#05-Feb-23

[calochortus]

Day 36 Posing by Scouse Smurf

[mikeywayarchive]

aquarianweekly on Twitter:

Happy birthday, @mikeyway! You look good here!!!!!! 😌😤🖤🫶🎂🍰 #goodtimes #classiccover #tbt #biggestfans

[Sep 10, 2024]

[itssmean]

𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆 (𝒃𝒆𝒕𝒂) 𝒕𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒓

main masterlist

SYNOPSIS new upcoming app called ‘love alarm’ will be launched ! but it need to be tested before the official launching date, so what ifs the well known enemies— lee chanyoung and park y/n are the one that gonna be the app beta users? does the love between them gonna ring?

anton x fem reader

genre(s) + warning(s) : love alarm inspo, soulmate! au (not be centred in the first half of the story), fluff, cracks, MANY SWEARINGS, angst (if u squint?), grammatical error! , i’m trying to be funny

idols featuring ; all riize members, itzy yuna, enhypen sunoo and jungwon, newjeans hanni, AND MANY MORE CAMEOS (they across the kwangya where most of hybe,sm,jyp and also yg idols included)

status ; completed!

starts ; 26 feb 2024

ends ; 31 march 2024

taglist ; closed

note | it’s been a while since last i’ve written smau and being inactive (except for reblogging some posts) hope u guys enjoy it!

remain unhinged ☝🏻‼️ / mothers 💋🔥

track 01 ; i’ll bring all the drama

track 02 ; love alarm?

track 03 ; chemistry (failed!)

track 04 ; 119 emergency 🚨

track 05 ; soundtrack 5

track 06 ; (alpha) beta

track 07 ; we’re going to shopping 🤑

track 08 ; whatchu sayin’

track 09 ; mission (im)possible

track 10 ; ring ding dong (written)

track 11 ; in the bushes (written)

track 12 ; who’s anton rival?

track 13 ; it seems personal!

track 14 ; woof woof…

track 15 ; fight back!

track 16 ; my babies

track 17 ; which bugs??

track 18 ; does the plan goes well? (written)

track 19 ; the squads’ pov!

track 20 ; moment of truth

track 21 ; pay me!

track 22 ; the ringing goes wrong

track 23 ; the best testimony!

the end.

[vinecradle]

ditto - do you want somebody, like i want somebody?

pairing :: kazuha x gn!reader

summary :: a cosplay event at the mall was announced, you were waiting for this moment!! taking lots of pictures with people, but then you saw someone who cosplayed your character's partner.. and his friend asked you both to take a picture together and it goes viral on social media- and now you're faced with the cosplayer's twitter handle..

genre :: college au (reader & kazuha are in their first year), modern au, social media au, strangers to friends to fake lovers to lovers, playfully flirty x cant handle it trope, and also she fell first he fell harder trope, mutual pining, sets place after the scaramouche smau ends

warnings :: little angst, loneliness, alcohol mentions, reader is pretty touch starved, honestly not that many problems most of it is fluffy 🫶🏻

status :: on hold until i finish my scaramouche smau!

official playlist :: is linked here!

notes :: published 23 feb 2023, taglist is open! either send an ask/comment preferably so i could keep track easier and also please specific if you'd like to be in this taglist only or my permanent taglist

profiles :: ice ice baby | still a dottore hate club

teaser :: is linked here !

ACT I - music is what feelings sound like.

01. a cosplay event!!

02. character.. hunting?

03. 200 playlists

04. cosplay found!

05. cosplay received.

06. a sudden project (✿)

07. why is there a random kid

08. it's nearly time!!

ACT II - i lost myself, but you found me.

09. the cosplay event (✿)

10. post-cosplay

11. wait- im trending?

12. reporters (✿)

13. his twitter

14. bro's mesmerizing

15. this mess

16. he's actually fun to talk to

ACT III - i told the stars about you.

17. just a friendly hangout..! (✿)

18. stayed on the low

19. a priv notification

20. loveliest couple award! (✿)

21. a different cosplay?

22. when will i experience

23. she fell first he fell harder?

ACT III - cause you're so lovely

24. you are out of this world

25. second friendly hangout.. yes! (✿)

26. anything but friendly

27. him, in my dreams

28. talk (✿)

29. let's keep it a secret

30. the new event (✿)

31. we're on the news!!

ACT IIII - hm? he said it, "ditto"

32. you make me feel safe (✿)

33. a playlist for you

34. guitarist x violinist

35. my home

-> bonus! my love, my love (✿)

[stormyoceans]

VICE VERSA (RE)WATCH 2024

with last twilight ending and no show to replace it on friday yet, i thought this might be a good time to do a vice versa community rewatch and maybe give an excuse to all the new jimmysea fans to watch the show for the first time if they didn't get around to it.

the schedule: from february 2 to may 9

as this is quite sudden and im hoping to reach as many people as possible, i thought we could do one episode per week, without having only a single set date but rather a range of days where each one of us can decide when to watch it. so the schedule would look like this:

feb 02 - feb 08: ocean blue (ep 1)

feb 09 - feb 15: forest green (ep 2)

feb 16 - feb 22: soft blush (ep 3)

feb 23 - feb 29: deep magenta (ep 4)

mar 01 - mar 07: winter white (ep 5)

mar 08 - mar 14: fire yellow (ep 6)

mar 15 - mar 21: sunset orange (ep 7)

mar 22 - mar 28: cloudy gray (ep 8)

mar 29 - apr 04: midnight black (ep 9)

apr 05 - apr 11: pink (ep 10)

apr 12 - apr 18: real red (ep 11)

apr 19 - apr 25: crystal clear (ep 12)

apr 26 - may 02: faded pink? (our skyy ep 1)

may 03 - may 09: multicolor (our skyy ep 2)

how to watch: youtube (main series + our skyy)

what to do: watch or rewatch the episodes

that's pretty much the only mandatory thing that is required to do, but if you feel like it you can also:

liveblog your watch

share your favorite scene(s) from the episode

pick your top weekly outfit

reblog old and new posts

create content like memes, fics, gifs, edits, etc.

anything you want!!!!!

if you do any of these tho, please tag your posts with #vvrewatch24 so people can find them!!!!

the main goal i hope to achieve with this is for everyone to just have fun and maybe find some comfort. a big thank you in advance to anyone who will consider participating or even just sharing this post!!!!

[mybelde]

how not to romance a guy 101

pairing: Xiao x gn!reader

genre: modern college au, fluff, crack, smau

summary: You just found out that there was this extremely attractive guy in your chem class, and what was your first thought? "Is he single?" Since then, you've made it your mission to try and romance him before someone else wins him over. However, the problem was, you have no love life at all! But seriously, how hard can it be to win someone over? This is how not to romance a guy 101

status: ongoing [4 Feb 23 - ??]

author's note: putting this out here first, will only start once i finish my aether smau. like bro, how can i not write a smau about my husband 🤨??/j anyways, i decided to make this smau gender neutral so that all the simps can enjoy this lol xiao so babygirl fr

profiles: XO crew | Chase Atlanters

taglist: open — send an ask/dm to be added :)

↻ Other works

Plan # 1

➸ 00: who's that cute guy ✎

⌫ Step 1: Get his number

➸ 01: like a k-drama scene

➸ 02: he's in my chem class???

➸ 03: chickened out ✎

➸ 04: in my stalker era

➸ 05: you're saying he's not a model??!?

➸ 06: the plan

➸ 07: check your dms

⌫ Step 2: Text him

➸ 08: osmanthus wine tastes the same as i remember

➸ 09: hey (with rizz) ✎

➸ 10: 21 questions

➸ 11: i'm not always this cringe i swear

➸ 12: i promise i'm not a scammer ✎

➸ 13: help pls | 13.5: when he's good at science AND math >>>

➸ 14: partners? fuck yeah! ✎

Added— ⌫ Step 2.5: Hangout with him

➸ 15: meetup (date)

➸ 16: you smell like qingxin flowers ✎

➸ 17: stop procrastinating

➸ 18: my treat ✎

➸ 19: want to be cat parents? ✎ | 19.5: oh. ✎

➸ 20: are you free tonight

➸ 21: still hung up on her? ✎

⌫ Step 3: Give him almond tofu

➸ 22: -

➸ 23: -

➸ 24: -

➸ 25: -

➸ 26: -

➸ 27: -

➸ 28: -

⌫ Step 4: Ask him out

➸ 29: tba

[julianalvarez9]

if this is it, just know i love you.

(1) Tweeted by Mason, 24. jan. 2021. / (2, 4, 6) Cornelia Street, Taylor Swift. / (3) Picture tweeted by LDN, 17. feb. 2023. / (5) Mason Mount celebrates after scoring their side's seventh goal and his hat-trick during the Premier League match between Chelsea and Norwich City at Stamford Bridge on October 23, 2021 in London, England. (Photo by Shaun Botterilli / (7) Mason Mount celebrates with teammate Christian Pulisic after scoring their team's second goal during the UEFA Champions League Semi Final Second Leg match between Chelsea and Real Madrid at Stamford Bridge on May 05, 2021 in London, England. (Photo by Darren Walsh) / (8, 10, 16) You're Losing Me, Taylor Swift. / (9) Mason Mount applauds the fans after their side's defeat in the UEFA Champions League quarterfinal second leg match between Chelsea FC and Real Madrid at Stamford Bridge on April 18, 2023 in London, England. (Photo by Clive Rose) / (11) Mason Mount watch on from the substitutes bench during the Premier League match between Chelsea FC and Aston Villa at Stamford Bridge on April 01, 2023 in London, England. (Photo by Clive Rose) / (12) Quote by James Baldwin, Giovanni's Room / (13) Mason Mount celebrates after scoring their side's first goal during the Premier League match between Watford and Chelsea at Vicarage Road on December 01, 2021 in Watford, England. (Photo by Darren Walsh) / (14) Tweeted by Bobby Vincent / (15) Video from user DremGetsTickets on Twitter. / (17) Mason Mount and Thomas Tuchel celebrate following their team's victory in the Semi Final of the Emirates FA Cup match between Manchester City and Chelsea FC at Wembley Stadium on April 17, 2021 in London, England. (Photo by Michael Regan)

[mofffun]

King-Ohger x Gotchard pre-Chou Eiyuu Sai talk show

Partial translation/summary

Pep talk before CEYS

Impressions of each other's series

I want to attend XX Academy!

I am King of XX!

Role reverse: What role do you want to play in the opposite series?

link to watch

1. Pep talk before CEYS (02:08 -  

The teams haven't seen each other much save for shooting the SHT intersection. Six months have already passed between then and CEYS (Sep '23 - Feb '24)

Spanner vowed to deliver a passion not shy of KO team

Host joked KO team seemed passionate because of Kaku's physique

Taisei: I saw CEYS a year ago, seems just yesterday, looked forward to the event very much

Aoto: I hope it goes smoothly without trouble.

2. Impressions of each other's series (03:45 -

Rinne: most impressed by the body swap episode, particularly Himeno-san's kabuki pose.

Erica: Sorry for doing something the real Kaguragi never did. Gotchard is a very energetic show, compared to King-Oh's more serious tone, I feel recharged watching Gotchard.

Renge: KO cast are very good friends with each other. The Gotchard cast are friends too, but the kings' bond is something only forged by having worked together closely for an entire year.

Yzy: Not only is the show energetic, but the cast is too behind the scenes. I am the youngest in KO, but the main GT cast is even younger. They are very dependable. (Kaku: sorry for sounding condescending haha /j)

3. I want to attend XX Academy! (05:38 -

Rules: What skill do you want to master? It can be realistic or imaginary.

Matsumoto Hiroya: I want to type fast on a smartphone

Host 2 (Shinomiya Akira): Rita-sama's scream

❤️Cooking

💙Driving

💛Fine art

💜Dialect

🖤Muscle training

🕸️Drawing

___

🐻 Minato: Tonkatsu

Minato: Tonkatsu. I love fried pork chop. A school for tasting, making, and if possible, raising the pigs.

Host: What type of tonkatsu do you like?

Minato: そうっすね [sounds like Sauce-ne~, filler words meaning "yeah, right~"] Thick cuts and slightly rare on the inside.

where Aoto made a pun of そうっすね "Sauce" [for dipping tonkatsu]. Aoto murmured it to Matsumoto Hiroya instead of saying it out loud, and it hit Kaku-san's laughing point to others' confusion.

Minato: um... I prefer salt for seasoning to dipping sauce 😅

❤️ Taisei: Cooking academy

Taisei: Well, I can only depend on myself for cooking, so I kinda want to improve my skills. I even bought a set of knives.

Erica: What do you want to make?

Taisei: Garlic shrimp, maybe? French food seems to be on trend right now.

[Houtarou wrote 料理 (Cooking) too but in Kanji unlike Taisei in English]

Houtaro lives with his family and cooks with his mom on dayoffs. 

Kaku/Masashi: That's just like in the show!

Host 2: Sakai-san, please visit [Houtaro's] mom.

Taisei: LIke a training camp.

Houtarou: Yes, please. Let's make Donburi together. I don't really know what "Garlic Shrimp" is but let's try it out!

[Garlic Shrimp is in Katakana/English, in Japanese it's ninniku & ebi.]

(everyone laughs)

Erica: That's just what it means literally! 😂

Houtarou: We have garlic at home, I just don't know what "shrimp" is... Is it some kind of mushroom?

Kaku: Tracks, they both have the "sh" sound.

Houtarou: "Sh" as in mush, and "rimp" sounds like little cut-up pieces?

Erica: Hint is, it's something from the sea.

Yzy: Then that can't possibly be mushrooms.

Houtarou: Some kind of seaweed? 

Erica: It moves around a bit more than that.

Houtarou: Wakame!

Host: Not even close!/j Please do some research after the show.

💙 Aoto: Automobile Command academy. 

Aoto: Yep, [just a regular] driving school. I haven't got a license yet but I love going on drives, so I could only ride shotgun because I can't drive myself. I want to pay back my drivers so far.

Erica: ah the rest of the king cast.

Aoto: (shy) What do you think?

Hiroya: You look like you ride a motorbike.

Aoto: No, I've never been on one.

Masashi (?): It suits you.

🔧Spanner: Tension Crank-up Academy

Spanner: I want everyone to catch up to my hype!

Host: but the Gotchard cast seems like they're all pretty easily hyped?

Spanner: No. (to Renge) I'm the only odd one, right? (Renge nods) Actually I should just go there and sit by myself right?

Kaku: Yeah, right!

(laughs)

Host 2: Totally wrong answer in a totally fitting tone!

Spanner: Hey, I'm compromising already!

Host 2: Ahhh this is getting out of hand XD

Kaku: "Tension Booming!" [Kibun Bunbun, boonboomger roll call]

(dead air)

Spanner: See? No one is doing tsukkomi [straight man, pointing out irrationalities for comedy].

Erica: Ah, so the reason is there's no tsukkomi character in your group. The others look like they are more comfortable playing boke [funny man]. Maybe that's why the cast seems so cheerful.

Spanner: Who's the tsukkomi in your group?

Erica: Over here. (gestures to Yuzuki and Masashi) Team West.* 

*[t/n: 1. My best guess of Ni-Shi is "Western [Japan]" based on their hometowns being further west than the others. There's a stereotype that Kansai/western people are funny, although neither 💜 or 🕸️ is from Kansai to be exact. Taisei is from Fukuoka, the same region, Kyushu, as Yuzuki, but it's been established pretty early on he can't do tsukkomi. 2. Another guess of Ni-shi is "two colours" as in more-black-than-purle Yuzuki + white Masashi? 3. Or it could be "receive"??]

Kaku: So who will it be on your team?

Spanner: I choose... our best boke, Junsei.

Houtarou: Wahhhh don't sell me out!! ToT

Taisei: Someone else for the tsukkomi position?

Spanner: There's Minato-san, but when he's tsukkomi-ing, it's always under his breath. No one can hear him. 

Minato: I'm not confident...

Spanner: When we were talking about tonkatsu just now, he kept leaning back... Sensei, can we get a tsukkomi out of you from now on?

Minato: *mutters* okay...

4. I am the king of XX! (13:56 - 

Rules: Name yourself, or someone else in the room, as king of something.

Host 2: If anyone in the Gotcard is king of something, I suppose Motojima-san... is the king of shrimps.

Houtarou: Yeah, that's right! Please allow me the honor. No, for real, somebody tell me what "shrimp" is!?

Erica: Another hint, it has a lot of legs.

Houtarou: Octopus!

Kaku: Not even close!

❤️Masculinity 

💙Masashi->White [fair skin]

💛Spontaneous trips

💜internal rhythm

🖤Muscle training

🕸️Aoto->Fried chicken (karage)

___

🕸️💙 Masashi: Aoto is the king of fried chicken.

Masashi revealed that Aoto brought fried chicken to work every morning and would generously share it. He also brought some today too. Aoto quickly took over the explanation and said Masashi is one to read between the lines, like Jeramie. Truth is, when Aoto brought the nuggets, Masashi would snoop, "Hey, what flavour did you get?" Aoto then (have to) say, "You want one?" and give him a piece. The next person would say the same thing and Aoto had to give him a piece too, that person is Taisei. And the worst of them chicken "sharers" is Yuzuki. To her complaint, Aoto mimicked her reaction when given a piece, "Ehh~~~ Really?!" 

[t/n: lmao i could totally get why Aoto would be annoyed by Yuzuki because his imitation sounds absolutely like she's pretentious about it lol. but I could totally see Hirakawa Yuzuki doing that too lmao.]

📱Sabi named Spanner as king of long legs. 

🖤 Kaku-san named himself as the king of muscle training. (Minato loves muscle training too) Kaku-san's weightlifting record is 130kg in barbell.

Rinne is king of video games and Renge plays a thief simulator game and got her into it too.

💛 Erica named herself as the king of spontaneous trips. She can go anywhere and by herself. Last year she went to Osaka and Kyoto for two days unplanned. After she finished work in Kyushu, she stopped by there before coming back to Tokyo. She loved both sightseeing and eating. She re-visited the temple from a family photo taken on a childhood trip.

💜 Yuzuki named herself as the king of internal rhythm. Because King-Oh nearly always films indoors, they can't see the sun and often wonder what time it is. At which they'd turn to Yuzuki for the answer. She estimated the current time to be 12:56, which is just 30 seconds faster. [t/n: She talked about this in tge cinematoday interview 06:13 before the series starts]

5. Reverse Offer (25:03 - 

Rules: What role do you want to play in the opposite series? It can be a real or made-up character.

❤️manly man chemy

💙evil rider 

💛mad scientist 

💜a chemy that keeps screaming non-stop 

🖤kind muscular older-brother type 

🕸️a chemy that can grant any wish

[t/n: 🕸️a chemy that can grant any wish -> that's just Doraemon right.... re: relay interview]

🖤 Kaku: a kind muscular older-brother type

no alchemy, just a kind muscular older-brother type. I will be your personal trainer. You all look a bit slim, leave it to me :D

Minato: a monk, who'd fit in Toufu

💜 Renge: Moffun

Renge: It got a lot of cheers from the audience, so it must be very popular.

Yzy: It'd be interesting to see a Kansai-dialect Moffun.

Renge: [kansai dialect] "Why do you hide your eye? mofu~"

Yzy: Hired!

❤️ Taisei: a manly man chemy

Taisei: I want to become muscular too, after watching Kaku-san the past year. (straight face) Even his naked body, in the main series.

Kaku/Yzy: Hey!

Taisei: (straight face) I'm quite envious of his physique. I want to try working out in the future

Kaku: Okay, I can teach you...

Taisei: Thank you ^_^

(conversation starting to get lost...)

Kaku: Gotcha! [sharp cut keyword]

Spanner: What will your manly-man chemy sound like?

Taisei: ...

Taisei: Gotcha! \(^o^)/

🕸️Sabi: Pet (Jeramie's)

Masashi: So you want to be my pet?

Sabi: Woof!

Masashi: Hired!

💙 Aoto: Evil Rider [proceed to solo-act his oc's story]

Aoto: I want to henshin as a villain. At the very end, he redeemed himself and died protecting the hero, "Remember... something something..." and I die.

Hiroya: That'd be a challenging role.

Host 2: We've seen your Royal Arms, how will your evil rider henshin?

Erica: Don't you always talk about this😂? With the rain.

Aoto: ahhh. Yep, I've got the scene set. At first he was a good guy, then we flashback to his past, a rainy day, the old man who's been taking care of him died in his arms. "AHHHHH", I scream, and the belt materialises "churn churn churn". With blood all over my face, "HENSHIN!! ARGHHHHHH". Like this.

Host 2: A Henshin powered by screams, I see. Minato-sensei, you were an evil rider, what do you think?

Minato: That's more like the hero's backstory. A little like... Spider-man?

Kaku: It's too cool, isn't it?

Aoto: I will henshin with a fried pork chop chemy.

🕶️ Houtarou: King Gotchard

Houtarou: I want to go to King-Ohger's world just as I am, and see what kind of people will follow me if I become the king of gotcha

Host 2: You can take today as an opportunity to ask the kings for advice. What quality does a good king need?

Houtarou: Yes, please. Charisma for sure, what else?

Kaku: If I have to say... aura, perhaps.

Hiroya: You are not answering "muscles" for once?

Houtarou: Honshin? Honkaku? 本心？本格？Genuine? Authenticity?

Kaku: Honkakuha chuuka 本格派中華？Authentic Chinese restaurant?

*laughs* [t/n: treat it as a dad joke 😅...]

Houtarou: No no no, what's that word that means the very base of something.

Spanner: The core. (核心 kakushinn)

Houtarou: Yes, I meant to say "at the core".

Masashi: What kind of kingdom do you want to build?

Houtarou: A bright country! Where everyone can get creative and invent their own recipes like Houtarou.

Kaku: Just like Toufu!

___

The round up is just more pep talk. The talk show is filmed a few hours before CEYS.

___

t/n: I wrote this because of an request. At the very least I want to sub Aoto and Yuzuki's segments. The talk is too funny but quite long and no few jokes. If I end up getting around to it will def be November. Also the op of the video is absent for asking permission...

[jatpfebfanfest]

Welcome to the JatP Feb Fan Fest

The JatP Feb Fan Fest is to provide an opportunity for all fans to show their support for each other and participate in a sort of “Secret Santa’ inspired gift exchange.

~~~

Announcements:

Thank You JatP Fan Fest Secret Fantoms!!

Coming Soon:

~~~

Important Information:

Timeline

Rules and Guidelines

FAQ/Info

Prior Announcements will be archived here

26/12/23:

Secret Fantom assignments have been sent!

18/12/23:

A Change has been made to the timeline.

15/12/23:

Interest and Prompt forms submissions are now closed!

3/12/23:

-Tomorrow 04/12/23 Interest and 'Prompt' Form submission begins. Please look for the link between 05-07 a.m. (UTC).

-Changes to Event Timeline have been made.

01/12/23: Changes have been made to the Rules and Guidelines

[ausetkmt]

Ahmaud Arbery's murder: Four years later Ahmaud Arbery's murder: Four years later 05:29

Attorneys are asking a U.S. appeals court to throw out the hate crime convictions of three White men who used pickup trucks to chase Ahmaud Arbery through the streets of a Georgia subdivision before one of them killed the running Black man with a shotgun.

A panel of judges from the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta was scheduled to hear oral arguments Wednesday in a case that followed a national outcry over Arbery's death. The men's lawyers argue that evidence of past racist comments they made didn't prove a racist intent to harm.

On Feb. 23, 2020, father and son Greg and Travis McMichael armed themselves with guns and drove in pursuit of Arbery after spotting the 25-year-old man running in their neighborhood outside the port city of Brunswick. A neighbor, William "Roddie" Bryan, joined the chase in his own truck and recorded cellphone video of Travis McMichael shooting Arbery in the street.

More than two months passed without arrests, until Bryan's graphic video of the killing leaked online and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation took over the case from local police. Charges soon followed.

In legal briefs filed ahead of their appeals court arguments, lawyers for Greg McMichael and Bryan cited prosecutors' use of more than two dozen social media posts and text messages, as well as witness testimony, that showed all three men using racist slurs or otherwise disparaging Black people. The slurs often included the use of the N-word and other derogatory terms for Black people, according to an FBI witness who examined the men's social media pages. The men had also advocated for violence against Black people, the witness said. 

Bryan's attorney, Pete Theodocion, said Bryan's past racist statements inflamed the trial jury while failing to prove that Arbery was pursued because of his race. Instead, Arbery was chased because the three men mistakenly suspected he was a fleeing criminal, according to A.J. Balbo, Greg McMichael's lawyer. 

Greg McMichael initiated the chase when Arbery ran past his home, saying he recognized the young Black man from security camera videos that in prior months showed him entering a neighboring home under construction. None of the videos showed him stealing, and Arbery was unarmed and had no stolen property when he was killed. 

Prosecutors said in written briefs that the trial evidence showed "longstanding hate and prejudice toward Black people" influenced the defendants' assumptions that Arbery was committing crimes.

"All three of these defendants did everything they did based on assumptions —  not on fact, not on evidence, on assumptions. They make decisions in their driveways based on those assumptions that took a young man's life," prosecutor Linda Dunikoski said in court in November 2021.  Three men found guilty of hate crimes in the death of Ahmaud Arbery 02:18

In Travis McMichael's appeal, attorney Amy Lee Copeland didn't dispute the jury's finding that he was motivated by racism. The social media evidence included a 2018 Facebook comment Travis McMichael made on a video of Black man playing a prank on a white person. He used an expletive and a racial slur after he wrote wrote: "I'd kill that .... ."

Instead, Copeland based her appeal on legal technicalities. She said that prosecutors failed to prove the streets of the Satilla Shores subdivision where Arbery was killed were public roads, as stated in the indictment used to charge the men.

Copeland cited records of a 1958 meeting of Glynn County commissioners in which they rejected taking ownership of the streets from the subdivision's developer. At the trial, prosecutors relied on service request records and testimony from a county official to show the streets have been maintained by the county government.

Attorneys for the trio also made technical arguments for overturning their attempted kidnapping convictions. Prosecutors said the charge fit because the men used pickup trucks to cut off Arbery's escape from the neighborhood.

Prosecutors said other federal appellate circuits have ruled that any automobile used in a kidnapping qualifies as an instrument of interstate commerce. And they said the benefit the men sought was "to fulfill their personal desires to carry out vigilante justice."

The trial judge sentenced both McMichaels to life in prison for their hate crime convictions, plus additional time — 10 years for Travis McMichael and seven years for his father — for brandishing guns while committing violent crimes. Bryan received a lighter hate crime sentence of 35 years in prison, in part because he wasn't armed and preserved the cellphone video that became crucial evidence.

All three also got 20 years in prison for attempted kidnapping, but the judge ordered that time to overlap with their hate crime sentences.

If the U.S. appeals court overturns any of their federal convictions, both McMichaels and Bryan would remain in prison. All three are serving life sentences in Georgia state prisons for murder, and have motions for new state trials pending before a judge.

[houseofbrat]

Let's take a look at the Waleses' future work schedule, aka Lambrook's school schedule.

Week of 01 to 07 Sept: 1/2 off (1 week)

Weeks of 08 to 14 Sept, 15 to 21 Sept, 22 to 28 Sept, 29 Sept to 05 Oct, 06 to 12 Oct, and 13 to 18 Oct: in school/working (6 weeks)

Weeks of 20 to 26 Oct and 27 Oct to 02 Nov: vacation (2 weeks)

Weeks of 03 to 09 Nov, 10 to 16 Nov, 17 to 23 Nov, 24 to 30 Nov, 01 to 07 Dec, 08 to 13 Dec: in school/working (6 weeks)

Christmas Break!! 3.5 weeks! [15 Dec 2024 to 08 Jan 2025]

Week of 05 to 11 January: 1/2 off (1 week)

Week of 12 to 18 Jan, 19 to 25 Jan, 26 Jan to 01 Feb, 02 to 08 Feb, 09 to 14 Feb: in school/working (5 weeks)

Week of 16 to 22 February: vacation (1 week)

Week of 23 Feb to 01 March, 02 to 08 March, 09 to 15 March, 16 to 22 March, 23 to 28 March: in school/working (5 weeks)

Easter break!! Almost 4 weeks! [31 March to 24 April]

Week of 20 to 26 April: more than 1/2 week off

Weeks of 27 April to 03 May, 04 to 10 May, 11 to 17 May, 18 to 23 May: in school/working (4 weeks)

Week of 25 to 31 May: vacation (1 week)

Weeks of 01 to 07 June, 08 to 14 June, 15 to 21 June, 22 to 28 June, 29 June to 05 July: in school/working (5 weeks)

06 July to 03 September: SUMMER BREAK! (8.5 weeks)

Weeks The Waleses will (possibly) work: 32.5 weeks

Weeks The Waleses will be on on vacation: 20 WEEKS!! That is FIVE MONTHS!

[tailschannel]

Here's a complete recap of everything featured in this year's Sonic Central presentation

New collaborations with LEGO, an upcoming Sonic Frontiers DLC update, and a first look at Part 2 of Sonic Prime were among the major highlights in this year's Sonic Central presentation.

Here's everything you need to know.

Sonic Frontiers

Details on the second major content update for Sonic Frontiers was revealed in the Sonic Central. Titled "Sonic's Birthday Bash", it's scheduled for a release on 23 June 2023.

Sonic's Birthday: Celebrate Sonic's birthday in Sonic Frontiers with a new birthday theme, including a festive HUD, environment objects, a new birthday skin, and more!

Open Zone Challenges: Explore the Open Zone with all new challanges scattered throughout.

Spindash: The iconic Sonic move makes a return in Sonic Frontiers!

New Kocos: Some Kocos seem to dawn new outfits and some do seem a bit bigger than usual.

New Game Plus.

Sonic Superstars

A new teaser was shown promoting the new Sonic Superstars and LEGO collaboration, featuring LEGO Eggman as a pre-order bonus.

Following the presentation, SEGA dropped new renders and descriptions for all the characters featured in the upcoming game.

Trip: Not much is known yet about Trip, the mysterious girl first encountered by Fang on the Northstar Islands. While a bit clumsy, Trip is heavily armored and has been enlisted by Fang and Dr. Eggman to protect and guide them around the wonders of this uncharted region.

Fang the Hunter (formerly Fang the Sniper): Fang is a springy jerboa that is light on his feet and is always looking for the next big score. A bounty hunter by trade, Fang the Hunter has been known by many different names over the years, likely due to his “WANTED” status with the authorities. Always trying to stay one step ahead, he’s constantly modifying and upgrading his primary mode of transportation, the Marvelous Queen.

You can check out the rest of the descriptions for Sonic, Amy, Tails, Knuckles and Eggman here.

The official Sonic the Hedgehog YouTube channel also uploaded a new 3-minute video featuring Superstars producer Naoto Ohshima and Sonic Studio creative officer Takashi Iizuka.

They "talk in-depth about Superstars, including inspirations, challenges, and what it's like to create a new character."

Sonic Symphony World Tour

Here are the official tour dates for the Sonic Symphony from 2023 to 2024:

Sept 16, 2023 - London, Barbican Hall

Sept 22, 2023 - Paris, Le Grand Rex

Sept 30, 2023 - Los Angeles, Dolby Theatre

Oct 14-15, 2023 - São Paulo, Brasil Game Show

Oct 21, 2023 - Boston, Emerson Colonial Theatre

Oct 28, 2023 - Chicago, Auditorium Theatre

Nov 17, 2023 - Düsseldorf, Mitsubishi Electric Halle

Dec 15, 2023 - San Antonio, Majestic Theatre

Dec 29, 2023 - Atlanta, Cobb Energy P.A.C.

Jan 05, 2024 - Seattle, Paramount Theatre

Jan 06, 2024 - San Francisco, Davies Symphony Hall

Jan 20, 2024 - Washington DC, Warner Theater

Jan 27, 2024 - Kansas City, Kansas City Music Hall

Feb 11, 2024 - Tokyo, LINE CUBE SHIBUYA

Feb 17, 2024 - Toronto, Meridian Hall

Mar 24, 2024 - Montreal, Wilfrid-Pelletier Theater

Mar 29, 2024 - Portland, Schnitzer Auditorium

For more information such as ticket pricing and availability, check out the above links.

Sonic Prime

A new extended clip of the upcoming second content drop of Sonic Prime was previewed. It's scheduled to make its debut on Netflix in 13 July.

With the help of his ragtag group of Shatterverse allies, Sonic battles the Chaos Council for control of the powerful Paradox Prism, one Shard at a time.

Sonic Dash and Speed Battle

A new Classic Super Sonic skin will be joining SEGA HARDlight's flagship titles Speed Battle and Dash soon.

Other things of note, as reported last week:

To coincide with the release of the 2nd season of Sonic Prime, characters from Prime will be playable in Dash, including Boscage Sonic, Rusty Rose, and Tails Nine.

Alongside the Prime characters, Super Silver and an all new Dragon Hunter Lancelot will make their debut in Dash and Speed Battle later this month.

San Diego Comic-Con 2023

With Comic-Con coming this summer, a new pop-up restaurant featuring the blue blur will open near the show floor.

More details will be announced in the weeks ahead.

Merchandise

New Death Egg Set from Jakks Pacific: Based on the Sonic 4 Episode 2 final boss, fight The Egg Heart in the new Death Egg set.

Streetwear brand Hypland announced their collaboration with Sonic the Hedgehog: The limited edition collection features an assortment of graphic tees and hoodies featuring Sonic and his friends meshed into contemporary streetwear designs.

S-Fire Sonic Statue: Pre-order the new Sonic & Shadow statue today with augmented reality compatibility.

Sonic has officially announced a collaboration with the popular shoe brand Crocs. As reported back in late May: it's available in adult and kids sizes, for $49.99 USD and $44.99 USD respectively. Besides the shoes themselves, Crocs will be offering Jibbitz charms. They will be coming in a pack of 5 with Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Amy, and Shadow, offered at $19.99 USD.

Other things of note: a Sonic-themed Playmate cooler from Igloo, a themed guitar from ESP Guitars, and Sonic and Shadow Cable Guy figures.

Sonic Origins Plus

With Origins Plus out, SEGA released a new launch trailer.

With more content than ever before, and a new premium physical version, Sonic Origins Plus is the definitive way to play 16 classic Sonic games in one timeless collection.

LEGO

SEGA officially previewed the Death Egg Robot set, now scheduled for a release in August.

As reported via a leak earlier this month, it contains a Sonic mini figure accompanied with his speed sphere mechanism and the launcher to it; and the Death Egg Robot piloted by Eggman, and Cubot.

Samba de Amigo: Party Central

As reported, the upcoming Samba De Amigo: Party Central will be featuring the world's famous hedgehog as a guest character.

The game will feature two iconic Sonic tunes, Escape From the City and Fist Bump, alongside the City Escape stage itself.

IDW Sonic the Hedgehog

Today's Central presentation made a brief mention of IDW Publishing's upcoming one-shot issue for the Sonic the Hedgehog comic book series: Amy Rose's 30th Anniversary.

You can read more details in our report from earlier today.

Sonic Speed Simulator

Despite the developer's controversies, the officially-licenced Speed Simulator got a mention in the Central presentation.

Users can celebrate Sonic's birthday in style with the new Tuxedo Classic Sonic skin, out now.

Lastly...

TailsTube got a shoutout, and voice actor Mike Pollock dropped some fire bars in the LEGO collaboration video.

...and that's all! For news and updates anytime, be sure to follow @TailsChannel where you are on social media.

(Files contributed by the Tails' Channel Newsfeed.)

[bacusdraculacape]

I was discussing with @misskattylashes about what our big ideas about what people in the AM-verse seem to be teasing about or whatever. Then I got a Brianstorm of Big Ideas admist it...

First things first. Some relevant history; Arctic Monkeys first formed in 2002. They’re first live gig was 13th June 2003 at The Grapes, an Irish pub in Sheffield, UK (where AM are iconally from and formed). In 2004, some other icon stuff happened:

> 14th of August 2004; marks the first known live performances of: I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor / Bigger Boys Stolen Sweethearts / Choo Choo! / Dancing Shoes.

> 8th of October 2004; marks the first known live performance of: Fake Tales of San Francisco.

> 3rd of November 2004; Marks the first known performances of: When The Sun Goes Down / A Certain Romance.

> 12th of December 2004; Marks the first known performances of: Stickin’ To The Floor / Settle For A Draw.

AM’s demo album: Beneath The Boardwalk first surfaced in 2004 also.

As well 17th of October 2004 marks the official debut date of Am’s first ep / single: I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor.

Moving onto the next iconic year of 2005:

AM’s first ever global tour started and happened in 2005. Introducing them to stages all over: UK / Ireland / Europe / and a couple stages in US.

23 October 2005; AM’s debut single IBYLGOTDF went straight to No.1 on the charts.

In 2005 more live debuts to Am singles were:

> 7 (22 Jan ‘05) /

> The View From The Afternoon / Perhaps Vampires Is A Bit Strong But.. / Mardy Bum / From The Ritz To The Rubble (4th Mar ‘05)

> Red Light Indicates Doors Are Secured (5th Apr ‘05)

> an unknown new song (23rd April ‘05)

> You Probably Couldn’t See For The Lights But You Were Staring Straight At Me (26th Jul ‘05)

> Wavin’ Bye to the Train tr the Bus (23rd Aug ‘05)

> Still Take You Home (11th Oct ‘05)

> When The Sun Goes Down (21st Oct ‘05)

> Leave Before The Lights Come On (22nd Oct ‘05)

> Riot Van (3rd Nov ‘05)

> Fake Tales Of San Francisco (15th Nov ‘05)

Onto the most iconic year for AM: 2006

Their first world tour continued in 2006

Other songs saw their live debuts such as:

> AM’s cover of Love Machine by Girls Aloud (19th Jan ‘06)

> Who The Fuck Are Arctic Monkeys? (27th Jan ‘06)

> Cigarette Smoker Fiona (1st March ‘06)

> Despair In The Departure Lounge (13th March ‘06)

> No Buses (24th Mar ‘06)

As well as the debuts of:

> their debut album: Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not (21st Feb ‘06)

> When The Sun Goes Down SINGLE ALBUM (17th Jan ‘06)

> I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor SINGLE ALBUM (14th March ‘06)

> Who The Fuck Are Arctic Monkeys? SINGLE ALBUM (25th April ‘06)

> Leave Before The Lights Come On SINGLE ALBUM (14th August ‘06)

Music Videos:

> Leave Before The Lights Come On (4th August ‘06)

> Fake Tales Of San Francisco (14th August ‘06)

(info above sourced from setlist.fm)

As i’m penning this it’s currently the year is 2024, next year is 2025, and the year after that is 2026. Currently, AM have been a band for 22 years. They started playing at giggs live 21 years ago. They began performing their original songs practically 20 years ago. I BET YOU LOOK GOOD ON THE DANCEFLOOR is gonna be 20 years old 17th October 2024. So this ongoing train of thought starting thus metaphorical ball running in my mind:

What if the AM are working on an AM 20th anniversary thing? To celebrate 20 years of still being a band and to celebrate two decades worth of fans, and remarkable once in AM-verse lifetime memories, and everything fabulous that came about because of AM forming 22 years ago? Maybe that’s the mysterious thing that they have been planning at?

If it is an AM anniversary thingy here’s a list of theories of what it could be if that ever is in the cards for our beloved Arctic Monkeys:

> An AM greatest hits album. With B-sides from TBHC & The Car. Sorta similar to AM Live at Royal Albert Hall album that dropped in 2020. Cause sure if it was a new album it would likely be reported already. Also during The Car Tour Alex would have wacky beautiful moments playing random stuff on the piano and making Alex sounds sometimes before playing: Why’d You Only Call Me When You’re High?

> An AM documentary. - AM photographer: Zachary Michael I think it is, has been seen tagging Alex Turner around in a number of Alex Turner recents post the finale of The Car Tour. What if that’s to get shots for the AM documentary?

> An AM book / photo album. Think Alexa Chung’s IT, but if it were AM recounting their career with lots of snapshots and stills of them over their career being fabulous? Also, I can so imagine physical photo album books are still Alex Turner’s thing. I say still because Alex Turner was born in 1986, so he probably grew up with the likes of physical photo albums years before digital camera roles came into place.

> Also for either of my documentary or photo album thing; what if the AM recents with Nick, Jamie, Alex etc have been teases to them visiting iconic AM hotspots / venues etc that AM became and are famous for and that they’ve lots of gratitude towards those locations for giving them that boost in their career/ E.g. Mojave Desert & New York City & Los Angeles where AM recorded Humbug / Yellow Arch Studios in Sheffield UK where AM recorded some of their first ever songs at. / Vox Studios LA, La Frette Paris France where AM recorded Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino / The Grapes & Leadmill where they played they’re first ever gigs? -Jamie was spotted attending a concert in Yellow Arch Studios the other week for a Sheffield originating band.

> Strings added to AM songs. Think Glastonbury 2013 where’d AM had a whole orchestra add strings to Cornerstone and Mardy Bum. Exactly. Also, think back to the last four The Car Tour gigs. AM played in Ireland all 4 days with James Ford and an orchestra doing strings on a few songs. What if those four last gigs were the foreshadowing / prelude of Alex’s and AM’s big ideas of what's to come?

Also, Alex isn't seen much public-wise these days at all. If he’s working on an Anniversary thingy it would make so much perfect sense for his ‘hibernation’ / disappearance. Whatever you wanna call it. What if he’s just hardcore hyper focused on getting that right if that is what him and the band are working on?

Another wild thought I have: What if AM bring back songs in the Anniversary thing from Beneath The Boardwalk etc like songs that we’ve never heard the light of day of yet??!!

Thanks @misskattylashes your help and contribution 😘

[jesse-eisenberg-interview]

A list of Jesse Eisenberg's writing

I made a list of Jesse Eisenberg's writing.

2009

NOV 30 Manageable Tongue Twisters.

2010

FEB 24 Marxist-Socialists Jokes

2011

JUL 21 A Post Gender Normative Man Tries to Pick Up a Woman at a Bar

DEC 07 ACTOR & PLAYWRIGHT JESSE EISENBERG ON THE THRILL OF THE STAGE

2012

JAN 25 Courage Is Just an Act

FEB 15 Jeremy Lin Has Helped Me Through Some Pretty Tough Times

MAR 12 Jesse Eisenberg on His Lifelong Aversion to Youth Culture

MAY 24 Sushi Nozawa

JUN 06 Masgouf

JUL 09 The Whiskey Blue Bar at the W Hotel

AUG 01 TCBY

AUG 20 Robert Frost Elementary School Cafeteria

OCT 02 Organix vs. the San Gennaro Street Festival

NOV 21 Thanksgiving With Vegans

DEC 11 Body Rituals Among the Lauxesortem

2013

FEB 22 Matthew’s House

MAR 17 Marv Albert Is My Therapist

APR 15 The League, Passed Down

APR 17 I Didn’t Win Any Pulitzer Prizes This Year

APR 25 A Marriage Counselor Tries to Heckle at a Knicks Game

JUN 03 Fuddruckers and an Unreliable New Friend

JUN 24 Separation-Anxiety Sleepaway Camp

AUG 06 A Crawfish Boil and Dad’s New Family

SEP 09 A Bully Does His Research

OCT 02 A Post Gender Normative Woman Tries to Pick Up a Man at a Bar

OCT 07 Final Conversations at Pompeii

NOV 01 The Museum of Natural History and Making Compromises

NOV 12 Alexander Graham Bell’s First Five Phone Calls

DEC 12 The Ashram and Mom

2014

JAN 20 If I Was Fluent in . . .

JUN 10 Carmelo Anthony and I Debrief Our Friends After a Pickup Game at the Y.M.C.A.

2015

MAY 25 Men and Dancing

SEP 01 My Nephew Has Some Questions

SEP 09 My Spam Plays Hard to Get

NOV 22 THE GUY WHO HATED NOW YOU SEE ME, A SHORT STORY

NOV 23 An Honest Film Review

2016

JAN 27 What Do You Do When Your Mother Won’t Shut Up at The Ballet?

FEB 04 Act Like You Know

FEB 12 Why I Broke Up with the Little Mermaid

MAY 19 My Cousin Recently Became A Realtor

NOV 04 SELF-DEPRECATING HEROES

DEC 11 LOW TALK IN HIGH PLACES

2017

JAN 23 YOU NEVER REALLY KNOW

JAN 25 My Very Good Friend

FEB 01 发现肉——致中国读者

MAR 04 HAVE YOU DINED WITH US BEFORE?

NOV 14 Mongolia

2018

JAN 15 Sad Stuff on the Street

MAR 20 Thanks, Giving

MAY 14 My N.B.A. Knowledge Comes In Handy

MAY 18 One Small Blow Against Encroaching Totalitarianism: The Natural Order of the World Depends On It

MAY 31 Jesse Eisenberg on the Relentless Work Ethic of Philip Roth

DEC 05 The Cast Members and Their Crew

2019

JAN 03 MY SISTER PUSHES THE LOBSTER

NOV 21 My Two-Year-Old Requests Just One More Song Before Bed

NOV 23 Jesse Eisenberg: Recommends four contemporary plays

2021

MAR 02 Writer Courtney Zoffness and Jesse Eisenberg on the Radical Compassion of Art

2022

NOV 07 Content Warning

2023

FEB 20 A G.P.S. Route for My Anxiety

[foxspirit1928]

Miss Fisher Snippets (151 – 180)

151. Posted 22-Jul-2023 (Marion Boyce: What really attracted me to the show is Phryne because she breaks all the rules.)

152. Posted 06-Aug-2023 (That bible was very precious to me. Mother gave it to me when I was five.)

153. Posted 12-Aug-2023 (Can we bring her back, or have we lost her to the great, black beyond?)

154. Posted 19-Aug-2023 (All this time and energy spent trying to find out what happened...when I've known all along.)

155. Posted 25-Aug-2023 (Mr. Archibald Jones, he of the dulcet tones)

156. Posted 09-Sep-2023 (You shall from...for...from this time on be your master's mistress)

157. Posted 13-Sep-2023 (Would you do me the honor of being my wife?)

158. Posted 18-Sep-2023 (Marion Boyce: I have a great love for Phryne. I also adore Essie.)

159. Posted 24-Sep-2023 (There's a Long, Long Trail)

160. Posted 05-Oct-2023 (Phryne Fisher, code name: Black Cat)

161. Posted 08-Oct-2023 (That won't be right, you working, not when you're Mrs. Collins.)

162. Posted 14-Oct-2023 (What you're experiencing, Collins, is the paradox of pursuing a modern woman.)

163. Posted 21-Oct-2023 (If I marry Hugh, I won't be working for you anymore.)

164. Posted 28-Oct-2023 (It's a paradox, Dottie.)

165. Posted 11-Nov-2023 (Give my regard to the tea lady)

166. Posted 18-Nov-2023 (Phryne was aware that there were such things as speed limits...)

167. Posted 23-Nov-2023 (Chicken fricassee tonight, Mr. Butler?)

168. Posted 09-Dec-2023 (Imagine. A secret oasis somewhere in the vast Negev desert...)

169. Posted 16-Dec-2023 (I'm impressed. You're commandeering my case before I knew I had one.)

170. Posted 21-Dec-2023 (My birthday party. Summer solstice. Help me to celebrate.)

171. Posted 25-Dec-2023 (Under the mistletoe. Kiss! Kiss!)

172. Posted 01-Jan-2024 (I'm sailing on a sunbeam on my way back to you)

173. Posted 06-Jan-2024 (And I have nothing better to do with my time?)

174. Posted 13-Jan-2024 (Miss Fisher is a renowned warrior for justice)

175. Posted 27-Jan-2024 (Jane says she is going to be a doctor.)

176. Posted 03-Feb-2024 (Bastard extraction. We've only met up a dark alley.)

177. Posted 10-Feb-2024 (This floozy is not suitable for you.)

178. Posted 14-Feb-2024 (Phryne and Jack kisses)

179. Posted 16-Feb-2024 (Thanks, Mac. I knew I could rely on you.)

180. Posted 24-Feb-2024 (You are Fox Spirit)

(Posted 03-Mar-2024)

[mostlysignssomeportents]

Private equity health-care monopolies are on a profitable killing spree

It’s not just you. US healthcare, already a bureaucratic nightmare of buck-passing and price-gouging, has gotten far worse. Private equity firms have created regional health-care monopolies that don’t just rip patients off — they’re killing us.

Private equity is a scam. Fund managers raise gigantic sums by claiming to be able to “beat the market.” In reality, they do worse for their investors than a boring old index fund:

https://pluralistic.net/2020/02/25/pluralistic-your-daily-link-dose-25-feb-2020/#extraordinaryclaims

The fund managers don’t have to beat the market in order to make bank. They can take advantage of the “carried interest” loophole, which has nothing to do with interest rates — it’s a tax system that was invented for 16th century sea-captains (no, really):

https://pluralistic.net/2021/04/29/writers-must-be-paid/#carried-interest

PE dresses up its playbook in all kinds of bullshit, but it’s a smokescreen. At core, PE funds buy companies, merge them to monopoly, slash wages, fire staff, load up their businesses with debt, and then skedaddle before the businesses collapse. They call this “creating value”:

https://pluralistic.net/2020/07/24/software-is-cake-too/#looters

This playbook guarantees that everything PE touches will turn to shit. PE is a parasite that preys on weak industries and makes them even more dysfunctional. Think of how PE has cornered regional rental housing markets and then turned every rental in town into a slum:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/02/08/wall-street-landlords/#the-new-slumlords

Most of us didn’t really think about rail-freight until last winter, when the whole system nearly collapsed. Again, the bloody handprints of PE are all over that crisis:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/02/04/up-your-nose/#rail-barons

The pandemic put a lot of businesses into a precarious state, and PE swooped in, buying up distressed businesses at scale and putting them into a death-spiral:

https://pluralistic.net/2020/03/30/medtronic-stole-your-ventilator/#blackstone-kkr

This acquisition was fueled by Trump’s corporate covid bailout and the trillions in public money that the GOP made available to corporate borrowers (remember, PE thrives on debt):

https://pluralistic.net/2020/09/17/divi-recaps/#graebers-ghost

Of all the sick industries in America, healthcare is the sickest, and it’s the domain where PE has done the most damage. PE stripped healthcare systems to the bone, removing all excess capacity and exhausting and demoralizing healthcare workers:

https://pluralistic.net/2020/05/21/profitable-butchers/#looted

They bought up emergency rooms, turned them into scam factories that hit every unfortunate person who stepped foot in them with thousands in “surprise billing” fees. Then they cut doctors’ pay and spent millions on ads to block anti-surprise billing legislation:

https://pluralistic.net/2020/04/21/all-in-it-together/#doctor-patient-unity

The ER scam was and is wild. Some hospitals lock all their doors except for the ER doors, and then they’d hit you for “emergency care” when you went through the ER on your way to receiving normal, non-emergency procedures:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/03/14/unhealthy-finances/#steins-law

The damage wasn’t limited to emergency rooms. Whole hospitals — whole hospital systems — were crashed by PE looters, and many of these got emergency government bailouts, because…free market?

https://pluralistic.net/2020/10/01/the-years-of-repair/#mass-murder

PE has bought its way into every corner of the health-care system, and made every bad thing, much, much worse. You know how “bad nursing home” are three of the scariest words in the English language? Try on “bad private equity owned nursing home” for size. The death toll is massive:

https://pluralistic.net/2021/02/23/acceptable-losses/#disposable-olds

Biden’s SEC chair Gary Gensler has made the most decisive anti-PE moves in decades, requiring disclosures that will help investors (especially union pension funds) pierce the veil of bullshit that brings in the billions that PE fashions into weapons of financial mass destruction:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/02/10/monopoly-begets-monopoly/#gary-gensler

But the wheels of justice grind slow, and PE has trillions to fuel its race to suck every bit of value out of the health-care system before the party comes to an end.

In “Sick Profit: Investigating Private Equity’s Stealthy Takeover of Health Care Across Cities and Specialties,” Kaiser Health News’s Fred Schulte reveals the plan of attack:

https://khn.org/news/article/private-equity-takeover-health-care-cities-specialties/

In 2021, PE firms bought 1,400 health care companies, spending $206b (the total since 2012 is more than $1t). They’ve cornered regional markets for eye care, dental care, family practices, hospices, and pet care. We’ve had a year to see how that played out, and it’s not pretty.

Since 2014, PE companies have paid out $500m in fines for falsifying health care billings to the US government, but a fine is a price, and the fines have been absorbed into PE’s business plans as part of the cost of operations.

Once a PE firm buys up all the specialists in a region, things get very bad. Take San Antonio, where nearly all the gastroenterology clinics have been bought up by PE firms, and where routine colonoscopies now cost patients thousands more than they paid before:

https://khn.org/news/article/private-equity-gastroenterologist-colonoscopy/

While there are plenty of illegal ways that PE companies extract value from their acquisitions, the legal tactics are pretty ugly all on their own, like cutting staff and replacing them with less skilled, less trained, cheaper workers, putting patients at risk.

This is particularly worrying when you consider how heavily PE companies invest in practices that treat people who are vulnerable and struggle to advocate for themselves, such as behavioral health specialists who treat autism, addiction and mental illness.

Whether or not you can escape PE depends a lot on where you live. PE only owns 12% of the nation’s anesthesiology practices, but those practices are concentrated in five states, where more than two thirds of anesthesiologists are PE owned.

When PE takes over your health care, billings go way up. The average PE-treated patient generates $71 more per claim, and is 9% more likely to experience “lengthy, more costly” care:

https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama-health-forum/fullarticle/2795946

Doctors who sell their practices to PE companies are lured in with promises of administrative relief from experts who’ll handle billing, scheduling and compliance. But PE firms exercise fine-grained control over these doctors, violating rules that say medical practices must be run by MDs.

Take National Spine, a PE-backed chain owned by Sentinel Capital Partners that bought up 40+ pain-management clinics across the country. Doctors saw their caseload explode from 16 patients/day to 25. Medicare billings also exploded, with “unnecessary and often worthless” back braces being charged at up to $1,100 each. Patients were given $1,800 “medically unnecessary and often worthless” urine tests. National settled these claims for $3.3m in April 2019, without admitting guilt.

RLH Equity Partners’s pharmacies bilked the military health insurer Tricare out of $68m through a system of kickbacks and telemarketer sales. RLH settled the case for $21m and blamed it on a few corrupt “individuals.”

Most of the time, fraud claims are settled by the companies that the PE funds owe, while the PE funds themselves get off scot-free. That leaves the funds free to re-offend, and to further push the limits on patient endangerment.

One of the grisliest parts of this tale is in the realm of children’s dentistry. PE firms have bought up these practices and turned them into high-volume Medicare-fraud assembly lines that perform rushed, unnecessary major procedures on poor kids and bill the government a fortune for them.

These include baby root canals and crowns, and the PE-backed dental chains set quotas for their staff, requiring them to perform a certain number of major procedures on each patient. One particularly horrifying case recounted by the KHN article is that of two-year old Zion Gastelum, who died following major dental surgery.

Gastelum received six root canals and crowns on his baby teeth at a PE-owned Kool Smiles clinic in Yuma, AZ. The oxygen bottle used during his surgery “was empty or not operating properly” and the staff who oversaw the procedure were undertrained and didn’t notice. He never regained consciousness, and died of brain injuries days later.

Kool Smiles’s owners paid $24m to settle a DoJ overbilling claim less than a month later. The settlement alleged that Kool Smiles performed unnecessary procedures, including baby root canals. Kool Smiles denied that they were responsible for Gastelum’s death.

More than 90% of PE acquisitions fall below the $101m threshold for antitrust review, so they fly under the radar. Once the mergers are complete, they are very hard to unwind. The FTC is working its way through hundreds of comments from doctors or other health care workers asking for tighter scrutiny of health-care mergers.

The Healthcare Private Equity Association boasts that its members are poised to spend more than $3t to create “the future of healthcare.”

https://hcpea.org/#!event-list

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[Image ID: A hospital Emergency Room parking lot. In the center of the image stands an ogrish, top-hatted, cigar-chomping capitalist caricature. He is standing at a podium, yanking a lever made from a golden dollar-sign. The front of the podium bears a red cross. He holds aloft an elderly man in a hospital bed.]