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himself, hip, hire, his, historic, historical, history, hit, hold, hole, holiday, holy, home, homeless, honest, honey, honor, hope, horizon, horror, horse, hospital, host, hot, hotel, hour, house, household, housing, how, however, huge, human, humor, hundred, hungry, hunter, hunting, hurt, husband, hypothesis, ice, idea, ideal, identification, identify, identity, ignore, ill, illegal, illness, illustrate, image, imagination, imagine, immediate, immediately, immigrant, immigration, impact, implement, implication, imply, importance, important, impose, impossible, impress, impression, impressive, improve, improvement, incentive, incident, include, including, income, incorporate, increase, increased, increasingly, incredible, indeed, independence, independent, index, indicate, indication, individual, industrial, industry, infant, infection, inflation, influence, inform, information, ingredient, initial, initially, initiative, injury, inner, innocent, inquiry, inside, insight, insist, 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layer, lead, leader, leadership, leading, leaf, league, lean, learn, learning, least, leather, leave, left, leg, legacy, legal, legend, legislation, legislative, legislator, legitimate, lemon, length, less, lesson, let, letter, level, liberal, library, license, lie, life, lifestyle, lifetime, lift, light, like, likely, limit, limitation, limited, line, link, lip, list, listen, literary, literature, little, live, living, load, loan, local, locate, location, lock, long, long-term, look, loose, lose, loss, lost, lot, lots, loud, love, lovely, lover, low, lower, luck, lucky, lunch, luxury, machine, mad, magazine, mail, main, mainly, maintain, maintenance, major, majority, make, maker, makeup, male, mall, man, manage, management, manager, manner, manufacturer, manufacturing, many, map, margin, mark, market, marketing, marriage, married, marry, mask, mass, massive, master, match, material, math, matter, may, maybe, mayor, me, meal, mean, meaning, meanwhile, measure, measurement, meat, 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satisfy, sauce, save, saving, say, scale, scandal, scare, scatter, scenario, scene, schedule, scheme, scholar, scholarship, school, science, scientific, scientist, scope, score, scream, screen, script, sea, search, season, seat, second, secondary, secret, secretary, section, sector, secure, security, see, seed, seek, seem, segment, seize, select, selection, self, sell, Senate, senator, send, senior, sense, sensitive, sentence, separate, sequence, series, serious, seriously, servant, serve, service, session, set, setting, settle, settlement, seven, several, severe, sex, sexual, shade, shadow, shake, shall, shallow, shape, share, sharp, she, sheet, shelf, shell, shelter, shift, shine, ship, shirt, shock, shoe, shoot, shooting, shop, shopping, short, shortly, shot, should, shoulder, shout, show, shower, shrug, shut, shy, sibling, sick, side, sigh, sight, sign, signal, significant, significantly, silence, silent, silver, similar, similarly, simple, simply, sin, since, sing, singer, single, sink, sir, sister, sit, site, situation, six, size, ski, skill, skin, skirt, sky, slave, sleep, slice, slide, slight, slightly, slip, slow, slowly, small, smart, smell, smile, smoke, smooth, snap, snow, so, so-called, soccer, social, society, soft, software, soil, solar, soldier, sole, solid, solution, solve, some, somebody, somehow, someone, something, sometimes, somewhat, somewhere, son, song, soon, sophisticated, sorry, sort, soul, sound, soup, source, south, southern, Soviet, space, Spanish, speak, speaker, special, specialist, species, specific, specifically, specify, speech, speed, spend, spending, spin, spirit, spiritual, split, spoil, sponsor, sport, spot, spray, spread, spring, square, squeeze, stability, stable, staff, stage, stain, stair, stake, stand, standard, standing, star, stare, start, state, statement, station, statistical, status, stay, steady, steal, steel, steep, stem, step, stick, still, stimulate, stimulus, stir, stock, stomach, stone, stop, storage, store, storm, story, straight, strange, stranger, strategic, strategy, stream, street, strength, strengthen, stress, stretch, strike, string, strip, stroke, strong, strongly, structural, structure, struggle, student, studio, study, stuff, stupid, style, subject, submit, subsequent, substance, substantial, substitute, succeed, success, successful, successfully, such, sudden, suddenly, sue, suffer, sufficient, sugar, suggest, suggestion, suicide, suit, summer, summit, sun, super, supply, support, supporter, suppose, supposed, Supreme, sure, surely, surface, surgery, surprise, surprised, surprising, surprisingly, surround, survey, survival, survive, survivor, suspect, sustain, swear, sweep, sweet, swim, swing, switch, symbol, symptom, system, table, tactic, tail, take, tale, talent, talk, tall, tank, tap, tape, target, task, taste, tax, taxi, tea, teach, teacher, teaching, team, tear, technical, technique, technology, teen, teenager, telephone, telescope, television, tell, temperature, temporary, ten, tend, tendency, tennis, tension, tent, term, terms, terrible, territory, terror, terrorist, test, testimony, testing, text, than, thank, thanks, that, the, theater, their, them, theme, themselves, then, theory, therapy, there, therefore, these, they, thick, thin, thing, think, thinking, third, thirty, this, those, though, thought, thousand, threat, threaten, three, throat, through, throughout, throw, thus, ticket, tie, tight, time, tiny, tip, tire, tissue, title, to, tobacco, today, toe, together, toilet, token, tolerate, tomato, tomorrow, tone, tongue, tonight, too, tool, tooth, top, topic, toss, total, totally, touch, tough, tour, tourist, tournament, toward, towards, tower, town, toy, trace, track, trade, tradition, traditional, traffic, tragedy, trail, train, training, transfer, transform, transformation, transition, translate, translation, transmission, transmit, transport, transportation, travel, treat, treatment, treaty, tree, tremendous, trend, trial, tribe, trick, trip, troop, trouble, truck, true, truly, trust, truth, try, tube, tunnel, turn, TV, twelve, twenty, twice, twin, two, type, typical, typically, ugly, ultimate, ultimately, unable, uncle, undergo, understand, understanding, unfortunately, uniform, union, unique, unit, United, universal, universe, university, unknown, unless, unlike, until, unusual, up, upon, upper, urban, urge, us, use, used, useful, user, usual, usually, utility, utilize, vacation, valley, valuable, value, variable, variation, variety, various, vary, vast, vegetable, vehicle, venture, version, versus, very, vessel, veteran, via, victim, victory, video, view, viewer, village, violate, violation, violence, violent, virtually, virtue, virus, visibility, visible, vision, visit, visitor, visual, vital, voice, volume, voluntary, volunteer, vote, voter, voting, wage, wait, wake, walk, wall, wander, want, war, warm, warn, warning, wash, waste, watch, water, wave, way, we, weak, weakness, wealth, wealthy, weapon, wear, weather, web, website, wedding, week, weekend, weekly, weigh, weight, welcome, welfare, well, west, western, wet, what, whatever, wheel, when, whenever, where, whereas, whether, which, while, whisper, white, who, whole, whom, whose, why, wide, widely, widespread, wife, wild, wildlife, will, willing, win, wind, window, wine, wing, winner, winter, wipe, wire, wisdom, wise, wish, with, withdraw, within, without, witness, woman, wonder, wonderful, wood, wooden, word, work, worker, working, workout, workplace, works, workshop, world, worried, worry, worth, would, wound, wrap, write, writer, writing, wrong, yard, yeah, year, yell, yellow, yes, yesterday, yet, yield, you, young, your, yours, yourself, youth, zone.

Yet another long noob career advice post, sorry in advance. Any help is graciously appreciated.
Context
I got my undergrad degree last year with a double-major in history and computer science. I’m now working full-time as a software engineer and it’s a pretty good gig, but I don’t think it’s the right career for me in the long run. I really miss using the critical thinking, investigative, and storytelling skills I used for the history part of my degree.
I think my ideal fit would be some flavor of using technology to do journalism and/or doing journalism about technology, as a way to blend both skill sets I’ve developed. I just need to figure out how to start bending my career path in that direction.
Deeper background (skip if desired)
I only started thinking about this path during my senior year so didn’t have time to develop a portfolio for the school newspaper or anything like that. I did publish one op-ed in the school paper junior year that had some bearing on this technical beat, but I also recognize the difference between opinion and journalism, so I’m not sure how much that’s worth.
For my senior thesis I wrote about the history of the commodification of personal data (basically a deeper look at how we developed an economy where your information is worth money to Facebook, Google, etc) which gets at that space of covering technology and society. I’m really proud of it and it got summa cum laude honors, but it’s not published anywhere.
I also got another history paper published in an undergrad history journal which isn’t super relevant but hopefully at least shows that I can write and go through an editing process.
It seems like the value journalism grad school is fairly divisive. That’s an option I’m considering for a couple years down the road, but would also appreciate any advice relevant to my situation that would help set me up for success there (both in admissions and then actually getting it done).
The ask
The advice I’ve seen very often on here is to build up clips, which makes sense. But how do I start that from zero? I don’t imagine I’ll have much luck pitching freelance stories without some portfolio to back them up, so it feels rather chicken-and-egg. I could start a blog or something like that, but it again feels like it might be tough to get sources to take me seriously without a real “name” backing me. Any advice or insight here?
Then there’s also the fact that with no journalism training I don’t really know what I’m doing, and I’m concerned that putting out bad work, even unintentionally, will put me in an even worse situation than having no work. How can I mitigate this concern?
Lastly, I’m also concerned about my pace of output. With my actual job and other commitments, I don’t think I’ll be able to put out more than one piece a month, if even that. These would hopefully be more substantial articles rather than short-form breaking news sort of stuff. How much would slow/sporadic output matter if I’m doing this as a side project?
Thanks in advance for any help you can offer!

Hey everyone! I thought I'd repost this on my new profile (previously u/-Legal-Eagle-) for your reference before it is removed from my old profile. Also, if you find my advice useful, please check out my profile for more advice or tutoring services. Feel free to comment or DM me if you need anything.
With my LSAT and law school admissions journey complete, I wanted to take the time to share my journey and hopefully provide some useful tips along the way. I'm sure you will have heard a lot of what I am about to say a thousand times over, but I thought it might be useful to provide a holistic and comprehensive guide that attempts to bring together some of the best advice that I have picked up throughout this process.
Also, this is meant for anyone and everyone including those who haven't even began to think about the LSAT and those with multiple official exams already under their belt. I am going to use some more specific LSAT jargon meant for those with some familiarity with the test, but there will be many general tips for everyone scattered throughout.
I would like to preface by saying that this is largely based on my own personal experience self-studying, tutoring, and working with others. Please consult with many different sources and do your due diligence as you consider each tip I provide. Without further ado, here is my humble attempt at a guide to the LSAT.
When I first began the LSAT grind, I scored in the low 150s on my diagnostic exam, and while this was disheartening at first, I eventually achieved an official exam score of 174 after approximately 5 months of studying. Since I self-studied for the large majority of my journey, I found myself running into various obstacles and having to continuously refine my roadmap to success. Rather than go through the same process of trial and error that I went through, here is the roadmap outline that I would follow if I were to start all over again from blind diagnostic to test day success:
1. Start with a BLIND Diagnostic Exam:
While this might seem quite obvious to the more experienced of you, many beginners, including myself at the start of this process, do not know where to begin and might be stuck in a paradox of choice. The best way to get started is to take a completely blind practice exam. Try not to expose yourself to any LSAT study materials beforehand and go into the diagnostic exam knowing as little about the exam as possible. You might be tempted to study beforehand to avoid the disappointment of a low diagnostic score, but you must resist this temptation to avoid any misguided preconceptions or bad habits. Through this diagnostic, you will be able to truly identify your foundational strengths and weaknesses which you could and should revisit throughout your studying journey.
2. Decide on your plan of attack:
A mistake that many beginners make after deciding to take the LSAT is jumping into studying without having a structured and thoughtful plan, leading to inefficiencies, lack of focus, and inconsistency. One of the most important factors of success on this exam is the formation of good habits, and you cannot form good habits without a consistent, efficient, and disciplined study plan. There is no one size fits all approach to studying for this exam. However, here are some questions you should ask yourself to find the right plan for you:
What is your goal score? Your answer to this question depends on your long-term goals. Research which law schools would be most suitable for you based on their location, employment data, faculty, administration, student groups, journals, etc. After you put together a tentative list of law schools, look up what their median GPA and median LSAT is for their most recent enrolled class. If your undergraduate GPA (and law schools mainly care about your undergraduate GPA, so do not include any further education) is below their median GPA, then you should probably aim to surpass their median LSAT by at least a few points. However, if your undergraduate GPA is at or above their median GPA, then you should still aim to surpass their median LSAT, but you will still be in a strong position if you score at their median LSAT. After this research, you should have a goal score range by which you can gauge your progress and adjust your studying.
What is your timeline for taking the exam? Setting a timeline for your studying is important to staying focused and disciplined. Decide on which official exam you will be sitting for and then make a study schedule that allows for at least 150-300 hours of studying leading up to the exam. For example, if you are planning to take the August exam, you have approximately 13 weeks to study. Hence, you should dedicate yourself to studying 15-25 hours per week until the exam. Of course, the number of total hours you study depends on your diagnostic score and your goal score, as well as how quickly you progress while studying. If you find that halfway through your study schedule, your score has not substantially improved or you still have to make significant progress to reach your goal score, you may decide to ramp up your study time to 30 hours per week. The most important step here is that you commit to consistent study time, and that you remain flexible as you gauge your progress throughout the journey.
What learning styles/mediums work best for you? This is a matter of both preference and accessibility. Not all learning resources are equally available to everyone. However, many learning programs and materials are becoming increasingly affordable, giving everyone at least some choice in their method of study. Most importantly, you should do research into what your options are and weigh them accordingly. There are a variety of LSAT books available both new and used including but not limited to the LSAT Trainer, the Loophole, and the PowerScore Bibles. Of course, using a book requires a higher degree of discipline and self-accountability. On the other hand, there are a variety of online programs as well which provide a similarly structured curriculum and will even integrate your personal study schedule such as 7Sage and the LSAT Demon. You may even be able to find a relatively inexpensive tutor through Reddit or Wyzant if you require a bit more external accountability or a more personalized approach.
Lastly, what study methods are most effective for you? Everyone should incorporate a mix of foundational concepts, drilling, and practice in their studying, but it's important to recognize which method is most effective for you. Perhaps you find taking PTs (practice tests) garner the greatest score increases. Hence, you should dedicate more study time to taking PTs. Throughout your journey, you should constantly be aware of which study methods are most effective and adjust accordingly.
Once you have definitively answered these questions, you will have prepared yourself to optimize your study time and decrease your exam anxiety. Those preparing for the LSAT might be overwhelmed by the sheer amount of content and their limited timeline, but, by crafting a practical and efficient study plan, you won’t be inundated with content and will be assured that you are making the best use of your time.
3. Learn the Material:
Now that you’ve set yourself up for success, it’s time to actually sit down and do the work. In the following, I’ll outline some of what I found to be the most important strategies and concepts for each section of the exam:
Logical Reasoning:
Logical Reasoning is the core of the LSAT. The lessons learned from this section are essential throughout the exam and need to be learned inside and out. To succeed in this section, you need to learn the language of the test makers, argumentation. Every question contains an argument, and you need to be able to translate those arguments by learning to identify their building blocks: background information, premises, sub-conclusions, and conclusions. Once you’re fluent in argumentation, every stimulus becomes substantially easier to simplify and understand. Second, your argumentation toolbox is not complete without the ability to identify flaws in argumentation. A large proportion of the arguments put forward in LR questions are not foolproof, in fact, some of them are really bad. Additionally, these arguments are only flawed in a limited number of ways, and you need to be able to identify each of the fallacies that the test makers have at their disposal such as ad hominem, causation, and circular reasoning flaws. The ability to identify these flaws will allow you to answer the majority of questions on the exam since, by knowing the flaw, you will be better able to attack it, resolve it, or point it out. Last, but not least, know your question types. There are only a limited number of question types that the test makers will put forward and you can easily look up what these question types are. For each question type, you should have a unique approach and understand what reoccurring signals to look for in the stimulus and answer choices. While I won’t repeat this for the other sections, this is true of every section.
Reading Comprehension:
You will hear from many people that reading comprehension is the hardest section to learn, and this is true in some sense. Success in this section relies on skills that are developed throughout one’s education. However, there are many strategies that can boost your performance and bolster your skills. Developing a reliable shorthand/note-taking system is a priority when learning this section. A shorthand system can reduce the time you spend on questions and also allow you to better retain crucial details. Your system depends on your preferences, strengths, and weaknesses, and discovering your approach will require some trial and error as you test different note-taking strategies. For me, I would write a very short (4-5 words) summary of each paragraph as I finished reading it. I would also utilize the LSAC interface’s highlighters to color code different components of the passage’s argument (e.g., orange = conclusion/main idea). This system was designed in order for me to easily distill the most important aspects of the passage and allow me to easily reference the text for smaller details. There’s no way of getting around this next obstacle though and it has to be faced head on: your reading speed. Reading comprehension requires a balance between reading speed and information retention (i.e., the faster you read, the less information you retain and vice versa). However, if you can increase the speed at which you read without sacrificing any information, there is no downside. That is why I’d recommend reading non-LSAT material in your free time through magazines, novels, and newspapers. Of course, this will help you to both increase your reading speed and your reading stamina. Lastly, this next tip that I utilized during every reading comprehension section I took is more focused on your mindset when approaching the section. No matter what the substance of the article, convince yourself mentally that you are incredibly interested in the subject matter. It may be difficult to trick yourself into enjoying some of the drier topics, but simply telling myself that I wanted to know more about the subject and actively asking questions about the material led to increased focus and closer analysis.
Logic Games:
If you are registered for the June LSAT, then this especially applies to you. If you are planning to take the exam at a later date, you will not have a logic games section, but you should still read the following. These skills as well as previously mentioned skills/tips apply across the entire exam and do not exclusively apply to any one section. First, master formal logic. Your mastery over the rules of formal logic and your ability to apply them is the difference between -5 and -0 on logic games. When I say master, I mean that if someone were to wake you up in the middle of the night and ask you to identify the necessary and sufficient condition in ,”I will not go outside unless it is sunny”, you should be able to answer in under five seconds. This will allow you to easily unravel and represent convoluted language in a significantly more understandable and digestible way. Along with this, develop a foolproof diagramming method that does not consume too much time but also is easily understood in a high-pressure environment. Before I had perfected my diagramming, I would often represent rules, game boards, and pieces in a confusing manner which led to me forgetting about certain aspects of the game or misapplying a rule. Your game diagrams should be compact and excessively clear in what they represent. Logic games are already difficult as is so do not make it more difficult by making a confusing diagram. Last but not least, make deductions. I have heard that some people choose to make deductions as they work through the questions, but I found it much easier to make as many deductions as possible before jumping into the questions. At first, I struggled to uncover key inferences which led to wasted time and wrong answers. However, after diagramming a game, I began to move through each rule one by one, and examined how each interacts with the game board as well as every other rule. Another rule of thumb for making inferences is identifying rules in which a game piece repeats (e.g., “A is before B” and “B is before C” both include B) and seeing if you can uncover any resulting conclusions.
These tips are in no way exhaustive, but I hope that they provided a good overview to guide your studying and help you make incremental improvements.
Step 3: PRACTICE
Now that you have learned all of the fundamentals of each section, it’s time to put them to use. After all, learning all of this material is pointless if you can’t apply it on test day. Practice is an essential component of your test preparation for two primary reasons. First, it allows you to develop a standardized routine. When I say routine, I mean every logistical/strategic aspect of the exam including but not limited to your pre-exam preparation, your logic games diagramming method, your reading comprehension note-taking/shorthand method, time management strategies, and more. You should have deliberated upon, tested, and habituated each of these routines prior to your official exam by implementing them during PTs under test-day conditions. The LSAT is already a very stressful exam so you do not want to waste the precious time you have on exam day thinking about how you should annotate a reading comprehension passage, for example, and tinkering with different strategies. No, your strategies should already be tried and true on exam day. Second, if you never practice taking the exam, you will never know where you need to improve. Taking PTs are incredibly important as they allow you to evaluate your progress and signal which concepts, sections, or questions you need to work on or revisit.
Now, how should you practice? There’s no getting around it. You need to take practice exams under simulated official exam conditions. Set a timer for each section, take the required break between sections, and only use the equipment that will be allowed on test day (i.e., authorized computer, water, scrap paper, writing utensils, etc.). This is the only way for you to estimate how you will perform on test day and accustom yourself to the conditions of the official exam. I completed approximately 2-3 practice exams every week leading up to my official exams. It is even better if you save the more recent practice exams for the week or two before your official exam since those are going to be most similar to your exam. However, it is important that you do not just mindlessly take practice exams which leads me to my next point: blind review.
I know, I know, blind review is extremely time consuming and tedious, but it was essential to my success on this exam. If you do not know what blind review is, it is basically when you do not reveal the correct answers of a practice exam after you have completed it, but instead complete the exam over again by checking and revising your answers. At the end of this process, you will have two scores: your actual score and your blind review score. The main reason for this is that you will now be able to see more clearly where your weaknesses lie. If you corrected a previously incorrect answer during blind review, then you likely got it wrong due to the time constraint or testing anxiety rather than a fundamental misunderstanding of the question. If you failed to catch an incorrect answer during blind review, you need to make it your priority to fully understand your error, analyze the question, and then revisit the concept that the question covers.
Once your weaknesses are exposed during blind review, you can target those weaknesses by reviewing the conceptual material and then drilling the question/game/passage type. If you do not know what I mean by drilling, I mean that you can create and complete custom problem sets that focus on your weakness until you have addressed the weakness.
Step 4: Profit
Now it is time to take your official exam. First, you have to register for the exam and decide on whether you will take it in-person or online. There are benefits and drawbacks to each and you have to decide based on your personal circumstances. For the online format, you are going to need a very quiet room with a strong internet connection. You will need to remove all prohibited material from this room including books, posters, electronics, etc. Additionally, the online proctoring system can be quite a hassle and very finicky. It requires you to download a program prior to test day and then share your screen, video, and audio with a remote proctor. Proctors may interrupt your exam due to compliance issues (e.g., your face is not in full view). Additionally, there is a small but nonzero chance that your exam is placed under review due to suspected noncompliant activity during your exam period and possibly even canceled as a result of said review. However, there are obvious benefits to online testing. You can take the exam in the comfort of your own home if that is an option for you, and you generally have much more control over your environment. You take the exam on a computer of your choice that you are comfortable with. You use your own scrap paper and writing utensils. For the in-person format, there is little to no preparation required beforehand except for scheduling an appointment at a nearby test center and bringing a valid ID. You will be ushered into an office-like room filled with a number of small cubicles. In each cubicle, there will be a desktop with a monitor, mechanical keyboard, and mouse. There will be a pair of noise-canceling headphones, and you will also be given a booklet of scrap paper and writing utensils. A very compelling benefit of the in-person exam is that your exam is much less likely to be placed under review/canceled for suspicious activity. Your test session isn’t recorded and you do not have to connect with a remote proctor. You will not have to worry about the internet connection or whether or not your test-taking equipment is prohibited or not. Basically all you have to do is show up and take the exam. However, there are definitely drawbacks to the in-person exam as well. You will be in a new environment that you are unfamiliar with. There will be the noise of the other test takers in the room with you typing on keyboards, clicking their mouse, coughing, sneezing, leaving/entering the room, etc. There are definitely inconsistencies between the testing centers as well. Some minor, but noticeable issues that I experienced during my in-person exam included audible conversations coming from outside of the room, dark orange scrap paper on which I could barely see pencil marks, dull/broken pencils provided by the testing center, and barely functional noise-canceling headphones. Do not expect the testing centers to be a perfect, controlled environment and anticipate issues/annoyances.
Once you’ve registered and exam day has arrived, it's time to do exactly what you practiced. I would not recommend that you make any last-minute changes to your testing routine/strategies. You have put so much work into perfecting your routine, and it would be a shame to throw that away when it really matters. After about 3 hours, you’ll have officially taken the LSAT. Congratulations! Now, it is a waiting game. Despite the exam taking place on a digital platform and being graded instantly, you will still have to wait about a month to receive your results. It is up to you whether you would like to continue studying during this wait depending on how you felt about your exam performance although I would keep any studying very light. Enjoy your well-deserved break.
Step 5: Score Release
You’ve now waited for what feels like forever and you receive the score for your first official exam. If you reached your goal score, congratulations! You have now finished a crucial component of the law school admissions process. You’re not done yet though. It’s time to start thinking about putting together your law school applications (which I may write another guide about soon). If you did not reach your goal score, don’t worry! Appreciate the fact that you are now more familiar with the official exam process and jump right back into studying/practicing again. If you were very close to your goal score, then I would recommend registering for the soonest upcoming exam and focusing on practicing through drills and PTs. If you were quite far away from your goal score, it might be worth evaluating your weakest sections/question types and jumping back into foundational concepts. Whatever you do, DO NOT cancel your first official exam. First, law schools only really care about your highest exam score, so do better on the next one and this one won’t hurt you. Second, you need to have at least one non-canceled score in order to even apply to law school. Let’s say you cancel your first test and then do even worse on your second test, then what? I would only recommend canceling a score if it is not your first exam (and you did not cancel your first exam) and it is lower than one of your other scores (e.g., you scored a 165 on your first exam and then a 162 on your second).
The End!
I know that was a lot. I could probably think of more to write, but you are probably already overwhelmed with information so I’ll leave the rest to you. I want to reiterate that these are all tips that I’ve picked up over my studying journey and I cannot guarantee a score increase based solely on these tips. After all, the most important thing is that you put in the work yourself and do your own due diligence to find what works best for you. If you have read everything up until now, you may be certifiably insane (the mark of a great law student) and thank you so much for considering what I have had to say. Remember that this is just a small part of your journey. Your LSAT score is not only just a single part of your law school applications, but it is an even smaller part of your career in the legal profession. I am not diminishing the importance of the exam, but please maintain a sensible perspective when you are feeling stressed and anxious about the LSAT. Make sure that you maintain a healthy work-life balance, keep pursuing hobbies and interests that you enjoy, and give yourself a break every once in a while. Your mindset and mental health is half the battle. See you in law school!

TL;DR: I have a contract job pitched as "flexible" and was told I was even overqualified when I was hired. I turn in good work and meet deadlines, but a new managing editor is increasingly micromanaging me. I think it's to better accommodate her own workload and schedule. It makes me want to quit. Should I confront them and is there a good way to ask them to back off a bit?
I am a contract writeeditor for a local community magazine. It amounts to a part-time gig, especially with what it pays, and was advertised as such. I've worked at a daily newspaper and other publications similar to this one before; I have done this exact kind of work before and the publisher (my boss) even characterized me as "overqualified" when they hired me. It is a good fit for me since I am also the primary parent in my house and need flexible, part-time work. I can only work during childcare hours, which they knew when they gave me the job. Of course, things always come up like kids being sick or spring break, etc. and because of that I've come close to deadlines, but I've always met the deadlines and I would say I turn in pretty good copy.
I have been doing this work for about 10 months and around the beginning of the year, another person who has done this same job for a couple of years at another publication was made managing editor, which involves checking my work. I now turn in my work on my individual deadline, which is the day before the hard deadline, so the managing editor can check it. Lately, every month I get an email from the managing editor that is copied to my publisher and lists all the work the managing editor had to do, such as "I cleaned up multiple spelling and grammar errors" and "remember to do this according to style," and "don't forget to do this minor detail." It's sometimes not even consistent with the feedback I got the previous month. I have done document comparisons to find their edits in my work and it's no more than a few grammar or spelling edits, not major rewriting. This is so contrary to the more collaborative way I have always worked with editors who have the perspective that errors are caught in the editing process, and that that is the whole purpose. Recently, this managing editor and our publisher put together guidelines about style and schedule expectations, and I'm now getting a midmonth check-in. I feel like I am trying to meet a bar that gets raised each month. I am being micromanaged when I'm actually doing a pretty satisfactory job. It makes me feel like they do not respect my skills and previous experience, and I'm being treated more like an intern than an adult with 10 years of applicable experience.
I suspect they want more control over when they get the work from me to better accommodate their own schedule. This is contradictory to the premise that this is a flexible gig in which I am in control of my publication.
When I get these emails, I feel angry, frustrated, and get low self esteem. I question if this really is a good fit. But then I address the major issues, such as questions about the information in my writing or requests to change something, basically ignore the critiques on spelling, grammar and style, and just resolve to do better next time. My responding email is a sentence or two saying "I have made the necessary changes and I have taken note of your critiques for next time." Maybe they have noticed my short, somewhat cool response to these long emails? Do they sense my growing animosity? They haven't said so, but I have noticed a bit more of a "compliment sandwich" with the critiques. Still, I have growing animosity over it all. Should I say something about how I'm feeling and if so, how do I do it tactfully?

In today's digital age, graphic design surrounds you, from the billboards that dot the highways to the sleek interface of your favourite app. It's an art form that combines creativity with strategy, aiming to communicate ideas and messages through visual content. Whether it's a vibrant logo that captures the essence of a brand or an infographic that breaks down complex information, graphic design is at the heart of visual communication.
As a career, graphic design offers a canvas for innovation and expression, blending art and technology to create compelling designs that inform, engage, and persuade. In South Africa, where the creative industries continue to bloom, graphic design plays a pivotal role in the business landscape, driving the creation of digital and print media that resonate with consumers. If you're intrigued by the power of visual storytelling and considering a career in this dynamic field, understanding the fundamentals of graphic design is your first step towards unlocking your creative potential.

Key Takeaways

• Understanding Graphic Design: Graphic design is a vital form of communication that merges art with technology to effectively convey messages and ideas. In South Africa, it is not only a burgeoning career path but also key in visual storytelling, crucial for brands and information dissemination.
• Core Elements of Graphic Design: Successful graphic design relies on fundamental elements like typography, colour theory, and layout/composition. Mastery of these components is essential for creating visually engaging designs that communicate effectively.
• Specialisation Areas: Graphic design in South Africa encompasses various specialisation areas including branding, packaging design, and digital design. Each area offers unique opportunities for creativity and innovation.
• Graphic Design Tools and Software: A mix of traditional tools (e.g., pencils, markers) and modern software (such as Adobe Creative Suite and Sketch) is necessary for contemporary graphic design. Familiarity with these tools is crucial for both creativity and efficiency.
• Pursuing a Career in Graphic Design: With the right education and skills, numerous career opportunities open up in advertising, digital design, publishing, and freelancing. South Africa offers a range of courses and programs, like those at Oakfields College, tailored to equip aspiring designers for the industry.
• The Importance of Continuous Learning: Staying updated with the latest design trends and technologies is vital for a successful career in graphic design, highlighting the importance of ongoing education through short courses and professional development.

Understanding Graphic Design

Graphic design stands as a pivotal form of communication, blending art and technology to convey messages and ideas effectively. In South Africa, where the creative industries are burgeoning, graphic design emerges as a compelling career pathway, offering endless opportunities for innovation and expression. This section delves into the essence of graphic design, its fundamental components, and why mastering these concepts is crucial for aspiring designers.
Graphic design is more than just aesthetics; it's about solving problems and communicating ideas visually. It combines various elements such as typography, images, colours, and layouts to create engaging designs that capture attention, inform, and sometimes persuade the audience. Whether it's a branding campaign, a website design, or product packaging, every piece of design communicates a story to its viewers.

Core Elements of Graphic Design

Firstly, understanding the basic elements of graphic design is essential. These elements include:

• Typography: The art of arranging type, which is a crucial aspect of design. It's not just about choosing fonts; it's about creating readable and appealing text that enhances the message.
• Colour Theory: Colour plays a vital role in graphic design. It can influence mood, convey messages, and even affect purchasing decisions. Understanding colour theory helps in choosing the right palette for your projects.
• Layout and Composition: How elements are arranged on a page determines how effectively the design communicates. Good layout and composition bring balance, guide the viewer’s eye, and ensure the design is aesthetically pleasing.

Specialisation Areas in Graphic Design

The field of graphic design in South Africa is diverse, with several areas of specialisation, including:

• Branding and Visual Identity: Creating a visual identity for brands that communicates their values and distinguishes them from competitors.
• Packaging Design: This involves designing attractive and functional packaging that stands out on the shelf while protecting the product.
• Digital Design: This encompasses website design, mobile app design, and social media graphics, among others.

For those looking to pursue a career in graphic design, South Africa offers a variety of courses and training programs. From comprehensive graphic design courses to short courses in South Africa, aspiring designers have access to some of the best graphic design courses available. These programs cover the fundamentals of design as well as the latest trends and technologies, preparing students for successful careers in this dynamic field.

History of Graphic Design

Tracing the origins of graphic design takes you back to the dawn of human expression, but its professional identity and terminology began shaping during the 20th century. The term 'graphic design' itself was coined by William Addison Dwiggins in 1922, marking the official separation of design as a distinct profession which encompasses typography, visual arts, and page layout for the purposes of marketing, advertising, and informing.
In South Africa, graphic design has weaved its unique thread through the country's rich tapestry of cultural diversity. Emerging from a background of traditional art forms and evolving through the apartheid and post-apartheid eras, today's South African graphic design scene is a vibrant mix of traditional African elements and modern digital artistry. This blend offers a distinct flavour to South African design, making it recognisable on the global stage.
The evolution of graphic design in South Africa closely aligns with technological advancements and educational progress in the field. Institutions like Oakfields College play a pivotal role in shaping the new generation of graphic designers through comprehensive graphic design courses and short courses in South Africa. These programs not only equip students with the necessary skills in traditional and digital design but also incorporate critical thinking and strategy, preparing them for a successful career in the industry.
Moreover, South Africa has embraced the digital revolution in graphic design, with many designers and agencies placing a strong emphasis on digital mediums. This transition has not only expanded the scope of graphic design in the country but also opened up a plethora of opportunities for designers to innovate and create with global reach.
Whether you're considering a career in this dynamic field or simply have an appreciation for the art form, understanding the history of graphic design, especially within the South African context, enriches your perspective of its impact and potential. For those looking to dive deeper into this industry, seeking out the best graphic design courses in South Africa is a solid first step towards mastering the craft and contributing to its ongoing story.

Key Principles of Graphic Design

Understanding the key principles of graphic design is essential for creating visually compelling and effective designs. These principles serve as the foundational guidelines that ensure your work communicates the intended message to your audience, especially within the South African context where cultural diversity and historical background profoundly influence visual communication.

Layout and Structure

The layout and structure form the backbone of graphic design. Utilising layout software, designers position text, images and incorporate features such as columns and advertisements to achieve a balanced and visually attractive product. For instance, in crafting layouts for newspapers, magazines, or books, the arrangement dictates how readers process information, making it crucial to guide the audience through the design in a logical sequence. South African designers must be adept at using tools like InDesign to create layouts that not only look good but also respect the cultural nuances and readability preferences of the local audience.

Typeface Design

Creating or selecting the right typeface is key to conveying your design's intended tone and personality. Each font carries its own weight and style, impacting how text is perceived. Original fonts designed for specific digital applications, including websites and adverts, must be readable, scalable, and aesthetically pleasing. South Africa's rich cultural tapestry offers an opportunity for typeface designers to explore unique font styles that reflect local heritage and language diversity, enhancing the global richness of typeface design.

Colour Theory

A fundamental component of graphic design, colour theory explains how colours interact with each other and the effects they have on the viewer. The right colour palette can evoke emotions, communicate messages, and influence actions. In South Africa, with its vibrant landscapes and diverse cultures, colour holds significant importance. Utilising colour effectively requires understanding local cultural differences and preferences, ensuring designs resonate with the intended audience while achieving the desired impact.

Web Page Design

The digital realm offers vast opportunities for graphic designers to express creativity and innovation. Designing the structure and appearance of websites demands a combination of layout skills, colour theory application, and typeface selection. Graphic designers often create PSD or AI files that are then converted into functional websites. In a South African context, where digital access and consumption patterns vary widely across different demographics, designers have to be strategic in their design decisions, ensuring accessibility and responsiveness across devices.

The Role of Graphic Design in Various Industries

Graphic design, with its profound ability to communicate visually, plays a pivotal role across various industries. Its significance in the South African context, driven by cultural diversity and a unique historical backdrop, cannot be overstated. As you explore the vast landscape of graphic design, you'll discover its application in marketing and advertising, digital design, publishing, and entertainment and media. Let's delve into how graphic design shapes these industries and the opportunities it presents for aspiring designers, especially those considering enrolling in graphic design courses or short courses in South Africa.

Marketing and Advertising

In the competitive market of South Africa, graphic design serves as the backbone of successful marketing and advertising campaigns. Designers craft compelling visuals that not only grab the attention of the target audience but also convey the brand's message effectively. From creating eye-catching advertisements to designing sophisticated marketing materials, graphic designers ensure that a brand stands out in a crowded marketplace. Engaging visuals in billboards, flyers, brochures, and digital ads are all testaments to the creativity and strategic thinking of graphic designers. With the best graphic design courses in South Africa, you can unlock your potential and help brands tell their stories compellingly.

Digital Design

The digital landscape is ever-evolving, and graphic design is at the heart of this transformation. In South Africa, where the digital economy continues to grow, the demand for skilled graphic designers who can navigate web page design, UX/UI, and social media content creation is on the rise. Digital design focuses on crafting user-friendly and aesthetically pleasing online experiences. Whether it's through website design, mobile app interfaces, or engaging social media posts, graphic designers play a critical role in shaping how brands interact with their audiences online. By pursuing short courses in graphic design with a focus on digital applications, you're setting yourself up for a rewarding career in this dynamic field.

Publishing

The publishing industry in South Africa, which includes books, magazines, newspapers, and catalogs, relies heavily on graphic design to attract and retain readership. Publication designers work closely with authors and publishers to create layouts, choose typefaces, and select images that enhance the readability and appeal of printed materials. The goal is to create visually attractive publications that communicate content effectively, whether it's for educational, informational, or entertainment purposes. graphic design course that specialise in publication design can provide you with the skills needed to excel in this sector.

Entertainment and Media

Graphic design's influence extends into the entertainment and media industry, creating unforgettable visuals for films, television shows, video games, and music productions. Designers collaborate with directors and producers to craft branding, promotional materials, and visual effects that define the aesthetic of a production. In South Africa, where the entertainment industry is vibrant and diverse, graphic designers contribute to the cultural fabric by creating artwork that resonates with both local and international audiences. Short courses in South Africa focusing on graphic design for entertainment and media can launch your career in this exhilarating field.
The role of graphic design in various industries is immense, offering vast opportunities for creative expression and professional growth. Whether you're interested in marketing and advertising, digital design, publishing, or entertainment and media, graphic design courses in South Africa can equip you with the necessary skills to thrive in these exciting fields. Explore the best graphic design courses and embrace the journey toward becoming a prominent designer in the industry.

Graphic Design Tools and Software

Embarking on a journey in graphic design, you'll discover that it's not just about creativity but also about the tools and software that bring your ideas to life. Whether you're interested in pursuing one of the best graphic design courses or just starting to dip your toes into this vibrant field, knowing the right tools is essential. In South Africa, where the design landscape is as diverse as its culture, having a toolkit equipped with both traditional and modern instruments is key to making your mark.

Traditional Tools

Before the digital age took over, graphic designers relied heavily on traditional tools to conceptualise and create their artwork. These tools weren't just instruments; they were extensions of the designers' hands and minds, allowing them to manifest their visions into tangible forms.

• Pencils and sketchpads are indispensable, even today, for quickly jotting down ideas or sketching preliminary designs. These basics enable you to freely express your initial concepts without the constraints of software interfaces.
• Rulers and stencils aid in creating clean, precise lines and shapes, ensuring that your work maintains professional standards of accuracy.
• Markers and paint allow for the exploration of colour and texture, adding a unique touch to logos or illustrations that digital means might not fully replicate.

Mastering these traditional tools can give you a strong foundation in the principles of graphic design, a necessity highlighted in short courses across South Africa.

Modern Software

As technology advanced, the realm of graphic design expanded, introducing a suite of modern software that has become indispensable to today's designer. This software not only enhances efficiency but also opens up infinite possibilities for creativity and collaboration.

• Adobe Creative Suite, including Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign, is the cornerstone of professional graphic design. These applications offer powerful tools for image manipulation, vector artwork creation, and layout design, making them a staple in graphic design courses.
• CorelDraw Graphics Suite provides robust vector editing capabilities alongside layout and photo-editing tools, tailored for versatility in various design tasks.
• Sketch has become a go-to for web and mobile interface design, with its intuitive vector tools and simplified interface, making it a popular choice for those specialising in digital design.

Each piece of software brings its strengths to the table, and in a competitive field like graphic design, knowing your way around them can set you apart. Best graphic design courses, particularly those offered in South Africa at esteemed institutions like Oakfields College, cover an extensive range of these modern tools, preparing students to meet industry demands.
Engaging with both traditional tools and modern software equips you with a versatile skill set, crucial for navigating the diverse graphic design landscape in South Africa. Whether you're aiming to excel in branding, digital design, or any other specialization within the field, harnessing these tools will be key to your success.

Pursuing a Career in Graphic Design

Graphic design, a field that artfully combines text, images, and concepts to communicate ideas, offers a myriad of career possibilities. In South Africa, where the digital and creative industries are rapidly expanding, pursuing a career in graphic design can be both fulfilling and lucrative. Let’s delve into how you can embark on this exciting journey.

Educational Pathways

Your venture into the world of graphic design begins with the right education. South African institutions, including Oakfields College, offer comprehensive programmes that cater not just to the theoretical aspects of graphic design but also to the practical, hands-on experiences necessary for success in the industry.

1. Graphic Design Courses: You'll find a range of options, from diplomas to bachelor’s degrees. These courses cover fundamental principles such as typography, layout design, and colour theory, along with modern digital design tools. Oakfields College is renowned for its focused curriculum that prepares you for the real-world challenges of a graphic designer.
2. Short Courses in South Africa: If you're looking for a more flexible learning path or wish to specialise in a particular area like web design or digital marketing, short courses can be invaluable. These programmes are perfect for staying abreast of the latest trends and technologies in the graphic design realm.
3. Best Graphic Design Courses: When selecting a course, consider institutions that offer a balanced mix of theory and practical application. Courses that include internships or work placement opportunities, like those at Oakfields College, are particularly beneficial as they provide real industry experience and a chance to build a professional network.

Career Opportunities

After equipping yourself with the necessary knowledge and skills, a diverse range of career opportunities awaits. Here's a glimpse of what you can expect:

1. Advertising and Branding: Companies constantly seek talented graphic designers to create compelling advertising campaigns and develop strong brand identities.
2. Digital Design: With the digital age in full swing, careers in web design, user interface (UI) design, and user experience (UX) design are in high demand. Designers with skills in creating visually appealing and user-friendly digital spaces are highly sought after.
3. Publishing and Print Media: Despite the rise of digital media, there's still a significant need for designers in the publishing industry. From magazines to books and newspapers, graphic designers play a crucial role in layout and visual storytelling.
4. Freelancing: For those who prefer a more flexible work environment, freelancing offers the freedom to choose projects that align with your interests and expertise. Platforms such as Behance and LinkedIn can help you showcase your portfolio and connect with potential clients.

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Graphic design is more than just an artistic endeavour; it's a pivotal element of South Africa's creative landscape. With its rich history and evolving nature, the field offers a vibrant pathway for those looking to make their mark. Through institutions like Oakfields College, aspiring designers have access to comprehensive training that covers everything from fundamentals to advanced specialisations. Whether you're drawn to branding, digital design, or another niche, the opportunities in this dynamic industry are vast. Embarking on a graphic design career not only allows you to explore your creative passions but also to contribute significantly to the digital and creative sectors. Remember, your journey in graphic design is not just about mastering tools or techniques; it's about shaping visual narratives that resonate. So, if you're ready to dive into this exciting field, the time to start is now.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the significance of graphic design in South Africa?

Graphic design in South Africa plays a pivotal role in the communication industry, blending visual communication with digital technology to produce effective branding and marketing strategies. Its significance lies in its ability to convey complex information and ideas through creative and visual means.

What are the core elements of graphic design?

The core elements of graphic design include layout, typeface design, and colour theory. These elements are crucial in creating visually appealing and effective designs that communicate the desired message to the audience.

What specialisation areas exist within graphic design?

In South Africa, graphic design specialisation areas include branding, digital design, advertising, publishing, and freelancing. Each area focuses on different aspects of visual communication and offers unique career opportunities.

How has the history of graphic design evolved in South Africa?

The history of graphic design in South Africa has evolved from traditional print media to incorporating digital mediums. It reflects the country's rich culture and history, with institutions like Oakfields College playing a significant role in training the next generation of designers.

What role do institutions like Oakfields College play in graphic design education?

Institutions like Oakfields College in South Africa play a crucial role in graphic design education by offering comprehensive courses and short programmes that equip students with the necessary skills and knowledge in graphic design principles, tools, and software.

What are the essential tools and software for graphic designers?

The essential tools and software for graphic designers include Adobe Creative Suite (Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign) for creating and editing visuals. Knowledge of these tools is critical for producing high-quality design work.

How can one pursue a career in graphic design in South Africa?

Pursuing a career in graphic design in South Africa involves obtaining the necessary education through courses and programmes offered by reputable institutions like Oakfields College. Building a strong portfolio and gaining experience through internships or freelance projects are also important steps.

What career opportunities exist in graphic design?

Career opportunities in graphic design in South Africa are abundant and include fields such as advertising, digital design, publishing, and freelancing within the expanding digital and creative industries, offering a dynamic and rewarding career path for aspiring designers.

My Dearest u/DernhelmLaughed,
Screw you for overusing the "Gwilty" pun last week, when this week could have offered me such amazing opportunities as "Catholic Gwilt" and "We find the defendant Gwilty." I shall have to find other ways to entertain my audience.
Yours sincerely,
u/Amanda39
(Note to everyone else: My apologies that this recap is late and not up to my usual standards. I foolishly forgot about Mother's Day and, just when I was going to sit down to compose the summary, realized that I would have to spend the next few hours at my sister's house, with her barking labradoodle and screaming children. Afterwards, I needed to spend at least an hour playing Beethoven to calm my nerves.)
Book the Third, Chapter 14: Miss Gwilt's Diary.
A lot happened this week, so let's rewind all the way back to when Lydia and Allan were on the train together. Lydia bribed the conductor make sure they were alone in the carriage, thus encouraging rumors about the two of them. Allan spends the trip awkwardly trying to not tell her that he's going to London to find out how he could marry Neelie, and Lydia invites him to come with her to see Ozias, in the hope of reconciling the two of them, which of course Allan is eager to do.
The next day, Lydia pawns her watch and visits a lawyer who informs her that there's no legal reason why she can't marry under her maiden name, although her husband could invalidate the marriage later if he found out. She also gives Ozias a made-up story about her past ("A dead father; a lost fortune; vagabond brothers, whom I dread ever seeing again; a bedridden mother dependent on my exertions...") but hates herself for it because she's honestly in love with him. Ozias, meanwhile, reveals that he's gotten a job as a foreign correspondent for a newspaper, and that the two of them will be moving to Naples once they get married. Lydia also agrees to let Ozias tell Allan about their plans to marry, so that it will be easier for her to learn if how the Major reacted to her anonymous letter about Allan and Neelie.
The Major, we learn, has agreed to their engagement, provided that Allan and Neelie remain separated and do not communicate for the next six months, during which Neelie will attend school, and then remain engaged for an additional six months before marrying. This, of course, gives Lydia's plan more than enough time to occur. Ozias suggests that Allan occupy the six months by visiting Mr. Brock and then sailing to Naples.
Lydia decides to amuse herself by annoying Mother Oldershaw, but ends up discovering that Oldershaw and Dr. Downward are in hiding for legal reasons. She also starts seeing spies everywhere, which I was hoping meant that she was descending into paranoia or something, but no, it's just Bashwood's son's employees spying on her. She doesn't know this, of course, and thinks Mother Oldershaw is after her. To throw them off, she switches locations and tells Ozias she's visiting her mother. She's also so convinced that her milliner is spying on her, she decides to not go back to pick up the finished dress. (I thought milliners made hats, not dresses?) This results in the milliner having the dress delivered to her new location, despite Lydia not having told the location to the milliner. Okay, yeah, that's kind of suspicious.
But Lydia is more than just distracted by spies. She's also tormented by her love for Ozias, and tells her diary that she isn't going to go through with her plans after all.
A surprising complication occurs: Mr. Brock dies. Ozias and Allan go to the funeral, with Ozias and Lydia planning to marry the next day. Lydia bribes a servant to have her lover, a soldier, distract the spy who's following her.
After the funeral, Ozias shows Lydia a letter that Brock had written to him just before he died. Brock begs Ozias to give up his superstitions and reconcile with Allan, arguing that, rather than being Allan's doom, Ozias may someday save Allan. This terrifies Lydia, who now believes that "if that old man’s last earthly conviction is prophetic of the truth, Armadale will escape me, do what I may. And Midwinter will be the victim who is sacrificed to save his life."
The chapter ends with Lydia and Ozias marrying.
Book the Third, Chapter 15: The Wedding-Day.
Okay, enough of Lydia Gwilt's diary. Time to revisit everyone's favorite delusional horny old man. Bashwood Sr. meets with Bashwood Jr. (who I'm going to call "Jemmy" because it's easier to type) and learns Lydia Gwilt's dark secrets.
But first, we get a description of how Bashwood desperately needs to be arrested by the fashion police. And then Jemmy insists on getting paid. And then on eating breakfast. Congratulations, Jemmy, you're even more annoying than your father. Anyhow, we finally get Lydia's entire life story out of Jemmy:
Lydia spent the first eight years of her life being raised by a baby farmer. For those of you who have participated in previous Victorian Lady Detective Squad books, I would like to state for the record that none of us knew in advance that a freaking baby farmer would show up in this one. If I had a nickel for every book I've run here where I put a link to the Wikipedia article on baby farming in the summary, I'd have ten cents, which isn't enough to pay someone to raise a kid for me but it's weird that it happened twice. Anyhow, her parents stopped paying for her, so the baby farmer sold her to a quack doctor named Oldershaw. Gee, why does that name sound familiar?
The Oldershaws use Lydia to demonstrate their hair care products. One day, while they're displaying their wares in Thorpe Ambrose, Miss Blanchard (Allan's mom) sees Lydia and takes an interest in her, which results in the Oldershaws abandoning Lydia with her. This is how she ended up becoming Miss Blanchard's maid. Of course, once everything happened in Madeira, the Blanchards had to keep Lydia from causing scandal by revealing everything that had happened. They sent Lydia to school in France, offering to support her until she married, in exchange for her never returning to England.
At 17, Lydia gets kicked out of school because a married teacher fell in love with her and tried to kill himself. This wasn't Lydia's fault, but they kicked her out anyway. Holy shit. Anyhow, the trauma caused Lydia to find God and try to become a nun. (Alright, I'll go ahead and make the obvious joke: is this what they mean by Catholic Gwilt?) But she changed her mind after two years, and which point Miss Blanchard cut contact with her.
Lydia becomes a piano player to support herself, and ends up meeting a baroness who's a card sharp. Wilkie, why are you giving us this through Jemmy? I would read an entire-ass book about Lydia's life story. You can't just go "oh yeah, she's a failed nun who travelled across Europe with a card sharp" and not actually tell that story. WTF. Anyhow, a man named Waldron threatens to expose them to the police, but (like every other man in this story) he falls for Lydia, so Lydia convinces him to marry her instead.
The two move back to England, where Waldron turns out to be an abusive asshole and Lydia falls in love with a Cuban captain named Manuel. One day, shortly after Waldron hit Lydia in the face with a riding whip, Waldron mysteriously falls ill and dies, and Lydia is put on trial for poisoning him. Lydia admits in court that she and Manuel were planning to run away together, but claims that she didn't poison her husband.
Waldron had initially left a large amount of money to Lydia in his will but, shortly before his death, wrote a new will drastically decreasing the amount. This casts suspicion on Manuel, who may only have known of the earlier will. Still, the court decides that Lydia had too much of a motive for killing her husband, and she's found Gwilty and sentenced to death. Of course, she gets pardoned after a public outcry, because she's too hot to die. But then she's immediately found guilty of theft, after it's discovered that she'd stolen her dead husband's jewels and hidden them in her corset. So she ends up serving two years in prison for that.
None of this has changed Bashwood's mind about her, and he wants to tell Allan ASAP, in the hope that Allan won't marry her after all and then he'll stand a chance. Jemmy's a fan of this plan, thinking he can get money from Allan, too. On the way to the hotel, Jemmy finishes the story: After getting out of prison, Lydia married Manuel. The marriage isn't legally valid, however, because it turned out that Manuel is already legally married to another woman. That didn't stop Manuel from taking Lydia's money and running off to another country with it. Oh, and Lydia reunited with Mrs. Oldershaw after she got out of prison, because they chop your hair off in prison and she needed a makeover.
It's too late. The Bashwoods cannot find Allan or Lydia, and they find the names "Allan Armadale" and "Lydia Gwilt" in the church's wedding register. Bashwood collapses in shock, and Jemmy once againd deserts his father.
Book the Fourth, Chapter 1: Miss Gwilt's Diary.
It's two months later, and the honeymoon has worn off. Ozias is depressed and throws himself into his work. Lydia feels abandoned. Out of boredom, she rereads her diary from when she was plotting to murder Allan, because who doesn't get nostalgic for premediated murder when they're bored? Speaking of Allan, he's on his way to visit them, but he got delayed when his failboat crashed off the coast of Portugal.
Allan finally arrives. He annoys the hell out of Lydia by constantly talking about yachts and Neelie. Yes, he talks to Lydia about Neelie. I think he's forgotten who Lydia is or something, I dunno. Lydia is as weirded out by this as I am. Oh yeah, Allan bought a new yacht. He may have trouble finding a crew that can speak English in Naples, though.
Lydia finds that Ozias has fallen asleep with both Brock's letter and Allan's dream in his hands. He's clearly still tormented by his superstition.
Book the Fourth, Chapter 2: The Diary Continued.
Lydia, Ozias, and Allan go to the opera, to see Bellini's Norma). Lydia gets a shock when she realizes that one of the chorus singers is Manuel. I was desperately hoping that she really was being paranoid this time, but no, it really freaking is Manuel. Look, I can deal with the "England only has twelve people in it" thing that happens in this type of book, but this is going too far. Why the hell would a Cuban captain running away from his English wife end up in Naples as an opera singer?
Later that night, Allan mentions Neelie one too many times, and Lydia blows up at him. Honestly, I'm with Lydia on this. I would have blown up, too, and I wasn't even plotting to marry him. She also says something to him that she doesn't write in her diary, which made me say "How dare she write like it's an actual diary, and not an epistolary narrative in a book?" Then she actually replied with "Why do I keep a diary at all? Why did the clever thief the other day (in the English newspaper) keep the very thing to convict him in the shape of a record of everything he stole? Why are we not perfectly reasonable in all that we do? Why am I not always on my guard and never inconsistent with myself, like a wicked character in a novel? Why? why? why?" and that's when I realized that I was arguing with a fictional character.
Later that night, Ozias talks to Lydia. He looks so sick, it makes Lydia worry about "what I had done—or, no, of what I had tried to do—in that interval between half-past ten and half-past eleven, which I have left unnoticed in my diary" because Lydia is apparently really embracing this whole "unreliable narrator" thing. Ozias tells her that he wants Allan to go back to England without the two of them. When she asks why, he explains:
The previous night, Allan didn't like the wine they were drinking, so Lydia offered to make lemonade for him. Lydia gave the lemonade to Ozias, who gave the lemonade to Allan, who collapsed because it contained brandy... although Lydia is very quick at this point to assume that Ozias is accusing her of poisoning Allan. (She also comes right out and tells her diary that she added the brandy "to disguise the taste of—never mind what!") Anyhow, this means that Ozias and Lydia accidentally acted out part of Allan's dream, so now Ozias is afraid to sail with him.
The next day, Lydia meets with Manuel, who tries to blackmail her. Lydia's like "I have a better idea. I know a rich idiot who carries all his money on him, and who needs an interpreter for his yacht. What if you worked for him, stole his money, and then, I dunno, threw him overboard or something?" Manuel asks what Lydia's interest in this is, which surprises Lydia, because she apparently forgot that she wanted Allan dead, and was just trying to keep Manuel and Ozias apart? "Thus far the sole object I had kept in view was to protect myself, by the sacrifice of Armadale, from the exposure that threatened me. I tell no lies to my Diary." Yeah, sure...
The yacht sets sail with Allan and Manuel, without Ozias and Lydia, and the chapter ends with Ozias wistfully saying goodbye.

Over the course of these last few months, I created a Pinterest board for every decade! I did all of that to visualize better each decade, organizing and laying down their visuals, aesthetics, themes, vibes, moods, and cultural characteristics, summarizing an entire decade in a set of images. So without more stalling, here's every Pinterest board that I made for every decade:

1890s

https://preview.redd.it/z5f33rncs30d1.png?width=1788&format=png&auto=webp&s=9ff9d17c15d906317e52c32f30dffa7d32450bd6
https://pinterest.com/StarLotusHere/1890s/
Also known as "The Gay Nineties" ("gay" meaning happy or joyous at the time), it was a part of the "Belle Époque" (1871-1914), the Gilded Age (circa 1870-1900), and the last decade of the Victorian Era (1837-1901) and the 19th Century. It's the first decade in history to have an identity compared to previous times, one of rapid technological advancement, such as the invention of film and cars. A time of Top Hats, big puffy sleeves, Gibson Girls, Art Nouveau, Ragtime, and carriages.

1900s

https://preview.redd.it/79nbwx15s30d1.png?width=1785&format=png&auto=webp&s=c2a850c77d495c38d0f9fd1a4ea9aa8a97a3598f
https://pinterest.com/StarLotusHere/1900s/
Queen Victoria died in 1901, ushering the Edwardian Era (1901-1910). Puffy sleeves fell out of style, but the Gibson Girl look persists. Ladies hats got bigger and the S-bend corset got popular. Cars, also known at the time as "horseless carriages", were slowly seeping in with the upper classes. Other than that, the 1900s were basically a continuation of the 1890s, with similar aesthetics, music, and styles.

1910s

https://preview.redd.it/669bl7qwr30d1.png?width=1799&format=png&auto=webp&s=f7b5e3b832491790963a8334e1b1420694dc7386
https://pinterest.com/StarLotusHere/1910s/
For the time, it was a decade of massive transformations. During the later half, "the Great War" came around, as well as the Spanish Flu. A large number of men went to the battlefields and trenches, women needed to occupy male jobs, new war tech was developing, and propaganda became repent. Throughout the 1910s, cars became more widespread, the airplane was invented, the Radio was slowly rising, and fashion became less uptight and more relaxed compared to the past.

1920s

https://preview.redd.it/vv412o1jr30d1.png?width=1796&format=png&auto=webp&s=819edaf10cab51294d2e90615e277e0a9472c4ea
https://pinterest.com/StarLotusHere/1920s/
As the Great War and Spanish Flu Pandemic comes to a close, the 1920s begin, finally completely distancing society from the 19th Century. Ah, the famous Roaring Twenties... The Jazz Age, flappers, Art Deco, and the booming of Radio! A rather glamorous and fancy time of clubs and bars. In the United States, it also coincided with the Alcohol Prohibition, which contributed to the rise of this particular zeitgeist in the first place.

1930s

https://preview.redd.it/wcu307e6r30d1.png?width=1793&format=png&auto=webp&s=5b83b674fde4c002a458cc541032e1a82c9cf336
https://pinterest.com/StarLotusHere/1930s/
Also known as the "Dirty 30s", it was a very awkward and difficult time following the Wall Street Crash of 1929. The Great Depression, the Dust Bowl in the US, the rise of fascism... We also saw the rise of Talkies (movies with sound), color in film, and the Golden Age of Radio. Aesthetically, it was as if people were stuck between the 1920s and 40s, very transitional per se.

1940s

https://preview.redd.it/w7iqvapwq30d1.png?width=1812&format=png&auto=webp&s=714076f0a79b308eb31cd073a450bc94212df798
https://pinterest.com/StarLotusHere/1940s/
The Second World War began and it's even worse than the previous one. Manipulative propaganda was rampant and tens of millions of people died during this time, including civilians. The fashion might look fabulous, but the times were anything but that.

1950s

https://preview.redd.it/34j20uwfq30d1.png?width=1793&format=png&auto=webp&s=af672541abb8da9bafea225e17f54e1c9a9a585c
https://pinterest.com/StarLotusHere/1950s/
Entering a Post-War world and the beginning of the Cold War (1947-1991). It was an age of atomic optimism, reflected in the design of cars, architecture, furniture, and interiors. Televisions became widespread to the masses, although they were still black and white. Rock and Roll, fancy diners, Grease, suburbia and the American Dream also defined the look and vibe of the 50s.

1960s

https://preview.redd.it/a77mjonyp30d1.png?width=1792&format=png&auto=webp&s=060a27f52b318ef35178410982d36d7069c83eb7
https://pinterest.com/StarLotusHere/1960s/
The 60s, a decade of counterculture! Hippies, Woodstock 1969, The Beatles, miniskirts, gogo boots, and psychedelic aesthetics! It was the decade where the youth wanted to voice their beliefs and backlash against traditional institutions and values. It was also that time where TV was getting their colors!

1970s

https://preview.redd.it/f5ush35pp30d1.png?width=1790&format=png&auto=webp&s=e038a2309045b7904c5e5e63f37f916b7813f7f1
https://pinterest.com/StarLotusHere/1970s/
The decade of Disco, bell bottoms, long hair, Earth Tones, and wooden furniture! Very funky I gotta say... Although the politics and economics of the time were less than stellar. We also saw the birth of Video Games and Physical Media, with the VHS vs. Betamax Format War occurring at the time.

1980s

https://preview.redd.it/12p4o5zap30d1.png?width=1788&format=png&auto=webp&s=e566fcc706b507f4a33a792a9527b942e2a82aca
https://pinterest.com/StarLotusHere/1980s/
Ahh, the 80s... The neon aesthetics, MTV, Synthpop music, cassette tapes, and crazy hairstyles! Real life in the 80s didn't really reflect this maximalist paradise as some people might think, but it did reflect in the visuals of music videos, tech design, advertisement, and media of the time.

1990s

https://preview.redd.it/bw33atlqo30d1.png?width=1798&format=png&auto=webp&s=cf2ec2141c77bd621bd75fd0e131c454aada8b20
https://pinterest.com/StarLotusHere/1990s/
Wake up, it's the 90s again! The last decade of the revolutionary 20th Century! Let's immerse ourselves into the future while surfing through the World Wide Web and playing that slick Discman! An exciting time for technology, with the rise of CGI animation, 3D gaming, computers, mobile phones, and CDs! Baggy clothes, Grunge, alternative aesthetics, Windows 95, boy bands, and millennium futurism also defined the decade. An amalgamation of multiple vibes and aesthetics, representing the times.

2000s

https://preview.redd.it/hp7c5a3ao30d1.png?width=1800&format=png&auto=webp&s=331a109a9b40aa64f54df268644f04066a064e58
https://pinterest.com/StarLotusHere/2000s/
The decade of Flip Phones, DVDs, Digital Cameras, iPods/MP3 Players, Emos, and Low-rise Jeans! It was a time where the internet was a new and exciting thing, with websites like Myspace, Orkut, YouTube, and Blingee becoming very popular. It was futuristic, advanced yet dated, loud and quiet, colorful and muted, modern yet nostalgic, uplifting and melancholic, comforting and uneasy, cute and edgy, etc.
Audio-visual version of this board in the format of a YouTube playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLEF7RmsJIwX8YCFZQ_QJuu4EwU2KTXmKf&si=DH3XAcRqSuyqhvbJ
See this post for more information about what I think defined the vibe of the 2000s: https://www.reddit.com/decadeology/comments/18vk6dw/the_vibes_i_get_when_thinking_about_the_2000s/

2010s

https://preview.redd.it/f505oywan30d1.png?width=1791&format=png&auto=webp&s=6d5293e1281cd2f03a14e4a9d370e84a9473e6f4
https://pinterest.com/StarLotusHere/2010s/
Smartphones, the rise of Streaming Services, EDM, Hipsters, Skinny Jeans, 2014 Tumblr, Galaxy prints, Internet Meme aesthetics, Instagram and Snapchat filters... These are the things that defined the 2010s! It was a very bright and tropical-feeling decade, yet somewhat minimalistic.

2020s (so far)

https://preview.redd.it/eosx9nhxm30d1.png?width=1795&format=png&auto=webp&s=d180102f45ec8dbef81cb30af5c7804c31ce2c3a
https://pinterest.com/StarLotusHere/2020s-so-fa
The current decade, as of the writing of this description. We are still living it, so things might change down the line, but so far, I can identify some of the vibes, fashion, and aesthetics of the 2020s. Artificial Intelligence, Baggy Y2K revival, foldable phones, RGB lights, and the slow return of maximalism are the characteristics that I identified so far. Not to mention the COVID-19 Pandemic, which completely shifted the mood for possibly the entire decade. But we will see...

To clarify, I worked for the state, driving a white van that transported police officers along with dangerous apprehended criminals from the station to a high security prison. These criminals included serial killers, sex offenders and other such abominations. The van had eight seats in total, two at the front separated from six at the back by a thick transparent plastic panel for driver protection. I was never specifically told the crimes they had committed, but the drive could be over an hour long, which meant I often had enough to gauge from their conversations and ramblings. Some would yell and try to fight the police or escape during the ride, but the van was built rock solid to account for those types. Some were child abusers, molesters, remorseless killers who gloated about their sins. Others would beg the police to let them go.
I was disgusted by these people, but never disturbed to the point of wanting to quit. After ten years on the job, nothing fazed me anymore. In fact, I was proud of what I did. The more horrific the person, the more I liked the idea of sending them off to get what they deserved.
That was until one day, when a calm, well groomed young man was apprehended and brought to the van.
Four police officers accompanied him. He was dressed in a tailored blue suit and had shiny brown slicked-back hair. Couldn't have been older than thirty. At first, I mistook him for a manager or lawyer from a distance, before noticing he had both hands behind his back. He nodded politely as he passed my window, and was taken to the back. They unfolded the seats and sat down, and the door was slammed shut. I started the engine.
"This ride's an hour and a bit. You're not going to give us any trouble, are you son?" Asked one of the officers.
"Course not. You guys don't get paid nearly enough for that," said the man in the suit. A few of the policemen scoffed.
"You're right on that one," another officer said, rolling his eyes.
"My uncle used to be a cop. Ironic, I know," the man in the suit replied nonchalantly, still handcuffed. "But when he started, there were fifty in his division. Now there's about ten. Makes you wonder if all the tax money is going to nuclear warheads instead."
"Wouldn't be surprised," one officer mumbled to another, shaking his head.
"My lawyer told me not to say that because it might piss you off, but I told him you'd all let me go as soon as you heard it."
The policemen guffawed, the entire van erupting with laughter. I wondered what was so funny. Whatever crime he had committed, this man was bantering without a care, while being deported to face life in prison or possibly the death penalty. He cracked a few more jokes, and they were wrapped around his little finger. A while later, he caught my eye in the rear view mirror.
"You must hear all sorts of crazy stories," said the suited man, talking directly to me.
"Imagine being an Uber driver, but all the passengers kill people. I'd watch that reality show," he continued. "Still, it must be satisfying in a weird sort of way. Bringing them all to justice, literally."
"Yeah, sick people like you," I replied.
He stared at me through the mirror. I felt a chill out of nowhere. My blood ran cold, and I instantly regretted opening my mouth.
"Sick people like me?"
There was silence for a few seconds. The cops looked at each other awkwardly. I kept quiet.
"Well, cheers to you on behalf of all the sick people like me then," he finally said. I couldn't tell if he was being sarcastic. "I mean it. If it weren't for you, we'd all have to walk to prison. Wouldn't wanna drop the soap after that hike."
"He must be fun at parties," a cop smirked. I realised the cop was referring to me.
They all laughed again. For the rest of the journey, they talked about politics, stories about other prisoners and how early they could leave for work. They had an odd chemistry with him. The policemen acted very differently to how they usually did. They usually tried to bully the criminals, or scare them into a confession. On the contrary, this time it almost seemed like they were all at a big dinner party, and I wasn't invited. Perhaps they were getting some entertainment while they could, or they were intimidated by him and didn't want to admit it, I thought. Some serial killers were notorious for being charming, after all. Everyone's heard of Ted Bundy. I realized that even after all that chat, I still had no idea what crime he had committed.
When we arrived, I opened the back doors for them to get out.
"Thanks for the lift. Drive safe." He grinned at me, and they took him away to the prison.
The nerve, I thought. I got back in the driver's seat.
About a week later, I was in between shifts and decided to take a break at a café in the parking lot. I walked inside and joined the queue, eyeing a big latte. As I glanced to the side, my heart skipped a beat. A man was wearing a blue suit, which looked exactly like the one that the criminal with the slicked back hair was wearing. I blinked. This man had an afro, and was reading a newspaper. Same suit, perhaps, but obviously not the same guy. I exhaled with relief.
I ordered my latte and sat down at a table, sipping it slowly. The man in the blue suit sat by the window, still reading the paper. I glanced at him for a while, and noticed that he was just staring into it, without turning the pages.
As I stood up to leave, he folded the newspaper and looked up towards me. His lips stretched into a wide, menacing smile, and he dragged his finger across his neck as he stared at me with wide eyes and tilted his head. We stared at each other for a while in silence, my heart starting to race. Then I looked around frantically, suddenly concerned for my safety. Everyone in the café was absorbed in their own world. It seemed like no one else had seen the gesture he had made towards me in a very public space.
I rushed out of the café, glancing behind me every few steps, suddenly paranoid. He turned my head to lock eye contact with me, gleeful that his threat was having its intended effect on me.
For the next few days, I kept hearing noises - footsteps, scratching, sometimes even the sound of someone breathing behind me. When I turned around, there would always be nothing there. Just as I thought I was turning schizophrenic, my suspicion that something was out to get me was confirmed again. I was at the grocery store on the weekend, putting vegetables in my cart as a woman wearing a blue denim jacket and flowery dress was walking towards me. She was pushing a cart with a baby strapped to the seat.
"You better watch your back," she whispered, as she walked past.
That caught me off guard. I whipped my head around, and she kept walking without looking behind her. She wasn't talking on the phone, and she wasn't with anyone else apart from the baby. That warning was undoubtedly for me. Had I just pissed off a cult of people dressed in blue?
I got in the van the next day at 7AM and headed off to the station. There was heavy traffic, and I was convinced I'd be late for work. I turned into a long stretch of road that was next to a steep drop, a metal railing fencing off the edge on the right. As I drove along the congested road, stopping and starting to move a few feet incrementally, I stared at the bumper stickers on the back of the white van in in front.
'It's gonna be a good day!' There was a sun with a smiley face next to it.
The traffic finally started flowing, and I approached an intersection where cars merged from the left hand side. A set of traffic lights came just before it. I looked at my watch. Please don't turn red, please don't turn red, I thought. As if the universe was conspiring against me, the lights turned yellow, and as the van in front of me sped past them, they turned red. Fantastic. I slammed the brakes and looked up.
I only saw the van in front for a split second, and suddenly out of nowhere, a massive lorry T-boned it violently from the left. A loud crash combined with a painful crunch stunned me into paralysis. Both vehicles crashed through the railings and went hurtling over the edge of the cliff.
The lights turned orange then green, but I remained unmoving in silence, shaking. There was an empty space in front of me where the van had just been. I could see people through their car windows, horrified and calling the police. Eventually I snapped out of it and drove numbly to a side road, without having fully processed the event. I parked there and called my colleagues at the station to inform them about what had just happened.
A few days later, I found out that both drivers had died on impact. The lorry had crashed into the van driver's side at 90mph, crushing him instantly. They thought it was a freak accident at first, until they recovered the remains and discovered the lorry driver's phone, which had been in a holder stuck to his windshield. It wasn't a GPS on the phone that was guiding him.
At the time of the crash, he had been using a navigator app connected to a tracking device. The device had been tracking my vehicle.
The police searched my van top to bottom, and found the bugger stuck to the underside of one of the back seats. The seat that the man in the slick backed hair wearing the blue suit had sat in, on his ride to prison about two weeks ago.
I pieced it together as soon as they told me. The motherfucker must've slipped that out from a pocket or something, and stuck it to the inside of my van as soon as I pissed him off.
Turned out, he was an infamous underground weapons dealer. A lot of people who had their firearms confiscated (most of them for good reason) knew he was they guy that would supply them, so were absolutely infuriated when he got caught. Apparently he had a cult-like following among those people, and wearing all blue was their low key way of supporting him. I don't want to get too political here, so I'll just say that this guy was very well connected and had a lot of people on his side, even if it was under the radar. And I was their next target.
I figured blue suit guy must've somehow communicated to one of his cronies about the tracking device on my white van and told them to get after me. By pure chance, another white van was in front of me at the very moment they decided to strike. They must've mistaken the driver for me, knowing the vehicle was a white van in that approximate location. If those traffic lights hadn't turned red at the exact moment they did, that would have been me. I was supposed to die a horrific death that day.
I quit the job that very afternoon I found out, packed my bags and moved to a new town. Since then, I've moved several times. The paranoia won't leave me. I think it'll stay with me for the rest of my life. Any time I see someone wearing blue, a wave of terror sweeps over me - the same terror I felt seeing that van in front of me get pummelled and tumble over the cliff edge, knowing that should've been me. Previously, I'd always taken pride in the fact that I was a brutally honest guy, but I'm a lot more careful nowadays.
And one thing's for sure - when someone makes a lame joke now, I always laugh.

I am an older ape and I have read countless hours of DD since the sneeze. One of the biggest achievements of this sub was to educate people on techniques being used to subvert us and our stock.
A main piece is this:
https://www.reddit.com/Superstonk/s/a6Ju1N8XpM by another ape
Enjoy the read :) I don’t take any credit for this work.
You may remember that a few days back, u/[redacted] put up this post about shills infiltrating /BIZ/ https://www.reddit.com/Superstonk/comments/mscsb5/putting_shills_on_blast_a_concerned_biznessman/
In that post, there was a HUGE image on:
SUPPOSED**methods used by banks and the hedgefunds to dismantle online communities
I had trouble reading that image (definitely NOT phone or text-to-speech friendly), and tried to find the original text version. It turns out that it can be found here: https://pastebin.com/irj4Fyd5. I copy-pasta it here for your convenience, and included some markup to make it easier to read. I take no credit for this work.
COINTELPRO Techniques for dilution, misdirection and control of a internet forum
Twenty-Five Rules of Disinformation
Eight Traits of the Disinformationalist
How to Spot a Spy (Cointelpro Agent)
Seventeen Techniques for Truth Suppression
COINTELPRO Techniques for dilution, misdirection and control of a internet forum..
There are several techniques for the control and manipulation of a internet forum no matter what, or who is on it. We will go over each technique and demonstrate that only a minimal number of operatives can be used to eventually and effectively gain a control of a 'uncontrolled forum.'
Technique #1 - 'FORUM SLIDING'
If a very sensitive posting of a critical nature has been posted on a forum - it can be quickly removed from public view by 'forum sliding.' In this technique a number of unrelated posts are quietly prepositioned on the forum and allowed to 'age.' Each of these misdirectional forum postings can then be called upon at will to trigger a 'forum slide.' The second requirement is that several fake accounts exist, which can be called upon, to ensure that this technique is not exposed to the public. To trigger a 'forum slide' and 'flush' the critical post out of public view it is simply a matter of logging into each account both real and fake and then 'replying' to prepositined postings with a simple 1 or 2 line comment. This brings the unrelated postings to the top of the forum list, and the critical posting 'slides' down the front page, and quickly out of public view. Although it is difficult or impossible to censor the posting it is now lost in a sea of unrelated and unuseful postings. By this means it becomes effective to keep the readers of the forum reading unrelated and non-issue items.
Technique #2 - 'CONSENSUS CRACKING'
A second highly effective technique (which you can see in operation all the time at www.abovetopsecret.com) is 'consensus cracking.' To develop a consensus crack, the following technique is used. Under the guise of a fake account a posting is made which looks legitimate and is towards the truth is made - but the critical point is that it has a VERY WEAK PREMISE without substantive proof to back the posting. Once this is done then under alternative fake accounts a very strong position in your favour is slowly introduced over the life of the posting. It is IMPERATIVE that both sides are initially presented, so the uninformed reader cannot determine which side is the truth. As postings and replies are made the stronger 'evidence' or disinformation in your favour is slowly 'seeded in.' Thus the uninformed reader will most like develop the same position as you, and if their position is against you their opposition to your posting will be most likely dropped. However in some cases where the forum members are highly educated and can counter your disinformation with real facts and linked postings, you can then 'abort' the consensus cracking by initiating a 'forum slide.'
Technique #3 - 'TOPIC DILUTION'
Topic dilution is not only effective in forum sliding it is also very useful in keeping the forum readers on unrelated and non-productive issues. This is a critical and useful technique to cause a 'RESOURCE BURN.' By implementing continual and non-related postings that distract and disrupt (trolling ) the forum readers they are more effectively stopped from anything of any real productivity. If the intensity of gradual dilution is intense enough, the readers will effectively stop researching and simply slip into a 'gossip mode.' In this state they can be more easily misdirected away from facts towards uninformed conjecture and opinion. The less informed they are the more effective and easy it becomes to control the entire group in the direction that you would desire the group to go in. It must be stressed that a proper assessment of the psychological capabilities and levels of education is first determined of the group to determine at what level to 'drive in the wedge.' By being too far off topic too quickly it may trigger censorship by a forum moderator.
Technique #4 - 'INFORMATION COLLECTION'
Information collection is also a very effective method to determine the psychological level of the forum members, and to gather intelligence that can be used against them. In this technique in a light and positive environment a 'show you mine so me yours' posting is initiated. From the number of replies and the answers that are provided much statistical information can be gathered. An example is to post your 'favourite weapon' and then encourage other members of the forum to showcase what they have. In this matter it can be determined by reverse proration what percentage of the forum community owns a firearm, and or a illegal weapon. This same method can be used by posing as one of the form members and posting your favourite 'technique of operation.' From the replies various methods that the group utilizes can be studied and effective methods developed to stop them from their activities.
Technique #5 - 'ANGER TROLLING'
Statistically, there is always a percentage of the forum posters who are more inclined to violence. In order to determine who these individuals are, it is a requirement to present a image to the forum to deliberately incite a strong psychological reaction. From this the most violent in the group can be effectively singled out for reverse IP location and possibly local enforcement tracking. To accomplish this only requires posting a link to a video depicting a local police officer massively abusing his power against a very innocent individual. Statistically of the million or so police officers in America there is always one or two being caught abusing there powers and the taping of the activity can be then used for intelligence gathering purposes - without the requirement to 'stage' a fake abuse video. This method is extremely effective, and the more so the more abusive the video can be made to look. Sometimes it is useful to 'lead' the forum by replying to your own posting with your own statement of violent intent, and that you 'do not care what the authorities think!!' inflammation. By doing this and showing no fear it may be more effective in getting the more silent and self-disciplined violent intent members of the forum to slip and post their real intentions. This can be used later in a court of law during prosecution.
Technique #6 - 'GAINING FULL CONTROL'
It is important to also be harvesting and continually maneuvering for a forum moderator position. Once this position is obtained, the forum can then be effectively and quietly controlled by deleting unfavourable postings - and one can eventually steer the forum into complete failure and lack of interest by the general public. This is the 'ultimate victory' as the forum is no longer participated with by the general public and no longer useful in maintaining their freedoms. Depending on the level of control you can obtain, you can deliberately steer a forum into defeat by censoring postings, deleting memberships, flooding, and or accidentally taking the forum offline. By this method the forum can be quickly killed. However it is not always in the interest to kill a forum as it can be converted into a 'honey pot' gathering center to collect and misdirect newcomers and from this point be completely used for your control for your agenda purposes.
CONCLUSION
Remember these techniques are only effective if the forum participants DO NOT KNOW ABOUT THEM. Once they are aware of these techniques the operation can completely fail, and the forum can become uncontrolled. At this point other avenues must be considered such as initiating a false legal precidence to simply have the forum shut down and taken offline. This is not desirable as it then leaves the enforcement agencies unable to track the percentage of those in the population who always resist attempts for control against them. Many other techniques can be utilized and developed by the individual and as you develop further techniques of infiltration and control it is imperative to share then with HQ.
Twenty-Five Rules of Disinformation
Note: The first rule and last five (or six, depending on situation) rules are generally not directly within the ability of the traditional disinfo artist to apply. These rules are generally used more directly by those at the leadership, key players, or planning level of the criminal conspiracy or conspiracy to cover up.

1. Hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil. Regardless of what you know, don't discuss it -- especially if you are a public figure, news anchor, etc. If it's not reported, it didn't happen, and you never have to deal with the issues.
   
2. Become incredulous and indignant. Avoid discussing key issues and instead focus on side issues which can be used show the topic as being critical of some otherwise sacrosanct group or theme. This is also known as the 'How dare you!' gambit.
   
3. Create rumor mongers. Avoid discussing issues by describing all charges, regardless of venue or evidence, as mere rumors and wild accusations. Other derogatory terms mutually exclusive of truth may work as well. This method which works especially well with a silent press, because the only way the public can learn of the facts are through such 'arguable rumors'. If you can associate the material with the Internet, use this fact to certify it a 'wild rumor' from a 'bunch of kids on the Internet' which can have no basis in fact.
   
4. Use a straw man. Find or create a seeming element of your opponent's argument which you can easily knock down to make yourself look good and the opponent to look bad. Either make up an issue you may safely imply exists based on your interpretation of the opponent/opponent arguments/situation, or select the weakest aspect of the weakest charges. Amplify their significance and destroy them in a way which appears to debunk all the charges, real and fabricated alike, while actually avoiding discussion of the real issues.
   
5. Sidetrack opponents with name calling and ridicule. This is also known as the primary 'attack the messenger' ploy, though other methods qualify as variants of that approach. Associate opponents with unpopular titles such as 'kooks', 'right-wing', 'liberal', 'left-wing', 'terrorists', 'conspiracy buffs', 'radicals', 'militia', 'racists', 'religious fanatics', 'sexual deviates', and so forth. This makes others shrink from support out of fear of gaining the same label, and you avoid dealing with issues.
   
6. Hit and Run. In any public forum, make a brief attack of your opponent or the opponent position and then scamper off before an answer can be fielded, or simply ignore any answer. This works extremely well in Internet and letters-to-the-editor environments where a steady stream of new identities can be called upon without having to explain criticism, reasoning -- simply make an accusation or other attack, never discussing issues, and never answering any subsequent response, for that would dignify the opponent's viewpoint.
   
7. Question motives. Twist or amplify any fact which could be taken to imply that the opponent operates out of a hidden personal agenda or other bias. This avoids discussing issues and forces the accuser on the defensive.
   
8. Invoke authority. Claim for yourself or associate yourself with authority and present your argument with enough 'jargon' and 'minutia' to illustrate you are 'one who knows', and simply say it isn't so without discussing issues or demonstrating concretely why or citing sources.
   
9. Play Dumb. No matter what evidence or logical argument is offered, avoid discussing issues except with denials they have any credibility, make any sense, provide any proof, contain or make a point, have logic, or support a conclusion. Mix well for maximum effect.
   
10. Associate opponent charges with old news. A derivative of the straw man -- usually, in any large-scale matter of high visibility, someone will make charges early on which can be or were already easily dealt with - a kind of investment for the future should the matter not be so easily contained.) Where it can be foreseen, have your own side raise a straw man issue and have it dealt with early on as part of the initial contingency plans. Subsequent charges, regardless of validity or new ground uncovered, can usually then be associated with the original charge and dismissed as simply being a rehash without need to address current issues -- so much the better where the opponent is or was involved with the original source.
    
11. Establish and rely upon fall-back positions. Using a minor matter or element of the facts, take the 'high road' and 'confess' with candor that some innocent mistake, in hindsight, was made -- but that opponents have seized on the opportunity to blow it all out of proportion and imply greater criminalities which, 'just isn't so.' Others can reinforce this on your behalf, later, and even publicly 'call for an end to the nonsense' because you have already 'done the right thing.' Done properly, this can garner sympathy and respect for 'coming clean' and 'owning up' to your mistakes without addressing more serious issues.
    
12. Enigmas have no solution. Drawing upon the overall umbrella of events surrounding the crime and the multitude of players and events, paint the entire affair as too complex to solve. This causes those otherwise following the matter to begin to lose interest more quickly without having to address the actual issues.
    
13. Alice in Wonderland Logic. Avoid discussion of the issues by reasoning backwards or with an apparent deductive logic which forbears any actual material fact.
    
14. Demand complete solutions. Avoid the issues by requiring opponents to solve the crime at hand completely, a ploy which works best with issues qualifying for rule 10.
    
15. Fit the facts to alternate conclusions. This requires creative thinking unless the crime was planned with contingency conclusions in place.
    
16. Vanish evidence and witnesses. If it does not exist, it is not fact, and you won't have to address the issue.
    
17. Change the subject. Usually in connection with one of the other ploys listed here, find a way to side-track the discussion with abrasive or controversial comments in hopes of turning attention to a new, more manageable topic. This works especially well with companions who can 'argue' with you over the new topic and polarize the discussion arena in order to avoid discussing more key issues.
    
18. Emotionalize, Antagonize, and Goad Opponents. If you can't do anything else, chide and taunt your opponents and draw them into emotional responses which will tend to make them look foolish and overly motivated, and generally render their material somewhat less coherent. Not only will you avoid discussing the issues in the first instance, but even if their emotional response addresses the issue, you can further avoid the issues by then focusing on how 'sensitive they are to criticism.'
    
19. Ignore proof presented, demand impossible proofs. This is perhaps a variant of the 'play dumb' rule. Regardless of what material may be presented by an opponent in public forums, claim the material irrelevant and demand proof that is impossible for the opponent to come by (it may exist, but not be at his disposal, or it may be something which is known to be safely destroyed or withheld, such as a murder weapon.) In order to completely avoid discussing issues, it may be required that you to categorically deny and be critical of media or books as valid sources, deny that witnesses are acceptable, or even deny that statements made by government or other authorities have any meaning or relevance.
    
20. False evidence. Whenever possible, introduce new facts or clues designed and manufactured to conflict with opponent presentations -- as useful tools to neutralize sensitive issues or impede resolution. This works best when the crime was designed with contingencies for the purpose, and the facts cannot be easily separated from the fabrications.
    
21. Call a Grand Jury, Special Prosecutor, or other empowered investigative body. Subvert the (process) to your benefit and effectively neutralize all sensitive issues without open discussion. Once convened, the evidence and testimony are required to be secret when properly handled. For instance, if you own the prosecuting attorney, it can insure a Grand Jury hears no useful evidence and that the evidence is sealed and unavailable to subsequent investigators. Once a favorable verdict is achieved, the matter can be considered officially closed. Usually, this technique is applied to find the guilty innocent, but it can also be used to obtain charges when seeking to frame a victim.
    
22. Manufacture a new truth. Create your own expert(s), group(s), author(s), leader(s) or influence existing ones willing to forge new ground via scientific, investigative, or social research or testimony which concludes favorably. In this way, if you must actually address issues, you can do so authoritatively.
    
23. Create bigger distractions. If the above does not seem to be working to distract from sensitive issues, or to prevent unwanted media coverage of unstoppable events such as trials, create bigger news stories (or treat them as such) to distract the multitudes.
    
24. Silence critics. If the above methods do not prevail, consider removing opponents from circulation by some definitive solution so that the need to address issues is removed entirely. This can be by their death, arrest and detention, blackmail or destruction of their character by release of blackmail information, or merely by destroying them financially, emotionally, or severely damaging their health.
    
25. Vanish. If you are a key holder of secrets or otherwise overly illuminated and you think the heat is getting too hot, to avoid the issues, vacate the kitchen.
    

Eight Traits of the Disinformationalist
1) Avoidance. They never actually discuss issues head-on or provide constructive input, generally avoiding citation of references or credentials. Rather, they merely imply this, that, and the other. Virtually everything about their presentation implies their authority and expert knowledge in the matter without any further justification for credibility.
2) Selectivity. They tend to pick and choose opponents carefully, either applying the hit-and-run approach against mere commentators supportive of opponents, or focusing heavier attacks on key opponents who are known to directly address issues. Should a commentator become argumentative with any success, the focus will shift to include the commentator as well.
3) Coincidental. They tend to surface suddenly and somewhat coincidentally with a new controversial topic with no clear prior record of participation in general discussions in the particular public arena involved. They likewise tend to vanish once the topic is no longer of general concern. They were likely directed or elected to be there for a reason, and vanish with the reason.
4) Teamwork. They tend to operate in self-congratulatory and complementary packs or teams. Of course, this can happen naturally in any public forum, but there will likely be an ongoing pattern of frequent exchanges of this sort where professionals are involved. Sometimes one of the players will infiltrate the opponent camp to become a source for straw man or other tactics designed to dilute opponent presentation strength.
5) Anti-conspiratorial. They almost always have disdain for 'conspiracy theorists' and, usually, for those who in any way believe JFK was not killed by LHO. Ask yourself why, if they hold such disdain for conspiracy theorists, do they focus on defending a single topic discussed in a NG focusing on conspiracies? One might think they would either be trying to make fools of everyone on every topic, or simply ignore the group they hold in such disdain.Or, one might more rightly conclude they have an ulterior motive for their actions in going out of their way to focus as they do.
6) Artificial Emotions. An odd kind of 'artificial' emotionalism and an unusually thick skin -- an ability to persevere and persist even in the face of overwhelming criticism and unacceptance. This likely stems from intelligence community training that, no matter how condemning the evidence, deny everything, and never become emotionally involved or reactive. The net result for a disinfo artist is that emotions can seem artificial.
Most people, if responding in anger, for instance, will express their animosity throughout their rebuttal. But disinfo types usually have trouble maintaining the 'image' and are hot and cold with respect to pretended emotions and their usually more calm or unemotional communications style. It's just a job, and they often seem unable to 'act their role in character' as well in a communications medium as they might be able in a real face-to-face conversation/confrontation. You might have outright rage and indignation one moment, ho-hum the next, and more anger later -- an emotional yo-yo.
With respect to being thick-skinned, no amount of criticism will deter them from doing their job, and they will generally continue their old disinfo patterns without any adjustments to criticisms of how obvious it is that they play that game -- where a more rational individual who truly cares what others think might seek to improve their communications style, substance, and so forth, or simply give up.
7) Inconsistent. There is also a tendency to make mistakes which betray their true self/motives. This may stem from not really knowing their topic, or it may be somewhat 'freudian', so to speak, in that perhaps they really root for the side of truth deep within.
I have noted that often, they will simply cite contradictory information which neutralizes itself and the author. For instance, one such player claimed to be a Navy pilot, but blamed his poor communicating skills (spelling, grammar, incoherent style) on having only a grade-school education. I'm not aware of too many Navy pilots who don't have a college degree. Another claimed no knowledge of a particular topic/situation but later claimed first-hand knowledge of it.
8) Time Constant. Recently discovered, with respect to News Groups, is the response time factor. There are three ways this can be seen to work, especially when the government or other empowered player is involved in a cover up operation:
a) ANY NG posting by a targeted proponent for truth can result in an IMMEDIATE response. The government and other empowered players can afford to pay people to sit there and watch for an opportunity to do some damage. SINCE DISINFO IN A NG ONLY WORKS IF THE READER SEES IT - FAST RESPONSE IS CALLED FOR, or the visitor may be swayed towards truth.
b) When dealing in more direct ways with a disinformationalist, such as email, DELAY IS CALLED FOR - there will usually be a minimum of a 48-72 hour delay. This allows a sit-down team discussion on response strategy for best effect, and even enough time to 'get permission' or instruction from a formal chain of command.
c) In the NG example 1) above, it will often ALSO be seen that bigger guns are drawn and fired after the same 48-72 hours delay - the team approach in play. This is especially true when the targeted truth seeker or their comments are considered more important with respect to potential to reveal truth. Thus, a serious truth sayer will be attacked twice for the same sin.
How to Spot a Spy (Cointelpro Agent)
One way to neutralize a potential activist is to get them to be in a group that does all the wrong things. Why?
1) The message doesn't get out.
2) A lot of time is wasted
3) The activist is frustrated and discouraged
4) Nothing good is accomplished.
FBI and Police Informers and Infiltrators will infest any group and they have phoney activist organizations established.
Their purpose is to prevent any real movement for justice or eco-peace from developing in this country.
Agents come in small, medium or large. They can be of any ethnic background. They can be male or female.
The actual size of the group or movement being infiltrated is irrelevant. It is the potential the movement has for becoming large which brings on the spies and saboteurs.
This booklet lists tactics agents use to slow things down, foul things up, destroy the movement and keep tabs on activists.
It is the agent's job to keep the activist from quitting such a group, thus keeping him/her under control.
In some situations, to get control, the agent will tell the activist:
"You're dividing the movement."
[Here, I have added the psychological reasons as to WHY this maneuver works to control people]
This invites guilty feelings. Many people can be controlled by guilt. The agents begin relationships with activists behind a well-developed mask of "dedication to the cause." Because of their often declared dedication, (and actions designed to prove this), when they criticize the activist, he or she - being truly dedicated to the movement - becomes convinced that somehow, any issues are THEIR fault. This is because a truly dedicated person tends to believe that everyone has a conscience and that nobody would dissimulate and lie like that "on purpose." It's amazing how far agents can go in manipulating an activist because the activist will constantly make excuses for the agent who regularly declares their dedication to the cause. Even if they do, occasionally, suspect the agent, they will pull the wool over their own eyes by rationalizing: "they did that unconsciously... they didn't really mean it... I can help them by being forgiving and accepting " and so on and so forth.
The agent will tell the activist:
"You're a leader!"
This is designed to enhance the activist's self-esteem. His or her narcissistic admiration of his/her own activist/altruistic intentions increase as he or she identifies with and consciously admires the altruistic declarations of the agent which are deliberately set up to mirror those of the activist.
This is "malignant pseudoidentification." It is the process by which the agent consciously imitates or simulates a certain behavior to foster the activist's identification with him/her, thus increasing the activist's vulnerability to exploitation. The agent will simulate the more subtle self-concepts of the activist.
Activists and those who have altruistic self-concepts are most vulnerable to malignant pseudoidentification especially during work with the agent when the interaction includes matter relating to their competency, autonomy, or knowledge.
The goal of the agent is to increase the activist's general empathy for the agent through pseudo-identification with the activist's self-concepts.
The most common example of this is the agent who will compliment the activist for his competency or knowledge or value to the movement. On a more subtle level, the agent will simulate affects and mannerisms of the activist which promotes identification via mirroring and feelings of "twinship". It is not unheard of for activists, enamored by the perceived helpfulness and competence of a good agent, to find themselves considering ethical violations and perhaps, even illegal behavior, in the service of their agent/handler.
The activist's "felt quality of perfection" [self-concept] is enhanced, and a strong empathic bond is developed with the agent through his/her imitation and simulation of the victim's own narcissistic investments. [self-concepts] That is, if the activist knows, deep inside, their own dedication to the cause, they will project that onto the agent who is "mirroring" them.
The activist will be deluded into thinking that the agent shares this feeling of identification and bonding. In an activist/social movement setting, the adversarial roles that activists naturally play vis a vis the establishment/government, fosters ongoing processes of intrapsychic splitting so that "twinship alliances" between activist and agent may render whole sectors or reality testing unavailable to the activist. They literally "lose touch with reality."
Activists who deny their own narcissistic investments [do not have a good idea of their own self-concepts and that they ARE concepts] and consciously perceive themselves (accurately, as it were) to be "helpers" endowed with a special amount of altruism are exceedingly vulnerable to the affective (emotional) simulation of the accomplished agent.
Empathy is fostered in the activist through the expression of quite visible affects. The presentation of tearfulness, sadness, longing, fear, remorse, and guilt, may induce in the helper-oriented activist a strong sense of compassion, while unconsciously enhancing the activist's narcissistic investment in self as the embodiment of goodness.
The agent's expresssion of such simulated affects may be quite compelling to the observer and difficult to distinguish from deep emotion.
It can usually be identified by two events, however:
First, the activist who has analyzed his/her own narcissistic roots and is aware of his/her own potential for being "emotionally hooked," will be able to remain cool and unaffected by such emotional outpourings by the agent.
As a result of this unaffected, cool, attitude, the Second event will occur: The agent will recompensate much too quickly following such an affective expression leaving the activist with the impression that "the play has ended, the curtain has fallen," and the imposture, for the moment, has finished. The agent will then move quickly to another activist/victim.
The fact is, the movement doesn't need leaders, it needs MOVERS. "Follow the leader" is a waste of time.
A good agent will want to meet as often as possible. He or she will talk a lot and say little. One can expect an onslaught of long, unresolved discussions.
Some agents take on a pushy, arrogant, or defensive manner:
1) To disrupt the agenda
2) To side-track the discussion
3) To interrupt repeatedly
4) To feign ignorance
5) To make an unfounded accusation against a person.
Calling someone a racist, for example. This tactic is used to discredit a person in the eyes of all other group members.
Saboteurs
Some saboteurs pretend to be activists. She or he will ....
1) Write encyclopedic flyers (in the present day, websites)
2) Print flyers in English only.
3) Have demonstrations in places where no one cares.
4) Solicit funding from rich people instead of grass roots support
5) Display banners with too many words that are confusing.
6) Confuse issues.
7) Make the wrong demands.
8) Compromise the goal.
9) Have endless discussions that waste everyone's time. The agent may accompany the endless discussions with drinking, pot smoking or other amusement to slow down the activist's work.
Provocateurs
1) Want to establish "leaders" to set them up for a fall in order to stop the movement.
2) Suggest doing foolish, illegal things to get the activists in trouble.
3) Encourage militancy.
4) Want to taunt the authorities.
5) Attempt to make the activist compromise their values.
6) Attempt to instigate violence. Activisim ought to always be non-violent.
7) Attempt to provoke revolt among people who are ill-prepared to deal with the reaction of the authorities to such violence.
Informants
1) Want everyone to sign up and sing in and sign everything.
2) Ask a lot of questions (gathering data).
3) Want to know what events the activist is planning to attend.
4) Attempt to make the activist defend him or herself to identify his or her beliefs, goals, and level of committment.
Recruiting
Legitimate activists do not subject people to hours of persuasive dialog. Their actions, beliefs, and goals speak for themselves.
Groups that DO recruit are missionaries, military, and fake political parties or movements set up by agents.
Surveillance
ALWAYS assume that you are under surveillance.
At this point, if you are NOT under surveillance, you are not a very good activist!
Scare Tactics
They use them.
Such tactics include slander, defamation, threats, getting close to disaffected or minimally committed fellow activists to persuade them (via psychological tactics described above) to turn against the movement and give false testimony against their former compatriots. They will plant illegal substances on the activist and set up an arrest; they will plant false information and set up "exposure," they will send incriminating letters [emails] in the name of the activist; and more; they will do whatever society will allow.
This booklet in no way covers all the ways agents use to sabotage the lives of sincere an dedicated activists.
If an agent is "exposed," he or she will be transferred or replaced.
COINTELPRO is still in operation today under a different code name. It is no longer placed on paper where it can be discovered through the freedom of information act.
The FBI counterintelligence program's stated purpose: To expose, disrupt, misdirect, discredit, and otherwise neutralize individuals who the FBI categorize as opposed to the National Interests. "National Security" means the FBI's security from the people ever finding out the vicious things it does in violation of people's civil liberties.
Seventeen Techniques for Truth Suppression
Strong, credible allegations of high-level criminal activity can bring down a government. When the government lacks an effective, fact-based defense, other techniques must be employed. The success of these techniques depends heavily upon a cooperative, compliant press and a mere token opposition party.

1. Dummy up. If it's not reported, if it's not news, it didn't happen.
   
2. Wax indignant. This is also known as the "How dare you?" gambit.
   
3. Characterize the charges as "rumors" or, better yet, "wild rumors." If, in spite of the news blackout, the public is still able to learn about the suspicious facts, it can only be through "rumors." (If they tend to believe the "rumors" it must be because they are simply "paranoid" or "hysterical.")
   
4. Knock down straw men. Deal only with the weakest aspects of the weakest charges. Even better, create your own straw men. Make up wild rumors (or plant false stories) and give them lead play when you appear to debunk all the charges, real and fanciful alike.
   
5. Call the skeptics names like "conspiracy theorist," "nutcase," "ranter," "kook," "crackpot," and, of course, "rumor monger." Be sure, too, to use heavily loaded verbs and adjectives when characterizing their charges and defending the "more reasonable" government and its defenders. You must then carefully avoid fair and open debate with any of the people you have thus maligned. For insurance, set up your own "skeptics" to shoot down.
   
6. Impugn motives. Attempt to marginalize the critics by suggesting strongly that they are not really interested in the truth but are simply pursuing a partisan political agenda or are out to make money (compared to over-compensated adherents to the government line who, presumably, are not).
   
7. Invoke authority. Here the controlled press and the sham opposition can be very useful.
   
8. Dismiss the charges as "old news."
   
9. Come half-clean. This is also known as "confession and avoidance" or "taking the limited hangout route." This way, you create the impression of candor and honesty while you admit only to relatively harmless, less-than-criminal "mistakes." This stratagem often requires the embrace of a fall-back position quite different from the one originally taken. With effective damage control, the fall-back position need only be peddled by stooge skeptics to carefully limited markets.
   
10. Characterize the crimes as impossibly complex and the truth as ultimately unknowable.
    
11. Reason backward, using the deductive method with a vengeance. With thoroughly rigorous deduction, troublesome evidence is irrelevant. E.g. We have a completely free press. If evidence exists that the Vince Foster "suicide" note was forged, they would have reported it. They haven't reported it so there is no such evidence. Another variation on this theme involves the likelihood of a conspiracy leaker and a press who would report the leak.
    
12. Require the skeptics to solve the crime completely. E.g. If Foster was murdered, who did it and why?
    
13. Change the subject. This technique includes creating and/or publicizing distractions.
    
14. Lightly report incriminating facts, and then make nothing of them. This is sometimes referred to as "bump and run" reporting.
    
15. Baldly and brazenly lie. A favorite way of doing this is to attribute the "facts" furnished the public to a plausible-sounding, but anonymous, source.
    
16. Expanding further on numbers 4 and 5, have your own stooges "expose" scandals and champion popular causes. Their job is to pre-empt real opponents and to play 99-yard football. A variation is to pay rich people for the job who will pretend to spend their own money.
    
17. Flood the Internet with agents. This is the answer to the question, "What could possibly motivate a person to spend hour upon hour on Internet news groups defending the government and/or the press and harassing genuine critics?" Don t the authorities have defenders enough in all the newspapers, magazines, radio, and television? One would think refusing to print critical letters and screening out serious callers or dumping them from radio talk shows would be control enough, but, obviously, it is not.
    

BRIGHAM YOUNG AND JOHN D. LEE, THE EXECUTOR OF THE MOUNTAIN MEADOWS MASSACRE, WERE JOINED AT THE HIP
THEY WERE “BIRDS OF A FEATHER”
Part III - B
Disposal of Property:
Brigham Young gave cattle stolen from the emigrants during the Massacre to John D. Lee. What to do with cattle in the possession of Brigham Young’s militia (for whatever reason) was a decision Brigham Young was asked to make and made. The Indians were supposed to have ambushed the emigrants all by themselves, yet Brigham’s soldiers ended up in charge of the spoils. Those rewards included seventeen children of tender age later recovered from southern Utah Mormon homes, where they were placed after their parents were murdered. Initially, John D. Lee had charge of Charley Fancher. “I told the Indian to let the boy alone. I took the child up in my arms, and put him back in the wagon, and saved his life. This little boy said his name was Charley Fancher, and that his father was Captain of the train. He was a bright boy. I afterwards adopted him, and gave him to Caroline. She kept him until Dr. Forney took all the children East.” (John D. Lee, “Last Confession and Statement of John D. Lee,” p. 16-17). The possessions of the Arkansas Company were a literal treasure trove of the kinds of things urgently needed on any frontier. Much of what had belonged to those unfortunate emigrants, who were beautifully equipped, was placed in the hands of Phillip Klingensmith, a Mormon Bishop in Cedar City, Utah. Bishop Klingensmith had been a prominent participant in the multi-day attacks against the Fancher party at Mountain Meadows. He would later ignore his dreadful oath and put his life at risk to publicly reveal the disgraceful details of that great American crime.
The cattle assigned by Brigham Young to John D. Lee, after the massacre, were clearly those taken from the murdered emigrants at Mountain Meadows. “At Lee’s first trial [he was saved by a hung jury], Klingensmith testified, and reaffirmed his story under cross-examination, that he and Charles Hopkins had accompanied Lee to the home of Brigham Young while they were in Salt Lake City to attend the October Conference [in 1857], and that President Young told him [Bishop Klingensmith] to give the cattle to Lee to use for the benefit of the Indians and the mission. Klingensmith added that Young also cautioned them, ‘What you know about this, say nothing about it.’” (Cleland and Brooks, Diaries of John D. Lee, Vol. 1, 319 n 18). “Charles Hopkins, a former member of the Mormon Battalion,” settled in southern Utah. “Present at the Mountain Meadows Massacre [and one of the speakers at the council held at the scene of the crime], he was also with Lee and Klingensmith when they discussed the disposal of the emigrants’ cattle with Brigham Young.” (Cleland and Brooks, Diaries of John D. Lee, Vol. 1, 320 n 22).
“If there isn’t a hell, there ought to be.” (Baskin, Reminiscences of Early Utah, 149). Young was a recipient of a carriage stolen from the Mountain Meadows emigrants. It was used by the Mormon leader in Salt Lake City as late as ten years after the crime. R.N. Baskin: “One day in 1867, when I was walking up Main street in Salt Lake city with John Chislet, one of the persons who crossed the plains with one of the celebrated hand-cart trains, but who afterwards apostatized from the church, he pointed to a carriage which was approaching at a few yards distance, and said: ‘That man in the carriage with Brigham Young is John D. Lee, the leader of the Mountain Meadows massacre, and the carriage in which they are riding is one which the emigrants had owned.’ That was the first time I had seen Lee. The carriage was accompanied by Brigham’s mounted, sacred guard. The next time I saw Lee was at his first trial, and I recognized him as the man whom I had before seen in the carriage with Brigham Young.” (R.N. Baskin, Reminiscences of Early Utah, 138-39).
Young lied again, under oath in an affidavit, when he “denied any knowledge of the disposition of the emigrants’ property.” (Baskin, Reminiscences, 116). Brigham Young Affidavit, under oath, July 30, 1875: “Eleventh: Did you ever give any directions concerning the property taken from the emigrants at the Mountain Meadows massacre, or know anything as to its disposition? Answer: No; I never gave any directions concerning the property taken from the company of emigrants at the Mountain Meadows massacre, nor did I know anything of that property or its disposal, and I do not to this day, except from public rumor.”
It was claimed that “Young as Utah’s Governor failed to have Lee arrested . . . oversaw the church appropriation of the spoils, and allowed Lee and Haight to act in the legislature despite his knowledge of their guilt.” (Turner, Brigham Young: Pioneer Prophet, 393). “Lee claimed Brigham Young told a Cedar City congregation that members of the Fancher party had persecuted the Saints and ‘killed our prophets in Carthage Jail.’” (Bagley, Blood of the Prophets, 249). With hundreds of head of cattle and stolen spoils, the Church’s acquisition, all by itself, puts lie to the claim that the Indians, and not John D. Lee and his minions, did the dirty work. “ . . . ‘Young had the benefit of the property of the murdered Emigrants and defrauded the United States’ by claiming it as his gift to the Indians.” (Prosecutor Sumner Howard informed the U.S. Attorney General “of his belief,” cited at Turner, Brigham Young: Pioneer Prophet, 396).
The First Trial – Joined at the Hip:
George Hicks, a brave dissenter in a sea of Saints, was excommunicated for “sending a letter to the Salt Lake Tribune noting that Lee rode his horse ‘by the side of Brigham’s carriage.’” Hicks implied that Young shared in Lee’s well-known guilt. (Turner, Brigham Young: Pioneer Prophet, 391). An 1874 meeting, after Lee’s excommunication, was the last time the old warriors met. For all of his life – John D. Lee’s life, at least into the 1870s – Brigham Young protected him from apprehension. Lee knew secrets which, if once exposed, threatened the life of Brigham Young, and the future of the Church he ruled from about 1844 to 1877, the date of his death.
Marshall William Stokes captured Lee, found hiding in an animal pen near his house in Panguitch. “Young was clearly worried about his own legal jeopardy.” He “asked Daniel Wells to find the copybook containing his September 10, 1857, letter to Isaac Haight ‘and put it into a safe where it will be secure and at hand if called for.’” (Turner, Brigham Young: Pioneer Prophet, 391). It is not noted that he requested the same disposition for Haight’s September 7, 1857, Letter to him. He would later deny, under oath, that he could produce his letter to Haight, even after a diligent search, probably because it tacitly encouraged the Indians to do as they liked. The letter to Haight, which was never produced during Young’s lifetime – though he clearly knew exactly where it was – was produced in 1884, after his death. Isaac Haight’s September 7, 1857, Express to Brigham Young, the Mountain Meadows equivalent of the eighteen-and-a-half-minute gap on the Watergate tapes, has never been produced. That letter, perhaps the most important letter the prophet ever received, has been destroyed, concealed or suppressed (like the 1832 first and only Holographic Account of Joseph Smith’s First Vision of the Son without the Father “brought to light” from Joseph Fielding Smith’s office safe in 1965). The loss of Haight’s Letter bespeaks the absurdity of the claim, made by the authors of Vengeance Is Mine, the long-awaited apologetic Church-aided publication of the history of the cover-up, who say that they have received, unlike anyone else ever on earth, one hundred percent of the documents, many held from public view for more than a century by the less-than-transparent Church. Documents seen to pertain to the cover-up of that great American crime. When the Government tried to ascertain in the nineteenth century where the bear hid the honey, pages were removed from dozens of histories and documents, including some from the diaries of John D. Lee. And most particularly Haight’s Express to Young prepared and sent before the final solution at Mountain Meadows ever occurred.
The Second Trial – Brigham Young Betrays His Most Obedient Servant:
“Brigham Young gives unsuccessful order to prevent massacre but becomes accessory after the fact. He later tells participants that he approves of the massacre and lets them know he expects them to exonerate each other in [a] court of law. He publicly intimidates anyone who is inclined to give evidence against Mormon participants. He refuses to give federal authorities information that would implicate nearly all [of the] adults of [a] small Mormon community in [the] massacre and division of victims’ property. Then, when total denial becomes impossible, Young scapegoats three men through excommunication and arranges for participants to testify against (and jurymen to convict) only John D. Lee, Brigham Young’s adopted son and Council of Fifty member.” (Quinn, Extensions of Power, 755-56). Lee challenged the excommunication and asked for a hearing. Young promised him relief. In a letter from Apostle Erastus Snow delivered by one of Snow’s sons, that Lee “knew” had been “written by orders of Brigham Young,” Lee learned that Brigham Young didn’t mean what he had said about the excommunication. He had told his colleague, “I am your friend and not your enemy. You shall have a rehearing.” (Lee, Confessions, 265). The letter, however, told Lee, “You will not press an investigation at this time . . . . Our advice is to make yourself scarce, and keep out of the way.” (Ibid., 266). “When I read the letter, I knew I had nothing to hope for from the Church, and my grief was as great as I could bear. To add to my troubles, Brigham Young sent word to my wives that they were all divorced from me and could leave me if they wished to do so. This was the greatest trouble that I had ever had in my life, for I loved all my wives.” In consequence of Brigham’s advice, “eleven of my wives deserted me . . . .”
A verdict in a second trial, following a hung jury in a first trial, convinced Lee that Church leaders had selected him to be the “scapegoat.” “In Lee’s mind, Young had decided to offer his blood [Lee’s blood] as an atonement for the sins of all those complicit in the massacre.” “The verdict dissolved the fidelity Lee had long maintained toward his surrogate father.” (Turner, Brigham Young: Pioneer Prophet, 394). Daniel H. Wells, a weasel, close to the prophet and the militia, traveled south to superintend the cynical process, reporting the facts back to his boss. The deceitful plan was intended to direct criticism (and punishment) elsewhere.
Lee insinuated Brigham Young’s guilt for the Mountain Meadows Massacre in a brief but fiery speech delivered to the crowd assembled to view his execution in 1877. Two weeks later, at the dedication of the St. George temple, Brigham Young worried that he too might be arrested “after Lee’s insinuation of his guilt.” (Turner, Brigham Young: Pioneer Prophet, 404). Lee’s intransigence surfaced at the execution, and in his end-of-life account, Mormonism Unveiled. Brigham Young noticed, and was shaken by, his adopted son’s criticism. Approximately six months after the execution of his previously trusted servant, Brigham also passed the torch. Perhaps, in the halls of a Mormon heaven, a disentangled John D. Lee, who dismissed his previously precious Master on the day of his death with an embittered reprisal, may have something further to say.
As evidence of the final break between the two old warriors, as reflected in Lee’s end-of-life concerns, Young and Daniel H. Wells gave an interview to a New York Herald correspondent. Lee is dead, and Young and Wells can say whatever they like without fear of rebuttal. “Lee,” they said, “and a few other sinners took advantage of the emigrants’ boorish behavior and the unsettled state of the territory to gratify their desire for plunder.” (Turner, Brigham Young: Pioneer Prophet, 397). It was an ultimate insult, the unkindest cut of all. A cruel and thoughtless postmortem. Young’s biographer, John G. Turner, noted, by way of response that, “No amount of friendly journalism or further statements by church leaders would have removed the dark stain the Mountain Meadows Massacre had left on Young’s reputation.” (Ibid., 397). There had been no punishment for two decades, and when the reckoning came, one fanatic paid with his life for the deaths of one hundred and twenty emigrants, men, women and children. Every other offender skated, avoiding responsibility for that great American crime. There was no impartial investigation. There was no ecclesiastical punishment for more than a hundred people implicated one way or another in the atrocity at Mountain Meadows. And until, and even until some time after 1870, Brigham Young protected his subordinate from efforts to bring even him, one man, to justice.
A Final Analysis:
John D. Lee, because of his privileged access to Brigham Young, was not just a local leader. He was Young’s southern Utah alter ego. As the southern Utah emissary of the supreme leader, his jurisdiction, like that of Porter Rockwell (another notorious enforcer with notches on his belt), may be seen as that of a deputy at large, as an agent without boundaries. No southern Utah leader – not Haight, Higbee, Dame, Klingensmith, or any of very many others – had John D. Lee’s “cojones,” or equal access to the prophet’s ear. The bonds between the violent leader, and his most obedient servant, were eternal. The thought that these two men were ambivalent about their shared objectives, at odds with each other and dishonest in their personal communications, one with another, is farcical. As is the notion that the sly fox was deaf and dumb and blind for more than a decade. Lee was Brigham Young’s strong southern Utah competence, the man among men who knew what his master required. Young’s harsh rhetoric, violent to extreme, George Albert Smith’s harsh rhetoric, equally ugly, Young’s incitement of the southern leaders and chiefs, his invitations to Indian allies on the northern and southern routes to steal the emigrants’ cattle, martial law, the Prophet’s restrictions on overland travel, and his indifference to his militia’s murders and beheadings of Indians and dissidents hardly bespoke tender feelings capable of ever being “harrowed” up.
After it became apparent to everyone that the old story (the Indians did it, the Mormons did not) had no legs, that longstanding “official lie,” told to everyone everywhere many thousands of times until 1869 was abruptly abandoned. “The Salt Lake Tribune later noted the policy change. For twelve years [1857 to 1869] their voice [the voice of the Church] was one of indignant denial that any Mormons were engaged in the affair.” By 1869, any person who believed that tall tale was deaf, dumb, blind or devious. “[After a few hesitating admissions in 1871], ‘the whole Mormon people [turning on a dime] changed front as suddenly as a well-drilled regimine,’ the paper noted caustically. LDS newspapers had furiously denounced the Tribune for accusing Mormons, but the denunciations were now aimed at Haight, Higbee and Lee. ‘The defense they then had for all the Mormons they now reserve for Brigham Young and the heads of the Church,’ the Tribune noted.” (Bagley, Blood of the Prophets, 270-71). To understand that ignominious policy change is to understand the central theme of the new book on the cover-up, Vengeance Is Mine. Blame anyone else for whatever you will, but protect the tyrant Brigham Young. The book, by faithful Mormon authors, with the assistance of the Church, is just the latest effort to put that burr on someone else’s saddle. The Tribune spoke the truth to the Saints in 1873. “If they were so badly mistaken in the former case, is it not just possible that they are mistaken as to Brigham’s innocence?” (Salt Lake Tribune, cited at Bagley, Blood of the Prophets, 271).
“Called to be the presiding elder of the branch at Harmony on December 22, 1861 [four years after the massacre], he [Lee] was sustained with the typical unanimous vote and invited everyone in the settlement to a great Christmas feast. Before the celebration ended, it began to rain. It would not stop for forty days . . . . The upper story of Sarah Caroline’s house collapsed and crushed two of Lee’s sleeping children, killing them.” “Lee, who saw the hand of God in everything, blamed himself for the catastrophe.” (Bagley, Blood of the Prophets, 299). “Great torrents ripped through the fields of Mountain Meadows and cut the trace of Magotsu Creek into a deep arroyo. The resulting disruption of the water table changed the valley from a luxuriant oasis into a sagebrush plain, a transformation that helped to inspire the local belief that God had cursed the place.” (Ibid., 250). “[Juanita] Brooks reported that 857 families had lived in Cedar City in 1857, but two years later only 386 were left. Official church records indicate the depopulation was even more dramatic, that only about twenty families remained in Cedar City in April 1859.” (Ibid., 242).
In the final analysis, this buck stopped with Brigham Young, and with the right-hand man attached to his hip in a Mormon temple. And to the shared history and experiences of two fanatical rascals. To those a disappointed George Hicks, a man who had weathered many storms, was heard to call, for the best of all good reasons, “Birds of a feather.”
Website: MormonismUnderTheMicroscope.com

Boston Globe
A burned convent in Charlestown. The execution of two Italian anarchists. Harassment of businesses in Chinatown. Antisemitic beatings in Dorchester and Roxbury. Vandalism targeting Cambodian refugees in Fields Corner.
Currently buffeted by waves of immigrants, and the scattered patches of concern and resistance that have followed, Massachusetts has a painful history of newcomers being met with violent resistance that lives alongside the region’s legacy as a beacon of liberty and a sanctuary for the oppressed.
Xenophobia. Racism. Riots. Murder. In Boston’s immigration story, it’s all there. Also courage, resilience, privation and pluck — and the gradual acceptance of some newcomers and their rise to to social and political influence.
It is, in short, not a new story but one we should know.
“Even the Puritans were very distrustful of outsiders,” said William C. Leonard, a professor of Boston history at Emmanuel College.
The ongoing migrant crisis has resulted in families sleeping on the floor of Logan Airport as state and local authorities scramble to find accommodations in an already overtaxed shelter system. It has also provoked pushback in some quarters.
Massachusetts-based resettlement agencies logged more than 11,000 migrants from October 2022 through September 2023, the federal fiscal year, but state officials don’t know for sure how many migrants are actually arriving.
It’s unclear what the long-term impact of this influx will be. But what is undeniable, according to Jonathan Sarna, a history professor at Brandeis University, is that immigration changes the social, cultural, and demographic fabric of communities.
“When I hear broad criticisms of today’s immigrants, one has déja vu,” said Sarna during a recent phone interview.
Marilynn S. Johnson, a Boston College research professor made a similar observation., “Boston was a real center of immigration and continues to be,” she said, “and that often brings about negative responses.”
“And it’s also been a place that’s had economic ups and downs; when that collides with immigration, it can produce a lot of resentments,” said Johnson, co-director of Global Boston, a digital project at Boston College that chronicles the history of immigration in the region.
Today, Johnson said, the region’s housing crisis may be contributing to unease. Where will all the new arrivals live? And who will foot the bill? Governor Maura Healey’s administration has projected it will cost $915 million to run the state’s emergency shelter system at current levels during the fiscal year that begins July 1.
“I don’t want to say everyone who is opposed to migrants coming in is necessarily racist or nativist,” Johnson said, “because there are real problems here in terms of the housing situation.”
“Often people feel like their communities are overrun, and there’s no support forthcoming from the federal government because of all the gridlock in Washington,” she said. “So it is a source of frustration, but it’s one that we’ve seen before in the past.”
Indeed, one of the earliest and most-cited instances of violent xenophobia locally is the burning down of a Catholic convent in a section of then-Charlestown, now Somerville, by an angry Protestant mob in 1834, in the middle of a decade when the number of Irish Catholics in the city doubled. That brought about religious and ethnic tensions and stoked stories of papist plots on street corners and in taverns.
The burning of the Ursuline Convent was a precursor to fierce anti-Catholicism in the years to come, as the Irish continued to pour into Boston. Three years later, a huge Irish funeral procession and a group of Yankee firefighters engaged in a brawl so large and violent that it took 800 armed troops to restore order in what would become known as the Broad Street riot. In the 1840s, in the midst of the Great Famine in Ireland, a stream of new arrivals were met with a fierce local backlash. (J. Anthony Lukas’s Pulitzer Prize-winning nonfiction book “Common Ground” has 130,000 Irish disembarking at the port of Boston between 1846 and 1856.)
“Our country is literally being overrun with the miserable, vicious, and unclean paupers of the old country,” The Bunker Hill Aurora newspaper in Charlestown proclaimed in 1847.
In the 1890s, as newcomers from Italy and southeastern Europe arrived at a time of sweeping industrialization and urbanization, a trio of Boston Brahmin intellectuals founded the Immigration Restriction League, which laid the intellectual groundwork for many contemporary hardline anti-immigration beliefs.
The league’s great ally in Washington, Henry Cabot Lodge, a well-known US senator from Massachusetts and a Boston Brahmin, was known as a staunch, anti-immigrant nationalist during his political career. In 1891, Lodge wrote that immigration was increasing at that time, adding that “it is making its relative increase from races most alien to the body of the American people and from the lowest and most illiterate classes among those races.”
“In other words, it is apparent that, while our immigration is increasing, it is showing at the same time a marked tendency to deteriorate in character,” he wrote.
Lodge also hailed the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act, which prohibited new immigration from China and blocked those already here from becoming naturalized citizens. The wisdom of the act, Lodge wrote, “everybody now admits.”
In the decades after that act, police routinely raided businesses in Boston’s Chinatown, searching for people who may have entered the US illegally. In one such raid, in 1903, police cordoned off the neighborhood as authorities burst into houses and businesses alike without warrants, according to Boston College researchers. Of the 234 people arrested by police during that raid, 50 were deported.
The trial and execution of Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti, both Italian immigrants and anarchists, in Massachusetts in the 1920s is still debated today.
Despite their pleas of innocence, they were convicted and sentenced to die in the electric chair for fatally shooting two people during an armed robbery in Braintree. Political dissidents, unionists, Italian immigrants, and other supporters — including poet Edna St. Vincent Millay — demonstrated across the US and Europe, arguing the two were targeted for their political beliefs and immigrant status. Decades later, Governor Michael Dukakis said their trial “was permeated by prejudice against foreigners and hostility toward unorthodox political views.”
Additionally, the Ku Klux Klan established a foothold locally in the early decades of the 20th century. By 1925, the KKK had more than 130,000 members in Massachusetts, according to research from historian Mark Paul Richard, with the group taking aim at Catholic and Jewish immigrants as well as Black people.
Indeed, antisemitism found a home in Greater Boston, and it festered as the region’s Jewish population grew. During World War II, bands of Irish Catholic youths assaulted Jewish people in Dorchester, Roxbury, and Mattapan, according to one historian. The New York-based Yiddish daily newspaper The Day referred to the violence in Dorchester as “a series of small pogroms,” according to American Jewish History.
Driven from their homelands by war and genocide, Vietnamese and Cambodian refugees began arriving in larger numbers in the late 1970s and 1980s, carving out enclaves in Dorchester’s Fields Corner and Lowell. During the 1980s in Massachusetts, at least three Asian refugees were killed by white assailants, according to media coverage of the time.
Unrest in Latin America has dramatically altered Greater Boston’s demographics in recent decades. In the 1980s, Chelsea’s Latino population surged as thousands of refugees fleeing violence and civil wars in El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala settled in.
Lorna Rivera, director for the Gastón Institute for Latino Community Development & Public Policy at the University of Massachusetts Boston, said Latinos locally have faced discrimination in housing, employment, health care, and education.
“Immigrants have always been the scapegoat,” she said. “Always.”
In 1984, a race riot erupted in Lawrence, when a blue-collar neighborhood erupted into multiple nights of violent turmoil. The spark was believed to be an argument between different groups about a broken car windshield that spiraled out of control. In a front-page dispatch, The New York Times reported, “Dozens of young Hispanic residents and some of their parents spoke bitterly of the prejudices they said they faced from whites. They spoke of trouble finding jobs and of harassment by the Lawrence police.” Lawrence’s population is currently more than 80 percent Hispanic, according to the US Census.
In more recent years, xenophobia has surfaced again amid rising anti-immigrant rhetoric in national politics. In 2015, a pair of South Boston brothers were charged with beating and urinating on a homeless Mexican immigrant. Police alleged one of the brothers said, “Donald Trump was right; all these illegals need to be deported.” The brothers pleaded guilty to several charges in the case.
In 2020, a white woman attacked a mother and daughter in East Boston while they were speaking Spanish, with the assailant allegedly saying, “This is America” and “Go back to your [expletive] country.”
Dina Haynes, a professor at New England Law and an immigration expert, applauds the state’s response to the latest surge of migrants. Here, she said, officials have resisted anti-immigrant narratives that are grounded in national security concerns or “limited resource arguments.” Massachusetts has thus far avoided legislation such as an immigration proposal recently signed by the Iowa governor that criminalized “illegal entry” into that state.
“Massachusetts has done a remarkable job in resisting pitting vulnerable groups against one another for scarce resources,” she said, “and I’m really proud of us for that.”

Introduction: In the realm of global education, proficiency in the English language is often a prerequisite for academic and professional success. The International English Language Testing System (IELTS) stands as a beacon, guiding individuals towards their goals of studying, working, or immigrating in English-speaking countries. As we step into 2024, understanding the nuances of the IELTS examination ( دوره آیلتس) and mastering its intricacies is more crucial than ever. This essay serves as a comprehensive guide for navigating the IELTS landscape in the year 2024.
Understanding the IELTS: The IELTS examination assesses a test-taker's proficiency in the English language across four key components: Listening, Reading, Writing, and Speaking. Each component carries equal weightage, and candidates are evaluated on a nine-band scale, ranging from non-user (band 1) to expert (band 9). It is imperative for test-takers to comprehend the format, structure, and scoring criteria of each section to maximize their performance.
Listening: The Listening component evaluates a candidate's ability to comprehend spoken English in various contexts. In 2024, test-takers can expect audio recordings encompassing a range of accents and dialects, reflecting the diversity of English speakers worldwide. To excel in this section, practicing with authentic materials, such as podcasts, news broadcasts, and academic lectures, is paramount. Additionally, honing note-taking skills and familiarizing oneself with question types, such as multiple choice and matching, enhances efficiency during the examination.
Reading: The Reading component gauges a candidate's aptitude for understanding and interpreting written English. In the contemporary IELTS landscape, texts encompass diverse genres, including academic articles, newspapers, and advertisements. Test-takers should adopt active reading strategies, such as skimming and scanning, to efficiently extract information within the allocated time. Furthermore, expanding vocabulary and developing the ability to infer meaning from context are indispensable skills for success in this section.
Writing: The Writing component assesses a candidate's ability to articulate ideas effectively in written English. In 2024, test-takers encounter tasks ranging from describing visual information to presenting arguments and opinions. Crafting coherent essays with well-structured paragraphs and employing a diverse range of vocabulary and grammatical structures are essential for achieving high scores. Moreover, adhering to task requirements and maintaining a balanced argument or discussion enhances the overall quality of written responses.
Speaking: The Speaking component evaluates a candidate's ability to communicate orally in English. In the contemporary landscape, interviews with a certified examiner simulate real-life conversations, covering topics ranging from personal experiences to abstract concepts. Developing fluency, coherence, lexical resource, and grammatical accuracy are pivotal for excelling in this section. Engaging in regular speaking practice, either with a tutor, language partner, or through self-recorded sessions, fosters confidence and proficiency.
Preparation Strategies: Effective preparation is the cornerstone of success in the IELTS examination. In 2024, an array of resources, including textbooks, online courses, and mobile applications, cater to diverse learning styles and preferences. Establishing a structured study plan, allocating time for each component, and setting realistic goals facilitate consistent progress. Additionally, simulating test conditions through timed practice tests and seeking feedback from instructors or peers aids in identifying strengths and areas for improvement.
Conclusion: As the global demand for English proficiency continues to burgeon, the IELTS examination remains a pivotal milestone for individuals aspiring to pursue academic or professional endeavors in English-speaking environments. By understanding the intricacies of each component, embracing effective preparation strategies, and approaching the examination with confidence and determination, test-takers can navigate the IELTS landscape in 2024 with aplomb, paving the way for future success.

A friend of mine and reader asked me a question about this beautiful flowering shrub that she saw on the edge of Jeromesville a number of years ago that she would pass by on her way to Hayesville regularly. This plant was growing in a large pot and had the biggest trumpet shaped blooms that she had ever seen and were there yet again this past summer. I had seen this same huge shrub on many trips that I made driving towards Mansfield. She asked me what it was and what I could tell her about this plant. This plant was at least 8 feet and maybe 10 feet tall with maybe 18 inches to 24 inches long beige and another was pink trumpet flowers.
This past week I got and email from Ethiopia by one of my readers. He came across my column and enjoyed this article and was in the process of buying some for his own yard. The question he asked me was whether this plant was safe or not? I want all my friends that are growing them to know that this plant is well worth growing and with a normal number of constraints you should have no problems growing this plant.
My parents had two different Angel’s Trumpets, or Brugmansia spp, for more than 10 years, which is what this plant is. One was a pink flower, and the other was a white flower. These were both fairly easy to grow for my parents and the white blossomed plant had a very pleasant, sweet scent with a little lemon overtone during the summer evenings. From what my parents said they did like the plants but was a challenge for them to constantly haul the small tree into the house each season. The ones that my parents kept were 4 - 6 feet tall. I remember moving them more than once.
There are good things and bad things to this beautiful plant. This Angel’s Trumpet is a member of the Night Shade family, which means that it can be poisonous. Some plant experts consider the Angel’s Trumpet the most poisonous plant of all tropical plants you may grow. Let’s not sugar coat this fact, if you eat even small amounts of this plant as an adult you could die a very painful death. Personally, I want to spare you the way that the tropane alkaloids affect a person who has eaten any portion of this plant. But these alkaloids are called scopolamine, atropine, and hyoscyamine. One of the other things we need to know is that most of these alkaloids are serious medicines in the hands of our doctors when applied properly. As I have said my parents kept 2 different Angel’s Trumpets for over 10 years and had all kinds of grandkids and great grandkids around these plants and never had any poisonous plant problems, besides most kids know not to eat tomato plants and just eat the tomato. Don’t let the kids play with the plants. All said and done I would use caution as I would care for this plant and dish gloves. The rewards are an incredible flower and an amazing scent. I remember the challenges and the rewards were worth it for me. A report from the National Library of Medicine says that from 1978 – 2013 there were only 10 cases of hospitalization because of a mistake in an herbal tea mix worldwide. Most parents will be careful in handling this plant and provide for the safety measures required.
The Angel’s Trumpet is a heavy feeder and does the best with organic fertilizers. My parents having grown two different Brugmansias found that they did the best with worm castings and kelp as a bi-weekly mild fertilizing routine. Best thing to keep in mind is that this plant will be producing a large bloom and will need fed. These small to medium trees can grow up from 3 to 35 feet tall in its native areas from Chile to Argentina. From the latest information this plant is extinct in their native ranges. When we grow these plants in pots, you will have to prune it. Tomatoes and Angel’s Trumpet are both easy to start from cuttings, which means that starts or cuttings from this plant should root fairly easily. Therefore, you can pass out cuttings from this plant fairly easily and have new ones to back it up.
I remember moving these 5 feet tree called the Angel’s Trumpet in through my parent’s front door through the dining room through the hall and into the living room. After 35+ years of doing this sort of thing we have developed systems for moving these plants, but it never has been super easy. Because this plant does root so easily if you could root them in the spring, you wouldn’t have to drag them into the house every winter, if you start them from cuttings.
I hope that you have a nice stroll through your garden this week and if you have any questions let me know by e-mail at [ericlarson546@yahoo.com](mailto:ericlarson546@yahoo.com). You can find links at my website to my various blogs which are converted columns at www.ohiohealthyfoodcooperative.org .
Credit:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5618217/
Newspaper:
https://www.farmersadvance.com/story/life/2024/04/30/the-call-of-the-angels-trumpet/73513599007/

(It never ends 😭)
This is the new designated megathread for all updates in the MHJ/ADOHYBE audit and controversy.
Overview of the Situation:

• HYBE conducted an audit of its sublabel, ADOR, and ADOR's CEO, Min Hee-Jin, after suspecting that ADOR was attempting to break away. Naver: Document detailing MHJ/ADOR's plan to break away from HYBE allegedly found on her work computer, Full allegations against ADOMHJ.
• MHJ refuted the statements and alleged HYBE stole New Jeans' members' concept and re-used it with HYBE's new girl group, ILLIT. She referred to herself as a "whistleblower". MHJ further alleged that ILLIT, TWS, and RIIZE all copied NewJeans; HYBE found documents where MHJ was claiming "Chairman Bang Si-hyuk copied me and created BTS."
• Min Hee-Jin conducted a press conference. English translation here. HYBE responds to MHJ's press conference and states that most of what MHJ said "distorted the facts". HYBE also announced they will be taking legal action to protect New Jeans from malicious commenters, and reaffirmed their plans for New Jeans to continue promoting with a comeback in May and June.
• HYBE announced plans to file criminal charges against Min Hee-jin, and released an internal audit proving she attempted to break away and participated in illegal behavior (hani.kr). HYBE released detailed statements refuting claims made by Min Hee-jin during her press conference. English translation available here.
• Netizens speculated that HYBE is affiliated with a cult, called Dahn World. Netizens are alleging that Min Hee-Jin purposefully included elements in New Jeans' music videos and lyrics which reference this cult negatively. HYBE has referred to this as unfounded, and is looking into the matter.
• The Korean newspaper Kyunghyang resurfaced a 2017 court case a Mr. A. Mr. A extorted a Big Hit employee in 2016 by claiming he had proof of Big Hit committing sajaegi with BTS; Big Hit officially denied this and sued. The court found Mr. A guilty but cited that "although Big Hit Music has denied the allegations of chart manipulation...the court has stated the contrary." HYBE reaffirmed their stance denying this and announced legal action. HYBE has indicated that they believe there is an "organized" effort to spread misinformation and hatred (i.e. bot comments) against them and their artists online.
• Min Hee-jin has rejected HYBE's call for an emergency board meeting for her resignation, stating that it is illegal as their audit is not finished. HYBE has stated that they have the authority to audit directors and call for board meetings, "hence, the company does not understand why CEO Min Hee Jin is not responding to the call. Min Hee-Jin reportedly put forth a request to HYBE to have the rights to terminate New Jeans’ contract with HYBE in early 2024, which tipped the company off to her plans to leave. MHJ has denied this and claimed she merely wanted the right to operate ADOR and Artist Management more independently.

New:

• From Soompi: On May 10, ADOR released a statement, alleging that "The HYBE audit team began an audit of ADOR’s style directing team leader after work hours at around 7 p.m. on May 9. The audit continued for over five hours, past midnight into May 10, and they followed the relevant employee who was working at the office to her home, demanding not only her laptop but also her personal cell phone not owned by the company and carrying out an audit beyond the scope of work. Moreover, the audit team committed irrational behavior including severe threats such as, “You have to go to the police station if you don’t cooperate,” abusing their authority to audit and psychologically pressuring our employee. Carrying out the coercive audit despite being informed of [the employee having] scheduled activities early in the morning is clearly interference with business."
• "According to the employee, the HYBE audit team raised issues regarding the contractual relationship between ADOR and the style directing team leader, applying psychological pressure with statements like, “As the circumstances of embezzlement and breach of trust are clear, we plan to file a complaint.” However, such contractual relationships are common practice in the industry, and this information had already been shared with HYBE’s HR and ER departments in February....What HYBE is currently taking issue with is actually internal employees receiving the amount that advertisers pay to freelancers instead of receiving incentives from ADOR, and as there was no financial harm to ADOR, embezzlement cannot be established contrary to what is being claimed by HYBE. This matter can be easily verified through records of HR services provided by HYBE as shared services."
• "HYBE not only abruptly initiated an unreasonable audit of the style directing team leader yesterday but also committed acts that are beyond normal corporate conduct including following a female employee to her home late at night past 10 p.m. and forcing her to sign a form to consent usage of her laptop."
• HYBE released a statement arguing that Stylist Director A had "admitted to having received hundreds of millions of won of money and valuables from outsourcing companies with the approval of Min Hee Jin. The team leader...expressed willingness to submit her personal laptop. Consequently, with her consent, only a female employee accompanied the team leader into her home to retrieve the laptop."
• "There is no such practice where a company’s full-time employee directly receives hundreds of millions of won in benefits from advertisers. The fact that such amounts, which should be recognized as company revenue, were privately handed over and that the CEO knowingly tolerated this for years is not a practice but a clear illegality."
• The text messages found on this employee's cell phone were released by HYBE as proof of MHJ/ADOR's embezzlement. She states, "Use HYBE as an excuse to notify about changes in advertising-related tasks by saying that HYBE tackled this matter. (It is the basic guideline that concurrent employment is prohibited in HYBE, but actually I permitted this under my authority. But since a risk has surfaced, it would be foolish to explain the situation in a way that will direct the resentment toward ADOR)." She does appear to be seeking to correct the flawed pay structure utilized by this stylist. Near the end, she states, "This is also a task we must resolve first before being caught by HYBE. Audit issues may arise, actually."
• Stylist Director A spoke up, "HYBE said if I didn’t submit my laptop as evidence, I would have to go to the police. Around 10:30 PM, someone came to my house and took my laptop. They even asked for my phone, but I refused. Afterwards, I took a taxi back to the office and was audited until midnight. I wrote a consent form, but after telling the ADOR lawyer about it, they said it was illegal and would withdraw it for me." (Source)

Additional sources:

• Bang Si-hyuk pointed a knife at Min Hee-jin of 'NewJeans Mom'..."Capture the circumstances of the independence attempt"
• Post: HYBE launched audit into CEO of ‘NewJeans’ agency (Source: Newsis/Naver)
• Soompi: HYBE Initiates Audit Of ADOR's Management Including CEO Min Hee Jin
• NME: HYBE and Min Hee-jin reportedly in power struggle over NewJeans agency ADOR
• Korea Joongang Daily: Director behind NewJeans attempted to 'seize management control,' HYBE says
• Post: New reports arise regarding HYBE-Ador situation as Ador executives are accused of forming negative opinion against HYBE artists and leaking artists' personal information (Source: Sedaily)
• Korea Joongang Daily: ADOR CEO slams HYBE group ILLIT as 'NewJeans copycat'
• Koreaboo: Min Hee Jin Releases Full Statement Regarding ADOR’s Feud With HYBE
• Pinkvilla: Why did HYBE initiate investigation of NewJeans’ agency ADOR and CEO Min Hee Jin? Brewing power battle explained

Greetings fellow lovers of all things macabre and disturbing. Please find the fourth installment of my current work in progress below! If you'd like to catch up on previous editions, you can find part 3 here
Pertinent characters: Erica, and her Daughter Alison.

Chapter 2: Under the Scope

From what she could find, there were mostly scattered reports here and there that seemed authentic and not the ravings of a conspiracy lunatic, but the information they contained was sparse and cagey, at best. It seemed no one was confident enough in making a definitive statement regarding the pathogen’s origin, its efficacy in spreading between victims, or even a ballpark idea of when it first became known to the public eye. One obvious conspiracy insisted it was manufactured by a foreign government agency meant to be utilized as biological warfare. Another claimed it was unleashed to cleanse the earth of all sinners for the world’s misdoings, a classic Christian ploy that the general public had long since dismissed off hand as being bullshit. COVID had shown everyone that even the most pious could be struck down, and humanity had done little to prove otherwise via masking or social distancing causing the largest uproar in decades. Funny how everyone laughed at the now known harbinger of end times, years before this horrible virus would be released.
The one theory that caught her attention was that a group of researchers had uncovered previously undisturbed ruins of a city, miles underneath the ground in an almost perfectly encapsulated tomb. While in the wreckage and surveying the scene, one of the researchers stumbled upon a mass grave, filled to the brim with skeletons of every shape, size and gender. During this excursion, one of the researchers had the misfortune of losing his balance and falling directly into the mass of skeletons.
It was reported that all seemed well with the researcher and they’d had him checked out to ensure he hadn’t inhaled any harmful chemicals or mold spores- however, days after the researchers returned, the man was reported missing, and found in his apartment a week later, his flesh and skin strewn across the floor in a gorey mess, leading in a hansel and gretel trail to where he lay still in the corner. He had ripped his hair out and seemingly gnawed his own fingers to the bone, his forearms and face the evidence of his self inflicted torment and his eyelids peeled back in a permanent look of horror. After this incident, more and more members of the team befell mysterious ends, most involving gruesome acts of self harm. Eventually the last of the team was reported to have shot herself at the first signs of any symptoms. The excursion had begun with fifteen members, all varying in nationality and age- by the time the last of them died, almost all 5 major inhabited continents had been exposed when the researchers returned to their homelands.
Upon reading this, Erica felt the hair on the back of her neck prickle, and her eyes stung with unbidden tears. It had to be the most logical explanation. There was something, some insipid and insidious thing that had been sitting, underground, dormant for god knows how long, a likely ancient and indiscriminate *it* that was now freely running rampant as smoke through a jungle. There wasn’t even information regarding the excursion itself, how long the ruins had been hidden, what year the findings were from, nothing. There were several photos from the excursion but they were dark, grainy, and looked like they could be any generic archeology excavation site. The only detail that seemed to differentiate it was the obvious angle looking down through a ten foot hole, sunlight pouring through into the cavern and lighting directly upon the grave. There, she could see the hazy outlines of rib cages, skulls, appendages and surrounding them, hundreds of scrawled runes in a language she didn’t recognize as any known language carved into long pillars of stone, wood and other materials.
The city was vast, and past the grave and marketplace, there were buildings resembling temples surrounding the perimeter of the dome. The closer she looked, the more it became evident that the dome shape of the rock previously covering the city had inscriptions, carvings and sculptures covering the entirety of it, some depicting great masses of people and others depicting foreign gods and idols. The scenes varied from graphic and disturbing to breathtaking beyond measure- all from a grainy photograph. Erica felt her head grow light again with the dawning horror that this may actually be the closest theory to reality yet of all that she’d read online. It was far fetched, but how else could one explain the deaths of an entire research team?
Erica rubbed her eyes and checked the time on the kitchen stove. Almost 2:30 in the morning. Christ, she had to get some shut eye. Who knew if they’d actually get peace and quiet on this first chaotic night, where monsters guise as humans wrenched limbs off clean? She was certain she wouldn’t soon be able to erase the images seared into her corneas from today’s events, and she shuddered at the idea of what may still be to come. She shut the laptop with a quiet thump, and gasped to see Alison standing behind the laptop, peering at her fretfully.
“Alison, you scared me! What are you doing out of bed?” Erica quickly fumbled her notes under the newspaper, only haphazardly noting the headline from that morning that read “mystery archeological team identified, next of kin found deceased in homes”. Funny. What she’d been searching for for hours was just under her nose.
“I couldn’t sleep, I keep hearing a rumbling noise from upstairs and it sounds like someone is dragging furniture around their room. Do you think they’re building a fort like I do sometimes? Maybe we could check on them?”
Erica felt herself stiffen at the suggestion, and the creeping realization dawned on her that the noises Alison may be hearing upstairs might be that of burglars, squatters or worse. She felt her nerves quicken as she sheepishly responded, “I’m sure they’re fine sweetheart, and we don’t want to invade someone’s privacy. I’m sure if they need any fort building help, they’ll let us know”.
Alison nodded, rubbing her eyes sleepily and yawning “Okay mommy. Can I sleep in your room though? Some of the blankets they’re using for their fort are falling in front of my window and it keeps tapping on the glass.”
Erica stood there, contemplating what her daughter could possibly mean, knowing the blanket fort idea had been a ruse to throw Alison off the scent of any sci-fi-esque goings on in their humble apartment building. Erring on believing her daughter and investigating later, she placated with a simple “Of course, sweetie”, and deposited the small human into her bedroom, being sure to draw the blinds and curtains so no extraneous noises or lights can disturb her further.