What hoodia product does oprah endorse
Adult Fans of LEGO
2011.12.31 18:10 getdamonkey Adult Fans of LEGO
AFOL is a subreddit for Adult Fans of Lego. Come build with us!
2011.10.02 23:51 /r/HomeServer
/HomeServer: for all your home, small, and medium business server, software, and related discussions!
2020.02.23 18:04 notsleepy VALORANT Competitive
Celebrating the VALORANT Esports community.
2024.05.16 02:30 IBQC The Wealth Gap: An Existential Threat
 | Since 1970 the value of the dollar has steadily declined. The lower 80% of Americans have lost income and purchasing power, largely due to the exodus of manufacturing by global corporations. As a result, the wealth gap between the global rich and the rest has widened. submitted by IBQC to conservatives [link] [comments] From 2007-2016 the net worth of the richest Americans increased by 20% while the lower 80% decreased by the same percentage, widening the wealth gap considerably. The Federal Reserve sparked this change using quantitative easing to boost the sagging stock market. The rich could invest in this wealth explosion but the rest could not as much. Increasingly wealthy globalists pressured the government and now the top 1% own over half of U.S. wealth while the top quintile owns about 94% of the wealth. The bottom 80% have their wealth tied up in their homes or vehicles and most suffer from chronic debt. Not only does the Fed-backed stock market favor the super-rich, but the U.S. tax system does too. The average American pays an effective tax rate of 13% while the very rich pay 18%. But when wealth gains are included, the effective tax rate on the very wealthy averages a mere 4.8%. While the wealth gap concentrates ownership in a small group of people so it does to industry. More and more large corporations dominate most sectors at the expense of small businesses. As small companies suffer and are saddled with increasing regulations, larger corporations benefit from monopoly power, less competition, and the ability to set prices artificially high. The wider the wealth gap goes, the more our social and political fabric will deteriorate. According to the Great Gatsby Curve, increased inequality will result in less upward advancement from one generation to the next. This is precisely the conditions that exist when a democracy is overtaken by authoritarian rule. The Triple “I” CurseThe wealth gap is widening faster than ever thanks to Biden's three-pronged Triple “I” Curse: Inflation, Immigration, and an Inflated stock market.Inflation: Since 2021, government spending has ballooned. National debt has climbed to $35 trillion, increasing $1 trillion every 100 days, causing incredible inflation and the dollar to lose 23% of its value. The wealthy can withstand inflation to a certain extent, but most households in the lower 80% cannot. Nearly two-thirds of households do not have enough savings to cover three months out. In a weak attempt to control inflation, the Federal Reserve tried to raise interest rates. This just made purchasing a house prohibitive and forced regional banks to lose value on the Treasury notes they held. Immigration: The current policy of open borders delivers cheaper labor for globalists and more votes for Democrats. Available jobs are going to foreign-born workers and not American citizens in what is called the 'displacement theory,' resulting in even lower wages and purchasing power for many Americans. Inflated Stock Market: Despite inflation and higher interest rates, the Fed still prints cheap money to boost the stock market and benefit the rich. But job and GDP growth result from massive government spending as company productivity and consumer demand slide. Not only does government spending spur inflation, but increasing government regulation hampers supply, making fewer goods cost more. This combined effect of inflation and lower demand creates stagflation. So why is the stock market soaring? The Fed's policy of printing cheap dollars. (It might be argued that such market chicanery will eventually lead to a crash, destroying much of the elite’s wealth, but by then the damage will be done.) The Wealth Gap Lets the Super-Rich Wokize AmericaConcentration of wealth in both people and industry harms society. For the super-rich it is not as much about money as power. Thus both corporations and the super-wealthy buy influence, especially in education, environmentalism, and politics, all three of which have damaged American society. Education has turned from transmitting knowledge to racist indoctrination. Environmentalism has become a weapon against industrial productivity and prosperity. And politics has become a uniparty of frivolous spenders.Their contributions have led to the wokization of American culture, society, and institutions. Based largely on racism, wokism is a neo-Marxist narrative that all Western white society is structured to oppress all non-whites. Billionaires, corporations, and their foundations augment government funding of woke activities including Critical Race Theory, transgenderism, Diversity-Equity-Inclusion, drag queens, illegal immigration, climate change, reduction in law enforcement, and more. Just 10 billionaires have pledged over $135 billion to focus on education, politics, and the environment. Three foundations mold the K-12 education system as they and others spend over $4 billion annually to engineer their Marxist vision of the future. Likewise charitable contributions to higher education exceeded $58 billion in 2023. The average member of Congress receives 93% of his or her contributions from big, often out-of-state, donors, including dark money from unrevealed sources and PACs. Similarly, billionaire spending to members of Congress increased to over $1 billion in 2022 and will mount much further this year. Add this to the 12,000 Washington lobbyists who spent $4.3 billion in 2023 and understand why the recent $1.2 trillion omnibus bill included millions of dollars of woke earmarks. Concentration has also hit charities. They used to have many small donors but now rely on a few super-rich who control the media and woke globalist narrative. Over two-fifths of their pledges gets rerouted to foundations they control and not actual charities. Thus billionaires “use philanthropy as a taxpayer-subsidized extension of their private power and influence,” making average U.S. taxpayers subsidize billionaire charity. What Happens If It All Comes Apart?The Triple “I” Curse has created an unstable U.S. economy to benefit the super-rich. In just three years, the wealth of the top 1 percent has risen from $30 trillion to nearly $45 trillion.But what if it were to come crashing down?Although the stock market is highly inflated, the super-rich must cling to it. Their other main sources of wealth are real estate and private-held businesses. While real-estate values rose slightly, privately held businesses declined, leaving stocks to generate their wealth for the past three years. Biden's latest brainstorm is to levy a 20% tax on unrealized stock market gains, forcing Americans to pay taxes on their annual gains on all assets, including stocks.It's a distinct possibility that government spending and insurmountable national debt will ultimately collapse the dollar. National debt already affects credibility and purchasing power of the dollar. This emboldens the China-led BRICS countries to pursue a gold-backed currency to replace the dollar as the world's currency. If that happens, the dollar will hyper-inflate, causing a huge dollar crash and devastation to all Americans. The cumulative effect of expanding the wealth gap through the Biden-globalist Triple “I” Curse is to make the United States a borderless part of a nationless world, which of course countries like China and Russia will never endorse. The curse is a recipe to create a permanent underclass, controlled by an authoritarian cartel of business and government, a key ingredient of the globalist new world order and made possible by an ever-widening wealth gap. Ironically, by crippling the U.S. economy, the super-rich may capitulate to the China-Russia cabal while arranging their own demise – and taking us all with them. |
2024.05.15 16:31 SpacePaladin15 The Nature of Predators 2-36
First Prev
Star Crossed [Multiple Free Sample Chapters] Patreon Subreddit Discord Paperback NOP2 Species Lore
Memory Transcription Subject: Elias Meier, Former UN Secretary-General
Date [standardized human time]: July 13, 2160
The irritability coursing through my psyche was palpable. Every sound was dialed up to eleven, stabbing at the core of my sensory processing. Constant awareness grated on me after days without sleep, never having any break from the stream of information I needed to digest. There was no way to shut the world off and reset, and no reprieve from the unsettling reality of my physical experience. I was curled up in a ball on the floor, rocking back and forth; I wasn’t sure how much longer I could go on like this.
Virnt scuttled over to me in the spaceship, jostling my shoulder. “Elias? Would you like to turn back from this mission?”
I remembered how I’d spent most of the trip, standing under the water in the shower. There was a special shampoo they’d provided for synthetic hair, like a wig. I held out my phony hand and emptied most of the bottle’s worth of goop, zoning out; I was trying to soak in the distant sensation of liquid running down my spine. Once upon a time, this had been the most relaxing time of my day—letting muscle tension fade away and cleansing grimy skin oils. Now, I knew neither of those two still existed in my day-to-day life to assuage.
Did it even matter to slap soap on some metal frame? There were no consequences of letting hygiene go by the wayside. I didn’t sweat in order to start to reek, and I couldn’t get skin conditions or be affected by bacteria. It could be that I was bathing out of habit, clinging to my old lifestyle, that I kept going to wash up. Perhaps the shower had become my favorite haunt because I felt disgusting in this body. Everything was a reminder that I was an inhuman scrap pile, and it was wearing on my sanity. It wasn’t like anyone related to what I was going through.
I used to spend so much time fussing over making my suits look crisp and perfect—immaculate ties, UN pins adjusted just right. The heavy jackets would trap my body heat in the summer; now, it no longer had that effect. I could bundle up as much as I wanted in 40 degree Celsius heat, unless there was some limit that would fry my circuits. Shit, I might not need a spacesuit in the vacuum of space—I couldn’t freeze or suffocate, after all. Being left out in the void for all eternity didn’t sound that much different from my present experience.
I hate what I’ve become. I hate what they’ve done to me; all I do is think, and every part of my new self lives in the uncanny valley. There’s nothing positive. Maybe it’s time to call it…death was better than this. I can’t bear another day of this hell.
“Hey, stay with me! Distractibility, depression, being unable to maintain concentration—these are natural consequences of sleep deprivation. I’m surprised it carries over without a physical mechanism to grow tired…but I’m working on a sleep suite, I promise,” Virnt said, glossy eyes staring at me.
I groaned. “I’m not tired, but it’s just nonstop. I…I’m having trouble remembering what I read.”
“Here, I’m going to try a temporary fix. You look like you need it. I don’t want you to suffer; just turning you off and on isn’t the same. I’m going to emulate GABA, uh, shut off your optic sensors, decrease the activity in your prefrontal cortex, and simulate delta waves for an hour. We can see if it somewhat fills the need for deep sleep, okay? Relaxation, no processing: worth a shot, right?”
I nodded mutely, staying in the fetal position. I didn’t have the will to move, and I didn’t want to get my hopes up that Virnt’s plan would be any mercy. The sensation of the Tilfish tinkering with my settings was strange, as if my brain was being overridden in the moment. There was no process of falling asleep to give it the air of naturalness. Suddenly, I was blind, trapped in darkness—and a modicum of drowsiness kicked in, limiting my movement. Thoughts died down, offering much-need relief; I faintly wished I could remain in this state.
When I came to, there was a sudden influx of information as the rest mode was switched off; it was hardly a seamless waking, but I’d take it. Peace in my own head was something I’d never take for granted again. I hadn’t thought myself to be a weak-minded individual, but I hadn’t realized how much it wore on you: feeling out of place in your own body every waking second, and not trusting your senses. Brain function had been restored enough that I could get a grip on myself, and rise in my disheveled state. A peek out the window revealed we’d completed our intra-atmosphere transit to the Duerten embassy.
I rubbed my eyes on reflex, but there were no gifts from the Sandman there. “Why couldn’t you have just added everything to start with, Virnt?”
“The humans I talked to said they wouldn’t want to sleep, unless they had to! I put the most focus on your emotional matrix and your facial expressiveness, since I thought that has the highest importance of what makes you human,” the Tilfish replied.
“You could’ve made it at least optional.”
“I sent the option to your holopad for the future, to trigger this program for as long as you’d like. This is a learning process, so I’m sorry for anything that’s off. All trial and error here, but it’s only going to get better! That’s the positive.”
“There are a lot of patches needed. For starters, you’re missing two of the senses: taste and smell. In spite of that, ever since I walked past the Terra Technologies staff eating tater tots, I’ve been craving them at random intervals. I’m not hungry—I can’t consume food!”
“Predator instincts,” Virnt teased. “The Federation was right.”
“I’m serious! Why on Earth would that be a thing? I literally can’t satisfy it, so it’s almost cruel.”
“It’s psychological, Elias. I looked into it after I saw it in your transcript. When humans are under a lot of stress or otherwise feeling down, you seek dopamine from food. It’s something familiar that activated your memories, and promised emotional comfort. That’s why you have the phrase ‘comfort food.’”
“I can already see how the Federation remnants would spin that. A predator’s so-called emotions are tied to food, and stimulate appetite to fulfill their whims.”
“You seem in better spirits. To add to your improved mood, we announced the success of your memory transplant to the world. The response was overwhelmingly positive—history looked back fondly on you. You got a lot of well-wishes, and I was able to get almost all of your social media re-activated. At least, the platforms that are still active.”
“I’m…allowed to share my honest experiences?”
Virnt eased me out of the shuttle, into the sunlight; cameras were waiting, causing me to stiffen. “Of course you can. I’m not here to muzzle you, my friend. Quite the opposite, in fact: I want your experiment documented as thoroughly as possible! You’re the spokesperson for—”
I shielded my face from the reporters, who were lobbing questions. “What is this? I don’t have a prepared statement. This is an ambush.”
“Terra Technologies has a mission of transparency, and improving sapients’ quality of life through digital means. We had to announce such a monumental breakthrough, but you’re under no obligation to speak with them.”
“Good,” a warm voice chimed in from next to me, making me jump. “The poor guy’s come back from the dead, Virnt. Give him a break. He’s here to speak with the Duerten Forum and their ambassador, for some semblance of his old life.”
I turned my head, beaming as I recognized her. “Erin? Oh, sorry: that’s Secretary-General Kuemper, isn’t it? You’ve moved up in the world. The United Nations is in good hands.”
“It’s good to see you, Elias. I bawled my eyes out at your funeral. You cared so much for peace and taking the high road; there isn’t a person out there who could’ve handled first contact with more grace. You inspired me, and an entire generation of future diplomats.”
I embraced Erin, who’d once been a passionate SETI researcher giving me all of the bad news about aliens. As we flailed about in the dark to save humanity and adjust to the galaxy, finally acquiring a few friends, she’d become my Secretary of Alien Affairs. I’d trusted her to do whatever it took to stabilize our extraterrestrial relations. It was a bit of a relief to see a positive reaction from someone I knew; I wasn’t sure how my friends would take my return, but I hadn’t been expecting a welcome with open arms. It brought me solace and comfort to know about the legacy I’d left behind, and the ripple effects my tenure had on the United Nations.
It is strange to see how much she’s aged. That’ll be the reality of anyone that used to be an acquaintance of mine.
The alarm bells pinging in my head faded into the backdrop, and I forgot that the wind gusting against my face only felt like a dull push. My mind slipped away from food cravings that failed to get my mouth to water, how there was no feeling of tightness from my dress shoes, and the stillness of my non-existent diaphragm. I was simply happy to see someone I cared about and enjoyed working with, in my old life. There was safety in having a person I trusted to be on my side. My brain snapped back into diplomat mode, falling into a familiar flow of conversation. If I had nothing else, I still had my social skills—an ability to navigate various cultures.
“So the Duerten Forum agreed to meet with the two of us. They know about the Sivkit attack, but not the full threat,” I spoke aloud, after breaking away from the rather soul-affirming embrace. “I read the strategy meetings for briefing them, and I’m on-board to appeal to nostalgia; humanity saving their homeworld was after my time, but close enough to it that I could serve as a reminder. A blast from the past.”
Erin nodded, her security forming a wall between us and the cameras as we walked toward the embassy. “I always wondered what you’d think of modern Vienna, Elias. All of the aliens willing to be here on our world, and to treat us like people. Friendship used to seem like a pipe dream; we were happy if they’d allow us to exist, tolerate us to that extent. Look at us now.”
“I almost gave up hoping that they could care about us, or stand beside us at all. We couldn’t do it alone then. It’s time we remember to stand together—to rise to the occasion once more. I can’t bear the thought of anything threatening our home, or our friends. I saw enough needless death twenty-four years ago.”
“That pain is a lot more recent to you. It’s completely okay to be wrestling with grief. A billion of ours died.”
“We didn’t become the monsters they thought we were, and we pulled through. We revealed their hatred and treachery, and have chosen a future set on rectifying every right they trampled. I’ll always mourn what we lost, but I’ve never been more proud of humanity in my life.”
Kuemper patted my shoulder. “You sound like yourself, my dear old friend. It’s very good to have you back; you were much better at smiling while they spit in your face than I ever was. Let’s do what’s necessary to get the ball rolling with the Shield.”
“I’m right behind you.”
The exterior of the Duerten embassy had a distinct construction style, with metal and concrete forming the bulk of the outside structure; on Kalqua, sturdiness was at the foremost of their priorities. Winds on a normal day could ratchet up to what we’d consider a tropical storm, according to my brief review of their culture. The door was evidently heightened to facilitate foot traffic from humans, despite the exit hatches on the upper floor which seemed frequented by the avian staff. Their personnel could literally fly away during an emergent situation. I tailed Kuemper into the lobby, and noted how much of the inside’s floor was concrete as well. It was resilient and easy to clean, a perfect surface to avoid being marred by talons.
Most of the gray avians used perches instead of chairs, with several staffers working on paperwork at their desks; in private areas, some met with any humans who had business with the Duerten Forum. The lack of reaction to a predator’s approach was new to me, but a welcome change. Kuemper confidently led the way to an elevator, which had the English and German words for “Welcome to the Duerten embassy!” written above the opening. The generic Shield logo was painted on both sides of the door, and emblazoned with a representation of Kalqua. There were no buttons inside, apart from an emergency exit; a camera surveyed us, before a watching staffer summoned the car upward. I felt a jolt as we reached the top floor.
“To be visited by two Secretary-Generals: one of whom is a ghost! Let me express the Duerten Forum’s honor and delight. Not, of course, that I don’t cherish Ambassador Hannah Marston’s visits.” A silver-feathered head poked out of a door at the end of the hallway, past a spacious lounge; his beak was the precise yellow of corn. “Please, come in. Make yourselves at home. Can I get you anything to drink?”
Kuemper shuffled forward, giving me a knowing look. “Water would be lovely for me. Thank you for the warm welcome, Ambassador Korajan.”
“I second that gratitude. Enchanted to meet you. I’m sure you know, but I’m Elias Meier.” Taking a gamble that the ambassador was more than acquainted with our customs, I extended a hand. Korajan strode forward with confidence, ensnaring my palm in his wingtip. “We appreciate you taking the time to sit with us, Ambassador.”
“Just Korajan,” the avian said, feeling my artificial hand with undeniable curiosity. He finally released my grip, and waited for us to get seated. “There’s no need for formalities, especially when I’m in such esteemed company. What can I do for you?”
“We’ve come to seek your assistance in the fight against the Sivkits’ assailants. The Sapient Coalition needs allies to back us against these menaces,” Kuemper stated. “Any help we can get would make a difference.”
“I see. I heard about your unfortunate defeat in your prior engagement, but I don’t see how it involves or concerns us. The Duerten, as you well know, aren’t in the position we used to be. We’ve turned our focus inward for years, shoring up our defenses to watch out for our beloved planet. The potential benefit it might offer you is so negligible that it’s hardly worth increasing our vulnerability. The risk far outweighs the rewards for any party.”
I studied the avian, careful to avoid a direct stare. “I understand that it’s a lot to ask. However, small bits of help from across the Shield can accumulate to be a massive difference maker. We want to stop this genocidal force from getting anywhere near Kalqua; if we play our cards right, you won’t need defenses.”
“Elias—sorry, may I call you Elias?” Korajan asked, continuing after I nodded. “We’re, of course, concerned to have a predatory species with such power and intentions, outside our known terrain. They bear a striking resemblance to the Arxur, and my government does appreciate the advance warning from the SC so we can make preparations. Yet the Forum is concerned by several of your recent initiatives, which would make us doubly unwilling to back your cause.”
“Go on. What initiatives have unsettled you?” I hope he doesn’t mean me, with resurrecting dead humans; that’d hit close to home, and I don’t know how to defend it. “Perhaps we can clear up our rationale and intentions, ensuring that there are no misunderstandings.”
“I hope I’m not impolite to point it out, but my government is beginning to see a pattern in your recent connections to carnivores. The Sapient Coalition is attempting an uplift on one race, despite what we all know happened on Wriss, and has brought them into your mix while they are at war with each other. We’re also aware of these Osirs—a race you are resurrecting to live among you, despite having no idea what they’re capable of. Present company excluded, species that need meat are not trustworthy types. These Osirs are weapons: look at the fangs.”
“Anything is a weapon in the wrong hands. Respectfully, we don’t feel that it’s right to judge a species for their diet. If I’m not mistaken, your own kind were once omnivores, Korajan.”
The Duerten fluttered his wings in acknowledgement. “The Federation changed us greatly—some things for the better, others to erase our intellect. We’re an individualist species, and they tried to make us…what do you humans call it? A ‘hive mind.’ Hive minds, of course, are fiction, yet they tried to make it real. Still, sometimes when you’re changed enough, it makes it impossible to go back to how things were.”
“I of all people grasp that sentiment,” I sighed, without moving an abdominal muscle, reflecting how my life would never be the same in this state. “We believe all sapients deserve a chance at life and happiness. Equality isn’t a principle we withhold based on any factor, and we don’t change species to fit our own whims.”
“This is why we’re content with our relations as is: separate, so we’re not connected to your disputes or obligated to get involved. The Duerten will always have differences between what are considered acceptable behaviors, and our guiding principles and overarching goals.”
Kuemper tapped her fingers on her knee. “Regardless, our choices with the Bissems and Osirs will have no impact or tangible effects on the Duerten. Nor is it a reason to shy away from protecting herbivores, the mandate that led you to stand up to the Federation in the past.”
“That cost us everything. Kalqua took a beating worse than Earth did. We don’t set out to attract the ire of powerful enemies these days.”
“We saved Kalqua. We were there when you needed our help to keep your innocents safe,” I reminded him, knitting my eyebrows with earnestness. “We answer when others call for our help to stay alive; the Duerten know what drives us to answer the bell. Isn’t that worth a smidge of reciprocation?”
“If Earth, or for that matter, Leirn were under siege, we would come. However, it appears to us that you entered their territory, not the other way around.”
“Think of the type of species…no, the kind of governments that would glass worlds. The old-school Arxur Dominion. The Kolshian shadow caste when they were defied. The Krakotl extermination fleet because they hated us. That’s what we see in the Osirs, and the gluttonous killing of Sivkit civilians while refusing to speak. We can’t turn a blind eye.”
“I’m sorry, Elias. Even if I wanted to help you, I don’t have the authority. I’m expressing my government’s position, and I’ve been told the Duerten Forum isn't going to war under any circumstances. I apologize that I can’t be of more use, and regret if you might feel your time has been squandered, leaving empty-handed.”
I shared a look with Kuemper, recognizing that we had been stonewalled; there was an implication in Korajan’s last statement that the discussion on this matter was over. The Forum hadn’t given him any negotiating room, so I didn’t get the sense I could do better than asking for him to take a message. If this was the most friendly party we’d be interacting with, I wasn’t off to a good start wrangling support for an alliance. There were a few other Shield races we could try, but an endorsement from the founders might’ve gotten the whole union on board. We had to find another angle—negotiating with the Fed remnants would be impossible without the Shield as an intermediary.
“Of course we don’t feel that way. The back-and-forth was enlightening, productive communication, as much as humanity would love to stand side-by-side in this endeavor,” I offered. “We appreciate you hearing us out, and do hope you’ll pass along our rationale to the Forum, for clarity.”
“I will,” the Duerten responded. “Your words, as always, deserve to be heard and treated with respect.”
Kuemper followed my lead, rising as I stood. “Korajan, I want you to know I deeply appreciate what you said about coming to Earth’s aid should we ever fall on hard times. That stood out to me, as a reason why our cooperation is so precious and beautiful.”
“I agree wholeheartedly. I do wish you the best of luck in your future engagements; my people hope you emerge victorious.”
“Thank you. Our door will always be open if you have a change of heart.”
In my mind, I had already vacated the Duerten embassy, but it was necessary to retrace my steps to depart the ambassador’s office. Aliens were much more diplomatic in rebuffing us now than in my era, which was the proper way to express disagreements between nations. It wasn’t lost on me that the differences in “behaviors” and “principles” Korajan meant were things such as hunting, omnivory, accepting carnivores, exterminators, and predator disease facilities. The Forum still clung to much of their old lifestyle; the gray avian had stated that some Federation changes were “for the better.” That was telling about how much of their ideology they’d yet to shed.
“Forgive my impertinence, but before you go, Elias…may I ask a personal inquiry? It’s not on my behalf of my government,” Korajan called, as our shoes cleared the threshold of his office.
I turned around, giving him an encouraging smile. “Of course. Go ahead.”
“What…what was it like? To die…to be dead?”
“It wasn’t like anything. It was a singularity of all outcomes: all I ever was, and all I ever could be, condensed to nothing. There are no words to describe emptiness and infinite rest. It’s a peace that knows no equal.”
The Duerten dipped his head. “Thank you. It gives me some…personal solace, to know…to know my daughter is resting peacefully. She died in so much pain after only a short period of remission. Ahem…if you’ll excuse me, I…”
“We’ll leave you in peace,” Kuemper replied, softness in her voice.
I folded my hands behind my back, mulling over the choked-up ambassador’s words. How could I let a few days of mental suffering defeat me, when kids suffered through such terrible diseases—never getting to reach adulthood? This program could give children like Korajan’s daughter a chance to grow up, and be a kid, free from pain. As soon as I was alone, I knew I’d be cast back into a maddening state of consciousness, with my brain struggling to stay tethered to this reality. Where I’d been ready to give up before Virnt’s quick fix, the avian’s story made me want to remain in the fight.
The Tilfish had been right: there was the potential for the technology that had brought me back to do a lot of good, and save others a great deal of heartbreak and suffering. No personal sacrifice was too great to ensure that one day, no parent would ever have to bury their child.
First Prev
Star Crossed [Multiple Free Sample Chapters] Patreon Subreddit Discord Paperback NOP2 Species Lore
submitted by SpacePaladin15 to HFY [link] [comments]
Star Crossed [Multiple Free Sample Chapters] Patreon Subreddit Discord Paperback NOP2 Species Lore
Date [standardized human time]: July 13, 2160
The irritability coursing through my psyche was palpable. Every sound was dialed up to eleven, stabbing at the core of my sensory processing. Constant awareness grated on me after days without sleep, never having any break from the stream of information I needed to digest. There was no way to shut the world off and reset, and no reprieve from the unsettling reality of my physical experience. I was curled up in a ball on the floor, rocking back and forth; I wasn’t sure how much longer I could go on like this.
Virnt scuttled over to me in the spaceship, jostling my shoulder. “Elias? Would you like to turn back from this mission?”
I remembered how I’d spent most of the trip, standing under the water in the shower. There was a special shampoo they’d provided for synthetic hair, like a wig. I held out my phony hand and emptied most of the bottle’s worth of goop, zoning out; I was trying to soak in the distant sensation of liquid running down my spine. Once upon a time, this had been the most relaxing time of my day—letting muscle tension fade away and cleansing grimy skin oils. Now, I knew neither of those two still existed in my day-to-day life to assuage.
Did it even matter to slap soap on some metal frame? There were no consequences of letting hygiene go by the wayside. I didn’t sweat in order to start to reek, and I couldn’t get skin conditions or be affected by bacteria. It could be that I was bathing out of habit, clinging to my old lifestyle, that I kept going to wash up. Perhaps the shower had become my favorite haunt because I felt disgusting in this body. Everything was a reminder that I was an inhuman scrap pile, and it was wearing on my sanity. It wasn’t like anyone related to what I was going through.
I used to spend so much time fussing over making my suits look crisp and perfect—immaculate ties, UN pins adjusted just right. The heavy jackets would trap my body heat in the summer; now, it no longer had that effect. I could bundle up as much as I wanted in 40 degree Celsius heat, unless there was some limit that would fry my circuits. Shit, I might not need a spacesuit in the vacuum of space—I couldn’t freeze or suffocate, after all. Being left out in the void for all eternity didn’t sound that much different from my present experience.
I hate what I’ve become. I hate what they’ve done to me; all I do is think, and every part of my new self lives in the uncanny valley. There’s nothing positive. Maybe it’s time to call it…death was better than this. I can’t bear another day of this hell.
“Hey, stay with me! Distractibility, depression, being unable to maintain concentration—these are natural consequences of sleep deprivation. I’m surprised it carries over without a physical mechanism to grow tired…but I’m working on a sleep suite, I promise,” Virnt said, glossy eyes staring at me.
I groaned. “I’m not tired, but it’s just nonstop. I…I’m having trouble remembering what I read.”
“Here, I’m going to try a temporary fix. You look like you need it. I don’t want you to suffer; just turning you off and on isn’t the same. I’m going to emulate GABA, uh, shut off your optic sensors, decrease the activity in your prefrontal cortex, and simulate delta waves for an hour. We can see if it somewhat fills the need for deep sleep, okay? Relaxation, no processing: worth a shot, right?”
I nodded mutely, staying in the fetal position. I didn’t have the will to move, and I didn’t want to get my hopes up that Virnt’s plan would be any mercy. The sensation of the Tilfish tinkering with my settings was strange, as if my brain was being overridden in the moment. There was no process of falling asleep to give it the air of naturalness. Suddenly, I was blind, trapped in darkness—and a modicum of drowsiness kicked in, limiting my movement. Thoughts died down, offering much-need relief; I faintly wished I could remain in this state.
When I came to, there was a sudden influx of information as the rest mode was switched off; it was hardly a seamless waking, but I’d take it. Peace in my own head was something I’d never take for granted again. I hadn’t thought myself to be a weak-minded individual, but I hadn’t realized how much it wore on you: feeling out of place in your own body every waking second, and not trusting your senses. Brain function had been restored enough that I could get a grip on myself, and rise in my disheveled state. A peek out the window revealed we’d completed our intra-atmosphere transit to the Duerten embassy.
I rubbed my eyes on reflex, but there were no gifts from the Sandman there. “Why couldn’t you have just added everything to start with, Virnt?”
“The humans I talked to said they wouldn’t want to sleep, unless they had to! I put the most focus on your emotional matrix and your facial expressiveness, since I thought that has the highest importance of what makes you human,” the Tilfish replied.
“You could’ve made it at least optional.”
“I sent the option to your holopad for the future, to trigger this program for as long as you’d like. This is a learning process, so I’m sorry for anything that’s off. All trial and error here, but it’s only going to get better! That’s the positive.”
“There are a lot of patches needed. For starters, you’re missing two of the senses: taste and smell. In spite of that, ever since I walked past the Terra Technologies staff eating tater tots, I’ve been craving them at random intervals. I’m not hungry—I can’t consume food!”
“Predator instincts,” Virnt teased. “The Federation was right.”
“I’m serious! Why on Earth would that be a thing? I literally can’t satisfy it, so it’s almost cruel.”
“It’s psychological, Elias. I looked into it after I saw it in your transcript. When humans are under a lot of stress or otherwise feeling down, you seek dopamine from food. It’s something familiar that activated your memories, and promised emotional comfort. That’s why you have the phrase ‘comfort food.’”
“I can already see how the Federation remnants would spin that. A predator’s so-called emotions are tied to food, and stimulate appetite to fulfill their whims.”
“You seem in better spirits. To add to your improved mood, we announced the success of your memory transplant to the world. The response was overwhelmingly positive—history looked back fondly on you. You got a lot of well-wishes, and I was able to get almost all of your social media re-activated. At least, the platforms that are still active.”
“I’m…allowed to share my honest experiences?”
Virnt eased me out of the shuttle, into the sunlight; cameras were waiting, causing me to stiffen. “Of course you can. I’m not here to muzzle you, my friend. Quite the opposite, in fact: I want your experiment documented as thoroughly as possible! You’re the spokesperson for—”
I shielded my face from the reporters, who were lobbing questions. “What is this? I don’t have a prepared statement. This is an ambush.”
“Terra Technologies has a mission of transparency, and improving sapients’ quality of life through digital means. We had to announce such a monumental breakthrough, but you’re under no obligation to speak with them.”
“Good,” a warm voice chimed in from next to me, making me jump. “The poor guy’s come back from the dead, Virnt. Give him a break. He’s here to speak with the Duerten Forum and their ambassador, for some semblance of his old life.”
I turned my head, beaming as I recognized her. “Erin? Oh, sorry: that’s Secretary-General Kuemper, isn’t it? You’ve moved up in the world. The United Nations is in good hands.”
“It’s good to see you, Elias. I bawled my eyes out at your funeral. You cared so much for peace and taking the high road; there isn’t a person out there who could’ve handled first contact with more grace. You inspired me, and an entire generation of future diplomats.”
I embraced Erin, who’d once been a passionate SETI researcher giving me all of the bad news about aliens. As we flailed about in the dark to save humanity and adjust to the galaxy, finally acquiring a few friends, she’d become my Secretary of Alien Affairs. I’d trusted her to do whatever it took to stabilize our extraterrestrial relations. It was a bit of a relief to see a positive reaction from someone I knew; I wasn’t sure how my friends would take my return, but I hadn’t been expecting a welcome with open arms. It brought me solace and comfort to know about the legacy I’d left behind, and the ripple effects my tenure had on the United Nations.
It is strange to see how much she’s aged. That’ll be the reality of anyone that used to be an acquaintance of mine.
The alarm bells pinging in my head faded into the backdrop, and I forgot that the wind gusting against my face only felt like a dull push. My mind slipped away from food cravings that failed to get my mouth to water, how there was no feeling of tightness from my dress shoes, and the stillness of my non-existent diaphragm. I was simply happy to see someone I cared about and enjoyed working with, in my old life. There was safety in having a person I trusted to be on my side. My brain snapped back into diplomat mode, falling into a familiar flow of conversation. If I had nothing else, I still had my social skills—an ability to navigate various cultures.
“So the Duerten Forum agreed to meet with the two of us. They know about the Sivkit attack, but not the full threat,” I spoke aloud, after breaking away from the rather soul-affirming embrace. “I read the strategy meetings for briefing them, and I’m on-board to appeal to nostalgia; humanity saving their homeworld was after my time, but close enough to it that I could serve as a reminder. A blast from the past.”
Erin nodded, her security forming a wall between us and the cameras as we walked toward the embassy. “I always wondered what you’d think of modern Vienna, Elias. All of the aliens willing to be here on our world, and to treat us like people. Friendship used to seem like a pipe dream; we were happy if they’d allow us to exist, tolerate us to that extent. Look at us now.”
“I almost gave up hoping that they could care about us, or stand beside us at all. We couldn’t do it alone then. It’s time we remember to stand together—to rise to the occasion once more. I can’t bear the thought of anything threatening our home, or our friends. I saw enough needless death twenty-four years ago.”
“That pain is a lot more recent to you. It’s completely okay to be wrestling with grief. A billion of ours died.”
“We didn’t become the monsters they thought we were, and we pulled through. We revealed their hatred and treachery, and have chosen a future set on rectifying every right they trampled. I’ll always mourn what we lost, but I’ve never been more proud of humanity in my life.”
Kuemper patted my shoulder. “You sound like yourself, my dear old friend. It’s very good to have you back; you were much better at smiling while they spit in your face than I ever was. Let’s do what’s necessary to get the ball rolling with the Shield.”
“I’m right behind you.”
The exterior of the Duerten embassy had a distinct construction style, with metal and concrete forming the bulk of the outside structure; on Kalqua, sturdiness was at the foremost of their priorities. Winds on a normal day could ratchet up to what we’d consider a tropical storm, according to my brief review of their culture. The door was evidently heightened to facilitate foot traffic from humans, despite the exit hatches on the upper floor which seemed frequented by the avian staff. Their personnel could literally fly away during an emergent situation. I tailed Kuemper into the lobby, and noted how much of the inside’s floor was concrete as well. It was resilient and easy to clean, a perfect surface to avoid being marred by talons.
Most of the gray avians used perches instead of chairs, with several staffers working on paperwork at their desks; in private areas, some met with any humans who had business with the Duerten Forum. The lack of reaction to a predator’s approach was new to me, but a welcome change. Kuemper confidently led the way to an elevator, which had the English and German words for “Welcome to the Duerten embassy!” written above the opening. The generic Shield logo was painted on both sides of the door, and emblazoned with a representation of Kalqua. There were no buttons inside, apart from an emergency exit; a camera surveyed us, before a watching staffer summoned the car upward. I felt a jolt as we reached the top floor.
“To be visited by two Secretary-Generals: one of whom is a ghost! Let me express the Duerten Forum’s honor and delight. Not, of course, that I don’t cherish Ambassador Hannah Marston’s visits.” A silver-feathered head poked out of a door at the end of the hallway, past a spacious lounge; his beak was the precise yellow of corn. “Please, come in. Make yourselves at home. Can I get you anything to drink?”
Kuemper shuffled forward, giving me a knowing look. “Water would be lovely for me. Thank you for the warm welcome, Ambassador Korajan.”
“I second that gratitude. Enchanted to meet you. I’m sure you know, but I’m Elias Meier.” Taking a gamble that the ambassador was more than acquainted with our customs, I extended a hand. Korajan strode forward with confidence, ensnaring my palm in his wingtip. “We appreciate you taking the time to sit with us, Ambassador.”
“Just Korajan,” the avian said, feeling my artificial hand with undeniable curiosity. He finally released my grip, and waited for us to get seated. “There’s no need for formalities, especially when I’m in such esteemed company. What can I do for you?”
“We’ve come to seek your assistance in the fight against the Sivkits’ assailants. The Sapient Coalition needs allies to back us against these menaces,” Kuemper stated. “Any help we can get would make a difference.”
“I see. I heard about your unfortunate defeat in your prior engagement, but I don’t see how it involves or concerns us. The Duerten, as you well know, aren’t in the position we used to be. We’ve turned our focus inward for years, shoring up our defenses to watch out for our beloved planet. The potential benefit it might offer you is so negligible that it’s hardly worth increasing our vulnerability. The risk far outweighs the rewards for any party.”
I studied the avian, careful to avoid a direct stare. “I understand that it’s a lot to ask. However, small bits of help from across the Shield can accumulate to be a massive difference maker. We want to stop this genocidal force from getting anywhere near Kalqua; if we play our cards right, you won’t need defenses.”
“Elias—sorry, may I call you Elias?” Korajan asked, continuing after I nodded. “We’re, of course, concerned to have a predatory species with such power and intentions, outside our known terrain. They bear a striking resemblance to the Arxur, and my government does appreciate the advance warning from the SC so we can make preparations. Yet the Forum is concerned by several of your recent initiatives, which would make us doubly unwilling to back your cause.”
“Go on. What initiatives have unsettled you?” I hope he doesn’t mean me, with resurrecting dead humans; that’d hit close to home, and I don’t know how to defend it. “Perhaps we can clear up our rationale and intentions, ensuring that there are no misunderstandings.”
“I hope I’m not impolite to point it out, but my government is beginning to see a pattern in your recent connections to carnivores. The Sapient Coalition is attempting an uplift on one race, despite what we all know happened on Wriss, and has brought them into your mix while they are at war with each other. We’re also aware of these Osirs—a race you are resurrecting to live among you, despite having no idea what they’re capable of. Present company excluded, species that need meat are not trustworthy types. These Osirs are weapons: look at the fangs.”
“Anything is a weapon in the wrong hands. Respectfully, we don’t feel that it’s right to judge a species for their diet. If I’m not mistaken, your own kind were once omnivores, Korajan.”
The Duerten fluttered his wings in acknowledgement. “The Federation changed us greatly—some things for the better, others to erase our intellect. We’re an individualist species, and they tried to make us…what do you humans call it? A ‘hive mind.’ Hive minds, of course, are fiction, yet they tried to make it real. Still, sometimes when you’re changed enough, it makes it impossible to go back to how things were.”
“I of all people grasp that sentiment,” I sighed, without moving an abdominal muscle, reflecting how my life would never be the same in this state. “We believe all sapients deserve a chance at life and happiness. Equality isn’t a principle we withhold based on any factor, and we don’t change species to fit our own whims.”
“This is why we’re content with our relations as is: separate, so we’re not connected to your disputes or obligated to get involved. The Duerten will always have differences between what are considered acceptable behaviors, and our guiding principles and overarching goals.”
Kuemper tapped her fingers on her knee. “Regardless, our choices with the Bissems and Osirs will have no impact or tangible effects on the Duerten. Nor is it a reason to shy away from protecting herbivores, the mandate that led you to stand up to the Federation in the past.”
“That cost us everything. Kalqua took a beating worse than Earth did. We don’t set out to attract the ire of powerful enemies these days.”
“We saved Kalqua. We were there when you needed our help to keep your innocents safe,” I reminded him, knitting my eyebrows with earnestness. “We answer when others call for our help to stay alive; the Duerten know what drives us to answer the bell. Isn’t that worth a smidge of reciprocation?”
“If Earth, or for that matter, Leirn were under siege, we would come. However, it appears to us that you entered their territory, not the other way around.”
“Think of the type of species…no, the kind of governments that would glass worlds. The old-school Arxur Dominion. The Kolshian shadow caste when they were defied. The Krakotl extermination fleet because they hated us. That’s what we see in the Osirs, and the gluttonous killing of Sivkit civilians while refusing to speak. We can’t turn a blind eye.”
“I’m sorry, Elias. Even if I wanted to help you, I don’t have the authority. I’m expressing my government’s position, and I’ve been told the Duerten Forum isn't going to war under any circumstances. I apologize that I can’t be of more use, and regret if you might feel your time has been squandered, leaving empty-handed.”
I shared a look with Kuemper, recognizing that we had been stonewalled; there was an implication in Korajan’s last statement that the discussion on this matter was over. The Forum hadn’t given him any negotiating room, so I didn’t get the sense I could do better than asking for him to take a message. If this was the most friendly party we’d be interacting with, I wasn’t off to a good start wrangling support for an alliance. There were a few other Shield races we could try, but an endorsement from the founders might’ve gotten the whole union on board. We had to find another angle—negotiating with the Fed remnants would be impossible without the Shield as an intermediary.
“Of course we don’t feel that way. The back-and-forth was enlightening, productive communication, as much as humanity would love to stand side-by-side in this endeavor,” I offered. “We appreciate you hearing us out, and do hope you’ll pass along our rationale to the Forum, for clarity.”
“I will,” the Duerten responded. “Your words, as always, deserve to be heard and treated with respect.”
Kuemper followed my lead, rising as I stood. “Korajan, I want you to know I deeply appreciate what you said about coming to Earth’s aid should we ever fall on hard times. That stood out to me, as a reason why our cooperation is so precious and beautiful.”
“I agree wholeheartedly. I do wish you the best of luck in your future engagements; my people hope you emerge victorious.”
“Thank you. Our door will always be open if you have a change of heart.”
In my mind, I had already vacated the Duerten embassy, but it was necessary to retrace my steps to depart the ambassador’s office. Aliens were much more diplomatic in rebuffing us now than in my era, which was the proper way to express disagreements between nations. It wasn’t lost on me that the differences in “behaviors” and “principles” Korajan meant were things such as hunting, omnivory, accepting carnivores, exterminators, and predator disease facilities. The Forum still clung to much of their old lifestyle; the gray avian had stated that some Federation changes were “for the better.” That was telling about how much of their ideology they’d yet to shed.
“Forgive my impertinence, but before you go, Elias…may I ask a personal inquiry? It’s not on my behalf of my government,” Korajan called, as our shoes cleared the threshold of his office.
I turned around, giving him an encouraging smile. “Of course. Go ahead.”
“What…what was it like? To die…to be dead?”
“It wasn’t like anything. It was a singularity of all outcomes: all I ever was, and all I ever could be, condensed to nothing. There are no words to describe emptiness and infinite rest. It’s a peace that knows no equal.”
The Duerten dipped his head. “Thank you. It gives me some…personal solace, to know…to know my daughter is resting peacefully. She died in so much pain after only a short period of remission. Ahem…if you’ll excuse me, I…”
“We’ll leave you in peace,” Kuemper replied, softness in her voice.
I folded my hands behind my back, mulling over the choked-up ambassador’s words. How could I let a few days of mental suffering defeat me, when kids suffered through such terrible diseases—never getting to reach adulthood? This program could give children like Korajan’s daughter a chance to grow up, and be a kid, free from pain. As soon as I was alone, I knew I’d be cast back into a maddening state of consciousness, with my brain struggling to stay tethered to this reality. Where I’d been ready to give up before Virnt’s quick fix, the avian’s story made me want to remain in the fight.
The Tilfish had been right: there was the potential for the technology that had brought me back to do a lot of good, and save others a great deal of heartbreak and suffering. No personal sacrifice was too great to ensure that one day, no parent would ever have to bury their child.
Star Crossed [Multiple Free Sample Chapters] Patreon Subreddit Discord Paperback NOP2 Species Lore
2024.05.15 13:01 AutoModerator Weekly Services Thread May 15, 2024 - Post Your Podcasting Related Product, Tool, Or Service Here
This is a weekly thread for podcasting related product, service, and tool providers to post their capabilities and updates to the podcasting community.
Post a podcasting related product, tool, or service that is relevant to the podcasting community. If you are in beta or development for your capability please state at the top of your comment: "Feedback Requested."For all comments/replies to this post thread: please provide a detailed description of what your product, tool, or service does and post a link to your product, service, or tool including relevant pricing information.
Try to remember the following:
- You must disclose your affiliation to the product, tool, or service in the comment
- Posts by accounts with little or no Reddit or podcasting subreddit history will be considered suspect by many members of this subreddit and receive little or no attention.
- If you are asking for feedback be specific and ask questions like: What can we improve? Would you consider using this capability/service? Is the graphical interface/web presence adequate? What capabilities are missing?
- Editing/production services
- AI Tools
- Hosting Services
- Advertisement sales services
- New Podcasting Software
- Connecting/Recording Services
- Guest Connection Services
- Podcast artwork creation services
- Podcasting Scheduling/Calendar Services
- etc
- You are basically applying for a job with the podcast; your experience, qualifications, and past employment history matter to your future employer so information about you is important
- List your current available skills and tools. What DAWs are your capable of operating in? Have you used existing collaborative spaces before? What social media platforms do you have experience in?
- If you are offering services for social media management show either examples of past work or at least offer up your personal accounts for review
- What time zone do you live in? If I'm a podcast producer and need to get in touch with you about an emergency situation I need to know what hours I can contact you
- What is your strategy or philosophy for doing the work you propose?
- What are your rates? (If free how long will you offer that rate?)
- What is your goal and/or what are you trying to accomplish?
All subreddit rules still apply. If you violate the subreddit rules your comment will be removed and your account can be given a temporary or permanent ban. Excessive or unreasonable requests for personal information in order to access the tool or service will also be treated as a rule violation.
The podcasting Moderators do not endorse or approve of any of the tools and services posted here unless explicitly stated as such by the moderators.
2024.05.14 20:21 Ill_Variation_2480 TTPD's new nickname "Female Rage: The Musical" should upset you.
Edit: If you are going to comment on the length of this post, please don't. This is not a simple snark but rather an actual critical think piece about feminism and Taylor Swift.
Taylor's target demographic has always been young or adolescent girls, more so when Swift herself was one. She made music that spoke to the awkward misfit, cultivating a para-social relationship with fans on MySpace, then later twitter, Instagram, and YouTube, where Taylor posted relatable vlogs showcasing the life of a homegrown American girl. Taylor had a delayed public "growing up" and, compared to her female pop contemporaries, Swift never "gratuitously sexualized her image and seems pathologically averse to controversy" (and, apparently, never even had a sip of alcohol until she turned 21). She was more than happy to spin this narrative to allude to an inherent moral superiority above other women in the industry (Better Than Revenge, heard of it?), engaging in the very slut-shaming that she herself endured (the Madonna and Whore archetypes). The victim complex arose with the need to prove Taylor as a different type of pop girl. Based upon her holy and clean image, Swift had been dubbed "a feminist's nightmare", and that "[To Swift] other girls are obstacles; undeserving enemies who steal Taylor’s soulmates with their bewitching good looks and sexual availability." Feminism and Tennessee-Christian country values don't exactly mix, it seems.
Years later, Swift befriended Lena Dunham and thus experienced white feminism osmosis, where Dunham taught Swift that real feminists defend rapists, makes insensitive jokes about rape and abortion, and prioritize all-white casts. Swift then declared herself a feminist in 2014, saying,
There was that time in 2015 Taylor said that Nicki Minaj was "invited to any stage [she is] on" (as if Taylor expects to have access to every stage, award, and platform that Nicki might not otherwise have as a black female artist...yikes!) in response to Nicki's criticism of the white + thin VMA nominations. Later, Nicki responded with confusion, as Swift continued, "It’s unlike you to pit women against each other. Maybe one of the men took your slot..". Of course, this 'beef' was 'squashed' when Nicki performed with Taylor at the VMAs, with Nicki quite literally only having 38 seconds of stage time without Taylor. Maybe all that parading around with a legion of famous white women - similar to the way Taylor might've done with her numerous 1989-era handbags - was in fact a stance against gender inequality, and that this display of "girl power" should be enough to constitute Swift as a feminist icon.
Even while Swift says that Dunham informed her feminist outlook, she dances around the exact contents of those beliefs: "what she believes, what she says, what she stands for" is not exactly insightful towards what beliefs Swift might have inherited. Taylor never broaches women's rights topics such femicide, FGM, forced pregnancy & marriage, sex trafficking, women in slavery, women's financial and political oppression, women's educational rights, women's health, or women's autonomy, so we can assume she only gives a fuck about "girls supporting girls" (whatever that fucking means).
Despite some questionable (and sometimes vindictive) behavior, Taylor as a young woman did not deserve every media lashing that she received. We cannot deny that most headlines and criticisms perpetuated a misogynistic rhetoric which has plagued Swift for a majority of her career. Acknowledging events such as the development of her ED, her sexual assault trial, "Famous" lyric and MV depiction of Taylor, and the explicit Twitter deepfakes, for example, as both disgusting and unfortunate things that happened to a young woman in Hollywood does not negate the fact that Taylor is mostly a performative feminist.
This was over 11 years ago, and it is still the only notable philanthropic contribution Taylor Swift has made.
For a woman of her net worth and stature, and a woman who recognizes the difficulties for women in film and music, you would think that Taylor Swift might establish a scholarship program for women to study the arts or something. Perhaps Swift might even consider becoming a member of organizations that support female artists, or one that supports LGBTQ+ causes (since she is now proudly an ally), yet she remains superficial with her graces. Broader philanthropy, such as donating relief aid to Palestinian women or women impacted by violence and discrimination will probably never receive any financial support from Miss Swift because then she'd be using her money towards philanthropies involving anyone but white entertainers.
She even says herself in Miss Americana, "My entire moral code as a kid and now is a need to be thought of as 'good'." Well, she's certainly thought of as good, though her actions say otherwise. She's more than happy to do a vaguely altruistic song and dance for a clip-worthy interview quote and mass appeasement, then fuck off to one of her mansions on a 20 minute private jet flight, rather than actually contribute to anything pertaining to the causes she has endorsed. Yet, far too many people continue to give a woman such as her their money, time, and energy, and she hoards these resources to herself.
The reason political anthems such as "The Man" and "Only the Young" of the Lover era feel disingenuous and corporate is because, well, it is. Taylor has taken every opportunity to advance her career or public image at the expense of other women. What is truly genuine to Taylor's outlook on other women is vying for male attention, taking down female competition, and vocalizing feminist injustices only if they directly impact her and her money. Some will argue that it's satisfactory for a woman with such a huge platform to even TALK about feminism, but that just isn't enough. It's even less impressive when you candidly look at the scope of her feminist lens: "If I was the man, then I'd be THE MAN", or "I really resent the ‘Be careful, buddy, she’s going to write a song about you’ angle, because it trivialises what I do", and, of course, "We all got crowns". Feminism, but only when it happens to me. It gets worse when you look at Taylor's track record of copying other famous women and removing other female artists as potential threats to her pop prowess.
It's good for PR to align yourself with certain blanket feminist and political beliefs, therefore good for branding, therefore good for ticketing and merchandise sales, therefore good for business. And Taylor Swift is a business.
She's not a feminist. Taylor Swift is a capitalist.
Swift, through her company, TAS Rights Managements, has also trademarked over 200 phrases, including "1989", where she owns the property rights to this calendar year on keychains, phone cases, sunglasses, stationary, bags, beverage ware, clothing, entertainment services, your subconscious, and, of course, Christmas ornaments.
The vapid consumerism in Swiftie culture is, frankly, disgusting. Bravado's sustainability statement is non-existent, the quality control is abysmal, and the materials they use are horrible. The materials, such as acrylic and polyester, are made from petrochemicals. This means they are non-renewable, shed microplastics, and are quite toxic in production. The manufacturing process to make all of those lazy-rushed Eras Tour logo graphic tees is a huge blow to environmental well-being. Apparently, though, Swifties don't give a fuck. They sell out products in seconds and either have to face the manufactured scarcity or buy from a scalper that resells for 200% of the already ridiculous retail price. This doesn't include the environmental impact of vinyl records, CD, and cassette production, of which Taylor produces many variants that sell unsustainable amounts.
If we're talking about women's rights violations, why is no one acknowledging the women that work in the inhumane sweatshop conditions that have to pump out fugly t-shirts and hats? The millions of plastic microfiber dander they are inhaling, or the toxic dyes that touch their bare skin? Are they being compensated fairly for their skilled labour and are they in safe working environments? Do these women have minimal bargaining power, and do they have authority over their worker's rights? Is Taylor Swift female raging at their injustices? Does Taylor Swift ever feels bad that her wealth was built on the backs of women of color, disadvantaged by the demands of the global economy and garment industry? Do you think she ever says a little white feminist prayer for them before she goes to sleep at night?
What's even crazier is not that Taylor herself doesn't care, it's that Swifties don't care. There CANNOT BE ethical billionaires. You only make a billion dollars if you are exploiting other human beings for capital gain. Based on public perception of the possible "Female Rage: The Musical" trademark, it seems like Swifties are already asking for merch with this phrase. "If Taylor made it, I'd buy it." Oh, cool. So not only do you champion Miss Swift's avarice and billionaire status, but you also are unashamed to admit to your blind consumption of her music and merchandise, no matter where they might originate in production or sincerity. Just as Swift takes and takes and takes, Swifties' consumerism of Taylor Swift cannot be quelled.
The tortured artist's most vulnerable and sincere poetry...available now in 21 different versions!
Yet Taylor Swift still has no grounds to be claiming that TTPD best exemplifies female rage and therefore she, in the context of this album, is female rage incarnate. As the daughter of a stock broker and mutual fund marketing executive, Taylor was born into wealth and allowed privileges like trips and subsequent relocation to Nashville all so that she might get a record deal. Her father even invested at least $120,000 into the then-fledgling label, Big Machine Records, which ensured Taylor's place with Borchetta after leaving her dead-end development deal with Sony. The fact that her parents were able to buy her a fucking brand new guitar for Christmas and pay for music lessons says so much about the financial security and safety of her childhood.
Money is privilege and protection, and despite Swift's experiences with misogyny and loser boyfriends, she does not know what female rage is.
Her rage is derived from her frustrations with her obsessive fans pulling the moral superiority card on Taylor in response to her rebound with Matty Healy. That's literally it. She's just pissed that the monster she created is no longer obediant, it's become a feral, sovereign entity that depletes the world of its natural resources and thinks it is more intelligent than it actually is because it's mommy has started to talk to it with big words. Apparently, 'illicit', 'elegy', 'nonchalant', and 'precocious' are considerably big words for the oafish monster, and I find it strange that this level of literacy is present in a group of fans that allegedly have GPAs of 3.5 or higher, but I digress.
Taylor Swift has never been one paycheck away from destitution. Taylor Swift has never experienced racial discrimination. She may have instances of gender discrimination, but she possesses the ideal white, blonde American beauty standard and therefore reaps the benefits of being a conventionally attractive woman. Taylor Swift has sufficient social capital. Taylor Swift is a billionaire woman prolonging her victimhood though she, as a woman, has mostly had control over her image and music (unlike her contemporaries). Taylor Swift is NOT entitled to be championed for her "female rage", nor should she be. Taylor Swift has never even been the struggling artist, for fuck's sake. I don't give a fuck if she's trying to fill the empty lunch tables of her past. Taylor Swift purporting herself, her unpolished album, and her lukewarm feminism as a musical bleeding with female rage is asinine.
Fame is somewhat of a choice. If at any moment Taylor feels that she is misunderstood, misconstrued, or overwhelmed by public opinion, she can LEAVE the public eye - Lord knows she has the retirement fund and residuals to do so. In "I Can Do It With a Broken Heart", the TTPD song about meeting the demands of your career-zenith mega-tour while in the relationship trenches, Taylor ends the song by rambling,
It's funny. Taylor Swift often said that being famous wasn't hard, that she "isn't complaining". I'm sure it is difficult to always have to present in a good mood, else you'll end up misrepresented in the media, and I'm sure it's invasive to virtually have no privacy or semblance of anonymity. Still, Taylor Swift shows up each night of tour and performs. For a majority of her career, she has penned her sad songs while on the road. Most of "Red", her breakup album, was written in the thick of the Speak Now World tour. Now, some Swifties say they almost "feel bad" for attending the Eras Tour with Swift's revelations in this song, that they have had a 'dimmed experience' upon hearing Taylor's misery whilst performing. Despite the fact that Taylor said that "this was the happiest she's ever been" at Gilette Stadium in May, the lyrics "boohoo, woe is me, smile for the cameras and make the fans happy!!!" are jarring for Eras attendees.
While Taylor Swift was making double-digit millions a night in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and feeling miserable, Ana Clara Benevides Machado passed away due to heat exposure. The concert promoters, Time For Fun, are now the subject of a criminal investigation due to their lack of adequate hydration and safety. Taylor Swift cancelled the Sunday show that was to follow and offered VIP tent tickets to Benevides Marchado's family, which was a kind gesture, but perhaps incongruous to the incident of which they were offered as consolation. Everyone grieves differently, of course, but I'm not sure attending the very show at the very same venue that my daughter or sister passed away in two days prior, where the singer CONTINUED the show despite her death, would be healthy for closure.
There was no female rage at the show as Swift never saw Benevides Machado pass out. There was no female rage towards the disregard for fans as humans while Swift elected to proceed with her Brazil tour dates despite the country being in historic heatwaves (at risk of overheatting herself). If Taylor Swift was so shaken by touring with a broken heart or a fan's passing, she wouldn't have added an additional North American leg of Eras just two months after the Matty breakup. She's brokenhearted but willing to mend the cracks with your money and move onward with her worldwide female rage induced pillaging.
No matter what happens, even if you die at a Taylor Swift concert, Taylor collects a big fat check and flies away. She doesn't know you as anything other than a conversion rate or earning potential despite what her nearly 20-year long parasocial relationship with fans might otherwise indicate. She knows that, while some Swifties are without disposable income, they feel obligated to spend on a "48 Hours Only!" exclusive vinyl variant instead of necessities because they are so entrenched in Taylor Swift's intoxicating celebrity, they'll prioritize materialistic fandom before their needs. This is good enough for her because this means she can expand her real estate portfolio and finance her cat's lavish lifestyles. They're worth an estimated $100 million dollars. Her three cats could pool their net worth and solve world hunger.
While you and I might be denied bereavement leave and barely surviving the current political and economic climate, Taylor Swift has to, instead of gets to, perform for stadiums at full attendance for three nights in a row across the globe. You and I might be replaced by AI at our longtime jobs, but Taylor Swift is threatened with losing more and more money each time you listen to a "Stolen Version" of her songs. If we don't buy every variant of all of her albums, then who is going to pay for the fucking cats?
It is tone deaf to spend as she spends and lives as she lives in this economy, but this is her reality. She was able to donate $100,000 to all of her tour truck drivers, and that's wonderful, but it leads me to wonder about the ethos of the 2020s where one woman can hoard such life-changing amounts of money. Remember in 2014 when she gave a fan $90 ($120 in today's money) to get Chipotle because she had no fucking clue how much it cost? This is a 34-year-old woman who is increasingly out of touch with the reality for working class people and women in general. Normal everyday adults must wake up and go to their thankless jobs, and yet Taylor Swift, despite all her riches, incessantly references the lows of her life and career as a public figure and entertainer to farm sympathy and drive sales. And still, the corporate women have latched onto "I cry a lot, but I am so productive! It's an art!" as their cubicle battle cry.
Do you think that, from up in her private jet, Taylor Swift gazes at the world through her poetic, tortured eyes, and thinks, "All the little people, in their cars, walking, going about their lives...all those girls that don't support girls...do they know that I've made an album about female rage?"
TLDR: Taylor Swift is a bad feminist and is delusional to think that the TTPD eras set exemplifies female rage at women's injustice.
submitted by Ill_Variation_2480 to travisandtaylor [link] [comments]
Introduction
Pertaining to Taylor Swift, "Female Rage" has deviated from its intended meaning after Swift debuted a new performance of The Tortured Poets Department during the Eras Tour. Now, according to Swift's use of the phrase, female rage is interpreted as public backlash against Swift's dating choices rather than as a response to the broader injustices against women and women's rights. This post examines Taylor Swift's flawed feminism, philanthropy, branding, and the controversial trademark petition for the phrase "Female Rage: The Musical". Swift's background as an entertainer, indeterminate politics, and alignment with capitalism over feminism pervades her legacy, again threatening her public tolerance as not just an individual but as a brand.Once Upon a Female Rage...
If you were cognizant in the early 2010's, you've heard countless jabs at Taylor Swift in the media. Magazines, radio, or online. Music critics did not take her seriously as a songwriter; parents put a woman on an unrealistic pedestal as the ideal role model for their children; she dated too much and used men as lyrical fodder. No matter the story, it inevitably spread, conjoined with everyone's respective opinions, and you'd be left to wonder, "Why does everyone hate this girl so much?"Taylor's target demographic has always been young or adolescent girls, more so when Swift herself was one. She made music that spoke to the awkward misfit, cultivating a para-social relationship with fans on MySpace, then later twitter, Instagram, and YouTube, where Taylor posted relatable vlogs showcasing the life of a homegrown American girl. Taylor had a delayed public "growing up" and, compared to her female pop contemporaries, Swift never "gratuitously sexualized her image and seems pathologically averse to controversy" (and, apparently, never even had a sip of alcohol until she turned 21). She was more than happy to spin this narrative to allude to an inherent moral superiority above other women in the industry (Better Than Revenge, heard of it?), engaging in the very slut-shaming that she herself endured (the Madonna and Whore archetypes). The victim complex arose with the need to prove Taylor as a different type of pop girl. Based upon her holy and clean image, Swift had been dubbed "a feminist's nightmare", and that "[To Swift] other girls are obstacles; undeserving enemies who steal Taylor’s soulmates with their bewitching good looks and sexual availability." Feminism and Tennessee-Christian country values don't exactly mix, it seems.
Years later, Swift befriended Lena Dunham and thus experienced white feminism osmosis, where Dunham taught Swift that real feminists defend rapists, makes insensitive jokes about rape and abortion, and prioritize all-white casts. Swift then declared herself a feminist in 2014, saying,
"Becoming friends with Lena – without her preaching to me, but just seeing why she believes what she believes, why she says what she says, why she stands for what she stands for – has made me realize that I’ve been taking a feminist stance without actually saying so."I suppose the male-centric songwriting subject that permeates Swift's discography contained covert feminism and that we just didn't see that. Perhaps, the "Bad Blood" song and music video were written only in jest and not about poor Katy Perry, for Swift, as a feminist, would "never make it a girl fight" or tear other women down (though all Katy did was date your terrible ex-boyfriend and allegedly steal three backup dancers from your tour). In 2013, Swift said, in response to Tina Fey and Amy Poehler's joke towards her serial dating, "There is a special place in hell for women who don't help other women."
There was that time in 2015 Taylor said that Nicki Minaj was "invited to any stage [she is] on" (as if Taylor expects to have access to every stage, award, and platform that Nicki might not otherwise have as a black female artist...yikes!) in response to Nicki's criticism of the white + thin VMA nominations. Later, Nicki responded with confusion, as Swift continued, "It’s unlike you to pit women against each other. Maybe one of the men took your slot..". Of course, this 'beef' was 'squashed' when Nicki performed with Taylor at the VMAs, with Nicki quite literally only having 38 seconds of stage time without Taylor. Maybe all that parading around with a legion of famous white women - similar to the way Taylor might've done with her numerous 1989-era handbags - was in fact a stance against gender inequality, and that this display of "girl power" should be enough to constitute Swift as a feminist icon.
Even while Swift says that Dunham informed her feminist outlook, she dances around the exact contents of those beliefs: "what she believes, what she says, what she stands for" is not exactly insightful towards what beliefs Swift might have inherited. Taylor never broaches women's rights topics such femicide, FGM, forced pregnancy & marriage, sex trafficking, women in slavery, women's financial and political oppression, women's educational rights, women's health, or women's autonomy, so we can assume she only gives a fuck about "girls supporting girls" (whatever that fucking means).
Despite some questionable (and sometimes vindictive) behavior, Taylor as a young woman did not deserve every media lashing that she received. We cannot deny that most headlines and criticisms perpetuated a misogynistic rhetoric which has plagued Swift for a majority of her career. Acknowledging events such as the development of her ED, her sexual assault trial, "Famous" lyric and MV depiction of Taylor, and the explicit Twitter deepfakes, for example, as both disgusting and unfortunate things that happened to a young woman in Hollywood does not negate the fact that Taylor is mostly a performative feminist.
Get Your Fucking Ass Up and Be a Philanthropist, It Seems Like Nobody Wants to Be a Philanthropist These Days
In 2013, Taylor Swift cut the ribbon at the grand opening of the Taylor Swift Education Center at the Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville, Tennessee. The donation amount - $4 million - was the largest individual artist gift ever donated to the Country Music Hall of Fame, which is, of course, mentioned on Swift's website. The two-story facility features three classrooms, an instrument room, and an interactive children's exhibit gallery. Swift also performed at "All for the Hall" charity shows and has donated numerous artifacts from her career (such as notable guitars, tour costumes, etc) to the museum.This was over 11 years ago, and it is still the only notable philanthropic contribution Taylor Swift has made.
For a woman of her net worth and stature, and a woman who recognizes the difficulties for women in film and music, you would think that Taylor Swift might establish a scholarship program for women to study the arts or something. Perhaps Swift might even consider becoming a member of organizations that support female artists, or one that supports LGBTQ+ causes (since she is now proudly an ally), yet she remains superficial with her graces. Broader philanthropy, such as donating relief aid to Palestinian women or women impacted by violence and discrimination will probably never receive any financial support from Miss Swift because then she'd be using her money towards philanthropies involving anyone but white entertainers.
She even says herself in Miss Americana, "My entire moral code as a kid and now is a need to be thought of as 'good'." Well, she's certainly thought of as good, though her actions say otherwise. She's more than happy to do a vaguely altruistic song and dance for a clip-worthy interview quote and mass appeasement, then fuck off to one of her mansions on a 20 minute private jet flight, rather than actually contribute to anything pertaining to the causes she has endorsed. Yet, far too many people continue to give a woman such as her their money, time, and energy, and she hoards these resources to herself.
I Like Some of the Taylor's Songs, But What the Fuck Does She Know About Feminism?
Swift continued with her self-proclaimed feminist campaign, positioning herself as a political activist and LGBTQ+ ally in the Miss Americana documentary. The primary focus of the documentary consists of the sexual assault trial, Andrea Swift's cancer diagnosis, Taylor's ED and body dysmorphia, media scrutiny, and, largely, finally speaking up about her politics publicly, mostly her opposition to the 2018 Tennessee Republican senate candidate, Marsha Blackburn, and Blackburn's beliefs. Swift says, following a scene discussing her experience during the trial,"I just couldn't really stop thinking about it. And I just thought to myself, next time there is any opportunity to change anything, you had better know what you stand for and what you want to say."We must ask ourselves, though: when has Swift ever spoken up to change anything? Okay, pulling her entire catalogue from Spotify because they didn't pay their artists enough and similarly pulling her catalogue from Apple Music are changes that she leveraged due to her revenue potential and power, but they are not pertinent to the average woman's rights. Moreover, these are issues that directly impacted Taylor's income, which was enough reason for her to protest in the first place. Swift has sold the most units for a female artist in first week sales, is the first female artist with 100k monthly Spotify listeners, is the first female artist to win the Album of the Year Grammy 4 times, and is the first female artist to do X, Y, and Z, all while being inoffensive and family-friendly to boot. The actual Taylor Swift seems unwilling to compromise the brand of Taylor Swift by contributing in meaningful ways to feminist causes, especially if it is for women outside of America and Hollywood.
The reason political anthems such as "The Man" and "Only the Young" of the Lover era feel disingenuous and corporate is because, well, it is. Taylor has taken every opportunity to advance her career or public image at the expense of other women. What is truly genuine to Taylor's outlook on other women is vying for male attention, taking down female competition, and vocalizing feminist injustices only if they directly impact her and her money. Some will argue that it's satisfactory for a woman with such a huge platform to even TALK about feminism, but that just isn't enough. It's even less impressive when you candidly look at the scope of her feminist lens: "If I was the man, then I'd be THE MAN", or "I really resent the ‘Be careful, buddy, she’s going to write a song about you’ angle, because it trivialises what I do", and, of course, "We all got crowns". Feminism, but only when it happens to me. It gets worse when you look at Taylor's track record of copying other famous women and removing other female artists as potential threats to her pop prowess.
It's good for PR to align yourself with certain blanket feminist and political beliefs, therefore good for branding, therefore good for ticketing and merchandise sales, therefore good for business. And Taylor Swift is a business.
She's not a feminist. Taylor Swift is a capitalist.
I Can't Pay Those Sweatshop Workers a Livable Wage or Benefits! How Else Would I Make My Billions?
Recently, Taylor's team filed to trademark the phrase "Female Rage: The Musical" after Taylor said during Paris N1 of the Eras Tour,"So you were the first ones to see The Tortured Poets at the Eras Tour...or as I like to call it, 'Female Rage: The Musical'."This trademark petition was filed last week on Saturday, and news comes about just as numerous unofficial fan-made merch designs have cropped up with this phrase plastered on Fruit of the Loom basics. I'm of the opinion Swift's team motioned for a trademark so that they can send out cease & desists to all those that make knockoff merch, which disrupts potential sales for Bravado, UMG's choice merchandising company; however, since it was filed earlier, perhaps Swift has bigger plans with the bizarre use of the gendered phrase. One Swiftie referred to the phrase "female rage" as "a funny Eras Tour joke". Could it be a possible fourth version of the Eras Tour Movie? Whatever the reason, the motion to capitalize off of such a concept is disgusting, but not unsurprising, for a woman that profits on her vain feminism.
Swift, through her company, TAS Rights Managements, has also trademarked over 200 phrases, including "1989", where she owns the property rights to this calendar year on keychains, phone cases, sunglasses, stationary, bags, beverage ware, clothing, entertainment services, your subconscious, and, of course, Christmas ornaments.
The vapid consumerism in Swiftie culture is, frankly, disgusting. Bravado's sustainability statement is non-existent, the quality control is abysmal, and the materials they use are horrible. The materials, such as acrylic and polyester, are made from petrochemicals. This means they are non-renewable, shed microplastics, and are quite toxic in production. The manufacturing process to make all of those lazy-rushed Eras Tour logo graphic tees is a huge blow to environmental well-being. Apparently, though, Swifties don't give a fuck. They sell out products in seconds and either have to face the manufactured scarcity or buy from a scalper that resells for 200% of the already ridiculous retail price. This doesn't include the environmental impact of vinyl records, CD, and cassette production, of which Taylor produces many variants that sell unsustainable amounts.
If we're talking about women's rights violations, why is no one acknowledging the women that work in the inhumane sweatshop conditions that have to pump out fugly t-shirts and hats? The millions of plastic microfiber dander they are inhaling, or the toxic dyes that touch their bare skin? Are they being compensated fairly for their skilled labour and are they in safe working environments? Do these women have minimal bargaining power, and do they have authority over their worker's rights? Is Taylor Swift female raging at their injustices? Does Taylor Swift ever feels bad that her wealth was built on the backs of women of color, disadvantaged by the demands of the global economy and garment industry? Do you think she ever says a little white feminist prayer for them before she goes to sleep at night?
What's even crazier is not that Taylor herself doesn't care, it's that Swifties don't care. There CANNOT BE ethical billionaires. You only make a billion dollars if you are exploiting other human beings for capital gain. Based on public perception of the possible "Female Rage: The Musical" trademark, it seems like Swifties are already asking for merch with this phrase. "If Taylor made it, I'd buy it." Oh, cool. So not only do you champion Miss Swift's avarice and billionaire status, but you also are unashamed to admit to your blind consumption of her music and merchandise, no matter where they might originate in production or sincerity. Just as Swift takes and takes and takes, Swifties' consumerism of Taylor Swift cannot be quelled.
The tortured artist's most vulnerable and sincere poetry...available now in 21 different versions!
I Am Tortured Poet, Hear Me Whinge
Look - even if Taylor's intention is to characterize TTPD as more "tortured" and "angry", the main thread of the album is "I was ghosted by my decade-long situationship with a controversial indie boy and my fucking stupid fans wrote a 'Speak Up Now' open letter prompting me to drop him" anger, which is adequately expressed in the lyrics and performances. The extent of Taylor's "female rage" on TTPD is on tracks such as "Who's Afraid of Little Old Me?", which contends with relentless media scrutiny; "But Daddy I Love Him", where Swift firmly states she'll date whoever she likes no matter how "Sarahs and Hannahs" may react; and "The Albatross", a track mythologizing her reputation and the consequences of dating her. Of course, these coincide with deep psychological wounds that formed during Swift's early years in the media, and so, from her feminist perspective, these subjects tackle the misogyny and double standards that she faced.Yet Taylor Swift still has no grounds to be claiming that TTPD best exemplifies female rage and therefore she, in the context of this album, is female rage incarnate. As the daughter of a stock broker and mutual fund marketing executive, Taylor was born into wealth and allowed privileges like trips and subsequent relocation to Nashville all so that she might get a record deal. Her father even invested at least $120,000 into the then-fledgling label, Big Machine Records, which ensured Taylor's place with Borchetta after leaving her dead-end development deal with Sony. The fact that her parents were able to buy her a fucking brand new guitar for Christmas and pay for music lessons says so much about the financial security and safety of her childhood.
Money is privilege and protection, and despite Swift's experiences with misogyny and loser boyfriends, she does not know what female rage is.
Her rage is derived from her frustrations with her obsessive fans pulling the moral superiority card on Taylor in response to her rebound with Matty Healy. That's literally it. She's just pissed that the monster she created is no longer obediant, it's become a feral, sovereign entity that depletes the world of its natural resources and thinks it is more intelligent than it actually is because it's mommy has started to talk to it with big words. Apparently, 'illicit', 'elegy', 'nonchalant', and 'precocious' are considerably big words for the oafish monster, and I find it strange that this level of literacy is present in a group of fans that allegedly have GPAs of 3.5 or higher, but I digress.
Taylor Swift has never been one paycheck away from destitution. Taylor Swift has never experienced racial discrimination. She may have instances of gender discrimination, but she possesses the ideal white, blonde American beauty standard and therefore reaps the benefits of being a conventionally attractive woman. Taylor Swift has sufficient social capital. Taylor Swift is a billionaire woman prolonging her victimhood though she, as a woman, has mostly had control over her image and music (unlike her contemporaries). Taylor Swift is NOT entitled to be championed for her "female rage", nor should she be. Taylor Swift has never even been the struggling artist, for fuck's sake. I don't give a fuck if she's trying to fill the empty lunch tables of her past. Taylor Swift purporting herself, her unpolished album, and her lukewarm feminism as a musical bleeding with female rage is asinine.
Sigh Try and Come For My Job, Poors
Out there in the world right now is a 23-year-old woman, a recent college grad, who works as a barista. She has to wake up and get ready to go into a minimum wage job because she cannot get a job in her field. She doesn't have healthcare benefits or sick time, so she has to go into work no matter how she's feeling. All day long she is berated by vicious customers and creepy men, and, exhausted from being on her feet, she knows she has to go home to her shitty roommate that never does the dishes and her roommate's shitty dog. To comfort herself, she considers getting a treat, but thinks against it when she remembers that matcha lattes cost $15 and they taste like milky dirt. She knows that she needs to buy groceries this week, and so the woman resolves to go home, but notices that her gas tank is low. She goes to put gas in the car, but the pump stops at $27.86 because that's all that she has in her checking account. The woman, bereft and reeling, sinks into the driver's seat. "Well," she thinks, her head in her hands, "at least I don't have Taylor Swift's job. I just couldn't imagine."Fame is somewhat of a choice. If at any moment Taylor feels that she is misunderstood, misconstrued, or overwhelmed by public opinion, she can LEAVE the public eye - Lord knows she has the retirement fund and residuals to do so. In "I Can Do It With a Broken Heart", the TTPD song about meeting the demands of your career-zenith mega-tour while in the relationship trenches, Taylor ends the song by rambling,
"You know you're good when you can even do it with a broken heart...you know you're good...and I'm good, cause I'm miserable, and no one even knows!...try and come for my job."Yeah, obviously we wouldn't know, you recently passed the billionaire threshold and are the most famous and in-demand performer in the world right now. Taylor Swift makes an estimated $10 to $13 million dollars A NIGHT on the Eras Tour. Furthermore, the Eras Tour movie grossed $261.6 million globally, (which, as the producer, Taylor takes home 57% of the ticket sales) not counting the streaming revenue from Amazon Prime Video and the estimated $75 million deal that Disney paid to have it on Disney+. We're not even considering the income from cheap plastic popcorn buckets and drink cups plastered with colored squares in her Era-specific likeness.
It's funny. Taylor Swift often said that being famous wasn't hard, that she "isn't complaining". I'm sure it is difficult to always have to present in a good mood, else you'll end up misrepresented in the media, and I'm sure it's invasive to virtually have no privacy or semblance of anonymity. Still, Taylor Swift shows up each night of tour and performs. For a majority of her career, she has penned her sad songs while on the road. Most of "Red", her breakup album, was written in the thick of the Speak Now World tour. Now, some Swifties say they almost "feel bad" for attending the Eras Tour with Swift's revelations in this song, that they have had a 'dimmed experience' upon hearing Taylor's misery whilst performing. Despite the fact that Taylor said that "this was the happiest she's ever been" at Gilette Stadium in May, the lyrics "boohoo, woe is me, smile for the cameras and make the fans happy!!!" are jarring for Eras attendees.
While Taylor Swift was making double-digit millions a night in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and feeling miserable, Ana Clara Benevides Machado passed away due to heat exposure. The concert promoters, Time For Fun, are now the subject of a criminal investigation due to their lack of adequate hydration and safety. Taylor Swift cancelled the Sunday show that was to follow and offered VIP tent tickets to Benevides Marchado's family, which was a kind gesture, but perhaps incongruous to the incident of which they were offered as consolation. Everyone grieves differently, of course, but I'm not sure attending the very show at the very same venue that my daughter or sister passed away in two days prior, where the singer CONTINUED the show despite her death, would be healthy for closure.
There was no female rage at the show as Swift never saw Benevides Machado pass out. There was no female rage towards the disregard for fans as humans while Swift elected to proceed with her Brazil tour dates despite the country being in historic heatwaves (at risk of overheatting herself). If Taylor Swift was so shaken by touring with a broken heart or a fan's passing, she wouldn't have added an additional North American leg of Eras just two months after the Matty breakup. She's brokenhearted but willing to mend the cracks with your money and move onward with her worldwide female rage induced pillaging.
No matter what happens, even if you die at a Taylor Swift concert, Taylor collects a big fat check and flies away. She doesn't know you as anything other than a conversion rate or earning potential despite what her nearly 20-year long parasocial relationship with fans might otherwise indicate. She knows that, while some Swifties are without disposable income, they feel obligated to spend on a "48 Hours Only!" exclusive vinyl variant instead of necessities because they are so entrenched in Taylor Swift's intoxicating celebrity, they'll prioritize materialistic fandom before their needs. This is good enough for her because this means she can expand her real estate portfolio and finance her cat's lavish lifestyles. They're worth an estimated $100 million dollars. Her three cats could pool their net worth and solve world hunger.
While you and I might be denied bereavement leave and barely surviving the current political and economic climate, Taylor Swift has to, instead of gets to, perform for stadiums at full attendance for three nights in a row across the globe. You and I might be replaced by AI at our longtime jobs, but Taylor Swift is threatened with losing more and more money each time you listen to a "Stolen Version" of her songs. If we don't buy every variant of all of her albums, then who is going to pay for the fucking cats?
It is tone deaf to spend as she spends and lives as she lives in this economy, but this is her reality. She was able to donate $100,000 to all of her tour truck drivers, and that's wonderful, but it leads me to wonder about the ethos of the 2020s where one woman can hoard such life-changing amounts of money. Remember in 2014 when she gave a fan $90 ($120 in today's money) to get Chipotle because she had no fucking clue how much it cost? This is a 34-year-old woman who is increasingly out of touch with the reality for working class people and women in general. Normal everyday adults must wake up and go to their thankless jobs, and yet Taylor Swift, despite all her riches, incessantly references the lows of her life and career as a public figure and entertainer to farm sympathy and drive sales. And still, the corporate women have latched onto "I cry a lot, but I am so productive! It's an art!" as their cubicle battle cry.
Do you think that, from up in her private jet, Taylor Swift gazes at the world through her poetic, tortured eyes, and thinks, "All the little people, in their cars, walking, going about their lives...all those girls that don't support girls...do they know that I've made an album about female rage?"
Conclusion/TLDR
Thank you for reading. I would love to hear your critical insights towards this entire ordeal: TTPD, the trademark, the implications of it all.TLDR: Taylor Swift is a bad feminist and is delusional to think that the TTPD eras set exemplifies female rage at women's injustice.
2024.05.14 16:12 ScholarGrade Juniors - If you want to improve your chances, NOW is the time to start brainstorming essays
There have been an increasing number of juniors visiting this sub asking for advice about writing essays. Below are some tips and advice for making your essay stand out as excellent. Feel free to ask questions because I will answer every single question in the comments.
I know from experience that many of you are struggling to identify a good topic for your essay. Conventional wisdom says to start by brainstorming a list of potential topics, and chances are, you have already started a mental list of ideas. You might think you only have a few choices for topics, based on your activities or experiences, or essay examples you read, or the rough draft you already started (or worse, that GPT started...). I advise, however, that you put down your list of topics and back away from it. Forget that exists for a moment. Seriously - thinking about this initial list tethers you to certain ideas that might not actually be your best options.
Now you can begin brainstorming with a clean slate.
Start with thinking about what you want to show in your entire application, not just one essay. Every single component in your app has one purpose – to tell more about YOU. Filling out the rest of the application by rote and focusing solely on the essay is short-sighted and will leave so much potential untapped in your application.
Your goal with essay brainstorming is to ascertain how to powerfully tell your story in a manner that will fit these criteria. The entirety of your application (again, not just one essay) aims to showcase your abilities, qualifications, and uncommon attributes as a person in a positive way. Before you begin outlining or writing your application, you must determine what is unique about you that will stand out to an admissions panel. All students are truly unique. Not one other student has the same combination of life experiences, personality, passions, or goals as you do. Your job in your application is to frame your unique personal attributes in a positive and compelling way. How will you fit on campus? What personal qualities, strengths, core values, talents, or different perspectives do you bring to the table? What stories, deeper motivations/beliefs, or formative experiences can you use to illustrate all of this?
It is always helpful to start with some soul-searching or self-examination. You might not immediately know what you want to share about yourself. It’s not a simple task to decide how to summarize your whole life and being in a powerful and eloquent way on your application. Introspection prior to starting your application takes additional time and effort rather than jumping straight into your first draft. But it is also a valuable method to start writing a winning application that stands out from the stack.
You'll see the advice everywhere that all essay prompts are really about the same thing - you. The goal of each essay then is to showcase who you are, what matters to you, and how you think. I guarantee if you're on this sub enough, you'll hear the advice to "show, don't tell" when writing about yourself. But what does this mean really, and how do you do it well? How do you even get started on an essay that does this?
Once you have an arc determined and a story to share, think about what you want that story to say about you. This is where it can help to think of this as something you would share on a date - what impression does it make about you to the reader? Once you know this, start showing, not telling this attribute of yourself through your story. For example, instead of saying that you're compassionate toward others, you show an example of a time you were compassionate, then elaborate on why, and what it means to you.
So how do I get students to do this? All of my students complete that introspection worksheet. We go through it and find the stories, examples, anecdotes, conversations, memories, relationships, and other things from their life that will help us craft a strong and personally insightful narrative. We also make lists of the values, strengths, and key personal qualities we want to showcase. Once we have some topics, outlines, abstracts, or rough drafts, we talk about which stories to tell where, how to tell them well, and what details to include to present the best they have to offer. Then we refine, edit, polish, and enhance over and over until the story sings, but more importantly shows their heart and soul. We also go through all the other application components to ensure consistency, quality, and distinctiveness.
Here's why this works so well: at most highly selective colleges there is a primary reader (or 2-3) who will review everything first and then present it to the admissions committee, who then votes on whether to admit you. That presentation typically goes one of three ways:
submitted by ScholarGrade to chanceme [link] [comments]
I know from experience that many of you are struggling to identify a good topic for your essay. Conventional wisdom says to start by brainstorming a list of potential topics, and chances are, you have already started a mental list of ideas. You might think you only have a few choices for topics, based on your activities or experiences, or essay examples you read, or the rough draft you already started (or worse, that GPT started...). I advise, however, that you put down your list of topics and back away from it. Forget that exists for a moment. Seriously - thinking about this initial list tethers you to certain ideas that might not actually be your best options.
Now you can begin brainstorming with a clean slate.
Start with thinking about what you want to show in your entire application, not just one essay. Every single component in your app has one purpose – to tell more about YOU. Filling out the rest of the application by rote and focusing solely on the essay is short-sighted and will leave so much potential untapped in your application.
It's About You. Tell Your Story - And Be The Protagonist
An admissions officer’s goal is to understand you fully, in the context of your background and the rest of the applicant pool. They will begin this with assessing your academic abilities and potential. Then they will evaluate how you will fit into the student body they’re trying to curate. All of this can be somewhat broad and diverse and touch on several institutional goals. But they will dig deep to find out what each applicant is like, what your core values and motivations are, what kind of student you will be, how you will contribute to the vibrant and intellectual campus community they’re building, etc.Your goal with essay brainstorming is to ascertain how to powerfully tell your story in a manner that will fit these criteria. The entirety of your application (again, not just one essay) aims to showcase your abilities, qualifications, and uncommon attributes as a person in a positive way. Before you begin outlining or writing your application, you must determine what is unique about you that will stand out to an admissions panel. All students are truly unique. Not one other student has the same combination of life experiences, personality, passions, or goals as you do. Your job in your application is to frame your unique personal attributes in a positive and compelling way. How will you fit on campus? What personal qualities, strengths, core values, talents, or different perspectives do you bring to the table? What stories, deeper motivations/beliefs, or formative experiences can you use to illustrate all of this?
It is always helpful to start with some soul-searching or self-examination. You might not immediately know what you want to share about yourself. It’s not a simple task to decide how to summarize your whole life and being in a powerful and eloquent way on your application. Introspection prior to starting your application takes additional time and effort rather than jumping straight into your first draft. But it is also a valuable method to start writing a winning application that stands out from the stack.
You'll see the advice everywhere that all essay prompts are really about the same thing - you. The goal of each essay then is to showcase who you are, what matters to you, and how you think. I guarantee if you're on this sub enough, you'll hear the advice to "show, don't tell" when writing about yourself. But what does this mean really, and how do you do it well? How do you even get started on an essay that does this?
Introspection Questions
It’s often easiest to start thinking in terms of superlatives, especially those related to personal insights -- what are the most meaningful things about you, and what do you value the most? Here is a list of questions to help you brainstorm broadly before you narrow down your focus for writing:- What are your interests?
- What sparks your curiosity?
- About what topics do you enjoy reading?
- With whom do you enjoy spending time? Who has impacted your life the most?
- Reflect upon “superlatives” in your life. What moments were most memorable, formative, enlightening, enjoyable, or valuable? What physical possessions, experiences, dreams, or lessons could make your superlatives list?
- Stop and think about what things, people, or circumstances in your life are really unique, fascinating, or outlandish. Are there any that really have a lot of "cultural flavor" (whatever your culture is)?
Find Your Story And Arc
Think of a small anecdote or story from your life that you could share that serves as a microcosm of who you are and what is important to you. It will massively help you narrow this down and find a gem of a story if you first start by thinking about your application arc or theme. This is the one-phrase summary of your entire application. It could be "brilliant entrepreneur who started her own successful business" or "talented athlete who wants to study economics and finance as they pertain to sports", or even "avid baker whose hobby sparked an interest in chemistry". It doesn't have to be related to your intended major, but it can help your arc be stronger and clearer if it is.Once you have an arc determined and a story to share, think about what you want that story to say about you. This is where it can help to think of this as something you would share on a date - what impression does it make about you to the reader? Once you know this, start showing, not telling this attribute of yourself through your story. For example, instead of saying that you're compassionate toward others, you show an example of a time you were compassionate, then elaborate on why, and what it means to you.
Essay Brainstorming Techniques
If you are having trouble finding a story, or simply have writer’s block once you have picked your topic, here are some ideas to get your juices flowing:- Stream of consciousness writing -- Start writing whatever is in your head, and don’t stop for 30 minutes. You probably won’t use what you just wrote for your essay, but it will help you find a starting point.
- Journaling -- Answer the prompt as if you were writing in a journal. This will get you in the habit of writing about yourself and establish comfort with the concept. It will also take you to a new level of introspection and self-awareness.
TwitterX style -- Write several rapid-fire responses to the prompt in 280 characters or less. Choose an idea from these responses to expound upon in your essay.- Read each essay prompt, then go through your introspection worksheet responses and connect the stories and insights to one or more of the prompts. Some students like using color coding to visually see how their different ideas might work together.
Why Essays Matter
Here's the thing a lot of people don't realize about college admission: it's not an award for being the smartest, most accomplished, or most impressive. It's an invitation to join a community. Far too many students think that if they can just show that they're smart enough, they'll get in. Yale even says right on their admissions website that 75% of their applicants are academically qualified to succeed at Yale. But only ~4% are getting in. That should tell you that they're looking for more than just top tier test scores and grades. To be perfectly clear, you will need top tier grades and (optionally) test scores to show that you're qualified, and the vast majority of my students come to me with this part already in the bank. But what sets the admits apart? It's personal insight - sharing who you are, how you think, what matters to you, and how you engage community. You can't just say "/IAmVerySmart, please admit me," or even "I did a cool thing guys! Isn't that neat!" You need to go deeper and show them your core values, personal strengths, motivations, aspirations, character traits, foundational beliefs, personality, etc. And you need to do it in a charming, winsome way that makes them like you and want to invite you to join their community.So how do I get students to do this? All of my students complete that introspection worksheet. We go through it and find the stories, examples, anecdotes, conversations, memories, relationships, and other things from their life that will help us craft a strong and personally insightful narrative. We also make lists of the values, strengths, and key personal qualities we want to showcase. Once we have some topics, outlines, abstracts, or rough drafts, we talk about which stories to tell where, how to tell them well, and what details to include to present the best they have to offer. Then we refine, edit, polish, and enhance over and over until the story sings, but more importantly shows their heart and soul. We also go through all the other application components to ensure consistency, quality, and distinctiveness.
Here's why this works so well: at most highly selective colleges there is a primary reader (or 2-3) who will review everything first and then present it to the admissions committee, who then votes on whether to admit you. That presentation typically goes one of three ways:
- Total enthusiasm, energy, and excitement. They strongly advocate for admission and paint a clear picture of how you will contribute to their goals and community. Everyone in the room picks up on that energy and is leaning forward in their chairs, looking for reasons to admit you. This is quite rare, generally less than 5 out of every 100 applications, even among those which are "fully qualified." When you do this right, you show depth, meaning, and valuable personal insights so the reviewer is learning about who you are and how you might engage the community they're curating. You come alive off the page as a person, not just another file.
- Business as usual. You're another great applicant in a pile of great applicants. They share a basic review of the facts, your profile, stats, strengths, weaknesses, etc. Maybe someone on the committee finds something they love, and they really push for admission. More likely, not and you get deferred/waitlisted even though there wasn't anything "wrong" with your application. They just didn't love you enough to commit.
- "Here's a stack of 20 applications that I didn't find all that compelling, so we won't present them individually, but you guys are the committee and you make the decisions. So let me know if there are any you want to talk about." In this case, unless there's a letter of endorsement from an athletics coach or your last name matches several buildings on campus, you're probably not getting additional consideration, much less admission. They will regret to inform you.
2024.05.14 07:14 ScholarGrade Juniors - NOW is the time to start brainstorming essays
There have been an increasing number of juniors visiting this sub asking for advice about writing essays. Below are some tips and advice for making your essay stand out as excellent. Feel free to ask questions because I will answer every single question in the comments.
I know from experience that many of you are struggling to identify a good topic for your essay. Conventional wisdom says to start by brainstorming a list of potential topics, and chances are, you have already started a mental list of ideas. You might think you only have a few choices for topics, based on your activities or experiences, or essay examples you read, or the rough draft you already started (or worse, that GPT started...). I advise, however, that you put down your list of topics and back away from it. Forget that exists for a moment. Seriously - thinking about this initial list tethers you to certain ideas that might not actually be your best options.
Now you can begin brainstorming with a clean slate.
Start with thinking about what you want to show in your entire application, not just one essay. Every single component in your app has one purpose – to tell more about YOU. Filling out the rest of the application by rote and focusing solely on the essay is short-sighted and will leave so much potential untapped in your application.
Your goal with essay brainstorming is to ascertain how to powerfully tell your story in a manner that will fit these criteria. The entirety of your application (again, not just one essay) aims to showcase your abilities, qualifications, and uncommon attributes as a person in a positive way. Before you begin outlining or writing your application, you must determine what is unique about you that will stand out to an admissions panel. All students are truly unique. Not one other student has the same combination of life experiences, personality, passions, or goals as you do. Your job in your application is to frame your unique personal attributes in a positive and compelling way. How will you fit on campus? What personal qualities, strengths, core values, talents, or different perspectives do you bring to the table? What stories, deeper motivations/beliefs, or formative experiences can you use to illustrate all of this?
It is always helpful to start with some soul-searching or self-examination. You might not immediately know what you want to share about yourself. It’s not a simple task to decide how to summarize your whole life and being in a powerful and eloquent way on your application. Introspection prior to starting your application takes additional time and effort rather than jumping straight into your first draft. But it is also a valuable method to start writing a winning application that stands out from the stack.
You'll see the advice everywhere that all essay prompts are really about the same thing - you. The goal of each essay then is to showcase who you are, what matters to you, and how you think. I guarantee if you're on this sub enough, you'll hear the advice to "show, don't tell" when writing about yourself. But what does this mean really, and how do you do it well? How do you even get started on an essay that does this?
Once you have an arc determined and a story to share, think about what you want that story to say about you. This is where it can help to think of this as something you would share on a date - what impression does it make about you to the reader? Once you know this, start showing, not telling this attribute of yourself through your story. For example, instead of saying that you're compassionate toward others, you show an example of a time you were compassionate, then elaborate on why, and what it means to you.
So how do I get students to do this? All of my students complete that introspection worksheet. We go through it and find the stories, examples, anecdotes, conversations, memories, relationships, and other things from their life that will help us craft a strong and personally insightful narrative. We also make lists of the values, strengths, and key personal qualities we want to showcase. Once we have some topics, outlines, abstracts, or rough drafts, we talk about which stories to tell where, how to tell them well, and what details to include to present the best they have to offer. Then we refine, edit, polish, and enhance over and over until the story sings, but more importantly shows their heart and soul. We also go through all the other application components to ensure consistency, quality, and distinctiveness.
Here's why this works so well: at most highly selective colleges there is a primary reader (or 2-3) who will review everything first and then present it to the admissions committee, who then votes on whether to admit you. That presentation typically goes one of three ways:
submitted by ScholarGrade to ApplyingToCollege [link] [comments]
I know from experience that many of you are struggling to identify a good topic for your essay. Conventional wisdom says to start by brainstorming a list of potential topics, and chances are, you have already started a mental list of ideas. You might think you only have a few choices for topics, based on your activities or experiences, or essay examples you read, or the rough draft you already started (or worse, that GPT started...). I advise, however, that you put down your list of topics and back away from it. Forget that exists for a moment. Seriously - thinking about this initial list tethers you to certain ideas that might not actually be your best options.
Now you can begin brainstorming with a clean slate.
Start with thinking about what you want to show in your entire application, not just one essay. Every single component in your app has one purpose – to tell more about YOU. Filling out the rest of the application by rote and focusing solely on the essay is short-sighted and will leave so much potential untapped in your application.
It's About You. Tell Your Story - And Be The Protagonist
An admissions officer’s goal is to understand you fully, in the context of your background and the rest of the applicant pool. They will begin this with assessing your academic abilities and potential. Then they will evaluate how you will fit into the student body they’re trying to curate. All of this can be somewhat broad and diverse and touch on several institutional goals. But they will dig deep to find out what each applicant is like, what your core values and motivations are, what kind of student you will be, how you will contribute to the vibrant and intellectual campus community they’re building, etc.Your goal with essay brainstorming is to ascertain how to powerfully tell your story in a manner that will fit these criteria. The entirety of your application (again, not just one essay) aims to showcase your abilities, qualifications, and uncommon attributes as a person in a positive way. Before you begin outlining or writing your application, you must determine what is unique about you that will stand out to an admissions panel. All students are truly unique. Not one other student has the same combination of life experiences, personality, passions, or goals as you do. Your job in your application is to frame your unique personal attributes in a positive and compelling way. How will you fit on campus? What personal qualities, strengths, core values, talents, or different perspectives do you bring to the table? What stories, deeper motivations/beliefs, or formative experiences can you use to illustrate all of this?
It is always helpful to start with some soul-searching or self-examination. You might not immediately know what you want to share about yourself. It’s not a simple task to decide how to summarize your whole life and being in a powerful and eloquent way on your application. Introspection prior to starting your application takes additional time and effort rather than jumping straight into your first draft. But it is also a valuable method to start writing a winning application that stands out from the stack.
You'll see the advice everywhere that all essay prompts are really about the same thing - you. The goal of each essay then is to showcase who you are, what matters to you, and how you think. I guarantee if you're on this sub enough, you'll hear the advice to "show, don't tell" when writing about yourself. But what does this mean really, and how do you do it well? How do you even get started on an essay that does this?
Introspection Questions
It’s often easiest to start thinking in terms of superlatives, especially those related to personal insights -- what are the most meaningful things about you, and what do you value the most? Here is a list of questions to help you brainstorm broadly before you narrow down your focus for writing:- What are your interests?
- What sparks your curiosity?
- About what topics do you enjoy reading?
- With whom do you enjoy spending time? Who has impacted your life the most?
- Reflect upon “superlatives” in your life. What moments were most memorable, formative, enlightening, enjoyable, or valuable? What physical possessions, experiences, dreams, or lessons could make your superlatives list?
- Stop and think about what things, people, or circumstances in your life are really unique, fascinating, or outlandish. Are there any that really have a lot of "cultural flavor" (whatever your culture is)?
Find Your Story And Arc
Think of a small anecdote or story from your life that you could share that serves as a microcosm of who you are and what is important to you. It will massively help you narrow this down and find a gem of a story if you first start by thinking about your application arc or theme. This is the one-phrase summary of your entire application. It could be "brilliant entrepreneur who started her own successful business" or "talented athlete who wants to study economics and finance as they pertain to sports", or even "avid baker whose hobby sparked an interest in chemistry". It doesn't have to be related to your intended major, but it can help your arc be stronger and clearer if it is.Once you have an arc determined and a story to share, think about what you want that story to say about you. This is where it can help to think of this as something you would share on a date - what impression does it make about you to the reader? Once you know this, start showing, not telling this attribute of yourself through your story. For example, instead of saying that you're compassionate toward others, you show an example of a time you were compassionate, then elaborate on why, and what it means to you.
Essay Brainstorming Techniques
If you are having trouble finding a story, or simply have writer’s block once you have picked your topic, here are some ideas to get your juices flowing:- Stream of consciousness writing -- Start writing whatever is in your head, and don’t stop for 30 minutes. You probably won’t use what you just wrote for your essay, but it will help you find a starting point.
- Journaling -- Answer the prompt as if you were writing in a journal. This will get you in the habit of writing about yourself and establish comfort with the concept. It will also take you to a new level of introspection and self-awareness.
TwitterX style -- Write several rapid-fire responses to the prompt in 280 characters or less. Choose an idea from these responses to expound upon in your essay.- Read each essay prompt, then go through your introspection worksheet responses and connect the stories and insights to one or more of the prompts. Some students like using color coding to visually see how their different ideas might work together.
Why Essays Matter
Here's the thing a lot of people don't realize about college admission: it's not an award for being the smartest, most accomplished, or most impressive. It's an invitation to join a community. Far too many students think that if they can just show that they're smart enough, they'll get in. Yale even says right on their admissions website that 75% of their applicants are academically qualified to succeed at Yale. But only ~4% are getting in. That should tell you that they're looking for more than just top tier test scores and grades. To be perfectly clear, you will need top tier grades and (optionally) test scores to show that you're qualified, and the vast majority of my students come to me with this part already in the bank. But what sets the admits apart? It's personal insight - sharing who you are, how you think, what matters to you, and how you engage community. You can't just say "/IAmVerySmart, please admit me," or even "I did a cool thing guys! Isn't that neat!" You need to go deeper and show them your core values, personal strengths, motivations, aspirations, character traits, foundational beliefs, personality, etc. And you need to do it in a charming, winsome way that makes them like you and want to invite you to join their community.So how do I get students to do this? All of my students complete that introspection worksheet. We go through it and find the stories, examples, anecdotes, conversations, memories, relationships, and other things from their life that will help us craft a strong and personally insightful narrative. We also make lists of the values, strengths, and key personal qualities we want to showcase. Once we have some topics, outlines, abstracts, or rough drafts, we talk about which stories to tell where, how to tell them well, and what details to include to present the best they have to offer. Then we refine, edit, polish, and enhance over and over until the story sings, but more importantly shows their heart and soul. We also go through all the other application components to ensure consistency, quality, and distinctiveness.
Here's why this works so well: at most highly selective colleges there is a primary reader (or 2-3) who will review everything first and then present it to the admissions committee, who then votes on whether to admit you. That presentation typically goes one of three ways:
- Total enthusiasm, energy, and excitement. They strongly advocate for admission and paint a clear picture of how you will contribute to their goals and community. Everyone in the room picks up on that energy and is leaning forward in their chairs, looking for reasons to admit you. This is quite rare, generally less than 5 out of every 100 applications, even among those which are "fully qualified." When you do this right, you show depth, meaning, and valuable personal insights so the reviewer is learning about who you are and how you might engage the community they're curating. You come alive off the page as a person, not just another file.
- Business as usual. You're another great applicant in a pile of great applicants. They share a basic review of the facts, your profile, stats, strengths, weaknesses, etc. Maybe someone on the committee finds something they love, and they really push for admission. More likely, not and you get deferred/waitlisted even though there wasn't anything "wrong" with your application. They just didn't love you enough to commit.
- "Here's a stack of 20 applications that I didn't find all that compelling, so we won't present them individually, but you guys are the committee and you make the decisions. So let me know if there are any you want to talk about." In this case, unless there's a letter of endorsement from an athletics coach or your last name matches several buildings on campus, you're probably not getting additional consideration, much less admission. They will regret to inform you.
2024.05.13 19:59 Whiplash17488 Zach Anner on shame and the "indifference" of having IBS and cerebral palsy
 | Hi Everyone, submitted by Whiplash17488 to Stoicism [link] [comments] I'd like to share the success story of someone called Zach Anner, a comedian, actor, and writer with cerebral palsy who gained worldwide attention with the submission of a video to Oprah Winfrey's "Search for the next TV Star" competition. I suspect Zach does not recognize the Stoic principles in the story he shared, but I'd like to point them out as a reflection on the indifference of health and the multiple themes of Stoic ideas that converge in his story. Hi, I'm Zach, I have cerebral palsy, IBS, and I'm a highschool dropout. Those things shouldn't add up to Oprah, but for me they did. (1) Many moons ago I hosted a travel show on her network, which seems even more unlikely when you consider that just a few years before I was so riddled with anxiety around my IBS that I couldn't even travel to school. (2) All I wanted as a disabled kid growing up was for people for people to think I was normal. Which is tricky when your bowels are as unpredictable and loose as a college improv troupe and make you feel just as uncomfortable in public. (3) Anyway, years later I'm in a pre-production meeting for my show and producers ask if there's any accommodations that would make filming less stressful. (4) I fell silent. It was then I realized I was going to get over my shame and ask the most powerful woman in television for a toilet seat that shot water... up my butt. (5) And as soon as I did, I was living my best life. No hands, paperless! It dawned on me that I'd been so focused on the appearance of a normal life that I'd almost missed out on the experience of a good one. I'm just saying; ask for what you need, even if its embarrassing, because often on the other side of embarrassment is empowerment. - Zach Anner, instagram story /reel/C6eB_8gLdll Desire and passions(1) Zack shared that his negative health perceptions led to anxiety, which significantly diminished his quality of life.(2) He harboured a desire for something unattainable: to feel normal despite his unpredictable bowels — a condition completely "beyond his control". His quest for normalcy, amidst the challenges of his condition, was the root of his anxiety, particularly in public spaces like school. Massimo Pigliucci. New Stoicism and Beyond. How assent works(3) Zack faces a pivotal moment when producers inquire about his needs. Our perceptions of external events often trigger involuntary and subconscious value judgments. Zack's initial feeling of shame indicates such a judgment. An impression in Stoic terms is a proposition formed from a perception and the corresponding value judgment, presented to our ruling faculty (hegemonikon). Zack likely entertained several thoughts:
(3) Zack's silence likely reflects his internal deliberation. This process of assent can be involuntary, where judgments become actions without conscious attention, or it can be intentional, flavoured with Stoic principles focusing on virtue and practical expediency. (On Duties 1.9) (4) Zack admits to feeling shame—a fear of disgrace. He recognizes the immense influence Oprah has, capable of offering or withdrawing opportunities with ease. ActionZack's powerful realization — "I’d been so focused on the appearance of a normal life that I’d almost missed out on the experience of a good one" — illustrates that true wisdom and change in judgment about reality come from taking action, even amidst uncomfortable emotions.By asking for what he needed despite feeling embarrassed, Zack discovered that "empowerment lies beyond embarrassment", and that his condition does not affect his choices. This is why illness is an indifferent. It is indifferent to the faculty of choice to do the right things. In this case, courage means acting in spite of your aversion, to do what is right. Comparing Zack to a Stoic StudentWhile I can't confirm Zack's familiarity with Stoic philosophy, his experiences align with the principles a Stoic student might recognize:
|
2024.05.13 14:15 Ufonauter In 1986 an Italian professor working for the University of Pavia in Italy would have a face to face encounter with an unknown entity. But unlike so many other encounters, this professor was able to take 5 photos.
 | To begin with, I will state that this post was months in the making (mostly waiting and chasing false leads) and carries with it perhaps some answers, plenty of questions, and perhaps for some, a similarity to their own experiences. Special thanks to u/Neo-Rex as well as u/ebycon for their assistance in helping me find and rule out some areas of research. submitted by Ufonauter to HighStrangeness [link] [comments] Disclaimer: The following images and text are provided without photo manipulation on my end (besides simple cropping and scanning). There are going to be many references in this post to Italian media, magazines, as well as individual writers. This is by no means an endorsement, advertisement, or other form of ARG intended to sell, market, or persuade anyone to buy, rent, or procure any of the described materials. Because I know this is a new area of topic, and because the images provided are of an unusual nature, I will provide various sources to prove that these images are not enhanced, manipulated by hand or by a contemporary photo manipulation program or AI generation. Before we get into the nitty gritty of the images I will provide background as to how I came upon these images, and the flow of information. I was first made aware of these images after researching separate alien encounters for a post of mine (see that post here for further details regarding that) one of the sources used was "alieni in italia 1945-1995 50 anni di incontri ravvicinati". On page VIII towards the back of the book these images (or rather image as three were compressed into one section) as well as the following text appears https://preview.redd.it/zz1ti49qm60d1.jpg?width=806&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e53f7b8ec62fb68abc04a29caa117d2f21c13325 "Vero alieno o scoop giornalistico? Ho evitato di inserire nel presente catalogo questo caso avvero singolare. Si tratte infatti di alcune foto )5_ scattate da un non meglio indentificato "professore universitario di pavia" nell'estate del 1986 e pubblicate da sette. il settimanale del Corriere della Sera. Si referiscono ad una presunta entita aliena che si sarebbe manifestata al professore in una situazione del tutto casuale. Non sono mancati pareri sfavorevoli expressi da parecchi ufologi. ( Foto tratte da: Sette n. 9/10 sette giorni illustrati dal Corriere della Sera, 5 marzo, 1988. Translated: "Real alien or journalistic scoop? I have avoided including in the present catalog this singular case. These are in fact some photos(5) taken by an unidentified "university professor from Pavia" in the summer of 1986 and published by seven. The weekly newspaper Corriere della Sera. They refer to an alleged alien entity that allegedly manifested itself to the professor in a completely random situation. There was no shortage of unfavorable opinions expressed by several ufologists. ( Photo taken from: Seven No. 9/10 seven days illustrated by Corriere della Sera, March 5, 1988. That was all the information provided within. (it should be noted that although this description mentions 5 photos, there are only these 3 provided within Moreno Tambellinis book.) These images captured my attention fairly quickly as I am fairly familiar with purported alien/supernatural photographs, so to find one I have never seen, and in such a quality which is general not present within other such photos as these, was more than enough to tip my curiosity in the direction of delving deeper. First attempt at finding further information regarding these photos, and this particular magazine issue ended in little success, though I was able to find what I, at the time, believed to be a correctly colorized image of this entity. See below. https://preview.redd.it/xpyz6eeum60d1.png?width=341&format=png&auto=webp&s=292a9a3afe55c7e83d0f6d5ccce43aa5f35d9fec Unassuming on some random blog that attributed a name to this entity while providing no further information regarding the image itself (as certain ufological circles are want to do). Not finding further information I attempted to find further information based off of this colorized image, but to no avail. Save for one source that used this image ( in a different colorized manner, slightly less yellow and oozing with potential, that being this image by Argentinian Ufologist Dante Franch. See below. https://preview.redd.it/tl0dx4lym60d1.png?width=280&format=png&auto=webp&s=ca523a7f18df130f09c9174e925d044a89852690 Finally, someone who might have a lead on this information! But no, once again this image is deceptively alluring as the contents of this book have absolutely nothing to do with the Sette report, but simply use its image to describe unsourced and unverified tales of the City of Erks (a wild dive on its own and may be deserving of its own post) and other entities that supposedly have a resemblance to this cover image. Upon further searches I came across this archived link with additional images some with closer to truth color, including the aforementioned first colorized image here https://web.archive.org/web/20080312200229/https://www.anomalia.org/perspectivas/fotosets/campo_cielo.htm as well as the additional references. The author of this blog post is Mexican Ufologist Luis Ruiz Noguez, notable for his skepticism and thorough investigation relating to this material, so it was a no-brainier to look into his research regarding this seeing as he had previously mentioned it here on his blogpost. So where better to look than his book "Extraterrestres ante las camaras" Volume X dealing specifically with italian encounters and purported alien photographs. But again, despite his previous notation in this blog, the contents of these images specifically are nowhere to be seen or mentioned within this book. Research stagnated for some time during the search process for the original source cited in Moreno Tambellinis book. I was able after five months (you have no idea how hard it was to find a copy) able to acquire a copy of this magazine and finally was able to determine that the previously assumed white coverall of this entities outfit has been a false notion. The following text is a translation of the pages within this issue of march 7th 1988 Sette: Corriere della Cera . 9/10, the original scans, as well as a translated text document of these pages can be found in the sources listed below. Important note: although these images are primary focus of this article, it does meander into thoughts on Whitley Striebers book "Communion" (which will be a source of contention that will be covered later in this post). But the translated post here is the relevant text to these images. "Just as we were editing a report on the UFO phenomenon that was supposed to appear on 7 at the same time as the television passage of Spielberg's film Close Encounters of the third kind, we came across a resounding surprise: the images published in these pages and on the cover of this issue. They were taken completely by chance, one summer evening in 1986, by a professor at the University of Pavia, above all suspicion and known for his balance, his intelligence and rationality, completely alien to the somewhat emphatic and vaguely bizarre world of the so-called "contactees": those people who say they have entered into a relationship with unknown entities from the cosmos." "He is a completely normal person who has always been skeptical of the reports of unidentified flying objects and is now also a testimony, erroneous to the idea that his name is related to the disturbing figure captured by his camera. The university lecturer has agreed to give us what he considers to be evidence of his shocking experience in exchange for absolute confidentiality" "What to make of these images? We can make a few assumptions. A) The author of the photos is a mystrifier. It is unlikely: too much resistance has opposed the publication of his document (which he has yielded for free to 7). In addition, he wishes to remain anonymous. A behavior that is certainly not that of those who want to speculate on a scooop, true or presumed. B) The author is the victim of a game. Someone made him take "fireflies for lanterns". A well-thought-out game, by true professionals. It is not unlikely, even if the professor is not a "contactee", one obsessed with extraterrestrials, that is, a man who could arouse "temptations" among those who know him. C) The photos really document something alien. A mysterious otherness has been captured by the professor's camera, who was the first to be surprised by this tangible presence, imprinted on the film that is absolutely different from a hallucination. What to say? What are we to think of images that forcefully re-propose the problem (or the dream, or the myth, or the nightmare) of the existence of other beings, of other civilizations that populate galaxies or dimensions unknown to us? Science continues to question these facts, but an answer is still a long way off. All experiences at the "edge of reality" are embarrassing. The line that divides science and mystery is still vague. Prudence, in these cases, is a must. And the desire not to appear is widespread among the witnesses. The professor from Pavia, who chose restriction, has an illustrious precedent." "These images, taken on a summer evening in 1986 by a professor at the University of Pavia, who asked to remain anonymous, are the subject of various hypotheses of interpretation in the text of the article. The reader is free to draw his own conclusions." Here are the direct scans of this entity as they appear in the magazine, scanned directly out of a physical copy of this magazine. (do note although these images are uploaded in different order I believe they may be sorted as such, I make no claim to the accuracy of this in terms of chronological order, but which is most aesthetically appeasing.) https://preview.redd.it/mk91ugp3n60d1.png?width=520&format=png&auto=webp&s=8218b2c6c3b0a508ef086c37c2d0e07552f73910 https://preview.redd.it/7cehtg65n60d1.png?width=385&format=png&auto=webp&s=805fe3d0c8be92d888412d1eeccef6bc88a4708a https://preview.redd.it/izuhsjl6n60d1.png?width=388&format=png&auto=webp&s=215f53fa963abdeecb06ad8074583f7260b2df69 https://preview.redd.it/no9xn3f7n60d1.png?width=380&format=png&auto=webp&s=4ed13e6bf07df8a251f6368aab92383ad1bb26ca https://preview.redd.it/hnf9x148n60d1.png?width=379&format=png&auto=webp&s=80de62f126a5f7770a12790d167e0aebea8ef378 Now, while the article was very keen to post certain aspects of this, it was rather lacking, and it must be stated although the title of this issue, as well as the description in the article infer this is related to UFO's. There is no mention of an actual UFO or craft present within this encounter, or at the very least, this information was omitted from the article, and was potentially removed at the request of the professor in question, though that is speculation on my part. The following sections will deal with the author of this previous issue, as well as the two follow-up articles and their individual authors. There is more information present as the above text states, not from the previous issue, but from two separate follow-up articles that were saved and printed in the Italian Ufo magazine "UFO express no. 043." Link to the full untranslated issue here/UFO%20Express%20-%20No%20043.pdf). These separate addendums fully cover the images in question and are critical but not overly-so. The most important aspect to this is that the professor provided further information to Sette, primarily about what they were doing prior to this entities appearance, but also their means of photographic capture. {Page 1} UFO: Is this being from another world? read the scroll on the cover of 7 (No. 9/10) that we republish on this page. Hundreds of phone calls and letters arrived at the editorial office, and they continue to arrive after Mino Damato in his TV program Alla ricerca dell'arca (Sunday, March 27, Rai 3 8:30 p.m.) dealt with the same images, depicting a hypothetical alien photographed by a professor at the University of Pavia one summer evening in 1986. There are those who believe in this hypothetical alien and those who do not, but all of the readers who have phoned or written are bound to each other by the rejection of that question mark printed on the cover: each of them is persuaded to erase the hypothesis, to tear away the veil of the enigma. And they split into two equally intolerant parties, leaving no room for doubt. We have chosen two exemplary letters. The first letter comes from Brixen and is signed by Mr. Nicola De Paola (2 Clesia Street). He says “the alien is a tobogganist: typical are the tight suit the aerodynamic helmet, the face crushed by the transparent visor, the blurred colors and contours of the photos are due to the fact that they were taken from television, with the obj vo blurred or too close up and strange an alien with limbs, head, face and body identical to those of man; I too will be able to take photographs quite similar to those published; as a reader I feel mocked.” Others have certainly seen in the hypothetical alien: a surgeon, a nurse, an ice skater, an Icelandic firefighter, a Norwegian cryologist (sic), a KGB spy, a hockey player with his head bandaged; in short, some man in overalls or uniforms. No one has identified in the figures, despite the width of the pelvis, a woman or an androgynous. The second letter comes from Ferrara and is signed by Mr. Giovanni Mantovani (via Luigi Borsari 51). Says; When I saw the photographs I immediately thought: but look, it looks like the E.T. seen by R.M on September 2, 1987 while he was fishing on the bank of the Canal Bianco (RO). He felt an intense tingling, turned around and saw a strange individual: dark complexion, 2 meters tall, hair that looked like plastic, wearing a luminescent blue jumpsuit. The apparition lasted a few seconds.R.M. felt a chill, a feeling that was renewed at the sight of your photos... Only one remark can be made to the professor of Pavia: that of not having given the readers further clarifications about the close approach of the third type... Here are the further clarifications that the professor from Pavia has allowed us to give, although he is consumed by the fear of being uncovered and covered with ridicule. The photos were taken by a Nikon camera, with motor-drive, 55 mm lens. Micro, 3.5 aperture, shutter speed: 1/4 second Polachrome film, 40 Asa sensitivity. Shortly after the sun went down, the professor was completing some experiments on the optical perception of dogs (how does a dog see things in the world? Black and white? With what depth, in what perspective?). That alone is almost ridiculous. We were missing the hypothetical alien. A dog joke? Maybe. But the professor never solved the riddle. And dogs don't talk. ~ Paolo Pietroni {page caption} The hypothetical alien out of 7 has caused conflicting reactions. The photo was taken from a Nikon by a university lecturer while carrying out experiments on the visual perception of dogs https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paolo_Pietroni (information about this addendums author) {Page 2} Your E.T. seems to me to be a feminine being... Dear editor, I am writing to you in relation to the series of 5 photographs taken by a better identified professor of Pavia one summer evening in 1986 and which appeared in the supplement of the Corriere della Sera n. 9/10 Since I am not familiar with photographic technique, I have written down the shooting parameters communicated by you personally during Mino D'Amato's television program In Search of the Ark on March 27. Correct me if I'm wrong: Nikon camera body with motor, 5.5 mm focal length lens, aperture dia 3.5, exposure time 1/15 of a second. Certainly, with this adjustment, every little movement of the camera or of the photographed subject causes a blurred or rather blurred photograph. Probably, this whole story of the photos arose from the need of the Rizzoli Group to launch on the market the Italian version of the best American seller Communion by Ted Jacob, which deals, coincidentally, with the subject of extraterrestrials. This colossal business is also sponsored by the production of the film, which has been "posted" while waiting for the possible buyers of such a profitable product to be sufficiently sensitized... Having said this, I wish, through his kindness, to convey to the professor of Pavia my modest comments on his photos. Feminism aside, I confess that the first spontaneous observation I made on these photographs was to recognize without a shadow of a doubt a woman, or rather a female being; The conformation of the hips, the breasts, combined with the grace of the bowed pose with folded arms, unequivocally belonged to a woman. But let's get to the details. The suit - It appears so tight that it shows every little part of the body so as to give the impression of a "second skin"; It has light blue-green bands (as shown in the photo on the right on page 74) that are more evident around the neck, on the shoulders and on the arms. The hands - They appear covered by the sleeves and more elongated than ours (cover figure), dare I say w(bed. The head - Although it is more mobile, it clearly shows these elements: oval face with a slightly flattened nose, microphone with a light-colored support arm placed at the height of the left ear (photo on the right, page 74) The headset - It is completely different from any type currently built because it contains a transceiver module at the top for contact with some support organ (e.g. an operations center, or a cosmoplane, or another operator), similar to what happens in Italy when astronauts go out of their vehicle and maintain constant radio contact with the control center. The transceiver part can be seen both in the cover photo and on page 74, left and right, and is indicated by the protuberance on the top of the skull. This study was born well out of any venal or other interest, in fact I am not a ufologist, but a pilot in full flight activity and with command responsibilities; I have been a first-hand witness to the phenomenon commonly associated with the improper name of UFO Sure of the need to deal with the subject with more compatible methodologies than those promulgated by scientists and ufologists, I dedicate myself to the enhancement of aeronautical contactism, intending with this new term to redefine the sightings of military and civil pilots, aeronautical technicians, engineers, etc. who through direct experience with the phenomenon have acquired the conviction that we are not alone Only those who have had a direct impact with the phenomenon (the contactee) can provide a plausible image of themselves... everything else... They are only lucubrations born from mindsets that are not up-to-date with the present sotric moment on the one hand, and with the characteristics of the phenomenon on the other. {end of article caption} I forwarded his observations to the professor in Pavia, author of the photos depicting the hypothetical alien. Thank you for your interesting analysis. You are free to believe it or not, but the Rizzoli Communion book had an absolutely random presence in our service: we liked the design of the cover; the portrait of that E.T. and we thought of enriching the illustrations of the service. Roberto Doz (a fairly interesting individual on his own, air force colonel with his own UFO sighting) read more on that here As for the author of the original article. Their name is Nullo Cantaroni, and may be more well known by his wife Bice Cairati( Sveva Casati Modigiani), Nullo Cantaroni had a fairly successful journalistic career, dealing primarily in medicine as co-authorized by fellow science journalist Severina Cantaroni. He eventually succumbed to Parkinson's disease. I make mention of these authors, Roberto Doz (who has a very good reason to be interested in the topic as he had his own experience). As well as the other two as these are not the ramblings of some crazy pumping out their own versions of weekly world news, but were and still are highly credible and respected peoples, whom by their own association are taking the flak for posting this material to begin with. From here on out, this is going to be a further dive into the already presented material, some comparisons with other cases which have direct correlation with these images, as well as other information during my research that has not been touched on up until this point. In the first follow-up article there is mention of a show "Alla Ricera dell'arca (In search of the ARK)". With he show discussing the images posted here. I was able to confirm that this episode does exist, with the covered material, and is within the RAI archives (Italian TV network/station). However, they would not lend the episode out to a non-Italian citizen, or someone associated with a University, or media conglomeration. I mention this as there may be more material covered in this episode that was not provided in the main article and its follow-ups. If there are any Italian citizens, or peoples reading this who have the appropriate accreditation to acquire a copy of this episode I would ask for your cooperation in attempting to do so. If someone has a copy of this simply recorded off of an old VHS I implore you to make that available to all. Going back to the main article, the meandering to Communion is certainly off-putting, though I disagree with the previous mention that this was a hoax on the part of the publication to push Communion. Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence after all (even though Carl Sagan never bothered with the evidence, side tangent: listen to J Allen Hynek talk about that here) But I believe these images were published in good faith on part of Nullo Cantaroni, his background and thorough career would make this unlikely. So as it figures there are three scenarios here that describe this scenario (in no particular order of likelihood) 1) these images are hoaxed by the publication to push communion 2) these images are hoaxed by the supposed professor 3) these images are legitimate and provide evidence of a non-earth based entity. Before I move on I'd like to mention that I did attempt to reach out to Corriere della Sera multiple times regarding this material but was never given a response. To round this off the images themselves. Humanoid obviously, female-appearing, now I say appearing because assuming this really is some unexpected entity, there is no guarantee that the physiology of this figure accurately represents its determination, and although this entity appears to have what we'd consider to be skin, that may only be a covering to another form or may be some type of robotic synthetic life-form designed specifically to mimic human appearances. What may be most interesting or most alarming depending on your perspective is this entities face appears to change between shots, and yet seemingly keeps the same body proportions. If you are of the opinion this is some type of hoax you could state this is an obvious inconsistency between shots. On the other hand, that is an obvious conclusion to make and showing differentiating faces would be a rather odd choice on the part of a hoaxer. This again could be part of the photographing process, as there is motion blur between some of these photos and it simply gives an appearance that things are changing. There are other features which must be touched upon, namely the clothing, but in one such photo, what appears to be some type of headgear wrapped around this entities face. To anyone with a passing knowledge of ufology and its associated lore would know, the favorite of any interstellar interloper is the tight formfitting bodysuit. Primarily described as blue, although other colors are often reported. But unlike most humanoid encounters described in the west, this entity seems to have a darker complexion about them. Now does that mean this does not fit in with established prior encounters? Not at all, for whatever reason the blonde-hair nordic is the most popular discussion topic when it comes to human-adjacent lifeforms, but in other places, and Italy especially, some of their most well know or most covered, feature entities with darker complexions. Case in point https://preview.redd.it/o7w5pu2in60d1.jpg?width=884&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d203853c4be4a37108aeea4a7122826bd21525bb This encounter in 1978 Italy with a dark-skinned entity in a shimmering scaled suit. Or this description of a dark skinned entity with a similar described blue suit reported in 1987 Location. Villamarzana, Rome, Italy Date: September 2 1987 Time: 1700 Renzo Munari was fishing on the Bianco Canal when he noticed a strange object flying at a moderated speed over the river, as the object disappeared from sight he felt a strange prickling sensation in his body, resembling electrical static. Turning around he saw a very tall human-like figure staring intently at him. The figure was at least 2 meters in height, with orange hair and dark skin. He wore a luminous blue colored tight fitting coverall. On the left side of his chest there was a square orange colored “tag.” During the encounter the witness felt a cool wave of air and light headed. The figure apparently disappeared into the brush. Source: Archivio SUF, USOCAT by The Italian Center forUFO Studies (CISU) There is also this report from 1989 Russia Location. Salsk, Rostov region, Russia Date: August 13 1989 Time: 2300 Working at a cotton irrigation plant Vasiliy Ivanovich suddenly experienced total equipment failure without any apparent cause. While searching for the cause of the breakdown, the witness heard a loud voice, “He is searching for the cause”. Looking around he saw four humanoids standing close to him. One stood in the front, while the other three stood in the back. He described the humanoids as tall, with long dangling arms, with a large head, flattened on the top and wide at the temples. The humanoids are dark red or brown in color with large egg-shaped eyes and two holes instead of a nose. They have no lips, and thin strip instead of a mouth. They were wearing truncated shiny blue coveralls and footwear. The humanoid standing at the front of the others held a box in his hand and a soft pleasant voice seemed to emanate from the box. He held the box at stomach level. Ivanovich approached the humanoids and asked who they were; the reply was a question asking him if he wanted to go with them. At this point the witness saw a light at the edge of the nearby woods and a hovering object. The humanoids then floated slowly towards the craft and disappeared. Terrified the witness ran to the village to notify other witnesses but upon returning to the site the humanoids had already left. Source:UFOZONE Russia As for the headgear, there is a report from 1995 Italy of an entity not resembling this one in this post, but wearing a similarly described headpiece. Location: Ancona, Italy Date: February 3 1994, Time: 9:00am Six witnesses, including a Mr. Giulo observed a strange humanoid wandering around some nearby rocks. The humanoid was described as about 1 meter and a half in height, wearing a tight fitting black coverall that covered his whole body including a pair of very long feet. The face was elongated with two huge round eyes, with round black pupils. It appeared to be wearing earphones with a small thin protruding antenna. It seemed to stagger slowly and after about 10 minutes it rose up slowly and vertically into the air, quickly disappearing from sight Source: CISU Italy. There is also this case from Barisciano Italy 1978 in which an entity bearing a striking similar blue color to the outfit was seen, with an adorning white "cap" or hairpiece that resembled that of a cap. read the untranslated version of that encounter here/Notiziario%20UFO%20-%201984%2001-02%20-%20Vol%2018%20No%20102.pdf) https://preview.redd.it/3ei6o741q60d1.png?width=310&format=png&auto=webp&s=2de94be231313b38b979bbd4b46b3800466e8f26 Finally, lets get back to the person allegedly behind this whole spiel, the Professor. A claim such as this, where an entity appears in ones presence without any known means is a stark claim all on its own, to provide photos of such an encounter is another thing all together, but being as its an anonymous person, how can we gleam any credibility out of this? To put it in other words, is there enough information provided within the original article as well as the follow-up articles to speculate on a potential identity to who this man could have been? Emphatically yes, infact there is only one such individual who fits the criteria with the information provided, granted this information was given after the fact of the original articles publication. In the first article within UFO express that discusses this, we are told this person is running experiments relating to dogs (canine) eyesight, but the author was unsure whether or not this is a jest of some sort. I do not believe it is, in the secondary article it is again mentioned that this professor is working with canine eyesight, but in a caption on the second page it is emphasized this was "non-academic research". Now does that mean it was unrelated to their professional focus? No, it simply means this research was carried outside of official means. This leads me to who I believe the primary suspect is in terms of a potential identity, could there be other more accurate people? Perhaps. But this persons tenure and level of research within this subject and the timeframe of when they were working at the University of Pavia lines up perfectly with who this person could be. However, because of doxxing concerns, and that they initially requested complete anonymity from the publication I will not be directly naming their identity here. But I will heavily state that this person worked in the university of Pavia from 1985 in the zoology department and specifically with foxes and wolves. With this person having worked and published (into the present) works related to both of these fields. I have attempted to personally reach out to this professor both via email & telephone (their academic numbers, not personal) but have received no response. I would ask that if you do look into who this person is that you do not attempt to directly contact them as their lack of a response is response enough. What was the encounter like? How long did it go on for? Was there a conversation or was this a quick in and out? These questions and more are not answered here, and perhaps never will be unless someone; the professor, an associate, or anyone else, comes forward with more details we are left wondering and wanting more. There is of course much to be said about these images and the potential for further investigations, including the peculiar hands this entity seems to posses that does have a passing resemblance to other cases, but lest this drag on to long I will leave it here and attempt to answer any questions that I may be capable of giving insight on. Sources and resources used Archive link for translations and scans of original Corriere della Sera article https://archive.org/details/Paviaentity Magazine and other ufological material sources: https://files.afu.se/Downloads/?dir=./ Document scanner for afu and other documents/sites https://updb.app/ alieni in italia by Moreno Tambelini ImgOps for reverse image searching https://ufologie.patrickgross.org/sys/text.htm & Albert Rosales for their compilations of humanoid encounters. If you have had an encounter or know someone who has had an encounter similar to this or identical to this, do not hesitate to DM or message me with the details. |
2024.05.13 14:14 Ufonauter In 1986 an Italian professor working for the University of Pavia in Italy would have a face to face encounter with an unknown entity. But unlike so many other encounters, this professor was able to take 5 photos.
 | To begin with, I will state that this post was months in the making (mostly waiting and chasing false leads) and carries with it perhaps some answers, plenty of questions, and perhaps for some, a similarity to their own experiences. Special thanks to u/Neo-Rex as well as u/ebycon for their assistance in helping me find and rule out some areas of research. submitted by Ufonauter to Humanoidencounters [link] [comments] Disclaimer: The following images and text are provided without photo manipulation on my end (besides simple cropping and scanning). There are going to be many references in this post to Italian media, magazines, as well as individual writers. This is by no means an endorsement, advertisement, or other form of ARG intended to sell, market, or persuade anyone to buy, rent, or procure any of the described materials. Because I know this is a new area of topic, and because the images provided are of an unusual nature, I will provide various sources to prove that these images are not enhanced, manipulated by hand or by a contemporary photo manipulation program or AI generation. Before we get into the nitty gritty of the images I will provide background as to how I came upon these images, and the flow of information. I was first made aware of these images after researching separate alien encounters for a post of mine (see that post here for further details regarding that) one of the sources used was "alieni in italia 1945-1995 50 anni di incontri ravvicinati". On page VIII towards the back of the book these images (or rather image as three were compressed into one section) as well as the following text appears https://preview.redd.it/le5wrt3rm60d1.jpg?width=806&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=39919dfcd089925de049eb66794003a5dab20573 "Vero alieno o scoop giornalistico? Ho evitato di inserire nel presente catalogo questo caso avvero singolare. Si tratte infatti di alcune foto )5_ scattate da un non meglio indentificato "professore universitario di pavia" nell'estate del 1986 e pubblicate da sette. il settimanale del Corriere della Sera. Si referiscono ad una presunta entita aliena che si sarebbe manifestata al professore in una situazione del tutto casuale. Non sono mancati pareri sfavorevoli expressi da parecchi ufologi. ( Foto tratte da: Sette n. 9/10 sette giorni illustrati dal Corriere della Sera, 5 marzo, 1988. Translated: "Real alien or journalistic scoop? I have avoided including in the present catalog this singular case. These are in fact some photos(5) taken by an unidentified "university professor from Pavia" in the summer of 1986 and published by seven. The weekly newspaper Corriere della Sera. They refer to an alleged alien entity that allegedly manifested itself to the professor in a completely random situation. There was no shortage of unfavorable opinions expressed by several ufologists. ( Photo taken from: Seven No. 9/10 seven days illustrated by Corriere della Sera, March 5, 1988. That was all the information provided within. (it should be noted that although this description mentions 5 photos, there are only these 3 provided within Moreno Tambellinis book.) These images captured my attention fairly quickly as I am fairly familiar with purported alien/supernatural photographs, so to find one I have never seen, and in such a quality which is general not present within other such photos as these, was more than enough to tip my curiosity in the direction of delving deeper. First attempt at finding further information regarding these photos, and this particular magazine issue ended in little success, though I was able to find what I, at the time, believed to be a correctly colorized image of this entity. See below. https://preview.redd.it/tc06rvxum60d1.png?width=341&format=png&auto=webp&s=141ee2128cdcd0894f57f999876ff380a4def235 Unassuming on some random blog that attributed a name to this entity while providing no further information regarding the image itself (as certain ufological circles are want to do). Not finding further information I attempted to find further information based off of this colorized image, but to no avail. Save for one source that used this image ( in a different colorized manner, slightly less yellow and oozing with potential, that being this image by Argentinian Ufologist Dante Franch. See below. https://preview.redd.it/39i2rdvxm60d1.png?width=280&format=png&auto=webp&s=14bf476ca33164db334bc4b835a52b349d66990d Finally, someone who might have a lead on this information! But no, once again this image is deceptively alluring as the contents of this book have absolutely nothing to do with the Sette report, but simply use its image to describe unsourced and unverified tales of the City of Erks (a wild dive on its own and may be deserving of its own post) and other entities that supposedly have a resemblance to this cover image. Upon further searches I came across this archived link with additional images some with closer to truth color, including the aforementioned first colorized image here https://web.archive.org/web/20080312200229/https://www.anomalia.org/perspectivas/fotosets/campo_cielo.htm as well as the additional references. The author of this blog post is Mexican Ufologist Luis Ruiz Noguez, notable for his skepticism and thorough investigation relating to this material, so it was a no-brainier to look into his research regarding this seeing as he had previously mentioned it here on his blogpost. So where better to look than his book "Extraterrestres ante las camaras" Volume X dealing specifically with italian encounters and purported alien photographs. But again, despite his previous notation in this blog, the contents of these images specifically are nowhere to be seen or mentioned within this book. Research stagnated for some time during the search process for the original source cited in Moreno Tambellinis book. I was able after five months (you have no idea how hard it was to find a copy) able to acquire a copy of this magazine and finally was able to determine that the previously assumed white coverall of this entities outfit has been a false notion. The following text is a translation of the pages within this issue of march 7th 1988 Sette: Corriere della Cera . 9/10, the original scans, as well as a translated text document of these pages can be found in the sources listed below. Important note: although these images are primary focus of this article, it does meander into thoughts on Whitley Striebers book "Communion" (which will be a source of contention that will be covered later in this post). But the translated post here is the relevant text to these images. "Just as we were editing a report on the UFO phenomenon that was supposed to appear on 7 at the same time as the television passage of Spielberg's film Close Encounters of the third kind, we came across a resounding surprise: the images published in these pages and on the cover of this issue. They were taken completely by chance, one summer evening in 1986, by a professor at the University of Pavia, above all suspicion and known for his balance, his intelligence and rationality, completely alien to the somewhat emphatic and vaguely bizarre world of the so-called "contactees": those people who say they have entered into a relationship with unknown entities from the cosmos." "He is a completely normal person who has always been skeptical of the reports of unidentified flying objects and is now also a testimony, erroneous to the idea that his name is related to the disturbing figure captured by his camera. The university lecturer has agreed to give us what he considers to be evidence of his shocking experience in exchange for absolute confidentiality" "What to make of these images? We can make a few assumptions. A) The author of the photos is a mystrifier. It is unlikely: too much resistance has opposed the publication of his document (which he has yielded for free to 7). In addition, he wishes to remain anonymous. A behavior that is certainly not that of those who want to speculate on a scooop, true or presumed. B) The author is the victim of a game. Someone made him take "fireflies for lanterns". A well-thought-out game, by true professionals. It is not unlikely, even if the professor is not a "contactee", one obsessed with extraterrestrials, that is, a man who could arouse "temptations" among those who know him. C) The photos really document something alien. A mysterious otherness has been captured by the professor's camera, who was the first to be surprised by this tangible presence, imprinted on the film that is absolutely different from a hallucination. What to say? What are we to think of images that forcefully re-propose the problem (or the dream, or the myth, or the nightmare) of the existence of other beings, of other civilizations that populate galaxies or dimensions unknown to us? Science continues to question these facts, but an answer is still a long way off. All experiences at the "edge of reality" are embarrassing. The line that divides science and mystery is still vague. Prudence, in these cases, is a must. And the desire not to appear is widespread among the witnesses. The professor from Pavia, who chose restriction, has an illustrious precedent." "These images, taken on a summer evening in 1986 by a professor at the University of Pavia, who asked to remain anonymous, are the subject of various hypotheses of interpretation in the text of the article. The reader is free to draw his own conclusions." Here are the direct scans of this entity as they appear in the magazine, scanned directly out of a physical copy of this magazine. (do note although these images are uploaded in different order I believe they may be sorted as such, I make no claim to the accuracy of this in terms of chronological order, but which is most aesthetically appeasing.) https://preview.redd.it/tp2rqzw9n60d1.png?width=520&format=png&auto=webp&s=5bef77464608273cc1e6cc1f5b30665c5040a5c2 https://preview.redd.it/vekj9dman60d1.png?width=385&format=png&auto=webp&s=ba133aa62862f89a1e361e21a93de19e9d549496 https://preview.redd.it/sve90i9bn60d1.png?width=388&format=png&auto=webp&s=36e737a33624530c85e48f99d9ffd2d7db04d9f5 https://preview.redd.it/03pcokzbn60d1.png?width=380&format=png&auto=webp&s=b8503bec04896be177ce5420daf0ee71482318a6 https://preview.redd.it/yeehoehcn60d1.png?width=379&format=png&auto=webp&s=d33d814521c2581d2cb3b5c830fa62c5bae5782e Now, while the article was very keen to post certain aspects of this, it was rather lacking, and it must be stated although the title of this issue, as well as the description in the article infer this is related to UFO's. There is no mention of an actual UFO or craft present within this encounter, or at the very least, this information was omitted from the article, and was potentially removed at the request of the professor in question, though that is speculation on my part. The following sections will deal with the author of this previous issue, as well as the two follow-up articles and their individual authors. There is more information present as the above text states, not from the previous issue, but from two separate follow-up articles that were saved and printed in the Italian Ufo magazine "UFO express no. 043." Link to the full untranslated issue here/UFO%20Express%20-%20No%20043.pdf). These separate addendums fully cover the images in question and are critical but not overly-so. The most important aspect to this is that the professor provided further information to Sette, primarily about what they were doing prior to this entities appearance, but also their means of photographic capture. {Page 1} UFO: Is this being from another world? read the scroll on the cover of 7 (No. 9/10) that we republish on this page. Hundreds of phone calls and letters arrived at the editorial office, and they continue to arrive after Mino Damato in his TV program Alla ricerca dell'arca (Sunday, March 27, Rai 3 8:30 p.m.) dealt with the same images, depicting a hypothetical alien photographed by a professor at the University of Pavia one summer evening in 1986. There are those who believe in this hypothetical alien and those who do not, but all of the readers who have phoned or written are bound to each other by the rejection of that question mark printed on the cover: each of them is persuaded to erase the hypothesis, to tear away the veil of the enigma. And they split into two equally intolerant parties, leaving no room for doubt. We have chosen two exemplary letters. The first letter comes from Brixen and is signed by Mr. Nicola De Paola (2 Clesia Street). He says “the alien is a tobogganist: typical are the tight suit the aerodynamic helmet, the face crushed by the transparent visor, the blurred colors and contours of the photos are due to the fact that they were taken from television, with the obj vo blurred or too close up and strange an alien with limbs, head, face and body identical to those of man; I too will be able to take photographs quite similar to those published; as a reader I feel mocked.” Others have certainly seen in the hypothetical alien: a surgeon, a nurse, an ice skater, an Icelandic firefighter, a Norwegian cryologist (sic), a KGB spy, a hockey player with his head bandaged; in short, some man in overalls or uniforms. No one has identified in the figures, despite the width of the pelvis, a woman or an androgynous. The second letter comes from Ferrara and is signed by Mr. Giovanni Mantovani (via Luigi Borsari 51). Says; When I saw the photographs I immediately thought: but look, it looks like the E.T. seen by R.M on September 2, 1987 while he was fishing on the bank of the Canal Bianco (RO). He felt an intense tingling, turned around and saw a strange individual: dark complexion, 2 meters tall, hair that looked like plastic, wearing a luminescent blue jumpsuit. The apparition lasted a few seconds.R.M. felt a chill, a feeling that was renewed at the sight of your photos... Only one remark can be made to the professor of Pavia: that of not having given the readers further clarifications about the close approach of the third type... Here are the further clarifications that the professor from Pavia has allowed us to give, although he is consumed by the fear of being uncovered and covered with ridicule. The photos were taken by a Nikon camera, with motor-drive, 55 mm lens. Micro, 3.5 aperture, shutter speed: 1/4 second Polachrome film, 40 Asa sensitivity. Shortly after the sun went down, the professor was completing some experiments on the optical perception of dogs (how does a dog see things in the world? Black and white? With what depth, in what perspective?). That alone is almost ridiculous. We were missing the hypothetical alien. A dog joke? Maybe. But the professor never solved the riddle. And dogs don't talk. ~ Paolo Pietroni {page caption} The hypothetical alien out of 7 has caused conflicting reactions. The photo was taken from a Nikon by a university lecturer while carrying out experiments on the visual perception of dogs https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paolo_Pietroni (information about this addendums author) {Page 2} Your E.T. seems to me to be a feminine being... Dear editor, I am writing to you in relation to the series of 5 photographs taken by a better identified professor of Pavia one summer evening in 1986 and which appeared in the supplement of the Corriere della Sera n. 9/10 Since I am not familiar with photographic technique, I have written down the shooting parameters communicated by you personally during Mino D'Amato's television program In Search of the Ark on March 27. Correct me if I'm wrong: Nikon camera body with motor, 5.5 mm focal length lens, aperture dia 3.5, exposure time 1/15 of a second. Certainly, with this adjustment, every little movement of the camera or of the photographed subject causes a blurred or rather blurred photograph. Probably, this whole story of the photos arose from the need of the Rizzoli Group to launch on the market the Italian version of the best American seller Communion by Ted Jacob, which deals, coincidentally, with the subject of extraterrestrials. This colossal business is also sponsored by the production of the film, which has been "posted" while waiting for the possible buyers of such a profitable product to be sufficiently sensitized... Having said this, I wish, through his kindness, to convey to the professor of Pavia my modest comments on his photos. Feminism aside, I confess that the first spontaneous observation I made on these photographs was to recognize without a shadow of a doubt a woman, or rather a female being; The conformation of the hips, the breasts, combined with the grace of the bowed pose with folded arms, unequivocally belonged to a woman. But let's get to the details. The suit - It appears so tight that it shows every little part of the body so as to give the impression of a "second skin"; It has light blue-green bands (as shown in the photo on the right on page 74) that are more evident around the neck, on the shoulders and on the arms. The hands - They appear covered by the sleeves and more elongated than ours (cover figure), dare I say w(bed. The head - Although it is more mobile, it clearly shows these elements: oval face with a slightly flattened nose, microphone with a light-colored support arm placed at the height of the left ear (photo on the right, page 74) The headset - It is completely different from any type currently built because it contains a transceiver module at the top for contact with some support organ (e.g. an operations center, or a cosmoplane, or another operator), similar to what happens in Italy when astronauts go out of their vehicle and maintain constant radio contact with the control center. The transceiver part can be seen both in the cover photo and on page 74, left and right, and is indicated by the protuberance on the top of the skull. This study was born well out of any venal or other interest, in fact I am not a ufologist, but a pilot in full flight activity and with command responsibilities; I have been a first-hand witness to the phenomenon commonly associated with the improper name of UFO Sure of the need to deal with the subject with more compatible methodologies than those promulgated by scientists and ufologists, I dedicate myself to the enhancement of aeronautical contactism, intending with this new term to redefine the sightings of military and civil pilots, aeronautical technicians, engineers, etc. who through direct experience with the phenomenon have acquired the conviction that we are not alone Only those who have had a direct impact with the phenomenon (the contactee) can provide a plausible image of themselves... everything else... They are only lucubrations born from mindsets that are not up-to-date with the present sotric moment on the one hand, and with the characteristics of the phenomenon on the other. {end of article caption} I forwarded his observations to the professor in Pavia, author of the photos depicting the hypothetical alien. Thank you for your interesting analysis. You are free to believe it or not, but the Rizzoli Communion book had an absolutely random presence in our service: we liked the design of the cover; the portrait of that E.T. and we thought of enriching the illustrations of the service. Roberto Doz (a fairly interesting individual on his own, air force colonel with his own UFO sighting) read more on that here As for the author of the original article. Their name is Nullo Cantaroni, and may be more well known by his wife Bice Cairati( Sveva Casati Modigiani), Nullo Cantaroni had a fairly successful journalistic career, dealing primarily in medicine as co-authorized by fellow science journalist Severina Cantaroni. He eventually succumbed to Parkinson's disease. I make mention of these authors, Roberto Doz (who has a very good reason to be interested in the topic as he had his own experience). As well as the other two as these are not the ramblings of some crazy pumping out their own versions of weekly world news, but were and still are highly credible and respected peoples, whom by their own association are taking the flak for posting this material to begin with. From here on out, this is going to be a further dive into the already presented material, some comparisons with other cases which have direct correlation with these images, as well as other information during my research that has not been touched on up until this point. In the first follow-up article there is mention of a show "Alla Ricera dell'arca (In search of the ARK)". With he show discussing the images posted here. I was able to confirm that this episode does exist, with the covered material, and is within the RAI archives (Italian TV network/station). However, they would not lend the episode out to a non-Italian citizen, or someone associated with a University, or media conglomeration. I mention this as there may be more material covered in this episode that was not provided in the main article and its follow-ups. If there are any Italian citizens, or peoples reading this who have the appropriate accreditation to acquire a copy of this episode I would ask for your cooperation in attempting to do so. If someone has a copy of this simply recorded off of an old VHS I implore you to make that available to all. Going back to the main article, the meandering to Communion is certainly off-putting, though I disagree with the previous mention that this was a hoax on the part of the publication to push Communion. Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence after all (even though Carl Sagan never bothered with the evidence, side tangent: listen to J Allen Hynek talk about that here) But I believe these images were published in good faith on part of Nullo Cantaroni, his background and thorough career would make this unlikely. So as it figures there are three scenarios here that describe this scenario (in no particular order of likelihood) 1) these images are hoaxed by the publication to push communion 2) these images are hoaxed by the supposed professor 3) these images are legitimate and provide evidence of a non-earth based entity. Before I move on I'd like to mention that I did attempt to reach out to Corriere della Sera multiple times regarding this material but was never given a response. To round this off the images themselves. Humanoid obviously, female-appearing, now I say appearing because assuming this really is some unexpected entity, there is no guarantee that the physiology of this figure accurately represents its determination, and although this entity appears to have what we'd consider to be skin, that may only be a covering to another form or may be some type of robotic synthetic life-form designed specifically to mimic human appearances. What may be most interesting or most alarming depending on your perspective is this entities face appears to change between shots, and yet seemingly keeps the same body proportions. If you are of the opinion this is some type of hoax you could state this is an obvious inconsistency between shots. On the other hand, that is an obvious conclusion to make and showing differentiating faces would be a rather odd choice on the part of a hoaxer. This again could be part of the photographing process, as there is motion blur between some of these photos and it simply gives an appearance that things are changing. There are other features which must be touched upon, namely the clothing, but in one such photo, what appears to be some type of headgear wrapped around this entities face. To anyone with a passing knowledge of ufology and its associated lore would know, the favorite of any interstellar interloper is the tight formfitting bodysuit. Primarily described as blue, although other colors are often reported. But unlike most humanoid encounters described in the west, this entity seems to have a darker complexion about them. Now does that mean this does not fit in with established prior encounters? Not at all, for whatever reason the blonde-hair nordic is the most popular discussion topic when it comes to human-adjacent lifeforms, but in other places, and Italy especially, some of their most well know or most covered, feature entities with darker complexions. Case in point https://preview.redd.it/0s611i7hn60d1.jpg?width=884&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=cbc1472a0e49504d71a975ebaccb91639e592ed1 This encounter in 1978 Italy with a dark-skinned entity in a shimmering scaled suit. Or this description of a dark skinned entity with a similar described blue suit reported in 1987 Location. Villamarzana, Rome, Italy Date: September 2 1987 Time: 1700 Renzo Munari was fishing on the Bianco Canal when he noticed a strange object flying at a moderated speed over the river, as the object disappeared from sight he felt a strange prickling sensation in his body, resembling electrical static. Turning around he saw a very tall human-like figure staring intently at him. The figure was at least 2 meters in height, with orange hair and dark skin. He wore a luminous blue colored tight fitting coverall. On the left side of his chest there was a square orange colored “tag.” During the encounter the witness felt a cool wave of air and light headed. The figure apparently disappeared into the brush. Source: Archivio SUF, USOCAT by The Italian Center forUFO Studies (CISU) There is also this report from 1989 Russia Location. Salsk, Rostov region, Russia Date: August 13 1989 Time: 2300 Working at a cotton irrigation plant Vasiliy Ivanovich suddenly experienced total equipment failure without any apparent cause. While searching for the cause of the breakdown, the witness heard a loud voice, “He is searching for the cause”. Looking around he saw four humanoids standing close to him. One stood in the front, while the other three stood in the back. He described the humanoids as tall, with long dangling arms, with a large head, flattened on the top and wide at the temples. The humanoids are dark red or brown in color with large egg-shaped eyes and two holes instead of a nose. They have no lips, and thin strip instead of a mouth. They were wearing truncated shiny blue coveralls and footwear. The humanoid standing at the front of the others held a box in his hand and a soft pleasant voice seemed to emanate from the box. He held the box at stomach level. Ivanovich approached the humanoids and asked who they were; the reply was a question asking him if he wanted to go with them. At this point the witness saw a light at the edge of the nearby woods and a hovering object. The humanoids then floated slowly towards the craft and disappeared. Terrified the witness ran to the village to notify other witnesses but upon returning to the site the humanoids had already left. Source:UFOZONE Russia As for the headgear, there is a report from 1995 Italy of an entity not resembling this one in this post, but wearing a similarly described headpiece. Location: Ancona, Italy Date: February 3 1994, Time: 9:00am Six witnesses, including a Mr. Giulo observed a strange humanoid wandering around some nearby rocks. The humanoid was described as about 1 meter and a half in height, wearing a tight fitting black coverall that covered his whole body including a pair of very long feet. The face was elongated with two huge round eyes, with round black pupils. It appeared to be wearing earphones with a small thin protruding antenna. It seemed to stagger slowly and after about 10 minutes it rose up slowly and vertically into the air, quickly disappearing from sight Source: CISU Italy. There is also this case from Barisciano Italy 1978 in which an entity bearing a striking similar blue color to the outfit was seen, with an adorning white "cap" or hairpiece that resembled that of a cap. read the untranslated version of that encounter here/Notiziario%20UFO%20-%201984%2001-02%20-%20Vol%2018%20No%20102.pdf) https://preview.redd.it/gkgzwmvyp60d1.png?width=310&format=png&auto=webp&s=65238cf5324c0acfcc076966d141d0114eb89be5 Finally, lets get back to the person allegedly behind this whole spiel, the Professor. A claim such as this, where an entity appears in ones presence without any known means is a stark claim all on its own, to provide photos of such an encounter is another thing all together, but being as its an anonymous person, how can we gleam any credibility out of this? To put it in other words, is there enough information provided within the original article as well as the follow-up articles to speculate on a potential identity to who this man could have been? Emphatically yes, infact there is only one such individual who fits the criteria with the information provided, granted this information was given after the fact of the original articles publication. In the first article within UFO express that discusses this, we are told this person is running experiments relating to dogs (canine) eyesight, but the author was unsure whether or not this is a jest of some sort. I do not believe it is, in the secondary article it is again mentioned that this professor is working with canine eyesight, but in a caption on the second page it is emphasized this was "non-academic research". Now does that mean it was unrelated to their professional focus? No, it simply means this research was carried outside of official means. This leads me to who I believe the primary suspect is in terms of a potential identity, could there be other more accurate people? Perhaps. But this persons tenure and level of research within this subject and the timeframe of when they were working at the University of Pavia lines up perfectly with who this person could be. However, because of doxxing concerns, and that they initially requested complete anonymity from the publication I will not be directly naming their identity here. But I will heavily state that this person worked in the university of Pavia from 1985 in the zoology department and specifically with foxes and wolves. With this person having worked and published (into the present) works related to both of these fields. I have attempted to personally reach out to this professor both via email & telephone (their academic numbers, not personal) but have received no response. I would ask that if you do look into who this person is that you do not attempt to directly contact them as their lack of a response is response enough. What was the encounter like? How long did it go on for? Was there a conversation or was this a quick in and out? These questions and more are not answered here, and perhaps never will be unless someone; the professor, an associate, or anyone else, comes forward with more details we are left wondering and wanting more. There is of course much to be said about these images and the potential for further investigations, including the peculiar hands this entity seems to posses that does have a passing resemblance to other cases, but lest this drag on to long I will leave it here and attempt to answer any questions that I may be capable of giving insight on. Sources and resources used Archive link for translations and scans of original Corriere della Sera article https://archive.org/details/Paviaentity Magazine and other ufological material sources: https://files.afu.se/Downloads/?dir=./ Document scanner for afu and other documents/sites https://updb.app/ alieni in italia by Moreno Tambelini ImgOps for reverse image searching https://ufologie.patrickgross.org/sys/text.htm & Albert Rosales for their compilations of humanoid encounters. If you have had an encounter or know someone who has had an encounter similar to this or identical to this, do not hesitate to DM or message me with the details. |
2024.05.13 14:14 Ufonauter In 1986 an Italian professor working for the University of Pavia in Italy would have a face to face encounter with an unknown entity. But unlike so many other encounters, this professor was able to take 5 photos.
 | To begin with, I will state that this post was months in the making (mostly waiting and chasing false leads) and carries with it perhaps some answers, plenty of questions, and perhaps for some, a similarity to their own experiences. Special thanks to u/Neo-Rex as well as u/ebycon for their assistance in helping me find and rule out some areas of research. submitted by Ufonauter to aliens [link] [comments] Disclaimer: The following images and text are provided without photo manipulation on my end (besides simple cropping and scanning). There are going to be many references in this post to Italian media, magazines, as well as individual writers. This is by no means an endorsement, advertisement, or other form of ARG intended to sell, market, or persuade anyone to buy, rent, or procure any of the described materials. Because I know this is a new area of topic, and because the images provided are of an unusual nature, I will provide various sources to prove that these images are not enhanced, manipulated by hand or by a contemporary photo manipulation program or AI generation. Before we get into the nitty gritty of the images I will provide background as to how I came upon these images, and the flow of information. I was first made aware of these images after researching separate alien encounters for a post of mine (see that post here for further details regarding that) one of the sources used was "alieni in italia 1945-1995 50 anni di incontri ravvicinati". On page VIII towards the back of the book these images (or rather image as three were compressed into one section) as well as the following text appears https://preview.redd.it/1hnyv22bo60d1.jpg?width=806&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=09e5d51a28114e50ae3b1334c4aeda7109558444 "Vero alieno o scoop giornalistico? Ho evitato di inserire nel presente catalogo questo caso avvero singolare. Si tratte infatti di alcune foto )5_ scattate da un non meglio indentificato "professore universitario di pavia" nell'estate del 1986 e pubblicate da sette. il settimanale del Corriere della Sera. Si referiscono ad una presunta entita aliena che si sarebbe manifestata al professore in una situazione del tutto casuale. Non sono mancati pareri sfavorevoli expressi da parecchi ufologi. ( Foto tratte da: Sette n. 9/10 sette giorni illustrati dal Corriere della Sera, 5 marzo, 1988. Translated: "Real alien or journalistic scoop? I have avoided including in the present catalog this singular case. These are in fact some photos(5) taken by an unidentified "university professor from Pavia" in the summer of 1986 and published by seven. The weekly newspaper Corriere della Sera. They refer to an alleged alien entity that allegedly manifested itself to the professor in a completely random situation. There was no shortage of unfavorable opinions expressed by several ufologists. ( Photo taken from: Seven No. 9/10 seven days illustrated by Corriere della Sera, March 5, 1988. That was all the information provided within. (it should be noted that although this description mentions 5 photos, there are only these 3 provided within Moreno Tambellinis book.) These images captured my attention fairly quickly as I am fairly familiar with purported alien/supernatural photographs, so to find one I have never seen, and in such a quality which is general not present within other such photos as these, was more than enough to tip my curiosity in the direction of delving deeper. First attempt at finding further information regarding these photos, and this particular magazine issue ended in little success, though I was able to find what I, at the time, believed to be a correctly colorized image of this entity. See below. https://preview.redd.it/ntnngh1fo60d1.png?width=341&format=png&auto=webp&s=7685ab304637834f06c14c93b6158e23f8ed66a6 Unassuming on some random blog that attributed a name to this entity while providing no further information regarding the image itself (as certain ufological circles are want to do). Not finding further information I attempted to find further information based off of this colorized image, but to no avail. Save for one source that used this image ( in a different colorized manner, slightly less yellow and oozing with potential, that being this image by Argentinian Ufologist Dante Franch. See below. https://preview.redd.it/y99g6yhho60d1.png?width=280&format=png&auto=webp&s=a784d5d82998aab7784b0e0ff8507bf999b7e320 Finally, someone who might have a lead on this information! But no, once again this image is deceptively alluring as the contents of this book have absolutely nothing to do with the Sette report, but simply use its image to describe unsourced and unverified tales of the City of Erks (a wild dive on its own and may be deserving of its own post) and other entities that supposedly have a resemblance to this cover image. Upon further searches I came across this archived link with additional images some with closer to truth color, including the aforementioned first colorized image here https://web.archive.org/web/20080312200229/https://www.anomalia.org/perspectivas/fotosets/campo_cielo.htm as well as the additional references. The author of this blog post is Mexican Ufologist Luis Ruiz Noguez, notable for his skepticism and thorough investigation relating to this material, so it was a no-brainier to look into his research regarding this seeing as he had previously mentioned it here on his blogpost. So where better to look than his book "Extraterrestres ante las camaras" Volume X dealing specifically with italian encounters and purported alien photographs. But again, despite his previous notation in this blog, the contents of these images specifically are nowhere to be seen or mentioned within this book. Research stagnated for some time during the search process for the original source cited in Moreno Tambellinis book. I was able after five months (you have no idea how hard it was to find a copy) able to acquire a copy of this magazine and finally was able to determine that the previously assumed white coverall of this entities outfit has been a false notion. The following text is a translation of the pages within this issue of march 7th 1988 Sette: Corriere della Cera . 9/10, the original scans, as well as a translated text document of these pages can be found in the sources listed below. Important note: although these images are primary focus of this article, it does meander into thoughts on Whitley Striebers book "Communion" (which will be a source of contention that will be covered later in this post). But the translated post here is the relevant text to these images. "Just as we were editing a report on the UFO phenomenon that was supposed to appear on 7 at the same time as the television passage of Spielberg's film Close Encounters of the third kind, we came across a resounding surprise: the images published in these pages and on the cover of this issue. They were taken completely by chance, one summer evening in 1986, by a professor at the University of Pavia, above all suspicion and known for his balance, his intelligence and rationality, completely alien to the somewhat emphatic and vaguely bizarre world of the so-called "contactees": those people who say they have entered into a relationship with unknown entities from the cosmos." "He is a completely normal person who has always been skeptical of the reports of unidentified flying objects and is now also a testimony, erroneous to the idea that his name is related to the disturbing figure captured by his camera. The university lecturer has agreed to give us what he considers to be evidence of his shocking experience in exchange for absolute confidentiality" "What to make of these images? We can make a few assumptions. A) The author of the photos is a mystrifier. It is unlikely: too much resistance has opposed the publication of his document (which he has yielded for free to 7). In addition, he wishes to remain anonymous. A behavior that is certainly not that of those who want to speculate on a scooop, true or presumed. B) The author is the victim of a game. Someone made him take "fireflies for lanterns". A well-thought-out game, by true professionals. It is not unlikely, even if the professor is not a "contactee", one obsessed with extraterrestrials, that is, a man who could arouse "temptations" among those who know him. C) The photos really document something alien. A mysterious otherness has been captured by the professor's camera, who was the first to be surprised by this tangible presence, imprinted on the film that is absolutely different from a hallucination. What to say? What are we to think of images that forcefully re-propose the problem (or the dream, or the myth, or the nightmare) of the existence of other beings, of other civilizations that populate galaxies or dimensions unknown to us? Science continues to question these facts, but an answer is still a long way off. All experiences at the "edge of reality" are embarrassing. The line that divides science and mystery is still vague. Prudence, in these cases, is a must. And the desire not to appear is widespread among the witnesses. The professor from Pavia, who chose restriction, has an illustrious precedent." "These images, taken on a summer evening in 1986 by a professor at the University of Pavia, who asked to remain anonymous, are the subject of various hypotheses of interpretation in the text of the article. The reader is free to draw his own conclusions." Here are the direct scans of this entity as they appear in the magazine, scanned directly out of a physical copy of this magazine. (do note although these images are uploaded in different order I believe they may be sorted as such, I make no claim to the accuracy of this in terms of chronological order, but which is most aesthetically appeasing.) https://preview.redd.it/gkd3fj3oo60d1.png?width=520&format=png&auto=webp&s=4f338883f62abde93e6b1218b3191b13658dc32b https://preview.redd.it/7gc9l0uoo60d1.png?width=385&format=png&auto=webp&s=cc71696af8105b30f865affcb325b31655c17532 https://preview.redd.it/t0opnydpo60d1.png?width=388&format=png&auto=webp&s=da17154ba1e5f4943f0e38094d87819b63229d41 https://preview.redd.it/1bmptx1qo60d1.png?width=380&format=png&auto=webp&s=d25f5df93e493b58ed46d19b61119b539338972b https://preview.redd.it/qoaheyjqo60d1.png?width=379&format=png&auto=webp&s=6fd19b6d756df32c032ce84b2289437081695893 Now, while the article was very keen to post certain aspects of this, it was rather lacking, and it must be stated although the title of this issue, as well as the description in the article infer this is related to UFO's. There is no mention of an actual UFO or craft present within this encounter, or at the very least, this information was omitted from the article, and was potentially removed at the request of the professor in question, though that is speculation on my part. The following sections will deal with the author of this previous issue, as well as the two follow-up articles and their individual authors. There is more information present as the above text states, not from the previous issue, but from two separate follow-up articles that were saved and printed in the Italian Ufo magazine "UFO express no. 043." Link to the full untranslated issue here/UFO%20Express%20-%20No%20043.pdf). These separate addendums fully cover the images in question and are critical but not overly-so. The most important aspect to this is that the professor provided further information to Sette, primarily about what they were doing prior to this entities appearance, but also their means of photographic capture. {Page 1} UFO: Is this being from another world? read the scroll on the cover of 7 (No. 9/10) that we republish on this page. Hundreds of phone calls and letters arrived at the editorial office, and they continue to arrive after Mino Damato in his TV program Alla ricerca dell'arca (Sunday, March 27, Rai 3 8:30 p.m.) dealt with the same images, depicting a hypothetical alien photographed by a professor at the University of Pavia one summer evening in 1986. There are those who believe in this hypothetical alien and those who do not, but all of the readers who have phoned or written are bound to each other by the rejection of that question mark printed on the cover: each of them is persuaded to erase the hypothesis, to tear away the veil of the enigma. And they split into two equally intolerant parties, leaving no room for doubt. We have chosen two exemplary letters. The first letter comes from Brixen and is signed by Mr. Nicola De Paola (2 Clesia Street). He says “the alien is a tobogganist: typical are the tight suit the aerodynamic helmet, the face crushed by the transparent visor, the blurred colors and contours of the photos are due to the fact that they were taken from television, with the obj vo blurred or too close up and strange an alien with limbs, head, face and body identical to those of man; I too will be able to take photographs quite similar to those published; as a reader I feel mocked.” Others have certainly seen in the hypothetical alien: a surgeon, a nurse, an ice skater, an Icelandic firefighter, a Norwegian cryologist (sic), a KGB spy, a hockey player with his head bandaged; in short, some man in overalls or uniforms. No one has identified in the figures, despite the width of the pelvis, a woman or an androgynous. The second letter comes from Ferrara and is signed by Mr. Giovanni Mantovani (via Luigi Borsari 51). Says; When I saw the photographs I immediately thought: but look, it looks like the E.T. seen by R.M on September 2, 1987 while he was fishing on the bank of the Canal Bianco (RO). He felt an intense tingling, turned around and saw a strange individual: dark complexion, 2 meters tall, hair that looked like plastic, wearing a luminescent blue jumpsuit. The apparition lasted a few seconds.R.M. felt a chill, a feeling that was renewed at the sight of your photos... Only one remark can be made to the professor of Pavia: that of not having given the readers further clarifications about the close approach of the third type... Here are the further clarifications that the professor from Pavia has allowed us to give, although he is consumed by the fear of being uncovered and covered with ridicule. The photos were taken by a Nikon camera, with motor-drive, 55 mm lens. Micro, 3.5 aperture, shutter speed: 1/4 second Polachrome film, 40 Asa sensitivity. Shortly after the sun went down, the professor was completing some experiments on the optical perception of dogs (how does a dog see things in the world? Black and white? With what depth, in what perspective?). That alone is almost ridiculous. We were missing the hypothetical alien. A dog joke? Maybe. But the professor never solved the riddle. And dogs don't talk. ~ Paolo Pietroni {page caption} The hypothetical alien out of 7 has caused conflicting reactions. The photo was taken from a Nikon by a university lecturer while carrying out experiments on the visual perception of dogs https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paolo_Pietroni (information about this addendums author) {Page 2} Your E.T. seems to me to be a feminine being... Dear editor, I am writing to you in relation to the series of 5 photographs taken by a better identified professor of Pavia one summer evening in 1986 and which appeared in the supplement of the Corriere della Sera n. 9/10 Since I am not familiar with photographic technique, I have written down the shooting parameters communicated by you personally during Mino D'Amato's television program In Search of the Ark on March 27. Correct me if I'm wrong: Nikon camera body with motor, 5.5 mm focal length lens, aperture dia 3.5, exposure time 1/15 of a second. Certainly, with this adjustment, every little movement of the camera or of the photographed subject causes a blurred or rather blurred photograph. Probably, this whole story of the photos arose from the need of the Rizzoli Group to launch on the market the Italian version of the best American seller Communion by Ted Jacob, which deals, coincidentally, with the subject of extraterrestrials. This colossal business is also sponsored by the production of the film, which has been "posted" while waiting for the possible buyers of such a profitable product to be sufficiently sensitized... Having said this, I wish, through his kindness, to convey to the professor of Pavia my modest comments on his photos. Feminism aside, I confess that the first spontaneous observation I made on these photographs was to recognize without a shadow of a doubt a woman, or rather a female being; The conformation of the hips, the breasts, combined with the grace of the bowed pose with folded arms, unequivocally belonged to a woman. But let's get to the details. The suit - It appears so tight that it shows every little part of the body so as to give the impression of a "second skin"; It has light blue-green bands (as shown in the photo on the right on page 74) that are more evident around the neck, on the shoulders and on the arms. The hands - They appear covered by the sleeves and more elongated than ours (cover figure), dare I say w(bed. The head - Although it is more mobile, it clearly shows these elements: oval face with a slightly flattened nose, microphone with a light-colored support arm placed at the height of the left ear (photo on the right, page 74) The headset - It is completely different from any type currently built because it contains a transceiver module at the top for contact with some support organ (e.g. an operations center, or a cosmoplane, or another operator), similar to what happens in Italy when astronauts go out of their vehicle and maintain constant radio contact with the control center. The transceiver part can be seen both in the cover photo and on page 74, left and right, and is indicated by the protuberance on the top of the skull. This study was born well out of any venal or other interest, in fact I am not a ufologist, but a pilot in full flight activity and with command responsibilities; I have been a first-hand witness to the phenomenon commonly associated with the improper name of UFO Sure of the need to deal with the subject with more compatible methodologies than those promulgated by scientists and ufologists, I dedicate myself to the enhancement of aeronautical contactism, intending with this new term to redefine the sightings of military and civil pilots, aeronautical technicians, engineers, etc. who through direct experience with the phenomenon have acquired the conviction that we are not alone Only those who have had a direct impact with the phenomenon (the contactee) can provide a plausible image of themselves... everything else... They are only lucubrations born from mindsets that are not up-to-date with the present sotric moment on the one hand, and with the characteristics of the phenomenon on the other. {end of article caption} I forwarded his observations to the professor in Pavia, author of the photos depicting the hypothetical alien. Thank you for your interesting analysis. You are free to believe it or not, but the Rizzoli Communion book had an absolutely random presence in our service: we liked the design of the cover; the portrait of that E.T. and we thought of enriching the illustrations of the service. Roberto Doz (a fairly interesting individual on his own, air force colonel with his own UFO sighting) read more on that here As for the author of the original article. Their name is Nullo Cantaroni, and may be more well known by his wife Bice Cairati( Sveva Casati Modigiani), Nullo Cantaroni had a fairly successful journalistic career, dealing primarily in medicine as co-authorized by fellow science journalist Severina Cantaroni. He eventually succumbed to Parkinson's disease. I make mention of these authors, Roberto Doz (who has a very good reason to be interested in the topic as he had his own experience). As well as the other two as these are not the ramblings of some crazy pumping out their own versions of weekly world news, but were and still are highly credible and respected peoples, whom by their own association are taking the flak for posting this material to begin with. From here on out, this is going to be a further dive into the already presented material, some comparisons with other cases which have direct correlation with these images, as well as other information during my research that has not been touched on up until this point. In the first follow-up article there is mention of a show "Alla Ricera dell'arca (In search of the ARK)". With he show discussing the images posted here. I was able to confirm that this episode does exist, with the covered material, and is within the RAI archives (Italian TV network/station). However, they would not lend the episode out to a non-Italian citizen, or someone associated with a University, or media conglomeration. I mention this as there may be more material covered in this episode that was not provided in the main article and its follow-ups. If there are any Italian citizens, or peoples reading this who have the appropriate accreditation to acquire a copy of this episode I would ask for your cooperation in attempting to do so. If someone has a copy of this simply recorded off of an old VHS I implore you to make that available to all. Going back to the main article, the meandering to Communion is certainly off-putting, though I disagree with the previous mention that this was a hoax on the part of the publication to push Communion. Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence after all (even though Carl Sagan never bothered with the evidence, side tangent: listen to J Allen Hynek talk about that here) But I believe these images were published in good faith on part of Nullo Cantaroni, his background and thorough career would make this unlikely. So as it figures there are three scenarios here that describe this scenario (in no particular order of likelihood) 1) these images are hoaxed by the publication to push communion 2) these images are hoaxed by the supposed professor 3) these images are legitimate and provide evidence of a non-earth based entity. Before I move on I'd like to mention that I did attempt to reach out to Corriere della Sera multiple times regarding this material but was never given a response. To round this off the images themselves. Humanoid obviously, female-appearing, now I say appearing because assuming this really is some unexpected entity, there is no guarantee that the physiology of this figure accurately represents its determination, and although this entity appears to have what we'd consider to be skin, that may only be a covering to another form or may be some type of robotic synthetic life-form designed specifically to mimic human appearances. What may be most interesting or most alarming depending on your perspective is this entities face appears to change between shots, and yet seemingly keeps the same body proportions. If you are of the opinion this is some type of hoax you could state this is an obvious inconsistency between shots. On the other hand, that is an obvious conclusion to make and showing differentiating faces would be a rather odd choice on the part of a hoaxer. This again could be part of the photographing process, as there is motion blur between some of these photos and it simply gives an appearance that things are changing. There are other features which must be touched upon, namely the clothing, but in one such photo, what appears to be some type of headgear wrapped around this entities face. To anyone with a passing knowledge of ufology and its associated lore would know, the favorite of any interstellar interloper is the tight formfitting bodysuit. Primarily described as blue, although other colors are often reported. But unlike most humanoid encounters described in the west, this entity seems to have a darker complexion about them. Now does that mean this does not fit in with established prior encounters? Not at all, for whatever reason the blonde-hair nordic is the most popular discussion topic when it comes to human-adjacent lifeforms, but in other places, and Italy especially, some of their most well know or most covered, feature entities with darker complexions. Case in point https://preview.redd.it/6e3ymfuxo60d1.jpg?width=884&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c77b73123544adddbf17bacb780841cd81a61a6b This encounter in 1978 Italy with a dark-skinned entity in a shimmering scaled suit. Or this description of a dark skinned entity with a similar described blue suit reported in 1987 Location. Villamarzana, Rome, Italy Date: September 2 1987 Time: 1700 Renzo Munari was fishing on the Bianco Canal when he noticed a strange object flying at a moderated speed over the river, as the object disappeared from sight he felt a strange prickling sensation in his body, resembling electrical static. Turning around he saw a very tall human-like figure staring intently at him. The figure was at least 2 meters in height, with orange hair and dark skin. He wore a luminous blue colored tight fitting coverall. On the left side of his chest there was a square orange colored “tag.” During the encounter the witness felt a cool wave of air and light headed. The figure apparently disappeared into the brush. Source: Archivio SUF, USOCAT by The Italian Center forUFO Studies (CISU) There is also this report from 1989 Russia Location. Salsk, Rostov region, Russia Date: August 13 1989 Time: 2300 Working at a cotton irrigation plant Vasiliy Ivanovich suddenly experienced total equipment failure without any apparent cause. While searching for the cause of the breakdown, the witness heard a loud voice, “He is searching for the cause”. Looking around he saw four humanoids standing close to him. One stood in the front, while the other three stood in the back. He described the humanoids as tall, with long dangling arms, with a large head, flattened on the top and wide at the temples. The humanoids are dark red or brown in color with large egg-shaped eyes and two holes instead of a nose. They have no lips, and thin strip instead of a mouth. They were wearing truncated shiny blue coveralls and footwear. The humanoid standing at the front of the others held a box in his hand and a soft pleasant voice seemed to emanate from the box. He held the box at stomach level. Ivanovich approached the humanoids and asked who they were; the reply was a question asking him if he wanted to go with them. At this point the witness saw a light at the edge of the nearby woods and a hovering object. The humanoids then floated slowly towards the craft and disappeared. Terrified the witness ran to the village to notify other witnesses but upon returning to the site the humanoids had already left. Source:UFOZONE Russia As for the headgear, there is a report from 1995 Italy of an entity not resembling this one in this post, but wearing a similarly described headpiece. Location: Ancona, Italy Date: February 3 1994, Time: 9:00am Six witnesses, including a Mr. Giulo observed a strange humanoid wandering around some nearby rocks. The humanoid was described as about 1 meter and a half in height, wearing a tight fitting black coverall that covered his whole body including a pair of very long feet. The face was elongated with two huge round eyes, with round black pupils. It appeared to be wearing earphones with a small thin protruding antenna. It seemed to stagger slowly and after about 10 minutes it rose up slowly and vertically into the air, quickly disappearing from sight Source: CISU Italy. There is also this case from Barisciano Italy 1978 in which an entity bearing a striking similar blue color to the outfit was seen, with an adorning white "cap" or hairpiece that resembled that of a cap. read the untranslated version of that encounter here/Notiziario%20UFO%20-%201984%2001-02%20-%20Vol%2018%20No%20102.pdf) https://preview.redd.it/21kjohdup60d1.png?width=310&format=png&auto=webp&s=177c364d88aa666573433fc2510a448ad4847398 Finally, lets get back to the person allegedly behind this whole spiel, the Professor. A claim such as this, where an entity appears in ones presence without any known means is a stark claim all on its own, to provide photos of such an encounter is another thing all together, but being as its an anonymous person, how can we gleam any credibility out of this? To put it in other words, is there enough information provided within the original article as well as the follow-up articles to speculate on a potential identity to who this man could have been? Emphatically yes, infact there is only one such individual who fits the criteria with the information provided, granted this information was given after the fact of the original articles publication. In the first article within UFO express that discusses this, we are told this person is running experiments relating to dogs (canine) eyesight, but the author was unsure whether or not this is a jest of some sort. I do not believe it is, in the secondary article it is again mentioned that this professor is working with canine eyesight, but in a caption on the second page it is emphasized this was "non-academic research". Now does that mean it was unrelated to their professional focus? No, it simply means this research was carried outside of official means. This leads me to who I believe the primary suspect is in terms of a potential identity, could there be other more accurate people? Perhaps. But this persons tenure and level of research within this subject and the timeframe of when they were working at the University of Pavia lines up perfectly with who this person could be. However, because of doxxing concerns, and that they initially requested complete anonymity from the publication I will not be directly naming their identity here. But I will heavily state that this person worked in the university of Pavia from 1985 in the zoology department and specifically with foxes and wolves. With this person having worked and published (into the present) works related to both of these fields. I have attempted to personally reach out to this professor both via email & telephone (their academic numbers, not personal) but have received no response. I would ask that if you do look into who this person is that you do not attempt to directly contact them as their lack of a response is response enough. What was the encounter like? How long did it go on for? Was there a conversation or was this a quick in and out? These questions and more are not answered here, and perhaps never will be unless someone; the professor, an associate, or anyone else, comes forward with more details we are left wondering and wanting more. Sources and resources used Archive link for translations and scans of original Corriere della Sera article https://archive.org/details/Paviaentity Magazine and other ufological material sources: https://files.afu.se/Downloads/?dir=./ Document scanner for afu and other documents/sites https://updb.app/ alieni in italia by Moreno Tambelini ImgOps for reverse image searching https://ufologie.patrickgross.org/sys/text.htm & Albert Rosales for their compilations of humanoid encounters. If you have had an encounter or know someone who has had an encounter similar to this or identical to this, do not hesitate to DM or message me with the details. |
2024.05.12 20:04 Galactus_Jones762 Yes they do have somewhere to go.
Yes they do have somewhere to go.
The civilians in Rafah who reportedly say “there’s nowhere to go, Gaza is a dense place, what’s the point?” are being irrational and likely dishonest.
But many would like you to think otherwise, including Islamists wherever they exist, but also the news outlets that survive by feeding reductionist narratives that their misguided consumer base hungrily demands.
Center and left news grabs statements like “Gazans in Rafah say they feel like they have nowhere to go.”
Casual consumers of this headline can instantly be outraged and think “Hey, that’s not fair! Israel can’t just kill civilians that have nowhere to go!”
There’s internal logic to this reaction, but the reportage contains the embedded assumption “nowhere to go.”
There is somewhere to go.
But before inspecting further, outrage-addicted news consumers sputter the rhetorical question: “Gaza is small and densely populated! The most densely populated area ON EARTH! Pffft. Obviously there’s nowhere to go. Israel is blatantly genocidal!”
Blah, blah, blah. With that cork-headed rejoinder the case is closed, it’s seen as a self-evident checkmate.
But is it? Of course not. Let’s take a look.
First off, Gaza is generally dense and small, AND it also still has more than adequate area for safe zones. Both can be true.
But outraged people with bias LOVE their false dichotomies.
YES, civilians do have somewhere to go during the Rafah invasion, namely the expanded humanitarian zone of al-Mawasi, which is twice the size of Rafah, nearby, and includes beach and inland area, and anyone can quite feasibly go there with some essentials and a tent, and thankfully there was ample time to do this.
If I were in Rafah, I’d pack up and go and feel grateful that I had a chance to get to safety. You would, too, right?
NEXT, let’s take a pause to consider more nuance and context:
lsrael has a huge vested interest in all civilians getting to safety and has even added services to enable civilians to do this.
Is this evacuation inconvenient for the civilians? Absolutely.
Is it reasonable to expect these citizens to comply though, given the context? Sure it is.
Is it unheard of to give civilians a chance to leave? Actually, yes.
Israel loses the element of surprise against the entrenched enemy — a legitimate military target — the group that started this war and is breaking the law operating in civilian areas.
But Israel is warning civilians and waiting, taking it on the chin concerning the element of surprise.
In this regard, Israel is ethical and patient, representing the pinnacle of compassionate warfare, and by some margin. Nobody has ever been so generous to civilians. And arguably no civilians have ever been less deserving. (That’s another topic.)
Yes, Israel’s attacks have killed a lot of people. Both things can be true.
Many civilians died, and Israel has been ethical. (Btw, the numbers of civilians dead was halved by the UN.)
Granted, the fact that both things can be true is a sad reality of the world we live in.
We can thank Hamas, and the sick form of Islamism undergirding their strategies, for furnishing this sad reality.
I needn’t blame all of Islam, just the groups that interpret the Quran to endorse and demand these evil behaviors. That said, more than half of the 1.8 billions Muslims in the world support the idea of aggressively forcing a global caliphate, and yet many more refuse to denounce such things.
The mainstream news will leave ALL these nuances out. Instead they will show a picture of some frantic civilian screaming, with the caption “we do not know where to go!”
The insinuation here is that Israel is creating an impossible situation for civilians and thus Israel is evil and heartless and wants to commit genocide.
Meanwhile, any true and sincere analysis reveals that Hamas is the bad actor, starting a war in the most sinister way, breaking every war crime on the books; and meanwhile Israel is the most ethical war opponent in history, fighting the most unethical enemy in history, and in Gaza Israel is adhering to every war law on the books, and by some margin.
Given this, the fact that major news outlets continue to spread simplified narratives is immoral and needs to be called out.
NPR, PBS, NYT, NBC, ABC, CBS, even WSJ, BBC, all of them, with the possible exception (sadly) of FOX and far right media.
Fox doesn’t really add nuance, but more of a blanket support, does Israel very little favor in the way they are perceived by the center and everything left of it…because these same right wing news sources in the past have lent credibility to things like Stop The Steal and QANon, and they make up constant conspiracy theories about Joe Biden, and serve mainly as a way to lower taxes for the rich and pander to white-replacement panic.
So by association, Fox and arch conservative congresspeople supporting Israel plays right into every bad narrative about Israel, giving the new fascist leftist mob (we didn’t used to have one of those in the U.S., and I say this as a lifelong liberal) perfect reasons to become entrenched.
Israel is barely aware of this dynamic, and how could they be? To them, if Trump means more support, they want Trump, they don’t care about the political gamesmanship.
They’re too busy doing what nobody else can do, namely surviving while being Israeli. Which is a miraculous achievement that goes largely unappreciated.
To watch all of my former favorite news sources — the ones that have for decades shown deeper thinking, openness to experience, and a penchant for intellectualism — turn a corner to cash in on a new generation of media consumers who demand a certain narrative, devastates me.
Adam Smith’s invisible hand doesn’t make the news product better.
Dang. Anyway…
Israel, Godspeed. Do what you have to do. You have my support.
submitted by Galactus_Jones762 to Israel [link] [comments]
The civilians in Rafah who reportedly say “there’s nowhere to go, Gaza is a dense place, what’s the point?” are being irrational and likely dishonest.
But many would like you to think otherwise, including Islamists wherever they exist, but also the news outlets that survive by feeding reductionist narratives that their misguided consumer base hungrily demands.
Center and left news grabs statements like “Gazans in Rafah say they feel like they have nowhere to go.”
Casual consumers of this headline can instantly be outraged and think “Hey, that’s not fair! Israel can’t just kill civilians that have nowhere to go!”
There’s internal logic to this reaction, but the reportage contains the embedded assumption “nowhere to go.”
There is somewhere to go.
But before inspecting further, outrage-addicted news consumers sputter the rhetorical question: “Gaza is small and densely populated! The most densely populated area ON EARTH! Pffft. Obviously there’s nowhere to go. Israel is blatantly genocidal!”
Blah, blah, blah. With that cork-headed rejoinder the case is closed, it’s seen as a self-evident checkmate.
But is it? Of course not. Let’s take a look.
First off, Gaza is generally dense and small, AND it also still has more than adequate area for safe zones. Both can be true.
But outraged people with bias LOVE their false dichotomies.
YES, civilians do have somewhere to go during the Rafah invasion, namely the expanded humanitarian zone of al-Mawasi, which is twice the size of Rafah, nearby, and includes beach and inland area, and anyone can quite feasibly go there with some essentials and a tent, and thankfully there was ample time to do this.
If I were in Rafah, I’d pack up and go and feel grateful that I had a chance to get to safety. You would, too, right?
NEXT, let’s take a pause to consider more nuance and context:
lsrael has a huge vested interest in all civilians getting to safety and has even added services to enable civilians to do this.
Is this evacuation inconvenient for the civilians? Absolutely.
Is it reasonable to expect these citizens to comply though, given the context? Sure it is.
Is it unheard of to give civilians a chance to leave? Actually, yes.
Israel loses the element of surprise against the entrenched enemy — a legitimate military target — the group that started this war and is breaking the law operating in civilian areas.
But Israel is warning civilians and waiting, taking it on the chin concerning the element of surprise.
In this regard, Israel is ethical and patient, representing the pinnacle of compassionate warfare, and by some margin. Nobody has ever been so generous to civilians. And arguably no civilians have ever been less deserving. (That’s another topic.)
Yes, Israel’s attacks have killed a lot of people. Both things can be true.
Many civilians died, and Israel has been ethical. (Btw, the numbers of civilians dead was halved by the UN.)
Granted, the fact that both things can be true is a sad reality of the world we live in.
We can thank Hamas, and the sick form of Islamism undergirding their strategies, for furnishing this sad reality.
I needn’t blame all of Islam, just the groups that interpret the Quran to endorse and demand these evil behaviors. That said, more than half of the 1.8 billions Muslims in the world support the idea of aggressively forcing a global caliphate, and yet many more refuse to denounce such things.
The mainstream news will leave ALL these nuances out. Instead they will show a picture of some frantic civilian screaming, with the caption “we do not know where to go!”
The insinuation here is that Israel is creating an impossible situation for civilians and thus Israel is evil and heartless and wants to commit genocide.
Meanwhile, any true and sincere analysis reveals that Hamas is the bad actor, starting a war in the most sinister way, breaking every war crime on the books; and meanwhile Israel is the most ethical war opponent in history, fighting the most unethical enemy in history, and in Gaza Israel is adhering to every war law on the books, and by some margin.
Given this, the fact that major news outlets continue to spread simplified narratives is immoral and needs to be called out.
NPR, PBS, NYT, NBC, ABC, CBS, even WSJ, BBC, all of them, with the possible exception (sadly) of FOX and far right media.
Fox doesn’t really add nuance, but more of a blanket support, does Israel very little favor in the way they are perceived by the center and everything left of it…because these same right wing news sources in the past have lent credibility to things like Stop The Steal and QANon, and they make up constant conspiracy theories about Joe Biden, and serve mainly as a way to lower taxes for the rich and pander to white-replacement panic.
So by association, Fox and arch conservative congresspeople supporting Israel plays right into every bad narrative about Israel, giving the new fascist leftist mob (we didn’t used to have one of those in the U.S., and I say this as a lifelong liberal) perfect reasons to become entrenched.
Israel is barely aware of this dynamic, and how could they be? To them, if Trump means more support, they want Trump, they don’t care about the political gamesmanship.
They’re too busy doing what nobody else can do, namely surviving while being Israeli. Which is a miraculous achievement that goes largely unappreciated.
To watch all of my former favorite news sources — the ones that have for decades shown deeper thinking, openness to experience, and a penchant for intellectualism — turn a corner to cash in on a new generation of media consumers who demand a certain narrative, devastates me.
Adam Smith’s invisible hand doesn’t make the news product better.
Dang. Anyway…
Israel, Godspeed. Do what you have to do. You have my support.
2024.05.12 20:03 Galactus_Jones762 Yes they do have somewhere to go.
The civilians in Rafah who reportedly say “there’s nowhere to go, Gaza is a dense place, what’s the point?” are being irrational and likely dishonest.
But many would like you to think otherwise, including Islamists wherever they exist, but also the news outlets that survive by feeding the reductionist narratives their misguided consumer base hungrily demands.
Center and left news grabs statements like “Gazans in Rafah say they feel like they have nowhere to go.”
Casual consumers of this headline can instantly be outraged and think “Hey, that’s not fair! Israel can’t just kill civilians that have nowhere to go!”
There’s internal logic to this reaction, but the reportage contains the embedded assumption “nowhere to go.”
There is somewhere to go.
But before inspecting further, outrage-addicted news consumers sputter the rhetorical question: “Gaza is small and densely populated! The most densely populated area ON EARTH! Pffft. Obviously there’s nowhere to go. Israel is blatantly genocidal!”
Blah, blah, blah. With that cork-headed rejoinder the case is closed, it’s seen as a self-evident checkmate.
But is it? Of course not. Let’s take a look.
First off, Gaza is generally dense and small, AND it also still has more than adequate area for safe zones. Both can be true.
But outraged people with bias LOVE their false dichotomies.
YES, civilians do have somewhere to go during the Rafah invasion, namely the expanded humanitarian zone of al-Mawasi, which is twice the size of Rafah, nearby, and includes beach and inland area, and anyone can quite feasibly go there with some essentials and a tent, and thankfully there was ample time to do this.
If I were in Rafah, I’d pack up and go and feel grateful that I had a chance to get to safety. You would, too, right?
NEXT, let’s take a pause to consider more nuance and context:
lsrael has a huge vested interest in all civilians getting to safety and has even added services to enable civilians to do this.
Is this evacuation inconvenient for the civilians? Absolutely.
Is it reasonable to expect these citizens to comply though, given the context? Sure it is.
Is it unheard of to give civilians a chance to leave? Actually, yes.
Israel loses the element of surprise against the entrenched enemy — a legitimate military target — the group that started this war and is breaking the law operating in civilian areas.
But Israel is warning civilians and waiting, taking it on the chin concerning the element of surprise.
In this regard, Israel is ethical and patient, representing the pinnacle of compassionate warfare, and by some margin. Nobody has ever been so generous to civilians. And arguably no civilians have ever been less deserving. (That’s another topic.)
Yes, Israel’s attacks have killed a lot of people. Both things can be true.
Many civilians died, and Israel has been ethical. (Btw, the numbers of civilians dead was halved by the UN.)
Granted, the fact that both things can be true is a sad reality of the world we live in.
We can thank Hamas, and the sick form of Islamism undergirding their strategies, for furnishing this sad reality.
I needn’t blame all of Islam, just the groups that interpret the Quran to endorse and demand these evil behaviors. That said, more than half of the 1.8 billions Muslims in the world support the idea of aggressively forcing a global caliphate, and yet many more refuse to denounce such things.
The mainstream news will leave ALL these nuances out. Instead they will show a picture of some frantic civilian screaming, with the caption “we do not know where to go!”
The insinuation here is that Israel is creating an impossible situation for civilians and thus Israel is evil and heartless and wants to commit genocide.
Meanwhile, any true and sincere analysis reveals that Hamas is the bad actor, starting a war in the most sinister way, breaking every war crime on the books; and meanwhile Israel is the most ethical war opponent in history, fighting the most unethical enemy in history, and in Gaza Israel is adhering to every war law on the books, and by some margin.
Given this, the fact that major news outlets continue to spread simplified narratives is immoral and needs to be called out.
NPR, PBS, NYT, NBC, ABC, CBS, even WSJ, BBC, all of them, with the possible exception (sadly) of FOX and far right media.
Fox doesn’t really add nuance, but more of a blanket support, does Israel very little favor in the way they are perceived by the center and everything left of it…because these same right wing news sources in the past have lent credibility to things like Stop The Steal and QANon, and they make up constant conspiracy theories about Joe Biden, and serve mainly as a way to lower taxes for the rich and pander to white-replacement panic.
So by association, Fox and arch conservative congresspeople supporting Israel plays right into every bad narrative about Israel, giving the new fascist leftist mob (we didn’t used to have one of those in the U.S., and I say this as a lifelong liberal) perfect reasons to become entrenched.
Israel is barely aware of this dynamic, and how could they be? To them, if Trump means more support, they want Trump, they don’t care about the political gamesmanship.
They’re too busy doing what nobody else can do, namely surviving while being Israeli. Which is a miraculous achievement that goes largely unappreciated.
To watch all of my former favorite news sources — the ones that have for decades shown deeper thinking, openness to experience, and a penchant for intellectualism — turn a corner to cash in on a new generation of media consumers who demand a certain narrative, devastates me.
Adam Smith’s invisible hand doesn’t make the news product better.
Dang. Anyway…
Israel, Godspeed. Do what you have to do. You have my support.
submitted by Galactus_Jones762 to IsraelPalestine [link] [comments]
But many would like you to think otherwise, including Islamists wherever they exist, but also the news outlets that survive by feeding the reductionist narratives their misguided consumer base hungrily demands.
Center and left news grabs statements like “Gazans in Rafah say they feel like they have nowhere to go.”
Casual consumers of this headline can instantly be outraged and think “Hey, that’s not fair! Israel can’t just kill civilians that have nowhere to go!”
There’s internal logic to this reaction, but the reportage contains the embedded assumption “nowhere to go.”
There is somewhere to go.
But before inspecting further, outrage-addicted news consumers sputter the rhetorical question: “Gaza is small and densely populated! The most densely populated area ON EARTH! Pffft. Obviously there’s nowhere to go. Israel is blatantly genocidal!”
Blah, blah, blah. With that cork-headed rejoinder the case is closed, it’s seen as a self-evident checkmate.
But is it? Of course not. Let’s take a look.
First off, Gaza is generally dense and small, AND it also still has more than adequate area for safe zones. Both can be true.
But outraged people with bias LOVE their false dichotomies.
YES, civilians do have somewhere to go during the Rafah invasion, namely the expanded humanitarian zone of al-Mawasi, which is twice the size of Rafah, nearby, and includes beach and inland area, and anyone can quite feasibly go there with some essentials and a tent, and thankfully there was ample time to do this.
If I were in Rafah, I’d pack up and go and feel grateful that I had a chance to get to safety. You would, too, right?
NEXT, let’s take a pause to consider more nuance and context:
lsrael has a huge vested interest in all civilians getting to safety and has even added services to enable civilians to do this.
Is this evacuation inconvenient for the civilians? Absolutely.
Is it reasonable to expect these citizens to comply though, given the context? Sure it is.
Is it unheard of to give civilians a chance to leave? Actually, yes.
Israel loses the element of surprise against the entrenched enemy — a legitimate military target — the group that started this war and is breaking the law operating in civilian areas.
But Israel is warning civilians and waiting, taking it on the chin concerning the element of surprise.
In this regard, Israel is ethical and patient, representing the pinnacle of compassionate warfare, and by some margin. Nobody has ever been so generous to civilians. And arguably no civilians have ever been less deserving. (That’s another topic.)
Yes, Israel’s attacks have killed a lot of people. Both things can be true.
Many civilians died, and Israel has been ethical. (Btw, the numbers of civilians dead was halved by the UN.)
Granted, the fact that both things can be true is a sad reality of the world we live in.
We can thank Hamas, and the sick form of Islamism undergirding their strategies, for furnishing this sad reality.
I needn’t blame all of Islam, just the groups that interpret the Quran to endorse and demand these evil behaviors. That said, more than half of the 1.8 billions Muslims in the world support the idea of aggressively forcing a global caliphate, and yet many more refuse to denounce such things.
The mainstream news will leave ALL these nuances out. Instead they will show a picture of some frantic civilian screaming, with the caption “we do not know where to go!”
The insinuation here is that Israel is creating an impossible situation for civilians and thus Israel is evil and heartless and wants to commit genocide.
Meanwhile, any true and sincere analysis reveals that Hamas is the bad actor, starting a war in the most sinister way, breaking every war crime on the books; and meanwhile Israel is the most ethical war opponent in history, fighting the most unethical enemy in history, and in Gaza Israel is adhering to every war law on the books, and by some margin.
Given this, the fact that major news outlets continue to spread simplified narratives is immoral and needs to be called out.
NPR, PBS, NYT, NBC, ABC, CBS, even WSJ, BBC, all of them, with the possible exception (sadly) of FOX and far right media.
Fox doesn’t really add nuance, but more of a blanket support, does Israel very little favor in the way they are perceived by the center and everything left of it…because these same right wing news sources in the past have lent credibility to things like Stop The Steal and QANon, and they make up constant conspiracy theories about Joe Biden, and serve mainly as a way to lower taxes for the rich and pander to white-replacement panic.
So by association, Fox and arch conservative congresspeople supporting Israel plays right into every bad narrative about Israel, giving the new fascist leftist mob (we didn’t used to have one of those in the U.S., and I say this as a lifelong liberal) perfect reasons to become entrenched.
Israel is barely aware of this dynamic, and how could they be? To them, if Trump means more support, they want Trump, they don’t care about the political gamesmanship.
They’re too busy doing what nobody else can do, namely surviving while being Israeli. Which is a miraculous achievement that goes largely unappreciated.
To watch all of my former favorite news sources — the ones that have for decades shown deeper thinking, openness to experience, and a penchant for intellectualism — turn a corner to cash in on a new generation of media consumers who demand a certain narrative, devastates me.
Adam Smith’s invisible hand doesn’t make the news product better.
Dang. Anyway…
Israel, Godspeed. Do what you have to do. You have my support.
2024.05.12 00:31 Substantial_Item_828 No, It’s Not Joever: How 2024 Polling Is Underestimating Joe Biden
 | Note: This essay was written about a month ago, for a school project. Some of the numbers and polling averages may be slightly outdated, but the point of the essay still stands. submitted by Substantial_Item_828 to AngryObservation [link] [comments] Introduction “DEWEY DEFEATS TRUMAN.” That’s what the front-page headline of the Chicago Tribune said on November 3rd, 1948. It’s also what the polls had all been saying for months: that New York governor Thomas Dewey would defeat incumbent president Harry Truman and become the next president of the United States. And yet, he didn’t. Truman won reelection in a massive upset, defying the polls. Somehow, Truman had gone from trailing Dewey in polls by so much that cartoons like the following were created, to winning the election. https://preview.redd.it/oqba22kugvzc1.png?width=800&format=png&auto=webp&s=92204f20feee6faea87f731a797760140c4a0814 Truman was a very unpopular president. His campaign was also plagued by third parties threatening to split his votes: Strom Thurmond on the right and Henry Wallace on the left. The way he was able to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat can’t be described as anything less than amazing. Historians still debate over it, but the most popular theory is that Truman was able to win many voters who disapproved of him because he successfully painted Republicans as being worse than he was. This strategy was aided by Dewey’s weak campaign. Many voters didn’t like Truman, and when polled, wouldn’t say they would vote for him, but when the time came, they held their nose and pulled the lever for the president. The election was a lesson to not treat polls as gospel. Today, the nation faces another presidential election. The Democratic candidate is incumbent president Joe Biden. He’s running for reelection despite concerns about his age and rumors he wouldn’t run again due to it. On the Republican side, former president Donald Trump is the nominee. He faced opposition in the primaries, most notably by former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley, but beat her and his other opponents without too much trouble. The election is the first presidential rematch since 1956. Several independent/third-party candidates are running too, the most notable being Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (RFK Jr. for short), nephew of JFK. He’s been polling very high for a third-party candidate, getting double digits in many polls. Biden beat Trump in 2020, but opinion polls have been showing Trump leading Biden, often by large margins. As of April 1st, Trump leads Biden by 1.1% in the national polling average according to racetothewh.com, an election prediction/poll aggregation website. Biden won the popular vote by 4.5% in 2020, so this is a sizable swing right. Trump also leads Biden in all seven swing states. Below is a chart comparing the 2020 presidential election margin and the 2024 polling average in the seven swing states. https://preview.redd.it/9wvdn2yzgvzc1.png?width=631&format=png&auto=webp&s=e9c69e14cedfecc11d866837b9533d3e39a30db0 It seems like Biden’s doomed. He needs to win at least some of the swing states to win the election, and right now he isn’t winning any of them. It looks like Trump is on track to becoming the second president ever to win a non-consecutive second term, after Grover Cleveland. But there’s something else going on. Biden’s bad polling situation seems simple on the surface. He’s incredibly unpopular, having an approval rating of 39.1% (net -16.3%) according to FiveThirtyEight. His bout of unpopularity seems to have started around the Afghanistan withdrawal, although when asking someone their reason for disliking Biden they’ll probably say something about his age or the economy instead. So, it makes sense that Biden would be polling badly. He’s an unpopular president, and people would rather have Trump. But it isn’t that simple. Because looking deeper, there are some things that don’t make sense. Crosstabs of polls showing massive realignments not seen since the Civil Rights era. Other indicators of a president in trouble not showing up. Things that when put together, suggest Biden may not be in as much danger as the polls say. When all the evidence is put together and analyzed, it’s clear that Biden is not doomed, not at all. Biden’s bad polling can be explained by two things. First, bad polling methodology underpolling his supporters. Second, people who are supporting third parties now, but will eventually return to Biden. These two things are both making Biden’s polling look bad, although which one has a stronger effect depends on the poll and the demographic group. Additionally, all the indicators other than the polls, like primary elections and special/off-year elections, don’t show Biden in too much trouble. Explaining Racial and Age Depolarization First, context is needed for the rest of this essay to make sense. So, as was said earlier, 2024 polls are showing Biden doing much worse than his 2020 performance. That makes sense – Biden is less popular, so naturally fewer people want to vote for him. The strange part is what demographic groups Biden is slipping with. Instead of a mostly uniform shift, which would be expected, almost all of Biden’s losses seem to come among nonwhite voters – most significantly black and Hispanic voters. He’s also losing ground among young voters (usually defined as voters between the ages of 18 and 29). The Democratic Party traditionally does well with these groups, so this is of course concerning for Biden. Even more strange is that in some polls, Biden is actually making some inroads among the demographics that are historically the base of the Republican Party – those being white voters and seniors. Looking at the aggregation of crosstabs of polls during February, there are many abnormalities. The aggregation shows Trump making massive gains among black and Hispanic voters (swings of R+28.4 and R+18.5 respectively) but making almost zero gains among white voters (R+0.1, but right under that there are slight blue swings with both college educated and non-college educated whites, likely a product of not all polls recording results for those groups). This is strange, to say the least. White people seem to be perfectly fine with Biden, while nonwhite people suddenly despise him. This phenomenon is called racial depolarization, or racedep for short. Swings among different age groups are also odd. Trump is improving by 16.1 points among voters aged 18-29 but losing 1.8 points with seniors and 4 points with voters aged 50-64. Young voters are much more liberal than older voters. Every opinion poll and election result suggests this. Unless they’ve suddenly become much more conservative, them supporting Trump over Biden doesn’t make sense. Along with racedep, age depolarization ("agedep") is common in crosstabs of 2024 polls. Those are not the only depolarizations supposedly going on, as can be seen in the tweet. Urban and suburban voters moving towards Trump while rural voters move towards Biden. Democrats moving towards Trump, Republicans moving towards Biden. Geographical and political polarization have been increasing in recent years, so this suggests a strange reverse of that trend. 2024 probably won’t be a large realignment, it’s more likely something is just wrong with the polls. Explaining Primaries Presidential primary season has been going on for a few months, after the Iowa caucus kicked it off in January. While Biden and Trump both won their primaries easily, how strong their performances were in different areas can reveal a lot about how certain groups are feeling about the candidacies of the two – like black, Hispanic, and young voters. But first, protest voting has to be explained. When an incumbent president is running for reelection, they usually do not face much opposition in the primaries. Typically, only no-name minor candidates are the other people on the ballot besides the president. They do not have a chance at winning, but they do serve as a way for people who are upset with the president to express it. Sometimes, the “Uncommitted” option is also used to protest. Look back to 2012, when Obama was running for reelection. He swept the primaries, but his worst performances were in West Virginia, Kentucky, Oklahoma, and Arkansas, where he got under 60% of the vote. The four states all had something in common: a lot of the registered Democrats were white conservatives who before 2008 voted Democratic, but switched to McCain because they didn’t like Obama’s dark vision for America. They voted against Obama in the primaries because they didn’t like him and didn’t want him to be the nominee. Those voters would then go on to vote Republican in the general election. The places that swung the hardest against Obama in 2008 were also the places where he did the worst in the 2012 primaries. 2004-2008 swing 2012 Oklahoma Democratic presidential primary 2012 Arkansas Democratic presidential primary 2012 Kentucky Democratic presidential primary 2012 West Virginia Democratic presidential primary Now, those four states were already very red even before 2008, Obama was not going to win them and he did not need to win them. But if a candidate is doing badly in a potentially competitive state’s primary, they should heed the warning – or risk losing. Another good example of protest voting can be found in the 2016 Democratic primary. Hillary Clinton did very poorly in the Rust Belt states of Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania – losing the first two to Sanders and coming close to losing the last. And where Sanders’s support was strongest was in rural areas – also the areas that swung the most towards Trump in the general election. Trump narrowly flipped all three of those states, winning him the presidency. 2016 Wisconsin Democratic presidential primary 2016 Michigan Democratic presidential primary 2016 Pennsylvania Democratic presidential primary 2012-2016 swing The polls said Clinton would easily win all three states, while the primaries said she would struggle in them – and the primaries were right. The 2024 Primaries Presidential primaries can give an idea of where a candidate might underperform in the general election, and 2024 primaries are no exception. If black, Hispanic, and young voters are upset with Biden, like the polls are suggesting, then they will protest vote against him. The first primary that will be examined is the South Carolina primary. South Carolina is 26% black according to the 2020 census, and that number is even higher among Democratic primary voters thanks to the racial polarization of the state – Biden won 90% of black South Carolinians in the 2020 election, while Trump won 73% of white South Carolinians. https://preview.redd.it/x2t8cnl3hvzc1.png?width=338&format=png&auto=webp&s=2b5982c343da804a10a1221e623b2de84b2f1b86 South Carolina was also the first primary state (so Biden did not have momentum from winning contests at that point, nor was he the presumptive nominee), and the primary was open (meaning independents could vote), so the conditions for protest voting were as good as they could possibly be. But despite all that, Biden got 96% of the vote. If black people really are upset with Biden, they clearly don’t hate him enough to cast a protest vote against him. And looking at individual counties, there’s not even a correlation between the percent of black people and the percent of opposition vote. Biden got 97% of the vote in Allendale County (73% black, the blackest county in the state) and he got 95% in Pickens County (7% black, the least black county in the state). If anything, Biden did better in counties where there are more black people. And it’s not just South Carolina – in pretty much every state where black people make up a significant percentage of the Democratic electorate, Biden won by huge margins. He got 99% in Mississippi, 95% in Georgia, 90% in Alabama, and 86% in Louisiana. Biden came close to losing a few counties in Louisiana – but not the ones with lots of black people. The counties he did the worst in are heavily white. The same kind of people who gave Obama trouble in the 2012 primaries voted against Biden, too. Evidently, black people aren’t protest voting against Biden. Young voters will be looked at next, using the Michigan primary. Just like South Carolina, Michigan has open primaries. There was an organized campaign for the “Uncommitted” option in Michigan to protest Biden’s policy on Gaza and pressure him into calling for a ceasefire. The Uncommitted option did modestly well, getting 13% of the vote, slightly higher than it did twelve years ago when Obama was running for reelection. The Uncommitted campaign achieved their (unambitious) goal of 10,000 votes, getting slightly over 100,000. Biden got 81% of the vote, while Williamson and Phillips took the remaining 6%. What’s interesting though, is where Uncommitted did the best. Its strongest performance was in Wayne County (which includes Detroit and a few other cities), where it got 17%. Wayne County is home to 140,000 Arab Americans who make up 7.8% of the county’s population, so the strong Uncommitted performance wasn’t surprising. The second strongest county for Uncommitted was Washtenaw County (also 17%), which doesn’t have many Arab Americans. What it does have, however, is the University of Michigan. With over 50,000 students enrolled, it’s one of the largest colleges in the country. Looking at a precinct map of the results for Washtenaw County, Uncommitted did well because UMich students were protest voting against Biden. https://preview.redd.it/nov5qkx5hvzc1.png?width=629&format=png&auto=webp&s=cec905bdfdd4fa10be01d03a97a220925d4ffa6d Ann Arbor, the city where UMich is located, had a very high percentage of Uncommitted votes. There’s no doubt about it, college students were voting Uncommitted to protest Biden’s handling of the war in Gaza. Looking at college counties in other primaries, there was generally a trend of the Uncommitted option (or whatever name the state has for it) doing well. In Dane County, Wisconsin (University of Wisconsin), there was lots of protest voting against Biden. “Uninstructed” got 15% in Dane vs 8% statewide. “None of these names” did well in Douglas County, Kansas (University of Kansas), getting 14.5% of the vote, compared to the statewide average of 10.3%. And Uncommitted got a sizable 21% in New Haven, Connecticut (Yale University), compared to 11% statewide. There’s definitely some protest voting against Biden by young voters. But remember the reason most of them are unhappy with Biden in the first place: it’s because of Gaza. Trump is more pro-Israel then Biden, so it makes no sense for them to support him. That’s different from Haley voters, who are ideologically between Biden and Trump. Things may be more complicated than they seem, as will be discussed later, but first here’s the analysis of the third group Biden has been slipping with in polls: Hispanic voters. The Texas primary is a good place to judge how Hispanic voters are feeling about Biden. Texas has open primaries, like Michigan and South Carolina. Biden did the worst in South and West Texas. One of the places he underperformed the most was the Rio Grande Valley (RGV). He got percentages in the 60s, 50s, and even 40s in many RGV counties, with his worst performance being in Zapata County, where he got a pathetic 40% of the vote. The RGV is heavily Hispanic, so at first this seems like a validation of the polls showing Trump making massive gains among Hispanic voters – but it isn’t the only place in Texas where Hispanic people live. Biden performed very strongly in El Paso County, an 82% Hispanic county home to the city of the same name. He also did well in places like Bexar County (San Antonio, 59% Hispanic), Dallas County (Dallas, 40% Hispanic), and Harris County (Houston, 43% Hispanic). Looking at other states, it seems like Biden’s RGV performance was the exception, not the rule. He got 81% in Imperial County, California (86% Hispanic); and 83% in Santa Cruz County, Arizona (83% Hispanic). Hispanic voters have been slowly trending towards Republicans over time, so Biden’s performances are even more impressive when that factor is taken into account. According to exit polls, Hispanic voters voted for Obama by 44 points, Clinton by 38 points, and 2020 Biden by 33 points. A lot of the people voting against Biden may be registered as Democrats but didn’t vote for him in 2020. https://preview.redd.it/h35vewo8hvzc1.png?width=407&format=png&auto=webp&s=3c5b78394104a627ae1b8019db62aa1c3a4a1b70 https://preview.redd.it/jlo9nlhdhvzc1.png?width=377&format=png&auto=webp&s=726526e7da2a9c8690ab01e00a12e2e49265445d https://preview.redd.it/l4tremrehvzc1.png?width=458&format=png&auto=webp&s=0744e5c12f7c0c4eb05ec84b59a070174b017b98 Overall, primaries don’t support the polls showing Trump making huge gains among black/Hispanic/young voters. There’s zero evidence black voters are upset with Biden. As for the other two groups, there are some signs of discontent, but not enough to warrant the double-digit swings polls are showing. Biden’s underperformances in college counties/Hispanic counties, when present at all, are usually less than 10 points worse than his statewide performance. And that’s assuming every single person protest voting will go for Trump. If all protest voters really do vote for the other party in the general election, say hello to Biden’s second term, because Nikki Haley regularly gets twice the number of votes in Republican primaries as Biden’s opposition does in Democratic primaries. Even after she dropped out. Midterms, Off-Years, and Special Elections At the same time Biden has been doing well in primaries, Democrats have been scoring wins in special/off-year elections. These elections are historically correlated with the popularity of the president, so they conflict with the polls showing Biden down. Look at elections during the last three presidencies to know what happens when a president is unpopular. While Trump was in office, he was quite the unpopular president, and his party lost many elections because of it. Through 2017-2019, Republicans lost a net 8 governorships, going from 34 to 26; and a net 41 House seats, going from 241 to 200. The only chamber they managed to gain in was the Senate (thanks to a very favorable map and increased polarization causing many Democrats in red states to lose) – but not without losing a special election in Alabama, a deep red state that had voted for Trump over Clinton by almost 28 points. This pattern continues to back when Obama was in office. From 2009-2011, when he was at the height of his unpopularity due to the state of the economy and Obamacare, Democrats lost big. They went from 28 governorships to just 20, 257 House seats to only 193, and 59 Senate seats to only 53. Like Republicans with Alabama during Trump’s presidency, Democrats managed to lose a Senate special election in a state considered safe for their party – Massachusetts, which had voted for Obama by 26 points in 2008. And it goes even further back to Bush’s presidency. Backlash over the wars caused Republicans to lose 6 governorships from 2005-2007 (going from 28 seats to 22), 30 House seats (232 down to 202), and 6 Senate seats (55 to 49). But despite Biden’s unpopularity and bad polling, Democrats have been doing well in elections despite precedent saying they shouldn’t be. The 2022 midterms, which were supposed to be a red wave, were anything but. Democrats flipped a net 2 governorships and 1 Senate seat, and only barely lost the House. The small majority Republicans won has been giving them trouble when trying to govern. Already, one Speaker was ousted and it’s possible a second might be too. More recently, Democrats won the governorship in Kentucky and almost won it in Mississippi, both very red states. They flipped the Virginia state house and won a supreme court election in Pennsylvania by a large margin. Two months ago, they won a competitive special election for a House seat in New York by a decisive 8-point margin. Interestingly, the normal pattern of an unpopular president’s party doing poorly manifested early in Biden’s term. After his approval rating crashed during the Afghanistan withdrawal, Democrats went on to lose the governorship (and state house) of Virginia, and almost lost the governorship of New Jersey. Both states voted for Biden by double digits in the 2020 election. Something changed between November 2021 and November 2022 to cause this shift. It might have been the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe V. Wade and allow states to ban abortion. In several special elections right after the decision, Democrats overperformed massively. For example, Republicans won the special election for Nebraska’s 1st congressional district, which voted for Trump by 11 points in 2020, by only a 5-point margin. The election took place just four days after the Dobbs decision. The Trump-backed candidates nominated in many Senate and governor elections could also be the ones to blame. Thanks to Trump’s endorsement, many extremist candidates won the primaries in key races. They often denied the results of the 2020 presidential election and had other problematic views. Most of them went on to lose the general election, sometimes by huge margins. Below is a table of all the results. https://preview.redd.it/vx1ilmujhvzc1.png?width=633&format=png&auto=webp&s=2771b74c5d4257d66b4825078ada46216b0be9bd Whatever the cause, Republicans flopped in 2022 and haven’t recovered since. And it doesn’t seem like Trump will be able to avoid the problems plaguing his party. His handpicked candidates were the ones that did terribly while other Republicans often did well; and the abortion issue isn’t just going away, not to mention Trump’s the one responsible for getting Roe overturned with his SCOTUS appointments. Of course, there’s a counterargument: that Biden is somehow breaking historical precedent, and he’ll do badly while other Democrats do fine. That seems like a reasonable theory, until the fact that Biden vs Trump and the generic congressional ballot are polling exactly the same is considered. As of April 5th, at least. https://preview.redd.it/l0ecq2slhvzc1.png?width=753&format=png&auto=webp&s=d8c231135e068129cc1f9c3e1a3b9b2ce41be3fb Since work on this essay has started, Biden has experienced a little surge of support in the polls. It could just be noise, but it might be something else. https://preview.redd.it/m14gsmjmhvzc1.png?width=1043&format=png&auto=webp&s=43bc8d8146b31f5a613a1e7a4adc4ca30a858750 Biden has also been polling as well as (or sometimes even better than) hypothetical Democratic candidates for president like VP Kamala Harris, California governor Gavin Newsom, and Michigan governor Gretchen Whitmer. It could be argued Biden is only doing better because he has higher name recognition, and Democrats who don’t know the other three candidates are answering undecided. But Michelle Obama being extremely well-known didn’t stop her from trailing Trump by the exact same amount as Biden in a poll. https://preview.redd.it/7h189dpnhvzc1.png?width=1200&format=png&auto=webp&s=42aa042e9462022d397bbe212c428e41f4d40c99 Democrats are doing much better in actual elections than in polls, and Biden’s polling the same as other Democrats. It stands to reason that Biden would also do better in an election than in polls. The Problem with the Polls While primary and off-year elections suggest Biden isn’t doing badly, they still don’t explain the polls. One theory is that the black/Hispanic/young voters who don’t like Biden aren’t voting in any elections, that’s why Democrats are doing well. Perhaps the biggest proponent of this theory is Nate Cohn, the chief political analyst for the NYT. This theoretical group of low-propensity Trump supporters who love answering polls but don’t vote in any elections sounds dubious, and that’s probably because it doesn’t exist at all. Biden’s bad polling is caused by two main things. The first is bad methodology, but before that is discussed, how polls work must be explained. Polls work by contacting a certain number of voters, usually around a thousand, and asking them how they plan to vote. The 2024 options are usually Biden/Trump/Undecided/Other. Sometimes Other is changed to real third-party candidates, like RFK Jr. Polls also ask information on the voter, like their race, sex, age, and region. After data is collected, polls are weighted to reflect real demographics. For example, if a poll’s raw data has 40% of respondents living in urban areas while 60% live in rural areas, and the actual percentage of voters is 50% urban and 50% rural, then the responses of the urban voters are weighted higher. If that poll has urban areas voting 60D/40R and rural areas 40D/60R, then the raw data is 48D/52R while the weighted (and final) data is 50D/50R. This seems like an effective way to avoid bias in polls, and account for lower response rates from certain groups. If rural voters are answering at a higher rate, just give them less weight. If Hispanic voters are answering at a lower rate, give them more weight. The thing is, voters don’t belong to just one group. A person can both live in a rural area and be Hispanic. And while groups (rural voters, Hispanic voters) are weighted, subgroups (rural Hispanic voters) are not. Say, rural Hispanic voters are more Republican than urban and suburban Hispanic voters. Say, they’re answering polls at higher rates as well. Rural voters will be weighted lower in the poll, but that’s just all rural voters combined. Rural Hispanic voters are not weighted vs other Hispanics. That would lead to Hispanic voters in the poll being more Republican than they are in reality. A typical poll has around a thousand respondents, and a margin of error of about ±3%. The sample sizes for different groups, however, are much smaller, which means a bigger margin of error. Let’s say Hispanic voters are 10% of the poll’s respondents, or a hundred in total. That’s a margin of error of ±8%, much larger than the ±3% for the poll as a whole. And if rural Hispanic voters are 20% of all Hispanic voters, that’s a margin of error of ±18%! Small inaccuracies in subgroups can cause a ripple effect that makes the whole poll wrong. Let’s do a simulation to show this effect off.
You guessed it, this is happening in real life. And not just with Hispanic voters, but with everyone. A pattern among 2024 polls is that rural voters are answering at a higher rate than urban/suburban voters. In one NYT/Siena poll (Trump+4), rural voters made up about 35% of the respondents, when they only made up 19% of the 2020 electorate. In another poll by Grinnell College (Trump+7), rural voters made up 27% of the respondents. Voters who said they lived in a “town” made up 17%, and it’s likely at least some of them would break for rural if they had to choose between urban/suburban/rural. Looking at the 538 poll database, a clear pattern emerges. Polls that have Trump leading Biden have a proportion of rural voters that is way too high. Polls where Biden leads Trump have more normal numbers. Rural voters tend to be more conservative and vote Republican, and sure enough, Republicans are answering at a higher rate then Democrats. (scroll to "Do you consider yourself a Democrat, a Republican, an independent or a member of another party?" for the NYT/Siena poll and the top of page 6 for the Grinnell College poll. Both show more Republicans answering the poll than Democrats.) One pollster, Susquehanna Polling and Research, remarked that Trump supporters seem to have higher enthusiasm than Biden supporters, and so are answering polls at a higher rate. The second reason why Trump may not be winning Pennsylvania has to do with who is answering polls. We suspect because Trump is the only candidate with “enthusiastic” voters, it’s Trump voters in particular who are disproportionately talking to pollsters. It’s the reverse of what happened in 2016, when the phenomenon of “shy” Trump voters meant that many pollsters undercounted Trump’s base of support. Many voters were afraid to admit they were Trumpers back then. Today, we suspect many pollsters are not adjusting their samples to account for this “non-response” bias, as it’s typically called. But SP&R is doing so.Polls also say that Trump voters are more enthusiastic than Biden voters. Republicans are slightly more enthusiastic ahead of November’s general election, edging out Democrats, according to a new survey.Groups like seniors and white voters may not be swinging towards Trump because there isn’t an enthusiasm gap, unlike with black/Hispanic/young voters. According to a YouGov poll, groups that aren’t swinging towards Trump in the crosstab aggregate are also paying more attention to the election (and therefore are more enthusiastic, and answering more polls). When black/Hispanic/young voters start paying more attention, they’ll get enthusiastic and start answering polls, which should improve Biden’s polling. https://preview.redd.it/0899t1ephvzc1.png?width=1074&format=png&auto=webp&s=4f9fe91a2d30381a9f08e7e1883b90679aefd6a0 And that rural Hispanic voter hypothetical was based on something real. Rural Hispanic voters were already more Republican than other Hispanics in the 2020 election; and Biden did badly in the rural RGV in the primaries while doing better in cities like El Paso. The difference may be even larger than it was four years ago, with rural Hispanics swinging against Biden while urban and suburban Hispanics don’t. Rural Hispanics make up a small percentage of Hispanic voters (scroll down to "Area type"), so this swing doesn’t mean much for Biden’s electoral prospects. It screws with the crosstabs of Hispanic voters, however. As Biden’s voters become more enthusiastic and the gap closes, polls may start swinging towards him as more of his voters answer polls. There have already been signs of this happening, like that surge in support mentioned earlier. Perhaps it’s because of the recent ad blitz by Biden energizing his supporters? Oversamples, and the True State of the Election Biden voters are not answering polls as much as Trump voters, and this is creating big swings in crosstabs thanks to low sample sizes. Polls with bigger sample sizes would be much better. The margins of error would be much smaller and the crosstabs much more accurate. Unfortunately, it’s too expensive to make polls with huge sample sizes, but there’s still the next best thing – oversamples. Oversamples are polls that poll only one specific group. While a normal poll polls everyone, an oversample might poll only black voters, for example. Because of the big sample sizes, oversamples are much better for determining the voting intentions of groups than just looking at the crosstabs of normal polls. Oversamples can also use more advanced methods of polling to reach people who may not respond otherwise. There are three oversamples that are going to be examined here. The first is by Black PAC, and it’s an oversample of black voters. https://preview.redd.it/epcr7xeqhvzc1.png?width=680&format=png&auto=webp&s=6938941ae9e6b345778035bfd45f7ceb81aa98ed Trump gets a pathetic 8% of black voters, less than half of the polling aggregate showing him getting 18%. This, along with Biden’s strong primary performances, suggest that the bad polling for Biden among black voters is entirely due to bad polling methodology. Next, Hispanic voters. An oversample of Hispanic voters by Univision shows Biden leading Trump 58-31 (27 points). Again, that’s completely different from the polling aggregate showing Biden winning them by only 6 points. It is a slight decrease from 2020, where he won them by 33 points; but like stated earlier, Hispanics have been trending right for a while, so Trump making small gains among them isn’t surprising. And finally, young voters. Split Ticket, an election prediction and analysis website, polled young voters. They used live text interviews, rather than a normal method like calling landlines. In the poll, Biden leads Trump 35-25, a 10 point lead. Biden is disapproved of by 68% of young voters, while Trump is disapproved of by 70%. Of the three oversamples, this is the only one that lines up closely with the crosstab aggregate (Biden+8). Biden won young voters by 24 points in 2020, so it looks Trump is making large gains among the group. But it’s not that simple. Biden and Trump have a similar total disapproval rating, but the number of respondents who strongly disapprove of Trump is 61%. For Biden, it’s just 44%. This means Trump likely has a lower ceiling of support with young voters than Biden does – it’s hard to get someone who hates you to vote for you. Additionally, young voters who disapprove of both Biden and Trump overwhelmingly prefer Biden to Trump. RFK Jr. actually wins this group, but like all third party candidates, his support is declining as the election gets closer. The combined voteshare in polls for RFK Jr. and Cornel West (a left-wing independent candidate) has been steadily decreasing. 6 months ago, it was 17.9%. Today, it’s only 11.5%. This raises the question of who RFK Jr.’s supporters will break for when they realize he can’t win. https://preview.redd.it/zt0t5ptzhvzc1.png?width=763&format=png&auto=webp&s=fd1f7c717e66e750c57e76eaa617966708ebd222 Based on the approval ratings of Biden and Trump, and the “double haters” who already have chosen sides, it seems like the vast majority of young RFK Jr. supporters will go for Biden. His lead among young voters will only increase as time goes on. Of course, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to run ads like these to speed up the process. Split Ticket also conducted a poll using a more normal method, an opt-in web panel. This poll had Trump doing much better with young voters than in their live text poll. So yes, some commonly used polling methods don’t work correctly! Conclusion Biden has been polling badly lately. He’s been trailing Trump nationally as well as in swing states. Polls say key parts of the Democratic base, black/Hispanic/young voters, are abandoning Biden in huge numbers. But when looked at closely, it’s not so simple. Other signs for Biden are pretty good. He’s been doing pretty well in primaries, and Democrats have been doing well in special and off-year elections. Polls are underestimating Biden’s support due to bad methodology and Democrats not answering polls. Oversamples show Biden doing fine with black voters, and mostly fine with Hispanic voters. The only group he really needs to work on is young voters, by trying to decrease RFK Jr.’s support. So, 2024 won’t be a red wave where Trump wins big. But current signs don’t suggest 2024 is going to be a blue wave either, just another extremely close election like 2016 and 2020 both were. But there’s reason to believe Biden might outperform his 2020 showing despite that. The American public is not very engaged right now, as there’s still seven months until the election, so Trump’s latest ventures with the legal system aren’t on people’s minds. When people tune in more, he can only get hurt from it. There’s also the massive fundraising gap between the two, which Trump is scrambling to close. Here’s a prediction for how the election will actually go (margins are 20+, 15-19.9, 10-14.9, 5-9.9, 1-4.9, <1). https://preview.redd.it/ufw3oxa2ivzc1.png?width=810&format=png&auto=webp&s=55a5dcc6c246cb34381165d211b17181717ef196 |
2024.05.10 23:35 Doc_with_endo SURGERY GAME PLAN - from a doctor who had the surgery herself :)
Hey everyone! I recently had my laparoscopy and endometriosis excision after years of pain and infertility, and was confirmed to have advanced endo. I myself am a doctor and hope that by and sharing a "surgery action plan" including both my personal and professional experience, it might help you as well! It includes all kinds of things big and small that I found helpful or wished I'd thought of sooner that made the experience much more manageable.
~DAYS/WEEKS PRIOR TO SURGERY:~
submitted by Doc_with_endo to Endo [link] [comments]
~DAYS/WEEKS PRIOR TO SURGERY:~
- Pick up at a drug store:
- Ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin)
- Acetaminophen (Tylenol)
- Miralax (stool softener)
- Liquid IV packets (or other hydration powder)
- Prescriptions: depends on your surgery but may include things like ondansetron (Zofran) for nausea, and oxycodone for extra pain relief if needed
- Organic/cotton pads (if you have a hysteroscopy where they look inside your uterus with a camera during the surgery, you will likely have some bleeding the first couple days)
- Optional:
- Extra strength simethicone (Gas-X) — theoretically may help dissolve the gas they use to insufflate your abdomen, which causes significant shoulder pain
- Diphenhydramine cream (AKA Benadryl cream) — the surgical glue over the incisions commonly makes people itchy, and can be treated with benadryl cream
- Chloraseptic sore throat spray or throat lozenges — for sore throat after the breathing tube
- Herbal tea packets — I found warm tea helped my throat after the breathing tube more than anything else)
- Buy a weighted microwaveable heat pack if you don't already own one. I cannot emphasize enough that having some light warm pressure on your abdomen does wonders for the pain in the first couple of days! These packs are like a smaller version of a weighted blanket, but designed to be warmed up in the microwave. There are some great natural options that are filled with things like corn or flaxseed. It was also surprisingly helpful for the shoulder pain that you get from the CO2 gas they use insufflate your abdomen during surgery, so I alternated placing heat there too, but Etsy also has some great combo options that have both a belly and shoulder heat pack (Bonus: they come in some really cute prints!): https://www.etsy.com/market/corn_heating_pad
- Start taking miralax to loosen your stools 5-ish days before surgery, since you will get narcotic pain medications that can cause constipation. Nothing is worse after this surgery than feeling like you need to strain to poop! I bought a box of Miralax with 10 packets and took 1 per day, mixed with a packet of Liquid IV in a 32oz water bottle starting 5 days before surgery, and continued this through 5 days postop. It made a world of difference! Of course, hold off on taking for a couple days if your stools get too loose.
- Hydrate! Water and Liquid IV are your friend. You have to fast for a certain amount of time leading up to surgery depending on your hospital’s guidelines, which can make you dehydrated. Drinking lots of fluids will will help keep your poop hydrated (see above) and will make your day of surgery better for everyone — it makes your blood vessels more plump and easier for your preop nurse to get your IV. And most anesthesia medications can make your blood pressure drop, so you want your blood vessels nice and hydrated so you have “room” in your blood pressure for the drop when it happens. Don’t sweat this though, if they feel like you need more fluid, they can easily give it through your IV once you're back there!
- Head to the grocery store to pick up nutritious, easy-to-make foods for recovery since you won’t feel like going to the store in the first few days postop. Things like fruit, scrambled eggs, plain pasta dishes, and avocado toast worked well for me.
- Plan your comfy outfits ahead of time (see sections below)
- Clothing: Wear loose fitting DARK clothes made out of a very comfortable material since the material will make contact with the area right around your incisions. I say dark because you may get a little blood on the clothes after surgery where the incisions ooze some. You won’t want to put your normal-size underweabra on after surgery because the bands will feel tight, so you might want to just do a pad + loose dark pants. I also put on a dark soft t-shirt and got a couple splotches of blood on it. And then over it all I put on a thick zip-up sweatshirt that I would be comfortable wearing out of the hospital without a bra on (zip-up so you don’t have to reach over your head and use your abs to pull it on). I also recommend slip-on shoes – pulling on tennis shoes was surprisingly painful!
- Bring to the hospital: Pad to wear home, Liquid IV packets, and the pain/nausea medications you've already picked up (not to use at the hospital, but in case you need them on the ride home). Don't wear any jewelry, makeup, or lotion.
- You’ll be brought to a preop area and asked health history questions, likely be asked to provide a urine sample, a nurse will start your IV, and you’ll have a chance to meet your care team. Ask your surgeon and anesthesiologist/anesthetist all the questions you have!
- Ask the surgeon how/when they plan to inform you and your family what they found, about activity/weight-bearing restrictions, and how long you have to wait before “anything in the vagina” (menstrual products, sex, etc).
- Ask your anesthesiologist specifically about their plan for pain and for nausea. This surgery is very high risk for postop nausea – those with the highest risk of nausea are young women, who don’t smoke, get narcotics during the surgery (which you will), and have a history of motion sickness or prior postoperative nausea. Add the fact that they are operating on your reproductive organs and that they will insufflate (basically inflate) your abdomen with CO2 gas and this is a huge recipe for nausea! Don’t hesitate to ask your anesthesia team for all the extra preventive measures they can offer for postop nausea.
- You will likely be offered some optional “relaxing medication” (usually Versed, which is like a cousin of Xanax) if you want, then rolled to the OR. You will move to the operating table, have your monitors hooked up, breath fresh oxygen through a mask, and the team will let you know you are going to sleep.
- Next thing you know, you will be in recovery! A lot of recovery is about managing pain and nausea. If you need narcotic or non-narcotic pain medications, don’t hesitate to ask! I however was already feeling very nauseous and had cramping pain, so I personally did not want more narcotic and asked if I could have all the non-narcotic options first (so they gave me a form of IV ibuprofen called ketorolac).
- Warm pressure is your friend! Ask for a warm blanket on your abdomen and around your shoulders if you’re having pain in those places.
- Every time the nurses offered me to try something to eat, even just the thought of it made me so nauseous. But I brought a Liquid IV packet to the hospital with me and that was leqitimately the only thing that revived me (they aren’t paying me to endorse them I swear!! But if there are any Liquid IV reps reading this that would like to sponsor me let me know!! Lol)
- Before you leave the hospital, have your recovery nurse write down when you are allowed to take your next doses of ibuprofen and acetaminophen
- For the first 72 hours, you can take 600 mg ibuprofen and 1000 mg acetaminophen (typically in the form of two 500 mg pills) every 6 hours on a scheduled basis to stay on top of the pain (unless you have a condition that prohibits you from taking either of these, such as liver or kidney problems. Please check with your doctor!). While you're asleep, your surgeon likely will do numbing injections at the sites where the laparoscopic ports are, and those injections usually wear off around 12-18 hours after surgery, so don’t be surprised if it initially feels more sore with time — this is why I recommend taking the pain meds in a scheduled manner to help! I staggered mine so I got to take one or the other every 3 hours (see below), but you can also choose to take both at the same time every 6 hours if that is easier to keep track of. My example:
- 4:00- take 1000mg Acetaminophen (typically 500mg pill x2)
- 7:00- take 600mg Ibuprofen
- 10:00- take 1000mg Acetaminophen
- 1:00- take 600mg Ibuprofen …and so on
- This schedule helped me avoid having to take any of the narcotic I was sent home with, but everyone is different, and if you feel you need some for pain then don't hesitate!
- The CO2 gas that was used to insufflate your abdomen during surgery is totally safe, but sticks around for a couple of days as it slowly diffuses into your blood stream, and you breathe it off naturally (CO2 is a main component of what you normally are breathing off, so you won’t notice a difference)! What you will likely notice is it causes shouldeneck pain! The gas collects under the diaphragm and the nerve irritation actually refers the pain to your shoulder(s). The best thing you can do for this is move around to help the gas dissipate! Gas-X theoretically may help dissipate the gas, so I took this twice a day the first few days. Warm heat on the shoulders/neck and sitting or sleeping propped up may help as well.
- Eat something bland and healthy. I had fruit, scrambled eggs, plain noodles, and avocado toast during my first day, and that sat pretty well for me. Your throat may be sore and dry from the breathing tube, so keep that in mind if considering dry foods! You can also drink warm tea or use chloraseptic spray for your throat.
- For the coming days after that, have lots of loose fitting, soft clothes to wear! Move around to help the gas dissipate, and stay well-hydrated. Take care of yourself, and lean on your loved ones to help you as well. You've got this!!
2024.05.10 20:28 pillowcase-of-eels [Music] Emilie Autumn's Asylum, pt. 5 – Musician spends years building vibrant and loyal audience; single-sentence comment from concerned fan triggers civil war and ruins everything forever
🪞 “It's much easier to get in that it is to get out,” Emilie Autumn used to say. Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4.1 - Part 4.2
She was not wrong. Welcome back to the Asylum write-up!
In this installment, we're finally getting down to the nitty-gritty of the enmity between EA and her fans.
It's time for war. It's time for blood. It's time... for tea. 🎵
Everyone ready for some dysfunctional family history?
CW for discussion of bullying, online harassment, mental illness stigma.
EA had the excellent instinct to start banking on her online presence📝 long before MySpace was even a thing. She had a website, several online stores, an active LiveJournal and a ProBoards forum right from the turn of the millennium.
In 2004, she attached an official forum to her website; the earliest archive shows 74 registered users. By the time Opheliac came out in 2006, that number had grown tenfold. And it was, by most accounts, a pretty dope place to be! (I should specify that this write-up focuses on the anglophone side of the fandom: there were also thriving fan-run communities in at least German, French, and Spanish. Because EA doesn't speak any of those languages, the lucky bastards were mostly left alone.)
Forum users enjoyed interacting with some of EA's closest IRL friends and associates – and with the mistress of the house herself (user flair: PsychoFiddler), when she occasionally responded to comments under her own posts. But that wasn't even the main appeal for many. For a long time, on top of all EA-related topics, the official forum had very active “Off-Topic” subforums, with lively and friendly conversation on a variety of subjects. (There was even a “Filthy Libertines (18+)” sub for a while, which was closed due to preemptive concerns about minors.) Swear words (not slurs) were allowed and encouraged, and moderation was overall pretty loose beyond basic enforcement of civility. There was a lot of mutual support, creativity, and solid banter going around.
In 2008, for instance, EA held an afternoon meet-up at Lincoln Park in Chicago. 📺 The event was free to attend; it featured live acoustic music and a reading from EA's upcoming book, the intriguingly-titled Asylum for Wayward Victorian Girls.
On the appointed day, EA rolled up in a fabulously tousled red wig, bedazzled white corset and steampunk-altered wedding dress. She had brought friends alongs. Sporting blue hair and a pink bustle and corset was her Chicago bestie, the main forum admin. Rocking a guitar and a top hat was EA's sound engineer, the soft-spoken wizard behind the Victoriandustrial sound, who was also a forum mod. The photographer from the original Opheliac cover art was there as well; he was formally introduced by EA and got his own round of applause.
The End Records, that is! Quick refresher: in 2009, after three years or so with Trisol, EA split from the label over allegations that the owner was embezzling money from ticket sales. A few months later, she signed with The End Records. Understandably, EA still wanted to sell the album that had made her famous, and to which she had smartly retained the rights – which meant a brand new, “Deluxe” release of Opheliac. (Remember, from part 3? The one you could pre-order as a bundle with the book? Some projects are just cursed, I guess.)
At that point, Opheliac had been released three times already, as recently as the year before, with only slight variations in format and tracklist. (Yes, that is a theme in this story.) The End Records version would feature new cover art and a handful of new tracks, but overall, it was... you know... the same album.
(The following paragraphs are largely sourced from this excellent recap 🔍📝, which also provides potato screenshots for all quotes.)
One fateful day of August 2009, a user started a thread entitled “Opheliac US edition deluxe re-release??” in the “EA News” subforum. In the thread, some people were kind of balking at the re-do, pondering whether to buy the “new” Opheliac or sit this one out. Some expressed that after three years, they were jonesing for a new album. Others shared what B-sides or dream covers they would have liked to see included on the bonus disc. Just... fans being fans, in a fan discussion space.
And then EA jumped out from behind the curtains.
But maybe we can also agree that those replies should have been screamed into a pillow rather than typed out on a keyboard.
EA was getting increasingly (and, I'll just say it: disproportionately) sarcastic and defensive in her replies. Enter poor FantineDormouse.
FantineDormouse meant well, I think. Maybe she thought, she's spiraling. Maybe she thought, friends don't let friends go down that road. Granted, FantineDormouse probably should have known better than to phrase it the way she did. Or to assume that EA perceived her as a friend.
Either way, at some point, FantineDormouse jumped in and posted the comment that finally made EA lose it. THE comment which, overnight, ended the honeymoon period of the Asylum, triggering a doomsday domino effect from which the fandom would never truly recover. Are you comfortably seated?
* sound of archduke getting shot *
Jaws dropped. After days of infighting between white knights, detractors, and crossfire negotiators, several mod resignations, and general mayhem surrounding the ban, EA made a post entitled “In Which: I Invite You to Make a Fucking Choice.” 📝 For brevity's sake (cue laugh track), I can't reproduce it in all of its righteous splendor, but it's quite a read. It runs the gamut from fair and articulate points about how mental illness shouldn't be used to discredit someone's legitimate anger... to histrionic commands that “deserters to the cause” should “turn in their weapons” if they can't handle her way of doing things.
...And now you understand why, in the following years, some fans were so delicate and diplomatic in voicing their very legitimate complaints about messed-up orders, unsigned books, and puzzling lies... while unofficial platforms like Tumblr flourished with pent-up resentment and snark. 🦠
Notwithstanding. In my decade-plus of following EA drama, the public comments on EA's own platforms (where people knew she was likely to be reading) have been, for the most part... civil and nuanced, and relatively mindful of the human? Even very confrontational comments (some clearly written from a place of anger and desire to shame) rarely resorted to outright name-calling or cruelty. When abusive or bigoted language did crop up, it was often promptly shut down by other fans as gross and uncalled for. In short: I have, with mine own two eyes, in real time, read some of the comment sections that EA described as cesspools of blind rage and odious attacks, and... I just couldn't see it.
If anything, for a long time, a lot of the angry comments directed at EA during any given controversy read more like break-up letters to an ex-best friend: harsh, curt and targeted in a way that cuts deep.... but also kind of screams how much love you still have for this person, against your better judgement.
Not that it wouldn't mess a person up to get hundred of those in a matter of hours, even if they don't individually qualify as “abusive”.
It's worth noting that prior to becoming semi-famous and regretting it, EA was also (by her own account and among other forms of abuse) a victim of intense childhood bullying. It feels like the two situations are closely connected in her mind when her focus seamlessly transitions from one to the other. 📺 I don't think that tremor in her voice is put on.
Based on her writings, I get the feeling that over the years, EA has developed a very black-and-white view of two monolithic groups of people. There's (an idealized vision of) her “real audience”, well-dressed, well-read, kind-hearted, and Asylum-savvy, who she fully trusts to “get it” – and buy it, and love it, unquestioningly, whatever “it” may be at any given time – because that is the true measure of love and loyalty. These are the people she makes art and merch for, the people she writes heart-emoji-filled newsletters to, and desperately longs to see in person again.
And then there's the lynch mob, those who really don't “get it”: the trolls, the faceless creeps, the basement-dwelling mouthbreathers, the ones who stalk her every move obsessively, waiting for any chance to spam her with vicious abuse and slander and obscenities. The latter only exist online (they are manifested into arbitrary existence by the internet itself, not by anything EA said or did), and there is zero overlap between the two sets of people. That seems to be the official narrative.
It makes for outstanding human-interest entertainment... but it also sounds an awful lot like the unhealthy patterns of a person suffering from all sorts of PTSD. 🔍 So, please bear that in mind as you read through this write-up. It's easy to make EA out to be the sole villain, a paranoid and delusional drama queen, based on her extreme reactions to things that often “weren't that bad”. Anything can, in fact, be “that bad” when you're thrown back into the very worst moments of your existence every time your brain decides that the situation is even remotely similar.
PTSD takes over your rational mind and actively distorts your perception of reality. That can be how a person ends up impulse-reacting to “a few people expressing an unfavorable opinion” as if the entire internet had just ganged up on them with knives. Which makes their audience feel unjustly accused, which makes them hostile, which gives the person actual good reason to feel attacked... and so the cycle of hurt continues.
Just because you expect something unpleasant to happen, doesn't mean your psyche will be ready to handle it when it does – or that you'll pick the best and most effective strategy to deal with it.
EA's next big release after the Asylum book came in 2012. It was a new album, an outline of the soon-to-be Asylum musical, called Fight Like a Girl (FLAG for short). As the name suggests, the main mood was bellicose. Incidentally, in the interim years, EA's communication style generally became noticeably more combative, incendiary, and (within her own spaces) controlling.📝 You remember those quirky word filters on the forum, that would change “fan” to “muffin” and “bra” to “teacup holder”? They kind of took on a Nineteen-Eighty-Four-burlesque flavor when you realized that one filter automatically changed “Fischkopf” to “Liddell” - and that circumventing the rule to address her totally real last name would get you banned, as would any discussion of her family. (“Wikipedia, random internet sites and heresay are not credible sources.” - Mod reminder of forum rules, 2010.)
Also, you try sustaining a serious, grown-up conversation among concerned fans about how Emilie Autumn should “take ratsponsibility for her mistakes out of ratspect for her muffins”. Thus, the official Asylum forum kept a tight grip on overt criticism of EA's claims and actions.
To be fair, it was never her forte to begin with. Will it come as a shock if I tell you that EA doesn't have the greatest track record for successful collaborative work? Let's do a quick-cut montage!
EA's very first corporate sponsor was her mother's “Enchant Clothing & Costume” online store 🔍; she went on to claim that her mother was dead. She sessioned for Billy Corgan, that went super well. 🎵 She liked Courtney Love for a minute, but that didn't work out because she felt that Courtney only valued her for her pee. 📝 (It probably didn't help that in early 2006, while EA was recording her post-break-up-tell-all album about Corgan, C-Love was recording her post-rehab-redemption album with Corgan. 🔍 Either way, EA didn't seem to like Courtney anymore after that. Courtney likes her, though! 📝) The one artist EA has ever approached for a duet (and by approached, I mean she recorded a demo and threw the CD on stage when he played Chicago in 2004) was, of all people, Morrissey. That never came to pass, thank mercy 🔍 – this fandom has suffered enough. In 2005, EA recorded some haunting vocals and violins for a potential collab with the frontman of Attrition. When, three years later, they were used on one track 🎵 of Attrition's All Mine Enemies Whisper, she alleged 📝 that the recordings had been obtained from her under the false pretense of a different project, then hideously altered to sound “out of tune”, and used without her permission. She enlisted her fans to boycott the album and the band, and threatened legal action. Meanwhile, on LiveJournal and Attrition's message boards, band associates were appalled: according to them, EA had been aware of the project's nature from the start... and had been completely unreachable, even through her label, during the months of its development. (Besides, Attrition is a semi-obscure English darkwave band from the 80s, whose micro-distributed albums don't even have their own Wikipedia pages... so I wonder what EA was hoping to get out of that theoretical lawsuit. These people own nothing but vintage gain pedals!) The song “Cold Hard Cash” 🎤 by Angelspit (who contributed a remix to one of her EPs in 2008) may or may not be an EA diss track. 🐀 Back when indie jewelry brand RockLove (which now has licensing deals with Disney, Marvel, and DC) was still someone's bedroom project, their first drop was an EA-inspired collection 🔍, which appears in many early Opheliac photoshoots. The partnership was terminated on bad terms, for unclear reasons; the RockLove owner shared in a statement that EA had “drunk the cool-aid” of Trisol Guy's shady business practices, and that the two of them had been spamming her with “crazed angry message[s]” for days.
Why am I talking about this? Because it was precisely one such ill-fated business partnership that triggered the Great Asylum Secession.
One fine day of spring 2010, the owner of vegan make-up brand Aromaleigh popped onto the Asylum forum to announce that they were cutting ties with EA, with damning receipts of copy-pasted emails (lost to time). Basically, the brand had been sponsoring her for half a decade, and while Aromaleigh had been actively promoting her music and tours, EA hadn't exactly been returning the favor. (Indeed, the extent of EA's sponcon seemed to have been a banner link to their website on her front page, and a single “random drunken endorsement” LiveJournal post that kind of reads like satire📝, from 2005.)
EA responded by banning the owner's account, deleting the thread, and posting this flippant statement a few days later:
So one Plague Rat decided to create a separate, members-only forum 📝, where users could recreate some of the now-defunct off-topic threads... and also freely voice their critical opinions of EA's behavior without fear of backlash from mods or rabid stans. Thus, “The Reform” was born. (Reform [n]: amendment of what is defective, vicious, corrupt, or depraved.)
For a few weeks, the two-state solution seemed to work fine. And then word spread among forum mods and other diehard fans that there was this horrid other forum, where obsessive haters gathered to spew disgusting lies and vitriol about EA... and soon enough, it was bedlam in the Asylum.
Any explicit mention of the Reform was forbidden on the Asylum forum. Suspicion of participation in the Reform would get you banned. The party line was that The Reform was the enemy 🐀 – even though a number of people were active on both forums, because they liked freedom of expression almost as much as they liked EA. Double agents would lurk on the forum and report back with snark material; sycophants would infiltrate the Reform to identify traitors – much to the amusement of the “haters”, who mocked them and their ilk for “licking EA's pink sparkly boots”. There was no containing the seething, or the sass, among Asylum ranks.
Pretty soon, the insubordination spread to Tumblr. There was the “Ask the Reform” Q&A blog, where questioning fans could interact with “Rebel Rats”, get more details on past drama, and make up their own minds about the people EA called bullies.
And then, there were the “confession blogs”, which published anonymous submissions about EA, positive, negative or neutral, with little censorship. Finally, you didn't even have to pick a throw-away username on a private forum to voice your hottest / strangest / most controversial EA takes. Fans could vent, rant, lament, wonder, shitpost to their heart's content, anonymously. Obviously, given the context of frustration and censorship in the fandom, a lot of the first waves of confessions were EXTREMELY negative.
EA's acolyte Veronica managed to get the first one shut down. If memory serves, she misunderstood the confession blog format, and may have believed that all the posts on “Emilie Autumn Confessions” came from one or a small group of individuals. She was genuinely devastated, and wrote the blog admin to let them know that they were a terrible person who said terrible things. The admin was mortified, apologized profusely and deleted the blog of their own initiative. (Which goes to show that the concept did not come from cruel and malicious anti-fans, as detractors often claimed.)
But a new blog sprung up almost immediately, with a different mod team, and did not surrender. And much like in EA's own book, once the Plague Rats found out that they possessed the gift of speech... well, they really took to it.
Established in 2011 and passed on through generation after generation of mod teams to the present day, Wayward Victorian Confessions would turn out to be the longest-lived institution in the EA fandom. For over a decade now, through all the bleakest nights and dankest debacles of the Asylum, and despite its initial reputation as a troll den, WVC has acted as a kind of neutral ground and vox populi for the active fanbase and anti-fanbase. (The last nominally-active EA fansite to date, She Fights Like a Girl, is actually an offshoot of WVC: one of the old admins created it as a database to answer “frequently asked questions” about EA.)
Wayward Victorian Confessions has now outlived every other EA platform, official and unofficial. Were it not for the continued existence of the “troll den”, what little fan community survives in 2024 would be non-existent, plain and simple. To quote from late 20th century Canadian philosophy: isn't it ironic?
submitted by pillowcase-of-eels to HobbyDrama [link] [comments]
She was not wrong. Welcome back to the Asylum write-up!
In this installment, we're finally getting down to the nitty-gritty of the enmity between EA and her fans.
It's time for war. It's time for blood. It's time... for tea. 🎵
THE PRESENT DAY: “ASK ME ANYTHING (WELL, NOT QUITE)”
"Ask me anything" titles are catchy, and that’s why I’m using one. But, obviously, don’t ask me anything, by which I mean that, if you think I wouldn’t answer it, you’re probably right. Ask me something really good. I’d love to answer you. I’d love to have comments on these posts, in fact, so that I could answer questions there regularly and ask you things as well, but insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results, or so Einstein is supposed to have said, and attempting to create yet another interactive online venue after every previous attempt has ended in heartbreak—forums, facebook groups, social media accounts—it would indeed be insanity to think that this time would be any different. So there are no comments. This too is heartbreaking in the sense that, and you may not realize this, but I desperately want to connect more completely with you—to be able to intelligently converse and share and exchange. We can do that in person, of course, because the wrong people never show up in person. Isn’t that funny… So, perhaps we’ll have to arrange that;). I’ll start you off with an example question I’d want to know if I were you (I can almost guarantee that you do not want to know this). Q. Hey EA, how do you keep your wireless bodypack transmitter secure when you are leaping about in skimpy costumes and doing frequent costume changes? Also, dye your roots. A. Fantastic question, EA, and I just dyed my roots thank you very much. ... (Deleted blog post followed by a year of radio silence, 2022 📝)Sooo. For the past five-ish years, the vibe in the Asylum has been that of a protracted Christmas dinner where everyone is tensely moving their food around in their plate, bracing themselves for whatever will trigger the screaming match. Wondering what it's going to be this time. Weary old-timers make small talk about the food because no other topic feels safe. Every glance, every forced smile, is fraught with eons-old grudges and unspoken regrets; every nervous pleasantry sounds like a thinly-veiled accusation. Aunt Emilie always insists on hosting, but not-so-secretly hates having people over. Sooner or later, she finds a way to get all of these assholes out of her house. Most of the adult children are daydreaming about going no-contact.
Everyone ready for some dysfunctional family history?
CW for discussion of bullying, online harassment, mental illness stigma.
YE OLDEN DAYS: CUCKOOS OF A FEATHER NEST TOGETHER
In the beginning, it was beautiful.EA had the excellent instinct to start banking on her online presence📝 long before MySpace was even a thing. She had a website, several online stores, an active LiveJournal and a ProBoards forum right from the turn of the millennium.
In 2004, she attached an official forum to her website; the earliest archive shows 74 registered users. By the time Opheliac came out in 2006, that number had grown tenfold. And it was, by most accounts, a pretty dope place to be! (I should specify that this write-up focuses on the anglophone side of the fandom: there were also thriving fan-run communities in at least German, French, and Spanish. Because EA doesn't speak any of those languages, the lucky bastards were mostly left alone.)
Forum users enjoyed interacting with some of EA's closest IRL friends and associates – and with the mistress of the house herself (user flair: PsychoFiddler), when she occasionally responded to comments under her own posts. But that wasn't even the main appeal for many. For a long time, on top of all EA-related topics, the official forum had very active “Off-Topic” subforums, with lively and friendly conversation on a variety of subjects. (There was even a “Filthy Libertines (18+)” sub for a while, which was closed due to preemptive concerns about minors.) Swear words (not slurs) were allowed and encouraged, and moderation was overall pretty loose beyond basic enforcement of civility. There was a lot of mutual support, creativity, and solid banter going around.
It wasn't just about Emilie on the forums. People could chat about almost anything with near free reign, making connections and lifelong friends. ... This community mattered SO MUCH to people. They felt included, accepted, and understood within the walls of the Asylum. People invested their time and creative energy into keeping the forums a vibrant, active community, and made sure that carried over into the real world. ... I've never seen anything like it in a fan space. I doubt I ever will again. (@Asylum_Oracle - “Fandom History” Instagram highlight 🔍📝, which contains most of the sources for this segment.)And it did, indeed, carry over into the real world. There were numerous meet-ups – a few organized by EA, many more spontaneous. People who didn't know any other EA fans in real life, or were just excited to add new Plague Rats to their friend group, would regularly connect with other forum users from their area to meet up and hang out before EA shows. “Who else is dressing up??”
In 2008, for instance, EA held an afternoon meet-up at Lincoln Park in Chicago. 📺 The event was free to attend; it featured live acoustic music and a reading from EA's upcoming book, the intriguingly-titled Asylum for Wayward Victorian Girls.
On the appointed day, EA rolled up in a fabulously tousled red wig, bedazzled white corset and steampunk-altered wedding dress. She had brought friends alongs. Sporting blue hair and a pink bustle and corset was her Chicago bestie, the main forum admin. Rocking a guitar and a top hat was EA's sound engineer, the soft-spoken wizard behind the Victoriandustrial sound, who was also a forum mod. The photographer from the original Opheliac cover art was there as well; he was formally introduced by EA and got his own round of applause.
People who would never normally be involved in an artist's fanbase were in EA's world. And not only were they known – they were respected and incredibly active with the fanbase. These people who managed an online message board were willing to engage in real-world meet-ups (with no security??) because of how tight-knit the community they had built was. People turned out to this event. People traveled to go to this event. It was a short reading of a book that hadn't been released yet, and wouldn't be for some time. Why? Because not only was it a chance to meet Emilie and listen to parts of the new book, but it was also a chance to hang out with their friends from the Asylum. ... The fandom really was a family for a lot of people. (@Asylum_Oracle)
“SERIOUSLY, GET THE FUCK OUT OF MY HOUSE.”
It all started with The End.The End Records, that is! Quick refresher: in 2009, after three years or so with Trisol, EA split from the label over allegations that the owner was embezzling money from ticket sales. A few months later, she signed with The End Records. Understandably, EA still wanted to sell the album that had made her famous, and to which she had smartly retained the rights – which meant a brand new, “Deluxe” release of Opheliac. (Remember, from part 3? The one you could pre-order as a bundle with the book? Some projects are just cursed, I guess.)
At that point, Opheliac had been released three times already, as recently as the year before, with only slight variations in format and tracklist. (Yes, that is a theme in this story.) The End Records version would feature new cover art and a handful of new tracks, but overall, it was... you know... the same album.
(The following paragraphs are largely sourced from this excellent recap 🔍📝, which also provides potato screenshots for all quotes.)
One fateful day of August 2009, a user started a thread entitled “Opheliac US edition deluxe re-release??” in the “EA News” subforum. In the thread, some people were kind of balking at the re-do, pondering whether to buy the “new” Opheliac or sit this one out. Some expressed that after three years, they were jonesing for a new album. Others shared what B-sides or dream covers they would have liked to see included on the bonus disc. Just... fans being fans, in a fan discussion space.
And then EA jumped out from behind the curtains.
Fan: Okay. Before I start, I just want you to know that I think it's very good that EA is getting more popularity, and that she can release lots of albums, but - are 5 editions of the same album really needed? You may say now “ah, it's not the same, it has 2 bonus tracks” or whatever, but I mean: it's not new material. Now don't get me wrong. I'm happy for it, maybe I'll even buy it, but I'm just wondering if she shouldn't keep herself busy with other (maybe more important) stuff? * hides * EA: Nobody's forcing you to buy it. Thanks.Record scratch.
Fan 1: is this Opheliac release version number 4? lol If she's recording NEW tracks, then surely they deserve to be sold by themselves, otherwise people are going to have to buy an album that they may have already bought twice (like me!). But... alas, I am a fool and adore everything this woman does... im buying it lol Fan 2: exactly – if it was just reissuing the last version of Opheliac to tap into new markets that would be fine (...) but if they start adding extra bits of material to albums people already have then the true muffins are going to feel obliged to buy new copies (...) EA: How exactly are you obliged to buy anything? Nobody is forcing you to spend a fucking penny, my dears. I suppose it would make more sense to you to simply not have my records available any more as the old label I just escaped from will no longer be distributing them? Forgive me for adding extra tracks. No obligation necessary....Okay, so I'm pretty sure that we can see both sides of the argument here. Fans are annoyed at the idea of spending money on barely-anything-new, because they love EA and buy every single CD she releases. EA is exasperated by fans acting like she's twisting their arm and somehow resenting the inclusion of new material, when she was just ensuring that her album would remain available for purchase and trying to keep things interesting.
But maybe we can also agree that those replies should have been screamed into a pillow rather than typed out on a keyboard.
EA was getting increasingly (and, I'll just say it: disproportionately) sarcastic and defensive in her replies. Enter poor FantineDormouse.
FantineDormouse meant well, I think. Maybe she thought, she's spiraling. Maybe she thought, friends don't let friends go down that road. Granted, FantineDormouse probably should have known better than to phrase it the way she did. Or to assume that EA perceived her as a friend.
Either way, at some point, FantineDormouse jumped in and posted the comment that finally made EA lose it. THE comment which, overnight, ended the honeymoon period of the Asylum, triggering a doomsday domino effect from which the fandom would never truly recover. Are you comfortably seated?
FantineDormouse: Uhm, Emilie, love, I don't mean to sound rude or anything... but maybe you should have a cup of tea and relax a little....
* sound of archduke getting shot *
EA: Excuse me? You can throw this onslaught of absolute cruel bullshit at me and those I work with in my own space that I own, and I can't say anything back? How fucking patronizing. Relax? Are you fucking kidding me? Who the fuck do you think you're talking to? FD: I'm not trying to piss you off even more, Emilie. And trust me, I have to deal with it myself, and as much as I would really love to punch the cunts I have to deal with in the face, I don't. You're pissed off, I get it. You're bipolar, which makes it 10x worse, I get that. I'm just not the person to stand around and do nothing when a fight where I'm pretty sure there will be a lot of regret is going on.Famous last words. Literally! Immediately after EA delivered her irate closing statement – which includes one of my all-time favorite EA zingers, bolded...
EA: I cannot believe this... You just don't stop, do you? So just because I've shared the personal information with you all that I happen to be bipolar, I can't get pissed off at all of you being perfectly awful in the very space that I pay fuckloads a month to have up (has it ever occurred to you all that I pay dearly for this space you play around in?) Why not just tell me that I must be upset because it's my time of the month? Seriously, get the fuck out of my house. You are unbelievable, and your level of patronization is almost criminal. Don't make me write another book. With muffins like you, who needs enemies? Nothing I say or feel is legitimate, not ever ever ever because I'm bipolar... discredited before I begin... unbelievable......FantineDormouse got permabanned.
Jaws dropped. After days of infighting between white knights, detractors, and crossfire negotiators, several mod resignations, and general mayhem surrounding the ban, EA made a post entitled “In Which: I Invite You to Make a Fucking Choice.” 📝 For brevity's sake (cue laugh track), I can't reproduce it in all of its righteous splendor, but it's quite a read. It runs the gamut from fair and articulate points about how mental illness shouldn't be used to discredit someone's legitimate anger... to histrionic commands that “deserters to the cause” should “turn in their weapons” if they can't handle her way of doing things.
To those of you who appear not to understand why said posts, most especially those of the banned party, were offensive to me, I give you the option to either educate yourselves on your own time and in your own space (because please never forget that this is my space that I share with all of you at my own expense, and in which I generally give you all the freedom I would wish for myself), or to resign your posts in the Asylum Army – this is not the place for you, and I humbly suggest that you turn your attention and support towards other artists of a more placid, non-controversial, and less opinionated nature; there are more than enough of them out there, and I’m sure they all have forums of their own.Some fans did leave. Most stuck around, whiplashed. Soon, the storm quieted down, and business as usual resumed on the forum. But something had been damaged beyond repair. The FantineDormouse fiasco had erected walls and drawn lines in the sand, both around EA and among her fans; its sad specter would haunt every Asylum crisis that spiked up forever after. “Fucking Patronizing Fucking” or “FPF” 🔍 became memetic shorthand in the fandom for overreaction and self-righteousness. 🐀
...And now you understand why, in the following years, some fans were so delicate and diplomatic in voicing their very legitimate complaints about messed-up orders, unsigned books, and puzzling lies... while unofficial platforms like Tumblr flourished with pent-up resentment and snark. 🦠
A NOTE ON HARASSMENT: “MAD GIRL, CAN YOU BELIEVE WHAT THEY'VE DONE TO YOU?”
Wouldn't they stop When you asked them to leave you alone? (“Mad Girl”, 2008 🎵)Now, let's be clear, because it should not be minimized: EA has also been the target of genuine online harassment. Based on the simple fact that she is a woman with a public presence on the internet, I have zero doubt that EA has received (and perhaps continues to receive) more than her share of truly vile, bigoted, creepy and threatening messages – and, knowing what I know about the darker recesses of the Asylum, a terrifying amount of emotional blackmail and obsessive projection from people who hold her to punitively high standards. I'm also inclined to believe that it started way before she ever did anything that warranted any backlash. And that fucking sucks. It's repulsive and inexcusable, and the people who harass her should crawl into a hole and live among the worms.
Notwithstanding. In my decade-plus of following EA drama, the public comments on EA's own platforms (where people knew she was likely to be reading) have been, for the most part... civil and nuanced, and relatively mindful of the human? Even very confrontational comments (some clearly written from a place of anger and desire to shame) rarely resorted to outright name-calling or cruelty. When abusive or bigoted language did crop up, it was often promptly shut down by other fans as gross and uncalled for. In short: I have, with mine own two eyes, in real time, read some of the comment sections that EA described as cesspools of blind rage and odious attacks, and... I just couldn't see it.
If anything, for a long time, a lot of the angry comments directed at EA during any given controversy read more like break-up letters to an ex-best friend: harsh, curt and targeted in a way that cuts deep.... but also kind of screams how much love you still have for this person, against your better judgement.
Not that it wouldn't mess a person up to get hundred of those in a matter of hours, even if they don't individually qualify as “abusive”.
It's worth noting that prior to becoming semi-famous and regretting it, EA was also (by her own account and among other forms of abuse) a victim of intense childhood bullying. It feels like the two situations are closely connected in her mind when her focus seamlessly transitions from one to the other. 📺 I don't think that tremor in her voice is put on.
Based on her writings, I get the feeling that over the years, EA has developed a very black-and-white view of two monolithic groups of people. There's (an idealized vision of) her “real audience”, well-dressed, well-read, kind-hearted, and Asylum-savvy, who she fully trusts to “get it” – and buy it, and love it, unquestioningly, whatever “it” may be at any given time – because that is the true measure of love and loyalty. These are the people she makes art and merch for, the people she writes heart-emoji-filled newsletters to, and desperately longs to see in person again.
And then there's the lynch mob, those who really don't “get it”: the trolls, the faceless creeps, the basement-dwelling mouthbreathers, the ones who stalk her every move obsessively, waiting for any chance to spam her with vicious abuse and slander and obscenities. The latter only exist online (they are manifested into arbitrary existence by the internet itself, not by anything EA said or did), and there is zero overlap between the two sets of people. That seems to be the official narrative.
The "public eye" isn't an [enviable] place to be, and the closer I've come to it, the more horrified I've been. Because, for starters, who is "the public?" Is "the public" my audience? Hell no. My audience is special. They are not the general public. If they were the general public I would be a lot wealthier. The "public eye" means getting stalked, harassed, viscously judged, and put in danger. If I do things in the future that gain notoriety, I will do them in spite of fame, not because of it. I am out for world domination, but not fame. (Interview for The Moaning Times, 2014 📝)In real life (well, mostly online, but I mean: on this shared plane of existence), things play out slightly differently. The Venn diagram of “true blue fans” and “people who criticize EA" and "people who know way too much about EA” is a circle. The call is 100% coming from inside the Asylum, and I think EA rationally knows that. But here's the thing: no matter how many shows and meet-and-greets you've dressed up for, how many loving and supportive comments you've left, or how many family heirlooms you once pawned to purchase a copy of the not-for-sale 2003 DJ pressing of Enchant... the instant EA feels attacked, everyone is a saboteur and a bully until proven otherwise, and suspected treason is dealt with on the spot. One strike, you're out. Unfortunately for everyone involved, her threshold for bullying seems to be “any remotely thoughtless opinion from any stranger on the internet”.
It makes for outstanding human-interest entertainment... but it also sounds an awful lot like the unhealthy patterns of a person suffering from all sorts of PTSD. 🔍 So, please bear that in mind as you read through this write-up. It's easy to make EA out to be the sole villain, a paranoid and delusional drama queen, based on her extreme reactions to things that often “weren't that bad”. Anything can, in fact, be “that bad” when you're thrown back into the very worst moments of your existence every time your brain decides that the situation is even remotely similar.
PTSD takes over your rational mind and actively distorts your perception of reality. That can be how a person ends up impulse-reacting to “a few people expressing an unfavorable opinion” as if the entire internet had just ganged up on them with knives. Which makes their audience feel unjustly accused, which makes them hostile, which gives the person actual good reason to feel attacked... and so the cycle of hurt continues.
You know the games I play And the words I say When I want my own way You know the lies I tell When you've gone through hell And I say I can't stay You know how hard it can be To keep believing in me When everything and everyone Becomes my enemy, and when There's nothing more you can do I'm gonna blame it on you – It's not the way I wanna be I only hope that in the end You will see: It's the Opheliac in me... (“Opheliac”, 2006 🎵)And YES, it is extremely regrettable to have this as a trigger, when you're a public figure and you're bound to receive more negative feedback than the average citizen. “It's what she signed up for”, “it comes with the territory” and all that jazz. I really don't think EA was unaware of that fact when she decided to become a musician, share her personal life, and form an intense parasocial bond with her audience. But maybe she underestimated how hard it would be to process and recover from.
Just because you expect something unpleasant to happen, doesn't mean your psyche will be ready to handle it when it does – or that you'll pick the best and most effective strategy to deal with it.
A MADHOUSE UNDER MARTIAL LAW: MARCHING INTO THE FORUM WARS
There are two sides to every story... except for this one! (“If I Burn”, 2012 🎵)You may have noted the military imagery in EA's “Make a Fucking Choice” response post – “resign your post in the Asylum Army”! What do psychiatry and the military have in common? They're both institutions of top-down social control. 🔍 EA's mixed metaphor may be a bit clunky, but it did foreshadow the evolution of the Asylum – in terms of aesthetics and power dynamics – in the years that followed the FantineDormouse incident and the release of The Book.
EA's next big release after the Asylum book came in 2012. It was a new album, an outline of the soon-to-be Asylum musical, called Fight Like a Girl (FLAG for short). As the name suggests, the main mood was bellicose. Incidentally, in the interim years, EA's communication style generally became noticeably more combative, incendiary, and (within her own spaces) controlling.📝 You remember those quirky word filters on the forum, that would change “fan” to “muffin” and “bra” to “teacup holder”? They kind of took on a Nineteen-Eighty-Four-burlesque flavor when you realized that one filter automatically changed “Fischkopf” to “Liddell” - and that circumventing the rule to address her totally real last name would get you banned, as would any discussion of her family. (“Wikipedia, random internet sites and heresay are not credible sources.” - Mod reminder of forum rules, 2010.)
Also, you try sustaining a serious, grown-up conversation among concerned fans about how Emilie Autumn should “take ratsponsibility for her mistakes out of ratspect for her muffins”. Thus, the official Asylum forum kept a tight grip on overt criticism of EA's claims and actions.
The Emilie Autumn forum is a dystopian hell. Truth be told, when I decided to leave you could not do anything but gush about Emilie. Otherwise all of her extremist arse kissing fans will be down your throat, ripping you apart in seconds, if you so much as questioned her behaviour. So much for freedom of opinion, let alone the idea of creating a harmonious community for ‘outcasts’. Hahaha. (2014 🐀)The word filter thing really wasn't a big deal – I'm just pointing it out as one goofy expression of EA's need to control the narrative and rhetoric, which became especially noticeable in those post-book, pre-FLAG years. By that point, EA's fuse had been shortened by near on half a decade of non-stop touring / recording / writing / promoting / adjusting to the pressure and demands of an ever-growing fanbase, while also dealing with a horrorshow of personal turmoil and health issues behind the scenes. In other words: she was done taking any shit, in any form, or humoring anyone's ridiculous feedback regarding anything.
To be fair, it was never her forte to begin with. Will it come as a shock if I tell you that EA doesn't have the greatest track record for successful collaborative work? Let's do a quick-cut montage!
EA's very first corporate sponsor was her mother's “Enchant Clothing & Costume” online store 🔍; she went on to claim that her mother was dead. She sessioned for Billy Corgan, that went super well. 🎵 She liked Courtney Love for a minute, but that didn't work out because she felt that Courtney only valued her for her pee. 📝 (It probably didn't help that in early 2006, while EA was recording her post-break-up-tell-all album about Corgan, C-Love was recording her post-rehab-redemption album with Corgan. 🔍 Either way, EA didn't seem to like Courtney anymore after that. Courtney likes her, though! 📝) The one artist EA has ever approached for a duet (and by approached, I mean she recorded a demo and threw the CD on stage when he played Chicago in 2004) was, of all people, Morrissey. That never came to pass, thank mercy 🔍 – this fandom has suffered enough. In 2005, EA recorded some haunting vocals and violins for a potential collab with the frontman of Attrition. When, three years later, they were used on one track 🎵 of Attrition's All Mine Enemies Whisper, she alleged 📝 that the recordings had been obtained from her under the false pretense of a different project, then hideously altered to sound “out of tune”, and used without her permission. She enlisted her fans to boycott the album and the band, and threatened legal action. Meanwhile, on LiveJournal and Attrition's message boards, band associates were appalled: according to them, EA had been aware of the project's nature from the start... and had been completely unreachable, even through her label, during the months of its development. (Besides, Attrition is a semi-obscure English darkwave band from the 80s, whose micro-distributed albums don't even have their own Wikipedia pages... so I wonder what EA was hoping to get out of that theoretical lawsuit. These people own nothing but vintage gain pedals!) The song “Cold Hard Cash” 🎤 by Angelspit (who contributed a remix to one of her EPs in 2008) may or may not be an EA diss track. 🐀 Back when indie jewelry brand RockLove (which now has licensing deals with Disney, Marvel, and DC) was still someone's bedroom project, their first drop was an EA-inspired collection 🔍, which appears in many early Opheliac photoshoots. The partnership was terminated on bad terms, for unclear reasons; the RockLove owner shared in a statement that EA had “drunk the cool-aid” of Trisol Guy's shady business practices, and that the two of them had been spamming her with “crazed angry message[s]” for days.
Why am I talking about this? Because it was precisely one such ill-fated business partnership that triggered the Great Asylum Secession.
One fine day of spring 2010, the owner of vegan make-up brand Aromaleigh popped onto the Asylum forum to announce that they were cutting ties with EA, with damning receipts of copy-pasted emails (lost to time). Basically, the brand had been sponsoring her for half a decade, and while Aromaleigh had been actively promoting her music and tours, EA hadn't exactly been returning the favor. (Indeed, the extent of EA's sponcon seemed to have been a banner link to their website on her front page, and a single “random drunken endorsement” LiveJournal post that kind of reads like satire📝, from 2005.)
EA responded by banning the owner's account, deleting the thread, and posting this flippant statement a few days later:
Dearest Plague Rats, To be honest, I have no idea of what the hell happened with Aromaleigh, and I don't care to find out – the whole drama is a complete mystery to me, as I've been away for months touring and have not been in contact with anyone. All I know is that I've been promoting the company for ages and have not asked them for anything in years. (...) Please focus on more interesting things. I am. (“Save the Drama...” forum post, March 2010)Posts questioning her good faith in the conflict were deleted from the forum. Shortly thereafter, citing how prolific and labor-intensive the Asylum forum had grown, EA shut down all non-EA related subforums – which, among many other topics, included a pretty active thread about Aromaleigh products.
So one Plague Rat decided to create a separate, members-only forum 📝, where users could recreate some of the now-defunct off-topic threads... and also freely voice their critical opinions of EA's behavior without fear of backlash from mods or rabid stans. Thus, “The Reform” was born. (Reform [n]: amendment of what is defective, vicious, corrupt, or depraved.)
For a few weeks, the two-state solution seemed to work fine. And then word spread among forum mods and other diehard fans that there was this horrid other forum, where obsessive haters gathered to spew disgusting lies and vitriol about EA... and soon enough, it was bedlam in the Asylum.
Any explicit mention of the Reform was forbidden on the Asylum forum. Suspicion of participation in the Reform would get you banned. The party line was that The Reform was the enemy 🐀 – even though a number of people were active on both forums, because they liked freedom of expression almost as much as they liked EA. Double agents would lurk on the forum and report back with snark material; sycophants would infiltrate the Reform to identify traitors – much to the amusement of the “haters”, who mocked them and their ilk for “licking EA's pink sparkly boots”. There was no containing the seething, or the sass, among Asylum ranks.
Pretty soon, the insubordination spread to Tumblr. There was the “Ask the Reform” Q&A blog, where questioning fans could interact with “Rebel Rats”, get more details on past drama, and make up their own minds about the people EA called bullies.
And then, there were the “confession blogs”, which published anonymous submissions about EA, positive, negative or neutral, with little censorship. Finally, you didn't even have to pick a throw-away username on a private forum to voice your hottest / strangest / most controversial EA takes. Fans could vent, rant, lament, wonder, shitpost to their heart's content, anonymously. Obviously, given the context of frustration and censorship in the fandom, a lot of the first waves of confessions were EXTREMELY negative.
EA's acolyte Veronica managed to get the first one shut down. If memory serves, she misunderstood the confession blog format, and may have believed that all the posts on “Emilie Autumn Confessions” came from one or a small group of individuals. She was genuinely devastated, and wrote the blog admin to let them know that they were a terrible person who said terrible things. The admin was mortified, apologized profusely and deleted the blog of their own initiative. (Which goes to show that the concept did not come from cruel and malicious anti-fans, as detractors often claimed.)
But a new blog sprung up almost immediately, with a different mod team, and did not surrender. And much like in EA's own book, once the Plague Rats found out that they possessed the gift of speech... well, they really took to it.
Established in 2011 and passed on through generation after generation of mod teams to the present day, Wayward Victorian Confessions would turn out to be the longest-lived institution in the EA fandom. For over a decade now, through all the bleakest nights and dankest debacles of the Asylum, and despite its initial reputation as a troll den, WVC has acted as a kind of neutral ground and vox populi for the active fanbase and anti-fanbase. (The last nominally-active EA fansite to date, She Fights Like a Girl, is actually an offshoot of WVC: one of the old admins created it as a database to answer “frequently asked questions” about EA.)
Wayward Victorian Confessions has now outlived every other EA platform, official and unofficial. Were it not for the continued existence of the “troll den”, what little fan community survives in 2024 would be non-existent, plain and simple. To quote from late 20th century Canadian philosophy: isn't it ironic?
I feel like [WVC] is the only place I feel any of that old Asylum community kind of feeling I felt before EA got so focused on the book. It sucks that it’s so full of unhappiness, and I wish she hadn’t poisoned the sanctuary she claimed to have built. It’s just kind of fallen apart, like a crumbling building. (🐀 2016)
CONTINUED IN COMMENTS
2024.05.10 14:39 No-Ice9437 "Discover the Buzz about JavaBurn: Coffee's Secret to Effective Weight Loss"
 | Java Burn has garnered significant attention in the realm of dietary supplements, with users expressing diverse experiences and opinions about its efficacy and usability. From Amazon to YouTube, and various other platforms, reviews about Java Burn vary widely, ranging from glowing endorsements to critical appraisals. Understanding these reviews can provide valuable insights for individuals considering Java Burn as a potential addition to their weight loss journey or daily routine. Let’s delve into a comprehensive overview of Java Burn reviews to discern the key themes, sentiments, and considerations voiced by consumers across different platforms. submitted by No-Ice9437 to OxyBreathPro [link] [comments] What is Java Burn?Java Burn is described as a dietary supplement primarily aimed at aiding weight loss efforts. It is formulated with natural ingredients known for their purported benefits in supporting weight loss and metabolism. These ingredients typically include vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and metabolism-boosting compounds. The supplement claims to enhance metabolic rate, promote fat burning, and minimize appetite, all of which are essential for effective weight management. The emphasis on natural ingredients is often highlighted as a key selling point, appealing to individuals seeking a more holistic approach to weight lossVisit Java Burn Official websitesource : google imagesJava Burn IngredientsJava Burn contains a blend of natural ingredients aimed at supporting weight loss efforts:
How Does Java Burn Work?Java Burn works by leveraging its blend of natural ingredients to support weight loss efforts through multiple mechanisms:1.Metabolism Boost: Ingredients like green tea extract and caffeine anhydrous are known to increase metabolism, helping the body burn more calories even at rest [6]. 2.Fat Burning: Components such as green coffee bean extract contain chlorogenic acid, which may aid in fat burning by promoting the breakdown of fat cells and reducing the absorption of carbohydrates . 3.Appetite Control: Some ingredients, like chromium, may help regulate blood sugar levels, reducing cravings and promoting feelings of fullness [2]. 4.Energy Boost: Java Burn’s formulation includes vitamin B-12 and caffeine, which can provide a boost in energy levels, potentially supporting physical activity and calorie expenditure [6]. 5.Antioxidant Support: Components like green tea extract offer antioxidant properties, which may contribute to overall health and well-being . By combining these effects, Java Burn aims to provide comprehensive support for weight loss and metabolic efficiency. How to Use Java Burn?Java Burn is typically used as a dietary supplement to support weight loss efforts. While specific instructions may vary based on the product’s formulation, here is a general guideline on how to use Java Burn:Mixing: Add one scoop or the recommended dosage of Java Burn powder to your favorite beverage, such as coffee or water.
What Health Benefits Can Java Burn Offer?Java Burn offers several potential health benefits related to weight loss and overall well-being:
Is Java Burn Worth Buying?Absolutely! If you’re looking to thoroughly lose weight, Java Burn is a worthwhile investment. Formulated with a unique blend of natural ingredients, Java Burn aims to support fat metabolism and increase energy levels, providing tremendous assistance in achieving weight loss goals. User reviews indicate positive outcomes, including enhanced metabolic efficiency and appetite control. Additionally, the convenience of Java Burn in powder form allows you to easily incorporate it into your daily life by simply mixing it with your favorite beverage. With Java Burn, burn your fat instantly!How much does Java Burn cost?Depending on their needs and budget, clients can select from three various purchasing options offered by Java Burn.source : google images
Act quickly to secure the limited-time discounted price today!ConclusionJava Burn emerges as a distinctive entrant in the dietary supplement arena, intertwining its innovative formula with the ritual of coffee consumption. This concoction is meticulously crafted to bolster metabolic well-being and foster weight reduction endeavors. As is customary with nutritional supplements, outcomes may diverge; therefore, it is recommended that Java Burn be utilized in conjunction with a balanced nutritional plan and a regular physical activity schedule to optimize results. Prior to initiating any new supplement protocol, it is imperative to seek guidance from a medical professional to ascertain its suitability in relation to your specific health prerequisites and objectives. |
2024.05.10 11:56 Shartzic My first post here. Let's enjoy this season while it lasts. We will never be able to see MSD in this Jersey as a player ever again.
*Disclaimer: Long Post*.There are a lot of dislikes and misunderstandings circulating in this subreddit and I am attempting to clear those. I watch cricket. I love the game. I can’t put forward statistics and strategies like some of the users here. I am jealous of them. In that sense, I am not a hardcore follower of this game. I watch the game just for entertainment. But I appreciate the users who have talked in-depth about a match and a player. Those posts helped me to enjoy the game better but I am incapable of doing that. I expect a lot of downvotes. I am okay with that just for this post. 🤣
Like in every other sport out there, even in cricket, many factors come into play to bring out the best in you. You can be a good player, but that doesn’t mean you can contribute to the team everyday. It isn’t humanly possible. Even the God of Cricket had his rough days and low phases. The celebrated players in the history of this sport have had their own share of failures and bad days. Dull phase is a part and parcel of this game and if we see this from a philosophical POV, it is a part of our lives too. We all have had our bad days and failures. Those days make or break us. The players in the CSK team, and also other teams, are of world-class standards. We can and we should criticise them for the decisions that they make on the field, but those criticisms should cross the line and become hate. Constructive Criticism is always welcomed and that is the purpose of this subreddit. The players in the CSK team are struggling to find their rhythm. If we back them, they will do wonders. Backing the team and the players when they need the most is the only thing the fans and viewers can do. To be honest, that has been the philosophy of the team (CSK). We can’t dictate the strategies and plans. All we can do is enjoy the game till it lasts and support the players and the team irrespective of the result.
If a player doesn’t do well in a season, we can’t help him to improve by giving suggestions or game plans. The players know it better than anyone. He can analyse his game and make necessary changes. All we can do is believe in him while he figures it out.He might turn to be the match winner in the next game or season. We all deserve a second chance. I am not saying everyone who plays badly, consistently, should be given an easy pass. No. At least the player should be given a chance and if nothing works out, the player will voluntarily drop out from his team. We have seen that in the past. All the players are of international standards. The team, management, captain and the player knows what is best for the team. No one is going to check with us for our opinion. All we can do is enjoy the game, support the players and have some good arguments, discussions in this subreddit, among our friends and families and in other social media platforms. This subreddit is the place where we can share our gameplay, our strategies, opinions and everything. There are people who will hear you and there will be people who will have a different opinion on that topic. But all these should be in a healthy manner. There shouldn’t be hate. Arguments are welcomed, but that shouldn’t cross the line. I am not talking just about CSK, but every other team. At the end of the day, the game is just to entertain us. We watch the game, we are entertained. We share our opinions, emotions and everything here and that is also a form of entertainment. We back the players and when we see that player doing wonders, that too will entertain us. Let’s not hate a team or a player. Hate is a strong word. SRH, RCB or any other team for that matter is our opponent only when we play a match with them. I love MSD but also I love Sanju, Kohli, Faf, Hardik, Rohit, Buttler and so on.
CSK.💛 This season has been very difficult for the team. The team underwent a big change. It will take a season or so for the new captain to make his philosophy clear and to find the rhythm. We should appreciate the good games, criticise the poor ones and wait for them to improve. Don’t spread hate. I am not speaking only about CSK but also for the other teams. We can dislike them but hate is a big term. Let’s not do that. The team is going through a big change. Maybe the biggest change in the history of CSK. There is a new Captain. Just because Dhoni captained the team doesn’t mean that Ruturaj or any player for that matter should lead the team like MSD. Everyone has their own style. Ruturaj is being groomed by Dhoni. Ruturaj will need some time to get the hang of captaincy. He needs to fill the shoes of MSD and the responsibilities that come with leading one of the most successful franchises of IPL is very huge.I don’t think Dhoni is making the calls anymore. He left his captaincy in the previous season itself. The way he celebrated last year's victory is proof that he considered that as his last season. I am happy that Dhoni will retire with his last game at Chepauk. The team might be suffering now, but he is getting the farewell he deserves. I wish Raina too got the same kind of treatment. If Dhoni was the brain, Raina was the spine. But nothing can be done about that now. Raina too deserved a farewell. We all can now see the void Raina left in the team and no one could fill that till now. That’s a topic for another day. Winning or losing will not determine the Yellove we have towards the team. Let’s give this season a pass and enjoy the remaining games as this will be the last season of our Thala. The other teams went through this transition phase a long back and they are reaping the benefits of that now. We have just gone through that. The way the management is taking decisions indicates that there is a change in the internal team. I am not 100% sure about my previous statement, but I feel so. The calls are being taken by Rutu and the new Internal team/management. The change in philosophy is evident. This season is a testing bed and the team is treating it the same way. They are trying different things because the void Dhoni leaves will be huge and difficult to fill. The team is struggling to find its new rhythm. We can reap the benefits of all the changes that are happening in the team in the coming years. Ruturaj will lead the team for another decade or so and he needs to make sure he finds the rhythm and his philosophy is understood by the management. That’s okay because everyone has to be given a chance to experiment with their own technique and strategies and finalise on the one which is working; and the team will stick on to that. These statements are true to every other team in the IPL. Rajasthan struggled for a long time but they did well in the last season and they are doing good this season. We too will need the time. We just have to be patient. Just think of it as a human being who went through a heart transplant surgery. He will need some time to recover and his body will need some time to get used to the new heart. It may sound cheesy and corny, but I feel so.
MSD. I am a huge fan of MSD. I won’t claim that I have watched every match that he has played in his cricketing career. But 70% of the cricket that I have watched till now is of him. I am a mid-90s kid. You can guess my age. That said, let’s talk about MSD and the IPL 2024. Dhoni has always been an integral part of the team from its inception and now the time has come for him to hang his boots. I don’t think we will win this season. And that’s okay for me. Not because I don’t want them to win but because Dhoni will never step into the ground ever again and this will be the last time we can all enjoy him on the field. Let’s watch him in that Jersey for the last time. Let’s give him a good farewell for all those that he has done for the Indian Cricket team and CSK. That is the only thing that we can give him. My Man is 42 years old. He could have just avoided this season by stating his knee injury as the reason and could have stopped his career for once and all. He came back for this season for the fans, for the CSK supporters. His performance in this IPL can’t and shouldn’t be used as a scale to measure his talent, skill, dedication and contributions to the game. He is doing it for us. He doesn’t need an IPL to earn money. He is earning a lot through endorsements and I am pretty sure his business ventures are doing good. He is the only player, as far as I remember, who still gets contacted by brands to endorse their products even after getting retired from the game. I mean there are other retired players who still do the endorsements but no one has the high number of brand endorsements as MSD. So money isn’t the reason why he is playing this season. It’s the love for the game and also this is his way of giving back to the fans who stood by him and the team during the lows and highs.
He is attracting a lot of hate and dislikes because of the way the broadcaster and the commentators treat him. He is a legend but a player can never be above his team. To be honest, I too started feeling awkward by seeing the way viewers, fans, broadcasters, social media and commentators behave when he is on the field and when is off the field. I understand that the broadcasters, commentators and social media are milking him but the viewers and fans have no gain in that act. CSK is a team and Dhoni is one among them when he wears the jersey. I too am a huge fan of Dhoni but I don’t like the way he is being milked. But that's the format of this business. But lately it's getting out of their hands.
People always compare Dhoni playing for CSK with Dhoni playing for team India. People fail to understand that playing for India is a national duty. Dhoni, like every other player, treats it as a national duty. I will focus only on Dhoni from now onwards. Dhoni, as far as I know from the interviews, books and games, believes in being in the present moment. He believed that he should keep his emotions in check and make sure that the team is prioritised over his personal emotions. His anger shouldn’t cost the team. Every player thinks the same but only a few are able to execute it. Look at the Captains of every team, most of them aren’t aggressive. They prefer to hide everything under their face and focus on the game and the strategies that have to be implemented. Dhoni was the captain of the national team and that’s a huge responsibility. But a national team is no way equal to a league Cricket doesn't function as Football in that sense. When it comes to IPL, Dhoni can relax. If CSK wins or loses, only the management and the sponsors are affected. Yes the players are also affected but not to a great extent because national cricket is their end goal. If the national team loses, we all know how it ends up. The pride of the country is associated with the national games. It's like, when you are in your office you try to concentrate more on getting the work done rather than showing your emotions and aggression. As I always say, IPL is less about cricket and more about sponsors, advertisements, money, entertainment and business. Cricket takes a back seat. You can disagree but that’s the truth. It has become difficult to see the logo of the team in the jersey filled with advertisements. The players know this. That said, I am not saying that cricket doesn’t have any role in these league games like the IPL. No. I mean, other factors are given importance over cricket. The national players treat the IPL as a stage to experiment and learn. For the youngsters, this is their platform to showcase their talent and earn the ticket to the national team. Youngsters can be groomed by these senior players and also earn some good money.
Dhoni and the IPL 2024. We all know here why he comes late to bat. He is not physically fit to face 2-3 overs. He doesn’t need to use up the chance as there will be no more IPL for him. He is doing good for the team by creating an opportunity for the youngsters. This will help the team management to select the players whom they want to keep in their team for the next 5-6 years. He doesn’t need to perform here to keep his form or to prove his importance in the team to the BCCI. He is done with cricket. He also does that to make sure his health doesn’t deteriorate to a situation where he has to quit the matches. He can only play 10 balls and that’s okay. I am okay with him hitting 2 sixes and getting out. I want him to do that because we shouldn’t expect more from a 42 year male with a knee injury done in the past year and other health issues. We can’t blame him for that. But yes, we can blame the commentators for saying that he has the highest strike rate and hasn’t been out in x amount of games and so on. That’s bullshit and this is where the line gets crossed. People feel as if the player is being celebrated for no reason. To an extent, it is true. He faces 10 balls and hits boundaries and therefore, his strike rate will be higher. Why make it as if it is an achievement. I too feel awkward when I hear such comments. Just leave him alone. The cricket community has celebrated him for years. Let us leave him alone this season and enjoy his game one last season. About the run not taken, Mitchell hasn’t been hitting from the get go in this season. I am not justifying MSD. Yes, the action of denying the run is an insult to the batter at the other end but the intent might have been different. We don’t know about that. We have seen MSD take a single and hand over the strike to the batsman who is in form.. He might have felt that it was better if he stayed as he could hit some boundaries as it is the only thing he is practising in the nets. Like I said, I am not justifying. He should have communicated that with Mitchell before the start of the over and they should have had an understanding. Who knows they might have had that conversation. I too agree that the act was wrong but no player insults his fellow teammates wantedly. Emotions might have taken over in that scenario.
I want us to celebrate the player and the team he has built over these years. CSK owes a lot to MSD. This is the climax phase of his career. He won’t be playing anymore. He has come prepared this time. He wanted to say goodbye in his own way by growing his hair and playing his last season at Chepauk. The results don’t matter anymore. Let’s enjoy him. We won’t be seeing him as a player next year. I wanted to watch at least a match at Chepauk this year before MSD bid farewell forever. I couldn’t. Most of you here have had that chance and I am JEALOUS, in a positive sense. Sorry for the long post.
A user with username kk2147 has taken his/her time to read this and summarise this. Or he/she might have used an AI assistant. Anyway I appreciate that. And for those who don't have the time and energy, you can find the comment of the above said user in the comment section. Read that if interested.
2024.05.10 01:48 CoHousingFarmer This is what I will do on the day Democracy dies.
This is what I will do on the day Democracy dies.
This comprehensive strategy is designed with the specific purpose of protecting groups most at risk during such political transitions—political activists, minority communities, LGBTQ+ individuals, and other groups that frequently find themselves targeted by regimes and movements hostile to democratic norms. (i.e. MAGA)The intent of this strategy is to offer a dual-phased approach that prepares for both pre-election and post-election scenarios. By doing so, we aim to ensure that the rights and safety of at-risk populations are maintained regardless of political developments. The strategy encompasses a series of actions focused on enhancing data privacy, establishing covert safe havens, and creating paper organizations to provide both legal and social cover. Each element has been carefully crafted to blend into the community seamlessly, thereby minimizing the risk of detection and retaliation by potential adversaries, including groups like MAGA, known for their hostility towards certain demographics and ideologies.
The details outlined here are not merely precautionary; they are essential in a time when political unpredictability can lead to sudden and severe consequences for those standing on the front lines of advocacy and social change. This introduction sets the stage for a strategy that is both protective and adaptive, ensuring that all measures are grounded in a deep understanding of the risks involved and the absolute necessity for discretion and thoroughness.
Background Context
Political Climate Overview
The global political landscape is currently characterized by increasing instability and a troubling shift toward authoritarian governance. This trend manifests distinctly in various regions, contributing to a world where democratic principles are routinely challenged and often undermined.- Increasing Volatility: Across the globe, nations are experiencing heightened political instability which, in many cases, precipitates the rise of authoritarian rule. This instability often stems from economic distress, social unrest, or perceived governmental inefficiencies, which authoritarian figures exploit to consolidate power.
- Shifts Toward Authoritarianism: Recent years have seen several governments adopt practices that are starkly authoritarian. Examples abound where states have suppressed free speech through censorship, manipulated electoral processes to maintain power, and systematically weakened the independence of the judiciary. These actions not only compromise the checks and balances essential to democratic governance but also threaten the fundamental rights and freedoms of their citizens.
- Hostility Towards Democratic Norms: A significant rise in movements and ideologies that oppose democratic norms has been noted, often under the banners of nationalism or populism. These movements exploit fears and prejudices, rallying support through divisive and sometimes xenophobic rhetoric, posing a direct threat to the pluralistic fabric of societies.
Vulnerable Groups
In this increasingly authoritarian environment, certain groups find themselves particularly vulnerable to persecution and discrimination. Their exposure to risk is exacerbated by their visibility and their perceived opposition to authoritarian values and practices.- Political Activists: Typically the first in the line of fire, political activists face significant dangers under authoritarian shifts. Their efforts to organize opposition, promote democratic values, and protect human rights often make them targets for harassment, arbitrary detention, and worse, as they are viewed as direct threats to authoritarian interests.
- Minority Communities: Ethnic, racial, and religious minorities frequently endure increased discrimination and violence when authoritarian regimes rise to power. Such regimes often scapegoat these communities, enacting policies that strip them of their rights and freedoms, and in some cases, actively encourage acts of violence and persecution against them.
- LGBTQ+ Individuals: LGBTQ+ communities are exceedingly vulnerable under more conservative or outright authoritarian regimes. They may face draconian legislation, social ostracism, and violence. These measures not only threaten their personal safety but also seek to erase their presence from public life.
- Other At-Risk Populations: Refugees, immigrants, and individuals with dissenting ideological views are also at significant risk. They may confront stricter immigration controls, risk of expulsion, and exclusion from political participation. Under authoritarian regimes, these groups often experience a harsh curtailing of their freedoms and a denial of their right to partake in society.
The Threat of Project_2025
A specific example of these growing threats is the emergence of initiatives like Project_2025, which symbolize the strategic and organized efforts by authoritarian groups to reshape societies according to their ideologies. Project_2025 is often cited as a blueprint for systemic change intended to dismantle current democratic frameworks and replace them with systems that suppress dissent and centralize power. This project is not merely a theoretical risk but a concrete plan that could lead to significant repression of any form of resistance or criticism.This background context sets the stage for understanding the critical need for a robust strategy to protect vulnerable groups and preserve democratic norms. The following sections will delve into the specifics of pre-election and post-election strategies designed to counter these threats and safeguard the fundamental rights and freedoms of those at risk.
Pre-Election Strategy: Part 1 - Data Privacy and Social Media Scrubbing
Objective
The primary objective of this part of the strategy is to safeguard personal data to protect individuals from potential threats in a politically unstable environment. By minimizing the digital footprint, the strategy aims to prevent hostile entities from using online activities and histories against individuals, especially those active in movements or communities that could be targeted in a regime shift.Importance of Data Privacy
In the context of potential authoritarian shifts, personal data on digital platforms can be weaponized against individuals. This includes identifying personal networks, political stances, and other sensitive information that could lead to harassment or worse. Protecting this data is not just about privacy; it's about maintaining personal safety and freedom in the face of growing surveillance and repression.Actions
Timing and Planning
- When to Begin:
- Initiate the data scrubbing process six months prior to critical political events, like elections or significant legislative changes, to ensure that the data is irrecoverable by the time these events occur.
- How to Plan:
- Set up a phased plan that includes initial assessments, periodic reviews, and final checks. This plan should cover all platforms where personal data might be stored, from social media to cloud storage services.
Content Removal
- Types of Content to Remove:
- Political Statements: Remove posts or likes that clearly align with specific political ideologies or opposition movements. For example, deleting tweets supporting political protests or Facebook posts criticizing government policies.
- Group Affiliations: Withdraw from public or semi-public social media groups that are directly associated with activist movements or politically sensitive causes. For instance, leaving a Facebook group dedicated to organizing protest events.
- Personal Beliefs: Scrub any content that expresses strong ideological beliefs that could be targeted under a new regime, such as blog posts advocating for controversial reforms or Instagram posts supporting marginalized communities.
- Reasons for Removal:
- Removing such content significantly reduces the risk of being targeted based on historical data. This proactive step is crucial for individuals who could be directly impacted by policy changes, ensuring that their online presence does not inadvertently expose them to risks.
Privacy Education
- Educational Initiatives:
- Workshops and Seminars: Conduct these sessions focusing on teaching effective methods for securing online profiles and handling personal data. For example, a seminar could demonstrate how to use Facebook’s privacy settings to hide past posts and tighten profile visibility.
- Online Resources: Develop comprehensive guides that detail steps for data auditing on popular platforms like Twitter, LinkedIn, and Google. These guides would offer instructions on reviewing and deleting old posts, checking app permissions, and understanding privacy policies.
- Community Outreach: Collaborate with local libraries, schools, and community centers to spread awareness about the importance of data privacy. This might include setting up informational booths, distributing flyers, or hosting Q&A sessions with privacy experts.
Examples
- Example of Effective Content Removal: Jane Doe, an activist, reviewed her Twitter account and removed tweets that could be controversial. She deleted tweets advocating for large-scale protests and any direct criticisms of political figures known for their harsh retaliation against dissenters.
- Community Education Example: A community center hosts a monthly workshop where participants are taught how to scrub their digital footprints effectively. These workshops provide hands-on training on privacy settings for major social networks and strategies for minimizing personal data exposure online.
Pre-Election Strategy: Part 2 - Establishment of Covert Safe Havens in Plain Sight
Objective
The primary purpose of creating covert safe havens is to provide secure and discrete support networks for vulnerable individuals in anticipation of potential political instability. These havens are designed to integrate seamlessly into everyday community settings, offering legitimate public functions while maintaining a dual capability to protect and assist those in need. This approach ensures that these safe havens can operate without attracting undue attention, blending naturally into their environments while fulfilling their protective roles. By carefully selecting and managing these dual-functionality locations, this strategy not only provides vital support and protection for vulnerable individuals but also ensures that these safe havens remain sustainable and integrated within their communities. This seamless integration into everyday life is key to maintaining the operation's discretion and effectiveness, safeguarding those at risk while minimizing the chance of detection.Actions
Selection of Locations
Choosing the right locations is critical to the effectiveness and discretion of these safe havens. The criteria for selecting these locations include:- Community Integration:
- Locations should be well-integrated within the community, serving as familiar and accepted places that naturally attract a diverse range of clientele. This integration helps the safe haven to appear ordinary and unremarkable, reducing the likelihood of scrutiny.
- Visibility and Accessibility:
- While the locations should be visible enough to be considered a normal part of the community, they must also feature private spaces such as basements, cellars, or back rooms. These areas should be easily accessible to those in need without drawing attention from the general public.
- Economic Viability:
- It is essential that these locations can sustain a legitimate business model. This not only supports the community financially but also underpins the covert operations, ensuring they can continue without financial strain or suspicion.
Dual-Functionality
These locations must adeptly balance their public and covert functionalities:- Public Business Functions:
- Types of Businesses: The strategy focuses on establishments like coffee shops, bars, community farms, maker spaces, and recreational venues like RV parks or camping grounds. These businesses are generally well-received and frequented by the public, providing a solid cover for the covert activities.
- Community Services: Each business should offer valuable services such as food production, educational workshops, or leisure activities. These services contribute positively to the community, enhancing the business's credibility and integration.
- Covert Support Functions:
- Plausible Dual Use Areas: Utilize existing structures that naturally offer privacy, like root cellars on farms or basements in urban buildings. These spaces should be typical of the property and require minimal adjustment to serve as safe areas, thus avoiding any construction that might appear suspicious or clandestine.
- Transport Services: Implement transportation services that align with the business model. For example, a delivery service from a farm or a mobile workshop from a construction site can double as a method for safely moving individuals in need. This strategy includes using common roles like Uber drivers for transportation, where the individual being transported is actually posing as the uber driver for a white family, blending into a service role, reducing visibility and suspicion from MAGA.
Implementation Examples
- Farm Example:
- Location: A community-supported agriculture (CSA) farm that is well-known for its fresh produce and community engagement through regular farm festivals and events.
- Dual Functionality: The farm features a large barn or a root cellar typically used for storing seasonal equipment and produce. This can also provide temporary shelter, offering a safe and private space for at-risk individuals. The regular turnover of visitors and workers for legitimate agricultural purposes ensures that any additional traffic blends in without arousing suspicion. Furthermore, depending on the last two minutes of hate, MAGA may overlook minorities or immigrants if they are in a non-lucrative looking service role, such as produce picker.
- Maker Space in Urban Area:
- Location: Situated in a bustling mixed-use neighborhood, this maker space is a hub for creativity and innovation, offering classes in carpentry, electronics, and more.
- Dual Functionality: Besides the public workshop area, there's a secure back area designed for project storage. This space can also function as a discreet meeting point or temporary safe area for individuals who require shelter or a momentary escape from external threats. Furthermore, a maker space is a place full of tools, skilled craftspeople, and materials that can be repurposed for other uses, such as [ REDACTED ].
Pre-Election Strategy: Part 3 - Formation of Paper Organizations
Objective
The primary goal of forming paper organizations is to establish entities that provide legal and social fronts for covert operations, safeguarding vulnerable groups. These organizations serve to legitimize and camouflage the broader protective activities under the guise of engaging in widely accepted or non-controversial community functions. By strategically leveraging these types of organizations, the strategy ensures that protective measures are embedded within non-controversial, community-valued services. This careful planning helps maintain the sustainability of the operations, reduces the risk of exposure, and enhances the long-term viability of protecting vulnerable populations amidst political turbulence.Actions
Types of Organizations
Select organizations that are universally accepted and less likely to attract negative attention from antagonistic groups such as MAGA:- Sports Clubs and Teams:
- Focus on sports that are popular and carry positive, community-building connotations. These organizations can organize local leagues, tournaments, and training sessions, serving as a natural gathering point for the community and a cover for larger mobilization efforts.
- Garden Clubs:
- Establish co-ops or community gardens that involve activities related to food production, which are generally viewed positively and align with subsistence and sustainability goals. These can also serve as educational centers for farming techniques, appealing to a broad segment of the community.
- Kennel Clubs
- Set up organizations centered around animal care, such as dog training clubs or equestrian schools. These activities appeal to animal lovers and are unlikely to draw suspicion from conservative groups. They also provide opportunities for fundraising and community involvement.
Operational Setup
- Compliance with Local Laws:
- All organizations must operate within the legal framework, ensuring they do not attract scrutiny that could lead to uncovering their covert purposes.
- Maintenance and Oversight:
- Regularly review and maintain operational protocols to keep the organizations effective and compliant. This includes keeping financial records clean and transparent to avoid audits that could expose the dual functions.
- Integration with Safe Havens:
- Use these organizations as legal fronts or logistical hubs for the covert safe havens, facilitating communication and resource distribution discreetly. They can serve as rallying points for community support without directly exposing the linked covert operations.
Implementation Examples
- Community Sports Club:
- Setup: A local soccer club that hosts regular matches and youth training camps. It is deeply integrated into the community, providing a robust platform for events that can serve broader agendas.
- Dual Functionality: Leverage the club’s events for discreetly organizing meetings and transporting supplies under the guise of sports activities, utilizing equipment transport as a cover for moving sensitive materials.
- Garden Club:
- Setup: A cooperative that offers memberships for local produce and hosts regular workshops on sustainable farming practices.
- Dual Functionality: Use the co-op’s storage facilities and workshops as discreet points for gathering and distributing resources, you can grow food for poor people under the pretense of agricultural activities.
- Dog Training Club:
- Setup: Organize a club that offers dog obedience classes and therapy animal training, which can attract a wide array of participants.
- Dual Functionality: Utilize the club’s regular gatherings and the innocuous nature of its activities to conduct meetings and organize volunteer networks for covert operations, masked by the club’s community-focused events. This can be a double edged sword, but you can tell a lot about a person by how they treat animals. Furthermore, trained dogs have their uses.
Section 3: Post-Election Strategy - Pivoting Operations
Objective
- Activate and utilize the full scope of prepared safe havens and paper organizations in response to the election outcomes.
- Protect individuals from potential crackdowns or aggressive measures by newly empowered government authorities targeting vulnerable groups.
Overall Strategic Actions
- Activate Covert Safe Havens and Paper Organizations:
- Evaluate the political environment post-election and determine the level of threat to vulnerable communities. - Activate contingency plans in prepared safe havens and paper organizations to provide immediate support and protection.
- Utilize Established Networks and Resources:
- Employ pre-arranged logistics and support systems to distribute resources, provide shelter, and facilitate the safe movement of individuals at risk.
- Community Integration Strategies:
- Deepen involvement in local community activities that are non-political and broadly supported to avoid backlash. - Increase participation in community service projects that enhance local development and provide essential services, reinforcing the organization's value to the community and obscuring its protective roles.
Examples of Pivoting Operations Using Small Businesses
- Carpet Cleaning Services:
- Use service vans for discreet transportation of individuals and supplies, leveraging routine operations as cover. - Legend has it that Cleopatra was smuggled into court rolled up in a carpet.
- Landscaping and Gardening Services:
- Employ landscaping crews to offer jobs and shelter in modified storage units, providing a plausible reason for the movement and congregation of workers. - MAGA has no respect for minorities, but they like mowed lawns. Transporting people of color in the guise of lawn care workers will usually be ignored.
- Mobile Pet Grooming Services:
- Utilize pet grooming vans to distribute resources discreetly and move individuals between safe locations under the guise of service calls. - Pet first aid equipment can also be used on two legged mammals.
- Food Trucks:
- Operate food trucks to serve dual purposes—providing food to vulnerable populations and acting as mobile meeting points for logistics coordination. - Food trucks can have electronic messaging services, connected to GPS, and deliver data just by driving by.
- House Painting Businesses:
- Leverage access to residential areas and use vans for safely relocating individuals under the guise of transporting workers and supplies. - Cans of paint can be used to store all sorts of things.
- Residential Cleaning Services:
- Use cleaning teams for discreet distribution of supplies and temporary housing solutions, under the guise of deep-cleaning or house-sitting services.
- Plumbing and Electrical Services:
- Dispatch tradespeople to carry necessities and check on at-risk individuals without drawing attention, using routine service calls as cover. - Plumbers carrying large pipe shaped constructions are less suspicious.
- Bicycle Repair Shops:
- Implement mobile bicycle repair services for flexible and discreet transport of supplies and aid. - Bicycle frame tubes can have dual uses.
- Fitness and Personal Training Services:
- Use private training sessions to provide physical and mental support discreetly, checking on individuals’ well-being under the guise of health and wellness coaching. - A fitness bootcamp fun run can be an actual bootcamp.
- Local Bakery or Pizzeria Delivery Services: - Use delivery operations to routinely check on community members under the routine delivery of food, covering a broad area without suspicion. - Bakers are up early every day without drawing suspicion.
Monitoring and Adaptation
- Continuously Monitor the Political and Social Environment:
- Regular assessments to adapt operations effectively, ensuring ongoing safety and effectiveness.
- Ready to expand the scope of operations or alter methods based on emerging needs and threats.
Legal Navigation
- Strategically Navigate Laws:
- Ensure all activities remain compliant yet structured to conceal their true purposes, adapting to any new legal challenges post-election. MAGA does not have respect for Rule-Of-Law, but low level MAGAts will usually follow the law if it is the course of lease resistance.
Examples of Pivoting Operations For employees in a large Businesses
1. Data Privacy Enhancements
- Employee Action: IT staff increase encryption and security measures, adding features like data obfuscation and deliberate vulnerabilities that make data tracking and user identification more difficult for unauthorized entities.
- Discretionary Element: These changes are publicly promoted as new advanced security measures to protect customer data from increasing global cyber threats.
2. Supply Chain Redistribution
- Employee Action: Supply chain managers discreetly inform resistance networks about locations and times of important emergency supplies shipments under the guise of optimizing logistics for efficiency.
- Discretionary Element: Publicly, these changes are announced as strategic adjustments to better meet the dynamic needs of markets and reduce operational costs.
3. Corporate Philanthropy Redirection
- Employee Action: Executives redirect corporate philanthropy funds to support 'capitalist' endeavors that indirectly benefit resistance efforts, such as investing in businesses owned by at-risk community members.
- Discretionary Element: These investments are framed as exploring new market opportunities and potential high-growth areas, appealing to shareholder interests.
4. Product Development with Hidden Features
- Employee Action: Product managers design products that incorporate raw materials which can be easily repurposed or integrated with features that allow resistance networks to piggyback communications.
- Discretionary Element: These products are marketed as innovative and versatile, with the added functionalities promoted as providing extra value to consumers.
5. Legal Department Advocacy Against Harmful Laws
- Employee Action: Company lawyers actively challenge laws from Project_2025 that might impose severe surveillance measures detrimental to business operations, like mandatory data sharing with government bodies.
- Hypothetical Law: "All telecommunications companies are required to install government monitoring software." (I mean, they already have it, but bear with me here, this is an example)
- Discretionary Element: Legal challenges are framed as protecting the company's competitive edge and customer trust.
6. Marketing Campaigns with Subtle Messages
- Employee Action: Marketing teams develop campaigns that subtly endorse themes of resilience and unity, using coded language that resonates with resistance supporters.
- Hypothetical Campaign: Launch a national campaign for a telecommunications product under the slogan "Stay Connected, Stay Strong," which subtly encourages unity and resilience. I'm not in marketing, so I really don't know how to not sound like 1984.
- Discretionary Element: Campaigns are officially aimed at boosting brand loyalty and market presence during turbulent times.
7. Community Engagement for Resource Distribution
- Employee Action: Community relations staff organize local events that double as distribution points for essential supplies to at-risk populations, such as geriatric health fairs or local business expos.
- Discretionary Element: These events are positioned as part of corporate efforts to engage with potential customers, masking their dual purpose.
8. Internal Training on Privacy and Security
- Employee Action: Implement training programs that ostensibly enhance employee awareness about privacy and security but also educate them on how to discreetly handle sensitive information about at-risk colleagues.
- Discretionary Element: Training is marketed internally as essential upskilling in response to global increases in data breaches and cyber threats.
9. R&D for Dual-Use Technologies
- Employee Action: R&D staff focus on developing technologies that can be used both commercially and to aid resistance efforts, such as drones designed for commercial delivery that can also be used for discreet surveillance or off the books deliveries. Police radios that can be used to track the police.
- Discretionary Element: The dual-use nature of these technologies is touted as a cost-effective solution to multiple market needs.
10. Strategic Public Relations
- Employee Action: PR teams craft narratives around corporate actions that align with resistance goals, framing them as innovative responses to market demands or regulatory changes. (i.e. We think different! We're the rebels from StarWars. ) (Note: It's a trap!)
- Discretionary Element: These narratives emphasize the corporation's adaptability and forward-thinking, which is attractive to investors and customers alike, while subtly supporting resistance efforts.
For many of us, blending seamlessly into our surroundings comes naturally and doesn’t require drastic changes to our daily lives. For those who cannot hide—the most visible and vulnerable among us—it becomes not only an option but a responsibility for their allies to step up and implement these strategies. This dual approach ensures that while some continue their lives with minimal disruption, others work behind the scenes to maintain safety nets and support systems. This collective effort is what builds a robust resistance movement capable of withstanding pressures and protecting its members from harm. It's not just about individual safety; it's about community resilience.
By taking proactive steps now, we ensure that everyone has the support they need to face whatever may come. This strategy is about being ready, not scared. It’s about building a network of support that can operate effectively under pressure while maintaining a facade of conformity to protect all its members.
Let’s focus on being prepared and connected, on understanding our roles, and on supporting each other. With careful planning and solidarity, we can navigate these challenges without fear, safeguarding our rights and freedoms in the process. Remember, the goal here is to keep the light of democracy burning, no matter how dark the times may seem.
sorry if my formatting is all over the place. This is jumble of my notes. I figure perfect is the enemy of good, and some of you have some anxiety over this. The rest of you...should....But It's going to be OK, because we have feet and hands and arms, and we can MAKE it OK.
2024.05.10 01:07 ar_david_hh Final days of Pashinyan government; Ultimatum & road closures \\ Russian forces leaving; Armenia moves to EU: Ex-MP Sargsyan \\ Turkey calls for AM-AZ peace agreement ASAP \\ French aid stolen \\ Gov't to subsidize domestic pharma \\ Patrol Police standards \\ California love \\ And more
8-minute read.
AUTHORITIES: In 2008, Yerevan municipality and the French city of Lyon signed a cooperation agreement. The French colleagues gave €95,000 to renovate the Vardavar Park. The city organized a tender to choose a company for the park's renovation. The defendant and a construction company signed an agreement. The company was given ֏16 million to launch the renovation. The renovation was underway. However, in the midst of the process, the defendant decided to lease out the park to an associate of MP Mher Sedrakyan for a period of 99 years, under the made-up pretense that the community didn't have funds to renovate it.
Moreover, under the land code, it was prohibited to sell or lease out that territory. The lease was signed without an auction. The park was given away for only ֏615,000/year ($1,500/yr), when the real value was ֏12.5 million/yr.
As for the remaining portion of the €95,000 French aid, it is unclear where that money went because Yerevan municipality did not preserve the documents.
The same defendant was also a subject in a separate asset forfeiture case. He agreed to surrender assets including a house, a car, and ֏29 million. //
video,
Russian agents will also leave Yerevan's international airport [by August, as reported earlier]. The removal was confirmed "at the highest level" during the Pashinyan-Putin meeting on Wednesday, said a ranking member of Armenia's ruling party QP.
Armenia did not request for the removal of the main Russian posts located on the borders with Turkey and Iran, which were deployed shortly after Armenia's independence from the USSR.
source, source, source, source,
Galstanyan listed the goal:
(1) Parliament must hold a vote of no confidence to oust Pashinyan. He met several opposition MPs to organize the process. "We will find a path."
(2) They will hold 2021-2022 style acts of disobedience and road closures.
(3) Galstanyan wants these protests to last 7-10 days so he urged the attendees, who looked largely unenthusiastic with only a few hundred responding to Bagrat's chants, not to lose interest and to show up tomorrow as well. There were ~31,700 people by some estimates. In 2021-2022 there were around 35,000 rallygoers if we don't count Robert Kocharyan's final rally that was held in the Republic Square days before the 2021 election day.
(4) Galstanyan plans to spend the night in Republic Square and meet the protesters tomorrow morning.
Notable parties and figures who joined or endorsed the ARF/Church rally: ARF's local and international structures, Serj's HHK leadership and its "youth wing", Kocharyan's "Armenia" faction MPs, the Union of Armenians in Russia led by pro-Kremlin Ara Abrahamyan, Russian-Armenian billionaire Ruben Vardanyan's Aprelu Yerkir party, the Hayaqve, Kocharyan's friend Vitaliy Balasanyan and other politicians from Nagorno-Karabakh, ex-Ombudsman Arman Tatoyan who recently participated in a forum organized by the ex-regime, an aspiring revolutionary Vazgen Manukyan, Paruyr Hayrikyan, the leadership of radical group BEVER, several MPs representing the pro-Russian opposition factions in the parliament, Mihran Poghosyan (suspected of narcotrafficking, hiding in Russia), Serj's son, Naira Zohrabyan, singers Shprot, Andre, Sofi Mkheyan, Mger Armenia, and others.
A drunk driver of a truck was arrested after attempting to drive through the square full of people. He drove towards the police officers and over the sidewalks before reaching the square. No reports of injury.
Authorities launched a criminal investigation after the protesters allegedly destroyed a journalist's camera.
The newspaper owned by PM Pashinyan's family writes that the ruling party knew in advance about Bagrat's intentions [until the last moment the organizers were claiming the march wasn't about ousting Pashinyan]. The newspaper writes that the police has been instructed to give a "firm response" if there are riots. The protest is in front of the government building. There were no reports of riots or clashes with the police. The archbishop urged the participants not to engage in violence.
The crowd began to leave in the late evening. Some of them expressed disappointment about the rally launching 2 hours late and about a lack of a specific plan by the organizers. They were asked to "paralyze the country" starting tomorrow at 10 am.
In the meantime, the opposition parties will try to organize a vote of no confidence to oust Pashinyan. They need 36 votes to advance it. They currently have 35 members but one independent MP used to be their member so they might have the number. Once the motion advances, the parliament holds a vote within 2-3 days. The PM is ousted if at least 54 of the 107 MPs vote in favor.
A video was circulated about protesters discussing the possibility of bringing weapons to the rally. Authorities arrested two individuals in the video.
DANIEL IOANNESIAN: The police must ensure that the protest is peaceful and there are no people with weapons. The use of force against peaceful protesters is illegal, but it is justified against violent ones.
RULING PARTY SECRETARY: An agreement was reached in Moscow to withdraw Russian border guards from Yerevan's Zvartnots Airport. I hope this news won't sadden the organizers of the rally too much.
RULING MP ALEXANYAN: The former regime is just rotating the leaders of its movement. In 2022 the same Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan was a guest speaker during Kocharyan's "Zartnir Lao" protests. Today he is the face. They just rotate the frontman.
RULING MP TOROSYAN: We thank Archbishop Bagrat for joining our anti-smoking campaign by urging his followers in Republic Square not to smoke. [does Torosyan win the prize for the most civil response?]
source, source, video, source, source, source, source, source, source, source, source, source, source, source, source, source, source, source, source, source, source, source, source,
March 29 news digest headline: "It's spring. My boy ARF Ishkhan Saghatelyan is officially back to mark the opening of a new revolution season."
May 9 rally: https://imgur.com/9fOPSTb
May 10-17: Traffic jams in Yerevan.
May 18: Nikol hides in the U.S. embassy.
May 19: Nikol is evacuated from the U.S. embassy with a helicopter and flown to Georgia where he is arrested by the pro-Russian government.
May 20: Jirayr Sefilian invites 15,000 Wagnerites to guard Bagrat Srbazan, the ruler of the newly revived Bagratuni Dynasty.
ARAM SARGSYAN (ex-PM): Yes, Armenia is headed to Euro-integration. The government is doing it slowly out of caution because of regional issues. I'm a supporter of a faster integration because that would improve our safety, not harm it.
REPORTER: Pashinyan and Putin discussed the withdrawal of Russian troops from the AM-AZ border. Why now?
ARAM SARGSYAN: It's within the framework of taking Armenia to the EU. I congratulate the Armenian public on the gradual withdrawal of Russia from our region after hundreds of years. Russia will eventually withdraw fully because they are not USSR and they don't have the power to forcefully stay. Russia must stick to its own business and attempt to become a European state itself. That will help them develop but that's up to the Russian people to decide. We welcome the withdrawal of foreign forces from the AM-AZ border. I hope they will leave the AM-IR border soon, and later from the AM-TR border. [that order is oddly specific and interesting]
REPORTER: What's your opinion on the opposition rally and demands for Pashinyan's resignation?
ARAM SARGSYAN: This process has a participant located outside Armenia. In Armenia, Pashinyan's disapproval rating is about 20% lower than Russia's, which is why Russia wanted to find a figure to rally the anti-Pashinyan population without triggering an association with Russia. Sadly they found that figure in the church. People [oppsoiton politicians] who never believed in God and never valued the church are exploiting the church today.
Robert Kocharyan first revealed the idea of using the church during the 2022 protests. But Russia has miscalculated because the same ex-regime politicians will show up to Archbishop's rallies and expose Russia's involvement.
Sasna Tsrer (Bever) has joined the protests. Will they stand on that stage and declare that Russia is an axis of evil? Figures from Bright Armenia [Edmon Marutyan's party] have also joined; will they stand on that stage and declare that Armenia must adopt a European model? The forces that gathered there do not have a common agenda for Armenia's future. If they want "answers" from the government about the Tavush delimitation, then those answers have been given to them on numerous occasions. This is not about Tavush. This is about geopolitics and control over a Meghri corridor.
source, source,
source, source,
TURKISH PRESS: Hoping for a positive outcome from the meeting to be held in Almaty on May 10 between FMs Mirzoyan and Bayramov, President Erdogan stated that the progress made in the peace process between Armenia and Azerbaijan is sufficient and that the peace agreement should be signed as soon as possible in order for the region to achieve the stability it seeks. //
Erdogan said Turkey and Azerbaijan will maintain close cooperation to prevent a growing "biased" Western influence in the region.
source,
Khachaturyan emphasized that the multi-sectoral cooperation with the US, and in particular with the state of California, is of special importance for Armenia.
They discussed high-tech, democratic institutions, and regional and global developments.
source,
This is part of a 5-year strategy adopted last year to promote the domestic pharmaceutical industry. It was adopted after learning lessons from the COVID-era shortages.
source,
source,
source,
submitted by ar_david_hh to armenia [link] [comments]
anti-corruption: former officials are accused of embezzling French aid and giving away territories to friends for pennies
REPORT: Fifteen years ago Yerevan's Vardavar Park [aka Lyon Park] was given to the associates of ex-regime MP Mher Sedrakyan at a price 20x below the market value, for 99 years. It was done with the help of MP Sedrakyan's relative Armen Harutyunyan, who served as the head of Yerevan's Erebuni district in 2009-2017; he is a defendant. The territory was allegedly given without an auction.AUTHORITIES: In 2008, Yerevan municipality and the French city of Lyon signed a cooperation agreement. The French colleagues gave €95,000 to renovate the Vardavar Park. The city organized a tender to choose a company for the park's renovation. The defendant and a construction company signed an agreement. The company was given ֏16 million to launch the renovation. The renovation was underway. However, in the midst of the process, the defendant decided to lease out the park to an associate of MP Mher Sedrakyan for a period of 99 years, under the made-up pretense that the community didn't have funds to renovate it.
Moreover, under the land code, it was prohibited to sell or lease out that territory. The lease was signed without an auction. The park was given away for only ֏615,000/year ($1,500/yr), when the real value was ֏12.5 million/yr.
As for the remaining portion of the €95,000 French aid, it is unclear where that money went because Yerevan municipality did not preserve the documents.
The same defendant was also a subject in a separate asset forfeiture case. He agreed to surrender assets including a house, a car, and ֏29 million. //
video,
PM Pashinyan discussed the removal of Russian border and military posts during the Moscow trip
The Russian posts deployed during and after the 2020 war on the AM-AZ border will be removed. They were installed at the request of Armenia but since the AM-AZ border is more stable now and there is a delimitation process, they are no longer needed.Russian agents will also leave Yerevan's international airport [by August, as reported earlier]. The removal was confirmed "at the highest level" during the Pashinyan-Putin meeting on Wednesday, said a ranking member of Armenia's ruling party QP.
Armenia did not request for the removal of the main Russian posts located on the borders with Turkey and Iran, which were deployed shortly after Armenia's independence from the USSR.
source, source, source, source,
the former regime concludes the Tavush-Yerevan march with an anti-Pashinyan rally in Yerevan's main square: VIDEO
The opposition churchman Bagrat Galstanyan, the co-organizer of the rally, said he is willing to meet and discuss the terms for Pashinyan's resignation. He gave Pashinyan 1 hour to resign. "You no longer have any form of power in Armenia. With your resignation, you will return the [victory] to the Armenian people."Galstanyan listed the goal:
(1) Parliament must hold a vote of no confidence to oust Pashinyan. He met several opposition MPs to organize the process. "We will find a path."
(2) They will hold 2021-2022 style acts of disobedience and road closures.
(3) Galstanyan wants these protests to last 7-10 days so he urged the attendees, who looked largely unenthusiastic with only a few hundred responding to Bagrat's chants, not to lose interest and to show up tomorrow as well. There were ~31,700 people by some estimates. In 2021-2022 there were around 35,000 rallygoers if we don't count Robert Kocharyan's final rally that was held in the Republic Square days before the 2021 election day.
(4) Galstanyan plans to spend the night in Republic Square and meet the protesters tomorrow morning.
Notable parties and figures who joined or endorsed the ARF/Church rally: ARF's local and international structures, Serj's HHK leadership and its "youth wing", Kocharyan's "Armenia" faction MPs, the Union of Armenians in Russia led by pro-Kremlin Ara Abrahamyan, Russian-Armenian billionaire Ruben Vardanyan's Aprelu Yerkir party, the Hayaqve, Kocharyan's friend Vitaliy Balasanyan and other politicians from Nagorno-Karabakh, ex-Ombudsman Arman Tatoyan who recently participated in a forum organized by the ex-regime, an aspiring revolutionary Vazgen Manukyan, Paruyr Hayrikyan, the leadership of radical group BEVER, several MPs representing the pro-Russian opposition factions in the parliament, Mihran Poghosyan (suspected of narcotrafficking, hiding in Russia), Serj's son, Naira Zohrabyan, singers Shprot, Andre, Sofi Mkheyan, Mger Armenia, and others.
A drunk driver of a truck was arrested after attempting to drive through the square full of people. He drove towards the police officers and over the sidewalks before reaching the square. No reports of injury.
Authorities launched a criminal investigation after the protesters allegedly destroyed a journalist's camera.
The newspaper owned by PM Pashinyan's family writes that the ruling party knew in advance about Bagrat's intentions [until the last moment the organizers were claiming the march wasn't about ousting Pashinyan]. The newspaper writes that the police has been instructed to give a "firm response" if there are riots. The protest is in front of the government building. There were no reports of riots or clashes with the police. The archbishop urged the participants not to engage in violence.
The crowd began to leave in the late evening. Some of them expressed disappointment about the rally launching 2 hours late and about a lack of a specific plan by the organizers. They were asked to "paralyze the country" starting tomorrow at 10 am.
In the meantime, the opposition parties will try to organize a vote of no confidence to oust Pashinyan. They need 36 votes to advance it. They currently have 35 members but one independent MP used to be their member so they might have the number. Once the motion advances, the parliament holds a vote within 2-3 days. The PM is ousted if at least 54 of the 107 MPs vote in favor.
... the anti-former regime figures respond to the rally
ARMAN BABAJANYAN: It is necessary to carry out internal reforms in the Church to allow it to become more flexible, to allow it to function without being an attachment of the oligarchy, so it can function as an independent structure. This process has one goal: to prevent the peaceful delimitation of borders and cause a war. War is their only option for returning to power. They will feel relieved, hidden behind the archbishops, when the bombs begin to fall on Yerevan. //A video was circulated about protesters discussing the possibility of bringing weapons to the rally. Authorities arrested two individuals in the video.
DANIEL IOANNESIAN: The police must ensure that the protest is peaceful and there are no people with weapons. The use of force against peaceful protesters is illegal, but it is justified against violent ones.
RULING PARTY SECRETARY: An agreement was reached in Moscow to withdraw Russian border guards from Yerevan's Zvartnots Airport. I hope this news won't sadden the organizers of the rally too much.
RULING MP ALEXANYAN: The former regime is just rotating the leaders of its movement. In 2022 the same Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan was a guest speaker during Kocharyan's "Zartnir Lao" protests. Today he is the face. They just rotate the frontman.
RULING MP TOROSYAN: We thank Archbishop Bagrat for joining our anti-smoking campaign by urging his followers in Republic Square not to smoke. [does Torosyan win the prize for the most civil response?]
source, source, video, source, source, source, source, source, source, source, source, source, source, source, source, source, source, source, source, source, source, source, source,
everything is going according to the plan
March: ARF Ishkhan Saghatelyan "returns" after a hiatus.March 29 news digest headline: "It's spring. My boy ARF Ishkhan Saghatelyan is officially back to mark the opening of a new revolution season."
May 9 rally: https://imgur.com/9fOPSTb
May 10-17: Traffic jams in Yerevan.
May 18: Nikol hides in the U.S. embassy.
May 19: Nikol is evacuated from the U.S. embassy with a helicopter and flown to Georgia where he is arrested by the pro-Russian government.
May 20: Jirayr Sefilian invites 15,000 Wagnerites to guard Bagrat Srbazan, the ruler of the newly revived Bagratuni Dynasty.
non-parliamentary pro-West forces and the ruling party took part in an event dedicated to AM-EU relations and CEPA
REPORTER: Are you satisfied with the government's policies and do you believe they are taking us to Euro-integration?ARAM SARGSYAN (ex-PM): Yes, Armenia is headed to Euro-integration. The government is doing it slowly out of caution because of regional issues. I'm a supporter of a faster integration because that would improve our safety, not harm it.
REPORTER: Pashinyan and Putin discussed the withdrawal of Russian troops from the AM-AZ border. Why now?
ARAM SARGSYAN: It's within the framework of taking Armenia to the EU. I congratulate the Armenian public on the gradual withdrawal of Russia from our region after hundreds of years. Russia will eventually withdraw fully because they are not USSR and they don't have the power to forcefully stay. Russia must stick to its own business and attempt to become a European state itself. That will help them develop but that's up to the Russian people to decide. We welcome the withdrawal of foreign forces from the AM-AZ border. I hope they will leave the AM-IR border soon, and later from the AM-TR border. [that order is oddly specific and interesting]
REPORTER: What's your opinion on the opposition rally and demands for Pashinyan's resignation?
ARAM SARGSYAN: This process has a participant located outside Armenia. In Armenia, Pashinyan's disapproval rating is about 20% lower than Russia's, which is why Russia wanted to find a figure to rally the anti-Pashinyan population without triggering an association with Russia. Sadly they found that figure in the church. People [oppsoiton politicians] who never believed in God and never valued the church are exploiting the church today.
Robert Kocharyan first revealed the idea of using the church during the 2022 protests. But Russia has miscalculated because the same ex-regime politicians will show up to Archbishop's rallies and expose Russia's involvement.
Sasna Tsrer (Bever) has joined the protests. Will they stand on that stage and declare that Russia is an axis of evil? Figures from Bright Armenia [Edmon Marutyan's party] have also joined; will they stand on that stage and declare that Armenia must adopt a European model? The forces that gathered there do not have a common agenda for Armenia's future. If they want "answers" from the government about the Tavush delimitation, then those answers have been given to them on numerous occasions. This is not about Tavush. This is about geopolitics and control over a Meghri corridor.
source, source,
Armenia's Economy Minister departs for the U.S. to take part in the "Americas Competitiveness Exchange" program
In March the Armenian government and U.S. Ambassador Kvien discussed Armenia's economic diversification and the possibility of hosting the Americans Competitiveness Exchange in Armenia.source, source,
Turkish President Erdogan wants Armenia and Azerbaijan to sign a peace agreement as soon as possible
Erdogan met Azerbaijan's Prime Minister Asadov.TURKISH PRESS: Hoping for a positive outcome from the meeting to be held in Almaty on May 10 between FMs Mirzoyan and Bayramov, President Erdogan stated that the progress made in the peace process between Armenia and Azerbaijan is sufficient and that the peace agreement should be signed as soon as possible in order for the region to achieve the stability it seeks. //
Erdogan said Turkey and Azerbaijan will maintain close cooperation to prevent a growing "biased" Western influence in the region.
source,
California governor has been invited to visit Armenia
Armenian President Khachaturyan is on a working trip to California where he met the local Armenian community, Silicone Valley figures, and the Governor of California Gavin Newsom.Khachaturyan emphasized that the multi-sectoral cooperation with the US, and in particular with the state of California, is of special importance for Armenia.
They discussed high-tech, democratic institutions, and regional and global developments.
source,
0 years ago today, representatives of Allied and Axis powers met in Yerevan to discuss the future of Europe: VIDEO
video,government wants to boost the domestic pharmaceutical industry by subsidizing clinical trials & registrations
Up to 50% or ֏25 million in subsidies to conduct a clinical trial, another 50% to cover the cost of undergoing a certification test, and other subsidies to register Armenian products in foreign markets.This is part of a 5-year strategy adopted last year to promote the domestic pharmaceutical industry. It was adopted after learning lessons from the COVID-era shortages.
source,
update: Russia's Gazprom begins selling assets after recording the first loss in 25 years and reportedly the largest ever ($6.9 billion)
Context in May 3 news. They are looking for buyers for several large buildings and parking lots in Moscow and Moscow Oblast.source,
government lowers the height and weight requirements to allow more women to join the new Patrol Police, at the request of the Ombudsman
60% of female applicants didn't meet the 160 cm and 58 kg (or 50?) requirements so they were lowered to 155/47. Some of the applicants have re-applied.source,
2024.05.09 05:51 Fboi9200 Mice Tea and the importance of experiencing things outside your comfort zone
To preface, I'd like to offer the following warning. Mice Tea is an 18+ Visual Novel featuring heavily explicit scenes of sex involving too many kinks to even begin listing here but all basically revolving around transformation, gender swapping, and furry kinks. One of the primary options/settings of the game is the ability to turn off said scenes or even just skip scenes containing kinks and subject matter you find uncomfortable so it mitigates this as a potential issue. That being said, I found the value of this game to be primarily outside of said scenes and more in the scenes involving characters talking and discovering more about themselves and each other. This isn't to discredit the 18+ content present, but more to make clear that my primary endorsement of this game is not founded on said content and that if someone is on the fence about the game because of said content that they should still possibly consider looking at this game. Or other weird, strange, out there games, which is more my overall point in this little essay. As well, I will be describing my opinions of this game from first exposure to 100% completion, so if my dialogue is inflammatory at the beginning please understand that I do regret my initial thoughts and have a positive opinion of this game.
To say I had no interest in Mice Tea would be a lie, because I saw it in my Discovery Queue one day, saw that it was Furry garbage, and clicked ignore and moved on. I do remember it as having initially distracted me because of what looked like decent production values, nice art, and neat music. But again, furry. So without a thought I cast it aside and thought no more of it. A while later during the 2023 Steam Sale I was browsing a reddit thread wherein the OP was listing their top obscure games of the year. Among a list of games that I personally enjoyed and found I had similar tastes too I was interested to find Mice Tea. The OP described it as their favorite game of 2023, which came as a surprise, especially listed amongst rather well regarded games such as Laika, Pseudoregalia, and Slay The Princess. My interest intrigued, I loaded up the steam page to find that furry game that I had ignored a while back. I was about to close the page when I thought about it for a second. This is a game that someone who has closely tied tastes to mine is claiming as their game of the year. What if they're right? I hemmed and hawed for a day or so, occasionally opening the steam page and closing it again, wondering if I bought it if I could hide it from my friends list. Eventually I landed on the game's itch.io page and decided $15 was low enough to try it. And frankly I enjoyed it a lot.
The story is somewhat simple, fairly sweet to the point of being saccharine at times, and is overall a rather light read. The perspective character of Margaret is different than usual VN protagonists, main differences being she is a woman in her mid 20s with a job and an apartment. Working at a bookstore with addictions to tea and books, she one day stumbles on a magical tea that transforms whoever drinks it into something else, typically an animal that suits their personality. The various routes through the story involve different members of her friend group getting exposed to the tea and the subsequent misadventures in trying to identify the tea, how to turn back, and how to make the most of these transformations (18+ scenes are what I'm referring to in this last bullet point). Main route characters include: Julie, a commitment-averse artist coming back home to see friends and stabilize after a suddenly shortened and mysterious work visa stay in France; Felix, the overworked and somewhat ineffectual manager of the aforementioned bookstore suffering from vast amounts of insecurity and self image issues with masculinity; Gavin, friend of Margaret and owner of the tea shop she frequents with a lifestyle he keeps secret from most everyone that suddenly comes to the forefront with the introduction of the tea; and Sophia, a prima donna rich girl who unintentionally steps over the people around her but wanting to change and be helpful. All these character's routes examine them and their identities, a very core theme of the game, resulting in the affirmation of some in who they are and some realizing who they really are, wanting to change, and show said change. Ultimately each route is about insecurity and acceptance, presented in a positive, hopeful light.
Edit: As well, all characters' routes are equal to each other, similar to most romantic, choice focused VNs. No character is meant to be more important than another. I make use of Gavin's route as an example, I don't intend for it to be perceived as the main route of the game by any means.
Interestingly this game does something I appreciate that not a lot of other VNs do where just because you have chosen one route does not mean everyone else's lives stop. On Gavin's route for example, Julie gets hired at the teashop to help her financially recover, Felix comes to terms with self image in a somewhat jarring and roundabout way, and Sophia starts a wedding planning business with her first job being Margaret's. Other routes follow similar trends with everyone in the main cast, and even ones outside the main cast, usually ending up in better or at least stable circumstances compared to how they started. Another positive is that the choices in the game tend to have a clear path in that usually the right answers to a choice involve communication, thoughtfulness, and acceptance. Even the bad ends that result from the wrong choices can be seen as somewhat okay, with usually the only person negatively affected being Margaret with a clear path of how she could progress from where she is to being okay one day. Each route is well done, with the story maintaining in each the overall process of: wtf is this tea, why am I turned into what I am, maybe this is what I actually want to be, maybe I can use this as a springboard to what I want to be, subsequent success. The primary route difference is, as with most visual novels, the chosen character. Each route starts at different points on a linear choice path where you diverge on to the individual character paths at markers that you make choices at. From there you progress down the story, hitting some choices that can lead to alternative or bad ends. Present in the game is a route chart that allows you to look over the structure of the entire game and shows what you have read and what choices you have made. From here it is exceedingly easy to find choice branches where you want to change what you decided and see what happens afterwards. A lot of VNs that I have experienced do not offer such systems so it is massively appreciated here.
Overall the story maintains a positive tone throughout, with the drama being light and easily dealt with even in the worst cases. This can mean at times the game can be a little wish fulfillment-ish with its interactions. Granted it's not really the type of game that's trying to truly get into deep philisophical parts of its discussions on gender, sexuality, alternative cultures, etc..., but person to person conflict and friction is always brief and quickly pushed aside which can be somewhat jarring. Characters can get into arguments, leave the scene, and then 5 lines later come back seeking forgiveness with a changed opinion. Or through one conversation can find their worldviews flipped changed upside down. One particularly egregious example is in felix's route where an old lady walks into the bookstore and sees a bunch of furry con-goers shopping there. Somewhat confused and upset, she is greeted by felix and given the cheesiest "power of acceptance and understanding" speech I've seen in a hot minute. Humbled and realizing the error of her ways she is shown later in the route once again happily visiting the store accepting the presence of the previously confusing clientelle. My views on this may be biased but frankly it was a scene that was naively hopeful at best and downright laughable in its realism. My witnessing of similar interactions and hearing of stories telling similar tales don't typically end in hugs and understanding. But again, this is not the story for that, it's a lighthearted game that needs moments of friction to keep the momentum of the story going. I'm unsure what changes I would make to fix it frankly, but I maintain that the drama can be somewhat clumsy in execution at times. That isn't to say wish-fulfillment isn't the wrong choice, just a more cynical reader might find it too much to take.
To be clear (although previous statements should probably have already made it clear) I was not a furry. Now having played this game, I am still not a furry. However what I can say is that this game has offered me a perspective into furries culture and viewpoints to where I have found my self much more sympathetic to them. Before I had no idea why anyone would want to gallavant about in an extremely expensive mascot costume, now I at least understand that to a furry it can be so much more, so heavily tied into their identity and person. I cannot say I am completely changed, I'm after all trying to deprogram decades of prejudice and untoward disdain. But this is a situation that for some reason I have found myself in constantly through my life. Whether it was as a young child thinking anime was weird and then being introduced to Samurai Champloo, Cowboy Bebop, and Steins;Gate in college and realizing my ignorance. Thinking Dungeons and Dragons was a game for losers and nerds, then finding Dimension 20 years later and devouring their content understanding just how much fun can be had by pretending you're a neurotic wizard in a dragon lair. Hearing about Visual Novels thinking they were just porn, and then finding my favorite work of fiction ever in Umineko no Naku Koro Ni. Even something as stupid as me as a teenager seeing Red Dead Redemption wondering why anyone would want to play a cowboy simulator, renting it on a bored whim, and proceeding to become enraptured with it.
Constantly I find my preconceptions challenged, shattered, and changed into something better each time. And yet it's still a surprise every time, but a welcome one. I won't say anything like "This will change your life" or "This will make you a furry" or anything so ridiculous. But it feels like every now and then I need to be reminded that just because something can be outside my comfort zone doesn't mean I should write it off, because more often than not I find my thoughts and opinions challenged and changed more often than not for the better. And I feel like maybe I'm not the only one who could benefit from remembering that. I am a sufferer of small-mindedness in general, enforced by my surroundings, peers, and upbringing. But I also have performed enough self reflection over time to conciously know that I must do my best to attempt to maintain an open perspective as that is personally where I have found the greatest amount of growth and understanding in myself as a person.
If you don't want to play Mice Tea I completely understand, really. It's an 18+ Western Developed Visual Novel, a niche of a niche of a subset of a niche. At the end of the day there's not a lot that can be talked about easily here. It's porny, it's alternative culture and not in a currently socially acceptable way, at times it's just outright fucking weird. There's an image at the end of one of Gavin's routes that I laughed at for a solid 10 minutes. The scene with a little mouse in a wedding dress held in the palm of her panda bear best friend facing a bird boy in a tux is absolutely something I would never have expected to see in my lifetime In the moment the image is presented in earnest, it's hopeful, it's a validation of a certain viewpoint that in quote unquote "mainstream culture" would be criticized and rebuked, and unfortunately my first reaction was laughter. Even now I think that I don't have the emotional maturity to be able to look at it straightfaced, some work left to be done I suppose. But if you're like me, that you looked at Mice Tea and dismissed it without a thought then maybe reconsider. Or maybe you hate anime looking games, I can tell you that so many anime VNs and rpgs out there are beyond worth your time. Or maybe you hate sports games, something out there could be worthwhile. There's a lot to be said of broadening your horizons and giving new things a chance, especially in such a broad medium as video games. Or just media in general. I'm the type that likes my entertainment to be enjoyed on a surface level, but it's nice to be reminded that entertainment can mean something, can change people for the better. I hope that at least this one has made me a little bit better.
submitted by Fboi9200 to truegaming [link] [comments]
To say I had no interest in Mice Tea would be a lie, because I saw it in my Discovery Queue one day, saw that it was Furry garbage, and clicked ignore and moved on. I do remember it as having initially distracted me because of what looked like decent production values, nice art, and neat music. But again, furry. So without a thought I cast it aside and thought no more of it. A while later during the 2023 Steam Sale I was browsing a reddit thread wherein the OP was listing their top obscure games of the year. Among a list of games that I personally enjoyed and found I had similar tastes too I was interested to find Mice Tea. The OP described it as their favorite game of 2023, which came as a surprise, especially listed amongst rather well regarded games such as Laika, Pseudoregalia, and Slay The Princess. My interest intrigued, I loaded up the steam page to find that furry game that I had ignored a while back. I was about to close the page when I thought about it for a second. This is a game that someone who has closely tied tastes to mine is claiming as their game of the year. What if they're right? I hemmed and hawed for a day or so, occasionally opening the steam page and closing it again, wondering if I bought it if I could hide it from my friends list. Eventually I landed on the game's itch.io page and decided $15 was low enough to try it. And frankly I enjoyed it a lot.
The story is somewhat simple, fairly sweet to the point of being saccharine at times, and is overall a rather light read. The perspective character of Margaret is different than usual VN protagonists, main differences being she is a woman in her mid 20s with a job and an apartment. Working at a bookstore with addictions to tea and books, she one day stumbles on a magical tea that transforms whoever drinks it into something else, typically an animal that suits their personality. The various routes through the story involve different members of her friend group getting exposed to the tea and the subsequent misadventures in trying to identify the tea, how to turn back, and how to make the most of these transformations (18+ scenes are what I'm referring to in this last bullet point). Main route characters include: Julie, a commitment-averse artist coming back home to see friends and stabilize after a suddenly shortened and mysterious work visa stay in France; Felix, the overworked and somewhat ineffectual manager of the aforementioned bookstore suffering from vast amounts of insecurity and self image issues with masculinity; Gavin, friend of Margaret and owner of the tea shop she frequents with a lifestyle he keeps secret from most everyone that suddenly comes to the forefront with the introduction of the tea; and Sophia, a prima donna rich girl who unintentionally steps over the people around her but wanting to change and be helpful. All these character's routes examine them and their identities, a very core theme of the game, resulting in the affirmation of some in who they are and some realizing who they really are, wanting to change, and show said change. Ultimately each route is about insecurity and acceptance, presented in a positive, hopeful light.
Edit: As well, all characters' routes are equal to each other, similar to most romantic, choice focused VNs. No character is meant to be more important than another. I make use of Gavin's route as an example, I don't intend for it to be perceived as the main route of the game by any means.
Interestingly this game does something I appreciate that not a lot of other VNs do where just because you have chosen one route does not mean everyone else's lives stop. On Gavin's route for example, Julie gets hired at the teashop to help her financially recover, Felix comes to terms with self image in a somewhat jarring and roundabout way, and Sophia starts a wedding planning business with her first job being Margaret's. Other routes follow similar trends with everyone in the main cast, and even ones outside the main cast, usually ending up in better or at least stable circumstances compared to how they started. Another positive is that the choices in the game tend to have a clear path in that usually the right answers to a choice involve communication, thoughtfulness, and acceptance. Even the bad ends that result from the wrong choices can be seen as somewhat okay, with usually the only person negatively affected being Margaret with a clear path of how she could progress from where she is to being okay one day. Each route is well done, with the story maintaining in each the overall process of: wtf is this tea, why am I turned into what I am, maybe this is what I actually want to be, maybe I can use this as a springboard to what I want to be, subsequent success. The primary route difference is, as with most visual novels, the chosen character. Each route starts at different points on a linear choice path where you diverge on to the individual character paths at markers that you make choices at. From there you progress down the story, hitting some choices that can lead to alternative or bad ends. Present in the game is a route chart that allows you to look over the structure of the entire game and shows what you have read and what choices you have made. From here it is exceedingly easy to find choice branches where you want to change what you decided and see what happens afterwards. A lot of VNs that I have experienced do not offer such systems so it is massively appreciated here.
Overall the story maintains a positive tone throughout, with the drama being light and easily dealt with even in the worst cases. This can mean at times the game can be a little wish fulfillment-ish with its interactions. Granted it's not really the type of game that's trying to truly get into deep philisophical parts of its discussions on gender, sexuality, alternative cultures, etc..., but person to person conflict and friction is always brief and quickly pushed aside which can be somewhat jarring. Characters can get into arguments, leave the scene, and then 5 lines later come back seeking forgiveness with a changed opinion. Or through one conversation can find their worldviews flipped changed upside down. One particularly egregious example is in felix's route where an old lady walks into the bookstore and sees a bunch of furry con-goers shopping there. Somewhat confused and upset, she is greeted by felix and given the cheesiest "power of acceptance and understanding" speech I've seen in a hot minute. Humbled and realizing the error of her ways she is shown later in the route once again happily visiting the store accepting the presence of the previously confusing clientelle. My views on this may be biased but frankly it was a scene that was naively hopeful at best and downright laughable in its realism. My witnessing of similar interactions and hearing of stories telling similar tales don't typically end in hugs and understanding. But again, this is not the story for that, it's a lighthearted game that needs moments of friction to keep the momentum of the story going. I'm unsure what changes I would make to fix it frankly, but I maintain that the drama can be somewhat clumsy in execution at times. That isn't to say wish-fulfillment isn't the wrong choice, just a more cynical reader might find it too much to take.
To be clear (although previous statements should probably have already made it clear) I was not a furry. Now having played this game, I am still not a furry. However what I can say is that this game has offered me a perspective into furries culture and viewpoints to where I have found my self much more sympathetic to them. Before I had no idea why anyone would want to gallavant about in an extremely expensive mascot costume, now I at least understand that to a furry it can be so much more, so heavily tied into their identity and person. I cannot say I am completely changed, I'm after all trying to deprogram decades of prejudice and untoward disdain. But this is a situation that for some reason I have found myself in constantly through my life. Whether it was as a young child thinking anime was weird and then being introduced to Samurai Champloo, Cowboy Bebop, and Steins;Gate in college and realizing my ignorance. Thinking Dungeons and Dragons was a game for losers and nerds, then finding Dimension 20 years later and devouring their content understanding just how much fun can be had by pretending you're a neurotic wizard in a dragon lair. Hearing about Visual Novels thinking they were just porn, and then finding my favorite work of fiction ever in Umineko no Naku Koro Ni. Even something as stupid as me as a teenager seeing Red Dead Redemption wondering why anyone would want to play a cowboy simulator, renting it on a bored whim, and proceeding to become enraptured with it.
Constantly I find my preconceptions challenged, shattered, and changed into something better each time. And yet it's still a surprise every time, but a welcome one. I won't say anything like "This will change your life" or "This will make you a furry" or anything so ridiculous. But it feels like every now and then I need to be reminded that just because something can be outside my comfort zone doesn't mean I should write it off, because more often than not I find my thoughts and opinions challenged and changed more often than not for the better. And I feel like maybe I'm not the only one who could benefit from remembering that. I am a sufferer of small-mindedness in general, enforced by my surroundings, peers, and upbringing. But I also have performed enough self reflection over time to conciously know that I must do my best to attempt to maintain an open perspective as that is personally where I have found the greatest amount of growth and understanding in myself as a person.
If you don't want to play Mice Tea I completely understand, really. It's an 18+ Western Developed Visual Novel, a niche of a niche of a subset of a niche. At the end of the day there's not a lot that can be talked about easily here. It's porny, it's alternative culture and not in a currently socially acceptable way, at times it's just outright fucking weird. There's an image at the end of one of Gavin's routes that I laughed at for a solid 10 minutes. The scene with a little mouse in a wedding dress held in the palm of her panda bear best friend facing a bird boy in a tux is absolutely something I would never have expected to see in my lifetime In the moment the image is presented in earnest, it's hopeful, it's a validation of a certain viewpoint that in quote unquote "mainstream culture" would be criticized and rebuked, and unfortunately my first reaction was laughter. Even now I think that I don't have the emotional maturity to be able to look at it straightfaced, some work left to be done I suppose. But if you're like me, that you looked at Mice Tea and dismissed it without a thought then maybe reconsider. Or maybe you hate anime looking games, I can tell you that so many anime VNs and rpgs out there are beyond worth your time. Or maybe you hate sports games, something out there could be worthwhile. There's a lot to be said of broadening your horizons and giving new things a chance, especially in such a broad medium as video games. Or just media in general. I'm the type that likes my entertainment to be enjoyed on a surface level, but it's nice to be reminded that entertainment can mean something, can change people for the better. I hope that at least this one has made me a little bit better.
2024.05.08 22:40 NietzscheIsMyDog Love Joy Trump: A Chorus of Prophetic Voices [Part I]
![Love Joy Trump: A Chorus of Prophetic Voices [Part I]](https://b.thumbs.redditmedia.com/hiF-r3M93jYZlrH2Qda826UofJqVVCWvhqQNA2Vko3I.jpg "Love Joy Trump: A Chorus of Prophetic Voices [Part I]") | I should have known I was inviting all manner of "starseeds," "prophets," "twin flames," and Mike Lindell into my life when I opened this book. Did you know that Donald Trump is the rightful heir to the throne of Scotland, England, Ireland, AND Israel? Did you know that the entertainment industry is based on "African sun worship and Congo dances?" And did you know that "Presidential elections are a catalyst for the harvesting of souls in the end times?" I didn't, but I sure as hell do now! submitted by NietzscheIsMyDog to PieceOfShitBookClub [link] [comments] https://preview.redd.it/fbehdb2nn8zc1.jpg?width=2000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=eee7f3d124a630453fe3c68523126593b2662696 Many a fundamentalist Christian had already explained to me why Donald Trump was going to win re-election in 2020. That much I was clear on, and there is a *lot* of that in this book. But I was entirely taken aback when I was abruptly informed that that Trump's initial 2016 election had been enforced by the Galactic Federation of Light's Ashtar Command, the air division of the Great White Brotherhood. But all things worth having take time to attain, and it took a few hundred pages of prayers, meandering essays, copypastas from obscure websites, and open letters from God himself to finally find out how the Ashtar Command managed to secure Trump's election at all. For the first time ever, I intend to break this into multiple parts simply because Ashtar Command deserves its own section. You'll see why. Love Joy Trump contains two separate forwords, the first of which was written by Amanda Grace, a prophetess who frequently speaks for God on YouTube. Mike "Pillow" Lindell follows with his own introduction. The former compares Trump to King David, while the latter compares him to King Cyrus. I won't bore you with the details, but these Bible characters share essentially no similarities. Regardless, Lindell is emphatic that "we must win... to reelect President Donald John Trump whose name literally means 'World leader under the Grace of God who excels and triumphs.' That's pretty clear, isn't it?" If you, like me, are not convinced by the etymology of Trump's name alone that the aforementioned imperative is "pretty clear," maybe Trump's energy in general will persuade you? Lindell offers this very solution: "Faith without works is dead and President Trump is the perfect example of that with an energy and purpose that can only be considered divine." Yeah, that sentence didn't really make sense to me either. Once you've read two separate forewords you will then find yourself reading two separate introductions as well (only one of which is aware it is an introduction), both authored by "BethAnon," the compiler of this book. And then the prayers, prophesies, and transcribed Trump speeches begin. BethAnon's 9 personally written pieces are littered randomly throughout the collection, which is comprised of 44 in total. That's about 1 in 5, and she is arguably the least interesting writer in this book. Be warned. So, what are the contents? Love Joy Trump sends the reader through a genuinely uncurated mess of Dominionist theology with drips and drabs of New Age nonsense, nearly all of which claim to be the transcribed voice of God speaking through the chosen recipients of his secret ambiguous messages. God seems to have some trouble choosing a consistent style of speech, and frequently ends his divine sentences with "thus saith the Lord," "says the Lord your God," etc. Here are some excerpts, emphasis is my own: "And God says, they will say, 'We hated her, but now we love her.' For she shall take the oil of healing and pour it upon the scars of those left and those right and of the new party that has come forth and emerged, where they shall say, 'Christ will reign and we shall not implement socialism at all.'" - Kim Clements, potentially referring to herself.As you can see, God has a way of having the EXACT opinions of those who speak for him. Here's an example: "He wants to do what is right. He wants to stop the slaughter of the unborn! He wants the right of freedom of speech-back again! He does not want the transgender agenda! It is an abomination!" - Elisheva ElijahThe Lord works in mysterious ways, as you're about to see. Elisheva goes on to demonstrate the weird epistemology of prophesy in action in what I believe to be a transcription of a livestream of some sort: Elisheva: "Oh yeah! Katherynyah had visions!"If the Bible had been written by podcasters, this might be what it would look like. As a side note, I highly recommend you check out Elisheva's website. It's something else. The Lord goes on to warn us about the dangers of paganism and abortion, and predicts that Israel will fully recover her ancient territory. The Lord endorses Trump every few paragraphs no matter who he is speaking through, and says "I have chosen you, Mr. Trump, and you will be a leader to many, not just of your own people, but of the world." God has the good sense to warn China and the entire continent of Africa that they face an impending invasion by the "Armies of Heaven" who will take "the kingdom" by force. Trump is predicted to be the hero of nearly every tale told in the future; the hero worship will make your jaw drop. "Is it possible that one-day Trump may be remembered as the man who 'Made America Great Again' and revered by Christians as 'the Great?'" - Blaise JosephThe politics are predictably shit. In one of BethAnon's screeds, she explains with full honesty the concept of Manifest Destiny in a chapter titled the same: "It was based on a divine right of the American people to bring civilization and enlightenment to other races..."Separation of Church and State also comes up: "'What about separation of church and state?' That's bogus. There is no such thing as separation of church and state. If there is such a thing it means that the government should not stick their nose into the church." - Rodney Howard-Browne, having his cake and eating it too.Rodney goes on to explain that the first ever megachurch was the US Capitol, and that the Marine Band "did the praise and worship." So, what is all this? Love Joy Trump is a pandemonic cacophony of mutually exclusive messages from God himself, mixed with the occasional commentary from people who don't seem to actually know anything, all delivering the same message over and over and over again: Donald Trump is going to win re-election in 2020. In hindsight, none of these people should have any credibility. A complete moron could transcribe some podcasts at random, copy and paste poorly written articles off the internet, and as long as your Google searches had a theme you would create a product of identical quality. Along the way, you may accidentally copy some content that is really out there. Such as this part, in a chapter titled "How We Realized Trump is Leading Our Earth into the Golden Age" by Lindsay and Conner, where the "Global Earth Alliance" overthrows the New World Order by loving one another, the Mayan calendar cycle ending in 2012 signaled the end of the 26000 year dark age, and the International Monetary Fund is controlled by Reptilians from the Draco constellation. If this is your thing, you are invited by the authors to "look from the knowing of oneness and equality through the Archontic Artificial Intelligence programs into the spirits and hearts of the Annunaki [sic] "Royal" Bloodlines (Vampires of myth), Set (Ancient Egypt), Satanic (Masonic), The Draco Reptilians (Demons), and the Sirian Wolfen beings (Werewolves)." I suppose it it would take intervention by the Galactic Federation of Light to defeat all that. How are we supposed to take on Hillary-supporting vampires and werewolves by traditional means? Even Q failed to mention what Trump's plan was for this very realistic scenario. But FEAR NOT, PATRIQTS! For all of your questions will be answered directly by Ashtar Command in Part II! |
2024.05.08 18:43 Narrow-Instance-2867 Grimes Prophecy Tablet-Fully Explained
Back in September of 2019 the musical artist Grimes posted a photo of a tablet full of rows of emojis/symbols to her official blue checkmark Instagram account.
In the sixth line down there is a petri dish, a C-19 spike protein (germ/virus bug), and three vaccines. Grimes studied neuroscience when she went to McGill University.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grimes
Her father, Maurice Boucher, is the executive chairman of the gene editing company Renaissance BioScience in Vancouver, Canada.
https://renaissancebioscience.com/about
Elon Musk's (Grimes' ex boyfriend) company Tesla has had a partnership with the German biopharmaceutical mRNA technology production company CureVac since 2016. Tesla helped create the parts for CureVac's mRNA printer for the C-19 vaccine.
Elon Musk speaking with CureVac employees about the C-19 injection video:
https://youtube.com/shorts/2JxPXWqS3MI?si=FdeQlD1TYjvxSTTZ
In the seventh line down we see weapons which is pointing towards the two most talked about/major wars occuring currently: Ukraine/Russia and Israel/Palestine. We then see a knife followed by two DNA strands in the same line. This is refrencing gene editing via the mRNA technology in the C-19 mRNA technology injection.
https://www.pfizer.com/science/innovation/mrna-technology
https://www.mskcc.org/coronavirus/what-s-different-about-messenger-rna-vaccines-covid-19
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/coronavirus/in-depth/different-types-of-covid-19-vaccines/art-20506465
In the eigth line down we see a face going through different emotions: Upset, shocked, alarmed (!), feeling unsure/having questions (?), realizing the truth (...) about the wars and the gene editing C-19 injections, feeling sick over learning this, pondering (..) and then not caring. The last face in this line of facial emojis has an open wound in the head as if it had been bombed/struck with a weapon...
In the tenth line down there are two dragon emojis. Elon Musk (Grimes' ex boyfriend) has a rocket named Dragon.
https://www.universetoday.com/112213/elon-musk-premiers-spacex-manned-dragon-v2-astronaut-transporter-1st-photos/
In the final line we see three emojis which symbol nuclear war.
Elon Musk visits with Israel's Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, a lot. Almost as if they are friends (or, friend-LY at the very most). Elon went to Israel in November last year and met up with Netanyahu. Elon had previously said (on his official blue checkmark Twitter account) that ad revenue on Twitter would fund the rebuilding of hospitals in Gaza. He had also previously stated that he would work with Palestine/the Palestinian civilians in order to give them access to Starlink so that they could have Internet after their power lines/sources were knocked out. However, after his trip to Israel last November, he did a turnaround. He started censoring/straight up deleting accounts speaking about Palestine on Twitter and did the same with anti-Zionist accounts/posts on Twitter as well. He also Tweeted out that he was sorry to hear about the war in Israel but only mentioned Israel. There are several countries at war as we speak not just Israel. Anti-Zionism is not anti-Semitism as there are plenty of Jews protesting Zionism as we speak. They (correctly) state that Judaism and Zionism are not the same and that they just want peace for both Palestinians and Israelis. No more war-ceasefire.
I believe that Elon's SpaceX company makes missiles/nuclear weapons. Rockets look exactly like missiles/nuclear weapons. I believe that NASA's/SpaceX's rocket launch pad sites are, in fact, missile launch pad sites. Why do both Elon and Grimes (on their official blue checkmark Twitter accounts) follow the IDF's (Israel's military) official blue checkmark account on Twitter? Why does Elon meet up with Israel's Prime Minister so often? Why did Grimes come out with the New Gods music video about one year ago which depicts missile strikes on the earth? She presses a giant red button in the video with the word: "Missile" above the button. She came out with this video after she posted the photo of the prophecy tablet to her Instagram in 2019, mind you.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=smsZGAUGHtg
Images of missile strikes in various countries-
https://www.google.com/search?q=missile+strikes%C2%A0&client=safari&sca_esv=74c740cd3a771c52&sca_upv=1&rls=en&udm=2&biw=1039&bih=599&sxsrf=ADLYWIIvLgH_Aw88aBbGrXXR45SooKh5XA%3A1715184027646&ei=m6E7ZvCAJ9rGp84P5q2X4Ak&ved=0ahUKEwiwusS1tv6FAxVa48kDHebWBZwQ4dUDCA8&uact=5&oq=missile+strikes%C2%A0&gs_lp=Egxnd3Mtd2l6LXNlcnAiEW1pc3NpbGUgc3RyaWtlc8KgMgUQABiABDIEEAAYHjIGEAAYBRgeMgYQABgFGB4yBhAAGAUYHjIHEAAYgAQYGDIHEAAYgAQYGDIHEAAYgAQYGDIHEAAYgAQYGDIHEAAYgAQYGEj3ElCgBFjEEXABeACQAQCYAZQBoAGdDqoBAzguOLgBA8gBAPgBAZgCD6ACmg6oAgDCAgoQABiABBhDGIoFwgIEEAAYA8ICCBAAGIAEGLEDwgIOEAAYgAQYsQMYgwEYigXCAhAQABiABBixAxhDGIMBGIoFwgINEAAYgAQYsQMYQxiKBcICCxAAGIAEGLEDGIMBmAMCkgcDNi45oAeUUA&sclient=gws-wiz-serp
Elon Musk rockets images-
https://www.google.com/search?q=elon+musk+rockets%C2%A0&client=safari&sca_esv=74c740cd3a771c52&sca_upv=1&rls=en&udm=2&biw=1039&bih=599&sxsrf=ADLYWII2UM5pwEyCwwyfcdVvpiu8gQBBFw%3A1715184490053&ei=aqM7ZrzxAu6optQP3qeFyAs&ved=0ahUKEwi8zoOSuP6FAxVulIkEHd5TAbkQ4dUDCA8&uact=5&oq=elon+musk+rockets%C2%A0&gs_lp=Egxnd3Mtd2l6LXNlcnAiE2Vsb24gbXVzayByb2NrZXRzwqAyBRAAGIAEMgQQABgeMgYQABgIGB4yBhAAGAgYHjIGEAAYCBgeMgYQABgIGB4yBxAAGIAEGBgyBxAAGIAEGBgyBxAAGIAEGBgyBxAAGIAEGBhIgRFQxAJY_w9wAXgAkAEAmAGRAaABlQmqAQQxNy4xuAEDyAEA-AEBmAISoAKJCqgCAMICChAAGIAEGEMYigXCAgsQABiABBixAxiDAcICBBAAGAPCAggQABiABBixA8ICDhAAGIAEGLEDGIMBGIoFwgIJEAAYgAQYGBgKmAMDkgcEMTcuMaAHkVw&sclient=gws-wiz-serp
Missiles images-
https://www.google.com/search?q=missiles%C2%A0&client=safari&sca_esv=74c740cd3a771c52&sca_upv=1&rls=en&udm=2&biw=1039&bih=599&sxsrf=ADLYWIKtosIHpjV-dGjfNeYw4Auq1OOvSg%3A1715184521311&ei=iaM7ZsLKEsCJptQPtqCm-AY&ved=0ahUKEwiCs_eguP6FAxXAhIkEHTaQCW8Q4dUDCA8&uact=5&oq=missiles%C2%A0&gs_lp=Egxnd3Mtd2l6LXNlcnAiCm1pc3NpbGVzwqAyCBAAGIAEGLEDMgUQABiABDIFEAAYgAQyBRAAGIAEMgUQABiABDIFEAAYgAQyBRAAGIAEMgUQABiABDIFEAAYgAQyBRAAGIAESNEKUIgDWMsJcAF4AJABAZgBzwGgAaEHqgEFMy40LjG4AQPIAQD4AQGYAgegApEGqAIAwgIKEAAYgAQYQxiKBcICBBAAGAPCAg4QABiABBixAxiDARiKBcICDRAAGIAEGLEDGEMYigXCAgsQABiABBixAxiDAZgDBpIHAzMuNKAHlyc&sclient=gws-wiz-serp
Nuclear weapons images-
https://www.google.com/search?q=nuclear+weapons&client=safari&sca_esv=74c740cd3a771c52&sca_upv=1&rls=en&udm=2&biw=1039&bih=599&sxsrf=ADLYWIK02rrZVtkiM1hqcDoahYzUWIevNQ%3A1715184536813&ei=mKM7ZqmeMbejptQPh6e0qA8&ved=0ahUKEwipyqmouP6FAxW3kYkEHYcTDfUQ4dUDCA8&uact=5&oq=nuclear+weapons&gs_lp=Egxnd3Mtd2l6LXNlcnAiD251Y2xlYXIgd2VhcG9uczIIEAAYgAQYsQMyBRAAGIAEMgUQABiABDIFEAAYgAQyBRAAGIAEMgUQABiABDIFEAAYgAQyBRAAGIAEMgUQABiABDIFEAAYgARI0xNQ7ARYghNwBHgAkAEAmAFToAHGB6oBAjE1uAEDyAEA-AEBmAISoAK_CKgCAMICChAAGIAEGEMYigXCAgsQABiABBixAxiDAcICDRAAGIAEGLEDGEMYigXCAgQQABgDwgIOEAAYgAQYsQMYgwEYigWYAwKIBgGSBwIxOKAHgFE&sclient=gws-wiz-serp
No one is going to space. I repeat: No one is going to space. It does not exist. Elon is in bed with the Israeli military and Israel's Prime Minister. They most likely buy rockets (missiles) from SpaceX.
Wernher von Braun was an aerospace engineer and space architect. He was a member of the Nazi Party and the leading figure in the development of rocket technology. The article linked below explains how after WWII von Braun worked with the U.S. army in the development of balistic missiles.
https://www.nasa.gov/history/sputnik/braun.html
Wernher von Braun info-
https://www.google.com/search?q=wernher+von+braun%C2%A0&client=safari&sca_esv=74c740cd3a771c52&sca_upv=1&rls=en&biw=1039&bih=599&sxsrf=ADLYWIIw1Wx9m_f_RuiYkn7DZa1jGCryRQ%3A1715184807609&ei=p6Q7ZtTuJOyaptQPou6HgA4&ved=0ahUKEwiU3rmpuf6FAxVsjYkEHSL3AeAQ4dUDCA8&uact=5&oq=wernher+von+braun%C2%A0&gs_lp=Egxnd3Mtd2l6LXNlcnAiE3dlcm5oZXIgdm9uIGJyYXVuwqAyDxAAGIAEGEMYigUYRhj7ATIFEC4YgAQyBRAuGIAEMgUQABiABDIFEAAYgAQyBRAAGIAEMgUQABiABDIFEAAYgAQyBRAuGIAEMgUQABiABDIbEAAYgAQYQxiKBRhGGPsBGJcFGIwFGN0E2AEBSLwIUPsBWJAGcAF4AZABAJgBtgOgAfcEqgEHMS4xLjQtMbgBA8gBAPgBAZgCA6ACwATCAgoQABiwAxjWBBhHwgINEAAYgAQYsAMYQxiKBcICDRAuGIAEGLADGEMYigXCAgoQABiABBhDGIoFwgIIEAAYgAQYxwPCAgYQABgWGB6YAwCIBgGQBgq6BgYIARABGBOSBwcxLjEuNC0xoAeMKQ&sclient=gws-wiz-serp
Wernher von Braun's tomb has the Bible verse Psalms 19:1 on it.
Wernher von Braun's tomb images-
https://www.google.com/search?q=wernher+von+braun+tomb&client=safari&sca_esv=74c740cd3a771c52&sca_upv=1&rls=en&udm=2&biw=1039&bih=599&sxsrf=ADLYWIINGTPxB9l8Pk8Fa4ts3wXZWm7teA%3A1715184732917&ei=XKQ7Zt3XN_auptQP9OqU0AY&ved=0ahUKEwjd9eqFuf6FAxV2l4kEHXQ1BWoQ4dUDCA8&uact=5&oq=wernher+von+braun+tomb&gs_lp=Egxnd3Mtd2l6LXNlcnAiFndlcm5oZXIgdm9uIGJyYXVuIHRvbWIyBRAAGIAEMggQABiABBjHA0jwF1DDAVjhFnABeACQAQCYAZkBoAHTC6oBBDIxLjG4AQPIAQD4AQGYAhagAuMMqAIAwgIIEAAYgAQYsQPCAgoQABiABBhDGIoFwgILEAAYgAQYsQMYgwHCAg0QABiABBixAxhDGIoFwgIOEAAYgAQYsQMYgwEYigXCAgQQABgewgIGEAAYCBgewgIHEAAYgAQYGJgDA5IHBDIxLjGgB-lq&sclient=gws-wiz-serp
This verse has the word firmament right in it. Wernher knew space does not exist. He was, in fact, making missile technology when he was in the Nazi party and when he was working with the U.S. military.
Psalms 19:1 KJV- https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm%2019%3A1&version=KJV
In Grimes' song My Name is Dark there is one line about imminent annihilation...
https://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/grimes/mynameisdarkartmix.html
The three nuclear symbols in the last line on the tablet stand for the following (in order):
submitted by Narrow-Instance-2867 to conspiracy [link] [comments]
In the sixth line down there is a petri dish, a C-19 spike protein (germ/virus bug), and three vaccines. Grimes studied neuroscience when she went to McGill University.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grimes
Her father, Maurice Boucher, is the executive chairman of the gene editing company Renaissance BioScience in Vancouver, Canada.
https://renaissancebioscience.com/about
Elon Musk's (Grimes' ex boyfriend) company Tesla has had a partnership with the German biopharmaceutical mRNA technology production company CureVac since 2016. Tesla helped create the parts for CureVac's mRNA printer for the C-19 vaccine.
Elon Musk speaking with CureVac employees about the C-19 injection video:
https://youtube.com/shorts/2JxPXWqS3MI?si=FdeQlD1TYjvxSTTZ
In the seventh line down we see weapons which is pointing towards the two most talked about/major wars occuring currently: Ukraine/Russia and Israel/Palestine. We then see a knife followed by two DNA strands in the same line. This is refrencing gene editing via the mRNA technology in the C-19 mRNA technology injection.
https://www.pfizer.com/science/innovation/mrna-technology
https://www.mskcc.org/coronavirus/what-s-different-about-messenger-rna-vaccines-covid-19
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/coronavirus/in-depth/different-types-of-covid-19-vaccines/art-20506465
In the eigth line down we see a face going through different emotions: Upset, shocked, alarmed (!), feeling unsure/having questions (?), realizing the truth (...) about the wars and the gene editing C-19 injections, feeling sick over learning this, pondering (..) and then not caring. The last face in this line of facial emojis has an open wound in the head as if it had been bombed/struck with a weapon...
In the tenth line down there are two dragon emojis. Elon Musk (Grimes' ex boyfriend) has a rocket named Dragon.
https://www.universetoday.com/112213/elon-musk-premiers-spacex-manned-dragon-v2-astronaut-transporter-1st-photos/
In the final line we see three emojis which symbol nuclear war.
Elon Musk visits with Israel's Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, a lot. Almost as if they are friends (or, friend-LY at the very most). Elon went to Israel in November last year and met up with Netanyahu. Elon had previously said (on his official blue checkmark Twitter account) that ad revenue on Twitter would fund the rebuilding of hospitals in Gaza. He had also previously stated that he would work with Palestine/the Palestinian civilians in order to give them access to Starlink so that they could have Internet after their power lines/sources were knocked out. However, after his trip to Israel last November, he did a turnaround. He started censoring/straight up deleting accounts speaking about Palestine on Twitter and did the same with anti-Zionist accounts/posts on Twitter as well. He also Tweeted out that he was sorry to hear about the war in Israel but only mentioned Israel. There are several countries at war as we speak not just Israel. Anti-Zionism is not anti-Semitism as there are plenty of Jews protesting Zionism as we speak. They (correctly) state that Judaism and Zionism are not the same and that they just want peace for both Palestinians and Israelis. No more war-ceasefire.
I believe that Elon's SpaceX company makes missiles/nuclear weapons. Rockets look exactly like missiles/nuclear weapons. I believe that NASA's/SpaceX's rocket launch pad sites are, in fact, missile launch pad sites. Why do both Elon and Grimes (on their official blue checkmark Twitter accounts) follow the IDF's (Israel's military) official blue checkmark account on Twitter? Why does Elon meet up with Israel's Prime Minister so often? Why did Grimes come out with the New Gods music video about one year ago which depicts missile strikes on the earth? She presses a giant red button in the video with the word: "Missile" above the button. She came out with this video after she posted the photo of the prophecy tablet to her Instagram in 2019, mind you.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=smsZGAUGHtg
Images of missile strikes in various countries-
https://www.google.com/search?q=missile+strikes%C2%A0&client=safari&sca_esv=74c740cd3a771c52&sca_upv=1&rls=en&udm=2&biw=1039&bih=599&sxsrf=ADLYWIIvLgH_Aw88aBbGrXXR45SooKh5XA%3A1715184027646&ei=m6E7ZvCAJ9rGp84P5q2X4Ak&ved=0ahUKEwiwusS1tv6FAxVa48kDHebWBZwQ4dUDCA8&uact=5&oq=missile+strikes%C2%A0&gs_lp=Egxnd3Mtd2l6LXNlcnAiEW1pc3NpbGUgc3RyaWtlc8KgMgUQABiABDIEEAAYHjIGEAAYBRgeMgYQABgFGB4yBhAAGAUYHjIHEAAYgAQYGDIHEAAYgAQYGDIHEAAYgAQYGDIHEAAYgAQYGDIHEAAYgAQYGEj3ElCgBFjEEXABeACQAQCYAZQBoAGdDqoBAzguOLgBA8gBAPgBAZgCD6ACmg6oAgDCAgoQABiABBhDGIoFwgIEEAAYA8ICCBAAGIAEGLEDwgIOEAAYgAQYsQMYgwEYigXCAhAQABiABBixAxhDGIMBGIoFwgINEAAYgAQYsQMYQxiKBcICCxAAGIAEGLEDGIMBmAMCkgcDNi45oAeUUA&sclient=gws-wiz-serp
Elon Musk rockets images-
https://www.google.com/search?q=elon+musk+rockets%C2%A0&client=safari&sca_esv=74c740cd3a771c52&sca_upv=1&rls=en&udm=2&biw=1039&bih=599&sxsrf=ADLYWII2UM5pwEyCwwyfcdVvpiu8gQBBFw%3A1715184490053&ei=aqM7ZrzxAu6optQP3qeFyAs&ved=0ahUKEwi8zoOSuP6FAxVulIkEHd5TAbkQ4dUDCA8&uact=5&oq=elon+musk+rockets%C2%A0&gs_lp=Egxnd3Mtd2l6LXNlcnAiE2Vsb24gbXVzayByb2NrZXRzwqAyBRAAGIAEMgQQABgeMgYQABgIGB4yBhAAGAgYHjIGEAAYCBgeMgYQABgIGB4yBxAAGIAEGBgyBxAAGIAEGBgyBxAAGIAEGBgyBxAAGIAEGBhIgRFQxAJY_w9wAXgAkAEAmAGRAaABlQmqAQQxNy4xuAEDyAEA-AEBmAISoAKJCqgCAMICChAAGIAEGEMYigXCAgsQABiABBixAxiDAcICBBAAGAPCAggQABiABBixA8ICDhAAGIAEGLEDGIMBGIoFwgIJEAAYgAQYGBgKmAMDkgcEMTcuMaAHkVw&sclient=gws-wiz-serp
Missiles images-
https://www.google.com/search?q=missiles%C2%A0&client=safari&sca_esv=74c740cd3a771c52&sca_upv=1&rls=en&udm=2&biw=1039&bih=599&sxsrf=ADLYWIKtosIHpjV-dGjfNeYw4Auq1OOvSg%3A1715184521311&ei=iaM7ZsLKEsCJptQPtqCm-AY&ved=0ahUKEwiCs_eguP6FAxXAhIkEHTaQCW8Q4dUDCA8&uact=5&oq=missiles%C2%A0&gs_lp=Egxnd3Mtd2l6LXNlcnAiCm1pc3NpbGVzwqAyCBAAGIAEGLEDMgUQABiABDIFEAAYgAQyBRAAGIAEMgUQABiABDIFEAAYgAQyBRAAGIAEMgUQABiABDIFEAAYgAQyBRAAGIAESNEKUIgDWMsJcAF4AJABAZgBzwGgAaEHqgEFMy40LjG4AQPIAQD4AQGYAgegApEGqAIAwgIKEAAYgAQYQxiKBcICBBAAGAPCAg4QABiABBixAxiDARiKBcICDRAAGIAEGLEDGEMYigXCAgsQABiABBixAxiDAZgDBpIHAzMuNKAHlyc&sclient=gws-wiz-serp
Nuclear weapons images-
https://www.google.com/search?q=nuclear+weapons&client=safari&sca_esv=74c740cd3a771c52&sca_upv=1&rls=en&udm=2&biw=1039&bih=599&sxsrf=ADLYWIK02rrZVtkiM1hqcDoahYzUWIevNQ%3A1715184536813&ei=mKM7ZqmeMbejptQPh6e0qA8&ved=0ahUKEwipyqmouP6FAxW3kYkEHYcTDfUQ4dUDCA8&uact=5&oq=nuclear+weapons&gs_lp=Egxnd3Mtd2l6LXNlcnAiD251Y2xlYXIgd2VhcG9uczIIEAAYgAQYsQMyBRAAGIAEMgUQABiABDIFEAAYgAQyBRAAGIAEMgUQABiABDIFEAAYgAQyBRAAGIAEMgUQABiABDIFEAAYgARI0xNQ7ARYghNwBHgAkAEAmAFToAHGB6oBAjE1uAEDyAEA-AEBmAISoAK_CKgCAMICChAAGIAEGEMYigXCAgsQABiABBixAxiDAcICDRAAGIAEGLEDGEMYigXCAgQQABgDwgIOEAAYgAQYsQMYgwEYigWYAwKIBgGSBwIxOKAHgFE&sclient=gws-wiz-serp
No one is going to space. I repeat: No one is going to space. It does not exist. Elon is in bed with the Israeli military and Israel's Prime Minister. They most likely buy rockets (missiles) from SpaceX.
Wernher von Braun was an aerospace engineer and space architect. He was a member of the Nazi Party and the leading figure in the development of rocket technology. The article linked below explains how after WWII von Braun worked with the U.S. army in the development of balistic missiles.
https://www.nasa.gov/history/sputnik/braun.html
Wernher von Braun info-
https://www.google.com/search?q=wernher+von+braun%C2%A0&client=safari&sca_esv=74c740cd3a771c52&sca_upv=1&rls=en&biw=1039&bih=599&sxsrf=ADLYWIIw1Wx9m_f_RuiYkn7DZa1jGCryRQ%3A1715184807609&ei=p6Q7ZtTuJOyaptQPou6HgA4&ved=0ahUKEwiU3rmpuf6FAxVsjYkEHSL3AeAQ4dUDCA8&uact=5&oq=wernher+von+braun%C2%A0&gs_lp=Egxnd3Mtd2l6LXNlcnAiE3dlcm5oZXIgdm9uIGJyYXVuwqAyDxAAGIAEGEMYigUYRhj7ATIFEC4YgAQyBRAuGIAEMgUQABiABDIFEAAYgAQyBRAAGIAEMgUQABiABDIFEAAYgAQyBRAuGIAEMgUQABiABDIbEAAYgAQYQxiKBRhGGPsBGJcFGIwFGN0E2AEBSLwIUPsBWJAGcAF4AZABAJgBtgOgAfcEqgEHMS4xLjQtMbgBA8gBAPgBAZgCA6ACwATCAgoQABiwAxjWBBhHwgINEAAYgAQYsAMYQxiKBcICDRAuGIAEGLADGEMYigXCAgoQABiABBhDGIoFwgIIEAAYgAQYxwPCAgYQABgWGB6YAwCIBgGQBgq6BgYIARABGBOSBwcxLjEuNC0xoAeMKQ&sclient=gws-wiz-serp
Wernher von Braun's tomb has the Bible verse Psalms 19:1 on it.
Wernher von Braun's tomb images-
https://www.google.com/search?q=wernher+von+braun+tomb&client=safari&sca_esv=74c740cd3a771c52&sca_upv=1&rls=en&udm=2&biw=1039&bih=599&sxsrf=ADLYWIINGTPxB9l8Pk8Fa4ts3wXZWm7teA%3A1715184732917&ei=XKQ7Zt3XN_auptQP9OqU0AY&ved=0ahUKEwjd9eqFuf6FAxV2l4kEHXQ1BWoQ4dUDCA8&uact=5&oq=wernher+von+braun+tomb&gs_lp=Egxnd3Mtd2l6LXNlcnAiFndlcm5oZXIgdm9uIGJyYXVuIHRvbWIyBRAAGIAEMggQABiABBjHA0jwF1DDAVjhFnABeACQAQCYAZkBoAHTC6oBBDIxLjG4AQPIAQD4AQGYAhagAuMMqAIAwgIIEAAYgAQYsQPCAgoQABiABBhDGIoFwgILEAAYgAQYsQMYgwHCAg0QABiABBixAxhDGIoFwgIOEAAYgAQYsQMYgwEYigXCAgQQABgewgIGEAAYCBgewgIHEAAYgAQYGJgDA5IHBDIxLjGgB-lq&sclient=gws-wiz-serp
This verse has the word firmament right in it. Wernher knew space does not exist. He was, in fact, making missile technology when he was in the Nazi party and when he was working with the U.S. military.
Psalms 19:1 KJV- https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm%2019%3A1&version=KJV
In Grimes' song My Name is Dark there is one line about imminent annihilation...
https://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/grimes/mynameisdarkartmix.html
The three nuclear symbols in the last line on the tablet stand for the following (in order):
- The logo for the Nuclear Security Summit. The last summit was held in 2016. U.S. President Barack Obama was the host of both the 2010 and 2016 summits. This is ironic due to the fact that Obama sent drone strikes to Pakistan, Somalia and Yemen when he was president. It is also the icon/symbol for nuclear science/nuclear physics.
- Fallout sheltebunker. There are bunkers under the White House in the U.S., Vladimir Putin has bunkers in Russia, Benjamin Netanyahu has a bunker in Israel, Mark Zuckerberg, the Tate brothers, the Kardashians, Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Rick Ross, and many others also own bunkers. If they could travel to space then why would they need bunkers? They've seen all these wars occuring and do not want to fall victim like the rest of us plebs.
- Nuclear fallout/nuclear radiation. In simple terms, World War III is being fought with missiles and bombs.
- Mariupol, Ukraine
- Gaza Strip, Palestine
- Rafah, Palestine
- Beirut, Lebanon (after the 2020 port explosion)
- Gatlinburg, Tennessee fire 2016
- Mati, Greece fire 2018
- Paradise, California 2018
- Conjola Park, Australia 2019-2020
- Algiers, Algeria 2021
- Boulder County, Colorado 2021
- Yellowknife/Enterprise, Canada 2023
- Lahaina, Hawaii 2023
- Texas Panhandle 2024
- Viña del Mar, Chile 2024
Not to mention two deadly earthquakes in less than a year with the Turkey/Syria earthquake last year (2023) killing over 55,000 people (!) which is unheard of and the earthquake in Japan in January this year (2024) killing 245 people.