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foodbytesback · 4 years

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The Rise and Fall of Bon Appetit

Sometimes life comes at you fast. Sometimes, that means stories in the food industry break in such rapid succession that you have no time to blink in between. Sometimes, it means someone found out about something racist you did a few years ago. What happens when it’s both? Ask the fine folks at Bon Appetit.

In recent years, Bon Appetit made a name for itself, rising from the ashes of dying print media, through its Youtube channel featuring a diverse cast of personalities. But over the course of this past week, many of the publication’s executives have been found to foster a toxic workplace culture, rife with racism, sexism and homophobia.

Before I get too deep (because this is going to be a long one), I feel the need to point out that while this story’s breaking happened to coincide with Black Lives Matter protests across the country and gained traction from people’s outrage towards inequality, the events that have unfolded should not be blamed on “cancel culture,” “political correctness run amok” or any other reactionary dismissal of critical thinking. Adam Rapoport didn’t lose his job because Black Lives Matter, Black Lives Matter came to be because of the damage that many in positions of power like Rapoport have done in both mainstream media and society as a whole.

[Also, yes, there are going to be a lot of links to Instagram posts that have been screenshotted and uploaded to Twitter. Clearly the real takeaway from this debacle is that I need to get an Instagram account. Also also, thanks to Tumblr’s new rules about offsite links, you’ll have to go to my main site for the full receipts.]

Preamble

Shortly after the killing of George Floyd, Adam Rapoport, Editor-in-Chief at Bon Appetit, wrote an editorial highlighting some of the coverage they’ve given to black chefs. Many criticized this as being superficial and performative, with others saying that BA has, on numerous occasions, shut down articles relating to black culture for not being “trendy” enough or otherwise was discriminatory towards black employees. (Also, the repeated use of “uprisings” instead of “protests” seems a little suspicious.)

An article from Eater criticized the role BA played in the appropriating and whitewashing of many cultures’ ingredients and cuisines (gochujang, Aleppo pepper, and sumac seem to be some of BA’s favorite ingredients) that had become prevalent in food media in recent years.

While it’s a fairly minor offense in comparison, it may also be worth bringing up the time Rapoport accidentally called Priya Krishna “Sohla,” the name of his other Indian employee.

Monday, June 8th

Food writer Tammie Teclemariam posted a screencap of an Instagram post made by Rapoport’s wife, which depicted the two of them donning Puerto Rican stereotypes as Halloween costumes, brownface and all.

Many were quick to declare their outrage and demand that Rapoport either resign or be fired. Meanwhile, Sohla El-Waylly, one of the leading stars of the Youtube channel, was one of the first BA employees to speak up, and disclosed that this kind of behavior was just the tip of the iceberg. She said that BIPOC workers have been paid disproportionately for their work, including not being paid a per-video commission that the white stars of the Youtube channel receive.

Molly Baz, one of the aforementioned white stars, announced that she would no longer make videos for BA until all of El-Waylly’s demands were met. One by one, their white coworkers chimed in in agreement.

Former staff photographer Alex Lau also wrote an extensive tweet thread about his experiences at BA, including how he had futilely tried to fix the system from within.

By the end of Monday, Adam Rapoport had resigned from his position as Editor-in-Chief.

Tuesday, June 9th

Since Rapoport’s official resignation did little to fix many of the systemic problems in place at BA, many began to turn their attention to other senior members of the staff.

Some came for Andrew Knowlton, the Restaurant Editor, for behaviors such as gaslighting an employee for trying to bring up racist practices in the offices.

Others called out Matthew Duckor, a VP at Conde Nast and BA’s former “Head of Video” (Did a 3 year old come up with that job title?), for a series of old racist and homophobic tweets. He tried to apologize by saying that he was young and didn’t know any better at the time, but many were quick to point out that he was, at the youngest, 20, aka for all intents and purposes An Adult when he wrote those tweets.

Tammie Teclemariam returned to ask current and former BA employees to DM her information about Duckor that they didn’t want to go public with themselves, ranging from his hand in the aforementioned pay disparity to making inappropriate comments towards women.

Teclemariam also did even more social media muckraking and found that Drinks Editor Alex Delany had once decorated a cake to look like a Confederate flag, while others found things like a Vine where he says the f-slur and some questionable comments about women on this Tumblr. He later deleted his Tumblr and Twitter, and issued a cookie-cutter apology on his Instagram.

She also vague-tweeted that Brad Leone, one of the most beloved stars of the Youtube channel, is “possibly not a great guy,” but later added, “don’t fret.” At that point, some began to accuse her of just trying to stir the pot.

Ultimately, Matt Hunziker, director and camera operator for Leone’s show, reported that the higher ups were ignoring the situation regarding the pay disparity, and that they were not “learning and growing.”

Wednesday, June 10th

By this point, journalists were able to do more thorough investigations and put together exposés that were more than a blurb about an accusation followed by a nut graph.

Business Insider published an article where they interviewed 14 current and former BIPOC employees of Bon Appetit. In addition to information already discussed above, it also described events such as an incident where several BIPOC staffers were told they weren’t allowed the test kitchen. (Carla Lalli Music, the Food Director at the time, would later defend her stance in the affair on Twitter.) Ryan Walker-Hartshorn, a black woman who served as Rapoport’s personal assistant, recalled that she would often spend her day doing menial tasks like polishing her boss’s golf clubs or trying to teach his wife how to use Google Calendar. In another incident, Knolton called Rick Martinez a “one trick pony” for only developing Mexican recipes, which is what he was being forced to do so BA could tout “diversity” bonus points. Martinez would also say that the magazine under Rapoport’s tenure “went from old and irrelevant and white-washed content to young and trendy white-washed content." (Martinez would also upload a more graphic description of the treatment he received to his Instagram that same day.) Later that day, Business Insider would also report that Duckor had left the company.

Vice would liken Rapoport to Michael Scott from The Office, but noted that that kind of bumbling, endearingly insensitive bad boss archetype isn’t as charming in the real world where real employees are being affected. Parallels were also drawn between the Youtube channel and The Office itself, stating that the “quirky workplace” facade put on in the videos helped hide the more sinister practices that lurked beneath the surface, and that the notion that they were “one big family” often pressured BIPOC into doing more than their fair share for the greater good.

Jezebel showed email transcripts where Rapoport argued the semantics of having his costume be called “brownface” when he wasn’t wearing makeup, and had to be explained to, like a child, that the term refers to the racist caricature and not the literal act of putting brown makeup on one’s face. What a douche.

Bon Appetit published an official apology on their site, a whole two days after the controversy began. Many believed that their empty promises of “learning from their mistakes” were a day late and a dollar short.

Meanwhile, on Twitter, former BA writer Alyse Whitney said that senior editor Andy Baraghani had, on several occasions, used his influence to undermine her efforts. Whether this had to do with racism, sexism, or just Andy being petty is up for debate, but still constitutes as unprofessional behavior to say the least.

Thursday, June 11th

As interest in the story seemed to wane for many in the industry, Claire Saffitz, arguably the face of the Youtube channel, released another statement on her Instagram. She said that her relative silence was due to taking time to find the right words, and that the same-old promises to “learn and grow” that most had been giving felt empty and performative. Unlike many of her white coworkers, she directly apologized for being complicit in the toxic environment and for not using her status to try to leverage even pay for her BIPOC coworkers.

Another BA Youtube personality, Amiel Stanek, also released a statement in response to BA’s official press release, where he demanded Conde Nast to stop avoiding action by setting vague timelines for changes or making excuses for not giving BIPOC workers raises like “the money just isn’t there.”

Associate editor Christina Chaey also opened up about her experiences with being pushed into more and more videos to “diversify” them- all without compensation.

Friday, June 12th

The biggest scandal of the day was that, as Teclemariam predicted, Brad Leone is possibly not a great guy. A leaked screenshot of an Instagram DM showed him making callous, almost Trump-y comments regarding El-Waylly’s demand for better pay. He also allegedly said that if Delany were to be fired (as of that day he had been sent on leave), he would quit.

Saturday, June 13th

The New York Times published an article suggesting that the issues prevalent in BA’s management may go all the way to the top of Conde Nast. Highlights include Chief Executive Roger Lynch chastising the whistleblowers within the company for raising their concerns in such a public manner and an account of an incident where he gave his black assistant a guidebook on how to speak “proper” English.

The Sporkful released a special episode of their podcast containing interviews with several current and former BA BIPOC workers. Nikita Richardson divulged that after she was laid off, a story she had already done all the leg work for was picked up and credited to Amanda Shapiro, a white staff writer who is now acting Editor-in-Chief in lieu of Rapoport. Sohla El-Waylly confirmed that the self-congratulatory editorial Rapoport wrote in the wake of George Floyd’s death was the real beginning of the end, and that the racist photo was just the final straw. She also described a company-wide Zoom meeting held after the photo began to be spread around where Rapoport issued a half-hearted apology, and began talking about how he would “fix the brand” before El-Waylly demanded he resigned. Furthermore, she revealed that after her Instagram posts began circulating rapidly, Duckor had offered her a new contract with increased pay, but she is refusing to sign it until all BIPOC have received similar compensation. She also said that she had a hand in the wishy-washy statement that BA had published on Wednesday, and said that it originally had taken much firmer stances on the issues but their PR office made them tone it down. Also, she commented that Leone, for the most part, just seemed like she “genuinely think[s] [that he] just found out racism is real.” Ultimately, she was glad that the story was getting as much coverage as it was, since it made her feel that her voice was finally being heard.

Sunday, June 14th

Baraghani released a statement on Instagram apologizing for his behavior, saying that trying to achieve his personal goals in BA’s toxic, competitive environment made him lose sight of solidarity with his fellow BIPOC.

While that may seem like the end of the story for now, it’s important to note that, even with the resignation of two executives, nothing has truly been done to fix the systemic problems at hand.

#bon appetit #adam rapoport #matt duckor #alex delany #sohla el waylly #molly baz #carla lalli music #andy baraghani #brad leone #clair saffitz #amiel stanek #tw racism #tw homophobia #tw sexism

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theantitote · 4 years

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A Call to Action + A Few Resources for These Times of Unrest in the US

On the Recent Unrest and Our Worst Fears (Is a civil war brewing?)

These times are uncertain, dire even. A mismanaged pandemic has and will continue to claim many lives and ravage our economy, yet several Republican governors still stand poised to reopen schools in the fall, and economic woes potentially put millions at risk of falling victim to mass evictions. Police and government brutality has long plagued our nation with near impunity and in the wake of George Floyd’s death and the violent crackdowns on protests, we seem to be reaching a breaking point. Police have been seen on numerous occasions assaulting the media, and federal agents sent to Portland, Oregon have been responsible for among other things, shooting Donavan La Bella in the head with “less lethal” impact munitions, cracking his skull and nearly killing him, arresting protesters into unmarked rental vans, and striking a Navy vet with a baton after he attempted to confront them on their oath to the constitution, breaking his hand. Now as anger swells in the streets and fears rise of an apparently fledgling secret police force due to the actions of federal agents, recently threatened to be deployed to more cities as part of Trump’s Operation Legend, a question thought unthinkable just a few months ago seems to be becoming uncomfortably plausible - are we heading for a civil war?

Anyone with even the slightest bit of morality and an inkling as to what such an event would entail should be struck with terror at the mere thought of the possibility. So it is imperative in these times that we do our due diligence as citizens of this nation to learn from history and do everything in our power to deescalate such a situation before our worst fears are realized, all without loosing sight of the problems and what must be done to solve them. To this end I have compiled a fairly brief list of videos, podcasts, articles, and webpages that I recommend all Americans observe and heed the messages and warnings found therein.

Top Recommendations

Note: All podcasts link to Spotify pages however you should be able to find them elsewhere if needed, including most popular podcasting apps from my experience.

1) The Youtube channel Beau of the Fifth Column, and his recent covering of the events in Portland.

I link his playlist of videos covering Portland and how the federal response runs counter to the guidelines of their manuals because it’s most relevant however I can’t recommend his entire channel enough. For further reading, here are a few links related to what he discusses in those videos:

FM 3-24 - Insurgencies and Countering Insurgencies - FAS PDF link

Federation of American Scientists - their website hosts a sizable amount of information some of which is relevant, including the aforementioned pdf

The Rand Corporation’s website, which has more public documentation and who also plays a large role in the making of classified documents for policy makers on the subject.

The nonprofit archive.org free online library

2) It Could Happen Here - A podcast from 2019 by Robert Evans, who has a background in investigative journalism on the conflicts in Iraq and Syria and Ukraine among others, exploring the possibility of a Second American Civil War, what might cause it and how it could be prevented. Though he is rather open about his own leftist bias he does not shy away from addressing the valid grievances rural America might have with the government as well as areas where the true left of America and rural conservatives might share some surprising common ground.

3) Behind the Police - Another podcast and a recent spinoff of “Behind the Bastards” that covers the history of American policing and how it has led to the often corrupt institutions we have today. Also hosted by Robert Evans and joined by the hip-hop artist Jason Petty aka Propaganda.

A few reminders of recent state violence

Tweeted video of the moment Donavan La Bella was shot in the head by a US Marshal

Tweeted video of the immediate aftermath (CW: profuse bleeding)

An update on Donavan La Bella’s condition (CW: distressing images) - “His mother, Desiree La Bella, previously said her son’s face and skull were fractured and that he underwent facial reconstructive surgery in the hours after the encounter. She said he had a tube in his skull to drain blood and had vision problems in one eye.” - the good news is the article says he’s recovering better than doctors expected.

Tweeted video of Navy veteran Chris David being struck with a baton by federal officers, breaking his hand, dubbed by some as “Captain Portland” after the viral video showed him taking the blows unflinching

A Newsweek article with an interview with Chris David - "I want to use my 15 minutes to put out a message to my fellow vets. I also want to use my 15 minutes to try to refocus this whole discussion back to Black Lives Matter as opposed to an old white guy who got beat up because I don't think I'm worth the attention, to be perfectly frank" - He states in the interview that he sought to confront the federal agents on their oath to the constitution when the beating happened, after hearing of the seemingly random arrests using unmarked rental vans.

NowThis News compilation of police violence against journalists from June 1st

Another NowThis News compilation of more police violence against journalists from June 3rd

Vice coverage of the protests in the wake of George Floyds death, posted on June 2nd. This includes a rather emotionally intense moment when the crew is assaulted by police with pepper spray and tear gas along with a small family who were attempting to protect their local business.

What Now? A Few Words of Advice

The times ahead are uncertain and fraught of dangers to say the least, but if we wish to avoid the worst we have to act. So, what do we do? Don’t just hope but organize, strategize, plan, and fight for the best, while preparing for the worst. At the very least and most simple take the advice from Beau’s videos and make your voice heard. Demand the government start following their own manuals and stop escalating tensions even further.

Yet distressingly enough, it seems unlikely that the onslaught of violent federal crackdowns will slow down anytime soon regardless of what we do. Preparedness seems more important now than ever, so here are a few basics. Try to get at least a month's worth of food if you haven’t already and still can. There are several sites for such things, such as Mountain House as one example, however much of this might be sold out or unaffordable so you might have to consider buying canned goods little by little as you can. Prepare a bug out bag, especially if you live in the city. There are countless tutorials and advice on this topic but try to stay focused on what you might need - things like a first aid kit, water, a filtered straw and other purification methods, a way to light a fire and cook, and so on. If you’re sane and responsible and wish to acquire a firearm for self defense if you haven’t already, and want to train but don’t want to have to involve yourself with the toxic conservative dominated gun culture, look into the SRA (Socialist Rifle Association) as they might be offering range days and training in your area.

But most importantly, start networking and organizing. No matter what comes to pass it will be imperative that we develop close ties with those within our communities which we can call upon not only to help try to prevent the worst, but also for protection should our worst fears become a reality. You might consider joining your local IWW if you’re an advocate for democratic unionization and workplace democracy like myself, or you might look into and maybe get into touch with folks like Mutual Aid Disaster Relief, and see if there’s any local to your area or what you might be able to learn from them. Regardless, try to find some group you at least somewhat fit in with and organize with them together.

A quick final note on my blog

I started this blog spontaneously on July 3rd hoping to ease my way into amateur blogging first and hopefully a career in journalism later, however current events have left me anxious of the future and uncertain of what new tragedies might lurk around the corner of tomorrow. I am however, highly privileged. I live at home in a rural town in the South Eastern US far away from the unrest with a supportive family who have at least for the time being a fairly secure income, and am currently unemployed, meaning that while I have no income of my own at the moment I do have a lot of free time, which I plan to spend much of on my amateur blogging pursuits. So if you want to see more blog posts like this in the future, give me a follow and consider turning on notifications and you’ll certainly be seeing more posts like this from me in the days ahead.

#portland #pdx #operation legend #trump #fascism #antifascism #antifa #police brutality #police state #blm #black lives matter #blacklivesmatter #civil unrest #protests

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sonicfanj · 4 years

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How to word this so it doesn’t sound wrong or contentious...

Well, I guess there is no helping it and I’ll just have to rely on my lack of ability to explain things to hopefully make myself understandable.

To wit, I happen to enjoy the perceived one-note-ness of Sonic and Amy. Now before anyone gets it into their heads that I’m taking digs at the two of them (honestly them along with Metal and Eggman are my favorites in the franchise so bear with me) I would like to highlight that when handled well, one-note-ness in a character is actually a very useful narrative tool.

I would hope if you’ve read this far already you have an idea as to where I’m going with this, but if not here goes anyway. The great use that one note characters provide to a narrative is actually multi-fold and requires understanding an anchoring concept. I won’t bother trying to fully flesh out that idea here, but effectively a note character, frequently accused of also being static and unchanging is actually able to serve as a narrative rock who holds other characters together with their stability and reliability. Both in and out of universe they are a point of stability that the characters come to expect. When overused it can become rather stale to be sure, but when understated enough it just becomes part of the world. It’s expected. When you see that character you know what to expect. Of course then when your expectation is betrayed your emotions are a lot stronger. For example, if a show is churning along at a slice of life pace and when things get serious they off the comic relief first it surprises you because it betrays your expectations. Suddenly the stability is gone and the narrative feels like it is in chaos because of that one simple betrayal of expectations. But it doesn’t even have to be so extreme of a betrayal to work. A subtle betrayal of expectations works just as well.

So lets look at Sonic and Amy and what makes them both one note points of stability. If you really have a firm grasp of the characters it might actually be harder to recognize because all of their nuances really stand out to you and you spot them everywhere. In Sonic and Amy’s case they even both have distinct character vices born from some of those nuances though their primary vices are their cheekiness and bratiness respectively. But when it comes to being one-note, for Sonic it is his chill, laid back, and in control personality while Amy though frequently having her obsession with Sonic mistaken for it (though it can be used as well depending on the narrative) is energetic, bubbly, and always positive (IDW forgot to establish this before breaking her down in the Zombot Arc but we’ll get to that later). No matter what is going on Sonic will appear relaxed and in control and Amy will be full of energy and have faith that everything will turn out okay. You can (or at least used to be able to) always expect this out of the two them. Chill and cheerful. Even their color schemes of blue and pink evoke these expectations form them. So what happens then when you betray these expectations. One word. Tension.

Though it could be overused itself, in both Sonic and Amy’s case when the expectation is betrayed their playfulness disappears and they both become more serious and focused. Depending on the degree of the betrayal of expectations you could even be really taken aback by Sonic’s rarely seen temper and indignation or you could actually see Amy not showing any energy (as a Genki Girl it actually is part of the trope that Amy is built on so it shouldn’t be too surprising but the rarity and timing of it’s use can really leave an impact). In these moments you suddenly realize that things are no longer stable, the expected has become taken for granted and you don’t know what to expect. The Sonic OVA played with this really well as Sonic actually lost to Metal Sonic in their first clash. In fact without help he was on the ropes in their rematch as well which nicely betrays Sonic’s tendency to always win. You expect it, but when Sonic needs bailed out like happens on numerous occasions in the OVA (and in his aforementioned defeat no one was able to bail him out) your expectations are lost and you don’t know how he is going to win. This creates anticipation and as a member of the audience every little thing suddenly becomes hype inducing. For the characters in universe it becomes a sign to step up or that things have become extremely dire. Their desperateness and dread only further fuels the anticipation the audience feels. And all of this comes about from a simple shift in expectations, a powerful narrative tool unique to so called “one-note” characters. And before anyone quips up about underdogs, the underdog role itself is a one-note trope of being expected to lose and either betraying that expectation to the point of cheapening it or getting frequently bailed out.

Taking all of the above into consideration, it is why I have been miffed to an extent with IDW!Sonic. The one thing it failed to do was set the expectations before betraying them with the Zombot Arc. It’s why things like Amy’s exhaustion feels hollow as we never had it established how energetic and positive she was. It also makes the whole scenario feel off key as Sonic has already been established as always winning in the end without any major setbacks to imply he can lose. Even his capture at Eggman’s hands feels meaningless unless you are very familiar with his character and history. The inability to use Infinite and the Phantom Ruby also hurts as being able to highlight that an indirect and world altering threat can defeat Sonic the threat of the Zombots feels alien to the established setting and characters. This can work though if expectations of the characters have already been established. As IDW!Sonic never really did as the aim was just to jump straight into the action the lack of concrete expectations undermines the narrative. However, if Sonic had been played up as “one-note” up to this point even in the little time presented by the narrative there would be enough expectations out of Sonic to be surprised by his reactions and lack of overall composure and chill. Alas, IDW!Sonic has not had that benefit either and as a result feels incomplete as a character in the narrative, or at least that’s how I feel.

And it is those very feelings that allows me to appreciate the one-note-ness of Sonic and Amy. When their one-note presentations becomes a point that I comfortably take for granted even the most subtle of changes in the nuance of their actions carries weight. As I mentioned above with Amy you can use her crush on Sonic to highlight a change in atmosphere by her not reacting to his arrival by being joyous. Sonic Adventure captured this well with her interrupting Sonic and Gamma’s clash. Sonic was taken aback enough to look openly confused implying that he understood the situation needed more thought and allowing the audience to understand the different weight of the situation. This is actually further supported by how Amy acts up to that point from Sonic’s point of view (and even Amy’s to an extent) as he pretty much gushes about Sonic, gets distracted by the idea of going on a date even in the middle of a chase, proudly proclaims Sonic to be her hero, and even rather openly implies that the two of them are a couple despite Sonic’s responses. So when she suddenly gets in his way and is not gushing, is not being energetic, and is not propping Sonic up, it gives huge weight to that moment. But none of this works without relying on the expectations one has of her and Sonic due to their “one-note” presentation.

The betrayal of the one note expectation is captured so well the simply presented one-note character. By having a strong focused aspect of their personality the nuances can become eschewed and even the most subtle of changes can have major impact on the audience or characters in universe. The fact that I like the main focal point’s of Sonic and Amy’s personalities naturally makes it easier for me to appreciate them presented as one-note, but it isn’t something that I alone can appreciate. If you recognize the versatility of the one-note character for playing around with your emotions any one-note can quickly become a favorite source of entertainment and the unexpected. But I’ll give anyone who asks the caveat that yes, it requires solid writing and understanding to pull it off properly. But you know, when it happens it is absolute magic in my humble opinion.

#sonic the hedgehog #amy rose #storytelling tools #character analysis #narrative exploration #my opinion #unpopular opinion #one-note characters

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wisconsinprelawland-blog · 4 years

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Sports Violence And Criminal Law

By Alex Pagel, University of Wisconsin-La Crosse Class of 2021

July 25, 2020

In professional sports, it has become common to witness acts of unnecessary violence. Whether it be a football player punching an opposing player after the whistle, a racecar driver intentionally swerving into the vehicle of his competitor, or a bench clearing brawl between basketball teams, these vicious altercations are prevalent amongst professional athletes. However, despite these events being both violent and frequent, it is rare that professional athletes are legally punished for these actions. While they certainly would amount to criminal charges for the average citizen, athletes complete these actions typically without legal repercussions.

The issue of excessive violence in sports first entered the spotlight of scrutiny in 1901. That year, 6 American football players died in university games, prompting the presidents of those universities to consider ending competitive collegiate sports contests at their respective schools. In 1905, President Theodore Roosevelt, who had previously been a competitive boxer at Harvard University, threatened to end the playing of all collegiate football if new safety measures were not taken1. Fearful of this, novel measures were adopted, and competitive college football continued to be played. However, excessive violence in sports was not limited to football and has continued to occur to this day. In 1969, NHL player Wayne Maki infamously struck an opponent over the head with his stick, fracturing his skull and causing a brain injury2. In 1973, Cincinnati Bengal player Charles Clark punched a Denver Bronco player in the back of his head when he wasn’t looking. In 1993, Texas Rangers’ pitcher Nolan Ryan placed a Chicago White Sox player in a headlock and hit him over the head repeatedly after the player stormed the mound following Ryan hitting him with a pitch3. As happened in this last occasion, violence between individual players often inspires brawls between entire teams where the physical violence increases and more players get injured. The aforementioned occurrences are only a few of many, but demonstrate the presence of excessive violence across multiple sports which takes place in a variety of different ways.

In light of these vicious happenings, more proposals were made to make excessively violent actions in sports a violation of criminal law. The Sports Violence Act of 1980 sought to amend federal law to establish a penalty of up to a year in prison and/or a $5,000 fine for any professional sports player who knowingly used excessive physical force and caused a risk of significant bodily injury to another athlete4. A second proposal, the Sports Violence Arbitration Act of 1983, would’ve required each professional sports league to create an arbitration system for the arbitration of situations involving excessively violent conduct which would also permit grievances to be handled in U.S. District Courts5. Unfortunately, neither bill was passed into law, leaving the power to punish athletes for their excessively violent actions unremoved from the professional leagues themselves.

Perhaps the largest reason why these bills did not pass and why it is difficult to charge athletes for excessively violent actions in sport is that professional athletes are assumed to consent to physical contact that may take place in their sport. The idea of assumed consent was well explained by a California court which stated that the “boxer who steps into the ring consents to his opponent’s jabs; the football player … consents to [the] hard tackle; the hockey goalie … consents to face his opponent’s slapshots; and … the baseball player … consents to the possibility the opposing pitcher may throw near or at him”6. This assumed consent makes charging an athlete with battery for their excessively violent actions very difficult. While the definitions of battery vary in many jurisdictions, it's common for these different definitions to require the victim of battery to have been subject to harmful or offensive touching by another without consent7. As it is understood that athlete's automatically consent to physical altercation in playing sports, it is very difficult to bring such charges upon them.

In addition to the difficulties of charging athletes with battery, there are numerous other hurdles in convicting these professionals. Defendants can make the argument, as was made by Charles Clark’s defense in Hackbart v. Cincinnati Bengals, that there is an assumption of risk made by all players that they may be subject to injury from the inherent risks of their game. Defendants have also claimed that their vicious actions are a result of an involuntary reflex, which would thus not meet the intention of wrongdoing required by mens rea, a standard which must be met by many criminal charges. This defense is supported by the idea that the heat of the game and the actions that result from it are sometimes uncontrolled by athletes and happen entirely out of spite. A last difficulty in charging these athletes is proving they did not act violently out of self-defense. Many courts have ruled that a person who is assaulted may respond to that assault with force if it will protect a victim from injury and the apparent danger is still present8. While each of these defense claims alone can make charging athletes difficult, when used together, a conviction may be even more strenuous to produce.

As a result of these difficulties to convict and the distribution of punishment by individual leagues rather than criminal law, many athletes have been handed small fines and suspensions in lieu of incarceration sentences. After hitting an opposing player in the head with his helmet, Cleveland Browns player Myles Garret was suspended for just the remainder of the season (6 games), which was the longest punishment in NFL history for an in-game penalty9. After intentionally hitting Clint Bowyer’s car with his own and causing a multiple car wreck in a 2012 NASCAR race, Jeff Gordon was handed just a $100,000 fine and was placed on league probation until the end of the year10. In a 2018 FIBA World Cup qualifier between the Philippines and Australia, which involved a bench-clearing brawl between the teams, 13 players and 2 coaches received suspensions from play for unsportsmanlike behavior. Despite this, and some fines being given to both teams, the longest suspension given to any player was a brief 6 games11. Had the violent, life threatening actions of these teams and individuals been conducted by non-athlete citizens outside of a sporting event, it’s hard to imagine they wouldn’t have resulted in criminal charges with lengthy incarceration sentences.

Although professional sports have made significant progress since the early 1900’s in recognizing the violence they entail, the punishments for many of the excessively violent actions they give birth to still do not receive adequate punishment. The failure of congress to pass legislation making excessive violence in sport illegal, combined with the difficulties that assumed consent, assumption of risk, involuntary reflex and self-defense create in charging athletes for their actions, has made it very burdensome for prosecutors to convict excessively violent players with battery and other legal infractions. Followed by the generally minor fines and suspensions given to players by professional sports leagues following these instances, a discrepancy has been created between how pro athletes and average citizens are punished for what would be equally criminal actions. While hitting others in the head with heavy objects, getting into fist fights, and intentionally crashing one’s vehicle into another’s would place most people in a jail cell, these actions are followed by much weaker punishments for professional athletes.

________________________________________________________________

[1] US Legal, Inc. (n.d.). Sports Violence . Retrieved June 7, 2020, from https://sportslaw.uslegal.com/sports-violence/

[2] The Hockey History Blog. (2013, January 14). Wayne Maki And The Terrible Stick Swinging Incident. Retrieved from http://www.greatesthockeylegends.com/2013/01/wayne-maki-and-terrible-stick-swinging.html

[3] Cucchiara, D. A. (2013, May 12). The 10 Most Vicious Brawls in Major League Baseball History. Retrieved from https://bleacherreport.com/articles/1644916-the-10-most-vicious-brawls-in-major-league-baseball-history

[4] Congress.gov. (n.d.). H.R.7903 - 96th Congress (1979-1980): Sports Violence Act of 1980. Retrieved June 7, 2020, from https://www.congress.gov/bill/96th-congress/house-bill/7903?s=1&r=4

[5] Congress.gov. (n.d.). H.R.4495 - 98th Congress (1983-1984): Sports Violence Arbitration Act of 1983. Retrieved June 7, 2020, from https://www.congress.gov/bill/98th-congress/house-bill/4495

[6] NBC News. (2018, October 22). Why athletes generally don’t face criminal charges for on-court fights. Retrieved from https://www.nbcnews.com/news/sports/why-athletes-generally-don-t-face-criminal-charges-court-fights-n922866

[7] FindLaw. (2019, June 25). Assault and Battery Overview. Retrieved from https://criminal.findlaw.com/criminal-charges/assault-and-battery-overview.html#:~:text=Although%20the%20statutes%20defining%20battery,intentional%20touching%3B&text=no%20consent%20from%20the%20victim.

[8] Horrow, R. (1982). Violence in Professional Sports: Is It Part of the Game. Journal of Legislation, 9(1), 1–16. Retrieved from https://scholarship.law.nd.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1506&context=jleg

[9] Eltringham, M. (2019, November 30). The Most Severe NFL Punishment Before Myles Garrett. Retrieved from https://www.sportscasting.com/the-most-severe-nfl-punishment-before-myles-garrett/

[10] Montedonico, B. (2012, November 12). Jeff Gordon Hit with Weak Penalty After Run-in with Clint Bowyer at Phoenix. Retrieved from https://bleacherreport.com/articles/1406701-jeff-gordon-hit-with-weak-penalty-after-run-in-with-clint-bowyer-at-phoenix

[11] ABC/APP News. (2018, July 19). Three Boomers suspended for Philippines “basket-brawl”, Basketball Australia fined. Retrieved from https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-07-19/fiba-decision-on-boomers-basketbrawl-with-philippines/10008246

Photo Credit: SteelCityHobbies

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remnantoforario · 5 years

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RWBY Manga Chapter 3

So here we go with chapter 3 of my RWBY manga analysis. Check out the last two chapters Here and Here.

As stated before this is not a page by page review, more of a comparison of this and the original source material. Thanks to every one who has liked and/or reblogged the last two parts.

So Chapter 3 opens with Yang and Blake having already established their pair and fighting Grimm.

I really like this shot in the first panel, it’s very indicative of Yang’s character early in the series. Girl is battle hungry with a devil may care attitude. She’s happy as long as she can have a good fight. Blake’s comment is also good, as is Yang’s response. Sets up the dynamic well enough.

As Pyrrha explains the concept of Aura to Jaune (in some very well illustrated scenes that give Aura a much more spiritual lean than established), we finally come across the problem with the manga that I have been eluding to in the last two parts: the fight scenes.

Now I know that this has always been a thing in manga. It’s nigh impossible to give a complete flow of fight scenes in the medium (unless you’re say, Akira Toriyama or someone of that caliber). Normally this isn’t a problem since pretty much most, if not all, action-oriented anime start as manga; so really when they get adapted into anime it just enhances the material and makes the fights more memorable.

Black Clover is a perfect example of this. I’ve been told by numerous people that the series is best consumed if you read the manga for the story, but watch the anime for the fight scenes.

That’s a good way to approach it, but RWBY is a completely different animal compared to most franchises in the genre (I don’t really consider RWBY anime, but its kind of marketed as such and has a following in Japan so yeah). Not only are they flattening what was originally a computer generated series onto a 2D surface, they are actively condensing what was (at one time) the series’ main draw, the aforementioned fight scenes.

Might get a little controversial here so bear with me. It is no secret that the late Monty Oum was a savant when it came to using Poser. The things he could do with the platform were amazing (as series like Dead Fantasy, Haloid, Red vs. Blue, and even the first trailers of RWBY showed).

However, Monty, for all his mastery at fight choreography, was never the greatest story teller. I believe he admitted to that before. As much shit as people give Miles and Kerry about the current writing of the show (including me on several occasions), they were there from the beginning. it was always a three man team. Miles, Kerry, and Monty all wrote the show together.

Even diehard RWBY fans will tell you that the writing in those first two and a half volumes was never really that strong.

Plot points would be picked up then unceremoniously dropped, characters were inconsistent in both their personalities and motivations (Blake was a huge victim of this), and the overall narrative wasn’t really all that engaging.

However, many people forgave these glaring flaws because of Monty’s fight scenes. Before I got into the series, a common criticism I heard of RWBY was “The story isn’t all that great, but the fight scenes are amazing.” And that’s true. In the first two and a half volumes of RWBY (before Monty passed) a lot of the “story” was really just padding until we got to the next fight scene. This worked well when the episodes were 6-15 minutes long because a majority of the run time could be used for those glorious battles that kept people coming back. Including me.

Two of my favorite fights are still Neo v. Yang from Volume 2 and Blake and Sun v. Torchwick from Volume 1

Though as the series grew in popularity, it could no longer solely rely on the fights to keep things going (especially after the noticeable dip in quality that occurred shortly after Monty passed) it needed to focus more on its story.

I say all that to say: the RWBY manga’s more stilted fight scenes are not only its biggest weakness, but also its greatest strength. Without the crutch of cool fights to fall back on, Bunta Kinami is forced to focus the manga around how the characters act instead of how well they fight.

This shift in focus is once again highlighted when we catch up with Weiss and Ruby:

Even though they decided to become a pair last chapter, they are still at odds. Which makes perfect sense. They are together because of necessity (the need to pass the trial and stay alive), not because they want to be. This is present in the show, but the manga makes a stronger case for it because of how they are written as opposites. Ruby is trying, but Weiss is fighting her every step of the way because of her arc to be perfect (as told in Part 2 of the analysis). Neither like the situation, but only one of them (Ruby) is willing to try and make it work. It’s a constant push and pull.

Blake and Yang reach the shrine, and this is where we first meet Ren and Nora.

Not really much to say here. Ren and Nora are side characters so its fine that we don’t meet them until later, also having their first scene be the one where Nora rides in on the Ursa gives us a better look at her character, as well as her relationship with Ren.

Ruby and Weiss hitch a ride on the Nevermore like in the original and crash into Pyrrha and Jaune as they are attacked by the Death Stalker. Only real change here is that Jaune doesn’t catch Weiss and Pyrrha is with them all instead of just being knocked to the ground.

With everyone in one place, we finally come to the climax of the initiation, the fights with the Death Stalker and Nevermore.

I want to give a shout out to Kinami for his Grimm designs. They look much more menacing here with the added details. Makes them look more undead than before.

The end of the chapter is a bit more brisk than the show, but it fits for this story. Ruby tries to attack the Death Stalker, and it goes about as well as you’d expect.

In a reversal of the previous chapter, Weiss saves Ruby.

This was the same as the source material, but in the manga I believe it works better because the character writing is much more consistent, which leads to a more badass save and moment for Weiss.

The moment is earned here as opposed to the show where it kind of just happens apropos of nothing. It shows that Weiss is also starting to grow in her own way parallel to Ruby, but not quite the same. It’s a compromise, not an acceptance.

So that’s it for chapter 3. Things are continuing to escalate and the next two chapters deal with the fight with the Grimm. See you then.

#RWBY #manga #Shonen Jump #bunta kinami #Ruby Rose #Weiss Schnee #yang xiao long #Blake Belladonna #Pyrrha Nikos #Jaune Arc #Lie Ren #nora valkyrie #JNPR #Monty Oum

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gayecamarillo-blog · 5 years

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AVS4YOU AVS Audio Converter Supported Audio Formats

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ireneadonovan · 6 years

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They who do not learn from the past...

As I've been watching the Donald Trump trainwreck, I'm being reminded that Arizona went through a smaller-scale version of this 30 years ago...

Let me tell you about Evan Mecham...

He served briefly as a state legislator (in the 60's, I believe), then set his sights on higher office, mostly getting nowhere. The way my parents (both registered Republicans, as was Mecham) told it, he'd always manage to put his foot in his mouth and say something offensive before the election, and as a result, he would lose. So he became known as a perennial also-ran, someone to not take very seriously.

Then came 1986.

The expected Democratic nominee for governor lost in the primary, then chose to run as an independent, which split the Democratic vote pretty evenly down the middle. Mecham snuck through as the Republican nominee, and in a two-person race, he would have had no chance, even if he didn't say something inflammatory.

But it was a three-person race, and he somehow managed not to piss anyone off. Come election day, he took roughly 35% of the vote. And won.

This ticked off a lot of people, but many took a wait-and-see attitude. It didn't take long for Mecham to start saying and doing ugly things. He was caught on air using a racial slur against black children that I will not repeat. And he rescinded Arizona's Martin Luther King holiday, which led to numerous (and justified) boycotts of the state. (I must, however, note that the way the holiday had been created (by executive order of the previous governor) was illegal according to the Arizona constitution. But many of the reasons why the holiday hadn't been passed in a legal manner were definitely racist. And though Mecham cited the illegal nature of the holiday as his reason for acting, his racist words on other occasions indicate otherwise.)

There was a lot of other stuff, too, but these are the ones that stick in my mind.

Arizona allows for the recall of politicians, and petitions began circulating pretty much the first day it was legal to do do. A sufficient number of signatures were gathered, and plans for a recall election began. Numerous people filed as candidates, including Alice Cooper (under his legal name.) Mecham fought the recall effort on every level possible. (When it became known that one person spearheading the recall, a Phoenix businessman named Ed Buck, was gay, bumper stickers and signs began appearing that said, "Queer Ed Buck's Recall.)

Meanwhile, allegations surfaced as to irregularities in his campaign finances. The investigation into this ultimately led to both impeachment proceedings against him and a criminal indictment.

The impeachment ultimately removed him from office on charges of obstruction of justice and misuse of public funds, and the recall election was called off. He was later acquitted on the criminal charges.

What I've written is based mostly on my memories of the time and of a book I read on the subject called High Crimes and Misdemeanors by Ronald J. Watkins. I did some quick checking that backs up my recollections well, but I will not claim my memories are perfect.

I would highly recommend High Crimes and Misdemeanors to anyone wanting insight into what happened 30 years ago. I'm thinking I need to re-read it myself, in no small part because of the parallels to America's current situation.

I'll close with two thoughts The first: I was 18 when Ev Mecham was elected, eligible to vote but unregistered. When people don't vote, these are the knds of messes we get stuck with. So if you are able to, REGISTER AND VOTE.

Second, my favorite quote from the aforementioned book. "All of the legal means of removing him from office were in place: recall, impeachment, and criminal indictment. The only things that hadn't been tried were assassination and armed insurrection, and they were being discussed." (This is from memory and probably not quite word-for-word, but it's damned close.)

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moderndaydemeter · 3 years

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Carp Fishing – 2020 Park Lake, Mayhem!

This time last year, as I write this in January, I remember being critical of the constant doom and gloom coming from various media outlets about a possible ‘pandemic’ that was about to hit our shores.

Strangely for me, I had my fishing head on and actually had 3 bites during the course of that month, on a notoriously difficult lake, so you can understand the reason for my winter keenness!

Mother nature dealt a cruel blow with the river bursting its banks and going straight into the lake, colouring it up in the process and pretty much putting an end to some action that was to be had.

It wasn’t until well into March that I was to receive my next bite in the form of Mr Angry and then not long after that, we were all about to experience something that we never thought would happen in our lifetime, with the lockdown.

After the sterling efforts from the Angling Trust, I decided to not bother with the park lake and instead spend some quality fishing time at my other syndicate with my son. We spent most of that time carrying out some much-needed maintenance with a few burn ups that every kid enjoys! Throw in a couple of carp for good measure, he seemed almost as happy as he would be on his Xbox!!

Eventually, though, my thoughts were that I needed to be back at the park lake. This was to be my 3rd season on White Swan and I was determined to fish it my way, as I wasn’t really happy with how the past seasons have gone. Don’t get me wrong, I have always had my feet firmly on the ground as despite there being in excess of 200 carp swimming around the 26 acre lake, you’ll be hard pushed to actually see more than 70 of them grace the bank. I’ve fished a lot of circuit waters over the years and this is without doubt the hardest of them all. Over the past two years I was of the opinion that if the fish were showing over me and I wasn’t getting a bite, then I was getting ‘done’. I also knew that if I wasn’t creating chances after applying my watercraft, then they weren’t feeding on what I was giving them. Simple, I know, but not necessarily easy to work out when you are there doing it, it was more about reflecting on those experiences.

We’ve all done it, where we listen to others and we find out what the going method is and we try to deploy it, but the truth is, others might be better applying that method than we are, so that was my reason I wanted to apply some changes.

My rigs were the first thing I changed, together with my lead arrangement with the latter being inline and the former moving away from pop-ups to bottom bait rigs. I also went against the norm and used long hook-links as the shorter versions had been used extensively. Finally, I moved away from the ‘bits and pieces’ approach and just fished bait, but applied using a catapult or a throwing stick at night as the gulls would just get the better of you if attempted in the day.

With the new restrictions in place, we were back after the lake closed for its annual spawning break and, as you can imagine, we were all desperate to get fishing again, although it still didn’t feel right, but we were lucky to not be stuck indoors for any longer.

My first piece of action was a few weeks into June. It was one of those glorious June days, where the sky was a solid blue and the lake was slowly moving in a multitude of directions from the gentle breeze. The carp were also evidently showing and feeding in the first bay out of the car park. With no one around, I was pinching myself as to why that was the case?! Simon, the head bailiff said I’d be mad not to go into a swim called ‘Jays’! The swim had only just been vacated so I didn’t fancy dropping into it, so, with prior knowledge of a swim called the boards a few up, I moved into there.

Applying the aforementioned plan, two rods were put out against a solid weed bed, one on a very hard, well established clay spot and the other, a slightly softer silt area.

The fish remained in the area and, unlike usual with White Swan, no one moved next to me or opposite! The following day arrived with the customary overcast summer conditions. The odd bubble was popping to the surface, keeping my mind wandering together with the odd head and shoulder from a number of different carp, simply lovely!

Late that morning, the silt rod’s tip pulled down and the music to every carp anglers dream was to pierce the airwaves as the ATTS alarm screamed. My mate Ian literally walked into the swim as I was connected to a dark common rolling on the surface of the crystal clear water. At 27lb, I was delighted to get one with my new, but non-revolutionary ideas put into practice.

I had a couple more trips that month but the fish were on the move again, as is so often the case with there, so it was more a case of learning and watching rather than catching.

My drought continued well into August, although I wasn’t fishing as hard with other important things with the family to attend, so it wasn’t anything to start questioning with what I was doing, angling wise.

I found myself moving swims a lot. I suppose I was kind of chasing them, but at the same time introducing my bait with the help of a couple of mates that were also on the same stuff.

I really wanted to get the bait accepted by the fish, as do so many other anglers on there and that generally involves a bit of pain in trying to establish areas and it usually doesn’t pay its dividends until September.

I was mucking about in a swim called the beach, after seeing a couple of fish show over the subsequent trips. This swim is notoriously difficult to get a bite out of and in the past it has required a lot of preparation work in order to achieve that.

There was a large weed bed positioned in front of it, very encouraging, roughly about 30-40 yards out that made this swim far more favourable than its usually productive neighbouring swim, called the woods. The only explanation I could think of as to why the woods swim wasn’t producing was the lack of weed present in front of there as otherwise, I would have probably given the beach a steer.

I did a fair bit of weed clearing for the left hand rod. I was happy with the spot, a firm silt area, but the line lay leading up to it, not so. I was getting quite paranoid about it actually, so I decided to try out the new Mirage Platinum Fluorocarbon to somewhat ease that paranoia, which helped, as in my opinion, it is the best carp fishing mainline Gardner Tackle has produced to date. It’s versatility, sinking properties and strength were streets ahead of the nearest offering, but I still needed to do my prep work to get the best out of it and that was painful to say the least aided with the Gardner weed rake! But, they say time put in, equals reward!?

After a couple of short trips in the beach, I was on the move again, as the fish were showing in pretty much the furthest areas from where I was fishing. With my patience dwindling, I again found myself jumping from swim to swim in an attempt to be on the fish, feeling more and more detached from actually getting amongst the carp.

It was on one very sunny afternoon that I saw a group of fish in front of the beach again, in fact I was desperately looking for anything to move onto as I was so bored with what I was doing at the other end and had another night to fish at my disposal. This really was a gift, they were at multiple levels, some on the surface and some feeding on the bottom.

Another angler was fishing a swim to the right of this and out of respect, I didn’t cast a lead in the lake until the activity had settled down. He was going later that day, so that eased my conscience despite the area being the beach’s water.

The spots were easy to find and two rods with good line lay were positioned. I’d baited those spots on numerous occasions, so I was feeling confident and as the beautiful day moved into night, I pulted a good few hundred baits around the zones and then proceeded to throw the ball for Barney my lab, up and down the path behind, to wear us both out for the night!

There were still fish slopping out in front of me and the lake was quieter than usual, so I was really hoping that I would be in with a chance, overnight.

However, nothing. Where were the fish, I thought as I made the first cuppa of the day? There wasn’t a breeze on the lake. Both Barney and I took advantage of the lack of people and the tranquillity of the early dawn by standing at the edge of the swim, eyes peeled! If something was to show, we would have seen it and it wasn’t long as a very large, dark looking chunk showed a good 150 yards over the other side of the lake, which wasn’t ideal, but it was still in the middle area of the lake, which I took as a positive.

Thankfully, what seemed against the odds, the swim came alive at just after 8am. Sheets of bubbles were evident in multiple areas indicating a few fish and before long this was complemented with the signs of carp just breaking the surface with their heads.

I rang my mate Phil and said ‘it’s got to happen, they are all over me, mate!’ He was at the other end of the lake on the start of a campaign that required a healthy dose of commitment! I was now getting nervous about the whole situation, as I only had a few hours left before I needed to pack up and to leave the swim without a bite would have left me in a state of bewilderment. An opportunity like that doesn’t happen often, so you have to make it work. Eventually, the right-hand rod just ripped off and without so much as a thought, I bypassed my waders and jumped into the shallows to connect with the fish that sought sanctuary of the weed beds before finally being greeted by my net. My dog looked at me as if I’d lost the plot when I started punching the water as a show of immense satisfaction!

Phil came around to help with the photos, recognising the fish as a ‘proper’ one in the form of the 2nd Big Fully and he did a masterful job with the camera. With its heavily plated scales glimmering in the faint sun, it truly was one of the country’s stunners!

I couldn’t wait to return, and a couple of mates had said to get back into the beach as they were still showing in there, and it was free, so it was rude not to!

Sure enough, the activity was almost as frequent as when I had last had the 2nd Fully and I hadn’t ruined the chance of any action from a successful couple of casts with the weed rake and positioning of the baits.

My mate Paul was over the other side and he doesn’t miss a thing. He knew I was in with a chance and the excitement was running away from me, although, I had a niggling doubt that the fish were ‘doing’ me. I wasn’t overly happy with the hooking from the rig when I caught that last fish and the next morning, with not so much as a line twitch, one of my rigs had the hook firmly embedded into an extremely hard hook bait. That was enough, I knew that they were on the bait, but changes needed to be made. With a family holiday due the following week, it was time for some reflection.

My good pal Gary was keeping me informed with what was going on and he was doing a grand job of locating the fish and not letting on to the other anglers.

I had a couple of nights ahead of me early September and with Gary in the Oaks, he suggested I go into a swim known as number 8 as the fish were showing very close in. I found a couple of really nice clear spots in the weed, pretty much where he said they were showing. During that session, we saw a few but they were more in front of the swim to the left of me. For the first time, the area I was seeing them could be fished from the left side of the swim, because a tree had come down in the summer, giving you far greater access.

Just before setting off home, after a non-productive couple of nights, I had a good plumb about towards the zone that I kept seeing them show whilst drinking shed loads of tea with Gary and Sam that morning. I found a gem of a clay spot about 45 yards out, which was surrounded by Canadian pondweed, apart from a nice channel leading up to it that with some further work with the weed rake, I could get my line really down on the bottom. I knew that the line lay from the swim next door wouldn’t offer me anywhere near the advantage from 8 due to the really deep margin and I doubted anyone would go in there as it wasn’t popular, but in all fairness, the spot was directly in front of that swim, so I needed to be mindful of that possibility.

With no one angling around me on that late Sunday morning, I put in the remainder of my bait, consisting of chops and whole boilies via the Spomb and then just hoped I could get in there the following week.

The next week came around and with literally nothing else bar work going on in my world, I couldn’t think of much else than getting back into 8.

I knew the swim had been fished but not from where I was intending and thankfully, it was free when I arrived. At that time of year on Dinton, it helps if you’ve got a campaign you are working on, as they respond to prepared areas, however, keeping a popular swim like 8 unoccupied was never going to be easy, especially if it kicked off. I’m not traditionally one to have preconceived ideas, but I needed to stick to a plan.

I’d tweaked the rigs, keeping the long hook link, exchanging the material from tungsten ultra-sink to 25lb Mirage, coupled with size 6 spinner style Mugga’s. I still kept with the heavy inline bolt-bombs using a big loop in the hook link to ensure some movement, but I wasn’t too concerned because of the hard areas I was fishing.

With both rods positioned and ample bait applied with the pult alone in the dark, I popped down 2 swims to my right for a cuppa with Phil. I literally sat down and my remote signalled 2 beeps which had me flying up the path! The rod tip was pulled down and the bobbin was tight to the alarm as without taking any line from the spool! My initial thoughts were that the fish had already got into the weedbed behind, but I had no issues in guiding it towards Phil with the waiting net. A nice 27lb common was really the tonic I needed. The hook was exactly where I’d wanted it, in fact I needed forceps to take it out!

Nothing further happened that trip, although I was able to apply more bait to the areas, hoping that I could get in there again the following week, but as it happened, I couldn’t get down because of work commitments, so I returned nearly two weeks later. We were now into the prime back end of September and with the rain just starting to come down, I was most grateful to get the dog under the bivvy quick before he really started to pong in the confines of no8 again!

The spot felt that I’d caught the fish from my last trip felt good and with not too much effort with the weed rake, I was once again happy with the line lay.

I was persisting with the right-hand spot, but I wasn’t overall happy with this one, but moving it closer to the other rod would have been cutting my nose off to spite my face.

Keeping things the same, with rigs and tactics, everything felt good and once that rain stopped the fish showed where they were and I couldn’t have been in a better position! Almost exactly the same time as the last bite, my left-hand rod signalled a couple of beeps. Taking my time, I put the waders on and held the line with the rod still on the alarm only for it to slightly tension and then slacken off. Without hesitation I lifted into what was clearly a carp that again, was not in any weed and after a fairly disparaging tussle, it was seamlessly scooped into the net. I practised my much needed honing skills at self-takes, before returning the small common at just over 21lb. The hook hold was again perfect and, although it wasn’t cold, the bites were as if we were in the depths of winter, very strange.

Lining up the cast in the dark to the silhouetted treeline horizon and hitting the clip perfectly, the lead came down with a satisfying thud and the line was sunk beautifully.

I retired confidently for the night, although the fish could still be heard rolling on the surface with nothing else competing with the noise, making it very hard to sleep.

Like a true keen carp angler, I was up bright and early with a tea in hand and the dog sleeping on my bed as soon as I got off it, the lazy git!

Beep, beep from the left alarm and the line pulling up tight yet again, no line coming off the spool, but I was on it and before long I had a far better fish in the net that gave a much better account of itself!

Joe, an angler a few swims down from me was on his way to work early that morning, so before he carried on up the path, I gave him a quick lesson in how to use my digital SLR in ‘P’ mode before he suggested he used his own camera, which was something that the likes of Kardashian’s are used to looking at! At that point I decided he didn’t need any more of my photography training skills and I shut up and left him to do a superb job!!

The fish was another typical Dinton stunner that had put on over 5lb in a year at 35.07. They were munching all right!

sea fishing reels

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miserycollections · 6 years

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story, have you ever been harmed or changed (even temporarily) because of the things happening in misery? also, are you close friends with anyone or do you prefer to keep your distance out of fear?

Sadly, Reader, I have been harmed on more than one occasion in my time living in Misery. It’s not a targeted thing–The weirdness in Misery will often harm or affect someone in some way.

While they don’t individually cause bad luck, swarms of the mote like demons can. I had a particularly bad and almost lethal day when a demon swarm decided to stalk me. Because of this I was almost in a car accident, several angels went feral on me, and a pixie, a Phooka, and a rock golem all tried to kidnap me [which was how I learned that there is a Faerie Court in Misery, despite being told on numerous occasion that the Gentry were extinct or fictional] Because of the trip to the hospital resulting from that day, Principal Lee Anders has conducted an investigation on what caused the swarm to follow me. It’s still going on to this day, and I’m required to wear a silver ring on my middle and ring finger everywhere except for my home.

I was also harmed by Kevin, a black cat the size of a grizzly bear, though it was more of an accident than anything. Kevin just happens to be overly affectionate [he only sticks to the Marcus Ward, thankfully]. Similarly, I was attacked by a spooked colony of bats, and a curious murder of crows, according to the girl with cow eyes and Margo the Crow Girl.

As for changes…nothing permanent. But everyone seems to think that one is imminent. They keep calling it “the Misting”, despite the fact that I’ve avoided the Mist since that first night.

However, I’ve been temporarily changed a total of three times. In a joint advanced chem/alchemical transmutations class, the girl with pink hair who fixed the internet had tripped and dropped her concotion on my head. For the rest of the day, I had a third eye that was red, my hands had turned into black stone with three massive fingers, and my hair had turned orange. I was regarded with pity and artistic awe [there are still drawings of my…form in the art buildings. And one in the greenhouse for some reason].

The second incident was a completely different expirience. I was going to go to the Rock Beach to try and interview this clique of girls that always seem to hang out in the water. On my way there I stepped through an arch of red roots and yellow flowers. When I was on the other side, I had visions.

Not visions in the sense of seeing the future, Dear Reader. However, I saw spirits, or muses, or some kind of minor god that tried to guide me down certain paths for a week. I also saw what I assume was the aforementioned Gentry without their glamours. During that week, my eyes had been blue, even my pupils, for some reason. I don’t know how I saw anything. The science doesn’t make sense.

My third and final change was by my own folly and accident. Julia texted me an incantation in High Méliès for translation (I took the language for all of middle school, and was surprisingly good at it. And MSAA doesn’t offer the course).

I say incantation, Reader, because when I translated it, the next day Kurt, the boy who sweats a lake, bumped into me. And for the next day and a half, we were entangled.

Not entangled by ropes or anything physical, mind you. But by magic. The incantation [I refuse to repeat it, to prevent an expirience similar to mine], turned out to be a binding charm–anything that happened to me would happen to him, and vice versa. Kurt….heavily abused the situation. My retaliation got him suspended, though, and the guilt still eats at me.

Temporary changes aren’t that uncommon though. People often wake up with them, or gain them after walking away from some phenomena. Permanent changes are less common, but still happen regularly. An example of both is detailed in an earlier post of mine, with the Forest of Crystal Fruit.

As for your other question, Reader….Friends. I used to keep my distance out of fear, only approaching people for a story or sources for events that happened before my arrival.

That changed upon learning about Cynthia Jennings. Originally, Julia Ingram only gave me the missing Cynthia’s journal as a warning. But when I suggested that I could probably use it to find her, Julia became more forthcoming with what she knows, which, to be fair, wasn’t a lot. But due to being a native, she was much more effective at finding/referencing material than I was.

At first, our relationship was strictly professional. However, the more time we spent together let her open up and relax. Our interactions still focus mainly on trying to find Cynthia, but we do stuff outside of that together. We often eat lunch with each other.

Julia is my only friend, I think. She has one other friend besides me–Sara Powers.

Outside of Julia, I have a few other acquaintances that I’m on good terms with. Margo and I will occasionally talk or text, and the girl with the cow eyes will give me a smile and wave when she sees me. And my neighbors will hold conversations with me and give sagely wisdom if I ask for it.

Micah Prince will sometimes give me a nod or raise a glass of brown soda to me when he’s on his porch, but he otherwise treats me with gentle ambivalence. He’s reluctant to share knowledge, and gets defensive when I bring up the girl who lives with him (when I can remember her–I needed a sticky note to remember to mention her)

I hope that answers your question Dear Reader.

((Sorry this took so long! I think this is my longest post–I had to go through a bunch of notes to keep this accurate. Thank you for such a great ask anon))

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shahramkabiri · 3 years

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Valuable Tips for a Successful Customized logo Identification

You might be questioning exactly what it methods just for that symbol identification being affordable logo designer in Sanantonio . In spite of everything, a logo design is simply not a investment or product which could be inventoried and sold to make money. Thinking about service if your logo design is "highly profitable"?

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These standards that the logo personality will have to meet to generally be successful towards organization it offers are:

It attracts the right target market and possibilities clientèle

It communicates just one precise communication

It presents your company only

It has long life

It fits all four of the aforementioned considerations, regardless of with what carrier and style it can be showcased (enormous, create and website modest and the like.)

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Vital 1 - Is an logo individuality worthy of you simply?

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Bring, here is an example, an institution that companies staplers. At the beginning, the minds to obtain a logo individuality will certainly contain with a stapler or possibly a staple. This might appear to be sensible right then and there; but nevertheless, all of your competition is going to have deemed a similar contact.

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Hues should certainly meet to all mass media, from paper commercials to web advertising banners to stationery.

Precisely the same option of the customized logo will ideally be part of frequently as plausible

The brand ought not to be customized

Pretty much every request when the symbol identity is required ought to be exactly the same.

Exactly why is it very important to maintain the emblem identification so constant?

patterns, shades and shapes and sizes and types, it is extremely tricky to create the sense that you need with your logo design personality, by means of advertising given in various shades. Regularity is extremely important to create a long term perception through the subconscious mind with your wonderful clients and customers. In the future your customized logo may become identified and will make an mark on top of your long run and patrons clientele, by looking after persistence.

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Perhaps you may certainly be wondering, "How could my logo be extremely versatile and regular concurrently? " All right, it's true that your emblem will need to be reliable, but in fact it is far from possible to use a accuratevariety and dimensions, or colouring variety in most uses of the brand personal identity. It really is a incredibly good approach to hold set up types of your own symbol personal identity to allow for as various sorts of imprinting along with plausible.

Consider these variances on the custom logo individuality:

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With effective focus on the above mentioned two versions -dimensions and colors- your custom logo design should certainly with ease convert at a little brand symbol around the end of your promo pencil to a wonderful completely full colour billboard.

Primary factor 4 - What text does your logo personal identity connect?

All business logo identities express a message of some sort or other. Now you ask ,, what sales message does yours relate? You might be badly affecting your organization by using a pessimistic personal message conveyed through your company logo identity, even if you might not realize it.

Your message becoming conveyed needs to chat with the beneficial impression that your choice of institution brings to its clientele, shoppers or beneficiaries. An effective demonstration of a regular transmission problem in a logo identity is a marketing and branding for only a dentist office. Many times, I've found logos for dental offices with one of the letter personas with the word "dental practitioner" just a little rotated. On top of a misaligned charm, the words are slightly yellowed! This may be distinctly done to tell us a stained, misaligned teeth, what type would imagine the dental professional is capable of repairing.

However, the content actually being communicated is not really a beneficial specific. When a single one looks at the brand, they see misalignment, misshapen and stained as being a delicate subject matter to on their own. This may not converse correctly of a tooth doctor, who most likely is wanting to communicate the exact opposite communication.

The dentist's product is directly, in a healthy condition, neat and vivid white the teeth. Those are the basic mail messages that should be conveyed through the brand id.

Not all of the businesses are this straightforward inside a sales message which should be communicated. That is why sensible evaluation and overview through the organization's support, programs and concentrate on followers demands to happen.

Primary factor 5 - Is the symbol individuality lasting in the long term?

An unsafe trap to look at, when using an identification developed for your organization, is known as a desire to search amazing. You have to take into consideration how that brand will be in five or ten years, while chic creation models might possibly image fashionable and cool for that emblem personality. A great many aesthetic tendencies in brand identities have arrive and gone throughout the last 20 years. Some of them will look remarkably old. As their custom logo design checked really quite outdated, some services have even suffered with to go through the procedure of a overhaul when you are done just one or two fast numerous years.

A further unwanted effect for a modern business logo individuality is always that, using styles, your logo identification really should continue to work harder to know the difference alone away from your competitors' trademarks. If the numerous images inside a segment market maintain a common fashionable innovation pattern, how are all of them about to be different?

So how do you make sure that your logo is not just implementing fads? A properly taught designer label should be able to split the tendencies from strong product which might remain the test of your energy. A company should certainly think of it's custom logo identity because the couple of denims in its advertising and online marketing cabinet. Due to the fact custom logo might be your only absolutely consistent thing of each and every advertising campaigns and marketing endeavour for at least our next a decade, it is essential that the logo is not really what appointments the promotion. On the other hand, make sure that the logo certainly is the solidifying an element of the promoting schemes, by causing a customized logo identification that has up with time, in a pattern that may appear and disappear.

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closeprotections · 4 years

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Close Protection London | Close Protection Services London

Close protection – is a concept that has been known for ages – it has been with us since early days of humankind and now its condition is more than satisfactory. Since time immemorial, people have tried to protect their wealth, assets, as well as their own health, life, and welfare. By means of the transfer of gathered goods, wealthy individuals have been paying other parties to protect them, their families, and possessions from others. As a general rule, young, notably strong, and grim-looking individuals have been considered perfectly suitable for such a job. The idea behind such a choice has been to scare away a potential adversary by taking advantage of the very looks of the guard. The aforementioned state of affairs has been observed for the consecutive ages. Wealthy landowners and kings created their own trusted guards (in ancient times and during the medieval age, those were troops designated to protect the authorities; later on, they were transformed into elite soldiers). Aside from serving representative and managerial purposes, such individuals were required to take care of their master and his beloved ones. In the 11th century England, during the Battle of Hastings, King Harold assembled a group of troops to protect his life and widely understood health condition. One may consider them to be the ancestors of modern bodyguards. As both civilization and society progressed, there were an increasing number of various organizations and people. Therefore, the risk of attack was significantly higher. Numerous authorities attempted to discourage potential aggressors from committing a crime by introducing severe forms of punishment. It must be noted, however, that there was still the question if it was enough to protect high authorities and the wealthy from the effects of outside attacks. The protection-oriented market has been developing to be – at some point – dominated by professional soldiers. The said progression has made it possible for police officers to investigate and deal with common, less dangerous crimes only. Together with technical revolution and the increasing social awareness, the number of citizens not satisfied with the current order skyrockets. It is likely to cause radical groups aiming at the change of the existing ruling paradigm to occur. This in turn may lead to anarchy and the increase in people willing to put their antisocial theories and plans into effect. The latter may start from sabotaging the work of others and demolishing valuable devices, but it may also end up in killings. If such a thing happens, one may openly talk about terrorism. The unusual social situation boosts the demand for personal protection. Both the army and police focus on securing the wellbeing of those of high position in the country. The rest of the threatened society must protect itself. The demand identified above has given rise to a new profession – a security guard. In the past, it was performed in a more or less organized fashion and that is why the effectiveness of arising task achievement varied. The attempt on Tsar’s Alexander the Second life on 1st March 1881 is a perfect exemplification of the formulated thesis. The ruler in question was attacked by the members of Narodnaya Volya at 2:15 P.M. A bomb was thrown under the carriage, but its explosion did not harm either the tsar or the horses. Alexander the Second, together with his companion including secret police representatives, started to assess damages. It was a mistake. At 2:20 P.M, yet another bomb was detonated. Its accuracy was notably higher as it managed to severely injure the tsar. He died relatively quickly, even with professional care he was under. At this point, it must be indicated that the demand for close protection increases. However, the perception of it is in a significant number of cases rather faulty, leading to pitiful outcomes. As it was hundreds of years earlier, modern people tend to hire grim musclemen to protect them, disregarding the fact that their intellectual level and possessed knowledge are negligible. Formerly, a test had to be passed in order for a person to be considered a bodyguard. Unfortunately, it does not hold true anymore. On numerous occasions, we can observe security guards stylized to look like stats of action movies, with the lack of intelligence written all over their faces. To give them justice, such people may also perform exceptionally well – up to the time they encounter a real attack. Unprofessional guards may be employed to protect rock stars or boxers. Real bodyguards of today are, however, highly skilled and motivated. They are trained to prevent rather than to counteract, as it may be too late in the latter case. Such people are capable of estimating potential risk and juxtaposing it with the resources at their disposal that may minimize it. Modern security guards are physically active, as well as skilled in giving first aid and driving a car defensively. They can fight without using any weapon – especially by taking advantage of psychology and persuasion. Such people are proficient in at least two languages and are characterized by an above-average intelligence level. The described model of a security guard is perfectly suited to current conditions and the needs of individuals hiring them.

VIP close protection over the world – organizations specializing in personal protection. One of the most famous and at the same time – the oldest organized bodies dealing with close protection was created in the 19th century. It was the American United States Secret Service. The USSS was created in 1865 as the US Treasury Law Enforcement Agency. Secret Service is the oldest national agency focusing entirely on investigations. Initially, their only task was to protect the economic structure of the country by means of preventing governmental cheques and bonds from being counterfeited. The mission was followed up to 1901, when president William McKinley was attacked in Buffalo (NY state). The assault resulted in appointing the Secret Service by the US Congress to protect the newly elected president, Theodore Roosevelt. In 1906, the Congress finally adopted the act on the responsibility of the Secret Service for the safety of the White House. Since 1950, the protection has been extended from presidents and first ladies only to vice-presidents as well. Before the murder of John F. Kennedy in 1963 and senator Robert F. Kennedy in 1968, the Secret Service had been a relatively small organization, employing as many as 284 agents. The discussed events translated directly into its rapid development. Currently, it is stated that over 5000 employees work for the Secret Service. Separate branches of the organization are located all over the United States, in Puerto Rico, and in other places all over the world (Paris, Lyon, London, Bonn, Rome, Milano, Hong Kong, Montreal, Lefkosa, Bogota, and Manila). The representatives of the organization are both secret agents (serving protection and investigation-related roles), as well as uniformed units responsible for the safety of the White House and diplomatic outposts. They maintain law and order by means of the network of both foot and motorized patrols, as well as of fixed posts. Such people also support other branches of the Secret Service. A wide scope of professional is also employed therein – those are electronics, engineers, communication experts, protection-related professionals, and IT workers. The Secret Service protects the president with his family, vice-president, elected vice-president, candidates for the said posts (from the 120th day before the elections onwards), former president, his children up to 16, as well as heads of other states staying in the USA in order to realize international missions. The unit of the Secret Service liable for taking care about the safety of the president in the White House fulfills its duties in identical uniforms. Due to the said fact, the Secret Service is sometimes referred to as the Uniformed Division. Its tasks also include the protection of president’s mansions, diplomatic outposts in Washington, and places alike located within the borders of the USA.

Another known formation is the Swiss Guard (Latin: Cohors Helvetica) which was for the very first time gathered on 22nd January 1506 by the then pope – Julius II. Its major aim was to protect the spiritual successor of Saint Peter and his palace. The pope wanted to grant himself protection from the enemies and avoid a political murder. In 1512, the Guard secured Vatican against French soldiers. The Defendants of the Church, as the representatives of the discussed formation were also called, had to face the biggest trail while taking care of pope Clemens VII during the invasion of Roman emperor, Charles V. The boldness, discipline, and resourcefulness of the representatives of the Guard made it possible to save the life of the pope, even though about 600 bold men died in the process. To commemorate the event, a solemn vow of the newly appointed guards takes place every year on 6th May. Each of the Swiss guards-to-be holds a banner in his left hand and raises his right hand with the thumb and two other fingers in an upright position (it is the symbol of the Holy Trinity). Then, the new soldiers promise to protect the pope and – to die in his defense if necessary. The representatives of the Swiss Guard are chosen from men between the age of 19 and 25 living in one of Swiss cantons (basing on contracts with Zurich and Lucerne). Each of them has to be at least 174 cm (5 feet and a half inch) tall and be an unmarried practicing Catholic (according to a special letter issued by the local bishop). Candidates for the service are properly trained, including teaching them how to use firearms, side arms, as well as how to defend themselves and establish proper contacts with other people. One of the items of the list is the proper usage of halberd. Currently, the number of soldiers in the Guard is estimated to circulate around 120, including officers, junior, and senior soldiers. They serve in the formation from two to twenty-five years. It must be also indicated at this point that officers and senior sergeants may be granted by the pope the right to enter into a holy matrimony. Aside from their characteristic outfit, soldiers are additionally equipped with halberds and Renaissance swords – those are the symbols of formation’s tradition. Nowadays, they are also fitted with firearms, tear gas, and excellent communication-oriented devices. With its almost five hundred years of heritage, the Swiss Guard is one of the oldest active defense-oriented groups in the world. One may assume that it will last until Switzerland and the Catholic Church exist.

Yet another example of a close protection-focused formation is the Cedrug Order, the major task of which is to take care about the ruler of Tibet – Dalai Lama. It comprises of national spiritual authorities who organized themselves in a form of an order. Thanks to strict upbringing, their physical strength is much higher than the one of secular officials. Therefore, the former are the most trusted soldiers caring about the safety of the leader of the nation. Cedurg School is located in the left wing of Potala – the palace of Dalai Lama, which is in turn situated in the Holy City of Lhasa (eastern Tibet, Kyitsu river valley). Every Tibet citizen is allowed to enroll to the school, but only chosen ones are granted the privilege to join the Order. For several hundred years, there have been a limited number of monks allowed, namely – 175. Only selected candidates have been worthy enough to defend the powerful Dalai Lama. Those are especially bold, tall, and muscular men. The representatives of the Order earned their name in 1959, when they protected the king of Tibet against Chinese adversaries.

One of the biggest organizations in the world established to consociate and train bodyguards is the International Bodyguard Association (IBA). The IBA was established in 1957 in Paris by major Lucien Victor Ott. Major Ott had been closely connected to the French Foreign Legion in Algeria since his early childhood. He had been born and raised in the said country. In 1947, he joined the French Special Forces and took part in France-Indochina war. Furthermore, he was the participant of the battle of Dien-Bien Phu that ended with the defeat of the French forces. He was being injured and captured by Vietminh. After a bold escape, he decided to join forces with the French Military Intelligence (Deuxieme Bureau). Major Lucien Ott got famous due to, inter alia, perfect securing of president Charles de Gaulle against the OAS terrorist organization. Thanks to him, 30 prepared attacks were foiled, 11 of which were aimed directly at the head of the state. After the death of the creator of a modern bodyguard profile, major Ott, one of his students – James G. Shortt took care of the management of the IBA. As a young man, he had joined a cadet school. Later on, he had become landing operation troops officer and a member of the elite SAS (Special Air Service) unit. Moreover, during his service, he also taught soldiers in Afghanistan the art of Mujahedeen war. Currently, he teaches security guards, police officers, and soldiers all over the world in the IBA branches. The main aim of the organization is to properly prepare bodyguards-to-be to properly perform their duties. It is not an entity employing such individuals, but those who have presented exceptional skills may become members of royal, diplomatic, or personal guards recommended by the IBA. Coaches being the representatives of the organization trained bodyguards in Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, as well as helped during the Baltic Crisis between 1989 and 1991. The qualifications of the International Bodyguard Association are exceptional, international, and backed by the documentation concerning the organization of training sessions for the military, governmental authorities, police, and private bodyguards all over the world. Such undertakings have been continuously performed since 1957. The IBA also operates and trains willing individuals in Poland. Its branch was established in the said country in 1992. The basic training offered to candidates includes 60 hours of comprehensive preparation divided into six consecutive days. After its completion, the candidates are required to undergo the so-called refresher once a year. It is one of the conditions of the membership in the IBA.

Another training organization worth mentioning is the ESI - Executive Security International. It must be highlighted that it is one of the biggest and most appreciated American companies oriented towards training personal protection guards. Its second name is as follows: Bodyguard Training Academy for Executive, Dignitary and Celebrity Protection. The ESI was formed at the beginning of the 80s by Bob Duggan – martial arts expert and master in Hwarang Do. Its creation had been preceded by the establishment of the very first bodyguard training program by the Martial Arts Academy in Aspen, Colorado. The ESI, being one of the USA’s private schools, offers its students over 2000 hours of education with regard to protection, investigation, data gathering, company and individual security, etc. The training unit of the organization is situated high up in the mountains and is run by skilled professionals. Fun fact – film writer, Tracy Keenan Wynn, cooperates with the ESI. His preeminent task has been to create scenarios of situational exercises. While writing them, the said individual takes advantage of real life situations and attacks, such as assaults on Aldo Moro, John Paul the Second, kidnapping of Hans Martin Schleyer by the RAF (Red Army Faction), and scenarios alike. The ESI collaborates with corporations operating in the close protection branch of industry, as well as with the police and military. The organized training sessions are top secret. No journalists are allowed to enter the Aspen unit. Due to the fact that the ESI is a private school, it may provide professional training to civil, police-related, and military institutions all over the world.

The citizens of Israel have never had the chance to feel safe in their country. The issue of safety has been always treated seriously there. Aside from a constant Israel-Arab world conflict threat, the Israelis have been the subjects of terrorist attracts, both within the borders of their country and outside it. Jews and Americans are most frequent victims of operations organized by highly skilled terrorist groups. Taking into account the impact the Russian mafia has on Israel, the amount of care put on widely understood safety is fully justified. The Israeli Special Forces protect their citizens by means of intelligence and security-oriented undertakings. They host training sessions in various organizations preparing bodyguards, providing the adepts with the experience gained during the service. Most famous units of the said kind in Israel are undoubtedly the ISA - International Security Academy and the ISS - International Security School.

ISA is an international organization established and managed by former leaders, police instructors, and special service members. The very first unit of the ISA was formed in Latvia as a training and advising agency for both governmental and private security guards belonging to the Baltic States and the countries of the former USSR. The fact that the ISA is not exclusively Israeli in character is proved by the figure of the organization chairman, major Urlich Wegener – the creator and very first leader of German Border Control Service called GSG 9. The team of instructors and coaches also has international roots. The credo of the organization is that the preparation of the individuals for the proper protection of others is the key. Such people have to be offered highest quality training, extensive knowledge, and practical background. The ISS training programs are based predominantly on the experiences gained in Israel and in other countries, as well as while training people for the purpose of protecting VIPs over the world. Individuals, governmental authorities, and large-size corporations have been taking advantage of the services provided by the ISA/ISS.

At the moment, civil bodyguards are also involved in close protection. The safety of the individuals hiring them, as well as their possessions depends highly on the qualifications of the former. Quite frequently, those are former policemen, soldiers, or special force members. However, a number of inexperienced adepts would like to start their adventure with personal protection as well. Are they bound to fail in their attempts? It is not always so. The most crucial component affecting the effectiveness of the training is one’s psychological preparation. It is a commonly known fact that it is exceptional in former police officers and troops. However, it is a common belief that one can be trained how to perform the job of a bodyguard, just as it is possible to teach a person how to shoot or be properly engaged in melee combat. It all depends on one’s motivation and willingness to achieve success in the industry. Regulations to date limit the training process of a security guard to the moment of being awarded with a license. In order to perform his tasks properly, such a person has to constantly improve his skills and qualifications.

Phenomena connected with the need of utilization of close protection techniques – Terrorism/Terrorist. It goes without saying that terrorism is one of the biggest threats of today’s world. While analyzing the severity of attacks and their scale, one should not doubt that VIPs should be at all possible occasions protected against the aforementioned forms of assault. In order to assess the threat a given problem pose, its specificity must be identified at first. The notion of „terrorism” was for the first time in history used during the Conference of the International Criminal Law Association in Brussels, in 1930. To date, there have been approximately 200 various definitions of the phenomenon in question. While trying to grasp its characteristic features, one will face a number of limitations and difficulties. One of statements of historian Walter Laqueur has to be touched upon here. While asked why he has been avoiding formulating an unequivocal definition of terrorism, he replied: „For 50 or so years, people are constantly trying to understand the idea behind terrorism. It is a phenomenon having different forms, depending on its place of origin and epoch. How can one find common ground between Russian revolutionists from the end of the 19th century and Al-Qaida anarchists?

Terrorism is mainly based on the utilization of force or threat in order to achieve political or ideological goals. It is hard to say something beyond that. Terrorism is like pornography – it escapes logical classification, but if one sees it – then it becomes apparent.” It is hard to argue with the statement, as it perfectly shows the complexity of the phenomenon in question. For the purpose of this publication, a strict definition of terrorism is not needed. All that is required is the utterance formulated by Walter Laqueur stating that terrorism can be most fully perceived through its manifestations. Terrorist acts are undoubtedly illegal, as they are based on kidnapping people and forcedly taking control over means of communication, economic sabotage, attacks, robberies, demanding ransom to finance organization’s own activity, posing threat to life, health, and freedom of authorities, and kidnapping people from outside the area in order to gain publicity (especially journalists, priests, voluntary workers). One may also indicate the usage of explosives and firearms in public areas and poisoning certain spots by means of radioactive materials and chemicals. Longin Tadeusz Szmidt additionally pointed out that terrorism has always been strictly connected with crafty and hard to identify methods of killing the leaders of nations. While describing the phenomenon of terrorism as a threat for the protected person, one should also point out and indicate its sources. The following are enumerated: - social and economic sources that are directly connected to economic crises, social tensions, social and national discrimination, as well as with the perception of dissonance between the factual reality and the one presented by the media; - historical and political sources. They have their beginning in severe social reactions, demanding full democratization and respecting human rights; - sociological sources that may be related to the atmosphere typical for a given country or the so-called spirit of violence; - psychological sources stating that a significant part of terrorists is highly mentally unstable which is additionally combined with the overly high self-esteem. When it comes to the area of attack, the following are proposed by the experts: - land terrorism (the major threat area for VIPs and the key one for security guards), - air terrorism (personal protection is then entrusted to the authorities managing planes, airports, etc.), and – maritime terrorism (tasks and responsibilities are then similar to air attacks). While taking into account the type of terroristic activities, one may distinguish: bombing-based, nuclear, biological, chemical, technical, cybernetic (attacks on IT networks), and narcotic-oriented (narcotic cartels undertakings) terrorism. The highest threat for VIPs is undoubtedly the first type, namely – bombing-based one. Close protection-oriented undertakings should therefore incorporate the knowledge on paradigms effective during a bomb attack. They will be discussed in further sections of this publication. It is exceptionally difficult to argue with the thesis that we must be protected against terrorism. The same applies to VIPs. The importance of the latter is also worth discussing, as the threat is much higher when a top authority is attacked than when the assault poses threat to a pop star or a wealthy businessman. However, it does not limit the necessity to analyze and counteract terroristic attack threat. It may directly impact the safety of the person a given security guard is responsible for.

Crime is also one of the issues that may endanger protected VIPs. Up to the beginning of the 80s, Poland had been considered to be one of the safest countries in Europe. Law enforcement bodies had been numerous and properly financed there, and crime forecasting, prevention, and penalizing schemes had met all the European standards. However, at the end of the discussed period, the myth of threat-free Poland started to crumble. The effects of crime fighting scene were becoming gradually more negligible. The said state of affairs was predominantly caused by the decreasing trust in law enforcing organizations, as well as by the rapid increase in crimes committed by the citizens. Another important aspect that must be taken into account were economic and political changes taking place in 1989,the liberalization of economic activity, and the emergence of free market. Some individuals possessed unimaginable riches, whereas others were exceptionally poor. In order to survive till the next day, the latter searched for the answer in crimes, leading to the occurrence of the phenomenon commonly known as organized crime. According to official data from 2001, within the borders of Poland, there were over 400 organized crime groups consociating approximately 45 thousand people. They were generating profits by means of goods smuggling, selling stolen cars, producing and marketing narcotics, counterfeiting national currency, commuting bank frauds, selling firearms, and – what is of exceptional importance from the point of view of VIPs – demanding ransom. Criminals induce fear in the society, especially due to using terror and blackmailing. They do not hesitate to kidnap others or kill them. Such individuals resort to brutal treatment, such as beating, torturing, drowning, etc. All those factors combined directly translate into wealthy representatives of the society feeling threatened. What is more, criminals frequently tend to attack the family of a VIP as well, in order to convince him to perform a given action. Therefore, children, wife, and beloved ones of such an individual must be highly protected.

Popularity/Fame –The threat of attack may be in some cases linked to the popularity of a given human being. When a VIP is in isolation, then he may only receive unwanted phone calls or be nagged by photographers. The problem arises when he has to leave his place of permanent residence or workplace, as well as when he is in a publically accessible place. Danger may still be low, but the inquisitiveness of journalist may quickly become overwhelming. Fans or supporters of a given sportsman or artist may cause havoc in order to touch their idol or get hold of any item belonging to him or her. Of course, there is also the risk of serious injuries or even death (let us take John Lennon as an example) – it cannot be neglected. That is why famous and popular individuals should by all means care about their safety. The matter also concerns politicians who are widely recognizable and controversial. In politics, there are no limitations. Opponents may even resort to killing a representative of the other side to impose his or her right on others. Elected politicians tend to have close protection, but care should be additionally exercised to care about those running in elections. Such VIPs may be ridiculed by the crowd or the opposition (by throwing eggs or pouring water over the candidate), leading to the end of their political career. The role of security guards should in the aforementioned cases not be limited to physical protection only. They must also keep information about VIP’s family, realized projects, and operation profile confidential. The image of a famous person highly depends on the bodyguards being in his immediate surroundings. The manner of their operation, professionalism, and knowledge are top priorities there.

Attack on person – By definition, attack on person is the attempt to kill someone, steal his or her possessions, as well as to kidnap him or her. The criminal action in question has a long history, as assaults have been made throughout the consecutive ages. Their goal has been to achieve a political, economic, or cultural aim. Attacks on person may lead to tremendous changes in the society, which is perfectly depicted by the killing of John Kennedy and Icchak Rabin. In the majority of cases, however, such an attack does not have significantly far-reaching consequences. In order to be effective, bodyguards must answer themselves the following questions – why do criminals attack? How do they attack? How may the assault look like? Therefore, it is highly advised to specify the motif, methods utilized, and consecutive stages of one and every attack on person. Taking into account motifs, one must bear in mind that all the assaults have their agenda. No attack is made voluntarily, without forethought. In the following sections, most common causes of the aforementioned activity are going to be enumerated:

Revolutionary or political ones – organized groups (frequently consisting of fanatics) attack others in order to force the society to change the existing system or overthrow the current government (in the attempt to choose a new one). Their victims are often the authorities ruling the country. The attackers, who follow their revolutionary or political agenda, try to win the sympathy of other representatives of the society. Long before the planned attack itself, they distribute leaflets blaming current rulers for the widespread injustice. According to their belief, the elimination of the elites in power would bring positive outcomes for the whole country. Such an action was performed in Armenia in 1999, where members of the government were shot dead during one of their meetings. The terrorists informed that their death would improve the national situation.

Economic – terrorists claim that their potential victim is responsible for the poor economic condition of the country, company, or a group of people. In the majority of cases, economic attacks take place in countries where there are extreme disproportions between the wealthy and the poor. It must be taken into consideration, however that it is not always the case, as the assessment of the attackers tend to be highly subjective. Quite frequently, the cause of the assault is the personal conviction that the unsatisfying economic condition of the terrorist is the result of actions performed by the victim. It pushes the attacker into thinking that killing him would aid the situation.

Personal – In this case, the wrongdoers are motivated to make an attack due to jealousy, vengeance or other personal causes. Those people in many cases have notable personality disorders, manifesting themselves especially in the inability to control their behavior. The aforementioned state also leads to the failure to distinguish reality from fiction. A perfect exemplification of the motif in question is shooting Zuzanna Leśniak and an artist – Andrzej Zaucha by Yves Goulais in 1991. The trigger there was jealousy.

Ideological – The terrorist is convinced that the victim chosen by him has been threatening the values and principles followed by the attacker. The said rules are often of significant importance for both the group he belongs to and for himself personally. Ideological attacks on a person may be religious or social in character. The first case is oriented towards killing a religious person in the attempt to make it impossible for him to achieve his goals. The second scenario relates to the willingness to eliminate the leader of a given social group. Quite frequently, the additional agenda is to make the organization the terrorist is a part of more memorable and popular in the media. Free publicity is an additional benefit then.

Psychological – The most commonplace group of attacks. Modern psychology claims that every person using firearms, stabbing others with a knife, or taking advantage of explosives has been struggling with mental problems. The motif is of negligible importance, as the attacker may justify his actions with revolutionary, economic, or personal goals, but the fact is that the driving force is the inability to perceive the world correctly. The assassination of Bill Clinton in 1994 illustrates the above bluntly. Francisco Martin Duran stated that he had attacked Clinton to destroy the mist connecting him to an alien entity. Apparently, Duran wanted to eliminate the mist in order to save the world. Attacks considered as crimes may be triggered by a myriad of factors. Among them,there are: - clashes between the representatives of a crime organization, willingness to demonstrate one’s power or threat the victim (attempt to force the latter to pay ransom or forget about debts), - desire to kill suspects that may endanger one’s business, - attempt to exert pressure on certain individuals or to threaten them for their professional achievements (relates to, inter alia, attorneys and tax collectors).

Attack methods to be considered by security guards. Close range attack. It may be performed by means of utilization of: - firearms, - melee weapon (knife, bayonet, dagger), - chemical substance (for example: toxic substance, such as hydrochloric acid). There are no exceptional skills needed to successfully attack a person, as almost everybody can use a knife or a dagger to a satisfactory extent. The same goes with firearms, the utilization of which is as difficult as driving a car. The aforementioned types of weapons can be transported to the place of the assault with ease. The characteristic feature of this attack type is the fact that the wrongdoer is situated maximally several centimeters away from the victim. The difficulty here is directly connected with the inability to improvise the act. It must be preceded by a prolonged observation of the subject, learning his or her customs, daily routine, places he or she visits, and the protection type he or she uses. Only after drawing proper conclusions from the examination, can the terrorist attack the victim. Marek Papała, a police commissioner, was killed due to a close range attack in 1998, Warsaw.

Long-range attack – in this case firearms are often used, especially rifles and carbines. It is not an uncommon situation to learn about an attacker who has used a sniper rifle fitted with professional laser and optical aiming devices. The distance between the wrongdoer and the subject of the attack is commonly higher than 5 meters. The former must also be much more skilled than a close range attacker, as he has to be capable of utilizing a professional gun in an effective manner. The death of John Kennedy in Dallas on 22nd November 1963 was the result of the attack form in question. Lee Harvey Oswald, who was a former marine soldier, shot his subject from a storage located several meters away from president’s cavalcade. To perform the act, he used Mannlicher-Carcano, cal. 6.5 mm rifle. The proficiency of the attacker was proven by the fact that he fired three shots and only one of them missed the target.

Attack with explosives – it requires notable skills, for the wrongdoers has to build a bomb before performing the attack. He must also know how and where to plant the explosive, how to situate the fuse inside and where to detonate it. Such a person also has to be familiar with the effects of explosion. Assault on Margaret Thatcher on 12th October 1984 showed how patient and clever can an attacker taking advantage of explosives be. Patrick Magee, a member of Irish Republican Army, moved into the hotel where the British prime minister was expected to stay 24 days before the said fact. Every single day, he worked meticulously destroying the wall and placing a 50-kilogram explosive inside the hole. The bomb was then fitted with a timer. It exploded when Miss Thatcher was considered to wash herself in the bathroom – the attacker was perfectly acquainted with her customs. She would have died if she had not received a document to be read. The explosive was detonated five floors above the bathroom located in the apartment of the „Iron Lady”. Six other people died as a result, but the suspect managed to avoid the clever assassination.

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