#but poor gabriela just lost a friend | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

newstfionline · 4 years

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Thursday, November 26, 2020

Foreign observers shocked by chaos over U.S. election (Washington Post) These are challenging times for foreigners whose job it is to interpret American politics for people in other countries. As President Trump has used a string of maneuvers to attack the election he lost as fraudulent and illegitimate, many observers are perplexed as they watch the country they have known and admired floundering in a constitutional crisis and growing mistrust of democratic institutions. For many, it is a struggle to maintain confidence that America’s principles and ideals will prevail. “People who know the U.S. are shocked it’s going on so long,” said Michal Baranowski, the German Marshall Fund director of the office in Warsaw, of the post-election uncertainty and Trump’s refusal to concede. “We still say it will work out, because of the strength of U.S. institutions. But, man, it’s taking a long time, and I’m beginning to worry.” Some foreign observers are also struggling to explain the U.S. political drama to their baffled friends and colleagues.

California unemployment aid to inmates (AP) California’s system for paying unemployment benefits is so dysfunctional that the state approved more than $140 million for at least 20,000 prisoners, local and federal prosecutors said Tuesday, detailing a scheme that resulted in claims filed in the names of well-known convicted murderers. At least 158 claims were filed for 133 death-row inmates, resulting in more than $420,000 in benefits paid. Prosecutors said they learned of the scheme from listening in on recorded prison phone calls, where inmates would talk about how easy it was for everyone to get paid. They said the scheme always involved someone on the outside—usually friends or family members of the inmates, who would then receive the benefits. In some cases, inmates used their real names. In others, they used fake names and even fake Social Security numbers. In one instance, an inmate used the name: “poopy britches,” a district attorney said.

Failing grades spike in Virginia’s largest school system as online learning gap emerges nationwide (Washington Post) A report on student grades from one of the nation’s largest school districts offers some of the first concrete evidence that online learning is forcing a striking drop in students’ academic performance, and that the most vulnerable students—children with disabilities and English-language learners—are suffering the most. Fairfax County Public Schools in Virginia, which has been mostly online since March, published an internal analysis this week showing that, between the last academic year and this one, the percentage of middle school and high school students earning F’s in at least two classes jumped by 83 percent: from 6 percent to 11 percent. By the end of the first quarter of 2020-2021, nearly 10,000 Fairfax students had scored F’s in two or more classes—an increase of more than 4,300 students as compared with the group who received F’s by the same time last year. Experts have warned since the beginning of the pandemic, and the unexpected national experiment in online learning, that remote schooling would take a serious academic toll on children. Now, evidence of poor achievement in virtual classrooms is beginning to emerge nationwide: In the Independent School District in Houston, more than 40 percent of students are earning failing grades in at least two of their classes, according to data reported by the Houston Chronicle. Likewise in St. Paul, Minn., where the superintendent recently reported that nearly 40 percent of St. Paul Public Schools high-schoolers have failing marks, local TV station KARE reported.

White House considers lifting European travel restrictions (Reuters) The White House is considering rescinding entry bans for most non-U.S. citizens who recently were in Brazil, Britain, Ireland and 26 other European countries, five U.S. and airline officials told Reuters. The plan has won the backing of White House coronavirus task-force members, public health and other federal agencies, the people briefed on the matter said, but President Donald Trump has not made a final decision and the timing remains uncertain.

Punishing hurricanes to spur more Central American migration SAN PEDRO SULA, Honduras (AP)—At a shelter in this northern Honduran city, Lilian Gabriela Santos Sarmiento says back-to-back hurricanes that hit with devastating fury this month have overturned her life. Her home in what was once a pretty neighborhood in nearby La Lima was destroyed by flooding. The 29-year-old woman who never finished middle school had managed to build a life for herself, most recently cleaning COVID-19 wards at a local hospital. Now, having lost everything, she says she sees no future in Honduras at her age and with her level of education. So her plan is to leave for the United States. Inside shelters and improvised camps across Central America, families who lost everything in the severe flooding set off by the two major hurricanes are arriving at the same conclusion. The hurricanes’ destruction comes on top of the economic paralysis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and the persistent violence and lack of jobs that have driven families north from Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador in great numbers during recent years. Add an element of hope from the incoming government of President-elect Joe Biden, and experts predict the region is on the verge of another mass migration. “This is going to be much bigger than what we have been seeing,” said Jenny Arguello, a sociologist in San Pedro Sula who studies migration flows. “I believe entire communities are going to leave.”

Swiss poll (Foreign Policy) Swiss citizens will vote on Sunday in a landmark referendum on whether to ban the country’s central bank and pension funds from holding shares in companies that make more than 5 percent of sales from weapons components. The initiative would also ban Swiss banks from lending to weapons companies. The Swiss central bank is against the measure, as are the major Swiss banks. Despite industry pushback, a recent poll showed 50 percent of respondents supported the ban, while 45 percent were opposed.

U.S.-Russia naval confrontation (Foreign Policy) The United States and Russia are offering competing explanations after a Russian warship confronted a U.S. destroyer on Russia’s eastern coast. Russia accuses the United States of overstepping its maritime border in Peter the Great Gulf by 1.2 miles, and allegedly threatened to ram the U.S. ship in order to get it to leave its waters. The United States asserts its ship was in international waters and was conducting a freedom of navigation operation in assertion of its right to travel through the area.

Coronavirus is roaring back in parts of Asia (Washington Post) Compared with the United States and Europe, countries in East Asia have been held up as success stories in the battle against the coronavirus pandemic. But in Japan, South Korea and Hong Kong, governments are reimposing restrictions this week, as public complacency, policy blunders and colder weather fuel a new surge in virus cases. Japan is scaling back a contentious subsidy program designed to encourage domestic tourism and dining out, after it became clear the enticements were helping to fuel a third wave that has resulted in record new infections. In Seoul, officials ordered bars and nightclubs to close and limited dine-in service at cafes and restaurants this week, after an earlier easing of restrictions allowed the virus to roar back. Hong Kong also closed bars and nightclubs, days after officials postponed the launch of a travel bubble with Singapore—a highly anticipated experiment that was set to herald a reopening of quarantine-free travel in Asia—after the virus found gaps in the territory’s defenses to stage a comeback. The numbers of new infections here are a fraction of those in West, with Japan recently reporting more than 2,000 new cases a day, South Korea more than 300 a day, and Hong Kong recording 73 new confirmed cases on Monday—compared with more than 150,000 a day in the United States. Yet the infection rates are still high enough to ring alarm bells, especially given the high proportion of elderly people in places like Japan, as winter approaches and doors and windows close against the chill.

China mulls new rules on foreigners to ‘prohibit religious extremism’ (CNN) Foreign religious groups and worshipers could be the latest targets of a growing crackdown on organized religion in China under President Xi Jinping. Draft rules published this week by the Ministry of Justice call for new restrictions on how foreign worshipers operate in order to prevent the spreading of “religious extremism,” or use of religion “to undermine China’s national or ethnic unity.” The rules, currently open to public feedback but unlikely to change significantly from their current form, are just the latest move to control religious practice under Xi, who has repeatedly called for the “sinicization” of religion. Though the draft rules affirm China’s commitment to respecting “the freedom of religious belief of foreigners,” the list of potential new restrictions and requirements could make practicing that belief far more difficult. In particular, the draft rules include a list of activities that foreigners should not conduct within China, such as “interfering with or dominating the affairs of Chinese religious groups,” advocating “extremist religious thoughts,” using religion to conduct terrorist activities, or “interfering with the appointment or management of Chinese clergy members.”

Ethiopian leader rejects international ‘interference’ in war (AP) Ethiopia’s prime minister is rejecting growing international consensus for dialogue and a halt to deadly fighting in the Tigray region as “unwelcome,” saying his country will handle the conflict on its own as a 72-hour surrender ultimatum runs out on Wednesday. “We respectfully urge the international community to refrain from any unwelcome and unlawful acts of interference,” the statement from Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s office said as government forces encircled the Tigray capital, Mekele, with tanks. “The international community should stand by until the government of Ethiopia submits its requests for assistance to the community of nations.” The government led by Abiy has warned Mekele’s half-million residents to move away from the Tigray People’s Liberation Front leaders or there will be “no mercy”—language that the United Nations human rights chief and others have warned could lead to “further violations of international humanitarian law.” But communications remain almost completely severed to the Tigray region of some 6 million people, and is not clear how many people in Mekele are aware of the warnings and the threat of artillery fire.

Terrorism in Africa (Times of London) Islamic State terrorism is surging in Africa while in the western world the threat from far-right extremists has overtaken that from jihadists. The 2020 Global Terrorism Index found that despite a fall in the global terrorism death toll for the fifth year running, Africa was suffering a dramatic increase in jihadist violence linked to Islamic State. “The center of gravity for Isis has now shifted to sub-Saharan Africa,” said Steve Killelea, founder of the Institute of Economic and Peace which produces the annual index. “Seven of the ten countries with the largest increases in terrorism all reside in sub-Saharan Africa.”

#headlines #news

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timeagainreviews · 5 years

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The Doctor Shows Great Praxeus

One of the more amusing aspects of being a Doctor Who fan is fantasising about one day travelling with the Doctor. I’ve heard grown-ass adults tell me that they have thought "I kinda want to get in shape, in case the Doctor ever comes." We’ve all asked ourselves which Doctor we would most want to travel with. The next question, of course, is- "Anywhere in time and space, where do you want to go?" Usually, my response is "the future." As a trans person, I don’t much fancy a visit to the past. But lately, even the future seems a grim place to be. Part of me wants to see the future because I want to see Star Trek in action, but part of me just wants to know if we survive.

When I heard that an episode in series twelve was going to tackle the subject of plastic pollution, my first reaction was "Autons?!" I also braced myself for a heaping dose of cringy edutainment. While it is a very clear and present danger that should be treated as such, I don’t expect Doctor Who to tackle the issue with much finesse. It’s no secret around these parts that I have questioned Doctor Who’s capacity for dealing with heavy subject matter. However, it would seem as though writer Pete McTighe has cracked the code- make it part of the story!

I’ve had Pete McTighe on my mind this week as he showed up on the "Behind the Sofa," segments in the new Seventh Doctor blu-ray boxset. (I’ve not forgotten that by the way, I do plan to cover one of the stories.) I knew McTighe was set to pen an episode this season, so I had been looking forward to that. If you’ll recall, I was a fan of his episode "Kerblam!" Some of my more anarchic friends wrote the entire episode off because the Doctor doesn’t dismantle the company at the end. So does Pete show better praxis with "Praxeus?" Let’s get into it!

The episode opens on several different locations- Peru, Madagascar, and space. We’re introduced to three groups of very different people. We’ve got Adam, an astronaut plummeting to earth in a capsule. We’ve got Gabriela and Jamila, a couple of travel bloggers forced to camp amongst rubbish. We have Jake, a cop on sabbatical who appears to be struggling with anger issues. And then we have Suki and Amaru, a couple of scientists working in a lab next to a beach where a survivor from a submarine accident is about to wash ashore.

I was concerned at that moment as I was worried they may have bitten off more than they can chew. So many new characters and settings all at once could easily become lost in the chaos. But the action is given focus by Jake learning that his husband Adam, the astronaut, has crashed. After a mysterious text from Adam, he heads to Hong Kong in search of his missing love. In a very short amount of time, there is a very strong sense of character development for Jake. This left me somewhat concerned as most of the companions have taken the backseat to secondary characters this year. It’s not been to the show’s detriment, as such, but it did leave me wondering if their solution to the problem of character development would be to ignore it completely. But here, that simply isn’t the case.

Tosin Cole is in particularly fine form as the Doctor’s man in Peru. We’ve seen each of the companions grow and take on traits of the Doctor, but Ryan shows a maturity and confidence we’ve not fully seen from him previously. When Gabriela wakes to find her friend Jamila missing, it’s Ryan that calms her. It’s Ryan who takes a sample of an infected bird. It’s Ryan that finds Jamila’s body, moments before she succumbs to a strange blight. Seeing him like this, he’s less like the boy we met on his bike, and more like a man. Even Gabriela was unable to deny just what a man he is. I’ll admit that I was just a touch envious of her getting to pat him down.

All the while, the Doctor has discovered the sailor from the submarine on the beach who suffers the same fate as Jamila. Some sort of infection seems to be taking over random people and the birds, causing skin abrasions and odd behaviour until ultimately exploding into a dry powder. It’s a grim way to die, and one of the better ones I’ve seen in Doctor Who in ages. Above the research facility, swarms of birds swoop in large groups, moving like a single organism.

Graham and Yaz intercept Jake in Hong Kong, where they find Adam, still in his spacesuit like this was the Impossible Astronaut. While unhooking him from what is clearly alien tech, they’re interrupted by gas-masked scientists with laser guns. In the scuffle, Yaz holds a piece of equipment hostage, which prompts her to believe that whatever it is, it’s valuable. Thanks to some badassery on Jake’s behalf, they manage to get Adam unhooked from the equipment and reconvene with the Doctor. However, Yaz decides to hang back along with Gabriela so they can nab that valuable device.

Now, I’d like to take a minute to talk about the way in which the Doctor and her companions are operating as a team. Not only are they keeping in touch with one another through cool little communication devices in their necks, but they’re also using the damn TARDIS! It is easily one of my biggest gripes about Doctor Who that they never use the TARDIS in interesting ways. Most writers seem content treating the TARDIS like a tram to get from point A to point B. I know that in a lot of ways the TARDIS could easily become an overpowered McGuffin, but that doesn’t mean you never use it for stuff. Allowing them to move about in the TARDIS to chase leads made a global story seem manageable.

Yaz and Gabriela’s little team-up was such a treat. Not only was I loving Gabriela as a character, but they finally gave Yaz some good stuff to do. McTighe isn’t just writing the ensemble of three companions well, he’s actually managed to build a small supporting cast of characters, each with their own individual arcs. On top of that, the Doctor’s dialogue was on point this week. Even the humour struck the right balance of eccentric and scatterbrained (or is that brainsed?) I’m not saying he’s my current favourite writer on the show, but I may start thinking that if he keeps this up.

Yaz and Gabriela locate the device, but as they’re retrieving it, one of the masked scientists shoots at them and uses a teleportation device to escape. I loved that Yaz was willing to see where the teleport led to, as it illustrates the Doctor’s influence on her companions once more. The Doctor has always banked on the benefit of the information gained from experience as opposed to wondering. If you can get captured, perhaps it will bring you right where you need to be. Following this logic, Yaz and Gabriela find themselves within what looked like a spaceship made of rubbish. Bits of rubber and plastic adorn the walls like the inside of the Skithra ship. And oh hey, there’s the submarine!

Back at Suki and Amaru’s lab, the birds are growing in number and getting restless. Amaru keeps watch while the Doctor and co. search for a cure for Adam who is also afflicted with this Praxeus pathogen. I loved that the Doctor delegated the task of dissecting a dead bird to Ryan. It was one more thing for her companions to do, which also made logical sense. While Graham has rather a lot less to do this time around, I was really pleased by his playing nurse for Adam. The subtle nod to his history with cancer got my heart stirring a bit. By the time Graham and Jake have their little heart to heart, I was already a big ball of emotions. This is Graham doing what he does best- giving granddad advice to a confused young man.

Now, I will admit, by this point in the episode, the plot began to confuse me. But this wasn’t the usual kind of confusion where "This doesn’t make sense because it’s dumb." It was more like "This doesn’t make sense because I’m dumb." There’s a lot going on, but if you paid attention, you will be able to make sense of things. Poor Amaru gets pecked to death in what has to be the shittest job as a lookout. It’s like sitting in place waiting to see if a brush fire will advance toward you. Meanwhile, Ryan has discovered the bird he found died with a belly full of plastic.

The Doctor deduces that the pathogen is attracted to plastic and found a feast within humans who are full of microplastics from the environment. It’s a grim outlook for the 2030s, but a sober one. And it’s a very relatable concept to imagine. How many times have you seen a bird hopping along and eating anything off the ground that looks like food? As I said, they managed to talk about plastic pollution by incorporating it into the story. As the information is important to understanding the plot, it doesn’t feel as though we’re being spoonfed information for the sake of information. We’re learning by peeling back the mystery of this episode, and it worked beautifully.

The Praxeus pathogen appears to be intelligent, which is both why it’s been so stubborn to eradicate, but also why the birds have been behaving so aggressively. If a person gets scratched by a bird, they become infected. This could also be why Jamila wandered off into the night. Just about this time, Yaz rings up to inform the Doctor where she is. We learn that the Hong Kong lab was transmitting data to two locations- somewhere in the Indian Ocean, and Madagascar. Knowing she’s been made, Suki reveals she’s not from Earth, but actually a scientist from a planet that was nearly wiped out by the Praxeus pathogen. However, it’s at this point that the birds have found their way into the lab forcing the TARDIS crew and their new friends to flee for the safety of the blue box.

The Doctor meets up with Yaz and Gabriela where they discover Yaz hasn’t actually discovered a new alien planet, but are actually deep within the Indian Ocean, the third location triangulated with Hong Kong and Madagascar. Suki’s ship has attracted a sort of vortex of junk and debris which also interferes with nearby tech like say submarines or orbiting space stations. They find the scientist they had been persuing only to discover they too were infected by the pathogen. When they removed the mask to show a face full of what looked like teeth, I yelled out "Tim Shaw!" It’s at this moment when they find Suki has teleported aboard this little garbage island.

Suki being a callous scientist willing to infect an entire planet to save her own was some mad scientist level villainy on par with the Rani. Is she the Rani? She’s the Rani, isn’t she? It’s never the Rani. As things turn out, Suki appears to also be infected, and before she can stop the Doctor from stopping her, she too succumbs to the pathogen, exploding into a powder. Adam, on the other hand, is fairing better as the Doctor’s search for a cure has yielded positive results.

The plan at this point is to allow Suki’s ship to autopilot into the atmosphere and distribute the cure across the earth, thus ridding it of this horrible blight. However, as everyone is escaping they fail to realise Jake has remained onboard. Seeing the autopilot is broken, Jake finds the perfect opportunity to show his love for his husband by sacrificing himself. However, the Doctor shows some Capaldi level TARDIS manoeuvring as she saves Jake last minute. This was a nice change in pace from series eleven which seemed to take great glee in introducing gay characters only to kill them off. The two lovebirds’ passionate kiss had my boyfriend and I saying "Awww!" and holding hands.

After last week’s wonderfully befuddling episode, I expected them to give us something tame. Episode six after a big midseason reveal seems like the perfect place to put your run of the mill filler episode. Instead, I found this to be one of the best episodes so far. The plotting and pacing were on point. The dialogue was superb and believable. Add to that some stellar performances from the entire cast, and you’ve got the makings of an instant classic. Even the side characters were lovable and interesting. Gabriela’s continuous disappointment that nobody recognises her from her vlog was an endearing bit of character work that had me saying words like "honourary companion." I know the TARDIS is a bit full, but I’d be way into more of her in some capacity.

It’s hard for me to say if I have many complaints about "Praxeus." As I said above, there were moments when the plot lost me a bit. After a brief look around the internet, I realise I’m not alone in this. Others found it a bit dense, but I am confident that over time that will subside. I did find the idea that they had to search three solar systems to find a planet as messed up as ours to be a bit heavy-handed. But that is sort of where we’re at as a planet. Writer Chuck Palahniuk once said something to the effect that the beaver wasn’t saved from the brink of extinction by freedom fighters chaining themselves to the last few beavers. It was the person who designed a more fashionable hat that didn’t require beaver skin. People stopped killing beavers to make hats, and the beaver survived. What I am getting at is that "Praxeus," doesn’t succeed by doomsaying, but rather through charm. By the end of the episode, I didn’t feel exhausted by information. Instead, I found myself feeling something far more constructive- thoughtful.

#doctor who #praxeus #Thirteenth Doctor #Jodie Whittaker #tosin cole #mandip gill #Bradley Walsh #Ryan Sinclair #Graham O'Brien #yaz #yasmine khan #pete mctighe #TARDIS #bbc #Time and Time Again

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gilbertish · 6 years

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Check Mate | Self-para

Tw: blood, murdering Mentions: Kalina, Larissa, Gabriela, Alanyo and Thyrso, Isabel, Lucas

Miguel:

Christmas and New Year used to be his favorite holidays in the year, until the flight that changed his life. He had almost died, lost one of his closest friends, and also lost half of the man he was before it. He managed to go to Bulgaria under cover, and reunite with his wife, and his precious daughter. Anyone could think that was enough... That Miguel had his happy ending and he was going to live happily ever after.

Those things only worked in fairytales.

He had trouble during the sleep, waking up in the middle of the night with the memories of his men dying and the flames. Sometimes he woke up with the scent of his own flesh burning... In others, the unforgetable feeling of the plane losing height and the sound of metal crashing against the ground. He feared that one night he’d wake up and hurt his Kalina... Miguel knew that going to see his daughter wasn’t enough, no matter how much peace Gabriela would make him feel.

He started therapy a month after he returned to Brazil. The reception couldn’t be more perfect. Larrissa was there, relieved and happy seeing his brother, alive. His sister was the purest person he had ever seen, any suspicious that she was behind his plane crash was gone at the moment he saw her tears of joy. His mother was never a warm woman, and after her shock of seeing her son coming from the dead, she welcomed him as always.

Along with the therapy, he took some medications, to help with the nightmares. He gain some weight, the nights of full sleep became more regular. On the night of their first wedding anniversary, Miguel felt secure enough to show Kalina the scars on his back, gift from the flames of hell. Also on that night, he made love to Kalina for the first time in months, and how good that felt. Miguel was almost the man he was once before. He had plans for their coronation, but only after the responsible for the plane crash was caught, or when they were close to it.

Kalina and Miguel had their official schedule, and they followed it almost religiously. In sidelines, and during their free time, they investigated the plane crash, and how it could be linked to the plane crash that killed his father. They both agreed that the two things were linked, and the same person was behind both tragedies. He hadn’t share any of his suspicious with Larissa yet, he wanted to gather more secure info before telling anything to her.

But going back to the Holiday season... The night was going as planned. It was quite small compared to previous holiday balls at the palace. There were family around, and some state representatives from around the world. Miguel was still the King to be, so holidays were part of his political agenda, at least a small piece of it.

He could be talking to an embassador, or minister, but whenever he could, he searched for his wife and only had eyes for her. He was so proud of Kalina, even though she struggled still to be accepted into the brazilian society, he saw how far she had come, and how the brazilian people started to see the Kalina he knew. During his talk to the Portuguese minister, he lost sight of his wife. Miguel wondered where she could have gone, and he had an idea where he could find her. With their beloved daugther.

This Christmas, Miguel didn’t spend much on his gift to his wife. He took a pic of Kalina and Gabriela when his wife wasn’t looking, and edited it in black and white. The light upon the two girls was divine, making it look like they were both shinning, like angels sent from heaven. He framed it and gave to his wife right after she had given him the most perfect gift ever. Time out... From all the mess and protocol. A couple of days where their little family started.

Kalina walked back into the room, and he lost his breath when he saw her with her second dress. “You heard the Empress. We should talk later”, he gave the minister a firm shake of hand and turned to his wife. “You always look amazing, no matter what you’re wearing”, he whispered and kissed her lips softly. Damn the protocols. He was going to kiss his wife, whenever and wherever he wanted.

As she spoke, he stopped on his heels. Jaw clenching, he scanned the room, searching for any sign of the his cousin he had exiled for personal reasons. “Excuse me, gorgeous. The embassador of Angola is here and I need to talk to him”, he said, barely listening to what she had said after it. With firm steps, he walked towards where his wife came. It didn’t take long before he saw Thyrso at the hall.

“Você não é bem-vindo!”, he stormed towards him. Seeing him brought bad memories to Miguel, of his affair with his wife, and the miscarriage she had suffered when she lost their child. “Go away”, he commanded and took the gun from the staff beside him. “Your Royal Higness...”, Lucas, his new personal staff started. “Step back!”, he commanded and aimed the gun towards Thyrso, “You must have a dying wish if you’re here to see my wife.... But you and Alanyo always wanted what I have, don’t you? You think I didn’t see it? You wanted my friends, my toys, my horses... When we grew up you guys had the same cars, or same clothing as I had. And now you want my wife too! Maybe you even want my throne don’t you?”

When his cousin stammered with his own words and got even paler, Miguel had a terrible thought. He had a feeling that the person behind him was close to him. But he never believed it was someone from his family. But that wasn’t so surprising. After all, the stories of brother murdering brother over a crown was more common than he’d like. “You did it? Didn’t you? You wanted me killed to have my wife, desgraçado!”, he pulled the trigger and the bullet crossed his cousin’s body.

“Miguel!”, he turned and saw his mother behind him. When did she appeared? Has she been there all the time? He looked back at his cousin, lying still on the floor while blood pooled around him. He staggered, almost losing his balance, finding it hard to believe he did that to a member to his family, blood of his blood. He dropped the gun, hands shaking he turned to Lucas. “Call an ambulance, be sure this won’t turn into another scandal”, he then turned his gaze back to his mother. “If Kalina asks, tell her I’m not feeling well”, and with that he stormed to his room.

Isabel:

She invited Thryso in a personal invitation, knowing how much trouble she could cause with his presence back at the palace. Nothing happened into the castle without she was told about, and she was aware of the fragile state of mind her son had. She watched when Kalina went out and into the ball, and the way Miguel stormed out. If her gut was right, her plan was in motion.

She followed Miguel, and met the boys at the hall to the private rooms. She had the staff closing the doors, not allowing anyone inside, not even the noisy bulgarian princess. She watched their discussion, and how her nephew would beg with his eyes for help. She stood still, after all the poor boy was just another pawn on her chess game.

It went better than she expected, with Miguel shooting against Thryso. Isabel put on her best shocking face, and acted along while she saw her son walking away to his suite. The Queen made arrangments for Thryso to be attended privately in the best hospital in town, without the press learning of it. She walked back into the room, and then came with an excuse to talk to Alanyo in private. Her nephew was also part of her game, not as disposable as Thryso, but still she had no care of him.

Using one of the secret passages in the palace, she walked to Miguel’s room without anyone seeing her. “Miguel?”, she asked him when she saw her son, walking frantic around. “I didn’t want this... I didn’t mean to hurt him... But I think he’s behind the plane crash, mom... I... How is he?”, Miguel asked. He wasn’t so poised and regal as he stood in the ballroom. He lost the jacket and tie, and he looked so desperate. “I’m sorry son, but Thyrso, he’s dead”, she lied.

“Oh my god”, Miguel whispered and tears started rolling down his cheeks. “I didn’t want this... Mom. What am I going to do now?”, he asked her. Check. Now it was time to finish this game. “Just calm down”, she told him softly and took his hand, walking him towards the bed. “We’ll figure something out, but you must calm down now”, she looked into his eyes and then turned into the bar. She poured him some whysky, and when Miguel wasn’t looking she also poured something into his drink. The medication he used to sleep, except that she added a deathly dose.

“My sweet boy. Remember when you were young, and you used to get yourself in trouble. Who would you turn to to help you get away with it?...”, she gave him a sad smile and gave him the drink, “Drink some, you’ll feel more relaxed” Miguel nodded and took a small sip. Once his throat burned, the queen watched pleased when he drank the rest of it... It wouldn’t take too long before it was all over.

She laid his head upon her lap, and brushed his brown locks with his fingers while she talked about fondly memories. Once the medication kicked in, she smirked, “Mom, that whysky feels weird...”, he mumbled, “My sweet boy, you weren’t supposed to survive the plane crash...”, she sighed and Miguel tried to move away from her. “Yes, you were right. It wasn’t just an accident, Alanyo helped sabbotaging the plane, and his father helped me on your father’s plane. Thryso fell in love with Kalina, and he went along and helped, as long as he could be with her in the end. I was going to announce Alanyo’s new marriage with Larissa, so this way the crown would be stronger than ever, and with Larissa listening to me at every step on the way, I’d still rule”

“But you are really my son, aren’t you?”, she said with such a soft voice, “You’re really hard to die. But this will be over tonight, and the plan will finally move to the next phase”, she sighed and leaned back, waiting for the medication to do the thing. Bam, bam, bam... She turned her head towards the door, where the bulgarian princess was slamming hard against it. “Isso também não fazia parte do plano”, she mumbled at her half conscious son. “I picked the most terrible princess for you, and you had to fall with love with her, hadn’t you?”, she shook her head and climbed out the bed.

She placed the empty bottle of medication into his hand, and clasped his mouth and nose with her hand. One look at the door, and another at her son’s chest, she stopped his breathing as long as she could. Once there was no more move, Isabel walked away from the secret passage she had come from. Check mate.

Lucas:

He knew something was wrong and when the staff saw the queen to be at the king’s door, he rushed over. It was weird that there was nobody there, specially after what happened between the prince and his royal cousin. “Your royal highness”, he nodded and stepped in. He grabbed the key to the door and opened it.

Inside the room, when Lucas saw how Miguel looked, he was fast. Through the radio he called for another ambulance, as quickly as possible and hurried to the prince. He saw the empty bottle of medication in his hand, and the empty glass at the night stand. He then checked the pulse and breath, and when he saw he wasn’t breathing, he started the chest massage to keep the blood running until the paramedics were there.

The response was as quickly as expected, and soon Miguel was under all the best care in the country.

He was clearing the room, so Kalina could join her husband in the ambulance, until the queen stopped him. “No, she’s not leaving this palace. She’s the one responsible for what happened to the king” Lucas, not questioning the orders from the queen mother, just nodded, “Yes, your highness”, he said and followed the future prince into the ambulance, watching as the paramedics fought hard to bring the prince back to life.

#self para #check mate

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marulikestea · 8 years

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Corregidor

Last December of 2016, upon the invitation of Ian's friend Jophet, we went to Corregidor Island for a day tour. Going to this place has always been one of my bucketlist goals (local ruins, omg omg!), so when this opportunity was presented to me, I said yes in a heartbeart.

The schedule of our tour was just a day before my company’s Christmas celebration, so understandably, I didn’t have much rest and sleep prior to that day. But I was quite confident (or I prolly just gave up lol) I could wing it without much preparation so I slept soundly before dressing down to my sleeping gear.

When Saturday came, I should have known that the troll god would have other plans in store for me.

You know Murphy’s law right? That famous “Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong” kind of crap thing? Well, as it happened, I’ve become a wonderful target by that law during that morning.

I'd like to delve on the details, but I thought a bulleted summary of my (and Ian's as collateral damage) misfortune would suffice:

I didn't woke to the sound of my alarm phone, but to Ian's text saying that he's already near to pick me up. And I just friggin woke up.

Since panic and lost of prep time wasn't enough, I couldn’t find my glasses; thus, I ended meeting up with Ian late;

Despite our Initial-D-mode attempts to reach MOA seaside terminal to beat the time, we took a wrong turn and ended up lost in the process. Twice.

Basically, we did a clutch move arrival (barely) and met up with the rest of the gang, LOL. Despite the close call, we managed to board the sun cruises boat without a hitch and spent an hour ride to the famous “rock” island.

While on transit, Ian and Lance saw their Chinese officemates, who were just seated at the back. It's a very small world, as they say, and Sun Cruises made it smaller when they gave out that Christmas tour promo, if you know what I mean, lol.

To kill time before our arrival, I watched the Corregidor-related videos on tv (made by Sun Cruises or NatGeo) , played Mystic Messenger on my phone and slept.

An hour later, we finally arrived at our destination.

It took awhile before the crew men managed to tie up the boat to the landing docks. After disembarking to the island, this was the sight that greeted us.

Sadly, so many floating trash could be seen at the docks (though not apparent in the image above because I cut it from view) .

From what I suspected, these wastes were taken in by the ocean waves from Manila bay.

This idea was further affirmed when I saw an bulletin board nearby, with the following words written:

“Please help in preventing garbage disposal into manila bay. Corregidor Island is suffering from this condition. Your cooperation in advocating policies to help our government in controlling sea-borne wastes is urgently needed. Thank you.”

It’s very unfortunate. I didn’t go to this place to see something like this. If I did, then I wouldn’t have left the city, since garbage such as these are always present there on a daily basis, be it objects or people.

Sigh.

Luckily enough, we didn’t stay too much on the area since the tour guides urged us to ride the orange travel buses called tramvias so as not to waste the day away.

Lorcha Dock Our first stop in the tour, which was just a few meters away from the docking area. This was MacArthur's Departure Point for Australia. Contrary to popular belief, his famous phrase “I shall return” were not uttered here, but in Australia.

A monument of MacArthur. This is also where we had our souvenir shots taken.

But regardless of that, it didn’t changed the fact that he still went back to the Philippines, even if it meant disobeying orders from his superiors just to return. Of course that entailed insubordination, but having won the war, all's well that ends well I guess.

Middleside Barracks

Our second stop, not far from the Lorcha Dock. This place is one of the signature sceneries you see when you search for Corregidor on the internet. Destroyed by Japanese bombs during the war, this is now but a husk of its former glory, with nothing but ghosts and goats to roam its vicinity.

“Nothing but goats and ghosts”, as our tour guide had mentioned.

Battery Way

Our next stop. Named after Lt. Henry Way of the 4th US Artillery, this was one of the areas were Corregidor’s heavy artillery were housed. According to the tour guide, this place was the last to surrender to the Japanese, only after firing all its rounds and exhausting the guns.

Not all open doors are welcoming.

One of the four guns in the vicinity. Had to wait for everyone to leave before getting a decent solo shot of this.

View from inside the cannon.

Battery Grubbs

Unlike the artillery from the previous battery, battery Grubbs contains the two disappearing guns used for gunning down areal assault via stealth, as far as I remember.

A selfie of us together, lol.

A triangular island from a distance, whose name and importance I’ve already forgotten.

Battery Hearn

Considered as the most powerful artillery in the island, this gun had the farthest range compared to the normal guns in the batteries recently visited.

Named after Brigadier General Clint C. Hearn.

Not far from the Hearn rests a crater site that shows how enormous a damage from an enemy strike was.

Mile-long Barracks

A long stretch along the area, this establishment used to house many soldiers and their families during those times. Now, only its memories and ruins lie in its wake.

Collapsed edges of the mile-long barracks.

Pacific War Memorial & Museum

One of the longer stops of the tour, we were given an hour of free time to roam around the vicinity, which we used up to the best of our abilities, covering all grounds as much as time would let us.

The front of the pacific war memorial.

This place is considered to be a sacred place of sorts. Light from the sun would enter from the opening above and then would shine straight at the altar, for which it was dedicated to the honorable fallen.

The musuem. There’s also a small souvenir shop at the back where I bought magnets for my mom.

This place holds some of the recovered and donated artifacts of the island during world war II. The following are images of some of the historical antiques that caught my eye:

Original American flag during world war 2: This only has 45 stars in it.

To relieve pain or to relieve death... I guess there’s no way of knowing that now.

Cats! :3

I wonder what time this clock stopped during those days...

A watch without hands of time. I guess it doesn’t need it anymore.

For some reason, I remember Captain America movie when I saw this.

Lol. I’d like to give a medal like this to some lying losers that I know but that would just tarnish the medal’s true meaning. Such a shame.

Cine Corregidor Ruins

Back in the day, the latest movies shown in the US would get released here in advance. People who lived in the island basically had a cozy and privileged lifestyle, until war came and bathe everything in flames of course.

A close up photo of moi, coz I’m too damn vain lol.

Brother in arms statue. Our tour guide made us guessed which one of the two was the Filipino and American. As so it happens, the wounded soldier was our countryman. A similar statue like this also exists in America too, apparently, but with the roles reversed.

The Spanish Lighthouse

According to our tour guide, the Spanish Lighthouse was one of the oldest establishments here in Corregidor. Destroyed and rebuilt some time in the past, this place was a trading spot back in the galleon days.

This was also the place for our lunch break and souvenir buying too.

At the top of the world. Zero fucks given, by Jophet and Lance, lol.

Them silly bois making heart shapes at us.

After scaling the lighthouse, we proceeded to the buffet area where lunch was being served. Upon stepping in the premises, we were welcomed with this earthy breezy place, together with a complimentary colorful-looking gulaman drink.

Our welcome gulaman drink. So colorful!

After securing ourselves some tables and letting Jophet, Lance and Charles get food while we kept an eye on their belongings, Ian and I went to get our grub.

Food haul from the buffet table.

The only decent pic of us, i think? And it’s with food, lol!

After one hour had past, with me rushing to gobble down all my food and suffering from indigestion in the process, we continued with the rest of the tour.

While on route to our next destination, our guide has been telling us about how the Japanese infiltrated the island, by using the caves they’ve either found or dug on their own.

One of the cave entrances where the Japanese hid themselves during invasion

Filipino Memorial Park

As the name entails, this place serves as a memorial to all the Filipino heroes of the past.

Pres. Manuel Quezon, President, Philippine Commonwealth “ I am not the president of the rich, and I am not the president of the poor either! I am the president of the Philippines, of the Filipino people, rich and poor alike. The duty of the president of the Philippines is a duty which he owes to the whole Filipino people.”

Pres. Sergio Osmenia, Sr.

Filipino Woman “Who was involved in the many events in our history and as a symbol of peace and inspiration to our gallant men in their fight for the preservation of our honor and freedom.”

The Filipino flag, the very symbol of freedom that was hardly fought and won by our forefathers of many generations.

Here’s a chronology of the Philippine History, based from the murals that adorn the whole perimeter:

Battle of Mactan (1521)

Datu Sirongan And Sultan Kudarat in Mindanao (16th -7th Century)

Bankao's Apostasy in Leyte (1621)

Sumoroy Rebellion (1645-1650)

Andres Malong of Pangasinan (1660)

Dagohoy Revolt (1744-1829)

Diego and Gabriela Silang in Ilocos (1763)

Palaris Revolt in Pangasinan (1762)

Hermano Pule Revolt (1840-1841)

Philippine Revolution (1896)

Filipino-American War (1899)

World War II (1941-1945)

Guerilla Movement

EDSA Revolution (Feb 22-25, 1986)

And at the heart of it all, is this message.

Japanese Garden of Peace

Our second to the last stop was a memorial site for the fallen Japanese soldiers during the war. According to our tour guide, the Filipinos, who had suffered at the hands of the Japanese, refused to bury their dead in the island. But unattended dead bodies could lead to further complications such as diseases, so the Americans buried the bodies.

Later on, when the war had already passed, a memorial was erected as a way appease the souls of the past and those they’ve left behind, as well as to move on from the tragedy the war had caused.

For the repose of souls

“This monument is dedicated to the souls of Filipino, American and Japanese, soldiers whose lives were given in a battle which occurred here on May 5, 1942 when our regiment of the 4th division landed on this island.

We ardently pray for the eternal repose of their souls and everlasting peace throughout the world.”

At first, I thought these were just ordinary stepping stones on the grass. Upon closer inspection, they were also headstones for the souls of Japanese soldiers.

A statue of perhaps a deity from a distance.

Malinta Tunnel

Our last stop: The lights and sounds presentation inside the Malinta tunnel. For this leg of the tour, we had to purchase tickets in order to enter the premises. We had the option to skip this part, where in this case the tramvia would drive ahead and proceed to an alternate path to reach the other side of the tunnel; but we were told that we would be missing a certain chunk of the Corregidor experience if we didn’t push through inside. Lance, being the gallant friend that he is, treated us with our tickets so we didn’t have to worry about anything else.

The ticket was worth P200 per head.

As the tunnel gates opened to admit us, we were embraced by this heavy darkness. It took awhile for our eyes to adjust, but when it did, it didn't decrease the feeling of dread and anticipation that was creeping inside. I wonder how the people of Corregidor felt when bombs kept shaking the earth beneath them.

I'm sure it was ten times worse. Even more.

Small lights located at the sides lit one by one then, beckoning us to walk further along the straight path. I held Ian's hand to make sure he was by my side when we moved.

As we reached the nearest chamber of the tunnel, sounds of past recordings played, accompanied by lights that illuminated these immortalized figures of men in gold that depicted certain events before the tunnel was overrun.

A representation of what happened inside the tunnel during the war.

Every chamber we walked passed, a page of this place's history was added. Ingrained. Again and again, this went on until we reached almost the end of the tunnel, where the Philippine flag stood still and proud. And as the presentation ended, the song of our national anthem played.

Wounded people inside the tunnel’s makeshift hospital

As the hymn ended, the doors to the other side opened, and the light of the exit came rushing forth.

Ian the tourist. :P

Ian and I were the last people to get in the bus, due to the slow trio taking pictures at the Malinta tunnel entrance (which was where we exited, ironically enough). Because of this, we earned ourselves a slow troll clap from Jophet, Lance and Charles. (Lol)

We went back to the bay area in just a short time and spent another hour travelling back to the seaside terminal in Manila. Since there was still time before sundown, the boys went cart racing, while I took a rest and ate french fries beside the track.

Overall, this experience has been a very educating and fulfilling one. I guess, this is why I like visiting old ruins, because each of these old forgotten structures hold and impart a certain piece of history that was once important to those people who lived in that era.

I've always known myself to be an old soul, so I guess I tune in pretty well in places such as this. I feel a sense of peace and nostalgia, as well as a bit of hope that not everything is lost and forgotten by time, even if that memory is a good one or a bad one.

#travel #local #philippines #corregidor #friends #history #world war 2 #ruins #relics #artifacts

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thebeautyoftorah · 7 years

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Eikev

bs'd

Shalom, I hope you are well. In order to continue writing my Divre Torah for the rest of the summer l'm asking for donations, so you have the opportunity to share in the mitzvah to honor a loved one by sponsoring my weekly parsha review, or for refua shelema (healing),or for shiduch, Atzlacha (success), etc. My weekly review goes out to over 5000 people in English and Spanish around the world. Contact me for more details. Feel free to forward these words of Torah to any other fellow Jew. Enjoy it and Shabbat Shalom. Eikev-Tefillah: Without Concentration?

In this week’s parasha the Torah states[1]: “And it will be that if listening, you will listen to My commandments that I command you today, to love the Lord, your G-d, and to serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul …”. This verse is the Biblical source for the mitzvah to pray to Hashem. The Gemara[2] explains: “‘And to serve Him with all your heart’ - now which service of G-d is performed in the heart? This is referring to tefillah (prayer).”

The Torah is teaching us a very important lesson by calling prayer “service of the heart”: mental and emotional concentration is an essential component of prayer. Indeed, our Sages said that “Tefillah beli kavanah k’mo guf b’li neshamah - Prayer without concentration is like a body without a soul.”

While it is certainly important and praiseworthy to have kavanah and concentrate on the meaning of the words of all our prayers, it is most important to do so while reciting the Amidah. The Amidah is the central prayer of the Jewish liturgy, as it is the point in which all of us actually engages in a private, one-on-one conversation with Hashem. [As Judaism's prayer per excellence, the Amidah is often designated simply as tefillah ("prayer") in Rabbinic literature.]

In addition to concentrating on the meaning of the words that we say in the Amidah (at the very least for the first of the eighteen blessings – the Blessing of Avot) an absolute prerequisite for fulfilling one’s obligation of daily prayer according to many Halachic authorities, one also has to have a basic awareness while reciting the Amidah that he is actually standing in front of G-d[3], if his prayers are to have any real meaning.

It is no simple task to properly concentrate while reciting the prayers. (If we talk about ‘concentration’ we assume of course, that we have taken the time to study the meaning of the prayers, or at the very least, that we say the prayers in a language we can understand.) We often just end up saying the words of the prayers without paying any attention to what we are saying or in front of whom we are standing.

Our Sages teach us that all the good in our lives only comes through prayer, and remarkably as Rabi Natan of Breslov puts it, "any lacking in this world is because we didn't pray enough or we didn't pray at all for it". Our Tefillot and heartfelt prayers really do make a difference. And for our prayers to be effective, we need to work on our kavanah, to at least get to the point where – as we begin the Amidah - we can focus, even for a second, on the fact that we are now standing in front of our Father in Heaven. And hopefully, over time, we can try to concentrate on the meaning of at least the very first blessing of the Amidah, so as to properly make use of this most potent tool that can bring us so manny blessings.

We must add that in addition to losing the potential power of our prayers if we fail to concentrate and use them properly, it is also somewhat of a chutzpah on our part if we don’t put in the time and effort to work on being more focused during the Amidah while we stand before Hashem. Rabbi Yaakov Yosef of Polnoa tells the following parable:

A king wanted to reward one of his ministers for all his good work, and promised the minister that he and his entourage would be coming to the minister’s house for a special royal visit. As the day of the king’s visit drew near, the minister looked at his datebook and noticed, to his dismay, that he had already scheduled a major trip with his buddies for that very same day.

He thought to himself, “I certainly can’t give up this trip ... we have been planning it for months!” So he decided that, in order for the king not to think that he was degrading him by not being there, he would have his entire extended family greet the king on his behalf, and they would prepare for him an elegant meal, truly fit for a king.

Sure enough, the minister took off on a major trip with his friends, and the king came for his promised visit. He looked in vain for the minister among all those in the welcoming party, but couldn’t find him. The king was curious to know where he was, since he had personally gone through all this trouble planning a royal visit just to benefit his beloved minister.

When he found out that the minister had gone away on a trip, he was furious and declared, then and there, that the minister would be killed. “After all”, said the king, “I didn’t come here for the fancy meal – I have far better delicacies in my palace – I only made this visit to benefit the minister – and he didn’t even show up!”

Anyone who reads this is probably thinking that the poor minister must have lost his mind! Who goes away on a trip when the king is coming to visit him?!

But think about it for a second ... don’t we do this when we pray three times a day? When a Jew stands with his feet together and quietly recites the Amidah, G-d comes down in all His glory from His celestial abode just to hear our prayers and grant our requests. And where are we at the time of this thrice-daily “royal visit”? We are often away on a major “trip” – with our minds wandering and our thoughts flying all around the globe – and are nowhere to be found at the time when the King of all Kings comes to personally help us with all that we need.

So there we have another good reason why we should take a little time off to look through the translation and basic commentary or at least as the Arizal says to understand the simple meaning of the words, because if we’re praying anyway, we might as well do it in the most effective way! ____________________________________ [1] Devarim 11:13. [2] Taanit 2a. [3] The amidah is equal to the world of emanation (atzilut). The word etzel, which is rooted in atzilut, means 'with' or 'towards'. When we pray we stand with Hashem next to us.

Le Iluy nishmat Eliahu ben Simcha, Mordechai ben Shlomo, Perla bat Simcha, Abraham Meir ben Leah,Moshe ben Gila,Yaakov ben Gila, Sara bat Gila, Yitzchak ben Perla, Leah bat Chavah, Abraham Meir ben Leah,Itamar Ben Reb Yehuda, Yehuda Ben Shmuel Tzvi, Tova Chaya bat Dovid.

Refua Shelema of Yaacov ben Miriam, Naftali Dovid ben Naomi Tzipora, Gila bat Tzipora, Tzipora bat Gila, Dvir ben Leah, Elimelech Dovid ben Chaya Baila, Noa bat Batsheva Devorah and Dovid Yehoshua ben Leba Malka. Atzlacha to Shmuel ben Mazal tov and Zivug agun to Marielle Gabriela bat Gila, Naftali Dovid ben Naomi Tzipora, Yehudit bat Malka, Elisheva bat Malka.

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