#dove's polling station

[dove-da-birb]

Vivi beat me to it, so here it is @vivigoesinsane

If you want, you can explain why

[da-birb-writes-sometimes]

Silly Poll

I want to get some good data for this, so if you vote, please reblog ^v^

[newmusickarl]

5-9’s Album of the Month Podcast – latest episode out now!

In case you missed it, it’s an exciting new era for the 5-9 Album of the Month podcast as last month we launched our official YouTube channel! Each month, we will publishing the latest full podcast episode as well as individual album reviews and our monthly highlights outside of the albums discussed. To explore all our video content so far, including our January, February and March episodes, you can find our YouTube channel here. And to help support the channel as we get it off the ground, please be sure to like and subscribe if you’re enjoying the content!

For those new here, the 5-9 Album of the Month Podcast is where I take a seat alongside 5-9 Editor Andrew Belt and Check This Out’s Kiley Larsen to review five high profile album releases from the past month in music, and ultimately name one as our Album of the Month at the end of the discussion. On the Spotify version, we also have some insightful background information to each album from Blinded By The Floodlight’s Matthew McMcLister and you can also hear our picks of the best songs from each record!

For our March 2024 episode, the five albums we discuss are:

Beach Day by Another Sky (poll winner, thank you!)

Mountainhead by Everything Everything

I Got Heaven by Mannequin Pussy

Playing Favorites by Sheer Mag

Where’s My Utopia? By Yard Act

If you want to listen to this or any previous episodes simply follow the links below, but also be sure to follow 5-9 Blog on Instagram, Twitter and now YouTube for more news and polls relating to the podcast.

Listen to the new episode on Spotify here

Watch the latest episode and subscribe to our YouTube channel here

Album & EP Recommendations

ACT II: COWBOY CARTER by Beyoncé

Yee-bloody-haw!

It’s a Country & Western inspired New Music roundup this week, so it only makes sense to begin with one of the biggest album releases of the year thus far – COWBOY CARTER by Beyoncé.

I’ll be the first to admit that when ACT I: RENAISSANCE was cleaning up with the year-end awards amongst most music critics in 2022, I wasn’t as impressed. Whilst it was a fun project and certainly had its moments, I personally thought it failed to live up to its predecessor, B’s confessional masterpiece Lemonade. I also thought there were much better records released in 2022, to the point that RENAISSANCE didn’t even make my own Top 50. However, when I heard Queen B was following up her House and Dance-inspired record with a Country album, I was instantly intrigued.

Daddy Lessons off Lemonade had previously given us a taste of what a Beyoncé-Goes-Country track could sound like, but there’s a big difference between delivering one moment within an eclectic, genre-hopping rollercoaster and sustaining a whole album in that style. Even more so when that album is 27 tracks and 78 minutes long! But having seen very some positive reviews and my intrigue only heightening as a result, I dove into this one with the expectation that it would be another overhyped project – I was wrong. Whilst I wasn’t onboard with RENAISSANCE, I absolutely am with COWBOY CARTER.

Firstly, if the track length on this one is putting you off, don’t let that be the case. This album is such a fun, joyous time, that the 78-minute runtime just flies along. The album is also structured almost like a show you’d find on a Country Music radio station, with the legendary Willie Nelson himself guiding you through the “SMOKE HOUR”, with these interludes helping to keep the pace ticking along swiftly.

Most importantly though, the album is simply littered with stand-out moments from beginning to end. Singles 16 CARRIAGES and TEXAS HOLD ‘EM still sound great, but it’s the album tracks where the album really comes alive, with the likes of BODYGUARD, AMERIICAN REQUIEM, DAUGHTER and RIIVERDANCE blending elements of pop, soul and R&B seamlessly with the sounds of B’s Louisiana roots. There’s two instantly iconic covers as well that Beyoncé makes her own, turning The Beatles’ BLACKBIIRD into an empowering gospel anthem whilst switching the lyrics up on Dolly Parton’s JOLENE to reference Jay-Z’s infidelity – which also happens to include a blessing from Parton herself. To top it off, there’s also a bunch of interesting and worthwhile collaborations too, including country music heroes Linda Martell and Willie Jones, along with contemporary crossover popstars Miley Cyrus and Post Malone.

Overall, COWBOY CARTER is an album I’ve enjoyed much more than I was expecting to, so much so that I find myself returning to it fairly frequently. If you’re also feeling sceptical but slightly intrigued, I promise it is worth a spin. A really fun record filled with heart, soul, fascinating collabs and Beyoncé’s ever incredible vocal and genre gymnastics. Bring on ACT III!

Listen here

Bright Future by Adrianne Lenker

From Country to Folk now, with Big Thief’s Adrianne Lenker donning her best Cowboy hat for the album cover to her latest solo outing, Bright Future. Whilst I can sometimes find Big Thief’s output easy to admire but hard to love, this one hit me in the gut straight away. Raw and impactful, it’s a collection of tracks where each song feels more emotionally devastating than the last.

Not only that but these are songs that feel instantly classic, with Lenker’s heartfelt songwriting radiating out of the music. The string-tinged melancholy of Sadness As A Gift is a big early highlight, whilst the lo-fi energy of Vampire Empire, heart-shattering piano ballad Evol and acoustic lament Candleflame all leave a strong lasting impression too, all in very different ways. Such is the emotional heft wrapped in these songs, by the time you reach gorgeous closing track Ruined, it’s likely you’ll be just that!

Whilst this is an album you have to be in the right mood for as it can be a hard listen at times, if it catches you in that opportune moment then the rewards are unparallelled to anything else released so far this year. Without a doubt, one of the best, most beautiful records of 2024 yet.

Listen here

Tigers Blood by Waxahatchee

When Katie Crutchfield, AKA Waxahatchee, released her sobriety-seeking fifth studio album Saint Cloud at the height of the COVID-pandemic in March 2020, she couldn’t have imagined the impact it would generate. Here was an album brimming with emotional turmoil, at a time when the world was dealing with just that. As a result, it was the perfect album for the perfect time, steering Saint Cloud towards a spot on many year-end lists and Waxahatachee gaining plenty of new fans to boot. 4 years on, and Tigers Blood finds Katie Crutchfield looking to recapture the magic of that record with another collection of country-infused indie and Southern rock jams. And just like its predecessor, I’m pleased to say its chock-full of outstanding cuts.

From the uplifting stomp of opener 3 Sisters, the bluesy riffs of Ice Cold to the brilliantly laid-back, MJ Lenderman-featuring single Right Back To It, you’ll find yourself wrapped up in the warming sounds straight away. However, it is the even more stripped-back second half where the strength of Katie’s raw, honest songwriting really shines through, with Crimes of the Heart, 365, The Wolves and the closing title track all hitting hard.

Whilst I can see some people being left lukewarm by this one coming off the back of Saint Cloud, for me personally I think I’m enjoying Tigers Blood possibly even more than that record. Whilst it still has the traditional melodies and relatable lyrics, it feels like Katie has stepped things up once again with her songcraft. Either way, this is another superb collection that I suspect will see her return to the year-end lists come December.

Listen here

All Quiet On The Eastern Esplanade by The Libertines

Whilst they were a big part of my teens, I’ll be honest I had minimal enthusiasm when it came to hearing a new Libertines album in 2024. Whilst Carl Barât and Pete Doherty had previously reunited almost ten years ago on Anthems For Doomed Youth, it sadly sounded like two musicians trying desperately to recapture a long lost formula, at a time when indie landfill was hitting maximum capacity. However following a couple of decent singles, I decided to let nostalgia take over and give the quartet the benefit of the doubt, spinning this album with a completely open mind. What I found was an album that defied all my expectations, with The Libertines arguably sounding even more urgent now in 2024 than they did back in the early noughties.

With their ever-present Likely Lads charm, Barât and Doherty turn their pen onto the current state of Britain, through both politics and people. Their music is also richer and more textured than ever before, with their traditional indie sound bolstered by dramatic brass arrangements, sweeping strings and theatrical production. It all comes together to form arguably their strongest record to date, a dazzling 38-minute listen where the band sound more focussed, more interesting and generally just having much more to say.

It’s also got some of their very best songs to date, from singles Run Run Run, Night of the Hunter and Shiver to the raucous look at the Ukraine War on I Have A Friend and the jazz-infused Baron’s Claw. However, the album’s crown jewel is without a doubt Merry Old England, a powerful, orchestral ode to migrants coming to the UK that is as impactful as it richly textured, both sonically and lyrically.

This has been one of the biggest surprises of the year so far for me, an album I was never expecting to love as much as I do. My hat is well and truly tipped to Carl, Pete, Gary and John, who prove they are more than an old indie act trying to relive past glories. Whilst the nostalgia of the early records will always have a hold over their die-hard fans, there’s no doubt that if they look beyond rose-tinted glasses, they’ll see this is objectively their finest work to date.

Listen here

The Sunset Violent by Mount Kimbie

One of my most played albums of April thus far, Mount Kimbie recently returned with their first studio album in seven years, bringing with them a new line-up and a new sound. Back this time as a quartet rather than a duo, The Sunset Violent sees the usually electronic outfit dive into a more indie/alternative sound to great effect. With King Krule also showing up to guest on a couple of tracks, it’s a gorgeous 36-minute listen seemingly destined to soundtrack warm and hazy summer evenings. There’s plenty of highlights too, with Shipwreck, Fishbrain and Yukka Tree all utter bliss.

Listen here

Incommunicado EP by Express Office Portico

A bittersweet release this, as Notts indie-pop outfit Express Office Portico finally released their debut EP at the end of March. However, the release of the project also coincided with the news that lead singer Tara would be stepping down from the band. A huge loss who leaves big shoes to fill, Incommunicado thankfully manages to work as both a final chapter for the band at this stage, as well as an insight into their flourishing potential. Featuring five catchy and shimmering indie-pop grooves, its highlighted by No One, In Swim and excellent recent single He Said She Said.

Listen here

Field Theory by Melts

“Dublin psych-rockers MELTS are one of those bands that very much live up to their name. With the quartet binding together after leaving various dissolved bands, MELTS’ 2022 debut ‘Maelstrom’ was a bold mission statement for their kaleidoscopic, mind-altering sound. Landing them somewhere in the venn diagram of contemporaries such as The Horrors, Working Men’s Club and Nation of Language, while still very much forming their own identity, it was an impressive first outing that left fans eager for the next chapter. Now back with their sophomore effort ‘Field Theory’, it’s no surprise to hear MELTS mostly stick with their winning formula for album number two. Overall, this is another hugely impressive release from MELTS and one that expands the fluorescent sonic world that was laid out on their debut. You also can’t help but feel that these songs on ‘Field Theory’ are built to thrive even more in a live setting, with the Dublin outfit assuredly building a catalogue of soaring, mind-melting compositions that just scream to be experienced in-person. Due to hit the road at the end of the month, those joining MELTS at these shows be pleasantly warned – you may just have your senses steamrolled.”

Read my full review for Clash Magazine here

Listen here

Also well worth checking out:

Three by Four Tet

Audio Vertigo by Elbow

Interplay by Ride

Ohio Players by The Black Keys

Older by Lizzy McAlpine

Blessed EP by August Charles

Tracks of the Week

1+1 = 11 by Peggy Gou

For years, DJ/Producer Peggy Gou has been Queen of the Summer banger, releasing just one single every year to ensure an all hits, no misses ratio. From Starry Night and I Go to last summer’s monster hit (It Goes Like) Nanana, she’s been unstoppable. So, with the news that her debut album I Hear You will finally drop this June, my expectations are already sky high for the 10 tracks that I’m hoping will soundtrack Summer 2024.

Coinciding with the news is her latest single offering 1+1 = 11, the song which will close out her upcoming debut. With shades of York classic On The Beach, it comes accompanied by a dazzling video starring artist Olafur Eliasson breakdancing inside a light installation at his studio in Berlin. Check it out!

Watch the official video here

B2b / Von Dutch / Club Classics by Charli XCX

The biggest album announcement of the past few weeks, electro-pop phenomenon Charli XCX will be releasing her new club-inspired album Brat this June and then touring UK arenas at the end of the year. Coming off the back of her instantly iconic Boiler Room set, the three singles so far suggest big inspiration from the dance and electronic music scene and I personally can’t wait for it.

Listen here

House by London Grammar

Another big album announcement, indie-pop outfit London Grammar have finally announced the follow-up to 2021’s Californian Soil will drop in September, titled The Greatest Love. That record saw the band explore more electronic territory and if lead single / opening track House is anything to go by, it seems they will be building out that sound further on this upcoming effort.

Listen here

Curse by Architects

The metal world was shocked earlier on this year when Bring Me The Horizon announced back in January that longtime band composer Jordan Fish was leaving the band. Since then fans were left wondering where he would end up and but it seems he has wasted little time moving on, already producing several tracks for other genre heavyweights. The latest is this thunderous new single from Architects, which boasts polished production and an instantly anthemic chorus.

Listen here

Blue Jeans & White T-Shirts by The Gaslight Anthem

Back in 2008, rock heroes The Gaslight Anthem released their much beloved Señor and the Queen EP, with this song the closing track for the project. Now as part of their History Books (Short Stories) EP that was released to coincide with their recent UK tour, they’ve reworked the song so that it sounds even better than it did before – just gorgeous.

Listen here

How Can I Love Her More? By The Lemon Twigs

With anticipation for the D'Addario brother’s follow-up to their highly acclaimed 2023 album Everything Harmony steadily mounting, each new single release suggests another special project is on the way. Now this latest cut to be taken from A Dream Is All We Know (which drops in May) only hypes things further, an instantly timeless tune that draws heavy comparisons to The Beach Boys. Wonderful!

Listen here

Red Holiday by Dura Mater

And finally fast-rising Notts 8-piece Dura Mater, who draw comparisons to bands like Black Country New Road, Arcade Fire and Opus Kink, released their second single Red Holiday this past week, which is taken from their forthcoming Arable Ground EP that drops at the end of May. This latest single, which is inspired by coastal living, showcases their potential, bringing together ghostly vocals, ambient guitars and powerful orchestration.

Listen here

Also worth checking out:

Human After All by Blue Violet

First Song by Swim Deep

Flea by St. Vincent

Mama Say by Ibibio Sound Machine

Big Brown Eyes by Lola Young

Coming Back To Me Good by Kasabian

Midas by Wunderhorse

Favourite Songs by Maxïmo Park

REMINDER: If you use Apple Music, you can also keep up-to-date with all my favourite 2024 tracks through my Best of 2024 playlist. Constantly updated throughout the year with songs I enjoy, it is then finalised into a Top 100 Songs of the Year in December.

Add the Best of 2024 playlist to your library here

[darkdoverpseeker]

Hey, hey, hey! It’s Star (18+ M) again and I’m looking for even more people for my Dead Dove discord server (18+)! 🕊️Currently I think we have seven people with an average of three people online at once so not too crowded if you’re worried about that~!

Over here we have opt-in categories for different dead dove topics so you won’t see anything you won’t like! Especially since we have a “squicks-and-triggers” channel so everyone can be mindful of your specific icks! I want this to be a safe space for everyone who is fiction-only in their darkest desires (and we go as dark as you can think of!)! This also means NSFW pictures are all spoiler-ed as a rule. :)

We have roleplay stations in each category, and roleplay request channels for you to set up offers for your favorite OCs and fandom blorbos to have play dates with others!

Some bots we have is Tupperbox (who works unpaid overtime) and a poll bot that I named Dancer for the sake of puns. Of course we also have music bots which include Luna and the vexing Vexera! You can always request more bots in the server suggestions channel and we’ll address whatever you desire~!

Finally, you may request (and shall be approved without fail lol) to have a personal channel where you can speak of your stories and roleplays or whatever else. It’s your channel, I’m not your daddy (Happy Father’s Day!! 😘). :)

.

[dansnaturepictures]

6th May 2021: Starling garden drama and tranquil Lakeside walks 

In a sign of the time of year in itself approaching noon as I worked today I was warm so opened my window. This led to me hearing a lot of the noisy and fluent calls of Starlings which was a great sound track and I went over to have a look. I was delighted to see for the first time this year, something I had hoped would be coming soon, some sparkly and freshly dark brown young Starlings in the garden. I look very much forward to seeing them come in the garden every year, they’re one of the most distinctive and interesting looking juvenile birds. They also brighten up the place so well and are so lovely to watch. I enjoyed three in the garden today, making noise, being fed and even having a great splash in the bird bath which looked brilliant. One of my most memorable moments with them last year my best ever year for photographing the young Starlings was one almost being shown how to drink from the bath by their parent which I took a picture of. Today both an adult and young were in the bath in a photo I tweeted on Dans_Pictures tonight. I took the first picture in this photoset of one on the fence. 

Then drama occurred as I heard a right commotion coming from the garden, really loud squarky noises. I think I wondered if there was a predator around at that stage and my feeling was sort of confirmed as I looked out the window and saw a Magpie in the garden with a young Starling pinned to the ground. We had seen a Carrion Crow do this to a Starling before at Grantham Green years ago and the others in the group of Starlings were counter attacking the crow. The group were sort of doing that today maybe more vocally. The young Starling did end up deceased. This was a fascinating piece of behaviour to observe and one with this I believe regular now Magpie since the winter so not a bird that turned up to the garden when I was taking so many photos of these young birds last spring and summer. It was a moment of nature in all its brutal splendour. It really was quite something to observe and one of my spring highlights this year. I heard and then saw Blackbird from home today too.

I had two Lakeside walks today, the first a short one down the northern path and back after I had been to the polling station to vote. This one I found so peaceful as I just listened to gentle birdsong lapping against my ears. I took the second, third, fourth and fifth pictures in this photoset of three views and more buttercups what a key week I am having with them a strong year I am having for this flower too so far like many others. 

I then had a smashing walk at Lakeisde this evening when the sun had well and truly come out and was shining so brightly, the whole landscape was drenched in the bright sunlight and it took on the golden and special approaching end of day glow. I took the sixth picture in this photoset of the tree in a neighbouring property visible from my room from the pavement. The captivating sunlight looked especially good and shone a light in the woods with some wonderful angles of light for pictures. This caught especially well the stunning bluebells I saw in the peak of their season now and I loved taking pictures of them with my macro lens and normal lens alike either a closeup or as part of a woodland landscape. On the western wooded path at the higher bit I liked taking in bluebells in a little area where you can see down onto the westernmost lake through the trees and the bluebells looked so good at the base of this scene so this was so special to see. Of course the lakes looked absolutely stunning and very nicely blue in this evening sunlight too and I found a peace here tonight as well with some birdsong nicely in the air as well. I took the seventh picture in this photoset of the male half a Mallard pair it was great to get so close to, eighth of one of the lake views I tweeted some too, ninth of some nice buds and tenth of a brilliant Buzzard I loved seeing circle over calmly, mobbed a little bit too over the lake and I also saw it on the way home where I took the picture just outside of Lakeside. A very interesting day, I hope you all had a good one. I liked seeing some stars out the back just now. 

Wildlife Sightings Summary: Two of my favourite birds the Great Crested Grebe and Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Magpie, Woodpigeon, Collared Dove, Feral Pigeon, Starling, Blackbird, House Sparrow, Blue Tit in the garden too always a star, Mallard, Moorhen, Greylag Goose the latter with the goslings, Lesser Black-backed Gull out my bedroom window again, Black-headed Gull and I heard Jackdaw.  

[ohshcscenerios]

Find Me

Chapter Eight - Choose Your Own Adventure 

Previous Poll Result: Train Station

Kyoya and Kaoru managed to convince their group to check the train station six blocks away.

Tamaki argued the Black Onion Squad had already combed through the area and returned with nothing. He didn’t want to waste their time on menial actions when there were other more pressing options like checking her college apartment. 

However Kyoya suggested they could ask for train logs and ticket records. He reasoned it might be worth while skimming through their security cameras as well which Hikaru and Kaoru volunteered to do. Takashi and Mitsukuni agreed to scour the train office and sift through their files while Kyoya and Tamaki walked the platforms for any clues. 

It wasn’t that Kyoya didn’t trust his men to do a thorough job but the thought of practically doing nothing while his fiance was missing disturbed his conscious. He couldn’t sit back and watch his police force while he stayed behind like a coward. He was far from a coward. 

Although none of the former hosts had a decent night’s sleep and were completely reliant on whatever coffee the black onion soldiers managed to bring they were ready to continue their search. Luxuries such as food and sleep could be pushed aside for now, just until they found something - anything - that would lead them to their Haruhi. 

After Kyoya listened to the first commander’s next steps in their search party and approved their plan he and the others drove off toward the train station. Thankfully he was able to shut down the train station, at least for a few hours, with his men standing guard until they were finished. 

If Kyoya could have his way he’d shut down the entire city and block the roads until every building and manhole was searched. He couldn’t pull that kind of power, neither could his father, so they’d have to work fast. 

When they arrived they didn’t waste any time. They ran to their respective areas and dove into their work. The twins unlocked the security camera footage and slowly fast-fowarded through the film, keeping a sharp eye for a 5′2″ woman who appears distressed. Takashi and Mitsukuni pulled out their paper logs and began skimming through the records, checking every name and form of payment as well just in case her kidnappers paid with cash. Kyoya and Tamaki began walking the platforms and sweeping the dusty concrete floors with their eyes. 

An hour passed but the former hosts barely noticed. They were so wrapped up in their work they didn’t notice how much time escaped them until the black onion soldiers informed them their private time was expiring. The train station needed to open their doors to the public again and they’d need to wrap up their work. 

Fortunately they managed to search their files into the previous day but unfortunately they didn’t find anything. Nothing seemed suspicious enough for them to note down. 

“That was a fucking waste of time.” Hikaru growled as they walked back to their cars. He clenched and unclenched his fists while he tried to control his anger but it was a losing battle. His temper seethed when the soldiers came to dismiss them. He wasn’t done doing all that he could to find Haruhi and refused to be kicked out. It took two soldiers to drag him out of the security office. 

The other former hosts mirrored his anger but they managed to contain it behind scowling expressions and tight fists stuffed in their pockets. They couldn’t unleash their frustration just yet, not while they were grasping for straws and barely thinking straight as it was. 

“I need to eat something.” Mitsukuni said sadly. His stomach growled quietly followed by a sharp cramp. He gripped his stomach and stopped walking until the painful wave subsided. 

Hikaru whipped around and shouted, “How could you possibly be thinking about cake at a time like this? What the hell!” 

Mitsukuni’s eyes darkened as he glared at the seething redhead, fisting his hands by his side, “I never said I wanted cake. I know you’re hungry too.”

Hikaru threw his hands in the air in disbelief, “No, I’m not hungry! I can’t think about food. All I can think about is Haruhi thrown into some dark basement, scared and alone and begging for us to save her...” His voice cracked as his lips began to quiver, tears welling in his hazel eyes. 

Kaoru pulled his brother close into a tight hug and tucked his head into his shoulder, patting his back to soothe his temper. The truth was, they all felt the same pain. They all shared the same fears and the same damning image of someone daring to harm Haruhi. It all wracked them until they nearly felt nauseous, stealing their hunger and weakening their bodies.

“Please try to control your anger Hikaru, it’s not helpful right now.” Kyoya coolly warned, adjusting his glasses. 

Hikaru pushed Kaoru away and glared at the shadow king, “I feel like you’re under reacting! Why aren’t you angry?” He stormed up to Kyoya and jabbed his chest with a rigid finger, continuing to glare at him, “You’re trying to keep calm but why? Why! Don’t you care?” 

Kyoya grabbed his wrist and held it away as something dark and dangerous shadowed his face. He leaned forward until he stood an inch from Hikaru’s face, “You don’t think I’m scared? You don’t think I care?” He barked in a low whisper, “She’s my fiance, my future, of course I fucking care. Don’t you dare accuse me otherwise. I have to keep myself calm for idiots like you who don’t see the consequence in blowing up irrationally. If we all decided to act like you Haruhi would be dead before we found her!” 

Kyoya pushed Hikaru away, forcing him to stumble backwards until he found his balance, and turned on his heel to continue walking to his car. He didn’t look back when he shouted for the hosts to meet at Haruhi’s college apartment next. No one needed to answer him and watched him pull out of the parking lot, screeching his tires as he took off. 

Kaoru placed a hand on Hikaru’s shoulder and said, “Give him some time before you apologize.” 

Hikaru could only nod. Although he was still pissed he did understand that he acted out of line. Time would allow them to calm down but he feared they didn’t have enough. 

Right now time wasn’t on their side. 

Choose a room. (Click to Vote)

I am so terribly sorry that this update is so late. I will try to make it up to you by progressing the story. Right now Haruhi has been kidnapped but is that the only crime that’s been committed? Prepare for some dark progression.

The next update should be around 10:00pm (ETS). Poll will expire on hour prior.

[vannahfanfics]

One for the Memories

Category: Friendship Fluff, Comedy, Mild Romantic Fluff

Fandom: Fairy Tail

Characters: Lucy Heartfilia, Gray Fullbuster, Juvia Lockser, and Lyon Vastia

Requested By: Ella (Ao3)

To be honest, Lucy was quite unsure what to think as she stood beside Gray and Juvia in the secluded office where the Master had requested to speak privately with them. It wouldn’t have been out of the ordinary if it were Natsu and Gray, maybe Erza too, considering how destructive the lot of them were and Lucy usually normally ended up being dragged into the scolding after their latest escapade, but she had to admit that the ice mage and the water mage were an odd pair. The two of them seemed not to have the same considerations; Juvia was purring with delight as she hung on the muscle of Gray’s upper arm and whispering sweet nothings with the occasional intense glare in Lucy’s direction, while the object of her affections was attempting to pry her cheek from his arm and grimacing in embarrassment. When the Master appeared with a slight cough, the attention of the three was captured, eager to learn what the old man had summoned them together for.

“A very nice opportunity for the guild has presented itself. The nationally-renowned Sorcerer Magazine has requested a photoshoot of the three of you that will be the main feature of the next issue,” he explained, and Lucy’s eyes widened in shock. Model-quality beauties like Mirajane were featured in the magazine quite often, but this was the first time Lucy had been afforded the opportunity; for a brief second she swelled with pride with the thought of It’s about time! before her heart slammed into her ribcage as it came to a screeching halt; Lucy had never modeled before, and that unnerved her. Juvia and Gray seemed unperturbed; Gray was his usual indifferent self, even deigning to groan about what a useless venture it was, while Juvia squealed and hearts beat in her eyes at the thought of being in a photoshoot with her darling ice mage. When she realized that Lucy was also to be featured though, she peered around his front with a low grumble.

“Stay away from my darling Gray, love rival.” Lucy had gotten quite used to Juvia’s accusations and her teeter-totter attitude; when it came down to it, Juvia would back her up in tough situations, and that’s all that mattered. Still, it was a bit tiring to constantly be accused of harboring feelings for the man when she had nothing of the sort.

“You don’t have to tell me twice, Juvia.”

“What?! How dare you insult Gray! Take it back!” Lucy just rolled her eyes as steam poured from the water-woman’s ears, and focused on what the hell she was going to do about the modeling shoot.

They met the photographer the next day at the train station. They had been informed that a member from another guild would be also part of the modeling shoot, and while Gray ran around with a lovestruck Juvia chasing him around in circles leaving little hearts in her wake, Lucy wondered who it could be. There were a number of heartthrobs, both male and female, in the guild world, many of whom she had met during the Grand Magic Games just a few weeks before. As her mind flew through the many possibilities, she did not notice the train arrive and the last member of their quartet arrive until the photographer gleefully shouted, “Cool, cool, now everyone is here!”

“What?!” Gray and the newly-arrived Lyon shouted in unison and pointed at each other with the color draining from their faces. Gray continued to stare with his mouth agape and eye twitching, while his rival in ice magic quickly regained his composure and sidled over to Juvia with ice swirling in his hand to form a fluttering dove.

“My darling Juvia, how lovely it is to see you again~”

“Ugh, I’m going to spend all day trapped in some twisted love triangle,” Lucy muttered under her breath as Juvia proceeded to jump behind Gray and peer at Lyon with waves of refusal rolling off her; Lyon deflated with a defeated sigh, the dove fluttering off as if it did not witness the crushing rejection before dissolving into sparkling ice. The photographer was blissfully unaware of the love being thrown around the train station; with another gleeful, “Cool, cool!” he jumped between the troop of wizards and announced that they would soon board the train for their photoshoot destination.

Once they were settled into their booth and trying to ignore the messy love tangle that was still unfolding around her, Lucy decided to approach the photographer with the questions that had been burning on her tongue all the while.

“Where will the photoshoot be held?”

“Oh, yes, yes! We’ll be visiting a town nearby called Crystalwake! It’s one of the most famous vacation spots in the entire country, known for its crystalline shores and crystal-clear waters!” he announced with almost too much enthusiasm. Lucy couldn’t help but mirror it, clasping her hands together with an excited squeal while her brown eyes sparkled like the diamond lights playing across the famous waters of the aforementioned beach town.

“Really?! Crystalwake? Oh, I’ve always wanted to go there!” she trilled as she squirmed excitedly in her seat, a scowl gradually deepening on both Gray and Juvia’s faces as her body rubbed up against his. She distinctly heard Gray mumble, “What’s the big deal?” while Lyon was once again trying to shoot his shot at Juvia and falling utterly short. The venue had been featured multiple times across many magazines in all sorts of contexts, and Lucy thought it was simply the perfect spot for a photoshoot because it was so incredibly romantic. Once that word sprouted in her brain, however, her blissful train of thought came to a screeching halt in its tracks and she looked at the photographer with acute confusion and a slightly perceptible level of fear. “Wait, what kind of photoshoot is this?”

“I am so glad you asked! Last issue, Sorcerer Magazine polled its readers concerning their favorite couples or potential couples within Fairy Tail with the caveat that they would be featured in a special photoshoot, and there were two that were overwhelmingly popular!” Instantly, Lucy was even more perplexed; people pinning Gray and Juvia as a couple wasn’t exactly surprising, but the fact that people could see her with Lyon, whom she had only had limited contact with, was quite exceptional. She would have thought for sure that she would be paired with Natsu, her actual team partner! “The top votes were Lucy and Gray, and Lyon and Juvia!” If her train of thought had come to a screeching halt before, it totally derailed this time. The entire train car became a symphony of their deranged screeches of disbelief; the mildly puzzled photographer just sat there blinking with the smile still on his lips as they all jumped to their feet and began screaming together in one frightening harmony.

“What? There’s no way that I can let my love rival be in a photoshoot with my Gray! Cancel it! And I want to know what crazy people even consider Lucy and Gray a couple!” Juvia shrieked, actually becoming fluid around the edges as she worked herself up to a near-boiling point.

“Juvia’s right! There must be some mistake! Me and Gray? I mean, who would think that up?” Lucy cried, mostly out of fear of retaliation if she expressed the fact that she was actually relieved to be paired with the ice mage that she actually knew.

“What the hell does that mean, Lucy?” Gray frowned and leaned down over her to peer into her face with his eyebrows narrowed accusingly. Lucy flushed red, both out of his proximity and the fact that she had upset him with her hasty comment.

“I-I mean, of course I like you, Gray-“

“Love rival!” Juvia shrieked, her curling blue hair nearly whipping about like snakes as she dissolved further into fluid form, and the Celestial wizard hurriedly whipped around to laugh nervously and wave her hands in a dismissive gesture.  

“No, Juvia, that isn’t what I meant-“

“So you do want to do a photoshoot with me?” Gray asked with a devilish grin and his chin tilted up in a challenging gesture. Lucy deflated like a balloon as she took the assault on two sides. This is turning out to be a much bigger pain than I thought!

“I get to be in a photoshoot with Juvia! <3” Lyon howled as he clapped his hands giddily together, obviously the only one happy with the way that things had turned out. The photographer somehow managed to convince the fiery water wizard that the pairing would have to stay so as not to disappoint the readers, but it had been Gray quipping that Juvia needed to make her fans happy to finally get her to agree with the fact; still, the entire train ride to the beach, she was obviously seething with displeasure beside Lyon, who was giving off a bright aura of one who had achieved enlightenment and ascended to the astral plane.

Needless to say, Lucy’s head was hammering with headache by the time they stepped off the train.

Despite the twist of events, Lucy could not help but be cheered by the vacation spot’s atmosphere. The train station was open to the elements, allowing the salty breeze to waft in and kiss the soft skin of her bare arms and legs and leave and aftertaste on her lips as she strolled with the photoshoot party across the wooden planks that made up the boardwalk-like structure. The roof was simply a cloth pavilion made of thick fabric that flapped in the ever-present winds rolling off the waves she could hear crashing in the near distance. As they walked out from beneath the shade, the sun was there to greet her, offering her an embrace of its warm rays. Her headache was all but erased as she ran down the boardwalk to behold the famous shore, and as she leaned over the wooden railings with a hand to her eyes to take in the majesty of the beach, no magazine picture could have ever prepared her for its brilliance. It took her breath away.

The white sands stretched on in either direction for miles and miles, each individual grain sparkling like a shard of crystal as the sun’s bright rays struck its prism-like surface. The water was a shimmering cerulean, fading into sapphire as the depth increased towards the horizon; above the gently lapping waves, the sky was cloudless and brilliantly blue, the sun hovering at its highest point to bathe the beachgoers in its tanning streams. Gray and Lyon even seemed captivated by its majesty, and Juvia was able to forgo her ire to stand beside Lucy with her breath caught in her throat and her eyes drinking in every detail, watching the sailboats stream across the water leaving frothing wake behind. It’s so beautiful…

The photographer wasted no time in preparing them for the shoot. Soon after arriving, Lucy was standing with her toes in the surprisingly soft sand clad in a white bikini patterned with golden stars and a crescent moon curling across the left side of her chest, as an ode to her Celestial magic. Lyon and Gray were both in swim trunks that were inversions of each other, two-toned blues, while Juvia wore a stylish one-piece of misty blue-white with plunging sides filled in with tied strings and wave-like patterns trawling across the front. They were quite a tastefully clothed bunch, and though a large section of the beach had been partitioned off for the photoshoot, they were still attracting a large amount of attention from passersby. Lucy wanted to bask in the praise, maybe strike a suave pose or two, but her mind had returned to the fact that she had never done anything to the sort and worrying over that fact. She wanted to look beautiful, not like an awkward fool, after all. She silently fretted as the photographer began to give directions.

“All right! First, we’ll shoot some scenes in the water. We’ll start with Lucy and Gray. Will you two go about knee-deep in the water, please?”

“This is a pain,” Gray grunted as he accompanied Lucy out into the surf. She wasn’t sure why, because she was painfully used to seeing Gray half-naked running around in his boxers at this point, but her eyes navigated to his sculpted abs and his defined arm muscles; her words became a hard lump in her throat, preventing her from replying. It was undeniable that Gray was an eye-catching guy; how had she not noticed before now? He definitely noticed her lack of response and looked at her with a frown, making her jump violently and send water droplets skittering about as she reflexively slapped her hands against the water. “You’re acting weird.”

“Am not!” she refuted with red cheeks, which didn’t really make her argument all that strong. She blushed darker as he went to get in her face again, but thankfully that was interrupted by the photographer.

“Okay, cool, cool, that’s a good distance!” Lucy crossed her arms uncomfortably and turned away from Gray, but she didn’t want to necessarily look at the shore either because Juvia was currently trying to melt Lucy with her mere eyeballs. She focused instead at the water swirling around her upper calves; she could see straight through to the bottom like she was staring at liquid glass. Some seashells were half-buried in the sand around her, scallops and cats’ eyes and swirling drills and murexes; one of them was currently occupied by a little hermit crab who was doing his best to scuttle against the current. “A-ha! I’ve got it! Gray, take Lucy in your arms!”

“What?” Lucy gasped and looked at him incredulously, then screamed as her feet were suddenly swept out from under her. Within an instant she was being held securely in Gray’s arms; he looked blankly at the photographer.

“Like this?”

“Perfect! Cool, cool! Now, Lucy, put your arms around his neck.” Uncertainly, Lucy circled his neck with her arms, feeling highly uncomfortable with the entire thing. I probably look like an idiot… she lamented silently as she felt her face burning, but tried to convince herself it was the intensity of the sun’s rays. “Great! Now, try to seem like a loving couple, please~” he twittered like a gull as he flapped about on the shoreline, the shutter of his camera already clicking wildly. Gray turned his pointed gaze on her, a hint of a smile on his lips and all manner of sexy; Lucy was highly certain she looked like a fish gasping for breath. “Lucy, dear, please try to look a little more relaxed!”

“Easier said than done,” she huffed, not realizing she had done so out loud.

“Come on, Lucy, lighten up. You said you wanted to come to this place, right? Forget about the camera and just pretend we’re having fun,” he smiled at her. Lucy puffed out her cheeks defiantly at him, but honestly forgot the camera in that instant because she was too focused on refuting him.

“Come on, Gray! I’m not Mirajane! This stuff doesn’t just come naturally to me!”

“Why not? You’re as beautiful as Mirajane.” Lucy’s previously derailed train of thought shot off into the sky, breaking through the atmosphere at the words that had just so easily slipped from Gray’s lips. He was smirking up at her, but she could not tell if he was serious or teasing; all the same, she could not keep the blissful smile from gracing her own mouth.

“You mean that?” The photographer’s cheers of “Cool, cool!” were lost on her as she bathed in the sun and Gray’s compliment. He nodded, and she could feel his fingers twirling through her long tresses of blonde hair, which she had decided to let fly free for the modeling gig. Lucy’s smile grew bright enough to rival the sun above, and the hint of pink that graced her cheeks was now a tint of joy. “Thanks, Gray.”

“Don’t thank me yet,” he suddenly grinned wildly, and her scream was swallowed by the seawater as he abruptly dunked her into the ocean. She landed on her butt against the bottom, startling the hermit crab and sending him feverishly scurrying out towards deeper, safer water; as the current swirled in her ears, she could faintly hear Gray’s raucous howls of laughter. She came up spitting the foul salt water and glaring at him through stinging red eyes. “You should have seen the look on your face!” he cackled while holding his belly.

“You jerk!” she shouted and jumped up to push him roughly in his chest. She successfully disbalanced him and sent him down in a similar fashion; water streamed through his dark hair as he came up coughing, but before he could launch another attack on her, she splashed him in the face and started scampering back to shore.

“Come back here! I’m not through with you!” he growled and yanked her back by the ankle. She belly-flopped into the surf with a surprised yelp, and was dragged across the bottom before she was pulled up so Gray could put her in a headlock and started roughly ruffling her hair.

“Ow! Ow! Gray!” she cried, but the laughter made its way into her voice. Her limbs flapped about wildly as she tried to escape his grasp, and managed to loosen it just enough to turn around in his grip to start beating him in the side of the head. In that effort, though, they became disbalanced together and she ended up on top of him, legs on either side of his waist with his hands wrapped around her waist, water streaming off their bodies like one hundred waterfalls.

“Perfect! Cool, cool! You two are naturals!” the photographer was screeching in near mania, the shutter clicking as fast as his finger would allow without falling off. Lucy was panting with exertion as she sat atop Gray, and when she finally realized what she was doing and how borderline erotic of a position she was in, she squeaked and hastily scrambled off him. It was too late, though; she had already earned Juvia’s wrath, and no sooner than the water mage had stomped into the surf Lucy was blasted with a torrent of swirling water that sent her screeching into the deep blue. She came up several yards out, her hair plastered to her face and soaked from head to toe.

“Take that, love rival!”

Sighing in resignation, Lucy paddled back to the point to where she could walk and began waded back through the surf. Gray came to the edge of the sandbar to help her, which the photographer eagerly recorded much to Juvia’s disappointment; as Lucy reached out to take his hand she stumbled in the thick, mud-like sand and instinctively looked down, and came upon the terrifying realization that by some bizarre incidence Gray had lost his shorts. She screamed and snapped her hands to her eyes, seeing far too much by the grace of the famous crystalline water, while Gray freaked out and began looking around for his swim trunks and a very unamused photographer informed him that this was not that kind of photoshoot. Juvia had fainted and Lyon was trying to revive her with far too much joy at having the unconscious woman in his arms.

After Gray found his shorts it was time for Juvia and Lyon’s shoot, which mainly consisted of Lyon chasing a very unwilling Juvia through the surf that ironically looked like they were playing a consensual game of tag. After several more rounds of general poses and acts, it came time for the final photoset of Gray and Lucy’s. By then her mind had eased and she was putting little thought into how she looked; Gray had done a good job of boosting her confidence. This time they were directed to a setup of props- two towels that matched their outfits beneath a shady umbrella, with all the beachgoing amenities scattered about. They took a few benign ones at first, like on of Lucy on her belly with her legs pulled up and ankles crossed while she read a book, one of Gray staring out at the ocean waves with a popsicle hanging out of his mouth, one that the photographer happened to catch by chance when it fell out of his mouth into his lap and made Lucy laugh like a maniac next to him. Gray was still shaking the icy-cold popsicle drops off his legs when the photographer informed them that it was time to resume the couple act- and that’s how Lucy ended up underneath Gray, nose-to-nose and trying not to freak out. She could hear Lyon struggling to hold Juvia back from killing the photographer, but the Lucy was fixated on the man looming over her.

“Well, this is cozy,” he joked effortlessly, like he was unperturbed.

“Gray, how can you be so calm about this? People are going to see these photos, you know.” Though she was fine with the actual modeling now, it was still a little weird to be featured as one half of an item.

“Yeah, and? People are gonna talk regardless. Might as well give ‘em something to talk about.” Lucy rolled her eyes; he was much to dense to get it, apparently. Lucy had no care to be the topic of gossip, at least not in the sense that she was Gray’s potential lover. Gray shifted above her, and she sat up a little to help him get comfortable. She went suddenly stiff as he accidentally caught his finger in the loop of her bikini and nearly pulled the thing off, and she hastily flopped back against the towel as the flimsy fabric barely covered her modesty. It was only at this point that Gray blushed and sheepishly smiled, which totally would make it look like they were about to be getting up to some very naughty things in the photograph. Lucy’s face was afire and her eyes wide, which didn’t help the image. “I didn’t mean for that to happen.”

“Like hell you didn’t. You’re just teasing me at this point!” she accused. He ran a hand through his hair with a dour expression, and Lucy heard the shutter clicking frantically. We’re gonna be the talk of the whole country for years after this, she thought with a groan.

“Lucy, come on, I- oh shit!” As he was once again trying to shift on top of her, his hand slipped in the loose sand and he completely lost his leverage. The breath was knocked from Lucy’s body as he landed on top of her, which was a bad enough image in itself, but the divinities were seemingly having a ball at Lucy’s expense; Gray’s mouth landed right against hers; there was no mistaking the feeling of his lips. Worse, she had somehow grabbed the back of his head as he fell, making it look all the more convincing. Gray and I are-!

“Wow! You guys sure do take this seriously, going so far for the fans! This’ll be a great piece!” the photographer sighed dreamily. It was overtaken by Juvia’s deranged screeching.

“Love rival love rival love rival-!”

“Juvia, will you let me kiss you? Just for the shoot, of course,” Lyon crooned as he wiggled up to Juvia, but the water mage was in no mood to entertain; his wails were lost in the rushing of water as she sent him spiraling down the beach. He landed face-first and butt in the air, and when he came up he was spitting the fine grains out of his mouth and looking downright dejected. “Gray gets to kiss Lucy but I don’t get to kiss Juvia,” he moped as he tromped back over to them with slumped shoulders and the sand raining from his spiky hair. By this time, Gray and Lucy had sprung apart and placed several feet between them, both as red as tomatoes and wiping their mouths with the backs of their hands.

~~~~~~~~~~

Needless to say, that little photograph made the front page.

Lucy ducked out of the guild after a raucous round of teasing, clutching the copy of the magazine to her chest. Though it featured the embarrassing array of her and Gray’s spicy photos together, it was still her one and only modeling gig, and despite the context she was quite proud of it and wanted to hang onto a copy as a memento. Plus, looking back on it, she had had a lot of fun with Gray; he had so effortlessly calmed her nerves, and, antics aside, tromping around the beach with him had become a fond memory. Standing outside the guild with the roaring laughter and buzz of conversation fading into the background, she flipped open the magazine to the featurette, all the pictures of their own laughing faces under the blazing sun. While their relationship was not nearly of the nature their fans envisioned, Lucy definitely could admit that it was a good one.

“Bah, you had enough of those guys too?”

The Celestial wizard glanced up when the exact man in the photos beside her slipped out of the guild doors, looking irritated. He actually had his clothes on, with his hands stuffed into his overcoat pockets; his dark eyes were looking down at her, with that same intensity yet softness they always carried. “They were so busy passing it around and making fun of it, I didn’t even get to see the feature. You mind?” Lucy nodded and stepped closer to him, holding out the magazine so that they could both peruse the contents; though he was standing so close that their arms brushed, his breath puffing against her ear as he leaned down over her shoulder, Lucy felt nothing along the sort of nervousness or anxiety. Outside the context of the modeling shoot, gray really was just Gray; personal space really wasn’t a thing between them. That made her smile slightly. “What’s that grin for?”

“I was just thinking that we look pretty good together.”

“Oh, so you’ve finally fallen for my bewitching good looks, have you?” he smirked at her with his hand on his chin, and she laughed loudly. He joined her, and their shoulders shook in unison as they descended into a hysterical fit of snickers and giggles. By the time they settled down, Lucy was holding the magazine against her belly and tears were forming in the corners of her eyes. Gray exhaled deeply as he ran a hand through his midnight-colored hair, smiling in bemusement. “As much as a pain it was, I can’t say that I didn’t have fun. I definitely don’t wanna do it again, though, I’m tired of all the jokes.”

“Well, at least you have the reassurance that if you fail at being a wizard, you’ve got a modeling career ahead of you,” she grinned at him, and because the comment was unwarranted, he pinched her cheek and began tugging on it.

“You’re pretty cheeky tonight, aren’t you?”

“Ow! Gray! Cut it out, I’m sorry!” she whined while trying to swat his hand away. He sniffed in mock disdain before releasing her, and she tenderly rubbed her reddening skin while he grinned in that devilish way of his. “You’re right, though. I’m afraid Juvia’s gonna murder me in my sleep, and all the girls keep pestering me about going on a date with you!” she laughed lightly.

“Yeah, as if. We’ll both end up in a grave for that,” he snorted, then cast his gaze up at the night sky. The clouds were drifting lazily by the full moon and the stars twinkled like the light playing across the waves they had played in. “Still… I wouldn’t mind going back. To Crystalwake, I mean. Under normal circumstances.”

“Yeah. I had a good time. Just no pulling off my bikini top this time. You may like to lose your clothes, but I don’t.”

“Asshole,” he smirked and shoved her in the side of her head. Lucy grabbed her head, but was smiling; she knew that Gray’s gestures and teasing, though rough, were just his way of showing affection. He chortled too, then put his hands behind his head. “So, now I gotta walk you home, right? Isn’t that the rule after you kiss a girl?”

“Technically, you did it wrong. You’re supposed to kiss her on her doorstep,” Lucy quipped as she tucked the magazine into her bag and clasped her hands behind her back, whirling on her heel to skip a few paces down the cobblestoned street. “Still, I guess I’ll cut you some slack and let you walk me home, but don’t try anything funny, mister.”

“Yes, ma’am,” she heard him chuckle behind her, and his boots made light clicking noises as they struck the stone walking after her. Lucy hopped up onto the rock wall overlooking the harbor as she always did, her arms held out on either side of her for balance as she strode along, silhouetted by the starry night and the glittering ocean as Gray walked alongside her.

Crystalwake is beautiful, but I don’t need to go to some fancy beach to have fun with you. She kept that thought to herself, as Gray would likely make some smart-aleck jibe about it. Lucy didn’t know if what she had with Gray would one day develop into anything more or not; she wasn’t really in a state that wondered, either. She was content with their playful friendship for what it was, and that brought her enough joy in itself.

Enjoy this oneshot? Feel free to peruse my Table of Contents!

[wearejapanese]

By Jon Letman (https://fluxhawaii.com/the-scourge-of-oura-bay/)

It’s a blistering hot day when Japanese Coast Guard officers pack into a dozen black Zodiac inflatable boats, determined to deter yet another wave of protestors. The enforcers are dressed in all-black dive gear with black facemasks, sunglasses, and helmets. Cameras mounted on their shoulders record protesters floating in kayaks alongside small motorboats flying rainbow peace flags over Okinawa’s Oura Bay. After a tense hour, the protesters rally. Some paddle their kayaks over the orange buoys that act as a barrier, while others swim beneath it, racing toward a four-legged platform used for sea floor construction. The Coast Guard quickly surrounds and apprehends the protestors, hauling them back to the shore.

The floating orange buoys at Oura Bay mark one of three places in the sparsely populated district of Henoko, where these forces have been facing off regularly since 2004. This clash is centered on the fact that the buoys form the exclusion barrier where a new U.S. military base, the Futenma Replacement Facility, is slated to be built in order to relocate an existing base, the Marine Corps Air Station at Futenma, which has been in service since 1945. The move towards re-militarizing Oura Bay has returned to Japanese and American foreign policy agendas as tensions continue to rise among Asian countries over territorial claims on the South China Sea.

After World War II, the United States entered into an occupation of Japan, leading to the independence of the country under specific conditions. One of those conditions was that the U.S. military continue its rule of Okinawa—the archipelago of islands south of mainland Japan—which kept the main Japanese islands largely free of U.S. military presence. A 1960 treaty upheld that division, confirming the U.S. occupation of Okinawa and its use of bases elsewhere in the country. Because of this agreement, Okinawa is home to nearly 75 percent of all U.S. bases (there are 32 bases on the island) and about half the troops in Japan—this despite the fact that Okinawa accounts for less than 1 percent of Japanese territory. To put this into perspective, Okinawa Island is almost 20 percent smaller than Kaua‘i, yet the island is home to nearly 1.4 million people. To the north and south of the Henoko-Oura area are the Central and Northern Training Areas, which occupy more than 37,000 acres, including training grounds for urban and jungle warfare and 59 military landing zones.

Like Hawai‘i, Okinawa is a tropical archipelago endowed with rich biodiversity and an indigenous population deeply connected to the land. Along Oura Bay’s shoreline, legions of tiny blue soldier crabs march across the mud, black-naped terns nest, and stark white egrets search for food. Silky grey mudskippers, a critically endangered species, and more than 2,000 species of mollusk rely on these same tidal flats for their survival. Oura Bay is also home to at least 10 species of sea grass that attract dugong, a large, lumpy marine mammal similar to a manatee that has been red-listed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as “vulnerable.” Sensitive to noise, it appears that the dugong may have already left the bustling area.

A variety of flora and fauna thrives in, and may disappear from, the area—a region which includes fringing coral reefs, mangrove swamps, mud flats, estuaries, and a rugged shoreline dotted with rocky outcrops and white coral sand beaches. “It’s just stunning,” says marine biologist Katherine Muzik, who lived in Okinawa for 11 years and dove extensively throughout the Okinawan archipelago. “The bay is on par with the best marine environments in Indonesia and the Great Barrier Reef,” she says. Muzik notes the more than 400 species of coral, a thousand species of fish, and 110 species of sea slugs present in the bay, explaining that “there’s nothing left like it in the entire [Okinawan] archipelago, which means there’s nothing left like it in all of Japan.”

At Cape Henoko, which juts into the bay, 21 million cubic meters of sand and soil are scheduled to be dumped in order to reclaim land for a new base. Environmentalists argue that this act would destroy the ecosystem. Henoko’s depths, which reach almost 200 feet, are one of the distinctive qualities that give the locale such biodiversity. Millions of tons of sand would alter the bay’s currents, which, in turn, would affect the amount of sunlight that penetrates the water, drastically altering its clarity and imperiling what Muzik calls “soaring cathedrals of blue coral.”

A dive team called Snack Snufkin has taken up the responsibility of documenting the rich marine life of the bay through its website ourawan.com, as well as informational brochures, photo exhibitions, and a new educational book. Botanist and diver Kenta Watanabe, a member of the dive team, says the group wants to use its scientific findings to educate the public on the uniqueness of the bay. “It provides many good habitats for various species,” Watanabe says. “The diversity of topography supports the diversity of marine creatures. We’ve found this place is very special.”

These divers aren’t the only people concerned over the Henoko plan. In 2013, the Ecological Society of Japan sent a letter to the Japanese Ministers of Defense and Environment requesting that the survey work for Henoko be stopped. Last year, 19 Japanese scientific organizations also signed a joint petition calling for the conservation of Oura Bay’s significantly high biological diversity. Polls consistently show the Henoko plan—with its proposed multiple helipads, 892-foot military-grade docking facilities, fuel and ammunition depots, and 5,900-foot V-shaped dual runways—is fiercely opposed by the majority of Okinawans.

The U.S. military says base opponents are in the minority, and insists that the American bases are vital to regional stability and the “common defense of Japan.” Speaking at Futenma air base, a Marine spokesman stressed the military’s role in providing humanitarian aid and disaster relief in places like the Philippines, Nepal, and elsewhere. Thousands of Japanese and Okinawans are also either employed by the U.S. military or work in fields that rely on its presence, including employment that ranges from working as private security guards to pouring concrete, providing heavy equipment, and installing and maintaining miles of fences that surround military sites.

Others in Okinawa welcome the U.S. presence for fear of China or North Korea, although many reject this stance, pointing rather to a centuries-long history when Okinawa had peaceful and prosperous relations with China during the period prior to Japan absorbing what was then the independent Ryukyu kingdom in the 1870s. Also, many Okinawans draw attention to the fact that the Chinese are already in Okinawa—doing business and supporting the tourism sector.

From an island perspective, this foreign military occupation is something with which many in Hawai‘i can relate. Our islands are home to one of the world’s largest Okinawan diaspora communities, and share long-established and cultural ties with Okinawa. It’s natural that the two island peoples have an affinity for and understanding of one another. In July 2015, Okinawa and Hawai‘i celebrated 30 years of sister-state relations. Okinawa is a place where the land and sea coexist in a fragile balance, one that is constantly challenged by external forces. We in Hawai‘i have seen this struggle play out within places of similar ecological fragility, like Mākua Valley, Kaho‘olawe, Pōhakuloa, and Ke Awalau o Pu‘uloa, which was transformed from the “breadbasket of O‘ahu,” a place of aquatic abundance, into what we all know it as today: Pearl Harbor. Like these sites, Oura Bay now finds itself similarly perched upon the edge of an uncertain future.

[southeastasianists]

Cambodia will vote on Sunday July 29. Today, the 20 competing parties can make their final appeals to the voters. It is the endpoint of a campaign that many have dramatically dismissed as a death knell for Cambodian democracy. Both publicly—through articles and social media posts—and in private conversations, people often draw on their observations and memories of Cambodia’s past elections to weigh in on the state of politics and to consider what options remain.

First, some background. National elections are held every five years. In 2013, the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP), headed by Sam Rainsy and Kem Sokha, came close to defeating Prime Minister Hun Sen’s Cambodian People’s Party (CPP). The results shocked the ruling party, which has effectively been in charge of the country’s affairs for almost four decades.

After the commune elections in 2017 demonstrated that popular discontent with Cambodia’s longstanding leadership had not ceased, the government began a series of drastic measures. Sokha was accused of plotting a “colour revolution” with the help of the US and jailed on treason charges, for which he could face 14 years imprisonment. Rainsy left the country under threat of defamation charges. In November 2017, the Supreme Court dissolved the opposition party and barred its members from political activities for five years before redistributing their seats. The bulk of them went back to the ruling party, a handful were scattered among other “opposition” parties.

So on Sunday, 19 parties will contest the CPP’s powerful grip. But without a major opposition party, this year’s election looks markedly different than previous ones.

The 2013 elections provide the most common backdrop to structure people’s observations of this year’s campaigns: compared to the bustling excitement and the loud and cheerful confidence displayed by CNRP voters all over the country, the opposition parties’ campaigns this year are mostly remarkable for what they are not. Even the capital Phnom Penh, otherwise the hub of campaign activities, is mostly silent and few things indicate that challengers to the CPP remain.

Yet for someone who has spent years combing through archives that document the work of the United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia (UNTAC) it is the country’s first elections that still shape observations, at times producing an almost eerie sense of déjà vu:

what exactly is the role and agenda of the small parties? Will the government track voters’ choices in the ballot boxes? What will the total numbers of votes cast reveal about the future of Cambodia’s democracy?

These questions, now on the forefront of many voters’ minds, were just as intensely debated 25 years ago. At the end of its mission to implement the 1991 Paris Peace Agreements, UNTAC organised the country’s first democratic elections in 1993. The highly anticipated event was globally celebrated (some might say overly glorified) as the “birth of democracy” in Cambodia.

In 1993 as well as in 2018 a total of 20 parties registered to compete in the elections.

However, then, as now, the concept of a “political competition of ideas” was mostly elusive in an environment marked by fear and insecurity.

In 1993 it was the memories of the war that loomed large. During their televised campaign speeches Cambodian politicians alluded repeatedly to “mountains of bones, rivers of blood and an ocean of suffering” and appealed to their fellow politicians to prioritise national reconciliation. The theme was also evident in the parties’ names—Khmer Neutral Party or Liberal Reconciliation Party—and party symbols that used images like shaking hands or the peace dove.

Amidst the ongoing political violence in the country, the candidates chose their campaign locations and words carefully. “We live with the tiger and therefore must act in such a way as to avoid being eaten”, explained a candidate to an UNTAC official. Another observer noted in his report: “… the Bulletin of the Democratic Party is printed in a no-fuss black and white typescript. The Bulletin’s lackluster presentation style is carried over in content. This is no doubt a deliberate tactic to avoid direct criticism and the possibility of harassment.”

In 2018 similar tendencies can be observed. Many of the CPP’s competitors embrace the least objectionable of all causes in their campaigns and vaguely profess to “protect forests” or “end poverty” once in power. In his office, one party leader handed me a small program, the size of half a postcard, and gestured towards the breast pocket of his shirt: Easy to put it in here, he said. Easy to hide. And of course, small programs are also cheaper: most of the parties are notoriously under-financed and have only limited funding to spend on the campaigns. They focus their attention on going door to door in the provinces, talking to prospective voters and distributing their leaflets.

In the space of the city of Phnom Penh this translates into an overwhelming presence for the CPP. Huge, well-lit billboards have been erected at major intersections of the city. They line many of the large boulevards, streets and bridges. The party’s programs, slogans, and symbols have been glued to building walls at regular intervals. The portraits of the party’s leaders, Hun Sen and National Assembly president Heng Samrin, shoulder by shoulder, are omnipresent. There are tents, where party supporters alternately play campaign speeches and music. Expensive cars adorned with the CPP symbol can be spotted all over town. Shops sell CPP hats, shirts, phone cases and other merchandise. Rallies involve thousands of identically dressed supporters in cars, open trucks, and motorbikes and are flawlessly choreographed events: police are positioned on every corner, their ears pressed to their walky-talkies, waiting for their signal to stop the traffic and wave the motorcades through.

Amidst all of this, the campaigns of the other parties are difficult to find. None have a single billboard; their signs are small, mostly at the outskirts of the city, by the side of dusty roads. Some have taken to parking tuk-tuks decorated with flags and equipped with loudspeakers that blast recorded campaign speeches by their leaders towards the passers-by. Their processions have dramatically fewer supporters and the authorities are less likely to support their way through the city’s dense traffic, often leading to the campaign processions being cut into smaller and smaller groups of supporters.

In 1993, cognisant of the CPP’s relative wealth and reach even at that time, UNTAC tried to level the playing field by creating a radio station and then distributing radios in the provinces. One might assume that with the advent of social media and the intense popularity of Facebook in Cambodia the smaller parties could make up for much of the financial, material, and organisational limitations of their campaigns by reaching out to their supporters online. Yet, the government’s announcement to monitor social media ahead of the elections has spooked many and it is almost as quiet and monotonous on the web as it is in the streets of Phnom Penh.

Despite these restrictions and regardless of the media used, rumours travel fast in every era. To express their concerns and ask for advice in the run-up to the 1993 elections listeners from around the country wrote to the UNTAC radio station, which sometimes received several hundred letters a day. During a special program, selected letters would be read and answered on air. People had heard of magic pens or spy drones, and contacted UNTAC for advice.

Similar stories circulate today. Smartphones and their integrated cameras make it unnecessary to imagine more elaborate methods of surveillance inside the ballot box, but the dominant themes of those rumours remain the same: people worry about the government’s ability to compromise the secrecy of the vote.

Which brings us to one last point: the current preoccupation with the total number of votes cast. During a televised statement in 1993, In Tam, the leader of the Democratic Party, urged his fellow people to go and vote to guarantee that Cambodia would no longer be isolated:

“Please participate in the elections; so that there are 90 percent or even more, so that they can see that we want to be a country that obeys the law and lives under the rule of law… Today they regard us as people living under the rule of the jungle, today there is nobody who recognises us; so if we do not all go to the elections, if we can’t be bothered to vote, then we will continue being a country that is excluded from the global community, so mobilise everything there is.”

And indeed, 90% did turn out, providing observers with the key element of their success story—despite the fact that both before and after the ballot it was business as usual and power-play and bargaining, not the will of the people, determined the end result.

Today, Sam Rainsy and his supporters urge the Cambodian people to stay at home to demonstrate that democracy can survive. Those who must go, they say, should spoil their ballots. They have dismissed all other parties as puppets or traitors and will claim every vote not cast for any party.

It is likely because of the tendency of the former CNRP members to bring up the Paris Peace Agreements, in their appeals from abroad, that people continue to regularly bring up UNTAC themselves: “they [UNTAC] installed the two prime ministers and then just left”, a shop owner said yesterday. A few days earlier she had also noted that “nobody will come to help because they already spent so much money then”.

Many commentators have loudly declared these elections “a farce”, “already over”, and “history” weeks before the polls have opened. And while it is true that Hun Sen is not going to disappear from the world stage by means of this vote, such statements are dismissive of those who are still grappling with the question of what the right decision under these difficult circumstances is.

To those people, who had neither the luxury to learn about the country’s history in libraries or archives, nor the convenience to observe and comment from the sidelines, it is the memory of another election that looms large: that of 1998 and the clashes leading up to it that turned Phnom Penh once again into a war zone.

Ahead of Sunday’s vote, Hun Sen’s government has conducted riot training and provided new equipment to officers around the country. Two days before the vote people are wondering: is the current suspense the proverbial silence before storm, or is it the silence before the silence? And what is worse? “We have stocked up on dry noodles, just in case”, a market vendor said.

Looking back, it becomes painfully obvious that not only are Cambodia’s elections flawed, they are also a flawed vehicle to trace political change in Cambodia. To those still committed to peaceful change, the simplistic tales of “birth” and “death” of democracy are meaningless. Cambodians will, as one party official said, just continue to use and engage whatever space remains. “It is important for us as Khmer, the leaders and the citizens, we must try ourselves, trust in ourselves and hope. We cannot give up. If we give up, if we think it is impossible, if we only think of losing, who is going to help us?”

[dove-da-birb]

Okay

[da-birb-writes-sometimes]

Feeling a bit Devilish

This is for the TWSTober collab I'll be taking part in, but want to see which one of the potential lads I have in mind would win... randomly with some quotes from Buzzfeed Unsolved Supernatural since I've been rewatching some stuff.

This poll is just 24 hours, since I want to start writing some jot notes for ideas.

For most polls, I don't tag people, since there isn't really any content.

[ask-crs-sides]

Mini Game: Jail Break - V

[Prev | Next]

Using the toilet handle, Parker was able to snap off some of the wire from the bed frame. He looked at the bars one more time before standing up. He paused, and thought for a moment. When the alarms go off, there would be chaos, but they would be focused on him and Virgil the most… Parker took off his jacket and draped it over one end of the cot, so it hid what would potentially be underneath. Then he stood atop the toilet and slipped the wire through the detector and got the plating off. After another moment of messing with the wires, he tripped the detector and an alarm blared throughout the station. The door to the cell unlocked and the door opened. Parker didn’t go for the door, though; he dove underneath his cot.

He heard pandemonium outside, and people rushed past the cell. But as he’d suspected, someone else ran in almost immediately. “Hey!!” a booming voice shouted. Parker recognized it as Rex. Parker didn’t know if he would search under the cot or run out. He only had a moment to decide what to do.

[Vote in the poll!]

[courtneytincher]

If Australia Wants Collective Defense, Then It Should Get Its Own Navy in Ship Shape

With the South China Sea dispute back on the front burner and trade tensions between the United States and China bubbling over, some of America’s regional allies are starting to feel the heat. Yet when Mike Pompeo told a Sydney forum that “You can sell your soul for a pile of soybeans or you can protect your people,” Australia’s good and great were “gobsmacked,” according to an eyewitness account from The Spectator Australia. Substitute a lump of Australian coal for a pile of American soybeans, and Pompeo’s message was clear.China’s rise and rearmament has introduced a security schizophrenia into Australian politics. Canberra’s China doves argue that Australia should accommodate its giant neighbor and number one export partner, sign up to Xi Jinping’s Belt and Road Initiative, and do whatever it takes to avoid attracting China’s ire.Meanwhile a certain species of Australian hawk believes that the United States is no longer a reliable ally, and that Australia should muscle up for a potential future confrontation with China. The most prominent of these is Professor Hugh White of the Australian National University, who thinks that Australia should be considering the development of an independent nuclear deterrent.He’s not alone in worrying about American staying power in the Pacific. One of Australia’s most prominent conservative commentators, Paul Kelly, says that “the strong and astute America [that Australia] needs is not on display,” while the governor of Australia’s central bank says that he does “not have a clear idea of what strategy the U.S. has” for dealing with China.Now a major research paper from the University of Sydney’s United States Studies Centre concludes that the United States “no longer enjoys military primacy in the Indo-Pacific” region and “has an atrophying force that is not sufficiently ready, equipped or postured for great power competition.” The paper was partly funded by the Australian Department of Defence, American defense giant Northrop Grumman, and the French multinational Thales Group.The paper’s authors, Ashley Townshend, Brendan Thomas-Noone, and Matilda Steward, call for a NATO-style strategy of “collective defense” in the Indo-Pacific as a “way of offsetting shortfalls in America’s regional military power.” They repeatedly highlight the “decline,” “inadequacy,” and “questionable abilities” of the United States Armed Forces.Meanwhile they laud Australia’s “significant submarine modernisation” program, which consists of the construction of twelve new diesel-electric boats to enter service in the 2030s and 2040s. Australia’s Defence Minister Christopher Pyne has described the submarines “regionally superior,” which only makes sense if the region they’re talking about is Southeast Asia. He can’t mean the Indo-Pacific region. India and China already have nuclear-powered attack and ballistic missile submarines.They also praise Australia’s “surface vessel recapitalisation” program, with nine new frigates to be built on a British design. Like the submarines, these likely won’t enter service until the 2030s. They are mainly designed for anti-submarine warfare, but as the Royal Australian Navy’s new workhorse vessels, they will have to do general duty as well.They criticize the United States for planning to buy “only” 2457 fifth-generation F-35 fighters and cancelling the F-22. For the record, Australia has committed to buying just seventy-two F-35s in total. They expect to have ten by the end of the year. The USAF, Navy, and Marines already fly more than three hundred.A Look in the MirrorIf, as the Australian report claims, the United States “no longer enjoys military primacy in the Indo-Pacific” region, then who does? If the United States is “not sufficiently ready, equipped or postured for great power competition,” then who is? Webster’s defines primacy as “the state of being first,” and no one seriously doubts that the United States is first in the Indo-Pacific region. Great-power competition implies a great-power competitor, and no one seriously believes that China is better-prepared for competition than the United States.If Australians really are worried that the United States is no longer able to come to their defense, then perhaps they should take White’s advice and take a long, hard look in the mirror. No one expects a country of twenty-five million people to match the military spending of a global superpower thirteen times its size. But since the turn of the millennium, Australia has spent an average of only 1.8 percent of its Gross Domestic Product on defense, compared to 3.7 percent for the United States.What the Australians do spend, they often spend inefficiently. For example, Australia’s politicized navy is buying diesel-powered submarines out of an ideological aversion to nuclear power. The United States, which has a real fighting navy, hasn’t built a diesel submarine since 1959.There are also questions about readiness. Australia’s two main naval bases, Fleet Base East and Fleet Base West, are located in the pleasant southern cities of Sydney and Perth, ideally placed to defend the country against the march of the penguins from Antarctica. Meanwhile the U.S. Marines are sweating it out in Australia’s remote northern outpost of Darwin, where they serve as a rapid reaction force ready for deployment throughout the Indo-Pacific region.Naval GazingThe Royal Australian Navy's Sydney headquarters is particularly self-indulgent. Strategically stationed in the posh inner-Sydney suburb of Potts Point, the RAN’s top brass can comfortably grab a croissant on their morning walk to work from subsidized housing in one of Australia’s most expensive neighborhoods. In 2018, the city of Sydney wanted to acquire the base, which has golden sunset views of the landmark Sydney Opera House and Harbour Bridge, to use as a cruise ship terminal. The Navy turned them down.Yet the base is incredibly insecure—and incredibly dangerous. Pedestrians walk on a public inner-city street within ten yards of the bows of the nearest ships. The whole base is hemmed in by a city park on one side and a luxury hotel on the other. Any decent quarterback could hit six ships with bombs lobbed from the park overlooking the base; a determined terrorist could sink half the fleet with a portable rocket launcher. Even an onboard accident could take out the civilian hotel just one hundred yards away.A serious fighting navy would move north to the country town of Townsville, fifteen hundred sea miles closer to any potential threat emanating from China or emergency arising in the Pacific. The RAN has refused to move out of congested Sydney Harbour to nearby suburban Botany Bay. They say the reason is “tradition.” Another word for it is “lifestyle.”Australia’s Fleet Base West should also be relocated fifteen hundred sea miles north to Port Hedland (population fifteen thousand). Australia’s iron miners tough it out on the country’s remote northwest coast, but then they have to: that’s where the iron is. The RAN prefers the comfortable climate and urban amenities of metropolitan Perth (population two million). And who can blame them? But if Australians prefer the good life to the rigors of military readiness, they’re in no position to demand additional American sacrifices on their behalf.The Political Reality of Collective DefenseAs the experience of NATO amply demonstrates, “collective defense” is really just a polite way of saying “American defense.” When it comes to collective defense, what is everyone's responsibility becomes no one’s responsibility—except America’s. In 2018, America’s European NATO allies spent an average of 1.5 percent of GDP on defense, in flagrant violation of their long-standing commitments to raise spending to 2 percent. Only five NATO members meet their 2 percent spending commitments: three frontline Eastern European countries, the United Kingdom, and the United States.Australia is an important political ally that has provided welcome symbolic support for American missions in Afghanistan, Iraq, and (most recently) the Persian Gulf. Australia lost forty-one soldiers in fierce fighting in Afghanistan after taking up the call of Operation Enduring Freedom. Americans will always be grateful and proud to have Australians standing beside them in time of need.But if Australians are serious about defending freedom in the Indo-Pacific region, then they should take a more active role in their own defense. That means buying the most effective weapons systems available and deploying them as efficiently as possible. It also means accommodating and hosting American forces, when its own aren’t sufficient to do the job. But most of all, it means making a genuine commitment to security partnership.Opinion polls consistently show that the Australian people are willing to take on these responsibilities. It’s long past time for Australia’s political class to step up to the plate.Salvatore Babones is the author of The New Authoritarianism: Trump, Populism, and the Tyranny of Experts.Image: Reuters

from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines

With the South China Sea dispute back on the front burner and trade tensions between the United States and China bubbling over, some of America’s regional allies are starting to feel the heat. Yet when Mike Pompeo told a Sydney forum that “You can sell your soul for a pile of soybeans or you can protect your people,” Australia’s good and great were “gobsmacked,” according to an eyewitness account from The Spectator Australia. Substitute a lump of Australian coal for a pile of American soybeans, and Pompeo’s message was clear.China’s rise and rearmament has introduced a security schizophrenia into Australian politics. Canberra’s China doves argue that Australia should accommodate its giant neighbor and number one export partner, sign up to Xi Jinping’s Belt and Road Initiative, and do whatever it takes to avoid attracting China’s ire.Meanwhile a certain species of Australian hawk believes that the United States is no longer a reliable ally, and that Australia should muscle up for a potential future confrontation with China. The most prominent of these is Professor Hugh White of the Australian National University, who thinks that Australia should be considering the development of an independent nuclear deterrent.He’s not alone in worrying about American staying power in the Pacific. One of Australia’s most prominent conservative commentators, Paul Kelly, says that “the strong and astute America [that Australia] needs is not on display,” while the governor of Australia’s central bank says that he does “not have a clear idea of what strategy the U.S. has” for dealing with China.Now a major research paper from the University of Sydney’s United States Studies Centre concludes that the United States “no longer enjoys military primacy in the Indo-Pacific” region and “has an atrophying force that is not sufficiently ready, equipped or postured for great power competition.” The paper was partly funded by the Australian Department of Defence, American defense giant Northrop Grumman, and the French multinational Thales Group.The paper’s authors, Ashley Townshend, Brendan Thomas-Noone, and Matilda Steward, call for a NATO-style strategy of “collective defense” in the Indo-Pacific as a “way of offsetting shortfalls in America’s regional military power.” They repeatedly highlight the “decline,” “inadequacy,” and “questionable abilities” of the United States Armed Forces.Meanwhile they laud Australia’s “significant submarine modernisation” program, which consists of the construction of twelve new diesel-electric boats to enter service in the 2030s and 2040s. Australia’s Defence Minister Christopher Pyne has described the submarines “regionally superior,” which only makes sense if the region they’re talking about is Southeast Asia. He can’t mean the Indo-Pacific region. India and China already have nuclear-powered attack and ballistic missile submarines.They also praise Australia’s “surface vessel recapitalisation” program, with nine new frigates to be built on a British design. Like the submarines, these likely won’t enter service until the 2030s. They are mainly designed for anti-submarine warfare, but as the Royal Australian Navy’s new workhorse vessels, they will have to do general duty as well.They criticize the United States for planning to buy “only” 2457 fifth-generation F-35 fighters and cancelling the F-22. For the record, Australia has committed to buying just seventy-two F-35s in total. They expect to have ten by the end of the year. The USAF, Navy, and Marines already fly more than three hundred.A Look in the MirrorIf, as the Australian report claims, the United States “no longer enjoys military primacy in the Indo-Pacific” region, then who does? If the United States is “not sufficiently ready, equipped or postured for great power competition,” then who is? Webster’s defines primacy as “the state of being first,” and no one seriously doubts that the United States is first in the Indo-Pacific region. Great-power competition implies a great-power competitor, and no one seriously believes that China is better-prepared for competition than the United States.If Australians really are worried that the United States is no longer able to come to their defense, then perhaps they should take White’s advice and take a long, hard look in the mirror. No one expects a country of twenty-five million people to match the military spending of a global superpower thirteen times its size. But since the turn of the millennium, Australia has spent an average of only 1.8 percent of its Gross Domestic Product on defense, compared to 3.7 percent for the United States.What the Australians do spend, they often spend inefficiently. For example, Australia’s politicized navy is buying diesel-powered submarines out of an ideological aversion to nuclear power. The United States, which has a real fighting navy, hasn’t built a diesel submarine since 1959.There are also questions about readiness. Australia’s two main naval bases, Fleet Base East and Fleet Base West, are located in the pleasant southern cities of Sydney and Perth, ideally placed to defend the country against the march of the penguins from Antarctica. Meanwhile the U.S. Marines are sweating it out in Australia’s remote northern outpost of Darwin, where they serve as a rapid reaction force ready for deployment throughout the Indo-Pacific region.Naval GazingThe Royal Australian Navy's Sydney headquarters is particularly self-indulgent. Strategically stationed in the posh inner-Sydney suburb of Potts Point, the RAN’s top brass can comfortably grab a croissant on their morning walk to work from subsidized housing in one of Australia’s most expensive neighborhoods. In 2018, the city of Sydney wanted to acquire the base, which has golden sunset views of the landmark Sydney Opera House and Harbour Bridge, to use as a cruise ship terminal. The Navy turned them down.Yet the base is incredibly insecure—and incredibly dangerous. Pedestrians walk on a public inner-city street within ten yards of the bows of the nearest ships. The whole base is hemmed in by a city park on one side and a luxury hotel on the other. Any decent quarterback could hit six ships with bombs lobbed from the park overlooking the base; a determined terrorist could sink half the fleet with a portable rocket launcher. Even an onboard accident could take out the civilian hotel just one hundred yards away.A serious fighting navy would move north to the country town of Townsville, fifteen hundred sea miles closer to any potential threat emanating from China or emergency arising in the Pacific. The RAN has refused to move out of congested Sydney Harbour to nearby suburban Botany Bay. They say the reason is “tradition.” Another word for it is “lifestyle.”Australia’s Fleet Base West should also be relocated fifteen hundred sea miles north to Port Hedland (population fifteen thousand). Australia’s iron miners tough it out on the country’s remote northwest coast, but then they have to: that’s where the iron is. The RAN prefers the comfortable climate and urban amenities of metropolitan Perth (population two million). And who can blame them? But if Australians prefer the good life to the rigors of military readiness, they’re in no position to demand additional American sacrifices on their behalf.The Political Reality of Collective DefenseAs the experience of NATO amply demonstrates, “collective defense” is really just a polite way of saying “American defense.” When it comes to collective defense, what is everyone's responsibility becomes no one’s responsibility—except America’s. In 2018, America’s European NATO allies spent an average of 1.5 percent of GDP on defense, in flagrant violation of their long-standing commitments to raise spending to 2 percent. Only five NATO members meet their 2 percent spending commitments: three frontline Eastern European countries, the United Kingdom, and the United States.Australia is an important political ally that has provided welcome symbolic support for American missions in Afghanistan, Iraq, and (most recently) the Persian Gulf. Australia lost forty-one soldiers in fierce fighting in Afghanistan after taking up the call of Operation Enduring Freedom. Americans will always be grateful and proud to have Australians standing beside them in time of need.But if Australians are serious about defending freedom in the Indo-Pacific region, then they should take a more active role in their own defense. That means buying the most effective weapons systems available and deploying them as efficiently as possible. It also means accommodating and hosting American forces, when its own aren’t sufficient to do the job. But most of all, it means making a genuine commitment to security partnership.Opinion polls consistently show that the Australian people are willing to take on these responsibilities. It’s long past time for Australia’s political class to step up to the plate.Salvatore Babones is the author of The New Authoritarianism: Trump, Populism, and the Tyranny of Experts.Image: Reuters

August 28, 2019 at 04:40PM via IFTTT

[carpigianiuk-blog]

Ice Cream News July 2018

Ice Cream News July 2018 Compiled by Carpigiani UK

With the good weather continuing, ice cream is a popular subject for news outlets. We have compiled our favourite news stories relating to ice cream, including free ice cream giveaway in Plymouth, should you share an ice cream with your dog and unusual ice cream flavours this month are “square sausage” and “Raw Herring” flavours.

Free Ice Cream in Plymouth Today Only 13th July 2018

Strongbow is giving away FREE Dark Fruit ice cream today

Strongbow is giving away free Dark Fruit ice cream on the Barbican today – a one time opportunity to taste it reports Devon Live.

The unique ice cream is only sold in Glasgow, but Strongbow fans have chosen Plymouth as one of three cities to taste the cider lovers dream dessert.

The purple treat will be available at The Three Crowns, today, between 12pm and 8pm from a specially kitted out truck, and is only available to people over 18.

Kyle Gentleman, an ice cream maker in Glasgow, is a super fan of the beverage and became a viral hit earlier this year, clocking up millions of views when he dreamt up the idea.

Dark Fruit fans were desperate to try the ice cream so Strongbow put out a nationwide poll to ask customers which three cities should be visited on the tour.

A spokesperson for Strongbow said: “Fans in Plymouth proved their love for the drink as it was voted one of the three cities the truck should visit.”

Mr Gentleman said: “I've made ice cream for most of my life, I have always experimented with new flavours.

“As a massive fan of Strongbow Dark Fruit, I had the brainwave of making a Dark Fruit ice cream flavour and I couldn't believe the response.

“I posted it on Facebook and millions of people were liking and sharing the news, and now the team at Strongbow have given me an amazing opportunity, travelling the UK getting Strongbow Dark Fruit ice cream to thousands of people.”

A spokesperson for Strongbow said: “Head to The Three Crowns from 12-8pm and look out for the specially kitted out ice cream van to claim your free Strongbow Dark Fruit ice cream.

“Make sure you and your mates aren't disappointed and get there early to try out the #SDFicecream.”

The truck is also visiting Birmingham and Manchester as part of the tour.

Strongbow Dark Fruit ice cream is 1.1% ABV and is only available to people aged 18 and over and challenge 25 will also be in force.

Emma Sherwood-Smith, from Strongbow said: “How could we ignore the millions of people asking to try Strongbow Dark Fruit ice cream?

“So we had a brainwave of our own – let's just make it happen!

“We set to work on an epic ice cream truck and Kyle started making gallons of it ready for the fans.”

Square sausage ice-cream goes on Edinburgh hotel menu

A new dessert with a Scottish twist has gone on the menu of an Edinburgh hotel – square sausage ice cream reports BBC Scotland.

Dairy firm Glen Urr has joined forces with Apex Hotels to reinvent the breakfast dish.

It will go sale to celebrate national ice cream day on Sunday at the chain's Grassmarket hotel.

The square sausage ice cream is served inside a brioche bun with toffee drizzle, to look like brown sauce.

Chef Vladimirs Kruus said: “I have to say I've never worked with such an unusual ice cream.”

He added: “We decided to serve it on brioche buns as the bread is slightly sweet, and this will be toasted and dusted with icing sugar.

“We have also whipped up a toffee drizzle that's similar in colour to brown sauce, so it really is a sweet equivalent of a classic roll and square sausage.

“There's no mistaking the distinctive taste of Lorne sausage, so this is definitely one for the adventurous.”

The star ingredient of Lorne sausage was sourced from Grierson Brothers Butchers in Castle Douglas before being cooked up, grated and added to the mix.

Ice cream for Astronauts?!

“Astronaut ice cream” may be the most infamous of all space foods. The freeze-dried treat is sold in stores on Earth, but according to NASA astronauts and the National Air and Space Museum, likely never actually made it into space report CNN.

So what does ice cream really look like on the International Space Station? It looks like what you can buy at the grocery store.

Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Artemyev posted photos to Twitter on Thursday showing off a selection of frozen desserts delivered by the recent SpaceX Dragon resupply mission.

“#Dragon brought some ice cream and tangerines to the #ISS,” Artemyev wrote. He thanked NASA astronaut Serena Auñón-Chancellor for the edible gifts.

The photos show the crew holding chocolate-covered Dove and Snickers ice cream bars still in their wrappers. They are exactly like you'll find in boxes in the frozen aisle in US stores. There's no silver packaging and no crunchy freeze-dried Neapolitan bars in sight.

While the myth of space ice cream has been busted for years, it's still heartening to see the ISS astronauts get to enjoy frozen desserts just like those of us stuck down here on Earth.

Is it OK to share an ice cream with your dog?

A video of a woman offering her ice-cream cone to a black dachshund sprawled at her feet has gone viral. The setting is idyllic: a picnic blanket in a park on a hot day. After the dachshund has had its fill – 22 licks, according to the Daily Mail – the woman tucks her hair behind her ear and returns the cone to her own mouth.

First date with a chick and she does this with her dog, wdyd? #bail #fknlegit #imout #fuckinghell #firstlicktoo

[poweroftheminds]

Honda Clarity, BMW i3 REx driven; battery costs fall; electric car fight; tax credit lives: The Week in Reverse

http://www.autositenews.com/?p=6201

Which country may wipe the floor with the U.S. in the global race among makers of electric cars?

What car may pose a significant threat to the Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrid?

This is our look back at the Week In Reverse—right here at Green Car Reports—for the week ending on Friday, December 15, 2017.

Friday, we learned EV shoppers can breathe a little easier: The reconciled tax bill that will be voted on by the U.S. Congress did not end the tax credit for purchase of a plug-in electric car, as one draft initially had.

While a new joint venture between Toyota and Panasonic will develop prismatic cells for future electric cars—despite Toyota's aversion to EVs—Hyundai worries battery prices will stop falling by 2020 due to materials shortages.

(So far, however, the cost of lithium-ion battery packs continues to fall, and much faster than expected even a few years ago.)

2015 Hyundai Tucson Fuel Cell, 2016 Toyota Mirai at hydrogen fueling station, Fountain Valley, CA

Enlarge Photo

On Thursday, our Twitter poll on which alternate fuels may survive had a somewhat surprising result.

Meanwhile, an old China hand explained why China will dominate the U.S. in electric cars in future years.

Wednesday, we noted Pepsi has added itself to the list of companies that have reserved all-electric Tesla Semi trucks, placing the largest single order to date.

Under the Trump Administration, the EPA has enforced fewer laws and given polluters more leeway.

On Tuesday, we published all the details from our first drive of the 2018 Honda Clarity Plug-In Hybrid sedan. Our assessment: Watch out, Chevy Volt.

2018 Honda Clarity Plug-In Hybrid drive, Napa Valley, Caifornia, Dec 2017

Enlarge Photo

As we've written before, mass-market buyers don't understand plug-in hybrids. With the Clarity now at dealers, can a new Honda ad break through the confusion?

We kicked off the week on Monday with our thoughts on driving a 2017 BMW i3 range-extended electric car, which we'd been mulling over for a while now.

Six states have the highest rates of electric-car adoption, but can you name them? We've got maps!

Over the weekend, we dove into past history to explain why a possible future electric Volkswagen Thing might be an interesting and popular electric car.

If electric-car buyers struggle with trading luxury and practicality, the brands involved are likely Tesla and Chevrolet. Will the Tesla Model 3 change that?

2011 Chevrolet Volt and 2013 Tesla Model S [photo: David Noland]

Enlarge Photo

With the Volkswagen diesel emission scandal still playing out in Europe, the VW Group's CEO has turned against diesels by suggesting that subsidies for them should end.

Finally, in China, an all-electric cargo ship will haul coal to power plants, reducing their cost to generate electricity. Isn't it ironic?

Those were our main stories this week; we'll see you again next week. Until then, this has been the Green Car Reports Week in Reverse update.

_______________________________________

Follow GreenCarReports on Facebook and Twitter.

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[learnprogress]

BOOM: Gold Star Family Obliterates “Selfish” Trump

Khizr and Ghazala Khan, the parents of a Muslim soldier killed in Iraq, spoke out against Donald Trump this week following his comments about deceased troops.

First, Trump waited for 12 days to address the deaths of four Green Berets. They perished during an Oct. 4 military action.

When he finally did speak, Trump used his time to publicly criticize President Obama for not calling the families of fallen service members in the past.

The Khans were appalled by his comments, and publicly stated that they “stand with the families in their moment of grief.”

They also called Trump out for his “selfish and divisive actions,” saying that he has “undermined the dignity of the high office of the presidency.”

The Khans came to national fame last year, when they appeared at the Democratic National Convention. Khizr Khan offered to let then-Candidate Trump read the U.S. Constitution that he keeps in his pocket.

“I will gladly lend you my copy,” Khan said at the convention, while brandishing his own copy of the venerated document. The crowd went wild for the Khans.

Trump publicly insulted them shortly after.

The Khans have remained active in politics since appearing at the Convention, and currently help fundraise for Democratic candidates in Virginia, where they live.

Their son, Capt. Humayun S.M. Khan, died in 2004 while serving a tour of duty in Iraq. He stopped a suicide bomber from entering a military base, at the loss of his own life.

In his remarks about the fallen soldiers, Trump stated that he had written personal letters to the families, and plans to phone them sometime this week.

Trump also stated that former presidents have not written or called families, a statement that is absolutely and categorically untrue.

“Other presidents did not call, they would write letters, and some presidents didn’t do anything,” Trump said.

History shows us that he’s wrong. Barack Obama wrote letters and made phone calls to the families of soldiers killed in the line of duty. He also made several visits to the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, where wounded troops are stationed.

Donald Trump did not go to Dove Air Force Base to watch the bodies being returned to U.S. soil.

When the Khans became Gold Star parents in 2004, the name given to parents who lose their children in combat, they would have received a letter from then-President George W. Bush. This was his favored method of reaching out to bereaved families.

Trump’s remarks created a backlash on Twitter, with people posting pictures and personal memories. One deeply-offended Twitter user stated that “When my brother was killed, Pres Bush listened while I screamed at him & then held me as a I sobbed.”

The tradition of presidents reaching out to grieving family members of servicemen and women dates to at least the days of President Abraham Lincoln, who famously penned a letter to Lydia Parker Bixby after she lost five sons to the Union Army during the Civil War.

FDR wrote a similar letter to Mrs. Sullivan decades later during WWII, when she lost all of her sons to the conflict.

POLL: Is the Khan family right about Donald Trump?

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