#SSAS hierarchy

[luadecanela]

Candidate number 612

FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION

Behavioral Analysis Unit – Quantico, Virginia

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CONFIDENTIAL

PSYCHOLOGICAL REPORT – CANDIDATE EVALUATION FOR SPECIAL AGENT / BEHAVIORAL ANALYST POSITION

Current Name: \[CLASSIFIED – Protected Alias]

Birth Name: CLASSIFIED

FBI Identification Number: #087-994-1127

Date of Birth: December 20, 1980

Place of Birth: Wiskayok, New Jersey

Current Access Level: Level 4 (restricted)

Assessment conducted by: Dr. Monica Lewes, Forensic Psychiatrist (FBI – DC Field Office)

Report submitted to: SSA Aaron Hotchner (Behavioral Analysis Unit)

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### I. CONTEXT

The candidate was referred to the BAU following exceptional performance in advanced profiling programs at Quantico. Despite her reserved demeanor, she presents an academic and psychological background that warrants careful attention. Her original identity was legally altered with support from the Special Victim Protection Program, and her past is known only to a select few within the Bureau’s senior ranks, in accordance with current legislation regarding public trauma cases and protection of national tragedy survivors.

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### II. PSYCHOLOGICAL AND CLINICAL HISTORY

Previous formal diagnoses:

* Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), chronic

* Moderate depressive episodes (currently in remission)

* Adjustment Disorder (adolescence)

Past medications: Sertraline, Zolpidem (intermittent); currently not under continuous prescription.

Relevant history:

* Traumatic loss of a close family member (brother, deceased at age 11)

* Survivor of a large-scale catastrophe involving extreme isolation, deprivation, death of peers, and liminal experiences (details CLASSIFIED – ref. 1996 incident, Canada)

* Documented exposure to psychosocially extreme and dehumanizing events

Despite the severity of the events experienced, the candidate exhibits advanced adaptive mechanisms. Clinical interviews report episodic dissociation, hypervigilance, and persistent guilt. Nonetheless, she also displays a notable command of cognitive coping strategies, focusing on rationalization, discipline, and environmental control.

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### III. CURRENT BEHAVIORAL PROFILE

Observed strengths:

* High IQ, above-average logical reasoning (94th percentile)

* Selective empathy: deep sensitivity toward victims, particularly children and adolescents

* Exceptional acuity in observing micro-behaviors

* Analytical style focused on pattern deviation and psychological inconsistencies

* Solid academic background in Clinical Psychology, Criminology, and Forensic Anthropology

**Points of concern:**

* Low voluntary sociability; avoids lasting emotional bonds

* Restrained emotional responses, at times perceived as coldness

* Avoids direct confrontation but reacts intensely to injustice and cruelty toward the vulnerable

* Defensive behavior when questioned about her past (understandable given prior media exposure)

**Additional note (Dr. Lewes):**

> “The candidate exhibits an uncommon profile: a rare blend of silent ferocity and disciplined restraint. There are unspoken traumas that still shape her worldview, yet paradoxically make her a profoundly effective observer of others’ pain. Her motivation is not heroism — it is debt. She seeks to understand evil because she fears what she once glimpsed within herself.”

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### IV. RELATIONSHIP WITH AUTHORITY AND TEAM ENVIRONMENT

The candidate shows consistent respect for hierarchy, with discretion and firmness. She maintains a neutral posture until emotional safety is established. No signs of unethical, narcissistic, or aggressive behavior are present. Previous academic reports mention friction with peers due to methodological disagreements, but no disciplinary actions have been recorded.

Behavioral recommendation:

* Initial supervision by a stable, non-invasive authority figure

* Avoid direct probing of her past without clinical basis or consent

* Ideal integration in analytical teams, not focused on public exposure

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### V. CONCLUSION

The candidate is highly recommended for work in profiling units, with the potential to become one of the most intuitive agents of the new generation. Her past traumas do not render her unstable — on the contrary, they have made her a sharp, pragmatic observer with a firm moral compass. Her motivation is not ambition, but redemption. Her work is her way of finding meaning where there once was only survival.

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Final Approval: ✔️ Approved for entry into the BAU under direct supervision of SSA Hotchner

Electronically signed by:

Dr. Monica Lewes

Forensic Psychologist, FBI – License #45812-DC

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A/n:

Congratulations, you've been hired! 🎉🎊🥂

Ready to your first day?

So, hello! If you're a little lost, yes, this is a reader x criminal minds x yellowjackets fanfic

I wanted to give you a little sneak peek into the series I'm writing, and I thought the idea of writing a psychological report addressed to Hotch about the reader would be a cool way to introduce her. And it was a lot of work, but it was worth it!

I'm always open to opinions and constructive criticism, plus my asks are open! . I'll soon open a form for anyone who wants to join the taglist, but if you want to join now, just comment <3

[pineapplerightsideupcake]

hello im on anon bc im new to radblr and im a crypto but just wanted to say thank you for standing up for bisexuals on this blog. idk why but for some reason i expected radblr to have better opinions on bi women than the whole ‘sexually promiscuous bihet’ and ‘traitor for being osa’ and ‘more privileged than homosexuals’ bullshit that everybody else spews. the alphabet cult is actively erasing us in favor of ‘trans inclusive labels’, radblr is invalidating us by blatantly ignoring so many bi women’s experience with sexuality. the biphobia here is almost worse than any offhanded comment ive heard from a straight person. i also don’t think many understand that some women know they’re bi and are confident in that, but others may use bi during a time when theyre unsure if they’re actually attracted to men. ive gone a few of my teenage years acknowledging to myself that im bi, but now in my 20s im questioning if i ever truly felt attracted to men. the things i feel sexually in my most recent relationship with a woman are things ive never felt or even imagined were possible when ‘crushing’ on a guy. i acknowledge that *some* men are aesthetically pleasing for me to look at, but i’m also penis repulsed and always have been. theres nothing sexy to me about penis. truly. it makes me ill thinking about it. and that is confusing for me, bc seeing so many lesbians on here say how sure theyve been about liking women makes me think they did not grow up in an area like i did where homosexuality was truly thought of as demonic, even by the most ‘liberal’ people. i had no idea ssa was normal until i was probably 12 or 13 years old, and before then i just. repressed those feelings. i still did until i was about 17 and fully admitted to myself that ‘hey, i like girls’.

also i didn’t even know what the ‘comphet masterdoc’ was until exploring radblr, but i had heard comphet before and felt that it was very accurate in describing how i feel about men. idk anything abt what’s on the doc. regardless of my ‘true’ sexuality, it feels like theres a very hostile attitude towards bisexuality here, or even someone saying ‘ive tried to have a crush on guys before but only feel sexually/romantically attracted to women’ is met with ‘if youve even THOUGHT about having sex with a man then youre not a lesbian.’ no room for nuance.

sorry for the rant in your inbox, i hope this is okay. but yeah. thank you for being open about bisexuals here and standing up for them.

Thank you! I realized a while ago that radblr had a lot of issues that need to be challenged but I’ve also come to appreciate why these issues occur.

At the end of the day, almost nowhere allows women to speak this freely. Lesbians have had even their online communities absolutely destroyed by the TQ. So more than a few lesbian women on here really don’t want to talk to or about non lesbian women. And I think they’d be happier if they created a separate space for themselves on here where they didn’t feel pressured to, which I think is where a ton of this negativity comes from.

Bisexual women also need to stop offering themselves up as social sacrifices. I see a lot of the anti bi stuff come from bi women themselves sadly. A lot of women on radblr never unlearned that deeply unhelpful ID pol hierarchy from their TRA days.

As for your own personal journey, don’t let other people’s pain, no matter how legitimate, compound your own pain. The way I navigated my sexuality was I called myself a lesbian in my head because men did repulsed me. But it felt like a lie. I’d see a handsome dude jogging and feel a pang of attraction. Men still crept into my fantasies. I have zero desire to sleep with or date men. But that’s got nothing to do with my attraction to them. It’s a conscious personal choice I’ve made for my own happiness and safety.

So call yourself a lesbian just inside your head. Do it everyday. Look in the mirror and say “I am a lesbian” and if after a few months that feels like a lie then you’re bisexual and that’s amazing! If it feels like coming home, if everyday it feels more true, then you’re a lesbian and that’s amazing!

Please love yourself no matter what 💛

[tangents-within-tangents]

Hi, demiro ace here to learn more about apl! If I may?

I'm kinda thinking it might be best for everyone if we don't consider apl apart of the aspec community (which is historically/currently defined as both the aro and ace spectrums only). If the umbrella gets too big it's not really helpful anymore. I definitely get how they are related with similar concepts of not experiencing a certain type of attraction, but they are also complete opposites, no? And while there are those who identify as both aro/ace and apl, these spectrums don't actually overlap like the aro and ace ones do (which is why it is helpful to talk about them together under the aspec). Like that overlap is more akin to someone who also identifies as bi or trans and apl, it's an additional identity that doesn't really have anything to do with the other, a venn diagram not a connected spectrum.

Trans identities are about gender, lesbian/gay/bi/pan/etc are about who you experience sexual/romantic attraction to, and aro/ace are about how you (do or don't) experience that attraction. But aplatonic is about friendship, about how you relate to people outside of relationships. It's not a romantic or sexual spectrum so it has as much to do with aro/ace as it does with Lgbt-etc and vice versa, right? I just feel like it would be better to view aplatonic as a separate valid thing.

Like if it sucks and feels unwelcoming to you, maybe sometimes that just means it's not the right place for you, not that the place needs to change. And I'm not saying apl-phobia is okay and we shouldn't strive to be better (esp with acknowledging the overlap), but if you are mad at the 'values platonic relationships more than romantic and/or sexual ones' community for doing just that, that's kinda aro/ace-phobic.

yea sure to YOU sexual/romantic relationships don't mean anything/are devalued/etc, but not to all of us!!

Yeah we know, it's like that with all allos in the Lgbtq+ community! What do you want asexual/aromantic people to do about that? I could say the exact same thing, "sure to YOU platonic relationships don't mean anything/are devalued, but not to all of us." We shouldn't have to make caveats in all our posts for people who are allo-romantic/sexual when that's not what we're here to talk about no more than you should have to for people who are allo-platonic. It's just counterproductive.

That's kinda like a lesbian complaining about how all gays ever talk about is how hot guys are. Where those communities do relate is in experiencing same-sex attraction (the same way ours relate in experiencing a lack of a certain attraction) and even though they may technically overlap with people who are bi/pan (like we may with people who are on both spectrums) they are still quite different and therefore considered separate groups while still being included together under the wider umbrella of queer/Lgbtqia+

I think it's clear we would benefit from a similar distinction, and I'm curious to hear what others think about this. Like maybe 'anattractional' spectrum instead can be about anything with an a- prefix referring to a lack of an attraction (the same way Lgbp can be lumped together under homosexual or SSA), while 'aspec' can still refer to just the aro/ace spectrum.

(Also, I get the frustrations with relationship hierarchies, but I just want to clarify: when alloplatonic aro/ace's say we value platonic relationships more, we mean for us. We're saying that sexual/romantic relationships are less valuable to us (esp bc that is not reflected in an amatonormative society) not that they can't/shouldn't be valuable to anyone who is allo. When we speak out against amatonormativity, it's that we want platonic relationships to be seen on the same level of value as romantic relationships in society as a whole (the same way that feminism is about equality for women, not bringing them above men). Amatonormativity and platonormativity are mutually exclusive, getting rid of one doesn't mean replacing it with the other (especially since both currently exist). The normativity is the problem, we aren't speaking against the people who happen to conform with it but those who want to enforce it. It's about the mindsets and how they are exclusionary for those who don't conform.)

being apl in aspec communties sucks sm. everything is all about how important platonic relationships are and "dismantling relationship heirarchies", while just building new ones. it feels super unwelcoming.

like yea sure to YOU sexual/romantic relationships don't mean anything/are devalued/etc, but not to all of us!! some of us LIKE those things, and MORE than platonic relationships. its like we rnt even aspec at all 2 these people, like sorry some of us go against the grain of society while still having certain ""non queer"" parts to our identity. i feel like we are seen as not aspec/lgbt enough to participate in those communities. so much about the aspec communtity is about how untalked about we are and how we are never included or thought about in discussions, but aro and ace communtities do the same to us!!!

.

[mithliya]

I’ve seen people criticize trans politics by pointing out that it makes no sense for women to be oppressed for their sex (by misogyny) while also being privileged for it (exempt from “transmisogyny”) and that was a great argument imo. The problem is if you apply that to bi people, you couldn’t say they are oppressors because they are oppressed for their sexuality.

sometimes when there's more than one oppressed class on an axis, there's often a hierarchy with some having privilege over and often acting-in as the oppressor of minority groups lower on the aforementioned hierarchy. bisexual people are oppressed for their SSA, privileged for their OSA, and ultimately have a unique experience to homophobia and OSA privilege because they're not just one or the other but rather both OSA & SSA.

on the other hand, the transmisogyny and misogyny shit makes absolutely no sense. it argues that men who lived their entire lives as men and then decided to take hormones & get surgeries & identify as women have it harder than someone who lived as a woman her entire life and dealt with misogyny her entire life. they argue that being in closer proximity to males and male violence due to being male makes u more oppressed even though based on that argument, men are also more oppressed than women in general whether they transition or not bc they generally face more violence from other men than women do. another issue with the claim is that its literally arguing that women are privileged for being born female instead of having to transition to appear female.............like the entire premise is that we're privileged for the exact thing that makes us oppressed: being female

[angelofthebau]

Your Majesty [Part One of Three]

Aaron Hotchner x Female OC/Reader

Word Count: 3204

This town is full of gangs, it always has been, but one woman is in charge of them all. When the BAU team are called onto a dangerous poisoning case, the PD captain tries to reject their help. But the team aren’t leaving, and they’re going to be dragged into a bizarre town with a interesting queen who seems to have taken a shine to the BAU Chief.

Angel Note: I already began this story using smaller parts, but the second part somehow got deleted (thanks Tumblr). So I’ve rewrote it. I am still taking my Tumblr break, but this was a request that I really wanted to do.

        Jet briefings were always the worst. They meant that time was of the essence, an unsub desperately unravelling further at each moment, but the case that the BAU were about to be thrown into was far more complex and dark than they could have initially thought. True, it was already dark enough - as Penelope Garcia explained over the video feed from back in her ‘cave’ in Quantico - three children and two teenagers dying of mysterious causes, all in quick succession, with no link between them available to see at the local PD’s surface view.

     ‘Eight year old Susanna Rose, six year old Jaxon King, eleven year old Jessica Baker, sixteen year old Michael Barren and nineteen year old Austin Rivers. All lived in different parts of town, Susanna and Jaxon went to the same school, Jessica went to a different school just outside of town. Austin worked at a gas station and she still lived with her parents, and Michael was in high-school with no job,’

     Going back and forth over the case file, agents Prentiss, Jareau, Rossi, Morgan, Hotchner and Dr Reid threw around possible links and early theories. The possibility of an unknown disease was thrown out by the local PD, due to none of the family members from the victims’ households becoming sick. An interesting toxicology report on Susanna, Jaxon and Jessica found an unusual concoction of substances within their system. The ME was still finishing their report on Austin and Michael, but they were betting the same mixture would show up too. A lethal, rare compound of chemicals that created havoc on the human nervous system and causing the body to attack itself, eventually shutting down completely. A poison.

    “We’re landing,” Hotch interrupted the conversation, hushing it to a silence as the plane descended.

     “Detective Mills, it’s a pleasure to have you here,” Mills greeted the two agents with an outstretched hand as they walked into the precinct. He was met with a firm handshake from the BAU chief.

     From the back of the precinct, Captain Halloway happened to glance up from the case file, catching the end of Mills’ handshake with a stranger. A suit. Tailored. Serious. FEDs.

     “SSA Hotchner and Jareau,” Hotch spoke lowly, accepting the formality. “The rest of my team are with the ME and the latest victims’ family,” 

     “Mills,” Halloway bellowed, striding over to his detective and the two FEDs, a scornful look plastered on his features. 

     Mills flinched as the Captain stopped beside him, facing the agents.

     “Captain Halloway,” He introduced himself. “I’m sorry, Agents. We have this case handled,” Halloway spoke sternly, before turning towards Mills. “What did I tell you about calling the god-damned FBI?”

     Mills’ mouth fluttered open and closed, like a fish, as Halloway stared him down.

     “Sir, with due respect, this case is incredibly time-sensitive and my team has agreed to be at your disposal,” Hotch interrupted, sensing the tension.

     “This is still your case, we are just here as a resource to stop more people from being killed,” Jareau soothed.

     “No-one else is going to be killed, agents. Apologies for your wasted journey, but things are under control here,”

     “Captain, how can you be sure that you have this handled?” Hotch questioned, his arms crossed against his chest, his face smouldering.

     “Agents, you don’t know this town. I can assure you, this is being taken care of,”

     “Why is there information missing from your case file? Surely, if this case is being taken care of, then you have a suspect, or a lead, or something more than what’s in this file,” 

     JJ held up the dull, thin file. Halloway took a sharp intake of breath, staring up at the ceiling to compose himself for a second.

     “Please, Agents. Go home,” He mumbled, trying to sound as authoritative as possible, but he knew he was in a difficult territory. The FEDs would never back off from a case like this and the precinct truly had no leads or suspects as such. Halloway had a secret weapon as such - not enlisted by him, but someone that he knew would put an end to the killings. Someone who was better at catching a killer in this town than the cops were.

     JJ and Hotch stood still, showing no signs of moving at all, and bore a glare into Halloway.

      Halloway shot a scowl towards Mills. Mills shrank into himself further.

      “Do you want to start a fight with the Queen?” Halloway spat at Mills.

♔♔♔♔♔♔♔♔♔♔♔♔♔♔♔♔♔♔♔♔♔♔♔♔♔♔♔♔♔♔♔♔♔♔♔♔

     “So, what’s with the Queen business?” Rossi asked as soon as he entered the conference room that Halloway had reluctantly given the BAU, Prentiss following behind. Morgan and Reid were already in the room, relaying information from the ME report to Hotch and JJ.

      Hotch looked up from his casefile.

      “Something’s not right about the case,”

     “Mills clammed up as soon as Halloway got close to him. Something’s happening, but we’re not sure what yet,” JJ added.

     “Corrupt cop maybe?” Prentiss offered, but Hotch shook his head.

      “He’s allowing us to stay on the case. Why would a corrupt cop do that?”

     “To avoid suspicion?”

      “But who’s the Queen?”

       Halloway opened the conference room door, just catching Reid’s question as he entered. The agents became silent, watching his every move. He exhaled loudly, shutting the door behind him. He drew the blinds in the conference room and flicked on the huge screen at the back of the room, remote in hand.

      “This town is gang territory. It has been for years, most of our cases were rival gangs fighting over turf. Usually open shut investigations, until five years ago,” He began. He pressed a button on the remote, illuminating the screen with three group photographs, with each photograph titled by gang name.

     “There are more gangs, but these three are the main groups that run in this town. Caana, Arc and Silver. Caana…”

       Halloway clicked the button again, showing a collage of photos of at least twelve different people, some mugshots - some candid.

        “They’re the oldest. Dating back to before this town was really a town. Drug smugglers mostly, forever thinking they’re a cartel but they’re just drinkers and fighters now, with the occasional pill selling,”

         He switched the screen again, showing another collage. Only five people, all candid shots.

        “Arc are clever bastards. Own half of the town, cooked their books, ran an on-ground black market operation. We’ve always been two steps behind them, and they’re in and out of the town regularly,”

     “Past tense?” Reid wrinkled his nose. Halloway nodded.

     “They’ve never been tied to any of our old cases themselves, but Arc get the blame for most of Caana’s fighting with…”

         The next screen was a huge collage, over thirty different people. Only one mugshot.

       “Silver. Silver are the worst. These guys are into everything. Half of them came from The Silk Road collapse, huge dark net presence. We suspect some hitmen run with them too,”

     “Why was the government never notified of these gangs?” Morgan asked, chewing on the end of his pen. Halloway shook his head.

     “Five years ago, our cases slowed. Calls about Caana’s bar-fights stopped. Arc’s name stopped being mentioned. Most of the members of Silver seemed to drop from the face of the earth. The black market stopped - everything just seemed to halt. We found out that there was a hierarchy controlling all three of these gangs, keeping them out of trouble with the law and calming down their rivalries. The gangs started keeping to themselves, Arc even improved the community significantly. We knew they wouldn’t just stop their activities, another group had to be controlling them and covering them all up. But the town became more peaceful and we hadn’t had a homicide case hit our desks until now,”

     “So which group was overseeing them all?” Hotch asked.

      “Not a group. One woman,”

      “The Queen?”

       “A few gang members from Caana mentioned ‘Queen’ if we ever spoke to them. It was always ‘Queen will handle it’ or ‘Queen will punish’. Almost biblical, in a sense,”

      Halloway clicked to the final slide. There was only one photo, it was candid but the woman’s features were clear enough.

      “Elizabeth Tatiana Leighton. Known as Tate Leighton. We ran into her three years ago…I ran into her three years ago. She’s the Queen. She runs all three gangs. She stopped the rivalries, she oversees every single thing that the gangs do. I have no idea what she holds over them, she has no one else by her side, but she controls every member. She’s ruthless,” Halloway paused to look at the photograph, a ghost of a smile flickering in his face.     “But, in a way, she’s on our side. The activity from the gangs went cold years ago, no-one knows what they’re doing now or if they’re even operating anything anymore. There’s only been one altercation since she took control. From what I heard, the members involved in the feud were scared onto the straight and narrow by her,”

      “So you can’t track anything to her?” Prentiss asked. She was almost in awe of Tate.

      “No. A note was on my desk a few days ago, just before the first body was found,”

       Whilst Halloway dug into his pocket, searching for the note, Hotch stared at the screen. He memorized Tate’s face, noticing the youth in her features. She must have been only twenty-something. He wondered how she got into this business, and how she controlled so many people.

      “It is under my control. Accept my grave condolences to the families of the victims. I do not tolerate killing of innocents, especially children. I am taking care of this. Do not follow this up. I will give you my word when everything is clear. I will pay for the victims to be remembered. Signed, Majesty,”  Halloway read. The team were stunned silent for a moment.

     “So, we have a young woman in control of three dangerous gangs. She has morals and a rule-book,” Rossi commented.

     “The issue is, we can’t leave this case alone,” Morgan sighed.

      “Why not?” Halloway asked in worry.

     “I have a feeling that this woman is going to take an eye for an eye to whoever is responsible for this,”

     Mills bounded into the room. He stopped for a brief second, lingering beside the door as he noticed Tate’s photo on the board, before quickly snapping out his gaze.

     “There’s a call about another body,” Mills burst out. Halloway nodded to the team as they all stood up from the chairs.

     “I won’t lie, I’m uncomfortable, but I’m glad to have you here,” Halloway muttered to the room. The agents shot a glance at him, before leaving the conference room.

      Tate was the first to find the body. She hadn’t heard from Olen in a few hours and now his body lay on the beach, next to Caana’s old smuggling cove, unused as a passage for the last decade, in bad shape. She kept her distance from the body, but spent a minute in silence. Olen was a good man. She respected him immensely - he was intelligent and cunning, but understood Tate’s viewpoint in life and supported her from the moment she took over the lowers. 

     When Deacon had come to her only a couple of hours ago with news of an FBI presence, Tate had already set a plan in motion. Her most trusted lowers were assigned to tail the agents, ordered to stay in pairs for their own safety. She only wanted to know what they agents knew, purely to aid her own investigation. Before Deacon had left to begin his assignment, he’d handed her a file, filled with pictures and information on the FBI agents working on the case. She’d spent a good half hour memorising their names, their faces, their accomplishments - trying to find any weaknesses to play with in case the agents turned on her.

     In a way, she wished that she could share information with the law. The poison was called Keltrox, which Silver had acquired from a known gang contact. They’d given it to Tate in order for her to analyse it and create a cure. With the business that her lowers got up to, they pissed a lot of people off - Keltrox was a hot new thing on the market, according to Silver, with a high chance that someone seeking revenge on one of her lowers would use it.

     Sadly, knowing where the Keltrox came from couldn’t narrow Tate’s search, as any of the gang members could have gotten their greasy hands on it - not just Silver. Hell, maybe even the drunkest in Caana had a stash somewhere.

     Tate’s blood began to boil the longer she stared at Olen’s lifeless body. The kill felt personal, as if Tate had been poisoned herself. Innocent people dead, and now one of her most loyal lowers. It was a message, and Tate could hear it loud and clear.

    The agents hadn’t been to the beach according to her hourly reports. Olen wouldn’t have been at the beach unless he had good reason to slip away from his assignment. The killer had to be one of the most trustworthy lowers to pull something like this. Her most loyal lowers knew that Tate would be at the beach, in this very spot, if she was unable to be found anywhere else. It was the beach that she washed up on years ago, on a tiny lifeboat she’d managed to get onto when Alzena began to fail and wreck. The moment that she’d found the freedom that she’d been looking for was completely within this spot - now, there was Olen’s corpse.

     His eyes were still open. She badly wanted to close them, to sprinkle sand over them, to keep his vision away from what would happen now. But even Tate knew that the FBI would find something more within Olen’s corpse, and her compulsion would ruin that chance. She didn’t want to lead them down the wrong path.

     “The call said the body was next to Caana’s cove, it should be just over this hill,”

     Halloway’s voice sent Tate running into a dip in the rocks of the cove, poking her head above to see two agents accompanying Halloway towards Olen’s body. She ducked back down as they drew closer to her, cursing her sandy footprints that she’d left behind. After a few seconds, she ducked her head back up, recognizing the agents as Prentiss and Hotchner. They talked for a little while, their conversation indistinguishable to Tate, until Prentiss left the beach with Halloway. Hotchner stayed, seemingly staring at the ground until his face turned towards Tate’s direction.

     He’d clocked the footsteps.

     He raised his head, locking eyes with Tate immediately. His hand automatically grabbed onto his gun holster, but Tate stood up fully, hands above her head. Hotch relaxed his grip.

    “Tate Leighton,” He addressed her, but Tate shook her head.

    “Close his eyes please, Agent Hotchner,”

     Hotch stared at her for a brief moment, then silently leaned towards the body, gently brushing Olen’s eyes closed. Within those seconds that he turned away, Tate had taken off, vanishing as he turned back to look at her.

     He stayed on the beach for a minute or so, dissecting his encounter with the Queen herself. She looked even younger than she did in the photo that Halloway had shown him. She knew his name. They were being watched.

       What he never expected was her empathy. They painted her to be ruthless and uncaring, almost numb. He didn’t believe that her request to him was a plan to get away, but instead a compulsion of emotion, compassion.

      He made his way back towards the car, meeting up with Prentiss and Halloway.

     “Did you find anything else?” Prentiss asked, opening the back car door.

     “Tate Leighton,” Hotch spoke lowly, settling himself into the driver’s seat of the SUV.

      “The Queen was there?” Halloway burst out.

      “She was there before us, there were footprints from the body to where she was hiding,”

      “Is she a suspect?” Prentiss asked, and Hotch shook his head as he started the car engine.

      “I don’t think so. She asked me to close the victim’s eyes, and then she left.”

      “Huh,” Prentiss thought aloud.

      “She knew my name. She’s watching us,”

       Hotch began to drive back to the precinct. At a red light, just before the turn for the precinct, he glanced out of his window. Tate stood there on the sidewalk, watching him.

      “Thank you.” She mouthed to him.

     As quickly as she appeared, Tate left, losing herself in the small straggle of people on the sidewalk, making her way back to the beach. She called her lowers, checking on their status. They’d heard the news about Olen by now, but were sticking to their assignments. Deacon and Clarke followed the agents to the beach, seeing Olen’s body, and they’d noticed her on the sidewalk, but said nothing about her encounter with Agent Hotchner. It wasn’t their place to ask her. Deacon was slightly worried about what he’d seen, though. He didn’t like his Queen getting involved with law enforcement, let alone the FBI. What he’d seen on the sidewalk - the way she’d gone back to the car to say thank you to Agent Hotchner...it made him feel a little sick.

     Meanwhile, back at the precinct, the team felt like they were hitting dead end after dead end. Sadly, Tate’s work meant that most of the gang’s activities were covered up to the maximum, even Garcia was having a hard time finding out any recent information, and Tate was a ghost in the system. No information could be found on her regarding the last ten years, almost like she vanished during her teens, only to resurface on the beach following a shipwreck five years later, somehow becoming the leader of three gangs in a small, dangerous town. Hotch’s mind replayed Tate’s behaviour over and over again, trying to dissect it further than he already had, but he never found anything new.

     “That’s weird,” Garcia’s voice interrupted Hotch’s thoughts and the team’s conversation over the phone speaker.

     “Whatcha got, baby girl?” Morgan answered.

     “When I was digging into the Queen, one of the things I found was that the boat that she was on when she was at sea was called Alzena - you know, before it was hit by a bad sea storm and she ended up sailing on the lifeboat,”

     “And?”

     “Now, here’s the thing, I was tracking packages into the town to see if anything suspicious had been reported and nothing had - however, there was a package that was sent about a month ago and the address it was sent to was an abandoned building, so it was sent to the posting office because it couldn’t be delivered. No-one went to pick it up from the office and that package was reported missing four days ago by staff,”

    “That could have been the poison,” Prentiss said, looking to the team.

    “Guys, the name on the package was Alzena Smith,”

     Prentiss shot a look at Hotch.

     “We need to bring in Tate Leighton,” He declared, rising from the chair to find Halloway.

♔♔♔♔♔♔♔♔♔♔♔♔♔♔♔♔♔♔♔♔♔♔♔♔♔♔♔♔♔♔♔♔♔♔♔♔♔

Angel List:

@aaronhotchnerr

@psych0crybaby

@mortallythoughtfulgurl

@arganfics

@rachelxwayne

@ellvswriting-deactivated2021010

@pumpkin-goob

@xessx

@fuxking-insxne

@ptrs-prkrs

@passionatelyacademic

@averyhotchner

@rousethemouse

@whoreforhotch

@baumarvel

@iconicc

[mesh-3arfa]

Looking at current The Current Gay Discourse feels like a slap across the face as a LGBT person in the MENA region. When I was growing up online and in irl (they still do here lol) people said that homosexuality was wrong because it wasn’t normal or natural, that it’s just fueled by lust and doesn’t advance humanity because you can’t have kids in a homosexual relationship. Now when I go on social media people are treating transbians and gay trans men as the same, if not more oppressed, that SSA despite a lot of the relationships that transbians and gay trans men being in ticking off all the boxes that deemed homosexuality a sin. It just feels like a joke at times.

“We’re smashing the cisnormative heteropatriarch hierarchy” feels like complete sarcasm when it’s said by a trans woman and a cis lesbian together or a nonbinary AFAB and their queer AMAB partner, you’re doing nothing the s i n isn’t there. It’s not a sin to be in a relationship with someone that can’t give you kids.

Am I missing something? Is there something I’m just profoundly misunderstanding?

[apenitentialprayer]

(1/4) First I'd like to apologize for the length and controversy of this ask. Feel free to ignore. I've struggled with homophobia, both internalized and externalized, for the past few years, and social media has made it worse. The more open and celebratory the community becomes, the more flagrant and obnoxious they seem in my mind and the more I want to distance myself from them. The worst thing about it all is that I feel very disingenuous when talking about the subject.

I put on this front to appear far more tolerant than I am, because while I whole heartedly believe that same sex sexual relations go against Scripture, I also know homophobia doesn't solve anything and is probably just as sinful. I have had countless conversations in my head where I tell myself that although same gendered sex is never valid, SSA individuals will always be valid as people. But whenever the subject comes up I just go down this wrathful spiral in my mind, though I never voice my opinions to anyone nor do I verbally insult people because of their orientation. I know that my anger is hypocritical considering the likelihood that I might be bi, which is why I said earlier that this may be partially internalized. But every time I see posts on how the church should accept gay marriage, or how the bible was just mistranslated, or emphases on queer subtext and the like. I grow increasingly more bitter and angry at how this is all being normalized and romanticized. I also tire of people saying it should be embraced because it is part of human history, but so are things like adultery and incest. I don't want to waste my time thinking about this, I don't want to hate others, I don't want to wallow in wrath, I don't want to be hypocritical in case I am indeed SSA. I've had this conversation in my head so many times, but I'm just so exhausted.

It’s sounds to me, and if I’m wrong about any of this let me know, that you’re coming from a place of hurt, and confusion, and anxiety about the state of the Church. That is what I’m gathering from the ‘wrathful spiral,’ the need to have ‘countless’ conversations with yourself, and the bitterness you feel towards queer theology (I really hate that word, by the way; its nature as a slur is ingrained into my subconscious, and it’s weird hearing my younger siblings use it in casual conversation). If I’m wrong about any of these points, feel free to correct me. Ironically, you’re concerned about the length of this message, and I’m concerned about the lack of information I have using just these messages. But let’s start with you, and work our way out, huh? There’s a concern here about hypocrisy. Don’t worry about it in this case. I’m hearing “might bes”, and even if those “might bes” turn into “probably ares” or “definitetly ams”, that still wouldn’t make you a hypocrite. You’re trying to live your life in accordance to what you believe to be right, and that doesn’t make you a hypocrite. It means you’re struggling, like everyone else. I’m glad you acknowledge homophobia is probably “just as sinful” as what we’re talking about, because that might make what I’m about to say more tolerable to you (I might get flak for this, but frankly, I’m kinda expecting a lot of flak for this whole post from all directions anyway): it’s probably a good thing that homosexuality is getting normalized. I believe (and I can’t believe this is something that will be controversial to some people; maybe it’s just the wording of the last sentence that will be, I don’t know, but I don’t know any other way to phrase it right now) that a world where people don’t have to worry about losing their jobs, being alienated from family members, or getting bashed (or worse!) is unequivocally better than the world we have lived in where those were all common. And we still haven’t reached the point where that doesn’t happen. My mom fears for the safety of my sister, and we live in New York City. Because a few years back, in New York City, of all places, a lesbian couple had a cup of steaming hot coffee thrown in their faces for being openly affectionate in public. That’s an abomination. Getting to the point where no one has to be afraid because of whom they are attracted to is imperative, in my opinion. And if that means that we have to deal with people outside calling us bigots for standing with the Church, and if that means we have to put up with people both within the Church and without trying to pressure the Church into getting with the times, well, that’s a price worth paying, I think. Christians have had it good for a really long time. Maybe too good, and for too long. We were able to crush those who threatened to put an end to us having it good. And if it comes down to choosing to crush more people to keep up the facade of a Christian society or becoming one of several minorities in a pluralistic society, I know the option I’m going for. But let’s talk about what that means for us Christians who are trying to live out the teachings of the Church as best as we can, huh? I think we can divide this into two parts that I’m concerned about; your exhaustion about the subject, and your bitterness towards the normalization. Let’s talk about that exhaustion. I don’t know what your situation is. But I’m in a place of constant tension; I have friends who are LGBT, I have family that is LGBT, and I love them all. And I... am anxious that one day some of them may decide that I don’t, at least not in the way that they need me to. And, frankly? That’s enough for me. I’ve got enough of that tension in my life, I don’t need to go out and pick fights over what the Church should and should not do. You’re having these internal conversations, and you’re feeling drained? Stop doing it. If you catch yourself working yourself up, take some deep breaths, and try to change subjects. The Church is a big Girl; she can take care of Herself. Not every single member has to be able to handle questions on every single little issue. If you can unplug from the issue completely, do that. You don’t need to exhaust yourself on hypothetical conversations, or Christians being mad at the Church hierarchy, or people interpreting the Bible in ways you don’t approve of. Sometimes, we have to take a step back. And I really recommend that, because this next part is something that we, as Christians, absolutely cannot take a step back from, no matter how exhausted we are: recognizing the inherent dignity of every person we encounter. You said you’re feeling embittered and angry and hateful, and try to distance yourself from people? That’s a no go. If you want a piece of advice? Stop seeing “them” as a coherent community. Because they’re not. They’re a multitude of people with various perspectives, and insights, and gifts to give to the world, with attraction (and the way the world reacts to that attraction) being the only thing that ties them together. It is unfair to judge a person based off of how “flagrant” or “obnoxious” you feel other members of the community are. After the Eucharist, your neighbor is your closest encounter with God. And remember that, while sin is sin, no excuses, there are sins that are only partially incompatible with love (there may be love mixed in with the sin), and there are other sins that completely incompatible with love. And hatred is the big one in that latter category. I don’t know if any of this is helpful. It might not be. I don’t know, it could just be a 2am rant. I hope it’s worth something, because I might get cancelled for this. So, sooooo cancelled. :P But if you want to keep sending anon messages to get into more specifics, feel free to. Or, better yet, if you want to message me for easier communication, don’t be afraid to do that either. I’m going to pray for you. I hope you pray for me, too.

[researchgate]

i was genuinely surprised when radfems with bfs on here would call out other for their misogyny because, for some unknown reason radfems with bfs on twt think they're better than women than who are in abusive relationships i got suspended for telling one to commit suicide 😒😒

I would say the suspension was based in reason, as it was against the terms of use of twitter. That aside, yeah, OSA radfems here, but also SSA radfems, call out other "radfems" when the last are being misogynistic.

One thing i can say is good about radblr is that the ones who aren't here only for trans shit are decent enough people to call out both lesbophobia, (and homophobia against gay men) and misogyny when others within these spaces show either and/or both.

I didn't know radtwt was that bad, I'm happy I'm not there.

I do think that these OSA "radfems" cannot be "true radfems" simply because they don't follow part of the most basic of radfem theory, which calls for the liberation of all women, even those we dislike, and for the unity of women as a unified class in the male-female class hierarchy created by men and upheld by the gender roles enforced on women since birth and even beforehand.

I hope this makes sense!

[learndax]

How to create hierarchy in SSAS Tabular Model - 07

[developing-stress-blog]

The categories: More detailed gameplay ideas - SSA Devlog 6

The game now has a title, as I have opened the editor for the first time on my main project, now it shall be known as: Shoot-shoot arena.

(Originally recorded 13th October 2019)

In a word: Structured(?)

Predictions: Playable at week 8

Things that happened this week

- A brain dump, focusing on a plan for the upcoming weeks, this can be seen here: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1zrKB7XrKjoDZ_ZIzxc8mV5A-71YFimxUTW26Y5kBsj4

- The majority of the week was spent creating a document showing the powers that would work for the game, how they balance against one another, and solving the category problem from last week. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1AQr9kDhn5Y5anVoLcXkhBVMAZiruDosqTejC1VE2-24/edit?usp=sharing (This document keeps updating, the information is not the same as it was on the original blog recording date)

- Blocking out occurred. I tested out my initial ideas using keyboard inputs. This includes: Changing ammo color (on input and category), creating a health bar, implementing a first person character controller, split screen cameras, and an overhead camera for each player.

- I also took a simple character move script from the web in order to tweak movement options such as speed and look speed, to see what felt satisfying

What went well

After finally overcoming the flu completely work was now being completed at a steady pace.

The major hurdle of learning to write complex scripts had a jumping off point, involving taking a relevant script off the internet and making modifications to fit a desired function.

Blocking out these ideas helped realise the potential for this game in its entirety, giving myself a visual indication for ideas in the future.

The powers each sound unique enough to warrant being in the game, and creating each one with the set mind to counteract another made this process far easier than it otherwise could have been.

Learning experiences

(Not from original text) Balancing out the powers in such a rudimentary way would lead to many problems within balancing, as certain powers could not be implemented due to their complexity.

(Not from original text) Using the desired control scheme within prototyping, while sounding like a daunting prospect, would have been a huge help to the management of the project, going back to change the mistakes from this week was one of the hardest challenges in the entire design process of the game.

Bad organisational workflow methods have made their way into my project due to working on too many things at once. Going headfirst into this week and diving aimlessly into the blocking out of the project, I managed to confuse the character hierarchies and abandon work regarding my first character setup.

[thechasefiles]

The Chase Files Daily Newscap 1/4/2019

Good MORNING #realdreamchasers! Here is The Chase Files Daily News Cap for Friday 4thJanuary 2019. Remember you can read full articles for FREE via Barbados Today (BT) or Barbados Government Information Services (BGIS) OR by purchasing by purchasing a Weekend Newspaper (WN).

BL&P RATE HIKE CALL – Barbados’ lone electric utility has served notice it wants an increase in electricity rates. The Fair Trading Commission (FTC) on Thursday revealed it was notified by Barbados Light & Power Company Limited (BL&P) that it intended to submit a formal rate application by June. BL&P confirmed the development, but said it was “exploring the possibility of applying for a rate review in the latter part of 2019”. The company sought its last such increase about ten years ago and rate increases were introduced in early 2010. “The Fair Trading Commission has been advised by the Barbados Light & Power Company Limited (BL&P) that the company will submit a formal rate application in the second quarter of 2019. As such, technical assistance will be required to support the Commission in undertaking its review of the application, relevant research and drafting of its decision on the matter,” the FTC announced. The regulator said consultants “will be required to submit a proposal by Monday, January 28, 2019” and it would “evaluate the proposals and will advise parties of its decision by February 15, 2019. (WN)

NEW GARBAGE TRUCKS LAND AT PORT – Government is slowly delivering on a promise to kickstart a new and improved garbage collection system by adding two of seven Japanese-made garbage trucks to its aging fleet, amid several setbacks. Late Wednesday night and into the wee hours of Thursday morning, a large contingent from the Sanitation Service Authority (SSA) led by Minister of the Environment and National Beautification Trevor Prescod and SSA chairman Rudy Grant invited journalists to witness the first shipment of Mitsubishi Refuse Compactor Vehicles (RCV’s) arrive at the Bridgetown Port after midnight. Ministry and sanitation officials were keen to head off further complaints and photos of post-holiday pile-ups of garbage in neighborhoods across the country, owing to inconsistent pickups. Environment  Minister Prescod told reporters:  “We decided to come here as soon as the ship arrived to make sure that everything was in order. “I promised the Barbadian public that they would see a radical transformation of all that is happening at the sanitation department and promise Barbadians the best of service that you can expect from the SSA.” He also revealed that the shipment of the two trucks, each costing over $600,000, was frought with unforeseen issues that prevented them from being delivered by the end of December as originally promised. “[Importers Simpson Motors] indicated that there were a number of challenges… between the exporters and manufacturers in Japan and the transshipment to the United States of America,” said Prescod. “There were some problems in relation to tariff arrangements between Japan and the United States of America and these caused a lot of challenges and in some cases a delay, because the trucks had to go to the US in order to be retrofitted… but I believe that all reasonable human beings can appreciate that within the short space of time, we have been able to deliver the first two trucks.” Government was working expeditiously to have the two trucks registered and on the road after inspections by Simpson Motors and the SSA, the minister added. But they are still five more trucks to come, which Prescod said Government will be squarely focused on getting here. The environment minister told journalists: “This is your new year’s present. This is the beginning of things to happen…. We are going to do a number of innovative things.” Government is also to distribute several new bins across the island to aid the Ministry’s new waste management thrust, he said. He also promised that Barbadians would see real returns from the recently implemented Garbage and Sewage Contribution Levy. “We did all that we could to make sure that we put ourselves in a healthy position by asking the taxpayers to contribute to their water bill in the form of a levy and that money is going to be used for the general development of the sanitation department,” said Prescod SSA chairman Grant, while giving assurances that the authority will move hastily to address the urgent need for clean streets and improved garbage collection across the island, pleaded with Barbadians to be patient. “We want to give you the commitment that the SSA will be working diligently to ensure that we facilitate the mandate that we have with respect to the cleaning of our streets, with respect to the collection of our garbage and these two vehicles are going to help us in a tremendous way. “We want to ask the public of Barbados to be patient with us. We give you the commitment that we are going to facilitate even further trucks coming in. you would recognize there are tenders. The tenders will in fact close on fourth of January for additional equipment and our commitment is to ensure that we are able to facilitate an enhancement of the trucks that we have,” he said. (BT)

SSA ‘SHOULD BE PAID OVERTIME’ – The National Union of Public Workers (NUPW) is holding firm that the Sanitation Service Authority (SSA) should be added to the list of essential Government services that overtime is being offered to. A decision to stop paying certain Government workers overtime was one of the stipulations that made up the Barbados Economic Recovery and Transformation (BERT) programme. Government now is proposing to end overtime at the SSA, whereby employees would work any five days of the week as opposed to the usual Monday to Friday requirement. The two parties met for about two hours on Thursday. Acting general secretary of the NUPW Delcia Burke said the contribution of the SSA to the environment and health of citizens was significant and workers from that agency should be treated accordingly. (WN)

GARBAGE LIMBO – The question of whether there will be garbage pickups on the weekends is again up in the air as the Sanitation Service Authority (SSA) and workers failed to reach agreement on weekend overtime pay. An interim arrangement for garbage collection during the Christmas holidays elapses this weekend. Negotiations between the National Union of Public Workers (NUPW) and SSA management continued this afternoon but yielded little clarity on the way forward. Speaking to reporters immediately after the meeting, which began at 2 p.m. at the SSA’s Wildey headquarters, NUPW Acting General Secretary Delcia Burke said the SSA hierarchy could not say whether the overtime payments will continue past this weekend. Burke said: “The truth is that the Sanitation Service Authority did not say they were going to stop the arrangement but when we first made it, we knew that it was for three weekends only. Our position is that the workers will continue to work and if they work weekends then they [must] be paid overtime. SSA management has not said that the arrangement is going to cease but we are aware that the arrangement was only put in place for the three weekends.” She further revealed that the SSA emphasized that it was in no position to decide on paying overtime but instead kicked it upstairs to the SSA’s line ministry, the Ministry of Environment and National Beautification. The union will now wait and see what Government decides, she told reporters. But the trade unionist stood firm on the position that workers will not work weekends unless they are paid overtime. She warned: “I believe that came with a mandate, which is that the workers will not be paid overtime and the staff would work any five days out of seven. Our position is that if the workers are not paid overtime then they would only be working Monday to Friday.” Last month, as garbage continued to pile up across the island, workers threatened to stop weekend collections if the SSA management followed through with its plan to stop overtime payments. It took a last-minute meeting of the SSA, NUPW and Minister of Labour Colin Jordan to avert a messy situation. At the time workers claimed that they were being pressured into accepting the new work conditions, a charge which was denied by Minister of Environment Trevor Prescod. Under the current arrangement, a work week is fixed from Monday to Friday and crews are paid overtime for weekend collections. The proposal was for the work week to be made up of any five days. But this afternoon Burke said the NUPW would be willing to relent on the overtime issue only if the SSA is able to prove that all other cost-cutting measures have been exhausted. “Only then can we sit down and discuss it but of course proof will have to be brought. We are not unreasonable. If after cutting the private waste haulers and other services and SSA is still unable to pay the overtime, then we would be willing to sit down and negotiate the issue,” said the NUPW spokesperson. Burke contended that an arrangement to outsource collections to private waste haulers, which she claims was granted an extension from last November to this month, was costing the SSA significantly more than the overtime bill. “Our position is that instead of concentrating on overtime, the SSA should concentrate on cutting cost. To our mind, cost would be cut if they look at the arrangement with the private waste haulers and the arrangements they have with the tractors that they use down at the landfill. It will be a lot cheaper if they use the SSA workers even if they are being paid overtime,” Burke said. (BT)

STOP SPREADING PROPAGANDA, SAYS PRESCOD – Minister of the Environment and National Beautification, Trevor Prescod has called on some Barbadians to stop “deliberately spreading propaganda about Barbados” by overstating the country’s garbage collection woes. Prescod was responding to mounting criticism from suggestions that the country’s garbage collection and disposal problems were becoming too much for government to handle with limited resources. Addressing media in the early hours of Thursday morning as two new Refuse Compactor Vehicles (RCV) arrived at the Bridgetown Port, Minister Prescod argued that despite the country’s challenges over the holiday season, Barbados remained the cleanest country in the region. “As much as those people who deliberately misrepresent the reality in Barbados, have been spreading propaganda, the reality is that there is no other country in the Caribbean that is as clean as Barbados. That is the reality even with the limited number of trucks that we’ve had,” he said. Without giving too much detail, Prescod disclosed that a number of Barbadian artists were in the process of “producing a different view” of the situation. The minister lamented that sometimes people will know what the challenges are, but choose to distort it. “We have to counter the ‘distortionists’”, he added. “Some people seem to forget that the government was only here seven months and we inherited all that we are facing and could not address or redress it, because we had limited finances,” he said. During the early morning media briefing, Prescod promised that the country’s garbage issues were past the worst, charging that, “A lot of the people that are critical are the people who are sleeping in their beds comfortably. They are not talking about garbage now. “When they wake up early in the morning [Thursday] and they see these trucks they will have to reconstruct the lie in such a way at least to convince the Barbadian public that this is a continuum of their own truth.” Even as the Sanitation Service Authority (SSA) fought to keep the streets clean with an aging fleet of trucks, Prescod said workers were functioning around the clock to confront the challenges. “You see them at night late; 10 o’clock, 11 o’clock. While we had a limited number of trucks in Sanitation [Service Authority], the workers then did additional shifts in the night to meet the national demand. “We then made some adjustments to the management and the manner in which we distributed and sent the trucks to different locations not just within an eight-hour service.  We’re also trying to come up with some other innovative means of addressing the challenges,” he said. (BT)

PSV WORKERS RALLY ‘ROUND NEW BODY – The Public Service Vehicle Workers’ Association (PSVWA), the unofficial name of the new PSV representative organisation, plans on championing the views of PSV workers in a way that the Association of Public Transport Operators (APTO) and the Alliance Owners of Public Transport (AOPT) could not. Speaking to THE NATION on Thursday at the Constitution River Terminal, interim public relations officer of the group, which formed on Wednesday, Fabian Wharton, said the APTO and AOPT were too bureaucratic in their approach of addressing issues facing the PSV industry. “Their viewpoint is strictly from an owner’s perspective, while ours is from the person who spends the hours, days and weeks in the trenches providing the service,” he said. “So they have a high-level view and we have an operator’s view. We are the persons who interact with the public so our concerns are different to that of the owners. There are concerns that would be shared  by both but affect each group in a different way.” However, Wharton said that it would take a collaborative effort by all three organisations to solve the issues confronting the sector. (WN)

TAX AMNESTY ENTERS LAST DAY – Taxpayers have been racing to take advantage of a tax amnesty extension which ends on Friday, a Barbados Revenue Authority (BRA) spokesman has said. Since the extension was announced, there has been heavy foot traffic at the authority’s six locations, from early in the morning right through to the afternoon, according to the BRA’s Communications and Public Relations Manager, Carolyn Williams-Gayle. BRA announced on Monday that given the strong response to the amnesty proposed by the Minister of Finance on June 11, it had sought the Ministry’s permission to extend the application period for the amnesty. The ministry has agreed and the authority will be accepting applications until tomorrow. Williams-Gayle told Barbados TODAY: “Tomorrow is the last day for which people can take advantage of the tax amnesty. We are happy that people have decided to take the opportunity that has been extended to them and that we are seeing heavy foot traffic as persons are coming in to bring their tax arrears up to date. Tomorrow is the last day and we know that the traffic we have been seeing over the past couple days, will continue.” The taxes eligible for the waiver of penalty and interest in this tax amnesty programme are Valued Added Tax (VAT), Land Tax, Income Tax, P.A.Y.E. and Corporation Tax. When Barbados TODAY visited BRA’s office at Weymouth, St Michael, there was a long line of people waiting to take advantage of the reprieve. The waiver of penalty and interest applies to taxes owed to Government between January 1, 2001 and December 31, 2017. (BT)

LATE INTEREST PAYMENTS FROM CENTRAL BANK – The Central Bank of Barbados advises that there has been a delay in making interest payments due on December 31, 2018 to some holders of Government Securities. The bank anticipates that all payments should be received by Friday, January 11, 2019.  “We apologise for the delay that persons have been experiencing in receiving their interest,” said Julia Weekes, Director of Banking and Investments at the Central Bank. “As we mentioned previously, because of the new structure of Government securities, we have had to change our computerised system, and we are still experiencing some challenges with implementation. As a result, where previously interest payments would have been made through an automated system, this set of payments has to be done manually. Nevertheless, we anticipate that the payments will be made within a week.” She further assured investors that the bank is working with the external providers to iron out the systems-related difficulties. Weekes also explained that with the assumption of responsibility for investors who previously held treasury bills and state-owned enterprises) debt, part of the delay for some bondholders is due to the absence of banking details for some of the people who were to receive interest payments at the end of last year. “We will reach out to these persons so they can also be paid their interest,” Weekes stated. (WN)

CUT MORE FOREIGN SPENDING – Economist and former Central Bank Governor Dr DeLisle Worrell is urging Government to use funds received from multi-national agencies to address the country’s balance of payments problems and its deteriorating competitiveness. Worrell made the recommendation in his first newsletter for 2019, in which he indicated, “In order to cure this underlying cause of the loss of foreign reserves, foreign purchases will have to be further reduced.” “Government has the tools to reduce spending on foreign purchases, by increasing tax rates or cutting its own spending. Given that the burden of taxation was increased in 2018, the focus in 2019 will probably be on further expenditure reduction,” said Worrell. He explained that the dwindling foreign reserves over the last five years was as a result of Government’s excessive spending, which was greater than the foreign exchange inflows by more than $100 million each year. “In order to pay for the extra purchases, the Central Bank of Barbados provided foreign exchange from its reserves, which declined every year as a result,” he said. Therefore, pointing to the need for foreign purchases to be further reduced in order to correct the country’s balance of payments issues, Worrell acknowledged that the reserves recently received a major injection, which should be used to give the public service a “makeover”. “We recently got a loan from the bank, and now our savings are looking better. However, if we keep spending more on daily expenses than we’re making from our salary, we will eventually use up the money we borrowed and be no better off. In short, the loans from the international financial institutions are not a solution; they offer an opportunity,” said Worrell. After entering a US$290 million Extended Fund Facility agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in September last year, Barbados received its first injection of about US$49 million. This was followed by promised $150 million and $200 million injections from the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) and the Inter-American Development Bank respectively, which resulted in the reserves reaching just over $1 billion last month. Worrell said while the inflows of foreign exchange may increase, it would also require effective policies to increase Barbados’ external competitiveness in order to attract more direct foreign inflows. “The financial support of the IMF, IDB and CDB has provided Government with a window of opportunity, which should be used to address the imbalance of foreign spending and inflows, and the deteriorating competitiveness of our economy. A makeover of the public services, to raise the delivery of services to standards comparable to those of Canada, the US and the UK, is key to the achievement of both these objectives,” said the economist. Pointing to the island’s fall in the global competitiveness report in recent years, Worrell said this was mainly due to “weak government institutions and deteriorating government finances”. He maintained that investor confidence can be expected to be revived when there is evidence of public sector reform, improved public services, and prudent Government finances. “Early resolution of Government’s default on US dollar debt is also essential to restoring investor confidence,” he added. Government has so far embarked on a Barbados Economic Recovery and Transformation (BERT) programme, which included job cuts that should result in savings of more than $29 million, and ongoing restructuring of state entities to make them more efficient. (BT)

STRANDED HAITIANS STILL AT SALVATION ARMY HOSTEL FOR NOW – The stranded Haitian men who were moved to the Salvation Army’s City hostel after they were evicted from the Brittons Hill home they were renting are being allowed to stay there as long as they have legal status to remain  in Barbados, and once there is room, Divisional Commander Major Darrell Wilkinson has told Barbados TODAY. Nine of the 15 men who were evicted were moved to the hostel last Saturday evening. Wilkinson said that while the Salvation Army welcomed the stranded visitors, in keeping with its international mandate to feed and cloth the poor and assist refugees, once the six months’ visitors stay expires, they would not be able to stay at the hostel because they would be considered illegal immigrants. Major Wilkinson said: “My captain who is dealing with the matter shared with me that David Comissiong [Ambassador to CARICOM], is trying to get some assistance for these Haitians to get them back to their homeland. As far as I am aware, some want to go back for sure, some want to stay to get work because things are difficult in Haiti, but that is not our portfolio here at the Army. We are just here to give assistance with housing for the time being. I will leave the rest for Mr Comissiong and his team to work on. “We will give as much assistance as we can give. But as for how long they are going to be here, I just don’t know. They can only stay as long as the Government gives them permission. Whenever their six months is up then they would have to go back, and some of them have already gotten close, they are just a matter of weeks away from that. “But the Salvation Army has opened its doors, which is something we do not only in Barbados, but also around the world. We have quite a few centres around the world for persons who are seeking accommodation, within the rules and laws of the country.” The men, who said they came here in search of a better life, reported that they were the victims of a scam where they paid between US$2,500 and US$3,000, to an agency in Haiti, with the assurance they would receive accommodation and jobs when they landed in Barbados. But upon arrival, they found no jobs and had to pay for accommodation. They have since exhausted their finances. They were evicted from the house at, Brittons Hill, by landlord Anthony Mayers, who told Barbados TODAY that he was fed up with the condition the house was being kept in. The landlord also complained that while he charged the men $1,300 including light and water, within one month, the water bill alone had reached $1,200. After they were put out on the streets, the men were rescued by former Government Senator and Chairman of the National Assistance Board, Pastor David Durant, who took them to his Restoration Ministries Church where they were accommodated and fed until they were moved to the hostel. Pastor Durant said he visited the men, who are between the ages of 21 and 36, at the hostel yesterday, and three of them informed him that they were willing to go back home, and requested financial assistance  to buy return tickets to Port-au-Prince. He told Barbados TODAY: “I am working with an agent who is working with Copa Airlines to see how we can get the three of them back to Haiti as soon as possible. Two of them want to leave on Saturday, and the next one is asking to go two weeks later. They said they want to go because they are not finding any jobs here, they have run out of money, and they think it is best to return home where they can try to make things a little easier for themselves. “They are very thankful for the help that is being offered by the church. Right now the three of them are here and I am waiting for the agent to call me back with some information. “So far, I have received $1,000 donation from a kind-hearted Barbadian. When I hear from the airlines, then I would know exactly what I am working with. I am hoping that the $1,000 can do for those who want to go on Saturday, but if it doesn’t, the church will put the difference. The challenge now is to get the rest home when they are ready. I am making an appeal to Barbadians to assist. I will speak with a lawyer about setting up a fund to assist them.” (BT)

PROSECUTE THEM! – Indiscriminate dumping continues to be a major problem across Barbados and James Paul, Chief Executive Officer of the Barbados Agricultural Society (BAS) is calling on policymakers to enforce the regulations. A livid Paul pointed out examples of illegal dumping at the company’s Grotto, Beckles Road St Michael headquarters. There was an old mattress, a stove, the remnants of a broken washing machine, a refrigerator and other household items among the items discarded on the BAS grounds right next to a garbage skip. Paul informed Barbados TODAY that this was not the first time that waste haulers or residents discarded their items on the company’s grounds, with some also  dumping dead animals in the area. “This is not the behaviour we should have. People go overseas and they abide by the laws of the land in other countries so why can’t we treat our own country with the same respect that we give to other people,” Paul queried. The BAS boss revealed that they previously called the Sanitation Service Authority (SSA) for assistance and the garbage was cleared and the area cleaned but he admitted the reoccurrence was both disappointing and maddening. “It is very frustrating that we just had to pay to clean up this place and we don’t have much money because we are not a rich organization and we now have to go and look for more money to get this stuff removed from here which could have been taken by the same truck to the dump,” he contended. “We have a situation in this country where people seem to think that they can basically flout the law and just dump garbage where they feel like dumping it and it is unfortunate that we are tolerating these kinds of things in our country,” Paul added. He criticized the indiscriminate dumping of some waste haulers who did not abide by the law and exhibited blatant disregard for businesses and the environment by dumping anywhere. “This is the kind of behavior we have coming from truckers and these are the same people that come and tell you at the end of the day that they are the poor black man but it is ridiculous when we as poor black people cannot respect each other and treat each other with some kind of dignity at the same time,” Paul argued. ”I think they should be prosecuted to the fullest extent because what is disheartening is that these are things that people can actually call Sanitation Service Authority for them to remove.  So why should they take garbage and bring it right on the property and dump it right here? This is not a dumping site,” he added. Paul suggested that Government must take action and strictly enforce the legislation on illegal and indiscriminate dumping. “The law is there to protect people but when we have a situation where the law is broken and then there is no enforcement of the law and the lawbreakers think they can get away with it, that is where we have a lot of problems all the time,” he cautioned. Paul informed Barbados TODAY he was planning to implement additional security measures to ensure the safety of the BAS’ premises. (BT)

POLICE SEEKING MAN – Police in the Southern Division are urgently seeking Justin Rommel Belgrave, 33, whose last known address was Harmony Hall, Christ Church. He should contact the CID at Hastings Police Station 430-7219 or 430-7608/09 as soon as possible. Police are also urgently seeking Julien Phillips, of Salters Tenantry, Haggatt Hall, St Michael. He should contact 418-2632 or 418-2631 as soon as possible. (WN)

POLICE IDENTIFY MAN STRUCK WITH WOOD – Yesterday police responded to a report at Risk Road, Fitts Village, St James. Twenty-two-year-old Raymon Nurse, of 4th Ave, Pickwick Gap, St Michael was struck on the right side of his head with a piece of wood by a man unknown to him. The man escaped along the said Risk Road. Nurse was treated at the scene by ambulance personnel and was transported to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, complaining of pain to his ear and head. Police investigations are continuing. (WN)

TEEN TO RETURN TO COURT JANUARY 9 – The teen who was allegedly apprehended following a police chase at Fordes Road on New Year’s Day made an appearance in court today charged with a number of traffic offences. Shaqkim Sharad Ronald Blackman, 19, of Brereton  No. 1, St Philip was charged with driving motor vehicle X6375 when he was not the holder of a driver’s licence and the vehicle was not covered by insurance. He is further accused of failing to draw up his vehicle on the approach a police vehicle sounding a siren, failing to stop the vehicle, driving without reasonable consideration for other persons using the roads and driving without due care and attention. Blackman is also charged with having a quantity of marijuana in his possession on the same day. All the offences reportedly occurred about 3:54 a.m. on January 1. The accused was not required to plead to the charges when he appeared before Magistrate Douglas Frederick this morning with his attorneys Michael Lashley, QC, Kadisha Wickham and Dayna Taylor-Lavine. He was granted $2,000 bail to return to the District ‘A’ Traffic Court on January 9. (BT)

FRUSTRATED – A St Michael man who has been on remand for the last three years today expressed frustration over the lack of progress in his case. Abraham Hutchinson Sandiford, of Mayers Land, Lower Richmond Gap, St Michael, is accused of using a firearm on January 4, 2015 when he did not have a valid licence to do so and unlawfully wounding Karl Yearwood on the same date with intent to maim, disfigure or disable him or to do some serious bodily harm to him. Sandiford, was 31 years old when he first appeared in the District ‘A’ Magistrates’ Court in October 2015 charged with the indictable offence to which he is not required to plead. “This is four years I in jail and can’t get my case start,” the accused told Magistrate Douglas Frederick today. “I came before the court in 2015 . . . and I haven’t gotten any disclosure.  This is three years that I have been asking for my pre-trials,” Sandiford added. In response, the prosecutor said he had been trying his best to get the file and will again attempt to do so before the accused returns to court on January 31. However Magistrate Frederick made it clear that he would have to make a decision on Sandiford’s case on that occasion if there was no progress. (BT)

FORDE CHARGED WITH THREATENING ANOTHER – Despite objections from the prosecutor, Attorney-at-law Shadia Simpson secured $3,000 bail for a client accused of issuing a serious threat to another person. It is alleged that on April 8, last year Ronnie Leroy Glasgow, of Lower Wellington Street, The City uttered the words, “I gine shoot you if you come back on the beach” to Ambian Hunte which caused the complainant to believe that immediate and unlawful violence would be used against him. Police Constable Kevin Forde objected to bail for the accused based on the nature and seriousness of the offence and the “high degree of probability” that the accused could carry out the threat since his antecedents showed he had a propensity to commit such an offence. However, Simpson countered the arguments saying that the offence was allegedly committed over six months ago and there was no evidence before the court to show that there was any follow through. She added that there were also no further reports by the complainant with regard to her client. The lawyer also argued that her client’s last conviction was in 2005 and he had stayed out of trouble with the law and now owned a business in Wellington Street. After considering the submissions Magistrate Douglas Frederick ruled in favour on the defence and ordered that Glasgow, who had moments before pleaded not guilty to the charge, reappear in the District ‘A’ Magistrates’ Court on May 28. (BT)

LEWIS SLAMS PYBUS APPOINTMENT, SAYS DUE PROCESS NOT FOLLOWED – Leeward Islands Cricket Board president, Enoch Lewis, has called for Richard Pybus’ appointment as interim West Indies men’s coach to be rescinded, after accusing Cricket West Indies president, Dave Cameron, of “hand-picking” the Englishman and ignoring the best practices of “transparency, fairness and due process”. In a strongly-worded letter to CWI dated December 16 last year, he labelled Cameron’s actions as “unfortunate, unacceptable and unethical” and expressed “profound disappointment, dissatisfaction, and dismay” over the “total disregard” shown for the procedure by which Pybus was selected. According to the letter, a copy of which was obtained by CMC Sports, director of cricket, Jimmy Adams, recommended to the CWI board of directors last September that the interim head coach be chosen from among a list comprising Nic Pothas, Roddy Estwick, Floyd Reifer, Gus Logie, Desmond Haynes, Toby Radford, Andre Coley, Esuan Crandon, Stuart Williams, Rayon Griffith and Robert Samuels.  Adams ultimately recommended Pothas for the position, indicating that the South African had also been favoured by the outgoing head coach, Australian Stuart Law, as well as the players. This recommendation was subsequently approved by the CWI board with Pothas scheduled to take up the post from January 2019 until September. However, with Law exiting the post earlier than originally planned, Pothas assumed the position for the Bangladesh tour last December, but without agreeing to a compensation package.  Pothas subsequently rejected the first offer made – nearly half of what Law had been paid – and requested compensation closer to Law’s remuneration.  According to the LICB letter, Cameron “made the determination that the matter was at a stalemate. Discussion with Mr Pothas was then terminated”.  Cameron then made contact with Pybus, negotiated and concluded a deal worth more than what Pothas had been offered. “The negotiations conducted with Mr Pybus by President Cameron was without pre-authorisation and input from the Board,” Lewis contended in the letter. “None of the DoC (Director of Cricket), the Cricket Committee or the Technical Cricket Committee were consulted on the initiative to engage or negotiate with Mr Pybus. “We the undersigned (director Denrick Liburd) reminded the meeting that CWI has consistently claimed to be a highly transparent organization in response to doubts and negative allegations raised recently by some Prime Ministers and other stakeholders in the region. “We also reminded the meeting of the process previously recommended by the DoC, (who is regarded as our foremost technical cricket mind) and adopted by the Board, which is to appoint someone from the existing coaching staff in the interest of ensuring continuity and stability.” The letter continued: “We further suggested that if it is now the intention to appoint someone from outside the existing coaching staff or not included in the original list provided by the DoC, that a new process which opens the position to all interested parties must be established in the interest of transparency.  “We submit that it is unfortunate, unacceptable and unethical for the CWI President to single-handedly recruit a person of his choosing, and to proceed with salary negotiations without the prior knowledge of the Board.”  Pybus spent six years as CWI’s director of cricket before leaving the post in 2016, to be replaced by Jamaican Adams the following year.  However, after missing out on several international coaching positions to West Indians, he returned to the West Indies setup last February as high performance director – a move that was criticised by several ex-players largely because the post had not been advertised by CWI. Lewis said Cameron’s recruitment of Pybus was “unusual” because “the person in question (Pybus) has not formally expressed an interest in the post; he has limited international head coaching experience; he has not coached an international cricket team for at least the past five years; he is not amongst the list of coaches identified by the DoC and previously approved by the Board for consideration”. While the choice of Pybus was eventually approved by the board, Lewis said “the handling of this matter provoked heated debate and proved a very divisive issue amongst the Directors”.  The latest controversy comes just weeks before the start of the England tour of the Caribbean, with the first Test set to bowl off at Kensington Oval on January 23. (WN)

GONE WITH THE ROOF – People are literally raising the roof for sports. Apparently the National Stadium is going topless this year, as workmen are currently lifting the galvanised sheet covering off of four of the stands heading into the start the athletics season. Minister of Sports John King wasn’t available for comment, but a source close to the situation revealed that labourers were hired to do some much-needed remedial work in an apparent safety measure before Wilkie Cumberbatch Primary School’s sports next week. A Weekend Nation team subsequently passed through Waterford yesterday and saw labourers completely stripping the roof of the Clarence Jemmott “A” Stand. “They’re just making sure to remove the galvanised roofing at the Stadium so it wouldn’t cause any further injury to would-be patrons attending sports this year,” explained the source.  (WN)

CONSTITUTION ROAD BUS STOPS RELOCATING – Due to a number of safety concerns raised by the Barbados Transport Authority regarding the locations of the two bus stops along Constitution Road heading into Bridgetown, the Ministry of Transport, Works and Maintenance is proposing a temporary change in bus stop locations for approximately one month. The first bus stop will now be placed on Nursery Drive while the other will be located on St Michael’s Row, opposite the St Michael’s Cathedral. The new bus stop signs will be installed from today Friday, January 4, and all commuters and Public Service Vehicle operators are asked to comply with the new bus stop locations. (WN)

For daily or breaking news reports follow us on Instagram, Tumblr, Twitter & Facebook. That’s all for today folks. There are 361 days left in the year. Shalom! #thechasefilesdailynewscap #thechasefiles# dailynewscapsbythechasefiles

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Configuring Microsoft SQL Server Analysis Services on Amazon RDS for SQL Server

You can now configure Microsoft SQL Server Analysis Services (SSAS) in the Tabular model on Amazon RDS for SQL Server. SSAS works in the Single-AZ configuration for both Standard and Enterprise editions using either the 2016 or 2017 SQL Server Major version. If you run SSAS on Amazon EC2, you can save on costs by supporting SSAS directly on Amazon RDS for SQL Server and consolidating those workloads to run on the same RDS DB instance as your SQL Server database. However, you must account for a performance impact if you decide to consolidate. Online Analytical Processing (OLAP) solutions enhance data warehouses and other relational databases by minimizing the amount of on-the-fly processing for fast and effective analysis and reporting. This is mostly achieved by preprocessing and storing a wide range of combinations of dimensions and hierarchies before you perform any analysis. SSAS is a Microsoft business intelligence tool for developing enterprise-level OLAP solutions. In addition to optimized analytical queries and calculations, SSAS provides semantic data models that client applications require, such as Excel, Power BI, SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS), and other reporting and data visualization tools. The Tabular model supports in-memory databases designed for efficient column-based queries and offers better data compression. This post describes how to configure and use SSAS in the Tabular model on Amazon RDS for SQL Server DB instances. SSAS on Amazon RDS for SQL Server To configure SSAS on Amazon RDS for SQL Server, you must meet the following requirements: The Amazon RDS for SQL Server instance must be SQL Server 2016 Standard or Enterprise editions (13.00.5426.0.v1 and above) or SQL Server 2017 Standard or Enterprise editions (14.00.3223.3.v1 and above). The instance must be joined to an AWS Managed Microsoft Active Directory to enable Windows Authentication. For instructions, see Setting Up Windows Authentication for SQL Server DB Instances. You must enable Amazon S3 integration for transferring SSAS models and backups between the instance and an S3 bucket. You must have a valid login to the Microsoft SQL Server for Amazon RDS instance with permissions to download files from Amazon S3. For instructions, see Integrating an Amazon RDS for SQL Server DB Instance with Amazon S3. Creating an option group with the SSAS option For instructions on creating an option group with the SSAS option, see Working with Option Groups. Include the following steps: For Option name, choose SSAS. For Max memory, specify the upper memory percentage threshold that your SSAS occupies your instance of Microsoft SQL Server for Amazon RDS. When setting the max memory, consider the amount of memory available on the RDS DB instance. SSAS Tabular is a memory-intensive application. If you choose a higher max memory allocated to SSAS, you potentially impact SQL Server operations residing on the same instance. Each DB instance must have at least one associated security group. Choose from the list of your security groups or create a new one. Make sure that the associated security group allows inbound traffic for the SSAS port. Connecting to SSAS After you add the SSAS option, you should be able to connect to SSAS on the RDS instance. To connect to SSAS, you must be logged into a domain-joined computer as a domain user. Complete the following steps: Launch SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS). From the File menu, choose Connect Object Explorer… A window appears to connect to the server instance. For Server type, choose Analysis Services. For Server name, enter the endpoint for your RDS instance. For Authentication, choose Windows Authentication. Choose Connect After a few moments, SSMS connects to SSAS on your DB instance. If you cannot connect to SSAS, check that the instance security group allows traffic from your computer on port 2383. For more information, see Security Group Considerations. Deploying and processing a Tabular model You cannot deploy the project directly into an RDS DB instance. To deploy the Tabular model, you must move your model files to the DB instance and run the SSAS stored procedure. Create a new Tabular project in SQL Server Data Tools (or open a project that you have created previously). Create the required roles in your project and add the domain members to the roles. For a domain user to perform operations on the deployed model, the user should be added to the project. Make sure that the domain user can connect to the SSAS on the RDS instance. On the Solution Explorer tab, choose the solution and bring up properties. Under Deployment Options, for Processing Option, choose Do Not Process. After you deploy the model, you can process your model directly through SSMS. On the Solution Explorer tab, build your project. When you build the Tabular project, SQL Server Data Tools generates the file in the output folder of the Analysis Services project (the default output folder is Bin). For deployment, you require .asdatabase and .deploymentoptions files. Create an S3 bucket (or use an existing one). This post uses sample-s3-bucket. Upload the project files to that bucket. Make sure that Amazon S3 integration is already enabled for the instance. Open SSMS and connect to your RDS SQL Server instance. Run the following stored procedure to download the project files from the S3 bucket to the local Amazon S3 folder on the instance: exec msdb.dbo.rds_download_from_s3 @s3_arn_of_file='arn:aws:s3:::sample-s3-bucket/testmodel.asdatabase' , @rds_file_path='d:S3testmodel.asdatabase' , @overwrite_file=1 exec msdb.dbo.rds_download_from_s3 @s3_arn_of_file='arn:aws:s3:::sample-s3-bucket/testmodel.deploymentoptions' , @rds_file_path='d:S3testmodel.deploymentoptions' , @overwrite_file=1 To track the status of your Amazon S3 integration tasks, call the rds_fn_task_status function until their status changes to SUCCESS. The function takes two parameters. Set the first parameter to NULL and the second parameter to the task ID (if you pass 0 as the task ID, it shows a list of all tasks). See the following code: SELECT * FROM msdb.dbo.rds_fn_task_status(null,2); Call the SSAS_DEPLOY_PROJECT stored procedure to deploy the model into SSAS. See the following code: exec msdb.dbo.rds_msbi_task @task_type='SSAS_DEPLOY_PROJECT', @file_path='d:S3testmodel.asdatabase'; After the SSAS_DEPLOY_PROJECT task status changes to SUCCESS in SSMS, connect to the Analysis Services and use Windows Authentication to connect to SSAS. You will then see your deployed project under Databases as you see in the screenshot below. If you cannot see your database in the Databases section, it probably means that your domain user doesn’t have database-level access to the database. You must add your username to the model and redeploy the updated model or add an admin user through the SSAS_ADD_DB_ADMIN_MEMBER stored procedure. To process the data, open the connection object associated with your database (right-click). Choose Properties. Update the username and password in the connection string. In SSMS, open the deployed SSAS database (right-click). Choose Process Database. Processing time depends on the amount of data imported from the data source. Other operations The following section discusses other operations you can perform, such as adding an admin member to a role, and backing up and restoring an SSAS database. Adding an admin member to a role To grant DB-level admin access to a domain user for a particular database, enter the following code: exec msdb.dbo.rds_msbi_task @task_type='SSAS_ADD_DB_ADMIN_MEMBER', @database_name='TestModel', @ssas_role_name='Sample', @ssas_role_member='domainuser'; The command creates a role if it doesn’t exist. Backing up an SSAS database You can directly back up the SSAS database through SSMS to the Amazon S3 folder or run the SSAS_BACKUP_DB stored procedure. See the following code: exec msdb.dbo.rds_msbi_task @task_type='SSAS_BACKUP_DB', @database_name='TestModel', @file_path='d:S3test-model.abf', @ssas_overwrite_file=1; Restoring an SSAS database To restore an SSAS database from a backup file, call the SSAS_RESTORE_DB stored procedure. See the following code: exec msdb.dbo.rds_msbi_task @task_type='SSAS_RESTORE_DB', @database_name='NewTestModel', @file_path='d:S3test-model.abf'; You cannot restore a database if another database with the same name already exists. Summary This post showed you how to configure SSAS in the Tabular model on Amazon RDS for SQL Server. If you run SSAS on Amazon EC2, you can save on costs by consolidating those workloads to run on the same RDS DB instance as your SQL Server database. You can easily process data from data warehouses and other relational databases (on premises or cloud-based), perform analytical queries, and back up or restore your SSAS databases. Try out SSAS today in the AWS Console, and share your thoughts and experiences in the comments.   About the Authors   Pooya Amini is a Software Development Engineer with Amazon Web Services. He works with the AWS RDS team, focusing on commercial database engines and SQL Server. Before joining AWS, Pooya was a Software Development Engineer at Amazon Payments and Alexa. He enjoys working on technical challenges and is passionate about learning new technologies.       Richard Waymire is a Principal Outbound Architect at Amazon Web Services. He works with AWS customers to provide guidance and technical assistance on database projects, helping them improve the value of their solutions when using AWS.       https://probdm.com/site/MjAwNDM

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Daily Current Affairs 11th March 2020

Today’s  Important  Topic’s  For UPSC Preparation

1. GENDER BUDGETING.

2. KASURI RECALLS PLAN FOR SIR CREEK PACT.

3. PRADHAN MANTRI UJJWALA YOJANA.

4. THERMAL COAL IMPORTS FOR 2019 RISE 12.6%.

5. SHETTYHALLI: NOD FOR REDRAWING BOUNDARY.

6. VLADIMIR PUTIN BACKS AMENDMENT THAT WILL LET HIM REMAIN IN POWER.

GENDER BUDGETING

Ministry: Ministry of Women and Child Development:

Gender budgeting means preparing budgets or analyzing them from a gender perspective. Also referred to as gender-sensitive budgeting, this practice does not entail dividing budgets for women.

It aims at dealing with budgetary gender inequality issues, including gender hierarchies and the discrepancies between women’s and men’s salaries.

Gender Budgeting is concerned with gender sensitive formulation of legislation, programmes and schemes; allocation of resources; implementation and execution; audit and impact assessment of programmes and schemes; and follow-up corrective action to address gender disparities.

In Gender Budgeting, “Gender” means women and her empowerment.

Gender Budgeting in India:

Gender Budget Statement (GBS) was first introduced in the Indian Budget in 2005-06. This GB Statement comprises two parts–

Part Areflects Women Specific Schemes,e. those which have    100% allocation for women.

Part Breflects Pro Women Schemes,e. those where at least 30%   of the allocation is for women.

Gender Budgeting Cells (GBC)as an institutional mechanism have been mandated to be set up in all Ministries/Departments.

Why in News?

Despite the annual promise to improve women’s welfare, India’s gender budget remains skewed and ineffective.

According to an International Monetary Fund (IMF) estimate for 2016, at least 80 countries practised gender budgeting.

This list includes India, where gender budgets were launched in FY06 with the hope of tackling stark gender inequality.

In FY06, 4.8% of total spending was allocated for women-related schemes. This rose to around 5.5% of total spending in FY09, but has stagnated since then.

The government estimates these figures by adding all the spending on women-related schemes.

This comprises spending on schemes that only target women (Part A), such as Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao.

Part B schemes, which partially target women (where at least 30% of the scheme’s benefits go to women).

Between the two, Part B schemes, such as the Mid-Day Meal programme, dominates (around 80% of the gender budget in FY20).

Beti Bachao Beti Padhao:

Beti Bachao Beti Padhao (BBBP) was launched by the Prime Minister on 22nd January, 2015 at Panipat, Haryana.

BBBP addresses the declining Child Sex Ratio (CSR) and related issues of women empowerment over a life-cycle continuum.

It is a tri-ministerial effort of Ministries of Women and Child Development, Health & Family Welfare and Human Resource Development.

Since the launch of Beti Bachao Beti Padhao , the multi-sectoral District Action Plans have been operationalized in almost all states.

Capacity-buiding programmes and Trainings have been imparted to Trainers to further strengthen capacities of district level officials and frontline workers.

Nine set of such trainings have been organized covering all States/UTs the Ministry of Women & Child Development from April-October, 2015.

Mansa district in Punjab has launched an initiative to inspire its girls to be educated. Under its ‘Udaan – Sapneya Di Duniya De Rubaru (Udaan- Live your Dream For One Day)’ scheme, the Mansa administration invites proposals from girls belonging to classes VI-XII.

These girls have the opportunity to spend one day with a professional they aspire to be — doctor, police official, engineer, IAS and PPS officers, among others.

Mid-Day Meal Scheme:

Mid-day meal (MDM) is a wholesome freshly-cooked lunch served to children in government and government-aided schools in India.

On 28 November 2001, the Supreme Court of India passed a mandate stating, “We direct the State Governments/Union Territories to implement the Mid-Day Meal Scheme by providing every child in every Government and Government assisted Primary School with a prepared midday meal.”

The Midday Meal Scheme comes under the HRD Ministry’s Department of School Education and Literacy.

Launched in the year 1995 as a centrally sponsored scheme, it provides that every child within the age group of six to fourteen years studying inclasses I to VIII who enrolls and attends the school, shall be provided hot cooked meal having nutritional standards of 450 calories and 12 gm of protein for primary (I- V class) and 700 calories and 20 gm protein for upper primary (VI-VIII class), free of charge every day except on school holidays.

The scheme covers all government and government aided schoolsand also Madarsa and Maqtabs supported under the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA).

Tamilnadu is a pioneer in introducing Mid-Day meals in India.

India’s gender budget has stagnated in recent years:·       Overall spending includes part A programmes which are 100% women specific and Part B programmes which have at least 30% women specific expenditure.·       Gender budget as a share of total union government spending (in %).

Only a small proportion of the gender budget is allocated towards women-specific schemes:

Within women-specific schemes, bulk of spending goes towards rural housing:·       Despite 56 gender budgeting cells across ministries mandated to track spending towards women, publicly available disaggregated data on gender spending remains limited. ·       According to the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report 2020, gender equality in India is among the worst in the world. Across measures of women’s economic participation, education, health and political empowerment, it ranked 112th out of 153 nations.

KASURI RECALLS PLAN FOR SIR CREEK PACT·       Sir Creek originally Ban Ganga,is a 96 km (60 mi) tidal estuary in uninhabited marshlands of Indus river delta on the border of India and Pakistan.·       The creek opens up into the Arabian Sea and separates the Gujarat state of India from the Sindh province of Pakistan.·       Both Gujarat and Sindh were part of Bombay Presidency till 1936.

·       Sir Creek lies just to the west of the Great Rann of Kutch area of India.Indo-Pak border dispute:·       The dispute lies in the interpretation of the maritime boundary line between Pakistan and India.·       Before independence, the area was part of British India. After independence in 1947, Sindh became a part of Pakistan while Gujarat remained a part of India.What’s the importance of Sir Creek?·       Apart from the strategic location, Sir Creek’s core importance is fishing resources. Sir Creek is considered to be among the largest fishing grounds in Asia.·       Another vital reason for two countries locking horns over this creek is the possible presence of great oil and gas concentration under the sea, which ar

[female-malice]

Because then what's the hypothesized common ancestor? Just some supposed blanket human need to create hierarchy?

Heterosexual society is the common ancestor.

Misogyny is not rooted in homophobia. Misogyny is rooted in heterosexual society.

Heterosexual society is a society that defines opposite-sex couples as the norm and same-sex couples as the other. When bisexual people live in a heterosexual society, they seek out opposite-sex partners 95% of the time.

In order to sustain patriarchal structures, you need the vast majority of your population partnering with the opposite sex. 70% won't do. 80% won't do. You need 90+% of the population to value opposite-sex partnership.

Same-sex attraction is not an uncommon trait in humans. But we don't see how prevalent it is until we observe human life outside heterosexual society. Look at single-sex environments. Any environment where you spend 90% of your time around the same sex. Military, navy, pro sports, prison, single-sex religious orders, single-sex migrant labor, single-sex colleges, female communes. Bisexuals and homosexuals together make up at least one third of the population.

You could argue that same-sex attracted people are drawn to same-sex environments, skewing that statistic. But when SSA women are culturally drawn to convents or pro sports or the navy, straight women are the minority. SSA women make up two thirds of the population when cultural factors influence them to join a single-sex environment. So if we remove cultural influences, one third is a solid conservative estimate.

Theoretically, a mixed sex society could apply no value hierarchy to same-sex or opposite-sex couples. But, if one third of the population was free to opt out of a patriarchal family structure, patriarchy could not sustain itself.

All human societies that I know about are heterosexual societies. All human societies see opposite-sex couples as the norm. Maybe that's just simple statistics. Being straight is twice as prevalent as not being straight.

So there's your common ancestor.

Hetero prevalence→hetero society→homophobia

Hetero prevalence→hetero society→aggriculture→patriarchy

If homophobia is rooted in misogyny then are all women victims of homophobia? Are women the true targets of homophobic violence and gay men just experience misdirected violence? (Like the slamming doors as a scare tactic thing.) Are women who display homophobia actually displaying internalised misogyny?

If not then is it misogynistic to say there is a form of misogyny, however distant, that affects men and not women (homophobia against gay men)?

[maxwellyjordan]

Symposium: Lucia v. SEC – more questions than answers

Alan Morrison is the Lerner Family Associate Dean for Public Interest & Public Service Law at George Washington Law School.  He was co-counsel for 29 law professors who filed an amicus brief in Lucia v. Securities and Exchange Commission in support of neither side.

Yesterday’s decision in Lucia v. SEC answered what, in the long run, is a small question, but opened up for future litigation two much larger questions.

In her majority opinion, Justice Elena Kagan held that administrative law judges are officers of the United States, not employees, and so they have to be appointed under the Constitution’s appointments clause.  In this case, because everyone agreed that the ALJs are inferior officers, they could be appointed by the full SEC for which they worked, but not by staff, which was how they were appointed.  As Kagan and the five justices who joined her concluded, ALJs are no different from the special trial judges whom the court in 1991 held to be officers in Freytag v. Commissioner.

Going forward, that conclusion will have no impact on how ALJs are generally appointed, but Kagan’s remedy will cause considerable difficulties. Because the ALJ in this case was improperly appointed, and even though the SEC after full review largely affirmed his decision, the court ruled that Raymond Lucia is entitled to a new trial (the last one took nine days), before a new ALJ.  That ruling applies only if a proper objection was timely made, but at least recently, those objections were surely made, which will complicate life a lot at the SEC.  Most of the federal ALJs sit on Social Security Administration cases (over 1,650 out of 1,926), for which it is much less likely that appointments clause objections were preserved, but given the number of cases they have, even a relative few will be bad news for the agency.  The relation of their decisions to their reviewing authorities is different from those of the SEC’s ALJs, but perhaps not enough to change the outcome.

The first of the two open questions is how far down in the federal hierarchy the constitutional requirement for an officer appointment extends.  The first group likely to be targeted are administrative judges, who are subject to different rules on selection and removal than ALJs.  Many of them are immigration judges, and so the incentives by individuals who may be removed from the U.S. to make appointments clause objections are considerable (assuming they have counsel who are aware of this decision). The relation of these judges to their agencies in terms of their decisional authority will have to be explored.  Assuming that their agencies (and the SSA) have the statutory authority to appoint both ALJs and AJs, those agencies should do that as quickly as possible to stem the flow of objections and appeals. And if there is any doubt as to their authority, they should ask Congress to make clear immediately that the agencies can appoint anyone who looks in any way like a judge – and then do it.

If the majority opinion only left open the officer status of federal administrative judges, that would be a tolerable problem to solve.  But the opinion is not at all clear on who else is swept in. Kagan said that the court did not need to decide what constitutes “significant authority” for which a person must be appointed as an officer because an earlier Supreme Court case, Freytag v. Commissioner, so clearly applied.  It no longer appears essential that the person have final decisional authority (The dissent of Justice Sonia Sotomayor, joined by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, would have drawn that line and upheld the SEC here.), which opens up a whole range of possibilities of jobs for which there is no law that would comply with the appointments clause options for inferior officers. So, for example, would the national security adviser, who surely has vast powers and a large staff, be an officer, even though he can be overruled by the president on everything he does?  Issues of standing aside, Congress could start to insist that many officers be subject to advice and consent, which is required for all officers, unless there is a statutory exception.  Indeed, if the concurring views of Justices Clarence Thomas and Neil Gorsuch prevailed, everyone would be an officer “even if they performed only ministerial duties—including recordkeeping, clerks and tidewaiters (individuals who watched goods land at a customhouse).” Perhaps the janitor would be spared (or more likely contracted out as is being done with so much of the federal government these days), but regardless of the eventual outcome, the gauntlet has been thrown down and the battle will begin.

That gets us to the second and more significant question that this decision has produced: Can the extensive statutory protections against ALJ removal except for good cause, which must be determined by the independent Merit System Protection Board, survive, or will the court follow through on what it started in 2010 in Free Enterprise Fund v. Public Company Accounting Oversight Board and strike down these limits on removal?  The court expressly declined to take up that question, even though pressed by the solicitor general to do so. Oddly, Justice Stephen Breyer in his partial concurrence and partial dissent insisted that the court should have decided the removal issue before deciding the appointments issue, but no one joined him on that position, or in his view that the case could also be decide in favor of Lucia on statutory grounds because the appointment of the ALJs did not comply with the law governing the SEC in these matters.  Breyer, who had dissented in Free Enterprise over the removal issue and the expansive way that the court decided it there, suggested some ways that the protections against agency control over ALJs could be maintained, but it is far from certain that he will prevail.

One additional possibility exists to avoid the removal problem, despite Free Enterprise. If the president ordered the removal of an ALJ, the issue would be properly presented and no one would suggest that an ALJ did not have standing to object to the removal.  But because the power of removal is intended to protect the president and enable him to carry out his duties, it is questionable whether the party who lost before an ALJ (and the agency) has standing to object that the president might not have been able to fire the ALJ if he had been so inclined.  To be sure, Free Enterprise allowed a regulated party to make the removal objection (although in that case it was part of an appointment objection on which there could be no standing issue).  But if the court were to follow its strict approach to standing (see most recently Gill v. Whitford), that might be a way to postpone, if not avoid entirely, facing the removal question. And for those like me and the 28 law professors whom I joined as amici in this case, the protections against at-will removal applicable to ALJs are vital safeguards for regulated parties – including the petitioners in this case.

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