is not a child. 

Additionally, Near states in the main manga (Volume 9) that in order to ensure that Mello will not be killed by the death note, that those at Wammy’s that have known Mello have been dealt with [対処]. It is unclear what all having been dealt with would entail, beyond that they can be expected to stay silent on Mello’s appearance.

This along with Vol. 9, page 166 - Near states that if he and Mello die (if he is wrong about the 13 days rule), Kira would have won - Suggesting there are no further challengers lined up at this point.

It remains unclear whether Roger is H or continues the successorship program after he is clearly not at his post anymore 3 years post-Kira case - But, he does become Near’s Watari (which is Wammy’s code name meaning handler).

I  is also in Wammy’s group email. 

Ide did use an I as an alias during the Kira case (arc 2). However, this is the same font used by Light when he is behind the alias L and Near’s N in the manga, it is not Cloister Black nor Old English MT, it is a different variant of Old English Font.

J   is unique in that J is a letter that has been assigned to two individuals…  

J of “L: The Prologue to Death Note: Spiraling Trap” [螺旋の罠 コミュニケーター] 

J of “Death Note: New Generation”

In the prologue to Death Note, a kidnapped FBI agent wakes up in what appears to be a hotel room (this is following an investigation under L into a weapons trafficking organization CLN in which they were attacked). 

It is not a hotel but a boat (Granada) that is full of explosives in some area around Central America, Criela [クリエラ] Republic - it is thought to be headed to the Atlantic Ocean, where it is intended to sink, but the autopilot has been tapered with and it is instead headed to the Altea [アルテア] port which is the controlling area of the Criela government… 

This would look like an anti-government attack if it were to explode at port, and L would look as though he had some involvement with his agent aboard.  

L makes contact with his agent at the time not knowing their location when, J intercepts the communication, he claims this is part of his revenge… on L. 

J claims to be a part of “クリエラの月”, a terrorist group that intends initiate the civil war in this country. However, this is not true and he has very little knowledge of the explosive’s mechanisms, though he is part of the main control program for the explosive’s detonation. 

J is a war orphan, described as a man in his late 20s, having a gentle manner. He graduated from college as a programmer and joined Reboot Inc. (group that owns this boat) under his code name Jeffery Miller.  

Summary Profile [X] 

J lost his family due to CLN’s arranging bombs to be set off during a civil war in what was Yugoslavia. 

After the loss, he was entered into the protection of war orphan support groups ( including the Alois Bateson’s Foundation). He was loyal to Alois for his kindness but was deceived – Alois is actually an executive of CLN (COMBAT LOGISTICS NETWORK), multinational military industry in the Middle East.

While the company J works for, Reboot Inc., owns the ship, CLN is a shipping company with a dock large enough to hide this ship and loads it with explosives. The ship is evidence of for L’s investigation and CLN figures as long as the ship detonates, they will have won either way – they will either prove they have a bomb even L cannot defuse and become the go-to weapons supplier or they will have initiated the war they want. J’s role in this is to pretend to be the mastermind to keep L occupied, monitor L’s movements, and manage the Housekeeper (a codename for one of the badguys and the person whom actually placed the bombs on the ship). 

 J, after learning he has been deceived, has a change of heart - L appeals to his feelings on war and he cooperates with the FBI agent to stop the ship. He is later arrested for his involvement and his true identity is revealed on TV – クリロ・ミラニッチ,  Cliro Milanic…

J says to L that he does not regret what he has done because he had the opportunity to talk to L.

The second individual holding the letter [ J ]  is J of “Death Note: New Generation” Episode 2. In it, Ryuzaki [L’s official successor] is the IVF child/clone of L that appears in  

Ryuzaki appears close to Near and the second “J” – both Near and J do not show their faces through communication with Ryuzaki but do use what appears to be their natural, non-synthetic, voices. 

J meets Ryuzaki in person (In Tokyo, Japan), showing up at J’s location semi-unexpectedly. Though he appears to have arrived to retrieve tools for his investigation, J invites him to sit down and enjoy the spread that she has presumably prepared and laid out in anticipation for his arrival, Ryuzaki comments that they are not children anymore – it may be a birthday, celebration for a case solved, or another significant day for them (this takes place before the locked room murders are confirmed to be the work of Kira). 

J has recovered the mask that L has used to protect his identity during his investigations and presents it to Ryuzaki as a gift. 

J ultimately wants to persuade him to become involved in the new investigation, Ryuzaki and Near have already made an agreement that whomever solved the locked room murder first would be in charge of the case thereafter - Ryuzaki appears to have been resisting becoming involved.

J wants to further assist with the investigation, serving as the new L’s Watari figure.  However, Ryuzaki declines the assistance of J, stating Watari’s death was L’s greatest regret…

K  is another of the few letters that makes an appearance in both the film and the novelization of L: Change the World.

[ K ]  is the first of their letter, another of the few that make an appearance. In her childhood, K an agent of L, serving to mobilize the world’s agencies of law enforcement. She continued her service until  a rescue mission to recover a child from the clutches of a terrorist organization destorys her faith in herself and the world. 

The rescued child was that of the terrorist mastermind and upon being received by the rescue camp, they detonated an explosive attached to their body - it was a suicide bombing, a parent sacrificing their own child to kill others. 

After witnessing what K describes as many casualties, she abandons her post at Wammy’s at 16 years old, saying she is ashamed of her failure.  [176]

K leaves but not to go into hiding, she is out for revenge…  

When she is around 30 (26 years after the deaths of her parents) she has situated herself in the organization Blue Ship—an environmental terrorist group intending to reduce the human population through utilization of a deadly virus, for which there is only one cure. 

The organization is ruthlessness, knowing no loyalty or limitation as they regularly dispose of their own team members (119)… 

One member (Dr. Kagami, writer of “Alert Status Red: The Human Species” ) is stabbed to death and feed to eels in front of his team members. 

K is critical piece to their plan as she assimilates herself into the research laboratory of Dr. Nikaido (immunologist ), a personal friend of Watari, single parent, family friend of the Amane family, and former professor of Wammy’s house. 

After working with Nikaido for several years, even tutoring his child, she betrays him. Even the chimpanzees that K works with appear to sense that she is dangerous – But, Dr. Nikaido’s death was accidental, upon being confronted by the masked members of Blue Ship asking him to surrender the virus, he provokes one into shooting him with the intention that if they cannot obtain the cure then they will not use the virus (for fear of being infected with no means of saving themselves)…

 — Dr. Nikaido  deletes the data on the cure through a hacking security systems created by Q, given to him through Wammy. But, K knows her way around it from the inside and ultimately, it is unable to stop the terrorist infiltrators. The body of Dr. Nikaido and the living animals inside are incinerated in the fire induced by Blue Ship…

When it comes to Wammy’s alumni, it does not get much more diabolical than K. Backup (B) may take the cake for being infamously grisly but K, Dr. Kimiko Kujo, after absconding from her role with Wammy’s house, successfully obtains a deadly virus to unleash upon humanity – ultimately betraying Wammy’s, her coworkers, L, her terrorist team, and even herself – with the intent to indiscriminately wipe out the species entirely in a bid for revenge. 

She is perhaps the most apocalyptic of the first generation letters. The events that put K on this path are as brutal as the events that follow obtaining the virus :

— Her parents were the victims of an explosive fire in a lab on the East Serras Island, their place of work as researchers (though not involved in the research into infectious weapons). The destruction of the laboratory was the decision of the US government after the discovery that some of the researchers, belonging to a terrorist organization, were on the brink of constructing a deadly biological weapon they intended to use in response to the presidential election. A key individual in the attack is Matoba, a leader in Blue Ship– he carries a facial scar from the explosion and becomes another K infects.

Aside from her terrorist team, Dr. Nikaido, L, and Wammy’s— F is another causality of her plot, investigating the sudden outbreak that is the result of Blue Ship testing out the virus to demonstrate it’s deadly applications to potential buyers (for 4billion). With F appearing to be around the same age as K, this may in fact mean she is the catalyst of the demise of one of her own peers. 

There appears to be no clear limit with how far K will take her plan…  

She even impersonates L, abusing her hacking prowess to get into the Kira investigation system, to contact the US president (David Hope), making a request of 10 billion USD or L would end the president’s life after compelling them to launch nuclear missiles at London, Moscow, and Beijing.  She nearly succeeds as VP Godwin actually suggests using a small nuclear weapon to kill L. In spite, of Secretary of State, Beal, asserting that it would initiate a war with Japan. 

This is in attempt to provoke the US government into hunting down and eliminating L. At the time, this is a tangible threat, not only is L in possession of 2 death notes but the US has sent an FBI agent—  Hideaki Suruga (Hideaki Sugita), FBI agent taking up Naomi’s duties, close friend of both Raye and Naomi, even would have hosted the wedding reception — to retrieve the death notes. 

Agent Suruga, was initially working with Agent Robert Fairman –turning out to be an FBI infiltrator attempting to stage a vehicular explosion that would kill Surgua and seem as though the files too were destroyed. 

These files contained the details of the 1980’s Attache Case—the explosion that took the lives of K’s parents.  

Though K presents herself initially to Suruga as part of the Tokyo Police Department, Public Security Bureau, 3rd Foreign Affiars division – Counterterrorism division, K reminds the FBI agent of Naomi herself. Suruga remarks internally upon discovering K attempting to hack into L’s security – “Damn, women are scary.”

She is perhaps from the first generation, appearing to be the appropriate age, around the same as F, and is referred to as the first of her letter. This may in fact mean she is the catalyst of the demise of one of her own peers (F).. 

This event seems to have taken place after B’s death or imprisonment, going on the suggestion that B is dead from L’s contact list, and perhaps after the disappearances or deaths of X, Y, and Z as well.. 

It can also be inferred that this takes place after J’s arrest given that F is still alive and active during J’s crime.

Additionally, Sugita’s partner Fairman, is Naomi’s replacement as of 1 day after her quitting, and Naomi doesn’t quit the FBI until 2003. [009] 

K brings some light to how one’s letter is passed on to another; K is arrested and given a life sentence though L informs her that Watari has said, should she ever be able to return, she would be forgiven and could resume her role as K. 

What’s a little mass-homocide when you’re a 1st gen successor?    Actually, .. L suggests that her lack of faith in humanity comes from her being a student of Wammy’s. – To which K agrees…

O   has yet to be assigned. 

P       also appears in Wammy’s group email.

Q  appears in Wammy’s group email and is the person whom build the program for K’s laboratory security. 

[R]     is in the group email but grayed out, suggesting they are deceased.

[S]   has yet to be assigned. 

[T]  is in the group email but grayed out, suggesting they are deceased.

[U]  has yet to be assigned.  

[V]  is in the group email but grayed out, suggesting they are deceased.

[X], [Y], and [Z] are the last of the first generation, mentioned as being involved in the detective wars that earned L the code names of Eraldo Coil and Danuve.

“… The story of the detective war… solving that infamous bioterror case, with guest appearances by the first X through the first Z from Wammy’s house…” –  [170]  

In the original Japanese edition, they are specifically referred to as 初代 X - Z which means the first generation or the original ones, the first generation. 

This may be interpenetrated as suggesting there were others later on that held these letters but X,Y, and Z do not appear in L’s Wammy contact list in “L: Change the World”. 

In less than 17 years – between the time of L’s discovery and death –several successors veered off the intended path. In fact, being a successor between just the 1st and 3rd generations, your chances of committing suicide are at least 257x higher than that of the general population of the UK, your chances of imprisonment are 277x higher, your chances of committing murder are 770x higher … 

And, that is a conservative estimate – given we only know the fates of a few.

The children are brought out of the obscurity and given an opportunity for a greater purpose for which the world cannot discount. In their world, L himself is essential in preventing the third world war. Even ignoring the death note, their world is a increasingly dangerous, full of violence, war, and weaponry that could devastate the planet – In some ways much like our own. These are intelligent and exceptional enough to lead their world into the future, their education hones and harness their innate abilities to serve the greater good. But, it is at the price of their ignorance and often their faith in humanity, exhausting their compassion and, in some instances, with a nihilistic perspective.

Childhood’s veil of security is often lost when one loses their parents, the world never feels quite as safe when you live through something that destabilizes your entire life. Compounded with the realities that others are not exposed to, the worst of humanity, the parts that make you wonder how a person can live with themselves, the call to action is urgent and dire.

For some, failing their responsibilities to the world is too great a shame to bare. Yet, others are so full of their own malice, life is a small price to pay to prove a point…

Then there are those that will live to leave, only to bring war to your nations…

But worst of all these children are those cunning and determined and devastated enough that they will bring the apocalypse …

Can you image what 2, or 3, or more could do?

This is why the existence of Wammy’s children necessitizes the existence of Wammy’s children …

Reiterating, – these works were not created to function perfectly together on a timeline. For example, “Death Note Another Note” and “L: The Prologue to Death Note: Spiraling Trap” both erroneously presented Naomi Misora as already engaged to Ray though Ray does not propose to Naomi until 2003.

In order to create a functional timeline, we must assume at least 3 things:

The F of Spiraling Trap (J’s case) is the same involved in “L: Change the World” (K’s case)

The contact list in “L: Change the World” has greyed out contacts that were alive at the creation of the contact list but are deceased based on L clicking 6 times (D, E, G, I, P, and K).

We can dismiss the mention in Spiraling Trap and DNAN [124] that Naomi is engaged and has an engagement ring.

Now we can begin constructing a rough timeline, starting with the first generation:

A must have died before the creation of the contact list.

X, Y, and Z also seem to have died before the creation of the contact list.

B was on contact list before death and before DNAN, placing the creation of the contact list before the events of DNAN.

Next is Spiraling Trap, Prologue to DN, J’s Case:

J is not on the contact list which places the events that led to J’s arrest to be before the creation of the contact list (and DNAN).

F’s involvement places it before K’s case

Additionally, Naomi’s involvement places J’s case before her retirement in 2003 and her leave of absence in 2002.

Finally for K’s case:

The deaths (or disappearances) or R, T, and V must have occurred after the creation of the emailing list because it would not make sense for dead successors to be included, unless they were added while still alive.

Additionally, their deaths must have happened before K’s case because they are dead before L begins to investigate.

H is possibly Roger and at the time of K’s case, H is alive. 

D, E, G, I, and P appear to be alive at the time of K’s case.

Q is also alive based on their letter’s inclusion in the contact list and their involvement in the security system of the lab in which K begins work.

F dies during K’s case but is active during J’s which gives more evidence to J’s case taking place before K’s.

Though it is a side note, L: Change the world mentions B’s case (089) which clearly places the events in the same universe and taking place after the events of DNAN. 

Additionally, the book gives an idea of what month these events are taking place in when mentioning a time for the next victim of the death note (125):

If L established a means of contact before the LABB case, it makes sense why J reacts the way he does at the end of his story:

At the end of J’s case, J appears to be so honored that L has communicated with him that J concludes that the crime has still been worth it in the end.

It also may make sense why K seems so surprised that L knows that she is from Wammy’s house, not at all concerned about being recognized when meeting face to face.

In conclusion, K happens sometime around the Kira era but before the conclusion of it, B’s case occurs before that and J’s before that.

[nyappyforeverbr]

[AN CAFE Interview by Club Zy MAG Vol.039 PART 2] Translate: Shiro, Staff from Nyappy Forever BR Thanks for http://www.club-zy.com/ On October 4th will be released the new single of AN CAFE “Ikenai mousou x Abunai monster”. This month the band is currently in halloween, with presentations scheduled for Nagoya, Tokyo and Osaka, the “AN CAFE LIVE CAFE TOUR'17 ‘Antic Halloween Party ~ Ikenai mousou x Abunai monster ~’”. And the clothes rule for these lives is: “Please, come with something related to red.” Please note that in the last presentation of Tokyo, the members will appear wearing the new costumes for this halloween. So, aren’t you anxious like the boys of AN CAFE, for this month’s Halloween events? Photos by Takehiro Suganuma / Interview by Tomonori Nagasawa. - In the newest single "Ikenai mousou x Abunai monster" AN CAFE it isn’t doing cosplay, but something like kote-kote, you came to represent the visual gloss gliter / gloss horror. For the image of the band is this occasion rare? Miku: In fact, passed this kind of impression on you. It’s a work made for the halloween season, I want to show something that fans are not accustomed to. Makeup and clothes are even more dense. - As this is for the halloween season, we're waiting. Miku: Yes, we got it just for halloween. If we let this moment pass, it would be difficult to have another chance, since this time of halloween came as an opportunity. - About AN CAFE, remember the seasons and events important. How do you make songs for these seasons, like Valentine Day, White Days, Halloween (now), Christmas and etc. If at this moment there was any important fact in the world, as usual for you, what would you do? A live? Would you launch any work? Miku: The band surprisingly likes this kind of thing. Until a while ago, together with songs of the season and events songs, for my part I thought "the performances of band's activities are out of sync!?" However, enjoy the seasons of the year with the content of the events and go changing makeup and costumes is not so good to do. But that's a fun thing for caffeko. - I think these activities are wonderful. Miku: We like to spend these events with fans. We prepare our costumes just for these events and announce the content to match with it as well. During the live we were tense, if it is to make some special feeling born. Because we strongly believe that people are waiting for these meetings, we want to do it by an important way. - A good posture is to believe strongly (rs) Miku: Honestly speaking, there are also parts that we depend on fans. In the events of these days, there is nothing we can do ... Kanon: If we don’t have plans for this day, there's no excuse that works. Miku: Yes, if we do not have a schedule ready for this day, it will be BAD for my image. But, independent on us, fans want to be fascinated by the event. Even if I'm just a boy, would they stop enjoying that day together? - Don’t you prefer to have fun like a kid instead of live? Miku: If An Cafe it isn't priority, so i'm in a bad mood. - Talking about the fans, on the part of you who can prepare all the plans for this day and they just to attend the event give excuses at work and in schools, it means that they are waiting for fun, this is good? Most of all, you’re waiting there from the stage to see all these people you love. Miku: If I think by this way, I'm glad for it. About october, if we spend Halloween together, I think it will be the best. - To color this halloween lively with party music, AN CAFE will release its newest single "Ikenai mousou x Abunai monster". Miku: “アブない(abunai)”  it’s to look like a reading of  "ア ブ な い 刑事 (abunai deka) * ¹" but since it's an old program, would people understand? * ¹ Abunai Deka, popularly known as AbuDeka, is a Japanese drama shown by Nippon Television between 1986 and 1987. - Oh, it really does. Miku: At the time of creating, the word "Ikenai mousou" came in my mind, I already had the "Abunai monster" written, so I just put everything together. Then I thought, "in this way, it seemed like 'Abunai deka." Oh! I will leave it in this way, but the current generation would not understand the origin of the word "Abunai deka". - About the difference of the current generation, could they not realize?" Even with the coupling of "Tentekomai" talking about the difference of generation? Miku: About the birth of Showa and Heisei * ¹ Era. Using these expressions caused a huge conflict. * ¹The Showa Era precedes the current Era, called Heisei, which began when Emperor Akihito ascended the throne on January 8, 1989. - How so? Miku: Actually because of Showa Era. I think that now if I write about it, I would feel old for a moment. But, I also think, "to express myself in this way is to be myself" rather than "because I was born in the Showa Era, I will try to change that." - When people are thirty, would not they have that kind of conscience? Miku: If I was born in the Heisei Era, it would be disrespectful to the Showa Era (rs). Is that the lyrics of the song "Tentekomai" talk about in somewhere you are being hard on yourself.

‘Ikenai mousou x Abunai monster"may be just a number of halloween, but it's more than that, including song lyrics in the party song has become the most fun song of the year, especially because of aggressiveness of the lyrics of song, it is precisely an EDRM. - Talking again about "Ikenai mousou x Abunai monster" about the protagonist who appears in the music, at dawn strips his underwear and throws away, alone can make scandals, like prank, get stuck in his own illusions, this does not would it be hallucinating? Miku: "Ikenai mousou x Abunai monster" was to write a pop of how a person in bad shape can have fun alone. - But, lingerie is not expected of a man... Miku: Oh! To describe this part I put "bright lingeries" (rs). I wanted to put in the lyrics of song a bit of the image of how a stalker people think. And this is how "Ikenai mousou x Abunai monster" was born. - As for you Kanon, what was the image you had of "Ikenai mousou x Abunai monster"? Kanon: Personally I was interest in doing an EDM (Electro Dance Music) alone. However I thought "We are a band, do that would be wrong" so Miku brought the demo of song "oh! it is not that in this song has the element EDRM (Electro Dance Rock Music) ". When I heard the music more organized I thought "what we did was EDM". Miku: Ohh!! Kanon: No doubt we're doing the first EDM. Teruki: I do not know, I think there are already people who do this kind of thing (rs). Kanon: "Ikenai mousou x Abunai monster" may be just a number of halloween, but it's more than that, including song lyrics in the party song has become the most fun song of the year, especially because of aggressiveness of the lyrics of song, it is precisely an EDRM. Miku: Ohh! Suddenly I ended up creating. - How about Teruki, what impression did you have? Teruki: Actually, everyone was bringing Halloween songs to the music screening meeting. The song that Miku brought had the image of the halloween that would complete the live, "Ikenai mousou x Abunai monster" was the best choice to make. What I soon liked was how Miku sang rap. The rhythm was not slow, but I easily imagined the music in many lives the image that could pass. I thought this might be the image of the next An Cafe. - At the beginning, everyone are singing together and at the end you can hear a high demonic chuckle. Miku: The final laugh is mine, but it was supposed to look like 6 monsters. - Yuuki you too, please tell us what you think of "Ikenai mousou x Abunai monster". Yuuki: I grabbed the idea of song and incredibly had fun with it, but as it was a number of halloween there were scary things that were put on. We could not get the picture of halloween, so put the content of hallucinatory who walks out was creative and we could build it from that point. - Do you usually use too much your imagination (Yuuki)? Yuuki: Me? Well ... (continues in the next part)

[dannyphantomrpg]

Visual Aid: 107 Danny Phantom Facts

So I did this again.

(It’s what keeps me occupied when my husband’s asleep and the tablet pen is charging~)

((This one was barely longer than the 10 Years Later, Part 2, but it took all day for some reason...))

Let’s get this thing started~

Hey everybody, Butch Hartman here. I am so excited today because I'm teaming up with Channel Frederator today to talk about my show, Danny Phantom. Can give you the inside scoop.

You guys remember the fandom? Are you kind of curious about the show? Well, relax, we've got something for everybody here as we talk about the 107 facts about Danny Phantom.

For example, did you know that the 2005 Michael Jackson trial was actually features on Vlad's TV on one episode? It's there.

107 Facts: Danny Phantom.

001 Danny Phantom was created by me, Butch Hartman, after I had previously worked on the Fairly Odd Parents with Nickelodeon.

002 When making the show, I drew a lot of inspiration from Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Ghostbusters.

003 The title Danny Phantom was inspired by the titles of 1960's cartoons like Jonny Quest. More specifically, I wanted to create a title with a real first name, followed by a last name that was also kind of an action word. Some of these alternative action words were "Danny Thunder" "Danny Lightning" and "Danny Power". "Danny Phantom" was the name I went with cause I thought it sounded the coolest.

004 Some of the alternative first names I had for our hero included "Billy Phantom", "Kenny Phantom", "Jackie Phantom", and "Davey Phantom". I think you'll agree they don't quite have the same ring as "Danny Phantom" does.

005 I came up with the concept for the show Danny Phantom while driving a moving van from Las Vegas to Los Angeles with my mother. Unfortunately, she was more fascinated by the sight of a desert tortoise, than the birth of a new, awesome Nicktoon.

006 Before settling on a superhero show, one of my first concepts for Danny Phantom was a bit more in the main Ghostbusters. It was called Danny Phantom and the Specter Detectors, and it would have focused on a powerless Danny and his friends hunting down ghosts, using an array of ghostbusters-like gadgets.

007 Danny Phantom was pitched to Nickelodeon executives over dinner. Execs treated me  after they ordered more episodes of Fairly Odd Parents, and they happened to ask me if I had any more ideas for TV shows. And, yes, being treated to nice dinners is definitely an appreciated perk.

008 There's some early concept art of Danny showing a surprising design. I originally drew him with the Superman-type body, which was basically a lot of unrealistic buff muscles. I reverted to the slimmer design when I decided it's be more interesting to portray Danny as a fourteen-year-old kid.

009 I decided Danny should be fourteen years old because that age is kind of a bridge between childhood and adulthood. It's more of a period of self-discovery which certainly fits the theme of Danny learning to live and control his ghostly abilities.

010 Danny's skinnier, final design, was the collaborative effort of character designers Steven Silver, Shannon Tyndall, and - surprise - me.

011 Unlike many other cartoon characters, Danny has five fingers. Take that Timmy Turner.

012 You may notice that when Danny goes ghost, only his hair turns white and his eyebrows stay black. They're actually meant to be white as well, but we all thought the white brows made Danny look like an old man so we, uh, kept 'em.

013 Sam and Danny were originally meant to share a psychic connection, so one would know where the other one was at all times. But I scrapped this to keep things simple. Only Danny was finally to have the superpowers.

014 Danny was originally gonna have a pet owl named Spooky that would be able to track ghosts. I scrapped the concept as Harry Potter rapidly gained popularity. I  didn't want his series to be constantly compared to the boy wizard.

015 I wanted to give Danny a really cool ghost motorcycle to use as his primary means of transportation, but then I realized that giving a motorcycle was pointless because, you know, he can fly really fast.

016 The father-son duo of Jack and Danny Fenton are a reference to Jack and Danny Torrance from The Shining, which explains why Jack Fenton constantly accuses his children of being ghosts.

017 I gave Danny an older sibling because, unlike Timmy Turner, I felt that Jazz Fenton would make Danny feel less in control at home and give him somebody to contend with. I thought this lack of control would make Danny's experience with his superpowers all the more satisfying for him.

018 Jazz Fenton was named after a character in John Byrne's 1990's comic book Next Men. I always thought the name Jazz was cool.

019 Tucker Foley's name is a combination of actor and comedian Chris Tucker and Eddie Murphy's character from Beverly Hills Cop, Axel Foley.

020 Danny's teacher, Mr. Lancer, is named after a family restaurant in Burbank called, you guessed it, Lancer's.

021 Vlad Masters was originally going to be a vampire, but Nickelodeon execs thought making him a Vampire could lead to some pretty violent territory and I thought that too. So he was changed into a ghost.

022 A remnant of this scrapped concept can be found in his villain name "Vlad Plasmius". Plasma is found in blood which, you know, vampires kind of have a thirst for.

023 I refer to Vlad Masters as Danny Phantom's Lex Luthor. Like Luthor, Vlad uses his wealth to exert his power, or at least some of it. He also has a personal connection to Danny that gives him the upper hand in most scenarios.

024 Danny's love interest, Paulina Sanchez, is a parallel to Superman's love interest, Lois Lane. Both characters have no romantic interest in the protagonist because they have a crush on the protagonist's superhero alter ego. Lois loves Superman, but not Clark Kent, and Paulina loves Danny Phantom, but not Danny Fenton. Paulina: But you still have no shot with me Oh, the cruel irony.

025 Danny's ghost sense is identical to Spiderman's spider sense. Both senses alert their respective heroes whenever danger is nearby.

026 The parallels of Spiderman don't end there. Dash Baxter is a parallel to Peter Parker's football playing bully, Flash Thompson. Not only do Flash and Dash bully the protagonists of their universes, but they idolize the protagonist's superhero alter ego without realizing the hero is actually the person they bully. Their names both words that describe their quick movement and rhyme with each other.

027 The ghosts of Danny Phantom's world aren't the spirits of the deceased as ghosts tend to be in pop culture. Instead, they're monsters from another dimension. We call them ghosts because it's easier to say and it's more appealing than saying monsters from another dimension.

028 Danny's hometown, Amity Park, is a tribute to the settings of a few famous horror stories. Amityville, Long Island is the location of the famous haunted house known as the Amityville Horror. But Amity Park is also named after Amity Island, the location of the book and Steven Spielberg film Jaws.

029 Danny's high school, Casper High, is named after Casper the Friendly Ghost. Hey, if we hadn't added all these paranormal references, you may have forgotten the show is about ghosts.

030 Quite a few key members from the Fairly Odd Parents had a hand in making Danny Phantom, including writer  Steve Marmel and art director Bob Boyle.

031 One of the major differences working on the Fairly Odd Parents and Danny Phantom was the latter series' more serial format containing everything from character arcs to recurring story lines. Danny Phantom embraces storytelling angle by making the episodes 22 minutes long as opposed to Fairly Odd Parents whose 22 minute run time consisted of 2 eleven minute episodes.

032 One of the most challenging aspects of creating a superhero show like Danny Phantom, was giving all the superhero tropes a unique and interesting twist. We wanted to keep the series fresh an unique.

033 I originally wanted to cast a fourteen year old boy for the role of Danny, but I couldn't find anybody that sounded heroic enough. That heroic voice I searched for was ultimately provided by David Kaufman. Before playing Danny, Kaufman broke into the realm of voice acting when he played Marty McFly in Back tot he Future: The Animated Series.

034 David Kaufman kept his audition for Danny as a CD in his car that he would listen to towards the beginning of the show whenever he drove to the studio to record. He did this to remember what Danny sounded like in order to immerse himself into the character efficiently.

035 I wasn't the only one Kaufman's performance left a deep impression on. His daughter, Grace, calls him Daddy Phantom.

036 Sam Manson is played by actress Grey Griffin. I basically made an effort to include her in every show I created back then. Thus far, she's played Vicky in the Fairly Odd Parents and Kitty Katswell from T.U.F.F. Puppy.

037 Tucker isn't the first loyal friend Ricky D'Shon Collins has played. Before hunting ghosts with Danny, he helped TJ Detweiler keep balance and order on the playground as Vince LaSalle in Disney's Recess.

038 Maddie Fenton's voice actress, Kath Soucie, has essentially crafted a career out of voicing cartoon mothers. She played Dexter's mom in Dexter's Laboratory, Betty DeVille in Rugrats and Miriam Pataki in Hey Arnold.

039 Danny's father, Jack, is played by legendary voice actor Rob Paulson, who's played iconic roles like Yakko Warner, Pinky, Carl Weiser, Experiment 625, Donatello in the new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and Raphael in the old one, and way too many more to mention here.

040 Although Mr. Lancer is far from hardcore, his voice actor, Ron Perlman, has played quite a few characters throughout his career that redefined the word, He played Hellboy in the Guillermo del Toro films of the same name and he voices Slade Wilson, also known as Deathstroke, on Teen Titans, as well as the Lich in Adventure Time.

041 Valerie Grey was originally played by Grey DeLisle for the episode My Brother's Keeper before renowned voice actress Cree Summer was chosen to take over the role. If her name doesn't sound familiar, you've probably heard her voice as Penny on Inspector Gadget or maybe even as Susie Carmicheal on Rugrats.

042 Valerie isn't the only one that's had a change in her voice. Dani, that's Dani with an I, was voiced with two different actresses through the series. She was played by AnnaSophia Robb in her debut episode Kindred Spirits. The role was then taken over by Krista Swan in the episode D-Stabilized, which was Dani's second and final speaking appearance.

043 Tara Strong plays two of the show's recurring villains: Ember McLain and Penelope Spectra. This is definitely not the first time I've worked with her. You probably know her best as Timmy Turner in the Fairly Odd Parents, which proves she can effectively play both the hero and the villain.

044 Every celebrity guest in the show was cast as a ghost, similar to how celebrity guests would play villains on the 1960's Batman series starring Adam West and Burt Ward. Some of these celebrities include Particia Heaton from Everybody Loves Raymond as the Lunch Lady, and Matthew St. Patrick from Six Feet Under as Skulker, and Will Arnett from Arrested Development as the Ghost Writer, and Martin Mull as Vlad Plasmius.

045 These celebrity voice actors typically played their ghosts for a limited time before different voice actors took their roles. Sometimes as soon as the ghost's second appearance. Series Kath Soucie took over the role of the Lunch Lady and Kevin Michael Richardson became Skulker.

046 Tucker's dad, Maurice Foley, is voiced by Phil Lamarr who voices Hermes Conrad on Futurama and Samruai Jack on Samurai Jack.

047 Mark Hamill plays Undergrowth. He's, of course, best known for playing Luke Skywalker in Star Wars, but also as countless voice acting credits, including the Joker and Fire Lord Ozai.

048 The ghost child Youngblood was played by actor Taylor Lautner when he was just nine years old. Lautner would later be featured in everybody's favorite love story Twilight. Wait, who wrote that? Do I have to say that?

049 Danny's ultimate enemy, Dark Danny, is played by Oscar-nominated acting legend Eric Roberts. His impressive resume includes everything from the Dark Knight to the Cable Guy.

050 The first recording session for Danny Phantom took place on November 21, 2002, about a year and a half before the show premiered. The first episode to be recorded was also the first episode to air: Mystery Meat.

051 In fact, Danny Phantom premiered on April 3, 2004, right after Nickelodeon's annual Kid's Choice Awards.

052 Unlike many other animated shows, the cast of Danny Phantom recorded their dialogue in the same room together. David Kaufman described the experience as something akin to a stage play.

053 It takes the actors around 3 hours to record dialogue for a single episode. David Kaufman knows that shouting "I'm goin' ghost!" so many times made his voice hoarse by the end of the day.

054 In the episode What You Want, I voiced a football announcer that also looks a lot like me except he's, you know, a cartoon. I mean, he looks a lot more like me than Dr. Bender does. I hope.

055 The theme song we hear today wasn't the only one recorded for the show. An alternate version got so far into production that an alternate opening sequence was storyboarded all the way around it. The alternate song sounds very similar to the final product with different lyrics that focus more on explaining Danny's abilities.

056 The theme song was changed because Nickelodeon wanted it to tell Danny's origin story. This way, new views wouldn't feel alienated when watching the show for the first time no matter what episode they started out with.

057 Luckily, changing the lyrics wasn't an overly complicated, make-10-calls, logistical nightmare since I wrote the lyrics of the theme song. Both of them actually.

058 I based the show's theme song after the song The Invisible Man by Queen, one of my favorite bands.

059 One thing I learned from working on the Danny Phantom theme song is that your first idea isn't always your best idea, and to never stop pushing yourself until you've made something truly awesome. You're welcome for that halfway through burst of inspiration.

060 I also co wrote another fan favorite song Remember, performed by Ember in the episode Fanning the Flames, which also happens to be my third favorite episode. Yes, my third favorite. I am very, very specific.

061 Danny Phantom was the first show to be produced by my very own company, Billionfold Inc. which was co-founded with my wife. Billionfold comes from a biblical term, hundredfold.

062 A single episode of Danny Phantom took approximately 10 months to produce, stretching all the way from pre-production to post.

063 While the pre-production phase took place in Burbank, California, Danny Phantom's animation was done by a Korean animation studio called Rough Draft. Rough Draft's resume includes work done on other animated classics like Futurama, The Simpsons, and SpongeBob SquarePants.

064 The individual villains found within Danny Phantom's rogues gallery was based on ideas that I had. Ember McLane stemmed from a pitch regarding an episode about music fads, and the effects they have on teenagers. The Lunch Lady was generated from my very astute knowledge that students tend to hate school prepared lunched.

065 Vlad is a Green Bay Packers fanatic because Danny Phantom's story write, Steve Marmel is a cheesehead himself. We nearly got sued for this, but luckily Marmel was smart enough to make the team colors of the Danny Phantom Packers gold and green instead of green and gold.

066 One scrapped running gag Marmel wanted to incorporate was that Vlad's home would be blown up after every encounter he had with Danny, but this recurring joke was mainly lost in editing.

067 Had the series gone on, Danielle would have been taken in by the Fentons, effectively becoming the younger sister of Danny and Jazz.

068 Technus was intended to have another upgrade, Technus 3.0, in the episode Identity Crisis. The design was scrapped after we decided the upgrade didn't really fit anywhere in the episode's story.

069 The addition of Danny Phantom's logo later in the series was the suggestion of Nickelodeon executives, who thought he needed a symbol akin to heroes like Batman, Superman, and Spiderman. But perhaps more honest reason was because the execs wanted to make the hero more marketable.

070 Danny officially became 99.99% marketable in the season 2 episode, Memory Blank, in which Sam gives him his D logo.

071 The series score was composed by Guy Moon, who is also responsible for the music heard in the Fairly Odd Parents.

072 When Guy Moon and I met to discuss a soundtrack of an episode, I would usually sing over the episode in progress to give Moon an idea of how I wanted the music to sound. Moon would bring a camera to these sessions and record my, admittedly, unskilled singing to remember my instructions.

073 Not everyone can become a half ghost, half human. If Sam or Tucker had gotten caught int the middle of the Fenton's malfunctioning Ghost Portal, it would have likely killed them.

074 Wulf is fluent in Esperanto, a language created in 1887 by Dr. Ludwik Lejzer Zamenhof, perhaps better known by his pseudonym of Doktoro Esperanto. Esperanto was created in the hope of replacing every language in the world as the one universal language. Judging by the fact that this video is in English, you can probably guess how that plan worked out.

075 The episode titled Shades of Grey is obviously a play on Valerie's last name, but the title could have a much deeper meaning. The term "shades of grey" refers to an unclear position on the scale of good to evil, usually somewhere in between. This certainly applies to Valerie, as she doesn't necessarily fight ghosts for good or evil. but for her own personal reasons.

076 During Shades of Grey, Danny names the ghost dog Cujo. Cujo's also the name of a horror novel by Stephen King about a dog bitten by a rabid bat, which turns the dog into a cold-blooded killer.

077 The green glowing, double bladed melee weapon Maddie uses to slay the legion of Vlad's monsters in Maternal Instincts is practically identical to Darth Maul's double bladed lightsaber in Star Wars Episode One, save for the red color.

078 Because I know everyone loves multiple Episode One references, the the title of the second season's 9th episode The Fenton Menace is obviously a play on the title of everybody's favorite Star Wars film, the Phantom Menace. Yes. Everybody's favorite Star Wars film.

079 To continue the Star Wars nods, the Danny Phantom universe has its own line of popular toys called Space Wars featuring characters that resemble Chewbacca and R2D2.

080 Some of the computers in the Danny Phantom world have pears in the back of them which you probably guess was a nod to Apple computers. Timmy's dad in Fairly Odd Parents has the same symbol on his laptop.

081 Save for the creepy pictures of Maddie, the programs and icons on both Danny and Vlad's computers are exactly the same, in the exact same order.

082 Skulker's hunt for Valerie and Danny in Life Lessons closely resembles the plot of Richard Connell's famous short story "The Most Dangerous Game". Much like the story, Skulker kidnaps two very skilled humans on his property for the sole purpose of hunting what he considers to be the most challenging prey out there, or, the most dangerous game.

083 Mr. Lancer spouts the titles of books in place of shouting swear words. Some of these exclamations include The Great Gatsby, Chicken Soup for the Soul, and Moby Dick, which is about as close as we'll be getting to colorful language on a Nicktoon, except for maybe Ren and Stimpy, or Rocko, or SpongeBob. We're slick here at Nickelodeon.

084 In the episode What You Want, Paulina transforms into a popular anime cat names Sayonara Pussycat, who resembles the character Hello Kitty. But Sayonara is actually a rather dramatic and final sounding word for "goodbye" in Japanese.

085 In Teacher of the Year, all 13 levels that Tucker shows Technus are based on the eight worlds from the 1990 NES classic Super Marion Bros. 3. The level 0 glitch is a reference to the infamous Minus world from the original Super Mario Bros.

086 Before sending Danny into the Ghost Zone in the episode Prisoners of Love, Tucker can be seen playing Space Invaders on his PDA.

087 Valerie Grey lives on 461 Elm Street, an obvious reference to the classic horror film A Nightmare on Elm Street. She'd probably stand more of a chance against Freddy Krueger than the other kids in the Street as well.

088 Johnny 13 and Kitty's voice actors, William Baldwin and China Phillips, are a married couple in real life. The knot has been securely tied since 1995. Way before they were cast.

089 In Fanning the Flames, Danny quips "Do you take requests? How about Beat It." in addition to telling Ember to hit the road, Danny's referencing Michael Jackson's classic song Beat It. Good one, Danny. And good one, me.

090 Michael Jackson makes a more obvious cameo in the episode Infinite Realms where he's seen in at his 2005 trial while Vlad is flipping through channels.

091 When we see Tucker's report card in What You Want, we learn that Tucker is not only highly proficient in computers, but sewing as well. If Danny ever needs a suit redesign, he who he can call. Not the Ghostbusters, they'll likely kill him. He should call Tucker.

092 The Groovy Gang and Scaredy Cat from The Million Dollar Ghost are an unsubtle jab at Mystery Inc and Scooby-Doo. An additional fact fact for you guys, I actually worked for Hanna-Barbera, the animation studio that created Scooby-Doo.

093 The secret government organization dedicated to eliminating paranormal entities known as the Guys in White are obviously a parallel to the Men in Black who essentially do the same thing but with evil extraterrestrials.

094 I've gone on record saying the reason Danny is not shirtless when he's at the water park is because he gets sunburned very easily.

095 We can all infer that Sam has good taste in films. For instance, a poster for Stanley Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange can be seen in her room.

096 In Memory Blank, Sam wants to see Trinity of Doom, a movie starring Femalien, the female version of Alien that’s a Predator, not a Xenomorph, you uncultured swine!, Terminatra, the female Terminator, and Nightmerica, the female version of Freddy Krueger. I'd still go see that.

097 Danny has a birthmark that's shaped like the state of Florida.

098 Timmy Turner's favorite comic book hero, The Crimson Chin, appears at the Ember concert as one of her many adoring fans in the episode Fanning the Flames. I officially sanction your conspiratorial speculations.

099 In the episode What You Want, Danny and Tucker can be seen playing an arcade machine titles Crash Nebula. Crash Nebula is one of Timmy Turner's favorite heroes of the Fairly Odd Parents. The plot thickens!

100 The cross referencing continued over into the Fairly Odd Parents, too. In Poulter Geeks, a wanted poster for Danny Phantom can be seen in the ghost hunting basement of Timmy's parents.

101 Or you guys could be thinking about this all wrong, and Danny could just be a fictional hero. In the Fairly Odd Parents Crash Nebula special, Danny can be seen on the back cover of a comic book. The truth is out there.

102 If Vlad were real, Steve Marmel would have made him the happiest half man/half ghost on the planet. The writer purchased a brick at Lambeau Field, the home of the Packers, and engraved it with "Someday I will rule - Vlad Plasmius".

103 David Kaufman's favorite episodes tend to be the ones in which Danny spends time with one particular member of his family and the plot strengthens their bond and understanding of each other. He cites the episodes Maternal Instinct and My Brother's Keeper as prime examples.

104 Like every great superhero, Danny Phantom has transcended into the realm of video games. His first outing was a Game Boy Advance adaptation of The Ultimate Enemy, a 2D side-scrolling beat-em-up ordeal.

105 The second was called Danny Phantom: Urban Jungle, which was released for both Game Boy Advance and Nintendo DS and it was a side-scrolling shooter.

106 There was once a Danny Phantom themed ride at the indoor Nickelodeon Universe theme park at the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota. Danny Phantom: Ghost Zone's design was that of an Ali Baba. In other words, it consisted of a stationary horizontal gondola with a 360 degree swinging pendulum. Unfortunately, the rise was taken down in 2015.

107 Danny Phantom ran for three season, from 2004 to 2007. A total of 53 episodes were created for the series. The news of Danny Phantom's cancellation was not well received by the fans at all. The Danny fandom took to the streets of New York City and protested outside of Nickelodeon's building to bring the ghost boy back into production. Unfortunately, to no avail. But thank you. Seriously, thank you.

Ok, guys, thanks so much for watching. Hope you guys enjoyed it, 107 facts about Danny Phantom. Don't forget to like and subscribe to the Frederator Channel.

[newssplashy]

Former Arizona Senator John McCain's office issued his farewell statement to the American people after his death on Saturday. In it McCain slammed President Donald Trump's policies without mentioning him.

Senator John McCain's office issued his farewell statement to the American people after his death on Saturday.

The statement slammed President Donald Trump's policies without mentioning his name.

Meanwhile, Trump led a confused White House response to a self-inflicted controversy caused by the White House not keeping flags at half mast for the customary period of time.

Trump eventually re-lowered flags and made a statement saying he respected McCain.

McCain let his final feelings towards Trump be known by not inviting him to his funeral.

Sen. John McCain's office issued his farewell statement to the American people after his death on Saturday. In it he slammed President Donald Trump's policies as the president became mired in controversy over his apparent disrespect for the former Arizona senator.

McCain, the GOP's 2008 presidential candidate and longtime party leadership figure, and Trump — a political neophyte whose now wide grip on the party dates back less than two years— had long been rivals.

McCain, who survived North Vietnamese forces shooting down his plane, a failed ejection that shattered three of his limbs, a savage beating by the waiting enemy, and a stint as a prisoner of war wherein he refused early release to favor other US captives, has repeatedly had his status as a war hero questioned by Trump.

The two frequently sparred on issues of decorum. McCain also dealt a death blow to Trump's American Health Care Act, severely setting back the president's legislative agenda.

But in dying, McCain made clear his true feelings for Trump by asking him not to attend his funeral and rebuking him in his final words to the country.

From McCain's farewell:

"We weaken our greatness when we confuse our patriotism with tribal rivalries that have sown resentment and hatred and violence in all the corners of the globe. We weaken it when we hide behind walls, rather than tear them down, when we doubt the power of our ideals, rather than trust them to be the great force for change they have always been."

Trump's controversial response to McCain's death

Since McCain's death, Trump has come under fire for a confused and possibly disrespectful response to the passing of an American who served his country for sixty years.

Initially, Trump made no statement on McCain himself, only wishing his family well in wake of his death. Later, Trump's White House bucked the long-established trend of flying flags at half mast from the time of a Senator's death to his burial.

The White House and Pentagon, buildings under control of the executive branch, raised their flags shortly after McCain's death, while Congress continued to keep theirs low.

"I doubt you could find a comparable situation where the president doesn't order the flag flown at half-mast until the funeral," said John Lawrence, history professor at the University of California's Washington Center to Reuters.

"The disparity between the Congress and White House policy is obviously noticeable and somewhat shocking."

On Monday, the flags returned to half staff along with a statement from Trump that struck a more conciliatory note after hours of pressure from veteran's groups.

"Despite our differences on policy and politics, I respect Senator John McCain's service to our country and, in his honor, have signed a proclamation to fly the flag of the United States at half-staff until the day of his interment," the statement said.

In his death, McCain left a hole in Congress and the fabric of American public life, as well as a vision of how the country can recover from political divisiveness.

From McCain:

"We are three hundred and twenty five million opinionated, vociferous individuals. We argue and compete and sometimes even vilify each other in our raucous public debates. But we have always had so much more in common with each other than in disagreement. If only we remember that and give each other the benefit of the presumption that we all love our country we will get through these challenging times. We will come through them stronger than before. We always do."

Read McCain's full farewell below:

"My fellow Americans, whom I have gratefully served for sixty years, and especially my fellow Arizonans.

"Thank you for the privilege of serving you and for the rewarding life that service in uniform and in public office has allowed me to lead. I have tried to serve our country honorably. I have made mistakes, but I hope my love for America will be weighed favorably against them.

"I have often observed that I am the luckiest person on earth. I feel that way even now as I prepare for the end of my life. I have loved my life, all of it. I have had experiences, adventures and friendships enough for ten satisfying lives, and I am so thankful. Like most people, I have regrets. But I would not trade a day of my life, in good or bad times, for the best day of anyone else’s.

"I owe that satisfaction to the love of my family. No man ever had a more loving wife or children he was prouder of than I am of mine. And I owe it to America. To be connected to America’s causes – liberty, equal justice, respect for the dignity of all people – brings happiness more sublime than life’s fleeting pleasures. Our identities and sense of worth are not circumscribed but enlarged by serving good causes bigger than ourselves.

"'Fellow Americans' – that association has meant more to me than any other. I lived and died a proud American. We are citizens of the world’s greatest republic, a nation of ideals, not blood and soil. We are blessed and are a blessing to humanity when we uphold and advance those ideals at home and in the world. We have helped liberate more people from tyranny and poverty than ever before in history. We have acquired great wealth and power in the process.

"We weaken our greatness when we confuse our patriotism with tribal rivalries that have sown resentment and hatred and violence in all the corners of the globe. We weaken it when we hide behind walls, rather than tear them down, when we doubt the power of our ideals, rather than trust them to be the great force for change they have always been.

"We are three hundred and twenty five million opinionated, vociferous individuals. We argue and compete and sometimes even vilify each other in our raucous public debates. But we have always had so much more in common with each other than in disagreement. If only we remember that and give each other the benefit of the presumption that we all love our country we will get through these challenging times. We will come through them stronger than before. We always do.

"Ten years ago, I had the privilege to concede defeat in the election for president. I want to end my farewell to you with the heartfelt faith in Americans that I felt so powerfully that evening.

"I feel it powerfully still.

"Do not despair of our present difficulties but believe always in the promise and greatness of America, because nothing is inevitable here. Americans never quit. We never surrender. We never hide from history. We make history.

"Farewell, fellow Americans. God bless you, and God bless America."

via Nigerian News ➨☆LATEST NIGERIAN NEWS ☆➨GHANA NEWS➨☆ENTERTAINMENT ☆➨Hot Posts ➨☆World News ▷NEWS

[businessactivistentrepreneu-blog]

039: Not All Poverty Is Created Equal

Listen Here and Now for Not All Poverty Is Created Equal

Join us as we share thoughts about changing who we look at poverty in order to provide the appropriate solutions for different types of poverty.

Quotable of the Week

“You can’t comfort the afflicted without afflicting the comfortable.”  — Diana, Princess of Wales

Get ready for some possible affliction.

  Highlights from the Episode

SOME FACTS ABOUT POVERTY

Nearly 1/2 of the world’s population — more than 3 billion people — live on less than $2.50 a day.

More than 1.3 billion live in extreme poverty — less than $1.25 a day.

1 billion children worldwide are living in poverty.

The statistics start to make us feel like poverty is insurmountable.  It is easy to lose hope that poverty might come to an end. Yet, I learned in a very compelling documentary that extreme poverty might be eliminated in my generation.  In fact, in the last generation the extreme poverty rate was cut in half from 52% of the global population to 26%. In our generation we could go from 26% to 0%. A 2012 statistic I saw put extreme poverty at 18.4%.

We’re still talking about 1.3 billion people in extreme poverty and many, many more living below what we might call The Poverty Line (it’s 1/4 of the population where I live in Chicago).  All these numbers easily become cold statistics. It’s easy to throw everyone living in poverty in a pile and treat them all the same – give them handouts, pass laws for better education, etc.

Yet, when we look at real people’s stories of poverty, we begin to see how drastically different types of poverty there are…  Let me tell you 3 stories that showcase 3 different types of poverty.

  POVERTY STORY #1

It’s 2005 and Hurricane Katrina has just struck New Orleans. Tarah and her two daughters Melle and Trin got out of New Orleans on a train before the storm hit but are displaced from their apartment.  Tarah had a minimum-wage job but now that’s gone. What little they could bring with them is all they have. This is an actual crisis. Tarah is not personally responsible. Tarah doesn’t have all the resources she needs to help herself and her two children.  To eliminate their immediate needs, they need immediate relief – food, water, and shelter.

What does hope look like for Tarah? Hope comes in the form of her brother in Illinois.

Thankfully, because Tarah is in the United States, she has a brother in Illinois she can stay with for awhile.

This kind of poverty is easiest to picture using a natural disaster as a cause but there are other causes.  The thing that characterizes this type of poverty is that it requires effective relief. By effective relief I mean temporary and immediate relief by means of essentials like food, water, shelter and medical care.  In Tarah’s case, her brother knows that she isn’t going to stay with him forever. He can provide food, water and shelter for the family temporarily but there would be serious strain if the assistance went on indefinitely.

  POVERTY STORY #2

For the next kind of poverty, it’s 2018 in Chicago and we meet Sam on the street.  A few years ago Sam was the victim of a hit and run. He didn’t have medical insurance so he mounted up huge medical bills.  Both the physical and financial effects of the incident caused a downward spiral of worry, fear, unhealthy eating and drinking.  This spiral got so out of control that Sam couldn’t focus at work and lost his job. Unable to pay his bills, Sam was evicted from his apartment.  With no one to go to, Sam is out on the streets trying to figure out what to do. He’s confused and doesn’t know who to trust. Sam lives in poverty.  

What does hope look like for Sam?

Sam might have a few immediate needs that need to be met with relief – food, water, shelter, medicine.  What he really needs is not a bunch of handouts over and over again. Sam needs rehabilitation. He needs to grow and learn.  He needs someone to trust in who can help him deal with or find a counselor to help him deal with the emotions and psychological issues that caused him to go on this downward spiral.  As he’s growing, learning, and healing, he needs a job to do that’ll help him practice skills like focus and showing up on time. As he makes this transition, he’ll also need a place to live.  

  POVERTY STORY #3

Let’s take the story of Akim.  Akim is a Kenyan charcoal seller.  He works very hard to make charcoal to sell and is very proud of his business.  But he doesn’t yet make enough money to be completely out of poverty. He and his family still live on his meager profits.  The problem is that lots of Kenyans make and sell charcoal. The market is flooded with charcoal, which keeps the prices low and no one can make enough money.  Akim lives in poverty.

What does hope look like for Akim?

To give Akim and his family relief – food, water – would only be good for as long as it lasts and would keep them from supporting their local food supplies.  Akim doesn’t need rehabilitation – he knows the basics of having his own business. Akim needs development. He needs to be inspired to and to learn how to go into a different business.  If charcoal is never going to pay him enough money, he needs to be in a different line of business that will at least make him enough money to provide for his family.

This could mean a governmental incentive for charcoal workers to do something different.  This could look like a grant or loan program for charcoal sellers to go to a trade school. Or this could look like a new invention – an alternative to coal – that Akim can make and sell. This would be more of a system change that benefits Akim and many others.

  THE POINT OF THESE POVERTY STORIES

To kick off this series about poverty we wanted to start with this way of thinking about poverty that I learned from some old people who’ve spent their lives fighting poverty.  To me their ideas seem more hopeful than other ways of thinking about poverty. Here’s a link to their book.

The idea is summarized easily in this phrase: “Not all poverty is created equal.”  We tend to think of and treat poverty as one really big, insurmountable obstacle to having a perfect world when poverty really is multi-faceted.  “Not all poverty is created equal” means that there are different types of poverty depending on their cause, the length of time they’ve existed, and how to eliminate the poverty.  

These types of poverty and their aid requirements can be summarized in 3 words: Relief. Rehabilitation. Development.

Often, we lose hope in eliminating poverty because we’re only thinking about and doing relief.  Relief is what we hear about on the news and see in commercials. Relief is the easiest part of this chart to do and to get donor money for.  It’s easy to show off relief work and say, “We fed 100,000 people this year” or “We built 100 homes.”

Yet, only a small percentage of the global population are experiencing an immediate crisis that they’re not personally responsible for and can’t help themselves get out of – only a small percentage of those living in poverty need relief.  Yet, those of us not in poverty do lots of relief work. If someone doesn’t need relief but instead needs rehabilitation or development, and yet we give them relief anyway, we can do more harm than good – for them and ourselves. They don’t get what they really need and we lose hope because we don’t see much getting better.

That’s the problem.  What we like to do to fight poverty doesn’t match up with what’s really needed.  Let me share a possible solution. I think this solution might bring hope for those of us who are disillusioned about fighting poverty.  

  THE IDEA IS TO DO REHABILITATION AND RELIEF WORK USING A DEVELOPMENTAL APPROACH.  

When we give relief or provide rehabilitation, we can ensure the participation of those we’re trying to help.  We can treat people as the responsible stewards we want them to be. This also means that if the people we’re trying to help can address the problem themselves, we should let them.  Only if they need help, should we help them. The idea here is: “Do not do things for people that they can do for themselves.”

By way of example, let’s say we wanted to start a soup kitchen to feed the hungry in Chicago.  This is a form of relief. How could we do this is in a developmental way? We might set up a way in which those receiving the food help prepare the food and clean up afterward.  We might ask them what kind of food they like or  take someone along with us to pick up the food we’re going to prepare. Once the food is ready, everyone would sit down to enjoy it – even those not living in poverty.  Over the meal, conversation would happen.

Development would mean doing the soup kitchen not to the people or for the people but with the people.  The key dynamic in development is promoting an empowering process in which everyone involved becomes better people.

So, relief, rehabilitation, and development are all needed to fight different types of poverty.  Plus, relief and rehabilitation can be done in a developmental way.

  HERE’S AN ACTION STEP:

Bring to mind a familiar community that experiences poverty.  Write a few sentences to describe their suffering. How could you help alleviate their poverty in a developmental way?  If you don’t feel like you’re familiar with a community that experiences poverty, make this a purely creative challenge.  Then go out and make some new friends by connecting with a community experiencing poverty. This is a great way to enrich your life.

  ONE FINAL THING.

 We’re very passionate about ending poverty.  According to a recent report published by the Schwartz Center for Economic Policy Analysis, 33 percent of current workers in America aged 55 to 64 are likely to be poor or near-poor in retirement based on their current levels of retirement savings and total assets.  The researchers suggest that the issue of poverty in retirement is only going to get worse.

You might be familiar with terms like the Federal Poverty Line or ALICE from the United Way.  ALICE stands for Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed. Try searching “Poverty in the United States” to learn more about how poverty is defined and different estimates of poverty levels in the USA.  What you’re likely to find is that poverty is a real big issue.

Even though globally extreme poverty is shrinking, poverty and near-poverty seem to be growing here in America. We believe it might become a huge issue within our lifetime if something isn’t done about it.  So we are doing something about it. We’re offering complimentary financial analysis for you who are listening right now.

Many financial advisors target those who have large assets or high incomes.  That’s not us. We want to work with anyone who is committed to ensuring they don’t experience poverty, regardless of their current assets or debts.  If that’s you, we invite you to schedule an analysis at businessactivistentrepreneur.com/schedule.

Check out this episode!

[newssplashy]

Politics: McCain wins the final round of his rivalry with Trump in his farewell to the American people

Former Arizona Senator John McCain's office issued his farewell statement to the American people after his death on Saturday. In it McCain slammed President Donald Trump's policies without mentioning him.

Senator John McCain's office issued his farewell statement to the American people after his death on Saturday.

The statement slammed President Donald Trump's policies without mentioning his name.

Meanwhile, Trump led a confused White House response to a self-inflicted controversy caused by the White House not keeping flags at half mast for the customary period of time.

Trump eventually re-lowered flags and made a statement saying he respected McCain.

McCain let his final feelings towards Trump be known by not inviting him to his funeral.

Sen. John McCain's office issued his farewell statement to the American people after his death on Saturday. In it he slammed President Donald Trump's policies as the president became mired in controversy over his apparent disrespect for the former Arizona senator.

McCain, the GOP's 2008 presidential candidate and longtime party leadership figure, and Trump — a political neophyte whose now wide grip on the party dates back less than two years— had long been rivals.

McCain, who survived North Vietnamese forces shooting down his plane, a failed ejection that shattered three of his limbs, a savage beating by the waiting enemy, and a stint as a prisoner of war wherein he refused early release to favor other US captives, has repeatedly had his status as a war hero questioned by Trump.

The two frequently sparred on issues of decorum. McCain also dealt a death blow to Trump's American Health Care Act, severely setting back the president's legislative agenda.

But in dying, McCain made clear his true feelings for Trump by asking him not to attend his funeral and rebuking him in his final words to the country.

From McCain's farewell:

"We weaken our greatness when we confuse our patriotism with tribal rivalries that have sown resentment and hatred and violence in all the corners of the globe. We weaken it when we hide behind walls, rather than tear them down, when we doubt the power of our ideals, rather than trust them to be the great force for change they have always been."

Trump's controversial response to McCain's death

Since McCain's death, Trump has come under fire for a confused and possibly disrespectful response to the passing of an American who served his country for sixty years.

Initially, Trump made no statement on McCain himself, only wishing his family well in wake of his death. Later, Trump's White House bucked the long-established trend of flying flags at half mast from the time of a Senator's death to his burial.

The White House and Pentagon, buildings under control of the executive branch, raised their flags shortly after McCain's death, while Congress continued to keep theirs low.

"I doubt you could find a comparable situation where the president doesn't order the flag flown at half-mast until the funeral," said John Lawrence, history professor at the University of California's Washington Center to Reuters.

"The disparity between the Congress and White House policy is obviously noticeable and somewhat shocking."

On Monday, the flags returned to half staff along with a statement from Trump that struck a more conciliatory note after hours of pressure from veteran's groups.

"Despite our differences on policy and politics, I respect Senator John McCain's service to our country and, in his honor, have signed a proclamation to fly the flag of the United States at half-staff until the day of his interment," the statement said.

In his death, McCain left a hole in Congress and the fabric of American public life, as well as a vision of how the country can recover from political divisiveness.

From McCain:

"We are three hundred and twenty five million opinionated, vociferous individuals. We argue and compete and sometimes even vilify each other in our raucous public debates. But we have always had so much more in common with each other than in disagreement. If only we remember that and give each other the benefit of the presumption that we all love our country we will get through these challenging times. We will come through them stronger than before. We always do."

Read McCain's full farewell below:

"My fellow Americans, whom I have gratefully served for sixty years, and especially my fellow Arizonans.

"Thank you for the privilege of serving you and for the rewarding life that service in uniform and in public office has allowed me to lead. I have tried to serve our country honorably. I have made mistakes, but I hope my love for America will be weighed favorably against them.

"I have often observed that I am the luckiest person on earth. I feel that way even now as I prepare for the end of my life. I have loved my life, all of it. I have had experiences, adventures and friendships enough for ten satisfying lives, and I am so thankful. Like most people, I have regrets. But I would not trade a day of my life, in good or bad times, for the best day of anyone else’s.

"I owe that satisfaction to the love of my family. No man ever had a more loving wife or children he was prouder of than I am of mine. And I owe it to America. To be connected to America’s causes – liberty, equal justice, respect for the dignity of all people – brings happiness more sublime than life’s fleeting pleasures. Our identities and sense of worth are not circumscribed but enlarged by serving good causes bigger than ourselves.

"'Fellow Americans' – that association has meant more to me than any other. I lived and died a proud American. We are citizens of the world’s greatest republic, a nation of ideals, not blood and soil. We are blessed and are a blessing to humanity when we uphold and advance those ideals at home and in the world. We have helped liberate more people from tyranny and poverty than ever before in history. We have acquired great wealth and power in the process.

"We weaken our greatness when we confuse our patriotism with tribal rivalries that have sown resentment and hatred and violence in all the corners of the globe. We weaken it when we hide behind walls, rather than tear them down, when we doubt the power of our ideals, rather than trust them to be the great force for change they have always been.

"We are three hundred and twenty five million opinionated, vociferous individuals. We argue and compete and sometimes even vilify each other in our raucous public debates. But we have always had so much more in common with each other than in disagreement. If only we remember that and give each other the benefit of the presumption that we all love our country we will get through these challenging times. We will come through them stronger than before. We always do.

"Ten years ago, I had the privilege to concede defeat in the election for president. I want to end my farewell to you with the heartfelt faith in Americans that I felt so powerfully that evening.

"I feel it powerfully still.

"Do not despair of our present difficulties but believe always in the promise and greatness of America, because nothing is inevitable here. Americans never quit. We never surrender. We never hide from history. We make history.

"Farewell, fellow Americans. God bless you, and God bless America."

source http://www.newssplashy.com/2018/08/politics-mccain-wins-final-round-of-his_28.html

[newssplashy]

Former Arizona Senator John McCain's office issued his farewell statement to the American people after his death on Saturday. In it McCain slammed President Donald Trump's policies without mentioning him.

Senator John McCain's office issued his farewell statement to the American people after his death on Saturday.

The statement slammed President Donald Trump's policies without mentioning his name.

Meanwhile, Trump led a confused White House response to a self-inflicted controversy caused by the White House not keeping flags at half mast for the customary period of time.

Trump eventually re-lowered flags and made a statement saying he respected McCain.

McCain let his final feelings towards Trump be known by not inviting him to his funeral.

Sen. John McCain's office issued his farewell statement to the American people after his death on Saturday. In it he slammed President Donald Trump's policies as the president became mired in controversy over his apparent disrespect for the former Arizona senator.

McCain, the GOP's 2008 presidential candidate and longtime party leadership figure, and Trump — a political neophyte whose now wide grip on the party dates back less than two years— had long been rivals.

McCain, who survived North Vietnamese forces shooting down his plane, a failed ejection that shattered three of his limbs, a savage beating by the waiting enemy, and a stint as a prisoner of war wherein he refused early release to favor other US captives, has repeatedly had his status as a war hero questioned by Trump.

The two frequently sparred on issues of decorum. McCain also dealt a death blow to Trump's American Health Care Act, severely setting back the president's legislative agenda.

But in dying, McCain made clear his true feelings for Trump by asking him not to attend his funeral and rebuking him in his final words to the country.

From McCain's farewell:

"We weaken our greatness when we confuse our patriotism with tribal rivalries that have sown resentment and hatred and violence in all the corners of the globe. We weaken it when we hide behind walls, rather than tear them down, when we doubt the power of our ideals, rather than trust them to be the great force for change they have always been."

Trump's controversial response to McCain's death

Since McCain's death, Trump has come under fire for a confused and possibly disrespectful response to the passing of an American who served his country for sixty years.

Initially, Trump made no statement on McCain himself, only wishing his family well in wake of his death. Later, Trump's White House bucked the long-established trend of flying flags at half mast from the time of a Senator's death to his burial.

The White House and Pentagon, buildings under control of the executive branch, raised their flags shortly after McCain's death, while Congress continued to keep theirs low.

"I doubt you could find a comparable situation where the president doesn't order the flag flown at half-mast until the funeral," said John Lawrence, history professor at the University of California's Washington Center to Reuters.

"The disparity between the Congress and White House policy is obviously noticeable and somewhat shocking."

On Monday, the flags returned to half staff along with a statement from Trump that struck a more conciliatory note after hours of pressure from veteran's groups.

"Despite our differences on policy and politics, I respect Senator John McCain's service to our country and, in his honor, have signed a proclamation to fly the flag of the United States at half-staff until the day of his interment," the statement said.

In his death, McCain left a hole in Congress and the fabric of American public life, as well as a vision of how the country can recover from political divisiveness.

From McCain:

"We are three hundred and twenty five million opinionated, vociferous individuals. We argue and compete and sometimes even vilify each other in our raucous public debates. But we have always had so much more in common with each other than in disagreement. If only we remember that and give each other the benefit of the presumption that we all love our country we will get through these challenging times. We will come through them stronger than before. We always do."

Read McCain's full farewell below:

"My fellow Americans, whom I have gratefully served for sixty years, and especially my fellow Arizonans.

"Thank you for the privilege of serving you and for the rewarding life that service in uniform and in public office has allowed me to lead. I have tried to serve our country honorably. I have made mistakes, but I hope my love for America will be weighed favorably against them.

"I have often observed that I am the luckiest person on earth. I feel that way even now as I prepare for the end of my life. I have loved my life, all of it. I have had experiences, adventures and friendships enough for ten satisfying lives, and I am so thankful. Like most people, I have regrets. But I would not trade a day of my life, in good or bad times, for the best day of anyone else’s.

"I owe that satisfaction to the love of my family. No man ever had a more loving wife or children he was prouder of than I am of mine. And I owe it to America. To be connected to America’s causes – liberty, equal justice, respect for the dignity of all people – brings happiness more sublime than life’s fleeting pleasures. Our identities and sense of worth are not circumscribed but enlarged by serving good causes bigger than ourselves.

"'Fellow Americans' – that association has meant more to me than any other. I lived and died a proud American. We are citizens of the world’s greatest republic, a nation of ideals, not blood and soil. We are blessed and are a blessing to humanity when we uphold and advance those ideals at home and in the world. We have helped liberate more people from tyranny and poverty than ever before in history. We have acquired great wealth and power in the process.

"We weaken our greatness when we confuse our patriotism with tribal rivalries that have sown resentment and hatred and violence in all the corners of the globe. We weaken it when we hide behind walls, rather than tear them down, when we doubt the power of our ideals, rather than trust them to be the great force for change they have always been.

"We are three hundred and twenty five million opinionated, vociferous individuals. We argue and compete and sometimes even vilify each other in our raucous public debates. But we have always had so much more in common with each other than in disagreement. If only we remember that and give each other the benefit of the presumption that we all love our country we will get through these challenging times. We will come through them stronger than before. We always do.

"Ten years ago, I had the privilege to concede defeat in the election for president. I want to end my farewell to you with the heartfelt faith in Americans that I felt so powerfully that evening.

"I feel it powerfully still.

"Do not despair of our present difficulties but believe always in the promise and greatness of America, because nothing is inevitable here. Americans never quit. We never surrender. We never hide from history. We make history.

"Farewell, fellow Americans. God bless you, and God bless America."

via Nigerian News ➨☆LATEST NIGERIAN NEWS ☆➨GHANA NEWS➨☆ENTERTAINMENT ☆➨Hot Posts ➨☆World News ▷NEWS

[newssplashy]

Politics: McCain wins the final round of his rivalry with Trump in his farewell to the American people

Former Arizona Senator John McCain's office issued his farewell statement to the American people after his death on Saturday. In it McCain slammed President Donald Trump's policies without mentioning him.

Senator John McCain's office issued his farewell statement to the American people after his death on Saturday.

The statement slammed President Donald Trump's policies without mentioning his name.

Meanwhile, Trump led a confused White House response to a self-inflicted controversy caused by the White House not keeping flags at half mast for the customary period of time.

Trump eventually re-lowered flags and made a statement saying he respected McCain.

McCain let his final feelings towards Trump be known by not inviting him to his funeral.

Sen. John McCain's office issued his farewell statement to the American people after his death on Saturday. In it he slammed President Donald Trump's policies as the president became mired in controversy over his apparent disrespect for the former Arizona senator.

McCain, the GOP's 2008 presidential candidate and longtime party leadership figure, and Trump — a political neophyte whose now wide grip on the party dates back less than two years— had long been rivals.

McCain, who survived North Vietnamese forces shooting down his plane, a failed ejection that shattered three of his limbs, a savage beating by the waiting enemy, and a stint as a prisoner of war wherein he refused early release to favor other US captives, has repeatedly had his status as a war hero questioned by Trump.

The two frequently sparred on issues of decorum. McCain also dealt a death blow to Trump's American Health Care Act, severely setting back the president's legislative agenda.

But in dying, McCain made clear his true feelings for Trump by asking him not to attend his funeral and rebuking him in his final words to the country.

From McCain's farewell:

"We weaken our greatness when we confuse our patriotism with tribal rivalries that have sown resentment and hatred and violence in all the corners of the globe. We weaken it when we hide behind walls, rather than tear them down, when we doubt the power of our ideals, rather than trust them to be the great force for change they have always been."

Trump's controversial response to McCain's death

Since McCain's death, Trump has come under fire for a confused and possibly disrespectful response to the passing of an American who served his country for sixty years.

Initially, Trump made no statement on McCain himself, only wishing his family well in wake of his death. Later, Trump's White House bucked the long-established trend of flying flags at half mast from the time of a Senator's death to his burial.

The White House and Pentagon, buildings under control of the executive branch, raised their flags shortly after McCain's death, while Congress continued to keep theirs low.

"I doubt you could find a comparable situation where the president doesn't order the flag flown at half-mast until the funeral," said John Lawrence, history professor at the University of California's Washington Center to Reuters.

"The disparity between the Congress and White House policy is obviously noticeable and somewhat shocking."

On Monday, the flags returned to half staff along with a statement from Trump that struck a more conciliatory note after hours of pressure from veteran's groups.

"Despite our differences on policy and politics, I respect Senator John McCain's service to our country and, in his honor, have signed a proclamation to fly the flag of the United States at half-staff until the day of his interment," the statement said.

In his death, McCain left a hole in Congress and the fabric of American public life, as well as a vision of how the country can recover from political divisiveness.

From McCain:

"We are three hundred and twenty five million opinionated, vociferous individuals. We argue and compete and sometimes even vilify each other in our raucous public debates. But we have always had so much more in common with each other than in disagreement. If only we remember that and give each other the benefit of the presumption that we all love our country we will get through these challenging times. We will come through them stronger than before. We always do."

Read McCain's full farewell below:

"My fellow Americans, whom I have gratefully served for sixty years, and especially my fellow Arizonans.

"Thank you for the privilege of serving you and for the rewarding life that service in uniform and in public office has allowed me to lead. I have tried to serve our country honorably. I have made mistakes, but I hope my love for America will be weighed favorably against them.

"I have often observed that I am the luckiest person on earth. I feel that way even now as I prepare for the end of my life. I have loved my life, all of it. I have had experiences, adventures and friendships enough for ten satisfying lives, and I am so thankful. Like most people, I have regrets. But I would not trade a day of my life, in good or bad times, for the best day of anyone else’s.

"I owe that satisfaction to the love of my family. No man ever had a more loving wife or children he was prouder of than I am of mine. And I owe it to America. To be connected to America’s causes – liberty, equal justice, respect for the dignity of all people – brings happiness more sublime than life’s fleeting pleasures. Our identities and sense of worth are not circumscribed but enlarged by serving good causes bigger than ourselves.

"'Fellow Americans' – that association has meant more to me than any other. I lived and died a proud American. We are citizens of the world’s greatest republic, a nation of ideals, not blood and soil. We are blessed and are a blessing to humanity when we uphold and advance those ideals at home and in the world. We have helped liberate more people from tyranny and poverty than ever before in history. We have acquired great wealth and power in the process.

"We weaken our greatness when we confuse our patriotism with tribal rivalries that have sown resentment and hatred and violence in all the corners of the globe. We weaken it when we hide behind walls, rather than tear them down, when we doubt the power of our ideals, rather than trust them to be the great force for change they have always been.

"We are three hundred and twenty five million opinionated, vociferous individuals. We argue and compete and sometimes even vilify each other in our raucous public debates. But we have always had so much more in common with each other than in disagreement. If only we remember that and give each other the benefit of the presumption that we all love our country we will get through these challenging times. We will come through them stronger than before. We always do.

"Ten years ago, I had the privilege to concede defeat in the election for president. I want to end my farewell to you with the heartfelt faith in Americans that I felt so powerfully that evening.

"I feel it powerfully still.

"Do not despair of our present difficulties but believe always in the promise and greatness of America, because nothing is inevitable here. Americans never quit. We never surrender. We never hide from history. We make history.

"Farewell, fellow Americans. God bless you, and God bless America."

source http://www.newssplashy.com/2018/08/politics-mccain-wins-final-round-of-his.html

[newssplashy]

Politics: Trump's fight with Turkey is helping Russia and Iran

NATO's largest standing army in Europe is now cosying up to Iran and indebted to Qatar. Russia and China could be waiting in the wings to get closer to Turkey too if the US continues its tariffs.

Trump's trade war is driving Turkey into the arms of Iran and Qatar.

Russia and China won't mind that at all.

What does the US gain from all this?

Trump might get that preacher back.

And, er ... that's it.

LONDON — Late on Thursday night, the White House threatened further economic sanctions against Turkey if it fails to release detained American pastor Andrew Brunson.

Brunson has been under house arrest for almost two years in Turkey for his alleged links to a banned Turkish political movement. Efforts to free him are at the heart of the current economic and diplomatic spat between the US and Turkey.

The Turkish lira fell nearly 5% on Friday in reaction to the fresh US sanctions. US President Donald Trump probably thinks he is winning his trade war against Turkey. His "cherished DOLLAR" is "very strong."

The reality, however, is that Trump is strengthening alliances between countries that don't have America or the West's best interest's at heart. By punishing Turkey with sanctions, he is only pushing the country closer to other nations who see the strategic importance of having Turkey on their side.

There were two clues to that last week:

IRAN: Turkish finance and treasury minister Berat Alkayrak told investors on a conference call that "We don't expect fines on Halkbank." Those six words will be meaningless to most people outside Turkey. But they are hugely significant. Halkbank violated economic sanctions against Iran. One of its executives was sent to prison in the US. The implication is obvious: Turkey will be siding with Iran on this issue. Iran, obviously, is a historic sponsor of terrorism.

QATAR: The kingdom gave a $15 billion rescue loan to Turkey last week. Qatar also sponsors terrorism. Qatar is so corrupt it's comical: This is the country that paid bribes to host the 2022 World Cup in the desert.

This map says it all. Trump's trade war is solidifying Turkey's ties to Iran and Qatar.

To get an idea of how big a loss this is to the West, consider that just eight years ago Turkey was on the verge of gaining full membership of the European Union. It was a democratic nation that abolished the death penalty. It was finally ready to turn away from the dictatorships of the Middle East and join the alliance of North American and European nations who believe in democracy, the rule of law, and civil rights.

There were many steps in the undoing of that alliance, not least Germany balking at the idea of 80 million Muslims suddenly getting the right to live wherever they want. That fed the paranoia of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, an Islamist autocrat, that Europe was basically for white Christians not brown Muslims.

Regardless of how we got here, the reality is NATO's largest standing army in Europe is now cozying up to Iran and indebted to Qatar. Trump should be trying to get Turkey back on side with the West rather than levying huge punishments to secure the release of one man.

The Turkish economy will continue to need all the trade it can get and right now Qatar and Iran look like less burdensome partners. Russia and China are waiting in the wings too, according to Reva Goujon, the VP of Global Analysis at Stratfor. Turkey already has a defence cooperation agreement with Russia and China has Erdogan on board for its massive Belt and Road infrastructure initiative.

Much of Turkey's pain is self-inflicted. Erdogan's mismanagement of the Turkish central bank may further devalue the lira. This, after all, is the man who sincerely believes that "When you look at the cause and effect relationship, the interest rate is the cause and inflation is the result. The lower the interest rate is, the lower inflation will be." (Literally, the opposite is true.)

The endgame — if it comes to a balance of payments crisis — may involve a rescue package from the IMF. From the perspective of London and Washington, that might look like a mechanism to bring Turkey back into the fold. Surely the Turks will be grateful for the largesse of our interest-bearing credit!

To Erdogan, that credit will look like the kind of debt-load that crushed Greece. Erdogan continues to suspect that the machinations of the West are merely callbacks to the 1920 Treaty of Sevres, through which the Western nations dismembered the Ottoman Empire.

What will the US get out of this? The rising dollar may well crush the feeble lira, but it's hard to see how that benefits Americans. (Some inside the Trump Administration seem to think the dollar is already too strong.) Maybe America will get Andrew Brunson back. But he's just one guy, caught preaching in the wrong place at the wrong time.

The price of those "victories" will be the strengthening of ties between Turkey, Russia, China, Iran and Qatar, and Turkey's further alienation from the West.

More on the Turkish lira crisis:

The crisis in Turkey is being caused by the US Fed, and we are only at the beginning

UBS: Turkey could be heading into a balance-of-payments crisis

The reason Turkey's economic collapse is so scary is that Iran, Russia, and Syria are waiting in the wings

The lira's crash 'looks certain to push the Turkish economy into recession and may well trigger a banking crisis'

Turkey's lira crisis may be down to Erdogan's fundamental misunderstanding of how 'evil' interest rates work

source http://www.newssplashy.com/2018/08/politics-trumps-fight-with-turkey-is.html

[newssplashy]

NATO's largest standing army in Europe is now cosying up to Iran and indebted to Qatar. Russia and China could be waiting in the wings to get closer to Turkey too if the US continues its tariffs.

Trump's trade war is driving Turkey into the arms of Iran and Qatar.

Russia and China won't mind that at all.

What does the US gain from all this?

Trump might get that preacher back.

And, er ... that's it.

LONDON — Late on Thursday night, the White House threatened further economic sanctions against Turkey if it fails to release detained American pastor Andrew Brunson.

Brunson has been under house arrest for almost two years in Turkey for his alleged links to a banned Turkish political movement. Efforts to free him are at the heart of the current economic and diplomatic spat between the US and Turkey.

The Turkish lira fell nearly 5% on Friday in reaction to the fresh US sanctions. US President Donald Trump probably thinks he is winning his trade war against Turkey. His "cherished DOLLAR" is "very strong."

The reality, however, is that Trump is strengthening alliances between countries that don't have America or the West's best interest's at heart. By punishing Turkey with sanctions, he is only pushing the country closer to other nations who see the strategic importance of having Turkey on their side.

There were two clues to that last week:

IRAN: Turkish finance and treasury minister Berat Alkayrak told investors on a conference call that "We don't expect fines on Halkbank." Those six words will be meaningless to most people outside Turkey. But they are hugely significant. Halkbank violated economic sanctions against Iran. One of its executives was sent to prison in the US. The implication is obvious: Turkey will be siding with Iran on this issue. Iran, obviously, is a historic sponsor of terrorism.

QATAR: The kingdom gave a $15 billion rescue loan to Turkey last week. Qatar also sponsors terrorism. Qatar is so corrupt it's comical: This is the country that paid bribes to host the 2022 World Cup in the desert.

This map says it all. Trump's trade war is solidifying Turkey's ties to Iran and Qatar.

To get an idea of how big a loss this is to the West, consider that just eight years ago Turkey was on the verge of gaining full membership of the European Union. It was a democratic nation that abolished the death penalty. It was finally ready to turn away from the dictatorships of the Middle East and join the alliance of North American and European nations who believe in democracy, the rule of law, and civil rights.

There were many steps in the undoing of that alliance, not least Germany balking at the idea of 80 million Muslims suddenly getting the right to live wherever they want. That fed the paranoia of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, an Islamist autocrat, that Europe was basically for white Christians not brown Muslims.

Regardless of how we got here, the reality is NATO's largest standing army in Europe is now cozying up to Iran and indebted to Qatar. Trump should be trying to get Turkey back on side with the West rather than levying huge punishments to secure the release of one man.

The Turkish economy will continue to need all the trade it can get and right now Qatar and Iran look like less burdensome partners. Russia and China are waiting in the wings too, according to Reva Goujon, the VP of Global Analysis at Stratfor. Turkey already has a defence cooperation agreement with Russia and China has Erdogan on board for its massive Belt and Road infrastructure initiative.

Much of Turkey's pain is self-inflicted. Erdogan's mismanagement of the Turkish central bank may further devalue the lira. This, after all, is the man who sincerely believes that "When you look at the cause and effect relationship, the interest rate is the cause and inflation is the result. The lower the interest rate is, the lower inflation will be." (Literally, the opposite is true.)

The endgame — if it comes to a balance of payments crisis — may involve a rescue package from the IMF. From the perspective of London and Washington, that might look like a mechanism to bring Turkey back into the fold. Surely the Turks will be grateful for the largesse of our interest-bearing credit!

To Erdogan, that credit will look like the kind of debt-load that crushed Greece. Erdogan continues to suspect that the machinations of the West are merely callbacks to the 1920 Treaty of Sevres, through which the Western nations dismembered the Ottoman Empire.

What will the US get out of this? The rising dollar may well crush the feeble lira, but it's hard to see how that benefits Americans. (Some inside the Trump Administration seem to think the dollar is already too strong.) Maybe America will get Andrew Brunson back. But he's just one guy, caught preaching in the wrong place at the wrong time.

The price of those "victories" will be the strengthening of ties between Turkey, Russia, China, Iran and Qatar, and Turkey's further alienation from the West.

More on the Turkish lira crisis:

The crisis in Turkey is being caused by the US Fed, and we are only at the beginning

UBS: Turkey could be heading into a balance-of-payments crisis

The reason Turkey's economic collapse is so scary is that Iran, Russia, and Syria are waiting in the wings

The lira's crash 'looks certain to push the Turkish economy into recession and may well trigger a banking crisis'

Turkey's lira crisis may be down to Erdogan's fundamental misunderstanding of how 'evil' interest rates work

via Nigerian News ➨☆LATEST NIGERIAN NEWS ☆➨GHANA NEWS➨☆ENTERTAINMENT ☆➨Hot Posts ➨☆World News ☆➨News Sp

[newssplashy]

Environmental Working Group released a report showing traces of the herbicide glyphosate in popular cereals including Cheerios, Quaker Oats, and Lucky Charms. But the chemical likely does not cause cancer in the very low levels at which it is present. That's because the dose makes the poison.

A jury recently ordered Monsanto to pay $289 million in damages to a plaintiff who alleged that his cancer was the result of using Roundup, the company's popular herbicide.

On the heels of the trial, an environmental nonprofit released a report that showed traces of the herbicide in popular cereals including Cheerios, Quaker Oats, and Lucky Charms.

One important thing the cereal report left out: The active ingredient in Roundup — a chemical called glyphosate — likely does not cause cancer in the very low levels at which it is present.

Last week, a jury in San Francisco ordered Monsanto to pay $289 million in damages to a school groundskeeper who developed cancer after years of using Roundup, the company's popular herbicide. On the heels of the trial outcome, The Environmental Working Group published a scary-sounding report that found traces of the chemical in dozens of everyday foods, from cereals like Cheerios and Quaker Oats to granola bars.

One important thing the report left out: The active ingredient in Roundup — a chemical called glyphosate — likely does not cause cancer in the very low levels at which it is present.

The science linking glyphosate to cancer is limited at best. In fact, the majority of published research on glyphosate and cancer reveals low or zero risk. Here's what you need to know about the chemical in cereal.

The dose makes the poison

Before developing cancer, the plaintiff in the recent trial had used Roundup regularly in his job as a groundskeeper at a California public school. For neglecting to alert Johnson (and the rest of the public) about the potential links between glyphosate-containing Roundup and cancer, the jury ordered Monsanto to pay Johnson $289 million.

But as for whether glyphosate could actually have been the sole or even primary cause of an individual's cancer, the research leans heavily toward "no."

That's because the dose makes the poison.

Eat or drink too much of nearly anything, and you can die. That applies to everything from apple seeds (which contain the deadly poison arsenic) to chocolate (which packs the toxic chemical theobromide) to water (if you drink roughly 6 litres of water at once, you can develop hyponatremia, a deadly condition in which an excess of water causes your cells to puff up like balloons).

The scare over a potential link between glyphosate and cancer appears to have begun with a now widely-criticized statement put out by a World Health Organization group known as the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) in 2015.

That year, the IARC put glyphosate — Roundup's active ingredient — in a cancer-risk category one level below widely-recognized harmful activities like smoking. But several researchers have said the IARC's determination was bogus because there is no evidence that glyphosate causes cancer. In fact, a lengthy review found that the IARC had edited out portions of the documents they used to review glyphosate to make the chemical look far more harmful than its own research had concluded.

Several recent rigorous scientific studies have added to the notion that glyphosate — at least in the amounts we consume — poses little harm and is unlikely to cause cancer.

Just last year, a review of studies looking at the ties between glyphosate and cancer concluded that in the low amounts of that people are actually exposed to, glyphosate "do[es] not represent a public concern."

So, should you be worried about breakfast cereal?

The cereal report — which focused on children, not adults — found levels of glyphosate higher than what it determined to be safe for 43 of the 45 cereals it tested. Bu the math fails to line up with other published figures on glyphosate safety levels.

In its report, any cereal with a glyphosate level of more than 160 ppb, or parts per billion, was marked as "unsafe." The Environmental Protection Agency's legal limit on glyphosate in food for adults is 5 parts per million, or 5,000 parts per billion — meaning that the cereal report's figures were 31 times more stringent than what the EPA considers safe.

Given that children are smaller than adults, toxicologists generally develop slightly more strict figures for them.

But instead of drawing from the EPA's glyphosate numbers, the cereal report authors looked to California standards — which are notoriously tough and recently led to the controversial decision of the state slapping cancer warning labels on coffee.

In California, where glyphosate is still listed in a registry of "chemicals known to cause cancer," the levels of glyphosate considered "safe" to ingest are 60 times more stringent than EPA regulations. Using that figure as a baseline, the cereal report authors then added "an additional 10-fold margin of safety" to arrive at their glyphosate safety threshold, determining that ingesting 0.01 milligrams of glyphosate every day would give you a one-in-a-million risk of developing cancer over the course of your lifetime.

Given all that, it's not surprising that so many cereals got flagged as in the red for having glyphosate levels higher than what the cereal report authors determined to be safe.

"Our products are safe and without question they meet regulatory safety levels. The EPA has researched this issue and has set rules that we follow," a spokesperson with General Mills, the company behind Cheerios and Lucky Charms, said in a statement supplied to Fast Company.

"Glyphosate is commonly used by farmers across the industry who apply it pre-harvest. Once the oats are transported to us, we put them through our rigorous process that thoroughly cleanses them. Any levels of glyphosate that may remain are significantly below any regulatory limits and well within compliance of the safety standards set by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) as safe for human consumption," said a Quaker spokesperson.

New research could change the controversial classification of glyphosate

The IARC's 2015 statement on glyphosate and cancer is not final.

Based on new studies (typically in mice), glyphosate could go from its current status — where some people see it as a potential cancer risk — to being recognized as having a low risk for harm.

Several studies of glyphosate and cancer are ongoing, and more are coming out each year. Just last year, a review of studies looking at the ties between glyphosate and cancer concluded that in the low amounts that people are actually exposed to, glyphosate "do[es] not represent a public concern."

It's also possible that new evidence could come out strongly against glyphosate and suggest that it's incredibly harmful. New evidence dramatically changed the public perception of another popular product which was initially labeled cancerous — a zero-calorie sweetener called saccharin, which is sold under the brand name Sweet' N Low.

In the 1980s, any product containing the sweetener was required to carry a warning label saying that it was "determined to cause cancer." But the science was flawed: the rats that had been used in the studies were especially prone to bladder cancer, and the findings did not apply to people. So in 2016, the sweetener was removed from a list of cancer-causing ingredients.

Glyphosate's status ultimately remains to be seen.

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[newssplashy]

Tech: The weed-killing chemical at the heart of a Monsanto lawsuit was found in Cheerios. Here's how worried you should be

Environmental Working Group released a report showing traces of the herbicide glyphosate in popular cereals including Cheerios, Quaker Oats, and Lucky Charms. But the chemical likely does not cause cancer in the very low levels at which it is present. That's because the dose makes the poison.

A jury recently ordered Monsanto to pay $289 million in damages to a plaintiff who alleged that his cancer was the result of using Roundup, the company's popular herbicide.

On the heels of the trial, an environmental nonprofit released a report that showed traces of the herbicide in popular cereals including Cheerios, Quaker Oats, and Lucky Charms.

One important thing the cereal report left out: The active ingredient in Roundup — a chemical called glyphosate — likely does not cause cancer in the very low levels at which it is present.

Last week, a jury in San Francisco ordered Monsanto to pay $289 million in damages to a school groundskeeper who developed cancer after years of using Roundup, the company's popular herbicide. On the heels of the trial outcome, The Environmental Working Group published a scary-sounding report that found traces of the chemical in dozens of everyday foods, from cereals like Cheerios and Quaker Oats to granola bars.

One important thing the report left out: The active ingredient in Roundup — a chemical called glyphosate — likely does not cause cancer in the very low levels at which it is present.

The science linking glyphosate to cancer is limited at best. In fact, the majority of published research on glyphosate and cancer reveals low or zero risk. Here's what you need to know about the chemical in cereal.

The dose makes the poison

Before developing cancer, the plaintiff in the recent trial had used Roundup regularly in his job as a groundskeeper at a California public school. For neglecting to alert Johnson (and the rest of the public) about the potential links between glyphosate-containing Roundup and cancer, the jury ordered Monsanto to pay Johnson $289 million.

But as for whether glyphosate could actually have been the sole or even primary cause of an individual's cancer, the research leans heavily toward "no."

That's because the dose makes the poison.

Eat or drink too much of nearly anything, and you can die. That applies to everything from apple seeds (which contain the deadly poison arsenic) to chocolate (which packs the toxic chemical theobromide) to water (if you drink roughly 6 litres of water at once, you can develop hyponatremia, a deadly condition in which an excess of water causes your cells to puff up like balloons).

The scare over a potential link between glyphosate and cancer appears to have begun with a now widely-criticized statement put out by a World Health Organization group known as the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) in 2015.

That year, the IARC put glyphosate — Roundup's active ingredient — in a cancer-risk category one level below widely-recognized harmful activities like smoking. But several researchers have said the IARC's determination was bogus because there is no evidence that glyphosate causes cancer. In fact, a lengthy review found that the IARC had edited out portions of the documents they used to review glyphosate to make the chemical look far more harmful than its own research had concluded.

Several recent rigorous scientific studies have added to the notion that glyphosate — at least in the amounts we consume — poses little harm and is unlikely to cause cancer.

Just last year, a review of studies looking at the ties between glyphosate and cancer concluded that in the low amounts of that people are actually exposed to, glyphosate "do[es] not represent a public concern."

So, should you be worried about breakfast cereal?

The cereal report — which focused on children, not adults — found levels of glyphosate higher than what it determined to be safe for 43 of the 45 cereals it tested. Bu the math fails to line up with other published figures on glyphosate safety levels.

In its report, any cereal with a glyphosate level of more than 160 ppb, or parts per billion, was marked as "unsafe." The Environmental Protection Agency's legal limit on glyphosate in food for adults is 5 parts per million, or 5,000 parts per billion — meaning that the cereal report's figures were 31 times more stringent than what the EPA considers safe.

Given that children are smaller than adults, toxicologists generally develop slightly more strict figures for them.

But instead of drawing from the EPA's glyphosate numbers, the cereal report authors looked to California standards — which are notoriously tough and recently led to the controversial decision of the state slapping cancer warning labels on coffee.

In California, where glyphosate is still listed in a registry of "chemicals known to cause cancer," the levels of glyphosate considered "safe" to ingest are 60 times more stringent than EPA regulations. Using that figure as a baseline, the cereal report authors then added "an additional 10-fold margin of safety" to arrive at their glyphosate safety threshold, determining that ingesting 0.01 milligrams of glyphosate every day would give you a one-in-a-million risk of developing cancer over the course of your lifetime.

Given all that, it's not surprising that so many cereals got flagged as in the red for having glyphosate levels higher than what the cereal report authors determined to be safe.

"Our products are safe and without question they meet regulatory safety levels. The EPA has researched this issue and has set rules that we follow," a spokesperson with General Mills, the company behind Cheerios and Lucky Charms, said in a statement supplied to Fast Company.

"Glyphosate is commonly used by farmers across the industry who apply it pre-harvest. Once the oats are transported to us, we put them through our rigorous process that thoroughly cleanses them. Any levels of glyphosate that may remain are significantly below any regulatory limits and well within compliance of the safety standards set by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) as safe for human consumption," said a Quaker spokesperson.

New research could change the controversial classification of glyphosate

The IARC's 2015 statement on glyphosate and cancer is not final.

Based on new studies (typically in mice), glyphosate could go from its current status — where some people see it as a potential cancer risk — to being recognized as having a low risk for harm.

Several studies of glyphosate and cancer are ongoing, and more are coming out each year. Just last year, a review of studies looking at the ties between glyphosate and cancer concluded that in the low amounts that people are actually exposed to, glyphosate "do[es] not represent a public concern."

It's also possible that new evidence could come out strongly against glyphosate and suggest that it's incredibly harmful. New evidence dramatically changed the public perception of another popular product which was initially labeled cancerous — a zero-calorie sweetener called saccharin, which is sold under the brand name Sweet' N Low.

In the 1980s, any product containing the sweetener was required to carry a warning label saying that it was "determined to cause cancer." But the science was flawed: the rats that had been used in the studies were especially prone to bladder cancer, and the findings did not apply to people. So in 2016, the sweetener was removed from a list of cancer-causing ingredients.

Glyphosate's status ultimately remains to be seen.

source http://www.newssplashy.com/2018/08/tech-weed-killing-chemical-at-heart-of.html

[newssplashy]

Saraki: APC backs invasion of National Assembly by DSS, blames Senate President

The party said DSS operatives prevented Saraki's 'sinister' plan to stop his expected impeachment.

The All Progressives' Congress (APC) has praised the 'timely intervention' of security operatives who neutralised an alleged plan by Senate President, Bukola Saraki, to cause trouble in the legislative chamber.

Operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) took over the National Assembly complex early on Tuesday, August 7, 2018, and prevented lawmakers and journalists from gaining access into the premises in what many believed to be a plot to implement Saraki's impeachment.

Even though the APC condemned the attack in a previous statement on Tuesday and Acting President, Yemi Osinbajo, sacked the Director-General of the DSS, Lawal Daura, over the siege, the APC has released another statement to say the actions of the DSS foiled Saraki's plan to cause violence.

 In a statement signed by the party's acting national publicity secretary, Yekini Nabena, the APC said the DSS operatives prevented Saraki's 'sinister' plan to stop his expected impeachment.

According to the party's investigations, it was alleged that Saraki's actions could have resulted in possible deaths, injuries and destruction of property in the National Assembly.

The APC also alleged that the senate president mobilised thugs who almost lynched an APC lawmaker who was saved by security operatives.

The statement read, "Following Tuesday's incident at the National Assembly, our investigations have now uncovered the sinister plot hatched by the Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki to foment violence in the legislative chamber all in a bid to stop his impeachment.

"Our investigations uncovered and noted the following:

"We are now aware that the timely intervention of the security operatives forestalled the planned violence which could have led to possible deaths, injuries and destruction of property in the National Assembly on Tuesday.

"Why did the Senate President mobilise thugs to the National Assembly who almost lynched Hon. E.J. Agbonayinma, the only APC federal lawmaker present but for the timely intervention of security operatives.

"Why did the Senate President reconvene the National Assembly? Ostensibly as a pre-emptive move to frustrate federal lawmakers move to impeach him.

"Is it not curious that only Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) federal lawmakers were present in their numbers-some as early as 7am, while the majority APC federal lawmakers were elsewhere holding a caucus meeting on the state of the nation."

The APC called on security agencies to probe its findings and take all necessary actions to stop the alleged illegalities of the senate president.

The party also expressed its belief in the legislature as an independent arm of government that must be allowed free reign for vibrant contestation of ideas and values amongst its members within the context of their constitutional mandate.

APC calls on Saraki to resign

In Wednesday's statement, the APC also reiterated its call on Saraki to resign as Senate President after he dumped the APC to join the opposition People's Democratic Party (PDP).

"Finally, we reiterate our call for the Senate President to resign from the position immediately as he no longer has the moral and legitimate ground to occupy that position as a member of the minority PDP. Going by the popular axiom, 'The majority will have their way, but the minority will have their say,'" the statement read.

Osinbajo sacks DSS director

In reaction to the invasion of the national assembly by the DSS, Acting President, Yemi Osinbajo, sacked the agency's Director-General, Lawal Daura, after a meeting at the Presidential Villa.

According to a statement signed by Osinbajo's spokesperson, Laolu Akande, he said the "unauthorized takeover" of the legislative complex was done without the knowledge of the Presidency as alleged by the opposition.

source http://www.newssplashy.com/2018/08/saraki-apc-backs-invasion-of-national.html

[newssplashy]

The party said DSS operatives prevented Saraki's 'sinister' plan to stop his expected impeachment.

The All Progressives' Congress (APC) has praised the 'timely intervention' of security operatives who neutralised an alleged plan by Senate President, Bukola Saraki, to cause trouble in the legislative chamber.

Operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) took over the National Assembly complex early on Tuesday, August 7, 2018, and prevented lawmakers and journalists from gaining access into the premises in what many believed to be a plot to implement Saraki's impeachment.

Even though the APC condemned the attack in a previous statement on Tuesday and Acting President, Yemi Osinbajo, sacked the Director-General of the DSS, Lawal Daura, over the siege, the APC has released another statement to say the actions of the DSS foiled Saraki's plan to cause violence.

 In a statement signed by the party's acting national publicity secretary, Yekini Nabena, the APC said the DSS operatives prevented Saraki's 'sinister' plan to stop his expected impeachment.

According to the party's investigations, it was alleged that Saraki's actions could have resulted in possible deaths, injuries and destruction of property in the National Assembly.

The APC also alleged that the senate president mobilised thugs who almost lynched an APC lawmaker who was saved by security operatives.

The statement read, "Following Tuesday's incident at the National Assembly, our investigations have now uncovered the sinister plot hatched by the Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki to foment violence in the legislative chamber all in a bid to stop his impeachment.

"Our investigations uncovered and noted the following:

"We are now aware that the timely intervention of the security operatives forestalled the planned violence which could have led to possible deaths, injuries and destruction of property in the National Assembly on Tuesday.

"Why did the Senate President mobilise thugs to the National Assembly who almost lynched Hon. E.J. Agbonayinma, the only APC federal lawmaker present but for the timely intervention of security operatives.

"Why did the Senate President reconvene the National Assembly? Ostensibly as a pre-emptive move to frustrate federal lawmakers move to impeach him.

"Is it not curious that only Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) federal lawmakers were present in their numbers-some as early as 7am, while the majority APC federal lawmakers were elsewhere holding a caucus meeting on the state of the nation."

The APC called on security agencies to probe its findings and take all necessary actions to stop the alleged illegalities of the senate president.

The party also expressed its belief in the legislature as an independent arm of government that must be allowed free reign for vibrant contestation of ideas and values amongst its members within the context of their constitutional mandate.

APC calls on Saraki to resign

In Wednesday's statement, the APC also reiterated its call on Saraki to resign as Senate President after he dumped the APC to join the opposition People's Democratic Party (PDP).

"Finally, we reiterate our call for the Senate President to resign from the position immediately as he no longer has the moral and legitimate ground to occupy that position as a member of the minority PDP. Going by the popular axiom, 'The majority will have their way, but the minority will have their say,'" the statement read.

Osinbajo sacks DSS director

In reaction to the invasion of the national assembly by the DSS, Acting President, Yemi Osinbajo, sacked the agency's Director-General, Lawal Daura, after a meeting at the Presidential Villa.

According to a statement signed by Osinbajo's spokesperson, Laolu Akande, he said the "unauthorized takeover" of the legislative complex was done without the knowledge of the Presidency as alleged by the opposition.

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