#)news about code of conduct in election

[mariacallous]

Neo-Nazis and white supremacists are sharing Hitler-related propaganda and trying to recruit new members on TikTok, according to a new report from the Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD) shared exclusively with WIRED. The TikTok algorithm is also promoting this content to new users, researchers found, as extremist communities are leveraging the huge popularity of TikTok among younger audiences to spread their message.

The report from ISD details how hundreds of extremist TikTok accounts are openly posting videos promoting Holocaust denial and the glorification of Hitler and Nazi-era Germany, and suggesting that Nazi ideology is a solution to modern-day issues such as the alleged migrant invasion of Western countries. The accounts also show support for white supremacist mass shooters and livestream-related footage or recreations of these massacres. Many of the accounts use Nazi symbols in their profile pictures or include white supremacist codes in their usernames.

Nathan Doctor, an ISD researcher who authored the report, says he began his investigation earlier this year when he came across one neo-Nazi account on TikTok while conducting research for another project.

He was quickly able to unmask a much broader network of accounts that appeared to be actively helping each other through liking, sharing, and commenting on each other’s accounts in order to increase their viewership and reach.

The groups promoting neo-Nazi narratives are typically siloed in more fringe platforms, like Telegram, the encrypted messaging app. But Telegram has become a place to discuss recruitment techniques for TikTok specifically: White supremacist groups there share videos, images, and audio tracks that members can use, explicitly telling other members to cross-post the content on TikTok.

“We posted stuff on our brand new tiktok account with 0 followers but had more views than you could ever have on bitchute or twitter,” one account in a Neo-Nazi group posted on Telegram about their outreach on TikTok. “It just reaches much more people.”

Others have followed suit. One prominent neo-Nazi has often asked his thousands of Telegram followers to “juice,” or algorithmically boost, his TikTok videos to increase their viral potential.

An extremist Telegram channel with 12,000 followers urged members to promote the neo-Nazi documentary Europa: The Last Battle by blanketing TikTok with reaction videos in an effort to make the film go viral. Researchers from ISD found dozens of videos on TikTok featuring clips from the film, some with over 100,000 views. “One account posting such snippets has received nearly 900k views on their videos, which include claims that the Rothschild family control the media and handpick presidents, as well as other false or antisemitic claims,” the researchers wrote.

This is far from the first time the role that TikTok’s algorithm plays in promoting extremist content has been exposed. Earlier this month, the Global Network on Extremism and Technology reported that TikTok’s algorithm was promoting the “adoration of minor fascist ideologues.” The same researchers found last year that it was boosting Eurocentric supremacist narratives in Southeast Asia. Earlier this month, WIRED reported how TikTok’s search suggestions were pushing young voters in Germany towards the far-right Alternative for Germany party ahead of last month’s EU elections.

“Hateful behavior, organizations and their ideologies have no place on TikTok, and we remove more than 98 percent of this content before it is reported to us,” Jamie Favazza, a TikTok spokesperson tells WIRED. “We work with experts to keep ahead of evolving trends and continually strengthen our safeguards against hateful ideologies and groups.”

Part of the reason platforms like TikTok have in the past been unable to effectively clamp down on extremist content is due to the use of code language, emojis, acronyms, and numbers by these groups. For example, many of the neo-Nazi accounts used a juice box emoji to refer to Jewish people.

“At present, self-identified Nazis are discussing TikTok as an amenable platform to spread their ideology, especially when employing a series of countermeasures to evade moderation and amplify content as a network,” the researchers write in the report.

But Doctor points out that even when viewing non-English-language content, spotting these patterns should be possible. “Despite seeing content in other languages, you can still pretty quickly recognize what it means,” says Doctor. “The coded nature of it isn't an excuse, because if it's pretty easily recognizable to someone in another language, it should be recognizable to TikTok as well.”

TikTok says it has more than “40,000 trust and safety professionals” working on moderation around the globe, and the company says its Trust and Safety Team has specialists in violent extremism who constantly monitor developments in these communities, including the use of new coded language.

While many of the identified accounts are based in the US, Doctor found that the network was also international.

“It's definitely global, it's not even just the English language,” Doctor tells WIRED. “We found stuff in French, Hungarian, German. Some of these are in countries where Naziism is illegal. Russian is a big one. But we even found things that were a bit surprising, like groups of Mexican Nazis, or across Latin America. So, yeah, definitely a global phenomenon.”

Doctor did not find any evidence that the international groups were actively coordinating with each other, but they were certainly aware of each others’ presence on TikTok: “These accounts are definitely engaging with each others' content. You can see, based on comment sections, European English-speaking pro-Nazi accounts reacting with praise toward Russian-language pro-Nazi content.”

The researchers also found that beyond individual accounts and groups promoting extremist content, some real-world fascist or far-right organizations were openly recruiting on the platform.

Accounts from these groups posted links in their TikTok videos to a website featuring antisemitic flyers and instructions on how to print and distribute them. They also boosted Telegram channels featuring more violent and explicitly extremist discourse.

In one example cited by ISD, an account whose username contains an antisemitic slur and whose bio calls for an armed revolution and the complete annihilation of Jewish people, has shared incomplete instructions to build improvised explosive devices, 3D-printed guns, and “napalm on a budget.”

To receive the complete instructions, the account holder urged followers to join a “secure groupchat” on encrypted messaging platforms Element and Tox. Doctor says that comments under the account holder’s videos indicate that a number of his followers had joined these chat groups.

ISD reported this account, along with 49 other accounts, in June for breaching TikTok’s policies on hate speech, encouragement of violence against protected groups, promoting hateful ideologies, celebrating violent extremists, and Holocaust denial. In all cases, TikTok found no violations, and all accounts were initially allowed to remain active.

A month later, 23 of the accounts had been banned by TikTok, indicating that the platform is at least removing some violative content and channels over time. Prior to being taken down, the 23 banned accounts had racked up at least 2 million views.

The researchers also created new TikTok accounts to understand how Nazi content is promoted to new users by TikTok’s powerful algorithm.

Using an account created at the end of May, researchers watched 10 videos from the network of pro-Nazi users, occasionally clicking on comment sections but stopping short of any form of real engagement such as liking, commenting, or bookmarking. The researchers also viewed 10 pro-Nazi accounts. When the researchers then flipped to the For You feed within the app, it took just three videos for the algorithm to suggest a video featuring a World War II-era Nazi soldier overlayed with a chart of US murder rates, with perpetrators broken down by race. Later, a video appeared of an AI-translated speech from Hitler overlaid with a recruitment poster for a white nationalist group.

Another account created by ISD researchers saw even more extremist content promoted in its main feed, with 70 percent of videos coming from self-identified Nazis or featuring Nazi propaganda. After the account followed a number of pro-Nazi accounts in order to access content on channels set to private, the TikTok algorithm also promoted other Nazi accounts to follow. All 10 of the first accounts recommended by TikTok to this account used Nazi symbology or keywords in their usernames or profile photos, or featured Nazi propaganda in their videos.

“In no way is this particularly surprising,” says Abbie Richards, a disinformation researcher specializing in TikTok. "These are things that we found time and time again. I have certainly found them in my research."

Richards wrote about white supremacist and militant accelerationist content on the platform in 2022, including the case of neo-Nazi Paul Miller, who, while serving a 41-month sentence for firearm charges, featured in a TikTok video that racked up more than 5 million views and 700,000 likes during the three months it was on the platform before being removed.

Marcus Bösch, a researcher based in Hamburg University who monitors TikTok, tells WIRED that the report’s findings “do not come as a big surprise,” and he’s not hopeful there is anything TikTok can do to fix the problem.

“I’m not sure exactly where the problem is,” Bösch says. “TikTok says it has around 40,000 content moderators, and it should be easy to understand such obvious policy violations. Yet due to the sheer volume [of content], and the ability by bad actors to quickly adapt, I am convinced that the entire disinformation problem cannot be finally solved, neither with AI nor with more moderators.”

TikTok says it has completed a mentorship program with Tech Against Terrorism, a group that seeks to disrupt terrorists’ online activity and helps TikTok identify online threats.

“Despite proactive steps taken, TikTok remains a target for exploitation by extremist groups as its popularity grows,” Adam Hadley, executive director of Tech Against Terrorism, tells WIRED. “The ISD study shows that a small number of violent extremists can wreak havoc on large platforms due to adversarial asymmetry. This report therefore underscores the need for cross-platform threat intelligence supported by improved AI-powered content moderation. The report also reminds us that Telegram should also be held accountable for its role in the online extremist ecosystem.”

As Hadley outlines, the report’s findings show that there are significant loopholes in the company’s current policies.

“I've always described TikTok, when it comes to far-right usage, as a messaging platform,” Richards said. “More than anything, it's just about repetition. It's about being exposed to the same hateful narrative over and over and over again, because at a certain point you start to believe things after you just see them enough, and they start to really influence your worldview.”

[kp777]

Julia Conley

Common Dreams

May 17, 2024

"This behavior is disqualifying for a Supreme Court justice," said one critic.

U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Dick Durbin was among those on Friday who called for Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito's recusal from cases related to the 2020 election after The New York Timesreported the justice flew an upside-down flag outside his home in the days leading up to President Joe Biden's inauguration.

The display of an inverted flag officially symbolizes "dire duress" according to the U.S. code, and has been used at various times by people across the political spectrum to signify distress over U.S. policy and disapproval of the government.

At the time Alito's family displayed the flag, just over a week after then-President Donald Trump urged his supporters to riot at the U.S. Capitol when lawmakers were certifying the election results, the "Stop the Steal" movement had embraced the symbol to show their belief that the election had been stolen for Biden—despite all evidence to the contrary.

Alito told the Times on Friday that he "had no involvement whatsoever in the flying of the flag" and that "it was briefly placed by Mrs. Alito in response to a neighbor's use of objectionable and personally insulting language on yard signs."

But Durbin (D-Ill.) said the display on January 17, 2021—and for several days before that—clearly created "the appearance of bias."

"Justice Alito should recuse himself immediately from cases related to the 2020 election and the January 6 insurrection, including the question of the former president's immunity in U.S. v. Donald Trump, which the Supreme Court is currently considering," said the senator.

The news of Alito's upside-down flag comes after numerous reports about ethical breaches by right-wing Supreme Court justices including Alito and Justice Clarence Thomas.

Both of the justices have accepted luxury travel and have had other financial transactions with right-wing operatives who have been involved in cases before the court, and Thomas has drawn condemnation for continuing to serve on a case regarding documents being turned over to the House Select Committee on the January 6 Attack after it was revealed that his wife had supported efforts to overturn the 2020 election results.

In the coming weeks, the court is set to rule on Trump's claim that he has immunity in his federal election interference case and in a separate case regarding whether January 6 defendants should be charged with obstructing an official proceeding.

Despite four ongoing criminal cases, Trump is the presumptive Republican nominee to face Biden in November.

"The court is in an ethical crisis of its own making, and Justice Alito and the rest of the court should be doing everything in their power to regain public trust," said Durbin. "Supreme Court justices should be held to the highest ethical standards, not the lowest."

The senator added that the latest reporting offers new proof that Congress must pass the Supreme Court Ethics, Recusal, and Transparency (SCERT) Act, which would create an enforceable code of conduct for the high court.

Indivisible co-executive director Ezra Levin applauded Durbin's call and said the news about Alito's flag "just confirms what we already knew: that the Supreme Court is stacked with far-right, partisan justices intent on using the bench to institutionalize MAGA extremism."

"This behavior is disqualifying for a Supreme Court justice," said Levin. "Alito is not an impartial arbiter of the law, especially when Donald Trump is involved. His brazen actions underscore the urgent need for increased congressional oversight of the court as well as structural reforms to restore its legitimacy."

Levin also called on Durbin to use his committee leadership position to "rigorously investigate corruption on the court and lead efforts to expand the court to unrig the MAGA supermajority."

Devin Ombres, senior director for courts and legal policy at the Center for American Progress, said Alito's display of the flag was a "matter-of-fact admission of his partisan sympathy with Donald Trump's 'Stop the Steal' movement, which led to the violent insurrection on January 6."

"His pathetic excuse that his wife hung the flag as part of a political dispute with a neighbor is even more damning because he's admitting it was a partisan act," said Ombres. "It's unacceptable that Alito now sits in judgment of whether Trump's actions deserve the imprimatur of presidential immunity. Chief Justice John Roberts and the other justices must demand Alito's recusal from any case related to the January 6 insurrection. If Alito had any sense of propriety or humility, he would resign."

[everwitch-magiks]

Gossip Girl AU!

... I love you, I do, but I must admit to never having seen Gossip Girl. This is gonna be a wild ride.

I've thought about it for exactly two seconds and have elected to do the following: five fun things that would happen in a Gossip Girl AU based solely on randomly selected episode titles from season one of the show, all of which I've never seen. Strap in, folks.

The Wild Brunch: Pez, a chaotic genius stuck in the confinements of compulsory education, has a mishap in the chem lab which results in a sentient sandwich. All the man wanted was a goddamn post-breakfast-pre-lunch grilled cheese, and now said grilled cheese is reciting Keats and crushing on the new kid from Texas. Pez names it 'Henry'.

Dare Devil: Nora dares Alex to eat the grilled cheese. Henry is horrified. Pez is entertained. Alex is keen, because it looks so tasty, but hesitant, because it looks so alive. June's book club comes to the rescue and grants Henry membership, which in turn grants him protection from being eaten under paragraph twenty-one of the school code of conduct: 'do not bite fellow members of extracurricular organisations.' Thank God for Theodore Wilkins in the class of 96' whose vampire phase left deep imprints on official regulations (and on Colin McMahon, the poor lad. He wore a lot of scarfs.)

Seventeen Candles: Alex turns seventeen. To celebrate, he and Nora break up and get back together again seventeen times - except the seventeenth time, they forget to get back together. Neither of them actually notice. Henry nearly eats himself from stress.

Roman Holiday: On a class trip to Europe, Pez mixes Henry up with an eerily similar garlic bread appetizer. The garlic bread does not recite Keats. Alex is beside himself but can't figure out why. Nora reveals herself to be a witch and summons Henry back from the buffet. Nobody is surprised by this development.

All About My Brother: Pez and Nora combine their sciency and witchy powers to transform Henry into a real boy who smells only vaguely of cheese. Alex is into it. So into it that he comes out to June a moment later, which annoys her seeing as she'd been about to come out to him and now he's stolen her thunder. June gets back at Alex by getting together with Nora, but is startled when this only makes him thrilled - so in an impressive display of commitment to the bit she dates Nora for a decade and then marries her. They have three children. Alex, meanwhile, asks Henry out by means of a message written in apricot jam on a whole wheel of brie. (Henry accepts.)

The end, I suppose! Gossip Girl. What a show, amirite?

Send me a potential AU and I’ll tell you five fun facts that would happen in a story!

[religion-is-a-mental-illness]

By: Ron Kapeas

Published: Jan 8, 2024

JTA — In a speech marking Martin Luther King Jr. Day weekend, Rep. Ritchie Torres likened protesters who have celebrated Hamas’s October 7 massacres to white people in the Jim Crow era who celebrated after the lynching of Black people.

“I was profoundly shaken not only by October 7, but by the aftermath,” Torres, a Black Bronx Democrat, said Friday in a speech at Central Synagogue, a prominent Reform congregation in midtown Manhattan. “I found it utterly horrifying. To see fellow Americans openly cheering and celebrating the deadliest massacre of Jews since the Holocaust. And for me, the aftermath of October 7 revealed a barbarity of the American heart that reminded me of an earlier and darker time in our nation’s history, a time when the public mobs of Jim Crow would openly celebrate the lynching of African Americans.”

Protests have proliferated since October 7, when Hamas terrorists murdered some 1,200 people, kidnapped around 240 and brutalized thousands more in an invasion from Gaza. They have grown as Israel has waged a war in Gaza to eliminate the terror group, and especially as casualties mounted: So far, close to 25,000 Palestinians have been killed, according to the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry, which does not differentiate between fighters and non-combatants and is also believed to tally civilians killed by errant rockets fired by terror groups.

A number of the protests have decried the October 7 violence on Israelis, but others have skated over the initial massacres or have embraced Hamas and described its atrocities as resistance.

Torres, a member of the progressive caucus in Congress, has garnered a reputation as an unstinting supporter of Israel. He has duked it out online with fellow progressives in debates over Israel, a dynamic that has only intensified since October 7. Torres is heavily funded by AIPAC and donors aligned with the pro-Israel lobby, and spoke at a massive rally for Israel in Washington on November 14.

In his speech, Torres alluded to the controversies that assailed elite universities after the presidents of Harvard, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the University of Pennsylvania told Congress that calls to commit genocide against Jews did not necessarily violate the schools’ codes of conduct. The ensuing uproar drove Harvard’s and Penn’s presidents to resign.

“What we’ve seen in the aftermath of October 7, is appalling silence and indifference and cowardice from so called leaders in our society from institutions that we once respected and admired,” he said. “And if we as a society cannot bring ourselves to condemn the murder of innocents with moral clarity, then we must ask, what are we becoming as a society? What does that reveal about the depths of antisemitism in the American soul?”

I had the honor of delivering the annual MLK sermon at Central Synagogue.  My speech touches on a range of topics and themes: October 7th, Jim Crow, Leo Frank, MLK, Elie Wiesel, silence, indifference, moral clarity, nonviolence, Israel, Am Yisrael Chai, Hatikvah, and hope. pic.twitter.com/stxqxzgyLi — Ritchie Torres (@RitchieTorres) January 16, 2024

Central is a locus for some of the city’s wealthiest liberal Jewish families, many of whom are also firm supporters of Israel. Dr. Shonni Silverberg, the synagogue president, introduced Torres as a champion of progressive priorities as well as an advocate for Israel, and noted that he is the first openly LGBTQ representative elected from the Bronx.

“Ritchie remains steadfastly focused on the priorities of his South Bronx constituents, expanding access to safe and affordable housing, rebuilding New York economically and ensuring that no child goes hungry and that all receive a good education,” she said. “But he has also shown himself both in and out of Congress to be a great friend of the American Jewish community and Israel.”

--

==

I was shocked, but not surprised. Shocked at how openly, how loudly and how quickly pro-Hamas, pro-terrorism supporters emerged from their Postcolonial Studies, Gender Studies, Intersectional Feminism Studies and other fraudulent sewers in the ivory towers long before Israel ever fired a shot back.

I was not surprised, however, since antisemitism is a cornerstone of Intersectionality, as I posted about more than two years ago:

I naïvely expected that they'd go, "whoa, we didn't mean it like that, that's not what we were after," the standard No True Scotman tactic to distance their enlightened antisemitism from the antisemitism of murderous Islamic jihadists.

But they went the other way and leaned into it, cheering it on, while others tried to gaslight everyone with the usual array of denials that they weren't saying what they were openly saying, and that anyway, if they were saying it, that's not what they meant.

[dontmeantobepoliticalbut]

A group of House Democrats is pushing a legislative proposal that would establish an investigative body within the U.S. Supreme Court to probe potential ethical improprieties in the wake of another Court-related controversy.

On Tuesday, New York Democratic Reps. Dan Goldman and Jerry Nadler and other lawmakers introduced the “Supreme Court Ethics and Investigations Act,” which among other things would create an investigative body that reports to Congress and establish an ethics counsel to advise justices on ethics rules, including recusal and disclosure requirements.

Lawmakers say the goal is to provide transparency and accountability after recent incidents raised ethical concerns about some members of the Court.

The group cites the incident involving Justice Samuel Alito as an example. Alito faced calls to recuse himself from Jan. 6 and 2020 election-related cases after the New York Times reported in May that his household flew an upside-down flag — a symbol associated with the “Stop the Steal” movement — in January of 2021; and flew another right-wing flag last year.

The incidents prompted Sens. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) to send a letter to Chief Justice John Roberts requesting that he take steps to ensure that Alito recuses himself in any cases related to the 2020 presidential election and the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol “including the question of former President Trump’s immunity from prosecution …” The immunity case is pending before the Court after oral argument was held in April.

In his own letter, Alito responded by blaming his wife for the flags. He also said he would not recuse himself, citing the Court’s code of conduct adopted last year:

“B. DISQUALIFICATION. (1) A Justice is presumed impartial and has an obligation to sit unless disqualified. (2) A Justice should disqualify himself or herself in a proceeding in which the Justice’s impartiality might reasonably be questioned, that is, where an unbiased and reasonable person who is aware of all relevant circumstances would doubt that the Justice could fairly discharge his or her duties.” A reasonable person who isn’t motivated by “political or ideological considerations” would conclude that the incidents don’t warrant a recusal, Alito says in the letter.

But a number of lawmakers and Court observers seem to disagree.

“Ethics policies at the Supreme Court should be robust and consistent,” said Gabe Roth, executive director of the nonprofit advocacy group Fix the Court, “and the current hodgepodge … is far from a best practice.”

Past attempts, however, to bring stronger accountability to the nation’s highest court have been unsuccessful. Last year, ProPublica published an investigation detailing the perks and lavish gifts Justice Clarence Thomas received from Harlan Crow, a real estate tycoon and prominent GOP donor, that Thomas did not disclose. Legislation introduced that year that would require the Court to adopt a code of conduct and create a mechanism to investigate alleged code violations failed to gain traction.

In November, the Court established a code of conduct. But the onus seems to be on the justices to abide by the standards. Alito cited this code — the “Disqualification” section — in his decision not to recuse himself.

[justinspoliticalcorner]

David Smith at The Guardian:

“Look at me, look at me,” said Martha-Ann Alito. “I’m German, from Germany. My heritage is German. You come after me, I’m gonna give it back to you.” It was a bizarre outburst from the wife of a justice on America’s highest court. Secretly recorded by a liberal activist, Martha-Ann Alito complained about a neighbour’s gay pride flag and expressed a desire to fly a Sacred Heart of Jesus flag in protest. This, along with audio clips of Justice Samuel Alito himself and a stream of ethics violations, have deepened public concerns that the supreme court is playing by its own rules. The Democratic representative Jamie Raskin has described a “national clamour over this crisis of legitimacy” at the court.

A poll last month for the progressive advocacy organisation Stand Up America suggests that the supreme court will now play a crucial role in voters’ choices in the 2024 election. Nearly three in four voters said the selection and confirmation of justices will be an important consideration for them in voting for both president and senator in November. Reed Galen, a co-founder of the Lincoln Project, a pro-democracy group, said: “The idea that these guys act as if they are kings ruling from above, to me, should absolutely be an issue. It was always Republicans who said we hate unelected judges legislating from the bench and we hate judicial activism. That’s all this stuff is.” Public trust in the court is at an all-time low amid concerns over bias and corruption. Alito has rejected demands that he recuse himself from a case considering presidential immunity after flags similar to those carried by 6 January 2021 rioters flew over his homes in Virginia and New Jersey. Justice Clarence Thomas has ignored calls to step aside because of the role his wife, Ginni, played in supporting efforts to overturn Donald Trump’s loss to Joe Biden in 2020.

Ethical standards have been under scrutiny following revelations that some justices failed to report luxury trips, including on private jets, and property deals. Last week Thomas, who has come under criticism for failing to disclose gifts from the businessman and Republican donor Harlan Crow, revised his 2019 form to acknowledge he accepted “food and lodging” at a Bali hotel and at a California club. These controversies have been compounded by historic and hugely divisive decisions. The fall of Roe v Wade, ending the nationwide right to abortion after half a century, was seen by many Democrats as a gamechanger in terms of people making a connection between the court and their everyday lives.

There are further signs of the debate moving beyond the Washington bubble. Last week, the editorial board of the Chicago Sun-Times newspaper argued that, since the court’s own ethics code proved toothless, Congress should enact legislation that holds supreme court justices to higher ethical standards. The paper called for the local senator Dick Durbin of Illinois, who is chair of the Senate judiciary committee, to hold a hearing on the issue.

[...] Congressional Democrats have introduced various bills including one to create an independent ethics office and internal investigations counsel within the supreme court. Broader progressive ideas include expanding the number of seats on the court or limiting the justices to 18-year terms rather than lifetime appointments. But such efforts have been repeatedly thwarted by Republicans, who over decades impressed on their base the importance of the court, ultimately leading to a 6-3 conservative majority including three Trump appointees. This week Senate Republicans blocked the ​​Supreme Court Ethics, Recusal, and Transparency Act, legislation that would require the court to adopt a binding code of conduct for all justices, establish procedures to investigate complaints of judicial misconduct and adopt rules to disclose gifts, travel and income received by them that are at least as rigorous as congressional disclosure rules.

Democrats should be aggressive about confronting a runaway radical right-wing majority on SCOTUS and make it a major issue. #SCOTUSisCompromised

See Also:

Vox: What can Democrats actually do about Thomas’s and Alito’s corruption?

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

Horsey

* * * *

Biden goes on offense.

March 11, 2024

ROBERT B. HUBBELL

If the campaigning over the weekend is a portent of things to come, Democrats should be feeling good. As Joe Biden continued the momentum gained from a commanding State of the Union address, Trump partied with the anti-democratic strongman of Hungary, Viktor Orbán. Biden and Trump gave dueling speeches in Georgia: Joe Biden delivered a fiery but traditional campaign speech. Trump rambled in a stream-of-consciousness manner that would have made James Joyce scratch his head in puzzlement.  

The difference in tone and comprehensibility of their respective campaign speeches in Georgia was palpable. In this clip, President Biden thanks his Black supporters for their key role in his 2020 victory and asks for their support in 2024. He also praises the bravery of the civil rights marchers—including the late John Lewis—who were beaten on the Edmund Pettus Bridge fifty-nine years ago on Bloody Sunday.

President Biden said:

Thursday marked fifty-nine years since hundreds of foot soldiers for justice marched across the Edmund Pettus Bridge named after the Grand Dragon of the Ku Klux Klan to claim the fundamental right to vote. They were beaten, they were bloody, they were left for dead—but they were unbowed. Our late friend, son of Georgia, John Lewis, was there. Five months later, what happened? We passed the Voting Rights Act [and it was] signed into law. But in the nearly six decades after that, the same forces are back, led by Donald Trump, taking us back in time, suppressing the vote, subvert[ing] elections. That’s why we have to stand up again. We know what to do. And my message to Georgia voters—and the voters all across the country—is to send me a Congress that will pass the Freedom to Vote Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Act.

The new toughness in Biden’s speech is welcome. He is making a direct connection between the brutal voter suppression of the Jim Crow era and the reactionary tactics of MAGA extremists. And he is calling out Trump's submissive courting of foreign dictators. See The Guardian, Biden hits out at Trump in Georgia rally: ‘He’s been sucking up to dictators all over the world’.

Trump, on the other hand, attacked supporters of Ron DeSantis and Nikki Haley—because nothing invites party unity like rubbing salt in the wound! He spewed venom and ugliness about immigrants, the media, judges, rigged elections, and Joe Biden’s State of the Union address—but heaped copious praise on the enemy of democracy in Hungary, Viktor Orbán.

Trump flitted from grievance to grievance, speaking in an opaque code that was comprehensible to few members of the audience. In the snippet below, Trump complains that people are saying Joe Biden appears to be more fit than Trump:

Somebody said he [Biden] looks great in a bathing suit, right? And you know, when he was in the sand, having a hard time lifting his foot through the sand, because, you know, sand is heavy, three solid ounces per foot, but sand is a little heavy, and he is sitting in a bathing suit. At 81, do you remember Cary Grant? How good was he, right? I don't know what happened to movie stars today. We used to have Cary Grant, Glark Gable, and today – I will not say names because we don't need enemies. I get enough enemies. Cary Grant was like Michael Jackson once told me, the most handsome man in the world, Cary Grant, and we don't have that anymore. The Cary Grant at 81 or 82, going on 100, this guy, he is 81 going on 100, Cary Grant would not look too good in a bathing suit either, and he was pretty good-looking, right?

Huh??

Of course, Trump's most reprehensible conduct was imitating President Biden’s stutter. In this post, you can see Trump mocking Biden’s stutter and a moving video of Joe Biden comforting and inspiring a young boy with a stutter. Watch the video of Joe Biden until the end. It will remind you (again) why he is admired and liked by all who have worked with him.

One man is a monster and a criminal, and the other is a decent, kind person who can empathize with the challenges faced by others.

This pattern will continue for the next eight months. Trump's hate-filled, rambling rallies will continue to alienate persuadable voters, while Joe Biden’s humanity will shine through. Of course, there is no guarantee of success in anything in life. But as between the two candidates, we should be encouraged and proud to have Joe Biden as our standard bearer.

[Robert B. Hubbell Newsletter]

[khaleesiofalicante]

hi

debate girl here

my side is saying that "Responsible journalism does NOT exist in India"

I would love some help😭 (why is it not surprising you've done debates. you're so smart. every new thing I learnt about you and you become better and better)

I really really wanna win, but I'm kinda..aa clueless

once again, thank you for the help

First things first, if you’ve done a debate before, you’d get this: your points and exactly what you're gonna say depend on what the person before you in your team has said. You can't repeat points. For example, if they already talk about sensationalism, you can't. Don't be repetitive. It's very bad in debates because it makes it look like you don't have a proper argument and are just saying the same thing.

Your argument also depends on the person who goes before you from the other team. You don't know what they’re going to say, so you can't always be prepared for it. Let's say your point is on political bias and they say political bias doesn't exist, then that's easy. You can have a nice flow because you're arguing against them. But if they make a completely different point, don't ignore it. You can say something like, "While the opposition raises a valid concern regarding XYZ, it's crucial to also consider ABC because..."

Re the other ask: About sensationalism, you can definitely focus on the sensationalism of gender-based violence (especially rape cases). Also, political bias is a specific topic, but there are other forms of bias too. Make sure to mention racial bias, caste bias, religious bias, etc. You can have biased reporting as one big point.

Regardless of whether you're talking about sensationalism or bias, ALWAYS refer to examples. For instance, you can talk about bias in reporting during the recent elections. Mention the paper, date of publication, and what the headline/content/video said. You're gonna have to do research for this! But this is very, very important. Try to pick examples everyone will know so they can relate to it.

An excellent way to start your debate (not yours, but your team's) is to establish what is meant by responsible journalism. Like, what is the definition? I'd recommend that you pick the definition from the National Press Council of India's code for journalists' conduct because then you are setting the standards (as defined by your country) and then you are going to argue how India is not meeting these standards. The above will be what the person who is opening the debate (first speaker) from your side should talk about.

The rest (other than the person who finishes) can pick out some of the standards mentioned in the journalist conduct code I shared (some important things I noticed were guidelines for religion/caste, gender reporting, HIV, election, reporting on children, use of images). You can pick the topics you want to talk about based on what is actually your preference and what you can find lots of examples on.

I'd personally go for gender-based violence reporting because, god knows, there are lots of issues there (victim blaming, violations of privacy, sensationalism) and it's also sadly easy to find examples for this. Some resources that talk about insensitive gender resources in India (but please do your own research based on your state/language too!!!!)

#GBVInMedia Social Media Campaign

Some research stats on this topic

Excellent study on this topic!

Also, a good note to finish your debate on (for the final speaker) is that responsible journalism is not only currently not there, but also will be difficult in the future because the concept of journalism itself is changing rapidly with social media and the emergence of citizen journalism – everyday people reporting news and not bothering with standards or ethics or sensitivity. It's hard to make this issue go away when there is no accountability (people aren't punished or there are no consequences for bad reporting), and therefore, until we have that, it's going to remain the same.

It's such a fun topic and I wish you all the best with it! Hope this helps x

[talesofgladesglory]

🎉 JULY MEMBERSHIP OPENING!!

Hello again all! Welcome to our July opening! 🎊

Things are a little different this time, but nothing to be worried about. Our website has been moved and is in the process of being overhauled. Up-to-Date information can now be found here (at "toggwcrp.com") rather than at the old web address.

This wave of server member applications (along with our character applications) will be closing July 22nd.

☀️ Current Events (as of 7/16/23):

A rough Greenleaf is coming to a close, and with it, brings heavy discussion. The Head Ranks and Warren as a whole has decided to implement a proper code of conduct, named The Everglade Accords - as well as implementing a rehabilitation system instead of a punishment-oriented one. Besides that, their newly elected Head Combatant and Nurse are settling in comfortably; and a second litter of kits has been born!

Please keep in mind! All new characters will need to be former outsiders (kittypet, loner, rogue, etc) in order to avoid retconning.

Thank you! Our DMS and askbox are open for any questions or concerns. We hope you consider joining us!

thats all for now! toodles toggers!

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[bopinion]

2024 / 21

Aperçu of the Week

"That these dead shall not have died in vain - that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth."

(US-President Abraham Lincoln in the Gettysburg address 1863)

Bad News of the Week

“Fuck you, international order!” is apparently the current motto of the Netanyahu government. I almost wrote “the Israeli junta”. Because the style is the same. Of course Israel and its citizens have become victims of a despicable attack by Hamas. And of course they have the right to defend themselves against it. And to do their utmost to free the hostages who are still being held by the terrorists. But like this?

What probably upsets me the most is the timing. First the International Court of Justice at The Hague demands an immediate halt to the military offensive in Rafah because it is victimizing the civilian population there and the civilian population from northern Gaza that has fled there. The humanitarian situation in the city is “catastrophic”. This is actually a binding decision by the highest court on earth. And which Israel is responding to by bombing a refugee tent camp in - exactly - Rafah.

Any criticism of this (and in fact any) decision by the Israeli government is reflexively interpreted as anti-Semitic. As if it were a carte blanche to be able to get away with anything. At least it gives me hope that so many Israeli citizens are taking to the streets against Benjamin Netanyahu and his hardline coalition. Because these are voters. Who will probably not vote for him (again) next time. But for politicians with a sense of proportion. And humanity. So that this maltreated region can finally find some peace.

Good News of the Week

Germany has just celebrated the 75th anniversary of his constitution: the "Basic Law" (Grundgesetz). Yes, we are a very young democracy. It was only founded after the Second World War. We were lucky enough to be able to benefit not only from our own experiences (Weimar Republic), but also from those of other nations. That is why we do not have the dominance of a leading state or unelected parliamentarians as in the United Kingdom. There are also no glaring imbalances in federalism or political influence on the highest court as in the USA.

Basically, it can be said that our political system works. And that, by and large, it lives up to the standards that should be expected of a modern democracy. To be honest, I would just like to see a little more direct co-determination like in Switzerland and question the proportional representation of states in the Bundesrat (the German federal chamber) - but those are other issues. I'm not popping open any champagne to celebrate our Basic Law. But I am simply satisfied.

Perhaps it's no coincidence that French President Emmanuel Macron was coming to Germany for an extended state visit precisely on this anniversary. After all, the relationship between our two countries has evolved from arch-enemies to friendly neighbors (see the hint, Bibi?). And assume joint responsibility in Europe. Hand in hand. Perhaps I should think again about the champagne - after all, it comes from France.

Personal happy moment of the week

My son reached the minimum age of 16 just in time for the European elections. And he had been thinking about it before the election. So I'm not only pleased that he can now have an active say in politics. But also that he probably made a good choice (I don't know, because I hold the secrecy of the ballot sacred) when he and his mother went to the town hall to vote. After all, political education is first and foremost the responsibility of the parental home. I am satisfied that I seem to have lived up to my role model function.

I couldn't care less...

...that the CDU/CSU (Conservatives), SPD (Social Democrats), Greens, FDP (Liberals) and Left parties have agreed on a code of conduct to comply with fairness rules in election campaigns. After all, these are just the “usual suspects” from the democratic party spectrum. The far-right AfD (Alternative für Deutschland / Alternative for Germany) is not one of them. Logical really, because they are neither fair nor democratic.

It's fine with me...

...that Spain, Ireland and Norway have recognized Palestine as a sovereign state. I realize that this is rather symbolic. But it's a strong sign. For which Germany is too weak. For the well-known reasons.

As I write this...

...China is sending more fighter jets into Taiwan's airspace than ever before. Because Lai Ching-te, a (democratically elected!) president who is clearly critical of China, has taken office. Which can certainly be understood as a declaration of the will of the people.

Post Scriptum

In Thuringia - the German federal state in which it has the highest approval ratings - the AfD failed to make the feared breakthrough into local political bodies in the community elections. Yes, they were able to make gains. And yes, a recognized neo-Nazi made it into the run-off election for district administrator. But the signal effect for the upcoming state elections in the fall did not materialize. Probably also because even the most uninformed voter had to be aware of the new scandals of this more than questionable party that emerge every week. Maybe this will also happen in the USA with Donald Trump and his Republican puppet theater. Maybe.

[the-world-of-ignavus]

The Legionary's Charter - 02C (Gales): Standard Conduct Regulations

The Galespun is a very odd faction both to outsiders who know little about the empire and those within it who know it well. There are so many differences between the way the Galespun operates and the way the others operate that some wonder if they should even be classified as a faction.

The truth is that the Galespun have maintained the most similarity to their founders of all of the Greenwood factions - from their dual leaders being adopted from Breeze Mantle and Fading Gale, to their hunting habits leading to two distinct crafts to having no designated denwright’s rank.

The Galespun are very proud of their archaic fashions, proudly proclaiming to be the living remnants of the Old Empire - this pride for their Ancient ways shows itself in their strict adherence to the code; offering only a few modifications where necessary.

1) A legionary shall defend his faction from all that seeks to destroy it

2) A legionary is expected to maintain platonic relations with other factions

a) Non-platonic relations with other factions will be met with demotion

b) Non-platonic relations are permitted among merchants and drifters

3) A legionary is expected to respect and abide by the territory lines drawn in the empire

a) Should borders need to be crossed, the one crossing is expected to don a diplomat’s circuit as a display of peace

b) Starmenders are permitted to cross borders without circuits in times of emergency

c) The only respectable border is one that is clear - a faction who neglects to mark their borders open themselves up to territory challenges

d) A legionary caught poaching repeatedly shall be outskirted and made to repay the faction they’ve stolen from

4) Cubs are the future and elders are the past - they are always to be fed first

a) In times of famine, caesars shall eat last and their lieutenants only before them

5) Prey shall only be killed to be eaten

a) A legionary does not torment their prey

b) A legionary offers thanks to the prey, to Slysoul and to Treesoul for its life

6) Unity Games are held at the Kirkyard from the moment Sunsoul’s Eyes are Widest to when Moonsoul’s Eyes have begun to close - there is to be no spilled blood during these times

a) A legionary who violates the peace during these nights shall be demoted to cadet tasks until the next moon

b) A cadet who violates the peace during these nights will be barred from attending the next Unity Games and held back from promotion if they were close

c) A legionary who violates the peace more than three times will be barred attendance from all future Unity Games

7) Mercy and Honor is what separates the Empire from a cruel band of rogues united under one banner - a faction is expected to help a creature in need

a) No faction may ignore the cries of a cub in need, and to do so to invite stillbirths and misfortune

b) An orphaned cub should be taken in regardless of parentage

8) No legionary should ever enter battle intending to end a life

a) A legionary’s body shall be returned to their faction for burial rites

b) A body that cannot be returned should be substituted with a totem

9) When the Vendus or Zefer passes, only the lieutenant elected for each caesar shall succeed them

a) Should both perish, the Starseer shall rule in their stead until a new leader is chosen

b) Should there be multiple Starseer, the one closest to The Souls takes precedent

[mariacallous]

In 2024, I will walk into a physical space—a restaurant, a hairdresser, an arts venue, an artisanal cheese shop—and instead of being handed a physical piece of paper with some useful information on it, or being told it in words, I will be shown a faded roundel with a QR code on it. I will hold my phone’s camera up to it wearily. Sometimes it will work, but the font on the menu or the information will be small. I’ll have to enlarge it and take my glasses off to read it, because I’ve reached that age. Sometimes it won’t work at all. Sometimes the information on it will be out of date.

In all cases, many people—some elderly, others with access needs, children, anyone who just doesn’t fancy constantly looking at their phone—will be pushed toward more useless screen time and away from the kind of brief, friendly interactions with other humans that help us all feel part of the fabric of life. We’ll have reached the point of overdigitization.

It's not that there aren’t more gains to be made in technology. Incredible things are happening in biotech, especially since the pandemic. The world of continuous glucose monitors and lateral flow tests (LFT) will keep growing. In 2024 we will see new kinds of LFTs that test for other infections and problems. We will see more useful work in truly personalized medicine. But in the UK, at least, the benefit of those innovations will be increasingly available only for those who can pay for it themselves. The division between the technological haves and have-nots will only continue to grow.

And although technology will continue to flourish, my guess is that the truly big gains in digital communication have now been made for a generation. If there’s innovation to come in digital communication it will be in the field of overdigitization, using screens where paper and actual words from real people both work better. We could—and should—use this next decade to shore up the gains we’ve made for all members of society. But I predict that, in 2024, we won’t. The Good Things Foundation estimates that 10 million people in the UK lack the basic digital skills needed to access the modern world. And 6.9 million people will continue to be excluded if they’re not given proactive help. But the current British government doesn’t seem much interested in raising the floor for the worst off.

These things can’t be done by individual companies, which come up with good-sounding ideas like, “why don’t we let people order a coffee while they’re getting their hair done, using a QR code!” It’s exactly the kind of things that incorrigibly urban WIRED readers like me think would be fun to use—but companies don’t tend to think about how to help people who aren’t going to spend money with them, or who are too put off by over-exuberant digital-everywhere to actually go into the shop.

Companies can look after their employees. And they can work to overcome that other half of the overdigitization problem: that many jobs are becoming more boring and isolated because they involve the equivalents of more pointing-at-QR-code-roundels and less actual interaction with people. But while companies can think about employees and about good customer service, thinking about improving equality and fairness is the job of government, not businesses.

There is of course one thing I can predict with total certainty for the UK in 2024: That the British public will get to have their own say on digital inequality and a whole host of other issues. Because, in 2024, Parliament will be dissolved in advance of an election.

[kp777]

By Julia Conley

Common Dreams

May 29, 2024

"It's hard to read this comically bad letter as anything other than a challenge to Congress to either assert its constitutional authority or admit fecklessness," said one group.

Despite his family's display of two flags associated with the "Stop the Steal" movement that baselessly claims the 2020 election was stolen from former President Donald Trump, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito said Wednesday that he will not recuse himself from two cases that pertain to the election and Trump supporters' effort to stop the results from being certified.

The justice wrote to the House of Representatives and the Senate to tell lawmakers that his wife, Martha-Ann Alito, was solely responsible for flying the two flags on the family's properties in Virginia in 2021 and New Jersey last year.

Justice advocates and Democrats in Congress have called on Alito to recuse from a case regarding Trump's claim that he has immunity from federal election interference charges and one in which the court is deliberating whether defendants who participated in the January 6, 2021 attempted insurrection should be charged with obstructing an official proceeding.

The demands for recusal—not the first to target Alito—came in recent weeks after The New York Times reported that an upside down flag had flown at his family home in Virginia just after January 6, and that a flag reading, "Appeal to Heaven" had been displayed last year at his New Jersey beach house, right around the time that one of the cases arrived at the Supreme Court.

Both flags were carried by some rioters on January 6 and have been embraced by the Stop the Steal movement.

The display of the flags, said Alito, "do not meet the conditions for recusal set out" by the court's ethics code, which was introduced last year and does not include an enforcement mechanism.

In his letters, Alito suggested that the push for accountability for the flag displays represents a violation of his wife's rights, noting that "she has the legal right to use the property as she sees fit."

"She makes her own decisions, and I have always respected her right to do so," wrote Alito, leading one progressive strategist to point out that the justice wrote the majority opinion in the Supreme Court ruling that revoked the constitutional right to obtain abortion care.

Brett Edkins, managing director of policy and political affairs for Stand Up America, called on the Senate to take "immediate action" to stop Alito's "bald-faced display of judicial misconduct."

"Justice Alito's refusal to recuse himself from cases related to January 6th is unacceptable," said Edkins. "By dismissing concerns about potential bias and conflicts of interest and placing the blame on his wife, he is making a mockery of the fundamental principles of impartiality and fairness upon which the Supreme Court was founded."

Edkins called on Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) to "schedule a floor vote on a binding code of conduct for justices" and urged Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) to "fulfill his duty as chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee by launching a thorough investigation into Justice Alito's actions and corruption on the court."

Durbin sent a letter last week to Chief Justice John Roberts asking him to support the call for Alito's recusal and requesting a meeting with him, but progressives have said the senator should go further to ensure accountability for Alito's actions.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) said last week that the Senate Judiciary Committee should subpoena Alito and open a formal investigation into his family's display of the flags.

Sarah Lipton-Lubet, president of Take Back the Court Action Fund, said Wednesday that it was tempting to "make fun of Alito for scribbling off the judicial equivalent of a 'my wife ate my homework' note."

"But the joke will be on all of us if Congress lets this be the last word on his recusal from election-related cases," said Lipton-Lubet. "It's hard to read this comically bad letter as anything other than a challenge to Congress to either assert its constitutional authority or admit fecklessness."

The court is expected to rule on the two Trump-related cases in late June.

Advocates have previously called on Alito to recuse from certain cases after it was revealed that he benefited from luxury travel paid for by a billionaire who had had business before the court.

[beardedmrbean]

The Central Electoral Commission (CEC) decided that the local vote on October 29 and a possible second round will be conducted by paper ballots only. The meeting lasted several hours.

The proposal was adopted with 12 votes in favor and two against. Before the vote, Tsvetozar Tomov made a proposal to give a deadline of 2 hours for a decision by the Ministry of Electronic Management on the authentication of the machines, BTA reported.

Tsvetozar Tomov called the decision shameful. A voice was heard in the hall suggesting that the elimination of the machines only applies to the first round and not to the local vote as a whole.

"I categorically disagree with my colleague Tomov that the situation is shameful for the CEC. I think that the CEC was put in this situation as a result of the actions of other people," said the head of the commission Kamelia Neikova during the meeting, quoted by "24 Chasa".

She denied that the CEC was not aware of the information from the State Agency for National Security (SANS). And she emphasized that she reported everything about the case correctly.

"You are familiar with everything that was done today. For me, as a member of the CEC, this was a very difficult decision," said Neikova. She expressed hope that in the next elections the CEC will not be faced with the task of making such a decision. The commission will meet again tomorrow.

The CEC's decision was reached after a SANS report to the National Assembly described how Deputy Minister of Electronic Government Mihail Stoinov downloaded the hash codes for the machines, photographed them with his phone and downloaded them to a flash drive. "Vazrazhdane", BSP and "There Is Such a People" announced that the elections had already been compromised and demanded that the Central Election Commission (CEC) cancel the machine voting.

[webdesigncompanyindubai]

Full-scale Pre-poll Preparations Underway as ECI Team Plans Visit to State from October 3

Preparations for the upcoming Assembly elections in the state are in full swing, as the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Vikas Raj announced that a team from the Election Commission of India (ECI) is scheduled to visit the state from October 3. During this three-day tour, the ECI team will engage with various stakeholders, assess the state's poll preparedness, and interact with voters.

Speaking at the inauguration of the media center at BRKR Bhavan, Vikas Raj stated that the ECI team would hold meetings with the CEO's office, political parties, chief secretary, director general of police (DGP), district collectors, district police officials, and other key stakeholders. More than 20 agencies, including both Central and State entities, have been identified for the implementation of the model code of conduct, and a meeting with these agencies is scheduled.

The CEO also provided updates on electoral rolls, stating that almost 15 lakh additions have been made since January 2023, and around 3.38 lakh voter names were removed during the Special Summary Revision of Rolls. The upcoming elections will witness the participation of nearly 6.99 lakh new voters, with efforts underway to encourage the enrollment of more women voters through active campaigns.

Once the final electoral rolls are published early next month, the focus will shift to the districts, involving tasks such as appointing presiding officers and polling officers, identifying strongrooms, and preparing polling stations. Officials will undergo training to ensure the smooth conduct of the elections.

Vikas Raj emphasized that the electoral rolls are currently robust, addressing complaints of bogus votes made by some political leaders. He assured a thorough investigation into each complaint, with details to be shared with complainants and representatives of all political parties.

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[disfrutalakia]

Hi it's evillous AU anon again!! Now i've got time and it's not 11pm so I'm going to try and dump all my thoughts on it in your askbox >:D I started conceptualizing this while the election arc was still ongoing and something i've learned is that it's really difficult to make a complicated au of a story with characters that are constantly developing. several times i've assigned characters to one role only for the literal next day have a new plotline start that makes them fit a different role so much better and then i have to change everything around again. So this is 100% going to be outdated in like a week tops lmao. I've also taken a lot of liberties with things like who reincarnates into who and what order some events happen in, so it doesn't 100% fit the structure of either story. For reference i leaned toward making the relationships line up more with the QSMP storyline rather than evillous canon and its still heavily a WIP so things are going to be changed around a lot probably even while im writing this ask. I put a lot of thought into how the original sin arc would go in this au and there's a lot of details to it so to shorten it just a little bit i'll just explain that the federation serves as an overarching force/government/scientists thing throughout the entire story. they're conducting an experiment on the islanders where they're stuck in a cycle of reincarnation for 1000 years and their lives are going to be extensively documented to see what changes about them and how their society develops. The seven sins are something dropped into the world by the codes in order to mess with said experiment rather than being created by one person's soul like in the original story because tbh i hated that. I put ElQ in the role of Irina and Bad in the role of Elluka. I think they fit really well because I can then interpret The Song I Heard Somewhere as ElQ vowing revenge on Bad for assassinating him (in canon, at least. for AU purposes he kills all the other election candidates and wins) and Bad REALLY fits the role of the morally grey immortal whos creation is marked by a catastrophic event that destroys a whole civilization and they carry the guilt of that for their entire lives. As for the sinners themselves I haven't entirely figured them out yet? but for a couple of them i've got really detailed thoughts. For reference I also made it so each of them can reincarnate as many times as needed even if they've contracted with a sin before because I didn't want to remove characters from the story entirely. so: - Lust: I have no idea who i'm even going to begin to put into this role but the most likely candidate would be Pierre i think because of the whole bed thing? - Gluttony: I had Cellbit as this because of the whole cannibalism history thing he's got but other than that I hadn't really thought about it too much. I am sad to report however that the more BBH talks about eating living beings and inedible things he may fit better. it'd also be funny for the immortal assigned the task of gathering the sins to be the demon of gluttony itself. - Pride: tbh this one is pretty difficult to assign a role to because of how specific the original arc is and how it technically involves two characters. It's not something I could've put many characters in without really mischaracterizing them and I was thinking my best bet was probably Forever but then the happy pills happened and there's no way i could've not made him sloth. So my most recent idea was to change the pride story almost entirely and put Pac in the role? But more in the sense of 'two criminals are always fucking things up for the federation get a bit too cocky and have a warrant out for their arrest, Mike getting Pac to flee and as the feds are able to get at least one of them they're like "eh fuck it watching as your platonic soulmate dies is good enough torment for the other one."' but also idk. (1/2)

Ohhhh anon so sorry I forgot to check my inbox to reply to this BUT NOW I'M HERE AND AGH THIS SOUNDS AWESOME

First of all, I love Bad as Elluka (also i'm listening to survival ma, really sets the vibes I think) and also he is such a perfect choice for the demon of gluttony, like he would die by eating himself like Conchita (also who would be Carlos I wonder? Have no clue but someone gotta sing the best Kaito song ever made, drug of gold I love you so much)

And hum lust is a difficult one to pin down, especially cause like there is not many people I can see going the Duke Venomania route and having a fucking harem? Trying to remember who I saw being attacked by the lust mob more than once in the server and I think it was Bad (he really is Elluka hum, constantly finding sins left and right)

I think that Forever could fit well on pride actually, he is not like Rilliane was of course, but he is prideful in a way. Waiting to be the best president he can and not really accepting that sometimes his ways could be wrong.