#Davi is primed for a fight today APPARENTLY

[bloodofthefates]

x. starter for @the-rogue-dragon \\ fantastic beasts AU

      Accounts of magical infractions involving muggles were on the rise, the need for memory modification specialists within the British Ministry of Magic the motivating factor behind Davignon’s transfer from France despite their reluctance to leave behind their birth country their heart quite literally would bleed for. Most of Davignon’s English counterparts found the Obliviator to be cold and lacking when they came into the position, and yet there was an innate magnetism the aloof beauty possessed that entranced not only their coworkers but superiors alike. Factual, logical and otherwise uninterested in the thoughts and feelings around them that they deemed of lesser status, Davignon exuded a natural confidence and poise most others only witnessed in outings of the British Royal Family. Radiating elegance in their presence, couture fashions with perfectly tailored suits and robes directly from the latest Parisian runway adorned their wardrobe in droves that no one was ever sure if they wore the same ensemble twice before deeming it unworthy and supplying something new.   It was the assignment given to them regarding muggles witnessing magical creatures that they deemed far beneath their excellence and skill that had set a rather sour tone for the rest of the department. If Davignon was displeased, a feeling they were rather unfamiliar with, then all would suffer their wrath in the wake of it. Tedious, mundane and uninteresting, Davignon had no interest in questioning the dragonologist they’d been sent to find in order to better understand the severity of muggles catching sight of what witnesses reported to be a baby dragon transported through London. Thumbing through the file in hand with feigned interest, Davignon noted the thickness of the volume of the tattered brown folder with the number of red stamps covering several pages past the rundown of biographical information and background. Leafing out one of the scored pages from the rest, Davignon scanned the page with a more critical eye and set the rest of the folder down on the corner of their desk. Jaw set stubbornly, it only tightened the more they learned of this ‘Daemon Targaryen’ and the link between his work with his preferred breed of magical creature and the number of headaches caused for Davignon and the Obliviator division. This was the culprit of many magical faux pas and Davignon had never particularly had a kind word to say of the well-known pureblood family based solely on their opinion of Daemon’s so-called work. Brushing up on the Ministry’s information regarding Daemon and the Targaryen family as a whole left the impending interview feeling less like an interdepartmental team-up and much more like an interrogation from Davignon’s vantage point and the relatively large chip placed on their shoulder. There was a soft knock at their office door, the diminutive secretary opening the door just enough to announce Daemon’s arrival before making herself scarce. “Entrez-vous… Monsieur Targary-en?” Davignon made their way around their desk to rest casually against the edge, crossing one ankle over the other as they intentionally enunciated the last name looking from the page in their hand up to place with the very face entering their office as if sizing up the other contender. “Désole. Is English préféré?” They questioned with a raised brow of condescending curiosity, natural French accent thick even with their poor use of English as though they never exerted enough effort to converse in a foreign tongue despite it being the language of majority. “Please, sit. There is much to discuss.” 

[365days365movies]

February 23, 2021: His Girl Friday (1940) (Part 1)

Oh, we’re going BACK for this one!

Yeah, this is smack dab in the Golden Age of Cinema! Post-depression, the cinematic culture boomed like CRAZY. Obviously, this age had started before this point, but there was no stopping Hollywood here. I mean, in 1940 alone, Disney came out with Pinocchio AND Fantasia, films like The Grapes of Wrath, The Great Dictator, and Rebecca came out, and some of those were prefaced by short cartoons featuring a brand new certain someone.

Oh, also, there was some war of the world 2 thing going on overseas, I dunno. But anyway! Another well-known film that came out that year was The Philadelphia Story, a George Cukor-directed film starring Cary Grant and Katherine Hepburn, and one of a subgenre of comedies called the screwball comedy.

Arguably starting with the 1934 film It Happened One Night, these are romantic comedies that usually feature a self-confident and stubborn female protagonist inevitably falling in love with the male protagonist, who’s probably initially mismatched with her, personality-wise. You should also throw some slapstick comedy, disguises (cross-dressing’s a feature of a lot of these, weirdly), and class struggle. Yeah, also apparently a trend of these films, that were CRAZY popular from 1934 through the ‘40s.

And in case you’re thinking, “That plot structure sounds familiar, where have I heard that before?”, well, I just watched a later-era screwball comedy, Pillow Talk.

But today, the screwball comedy’s mostly disappeared. Some tropes survive, but the reason for the genre’s extinction is simply because of lack of demand. Part of that is because the genre emerged due to questions of class struggle post-Great Depression. Yeah, seriously, the Great Depression is involved in this shit! Obviously, though, that’s not currently as much of a stressor now, so this genre is dead save for some conventions.

But OK, screwball comedy. Why not look at older members of the genre, rather than this film from smack dab in the middle of it? Well, a few reasons. One, this film stars leading man Cary Grant in his prime. And two, because this film was directed by the one and only Howard Hawks.

Hawks directed yet another Grant-Hepburn vehicle, Bringing Up Baby. And yes, that IS a leopard in a car! I’d watch that this month, but I’ve already seen it. Anyway, Hawks is an understated but excellent director, and his female characters are an archetype in and of themselves, known as Hawksian women. They’re tough-talkers, and the main characters of most old screwball comedies.

OK, but Hawks had a lot of romance films with these characters, so why His Girl Friday? Well, other than knowing it from pure reputation as a good movie, it’s also been called one of the best romcoms of all time, and it’s one of his highest rated films as well. And honestly...I kinda just wanted to watch it based on the premise, which is...interesting. But OK, enough navel-gazing. On with the show! SPOILERS AHEAD!!!

Recap (1/2)

We start in a newspaper office in the year 1940, where “Hildy” Johnson (Rosalind Russell) has arrives with her fiancee, Bruce Baldwin (Ralph Bellamy), a sweet man who clearly loves her. Shit. He’s the guy destined to be left behind for the actual love interest of the movie Goddamn it, OK.

Anyway, Hildy apparently used to work here, although I’m not sure of the capacity as of yet. She’s only here now to visit her ex-husband, chief editor Walter Burns (Cary Grant). Their reunion is a bt icy, although Walter still seems to be in love with her still, while Hildy’s absolutely not interested. For now.

And as the two have a back-and-forth, I gotta say, GODDAMN is this some snappy dialogue! Fast-paced, but well-written and understandable all the same. It shuld also be noted that this film was adapted from a 1928 play, The Front Page, and it shows in how these two are playing in front of the screen. Their chemistry’s basically immediate, and you sense an unseen history between them easily.

What I’m saying is, it’s great. Anyway, the two have gotten divorced, and while Walter originally agreed, he’s now fighting the divorce to stay with Hildy, even though she doesn’t want that at all. He’s been calling her constantly, and bugging her. He also talks over her, trying to prevent her from getting a word in edgewise, and Hildy ain’t fuckin’ HAVING that shit!

He asks her to come back to work for him as a reporter (THERE’S the connection to the office), and if that doesn’t work out...they can get married again? Yeah, Walter, Jesus, take a hint. She tells Walter that she’s not coming back to him, and not coming back to work on the paper.

The two, through increasingly impressive dialogue, argue intensely, which is capped off by this well-timed and impressive dodge by Walter, followed by a crack that her aim used to be better.

This movie...holy shit, this movie. Anyway, through the argument, Walter gets a call and pretends that one of his reporters called out sick, in order to get Hildy to work one more job for him. Whoof, that’s manipulatiiiiiiive. But she breaks through his constant pressing to finally tell him that she’s now engaged, and is quitting the newspaper business.

Walter insists that quitting would kill her, s she’s a “newspaperman,” which is interesting. But she’s tired of it all, and wants to live a respectable, normal life, as she says. Her fiancee is an insurance man, which Walter notes is too boring. But Hildy notes that he’s kind, sweet, and considerate, and wants a home and children, and her mind is made up.

Walter relents (seemingly) , and gives Hildy his blessings. However, he decides that he wants to meet Bruce in person, and goes out to say hello, That results in...what is legitimately a VERY funny interaction between Water, Bruce, and a random-ass dude named Pete Davis. It is...it is funny.

So, for the record, Walter’s a verbally-manipulative asshole, and...I kind of like him? Like, he’s an ABSOLUTE DICK, but also a charmer. He quickly coerces Hildy and Bruce into getting lunch at a local place. There, we learn that the two are planning on moving to Albany, where Bruce is confident that the insurance business is strong. I’ve been to Albany, and I can see that.

Walter, during the lunch, is once again a DICK, doing his best to intimidate Bruce and sabotage their plans to leave for Albany that day. He makes his way to the phone, where he schemes with Duffy (Frank Orth) to keep her in town. Back at the table, he tells her of the case of Earl Williams.

Williams is, apparently, a man recently convicted of shooting a police officer...who was black...and they use a word to describe him that begins with a C...that makes me uncomfortablllllllllllle. But it’s 1940, so it could be FAR worse. Anyway, he’s going to be executed, even though he claims that he’s innocence. And while Hildy’s intrigued by the case, she refuses to cover it for Walter.

UNTIL, that is, Walter offers to buy an insurance policy from Bruce for $100000 in 1940 money, which means a commission for $18,000 in today’s money. Uh...yeah. Yes, please. And yet, Bruce says NO, not wanting to involve his future wife in his affairs, like a GODDAMN GENTLEMAN. But Hildy don’t give a FUCK, and basically accepts the deal for him. And, uh, I DO NOT blame her, that’s a lot of goddamn money!

Understandably not trusting Walter, she has Bruce give her all of the money that they have, to his equally understandable reluctance. Because there is NO WAY that she isn’t gonna lose all of that money. We find out from a group of reporters staying near the prison that Williams is to be hung tomorrow, and that he’s a bookkeeper that was recently unemployed.

Meanwhile, after a doctor’s check-up, Bruce and Walter write up the life insurance, and Walter tells Bruce to make Hildy his beneficiary. And Bruce is understandably awkward about that, but Walter ends up convincing him, the smooth and conniving DICK that he is.

Duffy walks in to give Walter a check for more money than originally intended, and it’s even been certified! Which is...odd, but OK. Bruce calls Hildy to let her know, and she’s very suspicious. She tells Bruce to put the check in the lining of his hat, claiming that it’s an old journalist’s superstition (it is not). Looks like she’s right to be suspicious, as Walter brings in a short gentleman for unknown reasons. He follows Bruce out as he leaves the office.

Meanwhile, Hildy brides a prison guard to speak with Earl Williams (John Qualen) before his execution. He’s a shy and bookish man, who was thought to become radicalized by people speaking in a pubic park, where he went after losing his job. This, it’s believed by the press and court, eventually drove him to go insane and kill the policeman. 

But Earl seems perfectly sane, and committing murder goes against his morals. He also wasn’t won over by said radical park speakers, although he admits one of them made some good points. But still, he had a gun, and he apparently did shoot the policeman. 

In their interview, Hildy learns that the man in the park was talking about “production for use”, which is the idea that everything produced should be used, basically in a way that production meets demand, and profit is less important than product. Which, granted, is an interesting idea. But Hildy uses that to convince Earl that he shot the gun because he had it in his hands. And since the gun was produced, it needed to be used, so...

Well, that’s...something. We also learn about Mollie Malloy (Helen Mack), who’s been unfairly labeled by the press as Earl’s mistress and the witness to his case. And she gives a very passionate and heartfelt plea with the male journalists, who are...vicious. And Mollie’s hurt indeed. And while she’s there, they all treat her terribly.

But she breaks down in front of them even further when she sees the gallows being prepared outside. And as Hildy takes her out, the men left behind actually do seem ashamed. And in a single stroke, in a single scene, the film uses an immense moment of drama to show exactly why Hildy wants to leave, and the things that it makes people in this profession do. It’s...masterful.

Good place to pause! See you in Part 2!

[thinktosee]

INSTITUTIONAL HATE CRIME – A NARROW DEFINITION OF GENDER AND MORALITY AND ITS CONSEQUENCES TO THE LGBTQ COMMUNITY

Image courtesy Amnestyusa.org

“When he was 16 years old, he came to my room and said he wanted to talk to me. And I said, “Yeah, sure go ahead.”

“Well, I thought you should know that I’m gay,” he told me simply.

I looked at him and all I could think of was, How am I to protect him from discrimination and bullying? Yet all I could manage to say to him at this critical time was, “Well, that’s great. I’m glad you told me. We are your family and we support you.” I reached out and hugged my son.”(1)

- from David’s biography, “Walking in my Son’s footsteps. David’s fight for freedom.”

“It is possible that the law, which is clearsighted in one sense, and blind in another, might in some cases, be too severe.” (2)

- French philosopher, Montesquieu (1689-1755)

Why would a parent, upon discovering that their child is gay, feel a sense of foreboding where it concerned the child’s safety and security? And what and who caused this feeling of fear or foreboding in me?

The ancient law (1871, amended 1938) against homosexuality in Singapore and in many parts of the former British Empire, remains in force to this day. (3) Generations of citizens were and continue to be narrowly socialized to the belief that homosexuality is immoral and that homosexual or same-sex love and marriage deviate from the normative. This law levies an enormous burden onto the LGBTQ community in so far as it enables or activates societal discrimination where none existed before, foments hatred and disdain among the citizenry for same-sex relationships, and upends justice, equal rights and dignity for the LGBTQ community.

That was the basis for my fear when David shared with me that he was gay. How does one begin to address an issue which is institutional and systemic in its very foundation? The law is the problem, failing miserably to serve justice, as Montesquieu averred. This is the challenge which the LGBTQ communities throughout the world have been grappling with for centuries. It is a struggle paid in sacrificial blood, many times over. And it will go on, until a time when we acknowledge that diversity and inclusivity are mutually reinforcing. Love does not get filtered at the border because the state or religious institution says it must. It is they who have placed a limit on their love, apparently.

Global Historical Overview of homosexuality

The history of the LGBTQ communities and cultures on our planet is as colourfully and richly elongated and layered as any within the realm of human civilization. Ancient cultures such as “Indian, Chinese, Egyptian, Greek and Roman accommodate homosexuality and crossdressing among….its citizens since the earliest recorded times.” (4) Similarly, in “ancient China….same-sex sexual behaviors were well-received and tolerated. Positive descriptions of homosexual behavior, or Nan-Feng as it was called, in historical records and in Chinese literature can be dated back to the Han dynasty (206 BC–220 AD).” (5) Pre-European colonial African societies, including in what are present-day Nigeria and Uganda, were relatively inclusive in their approach to same-sex or gender relationships.(6) In the First Nations or pre-settler/colonial American societies, two spirits and multiple genders were universally embraced and accepted. (7)

These societies exhibited a keen sense of spirituality and diversity, of moderation and acceptance of LGBTQ peoples and cultures, which we in this enlightened age may find quite surprising. We should not however. Researchers have, to some degree, attached the adverse change in society’s approach to homosexuality to the onset of European colonialism (16th to 20th centuries) :  

“In the age of European exploration and empire-building, Native American, North African and Pacific Islander cultures accepting of “Two-Spirit” people or same-sex love shocked European invaders who objected to any deviation from a limited understanding of “masculine” and “feminine” roles.” (8)

- Prof. Bonny J. Morris

“Transgender histories in the United States, like the broader national histories of which they form a part, originate in colonial contact zones where members of the arriving culture encountered kinds of people it struggled to comprehend.” (9)

- Prof. Susan Stryker

Accompanying these colonial invasions, were European administrative, linguistic, religious, educational, philosophical and juridical systems, beliefs and traditions. This alien cultural web, in most part codified, either through a caste or racially-affected administrative system or via prayer book and canons, or both, had its intended effect of diminishing or worse, eviscerating the native or indigenous culture, including their ancient belief system. Displacement and assimilation of the natives to the new paradigm were achieved through these extreme mechanisms.

To understand the criminalization and persecution of LGBTQ peoples and cultures, it is necessary to appreciate the intent of colonialism – a private cum state economic model (the East India Companies, Hudson Bay Company, etc.) requiring the creation of a unified or standardized, and exclusively hierarchical system of conduct and control, onto a traditional (organized) and diverse society or culture. This is to assure the latter’s coherence to the colonial enterprise through a coercive (violent), and extensive system of natural resource allocation and exploitation. Genocide and slavery were among its most extreme and tragic manifestations. Modern colonialism, depicted by European conquests across the planet, is arguably the first attempt in recent memory, to creating a unitary world – standardization of laws and governing institutions to address the complex administrative challenges inherent in diverse cultures and norms within the European empire. Diversity of cultures, thought and behaviours were among the first victims. The histories of the First Nations’ societies in the Americas and Australia serve as prime and tragic examples. (10), (11) It should also be stressed that European colonialism, in the context of this essay, includes 20th century Soviet and China-style communism, where an alien and totalitarian ideology was coercively employed across the Eastern European and Central and East Asian landmass, to suppress the local or indigenous peoples, their cultures and beliefs, in furtherance of a unitary political, economic and social order. Not surprisingly, the Soviet Union were also at the forefront of research into medical and psychotherapeutic or “corrective” procedures for homosexuality.(12)

The history and dignity of the LGBTQ peoples are inextricably linked to the plight of the indigenous communities, as they struggled from the 16th to 20th centuries against European-sourced colonialism. While almost every former European colony is considered an independent state today, the laws against same-sex relations and marriage remain on the statutes in many of these domains. Societal attitudes have no doubt evolved over the years, and consistent with the growing awareness of LGBTQ culture and social justice movements. A factor which appears to be holding the state back is the feeling that society is not ready to accept equal rights for the LGBTQ community. (13)  That being the case, what are we doing to prepare society for a future which recognizes and confers equal rights to the LGBTQ community, as we would any other citizen or community? Or as this Time Magazine article headlined :

“Homophobia Is Not an Asian Value. It’s Time for the East to Reconnect to its Own Traditions of Tolerance.” (14)

In Singapore’s context, what are we, as a society doing to :

- learn more about LGBTQ rights, discrimination and culture?

- what are the public education system and mass media doing about this?

- why are foreign-owned businesses prevented from sponsoring LGBTQ festivals and gatherings? How does this play out in terms of encouraging or dissuading local businesses to lend their support?

- learn of the discrimination against LGBTQ people in terms of equal access to public housing, employment, marriage and mental health care?

These are just a few questions which society should address constructively.

Years from now, when equal rights for the LGBTQ community have come to pass in most parts of the world, historians will look back and perhaps conclude that the community was subjected to a prolonged and systematic campaign of hate, which was originated and sustained by the state, and in some domains, performed in concert with religious figures/institutions.

“David was gay. He cared deeply about the rights of LGBTQ people everywhere. He attended the annual Pink Dot event since 2013. He felt discrimination in any form, especially through the law, was nothing short of Bullying. This included Singapore’s Penal Code Section 377A, criminalizing all gay persons…..David felt strongly that overcoming discrimination requires an unwavering commitment to free speech. He would never compromise….” (15)

- “Walking In My Son’s footsteps. David’s fight for freedom.”

Sources/References

1. Singh, Harmohan. “Walking in my son’s footsteps. David’s fight for freedom.” p68. Thinktosee Press, 2020

2. Montesquieu. “The Spirit of Laws.” Book IX, Chap 6. Originally published in 1748.

3. Radics, George Baylon. “Section 377a in Singapore and the (De)Criminalization of Homosexuality.” p3.  National University of Singapore. 2015

4. Wilhelm, Amara Das. “Tritiya-Prakriti : The People of the Third Sex: Understanding Homosexuality, Transgender Identity and Intersex Conditions Through Hinduism.” p68. Xlibris Corporation, 2010.

5. Zhang, Yuxin. “China’s misunderstood history of Gay tolerance.” The Diplomat. June 22, 2015

6. Alimi, Bisi. “If you say being gay is not African, you don’t know your history.” The Guardian. Sep 9, 2015

7. Davis-Young, Katherine. “For Many Native Americans, embracing LGBT members is a return to the past.” The Washington Post. Mar 30, 2019

8. Morris, Bonny J. “History of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Social Movements.” American Psychological Association

History of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Social Movements (apa.org)

9. Stryker, Susan. “Transgender History in the United States and the Places that Matter.” A Theme Study of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer History. National Park Service, Dept of the Interior. 2016

10. Holocaust Museum Houston, “Genocide of Indigenous Peoples.”

HMH | Genocide of Indigenous Peoples

11. The Guardian, “The killing times : the massacres of Aboriginal People Australia must confront.” Mar 3, 2019

12. Alexander, Rustam. ”Homosexuality in USSR (1956-1982).” p173. University of Melbourne. 2018

13. Velasquez, Tony. “Keeping it straight. PM says Singapore not ready for gay marriage.” ABS-CBN News, June 27, 2015.

14. Wong, Brian. “Homophobia Is Not an Asian Value. It’s Time for the East to Reconnect to its Own Traditions of Tolerance.” Time Magazine, Dec 17, 2020.

15. Singh, Harmohan. “Walking in my son’s footsteps. David’s fight for freedom.” P130. Thinktosee Press, 2020

[docrotten]

THE LAIR OF THE WHITE WORM (1988) – Episode 194 – Decades of Horror 1980s

“Oh, good! So you've taken to our local specialty. Pickled earthworms in aspic is not to everyone's taste, I can tell you.” By the way, aspic is a savory jelly made with meat stock, set in a mold, and used to contain pieces of meat, seafood, eggs, or, apparently, earthworms. Sound better now? Join your faithful Grue-Crew - Crystal Cleveland, Chad Hunt, Bill Mulligan, and Jeff Mohr -  as they take a trip into the bizarre world of Ken Russell’s The Lair of the White Worm (1988).

Decades of Horror 1980s Episode 194 – The Lair of the White Worm (1988)

Join the Crew on the Gruesome Magazine YouTube channel! Subscribe today! And click the alert to get notified of new content! https://youtube.com/gruesomemagazine

When an archaeologist uncovers a strange skull in a foreign land, the residents of a nearby town begin to disappear, leading to further inexplicable occurrences.

IMDb

  Writer/Director: Ken Russell

Adapted from the novel by: Bram Stoker

Selected Cast

Hugh Grant as Lord James D'Ampton

Amanda Donohoe as Lady Sylvia Marsh

Catherine Oxenberg as Eve Trent

Peter Capaldi as Angus Flint

Sammi Davis as Mary Trent

Stratford Johns as Peters

Paul Brooke as Ernie

Imogen Claire as Dorothy Trent

Chris Pitt as Kevin

Gina McKee as Nurse Gladwell

Christopher Gable as Joe Trent

The Lair of the White Worm is Crystal’s pick, but alas, she was unavailable and we had to go ahead without her. Chad’s first impression is along the lines of, “It’s a Ken Russell movie alright.” It starts with finding a skull in the field and just keeps getting weirder and weirder and more phallic and weirder and more phallic and... Bill is a big fan of Russell’s Altered States (1980) and loves this weird, 1980s slice of Ken Russell with its neat, little take on the legend of the Lampton Worm (D’Ampton Worm, get it?). In his view, the best thing about The Lair of the White Worm is Amanda Donahoe. Sammi Davis’s performance was an unexpected treat for Jeff and he loved the commonsense approach to fighting the “snake people.” Rather than a high priest reading an incantation from a volume of forgotten lore, the film’s heroes resort to snake-charming with a bagpipe, followed by releasing a mongoose and throwing a hand grenade, both having been hidden in Angus’s (Peter Capaldi) sporran.

If you’re in the mood for some Ken Russell bizarre hallucinations/dream sequences, gratuitous nudity, and what-the-f***ery, The Lair of the White Worm should be just the ticket. At the time of this writing, The Lair of the White Worm is available to stream on Amazon Prime and a variety of other free-with-ads or PPV services, as well as on physical media as a Blu-ray from Vestron Video and Lionsgate.

Every two weeks, Gruesome Magazine’s Decades of Horror 1980s podcast will cover another horror film from the 1980s. The next episode’s film, chosen by Chad, will be Neon Maniacs (1986). Here on Decades of Horror 1980s, we do love films with “maniac” in the title. 

Please let them know how they’re doing! They want to hear from you – the coolest, grooviest fans:  leave them a message or leave a comment on the gruesome Magazine Youtube channel, on the website or email the Decades of Horror 1980s podcast hosts at feedback@gruesomemagazine.com

Check out this episode!

[abcnewspr]

ABC NEWS PRESENTS SPECIAL COVERAGE OF THE DISPARITIES IN RACE AND CLASS AMID THE CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC

‘Pandemic – A Nation Divided’ Begins Tomorrow, May 20, Across All ABC News

ABC News announced today it will present special coverage for three days across ABC News to examine the racial/ethnic and socioeconomic disparities amid the coronavirus pandemic. “Pandemic – A Nation Divided” kicks off on Wednesday, May 20 with new stories about how the virus has heightened racial/ethnic and socioeconomic divides coast-to-coast. The most recent statistics are troubling: in the nation’s capital, Latinos have been seven times more likely to be infected with coronavirus than white residents; black residents in Chicago are nearly three times more likely to die than white city residents and in Georgia 80% of COVID-19 hospitalizations are African Americans; in New York City African Americans are twice as likely to die of the virus than white residents and in New York State, of the 21 zip codes with the most new COVID-19 hospitalizations, 20 have greater than average black and/or Latino populations.

“As the COVID-19 global pandemic became a black, brown and working class epidemic in America, we quickly recognized there was an urgent need to tell more stories from these communities,” said Marie Nelson, SVP of Integrated Content Strategy, ABC News. “It is incredibly heartening to see every corner of ABC News think big and deeply for a cohesive examination of the many sobering stories that have made the racial and class divide, stemming from this pandemic, more apparent across this country.”

The latest ABC News reporting on COVID-19 is available here: https://abcnews.go.com/alerts/coronavirus.

MaryAlice Parks serves as Supervising Producer on “Pandemic – A Nation Divided.”

This special coverage between May 20-22 includes:

“Nightline”

Co-anchor Juju Chang will     give a glimpse into the pandemic’s epicenter in the U.S. – the Bronx. As she     walks neighborhood by neighborhood, Chang will connect the dots about     public housing, close quarter living, food deserts and underlying health     hazards. She talks to Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a NYC bus driver who     has lost co-workers to the virus and now works double shifts because     thousands of his colleagues are out sick and a young city council member     raised in public housing. “Nightline” also meets a local Latino doctor     working to expand testing. 

Co-anchor Byron Pitts will     bring viewers to central Mississippi, where an immigrant, who was detained in     massive raids that targeted local meat processing plants in early August,     opens up about the hazardous conditions and outbreaks inside the area’s     poultry plants and detention centers. He says he and other detainees say they asked for PPE for weeks before receiving any. “Nightline” talks to Mayor Chokwe Antar     Lumumba and Dr. Charles Robertson, who works at one of the largest     hospitals in the state and has built 170 ventilators of his own design.

Correspondent Deborah     Roberts will shine a light on the suburbs of Chicago where a     family with mixed immigration status live in a multi-generational home.     One family member works at an Amazon warehouse, another at a meat-packing     plant, and their story displays the risk of going to work and the     complications and limitations of trying to social-distance at home.     “Nightline” also speaks with other Amazon center employees who have been     calling for safer working conditions, fearful that they could bring the     virus home.

“World News Tonight with David Muir”

Chief National     Correspondent Matt Gutman travels to Navajo Nation, the     reservation spanning the corners of New Mexico, Arizona, and Utah, that     has lost more of its citizens in the pandemic than many states with     experts predicting their peak is yet to come. “World News Tonight” speaks     to Native doctors who are battling the virus that has ravaged their people     and distributing food and medicine. The report examines how the Navajo are     fighting to keep traditions alive amidst some of the strictest lockdown     measures in the country and features one hard-hit multi-generational     family that lost relatives and even their home.

Correspondent Alex     Perez reports from the streets of Chicago, a city facing two     public health crises: COVID-19 and continued gun violence. Despite safer     at home measures, the city has experienced an uptick in crime. “World News     Tonight” follows an outreach worker in the Roseland area, who is part of     Chicago CRED, a frontline group working to break the cycle of violence in the     community and now informing the public about the seriousness of the     pandemic, and visits a testing center performing approximately 100 tests a     day in a mostly African American and Latino neighborhood. In     addition, an emergency room physician paints a real picture of racial     disparity in COVID-19 cases in city hospitals.

Correspondent Adrienne     Bankert visits the Bronx to report on how community groups like     East Side House Settlement are helping families find solutions to the challenges     they’re facing during the COVID-19 crisis including remote learning, food     shortages, and job insecurity. Bankert interviews Daniel Diaz, Executive     Director of East Side House Settlement, about how the organization has     given out free hotspots as well as more than 230 tablets to students in     its community so they can continue their learning. Diaz also shares the     various other ways the nonprofit has pivoted from workforce/education     development to filling even the most basic needs for residents including     distributing food weekly, making remote health and safety check-ins on     families and students and helping pay some residents’ bills. “World News     Tonight” also highlights some Bronx families willing to give an inside     look at how they’re tackling distance learning and their plans for the     summer and concerns as the fall 2020 school year quickly approaches.

“Good Morning America”

Senior National     Correspondent Paula Faris will report on the role that     The Boys and Girls Club has played in offering child care to essential     workers.

Multi-Platform Reporter Rachel     Scott will interview leaders at Howard University who are     offering free coronavirus tests in especially hard-hit communities in the     nation’s capital.

“The View”

Senate     Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) will discuss the racial disparity in     COVID-19 cases plaguing communities across the country when he joins the     co-hosts on Thursday.

“Pandemic: What You Need to Know”

Mississippi     Gov. Tate Reeves will address the deep racial divide in cases and the     explosion of cases near detention centers, prisons and meat-packing     plants.

Jonathan     Nez, President of Navajo Nation, will discuss how the virus has threatened     their communities, and Birmingham, Alabama Mayor Randall Woodfin will     highlight his economic plan for bringing his city back.

Dr.     Monica Goldston, CEO of Prince George's County Schools, will add her thoughts     on how to make sure no low-income and minority children in Maryland get     left behind.

A     profile of Fawn Weaver, an inspiring African American woman owner of a     whiskey distillery, will feature how she pivoted her company to respond to     the crisis.

“ABC News Live Prime” with Linsey Davis

Anchor Linsey Davis will     explore how the virus has set back residents of disadvantaged     neighborhoods struggling to get out. She looks closely at one Brooklyn neighborhood     where a child mourns the loss of his mother who died in a hospital     struggling to stay open. This child who will now have to be raised by his     grandmother now faces a future uncertain because the school he attends     doesn’t know if it will reopen in the fall.

Correspondent Diane     Macedo will profile the struggles of an Illinois and Texas family     with mixed immigration status who are trying to wade through COVID-19     benefits that appear to have left many of them out.

Scott will examine the COVID-19     experience on one of the wealthiest and poorest neighborhoods in our     nation’s capital.

Roberts will spotlight black     leaders who have stepped up as the cavalry to save their own     neighborhoods.

ABC News and GMA Digital

ABCNews.com will pay tribute to     thought leaders and pioneers who have been lost to COVID-19, offer a look     at how the black church in America will rebuild after losing so many     members of clergy and provide a close examination of how minority-small     businesses are struggling to get federal economic relief.

A feature on Asian     American-owned small businesses will give an inside look into the unique     economic realities and hardships they’re facing.

Original produced video pieces     will feature experts offering reasons for long-standing health and economic     disparities in the country and next steps.

GoodMorningAmerica.com will     feature and profile graduating seniors, extraordinary young men and women     of color, who overcame incredible odds.

FiveThirtyEight

A new investigative project will launch that analyzes testing     site availability and breaks down how access to COVID-19 testing varies by     race, income and more.

“This Week with George Stephanopoulos”

The Powerhouse roundtable will     discuss voting and voting access, as well as new polling about the uneven     toll of the virus and anxieties about getting back to work.

ABC Audio

“Start     Here” podcast hosted by Brad     Mielke will explore the intersection of COVID-19 and race through     health and the pre-existing conditions that lead to greater sickness, the     lack of resources for vulnerable populations and the potential for     skepticism of medical care in general; the economic impact on families;     and how this crisis has shaped communities for the long term and could     exacerbate historic inequities and where things could land a generation     from now.

Special editions of the daily radio special and podcast “COVID-19: What You Need to Know,”     hosted by Correspondent Aaron     Katersky, will be released each day. In addition to answering     questions about the virus itself, the special editions will examine how     COVID-19 affects different communities unevenly.

This Friday ABC Audio will also release a special edition of the     radio newsmagazine and podcast “Perspective,”     hosted by ABC News Radio Anchor Cheri     Preston. The hour-long program will focus entirely on issues of race     and ethnicity, and how some groups have been more at risk during the     pandemic.

ABC NewsOne

The affiliate news service of ABC News will offer stations a     report from Multi-Platform Reporter Alex     Presha on the challenges minority-owned small businesses are facing in     the time of the pandemic and his interview with NAACP President Derrick     Johnson. NewsOne will also provide resources for ABC stations to support     their coverage of this issue. NewsOne provides news content and services     for more than 200 ABC affiliates and international news partners.

ABC Owned Television Stations 

On Wednesday, 6abc/WPVI-TV     Philadelphia will contribute to the Pandemic: A Nation Divided special     with anchor Nydia Han airing a report on the racial     discrimination faced by the Asian American community and the support to     extinguish racism, and reporter George Solis presenting a     digital reporter’s notebook from the perspective of a Hispanic American     reporter and the impact on his community. And, on     Thursday, WLS-TV Chicago will air an investigative report on     Cook County to examine the health complications more likely experienced by     African Americans and the increased likelihood of Latinx communities to     contract the disease.  

On Wednesday, ABC7/KABC-TV Los     Angeles will host a virtual town hall, “Race and Coronavirus: A SoCal Conversation,” featuring Veronica     Miracle and Los Angeles-based doctors and leaders to discuss how     the virus has affected the health and finances of racial and ethnic groups     and contributed to the rise of discrimination.  

On Thursday, ABC13/KTRK-TV     Houston will host its second virtual Town Hall to discuss the racial     impact of COVID-19, focusing on the Asian American Community. Hosted by     ABC13’s Eyewitness News reporter Miya Shay, the town hall     coincides with the observance of Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI)     Heritage Month to discuss the disparate challenges of COVID-19 faced by     the 7% of Houstonians that identify as AAPI. KTRK-TV Houston’s first virtual town hall (5/7/20) featured Houston     Mayor Sylvester Turner and Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee. 

The virtual town halls are the     latest in a series of community offerings across the owned markets:     WABC-TV New York hosted an Instagram Live Town Hall ‘Coronavirus Pandemic Impact     on African Americans: Mortality, Messaging and Money’ (4/29/20);     KABC-TV Los Angeles exclusively streamed the Minority Health Institute Virtual Town Hall on the Impact     of COVID-19 in African American Communities (4/30/20); WPVI-TV     Philadelphia hosted a Town Hall about The Virus of Hate (5/14/20), and KGO-TV San     Francisco hosted three-part “Bay Area Conversation about Race & Coronavirus.”     All town halls are available for streaming on digital and the stations’     connected TV apps across Amazon FireTV, Android TV, Roku,     and tvOS.  

Additionally,     stations continue to report the disparate impacts from COVID-19 that     exist within communities with previous notable     coverage including WTVD-TV Raleigh-Durham's broadcast of a half     hour report called The Racial Divide on the financial, health, and     educational disparities resulting from the pandemic (5/7/20), WABC-TV New     York’s “Upclose with Bill Ritter” that recently     featured New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy, “Tiempo” and “Here and Now” public affairs     programs, and WPVI-TV Raleigh-Durham's story on uncovering     the challenges in the Latinx community.

For more information, follow ABC News PR on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

-- ABC –

[talabib]

Recharge Your Batteries And Reshape Your Brain with Meditation

Many people associate meditation with a standard set of guiding words, usually intoned by some overly empathic pseudo guru. Others think that meditation enthusiasts have an irresistible urge to chant in public spaces and spend all their money on meditation retreats.

Obviously, these are oversimplifications. Really, anyone can incorporate a meditative practice into their life, and that practice needn’t absorb an exorbitant amount of time or funds. This post shows you what meditation is when you remove all the fluff, and why it can help recharge your batteries and reshape your brain for the better.

From the six basic steps of a daily meditation practice to dealing with the intrusive thoughts that appear when you try to relax your mind, we will cover all the ground you need to unplug – today.

Meditation fits any lifestyle, and a mere ten minutes per day is already beneficial.

For many, the word “meditation” conjures up images of long-haired hippies listening to new age music, sitting in rooms full of incense smoke and preaching about their vegan lifestyle.

While you’re certainly welcome to go this route and buy all the crystals and incense you can get your hands on; meditation can also match any lifestyle.

If you prefer a minimalistic approach to living, then you can approach meditation in a similar manner. In fact, there’s hardly anything more minimalistic than meditation, since all that’s required is stillness and focus.

If you’re worried about your friends or roommates mistaking your practice for some newfound spirituality, you can always explain it as a way of improving your concentration.

Chances are, even people who roll their eyes at the M-word will immediately recognize that feeling calm and thinking clearly is desirable for both work and personal life.

Another misconception that often keeps people from meditating is that it takes up too much time. It’s true that you do have to set aside some time – but it doesn’t take much. The benefits will soon become apparent.

According to Harvard neurologist Sara Lazar, your brain function will improve in just eight weeks if you spend 27 minutes each day in meditation. But even ten minutes a day will provide you with tremendous benefits, such as feeling calmer and more grounded.

So there really isn’t any reason not to meditate. Even the busiest person can find at least five to ten free minutes a day. As you’ll see, it’s something you can do almost anywhere!

Meditation alters the brain, reducing the levels of stress and increasing happiness.

Imagine that your brain is a piece of clay, something you can mold and manipulate as you wish, strengthening the areas that are most important.

In a way, meditation makes your brain clay-like; it allows you to reconfigure your gray matter and change the way your brain is structured.

This has been proven by two studies conducted by the Harvard neurologist Sara Lazar. In each, she compared the brain structures of those who meditate to those who don’t.

The results show that regular meditators have more gray matter in their frontal cortex, which is the part of the brain that controls memory and decision-making.

The frontal cortex normally shrinks as we get older, but Lazar’s studies showed that this doesn’t happen with meditators. It revealed that 50-year-old meditators had as much gray matter as 25-year-olds who didn’t meditate.

This suggests that meditation could be a great way to fight Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and other old-age diseases, though further research needs to be done.

Lazar’s second study shows that meditation can be quite beneficial to newcomers and that it’s never too late to start.

Lazar got a group of people who had never meditated before, and for eight weeks straight they practiced meditation for 30 to 40 minutes every day. By the end, each participant showed changes in the areas of the brain related to learning, memory, concentration and emotion. And they all performed better than before in tasks related to those areas. But that’s not all. The results of Lazar’s research showed that meditation made her subjects happier.

While the frontal cortex got bigger, the amygdala – the part of the brain responsible for feelings of stress, fear and anxiety – had gotten smaller.

A separate study by the University of California, Davis has shown that people who meditate also have less cortisol, a hormone that accompanies stress. And naturally, people feel happier when there’s less stress, fear and anxiety in their lives.

There are benefits to meditating first thing in the morning, but comfort is the most important consideration.

If you’re a morning person, it might be easiest for you to meditate first thing in the morning. The primary advantage to meditating right after you wake up is that the brain is still in its theta rhythm. In this state, we’re still tuned into our inner world, and our brain tissue is especially malleable. So it’s an ideal time to meditate and positively influence and shape the brain.

The other great advantage to an early morning session is that you’ll have it accomplished and out of the way.

If you try to schedule it later in the day, you’re sure to find yourself caught up in emails, commuting, work and errands, and before you know it, you’ll be telling yourself you’re too tired or busy to meditate.

So it’s best to wake up, get it done and stay on schedule. But of course this isn’t a strict rule. If your lunch break or the time just before bed works better for you, go for it.

As a beginner, a primary concern should be finding your comfort zone. Don’t worry about twisting your body into some sort of fancy position at this stage. This is the kind of thing that can end up scaring people away from meditation.

Just try to sit comfortably with your spine in straight alignment, and if you need a cushion to get comfortable, don’t hesitate to use one. Many shops sell meditation cushions that will help you sit straight, but you can also use any comfortable chair or a folded blanket.

Keep in mind that any comfortable position will do just fine, but it is best to keep your legs below your hips if you’re sitting; otherwise, they might fall asleep.

And if you’d like to try meditating early in the morning but have trouble getting yourself out of bed, try putting an electric kettle next to your bed. Having a warm cup of tea within arm’s reach is a great way to coax yourself out from under the sheets.

Make it easier to keep up your practice by ritualizing your sessions and clearing your mind beforehand.

You’ll often hear meditators talk about their “ritual.” But don’t worry; ritual is just another word for routine, and no one is going to try to get you to dance under a full moon or anything.

A good ritual often makes it easier for people to keep up their meditation practice. Humans are creatures of habit. And when you program your body to do something at a regular time, it becomes second nature, and you don’t have to muster up your motivation each time.

Therefore, the first step to building a good meditation habit is finding a regular time for it. If you start meditating first thing in the morning, you can also have your meditation area prepared the night before. You can set up your cushion near your bed, along with any other inspirational objects that might facilitate your sessions, such as a candle or some music.

These preparations are helpful in more ways than one; they communicate to your body and mind that this is your ritual, and you intend to meditate first thing in the morning. As you’ll discover, this preparation will make it much easier to get up and actually follow through.

It’s also easier to meditate with a worry-free mind. When starting out, you’ll probably find your mind wandering off to what you have planned for the day or what groceries you need to pick up. To avoid this, follow the brain-drain practice from Julia Cameron’s book The Artist’s Way.

Before you meditate, use pen and paper to jot down everything that is on your mind and anything that you need to remember for the day ahead. Now you can put the paper aside and rest easy knowing that your daily concerns won’t be neglected. Doing this will help clear your mind and prime it for a peaceful session.

Meditation can be broken down into six simple steps, and mantras can be a helpful focus point.

The world is full of programs built around a number of steps, like the 7-step weight loss program or the 12-step addiction recovery program.

Similarly, to get your own meditation program going, we can break things down into six simple steps that you can repeat over and over again.

The first step, once you’ve gotten yourself comfortable, is to find a point of focus. People often focus on their breath, as it flows in and out, in and out. But it could also be an object, like a flower or your favorite seashell. Or a particular phrase, often referred to as a mantra.

The second step is to reach a point where you’re not focusing on anything at all.

The third step is a period of time that can last anywhere from a second to a couple of hours where you are free of any thoughts and merely float in a sensation of peace.

The fourth step begins when a thought enters and interrupts this peace, which can happen within seconds or after a prolonged period of absence.

The fifth step is acknowledging the thought, letting it pass and bringing your attention back to that first point of focus.

The sixth and final step is to continue repeating steps two through six for as long as your session lasts.

Many people find a mantra to be of great help in finding and returning to that peaceful state of mind. Breathing isn’t always strong enough on its own, so a mantra – a repeated word or phrase that follows the rhythm of your inhalations and exhalations – can help. Generally, a mantra is not spoken aloud.

Here are some classic mantras to get you started, broken down syllabically. Think of the first syllable as being on the in-breath, and the second syllable on the out-breath: Ah-hum / So-hum / I-am / Oh-mmmmm.

You can also make your own mantra by coming up with an affirmation. So ask yourself, “How do I want to feel?” You might find it helpful to say: I-am / Peace-ful.

Meditation can help you let go of negative thoughts, and visualization may aid you in doing this.

It feels good when a tense muscle relaxes. The same goes for when we let go of a troubling and intrusive thought. But letting go of unwanted thoughts isn’t always easy, which is why meditation can be so helpful.

One of the best ways to free oneself from bad thoughts is to redirect one’s attention. A common misconception is that you have to stop thinking in order to meditate. But as you’ll quickly find out, trying to stop any and all thoughts is easier said than done.

The real secret is to let the thoughts pass by without engaging them. If you do find yourself engaging, just redirect your attention back to your focus point. This is meditation.

Don’t get discouraged by thoughts appearing. It doesn’t matter how often you get distracted, just as long as you keep bringing yourself right back to your breathing or mantra.

In this sense, meditation isn’t about having no thoughts; it’s about not being bothered by the thoughts you have.

To help yourself let go of recurring and disturbing thoughts, you can try visualization. A helpful image is to picture your thoughts as leaves that have fallen into a river and are being carried away by the water. Or as clouds moving across the sky and disappearing out of sight.

There’s no harm in observing or acknowledging your thoughts. In fact, this can be a helpful way of gaining insight into your thinking patterns and emotional issues. Just try not to engage with them. Let them pass by untouched, so to speak.

Another helpful visualization is to see your thoughts as passengers on a train. Your breathing is the train itself, and even if the passengers are noisy, the constant rumble of the train is always there in the background, waiting for your attention to return.

There are other ways to meditate, such as guided awareness meditation and sound meditation.

If you’re experiencing trouble or are unhappy with these traditional meditation methods, don’t give up. You have options.

For instance, many people enjoy guided awareness meditation (GAM) as a nice change of pace from the usual routine.

GAM is a way of adding more imagery to your standard meditation session, with the help of a guide. For example, after settling in, your guide might tell you to picture yourself lying on a tropical beach while your ideal life is being projected before you like a movie. Or the guide might suggest you imagine your life as a tree with many leaves, each leaf representing an aspect or a person in your life that you feel is a negative influence. In your imagination, you can pluck these leaves away without consequence.

GAM follows the same six steps as traditional meditation. The only difference is that there’s a guide who, via visualization prompts, helps keep your focus off those unwanted thoughts.

This means that effective GAM requires a talented guide who can conjure the kind of vivid imagery that sparks your imagination and commands your attention. If you have trouble finding a good guide in your neighborhood, there a plenty of resources available online.

Another variation that some find helpful is sound meditation. One of the more popular examples is the use of a Tibetan sound bowl, which you can place on your midsection while you lie on your back. Now you just follow the usual steps, but whenever you feel those unwanted thoughts approaching, you gently strike the bowl with a wooden hammer.

This not only provides a strong focus point to keep you present; it also provides a beautiful sound and a vibration that moves through your body.

Aromatherapy and crystals can add new levels of relaxation and healing to your meditation.

There is no shortage of thingamajigs, knickknacks and tchotchkes out there to assist in your meditative journey. So if you’re also a lover of retail therapy, welcome to a whole new world of opportunity.

To go along with that Tibetan sound bowl, you could also consider aromatherapy. Aromatherapy is a way of supplementing your meditation with relaxing aromatics and scented oils that help calm the body and mind. Certain scents can strongly affect the nervous system and instantly trigger emotions related to relaxation and happiness.

Lavender, for example, promotes relaxation, while orange extract is good for reducing stress and promoting happiness. Peppermint scent can be used to sharpen your senses, and rose oil is a good way to add some love to the air.

Simply rub the essential oils between your palms, lift your hands toward your face and inhale. The scent of essential oils is strong, so a little goes a long way, but you may want to repeat this process a few times during your meditation.

Crystals are another common addition to meditation. They can bring a healing element to your session, and while they don’t have any magical powers, you can take advantage of the powerful frequencies they emit. This is the quality that makes them useful for laser and watch technologies.

When searching for a crystal, you shouldn’t overthink it. Simply trust your instincts and pick whichever one appeals to you. Once you’ve brought it home, you can go online and read about the qualities your type of crystal possesses, and chances are you’ll understand why you were drawn to it.

Some examples of potential benefits are that rose quartz helps in the area of love; amethysts can help soothe the body and mind; carnelian crystals promote happiness; and pyrite is good for career success.

During meditation, you can hold your crystal in your hand, place it on your body while lying down or use it as the focus point of your meditation, noticing its unique shape, feel, texture and temperature.

There are a great many tools to help you get the most out of meditation, but remember, the main thing is just to sit down and do it.

Meditation isn’t some weird spiritual practice; it’s a very practical tool to help promote a calmer, more focused and more productive life. And it doesn’t require any severe lifestyle changes. All it takes is ten minutes every day, and before long you’ll be noticing the rewards.

[thisdaynews]

Ukraine scandal ropes in the usual suspects

New Post has been published on https://thebiafrastar.com/ukraine-scandal-ropes-in-the-usual-suspects/

Ukraine scandal ropes in the usual suspects

Last year, the married lawyers were briefly expected to formally join Trump’s legal team to defend him in the special counsel’s investigation, but those plans were quickly scrapped due to conflicts of interest with their existing clients. The couple resurfaced, however, working in conjunction with efforts by Rudy Giuliani, Trump’s personal lawyer, to dig up dirt on former vice president Joe Biden.

For Firtash — who is fighting extradition from Austria to the U.S. to face bribery charges — his involvement began at least as early as July, when he parted ways with Lanny Davis, the lawyer who guided Bill Clinton through a variety of investigations and now represents Michael Cohen, the former Trump fixer who confessed to tax evasion, campaign finance violations and lying to Congress, among other crimes.

Firtash replaced Davis with Toensing and diGenova, a colorful and aggressive couple with a nose for scandal and skill at pushing a narrative through allies like John Solomon, the conservative columnist at the Hill who has been writing frequently about Hunter Biden’s activities in Ukraine and about Marie Yovanovitch, the veteran ambassador who was abruptly recalled in May amid attacks on her from Trump allies. DiGenova has gone on Fox News to attack Yovanovitch by name, claiming she had been privately telling others that the president was likely going to be impeached.

The couple also appeared in a packet of materials the State Department inspector general delivered to Congress on Wednesday, which Democrats described as unsubstantiated smears against Yovanovitch. The packet included a printout of an email Solomon sent to diGenova and Toensing, with a link to a column he wrote about Yovanovitch. The documents had been “distributed at the highest levels of the State Department,” according to Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.).

Despite their hard partisan leanings, the couple are fixtures of a sort in Washington’s unique social scene. Last year, diGenova was invited to participate as a “ringer” in the exclusive Gridiron Club’s annual dinner, where he sang and played in various skits poking fun at the Trump administration, including one routine in which he played a lovelorn Kim Jong Un exchanging tender letters with the president.

Toensing, meanwhile, has been promoting Trump’s preferred narrative on television and social media. The New York Times reported in May that she had met with Yuriy Lutsenko, Viktor Shokin’s replacement as prosecutor general, and was planning to travel to Ukraine with Giuliani, though the trip was reportedly scrapped.

Like his predecessor, Lutsenko, who left his post in August, has been accused of corruption by Ukrainian reformers and Western officials. While still in his post, Lutsenko closed investigations into Burisma and its founder but then told Solomon in April that he possessed information related to the energy company that would be of interest to the Department of Justice. In an interview published on Sunday, he told the BBC that there was no reason to investigate the Bidens “according to Ukrainian law,” and that any investigation would be “the jurisdiction of the U.S.” He also told the L.A. Times he’d seen no evidence of wrongdoing by the Bidens.

It became clear that Toensing and diGenova’s PR efforts had intersected with their work for Firtash last week when an affidavit emerged that was signed by Shokin, the Ukrainian prosecutor general fired in 2016 at Joe Biden’s urging, and submitted on Firtash’s behalf to an Austrian court. At the time, it was the position of Western governments and institutions like the International Monetary Fund that Shokin should be removed, and by all accounts Biden was just representing the official U.S. position.

Recently, Shokin has been claiming that Biden pressured Ukraine’s government to fire him because the then-vice president’s son Hunter sat on the board of a natural gas company that Shokin’s office had been investigating — the same narrative that Toensing and diGenova have been pushing, but which the Biden camp adamantly denies.

In 2013, the Justice Department accused Firtash of bribing Indian officials as part of a racketeering scheme aimed at gaining approval for a titanium mining project in that country. Firtash is an “upper-echelon” associate of Russian organized crime, according to a 2017 Justice Department court filing. He told a U.S. ambassador of his consultations with the notorious Russian mob boss Semion Mogilevich, according to a leaked U.S. diplomatic cable, though Firtash has denied it.

Shokin’s new affidavit claims that Biden improperly pressured the government of Ukraine to prevent Firtash from entering Ukraine — from which he could not be legally extradited — and links those claims to his previous allegations about the motivations behind Biden’s role in his firing. Biden’s representatives have said his son’s board position played no role in his official actions and pointed out that Western leaders had long wanted Shokin fired over his reluctance to pursue corruption investigations, including those targeting Burisma and its owner.

But Shokin’s move to speak up on behalf of Firtash has further undermined his credibility in the eyes of observers in the U.S. and Ukraine, who already viewed his campaign against Biden as the vendetta of a corrupt bureaucrat.

As the founder of RosUkrEnergo, Firtash acted as a middleman between the Russian and Ukrainian national natural gas companies, and allegedly played a central role in a corrupt scheme to use the profits from reselling cheap Russian gas to fund pro-Russia political forces in Ukraine.

Firtash worked with Paul Manafort on an abortive effort in 2008 to redevelop a New York hotel for $895 million. Firtash also reportedly played a role in Manafort’s 2005 hiring as a consultant to the Party of Regions, the pro-Russian political party of which Firtash was a major backer.

John Herbst, who served as ambassador to Ukraine under George W. Bush, said the association with Firtash undermines the entire effort by Trump allies to push for investigations of the Bidens and alleged Ukrainian election interference. “The Giuliani team does not understand Ukraine. If it did, members of his team would not be representing Dmytro Firtash, perhaps the most odious oligarch in Ukraine,” said Herbst, now director of the Eurasia Center at the Atlantic Council. “Shokin’s defense of Firtash underscores that he was never and is not today a fighter against corruption.”

“It’s preposterous,” said Adrian Karatnycky, a Ukraine expert and former president of the pro-democracy NGO Freedom House, of the story laid out in the affidavit. Pointing to Firtash’s Kremlin ties, he said, “There is now a distinct possibility of a Russian hand in all this.”

DiGenova said he was in meetings in Vienna — where his client Firtash is awaiting extradition — and did not respond to questions.

And Firtash isn’t the only Ukrainian oligarch with big legal problems who now faces questions from investigators: On Monday, the House Oversight Committee demanded documents and communications related to influential billionaire Ihor Kolomoisky as part of its subpoena of Giuliani.

The involvement of Kolomoisky and Firtash complicates the already mind-boggling array of factions and agendas that form the backdrop of the Ukraine scandal. Because both face potential criminal liability in the U.S., both have reason to align themselves with Trump and try to ingratiate themselves to the president’s allies, according to Ukraine experts.

But the exact nature of Kolomoisky’s role in this saga isn’t yet clear. The billionaire owns the television network, 1+1, on which actor Volodymr Zelensky starred in a television show that catapulted him to political prominence. Kolomoisky — embroiled in a bitter feud with Zelensky’s predecessor, Petro Poroshenko — also became Zelensky’s biggest backer in his successful bid to unseat Poroshenko and claim the presidency this spring.

Kolomoisky allegedly stole billions of dollars from his bank, PrivatBank, before it was nationalized by Ukraine in 2016, according to a lawsuit filed in Delaware by the bank’s new leadership. How much influence he will yield in Zelensky’s government is one of the biggest questions hanging over the new president’s administration.

Another important question is what Kolomoisky might be seeking from Trump.

This spring, two Florida-based, Soviet-born businessmen who are aiding Giuliani’s effort traveled to Israel, where Kolomoisky has been holed up while he faces legal jeopardy in the U.S. and Ukraine.

Kolomoisky told the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project, a consortium of investigative journalists, that the businessmen, Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman, approached him about a natural gas venture, but they instead used the meeting to seek an audience for Giuliani with Zelensky. Kolomoisky said he refused the request, while Giuliani has claimed that Kolomoisky defamed Parnas and Fruman.

But there is more to Kolomoisky’s role in this saga beyond an apparently unpleasant meeting. Kolomoisky, who is known for his bravado, has been claiming to have damaging information on the Bidens, according to people familiar with the situation.

“He’s been floating that out for quite a while, to keep himself relevant to the whole discussion, and he would also like to ingratiate himself to Trump,” said Ken McCallion, an attorney who brought a federal suit that was later dismissed against Firtash over the alleged natural gas scheme on behalf of former Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko. “He’s been kind of cryptic and cute about it,” said McCallion, who remains in close touch with contacts in Ukraine. McCallion indicated Kolomoisky was claiming to have information about both Bidens, “the father and the son.”

Another person familiar with Kolomoisky’s claims said the oligarch was claiming to possess valuable information in order to gain leverage in an FBI investigation of him underway in Ohio that is reportedly focused on possible financial crimes.

A lawyer for Kolomoisky, Mike Sullivan at Ashcroft Law Firm, did not respond to requests for comment. In May, Kolomoisky told the Kyiv Post that he has committed no crime and that any federal probe will “result in nothing, as usual.”

While Kolomoisky’s connection to the saga counts as a twist, for close Ukraine watchers, it hardly comes as a surprise. “Kolomoisky is a person who gets involved in every issue,” said Anders Aslund, a Swedish economist and senior fellow at the Atlantic Council. “He loves fighting, and he has an extraordinary capability to get into the details and be effective in the worst fashion.”

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