#i don't think every security person is corrupt but there are systems in place that are easy to abuse on various levels

[simplyghosting]

Looking into the history of the 3-1-1 TSA rule (because I'm annoyed) and while the event that started it (2006 UK) could have been bad, it gets summed up with just...pay attention. That's it.

Like if the security/TSA guys just look there's no reason you shouldn't be able to carry larger liquids. There are x-ray machines now. You can't hide batteries in a soda bottle. Gosh just sniff the container. "But what if the liquid actually is dangerous. That's not safe." Security is not meant to be a safe job and should not be so tyrannical it punishes innocents. "It will make the lines longer." Hire more people and open more lanes then. "That requires more funding." Take it out of the NSA spending.

My feelings on when they tell me I can't bring a tub peanut butter on a plane because it's a "liquid."

#ghost posts #not happy things #i'm so annoyed #maybe i'm just being insensitive but i already hear enough garbage about the security people in the schools around here #like beating up kids trying to get AWAY from a fight #or being so lazy they don't go to help #i hear people that they sign up for the military to get benefits and then get mad when they're sent out #like idk man i feel like everyone is acting nuts #had a friend that worked in tsa that said he saw them steal stuff from passengers by saying they couldn't take it on the flight i'm so tire #i don't think every security person is corrupt but there are systems in place that are easy to abuse on various levels #be it petty or political

[nyaagolor]

Paldean League Worldbuilding

aka how Geeta is reshaping the poke-economy and making herself the most hated woman ever in the process

I generally try to keep any sort of real world analogues out of my HCs for Pokemon bc I think it's more of a utopian society and doesn't need to operate on the same logic of economics or politics as irl, but swsh and sv seem more grounded in our reality so I've been thinking about them (especially sv) a LOT. Decided I would just dump all my musings and HCs about the paldean league here if only to organize it all. Also disclaimer that I am not an economist and will never pretend to be so it’s more than likely this system would never work irl but it’s pokemon so it’s fine

The Galarian and Paldean Leagues always struck me as relatively recent, at least in terms of their current operation, and mostly spearheaded by a super ambitious head of operations who restructured the entire place as soon as they got there. I'll talk about Galar in another post, but atm Paldea has my brain in a chokehold so this is all about them

My main HC about the Paldean League is that up until extremely recently (20 years ago give or take I'm not doing specific timelines here) the Paldean League was extremely corrupt and poorly run. When the Paldean empire collapsed, the League was formed as a way to try and maintain the status quo and keep power in the hands of those who previously held it. It was, and continued to be for the next few centuries, an oligarchy. No one in the system was elected, and those in lower positions had to be personally selected and approved by their superiors. There were no checks and balances, so the people at the top could and did maintain power indefinitely. By the time we reached 20~ years before the main story, the structure was as follows:

Chairman: The leader of the entire thing. Has absolute power over everyone else in the system. Does all the boring stuff Top Champion: A battler and figurehead for the public. The "face" of the League, but generally not in charge of anything and has no political power. Their battle with up and coming trainers determines whether they get champion rank ^ If ur thinking this is similar to the Galar League, you'd be correct. They were based off the same model for a while Elite Four: Originally called the Council of Four, they act as a council that makes decisions along with the Chairman and test trainers' worthiness. Typically in charge of a handful of gym leaders Gym Leaders: Local political leaders that operate under the Council of Four and ensure things don't get too rowdy on the town level. In charge of testing trainers, protecting the town from wild threats, keeping up appearances, and union busting (they mostly did that last one) Everyone else: Salary workers. They have not yet unionized

The system, ultimately, was corrupt as hell. There was no job security, and the hierarchical nature of the league ensured you had to suck up to and do the dirty work for your boss if you wanted to get paid at all. Unions? Idk her. Corruption and embezzlement was the name of the game, and Paldea was basically flat broke because of it, with infrastructure decades behind neighboring regions and a bevvy of shitty trainers. The champion, unlike other regions, was not decided by who unseated the current champion. It didn't matter how good someone was, they had to be selected by the chairman to be Top Champion, and the Chairman would only select someone who would work with them without question. Paldea was basically the laughingstock of the world because of their complete and utter incompetence in any and all battle tournaments and lack of advancements in literally every sector. Then shit hit the fan and we moved onto the system we see in-game

I'm not sure what the event was (a recession, investigative journalism, doesn't really matter) but the newfound understanding of just HOW corrupt the league was and the resulting scandal made the Chairman resign and shook the very foundation of the League. Luckily or unluckily, a young upstart politician named Geeta was quick to fill that void, and through a few political loopholes and charisma, she managed to secure herself as Chairwoman. She had long since hated the current Paldean system, thinking that it held her beloved region back from greatness. She had always been gunning for higher and higher positions, a dark horse of Paldean politics with undetermined motives, extreme intelligence, and frightening levels of ambition. The Chairman had always had their eye on her, personally keeping her in check, but when they were gone Geeta immediately seized the opportunity to grab as much power as physically possible. Getting the position made her effectively untouchable, and that was the ultimate goal, because her plan for Paldea was about to make her the single most hated woman in the region's history

Geeta, upon gaining a position where they legally could not get rid of her, decided to fire every single person in the upper echelons of the league. Every gym leader, elite four, and the top champion were all fired, and she withdrew Paldea from every battling tournament and public appearance until she could workshop the league into something servicable. It was the boldest move since the dissolving of the Paldean Monarchy and it did NOT make her any friends

Though her ultimate goal was to reform the entire Paldean league, her early changes were only possible because of the old system. She could and did reform the system to her liking without consequence only because of the old hierarchy system already in place. Her ability to hand select her coworkers and fire people indiscriminately was one of the greatest abuses of power Paldea had ever seen, whether for noble reasons or not, and the people she fired tried to smear her as much as they could. Though these radical steps were necessary to undo and reshape the corruption hellscape the League had become, it wasn't exactly a good look for the new chairwoman (not that she cared)

Geeta also combined the top champion position and chairwoman position, which was so shockingly unpopular and suspicious-looking that she effectively cemented her godawful reputation. She saw the top champion as an unnecessary expense and decided to take on the responsibilities herself so she could funnel the top champion salary into public projects. This is part of the reason why she’s so Bad at being champion: she’s doing it to save the league money and only needs to the absolute bare minimum. Most of her job for the first decade was analyzing the current hierarchy, finding trainers to fill positions, and trying to figure out how to fix things so that would be sustainable after she left and wouldn't fall back into old corruption. She took on a job in the academy schoolboard to keep an eye out for younger trainers, put as much money into research and economic opportunities as possible, then got to work shaping the League to her vision

Her main vision for the league was to make as many parts of the system economically self-sustaining as possible, which was vital for her gym leader choices. She picked people who had *enough* skill in battling, but who all had other careers that would generate interest in and revenue for the gym. Paldea didn't have the pure battling talent yet to make a name for itself on any kind of world stage so Geeta was completely unconcerned about the actual battling skill of her picks as long as they were good enough and making cash. In terms of gym challenges, she mandated that they had to be free or extremely cheap and somehow tied to the town itself-- the giant contraptions of other regions were NOT in the budget. She wanted the gym system to be a celebration of the towns they were in and to inspire people to visit in the same way Galar's stadiums did, all in the hopes that gyms wouldn't need money from the league itself

The gyms would maintain a similar system as before, with each town and gym operating like a smaller independent organization. Most day to day operations and decisions like numbers of workers and salaries would be handled by the gyms themselves, but with all details publicly available so interventions could take place if things got fishy. All revenue generated by the gym would stay within the town-- it would be used to pay salaries, do upkeep, etc, and anything left over could be used to make renovations / add more stuff to gym challenges / support local businesses. If the revenue generated wasn't enough to cover upkeep and salary, the league would fill in the rest

The reason the gym buildings Look Like That is because the old league funneled most of the money into the pockets of the higher-ups and very little was allocated for building gyms. Geeta kept the design bc it's cheap, Paldea is broke, and the uniformity of the gyms allows trainers to find it more easily. it's also convenient if there's a turnover of the position-- no need to build a new gym! It's mostly an administrative office anyway, only there for paperwork and to house office staff, and Geeta is under the (correct) impression that most gym leaders prefer having stages at their favorite places instead of a specific building. Only two gym leaders have strong negative opinions about the building itself: Grusha, who can't have an outdoor reception area because of the snow and hates sitting in the lobby all the time, and Brassius, who thinks it's ugly as shit (he's right) and wants to paint a mural on it

The gym system is actually run much better than it was before-- it's still hitting its stride at the time of the game but is shaping up into a system that will work long after Geeta retires. The gym leaders also like how things are run quite a bit-- they just hate Geeta as a person (but that's smth I plan on exploring in another post)

The Elite Four is something Geeta admittedly hasn't put much thought into: her main focus was on redoing the administrative side of the league and ensuring the gyms were generating enough money to function + helping the towns they were in. The Elite Four, in her mind, were an afterthought, especially since she stripped them of their political power and distributed that power amongst regular office staff. She uncoupled politics from battling in the upper spheres of the league, allowing for more concentrated and specialized attention to issues so the Elite Four could just battle

In the new league, the Elite Four isn't a council of politicians, just people who test the strength of trainers looking to be champion-- every current Elite Four member is an employee in another sector working the job for a bonus (except for Poppy-- her parents are accountants and she ended up in the position as a joke that went a liiiiittle too far). In the future, the Elite Four and Top Champion might be dedicated battlers rather than a side hustle, but Paldea doesn't have the talent nor money for that at the moment

In terms of economics, Geeta decided to set an inflation-adjusted salary rate for each position that was viewable by the public and that couldn't be changed without a public vote in the hopes this would limit corruption. She also redid the League Points system— it used to be how employees were paid, but now it’s mostly for trainers, allowing the league to subsidize common trainer goods and make things easier to buy (all employees are paid with regular money). Paldea doesn’t have designated trainer routes like other regions and cash is far easier to mug than digital currency, so trainers are encouraged to use LP as a precaution so they don’t get robbed while in the Paldean wilds. However because the LP system isn’t very popular and NOT secure, Geeta is debating phasing it out

In the new system, gyms operate mostly on their own, so the central administrative stuff (aka everything that happens in the league building by the academy as well as E4 salaries and whatnot) gets their money from returns on investments— mostly from Tera Orbs. Fees from defeating trainers also helps, but Geeta made sure not to tie it to anyone’s salaries so that they wouldn’t thrash trainers for money, as encouraging them is the whole point of the challenge. Side note about Tera Orbs: once the league got the patent, Geeta didn’t think twice about the professors, being far too busy with Everything Else to think about her old business partner. Not keeping an eye on them is one of her greatest regrets

In terms of future plans, Geeta has already implemented checks and balances on every position but her own. When she’s confident in how the League is progressing and is sure the system won’t fall back into corruption, she plans on turning her own position to an elected one. Geeta isn’t stupid, she knows that everyone hates her and will lose her position as soon as she puts proper checks and balances on it, so she’s waiting until she’s confident in the League’s system to let the rest of the league get rid of her. By that point, she hopes that the League will be organized, financially stable, and balanced enough so that it can run smoothly long after she’s gone. Also, the league is likely to enter back into international batting conferences by the end of the decade, since there’s a LOT of up and coming battling talent that can make Paldea proud (and hopefully bring enough positive attention and money back to the region so they can actually make the league profitable)

To me Paldea’s league always felt like it was in a transition period, building itself from the ground up again. We happen to see it right at the middle, just before it’s really up to a properly functioning and self-sustaining entity. I don’t really have a closer for this but if u read all the way here I’m very flattered and apologize for being a lil delusional about this :)

#geeta #pokemon sv #paldea league #I feel genuinely delusional typing this out but it's fine #also just an fyi this is a geeta defense zone. I love that woman #i’m making another post with hcs about her specifically later #mod vex

[topazadine]

Here talking again

I really don't know how anyone is coping right now except if they are totally, willfully ignorant. I think about almost nothing but Palestine all throughout the day and feel completely ashamed by any minor complaint I have.

I feel bad for every drink of water, even though that it doesn't impact Palestinian. I know the food I eat wouldn't be sent to Gaza, I feel guilty for even having it. Every time I go to the store I compare it to the images I have seen and feel genuinely disgusted that there is so much I could buy.

It's not fair. Not fair at all. It is a heavenly injustice that I, through no conscious effort of my own, was born in a time, place, and race that affords me opportunities, security, and freedom to do just about anything I want.

Every Palestinian, every Sudani, every Rohingya, everyone should have what I do. Even if it takes different forms (which it certainly will), they should all have the right to food and water, to secure housing, to self-expression, to education, to mental health access, to reproductive freedom.

This isn't a radical ideology, no matter what capitalist society will say. In fact, it is capitalism which has taken all those things away from our world as a whole and sold it back to us as a commodity, as a privilege, as something we have to claw back through constant political pressure and, at times, physical violence.

We weren't designed for a world like this. We weren't meant to be like this. We shouldn't have to watch another culture be massacred and scream as loud as we can and for it to make almost no difference, because we're controlled by monsters who don't listen to our pleas.

Genuinely, only three things are keeping me going right now.

The first is the images of my favorite Palestinian accounts sharing their brief moments of peace: meeting other peoples' pets, playing with children, interviewing other Palestinians to hear about their dreams once the massacre is over and they are free.

The second, much as I hate to admit it as a non-violent person, are videos from the resistance fighters. Seeing them repel the invading army through sheer grit and ingenuity is deeply inspiring. I wish they never had to take up arms, but they are doing this for their families, for their friends, for their community. They are doing it to keep their whole culture alive, and that is something very powerful.

Lastly, the third is seeing the enormous groundswell of consistent, continued pressure from people all around the world. I have never seen this much focused attention for such a sustained period in my lifetime, especially as protestors are striking back at the highest echelons of power. The intensity of the protests and direct action is almost unprecedented, especially as it is happening everywhere.

This is the Palestinians' fight, and we are only supporting them as best we can, but their struggle for freedom is going to have lasting reverberations for our entire global society. People are finally awake, connecting the dots, recognizing that we've been betrayed by our governments, fighting back against manufactured consent. It will impossible to put us all back to sleep again; when Palestine is free, we'll continue putting pressure on every corrupt system, standing up and developing a community until we can no longer be silenced.

There is going to be a chain reaction of other groups, both in the United States and abroad, using this momentum to get back their self-governance. We are ushering in an era of neofeudalism, where the locus of power is close to home and we aid other communities but don't interfere. Free communication and respect, mutual aid and solidarity, but a deep and abiding reverance for those who truly love their land.

As agonized as I am by the horrendous, heart-ripping tragedy, I also feel a renewed sense of purpose, a breathless optimism for the future, a surge of energy for a global revolution.

I want this to happen more than anything. I want all of us to be free. We can no longer accept hegemonic bludgeoning and a remorseless hoarding of power. We have never been more connected or more in step with one another everywhere, never been more invested in each others' struggle.

There are many dissenters, of course, who can't tolerate change and who want to cling to their racist, occluded worldviews. But we are stronger, and greater in numbers, and far more dedicated to our cause. Palestine will win. We will win. And this is what makes it possible not to lose myself in despair.

[arcane-temp-fandomblog]

arcane 4-5-6

oh wow, this was such an interesting development for most characters. I actually thought Jayce would end the whole series as naive dreamer fallen into establishment lapdog but apparently that's act 2, so what's next. Also he believes so much in the Piltover system, that once nearly banished him, I wonder if the 3rd act is the realisation part that the system is not good and that every single person on the council only has their own interests in mind. Yes, even Heimerdinger.

Viktor at least understands that there is a divide between person coming from topside and underground, and how corrupt the system in Piltover is. Vi also understands that and it's the only point of contention between her and Caitlyn, fitted neatly between the pretty obvious flirting. I'm not sure if it's intentional but damn, Heimerdinger is the pinnacle of good intentions but lets keep status quo of the system. He's against hextech because of it's possibility of becoming corrupted in the wrong hands but idk. for the whole series I've only seen people being corrupted by other people brought forth by inequality of Piltover system. And imo. this is the similarity between Jayce and Heimerdinger - they believe more in what Piltover symbolises than seeing it for what it actually is.

Viktor did not change which is nice, I guess he's frustrated because he has nothing to show for years of work. In episode 3 he says "scientists seek discoveries to make the world a better place". Well, about that... hextech has not improved lives for the undercity at all yet, all it did is to make the council richer. So while he has inventions to his name, not even one has been utilised in the form he wanted that is: not even one has made a world a better place. And now the time is running out. Heimerdinger is such a great counterpoint to him, overlooking the Piltover from ivory tower. Like is this intentional or not that Heimerdinger talks about what Piltover stands for since 'it's the city of enlightenment' - so from the start of the series we have seen what that enlightenment means away from what he sees: 1) Vi and Powder had their parents shot in front of them 2) Enforcers hunting down children 3) Removing students that conduct inquiries into banned subjects 4) Allowing enforcers and criminals to flourish by conspiring together, ehm, true day of progress 5) Children getting life-long diseases due to Piltover pollution of lower levels like Viktor 6) allowing people to be incarcerated without trial like Vi 7) Backroom deals of the council and adjusting security measures to fit commerce of the rich Like idk. doesn't seem like the city of Progress. And the whole speech of "oh I remember like it was yesterday when I met you in this place Viktor, you know this place we're looking at, where children from the undercity play in polluted water that drips down from Piltover." So if I had to predict anything for next episodes: Jayce did the whole 'protect the city by closing the bridges with the undercity' to prevent damage and crime, even thou Piltover is full of crime - no need to import it from undercity. But I don't think he thought through it really well, since he has very little consciousness of how topside/undercity work and that undercity is more than a concept and source of all ills : a) when Viktor says he'll visit a friend, which he does - his friend would be from the undercity b) if Caitlyn is investigating shimmer, she would venture into the undercity And now he kind of trapped them on the other side of the Piltover enforcer fence, it seems? lol. Especially Caitlyn which Markus is looking for. Road to hell is paved with good intentions et. al. I'm not sure how is he going to explain this to either of them.

#arcane jayce #heimerdinger #arcane caitlyn #arcane viktor #arcane

[elia-de-silentio]

RECAP ON FYODOR'S ABILITY

Above, here's the first time the infamous 'Crime and Punishment' ability is mentioned, complete with practical Russian translation and pronunciation guide. In this scene, Fitzgerald, Fyodor and Agatha Christie show up for the first time, in a brief scene in which the first complains about the mafia and the other two tell him, each in their own way, that's it's not their business. Neither of their abilities is actually explained; but while Fitzgerald's was eventually revealed in the Guild arc that followed, and Agatha insofar hasn't influenced the story, Fyodor has been instigating chaos for a good half of the manga now, and still his ability has not been explained. This naturally drove the fans into a frenzy; here, I want to do a little recap on what we know about this ability, on the most popular theories, as well as doing a little theorizing of my own.

This is the first instance in which we see the ability put at use: Fyodor touches the forehead of a kid, and he almost immediately dies. This is actually because the collar that kept him alive broke upon that contact.

This is the second instance in which Fyodor's ability is utilized: again, there is physical contact with someone, a military police officer, and the other drops dead on the ground, after a burst of blood from the head. And ... this is the last time we see 'Crime and Punishment' put to use. We see Fyodor use his ability very little, and this likely contributed to the amount of speculation.

One of the main theories is 'he is able to kill with a touch', which is quite reasonable given the evidence presented. In turn, this led to divergent ideas on whethever he can control this ability or not.

Well, about that, the interesting thing is that Fyodor has killed more people without the ability than with it.

He set up all that elaborate ruse to manipulate Ace into killing himself, but maybe it was because they were surrounded by guards.

But then, he shot Katai, even if the latter definitely didn't notice him and nobody else was there, so it would have been a lot more secure to go there and slap that ass tap his shoulder to make sure he died.

Also, if we take Dead Apple in consideration, he stabbed both Dazai and Shibusawa.

Moreover, even if his ability kills upon touch, this appears to be a necessary but not sufficient condition: here's the kid from before touching him with no problems. He is using a towel, sure, but the guard above was using gloves and got killed all the way. Moreover, Fyodor in that scene was in the mafia's clutches because they had kidnapped him, and surely there was some contact to do that. And then there's the Meursault prison, where, as Dazai demonstrates, prisoners are brought in a borderline bondage gear, something rather difficult to do without touching them.

But then, let's toss into this mix Goncharov and Hawthorne! They seem to have been both brainwashed into obedience.

Goncharov: he explicitly says that 'master' removed the part of his brain that feels happiness. What? He removed the amygdala (responsible for reactions of fear)? Messed up with the limbic system in geneal? Goncharov does have bandages that seem to indicate head surgery. But as far as we know, Fyodor isn't a doctor. Did he pay one? He has means and connections to corrupt people, we've seen.

But Hawthorne? He didn't seem very enthusiastic of joining the Rats at the end of the Guild arc, he explicitly said that it was only temporary and on the condition that Fyodor healed Mitchell (and why did he think that he could do that in the first place ...?). Yet, when we see him again in Cannibalism and the Decay of Angels arc, he's completely obedient, going on and on about 'death to Ability Users' and 'save his noble lady'. He also has forgot Akutagawa, with whom he fought earlier, and Fitzgerald, his former boss. But he doesn't have any sign of recent head surgery.

What exactly did Fyodor do to these guys? Is it only manipulation, or does this somehow involve his ability?

This would discard the 'merely kills with a touch' hypothesis, but let's remember that Dazai, when questioned if he knew what Fyodor's ability was right after the policeman's death, says that he has no idea. If the answer was so evident, why not just say it?

Then there is the infamous scene in Dead Apple: Fyodor's Ability, separated from him, follows him around without harming him. This is because 'Crime and Punishment are close friends'; Fyodor is the Crime, his Ability is the Punishment (whose? That of his victims, or his own). Nice callback to the novel that inspired the Ability, which (synthetizing a lot) claims that the mere act of committing a crime is, for the person who has a coscience, enough of a torture to be its own punishment.

Summing up the evidence, here's the last theory, the one I personally find the most convincing: his ability manifests what his victim think they deserve.

It would be partially under his control: he can choose when to activate it or not (as seen with the kid), but first, he must know what his would-be victims desire, and if it suits his goals or not.

Think of the people he killed without his Ability:

• Ace, who didn't feel any guilt for his actions towards his subordinates, or regrets that would make him think he deserved death in general;

• Shibusawa, who was probably too apathetic to the world to bother thinking of regrets or goals;

• Katai, a perfect stranger on whom likely Fyodor didn't bother to make enough research to check if he could use his Ability to off him, when he could do so the old-fashioned way.

Now, the people that were (possibly) victims of the Ability:

• The kid, who openly stated that he felt remorse for his actions under Ace's orders and also wished to be freed of this slavery, something that would have resulted in his death because such was the consequence of removing the collar

• Hawthorne: he was deeply shaken by the fact that Mitchell sacrificed both her life and her dream to save him. There's probably a combination of his love for her and his feeling in her debt, that drove him to tell Fitzgerald off and join the Rats to save her. Before, he had something of a belligerent sexual tension with her; now, he talks about her like she's some kind of angelic woman, a perfect creature that's worth every sacrifice. Perhaps a consequence of a sense of guilt for having misjudged her? And then there is his Ability-users-are-sinners rethoric, so similar to Fyodor's own; that could be an exaggeration of his preexistent religious beliefs or some old-fashioned manipulation

• Goncharov: he believes Fyodor got him rid from ever feeling sad again. We don't know anything about him, so it's only speculation, but maybe he was severely depressed, and Fyodor gave him the 'please-make-this-hell-stop' he desperately wanted? What's certain, is that Goncharov idealizes Fyodor, pretty much like Hawthorne idealizes Mitchell. Coincidences?

• The policeman: RIP to this poor red shirt, we only know that he's dead. In his life, anything could have happened to make him think that he deserved to die.

If this theory was to be correct, Crime and Punishment would be a very powerful Ability, but at the same time, too dependent from external circumstances to be truly reliable; thus explaining why Fyodor uses it relatively little. It also fits with the 'crime is the punishment' theme; and with the 'karma' Fyodor sometimes talks about.

Still, we'll have to wait and see when this gets picked up again by the story Asagiri muoviti!

Thanks to everyone who bothered to read my ramblings!

#bsd #bsd fyodor #bsd meta #bsd theory #elia's recaps #bungou stray dogs

[0mgth4tskr4zy]

Should we hate the LGBTQIA+ community here in the Philippines?

What is Homophobic?, Homophobic or Homophobia is showing range of negative attitude towards people who identified or perceived as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex and asexual(LGBTQIA+), for example, saying harmful jokes towards trans. Then what is LGBTQIA+?. The LGBTQIA+ is an initialism that stands for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersexual, and Asexual or used to describe the community of people who don't identify as heterosexual, straight, or cisgender(Kevin le). Because of the society they tend to be discriminated alongside getting harassment and this event happen in many reasons ,if standing is the question , My stand as an individual is we shouldn't hate every LGBTQIA+ people instead we should give them support and love.

Eversince the LGBTQIA+ community arise in the globe this has been distinguish as a global hindrance but is it been a problem, or people are just speculating or assuming that theseq who's called immorals are the true problem?. My stand will remain strong why? because of some points, first is because the Philippines is one of the most gay-friendly country in the world, base on the survey conducted out of Of the 39 countries covered by a global survey, only 17 countries had majorities that accepted homosexuality, with the Philippines ranking at number 10 among the 17 (Tubeza). We can say that 80% of us our Catholic but despite of it Filipinos' manage to accept LGBTQIA+ people in fact 73% of Filipino think that Homosexuality should be accepted by society (Abad), and we can see that up until today but only tolerance is present not the support. But just like in many homes accepting the truth is still hard and seems difficult to understand. One of the major reason why people tend to get the same reaction when seeing gay person is the lack of information that's why government should provide such advertisement that talks about lgbt people. Nevertheless, if you observe your surrounding most of the time gay people are the most trusted and comfortable person to be around, you can see everywhere a friendship that consist of straight people being hanging around in gay person, "it's not fun anymore when you don't have a gay friend" they say and it's true, in fact straight women and gay men are the most comfortable duo, it's because straight women don't mate with gay men, In other words, because gay men are attracted to their own gender, they’re a “safe bet” for women (Russell). Seond. Human rights, just like heterosexual people, LGBTQIA+ people are human too. Human rights is the right to life, liberty, security and property. We have the right to a transparent, credible, competent and impartial justice system, free from influence and corruption, where wrongs are redressed and justice is dispensed fairly, speedily and equitably (hurights osaka). In school most of us, thought that school is a safe place since its for everyone but not on gay students, gay students find their schooling paired by harassment, discrimination, and worst bullying. Example of this is the everyday picture of our gay friends they tend to get catcalling, taking harmful jokes, questioning if why didn't got straight, and jokingly asking if their parents know who they are. Moments like this reflect on the actions of the school and it result to lack of protection and orientation in LGBTQIA+ people. Not just in school but in workplace, Researcher Patricia Angela Luzano Enriquez found out that 25 percent of respondents have experienced harassment from their employers or superior officers, 33 percent have experienced harassment from co-workers, and 60 percent have been the subject of slurs and jokes in the workplace (CNN Philippines). Furthermore giving the same treatment for gay people is giving them the freemdom they deserve. I mean we're both living in the same society but differ when it comes to sexual orientation so we should promote each other how? . Stop Generalizing them, Generalizing gay people doesn't help you in growing as an individual, you might think it's ok but it's not. Be educated, read some articles and ask an expert or experienced. Being inform can help you to know Gay people better and if you're not comfortable just take your self isolated and give your self a space. These matters can be simple but it change when it comes to LGBT people.

Every person on this planet is unique and special, be equal to others and treat them fairly. In this day our society is slowly accepting the LGBTQIA+ Community. I know not all gay people are the same sometimes theyre also the one who starts bad, what i mean is let's make ourselves clear when it comes to these kind of people, they have a heart and feelings too so we must accept and support them.

[marleahsblogs]

✨ Internet Safety ✨

For our generation today, the internet is probably the safest place to be in. People can be whoever they want, express whatever they want, and enjoy themselves however they want. I must admit, I would also say that I couldn’t live without the internet. Internet is just the solution to every problem, right? Now, we can even earn money in the comfort of our rooms with the help of the internet. Should we spend hours travelling just to buy stuff? Nah, we got the internet! With just several clicks we can already make an order and just wait on our couch to receive it. Oh no, COVID-19 ruled the world! No worries, we are backed up by the internet. Online classes, online transactions, online dating. You name it. The internet is there for us, or is it? Is it our safe haven?

We have put so much trust in the internet, but we didn’t know it can also be our biggest predator. Online transactions were fun until you got scammed and lost all your money. Online dating them feel loved until the person they were talking to is a catfish. Streaming online made him famous and rich, until his account got hacked. And there are still millions of stories out there that should awake us from believing that the internet is the safest thing in the world.

Below are some possible dangers you could encounter online.

1. Cyberbullying

I’m sure many of you have heard of this. But even though we are fully aware of it, it is still one of the major problems until now. As we casually scroll in our social media feeds, it is already normal for us to see people making fun of or “bashing” other people. It became so prevalent that we could call it a normal thing. According to UNICEF (2019), one in three young people has said that they have been a victim of cyberbullying and that it affected almost half of the Filipino children aged 13-17. We need to know that even a single word like “tanga” or “bobo” we see in our social media platforms and online gaming worlds could affect or traumatize us greatly.

2. Data Being Stolen

Some people nowadays are getting better at doing this. They can steal your money from your accounts, apply for a loan or credit card using your name, or sell your information to an online criminal as well. The hidden website is packed with criminals who purchase and sell stolen personal data. If your data is stolen, you can experience spam attacks. But most of these data thefts try to steal sensitive information, such as your credit card or personal information to commit identity theft.

3. Exposure to Inappropriate Material

Another risk especially for children and teenagers are exposure to inappropriate materials that are sexual, hateful, or violent. The chance and probability for children to look at anything inappropriate rely on how much they do online as they get more active online at a younger age. Whether it's a free-time graphic pop-up commercial, children's cartoon characters in adult circumstances or a self-harm forum, an innocent search might expose these children to contents that make them feel puzzled and angry. Some of the inappropriate content includes pornographic material, content containing swearing, sites that encourage racism, violence, terrorism, or even suicide, sexism sites, or gambling sites, and so on.

Based on my own experiences, here are some tips I would like to share to you to look after your privacy and secure your internet safety:

1. Keep your software up-to-date

Not only will you get a better program experience, but you will also be able to iron out your security issues. But the reason why you must keep it updated is that hackers are fast enough to become aware of certain software’s vulnerabilities, thus could harm your computer system and personal data. If you avoid doing these updates, you are bound to face persistent bugs, data loss, malware infection, and of course security issues.

2. Update your passwords

Why do we need to constantly change our passwords? So that we can reduce the risk of other people having access to our accounts, thus corrupt our personal data. Using strong passwords is necessary for us to prove our identity in our accounts, websites, or our computer itself (Wright, 2021). My tip in creating passwords is random characters with a symbol, number, and at least one capital letter. The reason for this is that using weak passwords, such as patterns of letters and numbers, or simply your name and some important date you know can cause hackers to guess and open your account, hence impersonate you to commit fraud and other crimes.

3. Use two-factor authorization

Familiar with this term? Yes, a two-factor authorization (2FA) is an extra step to keep your accounts more secure and avoid getting hacked by others. One of the most common 2FA methods is one-time codes sent through SMS or email, authenticator apps such as Google Authenticator, and security keys such as U2F tokens (Drozhzhin, 2018). This one for me is the best 2FA authorization because only your private key will confirm your login. If someone will try to log in to your account with the wrong security key, they will not be granted access to your account. So, there you go. A series of two-factor authorizations that will secure your accounts the best way possible. You’re welcome!

4. Be careful what you click on

Have you heard of phishers? They are attackers that send a fraudulent message designed to trick and victimize us into revealing sensitive information to them. As scary as it sounds, we need to be aware of what we click on to avoid experiencing this. Phishing is usually done in an email when they get your email address from somewhere. These phishers try to create a fake website to trick you into typing in your personal information. It’s much easier for them to hack our accounts this way. To avoid this, you can check the URL’s legitimacy by using the Google Transparency Report or simply avoid suspicious emails which require your personal information. Think before you click!

5. Back-up your data

Data back-up and recovery has many advantages. Some of these are protecting and saving your data, provides ease of management, ensures accurate information of your data, quick access to data, scalability, and such (Becker, 2021). There are many other ways to back up your data, but here’s a simple way to manually back up your data in your phone is to open your phone’s settings app, tap system and click backup or search backup in your settings app, then tap back-up now. It’s that simple.

6. Set up notifications for your most important bank accounts

As online bank account holders, it is our responsibility to making sure our accounts are protected. Online accounts are one of the easy targets of hackers to whisk away our money with just a couple of keystrokes. To safeguard our online banking, we may choose an industrial-standard security bank or credit union that utilizes text or e-mail warnings avoids the use of public Wi-Fi access and periodically changes your password.

7. Protect your personal information

This might be difficult for those who like to express themselves on social media, but we must protect our personal identity to avoid any sort of online threats. To protect our identity, we must limit the amount of personal information we share or provide. We shouldn't share or provide this information online: exact home address, your place and schedules of classes or work, birthday, cellphone number, and most importantly our passwords or account information. Another tip is to write down in a small notebook all your passwords and keep them safe in a secure place away from your computer.

8. Use parental controls and stay present

With the pandemic going on right now, parents should be extra careful of what their children see and hear about themselves and who they encounter on the internet. To protect your children from internet risks, talk to them frequently, utilize tools to safeguard them and watch out for their work. Monitor the time of your child, especially the younger ones, about when and how long they stay online. Keep your computer at a central location in your house, where it's easy to watch what your children do and look at online. You may configure them for mobile devices to forget Wi-Fi passcodes for your kids not to go online without knowledge. Review privacy and location settings, parental control and use secure browsers, apps, search engines and YouTube search settings. Lastly, limit camera and video to prevent your children from accidentally taking photos or videos of themselves or others.

The internet does not usually hurt us unless we react to suspect material and websites. The first reason you don't know what you're doing is because of internet damage. Secondly, you may react or click on links such as appealing advertisements, infected software and communications when you have other forces. To ensure internet safety, just remember those tips above and these three things: secure your network, be responsible, and make the internet child-safe.

References:

Becker, D. (2021). 6 Advantages of Data Backup and Recovery. IT Central Station. Retrieved from https://www.itcentralstation.com/articles/6-advantages-of-data-backup-and-recovery

Drozhzhin, A. (2018). SMS-based two-factor authentication is not safe — consider these alternative 2FA methods instead. Kaspersky Daily. Retrieved from https://www.kaspersky.com/blog/2fa-practical-guide/24219/

Wright, J. (2021). Why Is it Important to Change Your Password? Small Business Chron. Retrieved from https://smallbusiness.chron.com/

Online bullying remains prevalent in the Philippines, other countries (2019). Unicef Philippines. Retrieved from https://www.unicef.org/philippines/press-releases/online-bullying-remains-prevalent-philippines-other-countries

25 Best Internet Safety Tips for Every Situation (2021). The Neeva Team. Retrieved from https://neeva.com/learn/25-best-internet-safety-tips-for-every-situation

[shawtygonemad]

What Is This Feeling: Chapter 11

Fem!9th Doctor x Male!Rose Tyler

WITF Masterlist

"Doctor." A far off voice spoke her name. A very familiar voice that instantly sent shivers through her body.

"Doctor!" This time the voice was closer. She felt her body be shaken.

The Doctor groan and rolled over onto her stomach. Her head was pounding. What had happened? Everything was a blurry and painful. Where was she?

"Did you just come back to get changed and take a nap? I didn't actually think you slept to be honest," Ross prattled on as he set a beach bag they had packed earlier on the ground. "What's that headband you've got on? You trying to accessorize now?" He chuckled.

The Doctor, with her eyes still closed rubbed her head trying to ease the pain. She was on Ross's bed back in their resort's suite. When did she get there? Wasn't she out investigating something? Something wasn't right. What was wrong? There were…. missing persons! Of course! She was out trying to find them. Zamora!

The Doctor's eyes flew open, and she quickly turned in the bed to face the concerned Ross. As soon as her eyes locked onto him there was a warm bolt that went through her body. She felt like a magnet that needed to be connected with him. Her sight hazed over, and all she could think of was Ross. He was still in his swim shorts. His top half bare. She just wanted to run her hands over his perfectly chiseled body, and attach her lips to his…

"Doctor, are you alright," Ross asked, confused by the look she was giving.

"I'm fantastic now that you're here," She gave a lop-sided grin and crawled over the bed to be closer to him. She looked up at him as he stood over her with worried eyes.

"You just seem to be acting different…"

The Time Lord stood up on her knees and reached out her hands to run them through his hair lovingly. "I'm just acting how I've always wanted to act. I'm just not shy anymore."

Her human's eye widened at this. She had rendered him speechless for once. She seemed to be unbalanced, so Ross placed his hands on her waist to steady her. The Doctor ran her hand from his hair, down his cheek, and traced his bottom lip with her thumb. He was completely perfect to her. She just wanted him, so badly. All of him. Her eyes flicked from his brown eyes down to his lips. Slowly she began to lean up towards him. Their lips centimeters apart.

"Doctor," Ross whispered. "What are we doing?" He whispered quietly. He was confused as to why she was starting to act this way now, so suddenly. What had brought it on?

"Everything." She replied as she finally connected their lips.

Her body felt as if it was on fire as she feverishly kissed Ross. Luckily, he had acted just as passionately. The Doctor's hand snaked around her companion's neck as she allowed herself to fall back onto the bed pulling him with her. Her hands roamed over the naked half of his body. She wanted to memorize every inch of him. Every dent, dip, scar, and freckle. The Time Lord wrapped her legs around his waist and used her superior strength to flip them, so she was straddling his waist on top. She smirked at his shocked expression. She lightly pulled his bottom lip between her teeth before nibbling down his jaw, toward his neck. She was going to leave him so many love bites as a blissful reminder of this night.

"You know," she began against his neck which must have hummed in the right way, because it caused Ross to groan. That sent another shock through the Doctor's body encouraging her to continue. "Compared to you, I'm feeling a little overdressed."

The Gallifreyan leaned back and quickly shed her jacket along with her top. Her beautiful pink and yellow stared up at her in amazement. This made her smile.

"Like what you see?" She asked in a low voice.

Her companion replied by flipping them back over on the bed, so he was in the more dominant position. The Doctor shimmied out of her pants as Ross began to caress her shoulders, up her neck towards her head. She was completely exposed below him, only in her undergarments. Ross leaned down for a soft kiss as his hands made it to her temples. He grabbed the golden headband quickly and forcefully removed it from her head. He then tossed it to the side of the room.

The Time Lord gasped against Ross's lips as soon as the article was released from her head. It felt as if a bucket of cold water was thrown at her. Her head instantly cleared, as her stared petrified at Ross. What has she done? She quickly pushed him off her as she sat up. Her face was hot from embarrassment.

"That headband you had on, I think it had some charm over you," Ross deduced as he got up from the bed as well. "Doctor…" he began softly.

The Doctor quickly got dressed as Ross did. "We have no time to discuss what just happened. There is a Junite ship out there with hundreds of kidnaped species on board. I've got to save them."

Ross had changed into a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. He was putting his shoes as he spoke. "Right, who's the baddie this time, and how are we going to stop them?"

"You're not coming with," she informed him as she headed for the door.

"The hell I'm not!"

"You'll only slow me down. You have a bum ankle, remember," she reminded him as she left the room. Ross was hot on her tail like always.

"I'm coming with you. I don't care how hurt my ankle is," he said stubbornly.

"Fine. But I don't want to hear you complaining!" She led them towards the TARDIS.

"Where are they?"

"They are all caged up on a Junite's ship hidden below a water fall. We're going to take the TARDIS and pop in on them. I have a feeling that they won't be very cooperative," she explained as she unlocked the door to her ship and stepped in with her human.

She ran over to the console and set the coordinates for the Junite ship. Her mind kept flashing back to what her and Ross had just done. Dread crept into her at the thought of the conversation the were bound to have soon. Her head shook as she rid those thoughts and tried to concentrate. Ross stood back and watched her normal dance around the TARDIS as she landed them onto the enemy's ship.

Once the TARDIS landed the Doctor ran down the ramp and peaked her head outside of the doors. They had landed in the gallery that held all the cells. The Doctor grinned. It was one of the rare times that her piloting had gotten them to the right place at the right time. Her and Ross both stepped out. She nodded her head seeing that there was no panel for her to override the system. She'd have to find the main system and do it manually.

"Right then. Ross, I need to go and find the main controls to override the system and release these cells. As soon as that happens, I need you to corral all the life forms into the TARDIS. We'll have to take them all back ourselves," she informed her companion.

"What about the Junites? What'll happen to them? Can't they be reasoned with," Ross questioned.

"Usually yes. However, I met Zamora and she seems to be one of the very few Junites who are unreasonable. I'll give them one last chance to leave this planet and return home. That's all they get," She told him.

That being said, the Time Lord turned and swiftly exited the doors that had led her into the gallery the first time she was here. She needed to find the main control room. She quickly went up and down the halls scanned for the room that was giving off the most power. Once she located it, she entered the room ready for a fight. To her surprise there was no one in there.

'Well, that's highly unlikely.'

She shook her head, and went to work. Her fingers quickly graced across the controls overriding the ship's system, removing all security, and releasing the cell doors. Once completing her task, the Doctor glanced over the security cameras looking for the one that overlooked the gallery. She grinned as she watched Ross speak and lead each species into the TARDIS. I looked at the other cameras and watched as guards were running down the halls towards they gallery.

"I don't think so," she muttered to herself as her fingers flew across the controls making sure the doors to the gallery were sealed shut. She smiled at herself as she watched them struggle to open the door.

She looked over the panel and hit a button the looked like it was for an intercom. She hoped he was almost finished, because she didn't know for sure if this was going to be projected to the entire ship.

"Ross, can you hear me? How's it going in there," She asked over the intercom. She smiled as she wanted him jump at the sound of her on the monitor.

"Erm, good! Everyone is almost boarded!" He responded.

"Fantastic! Once all boarded, I'll be right down, then we'll be off!" She said as she began to move towards the door.

"That won't be happening Doctor," Zamora's voice came from the monitor.

The Doctor quickly turned around and stared at the screen. It seemed that just as Ross the last of the prisoners onto the TARDIS he was captured by Junite guards. Although, he was smart enough to close the door of the TARDIS before he was captured. Smart boy. The Time Lord's anger flared.

"Release him," she demanded.

"Not until you release my specimen, first."

"No. That is not happening. I won't allow you to enslave all of those species!" She yelled.

"They aren't slaves. They'll live a very luxurious life in their own habitats," Zamora tried to reason.

"That's just not right," The Doctor shook her head in disgust.

"Oh, but I think it is," the Junite began. "Without another festivity as successful as our flora season, our economy will crash! It was the only way our planet was able to be sustainable!"

"There are other ways than enslaving hundreds of species! I can help you! You don't have to do this!"

"We do, Doctor. This is the only way."

The only Stubborn Junite she has ever met. How could she not see the other possibilities? She realized now that they were too far gone. They were never going to see anything else besides their disgusting plan. She couldn't let these corrupt Junites continue roaming the galaxies kidnapping species. She had to end this. Her fingers ran over the controls one last time, silencing the alarm as she set the destruct countdown button off. She had 10 minutes.

"I'll trade myself for him. I'm a much rarer species anyway, being the last of the Time Lords and all."

Zamora's eyes widened. "But, that's impossible… they were all destroyed."

The Doctor's eyes were cold as she spoke, "Who do you think destroyed them all?"

"The last of the Time Lords. That's one hell of a title. People will come from everywhere just to see you…"

"Doctor, don't do it! I'm not worth it," Ross pleaded.

'You have no idea how worth it you are, Ross,'

The Doctor quickly exited the control room and ran down the corridors towards the gallery. Distract them as she got herself and Ross onto the TARDIS? Yeah, sounds easy enough. She rolled her eyes at herself. She found the doors leading into the gallery. She soniced them open and stepped inside. Her eyes instantly landed on Ross. He was still being restrained by the guards, but was otherwise unharmed.

"We will release your human if you surrender yourself to us," Zamora spoke.

"Release him first, then I will go with you willingly," she promised.

Zamora nodded, and the guards released Ross. He instantly ran over to the Doctor and engulfed her into a hug. "You can't go with them," he told her.

"Just go into the TARDIS, quickly. I've got a plan," She whispered to him.

"Really," He looked at her with doubt.

"Do I ever? Just go," she nudged him towards the TARDIS.

He reluctantly obeyed her and went into the TARDIS, but watched from inside the doors. The Doctor turned towards Zamora as two guards approached her. She knew she was going to have to fight her way out of this. She didn't want to get violent, but if she had to.

One guard grabbed her arms and pulled them behind her as the other approached from her front. She threw her head back, and head butted the guard behind her. Which left him dazed. The Time Lord threw her weight back towards the guard behind her which gave her enough momentum to lift both legs up and kick the guard approaching from the front as hard as she could. As her body and legs heavily returned to the ground, she used her strength to throw the guard that was holding her from behind over her shoulder. He landed on the guard she kicked who was starting to get up.

She began to run towards the TARDIS only to be blocked by Zamora herself. The Junite began the grapple with the Gallifreyan. "You will not ruin this for me!" She yelled frustrated.

As they spared, the Doctor finally had an opening that she took. Zamora flew to the ground in a heap. The Doctor took her chance and ran into the TARDIS's open doors.

"You destroyed us, Doctor!" Zamora yelled from her place on the ground.

"You can come with us! I can help you rebuild your planet! We can regrow your flowers! Please, let me help."

"I hope you remember this, Doctor! You destroyed us! You have destroyed us like you destroyed your own people," Zamora roared.

They didn't have much time before the ship destructed. Knowing that Zamora had made her choice, the Doctor shut the TARDIS door. She run up the ramp, swerving in and out all the different species that now filled the console room. The Time Lord didn't her normal dance around the console and send them into the Time Vortex as the Junite Ship imploded.

Once out of danger the Doctor turned towards her many guesses and clapped her hands together with a grin. "Alright. Where to first?"

...

Ross smiled and shut the TARDIS doors after waving goodbye to the human couple, the little boy, and his family. They were safely returned to the resort to Bora Bora. Once the Doctor saw they Ross was safely inside, she sent them into the Time Vortex. She took her time, knowing what was to come next.

Ross would probably demand that he be taken home. This daft old alien had practically jumped his bones. He, of course, went along with it so he could break the spell over her. Ross was a smart one. He knew to just play along. How could she possibly think that he would ever feel the way that she does. He was a human, and she was an ancient alien. The thought probably disgusted him.

"Doctor…" Ross began slowly.

All the blood left her face, and a cold jolt went through her body. This was it. He was going to leave her. Her hearts broke at the thought. She didn't want to be alone again. She couldn't. Madness would finally take hold of her. She couldn't live without traveling with Ross. Her fantastic, brilliant, smart, beautiful, pink and yellow human.

"It was just a spell, Ross. Just let it go," She said through gritted teeth.

"I don't think it was though. I asked her about it while you were running to sacrifice yourself to them. I asked Zamora what that headband was, and why it did what it did…" Ross began.

"It meant nothing, Ross! That headband was just some common love charm…"

"No, it wasn't! I asked her why she would charm you into doing that. She told me that even though it was a powerful charm there still needed to be some affection, or attraction there already for it to even work.

The Doctor refused to look at him, "She was just trying to get to you Ross."

"Why are you lying!" He yelled. The suddenly raise of his voice slightly startled her, making her raise her eyes towards him. He looked completely exasperated.

No… she couldn't lose him. Even if he didn't feel the same way. She couldn't lose him over this. Just then a thought came into her head. Maybe she just didn't have to.

"Oh Ross…" she slowly made her way over towards him. She looked up into his brown eyes as she gently placed a hand on the side of his head.

"Doctor, s'alright. I just want you to know…" he began for the Doctor to tearfully cut him off.

"I'm so sorry," she said quietly, as she placed her other hand onto his other side, and shifted her fingers into the mind connecting positions.

"What are you…" Ross began.

The Doctor forcefully thrust her mind into his. Ross was taken aback.

'What are you doing?' he asked, confused, and slightly fearful.

The Doctor instantly accessed his memories and went to work.

'I can't lose you, Ross. I know you don't feel the same, which is fine. I just can't lose you. So, I'm going to hide that memory from you. I'm not taking it away, just locking it up so you won't have to endure the memory of it.'

"No! Please! Doctor! Please, don't," Ross verbally begged.

'I'm sorry.'

With that, she locked up the memory of them in the resort bedroom and placed it into the deep part of his mind where he'll never have to deal with it again. Just to be sure she also, instantly made him fall unconscious. She carefully placed him on the jumper seat, and went about the console room. She decided to nervously make some repairs on the TARDIS while they drifted in the Time Vortex, and waited for her human to wake up.

It took about 20 minutes for him to finally come to. He groaned slightly as he began to sit up.

"Doctor," he called out.

The Time Lord held her breath for a second, before placing a fake grin on her face as she popped her head out from the other side of the console.

"Hello there, sleeping beauty! Did you enjoy your nap?"

"What happened," he asked groggy.

"You don't remember?" she asked, faking concern. She knew what happened.

"Sorta. S' all kinda fuzzy."

"Well what do you remember," She asked, slightly nervous.

"You left me on the beach," he paused as he thought back. "I returned to the room later on after getting a little sun sick. I found you napping on the bed, so I woke you up…" The Doctor held her breath again at this part. "You jumped up and started to prattle on about Junite's and missing people that we had to save. We went about the ship. You released the kidnapped species, and I corralled them onto the TARDIS. You came back and sacrificed yourself to Zamora, before becoming this badass fighter and took them all out! We then returned all of the species, and then it gets fuzzy again."

The Doctor grinned. "Well after we dropped off the humans at Bora Bora you went over to the jump seat, plopped down, and fell asleep."

"Oh. Well I suppose I am a bit tired. Should probably be off to bed then if we're going to be running around saving galaxies again tomorrow," he grinned at her. "G'night, Doctor," he called as he began to shuffle out of the console room.

"G'night, Ross Tyler!" She called after him with a grin still plastered on her face. Once he knew he was completely gone her face dropped. She laid her head against the console and released a sigh.

She was going to have to watch herself from now on. Things had to go back to normal, or even less so. She didn't want that memory being released. Her hearts broke more at the thought and Ross demanding to be sent home. The TARDIS knew her thief was upset, so she let out a warm hum letting her know that everything will be alright.

"I know, old girl." The Time Lord gave a sad smile, and placed hand on the large column in the middle of the console. "I'll be alright. I always am.

#romance #adventure #doctor who fanfic #doctor who #doctor x rose #the doctor #doctor who fanfiction #bbc doctor who #doctor who imagine #ninth doctor #9th doctor x rose #9th doctor #fem!9th doctor x male!rose tyler #fem!9th doctor #male!rose tyler #the doctor x rose tyler #rose tyler

[janadaniel4grassroots]

THE DIRTIEST DATA

TARGET FOR TORTURE

A TRUE ACCOUNT OF

DOMESTIC VIOLENCE VICTIM

September 2020

Contributor: Jana Daniel

Grassroots Guardians of Truth

UPROOT a DV Movement

The goal was to torture me through my own account that way no trace.. I did it to myself because I'm insane. Covert ops in a time where technology is impressive but vulnerable to data corruptions and lack of understanding especially in the legal arena where a firm understanding is needed the most. I was researching and running pilot programs to discover ways to truly keep women who make it out safe without cutting them off from society. This experience has proven that I'm a textbook case with tenure. Everything happens for a reason and my advocacy and philanthropy pursuits are far from over. The following is a percent of what occured and what I saw, technology throughputs allowed manipulative imagery and allowed changes to text photos before sent. The need is abundant whether we are ready or not.

Amazing what a year can do. I've learned an excessive amount of information now that I've acclimated to the happenings. By now, everyone has heard of predictive text and I'm sure it comes in handy. However, my experience was quite different. The global keyboard uploaded without my prompt, by a second individual who accessed my account on a seperate device and through the Google Play Store selected and downloaded the app. As my phone updated around 3 am the keyboard app uploaded and would change automatically while typing. I write a lot, so this became problematic and prevented me from continuing my endeavors until a solution is found. It would be another 7 months little did I know, before my life was my own again. A virtual kidnapping essentially the best way to describe this systematic, continual abuse and crime against a person. It's killing me faster than the physical abuse because I couldn't identify the perpetrators.

Deep-thinking and clear understanding of what is occuring and where protections and oversight will be needed. Automated decision making isn't a human function and nor what we're accustomed to. In less than a year due to the reality that someone or something is communicating data to me, i began to rely on the predictive guideline set before me just as an officer would be able to predictively policy enforce. But that in fact is exactly the point, there is a violation of human, civil, and individual rights to not be infringed upon. For my own pursuits in life I try to maintain a secure system and in doing so through my ordinary course of business I conduct certain procedures. One being, data mining, another being continued education, pilot programs when available, etc. I had experienced a different breach around December and I began seeking the identity of the criminal.

Initially, unsupervised or monitored only, (permission not given for either) coded script played out on my screen. After I reported, the game changed. Suddenly, an advasarial context is all that I'm receiving and I'm suddenly the victim of targeted surveillance that I'm very well aware of. Let's face it, you normally wouldn't know that you are being placed under surveillance. I now know that this in fact was, an example of Deep learning of general advasarial Neuro network a GAN with a generator and a discriminator being put against each other. Understanding that what your brain fires on it wires on as well. They fed the deepfake scenarios to me each with enough truth or probability that I had no choice but to seek the remaining info that they failed to disclose and that is described as (mask) words. It took a lot of time initially but I became more efficient as I continued to learn.

As protected individuals by order of a domestic violence protective order, to have the Thomas Co Sheriff Dept. And the Pelham PD testing my ability to decipher the information, realizing that I see what is happening and being further disrespected and even asked to park and contact an ambulance to let them know that I need help finding the right person, who at the time someone was insinuating that my deceased father was alive. The cops didn't even investigate.. couldn't get more obvious they violated my constitutional rights and mine and my children's rights as victims of DV. My children, by the way, utilize the phone as well, the constant changes to the screen and location of the apps was noticed first by my son. No matter what I did they had control of the content in the phone. Using face recognition to identify if I'm telling the truth and constantly surveilling me. My vehicle too, equiped to note my every move. Taunted by my home devices such as the ring light that would switch off when I needed the lights on. I haven't had moment's peace since the leave. I'm to blame according to the Sheriff Dept. Odd doesn't seem reasonable but okay, I have to use the healing process to investigate.

I wish I could say that is where it ended, far from it actually. Social engineered to stop trusting in everything, creating discord with people I'd just began to connect with after years of isolation. Then in state of grieving the loss only father, vulnerabilities exploited, cognitive dissonance attempted to create an unstable demeanor because who could possibly explain that cards- Google search pages- are leading to videos that contain AI image alterations so that what you see is familiar. Someone was available twenty four hours a day and when I wasn't seeking the information, someone was threatening me predictively and also implemented sounds that at first I didn't distinguish as just sounds. This would occur throughout the night sometimes. I honestly believed that we were in danger. I fell from the healthy state that I had just had a glimpse of into a sickened, deregulated state that would continue for months. Words uncommonly used by myself such as Tactically, vie, omniscient, etc. would flash and storyline would clearly be laid before me. Other tactics were used such as Fuzzing, quasi-imperceptible, emotional extortion at it's finest. It will be blamed on AI technology, but they failed to understand the identifying bits of info that I detected and categorized chronologically and per device or paper that they derived from.

I will be blamed for not seeing my children who were removed due to DV. I'll take the blame because it was a decision I was able to make due to the fact that I was being encouraged to have all four of the children together in order to get the money. Seemed like a ploy so I went alone to Rundown the people who had become increasingly more than I expected. Conspirators, bribe takers, and there's us… Collateral damage. It seemed to have turned into a game where death was the intent. I held on because I knew that someone has been made aware and I had reported to different agencies and to my trusted friends. Time lingered, and three months became six and suddenly they were threatening to arrest someone else. Realizing that they've violated our rights and worked diligently to destroy the security that I had worked so hard to establish after escaping DV with the belongings in my vehicle. They still were far from done. I had been forced to live without AC and the plumbing problematic after an attempted repair by the landlord left my room flooded. The Corona Pandemic began the same time, also the first and last time that my spouse had paid child support. After three months, they came to collect the rent. It now June, I demanded the air be fixed to no avail. I then had all repairs done myself. I spoke with him expecting a negotiation and then received an eviction notice. Upon filing a response and counterclaim, I was ordered an extra month rent above the amount petitioned for… I received no credit for the repairs that I had just had made, and I had seven days to vacate. I did not mention that the entire three months of No child support, no AC, no response from the landlord, that I had been receiving predictive context stating… “We built a prison just for you” forced to sleep with our windows open, remain outside during the day.. in a matter of no time, our happy home had become our misery. I offered the landlord the full judgement amount cash in hand, he denied to take it , he said he prefered that I move out. I didn't get my appeal in because I had confirmed that our family land has been sold under the premise of an invalid will and just as ten years before, heritage stolen from us all. Seven days came quickly and I didn't have but one who I still trusted at that point. I was granted a couple days and demeaned in the process. On that last day I left with my children who were unaware that we no longer has a home. We hadn't enjoyed any of the summer so I took my children on what they knew as a vacation. I was a nervous wreck managing them and their little hands, don't touch, don't breath, the virus! As I searched for options within my budget and tried to predict the next time that he networks and deprives. I decided that I will use the land that I own and homestead. No one can ever put us in that situation again. Now how can I make this work? I haven't built the house yet due to the lengthy divorce and the other intentionally created variables. Without revealing everything, I made it work and the house will be built soon.

After all of that, if it were a LAN network and the neighborhood and city were to blame then it's over… The worst has yet to come. My lawyer dropped the ball, so there was no contempt hearing, meaning no support from the abusive spouse. The final divorce scheduled for Monday August 24th. On Thursday prior, I advised my attorney that I wasn't a lamb being led to slaughter and neither are my children. I am not impressed with her demeanor seemingly in defense of the opposing side and reiterated that she needs to advise me of what the correspondence is rather than knowing everything they're saying and leaving me in the dark. She said that was mailing a check for $1500 of the $5k he owes. I explained how I intended on explaining everything to the judge with physical example of two clean devices in which he could type a sentence structure and I across the room could in fact with acceptable accuracy through mining relay his message… I was placed on hold, then she was going to return my call. I received an email the next day stating the hearing had been cancelled. I guess I was close enough to cause cleanup on DiVorce-20. I couldn't make up the incompetcy if I tried… it's been over a year and she let my protective order expire when she let the scheduling fail the kids and I. She's knowingly prolonged everything working an agenda.

Meanwhile, I'm mining data, and see threatening communications about my mother being the price that I will pay. For two days and there was even a signature of 4umud:\3 I had seen threatening messages all the while through, they wanted me to harm myself, so I didn't realize the gravity of the situation until the morning of August 27th, when they told me she had passed away. I am trying to hold it together, my heart is broken into pieces. In the last year and a half I lost my father, escaped DV so I thought, pandemic, bought a household full of furniture, got evicted after being tormented, burned most if the furniture that I had bought just a year ago, and then have to accept my mother's passing after being told of it prior to. How? I write sometimes into the night… Only to wake up and see everything has been deleted or modified to look like jibberish.

The plan was to make me appear alone and unstable. Then with a signature they could get the rest of what I have. The Underwoods made everyone think that I had a big check, that's so they would attack me and funny how I said to him.. your plan isn't going to work… He said they have a new one and the two days before my mom died he didn't call.. he has and did call every single day but those two days. So no, I don't believe that anyone has been here to help there is no reason that I could. The full story would take forever to explain a hundred different things … Deep learning of how sick these people are. That statement is inclusive of some judges, some lawyers, some landowner, some banker, some ex's, some banker, and some evils.

Regarding the factual basis for my findings… an advasarial context targeted at DV Victim and At some point to gain a new level of trust an observer weighed in - ALL CAPS- it appeared to be but this is stalking and Harassment using the same protocol as a guideline. Being that I worked for the Baldwin's and the quantity of equipment, servers, and technology couples with security… I'd say that BYOD could have easily attached to any device that I've had especially if someone made the mistake of hacking the email that I had as a corporate address. Quasi-imperceptible as everything in convulsion is nearly impossible to figure out. Casual reasoning nearly out the window now that I've used the Ai tech inappropriately due to the advasarial context intended to disrupt and destabilize.

Disquis was an app that he or someone loaded to my account and I did go back and test most of the apps I saw because I needed to know what info was obtained and how to prevent in the future. Red team, that's me. ResGN to reinforce the learning and GPT-2 is quickly being replaced by GPT-3 a natural language system that whether forward or back will remember the context of the usage of the specific word. Cryptography circles implemented initially to create a trustless environment. Deepfake tech that I've lived for ten years without the fancy assigned label's. Ultimately the same as always… Doubt your reality and make sure everyone doubts your capabilities because how else can they suck the soul out if you. If you see me and don't recognize me… Know it's because he is wearing my reflection… If I take it back he is the one who looks like an empty shell. I am not empty.. I have a flicker.

I hope this helps you understand that I'm capable of handling the delivery of proof and facts that will assist others to understand that this is a very sophisticated form of technology and weaponry all the same when abused and causes one to harm another or one to harm themselves then I'd say the prosecution rate will increase significantly. Once recognized for the heinous malfunctioned personality that takes the time and devotion to harm another in such a way that is worth what I just endured teaching myself because the law and legal representation failed to do anything to help ... Oh except drop the contempt, postpone the final, and my protective order expired too.

"If you really have to do something ... Go alone!" generations of wisdom... William Kirby Daniel

[permanentplaceholder]

No one wants to talk about this, but we all should be. - Citadel Has No Clothes (original research by u/atobitt on Reddit) - If you've heard about Gamestop, you should read this to get a better idea what's really going on.

source

EDIT: This is not financial advice. Everything disclosed in the post was done by myself, with public information. I came to my own conclusions, as should you.

TL;DR - Citadel Securities has been fined 58 times for violating FINRA, REGSHO & SEC regulations. Several instances are documented as 'willful' naked shorting. In Dec 2020 they reported an increase in their short position of 127.57% YOY, and I'm calling bullsh*t on their shenanigans.

I've been digging into the financial statements of Citadel Securities between 2018 and 2020. Primarily because Citadel Securities actually has a set of published financial statements as opposed to the 13Fs filed by Citadel Advisors.

First... Citadel is a conglomerate.. they have a hand in literally every pocket of the financial world. Citadel Advisors LLC is managing $384,926,232,238 in market securities as of December 2020...

Yes, seriously- $384,926,232,238

$295,347,948,000 of that is split into options (calls & puts), while $78,979,887,238 (20.52%) is allocated to actual, physical, shares (or so they say). The rest is convertible debt securities.

The value of those options can change dramatically in a short amount of time, so Citadel invests in several "trading practices" which allow them to stay ahead of the average 'Fidelity Active Trader Pro'. Robinhood actually sells this data (option price, expiration date, ticker symbol, everything) to Citadel from it's users. Those commission fees you're not paying for? yeah.... think again.. Check out Robinhoods 606 Form to see how much Citadel paid them in Q4 2020.. F*CK Robhinhood.

Anyway, another example is Citadel's high-frequency trading. They actually profit between the national ask-bid prices and scrape pennies off millions of transactions... I'm going to show you several instances where Citadel received a 'slap on the wrist' from FINRA for doing this, but not just yet.

Now.... the "totally, 100% legit, nothing-to-see-here, independent*"* branch of Citadel Advisors is Citadel Securities- the Market Maker Making Manipulated Markets. The whole purpose of the DTCC is to serve as an third party between brokers and customers (check out this video for more on DTCC corruption). I'll bring up the DTCC again, soon.

Anyway, Citadel Advisors uses their own subsidiary (Citadel Securities) to support their very "unique" style of trading. For some reason, the SEC and FINRA have allowed this, but not without citing them for 58 'REGULATORY EVENTS'.

So that got me thinking.... "WTF is Citadel actually putting out there for the public to see?" Truthfully, not much... a 12-page annual report called a 'statement of financial condition'.

Statement of Financial Condition in 2018.

The highlighted section above represents securities sold, but not yet purchased, at fair value for $22,357,000,000. This is a liability because Citadel is responsible for paying back the securities they borrowed and sold. If you're thinking "that sounds a lot like a short", you're correct. Citadel Securities shorted $22 big ones (that's billion) in 2018.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Same story for 2019- but bigger: $25,270,000,000

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2020 starts to get REALLY interesting...

Throughout the COVID pandemic, we all heard the stories of brick-and-mortars going bankrupt. It was becoming VERY profitable to bet against the continuity of these companies, so big f*cks like Citadel decided to up their portfolio... by 127.57%.

That's right. Citadel Securities upped their short position to $57,506,000,000 in 2020.

We've all heard Jimmy Cramer's bedtime stories: "It's important to create a narrative in your favor so that your short position helps drive those businesses into bankruptcy." Personally, I'm convinced that most of the media hype throughout COVID was an example of this, but I digress.

EDIT: Credit to u/JohnnyGrey for the deeper-dive, here..

Out of the $32,236,000,000 increase in shorts during 2020, $22,740,000,000 (70.5%) were increases in financial derivatives (options)...

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Anyway, Citadel shorted another $32,236,000,000 in 2020 and rolled into 2021 with some PHAT $TACK$. Now it's time for a quick accounting lesson; this is where you're going to sh*ted the bed.

You see the highlighted section below? Citadel (and other companies reporting highly liquid securities) uses 'Fair Value' accounting to measure the amount that goes on their balance sheet (including liabilities like short positions). The cash that Citadel received (asset) was accounted for when the security was sold, but the liability (short) needs to be recorded at the CURRENT MARKET PRICE for those securities while they remain on the balance sheet..

At the end of 2020, the 'Fair Value' of their short positions were $57 billion.

At the end of 2021, however, Citadel will need to adjust the value of those liabilities to their CURRENT market value... Since we don't know the domestic allocation of their short portfolio, you can only imagine the sh*tsunami that's coming for them..

Take $GME for example....

We KNOW that Citadel "had" a short position in $GME along with Melvin Capital... Can you imagine the damage that r/wallstreetbets has done to the other stonks in their portfolio? If Melvin lost 53% in January from this, there's no telling what the current 'Fair Value' of those shorts are..

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

I trust a wet fart more than Citadel, Melvin, and Point 72. Here's why.

This is a FINRA report published in early 2021. It cites 58 regulatory violations and 1 arbitration. After explaining how Ken Griffin basically controls the world through the tentacles of the Citadel octopus, it lists detailed cases and fines that were usually 'neither admitted or denied, but promptly paid' by Citadel Securities.

Let me shed some light on a FEW:

INACCURATE REPORTING OF SHORT SALE INDICATOR. FIRM ALSO FAILED TO HAVE A SUPERVISORY SYSTEM IN PLACE TO COMPLY WITH FINRA RULES REQUIRING USE OF SHORT SALE INDICATORS. DATE INITIATED 11/13/2020 - $180,000 FINE

TRADING AHEAD OF ACTIVE CUSTOMER ORDERS... IMPLEMENTED CONTROLS THAT REMOVED HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF MOSTLY-LARGER CUSTOMER ORDERS FROM TRADING SYSTEM LOGICS... INTENTIONALLY CREATING DELAYS BETWEEN MARKET MAKERS' TRANSACTIONS WHILE THE UNRESPONSIVE PARTY UPDATED PRICE QUOTES.... NO SUPERVISORY SYSTEM IN PLACE TO PREVENT THIS. DATE INITIATED 7/16/2020 - $700,000 FINE

FAILED TO CLOSE OUT A FAILURE TO DELIVER POSITION; EFFECTED SHORT SALES. DATE INITIATED 2/14/2020 - $10,000 FINE

BETWEEN JUNE 12, 2013 - OCTOBER 17 2017 (YEAH, OVER 4 YEARS) THE FIRM PRINCIPALLY EXECUTED BETWEEN 248 AND 7,698 BUY ORDERS DURING A CIRCUIT BREAKER EVENT; FAILED TO ESTABLISH AND MAINTAIN SUPERVISORY PROCEDURES TO ENSURE COMPLIANCE. INITIATED 1/22/2020 - $15,000 FINE

ON OR ABOUT 11/16/2017, CITADEL SECURITIES TENDERED 34,299 SHARES IN EXCESS OF IT'S NET LONG POSITION (naked short); DATE INITIATED 8/21/2019 - $30,000 FINE

CEASE AND DESIST ORDER ON 12/10/2018: FAILURE TO SUBMIT COMPLETE AND ACCURATE DATA TO COMMISSION BLUESHEET ("EBS") REQUESTS. (BASICALLY FAILED TO PROVIDE PROOF OF TRANSACTIONS TO THE SEC). BETWEEN NOV 2012 AND AUG 2016, CITADEL SECURITIES PROVIDED 2,774 EBS STATEMENTS, ALL OF WHICH CONTAINED DEFICIENT INFORMATION RESULTING IN INCORRECT TRADE EXECUTION TIME DATA ON 80 MILLION TRADES. DATE INITIATED 12/10/2018 - $3,500,000 FINE

TENDERED SHARES FOR THE PARTIAL TENDER OFFER IN EXCESS OF ITS NET LONG POSITION (more naked shorting); FAILED TO ESTABLISH SUPERVISORY PROCEDURES TO ASSURE COMPLIANCE WITH THE RULES. INITIATED 3/22/2018 - $35,000 FINE

IN MORE THAN 200,000 INSTANCES BETWEEN JULY 2014 AND SEPTEMBER 2016, FIRM FAILED TO EXECUTE AND MAINTAIN CONTINUOUS, TWO-SIDED TRADING INTEREST WITHIN THE DESIGNATED PERCENTAGE (scraping pennies between bid-ask) ABOVE AND BELOW THE NATIONAL BEST BID OFFER.... INITIATED 10/13/2017 - $80,000 FINE

ANOTHER CEASE AND DESIST FOR MAJOR MARKET MANIPULATION BETWEEN 2007 - 2010. INITIATED 1/13/2017 - $22,668,268 FINE

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Quite frankly, I'm tired of typing them. There are STILL 49 violations, and most are BIG fines.

Naked shorts, failure to provide documentation to SEC, short selling on trade halts..... is this starting to sound familiar? When r/wallstreetbets started exposing the truth, they lost the advantage. Now that the DD is coming out about this sh*t, they're getting desperate.

Let's look at some recent events that occurred with trading halts in $GME. On March 10 2021 (Mar10 Day) we watched the stock rise until 12:30pm when an unbelievable drop triggered at least 4 circuit breaker events (probably more but I walked away for a bit).

Price drop of 40% in about 25 minutes

Now... I do not believe retail traders did this.. most importantly, the market was totally frozen for the majority of that 25 minutes. Even if people were putting in orders to sell, there were just as many people trying to buy the dip.

The volume of shares flooding the market- at the same exact time- was premeditated. I can say that with confidence because several media outlets (mainly MarketWatch) published articles WHILE this was happening, after nearly a week of radio-silence. MarketWatch even predicted the decline of 40% before the entire drop had occurred. When Redditors reached out to ask WTF was going on, the authors set their Twitter accounts to private... slimy. as. f*ck.

"But wait.... didn't example # 4 say that Citadel was fined $15,000 for selling shorts during circuit breaker events!?"

Yup! and here are TWO more instances:

CITADEL SECURITIES LLC EFFECTED TRANSACTIONS DURING NUMEROUS TRADING HALTS..

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2: And another...

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Think Citadel is alone in all of this? Think again... It's actually been termed- "flash crash".

$12,500,000 fine for Merrill Lynch in 2016..

$7,000,000 for Goldman...

$12,000,000 for Knight Capital...

$5,000,000 for Latour Trading...

$2,440,000 for Wedbush...

PEAK-A-BOO, I SEE YOU! $4,000,000 for MORGAN STANLEY

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

I can't tell who was responsible for the flash crash in $GME last Wednesday; I don't think anyone can. However, to suggest that it wasn't market manipulation is laughable. The media and hedge funds are tighter than your wife and her boyfriend, so spending time on this issue is a waste.

But what we can do is look at the steps they're taking to prepare for this sh*tsunami. So let's summarize everything up to this point, shall we?

Citadel has been cited for 58 separate incidents, several of which were for naked shorting and circuit breaker flash-crashes

The short shares reported on Citadel's balance sheet as of December 2020 were up 127% YOY

The price of several heavily-shorted stocks has skyrocketed since Jan 2021

Citadel uses 'Fair Value' accounting and needs to reconcile the value of their short positions to this new market price. The higher the price goes, the more expensive it becomes for them to HODL

We know that Citadel is on the hook for $57,000,000,000 in shorts, but at least they're HODLing onto some physical shares as assets, right?.... RIGHT??

This should soothe that smooth ape brain of yours...

"UHHHHHH ACTUALLY, THE DTCC & FRIENDS OWN OUR PHYSICAL SHARES".....

Well that's just terrific, because the DTCC just implemented SRCC 801 which means they DON'T have your f*cking shares... I've seriously never seen so much finger pointing and ass-covering in my LIFE....

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I know this post was long, but the story can't go untold.

The pressure being placed on hedge funds to deliver has never been higher and the sh*t storm of corruption is coming to a head. Unfortunately, the dirty tricks & FUD will continue until this boil ruptures. There are several catalysts coming up, but no one truly knows when the MOAB will blow.

However, desperate times call for desperate measures and we have never seen so much happening at once. For all of these reasons and more: Diamond. F*cking. Hands.

-----

once more, original credit to u/atobitt on Reddit, source here

#finance #stocks #stonks #crypto #photography #art #fashion #diy #research #science #mathematics #blm #eat the rich #late stage capitalism #capitalism #disgusting #gamestop #send help #corruption #evil

[hollywoodjuliorivas]

A little oversight uncovers a lot of lawlessness

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.). (Joshua Roberts/Reuters)

By Jennifer Rubin

Opinion writer

April 1 at 2:15 PM

With a Democratic House majority in place, we see more clearly than ever how Republican docility enabled President Trump’s lawlessness for the first two years of his presidency. When “normal” congressional behavior appears to check the executive branch — e.g. oversight hearings, subpoenas, use of the bully pulpit — we see the degree to which congressional Republicans have been tied at the hip to Trump and his attacks on the rule of law.

We learn, for example, just how irrational, reckless and politicized the security clearance process became. The Post reports:

Tricia Newbold, a longtime White House security adviser, told the House Oversight and Reform Committee that she and her colleagues issued “dozens” of denials for security clearance applications that were later approved despite their concerns about blackmail, foreign influence or other red flags, according to panel documents released Monday.

Newbold, an 18-year veteran of the security clearance process who has served under both Republican and Democratic presidents, said she warned her superiors that clearances “were not always adjudicated in the best interest of national security” — and was retaliated against for doing so.

All of this should have come out a long time ago, but Republicans had no interest in overseeing whether Trump was putting national security at risk.

Keep Reading

Not that this news is surprising. We already knew about Rob Porter, the now-former White House staff secretary who was allowed to keep his clearance despite allegations of spousal abuse. We’ve seen how Trump puts personal, familial and financial interests above those of the nation’s, be it self-enrichment during his presidency from his properties, his excessive deference to the Saudis or the pursuit of riches in Moscow during the campaign.

We also know that he has since his campaign surrounded himself with future convicts (e.g. Michael Flynn, Paul Manafort, Rick Gates, Michael Cohen) and empowered advisers who were ethically compromised (e.g. Scott Pruitt, Tom Price, Brock Long, Ryan Zinke) and incompetent (e.g. his children). The result is erratic and highly personalized governance conducted at the whim of an ignorant narcissist. This is precisely how authoritarian regimes around the world operate.

Trump on other investigations besides Mueller probe: 'I don't know about these things'

In an interview with Fox Business Network, President Trump said he doesn't know about "other" investigations outside of the Mueller probe. (AP)

The mechanism for stopping such conduct generally rests with Congress. But with former House speaker Paul Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell all in on partisan loyalty, Trump’s whims went unchecked.

The same pattern is evident in Attorney General William P. Barr’s handling of special counsel Robert S. Mueller III’s report. As House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) writes, “The entire reason for appointing the special counsel was to protect the investigation from political influence. By offering us his version of events in lieu of the report, the attorney general, a recent political appointee, undermines the work and the integrity of his department. He also denies the public the transparency it deserves. We require the full report — the special counsel’s words, not the attorney general’s summary or a redacted version.” He continues:

We require the report, first, because Congress, not the attorney general, has a duty under the Constitution to determine whether wrongdoing has occurred. The special counsel declined to make a “traditional prosecutorial judgment” on the question of obstruction, but it is not the attorney general’s job to step in and substitute his judgment for the special counsel’s.

That responsibility falls to Congress — and specifically to the House Judiciary Committee — as it has in every similar investigation in modern history. The attorney general’s recent proposal to redact the special counsel’s report before we receive it is unprecedented. We require the evidence, not whatever remains after the report has been filtered by the president’s political appointee.

He might have added that it is also Congress’s duty to see whether legislation is needed to remedy existing flaws in our counterintelligence system or gaps in our laws, which confer no affirmative duty on campaigns to report foreign meddling.

Instead of acting on behalf of the American people, Barr is being the Roy Cohn the president has been waiting for. Barr abets disinformation and public confusion, delaying a proper reckoning of the president’s conduct.

If Republicans still held the majority in the House, it’s likely we would never see the Mueller report. As things are now, Nadler and his committee might have to resort to subpoenas and the courts to get the full, unredacted report. The report is the work product for the American people, not for Trump or Barr. To be blunt, we taxpayers paid for it and have every right to see it.

Whether it is security clearances, Russian meddling, foreign emoluments, nepotism mixed with conflicts of interest, politicization of the Justice Department, constant lying to the American public or use of the presidency to enrich the current Oval Office occupant, the administration is a study in corruption, the practice of bending public powers to private uses and engaging others to disregard their public obligations.

The first step is to remove the party that fails to uphold our democratic norms. That means throwing Republicans out of the majority in both houses and the White House. The second step is to reevaluate what laws and procedural rules must be changed (just as we did after Watergate). And the third step is a public reckoning for the enablers of this reign of lawlessness — including the Congress, right-wing think tanks, right-wing media and right-wing organizations that sacrificed intellectual and moral integrity for a lousy tax cut and some judges.