#Be it financially or by donating arms or any other way

[twpsyn-who]

Talking a little bit about 'boycotting Eurovision' under Keep Reading, feel free to scroll down if is not what you want to see.

The most used argument on the matter of banning Israel from Eurovision is the fact that Russia got banned from Eurovision, which is the worst argument anyone could bring.

Kindly reminder that Russia didn't get banned because of the war with Ukraine. Russia got banned because many countries has threatened to withdraw from the competition. Sadly, that's a big difference.

Yes, the countries has threatened to withdraw because they support Ukraine and see Russia as the party in the wrong. That was their reason. EBU's reason for banning Russian was because those countries threatened to withdraw, not because the war was bad and Russia must be stopped.

This situation isn't the same. Why? Because many countries support Israel in their genocide. Because this time around Palestine is the party in the wrong. Because we're taught to believe that Israel isn't in the wrong here.**

Boycotting Eurovision won't work. There are people out there who don't know the truth and want to watch Eurovision. There are people out there who don't care and will watch Eurovision regardless of the situation. There are people out there who, despite having the facts, still don't see Israel as the bad guy in this situation and will watch Eurovision. Sadly, boycotting won't work unless everyone does it.

The only way Israel will get banned, in my opinion, is by going through the same thing as Russia. If other countries threatened to withdraw- and not any countries, but the ones investing the most in Eurovision, then yes. That will get Israel banned.

Otherwise? The only thing we do is hurt artists that don't deserve it. Artists who use Eurovision as a way to get more exposure and experience. Artists who deserve to be heard.

Don't vote for Israel's entry. Don't stream their song either. Heck, turn off the TV when is their turn to perform.

**This whole situation (the war, not Eurovision) isn't only black and white. Civilians die daily because of this, all of them from both sides. Innocent people who has no fault. Let's not forget that

[theladybrownstarot]

Your relationship dynamic with your FS ♡

Pick a card reading~

INTRODUCTION:-

Hi everyone I'm brown a tarot reader who is back with an another pac for you ♡°☆°•°◇°•°

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT:-

Do support Me by a like/reblog/follow you feel most for :)°☆°•°.

HOW TO CHOOSE A PILE?

As usual close your eyes and choose the pile(s) you feel drawn too ♡

Pile 1. Pile 2. Pile 3.

Pile 1 .

♡ your relationship with your fs is transparent like there is no hiding of oneself ;you are true to each other - emotionally ,mentally and physically 😇.This relationship comes after many manifestation that i can sense out here . you two will feel like home and shine of each other , like to party a lot and will be non-possessive to each other😃.

♡ You two will travel a lot with each other possible that you won't live with the family but by yourself or you two will have long distance relationship with each other making you feel sometime insecure at very least not high which is good really🙃 . lmao you two fight like kids before going on a travel with each other and then become lovey dovey again ~.🫰🏽🤣

♡ I sense one of you is very knowledgeable or we say nerdy type😅 . Your fs or you will boost G.K of each other and will share a lot of value able lessons or you two or one maybe doing their courses or graduation together or alone😄 . I see one of you being like a child cuddling onto another one while sleeping like a child or we say one of you is a worst sleeper ! yes yes this relationship comes after many cycles comes to an end . I guess your fs will be taking care of you as a child like I'm getting that motherly feeling ♡ .

♡ I see you people donating to poor♡ or it can go such way around that you two will and always have equal give and take relationship with each other ; your relationship guiding principle i see ~ possible that later some of you may get into business sort of job or open NGOs with your fs or after or before marriage . You can become rich after marriage or your fate will change for tremendous good♡.

♡ You two are very hardworking with a lot responsibilities and work on your shoulder but at the end when you are with each other you two will forget about the world and will come into the arms of each other 😊.

♡ Both of you will take care of your body health or if you were body conscious then you will be confident . I see you going to GYM ,SPA & YOGA together . You two or one maybe a tea lover too ! or like different types of tea and drinks . You two will have your own house of your own dream too~ ♡

Pile 2 .

♡ okay most of you majorly have earth sign or both of you - you and yours fs have earth sign in big 6's in the chart itself .

♡ You and your fs are money minded and career oriented in a positive way but because of this there is a lot of burden and responsibility on your shoulders also making your personal kind of chaotic and difficult 😮‍💨maybe you want to have balance and stability around or financial independence first but it is temporary as something beautiful will be created also further in future ♡ .

♡ If at the current you are are going through some difficulty individually or together then it is going to end fast as a cycle is going on .

♡ You or your fs could be in an authoritative position or any way that feels suitable . you will lead stable ,prosperous ,happy family and luxurious life together . Maybe you will have kids later or not at all also depending upon you or your fs also . After having a lot of wealth still you people will be simple in nature without any ego or show off regarding your wealth .

♡ You and yours knows and will know for how to balance your personal and professional life together creating a space only for you two and for the family also . You two will be good at maintaining your tasks and decision on a daily basis . I see you two maintaining a list of daily to do list and rewarding yourself for same also having a specific routine 😅 damn i'm getting student vibes for same like you people don't like mess in anything you need organization of things properly🫡 .

♡ You or your fs or both are kind of traditional but aren't orthodox ; you like to maintain your life balanced with tradition and modernity also 😃 . I see you two buying and shopping rationally and logically only like really ? 🤣Just damn go and buy bunch of clothes who sees logic at first in things ? Haha ! Your house will be full of all those needy things that you want and possible for you two to get lot of statues and big things for your home . Your fs is good at giving advices or both you will help each other a lot in work matters ♡.

♡ It is possible that you two have psychic connections or developing at the moment to connect or channelize some messages and thoughts on daily basis😶. You people watch a lot of pacs regarding your fs and try to connect to readers to get whole detail of them lol you are so curious but stop and explore by yourself 😆.

♡ You two are beautiful by your looks and also that i seee you two enjoying rain shower together and playing under in the rain drops🫠🤗 .You two will take care of each other in every possible way . You two belong to each other and won't ever leave each other . Last but not the least you will meet your fs during work , party, temple or through some reader for sure😃 also you people are high level spiritual soulmates.

Pile 3.

♡ Either your fs will be your ex or after a breakup you will meet your fs .

You people like greenery environment- village, simplicity , away from city . You people maybe were attracted to pile 2 also - do check out maybe some information is also there for you . You people like to stay at home or you will feel home to each other and like to interact less with people also 😶. Apart from work you people value to your own happiness also a lot which will keep you intact and strong 😇.

♡ If you are In a city then you try to keep yourself as simple as possible 😇

♡ Your relationship will have major transformations - challenges , hurdles and etc to make your relationship more smooth and strong after ton of experience with each other and you will learn to balance life also more good .😄🫰🏽

♡ Some of you could have left a place and have chosen to start an another life some where else or you may leave your home land to somewhere else or after marraige you will settle to foregin place also that you like to have pets like birds , dog and cat or many other . You could have your own shop or business also or could be some strong figures . You will travel a lot with each other like international ,overseas and would like to travel in waters . i can see trolly bags full of clothes and things haha ! 🤣

♡ You people have experienced and seen a lot in life but at same time you have grew strong also from it .

♡ You people will love to star gaze and i can see both you being optimistic and peaceful with each other. You will love to have walk outside in nature and have a talk in cool and warm mix breeze flowing through ^^ . You will be the star of each other and the lime light too ~.

♡ I can see this relationship being motherly ,abundant with good and rich life too plus i see you having a kid with each other also. Your children will grow with good morals ,knowledge and ethics provided by you . You people maybe kinda keep up to yourself not a lot with people but few only maybe because of your work or experience .♡♡

End of the pac ~

♡◇♡ DO /FOLLOW/COMMENT/LIKE/REBLOG WHATEVER YOU FEEL LIKE TO SUPPORT YOUR READERS ♡

♡◇♡ DO TELL ME HOW WAS IT ?!♡

[thereader-radhika]

Finance Minister Periya Pazhuvettaraiyar's Woes

In the beginning of the novel, Periya Pazhuvettaraiyar rants about the irresponsible behaviour of the crown-prince and the younger prince, with a bit of exaggeration obviously to rile up the chieftains. As the novel progresses, we can see that his accusations aren't baseless.

The older prince is the general of the Northern forces. What is he doing? He has not gone to war against the Rashtrakutas and Vengi. He lingers in Kanchipuram building a golden palace . . . From all the wealth he plundered from the Ganga, Kudagu and other territories, not a single piece of copper has he sent to the central treasury till today.

We don't know the amount of gold used in the construction of this palace but since Vanthiyathevan doesn't refute the Emperor when they talk about it, we can assume that there was some kind of golden work somewhere in the palace.

To Pazhu's secret relief,Aditha Karikalan isn't drawing any money from the treasury either. Later we see that Karikalan hasn't gone to conquer the northern regions because he is sending supplies to Lanka.

Arulmozhi Varman was sent to Lanka to gain experience in warfare and conquer the islands if possible. He refused to gather supplies for his army from the land he invaded, saying that it will inconvenience the harmless civilians.

When our troops invade another country, they have to fend for themselves with what they can capture there. They have to subsist on local produce and their salaries have to be paid from the booty collected from the conquered region, any excess being sent to the central treasury. But what does Prince Arulmozhivarmar do? He wants us to send food for his troops in Eezham. Over the past year I have shipped supplies ten times.

Hence the Finance Minister and later the Crown Prince have to send extra supplies for the soldiers under Arulmozhi. Though people in the Chola country believe that their prince is accomplishing great feats in Lanka, that isn't true either. Bhooti Vikrama Kesari was besieging Anuradhapuram when Arulmozhi Varman arrived at Lanka and he undertook a tour of the whole area occupied by Cholas. Mahindan retreated to Ruhana during this time. This is verified by Malayaman too.

Aniruddha Brahmarayar to Azhwarkadian:  There were many Pandya and Chera warriors in Mahindan's army who surrendered their arms and joined us when they heard that the Prince was leading our forces . . . You know what our troops are doing now in Lanka! Anuradhapuram was destroyed in earlier battles. The Buddhist viharams, temples, dagabas are all in ruins. At the behest of the Prince, our troops are renovating them.

That means resources from the Chola treasuries and granaries are used to feed not only their own army but the defected soldiers from Mahindan's army too. Moreover unnecessary (fictional) infrastructural renovations are going on in Anuradhapuram, on Chola dime.

When Vanthiyathevan reaches the Chola camp in Lanka, they are having a great party as if they have gone for a pleasure tour.

Various delicacies to go with the rice were also being cooked in smaller pots and pans. Their aroma made the warriors’ mouths water. The soldiers sang and danced in order to pass the time until their food was cooked. Since their beloved Prince was with them, their joy at this moment was unbounded.

Kundavai too contributes to the financial crisis in her own ways by making the Emperor issue orders like these:

Since our daughter Kundavai has decided to donate all the income accruing from the lands and other assets gifted to her situated in the Nalloor village to the hospital we proclaim that these lands will henceforward be free of tax.

This drives up the anger and anxiety of Periya Pazhuvettaraiyar further. As Pazhu feels slighted due their reaction to his latest marriage, there is a lot of communication gap too.

Tax exemptions given to influential people was a significant problem during the actual (real, not Kalki's PS) Chola period as the burden of these exemptions were compensated by levying taxes from common people which ultimately caused civil unrest and the downfall of the regime.

Agriculture supported the overwhelming masses of the people during this period. Land belonged to temples as Devadanam land; to Brahmins as Brahmadeya and to Velalas as Velan Vagai. Officials, dancing girls and soldiers also held land as Jeevitha, that is, for a living. Devadanam and Brahmadeya were Irayili, or tax-free land. In some places, Jeevitha land and land belonging to certain individuals were exempt from taxes. As the tax-free land was considerable and tended to expand over the period, small cultivators and other sections of the people had to bear an increasingly punishing tax burden.

- Rajukumar, M. D. “Struggles for Rights during Later Chola Period.” Social Scientist, vol. 2, no. 6/7, 1974, pp. 29–35. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/3516476.

Anna! We are driving our economy into the ground with our combined efforts 💃🏻🕺🏻

[secretobsessionstuff]

ok I'm not sure if you're taking promt requests, but I have one here: sick!dakota, inspired by something that happened to me a while back. I had to go for a formal event, and I ate something Fancy there that didn't settle right. I felt burpy, bloated and sick all night, and had to throw up. thankfully I got home without incident, but I did get sick with a stomach bug like right after. if you don't want to take the prompt, that's fine. have a nice day, brilliant author!

Thanks for the great request! And for making me blush with that compliment. I changed the prompt just a little because of course I didn't want Dakota to go home without incident ;)

Please excuse the ridiculous reference to an old meme that I slipped in this fic. I couldn’t help it. 

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

As a child, Dakota never thought he’d have enough money to give to charity, let alone donate enough to partake in a fundraising gala. Even that word Gala felt like an ill-fitting suit, much like the one he wore at that very moment. At a Gala. That he’d been invited to. He was overwhelmed by the entire affair. 

That night’s special event was being hosted by the Canadian Academy of Sport and Exercise Medicine—an organizing that Dakota supported as soon as he got a disposable income. 

Donating was not something that his family could afford to do, at least not consistently. Every Christmas, Dakota used to ask his dad for a five-dollar bill to give to the bell ringers. Nine times out of ten, he was given a loonie. Still, Dakota happily dropped the coin in the collection bin and wished the stranger a merry Christmas. 

The suit that Dakota now wore should have reflected how far he had come in terms of money. He had worked hard as a teenager to afford to go to university. He worked hard as an adult to get to this point of financial security. He wasn’t rich by any means (not by a long shot), but he had enough to justify his presence at this fundraiser. He definitely had enough money to buy a better suit than the one he wore, but that was a task that he’d been putting off. 

The jacket’s sleeves were tight around his arms and the fabric of the pants pinched awkwardly around his hips. The buttons on his shirt were working overtime to keep his belly from bulging out, but that might have been because he was bloated after eating the cream of vegetable soup. He’d certainly be needing a better suit for his wedding. For now, his old suit would have to do. 

Blair, of course, looked stunning in her stormy blue floor-length chiffon evening dress with lace sequins. None of those fancy words belonged to Dakota. That was how she described it to him. All he had been capable of saying was a string of incoherent babbling as she emerged from their bedroom that evening. Stormy apparently meant a greyish-blue and the rest of those words must have meant so fucking hot you don’t even know. That was Dakota’s apt description after getting over his momentary shock. 

Dakota paid more attention to Blair than the many, many speeches that were given throughout the night. Halfway through the event and he was already sick of hearing the phrase “We thank you for your contribution”, despite being one of those contributors. 

Eventually, even his fiancée couldn’t hold his attention, not with the way his stomach ached. So maybe it wasn’t just the speeches that were making him sick. His belly churned and whined, trying to digest the first meal he’d given it that night. The soup had been creamy, but not nauseatingly thick. It was a pale orange with chunks of broccoli and carrots drowning in the velvety broth. 

He didn’t understand why he got so nauseous all of a sudden. It was like the soup kept boiling inside him. The event took a while to start, so Dakota should have been starving but he was far from it. That first plate was enough to make him full. He didn’t want to imagine the other courses that were on their way. He could smell shrimp, and steak, and chocolate waiting their turns. 

“I’m a registered dietitian,” Blair finished saying to a man sitting at their table. There was eight people all seated in a circle, perfect for networking and gossiping. 

“And what about your husband?” asked the woman who was next to the man. They were an older couple and so soft spoken that Dakota didn’t look up to realize that he was now a part of the conversation. 

“Oh, he’s actually still my fiancé,” Blair said with a smile. She put her hand on his arm to get his attention. “Dakota?” 

“Yes?” He looked up, tearing his eyes away from the empty soup bowl. 

“The Dhillons are asking about your job,” she said, gesturing to the couple. 

“Oh, I’m sorry.” Dakota tugged at the collar of his jacket. It did not have any give and was therefore terrible for fidgeting. All his fiddling did was remind him how uncomfortable he was. He cleared his throat. “I’m in sports rehabilitation.” 

“No wonder you’re both supporters,” Mr. Dhillon said approvingly. He nodded at the two of them “Dakota, was it? How did you get involved with CASEM?” he asked, using the organization’s acronym. 

Dakota began giving his answer with less enthusiasm that he would have liked. His voice sounded awkward and strained to his own ears. More than once, he had to interrupt himself to swallow a burp. His voice got deeper with each suppressed belch, as did the ache in his middle. The more he spoke, the more air he swallowed, and the more bloated he got. 

It was after Mr. Dhillon’s second question, that Dakota failed to keep a burp from bursting from his mouth. It was loud and very wet. “Excuse me,” he quickly mumbled with a napkin pressed against his lips. He wiped the corners of his mouth, feeling his face grow warm. The other people at the table, all in the middle of their own conversations, spared surprised glances at him. After that outburst, he hurried up his reply and looked down at his lap. The tips of his ears were on fire. 

In fact everything about him was on fire. He was hot and icky. Yes, icky was the only way he could describe the sensations in his body. Icky with an inkling of bleh. 

Thankfully, Blair took up the next question. She gave him a curious look before answering the nice couple. 

Dakota wished he could turn invisible. Not only was he blushing, but he desperately wanted to rub his gurgling stomach. It was very unsettled for some ungodly reason. Dakota felt like a proper sac of poop, squeezed into his too-tight suit, and sweating like a pig. 

He did not feel well at all, he quickly realized. His gut churned as if he somehow ate ten bowls of soup instead of one. He could feel sweat dampening his clothes, making the bottom layers stick to his skin.  

When another burp bubbled up from his belly, he managed to cover his mouth in time. His hand couldn’t muffle all the sound, but at least he didn’t feel any piercing eyes fall on him. 

He must have sat there with his hand clamped over his mouth for longer than he thought, because he suddenly felt Blair touch his leg. It made him snap his eyes open, which he hadn’t realized he closed in the first place. 

Blair leaned over and whispered to him, “Are you feeling alright?” 

He shook his head. That was all he did. All he felt safe to do. 

“Will you excuse us for a moment?” Blair said to the people at their table. She stood up, keeping her hands on Dakota’s shoulder until he rose as well, then she led him out of the dining hall. 

Dakota walked with his head down and his palm pressed into his abdomen. They passed many other tables of finely dressed guests, but he didn’t try to smother the burps that rose in his throat. Standing up caused all the air in his belly to shift, and he couldn’t force it down any longer. A particularly wet belch coated his tongue in a thin layer of creamy acid. It tasted strongly of broccoli. 

When the crisp night air hit Dakota’s skin, he had a second to wonder why Blair hadn’t led him to the bathroom. That was where he wanted to be. Where he needed to be. Only just then he was picturing his bathroom at home. He also wasn’t wearing this straitjacket of a suit in the daydream. 

As if she were reading his mind, Blair said, “There were too many people in line for the bathroom. I didn’t think you wanted to throw up in front of a crowd.” Her eyebrows knit together in concern as she watched him pace around the parking lot. “You are going to be sick, aren’t you?” 

Dakota nodded. “I feel disgusting, Bee. The food isn’t agreeing with me at all.” 

He put his hands on his knees and breathed deeply through his mouth. Pressure built up inside of him, slowly rising in his throat. “I don’t—” he cut off when a belch splashed the back of his tongue with acid. “Ugh fuck. I don’t know what happened, but it hit me hard.” 

“Did you eat too much before leaving the house?” 

“No,” he replied, intending to elaborate, but he paused to release a bubble of air caught behind his tongue. It was sour and thick. “No, I haven’t eaten anything since breakfast. I guess I forgot.” 

“You?” Blair began, incredulously. “You forgot to be hungry?”

He shrugged. “It wasn’t on my mind. I’ve been thinking about this goddamn gala.” Dakota huffed. Being outside helped cool him down, but the sticky heat was still trapped inside his layers of clothing. “God, it’s hot. And I hate this fucking suit.” He started to helplessly shrug off his jacket with some difficulty. 

“Come here,” Blair said shaking her head at him. She removed the jacket from his shoulders and patiently slipped the tight sleeves off his arms. The jacket itself was damp. Similar patches of sweat marked his dress shirt in the underarms. A dark line ran down his spine. “Wow, was there an indoor pool party that I missed?” 

Dakota was in too much discomfort to banter. “Ugh my stomach is killing me.” He bent over again, letting out another long chesty burp. The tail-end of the burp made a funny sound in his throat, like sloshing of liquid that settled back down in his belly. He did not think that his belly would stay settled for very long. In fact, the next belch was more of a gag. 

Blair heard the change as well and got close enough to put her hand on his back. She wrongly assumed that the heat beneath her hand was from him being uncomfortable and overly warm. All she knew what that he looked as green as a seasick passenger, ready to feed the fishes. “Alright. No one’s around. Just let it out.” 

Dakota’s throat bobbed as the nausea increased. His mouth filled with saliva that he let drip onto the ground between his feet. He waited for the next burp, knowing that it would bring up a sludge of sick. 

And it did. 

The meaty belch was practically drowned out by the rush of vomit that gurgled up his throat. A splatter of orange coloured the pavement between his feet. Bigger chunks of green and brown dotted the puddle. Dakota didn’t get to admire his artistic creation for long because the next wave forced his eyes shut. 

Blair hissed sharply through her teeth, hearing the strain in his guttural heaves. “Oh Kota. That’s it. Get it all up.” 

Obediently, he did as he was told, retching up the most expensive soup he ever ate. And it hadn’t even been that good. It only cost a lifetime of learning to manage money. But at least he could barf knowing that degenerative joint problems were being treated all across Canada. 

He could still hear the speeches being made inside, but the aching pulse in Dakota’s belly overpowered the noise. It was just him and his roiling insides. And, of courses, Blair’s soothing touch on his back. 

When the liquid at Dakota’s feet was roughly the amount that could fit in a fancy bowl, he straightened up. He wiped his mouth on his white sleeve and sighed. “I think I’m done.” 

“You sure?” Blair asked. “You missed a spot on your left shoe.” 

Dakota looked down at himself. His shoes were indeed splattered with orange vomit. Flecks of it splashed on his legs. “Look at me. I can’t believe they invited this to a gala.” Strands of dark brown hair fell in front of his eyes, no longer held in place with the product in the rest of his hair. 

Blair gave him a sad smile. “Well, I suggest we get this home,” she said, gesturing to his dishevelled self. “Do you think you’re truly done? Was it just the food that upset your stomach?” 

“I think so.” Dakota sniffled. “I hope so.” 

When they got to their car, Blair gave him back his damp jacket.

“Thanks,” he said deadpan as he took it from her hands. “I’m really sorry. You look like a…a—I can’t even describe how good you look, and I’m sweating through my clothes.” 

Blair laughed softly at him. So soft it was like falling snow. “I don’t care.” She kissed him on his cheek as she helped him into the car. “I love you, sweaty.” 

Dakota groaned at the reference. “Yeah, yeah, man door hand hook whatever. Get in the car.”

…

That should have been it. Dakota should have gone to bed, aching and annoyed, but done with vomiting. 

That was not the case. 

He woke up in a cold sweat four hours into his sleep, feeling like he ate a full-course meal earlier that night. The nausea slammed into him so hard that he made the split decision to run to the bathroom rather than wake Blair like he wanted to. He had a funny hunch that he would wake her anyway with what he was about to do. 

His knees stung from crashing down on them in front of the toilet, but he was hardly aware of that pain. His whole attention was given to the upheaval in his belly. 

He lifted the toilet seat just in time to catch the surge of sick that rushed out of his mouth. This made zero sense to Dakota. He hadn’t eaten that much during the day, yet he still let out a torrent of vomit. It burned his nose as the forceful wave came out of his nostrils. 

He sniffled and spat into the bowl, staring at the contents with disbelief. What the heck was going on with his stomach? The pain gnawed at him as if it spent the day building in strength and intensity. 

As he predicted, Blair came shuffling into the bathroom, squinting in the light at her fiancé who was drooling over the toilet. He inhaled a sharp breath before gagging and filling the bowl some more. 

She kneeled next to him, watching as his body rejected everything he fed it within the last twelve hours.

“Oh baby, you’re really sick. This is…this is bad. It can’t just be from something not sitting right. Do you have any other symptoms?” 

Dakota blinked tears out of his eyes, trying to think. But how could he think when everything was hell? “God, I don’t know. I feel like crap all around.” He tripped over his words as Blair started to walk away. “Wait, wait. W-where are you going?” 

“Relax, I’m just getting the thermometer.” 

“Oh…good. Don’t leave me.” 

Blair pouted at him. “I’m not. I just think you might have a fever.” 

With the thermometer in hand, she sat down next to him again. She put the device in his ear, waiting for the measurement. 

His throat bobbed as he swallowed thickly. “Still okay?” she asked.

“Yeah, just hurry.” 

“Then stop moving,” she said, holding his head still. The heat coming from his scalp made the thermometer obsolete. She could already feel the fever burning through him. When it read his temperature as 102°F, Blair was not surprised. 

She could not tell him right way because as soon as she took the thermometer out of his ear, he pitched forward, belching up a smaller gush of vomit. Blair hated the way he moaned and hugged his belly. “Aw, Kota. I think you caught a stomach bug, baby.” 

His roiling stomach agreed whole-heartedly. There was definitely a nasty little bugger worming its way through his digestive track. Pretty soon it would turn his bowels to water, but for now it made his stomach throb with nausea. 

Dakota groaned and rested his head on Blair’s shoulder. “I feel awful, Bee.” 

“I know,” she cooed, entwining her fingers in his hair. “Only thing to do is wait it out together.” 

[beardedmrbean]

At a Planning and Design Commission Meeting last week, associate city planner Laura Tuller disclosed that Sacramento will back off — at least for now — on enforcing what has been touted as a key policy in combating climate change.

“The city will not currently preclude mixed fuel development,” Tuller told the city council-appointed commission. during an update on the city’s building electrification strategy.

Her statement referred to enforcing an ordinance passed by the council that would, with some exceptions, ban natural gas hookups in new construction projects starting in 2023.

Methane from natural gas is a potent contributor to greenhouse gases and climate change. State and local leaders in California have identified what is called “building decarbonization” — relying on cleaner electric power — as a crucial way to achieve its zero carbon emissions goal by 2045.

Tuller explained that the decision to pause enforcement is the result of a recent court ruling. Other cities such as San Luis Obispo and Santa Cruz have made the same determination.

In April, The Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned the City of Berkeley’s building electrification ordinance in a lawsuit backed by the Sacramento-based California Restaurant Association. The court said that the city had stepped on the federal government’s role regulating energy markets.

The ruling has, for the moment, put a chill on what building decarbonization advocates say is a sensible movement. Prior to the Berkeley ruling, 76 cities from Los Angeles to Sacramento had passed electrification ordinances banning natural gas hookups in new construction. Sacramento leaders say they can’t enforce the gas ban until they see what happens with the City of Berkeley’s appeal of the decision.

State policymakers are similarly nervous about the implications of the Berkeley ruling.

A Sacramento Bee investigation earlier this month found that donations to CRA and its foundation from SoCalGas, the nation’s largest gas utility, soared after CRA launched its lawsuit.

Critics of SoCalGas as well as the California Public Advocate’s Office, which is an independent state watchdog arm of the California Public Utilities Commission, have accused SoCalGas of financially backing the Berkeley lawsuit with millions of dollars.

“It strains credibility to suggest that the utility did not fund research that supported the California Restaurant Association’s litigation,” the watchdog said in a filing this month.

The restaurant association has vigorously denied any coordination with Southern California Gas Co. on the lawsuit. The CRA said its motivation for the lawsuit was purely to protect new restaurants who prefer using gas, especially Chinese restaurants that prefer gas-powered woks.

SoCalGas has vehemently denied that it in any way funded the CRA’s lawsuit.

The recent Bee investigation noted that contributions to the CRA and its foundation from SoCalGas and its parent company Sempra grew from $174,594 in years 2015 to 2018 to $1.8 million from 2019 to 2022 — a tenfold increase.

The original Sacramento electrification ordinance passed in 2021 and went into effect, albeit briefly, on Jan. 1. Restaurants, however, were exempted until 2026. But through its role as members of a technical advisory panel advising the city, the CRA along with two allies connected to Chinese restaurants, argued the gas ban was culturally insensitive to the tradition of wok cooking.

Several Asian chefs that The Bee spoke to, including celebrity chef Martin Yan, pointed out that induction wok cooking is becoming more common in Asia, and that the industry needs to do its part to combat climate change. Many chefs believe cooking with electric-powered induction woks —although more expensive — is better than cooking with gas-powered woks, especially when environmental and health effects are considered.

At the technical advisory panel’s recommendation, in November 2022, the city council adopted “infeasibility waiver guidelines” that included a key clause;: If the business was found to make a legitimate claim that precluding them from using natural gas would “prohibit socio-cultural traditions that communities practice,” they could be exempted.

“I was shocked when I read that. It just felt like this secret gutting,” Rosie Yacoub an activist with the climate group 350 Sacramento told The Bee. She added, “What does that even mean? It seems like anyone could make that case.”

At a City Council meeting on Tuesday, Mayor Darrel Steinberg and City Council member Katie Valenzuela said that The Bee investigation raised questions about the city’s conflict of interest policy for advisory groups like the technically advisory panel, though stopped short of any specific suggestions for reforming the process.

Charlie Spatz, research manager at the Energy and Policy Institute, said that the conflict of interest issue raised thorny questions.

“The question here is whether the utility money was motivating or influencing the restaurant association’s engagement with the city council,” he said. “There’s nothing wrong with restaurants engaging in electrification policy, but it’s important to remember that gas utilities are spreading disinformation to restaurants with the goal of blocking electrification policy.

“It’s a bad faith campaign designed to drive unfounded fear in the restaurant industry and it only serves the interests of gas utilities.”

That disinformation, Spatz and others note, centers on what they believe are dubious studies that try to undermine research such as that performed by Stanford University that concludes gas cooking can be harmful without proper ventilation.

There are signs that even if the Berkeley decision is not overturned, market conditions at least in Sacramento, which has through SMUD some of the lowest electric rates in California, are pushing new construction to be all-electric.

A tool that the city links to called Xerohome appears to typically show cost savings in utility bills of $600-$1,100 annually when homeowners opt for modern all-electric appliances.

Brian Hanly, President of Next Generation Capital, says his company has increasingly opted for all-electric developments in Sacramento, including the 21-unit development, Icon @14C, which was completed in 2020.

“We were a bit afraid of the consumer response in the beginning,” Hanly told The Bee. He added, “It’s above my pay grade to understand the environmental ramifications between natural gas and electric, but we’ve had a positive experience.”

[howwelldoyouknowyourmoon]

Japanese Sanctuary Church Says Yamagami Had No Sanctuary Connections

▲ Yasue Erikawa

Bolded by HWDYKYM

The following is the Statement presented by Japan Sanctuary Association, Yasue Erikawa: Statement on the Shooting of Former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe First of all, I would like to offer my heartfelt condolences on the passing of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Now, at around 11:30 a.m. on July 8, the shooter of former Prime Minister Abe, which occurred suddenly at the head of Kintetsu Yamato Saidaiji Station in Nara City, was caught in the act, and subsequently, through media reports, the motive of the suspect, Yamagami's motive, etc. were announced. According to the report, the suspect, Tetsuya Yamagami, stated that his mother is a member of the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification (hereinafter referred to as "Family Federation") and that he targeted Shinzo Abe because he knew that he was close to the Family Federation. We hereby send the following statement. (1) The Japan Sanctuary Association has no contact or relationship with the suspect Tetsuya Yamagami. The suspect has never attended any of our meetings in the past. Furthermore, the suspect's affiliation with an offshoot of the Family Federation for the Unification of World Peace, which has been attributed to the Sanctuary Association, is not based on any information at all, but on speculation and malicious manipulation of impressions by the media and others, and we demand that it be retracted. (2) In addition, the report that the mother of the suspect, Ms. Yamagami, has been giving donations to religious organizations, but we, the Japan Sanctuary Association, have never received a single yen. (3) Regarding our association's relationship with former Prime Minister Abe, it is true that we, as freedom, justice, and peace-loving Japanese citizens, respect former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and have supported him in many of his policies and endeavors. However, there is no evidence that former Prime Minister Abe sent us a congratulatory telegram, came to our rally, or did anything to us. We are shocked by the shooting of former Prime Minister Abe by Mr. Yamagami, and we can only pray for the repose of his soul. (4) We are also aware that the media is spreading many misleading arguments with preconceived notions about the Association's stance on guns, but we are also aware that the Association, which is headquartered in the United States, takes its right to keep and bear arms to protect freedom and security granted by the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution very seriously. We are aware of this. The Association abides by the laws under the Constitution of Japan and is in no way engaged in any illegal activities. We demand an apology and ask for a retraction of any action with malicious intent linking our Sanctuary Association to the crime of the gun charge against Mr. Yamagami. 　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　Thank you very much. 　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　Japan Sanctuary Association 　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　General President Yasue Erikawa

_________________________________________

The mother of Abe Shinzo’s assassin was financially exploited by the Unification Church

[00-oh-yanno-00]

Let’s Get Political

It’s been roughly 4 days since the leak of SCOTUS regarding the Roe V. Wade case. I’ve had panic attacks each day since, I’ve been in mourning of rights that haven’t even been taken away yet, trying to figure out what the fuck I can do to protest when police are showing up and running people over, trying to figure out how much money I can donate to abortion funds and still have enough to pay my bills. And the thing is, this is only the beginning. 

It’s terrifying to live in America right now. And I understand that the case hasn’t been overturned yet, but it’s only a matter of time. If we don’t find a way to stop this, people are doing to die. 

The Roe V. Wade case was decided based on the 9th and the 14th amendment of the United States Constitution. A document that was written nearly 250 years ago. A document that has been edited, never rewritten, despite several of the founding fathers believing that it _should _be rewritten to govern each generation (most notably Thomas Jefferson, who thought it should be done every 19 years). 

The 14th Amendment, Section 1 clearly states: No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.

We already know that the mortality rate of childbirth in the US is 20.1/100,000 births, with disproportion in POC communities. This isn’t talking about victims of rape/incest. This isn’t talking about people who cannot afford to have a child. This isn’t addressing people who make decisions to have abortions to avoid medical risks. This is the number of people who have actually died while giving birth in 2019 alone. Which means, going by our own law, that states cannot “deprive” any “citizen” of something that will save their “life”. IE; abortion.

And before anyone comes at me for saying that abortions save lives: they do. They save people from financial ruin that often leads to starvation, homelessness, and unsafe environments. They protect the lives of people who can’t give birth without serious medical impact, including people who commit suicide due to postpartum depression. Friendly reminder, birth certificates aren’t given out until the actual birth occurs. That little clump of cells that we’ve been arguing over is not a US citizen until it is popped out of the human birthing it. 

Article 3 of the 14th Amendment states: No person shall.....hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any State, who.....have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same (US/Holding Office), or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof.

Friendly reminder that January 6th 2020 happened. An armed mob, in support of Donald Trump, a Republican President, stormed the capitol, killed 5 people, and tried to overthrow the government. This coup was supported by not only Trump, but members of his party to include: Rep. Mo Brooks, Rep. Paul Gosar, Sen. Josh Hawley, and Sen. Ted Cruz. These people are still holding office, despite the constitution forbidding it. 

The 9th Amendment is a little more simple. It states: 

The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.

Which is essentially saying, that the rules in the constitution are definite. Roe V Wade implied another right that is currently being put under question: the right to privacy. 

I’m pointing these outs because I need you know that this isn’t about abortion.  It isn’t about the right to your own body. It isn’t about your religious beliefs. It isn’t even about the constitution. What this is is a blatant and horrifying attempt to regain control in a capitalist society governed by predominantly white men. 

If Roe V Wade is overturned, the cases based on that ruling will be called into question. Cases like Obergefell v. Hodges, that legalized gay marriage, and Loving v. Virginia, that legalized interracial marriages. 

By the way, while we’re talking about it, the first recorded evidence of induced abortion is from the Egyptian Ebers Papyrus in 1550 BCE. There are records, throughout history, proving that abortion has always been around through one way or another. Including in the 8th century, 12th century, all the way up to now. Abortion isn’t going away just because it’s “illegal”. 

Several states having ready to go laws that will not only illegalize abortion, but criminalize it, even in the case of rape, incest, and medical complications. Louisiana is even planning on criminalizing miscarriages and birth control. That means that not only will you be forced to carry a full term pregnancy, but if that baby is a miscarriage, you’re going to jail.

And, because America is just so fucking great, people who are convicted and sent to prison, lose their right to vote. So yes, if this case is overturned, there will be people going to jail and losing their voting rights over birth control and miscarriages. 

Of course, I don’t need to remind everyone of what happened the last time states got a say in something as important as body autonomy. Friendly reminder, that if we left delegations like this up to the states, slavery would still be present in the south, women still wouldn’t have the right to vote across the country, and the LGBTQ+ community would have little to no rights. 

This is a big deal. 

People are going to die because of this. People are going to lose basic human rights over this. People, your friends, your families, your lovers and even the people you haven’t met yet are going to be horribly affected by this. 

We already know that something has to be done. If you can’t get out and protest, donate to abortion funds. If you can’t afford to donate, spread accurate information. Have the argument with your pro-birth family. Harass your government officials. Do whatever you can, because if this tragedy happens, we’re fucked. 

Personally, I plan on moving to a safe state as soon as I can and fighting with every bit of rage I feel. I’m even at the point of looking into other countries to move to, because I’m poised to lose my rights as someone with a uterus, someone who is queer, and someone who will literally murder someone before letting them force me into childbirth. 

Thanks for coming to my rant, I hope you manage to find some ounce of peace in these trying times. 

Abortion Funds

States That Are Fucked

[psychreviews2]

The Eightfold Path: Right Livelihood

Right Livelihood

“Monks, these two people are hard to find in the world. Which two? The one who is first to do a kindness, and the one who is grateful for a kindness done and feels obligated to repay it. These two people are hard to find in the world.” ~ AN 2:118

Right Action connects directly with Right Livelihood, and lot of our actions are necessary ones for our survival. In many ways this is one of the most difficult to achieve in the Eightfold Path. Certainly living as a monk off of donations makes it easier to gain a sense of merit and a clear conscience, but what about all those people donating who are householders? Certainly, monks with a conscience will have to think of how the money of those philanthropists was earned. It's all interdependent. Sadly, there is no pure religious community. This is another area where it's next to impossible to avoid hypocrisy and contradiction. The difficulty is that in order for any business to do well, products have to be addictive in some way. They either provide pleasure or reduce pain. People can't just shop once. Businesses need returning customers. Restaurants need regulars. Lenders need borrowers. Even if one is not a drug dealer or a sex worker, there's still a sense of pimping, whoring, and stringing out with any financial endeavor. You need that other person to make the exchange, which is why exchanges are never really impersonal, they just seem that way, until they stop buying from you. People have limited energy and they have to trade energy with each other, including more skillful and less skillful energies trading efforts with each other. There's exploitation, burnout, envy, resentment, and many hindrances to concentration and peacefulness. For many people, the problems of Wrong Livelihood lead them to pursue spirituality in the first place, including the Buddhist option. The late Rob Burbea as a teacher found that people "oftentimes...come to spiritual practice because, in our lives, we feel the pain of striving, of ambition, of driven-ness, of always trying to manipulate everything."

Equanimity - Rob Burbea: https://dharmaseed.org/talks/12307/

Any economy is a labyrinth of complexity and by replacing barter with currency, there's a relativity in how one treats money. It's much more efficient than bartering, but there's a blindness when qualitative aspects are effaced by bland monetary exchange. For many people, money is the end justifying the means so the mind will entertain short-cuts to ethics to make bank. Another difficulty is that supply is based on demand, so if a culture is rotten to the core, many of the jobs that are available support low vibration activities. A good example is a teetotaler who works out regularly at a gym, eats healthy, and finds that earning money as a bartender is much more accessible to him or her than many other jobs. This can be seen everywhere. In Western society, low vibration activities are considered okay as long as they don't turn into addictions and they are dealt with moderately, but for people who have limited skill in gaining pleasure to regulate emotion, what is most accessible becomes a crutch.

Where Buddhism tries to steer people in a better path is to extend Right Action into Right Livelihood to clarify professions. One way to look at it is to look at the end goal of bliss and peace with thoughts of appreciation. "[Thinking,] ‘I have wealth earned through my efforts & enterprise, amassed through the strength of my arms and piled up through the sweat of my brow, righteous wealth righteously gained,’ he experiences bliss, experiences joy. This is called the bliss of having... [Thinking,] ‘Using the wealth earned through my efforts & enterprise, amassed through the strength of my arms and piled up through the sweat of my brow—righteous wealth righteously gained—I partake of my wealth & make merit.' This is called the bliss of partaking...[Thinking,] ‘I owe nothing—large or small—to anyone at all.’ This is called the bliss of debtlessness...[Thinking,] ‘I am endowed with blameless bodily action, blameless verbal action, blameless mental action,’ he experiences bliss, experiences joy. This is called the bliss of blamelessness."

One is to compare the money one gets with how honest the money was earned, how it was spent in a way that doesn't tarnish merit, involves as little borrowing as possible, to reduce the weight of obligation, and that co-workers, employees, and employers where not exploited or cheated in anyway. Of course much of this is qualitative and both employee and employer will often disagree because the employer needs to make profit to pay for their risk-taking of their assets and debts they accumulated in order to take that risk, and employees want to be compensated in a competitive way but also to move beyond slave wages where one can save for a retirement, and to enjoy opportunities for rest and recreation. Co-workers also have to compete in a way that is based on skill and merit and not on cronyism, nepotism, race, gender, sexual orientation, and many lists of bigotry. I'm sure readers and listeners are chuckling at how naïve this is, but Buddhism is a religion and religions are all about different forms of emotional purification and they tend towards the ideal. Worldly atheistic types are more cynical and find the world absurd and meaningless. Religious types like idealism more because it's a goal to aim at. They are attracted to the transcendent.

Bhikkhu Bodhi interprets that "The Buddha teaches that wealth should be gained in accordance with certain standards. One should acquire it only by legal means, not illegally; one should acquire it peacefully, without coercion or violence; one should acquire it honestly, not by trickery or deceit; and one should acquire it in ways which do not entail harm and suffering for others. The Buddha mentions five specific kinds of livelihood which bring harm to others and are therefore to be avoided: dealing in weapons, in living beings (including raising animals for slaughter as well as slave trade and prostitution), in meat production and butchery, in poisons, and in intoxicants. He further names several dishonest means of gaining wealth which fall under wrong livelihood: practicing deceit, treachery, soothsaying, trickery, and usury. Obviously any occupation that requires violation of right speech and right action is a wrong form of livelihood, but other occupations, such as selling weapons or intoxicants, may not violate those factors and yet be wrong because of their consequences for others."

Right here, usury is lending. Lending is a big part of any economy and without the ability to borrow there would be less risk taking and less dynamism as people try to increase their wealth and standing in society within crucial time spans to allow parenting and graceful aging. Butchery and meat production exist because humans are omnivorous animals, but it's true that in the modern world there are many vegetarian options. With alcohol, many partake in moderation, but on the other hand there is a lot of alcoholism where lives are completely destroyed with total dependency. The slave trade and prostitution still continue to this day and are actually a thriving business with desperate immigrants being a target, and selling weapons will always have customers when there are wars and there is a reality that property has to be defended from theft. Sales jobs often involve pushing the edge of legitimate sales to increasing impulse buying, a kind of deceit. Any so called professionals are closer to soothsayers if they provide very little or no value for the money they charge. There are also government entities involved in all these activities and partake of these activities in a covert "non-profit style" that disguises qualitative forms of profit in generous benefits and quantitative advantages in remuneration in the form of higher than market rate salaries and pension annuities that most people in the marketplace could hardly save in a lifetime to earn in dividends and interest payments. There is also excessive taxation, double taxation, and the ability to use state powers to engage in kleptomania as could be seen with NAZISM and Communism. Governments can also engage in wars where the powerless and desperate are on the frontline and the leaders command from a safe distance.

Regardless of left-wing and right-wing politics, one can engage in Wrong Livelihood quite easily and very unconsciously, especially with advanced technology the Buddha never experienced. Mass production is a great example. The lesson is that Right Livelihood in the modern world, where technology makes things cheaper and moves products ever closer to the free column, which creates a demand for them to be accessible for free or near free, the line of property and collectivism blurs with the increasing efficiency. The righteous work and merit dilutes in the modern world. Even the "sweat" is replaced by mental burnout. It's not a coincidence that socialism is more entrenched as technology advances and Capitalism and Socialism are more intertwined than politicians betray. As technology advances, human livelihood also gets replaced where the balance of renting and collecting in economics and in psychology shifts towards renting because consumers need to be producers to earn. In order for individuals to continue to consume in an environment where technology replaces the human, they have to have government distribution programs and renting to offset their under employment and lower wages. The difficulty of this Great Reset, as it is often called, is the fact that renters STILL OWN what they are renting, and the freedom of ownership gives them leverage to control renters, meaning they can condition people by withholding goods and partake in their own power to exploit people through onerous regulations. This means government rule by fiat with big corporations, that also fund politicians, and the professional classes, have the leverage to enslave the renters. This increases the sense of entitlement and amplifies desperate desires to be a kleptomaniac and join extreme politics to bridge the gap. Any solution from any political party would have to again, provide freedom for people from restrictions and regulations to make their own choices and mistakes or else their sense of agency, or True Self in psychoanalysis, will be constricted and miserable. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi talks about this in my episode of Ikigai, and what happens to people when they are overly regulated and can't experience Flow states. In the end, the rulers will look at the powerless in a dehumanized way and treat them as slaves or expendable. Their energy will be limited on how much abundance they will allow renters vs. what they accumulate for themselves. Whether I'm renting or buying I need to have SOME CHOICES over property in order to get repeated SATISFACTION out of it. There also has to be restrictions on the power of owners because all the psychology I've read shows that human nature is unempathetic towards the less powerful regardless of political stripe.

How the Left was Lost - Bill Maher: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OdJOLMgY4p0

San Francisco has become a Shoplifter's Paradise - WSJ: https://www.wsj.com/articles/san-francisco-shoplifters-theft-walgreens-decriminalized-11634678239

In Power and the Objectification of Social Targets by Gruenfeld, Inesi, Magee, & Galinsky, "the process of objectification is thought to involve a kind of instrumental fragmentation in social perception, the splitting of a whole person into parts that serve specific goals and functions for the observer...Marx argued, for example, that under capitalism, workers are valued by their employers, and even come to see themselves, in terms of what they produce and the value of those products to others. The goal in capitalism is to produce wealth, and workers are valued in this system in terms of those attributes (e.g., skill, productivity) that contribute directly to the creation of wealth more than the qualities that are valued more generally in social life and that define a person’s humanity, such as his or her kindness and morality...Approach within social relationships is also goal contingent...Feelings of closeness and attraction toward friends [are] based on the extent to which the friends facilitated achieving an active goal. Building on these ideas, we argue that not only can goals affect how social targets are evaluated in the context of ongoing relationships, but goals can influence the appraisal and choice of new relationship partners as well." This is partly why it's important to understand this through and through so that if a Marxist gains power a realistic expectation will be that the behavior will be the same as anyone else in power, and maybe worse if they are not used to power and rely on tyranny due to a lack of social skill. What matters is the power differential, not the promise of different behavior. People have similar brain chemistry and energy deflates when a person has a goal and the people around them don't contribute to it. "Nussbaum asserted from a philosophical perspective that objectification is essentially defined by the assumption of instrumentality: The target is a tool for one’s own purpose. Although there are other assumptions associated with objectification—denial of autonomy (the target lacks self-determination), inertness (the target lacks agency), fungibility (the target is interchangeable with others of the same category or type), violability (the target lacks boundary integrity can be broken up or broken into), ownership (the target is owned, can be bought or sold), and denial of subjectivity (the target’s experiences are not a concern)."

There has to be a certain flexibility between employer and worker. Employers are taking risks, but they are open to greater rewards. Employees are taking less risk but they are earning much less. Both sides have to negotiate and compromise to a certain extent, but there will always be a point where there isn't a meeting of the minds. That should be okay and accepted as a normal part of business. In reality, the person with less power is obsequious and gives Prestige to the powerful because they know that their goals can be squashed easily by them. The powerful look at the powerless as a container with useful parts that needs to be used until discarded. Like in Schindler's List the worker is either "Essential" or to be discarded. Their independence affects the goal and self-esteem tied to power so independence is treated as betrayal. All kinds of Wrong Livelihood and Wrong Action can manifest to chastise independent behavior despite having blameless organizational goals. Just look at how people treat you if you do nothing for them. Even more disheartening is that when anyone criticizing objectification begins to go into a power position that MODE switches on and people who may have been friends, now with less power, they are objectified into things pretty quickly. Unless there's vigilance to see that new subordinates want what you wanted when you were a subordinate, hypocrisy is inevitable.

In this objectification mode self-esteem is wired to be regulated/satisfied on achieving those organizational goals. Even worse is the sense that "people who aren't useful to me" should be made fun of, denigrated, and that attitude can inflate to a feeling that maybe those who are inessential should be annihilated and the narcissistic smiles of bared teeth and sadism betray that feeling even when it's denied. This is part of the reason why a middle class is important. It's not that it's bad that people have less money but the powerful secretly would like to dispatch you just for fun, but if not it's for relief of contempt. "Be useful to me or else!" The irony of course is that those with more power may be in middle management and they would also like to be independent of their masters. They can understand it for themselves but not for anyone else. This is why people who try to partially drop out of society, or to avoid it's obvious trappings, feel that they are hounded to conform and sense that employment exchanges involve a lot more intrusion into one's personal life. Doing the job is not enough. One has to live a certain kind of lifestyle to be considered acceptable to the employer.

Group Psychology - Freud & Beyond: https://youtu.be/Glw3sOeQEng

Schindler's List: Essential Workers: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TDo6eHyeI8E

In The Use and Abuse of Power, Lee-Chai and Bargh connect the sense of self and choice with power. "...Because power is, at essence, the ability to attain one's desired outcomes, at some level the goal of all members of an organization is the attainment of power. Thus, conflict between those with power and those without power is a direct consequence of the basic human motivation to achieve control over one's own outcomes. There is evidence, in fact, that having power within a hierarchy and using that power are pleasurable at a physiological level in humans as well as other primates. Moreover, as argued by philosophers and psychologists such as Hobbes, Nietzsche, and Adler, one's sense of self-worth and self-esteem is intimately connected to the ability to achieve power." When a bunch of individuals get into a group those personal goals collide into shifting ill formed collective goals. In the exchange of resources, those with more power gain Prestige for those who need them more. Burnout can exist on both sides. Those who are helpers and find no appreciation, or get mixed messages through political correctness where people say "I appreciate you" completely devoid of emotional agreement, are more likely to feel frustration that builds to burnout. Leaders also feel burnout when there's a lack of cooperation and their goals are frustrated. This often surprises people in helping professions like nursing, therapy, teaching, and social work. Not everyone appreciates the help or they may feel insulted by it. Therapists for example, tire of their incurable patients. There's no sense of satisfaction with browbeating scientific procedures, that often need retooling and development. The mind needs that feeling of a PERSONAL STAMP that is EFFECTIVE and therefore PERSONALLY SATISFYING, to enjoy a job. If therapists can find wealthy people with mild depression where they get paid and they also make a perceivable impact, then satisfaction returns. For intractable problems to solve, there is a need for personal goals that are about personal behavior, and how you face things, something you have more control over, rather than perfect results with patients, or co-workers. This Stoic method is the only way to keep that personal stamp in a highly regulated environment. Even then a lot of highly regulated jobs in science require adherence to procedures all the way through the work activity, and those can be goals as long as there's a sense of WHY. Daydreaming about WHY can be a powerful motivator. This is kind of like the office worker with a picture of their family on the desk. "I do this for them." If meaning is what's effective, then as long as procedures and regulations have a good effective outcome one can bring up imagery of WHY to regenerate motivation in difficult jobs. The limits of this of course are regulations and procedures that HAVE NO MEANING, are SUPERSTITIOUS RITUALS, and therefore one runs into meaninglessness once again. Those activities would be premium burnout and they would have to end at that point to preserve sanity. You might even have meaningless rituals that give you a sense of WHY but at some point the lack of results will drain the meaning. WHY only works as a motivation if the WHY is MEANINGFUL, and EFFECTIVE. Goals based on what we control and how we face things is all that's left and mirrors the impermanent aspect of outward people and things.

Parmenides and Heidegger: https://youtu.be/dWdVTN5LQKs

One of the most clear warnings about the abuse of power and how it can sneak up on any endeavour is this lack of concern for people where the end justifies the means. Usually to be safe, the means and the end have to be considered equally, but those in power have trouble mustering the energy for this, as can be seen above. German politician Christine Anderson spoke about this specifically with vaccine mandates, but it could apply to ANY endeavour, no matter how heroic. Corporations, Governments, Non-profit institutions, Religions, and any human power differential can be blind in this corner. Inflexible regulations can be dangerous because of unintended consequences, and when they happen, there's usually a political move to obfuscate, confuse, and shift blame to others. No matter how modern we seem to be, this error seems intransigent and is mainly where citizen journalism comes from in response to news outlets that simply sit down with the powers that be and craft "narratives," while providing mutual employment opportunities between government, business, and media. "It's not the goal that renders a system oppressive. It's always the methods. Whenever a government claims to have the people's interest at heart, you need to think again. In the entire history of mankind there has never been a political elite sincerely concerned about the well-being of regular people. What makes anyone think it is different now? If the age of Enlightenment brought forward anything, then certainly this: Never take anything any government tells you at face value. Always question everything any government does or does not do. Always look for ulterior motives and always ask 'who benefits?' Whenever a political elite pushes an agenda this hard and resorts to extortion and manipulation to get their way, you can almost always be sure your benefit was definitely not what they had in heart...Nobody grants me freedom for I am a free person."

Clear examples for Christine's view include the now in the spotlight scandal of The Great Reset, where Trudeau said "this pandemic has provided an opportunity for a reset," and Hillary Clinton, where she was suggesting to the then candidate Biden that "this would be a terrible crisis to waste as the old saying goes." Prince Charles viewed the pandemic a "golden opportunity to seize something good from this crisis. It's unprecedented shockwaves may well make people more receptive to big visions of change." The problem of using a crisis to achieve unrelated social goals is that the people that are to follow these changes are in a weak position in a crisis and have very little power to negotiate fair terms. That's a red flag that the powerful KNOW that the general public would resist their plans. The powerful are, like described above, dismissive of the powerless and those dismissed are devalued into utility "essential workers" and non-utility "inessential workers," or in reality: political opponents, and they end up having no say on how the means should manifest for the "heroic" ends. The fact that people would look at a crisis as a way to get one over on the population "for their own good," means they lack sincerity, since they wouldn't be afraid of disagreement from people who love what they offer. The entire purpose of checks and balances is to offset undue influence and exploitation, like can happen in a pandemic, because history has shown that self-interest has trouble including others in a wholistic way. They ignore the interdependence of everything. For example, as I'm writing his, and hoping that it won't be the last thing, the U.S. is at DEFCON 3 which hasn't happened since Sept 11, 2001. How enlightened are these leaders really, and do they have a wholistic point of view? Obviously not.

German MEP on the Vaccine Passport: https://www.riotimesonline.com/brazil-news/modern-day-censorship/german-mep-on-vaccine-passports-mandates-never-take-anything-any-government-tells-you-at-face-value/

Dr. Naomi Wolf on Pfizer Vaccine info dump - The War Room: https://rumble.com/vwxmvz-dr.-naomi-wolf-updates-on-pfizer-document-dump.html

Trudeau "Opportunity for a reset": https://rumble.com/vvexwd-february-20-2022.html

Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden conversation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nf4G5qNCLgM

Prince Charles "Time to think big": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BucTwPegW5k

Like Gandalf in The Fellowship of the Ring, or Galadriel, too much power will corrupt the most noble aims and in the pandemic the power differentials involving martial law made that problem acute. Top down decision making just yanks the populations attention here and there while they get their agenda passed in areas where you're not looking. Even writing this and editing it, things change so quickly. The pandemic is now on the backburner in the news cycle. It goes from Wag The Dog to Wag The Free World. What will the news cycle look like if or when Taiwan is attacked?

"Don't Tempt Me Frodo!" - The Fellowship Of The Ring: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=00Jjj6oI5fg

Frodo offers the One Ring to Lady Galadriel - The Fellowship of the Ring: https://youtu.be/WeQDTj1UllA

LOTR The Fellowship of the Ring - The Ring takes Boromir: https://youtu.be/ARprA2cPYgI

The reality is that we haven't automated decision making and having as many of the population involved in social change means they will be able to include their self-interest, which is the entire purpose of self-government. It's the blindness and lack of empathy that even normal people suffer from when they have too much power. This is partly because when people lack power they are used to that sense of lack, which motivates individuals to seek more of it, and for right or wrong, power is connected with better quality consumption: better properties, better education, better healthcare, better sexual partners, better food and drink, better clothing, better entertainment, better drugs, more travel, and the list goes on. Power = Consumption and makes the powerful into a rapacious Pac-Man when they have outsized leverage. They have to hold onto that for dear life in order to regulate their mental states. Like in Wag The Dog, "if you were forced to choose between the security of your job and the security of your country, which would you choose? While you hesitate, will you permit me to suggest that they are one and the same." Vocation and consumption connect with politics whether we like it or not. This is why many people want to drop out of life and be a monastic, though there is politics there related to dogma, but that motivation is to escape being cogs in the machine. If you change your paycheck you change your politics. How much independent thinking are you allowed?

Wag The Dog: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hmM8rE_LdFA

“If you want to live a happy life, tie it to a goal, not to people or things.” — Albert Einstein.

In Finding Flow, Csikszentmihalyi connects that sense of Jhana and concentration with personally chosen goals in difficult conditions and circumstances of certain failure. "It is better to look suffering straight in the eye, acknowledge and respect its presence, and then get busy as soon as possible focusing on things we choose to focus on...The only way to take over the ownership of life is by learning to direct psychic energy in line with our own intentions." This can be a goal in of itself, because goals based on social rewards and punishments are emotionally enslaving. It's important to find personal satisfaction in the maze of duty, sacrifice, grinding, and striving. "The important thing is to enjoy the activity for its own sake, and to know that what matters is not the result, but the control one is acquiring over one's attention." That's your main goal of success or failure for oneself, not the external goal only. One has to see lost causes in social goals to know that one can't rely on social goals only. This allows for flexibility that is in the realm of reality because a powerless person who is pinning goals on the powerful is also invading their boundaries and they will also feel hemmed in. That's how the meeting of the minds can merge with common goals and break off when those goals naturally move elsewhere. "It is this serious playfulness, this combination of concern and humility, that makes it possible to be both engaged and carefree at the same time. With this attitude one does not need to win to feel content; helping to maintain order in the universe becomes its own reward, regardless of consequences. Then it is possible to find joy even when fighting a losing battle in a good cause...Act always as if the future of the Universe depended on what you did, while laughing at yourself for thinking that whatever you do makes any difference." External conditioning will still operate, but the mind can cross off their own private list of goals as completed when the goal is about learning something or completing a new activity. Self-created goals for self-satisfaction. It doesn't have to be endless success that satisfies, but a personal satisfaction that one is doing what one can and merging personal and collective goals when possible. The self-esteem rises from the activity, with intrinsically motivated personal goals, and not from social goals. "...It is better to invest psychic energy in goals and relationships that bring harmony to the self indirectly."

For society to lean more towards Right Livelihood you would have to have a public that moves money ever more consciously towards healthier satisfactions, and that would naturally move businesses to supply that demand, creating more blameless jobs and campaign donations would have to move in the same direction so as to make governments more blameless. With technology and automation, the employers will have to look at employees as consumers as well, because they are both, and happy employees are ones that are consumers at different businesses, and consumers you want to buy from you need to be happy and have enough money to do so. Without that you have people falling through the cracks, and with hyper advanced Artificial Intelligence in the future, those cracks will turn into canyons.

AN 2:118: https://www.dhammatalks.org/suttas/AN/AN2_118.html

AN 4:62: https://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/an/an04/an04.062.than.html

The Noble Eightfold Path - Bhikkhu Bodhi: http://www.buddhanet.net/pdf_file/noble8path6.pdf

The Use and Abuse of Power - John Bargh, A. Lee-Chai: https://www.isbns.net/isbn/9781317710363/

Gruenfeld, Deborah & Inesi, Ena & Magee, Joe & Galinsky, Adam. (2008). Power and the Objectification of Social Targets. Journal of personality and social psychology. 95. 111-27

Finding Flow - Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi: https://www.isbns.net/isbn/9780465024117/

Contemplative Practice: http://psychreviews.org/category/contemplativepractice/

[uaenewsblogs]

From Diagnosis to Baby: A Sharjah Couple's IVF Journey

Infertility is a challenging and emotional journey for many couples, and in Sharjah, one couple's experience with IVF is a testament to the power of hope and perseverance. In this article, we'll share their story, from diagnosis to the birth of their baby, and provide insight into the IVF journey.

Diagnosis of Infertility

The couple, let's call them Sara and Ahmed, had been trying to conceive for several years without success. After consulting with a fertility specialist in Sharjah, they received a diagnosis of unexplained infertility. This means that there were no obvious reasons why they were not able to conceive naturally.

IVF Consultation

After discussing their options with their doctor, Sara, and Ahmed decided to pursue IVF. They underwent a series of tests and screenings to determine if they were good candidates for the treatment. IVF involves stimulating the ovaries to produce multiple eggs, retrieving the eggs, fertilizing them with sperm in a laboratory, and then transferring the embryos back into the uterus.

The IVF Process

The couple began the IVF process, which involved hormone injections, ultrasounds, and blood tests. The goal was to stimulate Sara's ovaries to produce as many eggs as possible for retrieval. After several days of injections, Sara underwent an egg retrieval procedure, where the eggs were removed from her ovaries.

Fertilization and Embryo Transfer

The retrieved eggs were fertilized with Ahmed's sperm in a laboratory, and the resulting embryos were monitored for several days. After careful consideration, the couple decided to transfer two embryos back into Sara's uterus. The embryo transfer procedure is quick and painless and involves placing the embryos into the uterus using a thin catheter.

The Two-Week Wait

After the embryo transfer, the couple entered the two-week wait period, where they anxiously awaited the results of the treatment. During this time, Sara had to refrain from any strenuous activity and take extra precautions to ensure the success of the treatment.

Positive Pregnancy Test

After the two-week wait, the couple received the good news they had been waiting for- a positive pregnancy test. Sara was pregnant, and the IVF treatment had been successful. The couple was overjoyed and grateful for the support of their doctor and the ivf Sharjah team.

Pregnancy and Delivery

Sara's pregnancy was closely monitored by her doctor, and she received regular ultrasounds and check-ups. After a healthy pregnancy, Sara delivered a beautiful baby boy via C-section. The couple was thrilled to finally hold their baby in their arms and begin their journey as parents.

Challenges and Emotional Struggles

The IVF journey can be a rollercoaster of emotions, and Sara and Ahmed experienced their fair share of challenges and struggles. From the anxiety of the two-week wait to the physical discomfort of the hormone injections, the process was not without its difficulties. However, the couple persevered, leaning on each other and their support system throughout the journey.

Support from Family and Friends

The emotional support of family and friends can make a significant difference in the IVF journey. Sara and Ahmed received love and encouragement from their loved ones, who offered to help in any way possible. Having a support system in place can make the IVF process less isolating and more manageable.

Alternative Fertility Treatments

IVF is not the only fertility treatment available, and couples should explore alternative options before making a decision. Depending on the diagnosis, IUI, surrogacy, or egg donation may be viable options. It's crucial to discuss the options with a fertility specialist and make an informed decision based on individual circumstances.

Financial Costs and Insurance Coverage

IVF can be an expensive process, and it's important to consider the financial costs and insurance coverage before embarking on the journey. The cost of IVF Sharjah/التلقيح الصناعي الشارقة can vary, and couples should research the options available to them. Some insurance plans may cover a portion of the cost of IVF, so it's essential to check with the insurance provider.

Final Thoughts

Sara and Ahmed's IVF journey highlights the challenges, emotional struggles, and ultimate joy of fertility treatment. While the journey can be overwhelming, the support of a dedicated IVF team, loved ones, and a partner can make all the difference. It's essential to consider the financial costs and insurance coverage, explore alternative fertility treatments, and have a support system in place. The IVF journey can be a bumpy ride, but with hope, perseverance, and the support of a medical professional, couples can achieve their dream of becoming parents.

[borahae-777]

The Truth Untold -- Chapter 24: I Buried My Voice For You

Pairing: Taehyung x Jungkook, Yoongi x Jimin

Word Count: Fic in progress, 220k so far. 3k-5k per chapter

Chapter Summary:

This is the end of BTS then.

What is wrong with RM? Why would he allow this to happen?

I wonder what the guys think of their fearless leader being a pervert.

BigHit needs to cut their contract, there must be a morality clause.

Absolutely disgusting.

Warnings: Eventual Smut, BDSM, 18+, MxM

Taehyung is backstage talking to Bon-Hwa, trying to get to know the man a bit better. Namjoon felt it was a good idea for him to be spotted at a concert watching them and Taehyung can’t help but thank him over and over for what he’s doing. He’s got such a kind smile that he has immediately put everyone at ease.

“Bonhwa-ssi, I don’t know how to thank you enough for everything you’re doing for us. I know you’re sticking your neck out for strangers.”

“Namjoon-ah loves you all so much. He talks about you enough that it feels like I know you all already. I am more than happy to fight for what’s right, consequences be damned. I’m excited to watch you all perform, I’ve got the best seat in the house!”

“I know the point of you being here is to photograph you looking a bit mesmerized watching Namjoon-hyung, but do you have any plans for what comes next?”

“We do actually, this one was my idea and I’m a bit proud of its brilliance. I’m on the board of a charity here in Seoul. We’re having an auction in a few days, attendees can bid on our board members. Winners get a night out with whoever they’ve bid on. There are conduct rules of course, but it’s a fun way to raise money. Namjoon is going to bid on me until he wins. It’s going to look like he’s a jealous lover who refuses to let anyone have me. Once this all comes out, records will show he’s donated to the charity for years and was just showing his support.”

“Wow, that’s a great idea. It helps that you’ve known each other since childhood, you have so much to back up the friendship to the media. Is that going to be the big finale?”

“Yes, Dae-Hyun will finish presenting all of his evidence after the event and we’ll see if our relationship shows up in the media. I can’t wait to humiliate some bigots.”

“Please let us repay you in some way. We don’t just owe you one, we owe you several.”

“Be happy Taehyung-ssi. That’s all I want from you.”

Taehyung launches forward and hugs the other man, unable to contain himself. He will find a way to pay this debt. He makes a mental note to ask Namjoon-hyung what he can do. Maybe he can do something to help Bon-Hwa’s family financially. He pulls back from the hug when he hears the final call to the stage and flashes a big smile before running off.

This is the first time they’re performing Fake Love live and he’s going to do his best not to stare at Jungkook the entire time. He’s preparing himself for the insane crowd reaction when he lifts his shirt during the chorus. What he really wants is the moment they’re pressed together to last the entire performance.

Taehyung walks out onto the stage and feels the head rush of passion that hits every time. The bright lights, the screams of the crowd, the pounding of the music through his bones. He loses himself completely and finds himself easily focusing on the crowd instead of Jungkook. The song plays on and out of the corner of his eye he watches his hand go to the hem of his shirt and suddenly the audience erupts. He can’t keep the grin off his face, that’s his man.

They run off stage, elated. Everyone is jumping all over each other and cheering. He watches Namjoon run to Bon-Hwa and throw his arms around his neck, clutching tight. He knows they’re just barely in view from the side of the stage on purpose and he hopes there are cameras snapping. He looks over to Jimin and Yoongi, Jimin is jumping up and down and screeching happily at Yoongi. The elder is smiling back, but it’s not genuine. Does Jimin even notice?

********

Everyone is out celebrating a successful performance, shutting down a restaurant to accommodate the members and the entire staff. Bon-Hwa and Dae-Hyun are in a corner conspiring, Namjoon and Jin are toasting giant glasses of beer, Jungkook and Taehyung are talking quietly, Hobi is showing a staffer one of the moves from the routine. Everyone is full of joy. Jimin is scanning the room and finally lands on Yoongi’s face right next to him.

He’s staring down into his whiskey glass, a numb look on his face. His eyes are empty, seeing something that isn’t there. He’s been off for weeks, but no matter what Jimin tries, he can’t get through to him. This has been such a big accomplishment for them, this album is about to explode and the debut of Fake Love went so well. Why can’t Yoongi seem to enjoy it? If he really thinks about it, things have been wrong ever since Namjoon set his plan into motion. Is that what’s bothering him?

Jimin reaches out and fluffs a hand through Yoongi’s hair, but he doesn’t even flinch. No part of him is present and there is a pit in Jimin’s stomach. He has no idea what to do, how to help. He feels completely useless, like he’s letting down someone he loves. Maybe Taehyung can shed some light on the situation, he deals with depression and anxiety regularly.

He looks over to where his soulmate is snuggled up talking to Jungkook and changes his mind, he’s finally calmer and settled. The last thing he needs is someone trying to lean on him. All Jimin can do is keep trying to get through. He knows Yoongi isn’t sleeping. The few nights he does come back to the dorm and lets Jimin sleep with him, he stays awake staring at the ceiling. Once he thinks Jimin has fallen asleep, soft sobs fall from his lips so quietly that they can barely be heard.

He’s tried everything to get through to Yoongi. Romantic gestures, surprises, private dinners, easy nights at home with no pressure, allowing him his space. Nothing works. He won’t open up no matter what Jimin tries. He seems so far away and it’s starting to bleed over into Jimin a bit. He can feel himself withdrawing into himself little by little with time.

What if they can’t find their way back to each other?

********

Several nights pass and Namjoon finds himself dressed as discreetly as possible walking into the banquet hall. He’s wearing an all-black suit with sunglasses, hoping to blend in. His bodyguards are dressed similarly, but spread throughout the room as if they’re other guests. A key part of this step is to make it look like he doesn’t want to be recognized as bidding on Bon-Hwa at the auction.

As the night goes on, no one has recognized him yet and he’s put in some small bids on other participants to make it seem as if he’s just here for the charity. He looks at his program and can see that Bon-Hwa is coming up next. Dae-Hyun has a friend in the audience who is tasked with driving up Namjoon’s bid just in case it doesn’t seem as if winning isn’t important to him.

He sees his friend step out on stage and they immediately lock eyes, Bon-Hwa winking as he walks down the small runway. He’s dressed in a navy suit with a rose in the pocket and several women start to bid on him fervently. Namjoon raises his paddle quietly and the auctioneer nods at him, accepting his bid. Several other numbers are raised into the air and before he realizes it, Bon-Hwa has become the most popular participant of the night.

I’m so proud of him, but shit, I need to make sure I win this.

Namjoon continues to raise his paddle, wincing a bit at how high the price is when he’s finally declared the winner. He nods to the crowd as they applaud his victory and he puts his number face down on the table, standing up to leave. His job here is done. He takes care of settling his bid and leaves the banquet hall, hearing the clicks of a camera as he walks to the car waiting for him.

********

A week goes by and the media is quiet. Jungkook worries that the plan hasn’t worked out the way they thought, what if no one buys that Namjoon and Bon-Hwa are a couple? Everything they’ve done could be explained away and it’s only been a handful of incidents. He’s frantically refreshing Dispatch’s home page, like he has been all week. Watching it is only stressing him out, so he goes into the dorm’s kitchen to make a cup of tea. He places his phone on the counter and starts boiling water when he hears a yelp from down the hall.

Hobi comes running into the room asking where everyone else is. He’s waving his phone in the air and babbling incoherently. Jungkook is worried that something is wrong and shushes him, grabbing his phone from his hand to look at what’s going on.

RM of BTS revealed to be gay. Click here to learn about his lover and their affair.

“Oh my god! Hobi-hyung! It worked!”

“Read the article, Kookie!”

Jungkook clicks the link and scans the extensive article, seeing the photos of Namjoon and Bon-Hwa on their getaway vacation. There are snaps of them looking intimate and touchy, pictures of them having dinners here in Seoul, a sweet photo of them wrapped in each other’s arms at the Fake Love debut, one of Namjoon with his paddle in the air at Bon-Hwa’s auction.

The reporter doesn’t name their source, but lays out the evidence clearly. The receipt from their hotel, the desperation in Namjoon’s auction bidding, countless instances of them holding hands or tucking hair behind each other’s ears, trips to visit their families together. It’s all so thorough that Jungkook would believe it completely if he didn’t know any better. They almost did too good of a job selling it.

He shoves Hobi’s phone back at him and grabs his hand, pulling him down the hall to frantically knock on doors. The only ones home turn out to be Taehyung and Namjoon and the pair bursts into their room shrieking at the same time. All they manage to do is scare the other two with their fervor.

“Hoseok-ah, Jungkookie, deep breaths. What’s going on?”

“Namjoon-hyung, the article came out on Dispatch! You’ve been outed!”

He expects Namjoon to look at least a little scared, but instead his face breaks out into a huge grin as he grabs his phone and pulls up the website. He whoops and cheers at each new thing he sees, dancing around the room like a fool. Jungkook is shocked at the reaction.

“Hyung, are you okay?”

“Don’t you see. Kookie? Everything is going perfectly. We’ve got them! We did it! I have some calls to make.”

He watches Namjoon run from the room, phone clutched in his hand and a spring in his step. He walks over to where Taehyung and Hobi are bent over their phones together, chattering at different parts of the article and debunking them. He smiles warmly and sits on the floor in front of them, watching the look on his boyfriend’s face. Taehyung is the least anxious he’s seen him in a long time and he would do anything to keep things this way.

********

Yoongi is sitting on the roof breathing in the crisp spring air. He’s missed sitting up here, the cold weather consistently turning him away. There’s also a bit of reassurance in the idea that if he’s here, Jimin or Taehyung could find him if they really needed to. It’s the illusion of being alone with a safety net. His head is spinning, he wonders if anyone else has seen the Dispatch article yet. He imagines they have, at the very least Bang must have called someone to alert them.

He read through the article in his studio, but started to have trouble pulling air into his chest and came up to the roof to get some fresh air. His panic attacks are more or less controlled now, but it doesn’t mean they don’t try to take him down. They always will. The article was exactly what they all expected it to be, but Yoongi had made the mistake of looking at the comments.

This is the end of BTS then.

What is wrong with RM? Why would he allow this to happen?

I wonder what the guys think of their fearless leader being a pervert.

BigHit needs to cut their contract, there must be a morality clause.

Absolutely disgusting.

There were supportive comments as well, but those didn’t reach Yoongi the same way. The people full of venom and disdain voiced some of the worries that he’s had ever since he realized he had feelings for Jimin. He was sure that he was sick. He’s ashamed now to see his similarities to these cruel people.

If this is how people feel, he and Jimin can never come out. He’s dreamed of showing Jimin off to the world, making it clear that his love belongs to Yoongi. He thinks most of ARMY would accept them, he sees all of their shipping videos, but there would be some who would abandon them. He’s sure of it. He knows Jungkook and Taehyung dream of a day when they can be open and free as well, but all this has shown him is that that’s impossible.

He’ll have to marry a woman someday to keep up appearances, won’t he? No, no, there’s no way he’s ever promising himself to anyone but Jimin. He may never be able to show his love to the public, but he can bear the brunt of bucking societal norms to the point of not having a family life. It’s uncommon, but much more acceptable. He can’t stomach people throwing vitriol at him just because he dared to fall in love.

He keeps thinking of Namjoon, is he reading these comments? Are they cutting him this deeply? Is he regretting his choices now? Yoongi may have reassured Taehyung about all of this, but he doesn’t know if he believes his own words. Taehyung has been coming to him regularly and they’ve been unpacking his anxiety. It keeps Yoongi busy and distracted enough that his own darkness gets pushed back a bit. All he wants is to feel better, to grasp joy again.

Every time this happens, there’s no schedule. It ends when it ends. What if it takes months? He can’t do that to Jimin, he can see the sadness when their eyes meet. He knows the other man can feel him pull away. He’s watching Jimin try to lean into him, try to reattach and he just can’t feel it. It’s as if someone injected his soul with an anesthetic, he is numb from the inside out.

Maybe he needs to give Jimin some space, release him from the cage of dealing with Yoongi’s issues. Let him off the hook, if you will. No one should have to put up with this.

[msclaritea]

Here’s the Real Takeaway From Black Lives Matter’s Sketchy Finances

Here’s the Real Takeaway From Black Lives Matter’s Sketchy Finances

Following the reveal of the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation’s IRS tax documents, it’s now safe to say that there’s something questionable going on at the social justice nonprofit.

According to the group’s Form 990, first reported by Associated Press, BLM is worth nearly $42 million in net assets—after spending more than $37 million of the $90 million it previously had on high-end real estate, familiar consultants, ambitious grants, and more.

One of the more concerning situations revealed by the financial disclosures is the fact that co-founder Patrisse Cullors was the foundation board’s sole voting director, and held no board meetings, before stepping down last year. Under her leadership, Cullors authorized a six-figure payout to be given to her child’s father for various services, paid $1.8 million to companies owned by her relatives, and ensured that her brother, Paul Cullors, was one of the highest-paid employees of BLM.

This is yet another wave of bad news for Cullors, who has constantly denied financial impropriety, as she has previously tried to quell any growing concerns around her decision-making. These tax documents not only proved that Cullors lied about misusing some of the funds (such as hosting a birthday party for her son and throwing a private Biden inauguration celebration in the multimillion dollar property intended for activists and creators), but that she did so repeatedly.

“I’m a human being that has made mistakes that want to change, want to challenge those mistakes and want to learn from those mistakes,” Cullors told Trymaine Lee of MSNBC’s “Into America” podcast on Monday. “And I think what’s been hard is feeling like there isn’t room and space for that.”

“If the public at large wanted to fund multimillion-dollar villas, top-flight exec travel, and cashed-out gigs for the founder’s relatives, they could have easily donated to the Trump Foundation.”

While all of this news is disappointing and alarming, there’s one truth that we should all take in: All politics is local, including the grassroots activism it takes to organize.

For years, much of what Cullors now describes as the “white guilt money” has been geared towards national organizations, like BLM, that say their missions are focused on addressing racial injustice. Cullors once made headlines for saying that hearing the term “990s” was “triggering” to her—but that’s what nonprofit transparency looks like. If the public at large wanted to fund multimillion-dollar villas, top-flight exec travel, and cashed-out gigs for the founder’s relatives, they could have easily donated to the Trump Foundation.

Local Black Lives Matter chapters across the country have for years raised concerns over how the national arm had been leaving them fiscally malnourished. And that this could happen as their co-founders garnered lucrative book deals, speaking engagements, and career opportunities.

For donors of all identities, giving to the national organization felt like an easy way to maximize impact. But I would bet that most donors are probably furious to see their money going towards anything but direct action on the ground.

It’s hard not to imagine how this money could have best been spent if local chapters and other more direct on-the-ground activist groups were given a larger chunk of this money to do the actual work. To now be fully aware that a great deal of the $90 million raised for BLM during the racial uprisings of 2020 didn’t actually go to fuel the continuation of similar activity on the local level—that feels like betrayal. Even worse, it’s hard not to consider such fundraising as anything more than just a big grift.

To those who have been giving money to the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation, now is the time to stop.

BLM Activist Accuses DeRay of Stealing His Work in Ugly Spat

This is not to say that you shouldn’t give money to Black activism efforts, but to rethink who and where you’re giving it to. While it will require some additional work on your end to find local groups worthy of your financial support, such funds will make a more meaningful impact than whatever trickles down from some giant conglomerate—especially one that can afford to buy mansions, while many neighborhood orgs can barely keep the lights on.

To cite one personal example, I made the informed decision to cease donating to national political LGBTQIA organizations in 2016. The impetus was the Human Rights Coalition—a big national org—dragging its feet on rescinding its endorsement of former Republican Sen. Mark Kirk, who had made racist remarks at the time. As a Black queer man, I was furious that the organization had decided to use diverse resources to back a Senate Republican who they hadn’t fully vetted for problematic behavior.

Since then, I’ve found more pride in direct giving funds and donating volunteer hours to local nonprofits that do more intersectional work, such as the William Way LGBT Community Center in my own backyard of Philadelphia.

At a time when resources are scarce and there appear to be more problems than solutions, it’s time for us all to remember the importance of local grassroots efforts that have always empowered the people and politics. If the power is truly to the people, so should the funding—and such funding should never fall onto $6 million mansions and VIP parties, but on the ground where the people are.

[whatisonthemoon]

Private Groups Step Up Aid to 'Contras' (1985)

By Peter H. Stone The Washington Post Joanne Omang contributed to this report May 3, 1985

Whether President Reagan ever wins congressional approval of funds for rebels fighting Nicaragua's leftist Sandinista government, a private-sector campaign involving well-known conservatives is intensifying its efforts to keep the insurgents well-supplied.

The rebels continue to claim that they are well-funded, though it is impossible to establish precisely where the money is coming from. The two most prominent and active support groups identified so far are the World Anti-Communist League (WACL) and its U.S. chapter, the United States Council for World Freedom (USCWF). The head of both organizations is retired Army major general John K. Singlaub, who was ousted as chief of staff of U.S. forces in South Korea in 1977 when he publicly criticized President Jimmy Carter.

Singlaub apparently is an informal link among several other organizations raising money and political support for the "contra" rebels, whom they call "freedom fighters." The boards, donors and membership lists of these groups overlap, often reading like a "Who's Who" of the right. They say that in the wake of congressional refusal to provide U.S. aid to the rebels, it is up to private citizens to show U.S. support for democratic efforts worldwide.

Adolfo Calero, political chief of the Nicaraguan Democratic Force, the largest rebel group, said in an interview that "a substantial part" of his arms funds have come through Singlaub. He said his cash flow has improved recently, and estimated his total receipts at "close to $10 million," of which 40 percent is arms and the rest nonlethal help.

Many organizations send humanitarian aid to refugees in the area and try to avoid supplying any of the various armed groups. The Connecticut-based Americares Foundation, for example, dispatched $14 million in medical aid last year, mostly to El Salvador, and plans $20 million this year, distributed through Knights of Malta groups regionwide. About $3 million of that has gone to refugees in Honduras, where many of the families of Nicaraguan contras are living.

The president of the Americares Foundation, Robert C. Macauley, acknowledged that there is no way to guarantee that recipients are apolitical. Other aid donors, such as Singlaub, openly are helping the "contras" fight the Sandinistas.

In a recent interview, Singlaub said that he has raised almost $2 million outside the United States for arms for the Nicaraguan rebels, primarily through the World Anti-Communist League. (U.S. law bans fund raising inside U.S. borders for weapons to be sent overseas.) He and Calero said they were seeking military and financial help from WACL chapters in South America, noting that the chapters in Brazil and Argentina are large and active.

The humanitarian side of Singlaub's drive -- collecting medicine, food, clothing and other nonlethal aid -- has focused on domestic donors. This effort, he said, "has the support of the White House, the Pentagon and the Department of State."

Singlaub works actively for the Nicaraguan rebels' cause. Six weeks ago he was at a contra training camp with Calero offering advice and encouragement and promising to do more fund-raising. Within days, the general was seeking donations at a Palm Springs meeting of the conservative, 400-member Council for National Policy, made up of business, religious and political leaders, of which he is a board member.

Singlaub also is a board member of Western Goals, a conservative educational group founded by the late Rep. Larry McDonald (D-Ga.), and is on the advisory board of Refugee Relief International, an organization that has aided Salvadoran refugees that was established by editors of Soldier of Fortune magazine, a journal specializing in stories about mercenaries. Singlaub has said he has helped raise funds for Friends of the Americas, a Louisiana-based group chaired by Louisiana state Rep. Woody Jenkins, a conservative Democrat.

Jenkins said in an interview that his group has sent $1.5 million in medical aid to refugee groups in Honduras, including some Miskito Indians. His wife, Diane, a group director, said the aid includes 25,000 "shoeboxes" from private donors.

"They're like little CARE packages with a pound of beef, rice, soap, vitamins, candles and salt," she said, and sometimes include fishing lines, hooks and a mirror or photographs of the donors. She said they are worth $25 to $30 each.

Imposition of U.S. economic sanctions against Nicaragua, announced Wednesday by President Reagan, will lead to "thousands of people fleeing out of Nicaragua, and we hope to increase our efforts," especially on the Pacific Coast near the Nicaraguan border, Jenkins said.

Singlaub said the U.S. drive by USCWF and its allies is bringing in just under $500,000 a month, one third to one half of it from a group of wealthy Texas conservatives. They include Bert Hurlbut, president of First Texas Royalty and Exploration Co., prominent conservative donor Ellen St. John Garwood and Mr. and Mrs. John Howell of Howell Instruments. All confirmed that they had made donations.

Singlaub set up the U.S. Council for World Freedom in Phoenix, Ariz., in late 1981 with a loan of about $20,000 from Taiwan, according to retired Air Force lieutenant colonel Albert Koen, who was USCWF treasurer until May 1984. Koen said conservative Colorado businessman Joseph Coors was one of the group's few early backers and remains a staunch supporter.

The USCWF board includes several prominent conservatives: Retired lieutenant general Daniel O. Graham of High Frontier, the "Star Wars" lobby, as vice chairman; Anna Chennault, president of Transportation and Communications (TAC) International; John Fisher of the American Security Council; former U.S. representative John LeBoutillier (R-N.Y.), and Sammy Y. Jung, a Korean business consultant.

Hurlbut, who sits on the advisory board of the USCWF, said he heard about Singlaub through High Frontier while helping it raise funds. Since he joined in 1982, "the general and I have been working the fund-raising side of the street," Hurlbut said. He has traveled around the world with Singlaub and said the general is "treated like royalty by resistance forces everywhere."

Hurlbut has been heading the private drive in Texas with Singlaub. He said he and Mrs. Garwood have contributed more than $100,000, but emphasized that the money is used for medicine, food and clothing for the contras, their families and refugees.

"None of the funds from this country go for hardware. We've solicited funds elsewhere for that. The entire WACL board is trying to help out with arms," Hurlbut said.

The WACL chapter in France "has been very good in helping out" and the one in Britain "has been getting more involved," he said, referring to arms purchases. Chapters in Taiwan, South Korea and Saudi Arabia are among the most active and generous, each contributing more than $100,000 a year for WACL general operating purposes and more for emergencies or special projects, Hurlbut said. His statements could not be independently confirmed.

The World Anti-Communist League was formed in Taiwan in 1967 as an outgrowth of the Asian Peoples Anti-Communist League, a regional alliance against communism launched at the behest of Chiang Kai-shek after the Korean war. WACL board member and honorary chairman Dr. Ku Cheng-kang, head of the Taiwan chapter, has been a high level member of the ruling Nationalist Party in Taiwan for almost 50 years.

Hurlbut maintained that the Taiwan and South Korea chapters are sending $50,000 per month each to the contras. But Singlaub said that was "wishful thinking" and that Hurlbut was not in a position to know the figures.

Some WACL chapters have close ties to the Unification Church of the Rev. Sun Myung Moon. The Japanese chapter of WACL was founded in the late 1960s by Ryoichi Sasakawa, a wealthy conservative businessman who now heads the Japanese Shipbuilding Industry Foundation. He was jailed as a war criminal after World War II and subsequently helped start the Unification Church in Japan.

An arm of the Unification Church called Causa has run media seminars around Latin America for several years in the "cause" of anti-communism. Its director, retired general E. David Woellner, said the group has "set up our own channels of shipment and programs" to aid refugee groups in Honduras with food, clothing, toys, blankets and canvas for tents. He said the estimated $1 million in aid the group has sent since mid-1984 included a field kitchen, and that former U.S. ambassador John Negroponte had provided "cooperation."

"This program has been coordinated by the Honduran president's wife, the ambassador's wife and my wife," Woellner said. Former U.S. ambassador to Honduras Philip Sanchez is now head of Causa's U.S. branch, and its board of directors includes Daniel Graham of High Frontier and Lloyd Bucher, commander of the USS Pueblo when it was captured by North Korea.

WACL's most visible annual activities have been its conventions and its World Freedom Day rallies. Since the early 1970s, WACL conventions in Europe, Latin America and Asia have drawn delegates from 100 member countries and international groups. Recently they have included representatives from the anti-Castro Cuban terrorist group Alpha 66 and the far right Italian political party Italian Social Movement. The Italian terrorist group Ordine Novo, Croatian terrorist organizations and the Argentine AAA death squads also were represented, according to freelance writer Henrik Kruger, author of the book "The Great Heroin Coup."

Calero mentioned that he attended the WACL convention last September in San Diego and discussed contra needs with two WACL board members: Ku and Belgian Sen. Robert Close, a retired general who heads the European branch. "They said they were going to help and my understanding is that they have come through," Calero said.

Hurlbut said some USCWF board members have helped in innovative ways. Sammy Jung, the Korean consultant to American, Korean and Taiwanese firms, has obtained a large quantity of clothing for the contras at reduced rates. Hurlbut said he is trying to get a wealthy clothing manufacturer in Taiwan to provide similarly inexpensive clothing for the rebels, and said he has approached the Mormon church about providing seed packages in large quantities.

In the past month, Singlaub has made fund-raising trips to Fort Worth and Palm Springs, Fla., where he said he obtained about $100,000 in commitments from fellow members of the Council for National Policy. The 400 or so members of this group, headed until recently by Woody Jenkins, are religious, business and political conservatives including oil magnate Nelson Bunker Hunt, Christian Broadcasting Network chief Pat Robertson, singer Pat Boone and Robert J. Perry of Perry Homes.

An aide to Hunt confirmed that he has donated funds to aid Miskito Indians; Hurlbut said Perry was a contributor to refugee aid, but Perry could not be reached.

Much of Singlaub's 35-year military career involved classified programs and covert operations, starting with the Office of Strategic Services in World War II and then as a CIA station chief in Mukden, China. He was deputy CIA station chief in South Korea during the war there, and during the Vietnam war he ran a classified covert operation from 1966 to 1968 known as the Studies and Observation Group, or SOG. Using about 10,000 men, SOG ran secret raids, sabotage and psychological operations in North Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos.

His deputy during that program was Brig. Gen. Harry C. Aderholt, who now runs the Florida-based Air Commando Association that transports donated medical and other supplies to refugees, primarily in El Salvador.

Another transport organization, the Civilian Military Assistance Group, headed by Tom Posey and based in Alabama, claims more than 1,000 members nationwide and has sent several volunteer teams to fight with the contras. Two of its men were killed Sept. 1 when their helicopter was shot down over Nicaragua.

Last year, Singlaub headed a panel for Fred C. Ikle, the undersecretary of defense for policy, which recommended the use of more unconventional warfare tactics in Central America. Also last year, Singlaub set up a private center in Boulder, Colo., called the Institute for Regional and International Studies. He said it will "recruit people" with intelligence-gathering and psychological operations skills to train the Salvador police and perhaps the Nicaraguan rebels.

Singlaub is now planning this year's USCWF conference in Dallas this September. The final night's schedule is set: it will be a "Freedom Fighters Ball and Banquet" to support the contras.

[whitepolaris]

Not all the buried artifacts from antiquity are the remnants of long-lost civilizations. Sometimes they just look that way!

Buried Egyptian Temple, Guadalupe

“You are here to please me. Nothing else on the earth matters,” said Cecil B. DeMille to his expectation crew as they sat in the sand waiting the start of production on his biggest extravaganza to date. The film was to be the first incarnation of The Ten Commandments (DeMille remade the epic in 1956 with Charlton Heston). The legendary director with the outsize ego had a massive complex built for the initial part of the story, portraying Hollywood’s idea of ancient Egypt. The year was 1923, and the sleepy town of Guadalupe, on the central California coast, was suddenly neighbor to a bustling metropolis of over five thousand souls just a few miles away on the Nipomo Dunes. 

The sheer size of the set dwarfed anything yet produced on film. DeMille was a stickler for reality. In a scene he had directed had to shot their way through a door for a western. He spared no expense for his Commandments. Parts of the film were shot in the new two-strip Technicolor process to show off the elaborate Paroah’s Palace. In addition to its skyscraperlike height, the palace was 720 feet long and featured an Avenue of the Sphinxes, with twenty-two five-ton statues lining the royal road. There were also four statues of the pharaoh, all over thirty feet high. The “city” was surrounded by an 80-foot, 120-foot-high wall covered with hieroglyphic modeled on those unearthed just the year before in King Tut’s tomb. 

At the close of the production, the director had workers tear down the set and bury the whole thing. Apart from any egocentric issues he may have harbored, DeMille was protecting his creation from interlopes: It was then common practice for low-budget companies to use sets that the major studios had left behind. 

The plaster and wood detritus lay partially buried under the shifting sands for almost sixty years, until a few film buffs, armed with cryptic information from DeMille’s posthumously publish autobiography, began to search for the buried city. They found it soon enough but have been hamstrung since the mid-1980s, lacking funds to finish the excavation. Expected help from the Hollywood community has not come to pass, despite an initial $100,000 donation from the Bank of America, one of the original financial backers of the film. 

The dunes shift a few feet a year, alternately revealing and covering up sphinx noses and pharaohs’ toes. The plaster props have the consistency of blue cheese and require a soak with hardening preservative before they can be moved. Coins, bits of costumes, and even an empty bottle of the cough medicine favored during Prohibition for its high-proof punch have been excavated. The Nature Conservancy has stewardship of the area, now called the Guadalupe-Nipomo Dunes Complex, and plans to leave the artifacts in place until more money is donated to mount a systematic dig. Ground-mapping radar has revealed at least twelve of the sphinx statues. 

Some of the plaster pieces are on display in the Dunes Visitor Center on the main drag of Guadalupe and, curiously enough, in the local auto parts and hardware store up the street, where owner John Perry easily slides into his role as self-appointed civic booster. His store is a homegrown version of the official exhibit, featuring books, other pieces pulled from the sands, and a phalanx of glass cases to hold it all. Perry will give exact directions to the main ruin area, although there is not much to see. The views from the Nipomo Dunes nature road give little hint of what lies below. A scattering of lumber and a rounded plaster fragment emerging from a massive hill were all that was visible in May 2005. Cecil B. DeMille’s temple sleeps beneath the shifting sands, as it has done for almost three quarters of a century, waiting for a rebirth that Hollywood bigwigs have so far failed to provide. 

Guadalupe is located along Highway 1 in Santa Barbara County, eight miles of Santa Maria and the 101 Freeway. The Nipomo Dunes are due west, approximately six miles from town on West Main Street. 

[howwelldoyouknowyourmoon]

The House of Representatives passes at a plenary session in parliament on Dec. 5, 2023, a bill to prevent the outflow of the Unification Church's assets and to ensure sufficient financial support for those who have fallen victim to the group's activities. (Kyodo)

KYODO NEWS - December 5 - 15:05

Japan's House of Representatives passed a bill on Tuesday to prevent the outflow of the Unification Church's assets as concerns grew that the controversial religious group would try to hide its funds overseas as it faces compensation demands

The bill is designed to ensure there will be sufficient financial support for those who have fallen victim to the groups' activities, including aggressive donations solicitations.

It will be sent next to the House of Councillors, or upper house, paving the way for its passage by the end of the current parliament session through Dec. 13.

Under the legislation, when a request filed with a court to strip a group of its religious corporation status and tax benefits is under review, the group concerned must notify central or prefectural government authorities of any plan to dispose of assets in advance.

After the Unification Church met with harsh criticism for its donation solicitations and other malicious practices, the government filed a request in October with the Tokyo District Court for an order to disband the Japanese branch of the South Korea-headquartered church, formally called the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification.

If the court issues such an order, a liquidator will dispose of the religious corporation's assets, enabling victims who are recognized as creditors to receive compensation.

The Japanese arm has said it plans to allocate up to 10 billion yen ($68 million) to the government to cover likely compensation for former believers and their families over forced donations.

A group of lawyers supporting victims in Japan said about 130 people have been in financial distress because of the religious group's forced donations, with damages payments estimated to top 4 billion yen.

However, the lawyers believe there are far more unconfirmed cases, meaning the total could end up being around 100 billion yen.

The practices of the Unification Church gained public attention after the shooting of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in 2022, allegedly by a man holding a grudge against the church because of massive donations made by his family.

Tetsuya Yamagami, who has been indicted over the shooting, told investigators he targeted Abe because Abe's grandfather, former Prime Minister Nobusuke Kishi, helped to establish the church in Japan.

_____________________________

Nobusuke Kishi was known as a monster, responsible for the deaths of thousands, and as a friend of Sun Myung Moon

[atlanticcanada]

Here's how to donate to Fiona relief for Atlantic Canada

Canadians who are not impacted by the devastation caused by post-tropical storm Fiona over the weekend are being asked by the Red Cross to donate to relief efforts.

However, the federal government’s announcement it will match donations to the Red Cross has other charities wondering why other agencies aren’t included, so that Atlantic Canada receives as much support as possible.

Atlantic Canada was pummeled by the storm on Saturday, leaving a trail of destruction.

In Newfoundland and Labrador, where homes in Port aux Basque were washed out to sea, the body of a 73-year-old woman was recovered Sunday afternoon.

In Nova Scotia, uprooted trees are scattered throughout the province and hundreds of thousands remain without power, which authorities say could take days to restore. The Canadian Armed forces have been called in to help restore electricity.

The military has also been called to Prince Edward Island, as tens of thousands remain without power on Monday and damage to property and uprooted trees cause havoc. 

On Saturday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said at a press conference that the federal government would match any Red Cross donations to provide Fiona relief.

The Red Cross is asking those impacted by Fiona to register with the charity so they can be notified about services and assistance.

For donors, a $10 donation can be given by texting FIONA to 20222 and further donations can be given online or by calling 1-800-418-1111.

“Fiona is now out of Atlantic Canada…but now we’re seeing people find out what devastation they have and see the damages,” said Allie Murchison-Maguire, a communications and government relations adviser for the Red Cross, Atlantic.

“There’s definitely a lot of damage that people weren’t expecting,” to their homes, she said. For those impacted, registering will get victims in the database as soon as possible so that relief comes faster, she said.

Red Cross can help with organizing volunteers, mental health supports, and financial help, said Murchison-Maguire. “If we get those donations we’re able to help out more people,” she said. 

FEDS ONLY MATCHING RED CROSS DONATIONS

However, Trudeau’s statements have been troubling for other charities who are questioning why the federal government is only matching donations for a single charity.

Rahul Singh, with GlobalMedic, a humanitarian relief organization that provides aid in areas affected by natural disasters or complex emergencies, told CTV Toronto Sunday that matching only one charity “comes at the expense of other agencies,” he said. 

Less private funding will come to GlobalMedic as a result and there are many other agencies along with the Red Cross that are working to provide relief in Atlantic Canada, he said.

When Singh spoke to CTVNews.ca Monday, he welcomed the government encouraging donations, but said only matching donations to a single organization will ultimately harm people who need the relief.

“There are many agencies… even the local food banks, so many people that are helping. If you have a policy that actually makes it harder for some of the agencies that are responding to have money come in, it hurts their response,” he said.

“If your intention as a government is to help people overall, this is not the way to do it,” he said.

In the past, governments used to match multiple legitimate agencies, he said. 

“If you’re a Canadian in the east, you need us all on top of our game, delivering all the aid we can. A program like this hurts us and it hurts them,” he said. And one agency can’t do everything– helping multiple charities helps to allow specialized charities with knowledge of the communities they serve to do their best work, said Singh. 

Other charity organizations that do work in the Atlantic provinces, some of which have religious ties, include the Salvation Army and Samaritans Purse. United Way and Lions Club International also do work there.

Humanity First, a global charity focused on disaster relief that has a Canadian chapter, is also raising funds for victims of Fiona.

“In Nova Scotia, we have our team on the ground and doing the assessment of how we can help, we will be doing fundraising but it’s limited funds that are available to us right now,” said its director Nadeem Mahmood.

A federal matching of funds would be “really nice and we’d appreciate that,” he said. “But when there is no dollar match it does limit capabilities and efforts we can do on the ground,” he said.

The government should look at multiple agencies and see which ones are working on the ground and have the ability to help victims, so efforts can be maximized, he said.

CanadaHelps, a Toronto-based charity that connects people in Canada to other Canadian non-profit organizations, is creating a list of all organizations that can be donated to for Fiona relief.

The government matching Red Cross donations is a “very effective means” ofencouraging donations, said Jacob O’Connor, a spokesperson for the organization.

Canadians can currently donate to the Red Cross, along with a host of other organizations that are working to help residents of Atlantic Canada, said O’Connor.

CTVNews.ca has reached out to the federal government to ask why they have focused on matching donations to a single charity. 

Donating to GlobalMedic for Fiona relief can bedone online.

With files from CTV Toronto’s Austin Delaney

from CTV News - Atlantic https://ift.tt/zj0kpgS

[mathewshamilton]

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