Nuclear staffing
[TV Spoilers] The meeting was between a very particular group
2024.05.31 14:14 EvidenceOfDespair [TV Spoilers] The meeting was between a very particular group
So, the meeting between the corporate heads in the TV show. A lot of people have used this to conclude "Vault-Tec started the war". In my opinion, that's entirely misreading the situation. Lucy and The Ghoul have both drawn inaccurate conclusions from their limited knowledge. The Ghoul was not exactly the most perceptive guy around, and reading the news from across the nation likely wasn't something he did. What do I mean by that? Fallout 4. The Boston Bugle.
See, in Fallout 4, you can discover several articles in the Boston Bugle building from their October 19, 2077 - October 23, 2077 issue. The Great War was on 10/23/77. So, significant date range. Why do I bring this up? Here's the full text of one article:
White House Remains Empty - Where is our President? By Mags Veccio Boston Bugle Staff Writer
For more than half a year, the West Wing of America's most famous residence has remained shrouded in near complete darkness. A skeleton crew of manual laborers remains on staff to maintain the property, but nobody has lived - or worked politically - there for several months. And even though the White House Press Corps was unofficially and unceremoniously disbanded around the same time, the media has remained steadfast in answering that most important of questions:
Where is our President?
At first, the assumption was that the entirety of the United States government had moved operations to Raven Rock, the military operations center located in the mountainous region of Pennsylvania just a few miles northeast of the Presidential retreat in Camp David, Maryland. But further investigations have revealed that neither the President nor his Cabinet have been to the Raven Rock complex in over a year.
So if not Raven Rock, then where?
Thanks to an extensive and exhaustive investigation, the Boston Bugle has uncovered the answer, and our readers will likely consider it as strange as it is shocking:
The President has been leading our country from a Poseidon Energy oil rig just off the coast of San Francisco.
It's certainly an odd choice for a Presidential command center. Or is it? Not as much as it may seem, as our investigation discovered. Thanks to the testimony of a highly-placed anonymous source, the Boston Bugle has learned that the official designation of the oil rig is actually "Control Station Enclave" - giving credence to the long-running rumors of a secret, militarized "shadow government," known as the Enclave, that would take control of the United States in the event of a nuclear conflagration.
And so, the mystery of the missing President has finally been solved. But in doing so, has the Boston Bugle also uncovered evidence that the end of the world, in the form of total atomic war, is also at hand?
Sadly, the President's silence seems to speak volumes.
Oh. Well isn't that interesting? The press uncovers proof of The Enclave, who are already a known conspiracy theory in pre-war America, and within the week the bombs drop. But then there's the show itself. The first scene of the first episode of the show, in fact.
[newscaster] [over radio] …negotiations were scheduled to continue today as the White House had no comment about the President’s whereabouts.
Now, this snippet of a report could be taken in one of two ways. Either they asked a generic "where is he", or they asked a very specific "so is it true he's at Control Station Enclave?" However, either way, the very first spoken line of dialogue in the show brings up the exact same subject as the news article which exposes The Enclave to the world. Now, isn't that a bit pointed?
Then there's the cold fusion technology. Which was bought out by and controlled by Vault-Tec. Who was using it at the start of the show, doing research on it, and whose research on it led to pretty much the entire plot? Was it Vault-Tec? Nope. It was The Enclave. Who, according to Fallout 2, has override codes for the Vaults and was ultimately behind the Vault Experiments? The Enclave. So, The Enclave has consistently had access to all of Vault-Tec's stuff. Vault-Tec has always been under and a part of The Enclave.
The show brings up several times that the corporations are immensely richer than the government at this point. The show makes it quite clear who the real power is between the two.
Now, who else is there? Well, one of the major ones is West Tek's Leon Von Felden. You might remember West Tek as the people responsible for the Forced Evolutionary Virus and power armor. I think we all know how this one ties to The Enclave, right? Well here's the thing: Vault-Tec sure was involved in a lot of FEV experimentation too, weren't they? So now we have a nice little interplay between these three "separate" organizations.
Now, General Atomics isn't at the meeting, but we also know that GA and RobCo were heavily intertwined. Mr. Handy? A co-production. Liberty Prime? Also a co-production. Robobrains were a General Atomics creation, and we see one on a roomba in the show being used to house Bud. And then of course there's all the other vaults staffed with Robobrains in the show. Additionally, the Fallout 1 manual establishes that General Atomics was contracted for tech involved in the Vaults. From Page 1 to Page 2 of the manual:
Important Vault Statistics Vault Number ............................13 Starting construction date .........August 2063 Ending construction date ..........March 2069 Starting Budget .........................$400,000,000,000 Final Budget, with interest ........$645,000,000,000 Total number of occupants .......1,000 (at capacity) Total duration ...........................10 years (at capacity) Number of living quarters .........100 (hot bunking required if at maximum capacity) Door thickness ..........................4 yards, steel Earth coverage .........................3,200,000 tons of soil, at 200 feet Computer control system .........Think machine Primary power supply ...............Geo-thermal Secondary power supply ..........General Atomics Nuclear Power backup systems Power requirements .................3.98mkw/day Stores .......................................Complete construction equipment, hydro-agricultural farms, water purification from underground river, defensive weaponry to equip 10 men, communication, social and entertainment files (for total duration)
Now, REPCONN is represented at the meeting by Julia Masters. She is not a show original character. She actually comes from REPCONN Inter-office Correspondence #3262173 in Fallout: New Vegas. This is undated, but reveals that at one point, Poseidon tried to buy them out. Later on, Mr. House gave it a go. Mr. House, of course, has obvious reasons for wanting to own the rocket company. But doesn't it make it weird that the one dissident at the meeting, the one who isn't a part of The Enclave after the war, is trying to force a hostile takeover of another member of the meeting? Her name and position in the company come from this specific terminal, the only possible way to manage to have her in the show is to also know Mr. House was engaged in hostile action against them. Given the fact they're sitting in the same room like this, I'd go so far as to posit that this hostile takeover attempt was after the meeting, which further positions House as turning on this group.
There's more evidence for this however. House did buy out REPCONN. To quote the tour guide in New Vegas:
"REPCONN's illustrious history began way back in 2054, shortly after the famous Delta XI rocket was completed and launched. REPCONN's initial focus was on the development of fuel to be used in orbital propulsion in response to the energy crisis of 2052. Sad times, indeed. The company really took off when RobCo purchased REPCONN in late 2076 to develop unmanned rockets to explore the solar system."
Not only does this tell us that House successfully took over this company but it also gives us an idea of when the meeting takes place. No later than 2076. This makes a lot of sense, Cooper had time to go through 100% of divorce proceedings with Barb after the meeting, it couldn't have been that close to the Great War.
So, now we have a pretty good idea of the order of events here, right? Mr. House objects to the whole "blow up the world" plan and begins explicitly, openly fighting the other conspirators. He buys out REPCONN via a hostile takeover. He builds the Vegas defense system and is off by only one hour when it comes to when the bombs will fall. Thing is, Julia was also in on it. She helped make the RobCo deal go through. Why would Julia even be at this meeting if the meeting was after House took over REPCONN? They're just a subsidiary of him after that.
But it gets even more messy. Julia was a triple agent, believed to be working for Poseidon Energy. Once again, this all comes from the REPCONN terminal entries, which is the exclusive sole appearance of Julia Masters outside the show. House put REPCONN on weapons research. Julia proceeded to work to steal this research for an unknown party, said to have been believed to be Poseidon Energy. Which loops us right back around to The Enclave, whom of course were based out of Poseidon Energy's oil rig and thus very heavily intertwined. We have a strong connection between Julia Masters and The Enclave now, Robert House and The Enclave not working together, and Robert House intentionally taking over a company connected to a conspiracy involving the other two major Enclave-connected companies.
But then there's the figures in shadow watching the meeting. Who are they? Well obviously, there's no clear answer. But it seems odd to me that people don't focus on this more. There were more people present for this meeting, who aren't weighing in and the audience are explicitly kept in the dark about. Who would they be? I think the obvious answer here is the President and some staff of his.
So, Vault-Tec and West Tek are two parties whom are heavily intertwined with The Enclave, Mr. House explicitly dislikes the "start the Great War" plan, Mr. House is explicitly taking action against another party involved in this conspiracy, there's a secret shadowy group involved in the conspiracy, The Enclave is heavily implied to be trying to steal tech from Mr. House, and The Enclave was exposed within a week of the war starting. Vault-Tec was, during the building stages of the vaults, always working with RobCo, which fits his involvement up to the meeting, as Mr. Handy and Robobrains were both a joint venture between RobCo and General Atomics.
In short? Vault-Tec didn't start the war, that's just Cooper's misinformed interpretation of events and Lucy's daddy issues informing how we perceive all this. The Enclave started the war because they'd just been exposed to the public and it was now or never. Vault-Tec is just part of The Enclave.
The clincher, imo? Cold fusion. Cooper discovers that the cold fusion technology was bought out by Vault-Tec and buried. They didn't even use it in their own vaults, instead using General Atomics nuclear technology. But then, who perfected it? Who got it up and running? We see who at the start of the show as well. The Enclave. The Enclave, as Fallout 2 tells us, also has total control over the vaults. The Enclave has total control over the vaults, including getting all the data from them. They have access codes. So, who's the common factor in everything? The vaults, FEV, power armor, cold fusion, robbing Mr. House after he took over REPCONN, everything? The Enclave. The Enclave started the war, not Vault-Tec. Barb being in charge of Vault-Tec is a misdirect. "Vault-Tec" didn't nuke Shady Sands, but Hank isn't about to explain "no, actually I'm part of The Enclave and The Enclave nuked Shady Sands", he's more than happy to leave everyone in the dark about that aspect and keep the blame on Vault-Tec. Why reveal your hand? No need to go screaming out to both the NCR and The Brotherhood that their arch-nemesis is involved in all this more than they already know.
And that just guides us to one other question: who leads The Enclave now? Two presidents down, did they get a new one? From where? Who's qualified to lead The Enclave now? Barb. Barb leads The Enclave now.
submitted by EvidenceOfDespair to Fallout [link] [comments]
See, in Fallout 4, you can discover several articles in the Boston Bugle building from their October 19, 2077 - October 23, 2077 issue. The Great War was on 10/23/77. So, significant date range. Why do I bring this up? Here's the full text of one article:
White House Remains Empty - Where is our President? By Mags Veccio Boston Bugle Staff Writer
For more than half a year, the West Wing of America's most famous residence has remained shrouded in near complete darkness. A skeleton crew of manual laborers remains on staff to maintain the property, but nobody has lived - or worked politically - there for several months. And even though the White House Press Corps was unofficially and unceremoniously disbanded around the same time, the media has remained steadfast in answering that most important of questions:
Where is our President?
At first, the assumption was that the entirety of the United States government had moved operations to Raven Rock, the military operations center located in the mountainous region of Pennsylvania just a few miles northeast of the Presidential retreat in Camp David, Maryland. But further investigations have revealed that neither the President nor his Cabinet have been to the Raven Rock complex in over a year.
So if not Raven Rock, then where?
Thanks to an extensive and exhaustive investigation, the Boston Bugle has uncovered the answer, and our readers will likely consider it as strange as it is shocking:
The President has been leading our country from a Poseidon Energy oil rig just off the coast of San Francisco.
It's certainly an odd choice for a Presidential command center. Or is it? Not as much as it may seem, as our investigation discovered. Thanks to the testimony of a highly-placed anonymous source, the Boston Bugle has learned that the official designation of the oil rig is actually "Control Station Enclave" - giving credence to the long-running rumors of a secret, militarized "shadow government," known as the Enclave, that would take control of the United States in the event of a nuclear conflagration.
And so, the mystery of the missing President has finally been solved. But in doing so, has the Boston Bugle also uncovered evidence that the end of the world, in the form of total atomic war, is also at hand?
Sadly, the President's silence seems to speak volumes.
Oh. Well isn't that interesting? The press uncovers proof of The Enclave, who are already a known conspiracy theory in pre-war America, and within the week the bombs drop. But then there's the show itself. The first scene of the first episode of the show, in fact.
[newscaster] [over radio] …negotiations were scheduled to continue today as the White House had no comment about the President’s whereabouts.
Now, this snippet of a report could be taken in one of two ways. Either they asked a generic "where is he", or they asked a very specific "so is it true he's at Control Station Enclave?" However, either way, the very first spoken line of dialogue in the show brings up the exact same subject as the news article which exposes The Enclave to the world. Now, isn't that a bit pointed?
Then there's the cold fusion technology. Which was bought out by and controlled by Vault-Tec. Who was using it at the start of the show, doing research on it, and whose research on it led to pretty much the entire plot? Was it Vault-Tec? Nope. It was The Enclave. Who, according to Fallout 2, has override codes for the Vaults and was ultimately behind the Vault Experiments? The Enclave. So, The Enclave has consistently had access to all of Vault-Tec's stuff. Vault-Tec has always been under and a part of The Enclave.
The show brings up several times that the corporations are immensely richer than the government at this point. The show makes it quite clear who the real power is between the two.
Now, who else is there? Well, one of the major ones is West Tek's Leon Von Felden. You might remember West Tek as the people responsible for the Forced Evolutionary Virus and power armor. I think we all know how this one ties to The Enclave, right? Well here's the thing: Vault-Tec sure was involved in a lot of FEV experimentation too, weren't they? So now we have a nice little interplay between these three "separate" organizations.
Now, General Atomics isn't at the meeting, but we also know that GA and RobCo were heavily intertwined. Mr. Handy? A co-production. Liberty Prime? Also a co-production. Robobrains were a General Atomics creation, and we see one on a roomba in the show being used to house Bud. And then of course there's all the other vaults staffed with Robobrains in the show. Additionally, the Fallout 1 manual establishes that General Atomics was contracted for tech involved in the Vaults. From Page 1 to Page 2 of the manual:
Important Vault Statistics Vault Number ............................13 Starting construction date .........August 2063 Ending construction date ..........March 2069 Starting Budget .........................$400,000,000,000 Final Budget, with interest ........$645,000,000,000 Total number of occupants .......1,000 (at capacity) Total duration ...........................10 years (at capacity) Number of living quarters .........100 (hot bunking required if at maximum capacity) Door thickness ..........................4 yards, steel Earth coverage .........................3,200,000 tons of soil, at 200 feet Computer control system .........Think machine Primary power supply ...............Geo-thermal Secondary power supply ..........General Atomics Nuclear Power backup systems Power requirements .................3.98mkw/day Stores .......................................Complete construction equipment, hydro-agricultural farms, water purification from underground river, defensive weaponry to equip 10 men, communication, social and entertainment files (for total duration)
Now, REPCONN is represented at the meeting by Julia Masters. She is not a show original character. She actually comes from REPCONN Inter-office Correspondence #3262173 in Fallout: New Vegas. This is undated, but reveals that at one point, Poseidon tried to buy them out. Later on, Mr. House gave it a go. Mr. House, of course, has obvious reasons for wanting to own the rocket company. But doesn't it make it weird that the one dissident at the meeting, the one who isn't a part of The Enclave after the war, is trying to force a hostile takeover of another member of the meeting? Her name and position in the company come from this specific terminal, the only possible way to manage to have her in the show is to also know Mr. House was engaged in hostile action against them. Given the fact they're sitting in the same room like this, I'd go so far as to posit that this hostile takeover attempt was after the meeting, which further positions House as turning on this group.
There's more evidence for this however. House did buy out REPCONN. To quote the tour guide in New Vegas:
"REPCONN's illustrious history began way back in 2054, shortly after the famous Delta XI rocket was completed and launched. REPCONN's initial focus was on the development of fuel to be used in orbital propulsion in response to the energy crisis of 2052. Sad times, indeed. The company really took off when RobCo purchased REPCONN in late 2076 to develop unmanned rockets to explore the solar system."
Not only does this tell us that House successfully took over this company but it also gives us an idea of when the meeting takes place. No later than 2076. This makes a lot of sense, Cooper had time to go through 100% of divorce proceedings with Barb after the meeting, it couldn't have been that close to the Great War.
So, now we have a pretty good idea of the order of events here, right? Mr. House objects to the whole "blow up the world" plan and begins explicitly, openly fighting the other conspirators. He buys out REPCONN via a hostile takeover. He builds the Vegas defense system and is off by only one hour when it comes to when the bombs will fall. Thing is, Julia was also in on it. She helped make the RobCo deal go through. Why would Julia even be at this meeting if the meeting was after House took over REPCONN? They're just a subsidiary of him after that.
But it gets even more messy. Julia was a triple agent, believed to be working for Poseidon Energy. Once again, this all comes from the REPCONN terminal entries, which is the exclusive sole appearance of Julia Masters outside the show. House put REPCONN on weapons research. Julia proceeded to work to steal this research for an unknown party, said to have been believed to be Poseidon Energy. Which loops us right back around to The Enclave, whom of course were based out of Poseidon Energy's oil rig and thus very heavily intertwined. We have a strong connection between Julia Masters and The Enclave now, Robert House and The Enclave not working together, and Robert House intentionally taking over a company connected to a conspiracy involving the other two major Enclave-connected companies.
But then there's the figures in shadow watching the meeting. Who are they? Well obviously, there's no clear answer. But it seems odd to me that people don't focus on this more. There were more people present for this meeting, who aren't weighing in and the audience are explicitly kept in the dark about. Who would they be? I think the obvious answer here is the President and some staff of his.
So, Vault-Tec and West Tek are two parties whom are heavily intertwined with The Enclave, Mr. House explicitly dislikes the "start the Great War" plan, Mr. House is explicitly taking action against another party involved in this conspiracy, there's a secret shadowy group involved in the conspiracy, The Enclave is heavily implied to be trying to steal tech from Mr. House, and The Enclave was exposed within a week of the war starting. Vault-Tec was, during the building stages of the vaults, always working with RobCo, which fits his involvement up to the meeting, as Mr. Handy and Robobrains were both a joint venture between RobCo and General Atomics.
In short? Vault-Tec didn't start the war, that's just Cooper's misinformed interpretation of events and Lucy's daddy issues informing how we perceive all this. The Enclave started the war because they'd just been exposed to the public and it was now or never. Vault-Tec is just part of The Enclave.
The clincher, imo? Cold fusion. Cooper discovers that the cold fusion technology was bought out by Vault-Tec and buried. They didn't even use it in their own vaults, instead using General Atomics nuclear technology. But then, who perfected it? Who got it up and running? We see who at the start of the show as well. The Enclave. The Enclave, as Fallout 2 tells us, also has total control over the vaults. The Enclave has total control over the vaults, including getting all the data from them. They have access codes. So, who's the common factor in everything? The vaults, FEV, power armor, cold fusion, robbing Mr. House after he took over REPCONN, everything? The Enclave. The Enclave started the war, not Vault-Tec. Barb being in charge of Vault-Tec is a misdirect. "Vault-Tec" didn't nuke Shady Sands, but Hank isn't about to explain "no, actually I'm part of The Enclave and The Enclave nuked Shady Sands", he's more than happy to leave everyone in the dark about that aspect and keep the blame on Vault-Tec. Why reveal your hand? No need to go screaming out to both the NCR and The Brotherhood that their arch-nemesis is involved in all this more than they already know.
And that just guides us to one other question: who leads The Enclave now? Two presidents down, did they get a new one? From where? Who's qualified to lead The Enclave now? Barb. Barb leads The Enclave now.
2024.05.28 18:13 KilroyLichKing Ship and star base design suggestions/questions/issues
I made this post 9 months ago and am reposting it with some new bullets sprinkled in. Has any of this stuff been fixed/thought about?
Ship Design
submitted by KilroyLichKing to Starfield [link] [comments]
Ship Design
- You should be able to design and designate your own cargo ship for base cargo transport pads. this way if you want to transfer more cargo you can.
- This has probably been said already but there needs to be a better way of connecting doors and ladders between habs. letting the program decide just leads to a nonsensical maze.
- More hard points on the underside of the ship hull would be fantastic
- reverse thrusters that actually worked and we not cosmetic would be nice (beyond the cosmic Tokyo Drift maneuver of holding space bar and flipping the ship)
- weapons room hab block that had the munitions for your ships weapons would be a fun/ functional?
- Should have an option for ships without grave drive this would open up designs for intersystem cargo haulers single system survey ships and small fighters.
- Don't necessarily need cargo ramp to board ship could have landing ladder deploy from the base of smaller cockpit parts.
Should be able to buy blank ship from any ship vendor.
- It is utter lunacy that we have to cart half built ships to each unique ship vendors hub across an entire sector of space just to track down the one cosmetic hull part to finish a build. Ship vendors should be placeable and be able to be staffed at bases just like vendor stands in fallout 4... infact you should just have vendors at your base in general.
- I can understand the reason for hiding unique/experimental/class C parts at each vendors world but accessing them should be made part of mini side quests like you are a test pilots and the reactor may blow up or people try to shipjack you while shaking down the new part for hopetech or whatever.
- You should be able to break down ships you either purchase or steal and bank parts you want to keep around to save on credits. This would also incentivize boarding and taking over ships more.
- We have forward/aft starboard/port passageways but not ventral/dorsal passageways for that we are left making super chonky companion ways.
Underside docking ring would be nice- Cargo belly lift entrance would be a nice part (See intro Firefly episode 11 "trash") for example.
- Accepting that H3 is space gas fine. For some reason we have huge tanks of it on the side of our ships but if it is in cargo inventory it is a small box of gas? Having Gas Cargo Container parts would be a nice thing to have.
- Engines appear all to be chemical or turbofan (for landing gear) but space gas is only for jump drive range? Having ion drive engines would be a nice part and make more sense for the huge reactors the ships have. Can we get a fuel gage for chemical rocket/ and nuclear fusion drives. Consumable fuel pellets need to be for sale at all star yards.
- Foundation parts... please Tod Howard.... with snapping to local grid and/or global grid.
- catwalk parks
- Control tower needs to be pressurize
- Control tower need to have a function other than ooo up high look at stuff.
- Need to be able to snap to control tower
- need to be able to build airlock directly from ship landing pad
- need to have vendors at starbases
- need to have hangars at starbases
- need to be able to send cargo ships directly to vendor x amount of utc hours
- Have options for pre lived in habs like starship habs.
- Have an underground or retractable landing pad placable.
- buildable space station?
- Ship scanner should be a feat that you can level that will eventually tell you what cargo a ship is hauling and what parts it is made out of.
- For the love of god stop moving every Styrofoam cup and playing card into my ships inventory when i change out a hab. This is A) really tedious and time consuming to remove/sell and B) a way people can get infinite credits (all be it really tedious)
- Mark ship inventory as trash tag and space all trash button from cargo interface.
- It be nice to be able to directly target a ships reactor where increased damage slowly powered down all enemy ship until full damage blows up the ship you are hitting.
- For now we will accept that some how contraband scanners are so precise they can see what is in my pockets but cant see through my lead lined shielded cargo bay... This behavior should change if you have a scan jammer installed on your ship.
- Dump contraband should be a button on the hud when being scanned so you can dump it if you get cold feet.
- We will ride right past the part where gravity seems work inside of ships it would be nice to be able to build vertical ships like in the expanse though all the parts are more or less orientated in the x or y axis
- Why in all the verse do my pistols and shotguns have ammo but i get infinite PDC, rockets and rail gun slugs? Hows about we add ammo for the non energy based weapons ships because it makes no sense that stand alone rocket pods on my hull just magically reload.
- Space isnt 2-d (citation needed) it be cool if the Command table had a sectosystem hologram that would change biased on your location in game.
- It be nice to be able to do an EVA in space and crawl on the ship hull with magboots.
- It be nice to be able to pickpocket ship access keys from npc's in spaceports and then shipjack stuff at the landing pads. it would make for a fun escape fight once you reach orbit.
- I can be 10000 t over encumbered with advanced frames which makes me walk slow but my ship only can have 300 kg? Also my over encumbered a$$ is able to magicly sit in the piolt seat and fly the ship off the planet... if Thor puts Mjolnir down in an elevator and the elevator goes up does that make the elevator worthy? Ships should not be able to fly if player character is over encumbered.
- how come all the ship vendors get sexy minifigs of the ships they sell but we don't get them as placeable pieces are our starbase?
- Actually have heat leaches infest your ship requiring an eva to clean off parts or shoot them in your cargo hold.
- In space no one can hear you scream (citation needed) Can some one explain why in planets with no atmosphere the you can hear ships land and take off.
- I am in an airlock with the exterior door open yet my helmet is off and im 100% ok while waiting for the interior door animation to cycle.
2024.05.27 19:23 Sweaty_Banana_1815 What do y’all think about these arguments?
I found them on energy
These are the claims they make:
The astroturfing bots spamming the comment section below really need to read some uninsurable to get the current state of the industry.
Nuclear power is an opportunity cost.
"In sum, use of wind, CSP, geothermal, tidal, PV, wave, and hydro to provide electricity for BEVs and HFCVs and, by extension, electricity for the residential, industrial, and commercial sectors, will result in the most benefit among the options considered. The combination of these technologies should be advanced as a solution to global warming, air pollution, and energy security. Coal-CCS and nuclear offer less benefit thus represent an opportunity cost loss"
Nuclear power's contribution to climate change mitigation is and will be very limited;Currently nuclear power avoids 2–3% of total global GHG emissions per year;According to current planning this value will decrease even further until 2040.;A substantial expansion of nuclear power will not be possible.;Given its low contribution, a complete phase-out of nuclear energy is feasible.
It is too slow for the timescale we need to decarbonize on.
“Stabilizing the climate is urgent, nuclear power is slow,” “It meets no technical or operational need that low-carbon competitors cannot meet better, cheaper and faster.”
“Researchers found that unlike renewables, countries around the world with larger scale national nuclear attachments do not tend to show significantly lower carbon emissions -- and in poorer countries nuclear programmes actually tend to associate with relatively higher emissions. “
The industry is showing signs of decline in non-totalitarian countries.
"We find that an eroding actor base, shrinking opportunities in liberalized electricity markets, the break-up of existing networks, loss of legitimacy, increasing cost and time overruns, and abandoned projects are clear indications of decline. Also, increasingly fierce competition from natural gas, solar PV, wind, and energy-storage technologies speaks against nuclear in the electricity sector. We conclude that, while there might be a future for nuclear in state-controlled ‘niches’ such as Russia or China, new nuclear power plants do not seem likely to become a core element in the struggle against climate change."
Renewable energy is growing faster now than nuclear ever has
"Contrary to a persistent myth based on erroneous methods, global data show that renewable electricity adds output and saves carbon faster than nuclear power does or ever has."
There is no business case for it.
"The economic history and financial analyses carried out at DIW Berlin show that nuclear energy has always been unprofitable in the private economy and will remain so in the future. Between 1951 and 2017, none of the 674 nuclear reactors built was done so with private capital under competitive conditions. Large state subsidies were used in the cases where private capital flowed into financing the nuclear industry.... Financial investment calculations confirmed the trend: investing in a new nuclear power plant leads to average losses of around five billion euros."
Investing in a nuclear plant today is expected to lose 5 to 10 billion dollars
The nuclear industry can't even exist without legal structures that privatize gains and socialize losses.
If the owners and operators of nuclear reactors had to face the full liability of a Fukushima-style nuclear accident or go head-to-head with alternatives in a truly competitive marketplace, unfettered by subsidies, no one would have built a nuclear reactor in the past, no one would build one today, and anyone who owns a reactor would exit the nuclear business as quickly as possible.
The CEO of one of the US's largest nuclear power companies said it best:
"I'm the nuclear guy," Rowe said. "And you won't get better results with nuclear. It just isn't economic, and it's not economic within a foreseeable time frame."
What about the small meme reactors?
Every independent assessment has them more expensive than large scale nuclear
every independent assessment:
The UK government
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/small-modular-reactors-techno-economic-assessment
The Australian government
https://www.aph.gov.au/DocumentStore.ashx?id=8297e6ba-e3d4-478e-ac62-a97d75660248&subId=669740
The peer-reviewed literatue
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S030142152030327X
the cost of generating electricity using SMRs is significantly higher than the corresponding costs of electricity generation using diesel, wind, solar, or some combination thereof. These results suggest that SMRs will be too expensive for these proposed first-mover markets for SMRs in Canada and that there will not be a sufficient market to justify investing in manufacturing facilities for SMRs.
Even the German nuclear power industry knows they will cost more
Nuclear Technology Germany (KernD) says SMRs are always going to be more expensive than bigger reactors due to lower power output at constant fixed costs, as safety measures and staffing requirements do not vary greatly compared to conventional reactors. "In terms of levelised energy costs, SMRs will always be more expensive than big plants."
So why do so many people on reddit favor it? Because of a decades long PR campaign and false science being put out, in the same manner, style, and using the same PR company as the tobacco industry used when claiming smoking does not cause cancer.
A recent metaanalysis of papers that claimed nuclear to be cost effective were found to be illegitimately trimming costs to make it appear cheaper.
Merck suppressed data on harmful effects of its drug Vioxx, and Guidant suppressed data on electrical flaws in one of its heart-defibrillator models. Both cases reveal how financial conflicts of interest can skew biomedical research. Such conflicts also occur in electric-utility-related research. Attempting to show that increased atomic energy can help address climate change, some industry advocates claim nuclear power is an inexpensive way to generate low-carbon electricity. Surveying 30 recent nuclear analyses, this paper shows that industry-funded studies appear to fall into conflicts of interest and to illegitimately trim cost data in several main ways. They exclude costs of full-liability insurance, underestimate interest rates and construction times by using “overnight” costs, and overestimate load factors and reactor lifetimes. If these trimmed costs are included, nuclear-generated electricity can be shown roughly 6 times more expensive than most studies claim. After answering four objections, the paper concludes that, although there may be reasons to use reactors to address climate change, economics does not appear to be one of them.
It is the same PR technique that the tobacco industry used when fighting the fact that smoking causes cancer.
The industry campaign worked to create a scientific controversy through a program that depended on the creation of industry–academic conflicts of interest. This strategy of producing scientific uncertainty undercut public health efforts and regulatory interventions designed to reduce the harms of smoking.
A number of industries have subsequently followed this approach to disrupting normative science. Claims of scientific uncertainty and lack of proof also lead to the assertion of individual responsibility for industrially produced health risks
It is no wonder the NEI (Nuclear energy institute) uses the same PR firm to promote nuclear power, that the tobacco industry used to say smoking does not cause cancer.
The industry's future is so precarious that Exelon Nuclear's head of project development warned attendees of the Electric Power 2005 conference, "Inaction is synonymous with being phased out." That's why years of effort -- not to mention millions of dollars -- have been invested in nuclear power's PR rebirth as "clean, green and safe."
And then there's NEI, which exists to do PR and lobbying for the nuclear industry. In 2004, NEI was embarrassed when the Austin Chronicle outed one of its PR firms, Potomac Communications Group, for ghostwriting pro-nuclear op/ed columns. The paper described the op/ed campaign as "a decades-long, centrally orchestrated plan to defraud the nation's newspaper readers by misrepresenting the propaganda of one hired atomic gun as the learned musings of disparate academics and other nuclear-industry 'experts.'"
submitted by Sweaty_Banana_1815 to ArgueNuclear [link] [comments]
These are the claims they make:
The astroturfing bots spamming the comment section below really need to read some uninsurable to get the current state of the industry.
Nuclear power is an opportunity cost.
"In sum, use of wind, CSP, geothermal, tidal, PV, wave, and hydro to provide electricity for BEVs and HFCVs and, by extension, electricity for the residential, industrial, and commercial sectors, will result in the most benefit among the options considered. The combination of these technologies should be advanced as a solution to global warming, air pollution, and energy security. Coal-CCS and nuclear offer less benefit thus represent an opportunity cost loss"
Nuclear power's contribution to climate change mitigation is and will be very limited;Currently nuclear power avoids 2–3% of total global GHG emissions per year;According to current planning this value will decrease even further until 2040.;A substantial expansion of nuclear power will not be possible.;Given its low contribution, a complete phase-out of nuclear energy is feasible.
It is too slow for the timescale we need to decarbonize on.
“Stabilizing the climate is urgent, nuclear power is slow,” “It meets no technical or operational need that low-carbon competitors cannot meet better, cheaper and faster.”
“Researchers found that unlike renewables, countries around the world with larger scale national nuclear attachments do not tend to show significantly lower carbon emissions -- and in poorer countries nuclear programmes actually tend to associate with relatively higher emissions. “
The industry is showing signs of decline in non-totalitarian countries.
"We find that an eroding actor base, shrinking opportunities in liberalized electricity markets, the break-up of existing networks, loss of legitimacy, increasing cost and time overruns, and abandoned projects are clear indications of decline. Also, increasingly fierce competition from natural gas, solar PV, wind, and energy-storage technologies speaks against nuclear in the electricity sector. We conclude that, while there might be a future for nuclear in state-controlled ‘niches’ such as Russia or China, new nuclear power plants do not seem likely to become a core element in the struggle against climate change."
Renewable energy is growing faster now than nuclear ever has
"Contrary to a persistent myth based on erroneous methods, global data show that renewable electricity adds output and saves carbon faster than nuclear power does or ever has."
There is no business case for it.
"The economic history and financial analyses carried out at DIW Berlin show that nuclear energy has always been unprofitable in the private economy and will remain so in the future. Between 1951 and 2017, none of the 674 nuclear reactors built was done so with private capital under competitive conditions. Large state subsidies were used in the cases where private capital flowed into financing the nuclear industry.... Financial investment calculations confirmed the trend: investing in a new nuclear power plant leads to average losses of around five billion euros."
Investing in a nuclear plant today is expected to lose 5 to 10 billion dollars
The nuclear industry can't even exist without legal structures that privatize gains and socialize losses.
If the owners and operators of nuclear reactors had to face the full liability of a Fukushima-style nuclear accident or go head-to-head with alternatives in a truly competitive marketplace, unfettered by subsidies, no one would have built a nuclear reactor in the past, no one would build one today, and anyone who owns a reactor would exit the nuclear business as quickly as possible.
The CEO of one of the US's largest nuclear power companies said it best:
"I'm the nuclear guy," Rowe said. "And you won't get better results with nuclear. It just isn't economic, and it's not economic within a foreseeable time frame."
What about the small meme reactors?
Every independent assessment has them more expensive than large scale nuclear
every independent assessment:
The UK government
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/small-modular-reactors-techno-economic-assessment
The Australian government
https://www.aph.gov.au/DocumentStore.ashx?id=8297e6ba-e3d4-478e-ac62-a97d75660248&subId=669740
The peer-reviewed literatue
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S030142152030327X
the cost of generating electricity using SMRs is significantly higher than the corresponding costs of electricity generation using diesel, wind, solar, or some combination thereof. These results suggest that SMRs will be too expensive for these proposed first-mover markets for SMRs in Canada and that there will not be a sufficient market to justify investing in manufacturing facilities for SMRs.
Even the German nuclear power industry knows they will cost more
Nuclear Technology Germany (KernD) says SMRs are always going to be more expensive than bigger reactors due to lower power output at constant fixed costs, as safety measures and staffing requirements do not vary greatly compared to conventional reactors. "In terms of levelised energy costs, SMRs will always be more expensive than big plants."
So why do so many people on reddit favor it? Because of a decades long PR campaign and false science being put out, in the same manner, style, and using the same PR company as the tobacco industry used when claiming smoking does not cause cancer.
A recent metaanalysis of papers that claimed nuclear to be cost effective were found to be illegitimately trimming costs to make it appear cheaper.
Merck suppressed data on harmful effects of its drug Vioxx, and Guidant suppressed data on electrical flaws in one of its heart-defibrillator models. Both cases reveal how financial conflicts of interest can skew biomedical research. Such conflicts also occur in electric-utility-related research. Attempting to show that increased atomic energy can help address climate change, some industry advocates claim nuclear power is an inexpensive way to generate low-carbon electricity. Surveying 30 recent nuclear analyses, this paper shows that industry-funded studies appear to fall into conflicts of interest and to illegitimately trim cost data in several main ways. They exclude costs of full-liability insurance, underestimate interest rates and construction times by using “overnight” costs, and overestimate load factors and reactor lifetimes. If these trimmed costs are included, nuclear-generated electricity can be shown roughly 6 times more expensive than most studies claim. After answering four objections, the paper concludes that, although there may be reasons to use reactors to address climate change, economics does not appear to be one of them.
It is the same PR technique that the tobacco industry used when fighting the fact that smoking causes cancer.
The industry campaign worked to create a scientific controversy through a program that depended on the creation of industry–academic conflicts of interest. This strategy of producing scientific uncertainty undercut public health efforts and regulatory interventions designed to reduce the harms of smoking.
A number of industries have subsequently followed this approach to disrupting normative science. Claims of scientific uncertainty and lack of proof also lead to the assertion of individual responsibility for industrially produced health risks
It is no wonder the NEI (Nuclear energy institute) uses the same PR firm to promote nuclear power, that the tobacco industry used to say smoking does not cause cancer.
The industry's future is so precarious that Exelon Nuclear's head of project development warned attendees of the Electric Power 2005 conference, "Inaction is synonymous with being phased out." That's why years of effort -- not to mention millions of dollars -- have been invested in nuclear power's PR rebirth as "clean, green and safe."
And then there's NEI, which exists to do PR and lobbying for the nuclear industry. In 2004, NEI was embarrassed when the Austin Chronicle outed one of its PR firms, Potomac Communications Group, for ghostwriting pro-nuclear op/ed columns. The paper described the op/ed campaign as "a decades-long, centrally orchestrated plan to defraud the nation's newspaper readers by misrepresenting the propaganda of one hired atomic gun as the learned musings of disparate academics and other nuclear-industry 'experts.'"
2024.05.27 05:16 TeddyBearToons Mutually Assured Destruction (25/?)
Prev First
Mem-O-Gram file user: Betty Hartwell, US Ambassador to the Venlil Republic
File subject: Classified
Date [standardized human time]: November 15th, 1974
It had been months since the festival. On the surface, the festival had gone off without a hitch. The foundation had been set, the populace appeased, and the Venlil in the area welcomed the humans with open arms before they, too, silently evacuated. I skimmed various news sources for news about a terror attack, but I got nothing. In fact the only result I had from the weirdness at the festival was a curt invitation from Sam, to meet with him to 'discuss relations between our two races.' Scary.
Even though Sam was a friend, he was still governor, so I arrived on time to a small conference room tucked away in the bowels of the UN building. Inside was Sam and a single other Venlil, wearing a Venlil Navy uniform. I caught the tail end of an argument as I opened the door.
"-bad idea, Sam. She'll definitely report this to her-"
The Venlil from the Navy stopped as I entered the room. "Well, it's a bit too late for that," said Sam drily. "Have a seat, Betty. Please."
With some trepidations, I sat down across from them. Their ears twitched and spasmed; they were nervous. The other Venlil introduced herself as Captain Tarva, Sam’s Navy liaison.
Sam reached over and tapped a box on the table. It beeped, and he sighed. "All right. This conversation is going to be reported, for posterity. I hope you don't mind.
"I've been reaching out to various human ambassadors. You humans are so fragmented. Honestly, it's exhausting." He tried to sound friendly, but he only managed to sound tired.
Not only did Sam look tired, his voice was entirely different from the way he usually spoke. There was no stuttering, none of the high, wheedling voice I thought was kind of endearing about him. Now, Sam sounded… plain. Entirely unassuming. If there were a blank slate for a voice, Sam’s was it.
Sam cleared his throat.
"Okay. I'll get down to business. See, I'm facing a coup-d'etat. I'm trying to keep it quiet, but at this point the other side is desperate, and they're willing to use open violence at this point. The effects will spill over eventually, and I'd rather you guys are informed when things begin to happen."
I thought for a bit. "Okay, I'm listening. But first off, what's this 'other side'? What do they want"
"Well, they call themselves the Federalists. They align to the ideals of the old Federation. Which include its policy on predator species. They don't really like you lot."
"For good reason," said Tarva. "They're scared of how you'd react. When it comes to predators, our only example to go off on are the Arxur. Not to mention your history shows that you react impulsively to attacks on your territory." She looked guilty as she said it, as if she said something she wasn't supposed to.
"Wait, attacks on our territory? What are you talking about?"
Sam sighed. "Well, we were behind the nuclear attack on Cuba. A ballistic strike, mixed with some unstable isotopes to simulate human atomics. We'd have used real atomics, but, well…" he chuckled humorlessly. "Atomics weren't really a thing for us until you came along."
He'd said it so casually that it took a moment for me to get what he was saying.
“Are… are you serious? You know how bad it was? Everyone was eyeing each other - the whole planet could’ve gone up in flames!”
“Yes,” said Sam. “We were very aware of that.”
It took a moment to understand what Sam was getting at.
“You all are bastards, you know that?”
“Yes. We also are aware of that.” Now Sam’s ear twitched in faint amusement.
“It’s not funny.”
Sam’s ear stopped. “No, it’s not. In fact, as of now it is an existential threat to my race.”
"Existential threat how? That we'd whoop your asses once this gets out to the public?"
"That," said Sam, his voice going flat, "is exactly what the Federalists are worried about. It is precisely why I have evacuated our entire population and frankly, it's why I have warhawks at my doorstep calling for me to incinerate your species from orbit and colonize the remains."
He leaned back in his chair. You couldn't really call what he said an outburst. He was calm the whole way through. Certain. Like he was stating facts.
"I really want to work with you, I really do. But we're going to have to put aside our problems. What we did is a terrible thing, no doubt. But we'll deal with it later. There'll be justice, I promise you. But we have more pressing matters at hand."
He sounded tired. Done with everything. Exasperated. That was Selvim, I realized. I knew him for less than a month, but Sam's predecessor sounded permanently resigned. He had the air of a schoolteacher dealing with his umpteenth class of rowdy troublemakers, and Sam was beginning to show it, too.
"All right," I ventured. Best to be cautious here. "We can figure something out. But first, I need answers. People have reasons for what they do, so it'd be better to figure out the reasons."
"Okay. Funny. Andrei said much the same thing." Sam leaned forward and pulled out his tablet. "Okay. Cuba was technically Selvim's orders. Not that I'm trying to worm out of anything, but Selvim intended it as kind of a test. He originally wanted to incinerate the planet, but he'd been reading into your history and," he coughed, "began to empathize. He thought if he made one strike, at a contentious point in your history, and you conformed to the Federation theory of how predators acted, you'd destroy yourselves, and Selvim could move on without guilt."
"But we didn't destroy ourselves."
"Right. Selvim ended up with more than he bargained for with you. He was shocked that you survived, and scrambled to prepare for your inevitable entry into galactic politics."
"People said he was going to turn you into an army to overthrow the Federation," interjected Tarva.
"As I was saying…" Sam threw an ear-flick of annoyance at Tarva. "I think at this point he realized that you weren't… well, monsters. He wanted to integrate you as a civilization. To be more open-minded towards predators. After all, if you can pull together after an attack of that magnitude, maybe you wouldn't kill everyone the moment you discovered FTL spaceflight. No offense."
"None taken," I sighed, even though I very much did take offense. "But what does this have to do with what's happening right now?"
"Well, Selvim's a very popular figure among the Venlil. War hero, advocated Venlil autonomy, butted heads with the Federation a lot. People liked him. But this stance on predators was a bit too much. We split into two factions regarding you. The Federalists, obviously, and the Progressives, who follow Selvim's views on you."
"So like human political parties."
"Not so. The two factions actually agree on a lot of things. In terms of domestic policy the two are identical. The contention point," emphasized Sam, "is how we should treat you. Should we open our cities, work together, let hunters into the herd? Or do we do what we've done up until now, which is to exterminate everything and carry on, safe but ignorant? I'm quite sure which one you'd prefer."
"Obviously."
"Yes… well, the problem is that even though the two agree on everything else, this one problem is a very big problem. Big enough that each side genuinely believes that the other side is dooming the Venlil to extinction."
Sam rubbed his eyes. "They're pressuring me from both sides. Especially the Federalists. I appeased them a bit by stationing fleets so that we could deal with you in case you turned on us-"
"Excuse me?"
"-Yes, yes, I know. All the ships I selected are staffed by Progressives. They won't lift a paw against you. But anyway, the Federalists are now demanding I use those fleets. And radical factions in the Navy are threatening me, saying that if I won't solve 'the human problem' the way they want, they'll do it themselves."
“But that’d mean all-out war,” I protested. “Not to mention that a first strike makes them look bad. They’d lose popular support.”
“You’d think that,” sighed Sam, “because you believe yourself to be a thinking, rational being, worthy of rights and protection of law. The Federalists don’t see humans that way. But you are right on one count: most Venlil do see humans as thinking, rational beings, at least on some level. Any attack by the Federalists would cost them their popular support.
“Which is why I anticipate some kind of false-flag attack to happen within the next few weeks. Human terrorists, or human radicals, or some kind of human splinter cell will make their move on a Venlil asset. The Federalists will seize the opportunity to force me to act against you, or depose me if I show hesitation. Whatever happens, there will be reprisals against the human population. Justified or not, it will happen."
"But we wouldn't do that. None of us have any problems with the Venlil. You're jumping at shadows."
"Are we? There are radical communities of humans, you know. The terrorist cell we took out during the festival, for one. A few radical networks are operating in the Balkans. Your congress seems divided on the issue, and 'Earth for the humans' is a substantially popular opinion."
"But those opinions are in the minority; they can't do anything. Most of us support you."
"The fact that there exists a minority at all is alarming to us."
I tried very hard to keep down the urge to scream. "Okay. Fine. But what do you expect us to do about it?"
Tarva piped up. "You have large numbers of emergency bunkers all over the planet, which we assume were to be used in the event of atomic warfare. We can discreetly expand these shelters, turn them into cities for your people to live in. On the surface, we will create simulations of civilians to create the illusion that things are progressing as normal. When the false-flag happens, Sam will give in and 'attack' human settlements, while you live on in secret. Everyone lives and everyone is happy."
I could already see the flaws in the plan. "And what, are we just going to live in the bunkers forever then?"
Tarva looked embarrassed and Sam leapt to her defense. "Considering we've only had a week to draft this plan up, it's the best we've got given the time frame. And it would only be until I can deradicalize the populace and get them to accept you."
"I, erm, don't think that's going to happen. We humans would all be dead, right? If we emerged you'd have a lot of explaining to do. And generally, I've found that lying about something always makes more trouble down the road."
"Hm. If you have a better plan, we'd be happy to hear it."
Well, as it happened, I did. "We'll boost security on our ships, check our crew for anything weird, and make sure that the weapon systems require more than just a few people to fire. That way, even if a group of radicals got control of a ship, they wouldn't be able to do anything with it."
There was a disbelieving pause.
"That's it?" Sam sounded incredulous.
"That's it."
"You do realize this is only a temporary solution."
"Well, so is yours! And your plan cleans up after everything happens. Wouldn't that mean people would die?"
Sam's face hardened. "We have to accept that casualties are inevitable."
"What the heck? I mean wouldn't it be better to just make sure nobody dies?"
It wasn't Sam that answered, but Tarva.
"Unfortunately, in my line of work I've learned that trying to save everybody ends with you saving nobody. It's… like making an omelette. You have to crack eggs."
"Well, there is a way: Safety protocols! They've prevented lots of crises. I just think it's better to solve the problem before it becomes a problem, you know?"
Sam rubbed his nose. "Well, I'm only surprised because we already have security protocols. But the Federalists are everywhere. We have to assume that they are compromised."
"So we just use our own. I'm sure two layers of protocols makes it that much harder to override a ship."
Sam looked uneasy. "I'm not sure we're ready to allow human protocols onto our ships."
"Well, it's going to be entirely separate. And only for joint ships crewed by both of us. After all, if it's a false flag attack, it wouldn't make sense to use a fully Venlil ship, right? Not to mention that with both of our protocols in place, it'd require cooperation between crew to work. We'd integrate much better."
Sam seemed to consider it. "You know what? Sure. I can see it working. And it doesn't harm us Venlil. Why not?"
I smiled. "You know, you guys are mighty shady, and you gotta work on that. We gotta work on that. But this? This is a start."
We shook hands.
"I'll go talk with my buddies in the UN. We'll get our security protocols up and running in no time." I left out the fact that we'd be doing this so fast because we were only expanding protocols we'd already set up so maniacs wouldn't be able to kick-start armageddon."
"And we'll work on things from our end as well." Sam looked guilty. "And, erm, sorry for everything. We'll try to, erm, do better on this whole diplomacy thing in the future."
I could tell it was killing him, and for a moment I saw the nervous, stuttering alcoholic governor I knew from before.
I sighed. "Well, we have a long, long way to go. But we'll do it."
Sam nodded. "We'll do it."
…
Declassified Document
To: Governor Sam of the Venlil Republic
Venlil Republic: Ministry of Internal Affairs
Date [standardized human time] November 30th, 1974
Sam,
The committee you've put together has concluded their investigation. Attached is a full report of the incident, as reconstructed by survivors' accounts as well as every forensic technique we have at our disposal.
The summary is thus: The USS Maine was, as you know, a joint project, built and staffed by both humans and Venlil, but her crew were majority human. She served with UN SCSG-3 as an escort, and at the time of the incident was refueling with her fleet at Venlil station Habitat 03, a logistics hub for our operations.
On [November 21st, 1974] at [22:00] standard time, the USS Maine received a coded request that activated Contingency 7, which assumes that the ship's crew is dead or incapacitated and that the ship cannot be piloted from the bridge. Designed to get an evacuated or empty ship to tow itself to safety for repair or salvage, the contingency systems bypassed the Maine's onboard controls and remotely steered the ship into Habitat 03.
Safety systems deployed as designed, and emergency response was swift, having been mobilized prior to the incident as per your order. However, the collision heavily damaged the main hangar and violently depressurized a third of the station.
Exactly ten minutes after the collision, the Maine received another request from the Admiralty, to activate Contingency 9. Contingency 9 is designed to trigger a reactor bloom to deny the ship and its crew from falling into enemy (specifically Arxur) hands.
However, surveillance records and system logs show that three reactor technicians, following emergency protocols, attempted to scram the reactor following the collision. They managed to deactivate most of it before the request was sent, resulting in a partial bloom that failed to breach the reactor room shell. The three technicians prevented a disastrous explosion at the cost of their lives. Their sacrifice allowed us to recover the Maine intact, as well as her system logs, which was how we acquired the prior information.
On [November 25th, 1974], Ministry agents completed their scan of the Maine's logs. A following scan of Venlil Navy HQ's correspondence logs implicated the Home Fleet's Admiral Banlek as responsible for the incident. Ministry agents arrested him on the same date at [20:00]. 25 of his accomplices have been detained, but we estimate more to be at large. A compilation of their private logs has been attached.
Ministry agents have also reported surreptitious fleet movements and I have attached coordinates for suspected rally points. My guess is that rogue elements of the Navy are on the move. I recommend rallying the fleets now, Sam. The Ministry can reach very far, but we can only do so much. This is threatening to spill over into open warfare; best to alert the humans, too.
Note: Venlil contingencies are remote orders direct from HQ. They'd override the new UN security protocols, which are designed to prevent radicals on board the ship from taking control. We need to tighten these protocols to include HQ orders now.
Total casualties are estimated in the thousands.
I've given the following my personal recommendation for the Heroic Conduct Medal, 1st Class:
ETN Michael Morgan
ETN James Brown
LTJG Alvin Oak
Sincerely,
Kam
Commissioner, Ministry of Internal Affairs
submitted by TeddyBearToons to NatureofPredators [link] [comments]
Mem-O-Gram file user: Betty Hartwell, US Ambassador to the Venlil Republic
File subject: Classified
Date [standardized human time]: November 15th, 1974
It had been months since the festival. On the surface, the festival had gone off without a hitch. The foundation had been set, the populace appeased, and the Venlil in the area welcomed the humans with open arms before they, too, silently evacuated. I skimmed various news sources for news about a terror attack, but I got nothing. In fact the only result I had from the weirdness at the festival was a curt invitation from Sam, to meet with him to 'discuss relations between our two races.' Scary.
Even though Sam was a friend, he was still governor, so I arrived on time to a small conference room tucked away in the bowels of the UN building. Inside was Sam and a single other Venlil, wearing a Venlil Navy uniform. I caught the tail end of an argument as I opened the door.
"-bad idea, Sam. She'll definitely report this to her-"
The Venlil from the Navy stopped as I entered the room. "Well, it's a bit too late for that," said Sam drily. "Have a seat, Betty. Please."
With some trepidations, I sat down across from them. Their ears twitched and spasmed; they were nervous. The other Venlil introduced herself as Captain Tarva, Sam’s Navy liaison.
Sam reached over and tapped a box on the table. It beeped, and he sighed. "All right. This conversation is going to be reported, for posterity. I hope you don't mind.
"I've been reaching out to various human ambassadors. You humans are so fragmented. Honestly, it's exhausting." He tried to sound friendly, but he only managed to sound tired.
Not only did Sam look tired, his voice was entirely different from the way he usually spoke. There was no stuttering, none of the high, wheedling voice I thought was kind of endearing about him. Now, Sam sounded… plain. Entirely unassuming. If there were a blank slate for a voice, Sam’s was it.
Sam cleared his throat.
"Okay. I'll get down to business. See, I'm facing a coup-d'etat. I'm trying to keep it quiet, but at this point the other side is desperate, and they're willing to use open violence at this point. The effects will spill over eventually, and I'd rather you guys are informed when things begin to happen."
I thought for a bit. "Okay, I'm listening. But first off, what's this 'other side'? What do they want"
"Well, they call themselves the Federalists. They align to the ideals of the old Federation. Which include its policy on predator species. They don't really like you lot."
"For good reason," said Tarva. "They're scared of how you'd react. When it comes to predators, our only example to go off on are the Arxur. Not to mention your history shows that you react impulsively to attacks on your territory." She looked guilty as she said it, as if she said something she wasn't supposed to.
"Wait, attacks on our territory? What are you talking about?"
Sam sighed. "Well, we were behind the nuclear attack on Cuba. A ballistic strike, mixed with some unstable isotopes to simulate human atomics. We'd have used real atomics, but, well…" he chuckled humorlessly. "Atomics weren't really a thing for us until you came along."
He'd said it so casually that it took a moment for me to get what he was saying.
“Are… are you serious? You know how bad it was? Everyone was eyeing each other - the whole planet could’ve gone up in flames!”
“Yes,” said Sam. “We were very aware of that.”
It took a moment to understand what Sam was getting at.
“You all are bastards, you know that?”
“Yes. We also are aware of that.” Now Sam’s ear twitched in faint amusement.
“It’s not funny.”
Sam’s ear stopped. “No, it’s not. In fact, as of now it is an existential threat to my race.”
"Existential threat how? That we'd whoop your asses once this gets out to the public?"
"That," said Sam, his voice going flat, "is exactly what the Federalists are worried about. It is precisely why I have evacuated our entire population and frankly, it's why I have warhawks at my doorstep calling for me to incinerate your species from orbit and colonize the remains."
He leaned back in his chair. You couldn't really call what he said an outburst. He was calm the whole way through. Certain. Like he was stating facts.
"I really want to work with you, I really do. But we're going to have to put aside our problems. What we did is a terrible thing, no doubt. But we'll deal with it later. There'll be justice, I promise you. But we have more pressing matters at hand."
He sounded tired. Done with everything. Exasperated. That was Selvim, I realized. I knew him for less than a month, but Sam's predecessor sounded permanently resigned. He had the air of a schoolteacher dealing with his umpteenth class of rowdy troublemakers, and Sam was beginning to show it, too.
"All right," I ventured. Best to be cautious here. "We can figure something out. But first, I need answers. People have reasons for what they do, so it'd be better to figure out the reasons."
"Okay. Funny. Andrei said much the same thing." Sam leaned forward and pulled out his tablet. "Okay. Cuba was technically Selvim's orders. Not that I'm trying to worm out of anything, but Selvim intended it as kind of a test. He originally wanted to incinerate the planet, but he'd been reading into your history and," he coughed, "began to empathize. He thought if he made one strike, at a contentious point in your history, and you conformed to the Federation theory of how predators acted, you'd destroy yourselves, and Selvim could move on without guilt."
"But we didn't destroy ourselves."
"Right. Selvim ended up with more than he bargained for with you. He was shocked that you survived, and scrambled to prepare for your inevitable entry into galactic politics."
"People said he was going to turn you into an army to overthrow the Federation," interjected Tarva.
"As I was saying…" Sam threw an ear-flick of annoyance at Tarva. "I think at this point he realized that you weren't… well, monsters. He wanted to integrate you as a civilization. To be more open-minded towards predators. After all, if you can pull together after an attack of that magnitude, maybe you wouldn't kill everyone the moment you discovered FTL spaceflight. No offense."
"None taken," I sighed, even though I very much did take offense. "But what does this have to do with what's happening right now?"
"Well, Selvim's a very popular figure among the Venlil. War hero, advocated Venlil autonomy, butted heads with the Federation a lot. People liked him. But this stance on predators was a bit too much. We split into two factions regarding you. The Federalists, obviously, and the Progressives, who follow Selvim's views on you."
"So like human political parties."
"Not so. The two factions actually agree on a lot of things. In terms of domestic policy the two are identical. The contention point," emphasized Sam, "is how we should treat you. Should we open our cities, work together, let hunters into the herd? Or do we do what we've done up until now, which is to exterminate everything and carry on, safe but ignorant? I'm quite sure which one you'd prefer."
"Obviously."
"Yes… well, the problem is that even though the two agree on everything else, this one problem is a very big problem. Big enough that each side genuinely believes that the other side is dooming the Venlil to extinction."
Sam rubbed his eyes. "They're pressuring me from both sides. Especially the Federalists. I appeased them a bit by stationing fleets so that we could deal with you in case you turned on us-"
"Excuse me?"
"-Yes, yes, I know. All the ships I selected are staffed by Progressives. They won't lift a paw against you. But anyway, the Federalists are now demanding I use those fleets. And radical factions in the Navy are threatening me, saying that if I won't solve 'the human problem' the way they want, they'll do it themselves."
“But that’d mean all-out war,” I protested. “Not to mention that a first strike makes them look bad. They’d lose popular support.”
“You’d think that,” sighed Sam, “because you believe yourself to be a thinking, rational being, worthy of rights and protection of law. The Federalists don’t see humans that way. But you are right on one count: most Venlil do see humans as thinking, rational beings, at least on some level. Any attack by the Federalists would cost them their popular support.
“Which is why I anticipate some kind of false-flag attack to happen within the next few weeks. Human terrorists, or human radicals, or some kind of human splinter cell will make their move on a Venlil asset. The Federalists will seize the opportunity to force me to act against you, or depose me if I show hesitation. Whatever happens, there will be reprisals against the human population. Justified or not, it will happen."
"But we wouldn't do that. None of us have any problems with the Venlil. You're jumping at shadows."
"Are we? There are radical communities of humans, you know. The terrorist cell we took out during the festival, for one. A few radical networks are operating in the Balkans. Your congress seems divided on the issue, and 'Earth for the humans' is a substantially popular opinion."
"But those opinions are in the minority; they can't do anything. Most of us support you."
"The fact that there exists a minority at all is alarming to us."
I tried very hard to keep down the urge to scream. "Okay. Fine. But what do you expect us to do about it?"
Tarva piped up. "You have large numbers of emergency bunkers all over the planet, which we assume were to be used in the event of atomic warfare. We can discreetly expand these shelters, turn them into cities for your people to live in. On the surface, we will create simulations of civilians to create the illusion that things are progressing as normal. When the false-flag happens, Sam will give in and 'attack' human settlements, while you live on in secret. Everyone lives and everyone is happy."
I could already see the flaws in the plan. "And what, are we just going to live in the bunkers forever then?"
Tarva looked embarrassed and Sam leapt to her defense. "Considering we've only had a week to draft this plan up, it's the best we've got given the time frame. And it would only be until I can deradicalize the populace and get them to accept you."
"I, erm, don't think that's going to happen. We humans would all be dead, right? If we emerged you'd have a lot of explaining to do. And generally, I've found that lying about something always makes more trouble down the road."
"Hm. If you have a better plan, we'd be happy to hear it."
Well, as it happened, I did. "We'll boost security on our ships, check our crew for anything weird, and make sure that the weapon systems require more than just a few people to fire. That way, even if a group of radicals got control of a ship, they wouldn't be able to do anything with it."
There was a disbelieving pause.
"That's it?" Sam sounded incredulous.
"That's it."
"You do realize this is only a temporary solution."
"Well, so is yours! And your plan cleans up after everything happens. Wouldn't that mean people would die?"
Sam's face hardened. "We have to accept that casualties are inevitable."
"What the heck? I mean wouldn't it be better to just make sure nobody dies?"
It wasn't Sam that answered, but Tarva.
"Unfortunately, in my line of work I've learned that trying to save everybody ends with you saving nobody. It's… like making an omelette. You have to crack eggs."
"Well, there is a way: Safety protocols! They've prevented lots of crises. I just think it's better to solve the problem before it becomes a problem, you know?"
Sam rubbed his nose. "Well, I'm only surprised because we already have security protocols. But the Federalists are everywhere. We have to assume that they are compromised."
"So we just use our own. I'm sure two layers of protocols makes it that much harder to override a ship."
Sam looked uneasy. "I'm not sure we're ready to allow human protocols onto our ships."
"Well, it's going to be entirely separate. And only for joint ships crewed by both of us. After all, if it's a false flag attack, it wouldn't make sense to use a fully Venlil ship, right? Not to mention that with both of our protocols in place, it'd require cooperation between crew to work. We'd integrate much better."
Sam seemed to consider it. "You know what? Sure. I can see it working. And it doesn't harm us Venlil. Why not?"
I smiled. "You know, you guys are mighty shady, and you gotta work on that. We gotta work on that. But this? This is a start."
We shook hands.
"I'll go talk with my buddies in the UN. We'll get our security protocols up and running in no time." I left out the fact that we'd be doing this so fast because we were only expanding protocols we'd already set up so maniacs wouldn't be able to kick-start armageddon."
"And we'll work on things from our end as well." Sam looked guilty. "And, erm, sorry for everything. We'll try to, erm, do better on this whole diplomacy thing in the future."
I could tell it was killing him, and for a moment I saw the nervous, stuttering alcoholic governor I knew from before.
I sighed. "Well, we have a long, long way to go. But we'll do it."
Sam nodded. "We'll do it."
…
Declassified Document
To: Governor Sam of the Venlil Republic
Venlil Republic: Ministry of Internal Affairs
Date [standardized human time] November 30th, 1974
Sam,
The committee you've put together has concluded their investigation. Attached is a full report of the incident, as reconstructed by survivors' accounts as well as every forensic technique we have at our disposal.
The summary is thus: The USS Maine was, as you know, a joint project, built and staffed by both humans and Venlil, but her crew were majority human. She served with UN SCSG-3 as an escort, and at the time of the incident was refueling with her fleet at Venlil station Habitat 03, a logistics hub for our operations.
On [November 21st, 1974] at [22:00] standard time, the USS Maine received a coded request that activated Contingency 7, which assumes that the ship's crew is dead or incapacitated and that the ship cannot be piloted from the bridge. Designed to get an evacuated or empty ship to tow itself to safety for repair or salvage, the contingency systems bypassed the Maine's onboard controls and remotely steered the ship into Habitat 03.
Safety systems deployed as designed, and emergency response was swift, having been mobilized prior to the incident as per your order. However, the collision heavily damaged the main hangar and violently depressurized a third of the station.
Exactly ten minutes after the collision, the Maine received another request from the Admiralty, to activate Contingency 9. Contingency 9 is designed to trigger a reactor bloom to deny the ship and its crew from falling into enemy (specifically Arxur) hands.
However, surveillance records and system logs show that three reactor technicians, following emergency protocols, attempted to scram the reactor following the collision. They managed to deactivate most of it before the request was sent, resulting in a partial bloom that failed to breach the reactor room shell. The three technicians prevented a disastrous explosion at the cost of their lives. Their sacrifice allowed us to recover the Maine intact, as well as her system logs, which was how we acquired the prior information.
On [November 25th, 1974], Ministry agents completed their scan of the Maine's logs. A following scan of Venlil Navy HQ's correspondence logs implicated the Home Fleet's Admiral Banlek as responsible for the incident. Ministry agents arrested him on the same date at [20:00]. 25 of his accomplices have been detained, but we estimate more to be at large. A compilation of their private logs has been attached.
Ministry agents have also reported surreptitious fleet movements and I have attached coordinates for suspected rally points. My guess is that rogue elements of the Navy are on the move. I recommend rallying the fleets now, Sam. The Ministry can reach very far, but we can only do so much. This is threatening to spill over into open warfare; best to alert the humans, too.
Note: Venlil contingencies are remote orders direct from HQ. They'd override the new UN security protocols, which are designed to prevent radicals on board the ship from taking control. We need to tighten these protocols to include HQ orders now.
Total casualties are estimated in the thousands.
I've given the following my personal recommendation for the Heroic Conduct Medal, 1st Class:
ETN Michael Morgan
ETN James Brown
LTJG Alvin Oak
Sincerely,
Kam
Commissioner, Ministry of Internal Affairs
2024.05.27 03:33 AffectionateUse8654 I retired May 22 2024
I had been in X-Ray since 1991 and Nuc Med since 2003 and have loved helping my patients and most of the job. I have seen creeping regulation and increasingly draconian insurance requirements ruin medicine in general and Nuc Med in particular. Once, a Doctor's order was enough to guarantee an exam; now they are denied or de-escalated to a lesser exam or worse, charged to the patient as an increased fee. My hospital has been through many Corporate hands and each successive one has made it more difficult for the employee and the patients. Now, the culture of the staff is such that they snipe and undercut each other, clinging to small cliques and making others miserable. Departments resent each other for staffing and equipment. Our Emergency Department and our Hospitalists are over-ordering exams out of what seems to be a fear of diagnosing or being sued for missing something. I optimistically hope it isn't to pad the bill. I was going to wait another 9 months, but the last straw fell on my back last week and I had that conversation with my Director, a good and honorable person whom I respect, and after an hour, I handed in my badge and keys. I was the head of Nuclear Medicine and was so proud of all of the work we have done and of my department. Never lost a patient; had a ton of Good Catches. Never failed an inspection. Became known in the community as "The Nice Ones" and was loved by my young and the elderly patients. Docs knew to call me if they needed something done and like many of you guys, my motto was, "Not a problem. We can make that happen!" I attended to all of the tedious RSO stuff so our Radiologist only had to review and sign it. Oh and the countless Monthly, Quarterly, Annual reports, briefs, filings, etc. that all of us have to get right. You have to keep the mechanism all working smoothly every day for 21 years and you did it. Working call, holidays, missing family things, you did it. Working X-Ray through Covid; I still get flashbacks to that horrible time. You drank a ton of coffee and ate a lot of cafeteria food. The place gave me a heart attack and your own Cardiologist stented you because he and your Cath Lab crew were the best G-Damn crew in the world and you trusted them. Your knees are shot from walking on concrete tiled floors, your Rotator cuff has been repaired from dragging heavy patients onto your scan table and your legs and feet ache every night after a 10 hour shift. I am now, as of 1000 hrs on May 22 officially "Done Nuking". Thank God. Social Security, Medicare and 401k will support me now and I will miss all of you guys, but for the last 4 days it has felt like a weight has been lifted off of me. I sleep until I feel like getting up. I don't think about the coming week or what has to be done for the next 4 Big Things next week. I'm going to get up tomorrow and sit in the back yard and watch the birds and drink my coffee and think about all of my Nuclear Medicine Sisters and Brothers and I will always salute the work you do. God Bless all of you who continue The Fight. Go save lives.
submitted by AffectionateUse8654 to NuclearMedicine [link] [comments]
2024.05.23 03:43 rrab Too hot for /r/antitheism: Would an amateur achievable "Voice To Skull" capability, convince true believers, that non-deities can speak into their cranium? Why aren't they demanding ID?
I don't think it would change their mind, but I'm salty and jaded, and they're indoctrinated from birth. Which is why I've been saying recently, that I'd trick them with their blind faith: "Its me, ur deity lol"
They refuse to shed their chains of mental slavery, and prefer to be pets instead. As much as I prefer education and leading by example, let's just say that's not working. They bury their heads deeper in sand, because that's only crazy talk, to them. They can't handle much. In fact, you're scaring them with this entire "false god" concept, and they're going to need to pray about it, to the voice in their head, that has always called itself god. \head desk**
I've had this backburner project for years now, where I'm proposing an amateur achievable, legal means of pulse modulating the microwave auditory effect. Intending to evoke crude speech within the human cranium. This has already been achieved in 1975, in a professional lab setting, and it's still hard for folks to accept. It was hard for me to accept, as a militant agnostic, anti-theist, and skeptic. Can the gnostic theist believers, even wrap their heads around this?
Recently I also created some CAD concept art: It's a stealth, high-power microwave, satellite design. In the description for that project, I called it a "voice of god" orbital weapon. One that could feasibly be built. While I've spent a mere three days on the design, each "bay" of components is a realistic-enough size, and could plausibly generate, convert, and output the RF/microwave power levels being described.
Tell me fellow antitheists: You've got the "nuclear football" for orbital neuroweapons, and you get to be "Bruce Almighty" for the "Voice To Skull" satellite constellation, for a span of time. What are you doing with this unspeakable power, for the betterment of humanity?
submitted by rrab to TargetedCommons [link] [comments]
They refuse to shed their chains of mental slavery, and prefer to be pets instead. As much as I prefer education and leading by example, let's just say that's not working. They bury their heads deeper in sand, because that's only crazy talk, to them. They can't handle much. In fact, you're scaring them with this entire "false god" concept, and they're going to need to pray about it, to the voice in their head, that has always called itself god. \head desk**
I've had this backburner project for years now, where I'm proposing an amateur achievable, legal means of pulse modulating the microwave auditory effect. Intending to evoke crude speech within the human cranium. This has already been achieved in 1975, in a professional lab setting, and it's still hard for folks to accept. It was hard for me to accept, as a militant agnostic, anti-theist, and skeptic. Can the gnostic theist believers, even wrap their heads around this?
Recently I also created some CAD concept art: It's a stealth, high-power microwave, satellite design. In the description for that project, I called it a "voice of god" orbital weapon. One that could feasibly be built. While I've spent a mere three days on the design, each "bay" of components is a realistic-enough size, and could plausibly generate, convert, and output the RF/microwave power levels being described.
Tell me fellow antitheists: You've got the "nuclear football" for orbital neuroweapons, and you get to be "Bruce Almighty" for the "Voice To Skull" satellite constellation, for a span of time. What are you doing with this unspeakable power, for the betterment of humanity?
- Would hearing "the voice of god" on a backpacking trip, change the course of someone's life? Even when it was actually Chad, in a black ops special access program? Do they still like that life choice?
- Would telling a Jihadi warfighter that you are the "great Allah himself", alter their imminent IED plans? Even when you are an anti-theist, staffing a satellite constellation? Was their faith, their friend?
- Would hitting an entire congregation, to undermine everything the clergy are saying, collapse a church? How can you even take up grievances with this voice "coming from the heavens"? How dare you? 😂
2024.05.20 20:37 Schlachterhund Let's call it a world war [Müsli lib doom porn]
[Die Zeit 20.05.2024]
Today's wars are connected, it is a battle for the future: democracy against totalitarianism. Our species can only survive if the dictatorships do not win.
The words that felt right are no longer true. We use them, but we notice: They don't fit anymore. The German Chancellor speaks of the Zeitenwende - a turning point in history. A word that hides more than it explains. We use words like crisis and escalation. Terms like from couples therapy. We still have no language for the madness we thought we had overcome. We are afraid to say it. Sometimes terrible things only become true when you call them by their name. This is what fairy tales teach us. In reality, the longer you can't name a problem, the bigger it gets.
War after war has broken out in quick succession over the past few months. I have been reporting for a long time from Ukraine, from the Middle East, from the Sahel zone, and most recently from the South China Sea. In Germany, these conflicts are perceived, but not in their entire threat. For two years we have seen the images of horror that were supposed to keep us awake, but most of us sleep well. We know about the horror that is happening outside our borders, but we do not yet feel it. We even refuse to feel it. Many have decided to stop following, reading, watching and listening to the news. We are dreaming. We dream of the world as it once was and vote out of office those who prevent us from continued dreaming.
The world as reflected in the statistics: The International Institute for Strategic Studies counted 183 armed conflicts for the year 2023. More than there have been for decades. Each of these wars and conflicts has its own history, its own roots, but now more and more of these wars are interconnected and fuel each other. More and more of these wars are threatening to become one big war. But we shy away from saying the word world war.
There will now be some who complain about alarmism, no one likes to have their peace disturbed, especially not in Germany, but whatever word you choose: the Ukrainian-Russian war is no longer limited to the region.
There is war in large parts of the Sahel region. Russian troops have replaced European and US troops there. In Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso, and partly in Libya. Russia's mercenaries are not interested in the corruption of local elites. They do not care when members of ethnic groups that are in power commit massacres against members of other ethnic groups who are unlucky enough not to be in power. There have been eight coups in the Sahel region in recent years, most of them incited by offers of new Russian fraternity in arms. The last US troops are withdrawing from Niger these days.
Europe has lost the battle for control of its external border in the south. Russia has taken control. In the future, Russia will decide how many migrants enter Europe, when and where. Just as Turkish head of state Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is demonstrating at the end of the Mediterranean. Migrants have long since become a weapon in the hands of dictatorships. Rising numbers of refugees are causing even stable democracies to falter. Europe has few antidotes and is watching it lethargically.
There is war in Sudan. Two generals of different ethnicity are fighting each other. The militia leader of the Rapid Support Forces, notorious for his cruelty, would probably not have started the war without having secured the support of Vladimir Putin. Tens of thousands have died and millions have fled.
There is war in Israel, Palestine, Lebanon and Syria. Hamas doesn't need Putin to attack Israel, but it's hard to imagine that the attack wasn't coordinated in principle with Iran and Russia. Iran has become one of Russia's most important partners since the start of the Ukraine war. Without Iranian arms deliveries, without Iranian drones, things wouldn't look so good for Putin on the Ukrainian front. They are unequal partners, but there is no doubt that Iran, Hezbollah, Hamas form an axis with Russia. These partners have nothing in common ideologically, but they have a lot in common strategically.
Iran benefits from Russian resources, and Russia benefits from the depletion of Western reserves. Ammunition destined for Ukraine is being diverted to Israel.
Yemen. One of Europe's most important supply routes, the Red Sea, is threatened by one of Iran's allies, the Houthi militia in Yemen. Freighters from EU countries are attacked every few days. Europe and the USA have sent warships and jets are bombing Yemen. Insurance policies and transport costs are skyrocketing - ships from Russia and China are explicitly excluded from the Houthi attacks.
North Korea. Russia has strengthened the North Korean regime so much that for the first time in decades, Korea experts fear that Kim Jong Un may be serious about his war threats against the South. Shortly after South Korea announced that it would supply ammunition to Ukraine, North Korea shelled islands in South Korea. A large proportion of the artillery shells that fall on Ukraine now come from North Korean production. And Russia pays and supplies goods that North Korea needs for its rearmament.
The origin of the artillery shells currently reveals more about the state of our world than all the statements made by politicians. Russian, Chinese, Iranian, North Korean and Belarusian missiles kill in Ukraine. On the other side of the front, Ukrainian, German, US, South Korean shells and bombs from almost all NATO countries are killing. The world's new dividing line will be drawn in steel.
China. No one outside China's leadership circle knows when and whether the People's Republic will attack its neighbor Taiwan. But the actions of Russia and China appear to be coordinated, not only the US secret service reports this, Putin and Xi Jinping also demonstrated this again at their meetings a few days ago public. While Putin invaded Crimea, China seized large areas of the South China Sea. It occupied atoll after atoll, turned them into military bases, and took a stranglehold on Taiwan.
This has been the practice of international law since Putin's attack on Ukraine: We live in a time in which the stronger can attack the weaker. He has good prospects for rich prey. The chain reaction of violence emanating from Russia is in full swing. There is a threat of war between Ethiopia and Somalia, war between Venezuela and Guyana, war between Pakistan and Iran. Jihadism worldwide, but especially in Africa, is on the rise again. Politicized by the atrocities of the elites supported by Russian mercenaries, many people there turn not to democratic hopes but to jihadists.
This war, whatever you call it, the war that consists of so many, is not primarily about economic interests. That's what makes him so extremely dangerous. It's about something much more explosive, the question of which form of government will govern humanity in the future. In this conflict, one resource-hungry country is not fighting against the other. It's one idea against the other. It is totalitarianism versus democracy. The concept of an open liberal world versus that of a closed technocracy.
As much as I hope that democracy will emerge victorious from this conflict, it is unlikely. The totalitarian systems of Russia and China have a better chance of success. You have a long-term plan. They have the madness while the democracies have no will. The will to resist. The will to lower living standards if necessary. Democracies need quick victories because otherwise voters' opinions will change. The world's democracies still seem lethargic, struggling above all with themselves. The worst thing: fewer and fewer people in these democracies understand what a great achievement this democracy is.
The front in Ukraine is threatening to collapse in the next few weeks, despite new US aid. It's not just a lack of grenades, more importantly, there's a lack of soldiers. It is said that entire units have withdrawn from their positions in recent days without orders. If China were to attack small Taiwan in Asia, the USA would have to watch largely powerless, despite all the threatening gestures. Chad in the Sahel region is also in danger of soon having a head of state dependent on Russia, despite European development cooperation. Israel threatens to burn itself to death in a frenzy of fear, hatred and revenge. In November, the self-proclaimed destroyer Donald Trump will most likely be elected. If that happens, NATO will be dead on election night.
The de facto collapse of the protective alliance and the further weakening of the West will be followed by an even more aggressive Russia. The Eastern European countries almost without exception warn. Europe feels untouchable. It's not it. European armies are run down, thinly staffed and inexperienced. According to surveys, only five percent of Germans say they want to fight in the event of war. From the perspective of Putin's ideologists, this Europe is by no means unassailable. It is ready for slaughter like a fat lamb.
Nuclear bombs? They won't protect anyone, because who will decide to use atomic bombs in an attack or to react atomically to a nuclear attack?
So give up, as most politicians from the AfD and the Left and the Wagenknecht Alliance ultimately demand? Throw Ukraine at the mercy of Russian weapons, restore peace, a peace according to Putin's grace, subordinate everything to him, including the freedom and self-determination of the individual? Are democracy and freedom ultimately luxury goods that we can only afford at the price of self-destruction?
The true tragedy of a possible Russian victory is that the exact opposite is likely. Self-destruction is at the core of totalitarianism. In the past, when people still drove the plow themselves, freedom and democracy were moral values, nice to have, relevant to the dignity of the individual, but not existential to the survival of our entire species. This has changed since the invention of chlorine chemistry, atomic energy and artificial intelligence.
Across all national borders, all peoples united in greed, we are waging a war, yes you almost have to call it that, against nature. We are tearing up the earth. We are destroying forests. We are destroying life in the oceans. We have triggered the greatest extinction of species since the end of the dinosaurs. We are developing technologies whose consequences science can only imagine but cannot guarantee. Chemistry produces tens of thousands of new molecules every year. Often it is only after decades that we realize how poisonous some of them are and have to ban them. We clone animals, we split atoms. Never before have we reached deeper into the innermost of being. Never before have we had to weigh our actions so carefully so as not to wipe ourselves out.
The autocracy is not up to this task. This is not because there are unconditionally evil people at their helm. The Putin & Xi model fails to control complex technologies. The number of people making decisions in these systems is too small. Autocracy eliminates the self-regulating power of our society, which requires fear-free discourse, the competition of ideas, and the collective weighing of gains and losses. In an autocracy, bad news is passed on to the top with difficulty. As with the Chernobyl accident in the USSR, with the Corona outbreak in China, as with the "Great Leap Forward", when up to 55 million people died of hunger in China because the authorities reported too high crop yields out of fear.
Autocracy cannot harness everyone's intelligence because everyone is afraid. In order to be able to recognize the consequences of complex technologies in good time, we need swarm intelligence, we need an early warning system: all of our minds. Even under a democratic system we will have difficulty distinguishing between greed and curiosity, allowing limitation to prevail over profit, necessity over possibility.
But we have a chance.
We still have a chance.
There is still a free Ukraine.
submitted by Schlachterhund to stupidpol [link] [comments]
Today's wars are connected, it is a battle for the future: democracy against totalitarianism. Our species can only survive if the dictatorships do not win.
The words that felt right are no longer true. We use them, but we notice: They don't fit anymore. The German Chancellor speaks of the Zeitenwende - a turning point in history. A word that hides more than it explains. We use words like crisis and escalation. Terms like from couples therapy. We still have no language for the madness we thought we had overcome. We are afraid to say it. Sometimes terrible things only become true when you call them by their name. This is what fairy tales teach us. In reality, the longer you can't name a problem, the bigger it gets.
War after war has broken out in quick succession over the past few months. I have been reporting for a long time from Ukraine, from the Middle East, from the Sahel zone, and most recently from the South China Sea. In Germany, these conflicts are perceived, but not in their entire threat. For two years we have seen the images of horror that were supposed to keep us awake, but most of us sleep well. We know about the horror that is happening outside our borders, but we do not yet feel it. We even refuse to feel it. Many have decided to stop following, reading, watching and listening to the news. We are dreaming. We dream of the world as it once was and vote out of office those who prevent us from continued dreaming.
The world as reflected in the statistics: The International Institute for Strategic Studies counted 183 armed conflicts for the year 2023. More than there have been for decades. Each of these wars and conflicts has its own history, its own roots, but now more and more of these wars are interconnected and fuel each other. More and more of these wars are threatening to become one big war. But we shy away from saying the word world war.
There will now be some who complain about alarmism, no one likes to have their peace disturbed, especially not in Germany, but whatever word you choose: the Ukrainian-Russian war is no longer limited to the region.
There is war in large parts of the Sahel region. Russian troops have replaced European and US troops there. In Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso, and partly in Libya. Russia's mercenaries are not interested in the corruption of local elites. They do not care when members of ethnic groups that are in power commit massacres against members of other ethnic groups who are unlucky enough not to be in power. There have been eight coups in the Sahel region in recent years, most of them incited by offers of new Russian fraternity in arms. The last US troops are withdrawing from Niger these days.
Europe has lost the battle for control of its external border in the south. Russia has taken control. In the future, Russia will decide how many migrants enter Europe, when and where. Just as Turkish head of state Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is demonstrating at the end of the Mediterranean. Migrants have long since become a weapon in the hands of dictatorships. Rising numbers of refugees are causing even stable democracies to falter. Europe has few antidotes and is watching it lethargically.
There is war in Sudan. Two generals of different ethnicity are fighting each other. The militia leader of the Rapid Support Forces, notorious for his cruelty, would probably not have started the war without having secured the support of Vladimir Putin. Tens of thousands have died and millions have fled.
There is war in Israel, Palestine, Lebanon and Syria. Hamas doesn't need Putin to attack Israel, but it's hard to imagine that the attack wasn't coordinated in principle with Iran and Russia. Iran has become one of Russia's most important partners since the start of the Ukraine war. Without Iranian arms deliveries, without Iranian drones, things wouldn't look so good for Putin on the Ukrainian front. They are unequal partners, but there is no doubt that Iran, Hezbollah, Hamas form an axis with Russia. These partners have nothing in common ideologically, but they have a lot in common strategically.
Iran benefits from Russian resources, and Russia benefits from the depletion of Western reserves. Ammunition destined for Ukraine is being diverted to Israel.
Yemen. One of Europe's most important supply routes, the Red Sea, is threatened by one of Iran's allies, the Houthi militia in Yemen. Freighters from EU countries are attacked every few days. Europe and the USA have sent warships and jets are bombing Yemen. Insurance policies and transport costs are skyrocketing - ships from Russia and China are explicitly excluded from the Houthi attacks.
North Korea. Russia has strengthened the North Korean regime so much that for the first time in decades, Korea experts fear that Kim Jong Un may be serious about his war threats against the South. Shortly after South Korea announced that it would supply ammunition to Ukraine, North Korea shelled islands in South Korea. A large proportion of the artillery shells that fall on Ukraine now come from North Korean production. And Russia pays and supplies goods that North Korea needs for its rearmament.
The origin of the artillery shells currently reveals more about the state of our world than all the statements made by politicians. Russian, Chinese, Iranian, North Korean and Belarusian missiles kill in Ukraine. On the other side of the front, Ukrainian, German, US, South Korean shells and bombs from almost all NATO countries are killing. The world's new dividing line will be drawn in steel.
China. No one outside China's leadership circle knows when and whether the People's Republic will attack its neighbor Taiwan. But the actions of Russia and China appear to be coordinated, not only the US secret service reports this, Putin and Xi Jinping also demonstrated this again at their meetings a few days ago public. While Putin invaded Crimea, China seized large areas of the South China Sea. It occupied atoll after atoll, turned them into military bases, and took a stranglehold on Taiwan.
This has been the practice of international law since Putin's attack on Ukraine: We live in a time in which the stronger can attack the weaker. He has good prospects for rich prey. The chain reaction of violence emanating from Russia is in full swing. There is a threat of war between Ethiopia and Somalia, war between Venezuela and Guyana, war between Pakistan and Iran. Jihadism worldwide, but especially in Africa, is on the rise again. Politicized by the atrocities of the elites supported by Russian mercenaries, many people there turn not to democratic hopes but to jihadists.
This war, whatever you call it, the war that consists of so many, is not primarily about economic interests. That's what makes him so extremely dangerous. It's about something much more explosive, the question of which form of government will govern humanity in the future. In this conflict, one resource-hungry country is not fighting against the other. It's one idea against the other. It is totalitarianism versus democracy. The concept of an open liberal world versus that of a closed technocracy.
As much as I hope that democracy will emerge victorious from this conflict, it is unlikely. The totalitarian systems of Russia and China have a better chance of success. You have a long-term plan. They have the madness while the democracies have no will. The will to resist. The will to lower living standards if necessary. Democracies need quick victories because otherwise voters' opinions will change. The world's democracies still seem lethargic, struggling above all with themselves. The worst thing: fewer and fewer people in these democracies understand what a great achievement this democracy is.
The front in Ukraine is threatening to collapse in the next few weeks, despite new US aid. It's not just a lack of grenades, more importantly, there's a lack of soldiers. It is said that entire units have withdrawn from their positions in recent days without orders. If China were to attack small Taiwan in Asia, the USA would have to watch largely powerless, despite all the threatening gestures. Chad in the Sahel region is also in danger of soon having a head of state dependent on Russia, despite European development cooperation. Israel threatens to burn itself to death in a frenzy of fear, hatred and revenge. In November, the self-proclaimed destroyer Donald Trump will most likely be elected. If that happens, NATO will be dead on election night.
The de facto collapse of the protective alliance and the further weakening of the West will be followed by an even more aggressive Russia. The Eastern European countries almost without exception warn. Europe feels untouchable. It's not it. European armies are run down, thinly staffed and inexperienced. According to surveys, only five percent of Germans say they want to fight in the event of war. From the perspective of Putin's ideologists, this Europe is by no means unassailable. It is ready for slaughter like a fat lamb.
Nuclear bombs? They won't protect anyone, because who will decide to use atomic bombs in an attack or to react atomically to a nuclear attack?
So give up, as most politicians from the AfD and the Left and the Wagenknecht Alliance ultimately demand? Throw Ukraine at the mercy of Russian weapons, restore peace, a peace according to Putin's grace, subordinate everything to him, including the freedom and self-determination of the individual? Are democracy and freedom ultimately luxury goods that we can only afford at the price of self-destruction?
The true tragedy of a possible Russian victory is that the exact opposite is likely. Self-destruction is at the core of totalitarianism. In the past, when people still drove the plow themselves, freedom and democracy were moral values, nice to have, relevant to the dignity of the individual, but not existential to the survival of our entire species. This has changed since the invention of chlorine chemistry, atomic energy and artificial intelligence.
Across all national borders, all peoples united in greed, we are waging a war, yes you almost have to call it that, against nature. We are tearing up the earth. We are destroying forests. We are destroying life in the oceans. We have triggered the greatest extinction of species since the end of the dinosaurs. We are developing technologies whose consequences science can only imagine but cannot guarantee. Chemistry produces tens of thousands of new molecules every year. Often it is only after decades that we realize how poisonous some of them are and have to ban them. We clone animals, we split atoms. Never before have we reached deeper into the innermost of being. Never before have we had to weigh our actions so carefully so as not to wipe ourselves out.
The autocracy is not up to this task. This is not because there are unconditionally evil people at their helm. The Putin & Xi model fails to control complex technologies. The number of people making decisions in these systems is too small. Autocracy eliminates the self-regulating power of our society, which requires fear-free discourse, the competition of ideas, and the collective weighing of gains and losses. In an autocracy, bad news is passed on to the top with difficulty. As with the Chernobyl accident in the USSR, with the Corona outbreak in China, as with the "Great Leap Forward", when up to 55 million people died of hunger in China because the authorities reported too high crop yields out of fear.
Autocracy cannot harness everyone's intelligence because everyone is afraid. In order to be able to recognize the consequences of complex technologies in good time, we need swarm intelligence, we need an early warning system: all of our minds. Even under a democratic system we will have difficulty distinguishing between greed and curiosity, allowing limitation to prevail over profit, necessity over possibility.
But we have a chance.
We still have a chance.
There is still a free Ukraine.
2024.05.11 00:15 HRJafael Rowe voters to consider two-town fire district and expanding cemetery in Town Meeting on May 13, 2024
https://archive.is/B8Ntl
Annual Town Meeting voters will consider creating a two-town fire district with Charlemont, expanding the town cemetery and enlarging Pelham Lake Park when they meet Monday at 7 p.m. in the Rowe Elementary School, following a Special Town Meeting at 6:30 p.m.
Rowe’s tax rate for residential property for fiscal year 2024 was $5.01 per $1,000 valuation; however, the rate is projected to go up to $5.29 in FY25, while the town completes the second year of a $1.85 million road resurfacing project.
“We can expect the tax rate, which was reduced last year, to increase back in the area of the rate set in 2022,” the Finance Committee wrote in documents provided to voters. “This jump is primarily the cost of the roads and increases seen by the national inflation scene. “The good news is, moving forward, the tax rate should steady to a 2% to 4% increase that Rowe residents expect.”
About 90% of Rowe’s tax dollars come from the Bear Swamp Hydroelectric Power Station and the closed Yankee Rowe Nuclear Power Station.
Budget requests from tax dollars include:
■General government — $645,571.
■Public works and cemeteries — $636,269.
■Public safety — $224,010.
■Public health — $164,003.
■Public schools — the budget for the Rowe Elementary School preK-6 operating budget is $1.2 million and costs for grades 7-12 is $612,629.
■Rowe Town Library — $79,965.
■Pelham Lake Park — $163,704. Voters are also being asked to spend the following amount to pay down loans:
■$100,000 for broadband debt.
■$370,000 for the town road paving project.
■$59,782 for indebtedness interest. Residents will decide whether the town clerk should remain an elected position or whether to change it to a Selectboard-appointed position for a three-year term.
There will also be a non-binding vote to see if the town wants to start a fire district with Charlemont, its neighboring town. Under state law, such a fire district would elect a three-member prudential committee, with a district clerk to certify to assessors the amount of taxes to be raised for the district. The main advantage is to bring smaller communities together under one fire service provider, while reducing redundancy in services, equipment, station-staffing and apparatus. This measure is unanimously recommended by the Selectboard.
If the town does not approve creating a fire district, another article asks voters to officially agree to having a shared fire chief with Charlemont. Both towns already share Fire Chief Dennis Annear, but having a formal position with combined work hours would make the job more desirable.
The town will vote to expand the cemetery by acquiring land on North Cemetery Road, using $20,000 of the town’s free cash reserves. Voters will also be asked to use $186,840 in free cash for projects at the library, Fire Station, Pelham Lake Park and Rowe Elementary School. These expenses include a $50,000 study to make the library Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)-compliant and security enhancements at the school.
Residents will vote on having a 2-acre parcel of town-owned land near Pelham Lake Park officially become part of the park. The town acquired the land in 1997, but it was never designated as part of the park.
To view the full warrant and related documents:
https://rowe-ma.gov/files/Fiscal_Year_2025_Voter_Booklet.pdf
submitted by HRJafael to FranklinCountyMA [link] [comments]
Annual Town Meeting voters will consider creating a two-town fire district with Charlemont, expanding the town cemetery and enlarging Pelham Lake Park when they meet Monday at 7 p.m. in the Rowe Elementary School, following a Special Town Meeting at 6:30 p.m.
Rowe’s tax rate for residential property for fiscal year 2024 was $5.01 per $1,000 valuation; however, the rate is projected to go up to $5.29 in FY25, while the town completes the second year of a $1.85 million road resurfacing project.
“We can expect the tax rate, which was reduced last year, to increase back in the area of the rate set in 2022,” the Finance Committee wrote in documents provided to voters. “This jump is primarily the cost of the roads and increases seen by the national inflation scene. “The good news is, moving forward, the tax rate should steady to a 2% to 4% increase that Rowe residents expect.”
About 90% of Rowe’s tax dollars come from the Bear Swamp Hydroelectric Power Station and the closed Yankee Rowe Nuclear Power Station.
Budget requests from tax dollars include:
■General government — $645,571.
■Public works and cemeteries — $636,269.
■Public safety — $224,010.
■Public health — $164,003.
■Public schools — the budget for the Rowe Elementary School preK-6 operating budget is $1.2 million and costs for grades 7-12 is $612,629.
■Rowe Town Library — $79,965.
■Pelham Lake Park — $163,704. Voters are also being asked to spend the following amount to pay down loans:
■$100,000 for broadband debt.
■$370,000 for the town road paving project.
■$59,782 for indebtedness interest. Residents will decide whether the town clerk should remain an elected position or whether to change it to a Selectboard-appointed position for a three-year term.
There will also be a non-binding vote to see if the town wants to start a fire district with Charlemont, its neighboring town. Under state law, such a fire district would elect a three-member prudential committee, with a district clerk to certify to assessors the amount of taxes to be raised for the district. The main advantage is to bring smaller communities together under one fire service provider, while reducing redundancy in services, equipment, station-staffing and apparatus. This measure is unanimously recommended by the Selectboard.
If the town does not approve creating a fire district, another article asks voters to officially agree to having a shared fire chief with Charlemont. Both towns already share Fire Chief Dennis Annear, but having a formal position with combined work hours would make the job more desirable.
The town will vote to expand the cemetery by acquiring land on North Cemetery Road, using $20,000 of the town’s free cash reserves. Voters will also be asked to use $186,840 in free cash for projects at the library, Fire Station, Pelham Lake Park and Rowe Elementary School. These expenses include a $50,000 study to make the library Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)-compliant and security enhancements at the school.
Residents will vote on having a 2-acre parcel of town-owned land near Pelham Lake Park officially become part of the park. The town acquired the land in 1997, but it was never designated as part of the park.
To view the full warrant and related documents:
https://rowe-ma.gov/files/Fiscal_Year_2025_Voter_Booklet.pdf
2024.05.07 16:32 spartachilles Election of 1948 - Round 2 A House Divided Alternate Elections
 | While many expected that the Federalist Reform Party would suffer a dire electoral defeat after the challenging circumstances of former President Alvin York’s resignation from office, the leadership of President Charles Edward Merriam seems to have restored the confidence of the American people in his party. Securing the backing of organizations ranging from the American Legion to the American Federation of Labor and riding on the coattails of a strong post-war economy even despite the turbulence of widespread labor unrest and record low global temperatures, the Federalist Reform Party managed to secure a near majority in the House of Representatives as well as several new Senate neats. However, an absolute majority in the first round of the election proved out of its reach and per the provisions of the 32nd Amendment, a second round of the presidential election must be held. submitted by spartachilles to Presidentialpoll [link] [comments] Skeptical of the Popular Front’s failure to exclude Marxist-Hansenists and other socialist radicals from their movement as well as their staunchly leftist political platform, Solidarity presidential candidate Walter Judd and his running mate Mary McLeod Bethune have both endorsed the Federalist Reform ticket while urging President Merriam to accept the broad-based support of the world federation and federal civil rights legislation as a political consensus. Now faced with an uphill battle to clinch the presidency, Popular Front candidate Vito Marcantonio has thus taken to an aggressive campaign arguing that the Federalist Reform Party has left behind workers and minorities in its platform and that it responsible for a brutal war crime in the atomic bombing of Germany that makes it little different from the Integralism of the countries of the Pact of Steel. For his part, Merriam’s allies have sought to paint him as a master administrator who will usher in a new era of prosperity and unprecedented global influence without surrendering the national sovereignty of the United States. Federalist Reform Party Incumbent President Charles Edward Merriam Returning to the helm of his party 20 years after he was first its nominee, 73-year-old incumbent President Charles Edward Merriam now fights to preserve Federalist Reform after the successive collapses of two of its administrations. Beginning his career as a professor of political science, Merriam first achieved political office as a city alderman in Chicago shortly after the Second American Revolution. Channeling the widespread disgust at the rampant corruption in the state government, Merriam brought the local Solidarity and Federalist Reform Parties into an alliance that propelled him to the Illinois Governor’s Mansion in 1920. His following two terms in the office would turn him into a national superstar with his dramatic prosecution of corrupt teamster’s president Cornelius Shea. Thus well positioned at the Federalist Reform National Convention of 1928, Merriam led a radical transformation of the party in abandoning its past equivocation for the dictatorship in favor of a new vision of a powerful yet responsive federal government under the principles of Herbert Croly’s New Nationalism. However, his hopes for the presidency were dashed both that year and when his nomination was denied in 1932 in the face of the rising Formicist movement. Rather than making another attempt at the presidency, Merriam instead became one of the country’s inaugural Censors to help establish the precedents and principles that would guide the nation’s new auditory branch. Yet with President Alvin York seeking an experienced elder statesman to help guide him after rising to the office, Merriam accepted the offer of the vice presidency from York. But when York ordered the nuclear destruction of Germany without consulting even his own cabinet and subsequently resigned from office, Merriam was thrust into the presidency himself with a charge to repair a country left broken by this national crisis. In the months since then, Merriam has tirelessly worked to stabilize the national economy while soothing persistent labor unrest and has taken a keen interest in overseeing the reconstruction of a world left scarred by war to help repair America’s international reputation. In light of his advanced age, Merriam has suggested that he would retire at the end of his full term to avoid the risk of another premature presidential transition, yet this has not spared him from attacks on his fitness to serve a full term. Incumbent Vice President Edward J. Meeman Capturing the minds of many within the Federalist Reform Party as its chief advocate of the Atlanticist concept of a world federation, 58-year-old incumbent Vice President and former Governor of Tennessee Edward J. Meeman joins the ticket as a stark internationalist. Introduced to politics by his father who was a two-term state legislator, Meeman joined the Social Democratic Party after the Second American Revolution and applied himself to a career in journalism. However, as he rose through the ranks of the newspaper trade to become the editor of his own magazine, he switched his affiliation to the Federalist Reform Party due to his increasing disdain for the corruption and bossism of his former party. Becoming the editor and business manager of the Memphis Press-Scimitar at the same time as Louis Brownlow became the Governor of Tennessee, Meeman was an indefatigable crusader against the influence of Social Democratic Boss E.H. Crump and supporter of the transformation of the state into a laboratory of Federalist Reform democracy. Widely regarded as one of the state’s premier journalistic figures throughout the governorship of Gordon Browning, Meeman emerged as his natural successor when Browning ascended to the vice presidency. Taking charge of his state amidst the Second World War, Meeman chiefly preoccupied himself with mobilizing Tennessee for the war effort but also notably brought many of the state’s African Americans into his coalition by liberalizing civil rights laws as well as his efforts to improve environmental conservation in the state. Inspired in part by his own German heritage, Meeman emerged as a harsh critic of the atomic bombing of Germany and later became the standard-bearer for the Atlanticist movement within his party. Commanding a crucial section of the party in its National Convention, Meeman was tapped as Merriam’s running mate to win over his support for the President’s renomination and thereafter appointed by Merriam as his Vice President. Though Meeman has handily survived an intraparty challenge to dump him from the ticket in the first round of the election, many Federalist Reform politicians remain concerned about his Atlanticist position especially given the real possibility of him assuming office in the following term. Although the party sports many adherents to world federalism and remains deeply influenced by the movement, Merriam and the Federalist Reform Party at large have withheld their endorsement of a world government. Instead, Merriam has proposed the formation of a supranational international association to mediate international conflicts, promote the spread of democracy around the globe, and coordinate international action to rebuild after the war and meet the increasingly pressing challenges of global famines. Envisioning representation of all nations of the world but a special role for major powers such as the United States, United Kingdom, and China, Merriam has called for collective security and the establishment of enforceable international laws to be the basis of this organization. However, he has not shied away from suggesting the creation of international economic planning boards and even more ambitious proposals for a baseline common world citizenship and the creation of an international currency. Moreover, while Merriam has not endorsed the world federalist movement, he has not explicitly ruled it out either and promised to appoint delegates to an international convention to discuss the Atlanticist model of federation between Western-style democracies. With a Hansenist revolution having gripped the island nation of Haiti and threatening to spread communism in Latin America and beyond, Merriam has argued in favor of an intervention to restore the democratic government of Haiti and block it from exporting revolution. Claiming that the nationwide labor unrest has spiraled to the point of crisis, Merriam has strongly endorsed the National Labor Arbitration Act compelling unions and employers to submit to government arbitration. However, he has called for an even handed approach to such arbitration recognizing the needs of both labor and capital to ensure a harmonious economy. Furthermore, Merriam has called for a law to implement a corporatist scheme of industrial associations formed in partnership between employer and employee syndicates to steer economic policy such as wage and price levels. However, Merriam has refused to tolerate violent or criminal actions by labor unions and called for the strengthening of anti-racketeering laws as well as a federal criminal syndicalism law to outlaw the advocacy of violent revolution. To further support economic activity, Merriam has called for the proliferation of government planning agencies staffed by subject matter experts tasked with analyzing the economy for profitable, environmentally beneficial, or socially desirable investments and working with private industry towards their implementation. In addition, Merriam has supported the continued reduction of wartime taxes and tariffs alongside reductions in government spending to bring the budget into balance and limit inflation. Adhering to the longtime platform of his party, Merriam has also supported the implementation of a peacetime universal military training program. As a longtime opponent of political corruption, Merriam has promised to rid the federal government of graft and wasteful spending and pledged to bolster the powers and funding of the Council of Censors. Believing that the primary purpose of the national education system is to groom the next generation of leaders, he has called for the reformation of the Dewey Education Act towards heightening civic education and national identity. To implement his agenda, Merriam has also strongly supported an overhaul of the executive branch to further empower the presidency with added staff, full discretion to reorganize the federal government, and the line item veto on budgets passed by Congress. Popular Front New York Representative Vito Marcantonio Successful in bringing together the Social Democratic and Socialist Workers Parties under a joint ticket and alliance agreement known as the “Popular Front”, 45-year-old New York Representative Vito Marcantonio has thus become the face of a newly united American left. Born to humble beginnings in an immigrant family residing in a crime-wracked neighborhood of Harlem, Marcantonio excelled at academics despite the challenges of his youth and began a successful career in law soon after his graduation. Building his reputation by taking on cases defending workers wronged by their employers and protestors arrested during demonstrations against the Mitchel presidency, Marcantonio built crucial connections within the Social Democratic Party that propelled him to an appointment as a United States Attorney and later election to the House of Representatives. While quick to make a name for himself first with his opposition to President Howard P. Lovecraft and later for his opposition to the declaration of war upon Japan, Marcantonio always remained sensitive to the needs of his constituents and returned to Harlem every weekend to solve their governmental problems and thereby earned their undying loyalty with every election. With his initial opposition to the war tempered by his loyalty to the Social Democratic Party and flexibility regarding supporting certain war measures, Marcantonio found himself uniquely positioned to earn the joint nomination of the Social Democratic and Socialist Workers Party and thereby take a leading role in uniting them electorally under the Popular Front while maintaining their formal political independence. After an incident where a Federalist Reform election worker was beaten to death in Harlem during the first round of the election, Marcantonio’s opponents have pounced on the opportunity to paint him as an unsavory machine politician with ties to the Italian Mafia that is known to operate in his district. Washington Governor Harry E. B. Ault With the Popular Front agreement demanding the nomination of a Socialist Workers politician for the vice presidency, 64-year-old Washington Governor Harry E. B. Ault stands as the candidate of the more radical side of the electoral alliance. Born to a family of committed socialists, when he was a teenager Ault moved into a blossoming cooperative socialist colony in Washington state. Serving as a press secretary for the ill-fated 1908 presidential campaign of Eugene V. Debs, Ault became a wanted man during the Grant dictatorship and witnessed the death of his political mentor Hermon F. Titus at the hands of Grantist Blueshirts. Surviving until after the Second American Revolution, Ault became the editor of Seattle's premier labor-owned newspaper, the Union Record. Thus, he became a central figure in the Seattle General Strike opposing the influence of William Z. Foster and urging a pragmatic balance of direct and political action. Appointed as a United States Marshal by President Frank J. Hayes as an olive branch to pacifists amidst the rapid split of the Social Democratic Party over the issue of the Second World War, Ault was placed into the impossible situation of enforcing laws such as the Alien Registration Act that he found fundamentally unjust and resigned his position soon after. Nonetheless, this service was enough for him to be marked for arrest by his former employee Anna Louise Strong when she took leadership over the Seattle commune during the Syndicalist Revolt against President Howard Hughes. After a brief spell of Federalist Reform control over the state following the suppression of the revolt, Ault led the Socialist Workers Party to sweep elections in the state in 1944. Although he drew some consternation from his allies for his pragmatic choice to avoid excessively obstructing the war effort in order to stave off another federal intervention in state politics, Ault nevertheless became a national voice for the war-weary searching for a quick end to the war. Yet with a newfound wave of nationalism following victory in the war, Ault has been ruthlessly attacked not only as a political radical but also an unpatriotic coward. Arguing that the formation of a world government is the only possible path to ensure world peace, Marcantonio has strongly endorsed the creation of a worldwide federal union. While supporting the delegation of powers to control nuclear power and international armaments, Marcantonio has also gone a step further than his opponents in suggesting that the federation be granted a relatively broad power to provide for the “general welfare” and regulate “international commerce” in a model similar to that of the United States. Seeing leftist governments abroad as the principal allies of the United States in forming a world federation, Marcantonio has called for closer relations with Aneurin Bevan’s United Kingdom and Alvaro de Albornoz’s Spain while calling for more support of leftist movements in the occupied countries of the Pact of Steel. Curiously, Marcantonio has also reportedly exchanged letters with Italian world federalist Santi Paladino and Sicilian political leaders regarding the annexation of Sicily to the United States as a precursor to the world federation. Strictly opposed to the European colonial empires, Marcantonio has called for their immediate dismantlement and the creation of new nations under the principle of self-determination. Additionally, Marcantonio has harshly criticized his opponent’s proposals for intervention against international communist movements as warmongering efforts that would needlessly spill the blood of workers. Attacking the National Labor Arbitration Act as being designed to suppress the right of workers to strike, Marcantonio has campaigned upon its repeal while suggesting that his administration would back the efforts of workers to achieve increases in wages and reductions in working hours as recompense for their wartime sacrifices. Additionally, Marcantonio has called for the nationalization of monopolistic industries such as banking, shipping, electric power, gas, and oil, as well as the nationalization of any industries dependent on government purchases with the defense industry chief among them, arguing that they exploit both the consumers they service as well as the workers they employ. In light of the struggles of the American healthcare system during the deadly Japanese biological attack of bubonic plague and the continued issue of homelessness stemming from destruction in the Bakuhatsu, Marcantonio has called for the creation of a socialized system of national healthcare as well as an ambitious public housing program to guarantee homes for the poor and dispossessed. To fund his extensive governmental proposals, Marcantonio has called for a vast reduction in defense spending as well as the maintenance of many wartime taxes as well as stiffer capital gains, excess profits, land value, and estate taxes. Meanwhile, attacking postwar inflation as the result of unbridled corporate greed, Marcantonio has supported the maintenance and extension of broad price and rent controls. Having built a reputation as a champion of immigrant and minority communities in his district, Marcantonio has supported federal civil rights legislation to bar segregation in housing, employment, and public accommodations as well as an opening of the American immigration system. View Poll |
2024.05.03 18:14 spartachilles Election of 1948 - Round 1 A House Divided Alternate Elections
 | The year is 1948, and America is at a crossroads. After nearly a decade of brutal warfare spanning from the plains of Russia to the jungles of Indonesia, the Second World War has finally come to an end. However, this has merely given way to a new slew of geopolitical issues as after a year of escalating tensions former President Alvin York unilaterally ordered the total nuclear annihilation of America’s erstwhile ally the German Empire. With the global order now thrown into chaos again by this betrayal of trust and the severe climatological effects it has entailed, a worldwide movement has arisen claiming that no one country can be trusted with the keys to atomic power and that the nations of the world must unite into a single federal government. However, there remain many skeptics unwilling to surrender the national sovereignty they so desperately fought for in the Second World War and even among its supporters many competing visions vie for recognition as the new path forward. Aside from the tumultuous international situation, domestic American politics remain as fraught with conflict as ever as the country slowly makes its transition back to a peacetime economy. To many, the economic dislocation arising from fighting a global war provides the perfect opportunity to shape the country’s economy to their vision, while pent-up labor unrest from the war has exploded into a nationwide phenomenon. submitted by spartachilles to Presidentialpoll [link] [comments] Federalist Reform Party Incumbent President Charles Edward Merriam Returning to the helm of his party 20 years after he was first its nominee, 73-year-old incumbent President Charles Edward Merriam now fights to preserve Federalist Reform after the successive collapses of two of its administrations. Beginning his career as a professor of political science, Merriam first achieved political office as a city alderman in Chicago shortly after the Second American Revolution. Channeling the widespread disgust at the rampant corruption in the state government, Merriam brought the local Solidarity and Federalist Reform Parties into an alliance that propelled him to the Illinois Governor’s Mansion in 1920. His following two terms in the office would turn him into a national superstar with his dramatic prosecution of corrupt teamster’s president Cornelius Shea. Thus well positioned at the Federalist Reform National Convention of 1928, Merriam led a radical transformation of the party in abandoning its past equivocation for the dictatorship in favor of a new vision of a powerful yet responsive federal government under the principles of Herbert Croly’s New Nationalism. However, his hopes for the presidency were dashed both that year and when his nomination was denied in 1932 in the face of the rising Formicist movement. Rather than making another attempt at the presidency, Merriam instead became one of the country’s inaugural Censors to help establish the precedents and principles that would guide the nation’s new auditory branch. Yet with President Alvin York seeking an experienced elder statesman to help guide him after rising to the office, Merriam accepted the offer of the vice presidency from York. But when York ordered the nuclear destruction of Germany without consulting even his own cabinet and subsequently resigned from office, Merriam was thrust into the presidency himself with a charge to repair a country left broken by this national crisis. In the months since then, Merriam has tirelessly worked to stabilize the national economy while soothing persistent labor unrest and has taken a keen interest in overseeing the reconstruction of a world left scarred by war to help repair America’s international reputation including overseeing the recent independence of Indonesia. In light of his advanced age, Merriam has suggested that he would retire at the end of his full term to avoid the risk of another premature presidential transition. Incumbent Vice President Edward J. Meeman Capturing the minds of many within the Federalist Reform Party as its chief advocate of the Atlanticist concept of a world federation, 58-year-old incumbent Vice President and former Governor of Tennessee Edward J. Meeman joins the ticket as a stark internationalist. Introduced to politics by his father who was a two-term state legislator, Meeman joined the Social Democratic Party after the Second American Revolution and applied himself to a career in journalism. However, as he rose through the ranks of the newspaper trade to become the editor of his own magazine, he switched his affiliation to the Federalist Reform Party due to his increasing disdain for the corruption and bossism of his former party. Becoming the editor and business manager of the Memphis Press-Scimitar at the same time as Louis Brownlow became the Governor of Tennessee, Meeman was an indefatigable crusader against the influence of Social Democratic Boss E.H. Crump and supporter of the transformation of the state into a laboratory of Federalist Reform democracy. Widely regarded as one of the state’s premier journalistic figures throughout the governorship of Gordon Browning, Meeman emerged as his natural successor when Browning ascended to the vice presidency. Taking charge of his state amidst the Second World War, Meeman chiefly preoccupied himself with mobilizing Tennessee for the war effort but also notably brought many of the state’s African Americans into his coalition by liberalizing civil rights laws as well as his efforts to improve environmental conservation in the state. Inspired in part by his own German heritage, Meeman emerged as a harsh critic of the atomic bombing of Germany and later became the standard-bearer for the Atlanticist movement within his party. Commanding a crucial section of the party in its National Convention, Meeman was tapped as Merriam’s running mate to win over his support for the President’s renomination and thereafter appointed by Merriam as his Vice President. However, intraparty dissatisfaction with Meeman’s nomination and Merriam’s alliance with world federalists in the party has led to a movement to instead put veterans leader and world federalism opponent John Thomas Taylor on the vice presidential line. Although the party sports many adherents to world federalism and remains deeply influenced by the movement, Merriam and the Federalist Reform Party at large have withheld their endorsement of a world government. Instead, Merriam has proposed the formation of a supranational international association to mediate international conflicts, promote the spread of democracy around the globe, and coordinate international action to rebuild after the war and meet the increasingly pressing challenges of global famines. Envisioning representation of all nations of the world but a special role for major powers such as the United States, United Kingdom, and China, Merriam has called for collective security and the establishment of enforceable international laws to be the basis of this organization. However, he has not shied away from suggesting the creation of international economic planning boards and even more ambitious proposals for a baseline common world citizenship and the creation of an international currency. Moreover, while Merriam has not endorsed the world federalist movement, he has not explicitly ruled it out either and promised to appoint delegates to an international convention to discuss the Atlanticist model of federation between Western-style democracies. With a Hansenist revolution having gripped the island nation of Haiti and threatening to spread communism in Latin America and beyond, Merriam has argued in favor of an intervention to restore the democratic government of Haiti and block it from exporting revolution. Claiming that the nationwide labor unrest has spiraled to the point of crisis, Merriam has strongly endorsed the National Labor Arbitration Act compelling unions and employers to submit to government arbitration. However, he has called for an even handed approach to such arbitration recognizing the needs of both labor and capital to ensure a harmonious economy. Furthermore, Merriam has called for a law to implement a corporatist scheme of industrial associations formed in partnership between employer and employee syndicates to steer economic policy such as wage and price levels. However, Merriam has refused to tolerate violent or criminal actions by labor unions and called for the strengthening of anti-racketeering laws as well as a federal criminal syndicalism law to outlaw the advocacy of violent revolution. To further support economic activity, Merriam has called for the proliferation of government planning agencies staffed by subject matter experts tasked with analyzing the economy for profitable, environmentally beneficial, or socially desirable investments and working with private industry towards their implementation. In addition, Merriam has supported the continued reduction of wartime taxes and tariffs alongside reductions in government spending to bring the budget into balance and limit inflation. Adhering to the longtime platform of his party, Merriam has also supported the implementation of a peacetime universal military training program. As a longtime opponent of political corruption, Merriam has promised to rid the federal government of graft and wasteful spending and pledged to bolster the powers and funding of the Council of Censors. Believing that the primary purpose of the national education system is to groom the next generation of leaders, he has called for the reformation of the Dewey Education Act towards heightening civic education and national identity. To implement his agenda, Merriam has also strongly supported an overhaul of the executive branch to further empower the presidency with added staff, full discretion to reorganize the federal government, and the line item veto on budgets passed by Congress. Solidarity Minnesota Senator Walter Judd Channeling the longtime legacy of internationalism in the party to stake its claim on the world federalist ideal, 49-year-old Minnesota Senator Walter Judd runs to fulfill the vision of previous party nominee Harold Stassen. Educated as a doctor, Judd left the country as a young man to escape the national tumult by becoming a medical missionary in China. Remaining there for many years as the head of increasingly large medical missions, Judd was a frontline witness to the atrocities of the Sino-Japanese War while caring for those brutalized by the Imperial Japanese Army. Upon his return to the United States, Judd delivered a testimony to the House of Representatives that was widely seen as pushing the country along its path toward declaring war on Japan. Launching his political career as a Representative from Minnesota soon thereafter, Judd rose to national prominence with his eloquent speeches in favor of aid and intervention on behalf of the Chinese. Holding a close relationship with Minnesota Governor Harold Stassen due to their close alignment on many issues, Judd nominated him for the presidency at the party’s 1944 convention, a favor which was repaid by Stassen’s loyal support in Judd’s campaign for the Senate in 1946. Since the end of the Second World War, Judd has been one of the principal Congressional leaders in the fight for the world federation while also maintaining his staunch support for a close Sino-American relationship. Florida Representative Mary McLeod Bethune Regarded as one of Solidarity’s most distinguished Congressional figures, 73-year-old Florida Representative Mary McLeod Bethune has been honored with the party’s vice presidential nomination to bolster its support with its Southern and more liberal wings. Born to a family only recently freed from slavery during the Fremont presidency, Bethune was determined from a young age to pursue education to overcome racial disparities she felt in her hometown. After a brief stint as a missionary to the Congo, Bethune became a teacher herself and moved to Florida to start a school for black girls. Even despite adversity such as her school being burned down by the Ku Klux Klan during the Second Civil War, Bethune remained committed to her vision of the future and later founded a successful college in Florida. Increasingly interested in the world of politics, Bethune joined a number of associations for the advancement of civil rights and women’s suffrage which brought her into contact with Solidarity. After serving as an advisor in various capacities for President George Foster Peabody, Bethune secured a place on the party’s list of representatives allocated seats under the national proportional representation system that she has maintained for over twenty years. Widely regarded as an expert in policy areas ranging from education to civil rights to commerce, Bethune has played an important role in many pieces of legislation throughout her career though she has regarded her co-authorship of the Fair Employment and Fair Education Acts as among her crowning achievements. With the support of the bulk of his party, Judd has called for the creation of an all-inclusive world federation uniting the nations of the world under a single government. The main goal of his proposed world federation would be the abolition of international war and international control over nuclear weapons and the development of nuclear technology. However, he has also supported the delegation of limited enumerated powers to the world federation in a manner similar to that used in the United States to allow it the ability to govern over international reconstruction, to guarantee the self-determination of peoples, and to support other crucial international objectives that may arise over time such as the budding exploration of outer space. As a believer in a special Sino-American relationship stemming from the efforts of President Tasker H. Bliss, Judd has argued that a strong relationship with Chinese Premier Chiang Kai-Shek is crucial for the establishment of the world federation. In the interim before the establishment of such a federation, Judd has vocally called for a heavy investment into foreign aid and technical assistance to support international reconstruction efforts and rebuild America’s international reputation, particularly emphasizing government-subsidized exports of foodstuffs as a way to simultaneously support American farmers while addressing food shortfalls abroad during the exceptionally cold year of 1948. As a devoted anti-imperialist, Judd has also called for the forced dismantlement of the colonial empires of the defeated powers in the Second World War as well as the application of diplomatic and economic pressure on the remaining colonial powers of Europe to oblige them to grant independence to their colonies as well. Believing that communism represents a threat to international democracy, especially as expressed in the Hansenist ideology, Judd has supported heavy American economic and military aid to prevent its spread in Europe and Latin America though he has opposed direct military intervention. Arguing that inflation poses the gravest risk to the livelihood of the American people by degrading their purchasing power, Judd has made combatting it his chief domestic political priority. Believing price controls to be liable to distort the free market by inducing shortages in crucial goods and thus supporting their removal as soon as practicable, Judd has instead called for a substantial reduction in government spending to eliminate the federal deficit and clamp down on inflation. However, he has opposed making cuts to popular programs such as the social insurance system or educational aid and even supported an expansion of public housing spending to address damage and shortages from the war. Instead, Judd has concentrated on the drawdown of wartime expenditures, the elimination of redundant federal agencies, and a reduction in public works spending. While acknowledging the need for a social safety net and reasonable regulations to avoid monopolistic practices, Judd has remained a disciple of the free market overall in ensuring the prosperity of the American people and criticized his opponents as seeking to stifle the nation’s economic growth with excessive regulation. To this end, he has opposed the National Labor Arbitration Act as excessive government interference in the national economy. Convicted in his belief in equality among the races from his experiences abroad, Judd has strongly endorsed federal civil rights legislation to finally end the practice of segregation in all public accommodations, ensure diverse representation in juries, and outlaw discrimination in employment. Additionally, Judd has endorsed the removal of racial quotas and other immigration restrictions still enforced from Populist-era laws to allow immigration into the United States by people from around the world. Popular Front New York Representative Vito Marcantonio Successful in bringing together the Social Democratic and Socialist Workers Parties under a joint ticket and alliance agreement known as the “Popular Front”, 45-year-old New York Representative Vito Marcantonio has thus become the face of a newly united American left. Born to humble beginnings in an immigrant family residing in a crime-wracked neighborhood of Harlem, Marcantonio excelled at academics despite the challenges of his youth and began a successful career in law soon after his graduation. Building his reputation by taking on cases defending workers wronged by their employers and protestors arrested during demonstrations against the Mitchel presidency, Marcantonio built crucial connections within the Social Democratic Party that propelled him to an appointment as a United States Attorney and later election to the House of Representatives. While quick to make a name for himself first with his opposition to President Howard P. Lovecraft and later for his opposition to the declaration of war upon Japan, Marcantonio always remained sensitive to the needs of his constituents and returned to Harlem every weekend to solve their governmental problems and thereby earned their undying loyalty with every election. With his initial opposition to the war tempered by his loyalty to the Social Democratic Party and flexibility regarding supporting certain war measures, Marcantonio found himself uniquely positioned to earn the joint nomination of the Social Democratic and Socialist Workers Party and thereby take a leading role in uniting them electorally under the Popular Front while maintaining their formal political independence. However, while he is nominally the candidate of the united American left and enjoys some support from former Syndicalists, the most die-hard followers of communist icon Joseph Hansen remained opposed to Marcantonio and have sought to write in their imprisoned leader instead. Washington Governor Harry E. B. Ault With the Popular Front agreement demanding the nomination of a Socialist Workers politician for the vice presidency, 64-year-old Washington Governor Harry E. B. Ault stands as the candidate of the more radical side of the electoral alliance. Born to a family of committed socialists, when he was a teenager Ault moved into a blossoming cooperative socialist colony in Washington state. Serving as a press secretary for the ill-fated 1908 presidential campaign of Eugene V. Debs, Ault became a wanted man during the Grant dictatorship and witnessed the death of his political mentor Hermon F. Titus at the hands of Grantist Blueshirts. Surviving until after the Second American Revolution, Ault became the editor of Seattle's premier labor-owned newspaper, the Union Record. Thus, he became a central figure in the Seattle General Strike opposing the influence of William Z. Foster and urging a pragmatic balance of direct and political action. Appointed as a United States Marshal by President Frank J. Hayes as an olive branch to pacifists amidst the rapid split of the Social Democratic Party over the issue of the Second World War, Ault was placed into the impossible situation of enforcing laws such as the Alien Registration Act that he found fundamentally unjust and resigned his position soon after. Nonetheless, this service was enough for him to be marked for arrest by his former employee Anna Louise Strong when she took leadership over the Seattle commune during the Syndicalist Revolt against President Howard Hughes. After a brief spell of Federalist Reform control over the state following the suppression of the revolt, Ault led the Socialist Workers Party to sweep elections in the state in 1944. Although he drew some consternation from his allies for his pragmatic choice to avoid excessively obstructing the war effort in order to stave off another federal intervention in state politics, Ault nevertheless became a national voice for the war-weary searching for a quick end to the war. Arguing that the formation of a world government is the only possible path to ensure world peace, Marcantonio has strongly endorsed the creation of a worldwide federal union. While supporting the delegation of powers to control nuclear power and international armaments, Marcantonio has also gone a step further than his opponents in suggesting that the federation be granted a relatively broad power to provide for the “general welfare” and regulate “international commerce” in a model similar to that of the United States. Seeing leftist governments abroad as the principal allies of the United States in forming a world federation, Marcantonio has called for closer relations with Aneurin Bevan’s United Kingdom and Alvaro de Albornoz’s Spain while calling for more support of leftist movements in the occupied countries of the Pact of Steel. Curiously, Marcantonio has also reportedly exchanged letters with Italian world federalist Santi Paladino and Sicilian political leaders regarding the annexation of Sicily to the United States as a precursor to the world federation. Strictly opposed to the European colonial empires, Marcantonio has called for their immediate dismantlement and the creation of new nations under the principle of self-determination. Additionally, Marcantonio has harshly criticized his opponent’s proposals for intervention against international communist movements as warmongering efforts that would needlessly spill the blood of workers. Attacking the National Labor Arbitration Act as being designed to suppress the right of workers to strike, Marcantonio has campaigned upon its repeal while suggesting that his administration would back the efforts of workers to achieve increases in wages and reductions in working hours as recompense for their wartime sacrifices. Additionally, Marcantonio has called for the nationalization of monopolistic industries such as banking, shipping, electric power, gas, and oil, as well as the nationalization of any industries dependent on government purchases with the defense industry chief among them, arguing that they exploit both the consumers they service as well as the workers they employ. In light of the struggles of the American healthcare system during the deadly Japanese biological attack of bubonic plague and the continued issue of homelessness stemming from destruction in the Bakuhatsu, Marcantonio has called for the creation of a socialized system of national healthcare as well as an ambitious public housing program to guarantee homes for the poor and dispossessed. To fund his extensive governmental proposals, Marcantonio has called for a vast reduction in defense spending as well as the maintenance of many wartime taxes as well as stiffer capital gains, excess profits, land value, and estate taxes. Meanwhile, attacking postwar inflation as the result of unbridled corporate greed, Marcantonio has supported the maintenance and extension of broad price and rent controls. Having built a reputation as a champion of immigrant and minority communities in his district, Marcantonio has supported federal civil rights legislation to bar segregation in housing, employment, and public accommodations as well as an opening of the American immigration system. Who will you vote for in this election? View Poll |
2024.05.02 14:28 Ok_Worry5763 Are pharmacists the only doctorate level healthcare providers that get treated like garbage?
Are pharmacists mostly the doctorate level healthcare providers that are treated like garbage?
I just keep wondering if medical doctors or osteopathic doctors deal with freaking metrics like PharmD, have to always stay past their designated work hours to get this end goal done, are given hell like it’s the end of the freakin world if they call out sick or want to take vacation time or have full frontal nuclear disaster meltdown levels of low staffing issues …also why does EVERYTHING fall back on pharmacy for something if the prescriber doesn’t send in the order, or sends one in completely wrong and whatever else the pharmacist and team get blamed for…where is the accountability?
When someone is sick, what happens? You pretty much always are given medication that the pharmacist takes care of. Pharmacy is the cornerstone of healthcare…we should be treated like GODS! There I said it!
I want to get out but I feel like it’s all I know now and I would be useless doing anything else.
One thing I will admit is that I just got a job per diem at a medium size hospital and the world of difference is palpable. I mean when my time is up, they pretty much rush me out the door so as not to pay a cent of overtime. And their version of “understaffed” is having 9-10 pharmacists at any given time (except maybe the over night team) and delicious amounts of technicians…and this is for a hospital owned by a company with 2.5/5 stars in the indeed listings. I mean I do notice the nurses at the hospital are a bit over pushy but compared to my main job it is night and day, winter vs summer, good vs evil!
submitted by Ok_Worry5763 to pharmacy [link] [comments]
I just keep wondering if medical doctors or osteopathic doctors deal with freaking metrics like PharmD, have to always stay past their designated work hours to get this end goal done, are given hell like it’s the end of the freakin world if they call out sick or want to take vacation time or have full frontal nuclear disaster meltdown levels of low staffing issues …also why does EVERYTHING fall back on pharmacy for something if the prescriber doesn’t send in the order, or sends one in completely wrong and whatever else the pharmacist and team get blamed for…where is the accountability?
When someone is sick, what happens? You pretty much always are given medication that the pharmacist takes care of. Pharmacy is the cornerstone of healthcare…we should be treated like GODS! There I said it!
I want to get out but I feel like it’s all I know now and I would be useless doing anything else.
One thing I will admit is that I just got a job per diem at a medium size hospital and the world of difference is palpable. I mean when my time is up, they pretty much rush me out the door so as not to pay a cent of overtime. And their version of “understaffed” is having 9-10 pharmacists at any given time (except maybe the over night team) and delicious amounts of technicians…and this is for a hospital owned by a company with 2.5/5 stars in the indeed listings. I mean I do notice the nurses at the hospital are a bit over pushy but compared to my main job it is night and day, winter vs summer, good vs evil!
2024.04.25 23:09 showmeufos “Crawlonizing” The Galaxy: Settling Space at Ultra Low Speeds, aka… Why It's Rational To Believe “They” Could Come "Here"
 | TL;DR: If intelligent, technological life exists anywhere in the galaxy, not only might it want to come here, but it likely would be able to come here, and potentially would come here. Unless we are the first civilization in the galaxy, this would imply it is rational to assume "they" could have already come here. submitted by showmeufos to UFOs [link] [comments] This post explains why it's rational to believe "they" could come "here." Before getting started, I want to credit Isaac Arthur for doing the heavy lifting on the hard-science of the “crawlonizing” topic. While Isaac Arthur does not cover the UAP topic, this post uses much of his work on the hard-science of crawlonizing as the basis for the theory being applied to UAPs (by me). Isaac Arthur himself deserves huge credit for that work. For anyone interested in the crawlonizing topic I strongly suggest you watch the linked video of his. Isaac explains this topic far better than I could ever hope to. My post is long and confusing, but his video on "crawlonizing" is not. I encourage you to watch it. Cheers, Isaac. PURPOSE OF THIS POSTPolling data suggests that most people believe that extra-terrestrial life is “out there,” but is not “here” (on Earth). Even Sean Kirkpatrick himself thinks this.ABC News reporter: "Do you think extraterrestrial life is out there?"Why “there,” but not “here?” The most common arguments for why "they" are not "here” consist of the following:
All of those debunk hypotheses are flawed and are addressed in this post. Humanity already possesses sufficient technology to colonize the entire galaxy if we really wanted to. I believe that if intelligent, technological life exists anywhere in the galaxy, not only might it want to come here, but it would likely be able to come here, and likely would come here. Unless we are the first civilization in the galaxy, this would imply they likely have already been here. PART I: WHAT IS CRAWLONIZING THE GALAXY?What is “crawlonizing” the galaxy?"Crawlonizing the galaxy" refers to a hypothetical concept based in hard science regarding slowly colonizing the Milky Way galaxy. To do so, crawlonizing uses relatively slow-moving spacecraft, as opposed to the faster-than-light (FTL) travel often seen in science fiction and is common in UAP culture. This concept acknowledges the challenges and limitations of current and foreseeable future space technology, and is constrained by currently known physics. Basically… “if we wanted to colonize the galaxy today, using current human technology, how could we actually do it?” Key aspects of crawlonizing the galaxy include:
PART II: HOW DOES ONE CRAWLONIZE THE GALAXY?Crawlonzing uses a variety of techniques to faciliate colonizing the galaxy. It's likely not a "just use one of these" proposal. It'd be a "combine all of these for best results" theory.The technology and techniques to best crawlonize the galaxy are described below.
Milky Way galaxy. Image credit: NASA. PART III: HOW LONG WOULD CRAWLONIZING THE GALAXY TAKE?Crawlonizing the entire galaxy would take a long time primarily due to the vast distances involved and the limitations of current and near-future propulsion technology. To determine an estimate for "how long" let's consider a few key factors:
However, a clever colonization strategy would expand from multiple points - as previously mentioned, establish a colony, and then move onto one or more additional systems incrementally from there. Especially if one is particularly clever about where these initial colonies are established -- and pick clever locations for initial "hub and spoke" locations, tremendous amounts of time could potentially be cut off. Initially, colonization would start from Earth, but as new colonies are established, they would become new points of departure, accelerating the process. This expansion wouldn't be linear but more exponential, as each new colony could establish additional colonies. Gravity-well slingshot maneuvers can cut tremendous amount of time off trip duration, especially near-proximity slingshot maneuvers around certain types of celestial objects. Picking initial "colonization hubs" that are near large numbers of useful celestial objects could dramatically reduce further travel times to "spokes" in a hub-and-spoke crawlonziation model. It is possible to cut a lot of time off of the time to colonize the entire galaxy by sending multiple ships on long-range journeys initially in different directions, allowing them to get reasonably far apart, and then expanding out from those destinations. Given these ships are on initial long-range journeys they will have more possibilities to encounter celestial objects that could be useful for gravity-well assisted slingshot maneuvers along their path. By utilizing these gravity wells the speed of the craft could be increased to in significant excess of 1% the speed of light without needing any additional ship-based propulsion. In particular, white dwarf stars are extremely common in the galaxy and are great to slingshot around. 97% of all stars in our galaxy will eventually become white dwarfs. It's currently assumed there are 100 billion stars in the Milky Way, and it's currently assumed that 10 billion of them are currently white dwarfs - so ~10% of stars are white dwarfs at the moment. White dwarfs are the most common type of "dead star," and are typically about half a massive as our own sun. Most current white dwarfs come from stars that were originally more massive than our sun, and some white dwarfs are still more massive than our own sun (like Sirius B). But a white dwarf is usually only about 1% as wide as our own sun, and is only about 1,000th as bright. This means you can get a lot closer to a white dwarf than you can to our sun without getting your ship scorched. There are several white dwarfs stars within 20 light years of earth, so these could be immediately utilized at the beginning of the colonization journey to add tremendous amounts of speed. Red dwarf stars are the most common type of star in the galaxy, with 73% of all stars in the Milky Way currently thought to be red dwarfs. They're also quite good to use for gravity-well slingshot maneuvers, being much less bright per unit of mass than our own Sun. While not as optimal as white dwarfs, they're still very useful, and given the majority of stars are red dwarfs any journey is certainly able to encounter some of these along the way. They're everywhere. Neutron stars are far more rare than white dwarfs, with about 1 billion total being in the galaxy (~1% of stars), and the nearest one we know of is 400 LY away. But neutron stars are even more dim than white dwarfs and are excellent to slingshot around if you have the opportunity to do so. Black holes are considerably more rare, but NASA estimates there's at least 100 million stellar mass black holes in the galaxy, perhaps more. Given these do not radiate at all, they could make excellent the best possible slingshot maneuver celestial objects, as stellar mass black holes are unlikely to be currently feeding and therefore would not have any accretion disks. They therefor would only emit hawking radiation, which would be basically zero, so you could get extremely close to the event horizon for a slingshot maneuver and gain tremendous speed. Red giants can be useful for slowing the ship on the other end of the journey. Red giants are extremely "not dense," and a ship could slant through upper layers of red giants to produce drag to slow a ship. Additionally, the ship could setup a large solar sail as it approached the red giant, and the red giant would slow the ship both via solar radiation and solar wind, which would be significant forces given the size of red giants. The same sail could drag through the red giants atmosphere resulting in significant slow down as well. By utilizing gravity-well slingshot maneuvers around various types of celestial objects, as well as clever hub-and-spoke model expansion from celestially advantageous locations, it is reasonable to assume that travel times could be reduced as much as 10x. Why is this a reasonable assumption? None other than Freeman Dyson did some calculations on how fast you could get a craft moving using various types of gravity assists, and he even coined the term the "Dyson Slingshot." His calculations demonstrated that you could gain 1% lightspeed on a single white dwarf binary slingshot, and gain 27% of lightspeed by using a neutron star binary gravity assist. Our previous assumptions were 0.1% to 1% of lightspeed, so even assuming a 10x speed up is only using ~1/3 of Dysons max/theoretical calculations. Reducing the overall travel time by 10x, by using a hub-and-spoke model and gravity well slingshot maneuvers, could get the estimates of time required to colonize the entire galaxy down to a reasonable 10,000,000 years to 1,000,000 years. Again, I remind you the Milky Way is 13.6 billion years old - so enough time has passed for this entire galactic colonization to happen potentially 10,000+ times over. PART IV: IS LIFE OUT THERE TO CRAWLONIZE THE GALAXY IN THE FIRST PLACE? IF SO, WOULD THEY EVEN CARE ABOUT COMING HERE?As to the first question, "is there really extra-terrestrial life out there," I think we all know the answer here: we don't know (yet). If we did, /UFOs probably wouldn't exist, or at least would be far less popular.But scientists think there probably is, including Bill Nelson, the head of NASA. “My personal opinion is that the universe is so big, and now, there are even theories that there might be other universes. If that’s the case, who am I to say that planet Earth is the only location of a life form that is civilized and organized like ours?” Nelson told Larry Sabato, a professor of politics at UVA. He continued: “Are there other planet Earths out there? I certainly think so, because the universe is so big.”There are some tantalizing scientific leads though. Just to name a few:
The second question, "If there is life out there, would they even care about coming here?" To answer this, let's start with an assumption that something would need to attract "them" here. This would likely be a biosignature. This is the exact type of thing JWST is looking for on other exoplanets right now. So the question is: how long ago would a biosignatures from Earth have been detectable? Fortunately there's been some research on this. Researchers estimate, using our current technology (JWST), that slam-dunk Earth biosignatures would have been detectable from an exo-planet in our own galaxy approximately 1 billion years ago. "Indicative biosignatures," suggesting "life is probably here, but can't be 100% sure," were probably detectable as many as 3-4 billion years ago. The chart below lays out these timelines. Detectability of biosignatures over time, from https://arxiv.org/pdf/1802.09367 Note, so no less than 1 billion years ago another planet somewhere in our galaxy could have detected our biosignatures, and potentially as long as 3-4 billion years ago. With the constraints of "it takes 1 to 100 million years to get here" as we calculated above, this allows plenty of time for an extra-terrestrial civilization to reach Earth to study us if they were so inclined. But would they be so inclined to come here? We can't know for sure. But the "Copernican principle" or "cosmological principal" states that humans are not special -- we're not in any type of privileged position in the universe. So let's assume that human curiosity, desire to explore, etc., is not special, and any extraterrestrial civilization may have at least some members of their population with similar traits. It's worth noting that entire extraterrestrial civilization does not need to be interested in such pursuits, just like most of humanity is not interested in exploring space themselves. All it takes is one, or a small subset, similar to how NASA is interested, or the various billionaire funded space companies are interested. If any subset of the civilization is interested in exploration, that's sufficient to suggest that they will explore, and it seems unreasonable to assume all members of all extraterrestrial civilizations would not explore. Nonetheless, using humanity as an example for what "typical" may look like:
Using the "Copernican principle," it's reasonable to assume that at least some portion of an extra-terrestrial civilization may feel similarly, and would want to come here (themselves, or at least a probe with some of their technology) if they detected biosignatures of life on Earth, in order to learn more about us. So yes - if life exists out "there," it's reasonable to assume "they" would want to come "here," and given we already are building the technology required to send probes to other stars ourselves, it's reasonable to assume they would come here. PART V: IS THERE ANY HARD-SCIENCE EVIDENCE OF AN EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL CIVILIZATION CRAWLONIZING THE GALAXY?You already know the short answer to this: No.However, the long answer is more complicated, and can be summarized with a "maybe." The immediate question debunkers will ask is "If extra-terrestrials have colonized the entire galaxy how come we don't observe them? Wouldn't SETI see them immediately?" The answer to this is actually... probably not. SETI has given many a false sense that we have a fantastic ability to detect life in extra-terrestrial systems. We don't. As this study highlights, SETI has searched just 0.00000000000000058% of a "cosmic-haystack" for the proverbial needle. SETI is deeply flawed in their search ability. SETI's maximum range is about 300 light years for any signal, regardless of strength, so the signal would have to be extremely close to us to detect at all. SETI for most of it's history has also assumed that extraterrestrial civilizations will use radio spectrum, and even worse, at known frequencies (the hydrogen band), which are two giant assumptions. They miss almost all the spectrum out there. SETI would require an extra-terrestrial species to come and smack us in the face with a signal from basically our own cosmic front porch in order for them to detect it at all. The lack of any techno-signatures observed by SETI therefore should not deter anyone from thinking life is out "there" somewhere. SETI has basically done nothing to determine if life is truly out there. Other studies have looked for Dyson spheres around stars and found no evidence of such spheres. Compelling, but again makes giant assumptions about technology. While it's currently thought that Dyson spheres are a fantastic and "obvious" power source, it's possible that fusion power (real and already built, just not economical), or antimatter (real and already created/captured at CERN, just not economically), or black hole engines (real, possible, and fit with currently know physics, but never built yet by humans), or something else entirely not thought of yet by humanity makes Dyson spheres worthless and never pursued by extraterrestrials. Therefore, the lack of observed Dysons should not be a sign that life is not out there. Finally, NASA is currently looking for biological exo-signatures... signs of life on other world. They do this by using JWST to observe the atmosphere of planets as they cross in front of the star of the system. They break that passes through the atmosphere up into a spectrum, and based on bands in the spectrum can determine which chemicals are in the atmosphere. JWST has been functional for only a handful of years and this is already leading to some potential positive results. DMS on K2-12b for example. And there are rumors of other not-yet-public results that may become public soon. So, this is a strong "maybe" that at least some biological life is out there. Nonetheless, if an extraterrestrial civilization has colonized most or all of the galaxy already, shouldn't we detect it everywhere (biological exo-signatures) this way? Perhaps, but maybe not. As previously mentioned there's a large body of scientists and researchers who think that a bio species is not the most well suited for space travel, and that a techno species is far more well suited for such exploration. Think robots, AI, self-replicating machines, etc. It's quite likely that an extra-terrestrial civilization would send primarily some type of techno-species out to colonize the galaxy, leaving the biological components of that species at home. In that case the techno species may produce zero detectable biosignatures at all, even if they were on the star right next to our own. Therefore, the lack of life biomarkers cannot be definitive in making the statement "there's no 'life' out there" if we include a techno-species as "life." But is there any hard-science evidence that "they" have come "HERE?" Maybe. Remember what was said earlier about a self-replicating ship that would explore the galaxy, colonizing as it went along? We may have observed something like that. Oumuamua. Avi Loeb, a professor at Harvard, thinks it may have been exactly this type of object. In particular, the object also sped up as it left the solar system, faster than could be explained by normal natural means. This could be evidence of some type of solar sail or propulsion as it left the system, as have previously been described in the crawlonizing best practices. So yeah, Oumuamua would actually kind of fit with what we'd expect to see for some type of crawlonizing probe. So... maybe. PART VI: CONCLUSIONSince that was a giant wall of rambling text, let's circle back. There are some arguments as to why "they" could never come "here." Let's lay them out again with direct retorts:
Humanity has been a civilization for less than 50,000 years, a technological civilization for less than 5,000 years, and a space-faring civilization for less than 100 years. We're comparatively new here. Given our rate of exploration and expansion we likely will be expanding into our planetary system sometime this decade, and potentially beginning the process or expanding into the stars also this decade and no later than next decade. Again, back to probabilities here... it's probable that any extraterrestrial civilization is much older than us. Probably even a billion+ years older than us (there's about a 92% chance, just given the number of years passing, that they would have formed sometime earlier than the most recent billion years, just by the distribution of years since the formation of the Milky Way). Given what we've laid out about how they probably would want to and could come here, with that amount of time, being that much older than us, they would have had plenty of time to do so. Which (to me) implies that if "they" are out there, "they" probably have already been "here." So, that's it. I'm not saying "they" are "here" now. I'm just saying it's not entirely insane to think that "they" could come "here" if "they" wanted to, and may have already been here already. So next time someone calls you nuts for thinking anyone could explore the entire galaxy, you can tell them we already have the tech to do it, we just don't have the desire. That's a wrap folks! If you made it this far through the post: well done. I want to re-iterate, I recognize this post is gigantic and not the most clear. I strongly advise anyone interested in this to watch Isaac Arthur's video "Crawlonizing The Galaxy: Settling Space At Ultra-Low Speeds." He's much better at explaining things than I am, and does a much better job explaining Crawlonizing. If you're at all interested, it's worth a watch. |
2024.04.07 18:23 jamieclo Trip Report: Asahikawa to Kagoshima in 16 Days (Mid-August, 2023)
Last summer I did a 16-day trip through Japan (Asahikawa to Kagoshima) using the JR Pass. While my itinerary is definitely rushed, I thought I might share it. A few notes: Temples/castles/shrines aren’t really my thing and I prefer more contemporary destinations. I also happen to really enjoy ramen and have visited Japan 4-5 times in the past (Kansai, Kanto, Hokuriku, Hokkaido etc) so the traditional must-sees are skipped to make room for niche spots that require more travel time. With that in mind, here’s how that trip went down. I hope you enjoy my itinerary!
Day 1: Arrival at Shin-Chitose Airport. Starting my trip in Hokkaido. I chose a capsule hotel in Susukino (a more lively part in central Sapporo) and spent the evening roaming Tanukikoji, stocking up on stuff I might need for Wakkanai (that…didn’t go as planned). Had some butter miso ramen there as well, but it wasn’t that great.
. Day 11: Osaka to Hiroshima via Shinkansen Visited the Nissin Cup Noodle Factory that morning and made my own cup noodles, which came in handy, because later that evening a typhoon got real close to Osaka and JR announced that all services in and out of Kansai the next day were to be suspended. Thus I had to bail one day early to get to my next destination-Hiroshima. All ekiben were sold out due to the massive influx of hungry humans on the move, so I had to eat my noodle creation for dinner :(
. Day 13: Hakata to Nagasaki and back, via Shinkansen Snuck into Nagasaki University’s Atomic Bomb Medical Museum (it’s a small room hidden in one of the campus buildings) and the adjacent Tropical Medicine Museum. As a med student interested in the effects of radiation on the human body, it was a very informative visit, but probably not worth the detour for most people. Free books line the shelves outside the exhibition room; both Japanese and English titles are available. Then I went to the Urakami Cathedral and Nagai Takashi Memorial Museum, which are both within walking distance. Dinner was Champon ramen paired with castella honey cake. So good!
I’m also thinking about heading to Japan again to spend some more time in the Kansai region, visit Wakkanai/East Hokkaido, check out Shikoku, traverse the Hokuriku/Tohoku region, or some combination of these. Any and all recs will be highly appreciated!
EDIT: formatting for readability and other minor issues
EDIT2: added hotel/food details
submitted by jamieclo to JapanTravel [link] [comments]
Day 1: Arrival at Shin-Chitose Airport. Starting my trip in Hokkaido. I chose a capsule hotel in Susukino (a more lively part in central Sapporo) and spent the evening roaming Tanukikoji, stocking up on stuff I might need for Wakkanai (that…didn’t go as planned). Had some butter miso ramen there as well, but it wasn’t that great.
- Hotel: City Cabin Susukino
- Fair prices, but gets a bit stuffy at night. Also, Susukino is a bit rowdy come summertime!
- Food: Kiraito (Miso Ramen)
- The locals seem to like this place, but I think it's just okay. They substituted chashu with hamburger meat, which is interesting. Also, lots of green onions.
- Hotel: R Hotel Asahikawa
- Business hotel within walking distance of Asahikawa Station. Room not noteworthy but serves the greatest breakfast buffet ever.
- Food: Ichikura (Shoyu/soy sauce ramen)
- Great ramen! Open until 2AM.
- Hotel: Little Barrel Otaru
- Rustic little guesthouse with bunk beds and nice Taisho era vibes
- Food: Nishiya (Shio/salt ramen)
- Not very good
- Hotel: Taiheiyo Ferry
- Kitakami is the newest ship. Nice onboard amenities, but a pain to reserve. You would need a Japanese phone number to reserve a spot after navigating the Japanese website, or try and make a reservation in-person at Tomakomai (staff members are friendly but do not speak English). There are many room types to choose from, some with pet living spaces.
- Food: Kuraya (Miso ramen)
- Delicious and really flavorful! Generous serving of grilled cow innards (it's not bad, really) if you order the horumon ramen.
- Hotel: Hotel B4T Iwaki
- Really cool capsule with self check in using a Suica card. While it is technically a capsule, there is a desk, mini fridge, and other amenities in your bunk. Amenities are great, spotless environment, and extremely convenient, given that it is connected to Iwaki Station itself
- Hotel: APA Hotel
- Business hotel chain.
- Food: Mugi to Olive (Clam shoyu ramen)
- 5 minute walk from Higashiginza. Delicious noodles steeped in a flavorful soy-based broth, and topped with giant clams, naruto, and tender chicken chashu. Must try!
- Hotel: APA Hotel
- Business hotel chain
- Food: Tokyo Niboshi Ramen Kyoku (Niboshi/anchovies? ramen)
- Strong Niiboshi flavor that might not be for everyone, but I personally liked it! This is one of the many ramen joints in Tokyo Station's basement.
. Day 11: Osaka to Hiroshima via Shinkansen Visited the Nissin Cup Noodle Factory that morning and made my own cup noodles, which came in handy, because later that evening a typhoon got real close to Osaka and JR announced that all services in and out of Kansai the next day were to be suspended. Thus I had to bail one day early to get to my next destination-Hiroshima. All ekiben were sold out due to the massive influx of hungry humans on the move, so I had to eat my noodle creation for dinner :(
- Food: Hiroshima okonomiyaki
- Distinctively Hiroshima-style, this particular kind of okonomiyaki incorporates oysters and ramen alongside other ingredients such as cabbage. Various options are available within Hiroshima station.
. Day 13: Hakata to Nagasaki and back, via Shinkansen Snuck into Nagasaki University’s Atomic Bomb Medical Museum (it’s a small room hidden in one of the campus buildings) and the adjacent Tropical Medicine Museum. As a med student interested in the effects of radiation on the human body, it was a very informative visit, but probably not worth the detour for most people. Free books line the shelves outside the exhibition room; both Japanese and English titles are available. Then I went to the Urakami Cathedral and Nagai Takashi Memorial Museum, which are both within walking distance. Dinner was Champon ramen paired with castella honey cake. So good!
- Hotel: Comfort Hotel Hakata
- Nice, inexpensive, good breakfast spread. Comfort serves Hakata-style chicken soup (Mizusaki) during breakfast, which is a delicious alternative to OJ and coffee.
- Food: Sosyurin (Champon ramen)
- This is a flavorful seafood-based broth that will probably please most palates. With the ramen lots of veggies and seafood bits are included, making for a balanced meal. This particular restaurant is located in Nagasaki station, but there are many alternatives outside of the station.
- Food: Hamburger patty at Marine World
- Surprisingly good. Dine while gazing into the massive aquarium tanks.
- Food: Gyu!Do yakiniku
- Very pleasantly surprised by both the quality and cost of the meal. According to their site, the restaurant raises its own wagyu, which is why it's so cheap. Probably the best meal of the trip!
I’m also thinking about heading to Japan again to spend some more time in the Kansai region, visit Wakkanai/East Hokkaido, check out Shikoku, traverse the Hokuriku/Tohoku region, or some combination of these. Any and all recs will be highly appreciated!
EDIT: formatting for readability and other minor issues
EDIT2: added hotel/food details
2024.04.03 15:00 jvc72 GSE Systems Inc[NASDAQ:GVP] Financials Q4/2023
Filling Date: 2024-04-02
REVENUE:
Revenue: $10.22M
Gross Profit: $2.60M (25.49%)
Result: $-5.42M (ebitda)
EPS: $-0.000900
Outstanding Shares: 2.49B
BALANCE:
Cash: 2.25M
Debt: 357 000
FINANCIAL EVALUATION/SCORE:
Financial Score - Altman: -4.22
Financial Score - Piotroski: 4.00
GSE Systems Inc's price movement correlates with the following stocks:
Ticker Correlation --- --- WIMI 0.866 ANDE 0.836 RMRM 0.833 MLAC 0.826 SIVBP 0.813 APOP 0.812 GAINL 0.802 BON 0.801
Summary Of Last Earnings call:
GSE Systems, Inc. had its Fourth Quarter and Fiscal Year 2023 Financial Results Conference Call where Kyle Loudermilk, President and CEO, and Emmett Pepe, CFO, discussed the company's performance. The nuclear industry is gaining momentum globally due to increased focus on decarbonization goals. GSE's financial results showed improvements in the second half of 2023, with the engineering division experiencing growth in new orders. While the workforce solutions division faced challenges, the company focused on cost-cutting measures to improve cash flow. Debt reduction efforts are on track, with expectations to be debt-free by May 2025. GSE continues to focus on winning more business and remains optimistic about the future. The company has a strong pipeline and is positioned for profitability in 2024.
Company Description:
GSE Systems, Inc. provides professional and technical engineering, staffing services, and simulation software to the power and process industries in the United States, Asia, Europe, and internationally. It operates in two segments, Performance Improvement Solutions and Workforce Solutions. The Performance Improvement Solutions segment provides various simulation products, engineering services, and operation training systems for the nuclear, fossil fuel power generation, and process industries. The Workforce Solutions segment supports project lifecycles and provides specialized and skilled talent for energy and engineering industries, which include reactor operations instructors, procedure writers, project managers, engineers, work management specialists, planners, and training material developers. It markets its products and services through a network of direct sales staff, agents and representatives, and strategic alliance partners. The company was founded in 1971 and is headquartered in Columbia, Maryland.
Full fundamentals fundamentals for GVP here.
submitted by jvc72 to getagraph [link] [comments]
FINANCIALS
Period: Q4/2023Filling Date: 2024-04-02
REVENUE:
Revenue: $10.22M
Gross Profit: $2.60M (25.49%)
Result: $-5.42M (ebitda)
EPS: $-0.000900
Outstanding Shares: 2.49B
BALANCE:
Cash: 2.25M
Debt: 357 000
FINANCIAL EVALUATION/SCORE:
Financial Score - Altman: -4.22
Financial Score - Piotroski: 4.00
GSE Systems Inc's price movement correlates with the following stocks:
Ticker Correlation --- --- WIMI 0.866 ANDE 0.836 RMRM 0.833 MLAC 0.826 SIVBP 0.813 APOP 0.812 GAINL 0.802 BON 0.801
Summary Of Last Earnings call:
GSE Systems, Inc. had its Fourth Quarter and Fiscal Year 2023 Financial Results Conference Call where Kyle Loudermilk, President and CEO, and Emmett Pepe, CFO, discussed the company's performance. The nuclear industry is gaining momentum globally due to increased focus on decarbonization goals. GSE's financial results showed improvements in the second half of 2023, with the engineering division experiencing growth in new orders. While the workforce solutions division faced challenges, the company focused on cost-cutting measures to improve cash flow. Debt reduction efforts are on track, with expectations to be debt-free by May 2025. GSE continues to focus on winning more business and remains optimistic about the future. The company has a strong pipeline and is positioned for profitability in 2024.
Company Description:
GSE Systems, Inc. provides professional and technical engineering, staffing services, and simulation software to the power and process industries in the United States, Asia, Europe, and internationally. It operates in two segments, Performance Improvement Solutions and Workforce Solutions. The Performance Improvement Solutions segment provides various simulation products, engineering services, and operation training systems for the nuclear, fossil fuel power generation, and process industries. The Workforce Solutions segment supports project lifecycles and provides specialized and skilled talent for energy and engineering industries, which include reactor operations instructors, procedure writers, project managers, engineers, work management specialists, planners, and training material developers. It markets its products and services through a network of direct sales staff, agents and representatives, and strategic alliance partners. The company was founded in 1971 and is headquartered in Columbia, Maryland.
Full fundamentals fundamentals for GVP here.
2024.04.01 10:53 semperBum The Institute is misunderstood
Firstly, let me preface by saying the Institute definitely is evil by most standards and are definitely not a great choice to side with. What I'm interested in is making their case from their perspective.
To begin, I see a lot of commentary about the Institute making it out as if they are blatant hypocrites. How can they claim to be good when they are responsible for Super Mutants, Synths wiping out settlements, (arguably) the collapse of the provisional government, kidnappings, replacements et al?
I'd argue that Father and the players making this kind of commentary are speaking past each other. Players are attempting to apply a familiar morality to the Institute's actions, the kind of morality that most modern societies, and the other factions, rely on: compassion for individuals, freedom from oppression, collective trade and defense, and more. For most of us, including myself, this kind of morality isn't even really conscious because it feels so obvious.
But Father isn't a hypocrite, because he isn't attempting to justify the Institute's actions by that standard of morality. To understand the Institute, you have to abandon black and white morality and instead apply blue and orange morality. The primary tenet of this is: What's best for Humanity?
Humanity, not individuals. To Father and the Institute, individuals don't matter, which is why they can sleep at night despite terrorizing the Commonwealth and enslaving sentient synths. So how best to further the survival and thriving of capital-H humanity? Contrary to popular belief, Father actually does give you everything you need to understand his and the Institute's end-game:
"Mankind redefined".
Father says this to you plenty of times throughout the story, and it truly is his goal. The Great War created a world in which humans are not particularly adapted to survive in. The FEV lab was an attempt to evolve humans directly, but after shuttering that project the Institute came upon the real solution: synths.
The Brotherhood's worst-case scenario, of synths becoming self-sustaining and replacing humans entirely, is Father's true end goal. He doesn't see synths as slaves or as tools, but as the endgame inheritors of the earth, and as the next stage of Humanity. He explains the humans above are doomed, because he believes all non-synth humans are. Instead, he is quite literally redefining Humanity into a new form better adapted to the wasteland, and eventually (he hopes) free of human folly. While not explicitly stated, the logical endgame would be for the Institute itself to be staffed by synths. Where he and the Railroad differ is how ready the synths are - he believes they are still plagued by the problems of humanity, such as warmongering (ie Libertalia) and are not ready. He has not yet perfected the redefined mankind. But the way is open for Gen 4+ synths, which at some point will be ready.
So are the Institute evil? By most standards, yes. The Brotherhood see the Institute's mission as an existential threat to 'pure' humans, which it is. The Railroad cannot abide slavery. Curiously, (game mechanics as a failsafe aside) the Minutemen take the longest time to directly object to the Institute, and only in self-defense when their self-determination as a collective is threatened.
But in blue and orange morality, if you can wrap your head around the idea that humanity is actually doomed (either in the medium term due to an impossible planet, or in the long term due to their inescapable warmongering, which the series' tagline seems to agree on), then the Institute forging a path forward for Humanity at the expense of any and all individuals does start to make sense from their perspective. Callous and detached, of course, but they're not hypocrites, because they reject the common morality that we as players and the other factions generally subscribe to.
It's also not without irony that the way for regular humans to defeat the Institute, and the ideal of a Humanity without warmongering, is to escalate a war to the point of using a nuclear bomb all over again.
Anyway, happy to hear some input.
submitted by semperBum to Fallout [link] [comments]
To begin, I see a lot of commentary about the Institute making it out as if they are blatant hypocrites. How can they claim to be good when they are responsible for Super Mutants, Synths wiping out settlements, (arguably) the collapse of the provisional government, kidnappings, replacements et al?
I'd argue that Father and the players making this kind of commentary are speaking past each other. Players are attempting to apply a familiar morality to the Institute's actions, the kind of morality that most modern societies, and the other factions, rely on: compassion for individuals, freedom from oppression, collective trade and defense, and more. For most of us, including myself, this kind of morality isn't even really conscious because it feels so obvious.
But Father isn't a hypocrite, because he isn't attempting to justify the Institute's actions by that standard of morality. To understand the Institute, you have to abandon black and white morality and instead apply blue and orange morality. The primary tenet of this is: What's best for Humanity?
Humanity, not individuals. To Father and the Institute, individuals don't matter, which is why they can sleep at night despite terrorizing the Commonwealth and enslaving sentient synths. So how best to further the survival and thriving of capital-H humanity? Contrary to popular belief, Father actually does give you everything you need to understand his and the Institute's end-game:
"Mankind redefined".
Father says this to you plenty of times throughout the story, and it truly is his goal. The Great War created a world in which humans are not particularly adapted to survive in. The FEV lab was an attempt to evolve humans directly, but after shuttering that project the Institute came upon the real solution: synths.
The Brotherhood's worst-case scenario, of synths becoming self-sustaining and replacing humans entirely, is Father's true end goal. He doesn't see synths as slaves or as tools, but as the endgame inheritors of the earth, and as the next stage of Humanity. He explains the humans above are doomed, because he believes all non-synth humans are. Instead, he is quite literally redefining Humanity into a new form better adapted to the wasteland, and eventually (he hopes) free of human folly. While not explicitly stated, the logical endgame would be for the Institute itself to be staffed by synths. Where he and the Railroad differ is how ready the synths are - he believes they are still plagued by the problems of humanity, such as warmongering (ie Libertalia) and are not ready. He has not yet perfected the redefined mankind. But the way is open for Gen 4+ synths, which at some point will be ready.
So are the Institute evil? By most standards, yes. The Brotherhood see the Institute's mission as an existential threat to 'pure' humans, which it is. The Railroad cannot abide slavery. Curiously, (game mechanics as a failsafe aside) the Minutemen take the longest time to directly object to the Institute, and only in self-defense when their self-determination as a collective is threatened.
But in blue and orange morality, if you can wrap your head around the idea that humanity is actually doomed (either in the medium term due to an impossible planet, or in the long term due to their inescapable warmongering, which the series' tagline seems to agree on), then the Institute forging a path forward for Humanity at the expense of any and all individuals does start to make sense from their perspective. Callous and detached, of course, but they're not hypocrites, because they reject the common morality that we as players and the other factions generally subscribe to.
It's also not without irony that the way for regular humans to defeat the Institute, and the ideal of a Humanity without warmongering, is to escalate a war to the point of using a nuclear bomb all over again.
Anyway, happy to hear some input.
2024.03.31 00:36 YungKassaiadyn This game is clearly unfinished, not worth the price and the community is so high on copium.
First of all, I know this post will be removed because, as I can easily tell, there's zero criticism tolerance on this sub and everyone here is blindly attacking anyone that shows obvious flaws.
I've been playing roguelikes/lites all my life and this game proves how terrible and soulless can procedural generation get. There's zero thought behind anything, zero design for levels, zero elements cohesion. Just a "random bullshit go!" generator each floor. It's depressing how many dead ends right behind a door or behind a group of enemies or behind a trap, iron door...
Not worth exploring at all. Just rush to the next floor dude! Why are you even trying to have fun? Oh right, maybe you can find another exactly identical piece of equipment, because there is a total of zero item variety.
Yea bro, you have swords, maces, staffs, axes... haha it's so cool right? ...What's the difference? Each one has a different name! And they all have the same range and damage! But they look cool!!!
Then you also have shields or... shields! If you want to melee you will need a shield bro, I'm sorry. Oh, you wanted light to see anything? Just grab a torch bro and equip it on your left hand where your shield goe- oh right you have to choose between having eyes or blocking.
Hey I found a necklace, wonder what my appraisal 71 will reveal for me! Oh, damnit, another strangulation one, that's the seventh in a row, unlucky! It's okay, at least it's blessed! Maybe next time I will get something super useful like water breathing!
Holy, what a tough battle, I'm almost dead... at least this mage dropped me this cool staf- oh, it's broken already? I used it twice... Unlucky bro! This game is so fun!
Damn, got hit again by the 50% unavoidable dart trap damage, unlucky!
Damn, another dead end with a boulder right at the end of it that I can't really dodge, unlucky!
I wonder what are these expensive and rare gems for... I've been training my appraisal just for these. Oh, gems are just for selling? Thought this game would be finished and have ANY mechanics... Unlucky!
Oh I'm hungry again, such a cool mechanic! No problem, I have like 5 apples and 7 pieces of cheese, surely I'll be fine... Oh, this one caused me to vomit, this one too, this one also... Ahhh turns out I didn't have enough food because half of it makes you vomit and decrease your hunger... Unlucky! Again, such a cool mechanic!
This is one of the worst games, if not the worst, that I've had the terrible luck to experience.
Beating Delirium in TBoI with no items is less masochistic than playing this game.
Beating Lich in EtG with base weapon is less masochistic than playing this game.
Looping twice in Nuclear Throne with just a screwdriver is less masochistic than playing this game.
Beating Darkest Dungeon in Stygian with 1 squad is less masochistic than playing this game.
Playing hard difficulty FTL with only rockets is less masochistic than playing this game.
Playing Spelunky with no whip, bombs or ropes is less masochistic than playing this game.
Playing a no-hit Zombie in Streets of Rogue is less masochistic than playing this game.
Of course, you can still get high on copium, ignore that better stuff exists and still enjoy this game!
submitted by YungKassaiadyn to baronygame [link] [comments]
I've been playing roguelikes/lites all my life and this game proves how terrible and soulless can procedural generation get. There's zero thought behind anything, zero design for levels, zero elements cohesion. Just a "random bullshit go!" generator each floor. It's depressing how many dead ends right behind a door or behind a group of enemies or behind a trap, iron door...
Not worth exploring at all. Just rush to the next floor dude! Why are you even trying to have fun? Oh right, maybe you can find another exactly identical piece of equipment, because there is a total of zero item variety.
Yea bro, you have swords, maces, staffs, axes... haha it's so cool right? ...What's the difference? Each one has a different name! And they all have the same range and damage! But they look cool!!!
Then you also have shields or... shields! If you want to melee you will need a shield bro, I'm sorry. Oh, you wanted light to see anything? Just grab a torch bro and equip it on your left hand where your shield goe- oh right you have to choose between having eyes or blocking.
Hey I found a necklace, wonder what my appraisal 71 will reveal for me! Oh, damnit, another strangulation one, that's the seventh in a row, unlucky! It's okay, at least it's blessed! Maybe next time I will get something super useful like water breathing!
Holy, what a tough battle, I'm almost dead... at least this mage dropped me this cool staf- oh, it's broken already? I used it twice... Unlucky bro! This game is so fun!
Damn, got hit again by the 50% unavoidable dart trap damage, unlucky!
Damn, another dead end with a boulder right at the end of it that I can't really dodge, unlucky!
I wonder what are these expensive and rare gems for... I've been training my appraisal just for these. Oh, gems are just for selling? Thought this game would be finished and have ANY mechanics... Unlucky!
Oh I'm hungry again, such a cool mechanic! No problem, I have like 5 apples and 7 pieces of cheese, surely I'll be fine... Oh, this one caused me to vomit, this one too, this one also... Ahhh turns out I didn't have enough food because half of it makes you vomit and decrease your hunger... Unlucky! Again, such a cool mechanic!
This is one of the worst games, if not the worst, that I've had the terrible luck to experience.
Beating Delirium in TBoI with no items is less masochistic than playing this game.
Beating Lich in EtG with base weapon is less masochistic than playing this game.
Looping twice in Nuclear Throne with just a screwdriver is less masochistic than playing this game.
Beating Darkest Dungeon in Stygian with 1 squad is less masochistic than playing this game.
Playing hard difficulty FTL with only rockets is less masochistic than playing this game.
Playing Spelunky with no whip, bombs or ropes is less masochistic than playing this game.
Playing a no-hit Zombie in Streets of Rogue is less masochistic than playing this game.
Of course, you can still get high on copium, ignore that better stuff exists and still enjoy this game!
2024.03.29 16:09 mtmag_dev52 What do you make of the current proliferation and deployment nuclear weapons, and their threat to end human life on earth if a war between nuclear powers erupts? Why does "this system of mass genocide...still exist", and what can be done to defuse it before its too late? Conservative activism?
Some solutions for reducing risk of catastrophiec nuclear exchanges:
*Removing the threat posed by weaker nuclear powers ( North Korea?) through surgical war and regime change or by effective negotiations *Negotiating for genuine(?) peace between existing nuclear powers, and stopping third countries ( cough , Poland, Ukraine) from instigating nuclear wars based on their own grievances with Nuclear Weapon States *Arguing for the dismantling of nuclear weapons by existing powers, or their privatization into or regulation by responsible third parties (as some ancaps argue for...? )
Sone things that might *Russia and the states of Eastern, Western Europe are driving for war with each other..."extremists"(as crap as that designator is) among those countries have argued for escalating conflicts and for use of nuclear weapons against their enemies....this is very popular in Russian circles, but also in countries like Ukraine, Poland, and France ( in France's case, a very negative change) *Countries close to Russia are now in possession of Nuclear weapons thanks to Russisn activating some weird neoSoviet treaties. * Poland and Maybe Turkey is also capable of developing nukes and is willing to *A bunch of Arab States ( Egypt, KSA, etc) might also get nuclear weapons thanks to their neighbors, and their industrial base is developed and staffed enough to pull it off easily as opposed to in the past.
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*Removing the threat posed by weaker nuclear powers ( North Korea?) through surgical war and regime change or by effective negotiations *Negotiating for genuine(?) peace between existing nuclear powers, and stopping third countries ( cough , Poland, Ukraine) from instigating nuclear wars based on their own grievances with Nuclear Weapon States *Arguing for the dismantling of nuclear weapons by existing powers, or their privatization into or regulation by responsible third parties (as some ancaps argue for...? )
Sone things that might *Russia and the states of Eastern, Western Europe are driving for war with each other..."extremists"(as crap as that designator is) among those countries have argued for escalating conflicts and for use of nuclear weapons against their enemies....this is very popular in Russian circles, but also in countries like Ukraine, Poland, and France ( in France's case, a very negative change) *Countries close to Russia are now in possession of Nuclear weapons thanks to Russisn activating some weird neoSoviet treaties. * Poland and Maybe Turkey is also capable of developing nukes and is willing to *A bunch of Arab States ( Egypt, KSA, etc) might also get nuclear weapons thanks to their neighbors, and their industrial base is developed and staffed enough to pull it off easily as opposed to in the past.
2024.03.25 23:47 GIJoeVibin Oil on Troubled Waters, Chapter 5
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You could always tell when a British force was returning to base after a long mission, for the simple reason that their Warriors always sounded on the verge of death.
Sam watched, dressed in his late night off-duty uniform of an old t-shirt and older trousers, as a company’s worth of Warriors pulled in, visibly caked in dust and grime. They were the vehicles of another company in the battalion-strength British force here at Buckley, and their departure for New Mexico several days ago had left the rest of them having to take up far more work. Now they had returned, things would be back to normal. Hopefully.
Soldiers disembarked rather rapidly, rushing to offload their weapons so they could get back to comfortable seats and beds, rather than the sleeping bags and cramped confines of a Warrior. It was usually always chaos after a big mission, though at least the wind had been taken out of many of them by how exhausted they all were.
“Evening Sam!” One soldier yelled, waving. It was Sergeant Briggs, one of the NCOs in 3 Company that Sam regularly interacted with. Sam waved back, waiting as Briggs jogged up.
“Evening. How was the Hekatian hunting?"
“Huh? Oh, yeah, yeah, Hekatian remnants. Yeah, that was basically bollocks.” Briggs replied, shaking his head. “I mean, there were Hekatians, and we did deal with them. But that wasn’t why we were there. A fucking militia could have handled them."
"Really?"
"Yeah. Come on, no way I'm gonna be able to turn in my guns for like an hour, not with this lot in the way." Briggs waved at the mass of soldiers, swarming towards the large building that housed the battalion's weaponry. "Let's go to the cricket ground."
It didn't take long for the pair to reach the cricket ground, a much quieter area of the base. Calling it such was optimistic, it existed solely in lines of tape crunched between parked vehicles. Breaking the expectations of more than a few Americans on the base, cricket was not actually that popular with the young British soldiers, though it's few fans were devoted enough to demand the use of the grass parking area as a grounds. Sam didn't get the appeal himself, he was always more of a football man.
Briggs stopped beside a beaten-up armoured recovery vehicle, vital in the complex task of recovering the destroyed tanks that littered parts of the country. He then jumped up, to perch himself on the armour plate, using it as a bench of sorts. Sam joined him, the pair watching the hustle and bustle of the base even at this late hour.
"So, the whole thing was bullshit. 1 Platoon kicked them over in a few hours once they found them. Seems no one had actually bothered to look. Just a bunch of starving guys with barely functional weapons, who'd been bullying locals for food and didn't stand a chance. And Command knew it. Whole thing was basically a cover for a shopping run. We spent most of it poking around some old scientific facility, Sandia it was called. Stripped it for parts, basically."
“No shit?”
"No shit. We got down to Albuqurque, they sent 1 Platoon off into the hills, but us and 3 Platoon were told we'd be reserve, basing out of what's left of the Kirtland base. Let me tell you, they bloody fought for that place. I spent a night in a burnt out Abrams, that was fun."
"Sure, sure. But what'd you mean, strip it for parts?"
"Well, first day we had to evict civvies squatting on the airbase, and it was just us, some of our engineers, plus a bunch of American regulars. Like, not National Guard. Once we cleared it of squatters, spent the day shoving as much shit off the runway as we could, got it relatively clear, couldn't do much for the craters in it though. Then next day, they brought in a bunch of helis and landed them literally anywhere they could. Then a big prop bird, A400 I think, comes in, does the diciest landing I've ever seen in my life. Company commander turns around and tells us our job is actually to help these guys, do whatever they ask us to, whatever.
"Uh huh." A ambulance went racing down the road outside the base, it's siren blaring.
"Turns out, what they want us to do is go explore these busted labs, dig more rubble out the way. Spent the rest of the week doing exactly that, we'd crack open a room and then they'd go in, look at what was in there, and get us to cart specific equipment out. Sometimes they'd tell us to go in with full rad gear, we'd measure bugger all on our geiger counters and tell them, so they would go in with shorts and t-shirts."
"So, hold on, they were taking equipment? Like, as in we're stealing shit from the lab?"
"Well, I asked the Captain. He said he was told the Americans sold it to us, equivalent of flogging an old piano you don't use anymore, and asking the buyer to come get it out of the house and pick it up. Not stealing. I mean, it's not like anyone could have missed what we were doing, we had to have permission. There were the US army guys helping us, bunch of the helis had USAF markings. Had to be approved."
"What the hell could we have been after that was in there?"
"No clue. Tried to talk to the American guys they brought in, none of them were chatty, when we overheard them it was like they spoke in riddle. Like, they sent us to check this reactor room, right. Some nuclear test facility, reactors and shit. We come out, tell them it's clear on rads, they all nod, start going in. I eavesdrop, one of them's saying to the other that there's 'no evidence of a faded giant'. The hell does that mean? Felt like being in a Tolkien story. So, we couldn't get shit for answers out of them."
Briggs opened up one of his pockets, pulling out a little ration-pack protein bar and scarfing it down.
"Anyway, I think they just wanted the lab's computing equipment, as much as they could find that still works. Shit's gotta be cutting edge, right? Plus any data they still had. Everything we grabbed, they carted it on the plane and the helis. I don't think they really managed to fill up everything though, just not enough to salvage."
"Anything more specific?"
"Nah. Corporal Donaldson said he heard they did some advanced tech shit, so maybe we were after that, but then Donaldson thinks Hekatians crashed in Roswell so I don't believe him."
"I just don't get it. What are we gonna do with it that the Americans that they wouldn't do with it themselves? Why pay when they could just share it?"
"They couldn't get around to getting it themselves, clearly. And besides, those scientists who worked on it, I'd bet they're living with us now. So we might as well take it, since they can't use it."
Briggs shrugged as he finished his sentence, then dropped down from the vehicle, leaving Sam alone on top in the cold. He looked back up, as if struck by something he had to share before he left.
"The one thing that was real weird, though. One of the strange riddle things they said, was after they went into this big bunker under the airbase. I think they stored nukes there before the war, we had a look around as best we could but most of it had collapsed, and the place was empty. So we didn't end up carting home a nuke or anything. But anyway, as we're leaving, one of the Americans turns and says something to his friends, quiet enough none of us could hear it, but one of the Hekatians picked it up on his helmet mic. Something about a 'possible empty quiver', and they all looked real grim about it. Real strange."
Briggs turned and walked off, then stopped himself.
"Oh, and I got one of them pasta bolognese MREs, it's in my bag. So, you know the deal-"
"5 of the tutti frutti drink powders, coming your way." Sam replied.
"Hell yeah." Briggs grinned back.
Even with the return of 3 Company, Sam's platoon still found itself having to be on standby for any potential problems. And so that was how, the next day, Sam found himself wandering around the base in most of his gear, with absolutely nothing to actually do but wait.
With convenient timing for avoiding his death by boredom, a utility vehicle suddenly pulled up nearby, one of those American infantry squad vehicles that packed half a dozen men in without windows or doors. This one was only half occupied though, by base security personnel, accompanied by one familiar figure in a distinct camouflage pattern and a blue beret.
“Afternoon Sam.” Lt Dave Skinner waved to Sam, beckoning him over. Sam could see the Lt lacked most of his gear, clearly also just wandering around the base awaiting something.
“Ey Lt. What’s up?” Sam asked.
“Bored, and heard there's a protest down by the gate. These lot offered a ride, you want to come see?"
“Why not.” Sam clambered into a spare seat at the back, quickly securing himself. The vehicle rumbled off, quickly heading down the base’s roads towards the gate. Traffic was light today, a few base security vehicles moving around, and thus they were soon close to the gates. Sam could see the protest pretty well in the clear day, what looked to be more than a thousand people, clutching various placards. A few members were up on top of a van, with one using it as a podium to deliver a speech, whose contents Sam could not fully decipher.
As the vehicle pulled more into sight, the mood of the crowd seemed to change, the protestors catching sight of the distinctive blue berets of Sam and the Lt, which marked them as UN personnel. The speaker gave one last shout, which Sam could hear as ‘we won, what next?’, before turning his attention to the same thing as his crowd.
“UN go home! UN go home!” The man yelled, quickly joined in the chant by the rest of the crowd. The driver stopped, clearly wanting to now discharge the passengers who were garnering interest.
“At least they got simple slogans to remember.” Sam muttered, climbing out and putting his boots back on the road.
“Aye.” Dave replied, adjusting his uniform as he walked forwards. Their ride moved on, and the pair of British soldiers continued on towards the nearest point of interest, that being a British Jackal.
It, rather like what Sam had just been riding, was a vehicle devoid of doors, windows, or any real form of protection for its crew, although this one traded a large crew capacity for being festooned with weapons. It’s crew, who had decked themselves with football hats from home and thus evaded recognition, watched the crowd ahead with boredom as a radio blared out pop music. He recognised them as soldiers of another unit in the battalion, one he didn’t usually interact with.
“This all for us then?” Sam asked.
“Afraid so.” The man on the machine gun mount replied, glancing down. His accent, and his hat, betrayed him as a Liverpudlian.
“Oh well.”
“They're not a risk.”
“As in?”
“As in, they aren't going for the fences. If they did, well.” The man nodded towards the loitering Military Police beside the gate, before patting the gun he stood by.
“Aye.” Sam walked on, rather unnerved. Dave, who had said nothing during the exchange, carried on beside him.
“All a bit mad isn’t it.”
“It is. At least those out there are just protesting, rather than. You know. The whole KC thing.”
“I don't think we have to worry about another KC.”
“Dunno what these lot really expect, mind. We can’t go home or else the reconstruction collapses.”
“And everyone starts ripping each other apart.”
“Yeah.”
Before either of them could continue their thoughts, Sam’s phone buzzed in his pocket, causing him to pull it out. The phone identified the caller as the company commander, Danny, which was odd.
“Hello?” Sam asked, before Danny could speak.
“Where the bloody hell are you? Do you have the Lt?”
“We're at the front gates. Something wrong?”
“Probably about to be. We have a situation, armed individuals spotted near a RA project. Possible prelude to an attack. Your platoon got stood up to intervene right after you vanished, they’re loading up now, they'll pick you up.”
“Gotcha. Heads up, but the protestors are all in our way.”
“They’re still out there? Damn. Oh well.”
It took more than a few minutes, in fact, with Sam wondering if he should have just walked back to the unit instead of staying to be yelled at, but soon the Warriors were trundling down the road towards Sam and the Lt. The lead slowed somewhat, Sam running up and throwing himself onto it so he could climb up. He was sure the sight of a soldier scrambling up his own vehicle would be rather amusing to some of the protestors watching, so he did his best to get up to the turret as quickly as he could.
“We grabbed your stuff for you.” Dani said, as Sam reached the commander’s side of the turret. He glanced down into his seat, seeing it indeed had been piled with his stuff.
Sam dropped down, before beginning to pull equipment on as fast as he could, given the cramped confines of the turret and the circumstances. Helmet went on first, the beret pushed clumsily into a pocket. Rifle was pulled up, so that he had a good grasp on where it was. The rest would be best left sorted out on the way, with him kicking it down and onto the vehicle floor.
“What time do you call this, anyway?” Dani asked, playfully.
“Time these lot got out of our way.” Sam gestured at the crowd, who only seemed more energised by the sudden arrival of the UN vehicles.
“Yeah, how exactly are we gonna get out of here?”
“Very carefully. Etty, watch your driving, last thing I want is someone getting run over.” Sam contemplated the fact that at least it could be worse: they could have sent the Hekatian unit on the base out. So far, said unit had been confined to base security drills, and joining patrols conducted otherwise. If they attempted to break this protestor blockade, it would probably end poorly.
Several military police, all Americans. appeared from out of the guardhouse, all geared up with riot shields and bulletproof masks. They gripped batons in one hand, forming up into ranks while the Warriors continued onwards. There weren’t enough to form a full corridor out, not with the size of this crowd, but there were a fair number present. A loudspeaker on the base began blaring orders to let the vehicles through, and while some protestors began to move away, their place was filled by others.
“I’ve got an idea. Etty, park us up next to the MPs.” Sure enough, the driver complied, the armoured vehicle coming to a halt. Sam leaned out, quickly identifying a commander. "Hey! You reckon you can form a box around our vehicles? Don't want anyone getting in the way of us and being injured.”
“We’ll do our best, but we can only manage 2 at a time.” The man replied, gesturing his men to form a cordon around Sam’s vehicle.
“That’ll have to do, thanks man.” More MPs took position at the gates, forming a wall to block anyone that may try and slip through.
“How many you reckon are out here? One thousand, two?”
“Who knows. Just so long as no one gets hurt.”
The gates now parted, and the crowd naturally attempted to surge forwards, only to be met with a shield wall. Etty started the vehicle moving again, at little more than a crawl. Behind the front line of protestors, who were simply randomly pushing up against the shields, Sam could see a line of protestors linking arms in order to form a wall of their own.
“Smart move.” Sam nodded towards the protestor wall.
“These guys are gonna have to go in with truncheons if they want to break that in a quick fashion.” Dani replied, grimacing. As they watched, the MPs began to push forwards, successfully forcing the front line of protestors to retreat.
As they reached the gates, objects began to fly from the protest, all manner of items. Empty bottles, placards, rocks, anything that protestors had on hand and could hurl. Not a genuine threat, particularly not given the level of aim, but Sam didn’t much feel like getting hit on the head by a placard.
“All vehicles, button up.” Sam ordered, dipping his head down and pulling the hatch over. Dani followed, the vehicle now fully sealed up.
“How’s it looking out there, Sam?” Lt Skinner asked.
“Raining sticks and stones.”
“Can you catch me one? Lost my pet rock.” Trevor said.
“Go out and get it yourself.” Sam threw back, checking his gear over. He glanced at the monitors, seeing the Jackal gunner, along with his crew, had now donned gas masks. The gunner then pulled out a small grenade launcher, loading a round into it and aiming it towards the crowd, and suddenly Sam knew exactly where this was going. “Oh shit, CBRN on now.”
“What?” The question came even as well-drilled hands activated the CBRN system, and as a long canister was fired from the grenade launcher. It arced out, landing in the midst of the crowd and quickly dispensing tear gas.
“They’re firing tear gas into the crowd.”
“One way to clear a path.”
The MPs froze up, not quite sure what to do, meaning that this action by Sam’s fellow Brits had clearly not been coordinated. A path began to indeed clear, though, as another grenade was fired, civilians fleeing from the gas. Sam had been tear gassed before, during training. It wasn’t nice, especially if there weren’t proper medics around to immediately help you clear the effects.
The Warriors pressed on, drivers figuring it was best to make use of a bad situation., The MPs, though, abandoned any intent of escorting the Warriors and moved out of the way, with Sam’s guess being they didn’t want to be seen helping. As the Warriors moved forwards, some masked members of the crowd surged back towards the gap that had been cleared around the canisters. For a second, Sam was worried they were about to run someone over, but they wisely stayed to the side of the Warrior, banging on the sides. Unfortunately for them, fists and sticks weren’t particularly good against armour meant to keep out machine guns.
“Hearts and minds.” Sam muttered, as after they reached the edge of the protestors and were able to properly accelerate.
“What you say, Sarge?” Dani asked, confused.
“Nothing.”
Sam’s mood had not much improved by the time they arrived at the Reconstruction Authority project. He wasn’t quite sure what the Hekatians working for the RA were building, probably just some new housing, but things had clearly ground to a halt given this strange situation. Information was still scarce, just that armed people had been seen nearby, and there was worry of a potential attack, but no one who had arrived on station had been able to locate them.
“The British President has announced his intent to hand control of Britain's nuclear weapons to the United Nations." The radio was blaring some news story as they reached the construction site, surrounded by a wired fence and checkpoints. "In a press conference today, President Jones spoke of the need for what he called ‘complete security’ of the world’s nuclear weapons, citing the highly controversial use of nuclear weapons during the Second Hekatian War. Jones has called upon the other nuclear powers of the world to follow suit in pledging the world’s nuclear weapons directly to the UN, though so far only France has posi-"
“You’re the UN lads, right?” The security guard yelled from his temporary booth, next to the little barrier that marked the gate. That was a stupid question, who else would we be, Sam thought to himself.
“Yeah. You let us through?”
“Of course! Hold on!” The man responded, the barrier slowly raising to let the multi-ton armoured vehicle through, and letting Sam turn his attention back to the radio.
“With us is Oz Sullivan, formerly a lifelong campaigner for nuclear disarmement. Oz, what do you think of the prim-the president’s statement today?” The newsreader quickly corrected their mistake, whilst the Warrior rolled through to a clear patch of ground, parking up next to a group of hi-vis wearing Hekatians.
From Sam’s understanding, this had just been a bit of empty space, practically a park, before the war. Then, a temporary mass grave for victims of the war, it’s contents now dispersed to permanent burial sites. Sam was sure there was more than one reason they’d sent the Hekatian-staffed Reconstruction Authority to build stuff here, given the task of removing bodies had fallen to them.
“Well, I think it’s the right way forward, since as I and many of my colleagues recognised, the disarmement we campaigned for simply does not hold in an interstellar age. But we must still be smart in their use, esp-” Sam turned his attention away to watch the Lt’s Warrior pull up, the platoon commander hopping out to converse with the security staff on the site. Vehicle doors opened, the platoon spilling out to start taking various positions as needed.
“Sarge!" Dave shouted over, beckoning Sam to join him in conversation with the locals. "Get down here!"
"Aye Lt."
“I suspect the hard sells will be both India and Pakistan, as well as the Irani-" Sam could hear the radio dropping off as he got further away, approaching the Hekatian foreman the Lt was now speaking with.
“Anything new?”
“Police say they haven’t found shit, but we've at least got a cordon. Units are…here.” The Lt popped a small marker on the shared tacmap, Sam seeing a signal marking the presence of multiple police units in a loose cordon, some distance away. That made sense, start wide and tighten up.
“That’s something. What should we do next?”
“Well, I was thinki-“ The Lt was cut off by the sound of a machine gun springing to life, taking everyone by surprise. Sam dove to the ground like his comrades, looking up at the nearest building to see two separate sources of fire. The bullets, right now, seemed to be hitting away from him, and so Sam made a break for the better cover of the Warrior. Bullets raked the ground as he ran, mixing with yells and screams of pain, but Sam made it without a scratch, and could now begin evaluating his next move.
He raised his weapon, glancing out from behind the armoured bulk to get a better look at the source of the fire. It was indeed a pair of machine guns, firing from the windows of what looked like a residential building. Sam fired back, though he knew there was very little chance of hitting them.
“Permission to open fire!” Dani shouted over the radio, the urgency in her voice overpowered only by the Lt’s response a moment later.
“No! Hold your fire! Civilians in those buildings, small arms only!” More fire was going out now, the machine guns of the platoon adding their weight of fire to the UN efforts to fight back. Plasma, from the Hekatian members, splashed against walls. Sam really hoped no civilian in that building was looking out of their window right about now.
Back on the ground, the worker Hekatians were scattered left and right, many of them exposed. Sam grabbed one off the ground, lifting him up and shoving him towards the Warrior’s rear door. The worker, glad to have someone giving directions, climbed into the back, taking advantage of the protection afforded.
“Get the Hekatians into the Warriors! Now!” Sam ordered, beckoning another Hekatian into the Warrior as he did. He kept plugging away shots, doing what he could to keep the enemy from firing accurately. Suppress, suppress, suppress.
“Need a medic over here!” Someone from 2 Section yelled, Sam looking over to see Lance Corporal Hillier crouching over a bleeding Hekatian. That wasn’t good, the longer they stayed out here the more would go down. Action had to be taken, now.
"1 Section, push forwards, clear that building!" Dave ordered, taking charge before Sam had to. "2 and 3, suppressing fire, get people into cover!"
Sam could already see one obstacle, that being the fence dead ahead. He slammed his gloved fist onto the Warrior's side, adding an order of his own.
"Etty, ram that fence!"
Etty, enthused by the prospect of contributing something, followed orders and rushed the Warrior into the perimeter fence, quickly knocking it down and reversing to clear the hole. Sam followed into the gap, looking back to see that so far he had only been joined by Corporal Goose and Trevor. Still, he rushed forwards, charging the building. There was a thump of a grenade launcher against the building, someone clearly not having considered the potential consequences of firing a grenade launcher at a residential building. But it did drive the attackers to cease fire, if only for a moment, long enough for Sam to close the gap. Not that he was any happier about it.
His hands rushed to his radio, as more of 1 Section rushed forwards to join him.
“Whoever the fuck just sent off that grenade, I am going to kill you when this is over, do you understand?” Sam declared down the line, before using his hands to signal that someone should start kicking down doors. “Watch your goddamn fire, keep them suppressed.”
“Aye Sarge, we have them on the 9th floor.” Dave responded. “Good luck.”
“9th, gotcha. Someone br-” Sam cut himself off, watching as Meerox charged the door. It gave way quickly in the face of an armour-plated Hekatian throwing himself at it. "Nevermind."
Corporal Goose led the way through, stepping over the recovering form of the Hekatian now sprawled on the ground. The rest of the section poured through, fanning out to cover various corridors. They may have come under fire from just two guns, that didn’t mean more people weren’t present.
“Good one.” Sam muttered to the Hekatian, as he entered. He lowered his hand to pull Meerox up, glove meeting glove and raising him back to his feet.
“Thank you Sergeant.”
Sam patted Meerox on his back, heading on to chase the disappearing forms of the rest of the section. Rifle and machine gun fire continued to crackle behind them, reminding everyone that they really ought to get a move on.
“Lifts are down.” Corporal Goose was stood next to the lift shaft, gesturing at a warning scrolling over the little display screen.
“It’s a climb, then. Me, Meerox, we’ll go straight up to cut them off. Remainder, teams of two, clear each floor, just to be sure. Careful with civvies. Sweep each floor quick as you can, direct people out the building."
There were nods, as everyone formed themselves into impromptu assault groups. Were they doing this in any other environment, Sam would be breaking out the grenades. But for such an environment, you had to watch everything.
“Hold on.” Emma spoke up, rushing over to a nearby fire alarm. She pulled it straight down, triggering loud sirens and flashing lights to start blasting across the building. Lance Corporal Edwards gawked at her for a moment before she returned to his side in the assault team. “What? Less people in the building.”
“Alright, let’s move.” Sam ordered, Meerox taking the lead. He opened the door into the stairwell, walking straight through, and got the first signal of quite why care was needed. A bullet rang out, smacking into the armoured Hekatian, joined by a pair of screams. Meerox whipped his rifle around at a target Sam could not quite see yet, only to hold his fire, even as another bullet slammed into his armour. That could only mean one thing.
“UN, UN!” Sam shouted, poking his head around to see 4 people crouched in a nook in the stairwell. One, a man, clutched a pistol, while a woman clutched two children close. “Hold your fire!”
Meerox did not wait for the man to comply, simply taking another step forward and snatching the pistol out of the man’s hands. The Hekatian proceeded to eject the magazine, then the chambered round, before offering it back to the man. Said man looked on only in shock, obviously just having had the natural reaction any American would probably have seeing a heavily armoured Hekatian burst through a door amidst a gun battle.
He was, Sam had to admit, extremely lucky the pistol was so useless against the body armour, or Meerox would probably have put a plasma lance straight through his head there and then, family or no family. Meerox, for his part, simply dropped the pistol, and turned back to the stairs, charging up as if nothing had happened.
“Jesus. Jesus christ. I’m so sorry.” The man whimpered, his children increasingly panicking even though the imminent threat had passed.
“It’s alright mate. It’s alright. Get to the reception, SWAT will be there soon, they’ll take care of you.” Sam couldn’t be sure of that, he didn't know where SWAT was right now, but it was more likely to be true than not. Even if it was untrue, firm directions tended to reassure civilians regardless of their veracity.
He pushed on, following Meerox up the stairs, as a group of civilians rushed down. As they climbed, pairs of soldiers began to peel off, and the number of civilians coming down increased. They were hardly obeying a left-hand-side rule, and thus making it harder and harder to get past. By the fourth floor, with Goose and Trevor now disappearing to clear said floor, the flood had gotten so bad that Sam had completely stalled, civilians rushing past.
They stalled for what felt like an eternity, but was probably only a minute, before they were back to a trickle, right as a woman with a rather expensive looking modified AR-15 came rushing down the stairs.
“Halt!” Sam shouted, raising his rifle at her. Meerox did the same, many of the civilians turning their heads around to see what had happened for a brief moment, even as they carried on their rush. “Drop that goddamn weapon!”
She responded by throwing her hands up, but she was still clutching her weapon. That wasn't good. A rifle in the hands of one person was, as far as Sam was concerned, inherently a different thing to a pistol held by a parent surrounded by their kids. For all Sam knew, this woman was part of the attack, and taking the chance to get away. That, or she was really stupid for bringing her rifle to a fire alarm amidst a shooting. He suspected the latter.
“Drop it right now!” Sam repeated his order. Boots came clomping up the stairs, Smedley and Trevor. Both added their weapons to those arrayed at this woman, who had now frozen on the stairs, before Sam waved them off, to continue clearing floors. “Do you hear me?”
“I… I’m not part of it! I promise!”
“Then drop your fucking weapon so we can stop it! Now!” Any second spent here was a second longer the firing continued up there. He could tell Meerox was restless too, the Hekatian shifting his weight subtly to try and prepare in case this turned hot. Had it not been for the fact the M4 could very easily be levelled at Sam, who was not as bulletproof, and that Meerox could not necessarily close the gap in time before a shot was fired, the gun-clearing trick would probably have already been repeated.
“Police, out of the way!” More noise came from below, a fresh set of authoritative barks. Reinforcements.
“Put down your gun or else they'll arrest you!” Sam added. He wasn’t sure the cops necessarily would, but the threat seemed to convince the woman, who lowered the gun. Finally. “Right, keep moving!”
“I can help you get the shooters!” The woman said.
“No, you can’t!” Sam responded, glancing back to see a dozen SWAT storming up the staircase behind him. Some took the same route that Smedley and Trevor had, only to quickly discover said floor had been cleared.
“You Sergeant Heppell?” One of the SWAT called after Sam, who continued to climb.
“Yes! I’m going straight to the 9th floor!”
“Good! Ramirez, Biria, on me, everyone else clear floors!” The same voice announced, indeed pursuing.
“You have any info?” Sam asked, still directing his voice down. He was now approaching the 6th floor. 3 more to go.
“Two shooters, machine guns, mostly shot at Hekatians!” Nothing new or useful. Unsurprising.
“What gear do you have?”
“I have breaching explosives!” One of the other SWAT, a woman, replied. 7th floor.
“Good!”
A few more civilians trickled past, another family. Sam could see someone stood on the landing of the 9th floor, and they seemed to wave down.
“Hey! Up here!” 8th floor. 1 to go.
“UN forces coming through!” Sam replied. “SWAT in the rear!”
“Listen, man, you gotta help. These guys, they’ve blocked the doors. They’re real bad, they’re all holed up, keys aren’t getting me through.” Sam could see the man better now, as they rounded the switchback of the stairs. He was in a big jacket, what looked to be the official gear for building security from Sam’s guess, though supplemented by a baseball cap, the Mets if Sam recalled correctly. Said hat did very little to cover up some nasty facial scarring, clearly some old 3rd degree burns. His right hand was hidden in a pocket, maybe clutching a taser. What good do you think that’s gonna do?
“Alright, get the hell out of here. This is on us.” Sam replied. He felt like something was wrong, what was this man doing standing by the door at this point? Was he really delusional enough to think he, a security guard, could take on two men with machine guns with a taser?
“Good work man.” The SWAT leader added, grinning as he moved past Sam, beckoning his squad to carry on. One, the woman presumably, took out some explosives while still on the stairs, while the other just brushed past, heading up to the door. “Imagine meeting another Yankees fan out here.”
Well, that showed just how well Sam recognised baseball logos.
“Hah. Yeah.” The man half muttered, a slight grin. Then he looked towards Meerox, and Sam got a truly awful feeling in his stomach. “And you, I’ll see you in hell, you four ey-”
Sam dived out of the way well before the flash, the roar, the storm of shrapnel that tore through every inch of the corridor above. So did Meerox, the two naturally hurtling down the staircase since it was the only avenue of escape. But you couldn’t duck away from the shaking of the building, the roar of the blast, the screams. One short and clipped. The last, long and agonised.
There was a pause of silence, the shooters stopping in surprise, then a fresh hailstorm of bullets from the British forces outside. It was at this point Sam recognised he was currently pinning the female SWAT officer to the floor, with Meerox having already gotten up. He offered a hand, raising Sam up to his feet again. The cop, who Sam could tell by the nametag was Ramirez, was gasping for air, and she did not seem to have yet realised what had just happened. Sam knew she would probably prefer it that way, based on his guess as to what would be waiting for them above.
“You alright, Sergeant?” Meerox asked, tilting his head up and down to look for injury. Sam ran his hands down his face, finding plaster had coated him, but otherwise he was intact. A quick glance at his uniform confirmed the same.
“Feel like shit, ears are ringing but I think I avoided anything too bad.” Beside the pair, Ramirez sat up, and began taking deep breaths amidst coughs.
“Good, Sergeant.” Meerox looked back up the staircase, still functional as such even with the holes ripped into it. “I suppose there might still be two more of them up there.”
Before Sam could respond, Corporal Goose was rushing up the staircase had appeared from the levels below, this time leading a dozen cops.
“Jeez, thank fu-” Sam glared at Goose, cutting him off, then made a subtle head tilt towards Ramirez. It would not do much good for Goose to be all cheery about their survival, given what Sam knew would have happened to the other two cops upstairs. One of the SWAT members behind Goose budged past, rushing over to Ramirez.
“Possible two more hostiles upstairs. Watch out, one had a suicide vest. Possibly three wounded up there.” Wounded was euphemistic, even if there was still agonised screaming coming from above. The fire from outside slackened, the soldiers outside probably figuring an assault was in progress and it was best not to shoot another soldier by accident.
“Aye Sarge.” Goose looked back, pausing for a moment amidst the din. The Corporal glanced down the line of geared-up soldiers and armed police, taking a deep breath to compose himself. “Alright, you with the shield up front, you with the flashbangs, get 'em ready.”
The group charged up, quickly making their way in. By the sounds of gunshots Sam could hear, they had found their targets quickly.
He hoped they wouldn’t have too much trouble.
“Evening Sam.” Lt Skinner said, approaching Sam whilst he sat on the stretcher. He was still, as far as he knew, intact, though the ringing in the ears had not yet gone away. But the nurses and doctors at the temporary field hospital had not really bothered Sam, just letting him sit there.
“Evening Dave.” Sam replied, watching the scene ahead. Most of the activity around the building had died down now, but there were still ambulances and police cars loitering, and firefighters at work.
“Turns out Trevor wasn’t lying. Goose really did tackle that guy. Cops had bodycam footage of the full thing, Goose bloody dived on him before he could get that pistol out.”
“Huh.” Sam replied, flipping through his phone. “So I guess that tackle is the only reason we had a prisoner."
“Pretty much.” Dave paused for a moment, looking on. “Not sure I can get that mindset.”
“Pardon?”
“Going into a building with guns to shoot up a bunch of Hekatians, I mean, I get that. Well, you know, I wouldn't do it but I get where it comes from. But saying, I’m gonna go out and do this knowing I’m not coming back. Explosive vest, pistol just to shoot yourself. Like, I know we’re soldiers, we gotta accept we might not come back. But I don't think I won't come back.”
“When we were sent to America that first day, right after DC got nuked and we were sent in to help create some sort of frontline.” Sam began, looking up from his phone. “We didn’t say it on the plane, but we all thought we were certain to die there. One way or the other. When we touched down, and we were suddenly amidst it all… I dunno, for a lot of us it went away. Or we put it in the back of our heads. I managed to put it away, for a while. Then they ordered us to fall back to New York, and I was certain that was the end. And I was almost right. The moment Bainbridge took that hit while we ran for the shelter, I felt certain we were dead. And yet…”
There was silence, the two watching another ambulance arrive, this time to evacuate another wounded Hekatian.
“I don’t know what exactly drives you to go into something intending to die. But I know what it's like to expect that you are certain to do so. And I dunno, maybe there’s not that much difference.”
“You said that guy, the one who blew himself up, he had old facial burns. Cops talked to some of the residents, they confirmed he worked there. Burns were from when Boston got hit, so he was nuked, and allegedly had seen a doctor about possible cancer recently. We haven’t got back anything on the guy we captured yet, but if I had to guess he might also have been on his way out.”
“Do we know how many Hekatians they got?”
“Dozen dead so far. More to come.”
“Christ almighty.”
“Danny said he’s pulling us off the line for a while, no patrols, just rest. Let’s hope things are calm for the next while.”
“Let’s hope they’re calm for the rest of time.” Sam replied, watching another bunch of EOD traipse out of the building.
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Sam watched, dressed in his late night off-duty uniform of an old t-shirt and older trousers, as a company’s worth of Warriors pulled in, visibly caked in dust and grime. They were the vehicles of another company in the battalion-strength British force here at Buckley, and their departure for New Mexico several days ago had left the rest of them having to take up far more work. Now they had returned, things would be back to normal. Hopefully.
Soldiers disembarked rather rapidly, rushing to offload their weapons so they could get back to comfortable seats and beds, rather than the sleeping bags and cramped confines of a Warrior. It was usually always chaos after a big mission, though at least the wind had been taken out of many of them by how exhausted they all were.
“Evening Sam!” One soldier yelled, waving. It was Sergeant Briggs, one of the NCOs in 3 Company that Sam regularly interacted with. Sam waved back, waiting as Briggs jogged up.
“Evening. How was the Hekatian hunting?"
“Huh? Oh, yeah, yeah, Hekatian remnants. Yeah, that was basically bollocks.” Briggs replied, shaking his head. “I mean, there were Hekatians, and we did deal with them. But that wasn’t why we were there. A fucking militia could have handled them."
"Really?"
"Yeah. Come on, no way I'm gonna be able to turn in my guns for like an hour, not with this lot in the way." Briggs waved at the mass of soldiers, swarming towards the large building that housed the battalion's weaponry. "Let's go to the cricket ground."
It didn't take long for the pair to reach the cricket ground, a much quieter area of the base. Calling it such was optimistic, it existed solely in lines of tape crunched between parked vehicles. Breaking the expectations of more than a few Americans on the base, cricket was not actually that popular with the young British soldiers, though it's few fans were devoted enough to demand the use of the grass parking area as a grounds. Sam didn't get the appeal himself, he was always more of a football man.
Briggs stopped beside a beaten-up armoured recovery vehicle, vital in the complex task of recovering the destroyed tanks that littered parts of the country. He then jumped up, to perch himself on the armour plate, using it as a bench of sorts. Sam joined him, the pair watching the hustle and bustle of the base even at this late hour.
"So, the whole thing was bullshit. 1 Platoon kicked them over in a few hours once they found them. Seems no one had actually bothered to look. Just a bunch of starving guys with barely functional weapons, who'd been bullying locals for food and didn't stand a chance. And Command knew it. Whole thing was basically a cover for a shopping run. We spent most of it poking around some old scientific facility, Sandia it was called. Stripped it for parts, basically."
“No shit?”
"No shit. We got down to Albuqurque, they sent 1 Platoon off into the hills, but us and 3 Platoon were told we'd be reserve, basing out of what's left of the Kirtland base. Let me tell you, they bloody fought for that place. I spent a night in a burnt out Abrams, that was fun."
"Sure, sure. But what'd you mean, strip it for parts?"
"Well, first day we had to evict civvies squatting on the airbase, and it was just us, some of our engineers, plus a bunch of American regulars. Like, not National Guard. Once we cleared it of squatters, spent the day shoving as much shit off the runway as we could, got it relatively clear, couldn't do much for the craters in it though. Then next day, they brought in a bunch of helis and landed them literally anywhere they could. Then a big prop bird, A400 I think, comes in, does the diciest landing I've ever seen in my life. Company commander turns around and tells us our job is actually to help these guys, do whatever they ask us to, whatever.
"Uh huh." A ambulance went racing down the road outside the base, it's siren blaring.
"Turns out, what they want us to do is go explore these busted labs, dig more rubble out the way. Spent the rest of the week doing exactly that, we'd crack open a room and then they'd go in, look at what was in there, and get us to cart specific equipment out. Sometimes they'd tell us to go in with full rad gear, we'd measure bugger all on our geiger counters and tell them, so they would go in with shorts and t-shirts."
"So, hold on, they were taking equipment? Like, as in we're stealing shit from the lab?"
"Well, I asked the Captain. He said he was told the Americans sold it to us, equivalent of flogging an old piano you don't use anymore, and asking the buyer to come get it out of the house and pick it up. Not stealing. I mean, it's not like anyone could have missed what we were doing, we had to have permission. There were the US army guys helping us, bunch of the helis had USAF markings. Had to be approved."
"What the hell could we have been after that was in there?"
"No clue. Tried to talk to the American guys they brought in, none of them were chatty, when we overheard them it was like they spoke in riddle. Like, they sent us to check this reactor room, right. Some nuclear test facility, reactors and shit. We come out, tell them it's clear on rads, they all nod, start going in. I eavesdrop, one of them's saying to the other that there's 'no evidence of a faded giant'. The hell does that mean? Felt like being in a Tolkien story. So, we couldn't get shit for answers out of them."
Briggs opened up one of his pockets, pulling out a little ration-pack protein bar and scarfing it down.
"Anyway, I think they just wanted the lab's computing equipment, as much as they could find that still works. Shit's gotta be cutting edge, right? Plus any data they still had. Everything we grabbed, they carted it on the plane and the helis. I don't think they really managed to fill up everything though, just not enough to salvage."
"Anything more specific?"
"Nah. Corporal Donaldson said he heard they did some advanced tech shit, so maybe we were after that, but then Donaldson thinks Hekatians crashed in Roswell so I don't believe him."
"I just don't get it. What are we gonna do with it that the Americans that they wouldn't do with it themselves? Why pay when they could just share it?"
"They couldn't get around to getting it themselves, clearly. And besides, those scientists who worked on it, I'd bet they're living with us now. So we might as well take it, since they can't use it."
Briggs shrugged as he finished his sentence, then dropped down from the vehicle, leaving Sam alone on top in the cold. He looked back up, as if struck by something he had to share before he left.
"The one thing that was real weird, though. One of the strange riddle things they said, was after they went into this big bunker under the airbase. I think they stored nukes there before the war, we had a look around as best we could but most of it had collapsed, and the place was empty. So we didn't end up carting home a nuke or anything. But anyway, as we're leaving, one of the Americans turns and says something to his friends, quiet enough none of us could hear it, but one of the Hekatians picked it up on his helmet mic. Something about a 'possible empty quiver', and they all looked real grim about it. Real strange."
Briggs turned and walked off, then stopped himself.
"Oh, and I got one of them pasta bolognese MREs, it's in my bag. So, you know the deal-"
"5 of the tutti frutti drink powders, coming your way." Sam replied.
"Hell yeah." Briggs grinned back.
With convenient timing for avoiding his death by boredom, a utility vehicle suddenly pulled up nearby, one of those American infantry squad vehicles that packed half a dozen men in without windows or doors. This one was only half occupied though, by base security personnel, accompanied by one familiar figure in a distinct camouflage pattern and a blue beret.
“Afternoon Sam.” Lt Dave Skinner waved to Sam, beckoning him over. Sam could see the Lt lacked most of his gear, clearly also just wandering around the base awaiting something.
“Ey Lt. What’s up?” Sam asked.
“Bored, and heard there's a protest down by the gate. These lot offered a ride, you want to come see?"
“Why not.” Sam clambered into a spare seat at the back, quickly securing himself. The vehicle rumbled off, quickly heading down the base’s roads towards the gate. Traffic was light today, a few base security vehicles moving around, and thus they were soon close to the gates. Sam could see the protest pretty well in the clear day, what looked to be more than a thousand people, clutching various placards. A few members were up on top of a van, with one using it as a podium to deliver a speech, whose contents Sam could not fully decipher.
As the vehicle pulled more into sight, the mood of the crowd seemed to change, the protestors catching sight of the distinctive blue berets of Sam and the Lt, which marked them as UN personnel. The speaker gave one last shout, which Sam could hear as ‘we won, what next?’, before turning his attention to the same thing as his crowd.
“UN go home! UN go home!” The man yelled, quickly joined in the chant by the rest of the crowd. The driver stopped, clearly wanting to now discharge the passengers who were garnering interest.
“At least they got simple slogans to remember.” Sam muttered, climbing out and putting his boots back on the road.
“Aye.” Dave replied, adjusting his uniform as he walked forwards. Their ride moved on, and the pair of British soldiers continued on towards the nearest point of interest, that being a British Jackal.
It, rather like what Sam had just been riding, was a vehicle devoid of doors, windows, or any real form of protection for its crew, although this one traded a large crew capacity for being festooned with weapons. It’s crew, who had decked themselves with football hats from home and thus evaded recognition, watched the crowd ahead with boredom as a radio blared out pop music. He recognised them as soldiers of another unit in the battalion, one he didn’t usually interact with.
“This all for us then?” Sam asked.
“Afraid so.” The man on the machine gun mount replied, glancing down. His accent, and his hat, betrayed him as a Liverpudlian.
“Oh well.”
“They're not a risk.”
“As in?”
“As in, they aren't going for the fences. If they did, well.” The man nodded towards the loitering Military Police beside the gate, before patting the gun he stood by.
“Aye.” Sam walked on, rather unnerved. Dave, who had said nothing during the exchange, carried on beside him.
“All a bit mad isn’t it.”
“It is. At least those out there are just protesting, rather than. You know. The whole KC thing.”
“I don't think we have to worry about another KC.”
“Dunno what these lot really expect, mind. We can’t go home or else the reconstruction collapses.”
“And everyone starts ripping each other apart.”
“Yeah.”
Before either of them could continue their thoughts, Sam’s phone buzzed in his pocket, causing him to pull it out. The phone identified the caller as the company commander, Danny, which was odd.
“Hello?” Sam asked, before Danny could speak.
“Where the bloody hell are you? Do you have the Lt?”
“We're at the front gates. Something wrong?”
“Probably about to be. We have a situation, armed individuals spotted near a RA project. Possible prelude to an attack. Your platoon got stood up to intervene right after you vanished, they’re loading up now, they'll pick you up.”
“Gotcha. Heads up, but the protestors are all in our way.”
“They’re still out there? Damn. Oh well.”
It took more than a few minutes, in fact, with Sam wondering if he should have just walked back to the unit instead of staying to be yelled at, but soon the Warriors were trundling down the road towards Sam and the Lt. The lead slowed somewhat, Sam running up and throwing himself onto it so he could climb up. He was sure the sight of a soldier scrambling up his own vehicle would be rather amusing to some of the protestors watching, so he did his best to get up to the turret as quickly as he could.
“We grabbed your stuff for you.” Dani said, as Sam reached the commander’s side of the turret. He glanced down into his seat, seeing it indeed had been piled with his stuff.
Sam dropped down, before beginning to pull equipment on as fast as he could, given the cramped confines of the turret and the circumstances. Helmet went on first, the beret pushed clumsily into a pocket. Rifle was pulled up, so that he had a good grasp on where it was. The rest would be best left sorted out on the way, with him kicking it down and onto the vehicle floor.
“What time do you call this, anyway?” Dani asked, playfully.
“Time these lot got out of our way.” Sam gestured at the crowd, who only seemed more energised by the sudden arrival of the UN vehicles.
“Yeah, how exactly are we gonna get out of here?”
“Very carefully. Etty, watch your driving, last thing I want is someone getting run over.” Sam contemplated the fact that at least it could be worse: they could have sent the Hekatian unit on the base out. So far, said unit had been confined to base security drills, and joining patrols conducted otherwise. If they attempted to break this protestor blockade, it would probably end poorly.
Several military police, all Americans. appeared from out of the guardhouse, all geared up with riot shields and bulletproof masks. They gripped batons in one hand, forming up into ranks while the Warriors continued onwards. There weren’t enough to form a full corridor out, not with the size of this crowd, but there were a fair number present. A loudspeaker on the base began blaring orders to let the vehicles through, and while some protestors began to move away, their place was filled by others.
“I’ve got an idea. Etty, park us up next to the MPs.” Sure enough, the driver complied, the armoured vehicle coming to a halt. Sam leaned out, quickly identifying a commander. "Hey! You reckon you can form a box around our vehicles? Don't want anyone getting in the way of us and being injured.”
“We’ll do our best, but we can only manage 2 at a time.” The man replied, gesturing his men to form a cordon around Sam’s vehicle.
“That’ll have to do, thanks man.” More MPs took position at the gates, forming a wall to block anyone that may try and slip through.
“How many you reckon are out here? One thousand, two?”
“Who knows. Just so long as no one gets hurt.”
The gates now parted, and the crowd naturally attempted to surge forwards, only to be met with a shield wall. Etty started the vehicle moving again, at little more than a crawl. Behind the front line of protestors, who were simply randomly pushing up against the shields, Sam could see a line of protestors linking arms in order to form a wall of their own.
“Smart move.” Sam nodded towards the protestor wall.
“These guys are gonna have to go in with truncheons if they want to break that in a quick fashion.” Dani replied, grimacing. As they watched, the MPs began to push forwards, successfully forcing the front line of protestors to retreat.
As they reached the gates, objects began to fly from the protest, all manner of items. Empty bottles, placards, rocks, anything that protestors had on hand and could hurl. Not a genuine threat, particularly not given the level of aim, but Sam didn’t much feel like getting hit on the head by a placard.
“All vehicles, button up.” Sam ordered, dipping his head down and pulling the hatch over. Dani followed, the vehicle now fully sealed up.
“How’s it looking out there, Sam?” Lt Skinner asked.
“Raining sticks and stones.”
“Can you catch me one? Lost my pet rock.” Trevor said.
“Go out and get it yourself.” Sam threw back, checking his gear over. He glanced at the monitors, seeing the Jackal gunner, along with his crew, had now donned gas masks. The gunner then pulled out a small grenade launcher, loading a round into it and aiming it towards the crowd, and suddenly Sam knew exactly where this was going. “Oh shit, CBRN on now.”
“What?” The question came even as well-drilled hands activated the CBRN system, and as a long canister was fired from the grenade launcher. It arced out, landing in the midst of the crowd and quickly dispensing tear gas.
“They’re firing tear gas into the crowd.”
“One way to clear a path.”
The MPs froze up, not quite sure what to do, meaning that this action by Sam’s fellow Brits had clearly not been coordinated. A path began to indeed clear, though, as another grenade was fired, civilians fleeing from the gas. Sam had been tear gassed before, during training. It wasn’t nice, especially if there weren’t proper medics around to immediately help you clear the effects.
The Warriors pressed on, drivers figuring it was best to make use of a bad situation., The MPs, though, abandoned any intent of escorting the Warriors and moved out of the way, with Sam’s guess being they didn’t want to be seen helping. As the Warriors moved forwards, some masked members of the crowd surged back towards the gap that had been cleared around the canisters. For a second, Sam was worried they were about to run someone over, but they wisely stayed to the side of the Warrior, banging on the sides. Unfortunately for them, fists and sticks weren’t particularly good against armour meant to keep out machine guns.
“Hearts and minds.” Sam muttered, as after they reached the edge of the protestors and were able to properly accelerate.
“What you say, Sarge?” Dani asked, confused.
“Nothing.”
“The British President has announced his intent to hand control of Britain's nuclear weapons to the United Nations." The radio was blaring some news story as they reached the construction site, surrounded by a wired fence and checkpoints. "In a press conference today, President Jones spoke of the need for what he called ‘complete security’ of the world’s nuclear weapons, citing the highly controversial use of nuclear weapons during the Second Hekatian War. Jones has called upon the other nuclear powers of the world to follow suit in pledging the world’s nuclear weapons directly to the UN, though so far only France has posi-"
“You’re the UN lads, right?” The security guard yelled from his temporary booth, next to the little barrier that marked the gate. That was a stupid question, who else would we be, Sam thought to himself.
“Yeah. You let us through?”
“Of course! Hold on!” The man responded, the barrier slowly raising to let the multi-ton armoured vehicle through, and letting Sam turn his attention back to the radio.
“With us is Oz Sullivan, formerly a lifelong campaigner for nuclear disarmement. Oz, what do you think of the prim-the president’s statement today?” The newsreader quickly corrected their mistake, whilst the Warrior rolled through to a clear patch of ground, parking up next to a group of hi-vis wearing Hekatians.
From Sam’s understanding, this had just been a bit of empty space, practically a park, before the war. Then, a temporary mass grave for victims of the war, it’s contents now dispersed to permanent burial sites. Sam was sure there was more than one reason they’d sent the Hekatian-staffed Reconstruction Authority to build stuff here, given the task of removing bodies had fallen to them.
“Well, I think it’s the right way forward, since as I and many of my colleagues recognised, the disarmement we campaigned for simply does not hold in an interstellar age. But we must still be smart in their use, esp-” Sam turned his attention away to watch the Lt’s Warrior pull up, the platoon commander hopping out to converse with the security staff on the site. Vehicle doors opened, the platoon spilling out to start taking various positions as needed.
“Sarge!" Dave shouted over, beckoning Sam to join him in conversation with the locals. "Get down here!"
"Aye Lt."
“I suspect the hard sells will be both India and Pakistan, as well as the Irani-" Sam could hear the radio dropping off as he got further away, approaching the Hekatian foreman the Lt was now speaking with.
“Anything new?”
“Police say they haven’t found shit, but we've at least got a cordon. Units are…here.” The Lt popped a small marker on the shared tacmap, Sam seeing a signal marking the presence of multiple police units in a loose cordon, some distance away. That made sense, start wide and tighten up.
“That’s something. What should we do next?”
“Well, I was thinki-“ The Lt was cut off by the sound of a machine gun springing to life, taking everyone by surprise. Sam dove to the ground like his comrades, looking up at the nearest building to see two separate sources of fire. The bullets, right now, seemed to be hitting away from him, and so Sam made a break for the better cover of the Warrior. Bullets raked the ground as he ran, mixing with yells and screams of pain, but Sam made it without a scratch, and could now begin evaluating his next move.
He raised his weapon, glancing out from behind the armoured bulk to get a better look at the source of the fire. It was indeed a pair of machine guns, firing from the windows of what looked like a residential building. Sam fired back, though he knew there was very little chance of hitting them.
“Permission to open fire!” Dani shouted over the radio, the urgency in her voice overpowered only by the Lt’s response a moment later.
“No! Hold your fire! Civilians in those buildings, small arms only!” More fire was going out now, the machine guns of the platoon adding their weight of fire to the UN efforts to fight back. Plasma, from the Hekatian members, splashed against walls. Sam really hoped no civilian in that building was looking out of their window right about now.
Back on the ground, the worker Hekatians were scattered left and right, many of them exposed. Sam grabbed one off the ground, lifting him up and shoving him towards the Warrior’s rear door. The worker, glad to have someone giving directions, climbed into the back, taking advantage of the protection afforded.
“Get the Hekatians into the Warriors! Now!” Sam ordered, beckoning another Hekatian into the Warrior as he did. He kept plugging away shots, doing what he could to keep the enemy from firing accurately. Suppress, suppress, suppress.
“Need a medic over here!” Someone from 2 Section yelled, Sam looking over to see Lance Corporal Hillier crouching over a bleeding Hekatian. That wasn’t good, the longer they stayed out here the more would go down. Action had to be taken, now.
"1 Section, push forwards, clear that building!" Dave ordered, taking charge before Sam had to. "2 and 3, suppressing fire, get people into cover!"
Sam could already see one obstacle, that being the fence dead ahead. He slammed his gloved fist onto the Warrior's side, adding an order of his own.
"Etty, ram that fence!"
Etty, enthused by the prospect of contributing something, followed orders and rushed the Warrior into the perimeter fence, quickly knocking it down and reversing to clear the hole. Sam followed into the gap, looking back to see that so far he had only been joined by Corporal Goose and Trevor. Still, he rushed forwards, charging the building. There was a thump of a grenade launcher against the building, someone clearly not having considered the potential consequences of firing a grenade launcher at a residential building. But it did drive the attackers to cease fire, if only for a moment, long enough for Sam to close the gap. Not that he was any happier about it.
His hands rushed to his radio, as more of 1 Section rushed forwards to join him.
“Whoever the fuck just sent off that grenade, I am going to kill you when this is over, do you understand?” Sam declared down the line, before using his hands to signal that someone should start kicking down doors. “Watch your goddamn fire, keep them suppressed.”
“Aye Sarge, we have them on the 9th floor.” Dave responded. “Good luck.”
“9th, gotcha. Someone br-” Sam cut himself off, watching as Meerox charged the door. It gave way quickly in the face of an armour-plated Hekatian throwing himself at it. "Nevermind."
Corporal Goose led the way through, stepping over the recovering form of the Hekatian now sprawled on the ground. The rest of the section poured through, fanning out to cover various corridors. They may have come under fire from just two guns, that didn’t mean more people weren’t present.
“Good one.” Sam muttered to the Hekatian, as he entered. He lowered his hand to pull Meerox up, glove meeting glove and raising him back to his feet.
“Thank you Sergeant.”
Sam patted Meerox on his back, heading on to chase the disappearing forms of the rest of the section. Rifle and machine gun fire continued to crackle behind them, reminding everyone that they really ought to get a move on.
“Lifts are down.” Corporal Goose was stood next to the lift shaft, gesturing at a warning scrolling over the little display screen.
“It’s a climb, then. Me, Meerox, we’ll go straight up to cut them off. Remainder, teams of two, clear each floor, just to be sure. Careful with civvies. Sweep each floor quick as you can, direct people out the building."
There were nods, as everyone formed themselves into impromptu assault groups. Were they doing this in any other environment, Sam would be breaking out the grenades. But for such an environment, you had to watch everything.
“Hold on.” Emma spoke up, rushing over to a nearby fire alarm. She pulled it straight down, triggering loud sirens and flashing lights to start blasting across the building. Lance Corporal Edwards gawked at her for a moment before she returned to his side in the assault team. “What? Less people in the building.”
“Alright, let’s move.” Sam ordered, Meerox taking the lead. He opened the door into the stairwell, walking straight through, and got the first signal of quite why care was needed. A bullet rang out, smacking into the armoured Hekatian, joined by a pair of screams. Meerox whipped his rifle around at a target Sam could not quite see yet, only to hold his fire, even as another bullet slammed into his armour. That could only mean one thing.
“UN, UN!” Sam shouted, poking his head around to see 4 people crouched in a nook in the stairwell. One, a man, clutched a pistol, while a woman clutched two children close. “Hold your fire!”
Meerox did not wait for the man to comply, simply taking another step forward and snatching the pistol out of the man’s hands. The Hekatian proceeded to eject the magazine, then the chambered round, before offering it back to the man. Said man looked on only in shock, obviously just having had the natural reaction any American would probably have seeing a heavily armoured Hekatian burst through a door amidst a gun battle.
He was, Sam had to admit, extremely lucky the pistol was so useless against the body armour, or Meerox would probably have put a plasma lance straight through his head there and then, family or no family. Meerox, for his part, simply dropped the pistol, and turned back to the stairs, charging up as if nothing had happened.
“Jesus. Jesus christ. I’m so sorry.” The man whimpered, his children increasingly panicking even though the imminent threat had passed.
“It’s alright mate. It’s alright. Get to the reception, SWAT will be there soon, they’ll take care of you.” Sam couldn’t be sure of that, he didn't know where SWAT was right now, but it was more likely to be true than not. Even if it was untrue, firm directions tended to reassure civilians regardless of their veracity.
He pushed on, following Meerox up the stairs, as a group of civilians rushed down. As they climbed, pairs of soldiers began to peel off, and the number of civilians coming down increased. They were hardly obeying a left-hand-side rule, and thus making it harder and harder to get past. By the fourth floor, with Goose and Trevor now disappearing to clear said floor, the flood had gotten so bad that Sam had completely stalled, civilians rushing past.
They stalled for what felt like an eternity, but was probably only a minute, before they were back to a trickle, right as a woman with a rather expensive looking modified AR-15 came rushing down the stairs.
“Halt!” Sam shouted, raising his rifle at her. Meerox did the same, many of the civilians turning their heads around to see what had happened for a brief moment, even as they carried on their rush. “Drop that goddamn weapon!”
She responded by throwing her hands up, but she was still clutching her weapon. That wasn't good. A rifle in the hands of one person was, as far as Sam was concerned, inherently a different thing to a pistol held by a parent surrounded by their kids. For all Sam knew, this woman was part of the attack, and taking the chance to get away. That, or she was really stupid for bringing her rifle to a fire alarm amidst a shooting. He suspected the latter.
“Drop it right now!” Sam repeated his order. Boots came clomping up the stairs, Smedley and Trevor. Both added their weapons to those arrayed at this woman, who had now frozen on the stairs, before Sam waved them off, to continue clearing floors. “Do you hear me?”
“I… I’m not part of it! I promise!”
“Then drop your fucking weapon so we can stop it! Now!” Any second spent here was a second longer the firing continued up there. He could tell Meerox was restless too, the Hekatian shifting his weight subtly to try and prepare in case this turned hot. Had it not been for the fact the M4 could very easily be levelled at Sam, who was not as bulletproof, and that Meerox could not necessarily close the gap in time before a shot was fired, the gun-clearing trick would probably have already been repeated.
“Police, out of the way!” More noise came from below, a fresh set of authoritative barks. Reinforcements.
“Put down your gun or else they'll arrest you!” Sam added. He wasn’t sure the cops necessarily would, but the threat seemed to convince the woman, who lowered the gun. Finally. “Right, keep moving!”
“I can help you get the shooters!” The woman said.
“No, you can’t!” Sam responded, glancing back to see a dozen SWAT storming up the staircase behind him. Some took the same route that Smedley and Trevor had, only to quickly discover said floor had been cleared.
“You Sergeant Heppell?” One of the SWAT called after Sam, who continued to climb.
“Yes! I’m going straight to the 9th floor!”
“Good! Ramirez, Biria, on me, everyone else clear floors!” The same voice announced, indeed pursuing.
“You have any info?” Sam asked, still directing his voice down. He was now approaching the 6th floor. 3 more to go.
“Two shooters, machine guns, mostly shot at Hekatians!” Nothing new or useful. Unsurprising.
“What gear do you have?”
“I have breaching explosives!” One of the other SWAT, a woman, replied. 7th floor.
“Good!”
A few more civilians trickled past, another family. Sam could see someone stood on the landing of the 9th floor, and they seemed to wave down.
“Hey! Up here!” 8th floor. 1 to go.
“UN forces coming through!” Sam replied. “SWAT in the rear!”
“Listen, man, you gotta help. These guys, they’ve blocked the doors. They’re real bad, they’re all holed up, keys aren’t getting me through.” Sam could see the man better now, as they rounded the switchback of the stairs. He was in a big jacket, what looked to be the official gear for building security from Sam’s guess, though supplemented by a baseball cap, the Mets if Sam recalled correctly. Said hat did very little to cover up some nasty facial scarring, clearly some old 3rd degree burns. His right hand was hidden in a pocket, maybe clutching a taser. What good do you think that’s gonna do?
“Alright, get the hell out of here. This is on us.” Sam replied. He felt like something was wrong, what was this man doing standing by the door at this point? Was he really delusional enough to think he, a security guard, could take on two men with machine guns with a taser?
“Good work man.” The SWAT leader added, grinning as he moved past Sam, beckoning his squad to carry on. One, the woman presumably, took out some explosives while still on the stairs, while the other just brushed past, heading up to the door. “Imagine meeting another Yankees fan out here.”
Well, that showed just how well Sam recognised baseball logos.
“Hah. Yeah.” The man half muttered, a slight grin. Then he looked towards Meerox, and Sam got a truly awful feeling in his stomach. “And you, I’ll see you in hell, you four ey-”
Sam dived out of the way well before the flash, the roar, the storm of shrapnel that tore through every inch of the corridor above. So did Meerox, the two naturally hurtling down the staircase since it was the only avenue of escape. But you couldn’t duck away from the shaking of the building, the roar of the blast, the screams. One short and clipped. The last, long and agonised.
There was a pause of silence, the shooters stopping in surprise, then a fresh hailstorm of bullets from the British forces outside. It was at this point Sam recognised he was currently pinning the female SWAT officer to the floor, with Meerox having already gotten up. He offered a hand, raising Sam up to his feet again. The cop, who Sam could tell by the nametag was Ramirez, was gasping for air, and she did not seem to have yet realised what had just happened. Sam knew she would probably prefer it that way, based on his guess as to what would be waiting for them above.
“You alright, Sergeant?” Meerox asked, tilting his head up and down to look for injury. Sam ran his hands down his face, finding plaster had coated him, but otherwise he was intact. A quick glance at his uniform confirmed the same.
“Feel like shit, ears are ringing but I think I avoided anything too bad.” Beside the pair, Ramirez sat up, and began taking deep breaths amidst coughs.
“Good, Sergeant.” Meerox looked back up the staircase, still functional as such even with the holes ripped into it. “I suppose there might still be two more of them up there.”
Before Sam could respond, Corporal Goose was rushing up the staircase had appeared from the levels below, this time leading a dozen cops.
“Jeez, thank fu-” Sam glared at Goose, cutting him off, then made a subtle head tilt towards Ramirez. It would not do much good for Goose to be all cheery about their survival, given what Sam knew would have happened to the other two cops upstairs. One of the SWAT members behind Goose budged past, rushing over to Ramirez.
“Possible two more hostiles upstairs. Watch out, one had a suicide vest. Possibly three wounded up there.” Wounded was euphemistic, even if there was still agonised screaming coming from above. The fire from outside slackened, the soldiers outside probably figuring an assault was in progress and it was best not to shoot another soldier by accident.
“Aye Sarge.” Goose looked back, pausing for a moment amidst the din. The Corporal glanced down the line of geared-up soldiers and armed police, taking a deep breath to compose himself. “Alright, you with the shield up front, you with the flashbangs, get 'em ready.”
The group charged up, quickly making their way in. By the sounds of gunshots Sam could hear, they had found their targets quickly.
He hoped they wouldn’t have too much trouble.
“Evening Dave.” Sam replied, watching the scene ahead. Most of the activity around the building had died down now, but there were still ambulances and police cars loitering, and firefighters at work.
“Turns out Trevor wasn’t lying. Goose really did tackle that guy. Cops had bodycam footage of the full thing, Goose bloody dived on him before he could get that pistol out.”
“Huh.” Sam replied, flipping through his phone. “So I guess that tackle is the only reason we had a prisoner."
“Pretty much.” Dave paused for a moment, looking on. “Not sure I can get that mindset.”
“Pardon?”
“Going into a building with guns to shoot up a bunch of Hekatians, I mean, I get that. Well, you know, I wouldn't do it but I get where it comes from. But saying, I’m gonna go out and do this knowing I’m not coming back. Explosive vest, pistol just to shoot yourself. Like, I know we’re soldiers, we gotta accept we might not come back. But I don't think I won't come back.”
“When we were sent to America that first day, right after DC got nuked and we were sent in to help create some sort of frontline.” Sam began, looking up from his phone. “We didn’t say it on the plane, but we all thought we were certain to die there. One way or the other. When we touched down, and we were suddenly amidst it all… I dunno, for a lot of us it went away. Or we put it in the back of our heads. I managed to put it away, for a while. Then they ordered us to fall back to New York, and I was certain that was the end. And I was almost right. The moment Bainbridge took that hit while we ran for the shelter, I felt certain we were dead. And yet…”
There was silence, the two watching another ambulance arrive, this time to evacuate another wounded Hekatian.
“I don’t know what exactly drives you to go into something intending to die. But I know what it's like to expect that you are certain to do so. And I dunno, maybe there’s not that much difference.”
“You said that guy, the one who blew himself up, he had old facial burns. Cops talked to some of the residents, they confirmed he worked there. Burns were from when Boston got hit, so he was nuked, and allegedly had seen a doctor about possible cancer recently. We haven’t got back anything on the guy we captured yet, but if I had to guess he might also have been on his way out.”
“Do we know how many Hekatians they got?”
“Dozen dead so far. More to come.”
“Christ almighty.”
“Danny said he’s pulling us off the line for a while, no patrols, just rest. Let’s hope things are calm for the next while.”
“Let’s hope they’re calm for the rest of time.” Sam replied, watching another bunch of EOD traipse out of the building.
Author's Notes In Comments
If you enjoy my work, please consider buying me a coffee, it helps a ton, and allows me to keep writing this sort of stuff. Alternatively, you can just read more of it.2024.03.24 08:12 maerteen I've been working at a preschool this year. Been struggling with circle time and general discipline that I'm not really sure how to navigate.
I'm a teacher aide with only a year of experience as a kindergarten aide prior to working here at an all day preschool. I'm an aide to the main teacher for thay room in the morning shifts and I lead a class of 12 3-5 year olds during the afternoon shifts with basically no extra staff in the room to support me on a consistent basis. During those shifts, I'm expected to see through their snacktime, do an afternoon circle time, and then take them outside. If I have time or have a lot of stuff I need to work on inside the classroom, I'll do some free centers as well.
I'm also a fairly young looking asian male in my early 20s, which is a unicorn signt in early child education as is and most kids interactions with an adult male at that point in their lives is probably playing with their dads. Not sure if that has an effect on the kids other than them being more willing to be goofy around me in general during more appropiate times.
Sometimes other teachers might swing by to help out a little if they happen to be passing by while I'm having a harder time than usual, but it's not often. We're usually also discouraged from sending kids to the office if possible and largely by bad luck, they weren't even avaliable to take the child most of the times I did actually want to send someone. I'm also not always able to and probably not legally allowed to easily leave the room unattended for a moment to send a kid out to another room for a bit.
Basically, potential staffing issues aside, I'm working with what I got and I try to plan around me having no help, so advice tailored to that would be preferred.
I used to not really have issues with kids being disruptive during circle times aside from the very beginning and for a few days after I had to fill in for another from for a few days to a week. These days though, it can be an almost daily struggle and its usually just the same 2 kids that most of it kinda originates from. Whenever one of two are absent, things tend to be significantly easier.
They were always more of the goofy rambunctious rough playing types that mainly just want to have fun and make the rest of the class laugh and join their antics, but its been fairly manageable until the last few weeks where seemingly nothing seems to work with them for long now. One of them also is just starting to flat out try not to laugh or start smiling even when he's in trouble, which is pretty ridiculous. They're 4-5, so I know that disruptive behavior is just part of the process since they're just literally not cognitively developed enough to control themselves perfectly, but there's definitely some kind of line being crossed since they used to be fine or manageable.
Lots of the times the circle time gets derailed with me trying to refocus the entire class or transitions and centers get hectic, it's starts of those two running around, making the other kids laugh, or accidentally hitting/bothering someone. It's just a chain reaction from there cause I can't stop a kid from bursting out into laughter at something they find funny.
I've had a lot of stern talks with them at this point and although they worked for a while, they kinda just don't seem to care anymore. Even used the nuclear option of sending them to the office/out once or twice and it did not yield any results when the last time I did that earlier in the year they chilled out a ton for a while. I would imagine them and most of the class being more than ready to go to kindergarten next year is also factor. They're ready to go and had some huge growth the last few months! Feels like a realtively advanced group overall relative to what most of my kindergartners were like at the start of the year.
I haven't raised my voice much with them in a while too. For a few weeks I was working while off my ADHD meds and found myself raising my voice to trouble without realizing, and also my director got on my case about how I shouldn't be telling kids to stop doing something across the room and how I should use a much quieter "I'm very dissappointed in you" type voice with disciplining kids. This was after me very loudly telling one of them to put their shirt back on properly, and he was a bit shaken up from it so I did feel kinda bad about it. It was hard for me to do for a while and it certainly got points docked from my evaluation, but after I got back on my meds I feel like I've gotten way better at it and it has been yielding pretty consistently solid results with the other kids.. except for those two. Don't really know how to do that to stop them running in the classroom as well. I've had to rehash general class rules almost daily now because of those two and kids starting to emulate them.
I really do feel like actually raising my voice at them to show more frustration could help, but I don't want to possibly get in trouble with my director and got my own reservations about pretty much scaring them back into line like that.
One of them also has to use the bathroom a lot, especially since his natural bowel timing is around the time I start flying solo in the afternoons. I'm pretty sure at this point he can hold it for long enough cause he'll seem to forget about it when his family comes to pick him up early or we go outside, but also he puts on this pained expression and even starts crying sometimes while constantly interrupting me to ask to go to the bathroom. I can't send him to the bathroom by himself for legal reasons since the classroom doesn't have one, I often can't expect to have any extra staff around to take him for me or watch my class while I take him myself without also disrupting them. It feels like my only options are often just take the entire class to the bathroom with me to just so he can go while maintaining ratios or just deal with it. Some of the other kids are catching on too and either try it themselves or asks me if he has some sort of sickness. We did also tell his parents about it and the urologists and doctors they took him to said he's fine.
Tried dance breaks and deep breaths before or during circle times too. The dance breaks just kinda often get the entire class a little too energized after it ends so and the breathing/calming exercises at the start usually get derailed by those two and sometimes a few others making silly noises during them.
Some ideas I haven't tried yet but want to look into:
submitted by maerteen to Teachers [link] [comments]
I'm also a fairly young looking asian male in my early 20s, which is a unicorn signt in early child education as is and most kids interactions with an adult male at that point in their lives is probably playing with their dads. Not sure if that has an effect on the kids other than them being more willing to be goofy around me in general during more appropiate times.
Sometimes other teachers might swing by to help out a little if they happen to be passing by while I'm having a harder time than usual, but it's not often. We're usually also discouraged from sending kids to the office if possible and largely by bad luck, they weren't even avaliable to take the child most of the times I did actually want to send someone. I'm also not always able to and probably not legally allowed to easily leave the room unattended for a moment to send a kid out to another room for a bit.
Basically, potential staffing issues aside, I'm working with what I got and I try to plan around me having no help, so advice tailored to that would be preferred.
I used to not really have issues with kids being disruptive during circle times aside from the very beginning and for a few days after I had to fill in for another from for a few days to a week. These days though, it can be an almost daily struggle and its usually just the same 2 kids that most of it kinda originates from. Whenever one of two are absent, things tend to be significantly easier.
They were always more of the goofy rambunctious rough playing types that mainly just want to have fun and make the rest of the class laugh and join their antics, but its been fairly manageable until the last few weeks where seemingly nothing seems to work with them for long now. One of them also is just starting to flat out try not to laugh or start smiling even when he's in trouble, which is pretty ridiculous. They're 4-5, so I know that disruptive behavior is just part of the process since they're just literally not cognitively developed enough to control themselves perfectly, but there's definitely some kind of line being crossed since they used to be fine or manageable.
Lots of the times the circle time gets derailed with me trying to refocus the entire class or transitions and centers get hectic, it's starts of those two running around, making the other kids laugh, or accidentally hitting/bothering someone. It's just a chain reaction from there cause I can't stop a kid from bursting out into laughter at something they find funny.
I've had a lot of stern talks with them at this point and although they worked for a while, they kinda just don't seem to care anymore. Even used the nuclear option of sending them to the office/out once or twice and it did not yield any results when the last time I did that earlier in the year they chilled out a ton for a while. I would imagine them and most of the class being more than ready to go to kindergarten next year is also factor. They're ready to go and had some huge growth the last few months! Feels like a realtively advanced group overall relative to what most of my kindergartners were like at the start of the year.
I haven't raised my voice much with them in a while too. For a few weeks I was working while off my ADHD meds and found myself raising my voice to trouble without realizing, and also my director got on my case about how I shouldn't be telling kids to stop doing something across the room and how I should use a much quieter "I'm very dissappointed in you" type voice with disciplining kids. This was after me very loudly telling one of them to put their shirt back on properly, and he was a bit shaken up from it so I did feel kinda bad about it. It was hard for me to do for a while and it certainly got points docked from my evaluation, but after I got back on my meds I feel like I've gotten way better at it and it has been yielding pretty consistently solid results with the other kids.. except for those two. Don't really know how to do that to stop them running in the classroom as well. I've had to rehash general class rules almost daily now because of those two and kids starting to emulate them.
I really do feel like actually raising my voice at them to show more frustration could help, but I don't want to possibly get in trouble with my director and got my own reservations about pretty much scaring them back into line like that.
One of them also has to use the bathroom a lot, especially since his natural bowel timing is around the time I start flying solo in the afternoons. I'm pretty sure at this point he can hold it for long enough cause he'll seem to forget about it when his family comes to pick him up early or we go outside, but also he puts on this pained expression and even starts crying sometimes while constantly interrupting me to ask to go to the bathroom. I can't send him to the bathroom by himself for legal reasons since the classroom doesn't have one, I often can't expect to have any extra staff around to take him for me or watch my class while I take him myself without also disrupting them. It feels like my only options are often just take the entire class to the bathroom with me to just so he can go while maintaining ratios or just deal with it. Some of the other kids are catching on too and either try it themselves or asks me if he has some sort of sickness. We did also tell his parents about it and the urologists and doctors they took him to said he's fine.
Tried dance breaks and deep breaths before or during circle times too. The dance breaks just kinda often get the entire class a little too energized after it ends so and the breathing/calming exercises at the start usually get derailed by those two and sometimes a few others making silly noises during them.
Some ideas I haven't tried yet but want to look into:
- Trying to find some sort of positive reinforcement that's attianable and but also easily undone for those two. The kids love getting a little heart drawn on their hand with those scented marksrs when they've been good for the day and I even sometimes started giving them out to the kids who stayed quiet while the class is getting derailed. Most of them often get upset when they don't get one but those two don't really seem to mind when they don't get one. I'm thinking maybe I could do an equivalent with stickers cause they're easier to take away, and I could give the kids one for something basic early into my day and then take it back. I was also thinking of maybe doing a sticker sheet or something like that where I let the kids add one to it when they were good for the day, remove one if they were being too much, then give them some sort of prize when they reach a certain amount.
- The only times I can really consistently get them to calm down is during show and tell days on Thursdays. During these, I just take away their turn to present their thing if they were being overly disruptive and let them have it back when they correct things. Maybe I could find a way to apply that but for the whole week.
- Raise my voice again for once. Flat out yelling is definitely a no-go but I don't really know where the line for too loud is.
- I remember as a kid in kindergarten and 1st grade, there was this card system displayed on a wall where there were pockets with green, yellow, and red cards in it. If someone acted out too much or did something really bad, then they had to replace the front facing green with yellow, then to red if it kept up. It definitely helped keep me in line, but I'm not sure if it's actually effective in general or healthy for the kids because I haven't seen any classrooms with something like it these days.
- I do intend to talk to their parents about it directly at some point and ask them how he's been acting and playing at home and seeing if they have something that works for them that I don't know of. Haven't really gotten the chance to, but parent teacher conferences are in a few weeks and the lead teacher I work with also has been having issues with those two.
- Try to find time to play with them during playtimes. They seem to play amongst themselves especially well and I'm not sure how I can insert myself into it cause I don't want them to feel like I'm just intruding on them unless they approach me themselves. The other kids will usually ask me to play with them or aren't as focused on what they're currently playing. It's also tough for me to just try to play with a specific kid. I'm often constantly bombarded with kids trying to tell me everything they're up to, wanting me to play with them, them telling me about some problem they just had with another kid to me, or one of those two being too rough with each other or someone.
2024.03.21 18:28 spartachilles Federalist Reform Convention of 1948 A House Divided Alternate Elections
 | The Federalist Reform Party is a party of paradoxes, simultaneously at the height of its power in holding control over almost the entire federal government yet also a national pariah after the ignominious ends to the presidencies of both Howard Hughes and Alvin York. Although their premier elder statesman Charles Edward Merriam has been left to pick up the pieces in the aftermath, many even within his own party view him as simply a caretaker president and thus the party nomination has become a hotly contested battle. Yet with President Alvin York’s resignation coming in mid-May much of the way through the primary season, the formal political process has been upended and many delegates left bewildered by the utter collapse of an incumbent whose renomination seemed assured just weeks before. As a result, the prospective nominees rising from the ashes have resorted to the time-honored tradition of personally jockeying for influence and clout with the delegates of the convention in a last-minute effort to pick up the torch of the mighty party, while others are rumored to be lying in wait to present themselves as the natural compromise choices in the likely event of a brokered convention. submitted by spartachilles to Presidentialpoll [link] [comments] The Candidates Incumbent President Charles Edward Merriam Charles Edward Merriam: A titan of American politics handed the presidency in its most difficult straits, 73-year-old incumbent President Charles Edward Merriam now seeks to truly claim the office as his own by pursuing renomination from his party. A professor of political science by trade, Merriam began his political career as an alderman in the wards of Chicago before successfully cobbling together an alliance of the Solidarity and Federalist Reform Parties in Illinois that propelled him to an upset victory in the gubernatorial election of 1920. After serving a distinguished two terms in office marked by his progressive reforms of the state government and takedown of the corrupt teamster’s union president Cornelius Shea, Merriam led a political exorcism of the Federalist Reform Party in its 1928 national convention as he expelled the latent embers of Grantism from the party to focus on the New Nationalism of Herbert Croly. However, his career would take a turn for the worse with his narrow defeat in the ensuing presidential election as the party slipped out of his grasp in the 1932 convention and then suffered a catastrophic defeat under the leadership of Formicist intellectual William Morton Wheeler. Declining to make another run for the presidency, instead Merriam became one of the nation’s inaugural Censors and helped to establish the powers and responsibilities of the august office. Where others would have settled into a comfortable retirement, after the end of his term as Censor Merriam eagerly accepted the offer of the vice presidency from Alvin York. However, after being kept in the dark about York’s plan for nuclear war, Merriam was suddenly thrown into office following York’s shocking resignation and has since concentrated on keeping the country from descending into chaos while galvanizing the tattered party unity. While highly critical of the excessive use of force by President Alvin York, Merriam has argued that it cannot be reversed and called for the nation and the world at large to move on. Although opposed to a world federation, Merriam has endorsed the creation of a supranational global organization to encourage the spread of democracy, mediate future conflicts without violence, and ensure global coordination in meeting the titanic humanitarian challenges in Germany and Russia. Regarding the persistent labor unrest in the nation, Merriam has strongly defended the National Labor Arbitration Act and further codification of corporatist labor negotiations but argued that the federal government must regain the trust of workers with fairer consideration for their needs after years of war service. However, he has refused to tolerate violent or coercive striking tactics and supported a moderate criminal syndicalism law targeting the latent elements of the wartime revolt. Otherwise, Merriam has also supported the creation of new planning agencies in the federal government staffed by experts with responsibility for analyzing the current economic state of the country and working with private industry on voluntary investments into profitable and strategic sectors of the economy, emphasizing this as increasingly necessary with the apparent climatological impact of the atomic bombing of Germany. He has also notably supported an overhaul of the national educational curriculum towards cultivating a civic nationalism and grooming new leaders with a deep understanding of the nation’s political systems. As one of the pioneers of the theory of a strong executive serving the needs of the people, Merriam has also strongly supported an overhaul of the executive branch to further empower the presidency with added staff, full discretion to reorganize the federal government, and the line item veto on budgets passed by Congress while also denouncing graft and corruption in the administration as he has throughout his career. Tennessee Governor Edward J. Meeman Edward J. Meeman: Rising as the most strident internationalist and harshest intraparty critic of Alvin York’s presidency is 58-year-old Tennessee Governor Edward J. Meeman. Introduced to politics from an early age when his father served two terms in the statehouse as a Populist, Meeman initially joined the Social Democratic Party as he started his journalistic career after the fall of the Grant dictatorship. However, at the same time as he ascended to the editor’s chair he found himself repulsed by the influence of radicals and corrupt bosses and gravitated towards the rising Federalist Reform Party. Taking over management of the Memphis Press-Scimitar while Louis Brownlow assumed office as Governor of Tennessee, Meeman became a loyal press ally of Brownlow’s as he embarked on a quest to eradicate the political machine of Boss E.H. Crump and transform Tennessee into a laboratory for Federalist Reform democracy. Continuing his status as prominent newspaper editor in the state through the governorship of Gordon Browning, Meeman was a natural successor when Browning left for Washington to be inaugurated as the Vice President. During his two terms as Governor, Meeman proved a capable war administrator and lobbied for significant federal investments while also notably bringing some of the state’s African Americans into his coalition by working to liberalize civil rights in the state. Yet Meeman only truly entered into the national spotlight with his strong denunciation of the atomic bombing of Germany. Having German descent himself, Meeman was outraged at the betrayal of a wartime ally and a prominent voice calling for Alvin York’s removal from office. Arguing that the carnage wrought by the Second World War and the nuclear devastation of Germany has proven its necessity, Meeman stands alone among the major candidates for the Federalist Reform nomination in endorsing the creation of a world federation, to be delegated a limited array of powers including a monopoly on nuclear weapons, while maintaining a large degree of autonomy in emulation of the United States system. Meeman has proposed that this Federation begin with the creation of a political union between the United States and the United Kingdom before being steadily expanded to all other qualifying democratic countries of the world. While defending the principle of the National Labor Arbitration Act, Meeman has called for the federal government to adopt a close relationship with sympathetic labor leaders such as George Meany of the AFL and more earnestly commit to decreases in working hours and increases in the minimum wage among other concessions to assuage what he claims to be the rightful concerns of labor following the end of the war. Additionally, he has proposed the creation of publicly owned regional development agencies charged with public work initiatives such as electrification efforts, urban planning, and economic modernization around the country and even an international agency to do the same at a world scale. A noted environmentalist, Meeman has also supported efforts to lay aside land for the creation of national parks and government involvement in conservation of natural resources. Additionally, having staked his career on crusading against corruption he has derided the administration of Howard Hughes as hypocritical in its own corruption and promised to put an end to graft and cronyism in the federal government. Illinois Senator John Henry Stelle John Henry Stelle: Styling himself as both the heir to the politics of Howard Hughes and the candidate of the nation’s many returning veterans is 57-year-old Illinois Senator John Henry Stelle. Commissioned as a first lieutenant during the Rocky Mountain War, Stelle often quarreled with his regimental commissar and grew a distaste for Social Democrats that blossomed into a flowering career in the Federalist Reform Party when he returned from the war. Allegedly involved in the street brawls of the American Legion during the tumultuous Mitchel presidency, Stelle later went on to found the Federalist Reform Service Men’s Organization in the state. Although his political ambitions were frustrated during the revival of the state Social Democratic Party in the 1930’s, Stelle found his opportunity by hitching himself to the growing bandwagon behind the party’s rising star Howard Hughes. Elected as the Governor of Illinois on Hughes’s coattails, Stelle became an instrumental supporter of the war effort through his reorganization of the state militia and made much fanfare by mercilessly replacing the former Social Democratic administration of Reuben Soderstrom with appointees loyal to him. Despite his claims that he was cutting through the corruption of Social Democratic governance, Stelle himself became embroiled in several scandals relating to his excessive use of the state entertainment budget and alleged cronyism in his appointments. However, such attacks failed to block him from achieving election to the Senate in 1944, where he became a staunch ally of Howard Hughes through thick and thin and helped pioneer the passage of the Servicemen's Readjustment Act. While like many others around the nation Stelle has been critical of President Alvin York’s indiscriminate nuclear bombing of Germany as a former wartime ally, he has remained deeply skeptical of efforts to impose a world government on the United States. Arguing that such an act would be tantamount to surrendering national sovereignty, Stelle has instead called for the continuation of an American nuclear monopoly and the maintenance of a strong military even into the postwar era. To this end, he has strongly endorsed the creation of a compulsory program of one year of universal military training for all able-bodied men followed by six years of service in the National Guard, suggesting that it be further enforced by preconditioning federal aid programs on the completion of this program. Wary of possible Syndicalist influences in the wave of strikes consuming the country, Stelle has called for the strict enforcement of the National Labor Arbitration Act and the passage of a criminal syndicalism law to crack down on the worst impulses of the strikers. Broadly more conservative than his peers, Stelle has concentrated his economic message on relieving the tax burden on the American people and cutting unnecessary government spending and regulations to reduce the deficit and help stimulate the growth of the economy. However, he has not been completely averse to government intervention in the economy, supporting a program of veteran’s preference for hiring as a complement to the other benefits provided in the Servicemen’s Readjustment Act. Alabama Senator J. Lister Hill J. Lister Hill: Carrying the sectional banner of the South into the contest is 53-year-old Alabama Senator J. Lister Hill. Young enough to have been just a child throughout the difficult years of the Second Civil War and the Grant dictatorship, Hill witnessed his native South become radically transformed during his school years and after beginning a law practice felt dispossessed by both the Solidarity and Social Democratic Party’s overtures towards black voters. Thus, like many other young white men of his time, Hill turned to the seemingly moribund Federalist Reform Party as the next white man’s party and was elected to Congress in the midst of its New Nationalist transformation. Representing a predominantly white and rural district, Hill held onto his seat for the next two decades despite his state at large rocking between all three major parties during that time. During his tenure in the House of Representatives, Hill would acquire a reputation as a strong legislator capable of even working across the aisle to secure due consideration for rural districts in President Dewey’s Great Community program and a strident interventionist in the Second World War due to his strong Anglophilia. As a fixture of the party establishment with his substantial seniority, Hill came to resent the ever-growing influence of Howard Hughes over the party especially as Hughes refused to endorse Hill during his plunge into the Senate during a special election in 1941. Thus, Hill was a key figure backing the failed renomination of Vice President Gordon Browning and the more successful removal of Howard Hughes from office under the 35th amendment. Although more cooperative with President Alvin York, Hill was quick to disavow him as well following the atomic bombings in Germany. Despite his ideological differences with the Bevan government in the United Kingdom, Hill has called for the United States to repair relations with its British allies and formalize a permanent post-war alliance as the underpinning for further global cooperation in the dire international situation. Recognizing a unique opportunity presented by the need to support domestic farmers while addressing food shortages across the world in the aftermath of the Second World War, Hill has pioneered a program whereby the federal government would subsidize the export of American foodstuffs in excess of domestic need to help feed nations across the world at threat of famine. Such a program, he has argued, would restore the goodwill of the United States in the international community while ensuring the livelihood of the nation’s farmers. Yet this is just one of many federal spending programs that Hill has spoken in favor of. To ensure a high quality of healthcare across the country, Hill has strongly supported the federally subsidized construction of hospitals across the nation to finally quash the bubonic plague and even endorsed a national investment into mental healthcare to grapple with the trauma of soldiers returning from the years-long war. Believing that rural areas have been consistently left out to dry by the federal government, Hill has also called for a number of public works programs and subsidy initiatives to expand rural electrification, telephone lines, schools, and libraries among many others. Also seeking to help bring organized labor into the fold, Hill has supported a more charitable application of the National Labor Arbitration Act to improve the livelihoods of workers. Yet all too important to Hill’s campaign is his strict opposition to federal civil rights legislation, his support for segregation on the state level, and his opposition to the Fair Employment and Fair Education Acts, arguing that the federal government has gone too far into meddling with private choice to enforce racial integration. President of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Karl T. Compton Karl T. Compton: Taking the Federalist Reform program to a radical position echoing that of William Morton Wheeler is 61-year-old President of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Karl T. Compton. Noted for his brilliance from a young age, Compton began his career as a professor of physics at Princeton University under its influential President Woodrow Wilson. Quickly recognized for his skill in both research and teaching, Compton’s academic profile rapidly grew in the following years which led him to take an opportunity to lead the Massachusetts Institute of Technology as its President in the midst of the Great Depression. Compton’s first foray into politics came with the campaign of fellow academic William Morton Wheeler for the presidency in 1932 which he helped to fundraise for. However, Compton became much more deeply involved with the federal government after the American entry into the Second World War. Although initially relegated to more minor positions under President Frank J. Hayes, after the election of President Howard Hughes, Compton became entrusted with several important federal committee positions. Yet none would be as notable as his leadership of the atomic bomb program after the dismissal of J. Robert Oppenheimer due to security concerns. Despite clashes with President Hughes over testing of the bomb, Compton successfully oversaw the development and deployment of dozens of nuclear weapons. Since the atomic bombing of Germany, Compton has publicly defended the decision as avoiding the needless bloodshed of what was sure to devolve into a Third World War. Although one of the most prominent defenders of President York’s actions, Compton has nonetheless endorsed the creation of an supranational international organization dedicated to the resolution of conflict and securing of world peace. However, he has strongly cautioned against the surrender of the American nuclear monopoly to such an institution or any other sharing of the country’s nuclear research, believing the atomic bomb to be crucial to the national security of the United States. Noting the increasing complexity and productivity of the United States economy by comparing it to “fifty slaves for every man, woman, and child”, Compton has endorsed a strong government role in guiding the national economy. Supporting the Swope plan to reorganize the private sector into federally-regulated industrial associations with fixed prices and codes of fair competition, Compton has also gone further by suggesting the creation of federal planning agencies staffed by government experts to direct the investments of the private sector and manage large-scale public works initiatives. Furthermore, Compton has endorsed the imposition of a research tax on the nation’s businesses to fund a national research agency designed to return groundbreaking scientific innovation as the dividends of such a tax. A strong believer in national service, Compton has strongly endorsed a program of universal national service, but broadened his proposal past strictly military training into alternative programs of service such as in education or research. Compton has also expressed his support for eugenics programs in an effort to reduce drain on societal resources and cultivate a more productive national workforce. Los Angeles Police Chief James E. Davis James E. Davis: Clouded by controversy and notoriety in his longshot bid for the presidency is 59-year-old Los Angeles Police Chief James E. “Two-Gun” Davis. As a young man Davis joined the Los Angeles police force shortly after the infamous election of 1908, and happily served in it as it became an enforcement arm for the Grant dictatorship under the governorship of Hiram Johnson. Earning the nickname “Two-Gun” for his brazen advocacy of using lethal force against strikers during the Red Spring of 1919 and building on this reputation at the head of an anti-racketeering squad during the tumultuous John Purroy Mitchel presidency, in much of the rest of the country Davis would have been discarded as a relic of a past era following the ascension of President Tasker H. Bliss. But in California, home of the slain collaborator and President-elect Hiram Johnson, the embers of Grantism still glowed hot. Appointed as the Chief of Police in 1926, Davis resisted the current of the Bliss administration and formed so-called “Red Squads” to continue the persecution of organized labor via state statutes against racketeering and criminal syndicalism. Simultaneously militarizing his police force into the best marksmen in the nation while promulgating reforms to isolate himself from the leftward trend of politics in the city, Davis soon became a power unto himself whose word stood above that of the elected mayor. The devastation that followed the air war known as the Bakuhatsu during the Second World War transformed Davis into a beacon of stability for the people of Los Angeles, with his men visible in leading rescue efforts during air raids and taking down the city’s Syndicalist revolt all while clamping down on looting and lawlessness during the chaos. Following a string of car bombings and harassment campaigns against politicians seeking to oppose him, Davis’s power has only grown in the year following the end of the war with some whispering that he may be the country’s next Sherman Bell or even its next Frederick Dent Grant. Already notorious for his public statement that Russian Vozhd Ivan Solonevich was “doing the right thing about the Jews” since “every Jew is a communist and every communist is a Jew,” Davis has elaborated little on his foreign policy program aside from defending the atomic bombing of Germany on the theory that the Kaiser would soon succumb to a communist revolution and calling for intervention abroad to depose leftist governments such as in Haiti and Spain. Instead, Davis has chiefly turned his attention to the rising wave of labor unrest around the country. Painting strikers as labor agitators, racketeers, and syndicalists inimical to the American people, Davis has called for a harsh national crackdown by force if necessary and the outlaw of any political party providing harbor for such influences through a stiff national criminal syndicalism law. In response to suggestions that this would violate the 24th amendment, Davis has argued that “constitutional rights were no benefit to anybody except crooks and criminals.” Believing that communists and syndicalists have also infested the federal government and military, Davis has promised to purge the administration of all subversive elements and pass a strict civil service reform law to permanently entrench professional anti-communist administrators. Davis has also called for the United States to largely close its borders to immigrants and refugees on the argument that they would steal the livelihoods of the American people and bring subversive ideologies into the nation. In order to combat the rise of unemployment following the end of the war, Davis has proposed a national vagrancy law that would force unemployed Americans to serve 180 day sentences of hard labor while remarking that their only guarantees in prison would be “bibles, beans, and abuse.” Much of the rest of Davis’s campaign remains vague, but he also spoken favorably on the maintenance of a powerful national military and a universal military training program. Who will you support in this convention? View Poll |
2024.03.20 10:39 guiltyofnothing “You're so intelligent I bet your dick is huge too.” One user asks why people are mad at Zoomers for “waking up”
The Context:
A user posts a simple question to /GenZ — asking why people are mad at the generation for “waking up to the BS in the world”.This open question inevitably stirs debate in the community.
The Drama:
One Redditor posits that GenZ is just cooler:I truly believe we are just cooler than them. Look at millennials, all they did was bitch and moan that they had it so hard but if you look at the Obama years especially 2011- onwards you see the greatest growth of the economy ever seen in the world.After one user suggests housing is unaffordable, another suggests they move.
And well, the baby boomers are the baby boomers they had their cake, and still felt greedy enough to complain that anybody else got a slice.
The generation most sympathetic to us is Gen X the cool generation, the chill generation, the slackers they also happen to be our parents. I think we should adopt the attitude of Gen X part 2
Gen X are like half-boomers. They’ll call you weird for who you date then they’ll tell you to get a job so you can buy a house. They’re not so chill, besides some decent music they borrowed a bit much from the boomers.
The Obama years? I graduated college in Spring 2009. “The Great Recession” was in full swing, at the time they’d said the economic setback on us would be about 10 years. Worst economic situation since the Great Depression.
Millennials can be negative in terms of how we speak, I’ll admit that, but if you grew up in the 80’s-90’s where every boomer and his brother had a giant McMansion, then lived the 10’s as an adult, you’d be pretty pissed too.
You mean the Global Financial Crisis years? Right.
Gen z is the softest brained generation and you wrote three paragraphs explaining why.
Come for the 3 paragraphs I wrote, I can't find your reply calling me a stain of whatever it is you said but I'm absolutely about that smokeThe fucking entitlement in this comment is insane
Not worth replying to a pointless wall of text.
You can afford housing right now.[…]
Go get a job at the Costco in Ft Myers and buy yourself a perfectly fine house for $123k.
lol this guy thinks poor people should just congregate in the lowest cost of living areas. how are they gonna pay for the move? do they buy the house before they get the job? where is this theoretical worker getting $30,000 for a down payment from? oh they have to work for it right where are they gonna live for years while they save a few schmeckles a month because they still have to pay rent? who's gonna work at walmart in los angeles buddy?
That's quite a list of excuses.
The American Dream is right there waiting for you in Ft Meyers, or a million other towns and a million other jobs that you feel are beneath you.
You should keep whining about how it's impossible. that'll help.
who's gonna work at walmart in los angeles buddy?Why do you care about Corporate overlord's staffing needs? That's walmart's problem.
I work at a restaurant lol I'm above nothing. Do you genuinely believe that the American dream is to move far from your home to the cheapest place you can find? Do you think people in high cost of living areas don't need access to goods and services? Do you dodge every question that you're asked? Please, I am legitimately asking you to describe to me how someone who is qualified to be an entry level worker at a big box store can buy a $100,000 house.
Sounds like your home isn't working out to well for you, and yes, migration for a better life is the most American thing there is. More than any other country on Earth. It's literally the reason America exists in the first place and is deeply woven into our national tapestry.
The people in the HCOL areas will be fine. You really don't need to concern yourself with where they get their services. That's service provider's problem, not yours.
[…]I am legitimately asking you to describe to me how someone who is qualified to be an entry level worker at a big box store can buy a $100,000 house.It's called an online mortgage calculator. 30k year, nothing down, bad credit.
So yes you do dodge every question you're asked.Weird that this didn't post. Your questions have not been dodged, they've been addressed. Care to float any more excuses?
You're so intelligent I bet your dick is huge too.This stuff isn't rocket science, it's very straightforward. Your mom's never complained.
Another objects to the premise:I know how buying a house works.
You can have a house if you want one.
So can any other minimally motivated citizen.
You can wait around for society to 'fix itself' and provide one to you on your terms, or you can go get one. Matters not to me either way.
Your excuses, defeatism, and self-pity are boring.
Stay at your restaurant and whine. Call me stupid while you're washing dishes or whatever, Dr. Statistics.
Good luck with that.
Good Day.
No one’s “mad”. We’re rolling our eyes at the conceit that you’re the first or only people to “wake up”.[…]
The question is, what are they waking up to?
Social issues, fair enough, every generation had social issues they had to "wake up" to. From race, gender, it happens constantly, and yes the Boomers had to go through the same issues. Economic issues however, are a completely different landscape.
Never in history, has there been this much wealth generated.
Never in history has there been a bigger wealth disparity and consolidation on a global scale.
Never in history has there been a bigger living population due to advance in medical science and economic progress. This of course means there's been real assets such as land and resources all sky rocket because there's more people needing the same resources.
Frankly nothing has really done to address these issues, because I think if you took a historic look at the wealth of lawmakers (I haven't), I imagine that never in history has law makers been as wealthy as they are today (way past average wealth increase + inflation), so it's not in their interest to address these issues. We all know that politics nowadays is basically a hot potato game, to make the bag and get out before everything collapses.
Frankly the lowering of birthrates world wide is an indicator that the current system is unsustainable. The human species in general is essentially adjusting to a unfavorable environment, that's going towards systemic failure.
We're kind of heading into the Cyberpunk 2077 future, where the elites that holds the key to resources live in their towers in big cities and the peasants fight for scraps among themselves.
Where in the post does it say that we’re the first or only people to “wake up”? I don’t think many gen z people believe that
It's in the fact "walking up" implies you discovered a truth others are either unaware or actively trying to disguise.
No it doesn’t. That just means that we’re becoming aware of something we weren’t previously aware of. You’re reaching[…]
Yeah, but then yall speak and act like no one else knows. That’s why people roll their eyes and get annoyed. It’s not because you said the thing. It’s because you said it in a way that makes people think that you think we don’t already know. You act as though you believe you are giving out new information.
If someone is telling you an obvious truth that you already know, odds are you aren’t acting or speaking like you know it.
Has it occurred to you that the people being talked about weren't supposed to be the people who are already aware but the people who aren't and get pissy with younger generations for it? Like, the fact that you're getting personally offended says a lot more about you than OP.
Is that really what you think being offended looks like?
I mean, you definitely seem to think this post was directed at a group of people you belong to
Edit: Guy shifted the goalposts and edited their comment to say "offended" instead of "personally offended" to make my point seem like it makes no sense. Disregard anything this person has to say
Lol, they’re so adorable at this age.
[…]Yeah I always see this with Gen Z acting like they're the first generation to care about social and environmental causes or the first generation to have to work a minimum wage job or inherit bad circumstances.
I also recall when Millineals were in their late teens and early 20s *then called Gen Y, they weren't constantly referring to 'generational theory;' to explain their behaviour and beliefs.
There are lots of fantastic young people but when I think of Gen Z I think of vapes and tik tok addiction.
Why have the same view of Z that boomers do of millenials? It helps nothing. Who cares if they think they're the first. We should be happy more people are starting to be over the BS we've been dealing with. Strength in numbers is the only path to change.
Adults man... this is why I don't like em. "Gen z is just like we were at one poitn wooowwwww big deal" stup. that's how the generations ahead of us let things get so screwy. They stopped caring. Just because they're dead men walking and have accepted it doesn't mean we'd have to. And while doing that they also look down on us and think we know nothing. This has nothing to do with the convo fr but my credit score/ dti ratio is better than my parents and they bought a house before I was born. Mom didn't understand why I was getting credit cards either but once again: lotta adults abused their stuff, went way over their heads and found out how scary owing debt like that can be. Then you saw a whole bunch of them swear off credit cards because "they're bad" when they didn't even know what they were getting themselves into. They assumed their offspring would be just as dull in the mind. Not true at all. That idea/concept can be extrapolated over other areas of life and adults have a hard time accepting that time on this earth is not directly related to knowing more. And it’s getting in the way of progress ( I think can't confirm that last part).
When I think of Gen z I think of kids like you who can’t put a coherent paragraph together
Wow, so you guys are the first generation to [believe you] know and care more in your youth than the older generations do? Amazing, what a unique and unheard of concept /s
[…]I am reminded of when I was younger, in my year at school there were a few mouth breathers. Those young people today who feel the need to reveal their inadequate mental capability are the same minority as when I was that age, they don't speak for everyone.
Because it comes off as arrogant. Plus, it's tacitly insulting.
As a millennial, it was insufferable when my generation did it, and it's insufferable now
[…]You've done nothing and wrote 5 paragraphs about it.
And you've done something? I'm willing to bet you've done nothing more than myself, and yet, you're willing to comment to ask what i've done? I do not have to provide you with any stories from my career thus far, but if you're not a teacher and can't shred, well, I'm not sure what you'd have against me that would allow you to question what i've done for my generation or for any generation I don't belong to/contribute to the world overall, perhaps you've contributed even less
Not sure how my comments on Reddit would be relevant or indicative in any way to the contribution of the world overall through my actions
Next thing you know, i'll ask you and you're not even Gen Z on the GenZ subreddit
Oh shit it's up to 11 now lmao
Yeah they're going back and look, trying to re-craft it. Pathetic lol
9/11 is invoked:Except Gen Z is the first generation that, just like older generations, see problems but its the first where those problems make it impossible to survive. They are fighting not to make things fair, but out of necessity.
Ahh yes. Noone protested in the 60s or 70s. 80s were full with nuclear end of the world scenarios. 90s brought on more social change than any other decade in my lifetime. Early 2000s millennials began to increase political participation by young people (thank you john Stewart). Gen Z is only special in that they are carrying the torch, but just like other young folks before them, theybare often too idealistic. I mean consider that in the 40s and 50s there were pishes for total communism in many latin american countries. Young people weren't woke then? It's just that communism comes with a whooooole other set of problems that young people were too idealiatic to notice. Namely that it is easily taken other by authoritarianism and corruption. Spunds nice, but you need experience to k ow that it's not so easy in practice. You need a balances approach like Sweden or something like that.I'm rolling my eyes at how this "waking up" is pretty much entirely in service of not going to work.
Gen Z isn’t specialThe state of the sub is discussed:
Maybe not, but we are born through something that maybe it it hasn't happened before, and it's that we are able to see and share information lightning fast now. Good information, bad information, helpful information, useless information. Wholesome information and then there are videos that let us see the TRUE side of the world we might not have noticed before and that's people getting murdered, raped (heck even child p), decapitations, wars, heck even reddit has mase me realize you can't even trust your own family sometimes. The information to realize that in the past you didn't need a degree to be able to afford a home and now you need to borrow money to live in your mom's basement.
What hasn’t happened before? What are you seeing through?
Literally everything listed in this thread so far are things every other generation went through at similar ages.
Good thing you were able to see someone get decapitated through the newspaper
Nah I just saw two buildings get leveled by air planes when I was a freshman in high school and people jump out of those buildings to avoid burning to death.
Bro the internet existed before your generation did.
Why tf do y’all think you invented anything. This existed before you. It was far less regulated then too. Faces of death existed. 2 girls 1 cup existed. Nothing on the internet today is unique to Gen z.
So profound, after all, Gen z is literally the only generation to criticize the state of the worldA Redditor seems to suggest that boomers should downsize their homes:
No one says that.
The top post of all time in this subreddit is "The rich are out of touch"Yes because the generations before us did everything perfectly and we’re not paying back anything they did.
The third top post is how Gen Z is more likely to deny the holocaust
The fifth top post is about being recommended content by algorithms that makes you mad
You're dense
The title of this very post infers it
They also created electricity, modern medicine, and air travel!
Then the boomers refused to retire as they should have. Refused to downsize their homes as they should have and instead kept taking and taking.Another sub is invoked:
Why should the boomers (or anyone at any age) sell their house they lived in for decades just so they could get something smaller? If they can’t keep the upkeep on it, sure. But they should sell?
Gen Z will be like "uggh why don't those old people just go die so I can have their stuff"
Totally not entitled there, no sir
Exactly. I’m not a boomer defender, but some of the haters ridiculous. This person is basically saying they’re entitled to their house.
Because it was always like this. And GenZ solutions are not helpfulFinally, an analogy:
boomers: I donated to a cause
GenZ: I ranted about it on TikTok
We are all helping 👏
If you want proof that Genz solutions are worthless just go to antiworkWhat solutions are you referring to?
Kinda hard for a GenZ or Millenial to donate anything when we don't get paid shit
The point is you need to take to the streets. Ranting on a private business app that is making money from your ranting is no way to protest or achieve anything.
Don't listen to that guy, he's a Indian ethno-nationalist
Cuz there is no BS. Life is a bitch and you make of it what you can. The gazelle doesn’t whine and bitch that lions are suppressing it. It just survives and makes the best of it.
The gazelle also doesn’t have critical thinning skills
Ok. When I purchase a firearm and knock on the lion's door, I hope you wont be saying a damn thing. After all, a gazelle would be doing that to lions if it had the ability to use a gun.
Gazelles hunt lions? Dafuq you smoking?Defeatism is a tool of the bouguersie.
Being oppressed by the ruling class and saying "it is what it is" is the ultimate cuck behavior.
The Flairs:
“Call me stupid while you're washing dishes or whatever, Dr. Statistics.”“The gazelle also doesn’t have critical thinning skills”
“saying ‘it is what it is’ is the ultimate cuck behavior”
2024.03.11 09:23 sasalek Here are all the laws MPs are voting on this week, explained in plain English!
Click here to join more than 5,000 people and get this in your email inbox for free every Sunday.
Debate on the Budget wraps up this week.
We also see the first bill introduced that implements measures announced by the chancellor at last week's set-piece event: the reduction of NI contributions.
Thursday is an Estimates Day.
This is where the Commons scrutinises spending by government departments. The Department for Education and Home Office are under the microscope this time.
And Friday brings private members' bills.
We start with Selaine Saxby's bid to regulate the import of dogs, cats, and ferrets.
Budget Debate Continued.
Budget Debate Continued.
National Insurance Contributions (Reduction in Rates) (No. 2) Bill – 2nd reading Implements two changes to National Insurance contributions announced by the chancellor in last week's Spring Budget: cuts the main rate of NICs paid by employees from 10% to 8%, and cuts the main rate of NICs paid by the self-employed from 8% to 6%. Draft bill (PDF) / Commons Library briefing
Public Procurement (British Goods and Services) Bill – 2nd reading Requires public sector organisations to prioritise British goods and services in their procurement. Private members' bill presented by Sarah Champion. Bill not yet published
Health and Equality Acts (Amendment) Bill – 2nd reading Bans biological males from entering female-only spaces or competing in women’s sport, and prevents children from attempting to change their gender, among other things. Private members' bill presented by Liz Truss. Bill not yet published
Children Not in School (Register, Support and Orders) Bill – 2nd reading Requires local councils to maintain a register of children who are not in school, among other things. Private members' bill presented by Flick Drummond.
Members of Parliament (Oil and Gas Companies) Bill – 2nd reading Requires the Leader of the House of Commons to move a motion banning MPs from receiving any financial or other benefit from oil and gas companies. Also requires them to publish proposals for divesting of the Parliamentary Contributory Pension Fund from oil and gas companies. Private members' bill presented by Richard Burgon. Draft bill (PDF)
Telecommunications Infrastructure (Consultation) Bill – 2nd reading Introduces mandatory local consultation when installing telecoms infrastructure in residential areas. Private members' bill presented by Diana Johnson. Bill not yet published
Public Liability (Compulsory Insurance) Bill – 2nd reading Requires companies and certain people to have public liability insurance. Private members' bill presented by Natalie Elphicke. Bill not yet published
Corporate Homicide Bill – 2nd reading Makes changes to the criminal offence of corporate homicide. More information not yet published. Private members' bill presented by Chris Stephens. Bill not yet published
Asylum Seekers (Permission to Work) Bill – 2nd reading Applies to: England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland Grants asylum seekers permission to work if they have waited six months for a decision on their asylum application. Private members' bill presented by Chris Stephens. Draft bill (PDF)
Unpaid Trial Work Periods (Prohibition) Bill – 2nd reading Applies to: England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland Bans unpaid trial work periods. Private members' bill presented by Stewart McDonald. Bill not yet published
Pets (Microchips) Bill – 2nd reading Applies to: England and Wales Requires local authorities to scan a deceased cat's microchip and try to return it to its owner before disposing of it. Requires vets to confirm the person presenting a healthy animal to be euthanised is its registered owner. They must also check the microchip for details of previous owners and offer the animal to them before proceeding. Also known as Gizmo's Law and Tuk's Law. Private members' bill presented by James Daly. Draft bill (PDF)
Employment Equality (Insurance etc) Bill – 2nd reading Stops employers from taking away vital workplace benefits such as healthcare insurance and death in service benefits from workers who carry on working past retirement age. Private members' bill presented by Natalie Elphicke. More information here. Bill not yet published
Support for Infants and Parents etc (Information) Bill – 2nd reading Applies to: England, Wales Requires the Government to publish an annual report on the support available for infants and the impact that support has had on outcomes for infants and children. Private members' bill presented by Sally-Ann Hart. Draft bill (PDF)
Veterans (Non-Custodial Sentences) Bill – 2nd reading Requires the government to publish annual data on veterans who are given non-custodial sentences. Private members' bill presented by Owen Thompson. Bill not yet published
Nuclear Veterans (Compensation) Bill – 2nd reading Requires the government to publish proposals for a compensation scheme for veterans who have become ill from radiation exposure while on active service. Private members' bill presented by Owen Thompson. Bill not yet published
Miners' Strike (Pardons) Bill – 2nd reading Pardons miners convicted of certain offences committed during the 1984-85 miners' strike. Private members' bill presented by Owen Thompson. Bill not yet published
Licensing Hours Extensions Bill – 2nd reading Applies to: England and Wales Makes it easier for pubs and bars to extend their opening hours during national events like the World Cup by allowing the government to grant a temporary easing of restrictions. Usually this would be done by Parliament but can't happen if Parliament is in recess. Private members' bill presented by Emma Lewell-Buck. Draft bill (PDF)
Highways Act 1980 (Amendment) Bill – 2nd reading Limits the legal defences available to highway authorities when they're sued for non-repair of a highway. Private members' bill presented by Christopher Chope. Bill not yet published
Covid-19 Vaccine Damage Payments Bill – 2nd reading Applies to: England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland Requires the government to improve the diagnosis and treatment of people who have suffered ill effects from Covid-19 vaccines. Provides for financial assistance to people who have become disabled after receiving a Covid-19 vaccine, and to the next of kin of people who have died shortly after, among other things. Private members' bill presented by Christopher Chope. Draft bill (PDF)
Statutory Instruments Act 1946 (Amendment) Bill – 2nd reading Allows MPs or Lords to amend most statutory instruments – secondary legislation that is used to make changes to existing laws – before they are approved. Private members' bill presented by Christopher Chope. Bill not yet published
Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 (Amendment) Bill – 2nd reading Extends the offence of having a dog dangerously out of control to cover private property as well as public places. Private members' bill presented by Angela Smith. Draft bill
Exemption from Value Added Tax (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill – 2nd reading Exempts goods or services from VAT if they are beneficial to the environment, health and safety, education, or for charitable purposes. Private members' bill presented by Christopher Chope. Bill not yet published
Covid-19 Vaccine Diagnosis and Treatment Bill – 2nd reading Requires the government to improve the diagnosis and treatment of people who have suffered ill effects from Covid-19 vaccines. Private members' bill presented by Christopher Chope. Bill not yet published
Caravan Site Licensing (Exemption of Motor Homes) Bill – 2nd reading Exempts motor homes from caravan site licensing requirements. Private members' bill presented by Christopher Chope. Bill not yet published
NHS England (Alternative Treatment) Bill – 2nd reading Applies to: England, Wales Gives patients access to alternative non-NHS England treatment if they've waited for more than one year for hospital treatment. Private members' bill presented by Chris Stephens. Draft bill (PDF)
British Broadcasting Corporation (Privatisation) Bill – 2nd reading Privatises the BBC and distributes shares in the corporation to all licence fee payers. Private members' bill presented by Christopher Chope. Bill not yet published
Children’s Clothing (Value Added Tax) Bill – 2nd reading Expands the definition of children's clothing, including school uniforms, so more of it is VAT exempt. Currently clothes and shoes for "young children" are VAT exempt, but there is no legal definition of that term. Private members' bill presented by Christopher Chope. Bill not yet published
Regulatory Impact Assessments Bill – 2nd reading Requires a Regulatory Impact Assessment (a specific method for analysing policy) to be published for all primary and secondary legislation introduced by the government. Private members' bill presented by Christopher Chope. Bill not yet published
Barnett Formula (Replacement) Bill – 2nd reading Requires the government to report on proposals to replace the Barnett Formula (the formula used to decide how much public money is given to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland) with a scheme based on an assessment of relative needs. Private members' bill presented by Christopher Chope. Bill not yet published
Rule of Law (Enforcement by Public Authorities) Bill – 2nd reading Requires public authorities to investigate breaches of the law, and take enforcement action. Private members' bill presented by Christopher Chope. Bill not yet published
Illegal Immigration (Offences) Bill – 2nd reading Creates new offences for people who have entered the UK illegally, or have overstayed their visas. Private members' bill presented by Christopher Chope. Bill not yet published
National Health Service Co-Funding and Co-Payment Bill – 2nd reading Extends co-payment (paying for treatment at the point of service like going to the dentist) to more NHS services in England. Private members' bill presented by Christopher Chope. Bill not yet published
Caravan Sites Bill – 2nd reading Removes the requirement for planning permission when applying for a caravan site licence. Private members' bill presented by Christopher Chope. Bill not yet published
Multi-Storey Carparks (Safety) Bill – 2nd reading Increases the minimum required height of guarding in multi-storey car parks. Requires existing guarding to meet minimum height requirements. Requires 24 hour staffing of multi-storey car parks. Private members' bill presented by Maria Eagle. Bill not yet published
Deductions from Universal Credit (Report) Bill – 2nd reading Requires the government to report to Parliament on the impact of deductions from Universal Credit on the levels of destitution among claimants. Private members' bill presented by Chris Stephens. Bill not yet published
Evictions (Universal Credit) Bill – 2nd reading Requires the government to prevent the evictions of Universal Credit claimants who are behind on rent. Private members' bill presented by Chris Stephens.
Food Poverty Strategy Bill – 2nd reading Requires the government to publish a strategy for ending the need for food banks by 2030. Private members' bill presented by Chris Stephens. Bill not yet published
Under-Occupancy Penalty (Report) Bill – 2nd reading Requires the government to report on the merits of repealing the so-called "bedroom tax" (a cut in benefits for those living in a council or housing association property deemed to have one or more spare bedrooms). Private members' bill presented by Chris Stephens.
Devolution (Employment) (Scotland) Bill – 2nd reading Applies to: Scotland Devolves employment matters in Scotland. Private members' bill presented by Chris Stephens. Draft bill (PDF)
Social Security Benefits (Healthy Eating) Bill – 2nd reading Requires the government to publish annual calculations of the benefit and tax credit rates needed for a representative household to afford to buy meals in accordance with the Eatwell Guide to eating healthily. Private members' bill presented by Chris Stephens.
Universal Credit Sanctions (Zero Hours Contracts) Bill – 2nd reading Applies to: England, Wales, Scotland Prevents a Universal Credit claimant from being sanctioned for refusing work on a zero-hours contract. Private members' bill presented by Chris Stephens. Draft bill
Domestic Energy (Value Added Tax) Bill – 2nd reading Applies to: England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland Removes VAT on domestic electricity and oil and gas. Private members' bill presented by Christopher Chope. Draft bill (PDF)
Conversion Practices (Prohibition) Bill – 2nd reading Applies to: England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland Bans conversion therapy, both practices to change someone’s sexual orientation or to change someone to or from being transgender. Private members’ bill presented by Lloyd Russell-Moyle. Draft bill (PDF)
Child Criminal Exploitation Bill – 2nd reading Makes involvement in child criminal exploitation an aggravating factor in sentencing for some drugs money launding offences, among other things. Private members' bill presented by Paul Beresford. Bill not yet published
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submitted by sasalek to uklaw [link] [comments]
Debate on the Budget wraps up this week.
We also see the first bill introduced that implements measures announced by the chancellor at last week's set-piece event: the reduction of NI contributions.
Thursday is an Estimates Day.
This is where the Commons scrutinises spending by government departments. The Department for Education and Home Office are under the microscope this time.
And Friday brings private members' bills.
We start with Selaine Saxby's bid to regulate the import of dogs, cats, and ferrets.
MONDAY 11 MARCH
Mortgages (Switching) Bill Allows 'mortgage prisoners' to switch to a new rate. These are people who had mortgages with lenders such as Northern Rock that collapsed during the 2008 financial crisis and have been unable to switch off high rates because of toughened borrowing criteria. Ten minute rule motion presented by Martin Docherty-Hughes.Budget Debate Continued.
TUESDAY 12 MARCH
Public Sector Websites (Data Charges) Bill Requires providers of electronic communications networks to allow customers to access certain public sector websites for free. Ten minute rule motion presented by Simon Lightwood.Budget Debate Continued.
WEDNESDAY 13 MARCH
Sites of Special Scientific Interest (Designation) Bill Transfers the power to designate Sites of Special Scientific Interest from Natural England to the government. Ten minute rule motion presented by Derek Thomas.National Insurance Contributions (Reduction in Rates) (No. 2) Bill – 2nd reading Implements two changes to National Insurance contributions announced by the chancellor in last week's Spring Budget: cuts the main rate of NICs paid by employees from 10% to 8%, and cuts the main rate of NICs paid by the self-employed from 8% to 6%. Draft bill (PDF) / Commons Library briefing
THURSDAY 14 MARCH
Estimates Day Department for Education and Home Office.FRIDAY 15 MARCH
Animal Welfare (Import of Dogs, Cats and Ferrets) Bill – 2nd reading Regulates the import of dogs, cats, and ferrets, aiming to ensure their health and safety during transportation and deter illegal trade practices. Private members' bill presented by Selaine Saxby. Bill not yet publishedPublic Procurement (British Goods and Services) Bill – 2nd reading Requires public sector organisations to prioritise British goods and services in their procurement. Private members' bill presented by Sarah Champion. Bill not yet published
Health and Equality Acts (Amendment) Bill – 2nd reading Bans biological males from entering female-only spaces or competing in women’s sport, and prevents children from attempting to change their gender, among other things. Private members' bill presented by Liz Truss. Bill not yet published
Children Not in School (Register, Support and Orders) Bill – 2nd reading Requires local councils to maintain a register of children who are not in school, among other things. Private members' bill presented by Flick Drummond.
Members of Parliament (Oil and Gas Companies) Bill – 2nd reading Requires the Leader of the House of Commons to move a motion banning MPs from receiving any financial or other benefit from oil and gas companies. Also requires them to publish proposals for divesting of the Parliamentary Contributory Pension Fund from oil and gas companies. Private members' bill presented by Richard Burgon. Draft bill (PDF)
Telecommunications Infrastructure (Consultation) Bill – 2nd reading Introduces mandatory local consultation when installing telecoms infrastructure in residential areas. Private members' bill presented by Diana Johnson. Bill not yet published
Public Liability (Compulsory Insurance) Bill – 2nd reading Requires companies and certain people to have public liability insurance. Private members' bill presented by Natalie Elphicke. Bill not yet published
Corporate Homicide Bill – 2nd reading Makes changes to the criminal offence of corporate homicide. More information not yet published. Private members' bill presented by Chris Stephens. Bill not yet published
Asylum Seekers (Permission to Work) Bill – 2nd reading Applies to: England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland Grants asylum seekers permission to work if they have waited six months for a decision on their asylum application. Private members' bill presented by Chris Stephens. Draft bill (PDF)
Unpaid Trial Work Periods (Prohibition) Bill – 2nd reading Applies to: England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland Bans unpaid trial work periods. Private members' bill presented by Stewart McDonald. Bill not yet published
Pets (Microchips) Bill – 2nd reading Applies to: England and Wales Requires local authorities to scan a deceased cat's microchip and try to return it to its owner before disposing of it. Requires vets to confirm the person presenting a healthy animal to be euthanised is its registered owner. They must also check the microchip for details of previous owners and offer the animal to them before proceeding. Also known as Gizmo's Law and Tuk's Law. Private members' bill presented by James Daly. Draft bill (PDF)
Employment Equality (Insurance etc) Bill – 2nd reading Stops employers from taking away vital workplace benefits such as healthcare insurance and death in service benefits from workers who carry on working past retirement age. Private members' bill presented by Natalie Elphicke. More information here. Bill not yet published
Support for Infants and Parents etc (Information) Bill – 2nd reading Applies to: England, Wales Requires the Government to publish an annual report on the support available for infants and the impact that support has had on outcomes for infants and children. Private members' bill presented by Sally-Ann Hart. Draft bill (PDF)
Veterans (Non-Custodial Sentences) Bill – 2nd reading Requires the government to publish annual data on veterans who are given non-custodial sentences. Private members' bill presented by Owen Thompson. Bill not yet published
Nuclear Veterans (Compensation) Bill – 2nd reading Requires the government to publish proposals for a compensation scheme for veterans who have become ill from radiation exposure while on active service. Private members' bill presented by Owen Thompson. Bill not yet published
Miners' Strike (Pardons) Bill – 2nd reading Pardons miners convicted of certain offences committed during the 1984-85 miners' strike. Private members' bill presented by Owen Thompson. Bill not yet published
Licensing Hours Extensions Bill – 2nd reading Applies to: England and Wales Makes it easier for pubs and bars to extend their opening hours during national events like the World Cup by allowing the government to grant a temporary easing of restrictions. Usually this would be done by Parliament but can't happen if Parliament is in recess. Private members' bill presented by Emma Lewell-Buck. Draft bill (PDF)
Highways Act 1980 (Amendment) Bill – 2nd reading Limits the legal defences available to highway authorities when they're sued for non-repair of a highway. Private members' bill presented by Christopher Chope. Bill not yet published
Covid-19 Vaccine Damage Payments Bill – 2nd reading Applies to: England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland Requires the government to improve the diagnosis and treatment of people who have suffered ill effects from Covid-19 vaccines. Provides for financial assistance to people who have become disabled after receiving a Covid-19 vaccine, and to the next of kin of people who have died shortly after, among other things. Private members' bill presented by Christopher Chope. Draft bill (PDF)
Statutory Instruments Act 1946 (Amendment) Bill – 2nd reading Allows MPs or Lords to amend most statutory instruments – secondary legislation that is used to make changes to existing laws – before they are approved. Private members' bill presented by Christopher Chope. Bill not yet published
Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 (Amendment) Bill – 2nd reading Extends the offence of having a dog dangerously out of control to cover private property as well as public places. Private members' bill presented by Angela Smith. Draft bill
Exemption from Value Added Tax (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill – 2nd reading Exempts goods or services from VAT if they are beneficial to the environment, health and safety, education, or for charitable purposes. Private members' bill presented by Christopher Chope. Bill not yet published
Covid-19 Vaccine Diagnosis and Treatment Bill – 2nd reading Requires the government to improve the diagnosis and treatment of people who have suffered ill effects from Covid-19 vaccines. Private members' bill presented by Christopher Chope. Bill not yet published
Caravan Site Licensing (Exemption of Motor Homes) Bill – 2nd reading Exempts motor homes from caravan site licensing requirements. Private members' bill presented by Christopher Chope. Bill not yet published
NHS England (Alternative Treatment) Bill – 2nd reading Applies to: England, Wales Gives patients access to alternative non-NHS England treatment if they've waited for more than one year for hospital treatment. Private members' bill presented by Chris Stephens. Draft bill (PDF)
British Broadcasting Corporation (Privatisation) Bill – 2nd reading Privatises the BBC and distributes shares in the corporation to all licence fee payers. Private members' bill presented by Christopher Chope. Bill not yet published
Children’s Clothing (Value Added Tax) Bill – 2nd reading Expands the definition of children's clothing, including school uniforms, so more of it is VAT exempt. Currently clothes and shoes for "young children" are VAT exempt, but there is no legal definition of that term. Private members' bill presented by Christopher Chope. Bill not yet published
Regulatory Impact Assessments Bill – 2nd reading Requires a Regulatory Impact Assessment (a specific method for analysing policy) to be published for all primary and secondary legislation introduced by the government. Private members' bill presented by Christopher Chope. Bill not yet published
Barnett Formula (Replacement) Bill – 2nd reading Requires the government to report on proposals to replace the Barnett Formula (the formula used to decide how much public money is given to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland) with a scheme based on an assessment of relative needs. Private members' bill presented by Christopher Chope. Bill not yet published
Rule of Law (Enforcement by Public Authorities) Bill – 2nd reading Requires public authorities to investigate breaches of the law, and take enforcement action. Private members' bill presented by Christopher Chope. Bill not yet published
Illegal Immigration (Offences) Bill – 2nd reading Creates new offences for people who have entered the UK illegally, or have overstayed their visas. Private members' bill presented by Christopher Chope. Bill not yet published
National Health Service Co-Funding and Co-Payment Bill – 2nd reading Extends co-payment (paying for treatment at the point of service like going to the dentist) to more NHS services in England. Private members' bill presented by Christopher Chope. Bill not yet published
Caravan Sites Bill – 2nd reading Removes the requirement for planning permission when applying for a caravan site licence. Private members' bill presented by Christopher Chope. Bill not yet published
Multi-Storey Carparks (Safety) Bill – 2nd reading Increases the minimum required height of guarding in multi-storey car parks. Requires existing guarding to meet minimum height requirements. Requires 24 hour staffing of multi-storey car parks. Private members' bill presented by Maria Eagle. Bill not yet published
Deductions from Universal Credit (Report) Bill – 2nd reading Requires the government to report to Parliament on the impact of deductions from Universal Credit on the levels of destitution among claimants. Private members' bill presented by Chris Stephens. Bill not yet published
Evictions (Universal Credit) Bill – 2nd reading Requires the government to prevent the evictions of Universal Credit claimants who are behind on rent. Private members' bill presented by Chris Stephens.
Food Poverty Strategy Bill – 2nd reading Requires the government to publish a strategy for ending the need for food banks by 2030. Private members' bill presented by Chris Stephens. Bill not yet published
Under-Occupancy Penalty (Report) Bill – 2nd reading Requires the government to report on the merits of repealing the so-called "bedroom tax" (a cut in benefits for those living in a council or housing association property deemed to have one or more spare bedrooms). Private members' bill presented by Chris Stephens.
Devolution (Employment) (Scotland) Bill – 2nd reading Applies to: Scotland Devolves employment matters in Scotland. Private members' bill presented by Chris Stephens. Draft bill (PDF)
Social Security Benefits (Healthy Eating) Bill – 2nd reading Requires the government to publish annual calculations of the benefit and tax credit rates needed for a representative household to afford to buy meals in accordance with the Eatwell Guide to eating healthily. Private members' bill presented by Chris Stephens.
Universal Credit Sanctions (Zero Hours Contracts) Bill – 2nd reading Applies to: England, Wales, Scotland Prevents a Universal Credit claimant from being sanctioned for refusing work on a zero-hours contract. Private members' bill presented by Chris Stephens. Draft bill
Domestic Energy (Value Added Tax) Bill – 2nd reading Applies to: England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland Removes VAT on domestic electricity and oil and gas. Private members' bill presented by Christopher Chope. Draft bill (PDF)
Conversion Practices (Prohibition) Bill – 2nd reading Applies to: England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland Bans conversion therapy, both practices to change someone’s sexual orientation or to change someone to or from being transgender. Private members’ bill presented by Lloyd Russell-Moyle. Draft bill (PDF)
Child Criminal Exploitation Bill – 2nd reading Makes involvement in child criminal exploitation an aggravating factor in sentencing for some drugs money launding offences, among other things. Private members' bill presented by Paul Beresford. Bill not yet published
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