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parentsnevertoldus · 3 years

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Wasteland, USA

Core vs Periphery

America’s underclass of undocumented workers, Native peoples, and other impoverished peoples function as exploited outsiders contained by what is called “the Core.” The Core relies on functioning advanced technologies, so it designs systems to produce them. Though designed in the Core, these production systems are built in the ‘periphery.’ The periphery is called that because it is considered peripheral – minor, beside the point, irrelevant. This parasitic relationship further impoverishes and under-develops the periphery through coerced participation in the global capitalist economy. In the periphery, slavery is not a deviation from the norm, it is designated and regulated through the demands of the ‘Core.’

During 20th century united states, supervision of the growing Black and brown populations became more difficult as people gained more legal freedoms. Other forms of economic control emerged: bail, fines, and other legal fees became the basis of what is now the Prison-Industrial Complex (PIC). The core-periphery idea illustrates the relationship between low-income areas within the united states & the u.s. PIC, itself: slavery and coerced labor exist as a means of social control. The State itself continues to produce a labor surplus by utilizing underpaid prison labor.

The strength of the core state is dependent upon the weakness of the periphery. So, the u.s. Government wages a War on Drugs and puts hyper-militarized police in Black and brown communities to terrorize and crush all mutual aid efforts for community revitalization. The global Prison-Industrial Complex is supported by the us military. The us polices and punishes Black and brown people across the globe simply because that’s the only way to maintain carceral capitalism (the system that allows such cheap labor)–through maintenance of a Core and a Periphery.

Environmental Racism

The united states was built on policies to manage the location of non-white people. Redlining, which restricted Black access to credit, kept property ownership in white hands and to this day is responsible for much of the racial wealth gap. This practice isn’t historically suspended, though. It is one of the products of the legacy of racialized waste and racist waste distribution practices in the united states. These practices pushed waste and pollution of developing industry into immigrant and Black neighborhoods and communities. These same communities were already considered socially “dirty” in contrast to “pure whiteness.”

In the united states, proximity to ‘trash’ (objects and people) has had a historically negative correlation with proximity to whiteness– the embodiment of social and economic success. The us waste-management system is inseparable from the prison system: incarcerated labor is legalized racial slavery, and waste facility placement is determined according to neighborhood racial and class makeup. White supremacy is enacted in part by regulatory non-compliance on the part of large-scale polluting enterprises–prisons, oil and gas industries, the united states military– who systematically choose to disregard laws in place as protections of human health and the environment.

“[Prisons] function like a small city packed into one building” [1]. Like any monstrously-large, unsustainable city in the United States, prisons import goods using fossil fuels and export waste and slave labor. In the US, many prisons produce waste and pollution far beyond local and federal limits. Prisons are overcrowded hotbeds of easily transmittable diseases— they create health hazards for the inmates, staff, local wildlife and nearby communities. In 2006, the Associated Press reported that Alabama correctional facilities were dumping human waste, toxic chemicals, and other raw sewage into state waterways at twice the legal limit.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-07-30/how-mass-incarceration-takes-a-toll-on-the-environment-nearby-communities-and-prisoners)

Toxic Waste

Prisons across the country are built close to toxic incinerators or on top of toxic landfills. They are built upon corporate lies, promising economic prosperity and jobs to the nearby community. However, those benefits rarely come to fruition. At least in rural Californian towns, researcher Ruth Wilson Gilmore found that an average of less than a fifth of prison jobs actually go to current residents [1]. These communities, burdened by poverty, unemployment, and a lack of political power may choose to accept hazardous facilities—but only because they absolutely have to. Exploited people are expected to not fight back against the concentration of military power in the hands of their oppressors and commitment to the cause. White americans are taught that their well-being is wrapped up in the maintenance of military and cultural dominance. That is, the expansion of prisons and further separation from their own waste.

http://www.prisonpolicy.org/scans/building.html#_edn11

Somebody Else's Problem

Since 2018, the year China stopped accepting the world’s recycled waste, local governments have been under fire for using prison labor to cut costs and corners in local recycling programs and other public services [1]. Before 2018, it was completely legal for corporations— including private prisons— to export waste to the Global South for much cheaper than disposing of it properly in the US. US companies once mixed one thousand tons of hazardous waste into a shipment of fertilizer sold to Bangladesh [2]. In another example, US companies attempted to convince the Marshall Islands that imported wastes “could be used to build up landmass” and ensure that islands wouldn’t be vulnerable to increases in sea level expedited by global warming (of which the US is heavily responsible).

As for “recycling,” international trade deregulation policies still allow for the shipping of post- consumer products like batteries, cell phones, heavy metals, e-wastes, and lead to be shipped to southeast Asia for disposal.

https://e360.yale.edu/features/piling-up-how-chinas-ban-on-importing-waste-has-stalled-global-recycling

Faber, Daniel. 2008. Capitalizing on Environmental Injustice: The Polluter-Industrial Complex in the Age of Globalization. Lanham, MA: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.

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chidsantos · 4 years

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Globalization: A Necessity with Consequences | My Own Idea and Perceptions on Globalization

Journal Entry No. 1

July 12, 2020

Introduction

Globalization is deemed inevitable and necessary for a forward and progressive world. It furthers the economic, political, and cultural development of countries by making goods and services globally accessible. Moreover, it recognizes that global crisis demands for a unified solution and cooperative call to action. For instance, the global crisis climate change can only be solved if countries work interdependently. Aside from this, everything nowadays is set at a global standard. Without globalization, countries would not be able to keep up with such standard, more or less develop and progress. However, despite the need for globalization, its underlying moral and ethical consequences must also be considered. An example of this is how globalization brings poverty and exploitation to countries with low wage and soft labor practices in exchange for high profitability. This being said, globalization is a necessity that bears both positive and negative consequences. It brings forth the challenge of keeping a just and humane world in spite of continuous global development.

Observation

In terms of economy, I can observe that globalization makes rich and developed countries even richer. Usually, this happens because they take advantage of backward or less developed countries. It expands and promotes capitalism by maximizing profit from countries with low wages and soft labor practices. For instance, when buying clothes in H&M, I notice how clothes have “Made in China” or “Made in Vietnam” tags. H&M, among other fast fashion brands, offers apparel that is cheap relative to luxury brands. Their products are affordable because countries like China and Vietnam, who are major production areas for fast fashion companies, have low wages and less strict environmental and labor practices. As a result, rich countries that distribute H&M products earn high profit compared to production countries like China and Vietnam. Despite its positive influence on economic development, it can also be observed how it negatively influences ethical and legal practices by promoting exploitation and slavery in exchange for goods. Aside from economy, I can also observe how globalization affects culture. Western countries have increased their influence by producing goods or products at a wider scale. Because of this, western culture influences and dominates the culture of different countries around the globe. In the long run, this may result in culture erasure and lack of diversity. Despite this, positive responses can be seen in how countries uphold and preserve their respective local and regional cultures. Globalization can also be observed in the political aspect. For instance, the United Nations recognizes human rights all across countries, even in the Philippines. The UN recently denounced the Philippine Drug War, deeming it unjust and inhumane. Although the UN is not state-owned, globalization enables it to recognize the hostilities of Duterte’s drug war. By doing so, they give Duterte the chance to face international prosecution for this inhumane drug campaign.

Insights

Globalization touches a lot of aspects of life. I find it difficult to achieve a complete grasp of globalization without missing a few factors. I find this fact unsettling because there are a lot of things I do not yet know about the topic. It makes me ponder how globalization affects my life without me knowing it. What if globalization negatively affects my life and I am not aware of it? Do its positive contributions justify its negative consequences? My mind is baffled just thinking about the topic of globalization since it is such a broad and complex topic. I have a lot of questions about globalization and I admit that I have so much to learn. At the moment, I recognize the fact that globalization is inevitable and necessary for a forward and progressive world. It furthers the economic, political, and cultural development of countries by making goods and services globally accessible. However, it makes me feel uneasy that, again, I do not know the full extent of globalization. I also am not yet fully aware of the effects it brings to my life as a citizen living in the Philippines. The Philippines, as a microcosm of globalization, is affected and affects the world today. For instance, the issue with the West Philippine Sea is a product of globalization since it contains natural resources which is in the interest of both the Philippines and China. It impacts and touches a lot of aspects of life such as environment, economics, and politics. This may seem like an issue between China and the Philippines alone but it actually contributes to a much bigger problem between Chinese and their superiority over other countries. This microcosmic issue has such a big impact on the world we live in today. This is just one of the examples I can think of and I believe that I still have so much to learn about the world we live in today. With this, I highly look forward to completing the course CONWORL because I believe that finishing this course would contribute to my insights and deepen my understanding of the topic.

Learnings

The lecture and the supplementary material provided helped me in getting a better grasp of what globalization is. From what I’ve learned, globalization is an inevitable phenomenon that deals with economy, politics, society, culture, and environment. It enables a more united world since everything is interconnected and interdependent. Contrary to popular belief and what I used to believe in, globalization is not a new phenomena and its oldest form is environmental (i.e. climate change). The development of globalization is also not linear. It progresses in the form of clumps also known as Waves of Globalization. The first wave occurred before World War I. During this time, movement of labor was free because passports and visas were not required unlike today. Being an OFW, for instance, requires so much documents and papers. There was total free flow or no restrictment of both capital and people. After this, during the time of World War I and II, people became more suspicious of foreigners. This constitutes the dark age of globalization since people did not feel safe making investments in foreign countries. This caused other countries to retaliate with higher tariffs which in turn brought a sharp decrease in international trade. The second wave introduced much trade between rich countries. The third wave, on the contrary, increased the participation of developing countries such as China and India. They began opening their countries to world trade. This paved the way for China to be the number one producer of goods in the world today. Aside from this, I learned that there are anti-globalization groups. I find this quite ironic because it is nearly impossible to escape globalization and its effects. Such groups use globalizing technologies and ideologies to fight globalization. However, I recognize the point made by anti-globalization groups such as their argument that those who are deprived of resources are not capable of functioning with an increase of competitive pressure. For instance, globalization increases the profits of investors at the expense of laborers or workers. In the long run, I feel that globalization will take its toll on the overall well-being of the world may it be in politics, culture, economics, and the environment. Since everything is interconnected, everything is affected by globalization. Everything done at a micro level evolves to a macro level and affects the state of countries respectively.

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picture-game · 2 years

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Essay on Freedom

4. "..a certain freedom..."

Write a personal essay about your understanding of freedom and why you think it is important.

Freedom,by definition, is "the power or right to act, speak, or think as one wants."

"the state of not being imprisoned or enslaved. ".

Both are equally important and both have historical ties.

The freedom to speak as one thinks is a crucial freedom we must have.With this freedom,we can criticize the government and other global leaders without having to look behind our backs every second.Our words have the power to influence important political matters,our words have the power to cause wars and create peace.Like the saying goes,"the pen is mightier than the sword."

"The pen is mightier than the sword" is a saying I highly agree with.While the sword is able to cause wars,the pen is able to cause both wars and peace.The pen is involved in everyday conversation and is used for literature,artwork and more!Without the pen,we would never have been able to reach the level of global communication the world is at now.Of course,in a more analytical scene,the phrase is using the word "pen "is being used to represent "words" and "sword" is being used to represent "violence",hence saying,"words are better than violence."The phrase can be used to talk about freedom.

But what happens if you loose your freedom to speak your own thoughts?If it is an individual,then it can lead to emotional manipulation,etc.If the leader of a country has made the people loose their right,then the leader may respond with murder,torture,or something worse.People would die because of it and it would be a personal hell to live in.Society would fail and every word would be constructed,analysed and broken down;it would be a two-faced mask society.It would probably lead to a revolution,or something similar,but the mental toll of living in a society like that would be too much.

It is an individuals human right to be free of both metaphorical and physical chains.Slavery was a huge problem back in the day and people are still treated like slaves.Personally,if I could erase the idea of slavery then I would.A person being "sold" is something unforgivable.People are not made to be sold.

A country being controlled by another country has been around for centuries and the people often respond by revolutions in acts to be free.Some examples would be the 1916 Easter Rising,the French Revolution and the American Revolution.Historically,people in one country don't like to be controlled by other countries that are often oceans away and are not fully aware of the social,political,economical and environmental issues of the countries that they control.

America has claimed to be "The Land of the Free" for centuries,however this is hypocritical.Segregation of colour was a big issue in America for centuries,including the poor treatment of minorities in general.Socially,it is hypocritical and it is hypocritical politically too.

After World War 2,America was focused on its foreign policy.During this time,their actions were dictated by the policy of containment;a policy where America strived to keep communism from attacking other countries and if communism was starting to grow in one country,then America would see this as an attack on themselves and try to keep communism out.

This,of course,created the embarrassing mess of the Vietnam War.America fought for a country-Vietnam-that whose citizens didn't even want fighting for them and even embraced and helped the Vietcong,the army that was going against America!America committed many atrocities there,like the destruction of villages,simply because they didn't know who the enemy was!Personally,I was distraught and even got a small case of second hand embarrassment when reading about this pointless war!Had America stayed out and stopped interfering in other countries' freedoms to choose their government and fight for themselves,there wouldn't have been such a huge toll,on both sides.

In conclusion,the importance of freedom is so that it is considered a human right.We are all created equal and we deserve to treat each other with respect and dignity.I personally believe that a country should be allowed the freedom to govern themselves,with no outside interference.

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fugandhi · 4 years

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Words of a King

“...I still believe that freedom is the bonus you receive for telling the truth. Ye shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free. And I do not see how we will ever solve the turbulent problem of race confronting our nation until there is an honest confrontation with it and a willing search for the truth and a willingness to admit the truth when we discover it. And so, I want to use a title for my lecture tonight, ‘The Other America.’ And I use this title because there are literally two Americas. Every city in our country has this kind of dualism, this schizophrenia - split at so many points and so every city ends up being two cities rather than one - there are two Americas.

One America is beautiful situations. In this America, millions of people have the milk of prosperity and the honey of equality flowing before them. This America is the habitat of millions of people who have food & material necessities for their bodies, culture & education for their minds, freedom & human dignity for their spirits. In this America, children grow up in the sunlight of opportunity... But there is another America. And this other America has a daily ugliness about it that transforms ebulliency of hope into the fatigue of despair.

In this other America, thousands and thousands of people - men in particular - walk the streets and search for jobs that do not exist. In this other America, millions of people are forced to live in vermin-filled, depressing housing conditions where they do not have the privilege of having wall-to-wall carpet, but all too often they end up with wall-to-wall rats and roaches..

..In this other America, thousands of young people are deprived of an opportunity to get an adequate education. Every year, thousands finish high school reading at a seventh, eighth, and sometimes ninth grade level - Not because they are dumb, not because they don’t have the native intelligence, but because the schools are so inadequate, so overcrowded, so devoid of equality, so segregated (if you will) that the best in these minds can never come out.

The first thing I’d like to mention is that there must be a recognition on the part of everybody in this nation that America is still a racist country. Now, however unpleasant that sounds, it is the truth and we will never solve the problem of racism until there is a recognition of the fact that racism still stands at the center of so much of our nation and we must see racism for what it is. It is a myth of an inferior people. It is the notion that one group has all of the knowledge, all of the insights, all of the purity, all of the worth, all of the dignity - and another group is worthless, on a lower level of humanity; inferior.

To put it in philosophical language - racism is not based on some empirical generalization, which, after some studies would come to the conclusion that these people are behind because of environmental conditions. Racism is based on an ontological affirmation. It is a notice - the notion that the very being of a people is inferior - and the ultimate logic of racism is genocide.

..We’ve gotta get rid of two or three myths that still pervade our nation. One is the myth of Time. I’m sure you’ve heard this notion. It is the notion that only time can solve the problem of racial injustice. And I’ve heard it from many sincere people, they said to the African-American and to his allies in the white community, ‘You should slow up, you’re pushing things too fast. Only time can solve the problem and if you’ll just be nice and patient and continue to pray - in a hundred or two hundred years the problem will work itself out.’ There is an answer to that myth: it is that time is neutral. It can be used either constructively or destructively.

I’m sad to say to you tonight that I’m absolutely convinced that the forces of ill will in our nation, the forces of the wrong side in our nation, the extreme righteous of our nation, have often used time much more effectively than the forces of good will. And it may well be that we will have to repent in this generation - not merely for the vitriolic words of the bad people who will say bad things in a meeting like this, or who will bomb a church in Birmingham, Alabama - but for the appalling silence and indifference of the good people who sit around and say ‘Wait on time’...

Somewhere, we must come to see that human progress never rolls in on the wheels of inevitability. It comes through the tireless efforts and the persistent work of dedicated individuals who are willing to be coworkers with God, and without this hard work, time itself becomes a primitive ally of social stagnation. And so, we must always help time and realize that the time is always right to do right...

...In the midst of the hollering and in the midst of the discourtesy tonight, we’ve gotta come to see that however much we dislike it: the destinies of White & Black America are tied together. Now, the racists don’t understand this apparently, but our destinies are tied together. And, somehow, we must all learn to live together - together as brothers in this country or we’re gonna all perish as fools.

Our destinies are tied together. Culturally and otherwise, every white person is a little bit black and every black person is a little bit white... Our language, our music, our material prosperity, and even our food are an amalgam of black & white. And so, there can be no separate black path for power and fulfillment that does not intersect white roots. And there can ultimately be no separate white path for power and fulfillment short of social disaster, without recognizing the necessity of sharing that power with black aspirations for freedom & human dignity - we must come to see.

Yes, we do need each other. The black man needs the white man to save him from his fear, and the white man needs the black man to free him from his guilt. John Donne was right; ‘No man is an island entire of itself, every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main.’ And he goes on toward the end to say, ‘Any man’s death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind. Therefore send not to know for whom the bell tolls, it tolls for thee.’ And, somehow, we must come to see that in this pluralistic, interrelated society - we are all tied together in a single garment of destiny - caught in an inescapable network of mutuality.

And by working with determination, by realizing that power must be shared - I think we can solve this problem. And may I say, in conclusion, that our goal is Freedom. I believe we’re gonna get there. It’s gonna be more difficult from here on in, but I believe we’re gonna get there - because however much she strays from it - the goal of America is Freedom. And our destiny is tied up with the destiny of America.

Before the pilgrim fathers landed in Plymouth - we were here. Before Jefferson etched (across the pages of history) the majestic words of the Declaration of Independence - we were here. Before the beautiful words of the Star-Spangled Banner were written - we were here. And for more than two centuries of forbears labored here without wages. They made cotton king. They built the homes of their masters in the midst of the most humiliating & oppressive conditions. And yet, out of a bottomless vitality they continue to grow and develop. And if the inexpressible cruelties of slavery couldn’t stop us, the opposition that we now face (including the white backlash) will surely fail. We are going to win our freedom because both the sacred heritage of our nation and the eternal will of the almighty God are embodied in our echoing demands. And so, however difficult it is during this period; however difficult it is to continue to live with the agony; the continued existence of racism; however difficult it is to live amidst the constant hurt, and the constant insult, and the constant disrespect: I can still say We Shall Overcome.

We shall overcome because the arc of the Moral Universe is long, but it bends towards Justice. We shall overcome because Carlyle is right, ‘No lie can live forever.’ We shall overcome because William Collard Bryant is right, ‘Truth pressed to earth will rise again.’ We shall overcome because James Russell Lowell is right, ‘Truth forever on the scaffold, wrong forever on the throne, yet that scaffold sways the future.’ We shall overcome because The Bible is right, ‘You shall reap what you sow.’

And with this Faith, we will be able to hew out (of the mountain of despair) a stone of hope. With this Faith, we will be able to transform the jangling discourse of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this Faith, we will be able to speed up the day when all of God’s children all over this nation - Black men & White men, Jews & Gentiles, Protestants & Catholics - will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the African-American Spiritual:

‘Free at last, FREE at LAST, THANK GOD ALMIGHTY - WE ARE FREE AT LAST!”

- Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

✝️🌎💗

#RevDrMartinLutherKingJr #DrKing #EQUALITY #UNITY #DIVERSITY #HUMANITY #FREEDOM #LIBERTY #HAPPINESS #SAVETHEHUMANS #GODBLESSTHISWORLDFOREVER #STAYGOOD #AWESOME

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inhumansforever · 7 years

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Inhuman of The Day

February 22nd - Crystal

Crystalia Amaquelin. The daughter of Ambur and Quelin and younger sister to Queen Medusa. Crystalia (or ‘Crystal’ as she is more often called) was exposed to the Terrigen Mists during her late childhood. Terrigenesis had a minimal effect on her physical form and endowed her with vast powers. She gained the ability to exert temporary control of the four base elements of earth, wind, fire, and air. This enabled her to create controlled bursts of flame, powerful gusts of wind, send forward a directed torrent of rock and dirt, and manipulate water into spinning spouts. Although it took Crystal a great deal of training to better master these abilities, hers has proven to be one of the more impressive power-sets among the Inhumans, leading Crystal to become highly respected and popular among her people.

Crystal’s aunt, Azur, married the former queen’s brother, Mander, and this afforded young Crystal placement among the royal precession. In as such she grew up in the opulent setting of the palace and enjoyed great privilege. Her status within the caste system of Old Attilan was further augmented when Terrigenesis endowed her highly impressive powers. And yet, this privilege and good fortune never appeared to go to her head and she remained kind, open and respectful toward others. Crystal was the youngest of the various children growing up in the palace and, being the youngest, Crystal often felt left out of the various games and activities that occupied her older sister and cousins.

Often left on her own, Crystal ended up forming a powerful and lifelong bond with the prince’s watchdog, Lockjaw. Crystal’s early experiences of social solitude may have also contributed to her later life interests for adventure to desire to explore the world outside of the confines of Attilan.

At one point, Crystal’s cousin, Maximus, abducted her and threatened her life as part of a ploy to elicit an angry reaction from his brother, Prince Black Bolt. Due to the potentially disastrous nature of Black Bolt’s powers, he needed to maintain absolute self control and Maximus was trying to break this control by putting young Crystal’s life in jeopardy (in Maximus’ bent thinking he believed that Black Bolt’s loosing control would prove that he was too unstable to rule and thus Maximus would be named the crown prince). Yet Black Bolt was able to maintain his stoic self control and he saved Crystal. Crystal had initially been quite frightened and intimidated by her cousin, Black Bolt. After this encounter, however, Crystal came to feel great devotion, respect and fondness for the prince.

Years later, yet another of Maximus’ sinister schemes resulted in a successful coup were upon Crystal and the other member of the royal family were banished from Attilan. Crystal’s sister had gone missing and, under the influence of amnesia, had fallen in with the human criminal, The Wizard. Aided by the teleportation abilities of Lockjaw, Crystal and the others went in search of Medusa and it was during this time that Crystal first met young Johnny Storm (the Human Torch of The Fantastic Four).

Both attractive teenagers possessing incredible powers, there was an instant connection between Crystal and Johnny. At first, Crystal assumed that Johnny was an Inhuman like herself. When she discovered that he was a human, however, it did not at all diminish her feelings for him. The other Inhumans tended to look at the regular humans as inferior and primitive, but Crystal held no such prejudices. She saw the humans as equals and was fascinated by them… a feeling that quickly blossomed into a long and torrid romance between Crystal and Johnny Storm.

The Fantastic Four ultimately traveled back to Attilan and assisted Black Bolt in regaining the throne from his mad brother. In a desperate act of spite, Maximus activated an impenetrable negative zone force field that shielded off Attilan from the outside world. Crystal was trapped within the city while Johnny and the other members of the Fantastic Four were trapped outside. Heartbroken, Johnny vowed to do whatever it took to be reunited with Crystal.

The negative zone force field was eventually deactivated and Crystal and Johnny were finally reunited. Crystal decided to return with Johnny to the human world and she joined the ranks of the Fantastic Four, taking over for Sue Storm during her maternity leave. Crystal proved to be a valued member of the FF and her quick thinking and elemental powers saved the day on many occasions.

Sadly, Crystal and Johnny’s romance began to dwindle. They grew apart and Crystal eventually left Johnny, returning to Attilan. Some time later, Crystal came across the Mutant and one-time Avenger known as Quicksilver. Quicksilver had been injured in a battle with a sentinel and Crystal brought him back to Attilan to recuperate. During Quicksilver’s convalescence, he and Crystal fell in love with one another. Soon thereafter, Johnny Storm returned to Attilan in hopes of winning Crystal back and was heartbroken and angered to find that Crystal had moved on and was in a new relationship with Quicksilver. The animosity between Johnny and Quicksilver notwithstanding, Johnny was eventually able to work through his hurt feelings and maintain a close friendship with Crystal.

Quicksilver proposed marriage to Crystal and she accepted the proposal. No Inhuman of Attilan had ever wed an outsider and their engagement caused quite a stir among the Inhuman peoples. With her royal bloodline and great powers, The Genetic Council very much wanted to say in whom she would marry… in the hopes the union would produce powerful new Inhumans. Yet King Black Bolt overruled the Council’s objections and gave Crystal and Quicksilver his blessing. The two were wed in a lavish ceremony in which Johnny Storm, The Fantastic Four, and The Avengers attended as guests.

Following their marriage, Crystal and Quicksilver resided in Attilan. At the time, Attilan maintained a cloned slave caste who provided the various manual labor needed to keep the city-state functioning. Crystal’s good nature and her strong sense of justice, coupled with her experience in the world outside of Attilan ultimately led her to realize the great immorality inherent in slavery. She argued for the abolishment of slavery on Attilan; furthermore she was able to ascertain how Maximus had used the collective feelings of guilt and racism the citizens felt toward these cloned slaves as a psychic fuel power his giant android, Omega The Ultimate Alpha. Omega was defeated and Maximus’ plot foiled; and soon thereafter, King Black Bolt issued a decree abolishing slavery on Attilan and freeing the clones.

Some time later, Crystal became pregnant with her and Quicksilver’s child. It was at this time that many of the citizens of Old Attilan had started to grow ill from the heightening levels of pollution in the earth’s atmosphere. Generations of living in isolation had left The Inhumans of Attilan highly susceptible to environmental toxins. Attilan’s location in the remote mountain range of The Himalayas had thus far shielded the Inhumans from these toxins, yet the gradual breakdown of the earth’s ozone layer and mounting levels of environmental pollutants had finally taken its toll on the populace. In the later stages of her pregnancy, Crystal was especially sensitive to this sickness and she fell gravely ill. Quicksilver rushed to elicit the aid of The Fantastic Four. Reed Richards and Black Bolt devised an intrepid plan and all of Attilan was ultimately relocated to the oxygen-rich Blue Area of The Moon. The plan succeeded and Crystal was cured of her ailment. She gave birth to a healthy baby, a daughter she named ‘Luna’ after Attilan’s new home on the moon.

Luna grew up on Attilan and, for the most part enjoyed a very happy childhood. The Inhuman Marilla, who had once acted as Crystal’s governess took on the role of nanny for Luna. Being the daughter of Quicksilver and granddaughter of Magneto, however, would prove to be a matter that would put young Luna’s life in great peril. The evil Mutants, Fabian Cortez and Exodus, former acolytes of Magneto, abducted Luna. At the time, Magneto was presumed dead and Exodus hoped to utilize Luna as a means of consolidating power among Mutant dissidents. Yet, when he obtained Luna, Exodus realized that the toddler did not possess the mutant gene. The fact that the blood relative of Magneto was a non-mutant, a ‘flatscan’ incensed Exodus… he viewed Luna as an abomination and he attempted to kill her. Fortunately, Exodus was defeated by Crystal with the aid of the Avengers and X-Men. Luna was saved.

All of this eventually took a great tole on Crystal and Quicksilver’s relationship. Quicksilver had always been an irascible and poor tempered sort and the alienation he felt as an outsider living on Attilan only acted to further intensify these qualities. Crystal and Quicksilver grew apart; the two eventually separated and were later formally divorced.

During this time, Crystal fell in with The Avengers and served for a short while among Earth’s Mightiest Heroes. As a member of The Avengers, Crystal engaged in a brief affair with her fellow Avenger, Dane Whitman (The Black Knight). Toward the end of Crystal’s tenure with The Avengers, Iron man’s mind was taken over by Kang The Conquerer. This mind-controlled Iron Man killed Luna’s nanny, Marilla. Kang was eventually defeated, but it was the last straw for Crystal and she left The Avengers, returning to Attilan.

Some time later, the events of M-Day resulted in 90 per cent of the Mutant population losing their special mutant abilities. Crystal’s ex-husband, Quicksilver, was among those Mutants who lost his powers. Despondent over the loss of his powers (and feelings partially responsible for the occurrence of M-Day in and of itself), Quicksilver attempted to take his own life, leaping from a building. Crystal discovered what had become of Quicksilver and found him critically injured. She brought him back to Attilan, where the Inhuman healer, Kalikya, was eventually able to successfully treat his grave injuries. Now healed, Quicksilvered petitioned King Black Bolt to allow him to go through Terrigenesis so to possibly reattain his special gifts. The process was too dangerous and unpredictable and Black Bolt refused Quicksilver’s request. Desperate and forlorn, Quicksilver decided to plunder a large cache of the Terrigen Crystals; he absconded from Attilan with these crystals, taking his daughter, Luna, with him. Hidden away, Quicksilver exposed both himself and his daughter to a concentrated form of the Terrigen Mists.

Quicksilver obtained the temporary ability to travel short distances through time; whereas Luna gained the power to read (and, at times, manipulate) the emotions of others. Crystal, Black Bolt, and the others were ultimately able to track Quicksilver down, yet by then the cache of Terrigen Crystals had fallen into the hands of the governmental agency, SHIELD. Crystal was reunited with her daughter and Quicksilver was banished from Attilan forever under the penalty of death.

The Inhumans’ attempts to re-obtain the Terrigen Crystals from the US Government eventually led to the ‘Silent War’ event, culminating in SHIELD director, Maria Hill’s decision to detonate an atomic bomb on the moon that cost countless Inhumans their lives.

In the wake of the Secret Invasion Event, all of Attilan found itself embroiled in the intergalactic war between The Kree and Shi’Ar Empires (the War of Kings/Realm of Kings Event(s)). The Shi’Ar were ultimately defeated and The Inhumans became the rulers of the victorious Kree Empire. Black Bolt apparently perished in the act of defeating The Shi’Ar and Crystal’s sister, Medusa, was named the new Queen of The Inhumans as well as ruler of The Kree. As part of an effort to maintain peace within The Kree Empire, Medusa gave Crystal’s hand in marriage to the former Kree leader, Ronan The Accuser. Crystal was all but inconsonant. She respected Ronan as a warrior, but felt no fondness for him; and she was irate that her own sister would use her as a bargaining chip to consolidate power over the Kree. In the end, Crystal conceded to do what was in the best interests of her people and she agreed to marry Ronan.

What began as a ceremonial and strictly political union between Crystal and Ronan slowly blossomed into a true romance. Ronan was dedicated to his bride and Crystal’s feelings toward him mellowed, ultimately turning to love. Sadly, their marriage did not last long. Black Bolt returned and retook the throne. As a means of separating the Inhumans from The Kree and relinquishing sovereignty over the empire, Black Bolt had Crystal marriage to Ronan annulled. Both were heartbroken, but Crystal once again bowed to what was determined to be in the best interests of her fellow Inhumans.

Crystal returned to earth with the rest of Attilan and enjoyed a short respite with peace. She enrolled her daughter, Luna, into school at the Future Foundation. Later, at the behest of her daughter, Crystal made amends with her estranged ex-husband, Quicksilver.

Following The Secret Wars Event, Crystal was assigned by her sister to command the Royal Inhuman Vessel (or RIV), a large, mobil fortress meant to attend to Inhuman issues all over the globe. Initially, Crystal used the RIV to assist Nur in the locating of many of the children of Attilan who had gone missing during the Infinity Event and the evacuation of old Attilan. Following this, Crystal led the RIV on a global ambassadorial mission to offer aid to the various new Inhumans created by the Terrigen Cloud.

When it was later discovered that The Terrigen Cloud was deadly poisonous to Mutants, Crystal spearheaded an effort to utilize the RIV to stay ahead of the cloud and evacuate Mutants that were in its path. More recently, The X-Men discovered that the Terrigen Cloud was dissipating and would render the earth uninhabitable to Mutant life. This led them to break their peace with The Inhumans of New Attilan and engage in a preemptive strike to neutralize the more powerful Inhumans and ensure that they not interfere with The X-Men’s efforts to eradicate The Terrigen Cloud. A part of this preemptive strike was a sneak attack by Magneto that destroyed the RIV; Crystal and her team were all captured and imprisoned in the other-dimensional realm of Limbo. How all of this will ultimately resolve is a tale still being told in the pages of Inhumans versus X-Men.

This upcoming Spring, Crystal is set to star in the new Inhumans title, The Royals, by Al Ewing and Jonboy Meyers. Crystal first appeared in Fantastic Four Vol. 1 # 45.

#Inhumans #Inhuman of The Day #Crystal

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twinflameshardcore · 7 years

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Not feeling the twin? Here’s why.

Since the beginning of 2017 it feels like the speed of life was halted. It pretty much reminds me of driving a car and slowing down before taking a turn, since the car didn’t stop completely. There are many planets which are turning direct from a retrograde move, to start with Mercury today, January 8th. This may also influence the way how we feel.

Furthermore, some of us have done our purging related to love, emotional dependency, and control/ego issues so we do not resonate with negative energies anymore. It may be a reason for why some of us feel totally behind the fence, detached, a bit numbed, not worried about or reactive to painful events happening around the world, as if living on a cloud, not in touch with the rest of the population. We may feel like we’re finally for ourselves, not for others, that we don’t serve anymore yet we don’t feel guilty about it. We enjoy our state of being much more than doing anything at the time. We may feel peaceful, satisfied with ourselves, spiritually fulfilled, mentally resting. The entire ‘research’ is ending for those spiritually upgraded because we’ve discovered and then detached from our past. We are no more bothered by some old gods, religions, laws, rules, people, places, conspiracy theories, threats, galactic races etc. whether from this lifetime or others, before Earth. We have trusted our hearts, to feel how they resonate with things around, then we know what feels fishy, and we detach from it immidiately :)

This mental purity may also result in not feeling the twin’s presence in our thoughts and minds unlike previously. If our TFs still prefer to live in the negative 3D energy while we’d ‘leveled up’ and waiting for them on the New Earth, in 5D dimension (which is of course still here but in a different, nicer energy grid) then twins might have been ‘removed’ from heads so they wouldn’t drag us down into the 3D distortions. Instead we could balance that negativity by feeling healed thus positive on our own to pull them up to where we are now, in a better place. It’s always about managing the right balance between TFs therefore, don’t feel guilty if they’re suffering while you’re feeling good, or vice versa. You’re helping them leave a negative vibration by being authentically positive, or at least neutral. There’s no need to worry about this ‘twin’s absence’ in the head because we already have them inside our bodies. We’re merging, uniting, and so the wall between/separation is being removed. Initially, when we mutually recognize our twins, the connection of the two makes a buzz in heads. Two streams of thoughts are running instead of one, and even though you can only read yours, you know there’s the other one stealing your focus. This interference can be max distracting. I was living in such a state of mind for 3 years and only lately, in December 2016 and now I literately haven’t sensed the twin in my head. I literately retrieved my head for myself again ;) I think that once the emotional body is purged, our twins’ emotions don’t interact with ours and so we’re not triggered by their behaviors anymore, especially when we finally believe that they love us, belong to us and we’re only waiting for the next to develop in its own timing.

Emotional dependencies were also purged for many of us who feared of losing the twin. This was related to not enough of self-love and being rejected by our ex-partners in the past, which emotions collected deep in the emotional body. Once we felt more independent, a pleasant space had appeared between us which I think is the space for the 3rd energy, the one we’re generating, to let it reside there.

Staying in 5D energy means also clearing addictions, anything ‘too much/too often’ such as smoking cigarettes, drinking alcohol, playing video games, spending too much money, spending too much time on social networks etc. - basically doing things which take you away from yourself. The Universe desires us to be in touch with ourselves so that not only can we align/unite with our Higher Selves and TFs, but also discover what we came here (on the Earth) for, that individual purpose. I’m not really buying that spiritual talk that we are here to be ‘of service’ to others because it feels like one more slavery issue, inspired by religion. As if we had to feel guilty (again!) if we don’t serve. We are here to be and enjoy ourselves, finally, first and foremost. To feel we are: authentic, natural, complete, liberated. No more role playing and negative ego. It’s like if they asked you: ‘So who would you like to be in the future? A soldier, an engineer, musician, gangster?’ Your answer: ‘None of these. I want to be myself (or my-Self)’ :) You may already find all these addictions of your old-self non-attractive, boring so much that they are easy to be ditched. A bigger picture will be revealed along the way, though I believe, most of us have already tapped into this ‘purpose’ when we were children. It was coming back to us from time to time but we were rejecting such ‘ideas’ because we thought (brain’s limiting beliefs) they were silly, unworthy, waste of time, not paid enough etc. We were simply preventing ourselves from fulfilling our purpose, discouraged by many people, events, experiences etc.

Now, if you’re trying to mentally scan/search for your TF out there, in their apartment, country etc, and can’t find them unlike usually, do something else instead. Feel & think that you’re united, that you are One in a body (from your perspective it’ll be you two in your body), like two souls, spirits glued together, wanting to be One, with no resistance but a pure surrender. Then warm up your heart with a favorite personal visualization, open it like a flower, and hug your twin inside of you, call his/her name in spirit, say ‘I love you’, kiss. Wait a moment to experience if you could feel your twin in response (spiritually) and if you do, your lips will automatically smile, your heart’s chakra vibration will rise higher, and your body will relax through taking a deep breath. Personally, I find it the easiest to do just after waking up when I’m still hugging a pillow and feeling relaxed or when I wake up at night, usually between 3-4 am. These re-connections are difficult to do when you’re active during the day due to many environmental interferences, including a wifi, routers, computers, mobile tower stations, people talking, TV, street noise etc etc.

Finally I’ve made a discovery, or assumption about the recent ‘flu’ outbreak in Europe. Most of Europeans are dealing with a strange ‘sickness’ which results in heavy, fat cough but no fever or other flu symptoms are experienced. Doctors have no cure, antibiotics don’t help, the body’s self-healing lasts up to 3-4 weeks. From a personal experience I can only compare it to a major Ascension symptom - the throat chakra’s clean-up, preparing people for the greater Awakening, followed by the heart’s purge next. For most of people, the throat chakra has been ‘infected’ with negative energy created by speaking nasty things about others, gossiping, making unfair judgment, or judgment at all, arguing, swearing etc. Once we’re affected by 5D energy, this old negative energy is forced to go. I used to be a very judgmental person (a perfectionist) and I had such a mysterious lung sickness in 2014, when I was coughing day and night with no other symptoms. I felt as if I was to spit my lungs out. It was a year after I met my twin, and 2 years after we came across each other online. Then when this undiagnosed sickness passed, my higher heart chakra began receiving those heavy beams of energy from outside, felt like a pressure, followed by episodes of crying whether from strange sadness or excitement. I also felt bliss and amazing closeness with the twin, in spirit (we were ‘separated’ then). I’ve 3 family members in the same house suffering from such a cough now, but I’m not infected, though I obviously took logical precautions to avoid being infected (covering my nose, not touching the face, washing hands very often, isolating in my room). My family was always verbally toxic, always focused on others, calling others (like baseball players on the TV) nasty names, always ready to judge other people’s lives rather than taking a good look at themselves. Most of the people (not Starseeds, we’ve done the healing) are being awakened now, so thus my guess is that because the Light & Love have been pouring onto the Earth strongly since 11/11/2016, it might have forced human chakras to release that bad load of energy in a form of a heavy cough. When throat chakras are cleaned, people will start talking truth from their hearts, not minds unlike before. This is a very good thing because human minds/brains are strongly infected by ‘etheric implants’, toxic whispers etc. People either lie, make unfair assumptions, or withhold the truth thus, they create misconceptions, misunderstandings or, fake news trending lately ;). This is one of attributes of the Game of Duality, to have 2 opponents so the separation, polarization and battle could continue. Therefore, if you feel like you’ve been judgmental (towards others and/or self), monitor your thoughts, and remind yourself to stop judging right away.

Pay attention to January 11th (and November 1st) as these dates sum up to 11/11 (2017=1). When I read all sorts of articles lately, it seems that nobody really knows what's coming. Some bloggers keep repeating the same channelings about incoming and active waves of energy, others are focused on an alien disclosure, but overall, there’s a general feel of waiting for a bell to toll, especially amongst those of us who sacrificed ourselves, dedicated to a cause, did their healing job and been waiting for a ‘pay day’ ;)

Have a good week everybody!

This post is copyrighted by the author of this blog who prefers to remain anonymous. My posts must not be used for commercial purposes of any kind. Respect my work - ask first before you copy, always include a link back to my site when you quote a part of my writing!

#twin flames 11:11 #January 11 2017 #11:11 #flu europe #chakras #throat chakra #Negative Energy #Judgement #self-judgment #detachment #5d earth #new earth #november 1 2017

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cleverwordsandotherstuffilike · 5 years

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MacArthur 'Genius' Grant Winners

$625,000 prize (each) - no strings attached prize, recognizing artists, scholars, musicians, writers, and scientists, for the creativity and potential.

Elizabeth Anderson, 59, philosopher

"Employing pragmatist methods to examine the ways that various institutions, policies, and social practices serve to promote or hinder conditions of democratic equality."

Sujatha Baliga, 48, attorney and restorative justice practitioner

"Expanding access to survivor-centered restorative justice strategies that interrupt the criminalization of people of color and break cycles of recidivism and violence."

Lynda Barry, 63, graphic novelist, cartoonist and educator

"Inspiring creative engagement through original graphic works and a teaching practice centered on the role of image making in communication."

Mel Chin, 67, artist

"Harnessing the power of art to raise awareness of social concerns through a practice that defies categorization."

Danielle Citron, 50, legal scholar

"Addressing the scourge of cyber harassment by raising awareness of the toll it takes on victims and proposing reforms to combat the most extreme forms of online abuse."

Lisa Daugaard, 53, criminal justice reformer

"Developing alternative approaches to policing and law enforcement practices to improve outcomes for those struggling with substance use disorder and mental illness."

Annie Dorsen, 45, theater artist

"Pioneering a new genre of theater that dramatizes the ways in which nonhuman intelligence is profoundly changing the nature of work, culture, and social relationships."

Andrea Dutton, 46, geochemist and paleoclimatologist

"Furthering current understanding of sea level dynamics by reconstructing the extent and rate of sea level rise in the ancient past."

Jeffrey Gibson, 47, visual artist

"Melding indigenous North American materials and forms with those of Western contemporary art to create a new hybrid visual vocabulary and prompting a shift in how Native American art is perceived and historicized."

Mary Halvorson, 38, guitarist and composer

"Experimenting at the intersection of jazz and rock with a signature sound on her instrument and an aesthetic that evolves and surprises with each new album and configuration of bandmates."

Saidiya Hartman, 58, literary scholar and cultural historian

"Tracing the afterlife of slavery in modern American life and rescuing from oblivion stories of sparsely documented lives that have been systematically excluded from historical archives."

Walter Hood, 61, landscape and public artist

"Creating ecologically sustainable urban spaces that resonate with and enrich the lives of current residents while also honoring communal histories."

Stacy Jupiter, 43, marine scientist

"Integrating local cultural practices with field research to design conservation strategies that protect ecosystem biodiversity and the well-being of coastal communities."

Zachary Lippman, 41, plant biologist

"Investigating the genetic mechanisms determining flowering and flower production and developing tools for breeding hardier, higher-yielding crops."

Valeria Luiselli, 36, writer

"Challenging conventional notions of authorship in fiction, essays, and inventive hybrids of the two that pose profound questions about the various ways we piece together stories and document the lives of others."

Kelly Lytle Hernández, 45, historian

"Challenging long-held beliefs about the origins, ideology, and evolution of incarceration and immigrant detention practices in the United States."

Sarah Michelson, 55, choreographer

"Expanding the scope of contemporary dance in works that extend and subvert classical, modern, and postmodern traditions and make evident the physical realities of dancers' performance."

Jeffrey Alan Miller, 35, literary scholar

"Shedding light on how the writing practices of Renaissance scholars shaped foundational texts of modern Christianity, philosophy, and literature."

Jerry X. Mitrovica, 58, theoretical geophysicist

"Revising our understanding of the dynamics and structure of Earth's interior and developing models to better predict the geometry and sources of sea level change in the modern world and the geological past."

Emmanuel Pratt, 42, urban designer

"Integrating agriculture, education, and design in a resident-driven approach to community development and turning neglected urban neighborhoods into places of growth and vitality."

Cameron Rowland, 30, artist

"Using physical objects and contractual relations—such as items seized in civil forfeiture or furniture made by prison labor—to make visible the mechanisms through which systemic racism is perpetuated."

Vanessa Ruta, 45, neuroscientist

"Investigating how stimuli in the physical world shape the function of neural circuits and are translated into innate and learned behaviors."

Joshua Tenenbaum, 47, cognitive scientist

"Combining computational models with behavioral experiments to shed light on human learning, reasoning, and perception, and exploring how to bring artificial intelligence closer to the capabilities of human thinking."

Jenny Tung, 37, evolutionary anthropologist and geneticist

"Revealing links between social environmental factors—such as social status and social integration—and genomic variation and how these connections impact health, well-being, and longevity."

Ocean Vuong, 30, poet and fiction writer

"Marrying folkloric traditions with linguistic experimentation in works that explore the effects of intergenerational trauma, the refugee experience, and the complexities of identity and desire with eloquence and clarity."

Emily Wilson, 47, classicist and translator

"Bringing classical literature to new audiences in works that convey ancient texts' relevance to our time and highlight the assumptions about social relations that underlie translation decisions."

https://www.npr.org/2019/09/25/763748204/macarthur-genius-grant-winners-attest-to-power-of-individual-creativity

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marcjampole · 5 years

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In defiance of Nov’s blue wave & will of the people, NRA pursues challenging NYC’s strict gun law & Trump acts to make it easier to sell AK-15’s abroad

The blue wave that swept Democrats into office on the local, state and federal levels has given progressives and centrists hope that legislatures will soon start passing tougher gun control laws.

Meanwhile back at the ranch—or in Trump’s case, the garish, overpriced resort—those who want to expand the sale of guns and the rights of gun owners to create unsafe environments for everyone else are winning two major victories, both of which will lead to an increase in gun-related crimes, deaths and acts of terrorism in the United States and around the world.

When I write “in the United States,” I specifically mean my home town of New York City. As Amy Davidson Sorkin describes so well in her “Talk of the Town” article in the February 4 New Yorker, the New York state affiliate of the National Rifle Association and two Bronx gun owners are trying to get the Big Apple’s gun law declared unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court. The law is so tough that gun owners can take their guns out of their home only if they are unloaded and in a locked case. It will be the first time the Court will be considering gun rights since its awful 5-4 decision in D.C. v. Heller that proposed that the Second Amendment gave people an absolute right to bear arms that had nothing to do with serving in a government militia. With Brett Kavanaugh on the court, it’s likely that the New York City gun law will be overturned.

I take this lawsuit personally. In fact, it pisses me off bigly. One of the reasons I moved back to New York seven years ago after being gone for decades was because of the extremely tough gun control laws. It’s a no-brainer to figure out why New York has among the very lowest rates of crime, violent crime and murders anywhere in the United States. It is effectively illegal to carry a gun in the street and there is a relatively low level of gun ownership. Every legitimate study on the issue shows that the lower the number of guns in a locality, region or country, the fewer deaths and injuries from guns; the higher the number of guns, the higher the deaths and injuries from guns. No wonder New York is so safe. I can’t be the only New Yorker offended to the quick that these Bronx bozos and the NRA want to force their minority views on the overwhelming number of New Yorkers who like to be able to walk the streets and ride the subway safely. Keep in mind that large majorities of Americans, including gun owners, want stronger gun control laws, including the banning of assault weapons like AK-15’s and wait periods for all gun purchases.

Gun sales are down in the United States, primarily because gun owners loaded up on weapons during the Obama years, when they feared administrative action to regulate firearms ownership. But while enjoying success in corrupting and intimidating legislators on all levels of government, the NRA has not been able to grow its market, as the number of gun owners has declined steadily over the past 50 years. Of course, each of these gun owners own more guns than they used to. There are, however, still only so many guns the shrinking number of gun owners can afford to buy.

Luckily for U.S. firearms manufacturers and unfortunately for everyone else, the Trump administration intends to rescue them from a shrinking market by making it easier to sell AR-15s and other weapons to individuals in other countries by loosening export regulations and oversight. Many American gun and ammunition manufacturers that sell primarily to consumers will no longer have to register with the State Department, which currently licenses international arms sales, or to pay the department an annual fee. Instead, those sales would be licensed by the Commerce Department, which has a simpler process and does not charge a fee. According to the New York Times, the State and Commerce Departments privately told Congress that they intend to finalize the new rule soon. Once the administration gives Congress formal notice of the rule change, lawmakers will have 30 days to decide whether to intervene. It’s unlikely that Congress could permanently prevent the rule from going into effect unless the Democrats controlled both houses.

So it looks as if the federal government is going to facilitate the spread of the epidemic of mass shootings from the United States to the rest of the world.

As is usual with gun laws and gun violence, the hands of both major parties are dripping in blood. The Times reports that the Obama administration originally wanted to make a similar change. They were about to complete the rule when the Sandy Hook massacre occurred. Even though the rule change affects sales outside the United States, the Obama administration thought it was politic to drop the idea.

Trump uses threats to public safety that don’t really exist to justify building a wall along our southern border with Mexico that we don’t really need. Yet he and the Republican Party ignore the pressing need to strengthen gun control laws. Instead, they create more of a danger to the public by supporting laws, regulations and lawsuits that make it easier to buy guns or give gun owners more rights in the public square.

Let’s face it. The GOP has become the party of death and the culture of death. While both parties are dominated by militaristic thinking, the Republicans spend far more on the armed forces than the Democrats and start more wars, which after all, help their crony defense contractors and suppliers. Republicans are just as enthusiastic about helping commercial gun sales, as shown by their eager embrace of every proposed law and regulations of the gun lobby.

But the conservative predilection for death goes well beyond support for gun manufacturers and policies that kill people. We can start with their approach to healthcare, which denies coverage to people who can’t afford it to save wealthy taxpayers a few bucks. The GOP’s environmental and energy policies support the coming death of other species and millions of people in areas suffering extreme weather events. The GOP’s support for gutting social welfare programs shows a mean-spirited disregard for human life. The immigration policy if taken to its extreme will lead to the death of the American economy, since native-born Americans are reproducing at very low rates which, if unaugmented by immigration, will result in a rapidly shrinking population within a few years.

Even the GOP’s support of laws that prevent abortions is pro-death. Here’s my reasoning: You can’t die unless you are born. By forcing unwanted births and then shredding the social net that helps children in impoverished circumstances, anti-abortion laws almost by definition add to the toll of human suffering, including some number of unnecessary premature deaths.

The Democrats aren’t much better when it comes to killing people outside the country, but their domestic policies for the most support the health and well-being of the population.

I would like to write that never has a political party been so dedicated to death and so fascinated by destruction as the current edition of the GOP. But then I remember our genocide against the Indians, our dropping of two atomic bombs on Japanese cities, slavery’s destruction if human life. That’s just in U.S. history, and doesn’t consider the Soviet Union, England, France, China or Rwanda. The collective thinking of individuals that occurs in political parties too often falls prey to the dark nightmares of its most blood thirsty members.

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