#the fact they created a commercial empire

[pinkumiilku]

I think makeup is a satanic cult.

[thinkingrocks]

vox's life: headcannons

im an electrical engineer and i have opinions on this character. moral of the story: don't fuck with CRT capacitors, shits scary

i have a lot of Vox thoughts, or Voughts, and i will be rambling about them at legnth under the cut.

TLDR: he invented zuckerberging. also i see his "canon" death date of 1950s and respectfully disagree. its way funnier if he died the year widespread television became a thing. the fruits of his labor were all for naught etc etc

1928: Vox was in college as an electrical engineer when the first ever live TV Demo happened, and I think he was immediately obsessed with it. Decided he'd do anything to work with TV. He and his friend/roommate at the time went full tilt into learning about TVs and working on them, and by the time they graduated, they had the beginnings of what would be a very profitable company.. together.

1930s: Out of the two of them, Vox has the better social skills(relative), so he's the one who talks to investors and handles that part of the business, though he still works on some tech. He decides he likes talking to people, marketing, manipulating, being a little showman. I like to think this ties into that one trivia fact that he likes watching commercials.

early 1940s: He starts wondering why he's splitting half of this company(HIS company) with some guy who can't even bother to attend business meetings. Tensions start rising, he starts using some of that handy manipulation skill he honed in business on his friends

1945: Tensions break. Through less than legitimate means, he steals the company out from under his partner. His partner threatens to go start his own, since he did the majority of the tech work. We can't have that. Vox doesn't kill him himself, imo, because he is kind of allergic to getting his hands dirty. He revs up that media training and uses it to create a smear campaign so brutal and widespread that his former partner offs himself. Problem solved

Late 1940s: Vox starts getting paranoid about people trying to steal his empire from him, funny that. He starts trying to do everything himself, because he doesn't trust anyone. Starts losing a lot of sleep, getting a little insane but its fine man. Don't worry about it.

1947: Sleep deprived, paranoid, and working on a final prototype model due soon, he electrocutes himself because you shouldn't fuck with CRT capacitors. Wakes up in hell with electricity powers and a CRT head because it's hilarious.

Alastor: Yeah we all know what we're here for. I don't think they ever met in life, but I definitely think Vox knew of him. Alastor was actively broadcasting during the 20s up until his death in 1933, and college student Vox I think listened to a lot of radio while studying and working. I also think in the later years, Alastor was never technically caught as a serial killer, but "hey I think that radio guy was that one killer, cuz he stopped broadcasting right after he stopped killing" was like one of those insane conspiracy statements you'd say to get a laugh at parties, but Vox always secretly kind of believed it, and was VERY vindicated in hell.

I am fully prepared for actual canon to contradict all of this but that's fine because it means they finally had to get season 2 out.

[mostlysignssomeportents]

EU to Facebook: 'Drop Dead'

A leak from the European Data Protection Board reveals that the EU’s top privacy regulator is about to overrule the Irish Data Protection Commission and declare Facebook’s business model illegal, banning surveillance-based ads without explicit consent:

https://noyb.eu/en/noyb-win-personalized-ads-facebook-instagram-and-whatsapp-declared-illegal

In some ways, this is unsurprising. Since the GDPR’s beginning, it’s been crystal clear that the intention of the landmark privacy regulation was to extinguish commercial surveillance and ring down the curtain on “consent theater” — the fiction that you “agree” to be spied on by clicking “I agree” or just by landing on a web-page that has a link to some fine-print.

Under the GDPR, the default for data-collection is meaningful consent, meaning that a company that wants to spy on you and then sell or use the data it gathers has to ask you about each piece of data they plan to capture and each use they plan to make of it.

These uses have to be individually enumerated, and the user has to actively opt into giving up each piece of data and into each use of that data. That means that if you’re planning to steal 700 pieces of information from me and then use it in 700 ways, you need to ask me 1,400 questions and get a “Yes” to each of them.

What’s more, I have to be given a single tickbox at the start of this process that says, “No to all,” and then I have to be given access to all the features of the site or service.

The point of this exercise is to reveal consent theater for the sham it is. For all that apologists for commercial surveillance insist that “people like ads, so long as they’re well-targeted” and “the fact that people use high-surveillance services like Facebook shows a ‘revealed preference’ for being spied on,” we all know that no one likes surveillance.

There’s empirical proof of this! When Apple added one-click tracker opt-out on its Ios platform, 96% of users opted out, costing Facebook more than $10b in the first year (talk about a ‘revealed preference!’) (of course, Apple only opted those users out of tracking by its rivals, and secretly continued highly invasive, nonconsenual tracking of its customers):

https://pluralistic.net/2022/11/14/luxury-surveillance/#liar-liar

Properly enforced, the GDPR would have upended the order of the digital world: any argument about surveillance between product managers at a digital firm would have been settled in favor of privacy, because the pro-privacy side could argue that no one would give consent, and the very act of asking would scare off lots of users.

But the GDPR wasn’t properly enforced, thanks to structural problems with European federalism itself. The first line of GDPR enforcement came from privacy regulators in whatever country a privacy-violator called home. That meant that when Big Tech companies violated the GDPR, they’d have to account for themselves to the privacy regulator in Ireland.

For multinational corporations, Ireland is what old-time con-artists used to call a “made town,” where the cop on the beat is in on the side of the criminals. Ireland’s decision to transform itself into a tax haven means that it can’t afford to upset the corporations that fly Irish flags of convenience and maintain the pretense that all their profits are floating in a state of untaxable grace in the Irish Sea.

That’s because there are plenty of other EU countries that compete with Ireland in the international race to the bottom on corporate governance: Malta, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Cyprus, etc (and of course, there’s post-Brexit UK, where the plan is to create an unregulated haven for the worst, wealthiest companies in the world).

All this means that seeking Irish justice from a corporation that wronged you is like asking a court in Moscow to punish an oligarch’s commercial empire on your behalf. Irish regulators are either “dingo babysitters” (guards in league with the guarded) or resource-starved into ineffectual torpor.

That’s how Facebook got away with violating the GDPR for so many years. The company hid behind the laughable fairy-tale that it didn’t need our consent to spy on us because it had a “legitimate purpose” for its surveillance, namely, that it was contractually obliged to spy on us thanks to the “agreement” we clicked on when we signed up for the service.

That is, you and Facebook had entered into a contract whereby Facebook promised you that it would spy on you, and if it didn’t spy on you, it would be violating that promise.

Har.

Har.

Har.

But while the GDPR has a structural weakness — allowing corporations to choose to be regulated in countries that can’t afford to piss them off — it also has a key strength: the private right of action, that is, the right of individuals to sue companies that violate the law, rather than having to convince a public prosecutor to take up their case.

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2019/01/you-should-have-right-sue-companies-violate-your-privacy

The private right of action is vital to any privacy regulation, which is why companies fight it so hard. Whenever a privacy bill with a private right of action comes up, they tell scare-stories about “ambulance chasers” who’ll “clog up the system,” trotting out urban legends like the McDonald’s Hot Coffee story:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/06/12/hot-coffee/#mcgeico

But here we are, in the last days of 2022, and the private right of action is about to do what the Irish regulators wouldn’t do: force Facebook to obey the law. For that, we can thank Max Schrems and the nonprofit he founded, noyb.

Schrems, you may recall, is the Austrian activist, who, as a Stanford law student, realized that EU law barred American tech companies from sending their surveillance data on Europeans to US data-centers, which the NSA and other spy agencies treated as an arm of their own surveillance projects:

https://pluralistic.net/2020/07/16/text-adventures-resurgent/#nein

Schrems brought a case against the Irish regulator to the EU’s top privacy authority, arguing that it had failed its duty by ruling that Facebook’s “contractual obligation” excuse held water. According to the leaked report, Schrems has succeeded, which means, once again, Facebook’s business model is illegal.

Facebook will doubtless appeal, but the writing is on the wall here: it’s the end of the line for surveillance advertising in Europe, an affluent territory with 500m+ residents. This decision will doubtless give a tailwind to other important privacy cases in the EU, like Johnny Ryan’s case against the ad-tech consortium IAB over its “audience taxonomy” codes:

https://pluralistic.net/2021/06/16/inside-the-clock-tower/#inference

It’s also likely good news for Schrems’ other ongoing cases, like the one he’s brought against Google:

https://pluralistic.net/2020/05/15/out-here-everything-hurts/#noyb

Facebook has repeatedly threatened to leave the EU if it is required to stop breaking the law:

https://pluralistic.net/2020/09/22/uncivvl/#fb-v-eu

This is a pretty implausible threat, growing less plausible by the day. The company keeps delivering bad news to investors, who are not mollified by Mark Zuckerberg’s promise to rescue the company by convincing all of humanity to spend the rest of their lives as highly surveilled, legless, sexless, low-polygon cartoon characters:

https://www.fool.com/investing/2022/12/06/why-meta-platforms-stock-dove-today/

Zuckerberg and his entire senior team have seen their net worth plummet with Meta’s share price, and that means the company needs to pay engineers with actual dollars, rather than promises of shares, which kills the massive wage-bill discount the company has enjoyed. This is not a company that can afford to walk away from Europe!

Between Apple’s mobile (third-party) tracker-blocking and the EU calling time on surveillance ads, things are looking grim for Facebook. You love to see it! But things could get even worse, and soon, thanks to the double-edged sword of “network effects.”

Facebook is a network effects business: people join the service to socialize with the people who are already there — then more people join to socialize with them. But what network effects give, they can also take away: a service that gets more valuable when a new user signs up loses value when that user leaves.

This is beautifully explained in danah boyd’s “What if failure is the plan?” which recounts boyd’s experiences watching MySpace unravel as key nodes in its social graph disappeared when users quit: “Failure of social media sites tends to be slow then fast”:

http://www.zephoria.org/thoughts/archives/2022/12/05/what-if-failure-is-the-plan.html

Facebook long understood this, which is why it spent years creating artificial “switching costs” — penalties it could impose on users who quit, such as the loss of their family photos:

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2021/08/facebooks-secret-war-switching-costs

This is why Facebook and other tech giants are so scared of interoperability, and why they are so furious about the new EU Digital Markets Act (DMA), which will force them to allow new services to connect to their platforms, so that users who quit Big Tech won’t have to lose their friends or data:

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2022/04/eu-digital-markets-acts-interoperability-rule-addresses-important-need-raises

An interoperable Facebook would make it easy to leave social media by removing the penalties Facebook imposes on its disloyal users, and the EU’s privacy framework means that when they flee to a smaller safe haven, they won’t have to worry about commercial surveillance:

https://www.eff.org/interoperablefacebook

But what about advertising-supported media? Sure, being spied on sucks, but a subscription-first media landscape is a world where “the truth is paywalled, but the lies are free”:

https://www.currentaffairs.org/2020/08/the-truth-is-paywalled-but-the-lies-are-free/

Ironically, killing surveillance ads is good news for ad-driven media. Surveillance-based ad-targeting is nowhere near as effective as Google, Facebook and the other ad-tech companies claim (these companies are compulsive liars, it would be amazing if the only time they told the truth is when they were boasting about their products!):

https://onezero.medium.com/how-to-destroy-surveillance-capitalism-8135e6744d59

And consent-theater or no, targeted ads reach fewer users every day, thanks to ad- blockers, AKA, “the biggest boycott in world history”:

https://blogs.harvard.edu/doc/2015/09/28/beyond-ad-blocking-the-biggest-boycott-in-human-history/

And when a publisher does manage to display a targeted ad, they get screwed. The Googbook dupololy is a crooked affair, with the two tech companies illegally colluding (via the Jedi Blue conspiracy) to divert money from publishers to their own pockets:

https://techcrunch.com/2022/03/11/google-meta-jedi-blue-eu-uk-antitrust-probes/

Targeted ads are a cesspit of ad-fraud. 15% of all ad revenues are just unaccounted for:

https://twitter.com/swodinsky/status/1511172472762163202

The remaining funds aren’t any more trustworthy. Ad-tech is a bezzle (“the magic interval when a confidence trickster knows he has the money he has appropriated but the victim does not yet understand that he has lost it”):

https://pluralistic.net/2021/01/04/how-to-truth/

As Tim Hwang foretold in his essential Subprime Attention Crisis, the pretense that targeted ads are wildly effective has been slowly but surely losing ground to the wider awareness of the fraud behind the system, and a reckoning is at hand:

https://pluralistic.net/2020/10/05/florida-man/#wannamakers-ghost

Experiments with contextual ads (ads based on the content of the page you’re looking at, not on your behavior and demographics) have found them to about as effective in generated clicks and sales as surveillance ads.

https://pluralistic.net/2022/04/29/taken-in-context/#creep-me-not

But this is misleading. Contextual ads don’t require consent opt-in (because they’re not based on your data) and they don’t drive users to install blockers the way creepy surveillance ads do, so lots more people will see a contextual ad than a surveillance one. Thus, even if contextual ads generate slightly less money per reader or viewer, they generate far more money overall, because they are aren’t blocked.

Even better for publishers: contextual ads don’t erode their own rate cards. Today, when you visit a high-quality publisher like the Washington Post, many ad brokers bid to show you an ad, but only one wins the auction. However, all the others have tagged you as a “Washington Post reader,” and they can sell that to bottom-feeder junk sites. That is, they can collude with Tabooleh or its rivals to offer advertisers a chance to advertise to Post readers at a fraction of what the Post charges. Lather, rinse, repeat, and the Post’s own ad revenues are drained.

This doesn’t apply with contextual ads. Indeed, none of the tech giants’ much-vaunted “data advantage” — the largely overstated value of knowing what you did online 10 or 20 years ago, the belief in which keeps new companies out of the market — applies to context ads:

https://pluralistic.net/2021/04/11/halflife/#minatory-legend

The transformative power of banning surveillance advertising goes beyond merely protecting our privacy. It also largely answers the case for “link taxes” (pseudo-copyright systems that let giant media companies decide who can link to them and charge for the privilege).

The underlying case for link taxes, snippet taxes, etc, is that Big Tech is stealing the news media’s content (by letting their users talk about and quote the news), when the reality is that Big Tech is stealing their money (through ad-fraud):

https://doctorow.medium.com/big-tech-isnt-stealing-news-publishers-content-a97306884a6b

Unrigging the ad-tech market is a much better policy than establishing a link-tax, like the Democrats are poised to do with their Journalism Competition and Preservation Act (JCPA):

https://www.politico.com/newsletters/politico-influence/2022/12/06/jcpa-opponents-spring-into-action-to-block-ndaa-inclusion-00072602

It’s easy to understand why the monopoly/private-equity-dominated news industry wants JCPA, rather than a clean ad market. The JCPA just imposes a tax on the crooked ad-tech giants that is paid to the largest media companies, while a fair ad market would reward the media outlets that invested most in news (and thus in expensive, unionized news-gathering reporters).

Indeed, the JCPA only works if the ad-tech market remains corrupt: the excess Big Tech rents that Big News wants to claim here are the product of a rigged system. Unrig the system and there won’t be any money to pay the link tax with.

Image: Anthony Quintano (modified) https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mark_Zuckerberg_F8_2018_Keynote_%2841118883004%29.jpg

CC BY 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/deed.en

[Image ID: A theater proscenium. Over the proscenium, in script, are the words 'Consent Theatre.' On the screen is an image of Mark Zuckerberg standing in front of the words 'Data Privacy.' He is gesturing expansively. A targeting reticle is centered on his face. The reticle is made of the stars from the EU flag.]

[ducktales-and-ducks]

More info from Don Rosa’s official Facebook Group about the banning of one of the chapters of “The Complete Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck”

I’m honestly surprised by some facts about this:

👉 Surprisingly the commercialization of these books do not affect him economically, since he doesn’t receive royalties from these stories (which he created!).

👉 Disney didn’t bother to inform him this directly, but someone he knows who is part of Disney told him.

👉 The story that’s in the middle of the controversy is “The Empire-Builder from Calisota”, one of the most crucial chapters of Volume 1.

👉 Even when he was the creator of all this, sadly he’s not part of the conversations regarding his work, he’s not even consulted!

It’s not surprising Disney makes really questionable decisions like these, but, it’s really shameful how they treated Don Rosa and how Disney and third-party publishers are the only ones who are economically benefited from the sales of these books. :/

[creationofacentury]

Hermitcraft Fanfic Prompts

Here are five prompts for platonic Hermitcraft fanfics that I came up with. At the moment, I know I don’t have what it takes (time, skill, whatever) to carry out the ideas, so I thought I would share them with you. Feel free to use them- rules on the bottom.

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1. There are always little scratches on Grian, and Scar wonders why. (The life series. I was thinking Double Life, but you don't need to stick with the settings.)

2. It’s almost like there’s a bubble around them. Etho and Bdubs, they seem to have their own kind of communication. Iskall had seen it before, the both of them standing in front of a redstone shop, balancing flower pots on their heads while giggling uncontrollably, which still baffles him to this day. (A 5+1 fanfic was what I was thinking, but you don’t need to stick with this. So my thought process was, a ten-year friendship has got to give people lots of inside jokes, right? This one is for the long time Minecraft YouTube fans, or for those who wants to write about them having inside jokes...?)

3. “I’m obsessive? I AM OBSESSIVE?! You are the one that built me THREE TIMES, DAD! You don’t get to say I’m obsessive! It’s YOU who wants Mumbo Jumbo back, it’s YOU who wrote my code, and YOU say I’m obsessive!” (The Grumbot on the Empires server having a fight with Grian during the crossover. I planned this for a fanfic that I wrote, but I think it would take a million years for me to get to this point in the story. So, I am now putting this idea into your hands, because I’m genuinely curious about what happens next :P)

4. First day of Hogwarts! How exciting! But as they get up to the front, waiting to be sorted, one of the professors suddenly starts laughing uncontrollably, and the Headmistress McGonagall is looking very displeased. (A self-indulgent HP professor AU where Hermits are all wizards, and some of them are professors at Hogwarts. There’s a lot of things that you could play with, for instance: Mumbo being a Slytherin, Grian pranks the students, etc. The one that laughed in the opening feast was probably Scar :P)

5. The music is very, very loud. So loud, in fact, that when Ren realizes the chorus of the song is coming up, his legs give out. It seems like a job at night club isn’t for him. “Ren? What are you doing here?” Or, After graduated from college, Ren couldn’t find a proper job and he’s getting desperate. He doesn't want his friends to find out about his situation, but his friends find him, when Ren is balancing about ten cups on one hand and twelve more on the other. (Whoever is fine. This was mainly about sensory overload, do what you want with the info :D This is a college AU...I guess? But they are no longer in college here...)

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Rules:

Credit me and link this post when you use the prompt!

The prompts are in bold letters. You could ignore what’s going on in the parenthesis.

You could twist the prompts too, it’s fine, but still, credit me as the creator of the original prompts, please!

These prompts are for everyone to create fanworks with, including myself. Feel free to use! Except for commercial use, commercial use I won’t allow.

I may add new rules in the future. I don’t think the rules will get too outrageous, so don't worry :D

If you have any questions or things that you want to discuss, don’t hesitate!

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To the person who read through this, somehow you find this post despite how they always seem to disappear. Lots and lots of luv to you for reading till the end!

[bacreativeenquiry]

Paper Ghost Prints

I always love the way the prints look after the second or third time running them through the press, I feel like the texture makes them much more interesting to look at.

A Less Personal Side to Tea Drinking...

Susan Stockwell (2000) Tea Country Collage

Susan Stockwell has used paper, paper products and other commonplace materials, such as rubber and wool, in a number of highly inventive ways. They are all centred on the notion of map as signifier of commodification, trade and economic power. In this piece she has stitched together used tea bags in a witty commentary on a peculiarly British obsession, tea drinking. At the same time it is a reference to the British Empire's former control of India and the legacy of Imperial exploitation.

Brief History

The history of tea drinking is far more vast than I initially expected, dating back to 2700BC, but it’s not surprising how much tea’s popularity has spread around the globe, and how much it has become part of people’s daily lives.

Tea fuelled centuries of imperial expansion, exploitation and industrialisation. But, cup by cup, it has also facilitated social unity and compassion and the latter is extremely relevant to me during times of isolation throughout Covid 19, changing the way I worked, studied and lived. Tea drinking remained consistent.

Because of these economic and social effects, the UK remains one of the top tea-consuming countries, downing approximately 100 million cups each day. Depictions in art and advertisements show how tea has become intertwined with British history and identity, uniting consumers in a shared national story while distinguishing social values in the many methods of sharing a cup.

Tea Plant (Camellia Sinensis): Flowering Stem Unknown Artist

As shown in this botanical drawing, the tea plant (Camellia sinensis) produces flowers, but its leaves are used to produce the drink. They are withered, dried, and oxidised in different ways to create the varied kinds of tea we know today. Tea naturally contains caffeine, which stimulates energy, and tannins.

The ingredients found in the tea bags I drink are slightly different to traditional tea, but they got me thinking about the different elements a tea bag is composed of such as textures and smells.

How can these elements be used to create work? Can I dissect tea bags and use the loose tea to draw or print with?

Tea was first cultivated in China, In the eighth century, tea spread to Japan via Buddhist monks. The country developed its own unique tea culture, formalising the aesthetic and philosophical ritual of the tea ceremony in the sixteenth century.

Tea and Colonialism

As global trade expanded, tea arrived in Europe in the early 1600s, and in England by the 1650s. 'The beverage soon became a necessity of life – a taxable matter,' scholar Okakura Kazukō wrote. England's subsequent commerce in tea lit the fuse of American independence, caused devastating social and economic effects in China, and drove the violent colonisation of India.

Indian Tea Plantation, an European Lady and Gentleman on Horseback Approach the Main House, Where a Number of People Await Their Arrival Unknown Artist

The above watercolour illustrates some of these oppressive hierarchies in the choreographed arrival of a European man and woman at a plantation.

The tea plant is indigenous to Assam, a fact that British speculators discovered only after several failed attempts to introduce Chinese plants to the area in the 1830s. Tea consumption in India predated the British arrival, but the introduction of industrial production and colonial control altered the landscape indelibly.

The monopolistic East India Company founded its colonial trade routes in 1600 and aggressively established commercial and then military control in India. Though chartered to join the spice trade there and in southeast Asia, they expanded their remit to transporting enslaved people from Africa and trading with China and the American territories.

A Ton of Tea (edition 1/3) Ai Weiwei (b.1957) Bristol Museum & Art Gallery

Ai Weiwei's 2007 work A Ton of Tea compresses this global history into a minimalist – albeit hefty – block, the weight of which we still carry today.

Tea and Sexism

Tea served at home garnered feminine associations, as men were freer to socialise elsewhere. Satirical prints like The Tea-Table used this setting – where women held power – to condemn gossip. (The stereotype continued in later images that poked fun at village gossips exchanging scandalous titbits over tea.)

Tea rooms catered to women hemmed in by social restrictions, especially as contemporary coffee houses were often dominated by men.

Thinking...

What has been perceived by me as a mere daily ritual, has a far more significant history and connotations to inequality and sexism than I'd ever imagined.

It will be important to consider these issues when I continue my making process, without totally swaying the initial ideas I had about what tea drinking means to me personally.

[nsfwhiphop]

Fun Fact for @zoesaldana and @rosariodawson:

Subject title: "The Black Film Industry in America"

Question:

Who is the most successful Black director in terms of box office sales in Black America, particularly with films that have a cast composed entirely of Black actors?

ChatGPT Answer:

The black director known for being the biggest box office success in Black America, particularly with films featuring predominantly Black casts, is Tyler Perry. He has created a highly successful empire through his films, TV shows, and stage plays, most notably the "Madea" franchise. Perry's films often focus on themes relevant to the African American community, and he has built a reputation for producing content that resonates strongly with Black audiences. His movies, featuring largely Black casts, have consistently performed well at the box office, making him one of the most commercially successful Black directors in American cinema.

Question:

After that director, who else is known for significant box office success with predominantly Black casts?

ChatGPT Answer:

After Tyler Perry, another prominent Black director known for box office success with films featuring predominantly Black casts is Ryan Coogler. Coogler is best known for directing films such as "Black Panther" (2018), which became a cultural phenomenon and one of the highest-grossing films of all time, as well as "Creed" (2015) and its sequels.

Another notable director is Jordan Peele, who gained widespread acclaim with his directorial debut "Get Out" (2017), followed by "Us" (2019) and "Nope" (2022). His films, though often featuring diverse casts, are celebrated for their focus on Black experiences and their critical and commercial success.

These directors, along with Tyler Perry, are significant figures in the industry, known for bringing Black stories and predominantly Black casts to the forefront of mainstream cinema.

[rauthschild]

Bait and Switch is one of the oldest con games in the world.  You offer one product, and substitute another.  

This is what the British Territorial U.S. Government has been doing to the American People for over 160 years.  

Abraham Lincoln was the "President" of a foreign corporation merely calling itself "the United States of America, Incorporated" --- not the President of our unincorporated American Federation of States, not even the President of our Federal Republic. 

Donald Trump is playing the same game. 

Lincoln unlawfully converted our American Armed Forces into British Crown Territorial Mercenaries without a word to the troops or to us. 

There is no evidence in the record that they were ever lawfully converted back to the status of honorable soldiers after that.  

This explains why SERCO, a British Crown Corporation, is their Paymaster.  It explains why such characters as George H.W.Bush and General Norman Schwarzkopf were knighted by QEII.  

They are not our Presidents and not our Armed Forces --- until and unless they lawfully convert back to their birthright American status and cease functioning as "U.S. Citizens".  

U.S. Citizens are not Americans.  They are British Territorials, like the people of Puerto Rico and Guam. 

They may serve under the Constitution of 1789, but they are not Parties to them and do not receive the Guarantees or have the authority to enforce these venerable contracts on the other Principals. We do. 

This situation also mandates the Funky Monkey political party straw poll elections that have been substituted for our Public Elections. These events are fraudulently deceptive in that they are designed to make the American people believe that: (1) they are voting for a President occupying their own Public Office; and (2) that their vote for a foreign corporation's  "President" counts, when in fact, it's just an opinion poll.  

The "President" of the foreign British Territorial corporation involved is elected by the shareholders of that corporation, who are represented by "Electors" --- who are members of the Electoral College. 

This same foreign corporation doing business as "the United States of America, Inc." and its Successors and affiliates have engaged in another fraudulent practice --- registering American babies and using their names to create franchises for their own benefit, without disclosure.  

They have the Usufructuary Duty to hold all Americans affected by this practice harmless and exempt from any charges, harm, or consequence resulting from the existence of these fictional --- and unconscionable U.S. Territorial franchises --- but they conveniently "forget" and routinely charge Americans for debts and charges owed by their "similarly named" franchises----especially tax debts and mortgages.  

Their courts are all cesspits engaged in accidentally-on-purpose committing crimes of personage and barratry against Americans, under the known pretense that those Americans are U.S. Territorial Citizen Franchises or Federal Municipal Corporation franchises deemed to be "citizens of the United States", instead. 

They have tried to dignify all this as something occurring under The Law of War, from 1861 to today, but no actual War ever existed.  No Congress competent to declare war ever declared anything about the so-called "American Civil War". 

Nor has our Congress of States ever declared anything about any "war" since then.  

This means that all actions undertaken since 1860 by Lincoln and by the unlawfully converted American Military Forces have been Mercenary Conflicts.  There has been no basis for Martial Law, District Courts, or any of the other harms offered against us, their Employers, who were always owed "good faith" and "due diligence".

These aforementioned fraud schemes have all been crimes carried out in gross self-interest by commercial and municipal mercenaries that are supposed to be working for us, not the British Crown, and not the Holy Roman Empire. 

The entire circumstance is all criminal and it is all fraud and it is not covered under The Law of War and it never has been. 

Now, the "Bait and Switch" artists who switched their President for our President, our Armed Forces for their Mercenaries, and who accessed our credit under conditions of similar identity theft and deceit, have "offered" to occupy our American Federal Republic or to substitute their British Territorial Corporation's version of "a" Federal Republic for ours.  

We have declined the offer and draw the world's attention to the "Bait and Switch" that these same corporate criminals are attempting now.  

The banks, including the Bank for International Settlements and its members, and the Global Federal Reserve and its members, and the members of the BRICS Alliance, are hereby served Notice of the Facts: 

These corporations don't "represent" us and are operating in Gross Breach of Trust and Violation of their Service Contracts. Our funds are not to be expended or provided to them for any purpose beyond defending our country from invasion or attack.  

All Treaties need to be reviewed in terms of authority to contract; these corporations have never had any authority to contract for us or to dispose of our assets--- this includes land and soil assets and assets in American Admiralty jurisdiction. 

We have heard that these corporations have invited demons into our world and have even signed a Peace Treaty under duress with these same demons.  

They may be under duress, but we are not.  They may believe in "Star Princesses" and 3,000 year old Chinese Elders, but we do not.  

They have no ability to sign any actual treaty affecting the land and soil or any land and soil assets rightfully belonging to us.  And never did. 

We are not federal Subjects and we are owed their Usufructuary Duty with respect to all and any franchises of theirs that they have named after us.

From the Treaty of Manila Bay to the G23PO Treaty and beyond, these corporations may be great pirates and excellent con artists, but they do not have any authority to establish treaties for us, nor, as corporations, do they have any right to exist, except for lawful purposes they have violated. 

This means that they are not our Trustees; they are only the Trustees of their own bankrupt, civilly dead, and to us, unconscionable franchises, they have named after us --- empty shelf corporations domiciled in Puerto Rico and derived Municipal Corporations domiciled in the Municipality of Washington, DC. 

Any and all beneficial interest in the assets cashiered in these trusts and any stocks, bonds, titles or other assets and property interests vested "in the name" of Americans are owed back to those Americans as "gift franchises" and private property. 

As these "gift franchises" were unconscionable to us as babies and also to our parents who were never given disclosure, those responsible for these swindles are attempting to avoid their responsibility to return the purloined assets to the victims of this outrageous scam and are attempting to continue their impersonation of Americans as British Territorial Citizens and/or HRE Municipal Corporations deemed to be "citizens of the United States". 

We are full up to the top with all this corporate bull crap. 

Mr. Trump is specifically forbidden to enter our Autochthonous American Federal Republic or to misrepresent us by promoting any British Territorial or Incorporated Substitute for our Autochthonous American Federal Republic. He must Cease and Desist from any Bait and Switch activity whatsoever. 

There is no "war" and any Pretense of War or action under color of law is served just rebuttal. 

These corporations are supposed to be serving our lawful civilian government, not preying upon our people and stealing us blind. 

We did not create and are not responsible for the existence or expenses or charges against any of these foreign franchise corporations named after us or after Americans in general.  

The American Federation of States doing business as The United States of America --- Unincorporated, delegated all powers ever held by the dormant American Federal Republic, and all other Federal Subcontractors, including "the United States of America, Inc."  

We are certainly competent to exercise powers that we delegated in good faith to them, upon their failure to perform. 

The actions that this particular foreign Subcontractor, the United States of America, Incorporated, has taken "in our names" while pretending to "represent" us, have all been undertaken in fraud, from the moment Abraham Lincoln confused his corporate "presidency" with the Public Office we are owed. 

Their "President" is not our "President" and all the "excess" monies and assets of ours they have purloined, and all credit based on our assets, that they have accessed using this fraud scheme, are no different than monies paid to any other Executor de Son Tort or Credit Card Hacker. 

The American Federation of States doing business as The United States of America --- Unincorporated  --- is serving International Public Notice of all these facts: Notice to Agents is Notice to Principals; Notice to Principals is Notice to Agents.

Conduct your business accordingly.   

The Joint Chiefs are invited to contact the Central Bank of North America directly for assistance.  

[liamanim]

Empire Carpet (TV Commercial)

This commercial is a 3d animated computer generated sequence, this commercial is very nostalgic to me with the engaging animation coinciding with the catchy jingle. It is impressive that such a short commercial can still be remembered without seeing it for years.

The commercial is an advertisement for a carpet, flooring and window installation company. It depicts a scene of characters quickly installing all three of their services very quick whilst a voice sings their phone number.

This commercial was played on many different networks on television starting in 1970 with there jingle and later on creating the animated character that we all recognize today. I seen this commercial probably hundreds if not thousands of times during my childhood as it was heavily advertised on late night television.

The response to this commercial most have been very successful due to the length of the run time and also the amount of channels it would be on shows how much a of a budget they had for advertisement. The response today is people looking back on this commercial remembering their childhoods and reflecting on the fact that they can still remember the phone number. The commercial uploaded to youtube has 5 million views which reflects the popularity of this commercial.

[lighthouseshowerdoors]

The Top Reasons Glass is a Game-Changer in Construction

Glass is one of the most versatile materials used in architecture for centuries. In fact, its architectural applications can be traced back to the Roman Empire. Despite its fragility, glass has remained a dependable construction material that can help improve a property's aesthetics and even its lighting. However, some people still need help understanding how vital glass is in architecture.

Whether you see it in windows, doors, or as commercial sneeze guards, glass is almost everywhere you go. But why do we use it so much when it comes to construction? Below are the top three factors that make glass an ideal choice for construction.

Exposure To Natural Light

Unlike other opaque construction materials, glass allows the flow of light effortlessly across your property to illuminate the indoor space. While concrete is also a good option for strengthening structures and keeping them small, it can also sometimes leave your property looking unattractive and gloomy. The transparency of glass, on the other hand, will help you create a brighter, more spacious interior that can help enhance your mood and productivity and offer several other advantages associated with exposure to natural light.

Corrosion, Rust, And Rot Resistant.

Unlike traditional building materials like wood and steel, which are susceptible to rust and rot, glass is much more resistant. Even after years of exposure to oxygen and moisture, your glass partition walls or railings can easily hold onto their original looks. It is also resistant to gradual corrosion, making it a perfect construction material that can withstand even the toughest of rains.

Thermal, Electric, And Sound Insulation

Glass doesn’t readily conduct electricity, making it a very safe option, even if your home has an electric failure. Its role as an electric insulator allows you to use glass to constrict decorative wall lights, ceiling lights, and several other electrical appliances. Glass is also great at sound insulation, which is why most music studios and other areas that need soundproofing prefer using glass. If the temperature outside is cold, glass can help you keep the heat in, and vice versa, ensuring all occupants stay comfortable inside.

Besides these three, glass provides a host of other advantages as well, making it a perfect building material. However, if you want to learn more about glass or would like to learn more about its benefits, feel free to speak with a professional glass provider today for clarity. 

[rabbitcruiser]

National Cheese Fondue Day

National Cheese Fondue Day is celebrated each year on April 11. Since cheese is such a popular (and delicious) ingredient, this day recognizes a food holiday that many enjoy. Fondue is a dish of melted cheese or other ingredients, served in a communal pot, known as the caquelon. This pot is placed over a small portable stove known as the réchaud. People then dip the bread into the cheese using long-stemmed forks. Meat, crackers, and vegetables may also be dipped into the cheese [No, just no. No way!]. Cheese fondue consists of a blend of cheeses, wine, and seasoning. It is a common delicacy that is available at most restaurants and can be easily made at home.

History of National Cheese Fondue Day

Fondue has been around for centuries, but the original cheese fondue recipe was only published in 1875. Before this, there was a dish called ‘fondue’ that resembled a scramble, which was a mixture of eggs and sometimes truffles. In 1905, cornstarch was introduced to Switzerland which led to eggs and truffles being removed and fondue becoming a cheese-based dish. The fondue is cooked on a stove and it is then poured into the Caquelon (fondue pot) where it is served at the table.

It is not known who made the first cheese. Some records suggest that it might have been accidentally made by an Arabian merchant. The merchant put his supply of milk into a pouch made from a sheep’s stomach, as he traveled across the desert. The rennet in the lining of the pouch, combined with the heat of the sun, caused the milk to separate into curd and whey. He found that the whey satisfied his thirst and that the cheese had a delightful flavor that kept him full for a long time.

Several different traditions go with eating fondue. One is the eating of the crispy cheese left at the bottom of the pot — it is referred to as ‘la religieuse.’ Another tradition is the custom of what happens when your cube of bread falls off of your fork. Ideally, if someone’s bread falls off, they have to buy a round of drinks for the table!

National Cheese Fondue Day timeline

80,000 - 10,000 Years Ago

The Domestication of Dairy Animals

Primarily sheep are domesticated for the human consumption of its milk.

100 B.C.

Cheese Making in the Roman Empire

The Romans document and find ways to perfect the process of cheesemaking.

17th Century

Cheese Manufacturing in America

The knowledge of cheese making is brought to the new world.

1900 -1950

The Spread of Commercial Cheese Factories

Cheese production rises to 148 million pounds in 1910 and 561 million pounds in 1950.

National Cheese Fondue Day FAQs

Which country's national dish is cheese fondue?

The Swiss Cheese Union declared cheese fondue Switzerland’s national dish in 1930. 

What are good dippers for cheese fondue?

Bread is a common dipper used for cheese fondue. However, there are other options to choose from such as french bread, breadsticks, and croutons. sourdough, pumpernickel, and bagels can also be used. 

Is cheese fondue healthy?

Fondue, as well as cheese fondue, can be unhealthy. A classic fondue starts with rich cheeses that are blended with spices and white wine. This blend creates a thick, savory sauce for dipping chunks of bread and other morsels.

How To Celebrate National Cheese Fondue Day

Host a fondue game night: Invite your friends over for a fondue game night on National Cheese Fondue Day. If someone’s bread falls into the cheese, they will have to buy everyone a round of drinks. You can also come up with your own games.

Post on social media: Post a photo of the cheese fondue that you made on social media with the hashtag #NationalCheeseFondueDay and encourage your friends to do the same.

5 Facts About Cheese That Will Blow Your Mind

Cheese can be addictive: Cheese contains a chemical that can trigger opioid receptors in the human brain.

There are more than 1,800 varieties of cheese: It would take about five years if you tried one cheese per day.

Cheddar is the most popular type of cheese: Cheddar cheese is a hard, smooth-textured cheese made from cow’s milk.

Pule is the world’s most expensive cheese: A pound can be sold for as much as $600 to $1,000.

Cheese is one of Pizza Hut’s main ingredients: Pizza Hut uses about 300 million pounds of cheese annually.

Why We Love National Cheese Fondue Day

It is easy to make: Cheese fondue is probably one of the quickest and easiest dishes to make. National Cheese Fondue Day lauds a dish that despite its simplicity, is delicious.

A day off from cooking: If you have been wanting to take a day off from cooking, then National Cheese Fondue Day is the perfect day to do so. Whip up this simple yet filling dish in a matter of minutes.

You can spend time with friends: Cheese fondue nights bring friends together. National Cheese Fondue Day is a great excuse to share a meal with your loved ones.

Source

All you need is: Grated Fondue cheese, corn starch, white wine, Kirsch (clear, colorless fruit brandy traditionally made from double distillation of morello cherries), garlic and pepper. Please, don’t use the prepared convenience food one!

[clapperboardtalk]

LAWRENCE OF ARABIA (1962)

Lawrence of Arabia: A Desert Epic That'll Blow Your Sands-Off! (1962)

Genre: Epic, Biography, Drama

Year: 1962

Country: United Kingdom

Hold onto your turbans, cinephiles, because we're diving into the vast sands of David Lean's masterpiece, "Lawrence of Arabia." Forget CGI camels and green screens – this film is a testament to old-school filmmaking magic, transporting you to the heart of the Arab Revolt in World War I.

Plot Twist: No Spoilers, Just Intrigue!

T.E. Lawrence, played by the charismatic Peter O'Toole, is a British officer tasked with assessing the Arab forces. But soon, he finds himself drawn deeper into their fight, forging alliances and leading daring raids against the Ottoman Empire. This ain't your typical war movie; it's an intimate exploration of loyalty, identity, and the seductive lure of the desert.

Acting So Good, It's Oasis-worthy:

Peter O'Toole is a revelation as Lawrence, capturing the man's complexity and inner turmoil with electrifying intensity. Omar Sharif shines as Sherif Ali, his confidante and guide, and the supporting cast, including Alec Guinness and Anthony Quinn, is equally stellar. This is ensemble acting at its finest, making you believe every sweat-drenched bead and sand-gritted stare.

Cinematography that Makes You Squint (in Awe):

Forget green screens, this film used real deserts and real camels, resulting in visuals that are simply breathtaking. The vastness of the landscapes, the stark beauty of the sun-baked dunes – it's all captured with such scope and detail that you can practically feel the sand between your toes. This ain't just a movie, it's an immersive experience.

Sound and Music: A Symphony of Sand and Sweat:

The soundtrack perfectly complements the film's visual splendor, with Maurice Jarre's iconic score weaving tales of triumph and tragedy. The sound design is equally impressive, transporting you to the heart of the desert with the crunch of sand, the clatter of hooves, and the chilling wind whistling through canyons.

My Verdict: A 5-Star Oasis in the Cinematic Desert:

This film is more than just a movie; it's an experience. The acting, cinematography, sound, and music all come together to create a masterpiece that's both epic and intimate. It's a long film, clocking in at over 3 hours, but trust me, the journey is worth it. This is a must-watch for any film lover, and even if you're not usually into historical epics, give it a chance. You won't regret it.

Netizen Reception: A Sandstorm of Acclaim:

"Lawrence of Arabia" was a critical and commercial success, winning seven Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Director. Even today, it holds a 98% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, proving that this classic still resonates with audiences.

Budget vs. Box Office: A Golden Caravan:

Made for a then-hefty $15 million, the film grossed over $70 million worldwide, solidifying its place as a financial success story.

Fun Facts for Film Buffs:

Peter O'Toole actually contracted pneumonia during filming, adding a touch of authenticity (and discomfort) to his performance.

The film's iconic "judgment" scene was shot in Spain, not Arabia, due to political concerns.

The score was nominated for an Oscar, but lost to… itself (Jarre also scored "Doctor Zhivago" that year).

So, there you have it! "Lawrence of Arabia" is a film that will stay with you long after the credits roll. It's a testament to the power of cinema to transport you to another world, and a reminder that sometimes, the greatest journeys are the ones that take you into the heart of yourself.

[silent123456]

Silent conference equipment in Paris

Paris is a global commercial and business hub, home to numerous multinational corporations and the Euronext Paris stock exchange. Its location, history, and infrastructure contribute to its status as a center for trade and finance. The city's history dating back to the Roman Empire has created a strong business environment with a well-developed legal and financial system, making it a vital center for global markets. The city's strategic location in Western Europe and its rich history make it an attractive destination for businesses seeking global expansion.

Silent conferences in Paris are becoming increasingly popular. In fact, a number of organizations are now offering silent conference services in the city. These organizations can provide the headphones, equipment, and staff needed to run a successful silent conference.

[vintageviewmaster]

Brand: View-Master Packet Title: Holland Booklet Title: Guidebook to Holland Booklet Subtitle: N/A Date: Undated

Booklet Introduction Description: HOLLAND Half the people of Holland dwell below the level of the sea. For almost ten centuries the sturdy Dutch have been creating their land--stealing it from the sea and the lakes and marshes. Although a small kingdom, Holland possesses great world ports and important trade centers. It is the land of tulips, dikes, and wooden shoes. Wide rivers and canals wind through green lowlands. Farms and pastures stretch for miles without a hill. Windmills, their giant cloth sails picking up every trace of breeze, guard the polders.

A FEW FACTS AND FIGURES The official name of Holland is Kingdom of the Netherlands. Netherlands means low country. The people call themselves Nederlanders, but are usually called the Dutch by the English-speaking countries. Holland is a constitutional and hereditary monarchy. The king or queen is the head of government, but the executive power is in the hands of the cabinet ministers. Queen Juliana is the reigning queen. The capital city is Amsterdam; the seat of the government is The Hague. Holland is the gateway to central Europe by the way of the Rhine River. It is the third largest shipbuilding country. The North Sea Canal is the deepest and widest canal in the world, and has the largest ocean locks. The 1,150-foot-long Prince Bernhard locks at Tiel has the world's largest inland locks. KLM (Royal Dutch Airlines), established in 1919, is the world's oldest operating airline. The chief industries of Holland are farming, manufacturing, mining, and fishing. The average farm is 25 acres.

GEOGRAPHICALLY SPEAKING Half of Holland is a single delta made from the silt of the Rhine, Maas, and Scheldt Rivers. These rivers have often shifted their channels. The Dutch have built many dams to keep them in their course. That is why so many of the cities, such as Amsterdam and Rotterdam end in "dam." Holland's area is constantly changing; the sea washing it away, the Dutch reclaiming it. It is an estimated 15,765 square miles; rivers, lakes, and canals make up one-fourth of this area. Several islands lie off the coast in the North Sea. Polders, land recovered from lake, sea, or swamp, cover most of western Holland. This flat region lies mostly below sea level, and is protected from inundation by dunes and dikes. A large part of the remainder is composed of sandy regions and rarely rises above 100 feet, except near the German border, where a few wooded hills reach an elevation of 1,057 feet.

THE HUMAN SIDE Holland, with more than 700 people per square mile, is one of the most densely populated nations on earth. According to the 1959 census the population was 11.3 million. Most of the Dutch are of Germanic origin. The language spoken is a modern version of the early Germanic people called Franks. The Dutch are an independent and democratic race; the fight for economic survival has made them hard-working and serious. They take special pride in their respectability, dignity, cleanliness, and homes. Although the traditional dress is still worn in a few places, most of the Dutch wear clothes similar to those in the United States. But the people in the country and in the fishing villages still wear klompen, or Dutch shoes.

IT ALL STARTED LONG AGO Julius Caesar invaded the region of Holland in 57 B.C. In turn, it was ruled by the Roman Empire, Franks, France, and Spain. The Dutch revolted against Spain in 1568, gaining their freedom in 1648. During the 1600's Holland became the shipping and commercial center of Europe, and Amsterdam was the Continent's leading financial city. Several overseas regions were conquered, the Dutch East India Company was founded, and Dutch colonists settled what is now New York. Napoleon invaded Holland in 1795, and again it belonged to France. After Napoleon's downfall, Holland, Belgium, and Luxembourg were united under King William I. Belgium declared her freedom in 1830, and Luxembourg in 1890, when 10-year-old Wilhelmina was made ruler. Wilhelmina was not crowned until 1898, when she was 18. Holland remained neutral during World War I. Germany invaded Holland in the early days of World War II, occupying it until 1945. Holland suffered two severe man-made floods during World War II. One by the Dutch in a futile defense against Germany; the other by the Germans in an unsuccessful attempt to stop the Allies. At the end of World War II, two-fifths of Holland's manufacturing plants lay in shambles, agriculture and trade were at a standstill. The hard-working Dutch rebuilt their country. Today the industrial output, farm production, and shipping fleet is greater than ever before.

[xtruss]

Anti-China Institutions Spin ‘Forced Labor’ Lies to Undermine China’s Competitiveness in Renewables

— James Smith | December 04, 2023

Slandering Xinjiang! The New Normal of the Empire of Lies. Illustration: Vitaly Podvitski

Over the weekend, an article in the BBC accused the British Army of using firms linked to "Uygur Forced Labor" in China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region to invest in over £200 million of solar panels in order to meet its renewable energy targets. The article, citing a report from Sheffield Hallam University's "Helena Kennedy Centre," argued in favor of supply chain diversification by cutting reliance on China, which dominates the global Solar Panel supply chain.

The report didn't substantiate its findings, only using the term "'very high' exposure" in an ambiguous fashion, yet the article repeated its claims as though they're facts. The British government at large has avoided confronting China on solar panels, recognizing that the UK has limited industrial capacity and is under tremendous pressure to meet its net zero targets. On the other hand, such documentation was used readily to ban their import in the United States under a blanket assumption of guilt, which speaks volumes about the true motivations of this research.

The "Uygur forced labor" issue is a ruse, exclusively driven by the US government. It's designed to promote anti-China supply chain diversifications and commercially motivated protectionism, targeting goods which the US deems "strategic." Starting in 2021, the Biden administration U-turned on the Trump administration's neglect of environmentalism and declared that its fundamental policy goal was to dominate the "technologies of the future," which in turn constitutes renewable energy goods - solar panels, electric batteries, cars and similar technologies.

In doing so, a number of "Studies" quickly materialized from US-funded and linked institutions which, lacking direct evidence, accused China of utilizing forced labor from the Uygur minority in the Xinjiang autonomous region in order to make solar panels. This has never been proven, yet the allegations were repeated by the mainstream media and quickly led up to several US policy decisions including a ban on Chinese made solar panels, as well as all goods from the Xinjiang region, all of which were meted on a "guilty until proven innocent" premise which asked companies to "prove a negative," all of which were in deliberate bad faith.

Beyond Santa’s Ability! Global Times, December 06, 2023, Illustration: Liu Rui

The Helena Kennedy Centre in the United Kingdom is but one particular example of how such "Research" institutes are used to co-opt and market America's commercial, economic and strategic goals. The head of the center, Baroness Helena Kennedy, is a hardline anti-China figure who is the founder of the Sinophobic "Interparliamentary Alliance on China" (IPAC) organization. IPAC is, by its own public admission, funded by the US National Endowment for Democracy (NED) and also the Taiwan island authorities. Similarly, the primary researcher in the Helena Kennedy Centre who created this solar panel "Forced Labor" report, Laura Murphy, is an employee of the US Department of Homeland Security.

What becomes visible is a "web" of anti-China institutions which works to create this content, which is then amplified by the media with its claims taken at face value, and whose aim is to undermine China's commercial competitiveness. The real problem is that China is a world leader in solar panel manufacturing and renewable energy goods, and the United States seeks to undermine this for its own economic gain. Thus, to do this, it resorts to bad faith tactics designed at promoting market exclusion that weaponizes the rhetoric of human rights. The real US policy thinking is explicitly reflected in the Inflation Reduction Act which seeks to weaponize tariffs on a wide range of Chinese renewable goods, irrespectively, without any façade of intention.

It becomes even more telling in this respect that minimal resources, media attention or interest are given towards legitimate reports of real human slavery or forced labor practices around the world, especially those committed in countries allied to the United States. Instead, it is used as a ruse to discredit products they disapprove of or seek to sanction. For instance, if it is not feasible to accuse products of being made with "forced labor," it usually instead emerges in the form of baseless accusations of "espionage" or being a "national security threat" such as the attacks on Huawei or Hikvision.

All in all, it is evident that to try and forcibly exclude China from the global solar panel supply chain, who provides 80 percent of the world's total, will be economically, commercially, and thus environmentally devastating. Such bans would forcibly narrow the market, drive up prices and set the world back decades. Given this, the UK is really not in any capacity to actually act on the propaganda which is being laundered, hence the government only says it will keep an eye and audit its suppliers accordingly.

— The author is a Political and Hstorical Relations Analyst.

[translationindia1111]

Silent Conference in Paris

Paris is a global commercial and business hub, home to numerous multinational corporations and the Euronext Paris stock exchange. Its location, history, and infrastructure contribute to its status as a centre for trade and finance. The city's history dating back to the Roman Empire has created a strong business environment with a well-developed legal and financial system, making it a vital centre for global markets. The city's strategic location in Western Europe and its rich history make it an attractive destination for businesses seeking global expansion.

Silent Conferences in Paris are becoming increasingly popular. In fact, a number of organisations are now offering silent conference services in the city. These organisations can provide the headphones, equipment, and staff needed to run a successful silent conference.

The increasing number of international conferences hosted in Paris also contributes to the growth of quiet conferences. These gatherings frequently draw people from all over the world, many of whom do not speak the same language. Silent conferences can help participants overcome this language barrier by allowing them to listen to the speaker in their native language.

Silent Conference Worldwide  ( www.silent conference worldwide.com)  is the worldwide leader in the supply of silent conference solutions. We have many years of experience supplying silent conference services for a wide range of events such as conferences, trade exhibits, and corporate meetings. We also have a team of highly qualified technical professionals on hand to assist you with the setup and operation of your quiet conference system.