#YOO Paris Europe | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

praydastles · 7 years

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Title: Needle and thread Fandom: Monsta X Member: I.M/Changkyun Genre/Warning: Kinktober,angstish?, smut, dom!changkyun, belt! Summary/Request: Day 23 corset and against the wall A/N: Gif credit to FY!Wonkyun Lord does he look like sin. I didn’t mention the corset much, but oh well?? Also, the boys call Changkyun ‘im’ as in his surname, not as in i.m :) Word Count: 4231

Changkyun fiddled with his tie, tightening it as he stared at himself in the mirror. Suit’s weren’t really his forte; spending most of his time holed up in his box apartment usually meant loose sweatpants and sometimes a shirt depending on how hot it was, yet there he stood, velvet detailed blazer, open white shirt, fitted dress pants, shiny shoes, he was different from head to toe, even his brown hair parted neatly.

“Here goes nothing.” He mumbled, grabbing his phone and house keys before making his way out of his suite toward the company car waiting to take him to the venue.

It was the annual meeting for all the bosses to discuss the profit made, what assets to keep, get rid of, boring details smoothed over drinks and usually women. The sky was dark, stars blocked out by dark clouds, the only light shining on Changkyuns face coming from the overhead lights streaming through his windows.

“Who chose Paris?” Changkyun drawled, shutting his eyes and resting his head back against the seat.

“That would be Mr Yoo, sir. The word is that he’s managed to gain assets here.” Changkyun’s eyes shot open, a frown taking on his features. “He’s branching out to Europe? Hm, that’s interesting. God, he’s gonna gloat about that tonight.”

“I’d be willing to bet on it sir.” The driver said with a laugh.

***

The interior was an unexpected sight, considering the outside resembled ruins of an old aged castle. The walls were a deep royal purple, lights nailed to the wall and casting calming glows. The flooring was lined with a thick carpet at the entrance, stairs leading down to italian leather seats placed accordingly in their own sections, giving guests a view of the stage of what was apparently a jazz club.

“Your party is upstairs on the balcony sir.” Changkyun nodded and walked past the man when he had lifted the rope for him to enter and then went up the stairs, in brief darkness before he came out onto the balcony overlooking everything.

“I’m glad to see you’re alive.” Jooheon was the first to greet him, a drink already in his hand and a woman already on his lap.

“That makes two of us.” Changkyun said greeting his friend.

The others joined not long after, Kihyun already smirking with his glass of scotch about his latest business deal. “Do you know how much I’m worth now?”

“Won’t be worth much if you’re chewing my bullet Yoo Kihyun.” Hyungwon said slumping into his chair, tilting his head challengingly at Kihyun whose smirk was quick to disappear. Changkyun could tell Kihyun was about to quip his own snide remark, but Hyunwoo slapped his large palms down onto his thighs, “Let’s talk business then.”

The following hours were boring, Changkyun never really enjoyed these formal meetings. And his eyes began to drift toward the stage filled with spotlight on a woman. The slow jazz made you more tantalising as you began to move along to the music, hands gently holding the mic stand as you rolled your head back and around sensually, eyes barely open as you drew in the attention of every man and woman in the audience.

Changkyun felt his throat tighten when your lips fell open for the first of the notes to leave your lips, your voice smooth and low, yet holding power and soul as you began to move more with your words. His eyes following your hands that caressed your body; slow and teasing as you lifted the mic from the stand and slowly strutted along the stage. Changkyun felt entrapped by the vision of you, something chemical like making the rest of the world fade and his thighs tense, body on edge and incredibly warm. The only thing he seemed acutely aware of was you.

Your eyes suddenly found his and Changkyun stiffened, thinking it impossible for you to see him up there, but the longer he watched you the less he was convinced. You dropped low, legs spreading and knees hitting the stage as you leant your body back to release the last long note and Changkyun’s breath ceased watching how your body twisted, your corset tight against your waist, body seemingly held together by the intricately detailed material.

Before he knew it, he was blinking out of a daydream watching you bow and thank everyone for watching. Blowing a cheeky kiss, eyes darting up toward Changkyun one last time before you twisted on your heels, hair flicking out into the air and you were walking away, displaying the globes of your arse and then Changkyun noticed it, a little tattoo that he only knew on one person. No fucking way. He shot out his seat, cutting Hyunwoo off from whatever he was saying. “Im are you-”

“She’s here. I gotta go.” He rushed out, already in the mouth of the stairwell, rushing down as quickly as possible. He weaved through the seats, ignoring the comments of displeasure as he blocked people’s view from the next act. He didn’t care, he saw you, there was no doubt about it.

He was like a lost man, stumbling over his feet as he rushed around toward the back of the stage. It had been so long, you were barely recognisable, especially in your attire; the image of you on stage in that corset and stockings, not to mention a thong possessed his mind and knowing that it’s you only made him all the more determined to find you as he reached the dressing room, a security guard blocking the entrance. A large palm hovered above Changkyun’s stomach, no contact needed to heed warning to Changkyun that he could not go backstage.

“I’m a VIP guest, check with your boss and let me in.” It was rare that Changkyun was firm, voice anything but playful or sarcastic, even during business, yet now, so close to seeing you he couldn’t help the edge to his tone, the way he sounded demeaning toward the security guard who dared to stop him.

“It’s alright Pascal,” Changkyun felt the way his adam's apple bobbed as eyes drifted up to take you in for the first time in God knows how long. His eyes locked with yours, brown orbs still dark and playful and powerful enough to melt a man, to melt Changkyun. “He’s with me.”

***

Changkyun was in a daze. Your sultry voice, playful and teasing as you stalked around Changkyun like a predator, robe wrapped loosely around your stage outfit as you asked, more like commanded “Give me a ride home baby?” He was at a loss. Sure, he wanted a chance to talk with you, to let out all of his hurt and frustrations and loneliness of not having you by his side, yet he didn’t think you’d be so willing, especially when you were the one who left him.

He watched your long legs silhouetted in sheer black stockings make their way toward his car once the two of you had left the confines of the club. Your driver was waiting outside the vehicle, having a smoke in his free time which he coughed on upon seeing your familiar face. He straightened his hat, eyes wide as they flickered from you to Changkyun and back again. “M-m-m-miss, nice to um, see you again.” Your smile was wide and genuine and Changkyun realised how much he missed seeing it when you gave a cheerful reply.

“We’re taking her home.” Changkyun said, his ears feeling as if they were filled with cotton, his voice distant in his own ears.

The journey was mostly silence. You were calm and collected, straight in your seat and leg crossed, rolling your heeled foot at the ankle to soothe out the small aches. Changkyun couldn’t take his eyes off of you. He honestly couldn’t believe what he was seeing. It felt more like a vivid dream, that you were a touch away, that he could feel the heat emanating from your body.

“You look good.” You couldn’t take the silence and you weren’t so sure Changkyun could speak, you could see he was still in disbelief.

“Yeah? You should have seen me before tonight. After you left I’ve been the definition of ‘look like shit.’” A heavy sigh fell from your lips, body depressing as his barely concealed anger bit at you. “I am sorry for that. But, it was time.” You couldn’t bare to look at Changkyun, as cowardly as it was, but at least you said it, at least he knew. You had to start making him understand. “I needed to go. Yes, I left, but I didn’t leave you, not really.” You whispered, the words caught in your throat as your airways seemed to begin to close. You had never realised how hard it would be to just explain. And you never realised that Changkyun would be so hurt that he may never even take you back.

It was more tense silences, even as the car pulled up onto the driveway of your building. “Come up.” It was an invitation that you left him to decide on as you exited the car. You walked slow, breathing deeply as hope lingered inside you. Then you heard the click of the car door as he pushed it open and the subtle thud when it closed and knew he was behind. A small smile graced your face as the small hope inside bloomed.

Changkyun was silent even in the lift, even when the both of you were at your apartment door. Unlocking it you kicked off your heels and then turned, watching Changkyun’s eyes drift to the expanse of your lush apartment. “Doing well for yourself I see.” Strangely, it wasn’t a bitter remark. More of an observation. “Yes, I make good money at the club and… I’ve been in the studio a bit too. I don’t know though…” You trailed of, hanging your robe up and then turning back to Changkyun who’s chest heaved once with the sharp intake of air. “You trying to seduce me?” You blinked at him and then looked down at yourself before laughing. You look up with a tilt of your head and then bite your lip. “Maybe I am. Is it working?”

Your face pressed to the cool surface of the wall is your answer. This wasn’t your intention at all, but you couldn’t say you minded when you felt the way your body heated to Changkyun pressed against you; he fitted so easily as if he were meant to be a part of you, as if he had always been there that it was so easy for you to relax. His hot breath caressed your ear as sinful words spilled easily past his lips. “Babygirl I’m not feeling very nice tonight.” You shuddered against him, shaky and wanton when you whispered, “So don’t.”

He was quick on the uptake, hands rough in their path as he sought out the inches of your body. “God baby I missed this ass.” Changkyun growled into the back of your neck, hair gripped in his fist as he pushed your face more into the wall. The pads of his hands and the rings that decorated them melding into the skin of your arse as he tightened his grip harshly, drawing restrained whimpers from you. Changkyun shot forward, heavy breaths panting against your cheek as he spat out, “My cock especially missed it babygirl.” Your lips parted to release a stream of broken air as you felt the way your body awakened; nerves, muscles, skin reminiscing the touches of Im Changkyun and how fucking good it had felt. “Did you miss me?” He asked quietly.

The air, if possible, seemed to have solidified, formed some kind of blanket that smothered you, that stopped you from taking air, feeling a painful burn as your body screamed to breath, your airways closing for good it seemed. His knuckles stroking against your arm brought you back and you realised that your eyes had pooled with tears that you attempted to blink away, your voice choked and broken when you whispered back. “More than you would ever believe.” The silence was overwhelming after that, neither of you attempting conversation, or even moving.

It was a while before you felt his lips press to the top of your spine, a strange heat searing from the pressure he applied, your body relaxing as if his lips were a sedative. “I went crazy.” He whispered softly as his hand loosened just slightly in your hair, his fingers shifting to your waist and gently holding the dip of your body, thumb stroking. “I still am.” He suddenly growled, voice rough, but not as rough as how his hand suddenly pushed you further against the wall, both hands tightening in their position making you yelp. “You put me through hell, I’m still in hell.” He growled, ignoring your voice trying to reason with him, trying to tell you how sorry you were, still are for everything. “Changkyun.” You whispered, eyes shutting as your hair pulled back from your aching scalp. “What?” He spat. “What do you have to say that’s going to change what you did? What you put me-- What you’re still putting me through.”

Changkyun was never an angry man, not really. Despite the line of work he was involved in, it was only about the money. He didn’t like to get his hands dirty. But you knew that had changed. And you knew that, that was your fault. And you knew deep down that the only reason he’d feel this way was because despite it all he still loved you…

“I still love you,” You panted against the wall, your lips sticking as you choked out your words desperately. “A-and and nothing I say will ever change, never ever change what I did, but baby… I know you’re angry and… If you need to get it out… Well,” You squeezed your eyes shut as you considered the words you were about to say, knowing it was all kinds of wrong and wouldn’t resolve much, but it was a step forward, a step back towards each other. “You can take it out on me all you want baby.”

Changkyun let out an airy fuck and then he was on his knees, hands falling away from your hair and waist and latching onto your asscheeks. “Still love letting your body be used, huh?” His fingers pushed up your cheeks, nails sinking into your plump flesh as his teeth left stinging nips high up your inner thighs. “ah-ah for you...always.” You sighed, legs jolting a little at the little pinches his teeth made. Changkyun froze for a moment, mulling over your words; they were foreign and made his heart ache, even if the both of you were in this rather explicit position, he knew your words had a deeper meaning, he knew that you were basically giving him some kind of ownership over you, giving yourself to him.

Instead of replying he allowed the tips of his fingers to brush over your skin, over the red indents left on you, his other hand keeping a firm hold of you as you shivered at the dual feeling of his rough grip and featherlight touch. He mouth pushed light kisses over your thighs, suckling just beneath your cheeks. His fingers found the elastic that held your stockings up and pulled back to let it spring stingingly onto your skin, a startled yelp caught in your throat, before his hot tongue came out to lick away the little burning on your skin. Your thighs shook, his breath absorbed by your skin and lighting up everything inside of you as your eyes shut.

“I won’t forgive you if you do this again.” “I know.”

His lips trailed up following the curve of your arse, his nose nuzzling against your skin affectionately and then burying his face between your cheeks, both his hands cupping each one and shaking them around his face before he pulled back. “I can’t believe you wore a thong on stage.” He muttered, half amused, mostly turned on. “Flaunting yourself like that baby, you’re such a tease.” You felt relief settle in your chest at his playful words and wiggled your hips so your arse brushed his face again. “If I knew you’d be there I wouldn’t have bothered to wear anything.” Changkyun groaned, rolling his eyes as he grinned. “Total tease.”

His finger weaved under the material of your thong, hooking and pulling back, your little moans muffled through closed lips as he made your lips swallow the lace between your slit. He tilted his head for his teeth to nibble at your smooth puffy folds, tongue running in a trail of swirls as his wrist flexed to wedge the material even more against you. “Let’s see if you taste as good as I remember…” His finger smoothed the material from your slit and pulled it aside, the tip of his tongue slithering between your folds, feeling the bump of your clit as he brushed over it again and again. Your hips began to push back, your lips parting as you allow soft moans to sing into the air.

Changkyuns fingers spread your folds and allowed the roughness of his tongue to lick slow stripes, stopping just below your puckered anus, your wetness slowly dribbling out, glistening and honey-like as the tip of his tongue maneuvered in circles barely entering your hole. You sucked in air through your teeth, feeling how muscles deep in the pits of your stomach were beginning to tighten. He pulled back with a helpless moan, “Fuck you do still taste so fucking good.” Finally he was forcing his tongue into you, straining his tongue to reach inside of your tight walls , feeling how heavily your wetness stuck to his pallette. Your hand hit against the wall, a restrained squeal that made your neck tighten as his nose pushed deeper, nose nudging your anus like it were his thumb pressing against you.

Abruptly he stood up, barely time for you to register that his warmth had even left as he crushed his body into your back, hands at your hips, pulling back and trailing a hand up between your shoulder blades and pushed down so your chest pressed to the wall and your arse stuck out. “More than the pain, I was fucking starved when you left.” He rasped out, deep voice husky and rumbling against you as his hand holding your hip found your exposed folds, shifting the material of your thong out of the way running your slit once and then finding your hole to slip in. Cool rings pressed to your soft entrance as his finger reached as far as it could and you cried out, unexpected penetration that had your knees bending, pushing even more down onto him and when he slipped a second finger in you whined into the air. “It’s just fingers babygirl, don’t tell me you can’t handle this.” He grinned as he began to scissor into you, each clench of your walls soaking him with your essence, urging his fingers to slip in quicker, arse rippling from his motions.

“Please, please, please.” You gasped, a hand reaching backward and haphazardly searching for changkyun’s cock, grazing his thigh and finally finding that familiar thickness bulging beneath his suit pants. Your hand latched onto him and squeezed, moaning even more as your walls tightened impossibly, imaging that his cock was buried into you and squeezing around him till he was being milked into your cunt. “Oh God~” You cried out. Changkyun growled, ripping your arm away from him and pressing it to your lower back. “You always were cock hungry for me.” He teased, cocky and smirking into your hair as he stretched you with a third finger.

Your walls were stroked with twists and turns of fingers pushing up into you and then you were trying to bounce yourself onto his fingers, his arm tensing as he worked harder to thrust into you, your wetness making lovely squelches as he penetrated. You burned inside out, moans endless, echos bouncing off the walls and spurring changkyun on as he released your arm and slipped around you to and lowered to find your clit. You screamed, writhing against the wall as you tried to push back, his fingers pressing and rubbing as he finger fucked you till you were helplessly shaking, your orgasm breaking inside, like shattered glass as you broke into pieces of unbearable desire. “That’s it babygirl, that’s it.” He soothed, fingers never ceasing till your shaking body was reduced to twitches against the wall.

You were left breathing heavily against the wall, already feeling spent as your knees pressed into the concrete. Changkyun watched how your weakened body slumped against the wall. He smirked, pulling his leather belt from the hoop and briskly unbuckling it till he can pull it out. He unbuttoned his suit pants with haste, pulling the zipper down and pulling his cock out; it felt heavy, impossibly hard and thick as he stroked once, then twice before lining himself up with your hole. You shot up, hands bracing against the wall as the bulb of his cock ran up and down your slickness and then began to push in. “Oh fuck, God, fuck me.” You cried out, wet lips drooling against the wall as he sheathed you, not allowing you time to take him in, your tight walls barely slowing him down as he pushed deep inside of you. His head tilted back in a gasp while you became incoherent, a mix of noises and words spilling from your lips.

The way you squeezed him had you feeling every groove and protruding vein on his cock, but his didn’t allow much time before he was pulling his hips back to begin thrusting at a maddening pace. Your body shook against the wall and you cried out feeling your head almost violently snap back as something pulling you back by your neck - his belt. Changkyuns fists wrapped on each end, pulling the leather back till it pressed harshly unto your throat allowing him to push even quicker inside of you. You quickly became light headed, air slowly unable to fill your lungs as the leather was pulled harder till you were unnaturally bending backward, frantic tear filled eyes staring up and Changkyun’s face. He smirked down at you, even as he gritted his teeth to exert himself even more, even as his groans rumbled deep in his chest he pushed himself into you.

His stepped forward, your chest pressing more into the wall, Changkyun releasing one end of the belt and grasping it with his other so he could squeeze your breast hard. His hand left your breast and then his fingers were at your gaping mouth, rubbing your tongue and inner cheeks messily with his fingers, pushing deeper till your body jerked when he made you gag. He released the belt altogether, forearm round your shoulders and pushing a hand into your lower back. He squeezed you between his chest and the wall and rotated his hips in hard slow circles making you cry out repeated pleas.

“You like this baby? You like this cock?” He said into your hair. “I love it.” You gasped out as he began to thrust again, the mere shake of your whole body stirring the pleasure within you. You began to pulsate around Changkyun who moaned brokenly into your hair as you both neared breaking point.

“Come on baby, cum for me.” You gripped his forearm, nails digging into the material of his dress shirt as you turned your face in search of his lips that melded to yours, a few more thrusts before he was moaning long and low into your mouth, hips stilling deep inside, the twitch of his cock and the pulsing of your walls milking his cum, painting you white deep inside. Your own orgasm triggered, you violently shaking against both him and the wall, Changkyun holding you as securely as he could as your eyes rolled back and then you finally slumped in his arms.

The mess of post-orgasm was in fact not the mix of your cum spilling from you and running between your thighs as he pulled himself out of you, nor was it the tangle of your hair or the sweat that coated your body thickly. The mess was the tense silence, the unasked questions and even worse, the unspoken answers. The mess of thoughts and the mess of feelings muddled and painful.

“Please don’t leave me again.” Your forehead creased, a river of lines filled with pain and need to heal. Your hand found his, gripping tightly, almost as desperate as his broken tear filled voice that had your heart clenching in a painful ache. You forced your tired and weakened body to turn in his arms, fingers finding themselves slipping through the fine soft strands of brown and then your lips hovered against his to whisper a broken and promising “Never.”

Soft kisses and tender touches were the beginnings of sewing the torn pieces of you and Changkyun back together. And you knew that no matter what happened, you’d be willing to mend yourself and him over and over again.

#mxwriters #ksmutnet #boy group writers net #monsta x smut #changkyun smut #i.m smut #monsta x scenarios #sangdoldolfics #unedited #i kinda actually like my writing here idk #kinktober 17

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thisdaynews · 3 years

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BREAKING:Biden Presidency may review visa ban.

New Post has been published on https://thebiafrastar.com/breakingbiden-presidency-may-review-visa-ban/

BREAKING:Biden Presidency may review visa ban.

As emergence of President-elect in the U.S. Presidential election becomes more imminent, authoritative sources close to former Vice President Joe Biden are reeling out salient issues that would form U.S. Africa Policy under his administration. Nigeria, The Guardian gathered, is at the centre of it all. President Donald Trump of the Republican Party and Biden each claim to be leading in the bitter election. While Trump campaign is contesting counts in key states of Nevada, Wisconsin, Georgia, Pennsylvania and Michigan, projections say Biden won in Wisconsin and Michigan. The two swing states (Wisconsin and Michigan) have a total of 26 electoral votes. Biden is also presumed to win in Nevada and Arizona, two other critical states to both candidates. Biden, last night, stopped short of declaring himself winner, but said he was very confident to beat his Republican rival. Pennsylvania, with 20 electoral votes, is critical to the conclusion of the process, but Democrats say they are hopeful to win the state by a significant margin. “The United States will have a president-elect tonight, a source said. At 66.9 per cent, Tuesday’s election voter turnout was America’s highest in 120 years, and Biden had the 70.5 million votes already, the most won by any presidential candidate ever. MEANWHILE, an authoritative ally of Biden, yesterday, hinted that the potential U.S. government run by Democrats would drive positive Africa-specific policies with special interest on Nigeria. According to Ambassador Johnnie Carson, who serves as Senior Advisor at the United States Institute of Peace in Washington, DC, Biden, as President, will most likely differ on the United State’s current position regarding the choice of Nigeria’s Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala as Director-general of the World Trade Organisation (WTO). Trump’s administration had opposed the presentation of Okonjo-Iweala as the popular choice by WTO Troika to the General Council as popular choice. The U.S., instead, preferred her South Korean rival, Yoo Myung-hee. Carson who disclosed this to The Guardian, at the 2020 US Presidential Election reporting Seminar virtually taking place in Hawaii, said “more attention will be paid to Africa now by Biden.” Carson explained that the Biden’s expected drive for review and revival of strong U.S.’ Africa policy would be triggered and sustained by the domestic support his campaign enjoyed from the Black and other demographic groups within the United States in the run up to the presidential election. Carson, as a diplomat, served as principal deputy assistant secretary of state for African affairs, staff director of the House Subcommittee on Africa, national intelligence officer for Africa, and deputy chief of mission in Maputo, Mozambique and Gaborone, Botswana. He also held assignments at the U.S. embassies in Lisbon, Portugal; London, England; and Lagos, Nigeria. Ambassador Carson is also a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and board member of the American Academy of Diplomacy and the National Democratic Institute. Ambassador Carson noted a number of global and transnational issues on which the United States and African countries should be working together to include public health pandemic, terrorism and helping Africa deal with its “youth bunch” as the “youngest continent in the world.” Carson, who said that Africa-specific policy of the U.S. under President Donald Trump was negative said Trump’s decision to pull out from the Paris climate change agreement was a big blow to Africa, especially as former President Barack Obama had put in $2 billion. According to him, “Africa will be most affected (by climate change) and has the least resources to deal with it.” Carson told a group of international journalists at the virtual session of the ongoing 2020 U.S. Presidential Election Reporting Seminar organised by the East-West Center, Hawaii. The career diplomat who served as assistant secretary of state for African affairs during the first administration of President Obama from 2009 to 2013, said Trump’s Immigration Policy that announced visa ban, especially for Muslim countries — four of which were African countries — specifically targeted Nigeria, Sudan, Chad and Mozambique — would be reviewed. “Nigeria was particularly under focus and Trump administration has a proposal that will exclude Nigeria and African countries from visa lottery,” he said. Ambassador Carson specifically said that Biden would review Trump’s threat that United States would pull out of the World Health Organisation, whose head is an Ethiopian and revisit the “global policy of the U.S. against Africa.” He explained that former vice president, Biden would toe the path of his former boss, president Obama in re-invigorating Africa partnerships in areas of power, agriculture, security and fight against terrorism. “Under Obama, we saw the Power Africa Initiative for the electrification of Africa and Green Revolution projects. We also saw the (YALI Africa) programme for youths of Africa to provide leadership skills.” He said he believed that Africa, in encouraging its youths with economic opportunities and progress, would find willing partner in Biden Presidency IN corroborating Carson’s position on a potentially drastic shift in U.S foreign policy, Michael Kugelman, the deputy director and senior associate for South Asia at the Woodrow Wilson Center, said Biden would be more willing to call out India on human rights violation. “We should expect criticisms more than we saw during Trump administration,” Kugelman said, arguing that Biden’s boss, Obama, openly criticised India on New Delhi issues. Kugelman also speculated that Biden would be “more willing to call out Bangladesh on its crackdown on political opposition.” Professor Charles Kupchan, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations said a new administration led by Biden would see a doubling-down on America-first mantra to pursue a more robust U.S.-Europe Relations. “ Many Europeans are surprised at how U.S. has not been playing its role. We will now see the United States as a member of the liberal democrats community standing shoulder to shoulder with other liberal democracies,” said Kupchan.

The relationship between the United Kingdom and the United States will be fine, but I’m not sure it’s going to matter much, Kupchan said of expected U.S.-UK relations under Biden. Kupchan is a professor of International Affairs at Georgetown University in the Walsh School of Foreign Service and Department of Government.

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kindlecomparedinfo · 4 years

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COVID-19 crisis spurs triple-digit growth for refurbishing startup Back Market

Eva Yoo Contributor

Eva Yoo is founder of Seek Road, the project wherein she cycles from Seoul to London while interviewing startups on the Silk Road.

More posts by this contributor

How this Kazakhstan internet giant built success on ideas from Russia and China

While a number of startups have been hard hit by efforts to curb the spread of the COVID-19 virus, refurbishing firm Back Market is showing increased growth globally.

The Paris -based startup encourages customers to send in their old devices so they can be refurbished and resold into the e-commerce secondhand market. The growth achieved in the midst of the COVID-19 crisis is partly due to increased laptop sales as people seek better devices to work remotely.

For people who are unsure whether refurbished products are reliable, Back Market permits customers to send in old devices, exchange them for newer versions and pay the difference. CEO Thibaud Hug de Larauze said this payback service is currently possible only in France, but starting in Q2, it will be available in other markets.

Founded in 2014, Back Market has raised a total of €48 million in funding over two rounds, most recently a Series B in June 2018. The company is profitable and reportedly still has money to spend from its last funding round.

“We don’t release the gross merchandise volume, but it’s a three-digit growth rate,” Hug de Larauze told TechCrunch. “We saw an increase in demand for laptops, printers and other devices needed for working at home. Demand for refurbished phones is going down as people seek to get the first necessity items, like food for their situation.”

Over the past two weeks, Back Market saw skyrocketing demand from Italy, a nation with a high coronavirus death toll where citizens were warned they would be confined to their homes for four weeks.

Another factor that helped the platform’s growth: Smartphone brands like Apple and Samsung closed their retail stores, a move that turned Back Market into a major supply channel. While offline retailers and carriers are shut down in Europe, Hug de Larauze says Chinese offline retailers and refurbishing factories are starting to get back to work.

from RSSMix.com Mix ID 8176395 https://techcrunch.com/2020/04/06/covid-19-crisis-spurs-triple-digit-growth-for-refurbishing-startup-back-market/ via http://www.kindlecompared.com/kindle-comparison/

#RSSMix.com Mix ID 8176395

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un-enfant-immature · 4 years

Text

COVID-19 crisis spurs triple-digit growth for refurbishing startup Back Market

Eva Yoo Contributor

Eva Yoo is founder of Seek Road, the project wherein she cycles from Seoul to London while interviewing startups on the Silk Road.

More posts by this contributor

How this Kazakhstan internet giant built success on ideas from Russia and China

While a number of startups have been hard hit by efforts to curb the spread of the COVID-19 virus, refurbishing firm Back Market is showing increased growth globally.

Over the past two weeks, Back Market saw skyrocketing demand from Italy, a nation with a high coronavirus death toll where citizens were warned they would be confined to their homes for four weeks.

#TechCrunch

0 notes

magzoso-tech · 4 years

Text

COVID-19 crisis spurs triple-digit growth for refurbishing startup Back Market

New Post has been published on https://magzoso.com/tech/covid-19-crisis-spurs-triple-digit-growth-for-refurbishing-startup-back-market/

COVID-19 crisis spurs triple-digit growth for refurbishing startup Back Market

Eva Yoo Contributor

Eva Yoo is founder of Seek Road, the project wherein she cycles from Seoul to London while interviewing startups on the Silk Road.

More posts by this contributor

How this Kazakhstan internet giant built success on ideas from Russia and China

While a number of startups have been hard hit by efforts to curb the spread of the COVID-19 virus, refurbishing firm Back Market is showing increased growth globally.

The Paris-based startup encourages customers to send in their old devices so they can be refurbished and resold into the e-commerce secondhand market. The growth achieved in the midst of the COVID-19 crisis is partly due to increased laptop sales as people seek better devices to work remotely.

Over the past two weeks, Back Market saw skyrocketing demand from Italy, a nation with a high coronavirus death toll where citizens were warned they would be confined to their homes for four weeks.

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s-leary · 7 years

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Fascism Watch, February 6

(image by Steve Sack)

Trump

Ron Rosenbaum, world-class expert on the rise of Hitler, refused to write about Trump for months. Until now.

Cut to the current election. We had heard allegations that Trump kept Hitler’s speeches by his bedside, but somehow we normalized that. We didn’t take him seriously because of all the outrageous, clownish acts and gaffes we thought would cause him to drop out of the race. Except these gaffes were designed to distract. This was his secret strategy, the essence of his success — you can’t take a stand against Trump because you don’t know where Trump is standing. You can’t find him guilty of evil, you can’t find him at all.

Government by White Nationalism Is Upon Us

President Trump is now speculating that the media is covering up terrorist attacks

Speaking to the U.S. Central Command on Monday, President Trump went off his prepared remarks to make a truly stunning claim: The media was intentionally covering up reports of terrorist attacks.

“You’ve seen what happened in Paris, and Nice. All over Europe, it’s happening,” he said to the assembled military leaders. “It’s gotten to a point where it’s not even being reported. And in many cases the very, very dishonest press doesn’t want to report it. They have their reasons, and you understand that.”

John Yoo op-ed: Executive Power Run Amok

As an official in the Justice Department, I followed in Hamilton’s footsteps, advising that President George W. Bush could take vigorous, perhaps extreme, measures to protect the nation after the Sept. 11 attacks, including invading Afghanistan, opening the Guantánamo detention center and conducting military trials and enhanced interrogation of terrorist leaders. Likewise, I supported President Barack Obama when he drew on this source of constitutional power for drone attacks and foreign electronic surveillance.

But even I have grave concerns about Mr. Trump’s uses of presidential power.

Yoo is the author of the Bush-era Torture Memos.

A Der Spiegel op-ed has called for a German-led international alliance against Trump.

The United States president is becoming a danger to the world. It is time for Germany and Europe to prepare their political and economic defenses.

Donald Trump will not be allowed to address Parliament on UK state visit

“However, as far as this place is concerned I feel very strongly that our opposition to racism and to sexism and our support for equality before the law and an independent judiciary are hugely important considerations in the House of Commons.”

"Any negative polls are fake news": President Trump encourages his 24M Twitter followers to ignore accurate polls

Over a dozen state AGs support lawsuit against Trump ban

Bipartisan NatSec officials to court: “In our professional opinion, the Order was ill-conceived, poorly implemented and ill-explained.”

Mike Huckabee to Fox Business: I don't understand the role of the judiciary, and I'll frame my ignorance in toxic masculinity!

I think in the past we have had an executive branch that has emasculated itself by surrendering constantly to the idea that once the court says something, that's it. It's the law of the land, and when I hear that phrase, it's the law of the land cause the court said it, I think did you guys pass ninth grade civics for gosh sake? The court can't make law. They cannot legislate.

Last week's Yemen raid should warrant as much investigation as Benghazi did

But by Republican standards, this should be a major, impeachment-worthy scandal. Unless there’s some arbitrary minimum number of U.S. casualties (greater than one but less than four) above which administrative heads should roll, there’s no standard by which Benghazi should have become the subject of a vast, conspiratorial inquest, but the botched raid in Yemen should not.

Melania Trump’s lawyers admit she hoped to cash in on being First Lady by selling clothes and fragrances

Russia

Kremlin says it wants apology from Fox News over Putin comments

Congress

The craziest politician in Washington last week was not Donald Trump. Let's talk about the amazeballs letter Patrick McHenry sent to Janet Yellen.

Congressman Rep. Patrick T. McHenry (R-NC.), a vice-chairman on the House Financial Services Committee, has sent a blistering letter to Federal Reserve Chair Yellen telling her in no uncertain terms to stop cooperating with other central banks and insurance supervisors over global rules of conduct, at least until the new administration has given her a clear political line to follow.

Oversight chairman seeking copy of Trump hotel lease Jason Chaffetz makes a vague gesture toward doing his job! Stop the presses!

Cabinet & Federal Appointees

NPR lists the status of all the Cabinet nominees' confirmations!

CNN has finally refused to book Kellyanne Conway, which more news outlets should do when WH representatives stand up and lie to the public. Her claim that the "Bowling Green Massacre" was a slip is belied by earlier instances of the same nonexistent incident. Mika Brzezinski says MSNBC has also passed on having Conway on Morning Joe.

Scott Pruitt, EPA pick, perjured himself. No one cares.

(@igorvolsky tweet)

The Ethics Case Against Betsy DeVos

As former ethics counsels to Presidents Obama and George W. Bush, we’ve reviewed more than our share of ethics filings for cabinet nominees. Seldom have we seen a worse cabinet-level ethics mess than that presented by Betsy DeVos, President Trump’s choice for education secretary.

Her extensive financial holdings present significant—and unresolved—conflict of interest issues. She also failed to provide the Senate with accurate information about her involvement with outside organizations. We have regretfully come to the conclusion that these concerns disqualify DeVos for that cabinet position.

Nearly 250 education and civil rights groups say they oppose Betsy DeVos. Kellyanne Conway says the opposition to DeVos isn't from "real people."

Democrats are holding the Senate floor all night to rally opposition to DeVos.

#fascism watch #fascism #hitler #nazis #Ron Rosenbaum #john yoo #mike huckabee #Patrick McHenry #janet yellen #kellyanne conway #Mika Brzezinski #scott pruitt #betsy devos #jason chaffetz

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endenogatai · 4 years

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COVID-19 crisis spurs triple-digit growth for refurbishing startup Back Market

Eva Yoo Contributor

Eva Yoo is founder of Seek Road, the project wherein she cycles from Seoul to London while interviewing startups on the Silk Road.

More posts by this contributor

How this Kazakhstan internet giant built success on ideas from Russia and China

While a number of startups have been hard hit by efforts to curb the spread of the COVID-19 virus, refurbishing firm Back Market is showing increased growth globally.

Over the past two weeks, Back Market saw skyrocketing demand from Italy, a nation with a high coronavirus death toll where citizens were warned they would be confined to their homes for four weeks.

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vudansmarue · 3 years

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Paris, 2021

#europe #paris 13 #parvati #dan lamy #k yoo #ms beja

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conservativeamericatoday · 7 years

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youtube

You just can't believe everything that liberal media says. Subscribe us now to get the REAL NEWS everyday. Click Here To Subscribe: https://goo.gl/Jak4Sa The President has so many duties, many of which have to do with diplomacy and dealing with foreign leaders. To that end the President and First Lady have been in France, having what is considered to be a very successful time there. France and the United States being long time allies have many dealings with one another, and President Trump is eager to make sure the issues held dear by himself and those who elected him are seen to. Even more important than diplomacy though is the President’s role as Commander in Chief of the armed forces. He is the guy that not only commands those forces, but he should (and thankfully does) feel responsible for the soldiers sailors and airmen after they come back home. Unlike our former President, our current commander in chief has a deep respect for those who have served. Because of this, he tries to express that respect and give honor to them whenever possible. That opportunity came when the President and First Lady were with the French President and First Lady to celebrate Bastille Day (which is somewhat like our 4th celebration). President Trump paused in his remarks to say something that should make all Americans thrilled that he represents us. The president arrived early Thursday morning and was whisked away from Paris Orly Airport to the U.S. ambassador’s residence in central Paris. The streets were closed off to traffic while Trump’s motorcade drove past, but the cars on the tail end of his entourage took a wrong turn, drove into oncoming traffic and barely dodged a few pedestrians. The traveling press corps was among the lost cars and was not able to document Trump’s arrival at the ambassador’s residence. The White House would not immediately respond to a request for confirmation that Trump had arrived, though journalists were eventually brought to the residence to wait for the president’s meetings to conclude. President Donald Trump is honoring American World War II veterans during a ceremony at the U.S. Embassy in Paris. The president is noting in a video clip posted to his Twitter account that the bonds between the U.S. and France were “forged in the fires of war.” Trump was joined at the outdoor event by three American veterans of the D-Day landings in Normandy in June 1944. The president is calling them ‘real heroes’ who ‘fought for freedom in its hour of need.’ Trump is meeting later this afternoon with French President Emmanuel Macron (eh-mahn-yoo-EHL’ mah-KROHN’) and holding a joint news conference.”“Trump arrived in the French capital Thursday morning, hours before he meets with Macron to tackle potential solutions to the crisis in Syria and broader counterterrorism strategies. Trump’s decision last month to withdraw the U.S. from the Paris climate accord sparked outrage across Europe and anti-Trump protests are planned while he is in Paris. The leaders plan to hold a news conference after their talks. Trump may face tough questions about emails revealing that his eldest son welcomed the prospect of receiving Russian government support in last year’s presidential campaign against Hillary Clinton. President Donald Trump and his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron (eh-mahn-yoo-EHL’ mah-KROHN’), are looking to set aside differences on trade and climate change and find common ground as they meet ahead of Bastille Day celebrations in Paris. President Donald Trump will be meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron (eh-mahn-yoo-EHL’ mah-KROHN’) as part of his visit to France for Bastille Day celebrations in Paris. Tags The Next News Network LATEST CONSPIRACY THEORIES NEWS Duterte Daily News Breaking News DONALD Donald trump TRUMP TRUMP LATEST NEWS USA morning news abs cbn aguirre ariana grande binira binuking breaking President Donald Trump President Trump RONNIE DAYAN Rais Magufuli news breaking news 365 fox news obama The first lady was greeted by senior Paris medical officials during the tour and later met with some of the hospital’s young patients. Reporters covering President Donald Trump’s trip to Paris are getting off to a rather chaotic start after a segment of his motorcade was separated from him.”

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nofomoartworld · 7 years

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Hyperallergic: An Introduction to the Hungarian Neo-Avant-Garde of the 1960s and ’70s

Installation view of With the Eyes of Others at Elizabeth Dee gallery (all images courtesy of Elizabeth Dee gallery)

Elizabeth Dee had a brave and rather curious idea to host an exhibition of the Hungarian neo-avant-garde. Allegedly prompted by her encounter with the work of Dóra Maurer — a seminal figure of the scene and one of the very few Eastern European artists who has enjoyed visibility in New York during the past decade — Dee hosts a show which is as compelling and opaque as its subject. Curated by András Szántó, a Budapest-born, New York City-based cultural consultant, With the Eyes of the Others: Hungarian Artists of the Sixties and Seventies is a dense survey of over a hundred works by thirty artists, and although it is the first presentation in New York City of this barely known topic, it contains not a single label, only brief wall texts.

Installation view

The familiar artistic idioms range from large-scale, colorful, geometric abstract paintings to happenings like Tamás Szentjóby’s, “Sit Out/Be Forbidden” [1972], conceptual work such as Dóra Maurer’s, “Proportions,” 1976), and body art projects that include Tibor Hajas’s, “Extinction,” (1979) by artists whose names are anything but familiar within the New York scene. Ilona Keserü Ilona’s stitched linen tapestry evokes the textiles of the Pattern and Decoration movement, Imre Bak’s boldly colored, abstract canvases bring to mind hard-edge painting, and Maurer’s painted wood panels are reminiscent of the work of Jo Baer and Lygia Pape. Readily available connections are also present in some of the exhibition’s performance-based pieces — the black and white studio photographs of Katalin Ladik’s and Tibor Hajas’s naked and often distorted bodies share obvious affinities with the work of Hannah Wilke, Vito Acconci, Ana Mendieta, or the Viennese Actionists.

Ilona Keserü,”Wall-Hanging with Tombstone Forms (Tapestry)” (1969) stitching on chemically dyed linen, 61 3/8 x 145 5/8 inches (156 x 370 cm)

The links that seem to bridge the Cold War division between East and West stem as much from the thorough documentation of avant-garde movements (such as Dada and Surrealism) in Central Eastern Europe, as from the postwar artistic networks created among the countries within the Eastern Bloc. The cultural information exchange among countries without art markets was prompted by a desire to break their isolation by learning what was happening in Warsaw, Krakow, and Prague, as well as in New York and Dusseldorf. For artists in Hungary, where traditions of radical art had been scarcer than in Poland or Czechoslovakia, local networks were particularly useful in reclaiming a half-real, half-imagined place in the Western canon. Infrequent and invaluable travels to Vienna, Stuttgart, Cologne, or Paris, and semi-secretly circulated catalogues of exhibitions such as documenta 4 (1968) and When Attitudes Become Form (1968) provided additional knowledge about the contemporary art scenes beyond the Iron Curtain. An exhibition of shared affinities, With the Eyes of the Others is a case in point that postwar Central Eastern Europe was, as Boris Groys put it, the “close Other” of the West.

Endre Tót, “Look! Here’s a giant zero for yoo!” (1974), postcard (offset, paper), 7 5/8 x 4 5/8 inches (19.4 x 11.7 cm)

What makes this exhibition compelling, however, is not kinships and affiliations, but the key difference that separates the Hungarian neo-avant-garde from the work of Western European and North American artists: artists in Central Eastern Europe worked in authoritarian states. In Hungary, under János Kádár’s soft dictatorship from 1956 to the late 1980s, all forms of cultural production were governed by inscrutable and fluctuating censorship laws. The participating artists, whether dissipated bohemians or stout ascetics, were placed outside or on the periphery of official culture during the years of Goulash Communism. Since they operated through well-rehearsed practices of self-censorship, most of their works were tolerated by the regime, but as Szántó writes in the catalogue, they still had to play “a perpetual game of hide-and-seek with the authorities.”

What makes the exhibited works unique is their often veiled yet inescapable politics — one way or another all of them are expressions of dissent. The non-figurative works by Keserü Ilona, Bak, Maurer or, István Nádler and János Megyik, among many others, defied the official disapproval of abstract art. The abstracted ethnographic motifs in Keserü Ilona’s and Bak’s paintings, for example, Keserü Ilona’s “Wall-Hanging with Tombstone Forms (Tapestry)” (1969) and Bak’s, “Purple-green-blue,” (1967) contested the Kádár regime’s often vulgarized cultivation of folk culture. The nude studio performances and unauthorized street actions by Ladik, Hajas, and Szentjóby challenged socialist morals and the power of the police state. The exhibition also displays the photographic documentation of Bálint Szombathy’s solitary march with a Lenin poster in hand on May Day, “Lenin in Budapest” (1972), as well as the graphic works and mail art projects of the formidable Endre Tót such as “I am glad if I can type zeros,” (1975) which demonstrate other aspects of the political — namely parody and satire. More than a typical ingredient of conceptual art, humor is a strategy of dissent and a survival tool: it can transgress social codes, blur lines and obfuscate meanings, thus making the task of censors more difficult. Tót’s postcard, “Look! Here’s a giant zero for yoo!” (1974) is a modest yet intricate joke on the viewer, a commentary about the futility of art making, as well as giving a cheerful finger to any and all higher powers.

Dóra Maurer, 5 out of 4 I-III, 1979, acrylic on wood, 74 3/4 x 94 1/2 inches, 190 x 240 cm overall

This is an exhibition of uncharted territories, given that Eastern European avant-garde art tends to be a blind spot in the Anglo-American narrative of the neo-avant-gardes. And unfortunately, With the Eyes of the Others requires from its audience a knowledge of a region and its history that the gallery presentation alone does not provide given the lack of labels and the paucity of information in the wall texts. The catalogue, especially the essays of Hungarian art historians, Emese Kürti and Dávid Fehér, is therefore recommended reading — they provide much-needed contextual information that helps us read in-between the lines and recognize the politics of dissent in the art we see.

Bálint Szombathy, Lenin in Budapest, 1972/2016, thirteen gelatin silver prints, 21 5/8 x 16 7/8 inches (55 x 43 cm) each (framed), edition 3/5

With the Eyes of the Others: Hungarian Artists of the Sixties and Seventies continues at the Elizabeth Dee gallery (2033/2037 Fifth Avenue, Harlem, Manhattan) until August 12.

The post An Introduction to the Hungarian Neo-Avant-Garde of the 1960s and ’70s appeared first on Hyperallergic.

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