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pureamericanism · 1 year

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The Summit Redwood

Robinson Jeffers

Having gained a handful of new, non-bot followers, I think it's time for more Jeffers-poasting. As usual, I will post the text of the poem, and follow it with some basic commentary. Here it goes:

Only stand high a long enough time your lightning will come; that is what blunts the peaks of redwoods; But this old tower of life on the hilltop has taken it more than twice a century, this knows in every Cell the salty and the burning taste, the shudder and the voice.

The fire from heaven; it has felt the earth’s too Roaring up hill in autumn, thorned oak-leaves tossing their bright ruin to the bitter laurel-leaves, and all Its under-forest has died and died, and lives to be burnt; the redwood has lived. Though the fire entered, It cored the trunk while the sapwood increased. The trunk is a tower, the bole of the trunk is a black cavern, The mast of the trunk with its green boughs the mountain stars are strained through Is like the helmet-spike on the highest head of an army; black on lit blue or hidden in cloud It is like the hill’s finger in heaven. And when the cloud hides it, though in barren summer, the boughs Make their own rain. Old Escobar had a cunning trick when he stole beef. He and his grandsons Would drive the cow up here to a starlight death and hoist the carcass into the tree’s hollow, Then let them search his cabin he could smile for pleasure, to think of his meat hanging secure Exalted over the earth and the ocean, a theft like a star, secret against the supreme sky.

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In his Preface to Plato, Eric Havelock hypothesized that the poetry of Homer served as a kind of oral encyclopedia for the Archaic Greek nobility. Not merely the moral and ethical instruction that we would associate with grand childhood narratives, Havelock argues that religious, sociological, and even technical information was encoded in these epics. Everything needed to preserve and replicate their society was wrapped up in those memorable hexameters. And in this poem, the devotedly classicist Jeffers pulls off something similar, encoding an excellent introductory course on the ecology of the coast redwoods of Big Sur into a remarkably brief series of lines.

Redwoods grow on hills; they grow alongside evergreen oaks and California-laurels; the climate of the area features a dry summer and a wet winter; in fall there are frequent forest fires; these fires are intense enough to completely burn away the understory; redwoods have a prodigious power of enduring fires; even very intense fires; lightning storms frequently contort and deform the topmost crowns of redwoods; the moisture from summer fogs is important in keeping redwoods watered during the dry season, and is actively harvested by the trees; redwoods are fucking huge; big enough that they can be used to hide an intact cow carcass, no problem; the human ecology of the reason is such that cattle ranching is an important activity; and the area is in various ways suitable for the activities of bandits. All this information, that the Forest Service would doubtlessly spread out over 5 or 6 forgettable placards, Jeffers condenses into a few memorable lines, preparing even the greenest urbanite to interpret the landscape of Big Sur.

Of course, this textbook of California coastal ecology is probably not the first thing that most readers notice about the poem. That's why I drew attention to it, but I'd also like to talk about the way that Jeffers valorizes the titular tree, turns it into a champion and hero. People are very used to thinking of trees as passive, receptive things, not capable of having a will, let alone enacting it. But here, Jeffers turns the Summit Redwood into a proud, stoic, Grecian hero. It is a mighty man of war, "the helmet-spike on the highest head of an army," engaged in a brave struggle with drought and fire and the heavens. It is guilty, like any good Greek hero, of hubris, laid low only by the lightning of Zeus. It has religious sentiment, knowing in its cells "the shudder and the voice," feels fear and trembling before the God's. It bears the scars of manly struggle, and even devises Odysseus-like stratagems, cleverly making its own rain "though in barren summer."

And the tree is so full of heroic excellence that it even elevates those around it. Old Escobar, though possibly himself a man of many devices, is merely 'cunning,' a crafty peasant. But the redwood, the heroic and Homeric summit redwood, tower-like, cavern-like, straining the mountain stars... Just as Homer's verse turned the brutal, petty warlords of the Bronze Age Aegean into the stuff of high romance and tragedy, so does the redwood elevate small time cattle-rustling into "a theft like a star, secret against the supreme sky."

#robinson jeffers #america #poetry #ecology #redwoods

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kujira0531 · 1 year

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隣の男の人が大きくて脚が私の座席まではみ出てる。After Yangを観たけどそこまで面白くもなかった。こういうジャンルは日本の漫画がやり尽くしただろうし、読んだことあるな。私は残りの時間をthe officeを観て笑っておこうと思って、思ったんだけど、Fernandoと一緒に観てたのを思い出して、その時の会話を思い出して、寂しくなって泣きそうになって観れなかった。

ブエノスアイレスでの留学について、最初は良い仕事を見つけるために、履歴書に書くために行くんだとしか考えてなかった。そもそもこの国の文化について一度も勉強してなかったし。肉は私の胃に良くないし、追い剥ぎに合うよと言われて怖かったし。

人見知りだから友達もそこまでできるとは思ってなくて、その点も期待すらしてなかったけど、たくさん友達ができた。今この瞬間の私しか見ていない、昔の私を知らない色んな人と出会って、日本語じゃない言語で会話をして、自分が本当はどう思ってるのかとか、本当は何を求めてるのかとか、今まで知らなかった自分についてのことを明確に理解することができて、日本にいた時に家族や自分の置かれてる状況から、ああしなくちゃとかこうしなくちゃとか考えて、考えて忘れてた部分を、そこから一度離れて新しい生活を始めたことで取り戻せたんじゃないかと思う。さよならするときに泣いてくれた子たちも、日本で会おうねと言ってくれた子たちも、メッセージくれた子たちもみんなほんとにありがとう。

ここまではサンパウロ発ニューヨーク着の飛行機で書いていたけど、今はニューヨーク発成田着の飛行機で書いてる。BOLING POINTを観た。すごかった。今度は音ありで観たい。機内が熱くて私はスポーツ用のタイツを履いているから熱がこもって脚が痒い。COLサゲ

日本のエアラインだからもちろん日本人の客室乗務員たちが働いていて、私は本当日本に帰るのかと今ここであらためて実感している。Googleマップで今まで住んでいた所を見て、それがこれからこの人生の中でたぶんただの地図上の文字でしかなくなる可能性があって、それがすごく寂しい。ここでAndresとFernando と、PaulaとAndrésのカップル(宗教誘われてから怖くて連絡とってなかったけど)に会って、色んな話をして一緒にドラマ観たりしたんだよって思って、家から学校までの道とか友達の家に行くためによく使ったバスの路線とか地下鉄の駅とか全部思って寂しい。

アルゼンチンのスペイン語は独特で、友達を呼ぶときにcheと言ったり、túがvosになる。来る前はそれはただの記号の差くらいの認識でしかなかったけど、今はEricさんに言われたcheを思い出すし、その発音の仕方は彼らしい発音で、教科書の中のものではなくて、つまり、記号から生きた言語に認識が私の中で変わったって言いたくて、これはすごく大きなことだと私の中では思っている。高校の先生が、「今は英語は当たり前だから他言語を勉強しないと就職に繋がらない」と言っていたことを半分信じてこの進路に進んだので元々スペイン語に対しての熱意はそこまでなく、本当に道具としてしか見てなかった。でも今は友達と会話をするための、友達を表すための言葉で、もっともっと勉強したいと心の底から思ってる。　

南米は全体的に日本と違って露出＝エロではなく、みんなブラの紐が透けててもはみ出してても乳首が透けていてもそれは普通で、誰も変な目でみない。太ってても痩せてても小さくても大きくても、それは普通で色んな人が色んな身体を持って生活していた。この差は私の身体に対する認識を変えてくれたし、より自分をどう扱いたいかを考えさせてくれた。また留学生との間でもアルゼンチン人の友達との間でも自分の政治観やセクシュアリティについて話す機会がめちゃくちゃあり、それも私にとってめちゃくちゃ意味があった。私は政治に興味があるし、フェミニズムについても自分のセクシュアリティについてもずっとずっと考えてきた。友達にPAKIS TEARSと書かれたキーホルダーをもらった。PAKIはノンケのことで、異性愛主義的社会に対しての疑念や怒りをそのキーホルダーは表しているんだけど、そんなの友達からもらえるなんて最高じゃない？？日本でこういう話をする機会は少ないし、話をしても言葉の説明をするだけで終わる場合がほとんどだったけど私は別に自分の知識をひけらかしたいわけじゃないし、変な目で見られたくないし、楽しいとか意義とか感じるほどでもなかったけど、この留学では色んな国から来た人たちの色んな意見を知ることができて、私の意見を話すことができて、それは本当に嬉しかった。色んな話を聴いて、ペロニスタ、アンチペロニスタ、本当に色んな人がいた。1番は、自分の政治の意見とかそもそもそれに関心があることさえどこか間違ったことをしているんじゃないかと思っていたけど、場所が違えば政治に関して意見を持つのは普通で話すのは普通で討論とか喧嘩するのは普通だってこと。だから今までもこれからも私はずっと考えて意見を持っていようと思う。

それに私の人生でより多くの時間を割かなければいけなくて、でも社会が言うべきじゃないとしていることにたいして、アルゼンチンはより寛容で(その話をしたときはヨーロッパからの子たちもいたけど)、私は自分が体験したことに対して、タブーを犯したみたいに話さなければいけないことに対する心の重圧を感じることなく普通の会話の流れで話すことができた。何人かは同じような体験をしてたし、まず引かれることはなかった。自分の経験を辛かったことを受け入れられる場所があるのは本当に大事だなと思って、今もまた色々起こってるとLINEで家族からくるけれど、この会話をしたこととか、こういう場所があるんだってことがたぶん支えになるし、頑張れると思う。

タトゥーを入れたのもひとつの大きな出来事。いやタトゥーを入れる行為に対してはお金を払えばできるから大したことでもないけれど、それを許容してくれる社会で生きたことはとても大きくて、それに対する社会的圧力のない場所で、アーティストがアートとしてアングラ的要素を持たずに描いている場所で入れられたことに意味があると思う。女の友達はほとんどみんな入ってて、ポケモンとかアニメとかなんでもありだった。1人は菩薩を入れたいって言ってた、何で？ってきいたら「可愛いから」って、そういう認識でいいよね。私も大好き。合衆国からの友達は「年老いた時に絵がしわくちゃになって格好悪くなるよっていう人がたまにいるけど、どうせ私たちはいつかしわくちゃになるんだし、私はタトゥー入ってるおじいちゃんおばあちゃん最高に格好いいと思う」って言ってて最高だった。

つまり言いたいのは私が思っていた不満や感じていた圧力をこの留学は拭ってくれて、私が良いと思う、心から望むものを当たり前のものとして生きている人たちに会っ��、そして今から私は日本に帰るってことが少し怖くて悲しい。でも、留学したいよねーって気持ちから、留学したという事実がいまの私にはあるから、これからまた留学なりワーホリなりなんなりできると思う。それも本当に嬉しい。頑張るぞ！！

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davidboles · 2 years

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A Memory of Eric Bentley

Eric Bentley was a master of the live stage. In this Boles.tv live stream highlight, David Boles examines the life of this master critic, author, and promoter of what we now consider, the modern drama.

Check out this episode!

#david boles #meme #thinking #learning #art #business #knowing #education

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universomovie · 2 years

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Lexi Boling - Proenza Schouler Pre-Fall 2022

Lexi Boling – Proenza Schouler Pre-Fall 2022

Proenza Schouler Pre-Fall 2022Source: instagram.comPublished: June 2022 In this picture: Lexi BolingCredits for this picture: Jack McCollough + Lazaro Hernandez (Designer), Thistle Brown (Photographer), Matt Benns (Hair Stylist), Ayaka Nihei (Makeup Artist), Eric Mestman (Set Designer), Rachel Chandler (Casting Director) All people in this campaign: Jack McCollough + Lazaro Hernandez –…

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aroundfortwayne · 3 years

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Holcomb receives COVID-19 vaccination

New Post has been published on https://aroundfortwayne.com/news/2021/03/05/holcomb-receives-covid-19-vaccination/

Holcomb receives COVID-19 vaccination

Today, Indiana Governor Eric J. Holcomb received his COVID-19 vaccination at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway at a mass vaccination clinic.

#Congressman Andre Carson #COVID-19 vaccine #Dr. Lindsay Weaver #FDA Emergency Use Authorization #Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb #Indiana Health Commissioner Dr. Kris Box #Indiana Representative Robin Shackleford #Indiana Senate President Pro Tem Rodric Bray #Indiana Senator Greg Taylor Minority Leader #Indiana Senator Rodric Bray President Pro Tempore #Indianapolis Indiana #Indianapolis Motor Speedway #ISDH COVID-19 Mass Vaccination Clinic #J. Douglas Boles #Johnson and Johnson COVID-19 vaccine #Paul Winters

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inexpensiveprogress · 5 years

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Paul Nash - Different Places

Paul Nash’s book ‘Places - 7 Prints’ has some curious works you might think were only made for the book. It is a rare book to find, being printed in 255 editions (55 of those a folio copy).

Many of the woodcuts also came with a poem following them. It was 1922 and a great time for poetry; it was just after the First World War and the Georgian Poets series of books published by Edward Marsh were popular. I can’t help but feel personally that Nash was only interested in poetry because Marsh made it fashionable and he was also a great patron of young artists. Marsh did go on to buy one of the pictures in this post, Tench Pond in a Gale in 1922 (Before the war Marsh wanted to publish a book of young artists work called Georgian Drawings, it never happened).

The cover features a woodcut ‘Meeting Place’ of two naked swimmers by a tree lined pond, printed in 1922.

Paul Nash - Meeting Place, 1922 (Woodblock)

Rather like what I have found with Eric Ravilious, many works are recycled from a sketch, to a woodcut and then a painting. It is all part of a long process - one at the time that would be new, ‘commercial art’ and in tow, printmaking; by this I mean that a woodblock printed book is more ‘mass production’ in the same way a limited edition print of 250 is.

It is nice to pin the location down to reality. The pond was in the garden of Claud Lovat Fraser's parents' home at Buntingford, Hertfordshire.

In preparation for the oil Nash wrote to the present works first owner, Desmond Coke, requesting 'The Chestnut Waters I really do want photographed very badly because I am doing a large painting of that design for the show.'. †

He wrote again to Coke stating that the oil 'is the best of the lot and nearest to being an achievement I think' †

Paul Nash - Chestnut Waters, 1923 (Oil)

A year before the oil was made, Nash made a watercolour of the same location. What I always took to be a tree in the middle of the woodcut, appears in the Oil and watercolour to be heavy branches, laden down over the pond and the reflections. I rather think the oil painting is lovely in that Cézanne cubist style of colour shading light-to-dark. But the watercolour to me has a lightness more like a cathedral interior.

Paul Nash - Chestnut Waters, 1922 (Watercolour)

Below is an undated landscape in the Fitzwilliam, from what I can tell of the notes it is the back of another painting and so, likely unfinished. We can never say it is a relation of the paintings above, but there is a squared off pond lined with trees and could well be the plein air version made in the garden before working ‘Chestnut Waters’ up in his studio.

Paul Nash - Landscape, The Fitzwilliam Museum

The year before in Iden, Sussex, Nash drew one of his more famous works, Tench Pond in a Gale (Below). Is it a painting that puts to use all Nash’s wonderful skills of drawing trees but gives them a drama and movement unlike his other works.

Paul Nash - Tench Pond in a Gale, 1921–2

Below is another woodcut from the 7 Places book. Not unlike the Tench Pond in a Gale picture, but not like it enough either.

Paul Nash - Black Poplar Pond, 1922

Most of the illustrations in 7 Places came with a poem by Nash. The poems here are not amazing and may be why they have been forgotten.

Paul Nash - Black Poplar Pond Black Poplars shudder in the sun. Erect or slanting, their whorled shafts project a glinting shower into the crowded scaffolding of trees. Blunt shards of pine absorb the falling beams which polished leaf and rounded bole reflect in myriad facets of fierce light. With height of noon floods of cool wind pass over the fields, shattering quiet. The corn stalks bend, boughs swing their burdens to and fro. Dark waters image changes in grimace. The choir of leaves opens its song.

Ponds were clearly an inspiration to Nash in his 7 Places, there are many examples of pond works from 1921 - 1922. The one below is a wonderful example with the textures in his trees.

Paul Nash - Landscape in pale tones, 1921

Paul Nash - Garden Pond, 1922

Paul Nash - Garden Pond With silence force the sun hurles down light, With no disturbance, with no sound it falls upon the trees, the grass, the waters of the pond. Noiselessly, without movement, light mutilates the trees, the grass, beats upon the waters. No tumult comes. There is no cry, no moan. The leaves glitter, the grass is shining, the waters flash in the still pond.

Paul Nash - Garden Pond, 1st Proof with studies to the sides, 1922

Paul Nash - Dark Lake, 1922

Paul Nash - Dark Lake In a black pine wood is a lake, an inscrutable, dark face, staring up at the sun or into the moon’s face or at the stars peering down. Above, the pines in tall columns and mighty domes and great arches stand nearly motionless. At the water's edge rushes and irises mass their slender swords. The grey teeth of an old fence look ghostly against dark waters. Beyond a platform jutting out, a woman, naked gleams in this shadowy place.

Paul Nash - Winter, 1922

Paul Nash - Pond in the Fields, 1927

Paul Nash - Study for Paths into the wood, 1922

Above is a drawing dated 1921, dedicated to William Rothenstein from Paul Nash as a Christmas card in 1923.

Being the drawing that would have been used to carve a woodcut, the woodcut is in reverse and printed below. The figure is harder to see below in the woodcut.

Paul Nash - Paths into the wood, 1922

Paul Nash - Winter Wood, 1922

† Paul Nash by Andrew Causey, p378, 1980

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imstilljennyfromtheeblock · 7 years

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Found a good portion of E&D less “findable” associates on Facebook (Brian Sargent, Kristen Theibault, etc...). Blessed.

#TCM #trench coat mafia #Eric Harris #dylan klebold #columbine #chris morris #brooks brown #kristen theibault #brian sargent #tad boles #kristi epling #zach heckler #nate dykeman #joe stair

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typingtess · 6 years

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NCIS: Los Angeles Season Nine Rewatch: "Can I Get a Witness"

The basics: With Lt. Bates wanted for murder, Deeks is assigned by Det. Whiting to bring him in. After Deeks and Bates go rogue, the rest of the team has to figure what's gone wrong.

Written by: Chad Mazero co-wrote “Internal Affairs” and “Revenge Deferred” in season seven and wrote "Tidings We Bring" in season eight.

Directed by: James Hanlon directed “War Cries”, “The Grey Man”, “Kolcheck, A”, “Driving Miss Diaz”, “Command and Control” (number 150), “Angels and Daemons, “Where There’s Smoke”, "Black Market" and "Tidings We Bring" (written by Mazero).

Guest stars of note: Patrick St. Esprit returns from the season opener as LAPD Lieutenant Roger Bates, Karina Logue is back from "Golden Days” as LAPD Detective Ellen Whiting, both Jeff Kober as Harris Keane and Long Nguyen as Dang return from "Se Murio El Payso", Alex Wyse as Simon Atwater, Johnathan McClain as Ryan Wallace, Georgia Mischak as Camille Butler, Caleel Harris as Cooper, Zachary Hinrichs as Ruben and Lauren Boles as Tessa.

Our heroes: Help Lt. Bates and keep Deeks in IA's good graces.

What important things did we learn about:

Callen: Charming PR directors who are worried about handsy Karen from HR. Sam: Wanting to be there for his kids. Kensi: Worried that parts of Deeks's LAPD record may come to light. Deeks: Assigned by LAPD to arrest his boss. Eric: Captain Exposition. Nell: Knife training and partnered with Kensi. Mosley: Absent. Hetty: Prisoner.

What not so important things did we learn about:

Callen: Wanting to take Sam to dinner or for drinks so he can put some living into his life. Sam: Reads Japanese longevity studies. Kensi: Tells Nell that people who leave voicemails should text like normal people. Deeks: Outgoing voicemail message on his cell is to text him like a normal person. Eric: Not a big part of the episode. Nell: Nothing bothers her more than people with laissez-faire attitudes toward internet security. Mosley: Not there and not in a Hetty not there way. Hetty: Took Harris Keane under her wing in the 1970′s.

Who's down with OTP: Kensi is working hard to protect Deeks and his secret.

Who's down with BrOTP: Callen wants to take Sam for steaks and whiskey. Deeks and Bates make a fun pair. Kensi and Nell, lacking the Bro part of BrOTP are a good team as well.

Any pressing need for Harm and Mac: LAPD problem, no Navy or Marine personnel were involved in this episode.

Today in Harley: As this episode was filmed at the end of season eight, Harley was probably still back on the East Coast.

Fashion review: Blue button down shirt for Callen. Sam is in a black henley. Kensi is wearing a white tee-shirt with dark blue strikes. Deeks is wearing his medium blue v-neck tee. Off-white short-sleeve shirt for Eric over a medium blue tee. Black tunic top for Nell with a burgundy red field coat. Field coat for Hetty.

Music: No grooving to tunes today.

Any notable cut scene: No.

Quote: Whiting: "Deeks, Bates trusts you. You're going to get in touch with him and convince him to turn himself in." Deeks: "Listen, I am not going to help you throw Bates under the bus. And if I get anywhere near this, I put myself at risk." Whiting: "You don't help me, there's no risk. I'll make sure everyone knows you killed your ex-partner." Deeks: "Wow. Have I, uh have I told you how much I missed you?" Whiting: "No." Deeks: "This is why."

Anything else: In a wooded area, three kids – a girl and two boys – are looking for a drone that belongs to one of the boys. The drone owning boy is worried he is going to be in trouble with his dad if he doesn't find it. Just as the drone owner finds his pricy toy, the kids hear shots fired. Hiding behind some shrubbery, the kids see two uniformed police officers shooting at men in suits. One of the men in suits – Lt. Bates. The drone owner records the entire event.

Kensi and Nell are practicing their fighting moves in the gym. They are goading each other with things that annoy them. One of the things that annoys Kensi – people leaving voicemails instead of texting like everyone else. Nell doesn't think she has any pet peeves but Kensi tries to gets her going. She finally finds Nell's level – people who use the same password for everything. Kensi compliments Nell on her improving knife skills. Kensi gets a text – Deeks is going to be late. He's meeting with Det. Whiting.

Deeks walks into the boatshed doing bird calls – he's looking for Whiting. He claims he follows the general temperature drop to her location, the second floor interrogation room. The two trade barbs before Whiting shares the drone video of the shootout with Bates. Deeks doesn't think it is good. Whiting says it is worse – Bates killed a cop, something he shares with Deeks.

Bates has been under investigation by Internal Affairs. There are a group of dirty cops doing security work. Deeks points put that security work is allowed by LAPD. Not when it is for criminal activity. Whiting thinks Bates is running the group of dirty cops. Deeks wishes her all the best finding the dirty cops. Whiting wants Deeks to get Bates to turn himself in. Bates trusts Deeks according to Whiting. Whiting makes is clear that if he doesn't do what she wants, everyone will know he killed his partner. Deeks asks her if he mentioned he missed her. She says no, he did not. Leaving, Deeks tells her this is why.

Walking into the office, Callen wants to take Sam out to dinner – fancy steaks, good food. Sam isn't up for it. Callen mentions whiskey. Sam replies with a Japanese study that whiskey is bad for you. There is a community of Japanese people who are the oldest living people on earth – they don't drink. Sam thinks they can learn from them. Callen doesn't want to live forever – people aren't built for that. Sam says not drinking can give a person 15-more years. Callen reminds him those 15-years are at the end of his life. He wants 15-more years in his 20's. Sam says he's working to stay strong for his kids.

Deeks pulls up to where Bates has been hiding. After Bates barks orders at Deeks, Deeks asks if Bates kisses his Uber driver with that mouth. Bates just wants to drive. Deeks tells Bates, who knows Deeks saw the video, that Whiting is going to help him. Bates thinks Whiting wouldn't help a kitten in a tree unless she thought she could shoot it without any witnesses (yikes!). Deeks doesn't like cats so he sort of agrees.

LAPD pulls up behind Deeks’s truck. Bates thinks Deeks sold him out. Deeks promises he didn't. Bates is afraid that any traffic stop is going to cost them their lives. He pulls out a gun and forces Deeks to flee LAPD. Deeks clips a black and white while getting away.

Back in the office, Kensi and Nell are storing their gear in the little locker area off the bullpen. Callen thinks he and Kensi are both rebels, not meant to grow old. Kensi disagrees – she has plans until she's 90. Callen asks who are the plans with and Nell says they're with her. The two women are going to tour all of America's ballparks.

An arriving Eric notes that Nell the two don't particularly like baseball. They don't but Kensi loves hot dogs. Sam tells her hot dogs will kill her and Kensi agrees. That's why she's not eating them until she's 90. Callen asks Deeks's opinion of the plan. He's not a part of his. Deeks comes from the weaker Scandinavian stock and won't be around.

Eric's tablet chirps and he stares at in shocked. After Sam asks if Eric needs a reboot, Eric shows the team the footage of Deeks hitting the black and white. Kensi calls Deeks but goes right to voicemail. He tells people to text him like a normal human being on the message. Callen wants to know more. Eric finds footage of Bates getting into the truck. Nell finds that LAPD is looking for Bates as a suspect in a shooting.

Eric traced Deeks's cell phone to a garage downtown but the signal goes after that. Callen wants to go look at the garage with Sam and send Kensi to talk to Whiting. Kensi does not want to talk to Whiting. She's going to find Deeks. Sam wants Kensi to take Nell with her.

Callen and Sam visit with Whiting who "needs to see you two like a hole in the neck." Callen promises that the shooting was a one-time event. Callen thinks LAPD's IA is in for a busy week. Whiting explains Bates has been under investigation for a while -she won't share more than that. She does tell them that Bates has a hostage – a Simon Atwater, a scientist for a bio engineering firm. Bates was supposed to be interviewing him. Instead, he killed some officers and took Atwater.

Sam wants to know why Deeks was brought into this – does Whiting think Bates is being set up? Whiting thinks there is more to this than just Bates. Bates likes Deeks – maybe it is a Spicoli fetish according to Whiting – so she asked him to help. Whiting and Deeks have an arrangement. Well now NCIS and Whiting have an arrangement. They'll help if she keeps them in the loop. Whiting tells them she may not like Deeks but wants to see him safe.

Kensi draws her weapon as they approach Deeks's truck. Nell is not sure that is necessary but Kensi says Deeks would never hit a squad car to flee LAPD. Both women have their guns out when they approach the truck. It is empty, Deeks's phone is smashed. Kensi is worried – she tells Nell LAPD has things they can use against Deeks. When Nell asks what kind of things, Kensi relies "things that should not surface." She thinks they have to find Deeks before LAPD.

With Bates holding him at gunpoint, Deeks is pushed into a warehouse. Deeks thinks nothing says "safe place" like a dark warehouse with your boss and a gun. Bates tells Deeks that some cops showed up to take over his interview with his witness. Bates left but went back to "screw up their plan." Bates takes Deeks to a beaten and frightened Simon Atwater.

Deeks brings Bates and Atwater to the boatshed. Offered coffee by Deeks in interrogation, Atwater is really grateful – can't stop talking grateful. When Atwater apologizes for talking too much, Deeks thinks that’s a good trait in a witness. Deeks encourages Atwater while Bates just wants to jump in. When Deeks points out that he's not helping, Bates tells Deeks he's had kidney stones pass more enjoyably than time spent with Deeks. Deeks explains to a confused Atwater that "Mommy and Daddy fight but the important thing to remember is that it isn't about you."

Atwater explains he makes herbicide resistant plants to help people. The plan is to grow endless amounts of food to help feed more people. His recent focus has been on terminator genes – seeds that self-destruct after each season. It may be unethical but his company, Dexmont, is struggling. They need repeat customers.

Bates wants Atwater to speed things up -he needs time to go home and reassess his life choices. This causes Atwater to get hyper-technical about what he's been doing lately. Making things simple, Atwater explains he made an error and he created a plant virus that spreads like a cancer. Deeks asks how bad is this virus. Atwater thinks the potential for harm is immeasurable. He fears it could be recreated en masse by the wrong people who could wipe out the food supply in weeks. Bates asks if he destroyed the virus. Atwater reported it to his boss, Ryan Wallace. Wallace confiscated the virus and left their office with it – against protocol. Atwater called LAPD.

Bates figures that Wallace has someone working for his at LAPD. Atwater does not know Wallace's LAPD connections but says with threats from anti-GMO groups, Wallace has used off-duty officers for security. Deeks explains that Whiting thinks the cops who went after Atwater were contractors – Wallace must know who is running the dirty cops. And based on his cheap suit, Bates is not getting those kind of payoffs. Knowing that Wallace can get a fortune for that virus from a rogue nation, Deeks thinks Wallace is paying top dollar to silence Atwater. Deeks tells Simon "you did good" as he and Bates try to take down both some bad cops and Wallace.

Callen and Sam are in the main part of the boatshed. Sam notes that agriculture is a trillion dollar business. This is a big deal. They are worried about Wallace crippling the economy or selling it to terrorists. Bates only cares about taking down the dirty cops and he's taking Deeks to work that part of the case. Sam puts up a fight but Bates reminds them that they'd have nothing without what LAPD brought to NCIS and Deeks doesn't have to be with NCIS going forward.

Deeks agrees to work with Bates – if they can get the cops who tried to kill Atwater, that might get them close to Wallace. NCIS can work Wallace's side of the case. Works for everyone. After Callen and Sam leave, Deeks tells Bates not to pull what he did with the big boss. Bates says he's "not getting anywhere near that tiny lady to find out."

In Vietnam, Hetty is meditating at a Buddhist temple. A monk brings her Dang. He thought she left – returned home. Dang starts to smoke, which bothers Hetty. He tells her the monks smoke, he will too. The two trade barbs. He mentions she abandoned Keane again. Hetty disagrees – Keane died decades ago in a helicopter crash. Dang wants to know about the gold bars – they were not recovered from the crash site.

Dang pulls out a gun as Hetty starts to meditate again. One of the monks has a long stick and whacks around Dang pretty good. Brother Bao takes Dang's weapon. After Hetty thanks the monk, she slaps Dang.

Back at the office, Eric has a full rundown on Dexmont. The company is in big trouble financially. They are also being sued for patent infringement – they took genetically modified seed strains from other companies and claimed them as their own. Dexmont is going under and Ryan Wallace could make a fortune selling the virus. Callen, Sam, Kensi and Nell are off to Dexmont.

Callen and Sam walk in wearing their NCIS kevlar vests announcing "federal agents" but nobody shoots. Instead, the company's PR head, Camille "Cammy" Butler, tries to work with Callen and Sam by moving them from a public place to her office. Callen explains they're looking for a criminal. Cammy assures them on the record that they are not harboring a criminal but off the record, wonders if it is someone named Karen in HR – she's a bit handsy. When Sam sees Wallace leave his office with a briefcase, Callen sells the idea that they are in the wrong place. Callen, Sam and Cammy share pleasantries as the two men leave. Kensi and Nell are at the garage entrance and watch Wallace leave.

Hetty is back in the prison talking to Keane. She wants to know about Operation Sunrise. "You mean Sunshine," is Keane's reply. He knows everyone involved in the mission – "Chegwidden, Bridges, Langston and Owen Granger who stayed with us after we pulled him out of Laos." Keane didn't have much interaction with the men – they considered him an untested kid but Hetty looked out for him. They had $900,000 in gold before they were shot down. He didn't have, his captors never found it and he's pretty sure Hetty could not have "humped it through the bush."

Hetty tells Keane she hid it. He isn't happy that she hid the gold and returned for it but never bothered to return for him. Hetty explains the chopper was stripped, the bodies were gone. Keane laughs – they were transporting gold to bribe officials to release captured operatives. He thought he'd be freed in days but nobody was paying to get him out. Hetty assures him nobody knew he was alive if he really even is Keane. Ripping off his shirt, Keane shows Hetty his back – covered with scars from whippings and beatings he endured.

At a house that is a mess ("Looks like they're using the same maid as Kensi," according to Deeks), Deeks and Bates wait to meet with Wallace. Bates just wants to find the dirty cops while Deeks is looking into who Wallace is selling the virus to. Bates reminds Deeks that they are still working for LAPD but he feels like they're the only ones. Starting salaries for LAPD Officers are so small that living in Los Angeles is nearly impossible. Officers want to do right by their families but they can't do it. Bates thinks going rogue is a bad thing but he does understand the financial pressures.

Deeks asks why Bates never succumb to the financial pressures. Bates tells him LAPD is his life, he's five years away from a pension that he is going to have to share with two ex-wives he lost to the job. He can't control much in this life but he can keep his honor. It is a nice bonding moment.

Wallace arrives. Deeks and Bates are a bit snotty to their client and he's snotty right back. While they bicker, high powered guns start firing into the house, through the walls. Deeks, Bates and Wallace hit the deck. Deeks fires back while Wallace scrambles off. Kensi is firing at the dirty cops shooting at the house. Nell knocks down one of the gunmen who is running to take position in the back of the house. The man loses his gun but pulls out a knife. Just as she was training with Kensi that morning, Nell is able to disarm him.

The gunmen leave with Wallace – still not sure why. They drive off but right into a trap set up by Callen and Sam. The SUV with Wallace and the gunmen winds up in a ditch. Wallace is in custody.

Back at the boatshed, Callen and Sam are interviewing Wallace. Wallace tries to blame Atwater – he's probably insane. Callen asks how old Wallace is. He's 39. Selling a biological weapon means a life sentence and that's going to mean lots of prison life for Wallace. According to Wallace, he hasn't sold the virus yet. Callen thinks intent to sell will get Wallace 25-years but Wallace will have to cooperate. Wallace is selling the virus to a Stephen Lee, a college student at Bunker Tech. The sale is going down on campus.

In the main room of the boatshed, Deeks tells Callen and Sam that Eric confirmed Stephen Lee was a South Korean student at Bunker Tech on a student visa. Lee's expenses, however, are being paid for by the North Koreans. Callen knows they can't arrest Lee unless he makes the exchange. Bates wants to interview Wallace but the exchange is an hour away. Callen makes a deal – Bates helps with the exchange, Wallace goes with LAPD.

Kensi and Deeks are sharing a coffee as he reminisces about his hacky-sack days as Marty-Marty, The One Man Party in college. Callen is not interested in the party. He's stationed at a different table reading a paper. Sam is sipping coffee nearby. There are a number of men approaching Wallace – the team has a hard time figuring out the exchange.

When Wallace is seen without the briefcase, Callen notices one man with it. When he tackles the man, the cannister is gone. He was given $100 to take the briefcase and give its contents to "the blonde".

Kensi and Deeks come across a group of young women – all blondes, most with water bottles. Deeks checks out the bottles to make sure none are the cannister. They aren't. Kensi finds the right blonde but she handed it off. Sam sees Stephen Lee. A chase ensues. Lee winds up on the business end of Sam, Sam winds up with the cannister, Bates winds up with Wallace.

In a lovely shot of sunset in downtown LA, Callen and Sam are standing on a highway overpass. There is a great bar in on the room of one of the high-rise buildings. Callen wants to share celebratory drink with Sam. Sam is worried about keeping himself safe. Callen can't imagine what Sam is going through, especially with the kids. Sam has responsibilities to them but Callen has responsibilities too. Sam being the top responsibly – Sam may want to add years to his life but Callen wants to make sure Sam is living that life. They're off to the bar.

In the boatshed, Atwater is comparing Whiting to a plant. Deeks and Bates arrive. Atwater is told all is well. The virus is being destroyed by the Army. Deeks makes a friend in Atwater. Bates talks about the non-stop commentary, the inappropriate touching and the puns. Deeks asks what he's talking about. Whiting's answer is Deeks. Wallace gave up his contact. Bates is going to take him down, Whiting thinks she can make the contact talk.

Bates talks about bringing Deeks back to LAPD. He's a good cop and LAPD needs good cops. Deeks says he's got the best of both worlds- he's representing LAPD to a fine team in the federal government. He's going to pass on Bates's offer. Bates is off – wife number three is waiting for him.

Whiting congratulates Deeks on his good work. Deeks asks if they're even. They're not. She likes Deeks but they're not even.

Hetty asks how did Keane escape. Drunken guards were moving him from one prison to another. They hit a cow and were killed. He took their money, guns, even their cigarettes and sought revenge against those who hurt him. He took his revenge and then started killing people for money. That got old so he quit. Found a small village and lived among the locals. Even found a wife and started a family.

Hetty wonders what happened to the family. He tells her God took them away from him as a punishment for the people he killed (it is a variation of that White Ghost/Jack storyline). He tried to leave for Thailand to start a new life but he hand no papers. He tried to get Dang to smuggle him to Thailand. Once Dang realized Keane was American, he knew he could make money.

Dang arrives. Hetty asks home much to have Keane released. Keane is worth nothing to Dang now – he served his purpose. He was bait to get Hetty into Vietnam. Hetty, however, is worth a great deal. She's under arrest.

What head canon can be formed from here: More of Hetty's time in Vietnam. Outside of the Hetty's time in Vietnam, this episode could have run anytime in season nine. It is a near perfect stand-alone episode.

Episode number: Season nine's sixth episode, aired as episode 198 overall though it was the finale episode shot at the end of season eight.

#NCIS: Los Angeles Rewatch #NCIS: Los Angeles #NCIS: LA #NCIS Los Angeles #ncis la

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martas-universe · 4 years

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BLACK LIVES MATTER

I’m not black and I’m not American, but I’m trying to do my part in building an equal future for ourselves and future generations, being a decent human being should be enough to get involved so please consider checking out the following links and info.

As a white person, I think getting educated is the first step in understanding the struggles of Black folks in America and Black people in general; here are some of the books I’m planning on buying (note that some of these are not available yet, at least in my country):

“This Bridge Called My Back: Writings by Radical Women of Colour” by Cherríe Moraga

“Redefining Realness” by Janet Mock

“White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism” by Robin Diangelo and Michael Eric Dyson

“Their Eyes Were Watching God” by Zora Neale Hurston and Zadie Smith

“The Warmth Of Other Suns” by Isabel Wilkerson

“The Next American Revolution: Sustainable Activism for the Twenty-First Century” by Grace Lee Boggs and Scott Kurashige

“The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness” by Michelle Alexander

“The Fire Next Time” by James Baldwin

“The Bluest Eye” by Toni Morrison

“So You Want to Talk About Race” by Ijeoma Oluo

“Sister Outsider” by Audre Lorde and Cheryl Clarke

“Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption” by Bryan Stevenson

“I’m Still Here: Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness” by Austin Channing Brown

“I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” by Maya Angelou

“How to be Antiracist” by Ibram X. Kendi

“Heavy: An American Memoir” by Kiese Laymon

“Eloquent Rage: A Black Feminist Discovers Her Superpower” by Brittney Cooper

“Black Feminist Thought: Knowledge, Consciousness, and the Politics of Empowerment” by Patricia Hill Collins

Of course these are just some helpful books and please, if you have any more suggestions, send me a message and I’ll add it to the list!

Donating is always helpful, but as a university student I know it can be hard to save money and economically support good causes at the same time; this is why I’m copying the link of a great YouTube video that allows you

financially contribute

to the Black Lives Matter movement

without donating or even leaving your house

. You simply need to watch the video and let the ads run fully, all of the AdSense revenue will be donated to different associations:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bCgLa25fDHM

Here is a playlist with the same purpose:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLtooIklzheqzORPbQBiEZKsw2T4s6SUxv&app=desktop

If you do have the possibility of donating money, here are some useful links that work internationally:

Official George Floyd Memorial Fund: https://gf.me/u/x4xyax

GEORGE FLOYD (BIGFLOYD): https://gf.me/u/x4xnx9

I Run With Maud: https://gf.me/u/x3j4qf

Justice For Regis: https://gf.me/u/x489am

Justice for Jamee: https://gf.me/u/x5ckzy

Destiny Harrison & her daughter Dream’s Legacy: https://gf.me/u/x3yjir

OFFICIAL FUND FOR ERIC ROSALIA: https://gf.me/u/x5axu2

R.I.P Belly Mujinga: https://gf.me/u/x3zyip

Justice for Dion Johnson: https://gf.me/u/x5disw

Rest in Peace Aaron James "AJ" Sutton: https://gf.me/u/x5s4t3

In Memory of Tony Mcdade: https://gf.me/u/x5sm65

The OFFICIAL Peace and Healing for Darnella Fund: https://gf.me/u/x5r8xn

Destiny's Dream Scholarship: https://secure.qgiv.com/for/desdresch/mobile

For James Scurlock’s Family: https://gf.me/u/x5v6c6

Love and Support for Leslie: https://gf.me/u/x5ywzz

Trevor Belle: https://gf.me/u/x3i9j4

Justice for David McAtee: https://gf.me/u/x6bgka

Bay Area Protest Fund: https://gf.me/u/x5zrff

Brooklyn Bail Fund: https://brooklynbailfund.org/donation-form

Charleston, SC Protestor Fund: https://gf.me/u/x5ztfj

Chicago Bail Fund: https://chicagobond.org/donate/

Detroit Bail Fund: https://secure.givelively.org/donate/the-bail-project

Detroit Justice Fund: https://www.detroitjustice.org/donate

Florida Bail Fund: https://www.floridajc.org/bail/

Peoples City Council Freedom Fund: https://gf.me/u/x5k84b

Protestors of Manassas: https://gf.me/u/x5zzra

Massachusetts Bail Fund: https://www.massbailfund.org

Missouri Black Protester Relief Fund: https://gf.me/u/x5wp7n

PDX Protest Bail Fund: https://gf.me/u/x5quj5

Philadelphia Bail Fund: https://www.aplos.com/aws/give/PhiladelphiaCommunityBailfund/general

Richmond Bail Fund: https://rvabailfund.org/donate

Unicorn Riot Fund: https://unicornriot.ninja/donate/

#SupportBlackOwnedBusinessesATL: https://gf.me/u/x5q5hy

Support SacDelux Consignment Store: https://gf.me/u/x5q64s

Scores Sports Bar Mpls Rebuild: https://gf.me/u/x49m34

Rebuilding Bole Ethiopian Cuisine: https://gf.me/u/x5iv2v

Help Trio (Black-Owned) Thrive in Minneapolis: https://gf.me/u/x3vj79

Juiced up vapors riot break in: https://gf.me/u/x5qv56

Atlanta Black Owned Business Relief: https://gf.me/u/x5qzqt

Rebuild Guns and Roses Boutique: https://gf.me/u/x5qxji

Go Get It Tobacco: https://gf.me/u/x5qxhs

Somali owned businesses affected by rioters: https://gf.me/u/x5frf9

Rebuilding Shoe Mountain: https://gf.me/u/x5y5v8

REBUILD THE BLOCK - 4 Black Owned Small Businesses: https://gf.me/u/x58v8p

BLM: https://secure.actblue.com/donate/ms_blm_homepage_2019

Black Lives Matter - Los Angeles: https://gf.me/u/x34jci

Homeless Black Trans women fund: https://gf.me/u/x3kh8h

Reclaim The Block: https://secure.everyaction.com/zae4prEeKESHBy0MKXTIcQ2

North Star Health Collective: https://www.northstarhealthcollective.org/donate

ACLU: https://action.aclu.org/give/aclu-response-covid-19

The Marshall Project: https://www.themarshallproject.org/donate

NAACP Legal Defense Fund: https://org2.salsalabs.com/o/6857/p/salsa/donation/common/public/?donate_page_KEY=15780&_ga=2.35717155.2063942164.1590824273-1161863773.1590824273

Loveland Therapy Fund: https://www.flipcause.com/secure/team_fundraiser/NzU4MzM=/6860

Lake Street Cleanup: https://www.welovelakestreet.com

Saigon Bay Vietnamese Restaurant - Tampa: https://gf.me/u/x5xw92

Rebuild Native American Youth Center: https://www.givemn.org/organization/Migizi-Communications

Cambodia Town Relief Fund: https://gf.me/u/x562ig

If you know of any other funds, please let me know and I’ll include them in the list.

Another good way of lending a hand is signing petitions:

George Floyd: https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/justice-george-floyd-0

RAISE THE DEGREE - Remove bail for Derek Chauvin, murderer of George Floyd: https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/raise-degree-remove-bail-derek-chauvin-murderer-george-floyd

Arrest The Other Three: https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/arrest-other-three

RAISE THE DEGREE: http://chng.it/2HHqGDqqvG

Justice for George Floyd: http://chng.it/BFSWBtN52j

JUSTICE FOR GEORGE FLOYD: http://chng.it/wggqFBrPwZ

#JusticeForFloyd: https://act.colorofchange.org/sign/justiceforfloyd_george_floyd_minneapolis/?source=dm_sms_optin_5-26-20

Get the officers charged: http://chng.it/rKwBVjkvqY

#JusticeForBre: https://sign.moveon.org/petitions/justiceforbre-police-officers-who-killed-breonna-taylor-must-be-fired?bucket=&source=twitter-share-button&utm_campaign=&utm_source=twitter&share=e57b02c1-bd0f-497f-8365-f51d6114576f

Justice for Bre: https://www.youtube.com/redirect?redir_token=lPo4KG5jyn4dJ3ixiTidfK_RRZR8MTU5MTI3NDExM0AxNTkxMTg3NzEz&q=https%3A%2F%2Fact.colorofchange.org%2Fsign%2Fjusticeforbre-breonna-taylor-officers-fired%3Fsource%3Dcoc_main_website&v=bCgLa25fDHM&event=video_description

Disbarment of George E. Barnhill: http://chng.it/YpG6j4BdZP

Justice For Ahmuad Arbery: http://chng.it/46nvxchV5h

Justice for Ahmaud Arbery- Pass Georgia Hate Crime Bill: http://chng.it/KYQDXx7HZ8

TELL MINNEAPOLIS CITY COUNCIL TO DEFUND THE POLICE: https://secure.everyaction.com/eR7GA7oz70GL8doBq19LrA2

Mandatory Life Sentence for Police Brutality: http://chng.it/p5PKyrcRY2

JUSTICE FOR REGIS KORCHINSKI-PAQUET: http://chng.it/fkmGwvZC5n

Justice For Tony McDade: http://chng.it/q5wzxGSJSm

Justice For Joāo Pedro: http://chng.it/hrbc8Ngsfq

Julius Jones is innocent. Don't let him be executed by the state of Oklahoma: http://chng.it/n7Fvm4ZdrJ

Justice for Belly Mujinga: http://chng.it/YfJxZMRf84

Willie Simmons has served 38 years for a $9 robbery: http://chng.it/zcdXqm8D2F

Hands Up Act: http://chng.it/LyHntCxrxm

NATIONAL ACTION AGAINST POLICE BRUTALITY! PROSECUTE POLICE WHO MURDER UNARMED INDIVIDUALS: http://chng.it/wKy5jcvFF9

CORRECTING A WRONGFUL CONVICTION. Kyjuanzi Harris: http://chng.it/k8MXvvk8Zw

JUSTICE FOR ALEJANDRO VARGAS MARTINEZ: http://chng.it/rHy2bhZvwZ

Most of the information reported in this post was taken from this website: https://blacklivesmatters.carrd.co/# <- visit it to find more resources!

#black lives matter #blm #activism #saytheirnames #George Floyd

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picturethisshow · 7 years

Photo

#Philadelphia: Picture This!, the only "Live Animated Comedy Show" is FINALLY coming to PHILLY with the best local comedians and artists! COMEDY BY: Michelle Biloon (AST Records) Rojo Perez (Conan) Eric Dadourian (VICELAND) Shane Lucas Price Brandon Vincent Jackson & Lindsay Boling! ANIMATION BY: Philly's own Bryan Brinkman (Tonight Show) Sean Dooley Courtland Winslow Eamon Dougherty Adam Cusack Jaz Smith-Cruz & Robbie Molinari! HOSTED BY PHILLY'S OWN Peggy O'Leary! SUNDAY 9/17 Doors at 8pm, Show at 8:30pm $10 tickets at http://goodgoodcomedy.com/picturethis/ at the Good Good Comedy Theatre 215 N 11th ST PHILADELPHIA, PA 19107 ______________________________________________ "What is Picture This!?" PICTURE THIS! is a new show from Brandie Posey & Sam Varela: two girls who want to push the boundaries of what a comedy show can be. Picture This! is a live comedy show with stand-ups performing while they are drawn live by some of the best animators, cartoonists, and other artists in Hollywood, CA, SF, NYC and Portland. Picture This! has also debuted in Toronto, New Zealand and Australia! The comedians don't know what the animators are drawing and the animators don't know how the comedians will react. It may be weird. It may different. But it will be FUNNY!

#Philadelphia #Philly #Live Animated Comedy #Live Comedy #Live Animation #Live Drawing #Stand Up Comedy #Picture This!#Picture This comedy #Picture This show #Illustration

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nolaharmreduction · 7 years

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Homelessness and Mental Health A Community Forum presented by The NOLA Partnership for Mental Health

Join us in a discussion about how this issue impacts our community, the challenges and opportunities for solutions. Panelists include: - Barbara St. Roman, NOPD Homeless Outreach Unit - Dr. Joseph Kanter, Health Care for the Homeless - Shelley Boles, Santosha Village - Mara Polk, NOLA Partnership board member, Formerly Homeless - Jessie Smith III, Board member, Peer Support Specialist, Formerly Homeless - Eric Oleson, VA Homeless Program When: Wednesday October 18, 2017; 6-8pm Where: St. Anna's Episcopal Church - 1313 Esplanade Ave, New Orleans, LA 70116 This even is FREE and open to the public. Dinner will be served. Please RSVP to [email protected]

#New Orleans #mental health #housing is Harm Reduction

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bkk918 · 7 years

Video

youtube

Liked on YouTube: STOP!... Whatever You're Doing & Watch Eric Boling Eviscerate Fat Drunk Never Trumper PISSY CHRIS https://youtu.be/7c5Kr-EY6Uw

#IFTTT #YouTube

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mastcomm · 4 years

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On Tour, Pompeo Courts Africa, to Counter China

NAIROBI, Kenya — When U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo landed in Ethiopia as part of his first foray into sub-Saharan Africa, he arrived in a city shaped by the same adversary that he had come to preach against: China.

Mr. Pompeo and his delegation were received on Monday night at the Bole International Airport, one of Africa’s biggest, expanded in part by Chinese funds. His entourage passed through the capital, Addis Ababa, where Beijing has built highways and factories, and financed a metro system and a multibillion dollar railway to neighboring Djibouti.

On Tuesday, Mr. Pompeo met the chairman of the African Union at its towering headquarters, built and paid for by China at a cost of $200 million.

Almost two years since President Trump named him America’s top diplomat, Mr. Pompeo has traveled to Africa to convince its leaders to shun Chinese investments and, instead, look to Washington and American companies for collaboration.

But he has come to Senegal, Angola and Ethiopia without offering any major new American government investment, initiatives or assistance. Instead he promoted American companies, boasting that their practices are superior and motives purer when compared to China’s.

“When we come, we hire Angolans,” Mr. Pompeo said at a news conference in the Angolan capital, Luanda. “We do high-quality work. It’s transparent.”

“Not every nation that comes here to invest does that,” Mr. Pompeo said. “There’s no political objective.”

Mr. Pompeo’s efforts to contain China’s role in Africa come as the Trump administration is sending mixed signals about its engagement with the continent.

Amid growing extremist violence, the United States is weighing proposals to reduce or completely pull out its forces from West Africa, drawing sharp criticism from both allies and lawmakers.

In early February, President Trump announced an expanded travel ban that now affects nearly a quarter of Africa’s 1.2 billion people — including Nigeria, the continent’s biggest economy and its most populous nation.

As both China and Russia step up their presence and investments, the United States has proposed cutting aid and development funding to African states — which still dwarfs that of China and Russia. President Trump himself has also faced censure for reportedly calling African states “shithole countries,” drawing outraged responses across the continent and potentially harming strategic American interests.

The Trump administration’s Africa policy has focused almost exclusively on countering the influence of China and Russia, said Aubrey Hruby, a senior fellow with the Atlantic Council’s Africa Center.

While previous American presidents sent mixed cues about their depth of commitment to Africa, Ms. Hruby said, they also had signature programs that reflected their visions. This included Barack Obama’s initiative to boost electricity access, George W. Bush’s program to address the H.I.V./AIDS epidemic, and Bill Clinton’s signing of the landmark African Growth and Opportunity Act in 2000, a cornerstone of the U.S.-Africa trade relationship.

The Trump administration, she said, is yet to find “a positive focus to promote in Africa.”

Over the past two decades, China has deepened its reach in Africa, financing large infrastructure projects like roads and a railway in Kenya, opening up a military base in Djibouti, deploying peacekeepers in South Sudan and Liberia, and spreading its culture and language by funding Confucius Institutes across the continent.

The first trip that China’s foreign minister takes each year is to Africa, and other senior Chinese officials regularly visit countries across the continent to solidify relations. African leaders themselves have often trooped to Beijing. Paul Kagame, the president of Rwanda, described the partnership between Africa and China as not just “equal” but “a revolutionary posture in world affairs.”

Since Mr. Trump took office, African leaders look at America and see signs of its neglect. Over three years, Mr. Pompeo and his predecessor Rex Tillerson have visited fewer than ten African countries — a decline from the nearly two dozen African states visited by former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who served under President Obama for four years.

In light of this, “U.S. government officials just don’t seem to understand that talking trash about the Chinese in Africa, regardless of its merit, just does not help their cause,” said Eric Olander, co-founder of a research initiative, The China Africa Project.

In addition, Mr. Pompeo’s suggestion that Chinese companies operating in Angola do not hire locals was not accurate, Mr. Olander said, noting that locals got a majority of the jobs on Chinese projects.

Beijing has been accused of offering cheap, no-strings-attached loans to African governments that are in dire need of financing to boost their economies — with the sting of default coming when those nations can’t repay those debts. China critics and Western officials, including Mr. Pompeo himself, have said these lending programs amount to a “debt trap,” pose a risk to the sovereignty of African states, and could push debt limits to unsustainable levels. Chinese officials have fervently denied these claims, and cast their engagement with Africa as a win-win.

In Angola, which is in the midst of a massive corruption scandal involving the former president’s daughter, Mr. Pompeo railed against the “destructive” nature of corruption and its impact on ordinary people. Yet analysts say that this message may ring hollow among Africans well aware that President Trump just underwent an impeachment trial and has been accused of steering U.S. government business to his own hotels and resorts.

But it may be that Mr. Pompeo’s trip will convince some African leaders that the Trump administration is now ready to focus on Africa. His visit, said Addisu Lashitew, a research fellow with the Brookings Institution, a research organization in Washington, “testifies to a modicum of interest in the continent” and signals a step toward resetting the relationship with Africa in anticipation of President Trump’s re-election.

This is especially true in the choice to visit Ethiopia, a strategic American ally that is undergoing sweeping changes under Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed. A fast-growing economy, Addis Ababa plays a critical security role in the Horn of Africa, is home to the African Union, is liberalizing its economy and privatizing key sectors like telecom. The country has extensive relations with China, but has engaged the United States in trying to resolve a dispute with Egypt over a dam that Ethiopia has built on the Nile.

American officials traveling with Mr. Pompeo said on Tuesday they were encouraged that Mr. Abiy hasn’t deviated from his commitment to reforms, and commended his efforts to renegotiate Ethiopia’s debt with China.

Besides the two secretaries of state, Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross and Mr. Trump’s daughter Ivanka Trump have visited Ethiopia in the past three years, demonstrating the country’s ongoing significance no matter the American administration, Mr. Lashitew said.

While “Chinese finance and investment is far from perfect,” Mr. Lashitew said, “it is not fair” that Mr. Pompeo ask African leaders to choose between the U.S. and China. “If the U.S. is a genuine development partner of Africa, it must respect the right of African countries to partner with any other country that can help them grow their economies, including China,” he said.

In trying to compete with China in Africa, Ms. Hruby said that the United States should focus on sectors where it has unique advantages, including education, finance, media and entertainment. The N.B.A.’s push into Africa, for instance, could act as a tool to attract support in Africa.

“In terms of building U.S. influence in African markets and enhancing brand USA,” Ms. Hruby said, “Black Panther,” the superhero film based on the fictional African nation of Wakanda, and “the new N.B.A. Africa league have done far more than a handful of cabinet level trips ever could.”

Simon Marks contributed reporting from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

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