#notorious abc

[jeysbvck]

there's a 911 spoiler that's got twitter in a meltdown and im both terrified and also really intrigued.

[karihighman]

Didn’t know that Kevin and Aimee worked together on a different abc show called notorious! How cool (:

[nyarlathotep-thecrawlingchaos]

Hi I just learned Kinktober is a thing

So here's my four favorite boys and their kinks.

Or is it five this time? *dramatic sound effect*

And yes, I'm still working on ABCs of Kink, I've got the next one about halfway done and it may be posted today, and I'm still working through the ask requests, and still

But headcanons shiny need more

Ooooh...Kinky ;D

Very obviously NSFW.

LA!Zoro X AFAB!Reader, LA!Sanji X AFAB!Reader, LA!Shanks X AFAB!Reader, LA!Mihawk X AFAB!Reader, LA!Buggy X AFAB!Reader (I'm on my second watch of OPLA and he's kinda grown on me).

Zoro

"I hope you like it rough, baby."

Zoro's not super kinky, but he definitely likes it rough, which goes hand in hand with the couple kinks he does have.

You're going to want to have a safeword/signal if you're giving him a blowjob—he's thick and he loves seeing you gag and choke on his cock. Literally the biggest turn-on.

Holding tight onto your hair the whole time.

The sight of your make-up trailing down your flushed face while he's fucking your mouth and throat makes his knees weak.

Pulling your head all the way down to come down your throat, shaking, groaning, swearing.

He's a little cautious about outright choking you during sex—he doesn't want to get too wound up and unintentionally hurt you—but if you ask him to, he's going to, because it's still an enormous turn-on.

"God, I fucking love it when you gag on it...."

Sanji

"If I make you dinner, do I get to have you for dessert?"

Like, do I even have to say it?

Food play.

Chocolate sauce, whipped cream, caramel, it's going to get messy. Any reason to trail his lips and his tongue over your beautiful body is a very, very good reason.

(BTW I recently learned Taz Skylar has a tongue ring so it's now canon that Sanji has one and do not argue with me I will die on this hill.)

He's never going to do or say anything to degrade you...but if you want to do so to him? By all means, be his guest.

You're his queen and he's your loyal subject, the man has no qualms about you doing anything you want to him.

Shove him into a wall, call him names, tie him to the bed, step on him, whip him, spit in his face—he will thank you for it. If it brings you pleasure, it brings him pleasure.

Literally everything you do turns him on, and he's beyond happy to be your personal toy.

"You, my love, are the sweetest thing that has ever touched my lips."

Shanks

"Oh, come on, sweetheart. Where's the fun in life without a little risk?"

Honestly the kinkiest of the four (but not the five). Super playful, and one hundred percent open to absolutely anything you suggest trying.

I mean anything. If you tell him you want to dress him up in frilly lingerie and call him your wench, he's totally game.

But he reserves the right to crack stupid jokes about it the whole time.

His own biggest kink is public sex. The riskier the better.

Reaching under the table at a tavern and creeping his hand up your thigh and under your skirt to rub you through your panties...or just flat out pulling you onto him to straddle his lap, make out with you, grind against you with absolutely no concern of anyone seeing.

Pulling you right into the mouth of an alley, barely concealed in the shadows and just having you right there against the wall, where any passersby might catch a glimpse of what you're doing.

He doesn't care—it's not like anyone's even going to attempt to stop one of the most notorious pirates on the Grand Line.

He enjoys a little role-play as well. You're the little marine cadet he took prisoner and decided to keep as his personal playing. The enchanting stranger from a tavern he's seduced.

Call him "captain." It drives him wild.

"Oh, what a good little wench you are, love."

Mihawk

"You seem to have forgotten who's in charge here, little one."

One hundred percent certified professional Brat Tamer™.

He's not going to let on that your pestering and testing his patience is anything but a casual annoyance—but the whole time he'll be thinking about how he's going to punish you later for being such an endearing little pest.

You're getting tied up. Cuffed to the bed. Clothes torn off of you. Spanked. You're getting teased beyond the point of sanity, within an inch of your life.

There's a fair chance he won't let you come for literal hours.

That he'll leave you tied up while he sits back and has a glass of wine and just revels in your pleading for more, revels in being in total control of your agony and pleasure.

You're going to have to beg, to promise you'll be a good girl for your master (even though you both know that's not true) before you get anything more out of him.

Big kink for lace and nylon as well.

He's constantly having to buy you new tights, new underwear and lingerie, because seeing you in them sets him on fire to the point that he's very likely to literally rip them off of you in a fit of desire and fuck you absolutely senseless.

"For the last damned time, no, your safe-word cannot be Yoru."

Buggy

"You know you're my favorite freak, babe."

Couldn't not include Buggy this time because it's pretty obvious that he's the kinkiest motherfucker at this party.

The guy has removable body parts, for gods' sake, of course he's going to utilize them in the most creative ways possible. He could be on the other side of the ship and still have his hand down your panties.

Degradation, cuckhold, ropes, whips, chains, knife play, you name it and he's probably into it. It would be a miracle for you to come up with something he hasn't tried at least twice.

He's going to call you every degrading name he can think of. Spank you and slap you. Choke you until you nearly pass out. And he's fully open to and expects you to do the same to him.

Dom or sub, doesn't matter, he's just having a good old-fashioned filthy time either way.

Totally open to threesomes, he's bi as fuck.

Also totally open to chaining you up and letting the entire crew run a train on you while he watches.

If you can imagine it, he's done it, wrote the book on it, and you're going to be doing it with him.

"Don't even pretend you don't like being my slut."

[callmebrycelee]

MAN CRUSH MONDAY

RYAN GUZMAN

Ryan Anthony Guzman was born September 21, 1987 in Abilene, Texas. The 36-year-old actor and former model is best known for portraying firefighter Edmundo "Eddie" Diaz in the ABC procedural drama 9-1-1. His other roles include Sean Asa in Step Up Revolution and Step Up: All In; Noah Sandborn in The Boy Next Door; Jake in Pretty Little Liars; Carlos Gutierrez in Heroes Reborn; and Ryan Mills in Notorious. Ryan is 6 feet tall.

[wildlife4life]

Tease Tidbit Tuesday

Tagged by @lemonzestywrites @malewifediaz @watchyourbuck @lover-of-mine @cal-daisies-and-briars @hoodie-buck @elvensorceress @spotsandsocks @rogerzsteven @exhuastedpigeon @gayedmundodiaz @daffi-990 @giddyupbuck @tizniz @hippolotamus @jesuisici33 @diazsdimples @wikiangela @aroeddiediaz and @disasterbuckdiaz.

So I know I'm getting to this kind of late today, but it is still Tuesday here! Here is a tiny tidbit of NFL Buck. (Everything NFL Buck)

Eddie does his best not eaves drop on any personal conversations in the firehouse, but when said information is just loudly stated to the person next to him, well it can't be ignored. "Chim any chance you can cover the afternoon part of Johnson's Friday shift? Hen can only cover the morning." Bobby asks the seasoned paramedic lounging on the couch end opposite of Eddie. Peeking over his book on notorious serial killers (Buck's latest binge, thanks to Netflix), Eddie watches Chimney's face furrow with concern, "Karen still fast tracking that project. Man. I'm proud of her and all, but she's going to burn out fast if she keeps these long lab hours up." Bobby hums in agreement and Eddie now understands why he has yet to meet Hen's wife. Though he has no right to even be marginally upset considering he's hiding a whole ass professional athlete boyfriend behind his nickname. "I don't mind covering, can always use the extra cash. Everything okay with Johnson?" Chimney asks. Cap grimaces, "Not exactly." Chimney looks slightly confused and Eddie can see the wheels turning in his head, trying to figure out why Johnson needed a shift covered. Short moment later, his face matches Bobby's, "Ah shit. Regina's moving forward with the divorce huh?" Eddie winces and can't help the surge of guilt because he's gone through divorce himself, but based on what he's hearing, Eddie relates more to Johnson's soon to be ex-wife.

The intro in the Shannon divorce arc... Hope you all enjoyed!

Still going to try some late tagging: @glorious-spoon @devirnis @bekkachaos @theotherbuckley @buddierights @try-set-me-on-fire @jeeyuns @rainbow-nerdss @thewolvesof1998 @eddiescowboy @eddiebabygirldiaz @spaceprincessem @athenagranted @evanbegins @malewifediaz @911onabc @911-on-abc @ladydorian05 @bigfootsmom @thekristen999 @spagheddiediaz @honestlydarkprincess @doublecheekeddiaz @buck-coded @prosperdemeter2 @transboybuckley @nmcggg @monsterrae1

[abby118]

Tagging

I see people complaining about Tumblr's search systems not working, and that's fair if you don't know the rules (I don't know all of them either), but one little tip I can give you is that, sometimes, simply looking up a tag on your blog shows you less posts than if you were to click on said tag on your blog and browse it that way. That's how you get all of the results. Also, when tagging, make sure the most important ones for general searches are the first three and for blog searches the first five. If you create a problematic tag, more often than not, it does hide the entire post from your searches, meaning it won't come up even when you search it using one of its other tags (or the post's words). When I can't find something, the method that never fails is to go through archives. If it's a text post, then that's fairly easy- you click on the text post filter and search a word from your post (not a tag! you can't do that with the in-built browser search, only the archive search). Remember, the result is only for the posts you see on your screen so you need to scroll -> refresh the search -> scroll etc. It won't always highlight the word for you, or better said, you won't always see it, and in that case, it means it is there but not in the post's preview (the preview is small; it can't fit everything in it).

Photos are more difficult to find but it is possible if you use the right tags to organise them. As in, don't just tag under the general tag, create subtags.

Asks tend to be notoriously hidden for some unknown reason (not for everyone though) so I'd say don't even bother tagging them (if that is your case) unless you plan to have the ask tag in your featured tags for archive search purposes*, or you're happy with the few that do come up, because not all of them will come up on your blog search (but featuring the tag is unnecessary because it is in the post types already). However, unlike in the app, you can set the Ask post filter without specifying a tag on your blog's search in the browser (just like you would in your archive).

*the tags you can filter by in your archive are the ones you had set as featured tags. If you can't find a tag there, add it to your featured. If you don't have them set, tumblr will pick them for you based on what you post the most.

Don't ask me about searches beyond your blog (the "search all of tumblr" ones). I'm not even sure staff knows what's happening there.

And lastly, capital letters make no difference (Abc = abc = ABC). They're a matter of personal preference. However, spaces matter (abc def is not the same as abcdef.....think of fan art and fanart for example).

update: this post & this post

[sam-buck]

i fully beleive that if fox hadn't dropped 9-1-1 and abc didn't pick it up, buddie would have been another destiel.

think about it: the constant yearning, the will the won't they, the looks they give eachother, ext.

it would have just had to end in another notorious queer baiting show in the history books.

[mariacallous]

Once the present operation against Hamas is completed, Israel plans to maintain “overall security responsibility” over Gaza for the indefinite future, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told ABC News. This would likely require a continued presence of Israeli forces in Gaza, raids against suspected Hamas installations, control over the population’s movements, and isolation of the territory from the outside world.

In short, Israel would protect its security interests with an iron fist. Yet, it would disown the responsibilities that would normally flow from this exercise of control—making it armed occupation by another name. Those responsibilities include the duties to care for the population that has fallen under foreign military authority and arrange for governance of the territory.

“We don’t want to govern Gaza,” Israel’s foreign affairs minister, Eli Cohen, has told the Wall Street Journal. “We just want to protect our people.” This is a kind of novel concept of “occupation lite,” which externalizes the costs, risks, and burdens of occupation, beyond the steps needed to preserve Israel’s security.

In support of its security objectives, Israel would likely retain the power to deny humanitarian access for deliveries of food and medicine, or to turn off the tap for water, energy, and other life-sustaining supplies. Humanitarian agencies might find this objectionable, but in the interest of being able to reach the local population in desperate need, they would presumably consent to operate under these conditions.

Israel would also disown responsibility for the vast reconstruction effort necessary to restore Gaza’s destroyed civilian infrastructure, homes and businesses. Instead, it would expect international donors, in particular the EU and its members, along with Arab states and perhaps China, to queue up once more for the privilege.

The U.S. government believes that Israel must not return to the role of occupying power. Instead, feverish planning work is going on, trying to find a way to square the circle, enforcing Israel’s security interests while also avoiding a permanent state of armed occupation. But unless it is embedded in a credible peace process promising to finally resolve the Palestinian issue, this effort is doomed.

Washington is proposing that the Palestinian Authority under President Mahmoud Abbas and his Fatah party, which runs the West Bank, should extend its authority to Gaza once the conflict ends. However, team Abbas is hardly credible. Its administration of the West Bank is notoriously ineffective and beset by corruption. Fatah has a weak standing in the polls and postponed elections indefinitely in 2021. Its general silence during the present, dramatic crisis is likely to have dented its credibility further, especially in Gaza.

Moreover, having been violently displaced from Gaza by Hamas in 2007, the Palestinian Authority under Fatah hardly seems to offer a guarantee against the resurgence of radicalism in the territory. Accordingly, Israel has already confronted U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken with its opposition to this option.

The Palestinian Authority is also playing hard to get. If Israel remained in charge of hard security, the Palestinian Authority would likely be seen as little more than an Israeli or American enforcement agent. Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh told the Guardian that “to have the Palestinian Authority go to Gaza and run the affairs of Gaza without a political solution for the West Bank” would be “as if [the] Palestinian Authority is going aboard an F-16 or an Israeli tank.”

Abbas has suggested that the Palestinian Authority might return to Gaza, but only if there is a clear road to a settlement for the West Bank, Gaza, and also East Jerusalem.

An alternative, or an additional step, would be to deploy an international governance mission. That mission would combine peacekeeping with steps to supervise local government and build more reliable structures of self-government over time. The examples of East Timor and Kosovo are often invoked in this context. Both were major international deployments drawing on hundreds of civilian administrators and thousands of soldiers.

It is unlikely that Western powers will put themselves forward as potential peacekeepers. They would instantly turn into veritable magnets for jihadist spoilers. Heavily armed U.S. forces withdrew ignominiously from Lebanon in 1983, when terrorists killed 241 Marines, and from Somalia a decade later after 18 service members died in the Black Hawk Down Incident.

Members of the Arab League and the Organization of Islamic Conference might also be rather hesitant. With Israel claiming the right to intervene militarily whenever it deems necessary, and likely to maintain a military presence in the territory, an Arab force could only aim at supporting an international governance mission while keeping civil order in Gaza. Again, this role would bring it perilously close to appearing to act as Israel’s surrogate in keeping the territory and its population under control while keeping it in a permanent state of hopelessness and limbo.

In addition, international administration is no panacea. While it is meant to foster indigenous structures of governance, it often hinders their establishment. International governance tends to relieve emerging local leaders from accountability for inefficiency and corruption. Any failing of governance will be blamed on the international mission, rather than the newly empowered elite.

Moreover, an international governance mission would presumably supervise the actions of the emerging local authorities, whether led by Fatah or others, correcting and at times overruling their actions. This would strengthen the sense of foreign control, or disguised occupation, among the population and foster resistance in the mid-term.

The attempt to construct fresh institutions and fill them with genuine democratic leaders under international tutelage may also be criticized as the kind of illusion that fueled similar, ultimately futile and in retrospect naive attempts in Iraq and Afghanistan. Who, after all, can ensure that Palestinians in Gaza would not opt for the ideological successors to Hamas instead of a tame Palestinian Authority some years down the line, especially if a new militant organization appears to be the only body representing their demands for genuine Palestinian statehood with some energy?

There is a critical difference between Gaza on one hand and East Timor and Kosovo on the other. The operation in East Timor was launched after Indonesian troops ransacked the territory in 1999, after the population opted for independence in a U.N.-sponsored referendum. Around 1,400 Eastern Timorese were killed, with half a million violently displaced.

The United Nations provided an international governance mission supported by 1,600 international police personnel and 9,000 troops. Over a period of two and a half years, the mission provided reassurance and stability for the terrorized population, while preparations were made for eventual independence in May 2022.

In Gaza, too, an international presence might well be welcomed initially. Its would presumably spell the end of Israeli offensive in Gaza, which has already cost around 15,000 mainly civilian lives and resulted in the destruction of much of the civilian infrastructure. But a welcome may not last long.

In East Timor, the aim of the mission was clear: preparing the territory for independence within an agreed, short period. In Gaza, the situation would look quite different. Unless it is tied to implementing a peace settlement including full statehood, international administration would lead nowhere. It would become yet another symbol of the disenfranchisement of the Palestinian people and be seen as a tool to maintain the status quo forever more.

This kind of risk became clear a few years into the international operation in Kosovo. The international civil mission was supported by a large, NATO-led military presence. In the wake of the Kosovo War, NATO was widely seen by Kosovo’s mainly ethnic Albanian population as its heroic savior from Serbian repression.

The U.N. mandate for the operation left the eventual status of Kosovo open, focusing instead on building capacity for local self-government. However, as the mission progressed, the population became restless, demanding commencement of final status negotiations.

By 2004, despite the status of NATO troops in the country as liberating heroes, violent riots demanding independence erupted. This forced the U.N. to launch talks on final status. The U.N. mediator in the end concluded that the population would not accept any outcome other than independence, despite fierce resistance by Serbia. To this day, Kosovo’s status remains contested and attempts to normalize relations between Serbia and Kosovo have stalled, leading to military tensions dampened by the forever continuing NATO presence.

In short, international administration can only work if it is clear from the outset that it serves to move a territory to the political status desired by its population, as was the case in East Timor and, eventually, Kosovo. Where there is no clear and irreversible direction of travel toward that status, the mission itself will be seen as a tool to frustrate the wishes of the population, triggering unrest and violent protest in favor of change. And where there is no prospect of a status settlement, the mission will take on the mantle of armed occupation after a time.

The risk that the mission is seen as tainted from the outset by the local population is even more pronounced in this instance. Even after the vast destruction and loss of life brought about by Israel, the operation would still be visibly confined by requirements imposed by an Israel intent on enforcing its security interests in the territory for the indefinite future. Israel’s strategy of externalizing the tasks and costs of maintaining a virtual international occupation, while keeping a firm hold of security control, therefore cannot succeed.

While formally opposing continued occupation, the United States is at risk of serving Israel’s doomed strategy by bringing together external actors to help facilitate that strategy. But international governance, however well-intentioned, will quickly take on the mantle of occupation. And continued occupation, in whatever guise, will breed continued violence aiming to overcome it. The only difference is the hypothetical international mission would become its target alongside Israel.

The only way out of this dilemma is to be serious about embedding arrangements for post-war Gaza in a clear path toward a settlement of the Palestine issue, once and for all. In fact, all relevant actors other than Israel’s present leadership seem to accept that there is no chance for post-conflict governance in Gaza unless there is a clear and credible path toward a comprehensive settlement.

Abbas has made cooperation on governance in Gaza dependent on a settlement. So have the potentially force-contributing Arab states. If they are wise, the Western governments expected to pay, once more, billions for rehabilitation and reconstruction, will do the same before they reach for their checkbooks.

Blinken has now started to repeat this mantra in his more recent visits to Middle Eastern capitals, seeking to shore up regional support for the emerging U.S. post-conflict design. Yet, in view of the disappointing experience of the past three-quarters of a century, the challenge is to make the prospect of a settlement a real one.

In fact, despite the traumatic outrage of Oct. 7 and the massive amount of violence unleashed in response, there could now finally be a chance for a settlement. Miraculously, the key Arab states have not disowned the Abraham Accords, and even Saudi Arabia is still (for now) holding out the possibility of an accord with Israel.

This leaves in place the first key piece in the puzzle—the recognition by all that Israel has a right to exist. Even Iran might be impelled not to obstruct a regional settlement, if China can be brought to support a grand settlement.

Addressing Palestine would be a key element of that process, but it would be a broader design, offering economic integration and common security for the Middle East as a whole, including Israel. This will require an amazing degree of coordination among diverse sets of actors, through a large group of states convened by the United States in cooperation with the U.N.

The question is whether, after the trauma of Oct. 7, Israel will find the courage to engage in a process as complex and challenging as this one, perhaps after a change in government. But the truth is that the Palestine issue will not go away. It cannot be resolved through security control over millions of Palestinians for the indefinite future.

If this present tragic episode is not to become the breeding ground for yet more endless violence, this is in fact the moment to embrace a grand design for peace for the entire region.

[actualrealnews]

Brief update:

Trump's first ever attempted assassin's weapon: "An AR-style rifle"

He was 200-300 yards (180-275 m) away on a rooftop.

He is being called "a lone actor"

Social media is abuzz with accusations that the shooting incident was staged.

Republican political officials, hopefulls, and supporters ask for thoughts and prayers, saying also that "there is no place for violence in politics." In 2016, Trump asked his followers to "take care of" multiple political rivals, and, notoriously, agitated his followers to violently attack the country's capitol building.

Casualties: 2 spectators dead, 1 in critical condition

Source: ABC live news

[doamarierose-honoka]

What is it about an often-hungry and kind of lazy panda who is obsessed with kung fu that has resonated with audiences worldwide?

The Kung Fu Panda franchise — now 16 years old and four films in — centers on Po (Jack Black) who, along with his friends (voiced by a star-studded cast including Angelina Jolie, Lucy Liu, Seth Rogan and Jackie Chan), goes on adventures spanning the mystical and spiritual.

"I think people love pandas and people love kung fu, and we've got a combination," Black tells ABC News.

"The art is so great, I think we've got the best animators in the world. It's kind of like a dance between the voice acting, and these animators who've completed the performance."

For those who haven't seen the films, Po is the designated "Dragon Warrior", a kind of legendary Chosen One who can wield limitless power.

The first film focused on him figuring out who he wanted to be; he discovered more about his parents in the sequel, Kung Fu Panda 2; while Kung Fu Panda 3 saw him begin to pass on his skills to a new generation of panda cubs.

In the latest film, Master Shifu (Dustin Hoffman) wants Po to become the new Spiritual Leader of the Valley of the Peace, so Po must choose and anoint someone else as the new Dragon Warrior.

While Jolie, Chan and Liu don't return for this film, Bryan Cranston and James Hong reprise their roles as Po's dads. And rapper and actor Awkwafina joins the cast as Zhen, a fox burglar who crosses paths with Po during one of her thieving sprees.

When a shape-shifting sorcerer known as the Chameleon (Viola Davis) and her criminal network make themselves known, Po and Zhen team up to prevent her from getting her hands on the panda's staff of wisdom (which the Chameleon plans to use to summon Po's enemies back from the spirit realm).

"Zhen and Po are like the odd couple of the kung fu world, and it was exciting to explore their differences and watch them grow together," says Awkwafina.

"Zhen brings this scrappy, streetwise energy to the story, challenging Po in unexpected ways."

A mix of East and West

The humour and story of Kung Fu Panda is a part of why the films have charmed audiences globally.

The film series has also proven to be a massive hit in China, a highly lucrative but notoriously difficult market for Hollywood films to succeed in, because of limits the country places on foreign and Western films.

Plot threads often blend aspects of South-East Asian culture, like filial piety and duty to family, with more universal themes of working with others and having the confidence to forge your own path.

Awkwafina says it has meant a lot to her to see the franchise pay homage to Chinese culture.

"I think when [Kung Fu Panda] first came out, there wasn't a lot of movies that really took place [there], exemplifying those cultural traditions in that world," she says.

"So I'm really proud that it existed and to be a part of it now."

Black adds: "You know, any community that feels under-represented, one of the greatest ways to open up the stories to the world is to get creative.

"The ones that you've never heard before are often the most amazing ones."

The latest Kung Fu Panda also comes off the back of other successful animated films like Turning Red and Elemental, which explored similar themes of responsibility and loyalty, and growing up as part of an immigrant family.

"Those I really enjoyed, and I love Kung Fu Panda because they explore what it means to be a kid, have anxiety and what it means to be human I think in a way that's really unique," says Awkwafina.

"And I [want to] just continue watching stories that do that."

Into the future

Both actors say they related to the simple central message — to believe in yourself — that plays out across all the films.

"I definitely can think about certain times in my life, in my career, where I didn't believe in myself," Black says.

"Someone else gave me confidence and believed in me, and then I was able to push through my insecurities, and those moments and those people who gave me that strength mean so much to me, so I relate to it in that way."

Awkwafina adds, "I think it's hard to know when you're doing something right. It's hard to believe in yourself and Jack is right. It does take people to have to help you sometimes."

In terms of their characters' futures, Awkwafina says she wants Po and Zhen to "live, laugh, love".

"I'd like to see Po get even more spiritual," says Black.

"To somehow master the art of meditation and be able to create some inner peace."

Awkwafina jokingly adds: "I want to stop stealing, and we enter a program."

[beardedmrbean]

July 16 (UPI) -- In a continued crackdown on Mexico's drug cartels, the Treasury Department announced Tuesday it placed sanctions on four Mexican companies and three Mexican nationals allegedly tied to fraudulent timeshare activity used against American citizens and linked to the notorious Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generacion.

"Cartel fraudsters run sophisticated teams of professionals who seem perfectly normal on paper or on the phone -- but in reality, they're money launderers expertly trained in scamming U.S. citizens," Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Brian E. Nelson said Tuesday in a news release.

The department's office of Foreign Assets Control alleges the four Mexican companies and three Mexican civilian accountants were directly or indirectly tied to timeshare fraud lead by the Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generacion, or styled in English as the Jalisco New Generation Cartel.

The criminal organization operates call centers in Mexico with scammers impersonating U.S.-based third-party timeshare brokers, attorneys or sales representatives, the U.S. government contends.

And about 6,000 U.S. citizens reported losing nearly $300 million from 2019 to 2023 via Mexican timeshare fraud crimes by targeting American timeshare owners often in various or complex ways in years-long schemes, according to the FBI, adding that totals what they can track legally as unreported crimes keep on.

Treasury points at four companies in Mexico: Constructora Sandgris, Pacific Axis Real Estate, Realty & Maintenance BJ and Bona Fide Consultores, which the department claims were the front companies doing business on behalf of those linked to Mexican drug cartel.

Nelson says unsolicited calls and emails may look legitimate but actually are made by cartel-backed criminals.

The Treasury claims the thee Puerto Vallarta-based accountants -- Griselda Margarita Arredondo, Xeyda Del Refugio Foubert and Emiliano Sanchez -- had family ties to individuals already cartel-linked and had allegedly aided in fraudulent activities to steal from U.S. citizens.

"If something seems too good to be true, it probably is," Nelson said.

The scam begins when a timeshare owner receives an offer to purchase their property, according to an attorney.

"They call you up and tell you that they have a buyer for your timeshare," Michael Finn of Florida's Finn Law Group, told ABC News. "They will send you documents that look real and tell you that you need to pay taxes before you can get your payment."

The Treasury Department and its partners are taking steps to deploy all available tools "to disrupt this nefarious activity, which funds things like deadly drug trafficking and human smuggling," said Nelson.

Five years ago in 2018 Treasury sanctioned two men it claimed laundered money and ran an international prostitution ring for the cartel.

The transnational CJNG, a violent Jalisco, Mexico-based organized crime syndicate, is known to traffic the large part of illicit fentanyl and other deadly drugs which typically enter via the southern U.S. border, having gone so far as to threaten Mexican journalists it views as giving the CJNG "unfair" news coverage.

And it uses illegal proceeds, like from its timeshare fraud schemes, to diversify its already-illicit revenue streams in order to keep financing other criminal activities, including the manufacturing and trafficking of fentanyl and other synthetic drugs, according to the federal government's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network.

Police seizure of illicit fentanyl pills have skyrocketed in recent years, a new study found. And pills represented 49% of illicit fentanyl seizures in 2023, compared to 10% in 2017.

The U.S. Customs and Border Protection in April launched "Operation Plaza Strike" as an offensive targeting Mexican drug cartels to disrupt the flow of fentanyl and ingredients used to make the synthetic opioid that has become a leading death of young Americans.

However, this is not the first time the CJNG has been accused by the U.S. of similar crimes. Last year in March, the Biden Treasury placed similar sanction on eight other Mexican companies it alleged had took part in a similar timeshare fraud scheme on behalf of the Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generation.

Even at the time a Treasury official pointed to how in select Mexican tourist destinations the CJNG had already become by that point "heavily engaged" in timeshare fraud in places like Puerto Vallarta where it had gained a strategic foothold.

Last year, the U.S. claimed the accused cartel-backed companies had extracted money from victims by making unsolicited offers to buy their timeshares, and when victims accepted offers, Mexican scammers requested fictitious fees and taxes under the pretense they would facilitate the sale and give reimbursed money after closing.

[bonobochick]

Gif sets on my to-do list.  👩🏼‍💻

I want to do a S1 Mortel gif set of Victor & Luisa. That’s such a great coupling and I want to complement my S2 gif set of them. 😊 I need to re-do the S1 gifs I have already, tho, as most are under 2MB. Wish we were getting a S3.

.

Dangerous Liaisons 2022 on Netflix is an entertaining distraction I discovered a few weeks ago. I mainly enjoyed it for the 🔥 chem between the leads who play Celene & Tristan but it’s pleasant enough overall. I’ve already done a few gif sets on here searchable by characters names and actors names.

.

I’m chuffed about DC Titans ep 4x05 as it’s supposed to be heavily Dickkory. 💖

.

Currently gif’ing Cassie-centric gifs from ABC’s Big Sky cause she deserves all the love. 👩🏾‍🦱 This season has been pretty good so far. Tighter writing and intriguing main arc.

.

I have to finish up Industry S2 on HBOMax. It’s a good show though I am side-eyeing them for fumbling Harper & Rob after that strong S1 relationship foundation laid out for them. 📈

.

I want to do a few The Midnight Club gif sets. 🛏  Hoping there will be a S2 as I thought S1 was interesting with its foray into grief, death, hope, and acceptance but Netflix is notorious for being slow with most of its renewal / cancelation updates.

.

I’m still doing occasional Days of Our Lives and General Hospital soap opera gif sets but my main ships are either split up or angsty in the last year. 💘 

.

I also need to get back to my slow Hollyoaks’ McDean and Alles Was Zaehlt re-watches to make some gifs. 😘

[ickletheficklepickle]

HELP! My brain just did a thing and now I’m in a panic!

First of-

ABC has done a bang up job since they picked up 911, I mean we got Bi! Buck out of it.

Let’s aside the feels (Bobby Nash, trash dad story line cause wow they didn’t have to do my dad like that), the switch has done this show wonders.

However the network of ABC is notorious for killing of main characters, like they don’t give a F. They throw darts at a name and go “see yah!”

Look at Grey’s Anatomy. Like I stopped watching after they killed off the hot one. Sheppard. I also stopped cause life took over and catching up by then was “wow!”

I don’t think they’ll kill Bobby off, they might shift it towards someone else being captain. Killing him off would impact Athena (Angela) and she is one of the big names of the show.

I highly doubt they’ll touch Madney, or kill off Chimney or Maddie because that ship is also very like-able. But, I mean, hahaha….who knows.

I realized now that Eddie Diaz (Ryan) can be deemed no longer safe. Before hand I was like, “they can’t! Killing him off would mean no more Christopher Diaz!”. Guys, that’s moot point now, because of the damn will. If Eddie dies, Chris goes to Buck.

Just felt like I needed to share my panic…hahahahaha……..

[kwebtv]

TV Guide  -  May 9 - 15, 1964

Victor Morrow (born Victor Morozoff; February 14, 1929 – July 23, 1982) Film and television actor. He came to prominence as one of the leads of the ABC drama series Combat! (1962–1967), which earned him an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Continued Performance by an Actor in a Series. Morrow continued acting up to his death during filming of Twilight Zone: The Movie (1983) when he and two child actors were killed by a stunt helicopter crash.

Morrow began appearing on television in the early 1950′s, guest starring on shows like The Millionaire, Matinee Theatre, Climax!, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, The Restless Gun, Trackdown, Richard Diamond, Private Detective, and Telephone Time.

Despite appearing in movies Morrow remained mostly a television actor, appearing in Naked City, Wichita Town, The Rifleman, The Lineup, Johnny Ringo, The Brothers Brannagan, The Law and Mr. Jones, The Lawless Years, The Barbara Stanwyck Show, General Electric Theatre, Target: The Corruptors, The Tall Man, Outlaws, Bonanza, Death Valley Days, Alcoa Premiere, Suspense, The Immortal, Dan August, Hawaii Five-O, Mannix, Sarge, McCloud, Owen Marshall, Counselor at Law and The Untouchables.

He was cast in the early Bonanza episode "The Avenger" as a mysterious figure known only as "Lassiter" – named after his town of origin – who arrives in Virginia City, and helps save Ben and Adam Cartwright from an unjust hanging, while eventually gunning down one sought-after man, revealing himself as the hunter of a lynch mob who killed his father; having so far killed about half the mob, he rides off into the night, in an episode that resembles the later Clint Eastwood film High Plains Drifter. Morrow later appeared in the third season Bonanza episode "The Tin Badge".  (Wikipedia)

Rick Jason (born Richard Jacobson; May 21, 1923 – October 16, 2000) Film and television actor most remembered for starring in the ABC television drama Combat! (1962–1967).

In the 1950′s Jason received offers for television series. He guest-starred on ABC's anthology series, The Pepsi-Cola Playhouse. In 1954, he played Joaquin Murietta, the notorious Mexican bandit of the California Gold Rush, in an episode of Jim Davis's syndicated western series Stories of the Century, the story of a railroad detective investigating crime in the American West. He appeared on the NBC interview program Here's Hollywood, in the Rawhide episodes "Incident of the Coyote Weed" and "Incident of the Valley in Shadow", and co-starred in 1969 in The Monk.

In 1960, he starred as insurance investigator Robin Scott in The Case of the Dangerous Robin, a syndicated American television series that lasted only one season. It was not renewed due to Jason's health issues, including back problems. In 1962, he began starring in the television series Combat! as Platoon Leader 2nd Lt. Gil Hanley, probably his most memorable role. In this series he shared the starring role in an alternating episode rotation, with Vic Morrow as Sgt. Chip Saunders, though in many episodes they both appeared. The show was a hit that lasted for 152 episodes in five seasons.  (Wikipedia)

The outlandish TV Spoof was the British Series, “The Avengers”, starring Patrick McNee and Honor Blackman.  

[t-jfh]

Monks chat in the sun at the Ganden Sumtseling Monastery in Shangri-la. 

(Photo: Johannes Eisele / AFP / Getty)

Mural at the Yangteng Gonpa monastery celebrating its “liberation” by the Red Army.

(Photo: Judith Hertog)

China’s Plan To Turn Buddhism Into Communist Propaganda

Patriotism laws, party-approved clergy, and preferential status — Xi Jinping’s war on religion comes to Tibetan monasteries.

Tibetan Buddhism’s recent spread presents both a threat and an opportunity for China’s President Xi Jinping. He wants to make China politically and culturally homogenous, a goal that could be jeopardized by a tradition steeped in Tibetan language and history. But Xi is enacting a program that seeks to turn the rising popularity of Tibetan Buddhism to his advantage — to transform the tradition from a hotbed of dissent into an instrument of assimilation and party propaganda. If it works, it could smooth his path to lifelong power and help him remake China according to his nationalist vision.

By Judith Hertog

The Atlantic- May 5, 2024

Shared from Apple News

•

•

In China, President Xi Jinping’s political will is exclusively propagated, implemented and enforced.

(Photo: Nanna Heitmann / Magnum)

Xi Jinping Is Fighting A Culture War At Home

The Chinese leader seeks to restore an earlier era of ideological indoctrination and national unity — whether his society wants it or not.

Xi’s push for communist conformity might seem anachronistic in the age of social media and the global digital commons. But it’s only one way he is dragging China back into an older, darker time. He has reversed decades of market liberalization in favor of renewed state intervention in the economy, returned to Cold War–style confrontation with the West after a period of fruitful cooperation, and reestablished one-man rule to a degree unseen since the days of Mao Zedong, the Communist regime’s founder. Now he is attempting to restore the intense ideological indoctrination of earlier years of Communist rule—the era of Mao’s Little Red Book—in a quest for national “unity,” as he defines it, and total Party dominance. 


By Michael Schuman

The Atlantic - December 20, 2023

Shared from Apple News

•

•

The former spy, Eric, is now in Australia. Eric worked as a spy for China's 1st Bureau for 15 years up until last year.

(Four Corners: Keana Naughton)

The unit Eric worked for is one of the CCP's key tools of repression.

(Photo: Reuters)

Edwin Yin moved to Australia in 2018.

(Photo: Four Corners / Keana Naughton)

The attack on Mr Yin was caught on CCTV.

(Photo: Victoria Police)

China’s President, Xi Jinping, has paid close attention to the Chinese population overseas.

(Photo: Associated Press)

Thousands of Chinese citizens have been monitored and forcibly returned to China.

(Photo: Four Corners)

The Chinese embassy in Australia.

(Photo: ABC News / Dylan Anderson)

Eric has been spying on people around the world for the Chinese government. Now he's telling all.

For the first time ever, an undercover agent for China’s secret police steps out of the shadows to tell all about where he’s been and who he’s been targeting.

The inner workings of China's notorious secret police unit and how it hunts down dissidents living overseas – including in Australia – have been exposed by a former spy in a Four Corners investigation, raising tough questions about Australia's national security.

It is the first time anyone from the secret police – one of the most feared and powerful arms of China's intelligence apparatus – has ever spoken publicly.

The investigation also found the existence of an espionage operation on Australian soil only last year and the secret return of an Australian resident to China in 2019.

By Echo Hui, Elise Potaka and Dylan Welch / ABC TV Four Corners program

ABC News - 13 May 2024

YouTube video >> ABC TV Four Corners program: Unmasking the man who's been spying for China | Four Corners | ABC In-depth [Released 13 May 2024 / 47mins.+23secs.]:

For the first time ever, a former spy for China's notorious secret police - one of the most powerful arms of the country's intelligence apparatus - goes public, exposing the covert and illegal operations he was ordered to carry out on foreign soil and the dissidents he was tasked with tracking, including in Australia, Canada, India, Cambodia and Thailand.

In a major investigation reported by the ABC's Echo Hui, the spy - who goes by the name Eric - comes out of the shadows at great danger to himself, revealing his face to expose how China has used its global network over the last two decades to surveil, silence and kidnap those its government and president Xi Jinping deems enemies of the state.

The spy divulges his double life and the secrets he's been guarding. He reveals the inner workings of the secret police, including the companies they use as cover, who his targets were, and the tactics he used to hunt them down.

It raises tough questions about China's global reach and Australia's national security.

•