#but Also it is a politician. so so so clearly. it covers up its crimes with spotless cufflinks and talks the blood away | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

fictionfromafar · 1 year

Text

A Death In Denmark by Amulya Mallad

A Death In Denmark

By Amulya Malladi

William Morrow (Harper Collins)

Paperback Publication Date: 11 May 2023

To get one of my bugbears out quickly first, I’ll admit that I’m not so keen on novels with broad and obvious title although I must say that I rarely find that a predictable title means a predictable read.

I was interested to note that this is Amulya Malladi’s ninth novel and a very quick look at her previous novels indicates that these could be categorised either as literary fiction (The Mango Season) or Romance (The Copenhagen Affair). While you would certainly hope that many readers would be able to enjoy all of her public work, it perhaps appears evident that the “death” of the title was given in order to give a heads up that this is a crime fiction novel. In fact, it appears this will be the first of many as the book cover clearly indicates that this is first in a new series by Malladi, featuring a main protagonist called Gabriel Præst.

While I am reasonably familiar with Denmark and very familiar with its crime fiction writers, I felt Malladi’s background in other types of fiction and also her south Asian heritage could provide an interesting perspective as well as a contract to some of the more traditional Nordic noir writers. The opening chapter of this book provides a string historical setting, the impact of which will not be known for quite some time. It’s an intriguing and ominous start which indicates that the novel will have some substance and depth. Having finished the novel, I can say with certainty that it does so.

I found a pleasing surprise in the subsequent chapter, set in contemporary Copenhagen as the reader first encounters Præst in a blues music bar that I have previously visited in the city. Told in first person narrative, the former police officer, now private investigator and occasion blues musician immediately observes the arrival in the bar of someone whom he knew very well in the past. However, given his position on stage, he can only imagine what it can relate to until such time as the band is able to complete their set. This time allows us to understand that Leila, who runs a legal practice is a woman that Gabriel Præst had a relationship with in the past. This to his obvious regret that ended badly and that she must have only come to see him as a last resort.

Leila informs Præst that she is intended to appeal a life sentence given to Yousef Ahmed who was convicted of the murder of far-right politician Sanne Melgaard. While the case had been high profile, Præst then goes to see Nico, a friend with benefits who tells him more about Ahmed’s circumstances. His apparent motive for killing Melgaard was the murder of his own son by ISIS as he had worked as a Danish interpreter in Iraq but then was refused asylum in Denmark. Melgaard, whose party followed an anti-immigration agenda, not only agreed with the rejection of the asylum request but also made sweeping statements about the man’s Muslim religion. The investigation leads Gabriel Præst to make enquires around the people who knew Sanne Melgaard, many of whom have unsavoury opinions. However, behind their obvious Islamophobia, he also discovers that Melgaard has an interest in links between leading members of Danish society and the Nazis during the second world war.

A Death In Denmark is a very satisfying read that works on a number of levels. The process of the investigation is exciting as Præst encounters hostility and the realisation that his every move is being followed and he has to try to keep ahead. While I must admit that I found something flagged up early in the book which I felt could perhaps be the direction that the novel would take, a slight hint of the destination in no way spoiled the journey for me. I found that the main character’s relationships with the women in his life, including his 20-year-old daughter Sophie are compelling, particularly his unresolved feelings towards Leila. There was a freshness to Præst’s risk taking, how he considered his dress sense for each occasion (often very absence from consideration in Scandi-noir), and other quirky habits which would also encourage me to continue to read more of the series. Also key to the success of the novel is its very credible exploration two significant societal issues. The first of these is the story’s portrayal of life for those of different ethnic groups in modern Denmark. Præst’s ex wife shares some of the prejudices that he witnesses while he is given further insight though a lifelong friend of Turkish descent and Leila’s Iranian heritage. Not only does it hinder the investigation, but it vividly reminds us of many of the battles that people face every day for having a different faith or skin colour. The shadow of Danish collaboration with Germany during the early 1940s is the second issue of consideration. This is something which leaves a stain on the country’s conscience just as much as it does for other Nordic countries. Many of the historical discoveries certainly feel plausible. I will add that recent publications by Petra Rautiainen and Kjell Ola Dahl take very different approaches to examine the same issue through crime fiction from Finnish and Norwegian perspectives, each of which stands well on its own merits. A Death In Denmark is certainly a book you can get your teeth into which will also give you reason to think about some of society’s injustices. I look forward to reading more of Amulya Malladi’s work in the future.

The Blurb

Meet Gabriel Præst, an ex-Copenhagen cop (who dresses with panache), jazz aficionado, and relentless pursuer of truth as he explores Denmark’s Nazi-collaborator past and anti-Muslim present in a page-turning Nordic murder mystery with a cosmopolitan vibe Everyone in Denmark knew that Yousef Ahmed, a refugee from Iraq, brutally murdered the right-wing politician Sanne Melgaard. So, when part-time blues musician, frustrated home renovator, and full[1]time private detective Gabriel Præst agrees to investigate the matter because his ex—the one who got away—asked him to, he knew it was a no-win case. But as Gabriel starts to ask questions, his face meets with the fists of Russian gangsters; the Danish prime minister asks him for a favour; and he starts to realize that something may be rotten in the state of Denmark. Wondering if Yousef was framed to heighten the local anti-Muslim sentiment, Gabriel follows a trail back in time to World War II when anti-Semitism was raging in Europe during the German occupation of Denmark. Fearing a nationalistic mindset has resurfaced, Gabriel rolls up the sleeves of his well-cut suit and gets to work. From the cobblestone streets of Copenhagen to the historic Strassen of Berlin where the sounds of the steel-toed boots of marching Nazis still linger, Gabriel finds that some very powerful Danes don’t want him digging into the case—as the secrets he unearths could shake the foundations of Danish identity.

The author

Amulya Malladi is the bestselling author of nine novels, including A Death In Denmark and The Copenhagen Affair. Her books have been translated into several languages, including Dutch, French, German, Spanish, Danish, Romanian, Serbian, and Tamil. Currently living in California, she is a Danish citizen born and raised in India.

Many thanks to Anne Cater at Random Things Tours for inclusion on the blog tour and to Harper Collins for an advance copy of Death In Denmark. Look out for the other reviews of this book on the blog tour coming over the next two weeks, as shown below.

#crime fiction #nordicnoir

0 notes

luna-rainbow · 3 years

Text

the general cop out of TFATWS

Saw this fantastic thread pop up today but since this post would be talking about everything else apart from Bucky, I thought I'd start another post.

TFATWS brings up very complex issues and some very dark themes. Unlike Black Widow which by and large does it well, TFATWS does not give these issues the complexity they deserve. It wants to be a political show, but it shirks away from actually giving those issues the gravity and depth they deserve.

1) Racial injustice

My particular issue with the racial injustice theme is that the MCU does not actually align with the real world. I mean half the world has just come out of non-existence, that messes up the social psyche in major ways - so this is not the same as the post-Floyd US we know in the real world. Especially to people living outside the US, we're going to need a little more than a bank and a police scene to show us exactly how racial injustice pervades the MCU America to the point that Sam/Sarah denounces the country multiple times, particularly as it had never been established as an issue before this series (again, only lightly touched on in Black Panther). It is also a missed opportunity to actually educate people outside of the US why racial injustice in the US is a problem that needs the world community's support. Go hard and go deep. Make it without a doubt that Sam could've gotten a loan if he was white - just need a passing comment that someone else in the same situation easily got a loan. Make it clear that in the MCU world, there are also unjust deaths in custody which preferentially affects BIPOC, and this problem has become bigger because the lack of resources has driven up petty crime. Talk about BIPOC being passed over for opportunities, which are going to be massively limited in the post-Blip world. Talk about how people can't get jobs, can't go to college, can't go to school because the colour of their skin pushes them down the list of priorities. Which brings me to...

2) Post-Blip mess

This is criminally glossed over in the series, with a lot of handwaving lines about "the GRC" and "things were better before the Blip". Again, show/tell us the horrors. There won't be enough food and water. There won't be enough housing or accommodation. Don't show us refugees living in clean European mansions. Show us overcrowded, poorly constructed, unhygienic refugee camps (see below picture from Syria). The world's population doubled overnight with no increase in infrastructure. You're going to have a LOT of displaced people literally on the streets. Crime will soar, deaths and illness will soar, and overall dissent will soar.

3) Resource allocation

Even in a world that hasn't had to deal with half the population disappearing then returning within a short time frame, we are having issues with vaccine inequity. Here's a recent JAMA article about this very issue:

Approximately 1.2% of the global vaccine supply has been received by low-income countries and just 14% by lower-middle-income countries, which account for nearly 40% of the world’s population. In contrast, more than half the US adult population is fully vaccinated (...)

Vaccine inequity is driven by insufficient supply and unfair allocation. Powerful high-income countries prepurchased sufficient doses for their entire populations, sometimes twice the number needed. In contrast, COVAX, a global initiative to procure and equitably allocate vaccines, failed to secure enough doses even for its modest goal of covering 20% of lower-income country populations this year. Pfizer, for example, agreed to sell COVAX only 40 million doses, and had delivered just over 1 million by mid-May.

Now extrapolate this across all resources, including food, fuel, medicines, materials, manufacturing machinery etc. For example, recently parts of northern Chinese cities went dark for days in the middle of a freezing winter because the power grid didn't have enough coal to run. This is going to be made so much worse when the population had suddenly doubled. Greedy corporations will want to capitalise on the sudden surge in demand. Large numbers of people will be dying from all of these reasons, and if the GRC is driving the inequity by unfair allocation of resources, people are within their rights to protest or push for change.

4) Police/Government corruption

It's a fine line that separates a terrorist from a revolutionary, and TFATWS shied away from portraying the gritty reality that would have made Karli a real heroine in this post-apocalyptic world. This is a particularly missed opportunity because Karli's story isn't even set in America, and even as someone who doesn't keep up much with world news I know there are ongoing issues of military/government driven brutality going on throughout the world, which would be many times worse post-Blip because the population will become more expendable.

For anyone interested, here's China's forcing sterilisation/contraception in Uighurs. Here's Myanmar military shooting young people posting Tiktoks of pro-democracy songs. Here's China (again) arresting staff at a pro-democracy newspaper in Hong Kong and driving it into closure.

Get into the dark side. Tell us how the GRC is colluding with corrupt governments. Tell us about the slavery that has shot through the roof because human labour is now so cheap. Tell us how governments are banning their own people from having children because of overcrowding concerns, and how the GRC plays into that propaganda. Tell us how corrupt powers try to censor these issues from getting to the media, and how the GRC's musclemen (like Walker) are unknowingly or intentionally used to silence people who are trying to fight for their right to live.

5) "I believe we can do better"

Maybe because I'm more a doer than a talker, but I'm still trying to recover from the cringe caused by that speech. Again, I don't blame Sam for either this speech or his talk with Bucky in episode 5, I can only lay the blame at the writers who clearly weren't interested in any of the practical ramifications of what they're writing.

Firstly, establish what they were doing wrong (see above, and there's lots more that could be added with just a cursive research into world affairs). Second, "The only power I have is that I believe we can do better" is a terribly avoidant reply when someone is pointing out rightfully that the issues are complex. This is a time when people want solutions, not just nebulous ideas. I mean, who doesn't want things to be "better"?? But you haven't established the why or what and now you're just handwaving about the how.

Point out what they're doing wrong. Talk about equity in resource and opportunity allocation. Tell them how their policies are driving crime and death and corruption in lower income countries. Offer to be on the Council as a representative for the layperson. Sure, committees might not seem very superhero-like, but other heroes have sat in on international meetings with politicians with success - Nat, Tony, T'Challa to name a few.

I know it's easy to use the excuse that "they tried to pack too much so they can't address all this" and I agree to an extent. But by taking the handwaving cop-out route with these heavy issues, it undermined several scenes that should have held more emotional weight.

#tfatws critical #tfatws meta #rants #tfatws #the falcon and the winter soldier

20 notes · View notes

argumentl · 3 years

Text

The Freedom of Expression, radio version - Ep 23 - Fan comments, Child killer identity leak, Politician suggests shutting down politically biased content - March 2016.

Kaoru starts this episode by stumbling over the pronunciation of 'Expression' in 'The Freedom of Expression'. He introduces Joe, and Joe asks him about his recent activity since Budokan. He says he has been in the studio, working hard on the new single. Joe then asks whether his opportunities to speak with other people have reduced. They have reduced, says Kaoru. Joe tells Kaoru to call him if he gets lonely. Kaoru thinks this is a bad idea, because Joe would tell him to come out drinking.

Kaoru says that this week he would like to read out some more of the fan messages which were written in notebooks at the booth in Budokan. The first comment says 'Freedom of expression is a contitutional right, and must be respected, but determination is also needed. Its a brave thing to boldy speak out, despite knowing the drawbacks. I look forward to the future episodes'. Joe thinks it impressive to wait out in the cold for so long before the live, and then write this after coming in. Kaoru says this message gives him courage. Joe says, yes, its true that freedom of expression is written in the constitution, but with complacency, this right will become eroded. Vigilence is needed.

The next message says, 'It's said that Dir's live shows are all about expressing pain, but is it ok to say the live was 'fun'?'. Kaoru says there are two ways to look at this, fun for him, or fun for the audience. As for him, he feels very happy when he sees people coming to watch him, in both small and big venues, which is similar to fun. As for the audience...he recalls when the band were making Dum Spiro Spero, and the huge earthquake/tsunami happened in March 2011. They asked themselves whether they should quit this album, was it right to continue with it in those circumstances? But they came to the conclusion that it may give people hope, and help people to look forward if the album could be finished and released. It may be a trivial thing, but if it makes a positive difference in someone's life they (Dir) are happy. So in that sense, he thinks its totally ok to say lives are fun. It may seem odd that everyone leaves a live with a smile on their face, but when you think about it, that is a part of what makes us people. Joe says that just after seeing Dir en grey live for the first time at Budokan, he went to interview one of Kaoru's favourite manga artists, Urasawa Naoki, at Urasawa's own house. Urasawa is a huge fan of 60s and 70s rock, and has a big collection of vintage guitars in his house. Joe says their conversation naturally turned to, 'What is "rock"?'. Urasawa said it may be the idea of 'understanding'. For example, when rock star (Imawano) Kiyoshiro sang, 'Kimi no kimochi, boku ni wa wakaru/I understand how you feel'...that sense of understanding may be what rock is. That includes understanding feelings of lonliness, or of fun etc etc. 'Sharing' may not be quite the right word, but Joe says he felt this at Budokan, this sensation of understanding. Kaoru feels like its a sensation of becoming closer with each other. Joe says there may be people who feel 'fun' out of this, but it comes from a sense of understanding. After speaking to Urasawa, Joe realised that this is how he had felt at Budokan.

Next Kaoru moves on to read out some emails which the show has recieved. The first email is from a fan who was very impressed with the Budokan shows, and hears Arche in a different light since then.

The second email is from a fan who saw the two days at Budokan, but didn't see 'Day 3' (the show at Liquid Room a week later). Some fans who had gone to 'Day 3' had posted online that they thought THIS was the real finale to Arche. The fan was disappointed that they didn't get to experience this. Kaoru feels that at Liquid Room they played Arche in a new style, showing a kind of step forward into a new path.

Next Kaoru welcomes Hiranabe for the Tokyo Sports corner. Hiranabe says he had been very busy at work lately with the whole Kiyohara drug scandal. But the first story Hiranabe brings up this time is the news that the gossip magazine Shukan Post had published the place of living and other details about the child killer Shonen A/Boy A (Search: Kobe Child Murders). Joe says he rarely buys gossip magazines, but he did this time, and not only did he realise what a huge leak of information this was, he wondered why the magazine had published this. What was the point of making this into news? Hiranabe thinks this is a plan by the police. He says there is a trend of high profile criminals finishing their sentences, leaving prison and then writing a book, or appearing on tv and getting royalties or fame (Ten years after his release, 'Boy A' wrote a book detailing his crimes).The police don't like this trend, and there has been a slew of such cases where the police have made a fresh arrest after a book release or tv appearance. Kiyohara Kazuhiro is a good example, but other examples include businessman Ikawa Mototaka (arrested after releasing a book), and motorcycle gang leader Ishimoto Taichi. Hiranabe thinks the Shukan Post must be cooperating with the police over the publication of this information. There is no proof of this, its just his opinion. He also says he wonders how often 'Boy A' has to move house, which he probably needs money for. If his place of living is discovered he will have to move, and finding a new place will be hard. He must be getting some kind of support. Kaoru jokes that since he himself has also released a book, will the police be after him now? He wants someone to support him too. Joe wonders whether the police are intending to re-arrest 'Boy A' with this info leak, and whether there is someone somewhere assisting him to escape further.

Hiranabe's next news story is that Internal Affairs and Communications minister Takaichi Sanae had made the sugestion that broadcasters who repeatedly broadcast politically biased material could be taken off the air. Hiranabe asks, if broadcasters are shut down, what happens after that? You can't listen to the radio any more? For them, if this show got negative press, would they be taken off air? They all agree this would be pretty undesirable. Joe says that the minister might say that a move like this is permissible by law, but as for freedom of expression on radio stations for example, in Japan there is never any instruction from radio stations to take material off air or to take certain songs off air, it is down to individual radio programs to decide on this. In the USA they have station-wide policies when taking songs etc off the air, but in Japan it depends very much on each program, rather than the radio station itself. As a result, people on radio programs have to be very aware of the atmosphere around them. The Japanese are a culture whereby reading the atmosphere is very important. Its very different from America where the rules are often set down clearly. When the Japanese musician Aska was arrested, there was a time after this where his songs ceased to be played on radio, but there was no instruction about when it would be ok to start playing them again. People just though, 'Ah, he's been arrested, so we'd better not', and then after a while, gradually just started to think it would be ok to play them again. So with this kind of comment from Minister Takaichi, its possible people might just react in the same way, and read the atmosphere as appropriate. Joe also mentions that recently some tv announcers had be axed from a few channels. He thinks this is a result of pressure from political quarters, and if such things continue to happen, freedom of expression in Japan will get narrower. Hiranabe and Joe say it sounds like intimidation tactics are being implemented by the government. Hiranabe laments at how useless the main opposition party is against this, with their constant in-fighting over petty matters. The voters have no choice. Kaoru agrees with this. Joe asks Hiranabe what solution can be found to this. Hiranabe suggests forming the 'InterFM Party'. The others laugh at this, then suggest they could unite with the 'Tokyo Sports Party'.

To finish Kaoru says the TFoE stickers have been made already. He expains one more time that the stickers wil be revealed on the show's blog after they have been sent out to the winners of the Arche cover design contest. Joe suggests Hiranabe should get some stickers. Kaoru then plugs the Budokan bluray/DVD, upcoming new single and tour. He also reveals that his Offical Blog magazine TheTheDay will put out its first edition on the 11th of that month (11th March 2016), and will update every second and fourth friday. Finally, Joe mentions how impressed he was with Hiranabe's energy as he entered the studio that day. He had arrived just in time, and says his driver had got lost on the way and made him late.

Songs - Dir en grey/Revelation of Mankind, New Order/Blue Monday.

#dir en grey #the freedom of expression

13 notes · View notes

wispandwhispers · 4 years

Text

Welcome to Monochromia!

Words: 2048

Previous | Next

Tw(s) : Cursing, Implied torture, getting disturbing commissions, talked about murder (Tell me if there is any to add)

Pairing(s) : Eventually Logicality, Dukeceit, Eventually Prinxiety.

Notes : I’ve had this idea on the back burner for so long and its finally here

"Zynx, how do you plan to secure the vote in the Fumi sector?"

"No comment."

"Zynx, how are you planning to make a comeback after Foster destroyed your chances of getting the majority ?"

"No comment."

"Zynx, is the rumours of you and Crownford sleeping together true?"

"I'm sorry but I'm not sure what you're talking about."

A limousine pulled up in front of the city hall and the chauffeur rolled down the window. A simple eye signal and he knew it was time to go.

"No more questions."

"Zynx a moment of your t-"

The chauffeur slammed the door of the limousine and started the planned safety-checked drive back to his boss' residence.

He looked in the mirror at his employer which a cheeky grin.

"I have a good feeling your sick of this question but how in fuck's name are you going to win this election? "

The passenger glared at his employee, clearly pissed.

"Do not test my patience Remy."

"Holy shit, you didn't say my full name, who are you and what have you done with Logan Zynx?"

"Just pass my yarn bag, I'm so fucking stressed."

Remy opened the compartment and chucked the medium sized light- blue pouch to the back.

"I don't understand why you don't you just go around firing people, snort crack, hate sex or whatever rich people do the wind down."

"I don't really know, this brings me peace for some reason."

The conversation died down and Logan got to work on stress knitting a new scarf/sock/ thing while Remy took the back route to his estate in the Prime sector with the sound of the radio in the background.

The usual daily announcements, the signal time, the weather update, the tired host annoying the news-

-Roman Crownford made headlines tonight when he was caught carrying election candidate, Logan Zynx in the bridal position . Rumours have emerged that the two are in a relationship and-

The driver's neck snapped back to stare at the person in the back seat.

"Spill."

"I don't speak slang."

"Fine, explain."

"I decided to go out for a drink, someone decided to spike it, woke up in my bed with this guy staring at me. That's what I can remember at least."

"Sounds like the start to some shitty rom-com."

-Footage can be seen of the actor carefully helping the politician get to his car to supposedly drive him home.

"Please turn that down, If I listen to that anymore I'll get a headache from the bullshit they are spewing. And I already have one from the debate so please."

Remy turn the dial anti-clockwise.

"Anyway, you need to be focusing on which is the best assassin in the area, I personally recommend Remus-"

In the mirror, the driver could see his employer's eyes sharpen in annoyance.

"I plan to win the election without murdering someone and even if I was to kill Patton, I would probably get caught anyway."

The limousine came to a halt.

"You better get inside, three minutes 'til the signal goes live."

Logan let himself out of the vehicle and faced the other

"I'm aware. That's why I wear a watch if you weren't aware."

Remy just shook his head.

"You're still the fucking antisocial nerd you were as a teen."

"And you were the same shade of black and white since you were twelve but I don't comment about it." Logan retorted as he started to walk to his door.

"Don't come for my kneecaps bitch, I'm being a queen in the colours I can see and I'm fucking proud of my basic bitch style."

"God you're so egotistical. Why am I friend with you again?"

"Your bad life decisions, not mine."

Logan heard the limousine drive off into the distance. He would assume the Remy would just listen to the signal in the car. And then promptly go and get a coffee to fuel his caffeine addiction that can never satisfied.

Logan walked into his house and sat down on his armchair. Cathrine climbed onto his lap but he's shooed her away. She always seemed to meow louder during the signal.

Your daily broadcast is about to begin, remember you can always t̙̰̖̲͔͈͚̱̞͙̐̇͋́̅̊̀̅̕͝ų̺̺̟͇͈͎̝̫̱̳̝͈̬͔̩̠̞̙͑̍͒̌̅͗̔͑̿̋̔͘̕̕̚̕͠͠͠r̡̧̧̛̟̺͍̘̘͉̞͔͇̭͍̮̒̋͆́̎̿̀̉́̏̊͘͘͜͠͡n̡̢̛̥̺̱̫͖̹̩̲̝̪͊̊̊͂̔̇͆̓̄̋̓̓ͅ i̢̱͕̮͎̺͓͂̒̊͂͒̏̍t̨̨̥̦̙̭̦̀̄̾̂̽̄͘ o̧̥̗͚̮͇̬̠̥̼̮̫͕̞̪̭̝̼̍͒̇̀̐̌̊͆́̐͂͒̀̋͌̌͐̕̚͜f̡̢̨̢̥̬̳͓̺̖͍͐͒̍̄̋̂̏͂̍̊̏̅͜f̛̹̱̜̥͇̜̥̙͇̻͍̙͈̱̈́̎͋̏̑̑͊́̌̓̓͗́́͟ ȧ̢̧̢̞̙̦͉̪͇̇̾̄̑̽̓̈́̾̓̌͟͜͝ͅẗ̜͎̖̰͖͉͇̦̥́̍̑̄̚͘͞͡͞ ä̡̫̰̪̰̖͕̲͙̲̝̘̤͎́̂̏̇̓̃̍̽̐́̚͘͢͞͡͡ǹ̢͇̙͇̙̯͎̬̟͖̪̥̹͔̙̿́̓̍̽̊͆̈̓̍̎̀̏͌͌͜͞ͅy͓̪̟̲̩̙͚̗̫͚̰̘̫͈͌̍̊̃̎̓͒̄̔͑͆̈̄͠ -

It cackled unholy sound, like the type static made but way worse and the device proceeded to go radio silent (no pun intended). Logan walked over to see if Cathrine had chewed through the wires again but she was curled up in a ball on the heater.

"I got this fixed not even a week ago, It can't be broken already.."

The box suddenly flickered back to life akin to a car engine. Logan sighed in relief, returning to his chair waiting for the-

Good evening lucky citizen, I am proud to interrupt your daily brainwashing in the hopes that you will heed my warning. Stop listening to the fucking signal or broadcast or wave or whatever you call it in your sector.This is probably the most idiotic thing that you have ever heard. I am fully aware. But also was that story our caregivers told us so we wouldn't cover our ears. So you listened through the hidden circle of hell that was the sound you heard. But you don't remember the pain and only the calm when it ended, don't you? In the very likely case you are currently at your mobile trying to report me., let me save you the hassle of trying to find a name. Call me-

Logan promptly ripped the radio cord out of the socket.

Pacing around his study slowly, trying to mentally recall a fact, he pulled out his phone and checked the time. The broadcast had ended the second he had pulled out the plug. He couldn't dwell on that. He typed in a number and let the waiting sound become his background noise until someone picked up.

"Patton, can I stay at yours for the night?"

*****

" Q.Quill. A twenty year old woman who grew up in godforsaken dump that is Fumi, clawed her way to the top and started to biggest drug empire in the city, who always has four weapons on her person at all times, the person whose body has never gotten more than a scratch before the person who dared to hurt her died was killed by her own hands and you killed her sneaking an acid bomb into her Big Mac. I'm surprised Duke. It's less creative than how you usually murder your target."

"You wound me Pip, when I joined this company I swore to myself that every single job I do , I would pour my hearty and soul into. There is no was in-"

"Let me guess, the acid is more than acid."

'Duke' gave a slick grin. "Wanna know what was in it?"

"Nah, I'm still traumatised from the hat job."

She passed a bag to the assassin.

"You know where to pick up your pay check from. Get the fuck out of my office..

Grabbing the sack, moonwalking on his hellys that Pip was convinced he was not wearing before, 'Duke' went to collect his earnings.

He rolled to the Shed, pick up the cash, stuffed a red hot poker into the eye of a guy who tried to mug him and continued on with his daily rout-

"Thomas!" Duke ran up to the named person and lifted him into the air. Then he slapped his face.

"Ow, what the fuck was that Re...," A frantic head shake for 'not the right time. "Duke .."

Thomas narrowed his eyebrows and pulled the Duke to the nearby alleyway. Thomas was going to speak but the other beat him to it.

"I slapped you, partially because I wanted to and because it's not safe to be around me at the moment because I kinda killed someone off duty so the Shed is probably after me and your dad will kill me if I get blood on your shirt and Janus is terrifying when pissed."

Thomas just stood back, taking a good moment to process the information.

"How did you get chosen to be an assassin?"

"Do you think I know?"

Duke perked his ears up. Footsteps. Very light and carefully planned ones as well.

"Ok Thomas, I'm got to play with people's intestines now, say hi to Janus for me and rennet that's nothing is illegal if you don't get caught!"Duke took out a sewing needle out of his pocket than had green thread.

Thomas felt sorry for the victims ,already starting to back out of the future crime scene.

"Sure!"

*********

Virgil stepped back from from his computer, questioning why he even decided to take commissions in the first place. And seeming from the email, this wasn't someone trying to fuck with him.

Time to get some moral support.

i'llburnifigointothesun: What would you do if a guy offered you one fucking million for a piece of fanart of them living out their romantic fantasies

FosterDawg: You don't need to do nsfw pieces. You're not a broke college student

i'llburnifigointothesun:Yeah, I've upgraded to a broke adult.

FosterDawg : So...Why are you nervous about this? You've drawn kisses before albeit it wasn't normally the most light hearted work but this isn't one of your triggers.

i'llburnifigointothesun: the condition is I have to hand paint this and they want it 'hyper-realistic'. i kinda don't want my hands to die.

FosterDawg : Kiddo, at the end of the day, it's your call if you want to do this or not.

i'llburnifigointothesun: it was such a dad thing to end that with an exclamation mark.

Virgil put down his phone, listened to the broadcast ,stared long and hard at his paintbrushes. After about half an hour he got out a canvas and pulled up reference images.

He gritted his teeth. "If they're lying, I'm about to going to sue."

*******

"Dad, I'm home!"

Thomas flung his backpack onto the floor, walking to the kitchen to partially look for his dad and partially to get the leftover pizza.

"Okay, he's still at work which means time for-"

"Thomas you can't watch Steven Universe re-runs until five in the morning again, you have your revision that you'll procrastinate and then panic a month before you the exam date in guilt of not studying."

The father had seemed to just manifest out of thin air, standing behind his son and the other couldn't tell if he had been there for an hour or two minutes.He rarely wore his emotions on his sleeve.

"Dad, I didn't ask you to peer into my soul.Also Remus says hi." He fiddled with the remote control, deciding what cartoon to binge watch .

The parent rushed to his son ,checking his face to see if was hurt. "Shit, you didn't see him kill or hurt anyone, right?"

"Yep!"

Janus let out a breath he wasn't aware he was holding. "Thank fuck, you can't be used as a witness."

Thomas walked over to the front door to retrieve his discarded backpack and took out his music theory notes. He scanned through the notes and then lowered his head in frustration."Why did I pick this class?"

"It seemed like a good decision at the time, for you and you just started your Hamilton phase." Janus saw his son staring over what he assumed was the homework. The due date was in a weeks time. He had an internal debate with himself and came to a decision.

"You know what, fuck that!," He chucked Thomas homework to the side. "Do what makes you happy tonight, you seem stressed and you should take time for yourself."

Thomas started at his dad for a few seconds and gave him a big hug. " Thanks, I kinda needed that.. This maybe a bad time but I kinda threw my tie-dye pride flag with your yellow dress shirts.

Janus stared at the other with a glare that could be sarcasm or could be anger. "Well, everything could be gayer."

The dad finally put down his hat on the coat stand and started to walk upstairs. "Remember to keep it down, I'll be live."

"Kay.."Thomas started his self care routine by microwaving the leftover pizza.

Taglist( Ask me if you want to be added):

@katlikethesword, @crinklesnuff

#logicality #wisp writes #i fucking did it #thank you cat #so much #anyway #dukeceit #demus #prinxiety #logan sanders #patton sanders #remus sanders #roman sanders #janus sanders #virgil sanders

36 notes · View notes

therewasatale · 4 years

Text

Ritual

On Ao3.

The ritual was in session for at least an hour. The members of the cult chanted louder and louder, in the warm humid atmosphere of the cellar. In the dim light of the hundred blood red candles the tied-up victim feebly tried to get free from her restrains but with no avail. The leather was too strong, and she was drugged to be just aware of her surroundings.

The cult leader flipped the page in his occult book continuing the dark incantation they were repeating when suddenly the pentagram on the other side of the room flared up and two figures appeared. The cult leader didn’t even had time to become surprised when the taller one, a thin dark person an expertly tailored suit, wearing sunglasses hurried to him, and knocked the book out of his hand.

"Would you shut the hell up?!" He shouted with slightly twitching left eye.

The cult leader blinked a couple of times, stunned, and his flock, about a dozen man and women wearing dark foreboding clothes, complete with blood red belts, slowly fell silent as well.

"FINALLY!" Exclaimed the stranger and rubbed his temples. His companion, a shorter man, with fair blond hair and a suit which style would be more at home in the previous century, looked around curiously. When his eyes stopped at the sacrifice he slowly walked up to the altar.

At last, the cult leader managed to compose himself.

"Who the hell are you? " He asked finally his own anger mounting. "Do you have any idea how long does it takes to set up the summoning ritual?"

"Based on the time you were shouting in my goddam head about one and a half hour!"Responded the taller stranger bitingly. The cult leader puffed up himself up and drew his ceremonial knife.

"Now listen to me you assh-" Before he could finish his sentence the tall stranger snorted and then raised one of his fingers and then he tapped it against the cult leader's chest. The occult master disappeared, leaving behind a small puff of acrid smoke, clothes, and the sacrificial knife, which fell to the ground clanking. His flock moved as one person towards the tall man who just calmly raised his finger again. The sudden rush of humans halted, well out of finger reach.

"Before anyone tries to do something nasty." The man slowly removed his sunglasses showing the crowd his vibrant yellow eyes. "Just remember I have a much vibrant imagination on that part. "

The cultists shuddered and knelt down as one.

"Oh my dark master…" One who, based on his slightly fancier robes must have been the second in command in their little religious organization, spoke up. "Why did you punish your devoted servants?"

"Don’t 'oh my dark master' me. Have you got any idea what another demon would have done with the lot of you?" Asked the man with almost palpable indignation.

The cultist glanced at each other.

"But, dark master, we done everything written in the book." The demon rolled his eyes and extended his arms.

"Really? Did you really? Because I think the only two things that are genuine here is the book and the sacrifice." At that some cultist glanced towards the girl who oddly quieted down. They tried to raise some objection about the fact that the demon's companion was meticulously worked on untying her, but then the yellow eyed stranger bent down and got something from the floor. It was the ceremonial dagger. The demon started talking without even reacting to those who tried to speak up.

"Look at this! What is this? The book definitely asked for a sacrificial dagger. This is a steak knife painted with gold spray paint. Come on guys you couldn’t have believed this would work. "

"Its…Well…. We have a pentagram." Protested one of the cultists.

"Yes, made out of red paint and glass instead of a priest's blood and crushed rubies. A demon can really tell, I assure you." Sneered the yellow eyed stranger.

"Candles, the candles must be right." Stated another cultist in vain hope.

The demon sniffed into the air and then sighed.

"Cherry scented ones from a supermarket. Not exactly created from the fat of a slaughtered lamb is it? Look, you can't just half ass these things. All or nothing, most demons are really stickler for traditions. I know. I have worked with them." He rubbed his forehead and noticed the small washing machine at the very edge of the room. It was hastily covered in a star patterned tablecloth. The demon sighed wearily." What the hell do you wanted to summon a demon anyway? "

"For money." Said one of the cultists

"And fame, and dark evil powers." Added the right hand of the previous leader who realized that without his boss, now he might get a chance in the spotlight.

"Become a politician then. You get all the dark evil powers with fame and money as you want. Or a financial advisor, maybe a lawyer. If you don’t want to get that quiet so vile, do organized crime. You all get to go down either way, but at least you get to live a little before that."

There were some murmurs from the members of the cult and then the self-titled new leader spoke up.

"And if we don’t want to do that? " The demon's eyes glinted maliciously.

"Then you can follow your leader wherever I sent him." There was an ocean of menace behind those eyes. Suddenly every cult member began to reconsider their life choices and found out that a life full of normal everyday evils might be infinitely better than just dying right here at the hands of an occult one.

"I am also taking your book." The demon reached down and grabbed the ancient tome with the same elegance and reverence one would treat a morning newspaper.

"But…" The second man in the cult stepped closer but the demon once again raised his finger and waggled it. The man stepped back into the line.

"And we will be taking this poor girl too."

Suddenly the cultist realized that the demons companion was still in the room. During their talk with the black clad stranger he managed to untie the sacrifice, and gently led the barely conscious girl to the pentagram.

"What?" Asked the leader of the cultists and the demon at the same time.

"Excuse me, can we have a minute? I need to talk with my friend over there." The demon briskly walked to the other man and stepped right next to him. They started a muffled conversation, but the cultists do manage to glimpse some tidbits here and there, along the lines of:

"Look you can't just pick up every stray when you see them. We were at a DINNER we can't just arrive with a half-naked young women. Its impolite."

"Oh come on, Crowley, when was the last time something being impolite ever worried you?"

"Five hundred bc…That's not the point here. Look can we not do this right now."

"If you won't let me take her home before we continue our dinner, I shan't continue our dinner at all."

"What? Don't be like that…"

"I said what I said." With that the man in the lighter suit puffed himself off. His companion answered with a now clearly audible.

"Fine."

The demon, named Crowley, turned back towards the cultist. "We are taking the girl too. She was a sacrifice after all and I'm a demon. And I haven't even eaten out your eyeballs or something like that like any of my old coworkers would have. So how about you sit a little here thinking about the prospects I raised and I won't be forced to vaporize any of you before we go? Sounds like a plan isn't it?"

The cultists slowly nodded, wholeheartedly agreeing with the not being vaporized part, and being generally lukewarm about the other things.

"Wonderful. Off we go then…What?" He asked as his companion gently tugged on his sleeves and whispered a question in his ears. "No of course not. I know you are particular about that. He just has some swimming to do." The demons companion nodded smiling, and waved at the cultists.

"In shark infested waters." Added Crowley before he disappeared in a puff of sulfurish smoke. The other man snorted, and also popped away with the girl they were meant to sacrifice.

There was a long and awkward silence in the room followed by a bit of shuffling. After a couple of minutes one of the cultists spoke up.

"Brendon…"

"Master Occultist." Corrected the former second man of the cult, rapidly climbing at the top of the ladder before anyone could dispute his ascension.

"Master Occultist….what the hell just happened here?"

"I have absolutely no idea."

#good omens #good omens fanfiction #Aziraphale #gocrowley #crowley #good omens crowley #good omens aziraphale #The Emperor in Silver

8 notes · View notes

phusch21ahsgov · 4 years

Text

Blog post #2, Media Assessment of Issue

In this blog post I will share my analysis of 3 articles from reputable news sources concerning gun control and second amendment rights. One article is from a left-leaning source, one from the right, and one is neutral.

Article #1, Liberal, CNN: Virginia Beach Mass Shooting

Subject: This article is trying to convey the message that there is a direct correlation between the number of guns in america, and the number of gun related homicides and suicides.

Author: Jill Fillipovic authored the article Fewer Guns Mean Fewer Killings, and We All Know it. Filipovic is an American feminist, author and lawyer. She has previously written for feminist blogs such as Feministe, as well as cosmopolitan. She has written for other news sources besides CNN that are quite neutral on the political scale such as Washington Post, New York Times, and Time Magazine. Based on this information she is likely a centrist, however her tone in the article, and heavy involvement in feminist arguments and sources convey that she leans heavily toward the left.

Context: The article was written in june, recently after a mass shooting. This menas that the source will strike a lot closer to home for the citizens of america, as they have recently experienced a tragedy.

Audience: The source was published By CNN, and while CNN only slightly leans left, the source was most likely published for liberal readers, people who advocate for stronger gun control. The source was not very objective, and did not consider other options beside restricting the number of guns in America.

Perspective: This article is definitely subjective, you can tell that the author has a liberal view on gun rights just from the title. The perspective of the author is that we need to remove guns from the hands of civilians, and doing so will prevent gun related homicides and suicides. This is in opposition to the conservative view that removing guns from civilians will increase gun violence

Significance: The author recounts a recent shooting to support her claim, and talks about the lack of action that has been taken by politicians. The verifiable evidence is that no recent laws have been passed, and that the majority of homicides are gun related

Article #2, Neutral, Time Magazine: The Fight Over Gun Control Isn’t Really About Guns

SIGNIFICANCE: The author uses several charts comparing the viewpoints of gun owners and non gun owners to showcase the differing perspective on the issues at hand, these statistics are verifiable facts, and it is interesting to see how the answers differed. Additionally the author includes quotes from people in both political and gun-rights affiliation to further showcase the differing perspectives.

SUBJECT: This article is trying to convey the message that the argument over gun control is actually an argument over the sense of freedom and independence that guns represent to americans. Central to the argument is the author’s ability to look at both sides, and convey the strong feelings and outcomes that come with gun violence by recounting a recent mass shooting.

AUTHOR: The author of this article is Charlotte Alter, a national correspondent for Time Magazine, who’s work has also been published in New York Times and The Wall Street Journal. Her political affiliations are unclear, she likes to cover hot political issues such as feminism, political campaigns, climate change, and gun violence, but it is hard to say what her positions on these issues are, as is demonstrated by her neutral tone in the Time article.

CONTEXT: The source was produced in Las Vegas, on October 5, 2017, four days after the deadly shooting it describes. The effect of this is that the tragedy is still fresh in the minds of the readers, as well as the author as it happened in her backyard. This highlights that there is a problem with gun control in its current state.

AUDIENCE: This source conveyed the horror of the Las Vegas shooting to effectively alert the mass media - the people for whom the source was published - of the horrific effects that guns can have, all while staying unbiased and presenting arguments from both left and right political viewpoints. Time Magazine published this article, and being a relatively neutral source It seems the reliability and objectivity are on point.

PERSPECTIVE: This text Is definitely objective.

Article #3, Conservative, Fox News: Tony Perkins: Solution to Gun Violence Isn’t What You Think

SUBJECT: This article is presenting the idea that the solution to gun violence is not to simply restrict gun ownership laws, but to strengthen morality and religion in our government to stop individuals from becoming the type of person to commit such a crime.

AUTHOR: Tony Perkins is aconservative politician, previous police officer, and christian. His credentials are that he is the president of the Family Research Council, has served two terms in the louisiana house of representatives, and was appointed to the United States Commission on International religious Freedom. As he obviously states, his religious affiliations affect his view on gun violence, and his experience as a police officer prove his credentiality on the subject as he has experienced gun violence first-hand.

CONTEXT: This article was published in October of 2019, this article was not a response to a recent mass shooting, but more of an opinion piece by Perkins, conveying his experiences and opinions he has formed over time.

AUDIENCE: This article was published by fox, a conservative news source, and the article is quite clearly geared towards a religious demographic, meaning it may not be the most objective as it is targeting a more narrow audience.

PERSPECTIVE: This text is subjective, the viewpoint conveyed is that stricter gun control laws will not have a large impact on gun-violence, and instead more emphasis should be placed on religion to increase morality of american citizens, stopping the problem at the source. I don’t fully agree with the argument presented. For one, the proposed solution may infringe on people’s freedom of religion, and while I don’t believe super strict gun control laws will solve the problem, I think certain preventative measures can be taken to decrease the likelihood of giving a gun to someone who is not mentally fit to own one.

SIGNIFICANCE: Perkins cites our founding fathers to back up his claim, stating that the marginalization of faith and religion is directly correlated with the increase in violent people. He also cites verifiable evidence, such as the statistic that 80% of gun crimes are committed with illegal guns.

Between all three of these sources, I found the key similarity was that each article had accounts of gun related violence: The first two articles were published recently after mass shootings and had graphic descriptions of them, and in the third article Perkins recounted his experience losing friends to gun violence as a former police officer. The main difference I found was the tone throughout each article. Time magazine kept a very neutral and calm tone, while CNN and Fox were more opinionated, with Fox being the more opinionated out of those two.

I identified most with Article 2 from CNN, as I agree that these mass shootings are terrible tragedies, but I can see the arguments from both sides as valid. I don’t know enough about the subject yet to make opinionated claims, however I do not believe religion will solve the issue, nor do I believe restricting all guns will completely solve it. Much like the tone of article 2, I am observing, and listening to arguments from both side

2 notes · View notes

blackkudos · 4 years

Text

Jimmy Cliff

James Chambers, OM (born 1 April 1948), known professionally as Jimmy Cliff, is a Jamaican ska and reggae musician, multi-instrumentalist, singer, and actor. Along with Bunny Wailer he is one of only two living musicians to hold the Order of Merit, the highest honour that can be granted by the Jamaican government for achievements in the arts and sciences.

Cliff is best known among mainstream audiences for songs such as "Wonderful World, Beautiful People", "Many Rivers to Cross", "You Can Get It If You Really Want", "The Harder They Come", "Reggae Night", and "Hakuna Matata", and his covers of Cat Stevens's "Wild World" and Johnny Nash's "I Can See Clearly Now" from the film Cool Runnings. He starred in the film The Harder They Come, which helped popularize reggae across the world, and Club Paradise. Cliff was one of five performers inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2010.

Early life and education

Jimmy Cliff was born in Somerton District, Saint James, Jamaica. He began writing songs while still at primary school in St. James, listening to a neighbour's sound system. In 1962 his father took him to Kingston to go to Kingston Technical school, where he ended up sharing his cousin's one rented room in East Kingston.

Career

1960s and 1970s

Cliff sought out many producers while still going to school, trying to get his songs recorded without success. He also entered talent contests. "One night I was walking past a record store and restaurant as they were closing, pushed myself in and convinced one of them, Leslie Kong, to go into the recording business, starting with me," he writes in his own website biography. After two singles that failed to make much impression, his career took off when "Hurricane Hattie" became a hit, while he was aged 14. It was produced by Kong, with whom Cliff remained until Kong's death from a heart attack in 1971.

Cliff's later local hit singles included "King of Kings", "Dearest Beverley", "Miss Jamaica", and "Pride and Passion". In 1964, Cliff was chosen as one of Jamaica's representatives at the World's Fair in New York; and in the same year Cliff was featured in a program called "This is Ska!" alongside Prince Buster, Toots and the Maytals, and Byron Lee and the Dragonaires. He soon signed to Island Records and moved to the United Kingdom. Island Records initially (and unsuccessfully) tried to sell Cliff to the rock audience, but his career took off in the late 1960s. His international debut album was Hard Road to Travel, released in 1967. It received excellent reviews and included "Waterfall" (composed by Nirvana's Alex Spyropoulos and Patrick Campbell-Lyons), which became a hit in Brazil and won the International Song Festival.

"Waterfall" was followed in 1969 by "Wonderful World, Beautiful People" and "Vietnam" in 1970, both popular throughout most of the world. Bob Dylan called "Vietnam" the best protest song he had ever heard. Also during this period, Cliff released a cover of Cat Stevens' "Wild World" as a single, but it was not included on his Wonderful World, Beautiful People album.

In 1972, Cliff starred as Ivanhoe "Ivan" Martin in the classic reggae film, The Harder They Come, directed by Perry Henzell. As the film tells Martin's story, he is a young man without funds. Arriving in Kingston from the country, he tries to make it in the recording business, but without success. Eventually, he turns to a life of crime. The soundtrack album of the film was a huge success that sold well across the world, bringing reggae to an international audience for the first time. It remains one of the most internationally significant films to have come out of Jamaica since independence. The film made its debut at London's Gaumont cinema in Notting Hill on 1 September 1972. In 1975, Cliff sang on the first season of Saturday Night Live, episode 12, hosted by Dick Cavett. After a series of albums, Cliff took a break and traveled to Africa (the Nigeria-based Jamaican writer Lindsay Barrett was instrumental in Cliff's first trip there), and subsequently converted to Islam, taking the new name: El Hadj Naïm Bachir.

1980s and 1990s

Cliff quickly returned to music, touring for several years before he recorded with Kool & the Gang. In 1984, Cliff appeared at the Pinkpop Festival in Landgraaf, Netherlands. During The River Tour, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band added Cliff's previously little-known song "Trapped" to their live set; it achieved great prominence when included on 1985's We Are the World benefit album. The follow-up, Cliff Hanger (1985), won a Grammy Award for 'Best Reggae Album', though it was his last major success in the United States until 1993. Also in 1985, Cliff contributed to the song "Sun City", a protest song written and composed by Steven Van Zandt and recorded by Artists United Against Apartheid to convey opposition to the South African policy of apartheid. Cliff then provided backing vocals on The Rolling Stones' 1986 album Dirty Work, and appeared in the comedy Club Paradise, co-starring with Robin Williams and Peter O'Toole, and contributed several songs to the soundtrack, including "Seven Day Weekend", which he sang with Elvis Costello. In 1988, his song "Shelter of Your Love" was featured in the hit film Cocktail.

Cliff appeared in the film Marked for Death in 1990, performing "John Crow" with the Jimmy Cliff Band. His recording of "You Can Get It If You Really Want" was used as a campaign anthem by the Sandinista National Liberation Front in the 1990 election in Nicaragua. In 1991, he performed at the second Rock in Rio festival in Estádio do Maracanã in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He continued to sell well in Jamaica and, to a lesser extent, the UK, returning to the mainstream pop charts in the U.S. and elsewhere (#1 in France) with a version of Johnny Nash's "I Can See Clearly Now" on the Cool Runnings film soundtrack in 1993. In 1995, Cliff released the single "Hakuna Matata", a collaboration with Lebo M, a song from the soundtrack of the film The Lion King. In 1997, Cliff was a guest star in a 1997 episode of the Cartoon Network talk show Space Ghost Coast to Coast.

2000 to present

In 2001, Cliff became an inaugural member of the Independent Music Awards' judging panel to support independent artists. In 2002, Cliff released the album Fantastic Plastic People in Europe, after first providing free downloads using p2p software. This album featured collaborations with Joe Strummer, Annie Lennox, and Sting as well as new songs that were very reminiscent of Cliff's original hits. In 2004, Cliff completely reworked the songs, dropping the traditional reggae in favour of an electronic sound, for inclusion in Black Magic. The album also included a recording of "Over the Border" with Joe Strummer. Cliff performed at the closing ceremony to the 2002 Commonwealth Games and in 2003, his song "You Can Get It If You Really Want" was included in the soundtrack to the film, Something's Gotta Give. He also appeared in July 2003 at the Paléo Festival in Nyon, Switzerland. The Jamaican government under P. J. Patterson honoured Cliff on 20 October 2003, by awarding him The Order of Merit, the nation's fourth-highest honour, in recognition of his contributions to the film and music of Jamaica. Cliff, Bunny Wailer and Mervyn Morris are the only currently living figures from the arts to hold this distinction and he is one of only two living musician (along with Bunny Wailer) to do so.

In 2007, Cliff performed at the opening ceremony at cricket's World Cup. In the spring and summer of 2010, Cliff embarked on an extensive tour of the U.S. and Canada. In 2007, "You Can Get It If You Really Want" was adopted by the British Conservative Party during their annual conference. Cliff was quoted in The Independent as saying "One of my band mates called me this morning to tell me the news. I can't stop them using the song, but I'm not a supporter of politics. I have heard of Cameron, but I'm not a supporter. I don't support any politician. I just believe in right or wrong."

In September 2009, he was nominated for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, following a campaign on his behalf by the American Charles Earle. Cliff reacted to the news by saying, "This is good for Cliff, good for Jamaican music and good for my country." On 15 December 2009, he was officially announced as an inductee and was inducted on 15 March 2010 by Wyclef Jean.

Cliff appeared in the 2011 documentary Reggae Got Soul: The Story of Toots and the Maytals which was featured on BBC and described as "The untold story of one of the most influential artists ever to come out of Jamaica".

In 2011, Cliff worked with producer Tim Armstrong, lead singer of American punk band Rancid, on the EP The Sacred Fire and the full-length album Rebirth. Rebirth was nominated for a Grammy Award for 'Best Reggae Album'. The album was listed at #12 on Rolling Stone's list of the top 50 albums of 2012, saying "There's ska, rock steady, roots reggae, a revelatory cover of The Clash's "Guns of Brixton" delivered in Cliff's trademark soulful tenor, grittier but still lovely more than 40 years after his debut." In December 2012, Cliff was named 'Artist of the Year' by digital newspaper the Caribbean Journal, citing his work on Rebirth.

On 25 June 2019, The New York Times Magazine listed Jimmy Cliff among hundreds of artists whose material was reportedly destroyed in the 2008 Universal fire.

Personal life

Cliff is not a member of the Rastafari movement, although he briefly was before converting to Islam from Christianity. He now describes himself as having a "universal outlook on life", and does not align himself with any particular movement or religion, saying that "now I believe in science". He is married and has a daughter Lilty Cliff and a son Aken Cliff. He is also the father of the actress/singer Nabiyah Be.

#04/01

5 notes · View notes

roonil-wazlib-at-221b · 5 years

Text

See You Later (Or Not)

Pairing: Five x Reader

Request: HII could i request a five x reader thing where the reader is a robin hood kinda “villain” she’s cocky and charming. and it annoys five but at the same time he’s like “damn” IDK i just want some love/hate thing with a villain reader :))

The first time Five meets another one of the special children, apart from his siblings, is when he’s twenty-three years old. This is, of course, a surprise to him. He’s heard about one girl in India who’s been able to heal fatal wounds; she’s gained coverage quite like the Academy had had in its prime. And he has heard rumors about someone in Canada that can move faster than light. But since there are only 43—probably less, Five supposes, and it’s definitely at the most 42 now that Ben’s dead—they’re all spread out all over the world, some probably in places where they’re unable to be heard of or even hear of the Umbrella Academy, thus possibly, a handful of the 43 might not even know they’re superpowered.

But since the Umbrella Academy was so popular, Five is reasonably certain that every child with access to the internet and born on October 1, 1989 has tested themself vigorously for traces of superpowers. It’s why superpowered villains are not common, per se, but not exactly unheard of either.

He’s staring one in the face right now, for the first time in his life, and also for the first time in his life Five is fairly sure he is not going to win this fight.

The pressure for the Umbrella Academy to reform is great, as only Five and Luther remain out of the seven original children. Anyone that knows Five, really, wouldn’t have expected him to stay. They’d expect him to go off traveling the world, or becoming a scientist, or being a professor at a college (or jumping into the future for half a century), but Five’s not an idiot. The world needs the Academy, whether the Academy be just him or all of them. It would be better if it was all of them; he has no idea how to beat you.

Besides, most all other people are idiots. Reginald Hargreeves may be an ass, and he may still think of the children as less than him, but he’s not an idiot, and Five doesn’t need to prove anything to him. Reginald just assumes that the children can and will do something. They never impress him; most of the time they disappoint him, but it’s better than the scrutinizing gazes of people as Five’s not-normal siblings try to pretend that they are. They’ll never truly fit in, so why should they try? Why not do what they’ve always done? It keeps the press mostly off Five’s back, unless he’s done something extraordinary, unlike how Allison never gets a moment’s peace and people only ever want to talk with Diego about his past instead of his present.

No, if Five went to school he’d chafe under the strict rules meant for idiots, and the teachers that are also idiots, and everything, and if he became a scientist he’d have to prove his findings instead of just showing them off, even if they are right. And if Five became a professor, he’d have to teach idiots, and he’d be the least-liked professor on campus.

It’s better to know that you are capable instead of shoving it in people’s faces; it creates less resentment, and it also isn’t as annoying.

This isn’t the first time Five’s ever heard of you—nobody really knows who you are, but your superhero name is ‘The Ghost’. He’s read a lot about you. He doesn’t know your motivations, what your past is, what you do with the things you steal, nothing. You’re under suspicion of over two dozen murders, but it’s only speculation, really, that you committed them. You’re unknown completely, unlike

“Five Hargreeves,” you drawl. Your hair is pulled into a ponytail, your face covered with a mask. You’re wearing sweatpants and a hoodie. If it wasn’t for the fact that the outfit is all black, and you’re wearing a mask, you could be a regular college student out for a stroll. In the house of a very famous, very controversial politician. Honestly, Five shouldn’t be here either. The man is a scumbag and really deserves everything that’s coming to him. Five defending him could damage the Academy’s reputation, not to mention his personal one. Besides, he just doesn’t really feel like defending the man.

Still, whatever you’re planning on doing, it can’t be good. And despite the man’s faults, Five can’t let you kill him. That would also put a damper on his reputation—damn, there really isn’t a win for him in this situation, is there?

Hoping to take you by surprise, Five teleports to where you are, but faster than he can blink you disappear from his vision. Thank goodness Five can think quick on his feet; he teleports over to the kitchen and grabs a handful of cutlery before freezing, trying to hold his panting breaths in so he can try to hear your feet on the floor. He can barely make out a shuffling sound and he tries to pinpoint it. After a second of frustration, he chucks a silver spoon in that direction. It bounces off an invisible force by the unlit stove and Five’s eyes narrow.

He jumps, but you must have let the spoon hit you deliberately. He’s met with a cast-iron pot swung directly at his face and he goes down faster than a stack of cards (but, unbeknownst to you, the only thing he’s going to complain about later is the terribly sore purple-green bruise on his jaw).

Panting, you make yourself visible again and rub your shoulder, wincing. You think you strained it by swinging that heavy pot.

“I need to start going back to the gym,” you mutter, stepping over the superhero and walking over to where Senator Hasselhoff is cowering behind a coach, taking your gun out of your waistband as you go. “All right, Senator. Let’s see what you’ve got on your computer.”

SENATOR LAPTOP SCANDAL CALLS FOR IMMEDIATE RESIGNATION OF OFFICE AFTER ARREST

After Senator Hasselhoff, in some twisted mistake, accidentally posted the entire contents of his laptop to every social media platform he has, there has been an immediate public outcry for resignation from his post. The senator is currently in jail awaiting trial after multiple suspicious and incriminating files were spotted amid the tax information, Viagra shipping orders, and plane tickets. Authorities were immediately involved concerning the videos of underaged children performing sexual acts on his laptop, as well as documents concerning bribes the senator has both accepted and sent out. One such bribe concerns the secrecy from a woman the senator apparently had an affair with…

Five snorts as he sets down the newspaper. You’ve got style, he’ll certainly give you that. And he’s not even fussed about losing the fight; who wants to protect a man like that, even if Reginald had told Five to? Sure, maybe Five would have preferred you using your words instead of instantly jumping on the attack and knocking him out cold, which was humiliating, especially when Diego found out from Luther and hassled him about it for two hours straight, but he supposes his reputation might have had something to do with your approach. He’s not exactly the cuddliest person around.

Reginald hasn’t said a word to Five since he’d woken up in the medical room with his adopted father’s face and his mother’s looming over him. Reginald had sniffed and walked straight out of the room the second Five’s eyes opened.

Five’s not quite sure what Reginald feels. Maybe he’s disappointed Five failed, maybe he knows (even though Five doesn’t want to admit it) that he gave up the fight embarrassingly quickly, or maybe he’s disappointed that the senator wasn’t able to pay him the large sum of money for Five’s protection, both because Five had done a piss-poor job of protecting him, and also because the FBI has frozen the senator’s accounts.

Either way, Five’s not fussed. His pride is a little bit bruised from his siblings’ haggling, but his jaw is a lot bit bruised, and to top it all off, he’s really confused about you. Sure, he knows that everyone has layers and blah blah blah about some people doing ‘right thing, wrong way’ or however the saying goes.

But he’s looked closer into every crime you’ve ever been suspected of or connected to, and if he even scratches the surface it turns into a sort of… Robin Hood scheme. All you ever do is attack rich scumbags, and more than often the poor somehow benefit, even if no one has been able to clearly draw a line between the two. Mostly because most everyone is an idiot, and Five is not.

But still.

It’s the confusion that makes the first thing Five says to you a compliment.

Five had been walking down the back alley shortcut he always takes to Griddy’s. A particularly strong gust of wind had pushed him slightly, his hands falling out of his pockets to brace himself against the brick wall.

Just then you’d appeared in front of him out of nowhere, hands on your hips. This time your hair hangs around your face, buffeted by the wind, but the rest of your outfit is the same. Five’s body tenses up with the familiar fight-or-flight feeling, his brain screaming at him to Get her! Jump now! She’s a villain! but for some reason he hesitates. He can’t explain why. Maybe it’s the way you’re helping people, in your own way, or maybe it’s how you’re also a person with superpowers and Five knows how, even though the powers can be liberating, they’re also a chain, and he can’t talk about stuff like that with his siblings.

Or maybe his powers are just chains because of Reginald. You were never forced into using your powers; you use them of your own volition.

“Nice work with the Senator,” Five hears his voice say, and he feels his lips move, but they feel disconnected from his brain. “You gonna hit me with a frying pan again? It’s a pretty unusual weapon, but hey, to each his own, right?”

Your face is inscrutable behind the mask, but your voice is most certainly not. Five can hear the playful tone as you reply, “I like to think I’m a trendsetter. Next thing you know every villain you fight will be wielding a pan. I imagine your jaw won’t like that very much, will it?”

Five hadn’t noticed in the heat of the moment, but you’re a girl. And you’re his age (well duh, his brain intones, she’s one of the 43 children, dumbass).

Five isn’t misogynistic; he considers Allison more capable than Luther and Diego put together, and he has a deep respect for Vanya after all the years with the rest of them, supposed to be special but instead achingly normal. He respects women, probably more than men, even, because of how much of a dumbass all his brothers are, and how shitty most men are.

Still, the fact that your voice is high and sweet and somehow vulnerable as you try to be cocky and intimidating makes him feel guilty for trying to hurt you, and it ignites a feeling in his chest that he doesn’t like.

He can’t help but imagine what you look like underneath the mask.

“You’re like a modern-day Robin Hood,” Five blurts out, surprisingly ineloquent despite the fact that he doesn’t know you, you’re a threat, and he should be knocking you down right now. He shouldn’t be… trying to make polite conversation. He shouldn’t be itching to tie your hair back so it doesn’t obstruct your vision.

“If the shoe fits,” you respond, cocking your head at him. Five wishes he could see your face, if only to understand what you’re thinking.

“What do you want?”

“It varies from moment to moment.” You take a step closer and Five should tense up, should strike out, but he can’t. The wind is blowing in his direction and the faint smell of mint shampoo fills his nose, making his brain all fuzzy. At the same time, the riddles you’re speaking in annoy him.

“Well, what do you want right now?” he snaps. Are you just wasting his time or trying to be annoying?

“I wanted to talk.” You cock your head as Five snorts. That’s got to be the lamest lie he’s ever heard. “Sorry. I’ll see you later, I guess. You won’t see me, though!”

Before Five can say anything else, you turn away and turn invisible. He’s simply too tired to chase after you.

Five turns away to continue to Griddy’s. He slouches his shoulders and shoves his hands in his pockets to protect them from the wind, feeling instinctively for his wallet, but it’s not there.

Five pieces it together quickly; the ‘strong gust of wind’ hadn’t been wind at all.

“Damn it, Ghost!”

#tua #the umbrella academy #number five #five #five hargreeves #five hargreeves x reader #reader x five hargreeves #five x reader #number five x reader #reader x number five #reader insert #reader x five

126 notes · View notes

angrybell · 5 years

Text

Things I have to get off my chest about Senator Kamala Harris (aka why no one should ever vote for her)

So you think Kampala Harris is a really great candidate for president. Really?

Was she a good DA? Her first elected office. Well, no, she was not. Her office somehow managed to get less convictions at trial than her predecessor (believe me, if you knew the sordid history of what her predecessor did to the office, it would amaze you). SF Weekly did a review of her office and reported that her prosecutors, “won a lower percentage of their felony jury trials than their counterparts at district attorneys’ offices covering the 10 largest cities in California[.]” Yeah, LA county was outperforming her, and their jury pool back then was a nightmare for prosecutors.

Was she an honest prosecutor? Nope. She was found to have hidden information about a crime lab technician which was discoverable under California law. This was information she was legally required to turn over to defense attorneys. This lead to 600 convictions being overturned and dismissed for prosecutorial misconduct.

Since this was SF, a bluer than blue city in a deep blue state, she received a promotion to Attorney General. Failure and abuse of power was rewarded.

As Attorney General, she directed her office to cover up prosecutorial misconduct. What does that mean I’m plain English? She protected prosecutors who falsified evidence.

This was not a one time thing either. Her prosecutors were cited for this multiple times. Just like when she was the SF DA.

In one case, the local DA added lines to the transcript of an alleged confession. Without them, there was no admission of guilt. Basically, they falsified the confession, so that the defendant would plead guilty. The only way it was caught was because the defense attorney fought for the tapes of the interrogation and got them. Now, the trial judge, when shown the evidence did the right thing: he dismissed the indictment completely.

Then-Attorney General Harris, who likes to portray herself as noble for not opposing the Prop 8 lawsuit, instructed her appellate prosecutors to take the issue up on appeal. She literally told them to defend lying and falsification of evidence.

This case was not the first time she’d had been caught defending a known lie to the courts. In a series of cases coming out of the Sierra Pacific/Moonlight fires, the investigators committed more outrageous misconduct. The state agency, CalFire (which handles wildfires in California) basically hid/destroyed evidence. And the Attorney General’s Office helped cover it up.

The conduct of the CA DOJ under Harris was so egregious, the Ninth Circuit was talking about making a referral for prosecution for perjury during the oral arguments in the Baca case.

In the Baca case, there was evidence that the prosecutor had actually suborned perjury. Harris’ appellate team tries to sweep it under the rug. Harris has her prosecutors fight tooth and nail to deny the appellate court access to transcript of hearing where the perjury came to light.

Did Harris’ DOJ prosecute these rogue DAs for their crimes? Nope. Did any of the appellate attorneys within her own office suffer any consequences? From what I’ve read, not a one has been disciplined in any fashion.

Clearly, she’s happy to tolerate and protect corruption. Is this what makes her a good choice give her your vote?

As Attorney General, she tried to force non-profit groups to release their donor lists. She was of the opinion that the government had the right to know the identity of everyone who donated to every group. Why? There’s no reason except for the purpose of harassment. Which is exactly what was happening as soon as the non-profits handed over their donor information. Witnesses at the trial testified to being harassed and intimidated because their private information was leaked.

Put another way, do you want Trump to have this power? No? Then you shouldn’t want Harris, or anyone else to have this power.

Fortunately, this program of Harris’ was stopped by the federal courts. And before you say “oh it was because a Republican judge”, the judge who enjoined the program was appointed by Lyndon B Johnson.

One of the reasons the judge ruled against Harris was because it was clear that the purpose of her program was not a proper one. Judge Real wrote, “As made abundantly clear during trial, the Attorney General has systematically failed to maintain the confidentiality of Schedule B forms.”

It was not an accident that the information was leaked. It was by design. She was blatantly using her power as AG to oppress people who disagreed with her.

And you want to reward her with your votes and give her more power? Do you think that she won’t turn on you if you end up disagreeing with her?

Think about that.

What has she done as Senator? Has she sought to find a way to broker compromise on issues where that is possible? If you look at her voting record, that’s not the case.

Has she gotten any legislation passed? She’s sponsored 76 bills, resolutions, and amendments to bills. She’s gotten the same bill passed twice. She’s gotten a couple of Senate resolutions thanking various groups for their service (my favorite was Buffalo soldier one).

So what’s the bill she’s gotten passed twice? It’s to outlaw lynching. Something I find hilarious because for more than a century, the Democrats blocked anti-lynching laws in Congress. Of course, the last lynching happened in 1981, so clearly it’s a pressing matter. In case your curious, it was a unanimous vote.

Is this a demonstration of her political skill? Not really. Being opposed to lynching in politics is as controversial as being in favor the sun rising in the East.

Being a politician means more than just winning elections in a state that is so in your favor, with a party machine that picks its people according to the wishes of the party leaders (and she clearly has thei favor). It means getting things done. So far, she’s done nothing. She’s built no alliances. She’s moved no bills through Congress.

She hasn’t even gotten a post office named and Bernie Sanders has been able to do that at least once.

What is she good at? She’s good at getting media attention and showing up to celebrate hard fought victories achieved by other people. The scene of her showing up in The Case Against 8 is one of the most disgusting displays of political opportunism I’ve seen in recent years. They fought the case. They went through it all. And she swooped in for a fucking photo op after doing nothing but making sure their victory was incomplete.

She’s not a good politician. She a good media whore.

Is that what you want in the next person to take the oath as the next President of the United States?

Where do you stand on your civil liberties? She’s anti-2nd Amendment, which I realize is a plus for people who are inclined to vote Democrat. What should trouble you is that she is also opposed to the 1st Amendment’s freedom of speech guarantee. How do we know this? She has called for Supreme Court Justices to be conformed who would overturn Citizens United.

Now, I realize that the propaganda is that Citizens United allowed “bad” money into elections, but that’s not true. the holding of the case deals with the power of the government to restrain free speech. The case is about a small group of people, who formed a corporation, to speak out on certain topics. One of those was to oppose Hillary Clinton and her proposed policies. If SCOTUS has ruled the other way, the ability of people to get their voices heard would be subject to government restraint. Or to put it in clearer terms: censorship. It would ensure only the wealthy would have a say in elections (who else has enough money to self fund a protest movie? Or ad?)

Think it would only restrain groups like Citizens United (you know, the evil right wing ones)? Nope. It would also apply to unions, the Sierra Club, and all the other “good” groups.

She has some other troubling positions that implicate the 4th Amendment. She is in favor of law enforcement doing a DNA dragnet through commercial DNA testing services, looking for familial DNA to develop leads on cases. I don’t know about you, but giving the federal government free reign to develop a DNA database is troubling.

Senator Harris is also proponent of civil asset forfeiture. As much as detested the Obama Administration, at least they were trying to make it harder to do. She is so much of a fan, she tried to make easier for the government to forfeit your property. Now, if you don’t know what civil asset forefeiture is, you’re not alone. In my experience, it’s one of the least understood things that the government does by lay people.

Essentially, civil asset forfeiture (“CAF”) is a law that allows the government to seize the assets of criminals. Sounds harmless right? Well, it’s an easy power to abuse. Under CAF rules she was supporting, the state would be able to forfeit the property if there was a “substantial probability” that it was obtained by criminal acts. Now, that sounds good but it’s really a lower standard. Remember, to be convicted of a crime, you have to be convicted only if there is proof beyond a reasonable doubt. To make it worse, the presumption works against the person who has lost their property to the state asset seizure. You have to prove the negative. Prosecutors love this, because they almost always win (I do have the dubious honor of having lost one of these cases as a prosecutor).

So what does all this tell you? Senator Harris has a history of abusing power, violating the law, and protecting government corruption. If that’s how you like your candidates, then she a perfect choice. If you care about someone who will not intentionall violate the law, use the government to harass and intimidate her opposition, or be effective at upholding the law and constitution, find someone else.

Please stop rewarding her track record of failure and abuse of power!

#kamalaharris #kamala harris #democrats

21 notes · View notes

averagemarvelbitch · 5 years

Text

The Billionaire and The Mechanic / STONY

Summary: Steve is a billionaire who worked hard to get where he is. He meets Tony, the mechanic, and falls in love faster than he ever thought possible. But Tony has some issues to work through, and some secrets he’s clearly not ready to share, and Steve’s friends, ever so overprotective, are not really trusting of this strange mechanic who seems to have the billionaire wrapped around his little finger.

They soon find out that loving someone isn’t always easy, but it might be worth it in the end.

Chapters: 5/?

Tagging: @huntersociopathavenger @inmyownweirdworld

Read it on AO3

—

Tony knew the whole interrogation debacle hadn’t been Steve’s fault. The blonde had spent an entire week trying to convince the mechanic that they shouldn’t go. At first, Tony had been sad, thinking maybe Steve was embarrassed of introducing a nobody covered in grease to his rich friends, but the thought had been quickly dismissed after his lover spent forty minutes explaining how his friends were too overprotective and how he was absolutely terrified that they would somehow manage to scare the mechanic away. At the time, Tony had reassured Steve time and again that there was no way in hell anyone would be able to scare him away. And he had firmly believed that because nothing in this world could be worse than the life he’d led before coming to NY. So, when the day arrived, Tony put on his rich boy mask, the one he hadn’t used since his last encounter with Ty a good year ago, and got ready to face wherever Steve’s friends could throw at him. The thing is… He was expecting something else entirely.

Tony was used to a very particular kind of rich people, the kind that would laugh obnoxiously while talking about their trips to Europe and then discuss the newest scandal involving some politician’s daughter and another clueless millionaire between flutes of expensive champagne. And so, the mechanic was expecting to meet someone like Tiberion, who threw money around in order to show everyone just how rich and powerful he was, or maybe someone like Justin, who monopolized every conversation, always talking about how great he was (spoiler alert, he really wasn’t). He was most certainly not expecting to meet a bunch of very down to Earth people in a karaoke bar, drinking and eating onion rings and, basically, just having fun. They looked so normal, so chill, that Tony didn’t even notice his mask slipping, dropping his guard a little bit more with every word exchanged. And, of course, that had been his doom.

He liked to think that he would have handled the situation a lot better if he’d been prepared for it, or at least expecting it. He thought maybe they would give him the shovel talk, the you better not be after his money talk, or something along these lines, so the sudden accusation that he was an imposter felt like a punch to the stomach. Because it was true. He was, technically, an imposter. He was lying about his name and hiding a whole lot of other things from Steve. And, at that moment, it was like his brain lit up. I could be putting Steve in danger. I could be putting all of them in danger. He kept repeating it again and again and again inside his mind, in an endless, horrible loop. He couldn’t tell them the truth, not the real truth, but Steve was right there and he was looking at Tony with such a confused and hurt look. So he spilled the story. He told the truth where he could, carefully omitting the things he knew would get him into trouble. And when he was done, he felt awful. It was like reliving all of it again… Finding the evidence, the phone call, DUM-E trying to protect him, running away… He needed to leave. He needed to be alone, away from everything and everyone. And so he left in a hurry, leaving behind a very distraught Steve.

The calls came during the night and then again the next morning. Every time his phone rang, Tony would take it and stare at it, fighting the urge to answer it just to hear Steve’s soothing voice again. But he couldn’t. He had to be strong. So every time, with tears in his eyes, he would press the decline button, hoping that maybe the blonde would take a hint. He had just ignored yet another call from Steve when he heard the unmistakable noise of a motorcycle outside his shop. He looked up just in time to see Bucky taking off his helmet. The man looked sheepishly at Tony.

“Hey”.

“I got the message. No need for a repeat performance”, Tony said, turning back to the engine he was supposed to fix.

“I deserve that. But come on, just give me a chance to explain myself?”

“Explain? You asked an FBI agent to do a background check on me. I’m pretty sure that’s a crime”.

“Yeah, well, so is creating a new identity, so I guess we’re even”, Bucky replied and immediately shook his head, regretting his words, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry. I’m just defensive. I really am sorry about the whole FBI thing. But I had to make sure you weren’t just trying to hurt Stevie”.

“You know what’s insane?”, Tony suddenly said, raising his head to look at Bucky, “The fact that you don’t seem to realize how insane it is that you ran a background check on someone your friend has been seeing for less than two weeks! It was a complete invasion of privacy and, honestly? It’s creepy as fuck.”

“I know. Sam chewed me out for that. So did Coulson. They want to apologize to you as well, by the way. They were pretty pissed at me after what happened”.

“Well, good, at least some of you have common sense”.

“Look, I am really sorry, I truly am, but after what happened with Ophelia I just couldn’t take the chance, alright?”

Tony threw him a confused look. “Who’s Ophelia?”

“Shit. Okay. Please, don’t tell Stevie I’m telling you this because this is something you two should talk about yourselves later, but I’m gonna give you the short version”, he said with a sigh, sitting down on a stool nearby, “Stevie started the company after we came back. We started small and then suddenly we were the biggest thing in the security business. That’s when he met Ophelia. She was beautiful, charismatic and supposedly super in love with Stevie. She was the perfect woman. She fooled all of us. Turns out she was a spy for HYDRA Corp. Stevie spent months giving her everything she wanted, clothes, perfumes, even a goddamn car, and she was tricking him the entire time. Nearly broke him when he found out. So yeah, you could say I’m a little overprotective”.

“Just so you know”, Tony started, getting closer to him, “I dropped some oil on that stool right before you got here”.

“Yeah, I know, I can feel it”.

“Look, what you did was shitty as hell”, the mechanic replied, sitting down next to him on the clean stool, “I understand your reasons, but it was still fucking shitty. I had to take a lot of shit from a lot of people before and that’s not gonna fly anymore. I really like Steve, but I’m not going to let people treat me like crap. Got that?”

Bucky nodded, biting his lip, apprehensive.

“So I accept your apology”.

At that moment, Tony’s phone rang again, a photo of Steve making faces flashing on the screen.

“So, you’re going to take that?”

The mechanic looked down at his phone and shook his head. “No, I don’t think I will”.

“Look, I know I screwed up…”, Bucky started to say, suddenly looking desperate.

“It’s not that. It’s just… my old life, the one I ran from. It’s too complicated and I don’t want to drag Steve into it”.

“I get that. And, to be honest, I’d much rather if you didn’t, but that dumbass is head over heels in love with you. You’re going to break his heart”.

“It’s breaking my heart too”, Tony whispered to himself, checking the missed call on his cell phone.

Bucky got up, a very noticeable stain of oil on his ass. “Look, I can’t make you call him, but… just think about it before you make any decisions, okay? Also, I promise we’ll behave from now on”.

And with a last nod, he got on his motorcycle and drove away.

---

There was nothing on his fridge except for an expired carton of milk and a very old apple. Steve closed its door, sighing loudly. Of course there wasn’t any food; after all, he’d been spending all of his time at Tony’s lately. God, he missed the mechanic. He missed coming home to a smiling face. He missed cooking dinner between loving touches and stolen kisses. And he missed falling asleep next to his mechanic, nose buried on his hair, smelling that scent that was so naturally Tony. Steve had always fallen hard and fast for people, ever since he was a boy. But this… this was ridiculous. He’d known Tony for less than two weeks, for God’s sake, and he couldn’t stop thinking about him, couldn’t stop picturing their life together. He couldn’t help but imagine what their future would be like. And now he wasn’t even sure they would have a future. Feeling utterly depressed, the blonde decided he wasn’t that hungry after all and left the kitchen with slumped shoulders and a lost look in his eyes.

It was almost eight when the doorbell rang. He thought about ignoring it, almost sure it was Bucky coming to apologize yet again after Steve ignored his calls, but then he remembered that his friend had a key and had never once been shy on using it. When the doorbell rang again, he sighed and decided to get up and answer it.

“Yes?” He asked grumpily in the intercom.

“Uh, it’s Tony. Mind if I come up?”

He stared at the intercom for a moment, as if his brain was trying to make sense of what his ears had just heard.

“Steve? I can… I can leave if you want, it’s ok…”

“NO”, he shouted, grabbing the corners of the intercom like he could grab Tony through it and pull him into the apartment, “Please, come up!”

He buzzed Tony in and then looked around and then at himself frantically. He was wearing a pair of old sweatpants that had definitely seen better days and a colorful t-shirt that said born to be bi, which Sam had given him last Christmas as a gag gift for their Secret Santa. He thought about changing quickly, but the soft knock on the door told him there wasn’t enough time. Resigned, he opened the door with a sheepish look on his face.

As predicted, Tony burst out laughing at the sight of him, “Nice shirt”.

“Thanks. What are you doing here?”

The mechanic bit his lip, looking down at the box of pizza he was holding and then back at Steve.

“I brought food. I thought maybe we could eat? So, can I come in or…?”

Steve quickly stepped to the side, opening the door wider for Tony to go through, which he did. He looked around the apartment, whistling.

“I can’t believe we hung out on my dumpster of an apartment when we could’ve been hanging out here”, he put the pizza on the table nearby and walked to the nearest couch, touching it, “You know, I love how you’re the perfect mixture between fancy rich and Brooklyn broke”.

Steve huffed out a laugh, putting his hands on his pockets as he walked towards Tony, stopping a few feet from him.

“I’m sorry about what happened that night”.

“It wasn’t your fault. And Bucky and I talked so we’ll be fine eventually”, the mechanic replied, shrugging, and then sighed, “I’m sorry I didn’t answer your calls. Or your texts”.

“I get it. You wanted to be alone”.

“I did. I’m going to be honest, I thought about ghosting you. Not because of what happened exactly, but because… There’s a lot about me that you don’t know, Steve, a lot that I’m not willing to tell yet. I’m dangerous to be around. People I love tend to be hurt”.

“I can take a hit”, Steve replied full of conviction and a determined look.

“You might take a lot more than just one hit”.

“For you?”, he asked, stepping closer to Tony and touching his cheek softly, making the mechanic close his eyes with a sigh, “I can do this all day”.

The brunette laughed. “What? You can touch my face all day?”

One step closer, their noses touching, “I can fight for you all day. I can fight for you all my life if that’s what it takes. Because you’re worth it”.

Tony quickly put his hands on Steve’s neck, pulling him into a passionate kiss.

“The pizza is gonna get cold”, Tony complained between kisses, “I brought your favorite”.

Steve smiled, kissing his mouth and then, gently, his nose. “Pizza first, then. And dessert after. Also, how did you know where I lived?”

“Okay, another piece of information about me: I’m an amazing hacker. I once hacked the Pentagon on a dare. Let me tell you, the agents what showed up at my door were not amused”, he said, smiling when he heard Steve laugh. The blonde pulled him closer and they both walked to the kitchen, taking plates and glasses and bringing them to the living room.

Later that night, Tony watched Steve snore softly, the movie completely forgotten. He smiled and wiggled himself closer to the bigger man, feeling Steve’s arm tightening around him, not letting him go. He closed his eyes and for the first time in a very long time, he thought to himself… I’m home.

---

Meanwhile, a very well dressed man was standing in front of Tony’s auto shop, staring at it as he smoked his cigar. He stayed there, watching the windows above the shop for a long time. He threw the expensive cigar on the floor, stepping on it with his very shiny shoes before taking a cell phone from the inner pocket of his jacket.

“Stane? I have some information that might interest you”.

---

Leave a comment and/or ask to be tagged // Feed my caffeine addiction

If you liked it, reblog so other people can see it! :D

#stony #stevetony #superhusbands #fic #fanfic #steve rogers #tony stark #mcu #no powers au

5 notes · View notes

theculturedmarxist · 5 years

Link

By Andrea Peters

15 June 2019

The recently released HBO-Sky UK miniseries Chernobyl is a valuable recounting of the nuclear disaster that occurred at a Soviet power plant near the Ukrainian-Belorussian border in April 1986.

Swedish-born director Johan Renck and creator-scriptwriter Craig Mazin effectively capture the terrifying reality of the explosion that tore open the facility’s nuclear reactor core and spewed radioactive material over large swathes of the western USSR and Europe. The film’s generally sympathetic portrayal of the Soviet people is notable, particularly in the present climate of anti-Russian hysteria, although Renck and Mazin are in over their heads with regard to larger historical questions.

Chernobyl opens with Soviet scientist Valery Legasov (Jared Harris) making preparations to commit suicide. We learn that Legasov played a leading role in managing the response to the near-meltdown of the reactor. He leaves voice recordings of his memories of the events, stores them for safekeeping and then hangs himself two years to the day after the nuclear disaster. He is being watched by the Soviet secret police.

Chernobyl then travels back in time and takes the viewer through the events that led to Legasov’s tragic end, starting with the horror of April 26, 1986. That night, a long-postponed and poorly designed safety test at the power plant sets off a series of system failures that blow apart the reactor core.

The personnel cannot comprehend what has just happened at the power plant. Their boss Anatoly Dyatlov (Paul Ritter) arrogantly and stupidly issues commands that result in workers’ deaths. Firefighters are called in without any warning that they are dealing with a nuclear explosion, much less any protective gear. Acute radiation sickness begins to hit the residents of the nearby city of Pripyat, home to 50,000. The hospital is overwhelmed. Officials will not admit what has taken place. The situation is on the edge of spinning out of control.

Finally, Soviet higher-ups mobilize resources, even as they seek to conceal the true scope of events. Suspicions over what has occurred arise in the West due to the drift of nuclear fallout over Western Europe. Legasov, a prominent inorganic chemist and member of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR, as well as others are brought in to deal with the still uncontained radiation erupting from the exposed reactor core. Hiroshima-sized radiation releases are going off every hour. Extraordinary and heroic measures are taken, largely by ordinary men and women, to save millions of people. Officials continue their efforts to cover up the causes and consequences of the accident. Lies and deceit abound. Chernobyl is a crime, not just a disaster.

No one who watches the miniseries will take a light-minded attitude towards nuclear Armageddon, which US politicians today threaten and promise as a necessary consequence of American foreign policy. In this respect alone, the filmmakers have made a contribution. The miniseries sensitizes the viewer to some of the horrifying reality that would accompany a nuclear war.

Chernobyl, drawing heavily on a documentary account published by Nobel laureate Svetlana Alexievich, effectively portrays different aspects of Soviet life as well as the nuclear calamity. We see the city of Pripyat with its apartment complexes and gardens, and its residents who wish only to enjoy the spring and who look forward to the future. Their lives are destroyed. Smug bureaucrats who could not care less about ordinary human beings alternate between bullying, indifference, conceit and scrambling to deal with the catastrophe, which the viewer senses is largely of their own making. There is something terribly wrong with the Soviet economy. The explosion is partly a consequence of cost-cutting measures. A design flaw that contributed to the disaster was known years earlier, but kept secret. Nothing can be fully admitted on the world stage, and so the country is unable to get adequate aid from abroad.

And yet, this crisis-ridden society somehow manages to carry out a massive clean-up operation. Overnight, hundreds of thousands of tons of containment materials are dispatched. Six hundred thousand so-called human “liquidators” are sent into the evacuated fallout zone. Miners work naked around the clock, exposed to atomic radiation, digging tunnels equipped with only shovels to prevent a complete nuclear meltdown. (It is too hot in the tunnels for them to wear clothes.) Recruits physically destroy irradiated household pets. In one of the most frightening scenes, soldiers working by hand remove radioactive rubble from the roof of the destroyed power plant.

The filmmakers clearly have an admiration for the Soviet people, whom they generally portray as self-sacrificing victims of an undemocratic political system. There are moments, however, when the miniseries plays with—and to—anti-communist stereotypes. A tottering, aged bureaucrat in Pripyat declares his commitment to “Leninism” and demands the city be sealed off so no one can get out and supposed “misinformation” is contained. Soldiers, speaking a bit like automatons, declare their undying commitment to the Soviet cause, even as they are dispatched without adequate protection to deal with the radioactive mess. Rough-talking miners make quips that imply their situation is equivalent to that under the Tsar. An elderly peasant woman forced to evacuate draws an equivalence between Bolshevism and Stalinism, which are allegedly the same in their persecution of the population.

At issue here is not in and of itself the veracity of these particular episodes—according to historical accounts, some are true—but the way in which they are presented. They give the viewer the sense that there is a straight line between 1917 and 1986. This is false. The Chernobyl disaster did not have its roots in the 1917 Russian revolution, during which the working class overthrew both capitalism and feudalism in an initial effort to liberate all of humanity from the exploitation of man by man. Its origins lie in the betrayal of that revolution led by Joseph Stalin, who systematically exterminated the Left Opposition and all those committed to the egalitarian principles of international socialism.

The Soviet bureaucracy lived as a parasite on the conquests of the working class, feeding off the latter until it destroyed them. Their parasitism, privilege and self-promotion were an enormous tax on the Soviet economy, infrastructure and social resources. Guided by the nationalist policy of building “socialism in one country”—which was both impossible and reactionary—the Stalinists pursued industrial development on the basis of national autarky and under the pressure of capitalist encirclement. They played fast and loose with nuclear power in an effort to meet the country’s energy needs.

Of course, an important dimension of the Chernobyl disaster, with which the miniseries does not and probably cannot deal, is what followed it. By the end of December 1991, there was no Soviet Union. The Stalinist bureaucrats and KGB agents, whom the miniseries shows so doggedly trying to prop up a political set-up collapsing under the weight of lies and crimes, dissolved the USSR. In the process, they stole everything that was not nailed down and much that was.

In short, the crime of Chernobyl was followed by an even greater crime—the liquidation of everything that the Soviet working class had fought for over seven decades. The result was mass unemployment, the shuttering of industries, the depopulation of the countryside, a huge spike in alcoholism, falling life expectancy, a massive growth in social inequality and widespread human suffering. The Soviet bureaucrats restored the market and transformed themselves into the proprietors of post-Soviet capitalism before the working class was able to assert its political independence and defend its own interests.

The miniseries concludes with a court scene in which Legasov and fellow scientist Ulana Khomyuk (Emily Watson) indict not just the power plant’s operators (Dyatlov and several others eventually went to prison) but the Soviet system. While the trial did happen, its content, by the director’s own admission, is not accurately portrayed in the miniseries. There was no final reckoning with the Soviet leadership over Chernobyl, nor could there have been without a political confrontation between the Soviet working class and the bureaucracy. The apparatchiks and secret agents who appear in Chernobyl, in many cases, continue to occupy the Kremlin today as servants of a capitalist regime. They also continue to feel threatened by what happened in April 1986. The HBO miniseries has garnered sufficient interest that there are now plans to release a Russian-made miniseries about Chernobyl that blames the disaster on an American agent working at the power plant.

By way of artifice, the filmmakers unsuccessfully try to hand over to a couple of individuals the task of exposing Stalinism. The character of Ulana Khomyuk is created for this purpose. A nuclear researcher, Khomyuk defies Soviet officialdom, confronts bureaucrats, asserts the superiority of science and uncovers secrets. The unconvincing presentation of this figure, created by the filmmakers as a stand-in for the hundreds of scientists who actually mobilized in response to the Chernobyl disaster, is a flaw of the miniseries and one of its weakest elements.

Through Watson’s character, the film falls back into a tale of an individual crusader speaking truth to power, which is something of a disservice to all those who worked to save humanity from Chernobyl’s consequences. Capturing cinematically the involvement of the Soviet—and international—scientific community in the Chernobyl response would have been valuable, albeit challenging. Given the wholesale destruction of Soviet science as a result of the restoration of capitalism in the USSR, it would have also imbued the viewer with a much deeper sense of what has been lost.

On the whole, Chernobyl is worthy of the interest and enthusiasm it is garnering.

6 notes · View notes

davidmann95 · 6 years

Note

Thoughts on Calvin Ellis?

Calvin Ellis is fascinating, because while I’ve said before that Superman having “the American Way” tacked on after the fact to his list of virtues doesn’t really work when creators are on a number of fronts hard-pressed to center his stories around that in the same way as Captain America, this Superman is built explicitly to reckon with that. He’s built in the idealized image of an incoming President at a moment of transformative change, only to stick around for that President in question to become more visible as a human with massive successes and horrible flaws, and then not be President at all. He’s Superman Plus, Superman ascendant and triumphant, the guy whose civilian identity works to make things better across the world while also President of an organization that defends the multiverse when wearing the cape. At the same time, he’s a Superman who lies to the American people on a scale Clark Kent never remotely approaches, a Superman who literally automates the business of representing and making decisions on behalf of the American people via Brainiac when he’s busy, a Superman who has to make decisions that will determine who lives and who dies. He’s a figure with different priorities and principles than Clark Kent even as his triumph over Superdoomsday clearly marks him as a ‘true’ Superman, and there’s diamond in that coal just waiting to be squeezed out. I’ve never been able to track down the quote, but I’m certain I once read Morrison mention that if he ever did any long-form Superman work again after Action Comics it was going to be with this guy, and that’s something I’d be fascinated by.

With all that said, something special under the cut!

So when Multiversity was still coming out…wow, four years ago, a few friends and I were really into Morrison’s proposition that these books could continue as ongoings, so we thought we’d come up with solicits for the individual titles, that I imagined would themselves ultimately come back together into another big event. We never finished them, but I did complete solicits for a year of President Superman adventures. Reproduced entirely unchanged from when I wrote them at 19 below, I also left in the commentary I tacked on to them.

PRESIDENT SUPERMAN #1

· In thisoversized opening issue, 3 fantastic features!

· First, TheOrigin of Superman! See how an orphan of the stars became Earth’s greatest hero,as both Superman, and United States President Calvin Ellis!

· Bearwitness to the secrets of Fort Superman! From the Gates to the Underworld,where dwell the specters of Krypton’s greatest criminals, to First Dog Vathlo’sDen, to the varieties of Kryptonite–ranging from mind-bending Sapphire todeadly Emerald–all the secrets are revealed!

· And in thedepths of the distant future, locked in battle with the Time Trapper, the 31stcenturies’ Super-Hero Squad look back on the formation of the mighty JusticeLeague International, and its greatest conflicts, crises and triumphs, for theclue to how to save their own history!

PRESIDENT SUPERMAN #2

· America’sgreatest threat is at hand, and with a heavy heart President Ellis must rallythe nation against…Superman?!

· How has itcome to this? It’s the Son of Krypton versus the military might of the USA!

· Could theWhite House Science Fair hold the key to it all?

PRESIDENT SUPERMAN #3

· CalvinEllis returns to his old hometown of Smallville to personally congratulate oldfriend of the family Professor Phineas Potter on his newly developed energysource, in order to raise national awareness of its possibilities.

· But whenthe Professor is missing and his assistant lies dead, it’s up to the Man ofDiamond to solve the crime, the roots of which may stretch into Superman’s ownyouth!

PRESIDENT SUPERMAN #4

· Beforetaking his oath of office, Calvin Ellis first made his name defending theinnocent and the helpless as a lawyer in Metropolis.

· He’ll haveto put his legal expertise to the test when the Har-ZǶl abduct him to try anddefend their own commander-in-chief at his trial, when not a single individualon their planet is willing to do so!

· If hedoesn’t find a way to exonerate their leader in spite of the mass of evidence,then by the laws of the Har-ZǶl the defender of the guilty must share theirfate! As time and hope run out, will Superman compromise his principles, evento save his own life?

PRESIDENT SUPERMAN #5

· A bountyhas been placed on President Ellis’ head, and the supervillains of the worldare eager to claim the prize!

· Even if hesurvives the attacks, how will Superman keep his other identity concealed inthe face of increasingly impossible escapes from doom?

· He may havebigger things to worry about when Metallo enters the Kill-Race!

PRESIDENT SUPERMAN #6

· After yearsof the U.N. attempting outreach, the Anti-World Htrea sends out an ambassadorto Earth—their greatest champion, Bizarro.

· But inspite of Superman’s best efforts, the communication gap is left unbridged, andwar is at hand.

· CanSuperman save two worlds when both regard him as a traitor? Even if he does,there may be no way to salvage the situation.

PRESIDENT SUPERMAN #7

· Operatingin secret from the bowels of Fort Superman, Brainiac intends to utilize itsplanet-wide neural network to seize control of the entirety of human society!

· Supermanmust battle against his own security systems in order to reprogram hisonce-faithful ally!

· But whenBrainiac states it is merely acting to better the world as its master has, doesCal truly have a defense?

· As Brainiacis offline, it’s up to Courtney to cover for the President in his absence!

PRESIDENT SUPERMAN #8

· Seekingadvice in the wake of Brainiac’s attack, Superman journeys into the Multiverse!

· OnEarth-30, Kalel meets that worlds own President Superman, ruler of aplanet-wide U.S.S.R.!

· Looking outonto an Earth perfected by Kal-L, what conclusions might Superman come toregarding his own role?

PRESIDENT SUPERMAN #9

· Underorders from the Guardians of Oa, Green Lantern John Stewart seizes control ofQurac!

· Theirsuperhuman weapons program declared an unconscionable risk to Earth’sburgeoning meta population, Stewart is tasked with dismantling the nation andestablishing a new government to the Guardian’s specifications, even if itbrings him into conflict with his fellow J.L.I. members!

· As the restof the team prepares for battle, Superman must wonder: is this wrong? And evenif so, can he challenge the authority of the Guardians of the Universe?

PRESIDENT SUPERMAN #10

· In the wakeof GL’s occupation, Qurac’s former state-sponsored super team Onslaughtterrorizes the nation in the name of its absentee leaders, while theprovisional government accuses the U.S. as culpable for the actions of itscitizen.

· With afull-fledged war a possibility, President Ellis wonders if Superman can weighin in the public eye.

· He may haveto, if he’s to counter the pernicious influence of lobbyist and arms industrydarling Steven Flashman!

PRESIDENT SUPERMAN #11

· Warbeckons.

· Long ago,Superman swore never to take a life.

· Must CalvinEllis break that vow in the face of his oath to serve as Commander-In-Chief,for what may be an unjust conflict?

PRESIDENT SUPERMAN #12

· “Mybeautiful children…I’m sorry. Sorry for the compromises, the mistakes, the arrogance. So sorry for this world you have inheritedfrom me. You deserved better. All I have left to give is the truth.”

· Somewhereamidst the ruined landscape of lost America, tarnished forever when the truthof its last President was revealed, the last hope for the future is dying.

· Even if thefinal commanders of the Super-Society somehow manage to repeal time itself, canCal remain in his station, knowing what his mere presence may bring down on hisbeloved adopted world? Must Superman die to save the Earth? Or Calvin Ellis?

· From thedepths of time…might the Super-Hero Squad offer another option?

Commentary

1: I figured if this was real, anorigin issue would be necessary, as Cal’s only shown up before a very smallhandful of times. Aside from the most obvious references (the only really evenslightly ‘off’ thing is the changes for the classification of Kryptonite), theSuper-Hero Squad are indeed E-23’s Legion. I figured by the 31stcentury the full extent of Superman’s role in the 21st is publicknowledge, and that the team that assembled in honor of him might be a touchmore regimented and formalized, hence the slightly more militaristic title. TheJLI has no connection to the bwa-ha-ha team, the title’s simply a reflection ofthe more multicultural makeup of the group here.

2: The culprit here is RubyKryptonite (Kalel’s equivalent to Red). I initially thought of having a newnecklace from Courtney be the source, but reconsidered having her one majorrole be as a source for jewelry and causer of problems—I think I gave her abetter role in issue 7, though if this were to continue on I’d try and give hermore to work with. So I recalibrated for the Science Fair, recalling an oldstory where some child amateur geologist shows Superman his mineral collection,including a Red K sample that causes problems. Really, this all just springsfrom the whole “Crazy Superman versus his sane, human other identity” conflicthaving much higher stakes here.

3: Based off the base of an ideafor Superman I’ve had for awhile of “Clark solves a murder in Smallville overthe course of several phases of his career”, tinkered with to fit here.

4: He didn’t just materialize inthe Oval Office one day. It’s certainly far from uncommon for politicians tocome from a career in law, something I could see Superman pursuing. I figuredthis would be a decent way of fitting that background into a story as a fittingcentral element. For the record, Superman doesn’t compromise his ethics, butthe punishments the Har-ZǶl turn out to be ridiculously lenient by ourstandards.

5: Like issue #2, a classic setup(Superman has to protect Clark), inherently ramped up.

6: The intermediary between theclassically influenced first half, and things getting quite dark indeed in thesecond.

7: As will be shown after I dofurther solicits, I’ve intended 7 and 8 to be significant issues in eachseries. 7 is both the ‘middle’ post-Multiversity issue for everything exceptPresident Superman, and a recurring digit of significance in Morrison’s work,so I’m trying to structure things to have the 7th issue be one ofsignificance in each series. Here, we see the start of Superman’s questioningof his role that defines the second half of my ‘run’.

8: Issue #8, meanwhile, is thecentral number of the Multiverse in Morrison’s conception of it, so each #8 inthese will be a Multiverse tale. I wanted to use Earths we’ve seen beforepresented in different contexts, and here we’ve got the universe of Red Son,with a Superman who has embraced his status as a ruler to the arguable publicgood, to contrast with the pushing-it but still mostly noninterventionistEllis.

9: Plunging into the big final arc,one I wanted to question some of the basic assumptions of Superman’s role inthe world, and of how Cal would have to work in particular. Here the big thingis that even though Superman has always refrained from using his powers on theworld stage, it’s always been an implicit concession that if he doesn’t, no oneelse will either. GL, working under the conniving and pragmatic Guardians andbeing on a cosmic level that they declare to be above any given planetsauthority, seemed a prime candidate for breaking that rule who couldn’t just bebrought down immediately.

10: Again, classic setup—willSuperman try to tell the public what he thinks they should do—shaken up by hisdirect role in the proceedings on both sides of the issue here. And yes, thatis “Funky”. He’ll be popping up again.

11: One of my first thoughts aboutSuperman as President is that, in that role, he is inevitably going to orderthe implementations of decisions that will end human lives, directlycontradicting the moral code it’s made clear he has in Action Comics #9. Hencehim working overtime to try and ensure peace. Here’s him faced with maybehaving no other option. Perhaps he intervenes covertly as Superman to preventcasualties, one interference that normally wouldn’t be abided on the part ofone identity to counteract the necessary actions of another? Even that’s adegree of deception in theory unbecoming of the Superman role. No matter what,there’s going to be a degree of moral compromise not present on the part of theclassic Superman. I figure it’s here Cal’s established as the utilitarian toClark’s socialist (relatively speaking).

12: Maybe my first thought of aPresident Superman book was of Calvin leaving a letter for his children in anation wrecked by the revelation of his double life. 50 to a hundred or soyears in the future, America’s place on the world stage has been decimated, theone meaningful seat of power being the collective of the Super-Society, agrouping of Calvin’s descendants, those of his worlds own Supergirl, and thoseof one or two Phantom Zone Prisoners having filled their sentences andgenuinely trying to repent such as Quex-Ul and Dev-Em. Eventually they manageto alter the timeline, with the Super-Hero Squad emerging from deep history totry and convince Cal to carry on. Obviously he does, as in theory this comiccontinues onwards (presumably at least on E-36 and E-41, since we know Cal’sadventures are published there), but the end of this issue itself leaves thingsup in the air regarding his final decision.

#Superman #Calvin Ellis #President #Barack Obama #Grant Morrison #Multiversity #fanfic #Opinion

53 notes · View notes

aion-rsa · 3 years

Text

Q: Into the Storm Review – HBO Doc Unpacks QAnon

https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

Timing is the great unknown when it comes to documentaries. Despite the filmmakers’ best efforts to capture the zeitgeist, by the time the research is done, the filming complete, the editing wrapped, and the finished product ready, the subject at hand can be long forgotten.

This is not an issue for HBO’s six part docuseries Q: Into the Storm. The series, directed by Cullen Hoback and executive produced by Adam McKay, couldn’t be arriving at a better time as it seeks to understand the QAnon phenomenon. QAnon used to be a fixation of only the most terminally online. But sometime in the last year, not coincidentally around when many QAnon adherents stormed the U.S. Capitol, the story of Q and the posters who followed him, went very, tragically mainstream.

The country has never been more primed for an all-encompassing documentary about the QAnon conspiracy theory. Unfortunately, the one we’re getting is incomplete. The back half of Q: Into the Storm succeeds as an intriguing, at times even riveting, human story. The front half, however, doesn’t come anywhere near close enough to being the clarifying historical document about an era-defining political movement that it needs to be.

To be fair to Hoback and his doc, presenting the historical documentation of such a big, strange, and toxic phenomenon is no simple task. The QAnon movement emerged on the 4chan’s /b/ “Random” board in late 2017. An anonymous user (as all 4chan users are unless they choose to reveal themselves) going by “Q Clearance Patriot” claimed that President Donald Trump’s bizarre statement about a “calm before the storm” was referring to an event when a shadowy cabal of celebrities and politicians including Hillary Clinton and Tom Hanks would be arrested for crimes against humanity.

“LARPing” (a term borrowed from the phrase “live-action role playing”) as important people with top secret information has always been a popular pastime for posters on 4chan and other similar boards. But something about “Q’s” LARPs, which incorporated bonkers pre-existing conspiracy theories like Pizzagate into its framework, had enough appeal to go truly viral. Q continued posting, moving over to 8chan in 2019, and the QAnon movement blossomed into a virulent strain of sustained misinformation.

The QAnon story is there for the telling. But Q: Into the Storm quickly makes clear that it won’t be the one to tell it. The first big complication that the documentary faces is the challenge in presenting such a uniquely online concept visually. The first episode is largely concerned with summarizing the Q phenomenon and yet with only 50 minutes and limited visual and rhetorical tools to do so, falls quite short of presenting a coherent narrative of the cult’s origins.

The doc can’t figure out the correct formula of what to explain versus what to assume the audience already knows. The end result is a frustratingly incomplete exploration of QAnon that breezes past its 4chan’s origins to get to the 8chan era that Into the Storm wants to examine. This is undoubtedly because of the privileged access Hoback gained to 8chan owner Jim Watkins and his son Ron Watkins (more on them in a minute). But it ultimately robs viewers of important context. In fact, the documentary’s narration refers to 4chan as “8chan’s less infamous godfather,” which is just fundamentally incorrect.

Early episodes of the docuseries also suffer from curious interview choices and a frustrating refusal to contextualize those interviewed. The first episode features notable right wing scam artist Jack Posobiec as a subject to talk about Pizzagate, a scandal in which adherents believed (mistakenly, obviously) that there was a pedophile dungeon operating in the basement of D.C. pizzeria Comet Ping Pong. Other, more level-headed interviewees gently point out that Posobiec is a conspiracy-courting liar, but the invisible hand of the doc doesn’t delve into that part of his C.V. It’s like having the Hamburglar on to speak about the fast food industry without disclosing that he has a questionable history with hamburgers.

Funnily enough, however, Posobiec provides good advice to the documentarians that they ultimately do not follow. In trying to explain away why his embrace of the Pizzagate conspiracy theory was satirical (it was not) and not a cynical capitulation to online weirdos (it was), Posobiec says “I was making fun of people who believe in this kind of stuff. Partially that’s on me because I didn’t understand that the IQ of the Internet is below average.”

In spite of that bit of wisdom, the first episode of Q: Into the Storm takes for granted that its viewing audience has a solid grip on reality, ignoring years of recent evidence to the contrary. It features several other unchallenged, slice of life interviews with Q adherents, and it even seemingly bemoans that NBC News would stoop so low as to dox a pair of them. It also presents a series of supposedly correct Q predictions like “Q correctly predicting the arrest of several members of the Saudi Royal family” and “Q’s itinerary matches the President’s perfectly” while forgetting to add important context like “wait…no. That’s obviously dumb.”

The first episode of this series is a real mess, and perhaps even irresponsible in some respects. That’s a shame though as several of the episodes that follow it are quite entertaining, if not enlightening. Starting with its second episode, Q: Into the Storm begins to spend the majority of its time with three fascinating members of the Internet communities that Q sprouted out of. The first is Fredrick Brennan, the original creator of 8chan. After operating costs of the difficult-to-monetize site became too onerous to maintain, Brennan sold it to the doc’s other two main subjects: porn magnate Jim Watkins and his coder son Ron.

When 8chan became the exclusive home to both Q and several mass shooters, Brennan sought to end his involvement in the site while the Watkins relished the attention. Both Brennan and the Watkins have already been covered extensively by Q-curious journalists over the past few years. Brennan, in particular, is both media savvy and seemingly up to be interviewed for any Q feature. But Q: Into the Storm is really able to sink its teeth into the visually dramatic potential of these three men, feuding and living in the Philippines.

Brennan (who was born with osteogenesis imperfecta and has spent much of his life online) and the Watkins (who are just world class creeps) are real characters and the documentary clearly relishes spending time with them. Hoback’s skills as a documentarian are on display here. The doc excels when there is a clear story of two warring factions to be told, rather than having to deal with the difficult concept of what makes QAnon so viral. Hoback even inserts himself as a character of sorts, which comes across as appropriate given the circumstances involved, rather than indulgent.

The doc also concerns itself with uncovering the identity of Q (at least the 8chan iteration of Q). Into the Storm does indeed settle on an individual who is almost certainly Q. This makes for an engaging watching experience as Hoback’s investigative skills are on full display. It also misses the mark entirely as Q’s identity is no longer that important when compared against the destructive QAnon movement he wrought.

cnx.cmd.push(function() { cnx({ playerId: "106e33c0-3911-473c-b599-b1426db57530", }).render("0270c398a82f44f49c23c16122516796"); });

In the end, the real issue with Q: Into the Storm might be that of branding. Media companies are in a race to be the first to present the definitive and all-encompassing story of QAnon. HBO could be forgiven for thinking they had achieved that goal with Q: Into the Storm. Hoback and McKay have both the filmmaking bona fides and the access into an Internet underworld to make a definitive documentation of the QAnon phenomenon work. That’s not what they did here, however. Whether it’s through a morbid fascination with its subjects, or investment in storytelling at the expense of enlightenment, Q: Into the Storm doesn’t live up to its full potential.

The post Q: Into the Storm Review – HBO Doc Unpacks QAnon appeared first on Den of Geek.

from Den of Geek https://ift.tt/3twkW3Z

#aion-rsa #Den of Geek

1 note · View note

thisdaynews · 4 years

Text

BREAKING:Serious Protest At US Embassy Demanding for Investigation Of Atiku(Pix,video)

New Post has been published on https://thebiafrastar.com/breakingserious-protest-at-us-embassy-demanding-for-investigation-of-atikupixvideo/

BREAKING:Serious Protest At US Embassy Demanding for Investigation Of Atiku(Pix,video)

youtube

Hushpuppi: Protest Rocks US Embassy As Nigerians Demand Forensic Investigation Of Atiku, Timi Frank Over Links With Alleged Cyber-Fraudster

Some Nigerians, on Monday, protested to the US Embassy, Abuja, demanding a forensic investigation over ex-Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, associate, Timi Frank and some Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chieftains link to alleged fraudster, Raymond Abbas Igbalode, popularly known as Hushpuppi.

The group, under the aegis of Concerned Citizens Forum (CCF), numbering over 500 persons submitted a letter to the US Ambassador and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, urging a thorough probe of Hushpuppi’s political allies who are all in the PDP.

Recall that the All Progressives Congress (APC) had alleged “criminal conspiracy linking the top echelon of the opposition” to Hushpuppi.

According to the APC, ” the PDP leadership turned Dubai into their ‘Strategic’ meeting place ahead of the 2019 general elections.

In its petition signed by Comrade Adamu Kabir Matazu, the peaceful protesters called on the US, through relevant agencies, to investigate the connection between these high profile Nigerians and Hushpuppi so as to recover fully the proceeds of crime or make it difficult for such monies to be laundered in Nigeria.

The group reasoned that Atiku’s frequent reliance on cyber experts and reference to internet server and frequent trips to Dubai prior to last year’s elections may not be unconnected to Hushpuppi.

It, therefore, urged the US to go after Atiku, Timi Frank and other PDP stalwarts who through their actions and associations with the fraudster may have helped to launder the proceeds of crime.

Read full statement below:

Permit us to congratulate you on your appointment as the United States ambassador to Nigeria by US President, Donald Trump, and for the successful presentation of your credentials to Nigeria’s President, Muhammadu Buhari in December, 2019.

We are a group of eminent Nigerians with keen interest in building a positive image for our country through the promotion of credible best practices and exposure of acts capable of soiling the image of Nigeria.

In the light of the fact that we share common ideals of accountability and good citizenship, we wish to bring to your attention, certain facts that will further build citizens’ capacity for best practices.

Dear Ambassador, we are sure you are aware that within the period you arrived Nigeria and shortly before that, some of our citizens have been arrested for alleged criminal activities like cyber crime, internet fraud and money laundering in many countries in Europe, Asia and America including your country, the United States.

The biggest and most recent of such, is the arrest of Mr. Raymond Abbas Igbalode, the Instagram celebrity, also known as Hushpuppi and 12 others who are alleged to have scammed over 1.9 million people across the globe of over $35 million.

We commend the international community for the vigilance which has led to the arrest of these persons whose activities have deprived many of their legitimate sources of livelihood and brought shame to Nigeria.

Dear Ambassador, following the extradition of Hushpuppi and his associates to the US to undergo trial for alleged cyber fraud, we wish to offer our suggestions on how the investigations would be thorough to achieve the goal of exposing all those suspected to have either aided the fraud or those who have through their actions and associations with the fraudsters, helped to launder the proceeds of crime

This, we believe would ensure that all those involved in the crime are brought to book so as to serve as a deterrent to others.

You will agree with us, dear Ambassador, that all the global instruments on financial crime including FATF, clearly identity several ways in which proceeds from financial crimes can be whitewashed and presented as legit.

Some of these processes include association with politically exposed persons, channeling the resources through existing organisations and partnering with already established businesses.

We wish to inform you that since 2016 when Mr. Igbalode pulled his first heist and leaped into living a luxurious life of opulence, his major channel for laundering the proceeds of his crime have been through open association with notable Nigerian politicians as well as former and serving public officials.

Such meetings are usually presented to the public through videos and other photos of the event which are usually held in posh hotels or other expensive venues around the world on Instagram and other online media.

The aim of such videos and photos, Dear Ambassador, as you are aware, is to further scam the public by presenting such fraudsters and their ill gotten wealth as clean business men with legit income that anybody can do business with.

The photo and video shoots from such events serve as open endorsements of such characters, making it easy for the proceeds of these cyber fraud to be brought into Nigeria and to be accepted by unsuspecting members of the public as normal which further makes it difficult for investigating agencies to track.

We wish to report you, dear Ambassador, that some of the persons who have lent their high profile personalities to cover up for such shady transactions include a former vice president of Nigeria, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, a former senator, Dino Melaye, and a top member of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Mr. Timi Frank and others.

Videos clips of their association with Mr.Igbalode have been posted and reposted on major internet outlets like Facebook, Internet and YouTube for all to see.

We have every reason to suspect that their open association with Mr. Igbalode (Hushpuppi), was not a coincidence as they are trying to make people believe, but was well planned to sell the fraudster to Nigerians as a legitimate businessman who associates with respected and eminent members of the society.

It is in the light of this, dear Ambassador, that we urge you, to use your good office as the representative of the United States Government in Nigeria, to call the attention of the US government of the possibility that the major accomplices of Mr. Igbalode are still roaming about freely in Nigeria.

We call on the US Government to in the bid to help fight cyber crime, money laundering and possible terrorists financing, to draw the attention of the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, FBI, Mr. Christopher A. Wray and the Secretary General of Interpol, Mr. Jürgen Stock to these facts.

We are aware that both the

FBI and Interpol have range of legal authorities that enables them investigate federal crimes and threats to national security, as well as to gather intelligence and assist other law enforcement agencies in countries outside the US.

Hushpuppi is known to have defrauded millions of people across the world and is wanted for fraud crimes in Europe, the United States and Nigeria.

We are aware that Title 28, U.S. Code, Section 533, authorizes the Attorney General of the US, to appoint officials to detect and prosecute crimes against the United States.

The investigation we are asking these agencies to carry out are clearly crimes against the United States as well as other countries and we are aware that the FBI, unlike many domestic intelligence agencies around the world, can investigate crime in other countries, more so as the investigative jurisdiction of the FBI extends to most federal criminal laws in more than 200 areas, including computer crime (cybercrime), embezzlement, money laundering, organized crime (including extortion and racketeering), piracy and hijacking, sabotage, sedition, terrorism (including ecoterrorism).

We are also aware that these agencies have helped in tracking down crimes in other countries.

We also know that the FBI has in the past worked with The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission in Nigeria, to identify and prosecute local partners of international fraudsters and had arrested 281 individuals, including 167 in Nigeria, for their involvement in fraudulent business email compromise (BEC) schemes.

Dear Ambassador you may wish to know that the EFCC in Nigeria, has said that details of Mr. Igbalode’s money laundering transactions involves many high-profile cyber criminals facing trial in Nigeria.

We are happy that EFCC is also eager to engage with the EFCC in tracking victims of Mr. Igbalode’s fraudulent transactions and other fraudsters having direct involvement with him.

We are interested in having these persons investigated because we believe they may have aided in laundering the proceeds of crime by Mr.Igbalode either directly or indirectly, which if established, makes them accomplices in the crime.

Our suspicion is heightened by the frequent visits of these persons to Dubai in the United Arab Emirate, UAE, where Mr. Igbalode was arrested, at the slightest instance, one of which was the celebrated meeting of the associates of the former vice president shortly before the 2019 Nigeria general elections.

Again, we have every reason to suspect that the frequent reliance on cyber experts and reference to internet server by the former vice president and his associates, may not be unconnected with their relationship with these cyber criminals.

We therefore call on the US Government to assist through the relevant agencies to investigate the connection between these high profile Nigerians and the internet fraudster so as to recover fully the proceeds of crime or make it difficult for such monies to be laundered in Nigeria.

0 notes

pierrehardy · 4 years

Text

Police in America

In recent weeks, the death of one man in America sparked a protest all over the country and the whole world. You know it’s bad when people are forced to protest despite a pandemic. So it’s worth taking a closer look at what happened and studying ways to move forward strategically.

This write up will cover what happened and how we can move forward for the better. I will highlight three questions: how to protest smart, how Trump can exploit this for the upcoming elections, and how to fix America’s police. For most, we use history as our guide.

TL;DR

Honestly, if you’re not too into reading, watching John Oliver’s previous episode covers the essentials.

youtube

So we have a pandemic going on, as well as an upcoming election. We also sent astronauts to space, but that feat of engineering was overshadowed by racially motivated mass protests and riots. Eerily, I’m describing 1968 (flu pandemic, Nixon vs. Johnson election, Apollo 8, and MLK’s assassination) but also 2020 (COVID-19, Trump vs. Biden, SpaceX’s Crew Dragon, George Floyd’s murder). Why does this keep happening over and over?

This is a lot to unpack, and I can’t cover it all in this blog. But know that things have barely changed in the United States: black Americans are still overrepresented in jail and they still live in districts with the worst healthcare, jobs, and schools. Racism in the US is deep and systemic and discouraging in scale, but this is no time to wallow in that. Let’s see what America can do and what same advice can be applied to our own countries.

How to protest

One thing is sure: rioting is not the way. I understand rioting; it is the natural result of refusing to hear an angry voice that deserves to be heard. But any argument that rioting is necessary is just a fancy academic exercise that justifies unlawful stealing. A bit of rioting can be effective to be heard, sure, but it should never be excessive. Rioting can hurt businesses that are especially fragile due to the pandemic and harm the livelihoods of many people. There are three main reasons against rioting.

The first and most compelling argument against looting and rioting is history: the rioting after the assassination of MLK made predominantly black districts suffer (Figure 1). The establishments that burned down never came back. Those who can leave (which are the relatively wealthy and usually more educated), left. Shops didn’t reopen, meaning jobs also left. The home values also went down.

Figure 1 [1]

Such declines in a district will lead to more poverty, then to more violent crimes that will eventually lead to more violent policing. Excessive rioting hurts the very people the movement is trying to fight for and would put everything back to square one.

Second, any movement relies on the majority of the public opinion being in favor of the cause. If you set a city on fire, people will be too busy putting out the flames to care about what you were fighting for in the first place. Chaos also sells better in the news, so its focus will be overblown. Therefore you must protest peacefully, document it, and blast that everywhere. If the police escalate, don’t bite but keep documenting. Due to documenting, people were able to see the brutality of the police and how they are prone to escalate otherwise peaceful situations. This adds fuel and legitimacy to the protests.

Third, excessive violence from rioting can cause a sense of fear and anarchy to the people. When people are afraid, idealism is thrown away, and restoring order will be prioritized over change. This will be an opportunity for Trump to take notes from 1968 and copy Nixon’s law-and-order platform. That leads us to the next question.

Can Trump copy Nixon?

In the 1960s, America was in the middle of the unpopular and hopeless Vietnam War, wherein Lyndon Johnson succeeded JFK after being assassinated. The protests over the Vietnam War and MLK’s assassination led to chaos that Nixon used as an opportunity to campaign that he can restore order, which worked. Today in 2020, the script is set too perfectly for Trump.

It is also worth noting that due to gerrymandering, Republicans have an advantage in the electoral college, meaning that Trump needs only a bit less than the majority vote to win. [2] This is especially concerning when you consider that Trump’s approval rating is also just slightly less than 50%. [3]

However, this is not a guarantee for Trump’s reelection. If we go back to Nixon’s victory, it was a Republican nominee defeating a Democrat president whose riots were sparked under his leadership. This time, the protests started during Trump. People are not that stupid, and they will recognize when the president is the cause of the trouble. Add the fact that people disapproved of his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. [4] There is still a chance to avoid another Trump term, if only Biden can muster up enough charisma.

Policing in America today

Before delving into what can be done to ameliorate policing in America, let’s establish the current landscape.

One reason why managing the police departments in America is difficult is because, unlike in other wealthy countries, they’re not unified. In America, there’s the federal police, state police, county police, municipal, Puerto Rico, and others. In total, there are 18,000 separate departments, each with their own rules. [5]

That being said, not all police departments are corrupted. There’s one particular department that is doing the right thing (well, okay, not perfect, but better than most) and can be used as an example or model on how to reform America’s police. This is the Camden county police department in New Jersey. I’ll dedicate a whole section on this later.

The lack of gun control in America is well known. Figure 2 shows that America is the most heavily armed rich country in the world. An armed population is an unsafe population that’s more difficult to police. This contributes to the justification that “warrior” style training is necessary for police officers.

Figure 2

The police are doing too much to the extent that people have forgotten what the police are for. People call 911 for things that cops are not equipped to handle but can’t refuse. Here are some examples.

Police are assigned to patrol schools. [6] This should not be the job of the police but of a security agency instead.

Police are dispatched when people call in a person acting erratically due to mental illness. [7] The police are simply not trained to deal with this. This is the job of medical professionals.

Police are dispatched when people call in matters involving drug overdoses. [8] Like the last point, this is a job for the paramedics, not the police.

The key is to remember that the police’s function is (supposedly) to serve and protect civilians using force while respecting their rights. In short, summoning the police anywhere should be the last resort. America seems to be trigger happy with the dispatch button. Clearly, the system is broken: the police are too deadly and has almost no accountability (Figure 3)

Figure 3 (Visualized using R; Pierre Hardy)

Ways to fix America’s police

From my research, I found nine promising solutions to fix and improve America’s police. Let’s start with the most popular one.

Defund the police. As I mentioned, the police are doing too much. However, police unions are biting down and refusing to let go of the budget and responsibility that is too large for them to chew. Defunding is about reallocating the resources to other institutions so that they can take some work away from the police. For example, reallocate some of the funding to dedicated drug or mental illness responders, or to community initiatives.

Bolster police accountability. Prosecutors are supposed to keep the police accountable. However, since prosecutors need convictions to climb the ladder, and the fact that police departments can hinder an investigation, the incentive to uphold justice is low. Read figure 4 for more information.

Figure 4 [11]

Limit union power. Typically, unions are underpowered these days, to the demise of laborers. It’s the opposite for police unions. They’ve been too powerful, too stubborn and too protective of their workers, making police departments more like university fraternities than agencies to serve the people. They defy politicians’ directives to fire violent officers and stop hostile “warrior” style training. They prevent the reform the police need.

Demilitarize the police. The Pentagon has been giving the police some surplus military equipment since the ’40s. [9] This is counter-productive as it fails to reduce crime and only worsens police reputation (Figure 5). The military is meant to win wars by killing their enemies. The police shouldn’t have the same tools used for that objective.

Figure 5 [10]

Fix “Qualified Immunity” loopholes. Qualified Immunity is a law that protects officers from liability for actions they did during their official capacity unless they break a “clearly established” federal law. [12] The “clearly established” loophole has been abused, like a case where cops who stole $225,000 during a search warrant had legal immunity. [13] Read the full story for more details.

Legislate. In this case for politicians, they need to have an honest willingness to do good, since the incentive to legislate about this is tilted. So far, the main antagonists to progress are police unions and prosecutors. Meanwhile, the main benefactors would be the low-income group, which is usually politically disconnected and doesn’t vote. This is where the protests contribute the most: by pushing politicians to act. But how can the government govern a police system as disconnected as America’s? Refer to Obama’s efforts from 2014. [14]

Issue recommendations to police departments on how to modernize their police forces.

Increase funding to Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS). They help shift police tactics away from the “predator-prey” point-of-view of warrior-style training into a more community-oriented one.

Be more active in launching federal investigations on police misconduct. These investigations usually lead to consent decrees between the police departments and the DOJ that’s useful in making departments actually improve their policing.

Implicit bias training. The trouble with an institution that’s so deeply and systematically racist is that cops usually do not regard themselves as racists. They genuinely do not believe that they are. So any effort at pointing out their implicit biases is taken with resistance because they think it’s a reflection of their character. Nonetheless, these kinds of training should be required more and should need re-training.

Data? Being educated in business intelligence, there’s always this faux-truism that data can enhance literally anything. Can it also be in this case? Maybe. There are two main problems on why data is not sure to be effective in this case.

Data gathering through CompStat (the data software that the police use) is unreliable and unequal across different departments. [15]

The main difficulty is that in this particular case, establishing causality is important and difficult. There are correlations everywhere, but we can’t pin the right reasons. Like, if arrests are higher than usual in a particular neighborhood, is the problem that there are too many cops in a certain neighborhood, or is crime naturally higher there? Are minorities arrested more because they do more crimes (which tends to happen if they live in a discriminative society), or it’s because the officers are racist? Or if you go deeper, is it the officers that are biased, or is it the 911 callers that are racists? [16][17]

Camden County Police Department

Camden is widely regarded as the role model for police reform. Frankly, they’re not a flawless department, and copying them entirely doesn’t guarantee the police reforms America needs. But it’s worth noting some of the policies they do that undeniably turned the department around. First, a bit of history. [18][19][20] (The whole section weaves between the 3 sources)

2012. Camden (the city) was a dangerous place, placing 5th high in the country’s murder rate.

2013. The Camden City Police was disbanded and turned into a county police department that rehired most of the laid-off officers due to corruption. Though this time, pay and benefits were lower.

2014. It started on a rough start. During this time, 65 excessive force complaints were filed, and crime rates were still up.

Today. During 2019, the number of excessive force complaints went down to 3, and the murder rate was reduced by two thirds.

With calls to disband the Minneapolis police department growing louder and Camden showing improvement, it’s worth learning from their experience. Here are some changes they did that stood out for me.

Use-of-force policy. Every Camden cop wears a body camera, and each time they use force, the footage is reviewed by four people. Every footage is seen by the watch commander and internal affairs officer, including the policeman who owned the footage and his senior officer. Sitting down and watching events unfold again helps cops change their perspectives and receive feedback from their seniors on how they could’ve handled the situation better.

“Warrior” to “guardian.” When Camden was rebuilt, they shifted their focus to a more community-oriented policing. This shifts how the police see themselves against the citizens. They are not warriors at war with the people they serve, but rather they are the keepers of peace and protector or citizens and their rights. Their job is to build a community that’s safe, not eliminate the rot.

Training. Camden officers are trained and re-trained again every year, in matters of de-escalation and implicit bias training.

I believe these policy changes have profoundly contributed to the turning of Camden’s police force and are worth taking notes from to improve the way you are policed wherever you live.

George Floyd’s life

Before I finish my blog, I wanted to share what I learned about the life of George Floyd. A little obituary, in a way. I wanted to know the man’s life too, and not just his death.

Mr. Floyd was not a perfect man, but he was not a bad man that deserved the disgrace of having his life choked out of him, face on the asphalt with a knee to his neck. Mr. Floyd grew up in Houston, in a less than ideal neighborhood. With his height reaching until six-feet-six, it was natural that he was in the Yates football team (Figure 6) and then the South Florida State’s basketball team (Figure 7). He was also into the music scene, known as Big Floyd (check out his discography at [24]), which backed DJ Screw (Figure 8).

Figure 6 (Second one from the left, upper most)

Figure 7 (leftmost)

Figure 8

As lively as his life was, he wasn’t able to escape his circumstances being on the bad side of town. During his 20s, Mr. Floyd has been arrested multiple times with armed theft and cocaine possession. It wasn’t done out of desire but of need. Struggling for a job and with a menacing figure, he was too easily drawn to it, as in 2007, when he was arrested for breaking and entering a house.

After spending five years in prison, he aimed to be better, and he did. He devoted himself to being a better father, being more active in church, and moved to Minneapolis. Using his height and muscular figure, he worked as a bouncer in a club popular among the Latinos. His reputation as a gentle giant shone here as he was good at de-escalating trouble and greeting regulars with a hug.

The same cannot be said regarding the previous bouncer of the club. He was a white man with jittery eyes and was an off-duty police officer that was quite trigger happy with the pepper spray while on bouncer duty.

Unfortunately, Mr. Floyd was not spared by the COVID-19 and lost his job as a bouncer. On May 25th, he went to a store to buy cigarettes and was told that the $20 bill he used to pay for it was counterfeit. Mr. Floyd refused to return the cigarettes, and the clerk called 911 on him. What happens next is all too known, as videos circulating around of the white man with jittery eyes kneeling on the neck of a man crying for his mama as he was being suffocated. The police officer that worked in the same club as Mr. Floyd was the same man kneeling on his neck while staring directly at the video recording him, without fear in his eyes that he was going to get in trouble for what he was doing.

[21][22][23] (The whole section weaves between the 3 sources)

References

[1] Collins, W. J., & Margo, R. A. (2004). The labor market effects of the 1960s riots (No. w10243). National Bureau of Economic Research.

[2]https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2019/9/17/20868790/republicans-lose-popular-vote-win-electoral-college

[3]https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/trumps-approval-rating-has-dropped-how-much-does-that-matter/

[4]https://www.brookings.edu/blog/fixgov/2020/06/09/presidential-job-approval-trumps-re-election-prospects-look-bleak/

[5]https://www.chathamhouse.org/publications/twt/race-problem-black-and-white

[6]https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2020/06/12/schools-police-george-floyd-protests/

[7]https://www.governing.com/topics/public-justice-safety/gov-mental-health-crisis-training-police.html

[8]https://eu.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/2016/05/01/lawmakers-say-some-police-ill-equipped-overdoses/83789462/

[9]https://www.autoblog.com/2020/06/08/surplus-military-vehicles-weapons-police-departments/?guccounter=1

[10] Mummolo, J. (2018). Militarization fails to enhance police safety or reduce crime but may harm police reputation. Proceedings of the national academy of sciences, 115(37), 9181-9186.

[11] Trivedi, S., & Gonzalez Van Cleve, N. (2020). To Serve and Protect Each Other: How Police-Prosecutor Codependence Enables Police Misconduct.

[12]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qualified_immunity

[13]https://www.forbes.com/sites/nicksibilla/2019/09/17/federal-court-cops-accused-of-stealing-over-225000-have-legal-immunity/

[14]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/President%27s_Task_Force_on_21st_Century_Policing

[15]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CompStat#Critique

[16] Goff, P. A., & Kahn, K. B. (2012). Racial bias in policing: Why we know less than we should. Social Issues and Policy Review, 6, 177–210.

[17]https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2020-06-03/svitlana-flom-amy-cooper-george-floyd-police-racism

[18]https://www.economist.com/united-states/2020/06/04/how-to-fix-american-policing

[19]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camden_County_Police_Department

[20]https://edition.cnn.com/2020/06/09/us/disband-police-camden-new-jersey-trnd/index.html

[21]https://www.economist.com/obituary/2020/06/04/george-floyd-was-killed-on-may-25th

[22]https://www.kwtx.com/content/news/George-Floyds-former-teammate-wants-him-remembered-as-more-than-a-news-story-570889511.html

[23]https://theundefeated.com/features/george-floyd-lasting-impact-as-a-two-sport-athlete-in-houston/

[24]https://www.discogs.com/artist/2002742-Big-Floyd

#America #Police #Current Affairs #current events #blacklivesmatter

0 notes