#with a day of leadup and then the resolution

[ghostlightfic]

anyways i made some good headway on back to one chapter 8. we're getting there. however the demonic thing is that my scope keeps growing and god is not smiling upon me

[fandom-hoarder]

911 8x06

Last week, before I could watch the new 911 ep, some people on my dash spoiled me with untagged spoilers and I literally started crying. Because the way people were talking about it made it sound like there was biphobia from Tommy and a cheating storyline, and that supposition sparked my election depression--- was this an alternate ending based on election results? (a WILD assumption, i kept telling myself; nevertheless, the doomerism persisted); a sign of queer suppression in media in the coming regime? biphobia in general, which is so enraging as a bi person?

And, to be clear, these thoughts and worries are not Hen/Karen erasure. They're literally my favs. But it IS about the way bisexuality is often treated, both in media and irl, as if you have to choose one way to be. As if bisexuality is some sort of schrodinger's sexuality.

It turns out my extreme anxiety over it wasn't completely warranted, at least from my pov as a writer. But it took me a few more days to actually level out and watch it clear headed.

So before the new one airs, here's my copy/paste from my dm a few days ago to @supernaturalkickparty 😅

I gave in and started the 911 ep. I'm CACKLING at the end of the urn Omg. *Abby* I... ok i can see a straight line to breakup from this, but I'll have to see how it plays out Omg the next case is about divorce Josh is really cute in this ep Josh's speech has me verklempt Istg they just better not erase buck's bisexuality Omgodddddd we are NOT sending another little kid down lmfao this is gonna make me cry Goddd 😭😭💜💜 God. This is gonna hurt. God. Whyyyyyyy. God whyyyy does it have to be THIS "Believe me, I didn't see it coming either." GODDDDDDD I'm just so fucking glad it wasn't a breakup over cheating Eddie lmfao I'm so glad the mustache is gone😂😂 Lmfao omfg eddie opens the door to buck and he's in his underwear???? This is the fucking start of a fic. No wonder the buddies are being insufferable God please don't let buck's rebound be a girl. Just please. Please. Don't make it be all girls now :(((((

Anyway, I can see a decent resolution to this, and I'm hopeful it will go as well as I usually think of this show's storytelling---which is to say I think 911 does a pretty good job of weaving meaningful character arcs that tie in a bow by the end.

And even though I am still marginally worried about whether buck's bisexuality will be fulfillingly handled, I don't necessarily think this breakup is bad. Buck's thing is breakups as character growth; and while I did think that we were moving past that in his coming of age arc growing into maturity, and as much as I love bucktommy, I didn't really expect Tommy to be his last or for a breakup to be completely off the table. I expected one eventually, and not for buddie reasons.

I don't even really ship buddie in canon, or see an inevitable queer storyline for eddie (though i do love buddietommy, but y'all already know i always think there should be an ot3); I just figured there would be typical buck drama, and hey... I settled down and figured this is that.

And also... like, yes it's frustrating that Tommy broke it off because of the whole "i'm the only guy you've ever been with," but like...that expectation that Buck will end up breaking his heart isn't really bad writing. I wish there'd been more LEADUP to it (I still hope we'll get some actual tommy pov on this to sympathize with him and see where that came from, as they have tended to do in the past with character backstory), but the fear that as someone's first you won't be ENOUGH eventually is very real.

I was my partner's first, but he wasn't mine, so even when we got engaged I was like, "are you really ok with this?" And he said yes of course and i took him at his word, but it didn't immediately erase the feeling that I was taking experiences away from him lol. So I can really see where Tommy is coming from, despite my sorrow and anxiety about the remaining unknowns. But I do hope there's more to this.

[cyberbenb]

'Crosses any line of decency' — US Envoy Kellogg condemns Russian attack on Sumy

Russia’s deadly Palm Sunday missile strike on the city of Sumy “crosses any line of decency,” U.S. Special Envoy to Ukraine Keith Kellogg said on April 13 in a post condemning the attack.

Russia launched two ballistic missiles at Ukraine’s northeastern city of Sumy on the morning of April 13, killing at least 34 people and injuring at least 117. The attack came on Palm Sunday, as many citizens were celebrating the religious holiday in the leadup to Easter.

“Today’s Palm Sunday attack by Russian forces on civilian targets in Sumy crosses any line of decency,” Kellogg wrote on X.

“There are scores of civilian dead and wounded. As a former military leader, I understand targeting and this is wrong. It is why President Trump is working hard to end this war."

The attack comes amid Washington’s attempts to orchestrate a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine. While U.S. President Donald Trump originally tapped Kellogg to lead negotiations between Kyiv and Moscow, the retired general has been relegated to a supporting role as Trump’s Special Middle East Envoy, Steve Witkoff, has emerged as a key figure in the talks.

Witkoff met personally with Russian President Vladimir Putin in St. Petersburg on April 11, just two days before the attack. On the same day, Reuters reported that Witkoff and Kellogg were at odds in their approach to the peace process in Ukraine.

Kyiv agreed to a full 30-day ceasefire a month ago, but Moscow has so far refused and has continued to launch attacks on Ukraine’s civilian centers.

The day before the attack, President Donald Trump said that negotiations between Russia and Ukraine were “going fine,” but emphasized that a resolution must come soon.

Kellogg’s condemnation echoes the statements of many European leaders, who said the deliberate attack on civilians indicated that Russia was not ready for peace.

While several leaders called for increased sanctions and pressure against Moscow, Kellogg’s statement fell short of demanding any consequences for Russia’s attack.

‘A war crime’ — European leaders react to Russia’s Palm Sunday attack on Sumy that killed dozens

Russia launched two ballistic missiles at the city in northeastern Ukraine on the morning of Palm Sunday, when many citizens were celebrating the religious holiday.

The Kyiv IndependentThe Kyiv Independent news desk

[staydays]

Day6 (Even of Day) - Right Through Me

WE - I love the second verse and bridge. The ending part sounded like it was off beat for some reason. Why am I surprised they had a sad breakup album? The "jalja urin", which I think means goodnight us, makes the entire song so much sadder. "Sometimes you fall and then we rise" keep that in mind children

Right Through Me - It gets better every time I hear it. It sounds different because now I know it's a sad song after looking at the lyrics on the MV. It doesn't sound like a particularly sad song without knowing the lyrics, but after knowing them the sad parts like the sprinkles of minor in the chorus stand out more. I wish it had a better ending :/

WALK - This one sounds happy, not fit for a breakup album. That might change after I look at the lyrics though. Power vocals from Wonpil early on in the song damn (prechorus). Second verse sounds like it doesn't belong in the song, that doesn't make it bad though. The chorus reminds me of something and I can't identify it rn. It sounds like it should be categorized as a certain type of song. Bridge also sounds like it doesn't belong in the song (second time listening and I think otherwise), not including the lalalas after it. Now that I think about it this might be a song that's like "keep your head up" because they chant "keep walking" a lot, so I get why it sounds happy and motivational now.

all the things you wanted - It was a while before I could say anything about this one. I like it more than when I heard the album sampler. Key change in the second verse? That's a unique place for one. There's one in the bridge too but I'm only pointing out the one in the verse because it's weird to see one there from them. I like the chorus a lot. Beautiful harmonies!!! I like how they didn't drop the instrumental completely to make it more unique.

from the ending of a tragedy - I can't tell if the background is vocals or some instrument. I didn't think the verse would sound like that at all wow. Leadup to the chorus is really good. I should've worn headphones to listen to this album :( I like that Wonpil has the higher part of the harmony. I've personally always thought his voice was more piercing than Young K's even though the first harmony in WTSS was beautiful out of this world.

Home Alone - Are those Dowoon's background vocals I hear? This song also sounds happy like WALK. Also power vocals from Young K in the bridge. I'm trying to see if my knowledge that it's a supposedly sad song is affecting my interpretation of it. So far not really. I love the second verse so much, or is that the bridge that happens after the chorus? What was that part after the bridge lol it sounded spontaneous

Love Parade - They really made it sound like an actual parade damn. I love the background vocals for Wonpil's part in the beginning, same goes for Young K's right after. I like the chorus a lot. I'm not wearing headphones so I can't tell who the low bambams are sigh. I thought it was Dowoon but it didn't sound husky enough to be him. Bridge is inch resting. I like it a lot more than when I heard it in the album sampler. The song overall sounds like a resolution to the entire breakup thing. Fireworks afterward too :]

Ranking:

Right Through Me WALK / Home Alone WE / Love Parade all the things you wanted from the ending of a tragedy

[ladyoflosgar]

GOT showverse AU, Sansa marries Domeric instead of Ramsay

Some wordvomit on how using Domeric would smoothly integrate the North and Vale plotlines and wouldn’t stray as far from book!Sansa’s (and also Littlefinger’s) character after the cut. Warning that as Domeric is a Harry stand-in who was dead in the original anyway, he was doomed from the start.

I didn’t watch season 6 or season 7 because I ragequit at the Sansa/Ramsay wedding episode, I just know memes like “battle of the bastards” and “poisoned by his enemies”. Also I know nothing about what happened to the southern storylines until Dany showed up at Winterfell in S8. I’m a book gal. 

Marrying Sansa to Domeric instead of Ramsay makes Littlefinger less stupid. This could go along similar lines as the Harry the Heir plot: instead of raising the Vale against the Boltons now that Tywin Lannister is dead and the Crown is weakened, Littlefinger could come to a deal with Roose to get him friends in the Vale instead of enemies. Littlefinger would then exploit the chaos of battle with Stannis/the existing tensions between Roose, Ramsay and Domeric to off each of them in some order, after Sansa has safely borne a child, after which he would become the power behind the North. Domeric is also a cultured nobleman with a good reputation as a tourney knight instead of a bastard serial rapist so it wouldn’t come across as a critical research failure on Littlefinger’s part.

How would we incorporate Domeric into the Game of Thrones story up to S4/5? You would need to introduce him in S1 at the Eyrie when Cat and Tyrion show up. Maybe before, during the Tourney of the Hand. When Cat is about to leave, give him a scene where he says “my lady, I would fight for you, I am a Stark man through and through” and Cat tells him, “ser, you would be of better service to House Stark here in the Vale, speaking for our cause”. In S2-S3 have Cat read dispatches from him about how Lysa isn’t being helpful, the knights of the Vale won’t march without her leave, etc. This would build up trust in the Boltons and kind of justify why Robb gives so much control over to Roose, and amplify the gut wrenching horror of the Red Wedding.

Begin the Sansa Bolton arc. By S4 when Littlefinger shows up with Sansa at the Eyrie we could have a scene with Domeric and Lord Royce (because they cut Lord Redfort) where Domeric says something like “what a family I have, my father the kingslayer, and my brother a would-be kinslayer”. Give him an angstbro moment where he is dejected because his father undid all the work he put in, give him the need to go on a redemption quest for something he wasn’t involved in. After Lysa dies when Lord Royce goes up to the Eyrie, give him a fluffy moment with “Alayne Stone” where he’s playing the harp alone and she sings along or something. Then at a feast, Lord Royce says his name, and Alayne flinches back, he mutters ‘even the novices at the motherhouse curse the name of Bolton’. Then he watches her and figures out that she’s Sansa Stark. He talks to Lord Royce about it, Lord Royce doesn’t believe him, and then the conversation with Sansa and Lady Waynwood happens where she outs herself. Then Littlefinger, Lord Royce, and Roose go into talks. Have Littlefinger recycle the “bewitch him” line he used in the TWOW sample chapter.

Preserve intrigue/suspense at Winterfell by pushing forward the Ramsay & Domeric Cain and Abel plot and make Domeric a player in the Northern conspiracy. Have Sansa use her observation skills to figure out what he’s doing. Have Domeric not involve Sansa in the GNC because 1) he saw her kissing Littlefinger and discuss their plan and 2) it’s about bringing back Rickon and he doesn’t want Littlefinger to know. Turn him into a paranoiac - ‘everyone at Winterfell is trying to kill me except for my dad, who I hate’. Have his opinion of Sansa sour while her opinion of him grows. Domeric’s suspicion of Sansa would also seed the Northern lords’ reluctance to follow her: they believe she is Littlefinger’s creature. Bonus: Sansa’s latent warging ability manifests in Ramsay’s hounds and she learns more about the intrigue at Winterfell.

Leadup to the Battle of Ice. Conflict swirls between the pro-Roose (+Ramsay) and pro-Domeric (Manderly/Stannis) camps at Winterfell. Too many men and mouths to feed, Roose needs to get them out to deal with Stannis. Sansa and Theon flee into the night, to Stannis. Jon receives the pink letter at the wall (but to add mystery, it’s probably not Domeric who wrote it). Mel and Selyse don’t believe it, they burn Shireen to grant Stannis victory, instead they resurrect Jon into wight!Jon. Confusion in the battle because Stannis has Sansa. Maybe Ramsay does something gloriously stupid like kill Stannis in a parley (let’s keep Brienne on the Arya plot) and now the Northmen just have to crush Team Dragonstone. Or, the conlfrontation ends without resolution, Stannis nopes back to the Wall, finds Shireen dead and his wife a depressed husk, and an heroes. Huge blow to the GNC, they all ride back to Winterfell in shame.

Ousting Littlefinger, the fall of the House of Bolton, Sansa vs Jon conflict. Knowing that the lords of the North still want the Boltons gone but won’t include her because of Littlefinger, Sansa’s attention needs to be on disentangling herself. She also has a personal motivation to be rid of him because he is a creep who keeps forcekissing her, and he killed Lysa. In the end I think Harry will grow on Alayne/Sansa at least a little bit, so Domeric has to grow on Sansa too. This is just a wordvomit so I don’t know all of the logical steps but Sansa needs to get rid of Littlefinger by herself without making herself look too bad by outing him to the Lords of the Vale and help Domeric get rid of Ramsay while Ramsay’s about to arrange a hunting accident, perhaps by warging into a dog. Domeric’s arc would be about Roose so he’d need to be the one to play the poisoned by his enemies card. Now that Sansa and Domeric are working as a team, enter Jon, stage right, dark!Wight with a wildling army to rescue his sister. Noone can find Rickon (shaggy dog story). Half the Lords of the North still want a son of Ned Stark, and like Lyanna Mormont said, “Lady Sansa’s a Bolton now” and Domeric is a kinslayer. Stark Bowl, get hype, it’s a Northern civil war. The Knights of the Vale come in to bail Domeric out but it’s too late. The Northmen make Jon KITN because that’s what happens in the show and also he killed Domeric, and they are still reluctant for a ruling Lady Stark without a husband. It was a real tragedy because this is Westeros. Now it’s time for the White Walkers and Daenerys plot.

Impact on Sansa’s character. At the end of the day I don’t think show!Sansa and book!Sansa are the same. IMO steered in a different direction from the girl who led the women in the Queen’s Ballroom signing hymns to the Mother, who asked for a maester for Lancel, and sang the Mother’s hymn to Sandor during the Battle of the Blackwater. The sass queen who goes “uncle, sit” to Edmure Tully is not the same person who helpfully finishes stuttery Wallace Waynwood’s sentences and spares him further embarrassment. This might be naive but I hope GRRM is going to have her retain her kindness, her mercy, her goodness while having her do things that are genuinely grey (her role in whatever happens to Sweetrobin for example). She would express regret, just as she expresses regret for outing Ned to Cersei. If her endgame fate is to end up alone, and not with someone brave and gentle and strong who loves her for her and fulfills a beauty and the beast metaphor, then I think the role Harry (Domeric here) would have played in her narrative is to have made her come to regret using someone as a piece on the board rather than treating them as a person valuable in and of themselves, with their own hopes and dreams and flaws and virtues. It happened to me, I did it to someone else, I am sorry, etc.

Thanks for reading my badfic outline. 

[katamaricule]

[note: I'm trying to stay vague, but there are spoilers here too.]

So I finished watching Sand Sea and had many of the same questions! And also I had many other questions besides those! So I decided, okay, maybe it's time to go read the book and see if any of these questions get resolved, or at least if I can get any clues as to why the narrative is structured the way it is.

I now present to you a little one-woman show I like to call Upon Finishing Part III Of Sand Sea, a drama in two acts:

ACT I: For joy! This is a novel in four parts, and I am reading the last pages of the third of those parts! My ebook reader tells me I am 77% of the way through! I have just been regaled with a quick where-is-everyone-now recap, which has reminded me that we are in the thick of a complicated mystery! Surely what comes next will help satisfy my curiosity and shed light on decisions the drama made!

ACT II: ...The fuck do you mean, Part IV has nothing to do with the previous three and is instead a completely different and unrelated first-person Wu Xie tale set well before the preceding events?

In retrospect, it makes sense that Sand Sea as a drama sort of feels like three-quarters of a story -- because it is three-quarters of a story. At the point the novel ends, Li Cu is leaving Enforced Family Fun Time, Yang Hao hates his new boss, Su Wan is going glasses-shopping, Liang Wan has wandered off down a hole, Pangzi is doing some impromptu house-sitting and target practice with a few friends, and we've all had to reset the [x] Days Since Wu Xie Fell Off A Cliff counter. Everything else past that is the show's speculation.

I think the drama did a pretty good job overall piecing together a plausible conclusion from what it had to work with. Still, knowing that that's what it's doing makes several of the bizarre pacing choices make more sense. For instance, the Secret Wang Compound should have been the third-act leadup to a fourth-act something else; instead it has to become an inexplicable big finale. The whole thing with the Brunch Bunch (i.e., Xiao Hua, Xiuxiu, and Pangzi, guest-starring that cute Tibetan boy he picks up) never goes anywhere because it has nowhere to go. Various training arcs never amount to anything, because what would they amount to? We dont know what the whole wind mystery means because we just never made it down that far, much less into eyebrow-snake territory.

...And you know what? As a writer myself, I've got to give some grudging respect to a guy whose answer to "How do you write an ending to this?" is "You don't." I can't even be mad.

Knowing that it would need to compensate for this lack of resolution, the smartest two decisions the drama made were creating Su Nan and involving Zhang Rishan. But if a lot of what happens to and around them feels like vamping to fill time, well, that's probably why.

Bonus! Book Huo Daofu has a beard! With the help of a friend's FaceApp subscription, we can now picture this together:

Now he's Huo Daofuzzy.

Tomb of the Sea: Lingering Questions

I finished watching Tomb of the Sea (Sha Hai, Sand Sea) not too long ago, and I definitely recommend it if you like any of the Lost Tomb stories, and/or if you are a Wu Lei fan. I do, however, have some lingering questions that I’ll share here. Spoilers! 

1. How is it that relatively ordinary-looking actor Qin Hao is the hottest Wu Xie? This has something to do with me being 53 years old, right? 

2. If it’s so fucking hard to get to Gutongjing for the first half of the story, how is the entire Jiumen Association able to roll up on it as soon as they decide to go?

3. Correlary: Gutongjing is super dangerous for the first half of the story, but it’s just a little bit snakey in the second half. Have all the traps been tripped so it’s ok now? 

4. Correlary to the Correlary: how come the Wang dudes can go in that one deadly tomb of hallucination-and-sharp-wires without any problems? 

5. It’s an absolutely epic scene, peak romance in its completely crazy way, but how does a person not go blind from getting maced in the middle of the desert with no water nearby?

6. Incidentally, how did Zhang Rishan and Liang Wan get home from the desert and where did they go to change their clothes on the way? Did they walk or did he just park his car really really far from the door for this scene? 

7. Is anything better than Su Nan saying that good looking boys always lie, in that particular moment? Such a truth bomb, and she doesn’t even know yet about Wu Xie’s status at that point. (Note: lying to someone who is openly trying to kill you is fair, of course. But that doesn’t mean she’s wrong). 

8. How is it that mean, creepy, kind of ugly, macho jerk Wang Can and bitchy, pretty, ethereal man-puppy Liu Sang (in Reunion) are played by the same actor? 

9. “They put snakes in their eyebrows.”  What?  

10. Does that wind tune mean anything? Other than being something snakes like to listen to?

11. Did Li Cu’s dad spend literally 4 months in a room without anyone telling him what was happening? Not that he doesn’t deserve it, but he seems super calm about it.

12. Is Huo Daofu evil in this, or just a prick? I…really can’t tell.

[deargodsno]

Hungary gay and LGBTQ advocates staged a 30-foot high protest across from the nation’s parliament on Thursday, filling the landscape with a 10-meter heart displaying the Progress Pride flag on the same day the country’s latest anti-LGTQ legislation went into effect.

Organized by Hatter Society, Hungary’s largest LGBTQ activist organization, the action was the first in what was described as a continued civil disobedience campaign against the Hungarian government’s efforts to criminalize and dehumanize LGBTQ people under Prime Minister Viktor Orban.

“We think that the only path we can pursue is civil disobedience, and we will not change anything about our activities,” Hatter Society spokesperson Luca Dudits told the Associated Press. Advocacy group Amnesty International Hungary participated in Thursday’s demonstration as well, stating, “We protest at Hungary’s Parliament and stand with the 100,000 LGBTQ youth who will face the terrible consequences.”

The law that went into effect Thursday outlaws showing content depicting homosexuality or trans identities to minors. It also requires government approval for an organization to hold an educational program discussing sexual orientation in Hungarian schools. “[The law] stigmatizes LGBTQ people and actually puts LGBTQ youth more … in danger of bullying and harassment in schools and in their families as well,” Dudits said.

European Union officials continued their decrying of the homophobic and transphobic law in the leadup to its enacting Thursday. EU executive Commission head Ursula von der Leyen called the law a ”disgrace” in a speech to the European Parliament Wednesday, stating, “This legislation uses the protection of children as an excuse to discriminate against people because of their sexual orientation.”

The EU adopted a resolution Thursday condemning Hungary’s anti-LGBTQ legislation “in the strongest possible terms” for its “intentional and premeditated example of the gradual dismantling of fundamental rights in Hungary.”

Amnesty International Hungary director David Vig lauded the EU’s support for their fight. “We expect EU institutions to act firmly and the European Commission to start an infringement procedure,” Vig told the Associated Press. “This is in clear contradiction not just with EU values, but also with binding EU law and the commission’s LGBTQ strategy.”

Hungary has the highest COVID death rate in Europe, with over 1 in 330 of their population dead. And they take action by, uh, discriminating against LGBTQ people. That'll stop the virus, I'm sure.

[plusorminuscongress]

New story in Politics from Time: Trump Insists His Tweets ‘Were NOT Racist’ as House Mulls Resolution Condemning His Remarks

(WASHINGTON) — Defiant in the face of widespread censure, President Donald Trump insisted Tuesday that his tweets suggesting four Democratic congresswomen of color return to their countries “were NOT Racist,” and he appealed to fellow Republicans to “not show weakness” and to resist a House resolution condemning his words.

“I don’t have a Racist bone in my body!” Trump exclaimed on Twitter, a day after declaring that “many people agree” with his assessment of the four freshman lawmakers.

Those Tweets were NOT Racist. I don’t have a Racist bone in my body! The so-called vote to be taken is a Democrat con game. Republicans should not show “weakness” and fall into their trap. This should be a vote on the filthy language, statements and lies told by the Democrat…..

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 16, 2019

“Those Tweets were NOT Racist,” Trump wrote Tuesday amid a continued backlash to his weekend tweets that progressive women “go back” to their “broken and crime-infested” countries. The tweets, which have been widely denounced as racist, were directed at Reps. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts and Rashida Tlaib of Michigan.

All are American citizens, and three of the four were born in the U.S.

Trump alleged again Tuesday that the women, who strongly oppose his policies and comments, in reality “hate our Country.”

The four lawmakers fired back late Monday, condemning what they called “xenophobic bigoted remarks” and renewing calls for Democrats to begin impeachment proceedings.

The episode served notice that Trump is willing to again rely on incendiary rhetoric on issues of race and immigration to preserve his political base in the leadup to the 2020 election. He shrugged off the criticism.

“It doesn’t concern me because many people agree with me,” Trump said Monday at the White House. “A lot of people love it, by the way.”

At the Capitol, there was near unanimous condemnation from Democrats and a rumble of discontent from a subset of Republicans, but notably not from the party’s congressional leaders.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who said Trump’s campaign slogan truly means he wants to “make America white again,” announced Monday that the House would vote on a resolution condemning his new comments . The resolution “strongly condemns” Trump’s “racist comments” and says they “have legitimized and increased fear and hatred of new Americans and people of color.”

In response, Trump tweeted anew Tuesday about the four congresswomen: “Why isn’t the House voting to rebuke the filthy and hate laced things they have said? Because they are the Radical Left, and the Democrats are afraid to take them on. Sad!”

Republican Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah, the party’s White House nominee in 2012 and now one of the president’s most vocal GOP critics, said Monday that Trump’s comments were “destructive, demeaning, and disunifying.”

Trump dug in. “If you’re not happy in the U.S., if you’re complaining all the time, you can leave, you can leave right now,” he said.

His words, which evoked the trope of telling black people to go back to Africa, may have been partly meant to widen the divides within the House Democratic caucus, which has been riven by internal debate over how best to oppose his policies. And while Trump’s attacks brought Democrats together in defense of their colleagues, his allies noted he was also having some success in making the progressive lawmakers the face of their party.

The Republican president questioned whether Democrats should “want to wrap” themselves around this group of four people as he recited a list of the quartet’s most controversial statements.

“Nancy Pelosi tried to push them away, but now they are forever wedded to the Democrat Party,” he wrote Tuesday, adding: “See you in 2020!”

At a news conference with her three colleagues, Pressley referred to Trump as “the occupant of our White House” instead of president.

“He does not embody the grace, the empathy, the compassion, the integrity that that office requires and that the American people deserve,” she said, encouraging people “not take the bait.” Pressley said Trump’s comments were “a disruptive distraction from the issues of care, concern and consequence to the American people” — prescription drug prices, affordable housing, health care.”

Omar, a naturalized U.S. citizen born in Somalia, accused him of “openly violating” the Constitution and sounded the call for impeachment proceedings.

Ocasio-Cortez said Trump “does not know how to defend his policies and so what he does is attack us personally.”

The Senate’s top Democrat, Chuck Schumer of New York, said his party would also try to force a vote in the GOP-controlled chamber.

Trump, who won the presidency in 2016 in part by energizing disaffected voters with inflammatory racial rhetoric, made clear he has no intention of backing away from that strategy in 2020.

“The Dems were trying to distance themselves from the four ‘progressives,’ but now they are forced to embrace them,” he tweeted Monday afternoon. “That means they are endorsing Socialism, hate of Israel and the USA! Not good for the Democrats!”

Trump has faced few consequences for such attacks in the past. They typically earn him cycles of wall-to-wall media attention and little blowback from his party. He is wagering that his most steadfast supporters will be energized by the controversy as much, or if not more so, than the opposition.

The president has told aides that he was giving voice to what many of his supporters believe — that they are tired of people, including immigrants, disrespecting their country, according to three Republicans close to the White House who were not authorized to speak publicly about private conversations.

Trump singled out Omar, in particular, accusing her of having “hatred” for Israel and expressing “love” for “enemies like al-Qaida.”

“These are people that, in my opinion, hate our country,” he said.

Sen. Lindsey Graham, a close ally of the president who golfed with him over the weekend, advised him to “aim higher” during an appearance on Fox News Channel’s “Fox & Friends,” even as he accused the four Democrats of being “anti-Semitic” and “anti-American.”

Marc Short, chief of staff to Vice President Mike Pence, said “I don’t think that the president’s intent in any way is racist,” pointing to Trump’s decision to choose Elaine Chao, who was born in Taiwan, as his transportation secretary.

Chao is one of the few minorities among the largely white and male aides in high-profile roles in Trump’s administration. She is the wife of Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell, who declined comment Monday on Trump’s attacks.

Among the few GOP lawmakers commenting Monday, Rep. Pete Olson of Texas said Trump’s tweets were “not reflective of the values of the 1,000,000+ people” in his district. “I urge our President immediately disavow his comments,” he wrote.

In an Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll from February 2017, half of Americans said the mixing of culture and values from around the world is an important part of America’s identity as a nation. About a third said the same of a culture established by early European immigrants.

But partisans in that poll were divided over these aspects of America’s identity. About two-thirds of Democrats but only about a third of Republicans thought the mixing of world cultures was important to the country’s identity. By comparison, nearly half of Republicans but just about a quarter of Democrats saw the culture of early European immigrants as important to the nation.

By ZEKE MILLER, JILL COLVIN, and JONATHAN LEMIRE / AP on July 16, 2019 at 11:36AM

[kerapace]

@faelapis, long response to your ask response re: SU under the cut:

Okay, let me push away firmly from the idea that I'm being an apologist for critics elsewhere on tumblr (I am mercifully pretty isolated from most of the fandom) and more fully articulate my feelings here. (And I do mean *feelings*, because these are gut reactions that I sometimes have when I watch the show more than things I would outright call flaws. I’m being kind of hypercompulsive in writing this down.)

Let's start with the stuff about Lapis and Peridot, because I have a better idea of what I'm not explaining. I feel like Peridot's redemption arc is very differently paced from most of the rest of the show and even especially the contained arcs that focus on the main characters. In Amethyst's S3 arc or in the leadup to the S1 finale or the Sardonyx arc, the name of the game is consistency. Something happens, the consequences reverberate for a while, and then there's a resolution. It's mostly a chance for the show to give a sustained exploration of one particular mood and how the characters react to that mood.

Peridot's arc is a lot different. It's more or less fully reintroducing her character, while at the same time having that character change in response to new events. They try to go about it pretty sequentially, having an episode about her relationship with Steven, then with Pearl and then Amethyst, and then there's stuff about her relationship with Homeworld, and there’s episode-on-episode character development which exacerbates the differences caused by focus/  The end result is there's a lot of stuff which is not big-picture inconsistent but sits oddly when placed together. Like, Peridot acts very differently in "When It Rains" and "Back to the Barn", which is itself different from "Too Far", and then "Message Received" comes along and it's way different from any of those. Everything’s kind of inchoate, which fits Peridot’s character to an extent, sure, but isn’t really how I prefer the show. I can say that during the time this was airing, I didn't really know how I felt about it all, and it was only really after "Log Date" aired that I really started feeling positively about the arc. And... to the extent Lapis shows up in the Barn Arc, I feel like I can level the same complaint. "Same Old World" and "Barn Mates" back-to-back? After the stuff with Malachite?

(I feel like I should note, here, that I don't dislike Peridot or Lapis! Peridot's in fact the character I most identify with, and there are episodes in the redemption arc that I'd list among my favorites! But I also feel like it's a place where there are pretty strong pros and cons to the way the show's structured.)

And, yeah, the Lapidot stuff from "Beta" and "Gem Harvest" does have its own problems. I'm not a huge fan of either episode, personally, and I largely agree with your criticisms. But again, I feel like it comes from this desire to want the same character breadth for characters with a lot less screentime than the leads: with as much Pearl and Amethyst have shown up, we can have major conflict and misunderstanding between them while at the same time having them get along really well most of the time. These things can easily coexist because both characters have a lot of screentime! But because there's less time, choices have to be made. Prioritizing "cute shipping fluff" over "character drama", especially on the heels of an ep like "Barn Mates", which pretty much entirely rejects the former, isn't a good choice. But if there were more screentime for the characters, I don't think that choice would be nearly so stark.

Anyway, this is why even though I'm interested in what's happening next with, say, Jasper, I am not quite sure how I'm going to feel about the show switching back into the jumpier redemption arc pacing. I'm sure that you, in this tradeoff, would much prefer a somewhat messy arc that revealed new facets to Jasper's character over the dreary consistency of her S3 arc. I'm not even sure I disagree! And there are some things in Jasper's favor: she's had a lot more screentime than Peridot did at the start of her arc, and the show's explaining all the necessary worldbuilding for it well in advance, unlike in the Peridot arc where Pearl and Amethyst's arcs re: Homeworld were introduced totally in medias res.

And as for my discussion of S1's dramatic episodes, I'll say that I don't entirely endorse every bit of criticism I said there so much as I'm surprised those episodes don't face many storytelling criticisms. You point out that these episodes are setting up further development and that resolutions are supposed to be incomplete, and yes, that's right. To the extent I have problems with them (which my first ask overstated, because I was trying to push away from the idea that the show's gotten worse) it's more with the buildup than the resolution. Just to expedite things, here's my day-one, hot-off-the-presses take on "Rose's Scabbard":

This episode had a lot of powerful moments but was kinda unwieldy as a whole. The issue is that, while it made great reuse of previous environments and plot points, it also had to work overtime to introduce new characterization. I mean, we've already seen Pearl's nervousness overflow many times before, but this was a sustained level of mania we haven't really seen her reach without a very good reason, and it's tied to some very brisk exposition about Rose Quartz's past. Plus, we have to see her essentially turn on Steven over the course of a few minutes, something that's also never happened before AFAIK. It makes Pearl's big OoC moment at the end (when she completely fails to exercise her characteristic concern for Steven's well-being during the chase) not hit as hard as it should.

Like, I don't feel this way now! The show's come back to this well and fleshed out why exactly this behavior's in-character, and rewatching has sanded down the rough edges in the dialogue and story progression for me. But I'm also not entirely sure past-me is wrong. He makes some good points.

And in general, I've had to carefully rewatch and talk myself through a lot of the big dramatic moments of the show, while the "boring" or "cringe" slice-of-life stuff is way more straightforwardly accessible to me. And I don't really know that many other people have to coax themselves into appreciation like this; from the impression I get most people are on-board at first blush.

[thebizmarketer]

There Is No ‘Racial Divide’

New Post has been published on https://newsprofixpro.com/theeyesofthe/2019/08/01/there-is-no-racial-divide/

There Is No ‘Racial Divide’

What a difference three years make. In the leadup to Donald Trumps election, the consensus among the (mostly white) commentariat was that his supporters were driven by feelings of isolation wrought by an economy that had abandoned them and cosmopolitan elites… Read More

 Buy Now   

Price: $85.87

Item specifics

Condition: Used :

An item that has been used previously. The item may have some signs of cosmetic wear, but is fully operational and functions as intended. This item may be a floor model or store return that has been used. See the seller’s listing for full details and description of any imperfections. See all condition definitions– opens in a new window or tab

Seller Notes: “Clean fully tested all original and complete system”

Brand:

Nintendo

Manufacturer Color: Gray Model:

NES – Original

MPN:

NESACMHUS

A/V Output(s): Composite RCA Platform: Nintendo NES UPC:

045496610043

Color:

Gray

Type: Home Console Design/Finish: Glossy Region Code: NTSC-U/C (US/Canda) Resolution: Under 480p EAN:

0045496610043

About this product

Product Information You can feel the distinctive touch of its two rectangular controllers and red buttons, have fun with the system’s NES Zapper, and kick back while you use them to play “Duck Hunt” and “Super Mario Bros.”. The console features a loading cartridge in the front and has 2kB of on board RAM, which can be expanded with a game cartridge. With a color palette of 48 colors and six grays and a display resolution of 256 x 240 pixels, you can enjoy the old school style while playing your favorite classics. If you’re not the hands on type, then Nintendo consoles can also make great vintage display items. You might not be able to keep your NES games tucked away for long, though. All of the cords are long, which can help if you’re using this NES video game console with a modern television. This system weighs 5 pounds and measures 14 inches by 12 inches. You can find plenty of components to make your NES work with different configurations. If you need to connect your Nintendo to a flat screen TV that doesn’t have any composite jacks, then a simple HDMI adapter will work. A Famicom games adapter will enable you to play games of this type. You can even play classic Japanese Nintendo games on your NES without requiring a Super Nintendo. Some Nintendo games like “Final Fantasy” and “Castlevania”” feature a Save function. The mini battery in these games enables players to save their progress just like they did back in the 1980s. Playing on the Nintendo Entertainment System can be a nostalgic experience for some. Gamers who were too young to remember the NES when it first came out can still enjoy playing it. Whether it’s “Super Mario” you can’t wait to play or some other game, this Nintendo system can provide hours of entertainment each day. Product Identifiers Brand Nintendo MPN NES-ACMH-US UPC 0045496610043 Model NES – Original eBay Product ID (ePID) 101841580 Product Key Features A/V Output(s) Composite RCA Platform Nintendo NES Color Gray Design/Finish Glossy Resolution Under 480p Manufacturer Color Gray Additional Product Features Product Name Nintendo Entertainment System Power Source Types Power Supply Console Color Gray Type Console Product Line Nintendo Entertainment System Release Date 1985 Region Code NTSC Edition Action Set

$85.87 End Date: Monday Aug-5-2019 16:55:37 PDT Buy It Now for only: $85.87 Buy It Now | Add to watch list

[brookstonalmanac]

Events 7.10

138 – Emperor Hadrian dies of heart failure at Baiae; he is buried at Rome in the Tomb of Hadrian beside his late wife, Vibia Sabina. 645 – Isshi Incident: Prince Naka-no-Ōe and Fujiwara no Kamatari assassinate Soga no Iruka during a coup d'état at the imperial palace.[1] 988 – The Norse King Glúniairn recognises Máel Sechnaill mac Domnaill, High King of Ireland, and agrees to pay taxes and accept Brehon Law; the event is considered to be the founding of the city of Dublin. 1086 – King Canute IV of Denmark is killed by rebellious peasants. 1212 – The most severe of several early fires of London burns most of the city to the ground. 1460 – Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick, defeats the king's Lancastrian forces and takes King Henry VI prisoner in the Battle of Northampton. 1499 – The Portuguese explorer Nicolau Coelho returns to Lisbon after discovering the sea route to India as a companion of Vasco da Gama. 1512 – The Spanish conquest of Iberian Navarre commences with the capture of Goizueta. 1519 – Zhu Chenhao declares the Ming dynasty's Zhengde Emperor a usurper, beginning the Prince of Ning rebellion, and leads his army north in an attempt to capture Nanjing. 1553 – Lady Jane Grey takes the throne of England. 1584 – William I of Orange is assassinated in his home in Delft, Holland, by Balthasar Gérard. 1645 – English Civil War: The Battle of Langport takes place.[2] 1778 – American Revolution: Louis XVI of France declares war on the Kingdom of Great Britain. 1789 – Alexander Mackenzie reaches the Mackenzie River delta. 1806 – The Vellore Mutiny is the first instance of a mutiny by Indian sepoys against the British East India Company. 1832 – U.S. President Andrew Jackson vetoes a bill that would re-charter the Second Bank of the United States. 1850 – U.S. President Millard Fillmore is sworn in, a day after becoming President upon Zachary Taylor's death. 1869 – Gävle, Sweden, is largely destroyed in a fire; 80% of its 10,000 residents are left homeless. 1877 – The then-villa of Mayagüez, Puerto Rico, formally receives its city charter from the Royal Crown of Spain. 1882 – War of the Pacific: Chile suffers its last military defeat in the Battle of La Concepción when a garrison of 77 men is annihilated by a 1,300-strong Peruvian force, many of them armed with spears. 1890 – Wyoming is admitted as the 44th U.S. state. 1913 – The temperature in Death Valley, California, hits 134 °F (57 °C), the highest temperature ever to be recorded on Earth. 1921 – Belfast's Bloody Sunday: Sixteen people are killed and 161 houses destroyed during rioting and gun battles in Belfast, Northern Ireland. 1925 – Meher Baba begins his silence of 44 years. His followers observe Silence Day on this date in commemoration. 1925 – Scopes Trial: In Dayton, Tennessee, the so-called "Monkey Trial" begins of John T. Scopes, a young high school science teacher accused of teaching evolution in violation of the Butler Act. 1927 – Kevin O'Higgins TD, Vice-President of the Executive Council of the Irish Free State is assassinated by the IRA. 1938 – Howard Hughes begins a 91-hour airplane flight around the world that will set a new record. 1940 – World War II: The Vichy government is established in France. 1940 – World War II: Six days before Adolf Hitler issues his Directive 16 to the combined Wehrmacht armed forces for Operation Sea Lion, the Kanalkampf shipping attacks against British maritime convoys begin, in the leadup to initiating the Battle of Britain. 1941 – Jedwabne pogrom: Massacre of Polish Jews living in and near the village of Jedwabne. 1942 – Diplomatic relations between the Netherlands and the Soviet Union are established. 1942 – World War II: An American pilot spots a downed, intact Mitsubishi A6M Zero on Akutan Island (the "Akutan Zero") that the US Navy uses to learn the aircraft's flight characteristics. 1943 – World War II: Operation Husky begins in Sicily.[3] 1947 – Muhammad Ali Jinnah is recommended as the first Governor-General of Pakistan by the British Prime Minister, Clement Attlee. 1951 – Korean War: Armistice negotiations begin at Kaesong. 1962 – Telstar, the world's first communications satellite, is launched into orbit. 1966 – The Chicago Freedom Movement, led by Martin Luther King, Jr., holds a rally at Soldier Field in Chicago. As many as 60,000 people attend. 1973 – The Bahamas gain full independence within the Commonwealth of Nations. 1973 – National Assembly of Pakistan passes a resolution on the recognition of Bangladesh. 1976 – Four mercenaries (one American and three British) are executed in Angola following the Luanda Trial. 1978 – ABC World News Tonight premieres on ABC. 1978 – President Moktar Ould Daddah of Mauritania is ousted in a bloodless coup d'état. 1985 – The Greenpeace vessel Rainbow Warrior is bombed and sunk in Auckland harbour by French DGSE agents, killing Fernando Pereira. 1985 – An Aeroflot Tupolev Tu-154 stalls and crashes near Uchkuduk, Uzbekistan (then part of the Soviet Union), killing all 200 people on board in the USSR's worst-ever airline disaster. 1991 – The South African cricket team is readmitted into the International Cricket Council following the end of Apartheid. 1991 – Boris Yeltsin takes office as the first elected President of Russia. 1992 – In Miami, former Panamanian leader Manuel Noriega is sentenced to 40 years in prison for drug and racketeering violations. 1997 – In London, scientists report the findings of the DNA analysis of a Neanderthal skeleton which supports the "out of Africa theory" of human evolution, placing an "African Eve" at 100,000 to 200,000 years ago. 1997 – Miguel Ángel Blanco, a member of Partido Popular (Spain), is kidnapped (and later murdered) in the Basque city of Ermua by ETA members, sparking widespread protests. 1998 – Catholic Church sexual abuse cases: The Diocese of Dallas agrees to pay $23.4 million to nine former altar boys who claimed they were sexually abused by Rudolph Kos, a former priest. 1999 – In women's association football, the United States defeated China in a penalty shoot-out at the Rose Bowl near Los Angeles to win the final match of the 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup. The final was watched by 90,185 spectators, which set a new world record for attendance at a women's sporting event. 2000 – EADS, the world's second-largest aerospace group is formed by the merger of Aérospatiale-Matra, DASA, and CASA. 2002 – At a Sotheby's auction, Peter Paul Rubens's painting The Massacre of the Innocents is sold for £49.5 million (US$76.2 million) to Lord Thomson. 2005 – Hurricane Dennis slams into the Florida Panhandle, causing billions of dollars in damage. 2007 – Erden Eruç begins the first solo human-powered circumnavigation of the world. 2008 – Former Macedonian Interior Minister Ljube Boškoski is acquitted of all war-crimes charges by a United Nations Tribunal. 2011 – Russian cruise ship Bulgaria sinks in Volga near Syukeyevo, Tatarstan, causing 122 deaths. 2017 – Iraqi Civil War: Mosul is declared fully liberated from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.

[brookstonalmanac]

Events 7.10

48 BCE – Battle of Dyrrhachium: Julius Caesar barely avoids a catastrophic defeat by Pompey in Macedonia. 138 – Emperor Hadrian dies of heart failure at Baiae; he is buried at Rome in the Tomb of Hadrian beside his late wife, Vibia Sabina. 645 – Isshi Incident: Prince Naka-no-Ōe and Fujiwara no Kamatari assassinate Soga no Iruka during a coup d'état at the imperial palace. 988 – The Norse King Glúniairn recognises Máel Sechnaill mac Domnaill, High King of Ireland, and agrees to pay taxes and accept Brehon Law; the event is considered to be the founding of the city of Dublin. 1086 – King Canute IV of Denmark is killed by rebellious peasants. 1212 – The most severe of several early fires of London burns most of the city to the ground. 1460 – Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick, defeats the king's Lancastrian forces and takes King Henry VI prisoner in the Battle of Northampton. 1499 – The Portuguese explorer Nicolau Coelho returns to Lisbon after discovering the sea route to India as a companion of Vasco da Gama. 1512 – The Spanish conquest of Iberian Navarre commences with the capture of Goizueta. 1519 – Zhu Chenhao declares the Ming dynasty's Zhengde Emperor a usurper, beginning the Prince of Ning rebellion, and leads his army north in an attempt to capture Nanjing. 1553 – Lady Jane Grey takes the throne of England. 1584 – William I of Orange is assassinated in his home in Delft, Holland, by Balthasar Gérard. 1645 – English Civil War: The Battle of Langport takes place. 1778 – American Revolution: Louis XVI of France declares war on the Kingdom of Great Britain. 1789 – Alexander Mackenzie reaches the Mackenzie River delta. 1806 – The Vellore Mutiny is the first instance of a mutiny by Indian sepoys against the British East India Company. 1832 – U.S. President Andrew Jackson vetoes a bill that would re-charter the Second Bank of the United States. 1850 – U.S. President Millard Fillmore is sworn in, a day after becoming President upon Zachary Taylor's death. 1869 – Gävle, Sweden, is largely destroyed in a fire; 80% of its 10,000 residents are left homeless. 1877 – The then-villa of Mayagüez, Puerto Rico, formally receives its city charter from the Royal Crown of Spain. 1882 – War of the Pacific: Chile suffers its last military defeat in the Battle of La Concepción when a garrison of 77 men is annihilated by a 1,300-strong Peruvian force, many of them armed with spears. 1890 – Wyoming is admitted as the 44th U.S. state. 1913 – The temperature in Death Valley, California, hits 134 °F (57 °C), the highest temperature ever to be recorded on Earth. 1921 – Belfast's Bloody Sunday: Sixteen people are killed and 161 houses destroyed during rioting and gun battles in Belfast, Northern Ireland. 1925 – Meher Baba begins his silence of 44 years. His followers observe Silence Day on this date in commemoration. 1925 – Scopes Trial: In Dayton, Tennessee, the so-called "Monkey Trial" begins of John T. Scopes, a young high school science teacher accused of teaching evolution in violation of the Butler Act. 1927 – Kevin O'Higgins TD, Vice-President of the Executive Council of the Irish Free State is assassinated by the IRA. 1938 – Howard Hughes begins a 91-hour airplane flight around the world that will set a new record. 1940 – World War II: The Vichy government is established in France. 1940 – World War II: Six days before Adolf Hitler issues his Directive 16 to the combined Wehrmacht armed forces for Operation Sea Lion, the Kanalkampf shipping attacks against British maritime convoys begin, in the leadup to initiating the Battle of Britain. 1941 – Jedwabne pogrom: Massacre of Polish Jews living in and near the village of Jedwabne. 1942 – Diplomatic relations between the Netherlands and the Soviet Union are established. 1942 – World War II: An American pilot spots a downed, intact Mitsubishi A6M Zero on Akutan Island (the "Akutan Zero") that the US Navy uses to learn the aircraft's flight characteristics. 1943 – World War II: Operation Husky begins in Sicily.[1] 1947 – Muhammad Ali Jinnah is recommended as the first Governor-General of Pakistan by the British Prime Minister, Clement Attlee. 1951 – Korean War: Armistice negotiations begin at Kaesong. 1962 – Telstar, the world's first communications satellite, is launched into orbit. 1966 – The Chicago Freedom Movement, led by Martin Luther King, Jr., holds a rally at Soldier Field in Chicago. As many as 60,000 people attend. 1973 – The Bahamas gain full independence within the Commonwealth of Nations. 1973 – National Assembly of Pakistan passes a resolution on the recognition of Bangladesh. 1976 – Four mercenaries (one American and three British) are executed in Angola following the Luanda Trial. 1978 – ABC World News Tonight premieres on ABC. 1978 – President Moktar Ould Daddah of Mauritania is ousted in a bloodless coup d'état. 1985 – The Greenpeace vessel Rainbow Warrior is bombed and sunk in Auckland harbour by French DGSE agents, killing Fernando Pereira. 1985 – An Aeroflot Tupolev Tu-154 stalls and crashes near Uchkuduk, Uzbekistan (then part of the Soviet Union), killing all 200 people on board in the USSR's worst-ever airline disaster. 1991 – The South African cricket team is readmitted into the International Cricket Council following the end of Apartheid. 1991 – Boris Yeltsin takes office as the first elected President of Russia. 1992 – In Miami, former Panamanian leader Manuel Noriega is sentenced to 40 years in prison for drug and racketeering violations. 1997 – In London, scientists report the findings of the DNA analysis of a Neanderthal skeleton which supports the "out of Africa theory" of human evolution, placing an "African Eve" at 100,000 to 200,000 years ago. 1997 – Miguel Ángel Blanco, a member of Partido Popular (Spain), is kidnapped (and later murdered) in the Basque city of Ermua by ETA members, sparking widespread protests. 1998 – Catholic Church sexual abuse cases: The Diocese of Dallas agrees to pay $23.4 million to nine former altar boys who claimed they were sexually abused by Rudolph Kos, a former priest. 2000 – EADS, the world's second-largest aerospace group is formed by the merger of Aérospatiale-Matra, DASA, and CASA. 2002 – At a Sotheby's auction, Peter Paul Rubens' painting The Massacre of the Innocents is sold for £49.5 million (US$76.2 million) to Lord Thomson. 2005 – Hurricane Dennis slams into the Florida Panhandle, causing billions of dollars in damage. 2007 – Erden Eruç begins the first solo human-powered circumnavigation of the world. 2008 – Former Macedonian Interior Minister Ljube Boškoski is acquitted of all war-crimes charges by a United Nations Tribunal. 2011 – Russian cruise ship Bulgaria sinks in Volga near Syukeyevo, Tatarstan, causing 122 deaths. 2017 - Iraqi Civil War: Mosul is declared fully liberated from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.