#dispatches from the sickbed

[dailyadventureprompts]

Patron: Zivett Briar, the Lord of the Long Game

Listen, there’s a simple arithmetic to this arrangement: you do my bidding, I settle your debts, and then we all go our separate ways with clean slates and a newfound appreciation for the good we can do in another’s life. Are we understood? Lovely.... now, pick up that knife and I’ll tell you who’s back you can lose it in

A dour shade among the gaudy gossips and braggarts of the court, Lord Briar  is most likely to come into the party’s lives after they’ve fucked up in some manner or another, dispatching agents to smooth things over with the local authorities and distribute bribes before leaving the heroes with a polite but irrefutable invitation to whatever roadhouse he happens to be staying at in the moment.

After a good meal Zivett will inform the party that they’re working for him now, or that he will use his influence to un-fix whatever he fixed to get them off the hook. He’ll point them in the direction of the errand he wants done nearby and give them a simple two-way communication stone so that they can receive further orders from him without needing to meet face to face.  With their meeting done, Lord Brair will promptly leave, informing the party that he has business elsewhere to which he much attend, that he’s rented them the roadhouse’s best rooms and that they should avail themselves of a hot bath before they set out on his bidding. Little does the party know that they’ve suddenly become pieces in a game that's been going on longer than any of them have been alive.

Hooks:

Centuries ago, long before he became Lord Brair, the boy Zivett lived through a disaster that plunged the continent into a generations long cycle of chaos, war, and famine. When stability began to reassert itself, Zivett swore to whatever god that would listen that he would never let such a calamity happen again, and would dedicating his life to ensuring that it did not. In doing so, Zivett accidentally marked himself as a chosen of the platinum dragon and his life has not known peace since.  Heroism is foisted upon the elf, which earned him his fortune, his lordship, and the enmity of every scheming noble for the past three centuries. If there’s court intrigue going on, lord Briar is sure to be caught up in it whether he wants it or not

Zivrett’s commands often seem innocuous: find out why those merchants got into a brawl at the tavern last night, check if that package I’m expecting has arrived in harbour, look something up for me in the royal archives and get back to me with your findings. In each instance a seemingly banal request will plunge the party into discovery and danger, opening the chance at heroism. 

Having actually proven themselves at least mostly competent, Lord Briar invites the party to his estate in order to congratulate them personally on a job well done..... only to have an assassin’s dagger cut the meeting short. Barely scraping through with his life and ravaged by poison, Zivrett retires to his sickbed for the foreseeable future and leaves his substantial holdings and information network in the party’s hands, dropping his god appointed burden on their shoulders.

[alula-fujotings]

Dear Riza, I come to you to humbly request Hiei admiring Kurama and just feeling absolutely unworthy. (This is not Gabi ask for more body worships stuff…nope not at all)

Thank you anon for giving me the push to finally put some ideas I've had for these two together🙈! Hopefully I've done your request justice🥺❤️‍🔥

✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨

It was a long road to recovery for the both of them, but Kurama especially.

When they’d finally gotten to a demon medic, he’d passed out again and Hiei and the baby brat had to carry his weight up three flights of stairs to his sickbed.

“He’s a lot heavier than he looks,” Koenma had wheezed, the pacifier somehow managing to stay in his mouth as he gasped through it for breath.

“If you’re going to complain, then just leave it to me.” Hiei had shouldered more of Kurama’s weight, noting that as a human he still wasn’t as heavy as he could be.

“Don’t get ahead of yourself Hiei,” Koenma snapped, though Hiei felt him give over more of Kurama’s weight to where he was only holding a limp arm. “But, since you’re offering to take care of this, I’ll leave you to it.”

Hiei considered complaining, but they were already at the room number they’d been given to by a harried nurse earlier and he was tired of looking at that stupid pacifier. “I hope to be compensated for this.”

Koenma let out a laugh in response before walking back down the stairs and Hiei had to resist the urge to drop Kurama and chase after the brat. But as he adjusted Kurama’s weight, something hot and wet soaked through the back and side of his barely intact shirt. Blood.

Hiei took a deep breath and shouldered on, all but dumping Kurama onto the hospital bed. Before he could try to adjust him, two nurses and a doctor rushed in, pushing him to the side.

“Another casualty from the games.”

“But why did they bring a human—”

“—ah I see, Cheri, can you bring me—”

Hiei tuned them out, leaning against the wall to be out of the way, but also because his lower back had begun to throb uncomfortably but he’d be double damned if he asked for a chair. Plus, if something goes wrong…

Hiei refused to follow that train of thought and decided to focus on other things, like the human that had blown all his expectations of what humans could be. For a human, Yusuke Urameshi wasn’t that bad. Even the loud one proved to show true grit every now and then. It had been the farthest thing he expected when he and Kurama were thrown together by the pacifier sucking baby as penance for their crimes against humanity. Hiei was determined to survive, and preferably be free, so there really was no choice; even if it meant momentarily serving the greedy baby grubber. But he’d eventually get his revenge; he had the time after all.

And though he hadn’t been prepared to become Kurama’s “partner” and being dispatched on missions together, it was better than working with that human. Over time though, he’d realized that the fox demon spirit he’d always had a quiet respect for was different. It was like being human was an illness, and Hiei refused to have any parts.

A hand suddenly rested on his shoulder and he jolted, hand at his dagger handing in his belt loop. He relaxed a fraction when he realized it was the doctor.

“We’ll check on him in a few hours. Alert us when he wakes.” The demon nodded at him before rushing out the door.

The nurses were slower to follow, hooking Kurama up to different monitoring machines and jotting more things down in their notebooks. Hiei was tempted to ask questions regarding recovery time and prognosis, but held himself back. He’d be leaving behind the nurses anyway, his job done in his eyes.

“Make sure to finish cleaning his wounds, or they might fester!” Before he could ask what the hell they were talking about, the nurses were gone and he was left with an unconscious Kurama, fresh towels, and a bowl of steaming soapy water. When did they bring this?

And then they were alone. Hiei let out a sigh, feeling his own muscles scream from holding him up, but that was nothing and apparently he had a job to do. If Kurama had awoken to a stranger, regardless of their gender, he would lash out and probably kill them before succumbing to re-opening his wounds. So, Hiei resigned himself to seeing over him, at least until Kurama awoke.

“I hope you know that you owe me for this one, fox,” he ground out, messily dumping the towel into the warm soapy water. “And if you or that fucking toddler speak of this to anyone, I’ll cut your throats.”

Hiei made quick work of the hospital gown, and under the fluorescent lighting, the bruised skin and cuts scabbing over were like personal affronts, ruining what would have otherwise been a perfect picture; a chest that was wider than it appeared under the school uniform Kurama was forced to wear as a human, and even in his passed out state, Hiei could see the definition that lead to a string of strong abdominal muscles. A good place to start as any.

Hiei wrung the towel out of excess water before getting to work washing Kurama’s chest, ignoring the comfort he took in feeling it rise and fall under his scrubbing. He moved to Kurama’s arms next, noting that though strong, they were somehow slender, with large hands with long fingers and perfectly trimmed fingernails. When he scrubbed between them, he flinched at their sudden lengthening before they retracted again.

“If you wake up right now, I swear I’ll kill you,” Hiei growled, drowning the towel in the soapy water bowl before wringing it out again.

Kurama’s legs were just as toned as his upper body, something unusual in male demons, and Hiei idly wondered if this too was a side effect of his human form. He started at the feet, freezing when a low moan came from Kurama’s throat and his toes twitched. When he braved looking at his face, Hiei breathed a sigh of relief finding that he was still asleep. Is he… ticklish? Filing the information away to use at a later time, Hiei moved up to his calf.

Kurama’s skin was cool to the touch, but quickly warmed under his ministrations. Though he could feel the muscles, pressing along the definition, Hiei couldn’t help cataloguing how thin Kurama’s skin felt, and in some places where he pressed into the skin, plum-colored circles the size of his fingertips blossomed. It was another reminder of how fragile humans were, and that reminder had him finishing the job aggressively and quickly.

But even so… Hiei couldn't help but think Kurama was beautiful, liking the color the shock of red hair added to his face. “Don’t say I never did anything for you, fox.”

Satisfied with his work, Hiei threw the towel into the now lukewarm water, determined to walk away as if he hadn’t spent the past few minutes doing something for someone else.

{Drabble request are open! Send your requests to my asks🤗}

[words-writ-in-starlight]

I've always thought that LWJ didn't really spend 16 years hunting to find WWX. I'm sure he kept his eyes open and looked for any sign of demonic cultivation, sure. But I also think he spent 16 years looking for danger so that he could increase his chance of dying young. Trouble is, he's too skilled to die easy. I headcanon that Lan Xichen made LWJ take the juniors with him on night hunts because he knew his brother wouldn't put /other/ people in clear danger, & he just wanted to keep LWJ alive.

ANGST!  No dialogue, noplot, just ANGST!  This is who I havealways been!

It’s not—Xichenknows that his brother isn’t likely to die on a night hunt.  It’s not thatsimple.  In a way, he’s not even worried for him.  No matter whatelse he is or may be, Xichen’s brother is still Hanguang-jun, the bearer oflight, who stormed Wen supervisory strongholds and who stood against most ofthe cultivation world and whose skill as a warrior is very arguablyunparalleled.  The only one who could match him—

Well.  Xichen doesn’t worry about his brotherbeing beaten in battle, these days.

And he doesn’t worry about Wangji allowing himselfto be killed, either, although that’s a closer way to define it.  There islittle A-Yuan, sweet-eyed Lan Sizhui, to think about, who Wangji loves with adesperate ferocity Xichen has only seen in him once before.  Sizhui is twelve and the best son any father could hope for, in Xichen’sadmittedly biased opinion, talented and kind and earnest, easy to love andquick to love in return.  Xichen loves him almost as recklessly as heloves his brother.  He can do nothing less for the only person who seemsto bring his solemn didi joy anymore.

He is utterly confident that Wangji would neverleave his son, never, not for all the peace that might be found on the otherside of a sword.

This absolute truth,this wholehearted confidence that Wangji will always return, no matter thechallenge, no matter the risk, makes it difficult to explain why Xichenworries.

The thing is, Lan Wangji, Hanguang-jun, A-Zhan, is dimmed, in away that tears at Xichen to see it.  He is less, as if he abandoned more than just color when hestopped wearing blue.  There were days, when Xichen would visit duringWangji’s seclusion—and the elders be damned, for trying to stop him, for tryingto keep A-Yuan away, he is Sect Leader and he was not having it—when he wouldhave sworn that he might have seen straight through his brother.  Wangjihas always been quiet, he was a quiet baby, but since—since, he’s been aghost of himself.  Even after three years in seclusion and nearly a decadeto heal, Xichen still barely recognizes him.  A thick shade has settledover the light in Xichen’s brother, and he is afraid that someday, whileHanguang-jun will come back from a night hunt, that faint light will not.

Xichen is supposed to be wise, he’s supposed to beZewu-jun, he’s supposed to be the calm, enlightened Sect Leader of GusuLan, buthe doesn’t know how to help his brother.  He hasn’t found a good answer inall this time.  He knows that the wound of—that the wound won’t heal becauseWangji won’t let it heal, and he doesn’t know where to go fromhere. 

He remembers when Sizhui first began to learn toplay the guqin, and brought a piece to Xichen in childlike pride.  Hislullaby, he had called it as he plucked out a careful melody, learned by heart. Without spiritual energy directed and channeled, without the complexities of anexperienced hand, it was only music, but Xichen had listened to Inquiry toomany times not to be able to translate it.

Are you there?

Are you lost?

Are you at peace?

Are you with your sister?  Your parents?  Your people?

Are you waiting?

I miss you.

It’s not—it’s not a search, not anymore, Xichendoesn’t think.  It’s been too long to expect an answer, and Wangji hasnever been a fool.  But Wangji can do nothing else.  There’s nowherefor him to bow, there was no vigil to keep, there will never be anyone whoburns paper money or grieves with him.  So Wangji plays Inquiry, over andover again, to a spirit that doesn’t answer, and someday Sizhui will learnInquiry himself, and know that his lullaby was always a eulogy spoken insecret.

Once, Xichen tried to make his brother stop. Tried to make him leave off his long, slow grief, to shakehim out of his ghost-self and back to life and light.  He hadn’t been ableto think of anything except to take Wangji’s guqin, an attempt to force him tostop, stop, playing that damned unanswered query.  Andit had worked, in a way.  The cold, blinding flare of rage, when Wangjiswept uninvited into Xichen’s rooms and demanded flatly that his instrument bereturned, please, Sect Leader Lan—it had been good to see.  Proof that,even if the embers were banked and dull-glowing, there was still a fire to bewoken in Xichen’s brother.  But the days of bitter silence, afterward,wasn’t worth the short-lived victory.

Sizhui had sided with his father, of course, even ifhe didn’t then understand what the point of contention was.  He had given Xichen affronted looks andorbited closer to Wangji than usual for weeks.  Sizhui had always knownthat there was a wound somewhere in his adopted father, in that sharpperceptive way that’s entirely too unlike Wangji, entirely too himself to beanything but a relic of before Cloud Recesses, the time that he doesn’tremember and Wangji won’t discuss.

Xichen has his theories.  But Lan Sizhui is thepride of GusuLan Sect, the brightest light in his father’s life, and Xichen isgrateful that someone else loves his brother enough to be angry on hisbehalf.  Xichen’s theories have been buried in a shallow grave for manyyears.

And Wangji is only himself, in any way thatXichen can recognize, with Sizhui.  It’sbeen like that ever since he first brought the boy back, when A-Yuan, feverishand delirious and calling for people none of them knew, crept into hissickbed.  Wangji had been barely responsive,had allowed the physicians to tend his scourged back and had stared at the wall,not sleeping, not meditating, not speaking, just waiting.  When Xichen got word that his brother hadspoken, to call the weeping A-Yuan over and tell him, quietly, that the man hecalled for was not going to come back, he’d felt a rush of relief like hislungs trying to jump out of his mouth. But he hadn’t spoken to Xichen, not that day, nor for several more, onlyholding A-Yuan close while the boy slept.

Xichen hadn’t gotten a word out of his brother foreight days after he was whipped, and then, when he finally did, it was only toclaim A-Yuan as his son in a tone that broke Xichen’s heart.  He had forced the elders to accept the child withoutarguing or demanding details from Wangji, had simply put him in the sectrecords as Lan Yuan and stared down anyone who questioned his actions.  Xichen would have done anything Wangji askedof him, in that moment, anything to keep him talking, anything to keep A-Yuan nearhim.  Wangji had been nearly a corpsehimself, in those early days, lightless even in the presence of A-Yuan’s tinysun, but he had moved and spoken and lived when A-Yuan was near.  The effect should have grown less pronouncedas Wangji returned to himself, but instead it has only made the difference moreapparent.  

Maybe that’s what he’s worried about, when Wangjileaves on night hunts.  Some part ofXichen never got over the fear of it, of seeing his solemnly brilliant diditransformed into a shell, silent and detached, the heart of him carved out.  Some part of him is terrified still, thatbeing away from Sizhui for too long will let Wangji slip back into thatnumbness, that corpse-cold stillness, so different from his familiar reserve.

Hanguang-jun would never die on a night hunt, notthrough anything but dire misfortune.  Heis still the best of the Lan, their bearer of light.  But Xichen is secretly, desperately afraidthat, someday, one of the reports they receive of resentful spirits and demoniccultivation will be true, and he will not get his brother back.

Wangji never allows anyone else to investigate thosereports, the ones that claim in half-hysterics to be the Yiling Patriarchreborn, or trapped as a spirit, or the dramatics of the day.  He always comes back with flat unfeelingreports of frightened villagers and exaggerations and resentful spirits easilydispatched.  And when Xichen gets down tothe bone of it, the living core of his fear for his brother, Xichen is horriblysure that someday, someday, Wangji will come back from one of those nighthunts and say nothing at all and shimmer out of existence at last, a heatmirage under a cold wind.

It isn’t suitable for Zewu-jun, Sect Leader Lan, tohate someone.  Xichen thinks about itsometimes during meditation, about how foreign it feels, this hard hot chip ofloathing, and worries at it like a loose tooth, tries to pry it out of place tobe discarded.  He can’t manage it.

He hates Wei Wuxian, for what his death has doneto Xichen’s brother.  

For standing up when everyone else knelt down, eventhough it cost him everything, life and family and sanity all gone in a merehandful of months.

For what finding his resentful spirit would do tothe last light in Hanguang-jun.

So.  He just—hehas to find a way to keep Wangji from following these leads.  It isn’t healthy for Wangji, and none of themever have any sign of the man himself anyway, dead or otherwise.  Xichen has to find an excuse to send othercultivators after fantasies of the Yiling Patriarch, and that means findingsomething to keep Wangji busy.

Wangji is only himself around Sizhui—a quieter,sadder self, to be sure, but the honest adoring boy that Xichen half-raisednonetheless.  Sizhui, while a prodigy, istoo young for night hunting.

The junior disciples are promising and bright, andWangji needs a—a check, for lack of a better word.  Something that will force him to speak, tointeract, to think of safety and security rather than only results.

He will not appreciate what Xichen is going to do,but someday, Sizhui will be on night hunts too.  This is—this is practice.  Maybe then Wangji will brighten again, traveling with the son headores.  Maybe then Xichen will be ableto sleep while his brother is gone.

[fuyonggu]

Lu Ji’s “Discourse on the Fall of Wu (Part 2)”

The second part of this post.

其下篇曰：昔三方之王也，魏人據中夏，漢氏有岷、益，吳制荊、揚而掩有交、廣。曹氏雖功濟諸華，虐亦深矣，其人怨。劉翁因險以飾智，功已薄矣，其俗陋。夫吳，桓王基之以武，太祖成之以德，聰明睿達，懿度弘遠矣。其求賢如弗及，血阝人如稚子，接士盡盛德之容，親仁罄丹府之愛。拔呂蒙於戎行，試潘浚於系虜。推誠信士，不恤人之我欺；量能授器，不患權之我偪。執鞭鞠躬，以重陸公之威；悉委武衛，以濟周瑜之師。卑宮菲食，豐功臣之賞；披懷虛己，納謨士之算。故魯肅一面而自托，士燮蒙險而效命。高張公之德，而省游田之娛；賢諸葛之言，而割情欲之歡；感陸公之規，而除刑法之煩；奇劉基之議，而作三爵之誓；屏氣跼蹐，以伺子明之疾；分滋損甘，以育淩統之孤；登壇慷愾，歸魯子之功；削投怨言，信子瑜之節。是以忠臣競盡其謨，志士咸得肆力，洪規遠略，固不厭夫區區者也。故百官苟合，庶務未遑。

And in the second part he wrote:

"Formerly, the realm was split into three kingdoms. The people of Wei occupied the Central Plains, the clan of Han possessed the regions of Min and Yizhou, while Wu controlled the provinces of Jingzhou and Yangzhou and spread to grasp the lands of Jiaozhou and Guangzhou. But although the Cao family had performed outstanding achievements among the Xia (ethnic Han) people, their cruelty was just as great, stirring up the people's hatred against them. As for the old codger Liu (Liu Bei), though he controlled difficult terrain and had pretensions to cleverness, his achievements were slight things, and his state was a mean and vulgar one. It was very different with Wu, which had its foundation laid down by the martial feats of King Huan (Sun Ce) and completed by the virtues of Taizu (Sun Quan).

"How numerous were Taizu's good qualities! He was intelligent and wise, astute and perceptive; he was understanding and measured, generous and farsighted. He sought out worthy people as though worried that he would never have enough of them, and he sympathized with the people as though they were his own children; he drew people in with complete demonstrations of his abundant virtues, and he exhibited kinship and benevolence through utter displays of love and affection. From out of the rank and file of the soldiers did he pluck Lü Meng; from among the masses of the captives did he recruit Pan Jun. He was ever sincere and invariably trusting, with no reservations that we might be swindled or cheated; he was always taking the full measure of a person and employing them according to their full potential, with no suspicion that his proteges might turn against us.

"He could confer the whip of authority upon others, as displayed by the power he granted to Lord Lu (Lu Xun); he could entrust the military defense of the state to subordinates, as exhibited by the army he assigned to Zhou Yu. He lived in a humble palace and ate meager fare, so that he might richly reward the achievements of his subjects; he was modest and unassuming about himself, the better to accept the plans and strategies of his advisors. Thus did Lu Su join him after only a single meeting; thus did Shi Yue yield to his rule despite the natural defenses of his own domain.

"He respected Lord Zhang's (Zhang Zhao's) virtues and so dispensed with the frivolities of wandering and hunting; he honored Zhuge Jin's advice and so reduced indulging his personal wishes and desires; he was moved by Lord Lu's (Lu Xun's) arguments and so mitigated the burdens of the laws and punishments; he was impressed by Liu Ji's criticism and so swore 'the oath of the three cups' (to ignore his commands while drunk). Holding his breath and treading silently, he peered through the gap in the wall to observe Ziming (Lü Meng) on his sickbed; fighting back tears and denying himself delicacies, he adopted the orphans of Ling Tong; ascending the altar and overwhelmed by emotion, he recalled the achievements of Lu Zijing (Lu Su); dismissing and denying words of slander, he trusted in the good faith of Ziyu (Zhuge Jin).

"His loyal ministers all exhausted their minds for his sake, and his ambitious subjects all devoted their full strength to his cause. His aims and ambitions were distant and lofty indeed, nor was he content to restrict himself to a small domain. And for that reason, his offices of state formed quite the collection, nor had he ever any respite from his affairs.

初都建鄴，群臣請備禮秩，天子辭而弗許，曰：「天下其謂朕何！」宮室輿服，蓋慊如也。爰及中葉，天人之分既定，故百度之缺粗修，雖醲化懿綱，未齒乎上代，抑其體國經邦之具，亦足以為政矣。地方幾萬里，帶甲將百萬，其野沃，其兵練，其器利，其財豐；東負滄海，西阻險塞，長江制其區宇，峻山帶其封域，國家之利未見有弘於茲者也。借使守之以道，禦之以術，敦率遺典，勤人謹政，修定策，守常險，則可以長世永年，未有危亡之患也。

"When the capital was first established at Jianye (in 229), Taizu's ministers asked him to prepare the rites and offices at the usual glorious standards, but he declined and would not agree, saying, 'What would the realm say of me?' And his palaces and chambers, his carriages and clothing, were all kept accordingly frugal. For since the world was experiencing a new era and the division of the realm was a fact, Taizu established the imperial offices on a modest basis and rarely added to their luster. Though there was a gradual increase in finery, it never reached the excesses of past dynasties; though Taizu reduced the forms of government affairs, they were still sufficient for the administration of the state.

"Was not Wu remarkable in those days? Its territory encompassed about ten thousand li, and its army boasted a million armored soldiers. Its fields were fertile, its soldiers were disciplined, its weapons were keen, and its resources were rich. To the east it hugged the wine-dark sea, and to the west it straddled the mountains and gorges; the Yangzi girded its border, and the steep mountains guarded its fiefs and regions. Never before had the state enjoyed such great and abundant advantages.

"If only its later rulers had perpetuated such a system and kept up its practices! If only they had led the people to preserve the laws, acted cautious in their conduct and circumspect in their government, maintained and defined the policies of state, and closely guarded and observed the avenues of approach. Then Wu could have continued to exist, down the years and through the ages, without the slightest worry of destruction or collapse.

或曰：「吳、蜀脣齒之國也，夫蜀滅吳亡，理則然矣。」夫蜀，蓋籓援之與國，而非吳人之存亡也。其郊境之接，重山積險，陸無長轂之徑；川厄流迅，水有驚波之艱。雖有銳師百萬，啟行不過千夫；軸轤千里，前驅不過百艦。故劉氏之伐，陸公喻之長蛇，其勢然也。昔蜀之初亡，朝臣異謀，或欲積石以險其流，或欲機械以禦其變。天子總群議以諮之大司馬陸公，公以四瀆天地之所以節宣其氣，固無可遏之理，而機械則彼我所共，彼若棄長技以就所屈，即荊、楚而爭舟楫之用，是天贊我也，將謹守峽口以待擒耳。逮步闡之亂，憑寶城以延強寇，資重幣以誘群蠻。于時大邦之眾，雲翔電發，懸旍江介，築壘遵渚，衿帶要害，以止吳人之西，巴、漢舟師，沿江東下。陸公偏師三萬，北據東坑，深溝高壘，按甲養威。反虜宛跡待戮，而不敢北窺生路，強寇敗績宵遁，喪師太半。分命銳師五千，西禦水軍，東西同捷，獻俘萬計。信哉賢人之謀，豈欺我哉！自是烽燧罕驚，封域寡虞。陸公沒而潛謀兆，吳釁深而六師駭。夫太康之役，眾未盛乎曩日之師；廣州之亂，禍有愈乎向時之難，而邦家顛覆，宗廟為墟。嗚呼！「人之雲亡，邦國殄瘁」，不其然歟！

"There are those who argue that 'Wu and Shu needed each other like the teeth need the lips; the destruction of Shu meant that Wu's fall was only a matter of time'. Now it was certainly a benefit to Wu to have Shu as its ally and helper. Yet Shu was not so critical to Wu that only through its existence could Wu survive. The border regions of Wu were sufficient in themselves to hold out against any foe. We had our share of many mountains and cliffs, so that nowhere was there any broad avenue of advance upon land, and our rivers had narrow points and swift currents, not to mention the difficulties posed by terrifying waves. Even if the enemy had an army of a million soldiers altogether, the terrain of our land meant that the heads of their columns could never exceed a thousand men; the enemy might amass a navy of a thousand ships, but its vanguard on the water could never surpass a hundred boats. And it was for this very reason that, when the Liu clan campaigned against us (at Yiling in 222), Lord Lu (Lu Xun) compared their army to a massive snake, unable to concentrate all its power at any one point.

"When Shu first fell (in 263-264), our court ministers had various ideas of how we ought to respond. Some proposed checking the flow of the Yangzi by piling stones and boulders in it, while others advocated for setting up barriers and barricades across the river to guard against any developments. The Son of Heaven (Sun Xiu) convened an assembly to solicit the advice of the Grand Marshal, Lord Lu (Lu Kang). Lord Lu told them that, as the Yangzi was one of the Four Rivers (the Yellow River, the Huai River, the Ji River, and the Yangzi) whereby Heaven and Earth make manifest their power, any proposal to dam the river would be doomed to failure. He also argued against building any barricades, saying that they would be an obstruction to us as much as to the enemy; if our foes should ever cede their current advantage and appear weak, then we could use the Yangzi as our own avenue of invasion against them by having the navies of the Jingzhu and Chu regions row upstream. For the Yangzi was a treasure bestowed upon us by Heaven, as he said, and the best thing to do would be to carefully maintain our existing garrisons among the gorges and mouths of the river and wait for the momentum of war to shift in our favor.

"When Bu Chan rebelled against us (in 272), he offered up a valuable city to entice a powerful enemy (Jin) to invade, and he distributed heavy bribes to induce the Man tribes to rise against us. At that time, the vast forces of our enemy gathered together like clouds and advanced like lightning, pouring down upon the banks of the Yangzi; they built ramparts along the river and occupied critical places in order to halt our advance west, and they dispatched their fleet in the Ba and Han regions east down the Yangzi against us. Yet Lord Lu (Lu Kang) led a force of thirty thousand soldiers to occupy Dongkang to the north (of Bu Chan's base at Xiling), where he deepened the moats and raised the ramparts, maintained his soldiers and magnified his aura. The rebel swine (Bu Chan) simply huddled up in his city and waited for death, never daring to march north and take a chance on survival; our powerful foe suffered a great defeat and fled through the night, losing more than half their army. Lord Lu split off a detachment of five thousand keen soldiers and sent them west to block the arrival of the enemy's fleet. He triumped everywhere, east and west, and he took captives and prisoners by the tens of thousands. Such was the genius of this man's planning; would he ever have steered us wrong? And in the years following, there were rarely any disturbances which might have required the signal fires and hardly any concerns within the state.

"It was after Lord Lu left us (in 274) that our fortunes and our planning ebbed. Wu became engulfed by deep divisions, and our armies were gripped by defeatism and despair. In the invasion of the Taikang era (by Jin in 280), the enemy's forces were no greater than in former times, nor were the disturbances we experienced in Guangzhou (during the rebellion of 279) any worse than difficulies Wu had faced before. Yet the state toppled and collapsed, and the ancestral temple was left in ruins. Alas! 'Once good men have all departed, the state never lasts for long.' Was it not so?

《易》曰「湯、武革命順乎天」，或曰「亂不極則治不形」，言帝王之因天時也。古人有言曰「天時不如地利」，《易》曰「王侯設險以守其國」，言為國之恃險也。又曰「地利不如人和」，「在德不在險」，言守險之在人也。吳之興也，參而由焉，孫卿所謂合其參者也。及其亡也，恃險而已，又孫卿所謂舍其參者也。夫四州之萌非無眾也，大江以南非乏俊也，山川之險易守也，勁利之器易用也，先政之策易修也，功不興而禍遘何哉？所以用之者失也。故先王達經國之長規，審存亡之至數，謙己以安百姓，敦惠以致人和，寬沖以誘俊乂之謀，慈和以結士庶之愛。是以其安也，則黎元與之同慶，及其危也，則兆庶與之同患。安與眾同慶，則其危不可得也；危與下同患，則其難不足血阝也。夫然，故能保其社稷而固其土宇，《麥秀》無悲殷之思，《黍離》無湣周之感也。

"It may be true that the Book of Changes states, 'It was in accordance with the will of Heaven that Tang of Shang and King Wu of Zhou accepted the Mandate.' And someone did once say, 'An age of order will not take shape until the age of turmoil has reached its zenith.' Such things are indications of the importance which the sovereigns of old placed upon the circumstances of the age. Yet it is also true that the ancients tell us that 'Circumstance is not so important as favorable terrain', and when the Book of Changes speaks of 'the kings and nobles employing their natural defenses to safeguard the state', this too is an emphasis on such natural terrain. But greater still than either of these is common purpose among the people, for as the ancients assure us, 'Favorable terrain means less than a united will'. We are instructed to place our faith 'in virtue, not in terrain' because it is through the people that our defenses can be held at all. When Wu rose, it was because it observed all three of these aspects, and acted fully in accordance with the principles illustrated by Minister Sun (Xunzi); when Wu fell, it was because it focused on natural defenses to the exclusion of all else, violating the system that Minister Sun had laid out.

"The four provinces of Wu (Yangzhou, Jingzhou, Guangzhou, and Jiaozhou) had no shortage of manpower; the lands south of the Yangzi did not lack for talents. The natural terrain of our mountains and rivers were well-suited for defense, and our military equipment was neither dull nor difficult to use. We could easily have maintained the same practices which had worked for our ancestors. Why then did we fail? Why did we suffer calamity? It was because, though we had the means, we failed to use them.

"It was for such reasons that the kings of old were always sure to fortify their states by cultivating good traditions, and they studied the rises and falls of states across time. They were modest about themselves in order to reassure the people, and they were kind to the population in order to achieve harmony; they were open of hand in order to attract the advice of talented and righteous people, and they were kind of heart in order to bind the people to them with love. When this situation prevailed, then in times of peace the people shared in their joy, and in times of danger the populace shared in their sorrow. When joy is shared by all during peace, then even danger can pose no threat; when sorrows are held in common, then even chaos will never descend into bloodshed.

"If only this had been the case in our final years. Then we could have preserved our altars of state and protected our territory, and none among us would have experienced the agony of the Barley Ears poem or felt the despair of the Drooping Millet poem."

[newstfionline]

Headlines

Trump’s Orders on Coronavirus Relief Create Confusion (NYT) President Trump’s attempt to circumvent Congress to provide coronavirus relief in the absence of a broad agreement resulted in confusion and uncertainty on Sunday for tens of millions of unemployed Americans and countless businesses seeking aid after critical benefits lapsed. As negotiations with congressional Democrats remained at an impasse, administration officials were on the defensive a day after the president’s legally questionable executive actions, at times contradicting one another as they sought to explain how the measures would work and how quickly Americans could see any form of relief. In a series of television appearances on Sunday, they insisted that Americans would receive the aid promised by Mr. Trump, including a $400 weekly supplement to unemployment checks. But that funding will be contingent on agreement from state officials, who are already struggling amid budget shortfalls caused by the economic crisis, and the siphoning of aid from a federal fund for disaster relief in the middle of what is expected to be an active hurricane season. Because Congress has the constitutional authority to allocate federal spending, Mr. Trump—who has frequently turned to unilateral action, as opposed to wrangling through tough negotiations—is likely to need congressional agreement, and legislation, to deliver additional financial relief to American families and businesses.

US divisions (Thomas Friedman, NYT) The United States is becoming like Lebanon and other Middle East countries in two respects. First, our political differences are becoming so deep that our two parties now resemble religious sects in a zero-sum contest for power. They call theirs “Shiites and Sunnis and Maronites” or “Israelis and Palestinians.” We call ours “Democrats and Republicans,” but ours now behave just like rival tribes who believe they must rule or die. And second, as in the Middle East, so increasingly in America: Everything is now politics—even the climate, even energy, even face masks in a pandemic.​

Looters descend on downtown Chicago; more than 100 arrested (AP) Hundreds of looters descended on downtown Chicago early Monday following a police shooting on the city’s South Side, with vandals smashing the windows of dozens of businesses and making off with merchandise, cash machines and anything else they could carry, police said. When police shot a man after he opened fire on officers Sunday afternoon, the incident apparently prompted a social media post hours later urging looters to converge on the business district, Police Superintendent David Brown told a news conference. Some 400 additional officers were dispatched to the area after the department spotted the post. Over the next several hours, police made more than 100 arrests and 13 officers were injured, including one who was struck in the head with a bottle. Brown dismissed any suggestion that the chaos was part of an organized protest of the shooting, instead calling it “pure criminality” that included occupants of a vehicle opening fire on police who were arresting a man they spotted carrying a cash register.

Trump weighs blocking U.S. citizens coming home if coronavirus infection feared (Reuters) The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump is considering a measure to block U.S. citizens and permanent residents from returning home if they are suspected of being infected with the new coronavirus, a senior U.S. official confirmed to Reuters. The official said a draft regulation, which has not been finalized and could change, would give the government authorization to block individuals who could “reasonably” be believed to have contracted COVID-19 or other diseases. Trump has instituted a series of sweeping immigration restrictions since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, suspending some legal immigration and allowing U.S. border authorities to rapidly deport migrants caught at the border without standard legal processes. Reuters reported in May that U.S. government officials were concerned that dual U.S.-Mexico citizens might flee to the United States if the coronavirus outbreak in Mexico worsened, putting more stress on U.S. hospitals.

‘I’d Rather Stay Home and Die’ (NYT) Mexico is battling one of the worst coronavirus outbreaks in the world, with more than 52,000 confirmed deaths, the third-highest toll of the pandemic. And its struggle has been made even harder by a pervasive phenomenon: a deeply rooted fear of hospitals. As the pandemic crushes an already weak health care system, with bodies piling up in  refrigerated trucks, many Mexicans see the Covid ward as a place where only death awaits—to be avoided at all cost. The consequences, doctors, nurses and health ministers say, are severe. Mexicans are waiting to seek medical care until their cases are so bad that doctors can do little to help them. Thousands are dying before ever seeing the inside of a hospital, government data show, succumbing to the virus in taxis on the way there or in sickbeds at home. Many Mexicans say they have good reason to be wary of hospitals: Nearly 40 percent of people hospitalized with confirmed cases of the virus in Mexico City, the epicenter of the nation’s outbreak, end up dying, government data show, a high mortality rate even when compared with some of the worst coronavirus hot spots worldwide. During the peak of the pandemic in New York City, less than 25 percent of coronavirus patients died in hospitals, studies have estimated. While the statistic may be imprecise because of limited testing, doctors and researchers confirmed that a startling number of people are dying in Mexico’s hospitals.

Innovative Mexican tunnelers (Foreign Policy) An underground tunnel stretching from Mexico to Arizona discovered last week is believed to be the most sophisticated of its kind in U.S. history. Complete with a ventilation system, water lines, electrical wiring, and a rail system, the tunnel impressed U.S. authorities in part because it ran beneath ground considered highly unconducive to tunnel-building.

Pandemic wrecks global Class of 2020’s hopes for first job (AP) British fashion school graduate Phoebe St. Leger’s dream of landing a job at a design label is on hold. Like many others in the global Class of 2020, the pandemic is clouding her career ambitions. She has applied for about 40 jobs and received only rejections. “All the jobs have all dried up—everywhere,” she said. She knows graduates from previous years who have been fired or furloughed and is prepared to get a job at a bar. “It’s still hard to be hopeful when you’re not seeing anyone doing well at the moment.” Around the world, young people armed with new degrees, diplomas and professional qualifications are struggling to enter the workforce as the pandemic pushes the global economy into recession. COVID-19 has thwarted hopes of landing first jobs—important for jumpstarting careers—as employers cut back graduate recruiting plans or even revoke job offers. U.S. careers website Glassdoor says the number of jobs advertised as “entry level” or “new grad” was down 68% in May from a year ago. In Britain, companies plan to cut student recruitment by 23% this year, according to a survey of 179 businesses by the Institute of Student Employers.

Heatwave fans fire risk for French farmers (Reuters) On a farm in France, firefighters beat down the flames that had turned a field of wheat black, but they were too late to save the combine harvester. Caught in the blaze, it belched out flames and thick smoke while the farmer looked on helpless. Crop and forest fires are a ritual of summer in France, but a warming climate has meant the risk has increased and the danger zone has expanded from southern France to the north, scientists say. The blaze in July that destroyed the combine harvester was in a district near the border with Belgium where, farmers say, worrying about wildfires is something new. Scientists say this July was the driest in about 60 years in France. “If the drought persists and if there is a lot of wind, the situation could quickly get worse,” said Eric Martin of France’s National Institute of Agriculture Research.

Belarus Says Longtime Leader Is Re-elected in Vote Critics Call Rigged (NYT) He bungled the coronavirus pandemic, alienated his longstanding foreign ally and last week faced the biggest anti-government protests in decades, but on Sunday, President Aleksandr G. Lukashenko of Belarus was on course to win his sixth term in office, in an election his critics dismissed as rigged. According to a government-sponsored exit poll released after voting ended, Mr. Lukashenko won just under 80 percent of the vote against four rivals, avoiding a runoff vote. A heavy cloak of security descended over the capital, Minsk, where internet service was cut off, phones worked only sporadically and soldiers and riot police cordoned off the central square and the main public buildings. Long before the results were announced, the opposition, predicting that the count would be illegitimate, had called for protests on Sunday night. The result of the vote, as in previous elections, was never in any real doubt: Mr. Lukashenko controls vote counting, a vast security apparatus and a noisy state media machine unwavering in its support for him and contempt for his rivals.

Hong Kong tycoon Jimmy Lai arrested under security law, bearing out ‘worst fears’ (Reuters) Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai became the highest-profile person arrested under a new national security law on Monday, detained over suspected collusion with foreign forces as around 200 police searched the offices of his Apple Daily newspaper. Mainland-born Lai, who was smuggled into Hong Kong on a fishing boat when he was a penniless 12-year-old, has been one of the most prominent democracy activists in the Chinese-ruled city and an ardent critic of Beijing. His arrest comes amid Beijing’s crackdown against pro-democracy opposition in the city and further stokes concerns about media and other freedoms promised to the former British colony when it returned to China in 1997. China imposed the sweeping new security law on Hong Kong on June 30, drawing condemnation from Western countries. The arrest “bears out the worst fears that Hong Kong’s National Security Law would be used to suppress critical pro-democracy opinion and restrict press freedom”, said Steven Butler, the Committee to Protect Journalists’ Asia programme coordinator.

Beirut protests (Foreign Policy) Political and social unrest has gripped Lebanon since last week’s deadly explosions in Beirut. Thousands of protesters took to the streets on Sunday, attacking a parliamentary precinct in the city with rubble from the blast and demanding the resignation of the government. The demonstrations turned increasingly violent as protesters attempted to gain entry into the legislature, causing security personnel to respond with force. The government has been widely blamed for the accident after it was revealed that ammonium nitrate—a highly explosive chemical which helped intensify the blast—had been stored in the city with official knowledge, despite warnings from inspectors about the danger it posed.

World donors demand change before money to rebuild Beirut (AP) World leaders and international organizations pledged nearly $300 million in emergency humanitarian aid to Beirut in the wake of the devastating explosion, but warned on Sunday that no money for rebuilding the capital will be made available until Lebanese authorities commit themselves to the political and economic reforms demanded by the people.

Lebanon’s government resigns (AP) Lebanon’s prime minister says he is stepping down from his job in the wake of the Beirut port explosion last week that triggered public fury and mass protests. In a brief televised speech, Prime Minister Hassan Diab said on Monday that he is taking “a step back” so he can stand with the people “and fight the battle for change alongside them.” He said: “I declare today the resignation of this government. May God protect Lebanon,” repeating the last phrase three times. A brief while earlier, Diab’s Cabinet resigned. The developments follow a weekend of anti-government protests in the wake of the Aug. 4 explosion in Beirut’s port that caused widespread destruction, killed at least 160 people and injured about 6,000 others.

Extreme poverty rises (AP) With the virus and its restrictions, up to 100 million more people globally could fall into the bitter existence of living on just $1.90 a day, according to the World Bank. That’s “well below any reasonable conception of a life with dignity,” the United Nations special rapporteur on extreme poverty wrote this year. And it comes on top of the 736 million people already there, half of them in just five countries: Ethiopia, India, Nigeria, Congo and Bangladesh. India is struggling with one of the world’s largest virus caseloads and the effects of a lockdown so abrupt and punishing that Prime Minister Narendra Modi asked the poor to forgive him. Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation, has surpassed India with the most people in extreme poverty—roughly half its citizens. And Congo remains one of the world’s most crisis-ridden countries, with outbreaks of Ebola and measles smoldering. Even China, Indonesia and South Africa are expected to have more than 1 million people each fall into extreme poverty, the World Bank says. “It’s a huge, huge setback for the entire world,” Gayle Smith, president of the ONE Campaign to end extreme poverty, told The Associated Press. Smith, a former administrator for the U.S. Agency for International Development, called the global response to the crisis “stunningly meager.”

[nimblermortal]

The Saint who Sold His Soul to the Devil

Feel like I ought to ask @hello-delicious-tea‘s permission before posting, since this was a joint effort, but it also feels like an Eastery sort of story.

Excerpt: “Initially he proceeded as expected, granting himself large sums in foreign banks and a magnificent estate. But then he turned the magnificent estate into an orphanage, invested heavily in philanthropic concerns to end world hunger, and started purifying water like a blessed unicorn.”

One day the devil came to a holy man, and he was pleased, for the holy man said, “I have spent many years on this earth trying to accomplish great works, and never succeeding; I have learned all there is to learn, of science and metaphysics, and nothing has enabled me to achieve the ends I set myself. In all this time I have never had one thing for myself or one measure of satisfaction, and I am tired, so I will sell my soul to you for the power to do what I wish, how I wish, when I wish for a year and a day.”

This was the sort of thing the devil liked to hear from holy men, and he said a contract would be drawn up and a meeting arranged, and he went back to Hell well satisfied. The holy man expected this to take some time, at least a week, but Hell is bureaucracy, and Hell had templates. They were back within the hour.

“Initial here, here, and here, and then sign this,” said the devil’s advocate. “Unlimited power for a year and a day, standard issue.”

The holy man said, “Whatever I wish, however I wish it, whenever I wish?”

The advocate wrote it into the margin.

“Are marginalia legal and binding?” asked the holy man.

“As binding as the gates of Hell,” said the devil’s advocate; and vanished back to Hell, where the contract was stamped, sealed, and forgotten about until the quarterly review.

“And item number three on the agenda, unlimited power to one holy man,” said the devil’s secretary.

“Previously holy,” the devil corrected. The stenographer took note. “How is he doing?”

One of the devil’s minions cleared his throat and shuffled his papers. The devil glared at him until the shuffling subsided. “Initially he proceeded as expected, granting himself large sums in foreign banks and a magnificent estate. But then he turned the magnificent estate into an orphanage, invested heavily in philanthropic concerns to end world hunger, and started purifying water like a blessed unicorn.”

“Ah,” said one of the other officials. “That’s item number seven, climate change. We had to dispatch three devils to dump nuclear waste into the Hoover Dam Reservoir to make up for it.”

“It didn’t work,” sighed another. “That ‘previously’ holy man wished all the nuclear waste into a secure holding facility and breathed life back into the Great Barrier Reef.”

“That’s item seven,” the secretary said severely.

“The ozone hole is looking sufficiently whole,” said another demon, “but we haven’t had the resources to send someone that high ye -“

“Item fifteen,” the secretary interjected. “We are on item three.”

The devil sighed. “Oh, just send two of our tempters up. He’ll be wallowing in sin and decadence again in no time.”

“Dispatch the best tempters,” the official in charge of water pollution whispered. The secretary glared, but made a note.

“Motion to table this issue until the midyear review,” the devil proposed.

“Seconded,” said the secretary sharply. There were nods down the table.

“Let’s move on to item four,” said the devil. “Counterintelligence.”

“At least that’s got nothing to do with him,” muttered the water pollution official, who was about to be kicked out of the meeting.

-------

“Sir,” said the secretary, “Sire, my Lord of Hell, the temptation tiger team is here to see you.”

“Ah yes, the progress report,” the devil said. It was 3:15 PM on a Wednesday. The devil had benevolently allotted them an entire fifteen minutes of his work day, which ought to be suprasufficient for a report on their temptation of a thoroughly previously holy man.

“They aren’t… quite up to the standards you are accustomed to,” the secretary murmured.

The devil frowned. “Why the devil not?” he demanded.

“They do field work,” the secretary said. The devil brightened.

“Ah! Smeared with the effluvia of their toil,” the devil said, understanding dawning.

“Quite,” the secretary said, and withdrew.

It was clear what the secretary meant the moment the two agents entered the room. The secretary’s wings were a very appropriate black, reminiscent of ravens, crows, and other beasts of carrion. The tiger teams’ had taken on a distinct ashy hue, which, while not inappropriate to their work, was not in keeping with Hell’s regulations either.

They probably had not yet been to see the wingblackers. It was tacitly understood that, while not every agent of Hell’s wings were a naturally lustrous ebony, ranging from iridescent midnight to the rather tattered matte black of lower officials, all agents of Hell were expected to maintain the appearance of deepest night.

“My Lord of Flames,” said one of the agents nervously, which was the way the devil expected his subordinates to feel in his presence. “We are here to tender our resignation.”

The other agent quietly set his horns on the devil’s desk.

“Nonsense,” said the devil. “Just because you haven’t damned the bugger yet doesn’t mean you won’t. Chin up! We can certainly allow you another three months to get the job done.”

“It isn’t that,” said the designated speaker. “It’s just… we’ve had an alternate offer, and we’re looking for opportunities outside the traditional career hierarchy, with more scope for expanding our creative direction.”

“Your creative direction is what I tell you it is,” the devil said.

“Well, you see sir, that’s the problem,” began the speaker.

“We’ve been offered redemption and I’m going for it,” said the other. The devil stared.

“That’s not possible,” he said. “It says so in the Holy Books. Fallen angels, once fallen -“

“- may never return,” finished the first tempter. “But you did offer him unlimited power, to use “however he chose, whenever he chose, for whatever he chose,” to quote the contract.”

“He showed it to us,” added the second.

“It’s signed,” said the first.

“In triplicate,” said the second.

“They initialed the marginalia. In blood. And it has your personal seal.”

The devil snapped his fingers to summon a replica of the contract, and stared. It did indeed bear his seal.

“If that’s all, we’ll be going now,” said the second. “Our bodyguard positions begin in… oh, about five minutes.”

They left, closing the door behind them. And at 3:26 on a Wednesday, the devil watched the former temptation tiger team depart, wondering what on Earth he was going to tell his subordinates at tomorrow’s midyear review.

-------

At the third quarterly review, the table of officiation was down three members. That was due to item one on the agenda.

“This blasted holy man,” the devil announced as soon as everyone was present. “We have to do something. He’s hiring my people right out from under me. We’ve lost the Ministers of Water, Hunger, and Health in the last three weeks alone!”

“We are the deepest circle of Hell,” the secretary muttered. “There is no more ‘under.’”

“We have to rally the faithful,” said the Minister of War. The devil looked at him with disfavor. He always had to couch things in the most ridiculously religious terms. “Contract or no contract, the man must be stopped. This is my department now.”

“Soul intake for the year is down seventy percent,” the secretary chimed in. “Turns out people do a lot less sinning when they’re not desperate.”

“We’ve known that since five thousand BC,” the devil said. “What of it?”

“I am merely seconding the Minister’s motion,” the secretary said. “This man must be stopped.”

“Stopped like a heart,” said the Minister of War with satisfaction.

“Make it so,” said the devil.

-------

A year and a day after the signing of an almost standard Ultimate Power contract, S— T— died in his sickbed. Doctors agreed that they had never seen a man contract so many sicknesses all at once.

-------

The heavenly auditor who showed up on the devil’s doorstep looked apologetic and very familiar.

“Beelzebub?” the devil asked incredulously.

“Ah, yes, sir. As it were, sir. It’s Beelziel now, sir.”

“And?” asked the devil, casting himself back upon his unholy throne.

“I’m afraid we’ve run it through all of the tests, sir,” said the auditor. “We’ve checked the Book of Names. Twice. The judgment of St. Peter, the Three Kings… We even ran it by the Feather of Truth, and no matter how we run it, sir, the soul is still holy. Clean as the newfallen snow. And I do mean new snow. Snow after we got rid of all that pollution and ash in the atmosphere.”

The devil stared. “He signed the contract!”

“In good faith!” agreed Beelziel. “If he hadn’t, it wouldn’t have worked. But he truly believed his soul was damned. And as such, every act using Hell’s granted unlimited power became a holy miracle.”

“And?” the devil demanded.

“And so he sacrificed himself for the greater good,” said Beelziel. “Willingly. Holding nothing back. Sound familiar?”

“You can’t be serious,” said the devil. “But even so, the contract states -“

“But contracts are not valid when they violate the law of the land,” said Beelziel. “In this case, the laws set down for souls when Adam and Eve first ate of the Tree of Eden. Besides, you tried to have him assassinated. That tends to weaken the foundation of a contract. You didn’t succeed, which would have voided the contract, but it certainly doesn’t look good in the Appeals Courts. That worked in his favor.”

And so the devil relinquished his claim upon the soul of the holy man, for the bargain was poorly made. And since that time he has made no bargains with holy men, for fear the world would be made right and all his works destroyed.

[maximumphilosopheranchor]

The Lily Cole series has Elizabeth being terrified into signing Mary's death warrant with the lie that the Spanish are at the Welsh border, but even then she insists it not be used until they invade, so it's stolen without her knowledge. Did this happen? Funny how it's 'forgotten' by historians if true.

Well, something along these lines but not quite. It’s more complicated.

This is how Elizabeth explained her actions to JamesVI of Scotland via her special envoy Robert Carey:

“First, then, she commanded me to assure your Majesty that shenever had thought to put the Queen your mother to death; no, notalthough the daily persuasions of her council wearied her earscontinually with these unpleasant speeches, the nobility, knights andgentlemen, with prayers, supplications, and incessant suite urgingher thereunto. And the hourly outcries which her poor people andcommynalty made were such, that she was wearied with all and greavedat the heart, to see all there determinations.

Besides this, she commanded me to declare unto your Majesty thatshe had these new occasions to move her mind to their minds,bot yit they had no force to alter her determination which was stillto preserve the Queen your mother’s life. First then, of lateshe had news every day both out of Spain and France, of ships and menpreparing for the overthrow of her Majesty and the delivery of yourmother.

Secondly, by some seditious and discontented persons were givenout in divers parts of her Realm and in her own court, reports ofmen landing in sundry parts thereof. And of such force were thereintelligences as that it moved her people to disquiet in such sort,that some ado there was to appease them.

Lastly, a six days after these rumors there was new reportsgiven out, how that Fothringham was broken open and the Queen escapedaway. These reports were of force, to bread jelosie in herMajesty’s head and to suspect the worse. Whereupon, because that inane extremity she would not be unprovided of a remedy, she commandeda warrant to be made, which warrant was to give leave to her councilto do with the Queen your mother what they thought best. Thewarrant being made, seald and signed, she delivered it to herSecretary, Mr. Davison to keep, minding that of there should anyrescue come for the delivering of her, or any other escape made forher here in England, to the imminent danger of the Queen my Mistresslife, that then this warrant to be delivered to her council to givethem free liberty to use there discretion, rather than she shouldescape out of prison. Her Secretary having it in his possession(with charge to keep it secret till she commanded the contrary)(otherwise then her mind or determination) showed this warrant to twoor three of her council, which when they see, without more questionsasking, called the whole council together, straight determined herdeath, and sent present expedition for the performing of it, whichwas done (she protests to God) before she knew of it. Her secretary is new in the Tower and will hardly escape her high displeasure.”

Written statement of Robert Carey’s credit

It’s not forgotten by historians; it’s just that genuineness ofElizabeth’s words has been questioned. But there are other sources too that pointthat Elizabeth was spurred into signing the death warrant by falsenews, and it seems that the French ambassador Guillaume ded’Aubespeine was involved too to add more credence to informationconveyed to Elizabeth.

However, there’s more to the story. There are differences between Elizabeth’s version and that of her secretary William Davison. Davison didn’t say that Elizabeth had specified that the warrant should have beeen used only in the event of Mary’s escape or a foreign invasion. He claimed that Elizabeth didn’t command him to retain the warrant after it was signed and sealed, and that after signing it instead of theexecution she suggested to quietly murder Mary, which if true leads me to thinkthat Elizabeth, however averse to the idea, at this point recognized thatMary has to go but was concerned about the damage Mary’s executionwill do to her reputation abroad and the precedent of executing amonarch (although Mary had abdicated) would set.

You can check:

Discourse by Mr. William Davison

Relation by Mr. William Davison

According to Simon Adams:

“Davison’s attendance on Elizabeth in these months [sinceOctober 1586] (he was present at almost every recorded privy councilmeeting) is the key to his prominence in Mary’s last days. Most ofwhat is known of the events surrounding the dispatch of the warrantfor Mary’s execution comes from the three accounts he draftedlater. Two of them, a discourse and a relation of the events of 1 to14 February 1587, he prepared for Walsingham in the Tower on 20February. They agree on most of the circumstances, but the relationomits some important issues (CSP Scot., 1586-8, arts. 284-5). The third is an undated paper defending his innocence that appears to have been drafted after his trial on 28 March 1587 (ibid., art. 360). The last paper reflects the resentment Davison shared with Robert Beale at being singled out as the instruments of Mary’s death and the possible targets of James’s revenge when he succeeded Elizabeth. He emphasized that he played no role in either her trial or the parliamentary proceedings. He was responsible only for the custody of the warrant for her execution after Burghley drafted it about 10 December 1586, so that it would be on hand when Elizabeth wanted it. He had no particular interest in Mary’s death. In this context he made some interesting claims: he had refused to sign the bond of association despite pressure from Elizabeth (presumably just before he left for the Netherlands in 1584), he had gone to Bath deliberately to avoid involvement in the investigation of the Babington plotters, and he had been instrumental in preventing the sentence being pronounced at Fotheringhay. With regard to the last, he was not entirely honest. When he forwarded to Walsingham the queen’s instruction to delay pronouncing sentence until the commissioners had returned to London on 14 October 1586, he had expressed the hope that his letter would arrive too late.

Davison’s narrative of the events between 1 and 14 February is straightforward and very detailed. He had retained the warrant for six weeks because he would not present it to Elizabeth until ‘she sent a greater councillor to him for the same’. This took place at Greenwich on 1 February when the lord admiral, Charles Howard, second Baron Howard of Effingham, told him Elizabeth was ready to sign. Elizabeth signed the warrant having specifically asked for it; it was then to go to the lord chancellor, Sir Thomas Bromley, to pass the great seal. Davison attended to this later that day, telling Burghley (who had Leicester with him at the time) and Walsingham (who was at home) on the way. On the 2nd Elizabeth told him to delay the sealing of the warrant, but he replied that it had already passed. This was a key, for according to Davison she said nothing further. He then went to see Sir Christopher Hatton to tell him it was signed, that he feared Elizabeth would behave as she had done over the execution of Thomas Howard, fourth duke of Norfolk, and that he was unwilling to proceed on his own. Together they saw Burghley, who then decided to summon the privy council for the following day. On the 3rd the privy council met and Burghley proposed that they take the burden from Elizabeth by sending the warrant under their authority, and to appoint Beale to carry it. Nine privy councillors (presumably all those present), including Davison, signed the letter accompanying the warrant, together with Walsingham, to whom it was sent for signature in his sickbed. From then until news of the execution arrived from Fotheringhay on the 9th Davison saw Elizabeth on several occasions about other business, but did not mention the dispatch of the warrant, on the assumption (so he claimed in the discourse) that she knew about it from more senior privy councillors.

The relation differs from the discourse in two key areas. First, it greatly abbreviates Elizabeth’s discussions with Davison over the assassination rather than execution of Mary. Second, it omits a long denial by Davison that the queen had ever told him on the 2nd to retain the sealed warrant in confidence until she ordered him otherwise and not to inform the rest of the privy council. The latter was to be another crucial point. Burghley told Elizabeth about the execution in the evening of the 9th, and after brooding on it overnight she announced to Hatton the next morning in ‘some heat and passion’ that Davison had abused her trust by allowing the sealed warrant to leave his possession (CSP Scot., 1586-8, 293). Davison himself was told at a privy council meeting later that morning and advised to make himself scarce for a day or two. He was not in good health anyway and returned home. There he learned on the 11th that Elizabeth had decided to send him to the Tower. Owing to his illness this was put off until the evening of 14 February.”

Adams, Simon. “Davison, William (d. 1608), diplomat and administrator.” Oxford Dictionary of National Biography.

[prudencepaccard]

also like I’m not sure what I find more affecting, the content of the Seneca quote or the fact he quoted him in Latin. Was it from memory or did he have access to a copy of De Beneficiis???? I wouldn’t be surprised by the latter, actually, convicts had ample time to read when in the hospital and this letter is indeed a dispatch from Passio’s sickbed

[kittykatknits]

So I read a "post" saying Sansa running WF successfully is ooc. I disagree. Sansa's the defacto lady of the Vale and she's doing a good job. Besides innately being smart she's also getting training for being a lady,administrator, diplomat and in politics. She has natural acumen for organization,logistics,hardwork,knows how to run a household well She's learning to gauge others' motivation&how to maneuver them successfully. Also she'll have advisors to help her. I see her as a very successful 1/2

ruler/Lady of WF or when ruling the North/looking after its daily workings/governing/managing it; I dont think it’s ooc for Sansa to be a capable ruler/administrator/and dispatch the duties that come w/ being Lady of WF/looking after the North at all. That’s where her book arc&training montage is leading her. What do you think? 2/2

In short, I largely agree with you. 

I’m loathe to think of fandom as a single identity but there has been a general trend with Sansa as a character over the years (at least based upon my unique experiences). Long ago, when only two books were available in the series, Sansa Stark was largely defined by two things: (1) the events on the Trident and subsequent deaths of Lady/Mycah and (2) the betrayal/execution of her father. Then, the third book was released in 2000 and fandom decided Sansa should also be defined by her feelings, or lack thereof, towards Tyrion Lannister. Oy, I am forever sick of those debates. Opinions changed, somewhat, after aFfC was released in 2005. Twelve years later and we are still waiting to see how fandom reacts to her in the next book. 

It’s funny in a way. Seventeen years and, for the most part, the discussion around Sansa is almost exactly the same, “Starkness”, killed her wolf, cruel to her sister, cruel to Jon, snob, got her father killed, not truly north like, and so on. Well, no, it’s not funny, it’s frustrating because it seems like there is a growing trend of throwing power hungry into the mix although I think that’s fed largely by the show than by the book’s version of the character 

For the most part, Sansa has never been a popular character, ever. The trend I’ve seen is not so much that she’s received less negativity over time, because she hasn’t, but that her actual fan base has grown. There was an explosion of Sansa fans after the first season of Game of Thrones aired and then again after the second. 

So, anyways, to get to the point, the fact that you saw a post like that, isn’t particularly new or surprising. It’s shallow and inaccurate, but not a surprise. To be honest, I actually blame Martin for some of it. For the most part, he’s done a great job at world building and is fairly consistent when it comes to enforcing the rules. Cat mentions her Ladies once and…that’s it. Cersei is the queen and has no women at court. Martin doesn’t really show us the lives of women in ordinary circumstances, he’s pretty bad at it. We get Marg and her cousins in the third book some and Cersei finally gains a friend (who is also a spy…) in the fourth. There is a lot of work telling us how men are educated, think of the memories of both Jaime and Jon. We even see it with Bran as he functions as the Stark in WF. Heck, the first chapter is showing Ned raising his sons. But, the women, it doesn’t happen to nearly the same degree. Readers need to work at it so much more than they do with the male characters. 

To me, I compare Sansa’s interactions with Measter Colemon in the Vale to those of Bran with Luwin. Colemon speaks with and takes guidance from Sansa in the same way Maester Luwin did with Ned/Cat, but much less so with Bran. 

And let’s look at this:

Maddy and Gretchel were waiting outside with Maester Colemon. The maester had washed the night soil from his hair and changed his robe. Robert’s squires had turned up as well. Terrance and Gyles could always sniff out trouble.“Lord Robert is feeling stronger,” Alayne told the serving women. “Fetch hot water for his bath, but see you don’t scald him. And do not pull on his hair when you brush out the tangles, he hates that.” One of the squires sniggered, until she said, “Terrance, lay out his lordship’s riding clothes and his warmest cloak. Gyles, you may clean up that broken chamber pot.”

- Alayne II, aFfC

The household is taking orders from Sansa here too. And when her authority is questioned:

Gyles Grafton made a face. “I’m no scrubwoman.“Do as Lady Alayne commands, or Lothor Brune will hear of it,” said Maester Colemon. He followed her along the hallway and down the twisting stairs. “I am grateful for your intercession, my lady. You have a way with him.” He hesitated. “Did you observe any shaking while you were with him?”

- Alayne II, aFfC

This chapter shows Sansa shutting down the Eyrie and preparing for the entire household to take up residence in the gates of the moon. It’s exactly what would be expected of the Lady of the Vale. 

And if there is any further doubt, the first Alayne chapter is one long bit of political theater:

“She did indeed. She saw to the mulling of the wine first, found a suitable wheel of sharp white cheese, and commanded the cook to bake bread enough for twenty, in case the Lords Declarant brought more men than expected. Once they eat our bread and salt they are our guests and cannot harm us. The Freys had broken all the laws of hospitality when they’d murdered her lady mother and her brother at the Twins, but she could not believe that a lord as noble as Yohn Royce would ever stoop to do the same.The solar next. Its floor was covered by a Myrish carpet, so there was no need to lay down rushes. Alayne asked two serving men to erect the trestle table and bring up eight of the heavy oak-and-leather chairs. For a feast she would have placed one at the head of the table, one at the foot, and three along each side, but this was no feast. She had the men arrange six chairs on one side of the table, two on the other. By now the Lords Declarant might have climbed as far as Snow. It took most of a day to make the climb, even on muleback. Afoot, most men took several days.It might be that the lords would talk late into the night. They would need fresh candles. After Maddy laid the fire, she sent her down to find the scented beeswax candles Lord Waxley had given Lady Lysa when he sought to win her hand. Then she visited the kitchens once again, to make certain of the wine and bread. All seemed well in hand, and there was still time enough for her to bathe and wash her hair and change.”

- Alayne I, aFfC

This isn’t GRRM being overly verbose here or falling in love with his food descriptions. It’s Sansa setting up a stage, thinking through everything from guest right to the type of table and chairs and their placement. Remember, these are not random guests, these are six individuals that are contesting LF’s hold on SR and the Vale. Everything matters. 

It’s no different than the Lannisters in the throne room after the Battle of the BW. That’s one long bit of political theatre too, with the rehearsed scene between Joffrey and Loras or Tywin riding in atop his horse. It’s presentation and Sansa is doing a really good job here of setting everything up to their advantage. 

After this, Sansa dresses herself: 

“There was a gown of purple silk that gave her pause, and another of dark blue velvet slashed with silver that would have woken all the color in her eyes, but in the end she remembered that Alayne was after all a bastard, and must not presume to dress above her station. The dress she picked was lambswool, dark brown and simply cut, with leaves and vines embroidered around the bodice, sleeves, and hem in golden thread. It was modest and becoming, though scarce richer than something a serving girl might wear. Petyr had given her all of Lady Lysa’s jewels as well, and she tried on several necklaces, but they all seemed ostentatious. In the end she chose a simple velvet ribbon in autumn gold.”

- Alayne I, aFfC

Again, it’s more of the same. This isn’t Sansa obsessed with clothes (although what’s wrong with that if she is?) It’s the image she wants to present, it’s the same reasons the Tyrells drape themselves in gold and green. 

Sansa’s chapters are swimming with this stuff and it tends to get dismissed. This stuff matters and it matters a lot. This theater and pageantry is present in every wedding and clothing choice. It’s present in the food (remember the poor fare offered at the RW?). It’s reflected in seat placement at both the WF feast and the PW. And Sansa is really good at it, like really damn good.  

Heck, even Tyrion picks up on her skills:

“She is good at this, he thought, as he watched her tell Lord Gyles that his cough was sounding better, compliment Elinor Tyrell on her gown, and question Jalabhar Xho about wedding customs in the Summer Isles. His cousin Ser Lancel had been brought down by Ser Kevan, the first time he’d left his sickbed since the battle. He looks ghastly. Lancel’s hair had turned white and brittle, and he was thin as a stick. Without his father beside him holding him up, he would surely have collapsed. Yet when Sansa praised his valor and said how good it was to see him getting strong again, both Lancel and Ser Kevan beamed. She would have made Joffrey a good queen and a better wife if he’d had the sense to love her.”

- Tyrion VIII, Sos

But, as important as all of this is throughout the entire series, it has always tended to be overlooked and dismissed which is really disappointing. I don’t claim to know her ending, whether Hand, queen, Lady of WF, or something else. But, I guarantee all of the above is going somewhere and it isn’t just to take out LF or rebuild after. I suspect it will be incredibly important come the war for the dawn too. 

This has gone on for a long time though, so I will stop now. But, hopefully, I answered your question…at least some.

Thank you anon for letting me talk about my girl!! I love Sansa so much. :)

[cardamomoespeciado]

5,000 pillars were carried in two days. ”Wuhan new corona deaths allegedly reduced

3/31 (Tue) 17:52

Chuo Nippo Japanese version

In Wuhan, China, which is known as the source of the new coronavirus infection (new pneumonia), it has been alleged that statistics on the number of deaths from the new corona are undercounted.

According to the Hong Kong newspaper South China Morning Post (SCMP) on Wednesday, Wuhan City has allowed eight families at funeral homes to get the remains of the new corona dead from eight funeral homes last week, according to local time. Since the blockade on January 23, Wuhan citizens have not been able to collect funeral rites and collect ashes because of concerns about new corona infections.

The SCMP reported that the survivors were forming a long line at each funeral home in preparation for the authorities to retrieve the remains in preparation for the removal of the blockade on the following month.

In such a situation, while online photos of ashes collection were being shared, allegations that the actual number of deaths from the new corona was higher than official statistics.

According to a report by a Chinese media firm, Finance, a truck driver with a Hanko funeral home delivered 5,000 ashes boxes, 2,500 boxes a day on 25 and 26 this month.

In addition, a photograph released by the financial bureau on Wednesday shows that a Wuhan funeral home has over 3,500 ashes boxes.

Although it cannot be concluded that all of the remains are for the new corona, the Chinese government has so far revealed that a total of 2,535 people have died in the new corona in Wuhan.

Until now, local Chinese media have repeatedly raised the allegations that the officially reported death toll in Wuhan is far less than the actual death toll.

Despite symptoms, they often died without confirmation of infection or were unable to receive hospital treatment due to lack of sickbeds.

SCMP interviewed anonymous Wuhan officials in the press. The official said, "Some patients suspected of being infected with the new corona were not included in the official statistics during the turbulent period from mid-January to February," "But the central government dispatched executives to Wuhan to cover the city. After reforming the leadership, generally accurate statistics came out. "

The statement was based on the replacement of the Wuhan party secretary at the time. "It seems that (newly appointed) Secretary Wang Zhonglin did not need to be liable for his predecessor's fault, so he seemed to have asked the central government for help after reviewing all issues."

Wuhan officials have announced that they will release their death toll statistics for the first quarter of this year in the second week of June. The number of cremations in Wuhan last year was about 56,700.

[ericfruits]

A failed coup in Gabon highlights the staying power of Africa’s ageing leaders

IT WAS ALL over within hours. At 4.30am on January 7th a small group of junior army officers seized the national radio station in Gabon, an oil-rich country in central Africa, and declared a coup. They said they were motivated by the “pitiful sight” of Ali Bongo Ondimba, Gabon’s 59-year-old president, delivering a televised address from Morocco, where he has been convalescing since November after suffering a stroke. The attempt to unseat him was short-lived: by midday, most of the coup-plotters had been rounded up and the government was back in control.

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The drama in Gabon is a throwback to more turbulent times. Coups have become rarer across Africa—a sign that basic democratic norms are more widespread than they were. But checks and balances on presidential power are often still weak, so many African leaders have been able to cling to office far longer than is possible in more competitive polities. Five have died in office since 2010—all of natural causes. Seven of the current crop have been in power for over two decades. Mr Bongo, whose previous jobs include minister of defence and funk singer, has been in power for only ten years, but his family has run Gabon since 1967; he inherited the top job when his father died.

Mr Bongo is not the only African president who rules from his sickbed. Muhammadu Buhari, Nigeria’s septuagenarian president, spent much of 2017 abroad recovering from an undisclosed illness. Last month he was forced to deny that he had died and been replaced by a body double. He is standing for re-election in February. Algerians often speculate about the health of Abdelaziz Bouteflika, their 81-year-old autocrat. He is rarely seen in public, but may run for a fifth term this year.

In the past such frail leaders would have made easy pickings for a young upstart plotting a coup. But the most recent successful coup in Africa, in which the Zimbabwean army deposed 93-year-old Robert Mugabe in 2017, marks the exception rather than the rule. From 1980 to 2000 there were 38 successful coups in Africa. Since then there have only been 15. This is partly because presidents have grown more adept at coup-proofing their regimes. Many place relatives in key roles, keep the army weak and play factions off against each other.

The spread of democracy in Africa has also helped stave off putsches. The African Union (AU) has adopted a policy of “zero tolerance” towards coups, though it sometimes turns a blind eye if given a semi-plausible excuse to do so. In Zimbabwe, for example, the generals detaining Mr Mugabe insisted that they were protecting rather than overthrowing him. The AU did not point out that this was an obvious fib. Mr Mugabe was not popular.

In other cases, though, the AU’s policy has undoubtedly deterred some coups, and helped to foil others. In Burkina Faso, for instance, it played a big role in forcing soldiers to hand power back to civilians after they deposed the president in 2015.

The decline in coups is a good thing. But political competition for the top spot is still constrained. Most African countries have presidential term limits. But since 2000 ten countries’ leaders have simply changed their constitutions to stay in power. Omar al-Bashir, Sudan’s ruler since 1989, recently said he would follow suit, even as his government tear-gassed protesters.

As a result, the average age of Africa’s presidents has risen steadily, from 52 in 1980 to 66 today. This is not just because autocrats are living longer. In noisy democracies, too, political parties are often dominated by older figures who are reluctant to leave the limelight. Mr Buhari’s main challenger in elections next month is also over 70, and has run for president four times before. Tunisia democratically replaced a 69-year-old president with an 88-year-old in 2014. The continent’s greying leaders are in no hurry to leave, a sentiment expressed funkily by Mr Bongo in his 1977 song “I wanna stay with you”.

This article appeared in the Middle East and Africa section of the print edition under the headline "Till death do us part"

https://econ.st/2AEq2Sq

[thefeedpost]

IPID: Senna, like McBride, does not have safety and security clearance

One of the reasons the Portfolio Committee on Police gave for not renewing Robert McBride’s term as executive director of the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID) is also applicable to the person appointed by Police Minister Bheki Cele to act in his place.

Victor Senna, IPID’s chief financial officer, was appointed in the acting role for three months by Cele on Friday after the committee controversially decided on Thursday not to renew McBride’s contract. Among the five reasons for not renewing his contract that the committee adopted was “the fact that the executive director has no security clearance”.

On Wednesday, Senna appeared before the committee.

DA MP Dianne Kohler Barnard asked Senna whether he had security clearance.

He did not answer her directly but said out of 29 IPID top structure members, only 15 had security clearance.

Committee chairperson Francois Beukman released a statement after the meeting, stating: “The committee is concerned by the lack of security vetting of 15 of the 29 senior managers at IPID, including the acting executive director, and has called for this vetting to take place urgently.”

‘Business as usual’ at IPID

Security clearances lapse after five years. During its deliberations on McBride’s contract, the committee heard McBride’s clearance had lapsed in 2018, and it was in the process of being renewed.

Addressing the committee, Senna said it was important that he assures the committee that there was no crisis at IPID in the wake of McBride’s departure.

“It’s business as usual,” he said.

He said while officials were saddened by McBride’s departure, he had laid a solid foundation.

Senna said the watchdog’s investigation programme would continue to operate in line with the standard operating procedures.

“Ongoing investigations, especially high-profile investigations, will receive priority in line with the NPA (National Prosecuting Authority),” reads his presentation to the committee.

NPA looking at matters raised by McBride

He said IPID had requested a meeting with National Director of Public Prosecutions Shamila Batohi to address the prosecution of IPID cases and the appointment of prosecutors to deal specifically with high-profile cases. 

On Saturday, News24 reported that McBride wrote to Batohi, urging her to fast-track high-profile cases which he says were “singled out” by IPID.

In the letter – which News24 has seen – McBride notes that he repeatedly appealed to former prosecutions boss Shaun Abrahams over two years to intervene in IPID cases that were not being prosecuted, and questioned Abrahams’ impartiality.

The NPA said on Monday that the matters McBride raised were receiving attention.

In the committee’s partisan deliberations last week on whether McBride’s contract – which expired last Thursday – should be renewed, the DA’s assertions that IPID was performing well under McBride were countered by the ANC which stated that arrests were made, but cases were withdrawn. The case of former acting police commissioner Khomotso Phahlane was used as an example. 

At the start of the meeting committee chairperson Beukman presented Senna’s CV. He holds several qualifications related to finance and accounting. He was appointed as IPID’s chief financial officer in February 2018 after serving as the chief director of budget and revenue in Gauteng’s department of health.

‘Extremely impressive’ CV

Before that, he was general finance manager at the South Africa Social Security Agency regional office for the Western Cape for two years, after he spent eight years at the Department of Science and Technology’s financial unit. 

Kohler Barnard said his resumé as an accountant was “extremely impressive”, but she wanted to know what experience he had in the type of work IPID was doing.

He said IPID was not a Chapter 9 institution.

“If you’re asking if I can perform the duties of executive director, definitely yes,” Senna said. He said IPID’s executive director was not an investigator.

Kohler Barnard also asked how many times he had met Cele and why a blue-light brigade was dispatched to fetch him from his sickbed for a meeting with Cele.

“Maybe the honourable member can enlighten me about the blue lights,” he said.

ANC ‘leaving the past to the past’

He said he had only met with Cele at a lekgotla and when he was appointed.

DA MP Zakhele Mbhele said the decision not to renew McBride’s contract “was irrational and lacking in substantive merit”.

ANC MP Jerome Maake said Mbhele was out of order and was not in the meeting when the decision was taken. Mbhele and Kohler Barnard had opted to boycott the meeting.

“He mustn’t start making political statements,” Maake said.

ANC MP Leonard Ramatlakane said, in reference to Mbhele’s statement: “From our side, we would think it is an unfortunate statement. We’re leaving the past to the past.”

ANC MPs welcomed Senna and said they were happy that IPID would continue with its cases and protect its independence.

In his statement, Beukman said while was it important to ensure that investigations are undertaken without fear or favour, it was also important to the committee that Senna should focus, in the short term, on strengthening corporate governance and accountability frameworks, as well as financial management and professional investigative practice.

“Another matter of importance is the speedy appointment of personnel in senior management positions, especially provincial heads, to assist in driving the strategic objectives of the institution,” reads the statement.

Beukman said the committee had urged the acting director to work with it and that the committee had pledged its commitment to supporting IPID to deliver its mandate.

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