Hi all 👋🏼 I published my second novel about two years ago and I’ve had a really great response - which I’m super thrilled with.
But most of the sales were driven by Facebook ads (and to a lesser extent, Instagram) using the approach outlined in this EXCELLENT video. Would highly recommend.
My book is a love story with adventure and a little time-travel set on the Camino de Santiago. In Facebook I’ve generally targeted readers with an interest in authors such as Poalo Cohlo and Diana Gabaldon, where they own a kindle. But suspecting the Facebook well is running dry (I've had a good run), I thought I’d try Amazon ads once again. I’ve tried them twice before without much success and I’m trying again now. I’ve watched a ton of YouTube videos and am employing a strategy of:

1. Running an auto, keyword and product campaign, with a view to eventually building a “winning” campaign with the best keywords and products
2. I’ve added the paperback, not the ebook (everyone seems to suggest this)
3. I’ve generally kept the daily budget to 10 bucks/pounds
4. I’ve added somewhere between 50-80 keywords and products each starting at a very low bid of about 20 cents/pents
5. Each day I find I have very few impressions, so I increase by 10 cents/pence
6. The impressions have started to rise and I generally don’t spend anywhere near my budget
7. I get the most impressions on more general keywords like “time travel romance” rather than “camino de Santiago novels”. Presumably these keywords are just more popular?
8. I’m still increasing the keywords with the most impressions in order to get more clicks. Very few clicks at this stage.

I’ve had two sales in a week and I’m just not sure if I’m doing this right! Do I need to hang in there? Is this a long game? Or should I call it a day?
Any insights or your own experiences would be awesome!

Long story short i ( 21F) made a bad decision, dated someone (20M) for approximately 9 months, chalked up the manipulative behaviors to trauma and stayed longer than i shouldve
Context that may matter, he lives in another province, has visited, knows my adress
When i left he started blowing up on me and when i didnt respond how he wanted it escalated, he started being aggressive berating me and calling me a narcissit, he has been calling my phone multiple times a day, when I change number he makes new ones, started messaging my loved ones, posting About me non-stop, lies, calling me crazy and delusional, text messages with whatever context he wants, stalking accounts ive blocked him on with other accounts, I have blocked him every where, its been a week of this
i unblocked him asking him to stop messaging my friends/ people i know and to just believe everything bad he believes of me and just let me be, he replied a long text saying he was "speaking to people i know that agreed with him" and that he wanted to show everyone who I "really am" a bunch of the same stuff just scary
He is using a situation that happened between my two best friends in 2018 involving infidelity in between them, im not directly involved apart from me knowing about it and at the time not knowing what to do with the information and feeling hurt over it which is why i told him He messaged one of the friend involved after his initial freakout Full transparency i did back track on that, i felt didnt really have a choice to when he started messaging her about it when he first started freaking out on me after the breakup, at the end of the day i didnt owe him the truth anymore at that point he had alreadycrossed a line about something that doesnt involve him with the intent to hurt me and the people i care about , but that doesn't matter rlly hes sticking to the fact i lied and backtracked on that to prove the things he says about me and now hes saying how hell download his facebook data to expose the situation and what I've said about it previously Its just mental torture, there is no real point to any of this, he wants a response out of me hes trying to hurt me and he is
More info that might matter, his ex has a restraining order against him (that he disregards however he sees fit) because he essentially did the same thing hes doing right now to her but worst, he threatened to kill her and himself, his entire friend group at the time sided with his ex, he told me its because she had abused him and pushed him this far and i believed it at the time but now being in the exact situation she was minus the threats on my life i can see him for what he is
I called a domestic violence hotline, they told me to file a police report for harrasment
Im scared to not be taken seriously and bring more trouble by making him angry, i know harassment is illegal but he genuinely threatened his ex and walked off with a restraining order only, he lives in another province so although hes unpredictable enough to show up here if he wants im not directly accessible for him to hurt me physically and i know that despite the restraining order he still harasses his ex and genuinely believes that she still cares about him and wants to he in his life, he has thoughts like this a lot, he has cyber stalked other girls before bc he belived she was sending him indirect message to keep going even after she blocked him, a friend of hers had to tell him to stop Im just worried that it wont really stop him ? Or might make it worst
Will i be taken seriously considering he has a record of that? Has he been harrasing me long enough for the law to care? I just need all the info i can get
I need advice im really desperate, im scared i feel trapped

TL, Dr: My ex-boyfriend just unblocked me on Facebook after a 5-month break. I thought I was the one who should have blocked him first. Do you think I should pretend like nothing happened, or is it my turn to block him? His birthday is coming up, and I don't understand why he unblocked me, maybe he thinks I will beg for his love.
Last birthday, He asked me to buy him an LV bag, I tried to work hard and save money to buy it for him but when my birthday came, he didn't know that day existed. I kept finding a reason to stay with him, then when I got sick, he didn't even ask what happened and kept blaming me. He said that’s what I deserve. I put so much effort into this relationship and take care of him as much as I can. Then ending this relationship with the sentence “No need to see you anymore” from him.

Idk if it's just me but there are no Vanilla Fudge bunnies anywhere online, like not for sale, no one trading in Facebook groups. Where did they all go and are they really htf? I have had some ppl say yes they are htf and others say they are more common and just old and can be htf due to ppl not knowing what they have. Also why are so many ppl all of a sudden iso them?

I confronted my groomer last week and I have never felt more at peace. This happened between 2017 - 2018 , I was 15 at time. I decided to join a private coaching academy to prepare for NEET (the medical entrance exam in India). I had just broken up with my first boyfriend and was studying 8 hours a day, so I was really stressed out and lonely. A professor at the coaching academy was always helpful (he offered to give me his phone number so I could text him any doubts I had).
It escalated from there,it started with him asking if I was single and asking him to stay back during his office hours so we could revise chemistry ( I was not the best at it). I did stay back once and went up to his cabin and he kissed me and told me he wanted me to be his girlfriend. I was shocked but ended up not telling my parents because I was ashamed I let it happen. We kept talking for the next 2 months, he would get me gifts, pay for my cellular data, and tell me how beautiful I was. He called me to his apartment so we could watch a movie, and he raped me. This went on every week for 6 more months, and the saddest part I dont remember anything besides the physical pain I felt. It feels like my brain just shut down.
I ended up getting an admit to a medical school, and stopped talking to him, blocked him everywhere. Fast forward to last week, I was going through some old Facebook chats and came upon his. I unblocked him, and I confronted him. He had the audacity to tell me how he has been single since the time, and how he cries to sleep thinking about how he hurt me. I corrected him and told him that he did so much more than hurt me, he groomed, raped, and abused me. And that he was piece of shit and I don’t care about what he feels.
Since that day, I have been so happy! I finally told my partner about the abuse, and he suggested we go to the police ( I still have all his emails and screenshots of the Facebook chats). I am not sure if I want to, cause I don’t want to relive the trauma and I want to move on. My parents don’t know about the abuse, so there’s that. Would appreciate any advice!

My second wife moved out of my house 5 years ago. Since then I have been on and off of online dating platforms. I’ve used Match, Bumble, Tinder, Facebook Dating, Hinge and recently I’ve tried BOO. I’ve met and gone out with people from every site except BOO.
Sometimes I’m only on one platform at a time. Sometimes I’m on multiple platforms at the same time.
I see some new people from time to time, but overwhelmingly, I see the same people on every single platform. I get likes from the same women over and over again. I’ve chatted with several that don’t go anywhere. Then, the next time I get on that app, they like my profile again. I’ve tried talking to a couple of them the second time they liked my profile. Same results as the first time; going nowhere. One of them liked my profile a third time. I’m not going to bother.
The ones you do you out with eventually wind up back on the apps. That’s why I say the grass isn’t green. No one wants to make a commitment. The ones that do are so freaking far away it’s almost impossible to date them.

I’ve been with my boyfriend for a little over 2 years, we started off as friends with benefits but slowly developed feelings for each other the first year everything was great good morning texts, both of us showing we deeply care for one another, buying presents, etc. but this past year he’s been acting strange and kinda distant I’ve only been seeing him once or twice a month. Whenever I’d go over there he’d just be on the phone with co workers or on YouTube when we used to watch movies together, just talk about life and goals, and interests or walk down to the store but it all just stopped no more good morning texts, he didn’t wanna go eat anywhere, he didn’t wanna go do anything he just wanted to stay in the house which I understand when you work all the time so I just did whatever he wanted to do so I got to spend some time with him. 

Once I realized I was investing too much energy into everything I started to pull away and become less available there wasn’t much change for awhile when all of a sudden he started becoming more clingy and wanting to spend more time together so I did but it still wasn’t the same as it used to be I’d just be sitting there while he was on his phone the whole time and we’d go to bed without cuddling or anything so I started saying I couldn’t hang out or give him a ride home and coming up with excuses for stuff because he really didn’t seem to show much interest in me besides wanting me to hang out for a night or give him a ride home.
Then about three or four months ago I started to do digging in his social media because I’ve learned my lesson from searching through their phones from past relationships but I was curious and had a suspicion that I’d find something showing me why he’s been so distant, that’s when I saw he was liking a bunch pictures of girls basically in lingerie and just random pictures when he doesn’t even like my pictures, that’s when I pulled away completely a couple months go by we saw each other 2 to 3 times in that span and then this all started coming to light.
About six months ago my boyfriend was flirting and spending alone time with a coworker (24F) without my knowledge (I should mention he’s her boss) and this just recently came to light about 3 weeks ago. He admitted that he received a pay cut over it and her boyfriend also just recently found out about it because a fake Facebook messaged him with all the information about it (which led to me finding out about everything because my boyfriend accused me of writing that to her boyfriend, even though I had zero knowledge of the whole situation) which led to her boyfriend destroying her house. I don’t understand why he didn’t question his coworker first and immediately assumed it was me and accused me. It just seems like something more happened than he’s leading me to believe and I don’t even know what to do or even believe at this point.
Six months ago he bawled his eyes out to me over this situation but never mentioned a pay cut or any alone time or flirting, he made it seem as though he was just losing a friend so I comforted him and kept my feelings in about how upset he was. I haven’t talked to him in about a week and a half but he’s messaged my phone everyday to tell me about how he’s thinking of me and loves me. Im just not sure how I’m supposed to trust him again after this especially since work is the only other place he goes. How would you react to this? And what would you say to him?

Okay, so to start at the beginning, I was on Facebook looking through my newsfeed. Typically, I do not ever get anything shown from my grandmother, as we already don't get along. I have her FB for messaging purposes only, and I added her when I first made the account. Some background info is I am pansexual and agnostic, and I don't want any kids. My grandmother is very Christian.
This post was someone else's post she had shared. Me being me, I make my voice heard about disagreements I have with the post. I didn't initially realize it was her that had shared it. The post was a long story about how a boy decided he was going to be a furry and that he wanted to be a cat furry. The dad pretty much said, "Well, if you're a cat, you belong outside eating cat food and you need to be fixed." They insinuate that he says no and that he eats human food. Then the dad basically states that he's a cat, he doesn't get food, and then he hits them with a broom, and says cats who act out get euthanized. The son ends up saying he doesn't want to be a cat. Then they went on saying trans, gays, and furries should all go to hell, and that these "froot loops" should just be euthanized.
Anyways, I commented on it and basically said that it was wrong. Not only should they not be hitting children, they shouldn't be hitting cats either or euthanizing them. I also made a comment about how in the story, he implied that being a cat was being a furry. I explained the difference between wanting to be a furry and wanting to be a cat. I suggested that instead of abuse, if there is concern, they should talk to their son like a real human being. And why does it matter? Plenty of people enjoy hobbies, and being a furry is just that, etc.
Anyways, my grandmother said, "This is what's wrong with the world. People need to grow up and be adults, and these freaks need to stop." I pretty much further asked why does it matter to her, and if her so-called God loves everyone, why is she being so judgmental? Anyways, the convo ended, and she ended up blocking me. Later, I guess she called my father and talked to him, and we were discussing it. She had told him she will unblock me when I decide to have an adult conversation, and I said what part of that conversation wasn't adult. We dropped it and then started talking about my wedding invites I was going to send out. My dad said he could give me my grandmother's address to send her hers. I told him I wasn't inviting her. He asked why. I just looked at him and said because she thinks it's okay to euthanize people because they don't conform. And then he went on about how she's old and doesn't understand and that she should still be invited because I'm her first grandchild to get married. I told him no, and now my dad is upset with me. I told him she can be invited when SHE acts like an adult.
TLDR :Saw a disturbing post shared by my grandmother on Facebook, spoke up against it. Grandma blocked me, then told my dad she'd unblock me when I had an "adult conversation." Dad wants me to invite her to my wedding, but I refused because she condones euthanasia for non-conformity. Now dad's upset, AITA?

Hello. I have some friends in another state that became a couple 2 years ago. Then a few months ago my female friend discovered my male friend was cheating on her. He said it was because of her mom. Which is controlling. But I stayed natural and didn't choose sides and told them they are both my friends and I was here for them both and was here if they needed to vent. But I wouldn't talk bad about either of them because I care about both of them. Before this started we would face time and play video games with each other a lot and even message in a group chat. Because we live so far away now. So not long after the break up the female friend deleted me on everything and blocked me. On Facebook, snap chat Playstation ect ect.. I was upset at first but then I thought about it and thought she's upset and hurting right now so she probably just needs space and time to herself and what not. That I wouldn't block her that I would be here for her when she was ready. And about a month later she messaged me on Facebook messenger. And slowly started to comeback around and at first just messaged some. Then called on messenger but no camera. Then face timed then added me back and unblocked me on everything except on Facebook. She didn't add me back but I didn't say anything. So she has called me everyday since for a few hours at night. And would get upset if I couldn't answer right away or if I got tired and wanted to go to bed. She gets upset and says I'm ditching her or running away. So I remind here I'm not running away that I'm always here for her. And she says I know its just I don't want to lose you too. So she's called every night for the last 2 months. So the night before last I sent her a Facebook friend request. And she didn't mention it or accept it. So I thought well I guess she declined it for some reason. Then about 30 minutes ago she suddenly messaged me that she can't be friends with me on Facebook sorry. And it didn't bother me except for 1 thing. She added me back on every single thing and had her kids add me back on Playstation as well. And has been messaging and face timing me every day for almost 3 months and gets upset when I can't get on a call right away or because it gets so late I start falling asleep and go to bed. But she says she can't be friends with me on Facebook????. Does anyone else think that's strange or weird? And anyone have any idea what the reason could be? I mean I know she doesn't have to accept the friend request and that its her choice. But it just seems odd that she would add me on everything and tell her kids to add me back. When I didn't ask her to add me back on the others she sent requests for me to add her back. So I'm just confused by the Facebook request being the only one that can't be accepted 🤔. I asked and she just ignored the question. So I respected her choice and dropped it. But does anyone else see the logic or what the reasoning could be? Or any advice would be appreciated. Because I'm totally confused

I had 4 friends. Close friends. And one husband. Of the four friends, one used my name to create a fake non-profit, one used my name to create an alternate identity for herself to go meet men without her husband finding out that it was her dildos and not mine that were coming to her house, one used me as an aliby to cheat on her husband so she could say she was with me, and one used my social profiles to talk to me with money and wives so she didn't get caught cheating on her husband or labeled a home wrecker by the respectable well-to-do wives. Facts. How do I know? Because you used my Skype to get a number so you could cheat. Because you got messages from the men who were chatting with you. Because you did!!! One of you at least chatted with my husband and knowing how much you like to be famous, you probably did a whole lot more than flirt. One of you still logs into my iCloud account with the watch. And one of you lied about me having relationships with younger people. All of you can kiss my ass and get on down the road with the bullshit. One of you has a whole lot of angry black women thinking I am the white bitch talking to their man. One of you has a whole lot of wealthy socialites thinking I have daddy issues. And one of you has the medication mafia thinking I am fucking with their money and benefits matrix. Throw in the ex-husband who can't stay his ass off Facebook Marketplace and dating sites to stalk people and knows good and well his ass is a cheater who thinks as long as he doesn't have all his clothes in the same place I live he can excuse his whores by using the we were on a break defense. All of you can go to hell. Accountants, loan officers, teachers, and state employees....Fuck you all. He is not good in bed anymore. In fact, it is flat out terrible. It is too much work to get it up and no fun when it finally does decide to wake up, but then he's asleep and it's too much like fucking a crash test dummy. Just not worth the effort or dealing with his bullshit. So no thank you again. I'm sorry I knew any of you. And bestie at the bank, darling, you do know that video from the group home is still on YouTube, which means you are the one who exposed the entire community online since the names of my students were in my Google Classroom, which you hid the camera and videoed. I let you take a nap using my lap for a pillow and stroked your hair because you had such a damn bad migraine and you let people say I was bisexual and messing with younger kids. Your ass was not anywhere close to being a minor and I certainly didn't hit on you. I was being a good friend. I actually loved you like a sister. But you are a whore. I was not chatting with your brother in law, Josh, Alan, or your son's father. So get the shit straight. And you really should delete the cash app for Blake's girl before your boss's wife sees that one and knows you been fucking two of her men.

I wasn't planning on watching Thrice Upon A Time. I had not liked the previous films and they seemed like a very inferior product compared to the original anime. However, the good reviews and opinions I saw about it encouraged me to do so. I did it with as open and tolerant a mind as possible, knowing that there was a good chance I wouldn't like the film. "What's the worst that could happen? That I don't like it and continue to prefer the original series? At least I'll be entertained for two and a half hours," I thought. What I did not expect at all is the deep feeling of disgust and repulsion that this film provoked in me, in a way that no other film has provoked in years.
I hated the movie from start to finish. I could spend hours talking about the boring action sequences, about its ugly, excessive CGI that ruins the already ugly mecha, about its disgusting hypersexualization of fucking 14-year-old girls, about how Misato's plans don't make sense, about how Last Kiss almost made me tear my ears off, or its plot full of Deus Ex Machinas with concepts conveniently taken by Hideaki Anno from the place that his last name suggests; but the real reason I'm writing this is because I feel like these movies spit on everything the excellent original work represents.
Not only because as adaptations they fail miserably, but also because they retroactively damage the original work (we'll talk about that later).
Before I begin to explain why the rebuilds are bad adaptations, I want to warn that I am going to do a relatively exhaustive review of the 4 films, so this rant is going to be very long, like staying up late on a winter night with chronic insomnia. That said, let's start to see the reasons:
WHAT IS NEON GENESIS EVANGELION?:
To understand why rebuilds fail as remakes, I must first ask you, dear reader: What does Neon Genesis Evangelion mean to you? (it should at least be familiar to you, unless you've spent your life under a bridge) What do you think about when you read that title, apart from Shinji fucking in front of a comatose Asuka? What comes to mind when you hear the most famous opening in anime history, apart from Shinji strangling the otter against Happy Thursday's throat? (in more ways than one). If your answer is: "It's a mecha anime for emos with a coomer protagonist", that's fine, I respect that; but please press the red "X" in the top right corner of your screen, you can now leave.
Now, I'm going to get serious and explain my definition: Evangelion is a work about the hedgehog's dilemma and the difficulties of forming emotional bonds that human beings have, as well as the consequences of trying to separate from them for fear of rejection. It is not a story about heroes. It's not a story about saving the world. In Evangelion there are neither heroes nor villains, but rather a group of emotionally broken characters trying to be happy in a world just as broken as them. The real enemy of Evangelion is not the angels. It is the lack of communication and empathy.
https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dilema_del_erizo
It is that same lack of communication and empathy that progressively causes everything to go to hell to conclude with a cathartic and bleak ending, but consistent with the themes of the work. It is therefore an existentialist work about human relationships disguised as a mecha anime. This, added to a unique visual style, daring direction, and mechas like never before seen on television, made Evangelion one of the most influential anime in all of history, as well as a true commercial success for Gainax Studio. Success that encouraged other studios to carry out projects such as Cowboy Bebop or Serial Experiment Lain, taking anime towards a new golden age.
Even today you can hear the echoes of that Third Impact of End of Evangelion in 1997. The list of works influenced by Evangelion both inside and outside of Japan is endless. Of course, it is not a perfect work, nor extensive in errors: its target audience is ambiguous, many of the biblical references are more for decoration than anything else, and several aspects of the ending(s) could have been explained better. However, many of these errors can be attributed to a lack of time and budget during the production of the original anime (which was quite chaotic and improvised); therefore, they are understandable and forgivable.
In summary, we can conclude that Evangelion is a dark, introspective, provocative and unique work (at least at its time). This is also combined with a unique visual identity and complex characters whose relationships intertwine and interconnect throughout the work. The sum of all these factors is what led Evangelion to be such a critically acclaimed work that it transcended its own genre and became an icon of popular culture. And this in turn constitutes the biggest mistake of rebuilds; because they commit the biggest sin that an adaptation can commit: denying everything that made the original work great.
ADAPTING WITHOUT A CLEAR PURPOSE:
One of the biggest problems with these remakes (as well as a clear example of what I'm saying) is their total narrative inconsistency. Let me explain: the first rebuilds movie (1.11) is a literal copy-paste of the first 6 chapters of the original anime, with practically the same scenes, dialogues and even music. This makes the film completely redundant and unnecessary (and makes one wonder why it exists); But in any case, the message is being conveyed that the purpose of these remakes is to adapt the original series as faithfully as possible to the cinema with a current animation style.
However, the second movie (2.22) is a... something. A pastiche of new and old things where the plot broadly follows that of the original anime, but with many things changed (of course, for the worse) and a different ending. All this compressing no less than 14 chapters of the original anime into two and a half hours. Here the message that one can infer is that it seeks to adapt the original story (very briefly) by changing and rearranging certain elements, now more in line with what an adaptation is.
However, then we get to 3.33 and... well, after a 14-year because reasons timeskip, we're now in a post-post-apocalyptic world (repetition intended) where ex-Nerv members fight against Nerv itself. Nerv in giant spaceships, there are mechas everywhere, Misato is a sociopath, and Shinji and Asuka still look exactly the same because "DAMN JEBA." Here we can infer that what is sought is to create a totally new story and take it in different directions than the original. The following movie (3.0+1.01) is the only one that is consistent with this purpose.
Whether all these narrative pirouettes were planned in advance or not (clearly not), we can see that there is a clear incongruity between what is intended to be done and what is finally done. All of this generates a strong narrative chaos where the elements and themes of the original anime are mixed with the new ones, creating a total inconsistency. Since also in 3.0+1.01 it is revealed (unfortunately to me) that everything is part of the same universe and this is not really a remake, the excuse of "they are different universes, they don't have to be the same" doesn't work either.
In fact, one thing that you will see me comment a lot throughout this article is the lack of narrative consistency of these remakes, especially in comparison to the original work.
A HEDGEHOG WITHOUT TICKS:
No character in Evangelion better embodies the central theme of the work than Shinji Ikari, its own protagonist. Shinji is not a hero: he is not brave. He is not a genius. He is not charismatic. He is not selfless. He doesn't want to save the world. His reason for piloting the Eva is to gain recognition and appreciation from others; especially from his father, whom he hates, but at the same time admires; He feels that she despises him, but he also wants (and needs) that she loves him. Shinji spends the entire series in the dilemma between escaping from what hurts him (classic avoidance behavior) or accepting it and moving on, even at the risk of being hurt again.
This theme is rock solid throughout the entire original series: from the first to the last chapter of the anime, and from minute one to the very end of End of Evangelion. Even the opening itself makes several visual references to Shinji's hedgehog dilemma. This can make Shinji an infuriating character for audiences accustomed to typical anime protagonists; but it's those same things that make Shinji such a unique and special character. He deconstructs and subverts the hero's journey. And it's not as if this hinders the plot: Shinji is not proactive, but he also does not spend the series crying, as many often claim.
https://files.catbox.moe/eolho0.mp4
https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monomito
And as you may already be imagining, the Shinji of the rebuilds does not have a hedgehog's dilemma. Or rather, he has it, but only during the first movie (copy-paste of the original anime) and part of the second. This is a problem, because it creates a strong narrative inconsistency (again) where it seems that two Shinjis exist at the same time or that this one is bipolar. As of 3.33, Shinji's entire character arc is based on trying to redeem himself for his past mistakes first by unleashing "Almost Third Impact" (what a stupid name) and subsequently preventing Kaworu's death while trying to right said mistake.
Is this a bad thing? Not necessarily. The problem is that I have already seen the arc of the hero who fails to eventually rise up and succeed in 100 trillion works, while the hedgehog's dilemma in none more than in Evangelion (at least in my case). Which makes Shinji a much less interesting character. Some might argue that in 3.0 + 1.01 Shinji does have such a dilemma because he spends half the movie crawling on the ground; but there is not a hedgehog's dilemma, but rather depression for having seen Kaworu's head go KAWOOM (I know, the joke was very bad, but if he didn't do it, I would explode too).
End of Evangelion's Shinji did have such a dilemma because the reason for his depression was having been manipulated and used by someone he had previously opened up to and then forced to kill him, not for failing in his mission (in fact, he was very efficient in her mission to separate Kaworu's head from her body), which in turn brings sexual (and later, deadly) results for Asuka. I insist: narrative consistency. But this is not the worst: the worst thing is that at certain moments in these films, Shinji becomes the typical shonen savior hero, betraying the central point of his character in the original series.
https://youtu.be/E-x-f2OrWeA
A perfect example of this is the ending of 2.22, where the fight in chapter 19 (COINCENTLY from where the original anime starts to get more introspective) is transformed into a ridiculous shipping attempt, with Rei turned into a damsel in distress and Shinji into a savior hero while spouting all the typical cliché lines, topped off with a disgustingly cheesy ending. But of course, how could it end otherwise? With Shinji's Eva practicing cannibalism on Zeruel's corpse (the original scene)? Too disturbing for current times. Shinji and Rei fighting as a team to defeat him? Yes of course. Rei has enough not being in the kitchen. Besides, Asuka already takes care of that, hoping to receive her alpha male's cock as a reward.
https://youtu.be/TPS0Uk0TkP0
Because, like any good modern anime protagonist, Shinji now has a harem.
FETISHING WITHOUT CONTROL:
Of all the characters who are now part of Shinji's harem, the one who is most harmed by this is Rei (Asuka's case is different, and the other character is an infernal creation from Anno's sick mind). Not only because acting like a bitch in heat goes totally against her personality and because of the murky situation, considering that she is a clone of Shinji's mother, but also because her character is reduced to a mere fetish object that does things cute to produce tenderness in the viewer and make coomers buy their figurines.
Rei is an interesting character because he raises numerous existential questions based on the ship of Theseus paradox: the concept of identity, to what extent we can consider ourselves still ourselves, the construction and definition of a "self", etc. But here, her screen time piloting her Unit 00 is minimal (COINCENTLY most of it in 1.11) and her exploits are practically irrelevant or non-existent, also being reduced to a mere damsel in distress at the end of 2.22, as I said before.
https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paradoja_de_Teseo
In 3.0+1.01 he doesn't even get to pilot an Eva. Her role in the film is to cause pity and produce tenderness with her total ignorance (I see that the idiot Anno forgot that all the Reis are born with basic knowledge) while she is seen with different hairstyles, different outfits, working as a farmer, taking care of a baby, etc. In short, a fetish object where she wants the public to value her for how "moe" she is instead of for her abilities or as a character. In Anno's mind, feminism advances in reverse. Ironic, considering that it was precisely Rei who unintentionally started the moe culture.
Of course, it goes without saying that Rei is not the only one who suffers from this extreme fetishization of her character in these films. Under the excuse of paying homage to End of Evangelion, Asuka now always wears an eye patch (needless to say it has nothing to do with having been injured there), a cap with cat ears, in addition to having a very convenient trend for the coomer public of walking naked and semi-naked through other people's houses. She sometimes puts on the plugsuit, but near the end of the movie, it is conveniently torn off, lest we forget that this is made by the Japanese.
One of the best examples of how this hareminication has destroyed the main female characters is in the elevator scene. In the original anime, Rei tries to advise Asuka in a time of particular vulnerability and depression. Rei's limited social skills, coupled with Asuka being Asuka, cause her to misinterpret the attempt to help as mockery and an act of condescension, triggering a slap from her towards Rei and a worsening of her already strained relationship and Asuka's mental state. Rei doesn't fight back because she knows that doing so would only make things even worse.
It is an excellent dramatic scene because it once again brings to the foreground the hedgehog's dilemma and the difficulties between human relationships, very much in line with what Evangelion is. In 2.22, this scene is gratuitously introduced and turned into two horny bitches fighting over which of the two will let their alpha male penetrate first, with a highly OC Rei stopping the assault attempt in a 100% gangsta way to make her see more "cool." The scene doesn't even make plot sense, because Asuka at that moment is not even depressed, and in the original anime this occurs at a much later time under a very different context.
and speaking of asuka...
SOMEONE CALLED ASUKA:
When I started watching these movies, I was afraid that Asuka's character had undergone modifications to make her more "palatable" to new audiences. What took me completely by surprise was how radically different this Asuka is from the original. So different that they can't even be considered the same character. To show it very clearly, we are going to review the personality of both:
Asuka from the original anime: An energetic and outgoing half-German, half-Japanese girl (actually it's 1/4, but who cares) who loves to be the center of attention and have everyone praise her due to the lack of parental love received during her childhood having been abandoned by her father and supplanted by her mother, who suffered from severe mental disorders. She is extremely proud and competitive because she feels that being Eva's pilot is the only thing that gives her an identity and purpose, which makes her tend to become quickly frustrated when things don't go her way and become defensive when she feels like she is being outmaneuvered. . He loves to make fun of others (especially Shinji), to the point of being cruel at times, but he does not do it out of malice, but rather to compensate for his enormous inferiority complex due to the rejection suffered by his mother and having witnessed her. committed suicide (and possibly even tried to kill her) the day she was chosen as Eva's pilot and came running to wish her a Happy Thursday. She admires Kaji and wants to fuck him because she hates her own adolescence, she needs to feel adult and independent due to suffering from a certain Electra complex for having lacked a true father figure during her childhood. She has a sweet and vulnerable nature, but she rarely expresses it to anyone except her best friend Hikari and I better stop this now because too much text.
Rebuild Asuka (hereinafter "Asuka"): A girl soldier created by Nerv as part of a series of clones who has always been alone and thinks she doesn't need anyone, although she secretly wishes to have a family. She hits and insults others for no reason, she yells a lot, never smiles or makes jokes, and hates socializing with others, which doesn't stop her from looking for Shinji's dick within 2 days of meeting him. She always plays video games while someone is talking to her and at night she talks to herself with a doll like an autistic person.
As we can see, these two characters not only look nothing alike: several of their traits directly contradict each other. Because they look alike, they are not even alike in aesthetics: the original Asuka had red hair and dressed in the traditional feminine way, while "Asuka" is light brown and dresses in a tomboy style (which I'm not saying is wrong, I'm just commenting to show the radical difference). It's not that they have changed Asuka: it's that they have directly murdered her to supplant her by someone with whom she only shares her first name (not even her last name). And needless to say, the change has been VERY for the worse.
To describe the first character, I had to spend 15 damn lines, and even then I had to leave out many important facets of his personality, his development in the original series and his entire character arc in EoE, because if I didn't have one endless bible For the second, 6 lines were enough for me, and I could have had more left over if I had been more concise. The first character is a complex and three-dimensional character, with multiple facets, edges and layers. She feels like a real person. The second character is a generic tsundere that you can find in any mecha anime of the week. She is not even comparable to the first; She's not even a good character.
We cannot speak of Flanderization because not even the most basic traits of the character have been respected. Nor can we speak of a deconstruction because that same absence of basic traits means that there is no character construction on which to stand in the first place. Obviously, this change greatly resents the interactions between characters: the original Asuka was a charismatic and fun character with the ability to drive the plot on her own (as soon as she appears in chapter 8 of the original anime she is already changing the entire dynamic between characters) , while "Asuka" is mostly only in the background or to fight; He doesn't even have a character arc as such. In fact, in 2.22 he has even less screen time than several supporting characters.
His chemistry with Shinji is also non-existent (and I'm not just referring to the romantic level) and they barely have any development together. They like each other here because... ehhhh... she likes how he cooks and he thinks she's hot? It's not that the AsuShinji (or ShinSuka, or whatever the hell it's called) here is forced: it's just that it doesn't even make sense. The only reason people still ship them together is because they did it in the 90s. Yūko Miyamura's performance also feels very lackadaisical and lacks passion, which is quite unlike her. Although perhaps this is intentional, since her character always talks as if she has the spear of Longinus permanently stuck up her rectum. In fact, the few times she says her iconic "Anta baka?" This one feels very forced, in addition to not having her characteristic high-pitched tone.
In short, the character has suffered the same fetishization as Rei (gamer girl, tomboy, one-eyed, etc.), but also with the aggravating factor that not even her basic characteristics have been respected here. This is especially disconcerting when we take into account that the rest of the characters have their original personalities more or less intact (albeit simplified). Even more disconcerting if we take into account that Asuka is possibly the most popular character in all of Evangelion, and even more so if we consider that she is Anno's favorite character (in fact, the initial idea was for Asuka to be the protagonist).
https://evaresources.wordpress.com/der-mond/
Given this, the inevitable question arises: "Why?" What was the point of turning Asuka into an inferior and tsundere copy of Rei, even more so when there are already three clones? It has always been rumored that Asuka is not popular in Japan, but that is completely false. The only semi-rational explanation I can think of is that they did it to please the haters. It's no secret that a portion within the Evangelion fandom (and outside of it) hates Asuka with a passion. They see her as someone toxic and cruel who dedicates herself to screwing others for no reason, without understanding that you don't have to like a well-written character.
https://imgur.com/a/KznXE1x
What these people fail to understand is that Asuka's verbal abuse is a defense mechanism to avoid opening up to others, since Asuka constantly says things that do not fit with what she really feels or thinks (clear proof is chapter 16 from the original series). It's not like it matters much, considering they were never more than an extremely vocal minority. That the character is so popular is proof of this. The great irony of all this is that the new "Asuka" is a much more unpleasant and detestable character than the original, since she lacks the redeemable qualities of the original and her moments of comic relief.
And if until now I have been more or less benevolent with this remake, this is something I cannot forgive: because changing a character just because a group of people doesn't like it is one of the most cowardly and pathetic acts in the world. that a writer can fall. The fact that this was also at the expense of one of the best female characters in the history of anime and with a wonderful story arc makes it even more bloody. Any other halfway competent writer would have responded with this.
https://youtu.be/5Js0ea6yPKM
...although if we go by Ockham's razor, the most likely explanation is simply that Hideaki Anno is mentally retarded.
A CHARACTER TO DESTROY A FRANCHISE AND BIND IT TO DARKNESS:
Mari Makinami Illustrious A.K.A María Iskariote (what an appropriate last name) is one of the worst creations ever made by humans. Not since the atomic bombs has humanity created something so horrible. Worse than the holocaust. Worse than fascism. Worse than Facebook memes. Worse than stepping on a lego. I would even dare to say that it is worse than pizza with pineapple. No character better reflects Anno's mental decline or better embodies all the problems of the current anime industry than this trash.
This character contributes absolutely nothing to the plot, he does not contribute at any time to its advancement, he lacks his own development or story, he does absolutely nothing relevant in the 3 films in which he appears, and he does not even have a defined personality. So much so, that all of her scenes could be eliminated or replaced by any other character and she would barely affect the plot, or not affect it at all.
The character is so frighteningly one-dimensional that she doesn't even show different emotions or moods during the three films in which she appears, always being perpetually happy and carefree even in tense situations for literally no reason. This leads to moments as surreal as her starting to sing and hum in scenes that are intended to be serious or dramatic (or so I think; perhaps what they wanted was to turn this into an unintentional comedy), again generating a gigantic narrative dissonance. The last third of 3.33 is the best example of this.
But that's not the worst: this character is clearly made for otaku coomers to masturbate to. She has almost every fetish possible: glasses/lenses (whatever they call it in your country), pigtails, miniskirt, schoolgirl, saying "nya", big tits, obsession with smell and tight outfits, etc. To make matters worse in 3.0 + 1.01 we discover that she is 48 years old, so we can also add the milf fetish. Evidently, her tits always bounce in her plugsuit (she would swear that never happened in the original series) and there are many close-ups of her ass. In addition to constantly making sexual advances towards Shinji, which also turns this piece of shit into a potential pedophile.
If the thing simply ended there, we could say that this character remains a mere annoying and unnecessary secondary character. Unfortunately, the character is also disruptive to the plot, occupying long filler scenes that do nothing more than waste time that is already scarce in a film, and that could have been used on something else more interesting; like Pen Pen watching TV, Pen Pen eating a sardine, etc. Without going any further, both 2.22, 3.33 and 3.0+1.01 begin with a long filler scene of her hitting on her. Well, to be honest, the 3.33 one is more Asuka, but this abortion is still out there fucking and singing.
It would not be an exaggeration to say that discussing why this character exists is much more interesting than any other debate that can be created about these films. I still think about it. However, the ending of 3.0+1.01 gives a good clue: the character was created solely and exclusively to stay with Shinji. I can only imagine that Anno made this tired of the fandom shipping and the arguments over who Shinji should stay with, so he decided to end the matter by creating his own ideal waifu with all the fetishes he likes in a woman to end it. with this. It's disgusting, but considering we're talking about a Japanese, totally possible.
It's surreal coming from the man who harshly criticized the use of anime as escapism and the excessive female objectification and sexualization in it, but it's the only semi-decent explanation I can think of. Basically, he is what is called a mascot character in literature. That would explain why this character never shows doubts, nor any kind of internal conflict, or why he is a better Eva pilot than Asuka and Rei themselves. It is also very revealing about the quality of the Rebuilds: creating a self-insert OC just to be the partner of the protagonist or another main character is the quintessential trait of all bad fanfiction.
However, among all this tsunami of disqualifications, I also have to say something positive: spending three movies giving hope to the shippers only to have Shinji be cuckolded simultaneously by Rei and Asuka in the last one and end up with a character with which had zero development (before 3.0+1.01 I didn't even know its name) is a true trolling masterclass, worthy of the best of ball pumpers. Only a true emperor of evil would have come up with such a twisted and at the same time perfect way to screw over a large part of the fandom. I give you my tens, Anno.
THE ANTI-UNIVERSE OF ANTI-NARRATIVE:
Of all the new concepts that Anno brings up at the last minute from the place named after his last name, none stands out more than the "anti-universe." Or, as I like to call it, the "anti-good writing." Basically because it perfectly represents all the problems of the rebuilds and their script. In the final stretch of 3.0+1.01 we have the last-minute revelation of a quantum plane of existence capable of turning imagined worlds into reality and changing this through Lilith, which cannot be understood by the human mind (wow, WHAT CONVENIENT!) and whose existence has never been mentioned or even hinted at in the entire franchise until CONCIDENTLY the aforementioned last third of the film.
In other words, a gigantic Deus Ex Machina created in an improvised way to avoid repeating End of Evangelion and forcing a happy ending where Shinji creates an ideal universe for each character (although that is questionable, as we will see later). And it is far from being the only one: the spear of Cassius, the Eva of Infinity, the key of Nebuchadnezzar, the Book of Life, and so on. None of these concepts are integrated into the plot in an organic and natural way, but rather they arise spontaneously at its convenience when it needs it. Except for the new "Super Berserker Mode" of the Evas, which is simply a power-up to sell figurines.
As I said before, if at least this were an alternate universe separate from the original anime, all this bombardment of concepts pulled out of the ass would be a little better justified. But the revelation that everything is a cycle and we are in the same universe as the original work only makes it even worse, generating countless inconsistencies about why they never mentioned this or never used that (what's the point of the seeds of life If you can create universes simply by imagining them?). Although without a doubt, the worst of all these new concepts is "the curse of Eve."
Here we have a new concept with very strong repercussions completely launched, which is not even an explanation in itself, it does not answer anything and to make matters worse, the same films contradict each other several times. Needless to say, this is a cheap excuse for the three main characters not to grow up and continue sexualizing 14-year-old girls after the most gratuitous timeskip ever seen. And speaking of timeskip, putting such a long one in the middle of the story is a first-time writing error. If you are writers, never do that: the bigger the time jump, the more things you will be forced to explain, since the less you do it, the more plot holes will form as a result.
And of course, here it explains little to nothing of what happened these 14 years. Like where Nerv got such a tremendous base from, if in 3.33 it seemed that together with Rei and Kaworu it was made up of four people. Or how they have gotten such an army of pseudo-Evas, especially when these are supposed to be extremely expensive (wow, and SEELE with all her unlimited resources was barely 9 in EoE). Or worse yet, how Kaji managed to stop Almost Third Impact (seriously, the name couldn't be stupider). None of these questions are answered at any time. Obviously because they can't do it.
Evangelion has always been characterized by leaving things up to the public's interpretation, but here I feel that they are vilely taking advantage of it so as not to have to give any kind of explanations. And in the case at hand, do not even pay attention to contradictions. Like Touji and Kensuke got on Unit 01 and that doesn't stop them from being 28 after the timeskip. Or that Mari appears to be 14 despite looking like an adult in Gendo's photos and flashbacks, plus the fact that Evas, by simple logic, could not exist back then.
The height of absurdity is when near the end of 3.0+1.01 the "unexpected" revelation occurs (actually we all saw it coming) that everything is a cycle and we are facing a reboot of the original timeline, of which only Kaworu seems to be conscious. He let them guess without giving them any clues how many times Kaworu mentioned or even hinted at such a thing in the original series. Needless to say, nothing is ever explained about it: Who created that cycle? (Adam? Lilith? The First Ancestral Race? Hideaki Anno's last name?) For what purpose? How does it work? How long does it last? Why is Kaworu the only one who remembers him? Do these remakes make sense?
THE DEATH OF A STYLE:
Fortress-cities folding in on themselves. Designs and constructions oscillating between the nineties, the utopian and the cyberpunk. Meshes of flesh and blood animated with the souls of the dead fighting with classical music in the background. A mysterious and ambiguous lore where aliens, technology and conspiracies mix with gnostic, cabalistic elements and the most esoteric aspects of Christianity (did the History Channel predict Evangelion?). Minimalist posters moving quickly between frames. Monochrome backgrounds flashing aggressively (bad luck if you were epileptic). So consistent with its themes that the A.T. fields themselves. They were an allegory of the hedgehog's dilemma (I'm not making this up, Kaworu himself says it in chapter 23).
https://imgur.com/a/2M0eDVK
The sum of all these factors is what allowed Evangelion to build an absolutely unique identity, the one that allowed people to say "hey, that's an Eva!". Starting in 3.33, all that is lost to disappear in 3.0+1.01 in favor of giant spaceships, mechanical mechas made of pure CGI, battles full of colored lights, multiverses and time loops. I'm not saying these elements are bad in and of themselves, but I've already seen a thousand mecha stories with these. For that, I start watching any of the versions of Gundam or Macross. I could also complain about the boring shots without audiovisual language and always using the same color palette, but to be fair, that is an endemic evil of current anime.
And like any bad remake, 3.0+1.01 can't help but pay homage to several scenes from the original work, completely failing to understand the point of said scenes. As an example, we have Ritsuko shooting Gendo for no reason other than to pay homage to End of Evangelion, ignoring that the context between both scenes is very different. Furthermore, here they never explain the relationship that exists between the two, so the scene makes no sense; especially for those who never saw the original series, who will also find mentions of facts that these films have never shown or bothered to explain.
Even worse is when they try to pay homage to the iconic battle between Asuka and the Eva Series. Not only because of the total absence of the graphic violence and choreography of the original, but because what makes that fight so remembered is its emotional component, since it is preceded by a narrative catharsis in which Asuka discovers that the Her mother's soul was always in Unit 02, in addition to being marked by the constant tension of knowing if she will be able to finish the fight before the Eva's energy supply runs out. Here the Evas never run out of energy (why do they need the power supply, then?), so there is no such tension.
In the original fight Asuka may not be shooting 1387945 Evas with a super cannon larger than her as she falls through an... interdimensional hole?; But there you feel every blow, you can appreciate every movement in detail, and the dramatic tension in crescendo only improves the result. If this were a shonen, the logical thing is that Asuka would win. After all, her character arc has been wrapped up in a climactic way. Unfortunately, this is Evangelion. When the Evas Series manage to cause a mortal wound with the pseudo-spear of Longinus and the energy counter reads zero, the outcome is already decided. What happens next is horrific (Asuka's enemies are cruel to her even after she is dead), and just as horrifying are Yūko Miyamura's screams and Miki Nagasawa's performance as Maya announcing that Asuka is dead. In the Rebuilds there are no performances anywhere near that level.
End of Evangelion will be as dark and uncomfortable to watch as you want, but it is a film where all those responsible put their souls into achieving the best possible result, both on a technical and artistic level.
and well, I think that for today I have already downloaded too much, an apology for the large amount of text, I will make a second part at another time because I have so many things to comment on... anyway, I hope you have a good day/afternoon/night or when you read this .

So today I got password reset request emails from Facebook with a reset code. I thought it was fake but I checked in Facebook in the sent email section and sure enough emails were sent to both of my emails on my account. I have 2fa set and a very long complicated password that never is or ever will be used anywhere else. I don't understand what the purpose of sending a password reset is. I am not worried (or maybe I should be) because I didn't get a login in code and no other devices are logged into my account. I would never click on the link in the email if it looks real or not. Is the purpose of doing this in the hope of later sending fake emails? I just don't Understand what is going on.

I have Winter tyres from my car which I only used for like 4k km. But I am not able to sell them anywhere (I have all season now, so want to sell my winter ones). Any ideas on where can I try? PS: I have already tried many times in Facebook marketplace and Ebay (including Kleinanzeigen)

Date: 05/15/2024

Reading time: 11 minutes, 2384 words

🪖 Military

The ceremony of withdrawal of peacekeepers from Nagorno-Karabakh took place

Russian peacekeepers were in Nagorno Karabakh based on a statement of November 9, 2020. The military group was supposed to stay in the region until 2025, which could be extended for another five years. The population of Artsakh was subjected to forced displacement, more than 100 thousand people moved from Artsakh to Armenia.

CivilNet

Armenia and Slovakia discuss issues of military-technical cooperation

Armenia participated in the IDEB-2024 defense exhibition in Bratislava, Slovakia, at the invitation of the Slovak Ministry of Defense. A number of agreements have been reached between Armenia and Slovakia.

Armenpress, Armenia, Slovakia discuss expanding defence cooperation

Armenia and India plan to create a working group on defense issues

The first defense consultations between the Ministries of Defense of Armenia and India took place under the chairmanship of Levon Ayvazyan. The progress and development prospects of Armenia-India cooperation in the field of defense were discussed, including military-technical, personnel military education and tactical training, exchange of experience and other fields.

CivilNet, Armenian and Indian Defense Ministries hold first defense consultations in Yerevan, Armenia, India hold first defense consultations

🏛️ Politics & Government

Over 52% of respondents in Armenia support Tavush for Homeland movement to certain extent, Gallup phone poll shows

A total of 35.1% of respondents in Armenia said they “fully support” the Tavush for Homeland movement, Aram Navasardyan, head of the Armenian office of GALLUP International Association, said at a press conference on Wednesday. 17.8% said they feel “more than positively” about the movement, 10% - ‘more than negatively’, 10.5% “absolutely negatively”; 13.6% found it difficult to answer the question.

ArkaAm

Civil disobedience campaigns continue in Yerevan

People demanding Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s resignation again blocked streets in Yerevan on May 15.

PanArmenian

The Baku court has extended the terms of detention of Artsakh officials for five months

Former presidents Bako Sahakyan, Arayik Harutyunyan, Davit Babayan and Davit Ishkhanyan are speaking. The detention period of the former President of Artsakh Arkady Ghukasyan was also extended by five months. 23 Armenian servicemen and civilians were arrested in September 2023, after a one-day war against Artsakh.

CivilNet

Political consultations held between foreign ministries of Armenia, Georgia

The Republic of Armenia and Georgia held a round of political consultations in Tbilisi on May 13-14. It is noted that the participants of the meeting reviewed the existing relations between the two countries.

Armenpress, Political consultations held between Foreign Ministries of Armenia and Georgia

Education reforms, institutional development, peace agenda implementation: PM delivers speech at EBRD annual meeting

Nikol Pashinyan attended the opening ceremony of the annual meeting of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development in the Republic of Armenia. Armenia's economy has grown by almost 30 percent since the People's Nonviolent Velvet Revolution of 2018.

Armenpress, Prime Minister highly values the partnership with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, Armenian PM and EBRD President discuss joint projects and perspectives, EBRD plans to invest up to 500 million Euros in Armenia in 2024, EBRD and InecoBank bolster science innovation hub in Yerevan

Border delimitation between Armenia, Azerbaijan should become a key tool for learning peaceful coexistence - PM

Armenia and Azerbaijan lack experience and knowledge of peaceful co-existence, says Prime Minister. Pashinyan: "What you don't know brings uncertainties, concerns, tensions, which you understandably formulate and perceive based on your experience"

Armenpress, Moscow welcomes Armenia-Azerbaijan foreign ministers' negotiations in Almaty, Demarcation should become one of the tools that will teach Armenia and Azerbaijan to live peacefully – PM Pashinyan

PM Pashinyan sends congratulatory message to the Prime Minister of Serbia

Nikol Pashinyan congratulates Miloš Vučević on occasion of his election to the post of the Prime Minister of the Republic of Serbia. The message reads as follows: "Armenia values friendly relations with Serbia based on mutual respect and trust"

Armenpress

Armenia and EBRD sign €236 million agreement for Sisian-Kajaran road construction

The EBRD signed a loan agreement worth €236 million for the construction of the 24.2 km southern section of the Sisian-Kajaran North-South Road. The project is a strategic priority for Armenia, ensuring its connectivity and access to Europe and beyond.

Armenpress, EBRD plans to invest up to 500 million Euros in Armenia in 2024, EBRD grants Armenia 12 million euros for the construction of a logistics center in Syunik, EBRD funds largest road project in Armenia

Armenia and France expand cooperation in civil aviation sector

Meeting was held between the Director General, Mihran Khachatryan, and the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of France to the Republic of Armenia, Olivier Decottignies. Issues of strengthening and expanding cooperation between Armenia and France in the field of civil aviation were discussed.

Armenpress, French Development Agency to extend cooperation with Armenia’s government, Armenia, France extend partnership in civil aviation, Armenia and France are expanding cooperation in the field of civil aviation, Armenia, French Development Agency to expand cooperation

The delegation led by Tigran Avinyan leaves for Paris

The Yerevan delegation will visit Paris from May 15 to 19. They will meet with the president of the regional council of Île-de-France.

Armenpress, Yerevan Mayor to travel to Paris on May 15-19

Moscow sees the need to resume the work of the tripartite group on the issue of de-blockade

Moscow considers it necessary to resume work of tripartite working group co-chaired by deputy prime ministers of Russia, Armenia and Azerbaijan on blockade issue. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin said about it in an interview with the News.ru website: "We do not use the term Zangezur Corridor, but in favor of the complete unblocking of economic and transport communications in the South Caucasus. He also spoke about the role of Russian peacekeepers in Karabakh.

CivilNet

Armenia is waiting for the decision to join the European Peace Foundation. Pashinyan

Pashinyan: We are waiting for the decision to include Armenia in the European Peace Fund. The fund was established in 2021 to promote world peace, prevent conflicts and supply non-lethal weapons to countries in need. In mid-April, the media wrote that a preliminary agreement was reached in Brussels to provide 10 million euros to Armenia from this fund, but Hungary blocked the decision.

CivilNet

Mirzoyan to take part in Council of Europe ministers’ Committee session in Strasbourg

Ararat Mirzoyan will travel to French city of Strasbourg for a working visit on 16-17 May. He will take part in the 133rd session of the Committee of Ministers, devoted to the celebration of 75 years since the foundation of the Council of Europe.

ArkaAm, Armenian FM to participate in the session of CoE Committee of Ministers

High-Tech Minister: Armenia considers creating investment fund

Armenia’s Minister of High-Tech Industry Mkhitar Hayrapetyan discussed a potential creation of an investment fund in the country with Noubar Afeyan, the founder of venture capital firm Flagship Pioneering. Fund is expected to improve cooperation between Armenian authorities and the private sector.

ArkaAm

Armenia's policy is to diversify its foreign relations - Pashinyan

Armenia's policy is to diversify its foreign relations in all areas, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said at Copenhagen Democracy Summit. "We are happy about the deployment of the EU Civilian Monitoring Mission on the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan," he said. The prime minister said that the EU decision on Armenia's inclusion in the European Peace Facility is now awaited.

ArkaAm

Moscow slams EU mission in Armenia for “provocative activity”

The EU mission is doing more and more against Armenia’s neighbors Russia, Azerbaijan and Iran, Mikhail Galuzin said.

PanArmenian

Uruguay Chamber of Representatives votes to submit draft law on the Armenian Genocide Memorial Day to executive branch

Chamber of Representatives of Uruguay on May 14 unanimously passed the draft law declaring April 24 as Armenian Genocide Memorial Day in Uruguay, 74 votes in favor by the 74 MPs present. After the executive's approval within 10 days, the law will come into force immediately, the Armenian Embassy in Uruguay said in a post on Facebook.

Armenpress, Uruguay House of Representatives approves billdeclaring April 24 as Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day

Slovak PM in ‘life-threatening condition’ after being shot

Slovakia's Prime Minister Robert Fico is fighting for his life after he was shot multiple times following a government meeting. Fico's condition is life-threatening and he’s being flown by helicopter to hospital for emergency treatment.

Armenpress, Slovak PM Fico in hospital after being shot, Violence has no place in politics: Armenian PM wishes speedy recovery to Slovakia’s Robert Fico, Slovak PM in life-threatening condition after assassination attempt, Slovak PM Fico in hospital after being shot

Zelenskiy cancels visit to Spain and Portugal

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has cancelled a visit to Spain and Portugal, authorities said on Wednesday. CNN Portugal and other media reported it was because of renewed fighting in his country. Spain's King Felipe of Spain had been due to hold a reception and host a meal in his honour. He had also been expected to sign a bilateral security cooperation agreement.

Armenpress

The Power of One Dram Sums up the Two-Year Program with Teach for Armenia

During November and December 2021, AMD 9,328,753 was transferred to the “Teach for Armenia” educational foundation. The amount gathered within the framework of “The Power of One Dram” initiative of IDBank and Idram. As a result, two schools of Aragatsotn Region have been conducting an education program based on change for two years.

Armenpress, Power of One Dram sums up two-year program with Teach for Armenia

Blinken, guitar in hand, sings ‘Rockin’ in the Free World’ in Kyiv bar

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken plays guitar and sings Neil Young's "Rockin' in the Free World" with a local band. Blinken assured Ukrainians they are not alone and that billions of dollars in American military aid on its way will make a "real difference" on the battlefield.

Armenpress

Armenia’s ruling party frames anti-government protesters as ‘Russia-backed’ on social media: DEMOCRACY WATCH #4

A CivilNet investigation has found that the campaigns, mostly on Facebook, are generated by the country’s ruling party. Among the main targets is the leader of the protest movement Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan, the Primate of the Tavush Diocese. They circulate videos and photos suggesting his involvement in a “Russian plan to destabilize Armenia”

CivilNet, Echoes of Déjà Vu: Reviving Resistance in Armenia, Archbishop Bagrat: This is our first victory

India and Iran have announced the launch of the Chabahar port development project

India and Iran signed a ten-year agreement on the development and operation of Iran's Chabahar port. The agreement aims to expand regional communication and facilitate trade, particularly between India, Iran and Afghanistan. India has invested in the infrastructure and modernization of the port, making it a viable transit route for Indian goods to Afghanistan and Central Asia.

CivilNet

U.S. warns Georgia not to side with Moscow against the west

Georgia has been warned by the U.S. not to become an adversary of the west by falling back in line with Moscow.

PanArmenian

💵 Economy

EBRD predicts Armenia’s economy to grow by 6.2% in 2024

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development expects Armenia’s economy to grow by 6.2% in 2024 and 4,8% in 2025. The EBRD forecasted a 4.5% economic growth in 2024 for Armenia in its previous report, published in September 2023. The World Bank expects the Armenian economy to. grow by 5.5%, the IMF predicts 5% growth for the country's economy in 2024.

ArkaAm

VTB (Armenia) expands opportunities for cross-border money transfers by phone number

Retail customers of VTB Bank (Armenia) can receive money transfers from Russia by phone number. Funds are credited instantly to the recipient's account or card in national currency. In 2023, the bank's retail customers received more than 94 thousand money transfers.

ArkaAm, VTB-Armenia Bank has expanded the possibilities of international transfers by telephone

EBRD has significantly improved the forecast of the growth of the Armenian economy in 2024 to 6.2%

The EBRD predicts 6.2 percent economic growth in Armenia in 2024, and 4.8 percent in 2025. The World Bank expects that Armenia's economy will grow by 5.5 percent in 2024. The IMF predicts a 5 percent growth for the country's economy in 2024 and 2025.

ArkaAm

Donations to Armenia:

Himnadram
ServicemenFund
Armenian Wounded Heroes
ArmeniaFund

I heard a coworker say on 93.1 the beat today they said that 50 Cent is also performing on saturday after the Venom football game. Can anyone confirm that? I can’t find info on it anywhere.
Their Facebook page says “A special guest will be in attendance as well 🤫” but nothing about who it is.

For a few weeks I’ve been desperately trying to promote the projects I’m working on to raise funds for Palestinian aid.
I have two main projects: the first is a sticker shop that directs funds to humanitarian aid organizations. The other is that I’m working directly with my friend in Palestine on sharing ways for people to give to them.
I started on tiktok with some success, but ended up getting restricted and I assume shadowbanned. I started with anywhere from 400-11k views, but the last few days I’m lucky if two of my followers see it.
I’m trying other platforms like Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, Nextdoor, and Snapchat. But none of those have lead to the kind of inital spike in support I had on tiktok.
I don’t know what else to do. I’ve heard that reddit is a little less sensitive to content like this, I just have no idea where to post it. I’m a semi active user but don’t make a lot of posts so I don’t have the karma for some of the suggested subreddits like assistance.
TLDR: I’m trying to hard to do something good for global issues, but my content isn’t making it in front of anyone anymore. Where else can I try? Is there something I can do differently? For my sticker shop, is there any good place to find small-scale investors? Is there even a place for this on reddit??
Any suggestions are greatly appreciated.

I commonly see this sentiment that the Internet ruined humanity but I would like to say it's actually humanity that's ruined the Internet. We created the Internet and we've ruined the Internet.
You can't go anywhere on the Internet without coming across some human being shitty. You go on a dating app? Shitty people with fake account after fake account attempting to scam you out of money, or rob you or whatever it is.
You can't go on an online game without some shitty person attempting to ruin everyone else's fun by hacking or actively ruining their gameplay.
You can't post things to sell on marketplaces without being bombarded with bot messages attempting to scam you.
You can't go on social medias/forums without seeing people attempt to manipulate your emotions for their own emotional support/boost (trolling, etc) or just being the utmost typical person/walking trope imaginable.
Everywhere you go on the Internet there's someone attempting to cause you financial, emotional, sometimes physical, etc harm. Yeah there seems to be more good people than not but the others really ruin things a lot of the part even with their minimal numbers.
You can't even make a simple post in a Facebook community without some scam account attempting to get information from you with questions (a lot of them being security style questions) or to get you to tap a link to either put something on your device, log you, etc.
In almost every comment section you see either one of these, a combination of these or all of these; racism, sexism, trolling, anti natalism and just extreme hatred in general, disrespect, being rude/outright, assumptions upon assumptions, the inability to accept people's religious (or lack of) beliefs, personal opinions and other ways of life, others repeating each other's top comments in an attempt to get Internet attention, etc. There's a lot of good comments too don't get me wrong but you're almost never able to go to one comment section without seeing it to some extent.
Then you have the constant political back and forths. The amount of accessible NSFW content to children (and honestly some of it shouldn't be accessible to anyone, adults included). The amount of fucked up/backwards sentiments just freely flowing around. The predatory data farming and information mining. The fact SEO has pretty much been ruined by companies and individuals skewing the search results for their own benefit, the fact AI chats, etc have incorporated into it making so many results just redundant/fake, that companies prioritize money over accuracy/use ability, the fact marketing has been allowed to get to where it's gotten (every single thing on the Internet having marketing connected to it), the people that are out to scam, finesse and outright rob you (eBay, marketplaces, fake Amazon stores, Craigslist, etc).
Unfortunately we as humans have been like this before the internet, the Internet just gave these people a networking platform. Yeah maybe the Internet did influence a lot of people to do these things, or opened more doors to do these things or taught people how to do these things but these things are human society.
The Internet didn't destroy humanity, humanity destroyed the internet, which was supposed to be (and continues to be) a useful tool for countless of things. Human greed, human negativity, human desperation, human selfishness, human ignorance, human hatred, etc all made these things (and the countless more examples I could have given) possible.

I commonly see this sentiment that the Internet ruined humanity but I would like to say it's actually humanity that's ruined the Internet. We created the Internet and we've ruined the Internet.
You can't go anywhere on the Internet without coming across some human being shitty. You go on a dating app? Shitty people with fake account after fake account attempting to scam you out of money, or rob you or whatever it is.
You can't go on an online game without some shitty person attempting to ruin everyone else's fun by hacking or actively ruining their gameplay.
You can't post things to sell on marketplaces without being bombarded with bot messages attempting to scam you.
You can't go on social medias/forums without seeing people attempt to manipulate your emotions for their own emotional support/boost (trolling, etc) or just being the utmost typical person/walking trope imaginable.
Everywhere you go on the Internet there's someone attempting to cause you financial, emotional, sometimes physical, etc harm. Yeah there seems to be more good people than not but the others really ruin things a lot of the part even with their minimal numbers.
You can't even make a simple post in a Facebook community without some scam account attempting to get information from you with questions (a lot of them being security style questions) or to get you to tap a link to either put something on your device, log you, etc.
In almost every comment section you see either one of these, a combination of these or all of these; racism, sexism, trolling, anti natalism and just extreme hatred in general, disrespect, being rude/outright, assumptions upon assumptions, the inability to accept people's religious (or lack of) beliefs, personal opinions and other ways of life, others repeating each other's top comments in an attempt to get Internet attention, etc. There's a lot of good comments too don't get me wrong but you're almost never able to go to one comment section without seeing it to some extent.
Then you have the constant political back and forths. The amount of accessible NSFW content to children (and honestly some of it shouldn't be accessible to anyone, adults included). The amount of fucked up/backwards sentiments just freely flowing around. The predatory data farming and information mining. The fact SEO has pretty much been ruined by companies and individuals skewing the search results for their own benefit, the fact AI chats, etc have incorporated into it making so many results just redundant/fake, that companies prioritize money over accuracy/use ability, the fact marketing has been allowed to get to where it's gotten (every single thing on the Internet having marketing connected to it), the people that are out to scam, finesse and outright rob you (eBay, marketplaces, fake Amazon stores, Craigslist, etc).
Unfortunately we as humans have been like this before the internet, the Internet just gave these people a networking platform. Yeah maybe the Internet did influence a lot of people to do these things, or opened more doors to do these things or taught people how to do these things but these things are human society.
The Internet didn't destroy humanity, humanity destroyed the internet, which was supposed to be (and continues to be) a useful tool for countless of things. Human greed, human negativity, human desperation, human selfishness, human ignorance, human hatred, etc all made these things (and the countless more examples I could have given) possible.

Hi all! I found this tile flooring on Facebook marketplace and absolutely love it. I can’t find it anywhere online, like the company’s website or anything like that. Does anyone know anything about it? They are gorgeous and I’d love to buy more of them, as the person selling them wouldn’t be enough for the room. Thank you for the help in advance!

My neighbour is a passport bro, he married a woman from the Philippines.
I’ve only lived in this house for a year, but the minute I moved in there was trouble.
I’m single, I live alone, no pets, no children, no boyfriend. I met my neighbours and I had a really bad feeling about them but shrugged it off because it was a man, wife, 3 kids, dog and cat and they seemed alright despite the creepy and kinda sick feeling I got from them, I was thinking that they’re harmless, this is just a family next door, not some creepy single guy serial killer.
This has turned into a complete nightmare, the husband started making advances on me while his wife ( from from Phillipines) was at work ( she works nights). It wasn’t just casual flirting either, it was creepy stalking behaviour like watching my schedule and cornering me outside at 5:30 am to talk to me, waiting at my parking spot after work pretending to work on his vehicle and then cornering me again to talk, then I noticed him watching me out his windows, then he wouldn’t let me go outside without coming outside as well and following me around, even if I was just taking the trash out, then he started following me in his vehicle, then leaving flowers on my step. I finally had enough and told him I’m uncomfortable, leave me alone and if he doesn’t I’m going to tell his wife.
He didn’t stop, instead he got angry, screamed in my face, started tailgating me in his vehicle, throwing garbage on my lawn, coming into yard, walking behind me and singing loudly ( because I told him not to talk to me anymore). I finally did tell his wife and nothing changed. She just said she didn’t believe me and he said I was lying.
I’ve had to call the police 3 times, I spent half the day getting restraining order this week on Monday. I had to call the police on Mother’s Day, because instead of being inside with his wife celebrating, he was outside stalking me and blatantly throwing more garbage in my yard trying to antagonize me into a reaction so I pay some kind of attention to him and validate his existence ( I did not react or even look at him). The police came and said this is his final warning and next step is charges of criminal harassment.
I looked at the wife’s Facebook( I had never looked before) and I saw pictures of her when she first met him, they met online and she was absolutely beautiful, young, full of life, there were pictures of her at the beach with beautiful smile, blowing hair, bright eyes. He went there, married her and brought her back here.
Now they live in poverty because he’s unemployed, she’s working nights, she doesn’t drive because he’s so controlling- he picks her up from work and drops her off, he does all the grocery shopping and she never leaves the house to go anywhere for walks or anywhere he doesn’t drive her. She’s gained a ton of weight, looks downtrodden, no more beautiful smile full of life, she has 3 kids that I hear him screaming at everyday at the top of his lungs.
He’s obviously become bored of her now that she’s older, completely under his control, gained weight and is probably depressed. He’s completely fixated on me and stalking to the point he’s about to be arrested and she spent Mother’s Day with the police showing up because her husband can’t stop stalking the woman next door, then afterwards he dropped her off at work for her night shift. Good times for her….
Ladies please be careful of these passport bros or this can become your fate. It’ll be hard for her to leave him because this is a high cost of living, she doesn’t drive, has 3 kids.
I feel bad for her after seeing pictures of the young, beautiful, vibrant woman at the beach smiling- to seeing her now living in a shithole house, with a deadbeat abusive husband pursuing other women right in front of her while she’s working all night to support the family and this loser. He’s used her for everything he could possibly take, taken everything from her and now he’s after other women, and he knows she can’t do anything about it because he’s doing it right in front of her face with the woman next door, it’s sickening.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/arcadeqarcade-qr
feel free to try out the demo at arcadeqr.com
Give your customers a voice, where do they turn to when a game is broken, now they can with ArcadeQR
Want new features and or make suggestions, let me know!
Features: Google Cloud database, access your data from anywhere Google 1 click sign on enabled (ios and facebook are on the list to add) Add Locations Add Games Generate QR Codes for each Customers can scan the QR Code to report an issue Issues come into your dashboard and can be marked as read and repaired Notes can be added to each ticket indicating parts needed Drive Lost Revenue back with the option to send an email to the reporter to indicate the game is fixed Estimate Revenue Loss based on tickets and time broken Easily Move one game to another location Add Location share % Add and track revenue for each game, measure quarters by count, value or weight and the others are automatically filled out (currently work in progress) View reporting information of revenue (On the list to add) add parts list so all needed parts can be viewed in one location for convenient ordering (on the list to add)