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batboyblog · 1 month

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Things Biden and the Democrats did, this week #14

April 12-19 2024

The Department of Commerce announced a deal with Samsung to help bring advanced semiconductor manufacturing and research and development to Texas. The deal will bring 45 billion dollars of investment to Texas to help build a research center in Taylor Texas and expand Samsung's Austin, Texas, semiconductor facility. The Biden Administration estimates this will create 21,000 new jobs. Since 1990 America has fallen from making nearly 40% of the world's semiconductor to just over 10% in 2020.

The Department of Energy announced it granted New York State $158 million to help support people making their homes more energy efficient. This is the first payment out of a $8.8 billion dollar program with 11 other states having already applied. The program will rebate Americans for improvements on their homes to lower energy usage. Americans could get as much as $8,000 off for installing a heat pump, as well as for improvements in insulation, wiring, and electrical panel. The program is expected to help save Americans $1 billion in electoral costs, and help create 50,000 new jobs.

The Department of Education began the formal process to make President Biden's new Student Loan Debt relief plan a reality. The Department published the first set of draft rules for the program. The rules will face 30 days of public comment before a second draft can be released. The Administration hopes the process can be finished by the Fall to bring debt relief to 30 million Americans, and totally eliminate the debt of 4 million former students. The Administration has already wiped out the debt of 4.3 million borrowers so far.

The Department of Agriculture announced a $1 billion dollar collaboration with USAID to buy American grown foods combat global hunger. Most of the money will go to traditional shelf stable goods distributed by USAID, like wheat, rice, sorghum, lentils, chickpeas, dry peas, vegetable oil, cornmeal, navy beans, pinto beans and kidney beans, while $50 million will go to a pilot program to see if USAID can expand what it normally gives to new products. The food aid will help feed people in Bangladesh, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Chad, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Haiti, Kenya, Madagascar, Mali, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, and Yemen.

The Department of the Interior announced it's expanding four national wildlife refuges to protect 1.13 million wildlife habitat. The refuges are in New Mexico, North Carolina, and two in Texas. The Department also signed an order protecting parts of the Placitas area. The land is considered sacred by the Pueblos peoples of the area who have long lobbied for his protection. Security Deb Haaland the first Native American to serve as Interior Secretary and a Pueblo herself signed the order in her native New Mexico.

The Department of Labor announced new work place safety regulations about the safe amount of silica dust mine workers can be exposed to. The dust is known to cause scaring in the lungs often called black lung. It's estimated that the new regulations will save over 1,000 lives a year. The United Mine Workers have long fought for these changes and applauded the Biden Administration's actions.

The Biden Administration announced its progress in closing the racial wealth gap in America. Under President Biden the level of Black Unemployment is the lowest its ever been since it started being tracked in the 1970s, and the gap between white and black unemployment is the smallest its ever been as well. Black wealth is up 60% over where it was in 2019. The share of black owned businesses doubled between 2019 and 2022. New black businesses are being created at the fastest rate in 30 years. The Administration in 2021 Interagency Task Force to combat unfair house appraisals. Black homeowners regularly have their homes undervalued compared to whites who own comparable property. Since the Taskforce started the likelihood of such a gap has dropped by 40% and even disappeared in some states. 2023 represented a record breaking $76.2 billion in federal contracts going to small business owned by members of minority communities. This was 12% of federal contracts and the President aims to make it 15% for 2025.

The EPA announced (just now as I write this) that it plans to add PFAS, known as forever chemicals, to the Superfund law. This would require manufacturers to pay to clean up two PFAS, perfluorooctanoic acid and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid. This move to force manufacturers to cover the costs of PFAS clean up comes after last week's new rule on drinking water which will remove PFAS from the nation's drinking water.

Bonus:

President Biden met a Senior named Bob in Pennsylvania who is personally benefiting from The President's capping the price of insulin for Seniors at $35, and Biden let Bob know about a cap on prosecution drug payments for seniors that will cut Bob's drug bills by more than half.

#Thanks Biden #Joe Biden #jobs #Economy #student loan debt #Environment #PFAS #politics #US politics #health care

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kemetic-dreams · 3 months

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In Africa, European colonial governments and European Christian missionaries criminalized and stigmatized the cultural practices of tattooing and scarification; consequently, the practices underwent decline, ended, or continued to be performed as acts of resistance.

Among the ethnic groups in sub-Saharan Africa that traditionally practice scarification are the Gonja, Dagomba, Frafra, Mamprusi, Nanumba, Bali, Tɔfin, Bobo, Montol, Kofyar, Yoruba, and Tiv people of West Africa, and the Dinka, Nuer, Surma, Shilluk, Toposa, Moru, Bondei, Shambaa, Barabaig, and Maasai people of East Africa.

Traditionally, the most common reason for scarification has been as a rite of passage.

Scarification has been widely used by many West African tribes to mark milestone stages in both men and women's lives, such as puberty and marriage.

In many tribes, members unwilling to participate in scarification were generally not included in the group's activities, and are often shunned from their society.

According to anthropologist Grace Harris, group members lacking the normal characteristics consistent with the group are not considered as having acquired the full standing as agents in their society; they would also lack the capacity for meaningful behavior, such as greeting, commanding, and stating.

Therefore, scarification can transform partial tribe members into "normal" members entirely accepted by the group.

Scarification is a form of language not readily expressed, except through extensive and intricate greetings, and gives the ability to communicate fully, which is a key element for being considered as a normal member of the group.

One reason why scarification is used as confirmation of adulthood is how it shows the ability to endure pain. With young men, the endurance of the pain of scarring exhibits strength and discipline, especially in tribes where males have roles as hunters and warriors.

A young man who has already experienced the feeling of torn or cut flesh is considered less likely to fear the teeth of a wild animal or the tip of an enemy's spear.

In Ethiopia and Zambia, elaborate scarification is often done on women at puberty, used to denote a willingness to be a mother. The markings show that she can stand the pain of childbirth, as well as being an indication of her emotional maturity.

Some of these rites of passage have spiritual or religious roots, such young boys in the Chambri tribe of Papua New Guinea undergo scarification resembling crocodile scales to mark their transition into manhood, a ritual which stems from the belief that humans evolved from crocodiles.

In Ethiopia, Suri men scar their bodies to show that they have killed someone from an enemy tribe;

the Mursi practice scarification for largely aesthetic reasons in order to attract the opposite sex and enhance the tactile experience of sex.

The Ekoi of Nigeria believe that the scars serve, on their way to the afterlife, as money.

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celticcrossanon · 18 days

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Hi Celta,

I honestly don’t know where you stand on reading the Harkles. But reading the Commonwealth and Charles might be ok?? I only ask because Lady C’s theory was that the Harkles are going to Nigeria to show the Commonwealth countries that they are the only option when Charles passes, and William is King. She said the ‘court’ I assume royal court, is divided about how to handle that hot potato. Personally I think Charles is a big factor is blocking any action against his feeble minded son.

This raised all sorts of alarm bells for me. I get to thinking there may be an insider who’s facilitating the invitation from the Nigerian government. It’s come out they are paying for the Harkles to visit.

It’s alarming too because we know they are not above using the dead and buried race card to suit their own ends. Is it your intuition that Lady C’s onto something here? I know I demonize Charles a lot. But he’s the Head of the Commonwealth and this is happening under his watch. He begged and begged his mother for this role, and as soon as he was diagnosed, Harry came running, was it to ensure it was going to be passed onto him? I know the member countries have to vote, and the Harkles are good at causing chaos and trouble.

If indeed he’s not involved, Charles will soon find out when he visits Australia how his commonwealth subjects there feels about him. I wonder if the Harkles will pull the colonial themed complaints against him that they used on the Wales in the Caribbean tour. Time will tell but it’s very troubling.

Hi Anonymous Retired,

King Charles's energy has felt a bit shaky lately, so I want to give him a rest for a week or so before I try to read on him again. I think he's been pushing himself too much with this return to face to face work and his engagement has taken more out of him than he expected. :)

I can read on the tours in general - how will Nigeria go, how will Australia go etc - and I can do one reading on Harry and one reading on Meghan, and then I will see how I am feeling before I do any more on them.

I do think that Harry and Meghan may be trying to become Head of the Commonwealth, but I don't see why. They won't get the position until King Charles dies, and if he does step down them all the heads of the Commonwealth Nations have to vote for the new Head of the Commonwealth, and I can't see them voting for Harry and/or Meghan. The position has no salary and no housing, so they won't get any money like that. Are they thinking of using it to funnel funds into their own pockets> If so, how? Do they want the prestige? What will it get them? Bribes to make things go a certain way? Their duties will be to attend CHOGM every 2 years, attend the Commonwealth Games every 4 years, and do a speech and an Abbey service on Commonwealth Day. OK, that sounds like their level of work, and they would be updated on developments in the Commonwealth on a regular basis, but I can't see what they would get out of it that makes it so desirable to them.

I am probably over thinking this, or not thinking down on their level enough. It also sounds like it might be part of some murky political stuff, and I don't do politics if I can avoid it.

I will read on what they want from the Nigeria tour and see what comes up. That will be a good starting point.

I will finish by saying that although King Charles is the Head of the Commonwealth, that gives him no constitutional power in any of the Commonwealth Nations, and if a nation of which he is not head of state, like Nigeria, choses to bring the Harkles over for a visit and (presumably) treat them like royalty, then there is little to nothing that King Charles can do about it outside of normal diplomatic channels, and I don't know what he could do inside diplomatic channels due to my ignorance in that area. I am not surprised that the court is divided over how to handle this, as taking any actions against the Harkles feeds into their victim narrative, while ignoring them can be taken as silent approval of their actions. Something that emphasises that the Harkles are private citizens would be the best to my mind, but I don't know how that could be accomplished.

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lifestoriesofourworld · 4 months

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The son entered the university as a gift for his 17th birthday, which was a month before the summer exams. His mother was not yet 40 years old. She had divorced her husband when her son entered first grade, decided to devote herself to her son, and so she was happy when her son entered university the first time, because at that time they could not pay for the contract, and they did not want to postpone his studies for a year. In the autumn, my son entered the first year of university, and in addition to studying, he met people from the group. Everything was going well until, during one of the breaks, he was approached by a tall foreign student from Africa who was looking for a room to rent as half of the dormitory was undergoing renovation, and said that his parents would send him money to pay for the room and his own expenses. The son could not refuse and said that he would discuss the offer at home and give a final answer the next day. The foreign student said he would return the next day to find out the final answer. When the son returned from the university, he said that the foreign student wanted to rent a room. His mother agreed and said that the room was free and that they could use the money for additional needs that they had been denying themselves. The next day, the son agreed and the foreign student could move into the apartment where the son was living the following day. The day came when the son and his foreign friend were returning home after classes. Coming home early because the classes ended early and his mother was not home yet, the son decided to show the foreign student around the room and the apartment. When the mother returned home, he immediately introduced the foreign student who was renting the room. After the introduction, the mother suggested having dinner in the kitchen and discussing everything in detail. During dinner, they learned that the foreign student was a year older than her son and had come from Nigeria to study. After dinner, everyone went to bed.

It was just under three months before the New Year, and it had been a month since the international student had rented a room. It was his mother's birthday, she was expecting guests and, as is customary on such occasions, she wore a dress that only emphasised her figure. During the celebration, the foreign student complimented his son on his mother's beauty. After the birthday, the foreign student began to look at his mother differently. The son tried not to take these views seriously and attributed them to his youth. Shortly before the New Year, the foreign student asked the son what he could give his mother for the New Year. The son could not answer anything specific, except to say what things his mother likes and what she pays attention to. Then the foreign student decided to make a gift for his mother himself.

On New Year's Eve, when everyone sat down at the New Year's table, my mother wore the same dress she wore on her birthday. When the clock struck the first seconds of the new year, the first congratulations were heard and it was time to open presents, and the biggest gift was a gift from a foreign student for his girlfriend's mother in the form of a women's skin care kit. For the mother, this gift came as a surprise from the foreign student and she said that he did not need to spend so much money on the gift. The international student said that it was not just a gift, but a thank you for providing a room for the duration of his studies at the university. Subsequently, the foreign student repeatedly gave small gifts and even flowers, which the mother refused but accepted anyway. The son thought that this was a temporary phenomenon, that the foreign student would calm down and eventually everything would return to normal, as it had been before the new year.

It was spring, the beginning of March to be exact, and the mother's son was used to going to bed early because classes started at eight o'clock the next day, and one day he got out of bed shortly before midnight to go to the toilet. As he left his room to go to the toilet, he heard sounds coming from his mother's room. The son went over and opened the door, about 10 centimetres, and through the crack he saw his mother leaning against the wall, with a foreign student standing behind her, pacing back and forth. The son was shocked and confused by this situation. The mother leaned over and leaned on the bed as the foreign student approached her from behind and started walking back and forth. The sounds coming from the bed, as well as the mother's moans, were drowned out by the sound of the TV. After standing there for no more than 3 minutes, the son went to the toilet, and on his way back he stopped to see what was happening in his mother's room, and then the foreign student on the bed put his mother's legs on his shoulders and began to move back and forth. After standing there for a while, the son went to his room to go to bed, but he could not sleep for a long time because he had seen the scene in his mother's room. In the morning, the son woke up, but the foreign student was still asleep because he had to leave for university early. The mother was in the kitchen preparing breakfast, and the son pretended that nothing had happened, washed his face and sat down at the table. The mother and son were getting dressed when the foreign student woke up, and the mother said that she had prepared food for him and left it on the stove. The foreign student behaved as usual, as if nothing had happened during the night, and thanked his mother for breakfast. While studying at the university, the son kept thinking about what he had seen in his mother's room and whether what had happened between the foreign student and his mother that night would happen again the next time.

Returning home before everyone else, the son wanted to check if the situation that had happened the previous night would not happen again. His mother came home from work at her usual time, and the foreign student came home late because he had classes at the university until the evening. After dinner, the son went to his room and decided to wait for the usual time to see what would happen in his mother's room. The clock struck 23:00 and it was quiet in the corridor, so the son went out into the corridor, but when he passed his mother's room, he did not hear a sound and, opening the door, saw that his mother was sleeping peacefully, after which he closed the door and went to his room, thinking that it was a one-off incident. The next day, on Friday, everything was as usual: in the morning, my mother went to work, and my son and the foreign student left later than planned because there were few couples and classes started later. In the evening, there were no intrigues, everyone went to bed later because Saturday was a day off, and the son and the foreign student went to their rooms almost simultaneously. The son decided to check if the situation would repeat itself. Soon he heard a noise in the corridor and, after waiting for about 10 minutes, he went outside and saw that the door to the foreigner's room was not fully closed, so he opened the door a little and saw an empty bed. Then the son realised he had to go to his mother's room and decided to check it out. When he opened the door a little, he saw that the foreign student was lying in bed with his mother, and the TV was on, probably to drown out the sounds coming from the bed. While lying on the bed, the foreign student put his mother's legs on his shoulders and started moving back and forth. At first, the movements were slow and gradually began to intensify, and when the movements accelerated, the mother began to moan and then the son saw that his mother's legs were trembling, at which point it became clear that the mother had an orgasm. After 2-3 minutes, as soon as the mother came to her senses after the orgasm, the foreign student turned the mother over onto her stomach, then lay on top of her and began to make gradual back and forth movements. The son could not stand at the door for long because he was afraid of being seen, so he decided to leave early. When he returned to his room, the son concluded that sex between his mother and the foreign student did not take place every day, but at most 3-5 times a week, and further observations would confirm this.

This could not last. A month before his birthday, the son got out of bed to go to the toilet. As the son was walking to the toilet, a foreign student came out of the mother's room and it was a shock for everyone to meet and explain to the mother's son that he had accidentally entered the mother's room and his appearance allowed the son to ask the foreign student how long he had been in the mother's room and whether it was the first time he had entered it. The foreigner began to explain until the mother interrupted him, wanting to apologise to her son for his inappropriate behaviour. In the morning, when the mother got up early, she prepared food and went to work because the son and the foreign student had to go to classes at the university. When the son and the foreign student got up and sat down at the table after all the household chores, the foreign student offered to be present during sex with the mother as an apology. The son looked at him and thought why not. After some thought, the son agreed, and then the foreign student said that next time he would invite his mother's son. In the evening, when everyone gathered for dinner, the mother had no idea what would happen that night. When everyone went to their rooms, around 23:00, the foreign student entered the son's room and told him that he could get up and go to his mother's room. Upon entering the mother's room, the foreign student immediately went to turn on the TV, and when the mother woke up, she immediately asked what the foreign student was going to do. The son went to the other side of the room, where he took a chair, turned it around and sat down facing the bed. The mother got angry and got out of bed to make her son and the foreign student go to bed because they had to get up early tomorrow. The foreign student managed to undress and then grabbed the mother by the arm and threw her on the bed. The mother began to resist and shouted for him to stop immediately and asked her son to help, but the son just looked on. The foreign student asked her to calm down and tried to crawl between the mother's legs. When the foreign student was between the mother's legs, the resistance became less and he started moving back and forth. The mother realised that she would not be able to free herself so easily, so she stopped resisting and asked her son to leave the room, but the son ignored this request and continued to watch, while the mother began to moan more and look at her son with frightened eyes. The sex lasted about 30 minutes, after which the foreign student and the mother's son went to their rooms, leaving the mother crying in bed. In the morning, the mother was silent and did not say anything about what had happened the day before. In the evening, everyone gathered at the table and the mother said that what had happened was the last time, but the son said that everything was fine and they could continue, to which the mother replied that the son had no conscience to humiliate his mother like that. In the evening, the son and the foreign student decided not to do anything, and the next evening they repeated the same thing, and then the mother decided to agree without resistance. Then the son and the foreign student repeated the same thing many times, and the mother eventually got used to such situations.

When his son's birthday came, the foreign student decided to give him a video camera. It was an unusual gift for his son, and when the evening came, the foreign student suggested that he make his first video of his mother and the foreign student having sex. The son was interested in the idea and decided to make the video. The foreign student and the mother's son went to the mother's room and the son started filming and the mother told him to stop filming or it would be bad, but the foreign student quickly calmed the mother down and she started enjoying the sex.

In the middle of the summer, the foreign student returned home, and the second half of the summer was peaceful for the son and his mother.

At the end of the summer, when the foreign student returned before the new academic year. This time, the mother took the foreign student's request calmly, as if it were a matter of course, and even after dinner, the foreign student went to his mother's room, as he had done before. It is no longer a secret to the son that his mother and the foreign student indulge in intimate pleasures on weekends during the day if everyone stays at home. Life with the new academic year began in the same way as the previous one: the son and the foreign student went to university for classes, the mother went to work, and in the evening the foreign student occasionally came to his mother's room.

One day, the foreign student suggested that they go shopping at the weekend to buy something for his mother. The mother did not want to go for a long time and finally decided to go. The weekend came and the son and the foreign student got up early to go shopping. The foreign student, the son and the mother went to the same shopping centre. The shopping went well and everyone was home in the afternoon. The international student asked his mother to try on some new clothes and said that his mother should wear one of them in the evening. When evening came and everyone was sitting around the table, his mother was wearing a dress and sandals that she had bought at the mall during the day. After dinner, the foreign student would go with his mother to her room. Over time, this became the norm, and each time my mother wore different outfits that she had bought at the mall.

Meanwhile, as her birthday approached, a foreign student decided to give her a gift, a watch to be exact. On her birthday, my mother wore a dress she had bought at the mall and impressed the guests. After the birthday party, life went on as usual: the foreign student had sex with his friend's mother from time to time, and this continued until the new year. Over the past year, his mother had changed, changed her hairstyle and looked younger than before.

On New Year's Eve, the foreign student decided to make an unusual gift. When the clock struck the first seconds of the new year, the foreign student handed his mother a box with a ring, which was a declaration of love. It was a shock for the mother, who was speechless, and it was unusual for the son to be in such a situation. The mother looked at her son and asked what she should do, to which the son replied that it was a decision his mother should make. After some thought, the mother accepted the gift, and then the foreign student kissed the mother on the lips. After that, the mother's life changed, as the foreign student now sleeps in the same bed as his friend's mother.

A month later, the foreign student told his son that his mother was preparing for pregnancy, that sex had become more serious than before, and that she was only 40 years old and could become pregnant and carry a child. Two months after he told him this, his mother told him that she was pregnant, and three months later that she was having twins. The international student bought his friend's mother a black robe with patterns that showed her beautiful body. The foreign student registered the marriage and stayed to live with his mother. Later he plans to finish his studies at university and get a job, but for now he plans to provide for his family with money that will be sent to him from his home country, as his father works for an oil company.

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saintmeghanmarkle · 13 days

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I cant believe Im not getting paid for this. by u/Mickleborough

Meghan’s alleged to have said this on their Australia / Fiji / New Zealand / Tonga tour in 2018 when she was expected to do walkabouts, shake hands, and show a civil face. (She couldn’t do even that in Fiji: Sun archived / unarchived.)

To give an idea of what a proper working royal does, the Telegraph spent a week with Princess Anne.

Twice a year, her office invites the 300-plus organisations with which she’s affiliated to submit requests for her time. She gets 1,200 - 2,000 requests a year; sorts them out; and creates a schedule, to which she adheres.

In this typical week, the Princess Royal:

travelled about 818 miles / 1,316

shook over 677 hands

spent many hours in conversation

Her activities ranged from visiting a local National Coastwatch Institution to an equitation centre to celebrate 25 years of the Pony Club Centre Membership Scheme; attending a party to support unpaid carers (spending ‘a few extra moments talking to the building’s cleaner, loudly declaring her “very important”’) to carrying out an investiture; going to a City fundraiser lunch for military veterans to hosting a black tie dinner to celebrate The Duke of Edinburgh’s Commonwealth Study Conferences.

At all of these many and varied visits, she showed a depth of knowledge of their work.

Telegraph archived / unarchived

Admittedly the Princess Royal’s one of the hardest working members of the Royal Family - and this is a normal working week for her.

Meghan didn’t stay long enough to have a typical working week with all 4 of her patronages. She did a few royal tours, which involved far less in-depth work. Sample itinerary from her Australia tour:

16 October 2018:

Meet the Governor-General, his wife, and Invictus Games representatives.

Trip to the zoo (seriously).

Sydney Opera House to watch a performance by the Bangarra Dance Company

17 October:

Flight to Dubbo where the Sussexes met local farmers and hosted a picnic.

18 October:

Flight to Melbourne to meet politicians and the public at Government House.

Visit an organisation offering training to indigenous youth.

etc etc etc. Basically shaking hands and ‘doing the pretty’ (to quote a Georgette Heyer novel). And yet she couldn’t hack it:

Express archived / unarchived

This explains why she can’t put together a simple podcast (still can’t) - mainly because she’s a ‘f**king grifter’. Why American Rubbish Upchuck won’t get off the ground. No work ethic.

When life follows art: the worldwide privacy tour. How will she treat the crowds in Nigeria? Will she demand to be paid? Or will she tell them that they’re stupid?

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author: Mickleborough

submitted: May 09, 2024 at 08:41PM via SaintMeghanMarkle on Reddit

disclaimer: all views + opinions expressed by the author of this post, as well as any comments and reblogs, are solely the author's own; they do not necessarily reflect the views of the administrator of this Tumblr blog. For entertainment only.

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slimthicksonnett · 2 years

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In High Spirits (Emily Sonnett)

I had a dream, I woke up, I couldn't go back to sleep, now we have this. No prompts, no edits, just vibes.

Rated: S for SPIRITS and A for All My Homies Hate Season Ending Injuries

Word Count: 2,175

She couldn’t bring herself to care.

“Sonnett.”

Your voice was rough, wrought with exhaustion from the 90 insufferable minutes you had just played. But it also held a warning.

Emily Sonnett, new found fierce protector of her personal image. Always secretive, always shying away from showing anything that could even be perceived as affectionate, always cautious of the media and the rumors and anything that might affect the relationships in her life that she worked so hard to build and define.

Anyone could see. Matter of fact, a lot of people could see you. There were hundreds of eyes and almost as many cameras on this field right now.

Afterall, it’s not everyday the USWNT signs their Collective Bargaining Agreement.

“You played well.” She cooed, her face buried in your neck as she hugged you just slightly tighter.

Despite the amount of alcohol in her system, she’d been able to think clearly when she’d first gotten onto the field. She had done her job, made her rounds, said hi to the teammates she should’ve been on the pitch with instead of sat up in the players suite watching everyone else get to play on her homefield. Getting to watch you play.

And that’s where she had fucked up. She hadn’t expected you, glassy eyed and game tired, to look as good as you did. A Nigeria jersey replaced your stark white USA kit and the dark green against your skin wasn’t a sight she was familiar with. Somewhere in the back of her mind she made a mental note to say thank you to your Gotham teammate for the swap.

“Would’ve played better with you.” Was your only response, tightening your hold on her now that you’d accepted she wasn’t going to let you go so quickly.

The comment made Emily grin against your skin. Though it wasn’t necessarily a compliment, moreso a fact. Since Vlatko had decided to move you up to play in the six, you two's connection on the field had become undeniable. When the blonde was at centreback, shouting and gesturing, you played your best football. Unlike tonight, where you had to strain to even pretend you could hear her normally clear voice drifting down from the players suite, shouting the encouragement and instructions you always sought.

She knew she was toeing a line, knew that her actions were breaking some unspoken agreement, but she let her lips brush against the warm skin of your neck regardless, reveling in the shocked rush of air that spilled out of you at the contact.

“Sonnett.”

Your voice was softer now, the reprimand only for her, but the warning in your tone was sharper. She chuckled softly, creating a rumble you could feel in your entire body with the way you were pressed together, but before she could push any further she was interrupted.

“Signing in five!” The familiar singsong voice Kelley O’Hara informed you both, looking particularly smug watching the two of you separate to face her.

“Thank you five.” You huffed, childishly sticking your tongue out at the older woman who had interrupted what had quickly been shaping up to be the highlight of your night.

While Emily shared the annoyance of being separated, she couldn’t help the laugh that bubbled over watching your interaction with her best friend.

“Oh I almost forgot, here!” Kelley grinned, tossing something at you while you both looked at her skeptically.

“And this is?” Unfolding the balled up fabric, your face scrunched in a mixture of confusion and distaste.

“Staff said you needed to be in USA gear for the signing stuff.” The older player answered, looking up at you through her eyelashes.

“This is Spirit gear.” You corrected, quickly regaining the smaller blonde's attention as she peered at the item you held.

Sure enough, the dark blue crewneck sweatshirt had a Washington Spirit badge emblazoned on it, adorned with a star from last year's NWSL championship win. Her team's NWSL championship win Emily thought, feeling a rush of pride flood her at the sight of the star.

“Basically the same thing isn’t it? Oh look at the time!” Kelley laughed, winking at her friends before walking away towards where everyone was huddling behind the table. Rolling your eyes, you pulled the crewneck over your head and situated it on your body.

And if Emily Sonnett had been surprised by how good you’d looked in green, she really wasn’t prepared for this.

“Come on you.” Your hand found Emily’s forearm, yanking her out of her trance and pulling her into the crowd of your teammates.

Energy was high in the group. There was a lot of pride, excitement, and of course chattering. While everyone droned on in front of them, many of the players were caught in conversations with their friends. Personally, you were busy making faces at Crystal’s baby over Lynn’s shoulder.

Emily was a few people away, joking with her friends, but she kept a close watch on you out of the corner of her eye. She fought a smile, seeing you play with Marcell. Her heart only warmed when she caught the way he reached out for you as you attempted to keep him occupied while his mom was signing.

“You seem distracted.” Lindsey teased her, a satisfied look now accompanying the exhaustion on her face.

“You seem nosey.” Emily quipped back, glaring at her softly in a way that only made Lindsey even more amused. She could feel the midfielder prepared to attack again but they were both quickly silenced by shoves.

“And both of you seem like you need to show some respect.” It was Andi who fixed them both with a serious stare. The familiar look from her club captain had Emily shutting up immediately and returning her focus to the table at the front, not even sparing glances in your direction knowing it would just distract her again.

After the CBA had been signed and all the group pictures had been taken, everyone spread back out to mingle.

While her first instinct was to seek you out, the frigid air at Audi field had started to sober her up enough that she knew she should chat with her other friends first. It didn’t take her long to find her victims of choice, settling on catching up with Tierna while also taking an opportunity to tease some of her kids. Immune to it by now, Sanchez just laughed and hovered at the edge of the group while Emily playfully tussled with Kornieck.

And apparently, she didn’t even need to seek you out.

“Somebody get this girl some sleeves!” You called out loudly as you approached the group, your eyes raking over Emily in her familiar white sleeveless shirt.

“I tried telling her she can’t open carry here!” Tierna laughed, prompting Emily to return to flexing her muscles which caused the rest of the group to dissolve into laughter.

That moment made Emily smile one of her real smiles, eyes squinted and teeth showing. This was what she had missed not being with her team. She always thought she was at her best when she was making people laugh.

It also didn’t hurt that you in particular were laughing, a sound she tried to draw from you whenever she could. Loud, ugly, and echoing around the emptying field.

With promises to see each other in a few, the group dissolved slowly. Sanchez ran off to chase after Trinity, Naomi and Taylor both parting to catch up with their San Diego captain as she made her way towards the locker room, and lastly Tierna who excused herself to have a word with Alyssa.

And as fate always seemed to have it, only you and Emily remained. Neither really wanted to part, even with the knowledge that they’d see each other the moment you were done in the locker room.

The locker room. Emily’s locker room that you were using. And that for once in her life she wasn’t allowed to use too.

“That was nice.” You hummed, an air of relaxation exuding from you as you smiled softly.

“It was, I’ve missed them.” Emily agreed, her brow furrowing in the way it always did when she found herself deep in thought.

“I’ve missed you.” You spoke so softly that Emily wasn’t just she’d even heard you right. But when she looked up and saw the look in your eyes, she knew she had.

“I’ve missed you too.” She admitted, letting her eyes take you in fully now that you were alone. Or well, as alone as you could be standing together in the middle of a field in a giant stadium.

She could have made a comment about your current look, about the way you were wearing your blue game shorts with a blue sweatshirt and nothing else but your white game socks that you still for some reason had yanked all the way up your thighs. But she couldn’t tease you. Not when her gaze kept getting stuck on your sweatshirt.

Even with all the clothing you’d stolen from her over the years, you’d never wear her club clothes. UVA, USA, old Georgia clubs from her childhood? That was all up for grabs. But you were fiercely loyal to the crest of your own club and wouldn’t be caught wearing anyone else's. And now here you were. Tired and hurting, but smiling nonetheless, wearing the badge of the Washington Spirit clearly on your chest. The badge of her Washington Spirit.

You shifted uncomfortably under her gaze, suddenly self conscious of your postgame appearance.

“I need to change.” You muttered, throwing a look towards the tunnel to the locker room. But Emily shut that down quickly.

“You look goo-” She started, but you immediately laughed at the flattery.

“Sonn, don’t even. I look like death.” You rolled your eyes, reaching up and finally removing the pre wrap from your head in a desperate need to do something with your hands.

“You didn’t let me finish!” The blonde answered defensively, “I was going to say you look good in Spirit blue.”

Your eyebrows shot up in surprise as you looked at the confident woman who was sporting a lopsided grin that was borderline cocky.

“Is that so?” You laughed, crossing your arms over your chest and tilting you head to the side.

“Yup!” Emily said, popping the p at the end of the word dramatically.

“Huh, funny you should mention that…” Trailing off, you cast a sideways glance towards the other girl, face full of mischief. You weren’t about to let her hold all of the power here, and you’d been meaning to tell her anyways.

“Because Kang said the same thing!”

And now it was her turn to look at you in surprise, though hers was more like shock. Kang said you looked good in Spirit blue? When had you been talking to Kang? Emily was suddenly running through every interaction she’d seen you partake in tonight. At no point would you have been near Kang unless she came up to you… after the signing. When Emily had chosen to separate herself from you.

But why would Kang say that? It was no secret the team owner was always talking up the girls and complimenting them, but that was usually reserved for her own players.

Wait.

“No way.” Were the only words she could manage. Her jaw dropped to the floor as she stared at you, eyes searching your face for any sign this could be a joke.

“No way.” She reiterated, this time intentionally staring directly in your eyes and expecting some form of reassurance. If this was a joke, you’d better back out now.

“Yes way. You better get used to seeing me in Spirit blue because you’ll be seeing me in a lot of it next season, baby!” You confirmed, grin splitting your face as you opened your arms in reference to the Spirits home stadium that you stood in.

Screaming out in joy, Emily jumped directly into your arms. Her legs wrapped around your waist and her hands came to the sides of your face as she leaned her forehead down against the crown of your head.

“Oh my god. Oh my god oh my god oh my god.” She kept repeating, disbelief still evident as she interrupted herself to pepper kisses on your head just about anywhere she could reach.

“Emily.”

There was that warning again, your tone amused but cautious. Any cameras left in the stadium were sure to be pointed at you as so few players remained as a buffer. You could already feel the curious eyes of the remaining players and staff on you both as Emily made enough noise for everyone to hear.

“I literally do not care. I seriously could not care less. Fuck them, fuck anything else, this is everything. You’re coming here! You’re coming home!” Emily exclaimed, pressing a long kiss to the center of your forehead.

And you thought you could get used to the sound of that.

Home.

#emily sonnett imagine #emily sonnett x reader #woso imagines #woso imagine #woso x reader #woso fic #uswnt imagines #uswnt imagine

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imolelalade · 3 months

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Nifemi Lore and Stuff

Nifemi is a character who I tried to put layers into, while basing some aspects of her personality on myself. But while not only is it hard trying to breakdown yourself down into a character, my brain is also too messy to form proper lore before jumping straight into trauma parts, which I hyperfixtated on at some point. Seeing as this is my first time actually posting proper stuff about her and most of you might be like ‘Who the hell is even Nifemi?’, I’m gonna post a small background and info-dump on her lore a bit. (I also just need some type of outlet for all of this, it’s one am I want to sleep, she takes up my every waking thought)

Backstory and Personality Study

Nifemi hails from Earth 1960, and she was born in South Africa, though being raised in her spiderman city, Laghattan, New Lagos City, Nigeria (A mashup of Lagos and New York), where she lived and grew up.

She and her sister, Bolatito, were both orphaned at about 4 and 2 years old respectively, when their parents died in a plane crash, and moved in with their Uncle Benedict ‘Ben’ Parker and Aunt Mayowa ‘May’ Parker.

They owned a small family based resturant that brought in most of the family’s income and simultaneously ignited Nifemi’s love for cooking.

At 13 on a field trip to Oscorp Industries, she got lost from her class and got bitten by a radioactive spider and after her Uncle Ben’s death, took up the mantle of spiderwoman, or as she and her city call her, Anansi.

About a year of being Anasi later, Nifemi’s sister, Bolatito finds out about her identity and claims the role of ‘the gal in the chair, making gadgets, walkie talkies the whole thing.

When Nifemi was about 15, she met Miles 1960 (her Earth’s variant of Miles Morales) who she developed a strong friendship with as they bonded over their love for art and stuff. (Big sis, Little bro relationship)

Nifemi soon introduces Bolatito to Miles, the three of them becoming a trio with Miles and Bolatito becoming a couple at some point (Techflower)

Timeskip, blah, blah, blah, Nifemi meets Hobie at uni, develops a crush on him and him vice-versa and they both also end up together (I’ll explain the timeline more in depth later, I’m too lazy and tired to do that right now)

Anways,

Throughout her journey as Anansi, Nifemi’s canon events of losing her loved ones had a lasting impact on her personal self, both as Anansi and as her civilian self.

Nifemi and her Uncle Ben were extremely close, she growing to even see him as a sort of father figure as she barely had any memories of her real parents, which is why his death as her canon event, (though she didn’t know what canon events were at the time) had such a lasting impact on her, making her unknowingly more emotionally closed off than she would have been as a normal teenager. Her already naturally shy and introverted personality also didn’t help matters to an extent.

Due to this, even though she eventually opened up as she grew older and met HB 1960 (her earth’s variant of Hobie Brown), her second ‘loss of a loved one’ canon event of losing him (since he’s kind of her Gwen Stacy, love intrest thing), completely shattered her and set her down a dark slope of her being afraid getting close or forming any sort of relationship with people, as now 2 of her greatest love ones are dead because, in her mind, her.

As a person Nifemi is a laid back person to an extent, just moving with life but still trying to be successful. She tries to have an easy-going attitude with life but might appear to be closed off and moody to others at times. She honestly doesn’t try or mean to seem that way but has problems socializing or even opening up with people. Despite her attitude however, she does have a pretty steady friendgroup and realistic approach with life, keeping the few friends and loved ones she has close, which is why the loss of them usually has a bigger and lasting impact on her.

Nifemi sees her identity of being Anansi to be seperate yet at the same time the same with her civilain life, constantly mking connections yet still try to keep them from overlapping with each other. While, yes, she follows her Uncle Ben’s advice of “With great power comes great responsibility” and the added mindset of “If I don’t do it, who will?”, at the same time she still wonders if she should just stop trying. The fact that her city, still has their doubts about her, despite her constantly saving them, still seeing her as a demon, due to her powers and their superstitions, also doesn’t help matters and keeps the thoughts coming.

However despite all of this, Nifemi still keeps trying and persevering, using her friends and famiy as a sort of motivation to keep going, in a sense her motto kind of being, “Even if you don’t want to, do it for them”

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bestiarium · 2 years

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The Abiku [African/Yoruba/Nigerian mythology]

The Yoruba people are an ethnic group who live in what is now Nigeria. In their religion, Abiku are vile, evil spirits with little or no redeeming qualities. Mostly nocturnal, these beings come together at dusk and dawn and congregate in high treetops, darkened corners of homes, and similar spots. Their goal is to search human settlements to find pregnant women. When a suitable target is located, an Abiku will attempt to enter the body of the woman, which they can do because these spirits are incorporeal beings. Once inside the womb, the evil spirit will completely destroy the unborn baby. It will then shape a new body for itself, in the form of a human foetus, which it inhabits.

Eventually, the baby is born just like a normal child. But it is not a human being. The Abiku, now in the form of a newborn infant, will transform into an adult when its mother is sleeping and wander around the town at night. It does this so it can still attend the nocturnal gatherings of the Abiku spirits.

The goal of the Abiku is to collect the tears of a mother, but I am uncertain whether these tears are their nourishment or if they are used as a form of currency among the spirits. Whatever the reason, they will try dirty tricks to obtain these tears. Abiku are known to kill their own body (this does not kill the spirit itself), making the mother think that her child died. The spirit will then wait until the woman gets pregnant again and replace another child, often repeating this process many times in a row with the same woman. And every time the mother weeps for her deceased children, the Abiku collects the tears. However, there are stories of Abiku who remained in their human form for years or even over a decade before dying, in rare cases even reaching adulthood and having their own children.

When a couple suspects they’re being targeted by an Abiku, they sometimes hire a Babalawo, which is a kind of medicine-man or priest in the Yoruba religion. He can attempt to convince the spirit to stop, but there is no solution or cure that can drive away an Abiku.

Finally – and this is just speculation on my part – I belief the myth of the Abiku might have originated as a way to explain why a woman had several miscarriages in a row. Alternatively, given that it was possible for an Abiku to remain in its human form for years, this might have been a way to explain people with physical birth defects or severe mental illnesses. People might have thought that they were eldritch spirits who replaced the original human baby, like the fairy changelings of British folktales.

Source: Thomas, D. and Alanamu, T., 2018, African religions: beliefs and practises throughout history, ABC-CLIO, 284 pp. (image source: EnvakEnkaqti)

#African mythology #Yoruba mythology #Nigerian mythology #spirits #ghosts #myths #mythology #folklore

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umbylievable · 9 months

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The supes webcomic takes place in the fictional metropolis of Kaiyper City, located somewhere in the state of Delaware because you know where a city of superpowered people would go completely unnoticed? Delaware. Did you know the residents of Delaware google “Delaware” more than any other state googles “Delaware?” More superhero movies should take place in Delaware. It’s close enough to Washington to be alarming but also on that weird peninsula thing so we’re all like “eh it’s fine it’s just Delaware.”

Kaiyper City has a population of roughly 75,000, with a population density of about 1500/sq mi, so it’s not exceptionally large, but fairly urban; the suburban area within Kaiyper City limits is relatively small, and the area normally considered “Kaiyper City Suburbs” is actually part of the unincorporated community of Hedsville.

Though pretty peaceful through the 70s, Kaiyper City’s first superpowered activity surfaced in 1981 with the appearance of a 20-something hero by the name of Jason Weiss. No one is sure if Jason was hiding his powers or if they had suddenly developed, but Jason’s first act of heroism was to stop an out of control truck with his bare hands in order to save the people in the crosswalk. There was a brief interest in the media in this “superhero,” but Jason did not want the publicity and hid himself away whenever possible. He had a good heart, however, and though he did not actively seek trouble or crime, he always stopped it when it was within his capacity. In 1984 Jason Weiss married Fatima, a non-superpowered immigrant from Nigeria who lived in Jason’s neighborhood. In 1990 they had a daughter, Leona Latifa Weiss.

Jason hardly had time to enjoy his new family. In 1992, Kaiyper City saw the unfortunate appearance of its first supervillain, an ice-powered criminal named Eric McClellan who began a slew of bank robberies, often injuring and killing cops and civilians alike in the process. Though it is unclear how McClellan gained his powers, as no one else in his family had any powers to speak of, Jason knew with certainty that he would be the one who had to put a stop to him. Stepping back into the public light, Jason defeated McClellan in a battle that cost the city several thousands of dollars in damages, and Jason was criticized more than he was praised. Kaiyper City laid the full cost of the damages to Jason and his family, and, burdened by crippling debt, Jason gave up his heroics to shoulder a second job.

McClellan escaped from prison in the spring of 1995 and began a tyrannical rampage under the name of Subzero. Demanding revenge for his time served, McClellan took his own family, including his young daughter Patrice McClellan, hostage and threatened to freeze each and every one of them if Jason Weiss was not brought forward.

Though Kaiyper City police attempted to handle the situation on their own, it became rapidly clear that they were outgunned, and Jason was contacted for his aid. Though he was reluctant to get involved, he knew he could not, in good conscience, allow McClellan’s family to die, and so he met Eric McClellan on Jumper Street on March 24th, 1995. The ensuing battle destroyed three blocks and totaled seven police vehicles. Sensing that he was going to lose the fight, McClellan cowardly used his own daughter as a shield against Jason’s attack. When Jason pulled back, McClellan threw Patrice to her death and used the small window of opportunity at close range to shove an icicle through Jason’s torso. In his dying moments, Jason resolved that he wouldn’t let his ethics get in the way of peace. With the last of his strength, he reached out to the smug, gloating McClellan and broke his neck.

In the aftermath of the incident, Kaiyper City absolved the Weiss family of the remaining debt and, in apology, the citizens of the city pitched in for a college fund for Leona. The widowed Yolandi refused the money on her daughter’s behalf and instead gave it to the grieving McClellan family. On the family’s request, Patrice McClellan was buried beside Jason Weiss. Their funerals were concurrent and a small monument to Jason was constructed over their headstones.

From 1995 to 2005, Kaiyper City continued to spawn more and more supervillains; without Jason to stop them, they wreaked havoc, mostly in thefts and destruction of property. In 1998, Kaiyper City, funded by an anonymous backer, thus mobilized their own special tasks force, the Superpower Counter Defense (SCD). Supplied by a team of scientists working to counter superhuman powers with weapons and appropriate armors, the SCD began to fight back against the supervillain menace. In 2006, the alien Th'alhnan Rzznysh descended upon Kaiyper City and, under the name of Deliverance, joined the SCD in the fight against superpowered terror. The villains were quickly beaten back, and after a period of 3 years of disuse, the original financial backer pulled out of funding the SCD and the organization, unable to support itself, collapsed into the underground.

Without the SCD able to pay them, many of the scientists and researchers left to take up university jobs or contribute to medical research. Others were hired by the US government for weapons development.

One decided she had no loyalties to anything but money.

In 2014, a new group of supervillains, sparsely connected but centralized by a particular damaging young duo by the names of Pound Foolish and Diamondback, rose and began to commit thefts and property damage in downtown Kaiyper City. Provided with technology by former SCD scientist May Umbria, the group once again threw Kaiyper City into turmoil. Without the SCD to back them, the police force was routed by the new young villains again and again, despite the valiant efforts of Deliverance.

2016 saw the rise of Duchess Vespus, a costumed vigilante armed with recovered SCD tech and one hell of a disdain for villainy. Duchess Vespus combined her efforts with those of Deliverance, who took up the new moniker of Angelface, and were soon joined by a third hero, Trap-Ease. Though Duchess Vespus herself takes continued heat from the city’s government for stealing SCD technology and defying the police, Trap-Ease is considered low priority by the police and Angelface is untouchable due to fear of alien backlash.

Though the villains and heroes continue to battle it out for dominance, instances of successful crime have decreased dramatically. New villains continue to spawn, but the exploits of Duchess Vespus have inspired just as many new heroes.

It remains to be seen who will come out on top.

#edited an old post w my updated lore and reposting it #flipping kitchens #kaiyper city

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libertariantaoist · 1 year

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Here is your daily roundup of today's news:

News Roundup 5/25/2023

by Kyle Anzalone

Russia

Polish Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak said Warsaw was “ready” to start training Ukrainian pilots on F-16s after President Biden signed off on the delivery of the American-made aircraft. AWC

Russia’s Defense Ministry on Tuesday said that it defeated a Ukrainian sabotage group that launched a cross-border raid in Russia’s Belgorod Oblast on Monday. AWC

US officials have told The New York Times that they believe the drone attack on the Kremlin that took place earlier this month was likely carried out by one of Ukraine’s special military or intelligence units. AWC

Biden administration officials have said that the US is looking into reports of US military equipment being used in a cross-border raid that was launched from Ukraine into Russia’s Belgorod region. AWC

Moscow said Wednesday that a Russian warship protecting pipelines in the Black Sea was attacked by unmanned Ukrainian speedboats near the Bosphorus Strait, far from Russian and Ukrainian territory. AWC

Russia’s Wagner Group chief Yevgeny Prigozhin said in an interview posted on Telegram Wednesday that 20,000 of his fighters were killed in the 224-day battle of Bakhmut. AWC

Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin said Wednesday that cooperation between Russia and China has reached an “unprecedented high” due to pressure both nations are facing from the West. AWC

A US aircraft carrier arrived in Norway for war games. Fox News

The Ukrainian intelligence service is making multiple attempts to kill Russian President Vladimir Putin. A high-ranking official admitted to actively plotting the Russian leader’s assassination after a recent drone attack on the Kremlin. The Institute

A neo-Nazi militia launched a cross-border raid from Ukraine into Russia’s Belgorod region on Monday using US armored vehicles, Financial Times reported Tuesday. AWC

Former Prime Minister Boris Johnson met with a group of Republicans in Texas on Monday to urge them to continue supporting Ukraine in its war with Russia, POLITICO reported. AWC

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said Tuesday that Ukraine is unlikely to win the war against Russia and that the only way the conflict can end is through a deal between the US and Russia. AWC

Armenia

Armenia says it is ready to recognize Nagorno-Karabakh as Azeri territory if Azerbaijan agrees to protect Armenians in the region. The Cradle

Air Force Secretary Frank Kendell dismissed Chinese “surveillance balloons” as a distraction. VOA

Middle East

Republican Senator Marco Rubio has reintroduced a bill designed to support state and local governments that combat the Palestinian-led Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement. MEE

Israel’s defense minister said Monday that the Israeli government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu doubled airstrikes in Syria since taking power in late December 2022. AWC

The head of the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) threatened Tuesday that Israel could soon take action against Iran over its nuclear program and said the IDF has “the ability to hit Iran.” AWC

US Central Command claimed they killed a senior al-Qaeda leader in a May 3 drone strike when announcing it on Twitter even though they had no confirmation of who died, CNN reported Tuesday. AWC

As the Joe Biden administration continues its hurried push to foster an unlikely normalization deal between Riyadh and Tel Aviv, the White House is suggesting Israel make some concessions to the Saudis in the hopes of achieving an agreement, Times of Israel reported on Tuesday. The Institute

Nigeria

Nigerian police says two US embassy staffers were rescued after an American convoy came under fire. Gunmen killed seven people in the attack. WSJ

#kyle anzalone #libertarian institute #news roundup

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bxrtycrouchjr-is-a-theatre-kid · 1 year

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'Why do we need pride month' aka my y11 gcse speech

My first memory was small, little, 5-year-old me, looking in the mirror and thinking, “You do not look like a [my deadname]”. That’s the first thought I can remember, word for word. Looking in the mirror and not recognizing the face that looks back, is not the biggest hardship these people face. Now I am not the only person who has had these experiences, in the 2021 UK census, 0.5% of the population said that their gender was different from that at birth, and that’s just those over 16 who answered the question. This group of people who are part of the LGBT community.

Now, we all know of the LGBT community, all know people in it, friends, families, acquaintances, celebrities, all that jazz. There is two whole months of celebrating, February and June, LGBT History month and Pride month, respectively. And, well, I’m sure we’ve all heard, maybe said, maybe thought pf a simple question: ‘Why do we need Pride Month?’

Pride Month, set in June, is filled with celebration, parades, floats, weird things in stores that are just there for corporation’s capitalist games. Many of us have issues with the way that companies have commercialised a period of joy and triumph over hardships. By turning this month, a time of celebrating, into a time of consummation of as many distastefully designed products as they can, businesses have ignored the persecution, execution, homicide, and torture inflicted on the LGBT community in favour of making a pretty penny. You might be thinking ‘doesn’t doing it in the name of the community help? No, not when they aren’t working to educate people. Not when they don’t donate even the smallest part of their profit to an LGBT charity, actions speak louder than words, so if these companies are really trying to help, they should practise what they preach.

You may think I’m saying: ‘No we don’t need Pride Month,’ but I am instead saying the exact opposite, we need the celebration. We need education on the history, hardships, and rights of a group of people that make up a rough 20% of our world (that is 1 in 5 people). We should donate to charities that help Queer People who are homeless, on the run or being abused because of something that they were literally born as. We must look at our laws and how they prevent those who aren’t cis-het from living a normal life. But we must also step away from looking at the pretty face of Pride and instead see how we can change for the better.

In 2021, there were 375 recorded murders of trans people globally with 95% being trans women. This number has been steadily increasing every year, and I would like you to remember that this is recorded deaths where the motivation was because the victim was trans. In 69 countries it is illegal to be queer (as of 2020)including Barbados, Malaysia, Saint Kitts and Nevis and Liberia (Afghanistan, Algeria, Antigua & Barbuda, Bangladesh, Barbados, Bhutan, Brunei, Burundi, Cameroon, Chad, Comoros, Cook Islands, Dominica, Egypt, Eritrea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Grenada, Guinea, Guyana, Iran, Jamaica, Kenya, Kiribati, Kuwait, Lebanon, Liberia, Libya, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Mauritania, Mauritius, Morocco, Myanmar, Namibia, Nigeria, Occupied Palestinian Territory (Gaza Strip), Oman, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Qatar, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and The Grenadines, Samoa, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Solomon Islands, Somalia, South Sudan, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Syria, Tanzania, Togo, Tonga, Tunisia, Turkmenistan, Tuvalu, Uganda, Uzbekistan, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe- include list in PowerPoint-)- in fact 70% of the commonwealth it is illegal. Now, here we should be both proud and disturbed that this is something we are proud of, in only 10 countries is homosexuality punished through capital punishment. That is right, being executed because of who you are, including Brunei, Nigeria, Somalia and Yemen. (Afghanistan, Brunei, Iran, Mauritania, Nigeria, Quatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, UAE, and Yemen -include list on PowerPoint-).

In England and Wales only decriminalised male homosexuality in 1967 (with female homosexuals legal throughout time and law which makes relatively little sense because either they didn’t believe lesbians exist or some other strange reason). However, despite being frowned upon, male homosexuality was only punishable by death from 1533 in the UK, another reason to despise Henry VIII. It was only in 2001 when the age of consent for queer couples was lowered to 16, the same as the heterosexuals. In 2000, people could be openly queer in the military, in 2005 both the legal ability to change gender and Same-Sex civil partnership was legalised and in 2014, the same was applied to Same-Sex Marriage. Surprisingly it was only 2020 when Northern Ireland did the same, with Cuba and Slovenia legalising in 2022 and Andorra’s Same-Sex marriage laws coming into affect this year. A total of 34 countries have legalised Same-sex marriage, including Argentina, Ecuador, Mexico and Taiwan. (Andorra, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Denmark, Ecuador, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Luxembourg, Malta, Mexico, Netherlands,, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, United Kingdom, United States, Uruguay -include list on PowerPoint?).

Now as we can see through legislation, despite us getting excited about 34 countries doing the bare minimum, there is still a lot of work for us to do. However, it is best to understand why we need Pride month if we look back at its origins. Pride Month originated after the Stonewall riots in the US 1969, the UK had their first Pride celebration in 1972, thus the 50-year celebration in the New Years celebration last year. The Stonewall Riots began in the 28th June 1969 when Police raided the Stonewall Inn, brutalised a number of patrons for being suspected homosexuals, female police officers to certain Patrons into the bathroom to check their sex because they thought they were crossdressing- there where laws on crossdressing which is mad- and it ended with the Patrons fighting back, a catalyst that started a gay rights movement. Now if you have heard ‘Glad To Be Gay’ by the Tom Robinson band, or you are a Marauders fan, or you just pay attention in History, you would know that up until the 1980s, Police would raid gay pubs and arrest queer people for stuff like resisting arrest- which makes no sense because why would they be being arrested for resisting arrest, what was the original charge?- and there was just a lot of violence against the LGBT community, because that is exactly what they needed during the AIDs epidemic when they were losing many friends and lovers to an invisible enemy.

Now with that briefest History you will ever get from me, I do hope you see how important it is that we recognise, remember and rebel for the sake of the millions of people killed throughout time for being something that God made them. We need pride month to remember the trials and tribulations, we have, are and will face but also show how far we have come. Hopefully next time you think about a question similar to this one, or choose to completely disregard common sense, you will remember why the LGBT community shout, fight, rebel, cry, celebrate and laugh, and rethink what you’re saying.

umm yh idk why im sharing this. this was the first draft (i couldn't find the last lol' but yh hope you enjoyed.

#lgbt #pride month #gcse speech #gcse english #why do we need pride month #legislation and stuff #laws #homophobia #pride #im a queer

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beardedmrbean · 10 months

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Major cities in Niger are facing rolling blackouts following last week's coup in the West African country.

The power shortages are a result of Nigeria cutting supplies to its northern neighbour, Niger's electricity company Nigelec says.

West African trade bloc Ecowas has put sanctions on Niger, but has not said if these include electricity supplies.

Ecowas defence chiefs are meeting in Nigeria to discuss a potential military intervention to roll back the coup.

On Sunday, West African leaders gave Niger's military junta a week to give up power or face possible military consequences.

Speaking on Wednesday, Abdel-Fatau Musah, Ecowas commissioner for political affairs, peace and security, said an armed intervention would be a "last resort". But he insisted that the bloc had to "prepare for the eventuality".

Ecowas has vowed to end the wave of coups that has plagued West Africa's Sahel region in recent years. With this in mind, Mr Musah said there was "a need to demonstrate that we cannot only bark, but can bite".

The ruling military juntas in Mali and Burkina Faso have warned Ecowas against any intervention in Niger, insisting any military action against the new regime would also be tantamount to a "declaration of war" against them. They did not send their defence chiefs to the Ecowas meeting in Nigeria's capital, Abuja

European countries are currently evacuating its citizens from Niger.

Residents living in the cities of Niamey, Maradi and Zinder have power for about an hour at a time before it is switched off for up to five hours.

Power cuts like these are unusual in Niger, which normally has regular and reliable supplies.

But the country is heavily dependent on its wealthier neighbour to the south, Nigeria, as its main supplier of electricity. In 2019, Nigelec's chief executive told the Ideas For Development outlet that Niger relied on Abuja for up to 70% of its electricity supply.

The Transmission Company of Nigeria has declined to comment on the power cuts in Niger.

But an anonymous source told the BBC the supply to Niger was cut on Tuesday following a presidential directive.

Niger's democratically elected President Mohamed Bazoum was overthrown in a military coup last week by his own presidential guards who stood watch outside his palace.

The constitution was suspended and Gen Abdourahmane Tchiani, chief of the presidential guard, was installed as the head of state.

The military government has now announced the reopening of Niger's borders with Algeria, Burkina Faso, Libya, Mali and Chad. Its borders with Nigeria remain closed.

A delegation from Ecowas - the Economic Community of West African States - arrived in Niger's capital, Niamey, on Wednesday as mediation continues following the coup. It is led by Nigeria's former military head of state, Gen Abdulsalami Abubakar, who oversaw that country's transition from military rule to democracy in 1999.

Nigeria's most senior Muslim leader, the Sultan of Sokoto, Muhammadu Sa'adu Abubakar III, is also reported to be part of the team. He also wields huge influence in Niger, part of which used to be in the Sokoto Caliphate, a powerful kingdom before colonial rule.

Evacuation flights have now started to arrive in Europe. Some 262 French citizens touched down in Paris early on Wednesday amid anti-French sentiment in the country.

The coup has prompted demonstrations against the former colonial power, with the French embassy coming under attack.

France says it has no plans to repatriate about 1,000 French soldiers stationed there as part of efforts to counter Islamist militants.

#nunyas news

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andiessoccerblog · 10 months

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Group Stage Update

I have been busy being a tourist in New Zealand, which is a beautiful country, and have not had time to sit down and talk through all the games happening. Groups A, B, and C have already played their last group stage games and teams have moved on to the knockout round, and other teams will do the same in the next three days.

Group A

Group A was the wildest group by far, with each team getting at least one win. This meant that each team had the ability to advance to the knockout stage with a win in their last game. Switzerland ended up winning the group with a win and two ties, and Norway took second place with only one win and one tie. The last games were probably the least dramatic–Norway steamrolled the Philippines 6-0, and Switzerland held New Zealand to a 0-0 tie. It was a hard game to watch, as Switzerland seemed to be playing for the tie instead of a win, while New Zealand threw everything they had at the game and still came up short.

Group B

This group also had some chaos, with the marquee teams Australia and Canada both struggling, and both needing a win against the other to move on. But it wasn't the close match a lot of people expected, Australia ended up dominating 4-0, preventing Canada, the current Olympic gold-medalists, from moving out of group stage. Big Oof. Nigeria also qualified for the knockout stage, with two 0-0 ties, and a surprise win over Australia, which seems to have kicked the host country into action before their Canada game. Maybe they owe Nigeria a thank you?

Group C

This was a classic group stage–no ties, no upsets. Japan won all three games, including a decisive 4-0 win against Spain, even though Spain held 77% possession. Japan's counterattack is LETHAL. For their part, Spain won pretty easily against the other two group opponents, but they will need to be on their toes in the knockout stage.

Group D

This is another group shaping up to be a classic group stage with no upsets–but although the results look normal, the games have been anything but. Haiti has kept both of their games to only 1-0 losses, and England has only had 1-0 wins. England can go through with a win or a tie, but could technically get knocked out if both Denmark and China with with goal differentials greater than 2. Math is fun!!

Group E

USA play tonight against Portugal, and need a win or a tie to go through. Although both USA and Netherlands are slated to go through, either team could get knocked out by an upset. I'm stressed.

Group F

F is for…France? Fail? Freedom? Right now, France and Jamaica are the top two teams in the group. If things go as expected in their games tomorrow, France and Brazil will be the top two. But none of the games in this group have been "as expected". I'll be at the France vs. panama game in Sydney tomorrow night. Allez les Blues!

Group G

Sweden has locked in their path to the world cup with two wins, but any other team could be the second team to go through. Argentina has a tough task with their last game against Sweden, but Italy and South Africa will literally be battling head to head for the last spot. Italy could get through with a win or a tie, while South Africa needs an outright win.

Group H

Colombia has surprised the world by beating Germany for their second win, locking them in for the group stage. Germany did generally play well and will likely take the second spot, barring any HUGE upset by South Korea, but that's not impossible after two upsets in their last three games (Zambia and Colombia).

#woso soccer #woso #uswnt #women's world cup #womens soccer #nwsl #wwc 2023 #france #frawnt #germany #world cup #gerwnt #engwnt #swewnt #norwnt #auswnt #colwnt #nigeria #nedwnt #itawnt #canxnt #brawnt

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