#but she is gone by campaign start and thus does not earn a place

[thewinedarksea]

dnd characters: ori’s gods

a god of a sunken isle. a goddess of a lost realm. a god brought by a boy and forgotten by him, who still burns hot around the wick of his name. a vein without a body alone alone alone and a swarm of fireflies and a finger itching for a scale to tip and a spider waiting in her web of silver. they are all of them hungry. they are all of them yearning to go back out into that wide, wonderful, wicked world and find new followers. 

ori takes them. 

ori bears them. 

[jessiebanethedragon]

White Sands Warm the Cold Sea

Star Wars, The Bad Batch Pirate!au (Hunter x Reader

Summary: the reader, betrothed to a disgusting Coruscanti Lord flees her home world and lands herself in a plethora of trouble, a ship of clones, and one pirate captain whose cold exterior needs much more than the tropical seaside sun.

Warnings: Swearing, takes place in time periods where women have dowery's and suchlike. The readers dad and bothered are asses.

chapter one Chapter Two

Chapter Three: The Pirate

Hondo Ohnaka is a very simple man. What doesn’t make him money doesn’t belong in his life and anything other than that does not concern him, nor does it take up much of his time. And while some of his business ventures have earned him a less than savoury reputation the Lords of Coruscant still knew he was the only pirate tolerable to do trade with. Provided you could put up with the boisterous personality for a measurable length of time.

And so when the household had woken to your missing presence and your father had finished retching in the privy, (from shock or his nights endeavours no one could be sure) Volim Nython had already sent word to have Hondo Ohnaka found. At first, he’d laughed.

“My friend, my friend, I am a pirate! Not a bounty hunter, if you want the lass found you’re going to need to stoop lower than folks like me!”

“My own personal guard will be in charge of finding her. What I want is for you to scuttle away to whatever backwater hole you crawled out of and send a message.” The Lord had said ever so calmly.

“So send a letter!” Hondo exclaimed before frowning when his feet were not so calmly pushed from their resting spot upon the table.

“Will you do it or not?” your father asked, rubbing his temples.

“Of course!” He laughed, “for the right amount of credits.”

And thus he found himself tracking down any and all associates of his that participated in smuggling, transportation or escapes of any kind.

“Hunter!” He calls to the sergeant with open arms, pointedly ignoring the cold exterior he is greeted with. It had been a chore to even get the man to allow him to board the Havoc Marauder, let alone agree to talk with him. But standing on the deck of the ship, in the middle of the day, he can see the disdain on the ex-GAR soldier’s face.

“It’s been far too long! Last I saw you boys, you were on a campaign on geonosis and short far too many weapons.” He recalls happily.

“What do you want Hondo.” Hunter demands, and for the first time in a long time the pirate falters, the man in front of him is very different from the one in his memory. It would appear the war had killed the loving, kind hearted sergeant after all.

“Message from Coruscant.” Hondo says eyeing Hunter suspiciously. “A womans gone missing.”

“What's it to us?” He asks, placing his hand on the hilt of his trusty sword.

“Tis the bride of one Volim Nython.” The ship is silent save for the crashing of waves against the hull.

“What’s that got to do with me and my crew? We aren’t bodies for hire anymore.” Hunter seethes.

“Worry not my friend, Nython has his personal guard scouring every surface as we speak. His highness wishes only to convey a message.” Hondo says with a flourish. “Any person found to be harbouring or holding said bride, will be hanged for conspiracies to treason against the Empire. Should the person or persons involved bring forward either the living bride or sufficiently identified body of the aforementioned woman a lesser penalty will be considered at the lord's discretion.”

The group of clones bristle, they’ve been at the mercy of the Lord's discretion before, and dread to think what will happen to the poor bastard should they bring the woman in.

“I still don’t see how this concerns us.” Hunter says, unimpressed.

“Well, i figured something like this would be right up your alley-”

“We are not bounty hunters.” He interrupts.

“I mean hiding the poor lass,” Hondo corrects with a frown, always so touchy these clones. “If you happen to find yourselves in the business of sanctuary I would not recommend you find yourself in that business for long.” He pauses and looks at Tech, Wrecker and Crosshair before leaning in and lowering his voice.

“They’ve already killed half of the household.” He tells the captain with a solemn voice. And for a moment, Hunter is not on the deck of the Havoc Marauder, and the sound of waves becomes the wind whistling around artillery cannon fire.

He pushed himself and the young Wookie child further into the mud, Kashyyyk had become one big trench in dirty, bloody warfare. The child calls out in fear and Hunter closes his eyes, the barrage never ended, it never ceased, not for a moment. He would be buried in the flying rocks and dirt. Heart pounding and breaths that never seemed to catch up. It feels like years later when a batch of shinies pry his taut muscles from the ledge of ground he found solace in.

“Kriffing hells, he did it. He actually did it.” one of them murmurs as various start relaying the news and one shiny pulls the kid out of his grasp.

“It’s alright sergeant, you’re alright.”

“My Vode…” he croaks.

“Force 99 is all accounted for, waiting for you at the base.”

“And the others, the jetii -”

“General is in bacta, the legion, the survivors have been taken back to Coruscant for shore leave.”

“How many?”

“You know better than to ask those kinds of questions, sergeant…”

“How many.”

“47 total, some injured some… less injured.”

Forty seven out of ten thousand, a whole legion reduced to forty seven clones.

Hunter rips off his bucket as he reteches.

“We don’t know anything about the girl. Nython’s issues are something we tend to steer clear from.” Hunter says pushing a firm finger into his temple where the sun seems to be burning a hole.

“Well!” Hondo says, clapping his hands together, “i’d considered the message delivered and received, my work here is done!” Hunter turns his back to the pirate.

“Say why don’t we celebrate over some Spotchka!”

“Get off my ship Hondo.” Hunter says over his shoulder. Before retreating once more to the captain's quarters.

It is far too soon that there is a knock on the door. And it is just when the headache starts to clear and he can bear standing again that Hunter hears it.

“What is it?” He grunts out, placing his hat back atop his head. And he sees crosshair push the door open, allowing Tech to walk in before him. Hunter already knows this’ll be bad news, anytime the two of them conspired together and failed to include their noisey older brother, it usually resulted in some disastrous sneaking plan.

“Sarge…” tech starts, pushing the goggles over his head. “You don’t think…” Hunter raises his eyebrows daring him to continue.

“The woman.” Crosshair cuts in. moving a toothpick around. “Well, what are the chances this woman…”

“Has she been found?”

“No.” Tech responds before adding “not yet.” Watching as the captain of the ship stands and looks out the thick glass, following the viscous waves crash together at the back of the vessel.

“I guess i’ll have to do it myself then.”

Tags: @the-mandalorian-clone-lover @peacefulwizardfox @rex-meshla @s1st37 @and-claudia @kamino-mermaid @thelambandthewolffe @starwarsmeninhelmets

@bronvin @myeternalsin @sweetsunflowerkisses @loverofclones @beizm @gunsmoke-blu

[starwarsfic]

Breathe In With Hunger

Originally posted September 13, 2020

Summary: Obi-Wan had spent his whole life keeping his species a secret, until the Clone Wars made that impossible.

Details: Sithspawn Stewjoni AU.

xxxxxx

Obi-Wan hadn't known what to expect from the clone medical staff--he'd seen how efficient the troopers were, he almost hoped that he'd be able to get in and out of medical without any fuss.

That, however, was not to be.

"General," the medic, who had finally introduced himself as Sleep, seemed baffled by something and Obi-Wan braced himself. "Your medical records require Council authorization."

"Ah."

His casual acknowledgement called more notice to them than he'd thought it would, the focused attention of so many similar people clawing at him in the Force.

It also didn't help Sleep's attitude and, from the bags under his eyes and the tell-tale sign of stim-caused tremors, Obi-Wan was beginning to understand the name was possibly an in-joke. "General, I can't treat you if I don't know even the basics about you. It's the entire file except your name and birth date! Even your gender is redacted!"

He shifted, glancing around them. Only clones.

Whatever that meant. As he still wasn't sure how he felt about Jango Fett creating a supposed army for the Republic.

Alpha-17 was there, shifting closer to them with his tell-tale scowl. Beyond him, a few other troopers lingered, ones that had been on the recent mission with them, back-up when no other Jedi, not even his Padawan, were available.

Thus, too, why Obi-Wan wasn't being seen by a Jedi healer who already knew about him.

They all felt safe. Alpha had certainly proven himself time and time again to Obi-Wan.

And if the war continued on as it was going, they would all find out sooner than later, regardless of how careful Obi-Wan was. Perhaps an early warning would garner him the troopers' help in hiding himself in plain sight.

"Do you know what a Stewjoni is?"

Sleep blinked at him, like a droid that had just rebooted, and then startled. "You...but...." His fingers flew across the datapad in his hand, most likely at whatever medical information he'd been able to collect from their own databases. "That would explain the copper levels," he finally allowed, seeming to fumble over his words.

Beside them, Alpha-17 let out a low string of curses in Mando'a, a few that even Obi-Wan didn't know. "That would have been good to know, General," he bit out the title, condescending. "Especially with how the Sith are always all over you."

"I apologize for the oversight, Alpha. It has never been necessary information for those who temporarily worked with me, before."

Obi-Wan needed the distraction from thinking about the Sith--the feel of them against his senses, the smooth Darkness that flowed out of them. His instincts were dulled by over three decades with the Jedi and still they were so, so hard to resist when he was injured and someone like Ventress was right there.

He still remembered the taste of the Sith on Naboo, his instincts tearing through him after watching the killing blow delivered to Qui-Gon, feeling their bond start to come undone. It had just been the slightest amount, enough that he'd come out of the encounter with not even a bruise, but it had made his food taste like ash for months after.

"What do I need to know, sir?" Sleep dragged his attention back from places he really shouldn't let it go.

With a sigh, he motioned for the datapad and reluctantly logged into his own medical profile, watching as two lines became a short lifetime of information. "This is full access, trooper. I expect you to be discreet."

Sleep nodded and, distracted as he was, barely said anything when Obi-Wan slipped from the room. It wasn't as though he had gone alone, Alpha-17 was at his back the whole walk to his own temporary bunk in Tipoca City.

"If you're looking for another apology, Alpha, I'm afraid one isn't coming."

That just earned him a snort, Alpha-17 closing the door behind him and standing in the private room like he was a common fixture and not a new oddity in Obi-Wan's life.

"Your blood was blue."

"Excuse me?"

"After Ohma D'un. I thought it was some trick of the weapon you'd been exposed to."

Obi-Wan licked his lips, glancing down at his wrists where carefully crafted tattoos gave the impression of near-human blood vessels under his light toned skin. "I have an implant," he said, finally, "that helps make my blood look red, or close enough. It had failed by the end." The added iron often made him feel sickly and he'd been almost glad that it wasn't working, with how much damage his body had taken.

"Do you need...accommodations?" When his answer was a raised eyebrow, Alpha-17 glowered and continued, "Like General Koon or General Fisto need. Environmental? Special rations?"

"Have I given any indication that I do?" Now it was Alpha-17's turn to give him a look. "It's not...you must understand, my people were manufactured. We're quite capable of living in very diverse environments and, when our preferred food is scarce, living off of nearly anything." He gave a wry grin. "Though, despite it all, I'll never be as fond of live insects as my Padawan is."

Alpha-17 grimaced, remembering a few particularly harsh campaigns where Anakin had become creative with additions to their GAR-issued rations. He remained silent for a few moments, clearly working through something serious, and Obi-Wan took the time to prepare some tea for them. The ritual of it, adopted from his own Master (who adopted it from Dooku, though Obi-Wan tried not to think of that), was comforting.

As much as he'd deny it, this was a nerve-wracking evening. The last time he'd revealed himself had been when he'd taken Anakin as his Padawan, needing the boy to understand the idiosyncrasies he might notice and the difference in emotions that would flow down their bond. Anakin had already been facing so many changes, and had such a unique perspective compared to the Core and Mid-Rim peoples that Obi-Wan normally encountered, that it had gone easily.

He wasn't sure how the clones would actually take the information, when they had time to process it. Obi-Wan was aware that how human he looked could often be unsettling to those who knew the truth. That his whole being could come across as a lie in itself.

"Are you holding back?" Alpha-17 asked into the silence, after Obi-Wan served him tea in a delicate cup, as if sensing his thought process.

"What do you mean?"

"During our fights. Are you holding back because you're...hiding."

Obi-Wan stroked his beard with one hand, the fingers of the other tapping against his cup. "I suppose, if you wanted to be fully accurate, I am. But it's not because I worried you would find out," he hurried to add, "it is because if I were to stop...it would be very difficult to come back from that."

"What does that mean? You would...go feral?"

He coughed out his sip of tea, trying not to laugh. "No, Force, what sort of odd fictions are you troopers reading?" Alpha-17 had the good grace to look embarrassed. "I could far more easily take on someone like Ventress or even Dooku himself if I used my...natural abilities. However, I do not know if I could stop myself from...feeding from their essences. Which in turn would kickstart a healing process in my body that could very well reverse all the very extensive, and expensive, surgeries I have had over the years and possibly get the Order in trouble for harboring such a dangerous creature as I."

"Right. Because...you don't really look like this."

"Is that a problem, trooper?"

Alpha-17 regarded him and Obi-Wan was confused by the weight of the hurt settling within him at the hesitation. "No, General. I can't say I'm not curious about what you'd really look like, but it's no problem from me." He scowled. "I'm not some longneck who is going to judge you for not being exactly what I was expecting."

***

Sleep died in an explosion four months later. Alpha-17 disappeared into Tipoca City to train ARC troopers after severe injuries towards the end of the first year of the war. The others who new were picked off here and there, the rate of survival for the troopers worryingly low.

Obi-Wan told the medics of the 212th, when he was finally assigned to them, but he did not tell anyone else. The longer he went without doing so, the less he felt like he could.

It was Ventress who told Cody, taking great delight in stroking the scars along Obi-Wan's exposed back as his vulnerable Commander struggled against his bonds. She had a thing for stripping clones that Obi-Wan didn't like, anymore than he liked how she kept chaining him up whenever she caught him.

"He's a pretty thing, isn't he?" she cooed at Cody, carding a hand through Obi-Wan's sweaty hair. "But...why? Isn't it odd, Commander, how he seems to be nearly everyone's type?" Her smirk was self-satisfied and Obi-Wan wanted to kick it off her face. "As if he were...made...to appeal to people, regardless of their species."

Cody just seemed confused, at least at first. What he might have said was lost behind the gag that Obi-Wan found himself more and more thankful for as Ventress continued, pointing out the marks of his surgeries. Where his spines down to their very base had been dug out, where his eyes had been capped over with lenses, where his ears had been cut down and reshaped.

When she stripped down his lower body and gave Cody a view, the anger and distress coming from the clone had sharpened into rage.

As soon as they were free, it was all Obi-Wan could do to keep Cody from beating Ventress to death with his bare hands. Which was...more flattering than he wanted to admit.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you, Commander," he said, as they settled into the command center of the ship they were now alone on and waited for their rescue.

Cody stared at him. "Sir, that's private information. As long as the medics knew, that's all that I would expect from you."

"Truly? You're not...unnerved?"

The answer was a shrug and what might have been the beginnings of a blush, Cody's shields once more impeccable enough that Obi-Wan couldn't actually tell his feelings in the Force. "I admit it...answered a few questions I had...but it's none of my business."

"Questions about my attractiveness?" he supplied, remembering Ventress using that as a starting point.

"You do, uh, seem to garner a lot of...cross-species interest, General."

Obi-Wan gave a gentle smile, an expression he'd practiced as a youth after noticing how the humans around him responded to it from others.

"My people weren't originally created by the Sith, like every other species of what are called 'Sithspawn' they took us and twisted us to their purposes. Sith Flesh Alchemy allows for otherwise incompatible species to breed, so that they can adopt attributes the Alchemists thought would be useful." His smile turned wry, an expression that felt more natural on his face these days. "I am attractive to so many species because I was genetically engineered to be so. The closest translation into Basic for 'Stewjoni' is 'Siren,' if you know any old Aldeeranian myths."

That got Cody's attention. "You had me read those. I thought it was just...entertainment."

"Ah, you've caught me, my dear. They're not accurate per se--as you can tell, my people no longer spend much time in the water--but they serve as warnings."

"You thought we needed a warning about you? Sir, we know you would never--"

He held up a hand, stopping whatever Cody was about to say. "When Sith are involved, Cody, when they've created you, in a way, you can never be fully trustworthy. There's always the chance that somehow, someway, they still have their grip on you."

His kind weren't prone to nightmares, but everyone he'd had since the war had started was the same--Dooku's shadowy Master finding a way to turn him on his people, on his troops, with little more than the properly worded phrase.

Cody watched him, sadness seeping out from his shields. "General...Obi-Wan...just because those demagolka changed your people somehow...that doesn't mean you're monsters."

"Not just monsters, perhaps."

***

Obi-Wan was not capable of hate, not in the way most species felt it. He knew what it was, knew what it felt like rubbing against him in the Force like a tamed tooka, what it tasted like flooding him as he sipped from a Sith opponent, but he didn't feel it.

If he could, he was almost certain that he would have fallen sometime between being shot at by his suddenly blank-feeling troopers, hearing from Yoda of how most of the Council had confronted Palpatine--Sidious, and having to watch the recording of Anakin slaughtering his way through the Temple.

"You went hunting a Sith without me?" the hiss in his words was the only sign of his emotional turmoil and he tightened his hands and tried to get himself together.

How many of his colleagues--his friends--would still be alive if they had waited?

“Important, it was, to strike quickly.” Yoda’s ears were tucked closely to his head, his shoulders slumped, but Obi-Wan had little sympathy. “The Will of the Force, to act.”

“To act without thinking, to rush headlong against a Sith powerful enough to hide from all of us,” he shot back.

Obi-Wan had known--had accepted--that a war against the Sith would mean exposing himself fully by the end. He’d even imagined that it might end up being against the hidden Sith Master, had looked into ways of reversing some of the procedures he’d gone through--at the very least for claws and teeth, and venom--and none of that mattered, apparently.

He didn’t think he could take Sidious by himself, not when the man would be prepared for attacks and surely knew what he was.

If they’d waited until Obi-Wan had returned, he could have given them the upperhand. “I sincerely doubt the ‘Will of the Force’ wanted the Jedi slaughtered,” he muttered, finally, starting off into the catacombs they hid in.

“Go to face Sidious, do you?”

“No, I’m going to find Anakin. There’s nothing we can do against Sidious, not right now.”

***

The first place he thought to look was with Padme. How many times had he and she played a game of pretending he didn’t know Anakin had spent the night there? How many times had he taken up the role of possible illicit paramore to draw attention from her closeness with Anakin?

She was near-panic, clouding the Force with her strong emotions, but she understood what they needed to do. If Anakin was caught in a torrent of the Darkside, they’d need to be very careful in talking him down.

“If we can’t reach him...will you kill him?” Her hands clutched her rounded belly, as though the children within could understand the conversation and needed comfort.

Obi-Wan took long breaths, staring down at Mustafar as the ship approached. The whole planet was rife with the Dark, making his instincts claw at the back of his mind. But it was Anakin he felt most strongly, the blazing sun of his Force present nothing but rage and fear, now.

“If we can’t reach him, that means it’s not Anakin anymore. We don’t know what Sidious did to him to get him to this point.” His hands clenched, imagining some of the stories his people shared of Sith crimes. “There might just...be nothing left of him.”

He was upsetting her, perhaps unnecessarily, but he needed her to know. Needed her to be prepared.

“Your children must be your priority, Padme. It’s what he would have thought, too.” They stared into each other’s eyes, her trying hard not to flinch away from him.

Outside, the volcanic air was harsh enough that Obi-Wan worried for her health--and Anakin's. The Force could do much, but if he wasn't careful, Anakin would ruin his lungs. He'd always been so reckless with his own body.

xxxxxx

A/N: This got a little too long to just be shoved in my drabble collection (where you'll find some other stuff using the same headcanons) so I decided to make it it's own work, even though I rewrote the ending like six times over the last few weeks. 

This post has everything so far about my headcanon, but in short: Stewjoni were originally sentient predators that fed off of Force users in particular and when the fallen Jedi alchemists met up with the Sith and found out about them, they experimented on them and made them into basically Sith hunting pets.

The very original idea was because I really can't stand Stewjoni (considering it was a joke that Lucas refused to back down on) and "Stewjon is Space Scotland," and there's this Scottish legend called a "baobhan sith" that's like a siren.

Sleep is one of my clone OCs.

[rallamajoop]

On the history of the airline stewardess (and why she deserves so much more credit than you probably realise)

So, to recap: in the name of producing one short fanfic, I have now spent far too many months researching the history of the airline stewardess. It's safe to say I came to the subject primed to get sucked in hard (in brief: I hail from an RAF family on my dad's side, and there is a definite vein of aviation nerdery running throuth us all to this day). But as not more than a fraction of that material was ever going to make it into the fic, it seemed the least I could do to give a quick summary of some of the cool things I got to read while getting horribly sidetracked er, writing this thing, and why others might find them interesting too.

If it wasn't obvious from all those quotes in the opening paragraphs (most only-slightly-paraphrased from real news items), I have borrowed heavily from my sources in writing this fic. The bit about Heather's former roommate who kept her uniform pressed every day for months after her marriage, for example, comes direct from the life of stewardess Connie Bosza, whereas most of the rest of the anecdotes about Heather's housemates and homelife actually happened to Sherry Waterman. Usually I'd have worked harder to remix and reinvent, but here I found myself getting so attached to the subject that not sharing as much of these real women's stories as possible felt like the greater betrayal. But I'll skip citing every article I saved in the process (ask if you're really that curious) and skip to the meatier sources.

My own gateway to the subject came from Victoria Vantoch's book The Jet Sex: Airline Stewardesses and the Making of an American Icon, where, in an introductory spiel about the life of her own mother, she lays out the profession as a mass of contradictions. Not only does she cover the subject from the very first stewardess of the 1930's to the equal rights challenges of the 1970's which transformed the industry, the work serves as a fascinating insight (and sometimes horrifically so) into the realities of Cold War gender politics. Vantoch deliberately underlines the case that, just because this is a story about a lot of pretty women doesn't mean it doesn't deserve to be treated as serious history. Though there are places I wish she'd gone into more depth, it's an excellent introduction to the topic (and available as an ebook if you want a copy).

For real inspiration, however, I got far more out of From Another Island: Adventures and Misadventures of an Airline Stewardess—the personal account of Sherry Waterman, one of few real stewardesses ever to get around to publishing a memoir (Flying Mary O'Connor is another, but it's out of print, not available at my mainstay of BookDepository.com, and cost somewhat more than I felt justified in spending on ebay). Beginning around 1950, she worked for American Airlines for 6 years, and when she had exhausted the possibilities of domestic air travel, she transferred to Transocean Air Lines and spent another 3 years flying the Pacific. The result is remarkably readable and captures the scope, the joy and the absurdities of the profession with gusto. (Waterman really did, for example, recognise a surprised-but-flattered Dr. Edward Teller on one of her flights, and has stories to share about passengers getting stuck in aircraft toilets—though in reality, the size of the passenger was apparently the primary issue).

By contrast, though equally well-written, Sex objects in the sky: A personal account of the stewardess rebellion, by Paula Kane, was a much harder read. Like Waterman, Kane spent 5 years with American Airlines, beginning in the late 60's, but she describes an experience of growing disillusionment punctuated by incidents of sexual harassment so unpleasant that my rec for this book probably warrants a content warning. The rebellion Kane chronicles would not have been possible without the prior civil rights victories of the 60's, but the sexual revolution and changing nature of the industry had plainly produced an attitude of entitlement to women's bodies that would become infinitely worse before it got better (and this is one of few subjects I only wish The Jet Sex had covered in more detail). In the process, she captures a moment in her profession's battle not only for their own rights, but to make air travel safer for everyone on board.

I owe a particular debt to Kane's book for underlining something which had gone understated in my last two sources—namely the vital importance flight attendants may play in managing an evacuation from the plane in the event of a crash. And thus it is, of course, that my story obtained its set piece. (For the record, Sex objects in the sky is available to borrow from OpenLibraries online, and thus one of the most accessible sources on this list.)

For more on key role flight attendants can genuinely play in saving lives, I'd also recommend the Angels of the Sky series as the Confessions of a Trolley Dolly website, and the Air Crash Investigations episode Getting Out Alive. For one last great online source I discovered in the middle of writing the story, we have Winged Women: Stewardesses, Sexism, and American Society—a Master's thesis by Michele Martin, which is freely available online, and built around interviews with several retired stewardesses. Don't let the fact it's a thesis put you off this one—it's written in very accessible fashion, and works as a much-abbreviated version of The Jet Sex for a good overview of the history of the subject. It even includes an account of a plane crash where two quick-thinking stewardesses really were instrumental in getting every last person of the plane in the nick of time (most other real-life examples I'd managed to uncover to this point, the heroism of the stewardess was underlined by the fact that a great many people did not make it out).

I would love to say more on the subject, but I don't think I could better explain how this subject grabbed me the way it did than to quote from the sources themselves. So if, by some miracle, you still want to hear more, below you will find quotes from the introduction of each of those three key sources. I'd like to thienk they all, in their different ways, really speak for themselves.

Jet Sex: Airline Stewardesses and the Making of an American Icon Victoria Vantoch

In 1956, when my mother was in eighth grade, she dreamed of becoming the first female astronaut. She went on to become the salutatorian of her high-school class and won first prize in a model UN speech contest that awarded her a month-long, all-expense-paid trip to historical sites around the country. She subsequently earned a B.A. in Slavic languages from UCLA. The Library of Congress Aerospace Technology Division recruited her for her Russian language skills and she moved to Washington, D.C., where she translated Russian aerospace articles on everything from Alexey Leonov, the first person to walk in space, to metallurgy—all of which bored her to the core. She considered graduate school for international studies but did not have much savings and could not stomach the prospect of living on peanut-butter sandwiches for four years, so, in 1968, she brushed up on her Russian and interviewed for a stewardess position with Pan Am, which had just started flying to Moscow. She was devastated when the airline rejected her, but she managed to win a position with Eastern Airlines and her hometown newspaper chronicled her success. As a stewardess, she moved into a boarding house with Alice Paul, one of the twentieth century’s most famous women’s rights activists. While living with Paul, her life was a collage of contradictions. She lobbied on Capitol Hill for the Equal Rights Amendment at the same time that she went to work as a stewardess wearing pale blue hot pants. In 1969, she gave a speech to Congress in honor of the early women’s rights activist Lucretia Mott. The topic: gender equality in the workforce. That same year she also competed in two beauty pageants. She got married, had my sister and me, continued to fly, and spent much of her adult life feeling guilty about being an absent parent. Flying was never really about the money for my mother. It meant freedom from suburban life and office monotony, and participation in a public realm that was usually reserved for men. I rode on flights with her and felt proud—my mother was the stewardess. And since airlines allowed employees to bring their families on flights for free, by the time I was twelve I had traveled to twenty-five countries. Some of my mother’s early stewardess friends went on to get doctorates in chemistry, to work at the Department of Defense, to manage large households of their own, and to become successful attorneys. My mother, however, continued to fly until Eastern went out of business. Without a job at the age of forty-eight, she desperately campaigned for a stewardess position with other airlines. She created a colorful posterboard presentation that read, “I will die if I don’t fly” (along with—I’m serious—a song she wrote about her love of flying) and sent it to the American Airlines personnel department, which, after a series of interviews, hired her.

But this was the early 1990s and, by now, being a stewardess had lost its cachet. Around that time, in my early teens, I was interviewing for admission to exclusive New England boarding schools. During one interview that wasn’t going particularly well, the pompous interviewer in a tweed jacket suggested that I become a stewardess like my mother—“ because of my smile.” I knew then I would be rejected. My face burned. I stopped mentioning my mother’s profession. It was no longer something to be proud of. It had become an insult. My fascination with airline stewardesses began with my mother. It began with curiosity about how a talented public speaker who was nearly fluent in Russian and committed to women’s rights chose a career that ultimately allowed her to be written off as a vapid sex object and, ultimately, as a low-status service worker.

From Another Island Sherry Waterman

I was aware even then of so many little things commonplace to us, and yet so significant. These things were most evident in San Francisco, one of the crossroads of the airline world. A lei of wilted pikake blossoms tossed across a copy of the New York Times – both had been fresh that morning; two roommates had returned from Honolulu and New York. A pair of Alaskan mukluks and an aloha shirt crammed together in a suitcase; another roommate was leaving for Tokyo and returning via the Aleutians. Two stewardesses, chattering on the phone about their forthcoming vacations; each was going around the world in a different direction, and one was saying, impatiently, "Well, okay then. I’ll meet you in Egypt." Six roommates gathered around the table for a spaghetti dinner, pleased by the rarity of their all being at home together, and no one bothering to comment that at dinner the night before, all had been thousands of miles away, in different directions.

This was our way of life and it was natural to us. It was the way most of our friends lived and we often lost sight of the fact that it was not the way everybody lived. We were impatient with people who expected us to make dentist appointments three weeks in advance— who could know where she would be three weeks hence?—and we regarded a six months' lease on an apartment as signing up for eternity. We lived from city to city and felt at home in all of them, but we also lived from day to day, and never felt truly at home anywhere. During the first week in June, Dallas was our home and we loved it. Our roommates were among the best we'd ever had. Then the Texas summer hit with fierce intensity, and we raced to the airport with transfer requests clutched in our perspiring hands. Two weeks later we were settled by the sea in Los Angeles, and we spent the summer on the beaches. But the summer waned and the chilly fogs became more frequent, and it was time to move back to Dallas. So the transfer requests were filled out again. It was October, and one of us was playing Autumn in New York on the record player, and another one of us said, "Did you notice that tree on the corner has some leaves that are turning brown —just like the leaves back East?" So we changed the course of our lives with the eraser on a pencil.

We could follow the sun or the seasons with less planning than most girls give to a two-week vacation. We packed ice skates and swim suits in the same suitcase and used them both within 48 hours.

All of this was in the days before jets, but we still got around pretty fast, and we always measured distance in terms of time rather than miles. "How far is it to Dallas from here?" "Oh, four hours in a DC-7. Or were you speaking about a Six?" Short distances were figured that way too. A girl who lived in the beach area of Los Angeles would have her hair done and her shoes repaired in Washington, D.C., because it was "closer" —a ten-minute walk from her layover hotel. We were familiar with so many cities that sometimes we got them confused. I dropped a token in the fare box of a San Francisco bus and the driver stopped me as I started toward the back. "What's the matter," I inquired, "isn't that token for this bus line?' "Lady," he said, squinting at it, "that token isn't even for this country."

Sex Objects in the Sky Paula Kane

Almost lost in all the sexual innuendo of the Madison Avenue imagery is the primary reason why stewardesses are on board a plane, which is to enforce safety regulations and supervise the immediate evacuation of the plane in the event of a crash. And in crash after crash, the efficiency and courage of the stewardesses have meant the difference between passengers' lives and deaths.

Forty passengers and three crew members were killed in the December 8, 1972, crash of a United Airlines jet at Chicago's Midway Airport. But fifteen passengers survived, many of them because of the heroic efforts of the two stewardesses, Kathleen S. Duret and D. Jeanne Griffin.

The plane crashed into a block of houses one and a half miles southeast of the runway while attempting an instrument landing in scattered fog. Almost the entire front end of the plane was demolished on impact. The two stewardesses, who had been seated in jump seats at the back of the plane, rushed to open an emergency exit, but were driven back by raging flames. They worked their way along the right side of the burning cabin, clearing away the debris of galley equipment blocking the aisle. Then, one by one, they assisted nine surviving passengers to the exit and out of the plane, pausing each time to take gasps of fresh air before returning to the dark, burning, smoke-filled cabin. Six passengers found their own way out through breaks in the plane's fuselage.

The National Transportation Safety Board found in its investigation of the accident that most of the passengers in the cabin section died after impact as a result of inhaling carbon monoxide and other poisonous fumes from the fire. Those nine passengers lived because of the experience, the expertise, and the courage of Ms. Griffin, a stewardess for ten years prior to the accident, and Ms. Duret, a stewardess for seven years.

Yet their actions earned just one sentence in the sixty-one-page NTSB report: '"Nine passengers who exited through the rear service door were assisted by the two flight attendants; these attendants were the last to leave the aircraft."

Their exceptional bravery in carrying out their legal role on the plane, as stated in Federal Aviation Regulation 121391, "to provide the most effective egress of passengers in the event of an emergency evacuation," earned them no citations or awards from the airline.

Stewardesses who please customers, who receive complimentary letters, and provide exceptional "service," receive awards of merit from the airline. But apparently not stewardesses who save human lives. You have entered the weird, upside down, Alice-in-Wonderland world of the airlines. Presumably the companies are very concerned about safety, since the public's concern for safety on planes has been a major problem in attracting more customers. Yet in several areas the airlines display an incredible disregard for elemental safety. Hazardous materials are illegally shipped in cargo bins below the passengers' seats. Cabins are constructed with materials that in accidents emit a deadly, cyanide-filled smoke.

The stewardesses, in charge of safety in the cabin, are dolled up in miniskirts and coonskin caps, "hot pants," and other bizarre costumes. They are seated in unsafe jump seats, in unsafe corners of the plane, are always called "girls," and are treated like children by the company. And when they "grow up," they are encouraged to leave, even forced out after flying a few years, because they are no longer considered girlish enough. The tightly written script they are ordered to act out in the air, including the constant smiles, the constant engaging of each customer's eyes, the constant subserviance, makes it difficult and sometimes impossible for them to enforce even rudimentary discipline during the flight.

The sexual stewardess fantasy has a direct effect on the safety of flying. It also takes its toll on the psyches of the women who play the role. Stewardesses tend to have serious identity problems as a result of being treated like pieces of fluffy assembline line equipment by the airlines. We tend to move in regular stages from romantic idealism to disillusionment to frustration and anger and self-doubt.

[...] But in the past few years stewardesses have finally started to fight back. They have won a series of rulings by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission that have stopped the airlines from forcing women to retire from flying at an early age and from banning married flight attendants.

[beinglibertarian]

Top 20 Being Libertarian Articles of 2018

It’s been an amazing year overall for us here at Being Libertarian LLC, and we wanted to wrap the year up with a list of our top articles from 2018. We definitely want to thank each and every author for their contributions throughout the year. Here they are for your reading pleasure, and definitely keep your eyes out for all of the great content we have planned for you in the year ahead. Enjoy!

1. ‘Rampant Voter Fraud’, Florida Gov. Scott Files Lawsuits After Uncovering 100,000 New Ballots

Author: Alex Croft

“Broward County stated on election night that there were 634,000 votes cast that day. As of 1 pm Thursday, that number was corrected to 695,700 and again later that day at 2:30 pm to 707,223. Thursday evening saw that number jump further to 712,840, as Palm Beach County claimed to find over 15,000 previously untallied votes.”

2. Want A Gun For ‘Self-Defense’? That Will Soon Be Illegal In South Africa

Author: Martin van Staden

“If this bill is passed into law in its current form, it will likely make it impossible for those who acquired their licences for the purpose of self-defense unable to renew those licences, which is required on a periodic basis. Aspirant firearm owners would be barred completely from using guns as a tool to defend themselves going forward.”

3. JuSt cAlL ThE PoLicE

Author: Mike Ursery

“Bloom ruled that the school district and the sheriff’s office had no constitutional duty to protect students not in custody. She wrote in her ruling that Cruz was a third party and not a state actor and that for the duty of protecting plaintiffs to exist, they would have to be in custody, such as prisoners or patients at a mental hospital.”

4. The Truth About Gun Violence

Author: Vinny Marshall

“Historically, what we can learn from past attempts to remove or regulate ownership rights of firearms from citizens is that it doesn’t do a whole lot to actually affect the rates of violence that exist, only the rates of violence with the weapon that you had set out to ban.”

5. Misconceptions of the Libertarian View of Abortion

Author: Nathan Kreider

“Block and Whitehead argue that a woman has the right to evict the fetus, but not to terminate it if it’s possible for the fetus to exist outside the womb with the help of medical technology. They point out that as technology advances, the point at which a fetus can exist outside the womb will inch closer to earlier stages of development, and thus the earlier the limit on abortions will be placed.”

6. The Dangers of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

Author: Jenny Grimberg

“We examine three of her policy proposals to show that not only are they incorrect, but also to remind everyone that capitalism has helped millions of people, and we should not be taken in by the socialist tendencies of politicians like Ocasio-Cortez.”

7. The March for Our Tyranny – The Lowdown on Liberty

Author: Thomas J. Eckert

“And therein lies the problem: the anti-gun crowd wants solutions to their perceived problems, but how can we begin a discussion with a group so disingenuous about their intentions? It’s like trying to speak to a pickpocket as they reach for your wallet. As you ask them what they’re up to, they may reassure you they mean no harm and accuse you of being paranoid, but the truth is that in the end they want your wallet, regardless of what they say.”

8. Why People Are Left Wing – Freedom Philosophy

Author: Brandon Kirby

“I believe something similar has happened to the left. They very passionately want to abolish poverty, perhaps in some cases even more so than the right. Just as the greediest investor is not the most successful investor, the most passionate people aren’t the ones with the best ideas on how to accomplish this goal.”

9. The Rise of Jordan Peterson – What It Says About Us

Author: Adam Barsouk

“I believe Peterson’s claim to ideological fame is his seeming lack of interest in it. Most political pundits start and end their careers in politics. And yet, politics inherently do not produce any economic value—the entire essence of the job is to steal another’s earning while convincing that person it is for their own good.”

10. No, Vaccines Should Never Be Mandatory

Author: JSB Morse

“As with any medication or pharmaceutical, there are health risks that come with the benefits of vaccines. It is irresponsible to suggest that all people should get all such pharmaceuticals and it is illegitimate use of governmental authority to require it in order to receive benefits or other privileges.”

11. Jordan B. Peterson’s Twelve Rules is a Wakeup Call for a Nightmare Society

Author: JSB Morse

“We have collectively been lulled into an unnatural and inhumane philosophy of life through various diabolical agents. Twelve Rules is an urgently needed wake-up call for us to stand up and take responsibility for one’s life—not 50% or “just enough to get by,” but everything you can muster—100%.”

12. GM Cuts Over 10,000 Jobs, & No, It’s Not All Due To Tariffs

Author: Vinny Marshall

“While those who take issue with tariffs will be quick to point out the economic policy handed down by the Trump administration as the primary cause of the downsizing currently being undertaken by American automakers, tariffs seem to only be a portion of the issue at hand. Yes, the tariffs play a role as GM and Ford have both stated tariffs on steel have cost the company upwards of $1 Billion, and Toyota claims the tariffs will raise the cost of popular models by $1-3k dollars. However, tariffs do not seem to be the primary issue in this case.”

13. It’s Time to Focus on the ‘School’ in ‘School Shooting’ – The Lowdown on Liberty

Author: Thomas J. Eckert

“No matter how you slice it, it’s impossible to examine what we know about school shootings with any objective measure and not conclude that public schools may be a large contributing factor. The only problem is that new solutions seem to be unwelcome in – what feels like – a never-ending conversation.”

14. Liberty at Sea – Red Dirt Liberty Report

Author: Danny Chabino

“Many people are looking to the concept of “seasteading” as a new bold adventure into free societies that exist outside the hands of existing governing bodies. Seasteading is as it sounds – making a home on the open seas, sometimes in international waters, where no particular government is in charge, and sometimes by negotiated means in a free economic zone that has been established.”

15. FCC Lied About DDoS Attack to Downplay Opposition of Net Neutrality Repeal

Author: Alon Ganon

“Unfortunately, it appears that the Pai led FCC is sounding like they have no plans to tell the public what truly happened or whether they had lied, as it appears the FCC has gone silent about the issue.”

16. Why Only Stupid People Propose Taxing Churches – Freedom Philosophy

Author: Brandon Kirby

“Governments tax profits. They tax income. When a pastor takes out an income from the church they must pay taxes on it. Canada has decided that money going to a non-profit organization is not considered income, for the organization and the one giving the money, so donations are a tax deduction. Religious ministers, unless they’ve taken a vow of poverty, aren’t being given a free ride on taxation, the ones whose tax returns I’ve filled out seem to be as aggravated as the rest of us on tax day.”

17. Sexualized Content: Revival of Puritanism

Author: Killian Hobbs

“With Facebook joining this decision despite having no such issues themselves in recent history it seems like little more than the revival of Puritan thinking. Once again, the social media platforms we frequent daily are deciding for us what is an is not appropriate content. This is a decision that shouldn’t be left in the hands of a small handful of companies, but rather in the hands of the users.”

18. Before You Go To University: Top 10 Logical Fallacies

Author: Brandon Kirby

“The wonderful thing about logic is that when practiced properly it finds falsehood against which there is no response. People who are found guilty of these fallacies have false arguments. Professors, scientists, economists, politicians, pastors, even philosophers, who make such fallacies can have their arguments that take this form immediately dismissed without further discussion.”

19. The Self-Destructive Nature of the Libertarian Party

Author: Jake Dorsch

“If you pay any attention to Libertarian Party politics, you would know there are far more gaffes than this that I could mention just from Gary Johnson alone. That said, I like the people I mentioned here and I think the named people would make excellent governors and senators.”

20. GoFundMe For Trump’s Border Wall. Sadly, It’s True.

Author: Killian Hobbs

“In my personal opinion, this is both a good and a bad thing. It raises many questions about the mindsets of the average American that is donating the funds directly out of their own pocket towards this campaign. Despite the general uselessness such a wall would actually have compared to say additional border staff or the like (if their intention is to truly increase border defense) they still are making large donations. The one upside to this, however, is that if it does work it will open the American public’s eyes to a notion that we Libertarians have been espousing for years: fund these things yourself rather than using our tax dollars towards it.”

The post Top 20 Being Libertarian Articles of 2018 appeared first on Being Libertarian.

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[miss-pyrrha-nikos-isms]

Getting to know the Writer

Thank you to @braith-eisen-isms and @zsweber-studios for the tags!

1. Short stories, novels, or poems?

I’ve been informed when I turn my hand to poetry it’s not bad at all. Sadly, I think otherwise.

Truthfully, the most of what I write is campaign notes, world-building, NPC and character backstories and downtime. I’ve helped building three different worlds thus far, one medieval low fantasy, one extrememly high fantasy, and one somewhere in between. And one Sci-fi universe. Although, admittedly, I had an absolute blast with that.

When I do turn my hand to proper writing, it’s typically RP responses that are grossly overdue and short fics. I’m massively guilty of what I call ‘consequence free writing’ wherein I’ll create a scenario, I’ll let a problem or scene develop, and then I’ll end it after the scene’s climax.

Actions don’t have consequences if you’re a character in one of my fics ^_^

2. What genre do you prefer reading?

I’m a dolt for Fantasy in it’s many many shapes and forms. I’ve been known to pick up a a Sci-fi or Dystopian novel once in a blue moon. There’s even some poetry and epics on my bookshelf. If the paranormal, magical, other-worldly, bizarre or otherwise fantastical make an appearance, I am all over that.

And, of course, some writing manuals. Stephen King’s ‘On Writing’ is an actual god send.

3. What genre do you prefer writing?

 I write what I read. Admittedly, RP-wise, I have been writing a surprising amount of romance as of late. I’ve turned my hand to horror before, but I fear it didn’t go overly well.

 4. Are you a planner or a write-as-I-go kind of person?

 I can have a beautiful plot lined up, full of intricacy and clever twists, and my lead character will take one look at it and simply decide otherwise. They have minds of their own. I just sort of set up the world, create the character, their motivation and turn them loose.

 5. What music do you listen to while writing?

 It really depends on the genre. Like almost everyone, the LOTR soundtrack features heavily in my playlist. There’s some translated anime soundtracks thanks to Lie and Lee, Nate Wants to Battle and Amalee. The Swedish Orchestra have done some beautiful work with gaming soundtracks, particularly Bloodbourne and Witcher.  

 6. Fave books/movies?

 Ohhhhhhh buddy. I’ll save us all and limit myself to 5 recent books.

 Mistborn- Brandon Sanderson

Sanderson’s character breathe. They are truly marvellous. His world is a vast one, his story gorgeously compelling and holy hell those twists. 

A Darker Shade of Magic/ A Gathering of Shadows- V. E. Schwab

I adore Delilah as a protagonist. Schwab doesn’t pull punches and try and make his protagonists completely likeable. They are flawed human beings and that gets them into just as much trouble as their abilities get them out of. Kell and Lila serve as each other’s muse and devil, even when half a world away.

 Terry Pratchett- The Night’s Watch

The Discworld never fails to enthral me with it’s wit and charm. Pratchett’s characters are both caricatures and subtle developed individuals. Everyone has at least one character in Discworld they simply adore. Vimes is definitely one of mine. 

The Once and Future King- T. H. White

This collection of Arthurian tales will forever remain on my bookshelf. It has earned it’s place there time and time again.

 The Last Wish- Andrzej Sapkowski

I heard the books where darker than the game. I am currently in the middle of finding out. Sapkowski’s world is a brilliant example of a grimdark world down without the depressing overlay. There are glimpses of nobility, of love and companionship. One just has to be careful those traits don’t get you killed.

7. Any current WIPs?

Every single RP thread I’m working on. The worlds are constantly expanding with more lore and epic-tier backstory.

 8. If someone were to make a cartoon out of you, what would your standard outfit be?

Leather leggings are a must. Likely a vintage cartoon T-Shirt or a block colour top with a loose denim shirt as a cover and ankle boots. 

Unless we’re LRP-ing- Then it’s the corset, gyspy-top, long boots and Hunting coat ensemble. Two swords, a small hand hammer, holy symbol around the neck, more potions than possibly needed and a hipflask (essential). An outfit I love way too much. 

9. Create a character description for yourself:

(More of a NPC description, but ho hum)

‘Away with the fairies’. She had frequently been described as such, and now she seeks to emulate it. Tall, but with far too much of a sweet palette to be lithe. She has a smile like a breeze. Perpetually there, and many don’t realize it’s presence until it’s gone. A mane of curls bounce as she talks animatedly.

10. Do you like incorporating people you actually know into your writing?

I may steal a series of conflicting traits from a person, but I won’t steal their full being.

 11. Are you kill-happy with characters?

 Oh gods no. I will put them through hell, and possibly their worst nightmares, but I will rarely kill them. All too often, that would be a kindness.

 12. Dream job?

A librarian, or a lighting apprentice for a theatre. I’ve always been fascinated by the backstage of the theatre. The special effects and everything else. I can’t be onstage for the life of me, but I would happily delve into the secrets of the backstage arts.

If I could write LRP plot for a living I would love to, but a girl’s gotta eat.

 13. Coffee or tea while writing?

 I’m with Braith. Hot chocolate wins.

14. Slow or fast writer?

 I make the tortoise look like Usian Bolt.

 15. Where/who/what do you find inspiration from?

Everywhere. I carry a notebook everywhere I go. Sometimes it’s a great collection of ideas, sometimes it’s just one well-wrought sentence. 

16. If you were put into a fantasy world, what would you be?

 Oh dang, which one? I’ll assume person preference.

 Probably one I helped make. If I forced to pick, Asyre, particularly in the City of Larchenette. A city risen from the sea, sourced around a fragment of the legendary Sun Crystal. It was one of the first places I ever created and sentimentality holds a lot.

 Not to mention, at some point a dragon washes up on shore, with a merfolk, and half a dozen others.

17. Most fave book cliche? Least fave book cliche?

 Favourite- ‘Two characters sparring, one partner pins another to a wall, intense few seconds, both character start making out.’

 Least favourite- ‘My biggest flaw is I’m clumsy/My power makes me heartless.’ Get OUT of my novel with that nonsense. I will fully rage-quit a story over this type of writing.

 18. Fave places to write?

I tend to write best in an environment where something is going on. A coffee shop, a library, a bar, there’s a lot of options.

19. Fave scenes to write?

 Descriptive, or ones where I can work in some foreshadowing.

 20. Most productive time of day for writing?

 Whenever the feeling strikes. Normally when I’m in the middle of something.

 21. Reason for writing:

 “For a teller of tales will never die- not while there are still people willing to listen.” Stories speak to something primal and universal. In every culture, we have narratives for entertaining, narratives for warning and ones written in tribute or commemeration. I find it speaks to me on that level. Hearing a compliment after I bear my soul, or put my best effort into writing somethingfulfils me in a way nothing else does.

To make things easier, and to quote a wise green haired man once upon a time, I am a writer “because there is nothing in this world I would rather be.”

Tags- @cody-baxter-isms, @churchboy42, @and-his-name-is-rouge-crimson, and anyone else who wants to give it a whirl!

[rafaelegpv530]

Marijuana Addiction Signs - Are You Addicted to Marijuana?

"It occurred to be lately while enjoying television that the U.S. Federal government is actually nothing greater than the political version of Jabba The Hutt from the Star Wars motion pictures. As you may recall, Jabba was a formless, slow-moving moving, overweight entity that ruled with an iron fist while feeding on resources gave him. He did not spend for anything, he simply took them, and he was not there to aid anybody but himself. Those he subjugated had no say in just how their sources as well as wide range were utilized and also had no chance in displacing Jabba from his position of power. Type of sounds like our political class presently being in DC.

Jabba came to mind today as I thought about some current incidents in which the Federal government has actually gotten so big that it is doubling back on itself as well as placing itself in some really odd scenarios and conflicts with the truth of the globe around us:

- According to a short article in the July 23, 2010 concern of The Week magazine, a Boston Federal judge has actually ruled parts of the Federal Protection of Marriage Act to be unconstitutional. This act forbids the Federal federal government from recognizing gay marital relationships as well as approving Federal advantages. The court ruled that the Federal legislation forces Massachusetts to discriminate against it very own citizens. Now for the weird part. the Obama administration is currently forced to appeal the ruling, despite the fact that his management and also the Democrats in charge of Congress oppose the Defense of Marital relationship Act and want it reversed. The Federal government has actually obtained so large that it is using up lawful sources for something that it does not want to exist to begin with.

- This weird circumstance resembles the existing illegal alien circumstance. A recent Associated press post reported that the most recent statistics relative to unlawful boundary crossers shows that the Federal government lately had the highest levels of prosecutions for illegal doral addiction treatment aliens as well as the highest deportation degrees of illegals because they began keeping an eye on such stats however at the same time this same Federal federal government was in court dealing with the new Arizona state regulation that was trying to stem the flow of illegal aliens into that state.

- Returning to gay marital relationships, according to a July 15, 2010 Associated Press short article, the country of Argentina just recently ended up being the very first Latin American country to legalize gay marital relationship. The post reported that Chile as well as numerous other South American countries are most likely to try and follow suit. Do we think that our Jabba, parading as the American political class, has any kind of chance of making that occur in this country when it discovers itself in court preventing gay legal rights?

- According to an article in the August concern of Factor publication, given that 1996 fourteen states as well as the District of Columbia have legalized cannabis usage for clinical functions as well as numerous various other states are taking into consideration doing the same. This remains in straight conflict with Federal law which has actually in some cases resulted in Federal raids of clinical cannabis suppliers which are prohibited under Federal law however legal under state law. This is additionally in conflict with Obama the campaigner who wanted to legalize the medicine when he ran for Head of state but now protects the disallowing of it at the Federal level. Once again, government has actually obtained so big that we have gone into the unusual area relating to medical marijuana where it is legal at the same time as being prohibited.

- Mentioning drug problems, a recent Associated Press article reported that the Federal Veterans Matters company would certainly permit its people to utilize clinical marijuana if those people resided in the fourteen states where clinical cannabis is lawful. Hence, one arm of the Federal federal government (Veterans Affairs) is completely fine with medical cannabis usage while various other arms of the Federal government (FBI, DEA, Federal sculpture) wants to wipe it out.

- If you assume the Federal federal government has a medicine problem currently, wait until the Oakland Common council votes on whether to allow commercial farming of marijuana to be developed in city restrictions, industrial ranches which would create cannabis for clinical usage in addition to for use in products ranging from baked products to body oil. Winning applicants that would certainly operate these ranches would have to pay yearly authorization charges and also eight percent of their sales to tax obligations as well as lug $2 million in responsibility insurance coverage. Comparable initiatives are being pushed in other cities throughout the state in addition to a November ballot concern to legalize non-medical use marijuana, according to the write-up. Currently think about the materials of a brief blurb in the July 23, 2010 issue of The Week magazine that reported on a Rand Research that ended from their analysis that the legalization of marijuana would minimize the street price by up to 90%. Thus, the initiatives in The golden state might help in reducing the street price of the drug which subsequently would dramatically minimize the power, riches and impact of the Mexican drug cartels which would certainly be an advantage. Nevertheless, despite this great set of outcomes (even more earnings for the city governments, less of a stigma of marijuana individuals, much less police sources spent on busting cannabis customers, the weakening of the Mexican drug cartels) do we believe that the Jabba the Hutt beast in DC is active enough to comprehend what the advantages are or will it continue down its path of problem at the Federal drug enforcement level?

- Take Into Consideration a Washington Message post from Might, 2007, entitled ""Federal Loans Fuel Promote Coal Power Plants."" The short article reviews a remaining Anxiety age Federal program that gives inexpensive lendings to build coal discharged, high pollution nuclear power plant making use of taxpayer money. According to the write-up, ""the [loan] support is a major pressure behind the thrill to coal plants, which spew co2 that researchers condemn for international warming."" Thus, while the Obama management is pressing a climate control costs in order to combat versus international warming, the exact same government is funding nuclear power plant that do simply the opposite. Makes no feeling.

- A current Associate Press post reported how the Feds had busted 94 people for ripping off the Medicare program. This was an excellent advancement but why was our Jabba so slow in getting these apprehensions done? Medicare fraudulence has been going on since the day Medicare began numerous decades ago, why did it take such a shateringly slow time to start detaining the cheats? One of those jailed had filed over 3,700 illegal cases under her name before she was jailed, just how sluggish can you obtain?

We could go on and on. The UNITED STATE government has gotten so big and so sluggish, similar to Jabba the Hutt, that its many folds up of skin hide waste, stupidness and the doubling back on itself, i.e. public law and also activities in conflict with itself or the desires of those running the government. We could go on and on regarding exactly how slow, inefficient, and also inefficient our Jabba is, concerning how our Jabba never resolves a trouble whether it is troubled boundaries, failing public institutions, intensifying health care costs, etc., exactly how our Jabba wastes unknown billions of bucks on earmarks, ineffective campaigns, and also fraud-infested programs, or just how our Jabba does not know just how to control the economy, causing sky high public debt levels and also a really creaky financial situation with low growth as well as high joblessness.

Jabba is really negative for all of us but he is hard to remove. With the earmark procedure, the gerrymandering of Congressional areas, do-nothing campaign money laws, and also various other methods, Jabba has many defenses against defeat in an election, defenses that also a Jedi light saber can not conveniently pierce. Long-term, it is vital we start to impose term limitations on political leaders so that they never again obtain as fat, slow-moving, inefficient, as well as inefficient as Jabba The Hutt. Short-term, this November is vital because it starts the procedure of voting out the Jabba incumbents and lastly entering some streamlined, efficient, and brave Jedi warriors who will make the difficult decisions to get the size of government controlled as well as make that scaled down government a lot more effective and less strange and also less conflicted."

[trentonadtj750-blog]

The Deadliest Adverse Effects of Medical Marijuana

"It occurred to be lately while viewing tv that the UNITED STATE Federal federal government is actually nothing greater than the political version of Jabba The Hutt from the Celebrity Wars films. As you may recall, Jabba was a formless, sluggish moving, overweight entity that ruled with an iron fist while feeding on resources offered him. He did not spend for anything, he just took them, and he was not there to aid anybody however himself. Those he ruled over had no say in just how their sources and also wealth were made use of and also had no chance in displacing Jabba from his position of power. Type of sounds like our political class presently being in DC.

Jabba came to mind today as I thought about some recent occurrences in which the Federal federal government has actually gotten so huge that it is doubling back on itself as well as placing itself in some really unusual scenarios and also conflicts with the reality of the globe around us:

- According to an article in the July 23, 2010 concern of The Week publication, a Boston Federal judge has ruled parts of the Federal Defense of Marital Relationship Act to be unconstitutional. This act restricts the Federal government from acknowledging gay marital relationships and also approving Federal advantages. The court ruled that the Federal law pressures Massachusetts to discriminate against it very own people. Currently for the unusual part. the Obama administration is now compelled to appeal the ruling, despite the fact that his management and also the Democrats in charge of Congress oppose the Defense of Marital relationship Act and also want it reversed. The Federal federal government has actually obtained so large that it is expending legal sources for something that it does not wish to exist in the first place.

- This strange situation resembles the current illegal alien scenario. A recent Associated press write-up reported that the most up to date stats relative to unlawful boundary crossers shows that the Federal federal government recently had the highest levels of prosecutions for illegal aliens and also the highest possible expulsion levels of illegals because they started tracking such stats but at the same time this very same Federal government was in court dealing with the new Arizona state legislation that was attempting to stem the circulation of illegal aliens into that state.

- Returning to gay marital relationships, according to a July 15, 2010 Associated Press short article, the nation of Argentina recently came to be the very first Latin American country to legalize gay marital relationship. The post reported that Chile and also several various other South American countries are most likely to try and follow suit. Do we think that our Jabba, flaunting as the American political class, has any chance of making that take place in this country when it discovers itself in court defending against gay civil liberties?

- According to an article in the August concern of Factor publication, given that 1996 fourteen states and the District of Columbia have actually legislated cannabis usage for clinical purposes and several various other states are considering doing the exact same. This remains in direct conflict with Federal law which has actually sometimes caused Federal raids of clinical cannabis companies which are unlawful under Federal law but legal under state law. This is also in conflict with Obama the campaigner that wished to decriminalize the drug when he ran for President today safeguards the forbiding of it at the Federal degree. Again, federal government has obtained so large that we have actually gone into the odd area regarding clinical marijuana where it is lawful at the same time as being prohibited.

- Speaking of medicine disputes, a current Associated Press write-up reported that the Federal Veterans Matters organization would certainly enable its people to utilize clinical cannabis if those patients stayed in the fourteen states where medical marijuana is legal. Therefore, one arm of the Federal government (Veterans Matters) is perfectly fine with clinical cannabis usage while other arms of the Federal federal government (FBI, DEA, Federal statue) wants to clean it out.

- If you believe the Federal federal government has a medication problem currently, wait till the Oakland City Council votes on whether to enable industrial farming of marijuana to be established in city limitations, commercial farms which would certainly create cannabis for clinical use in addition to for usage in items ranging from baked goods to body oil. Winning candidates that would operate these farms would certainly need to pay annual license costs and eight percent of their sales to taxes in addition to bring $2 million in liability insurance policy. Comparable efforts are being pushed in other cities throughout the state along with a November tally issue to legalize non-medical use marijuana, according to the article. Currently take into consideration the materials of a brief blurb in the July 23, 2010 issue of The Week magazine that reported on a Rand Study that ended from their analysis that the legalisation of cannabis would minimize the street rate by as much as 90%. Thus, the initiatives in California might help reduce the street price of the drug which subsequently would substantially lower the power, riches and impact of the Mexican medicine cartels which would certainly be a good idea. Nonetheless, when faced with this great set of results (even more earnings for the local governments, much less of a stigma of marijuana users, less law enforcement sources invested in busting cannabis individuals, the weakening of the Mexican medication cartels) do we think that the Jabba the Hutt monster in DC is active sufficient to understand what the benefits are or will it continue down its course of problem at the Federal drug enforcement level?

- Consider a Washington Post article from May, 2007, qualified ""Federal Loans Gas Promote Coal Power Plants."" The post reviews a leftover Depression era Federal program that gives affordable finances to develop coal fired, high air pollution nuclear power plant utilizing taxpayer money. According to the short article, ""the [car loan] support is a significant pressure behind the thrill to coal plants, which spew carbon dioxide that scientists criticize for worldwide warming."" Thus, while the Obama administration is pressing an environment control costs in order to fight versus international warming, the exact same federal government is moneying power plants that do simply the opposite. Makes no sense.

- A recent Associate Press post reported exactly how the Feds had actually broken 94 individuals for defrauding the Medicare program. This was a good growth but why was our Jabba so slow in getting these apprehensions done? Medicare scams has been going on considering that the day Medicare began a number of decades back, why did it take such a painfully slow-moving time to begin arresting the cheats? One of those arrested had filed over 3,700 fraudulent cases under her name before she was apprehended, how slow-moving can you obtain?

We could continue. The UNITED STATE government has actually obtained so big therefore slow, similar to Jabba the Hutt, that its many folds up of skin conceal waste, stupidness as well as the doubling back on itself, i.e. public law as well as actions in conflict with itself or the desires of those running the government. We could continue concerning exactly how slow-moving, inefficient, as well as wasteful our Jabba is, about just how our Jabba never cbdforsalenearme.com ever addresses a problem whether it is insecure boundaries, stopping working public schools, escalating healthcare prices, etc., how our Jabba wastes unimaginable billions of bucks on earmarks, ineffective initiatives, and fraud-infested programs, or exactly how our Jabba does not know just how to control the economic climate, causing sky high national debt degrees and also a very ancient economic situation with low development as well as high unemployment.

Jabba is very poor for everybody but he is hard to displace. Through the allocate process, the gerrymandering of Congressional districts, do-nothing project money laws, and various other methods, Jabba has numerous defenses against defeat in an election, defenses that also a Jedi light saber can not quickly pierce. Long-term, it is important we start to enforce term limits on political leaders to ensure that they never again obtain as fat, slow-moving, wasteful, and inadequate as Jabba The Hutt. Short-term, this November is essential because it begins the process of voting out the Jabba incumbents and ultimately entering some streamlined, effective, and also daring Jedi warriors that will make the difficult decisions to get the size of government under control and make that downsized federal government more reliable as well as much less odd as well as less conflicted."

[kylerrfdk555-blog]

Much More Teens Currently Smoking Marijuana Than Cigarette

"It struck be just recently while enjoying tv that the U.S. Federal federal government is really nothing greater than the political incarnation of Jabba The Hutt from the Star Wars films. As you may remember, Jabba was a formless, sluggish moving, overweight entity that ruled with cbdforsalenearme.com an iron fist while devouring resources gave him. He did not spend for anything, he just took them, as well as he was not there to assist anybody yet himself. Those he subjugated had no say in just how their resources and wide range were utilized and also had no chance in displacing Jabba from his position of power. Kind of seem like our political class currently sitting in DC.

Jabba entered your mind today as I considered some recent events in which the Federal federal government has actually gotten so huge that it is doubling back on itself as well as placing itself in some very unusual situations and also conflicts with the truth of the globe around us:

- According to a write-up in the July 23, 2010 problem of The Week magazine, a Boston Federal judge has actually ruled parts of the Federal Defense of Marriage Act to be unconstitutional. This act restricts the Federal government from identifying gay marital relationships and approving Federal advantages. The judge ruled that the Federal legislation pressures Massachusetts to discriminate against it own people. Now for the odd component. the Obama management is currently forced to appeal the ruling, even though his administration and the Democrats in charge of Congress oppose the Protection of Marriage Act and also want it repealed. The Federal federal government has gotten so huge that it is expending legal resources for something that it does not intend to exist in the first place.

- This weird scenario is similar to the present illegal alien circumstance. A recent Associated press article reported that the current data about illegal boundary crossers reveals that the Federal federal government just recently had the highest degree of prosecutions for illegal aliens and also the highest possible deportation degrees of illegals since they started keeping an eye on such stats but at the same time this exact same Federal federal government was in court dealing with the new Arizona state legislation that was trying to stem the circulation of illegal aliens into that state.

- Returning to gay marriages, according to a July 15, 2010 Associated Press write-up, the nation of Argentina just recently became the first Latin American nation to legalize gay marriage. The article reported that Chile and several various other South American nations are likely to attempt and also follow suit. Do we think that our Jabba, parading as the American political course, has any type of opportunity of making that occur in this nation when it finds itself in court resisting gay civil liberties?

- According to a short article in the August issue of Reason publication, since 1996 fourteen states and also the District of Columbia have legalized marijuana use for medical purposes and also a number of other states are taking into consideration doing the exact same. This is in straight conflict with Federal law which has actually occasionally caused Federal raids of clinical marijuana suppliers which are illegal under Federal law however lawful under state regulation. This is likewise in conflict with Obama the advocate that intended to decriminalize the medication when he ran for Head of state now protects the banning of it at the Federal degree. Again, federal government has actually gotten so large that we have gone into the odd zone concerning clinical cannabis where it is legal at the same time as being unlawful.

- Speaking of medicine conflicts, a recent Associated Press write-up reported that the Federal Veterans Matters organization would permit its patients to make use of clinical marijuana if those clients resided in the fourteen states where medical marijuana is lawful. Therefore, one arm of the Federal government (Veterans Affairs) is flawlessly fine with medical marijuana usage while various other arms of the Federal government (FBI, DEA, Federal sculpture) intends to wipe it out.

- If you think the Federal government has a medicine issue now, wait up until the Oakland City Council elects on whether to enable industrial farming of marijuana to be established in city restrictions, industrial farms which would produce marijuana for clinical use along with for use in products varying from baked goods to body oil. Winning candidates that would certainly operate these farms would need to pay annual authorization costs and 8 percent of their sales to tax obligations along with lug $2 million in responsibility insurance. Comparable initiatives are being pushed in other cities throughout the state in addition to a November tally issue to legalize non-medical use of marijuana, according to the post. Currently think about the components of a brief blurb in the July 23, 2010 issue of The Week publication that reported on a Rand Study that ended from their evaluation that the legalization of marijuana would lower the street cost by up to 90%. Hence, the initiatives in The golden state might help reduce the street cost of the drug which consequently would considerably minimize the power, riches as well as impact of the Mexican drug cartels which would be a good idea. Nonetheless, despite this excellent collection of results (more earnings for the local governments, much less of a preconception of marijuana customers, much less law enforcement resources invested in breaking cannabis customers, the weakening of the Mexican medication cartels) do we think that the Jabba the Hutt monster in DC is active enough to recognize what the benefits are or will it continue down its path of problem at the Federal medication enforcement degree?

- Take Into Consideration a Washington Message short article from May, 2007, qualified ""Federal Loans Fuel Promote Coal Power Plant Kingdoms."" The short article reviews a remaining Clinical depression age Federal program that provides inexpensive finances to build coal fired, high contamination power plants making use of taxpayer money. According to the write-up, ""the [finance] assistance is a significant force behind the rush to coal plants, which spew carbon dioxide that scientists criticize for worldwide warming."" Thus, while the Obama management is pushing a climate control costs in order to battle versus global warming, the very same government is moneying power plants that do just the opposite. Makes no sense.

- A recent Partner Press write-up reported how the Feds had broken 94 individuals for defrauding the Medicare program. This was a great advancement but why was our Jabba so slow-moving in obtaining these apprehensions done? Medicare scams has been taking place because the day Medicare started several decades back, why did it take such a painfully sluggish time to start apprehending the cheats? Among those arrested had submitted over 3,700 illegal cases under her name before she was detained, exactly how slow can you obtain?

We can continue. The U.S. government has actually gotten so big therefore slow-moving, similar to Jabba the Hutt, that its several folds up of skin conceal waste, stupidness as well as the doubling back on itself, i.e. public law and activities in conflict with itself or the needs of those running the federal government. We might continue regarding just how sluggish, inefficient, and also wasteful our Jabba is, concerning how our Jabba never ever resolves an issue whether it is troubled borders, stopping working public schools, rising healthcare prices, etc., how our Jabba wastes unknown billions of bucks on earmarks, pointless efforts, as well as fraud-infested programs, or exactly how our Jabba does not know exactly how to regulate the economic situation, leading to skies high national debt degrees and an extremely ancient financial scenario with reduced growth as well as high unemployment.

Jabba is extremely bad for everybody but he is difficult to remove. With the earmark procedure, the gerrymandering of Legislative districts, do-nothing campaign money legislations, and also other methods, Jabba has several defenses against defeat in a political election, defenses that also a Jedi light saber could not quickly pierce. Long-term, it is critical we start to impose term restrictions on politicians to ensure that they never once more get as fat, slow-moving, inefficient, and also ineffective as Jabba The Hutt. Short-term, this November is essential considering that it begins the procedure of electing out the Jabba incumbents as well as lastly getting in some sleek, reliable, and also brave Jedi warriors that will certainly make the challenging decisions to obtain the size of government controlled and also make that scaled down government a lot more reliable and much less strange and less conflicted."

[terryblount]

RAGE 2 – Review

What is the secret behind a good sequel? Some of the best examples focus on refining what was poorly implemented in the first instalment, while others just carry on the story and leave the core gameplay largely intact. On the other hand, certain sequels have achieved greatness by making everything bigger or more elaborate, and yet some of my favourites are basically just a graphical upgrade.

While there seems to be no clear or definitive answer, there is actually a common thread between all these different approaches. A good sequel comes from a developer that can objectively ask what their game needs. This may seem like an oversimplification, but all the best sequels in our industry work because they find something new in the familiar. A good sequel has the potential to lift out an I.P.’s residual potential rather than adding, rebooting, beautifying or changing.

That hair style was all the reason I needed.

So this brings us to RAGE 2, a sequel. This collaboration between id Software and Avalance Studios has stayed within the first game’s premise, but the graphics, gunplay and scope of the game have all been overclocked. I can sense an attempt towards continuity from the first game, and yet it feels like RAGE 2 could do without many of the changes that have been added. As an open world game, there is undeniably a solid experience here, but I would have a hard time convincing fans of the original to go out of their way to play this.

Up your asteroid

The first RAGE game was a pretty big deal back in 2010 even if the story hardly brought anything new to the genre. RAGE was released during the ‘Crysis era’ when first-person shooters were at the forefront of graphical experimentation. See, you played Rage to benchmark John Carmack’s fancy new ‘Mega Texture’ tech building the game’s identity from the world around you.

Rage plunged the player into a bleak world filled with mutants and garage bandits fighting for survival in the aftermath of a cataclysmic asteroid strike (rather than a nuclear winter you see often nowadays). RAGE 2 plays out within this same setting, but takes place 30 years later in a civilisation that has risen from the ashes and is no longer trying to get by on scraps of resources.

Meet the leader of The Authority.

Players thus enter a world in which the Arks, or satellites preserving life on earth, have been reactivated and a new world is beginning to emerge. Unfortunately, a formidable faction seen in the first game, named The Authority, has proclaimed themselves the leaders of this new Earth. Rather than earn their leadership, they have used a series of bloody wars to obliterate anyone standing between them and their authoritarian regime.

The only opposition that once proved a match for The Authority are a division of technologically-enhanced mercenaries called rangers. You play as either a male or female version of the last, surviving ranger named Walker (I can neither confirm nor deny if this is some kind of Chuck Norris reference). The campaign is subsequently centred on Walker’s exploits of starting a contingency plan against The Authority named operation Dagger. You do this by shooting, blowing up, eradicating and driving over anything they deem even mildly important.

Choose wisely. The game kills off the character you don’t choose shortly after this.

What’s my age again?

Sounds kind of familiar right? Well, Avalanche Studios are the developers of the Just Cause series, and they have fallen back on their tried and trusted template of toppling a South-American dictator here. Yet, this is also the problem since RAGE 2 plunges into the trap that I see many open-world games fall into. Namely, the rather poorly-told story just ends up fading into the background.

Now many might say “Hold up, the Just Cause games are about blowing stuff up, not a moving, deep story!” True, but remember that the post-apocalyptic and open-world genres are hopelessly oversaturated markets right now. Seeing as RAGE’s story was somewhat underdeveloped, this would have been the perfect opportunity for RAGE 2 to make me care about its plot and characters some more.

These arks are scattered all over the Wasteland. They unlock powers for Walker’s ranger armour.

Instead, you have to grind your way to a farcical and irrelevant main villain via a series of noticeably repetitive tasks. Let me be clear that these tasks are fun, but the fun only lasts for small doses at a time. Playing RAGE 2 gets monotonous too quick for comfort because every play through eventually began to feel like I was working my way down a checklist. Killed all those mutants? Check. Destroyed this big sentry turret? Check. Cleared the outpost of bandits? Check… why am I doing all this again?

This is a problem I see all the time in the abundance of open world types filling up my backlog. A character would yak-yak-yak away telling me so-and-so has their such-and-such and the solution is to go to point x and kill every last y. I don’t care about such-and-such because I don’t know them, and don’t bother yacking my ear off because I know how the mission is going to go anyway. This feels too similar to what I have been doing for the last 2 hours, and it is a design philosophy in open world games that needs to evolve.

Smash that asteroid

So you will probably forget the story, but does the gameplay redeem RAGE 2? Well, sort of. RAGE 2’s gameplay ends up feeling like a weird hybrid of genres. It is like 2016’s DOOM hardware, but running on Far Cry’s software. This means that Bethesda has recycled the explosive, momentum-based mechanics they had virtually perfected in 2016, and revived it in a lush, open world this time.

That is the actual shock wave from my shotgun.

What do you actually do in RAGE 2? You shoot the crap out of things, so that you can collect things, so that you can upgrade things, which is interspersed with the occasional race through the wasteland. It is really that simple because the aim of the game is not to find missions. The player’s task is using an arsenal of weapons and traversal abilities in order to turn themselves into a killing juggernaut.

RAGE 2 absolutely nails this part because the combat truly goes out of its way to make the player feel dangerous. It is every bit as gloriously violent as DOOM, except demons have been replaced with split-lipped mutants and punks who look like they are attending a Rammstein concert. There are also show-downs with big bosses who were deadly head-on, but fell quickly once I used Walker’s smooth acrobatics to stay just one step ahead of their sights.

Thank heavens for the dash ability.

The first RAGE had some of the best enemy AI I have ever seen in a video game, and this has been faithfully preserved in its sequel. Enemies dodge and leap out of your gunfire while their companions would sneakily flank you from behind, forcing you to switch to close-range artillery. Virtually all the missions dealing with baddies involved either clearing an outpost/bridge/building claimed by bandits, or, in the case of the mutants, it was a closed-off, darker lairs where Walker could mow them down in droves.

As a side note, I played as the female version because reasons, but this frequently became annoying due to the actress’s voice acting. I would recommend the male Walker because nearly every time she received an injury, she made a moaning sound which I can only describe as somewhere between an orgasm, and giving birth.

In any case, killing enemies gives you various kinds of loot used for the aforementioned upgrading, but once the environment is covered in blood, the player can also explore for additional goodies hidden in cooler boxes and crates. You will know it is loot because they are painted shocking pink. Who the hell was making all this pink paint before the apocalypse!? Far Cry: New Dawn this is your fault.

This brings me to the second issue I took with RAGE 2 because the developers have just gone way over the top with locked content. Worse still, the upgrades have all been arranged in a rather convoluted system of menus and sub-menus that made me exhausted by just looking at them. It is all really just too much since I rarely noticed the upgrades once I unlocked them, and let’s not forget that the first game had a much more subtle emphasis on this aspect of gameplay.

Look at all these upgrades… you don’t need.

Road Rage

Since Half-life 2 introduced drivable vehicles into shooter games, cars were basically just an interesting way of getting over long distance. Again, RAGE was sensitive to this. You could do races which I actually enjoyed as a minor distraction, but the major purpose of the armour-clad dune buggies was to get you through dangerous terrain.

The vehicles serve a much more central role in RAGE 2 as there is a lot more driving and races. I actually had to look both ways before crossing the roads since I was run over more than once, and had to restart from the last checkpoint (lol). However, I still felt most cars to be a little sluggish and unpredictable in their handling.

Some of my vehicular antics.

When cruising through the wasteland to my next objective and taking on convoys with mounted guns, this is less noticeable, thankfully. During the races, it is rage-quit inducing. I found almost no enjoyment in the racing at all since the cars refuse to turn, the handbrake is far too enthusiastic, I occasionally won only for a bug to tell me I placed second, and hitting certain plants made my buggy fly out of the track once. RAGE was much better on this point.

Boy you shur got a purdy mouth

Despite bandits having an unhealthy obsession with the colour pink, RAGE 2 is graphically quite varied. As mentioned, the arks have been terraforming the Earth again which means that forests and wetlands have begun to emerge in certain parts of the wasteland. This makes for a nice distinction between the missions when the same vegetation and rocks begin to test your patience.

Bandits love blocking the roads and attacking anyone caught in the blockade.

This game is also more expansive and more vertical than the claustrophobic canyons or corridors of the first one. There was the occasional, jarring pop-in while driving across the landscape at high speed, but the mountains did a reasonable job of hiding such things in the distance. The slow but steady day-night cycle produced some gorgeous sunsets, and I never felt that the wide variety of textures in the landscapes ever repeated themselves. Avalanche is really good at this stuff.

During combat, the game is more than capable of handling large variety of explosions and particle effects when the action intensifies. This is particularly noticeable when you use the nanotech abilities within the ranger armour. These are movement-based attacks which allow for devastating damage on the punks and muties, and they feel glorious within the physics system built into RAGE 2’s engine. I suppose I do not have to explain what everyone’s favourite, Shatter, does…

Even the sunsets are pink! Pretty though…

Dammit Bethesda

I get that everyone’s favourite target of internet hate is the Epic Store at the moment, but Oh My Gosh the Bethesda client is utter trash. It happened to be the platform on which my review copy arrived, and I instantly remembered why I have been avoiding their stupid software until now. I felt as if I fought with it to play this game.

I urge everyone to purchase RAGE 2 on Steam instead. Virtually every button on the client basically opens up a web page, you have to log in with your password every time, I could not find any option to save screen shots, installation of the game randomly restarted, there are only a handful of games, and my download speed was embarrassingly slow. My experience may represent no reflection on yours, but it is high time we start putting some pressure on Bethesda to get with the program.

That is the question

This conclusion puts me in a difficult situation. If you enjoyed the first game and you are looking to have a repeat performance of that experience, I am afraid that RAGE 2 will leave you disappointed. I actually played RAGE in preparation for this review and I have realised they are almost nothing alike. They share ideas but not experiences, which make me wonder if the title was trying to bait fans by using nostalgia. This feels more like some sort of a standalone expansion to DOOM.

The environments in RAGE 2 feel incredibly alive. Bandits are constantly racing past you and having little skirmishes on the roads.

However, if this is what you are looking for, or your appetite for open world games is somehow not yet slaked, you are going to love this game. The action is refined and intense, the world is big and begging to be explored, and there are tonnes of unlockables to refine your playing style. Matter of fact, you would have to be a cantankerous old fart who’s daily highlight is chasing children off your lawn not to find anything you like here.

Let me therefore emphasise, again, that the problem is how long this fun will last for. After playing for about 5 hours, my map was chockfull of question marks, arks to explore, bandit camps, and so on. One part of me was saying “seriously, do I have to do all that? I just cleared out a hundred hideouts!” The other part was hopping up onto a garage roof, charging up Shatter, and turning some blue-headed sucker into a cranberry smoothie. I like that part of me.

Decent graphics

Combat (DAMN!)

Story

Selection of guns

Interesting environments

Racing

Overemphasis on unlocking

Lackluster story telling

Too far from first game

Boring NPC’s

          Play time: About 20 hours total. Combination of both missions relating to main story line with a substantial amount of side questing.

Computer Specs: Windows 10 64-bit computer using Nvidia GTX 1070, i5 4690K CPU, 16GB RAM

RAGE 2 – Review published first on https://touchgen.tumblr.com/

[lyladagger]

Zelda DnD Night -- Part 1

Okay so. A few close comrades and I started a D&D campaign Saturday and it all basically went down like this:

The campaign takes place in the Legend Of Zelda Verse some point after the events in Twilight Princess. Since we are all new, we wanted to start with something familiar but something that wasn't the beginner's guide story.

A few years after the events of Twilight Princess. Monsters are still roaming the lands in an effort to take over for their fallen master; Ganondorf.  In this version Koriki, Gerudo and Sheikah still exist. To keep in short Gerudo and Sheikah are basically exiled.  If you know Zelda lore the interlopers were a group of powerful people trying to storm the Sacred Realm and steal The Golden Triforce, using their own powerful relic; The Fused Shadow. That group happened to be a corrupt band of Sheikah --Which were banished to the Twilight Realm, and eventually turned into the Twili. The Gerudo were still banished to the deepest parts of the vast Gerudo Desert thanks to Ganondorf. The Koriki are east of Ordon Village in Koriki Forest, untouched by time and protected by their Guardian; The Great Deku Tree.

Well, In our group There is the following: A zora soldier captain, A male gerudo warrior / king, A koriki  folk hero druid, A female gerudo pirate captain / rouge warrior, twin female sheikah warriors (one's a rouge thief and the other's basically a D&D equivalent of a ninja), A dragon (Yes a dragon. He's like Volga), and a half hylian/twili battle mage.

The group is assembled one at a time by a god (not one of the four goddesses) who basically wants to rid Hyrule of the monsters n junk. (He could literally do it himself but he's lazy.)

The god's name is Zion. He's a god of Mischief. He's just doing this partly for entertainment and partly because he does kinda care. Just not enough to lift a finger himself.

He went to collect people he thought would be better suited for this mission, or so his future vision predicts.

They're all basically assholes.

Just one is literally less of an asshole then the rest. If I recall most of the characters are chaotic good or true neutral. I think my zora is the only Neutral good.

The characters get introduced to each other as; Mafodorf (the Gerudo King), Fen (The Zora), Cyro (the dragon), Aron (the half twili), Sinu (the Koriki), Litori (The Gerudo Pirate) Taga and Zatoh (The Sheikahs).

Mafodorf was the first to be introduced. Sat upon his throne and thinking, a strange man walks. The man introduces himself as Zion, and tells the Gerudo King that he is needed in saving Hyrule. Mafodorf was sceptical of this strange man at first, but listened to him as his entrance intrigued him. Zion showed the king his powers, able to make anything happen with the snap of his hand. Anything Mafodorf could ever wish for appeared, gold, women, and the promise of his people being free as they once were. With a little thought, the Gerudo King took him up on his offer, and shook the god’s hand, instantly transported to Lake Hylia.  Zion was gone moments later.

Cryo had just stepped into his castle. A long, forgotten kingdom with what had been left just a crumbling reminder. As he walked in, the dragon noticed a strange man sitting at his throne, twirling an umbrella and lazing until the beast appeared. Cyro snarled at the man, asking who he was and why he was on his bed.. Zion simply turned to the dragon, chuckling at the statement with an amused response --Remarking how the throne was a rather small bed for such a large beast. Intrigued and slightly amused, The dragon listened to the man speak, telling him what he had told Mafodorf, and showing his power. Cyro thought a moment and then agreed and was transported as well, turned into a human form and given clothes. Because he was naked.

Aron was in his potion lab, working on a simple potion when a knock came to his door. Being so focused on his chemicals, his hand shook as he jolted and the room soon filled with smoke. His father, Argon, stepped into the room, stating that the he had a visitor and to go meet with the Queen, Zelda. Unsure of what the princess could possibly want from him, he cleaned himself of soot the best he could and went to meet with her grace. A strange man stood with Zelda, seemingly locked in conversation. Quietly, Aron announced his presence. Queen Zelda greeted him an introduced the strange man as Zion. As the god did before, he asked Aron to come long, it hadn’t taken long for the twili to decide, and he was whisked away with the rest of them and left at Lake Hylia.

Taga toiled away in at a smithery, a job she had taken to earn extra money and get her sister out of prison. A simple disguise keeping her form hidden. Zion appeared before her, stepping out of the fired of the forge. (Making a joke about not wearing his fire-proof underwear.) As before, Zion promised her riches, greatness, and other such things. Taga made her deal, her sister’s criminal history erased and her people removed from exile. She joined the first two at Lake Hylia… and offered to help Cyro get his clothes on.

Litori sat in her chambers, writing maps and setting courses. Her favorite bard --and cousin, at her side and playing away. Zion appears in her chambers, causing Litori to spring into action and command her bard to play her battle theme. Zion assures her he means no harm, but the woman refuses to believe him, simply for being a man. Zion goes against that, turning into a female form to make her more comfortable. Like the other’s, she is intrigued by this stranger and sits down, but does not sheath her sword. There is back and forth between the three, banter and hijinks about the mission. Zion tells her he doesn’t need her, and that his group could go on without her. The pirate stops him, saying she will join under three conditions: Her crew must go with her, and that they are given pardon for all crimes, and that the man die. She thrusted her sword and lopped his head off, only to be disappointed when he picked it up and placed it back on his body. It was agreed. Herself, her crew, and her ship are whisked away to lake Hylia with the rest.

Sinu sat with his friends in Lost Woods, playing his flute while they danced to the music. A few Skullkids he had befriended during his time in the forest. His fairy Hoar --Or ‘Howard’ as he calls him, and his little Ferret sleeping on his lap. All was peaceful until the skullkids suddenly stopped dancing and looked into the forest. Hoar and Sinu looked up curiously. The skullkids disappeared as a strange man stepped out from the brush. The child ever curious, hadn’t moved and simply stared in wonder. Zion introduced himself and did what he had done with the others, making various things appear that might attract the child’s attention. It didn’t take a lot to convince Sinu or his fairy, and they were whisked off to Lake Hylia. Where Litori attempted to catch Zion before he disappeared, but was too late.

Fen was the final one to be found. He was swimming along the castle perimeter, checking on his underlings and making sure everything was fine. As he rounded to reach the next, he was stopped by one of his mean, and ordered to return to the palace at once.

Zion told everyone in the group that “I looked into the future and you were the ones less likely to die.”

They discover that one of the twins (Zatoh) is in prison for a list of crimes and offences and the god basically used this as an excuse to see how well the group works together.

A test.

Then Zion told them where they had to travel to Hyrule (Aron needed to travel BACK to Hyrule). They had been transported to Lake Hylia to greet one another. The trip from Lake Hylia to Castle Town would take them roughly 3 days travel. The group was like "Naw fuck that let's ride the dragon." So the group bribed the dragon with nice armour and we flew all the way to Castle Town. Aron happened to have an invisibility potion and we flew over undetected. Sinu had no idea the dragon was Cyro the whole time and it was great.

As a side note each of the characters were promised something at the end of their journey so most are doing it for gain. Like, the dragon literally is just doing it for the money. Believe it or not the others didn't want fame or glory, most just wanted Monetary gain or to free their people from exile (Which is good.) Well. Mafodorf is king of the Gerudo. He's not corrupt like Ganon. Just a dick. And the two Sheikah are basically just want their people to be forgiven for what the interlopers did.

Okay so the group get to Castle Town (Except Mafodorf because the player had to leave. The excuse for him leaving was like Zion literally just took him without explaining to his people where he went and they left to deal with that.) Aron and Fen decide to go to the Castle and speak with Queen Zelda about letting Zatoh go. The rest of the group try to 'raise' money for bail. (A pirate, a Koriki druid and a sheikah ninja). Group B basically took to stealing shit from passerby. At one point the pirate stages a barfight so she can steal rupees and rum from behind the bar. She gets the bar patrons rowdied up against one of the other patrons giving the bartender a hard time. They were promised 5,000 R to kick that guy out. Then tossed the promised money inbetween them for them to fight over, hopped the bar, threatened the bartender, and stole all of the rupees and one bottle of rum.

Cyro was basically just watching this all unfold and laughing.

Group A got into the castle. Aron is son of a general Warrior mage and thus is allowed free roam of the castle and it's grounds. Fen was allowed in because he was a captain trusted to guard zoran royalty on visit to Castle Town. Thus both were recognized and allowed entrance. They also get audience with Zelda and explain the situation.  Zelda basically tells them she will see what she can do and sends Fen on his way while Aron collects a few things for the journey. WHILE THE BARFIGHT IS GOING ON. Fen hears the ruckus caused by it and runs off to investigate. Once he gets there he finds out the pirate had robbed the tavern and was making off with all it's rupees and a bottle of alcohol. Fen stops her and is all "WHAT ARE YOU DOING TAKE THAT BACK RIGHT NOW!"

The pirate (who mind you is 6 foot tall) and the zora (who is 5'8) are having an intimidation stare down. Fen wins and convinces L (the Pirate) to take ALL of the rupees back to the bar. Through deception Litori manages to convince the bartender that her sick brother (Sinu) needed the money and she's sorry. The bartender gives her HALF OF THE RUPEES SHE STOLE and leaves the bar.

While this is going on, Zatoh is in the dungeon trying to figure out how to escape. She noticed there was a large dog, the size of a mastiff it had the keys around its neck and a nice juicy bone in its teeth. She had attempted to coax the dog closer, trying to bait it with food left over from her meal. The dog, clearly not amused by her, snapped it’s fangs in her direction. It missed, thankfully. Though, that annoyed the rouge quite a bit. Zatoh look the dog straight in the eyes and left out a snarling bark. The dog, finding her bark commanding, whimpered and slunk off to a corner to cower.

After some argument between the pirate and zora, Cryo gets bored and decides "Umma sneak into the Castle". THEN Sinu, and Litori tries but is caught by Fen trying to sneak away behind a potted plant. Litori THEN convinces Fen to take her to the castle too because she was sure that's where Sinu went. Through little effort they were able to get into the Castle.

They run into Aron who's like "how did you guys get in here." and they're like "we were allowed in. But we think the other's snuck in."

WHICH Aron is like "Are you serious??" and runs off to check the holding cells in the dungeon. Fen follows along with some guards and Aron's dad (Argon) because they believe something serious is happening. The rest of the party is in the dungeon literally just hanging out in the shadows with a guard dog.

Aron is the first to get there and only notices Sinu who is basically covering his eyes and standing behind a large mastiff like dog who is cowering. To help Sinu hurryingly try to hide. Zatoh (The prisoner) bends the bars of the cell and basically says "HIDE HIM HERE". She could escape mind you. She could walk out of that cell but she just bends the bars back into place.

The guards and Fen get there without Litori. She didn’t follow and stayed behind in the main room. Argon asks what is going on and Aron is like "I was told that people might have sneaked into the castle." And that sends Argon and the guards on high alert so they go looking for intruders. Those intruders being Cryo, Sinu and Taga -- Zatoh's twin sister.

Aron fails to convince his dad the group isn't dangerous, but Fen succeeds in this so the soldiers settle down and go about their business. His face in his hand while he spoke, but a slight smile to his lips. The group is basically just left in the dungeon by themselves so Cryo and Taga come out of the shadows. Zatoh decides "I wanna hug my sibling!" So she bends the bars, gets out, glomps Taga, and before she gets back into the cell. SHE PUNCHES ARON RIGHT IN THE NADS FOR RATTING THEM OUT.

Enough that he screamed like a bitch and got the guards' attention again and was rushed to the medical wing.

Meanwhile, Litori wandered around the castle’s main room for a while trying to find something to steal, but somehow managed not to find anything of worth. So she heads to the kitchen in hopes of stealing some fancy drinks. An elderly hylian was the only one in the kitchen. She was stirring a pot of what one could assume was pumpkin cheese soup. The pirate attempted to sneak in, only to be caught by said older woman. Her deception unmatched, Litori managed to convince the cook that she was here to fetch Zelda some alcohol. The cook went to fetch a bottle, opening a secured pantry door with all sorts of bells and whistles to keep people from stealing. A good minute went by once all of the locks and sorts were disarmed and a single bottle offered to the thieving pirate. Not the drink she wanted --and even attempting to haggle with the friendly cook, she settled on it. Once she was out of view of the cook, she read the label; The Golden Goddesses, it read. A drink similar to wine, but nothing the pirate had heard of before. Thinking it was just simple wine and nothing more, she chugged the bottle. This drink was much stronger than the pirate had anticipated, and thus, became drunk off her ass.

Returning to the group as they wanted for the pardon and bail for Zatoh. They have small conversations about how this has gone thus far. As the guard arrives, So does a drunken Litori, who proceeds to flirt with the female guard, (rolls a nat 20) and makes the guard blush. The bail is paid, the group leaves the castle. They gather necessary (and unnecessary) supplies.

One of said unnecessary supplies being a bag of catnip. Of which our bard stole from Zatoh.

The group realized that it was getting late and traveling at night was not ideal for anyone, let alone a band of new adventurers. They decided to stay at an inn for the night. (It was Telma’s bar that was converted into a tavern inn for convenience.) The still drunken Litori started a bar fight with a few people that were till there that evening (Which somehow included our bard). The fight ends once Telma and Fen manage to break them up. They seperate into groups for their rooms. Fen, Litori and her bard sleep in one room. Sinu, and the twins share a room, and finally Aron and Cyro. Fen was originally with Aron and Cryo, but the only room with a place for him to soak for the night had been with Litori. So he spent the night sleeping in a bathtub.

The next morning, Fen, the bard and Litori all wake up. Litori now with the worst hangover in her life. They go to get ready for their day by going to the bathroom (Of which they didn’t realize Fen was sleeping in there.) Litori comes in. knocks her bard in the bath with Fen, proceed to puke all over the floor and miss the toilet by a country mile, then leave Fen and the bard trapped in the bathtub surrounded by puke. Fen sitting there confused at what just happened.

The group rally themselves for travel, setting out into the vast field of Hyrule. The group stand at a loss for what to do. Then Zatoh and Taga give them an idea to see their mother, who would know where they should start for their adventure. However, it is a days travel. Aron, who gains back the ability to do so, suggest they can group teleport most of the distance. While hesitant, the group agrees to allow him to try. Of course, never having been there, he can only get them so close. He has to have seen the place to teleport there. The teleportation is successful, however, the adventurers must climb a cliff (Or take a hidden, steep staircase) to get to where their mother is. Everyone --but the twins, struggle but manage to reach the top. Where --hidden within thick brush, is the home of Zatoh and Taga. The quiet still and peace of the lush natural home was disturbed by rustling bushes. A large white wolfos charging out, mouth agape and knocking one of the twins down with its sheer size. Ready for battle; Fen, Aron, Sinu, Litori, and Cyro prepare for Battle. However are paused in confusion as Zatoh is laughing under the mass that is this white wolfos. She was in fact, nuzzling and petting this large beast as it mauled her with affection.

“You keep a wolfos as a pet?! Are you INSANE?!” Aron screamed, keeping a great distance from the wolfos, aptly named Fluffles.

Thus the twins reply with a rolled shoulder and “Yeah. He’s cool.”

The group eventually make it into the twins house. (After a near disastrous meet with the twins’ mother.) They make themselves comfortable and await, not only weapons appropriate for their journey, but information on where to go next. All while Fen is being suffocated and asulted by a wolfos tail --enough that he falls off of the couch arm.

END OF PART ONE.

[tusouthafrica]

Developing the Youth of South Africa

The youth of South Africa, like all youth across the globe, deserve a chance to build a future. This article highlights three organizations that support youth in a multitude of ways as the unique social landscape of South Africa demands various programs based on each situation. This is how South Africans are creating a better tomorrow for their youth through education, empowerment, and opportunities. 

Abu Asvat Peace Club - Nation Based Education and Social Growth

The Abu Asvat Peace Club based in Lenasia, Gauteng Province in South Africa teaches high school aged youth how to build better lives, promoting an anti-racist society to their club members calling upon a Nation-based system of thought.

The Peace Club connects youth from local high schools at a maximum of 45 members a year, and stems from the black consciousness movement that began in 1968. The black consciousness movement taught non-whites how to reclaim their identities living in a society that placed them in an oppressed belief system under white rule.

"The thing is, our politicians talk about the change they will make and once elected, we go another five years with no change. We are taking the opportunities into our own hands in order to create change in our communities,” Sadeque Variava, a Peace Club leader said.

The young members attend four workshops a year that build confidence, leaderships skills, self-reliance, and self-belief, giving them direction as they go through school and look into the future.

In the workshop series they teach about racism, black consciousness, and personal consciousness, ending their series with a trip to the Cradle of Humankind, where the oldest dated human remains have been found.

These workshops promote what students are not taught by their social structures; about history, apartheid, and freeing their minds of colonial dependence and what they have been taught about their role in society.

Eighteen year old Adrian Ncogwane, a first year member and rapper since 2010, told us about his experience in the Peace Club.

"[The Peace Club is] Giving us knowledge of what happened during the apartheid regime [...] what the Peace Club has done that the government couldn't is, yeah, enrich our knowledge," Ncogwane said, "in ninth grade, we did touch on those sorta topics, but we didn’t really go into them."

Ncogwane says the club has motivated him to think more about going to university. Although he is not sure, it is the push that has got him to start thinking about studying sound engineering.

Lesedi Krayzee-Lee Koena-Seleki, a two year facilitator at the club summed up what the Peace Club is about saying, "The Abu Asvat institute preaches one motto at each leadership camp which is ‘the only way to liberate a person is to liberate their mind’ and that is what we strive for"

Solidariteit Helpende Hande: Supporting Education for Afrikaners

Solidariteit Helpende Hand based in Pretoria, South Africa supports Afrikaner communities living in poverty throughout South Africa who earn no to low income. Through their national projects they support the lives of families by improving their living conditions and social and economic opportunities.

With government support as low as 800 rand ($62) per child a month to 1,520 ($117) a month for the elderly, the ability to live decently is undercut. Helpende Hande comes in to support youth education, bring care to the elderly and help develop entrepreneurial business opportunities among other improvement projects.

Because schools in poor Afrikaner communities are not sufficient educationally and families may not have enough income to help provide for their students education, Helpende Hande makes it possible for these kids to have the supplies needed for school and even bring students to university.

Plot 111 in Derdepoort outside of Pretoria displayed the type of poverty these communities live in as children ran around without shoes, parents took care of their disabled children, and homes fell apart.

"The school system is zoned, meaning students have to go to an assigned school. Thus a poor child will have to go to a school in a poor community with poor services and subpar teachers. Students may end up staying here and not going any further in their lives than this. One of our goals is to break that cycle of poverty,” Communication Director Rene du Preez told us.

In eight years, Helpende Hande has been able to provide over 7,000 students a university education covering their accommodation, fees, and books. Students have gone on to become doctors, engineers, and teachers.

Currently, the "Cents for Students" campaign by Helpende Hand has helped bring interest-free loans to students as loan interest in South Africa for university can be as high as 30 percent. The donations this year helped 1,487 students, and they have a goal of helping another 100 next year. The program has been successful with a 98 percent payback rate.

Perez commented on breaking the cycle of poverty in South Africa saying, "The unemployment rate of youth aged 15 to 24 is now at 54 percent. Entrepreneurs need to be empowered, alternative skills need to be learned  and businesses need to be built up to be able to employ more people. The poverty of our people is a symptom of the poverty of all South African groups that is on the rise. We need to do our part for our people, so we can work towards solutions with all groups in South Africa."

RLabs: Empowering Communities and Providing Opportunities

RLabs located in Bridgetown, Cape Town, holds many opportunities for people to tell their stories to turn them into something more within society.  This is how they started at least, as former illegal workers told their stories as a way of creating greater understanding and to provide a positive outlet for people’s experiences and skills.

RLabs focuses highly on the use of social media to promote their stories and causes in addition to providing education and bringing community members together to support each other.

Upon first take, what exactly RLabs does is a question all in its own, as they have programs in twenty-two countries and have numerous impacts on people's lives.

According to their website, rlabs.org, “core activities are skills and training, community development, social and disruptive innovation, mobile and internet solutions, social enterprise incubation, impact investing and social franchising”

RLabs gives it employees opportunities to grow as well as contribute.

Chanel Fredericks found opportunity for herself and her son at RLabs

"If there is something you are passionate about then we attach you to that program,” Chanel Fredericks, the assisting project manager at RLabs told us.

Fredericks, now 22, bought herself opportunities through the RLabs Growth Leadership Academy (GLA).

The GLA, founded in 2013, aims to build youth into leaders who bring positive change into their communities and also emphasizes on teaching digital skills and encouraging entrepreneurialism.

The program for people ages 18 to 25 is for high school graduates. Chanel was one of the exceptions as she finished her high school degree after completing the program.

Chanel found out she was pregnant during her final exams and had to leave highschool just before graduating. In 2014, she went through GLA and became an intern with RLabs six months later. By the end of 2014, she facilitated GLA herself and has been at RLabs since.

“I need to do this for myself and for my son,” she told us. Her son today in four years old.

The GLA, with over 600 participants since starting, allows for graduates to pursue whoever they want to be afterwards.

GLA coordinator, Cyril Mphanga says, “One could pursue a business idea that they had during the program while another gets a job and another pursues their studies. In a general sense it builds a future where individuals actively seek to improve their communities.“

Writing and photos by Kayla Smith

[houseof-flowers-blog]

Trump will not win. in fact, the US could be around the brink of the liberal renaissance

For significantly involving days gone by year, Donald Trump had lived one thing of the charmed political life. Sure, he scapegoated Mexican immigrants and Muslims (not some, yet all). He lobbed crude insults at a female journalist and one with a disability. He attacked his opponents using monikers like “Lyin’ Ted” as well as “Little Marco”, mocked Jeb Bush for being “low energy” and compared Ben Carson to a small child molester. He even went following prior Republican presidential nominees, including 2008 nominee John McCain, that he said had been absolutely no war hero because the North Vietnamese captured him. And Also he demonstrated, repeatedly, that he ended up being immensely unqualified for the occupation associated with president associated with United States. Yet none regarding it seemed to end up being able to make a new difference to Republican voters. Trump’s poll figures steadily increased, his primary as well as caucus victories steadily piled up then one Republican opponent right after an additional fell through the wayside, unable to quit him. Even current polls confirmed him neck and also neck with all the Democratic nominee, Hillary Clinton. Play VideoPlay Current time 0:00 / Duration time 0:56 Loaded: 0% Progress: 0% FullscreenMute Facebook Twitter Pinterest Donald Trump repeatedly calls Elizabeth Warren ‘Pocahontas’ But final week, when Trump launched the vicious and nakedly racist attack against Gonzalo Curiel, the judge throughout his Trump School fraud case, the particular halo around Trump began to hack – plus it offered any helpful reminder regarding why Trump has practically zero chance of winning your presidency. Fairly simply, the particular Republican electorate looks nothing just such as the rest of the American electorate. 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That Will he is openly attacking your federal judiciary, as he runs to possess an THE BEST TRUMP VIDEO workplace using the responsibility regarding appointing federal judges, represents the fundamental disrespect for the rule regarding regulations along with raises legitimate issues regarding regardless of whether Trump, as president, would enforce court orders along with which he disagrees. Still, it’s tough to find out how Trump’s comments with regards to Curiel had been any kind of a whole lot worse as compared to his earlier comments with regards to Mexican criminals or his proposed Muslim ban. That They practically pale subsequent in order to his sinister pledge to analyze Amazon, simply because its CEO in addition owns the Washington post and also Trump has been unhappy with some of this paper’s coverage of him. in the particular American constitutional system, this could be an impeachable offence. What has evolved is always that Trump has shifted his attacks coming from foreign targets to real American citizens, which tends to always be able to make it harder for even Republicans in order to defend them. Moreover, the context where these were delivered ended up being entirely different. Throughout the particular Republican primaries, GOP voters weren't much involved about Trump’s xenophobic and also bigoted attacks. Just About All regarding his fellow presidential aspirants had been calling with regard to Syrian Muslims being banned through coming into your US, often railed against illegal immigration and also a lot much more than a few implicitly called for the US to commit war crimes inside its fight against the Islamic State. Trump just went a stride further as well as there’s significant evidence they helped him among the Republican rank and file. The stories you must read, in one handy email read more But today, Trump is not battling pertaining to support amongst Republican voters – he’s attempting to acquire more than Democrats and independents. Rather when compared with facing opponents who have been mostly unbothered by Trump’s bigotry, he’s now in a fight against Hillary Clinton and the Democratic party. they use a different view in these matters. This, in a nutshell, is Trump’s problem: to end up being able to earn the actual Republican nomination he necessary to take intense positions on the host associated with issues. He needed to demonise illegal immigration. That Will strategy does not perform among non-Republican voters. Indeed, for every one of the concerns raised by simply liberals in regards for you to the possibility that will Trump could win, less attention has been paid to the proven fact that Trump can end up being a uniquely unpopular figure – strongly disliked simply by Democrats, independents and also many Republicans. Current polls reveal that Hillary Clinton scores higher than Trump amongst women voters by simply a lot much more than twenty points. Facebook Twitter Pinterest recent polls demonstrate that Hillary Clinton scores more than Trump amongst ladies voters through a lot a lot more than 20 points. Photograph: Julio Cortez/AP The purpose features much to complete using demographics: Trump has systematically alienated the particular demographic groups which he will need to win the particular White House. 4 years ago, when Barack Obama beat Mitt Romney in the presidential election, he won through 5 million votes. starting via that will baseline, Trump wants to regain at least 2.5 million votes just to destroy even inside the well-known vote. but to accomplish thus he would need to enhance upon Romney’s dismal 27% assistance amongst Hispanic voters. that is going to be tough regarding Trump, thinking about that, according to a number of polls, he’s viewed unfavourably by simply greater than 80% regarding Hispanics. Advertisement This year, an estimated 30% of the US electorate will be non-white. Trump will likely do more serious when compared with Romney and win any tiny fraction associated with individuals votes. Then you will find his problems with girls voters. in 2012, Obama won these by simply 11 factors over Romney. Latest polls present Clinton winning this team by simply greater than twenty points. Regarding course, whilst there aren't any warranties which these quantities hold up, if just so long as Clinton will too as Obama would four years ago, she will possibly be extremely difficult to beat. Proper now, she’s outperforming him. There is also the particular Democrats’ benefit inside the electoral college, the actual fact that Trump does not get significantly marketing campaign money and also virtually zero campaign infrastructure and additionally the fact that lots of Republicans are usually wanting to distance on his or her own through him. Indeed, it’s consequently hard to see how Trump can easily acquire that the real issue with regard to 2016 might not really be the White House, yet rather Congress, which usually Republicans at present control and, within the case associated with an electoral bloodbath for that GOP, could potentially lose. If which were in order to happen, Hillary Clinton would have a Democratic Congress as well as the possibility to push by means of dozens of bits of progressive legislation. Ironically, Trump’s rise, rather than signalling the turn towards nativist, authoritarian politics within the US, could, inside the electorate’s rejection regarding him, usher in the more progressive political era. Michael a Cohen is author regarding Stay Via the campaign Trail: The Actual Greatest Presidential Marketing Campaign Speeches in the Twentieth Century as well as how They Shaped Modern America