#8) Transport Reforms

[oldandcrusty]

Trump has cut aid to South Africa because we stood with Palestine and have signed an Act which is being grossly misrepresented

Hi, I'm a white, Afrikaans South African with a family of farmers, and I will not allow the false conservative rhetoric to go unchecked. I also am a researcher in sustainable economic development who engages in real life with this discourse.

I am only taking it to Tumblr now because I believe it is important for Americans and people from other nations to understand what is really happening, and what Trump's cutting of aid really means, because the administration is already using this in its own propaganda. This propaganda also has an impact on foreign investment, as it makes people in other nations wary of investing in us.

First, the cutting of Aid

I'm going to use an analogy to help you understand what's happening. A surgeon tells you that they are going to save your daughter, no charge. You're elated by this act of compassion, and you agree. The surgeon is midway through the surgery, and then calls you and says that you must cut down the trees outside your house, the surgeon doesn't like them. You say, but it's my house? The surgeon then says that they will kill your daughter if you don't comply.

The cutting of US aid is currently happening to all nations. The only difference is that Trump's America had made a point to say that South Africa is essentially on their permanent ban list. This sudden disappearance of aid (which includes American healthcare providers) is going have a massive impact on all countries. In South Africa, it is going to lead to the death of many people with HIV/Aids through the cutting of Pepfar (which Bush, fucking Bush, started to help combat HIV/Aids globally).

Trump's America is holding the lives of thousands of the most vulnerable people in South Africa hostage in order to influence our nation's policies, therefore challenging our sovereignty. That is what is happening.

What is The Expropriation Act?

The Expropriation Act would allow government to seize land which is currently not used and does not have much market value. Technically, all governments can do this in order to build infrastructure like public transport, roads, and airports. Land which is being used for any activities (including farming, housing, and business) is not affected by this at all.

Furthermore, the only reason why conservatives are accusing the government of being racist towards white people is because the white population (which is around 8% of the entire population) owns 75% of land. So, they perceive this as a threat to white majority ownership.

Whether the Act is constitutional is being challenged in our courts. No land has been taken from anyone through this Act.

The Expropriation Act is not the same as Land Reform. South Africa has been conducting Land Reform through a willing-buyer and willing-seller model, wherein those selling land can have it bought by the government to be given to beneficiaries from disadvantaged population groups. This has been considered largely unsuccessful, due to factors such as slow implementation, the land often not being of high quality, and there being no training or further support for beneficiaries. That being said, the Expropriation Act could allow the government to accelerate Land Reform.

There are many concerns around Land Reform and Expropriation, though I personally do not think any of the political parties care about the issue of land rights and protecting farmers. Smallholder farmers, who are typically people of colour and women, are particularly at risk of losing land they farm on (and feed communities with). But this risk does not directly come from the government. It comes from local government rezoning land they farm on and selling it to private developers. Smallholder farmers have less resources to counter these developers legally, and may also not formally own the land (which is not to say that they have stolen or are squatting on it, many of them have lived on it for many generations). A key example of this is the ongoing legal battles over the Philippi Horticultural Area - check the resources for more information.

Are white South Africans being persecuted?

Western conservatives like to use us white South Africans as an example of how white people can be oppressed. This is not just something America has done, nations like Australia are also guilty. Along with cutting aid, America has also declared that "the United States shall promote the resettlement of Afrikaner refugees escaping government-sponsored race-based discrimination, including racially discriminatory property confiscation."

So, are white South Africans refugees?

For fuck's sake. No.

I know very well that poverty and unemployment is at an all-time high for white South Africans. I know many white South Africans who are struggling to get food and healthcare. However, this is not because we are oppressed. This is because we are less shielded from the reality of the socioeconomic crises South Africa faces. I must emphasise, we are LESS shielded, but still much MORE shielded than the vast majority of South Africans.

Decades of Apartheid rule gave our families opportunities, education, occupations, and land which has given us a very strong net in the forms of private asset ownership, as well as professional networks. White South Africans usually have family they can lean on. Heck, I am one of them - I cannot afford my extremely high healthcare costs (I have an autoimmune condition which would leave me disabled without expensive medication), but my immediate family are able to financially support me.

It is through this accumulated wealth and professional networks that leads to all of the socioeconomic ills our nation faces being disproportionately levied on people of colour. In fact, white South Africans of all educational backgrounds have an unemployment rate of 7.9%, compared to an unemployment rate of 37.6% for black South Africans.

Affirmative action tries to balance this. I know, for a fact, that I did not get a job because of affirmative action. But I also knew that I had family that could sign my new lease for me when I had no contract. The person who got the job was statistically much more likely to have not had that luxury. And, regardless, I got a (better paying) job two weeks later. Yes, I worked hard for it. But I also have had so many educational and professional opportunities granted to me because of my privilege. (I should also note here - my family is not extremely privileged compared to other white South Africans, my parents are blue collar workers, not vineyard or mine company owners.)

There is a lot more I could cover here, like farm murders, but I will add an article in the resources for those who are curious.

Palestine.

In December of 2023, South Africa brought a case to the International Court of Justice that accused Israel of genocide against the Palestinians in Gaza. The ICJ ruled that, yes, what is happening in Gaza is genocide.

Now, Trump wants to turn Gaza into a "Riviera". He wants to move all the people living there to neighbouring nations (who are in opposition to this), and if they don't want to leave then he is willing to use the US military to 'remove' them.

So, I ask you this. Which is the country that wants to take land from an oppressed group? Which is the country that is creating international refugees?

Trump's America clearly stated that South Africa is working against its geopolitical interests and threatening the States, and that this was one of the reasons why aid was cut. I believe that this is actually the primary reason for the aid cut. The whole 'saving Afrikaners' angle is just to make Trump's America look like heroes. In truth, Trump's America is punishing us for standing for human rights.

Do you smell that?

Musk. You have played a major role in all of this. For years, you have been working on trying to make South Africa the oppressive state your Canadian grandparents moved to.

Since you're only two generations South African, and you are a Canadian and American citizen, maybe you can't understand what I'm about to say. But I'm fucking saying it.

Hou op om Trump se poephol te lek en luister. Jy is 'n rassistiese en seksistiese fokker. Voetsek Mars toe en los ons uit.

Sources and further information

A breakdown of US aid to South Africa.

An article on the impact of losing Pepfar.

A ten minute video explaining the Act.

An article summarising Trump's cutting of aid.

A more in-depth article looking into the context of him cutting aid.

An example of how smallholder farmers of colour are the people getting their land stolen through private developers.

A Facebook group with the most recent updates on the activists in the previous bulletpoint - they are facing more legal battles.

Unemployment rates in South Africa.

An article discussing farm murders.

[if-you-fan-a-fire]

"In these circumstances, the commercial economy of the fur trade soon yielded to industrial economies focused on mining, forestry, and fishing. The first industrial mining (for coal) began on Vancouver Island in the early 1850s, the first sizeable industrial sawmill opened a few years later, and fish canning began on the Fraser River in 1870. From these beginnings, industrial economies reached into the interstices of British Columbia, establishing work camps close to the resource, and processing centers (canneries, sawmills, concentrating mills) at points of intersection of external and local transportation systems. As the years went by, these transportation systems expanded, bringing ever more land (resources) within reach of industrial capital. Each of these developments was a local instance of David Harvey's general point that the pace of time-space compressions after 1850 accelerated capital's "massive, long-term investment in the conquest of space" (Harvey 1989, 264) and its commodifications of nature. The very soil, Marx said in another context, was becoming "part and parcel of capital" (1967, pt. 8, ch. 27).

As Marx and, subsequently, others have noted, the spatial energy of capitalism works to deterritorialize people (that is, to detach them from prior bonds between people and place) and to reterritorialize them in relation to the requirements of capital (that is, to land conceived as resources and freed from the constraints of custom and to labor detached from land). For Marx the

wholesale expropriation of the agricultural population from the soil... created for the town industries the necessary supply of a 'free' and outlawed proletariat (1967, pt. 8, ch. 27).

For Gilles Deleuze and Felix Guattari (1977) - drawing on insights from psychoanalysis - capitalism may be thought of as a desiring machine, as a sort of territorial writing machine that functions to inscribe "the flows of desire upon the surface or body of the earth" (Thomas 1994, 171-72). In Henri Lefebvre's terms, it produces space in the image of its own relations of production (1991; Smith 1990, 90). For David Harvey it entails the "restless formation and reformation of geographical landscapes," and postpones the effects of its inherent contradictions by the conquest of space-capitalism's "spatial fix" (1982, ch. 13; 1985, 150, 156). In detail, positions differ; in general, it can hardly be doubted that in British Columbia industrial capitalism introduced new relationships between people and with land and that at the interface of the native and the nonnative, these relationships created total misunderstandings and powerful new axes of power that quickly detached native people from former lands. When a Tlingit chief was asked by a reserve commissioner about the work he did, he replied

I don't know how to work at anything. My father, grandfather, and uncle just taught me how to live, and I have always done what they told me-we learned this from our fathers and grandfathers and our uncles how to do the things among ourselves and we teach our children in the same way.

Two different worlds were facing each other, and one of them was fashioning very deliberate plans for the reallocation of land and the reordering of social relations. In 1875 the premier of British Columbia argued that the way to civilize native people was to bring them into the industrial workplace, there to learn the habits of thrift, time discipline, and materialism. Schools were secondary. The workplace was held to be the crucible of cultural change and, as such, the locus of what the premier depicted as a politics of altruism intended to bring native people up to the point where they could enter society as full, participating citizens. To draw them into the workplace, they had to be separated from land. Hence, in the premier's scheme of things, the small reserve, a space that could not yield a livelihood and would eject native labor toward the industrial workplace and, hence, toward civilization. Marx would have had no illusions about what was going on: native lives, he would have said, were being detached from their own means of production (from the land and the use value of their own labor on it) and were being transformed into free (unencumbered) wage laborers dependent on the social relations of capital. The social means of production and of subsistence were being converted into capital. Capital was benefiting doubly, acquiring access to land freed by small reserves and to cheap labor detached from land.

The reorientation of land and labor away from older customary uses had happened many times before, not only in earlier settler societies, but also in the British Isles and, somewhat later, in continental Europe. There, the centuries-long struggles over enclosure had been waged between many ordinary folk who sought to protect customary use rights to land and landlords who wanted to replace custom with private property rights and market economies. In the western highlands, tenants without formal contracts (the great majority) could be evicted "at will." Their former lands came to be managed by a few sheep farmers; their intricate local land uses were replaced by sheep pasture (Hunter 1976; Hornsby 1992, ch. 2). In Windsor Forest, a practical vernacular economy that had used the forest in innumerable local ways was slowly eaten away as the law increasingly favored notions of absolute property ownership, backed them up with hangings, and left less and less space for what E.P. Thompson calls "the messy complexities of coincident use-right" (1975, 241). Such developments were approximately reproduced in British Columbia, as a regime of exclusive property rights overrode a fisher-hunter-gatherer version of, in historian Jeanette Neeson's phrase, an "economy of multiple occupations" (1984, 138; Huitema, Osborne, and Ripmeester 2002). Even the rhetoric of dispossession - about lazy, filthy, improvident people who did not know how to use land properly - often sounded remarkably similar in locations thousands of miles apart (Pratt 1992, ch. 7). There was this difference: The argument against custom, multiple occupations, and the constraints of life worlds on the rights of property and the free play of the market became, in British Columbia, not an argument between different economies and classes (as it had been in Britain) but the more polarized, and characteristically racialized juxtaposition of civilization and savagery...

Moreover, in British Columbia, capital was far more attracted to the opportunities of native land than to the surplus value of native labor. In the early years, when labor was scarce, it sought native workers, but in the longer run, with its labor needs supplied otherwise (by Chinese workers contracted through labor brokers, by itinerant white loggers or miners), it was far more interested in unfettered access to resources. A bonanza of new resources awaited capital, and if native people who had always lived amid these resources could not be shipped away, they could be-indeed, had to be-detached from them. Their labor was useful for a time, but land in the form of fish, forests, and minerals was the prize, one not to be cluttered with native-use rights. From the perspective of capital, therefore, native people had to be dispossessed of their land. Otherwise, nature could hardly be developed. An industrial primary resource economy could hardly function.

In settler colonies, as Marx knew, the availability of agricultural land could turn wage laborers back into independent producers who worked for themselves instead of for capital (they vanished, Marx said, "from the labor market, but not into the workhouse") (1967, pt. 8, ch. 33). As such, they were unavailable to capital, and resisted its incursions, the source, Marx thought, of the prosperity and vitality of colonial societies. In British Columbia, where agricultural land was severely limited, many settlers were closely implicated with capital, although the objectives of the two were different and frequently antagonistic. Without the ready alternative of pioneer farming, many of them were wage laborers dependent on employment in the industrial labor market, yet often contending with capital in bitter strikes. Some of them sought to become capitalists. In M. A. Grainger's Woodsmen of the West, a short, vivid novel set in early modern British Columbia, the central character, Carter, wrestles with this opportunity. Carter had grown up on a rock farm in Nova Scotia, worked at various jobs across the continent, and fetched up in British Columbia at a time when, for a nominal fee, the government leased standing timber to small operators. He acquired a lease in a remote fjord and there, with a few men under towering glaciers at the edge of the world economy, attacked the forest. His chances were slight, but the land was his opportunity, his labor his means, and he threw himself at the forest with the intensity of Captain Ahab in pursuit of the white whale. There were many Carters.

But other immigrants did become something like Marx's independent producers. They had found a little land on the basis of which they hoped to get by, avoid the work relations of industrial capitalism, and leave their progeny more than they had known themselves. Their stories are poignant. A Czech peasant family, forced from home for want of land, finding its way to one of the coaltowns of southeastern British Columbia, and then, having accumulated a little cash from mining, homesteading in the province's arid interior. The homestead would consume a family's work while yielding a living of sorts from intermittent sales from a dry wheat farm and a large measure of domestic self-sufficiency-a farm just sustaining a family, providing a toe-hold in a new society, and a site of adaptation to it. Or, a young woman from a brick, working-class street in Derby, England, coming to British Columbia during the depression years before World War I, finding work up the coast in a railway hotel in Prince Rupert, quitting with five dollars to her name after a manager's amorous advances, traveling east as far as five dollars would take her on the second train out of Prince Rupert, working in a small frontier hotel, and eventually marrying a French Canadian farmer. There, in a northern British Columbian valley, in a context unlike any she could have imagined as a girl, she would raise a family and become a stalwart of a diverse local society in which no one was particularly well off. Such stories are at the heart of settler colonialism (Harris 1997, ch. 8).

The lives reflected in these stories, like the productions of capital, were sustained by land. Older regimes of custom had been broken, in most cases by enclosures or other displacements in the homeland several generations before emigration. Many settlers became property owners, holders of land in fee simple, beneficiaries of a landed opportunity that, previously, had been unobtainable. But use values had not given way entirely to exchange values, nor was labor entirely detached from land. Indeed, for all the work associated with it, the pioneer farm offered a temporary haven from capital. The family would be relatively autonomous (it would exploit itself). There would be no outside boss. Cultural assumptions about land as a source of security and family-centered independence; assumptions rooted in centuries of lives lived elsewhere seemed to have found a place of fulfillment. Often this was an illusion - the valleys of British Columbia are strewn with failed pioneer farms - but even illusions drew immigrants and occupied them with the land.

In short, and in a great variety of ways, British Columbia offered modest opportunities to ordinary people of limited means, opportunities that depended, directly or indirectly, on access to land. The wage laborer in the resource camp, as much as the pioneer farmer, depended on such access, as, indirectly, did the shopkeeper who relied on their custom.

In this respect, the interests of capital and settlers converged. For both, land was the opportunity at hand, an opportunity that gave settler colonialism its energy. Measured in relation to this opportunity, native people were superfluous. Worse, they were in the way, and, by one means or another, had to be removed. Patrick Wolfe is entirely correct in saying that "settler societies were (are) premised on the elimination of native societies," which, by occupying land of their ancestors, had got in the way (1999, 2). If, here and there, their labor was useful for a time, capital and settlers usually acquired labor by other means, and in so doing, facilitated the uninhibited construction of native people as redundant and expendable. In 1840 in Oxford, Herman Merivale, then a professor of political economy and later a permanent undersecretary at the Colonial Office, had concluded as much. He thought that the interests of settlers and native people were fundamentally opposed, and that if left to their own devices, settlers would launch wars of extermination. He knew what had been going on in some colonies - "wretched details of ferocity and treachery" - and considered that what he called the amalgamation (essentially, assimilation through acculturation and miscegenation) of native people into settler society to be the only possible solution (1928, lecture xviii). Merivale's motives were partly altruistic, yet assimilation as colonial practice was another means of eliminating "native" as a social category, as well as any land rights attached to it as, everywhere, settler colonialism would tend to do.

These different elements of what might be termed the foundational complex of settler colonial power were mutually reinforcing. When, in 1859, a first large sawmill was contemplated on the west coast of Vancouver Island, its manager purchased the land from the Crown and then, arriving at the intended mill site, dispersed its native inhabitants at the point of a cannon (Sproat 1868). He then worried somewhat about the proprieties of his actions, and talked with the chief, trying to convince him that, through contact with whites, his people would be civilized and improved. The chief would have none of it, but could stop neither the loggers nor the mill. The manager and his men had debated the issue of rights, concluding (in an approximation of Locke) that the chief and his people did not occupy the land in any civilized sense, that it lay in waste for want of labor, and that if labor were not brought to such land, then the worldwide progress of colonialism, which was "changing the whole surface of the earth," would come to a halt. Moreover, and whatever the rights or wrongs, they assumed, with unabashed self-interest, that colonists would keep what they had got: "this, without discussion, we on the west coast of Vancouver Island were all prepared to do." Capital was establishing itself at the edge of a forest within reach of the world economy, and, in so doing, was employing state sanctioned property rights, physical power, and cultural discourse in the service of interest."

- Cole Harris, “How Did Colonialism Dispossess? Comments from an Edge of Empire,” Annals of the Association of American Geographers, Vol. 94, No. 1 (Mar., 2004), p. 172-174.

[xandes-regular]

Tartar wins

the zombie AU

-

Written by Xande and Nora B)

“[Congratulations, number 10,008! The door to the promised land will now open!]”

Those words echoed through the tunnels of the deepsea metro. Agent 8 and Cuttlefish stood in front of the telephone as it lifted the thangs off the ground and merged them together. Completely unaware that the artificial intelligence was assembling a device that would end their lives.

Unbeknownst to them, a few floors above an inkling was sneaking around the entrails of the complex looking for a way to reunite with their captain. Having received a distress signal on their CQ-80, Agent 3 swiftly made their way through the cramped corridors of the facility towards the location of the signal.

“[INGREDIENT ACQUISITION COMPLETE… REFORMING MATTER…]”

The voice rang once more, somehow even more robotic than before, sending chills through 3’s whole body. They knew time was running out and that their master was in danger. Room after room, the young squid passed by like a gust of wind, their heartbeat ringing loudly in their ear. Entering the next room they saw ahead a large window that gave them a view of the floor below. Then they saw it in the distance, their captain and an octoling trapped inside an oversized blender, its blades slowly descending upon them. With no hesitation, Agent 3 took a step back and thrust themselves forward, jumping through the window and dropping to the floor below.

3 crashed into the glass ceiling of the metro terminal, diving into it as if it were a pool. It was as if time had stopped. The determined agent descended from above like a sea angel coming to the rescue of their trapped allies. However, to the dismay of all the inkfish present, Agent 3 didn’t quite make the mark, their jump not quite powerful enough to reach the machine and knock it over.

With a dry and loud thud, 3 hit the cold floor of the deepsea metro. It was silent for a minute as the inkling tried to hold their head up to look at Cuttlefish, their eyes locked one last time. 3’s captain had a solemn but proud look on his face, he closed his eyes and gave an approving nod and smile to his prodigy. In the blink of an eye, the blades came down upon the old squid and the young octopus. Agent 3 had failed to save them. Tartar had won.

The squid was paralyzed, their mouth hung open in shock staring ahead at the large blender-shaped contraption now filled with a viscous off-green substance.

“[REFORMING COMPLETE. TOTAL BIOMASS SUFFICIENT FOR CANON OPERATION. TRANSPORTATION REQUIRED]”

The telephone spoke again, a loud buzzer could be heard after its voice stopped. The subway train idle in the terminal suddenly sprang to life and sped off. Taking its place came a more disheveled-looking cart. It was much older than the other train and also much taller. Its doors slid open and out came a few green octarians. Although Agent 3 knew they were dangerous, the young squid found no energy at the time to stand up and fight. Luckily, the sanitized octopodes paid them no mind. Carefully, they placed the blender atop a transportation device and led it back towards the train, the opening barely just large enough to fit the whole machine through. As quickly as the subway cart had arrived it had departed, only the sound of its take-off was left in the abandoned terminal.

The defeated agent sat up, taking a moment to calm themselves and think of what to do next. Their captain was gone and they had no communication with the surface world, and they were stuck underground with no one to help them. The thoughts were overwhelming, they could feel the emotions welling up in their throat and the tears pooling in their eyes. What should they do? What could they even do now?

The squid slapped themself and shook their thoughts away. There was no time to be caught up in insecurities, they had to go after that computer and stop it from completing its plan. They stood up and shook the dust off their uniform, following the noise that still lingered in the tunnels. It felt like they had been running for hours, the roars reverberating and replaying with no end. Anxiety welled up again, what if there’s no escape? What if they had to spend the rest of their life underground?

Bang!

Their mind was rushing with so many thoughts they didn’t see the train parked in front of them and hit it at full speed. The squid shook their head and reoriented themself, realizing they had reached some sort of service terminal. They walked through the large door and found themselves in a room that had no roof, the walls seemed to extend endlessly upwards. It was an elevator. Perhaps to the surface? 3 quickly made their way to the control panel seated on the wall and pressed the button to ascend.

Everything in the metro seemed to take an eternity, it was like the whole building was asleep waiting for something to happen. The elevator was no different, the travel up was dull and long, exacerbated by 3’s anxiety. It felt like a week had passed once they reached the top.

The lift had led them to a spacious room, screens displaying complicated graphs and charts decorated the walls and ceiling with control panels placed beneath them. Before Agent 3 could give their surroundings much thought the floor began to shake, knocking 3 off their balance.

A large window at the end of the room suddenly opened, revealing that they were just above the water. 3 fought through the tremors and approached the glass. They could see inkopolis just barely out on the horizon, but the more the structure shook the better they could see the city. That's when the agent realized the room was getting further and further away from the water, the whole facility was emerging from the depths. Then it all stopped abruptly, the building was perfectly still again. The intercom buzzed suddenly, startling the young squid.

“Krrrt… [Greetings, Interloper.]” The same voice from the old telephone spoke again “[This is commander Tartar. I assume you’ve followed my trail into this room in the hopes of stopping me. However, your efforts were in vain, Inkling.]”

The words shook and confused Agent 3, surely they weren't too late, surely they could still stop whatever the AI's plan was. Once again the room began to shake, Agent 3 once again looked outside and they could see that right below them a large machine was extending from the structure.

“[Now behold as I destroy the world you know and my new perfect civilization rises from its ashes.]”

The machine that had appeared began to whirr and glow as it charged up. 3 jolted around the room trying to decipher the data on the screens, pushing buttons, and pulling levers in hopes of stopping the cannon from firing. However, no matter what the Agent tried, nothing worked. All 3 could do was stand and watch their world in its final moments as time ran thin, hoping something or someone would come and stop the cannon.

All of a sudden the whirring and the light were gone. For just a second, it’s as if time had stopped, giving the young squid some tranquility. Then just as suddenly as it had become quiet it became loud. The machine let out a grueling scream as a blinding flash began to emerge from its nozzle. Following the light, a stream of green ooze shot out. This substance was similar to what the agent’s captain had been turned into. 

Agent 3 watched in silent horror as the ooze quickly traveled toward inkopolis. The sludge covered the buildings and streets, taking in everything in its path. They imagined it covering the citizens and flooding their houses, causing absolute destruction. 3’s body shook and their legs gave out, dropping to their knees in awe and horror as the bright green light flooded the room. 3 had just watched the world die.

Beep!

Once again the ground shook and the cannon retreated into the building's gullet. Though 3 had been stunned by what had just occurred, the sudden noises had snapped the young agent back to reality.

Soon enough the room would be filled with sanitized octarians, 3 had to move quickly. Hastily, the defeated squid stood up and ran back to the elevator, riding it back down to where the old train was.

The doors of the carriage were open and Agent 3 cautiously checked the inside to make sure it was safe. As soon as the squid stepped foot inside something vibrated in their pocket, their CQ-80 device had sprung back to life. As soon as 3 took the machine out of their pocket it vibrated once again and manifested a holographic display. It was a map of the metro.

The agent took a moment to study the interface, the location of the old train was displayed with a glowing circle. Maybe the device could control the train? 3 felt it was worth a try. Their eyes darted around the map looking for a station near inkopolis, the map was impressively huge but after a second of looking they found it.

Simply marked as “final station” was a far-off terminal that linked back to inkopolis square. Without thinking twice, 3 selected that location. The doors slammed shut and the old wagon sped off towards the destination. In a flash, they had arrived at the terminal barely giving 3 the chance to take in how fast the train was moving.

As soon as the doors of the old carrier opened a very particular smell flooded the inside. At first, it almost smelled like pungent rotting fish but very quickly that gave way to an overwhelmingly clean and sanitized smell close to that of a hospital. The weird combination made the agent gag. They took a deep breath, covered their mouth, and walked out cautiously.

The terminal was eerily quiet. The only noise was the humming from the train and the howling winds outside. After walking around for a bit, they could see the exit of the terminal just above a short flight of stairs. 3 carefully made their way ahead, stepping around the small puddles of green ink that dotted the station floor.

Exiting the terminal, 3 was hit with an unpleasant sight. Green sludge covered the streets, mixing in with the rubble from the surrounding shops. The city looked completely foreign to what it used to be. 3 had to push through, they knew they couldn’t afford to dwell any longer.   The city had never felt so abandoned before. Agent 3 began to ponder and a dreadful realization washed over them.  Despite the city just being hit by a giant cannon, 3 had not seen a single body, not one trapped inside a car or lying motionless in the street. It was as if the town had been completely emptied of life. That notion almost gave 3 some comfort, maybe the civilians had escaped the attack and were all safe.

After constant walking, 3 had arrived at a place that seemed much more open, it took them a second to realize that they had arrived at inkopolis plaza. It was clear this place had been the main target of Tartar's attack. Though the rest of the city was somewhat intact, inkopolis plaza was almost entirely gone. The buildings had seemingly disappeared, leaving in their place rubble and more splotches of the bright green ooze.

Crack!

3 had no time to gawk at the uncanny sight. A sound ate away at the silence from a dark corner, a crackling of glass shards. The agent quickly brandished their weapon and cautiously approached the noise to investigate.

The rummaging sound continued as the young agent got closer, the sound becoming clearer as they did. The glass noises became sharper and it was now accompanied by a second wetter sound, it was similar to a water balloon full of slime expanding and slapping the floor. It was a gross sound, as gross as the smell that had followed them since they surfaced. Agent 3 swallowed dryly and trudged forward towards the source.

The agent’s eyes widened as they turned the corner. Crawling in the rubble was a horrific creature, its body was made from that same green ooze that tainted the city, and it limped sluggishly across the floor as if it were struggling to keep itself together. 3 took a step back in shock, accidentally stepping on some broken glass. The creature immediately stopped when they heard the agent. What seemed to be its head flipped 180 degrees to face the young squid, its sunken hollow eyes locked with the young squid the creature let out a grueling noise.

“Ahhhgg-…”

A gurgling sound came forth as air escaped the monster’s throat, it began to move towards the agent. Slimy arm-like appendages extended from the oozy mass reaching for the cowering squid, clumps of green ink falling off of it. Agent 3 was frozen for an instant but their survival instincts quickly snapped them back. Pointing their splattershot at the creature they opened fire and submerged the mass in their own orange ink.

The horrid noise ceased and the agent breathed a sigh of relief taking a moment to recollect their thoughts. As they stared at the orange pile they wondered what that monster was, its strange anatomy reminded them of their own inkling body, maybe it was trying to copy the agent? Before they could give much thought to that idea they noticed the puddle of ink in front of them ripple and warp, its copper sheen slowly rusting to a sickly green.

A figure emerged from the puddle, the creature had been reborn, and Agent 3’s attack had only slowed it down. It resumed its stagnant pursuit of the young squid, this time the bubbling noises were louder and twisted themselves into what seemed like words:

“Hhun... grryy-...”  

A cold sensation stabbed the agent on their back as they realized the creature’s intention. 3 began stepping backwards as the monster crawled towards them. They tap shot the creature but it simply absorbed the inky projectiles into its body. Realizing the uselessness of their weapon, the young squid turned their back to the oozing mass and sped off towards the manhole opening that led to the octo valley.

As the young squid ran through the empty plaza, the piles of rubble that circled the place all began to shake. More creatures like the one pursuing the agent rose from the cracks, flooding the streets and blocking the way to the manhole. 3 saw no option but to retreat to the empty streets.

Though the creatures were slow individually, as the living piles of goo stacked against one another their slow crawl turned into a monstrous wave chasing after its prey. 3 ran through the tight street corners making their way to inkopolis square, the once quiet and dead town was now filled with the screams and pleads of a hungry tidal wave crashing against the buildings just behind the agent.   The manhole cover finally came into view, but there was no time to stop as the large mass was following close behind. The agent positioned themselves by the manhole cover and quickly jumped in.

In the blink of an eye, the young squid found themself in the splatoon HQ atop the octo canyon. Thinking quickly, they put the heavy snow globe over the exit hole to stop the creatures and then: Thud!

A loud bang echoed out as the mass hit the blockade, Agent 3 could tell it wouldn’t hold for long but it bought them some time. 3 ran to the camp’s radio system and tried to get communication with the other agents, they tuned into every channel they could but they were only met by static.

“Hey, I think that noise came from over here.”

3’s ears perked, a voice suddenly rang across the HQ. A pair of footsteps approached from within the canyon, a duo of octolings now stood at the inkling’s base. The agent instinctively raised their weapon at the amazones.

“Whoa hey!” The octoling stumbled back and raised her hands. “We’re not a threat! Please don’t shoot at us!” Pleaded the octoling trooper. Although 3 was trained to deal with soldiers much like the pair in front of them, something in the octopus’ voice made it clear she wasn’t lying, reluctantly, the squid holstered their weapon.

Both troops relax and lower their arms. “We’re just here to investigate this outpost.” Explained one of them as the other walked over to the covered manhole, seemingly reacting to the octopus’s presence. The snow globe began to shake violently as the creatures tried to push their way through.

“Hey, that squid was followed! We gotta retreat right now!” Yelled the octoling back at the group, taking her attention away from the cover for a moment. As she got up to run a gooey hand slid through and snatched her arm, quickly riding up her limb, trapping her. More and more slime creeped out of the drain, clumping up into a humanoid shape over the ensnared soldier.

3 stood up and tried to run to save her but was stopped by the soldier’s companion. “No, don’t do that. The oozers already got her, we have to go. now!” The agent didn’t listen to her, however, escaping the octoling’s grasp, they ran to the rescue of the poor soldier. 3 grabbed the octopus by her shoulders and tried to unstuck her, but the creature did not let go of its prey.

The agent could see the monster’s teeth were carved into the soldier’s flesh. 3 pulled harder trying to free the octopus but it was no use. Suddenly, 3’s fingers sunk deep into her shoulders as if they were made of slime, pulling their hands back in shock they noticed they were covered in green sludge.

A green hand reached out and grabbed the squid’s tentacle, it was the soldier’s, she had turned into an oozer. The newly turned zombie bit into 3’s hair, ripping a part of it off. The other octoling quickly pulled 3 away from the ever-growing green mass. She took out a knife, cut off 3’s tentacle, and tossed it back into the pile. “Damn it, Inkling! I told you we had to go!” The soldier yelled, grabbing 3 by the collar as they hastily fled from the breached camp, hoping into a kettle that blew them down into the depths of the Octarian turf.

The duo landed in Cephalo HQ, the soldier fiddled with her shades for a moment before letting out a sigh and grasping 3's arm. “Our fall damaged my communication device so we'll have to make our way to the shelter on foot.” She said as she led the inkling through a hidden path in the cliffside.

Although Agent 3 had explored these underground channels countless times before, the octarian soldier was leading them to a destination 3 did not recognize. The inkling started to wonder if perhaps this was a trap laid out by the octarians to capture the agent.

Snap!

“Hey, inkling. Pay attention.” The octarian snapped her fingers, waking 3 from their thoughts. The soldier knocked at a large metal door, a little window slid open.

“Who goes?” Asked a voice from behind the opening. “I'm part of one of the scout teams. I found this inkling while investigating the Tentakeel outpost.” The octoling answered back, there was a short pause. “Er. I see that much. Where's ya pair?” The soldier sighed. “She was… Taken…” The metal door slid open revealing an octarian troop behind it. “My condolences, Soldier. Make sure ta report back ta ya superior.” The octoling saluted and marched past the guard, 3 tried to follow but was barred by the troop. “Ya follow me now. There’s someone who would like ta see ya.” Nudging Agent 3 just past the door, the octarian slammed the door shut and led the young squid a little further down the tunnel.

Yet another large metal door stood before them, the tentacle person opened it and pushed 3 inside, closing the door behind them. The inkling found themself in a long narrow room, bunk beds lined the walls and a few octarian troops walked around the place. Standing in the center of it all was a tall metal construct, it almost resembled a throne. The top of it suddenly rotated to face the lonesome inkling.

“Oh… What a surprise.” Said a voice that sounded familiar to 3, the metal structure compressed lower to the ground making its pilot evident. “If it isn’t the mighty agent from the squid beak splatoon.” Dj Octavio’s voice boomed, the squid instinctively reached for their weapon at the sight of their old enemy, a large metal hand lunged from the throne and grabbed the agent’s gun.  “Relax, Kid. It sucks for me too but we’re in a truce here.” The octoling emperor motioned towards an empty bunk. “Come on, I can tell you need a break. Sit down, I wanna have a word with you.”

3 sat down on the uncomfortable metal frame of the bed, Octavio followed and sat on his machine in front of the squid. They could see a large cut over the king’s eye they hadn’t noticed before. “First things first… Where’s that old geezer you have for a captain?” The agent was taken aback by the question, all the things that had happened today had distracted them from the loss of their master. They lowered their head somberly. “Ah… I understand. Part of me hoped I’d be there for the old man’s final moments…” Octavio looked away, seemingly deep in thought, the two inkfish shared a moment of silence for their fallen friend.

The DJ’s dry and harsh voice broke the silence. “This whole situation happened so fast. I was still trapped in that snow globe when it all started. Those two cousins were sitting around waiting for the agent to come back, then the sky just…” He waved his tentacles “It turned green, I saw those two trying to contact someone then they just got up and left. I have no idea where they went, but they never came back for me so I just broke outta that glass prison myself.” The king sighed, he was clearly tired and shaken. “My old tentacles don’t work the same as they did long ago so it was a slow trudge through those battlements up there. Luckily I came across some of my soldiers, they told me they were running from the octo valley base, some ‘green creature’ had invaded the place and was attacking the soldiers and their weapons didn’t work on it or whatever…” His eyes focused on the cut tentacle that hung from the side of the squid’s head. “You’ve already come across those ‘oozers’ haven’t you? So I don’t need to explain it to you…  Have you seen the other green ones though?” 3’s ears perked up, their head lifted to meet with Octavio’s gaze.

“I see… It seems sometimes, when an oozer bites someone, they don’t turn into another one of their kind, sometimes…” The king swallowed dryly, bringing a tentacle up to the scar on his eye. “Sometimes they keep their minds and bodies. I came across one of these while I was coming down, it attacked me but luckily my soldiers were there… It gave us quite the fight and ended up running away.” 3 leaned over and put their hand on octavio’s tentacle in an effort to comfort the octarian king.

3 wasn’t used to this more vulnerable side of Octavio, the octopus emperor always seemed cold and evil but right now the agent could see him for what he was, a person. “Inkling… I have a proposition for you…” the squid’s attention was fully directed at the king’s words. “These smart infected could be very dangerous, but I know you’re dangerous too.” He placed his tentacles on the agent’s shoulders. “I’d like to recruit you as an elite among my troops, to protect the innocent people that live underground…” The king’s eye was wide open, they could tell the conflict he was feeling, the same themself was feeling, that of forming an allyship with a past enemy.

The agent was quiet for a second considering the emperor’s words. In some form this whole conflict was their fault, they were the one that failed to stop tartar and the cannon after all. 3 nodded their head in agreement to Octavio’s proposal. “Perfect. Thank you, Kid.” The DJ’s face contorted to the closest thing he could make of a smile. “Now, please, take a rest. You must’ve had a full day.” The king’s throne activated once more and carried him away.

The young squid laid down on the bed, though only one day had passed it had felt like it had been weeks, everything seemed to be crawling at a snail’s pace forward. Much like the deepsea metro before, now it was like the whole world had been plunged into stasis.

3 sighed and closed their eyes. Tomorrow is another day

To be continued 

(This was my first ever writting project so i really hope you guys enjoy this, thank you so much to my friend nora for helping me with this)

[memyselfandtheinternets]

🧭 CORE PRINCIPLE:

You don’t beat authoritarianism by waiting for someone else to save you. You beat it by becoming ungovernable to it—through legitimacy, organization, and refusal to comply.

🧱 TIER 1: REBUILDING DEMOCRATIC RESILIENCE (DOABLE ALONE OR LOCALLY)

1. Embed Locally

Run for local office or support reform candidates for school boards, election commissions, county clerks, city councils.

These are often the first targets of authoritarian takeover (see: 2020 election denialism). Don’t let them be soft targets.

2. Organize Mutual Aid Networks

Support neighbors materially and emotionally outside the state. Resilient communities are harder to control.

Focus on food, transport, information, legal aid, child care—whatever your community needs.

3. Defend Elections at Ground Level

Become a poll worker, watcher, or join election defense groups.

Fight voter suppression, disinformation, and gerrymandering through relentless, boring work.

4. Fund and Protect Independent Media

Subscribe to or donate to fact-based, nonpartisan journalism—local and national.

Help combat disinfo by amplifying truth from trusted voices, not just arguing with lies.

🔥 TIER 2: STRATEGIC DISOBEDIENCE (RESISTANCE INFRASTRUCTURE)

5. Build Cross-Issue Coalitions

Authoritarians thrive when opposition is fragmented. They fall when unions, youth orgs, religious groups, queer networks, and veterans coordinate against them.

You don’t have to agree on everything—just on basic democratic survival.

6. Disrupt Authoritarian Legitimacy

Peacefully protest, boycott, and refuse cooperation with anti-democratic policies.

Target enablers: businesses funding them, media laundering them, donors legitimizing them.

7. Defend the Judiciary Publicly

Support campaigns to reform and ethically constrain the Supreme Court (ethics rules, term limits, expansion).

Join or fund watchdogs like Fix the Court, Demand Justice, or the Brennan Center for Justice.

🧠 TIER 3: PSYCHOLOGICAL RESILIENCE (STAY IN THE FIGHT)

8. Kill Hopelessness

Fascism feeds on apathy. “Nothing matters” is a form of surrender.

Remember: Most authoritarian governments fall eventually—but only after people refuse to normalize and stay consistent.

9. Tell the Truth. Even When It’s Uncomfortable.

Keep talking about what is actually happening, not just what people feel safe hearing.

Be relentless, factual, and human. Silence enables.

10. Prepare for Noncompliance

Know your rights (especially for protests, speech, digital privacy).

Connect with civil rights legal orgs like ACLU, National Lawyers Guild, or Protect Democracy.

🧨 If Things Go Very Bad

If democratic breakdown becomes overt—e.g., refusal to leave office, violent suppression, rigged elections—your role changes from citizen to dissident:

Mass nonviolent resistance becomes key. (See: Serbia, Chile, Philippines, Belarus.)

Digital security matters. Use encrypted messengers, backup plans, and trusted groups.

Don’t wait for tanks in the streets to take it seriously. The real war is often quiet.

🎯 Final Guidance

You do not need to do all of this. But you must do something, and you must do it with others. Democracy is not a system—it is a practice. One that withers when left idle.

Let me know if you'd like help building a personal action plan or joining an existing movement that fits your strengths. I'll find something for you. I'm good at finding things.

[beardedmrbean]

Bulgarian President Rumen Radev raised critical questions regarding Ukraine's counteroffensive, calling for accountability for the hundreds of thousands of casualties. He questioned who would take responsibility for the conflict, which many European leaders had endorsed with optimistic assurances of victory over Russia. Radev also highlighted the significant disparity between the economic power of the West and Russia, noting that despite a GDP ratio of 25 to 1, Russia has managed to produce three to four times more military equipment and ammunition, as reported by NATO's Secretary General.

During his address at the Fifth Sofia Economic Forum, Radev emphasized that European economic sanctions against Moscow have become increasingly ineffective, with countries from the Global South continuing to purchase Russian energy resources. He pointed out that European economies are weakening, with the future of Europe and the world at a critical juncture as geopolitical tensions rise and economic models face disruption.

Radev also noted that the ongoing crises have led to a collapse in the European security architecture and the rise of permanent recessions in leading European economies. He argued that leadership in Europe is in crisis, with a lack of both competence on strategic issues and honesty toward citizens and international partners. In the face of these challenges, the president stressed that Europe must take charge of its security and build a more dynamic and competitive economy.

Addressing the need for defense spending, Radev outlined the importance of unifying European countries around a comprehensive national security concept. He warned that without this, NATO could risk developing into a market of producers and buyers, rather than a united defense alliance. Smaller NATO countries must contribute equally to the production of defense products to avoid widening technological gaps, he argued.

The president also discussed Europe's strategic and moral challenges, suggesting that the EU must strengthen its role in global geopolitics while maintaining its leadership in human rights and environmental policies. While the EU has been a leader in green policies, Radev stressed the need to maintain competitiveness amidst growing protectionist tendencies from other global players.

Radev expressed confidence that Europe could overcome these challenges but emphasized the need for profound reforms in the EU’s governance and decision-making structures. The president highlighted the European Commission's new priorities, including scientific research, technology, and strategic autonomy, as promising steps toward strengthening Europe's economy and addressing its pressing challenges.

Furthermore, Radev voiced his belief that Bulgaria and Romania's admission to Schengen would provide a positive economic boost to the region. He reiterated Bulgaria's contribution to a robust economy, spanning industries such as raw material extraction, heavy industry, energy production, and high-tech manufacturing. Radev also emphasized Bulgaria’s commitment to improving connectivity with neighboring countries and the importance of Corridor 8 in North Macedonia and enhanced transport links with Romania along the Danube River.

[mariacallous]

The new Labour government in the UK set out its legislative priorities today after winning a landslide election on July 4. At the official state opening of parliament, King Charles III read a speech outlining the bills that Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s government will attempt to pass over the coming months and years.

There were few surprises in the king’s speech—most of the major bills announced were heavily trailed in Labour’s manifesto and election campaign. Updating planning laws, improving transport infrastructure, and reforming Parliament’s upper chamber, the House of Lords, all featured prominently in the speech.

The speech and accompanying briefing document also outlined a few bills aimed at tackling the climate crisis. Here’s what you need to know about the environmental bills just announced.

Great British Energy

Labour’s plan to create a publicly owned clean power company featured prominently in the party’s election campaign. It was one of Labour’s six “steps for change” presented to voters in the run-up to the election, and the only flagship pledge by Labour that directly addressed the climate crisis.

The bill will establish Great British Energy, a taxpayer-owned company that will “develop, own, and operate assets” by investing in partnership with the private sector. The company will be backed with £8.3 billion ($10.8 billion), and will be headquartered in Scotland, which produces a large share of the UK’s renewable electricity.

Labour has already moved quickly on promoting renewable energy in the UK, scrapping a de facto ban on onshore wind farms in the first few days of its government. It has also announced a “mission control” to achieve clean power by 2030, headed up by Chris Stark, the erstwhile most senior climate adviser to the UK government.

The plan is also couched in terms of the UK’s energy security. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine caused a spike in gas prices across Europe, and highlighted the UK’s dependence on this fossil fuel. Labour will hope that increasing investment in producing, moving, and storing clean power through Great British Energy will help reduce the reliance on gas, cleaning up the UK’s energy mix and improving its energy security.

Sustainable Aviation Fuel

Aviation makes up a small but growing portion of the UK’s greenhouse gas emissions. In 2019, emissions from civil aviation made up 8 percent of the UK’s emissions, and with electric planes still a distant prospect, this sector is generally considered one of the hardest areas to tackle.

Sustainable aviation fuels (SAFs) are produced from alternatives to fossil fuels, such as crops or waste oil. These SAFs are attractive to airline operators because they can be mixed with normal jet fuel without requiring significant (and costly) adaptations to planes.

The proposed bill will mandate that fuel supplies mix at least 10 percent of SAFs into their fuel blends and provide support for companies and investors who are looking to scale up SAF production in the UK. The Conservatives also backed SAFs in their manifesto, although it’s worth noting the benefits of SAFs are disputed, and increased demand for air travel will mean rising emissions from this sector.

The Crown Estate

The King—through the Crown Estate—is a major landowner in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. Its holdings include much of the UK’s seabed, and with it rights to grant permissions to build offshore wind farms, lay pipelines, and store carbon under the seabed. In recent years this marine portfolio has become a lucrative part of the Crown Estate’s holdings.

Labour is seeking to modernize the Crown Estate by giving it the power to borrow money from the treasury, freeing up cash reserves to invest in renewable energy projects in particular. It also wants to widen the Crown Estate’s investment powers so it can support other aspects of green infrastructure, such as digital technology for wind farms and port infrastructure.

The bill would extend only to England, Wales, and Northern Ireland as the Crown Estate does not operate in the same way in Scotland.

Water

Water companies in England have rarely been away from the headlines thanks to an ongoing scandal over the discharge of raw sewage into rivers. Despite these illegal discharges, executives at water companies in England and Wales were paid out £9.7 million in bonuses across 2022 and 2023.

The bill seeks to fix the situation by making water bosses criminally liable for lawbreaking, giving the water regulator power to ban bonuses when environmental standards are not met, bringing in new fines, and requiring water companies to install real-time monitors at every sewage outlet.

Transport

The king’s speech includes a handful of bills aimed at reforming the UK’s public transport system. Although these bills aren’t framed in terms of climate change, improving low-carbon transport infrastructure is a major part of decarbonizing the UK.

The Passenger Railway Services Bill and Railways Bill will seek to renationalize rail services and attempt to create a more simplified national rail system. The Better Buses Bill will seek to give local governments more power to run their own bus services, while the High Speed Rail Bill will seek to provide powers to create rail projects that connect places across the north of England.

[glapplebloom]

Part 2 of this little trial... (Please note, this was written before the defense)

When a crime is being committed, the punishment should reflect the crime. The only reason they would not be punished is if they do not have the cognitive knowledge to understand what they have done. This is because they did not know or they’re crazy. Cozy Glow does not fit any of these traits. Proving she’s not crazy is pretty easy considering she acts civil for the majority of the time and thoroughly planned this event.

Now how could I prove that Cozy Glow did understand what she was doing? I could use her words where she believes Friendship is Power. I could use her actions where she imprisoned Starlight Glimmer or Chancellor Neighsay because they were in her way. Or I could use the fact she perfectly planned to not only take away magic but take out the seven who could likely have stopped her if they knew her intentions. 

This was planned early. To be a pen pal with Tirek and to earn his trust had to take at least months to get this information. To integrate herself with the faculty so they can trust her without question. Even using the Cutie Mark Crusaders to make herself seem like she learned the lessons of Friendship after trying to fake failing to get them to be part of the school. She proved her actions have a reason behind them and it almost worked.

Her plan was simple: remove the magic from Equestria so she can take over as Empress of Friendship. Regardless if it would have worked or not, if she was successful then the entire landscape of Equestria would have changed. The Weather would be out of control. Perishables would be gone since magic is what preserved them. Transportations would be greatly affected since Pegasi needs magic to fly as seen in Generation 5.

And Generation 5 is not proof that things would have turned out alright. Twilight Sparkle put all the magic into three stones with the promise that as long as they are living in harmony they can use magic. And by that time technology has improved to give us cellular service and television. So even if the magic slowly drained because of their growing distrust for each other, technology grew to defend themselves and improve their current living conditions.

Some would think punishing Cozy Glow would diminish the message of Friendship is Magic, but have you really seen how the majority of the villains are taken care of? Nightmare Moon: Blasted. Discord: Blasted. Chrysalis: Blasted. Sombra: Blasted. Sunset Shimmer: Blasted. The Dazzlings: Blasted. Tirek: Blasted. The Storm King: Blasted. That’s 8 villains blasted. Be it magically reformed, imprisoned, or even destroyed, that was their first go to actions.

So why did other reformed villains get to turn good and not Cozy Glow or the others. Besides those magically turned good, in a word, they chose to. Celestia’s plan for Discord to be reformed was to use Fluttershy. Twilight wanted to put him back in stone or come up with a reform spell to do the job. And when Fluttershy promised to not use the Elements of Harmony and she kept it despite him being a jerk, the only reason he stopped was because he wanted to be friends with Fluttershy and chose to stop it.

Starlight Glimmer went back in time to change the past. Ignoring that because it's a debate on its own, Twilight’s many first actions to stop Starlight was mostly to fight her. It was pretty much a standstill until Starlight threatened to just tear up the spell. At that point, there was nothing Twilight could do other than try to convince Starlight that she could. And Starlight did because deep down, she did want to change.

So what about magicing up her redemption. The thing is, that doesn’t fix the problem. Luna being the prime example showed that despite being blasted good, the underlying issues that caused her to be Nightmare Moon in the first place still existed. It took until A Royal Problem to finally settle the beef between the two as Royals. Because if not, maybe both Nightmare Moon and Daybreaker would become reality.

Stygian is another example of someone magically reformed. But it was a lot different from Luna’s case. While you could argue the Shadow he was producing was from himself or an outside force possessing him, the real reason was because of Starswirl's actions. And no magic would have fixed that until Starswirl realized his mistake and apologized for it. As far as we know, Cozy Glow has nothing like that going for her. When she was about to win, she continued on her plans and did not undo her actions before it was too late.

So the biggest issue people seem to take is Cozy Glow being sent to Tartarus. A recent post saying sending a kid to hell. Ignoring headcanons and interpretations, there are multiple instances where a child is punished for their actions. If she is too young or mentally incompetent she would be excused. And we know she isn’t mentally incompetent of those. So that leaves being too young to go to jail or if she is a teenager.

Those not of age are usually sent to the Juveniles, basically a prison for kids. Depending on their actions, they could either be sent to therapy and counseling or when they are of age, be sent to prison. This is a case that happened in 1993 where two boys who were 10 were given this treatment. While this was possibly undone, this is under the assumption that Cozy Glow is 10 years old or under.

If she is a Teenager, that means she would be tried as an adult. And while she would be sent to the Juvenile, as soon as she turns 18 she would be sent to the adult prison. So based on her actions as well as how she acts, there is a 2/3 chance that she would be seeing a prison cell for her actions. In the end, for stealing all the magic and erasing it from Equestria, for tricking and imprisoning the faculty and authority figures, and planning to take over Equestria with her army of Friends, Cozy Glow deserves to be sent to Tartarus. 

And this is ignoring her other attempt at trying to take over Equestria. (The following was written after the defense) Teaming up with two dangerous villains. Willing to stab them in the back when she thought she had the edge with Discord’s power. Seeing the damage their actions cause to bring in the Windigos. Tirek even said it himself, “I'd had enough of you trying to manipulate me with that insincere, syrupy sweetness. At least now we can see the real you.” And the real her is, straight up, evil. 

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

Now that you read the Defense and Prosecution, click here to give your own thoughts on Cozy Glow’s Fate. Should she be given a redemption? Or should she be imprisoned?

[scorbleeo]

Drama Gossip: Love for Love's Sake

Source: Google Images

Twenty-nine-year-old Tae Myung Ha experiences a bewildering twist of fate when suddenly finds himself transported into a fictional online game where he inhabits the body of a ninteen-year-old character. Soon, Tae Myung Ha embarks on a quest within the virtual world to bring happiness to a character named Cha Yeo Woon.

Despite his humble upbringing, Cha Yeo Woon has managed to excel in the national track and field championships, maintaining a remarkable reputation among his peers due to his handsome looks and athletic physique.

Cheon Sang Won hails from an affluent family and becomes emotionally entangled with Tae Myung Ha. His involvement adds complexity to the developing relationship between Tae Myung Ha and Cha Yeo Woon. Ahn Kyung Hoon, introverted and reserved, supports and assists Tae Myung Ha on his mission within the virtual world.

Source: MyDramaList (2024)

I Wanted More

For a drama that almost has nothing much going on, these 8 episodes flowed through very quickly. Despite the lack of drama, it is one of the more binge-able BL dramas out there. Moreover, the twist, that revelation in the last episode, I did not see that coming considering this was such a feel-good BL, I like the surprise the twist gave me.

Of course, although I thought this show flowed smoothly and the ending felt like it came at the right time, I kind of wanted more from this show. Maybe with 'more', the transition from a Yeo Woon that had negative fondness towards Myung Ha to a Yeo Woon who liked Myung Ha would not feel so abrupt. Neither would the rather horrific system errors in the second last episode feel so stifling.

With that said, yes I want more but only because I want more of Myung Ha and Yeo Woon, I like their chemistry. It wasn't too lovey dovey but it was still innocently cute. I wouldn't have minded if we saw more of Sang Won as well, his character development was random but I like a reformed bully, one who's really a golden retriever but only became an asshole due to childhood neglect.

In conclusion, in spite of a little dark tone near the end of the drama, Love for Love's Sake is quite a feel-good show.

Rating: ★★★☆☆ (3.5/5)

More Korean BL dramas here: Color Rush | Love Tractor | Semantic Error | The Tasty Florida

[ilajue]

anyways. if you're interested in an actually cool and almost well written block of text under a readmore, here is a paper I wrote about the relationship between car dependency and food apartheid

gave myself tachycardia from caffeine overdose while writing this so don't be too harsh lol it's a little rough around the edges

Bibliography

1. Allard, Scott W.; Wathen, Maria V.; Shaefer, H. Luke; and Danziger, Sandra K.. Neighborhood Food Infrastructure and Food Security in Metropolitan Detroit. The Journal of Consumer Affairs, 51, 3: 566-597, 2017. Retrieved from Loyola eCommons, Social Work: School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Other Works, http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/joca.12153

2. Boychuk, R. (2023, December 6). Local groups work to mitigate food deserts as I-81 demolition looms. The Daily Orange. https://dailyorange.com/2023/12/syracuse-local-groups-mitigate-food-deserts/

3. Brockmeier, E. Transportation justice, commute knowledge, and equitable access | Penn Today. (2021, February 1). Penn Today. https://penntoday.upenn.edu/news/transportation-justice-commute-knowledge-and-equitable-access

4. C. C., & Tian, R. (n.d.). Promoting Food Equity in the Context of Residential Segregation. Environmental Justice, 15(6), 346–351. https://doi.org/10.1089/env.2021.0029

5. Chilton, Mariana. “HOW FAR DO LOW-INCOME PARENTS TRAVEL TO SHOP FOR FOOD? EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE FROM TWO URBAN NEIGHBORHOODS.” Urban geography. 32.5 (2011): 712–729. Web.

6. Davies, R. O., & Kay, J. H. (1997). Asphalt Nation: How the automobile took over America, and how we can take it back. Journal of American History, 84(3), 1144. https://doi.org/10.2307/2953230

7. GARASKY, S., FLETCHER, C.N. and JENSEN, H.H. (2006), Transiting to Work: The Role of Private Transportation for Low-Income Households. Journal of Consumer Affairs, 40: 64-89. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1745-6606.2006.00046.x

8. García Bulle Bueno, B., Horn, A.L., Bell, B.M. et al. Effect of mobile food environments on fast food visits. Nat Commun 15, 2291 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-46425-2

9. Joyner, L., Yagüe, B., Cachelin, A., & Rose, J. (2022). Farms and gardens everywhere but not a bite to eat? A critical geographic approach to food apartheid in Salt Lake City.Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development, 11(2), 67–88.https://doi.org/10.5304/jafscd.2022.112.013

10. Kakarala, K., Popielski, A., Riggs, K., Hashmi, S. S., & Hafeez, Z. (2023). The Intersection of Food Insecurity and Transportation Insecurity in Harris County, Texas. Journal of Hunger & Environmental Nutrition, 19(6), 1014–1027. https://doi.org/10.1080/19320248.2023.2261873

11. LeDoux, T. F., & Vojnovic, I. (2021). Relying on their own hands: Examining the causes and consequences of supermarket decentralization in Detroit. Urban Geography, 43(7), 1007–1035. https://doi.org/10.1080/02723638.2021.1890961

12. Powell LM, Slater S, Mirtcheva D, Bao Y, Chaloupka FJ. Food store availability and neighborhood characteristics in the United States. Prev Med. 2007 Mar;44(3):189-95. doi: 10.1016/j.ypmed.2006.08.008. Epub 2006 Sep 25. PMID: 16997358.

13. Rehler, Jeffrey, and Daniel Baldwin Hess. “Drive through Dining and Development: Effect of Zoning Reform in Buffalo on Site Layout of and Access to Fast Food Restaurants.” Discover Cities 1.1 (2024): n. pag. Web.

14. Rothstein, R. (2017). The color of law: a forgotten history of how our government segregated America. First edition. Liveright Publishing Corporation, a division of W.W. Norton & Company.

15. The Economist. (2008, February 14). America’s splurge. The Economist. https://www.economist.com/briefing/2008/02/14/americas-splurge

16. Tong, D., Buechler, S., & Bao, Y. (2016). A Comprehensive Food Access Analysis in Tucson (No. 02-25–2016). Making Action Possible in Southern Arizona. https://mapazdashboard.arizona.edu/sites/default/files/images/a_comprehensive_food_access_analysis_in_tucson.pdf

17. Food Access Research Atlas - Documentation | Economic Research Service. (n.d.). https://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/food-access-research-atlas/documentation

18. Wood, B.S., Horner, M.W. Understanding Accessibility to Snap-Accepting Food Store Locations: Disentangling the Roles of Transportation and Socioeconomic Status. Appl. Spatial Analysis 9, 309–327 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12061-015-9138-

smoking that shit that makes you cry about the horrors of car-centric infrastructure

[ismtinstitute]

Impact of Budget 2025 India Economic Growth

The Indian Union Budget 2024 India, presented on July 23, has laid down a comprehensive framework aimed at bolstering economic growth across various sectors. This budget 2024 India addresses critical areas such as infrastructure development, social welfare programs, agricultural sector initiatives, green and sustainable projects, MSME support, digital economy, education, healthcare, and employment generation. The strategic allocation of funds and policy measures are expected to stimulate economic activity, improve quality of life, and drive sustainable development. Here are the key highlights and their potential impacts on economic growth.

Budget 2024 Highlight

The Budget 2024 India has been crafted to address both immediate economic needs and long-term growth objectives. Key budget 2024 highlight include:

Fiscal Deficit Target: Aiming to bring the fiscal deficit down to 5.4% of GDP, reflecting a commitment to fiscal consolidation.

Tax Reforms: Introduction of a new tax regime with revised income tax slabs and simplified GST structure to ease compliance.

Infrastructure Investments: Increased allocation for infrastructure projects, including roads, railways, and ports.

Social Welfare Initiatives: Enhanced funding for healthcare, education, and social security programs.

Agricultural Support: Increased subsidies and support for technological advancements in agriculture.

Green Initiatives: Major investments in renewable energy and climate resilience projects.

MSME Development: Special schemes to support micro, small, and medium enterprises.

Digital Economy: Expansion of digital infrastructure and support for technological innovation.

1. Infrastructure Development:

Allocation: Significant investment in transportation, energy, and urban development.

Impact: Improved connectivity, reduced logistics costs, and a boost to GDP through construction activity.

2. Social Welfare Programs:

Allocation: Enhanced funding for social security schemes, healthcare, and education.

Impact: Improved living standards, poverty alleviation, and inclusive growth.

3. Agricultural Sector Initiatives:

Allocation: New schemes and subsidies for fertilizers, seeds, and irrigation.

Impact: Increased agricultural productivity, rural development, and food security.

4. Green and Sustainable Initiatives:

Allocation: Investments in renewable energy and environmental conservation projects.

Impact: Promotes sustainable growth, reduces reliance on fossil fuels, and creates new jobs in green sectors.

5. MSME Support and Development:

Allocation: Financial support and policy reforms for MSMEs.

Impact: Job creation, entrepreneurship, and innovation, driving economic growth.

6. Digital Economy and Innovation:

Allocation: Incentives for technology adoption and the establishment of innovation hubs.

Impact: Enhanced efficiency, productivity, and economic diversification.

7. Education and Skill Development:

Allocation: Increased funding for educational infrastructure and vocational training.

Impact: Development of a skilled workforce, higher employment rates, and improved global competitiveness.

8. Healthcare and Public Health:

Allocation: Investment in healthcare infrastructure and public health programs.

Impact: Improved health outcomes, productivity, and economic stability.

9. Employment Generation and Labor Reforms:

Allocation: Funding for job creation programs and labor market reforms.

Impact: Reduced unemployment, enhanced labor market efficiency, and economic growth.

Budget 2024 India Date and Time

The Budget 2024 India was presented on July 23, 2024, at 11:00 AM, marking a significant moment for policy planning and economic strategy in India. This date is crucial for stakeholders as it sets the direction for the upcoming fiscal year.

Key Sectors and Impact of Budget 2024 India

Infrastructure Development

Infrastructure development is a key pillar of Budget 2024 India, with significant investments aimed at boosting economic growth:

Roads and Highways: Allocation of funds for the construction and expansion of national highways, focusing on improving connectivity and reducing travel time.

Railways: Investment in modernizing railway infrastructure, including high-speed rail corridors and smart stations, to enhance passenger and freight movement.

Ports and Shipping: Development of major ports and shipping facilities to facilitate trade and improve logistics efficiency. These infrastructure projects are expected to stimulate economic activity, create jobs, and enhance overall connectivity.

Social Welfare Programs

The Budget 2024 India places a strong emphasis on social welfare programs to improve the quality of life for all citizens:

Healthcare: Expansion of healthcare infrastructure with new hospitals and clinics, along with increased funding for health insurance schemes to cover more people.

Education: Boosted funding for educational institutions, including primary, secondary, and higher education, as well as vocational training programs.

Social Security: Strengthening social security systems with improved pension schemes and direct benefit transfers to support vulnerable populations.

Agricultural Sector Initiatives

The agricultural sector receives targeted support to enhance productivity and farmer incomes:

Subsidies: Increased subsidies for fertilizers, seeds, and irrigation infrastructure to reduce the cost burden on farmers.

Technology Integration: Investment in agri-tech solutions such as precision farming and digital tools to enhance crop yields and market access.

Credit Facilities: Expansion of credit facilities and insurance schemes to support farmers in managing risks and accessing capital.

Green and Sustainable Initiatives

Budget 2024 India emphasizes sustainability with a focus on green and climate-resilient projects:

Renewable Energy: Substantial investment in solar, wind, and other renewable energy sources to reduce reliance on fossil fuels and combat climate change.

Climate Resilience: Programs to enhance infrastructure resilience to climate-related events, including flood defenses and drought management strategies.

Environmental Conservation: Initiatives for afforestation, wildlife protection, and conservation of natural resources to ensure long-term ecological balance.

MSME Support and Development

The budget 2024 India allocates significant resources to support the growth of Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs):

Credit Access: Introduction of special credit schemes and interest subsidies to ease financing for MSMEs.

Technology Upgradation: Support for MSMEs to adopt modern technologies and improve operational efficiency.

Market Access: Initiatives to enhance domestic and international market access for MSME products through trade fairs and e-commerce platforms.

Digital Economy and Innovation

To foster a thriving digital economy, the Budget 2024 India focuses on:

Digital Infrastructure: Investment in expanding broadband connectivity, 5G networks, and digital payment systems to enhance accessibility.

Startup Ecosystem: Funding and incentives for technology startups and innovation hubs to drive entrepreneurship and technological advancement.

E-Governance: Expansion of digital governance initiatives to streamline public services and enhance transparency.

Education and Skill Development

Education and skill development are critical for sustaining economic growth:

Funding: Increased budget 2024 India allocations for educational institutions at all levels, focusing on infrastructure and quality improvement.

Vocational Training: Expansion of vocational training programs to address skill gaps and enhance employability.

Research and Innovation: Support for research institutions and innovation centers to drive scientific and technological advancements.

Healthcare and Public Health

Budget 2024 India provides a significant boost to the healthcare sector:

Healthcare Facilities: Investment in building and upgrading hospitals, clinics, and primary health centers to improve access to healthcare services.

Public Health Programs: Enhanced funding for public health initiatives, including disease prevention, vaccination drives, and pandemic preparedness.

Health Insurance: Introduction of new health insurance schemes aimed at increasing coverage and reducing out-of-pocket expenses for individuals.

Employment Generation and Labor Reforms

Employment generation and labor reforms are central to the budget 2024 India strategy for economic growth:

Job Creation: Initiatives to create jobs through infrastructure projects, industrial growth, and support for new sectors.

Labor Reforms: Simplification of labor laws to improve the business environment and protect workers’ rights.

Skill Development: Programs aimed at upskilling the workforce to match industry needs and improve job prospects.

CONCLUSION

The Budget 2024 India presented on July 23 aims to drive economic growth through strategic investments and policy measures across various sectors. From infrastructure development and social welfare programs to agricultural initiatives and support for MSMEs, the budget 2024 India addresses critical areas that impact the economy. The focus on green and sustainable projects, digital economy, education, healthcare, and employment generation highlights a comprehensive approach to fostering long-term economic stability and growth in budget 2024 India.

By addressing both immediate needs and long-term goals, the budget 2024 India sets the stage for a more resilient and inclusive economy. Effective implementation of these measures will be crucial to realizing the anticipated benefits and achieving sustainable development

By ENQUIRE in a reputable ISMT Best Stock Market Course In India (Varanasi) provides both Online & Offline courses to gain knowledge and skills in the world of trading and investment.

[rebbykins]

Don't make deals with Fey friends

Vance's shadows recede… (his player is afk today)

Ringmaster takes Vuokko to the center stage (everyone follows) and he places a hand on Vuokko's stomach. It phases though her stomach and after a moment of uncomfortableness, he pulls the still reforming head out of her. The head sure is an Eladrin, but Vuokko doesn't know who it is. He flicks the head over to the body and it reattaches, then air enters the boy's mouth and life returns. He's confused and malnourished, about ten years old. He looks Vuokko in the face and says "I think I know you. I know it's not safe to say names…I think I was following you." Vuokko has no idea who this boy is but pulls him into a hug. The Ringmaster says everyone has their freedom and will be returned back to where they came. The boy was worried about going back to Grandmother, worried she was going to do awful things. Vuokko is confused, confirming that the boy is talking about Zu. The boy's mouth is bound with leather with the Ringmaster saying "lets not spoil the surprise" and the boy is disappears.

Brirsayne says she wants to do a show, so she can restore [Nameless]'s name. They talk and Bri also points out they have no real way home. The Ringmaster wants another performance or perhaps an indentured servant to allow us to go home. He says he can grant power too, not just wishes.

Vuokko realizes she can summon Sam to ask about the forest and does so. Bri smushes Sam's face, lol. Sam is covering her nose when she shows up and asks how Vuokko got here.

Vuokko: By an invite. Sam: You know better than to accept the invitation of a fey. I should smack you upside the head. Vuokko: Your other whelp needed to help a missing child. Sam: When will that one learn? …That one? What's his name? Why can't I… Vuokko: He's stupid. Sam: Oh, the blasted fool. We have some lessons that need to be taught after this.

Vuokko asks if Sam can get us home and is given a snarky no for an answer. "What am I, some kind of sorcerer?" Vuokko then explains about the boy, his worry, and says "that doesn't sound like grandmother at all." "Hmm, interesting." and Sam sighs a little. Vuokko: Interesting how? Sam: There are some things we're not allowed to say. Vuokko, goldfishing a moment with her mouth opening and closing: What do you mean not allowed to say? Sam: There is a hierarchy among the feywilds. I can not upset that balance, I can not speak on some things.

Vuokko explains what she's said talked with Sam to Bri, and they agree the only way to get home would probably be another performance.

[Nameless] tries to offer an item in return for our safe passage back. The Ringmaster doesn't seem interested in items, why send them away when they are already here. He's really interested in making a deal with Vuokko, but she doesn't want anything to do with it.

Brirsayne is willing to do a performance and Vuokko makes sure she includes that we will be returned on the day we departed. Bri writes up a contract that would allow us to use "planer shift" and we discuss the wording. Sam is worried about some parts of it, including how the spell planer shift may not bring us all back. In character, none of us know how the spell really works, Aret has some theory on how it works and that we would be able to all leave together.

"Upon the signing of this contract the undersigned will be granted a scroll of planar shift to be used to transport up to 8 individuals at our leisure. In exchange, the Ringmaster will witness a single performance by the singular undersigned"

Sam gives approval of this and warns Vuokko if she "ever accepts a deal from a fey again, I swear…" Vuokko, softly: "you're going to hate what I want to do then…"

The Ringmaster says Brirsayne has to also give up her patron's contract. Bri says she can't do that and Vuokko steps up. Her extra payment is to send a massage to her Grandmother. Vuokko asks how much more the Ringmaster wants to bring the boy back. He says he would trade for her Ent stick. Vuokko offers for a part of the magic and the Ringmaster offers instead: if she fails to do a good performance, she will send her message and give everything in her physical possession then she will leave.

Bri asks her patron for help but has to wait and [Nameless] is trying to play at us being huddled up but whiffs it. Bri offers a low stakes performance, given freely. He is growing tired. Bri walks up to the Ringmaster and says "hey have you noticed more Barbarians around? They're all the rage." DM: Roll performance with disadvantage. Bri rolls an 8 Bri ooc: She is doing jazz hands. The Ringmaster is unamused and makes Bri disappear into a hole. Vuokko agrees to make the deal. She signs the contract with the name "Vuoko" and the words on the page leap from her arm and it seems to crawl up her arm like a spider. [Nameless] asks for Bri to come back and she takes 4 damage as she steps off of the stage as she returns.

Vuokko gives her bag, her weapons, and everything other item to The Carrier to hold. He starts going though it and is like "oohh, two rubies." [Nameless]: Those look familiar… ((The joke here is [Nameless] told Vuokko she could take one gem from the stone dragon, not both))

After consulting with Sam about what to do, she decides on the dancing with the doll. Hugs are given to [Nameless], Brirsayne, and The Carrier, and Vuokko goes to the doll. The doll's body is all contorted differently. The doll says the dance will go on until one of them falls. If someone steps in, she will forfeit. Vuokko needs to mimic the doll's movements. If we succeed in mimicking the moves, we must strike each other. The first to fall loses. This is the dance of scissors.

-----

I have ideas. I could transform, I could use spells I don't think the doll has. Also, I do not know if the Ringmaster is going to allow us to bring the boy with us, Vuokko might try to put on a mini show of music if that happens...

[seenathyland]

Secret Mall Apartment

Seen: May 11, 2025

Summary: When the man paved over some city blocks to build a mall, 8 artists decided to reclaim part of the mall for themselves. They created an apartment inside the bowels of the mall, in a forgotten corner used for storage during construction, and for 4 years lived there for days at a time. This documentary tells you all about it 17 years later.

The title tells you a lot about this documentary. It tells the story of 8 friends who, for 4 years, kept an apartment in an unused space in the bowels of a mall in Providence, Rhode Island. Over the 4 years, the friends documented their daily lives in the mall, their close calls with Security, and the construction and decoration they did to make the place feel like home.

It was an incredibly fun, utterly charming, sometimes surprising movie, but I think my main takeaway is how bad artists are at talking about art. The documentary is not going to give you a clear, authoritative statement about whether the apartment is art, or what that art piece might mean. You get a bunch of statements about it, sometimes conflicting, sometimes not (some of the conflicting ones from the same person). A lot of what you get is topics rather than statements (one guy interviewed lists, "it talks about capitalism, it talks about gentrification, it talks about..." without ever saying what it might have to say on these topics). I like ideas, and I can think of a number of different things this could mean, but I want to know more about what the artists were trying to say (if anything). Regardless, it compels me.

On its face, it's a quirky caper documentary – and there is that element to it – but it's also a heartfelt nostalgia piece for '90s/'00s Providence, a vindication of public art, a critique of gentrification, and a character study of a very particular kind of art dude (unspoken throughout is the gender dynamic of this domestic space, though one can make some unkind inferences). You see the group smuggling building materials into the mall, moving furniture up an impossibly steep stairwell, and brazenly going in and out of emergency exits like they owned the place. You also see marital disputes, their big plans for the space, the other art projects they thought up using the apartment as a staging area, and their bright-eyed youthful optimism for their art, their world, and their friendship.

We primarily follow the ringleader, Michael Townsend, a Providence artist and teacher who works with sick children making tape murals (think temporary graffiti) when he's not pursuing his other projects (a secret sculpture installation in an inaccessible area underneath the train tracks, a mural in OKC, a memorial project for 9/11 victims that involved doing tape outlines representing each person killed in the attacks; big projects, often public, often illicit). Michael is a charming, well-spoken, idiosyncratic reformed crust punk, who has the kind of charisma, motivation, and self-possession that would suit a cult leader well. He seems to draw people in, get them excited about his ideas and projects, and draw them along with him in their shared enthusiasm.

It's lovely, seeing the footage they created in the '90s, a huge low-res square of digital video that immediately kicked me in the chest and transported me back 20 years. The camaraderie in those videos makes it all the more apparent that the group has drifted apart, as friend groups are wont to do over 17 years. But one wonders if there's more to it than just drift – the film doesn't do the expected, almost pro forma big reunion. Maybe that's not surprising, given that Michael and one of the other artists have since divorced, but I was still holding out hope for it. Instead, you get them doing separate walkthroughs of a recreation of the apartment, and a special surprise at the end. But I would have liked to see the whole group back together, if only to have them compare their mature understandings of the secret mall apartment with each other's.

That I really wanted this reunion is just an indication of how charming Michael and the other artists are in their talking head interviews with the documentary team. For the most part, these people seem to have grown up and moved into careers in the arts, and they're looking back at the secret apartment wistfully, nostalgically, maybe a bit astonished at their own youthful gall. You do get the impression that Michael might not have moved on too far from where he was in the secret apartment days. He seems content, but is still doing much the same kind of thing for a living (a joke is made of him sending his girlfriend a picture of his bank account at $0.41 -- nothing wrong with that on its own, but you get the impression of arrested development).

This documentary opens up a world, one where the developers behind malls can tear through your city to erect their behemoth (and not even put any entrances facing your side of town), but it also opens up a counterworld to that, where communities resist by making the developed spaces their own.

The message of the secret mall apartment, I think, is that no matter what capital does, no matter who runs roughshod over your community, no matter what they take from you, we will make a space where we can live.

[nacionnews]

Betty Lozano’s Family receives a $1.9million Settlement from San Bernardino County after Her In-County Death

San Bernardino County recently awarded an Adelanto woman’s family a $1.9million settlement. Betty Lozano died while in the High Desert Detention Centre. She didn’t receive proper health care after experiencing a medical emergency.

Counsels representing Betty’s mother, Maria Stofflet and two young children sued the San Bernardino County Sherriff Department for negligence. Also, they accused the department of denying Betty vital medical attention while in the detention center. The lawyers filed a civil rights case in Riverside, last February.

A federal court agreed on the settlement on March 6 and later dismissed the case. Betty’s family lawyers, Dale Galipo, Sharon Brunner and James Terrell termed Betty’s case as being tragic. James accused the sheriff department of failing to learn from past lawsuits that other people had filed against it. He said that the deputy sheriff had low regard for life hence allowing Betty to die in her cell.

Also, Terrell emphasized the need to reform the department. Christina Montes, Betty’s sister, explained her mixed emotions regarding the settlement. She stated that a person’s life can’t be compared with any amount of money. However, she assured the court that the family would use the settlement to take care of Betty’s children. Christina pledged to push for a transformation on how the sheriff treats people.

She explained how many inmates in various correctional and detention centers need quality healthcare due to their mental health and health complications. Instead, the detention officers ignore their needs. Christina emphasized the need to hold people accountable for the department’s transformation. Moreover, Christina intends to mobilize other people who have lost their loved ones in detention centers.

Betty Lozano, 34, had a bipolar disorder. Police officers arrested her on July 26, 2017, at 4:27 p.m.The sheriff’s deputies thought she had taken drugs. As they were transporting her at the back of their patrol car, Betty fainted. The officers abandoned her in a cell for several hours until her demise that night.

According to the suit, there was a video record at the facility which was vital in confirming Betty’s health condition and its decline after her detention. She passed out at 8:50p.m.the detention officers took her to Victor Global Medical Centre where she died at 11:11 pm.

Sharon thanked the county court for the settlement. She said that although it wouldn’t make up for the loss of Betty, it will support her children. Also, she is eager to witness a transformation in jail policies and how the facilities will implement them. Sharon stated that she still receives numerous complaints from families whose loved ones have died in several San Bernardino County detention centers.

[beardedmrbean]

Lawmakers in Springfield have unveiled a bill to overhaul public transit in Illinois.

The proposal would replace the Regional Transportation Authority, which oversees the Chicago Transit Authority, Metra commuter rail, and Pace suburban buses, with a new organization called the Northern Illinois Transit Authority.

This agency would create a universal fare system and handle all long-term infrastructure projects. The bill would also create a dedicated transit police force.

The bill does not, however, address a $770 million budget shortfall.

If no action is taken to increase state funding for mass transit, the CTA has said it would be forced to close 50 'L' stations, lose more than 70 miles of rail service, and eliminate more than half its bus routes. The CTA has not yet said which specific 'L' and bus lines and 'L' stops would be affected.

Meanwhile, Metra would suffer a 40% reduction in service, and Pace threatens to eliminate all service after 8 p.m. and all weekend rides. However, the bill's sponsors and Gov. JB Pritzker said reforms are needed before they deal with the funding issues.

"What we really need is to uplift the entire system, make it safe for everybody to ride, get to work, go to school, get home safely. Hyper important to me that we're doing that because you can't put money into something that doesn't guarantee that at the start," he said.

Metra said in a statement, "We are still reviewing the House and Senate versions of the bills."

A spokesperson for Pace said they're also reviewing the bill. 

RTA also responded to the bill, saying: 

"We are reviewing the proposed transit reform legislation. Our intention is to do a complete analysis before making any statements about what is in the bill or how it may impact the region's transit system. 

It is clear from initial review however, that this bill does not contain any new funding. To date riders have sent more than 15,000 letters to their legislators urging them to act this session. Reforms alone cannot close our fiscal cliff, and riders will need to brace for service cuts in 2026 if the State does not provide funding certainty by May 31."

Meantime, transit workers planned to gather at Union Station in Chicago on Thursday to urge state lawmakers to pass a reform and revenue bill.

[msamba]

All Urban News from the United Kingdom (so far)

In this video, I’ve collected all the news from the UK that I’ve covered in Urban News. Enjoy watching it! My Patreon – / cityforall *** 00:00 – Intro 00:10 – Rishi Sunak’s “We are a nation of drivers” (ep.3) 01:28 – Leeds tram plan (ep.8) 02:26 – Sheffield: light rail network returns to public control (ep.9) 03:30 – Glasgow public transport reformation (ep.10) 04:49 – Leeds buys more e-buses…