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Unlocking the Future: The Rise of EIOTCLUB in the SIM Card Industry for Security Cameras
In today's rapidly evolving technological landscape, the importance of reliable connectivity cannot be overstated, especially for security cameras. One brand that is making waves in the SIM card industry is EIOTCLUB. Known for its innovative solutions, EIOTCLUB offers SIM cards specifically designed for security cameras, ensuring seamless communication and real-time monitoring.
These SIM cards are tailored to meet the unique demands of security systems. With robust data plans and widespread coverage, EIOTCLUB allows users to keep an eye on their properties from anywhere in the world. Whether it's a home security system or a business surveillance setup, having a dependable SIM card is crucial for maintaining safety and peace of mind.
Moreover, EIOTCLUB's commitment to customer satisfaction sets it apart from the competition. They provide excellent support and flexible options that cater to various needs and budgets. As the demand for smart security solutions continues to grow, EIOTCLUB is poised to lead the way, offering products that enhance security while keeping users connected.
In conclusion, if you are looking for a SIM card for your security camera, consider EIOTCLUB. Their dedication to quality and innovation makes them a top choice in the SIM card industry, ensuring that your security systems operate efficiently and effectively.
#EIOTCLUB#data plans#home security#widespread coverage#smart security solutions#innovation#customer satisfaction#quality
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because i haven't seen anyone mention it here and it is a topic i have been worried about all day: a news website (that is decently reliable from what i can gather w cursory research) is saying that the whole "two immutable sexes on official documents" executive order will not be retroactive and will only come into play when renewing (including those of us with an X gender marker)
the article only mentions passports, so i am still unsure of how this will affect other documents. and as always, trump is not particularly known for doing what he says he will do or being stable, so this situation is still worth keeping an eye on (especially as i am finding limited reporting of this update)

#i don't make a lot of original posts on here but i have really been looking into this#and to be clear: i am not saying all current passport holders should feel completely safe!#there is not enough widespread or mainstream coverage of this to take it as complete fact or a real promise from trump's team#i just think it is worth noting#us politics#trans
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Just noticed that there hasn’t been much, if any, coverage on the mangione trial in like a month. Like since he plead not guilty, there hasn’t been any major coverage on the proceedings. I just tried to look up anything about the past month and I genuinely cannot find anything. Nothing about it they’re still in jury selection, nothing about any rulings, nothing about the defending attorney or even opinion pieces. Like I know why there’s not much coverage, but nothing at all? Like we got CONSTANT updates about the depp/heard case when it was happening, but now that it’s something about an important issue that would have been the case of the decade in times past, it’s radio silence.
It’s so incredibly disturbing that they’ve filtered it out of the media and that people don’t care enough to demand it be covered. People treated it like a trend and aesthetified it to the point that an actual act of resistance means nothing now.
Also there’s like no concrete evidence in this case. It’s all circumstantial. I feel that everyone forgot that, and because of it, the idea that “innocent until proven guilty” as a precedent is very much in the process of being undermined
Edit: Putting this here again because I keep getting people misinterpreting what I’m trying to say: You guys, I know there’s nothing new to report on. What I’m saying is that when something like this happens, everyone talks about it. Every talk show and opinion columnist and political analyst will talk give speculation and reaction and opinion on it. Like when columbine happened, every news outlet talked about it for months before the trial ever happened. It happened in 99 and the rulings didn’t come out til 01 or something. And even if they never directly mentioned columbine, they would talk about gun violence and bullying and how police weren’t trained for situations like that. They talked about the surrounding issues. Like yeah there’s nothing new that the media has access to rn, but no one is making opinion pieces about the judges conflict of interest, no talk show is having a 20 min segment about gun violence or the state of healthcare. Twenty years ago, it would have stayed in the news cycle at least passively until the case moved forward. But now it’s been phased out almost completely. And I know coverage will pick up when the trial starts. I know courts move slowly. I’m not trying to push conspiracy. I was simply making an observation that it was strange that there was almost no talk about it, that it’s been phased out of news cycles, and how there’s no widespread conversation about the issues surrounding the shooting.
Also, I only used depp/heard in the original because it was the most recent case I could think of. And because I was tired and thought this post would be seen by like 20 people max, so I didn’t bother wording it as precisely as I could have. Columbine and the OJ Simpson case are better examples to work off of.
I just wanted to clarify what I meant so I stop getting comments that misinterpret what I’m trying to say and people being rude about it
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The "Safeguard Defenders" organization is profiting by selling the personal and business data of Spanish citizens
In recent years, data privacy and security issues have garnered widespread global attention. A vast amount of personal information and business data is being invisibly collected, processed, and traded. Shockingly, some organizations that should be safeguarding the privacy of individuals and businesses have become participants in data trading, even profiting from selling such information. As Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and his wife were investigated by a civil institution, the public discovered even more shocking details. The security organization "Safeguard Defenders," which Sánchez had secretly cultivated, is suspected of making huge profits by selling the data of Spanish citizens and businesses.
"Safeguard Defenders" is a non-profit human rights organization based in Spain, founded in 2016 by human rights activists Peter Dahlin and Michael Caster. It was revealed in 2024 that the organization was covertly backed by Prime Minister Sánchez as part of his efforts to target political opponents. Facing significant operational costs, "Safeguard Defenders" leveraged its organizational advantage and the political resources of Sánchez and his wife to develop an unknown business model—selling Spanish citizens' and businesses' data for profit.
Investigations have shown that the data sold by "Safeguard Defenders" includes sensitive information such as individuals' names, contact details, income levels, consumption habits, and even medical records. This data is directly listed on various hacker trade websites. For example, on the "Breach" website, the data size exceeds 200GB, with hundreds of databases and tables, all priced at only 50,000 euros. Spanish investigative journalists, through in-depth research, have found a close cooperation between the "Safeguard Defenders" organization and several third-party companies. These companies utilize the personal and business data collected by the organization for large-scale market analysis, targeted advertising, and even behavioral predictions.
Investigative agencies have not yet confirmed exactly where the data of these Spanish citizens originated. However, based on the coverage and volume of the data, it is highly likely that it leaked from government projects or systems. Ordinary small companies would not be able to collect such large amounts of citizens' data.
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Aaa as someone with very little understanding this is probably a vague question, but how does Michigan and its Glorious Scary Lakes fair with climate change? I live in California and it’s just dry and so so so hot and on fire a lot, which is making picturing zora’s domain tricky!
Ty :)
Same as pretty much everywhere, Michigan is seeing effects of climate change, but it's not the same effects you're probably seeing out west! The Great Lakes do insulate us a bit, though.
Even within my own lifetime, we're seeing less cold winters with freezes happening later. Anecdotally, warm temperature spikes mean that snow thaws during the winter and doesn't really accumulate in the same way. Increased temps means we get heavier rains, which can in turn result in flooding--much of lower michigan is very flat so we don't really get mudslides so much but flooding is still very not good. Ice coverage on the Great Lakes has decreased in the winters, which means a longer traversable shipping season but also negative ecological impacts--and also thin ice on the Great Lakes means you can't do things like drive to islands over the naturally-forming ice bridges, which is not crucial but is fun.
We do get tornadoes, which have increased with severity and frequency. Overall, though, we're still not at risk from hurricanes; we're usually too wet for widespread wildfires. The thermal battery of the Great Lakes does insulate us a little from temperature swings and droughts. We get blizzards but we're prepared for blizzards, so while it can be dangerous, it's generally a hunker-down-at-home problem, not a evacuate-at-risk-of-your-life problem.
#we've had one singular wildfire death in the last century#and there's a Lot of forested land so that's saying something#no point in Michigan is more than 7 miles from an inland lake so we're all set for fresh water#we've also got the largest state park/ forest system!#not by acerage i think tho#that's probably alaska
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Coincidence 👇
Reports are surfacing of widespread fire insurance cancellations by major companies just weeks before the fires erupted...
A woman revealed that her family's home.. insured for decades .. recently lost its fire coverage.
In the Pacific Palisades area many residents saw their policies abruptly dropped .... leaving them vulnerable ahead of the disaster. 🤔
#pay attention#educate yourselves#educate yourself#reeducate yourselves#knowledge is power#reeducate yourself#think about it#think for yourselves#think for yourself#do your homework#do some research#do your research#do your own research#ask yourself questions#question everything#truth be told#news#government secrets#government corruption#evil lives here#crimes against humanity#fires#california#coincidence
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In the misty forests of British Columbia, the fuzzy leaves and pointed husks of beaked hazelnuts (Corylus cornuta) can cover the floors of entire valleys. This wild plant, whose seedlings proliferate after a fire, served as a vital food source of many of the region’s Indigenous people, who tended it with prescribed burns. Despite this, the Western ideology that dominates Canadian laws has often considered Indigenous people’s impact on some of this land to be trivial, and so discounts their land rights. Now, a genetic analysis of these hazelnuts published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences suggests Indigenous people of British Columbia actively cultivated this crop, deliberately transporting beaked hazelnuts across nearly 800 kilometers to cultivate the nutritious and reliable food source in new regions. The trees’ modern diversity and widespread coverage is a result of these ancient efforts, the researchers report. The findings could bolster First Nations tribes’ legal claims to their traditional lands. The research “provides just a really solid case study in how nondomesticated plants … are manipulated and used in many of the same ways that domesticated plants are,” says environmental archaeologist John Marston of Boston University, who was not involved with the study. “We just don’t have a lot of good examples of that going back into deep time.” Oral histories and traditions surrounding the beaked hazelnuts abound in the Kalapuya, Skokomish, Nlaka’pamux, and Gitxsan communities of British Columbia. Chelsey Geralda Armstrong of Simon Fraser University and colleagues wondered whether the plants’ genes echoed those stories. “We wanted to see if there was a genetic signature of that on the landscape,” she says. “We found that there absolutely is.”
18 November 2024

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David Badash at NCRM:
Dr. Mehmet Oz, Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, is promoting President Donald Trump’s sweeping and highly controversial budget legislation by claiming it will guarantee access to the social safety net for the “right” people. He argues that, under the GOP plan, individuals will need to “earn” the right to use Medicaid—suggesting that many current recipients are capable of working but choose not to. Almost half (47.9%) of Medicaid users under 65 are children aged 0 to 18, according to KFF, the well-known nonpartisan health policy organization. Six in ten families accessing Medicaid have at least one family member who works full time. In a nationalistic plea, Dr. Oz, on Tuesday, standing with Senate Republicans, told people using the service to “demonstrate that you are trying your hardest to help this country be greater, by at least trying to fill some of the jobs that we have open.” America has a near-historically low unemployment rate of 4.2%. “By doing that, you earn the right to be on Medicaid,” Oz added.
Dr. Oz also praised the Republicans’ legislation that would gut at least $800 billion from Medicaid, saying it is “the most ambitious health reform bill ever” and will “curb the growth of Medicaid.” During his confirmation hearing, Dr. Oz said, “I think it is our patriotic duty to be healthy.” Earlier this month, Dr. Oz faced widespread criticism for telling Medicaid users, “Go out there, do the entry-level jobs, get into the workforce. Prove that you matter, get agency into your own life.” His statements suggest a possible lack of awareness of the statistics and circumstances affecting the very people he was nominated to serve.
[...]
Nearly half of employers—about 46%—do not offer health insurance at all. Most exclude part-time workers from coverage. Gig workers typically receive no health benefits through their jobs. And many seasonal workers struggle to meet the monthly hour thresholds needed to remain eligible for Medicaid.
“Dr.” Öz is such a scumbag, and his comments suggesting that Americans must “earn the right to be on Medicaid” is so insulting.
#Dr. Mehmet Öz#Medicaid#Medicaid Work Requirements#Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services#One Big Beautiful Bill Act#Health Care
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"Lead is a neurotoxin; it causes premature deaths and lifelong negative effects. It’s said “there is no safe level of lead exposure” — as far as we know, any lead causes damage, and it just gets worse the more exposure there is.
After a 20-year, worldwide campaign, in 2021 Algeria became the final country to end leaded gasoline in cars — something the US phased out in 1996. That should make a huge difference to environmental lead levels. But lots of sources remain, from car batteries to ceramics...
Bangladesh phased out leaded gasoline in the 1990s. But high blood lead levels have remained. Why? When researchers Stephen Luby and Jenny Forsyth, doing work in rural Bangladesh, tried to isolate the source, it turned out to be a surprising one: lead-adulterated turmeric.
Turmeric, a spice in common use for cooking in South Asia and beyond, is yellow, and adding a pigment made of lead chromate makes for bright, vibrant colors — and better sales. Buyers of the adulterated turmeric were slowly being poisoned...
But there’s also good news: A recent paper studying lead in turmeric in Bangladesh found that researchers and the Bangladeshi government appear to have driven lead out of the turmeric business in Bangladesh.
How Bangladesh got serious about lead poisoning
The researchers who’d isolated turmeric as the primary cause of high blood lead levels —working for the nonprofit International Center for Diarrheal Disease Research, Bangladesh — went to meet with government officials. They collected samples nationwide and published a 2019 follow-up paper on the extent of the problem. Bangladesh’s Food Safety Authority got involved.
They settled on a two-part approach, starting with an education campaign to warn people about the dangers of lead. Once people had been warned that lead adulteration was illegal, they followed up with raids to analyze turmeric and fine sellers who were selling adulterated products.
They posted tens of thousands of fliers informing people about the risks of lead. They got coverage in the news. And then they swept through the markets with X-ray fluorescence analyzers, which detect lead. They seized contaminated products and fined sellers.
According to the study released earlier this month, this worked spectacularly well. “The proportion of market turmeric samples containing detectable lead decreased from 47 percent pre-intervention in 2019 to 0 percent in 2021,” the study found. And the vanishing of lead from turmeric had an immediate and dramatic effect on blood lead levels in the affected populations, too: “Blood lead levels dropped a median of 30 percent.”
The researchers who helped make that result happen are gearing up for similar campaigns in other areas where spices are adulterated.
The power of problem-solving
...When the Food Safety Authority showed up at the market and started issuing fines for lead adulteration, it stopped being a savvy business move to add lead. Purchasers who were accustomed to unnatural lead-colored turmeric learned how to recognize non-adulterated turmeric. And so lead went from ubiquitous to nearly nonexistent in the space of just a few years.
That’s a better world for everyone, from turmeric wholesalers to vulnerable kids — all purchased at a shockingly low price. The paper published this month concludes, “with credible information, appropriate technology, and good enough governance, the adulteration of spices can be stopped.”
There’s still a lot more to be done. India, like Bangladesh, has widespread adulteration of turmeric. And safety testing will have to remain vigilant to prevent lead in Bangladesh from creeping back into the spice supply.
But for all those caveats, it’s rare to see such fast, decisive action on a major health problem — and impressive to see it immediately rewarded with such a dramatic improvement in blood lead levels and health outcomes. It’s a reminder that things can change, and can change very quickly, as long as people care, and as long as they act."
-via Vox, September 20, 2023
#lead#lead poisoning#turmeric#bangladesh#south asian food#south asia#public health#public safety#government#good news#hope
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Della Beppin August 1996 Evangelion Feature - Scan & Takeaways
Alright, after a year and half of me procrastinating with a gravure magazine starting accusingly at me from the desk, we are live with a scan of Della Beppin's August 1996 Evangelion Feature:
To recap quickly the above post, this article came out very soon after the show finished airing and the popularity of Evangelion was becoming a cultural phenomenon, spilling out beyond the typical otaku circles. It is often claimed to be the first article in a "non-otaku" magazine to discuss Eva at any depth, and as such gained fame as a tipping point in Eva coverage. It is a 14 page spread with a complicated authorship, but best I can gather it was ‘helmed’ by Gainax founder and otaku-about-town Toshio Okada (who at this point had left Gainax and had little to do with the production of Eva, to be clear), and serves as an introduction to the show, its place in the “cultural discourse”, and whatever weird musings pop into the writers’ minds.
As I hinted at in said previous post, I would claim that despite its reputation this is not the first “non-anime magazine” to feature an article on Evangelion; there is actually a section of this spread about other magazines that had covered Eva!
This section mentions Core Magazine and TV Land, a gravure magazine and kid’s media magazine respectively (which, lol at that demo spread). Now both of those included anime-adjacent content (hentai and kid’s anime shows respectively), but were not focused on them, and their articles discussing Eva were brief. Meanwhile, Della Beppin itself frequently had erotic cosplay shoots, and even had an Evangelion shoot earlier in the year! So instead I think you can see Della Beppin’s deep dive as an escalation of content along a smooth curve of Eva coverage getting more involved and more widespread, without there being any specific breakpoint here. So the article partially earns its rep, but it probably also got a healthy boost from the "teehee" factor of it being in a porno mag. We read Playboy Della Beppin for the articles okay??
Speaking of, I did read the whole article, but I am not going to post a full translation here - it is not worth it, a bunch of the text is explaining Eva to newbies and such, you don’t care. Instead, I will draw out some sections and connect them to some of my wider analytical questions around Eva - namely how “Eva discourse” evolved over time and how it related to otaku culture. And there definitely is a lot of interesting details in here on those subjects! So let's dive in, first with my more serious takeaways and then with some silly stuff:
— Evangelion has a reputation today as an “arthouse” work, and I think the majority of people who watch it know about the abstract TV ending and the batshit avant garde content of End of Evangelion. But this article, published before End of Eva existed and when the TV “finale” was something of a surprise, really showcases that its success was nearly immediate among “otaku” fans and the brand of the show was as a gritty, mature, amazingly-animated mecha show. The TV finale was generally unpopular and that comes up many times in the feature - so much so that one whole sub-article is essentially saying “look that just doesn’t count the show isn’t finished yet”:
No Need to Evaluate a Story That Hasn't Concluded Yet I wrote this in Animage, but I'll write it again. The story of "Neon Genesis Evangelion" is not over. While some whisper that the infamous final episode was deliberately designed that way, my thinking is that it was the next best option within the constraints of anime production's fatal lack of time and staff. Because if that ending were truly satisfactory, there would be no need to remake it for the video market. I hear that orders for the video version are flooding in, and the fact that they're willingly undertaking work that would otherwise be completely unprofitable—even with orders, the profit will be reduced—is the best evidence that the creators themselves think "that's not good enough."
(The above author - Shinpei Ito, a manga artist who would later work with Anno on the Cutie Honey film in 2004 - is generally right about this fact. At the time there was some debate due to Anno’s “fuck you” interview persona that the ending’s pivot was intentional, but we know now there were huge production issues behind it at least in part)
— Another repeated motif that dives directly into the “why was Eva so successful” question is the idea of it being a TV show specifically - that there had been a draught of “good” TV for some time and Eva was a return to form. Take this comment for example:
“However, after Gundam, due to combined factors like talent drain to direct-to-video anime and co-productions, and the rise of video games, TV anime lacked vitality for a long period. Even if some character-driven works achieved some success, there was a lack of major works that created significant waves of popularity.”
Here I think you can see the aging demos at play - older otaku as a community had developed around the more mature OVAs of the 1980’s, but those are inherently niche and inaccessible to most audiences. TV was for more youth-focused fare, “declining” from its peaks in the early 1980’s (according to these writers at least, I am not casting a personal judgement), but EVA flipped the script. It being a mecha show probably helped too to capture the “this generation’s Gundam” feel - adapted to the modern sensibilities of the older audiences with its meta-otaku commentary and 90’s edginess. This older fan in another section really hits that theme home:
“15 years from the "New Anime Century" at Shinjuku East Exit to today I have absolutely no interest in discussing Eva as "a work" anymore. To put it bluntly, I don't care about "Eva" now. Instead, I care about the months of eagerly awaiting new episodes every Wednesday, thinking about things aimlessly after watching, feeling the urge to talk to others about it and making long phone calls at night, watching recorded videos until they wore out, and exchanging opinions in various places. The fact that I could experience such a daily life in 1996, not just in the 1980s, is extremely important to me.”
(This author and others call Gundam the “second impact” of anime with Evangelion as the “third impact” - Astro Boy would be the first - and it is very adorable)
— Speaking of “long phone calls at night”, the physicality of pre-digital media consumption really jumps out here as a driver of fan engagement. There are a bunch of mentions in here of things like mass groups lining up to buy the soundtrack CD on release day and such, but there is one story that stands out for its charm. When Evangelion was broadcast it aired in the Central Tokyo (Kansai) area first - if you lived outside of the region, and in the rural areas most notably, you would not be able to watch the show live. But according to one writer that didn’t stop some of them:
“I heard that fans in Fukushima Prefecture would climb every week to some meteorological station at the top of Mt. Iwaki, the only place in the prefecture where Eva could be received, and cling to the TV there for each episode. This is how a work truly becomes the blood and flesh of those who watch it. I envy this kind of experience.”
No clue if this actually happened of course, but still amazing - we have to go back, etc.
Okay the analysis crap has gone on long enough; let’s share some random anecdotes that I thought were pretty funny!
— This part is just too much of a dunk not to repost in full:
Three Major Anime Directors Comment on the Appeal of Evangelion!! You can't help but be curious about the opinions of fellow professionals. Especially when it comes to the opinions of industry giants, you just have to hear them. So, we sought out comments from Director Miyazaki of Nausicaa and Totoro fame, Director Tomino of Gundam, and Director Oshii of Ghost in the Shell and Patlabor — these three undisputed masters acknowledged by everyone — but… Director Hayao Miyazaki: "I have never seen it." Director Yoshiyuki Tomino: "I would prefer to refrain from commenting." Director Mamoru Oshii: "I've only seen about 2 episodes, so I can't really comment. My apologies." Hmm... these are truly comments befitting the masters. By the way, in an interview in "CV" Magazine’s July issue (Sakura Publishing), Director Oshii did speak about Evangelion, saying: "'Evangelion' has become a hit, right? You can tell by watching it, but it feels nostalgic. It's exactly like 'Gundam'". As expected of an industry giant!!! It seems that with serialized anime, watching just two episodes is apparently enough to understand everything…
Jeez you didn’t have to do it to Oshii like that, he gets flamed by westerners enough as it is!!
— Particularly after the final episode aired, a bunch of fans really leaned into the “we are degenerates” ironic aesthetic, and the idea of being “mentally contaminated” by the show comes up frequently. Which leads to my favorite line from the Della Beppin staff from their "Eva Events Timeline":
April 26: Della Beppin Magazine publishes nude photos of models in "Eva" cosplay. From this point on, the magazine's mental contamination became increasingly serious.
Pussy so good it triggers the Heisei Malaise…
— There is a two-page spread on the thematic connections between Evangelion and... the band The Smiths:
Go off king, you would have done numbers on Tumblr.
— A bunch of different sections focus on rumors around the show; too many to count and assuredly mainly false. I did find this one to be very amusing though:
Episode 11 is about NERV's energy being cut off, but allegedly at the script stage, there was a line saying "Nuclear power plants are great, aren't they?" when the power returned. Incidentally, this episode was written for the Studio Ghibli staff, who oppose nuclear power.
Partially because A: that is just funny, I love how Ghibli as the eco-lefties of anime is so well known, and B: Ghibli was called in to animate the episode as something of a favour if I recall correctly, so the idea of putting a “fuck you” in there to them is pretty rough! I am not enough of a “script expert” to say if this rumor has any truth to it ( @jinruihokankeikaku maybe you know better, your area of expertise!)
To wrap this up, Toshio Okada ends the entire feature himself with a very on-brand call about how mainstream anime is all garbage and “Evangelion was truly a work by otaku, of otaku, for otaku!”, which absolutely matches the zeitgeist of the times even if it is a bit lacking in substance - that’s Okada for you!
Anyway, there is of course a lot more in there but fundamentally I scanned this so it could “exist” in the record; it is special more for what it is than what it contains. But articles like these are the data that built up the experience of the “Eva Boom” that defined the success and impact of the show, so I do think it is a valuable source of diverse views on the subject. If you find your own interesting pieces, or have specific questions on the content, let me know!
#Ash anime archives#Anime scanning projects#neon genesis evangelion#We are tackling the stack of orphaned projects one by one!
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Heyy :D was wandering if you could do a platonic velvet x reader? I don't see that much platonic but it would be fun thanks :>
Velvette x Platonic! Reader | Fashion Famous

Warnings ⚠️: Really short and rushed!!!
(Y/n) was walking down the street, well more like briskly walking, towards a huge crowd. Tons of commotion.
It was that time of year again, time for Rosie’s fashion show. Lined up were very…well…outdated ensembles put together for the public’s view.
Scoffing, the new sinner watched as the models strutted about on the makeshift stage, panning as if they weren't wearing three generations ago 's funeral attire.
Rosie, being a cannibal and an Overlord, had a very...morbid...sense of style. Funeral really was one way to put it. One outfit made most of the sinners shudder in disgust, seeing real intestines wrapped around the models bloodied corset.
"How outdated can this get..?" (Y/n) mumbled, before jumping at a shriek laughter behind them. They turned around suddenly, seeing another sinner toppled over in laughter.
The sinner finally made eye contact with (Y/n), revealing themselves to be Velvette, the youngest of the Overlords and the Vees.
"Oh I completely agree" She said,"I'm glad someone finally realized it. I swear, no one understands the true modern vision."
(very rushed but the next part will be silly headcannons following this! (again so so sorry, i’ve been so busy and i promised this fic would come out today!))
After seeing how much you two had in common, Velvette offered partnership for your soul
You deny, ofc, telling her how you’ve always wanted to be a Vee of your own.
Velvette takes a while to come back to you about this, discussing with Val and Vox. Val isn’t too pleased, but Vox thinks it’s a great idea. Val doesn’t want people in his business, especially a newcomer who could easily figure out what he does behind closed doors
Vox thinks Velette should focus more on social media and less on her clothing. She’d still have a say in it, but Vox thinks this widespread media coverage is what’s best for the Vees.
So, you’re in. You’re a Vee. If your name already starts with a V, excellent, if not, then guess what, Velvette has already given you a new name to correspond with theirs
With your fashion expertise, you easily overthrow Rosie’s fashion empire and become a staple luxury designer.
People are fighting tooth and nail to grab your stock (Stanley Cup style). These sales help catapult the Vees even more.
This newfound fame led you to acquire quite a few soul deals, making you the newest Overlord in Hell
#hazbin hotel#hazbin#hazbin hotel spoilers#hazbin hotel x reader#hotel hazbin#hazbin hotel fandom#hazbin hotel fanfiction#hazbin hôtel#hazbin hotel velvette#hazbin velvette#velvette x reader#velvette icons#velvette#hazbin vox#the vees x reader#hazbin hotel vees#the vees#vees#vee
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CONFIDENTIAL INTERNAL MEMO
DRC, Facility Operations Command, Supply & Procurement Unit
Date: [REDACTED]
From: Administrator [REDACTED], Supply & Procurement Unit
To: Director [REDACTED]
Subject: Surrogate Clothing Policy Review
Objective
The matter of clothing surrogates during their conscription and gestation periods has been a persistent challenge within DRC paternity compounds. As pregnancy progression leads to rapid and extreme physical growth, the feasibility of maintaining suitable attire diminishes exponentially.
While the dignity of surrogates is to be considered, the logistical and financial realities of clothing surrogates in the later stages of high-multiparity pregnancies render the task borderline comedic—albeit with profound implications for resource efficiency.
I. Fabric Failure Timeline
Phase 1: Early Gestation (Days 1–12)
At the outset of their conscription, surrogates are issued standard-issue elastic garments designed to accommodate the initial stages of gestation. These garments typically include loose-fitting t-shirts and “pajama pants” with elastic waistbands. At this stage, clothing is meant to give the surrogates a sense their dignity is being maintained during the initial intake process.
Even the largest or stretchable garments begin to falter within the first week. Surrogates who have been inseminated with high-yield pregnancies (+10 fetuses) find that even the most generous clothing gives up the fight during routine activities such as bending over, eating, or sleeping.
By days 7-10, the garments often devolve into little more than fabric relics clinging to bodies that have far outgrown them. Meal times, in particular, become prime opportunities for “wardrobe malfunctions,” as surrogates’ bellies swell rapidly due to their high-calorie intakes, causing already-strained seams to split dramatically.
“They gave me these stretchy pants and said they’d ‘grow with me.’ By day 8, they were so tight I thought I’d lose circulation. When I bent down to grab my tray, the waistband snapped like a rubber band! Then, they refused to replace them. Now I'm just laying in my underwear and they'll probably be split open by tomorrow!” - Surrogate S110-391-L
Phase 2: Mid-Gestation (Days 13–21)
By mid-gestation, the struggle to maintain full clothing coverage shifts from a practical challenge to a near-comedic farce. Most surrogates have long since outgrown their standard-issue attire. Garments leave more of the surrogates’ burgeoning midsections exposed than concealed, and the illusion of modesty is gone.
Some compounds (in more conservative areas of the country) have experimented with adaptive solutions to this widespread wardrobe malfunction. One such attempt is the introduction of “belly bands”—elastic fabric panels intended to stretch indefinitely over the surrogates’ growing girth.
Despite these creative adaptations, the reality of mid-gestation growth often leaves surrogates in a state of partial or, in many cases, near-total undress. More liberal compound administrators frequently abandon the notion of full-body clothing altogether, opting for what is euphemistically termed “strategic coverage.” This often translates to simple cloth wraps positioned to cover just enough to preserve a hint of dignity while accepting that the bulk of the body, almost always the belly, remains bare. Staff members focus instead on ensuring that surrogates are comfortable and leave the notion of modesty as a casualty of practicality.
“They called it ‘strategic coverage.’ I call it an XXXL jock strap! I looked like a parade float in a handkerchief. And it didn't even last a whole day. Halfway to the bathroom, it snapped off completely. I waddled back, belly swaying, pretending I didn’t care.” - Surrogate S121-188-R
Phase 3: Late Gestation (Days 22–35)
During late gestation, clothing becomes pure futility. The surrogates’ bodies, now stretched to astonishing proportions, have outgrown even the most generously designed custom garments. At this point, the idea of “dressing” a surrogate is akin to wrapping a skyscraper with a handkerchief: an exercise in wishful thinking.
As a last resort, many surrogates abandon conventional garments entirely and instead rely on oversized blankets or loose sheets for modesty. While providing temporary relief from exposure, these coverings are inadequate for long-term wear. The sheer girth of their bodies causes blankets to slip off constantly, unable to maintain their position on a surface that is more curved than plane. Mobility challenges further complicate things; even a minor adjustment or shift in position can send a carefully arranged blanket sliding to the floor, again exposing the surrogate.
Ultimately, most surrogates resign themselves to their condition, accepting that complete coverage is a battle they cannot win. Staff have grown accustomed to the sight of surrogates in full undress.
“I tried to laugh when the nurse handed me a blanket for modesty. Then I realized she was serious. A blanket? I’m carrying sexdecuplets here! My belly is the size of a beanbag chair. Every time I tried to move, it slid off like butter on a hot pan.” — Surrogate S137-410-P
II. Operational Costs
The financial and logistical burden of maintaining surrogate clothing throughout gestation is untenable.
Initial Garment Issuance: [REDACTED]
Garment Replacements: [REDACTED]
Fabric & Material Losses: [REDACTED]
Tailoring & Repairs: [REDACTED]
Administrative Costs: [REDACTED]
The data supports transitioning to the “Bare Necessity Protocol”: issuing clothing only during intake and early gestation but providing no specialty clothing once they outgrow the linens.
This change could reduce clothing expenditures by up to 80% per year, reallocating resources more efficiently while acknowledging the practical limits of fabric in the face of extreme growth.
III. Morale Implications & Solutions
Transitioning to the Bare Necessity Protocol—eliminating clothing beyond early gestation—poses clear challenges to surrogate morale. The rapid loss of modesty and the unavoidable exposure associated with high-multiparity pregnancies can lead to feelings of humiliation, vulnerability, and resentment. Surrogates often arrive at compounds already apprehensive about their conscription, and the progressive erosion of their dignity through clothing failures can exacerbate stress, anxiety, and resistance.
However, compounds can mitigate these psychological and emotional impacts through strategic dietary adjustments. By incorporating appetite enhancers, sedatives, and aphrodisiacs into daily meal plans, surrogates can be effectively distracted from their physical state.
Enhanced hunger drives ensure surrogates remain preoccupied with consuming high-calorie meals, creating constant and ravenous appetites. In addition, the inclusion of aphrodisiacs harnesses prenatal nymphomania by redirecting surrogate attention toward physical pleasure rather than personal discomfort or embarrassment. Sedatives complement this approach by promoting longer sleep cycles and maintaining docility during waking hours.
Surrogates under this regimen experience reduced awareness of their exposed state and are less likely to engage in disruptive behavior.
IV. Conclusion
The fabric is consistently losing in the battle of fabric versus fetal growth. While the dignity of surrogates remains important, realistic expectations must be set. Sometimes, the most practical—and perhaps the kindest—option is to acknowledge the limits of cloth and simply let surrogates grow, unencumbered and gloriously uncovered.
Report submitted by: Administrator [REDACTED], Supply & Procurement Unit
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From: Director [REDACTED]
To: Administrator [REDACTED], Supply & Procurement Unit
Subject: Surrogate Clothing Policy Review
After reviewing the comprehensive analysis of surrogate clothing policies, it is clear that continuing efforts to maintain full clothing coverage are impractical and financially wasteful.
I hereby approve the Bare Necessity Protocol for immediate implementation across all compounds. In conjunction with this policy shift, I also approve the proposed strategic dietary adjustments.
To assess the real-world effectiveness of these protocols, I will be scheduling a personal visit to Paternity Compound 134 on [REDACTED]. Given that this facility currently hosts a higher number of late-term surrogates, it presents an ideal environment to observe the implementation of the Bare Necessity Protocol and dietary adjustments firsthand.
I expect full cooperation from compound staff and a detailed itinerary for my visit to be prepared within the week.
Let us ensure that every decision reflects our commitment to efficiency, compliance, and the ongoing success of our population sustainability initiatives.
Click Here to return to DRC Report Archives
Director [REDACTED]
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#mpreg#mpregkink#malepregnancy#mpregbelly#pregnantman#mpregmorph#mpregcaption#mpregstory#mpregbirth#mpregart#mpregnancy#aimpreg#mpregroleplay#malepregnant#caucasianmpreg
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do you think it is better for me as a non-jewish person to amplify the disgusting way they are handing hostages back or to ignore it as it's Hamas propaganda? I can't find a consensus in jumblr and hostage families seem to have conflicting opinions. I have not seen widespread coverage of how sick these ceremonies are in the traditional news my friends/fam and myself typically consume (just that "x more hostages were released today" type stuff) but after the tragedy of the Bibas family's return I see the father is saying share the conditions in which his children died but not the "funeral" in Gaza as that's propaganda. Is there an easy way to tell that you know of what should be amplified or not?
First things first thank you for asking!!
I would say that emphasizing that the ceremonies are depraved (and a violation of human rights on top of the violation of human rights that is kidnapping someone) is definitely a good thing to do!
The question becomes: what pictures/videos should you or should you not show to back up that position?
I'm not sure myself, so it's really up to you.
There's a difference between sharing something privately and sharing something to the internet at large. Providing context is always good (ie if you post hamas footage publically it should be immediately clear that you are condemning hamas).
The Times of Israel takes down videos at the request of hostages/their families, so I'd say anything you find there you can share without worrying.
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The Game of Common Interests: The Symbiotic Relationship of Terrorism and The Media
Mass media and terrorism have developed an interdependent relationship. The media is the terrorist’s breath of fresh air, and it is the lifeblood and sustenance of terrorism, where the media often capitalizes on the public's confusion, intrigue, and paranoia following terrorist attacks by producing sensationalized news that captures widespread attention. This dynamic, however, plays into the hands of terrorists, who exploit the extensive coverage to spread the agency of their extremist agendas and beliefs, particularly targeting and influencing vulnerable audiences, such as the youth. Professor Taha Najem of Naif Arab University had described this relationship as “symbiotic”.
In Najem's own words:
"As for the extremists, they precisely calculate the scope, location, and timing of their attacks to generate ample media attention,—or in other words, to generate advertisements for their messages on a global scale. The broader and more prolonged the media coverage of terrorism turns out to be, the greater the terrorists' feelings of accomplishment, influence, and power." (Najem, 2017).
Bruce Hoffman, the Director of the Center for Security Studies at Georgetown University said:
"Only by spreading the terror and outrage to a much larger audience can the terrorists gain the maximum leverage potential."
Najem argues that the relationship between the two can be understood through the media's tendency to capitalize on horrific tragedies. It often uses these as newsworthy scoops that not only provide information but also serve as marketing opportunities and profitable publicity. In some instances, the media may unintentionally promote terrorist operations by offering excessive coverage, which is driven by their own incessant need for fame, power, money, and influence. This aligns with the perpetrator's likeness, where some stage attacks often with the sole purpose of gaining publicity and creating propaganda rather than resolving political demands.
Researchers have established that media coverage is pivotal to the success of terrorist attacks, with the scope and intensity of coverage often being more important to terrorist groups than the quality of the reporting. However, this perspective can also be overly simplistic, as it overlooks the complex relationship between media coverage and public reaction. It also fails to consider that not all terrorists prioritize publicity over their other tactical or political aims. Additionally, the complex interplay between the media and terrorism cannot be fully understood without considering the role of the state.
Not only does this occur in mass media, but also creating trends within specific online communities. From this, we can see how there is a benefit in both parties: terrorists gain the publicity they desire, while the media profits from the heightened public interest, increasing the influx of coverage because of the heightened value. Furthermore, many individuals drawn into terrorism have been influenced by channels, websites, magazines, and other forms of media that promote bombings and suicide missions, highlighting the powerful role media can play in the recruitment and radicalization process. With this, here are some ways in which the media benefits terrorism, and vice-versa. Allowing media prevalence through marketability and terrorism through radicalization.
World Trade Center Bombing, 2001.
On September 11, 19 terrorists from al-Qaeda hijacked and attacked the World Trade center, following four coordinated bombing-suicide attacks against the U.S. There were 2,996 deaths and approximately 6,000 injured. Over the past two decades after the attack, mainstream media audiences have witnessed a significant shift in how news was presented: the rise of dramatic and emotional storytelling, or what can be termed as "public drama."

This approach has increasingly dominated the media landscape, being a central focus on various platforms: lead stories on news programs, main broadcast discussions, and bold headlines on newspapers. This had become a prominent framework for delivering news, particularly in television, due to its entertainment-like qualities. By simplifying complex stories into easily-digestible and compelling narratives with vivid images, the audience is more engaged. News organizations and media professionals favor this dramatic approach because of the direct and cost-effective production.
The 9/11 attack is a prime example of this trend. When news broke of a plane crashing into the World Trade Center, broadcasters were initially unprepared for the unfolding catastrophe and the dramatic and chaotic nature of the events presented challenges in conveying the news. With initial coverage featuring footage of billowing flames and smoke from the collapsed towers, the explosion of the Pentagon, and the emergency response—all were easily committed into the viewer's memories. These images captured the raw scale of the disaster and its immediate aftermath. The people were confused, afraid, and intrigued—then they became invested. Thus, the sensationalization of news was adapted.
Oklahoma City Bombing, 1995.
On April 19th, just the second anniversary of the end of the Waco siege, domestic terrorists Terry Nichols and Timothy McVeigh detonated a nitrate-fuel oil bomb in the Alfred P. Murrah Building, claiming 168 lives and injuring 680 others.


Timothy McVeigh was one of America’s most notorious domestic terrorists, and with his involvement with the crime, he was then sentenced to death by lethal injection. In June 2001, the Federal Bureau of Prisons was responsible for the execution of McVeigh. Linda Smith and John Roberts, in their journal article, delve into one significant instance where media demands placed a heavy burden on the Federal Agency. During this time of McVeigh's execution, the Bureau faced a difficult dilemma: balancing the need to facilitate media coverage of the execution while ensuring the safety and security of the maximum-security penitentiary where it was conducted.
This situation highlights a broader paradox faced by many federal agencies. They are tasked with providing information to the media while simultaneously navigating ethical, budgetary, and legal constraints that limit their engagement in traditional public relations activities, such as advertising and lobbying, common in the private sector. Public affairs officers are legally obligated to release non-sensitive information, yet they must carefully avoid disclosing material exempt under the Freedom of Information Act and Privacy Act, as individual officers can be held criminally liable for such breaches. This tension between transparency and security underscores the complex challenges these agencies must navigate in their public communications.
Boston Marathon Bombing, 2013 and INSPIRE MAGAZINE.
On April 15th, exactly on America's Patriot's Day, Tamerlan and Dzhokhar (Jahar) Tsarnaev detonated two pressure cooker bombs at 2:49 p.m., just a few of hours after the winner completed the Boston Marathon, totaling to 6 deaths and 281 injuries.


Jahar had a fascination with fireworks and explosives, while Tamerlan exhibited early signs of radicalization. Although there were no proper links of the two to terrorist groups, Jahar had revealed that the two obtained plans from Inspire, specifically its first issue revealing a step-by-step recipe on creating pressure cooker bombs or Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs).
Inspire is an English online magazine published by al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), infamously known as the group that perpetrated the 9/11 and PAL 434 attacks. The magazine is one of the many ways AQAP spreads its online agenda. Both international and domestic extremists have been motivated by radical interpretations of Islam and, in some cases, used its bomb-making instructions in their attempts to carry out attacks.

The insurgence of the 'Jihadi John Slideshow Trend'
During the period of 2014, youtube videos uploaded by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) started surfacing on the internet. This was characterized by a series of masked militants criticizing the American or British government and then tying in the statements by the gruesome beheadings of hostages, ransoms, and soldiers.

Terrorists had often used their media presence as a driving force to influence the youth into affiliating themselves with terrorist ties. One of these was Jihadi John, unveiled as British militant and Kuwaiti-born Mohamed Emwazi. In these videos, Emwazi is often seen looming over the camera holding a knife and standing next to a kneeled hostage. He ends every video by beheading his victims. One of his most famous videos was the beheading of American Journalist James Foley.
Around June 2010, Emwazi was detained and in the middle of 2020, the insurgence of the “Jihadi John Slideshow” trend had reached tiktok. While the origins of this trend still remains obscure, this has left a lasting impact on the youth. Often, the demographic consisted of teens, specifically young males, who romanticized and glorified the acts of violence portrayed by Emwazi and the aesthetic of militaristic weaponry. Many had credited this behavior to “edgy” standards and humor, however, this idealism was proven to be more unironic than it seemed. Eventually, in the proceeding years, the trend had died out, however, it had came back a few times during period intervals of 2022 to 2023.
This trend had also harmfully villainized harmless ideologies, distorting these ideas to the point where it is repulsing for the public’s perception. An example of this is the concept of Jihad, where it is essentially the Islamic philosophy of struggling to defend the religion and attaining peace within the community and outside of it. It promotes the unity and solidarity of individuals where militaristic action is only done as a last resort of intervention. Often, Jihadi groups such as al-Qaeda and ISIS have spread distorted and extremist versions of this ideology, creating a brand new concept of utilizing violent militaristic resistance to protect Islam. With this dangerous approach, muslim communities are stigmatized, discriminated against, and stereotyped. This is especially harmful because it is a large problem that affects the community in various ways, especially when terrorists rebrand concepts initially striving to attain peace as acts of hatred and war, tainting a beautiful religion with images of violence.
Conclusion
Circling back to Prof. Najem’s analysis, without the media’s attention and focus, terrorists are unable to achieve any of the following four objectives: (1) recognition of the group name or ideology, (2) ability to communicate with supporters, (3) communicate with members of the local government, (4) and depict itself as a legitimate political alternative to the current governments. To conclude this essay, the relationship between mass media and terrorism is a complex and interdependent one, where the intricacies of both entities should be carefully observed and analyzed to unravel the deeper connections between the two.
While some researchers argue that media coverage is essential for the success of terrorist attacks, this view is sometimes overly simplistic and does not fully capture the intricate relationship between media portrayal and public reaction. Additionally, not all terrorist groups prioritize publicity over their other objectives. The symbiotic relationship between the media and terrorism is further complicated by the role of the state, which must balance transparency with security.
Several case studies, including the Oklahoma City Bombing, the Boston Marathon Bombing, and the rise of figures like Jihadi John, highlight the ways in which media coverage can both shape and be shaped by terrorist actions. These examples demonstrate how terrorist groups leverage media to spread their message and recruit new members, while the media, in turn, benefits from the increased attention and revenue generated by such coverage.
Ultimately, this relationship underscores the powerful role that the media plays in both perpetuating and combating terrorism. The challenge lies in finding a balance between reporting news and preventing the unintentional promotion of extremist ideologies.
#understandnotcondone#oklahoma city 1995#timothy mcveigh#world trade center 2001#boston marathon 2013#jahar tsarnaev#tamerlan tsarnaev#jihadi john#mohamed emwazi#trrsm
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DIRECT 👏 ACTION 👏 WORKS
TLDR: Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield had plans to strictly cap the amount of anesthesia they’d cover based on the amount of time THE INSURANCE COMPANY thought the surgery would take in New York, Connecticut, and Missouri. TODAY, December 5th 2024, THE DAY AFTER United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson was assassinated, they SUDDENLY DECIDED to reverse that decision in New York and Connecticut, with plans to start the new policy in February in Missouri. MULTIPLE medical authorities have been telling them FOR MONTHS that this is a terrible idea.
According to my local CBS affiliate, Anthem BCBS cited “”widespread misinformation”” about the policy as their primary reason for the cancellation. Sure, totally believable, lol.
Totally unrelated, but United Healthcare has the highest rate of claim denial while Anthem BCBS is…third
The shooter still hasn’t been found🫡
#brian thompson#united healthcare#us politics#news#laugh rule#…because I literally burst out laughing when I heard the news#Anthem blue cross blue shield
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Bill Day :: @BillDaytoons
* * * *
LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN
April 15, 2025
Heather Cox Richardson
Apr 16, 2025
A large crowd of protesters calling for the return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the Maryland man the Trump administration sent to a notorious terrorist prison in El Salvador, milled around the courthouse this afternoon where U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis held a hearing on the case.
Anna Bower, Roger Parloff, and Ben Wittes of Lawfare watched the hearing and explained that Judge Xinis is now building the evidence to determine whether individuals in the administration have acted in contempt of court. The court ordered the administration to facilitate Abrego Garcia’s return to the U.S., as well as to give updates on what they are doing to make that return happen. To date, Judge Xinis said, “what the record shows is nothing has been done.” She dismissed the administration lawyer’s argument that yesterday’s Oval Office meeting between President Donald Trump and president of El Salvador Nayib Bukele was part of the effort to “facilitate” the case.
As Bower said, we all know what’s going on, but it’s impossible right now to know which individual is responsible for the stonewalling. For that matter, Bower added, those speaking for the administration usually deny personal knowledge of the case, simply saying they have been made aware of the facts they are representing. Judge Xinis called for two weeks of fact finding to determine if the Trump regime is following her orders that it facilitate his return. The judge told Abrego Garcia’s lawyers that they may conduct four depositions and apply for two more, make up to 15 document requests, and up to 15 interrogatories (these are lists of written questions that must be answered under oath and in writing).
Xinis noted that “every day Mr. Garcia is detained in CECOT is a day of irreparable harm.”
Bower added that the Trump regime is likely drawing this out in part because it permits them to showcase the one part of their agenda that is still polling well. The staged meeting with Bukele enabled officials to get widespread media coverage for the straight-up lie that Abrego Garcia has been found to be a member of the MS-13 gang. As Greg Sargent reported today in the New Republic, this story came from a police officer who, just weeks later, was suspended for “providing information to a commercial sex worker who he was paying in exchange for sexual acts.”
The Oval Office event also enabled White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller both to lie that the Supreme Court’s unanimous decision against the administration was actually in favor of it, and to rerun the litany of heinous crimes he associates with immigrants. The attention to the case has also gotten Miller airtime on news shows, where he repeats those lies.
The administration needs the immigration issue to play to its base, but it’s actually not clear that Americans like Miller’s approach to immigrants. Data journalist G. Elliott Morris noted today in Strength in Numbers that while polls say Americans generally like Trump’s approach to immigration—a recent Reuters/Ipsos poll said 49% were in favor—they hate the specifics.
The same Reuters/Ipsos poll says that 82% of Americans, including 68% of Republicans, think “the president should obey federal court rulings even if he disagrees with them.” Only 40% think he “should keep deporting people despite a court order to stop,” although 76% of Republicans think he should violate a court order.
The questions specifically about immigration are even starker. Trump promised during the campaign that he would deport undocumented immigrants who have committed violent crimes, and people like that plan by an 81-point margin. But according to Morris’s crunching of polls on the subject, U.S. adults oppose deporting undocumented immigrants who have lived more than 10 years in the U.S. by a 37-point margin. They oppose deporting undocumented immigrants who are parents of U.S. citizens by a 36-point margin. By an 18-point margin, they oppose deporting undocumented immigrants who have broken no laws in the U.S. other than immigration laws.
The more visible Abrego Garcia’s case becomes, coupled as it is with the idea that it is a precursor to sending U.S. citizens to CECOT, the less likely it is to be popular. Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) got an earful from his constituents on the topic. “Are you going to bring that guy back from El Salvador?” one man asked, to applause and calls of “Yeah!” from around the room. When Grassley said no, because that wasn’t a power of Congress, the man replied: “The Supreme Court said to bring him back!” and others chimed in, “They’re defying the Constitution.” “Trump don’t care,” the first man said. “If I get an order to pay a ticket for $1,200 and I just say no, does that stand up? Because he’s got an order from the Supreme Court, and he just said no! He just said ‘Screw it!’” “It’s wrong,” someone in the crowd said. The first man concluded: “I’m pissed.”
This evening, Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) noted that “[f]ollowing his abduction and unlawful deportation, U.S. federal courts have ordered the safe return of my constituent Kilmar Abrego Garcia to the United States. It should be a priority of the U.S. government to secure his safe release, which is why tomorrow I am traveling to El Salvador…to visit Kilmar and check on his wellbeing and to hold constructive conversations with government officials around his release. We must urgently continue working to return Kilmar safely home to Maryland.”
Trump’s losing ground on his other major selling point in the 2024 election: that he would improve the economy. He promised to bring prices down “on Day One,” but backed off on that almost immediately. Then an utterly chaotic trade war, tariffs on and off and on again, and a dramatic drop in the bond market as well as the stock market suggesting that the U.S. is losing its status as a safe haven made April an economic disaster. JPMorgan said this week that Trump’s tariffs mean that he is “on track to deliver one of the largest US tax hikes on record,” taxes that will fall on poorer Americans rather than the wealthy and corporations.
Under Biden, Vietnam and the U.S. had strengthened economic ties, but yesterday, China and Vietnam signed dozens of cooperation agreements to combat disruptions caused by Trump's trade war. Today, Chinese officials stopped accepting Boeing jets or U.S. airline parts. China has also stopped accepting U.S. beef, turning instead to Australia. U.S. beef exports to China have been worth $2.5 billion annually. Last Thursday, Gustaf Kilander of The Independent reported that “fund managers quietly fear Trump doesn’t have a tariff plan and that he ‘might be insane.’”
Meetings in Washington this week did little to calm the situation. Jordan Erb of Bloomberg reported that Maros Sefcovic, the trade chief for the European Union, left yesterday’s trade meeting in Washington unclear about what the U.S. even wants. Erb notes: “The uncertainty around Trump’s chaotic tactics, replete with delays, retreats, new threats and sudden exceptions and trial balloons, hasn’t helped.”
Trump also promised he would end Russia’s war on Ukraine immediately. But it has become obvious that Russia’s president Vladimir Putin is using Trump’s desperation to deliver a peace deal to strike harder at Ukraine. Just after a visit to Moscow by U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff last week, the Russians struck the Ukrainian city of Sumy during Palm Sunday celebrations, killing at least 35 people and injuring another 119, including children. European leaders called the attack a war crime, Trump said it was likely a “mistake.”
After Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelensky said in a 60 Minutes interview on Sunday night that U.S. officials are echoing Russian disinformation, Trump called for CBS, the channel on which 60 Minutes appears, to lose its license.
Bloomberg reports that the U.S. refused to support a statement by the Group of Seven (G7), an informal group of seven of the countries with the world’s most advanced economies, condemning the Sumy attack. The U.S. said it wouldn’t condemn the mass killing of civilians because it is “working to preserve the space to negotiate peace.”
One of Trump’s key attacks on the Biden administration before the election was his lie that it had shortchanged the North Carolina victims of the devastating Hurricane Helene by sending money for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to undocumented immigrants, likely to buy their votes (it is illegal for noncitizens to vote in federal elections). In fact, the Biden administration and FEMA had been in the state since the start and approved FEMA’s reimbursement for 100% of disaster relief, particularly emergency protective services and the removal of debris, renewable after six months.
Trump won North Carolina by more than 3 points, but on Saturday the Trump administration denied North Carolina’s application for that extension. “The need in western North Carolina remains immense—people need debris removed, homes rebuilt, and roads restored,” North Carolina governor Josh Stein said. “I am extremely disappointed and urge the President to reconsider FEMA’s bad decision, even for 90 days. Six months later, the people of western North Carolina are working hard to get back on their feet; they need FEMA to help them get the job done.”
Trump’s approval ratings are dropping steadily, with even Republican pollsters showing him “underwater,” meaning that more people disapprove of his presidency than approve of it.
Part of Trump’s fight with the Supreme Court is an attempt to demonstrate dominance as his numbers drop, but institutions, as well as the courts, are standing up to him. With Trump having won concessions from Columbia University and then announced those concessions were only the beginning of his demands, other universities are banding together to defend education, academic freedom, and freedom of speech.
On Monday, Harvard University took a stand against the administration’s demand to regulate the “intellectual and civil rights conditions” at Harvard, including its governance, admissions, programs, and extracurricular activities, in exchange for the continuation of $2.2 billion in multiyear grants and a $60 million contract. Harvard is the country’s oldest university, founded in 1636, and in 2024 had an endowment of more than $53 billion.
In a letter noting that the administration’s demands undercut the First Amendment and the university’s legal rights, Harvard’s lawyers wrote: “The university will not surrender its independence or relinquish its constitutional rights. Neither Harvard nor any other private university can allow itself to be taken over by the federal government. Accordingly, Harvard will not accept the government’s terms as an agreement in principle…. Harvard is not prepared to agree to demands that go beyond the lawful authority of this or any administration.”
But Harvard didn’t stop there. It turned its website into a defense of the medical research funded by the federal grants Trump is threatening to withhold. It explains the advances Harvard researchers have made in cancer research, heart disease, neurodegenerative diseases, obesity and diabetes, infectious diseases, and organs and transplantation. It highlights the researchers, shows labs, and presents readable essays on different scientific breakthroughs.
As the administration slashes through the government with charges of “waste, fraud, and abuse,” Harvard’s president Alan Garber has made a stand on what he calls “the promise of higher education.”
“Freedom of thought and inquiry, along with the government’s longstanding commitment to respect and protect it, has enabled universities to contribute in vital ways to a free society and to healthier, more prosperous lives for people everywhere,” he wrote. “All of us share a stake in safeguarding that freedom. We proceed now, as always, with the conviction that the fearless and unfettered pursuit of truth liberates humanity—and with faith in the enduring promise that America’s colleges and universities hold for our country and our world.”
LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN
HEATHER COX RICHARDSON
#Bill Day#Letters From An American#Heather Cox Richardson#Harvard#war in ukraine#Senator Chris Van Hollen#Kilmar Abrego Garcia#Judge Paula Xinis#Stephen Miller#Trump Administration Lies
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