#cbc poll event

[creatingblackcharacters]

Zira from Pretty Please I Don't want to be a Magical Girl!

Rubric

[choicesbookclub]

Welcome to the Choices Book Club! We are currently reading The Crown and the Flame, Book One. We read new chapters every Saturday.

This Week’s Chapter: Chapter 04: The Mercenaries

Question(s) of the Week: (Spoilers included)

Who distracted the guards? [Vote Here]

Who did Dom appeal to? [Vote Here]

Did you buy the mercenaries drinks? Did you Play or Pass? [Vote Here]

How would you rate chapter four? [Vote Here]

If you've played before, what about the book makes you want to revisit it?

If this is your first time, what are your impressions so far? What are you hoping to see more of as the story unfolds?

How do you feel about the dual protagonist format (Kenna and Dom)? Do you find one perspective more compelling so far?

Feel free to send me any ideas for polls, questions, or things to feature for the book club.

How else to Participate:

Please note that the mod is working full time and has real life responsibilities, so reblogs may be delayed

Post reactions, screenshots, videos, ramblings, theories,… whatever comes to you while playing (no spoilers, since some people may be playing for the first time)

Create drawings, edits, moodboards, fics, headcanons, songs, poems, etc based on the chapters and/or characters

Catch up on any of the previous week's questions/prompts

Posts that tag @choicesbookclub and use “#choices book club” or "cbc tcatf" will be reblogged here. Please note that tags “#choices book club” seem to be more reliable than mentioning the blog.

If your post is not reblogged within 48 hours, please dm me a link @lovealexhunt. Thank you!

[Please read the full guide to the event and how to participate here]

[gogogogolev]

A results page for the 2024 Canadian National Skating Championships has been posted. Stephen will be skating 15th in the SP on Friday, January 12. The men's SP starts at 7:05 PM MST.

These Nationals are probably going to be one of the biggest events of Stephen's career to date. But he should just view this as event #5 of the 2023-2024 season. Considering his last two Nationals saw Stephen place first in the SP (2019) and first in the FS (2023) it's reasonable to hope he could place first in both and win a title. But really, just showing up, doing his best, and fighting until the very end is enough.

The fan support for Stephen is big this year. In every poll ran by fans and all the data analyses being done Stephen is the front runner for the title. Robert Brodie still has him listed as a potential National champion. It's good to have that hype, and it's a change from the last few seasons. The support has grown with the info that Stephen is training in Toronto, and with Benoît's visit and social media content. He's made some good decisions as of late and that's led people to believe in him more. Actually, I'm not sure he's aware but he's become a bit of a meme on Twitter. Some hilarious fans are fuelling the hype with their delusion and derision of his rivals.

I mentioned the coaching musical chairs going on with Stephen this season, but that wasn't accurate - it's more like roulette. He has had 3 international events with three different people at his side. This time he should be with Lee. Some stability and a good coach will make the difference for him.

This year Nationals will not be aired on TV. Skate Canada will have a livestream on Dailymotion, and CBC will probably air that livestream on their platform. There is also no more title sponsor. Canadian skating is in need of some star power.

Entries by name for the Four Continents Figure Skating Championships are due by January 9. Skate Canada has named part of their team, but the men's spots are all TBD. They don't appear to think any of them are strong enough to be named outright to the team, at least publicly. Naming some of the entries just highlighted what the federation views as problem areas and this is feeding into the negative public perception of Canadian skaters overall. The rest of the team will be named January 14. I hope the decision making will not be laced with any controversy. Though this also suggests there will be another skate off at 4CC. They're going to stress out all the guys in China.

I'm looking forward to seeing Stephen skate again and to see his progress in these past two months. I hope this won't be the end of the season for him. Good luck to him.

[kontadodju]

I’m just thinking this cuz the Blk character design poll event on CBC rn…

As a “racially ambiguous*” (multiethnic monoracial) Black person / Kriolu with a “mestiza” phenotype I don’t and even as a child did not feel represented by Black characters that are lightskin and loose haired - as a child I didn’t know what colorism and texturism was but to some sort of extent I was clocking that shit and I didn’t really connect with the characters unless they were more unambiguous even though I don’t look that that

When I see like lightskin loose hair ppl (mixed or not) feeling a typa way because ppl want unambiguous Black characters with African phenotypes I just don’t get it (like on a base level, I know logically it’s colorism and texturism), and I’m wondering if it’s just like it’s a me thing for not connecting with a more “”palatable”” phenotype of Black characters even though my own appearance looks closer to that

[inc-immigrationnewscanada]

5 Key Moments From Ontario Election Debate That Could Sway Your Vote

Ontario Election Debate: With just days left before Ontarians head to the polls on February 27, the final televised debate among the province’s political leaders provided a critical stage for last-minute voter persuasion. Held in CBC’s Toronto studio and moderated by David Common, this prime-time event was the only chance for many voters to see Doug Ford (Progressive Conservative), Marit Stiles…

[argylemnwrites]

Fight or Flight  - Chapter 15: Hiccup

Pairing: Drake Walker x MC (Riley Liu)

Book: The Royal Heir (canon divergent from the end of book 2)

Word Count: ~4300

Rating: PG-13 (brief language)

Summary: Almost four weeks since The Walker Absconding

Author’s Note: And we’re back! Since it’s been ages... Previously on Fight or Flight - Hana had learned that Barthelemy and Godfrey were working with Auvernal from Kiara, but Liam didn’t seem motivated to take much action regarding that fact. Leo had gotten money and belongings to Riley, who shared an intimate moment with Drake when she returned to their hotel.

This series follows the Walkers, their friends, and Cordonia as a whole after they flee the country with their daughter during Barthelemy Beaumont’s attempted coup. To catch up on this series, check out it’s masterlist. (link can be found via my bio - sorry, Tumblr is once again not putting my posts with links in tag searches)

Liam let out a sigh as he changed the channel back to CBC. He needed to be actively watching, probably should be taking notes, in all honesty. This hour of programming consisted of discussion with three of the most connected political pundits in the country. It was the easiest and most reliable way to get a feel for the leanings of both the journalists and the common citizens, and it aired every weekday, so it was far more up to date than waiting for the biweekly polling.

The issue was that the panelists were revelling in the recent turn of events with such glee. It was understandable, he supposed. This was the most exciting political turn of events this country had seen in centuries. It put the mild speculation that he was Bridget’s biological father, a rumor had surfaced around the time of his announcement that Drake and Riley’s child would be heir and had briefly flared again at Bridget’s first public appearance when people had seen that she indeed looked like a child with some East Asian heritage, to shame. This wasn’t just baseless gossip and stirring the pot to increase ratings. This was true turmoil, plain and simple. There was a relative unknown carrying the power of the Crown, the current Queen-regent had been “kidnapped” and not seen in weeks, citizens were protesting daily, and this was all expected to last for months until the Conclave, where all the tension and drama would culminate in a vote among the five major noble houses to name a new monarch. The journalists and talking heads had a seemingly endless feast in front of them. All of it at his expense.

He took another sip of his scotch as he tried to focus on the screen ahead of him. If he could figure out how to gain a majority of the public’s support, then he could apply some pressure to Kiara and Landon prior to the Conclave vote. Not that he was naive enough to think that would be enough to assure that he would regain his title, but at least it would be one more piece of ammunition in his arsenal.

“The protests outside of the Capital aren’t going to be as easily quieted as the ones in Valtoria, Victor,” Francine Giorano stated, leaning forward and gesturing across the table to Victor Blussé. Blussé was the moderate on the panel, while Giorano was a staunch traditionalist. “They have had fears about the role the essentially-American Walkers played in our government for years, and look how right those fears turned out to be.”

“How is any of this the Walkers’ fault, Francine? This can all be traced to Barthelemy Beaumont!”

“The Conventus Nobilis was written into our foundational laws for a reason, Victor,” chimed in Willa Hyllop, the final member of the panel, added to the program in the past year to bring in a more modern, pro-democratic viewpoint.

“Surely you aren’t saying you are on the side of Beaumont, Willa! He represents an even less progressive faction than Liam Rys ever did.”

“I may not agree with everything he stands for, but I will always support measures that place some checks and accountability on our monarchy,” said Hyllop with a shrug. “Besides, the fact that Rys surrounded himself with yes-men and granted titles and appointments on the basis of friendship since he ascended the throne did little to convince me that he was the ‘progressive king’ he swore he was. He was more of the same, just without the aggressive rhetoric of his father.”

“And look how that turned out! Lest we forget, he stood by while Auvernal brought warships to our shore last year,” added Giorano.

Liam closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Giorano and Hyllop were never on the same page about anything, and here they were, agreeing that he had been an ineffectual king. He tuned out Blussé’s response, knowing that some lukewarm rebuttal from him was going to do little to bolster his confidence. The fact was simple - his fall from grace was widespread. There were few left who saw him as worthy of the title of king. He had failed, completely and entirely.

 “Liam?” Olivia’s voice cut over the television. 

Liam opened his eyes to find her staring at him from the lounge’s doorway, a frown cutting across her face. He forced a smile as he gestured for her to join him. “Just taking a little break from hearing how incompetent I am.”

Olivia’s green eyes narrowed at his poor attempt at humor, but she strode over to him, joining him on the couch, undoubtedly taking in the blank notepad, the untouched stacks of documents, and the glass of liquor that sat on the table in front of him. “Well, that’s the perception we’re going to have to work to change.”

He tipped his head to rest along the back of the couch, sighing as he did so. “I know, Liv. It just seems so impossible at the moment.”

She didn’t say anything for several excruciating seconds. He rolled his head to the side, taking in her face, concerned eyes boring into him as she slid a hand around her neck, her blood-red nails digging into her skin. “We’ve got months still, Liam. Calling our goal impossible is premature.”

“You’re right. I know you’re right, and I’m all ears if you have any recommendations for where to start.”

“Well, I got confirmation that Landon and Emmeline’s driver is loyal to us, so Ray is going to approach him at the Derby this weekend to see if he might be willing to earn a little extra cash by divulging some secrets. And their new head of kitchen has a brother with significant gambling debts, so that’s another lead worth pursuing.”

“Sounds good, Olivia.”

“Now, as far as next steps for you, I was hoping you might give reporters a few minutes for questions before the derby.”

Liam swallowed, his brain scrambling to come up with a reason, any reason, against her suggestion, when his phone vibrated on the table, the name “Bastien” flashing across the screen.

“Why is he calling you?” Olivia asked. All Liam could do was shrug as he leaned forward, grabbing his phone and swiping to accept the call.

“Bastien?”

“I don’t have long,” he started, not even taking the time for a greeting. “I don’t know if you are in touch with Drake, but if you are, you need to let him know that they need to get out of Athens.”

“What are you-”

“Rashad is negotiating with Greek authorities right now to allow the King’s Guard to be the ones to make the arrest. We are waiting on the tarmac for clearance to fly to Athens.”

“How-”

“He’s requesting Greek surveillance of their hotel until we get there. They need to leave now.”

“Bastien, what-”

“I have to go.” And then, the line was dead.

Liam sat there, numb and frozen, trying to process the slew of information that had just been dumped into his lap by his former head of security. 

“What the hell is going on?” Olivia’s voice drew him out of his daze, prompting him to set down his phone on the couch, digging frantically through the stacks of papers.

“I need my burner.” He heard his voice as if he were an outsider observer. It was thin and shaky, frail and panicked. His hands shook as he felt around the table in front of him, knocking over a pile containing reproductions of the accounts of the last Conclave, dozens of papers spilling onto the floor.

“Liam, what the fuck did he tell you?”

“They know where they are. We have to warn them.” All his frustrations and pain related to Drake and Riley suddenly felt so petty, so ridiculous. The stakes were higher for them, always had been higher for them. They were about to get arrested over wanting to keep custody of their daughter. And while they left him to fend for himself, left Cordonia in a state of political upheaval, he knew that was a price that was wildly unfair.

“Who knows where they are? Rashad?”

“Yes,” said Liam, shoving more and more documents around the table. Where was his burner?

“How does he know?”

“I don’t know! Where the fuck is it?” Liam swiped his arm across the table, books and papers flying, the sound of glass breaking echoing through the room as his scotch tumbled to the ground.

A strong set of fingers with sharp red nails slid around his wrist, holding him still. He took a rough breath as he turned to face Olivia, who was eyeing him as she tugged her own burner out of her pocket, only breaking his gaze to glance down at the screen, tapping three times before holding it to her ear and looking back at Liam.

The few seconds of silence on her end were maddening, but then she was speaking, her voice curt and all business. “Drake, authorities are coming. You gotta go. Now.”

Liam tried to rein in his rapid breathing, tried to calm his heart rate down to something more human. “The King’s Guard is flying into Athens. They are leaving now. Rashad asked for Greek surveillance until-” but Olivia nodded at him, cutting him off.

“I don’t know how. But your hotel is about to be under Greek surveillance until the King’s Guard arrives, so you guys have to get moving. Good luck.” She hung up at that, letting out a massive sigh. “Shit,” she breathed out after a few seconds, her eyes bouncing back and forth before she slammed them shut, clearly planning and preparing.

Liam felt her fingers trembling around his wrist for just a second, but then she let go. She pushed herself off the couch with a flourish. “Find your burner. I’m gonna make some calls, but we need to destroy any evidence that we were in contact with them,” she said, nearly jogging towards the door.

“Olivia…”

She spun around and let out a little breath before walking back towards the couch. Her hand settled on his shoulder with a gentle squeeze as she gave him a nod. “We warned them as soon as we could, but we need to be the ones worried about the big picture right now. And things will only be worse for them if you and I are arrested, right?”

All he could do was nod. She was 100 percent correct.

“Okay, so find your burner. I’ll be back in a little bit, Liam.” And with that, she was off, a woman on a mission, leaving him sitting there, shaking on the couch, just trying to find his footing.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Hana shook hands with the final citizen, a woman in her late 40s who had been born and raised in Valtoria.

“Thank you so much, Your Grace,” she said, smiling as she returned the handshake.

“Of course. Just because our country is going through a period of transition doesn’t mean that I am going to ignore the needs of Valtoria’s citizens.”

The woman thanked her again before turning and exiting the formal dining room, the location Hana had chosen for the first Citizen Open Forum she’d scheduled. The large table provided ample seating, but the room was close enough to the main entrance to make it unlikely that anyone could wander into private areas of the estate without being caught by staff. 

Olivia had been irritated when Hana had told her she was opening up the estate to the public. “You are giving Barthelemy’s people free access,” she told her. But Hana knew that she couldn’t just sidestep her duties as a duchess. Not only would that weaken people’s perception of Liam by association, but morally she just couldn’t do that. The country was in such turmoil because of a few members of the nobility trying to wrest power from some other nobles. For her citizens to be left neglected due to the whims of the highly privileged was ethically something she couldn’t allow to happen. So she’d hosted the forum, hearing directly from Valtoria’s residents what she should prioritize to improve their lives, but made sure to instruct her staff to notify her immediately if anyone was caught wandering too far from the dining room or bathroom. It was the best she felt she could do under the circumstances.

However, the last citizen had now vacated the estate, and Hana couldn’t help but let out a contented sigh. It had gone well, she thought. She had clear budgetary priorities to request at the upcoming meeting between the social season’s derby and the stop in Lythikos. Plus, one of the leaders of the protesters in front of the estate had come, and conversation with him had been productive. Obviously, she couldn’t outright tell him that she wished she could be right out there with them, carrying a sign that said “She’s their kid,” but he had given her a knowing smile when she told him she saw no reason to intervene when Cordonia citizens were just exercising a right to free speech. He had all but promised her that the protests would stay peaceful and would not target her for her assumption of the role of Duchess of Valtoria.

As she wandered into the kitchen to make herself some tea, she felt her phone vibrating in her pocket. She turned on the tap to fill the kettle with one hand as she moved to answer the call with the other.

“Olivia, how are you?” she asked, watching the kettle fill.

“Do you not answer your phone anymore?”

Hana frowned, pulling the phone away from her ear and swiping the screen. “I don’t have any missed calls, Olivia.”

“Not this phone. I’ve called you no less than ten times.”

She turned off the tap and set the full kettle on the counter, a nagging thread of anxiety and fear worming its way into her heart with that statement. “What’s wrong?”

“Turn on the news.”

Hana spun around, finding the remote laying on the island and turning on the television mounted in the eat-in nook.

“-these exclusively obtained photos show a woman who appears to be the former duchess, Riley Walker, conversing with the former Crown Prince, Leo Rys, at a bar in Athens.”

The screen filled with a low-quality image, clearly zoomed in several times. The lighting was a sort of orange color, and the faces were grainy and fuzzy, but there was Riley, although her hair was clearly dyed a much lighter color. Leo’s face was only seen in profile, not as identifiable, but he was obviously talking to her. The screen changed to a new photo, Leo a bit more recognizable in this one, passing Riley something.

“Oh no,” said Hana, leaning against the counter.

“-clear evidence of collusion between the former Crown Prince and Riley Walker, who has been charged with treason and kidnapping of the monarch,” the anchor droned on, but Olivia’s response drowned out the quiet volume of the television.

“Yeah, that’s an understatement. So what was so pressing that you were ignoring your burner?”

“I had the forum with the citizens, and I thought if I was carrying two cell phones, that might-”

A massive groan from Olivia cut her off. “Whatever. Well, you need to destroy your burner. Now.”

“But what about Riley and-”

“I warned them. Hopefully they are able to get out of Athens, but nothing else we can do there. It’s time to protect ourselves.”

“Olivia, what-”

“I gotta go check on Liam. Destroy the phone, Hana. And don’t call me.”

“Why can’t I-”

“-Liam is definitely going to be questioned since Leo is now known to be involved. We can talk at the derby, but if they start monitoring our phone records, I don’t want to give them any reason to think we are scheming.”

Before Hana could as much as tell Olivia she understood, she heard the line click dead. Taking a few seconds for some calming breaths, she centered herself before she climbed the stairs to her quarters, a pit of dread cementing itself firmly in her stomach with each step. She reached her room and opened the top drawer of her dresser, pulling the burner phone out from underneath her nylons. Sure enough, she had dozens of missed notifications from Olivia, and a couple from Maxwell as well. Well, she knew what those were regarding. No need to deal with them at this point. Instead, she walked over to her dressing table and grabbed her manicure kit.

She wandered down the hallway towards the lounge, taking in the quiet and calm. It was odd; the estate probably had more people in it currently than it had for most of the time Riley and Drake had lived there. Hana didn’t feel compelled to aggressively minimize the staff presence like they had, far more used to having employees around from her upbringing. But staff were expected to be as discreet and silent as possible, to make themselves scarce, particularly in the private quarters. 

No one had ever called Riley quiet. There was a certain vibrancy she brought to any room, and her voice and laughter were always echoing through the halls. And even though Drake wasn’t the most talkative, he certainly would quip, snark, and joke in the privacy of his own home. Of course, once Bridget was born, there was more noise and energy and life than ever before. Now, it was just Hana and the corgis. The estate felt hollow and soulless.

Once in the lounge, Hana shut the door behind her firmly. Anderson glanced up, but quickly draped his head back over Vera, all the dogs curled up on their giant cushion in the corner. Hana knew that the maids had cleaned the lounge yesterday, so she was unlikely to be found there. She sat down in one of the armchairs, and pried the cover off the back of her phone using her cuticle pusher. All the electronic components stared up at her, ready for her to do her worst. But before she could bring herself to kill the only connection she had to her best friend, she flipped the phone over and sent one last message to Riley.

I love you all. Stay safe. I’ll find a way to get in touch when I can.

Letting out a sigh, she turned the phone back over. She spent the next 15 minutes prying off motherboards and any chips and cards she could find, dropping them one by one into her container of acetone nail polish remover. Then, she removed the battery before placing the remaining elements into the fireplace. She would just have to store the battery under her floorboards until she could figure out how to safely dispose of it. 

She started a fire, then curled up on the couch, tugging a quilt over her lap as she watched her only connection to the first person to show her unconditional love melt and warp, eventually turning to ash. Tears started trailing down her cheeks, dripping onto her blouse and the quilt, but she didn’t care. She was devastated - for herself, for her found family, and for her country. At some point, Anderson jumped up to join her, nestling in against her legs.

“I miss them so much,” she said, dropping a hand to the top of his head. “So, so much.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Bridget was wailing in her crib, but Riley didn’t have time to calm her. She needed to pack. Now.

When Drake had called her, she knew something bad was happening. He’d left with their passports this afternoon to take them to a cousin of a friend of someone Drake had met at the restaurant, someone who was supposed to be able to help with fake documents and forgeries. The plan had been to change their names and their country of origin, allowing them to catch a flight to the States without getting stopped at the airport. The final destination once there hadn’t been decided. Drake had wanted to go to Texas, but Leona’s presence scared Riley. She had already sold out their safety for a quick payday once before.

But that debate was a moot point now. So was the uncertainty about this unknown forger on whom they were relying. Drake had called, frantic and alarmed, clearly running and somewhat out of breath as he spoke to her. Telling her Olivia had called to warn them they were about to be arrested. Telling her to pack. Telling her they needed to run.

So Bridget was unceremoniously dumped into her travel crib as Riley tried to shove everything into the duffel bags from Leo. She knew she should leave the impractical things, like the framed photos, but those would incriminate their friends. So they had to come with. Toiletries seemed essential, too. Some of the clothes were going to have to get left behind. Some of the toys as well. She had to be able to carry everything in one trip. She had to get to the car as quickly as possible. 

She knew it had probably been less than five minutes since Drake had called, but it felt like she was moving too slowly, taking way too long. Drake hadn’t given her any sort of time frame. Who knew if Olivia had even given him one. But for all she knew, police were rounding the corner, waiting for her in the hallway, about to burst through the hotel door. So she shoved and crammed and squeezed everything she could into the duffel bags and the diaper bag. Those would go over her shoulders, the crib would collapse and go in one arm, Bridget in the other. That would have to be good enough. 

Once she was sure that the bags were as full as they could be, she pulled Bridget out, placing her on the floor as she scrambled to collapse the crib, fumbling with the locking mechanism for just a few seconds before it folded in on itself, allowing her to tuck it into her elbow. By some mad miracle, Bridget was hanging close by, not trying to crawl away to explore and cause trouble. Maybe she was frightened by the way Riley was acting. Regardless, it was a blessing.

Knowing she was as ready as she was going to be, she loaded everything up and grabbed Bridget, pausing just briefly to juggle their possessions as she opened the door. She didn’t bother closing it behind her, just moved as quickly as she could with her load down the hallway, down the stairs, through the lobby, and around the corner to the street where their car was parked. No one tried to stop her or talk to her, so she took the time to toss everything on the ground and properly latch Bridget into her car seat. Then, she threw everything in the hatchback before climbing into the passenger’s seat and locking the doors behind her. Bridget continued to cry, but there was little Riley could do to comfort her at this point. All that was left to do was wait for Drake.

Drake had told her to meet him in the car, but she didn’t like feeling exposed, sitting where anyone could see her during broad daylight. Add to that the fact that she was in the passenger seat, so she wouldn’t even be able to make a quick getaway if need be. Her piss-poor driving skills were just one more area where she was making their life harder, but there was no way to fix that right now. All she could do was hang tight. She was contemplating what in the car she could use as a weapon if it came down to it when her phone buzzed. She swiped to answer instantly when she saw it was Drake’s number.

“Drake, where are you?”

“Around the corner from the hotel. You in the car?”

“Yeah. How did-” but before she could get her question out, she saw Drake through the driver’s side window. She let out a little yelp of surprise before reaching over and unlocking the door, handing him the keys as soon as he sat down. 

He didn’t even bother to say anything, just started the car and eased off the clutch as he shifted into first gear, pulling out onto the road. Bridget quieted soon after they got moving, but Riley didn’t feel any better as the yelling and screaming subsided. She just stared at Drake, one hand braced on the steering wheel, the other on the gear shift, his neck and shoulders so tense and coiled, he looked ready to burst.

“Where are we going?” she finally chanced asking.

Drake shook his head, never taking his eyes off the road. “I don’t know. Out of Athens.”

“Then why are we making so many turns?”

“Don’t know if we were being watched or followed. Gotta lose anyone who might be tailing us.” His voice was clipped and frayed. He sounded about five seconds away from losing it completely. Riley wanted to hold his hand, to comfort him in some way. But she didn’t want to distract him, both from driving and from the tiny amount of control he had over his emotional response to everything that was unfolding. After all, they weren’t safe yet. So she just nodded and grabbed her phone off her lap.

“I’ll pull up some maps, okay?”

He nodded and let out a rough breath at that. “Thanks, Walker,” he said before flipping on the radio. “Can you try and find us a news station?”

“Drake, I won’t-”

“I’ll translate.”

And so they were off, unsure where or how far they needed to go to be safe. All they could do at this point was keep moving forward.

Perma: @walkerswhiskeygirl​ @octobereighth​ @kimmiedoo5​ @mom2000aggie​

TRR/TRH: @twinkleallnight​ @iaminlovewithtrr​ @mskaneko​ @axwalker​ @jovialyouthmusic​ @marshmallowsandfire​ @kingliam2019​ @sirbeepsalot​ @texaskitten30 @princessleac1​ @ladyangel70​ @debramcg1106​ @masterofbluff​  

Drake/MC:  @no-one-u-know   @iplaydrake​

FoF: @burnsoslow​ @bobasheebaby​

[newstfionline]

Friday, January 8, 2021

Spending the pandemic talking to yourself? If you live alone, you’re not alone (Washington Post) One bleak pandemic day in November, Aisha Tyler caught herself vacuuming the inside of her freezer. Then she scolded herself. Yes, out loud. Sometimes the Los Angeles-based actress will tell herself to “snap out of it.” On brighter days, she’ll congratulate herself on what a good job she’s doing and call for a celebration. Humans leave little unspoken, and this past year, as many of us have avoided social events and worked from home alone, we’ve been forced to talk out loud to the only person still around to listen: ourselves. Sure, it may take the form of bantering with our pets, scolding the politicians on TV or cajoling our malfunctioning printers, but that’s really just another way of hearing our own voice, helping us discern what exactly is going on inside that head of ours.      What’s going on here? Charles Fernyhough, a psychology professor at Durham University and author of “The Voices Within: The History and Science of How We Talk to Ourselves,” says research shows people talk out loud more when under stress or facing cognitive challenges. It was praying aloud that kept 44-year-old April Harris going during her 32 days in quarantine with a deep cough at the California Institution for Women in Chino, Calif.—not just self-encouragements like “I can do this” and “You got this, April,” but repeated declarations like “by His stripes, I am healed.” “I would pray for our country and for a cure to this virus,” she says in an email from the prison, where she has spent 24 years but had never previously talked out loud to herself. “Now I pray that I am covered by His blood, not wanting to endure that again. I pray for the women who are in isolation now.”

Here’s Why Car Thefts Are Soaring (Hint: Check Your Cup Holder) (NYT) After years of declines, car thefts appear to be surging in cities and suburbs all over the country. The spree, which has been exacerbated by the pandemic, does not appear to be the work of sophisticated crime rings, the police say. Instead, this new wave of car thefts seems to stem from a combination of simple carelessness and the same technological advancement that once made stealing cars nearly impossible: the key fob. The broad adoption of keyless ignitions that began in the late 1990s ushered in a dark era for car thieves. New cars had engine immobilizers that only a microchip in the key fob could unlock, and vehicle thefts quickly plummeted. Technology, it seemed, had largely solved the problem of stolen vehicles. Until people started leaving their fobs sitting in their cup holders. Now, the police say forgotten fobs and keyless technology have contributed to soaring stolen car cases. In Hartford, the police have traced the surge to teenagers joyriding in from the suburbs. In Los Angeles, stolen cars reappear so frequently that the police believe thieves are using them like Ubers. And in New York City, a related but different problem has emerged as more drivers leave their cars running to make pit stops and deliveries during the pandemic, making their cars easy targets for thieves who can simply drive away, even without a fob.

Canadian compensation (CBC) Based on companies that trade on the TSX, in 2019 the average total compensation for the 100 best-paid CEOs of Canadian corporations was $10.8 million, while the average annual salary for a worker in Canada was $53,482 the same year. That means top CEO pay is about 202 times that of the average Canadian worker, which is actually down from the 227 observed the previous year. It also means that at 11:17 a.m. on Monday, the average CEO had already made the annual salary of a typical worker.

An unimaginable moment in America (AP) To see it unspool—to watch the jumbled images ricochet, live, across the world’s endless screens—was, as an American, a struggle to believe your eyes. But there it was, in the capital city of the United States in early January 2021: a real-time breaking and entering the likes of which the republic has never seen. The U.S. Capitol was overrun by violent supporters of Donald Trump, who exhorted them to march on the domed building as lawmakers inside carried out their constitutional duty by certifying his electoral defeat. The proceedings were quickly abandoned as the selfie-snapping mob smashed windows, marched through hallways and rummaged through lawmakers’ desks. Fourteen days before Joe Biden is set to be inaugurated on the very same site, elected officials sheltered in place in their own building. Agents barricaded themselves inside congressional chambers, guns drawn. The stars and stripes—soaring over public property—was lowered, then replaced as a blue Trump flag ascended. In one of the day’s most indelible images, a hoodie-clad trespasser sat in a chair overlooking the Senate floor—minutes after it had been vacated by Trump’s own vice president, Mike Pence—waving his fist in front of a thick, ornate curtain designed to summon the trappings of democracy. The United States on Wednesday seemed at risk of becoming the very kind of country it has so often insisted it was helping: a fragile democracy.

World reacts to US mob (AP) Amid the global outrage at the storming of the U.S. Capitol building by angry supporters of President Donald Trump was a persistent strain of glee from those who have long resented the perceived American tendency to chastise other countries for less-than-perfect adherence to democratic ideals. In China, which has had constant friction with the Trump administration over trade, military and political issues, people were scathing in their criticism of Trump and his supporters, citing both his failure to control the coronavirus pandemic and the mob action in Washington. The Communist Youth League ran a photo montage of the violence at the Capitol on its Twitter-like Weibo microblog with the caption: “On the sixth, the U.S. Congress, a most beautiful site to behold.” That appeared to mock House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for her June 2019 comments in praise of sometimes violent antigovernment protests in Hong Kong. Iran, another country that faces routine U.S. criticism over violations of human rights and democratic values, jumped on the insurrection as proof of American hypocrisy. The semiofficial Fars news agency called the United States a “fragmented democracy,” while Iran’s pro-government Twitter accounts gloated, circulating photos of the mobs with hashtags that included #DownfalloftheUS. “The beauty of democracy?” with a shrug emoji was the reaction tweeted by Bashir Ahmad, a personal assistant to the president of Nigeria, which has seen several coups since independence—including one led decades ago by President Muhammadu Buhari, who most recently entered the office via a vote. Venezuela, which is under U.S. sanctions, said the events in Washington show that the U.S. “is suffering what it has generated in other countries with its politics of aggression.” Several countries, both allies and antagonists of America, issued travel warnings to their citizens.

America the exceptional? (Foreign Policy) It’s not easy to say how much the storming of the Capitol will contribute to the decline in the reputation of the United States abroad. That’s because that decline has already been so steep: A Gallup poll of 29 countries in 2020 found that 20 already had approval ratings of U.S. leadership that are at new lows or that tie the previous record lows.

‘The power of life and death is in the tongue,’ Senate chaplain says (NYT) “We deplore the desecration of the United States Capitol building, the shedding of innocent blood, the loss of life, and the quagmire of dysfunction that threaten our democracy.” Those words, spoken by Barry C. Black, the Senate chaplain, resounded through the government chamber in the early hours of Thursday, as he declaratively closed a joint session of Congress marred by violence with a prayer. A Seventh-day Adventist minister and former Navy rear admiral known for his penchant for brightly colored bow ties, Mr. Black has been the Senate’s official clergyman for nearly two decades. His prayers in the chambers have long been laced with rebukes for the infighting of the lawmakers surrounding him, and his words have often served as a conscience check for those on both sides of the aisle. That was never more true than on Thursday morning, as he warned lawmakers that their words could have great consequences. “These tragedies have reminded us that words matter, and that the power of life and death is in the tongue,” he said. “We have been warned that eternal vigilance continues to be freedom’s price.” His prayer also urged new unity in the face of the deep divisions among lawmakers and within the country, driving home a need to “see in each other a common humanity.”

Twitter, Facebook muzzle Trump amid Capitol violence (AP) In an unprecedented step, Facebook and Twitter suspended President Donald Trump from posting to their platforms Wednesday following the storming of the U.S. Capitol by his supporters. Twitter locked Trump out of his account for 12 hours and said that future violations by Trump could result in a permanent suspension. The company required the removal of three of Trump’s tweets. Facebook and Instagram, which Facebook owns, followed up in the evening, announcing that Trump wouldn’t be able to post for 24 hours following two violations of its policies. Facebook later said that Trump would be banned indefinitely.

Indian farmers take to their tractors (Quartz)  On the other side of the world, a protest of a different kind is taking place in Delhi, as farmers who oppose India’s newly passed agricultural laws plan to march into the city with 2,500 tractor trolleys today. It’s the latest action in nearly two months of demonstrations that have grabbed headlines globally for their scale, but also for their inventiveness—some of the tractors have previously doubled as screens for movie viewing as protesters dug in for the long haul. The latest round of talks between the government and farmers is scheduled for tomorrow. If the two sides can’t agree on a path forward, farmers’ union leaders say a tractor rally and nationwide protests will start on Jan. 26, when the country celebrates Republic Day.

With Mass Arrests, Beijing Exerts an Increasingly Heavy Hand in Hong Kong (NYT) They descended before dawn, 1,000 police officers fanning out across Hong Kong to the homes and offices of opposition lawmakers, activists and lawyers. They whisked many off in police cars, often without telling relatives or friends where they were being taken. Within a few hours on Wednesday, the Hong Kong police had arrested 53 people, searched 76 places and frozen $200,000 of assets in connection with an informal primary for the pro-democracy camp—all under the auspices of Beijing’s new national security law. In one swoop, the authorities rounded up not only some of the most aggressive critics of the Hong Kong government but also little-known figures who had campaigned on far less political issues, in one of the most forceful shows of power in the Chinese Communist Party’s continuing crackdown on the city. The message was clear: Beijing is in charge. The mass arrests signaled that the central Chinese government, which once wielded its power over Hong Kong with a degree of discretion, is increasingly determined to openly impose its will on the city. In the months since the law took effect, Beijing and the Beijing-backed Hong Kong leadership have moved quickly to stamp out even the smallest hint of opposition in the Chinese territory, where the streets once surged with huge anti-government protests. And they have shattered any pretense of democracy in Hong Kong’s political system.

Japan declares emergency for Tokyo area as cases spike (AP) Japan declared a state of emergency in Tokyo and three nearby areas on Thursday as coronavirus cases continue to surge, hitting a daily record of 2,447 in the capital. Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga issued the declaration at the government task force for the coronavirus. It lasts from Friday until Feb. 7, and centers around asking restaurants and bars to close at 8 p.m. and people to stay home and not mingle in crowds.

The next catastrophe has already been predicted (Les Echos via Worldcrunch) The epidemic surprised us, but it was predictable. In the risk report regularly published by the World Economic Forum (WEF) for its annual Davos summit, infectious diseases were listed every year as one of the 10 biggest threats. The report’s description of a virus spreading uncontrolled around the world was exactly what played out in 2020. There were frequent discussions at Davos about this type of danger. For example, in 2016, after the damage caused by Ebola, the general director of the World Health Organization, Margaret Chan, sounded the alarm about the next pandemic. Jim Yong Kim, president of the World Bank, drew a parallel with the Spanish Flu, evoking the risk of an illness that killed 30 million people. Bill Gates, the founder of Microsoft-cum-health philanthropist, insisted on the necessity of training teams in public health management and logistics. If this health crisis is causing so much suffering, it’s because we refused to seriously prepare for it. We didn’t follow the advice of the philosopher and engineer Jean-Pierre Dupuy, who pushes us to think about catastrophe to prevent it from happening. The time has therefore come to think about the next global catastrophes—the less predictable ones.

[weekinethereum]

January 25, 2019

News and Links

Layer 1

[eth1] state rent proposal 2

[eth1] selfish mining in Ethereum academic paper. Per Casey Detrio, EIP100 changed the threshold to 27%. But since ETC doesn’t have EIP100, it’s just 5 or 10%.

[eth2] a long AMA from the Eth2 research team

[eth2] yeeth Eth2 client in Swift

[eth2] What’s new in eth2 includes Ben’s take on future of the PoW chain

[eth2] notes from last eth2 implementer call

[eth2] Vitalik’s security design rationale

[eth2] More Vitalik: Eth2 and Casper CBC video talk

[eth2] Collin Myers takes a look at the proposed economics for validators

Layer 2

Raiden on progress towards Ithaca release, which will include pathfinding and fee earning as well as monitoring. More from Loredana on building CryptoBotWars on Raiden

Magmo update: about to release their paper on Nitro, their protocol for a virtual state channel network

The case for Ethereum scaling through layer 2 solutions

Optimistic off-chain data availability from Aragon

Starkware on a layer 2 design fundamental: validity proofs vs fraud proofs. Also: its decentralized exchange using STARKs planned for testnet at end of q1.

Stuff for developers

Solidity v0.5.3

web3j v4.1.1

Web3.js v1.0.0-beta.38

Waffle v2 of its testing suite (uses ethers.js)

Celer Network’s proto3 to solidity library generator for onchain/offchain, cross-language data structures. Celer’s SDK

ERC20 meta transaction wrapper contract

“dumb contracts” that store data in the event logs

ETL pipline on AWS for security token analytics

Interacting with Ethereum using web3.py and Jupyter notebooks

Tutorial on using Embark

Tutorial: using OpenLaw agreements with dapps

OpenBazaar’s escrow framework

Etherisc opensources the code for their Generic Insurance Framework

Austin Griffith’s latest iteration of Burner Wallet sales

Deploying a front end with IPFS and Piñata SDK

Video tutorial of Slither static analyzer

Overview of formal verification projects in Ethereum

zkPoker with SNARks - explore iden3’s circom circuit

Ecosystem

Lots of charts on the bomb historically and present

Gnosis Safe is now available on iOS

A big thing in the community was r/ethtrader’s DONUT tokens. Started by Reddit as “community points” to experiment in ethtrader upvotes, the donuts can be used to buy the banner, vote in polls, and get badges. So a Reddit <> Eth token bridge was created, and DONUT traded on Uniswap. But some people preferred donuts to be used for subreddit governance, so the experiment is currently paused. That’s my take, here’s Will Warren’s take.

Decentralizing project management with the Ethereum Cat Herders

ENS permanent registrar proposals

Client releases

The Mantis client written in Scala now supports ETH and will stop supporting ETC

Enterprise

Hyperledger Fabric founder John Wolpert on why Ethereum is winning in enterprise blockchain

Levi’s jeans, Harvard SHINE and ConsenSys announce a workers well being pilot program at a factory in Mexico

Tokenizing a roomba to charge it

Correctness analysis of Istanbul BFT. Suggests it isn’t and can be improved.

Governance and Standards

Notes from last all core devs call

A postmortem on the Constantinople postponement

SNT community voting dapp v0.1 - quadratic voting system

EIP1712: disallow deployment of unused opcodes

EIP1715: Generalized Version Bits Voting for Consensus Soft and Hard Forks

ERC1723: Cryptography engine standard

ERC1724: confidential token standard

EIP1717: Defuse the bomb and lower mining reward to 1 ether

Application layer

Augur leaderboard. And Crystalball.be stats. Augur v1.10 released

Lots of action in Augur frontends: Veil buys Predictions.global, Guesser to launch Jan 29, and BlitzPredict.

A fiat-backed Korean Won is live on AirSwap

Adventureum - “a text-based, crowd-sourced, decentralised choose-your-own adventure game”

PlasmaBears is live using LoomNetwork

Kyber’s automated price reserve - a simpler though less flexible option for liquidity providers. Also, Kyber’s long-term objectives

Interviews, Podcasts, Videos, Talks

Trail of Bits and ChainSecurity discuss 1283 on Hashing It Out

Videos from Trail of Bits’ Empire Hacking

Scott Lewis and Bryant Eisenbach give the case for Ethereum on a Bitcoin podcast

Philipp Angele talk on Livepeer’s shared economies for video infrastructure

Tarun Chitra on PoS statistical modeling on Zero Knowledge

Gnosis’ Martin Köppelmann on Into the Ether

Martin Köppelmann and Matan Field on Epicenter

Tokens / Business / Regulation

If you don’t have a background in finance, MyCrypto’s learning about supplying and borrowing with Compound will be a good read.

A nice look at the original NFT: CryptoPunk

NFT License 2.0 to define what is permitted with NFT and associated art

IDEO on what NFT collectibles should learn from legacy collectibles.

Matthew Vernon is selling tokens representing 1 hour of design consulting

Caitlin Long tweetstorm about Wyoming’s crypto-friendly legislation

Crypto exchanges don’t need a money transmitter license in Pennsylvania

General

Samsung to have key store in their Galaxy S10. Pictures show Eth confirmed.

Zilliqa to launch its mainnet this week, much like Ethereum launched with Frontier

NEAR’s private testnet launches at event in SF on the 29th

Polkadot upgrades to PoC3 using GRANDPA consensus algo

Looks like Protonmail wants to build on Ethereum

Messari says Ripple drastically overstates their supply to prop up their market cap

Sia’s David Vorick on proof of work attacks

a zero knowledge and SNARKs primer

Infoworld when the Mac launched 35 years ago: do we really need this?

Have a co-branded credit card in the US? Amazon (or whoever) probably gets to see your transaction history, which means they’re probably selling it too.

Dates of Note

Upcoming dates of note (new in bold):

Jan 29-30 - AraCon (Berlin)

Jan 30 - Feb 1 - Stanford Blockchain Conference

Jan 31 - GörliCon (Berlin)

Jan 31 - Maker to remove OasisDEX and Oasis.direct frontends

Feb 2 - Eth2 workshop (Stanford)

Feb 7-8 - Melonport’s M1 conf (Zug)

Feb 7 - 0x and Coinlist virtual hackathon ends

Feb 14 - Eth Magicians (Denver)

Feb 15-17 - ETHDenver hackathon (ETHGlobal)

Feb 27 - Constantinople (block 7280000)

Mar 4 - Ethereum Magicians (Paris)

Mar 5-7 - EthCC (Paris)

Mar 8-10 - ETHParis (ETHGlobal)

Mar 8-10 - EthUToronto

Mar 22 - Zero Knowledge Summit 0x03 (Berlin)

Mar 27 - Infura end of legacy key support

April 8-14 - Edcon hackathon and conference (Sydney)

Apr 19-21 - ETHCapetown (ETHGlobal)

May 10-11 - Ethereal (NYC)

May 17 - Deadline to accept proposals for Instanbul upgrade fork

If you appreciate this newsletter, thank ConsenSys

This newsletter is made possible by ConsenSys.

I own Week In Ethereum. Editorial control has always been 100% me.

If you're unhappy with editorial decisions or anything that I have written in this issue, feel free to tweet at me.

Housekeeping

Archive on the web if you’re linking to it:  http://www.weekinethereum.com/post/182313356313/january-25-2019

Cent link for the night view:  https://beta.cent.co/+3bv4ka

https link: Substack

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[mwplanet]

Turmoil Within Hockey Canada

Major changes occurred at Hockey Canada after the organization’s handling of sexual assault accusations was revealed

By Shauri Taylor

Hockey Canada sexual assault allegations released

Photo via CBC

On October 11, 2022, it was announced that Hockey Canada’s board of directors would be stepping down alongside its CEO, Scott Smith. These resignations occurred in the wake of the organization facing heavy scrutiny over its handling of sexual assault allegations, and happened just days after interim chairwoman Andrea Skinner stepped down.

“The Hockey Canada Board of Directors has announced important changes to Hockey Canada’s leadership team,” the statement announcing the departures read. “Effective immediately, it announced the departure of chief executive officer Scott Smith. The entire Board has also agreed to step down to make room for a new slate of directors.”

This event occurred after a story by TSN revealed a settlement Hockey Canada, which fields the country’s national teams and serves as the governing body for amateur hockey, had made regarding a sexual assault lawsuit. In June, the federal government suspended  the organization’s funding. Several sponsors, such as Canadian Tire, Bauer, Nike, Scotiabank, and Tim Hortons, have pulled, paused, or reduced their sponsorships. Hockey Canada was also criticized by politicians such as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who said that “there needs to be wholesale change” regarding the organization, and Sports Minister Pascale St-Onge, who noted that it is time to “clean the house.”

In May 2022, it was revealed that Hockey Canada settled a lawsuit with a woman who alleged that  she was sexually assaulted by eight players, including members of the U20 men’s junior team, in June 2018. The woman claimed she was repeatedly assaulted while intoxicated following a Hockey Canada Foundation gala and golf event in a London, Ontario, hotel room. It was alleged that the woman returned to the hotel room with one player, and the two engaged in sexual acts before he invited seven other players into the room “without the knowledge or consent of the Plaintiff.” It was then stated  that the defendants engaged in more sexual acts with her, despite the victim being too intoxicated to give consent. These allegations have not been proven in court.

Earlier in 2022, it was revealed that Hockey Canadahad paid almost $9 million in 21 settlements for sexual assault-related complaints against its players since 1989. Additionally, these settlements were paid for using player registration fees collected from parents, recreational league players, and youth across the country involved in hockey. Hockey Canada had used a reserve called the National Equity Fund to settle the $3.55 million lawsuit filed by the woman who claimed  she was sexually assaulted by  hockey players in 2018. At federal hearings in July, it was acknowledged that this fund had been used to pay settlements on nine sexual assault claims totalling $7.6 million since 1989. However, this does not include the claim settled this year.

In August, former Supreme Court justice Thomas Cromwell was tasked with completing a full governance review of Hockey Canada after the allegations set out in the sexual assault lawsuit were revealed. Hockey Canada has said it intends to follow the recommendations in this interim report. After Hockey Canada’s leadership stepped down, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the decision was “an important step forward.” However, he also noted that there is “an awful lot of work” that needs to be done  in order to obtain change. 

Polling done by Ipsos, a public opinion research company, exclusively for Global News has shown that 60% of Canadians believe that “the recent revelations reflect a broader problem of sexual harassment, assault, and violence within hockey culture in Canada.” It also showed that women are more likely to see such allegations and issues of sexual assault as pervasive, meaning they apply to other sports too. Lastly, the poll showed that most Canadians believe the blame falls on those holding positions of power such as managers, directors, and coaches. “Whether it’s corporate sponsors or government sponsorship, people don’t feel that Hockey Canada and the amateur hockey industry in this country can continue in the direction that it’s headed without change,” said Darrell Bricker, the CEO of Ipsos public affairs.

While changes are being made to shift the leadership at one of the most influential organizations related to Canada’s national sport, calls for change and transparency must be answered with appropriate action for the sake of regaining the trust of Canadians who enjoy the game.

[creatingblackcharacters]

Black Character Design Poll: Event Rules

I am an avid lover of graphs. I like numbers, I like trends and the absence thereof. I like the mindsets that make people make decisions, I like recognizing the biases, both conscious and unconscious, in sampled populations. I like how you'll always gain some sort of answer, even if it's not the one you expected (it's the scientist in me)! Best of all, I like making people question themselves! So... Why not a poll?

This is going to be a TWO-PART event. The first portion is going to ask the First Question, starting Sunday April 13th and I will stop taking submissions Saturday April 19th. The second portion is going to ask the Second Question, starting Sunday April 20th, and I will stop taking submissions Saturday April 26th.

See below the cut to find out all the details!

The goal is:

To see how different groups feel about the same character design, specifically Black audiences

To make participants question how and why their own beliefs may be affected

When I tell you "consider your Black audience when you create Black characters", that's not me pointing you to an amorphous concept- I'm talking about real people who are looking at a work! And very often, we find out that a creator's intent, versus a particular audience's perception, are not on the same page. That's not always a bad thing, nor something we can always control. But sometimes, it can reveal some lack of understanding, or biases we aren't aware of. So let's test that out! Let's have that conversation!

Submissions:

You will be submitting characters! There are three things requested in an ASK format:

A good, clear picture of Black Character from the Source Material

Black Character's Name

Title of Black Character's Source Material

DASSIT! No, I don't want leading arguments or why you love them in the ask. I will delete it. Let people make their own conclusions!

Responses:

Your options will be "Peak", "Mid", and "Nah".

Answer honestly and instinctively! If you thought it was great, choose that! If you thought it was ass, choose that! Don't let a need to "look nonproblematic" or "to be nice" affect your answer. Just take the time to consider why your opinion may be different from others. This is an opportunity to consider something new!

That being said! I'm not arguing or doing discourse with y'all in the comments or tags- I'd have to keep up with far too many conversations. Think before you speak! That thought that you think might be racist- you do not have to say it!

I will be organizing responses into three groups of viewers: "White", "Nonblack POC", and "Black". One, so that the Black voters have a little more chance to be seen (and we're not like, 97-3 every time 😅) and two, because sometimes I think people of color assume they are immune to antiblackness. I want everybody to think!

Do not send me an ask or message telling me why you're uncomfortable and why you think I shouldn't ask these questions. It's meant to bring people out of their comfort zone. Considering that you may have a different perspective on the presentation of Blackness than an actual Black person is not a bad thing, and no, it's not causing racism to have a conversation about why that may be an issue. Just don't participate.

I will add the questions and rubric in a reblog- stay tuned!

[choicesbookclub]

Welcome to the Choices Book Club! We are currently reading The Crown and the Flame, Book One. We read new chapters every Saturday.

This Week’s Chapter: Chapter 01: The Broken Alliance

Question(s) of the Week: (Spoilers included)

Have you played TCATF before? How many times? [Vote Here]

Who did you start as? [Vote Here]

What did Kenna wear? [Vote Here]

Did you save Prince Tevan's life? [Vote Here]

What did Kenna promise? [Vote Here]

How do you feel about the switching perspectives/pov between Kenna/Dom? [Vote Here]

Do you know who you will be romancing already? [Vote Here]

How would you rate Chapter One of tcatf? [Vote Here]

What stood out to you most in Chapter 1?

How do you feel about Kenna/Dom? Did you pursue any romantics between them?

Feel free to send me any ideas for polls, questions, or things to feature for the book club.

How else to Participate:

Please note that the mod is working full time and has real life responsibilities, so reblogs may be delayed

Post reactions, screenshots, videos, ramblings, theories,… whatever comes to you while playing (no spoilers, since some people may be playing for the first time)

Create drawings, edits, moodboards, fics, headcanons, songs, poems, etc based on the chapters and/or characters

Catch up on any of the previous week's questions/prompts

Posts that tag @choicesbookclub and use “#choices book club” or "cbc tcatf" will be reblogged here. Please note that tags “#choices book club” seem to be more reliable than mentioning the blog.

If your post is not reblogged within 48 hours, please dm me a link @lovealexhunt. Thank you!

[Please read the full guide to the event and how to participate here]

[sachkiawaaj]

Moving from fringe to 4th place, PPC complicates the Conservatives' path to power

Moving from fringe to 4th place, PPC complicates the Conservatives’ path to power

At a recent campaign event, Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole couldn’t quite bring himself to say the name of the man who could end up thwarting his shot at power. People’s Party of Canada (PPC) Leader Maxime Bernier has gone from leading a small fringe group with tepid support to heading up a right-wing party that, according to the CBC Poll Tracker, could have the fourth-highest share of the…

[widelyvision]

Moving from fringe to 4th place, PPC complicates the Conservatives' path to power | CBC News

Moving from fringe to 4th place, PPC complicates the Conservatives’ path to power | CBC News

At a recent campaign event, Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole couldn’t quite bring himself to say the name of the man who could end up thwarting his shot at power. People’s Party of Canada (PPC) Leader Maxime Bernier has gone from leading a small fringe group with tepid support to heading up a right-wing party that, according to the CBC Poll Tracker, could have the fourth-highest share of the…

[hummingzone]

Moving from fringe to fourth place, PPC complicates the Conservatives' path to power | CBC News

Moving from fringe to fourth place, PPC complicates the Conservatives’ path to power | CBC News

At a recent campaign event, Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole couldn’t quite bring himself to say the name of the man who could end up thwarting his shot at power. People’s Party of Canada (PPC) Leader Maxime Bernier has gone from leading a small fringe group with tepid support to heading up a right-wing party that, according to the CBC Poll Tracker, could have the fourth-highest share of the…

[kayla1993-world]

On Friday, dozens of protesters demonstrated in Toronto against the Iranian presidential election, calling it a "sham" and rallying with the many Iranians who did not vote. Demonstrators chanted in the rain at Mel Lastman Square, demanding regime change in Iran. By Saturday, the final findings should be available.

"We are expressing our sympathy with the heroic Iranian people who have demonstrated their fortitude today by boycotting this fake election in Iran," stated Hamid Gharajeh of the Iran Democratic Association of Canada.

On Friday, Iranian voters went to the polls, but many eligible voters stayed home amid allegations that the election was rigged in favour of Ebrahim Raisi, a hardline supporter of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

According to surveys, turnout might be as low as 44%, considerably below the 73.3 percent of eligible people who voted in 2017. At the Toronto rally, Gharajeh remarked, "People have spoken by not turning up at the polling booth."

One of the protestors, Simin Voorchi, stated that attending the demonstration was "our responsibility." "This is a selection, not an election," she explained. Raisi dominated the race following the disqualification of his main opponent.

He was the front-runner in a field of only four candidates, despite already being sanctioned by the US. Despite calls to vote for the Islamic Republic, the disqualifications fueled indifference, with some polling locations largely vacant on election day.

The condition of the economy has exacerbated voter indifference, as has the lack of campaigning in the midst of a surge of new coronavirus infections. Karimi, a Toronto-based activist and researcher who wrote The Iranian Green Movement of 2009: Reverberating Echoes of Resistance, said, "The dictatorship has entirely discarded any pretense of democracy, of freedom of vote."

"They have effectively gone and introduced a few hand-picked candidates that are closer to the White House." If elected, Raisi would become the first incumbent Iranian president to be sanctioned by the US government even before taking office, for his suspected role in the 1988 mass execution of political detainees, as well as his tenure as the head of Iran's widely condemned judiciary.

At the event, Gharajeh told CBC News that they want this regime's entire machinery to be dismantled and toppled. "People in Iran no longer believe they have a choice," Karimi remarked of the election. "This election has been forced upon them by the so-called president. As a result, they are pushing back in a very polite and nonviolent manner."

"They refuse to give the dictatorship any more legitimacy."

[choicesbookclub]

Welcome to the Choices Book Club! We are currently reading The Crown and the Flame, Book One. We read new chapters every Saturday.

This Week’s Chapter: Chapter 02: The Ruins of Rajkur

Question(s) of the Week: (Spoilers included)

What did you name the hawk? [Info Post]

Did you purchase the Kor-Kitar? [Vote Here]

What/Who is Kenna thinking about? [Vote Here]

How does Dom respond to helping Rose with the soldier? [Vote Here]

What does Dom want? [Vote Here]

Did you poison the soldiers? [Vote Here]

Did you die in this chapter? [Vote Here]

How would you rate Chapter 02? [Vote Here]

Feel free to send me any ideas for polls, questions, or things to feature for the book club.

How else to Participate:

Please note that the mod is working full time and has real life responsibilities, so reblogs may be delayed

Post reactions, screenshots, videos, ramblings, theories,… whatever comes to you while playing (no spoilers, since some people may be playing for the first time)

Create drawings, edits, moodboards, fics, headcanons, songs, poems, etc based on the chapters and/or characters

Catch up on any of the previous week's questions/prompts

Posts that tag @choicesbookclub and use “#choices book club” or "cbc tcatf" will be reblogged here. Please note that tags “#choices book club” seem to be more reliable than mentioning the blog.

If your post is not reblogged within 48 hours, please dm me a link @lovealexhunt. Thank you!

[Please read the full guide to the event and how to participate here]