#attendance system using face recognition

[third-eyeai]

Facial Recognition Access Control System

Secure your business with ThirdEye AI's facial recognition access control system. Our technology uses advanced facial recognition for field workforce authentication, ensuring only authorised personnel have access. This system streamlines access control while boosting security and efficiency. Enhance your business operations with AI-powered authentication that delivers accurate, reliable results.

[shephertzai]

Discover how Cyberline Racing achieved success by partnering with App42. Read the case study to learn their formula for success!

[ukrfeminism]

Music colleges and conservatoires are deterring women and girls from playing “masculine instruments” such as drums and trumpets, a parliamentary report laying bare sexism in the music industry has revealed.

Female students are “cat-called in rehearsals”, held to a higher standard with “masculine” instruments and being told they cannot play properly if “they didn’t sit with their legs open”, the report states.

The Misogyny in Music report by parliament’s women and equalities committee found female musicians faced “endemic” discrimination in the industry which they described as a “boys’ club where sexual harassment and abuse is common”.

A series of female musicians and DJs including Annie Macmanus, Rebecca Ferguson and Katie Waissel gave evidence to the committee about discrimination and abuse they had witnessed or experienced.

Waissel, the former X Factor contestant, told the inquiry how “at the age of 16, she was grabbed by a much older man and placed on his lap in the recording studio while they were reviewing the track she was recording”.

The report found that many female performers who had been the victims of “discrimination, harassment and abuse” continued to be silenced through the widespread use of non-disclosure agreements (NDAs).

It said: “Women in the music industry have had their lives ruined and their careers destroyed by men who have never faced the consequences for their actions. 

“People in the industry who attend award shows and parties currently do so sitting alongside sexual abusers who remain protected by the system and by colleagues.”

The report went on: “Much of the evidence we received has had to remain confidential, including commentary on television shows and household names.

“That is highly regrettable but demonstrates the extent of the use of NDAs and the culture of silence.”

The report outlined gender disparities throughout the industry. For example, less than 5 per cent of the producers or engineers on the top streamed tracks in 14 genres were female or non-binary, while of all the songwriters and composers who received a royalty in 2020, only one in six were female.

It also pointed out that the record label departments charged with finding new talent were dominated by men, concluding: “Women have significant additional barriers to pass to get a foothold in the music industry and must navigate acts of passive aggression, ridicule and misogyny to have a sustainable career. 

“Female artists are routinely undervalued and undermined, endure a focus on their physical appearance in a way that men are not subjected to, and have to work far harder to get the recognition their ability merits. Despite increases in representation, discrimination and misogyny remain endemic.”

The committee also called for music colleges, conservatoires and other educational establishment “to do more to address the gendering of instruments, roles and genres.”

Its members heard that “in many cases women are discouraged from playing certain instruments at all’, with one witness saying: “There is this idea that if you’re a girl you can’t play the drums, or if you’re a girl you can’t play the trumpet really loudly because it will make you look ugly.”

The report said that the Musicians’ Union had described female students being “cat-called in rehearsals”, “made to feel uncomfortable by male lecturers” and being told “they couldn’t play their instrument properly if they didn’t sit with their legs open in orchestra rehearsals”.

Caroline Nokes, the Conservative MP who chairs the committee, said “endemic misogyny … has persisted for far too long within the music industry.”

She added: “A shift in the behaviour of men — and it is almost always men — at the heart of the music industry is the transformative change needed for talented women to quite literally have their voices heard and be both recognised and rewarded on equal terms.”

[bunniekittiee]

my sweet angel- johnny slaughter x reader

Based off of Sunday Morning by Ethel Cain. You worshipping Johnny. Reader is so far gone. Johnny is a POS but what can you expect from him? Do not feel bad for him.

ᴛᴡ: sᴛᴏᴄᴋʜᴏʟᴍ sʏɴᴅʀᴏᴍᴇ, ʀᴇʟɪɢɪᴏɴ, ɢᴏʀᴇ, ᴅᴜʙ-ᴄᴏɴ, ᴀʙᴜsᴇ, ɴᴏɴ-ᴄᴏɴ ʙᴜᴛ ɴᴏᴛ ɪɴ ᴇxᴛʀᴇᴍᴇ ᴅᴇᴛᴀɪʟ, ᴅᴇɢʀᴀᴅᴀᴛɪᴏɴ

18+ MDNI

Every day, every night, almost every hour if he could, he was inside of you. Breeding you, corrupting you, defiling you. Like an innocent doe and a starving wolf. Licking his chops and drooling with desire. He sank his teeth into you and claimed you as his own. No one else could have you, and he made sure of this. He scared off any of his family that would try to talk to you. You were alone, all you needed was him.

You did not have the freedom you wished you had. You were chained up in his room with an old, uncomfortable mattress and very little sunlight. A wolf kept his prey hidden from onlookers. He would leave for long hours without telling you when he would ever come back. He did not give you the respect of that, he left you wondering when he would return. When he left, you hated him and you felt it coil in your stomach. Your heart would pound with jealousy, your ears would ring, you had trouble breathing. You knew how easy it was for him to find another woman to please him if you could not. You needed him, but he did not need you. You relied on him so much, he was your captor and you disgustingly loved him. That’s what made it hurt so much. But that sickly, loving feeling spread across your chest when he entered the room with your lunch or when he was taking a break to fuck you. At least he made an effort to pay attention to you.

“Been busy in the yard.” He said as he set down your plate on the floor. “I have ta’ fix ta’ sprinkler system. It’s been a bitch.”

You nodded your head in recognition, crawling towards him. He glanced at you, tilting his head slightly. “Did someone miss me?”

When you hummed in agreement, he smirked. “Show me how much ya’ missed me, sweet pea.”

As if your hands had a mind of their own, they immediately went to his belt, fumbling with the buckle. He let you figure it out yourself. He never made a move to help you. You wanted to do it, you do it. Why should he help a miserable bitch like you?

“Best hurry it up.” He hissed as he wrenched his hands on your scalp. “Don’t keep me waitin’.”

Shoving your mouth onto him, he tightened his grip on your hair and began to face fuck you. Tears spilled from your pretty, doe-like eyes as he abused your mouth. He looked down at you, a wide, evil smile ghosting his lips. Corrupting God’s innocent.

The combination of your tears, gags, and eyes sent him over the edge, spilling his mess inside of your mouth without warning. It felt toxic, blood-hot and it coated your entire mouth. He made sure your mouth was full of his creations before you swallowed. The uncomfortable sensation between your legs made you squeeze your thighs together, but he disregarded it. Buttoning his pants up and buckling his belt, he left without another word from him. Left you with a sopping wet face and an empty pit in your stomach. You ignored the food he gave you and laid down on the mattress. Drifting off, you wondered how life would be if Johnny loved you too.

Your dreams were very empty. There wasn’t much to dream about when you were stuck in a room that did not give you much to be entertained by. Johnny was your lifeline, but you never saw much of him to begin with. He did not need you, he only used you for his own pleasure. But it would be soon before he disposed of you. He would move on, find the next best thing to satisfy him once you were dried up and worthless. The wolf had much more prey to attend to, he could not stick to just one. He said you were a special girl, his only girl, but you knew he was lying straight out out of his teeth.

Worshipping Johnny came with its downfalls. He loved the way you came and took care of his every sexual need. All of his desires. You were so willing to make him feel good. You never put your pleasure first. But he never felt the same way back. He never made the effort back for you. But why should he?

He was your God. You worshipped him. Why would he do the same for you? You would lick the blood off the heel of his boot if it meant that he would love you and give you attention in his own insane way. You thought that he liked the attention he got. Sometimes you could see it in his face that he enjoyed every minute of it.

You were risen out of your sleep by the creak of the door and light coming into the room. Squinting your eyes, you tried to make out who the figure was despite how unadjusted your eyes were. When was the last time you saw the light? You knew somewhat what time of day it was when Johnny would wake up and leave, come back for a few breaks, and then saunter back for bed.

“Hey sweet thang,” he said as you looked at him sleepily. “How’s my pretty girl been?”

Your heart swelled as he said this and you mumbled back an “okay” as you blinked a few times. It was taking a while to adjust.

“I know I haven’t been ’round a whole lot. Must get real lonely up here.” He said with a devious smile. It was untrustworthy. “I thought I’d spend a bit of time with ya’. Got ya’ a friend too.”

Your eyes widened as he pulled another girl into view. Her mouth was gagged, eyes wide with fear as she frantically looked at you. Her arms and legs were bound and she was on the floor.

Your blood ran hot in your whole body and your heart was pounding in your ears. That white, searing hot jealousy coursed through your entire body. Johnny was supposed to be only yours, just like you were all his. Why did he need another woman? What were they doing that you weren’t? You gave into all of his needs. What more could he have wanted?

“I thought ya’ could use another person around to keep ya’ company. I get ta’ benefit of enjoyin’ you both.” He said as he pulled up a stool and sat down on it, legs wide open as he held his knife. “But it’s like introducin’ a baby animal to an adult one, ya’ gotta see if they are compatible.”

The girl’s eyes flooded with tears as she realized her situation was much worse than she thought. It was either be killed by him or be killed by you. It made her angry. It made her want to scream at both of you. You were just as guilty as him for not doing anything. Johnny looked at her in wonder and reached his hand forward to take the gag off of her mouth.

“Fuck you!” she yelled out as Johnny laughed at her misery.

“That a way to talk to me?” He said as he slammed her head into the ground. “Ya’ best treat me with respect, your life is in my hands, baby doll.”

The use of pet names he only used on you made you sick. Extremely nauseated. You wanted to hurt Johnny and her. Mainly her for stumbling upon the forttress and causing Johnny to take a liking to her. You were so fucked in the head, maybe fucked so stupid, that you blamed her for everything. Johnny was your God, he could do no wrong. It was her fault.

Tears stinging your eyes, you looked away from the scene of Johnny whispering sweet nothings in her ear, the same things he told you. “Be a good girl and maybe I won’t bite as hard.”

Jealousy radiated off of you and you felt yourself become dizzy from the amount of blood that pulsed through your body. You wanted to kill her for taking your Johnny away.

“Help!” She screamed as she tried to claw away from Johnny, but he grabbed her and held her down, sitting on her back instead of the stool.

“That ain’t a way to thank me, sweetheart. Ya’ could have been dinner. Fuckin’ thank me for my generosity.” He said as he pulled onto her scalp. He was getting angry.

“W-why her?” You asked out loud, eyeing both of them.

He snapped his head up in your direction. “Thought it would be quite fun havin’ the both of ya’ to enjoy.”

Your heart sank and you felt yourself breathing hard. Why did he have to bring her? In your twisted way, you wanted him all for yourself. You wanted to enjoy every part of Johnny, inviting him inside of you and letting him live inside of you like a parasite. He was your life now, but you were not his. A mere toy.

As more tears tapped onto the rotten floor, Johnny reached his hand out to your face. “Awe, what’s ta’ matter baby doll? Ya’ don’t like sharin’?”

Throat practically closed up, you could barely speak. You continued to cry, your weeping clashing with the victim’s wails. It drove the Slaughter boy crazy. He thoroughly enjoyed it when his victims cried, whether it was out of fear, sexual violence, or sadness. It flipped a switch inside of him.

“All this damn cryin’ is makin’ me frustrated.” he said roughly. “How about I put ya’ to the test? See if ya’ worthy of replacin’ her.” He winked at you as these words slipped past his lips and it made your stomach tighten more. You felt like you were going to get sick.

He flipped the girl over and began to rip her pants off, making your jealously turn you into a hazy, almost blacked out mess. You wanted to scream at both them, you wanted to kill her. You wanted to kill Johnny for doing this to you. For playing with your feelings, for being so cruel to you. You did everything right.

Your vision was blurry as he cut her panties off with his knife. He was unbuckling his belt with his other hand and the victim screamed. She screeched like an animal caught in a trap, but it was not enough to deter Johnny.

“Now now, just sit still.” He said as he placed a hand on her lower stomach, sinking into her forcefully. The screams made your head spin, you felt like passing out. He did this on purpose, he wanted to test you. That’s all it was.

He looked at you, grinning from ear-to-ear. “Ya’ want to take the knife? I see ya’ considerin’ it, doll face. Come on, take it!”

He held his hand out to you with his knife splayed out. With trembling hands, you took it and gripped it. This knife killed many, killed your friends, killed those before your friends, and it would continue its legacy.

“I think this pussy might be better.” he said, a bit out of breath. “Not as used and abused like yours.” If his grin could get wider, it sure did. His face was obscured by shadows, but you could still make out his features. Those eyes.

Envy ate away at your bones as the woman bawled. Moving closer, you tightened your grip on the knife as she stared at you with panic-stricken eyes. The weapon reflected back in her blue irises.

“I think she would be a great replacement.” Johnny bellowed out. “Maybe ya’ should learn ta’ share, Y/N.”

Plunging the knife into her chest, you clenched your jaw and felt your vision go black. You were not in control anymore. This animalistic fury have possessed your body. Johnny watched in amazement as you continued to stab her in the chest, grunting and shrieking as you did so. You and Bubba had something in common. Johnny had stopped thrusting and took himself out of her, pulled up his pants and moved back as he watched the disarray unfolded right in front of him.

You were doused in blood. The smell was hanging in the air and stained the floor. Her chest looked like ground beef, her heart ground up in pieces with the amount of times you stabbed her. Her lifeless eyes stared at the ceiling, no signs of living in her still, mutilated body. You were on a rampage, stabbing into her stomach and screeching out incoherent sentences. Johnny did nothing but watch. Her intestines peeked out of her bloodied skin and you threw the knife to the side.

Hyperventilating, you started to come back to your senses after coming down from your blacked-out anger. You stared blankly at your hands and legs that were drenched in the gore of the woman you never even knew the name of.

Cackling, Johnny leaned forward. “I didn’t think ya’ had it in ya’! Look at that! You made a mess, girl!”

It didn’t hit you right away. You killed another person. Another woman for taking Johnny, but he was the one who had taken her. In your jealousy fit, you did not see that she was not a threat, he was. He caused this. But you were just as bad as the group of cannibals. You killed another person.

“N-no…” you stuttered out. “I’m not a murderer.”

He laughed like it was the funniest thing you had said in your whole life. “Ain’t a murderer? Ya’ just goin’ to disregard ta’ fact that ya’ killed another person out of jealousy? Honey, ya’ just as bad as one of us! Ya’ ain’t all that innocent. I knew ya’ would crack soon.”

“No!” you retaliated. “No!” That was all you could muster out. You could barely put any sentences together.

“Shut ya’ mouth ya’ stupid slut!” Johnny said as he smacked you in the face. “Ought ta’ put a lid on it before ya’ end up like this bitch.”

You cried. You wanted to hurt him.

“Ya’ know how I feel about ya’ cryin’. It gets me goin’, and I never got ta’ finish since ya’ interrupted me and this broad.” He motioned towards the dead girl. “Since ya’ don’t like me fuckin’ other girls other than ya’, selfish bitch.”

Lashing out, you lunged at Johnny. He was caught off guard by your outburst and was a bit delayed in his reaction as you clawed at his face. You were singing your sorrowful lament as you hurled what ever physical strength you had left in your body. He grappled your throat, flipping you over onto your back. His eyes were black with anger, something you had not experienced before. This was different. This was not Johnny.

You choked on your saliva as he gripped your throat. “Ya’ are quite a fucking headache. A fuckin’ miserable, annoying, cunt.”

He raised his hand at you once again, and reigned hell fire onto you. Between his slaps and punches into your body and the pressure on your throat, you felt yourself slip in and out of consciousness.

“Oh no ya’ don’t. Ya’ ain’t gettin’ off easy, girl.” He said as he seized you by your hair and dragged you across the floorboards. Coughing, you tried to control your breathing but it was uneven. Your lungs were grateful for the air it could now take in, however you were faced with death itself. Shoving you into the face of the woman you killed, Johnny held your head in his tight clasp. “Fuckin’ look at her! Look at the mess ya’ made. Ya’ killed her.”

“N-no I didn’t.” you wheezed out. “It wasn’t me!”

“Ya’ just like the rest of us, Y/N. Don’t act like God’s perfect angel, ya’ are a corrupted devil.”

Sobbing, he pushed your face closer to hers. “Take it all in. Take it!” He was enjoying every moment of this. It was payback for the outburst you had, but he was not done with his punishment. Nowhere near it. “Ya’ are no different from me, girl.”

Her body still had some warmth, but it was slowly fading. Soon she would be stiff and cold, a sorry sight. She had the same fate as your friends, at the hands of you. For a man who could not even say he loved you back. How pathetic.

Your head was throbbing and you felt like you were going to pass out. This was exhausting. Your nose was bleeding, your ribs ached from Johnny’s fists, and you felt sore.

Releasing your fiery scalp, he let you fall onto the floor. “Learn ya’ place. Ya’ will never overpower me. Remember that.” He spat at you as you moved your hand to a puddle of the woman’s blood, wetting your finger tips as you smeared it onto your lips with a whimper. He watched you in curiosity, not exactly sure what you were planning on doing. Crawling towards him, you grabbed onto his left boot, gripping it like a lifeline. Shakily, you pressed gentle kisses onto his boot. You could feel the dirt, blood, and clumps of an unknown substance on your lips but you ignored it. You moved onto the other boot and left blood-stained kisses on it. Sure, they would be washed away with other blood and grime eventually, but it was to make him happy.

“I am your fucking God, baby doll. Ya’ best remember that now.” He said with a smirk plastered on his face. That stupid smirk. The same one that lured you in from the beginning. The same one that got you into this mess. Grabbing your wrist, he pulled you to the dingy mattress. “Undress.”

There wasn’t much to take off, you were wearing a now-bloody dress that was stuck to your body from the blood drying. He undid his boots and pants once again and slipped them off as you shakily undid your dress. “Ya’ be good now, okay?”

You nodded absentmindedly as he kissed you deeply. His personality could change quickly. You never knew what kind of Johnny you would get. You wanted to despise him for all the mind games and grief he gave you. The heartache he imposed upon you for his own pleasure.

He slipped inside of you, you and the unknown woman’s substances mixing together. His thrusts were animalistic, and they showed you the pent up neediness he had built up. Your blood from your open wounds and her blood had blended together into one. You could not tell the difference.

“Ya’ know I can never replace ya’.” he grunted out. “Ya’ always gonna’ be my pretty girl.”

The praise he gave you after treating you like absolute shit always reeled you back into it. It made your heart swell, your chest feel warm, and the butterflies start again. But they had turned to moths over the course of your stay.

“Ya’ know no one can compare to ya.’ he said as he caressed your face.

The pleasure felt so good. That sickening, loving feeling made it’s place known within you with the way he was acting, doting and being sweet to you. His mood changes were like whiplash, you never knew which Johnny you would get and you never knew when the next mood would come.

“Cum on my cock. Yeah, that’s right.” he said as he drove your body into the mattress. “Go on baby doll, you’ve been doing so good.”

It felt like he unlocked a primal connection in you and you felt yourself come undone. You came hard between his thrusts and his fingers working your clit. He was finished himself, slamming into you one last time before tilting his head back in ecstasy. His eyes were blown out from the pleasure.

With a few more thrusts, he pulled out and laid next to you. Panting, he kissed your forehead. “Good, my sweet angel. Now just rest. Ya’ did so good. I’m proud of ya’ first kill.”

You could barely hear him as your eyes impulsively shut. The remnants of her face reflected back in your mind’s darkness. She was watching. It was unfair how you were left alive, yet they were killed. All because the monster had taken a liking to you. That was the only reason that separated you from the rest. You would have been dead just like them if he decided to not keep you.

It was like a slap in the face to be in love with the creature that caused so much pain. Wrecked the lives of many and taken what was not theirs to take. Yet, you loved him. You adored him. You worshipped him.

“Johnny?” you asked quietly.

Small snores were your reply back. Well, you would never get the answer you wanted. You had a feeling it was better off not knowing. You let your eyelids close and drift off to your dreamless sleep. Maybe tonight would be different. You would dream of what was never to be and the woman who laid motionless in the room with her eyes on both of you. Your guardian angel.

[bobgasm]

kingpin ⦾ thirteen

pairing: robert “bob” floyd x ofc!emery young  word count: 2364  warnings: mentions of loss, grief, feeling lost, lies

summary: in which bob’s apparently not such a bad guy…

twelve | kingpin | fourteen

Emery often found herself wondering what her mother would do or say whenever she found herself in new situations. She wondered if her mom would be comforting or critique her choices. She wondered if she’d be thrilled or disappointed. 

It had been fifteen years since her mother had passed away. Fifteen years since she’d been thrust into the system and bounced around foster homes. She’d met Natasha when she was thirteen and they’d stayed in touch once Nat aged out of foster care. 

Natasha had been kind, compassionate and understanding. She’d helped Emery come out of her shell, told Emery she could come and stay during the weekends. When Natasha decided to go to college, she snuck Emery into her dorm room during the weekends so she still had somewhere to go. 

Natasha became the only true family that Emery had left. 

It sucked, because she remembered her time with Mrs Garcia and her family fondly. They’d been there for her mother’s funeral, hell, she’d been asleep on their couch when the police arrived to tell Emery about her mom’s death. Mrs Garcia had argued with the police to let Emery stay the rest of the night – that she could go with the social worker in the morning. Her world had just been torn apart, surely they had a heart and could see the Garcia’s were practically all she had left. 

She’d continued to go to school with Mickey, the youngest of the Garcia children, until they started high school. Her foster family lived too far away to let her attend the same school as her only friend, and she unfortunately lost contact with Mickey. His family had moved to the city almost a year later, but Emery wasn’t alone for long. Three months later, Natasha came into her life. 

Emery wondered if they were still in the city and how easy it would be to find them now. Now that she was older and had the means to track people down. She wondered if they’d ever tried to find her once they’d moved away. 

She was in her head during the car ride to work. Even if Bob had tried to talk to her, there was no way she’d heard him. 

She didn’t register stopping so he could grab them something to eat, or that they’d made it to work and her food still sat on the dash in front of her. The only thing she wanted right now was a hug from her mom and some words of encouragement, but Emery couldn’t even remember what her voice sounded like. 

Emery’s vision shifted from the empty parking space outside the window to a confused looking Bob. 

“My mom would hate this for me. She told me about the mob growing up. I always suspected that she somehow got involved in something she shouldn’t have and that’s why she died. That diner was always so quiet, you know?” She said, barely registering any hit of recognition on his face. “Her boss was mean, but he let her give me her staff dinner and do my homework at the table until Mrs Garcia picked me up. I just want her to be proud of me.”

She whispered the last part like she was ashamed and Bob reached out to help her from the car. 

“She is proud of you. How could she not be? You’re smart, funny, and determined. You’ve put me in my place more times than anyone has ever dared to. You’ve got a good head on your shoulders, Emery,” he assured her.

“And yet I’m working for the mob,” she confessed, pulling her hand from his own and immediately missing the warmth and comfort it had provided. “My mother is rolling in her grave.”

She walked ahead of Bob, needing to get away. Needing space. She was glad he gave it to her.

“Emery,” he called after her.

She sighed before turning to look at him. “Yes?”

“Coyote will be here shortly. You need to eat before you join us.” He held out the breakfast sandwich as he closed the gap between them. She took it and let her arm fall to her side. “Please eat. There’s a lot we have to go over, and unfortunately, your expertise means you’ll be able to help things move faster.”

She turned around instead of replying and walked to her office, letting the door slam closed behind her. Ignoring Bob was easier than arguing with him. He always seemed to have an answer, or something to say that eased her conscience. This way, he didn’t have the chance to get in her head.

Emery slumped down at her desk and kicked off her heels. She felt stuffy in the clothes picked out for her by Coyote. They still had the tags on them when she’d changed earlier, and she’d wondered how the hell he knew what size she wore. She quickly changed into a pair of sweats and a loose tee, removing the clip from her hair and redoing it into her usual pony. Feeling slightly more at ease, she begrudgingly grabbed the breakfast sandwich and made her way to Bob’s office. 

She knocked thrice upon hearing chatter behind the closed door. When Bob signaled to come in, she opened the door and found Coyote hunched behind Bob’s chair as they both stared at his computer screen. 

Emery paused with her hand still on the doorknob as Bob gave her a once over, not as subtle as he usually did. He didn’t say anything, but gestured to the seats in front of him. She closed the door for safe measure before taking a seat, pulling her legs underneath her and peeling back the wrapper on the sandwich.

“Do you know much about how overseas bank accounts work?” Bob asked her, his eyes moving back to the screen in front of him. “We’re trying to search through the past transactions but nothing shows up.”

Emery slowly chewed her food, waiting for him to realise how stupid of a question that actually was. She chose not to answer when he looked back at her, instead, making a show of taking another bite of her sandwich. She was answering by not answering – she had no idea how they worked, and up until now, she had no need to learn. 

Coyote clicked on first, mentioning to Bob that she had no reason to know. Bob sighed in response. 

“Can you take a look and try to figure it out?” Bob asked her. It was a much more reasonable request, but also a way of knowing if she would actually cooperate. 

Emery nodded and wrapped her sandwich back up. Setting it on his desk before sitting in the chair he’d just vacated. The two men stood behind her, watching her click away as she tried to navigate the foreign system. It took some work before she found the statements page and ran a statement for the last six months. She downloaded it as a PDF and opened it, using the search function to find the account they were looking for. 

“Bingo,” she said. “There’s the account. Five transactions in the last six months.”

“If there’s been a transaction every month, where’s the latest one?” Bob asked, leaning a little closer to check the dates. 

“I’m assuming it’s not an automatic transfer,” Emery replied. “You should probably change the login password for any of these accounts you have overseas. Just to make sure he doesn’t try to transfer any more money to himself.”

Bob hummed as she slid the keyboard and mouse towards him. Emery slid out of the chair before picking up her sandwich and sitting down in the original chair she occupied. She honestly wasn’t that hungry, but if it got Bob off her back for even two seconds, she’d keep eating. 

Bob looked stressed as the morning wore on. Emery continued to help print statements from their offshore accounts, while Coyote skimmed them to find the account in question. He highlighted every transaction to FBY and tallied up the total, while Bob paced and cursed under his breath. 

“Do you think my father knew?” Bob asked, though Emery wasn’t sure if he was looking for an answer. “I really don’t want to make this call.”

“You have to,” Coyote told him. 

“It’s safer if they stay out of the city,” Bob told him. “Hangman reached out early this morning. Decker’s trying to hire someone to take him out. Rooster’s heard chatter from other channels, too, so I have no idea how many hitmen Decker could’ve hired. If they’re at the farm, mom is safe.”

“Decker knows about the farm,” Coyote reminded him. “They need to be in the city.”

Bob’s jaw ticked as he rubbed his face. “Take Emery for coffee.”

Emery stood without prompting and followed Coyote out of the office. She dipped into her office to change before Coyote led her out of the building.

“How are you handling everything?” Coyote asked. Emery wasn’t sure what to make of the question. Was he genuinely interested, or asking to report back to Bob.

“I haven’t forgiven you for running a background check on me,” she responded, earning a small laugh in response. 

“I don’t expect to be forgiven. It was necessary. Everyone goes through the same process,” he told her. 

“Did you buy these clothes or break into my apartment?” Emery asked. 

“I bought them.”

Emery hummed as they fell into silence, the road busy as they crossed and entered a coffee shop. 

“How long have you worked for Bob?”

“Not long, in the grand scheme of things,” he told her. “What do you want?”

“Chamomile tea, thank you,” she replied, taking a seat as he ordered. When he joined her, she eyed him cautiously. “Are you always so vague?”

“We’re in public, Emery,” he reminded her with a look. She sighed and stared out the window at the passing cars and foot traffic. “He’s not so bad, you know?”

“How so?”

“I know you think he’s intense, probably overbearing, am I right?” Emery nodded at his questions. “He has to be. Would you take him seriously otherwise?”

“No, probably not.”

Coyote gave her a smile. “Exactly. There’s a lot going on right now, more so than normal. He said you read the email this morning.”

“Yeah, I did,” she confirmed. “I feel like I’m in over my head.”

“The good news is that he doesn’t know who you are, or your sister,” he said, and strangely enough, Emery found comfort in that. “Bob said you recognised him.”

“What does that mean?”

“Hopefully nothing,” he told her. “But I’m going to talk to Bob about some more intensive training for you, just in case. Is that okay?”

Emery nodded, her throat suddenly dry. 

“It’s my job to think about these things,” he explained further. “Prepare for every outcome. If there’s any reason for you to worry, you’ll be told.”

“Okay,” she said quietly. When their drinks were ready, they stood up and made their way back. 

Emery didn’t feel like talking. She’d finished her tea by the time they made it back and threw her cup in the trash, sitting back down in Bob’s office as both she and Coyote waited for him to return. 

“What else do you do for your job?” She asked him. “I know that you do background checks and expect the worst, but is that all?”

He chuckled softly. “I do a lot. Recon is my specialty, especially since joining the Floyd’s. Mostly, I’m here for whatever Bob needs, you know? He calls, I answer.”

Emery nodded. “Yeah, I think I get that.”

Bob chose that moment to rejoin them, blowing out an exasperated breath as he crossed the room and sat down in his chair. 

“Didn’t go well, I suppose?” Coyote asked. 

Bob laughed humourlessly. “Not at all.” He yanked his tie off and dropped it on his desk, unbuttoning the top two buttons on his shirt. “They’re coming back to the city. He wants everyone in town for a meeting tomorrow. Emery, you’ll join us. Daddy dearest wants to meet you.”

By the time Emery made it home, she was exhausted. Grateful that Nat was still at the gym, she took a shower and tried to think of something to tell her about why she didn’t come home last night. Deciding to stick to the truth as much as she could, she took the time to dry her hair and changed into some comfy clothes. 

She was lounging on the couch when Nat finally arrived home and dropped her keys in the bowl by the door.

“Hey,” Emery greeted nonchalantly.

“Don’t ‘hey’ me as if I haven’t sent you multiple texts and tried to call you several times in the last twenty four hours,” Nat told her. “You sounded off on the phone last night. I’ve been worried sick!”

“Yeah, I’m sorry about that,” Emery apologised sheepishly. “I really did have to stay late last night. I went through some reports with Bob and his sister, Morgan, about their casino and strip club.”

“Okay…and?” She pried. 

“It’s boring shit, honestly. I crashed at Morgan’s. Had a few too many Jack and coke’s, which, I know, is not like me at all. Especially on a Monday. I’ve only just put my phone on charge since I got home. I’m sorry I had you worrying.”

Nat ran her hand through her hair. “I know you had reservations about this job. What you said about their previous accountant retiring out of the blue and then you being weird on the phone…I jumped to conclusions. Then with no texts all day today.” She shook her head, trying to rid herself of the thought. “It’s odd seeing you let your hair down, even if I didn’t see it, you know?”

Emery grinned. “Yeah, it’s weird for me too,” she said with a laugh. “I’ll be more vigilant about keeping my phone charged in the future, okay?”

“Okay,” she agreed. “So, Bob has a sister, huh?”

“I know. It makes him seem kind of normal,” Emery admitted, earning a laugh from Nat. “Less intense, you know?”

author’s note: it really kicks off from the next chapter so i hope y’all are ready 🤭

[constantlymisspelled]

23 - Discrimination (Yeah I went there)

[Text in image is as below]

i) Species;

a) All Sentient Species recognised by Mandalorian Law are completely within right to be adopted, adopt, and live within Mandalore, and Mandalorian Society. b) If a Species wishes to be added to the data base, a General Notice for Recognition can be applied for through the Mandalorian Archive of Galactic Sentients. The Mandalorian Archive of Galactic Sentients will also keep in check genealogy to take notice of the rare cases of possible gene modification and cloning. The Mandalorian Archive of Galactic Sentients is the official government and information authority for all occasions regarding inter-species law in Mandalorian Space. c) Sentient Species cannot be outlawed from sectors or systems – Mandalorian Law stresses the difference between a Species, and its local Governments. For example, a fleeing Zygerrian is not guilty of the crimes of the Zygerrian Empire. d) Sentient Species cannot be barred entry into clubs, pubs or venues due to their species. e) Sentient Species cannot be required or told by schools, family, or others to physically alter traits and physical features that do not cause harm. For example, a Zabracki shall not be demanded to wear a headdress to attend classes for the safety of other students.

[Text in images is as below]

ii) Sex;

a) Mandalorian Law recognises separate biological sexes for all documented species under the Mandalorian Archive of Galactic Sentients. b) Mandalore recognises the separate sexes, sub-sexes, and individual genders within the Species Codex held by the Bounty Hunter Guild Associations. c) Mandalore retains its right to utilise the genderless and sexless terms and wordings in day-to-day use. d) Medical Professionals, and those whose services require said information are the only beings within Mandalore allowed to require a response to request of an individual’s sex, species, and gender information. e) Job applications and education shall not require confirmation of sex or gender for acceptance or application. f) Mandalore and the Mandalorian Sector practices the use of a multitude of private and communal refreshers – schools in the Mandalorian sector will tend to have two segregated bathrooms for the two more common humanoid sexes, a disabled bathroom, a unisex bathroom, and the communal bathrooms utilised in most military settings. Individual sectors can offer a differing, or greater range of choices – for example, Ordo Minor, which has the selection of disabled bathrooms, individual bathrooms, and the communal bathrooms with no segregation of any sort. g) Married Mandalorians are not required to inform anyone of their or their spouse’s gender or sex. h) Sex work in Mandalore falls under the Fair Work Acts, and is acceptable under strict and heavily monitored conditions. A Mando’ade who worked in this sector of business is permitted to apply to other forms of employment. Attempts to block applications and transfers of employment is both discriminatory to the Mando’ade’s financial freedoms and their sexual freedoms.

iii) Religious Interpretation;

 a) Incomplete

[Text in image is as below]

iv) Language;

a) Mando’a’s multitude of accepted forms are not to be excluded, impeded or banned in any way within Mandalorian Space. b) Mando’a is to be taught at every school in Mandalorian Space in the sector’s most common forms. c) No Mando’ade should be barred in any way from learning Mando’a. d) Speaking a Freed language is a protected right, and those found guilty of excluding or discriminating those speaking or who have spoken Freed language fall under Sentient Discrimination and can face charges at both Mandalorian and Galactic Courts. e) Speaking Basic is not banned in any way, but it is not a specific requirement to graduate, educate, be credited or to have a job. f) Basic cannot be a prerequisite in jobs that do not have any relevance to the speaking of the language. For example, a mechanic does not need to speak fluid Basic to practice on Ordo Prime or Manda’yaim. g) Learning to speak, read and write is a Right, not a privilege, and those barring students for financial reasons either in low or high levels of education will be held to account under Mandalorian Law. Learning languages in Mandalore is a Protected Right, and not to be interfered with by external pressures. h) Clan Foundlings wishing to continue to learn their pre-adoption language is a protected right under Mandalorian Law. Foundlings will not be punished for use of their pre-adoption languages.

[Text in image is as below]

v) Ability;

a) All Clan members, regardless of their capacity or ability to fight, are crucial to Clan Welfare. b) Clan members, or Mando’ade who are visually or verbally impaired should have allocations made for their comfort and to ease participation in day-to-day life. This includes species that routinely have these impairments, for example, nocturnal species being allowed to be as active as they require at their biologically required hours. c) Clan members, Mando’ade or warriors who have been injured to the point of being removed from combat have completed a great service for their Clan and their community, and any discrimination or exclusion of these Mando’ade is punishable by law. d) Mando’ade born with non-life-threatening defects are to be treated as ordinary Mando’ade under Mandalorian Law. e) Mando’ade born with life-threatening birth defects are catered for under the Public Health Acts, and can even be served at external hospitals around the galaxy under the Mandalorian Resources and Children Protectorate. Parents can make direct calls for assistance to the Mandalorian Protectors, and can expect near immediate response and support in the occasion of life-threatening illness or injury. This is a right under Mandalorian Law. f) Mandalorians with movement impairments, mental impairment and illness, and other neurological discrepancies are protected under Mandalorian Law. In the event of a Neurological Unsound Mando’ade hurting a child, the Mano’ade risks becoming institutionalised. g) Those of impaired, separated, different nature or disposition, and disability are completely able to be charged with serious offences. However, much like criminal justice, intent must be proved for charges such as ‘murder,’ or the charge will simply be held as high degree grievous assault and manslaughter. Ability Impaired Mandalorians will still face a firing squad if found guilty of War Crimes, Child Abuse, or Sexual Assault. h) Mando’ade that cannot live by themselves can either select, or have a carer selected for them out of their Clan or Community that passes Health and Carer Training and Psychological Evaluations. The selection will take place after their diagnosis with impairment. If a Clan member has already been acting as the Mando’ade’s carer, provisioning will be made for that Clan member to have access to appropriate resources and training without separating the Carer from their charge.

[Again, if anyone has any criticism, I am open to any form of assistance you can provide. Sections like this are close to my heart, as I have members of my family who cannot give informed consent, or have a disability that stops them from being able to hold a job. When the time comes, I'm hoping to link a master post for disability and medical beskar'gam symbols to this post so that disabled verde can colour and pattern their armour appropiately, and have it understood.]

[back to main Codex]

[laceyjane44]

GaaSaku 2023 FanFest Day1

Promt: Punch me/BAMF

He certainly hadn’t expected this.

Even in his recent months spent as the newly elected fifth Kazekage of Sunagakure, there were still few of Gaara’s people that approached him so boldly, and even fewer foreigners. It used to be his quiet and foreboding presence that kept others at a distance, but now that he’d softened around the edges, it was his grand title and honored standing that sat him at a pinnacle other’s thought beyond approach. In the past, eyes were cast down in fearful respect, now it was done with wise recognition.

Either way, direct gazes avoided him all the same, and it felt no different.

But this…this was different.

Sakura Haruno stood at the front of a gathering of fresh-faced genin all lined up in neat rows under the morning sun. She was center of them all and held the front spot in her line; a tall stance, shoulders squared, warm light shining on pale skin, eyes bright and facing straight ahead, straight at him.

On this arid and calm desert day, Gaara had arrived at the training grounds of Suna not twenty minutes prior; he had guests to welcome.

The bi-annual chunin exams were about to get underway, and Sunagakure had been chosen as the host city. It had been nearly two decades since the exams had been held here, and Gaara was keen on showcasing their growth in not only their military, but in their infrastructure as well. The passing of his father shifted the city’s focus from exponential military growth to more domestically centered focuses; improving education and academy access, repairs to their extensive systems of aqueducts that quenched the thirsty populous, upgrades to their medical facilities, and much more.

His people were happier, daily hardships were easing back just a little, and the city certainly breathed differently now than it had in his childhood. He was proud, he wanted to boast their accomplishments with confidence and pride, but now he suddenly felt…anxious?

“Could you repeat that, Sakura?”

“I said I’d like to spar,” she said again without hesitation, the slightest hinting of an upturn pulling at the corner of her lips. Her eyes hadn’t left his, his tongue was going dry, and just as that time in the forest, he was unshakably locked on those bright, dazzling emerald eyes.

He recognized those stood behind her as Shikamaru’s old team, it seemed that Sakura made the perfect match for them without Sasuke and Naruto to join her, but the incredulous look plastered across their faces was mirrored by most other genin in attendance. Here she stood; in line with all the other contestants, still at the bottom rung of the ladder through the ranks, and she had asked the Kage of the Wind nation for a spar.

He had only just finished his welcome to the contestants, encouraging them to make themselves at home and use any training grounds permitted to them as they saw fit, and hadn’t yet offered to answer any questions when she had stepped forward. It was as if no one else were present when she flashed a polite smile his way, thinly veiled by that mischievous look in her eyes, and asked if he could spare her some time. It was such a direct question, from effectively the last person he’d assumed would ask, that he paused his speech, his words failing him for a moment.

“I apologize,” he began, taking the opportunity to practice his manners. “But I am a busy man.”

She shrugged, still holding his eyes with her own, and he couldn’t tell if the sun had kissed her face just a little or maybe the heat was getting to her, but she looked slightly flushed. “I can be patient.”

He remembered she and Ino pit against each other before; an unfortunate matchup that perhaps tempted them to pull their punches against old friends. He had certainly found it mundane and unexceptional to watch. Either way, her strength may have been lacking at that time, but her tenacity had been clearly on display when she’d intervened between himself and Sasuke. It hadn’t stopped him, but it had slowed him down, clouded his thinking, and he was sure it was ultimately what saved the Uchiha’s life that day.

But she stood before him today a rebuilt and remade individual; there was confidence to her poise, an elegance to the way her high chin emphasized her neck, and her captivating gaze contained a knowing quality that left echoes of intrigue resonating through his body. She had seen him fight, she had seen him break bones and draw blood, she had even faced him and lived to tell the tale. Not many in her position had been able to say the same, and now she was essentially asking for a rematch in front of everyone.

He hadn’t mean to, but he heard himself reply, “All right,” before continuing with his welcoming address. The genin all bent an ear to listen, but he could tell that her public and very unconventional request had them distracted. It was a good thing he had gone over his talking points once again before starting, he was getting rather distracted as well.

Those eyes hadn’t left him, sparkling in the sunlight and bejeweled as they were, and no matter where he put his focus on the gathered crowd, he could still feel the weight of them on him. Where his palms getting sweaty?

It didn’t matter, he was finished with his piece as the head seat of the city and turned them over to Shikamaru who had come to explain the layout of the exams. Stepping aside, he was freed from her gaze as she gave the new speaker her attention and was allowed to more comfortably observe the curious happenings of his morning.

She stood just as proudly before Shikamaru as she had him, no longer the shuddering leaf that had been frightful of so many of their opponents before. His mind’s eye didn’t have the clearest picture of her back then, he’d found her so overlookable when outshined by her teammates, but he couldn’t overlook how inviting her figure had become, or how he found that he preferred the length that was returning to her hair, and how mature and defined the roundness of her face had gotten. She stood a bit taller now, they all did, and he could tell the definition of her muscles reflected the work she’d done to allow such confidence worn across her face.

Could a few years really change that much?

He’d been stared down quite enough since the start of the genin address, and he wondered how different he looked from her perspective. Had his stature reflected the improvements he’d undergone? Did his face look more mature as well or, now a little self-conscious, did he still look to be a boy wearing his father’s robes? With no necessity for it, he’d forgone most of the usual strength training done by those in their profession, but his fight with Lee had incentivized him to train otherwise; was it noticeable at all? He suddenly found himself conscious of his posture, second guessing the expression he wore, and found it difficult to keep his eyes from sliding back to this unexpected distraction.

Even after she had glanced his way, catching him mid-stare, he’d only looked away for a moment.

Soon, too soon given how he’d yet to find the words, the genin were all dismissed and gradually went their separate ways. A few senseis had approached him with a question or two, gratitude for hosting the exams, the typical formalities he’d been expecting, but in truth he’d only half paid attention to anything they said and whatever he strung together in reply. Again, he could feel those eyes on him, an itching in the back of his mind that made his pulse throb in his throat and an unfamiliar anxiousness to settle in his limbs.

Of course, he shouldn’t have been surprised when she walked up to him the moment he was free, her first words just some regurgitated pleasantries that the others had already said. Perhaps it wasn’t the approach that had surprised him, maybe it had been how favorable he found that sweet and warm scent of vanilla that clung to her skin, or how it was his own heart that was beginning to race against his chest.

He'd nodded to her gratitude, though by the look in her eyes he could tell that she knew he hadn’t listened to her words, nor looked her in the eyes as she said them. Something about the way her lips moved when she spoke to him was diverting his attention. “What are you hoping to achieve?” he asked, perhaps sounding a little standoffish due to his very real apprehension.

She shrugged, her eyes holding his gaze captive. “I just want to see,” she offered innocently enough, though the knuckle crack he’d heard from her gloved hand was anything but.

The clear challenge in her eyes stirred him. It had been months since someone provoked him like this, and they hadn’t been keen on his abilities like Sakura was; their arrogance had been born of ignorance and Gaara couldn’t help but wonder what her’s was born from. He tried not to smirk with his next words, though he failed, and returned her challenge in kind. “See how long you’ll last trying to hit me?” he goaded, the dignified tone of the Kazekage melting away as if to playfully deride her.

“No,” she refuted firmly, thought that sly expression still blessed her features. He could tell now that the sun hadn’t been the thing to kiss that color across her face, it had been a subtle flush across her skin, one that grew deeper when that smirk of his had slipped. Flushed or not, she was still fiery. “To see how long it takes me to hit you.”

Another unexpected outcome of his morning, another smirk he felt pull at his features, and this time she did break her gaze away from him, brushing her hair behind her ears and attempting to downplay her blush.

“Well,” he said, his tone casual. “Let’s go.” He began walking off to a more distant end of the training grounds, an area he specifically hadn’t set aside for visitor use.

She followed quickly after him, he could feel the steps she took atop the sandy earth, and he wondered how someone as petit and light of foot as her thought to approach him with such a bold request. “I thought you were a busy man,” she said, not wanting to sound displeased but wanting to convey that, yes; she did in fact know that he had other – more important – things to attend.

“I am,” Gaara agreed, looking over to Sakura who came to walk in line at his side. Again, he tried a smirk, wanting to see if it gave her skin that same rouge as before. It had, and she’d yet again avoided his eyes for a second. “But I don’t believe that you’re a patient woman.”

[harmonyhealinghub]

Celebrating National Indigenous Peoples Day: Honouring Culture, Resilience, and Heritage

Shaina Tranquilino

June 21, 2024

In many countries around the world, indigenous peoples have long been the custodians of unique cultures, traditions, and knowledge systems that are deeply intertwined with their lands. In Canada, National Indigenous Peoples Day stands as a testament to the resilience, contributions, and ongoing struggles of the First Nations, Métis, and Inuit peoples.

A Day of Recognition and Celebration

Established on June 21st, National Indigenous Peoples Day is a time for all Canadians to recognize and celebrate the rich cultural heritage and diverse contributions of Indigenous peoples. This day not only highlights the achievements and talents of Indigenous communities but also serves as a reminder of the ongoing journey towards reconciliation and understanding.

Honouring Culture and Heritage

Central to the celebrations are the diverse cultural expressions of Indigenous peoples, ranging from traditional dances, music, and storytelling to art, cuisine, and language revitalization efforts. Each of these elements serves to showcase the depth and resilience of Indigenous cultures that have withstood centuries of adversity and continue to thrive today.

Acknowledging the Challenges

While National Indigenous Peoples Day is a day of celebration, it is also an opportunity to reflect on the historical injustices, systemic inequalities, and ongoing challenges faced by Indigenous communities. Issues such as access to healthcare, education, clean water, and housing remain significant barriers for many Indigenous peoples across Canada and beyond.

Commitment to Reconciliation

In recent years, there has been a growing commitment to reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples in Canada. This includes efforts to address historical grievances, promote cultural awareness and sensitivity, and support economic and social development within Indigenous communities.

Moving Forward Together

As we commemorate National Indigenous Peoples Day, it is crucial to recognize that true reconciliation requires ongoing commitment and action from all sectors of society. This includes advocating for the rights of Indigenous peoples, supporting Indigenous-led initiatives, and fostering meaningful dialogue and understanding.

Get Involved

There are numerous ways individuals and communities can participate in National Indigenous Peoples Day:

1. Attend Local Events: Many communities host events such as powwows, cultural exhibitions, and storytelling sessions.

2. Educate Yourself: Take the time to learn about the history, traditions, and contemporary issues facing Indigenous peoples in Canada.

3. Support Indigenous Artists and Businesses: Purchase Indigenous art, crafts, and products to support local economies.

4. Advocate for Change: Raise awareness about Indigenous rights and support initiatives that promote equality and justice.

National Indigenous Peoples Day is not just a day on the calendar but a reminder of the ongoing journey towards healing, understanding, and mutual respect. By celebrating the cultures, achievements, and resilience of Indigenous peoples, we can contribute to a future where all peoples can thrive in harmony with each other and the natural world.

Let us use this day as an opportunity to listen, learn, and stand in solidarity with Indigenous communities as we strive for a more inclusive and equitable society for generations to come.

[anormalfandom]

HELLO EVERYONE!!☆

Anyway, let me show you an oc I have been working on for a whole year, mostly after sceritcy breach came out and showed us the daycare attendants.

Anyway, I made my own daycare attendant, and her name is Lucky!

So here are some answers to the most common questions about her. If you want to ask questions about her, go ahead ..."

Main questions about lucky...☆

What are luckys pronouns?

She/Her♡

What is Lucky?

Lucky is one of the new daycare attendants and security bots for the facility.✩ She is a themed as a sweet star child who will help anyone if someone wants help.☆

What is her job?

Her job is to help customers,children,staff,sun, and moon with anything they need help with.☆ She mostly helps in the gift shop, daycare, and security.☆

What does she do?

Well, during the day, she works in the Lucky Star gift shop and helps the sun and moon with the children.☆During the night, she becomes a security bot and can go anywhere in the facility as she helps the night gard.☆

What are her features?

She has the newest security system from our facility, and she can control every door,every camera and every security bot we have in the facility and has a high-grade face recognition software so no one will hurt or take any of the children in our care. ☆ She also has a special charging box, and because she is so small, she can charge way faster than any robot we have here.☆

What does lucky look like?

[ Concept art of the amatronic]

What is she like?

Well, she is a very innocent,curious,playful, and helpful star child who will do anything to help others in any way she can.☆

What lucky likes?

She loves cookies,ice cream,stuffed toys, friends, and family.☆

What lucky dislikes?

She hates bad parents, bullys,Endo skeletons,bugs, and cucumbers.☆

Where is her box at?

[Her music box is in here]

Is she a missing child?

Yes,she is one of the missing children that disappeared a long time ago.☆

Who was this missing child?

Name: Sara Madison

Age:7

Birth:7/7/1980

Missing since:7/29/1987

Eye color: blue

Hair:curly orange

clothes: she was wearing a sweater and jean pants.

Report:At 3:45 pm police have been called for a missing child in the new freddy fazbear Pizzeria that came out that year. The mother of the child said she ran away from her parents because they were having a fight and she hadn't come back for hours. Police had looked in every spot, but the only evidence that was found was the girl's bunny plushie.

[cuetzpalin1234]

Chicano report back on the Puro Pinche Palestina! Show and Night Market

It was a very cold Saturday evening January 20th, 2024. My partner and I arrived at the event about an hour or 2 after it started. We thought when we showed up it would be over. When we got closer to the location, it looked like a full house with cars lined up on both sides of the road. So, as we tried to find a space to park, we finally entered the event, and it was still very active. The 6pm show and night market was organized by Red Star and Bimbos for Liberation in coordination with Tandem, located at 310 Riverside Dr. San Anto, Tx.  The purpose of the event was to benefit San Antonio for Justice in Palestine. There was a very diverse crowd in the lot outside socializing and walking around looking at the 25+ vendors and local artists that were out there in solidarity and calling for a ceasefire.

There were several groups huddled around the different log fires they had set up for the cold winter evening. There was also food for sale by Saha, Gorda Bakes, Angel Numb, El Puño y La Mano, WRLD 8, and Slumber Party World created by Callie. You could also hear music coming from the DJ and live bands such as Vintage Pictures, Sacred Games, Optic Arrest, Bitter Critter, Powdered Wig Machine, and RoshII. We got a chance to check out the inside for some food and water. They also sell coffee, beer, and wine. It was comfortable. They had tables, chairs, and couches. They also had picnic tables outside as well. After attending the event it really motivated me to continue to organize. I promised myself I would try to be around more justice seeking people interested in making a positive impact in the world. So, this event was very uplifting because lately I had been feeling isolated. There were some myths or lies that I believe were challenged at the event: 1: No one in San Antonio cares about what is happening in Palestine. Clearly, there were many folks out there in support of the Palestinian people. 2: Chicanos and Africans have no connection to Palestinians.

Statement in solidarity with Palestine!

"So similar are the struggles of Palestinians and Chicanos that in 1980 El Partido Nacional de La Raza Unida sent a delegation to a historic meeting with Palestinian Liberation Organization founder Yasser Arafat. The meeting took place in Lebanon as it was impossible to enter Palestine at that moment. We must recall this meeting and the continued solidarity PNLRU has expressed to our sister and brothers of Palestine who despite facing the advance US funded weaponry and military might of the Zionist occupation nothing can break the iron will and national pride of the Palestinian people, and we see this in the relentless pride Palestinians express from the youngest child to the elderly they all know without a doubt that first and foremost they are Palestinian!

This is an example we cannot ignore here in Aztlan in the “Belly of the Beast” our national unity is challenged relentlessly with so many labels placed on us by this colonizer. The struggles of Palestine and Aztlan are deeply connected in fact the US imposed colonial border separating Aztlan and Mexico has Israeli contractors written all over it. Companies like Elbit, NICE, and Verint Systems have entrenched themselves within the border enforcement industry, which carries significant implications for La Raza. The introduction of drones, surveillance cameras, and sensor systems further militarizes La Frontera Falsa. PNLRU demands a thorough and critical evaluation of the involvement of Israeli security companies in US Mexico border security. This collaboration raises valid concerns about the continued militarization of our border and the potential infringement on human rights. Our stance on this issue doubles down on our support for the Palestinian people’s struggle for self-determination. Both struggles, for Chicano liberation and Palestinian liberation, deserve recognition and steadfast advocacy in the shared fight against oppression and imperialism."

“We felt we both had the same fight. They learned about our struggle that Chicanos were being thrown out of their homeland. So, they invited us on a fact finding mission so we could come back and tell the world that there are two sides to every story.” Rebecca Hill PNLRU-NM

There has been a lot of bad information being spread so it is hard to understand what is happening if you are just following the capitalist media and/or social media and relying on those sources to understand the root/s of the problem/s. Work collectively and do your research. Check out the following:

USA Foriegn Policy/Imperialism 

La Raza Unida takes these positions against the Imperialism of the United States of America. 

La Raza Unida believes in the self-determination of all people. 

La Raza Unida believes in peaceful coexistence. 

Indigenous peoples and developing nations must be self-sufficient and not exploited or manipulated. 

La Raza Unida believes in international worker solidarity, which Imperialism prevents through competition between countries. 

La Raza Unida stands for social change. Imperialism creates dictatorships that repress dissent, social change and self-determination. 

USA Occupation Forces International and Domestic (Militant/Police/ICE) 

La Raza Unida recognizes the US Military and its police forces as the armed wing of the settler colonizer. We stand in solidarity with all liberation struggles. 

The USA armed forces are designed to keep our people terrorized, exploited and controlled. 

The USA armed forces take advantage of the dire economic realities of our people with false promises. 

USA Veterans experience trauma and betrayal. La Raza Unida supports them in their healing. Their experience can be an asset to the true liberation of our people. 

Technology used abroad by the USA military today will be used against Raza tomorrow. 

La Raza Unida supports the right for our own people to develop a force to “serve, observe and protect” ourselves.

 La Frontera Falsa 

La Raza Unida does not recognize the “USA/Mexico” border as legitimate. It was imposed by military invasion and held by occupational forces. Therefore: 

No Human being is illegal. 

La Raza Unida opposes any militarization of la frontera falsa. 

USA immigration policy is designed to enrich the elite through the suffering of Raza and as a weapon against the Chicano people. 

The construction or expansion of any physical barrier at la frontera falsa must be opposed. 

We oppose the separation of families and the caging of children. 

Our Raza, whether Mexicano or CentroAmericano, must be allowed to migrate on their own continent in search of a better life for themselves and their children. 

As social workers we also have principles and values we must practice. We must value social, economic, and political justice and never compromise our principle of challenging injustice. Join an organization working for justice today!

[lingshanhermit]

Lingshan Hermit: Stop and take a look at your life

I think we can stop for a moment and take a look at our lives. So far, everything we have done has been to satisfy and maintain the self. Here, "self" refers to our self-image. From work and study to relationships, every word, every action maintains the self. Even Vajrayana Buddhist practice - if you can't avoid materialism in your practice - also becomes a plaything of the self.

Sometimes it seems you are trying to satisfy others, as if considering others, but this is still just to avoid possible harm to our self-image from others' dissatisfaction with us. Right?

You elegantly eat a steak with knife and fork at a Western restaurant, sitting across from your date. You sip the wine instead of guzzling it, even if you are very thirsty and hungry. Think about why you do this? It's to avoid being seen as an outlier by him, by other diners, even the servers. You fear being considered inelegant. You position yourself as a certain kind of girl, and hope he sees you this way too, so you must eat and drink like this, even if you strongly dislike it. But you still do it. You fear the consequences of not doing so.

We all fear abandonment. Your existence requires others' recognition, praise, even ridicule will do. In any case, we need attention. As long as we are noticed, even malicious attention, even insults, our self feels satisfied, because we were noticed, we can only be noticed if we exist - this indirectly proves the self's existence. The self relies on these to enhance its sense of existence, because it doesn't inherently exist at all. Thus the self is insecure by nature. It desperately needs to acquire material and spiritual things to increase its security. But no matter how much we acquire, we still feel insecure, because proving the existence of something non-existent is an impossible task. So we tire ourselves out.

From birth, we face all kinds of conditioning. We are told who we are, what we should do, how to survive, and who we should become. So far, we have obediently followed society's existing rules. We wear ties, carry briefcases, use Weibo, squeeze onto subways, strive to become successful, never doubting, with those around us never doubting either. As if this is how things should be.

But one day, you may begin to doubt - is this right? Why do I do this? The nine-to-five. Marrying and having kids. Undeniably, all the conditioning we receive comes from books, schooling, parents, elders, and those who think they can help us, but they cannot have ideas that transcend this system. We are told we must possess these, and those. We must attend a prestigious university, get a good job, marry and have kids - that is the value of our lives. But is this right? Can it really make us happy? No one told us, we were just required to do it.

Whether we desire the latest ultra-slim MacBook or a Pollini coat, we don't do so to be unhappy. But the more we possess, the less happy we become. This is very ironic.

When Karl Benz invented the world's first internal combustion engine tricycle, he surely intended it as a blessing for humankind. He clearly didn't foresee that a century later, millions would die in car accidents every year globally. Once we grow used to cars, we no longer use our feet. To maintain our ability to keep using cars, we have to do many things we don't want to do. So we become tired. Because we want the latest mobile phones, because we want to maintain our respectable lives, we want these because many tell us they are necessities - how can you not have this? If we don't, our self-image is threatened. Those inventions intended to benefit us have now become a huge source of pain. Aside from the political system, our entire system is a carbon copy of the West. And the Western system is entirely built upon individualism - in other words, built upon the self.

In the Buddha's teachings, it is the complete opposite. Buddhism does not believe satisfying the self can make us happy. It is seen as the source of suffering. In the Western system, as long as your greed does not reach criminal levels, the Three Poisons are permitted. No one gets arrested just for greed, anger and ignorance. Greed is even encouraged. This values system believes if you lack greed, you cannot even develop. The more one possesses, the more successful they are believed to be. And successful people must be full of greed.

Now I will present my perspective, inherited from the Buddha and my root gurus. I believe anyone who wishes to become successful surely does not hope to make themselves unhappy in doing so. No one does that. If someone asks you "Why do you want to be CEO?" Would you answer: "Because I want to be unhappy." You would not give that response.

But the reality is, you are unhappy. Everything we do is to make ourselves happy. But we become less and less happy. This indicates a problem. The issue lies with the entire system. Remember, the values we uphold are built upon individualism. This means it exists to satisfy the self. It teaches us that satisfying the self is happiness. We need to satisfy the self because our self must prove its own existence in this way - through others' care, recognition, praise and even insults, we feel the existence of the "self". Thus an entire system of methods and theories for satisfying the self is developed. And our current Western values system and economic system are the offspring of the proliferation of these theories.

We have accepted such values, so we don't feel there is anything wrong with satisfying the self. Therefore, we wantonly satisfy the self, we do not reject any of the self's demands, no matter how unreasonable they are to others. We buy enough clothes to last a hundred lifetimes, have enough savings for dozens of generations, purchase entire islands, own many properties, five cellphones, two women, yet remain unsatisfied, thinking the next thing will make us happy.

What we must understand is that in doing so, we occupy tremendous resources that could have allowed starving people to live well. Just imagine, if we didn't believe greed could bring happiness, we would have less greed. With less greed, we wouldn't actually need so much. We wouldn't replace our phones and computers so quickly, so the garbage dumps around cities wouldn't be so shocking to behold. No one would be skinning seals for our demands. There would be no poverty. Worse still, after acquiring all these resources, we are no better off than before. As Tibetan Buddhist masters say: Having an extra yak means extra headaches.

Perhaps some may ask, then how do we develop the economy if no one wants to possess anything? In fact, we really should ponder why we want economic growth in the first place. I don't think we pursue growth because we want to become busier and unhappier. We only acquire to find happiness, but the more we acquire, the further away happiness seems.

At times like this, we tend to feel very depressed. We don't consider whether we were mistaken from the start - if the entire values system we have accepted is wrong. Our thinking doesn't dare touch this Forbidden City we have erected ourselves, so we yell "Stop!" We comfort ourselves that life must be this way, that others are also very unhappy, and so pardon our own unhappiness. We cease thinking further.

We don't dare question values upheld by our planet for so many years and recognized by countless people, because the consequences would be too frightening. If our entire values system is wrong, it certainly won't lead to right results. One inevitable consequence is the worsening economic crisis.

Please believe I am not trying to overturn your values system, but you can keep some doubt towards life. Twenty-five centuries ago, a young man also had similar confusion. He questioned his existing life, walked out of the palace gates, wanting to resolve these issues, and finally, succeeded - he was Shakyamuni.

First posted on Lingshan Hermit's blog February 3, 2012. All rights reserved. Do not infringe.

Copyright Notice：All copyrights of Ling Shan Hermit's articles in Simplified and Traditional Chinese, English, and other languages belong to the natural person who owns "Ling Shan Hermit". Please respect copyright. Publishers, media, or individuals (including but not limited to internet media, websites, personal spaces, Weibo, WeChat public accounts, print media) must obtain authorization from Ling Shan Hermit before use. No modifications to the articles are allowed (including: author's name, title, main text content, and punctuation marks). We reserve all legal rights. 灵山居士：停下来，看看你的生活 

[shephertzai]

ShepHertz Facial Recognition based System can solve this problem by automating and streamlining the entire visitor management process. Please get in touch with us to explore more and book a demo.

[soundsystemcultureblog]

𝗧𝗢𝗪𝗡𝗦𝗢𝗨𝗡𝗗𝗦 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗲𝘁 𝗣𝗮𝗿𝘁𝘆 Review by Phil Wood

There are many definitions of a good day out, but one must surely be the experience of turning up to something which, on the face of it, seems incongruent and yet – after only a few minutes – feels entirely natural, like slipping on a well-loved shoe.

I needn’t have worried. Mandeep Samra and her Let's Go Yorkshire team already have a track record of doing surprising things in unexpected places, and this #TOWNSOUNDS Street Party took that tradition to a new level. Huddersfield Open Market was taken over and transformed into a music venue, art gallery, food and drinks hall and gigantic bass bin for a deep, rumbling dub reggae party.

Whilst there needn’t be any excuse for throwing a good party, the pretext here was the annual national celebration of Heritage Open Days. Mandeep has already demonstrated in Sound System Culture, Celebrating Huddersfield's Sound Systems - her 2014 book collaboration with Paul Huxtable - that the town has heritage here to rival anywhere outside Jamaica. Whilst the soaring iron trusses and elaborate foliate capitals of the Grade II* listed 1888 market, exude Victorian Huddersfield at the height of its powers.

But what might have seemed a jarring juxtaposition quickly found a close, almost organic harmony. This Victorian functional structure and dub reggae both, in their own ways, have drawn on the latest technologies and materials of their day to produce something timeless and natural. They have taken established forms, stripped them backed to their basics and reassembled them in ways which resonate across the ages and speak to us now in profound and emotional ways. There is nothing inherently organic about a cast iron pillar, a valve amplifier or a stack of elegantly carpentered woofers and tweeters, but in combination they exuded a warmth that drew people in.

And then there’s the music itself: conscious but easy-swaying, reviving mental and muscle memories and – in recognition of the heritage theme – taking us through the progression of ska, rocksteady, reggae, roots and dancehall of the last 60 years. Zion Inna-Vision Sound System furnished the equipment, Marshall D Luvjah Harriott, Positive and Dee Bo General selected the vinyl and Ras Sis Highness MC’ed.

And the crowd were part of the spectacle too. There were sistren and bredren of the Rastafarian community, ex rudeboys, suedeheads, lovers rockers and punks – born again for one night only, alongside freshly arrived international students checking out what their new home town had to offer. And the timing of the event – from 4.00 until 7.00 – encouraged families of all ages to attend, from toddlers to seniors, although I’m sure many would have loved it to have gone on much longer into the night.

Curry goat, plantain, jerk chicken, rice ‘n’ pea served up by OliveMae's Kitchen alongside Danya’s Vegan Kitchen (vegan Jamaican food) plus rum punch from Arcade Beers pop-up bar also considerably enhanced the good vibes of this lovely afternoon.

Being a market with fixed stalls, there was limited but adequate space for the dancers to do their thing, but the organisers made a virtue of the commercial infrastructure too. There were interesting specialist goods on sale, but also a creative flair which transformed many of the stalls into a pop-up art gallery. Let’s Go Yorkshire’s principal activity this year has been the creation of a heart-warming and historically important exhibition, charting the story of Huddersfield’s most important music scenes and genres, through the voices and imagery of their leading protagonists. It was great to see people who might not have encountered the #TOWNSOUNDS exhibition when it was on show in Huddersfield Art Gallery, checking out the photographs. I saw several folks walking past, idly scanning them from a distance, and then drawn into one where they might have seen a 40-year-old image of a friend or even themselves.

I was pleased with the flexibility of the space and multiple uses to which it could be put. It’s openness and permeability worked a treat too. One minute you could be in the throng, close enough to the speaker stack to feel one’s rib cage vibrate. But, on seeing an old friend for the first time in years, you could slip out to the edge or onto pedestrianised Byram Street for an intimate catch-up.

All-in-all, a match between venue, usage and message that seemed made in heaven and left one with the question why no-one had thought of doing this before.

Of course, when two mighty juggernauts as a sound system and cast-iron market come clashing together, there are always likely to be unforeseen consequences. So, when Zion Inna Vision were sound-checking and cranked up the volume, the iron framework began to vibrate so much that decades of dust and desiccated pigeon poo came showering down on the ground. Hopefully market officials will consider this a small price to pay for such a successful event, and that Huddersfield Open Market will be open to more of its ilk in the future.

[enalytixai]

Take your workplace into a new era with Enalytix

Every employee, regardless of their official designation or their remuneration, is valued with a common metric - time. On an average, an employee dedicated 6-9 hours for 4-6 days a week to their work. As a business leader, are you managing their time effectively? That’s where Enalytix can help.

 Our AI-powered face recognition attendance system is a smart choice when it comes to more focused time and productivity management. In 2022, the solution any workplace needs should offer:

●        Smart biometric check-ins and checkouts.

●        Ability to connect and coordinate with staff with 100% security.

●        Ability to track store staff productivity.

●        Ability to recognise standout performers.

 With our AI-based Employee Experience solution focused on productivity and time management, your organisation can transform instantly into an employee-centric workplace that incorporates all of the above in a cohesive and streamlined manner.

 Our solution gives you details of which employees are working, where they are working from, and what they are working on. This allows you to track productivity and employee efficiency, all in real-time, like never before! It gives insights into where the maximum efficiency of your employees lies and nurturing the same to boost performance, engagement, and productivity.

 With a single intelligent AI-based solution, you get:

●        Geofenced facial attendance

●        Leave, shift and overtime management

●        Location tracking for each in/out marked

●        Work and expense reports

●        Task management and automated timesheets

●        A shared data repository

●        Company broadcasts

●        Secure peer-to-peer chats

●        Employee recognition

 You can deploy Enalytix solution with absolutely zero dependency on hardware! All you need is a smartphone and you’re good to go! This makes the solution easy-to-adopt, works for all types of employees and does not need any IT expertise to maintain in the long-term!

 Take the next step to evolving your organisation into a AI-powered workplace with Enalytix! Reach out to us at http://www.enalytix.com

[mariacallous]

Kosovo was meant to become the first Muslim-majority country to recognise same-sex unions. What went wrong?

Last month, Prime Minister Albin Kurti finally joined the roll-call of Kosovar leaders that have put in an appearance at Pride. Attendance at Pristina Pride events has been de rigeur for political elites – a means, if nothing else, of signalling liberal credentials to Kosovo’s friends in Europe and the US. But Kurti has been in no hurry to join the procession – this year’s parade was his first as prime minister. His absence from Prides gone by had been remarked by LGBT activists, with some questioning whether he was indeed the ally that he claimed to be. Joining the marchers on June 10 last month, the prime minister tried to lay these doubts to rest. He posed for the obligatory Pride photo – the politician’s crisp, white shirt against a backdrop of rainbow flags – and declared that he was taking part in this year’s march because he supported the activists’ demands for “equality and freedom”.

Pride month this year coincided with an extraordinary rupture in the relationship between Kosovo and its friends in the West. Kurti’s government was cautioned by the EU and sanctioned by the US after a violent showdown between international peacekeepers and protesters from Kosovo’s Serb minority. Kurti was accused of having provoked the crisis: the protests flared after he foisted ethnic Albanian mayors upon municipalities in the north that are dominated by Serbs. Kurti’s Vetevendosje party – its name means “self-determination” – won a historic majority two years ago, as voters turned against a political establishment dominated by greying veterans of the guerrilla struggle against Belgrade. The party’s promise to shake up the system has earnt it the “populist” label, while its economic programme – envisaging a bigger role for the state – is regarded as leftist. In its stance towards Serbia meanwhile, Vetevendosje is characterised as nationalist, as it pursues a confrontational approach that taps into the frustrations of many Kosovar Albanians. The EU has been mediating a dialogue aimed at “normalising” relations between Pristina and Belgrade, with a view to advancing both their bids to join the bloc. The talks have been deadlocked, however, over the fate of the Serb minority in northern Kosovo.

The Pride march in Pristina afforded Kurti a photo opportunity with a less troublesome minority, facing another sort of deadlock. Kosovo’s constitution, adopted with the declaration of independence in 2008, envisages legal recognition for same-sex unions. But the law cannot be passed because Kosovo’s parliament has failed to approve a new civil code, the part of the legal system relating to non-criminal matters such as marriage, divorce and disputes over property and inheritance. In a statement accompanying his Pride appearance, Kurti assured the LGBT activists that he would “do his utmost” to get the code through parliament.

The legalisation of same-sex unions and the staging of Pride marches are more than landmarks in the fight for LGBT rights. For the countries along the EU’s eastern flank, they also represent milestones on the long pathway towards accession. From member states such as Poland and Hungary to aspiring members such as Kosovo and Serbia, the cause of LGBT rights is viewed, for better or worse, as synonymous with the liberal values espoused by the EU. “LGBT rights have become a core principle of the EU’s identity – they are seen as a canary in the coalmine of democracy,” said Koen Slootmaeckers, a senior lecturer in international politics at City, University of London, and the author of a book on EU accession and LGBT rights. “If something is wrong with LGBT rights, then we can expect bigger issues with fundamental rights elsewhere.”

Across Europe, the struggle for LGBT rights tends to be framed in culture war terms, as a battle of values. On one side: Brussels, and liberals from across the political spectrum. On the other side: nationalists, traditionalists, conservatives, the church, as well as homophobes of every stripe. But the frontlines can get blurred. In The Netherlands for instance, sections of the nativist right have adopted the rainbow flag to promote the xenophobic claim that LGBT rights are under threat from immigrants. In Serbia, a strongman leader with a nationalist background has appointed a lesbian as president and guaranteed the security of Pride marches. And in Muslim-majority Kosovo, nationalists who want to join the EU have elected a leftist party that cannot get the parliament that it controls to approve same-sex unions.

“The actual politics of LGBT rights are complicated,” says Slootmaeckers. “It all depends on who is in power and what they want and how that relates to domestic politics, to the regional image they want to construct and to their relationship with the EU.” Slootmaeckers argues that the emphasis on conflicting values often serves as smokescreen, obscuring what are more likely to be tactical maneouvres. “LGBT rights have become a phantom,” he said. “It is not about that issue per se, it is more about a power-play.”

Parliamentary approval of Kosovo’s 997-page civil code has been held up over two sentences: “Registered civil unions between persons of the same sex are allowed. Conditions and procedures are regulated by a special law.” The terse clause, point two under article 1138, holds out the promise of legal recognition for same-sex unions, while leaving all the detail – the “conditions and procedures” – for later.

What can the state of LGBT rights in Kosovo tell us about the country’s power dynamics? How exactly does the EU promote these rights? And how have two sentences of law been put to use by Kosovo’s political class, while serving no purpose whatsoever for its citizens?

The Citizens

Freed under Nato bombardment, Kosovo emerged into the 21st century as a poster-child for liberal interventionism, a feel-good story after the catastrophe of Bosnia. Throughout the “war on terror”, it remained that rarest of things – a Muslim-majority country that was also instinctively pro-American. While capitals from London to Jakarta saw mass protests against the US invasion of Iraq, Pristina had a Bill Clinton statue, a bust of his secretary of state, Madeleine Albright, and a generation of young boys bearing the name, “Tonibler”.

The constitution reflected the belief that a socially conservative society, impoverished by war, corruption and emigration, could be transformed into a more liberal one. Among other things, it envisaged Kosovo becoming the first Muslim-majority country to prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. In effect, this provision guaranteed same-sex couples the right to marry.

“For this right to be realised in practice, it must be regulated by law, just as the law on the family regulates the right to traditional marriages,” said Ehat Miftaraj, a former Ministry of Justice official who now heads a legal think-tank, the Kosovo Law Institute. Without the civil code, couples in same-sex relationships have fewer rights than couples in heterosexual relationships. They can live together as though married, but where there is a dispute or a legacy to contest, they have no legal status, no recourse to the courts.

While same-sex couples are simply denied their constitutional rights, a much larger category of people – from divorcing spouses to siblings arguing over inheritances – is left unsure of its rights. Where Kosovo ought to have a civil code, it instead has a makeshift legal system riddled with inconsistency and ambiguity. Judgements are handed down on the basis of a patchwork of legislation, some carried over from the Yugoslav era, some copy-pasted from the subsequent years as a UN protectorate. “The family law system needs to reflect international standards,” said Miftaraj. “The civil code fills the gaps left by bad practice – it provides a modern framework for delivering justice.”

Though the civil code is seen as a step in the right direction for LGBT rights, it has also been criticised for not going far enough. Vullnet Krasniqi, an LGBT rights activist, emphasises that the draft code “does not guarantee equal rights in marriage for everyone”. Instead, he said, it creates a two-tier system, where the civil union is of “secondary rank” to marriage between heterosexuals.

Jon, a marketing executive from Pristina who asked not to be identified by his real name, also criticised parliament for stopping short of recognising marriages between same-sex couples. “That’s tactical discrimination,” he said. “A tick in the box for politicians to please the international community while denying LGBT people their rights.” However, Jon is unlikely to require these rights for himself as a gay man. “I’m not a fan of marriage, personally,” he said. He also questioned whether it was worth securing the right to start a family in a society where bigotry remains rife. “Kosovo is far from an ideal place for a same-sex couple to adopt a child – one can only think of how much the kid would be bullied,” he said, citing how schoolchildren from the Roma and Ashkali minorities were often ostracised by their Albanian classmates.

Homophobic attitudes are commonplace in Kosovo, as can be gauged by a quick scroll through the social media reactions to local Pride events. But society is changing. Pristina, home to roughly one in every eight of Kosovo’s 1.8 million citizens, has its own gay bar, Bubble, managed by an openly trans-gender Kosovar. The venue attracts a mixed crowd, sporting hairstyles and piercings that would not look out of place in gay districts of London or Berlin. Entertainment is provided by drag artists and international DJs. Mainstream culture is also playing its part in easing taboos. In December last year, the local version of the reality TV franchise, Big Brother, included its first drag queen, who has become a celebrity of sorts.

While LGBT people are still denied many rights, the activist Vullnet Krasniqi said the community has never had it better. “This might sound utopian,” he said, “but I remember the times when no one would dare mention this topic in public. The community is more visible, more active in public life, than ever before.”

Jon said his marketing colleagues in Pristina were aware of his sexuality, and it had never created any issues. He asked to be quoted anonymously not because he feared discrimination but, he said, because he did not want his views to be taken as representative of LGBT people. “Life in Kosovo is hard enough for everyone,” he said. As Jon sees it, his sexual orientation is one identity among many, alongside being a citizen of one of Europe’s poorest countries and the holder of a “worthless passport”.

Kosovo’s sovereignty is currently recognised by more than 100 countries. However, five out of 27 EU member states do not recognise it, and Spain does not even recognise Kosovo’s passport. The negotiations with Serbia were launched in 2011, three years after the declaration of independence. Progress in the talks could lead to widespread recognition of Kosovo’s sovereignty, as well as a boost to Belgrade and Pristina’s EU accession bids. But as hopes of a settlement fade, the economy stagnates, the education and healthcare systems teeter on the brink, and the embassies of European Union members in Pristina process tens of thousands of visa requests from frustrated young Kosovars every month. On the streets, the leadership in Brussels, Pristina and Belgrade each get their share of the blame. “Politicians in Kosovo and Serbia need each other,” says Artan Behrami, a former advisor to ex-President Hashim Thaci who now works as a TV pundit. “As long as there is crisis, they will remain in power.”

Europe

The offices of the European Union routinely display Pride flags but the institutions themselves have a hazy, informal notion of what LGBT rights constitute. “The EU has no way to define what these rights are,” said Koen Slootmaeckers of City, University of London. “In order to create what are understood as LGBT rights, it relies on other standards” such as those established by the European Court of Human Rights, he said. The obligation to recognise same-sex marriages is, for instance, re-enforced by multiple Court rulings rather than any specific piece of EU legistlation.

The European Court of Human Rights is based in Strasbourg and overseen by the Council of Europe. Both institutions are older than the European Union, and independent of it. The Council works with the Court to uphold human rights, democracy and the rule of law across the continent. Its 46 member states include Serbia, which has lobbied to block Kosovo’s quest to join the body. However, Serbia’s position was weakened last year by the exit of its ally on the Council, Russia, following the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Spotting a historic opportunity, Kosovo formally applied to join the Council last May. Its application was accepted for review by the Council’s parliament, clearing the first hurdle in what is likely to be a tortuous diplomatic process. Kosovo’s Foreign Minister, Donika Gervalla-Schwarz, hailed the decision as a “historic step, perhaps the most important since our independence”, while cautioning that the accession process remained “long and difficult”.

Citizens of the Council’s member states who are disappointed by the courts in their country can, in theory, take their case to the European Court of Human Rights. Until Kosovo becomes a member of the Council, its citizens have no such protection. Its legal system must be overhauled before it joins the Council, experts say, or else the European Court of Human Rights could be swamped with cases from Kosovo. A functioning civil code is seen as a pre-requisite for Kosovo’s bid to join the Council.

Kosovo has much to gain from membership, according to Demush Shasha, a former Secretary General of Kosovo’s Ministry of European Integration and the current head of the EPIK Institute, a think-tank focused on the integration process. Accession to the Council would, he said, advance Kosovo’s quest for international recognition – “it would be the largest progress in this process for years”. The rights of Kosovo’s citizens would be better protected, he added, while efforts to fight corruption and strengthen media freedom would receive a boost.

For its part, the EU has been giving Kosovo millions of euros to reform its creaking justice system. However, it has few direct means of promoting LGBT rights, just as it has no mechanism for defining them. Its backing for LGBT rights tends to be offered within a broader remit of pushing for anti-discrimination laws, according to Slootmaeckers. The EU cannot, however, compel members or aspiring members to adopt specific laws to protect LGBT people, he said. “The EU has no competence when it comes to family law… It has no basis to demand Pride parades and same-sex marriages as a condition for membership.”

The political class

The prospect of legalising same-sex unions prompted an uncommon show of unity from Kosovo’s faith leaders. In the run-up to the vote on the civil code, the country’s top Islamic cleric issued a joint statement with senior figures representing the Catholic and Evangelical churches as well as the Jewish faith. The statement stressed the leaders’ collective opposition to the idea that two people of the same gender be allowed to marry and start a family. The Serbian Orthodox Church, drawings its followers from the Serb minority in northern Kosovo, did not lend its support to the statement. However, its absence reflected its alienation from Pristina rather than any divergence with the other faiths, whose views on LGBT rights are echoed by the Church.

“The religious communities in Kosovo may use hateful speech against each other because they differ over the names of their prophets or the way they address God, but they are quite united in their opposition to same-sex marriages,” said Vullnet Krasniqi, the activist. “Religions haven’t changed much – they remain cradles of society’s backwardness.”

Kosovo’s Islamists have traditionally been minor players on the political scene. Secularism is enshrined in the constitution, and the nationalism that has shaped contemporary Kosovo is centred on the language and culture of the Albanian-speaking majority rather than its Islamic faith. While there is a religious dimension to the animosity between the country’s Albanian and Serb populations, it is hardly the driving force.

Vetevendosje began courting the Islamist vote while in opposition. More than a decade ago, the party objected to a government regulation banning schoolgirls from wearing the Islamic head-dress, or hijab. The party’s links with the Islamists were affirmed in 2014, when the Vetevendosje opposition challenged a government decree banning Kosovars from taking part in foreign wars. The decree was prompted by reports that young Kosovar men were flocking to the war in Syria. Vetevendosje opposed the law on the grounds that it might prevent Kosovars from taking up arms in defence of ethnic Albanian minorities in neighbouring countries.

The current government is the first that has the capacity to push laws through parliament without having to rely on coalition partners or elements of the opposition. Some 56 MPs in the 120-seat parliament are directly affiliated with Vetendosje, while MPs representing minority groups provide additional support. The vote on the civil code, on March 16, 2022, marks the first – and so far, only – occasion where the party’s majority has let it down. As the session was attended by 61 MPs, a simple majority of 31 votes would have seen the bill through. However, only 28 MPs voted in favour of the code, while 29 voted against it.

The motion to approve the civil code fell short by three votes. Some of these votes could, in theory, have come from opposition parties that have previously endorsed the legal overhaul. On the day when the civil code came up for review however, most opposition MPs stayed away from parliament. Almost half the MPs – 59 in the 120-seat chamber – did not turn up to vote.

Unable to call upon cross-party support, the government would have had to rely on the overwhelming backing of its own MPs to get the civil code through parliament. Its failure to secure this backing highlighted a schism within its ranks. Of the 29 MPs who voted to reject the code, 14 were from Vetevendosje.

All 14 are known for their Islamist views. One of them, Labinote Demi Murtezi, declared that marriage must be restricted to heterosexual couples on moral grounds. “Any relationship outside this combination is considered to be debauched and degenerate,” she said in parliament. Another Islamist MP from the party, interviewed later on condition of anonymity, said the group of 14 were prepared to drop their opposition to the civil code if the text concerning same-sex civil unions were “deleted or rewritten”.

Kosovo’s governing parties, Vetevendosje included, have consistently affirmed their commitment to the liberal values espoused by the country’s allies to the West. However, the party’s leaders have limited means to “whip” their MPs. The electoral system gives MPs a degree of autonomy in parliament, allowing them to argue that they must prioritise their constituents’ interests over those of the party.

“I don’t think I can change anyone’s mind and make them believe in the concept of same-sex marriages or civil unions,” said Mimoza Kusari-Lila, the chief of Vetevendosje’s parliamentary group. “What I can try to do is convince them that we shouldn’t deny anyone their rights.” Kusari-Lila’s background hints at the ideological diversity within Vetevendosje. Prior to entering government, she served as mayor of the city of Gjakova, becoming the first woman in the country to hold the mayor’s rank. Her brother is also known as a trailblazer: he emigrated to Canada and started a family there with his husband.

The vote on the civil code failed, in part, because of a clash of values. Vetevendosje’s leadership supports the code in its current form. However, some of its MPs object to the recognition of same-sex unions, and the vote gave them the chance to act on their beliefs. But clashing values are only half the story. The civil code also fell victim to a power play by the opposition, which used the vote to create the political equivalent of an offside trap. By staying away from parliament, the opposition showed that the Islamists could exercise a veto over policy – effectively undermining Vetevendosje’s liberal credentials.

Analysts believe the opposition was ultimately hoping to extract concessions from the government. An opposition MP, speaking in parliament on the day of the vote, suggested that the government had been betrayed by the forces that it had courted. “It is not our fault if someone flirted with particular interest groups in an electoral situation, and those groups are now turning their backs,” said Driton Selmanaj, an MP for the centre-right LDK party. However, the Islamists’ influence within Vetevendosje may have been over-stated. During internal elections last year for the party’s leadership committee, the faction’s MPs were sidelined – reportedly in retaliation for breaking rank over the civil code.

Nonetheless, the Islamist group within Vetevendosje remains a major obstacle to the approval of the civil code. Significantly, the vote against the code also managed to unite the Islamists within Vetevendosje with like-minded MPs from other parties. According to Abit Hoxha, an assistant professor at the University of Agder in Norway who has written about Kosovo’s political landscape, this ad-hoc alliance could represent a turning point for the Islamist influence within parliament as a whole. “The power of this informal political group goes beyond party agendas, and it could exacerbate divisions within Vetevendosje,” he said. The collaboration between Islamists over the civil code could, he argued, provide a template for further deals over issues such as artificial reproduction and the right to wear headscarves.

Analysts believe the emboldened Islamists are unlikely to support further efforts to get the civil code through parliament. Kurti’s only alternative is to make a deal with the opposition, but this prospect is also increasingly unlikely. Animosity between the government and the opposition is at its peak, as betrayed by a recent brawl in parliament. For now, Kurti’s appearance at the Pride march in June looks to have been a largely symbolic exercise, compensating for the lack of substantial progress in protecting LGBT rights.

As far as the EU is concerned, the need to prevent further escalation in northern Kosovo is likely to take precedence over the recognition of LGBT rights, according to Koen Slootmaeckers, from City, University of London. “We have long seen that… if there are geopolitical concerns, fundamental rights tend to vanish from the discussion,” he said.

Jon, the marketing executive from Pristina, is not optimistic. If there is any progress in the field of LGBT rights, he believes it will be achieved only as a by-product of broader political processes. “Even if we get Council of Europe membership,” he said, “the LGBT community will represent a means to an end rather than an end in itself.”