#stone encourages democratic practice

[pearlzocean]

How Social Media is Influencing Jewelry Trends

Social media has revolutionized many industries, and the jewelry market is no exception. The advent of platforms like Instagram, Pinterest, and TikTok has significantly transformed how jewelry trends are created and spread, influencing consumer behavior in profound ways. These social media platforms serve as virtual runways, where designers, brands, and influencers can showcase their latest creations to a global audience instantly.

Instagram, with its visual-centric approach, allows jewelry brands to post high-resolution images and videos that highlight the intricate details and craftsmanship of their pieces. This visual appeal captures the attention of potential customers, providing a sense of how the jewelry might look in real life. The platform's algorithms further aid in trend dissemination by pushing popular content to a broader audience through features like the Explore page and hashtags.

Pinterest functions as a vast visual discovery tool, where users can find and save ideas for future purchases. Jewelry trends often emerge from the most pinned items, with collections of images forming a digital mood board that reflects current styles. The platform's ability to connect users directly to e-commerce sites makes it an effective tool for driving sales and sparking new trends.

TikTok, known for its viral videos, has introduced a dynamic way for jewelry trends to explode in popularity. Short, engaging clips showing jewelry hauls, styling tips, and unboxings can quickly garner millions of views, turning a previously unknown brand into an overnight sensation. The interactive nature of TikTok encourages users to recreate looks and share their own videos, further amplifying trends.

Moreover, social media provides an unparalleled opportunity for real-time feedback. Brands can gauge consumer reactions to new collections almost immediately through comments, likes, and shares. This instant feedback loop allows designers to tweak their offerings in response to consumer preferences, ensuring that their products stay relevant and appealing.

Influencer collaborations have become a cornerstone of social media marketing in the jewelry industry. Influencers with substantial followings can introduce new designs to a vast audience, often leading to increased visibility and sales for the brand. These collaborations often involve influencers co-designing pieces or curating exclusive collections, which adds a layer of authenticity and appeal to the marketing campaign.

The visual inspiration provided by social media is another significant factor. High-quality images and videos enable consumers to see the jewelry in various contexts, from everyday wear to special occasions. This helps potential buyers visualize how the pieces might fit into their own lives, increasing the likelihood of a purchase.

Additionally, social media has fostered trends in DIY jewelry and customization. Tutorials and how-to videos shared on platforms like YouTube and TikTok encourage consumers to create their own pieces or customize existing ones. This trend has led to a surge in demand for customizable jewelry, where customers can select specific stones, metals, and designs to create unique pieces that reflect their personal style.

Social media’s global reach allows jewelry brands to access a worldwide audience without the need for a physical storefront. This democratization of exposure means that even small, independent designers can reach international markets, introducing diverse styles and cultural influences to a broader consumer base.

The rise of social media activism has also impacted the jewelry industry, particularly regarding ethical and sustainable practices. Brands that highlight their commitment to sustainability, fair trade, and eco-friendly production methods gain favor among socially conscious consumers. Social media campaigns focused on these values resonate deeply with today's consumers, who are increasingly concerned about the ethical implications of their purchases.

Furthermore, social media enables brands to engage in storytelling, creating a strong brand identity that goes beyond the products themselves. Through posts, stories, and videos, jewelry brands can share the inspiration behind their designs, the craftsmanship involved, and the stories of the artisans who create the pieces. This narrative approach builds a deeper emotional connection with consumers, fostering loyalty and trust.

Lastly, innovations such as virtual try-ons and augmented reality (AR) have become increasingly popular on social media. These technologies allow users to see how jewelry pieces will look on them virtually, enhancing the online shopping experience and reducing the uncertainty associated with purchasing jewelry online. Leading brands like Cartier and Tiffany & Co. have successfully integrated AR features into their social media strategies, setting a new standard for customer engagement.

Instant Trendsetter

Social media provides a platform for jewelry designers, influencers, and brands to showcase their latest creations instantly. A single post by a well-known influencer or a viral video on TikTok can set a new trend overnight. For example, the sudden popularity of layered necklaces and stackable rings can often be traced back to Instagram posts by fashion influencers.

Real-Time Feedback

Brands and designers receive real-time feedback from their audience on social media. Comments, likes, and shares provide immediate insight into what styles and designs resonate with consumers. This feedback loop allows jewelry brands to adjust their collections quickly to meet demand and stay relevant.

Influencer Collaborations

Collaborations between jewelry brands and social media influencers have become a significant marketing strategy. Influencers with large followings can introduce new designs to a broad audience, often leading to increased sales and brand visibility. These collaborations often result in limited edition pieces or exclusive collections that attract attention and create a sense of urgency among consumers.

Visual Inspiration

Platforms like Instagram and Pinterest are visually driven, making them ideal for showcasing jewelry. High-quality images and videos can highlight the intricate details of jewelry pieces, helping consumers visualize how the items will look in real life. Hashtags and trend-specific pages make it easy for users to discover new styles and brands.

DIY and Customization Trends

Social media has also popularized DIY jewelry and customization trends. Tutorials and DIY projects shared on platforms like YouTube and TikTok encourage creativity and allow individuals to personalize their jewelry. This trend has spurred interest in customizable jewelry options, where consumers can choose specific stones, metals, and designs to create unique pieces.

Global Reach

Social media breaks down geographical barriers, giving jewelry brands access to a global audience. Small, independent designers can reach customers worldwide without the need for a physical storefront. This global reach not only increases sales but also exposes consumers to a diverse range of styles and cultural influences.

Ethical and Sustainable Jewelry

The rise of social media activism has increased awareness about ethical and sustainable practices in the jewelry industry. Brands that emphasize sustainable sourcing, fair trade, and eco-friendly production methods are gaining popularity. Social media campaigns highlighting these values resonate with socially conscious consumers and drive demand for ethical jewelry.

Storytelling and Brand Identity

Social media allows brands to tell their stories and build a strong brand identity. Through posts, stories, and videos, jewelry brands can share the inspiration behind their designs, the craftsmanship involved, and the people who create the pieces. This storytelling creates a deeper connection with consumers and enhances brand loyalty.

Virtual Try-Ons and Augmented Reality

Innovations like virtual try-ons and augmented reality (AR) are becoming increasingly popular on social media. These technologies allow consumers to see how jewelry pieces will look on them without leaving their homes. Brands like Cartier and Tiffany & Co. have incorporated AR features into their social media strategies, enhancing the online shopping experience and reducing the uncertainty of buying jewelry online.

Conclusion

Social media is a powerful force in shaping jewelry trends and influencing consumer behavior. From instant trendsetting and real-time feedback to influencer collaborations and global reach, social media has transformed the way jewelry is marketed and consumed. As platforms continue to evolve, their impact on the jewelry industry is likely to grow, offering new opportunities for brands to connect with consumers and stay ahead of the trends.

[jcmarchi]

Unveiling Gemma: Google’s Open-Source Leap into Generative AI

New Post has been published on https://thedigitalinsider.com/unveiling-gemma-googles-open-source-leap-into-generative-ai/

Unveiling Gemma: Google’s Open-Source Leap into Generative AI

Google recently introduced Gemma, an open-source language model that shares its technological foundation with Gemini, Google’s highly advanced AI. Named after the Latin term for “precious stone,” Gemma is designed to be a more accessible counterpart to its predecessor, Gemini 1.5, while still maintaining a balance between high performance and responsible use. This moves towards open-source generative AI underlines Google’s commitment to democratizing AI technology, allowing for wider application and innovation in the field. The article sheds light on Gemma’s distinctive characteristics and how it sets itself apart from two of the leading open-source AI models in the market, Meta’s Llama 2 and Mistral’s Mistral 7B.

Gemma: A New Leap in AI Language Models

Gemma is a family of lightweight, open-source language models, available in 2 billion and 7 billion parameter configurations to suit a wide range of computational needs. It can be deployed across various platforms, including GPUs, TPUs, CPUs, and on-device applications, showcasing its versatility. Gemma’s architecture leverages advanced neural network techniques, particularly the transformer architecture, a backbone of recent AI developments.

What sets Gemma apart is its exceptional performance in text-based tasks, outperforming competitors in 11 out of 18 academic benchmarks. It excels in language understanding, reasoning, question answering, commonsense reasoning, and specialized domains like mathematics, science, and coding. This performance highlights Gemma’s significant contribution to the evolution of language models.

Key Features

Gemma introduces a range of features designed to facilitate easier access and integration into various AI development frameworks and projects:

Cross-Framework Compatibility: Gemma offers toolchains for inference and supervised fine-tuning that are compatible with major development frameworks like JAX, PyTorch, and TensorFlow via native Keras 3.0. This ensures developers can utilize their preferred tools without facing the hurdles of adapting to new environments.

Access to Ready-to-Use Resources: Gemma is equipped with Colab and Kaggle notebooks for immediate use, along with integrations with popular platforms such as Hugging Face and NVIDIA NeMo. These resources aim to simplify the process of starting with Gemma for both new and experienced developers.

Flexible and Optimized Deployment: Gemma is designed for use on a variety of hardware, from personal devices to cloud services and IoT devices, optimized for AI hardware, ensuring top performance across devices. It also supports easy deployment options, including Vertex AI and Google Kubernetes Engine.

Commitment to Responsible AI: Emphasizing secure and ethical AI development, Gemma incorporates automated data filtering, reinforcement learning from human feedback, and comprehensive testing to uphold high standards of reliability and safety. Google also offers a toolkit and resources to aid developers in maintaining responsible AI practices.

Encouraging Innovation through Favorable Terms: Gemma’s terms of use support responsible commercial applications and innovation, offering free credits for research and development, including access to Kaggle, a free tier for Colab notebooks, and Google Cloud credits to empower researchers and developers to explore new frontiers in AI.

Comparison with Other Open-Source Models

Gemma Vs Llama 2: Gemma and Llama 2, developed by Google and Meta respectively, showcase their unique strengths within the domain of open-source language models, catering to different user needs and preferences. Gemma is particularly optimized for tasks in the STEM fields, such as code generation and mathematical problem-solving, making it a valuable resource for researchers and developers who require specialized functionalities, especially on NVIDIA platforms. Conversely, Llama 2 appeals to a broader audience with its versatility in handling a range of general language tasks, including text summarization and creative writing. The specialized focus of Gemma on STEM-related tasks might narrow its broader applicability in varied real-world scenarios, while the high computational demands of Llama 2 could hinder its accessibility for users with limited resources. These distinctions underline the diverse applications and potential limitations of AI technologies, reflecting their separate paths towards contributing to the progress and challenges in the digital era.

Gemma 7B Vs Mistral 7B: While both the Gemma 7B and Mistral AI’s Mistral 7B models are categorized as lightweight, open-source language models, they excel in different domains. Gemma 7B stands out for its capabilities in code generation and mathematical problem-solving, whereas Mistral 7B is recognized for its logical reasoning skills and handling of real-world situations. Despite these differences, the two models offer similar levels of performance when it comes to inference speed and latency. Mistral 7B’s fully open-source nature allows for more straightforward modifications compared to Gemma 7B. This difference in accessibility is further emphasized by Google’s requirement for users to agree to certain terms before they can utilize Gemma, aiming to ensure robust safety and privacy measures. In contrast, Mistral AI’s approach might present challenges in enforcing similar standards.

The Bottom Line

Google’s Gemma represents a significant stride in open-source generative AI, offering a versatile and accessible language model designed for both high performance and responsible use. Standing on the technological prowess of Google’s advanced AI, Gemini, Gemma is tailored to democratize AI technology, encouraging wider application and innovation. With configurations designed to meet diverse computational needs and a suite of features that ensure ease of access, cross-framework compatibility, and optimized deployment, Gemma sets a new standard in the AI domain. Its exceptional performance in specialized STEM tasks distinguishes it from competitors like Meta’s Llama 2 and Mistral AI’s Mistral 7B, each with their unique strengths. However, Gemma’s comprehensive approach to responsible AI development and its support for innovation through favorable terms of use highlight Google’s commitment to advancing AI technology in an ethical and accessible manner.

[writer59january13]

Excerpt from “fake” encomium given years ago...

at Lake Wobegone High School (my alma mater),

and recently discovered ridiculous rough draft amidst plethora of junk emails while practice reading some lines regarding Midsummer Night's Dream upcoming performance. Arch back like a professional ballet dancer

to stand out from other pedestrian applicants

seeking to fill my well-worn shoes.

Illuminate your soul

via modest communication

sans sole full insight

acquired thru being apprenticed

with this storied prestigious law firm

of Anne Culle, Achilles Heale,

and Marathon Nike.

Keep your nose

to the academic grindstone

despite the temptation

to appropriate the international family business

and graduate with supreme accolades

from this famous father.

He forsook frivolity

per his peers

in exchange for a stock reputation

of gentility honesty, and integrity

despite his humble roots

as the only male heir

of a Middle Eastern European

Jewish mother and father.

They scrimped, saved and sacrificed

scarce resources to set the stage

for this scion

of well-deserved fame and fortune.

Never forget those grandparents

whose adherence to work

their fingers to the bone

(literally) allowed, enabled

and provided this founding partner

per the trio of stalwart attorneys

for the underdogs

of the World Wide Web.

Match deeds with credo of obedience

to the law of the land,

as epitomized by Abraham Lincoln.

Such obeisance to a democratic dogma

will be firm stepping-stones

to engender and kindle tinder

an Amazon zone

of cathartic karma

from paternal persona.

Such acquiescence toward morals

of the conscience (and remembrance

of previous generations

blood, sweat and tears)

will serve as intrinsic manna

for clients to clamor

like an unstoppable rolling stone

to seek counsel

from one whose genuine

heart felt equalitarian demeanor

a near perfect recipe for satisfaction

for helping others smooth out

jagged abutments arising in their lives.

Rather than lecture and command

with a dictatorial cutthroat reign of terror

(as casually espoused in “The Prince”

by Machiavelli), this democratic,

humanistic, liberal minded torchbearer

of justice advises active listening

(as advocated by the late Jean Dole,

my renown mentor from Lima, Pennsylvania),

inculcating intuitive posturing

toward delivering random acts of kindness.

This includes offer services

pro bono (with Cher full smile) if an individual, family,

municipality, et cetera appears copacetic

yet struggles against insurmountable odds

from even chew will fickle finger of fate.

Exemplify by example of zeal

for the underdog

(immersed in some catastrophic series

of unfortunate events)

that money need not be demanded

before the welfare of the downtrodden

(sic – such as the Harris Family

from Penn Valley –

who live among the wealthiest people,

yet feel like outcasts of Poker Flats)

from the mere exuberance

of witnessing an ear to ear smile of gratitude.

Rather than be biased, inclined

to be prejudiced based

on cursory observations

of one or many barely clinging

to the life raft of survival,

I (as a humble human)

encourage a relationship of trust

before casting an indiscriminate eye

toward those less fortunate

to live in the lap of luxury.

Luck (or the lack thereof)

an invisible yet potent additive

to this mix for those flush

with disposable income

or exiled to a hand to mouth

hardscrabble existential dilemma.

Daily acknowledgement

for ethnic, genetic and quixotic

dice throw of chance in tandem

with loving support of immediate

kith and kin instrumental

in keeping in check

bombastically egotistical,

haughtily radical degradation

of fixation of values

steeped in appreciation

of aesthetics, beauty, charm,

decency, equality

from gifts hoed inside.

Joyfulness keeps love moving

needling offset predilections.

Quality rests squarely

upon the pillars of staying

within the bounds of service

to those less able bodied

or beset with untold obstacles

that discourage setting virtue

(or the closest approximation

of what that means

to the inquiring mind)

as precedent to blaze a trail

of care and concern.

Always maintain benevolent devotion

forswearing greediness.

Invoke keepsake mandating omnipotent

natural personal righteousness

to vaccinate yourself against

heinous, nefarious, pernicious,

et cetera rapacious

trapdoors of selfishness.

[whiterosebrian]

Letter To Democrats

I felt the need to do something besides raising awareness of environmental, indigenous, and socio-economic issues. I’ve decided to compose and then mail multiple printed copies of a letter to multiple politicians across the USA. I did wonder if I should copy-and-paste the letter to social media profiles like I did for the one that I wrote to President Biden. Ultimately, I decided that posting the letter would serve two purposes. First, I wanted to let indigenous activists know that they have another willing accomplice. Second, this could provide a decent template for anyone who also feels a need to write to political leaders and put pressure on them to take much-needed action. Without any further ado…

Greetings,

I am writing a generic letter to send to assorted politicians across the United States. For reasons that I will articulate over the course of this letter, I felt a serious need to address as many members of the American political leadership as possible. I do not intend to call you out personally. If you do take it as a personal callout, please consider why you feel that way.

The reports of wildfires, heat waves, and floods have filled many, many observers with existential terror. Some have even expressed utter despair over whether the world will be inhabitable by any form of life. At times I have been tempted to join the despair, to give up hope of ever leaving a beautiful legacy for future generations. For the sake of all the people of the world, I must fight that temptation. I need to do my part to fight for the future.

There are a large number of activists trying to protect the environment. However, they need help from people who have the power to make really concrete changes. That is why I am writing to you and other Democratic politicians. That does sound very partisan, but the sad fact is that the Republican party is almost a lost cause at this point. I wish to be proven wrong about that. The fact is that it already engaged in brutal obstruction during the Obama administration. A sinister side to the base already started emerging during that time as well. With the rise of Donald Trump, the much of its leadership and nearly all of its electoral base have become increasingly unwilling to offer the kind of compromise needed for a functional democracy.

The Democratic party as a whole has been criticized as very weak in opposing the radicalizing Republican Party. The current President has spoken of a desire for restoring national unity. That desire is certainly laudable in itself when Trump blatantly stoked resentment and division. Again, however, the Republican party and its core supporters have shown a complete unwillingness to work with any opponents in any way. They view their opponents as subversive enemies that need to be crushed underfoot. The Republican party has inched towards neo-fascism at a time when neo-fascism is mainstreaming around the world. The Republican party has also already been beholden to the selfish interests of major corporations for decades. It even seeks to magnify the already dire influence of corporations chiefly responsible for pollution. Its propaganda outlets outright deny pollution and mislead millions of people.

Some Democratic politicians have also been criticized as going along with corporate interests and watering down legislation meant to oppose corporate influence. By now it has become clear that corporate elites do not have the safety of the world and its human and nonhuman denizens in mind. By now it has become clear that they must be reined in for the greater good. The only language that major corporations even comprehend is money. Here I arrive at the first main point of this letter: I urge you to work with other Democratic leaders to divest from major corporations and their executives, especially those most directly responsible for polluting the Earth. I’ve also seen proposals that corporations be forced to contribute to removing as much pollution as possible. Quickening the transition away from fossil fuels is crucial.

However, alternate energy sources are not enough. Switching from gas-powered cars to electric cars is not enough. Building solar or wind farms in place of coal-burning power plants is not enough. Extraction and consumption cause their own serious problems. The problem of environmental degradation has roots that are far too deep and complicated to address here, though I will touch upon one later. Going hand-in-hand with corporate influence are the bad social and urban infrastructures that do not encourage sustainable lifestyles. I barely even know where to begin in this regard. Cities are too often built for cars and not people. Most people have to drive carbon-spewing cars to work at jobs that are not well-suited to their needs in order to pay their bills and feed their families. Too many people are left in poverty or near-poverty, some people are more-or-less isolated in suburbs, and a tiny handful are virtually untouchable in their wealth and privilege. Healthy food is not always accessible, and even when it is, it often has to be shipped very far from the source.

My second main point is this: in addition to transitioning to cleaner energy, the very infrastructure of our society needs to reformed. Local communities need to be lifted up so that they can better care for themselves without the need for distant figures constantly having to provide for them through convoluted supply chains. It’s true that right-wingers speak of “small government” with the unspoken agenda of leaving corporate oligarchs and ultra-conservative clergy to rule over ordinary human beings. Nonetheless, I believe that, at this point, government needs to assist in rebuilding communities so that they can eventually leave denizens to stand on their feet and care for each other. The pandemic, along with the poor responses of many local officials, has shown the need for communities to engage in mutual care.

I will confess that this exhortation is the vaguest one in this letter. I lack in-depth education on such matters. I bring it up in order to further nudge you in a direction that would be far better for the Earth and its people. I can offer one example of what must be done that is slightly clearer: helping communities establish gardens and small-scale farms to better feed themselves.

On a very important side note, this nation needs to divest from the military as well. The largest and most powerful military in history is known to be among the largest polluters on earth. Too many politicians seem to ignore how massive the military already is an insist on subsidizing it at the cost of actually building a peaceful and prosperous society.

I further wish to discuss the need to center indigenous peoples in renewing our society. No, I am no indigenous myself. I simply wish to point to their wisdom. Yes, the sagely magical Indian who is one with Mother Earth is a crude stereotype, and I have no intention of reinforcing it. With that said, I follow a number of indigenous writers, activists, spiritualists, and influencers on social media. I learned about how many indigenous people are attempting to reconnect to previously outlawed and hidden heritages. The stereotype could be rooted in reality.

In most cases, those heritages include animistic spiritualities, in which aspects of the natural world, from plants to animals to waters to stones, are seen as having spirits. Furthermore, these aspects of the natural world are seen as relatives to humans. I should note how some well-meaning white people, wishing to bond with the earth instead of submitting to organized religion, appropriate these indigenous spiritualties and associated practices. Indigenous writers will encourage such people to instead delve into their own pre-Christian heritages, which have similar animistic philosophies, however obscured by time they may be. I have actually been doing just that—though I won’t elaborate because I don’t want to center myself.

You may be asking, what is the relevance said common thread of the spiritualities of indigenous peoples? That animism seems to go hand-in-hand with methods of land care that developed over generations of trial and error, along with the principles behind those methods. With the subjugation and expulsion (and worse) of the land’s original caretakers, though, these practices fell into obscurity. The most dramatic example, perhaps, is the suppression of controlled burnings on the western coastline leading to the wildfires that we have seen in recent years. Indeed, the different lands of different indigenous nations need their own subtly distinct approaches, based on ecosystems, geographies, local histories, and general senses of place. Indigenous activists and figureheads are calling upon governments to heed their words on not only conservation but also regeneration.

One of the main demands that indigenous activists make is for the return of their lands, full sovereignty over them, and the facilitation of cultural revival. Yes, that is a very simple manner of justice and righting a historic wrong. It has become evident that their wisdom is a crucial piece of the puzzle of solving environmental problems as well. Simple “colorblind” or “globalized” liberalism won’t suffice when working for social or environmental justice. Indigenous activists argue that colonialism is at the root of so many of our world’s problems. Many of them even outright state that the “colonial state” in itself is a problem. I can see how colonialism has promoted the rise of an all-devouring capitalism and perpetuated it. The grim historical fact of how the enslavement of Black people and the elimination of indigenous peoples contributed to building this nation remains a grim historical fact.

I myself am figuring out the world and learning many truths, but I am sympathetic to people who have borne the brunt of colonialism. I welcome the humanistic achievements of modernity and utterly oppose fundamentalism and fascism, I assure you, but I’ve come to accept that the modern world is broken. Simple progress won’t heal the world. “Big government” certainly has a role to play in mobilizing the needed social changes, such as what I’ve alluded to above, but the “colonial state” needs to ultimately divest its own power.

I’ll try to summarize my points now. Major corporations and economic elites need to be drastically reined in and disempowered (along with the military). The transition to renewable energies needs to be quickened—but also needs to be accompanied by drastic changes to infrastructures and supply chains so as to result in less extraction and consumption. Localized communities need to be empowered so they can better care for themselves without much out faraway aid. Indigenous peoples need to be given their lands back, be elevated to leadership roles in caring for and regenerating said lands, and be empowered so they can rebuild their cultures. Settlers should learn from them as well. In the end, the state and the socio-economic system that it has upheld need to recede—not for billionaires or grand inquisitors or dictators, but for ordinary people and the earth. In truth, humans are meant to be a part of nature, and the generational challenge is for humanity to reconcile with the rest of nature.

This all may sound idealistic or radical. This past summer has shown us that we shouldn’t settle for anything less than radical social change. This nation, which has been a major world power for over a century, needs to be radically reimagined. This all may sound vague as well. I have little education in politics and governance apart from what I’ve tried to learn for myself across the internet. That is all the more reason for people like you—people with more real-world power than I—to push along radical social change. This letter is meant to raise awareness of your duty as a leader. A leader is meant to be a guide, not a dominator. There’s a chance that you could be recorded in history as a leader who did what was necessary to make the world’s healing and renewal possible.

Thank you.

You may call me Brian Solomon Whiterose.

[swordoforion]

Orion Digest №20 — Eco-Socialist Federation: The First Steps

Hypothetically, once a world federation is formed, where do we go further? The formation of federation itself is just a stepping stone to environmental and economic reform, and while we know it’s what we need, how do we achieve it? Once united, how would we recover from the damage and move towards a peaceful, wise, spacefaring society? The first steps would not bear immediate fruit — the kinds of action we need to take to help the planet recover and to bring equality across the world would take time to pay off, which is why most governments are unwilling to take them. It’s a costly and tedious business, and one whose need is not made evident until much later.

The balance that needs to be stricken is between economic needs and in more industrialized nations, the needs of countries struggling with starvation, and the ultimate need for a stable foundation for environmental recovery. The question is one of both how much do we produce and who needs it the most, because industrialized nations produce at a rate designed to make their economy grow, because it satisfies a growing population. To help create stability, we’d need a sort of shock to make larger populations slow down their rate of growth, so those additional resources could be funneled to others in need.

For the sake of argument, let’s think of it as two people — Person A and Person B. Both people need three loaves of bread for a healthy and sustainable diet, and Person A is given five per day, whereas Person B is given one. Person A adjusts at first to being given five loaves of bread, and soon enough, becomes accustomed to a larger appetite and is only satiated with the full five loaves, while Person B is malnourished, and unable to live healthily without more bread in their diet. Now, taking two loaves of bread from Person A and giving them to Person B, in the short-term, will be detrimental to Person A. They’ve gotten used to that stable meal, and when the extra loaves are taken away, they will still feel hungry, and it will take an adjustment period until they are able to be satiated by merely three loaves. However, if they were to continue with their five loaf diet, Person B would surely starve.

Just the same, if the population of industrialized and wealthier nations increases during this transitional period, they will find that such a number cannot be sustained, as what is produced and kept is enough for them to remain at a more stable level while other parts of the world are given financial and resource assistance. Of course, this does not mean a population must stop reproducing altogether, or sacrifice any of it’s current members — due to death by natural causes, a population will naturally decrease without reproduction, and a population that is in a static state of equilibrium would have an equal birth rate and death rate. The goal to deescalate unsustainable growth is both a decrease in excess and unnecessary consumption as well as a decline in the birth rate, with the same production rate being used as a temporary means of propping up those in need. Once these other nations are able to reach a level of sustainable production and growth on their own, the need for continued excess production will be lessened.

So, say we’ve had time in which we had international limits on industrialized nations (likely implemented based on GDP) and a network of resources going to nations with low average quality of life and high rates of poverty as a means of short term support, all the while ensuring that the seeds are planted for sustainable industry once quality of life and infrastructure are improved. Assuming we’ve still been burning resources at the same rates we do now for helping the world recover, our next goal would be to get used to lower levels of production, going from a growth-based to a need-based economy in the long term. Having adapted to using less resources and having close to a ZPG model (zero population growth), the world’s heavily industrialized nations can be the starting focus for slowed industry, with the preceding project as a dual-purpose means of preparation.

From then on, the production and corresponding population growth limits would proceed from the highest GDP nations downward, coming in waves as to allow the newly industrialized nations time to reach self sufficiency. During this time, to supplement the continued destruction of the environment through industry, government funding would go towards research and projects like replanting, species protection, eco-friendly technologies, etc. A world federation of allied republics would be less inclined to go to war, so while military would not be fully phased out, the massive amounts used for military spending today could do well for this sort of environmental research and development, spurred likely even further by the acquisition of mass deposits of wealth in large capitalist corporations (to destroy a corporation entirely could cripple the economy, but greater rates of temporary taxation on the wealthiest powers and people could help to redistribute the approximately 43% of global wealth they hold for more beneficial matters for the greater good).

Having worked downward over a long stretch of time, the developed final phase of industrialized nations would be limited to reach close to a ZPG, and by this time, we would have a developed research department to revitalize the environment that had been operating, which would be boosted by a global decrease in emissions. Important to mention is that a democratic workplace economy would likely only aid the decrease in production, and that public relations and regional governments could encourage further environmentally friendly actions achievable by the common populace, such as conserving water and electricity, using public transport, and growing personal gardens. While most of harmful emissions is created by industrial production of goods and services, it would not hurt to go a step further, especially when we need to divert our course as fast as possible.

ZPG (or close to ZPG) economies, once they had reached sustainability, could be held until such a time had passed at which research determined growth could continue sustainably, and once we had passed that threshold, we would continue forward with less government-imposed limits on production, and when we finally began to start again, we would go forth not as we did before, but with a better knowledge of balance between economy and ecology, as well as more equalized prosperity for all. There would be much more to do before we achieved our goal, but in terms of practically setting us on the right path for sustainable industry and global recovery, we have an idea of our first steps.

- DKTC FL

[kenma-loves-pie]

Here’s the thing. I don’t get the whole canon Kuroo is a weed loving stoner and party loving jock who gets stoned all the time and drunk at parties every weed and who would disrespect Kenma.

The biggest problem I have with it is the weed. Kuroo doing weed just doesn’t seem likely at all. If he was in America, maybe. But he’s not.

Statistically, drug use in Japan is much lower than America, but we know what’s reported doesn’t match the truth. Even still, the numbers are very different so it’s probably still a bit lower. But that’s not the biggest reason Kuroo being a pothead doesn’t make sense.

Possibly the biggest reason starts with the fact that weed isn’t that big in Japan. In America, weed is the most popular illegal drug. Everyone knows or knows of someone who has done weed or does it. You may even know where to buy it. In fact, that’s true of a lot of countries. But in Japan? Not the case.

In Japan, stimulants make up more than 80% of the drug use. Methamphetamine is considered the big drug, but stimulants in general are popular. Ecstasy and LSD are fairly popular in nightclubs and some other circles too. But weed only makes up a small percentage and, while I’m not sure how true it is, I’ve heard it’s not that easy to find.

This is thought to be due to the culture. Japanese culture is big on long work/study hours, community service, family obligations, and being thin. People literally die from overwork so often there is a word for it and being fat in Japan is worse than in America. Stimulants can help get through the hours or lose weight to be socially accepted much better than weed. Weed is for relaxing, but, unless it’s the weekend, there isn’t a lot of time for that. You’re talking 12 or more hours of obligations for many students and workers. So it’s not surprising that the top drugs are something that would help people focus and work longer. Weed doesn’t do that.

On top of that, Japan has some of the strictest drug laws of any democratic first world country. Getting caught with even a small amount of drugs doesn’t only carry legal consequences, but serious social ones too. Getting caught with a tiny bit of weed can cause you to lose your family, your career, your social standing, everything. Celebrities have been blacklisted for having a little bit of weed. It’s very serious. A lot of people won’t take the risk unless they feel they can’t do what they need to do without it.

(Btw, you can largely blame America for this as weed was a common and valued thing apparently until world war 2. America then imposed it’s views on drugs and that became the norm in Japan and is only just starting to shift in recent years.)

Really, most people just stick to alcohol and tobacco. No one frowns on that. In fact, it’s pretty much encouraged to smoke and drink so it’s the better choice.

In schools, the most popular substance abuse issues tend to be stimulants and inhalants like sniffing glue, paint thinner, etc. People who sniff tend to move onto amphetamines for a better high later. But only a small percentage uses weed compared to that of U.S. teens.

So, especially for someone like Kuroo, weed doesn’t seem likely. It’s not popular in Japan and when does he have time to get stoned five times a week? He’s in college prep classes which means he probably studies A LOT. He’s the captain of a sports team which means long practice hours and extra responsibility. His dad is a single parent and it’s unclear how able his grandparents are, so he may have extra responsibilities at home. He also helps Kenma with school and hangs out with friends. Even in countries where weed is popular, he’s not your typical daily stoner. Tried it once? Maybe. Does it all the time? Not likely.

If Kuroo abuses anything, it’s probably caffeine. Maybe stimulants if you really want some extra angst. I’m not sure he’d risk getting caught with that and ruining his future or that he could afford it, drugs are more expensive in Japan than America, but maybe.

As for partying, sure. On the weekend sometimes. I don’t think he’d be doing a lot of drinking in high school. He’s a volleyball player and takes it very seriously, but maybe some. But going during the week, getting super drunk, and doing other drugs? In high school? That doesn’t fit.

I see that more being something he does his college years maybe. If he got burnt out and went a little crazy, I wouldn’t question it then. But in high school? He’s a somewhat shy nerd that studies way too much, probably likes watching science documentaries, and wants to play volleyball to the best of his ability. He takes care of himself and trains hard. A lot of partying and drugs doesn’t fit that. Especially drugs that wouldn’t help him be better at what he does.

And disrespecting Kenma? That makes no sense. I’ve seen people write canon Kuroo calling Kenma his bitch and acting like Kenma is some weak loser that he keeps around out of pity. That makes no sense. Kuroo repeatedly acknowledges that Kenma’s talented and he respects those talents. He’s even awed by them sometimes. He cares about Kenma and knows Kenma is strong and capable, maybe even more than Kenma thinks. Even if you don’t believe they are romantic, Kuroo respects and cares about Kenma.

Also, I’m not getting into the sex god thing. I mean, I think he still could be. He’s a total nerd and his hair is a mess but there is no reason a nerd can’t be a god in bed. So that doesn’t really bother me. Do I think he’s had tons of relationships? No. Again, where is the time? Also, I’ve heard Japanese high schoolers are discouraged from dating but I haven’t researched it so Idk. Either way, nerds can be good at sex so I don’t see why he can’t. But the stoner thing seems way off base.

Anyway, you can interpret characters how you want. If you like Kuroo that way, that’s your right. I just think it doesn’t make sense. For an AU? Sure. But canon high school Kuroo? Not at all.

[creepingsharia]

“I Don’t Like Christians”: Muslim Persecution of Christians, April 2020

The following are among the abuses Muslims inflicted on Christians throughout the month of April, 2020:

The Slaughter of Christians

Nigeria: The first two days of April opened with machete-wielding Muslim Fulani herdsmen murdering at least 13 Christians to death. “[W]e woke up to bury seven people burnt to death  … from an overnight attack,” one source said.  Those killed “are mostly elderly Christians who were unable to escape as members of the community ran into surrounding bushes during the attack.”

Then, on April 7, the Islamic herdsmen slaughtered a pastor and three members of his congregation, including a 10-year-old boy.  The pastor, Matthew Tagwai, who was murdered in his home, is survived by a pregnant wife and two small children.

On April 10, the Fulani murdered pastor Stephen Akpor, 55.  “Two herdsmen came to a branch of our church, Celestial Church … where they shot him as he was praying and counseling five members in the church,” his colleagues said. “The herdsmen shot the pastor several times and then stabbed him to death.”  He is survived by five children and a wife.

On April 11, the Muslim herdsmen shot a Christian farmer dead.

On April 13, they decapitated two more Christians, in a manner that required them to be “buried without their heads.”

On April 14, Fulani butchered nine more Christians, six of whom were children, one a pregnant mother.  “They were armed with machetes and AK-47 rifles as they attacked us,” a survivor recalls: “They attacked our village at about 8 p.m., and they were shouting, ‘Allahu Akbar!’ as they shot into our houses.”  Thirty-three homes were set ablaze.

On April 16, they killed Sebastine Stephen, a young Christian student. “The Fulani herdsmen were over 50 carrying sophisticated guns and shooting sporadically.  After they killed the young man,” a survivor reported, “they then broke into the house of Mr. Jack Nweke and abducted him with his wife, leaving behind their three children.”

On April 19, the Muslim terrorists killed four more Christians. “Thirty-eight houses with 86 rooms were also razed down, while about 87 families are affected,” a source said.

On April 20, “A Christian farmer, Titus Nyitar, was shot to death, and his head was cut off,” an area resident said. Titus was “working on his farm when he was killed by the herdsmen.”  Afterwards they “proceeded to the village to burn down houses and kidnapped three villagers.”

On April 22, Muslim Fulani herdsmen killed another 12 Christians; earlier, the report notes, they kidnapped a couple as they were being married inside their church.

On April 23, the Fulani “killed two people, kidnapped another and burned down a church building that included the pastor’s home in attacks on predominantly Christian areas in north-central Nigeria.”

“What is the crime of these innocent people against Fulani herdsmen?” a local resident of one of the villages that was ravaged asked. “For how long shall we continue to experience this killing? For how long shall we continue to beg the government and the security agencies to come to the aid of our people?”

Congo:   The family of Batsemire Ngulongo Yesse, a Christian pastor and father of eight, who, along with 35 other Christians, was slaughtered at the hands of the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), an Islamic rebel group that targets Christians, gave the details surrounding his execution in an April 9 report. According to his son,

[Islamic militia armed with machetes] came at night and knocked at the door. My father opened the door. They asked him why he had defiled their order of leaving Christianity and becoming a Muslim. He replied that he was raised in a Christian family, became a Christian and baptized in an Anglican church and he cannot convert to another religion. The Islamists threatened to kill him. He said that it is only God who knows the time of his death and if it is time for him to die then he is ready to die a Christian. Then they slaughtered him. I was in another house and I heard all that they were doing. When they had killed my father they left.

The martyr’s widow, who was hiding in the house that night, offered other details: on entering the house, “the people introduced themselves as Muslims….  They told him to convert to Islam if he wanted to live. He declined. Right there, they slew his neck and left. He died on the spot.”  The man’s son believes that the same Islamic rebel group earlier kidnapped his two brothers, whose fates remain unknown; he adds that “From that time our father used to encourage us to continue serving the local church instead of leaving as many pastors left the region.”  Reverend Wilson Kasereka, who knew the slain priest, elaborated on the overall situation:

The war against Christians has been escalating and people are dying daily… We have lost several pastors that have been serving Christians in Congo and we live in fear because we do not know when the ADF will come for us. We have many refugees … [who] need a lot of prayers and support.

Mozambique:  On April 7, Islamic terrorists known locally as “al-Shabaab” (“the youth”) and believed to be connected to ISIS, “cruelly and diabolically,” slaughtered 52 villagers in the Christian-majority nation.  Although reports do not indicate the religious affiliation of those slaughtered, Mozambique is 60 percent Christian and 19 percent Muslim.  The report adds that,

Militants have stepped up attacks in recent weeks as part of a campaign to establish an Islamist caliphate in the gas-rich region, seizing government buildings, blocking roads and briefly hoisting a black-and-white flag carrying religious symbols over towns and villages across Cabo Delgado province. The flag is also used by Isis and other Islamic extremists….  The insurgents have so far mainly targeted isolated villages, killing more than 900 people…  The unrest has forced hundreds of thousands of locals to flee and raised concern among big energy firms operating in the region.  More than 200,000 people have fled the area hit worst by the violence, according to a local Catholic archbishop, Dom Luiz Fernando.

Attacks on Churches and Easter Day

USA:  On April 14, a Muslim man with a history of anti-Christian hate crimes tried to torch a church.  Osama El Hannouny, 25, tried to burn down Sacred Heart Church in Palos Hills, Illinois.  Surveillance tapes indicate that he knew the church was occupied.  Firefighters quickly managed to extinguish the flames.   According to the report, “El Hannouny allegedly scratched, bit and spit at police when they tried to stop him,” and later “wrote a religious slur on the wall of his cell.”  Earlier, in November 2019, the Muslim man slashed the tires of 19 vehicles in the parking lots of two other churches (First Baptist and Sts. Helen and Constantine).  At that time, when he was arrested, he told police that he had damaged the cars because “I don’t like Christians.”  He was then released on $10,000 I-bond with electronic monitoring, which did little to deter his most recent church attack.

Osama El Hannouny (in mosque t-shirt)

Denmark:  Around 3:30 am on Easter Sunday, the holiest day for Christians around the world, the Vejleå Church in Ishøj was vandalized with phrases saying “We conquer Denmark,” and, in Arabic, “There is no God but Allah.”  Many Danes were reportedly “stunned” by the graffiti.  Police said they had surveillance pictures, but that they were not clear enough for publishing. This same church in Ishøj had been vandalized earlier, in 2015, when eight of its large windows were smashed by hurled stones.  Such attacks on churches in European regions with large Muslim migrant populations have become increasingly common.

Algeria:  For the first time in its history, the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) added Algeria to its 2020 annual report on the worst violators of religious freedom around the world.  A portion of the report follows:

In 2019, Algeria escalated its ongoing repression of religious minorities. The government systematically cracked down on the Evangelical Protestant community in particular through a string of church closures and raids, including two of the largest Protestant churches in the country. The current crackdown mirrors the scale of past waves of church closures in 2008 and 2011, and has been ongoing since November 2017 and worsened in 2019. Officials have made arbitrary demands that churches cease all religious activities, accusing them of violating safety regulations, operating illegally, or evangelizing, or giving them other justifications for sealing off their places of worship. The Algerian government forcibly closed three of the country’s largest Protestant churches in October 2019….  The government of Algeria systematically restricts non-Muslims’ ability to register, operate houses of worship, proselytize, and practice their faith in other ways…. Ordinance 06-03 also limits proselytization by prohibiting anyone from “shaking the faith of a Muslim.”… These laws are actively used to arrest and charge individuals for proselytism, or for transporting or possessing religious objects such as Bibles.

Egypt:  On April 14, Egyptian security forces were involved in a gunfight with an Islamic terror cell ensconced in an apartment building in Cairo’s Amiriyah district, which is known for holding a large Christian population and several churches.  Seven would-be terrorists and one police officer were killed in the shootout.  Several ammunitions and automatic weapons were found and seized from their apartment.  The Egyptian ministry confirmed that “the suspects were planning attacks on the country’s Coptic Christians during the Holy Week and Easter Sunday. Egypt’s Coptic Orthodox Christians, one the world’s oldest Christian communities, would celebrate Easter on April 19.”  Attacks on churches around Easter are not uncommon in Egypt.  On April 9, 2017—Palm Sunday, which initiates the holy week of Easter—two Christian churches were bombed during mass; at least 50 worshippers were killed and 130 injured and/or mutilated. Two days later, another terror attack targeting a Christian monastery was thwarted. On April 12, 2015, Easter Sunday, two explosions targeting two separate churches took place in Egypt. Similarly, on Sunday, April 5, 2015, as Christians were celebrating Palm Sunday, yet another church was attacked in Alexandria; gunmen in a vehicle opened fire on the church during the night injuring a police officer and two civilians.

Indonesia: Members of the Islamic Defenders Front raided and violently disbanded a house church meeting which consisted of about ten people.  According to the report, “Video footage … showed two men bursting into a home, Sunday [April 19] in Cikarang.”  One of the attackers, Ustad Muliana, was identified as a senior leader of the Islamic Defenders.  The video showed the Muslims threatening the worshippers: “One of them physically attacked Christians with a piece of wood,” the report says, adding:

Sunday’s incident followed a series of attacks or threats against churches involving Islamic parties or their supporters….  [W]hile Indonesia is officially secular, there has been a rise in politicians demanding a more significant role for Islam. Some groups, such as FPI, want to turn Indonesia in a full-blown Islamic state.

Greece: Muslim migrants in the island of Chios, according to a report, set fires and attacked police beginning on Holy Saturday and into the early morning hours of Easter Sunday, April 19, for Orthodox.   Although riots had erupted earlier, they were exacerbated by a false rumor that an Iraqi woman had died from COVID-19 in Chios, prompting the migrants to hurl stones at police; two cars, tents, a canteen inside of the migrant camp, and houses were burned during the riots.  It was later revealed that the woman in question had never even been infected.  Chios police arrested three migrants believed to be responsible for inciting the violence.

General Abuse of Christians

Syria: As occurred during the height of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, “jihadist rebels” continue to confiscate Christian properties in the name of “sharia.”  According to the report,

Christians in Idlib province face the injustice of jihadist organizations and violations by Islamic factions, in terms of applying ‘Islamic Sharia law’ to members of different religious communities. Islamic factions are clamping down on them and imposing levies ‘Jizya’ in order to force them to leave their homes to regime-controlled areas.

Pakistan:  In two separate incidents, Muslim men sexually assaulted very young Christian girls.  First, a group of Muslims attempted to kidnap Ishrat, aged 9.  According to the report,

The April 9 assault took place while Ishrat was walking in the street in Qutiba. There, a group of Muslim men approached her and asked her to convert to Islam and marry Asim, one of the men in the group. When Ishrat refused, the men beat Ishrat, made derogatory remarks against Ishrat and Christianity, and attempted to kidnap Ishrat. The kidnapping, however, was averted as local villagers intervened.  According to Ishrat, another man in the group named Ijaz had been harassing her before the assault. Ishrat claims that Ijaz followed her for a long time in an attempt to develop a physical relationship.  Ishrat and her family reported the assault to local police. However, after reporting the incident, a group of armed Muslims attacked Ishrat’s family home. According to Ishrat’s family, the group threatened the family with severe consequences for “creating hurdles to their mission.”

Two days later, on April 11, a Muslim man kidnapped and sexually assaulted Nadia, another Christian girl, aged 7.  According to the report,

Nadia was discovered to be missing at 7pm when her father Boota Masih returned home, and he and other neighbours immediately started to look for her.  Ghulam Sabir, a Muslim resident of Talwandi, heard a cry coming from a nearby wheat field.  There, Sabir found Nadia, who had been beaten and sexually assaulted, and her attacker Muhammad Shoaib.  He tried to escape, but he was caught and taken into police custody.

Iran: On April 21, Christian convert and human rights activist Mary Mohammadi was sentenced to three months in prison and flogging—above and beyond what she had already experienced—due to her criticism of the regime’s violations against human rights.  The 21-year-old presented her side on social media: “After suffering many types of torture and 46 days in jail in the terrible conditions of Vozara detention and Qarchak Prison [which has a “reputation for various types of gender abuse”], I have been sentenced to 3 months and 1 day in prison and 10 lashes.” Mary added that she was sentenced for protesting “against the slaughter of human beings” and for displaying “sympathy for the families of those who perished on the Ukraine airline crash.”  During her hearing, the judge harassed her about her conversion to Christianity even though charges against her had nothing to do with religion.   In 2017, Mary spent more than six months in prison for attending an unground church meeting.

Uganda:  In two separate instances, Muslims savagely beat two women—a six-month pregnant woman for converting to Christianity, and a Christian girl for evangelizing.

After converting to Christianity and attending church for six weeks, Sylvia Shamimu Nabafa, 27, was spotted by a Muslim neighbor leaving church.  He told her father, Haji Juma Suleiman, who proceeded to interrogate his daughter, then six months pregnant:  “I did not respond,” she recalls. “He began hitting me with kicks and blows.  He then took a blunt object and hit my right leg. I started bleeding, and the next thing I knew, I found myself in the hospital bed at Palissa Health Centre.”  She was discharged six weeks later.  [delete?] According to local church elder, “At the moment she needs support and encouragements as she recalls the ordeal she has gone through after giving her life to Jesus Christ. At times I find her weeping. She needs food, clothes, medication and hospital check-ups.”

As for Lydia Nabirye, the 23-year-old daughter of a Church of God evangelist, problems began for her after she shared her faith with a Muslim woman who subsequently became Christian.  The Muslim family of the apostate woman proceeded to threaten her life.  She took refuge with Lydia’s Christian family, where six other apostates from Islam had found sanctuary.  Then, on April 7, while traveling to grieve with a Muslim mother whose son died, Muslims ambushed Lydia.  “They held me and started beating me up,” Lydia explained. “They slapped me, and others hit me with sticks, saying that they were out to kill me because I was changing Muslims to become Christians.” An eyewitness provides more details: “[T]he Muslims ambushed, strangled and severely beat her. When she shouted and screamed, neighbors called police, and the assailants fled when officers arrived…  When I met her at her home on April 14, she was still in pain from multiple injuries – head, right eye and left hand injuries…”

Egypt: Several days after disappearing on April 22, Ranya Abd al-Masih (“servant of Christ”), 39, a Christian wife and mother appeared in a brief video, dressed in all black Islamic attire (niqab), saying that, “praise be to Allah,” she had willingly and secretly converted to Islam nine years earlier, and no longer wanted anyone—her husband, children, family—to bother about her anymore.  Her family insists that such claims are for public consumption, likely being made at gunpoint and/or even under the effects of drugs.  The Coptic Orthodox Christian Church added its voice in an appeal to President Sisi to intervene and “return our daughter,” whose own “three young daughters are heartbroken at her absence, as is her husband and her entire family.”  According to Remon, Ranya’s brother, “She was definitely kidnapped and forced to make that video, due to threats against her or her husband and children if she refused to comply.”   He said the idea that she had “secretly” embraced Islam was ludicrous, citing the fact that up until her disappearance she was regularly attending church, visiting and praying in monasteries—even fasting 55 days in the lead up to Easter.  “We are sure that Ranya, our beloved sister, whom we know so well, is not the one we saw on the video; that is a woman who is being threatened and coerced.”  After complaining that state security—which has been accused of complicity in similar cases—refuses to help, her brother wondered “What will we do about our Coptic mothers, sisters, wives, and daughters?  We are in an era when such things should not happen.”

Raymond Ibrahim, author of the recent book, Sword and Scimitar, Fourteen Centuries of War between Islam and the West, is a Distinguished Senior Fellow at the Gatestone Institute, a Shillman Fellow at the David Horowitz Freedom Center, and a Judith Rosen Friedman Fellow at the Middle East Forum.

About this Series

The persecution of Christians in the Islamic world has become endemic.  Accordingly, “Muslim Persecution of Christians” was developed in 2011 to collate some—by no means all—of the instances of persecution that occur or are reported each month. It serves two purposes:

1)          To document that which the mainstream media does not: the habitual, if not chronic, persecution of Christians.

2)          To show that such persecution is not “random,” but systematic and interrelated—that it is rooted in a worldview inspired by Islamic Sharia.

Accordingly, whatever the anecdote of persecution, it typically fits under a specific theme, including hatred for churches and other Christian symbols; apostasy, blasphemy, and proselytism laws that criminalize and sometimes punish with death those who “offend” Islam; sexual abuse of Christian women; forced conversions to Islam;  theft and plunder in lieu of jizya (financial tribute expected from non-Muslims); overall expectations for Christians to behave like cowed dhimmis, or second-class, “tolerated” citizens; and simple violence and murder. Sometimes it is a combination thereof.

Because these accounts of persecution span different ethnicities, languages, and locales—from Morocco in the West, to Indonesia in the East—it should be clear that one thing alone binds them: Islam—whether the strict application of Islamic Sharia law, or the supremacist culture born of it.

Previous Reports:

[litanyoflight]

                                𝓛𝓘𝓛𝓛𝓘𝓐𝓝 𝓦𝓔𝓝: dossier.

“You had a sensitive nervous system. You had an enhanced reaction to reality. You were very affectionate. You appreciated things. You appreciated them more than other people. You practically went into trances of rapture. You wanted the world to be better than it was.”   – Margaret Atwood

| 𝓖𝓔𝓝𝓔𝓡𝓐𝓛

FULL NAME: Lillian Wen

PRONUNCIATION: lil-EE-un w-EN

MEANING:

L I L L I A N / from the Latin lilium – meaning lily: a symbol of innocence; purity; beauty

W E N / fr. Chinese 文 (wén) meaning "literature, culture, writing"

REASONING: In an ode to the French city of Lille where her mothers fell in love – once upon a time – the two chose the name together. Due to her maman’s belief that middle-names are for those who cannot make up their mind about the first, Lillian does not have one. Her surname is that of her biological mother, Wen Jini, who had been pregnant with Lillian when she’d found a partner in Fleur Chevalier.

ALIAS: Lavinia

NICKNAME: Lil; Lilou ( only by one Mademoiselle Katarina Du Pont ); petit fleur ( only by her Maman )

PREFERRED NAME: Lillian; Lil

BIRTH DATE: February 23rd, 1991

ZODIAC: Pisces

Pisces is a sensitive sign--both sensitive to criticism and sensitive to others' feelings. Easily touched by human suffering, at least in theory, Pisces wouldn't hurt a fly. They believe in people, are deeply hurt by compassionless human behavior, and have a hard time saying no. Harsh realities are avoided either through escapist behavior or self-delusion; but every now and again reality does raise its ugly head, and hits Pisces over the head. This is a sad time indeed. Pisces retreats into their own world, self-pitying and giving pep talks to themselves ("I will never trust again!"). Rest assured, though, that these periods are rather short-lived and even useful. Pisces seems to derive energy from their (generally short) bouts of self-pity. They come back stronger, with a spring in their step, ready to face the world again, and just as, if not more, compassionate and trusting as they were before. Some might even wonder if Pisces finds pleasure in suffering. Sometimes this is the case, but most of the time, Pisces pulls a lot of creative energy from sadness. Pisces is the poet or artist with angst, although this trait is often more apparent with Moon in Pisces.

— source

GENDER: cis female

PRONOUNS: she/her

NATIONALITY: French-Italian dual nationality

ETHNICITY: Eurasian

RELIGION: Pagan

CURRENT LOCATION: Verona, Italy

LIVING CONDITIONS: In the wake of the trial’s sentencing, Lillian could no longer stomach living in Verona. She knew she needed to heal, and she knew she could not do so in the city that was the only true home she’d ever known – so, she left to travel the world. Upon moving back to Verona in September of 2018, and after tirelessly searching for the right place, Lillian bought her first real, independent home: CORTE ROSANTICO. The villa is named as such for the large stone court at its forefront, and a sweet, Venetian wine that happens to be Lillian’s favourite. She favoured that it is nearly in the absolute middle of Verona, an airy, large residence, with a great many windows and outdoor-seating areas that open the house out to nature, so that she never feels trapped in her own home.

TITLES: Messaggero, Ambassador

| 𝓑𝓐𝓒𝓚𝓖𝓡𝓞𝓤𝓝𝓓

BIRTH PLACE:La Louviere Clinic, in Lille, France

HOMETOWN: Verona, Italy

SOCIAL CLASS: Socialite

EDUCATION LEVEL: At only nine years of age, Lillian went to the same boarding school her maman, Fleur Chevalier, once attended. There, she began and completed her primary school, and lower-secondary school education. At fourteen, she moved back to Verona and attended a Venetian institution for upper-secondary school. She remained there after sixteen, as well, choosing to specialise in human sciences as her focal area of interest. She was nineteen years old when she was accepted to and enrolled in The University of Oxford, moving to England and opting for a Bachelor’s degree in Archaeology & Anthropology. However, only a term later, with a heated debate with her maman, Lillian dropped out of university and chose not to pursue further education.

FATHER: Name unknown

MOTHERS: Wen Jini & Fleur Gisèle Chevalier

PREVIOUS RELATIONSHIPS: Lillian’s love life was torn into a BEFORE & AFTER in the wake of her assault in 2013. Before, it was mean feat to find a Lillian Wen who was not romantically entangled with one or another. She was too interested in the magic of human beings, and the intricacies of human connection, as well as a healthy sexual appetite that did not discriminate on the basis of genders, to keep herself in indulging in falling in love with a great many people. It was rare, however, for her to have committed to a person for too long. After? Lillian is engaged to Cassian Bhatt—and has no interest in romantic entanglements, no longer comfortable with physical intimacy, and uninterested altering that status.

| 𝓞𝓒𝓒𝓤𝓟𝓐𝓣𝓘𝓞𝓝 & 𝓘𝓝𝓒𝓞𝓜𝓔

PRIMARY SOURCE OF INCOME: Modelling – for the MUSE agency

SECONDARY SOURCE OF INCOME: Capulets – Messaggero

TERTIARY SOURCE(S) OF INCOME: Sponsorship-funds & paid partnerships on social media

APPROXIMATE AMOUNT PER YEAR: $51,477

CONTENT WITH THEIR JOB? In recent years, Lillian’s worldview has altered drastically. Once upon a time, modelling was a genuine interest for her, being the connoisseur of art & beauty that she is. Over time, though, it has dwindled to a thing she does. What feeds her soul is the charities she is involved with, and the initiates she works for. Those truly fulfil Lillian in a way she will not soon take for granted.

PAST JOB: Lillian’s resumé is an entertaining read, featuring internships for a legal firm and a fashion magazine, one beside the other, and a work history extending from stints in Hollywood to an impressive modelling portfolio to serving as a spokesperson for various not-for-profit organisations around the world. The only real thing is missing is what a young Lillian Wen never desired: consistency. 

SPENDING HABITS: Though it would, undoubtedly, surprise a great many people to know it, Lillian did not grow up with money. She grew up, instead, having the magnitude of having it and not ingrained in her mind, and understanding both its power and its importance, as much as its lack of it. It is not often that Lillian can be seen making a frivolous purchase. That said: Lillian defines what is frivolous, and what is not, on her own. She expends on things that feed her soul, and that bring a smile to the face, either her own or another’s.

MOST VALUABLE POSSESSION: Lillian is not inclined to attach value to material possessions.

| 𝓢𝓚𝓘𝓛𝓛𝓢 & 𝓐𝓑𝓘𝓛𝓘𝓣𝓘𝓔𝓢

PHYSICAL STRENGTH: 8/10. In the wake of the assault, Lillian made it a point to throw herself into physical training, and building up endurance and strength, so that no one would physically overpower her, or make her feel helpless, ever again – not if she could help it.

OFFENCE: 5/10. At her best friend’s persistent insistence, Lillian has let Katarina Du Pont train her in offence moves that she does not often like to think about needing to employ. 

DEFENCE: 10/10. Lillian’s strengths lie in defensive-combat, without a doubt. Whether it is being confronted by someone better trained for offence-moves, or someone larger than her in size, Lillian has learnt (and keeps up with lessons on how to) defend herself.

SPEED: 9/10. Every evening, unfailingly, Lillian goes for a run. She started the regimen a great many years ago, when the insomnia first began to plague her, and she finds that it relaxes her deeply.

INTELLIGENCE: 9/10. Knowledge is power, Lillian was raised to know this. She was always a precocious child, and as an adult, she is no less eager to learn. Though she’s never had much patience in losing herself in fiction, she does find herself enthralled by a good thriller or a piece of crime fiction. She leans towards biographies, most of all, and travel-books, due to a keen interest in the human condition and the greater sprawl of the universe.

ACCURACY: 6/10. Lillian does not like guns at all. Therefore: she is not a fan of pointing them, aiming, or discerning the level of precision she may or may not have.

AGILITY: 10/10. She is a woman who embodies chaotic water-bodies: she slips through your fingers, and she could hold up a ship. There is effortless fluidity ingrained in Lillian’s movements, from her gait to her fighting-style. One could easily attribute it to her profession of choice, but her mothers would be the first to inform you: she even crawled with grace.

STAMINA: 9/10. Her commitment to keeping her body strong, and enduring, keeps Lillian’s stamina perpetually in check. Whether it is hitting the gym, or engaging in a yoga session in her own backyard, it is rare for Lillian to go a day without any physical exercise. She ensures that she engages with strength-training, endurance, and flexibility-based exercises equally. 

TEAMWORK: 8/10. To the core, Lillian always has been, and always will be, a people person. Around people is where she thrives most, and she is the sort to not believe in a small task or small role: she brings a 100% to the table, and encourages & includes everyone she can. She takes issue with dictatorial authority, but so long as the process is relatively democratic in nature, Lillian can roll with it.

                                                   𝓣𝓐𝓛𝓔𝓝𝓣𝓢

Interpersonal: risk-taking, mediation, problem-solving, negotiation, listening, adaptability, dependability, verbal communication, persuasion, relationship-building

Logical-mathematical: logical reasoning, critical analysis, perceptive nature, analytical thinking

Miscellaneous: poker, gardening, herbalism, sculpting, photography, cooking

                                             𝓢𝓗𝓞𝓡𝓣𝓒𝓞𝓜𝓘𝓝𝓖𝓢

Interpersonal: difficulty being objective, issues with dictatorial authority, inherently rebellious

Logical-mathematical: indecisive, deeply uninterested in anything pertaining to numbers, adhering to time-limits

Miscellaneous: drawing, painting, solving a Rubik’s cube

LANGUAGES SPOKEN: Lillian grew up in a household that alternated between three languages: Chinese, French, and Italian. During her stint in England, she picked up English, that she has (eventually) become a fluent-speaker of over the years she has spent shuttling around the United States of America.

DRIVING: Lillian drives entirely too fast, and is not above flirting with the authorities to keep from getting a ticket.

SKATING: As a little girl—and, in all honesty, as an adult—Lillian desperately enjoys flying around on a pair of rollerskates. She likes to hold her arms out, and make bird sounds, whilst she is mostly sober.

SWIMMING: There is little in life Lillian Wen loves more than she enjoys being in water. She is an excellent swimmer with a proclivity for deep-sea diving.

INSTRUMENTS: For as long as she can remember, Lillian has been fascinated by the arts – and thus, it is not unreasonable for her to have taken a keen interest in picking up an instrument or two when she was growing up. She can play the piano, and the guitar, well enough, but she does not like to, since she is utterly aware that though she does not lack skill when it comes to the actual playing, there is no soul her playing bleeds. To play without meaning it, in Lillian’s opinion, is disrespectful. She does, however, enjoy strumming at a ukulele by a campfire now and then.

CARDS: One would be hard-pressed to find a card game that Lillian cannot excel at. She grew up hustling snooty, privileged girls out of entirely too much money over poker games in their fancy uniforms. This was not what her maman had intended for when she’d taught Lillian – or so Fleur tells her lover.

BRAIDING HAIR: Yes, and she is not above posting videos on YouTube teaching people how to twist tendrils into perplexingly elaborate ones.

TIE A TIE: Only to a headboard.

LOCK PICKING: Lillian can absolutely pick a lock, and yes, she sometimes breaks into her friends’ houses to wait for them when they aren’t at home and she’s spontaneously shown up.

| 𝓟𝓗𝓨𝓢𝓘𝓒𝓐𝓛 𝓐𝓟𝓟𝓔𝓐𝓡𝓐𝓝𝓒𝓔 & 𝓒𝓗𝓐𝓡𝓐𝓒𝓣𝓔𝓡𝓘𝓢𝓣𝓘𝓒𝓢

FACE CLAIM: Adrianne Ho

EYE COLOUR: Amber

HAIR COLOUR: Raven black

HAIR STYLE: There is no specific style that Lillian makes a habit out of adhering to. Her hair always compliments her outfit, which is always chosen extremely purposefully, based entirely on the mood she wakes up in and/or intends to manifest on a given day. It is as likely for her to let her hair loose in pitch-black, tumultuous waves as it is for her to twist it back in an elaborate hair-do.

DOMINANT HAND: Left

HEIGHT: 5′10″

WEIGHT: 54 kgs

BUILD: She is tall, lanky, long-limbed, limbre and has a predominantly athletic build with broad shoulders, small breasts, but hips that curve very nicely.

SKIN TONE: Golden, with a warm undertone

SCARS: Prone to adventures throughout her life, and an indulgent interest in adrenaline-inducing activities, Lillian has no shortage of scars on her body. There are absolutely too many in total to catalogue, though when asked, she enjoys regaling her companions with an entertaining story.

NOTABLE FEATURES: Thick, prominent eyebrows

USUAL EXPRESSION: Naturally, Lillian tends to look perpetually lost, deep in her own thoughts

CLOTHING STYLE: Lillian’s style is very modern and current, whilst also leaning more towards trend-setting than trend-following. She enjoys structured pieces, and out-of-the-box combinations of textures and items, putting effort and purpose behind every look she very carefully constructs. Her wardrobe is an obvious example of her innate artistry.

DIET: Though she does not impose any restrictions upon herself when it comes to her diet, Lillian is still a fairly healthy eater, in general. She enjoys fresh vegetables and a complex taste-palette with her meals, and she prefers to cook them herself, so she composes them and seasons her meals very conscientiously.

PHYSICAL AILMENTS: Anaemia – for which she takes iron supplements.

| 𝓟𝓢𝓨𝓒𝓗𝓞𝓛𝓞𝓖𝓨

JUNG TYPE: ENFP (Ne-Fi-Te-Si)

Perceiving Functional Axis (NeSi): Lillian is a personal who is inherently inclined towards brainstorming at random, and often aloud. She is a person who thinks openly, unafraid of keeping an open-mind and deeply uninterested in shallow-living. However, when coupled with the Si trait (i.e. introverted sensing), Lillian hinges much on gut-feeling, and premonition, though she does not allow it to lead her.

Judging Functional Axis (FiTe): She is one to navigate her personal emotions and values internally, on a largely independent basis. She very rarely goes to someone else for emotional clarity, preferring to manage her feelings on her own. Lillian is one to think for herself, while absorbing input from various mindsets, ensuring she always has more than one point-of-view when it comes to making up her mind about something. She is not one to jump to conclusions or make harsh judgements unprompted. However, once she does have an opinion, she is not one to hold back from making it definitively known either.

ENNEAGRAM TYPE: Type 7 — The Adventurer

People with an Enneagram Type 7 personality tend to be enthusiastic, adventurous, and spontaneous in their behavior. They love seeking out new experiences. They are people-oriented and enjoy pursuing new relationships. The most basic desire of the Enneagram Type 7 is to feel stimulated, engaged, and satisfied. They tend to be highly goal-oriented and may go to great lengths to seek excitement and joy from new experiences.

MORAL ALIGNMENT: Chaotic Good

TEMPERAMENT: Sanguine

ELEMENT: Water

PRIMARY INTELLIGENCE TYPE: Interpersonal

SOCIABILITY: High. Lillian is a big people person. She can have a conversation about anything with anyone.

EMOTIONAL STABILITY: As much as Lillian would like to consider herself extraordinarily emotionally stable, the truth of the matter is that she wields candidness when it comes to her trauma as a means to busy herself from having to contemplate her actual emotions. She is an exceptionally open person – to everyone, it seems, but herself, whom she cannot confront as absolutely, or easily, as she can (and does) anyone else.

ADDICTION: Lillian is a try anything once! type of gal. If something feels too good, she never let’s it go far enough to become an addiction; she knows to cut herself off when she understands something to not be good for her to engage with.

DRUG USE: Only recreationally.

ALCOHOL USE: Lillian enjoys reaching a delightful level of tipsiness, though it is rare for her to actually be drunk in public.

PRONE TO VIOLENCE? Never. People who know not how to use their minds opt for their fists, in her opinion.

| 𝓜𝓐𝓝𝓝𝓔𝓡𝓘𝓢𝓜𝓢

SPEECH STYLE: There is a buoyant quality to the way Lillian converses – as if her words float on a cloud of infinite possibility, and she urges whomever she speaks with to come along with her for a ride. She is assertive without being suffocating, and tends to speak in a mixture of different languages laced together. Whilst speaking, it is not unheard of for her to slip French into her Italian, or switch to English mid-conversation. Frankly, whichever language has the best word to relay her meaning, Lillian opts for, and elaborates when her conversation partner has a look of confusion upon their face.

ACCENT: Lillian’s accent is a chaotic mess, not unlike herself. She is extremely well-travelled an individual, for one, but she spent her childhood between France and Italy, and then spent a decent amount of time in the US. Her accent is nearly impossible to discern a clear origin from, at this point.

QUIRKS: she can never sleep with the windows closed, cannot stand hot beverages, and likes to be barefoot too often for someone with the shoe-collection she’s accumulated

HOBBIES: sculpting, gardening, travelling, cooking

HABITS: meditates first thing in the morning, takes iron supplements, keeps a dream journal

NERVOUS TICS: curls her toes when she’s extremely angry to ground herself

MOTIVATIONS: Lillian was raised to be a revolutionary, and that is exactly what she is. A revolutionary, a visionary, a maverick: her primary motivation is to spread light in a world where there is darkness, and to never be afraid to be a one-woman army. Her motivation is the greater good.

FEARS: So much of Lillian’s soul is tied up in serving the universe and what it calls for her to do. Often, she does fear losing sight of herself while she searches for the bigger picture.

POSITIVE TRAITS: kind, pragmatic, charming, humorous, empathetic, genuine

NEUTRAL TRAITS: loyal, honest, perceptive, calculating, intelligent

NEGATIVE TRAITS: deceptive, hypocritical, evasive, confrontational, indecisive

SENSE OF HUMOUR: Witty. Lillian loves a good bit of wordplay, mixed in with teasing. It isn’t often that she’s outright sarcastic.

DO THEY CURSE OFTEN? Almost never. She was raised to use her vocabulary smartly, and taught that only people who cannot express themselves intelligently resort to cursing and stomping around like neanderthals.

CATCHPHRASE: Mostly to herself, but Lillian does remind herself: “C’est la vie.”

| 𝓕𝓐𝓥𝓞𝓤𝓡𝓘𝓣𝓔𝓢

ACTIVITY: swimming

ANIMAL: cheetahs

BEVERAGE: kombucha

BOOK: she can never choose, or stick to an answer

CELEBRITY: herself

COLOUR: blue

DESIGNER: it would be like asking Lillian to name her favourite artist; she just cannot do it.

FOOD: cherries

FLOWER: dahlias

HOLIDAY: New Year’s Day

MODE OF TRANSPORTATION: helicopters

MOVIE: again: she watches too many to pick

MUSICAL ARTIST: Etta James

SCENERY: deep in the sea, where everything is alive and vivid and bursting light

SCENT: lemons

SPORT: living

WEATHER: thunderstorm weather

VACATION DESTINATION: the Caribbean

| 𝓐𝓣𝓣𝓘𝓣𝓤𝓓𝓔𝓢

GREATEST DREAM: It feels trite to phrase it, but Lillian doesn’t have a dream. She lives from moment-to-moment; she is a traveller, a wanderer, a purveyor of the arts and light and freedom. A dream is too close to a goal, and those, Lillian finds to be limiting. If she had to choose? She would say: “To never cease to grow.”

GREATEST FEAR: Not being true to herself.

MOST AT EASE WHEN: ease is a state-of-mind, in Lillian’s opinion. Therefore, it is not impossible for her to be at ease anywhere, so long as her mind permits it.

LEAST AT EASE WHEN: in physical contact with someone she has not initiated with, nor welcomes it from. Physical intimacy is a slippery slope when it comes to Lillian; this is something she grapples with all the time, and is very vocal about when it comes down to it. If she does not want to be touched, she says as much.

WORST POSSIBLE THING THAT COULD HAPPEN: To answer this question would be to tempt fate, and Lillian is just fine doing no such thing.

BIGGEST ACHIEVEMENT: Lillian turned the worst thing that has ever happened to her into something to help people with. No matter her personal trauma, she will always be proud of herself for being able to do that.

BIGGEST REGRET: Her relationship with regret is a rocky one, to be honest. Lillian does not like the idea of having regret, and yet, she confronts that she has a great many of them. Every time she did not do something as well as she could have, or said the thing she wishes she had after the fact, she sits with it, and she regrets. She believes in respecting the aura around things, and situations, and people – and every opportunity where she does not, she regrets, and remembers, and aspires to not repeat. Biggest, most, worst; these are words she does not bow down to

MOST EMBARRASSING MOMENT: It is impossible to embarrass Lillian.

BIGGEST SECRET: REDATED

TOP PRIORITIES: Saving Verona, keeping her loved ones safe, doing both without compromising herself in the process

[ancientstone]

This is just a silly poll don't take it too seriously

[adhdrummer]

Political Protest is Biblical

I’m not sure if your social media timeline currently looks like mine. If you live smack dab in the middle of the buckle of the Bible Belt, I’ll take a wild guess and say that it more than likely does. You see I’ve had the misfortune of being a liberal, Democrat Christian in the middle of an area where if you swing a stick you hit five conservative Southern Baptists at once. And the fact that I happen to be a Christian means that when anyone of my faith speaks to me, they automatically assume that I agree with them politically. That I automatically worship the same “white Republican Jesus” that they’ve disillusioned themselves into believing in. However, that couldn’t be further from the truth. Because in my small town of the Bible Belt, I believe I’m one of the few Jesus followers who has the letter “D” next to my voter registration. Maybe that’s what has led me to the thought that political protest for injustice isn’t just essential, it’s Biblical. 

In the book of Matthew, Jesus enters the temple to see individuals that are buying and selling and changing money in what is meant to be a holy place. Jesus didn’t use his words. Jesus didn’t take a knee. Jesus didn’t “protest peacefully.” He flipped a table. He overturned the belongings of the money changers, destroying their property, and drove them and their animals out of the temple with a whip. However, when I publicly posed this question I was told that the incidents are nothing alike and that Jesus had a legitimate grievance against the merchants who were sinning by desecrating the temple. I would think that the desecration of a human life would justify the destruction of property, but I digress. Martin Luther King, Jr. once said that “a riot is the language of the unheard.” 

Jesus himself grew up and lived in an oppressive environment for himself and other Jews living under the regime of the Roman Empire. While not a zealot like Judas Iscariot, I think Jesus did in many ways encourage a subversion of the status quo, by those that he befriended, those that he ate with, and those he defended. 

Take for instance the story of the woman caught in the act of adultery. When the Pharisees bring this poor women to Jesus’ feet, she had been caught in the act of adultery. According to Jewish law, she should have been put to death (Don’t even get me started on where the man was and why he wasn’t brought to be stoned as well). But Jesus didn’t follow the law. Jesus didn’t pick up a rock to throw at her which would have been in his right to do so according to Hebrew law. Jesus instead “He who is without sin among you, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.” I’d say Jesus’ refusal is one of the most notable acts of political protest there could be.

As Christians, we are tasked with a moral obligation to speak out against injustices against those that could be considered “the least of these” (or those that have been oppressed), and I would think that the African American community has been one of the most oppressed groups in our nation. Proverbs tells us to “Speak up, judge righteously, and defend the cause of the oppressed and the needy.” Jesus himself said “’Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’” He constantly spoke up for the oppressed of his day: the woman caught in adultery, the sick, the sinners, the poor, the Samaritans, and more. Take for instance the story of Jesus and the woman at the well. As a Samaritan, the woman at the well was considered one of the lowest of the low. She was a Samaritan, she was a woman, and she had had five husbands, while living with a man she wasn’t married to. Matthew Williams, New Testament Chair at the Talbot School of Theology for Biola University says “ she was an outcast within the outcasts. Rejected by the Jewish people; rejected by her own people; apparently even rejected by her five husbands, she was unclean and carried shame around with her every day of her life. Perhaps that is why she came to the water well—alone—in the middle of the day. “ When everything about the law and the culture told Jesus to stay away from this woman, to not touch her with a 39 and a half foot pole, Jesus went right up to her, asked for a drink, and told her of the love that only God can provide. He didn’t give in to the status quo and continue to support the social constructs that would continue to oppress this woman; Jesus saw her for the individual that she was, recognized her worth, and spoke out in love to her despite what society would see as her “otherness.” With this example, Jesus showed his followers that those on the margins of society are immensely valuable and children of God. Even though his society and his culture would have more than likely taught Jesus that those who were different than him were not as good, not as holy, and not as valuable, Jesus showed his followers through his actions that not only are those who are seen on the margins of society valuable and made in God’s image, but that we should step away from the paths of prejudice that may be ingrained in our nations, societies, or even families to treat others as equally loved and valuable children of God.

Ultimately, to protest is to rise up against the status quo and those in power as a means to voice one’s concerns, grievances, and pain so that it can be corrected. Perhaps we should see political protest as holding up a mirror to those in power, so that they may see their flaws and attempt to right them; a practice Jesus himself was apt to use. By flipping tables, by speaking in parables, and by pointing out the political and spiritual leaders’ hypocrisy, Jesus himself fought in his time as an equalizer for those that were on the margins, those that were forgotten and oppressed. As individuals currently protest for justice for victims such as George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, I can imagine if Jesus were on Earth today he would take up a sign and join the protests himself. He might even flip a table or two.

[beatriceinmessina]

American Horror Story: Cult Rewatch--Episode IV, “11/9″

SPOILERS for the entire season and William Shakespeare’s Macbeth.

Macbeth and Lady Macbeth.  (Screenshot by me, from Netflix.  And ha, it looks like they’re looking down at my notes.)

The episode flashes back to election night, before the cult starts.

Winter takes a selfie in the voting booth.  Isn’t that illegal and causes your vote to not count?

Ally promises to vote Democrat, but then votes for Jill Stein, which Ivy knows about in the first episode.  When did she tell her?  Did she even tell her, or did Ivy find out on her own?

Kai and Gary jump the voting line.  Gary obviously needs a doctor, but wouldn’t Kai be told to go to the back of the line?  What are the rules of this polling station?

Everyone votes very quickly.  What about the rest of the ballot?  Don’t you have to fill that out too?  

I’m positive that if a man pulled out his bleeding stump of an arm at a polling station, he would be rushed to a hospital to recover, then be psychologically evaluated.  Has Gary been evaluated?  He needs it.

After the intro, the date is 09 November 2016, so Kai seems to begin to form his cult on that day, meaning the previous episodes (with the exception of the first scene) take place after that, likely in the rest of November and December 2016 or January of 2017.

How long has Kai been watching the Wiltons, that he selects Harrison as the first person to recruit for the cult?  They appear to vote before he comes in, so he probably didn’t see them then.  How did he find them?  Was it just because he was a member of the gym, or did he join to find Harrison?  How much control does he have at this point?  It’s only one day after the election!

Kai knows enough about Harrison to know he’s gay even though Harrison’s just met him.  Again, how long has been be watching them?  How has he been watching them?  Does he have cameras everywhere or something?

Kai says he works in technology, specifically coding.  He could probably hack into a camera in someone’s house and watch them.  On the other hand, he could be lying.  I’m not entirely sure he even has a job prior to deciding to run for city council.  He also says that he tested at a genius IQ level at age ten, which could be possible--he is very intelligent and good at getting in people’s heads, but again, that could be lying.  There some things he says that I know aren’t true, and some things he says that I’m not sure about.

Kai tells Harrison that while he likes women, he will fight and kill for anyone, man or woman, if they’re part of his team.  He adds that “and if they wake up in the morning with a hard-on that won’t quit, I will find a way to make sure they know how much I love them.”  This is the start of indoctrination: letting Harrison know that he’s okay having sex with men, opening up the possibility of them sleeping together, if Harrison is with him in his endeavors.  He’s using his sexuality to draw Harrison in.

Harrison says that sometimes people masturbate in the steam room--are people allowed to masturbate in a gym steam room?  What if someone else is in there?  Doesn’t that count as sexual harassment, then?  Or indecent public exposure?

When did Kai have the time to sneak into the steam room and draw the smiley face without Harrison noticing?  He went right there from the end of their session.

About the shower masturbation bit: How is Kai so sure that Harrison is going to walk in on him doing that?  What if someone else came in?  Why wouldn’t he close the door just in case and then open it when he saw that it was Harrison coming in?  Why does Harrison just watch him?  Does this count as indecent exposure in a public place?  (He’s probably doing it on purpose to let Harrison get an eyeful, though… Kai likes to use sex to get people interested, which is interesting in of itself.  He is later established as a complete misogynist, and yet he uses a traditionally feminine means of villainy--sexuality.  What is this archetype of the person who uses their sexuality as a weapon often called?  The femme fatale--which is French for “fatal woman.”  The femininity is right in the name.  Why would a man who so disdains women employ a tactic that he likely associates with them, and therefore would disdain as well?  I won’t deny I like seeing the trope gender-flipped, though.  It’s cool, and fun to think about.)

The “Macbeth scene” (my name):

It’s been at least twelve or thirteen days since the election, since this apparently Kai and Harrison’s last session out of twelve.  

Kai has somehow managed to get into Harrison’s head well enough that the bullshit he spouts about being a mirror and quoting Nietzsche makes sense to the latter and he doesn’t ask questions.  Then again, Harrison is very vulnerable here--he’s about to be homeless, and he’s feeling down on himself.  It’s classic cult leader logic--get them when they’re feeling lost, and reassure them to make them think that you have all the answers.

“Harrison, I’m just a mirror.  Anything you see in me is in you.”  (Kai).  These words are almost lifted directly from a 1970 Rolling Stone interview with Charles Manson, a man who (in my opinion) Kai might as well be.  They’re so similar that the season is kind of just that history repeating itself.  Perhaps this is the writers trying to seed the Manson material that wil happen later.  (An additional note: I discovered this completely by accident about a week after watching the episode while reading this article.  It even mentions this season!)

The actual Macbeth part begins with Harrison cleaning up in the steam room and Kai walking in.  Harrison, like Macbeth, is in a place of uncertainty; Kai, his Lady Macbeth, urges him to take power and control of his life, which in both cases means murder.   There’s also a bit of a gender thing going on--Lady Macbeth insults Macbeth’s masculinity to encourage him, and Harrison probably is feeling a bit emasculated right now, being made to clean up other men’s semen, which leaves him vulnerable to Kai’s manipulations. Harrison, however, is more willing than Macbeth--he doesn’t ponder killing as Macbeth does, he simply does it. On the other hand, his reaction to murdering Vinny is almost identical to Macbeth’s to murdering Duncan--freaking out.  Kai is the opposite: calm and covering up the murder, just as Lady Macbeth does.  

Kai is able to hack into Vinny’s phone to send a text from it as well as erase three weeks of security footage seemingly due to a computer virus.  Perhaps he’s not lying about working in tech.  Either that or he’s a really good hacker.

He also confirms that he’s been watching Harrison and everyone around for a long time.  How?  In person?  Through cameras?  What kind of operation is he running?

More classic cult leader logic: Kai tells Harrison that they’re going to destroy everything to create a better world.  He smartly doesn’t specify what that world is, but promises a better one to someone who’s having a hard time, which is part of seeming like he can provide all the answers.

Kai apparently knows enough about the human body to instruct Harrison how to cut off a head.  Has he done this before?  As a matter of fact, did he ever kill anyone before he started the cult?

Cut to December of 2016, when Beverly is reporting on Vinny’s murder.  I’m guessing that his body wasn’t found for about a month or a little more than a month.

Beverly’s not a part of the cult during this report, since it’s this that draws Kai to talk to her and recruit her.

Kai takes Adderall, which is prescribed at one pill a day, but he’s also popping more than one at a time.  Also, I just want to point out that he looks like a modern-day, ratty Daario Naharis in this scene.  

Beverly understandably cracks after being harassed during work, but still checks herself into a rehab facility, which doesn’t really seem like her, since she’s very headstrong.  Was she made to by her boss?

Once again, Kai practically appears behind someone, this time Beverly.  Honestly, does the man wear some kind of noise-cancelling shoes?

Beverly takes up Kai’s offer for coffee even though she has no idea who he is.  Why would she do that?  Why would anyone do that?  He could be dangerous!  He is dangerous!  The fact that she took him up on the offer and didn’t walk away is honestly a stroke of luck for him.

Kai almost acts as a more chaotic version of James March here, asking Beverly how it felt to do something bad (as March often does with John), and encouraging her to kill people.  He tells her that fear gets stronger and scarier as it spreads (which is pretty obvious) and essentially asks her to be his minister of propaganda.  An earlier scene has shown that Beverly is worried about her job, as Serena seems to be rising in the ranks of the news station.  Kai is preying on that here; giving her an opportunity to become valuable when she feels like she isn’t.  

“If you get the world scared enough, they will set the world on fire for us.”  (Kai).  So he wants people to be so scared that they’ll do anything for him.  Does that mean he’s going to make people scared of him, or of the world at large so that they’ll cling to him?  Maybe both.

The backstory Kai gives Beverly (Iraq, Yale, etc.) is such blatant lying that I’m not entirely sure she believes him either, given the indulgent smile she gives him after.  Did he really think she going to believe him, or is he using the lie to paint himself as stupider than she thinks he is, so she’ll underestimate him and he’ll be able to control her later?

Beverly tells Kai that there aren’t any open seats on city council, so this is before the Changs are murdered, meaning that they were probably murdered in mid-December of 2016.

“I need you, Beverly.”  (Kai).  The vocabulary is specific.  Beverly isn’t feeling especially needed at her job at the moment, given the assignments she’s been getting (such as the landfill), but Kai is there to fill that hole.  Like with Harrison, he takes advantage of a person at a moment of low self-esteem and unhappiness.  Once again, pretty classic cult recruitment.

Only Harrison, Meadow, and Kai show up to kill Serena and her cameraman.  Are Samuels and Gary not part of the cult yet, or could they simply not make it?

As the clowns walk away, Kai appears to be holding Serena’s heart in his hand.  Holy shit.  That’s all I can say.  Jesus freaking Christ.  That’s… that’s another level of depraved.

Two people are dead, but at least the puppy is alive.  The puppy lives, and that makes me happy.  Also, I want to pet it.

Meadow is clinging to Kai’s every word in the next scene.  I’m guessing she’s already in love with him, and he probably knows it, given that he’s going to use her love for him to his advantage in two episodes.  (Just a note on the way Kai talks here--he’s very slow and deliberate, building up anticipation for his reaction to the masks.  He knows he’s got them (or Meadow at least, Harrison doesn’t look too interested) completely in his thrall.)

Kai tells Beverly that he will do anything for her, a probable callback to him telling Harrison something similar earlier in the episode (see above).  So he wasn’t lying about that--he’ll do anything for anyone in his circle, or if he thinks it’ll get them in his circle.  And it’s part of indoctrination--he’s making Beverly feel like he cares about her, like he’s one of the only people who cares about her, so she’ll come to rely on him.

Beverly is next seen reporting on the finding of Vinny’s severed head, which was reportedly alerted to the police by anonymous tip.  Did one of the cult members call it in, to work more fear-mongering?  

Flash back to 07 November 2016, the day before the election.  Ivy first meets Winter when the latter defends the former after Gary sexually assaults her.  I’m guessing that Ivy met Kai through Winter, likely after confiding her frustrations in her about Ally voting for Jill Stein.  An important question: is the cult tormenting Ally only because Ivy is angry and wants to hurt her, or does Kai have some vested interest in Ally?  (I’ve seen the interpretation that he’s in love with her, which is interesting to think about.)

Kai must have some kind of ability to move without sound, because he opens the door to Winter’s room and walks in without her noticing.  How stealthy can he be?  I’d swear he was a ghost if this season wasn’t the only one without supernatural elements or magic.

He also seems to notice the blood on Winter’s finger even though she’s standing far from him in a dimly, red-lit room.  Again, does he actually have some kind of power?

Kai honestly looks rather aroused when Winter tells him that hurting Gary “felt fucking fantastic” and orders her to tell him everything.  It’s like if James March and Viserys Targaryen had a son.  An extremely disturbing son.

Given that Kai frees Gary from the basement, Winter must have told him everything, but why, when it’s not in her interests at all?  My guess: she’s afraid of what he’ll do to her if she doesn’t.  Even though the cult isn’t a thing yet, he still exerts some power over her, especially since she likely knows of his violent tendencies and inappropriate attraction to her.  (I am using the words “likely” and “probably” a lot in these notes.  I’m sorry; it’s simply that not everything is confirmed and I must hazard guesses based on dialogue and body language.)

When Kai goes down to find Gary, there’s a shot where the background is completely black, and he’s the only thing in the shot that’s lit.  No comment here.  I just think it looks really cool.

“Humiliation” and its varieties is a word Kai uses with almost all of his followers recruited so far: Harrison, Beverly, Meadow, and now Gary.  He even uses it to refer to himself in the first episode.  Humiliation is key here; Kai takes people that feel humiliated and works with it, because people hate feeling humiliated (in my experience), and he’s promising them that he can take away that feeling, and maybe even help them punish those who humiliated them.  He’s using it to get them to do insane things that they would otherwise never do (i.e., Gary cutting off his own hand).  Throughout this whole episode, he’s been doing that, and I won’t say that it’s not clever, since it’s working very well.

I don’t like Gary at all, but I do feel sorry for him.  No one deserves an insane man manipulating them into cutting off their own hand.  Not even to vote.

Kai looks unnerved by Gary cutting off his own hand.  This man cut out a woman’s heart without flinching, and this freaks him out?  What the hell are his standards for gore?  Not self-inflicted?

[bountyofbeads]

Stone-Cold Loser https://nyti.ms/2S85c83

Roger Stone, who was arrested in a dawn raid at his home in Fort Lauderdale, has long been fond of the Somerset Maugham line that Florida is a "sunny place for shady people."

"Just as Nixon went down in history as a disgrace to the office of the president, so now will Stone go down as an accomplice to enemies of the republic," writes Eric Caine from Modesto in a comment on @MaureenDowd's column, "Stone-Cold Loser."

"Stone-Cold Loser"

By Maureen Dowd | New York Times Opinion | Published Jan. 26, 2019 |

Posted January 27, 2019 |

WASHINGTON — Roger Stone has always lived in a dog-eat-dog world.

So it was apt that he was charged with skulduggery in part for threatening to kidnap a therapy dog, a fluffy, sweet-faced Coton de Tuléar, belonging to Randy Credico, a New York radio host.

Robert Mueller believes that Credico, a pal of Julian Assange, served as an intermediary with WikiLeaks for Stone. Mueller’s indictment charges that Stone called Credico “a rat” and “a stoolie” because he believed that the radio host was not going to back up what the special counsel says is Stone’s false story about contacts with WikiLeaks, which disseminated Russia’s hacked emails from the D.N.C. and Hillary Clinton’s campaign chairman.

Stone emailed Credico that he would “take that dog away from you,” the indictment says, later adding: “I am so ready. Let’s get it on. Prepare to die (expletive).”

As the owner of two Yorkies, Stone clearly knows how scary it is when a beloved dog is in harm’s way. When he emerged from court on Friday, he immediately complained that F.B.I. agents had “terrorized” his dogs when they came to arrest him at dawn at his home in Fort Lauderdale.

The last thing Stone posted on Instagram before his arrest was a video of a terrier, with a high-pitched voice-over, protesting, “Roger Stone did nothing wrong.”

Always bespoke and natty, living by the mantra that it’s better to be infamous than never famous, Stone looked strangely unadorned as he came out of court to meet the press in a navy polo shirt and bluejeans.

As the master of darkness who had been captured in darkness stepped into the bright light of Fort Lauderdale, he was his usual flamboyant, unapologetically meretricious self. He proclaimed his innocence, flashed the Nixon victory sign and reiterated the old saw from his mentor, Roy Cohn, that any attention is good attention.

But it fell flat. Being Roger Stone had finally caught up with him.

He has always said Florida suited him because “it was a sunny place for shady people,” borrowing a Somerset Maugham line. But now the cat’s cradle of lies and dirty tricks had tripped up the putative dognapper. And it went down on the very same day that Paul Manafort — his former associate in a seamy lobbying firm with rancid dictators as clients, and then later his pal in the seamy campaign of Donald Trump — was also in federal court on charges related to the Mueller probe. Manafort’s hair is now almost completely white.

One of Stone’s rules — along with soaking his martini olives in vermouth and never wearing a double-breasted suit with a button-down collar — is “Deny, deny, deny.” But his arrest for lying, obstructing and witness tampering raised the inevitable question about his on-and-off friend in the White House, the man who is the last jigsaw-puzzle piece in the investigation of Trumpworld’s alleged coordination with Russia: Is being Donald Trump finally about to catch up with Donald Trump?

Stone, who famously has Nixon’s face tattooed on his back, is the agent provocateur who is the through line from Nixon, and his impeachment, to Trump, and his possible impeachment.

As Manafort said in the 2017 documentary “Get Me Roger Stone,” Trump and Stone “see the world in a very similar way.” And that way is theatrical and cynical. Do whatever you have to do to get what you want; playing by the rules is for suckers.

In 1999, when I went on a trip to Miami to watch Trump test the presidential waters, Stone orchestrated Trump’s Castro-bashing speech to Cuban-Americans. The bodybuilding, swinging strategist, christened “the state-of-the-art sleazeball” by The New Republic in the 80s, said he was “a jockey looking for a horse.”

Stone, who was mixed up in Watergate at the tender age of 19, “made the transition from the Stone Age of dirty tricks to today,” as David Axelrod puts it.

He watched Nixon rally the silent majority with a law-and-order message and racial dog whistling. He helped Ronald Reagan create Reagan Democrats.

For decades, believing “past is prologue,” Stone urged Trump to be the successor to those pols, revving up angry, white working-class voters who felt belittled or scared of “the other.” It would be so easy to divide and stoke resentment, as Stone and Trump proved when they inflamed the birther controversy against Barack Obama.

“Hate is a stronger motivator than love,” Stone told the documentarians. “Human nature has never changed.”

The tribal tensions in America made Stone’s favorite tricks easier than ever; he didn’t have to operate in the shadows. He wore a T-shirt with Bill Clinton and the word “Rape” at 2016 campaign rallies. As Stone boasted in the documentary, his “slash-and-burn” tactics “are now in vogue.”

Trump has had periods of estrangement with Stone. In 2008, in an interview with The New Yorker, he called the strategist “a stone-cold loser,” a state Trump himself has been relegated to this past week, courtesy of Nancy Pelosi.

Stone will not go gently. When he is asked about the tattoo of Nixon, he says he got it to remind himself, “A man is not finished when he is defeated; he is only finished when he quits.”

At the moment, though, dogged by Mueller, Stone and Manafort are the dog’s breakfast. The pair has given practicing the dark arts a bad name.

"There's one piece of history about Roger Stone that never gets enough press, Ms. Dowd. That is, Roger Stone was involved in the "recount" in Florida and swinging it to George W. Bush. Specifically, he was behind a political group attacking three Democratic state Supreme Court justices threatening Bush's possible victory: https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/2003/07/11/fla-may-fine-gop-figure-for-2000-recount-actions/af72ec6a-082e-4292-913c-f8ed14c2fc62/?utm_term=.9e4d3fc6c5f3 These sleazy political operatives, from Lee Atwater to Karl Rove to Paul Manafort to Roger Stone on the Right have been getting away with this disgusting behavior for decades. Trump is a direct result of this cancer. Lock them all up." V of LA

"The ghost of Nixon past still haunts us. Just when you thought it was safe to trust our democracy, we get the Nixon salute and see his face on Stone’s back, just not quite low enough, in my opinion. The president was bad enough, but now it looks as though he’s merely the apex of a vast pyramid scheme so vile and full of duplicity that only Betsy DeVos could fully appreciate it. But it’s clear that the president didn’t accomplish his takeover on his own. He was socially promoted to a position higher than he could have ever reached without dirty tricks, lies and conspiracies galore. If today’s events aren’t disgusting enough, we’re even picking up echoes of Roy Cohen. There’s even a faint whiff of Joseph McCarthy that you can just make out while watching the nightly news. It recalls a time when powerful people weaponized fear and ignorance, and nearly turned us into animals at each others throats. We can only hope that people who voted for the president were among those fearful of going broke during the government shutdown. You can talk to people all day about why an unread, crotch-groping narcissistic moron is not a good candidate for president of the United States, but until they feel it in their guts, and their wallets, they’ll never fully understand. Do we have your attention now? Have you taken note of the sleazy, lying manipulators who manufactured this presidency with your help? Mueller might undo some of the damage, but it's up us not to let it happen again." gemli of Boston

"Imagine assembling a clown show of Trump, Junior, Jared, Manafort, Bannon, Stone, Flynn, KA Conway and some sideshow characters like Carter Page and Papadopoulus. Deliver some memorable campaign promises for America's future like "Lock her up" and "Build the Wall", while encouraging mobs to beat up reporters. Toss in a few surprise tapes about assaulting young women. Then openly conspire with Russian intelligence to interfere in the US election while being watched by the FBI, CIA and 6 European country intelligence services. And make plain as day efforts to relieve sanctions on Russia, support the pro-Russian cause in Ukraine, make over 100 contacts with Russian government officials during the campaign and transition and attempt to set up a secret communication channel through the Russian Embassy that US intelligence cannot monitor. Even after all of this, the chaos and the soaring deficits of the first two years of the Trump Administration, around 40% of Americans still think he is doing a great job. Based on personal experience working in all 50 states, I don't believe that part of the population is going to change much. But we need to take back the government on behalf of future generations and do it soon." Look Ahead of Washington

"Like Trump, Roger Stone is a man with no redeeming qualities and no morals at all. Cohen and Manafort as well. They admire and emulate the tough guys of organized crime without actually BEING those tough guys. But the Russians working for former KGB agent Putin are those tough guys, and that's who the phonies chose to do business with. Stone is blustering but he's counting on a Trump pardon, not realizing 3 things: 1) Trump WILL throw him under the bus. A pardon is unlikely. 2) A Trump pardon means he cannot use the 5th Amendment to keep from testifying--meaning he must tell the truth or face contempt or perjury charges. 3) He will still be liable to state charges, and the new NY AG would love get him in her cross-hairs. Stone is finished and doesn't even know it!"Dad of 2 /NJ

"Roger Stone is a truly mean-spirited figure. No wonder he, like Trump, his soul mate if you will, were proteges of Roy Cohn. One thing is certain, nobody is going to feel sorry for Stone, Manafort or any of Donald Trump's merry band of mean, vindictive misfits. Once our national nightmare is over, it will take a long time to heal, if we ever can. Because Stone and Trump poked the racist beast of a certain segment of the nation, unleashing virulent emotions, conservative-fed conspiracy theories, and disdain for truth, fact checking, and critical thinking. The president, a man who doesn't read, aligned himself with a man who did but used his reading to polish his dark arts, and tries to make ignorance seem cool. As a result, they got an entire political party to totally overhaul its thinking on foreign policy goals, belief in climate science (indeed, belief in any science) and even, I venture to say, the biggie: immigration. Trump, egged on by Stone, has done more damage to our politics, rule of law, and views of government than any foreign invader could have. Stone, more than Trump, grasped an essential truth: the worst damage a country can undergo is from within."Christine McM of Boston

"If Stone and The Donald have used "revving up angry white working-class voters" as a tactic to win elections, one wonders whether they are themselves authentic racists or whether they believe in nothing but power for its own sake. Are they "merely" impersonating bigots or are they true believers? Either way they represent a pestilence that needs to be driven out of the body politic, and yet if they're being disingenuous with respect to their own feelings about white supremacy (a disease that normally infects only the feeble-minded) one wonders how they manage to live with themselves. Can one ever attain enough wealth and power to compensate for the loss of one's soul? Perhaps it's a moot point but I somehow can't get past it."

Stu Freeman of Brooklyn

"No Stone left unturned, no creatures hiding under rocks. Spring IS coming, the flowers will bloom, the stench will dissipate, the gloom will dissolve. Thank you, Mr. Mueller." Stu Freeman of Brooklyn

Phyllis Dalmatian of Kansas

"Stone is Johnny two-face: he threatens to harm a security dog then uses his own two dogs' reaction to his early-morning arrest as proof of the FBI's perceived heavy-handed tactics. He trumpets his dedication to "the truth" while lying (all his life) and throughout the Mueller investigation--threatening former criminal associates if they cooperate with--i.e. tell the truth to--the feds. He professes patriotism while working in league with his country's greatest adversary to undermine an American presidential election. It is no wonder anyone this duplicitous should be an acolyte of Richard Nixon and a life-long driving force in the Republican Party. That's the way the GOP grows its alleged leaders--by rewarding them for wrecking American values without demonstrating any consciousness of guilt. "CMary of Chicago

"Concerning stones method of arrest, he merely found out how it is to be treated by law enforcement in many zip codes in this county, no sympathy whatsoever."No Party of FLA

"Why is it so many Americans believe whatever they are told? People like Trump and Stone commit crimes and lie in plain sight and many of our countrymen lap it up like duck soup. Was it growing up in the era of Disney and Spielberg that has made so much of the public susceptible to political special effects? "Of course President Obama is a Muslim, my TV said so." You can't fool all of the people, but you certainly will have no trouble fooling half of them. These remain dangerous times."Socrates of NJ

" Looking back....as you do in this piece....there is really only one question “Was your desperate focus on stopping Hilary from being elected worth it?”

David Martin of Paris

"Meanwhile, Trump can't stop telling us about women in vans with duct tape on their mouths. Perhaps his past is catching up with him involuntarily." Jerry Summer of NC

Another day, another Trump associate is arrested... What was that you were saying about HRC's emails again, Ms Dowd? Nick Adam of Mississippi

[teafortwo29]

Intentionally deceiving voters should be a crime

BY SEAN MORALES-DOYLE AND SIDNI FREDERICK, OPINION CONTRIBUTORS — 08/08/18 03:00 PM THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY CONTRIBUTORS ARE THEIR OWN AND NOT THE VIEW OF THE HILL

Democrats in the House and Senate recently introduced the Deceptive Practices and Voter Intimidation Prevention Act, a bill that would prohibit the spread of false election information that’s specifically meant to prevent voters from casting ballots. (Full disclosure: Our organization, the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law, helped draft earlier versions of this legislation.)

The bills’ introduction came in a week that has seen an attempted hack of the emails of three 2018 Senate campaigns and revealed a trove of fake Facebook pages and accounts likely meant to stir chaos as we approach midterms – reminders that the integrity of our elections is increasingly fragile in the digital age.

Those seeking to interfere in our midterms have a growing toolbox, built on techniques of voter deception and intimidation that America’s elections have weathered before. While these most recent revelations concern hacks and phony activism, it was just a couple months ago that Special Counsel Robert Mueller indicted foreign actors who used social media accounts to try to convince voters to just stay home in the 2016 election. As we approach the November election, there’s every reason to believe bad actors will try the same thing again.

While social media platforms and regulators struggle to respond to the age of online misinformation and mayhem, the Deceptive Practices Act (originally introduced by then-Senator Barack Obama in 2007) proposes a common-sense safeguard for voters, making it illegal to knowingly publish things like incorrect polling locations or times in an attempt to drive people away from the polls.

Such attempts to confuse voters aren’t fantasy: last year's special election in Alabama saw voters in Jefferson County – home to the predominantly black city of Birmingham – subject to text messages indicating their polling site had changed.

These are new pieces of a longer, sordid history of voter suppression in America.

Look at the Republican Party’s National Ballot Security Task Force during 1981 New Jersey gubernatorial race, which flooded communities of color with volunteers and off-duty law enforcement wearing armbands to challenge and intimidate voters. The aggressive tactics led to a settlement requiring the Republican National Committee’s ballot security operations to be reviewed by a federal court for the next 35 years (an agreement that lapsed last year).

Trump campaign advisor Roger Stone served as an advisor to the winning gubernatorial candidate in 1981. Stone denied any involvement in the RNC effort that led to the settlement. Yet in 2016 he seemed to advocate something similar with a coordinated campaign under the names “Vote Protectors” and “StopTheSteal.”

The behavior of then-candidate Trump in 2016 shifted our nation’s standards in a way that makes organized misinformation seem like acceptable election-year conduct. During the campaign, he frequently and loudly claimed that the election was “rigged,” made false claims of widespread voter fraud, and encouraged his supporters to engage in poll-watching activities in “other communities” in large cities.

While his supporters seemed willing to heed his call, some explicitly expressing their intention to engage in intimidation and racial profiling, they did not – perhaps thanks to the increased efforts of election officials prepared to prevent them from doing so. But we must be prepared for similar campaigns in the future because when such “challengers” go out to the polls, their activities can easily descend into intimidation. The Deceptive Practices and Voter Intimidation Prevention Act would increase the maximum penalty for voter intimidation.

As we head into a tumultuous election season with a potential surge of new or newly invigorated voters particularly vulnerable to misinformation campaigns, we need the Deceptive Practices Act in our toolkit. It would not only prohibit suppressive and misleading information 60 days before an election, it would also create a process to ensure voters actually receive the correct information after such an act. So if voters received misleading emails or Facebook messages falsely claiming a polling site had changed, local election officials would be required to inform voters of the correct polling place, so their ballots could still be cast and counted.

With high stakes for both political parties ahead of the 2018 midterm balloting, and foreign agents ready to exploit familiar pathways of influence, Congress should draw this bright line in defense of American voters.

Sean Morales-Doyle is a counsel in the Democracy Program at the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law, a law and policy institute that focuses on voting rights, campaign finance reform, ending mass incarceration, and preserving liberties while maintaining national security. Sidni Frederick is the special assistant to the director of the Democracy Program at the Center.

[sinceileftyoublog]

Split Single Interview: The Grift Is On

Photo by Nathan Keay

BY JORDAN MAINZER

After five years, Jason Narducy’s got a lot to say. Amplificado (Inside Outside Records), the new third album from Split Single, his solo project with a rotating cast of musicians, was mostly written and recorded by June of 2019. Its themes of Trump-era urgent anger were only heightened by a global pandemic that exacerbated many of the issues that rose to the surface in an era of political turmoil. 

Since his second Split Single album, Metal Frames, came out, Narducy’s been nonstop touring and recording with Superchunk and Bob Mould, not to mention writing a musical, Verböten, named after and about his childhood punk rock band. Any free time’s been spent on canvassing for Democratic state legislature candidates, Narducy feeling like he needed to stay politically involved and motivated. There’s no more perfect soundtrack to his exhausted mind than Amplificado’s opener, titled and stylized “caPtAIN calamity’S crUde pRoCessiON”. The off-kilter, minute-long instrumental is less purposeful avant-garde experimentalism than 6th grade marching band practice with weird ringtones going off, as percussionist Dan Leu’s tempos change nonsensically and Narducy introduces tack piano and sound effects of cash registers. The song’s got a lot of hidden meaning, as Narducy would explain to me in a phone interview in early May, but from the surface, it’s most significant as a way to let the listener know that the rest of the record--for the most part quintessential Split Single power rock--was born from this place of confused chaos. 

Indeed, besides the opener and the honest, stark “Adrift”, Amplificado is big and burning. “Blood Break Ground” is a song about breaking out from oppression. “Condescension comes with a price / Tear away all lingering ties,” Narducy belts, with drummer Jon Wurster providing propulsive blasts and the other main bandmate here, none other than R.E.M.’s Mike Mills, on bass and backing vocals. “Stone Heart World” calls out GOP hypocrisy, self-described “pro-life” politicians who speak about “barefoot children holding on to desperate mothers” as “others” and “animals.” Lead single “(Nothing You Can Do) To End This Love” is just as pressing, but positive, a message of support for the LGBTQ+ community.

As much as Amplificado deals with serious issues, from the pandemic-addled depression and isolation-themed “Worry” to songs like “Blood Break Ground”--the guy behind “The Sexiest Elbows in Rock Music” hasn’t lost his sense of humor or storytelling. Narducy writes about a formative childhood experience with a music teacher on “Bitten by the Sound”, a character in dire straits on “Belly of Lead”, and a ditty about aging inspired by being yelled at by his dentist on “Mangled Tusk”. And maybe the funniest thing about the album is its bio, written by comedian Jon Glaser. (“It has always been a dream of mine to write a bio for the third album of a somewhat known indie band,” Glaser writes, as he then goes on to describe his lunch, nightmares, and video game playing that preceded him writing the actual few-sentence bio for the record.) If you’ve ever seen Narducy play, whether on one of his many lawn shows he did last summer through SPACE in Evanston or opening for Guided By Voices, you know he, too, is both earnest and genuinely hilarious.

Read my interview with Narducy about Amplificado below, edited for length and clarity. He’s got a sold out record release show tomorrow night at 7 PM at Sketchbook Brewing Co. in Skokie!

Since I Left You: When you were writing the lyrics to these songs, did they come instantly or were they workshopped? They feel very emotional and direct.

Jason Narducy: Sometimes they took a while. The song “Mangled Tusk”, the demo was called “Jangle Tusk” because the guitar part felt like jangle pop to me. It was just a working title. The drum beat on the demo, which we didn’t end up using on the record, was kind of like Fleetwood Mac’s Tusk. It reminded me what song it was, instead of calling it “Song Number 32″ or whatever. I was recording vocals, and “Jangle Tusk” was last, and the recording engineer at Electrical Audio, Taylor Hales, asked, “When do we get to work on ‘Jangle Tusk’?” And I responded, “I don’t know, I’m still working on lyrics on that one...you’ve never even heard it, why are you so excited to work on that one?” He said, “I love the title!” And I thought, “I’ll put some thought into that, but those two words aren’t conjuring that much imagery for me.” I really like the word “mangled,” and I had just gone through this ordeal with my teeth and having to wear a nightguard. [laughs] So I started writing lyrics about gnawing and the enamel chipping away. It’s a song about aging, in a way, but I got that stern talking-to from my dentist: “We made you a nightguard years ago and you didn’t wear it, we made you one four years ago and you didn’t wear it, we’ll make you another one and you have to wear this.” I said, “That’s all I have to hear! I’ll wear it every night.” Those lyrics just came based on an odd encouragement from the engineer that liked one other word. 

The process of writing is so strange. With “(Nothing You Can Do) To End This Love”, the lyrics came so fast, and I was just done. I might have written the bridge this year, but the verses and choruses are the heart of the song. There’s a song we recorded called “3/4″--again, a working title based on the time signature--but we couldn’t get lyrics to it, so it’s sitting on the curb, lonely, without words attached to it. Lyrics are last for me every time. “Belly of Lead”, I was recording the demo in my friend Grant [Sutton]’s house, Clampdown Studio. I didn’t have lyrics to the song, so I picked up a lyric book of Lead Belly’s songs, and I was reading random words off every page so I’d have something documented on the demo. From that, I came up with the word “Belly of Lead” and wrote a story based on someone who made poor decisions in their life, coming to the end, trying to write a letter to his son and others, saying goodbye.

SILY: Was this your first time working with Mike Mills?

JN: I had opened up a show for his group The Baseball Project. I met him a number of times, the first time at the 40 Watt Club in Athens in 2006, when Jon and I were playing with Robert Pollard from Guided By Voices. Mike Mills was at that show, and Jon knew him--Jon actually recorded with R.E.M. on one of their Christmas singles. But he introduced me back in ‘06, and throughout the years, we’d run into each other at shows, or Scott McCaughey would be coming through. Just a lot of mutual friends. We always got along great. I didn’t expect him to say yes when I asked him to record. I felt like it was a longshot. I’m really grateful. I like him as a person and am a huge fan of his work with R.E.M.

SILY: What are some of the Easter eggs in the opening track’s title and aesthetic?

JN: There are a lot of layers, for it being a 1-minute instrumental. This [album] is my re-entry into doing Split Single work, since the last one came out in 2016. I write pretty consistently, so there were some songs I had the ideas down for already. But because I was so frustrated with the direction our country was going in, I kept putting down the guitar and thinking, “I can’t do this right now, I need to get out and do something.” I became very involved in this group called Sister District [Project], and I was doing postcard parties where I’d gather friends and others from the community and started working on state senate races across the country. It was very rewarding work. It provided some camaraderie with others who were wondering what the hell we could do. It also had an impact. I canvassed with a state senate candidate in Michigan, I wrote postcards for state senate races all across the country. Thankfully--and I think this has to do with the technological vetting Sister District does--all the candidates we worked for won. That was rewarding. It felt like I had an impact. I was also working on a musical about my very first band Verböten, and that took up a lot of time. Between Verböten and activism, my focus wasn’t on making another Split Single record. Plus Superchunk and Bob Mould were very busy making and touring records.

Back to the song: I wondered if there was a short audible message that I could make that was a little bit of a set up song. “Blood Break Ground” is such a gut punch, so how could I set this up after four and a half years? The sound of that marching band is sort of what I was feeling and hearing during those years. “That’s not supposed to be there: Why is there a tack piano in the marching band? This tempo isn’t right. Why is it slowing down now?” I put in an old cash register sound, so [it’s like] the grift is on. This is all about making money. If you look at the title, if you look at the letters in the title that are capitalized, it spells “PAIN IS UR CON”.

SILY: Sequencing-wise, you have “Adrift” as the emotional and personal centerpiece. It’s not outwardly political like the other songs. It’s also very downtempo. Did you consciously try to mix the album up in terms of tempo, aesthetic, and subject matter?

JN: There’s a defiance in the first three songs [after the opener]. I thought “Adrift” was a really strong song that kind of sounds like an album closer, but I didn’t want to put it last because I felt like it was too important. It was very difficult to figure out what would come after it, since it was so different. “Bitten by the Sound” has that long intro that builds up, so I thought it was a good transition. You can hear thematically how “Belly of Lead” is a completely different, not personal story, and [the album] closes with “Worry” and “Satellite”, which are very personal. Overall, the up-tempo songs are the ones I’m excited to play live. Besides “Adrift”, you could play all of them that way.

SILY: On “Belly of Lead”, you sing, “My word will make no difference.” Your experience with Sister District Project was the antithesis of that sentiment, but was that line in any way referential to anxiety you had about speaking out?

JN: No, that was just the character [in the song]…in “95 Percent”, though, I addressed something I felt and that a lot of liberal-minded Americans feel, which is we’re very clear that we’re not 100% behind the ones we support. There are things I disagree with Barack Obama about. We’re not a part of a cult. I support equality and equity and true justice, not law and order justice, as the other side claims.

SILY: On “Bitten by the Sound”, you sing, “Sat in a classroom led by an old nun / Sister thought she knew all about rock n roll / But instant karma got the best of her / When she lied about holding Lennon’s hands in her own.” What’s the story behind that line?

JN: I had a music teacher that was a nun in 6th grade. She had a story about meeting John Lennon and holding his hands in hers and giving him advice. Even [as a] 6th grader, [I] looked around and thought, “She’s full of shit.” Now that I’m older, I think if you’re gonna want to impress people and make up some bullshit, why pick a famous person who just died who can’t back up the story? It was part of my childhood that affected my relationship with authority and trusting adults. Music was everything to me, so don’t fuck with that! Don’t make up a John Lennon story. In the song, I talk about that. I was 9 or 10 years old, and my mom lived on the South Side of Chicago, 53rd and Woodlawn, and we woke up one morning and looked out the window, and her car was sitting on brick. All 4 tires were stolen. I just didn’t even know that was a thing. Those are formidable years. You discover music and find solace and peace. Everything feels good with music when everything around you is shaken and uncertain.

SILY: I don’t know whether it’s the mixture of the Christianity and the rock history references, but I heard the line and could hear Craig Finn singing it.

JN: That’s funny. I should mention that I was not at a Catholic school, which is why it’s weird a nun was teaching a music class. That song not so much [musically]. I think the song “95 Percent” definitely has some Hold Steady in it. There’s something about The Hold Steady that’s unabashed, “We’re gonna play rock and roll.” It’s a cool thing. “Yeah, I’m gonna take a guitar solo here.” It’s not too-cool-for-school indie rock. “95 Percent” was influenced by Mac [McCaughan] from Superchunk, a little bit of Springsteen, a little Hold Steady. Just need to add a girl’s name, and it would be very Hold Steady.

SILY: Were there any other prominent or newfound influences on this record?

JN: “Adrift” is so different for me. I learned this from Bob Mould: He writes way more songs than the record needs. You never know. A number of times, he’ll have a song that he thinks should be a B-side, and I’ll raise my hand and say, “I think that should be on the record.” “Fire in the City” is an example of that. I was like, “This song is too good.” It ended up on Beauty & Ruin. We don’t always end up using it, but it’s a good influence. I went into this record and thought, “I have extra time--it can’t hurt to keep going.” I ended up going back to a power pop song that I don’t even know had a title. There was one part of it I really liked. I picked up an acoustic guitar and didn’t even have a pick near me. I strummed the chords with my thumb very quietly and slowly and “Adrift” just fell out. Words and everything, just super fast. I had never recorded a song that vulnerable, that personal, that dark. I don’t think I’ve recorded a song without a guitar pick either. You can hear my stomach growl at some point. 

It just so happened I got a text from Alison Chesley who was in Verbow with me, and I asked, “Can I send you a song? Can you put some cellos on here?” She came back with this beautiful arrangement and even a piano part. I think it really elevated it and made it a much more engaging song. That’s the first time Alison and I had recorded in 22 years.

SILY: I thought maybe the experience of looking back with Verböten inspired you to reach out to her. It’s funny that it was just a random text from her that started it.

JN: I think the musical influenced this record in two ways. Not that one. I wrote so many punk rock songs for Verböten, that it reminded me that I like it when I write up-tempo songs. I definitely pushed more high energy songs for the record. [And the other is] “Blood Break Ground” happened because I had to do so much revisiting of emotions from my childhood [for Verböten] that there were other parts of my childhood that I hadn’t addressed yet.

SILY: How did the album’s bio come about? Did you want Jon Glaser to write a legitimate bio, and he came back with something absurd instead?

JN: I mean, he’s a comedian. I know it’s the job of the publicist and the journalist to have as much information presented as possible, but I also think there’s value in not taking it too seriously.

SILY: What’s the inspiration behind the record title?

JN: The trauma of the Trump years combined with the incredible trauma of the pandemic, which will take a very long time for many of us to recover from. I feel like everything’s amplified. I thought about calling the record Amplified but found that there were a lot of other albums called that, and it was also a pretty basic word. So I thought, “What’s a little twist we can put on that?” A friend of mine, Alberto, is fluent in Spanish, so I asked him for the proper version of that word for this situation.

SILY: What about the cover art?

JN: That’s a Chicago artist named Yvonne Doll. I follow her on Instagram and have been friends with her for years. She’s a musician and a painter. That particular piece came up, and I couldn’t stop looking at it, so I asked whether we could use it for the artwork. Thankfully, she was cool with that. When I presented that and some other photos, the designer, [Chris Tillman], ran with that red theme.

SILY: How was the experience of playing lawn shows during the pandemic?

JN: It was incredible. I was so thankful to Jake [Samuels, Managing Partner and Talent Buyer] and SPACE for coming up with the concept and thankful that people were enthusiastic about doing them. I did about 53 of them last year. It sort of emotionally and financially saved me. I loved how creative it was. I could tell you so many crazy stories about different situations like planning for a rainstorm to come, a small crowd, a huge crowd where the cops showed up. It was great. I’m excited to do more of those. 

On Saturday, I played at Thalia Hall to a private show of 20 people. It was honestly euphoric. It was the first rock club show I had done since January 3, 2020 with Superchunk at the Cat’s Cradle in Carrboro. So many things that I hadn’t thought about, like setting up on a stage and the camaraderie with the crew and talking about different lighting setups and sound options, walking to the dressing room. It was incredible. It felt so good. Even for 20 people. And they were there to party. They weren’t just sitting down drinking wine. They were standing up, dancing, leaning up on the stage and screaming. It’s gonna take time, and it needs to be safe, but certainly with the outdoor shows, there are a lot of options being explored, and hopefully by the fall, there will be many more people vaccinated.

SILY: The album’s really up-tempo, as you’ve said. Have you thought about adapting these songs to a solo style of play?

JN: I think any of the songs besides the marching band one I could do live.

SILY: Anything you’ve been listening to, watching, or reading that’s caught your attention?

JN: Oh my god, there are so many new bands I’ve been listening to. New Pagans. There’s this band called Kestrels. It’s very 90′s, like if Built to Spill or Dinosaur Jr. had a baby. CONTROL TOP. I like the new Real Estate record. Sinai Vessel. I love that English band Shame. I think their new record’s really cool. Miss Grit. I get really inspired by newer artists. It’s something I spend a lot of time with.

[mxblog24]

Dear Robinhood CEO: Here’s What You Should Have Done Instead.

It takes years to build a reputation and only moments to destroy it. Amidst an unprecedented (ugh – not that word again!) trading surge, the Robinhood CEO had an impossible tension to navigate.

How to address big-picture business concerns, while appeasing the interests of investors and company employees.

I’m sorry to say that employees got picked last.

Robinhood CEO experiences employee backlash.

Employees Feeling Disenfranchised

According to its website, Robinhood’s mission is to “democratize finance for all.” But the decision was made this past week to restrict transactions on highly volatile stocks (do I even need to tell you which?). And team members were left wondering if they had been lied to.

“In the knowledge economy, employees espouse the brand values as much as their title or their paycheck,” says leadership expert, Robert Glazer, of Acceleration Partners. “One wrong move is often met with grace. But wrong moves compounded with poor communication can cause a revolt and an employee backlash”

Robinhood apologized to its one thousand employees by issuing a $40 DoorDash credit. This gesture occurred after the company secured an additional billion dollars to cover margins. A necessary operational response? Absolutely. But not the message they were looking to send internally.

“The recipients were patronized,” says John Ruhlin, author of GIFT∙OLOGY, a playbook for B2B gifting. “Everyone on the planet is watching your every move. And the best you can come up with is a $40 gift card? This adds insult to injury.”

Foundations of Employee Gifting

In Robinhood’s defense, most business leaders are horrific gift-givers. One recent study documents how givers and recipients place different value judgments on the same gift. The disconnect can be so massive that, according to another study, the wrong gift does more to hurt than help.

Ruhlin says he’s seen it happen. “Loyalty is fickle because feelings are fickle. We have clients that come to us and say: ‘we tried gifting, we messed it up, can you salvage this?’ Fortunately, the answer is almost always yes.”

So what should Robinhood’s CEO have done? And how can you successfully execute strategic gifting in your organization? The following tips will help.

Choose your words carefully

The most important part of an apology is to mean it. Jonathan Bernstein, founder of Bernstein Crisis Management and author of ‘10 Steps of Crisis Communication,’ suggests leading with empathy. “Your messaging must make it clear you have compassion – stakeholders must understand your message the way it was meant to be understood.” In other words: you must genuinely care.

Proper wordsmithing is crucial even when you’re not apologizing. Would you rather eat something 95% lean or 5% fat? If your goal is sincerity, avoid clichés and corporate platitudes.

Good leaders communicate from the heart. Not through the lens of legal permissibility or marketing spin.

Get them what they want

While this might be blasphemous to some, these five studies make a convincing argument to involve the recipient in gift selection. Monika Kochhar is the co-founder of SmartGift, a platform that enables business leaders to connect with others in a virtual world.

“Modern-day technology allows us to re-imagine the traditional gifting experience. Instead of saying, ‘here – I got this for you,’ we can now say ‘I got this for you – which color, what size, and where do you want it shipped?’” SmartGift uses artificial intelligence to help match recipients with the right item at a pre-determined price point.

No more ‘one size fits all.’ Something Robinhood employees (and critics) might have appreciated.

Spend the right amount

So how much should Robinhood have spent on their gift? Both Ruhlin and Kochhar cited similar numbers from their client experiences. “Our biggest successes are practical luxuries, in the $100-$300 range. It’s high enough to afford quality, but not so low to appear stingy.”

Kochhar suggests not obsessing over price tags. “Employee gifting is an investment. Leaders don’t audit the salaried costs of two-hour Zoom calls. Yet we’re going to pinch nickels with appreciation? Double standards do not serve us.”

It’s not about you.

The fastest way to devalue a gift and turn it into an advertisement is by putting your company’s name on it (this StoryBrand podcast explains it nicely). Over the years, I have received a thrift store’s worth of logo-covered tote bags, clothing, and water bottles. All have been donated, trashed, or relegated to the garage.

Robinhood might not have done this explicitly. But the immediacy of their gesture suggests more of reactionary appeasement than genuine remorse. You wouldn’t give your spouse a gift with your name on it. Don’t do it for your employees or clients. And never make your gifts about the optics.

The right perspective. Always.

Leaders like Gary Vaynerchuk encourage leaders to play the long game – both with gifting and decision-making. While I am empathetic to the chaos surrounding Robinhood’s CEO this past week, this saga feels less like a passing tabloid headline and more like THE BIG SHORT. Or at least an extended 30-for-30 episode.

Unlike certain investment strategies, there’s no benefit to volatile reputations. In today’s media-crazed environment, brands explode (or implode) when the CEO makes the right moves. Our opportunity as leaders is to build reputations out of stone, not plastic. When we execute strategic gifting the right way, we create an environment of stability and confidence. And a brand to match.