#inclusive prevention strategy

[greenthestral]

Achieving Global Peace and Justice: The Crucial Role of Goal 16 and Strong Institutions

In an ever-changing and interconnected world, achieving peace and justice is of paramount importance for the well-being and progress of societies. Sustainable Development Goal 16 (SDG 16), aptly named "Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions," recognizes the significance of establishing robust governance structures, promoting peaceful and inclusive societies, and ensuring access to justice for all. This article delves into the essence of Goal 16 and highlights its vital role in fostering peace, justice, and strong institutions worldwide.

Understanding SDG 16 and Its Significance

SDG 16, part of the United Nations' 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, holds significant importance in addressing some of the most pressing global challenges. It acknowledges the inseparable connection between peace, justice, and strong institutions as crucial foundations for sustainable development and the well-being of societies worldwide. By setting this goal, the United Nations aims to provide a comprehensive framework that guides countries in their efforts to create peaceful, just, and inclusive societies.

At its core, SDG 16 recognizes that without peace and stability, sustainable development becomes unattainable. Armed conflicts, political instability, and social unrest not only lead to immense human suffering but also impede progress in various areas such as education, health, and economic growth. By prioritizing peace, the goal acknowledges the urgent need to address the root causes of violence, prevent conflicts, and build societies that can thrive in an atmosphere of tranquility.

In addition to peace, justice is an essential pillar of SDG 16. It emphasizes the importance of establishing fair and effective legal systems that ensure equal access to justice for all individuals, regardless of their socio-economic background. Access to justice is not limited to formal legal processes but extends to broader aspects, such as addressing grievances, resolving disputes, and promoting human rights. By ensuring access to justice, societies can guarantee the protection of fundamental rights, reduce inequalities, and foster social cohesion.

Strong institutions form another critical aspect of SDG 16. These institutions encompass a wide range of entities, including governments, public administrations, judicial systems, and law enforcement agencies. They play a pivotal role in upholding the rule of law, promoting good governance, and ensuring accountability at all levels. Strong institutions provide a stable framework that enables countries to effectively respond to the needs of their citizens, protect human rights, combat corruption, and provide essential services. By strengthening institutions, countries can establish an environment conducive to sustainable development and the realization of the other Sustainable Development Goals.

SDG 16 outlines specific targets and indicators to guide countries in their efforts to achieve peace, justice, and strong institutions. These targets include reducing all forms of violence and related death rates, ending abuse, exploitation, trafficking, and all forms of violence against children, promoting the rule of law at the national and international levels, and significantly reducing corruption and bribery. Additionally, the goal aims to ensure responsive, inclusive, participatory, and representative decision-making processes, strengthen the capacity of institutions at all levels, and ensure public access to information and fundamental freedoms.

To achieve these targets, countries need to develop comprehensive strategies, policies, and action plans tailored to their specific contexts. This requires multi-sectoral collaboration involving government entities, civil society organizations, the private sector, and citizens themselves. It is crucial to address the underlying factors that contribute to violence, inequality, and weak institutions, such as poverty, lack of education, discrimination, and social exclusion. By adopting a holistic approach and integrating the principles of SDG 16 into their national agendas, countries can make significant strides towards building peaceful and just societies.

Moreover, achieving SDG 16 requires international cooperation and partnerships. Many of the challenges related to peace, justice, and strong institutions transcend national boundaries, necessitating collective action. Countries can collaborate on sharing best practices, exchanging knowledge and expertise, and providing financial and technical assistance to support capacity building efforts in developing nations. By working together, the international community can promote peacebuilding, conflict prevention, and the strengthening of legal systems globally.

SDG 16 plays a pivotal role in the global pursuit of sustainable development. By recognizing the interconnectedness of peace, justice, and strong institutions, this goal provides a comprehensive framework for countries to eradicate violence, reduce corruption, promote good governance, and ensure equal access to justice. The successful achievement of SDG 16 not only contributes to the well-being of individuals and societies but also creates an environment conducive to the realization of all the other Sustainable Development Goals. Through collective action and commitment, countries can build a world where peace, justice, and strong institutions prevail.

The Link between Peace, Justice, and Sustainable Development

Peace and justice are intricately interconnected with sustainable development. Without peace, societies face constant conflicts, hindered progress, and widespread poverty. Similarly, without justice, marginalized communities struggle to access essential services, experience discrimination, and live in perpetual insecurity. Achieving sustainable development requires addressing the root causes of violence, establishing just systems, and providing equal opportunities for all individuals, regardless of their background.

Building Strong Institutions for Effective Governance

Strong institutions are the backbone of a functioning society. They uphold the rule of law, protect human rights, and ensure accountability. Such institutions foster trust between citizens and governments, creating an environment conducive to economic growth and social stability. Through effective governance structures, governments can address societal grievances, reduce corruption, and promote transparency, ultimately leading to stronger and more inclusive societies.

Advancing Peaceful and Inclusive Societies

Peaceful and inclusive societies are vital for achieving SDG 16. By promoting social cohesion, dialogue, and inclusivity, countries can reduce violence, prevent conflicts, and create a harmonious environment where all individuals can thrive. Investing in education, empowering marginalized communities, and fostering intercultural understanding are key components in building societies that value diversity and promote peaceful coexistence.

Reducing Violence and Crime Rates

SDG 16 emphasizes the need to reduce all forms of violence and crime. Violence, whether it is domestic, interpersonal, or related to armed conflicts, hampers development efforts and negatively impacts individuals, families, and communities. Through the implementation of effective policies, investments in crime prevention, and promoting conflict resolution mechanisms, countries can create safer environments that enable their citizens to lead fulfilling lives.

Tackling Corruption and Promoting Transparency

Corruption undermines trust in institutions, distorts the allocation of resources, and exacerbates inequality. SDG 16 highlights the importance of combating corruption at all levels and promoting transparency in governance. By establishing robust anti-corruption measures, implementing accountable practices, and encouraging citizen participation, countries can foster an environment of integrity, thus bolstering public trust and promoting sustainable development.

Ensuring Access to Justice for All

Equal access to justice is a fundamental human right and a cornerstone of SDG 16. Many individuals, particularly vulnerable populations, face barriers when seeking justice, including financial constraints, discrimination, and inadequate legal systems. By strengthening legal institutions, providing legal aid, and promoting fair and efficient judicial processes, countries can ensure that justice is accessible to all, regardless of their socioeconomic status.

Promoting International Cooperation and Partnerships

Achieving SDG 16 requires global collaboration and partnerships. Addressing transnational crime, promoting the rule of law, and strengthening institutions at the international level are essential components of Goal 16. By fostering cooperation among countries, sharing best practices, and providing financial and technical assistance to developing nations, the international community can work collectively towards peace, justice, and strong institutions worldwide.

Conclusion

Goal 16, "Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions," recognizes the indispensable role of peace, justice, and effective governance in achieving sustainable development. By promoting peaceful and inclusive societies, reducing violence and crime, tackling corruption, ensuring access to justice, and fostering international cooperation, countries can create a world where all individuals can live in dignity, security, and prosperity. To create a better future for all, it is crucial that governments, organizations, and individuals join forces to support and implement the targets of SDG 16, working towards a more peaceful and just world.

[acceptccnow]

High-Risk E-Commerce: Maximizing Sales with Credit Card Payments

Article by Jonathan Bomser | CEO | Accept-Credit-Cards-Now.com

In today's digital age, e-commerce reigns supreme in the business world. Yet, for enterprises operating within high-risk industries, the e-commerce payment landscape can be challenging to navigate. This is where High-Risk Credit Card Payments come into play as a crucial asset. This article explores how accepting credit card payments can revolutionize high-risk e-commerce. We will delve into strategies that span payment processing solutions to merchant accounts, with a focus on maximizing sales and achieving success within the high-risk e-commerce domain.

DOWNLOAD THE HIGH-RISK E-COMMERCE INFOGRAPHIC HERE

Broaden Customer Reach in High-Risk Sectors Industries characterized as high-risk, such as credit repair and CBD, necessitate the adoption of credit card payments. Offering this payment option not only extends your customer base but also fosters trust. It streamlines payment processing, making it accessible and efficient, which, in turn, instills confidence in customers, encouraging them to make purchases.

The Vital Role of High-Risk Merchant Accounts High-risk e-commerce demands a specialized approach. High-Risk Merchant Accounts are tailored to the unique needs of industries prone to elevated risks. These accounts incorporate features like chargeback protection and fraud prevention, serving as essential tools for high-risk business operations.

Efficient High-Risk Payment Processing Solutions High-Risk Payment Processing solutions cater to the distinctive requirements of high-risk businesses. They simplify payment acceptance, thus reducing the likelihood of transaction issues. The incorporation of a High-Risk payment gateway ensures that sensitive customer information is handled securely, instilling further confidence in your business.

The Significance of E-Commerce Payment Processing Efficient payment processing lies at the core of e-commerce businesses, whether they operate within the high-risk domain or not. Credit card payments play a pivotal role in this payment processing. By providing a seamless e-commerce payment experience, you enhance the overall shopping process, which, in turn, leads to increased sales and heightened customer satisfaction.

Leveraging SEO for Success in High-Risk E-Commerce In the highly competitive e-commerce arena, search engine optimization (SEO) should not be underestimated. The inclusion of pertinent keywords, such as High-risk credit card processing and accept credit cards for e-commerce, boosts your website's visibility. SEO optimization attracts potential customers actively seeking your products or services.

High-Risk Credit Card Payment Services for Businesses Payment processing is a constantly evolving field, with high-risk industries requiring adaptable solutions. High-Risk Credit Card Payment Services continuously adapt to cater to these distinctive demands. Keeping yourself informed and partnering with the right service providers, whether for CBD merchant processing or credit repair payment processing, is pivotal for sustained success.

In conclusion, high-risk e-commerce enterprises can thrive by embracing High-Risk Credit Card Payments. By offering credit card payments, you broaden your customer base and establish trust, streamline payment processing, and position your business for lasting success in the high-risk e-commerce realm.

[theaceandaroadvocacyproject]

Today is World Suicide Prevention Day - suicidal ideation and mental illness are currently major challenges for people in the LGBTQIA+ community. If you are struggling, there are resources out there and people ready to help. 

The experiences of prejudice, discrimination, and alienation are all big contributors to poor mental health, which is why us and many others advocate for the creation of all-inclusive and intersectional community spaces. 

[ID: Image 1 reads “Suicide Risk and Prevention for Aspec People and People of Other LGBTQIA+ Identities”. It shows graphics of a parent and child sitting together, and another individual reading. 

Image 2 reads “What is the risk? The Minority Stress Model theorizes that certain groups who experience prejudice and discrimination will, as a result, experience worse health outcomes than majority, non-oppressed groups. This includes worse mental health outcomes such as higher rates of mental illness and higher suicide risk (Meyer 2003). LGBTQIA+ youth are more than four times as likely to attempt suicide than their peers (Johns et al., 2019; Johns et al., 2020).” At the bottom is the citation: Data from The Trevor Project - https://www.thetrevorproject.org/resources/article/facts-about-lgbtq-youth-suicide/ There is a stylized graphic of a person wearing green pants clutching their head.

Image 3 reads “Are crisis hotlines helpful? Some hotlines, including the National Suicide Prevention Line (988), make use of police intervention and involuntary hospitalization if they deem it necessary without informing callers of this possibility. 988 calls for police or an ambulance on approx. 20% of callers*. US National Crisis Support Hotlines that Avoid Calling Police: -Call Blackline: 1(800)604-5841 -Fireside Project: 62-FIRESIDE -Trans Lifeline: (877)565-8860. At the bottom is the citation: NY Times “As a Crisis Hotline Grows, So Do Fears it Won’t Be Ready”https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/13/us/suicide-hotline-mental-health-988.amp.html". Pictured is a phone. 

Image 4 reads “What can we do? Form and connect people to peer support groups for specific demographics (examples: asexual survivors of assault, aromantic people of ethnic minorities). Destigmatize “complicated” orientations, and make community spaces safe and welcoming for people with these orientations. Connect people to programs and resources that help with reconnecting families, improving family relations, and/or teaching parents how to support their LGBTQIA+ kids.” At the bottom is the citation: Modified from the CDC’s Prevention Strategies: https://www.cdc.gov/suicide/prevention/index.html Depicted is a graphic of a person wearing a purple shirt hand to the head. End ID.]

[danelloevee-sky]

About: the suggestion of region-locked servers

Since not everyone has read the Sky Economy Q&A here is the segment where it came up (transcripts below)

Image transcript

What is the team planning to do to address the impact of increased IAP prices on players? Because of ongoing inflation and real-life events, these IAPs are no longer in many players’ purchasing power.

Prices for in-app purchases (IAP) outside of the US increased unevenly for some countries last year when Apple and Google adjusted prices to reflect changes in the real-world economy. In response, publishers with games in certain regions increased the amount of virtual currency given in each purchase to try to offset the new price. They were able to do this because their games were available in only a few countries, or even just one country. Sky is available in dozens of countries, so this kind of offset may help in one country but create additional problems in others. The Sky team has considered setting different prices for different countries based on the strength of their economies, but not everyone on the team agrees that it's the best strategy. This is because it comes with cultural costs. We want to create a positive online community that promotes good behavior like inclusivity, compassion, and generosity. It moves us to see that this has led to people from different countries forming genuine friendships, even if their nations are in conflict. Meanwhile, a popular feature in Sky that we added based on player feedback is the ability to gift items to other players who can't afford them. We've made many in-app purchases giftable, and have even introduced Season Passes that can be gifted. However, setting different prices for different regions can have certain consequences. One is pricing arbitrage, where people profit by exploiting price differences through trading. While we limit trading in Sky, people can still make a profit by scaling the number of transactions with enough buyers. We've seen similar arbitrage in other countries with mobile phone carriers and discount coupons, for example. In games, this leads to fraud, stealing, and toxic behavior in a community. These harmful impacts could be prevented in the community by limiting players to servers for only their specific region or country. But, this would hurt our community's ability to meet friends outside their own country. Some of us at the studio think the trade-off would be worth it, while others prefer the current simpler approach that allows more people to be together. We want to know your thoughts too! Share them with us by using the hashtag #SkyRegions on social media. Lastly, while foreign currency rates are improving over time, Apple and Google haven't adjusted their prices accordingly. We may need to reevaluate our prices if they don't change.

[racefortheironthrone]

What could Egg have done to better institutionalize his pro-smallfolk reforms? As in, what measures could he have taken to prevent at least some of them from being roled back by his sucessors (and Tywin)?

Well, it's kind of hard to speak to that with any degree of specificity when we don't know what his "reforms and .. rights and protections" included:

what kind of reforms were they (legal, land tenure, something else?)

what kinds of rights did they include (medieval law has a lot of different kinds of rights, for example),

what kind of protections are we talking about (protection from feudal incidents, or from corvée labor, or from the lord's monopolies)?

Because there might well be different legal or political strategies involved in each case. In some cases a royal proclamation would work, in other cases perhaps an inclusion in an update of the legal code would be a better strategy, in yet another case a charter with no defined experation might be the way to go, etc.

As to your second question, I think the biggest thing he could have done was to do a better job raising his kids, because as his many woes involving their marriage choices and abdication crises demonstrates, he didn't do a very good job either getting them to obey him or share his political project.

While I've written before about the advantage of (hereditary) monarchy in that political succession is relatively stable and predictable, one of the real downsides of (hereditary) monarchy is that, because so much of public policy is dependent on the will of the monarch, you can get very sharp reversals of policy when the son disagrees with the father, and those reversals last more than just a fixed term - they last a tifetime or more.

[pkmnherpetology]

satellite males are not a phenomenon unique to clodsire and quagsire. in almost all species where the males create some form of territory or aggregate to display, satellite or "sneaker" males will show up.

the poliwag line is no exception. politoed in particular are known for their booming lek choruses during the breeding season. it is often stated that politoed command or control poliwhirl with their loud, carrying songs, but this is a misconception.

politoed, poliwrath, and poliwhirl all breed with one another. they are not considered separate species, but just slightly different variants of the same creature. poliwhirl and politoed in particular share a mating strategy, which involves dozens or even hundreds of males gathering together to lek and display for females. females select a mate based on his voice and, in politoed's case, the crest. large crests and deep, booming voices that carry for a long distance are overwhelmingly the preference of females.

in habitats where politoed and poliwhirl overlap, politoed often outcompetes the poliwhirl for females of either variant. thus, satellite or sneaker poliwhirl (and smaller, less accomplished politoed), sometimes acting as if they were female, will approach a chorusing politoed, wait for a female to approach him, and then intercept the female as she goes to mate.

aside from increasing the reproductive success of these less adored males, this permits a certain level of genetic variation among populations. in lekking species, female sexual selection is very strong, and can often lead to out-of-control evolution where males with more and more extreme traits are favored until they're all that's left. the inclusion of satellite or sneaker males into this equation prevents that by allowing poliwhirl or politoed who would otherwise be selected against to keep their genes in the gene pool.

[captainxtra]

A coalition of powerful conservative organizations have put together a 900-plus-page playbook that maps out their strategy to enact a sweeping “Don’t Say Gay” policy that will eradicate queer and trans lives and destroy democracy, if given the power.

------

This section from the article should give you the general idea of what’s going on here:

The document is basically a wish list for social conservatives and mega corporations. The business wish list calls for eliminating federal agencies, stripping those that remain of regulatory power, and deregulating industries. The president would directly manage and influence Department of Justice and FBI cases, which would allow him to pursue criminal cases against political enemies. Environmental law would be gutted, and states would be prevented from enforcing their own environmental laws.

The social conservative wish list calls for ending abortion, diversity and inclusion efforts, protections for LGBTQ people, and most importantly, banning any and all LGBTQ content. In fact, “The Mandate for Leadership” makes eradicating LGBTQ people from public life its top priority. Its No. 1 promise is to “restore the family as the centerpiece of American life and protect our children.”

[thehenrythomas]

The Crucial Role Of URL Structure In SEO

In the intricate world of Search Engine Optimization (SEO), every component of a website plays a pivotal role, and one often underestimated element is the URL structure. The URL, or Uniform Resource Locator, is not merely an address for web pages; it plays a crucial role in influencing search engine rankings, user experience, and overall website performance.

 Why Does URL Structure Matter?

1. Readability and User Experience:

A well-structured URL is easy to read and understand. It provides users and search engines with a clear indication of the page's content. For example, a URL like "yourwebsite.com/product-category/product-name" is more user-friendly than one filled with numbers and symbols. This enhances the overall user experience, making it easier for visitors to navigate your site.

2. Keyword Inclusion:

Incorporating relevant keywords into your URL can positively impact search engine rankings. When search engines crawl your site, they analyze the URL for keywords to understand the content of the page. Including targeted keywords in your URL can help signal the relevance of your content and improve your chances of ranking for those keywords.

3. Crawlability and Indexing:

Search engines use crawlers to navigate and index the vast expanse of the internet. A clear and concise URL structure assists these crawlers in understanding the hierarchy of your website and the relationships between different pages. This, in turn, helps search engines index your content more effectively, ensuring it appears in relevant search results.

4. Avoidance of Duplicate Content Issues:

A well-organized URL structure helps in preventing duplicate content issues. When different versions of the same content exist with different URLs, it can confuse search engines and dilute the authority of the original content. A proper URL structure aids in maintaining the canonicalization of pages, reducing the risk of duplicate content penalties.

 Best Practices for URL Structure:

1. Use Hyphens to Separate Words:

When structuring URLs, use hyphens (-) to separate words. For example, use "yourwebsite.com/about-us" instead of "yourwebsite.com/aboutus." Hyphens are more readable and are preferred by search engines.

2. Keep it Short and Simple:

Shorter URLs are easier to remember and share. Aim for simplicity and relevance. Avoid unnecessary characters, numbers, and parameters in your URLs. A concise URL is not only user-friendly but also more likely to be clicked on and shared.

3. Include Targeted Keywords:

Incorporate relevant keywords into your URL, especially in the page's main content or topic. However, avoid keyword stuffing, as this can have a negative impact. The goal is to strike a balance between clarity and keyword relevance.

4. Static vs. Dynamic URLs:

While both static (fixed) and dynamic (parameter-driven) URLs can be effective, static URLs are generally preferred for SEO. Static URLs are more user-friendly and tend to perform better in search engine rankings.

5. Canonicalization:

Implement canonical tags to indicate the preferred version of a URL if there are multiple versions of the same content. This helps in consolidating link equity and avoiding duplicate content issues.

6. HTTPS Protocol:

In the era of heightened online security, using the HTTPS protocol is crucial. Search engines give preference to secure websites, and having HTTPS in your URL contributes positively to your site's SEO.

For businesses aiming to optimize their URL structures and overall SEO strategies, consulting with a professional search engine optimization company in Bangalore can be immensely beneficial. These companies specialize in understanding the intricacies of SEO, including URL optimization, and can provide tailored solutions to enhance your website's performance.

[spicesweet]

this current mindset of "all food is real food, there are no bad foods or dirty foods!" is literally food industry propaganda and it is only helping them continue to literally kill people, especially vulnerable communities and children.

it looks progressive and inclusive on the surface, especially if in the context of going against extreme dietary trends intended for weight loss or in the context of not preventing poor people from accessing food, but it is unfortunately part of the UPF/fast food industry's propaganda machine, and it is the opposite of progressive or inclusive.

these companies have been lobbying for decades to prevent us from knowing the truth about the products they sell as food but in reality are edible substances intended for maximum profit at the expense of people's health. they target babies and young children to get them addicted to these substances in the same way a drug dealer would, and then they claim that they're doing it for the good of the people because their products are, in a lot of countries (but not all, keep that in mind), cheaper than actual real food.

the very reason why whole foods aren't available at affordable prices in a lot of places around the world is because these companies invade the economical ecosystem of vulnerable communities to make their products the only edible products available. and then they attach themselves to these vulnerable communities so that when people criticize the industry and their harmful, dangerous products, the industry fights back by saying the criticism is aimed at the vulnerable community they're killing. there are even racial undertones to this strategy, as in the case of fried chicken and black people in the united states.

(no, I mean it, seriously. look it up.)

I get the point of fighting against notions such as "carbs are evil", but to generalize this fight as "there is no such thing as a bad food" when the very definition of food is becoming less and less clear due to corporate lobbying for younger generations is just propaganda. we shouldn't be caving to the notion that any caloric intake is fine, whatever, as long as people are putting something in their mouths, because at the moment obesity and diabetes and many other diet-related illnesses are pandemics, and while these dangerous companies profit, society tells the sick that they're the ones to blame for not making better choices.

we need to fight for food accessibility, but actual food, not edible flavored substances intended to get people addicted and that act as poison in our bodies.

[ausetkmt]

What Would an Economy That Loved Black People Look Like? - Non Profit News | Nonprofit Quarterly

What would it look like if the economy loved Black people? I hold this question in my heart every day as I reflect on our current economic conditions and strategize about building a reimagined economy rooted in equity, justice, and liberation.

To be serious about closing the racial wealth gap and building an economy that loves Black people, we need to focus our attention on the US South.

One thing I am certain of is that the systemic barriers and inequities that are embedded in present financial structures have no place in a reimagined economy. I would further contend that to transform our economy into one that loves Black people, movements need to get more intimate with the topic of power. Alicia Garza defines power as “the ability to change your circumstances and the circumstances of other people.” She talks about how being precise about power helps us be precise about strategy. Without a clear destination, the steps that are taken are going to be disordered. 

As a financial activist and reparative capital investor, power and power building in this context means shifting financial policies, practices, and infrastructure into ones that seed and sustain change. It means joining with values-aligned wealth holders and investors to disrupt power by dismantling the systems that have obstructed Black communities from building generational wealth. And it means that to be serious about closing the racial wealth gap and building an economy that loves Black people, we need to focus our attention on the US South, where roughly 56 percent of Black people in the United States call home. We must invest in the Southern Black creatives, innovators, and leaders who are the biggest exporters of culture around the world and on the frontlines of change and community power building.

Closing the Racial Wealth Gap in the South

US researcher and agricultural law expert Nathan Rosenberg has said, “If you want to understand wealth and inequality in this country, you have to understand Black land loss.” Jubilee Justice, an organization founded by Konda Mason, who serves as the strategic director of my firm RUNWAY, recognizes that land ownership provides a pathway to create generational wealth, access financial resources, have agency over agricultural and sustainable land management practices, and foster community resilience.

In the rural South, Black farmers have historically experienced—and continue to experience—a lack of access to agricultural resources and credit. They also continue to face discrimination, and exclusion from government programs, loans, and subsidies. This result is the loss of farmland and restricted opportunities for economic growth. 

Of all private US agricultural land (excluding Indian Country), according to a US Department of Agriculture study, White people comprise 96 percent of farmers, own 98 percent of the acres, and generate 97 percent of farm earnings. From 1900 to 1997, the number of Black farmers decreased by more than 97 percent; in the South, Black landowners lost 12 million acres of farmland over the past century, amounting to $326 billion worth of lost land in the United States due to discrimination. 

The unjust policies that denied, dispossessed, and restricted Black individuals and communities of land ownership in the past have cast a long shadow. Policies that have routinely prevented Black communities from building generational wealth, like redlining and denying Black people mortgage loans and insurance, persist and are reflected in the massive racial wealth gap we’re still seeing today. 

Even as the struggles for civil rights, inclusion, and economic justice gain ground, investment in the South remains uneven. Grantmakers for Southern Progress shares that the South receives less than three percent of all philanthropic investment in the United States. We must increase philanthropic action to build the capacity of community-based organizations and networks leading structural change work in the region. 

As Tamieka Mosley of Grantmakers for Southern Progress and Nathanial Smith of the Partnership for Southern Equity, share: “If the South—the birthplace of historic and destructive inequities—rallies to end structural injustice, it can model for the country what the journey toward racial justice and equity looks like.”

Black communities continue to experience the ongoing legacy of slavery and racism through blatant discrimination from financial institutions whose inequitable lending practices limit Black entrepreneurs from attracting early critical investments. On average, early-stage entrepreneurs need about $30,000 in capital to get their initiatives off the ground, with friends and family of entrepreneurs on average providing $23,000 or more than three quarters, of the needed amount. All told, nationally friends and family investing exceeds $60 billion a year, nearly three times the investment level of venture capitalists. 

However, not everyone has equal access to this vital source of capital. In 2019, the median White family in the United States had $184,000 in wealth compared to just $38,000 and $23,000 for the median Latinx and Black families, respectively. With this racial wealth disparity, Black entrepreneurs are less likely to receive early-stage funding from friends and family—a critical lifeline for business startups and growth opportunities. 

It is especially critical because capital from friends and family typically has more flexible lending terms and is not tied to a person’s credit score; rather, it is based on the level of trust people have in the preparation of the business owner. These relationships and informal networks also provide other nonfinancial resources such as business advising, referrals, and support systems. For many Black entrepreneurs, particularly women, racial wealth inequality is the leading factor in why their great ideas never leave the napkin.

RUNWAY believes giving every Black entrepreneur access to the “friends and family” round of investing will be transformational for Black communities. The key to this process, as mentioned, is trust. 

By infusing trust into exploitative and extractive systems, we can facilitate pivotal early-stage investments along with wraparound entrepreneurial ecosystem support like business coaching and advising. We can provide “friends and family” funding using patient, flexible capital to advance resiliency for Black businesses and the communities they serve. 

Investing in people and places that have been historically excluded from traditional investment support will always appear risky to foundations and fund managers. The best antidote to that risk is to build trust-based, honest relationships with local community leaders and changemakers who deeply understand the region and the specific needs of that region. In the South, those relationships will be based on listening, mutual aid, and physical presence. These types of relationships are critical to making investments that shift the balance of power toward equity and wealth regeneration for Black communities.

Listening to the Community

I recently gathered in my home state of Alabama with a delegation of fund managers, investors, and philanthropists to bring reparative finance to the people and places that have been systemically blocked from wealth building opportunities as part of RUNWAY ROOTED, my organization’s latest initiative to invest in Southern Black entrepreneurship, creativity, and innovation.

It takes long-term, non-extractive, reparative investments . . . to undo the systemic design of racial hierarchy and imagine new possibilities.

We spent a week moving through the region to learn from community leaders, creatives, and local representatives about the unique economic challenges in the area. The experience illuminated the fact that Black business ownership is a mechanism that not only builds economic power, but social and political power as well. 

Truth be told, in most cases, resistance from investors and wealth holders goes back to power. Those in power don’t want to let go of it. But the conversations like the ones we had in Alabama signal that things are changing. We must be deliberate in how we apply pressure. This involves deep collaboration between movement leaders, creatives, and community, as well as with investors, funders, and wealth holders. We must collaborate on ways to work together and co-conspire to build collective power. 

Building collective power takes telling the truth about why Black people in places like Jackson, MS remain deeply entrenched in age-old, stubborn barriers to economic opportunity. It takes investors who are willing to reckon with a history that built wealth by stealing land from Indigenous nations and extracting free labor from enslaved Africans—and to invest in repairing the conditions that presently uphold the racial wealth gap. And it takes long-term, non-extractive, reparative investments that remind us that the real work is to undo the systemic design of racial hierarchy and imagine new possibilities. 

Investing in Southern Creatives 

Shaping our collective future into one that loves Black people needs the joy, inspiration, and useful critique of our political, economic, and social systems that come from creative thinkers and makers through their art, organizing, and visionary disruption. To tap into this dynamic force of change, it is vital to ensure that the extractive finance of the past does not block our collective ability to invest in the talent and innovation of the future.

This work requires long-term, flexible commitments of capital, time, and . . . support for Black-led businesses and innovation in the South.

Reimagining and collaboratively shaping a world where Black people are loved means prioritizing investments in creative entrepreneurs and creative placemaking. It means investing in places like Gee’s Bend, AL, to bring long-term business capital to the women who carry the legacy and tradition of West African quilting—one of the most important cultural contributions to the history of art in the United States. It means partnering with organizations like Upstart Co-Lab and Souls Grown Deep Foundation, who journeyed with us in Alabama, to invest in the arts, cultural, design, and innovation industries in the South with a mission toward repair and justice. 

Philanthropy and investments that are transformative and inclusive are not only about diversifying the seats at the decision-making table. They also invite multiple voices into the design rooms where the table is carved out and set, ensuring it is broad and deep enough to nourish the future of local and national communities. 

This work requires long-term, flexible commitments of capital, time, and capacity with a willingness to resolve disparities in funding and support for Black-led businesses and innovation in the South. It’s also necessary to acknowledge that the economic development programs that work for coastal metros or major cities may not be the same for the South—and need to be thoughtfully adapted to meet the distinct community needs, local infrastructure, and pulse of the region. By listening deeply and building authentic relationships with community leaders, community transformation over time can occur on community terms. Through this process, people are transformed—and so are community social and economic conditions. 

I’ve always felt like investing in artists, creatives, and innovators does what Nina Simone famously said: “An artist’s duty, as far as I’m concerned, is to reflect the times.” Simone believed that artists and creatives have a responsibility to create work that reflects and addresses the social, political, and cultural climate of their era; that art has the power to serve as a mirror of society, bringing attention to important issues and fostering dialogue and understanding. 

Today, the creative economy represents $985 billion in economic opportunity. This is also a time when art from creators like Amanda Gorman, who became the youngest inaugural poet in US history when she performed “The Hill We Climb” during President Joe Biden’s inauguration in 2021, is being banned in Florida schools. Responses like this tell us that art does indeed have power. Creativity has power. Innovation and truth-telling have power. And power is transformative.

…..

Building an economy that truly loves Black people requires a profound shift in financial structures and the way money moves. Investing in the South and supporting Southern Black creatives, innovators, and leaders is a pivotal step in redressing land loss and the discriminatory lending practices Black entrepreneurs continue to face. 

We live in a moment of incredible opportunity. The mission (and the challenge) here is to take this moment and turn it into a movement that sustains the transformative work required to build an economy where we all have the power—and the right—to thrive.

[religion-is-a-mental-illness]

By: Wokal Distance

Published: Feb 16, 2023

Recently there was another dust up about what we mean when we talk about “woke.” This was sparked by a Television interview where Bethany Mandel, who I consider a friend, was interviewed about her new book and was asked by the host Briana Joy Gray to define woke. Unfortunately, Bethany had difficulty giving an on the spot definition of the term, and simply responded by saying the Woke was difficult to define.

Predictably, this lead to something of a pile on as a tweet of the moment went viral on twitter. In short, a large number of left leaning accounts proceeded to say words to the effect that when conservatives call things woke, all they are doing is dog-whistling various bigoted sentiments. In other words, “woke” is just a term that conservatives use as a slur.  Here are just a couple of examples:

This is all part of a strategy that is being employed by Critical Social Justice (AKA “woke”) activists in order to protect their ideology and worldview from criticism. As we will see, what they are doing is attempting to prevent us from giving their ideology a name or a label in order to protect it from criticism.

So I am going to explain how and why they do this, and what we can do about it. Let’s begin.

1.      Sketching the problem

No doubt readers of this substack have heard people who claim to fight for Social Justice say things like: "White privilege is a product of systemically racist social structures which center whiteness and marginalize people of color while reproducing white supremacy. This reinforces dominant power structures and a cultural hegemony that benefits cisgendered heterosexual white males at the expense of BIPOC, Latinx, and LGBTQS2+ folx."

We've all seen that jargon coming from people with similar views, politics, and ideas, all demanding sweeping social change from the left. They might be doing advocacy in different areas of society, and with respect to different topics, but the similarity of the language, the overlap of the concepts, and the fact that the arguments are always concerned with oppression, privilege, systemic power, diversity, equity, inclusion, inequality, ability status, sex, race, and gender indicate that here is clearly a coherent worldview at work here. However, every time we try give that worldview a name they say the name we pick is problematic, wrong, incorrect, bigoted, misleading or otherwise problematic.

Many names have been tried, but every time we try to name this ideology: woke, Critical Race Theory, Socialism, neo-marxism, cultural Marxism, Critical Social Justice, The successor ideology, and we are told none of this is appropriate or correct.

This inability to give the ideology in question a name prevents people from being able to talk about the project of social, cultural, and political change coming from the left. They want to agitate, advocate, and demand social change without acknowledging, much less defending, the worldview at the center of their project.

The result is that there is a large number of ideologically connected but formally unconnected social movements which all proceed from the same worldview while all denying that there is a single distinct worldview, mindset, or ideology at work. We have:

BLM

Defund the Police

Critical Race Theory

Queer theory (aka, gender ideology or radical gender theory)

Drag Queen Story Hour

Diversity Equity, and inclusion

And a host of other social and political movements, all of which use similar language, have similar policies, similar concerns, and which work together in “solidarity” with each other, all while claiming that there is no underlying common worldview which can be given a label.

They will tell you that they want to change society, change the world, and change the culture, but if you ask them to put a name to their ideology it always comes up empty. Sometimes they will say “oh, this is just kindness,” or “we call it fairness.” This is absurd. Most people do not think “society is constructed by systemic power which socializes people to accept the legitimacy of a system which reproduces white privilege at the expense of POC and which needs to be decolonized in order to make space for non-binary folx” when they are trying to talk about fairness.

So what exactly is going on here?

2.     The strategy at work.

So I would like to now explain what I think is going on using Zebras as an analogy. This will make sense I promise you.

Many animals have fur, feathers, or skin that blends in to their environment. This acts as camouflage so they can blend in to their environment and hide. This owl is a fine example:

Zebras, however, are different. They use camouflage, but they way they use it is entirely different. Zebra’s are covered in black and white stripes even though the environment they live in is mostly brown and green. If you see a zebra by itself, it's very easy to see.

It's like they have a neon sign over them saying "lions, please eat me." Look at this picture below, this Zebra does not blend into it’s background at all:

So how does Zebra Camouflage work? Well, its simple: Zebra camouflage works by making zebras blend with the herd so that lions can't focus on any one zebra and target it. In order for Lions to kill a zebra they need to be able to pick one Zebra, focus on it, and then go after it. If the lions are unable to pick a target then the Zebras are safe.

What Zebras Camouflage does is to make the Zebras blend into the heard. It makes them all blend in together with each other so that it becomes near impossible for the lions to select any one zebra to attacks. If lions can't pick a target to go after, then the Zebras are safe. And as you can see in the pictures below, when the Zebras are in a single herd it becomes nearly impossible to pick out any one of them:

Scientists discovered this as they studied Zebras and got confused about which individual zebra was which, and that happened because the zebras camouflage causes them to all blend into the herd.

So, they tried to fix this by tagging a zebra with red paint so they could recognize it from the others and keep track of it.

Guess what happened?

The Lions killed the tagged Zebra. A tagged zebra stands out from the herd so lions can tell it apart and focus the hunt on it. The Lions don't catch weak zebras, they catch the *IDENTIFIABLE* Zebras they can focus on. If a Zebra stand out from the herd, or gets separated from the herd it no longer blends in with the rest of the herd and it loses the benefit of it's camouflage, at which point the lions can focus on it, target it, and kill it.

This is a great analogy for the game the woke are playing.

Once a worldview is named and defined, it can then be pointed out, highlighted, and subjected to criticism. Once you can *IDENTIFY* a worldview or set of ideas you can focus on it. Naming an idea lets us separate it from the herd of other ideas and examine it up close. The woke don't want anyone to be able to give a name or label to their ideology because if that happens we can "tag" examples their ideology with a label when we see it. This allows us to highlight it, point it out, and examine it when we see it.

We label and name things to help us "tag" them, so we can point them out and focus on them, the woke are trying desperately to destroy all of our linguistic "tags." Woke activists do not want us to be able to single out their ideas and subject them to criticism. Woke ideas really can't withstand proper rational and logical analysis. The lions of truth: evidence, logic, rationality, etc, will eat the Zebras of Wokeness, Gender Ideology, Critical Race Theory, and Critical Social Justice for lunch. But only if the lions of reason can focus on and identify the Zebras of woke ideology.

This is what the woke want to avoid. The woke think our criticisms are not legitimate and merely an attempt by us to attack them so we can hold on to "power and privilege." For that reason the woke seek to insulate themselves from our "illegitimate" criticism.

So, to avoid getting eaten by the lions of reason the woke want to camouflage their ideology in a way that makes it impossible to it to be seen, pointed out, highlighted, or (in woke parlance) "made visible." They want hide their worldview by making it impossible to focus on and impossible to tag, label, or name. so they can say they are "just doing history" or "just discussing gender," and "blend in" as though wokeness fits right alongside reason, evidence, logic, and rationality.

We need to use labels to be able to point at, highlight, and otherwise tag woke concepts so that they can be seen and then held up and examined for criticism. Using labels like "woke," "CRT," AND "Critical Social Justice," lets us tag woke ideas so we can hold them up to the light and examine them. Labels help us point out wokeness to other people so they can see it too.

This is what the woke want to avoid.

What the woke want is to act like all the bits of woke activism we see are unconnected phenomena spontaneously springing fourth in the name of justice in an organic and decentralized way.  They want to act as though things like BLM, Defund the Police, “Diversity, equity, and Inclusion,” and Drag Queen Story Hour are diffuse and unconnected movements when in fact they are all connected by their adherence to an underlying worldview and ideology.

The formal name of this ideology is Critical Social Justice,1 or in common parlance, wokeness.

3.     What is the solution

Do not let them do this. Do not let them play games and use linguistic and rhetorical sleight of hand to hide their worldview. You do not need to give an exhaustive definition every time they invent a new term, or every time they present you with some new bit of jargon. All you need is a definition of wokeness that communicates its ideas in a clear way so people can examine it.

I would like to provide what I think is an accurate definition of wokeness that even a person who is “woke” would be willing to accept.

Woke: (sometimes called Critical Social Justice) is a type of social justice politics that claims systemic identity based discrimination such as racism, sexism, homophobia, white privilege, and other sorts of injustice are baked into the fabric of society. In short, society is oppressive. They believe this occurs through “systems of power” which were created for the benefit people who are white, straight, and male, at the expense of everyone else. This power operates through cultural hegemony (cultural dominance) and by socializing people into accepting the legitimacy of this oppressive system, and accepting their place in it. Wokeness claims these systems of power warp every element of western culture in a way that harms people, and for that reason all of society must be radically restructured.  Everything, including science, knowledge, truth, beauty, economics, education, sports, music, film, agriculture, justice and everything else on society are full of bigotries, biases and self-interest which are a product of the systems of power which were created by and for straight white males. On this view even such things as math, biology, physics, and chemistry must be radically rebuilt with a focus toward diversity, equity, inclusion, social justice, anti-racism, and so fourth.

To give you something that is a little easier to memorize and pull out in conversation, Neil Shenvi has offered a definition of wokeness which fits into a single tweet:

Wilfred Reilly offers and even shorter definition that is excellent for use in everyday conversation:

With a proper definition of wokeness now in view we should now proceed to make sure that we carefully, accurately, and carefully label things as Critical Social Justice or “Woke” when they fit that definition. We should have absolutely no hesitation in doing so.

These woke activists have labelled everyone they disagree with as:

racist

bigot

sexist

white supremacist

nazi

fascist

transphobe

homophobe

ableist

misogynist

anti-black

They absolutely do not get to complain when we label them as “woke.”

Label fairly, use labels from their literature, and label accurately, do not hesitate to label those woke ideas and then subject those woke ideas to the bright light of rigorous criticism and analysis.

Thanks for reading.

Sincerely,

Wokal_distance

--

1 Özlem Sensoy and Robin DiAngelo, Is Everyone Really Equal? An Introduction to Key Concepts in Social Justice Education, second edition. Teachers College press. 2017. P.19

==

An alternate approach is to ignore the definitions entirely.

I don't really care what name you want to call it when:

everything is seen through paranoid, invisible power dynamics and emotional abuse and manipulative lies are used to coerce people who have done nothing wrong;

or when the most fragile, most ideologically possessed can, and do, weaponize the worst, most intellectually dishonest reading of a statement or situation and insist you're a bigot if you don't accept it as true;

or when black kids are told that society is structured around "anti-blackness" and white kids are told that they are oppressors;

or when the liberal mainstay of colorblindness (reducing the social signifiance of skin color) is itself regarded as "racist", and the new morality declares the opposite is required;

or when equality and merit are treated as bigotry, and standards must be lowered;

or when racial segregation is rehabilitated as a virtue;

or when objective reality is denied, objectivity itself is bigoted, and truth becomes merely an opinion;

or when gay conversion therapy is being endorsed by supposed LGBT organizations;

or when parents transition their kids because they liked the wrong toys;

or when doctors and hospitals lie about the need for medical experiments on kids, or that they're doing them at all;

or when people keep pretending they don't know how babies are made;

or when organizations are consumed with ideological activism and become incapable of fulfilling their actual mission;

or when our knowledge-producing institutions are tearing themselves apart and dismantling our knowledge-making processes in order to restructure themselves instead for the production of religious piety as ideological convents;

or when words are redefined or eliminated entirely for the purpose of controlling thought and re-engineering society;

or when the most privileged, most entitled people in the world in the freest countries in the world are roleplaying as oppressed victims;

or when people in those countries voluntarily implement defacto blasphemy laws to suppress or punish wrongthink, and even arguing in favor of freedom of speech is recast as a "dogwhistle" for "hate";

or when it's somehow both the case that LiTeRaLLy nO oNe Is DoInG tHiS and you're a bigot for getting in their way.

I don't care what you call this.

It just has to end.

[mariacallous]

The failure to “fully confront” war crimes and the root causes of the 1990s conflicts continues to have devastating consequences for respect for human rights, the rule of law and social cohesion in the countries of the former Yugoslavia, the Council of Europe’s human rights commissioner Dunja Mijatovic said in a report published on Thursday.

Almost three decades after the end of the Yugoslav wars, with victims, witnesses and suspects ageing and dying, and with less and less available evidence, criminal prosecutions for wartime crimes are becoming more difficult, Mijatovic explained in the report entitled ‘Dealing with the Past for a Better Future’.

“Time is running out to achieve effective justice, compensation and truth for the victims,” she said.

“The prosecution for war crimes, the search for missing persons and the provision of compensation to victims have recently slowed down or stagnated mainly due to a lack of political will,” she added.

She said that backtracking in the process of dealing with the past “coincides with negative trends in the field of human rights” such as an increase in hate speech, genocide denial and the glorification of war criminals.

“It ultimately threatens the hard-won peace,” she warned.

Mijatovic pointed out that “ethno-nationalist discourse” has been “reinvigorated” in the region, seriously hindering efforts towards reconciliation.

She accused politicians, media, religious leaders and public figures of spreading “harmful narratives”.

“Narratives and actions that cause division and hatred have become a general political strategy, including around elections, and are dangerously undermining efforts to prevent the recurrence of violence,” she said.

The search for missing persons, which helps to establish the truth about the 1990s wars, has slowed down in the last few years, even though 9,876 people are still missing, the report noted.

Numerous civilian victims of the war in the region are still without effective access to adequate reparations, and none of the former Yugoslav countries have adopted comprehensive reparation programmes in line with United Nations guidelines, the report said.

Mijatovic added that other key measures, such as establishing truth and reconciliation commissions, vetting public officials and inclusive memorialisation, have also not been implemented.

She argued that cooperation between ex-Yugsolav states is of key importance in dealing with the past, and called for a revival of efforts aimed at justice and reconciliation, with a victim-oriented approach and zero tolerance for denials of genocide and the incitement of hatred towards other ethnic groups.

She also stressed the intergenerational importance of dealing with the past, calling for more youth engagement and ethnically integrated education systems and history lessons.

“It is crucial to strengthen political and financial support for a strong and resilient civil society working on transitional justice. Civil society is currently the best hope for a better future based on human rights and the rule of law,” she said.

[tapuwadangarembizi]

How can the implementation of sustainable energy help in the industrial sector, according to Tapuwa Dangarembizi

Firstly, Thanks to his extensive understanding of the most recent innovations and developments in the energy business, Tapuwa Dangarembizi has been instrumental in accelerating energy transformation and drawing attention to the issues of environmental sustainability. Furthermore, he has gained recognition as a significant leader and visionary in this area thanks to his expertise and dedication.

You can also read Tapuwa Dangarembizi Why is there a need to focus on using sustainable energy?

Businesses and industries contribute significantly to a nation's economy by generating sizable amounts of revenue, maintaining average incomes, and creating substantial employment opportunities for citizens from various social strata. Here is when it is also the responsibility of the industries to create such opportunities where they can save the environment and prevent it from a global crisis. Also deemed good Corporate Social Responsibility.

Understanding the implementation of sustainable energy in industries

The non-renewable energy sector typically uses mechanical processes to operate autonomously with the barest amount of human intervention. On the other hand, a green energy business needs much personnel to run and perform optimally, expanding job prospects and boosting a nation's entire economic structure.

By substituting or offsetting the demand for the emission of fossil fuels with net-zero power sources such as solar and wind, the industry's environmental impact immediately decreases if conventional sources utilized in sectors are replaced with renewable energy sources.

Unlike fossil fuels that deteriorate air quality and pose serious health risks due to their pollution of earth's resources, including soil, water, and air. Renewable energy produces far fewer greenhouse gas emissions, significantly improving the general health quality in the environment.

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Our mission is to close the gap between development and sustainability. We have a group of forward-thinking individuals working constantly to create a variety of sustainable goods, services, and solutions for a peaceful and inclusive world. We are recognized as a sustainable business, and we provide clear sustainable strategies that monitor your sustainable ROI, invest in energy from renewable sources, and keep your market advantage. In addition, we also support Sustainable Development Goals by creating novel solutions that result in quick carbon reduction for a better future.

Another development, is the introduction of ride-sharing services like Uber and Lyft, which enable users to split journeys with others while lowering the overall number of cars on the road. These ideas, plans, and contributions from Tapuwa Dangarembizi have an opportunity to lessen traffic jams and greenhouse gases while also promoting a healthier and more environmentally friendly way of living. Tapuwa is working diligently to develop the charging infrastructure that will support Uber and Lyft as they are forced to electrify their fleets to remain sustainable companies.

Saving the environment

The work of Dangarembizi is targeted at the most efficient use of  energy sustainably. His innovations are helping the world use more renewable energy sources and rely less on fossil fuels. This helps to protect the environment while simultaneously supplying clean, inexpensive electricity.

Industry leaders must make eco-friendly decisions to pave the road for a healthy future since doing so establishes a policy that can benefit society while additionally guaranteeing corporate excellence. To know more, you may like to read The Future is Green: How Tapuwa Dangarembizi is Paving the Way for Sustainable Energy

[crystalelemental]

Champion Stadium has updated, and now it's time for Kanto CS.  Kinda glad we're starting with an easier one, because this upgrade?  This one...does some stuff.

General Overview Oh that's right, we're having dialogue about this.  15k meta is interesting, in that its impacts depend on your tendency.  If you're clearing on-type, this is effectively a return to the 10k meta.  The inclusion of parameters under 12.5k made on-type easier, thanks to the Physical/Special reduction, and standard damage reduction.  This includes stall, as the inclusion of these parameters made Stall better than it had ever been.  The 15k meta is therefore just...add Strength +2 and Strength +3 back in, and adjust those for any shenanigans a team might pull.  I'm completely serious, it's just the 10k meta again, no distinction.

Off-typing, however, has no such benefit.  300 of those free 400 on-type points needed re-allocated, and it meant off-typing became harder while on-typing became easier.  Generally, this was a fine move.  I actually think it speaks well to DeNA's ability to balance this game mode, as the increase in points continues to apply pressure on off-type clears, while making on-type easier.  Stall suffered greatly under the 10k meta, and so the return to that for Stall keeps a fairly busted strategy under better control.

That said, off-typing is not impossible, just very very hard to do.  Depending on your angle.  Offensive parameter off-typing, I believe, is borderline dead.  Barring the obscenely heavy-hitters of the modern age, off-type suffers from having to put even more points into bulk.  Unless you're willing to pack -2 sync cooldown, which is a problem in and of itself given the approach of denials, your options are playing to extreme gimmicks like Five Stats Up/Down 3, No Stat Reduction, No Field Effects, etc.  And note, the field effect used to be the thing to switch on when you needed to lower offenses +5 to sustain better; that option no longer exists.  I say all this to point out, off-typing with offensive parameters?  Now takes +HP.  And that puts a lot of pressure on denial-focused clears.  To give an idea: none of these teams cleared under offensive parameters.  Not a single one.  Fire team might have been able to.  Might.  Grass team definitely could because SS Lyra.  But the others would not.

But it turns out, HP focused off-type?  Not that bad.  Taking strength to supplement HP is really not a bad plan of attack at all, and you get enough out of it that the only offensive boosts you'll need to take are either Sync Buff +5 or Power On Hit +1.  You can even take both if you need both forms of damage, and be fine.  I found this much, much easier to manage on the whole, although I will not, some fights were uh.  They were still tough.  The opponent's sync nuke, against teams that aren't designed to have better bulk for survival, will still KO sides.  The only thing you really need to keep in mind is to never ever select Gradual Healing At Start.  They will just heal off all your damage.  And I do mean all of it.

I'll put in a little bit extra at the end, but let's talk about the fights themselves.

Vs. Agatha Agatha starts us off, and I decided to take in Psychic Team for this one.  I'm not sure why, Bede didn't have Natural Remedy on him so this was not wise.  But I digress.  This team did alright, actually.  Caitlin's sync is still quite respectable, Anni May's Sp Atk debuffs are great for survival, and NC Bede is great for rotating Free Moves for Caitlin's sync and for setting up defensive buffs via his Buddy move.  They do quite well together, with NC Bede only going down due to poison, which also served me well because I got some extra hits in by preventing the opponent from queueing a move during a self-knockout.

Vs. Lance Fire Gals are absurdly strong, and honestly, if you thought NC Leaf was bonkers under offense parameters, wait til you get a load of HP parameters.  When Leaf can actually take hits, she's an actually fantastic tank.  Giving her the Support Cake is now honestly on my priority list, this is great.  SS Hilda is still primary damage dealer, while SS May has tremendous debuffing potential, fast-ramping, and speed control for the team.  They're all wonderful.

Vs. Bruno The hardest fight shown by a pretty wide margin.  Bruno has Impervious, which makes the debuff thing with Irida rough.  Moreover, he boosts his attack pretty sharply, and Glacia is not a defensive support.  Meaning that his sync takes down BP Candice in one shot with zero issue.  Yes, even full HP and EX, she drops.  It's not great!  Irida barely survived, which I appreciate.  Ice is a little rough over here, not going to lie.

Vs. Lorelei I mean look, until the point total is "all of them at once," SS Lyra is a win condition on her own.  So long as Interference Immunity isn't up, she's going to flinch lock the game.  Adaman is absurdly powerful, and SS Acerola helps skyrocket damage for an efficient clear.  These three are busted.

Vs. Blue So if I'd paid any attention to the parameters of these stages, the Irida fight would've been #4, for the coveted permanent field effects.  Once I realized that was there, I knew what I had to do.  It's H!Caitlin time.  Specifically, Goth Gals.  Anni Lillie has been relegated to the bench for a while now and it makes me sad.  Turns out, HP parameters with something as nonsense as permanent field effects makes H!Caitlin untouchable, and Lillie's Healthy Benefits 5 essentially means she'll weather any sync.  I think she took double-digits.  That's how hard she can take that hit under these conditions.  Renegade Cynthia, by comparison...kinda suffers here.  One of the things I had recently put together in the 12.5k meta was two-turn moves used for denials.  That doesn't work here.  HP is way too high for a two-turn move to ever seriously deal damage, so it's just all downside.  And Cynthia is pretty bad on gauges.  This team is literally held together by H!Caitlin's speed buffs.

Final Thoughts The clears were successful, with some shenanigans.  I don't know that Goth Gals would've cleared without permanent field effects, and personally think using SS Lyra is cheating.  Aside from that, nothing too major.

What I've noticed about HP parameters, however, is pretty stark.  Certain things just don't work out as well.  Tech nukes being a bit one.  Single-target nukes are all well and good, but AoE spam from sides are not appealing.  They tend to need DPS.  As a result, Sprint feels borderline useless here.  It might not be, I shouldn't be critical, but I'm specifically thinking of Nemona's approach and going...that will not work here.  That will not work here in the slightest.  Her bursts are just far, far too weak to seriously beat these threats back.  Supports also have to be a bit more selective.  If you can't buff defenses, you need offense debuffing, or the Strength stacking still poses a significant risk.  The EX is also fairly demanded, as you're called on to take a lot more hits, and the team desperately needs the firepower long-term for a safe clear.  Interesting, Field pairs seem fine.  No fight lasted through a second sync from the opponent, meaning the extended duration from a Field pair is...perfectly acceptable.  Strike is the big money winner, as it always has been for 3v3.  The spread damage on a good sync nuke is divine.  Which is gonna be real sad for Clair.

I think the upgrade has definitely put some things in an interesting position.  Specifically, on-typing is still fairly easy, and most pairs can handle that no sweat.  But off-typing has now become incredibly challenging.  I've got Nemona on the brain for no real reason, but her pair comes to mind as a very significant loser of this transition.  The burst damage she deals is nowhere near sufficient.  I had trouble getting her to really hit that hard in 300 Strength High Score, which is less HP than this.  The new 15k meta has absolutely ruined pairs like her, with limited burst potential and poor DPS.  So all she's left with is on-type.  Which is really, really easy for her.  I think that's the issue.  I'm not convinced the severe discrepancy between on-type and off-type leaves a lot of wiggle room for pairs who on-type with easy, used to off-type with difficulty, and now may not off-type at all.  Time will tell the overall impact, but it's...not my favorite at this exact second.

[rogersonlaw]

Law on Bullying in Schools: Key Considerations

The laws on bullying in schools typically emphasize the following key considerations:

Definitions and Scope: Clear definitions of bullying behaviors are established, outlining what constitutes bullying, including physical, verbal, and cyberbullying. The laws often cover incidents that occur on school premises, during school-sponsored activities, or through electronic means.

Prevention and Education: Schools are required to implement prevention programs and strategies to address bullying effectively. This may involve creating policies, conducting awareness campaigns, providing training to staff, and fostering a positive school climate that promotes respect and inclusivity.

Reporting and Investigation: Procedures for reporting bullying incidents are established, ensuring that students, parents, and staff have accessible channels to report incidents promptly. The laws often mandate schools to investigate reported incidents thoroughly and take appropriate action.

Disciplinary Measures: Consequences for bullying behaviors are outlined, which may include disciplinary actions ranging from warnings and counseling to suspension or expulsion, depending on the severity of the offense. Some laws may also address the legal liability of schools and individuals involved in bullying incidents.

Support and Intervention: The laws emphasize the provision of support services and interventions for victims of bullying. This may involve counseling, access to mental health resources, and measures to protect the well-being and academic progress of affected students.

By having laws specifically addressing bullying in schools, authorities can enforce accountability, encourage prevention efforts, and provide a legal framework to support victims and their families.

For more details on the law on bullying in schools and how Rogerson Law Group can help, contact us today.

https://www.rogersonlaw.com/child-bullying-litigation-toronto/

[floridapestcontrolservices]

Pest Control Service in Dubai: Safeguarding Your Space with Florida Pests Services

Introduction

Keeping a pest-free environment is essential for the health of both homes and businesses in Dubai's bustling metropolis. Florida Pests Services, the area's top pest control company, offers knowledge from the Sunshine State to the arid terrain. This post explores Florida Pests Services' all-inclusive pest control options, which guarantee a bug-free haven right in the middle of Dubai.

The Florida Pests Advantage

In the realm of pest management, experience counts. With more than 20 years of experience, Florida Pests Services is a trustworthy ally in the fight against invasive species. Their team of seasoned professionals is aware of the particular difficulties presented by Dubai's climate and crafts solutions that effectively deal with insect problems in the area.

Comprehensive Pest Inspections

An exhaustive inspection is the first step towards efficient pest control. By using cutting-edge methods to find pest entry sites and nesting locations, Florida Pests Services goes above and beyond the obvious. They develop a customized plan by conducting thorough inspections that target pests at their source.

Targeted Treatments for Local Pests

The varied environment in Dubai attracts a range of pests, each of which needs a different strategy. Modern pest control methods are used by Florida Pests Services to get rid of everything from basic invaders like ants and cockroaches to more elusive threats like bedbugs and termites. These methods are made to ensure that the environment and occupants are not harmed in the process.

Eco-Friendly Pest Control

Florida Pests Services takes great satisfaction in providing eco-friendly pest control solutions in an era where environmental concern is vital. Their treatments effectively combat pests while leaving the least possible environmental impact, thanks to the use of eco-friendly chemicals. They stand out in the business because of their dedication to sustainability.

Integrated Pest Management

Using Integrated Pest Management (IPM), Florida Pests Services takes a comprehensive approach to pest management. This approach ensures a long-term solution that stops recurrent infestations by combining targeted treatments, habitat restoration, and preventive measures.

Tailored Solutions for Residential Spaces

Since the house is where the heart is, keeping pests out is of the utmost importance. Florida Pests Services understands the particular requirements of residential settings and offers specialized solutions that provide families peace of mind. Their services are tailored to meet a range of needs, from one-time treatments to full pest management regimens.

Commercial Pest Control Excellence

Pest control presents unique issues for businesses in Dubai. Florida Pests Services is aware of the effects that pests can have on businesses, including workplaces and restaurants. Their discrete services and proactive approach guarantee minimal disturbance and the preservation of a pest-free environment.

Emergency Response Team

Emergencies with pests can happen at any time. With a quick-response emergency crew, Florida Pests Services can handle pressing pest issues with ease. This quick reaction reduces any losses and gives consumers dealing with unanticipated pest problems instant relief.

Conclusion

As the go-to partner for pest management in the vibrant city of Dubai, where the harmony of urban living meets the challenges of a particular climate, is Florida Pests Services. They not only fulfill but beyond expectations thanks to their commitment to sustainability, excellent legacy, and client-centric methodology. Protect your area with Florida Pests Services, where a pest-free environment is guaranteed as well as pest management as a service.