#1/100 is a legitimate threat of harm to other people

[midwestgender]

people who are like i just cant help it i love watching people die horrifically and have their limbs cut off. its because im autistic okay. anyways do you think im cool and edgy and #fucked up. also ive loved cannibalism ever since i was little haha. yeah i know im fucked up and have issues and make myself a problem for other people but i am unable to take accountability for my actions because of mental illnesses and trauma. im extremely cool because i love watching videos of (majority non-white) people die on the internet. are you scared of me? i want you to be scared of me soooo bad. if you dont engage with my fantasy of being treated like the equivalent to jeffrey dahmer than i have no interest in talking to you. what do you mean its abundantly clear ive never met someone whose actually killed another person…. no i cant explain prison abolition to you what lmfao

[ahyesmygoodomenssideblog]

Hey, I wanted to thank you for writing those metas, I love reading them !

I watched good omens only recently and when I initially went through the good omens meta tag I felt kind of frustrated, since there is a lot of the "Crowley really has to learn to stop running away at the slightest problem" and stuff like that going around.

There was also a lot of "why are there so many people hating on aziraphale" but honestly I have trouble even finding a little criticism of him, so I don't understand why people are defending him, since there isn't even a threat? Or is there a tag for Aziraphale criticism I don't know of? ^^'

I'm a bit of tired of treating him, as if he isn't part of the oldest beings in the universe and didn't have time to challenge his thought process or learn how to, especially on earth with Crowley trying to help with that. When I was watching, Aziraphales well meaning behaviour hurt and his ignorance stung. He really is kind of delusional and I don't even know where I am going with these thoughts.

I hope dumping this wall of text in your askbox was okay. Are there any more metas planned? Thank you again, I hope you have a nice week!

Hi anon, thank you so much for the message! Sorry for the late reply. I 100% agree with you. Pretty much all I've seen on Tumblr is people defending Aziraphale or trying to reframe it so that Crowley and Aziraphale are equally at fault. I did see people talking about hate Aziraphale was getting on Twitter, but I don't use Twitter so I don't know what anyone might be saying over there.

Aziraphale is definitely woobified by the fandom, and it gets incredibly frustrating. Like, yes, Aziraphale has a lot of religious trauma. But so does Crowley. The opening scene of season 2 establishes that they've had this fundamental difference in views from the start, even before the fall, so I don't get why Aziraphale still gets so much leeway after refusing to change or grow for 6000+ years. He knows the complexities of humanity better than any other angel, but he keeps doubling down on his flawed belief system.

And season 2 really emphasized that Aziraphale's well-meaning ignorance is legitimately harmful. Like he got Morag killed by applying his overly simplistic worldview to a morally gray situation. And then there's the ball scene? The way Aziraphale dragged others into his rose-colored fantasy world was disturbing, especially with how freaked-out Nina was by it. Then Crowley shows up terrified and asking for help, and Aziraphale dismisses his concerns out of hand. He refuses to let Crowley’s worries put a damper on this Jane Austen ball nobody signed up for.

And Crowley was right. Like he was trying to raise the alarm about the very real danger that everyone was in. I’ve seen it framed a lot like Aziraphale is just an optimist and Crowley is a pessimist, but it goes farther than that. Crowley consistently has a more realistic view of Heaven, Hell, and humanity than Aziraphale does. Aziraphale's inability to engage with reality causes actual harm to both humans and to Crowley. It contributed to the world almost ending in season 1, because Aziraphale wasted a lot of time trying to reach the "right people" in Heaven instead of accepting that Heaven is as bad as Hell and trusting the one person that’s been trying to save the world with him for years.

And it's like, yes, Aziraphale is sympathetic. He’ll be very conflicted, and distressed about how conflicted he is, and then he’ll come around and do the right thing in the end. But it's frustrating to watch Aziraphale seeming to grow and then immediately backsliding. Like, he was ready to fall to protect Job's kids. But he didn't, and he went right back to his beliefs. He didn't lose his faith in Heaven despite the Flood, and Job, and Jesus, and the apocalypse.

He also has this superiority complex, where he's the nice one while Crowley is stuck doing the dirty work. "I am a great deal holier-than-thou" and all that. Aziraphale's belief system makes him "good" by definition. He dismisses and overrides Crowley's opinions instead of changing his own because, on some level or another, he thinks he's better than Crowley by design.

So it’s at the point where Aziraphale needs to do some serious self-reflection. He needs to be the one to make the choice to change fundamental beliefs he’s clung onto since the beginning of time. I think he's capable of changing, and I’m looking forward to how it plays out in s3, but I don’t think we’ll be getting a lot of good fix-its from the fandom any time soon. Most of what I've seen is still fans insisting that since they're both flawed they are both at fault, and their relationship can be fixed by just having them both apologize to each other. If people are looking at it beyond that, I don't know where they're discussing it.

[femenaces]

as a zoomer wanted to support ur point abt the whole “telling ppl to kill themselves” becoming like… a socially accepted thing in certain online circles. like. i’m ashamed 2 say i thought it was acceptable myself for awhile and i think it’s very much to do w the lack of empathy nowadays. like. i didn’t ever rlly fully think about it until i was extremely suicidal myself (as in like, had to spend months in a rehab facility type suicidal) and then later received death threats that i fully realized how fucked up it is. Like. it’s very easy to be like “haha that’s stupid no one would kill themselves over me sending them an anon!” but like. 1 that’s literally what cyberbullying is. are we saying cyberbullying is fake now 2 when you are already suicidal, have severe mental illness, etc, that shit gets to you! and it’s not a “well if you can’t handle death threats get off the internet” thing bc that’s not an internet thing, that’s like, basic morals. and courtesy.

but also as well as super black & white thinking among leftist zoomers. it honestly wasn’t until i started engaging in radfem circles that i realized it was even possible to like. have a civil disagreement with someone over a political point and still like and respect each other. I think zoomers legitimately think that “disagreeing with me = wishing personal harm upon me” and therefore think sending violent threats is somehow equivalent to disagreement. Sorry to rant in ur inbox but this is a topic that’s very aggravating to me

No, thank you for your input on this phenomenon. I also remember a time when radblr was a place for civil disagreement, and I remember we used to pride ourselves on it. That's why I am especially shocked.

I'm lucky to have gotten to a point that death and suicide hate mail does not affect me (because god knows I have gotten a lot of it) but I remember being younger, particularly a teenager, and being very affected by that sort of stuff. Not to mention, that as a 16 y/o I had the same dumb opinions as a lot of young people do and since then I have reformed by ideas a lot, but it wasn't thanks to violent anonymous asks, it was thanks to well-worded, coherent counterarguments.

you say, "I think zoomers legitimately think that 'disagreeing with me = wishing personal harm upon me'" and I think you're 100% correct. And I think that's because in their (speaking as if i'm not technically a zoomer lmfao but I digress) interpersonal interactions online, that has been the case. I often feel very powerless when I look at the effect social media like tiktok is having on children and young adults today. I'm not sure what the solution is, but the only thing I can think of to do is to try my best to set a good example. Maybe if enough of us try, it will make a difference in online climate.

[janiedean]

So was discussing this with a friend. S8 s*ansa talking about r+L even tho jon asked her not to. Initially we were like book!s would never, but then my friend said book!s DID in book 1 (telling ned's plan to c). Now obviously these are 2 v different situations. Book!s was a kid who had NO idea abt the larger context of things, and she wasn't aware of the political games going on. She genuinely thought she was doing the Right thing or at least what would eventually benefit her and her family 1/2

~because if c and joff are happy it will benefit the starks. So my friend said s8 stuff wasn't all that different since she genuinely believed Dany was nuts and Westeros was better off without her and that jon couldn't see it because he loved her. Plus if jon ends up on the iron throne (which is what we thought she was getting at in telling tyrion) it's again good for the starks? What do you think? If nothing it made sense in the context of show!s considering LF her mentor? 2/2

... I... respectfully disagree on just about everything. In order:

as you said, book!sansa had no fucking idea what she was doing, she was being misled by both cersei and joffrey and she thought she was saving her father, not benefit her family, which is normal given that she’s... twelve. or whatever;

now, the problem is that it’s bad writing if a character starts somewhere and arrives at the same place without nothing having fucking changed in between unless it’s a movie whose point is being depressing or specifically wants to be tragic, because like... circular writing for *long* series where people get invested in *character development* means that we get at the same situation but with changed people - for one, idk, it’s circular writing if jaime’s last line in the series is the things I do for love after he idk knights brienne or saving tyrion’s life or doing something selfless, because we went from jaime who does things for love that are bad for him and bad for everyone else involved to jaime doing things for love for good reasons, which is why among the other reasons the bells is a shit episode that doesn’t work on any level, so if sansa spills the truth about jon to tyrion exactly the way she did in got therefore causing harm and the only difference is that she knows she’s causing harm sansa hasn’t had any development outside of ‘wow she started as a sweet girl and now she’s cersei 2.0′;

on that sense, the entire point in sansa being mentored by lf in the book is that she’s not going to turn out like him or cersei which is plenty obvious because it’s been four books and she’s still kind and empathetic to everyone including people who hurt her, so that is not a legitimate writing choice imvho;

now, about sansa spilling about r+l, there is a whole other level of wrong in it, which we can further divide into the following categories: a) first of all for what THE SHOW told me, sansa basically decided dany was nuts and hated her because WHY THE FUCK NOT - there is no literal reason for show sansa to dislike dany that much when she went with jon to help, JON was the king so it was his decision to kneel, she didn’t hurt the northerners and she arrived with an army to kill the goddamned zombies, so basically by the point she spills to tyrion she seems like she’s doing that out of pettiness - honest, by 8x04 dany hadn’t... looked nuts or anything, and I’m saying it as someone who doesn’t care about dany but thinks that if S8 did one thing was making you root for her even if you previously didn’t; b) sansa swore in front of a heart tree (which is sacred to northerners) that she wouldn’t spill and then she did, which is... not that great; c) more than that, it was going against jon’s wishes because jon made overtly clear that he didn’t want the throne, that he didn’t want to act on his rights and that he knelt to dany and that he wasn’t interested in challenging her claim, so if sansa wanted him to be king she was basically ignoring what HE wanted without even consulting with him first, which is an incredibly bad breach of trust on her side that honestly, if I had been jon in the finale I’d have told her to fuck off and that I never wanted to see her again X°DD like you don’t put people on thrones when they didn’t ask you to out of disliking the legitimate ruler that your brother who was king at the moment bent the knee to because you presumably.... want the independent north which in the books is a thing that will happen because bran is 100% the next kitn, but is not a thing inherently seen as morally better or more just than any other option and which neither ned nor robb actually wanted, so.... no;

‘dany being nuts’ was a decision dnd took without even planning it well because she basically lost it without one single illegitimate reason - I mean, again considering that I don’t care for dany and I think she’s a good khaleesi but not a great ruler and that her adwd stint confirms it and that she’s not endgame ruler for the end of the books... what I see in S8 is that the poor girl goes to winterfell to help them and sansa treats her like shit and everyone treats her like shit, she has to see one of her dragons die once, jorah dies in front of her, when she tries to mingle with the others she gets treated like she doesn’t belong, then it turns out that her new boyfriend is her nephew and a threat to her claim which she has staked her entire storyline on, then almost all of her closest advisors decide to turn against her for wtf reasons when she said from the beginning that she was there to kill cersei and reclaim her rights, then she loses her second dragon and her best friend in the span of one day, then during the bells she goes berserk because they decided to give her joncon’s storyline out of nowhere and bc dnd haven’t even read the first version of the first dance with dragons, but like... honestly at that point my opinion was ‘if she goes and dracaryses the entire continent I’ll just cheer because what the fucking fuck is this they just made her sympathetic and sansa looks like a cold scheming asshole which is not the character I love’, so like... where is the truth? the truth is that dnd decided to go with that shit ending where maybe 5% was grrm’s thing (I mean the small council made of cripples bastards and broken things is a grrm thing, how they get there.... no) and dany didn’t feature in it and they didn’t know how to finish and they went with that also because they knew most fake feminist press was rallying behind the ‘sansa as queen in the north who needs no man’ bullshit storyline so what the fuck let’s just go with that, and like.... again: as someone who doesn’t gaf about dany in the books, that was just not it period

tldr: s8 sansa makes sense maybe if we take her as a separate character who has nothing to do with her book self and that dnd wrote to be cersei lite except slightly more likable, but her actions make no sense, her writing makes no sense and hasn’t since they gave her theon’s fucking sl in S5 and there is literally nothing past episode 8x02 except maybe four scenes that actually makes any shred of narrative sense as an adaptation and within the show’s context, since a lot of stuff is basically characters contradicting each other. I said what I said. /shrug

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[soncfseed]

reposted from my old blog

i want to post some links so people can better understand what bpd is and what a personality disorder is and is not. then, i’ll do a quick rundown of the 9 bpd symptoms and which ones ethan has/displays and how they manifest for him.

here is a quick ref of some common misconceptions about the disorder. tldr version: a lot of people think bpd isnt real, or that people with bpd are just crazy assholes but its a legitimate mental health problem that has multiple factors including ones that seem to be genetic and environmental.

a personality disorder is defined by the mayo clinic as: “a type of mental disorder in which you have a rigid and unhealthy pattern of thinking, functioning and behaving. A person with a personality disorder has trouble perceiving and relating to situations and people. This causes significant problems and limitations in relationships, social activities, work and school. In some cases, you may not realize that you have a personality disorder because your way of thinking and behaving seems natural to you.” basically, its not that a person has a bad personality in terms of poor character or is intentionally acting in a way that may seem irrational or explosive, but rather that the person has functional differences in how their brain reacts to things. personality is defined as:  “the combination of thoughts, emotions and behaviors that makes you unique. It’s the way you view, understand and relate to the outside world, as well as how you see yourself.” it isn’t just behaviour nor is it something people consciously control 100% of the time. borderline personality disorder has been linked to physical differences in the brain and its functioning, particularly of neurotransmitters and brain chemicals similar to mood disorders like depression. it is a type of neurodivergence, not a skewed moral compass, a choice, or something that people with bpd typically enjoy. the symptoms are very stress inducing and cause a lot of turmoil for the affected person, and when poor coping skills have been ingrained and then create further stress or complications in the person’s life, particularly in interpersonal relationships.

ok now we’re gonna hit the 9 symptoms and 4 domains of bpd and how ethan fits into it. the dsm-5 requires 5 symptoms out of 9 for a person to be diagnosed with bpd. ethan displays, in my opinion, 8/9 symptoms and would be a candidate for diagnosis in my experience.

domain a - emotional regulation 1) “Affective (emotional) instability including intense, episodic emotional anguish, irritability, and anxiety/panic attacks” ✅ generally, this is episodes of intense sadness, anger, irritability, insecurity and self doubt for ethan. he doesnt usually have anxiety or panic attacks, but he has had a few in extremely stressful situations. his symptoms of an anxiety attack tend to lean more towards irritability and emotional outbursts.

2) “Anger that is inappropriate, intense and difficult to control”  ✅ while ethan does become rightfully frustrated when the captain returns the book, the fact that he has what seems like a minute long complete meltdown including hitting/smashing objects, that would be a good example of the kind of situationally inappropriate anger and displays of temper ethan has. his anger spikes rapidly and it makes it hard to control his actions at times.

3) “Chronic feelings of emptiness”  ✅ while we don’t necessarily see this explicitly in game, i’d argue that’s part of his experience of bpd. he often feels a lack of purpose, a lack of self, and substitutes that with his role as the leader of new eden.

theres additional symptoms described as such: “In addition, if you suffer from borderline disorder, you may also experience emotional hyper-reactivity (“emotional storms”),  or emotional responses that are occasionally under- reactive, and frequent episodes of loneliness, and boredom. “ ethan definitely experiences emotional storms, and episodes of loneliness particularly. thats amplified by the fact that hes not particularly close to anyone in new eden besides maybe the judge. between a lack of substantial interpersonal ties with his community and his disorder, his episodes of loneliness are often very intense and distressing.

domain b - harmful impulsive behaviors 4)  “Self-damaging acts such as excessive spending, unsafe and inappropriate sexual conduct, substance abuse, reckless driving, and binge eating”  ✅ ethan deals with this to an extent, but not these specific self damaging behaviours. for ethan, its usually not eating or not sleeping for periods of time, or going on particularly dangerous missions to find the book. hunting also serves as an adrenaline rush, but because it sustains new eden its less impulsive than it is an acceptable way of spending a day

5) “Recurrent suicidal behavior, gestures, threats, or self-injurious behavior such as cutting or hitting yourself.”  ❌ ethan has suicidal ideations, but doesn’t have a history of engaging in self harm or suicide attempts.  

though not an explicit symptom, dangerous impulsivity that affects the self or others is a common symptom, and one ethan does deal with. his decision to turn new eden over to the highwaymen was in part spurred by his impulsive thinking and behaviour.

domain c - perceptions of self and others 6) “A markedly and persistently unstable self-image or sense of yourself (your perceptions of yourself, your identity)”  ✅ ethan definitely experiences shifts in this realm. this is part of why he ties himself so strongly to his identity as the leader of new eden in light of his poor relationship with his father (which will come up again). when that is threatened, it sends him spiraling because of his unstable self image. this applies to ethan’s image of himself as a person morally, his worth relative to others, and even how he feels about his body and appearance.

7) “Suspiciousness of others thoughts about you, and even paranoid ideation, or transient and stress related dissociative episodes during which you feel that you or your surroundings appear unreal.”  ✅ ethan is absolutely suspicious of others and it goes beyond his learned suspicion of outsiders that all of new eden seems to have. he is particularly suspicious of his father, and of people within his own community. some of this is completely rational, but it often extends beyond that. he experiences, in my hc, dissociative episodes and bouts of depersonalization where parts of his body don’t feel real or don’t feel attached to him/belonging to him.

“Other symptoms in this Domain include split- or “all-or-nothing” thinking, difficulty “pulling” your thoughts together so they make sense, and rational problem solving, especially in social conflicts.” ethan deals with all of these issues generally speaking. this is in part why his decision to burn down new eden was so extreme; he has difficulty at times with regulating what is rational and what is not (and making nuanced decisions), particularly when under extreme emotional duress like during an explosive emotional episode or mood swing.

domain d - unstable relationships 8)  “You may engage in frantic efforts to avoid real or imagined abandonment.”✅ this is part of why he looked so hard for the book, why he pushes himself so hard to be the leader of new eden and why he turns on them so aggressively at the end. sometimes this can manifest as lashing out, a way to “get them before they get me” mentality. he has particularly strong responses to feeling abandoned or ignored.

9) “Your relationships may be very intense, unstable, & alternate between the extremes of overidealizing and undervaluing people who are important to you.” ✅ this is definitely something ethan struggles with, especially with his father. this is also why he was willing to let new eden burn and its people suffer with it. he had swung too far back from feeling rejected that went completely into “new eden bad”, undervaluing everyone there to the point that he was able to rationalize destroying the place at the expense of the people who lived there.

none of this is meant to excuse his poor decision making, but in the context of my hc for him, it explains why he can act so irrationally at times, and so extremely. in reality, people with bpd are more likely to hurt themselves through self harm, suicide attempts, impuslive behavior, and self destructive behavior. ethan seed is 1) not a real person and 2) living under some very intense and unusual circumstances with probably the WORST person to parent someone with bpd, joseph “i talk to god and he says your soul is tainted” seed. he also doesn’t know he has a disorder and doesn’t have the knowledge or resources to get mental health treatment for his disorder. as it stands, however, he’s made some pretty bad and pretty horrible decisions, and at times can be a bad person. this doesn’t mean, however, that he is 100% bad or always awful, or that bpd is the sole cause of his behaviours. it isnt. lots of people (including myself) have bpd and we haven’t been directly or indirectly responsible for the deaths of anyone; we’ve never burned down our hometowns or tried to get our fathers killed. ethan’s display of bpd is more of a tool to explain and contextualize his behavior and character rather than to condemn him, condone him, or excuse his actions.

tldr ethan has bpd and so do i thanks 4 listening to my ted talk

[lastsonlost]

It never should have happened but at least this is good news.

Now how about we fired that judg....?

Nearly two years after the death of his 21-month-old son, Jonathan Vanderhagen remained angry. The toddler, Killian, died of hydrocephalus just three days after his father filed for full custody from the boy’s mother in 2017, and Vanderhagen saw Facebook as an outlet for not just his grief but as a way to honor his son’s spirit in photos of the boy laughing and playing with musical instruments.

It was also a way to lash out at the family court judge, Macomb County Circuit Court Judge Rachel Rancilio, who oversaw the custody case in Michigan through which Vanderhagen hoped to win sole custody of his son after alleging the boy’s mother was not taking him to important doctor appointments.

“My Son’s case 100% contradicts everything you claim to represent,” he wrote in one post on July 8, accompanied by photos of Rancilio hugging her father at a ceremony to join the Michigan governor’s task force on child abuse. “So wait Rachel you claim to be an advocate for ‘child abuse & neglect’ … very interesting … does my son Killian not fall into that category, does he not matter ?!?!”

In several posts from early July, he shared some of the judge’s personal social media posts and suggested that Rancilio needed to be removed from her seat on the bench.

The harsh words left the judge upset. What Vanderhagen viewed as free speech, Rancilio deemed a threat. The 35-year-old Chesterfield Township, Mich., man was arrested for his Facebook posts in July, and spent almost two months in jail awaiting a verdict.

On Thursday, Vanderhagen was acquitted on the misdemeanor charge of malicious use of a telecommunication device, concluding the case that has gripped the Detroit area for months and rekindled debates about what content represents a legitimate threat on social media.

“I am thankful the jury could see the truth,” Vanderhagen told reporters outside the courthouse.

In September 2017, Killian died of complications related to hydrocephalus, a health condition he was born with, the Macomb Daily reported. The father alleged that Killian’s mother wasn’t taking him to doctor’s appointments, but police did not press criminal charges in the boy’s death. He had been fighting for sole custody, but the boy was living with his mother when he died.

On social media, the bearded and tattooed dad frequently writes about his son. He shares photos with his black hair slicked back, laughing with his son or kissing the top of the smiling baby’s head. He posts items and memes featuring Charlie Brown and Snoopy, “Peanuts” characters that were special to his son.

The same online space where Vanderhagen shared memories of better days was also where the father blamed the court for not moving more swiftly in his custody case.

“I wont stop till changes are made, people are held accountable, careers are ended, & these kids get the justice they deserve,” he wrote in one of his Facebook posts.

After being made aware of Vanderhagen’s Facebook posts, Rancilio called the Macomb County Sheriff’s Office, which assigned an officer to investigate the content. After watching two videos and reviewing posts in which Vanderhagen accused Rancilio of being corrupt and elitist, the officer concluded the judge wasn’t at risk.

“At no time does he threaten harm or violence,” the officer’s police report says. “At this time, it does not appear there is any threat to Judge Rancilio.”

Despite that conclusion, the sheriff’s office increased patrols near the judge’s house. Vanderhagen was arraigned and his bond was set at a $10,000 on July 11, according to court records.

Vanderhagen, who paid $1,000 to get out of jail, then promptly returned to his keyboard. He posted several new complaints about how his son had been treated by the court.

A week later, he appeared in court again and a judge determined he had violated the terms of his bond. Among the posts the prosecutor used to paint Vanderhagen as menacing was a photo of himself holding a shovel with Rancilio’s initials photoshopped on the handle in neat, cursive lettering.

“Dada back to digging,” he wrote. “You best believe im gonna dig up all the skeletons in this court’s closet.”

When she saw that post, Rancilio testified in court, she feared for her life. A single mother of two children, the judge told the court she hired a security guard, installed a new home alarm system and didn’t let her kids play outside alone. Prosecutors argued the bereaved father had crossed a line by collecting information and screen shots from her personal social media accounts — moving from criticism to online stalking.

“I thought he was going to kill me and bury me after he was done,” she said on the witness stand Tuesday, according to the Detroit Free Press. “I was scared. I was afraid something bad was going to happen to myself or my children.”

The prosecution argued in court that both the volume and content of Vanderhagen’s posts, especially the ones that included photos of her family members, inspired real fear. Assistant Macomb Prosecuting Attorney Elizabeth Rittinger said the threats did not need to be direct to frighten the judge.

“It is undisputed that Rachel Rancilio felt threatened,” Rittinger told the Macomb Daily.

It’s not unusual for judges to receive threats on social media and pursue charges against the posters. But those threats are typically more specific and violent than Vanderhagen’s Facebook diatribes.

Two men threatened to beat an Ohio judge in 2018 who presided over juvenile cases. Earlier this year, an Illinois man who had been scolded by a judge for disrupting court posted her photo and address with the caption “she is going to get it.” But whether threats — even explicit ones — made on social media are “true threats” is a thorny issue that has risen all the way to the Supreme Court, which set a very high bar for defining a threat in its 2015 opinion for Elonis v. United States. To be a threat, the court ruled in an 8-to-1 decision, the poster has to intend to scare someone.

When Vanderhagen was arrested a second time on July 24 for violating a no-contact order by writing more posts on Facebook, his attorney argued the father didn’t mean for Rancilio to feel afraid.

“There’s no threats,” argued attorney Nicholas Somberg at a bail hearing after his client was arrested again and held on a $500,000 bond, the Macomb Daily reported. “There’s no reaching out to Judge Rancilio. There’s been no contact. There’s no inadvertent messages. All the messages after the no contact (order) are all very innocuous. There’s things going on behind the scenes, so what?”

A Michigan jury agreed. The jurors deliberated for 26 minutes on Thursday before Vanderhagen was acquitted and released.

"I think that Jonathan should continue speaking the truth, I think he should continue researching our elected public officials and telling people what happened to him and warning other people about the court system,” Somberg said after the verdict.

Rancilio did not immediately return a request for comment late Thursday night.

Vanderhagen told the court he had been digging up information about the court to warn people about his bad experiences. He added that he did not mean to threaten or harass the judge.

“It’s not to terrorize her,” he said, according to the Detroit Free Press, “it’s to warn people.”

@specifictag

[englishchinesetranslations]

Tulsi Gabbard: Wake Up And Smell Our $6.4 Trillion Wars

REALISM & RESTRAINT

Tulsi Gabbard: Wake Up And Smell Our $6.4 Trillion Wars

Meanwhile, her fellow Democrats appear abysmally unconcerned about the human and financial toll.

Rep. Tulsi Gabbard in August 2019. (Flickr/Creative Commons/Gage Skidmore)

NOVEMBER 29, 2019

DOUG BANDOW

The Democratic establishment is increasingly irritated. Representative Tulsi Gabbard, long-shot candidate for president, is attacking her own party for promoting the “deeply destructive” policy of “regime change wars.” Gabbard has even called Hillary Clinton “the queen of warmongers, embodiment of corruption, and personification of the rot that has sickened the Democratic Party.”

Senator Chris Murphy complained: “It’s a little hard to figure out what itch she’s trying to scratch in the Democratic Party right now.” Some conservatives seem equally confused. The Washington Examiner’s Eddie Scarry asked: “where is Tulsi distinguishing herself when it really matters?”

The answer is that foreign policy “really matters.” Gabbard recognizes that George W. Bush is not the only simpleton warmonger who’s plunged the nation into conflict, causing enormous harm. In the last Democratic presidential debate, she explained that the issue was “personal to me” since she’d “served in a medical unit where every single day, I saw the terribly high, human costs of war.” Compare her perspective to that of the ivory tower warriors of Right and Left, ever ready to send others off to fight not so grand crusades.

The best estimate of the costs of the post-9/11 wars comes from the Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs at Brown University. The Institute says that $6.4 trillion will be spent through 2020. They estimate that our wars have killed 801,000 directly and resulted in a multiple of that number dead indirectly. More than 335,000 civilians have died—and that’s an extremely conservative guess. Some 21 million people have been forced from their homes. Yet the terrorism risk has only grown, with the U.S. military involved in counter-terrorism in 80 nations.

Obviously, without American involvement there would still be conflicts. Some counter-terrorism activities would be necessary even if the U.S. was not constantly swatting geopolitical wasps’ nests. Nevertheless, it was Washington that started or joined these unnecessary wars (e.g., Iraq, Libya, Syria, and Yemen) and expanded necessary wars well beyond their legitimate purposes (Afghanistan). As a result, American policymakers bear responsibility for much of the carnage.

The Department of Defense is responsible for close to half of the estimated expenditures. About $1.4 trillion goes to care for veterans. Homeland security and interest on security expenditures take roughly $1 trillion each. And $131 million goes to the State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development, which have overspent on projects that have delivered little.

More than 7,000 American military personnel and nearly 8,000 American contractors have died. About 1,500 Western allied troops and 11,000 Syrians fighting ISIS have been killed. The Watson Institute figures that as many as 336,000 civilians have died, but that uses the very conservative numbers provided by the Iraq Body Count. The IBC counts 207,000 documented civilian deaths but admits that doubling the estimate would probably yield a more accurate figure. Two other respected surveys put the number of deaths in Iraq alone at nearly 700,000 and more than a million, though those figures have been contested.

More than a thousand aid workers and journalists have died, as well as up to 260,000 opposition fighters. Iraq is the costliest conflict overall, with as many as 308,000 dead (or 515,000 from doubling the IBC count). Syria cost 180,000 lives, Afghanistan 157,000, Yemen 90,000, and Pakistan 66,000.

Roughly 32,000 American military personnel have been wounded; some 300,000 suffer from PTSD or significant depression and even more have endured traumatic brain injuries. There are other human costs—4.5 million Iraqi refugees and millions more in other nations, as well as the destruction of Iraq’s indigenous Christian community and persecution of other religious minorities. There has been widespread rape and other sexual violence. Civilians, including children, suffer from PTSD.

Even stopping the wars won’t end the costs. Explained Nita Crawford of Boston University and co-director of Brown’s Cost of War Project: “the total budgetary burden of the post-9/11 wars will continue to rise as the U.S. pays the on-going costs of veterans’ care and for interest no borrowing to pay for the wars.”

People would continue to die. Unexploded shells and bombs still turn up in Europe from World Wars I and II. In Afghanistan, virtually the entire country is a battlefield, filled with landmines, shells, bombs, and improvised explosive devices. Between 2001 and 2018, 5,442 Afghans were killed and 14,693 were wounded from unexploded ordnance. Some of these explosives predate American involvement, but the U.S. has contributed plenty over the last 18 years.

Moreover, the number of indirect deaths often exceeds battle-related casualties. Journalist and activist David Swanson noted an “estimate that to 480,000 direct deaths in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Pakistan, one must add at least one million deaths in those countries indirectly caused by the recent and ongoing wars. This is because the wars have caused illnesses, injuries, malnutrition, homelessness, poverty, lack of social support, lack of healthcare, trauma, depression, suicide, refugee crises, disease epidemics, the poisoning of the environment, and the spread of small-scale violence.” Consider Yemen, ravaged by famine and cholera. Most civilian casualties have resulted not from Saudi and Emirati bombing, but from the consequences of the bombing.

Only a naif would imagine that these wars will disappear absent a dramatic change in national leadership. Wrote Crawford: “The mission of the post-9/11 wars, as originally defined, was to defend the United States against future terrorist threats from al-Qaeda and affiliated organizations. Since 2001, the wars have expanded from the fighting in Afghanistan, to wars and smaller operations elsewhere, in more than 80 countries—becoming a truly ‘global war on terror’.”

Yet every expansion of conflict makes the American homeland more, not less, vulnerable. Contrary to the nonsensical claim that if we don’t occupy Afghanistan forever and overthrow Syria’s Bashar al-Assad, al-Qaeda and ISIS will turn Chicago and Omaha into terrorist abattoirs, intervening in more conflicts and killing more foreigners creates additional terrorists at home and abroad. In this regard, drone campaigns are little better than invasions and occupations.

For instance, when questioned by the presiding judge in his trial, the failed 2010 Times Square bomber, Faisal Shahzad, a U.S. citizen, cited the drone campaign in Pakistan. His colloquy with the judge was striking: “I’m going to plead guilty 100 times forward because until the hour the U.S. pulls its forces from Iraq and Afghanistan and stops the drone strikes in Somalia and Yemen and in Pakistan and stops the occupation of Muslim lands and stops Somalia and Yemen and in Pakistan, and stops the occupation of Muslim lands, and stops killing the Muslims.”

Ajani Marwat, with the New York City Police Department’s intelligence division, outlined Shahzad’s perspective to The Guardian: “’It’s American policies in his country.’ …’We don’t have to do anything to attract them,’ a terrorist organizer in Lahore told me. ‘The Americans and the Pakistani government do our work for us. With the drone attacks targeting the innocents who live in Waziristan and the media broadcasting this news all the time, the sympathies of most of the nation are always with us. Then it’s simply a case of converting these sentiments into action’.”

Washington does make an effort to avoid civilian casualties, but war will never be pristine. Combatting insurgencies inevitably harms innocents. Air and drone strikes rely on often unreliable informants. The U.S. employs “signature” strikes based on supposedly suspicious behavior. And America’s allies, most notably the Saudis and Emiratis—supplied, armed, guided, and until recently refueled by Washington—make little if any effort to avoid killing noncombatants and destroying civilian infrastructure.

Thus will the cycle of terrorism and war continue. Yet which leading Democrats have expressed concern? Most complain that President Donald Trump is negotiating with North Korea, leaving Syria, and reducing force levels in Afghanistan. Congressional Democrats care about Yemen only because it has become Trump’s war; there were few complaints under President Barack Obama.

What has Washington achieved after years of combat? Even the capitals of its client states are unsafe. The State Department warns travelers to Iraq that kidnapping is a risk and urges businessmen to hire private security. In Kabul, embassy officials now travel to the airport via helicopter rather than car.

Tulsi Gabbard is talking about what really matters. The bipartisan War Party has done its best to wreck America and plenty of other nations too. Gabbard is courageously challenging the Democrats in this coalition, who have become complicit in Washington’s criminal wars.

Doug Bandow is a senior fellow at the Cato Institute and a former special assistant to President Ronald Reagan. He is the author ofForeign Follies: America’s New Global Empire.

[serialcomposer]

Analysis of TERF thought

What follows is the complete entry on TERFs from the book “The A-Z of Gender and Sexuality” by Morgan Lev Edward Holleb. In it he provides a clear breakdown of the ways TERF thought works and how it mirrors reactionary far right understandings of the world.

It’s really long but I urge you all to give it a read (don’t worry; most of it will be under the cut so’s not to take up space on your dash) and help spread it.

TERF/TERFS - Acronym for “Trans-Exclusionary Radical Feminism/Feminists”

TERF ideology is a specific strand of transphobia. It is a subset of feminism which actively denies the legitimacy of trans people and insists that gender is predetermined by biology. Some TERFs actively advocate for the eradication of trans women (and by extension, all trans people, though their focus is overwhelmingly on trans women). TERFs see trans women and AMAB trans people as a direct threat to cis women and cis womanhood. Although TERFs claim to be “radical feminists,” they’re closer to the right-wing than the left. They share several key ideological viewpoints with Nazis, and have adopted many of the same (modern Nazi) trolling and (historical and modern) rhetorical strategies, building on the fascist legacy of vilifying queer people.

TERFS have been a part of the discourse around trans people and feminism since the 1960s, when hormone replacement therapy became widely accessible for trans people (those who could afford it). TERFs saw trans women as stereotypes of femininity (a parody or mockery of womanhood), who reinforced sexist ideas about what it means to be a woman. Trans women were (and largely still are) forced to perform exaggerated femininity in order to access transition-related healthcare - only trans women who wear traditionally feminine clothes, are heterosexual, and behave in a stereotypically “ladylike”, respectable way were/are allowed to medically transition. This isn’t the fault of trans women; it’s the fault of psychiatric and medical establishments which themselves are extremely sexist and transphobic. But instead of analyzing the systems which harm all women, TERFs have instead attacked (and continue to attack) trans women.

In 1979 Janice Raymond published Transsexual Empire: The Making of he She Male, which said: “All transsexuals rape womens bodies by reducing the female form to an artefact, appropriating this body for themselves... Transsexuals merely cut off the most obvious means of invading women, so that they seem non-invasive.” She concluded that “transsexualism should be eradicated through denial of medical care.” In 198- Raymond was hired to write a US government white paper for the National Centre for Health Care Technology on transsexual healthcare . It was called “Technology on the Social and Ethical Aspects of Transsexual Surgery” and was used as the basis to stop gender affirming surgery being covered by Medicare; private insurance companies followed suit. Transition-specific healthcare was only covered again in the US under Obama’s Affordable Care Act, which required insurance companies to include it, beginning 1 January 2017.

TERFs deny that trans women are women, that trans men are men, and that non-binary people are non-binary. TERFS are biological essentialists: they equate genitals and internal reproductive organs with gender. They actively misgender trans people and claim to be “pro-science”, despite the fact that biologists have long since acknowledged that both biological sex and gender exists on spectrums. Amusingly, TERFs online often put “XX” in their usernames as a declaration of their chromosomes (as if the connection between womanhood and chromosomes is obvious and undeniable). There is a shared TERF and Nazi obsession with genetics and “scientific reality,” a positivist “truth” about bodies which is beyond critique. TERFs use “XX” to signify womanhood, like Nazis used “race science” to “prove” the superiority of whiteness. These views have been so thoroughly debunked that there is no need to explain them here. In all likelihood, most TERFs haven’t had their chromosomes checked, and most Nazis haven’t had their ancestry professionally traced (e.g., the “purity” of their whiteness confirmed). The point here isn’t that some TERFs aren’t XX and some Nazis aren’t “purely” white (an imaginary catergory); it’s that their bigotry rests on assumptions about biology and genetics which are scientifically lazy, as if you can “see” race and gender in a meaningful yet simplistic and binary way. TERFs and Nazis both suggest that people who are “genetically undesirable” should be sterilized, or worse.

Both TERFs and Nazis police and punish deviations from the majority identity groups - this begins by dehumanizing an entire class of people and denying them access to public space. Giving basic civil  rights to a minority group (trans people) is framed as a threat to the dominant majority group. (TERFs are not a majority group, but they claim to represent and protect the views of a majority group which they belong to: cis people.) Identity is heavily policed, and the minority group is denied access to public life to “protect” the majority group. Opposition to violent rhetoric and policy is dubbed “silencing legitimate concerns”; hate speech is coded in dog whistles (TERFs use “fender critical” “transgenderism,” “transwoman” instead of “trans woman”) and concern trolling (”protect our women and girls,” a line used by both TERFs and white supremacists). Biological essentialism is used to justify denial of rights based on social categories. Mental illness is vilified, and the minority group is coded as dangerously unstable.

TERFs fan the flames of moral panic on the far right - the same moral panic that vilifies many of them for being lesbians. TERF rhetorics are violent because the encourage a transphobic culture where trans people are denied agency and “rationality”; denied access to medical care, public life and support services; and ultimately denied personhood. Some TERFs directly encourage violence against trans women, including physical attacks and corrective rape.

TERFs declare that all trans people are pedophiles, carrying on a long tradition of categorizing proximity to queerness as child abuse. The minority group is painted not only as a threat that needs to be contained; it also needs to be exterminated in order to guarantee the safety of the majority. Today, this is most often weaponized with fear-mongering about sexual violence - trans women are labelled as inherently hypersexual, perverse, and a dangerous threat to (cis) women and girls.

The vilification of mental illness is another theme shared by TERFs and the far right. TERFs not only dismiss trans people as being mentally ill (thereby delegitimizing our genders) but they code us as dangerously unstable, using the pathologizing language of “sexual perversion” and linking transness to sexual violence, without evidence. They fan the flames of moral panic on the far right - the same moral panic that vilifies many TERFs for being lesbians. These are all rhetorically violent positions because they encourage a transphobic culture where trans people are denied agency and “rationality”; denied access to medical care, public life and support services and ultimately denied personhood.*

TERFs are only noticeable online, and in the UK, where they are a small but loud and dedicated group. The same 100 or so people will your the country to attend anti-trans events, which often get shut down or moved at the last minute due to public pressure to no-platform their hate speech. While they occasionally host anti-trans seminars and protest outside of trans events or events with trans speakers, the majority of their activism takes place online (under pseudonyms because their position is increasingly considered unacceptable).

One notable counterexample was London’s 2018 Pride parade, where a handfull of TERFs hijacked the parade and were allowed to lead it with transphobic and transmisoynistic banners. (Though Pride London [the corporation] failed to adequately deescalate or later address the TERF protest, subsequent UK pride marches that year were often lead with explicitly trans-inclusive banners.) Outwith the UK, trans rights are not positioned as oppositional to feminism.

Modern TERFs are defined as much by their ideology as their relationship to trolling. Their praxis is doxxing, harassing, outing, lurking, publishing pre-transition photos of trans women, creating fake accounts, creating accounts whose sold purpose is to index trans accounts and harass them, sabotaging surveys about trans people, and generally vying for space in online forums, especially on Tumblr, Twitter, Reddit, and Mumsnet. Rather than do anything meaningful to help cis women and girls, TERFs essentially terrorize trans women and try to force them out of physical and difital spaces. There are some explicit connections between UK TERFs and white nationalists on Twitter: mutually following each other, retweeting each other, and discussing attending eachother’s events (e.g., Women’s Sace UK events and UKIP). TERFs are only able to push legislation when their goals align with the goals of Nazis. fascists, and other white supremacists (e.g., the Bathroom Bills, the Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act (SESTA) and Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act (FOSTA) in the US).

TERFs insist that it is their “free speech” right to be given a platform to espouse their ideology, whilst actually silencing the free speech rights of the minority group. Being granted an audience (e.g. on a university campus or in the national press) is neither a right nor an aspect of free speech. However, facing exclusion for starting a petition to no-platform a hate group )as is currently the case with a trans student at the University of Bristol), is a violation of free speech rights. TERFs are very vocal about  how “silenced” they are by being no-platformed, despite several high-profile TERFs enjoying regular columns in international newspapers. In the UK, TERFs hold influential cultural positions within the media, community organizing, NGOs, government, and academia; the same cannot be said for trans people.

TERFs position themselves as victims of a powerful “trans lobby” which threatens to “replace” them, when in fact they have heaps of structural power over the groups they claim to be threatened by. The victim narrative is particularly noteworthy: TERFs claim to be victims of silencing and violence, with no attention paid to how their ideologies structurally silence and incite violence against marginalized people. For example, if a trans person allegedly punches a TERF at a counter protest, the focus is then on the legitimacy of punching as a tactic (even in self-defence, assuming the punch actually happened). Centrists and fair-weather “allies” are quick to pick up on this narrative, claiming a middle ground of non-violence, not realizing that they’re legitimizing an extremely violent ideology. This takes the heat off TERFs’ tactics and their ideology, which are of course both extremely violent and about protecting abstract ideas of womanhood at the expense of actual living people who are not threatens in the first place. Their ideology and tactics are indefensible, so they’d rather we talk about the merits and drawbacks of counter-tactics, like punching oppressors. The bullying is overlooked and the focus is on the victims’ response to bullying. Victims are scrutinized for being less than perfect, but the bullies are not under any such scrutiny. Instead of playing into their victim narratives, we should stay focused on their tactics and goals: to deny trans people healthcare (trans-specific and otherwise), to bar us from public space, to harass us, and to terrorize us.

TERF arguments are predicated on the false idea of a monolithic womanhood that trans women aren’t women because they don’t “live as” women and they have a “male experience.” but what is a “female experience”? The experience TERFs refer to is white, cis, and middle class; the experience of a citizen, of people who have access to respectability, and in the UK, access to national media platforms. There is no universal experience of womanhood; suggestions otherwise mimic racist rhetoric which positions the experience of whiteness as “default” and “authentic” and “normal” while people of color are dehumanized and their experiences are “special interest”.Many TERFs hate butch cis women for “role-playing” masculinity, but also hate very feminine women for”performing” for the male gaze.

Lesbian TERFs exclude trans women from their spaces and their analyses of feminism, lesbianism, and womanhood. Lesbian TERFs sometimes exclude trans men as gender traitors; others fetishize them as butches who need saving from being “transed,” erasing and ignoring their genders as men. TERFs sometimes trawl trans message boards looking for young trans men to groom, feeding into insecurities AFAB trans people have about abandoning womanhood and being bad feminists.

TERFs are terrified that trans women are men seeking not only to “co-opt” the struggles of women, but to gain access to women’s spaces and, most terrifyingly of all, to deceive and fuck them as lesbians. This is essentially gay panic; they are absolutely horrified at the possibility of being attracted to a trans woman because it would undermine their status as the bastion of lesbian separatist feminists, being attracted to someone they incorrectly consider a “man.”

TERFs say that the “trans lobby” refuses to acknowledge the difference between trans women and cis women, which is ironic because trans people are quick to talk about how being trans greatly affects our experiences of patriarchy, sexism, and gender. Trans people are acutely aware of the biological differences between us and cis people; that’s a huge part of why many of us medically transition. Trans people aren’t trying to “erase” biological differences, we’re trying to secure our basic rights, and highlight shared struggles when we talk about activism and justice. Trans people not only belong in feminism; we are leading it.

*[idk why he repeats these things in this paragraph either; think it may just’ve been an oversight]

[thepoliticalbreakdown]

Vote 2018: California Midterm Elections

Two years later, we’re back. I miss political blogging sometimes but adulthood only leaves room for so much.

Anyway.

Did a quick writeup of the local propositions (San Francisco) and state measures on the California ballot. Let me know your thoughts, and go vote! First, the local measures.

Prop A: Seawall Renovations.

Yes. Seems fairly straightforward to both fix and upgrade a 100-year-old seawall so that SF infrastructure doesn’t get owned by the inevitable catastrophic climate change (unless we seize the state and radically shift from a thing oriented society to a person and land oriented society including rapidly shifting away from carbon technologies and redefining efficiency as sustainability, but that’s neither here nor there). The detracting arguments seem fairly petty and unconvincing, saying that sea-facing businesses and residents should fix it themselves. I think it’s the government’s job to take care of large public projects and threats to public works, so going to disagree.

Prop B: Privacy Policy.

This one is tricky, but I’m saying Yes. It’s largely symbolic at this point, stating that privacy is important and setting timelines for coming up with concrete privacy guidelines. The major detracting arguments come from the Sunshine Ordinance on public records and concerns that SF officials could tamper and limit it. After doing some reading this concerns seem overblown. Many groups are already watching for it, officials seem to somewhat flout the ordinance already, and the City Attorney has stated he won’t sign off on anything of the sort. So I think for better or worse we’re ok, and I agree with putting plans in place for comprehensive policy on privacy.

Prop C: Taxing Big Businesses to fund Homeless Services.

Yes. This is the big one, and by far the most contentious. Detractors argue there is not adequate accountability or a plan to spend the 300 million this would bring in. That the plan for homelessness is already rife with mismanagement. I was pretty swayed at first, but I have strongly U-turned. For starters, the money is being used for definitive action. Additional shelter for 1k people, cutting to the root (or one of the roots) of the problem by helping over 7k households avoid homeless, and creating 4k supportive car homes. There will be a committee put in place to manage the money and make sure it’s being used adequately. There are big provisions for mental health services as well. I could go on about this one for a while, but anyone who lives in SF knows how bad the situation is, and I simply cannot say no to taxing large tech companies who have brought in an influx of well-paid tech workers - myself included - to take a dramatic swing at homelessness in SF. And no, tech companies are far from solely to blame for homeless in SF. It’s complicated, yes. But they can handle this tax on profits over 50 million, and I want to see the homeless situation get better. Strongly encourage a Yes vote.

https://48hills.org/2018/08/propc-progressive-politics/

Prop D: Cannabis Tax.

Yes, albeit tentatively. However, most other major cities tax their new cannabis industries and do not seem to have come to great harm. Furthermore, the cannabis industry pushed for it to be delayed - and it was, until 2021. This will give the new industry more time to settle. It would also be relatively simple for the Board of Supervisors to modify the tax rate if needed or lobbied for. Welcome to have my mind changed, but it seems alright to me. Prop E: Hotel Tax to the Arts. Yes. Kind of an odd one. Without increasing the tax on hotel rooms, this would allocate a set portion of that money to the arts instead of all of it going into a general fund. I’m going to say yes because art is important and I’m a huge fan of supporting arts initiatives. The only detracting args seem to come from people worried that other taxes will rise because of this money not going directly to the general fund. But I’m doubtful that this is enough money to cause a huge uproar in the general fund. I’m open to having my mind changed, but Yes for now.

Second, the state-wide measures. This is going to be fast and a little rough around the edges. Happy to hear differing opinions.

Prop 1: Bonds to fund housing assistance programs.

Yes. This authorizes $4 billion in bonds for affordable housing programs and veteran home owning programs. I’m for anything that helps to alleviate California’s lack of affordable housing. We need it, so let’s fund it and let’s build it.

http://www.latimes.com/opinion/editorials/la-ed-proposition-1-endorsement-20181009-story.html

Prop 2: Bonds to fund housing programs for individuals with mental illness.

Yes, absolutely. Mental health is real and there is a glut of homeless people suffering with mental conditions. Let’s back initiatives to get them the help they need.

http://www.latimes.com/opinion/endorsements/la-ed-proposition-2-mentally-ill-housing-20181002-story.html

Prop 3: Bonds to fund water projects.

This is a tricky one. It’s a lot of money to support very regional interests, but it’s also public infrastructure, which I’m generally in favor of supporting. The LA Times, which I follow and often trust, says no. The League of Pissed-off Voters says it was one of their most contentious but squeaks by on a yes. There isn’t a perfect answer because while some of the money is going towards pretty legitimate public projects, a good chunk is going to private projects and powerful farms. This seems weird to me. I’m torn, but going with No.

Prop 4: Funds for Children’s Hospitals.

This one’s also weird. Private children’s hospitals lobbied to get it on the ballot. It’s hard to vote against something like a children’s hospital but I have questions about its necessity, especially since tax money would be going to private orgs. I know some people who are voting No as it’s possibly a shady method of private hospitals loading up on money they could pony up themselves. Still, the LA Times and League SF both acknowledge the oddities but ultimately find it legitimate. So I’ll got with Yes.

http://www.theleaguesf.org/#prop4

Prop 5: Expand Prop 13 for Property Owners.

This one is way deeper than I can cover here. Long story short, it allows homeowners to transfer low property tax to other residences of greater value where they’d be paying more. Local communities would lose out on this property tax. Most sources seem to peg us it as another easy method for the rich to get richer and avoid paying their taxes. This one is definitely a No.

Prop 6: Repeal the Gas Tax.

Listen, I’m going to keep this short. The answer is No. Do not repeal the gas tax. There’s a massive backlog of needed road fix and improvement projects that the gas and vehicle tax helps fund. Vote No.

https://cal.streetsblog.org/2018/09/27/fact-checking-arguments-for-repealing-the-gas-tax/

Prop 7: Permanent Daylight Savings.

Whatever. DST is outdated and frankly I think it can go. Yes.

Prop 8: Regulating Dialysis Clinic Charges.

So private for-profit dialysis clinics make a ton of money in profits, which is pretty mediocre. I’m all for providing a service and being compensated for it, but wild profits off others’ medical malaise leaves a bad taste in my mouth. This one is a deeply contentious one. Some say absolutely yes mostly because they’re annoyed with dialysis clinic profits (I agree but it seems a little petty and unfocused too). Others say this could drive out much-needed clinics and we should absolutely not. The problem is, I’m simply not sure what the cap would *do*, and the hardcore “yes” sources seem to very obviously avoid answering that. I’m going to say No, but of all the state and local measurements this is one I’m most receptive to further input.

http://www.latimes.com/business/hiltzik/la-fi-hiltzik-dialysis-20180720-story.html

Edit: In the course of writing this, I changed my mind to a tentative yes. If only because capping massive profits on healthcare seems important for turning America into the country it very much is not but could be.

Prop 10: End Restrictions on Rent Control.

This is the “Prop C” of the state measures. Likely the most contentious. I’m voting Yes. It’s a longer story but Costa-Hawkins has been a source of conflict since it was passed and limited enacting rent control. Prop 10 does not enact rent control, but it allows it to be a tool that local government can use to combat homelessness, displacement, and skyrocketing rent. Do your reading - there’s plenty of it on this one - but I’ll reiterate my Yes.

http://www.latimes.com/opinion/endorsements/la-ed-endorsement-proposition-10-20180915-story.html

https://48hills.org/2018/10/new-study-says-rent-control-doesnt-discourage-new-housing/

Prop 11: Requiring EMTs to remain on-call during work breaks.

Tentative no. I feel like there’s a lot more to this than even the few articles I’ve read has gotten across, but it seems weird for me for ambulance companies to use a ballot measure to win what effectively a labor dispute. Also, don’t call me on my lunch break.

Prop 12: More Space for Farm Animals.

Ugh. Yes. Increase the space that farm animals live in. I don’t love the fact that costs would go up slightly, but from a moral standpoint better conditions for animals I believe trumps it. Yes.

Phew. Cheers. Midterm elections here we come.

Edit: If you want to read more, my sources were mostly The LA Times, the SF Chronicle (though I take them with a lump of salt, as I strongly disagree with their "No" on Prop C), 48 Hills, a careful reading of the City and County of San Francisco Voter Information Pamphlet, and the SF League of Pissed-Off Voters.

[unabashedtastemakersublime]

Which Kinds of Gambling Are Legitimate in Louisiana?

A mom had finished dressing up her 2 children for college by 5 in the morning. Following this, she'll head for the casino for an amount of some gambling activity.Does it sound such as a also ludicrous to be real situation? Think againToday, gambling looks like a everyday task that folks ignore also easily. But, they don't understand the possible harm being caused for their lives due to gambling.Usually, gambling also known as betting is a form of sport that involves belongings and money being put at risk. All the belongings or money are at a risk whilst the likelihood of wining is really minimal or is completely determined by chance. But, you are able to generally use some kind of wicked ways to get, but nevertheless you are able to never be absolutely sure of winning the game.

Gaming are of several types: one of the types is beatable while one other is unbeatable.The games that will simply be trampled ergo making a statistical good probability through utilization of strategy are called as beatable games. Some of them are poker, even though it could be labeled as sport requiring ability; Pai Gow poker, Tiles, video poker, position devices, horse racing, sports bets.

If nothing of the techniques in the overall game helps the ball player to get the overall game, then it becomes an unbeatable game. Some traditional examples on this type are baccarat, roulette, keno, position devices, craps, casino war, pachinko, faro, 3card poker, 4 card poker, pyramid poker, red dog, Spanish 21, Caribbean stud poker.

Equally unbeatable gambling and beatable gambling is found at the casinos. You can find still additional gambling games that aren't being played in the casinos like mahjong, backgammon, lottery, coin tossing games like head and end, several carnival games such as for example Hanky Pank and The Razzle.Another form of gambling sport could be the repaired chances gambling which may be noticed in functions such as for example football, hors racing, tennis, baseball, tennis and a great many other sports that entice thousands of individuals on betting on the winning team.

Still the exact same, they're all various kinds of gambling which does not have a chance of experiencing continuous wins.In gambling, individuals typically take to to obtain straight back what and all they lost during the span of the game. A few people continue steadily to enjoy the overall game having a opinion that they shouldn't slice the monotony of these luck. As a result, they keep betting and wind up placing them selves at a threat of having a loss rather than gain.

Many individuals who enjoy gambling state that they enjoy only for satisfaction and for a recreation. Numerous others claim that they enjoy it to earn some money and gambling is a very easy way to complete earn money.Since gambling involves plenty of kinds of intellectual task, alongside tension and attitude of champion, it's probable to become hooked on the game. Later on, it might affect the one who is mixed up in sport of gambling.

With all these psychedelic consequences due to gambling, a few people also take part in betting whether a record is fake or correct, or whether an function will need place at a particular time with still another person. That happens typically on scenarios wherever 2 persons debate against each other with solid opinions against each other. Typically, The 2 persons place bets for money and for enjoyment just to create their stage on a certain issue.

Due to the bad aftereffects of gambling, many appropriate jurisdictions choose not to legalize the gambling activities. Because of this, all agreements that have resulted in debts due to any gambling task are taken as unenforceable by law.This is the main reason gambling is a dangerous activity. Those who chance simply do not realize the harm of gambling to them.As informed, never put good money soon after bad money. If by any chance you are involved with gambling, end straight away to devoted any loss on your own side.

If you are one that thinks gambling is a new task that blossomed in Las Vegas in the 20th century, you may want to comb up on your gambling facts. To get advisable of how big the gambling history is, take to going back a couple of thousand years. You'll observe that games centered on chance and the roll of cube have now been always been an integral part of human history.

Not only did the Asian and different populations enjoy gambling and games of chance, many Indigenous American communities employed such activities well before the current casino. Add to this the kinds of gambling carried all over the world by Western explorers and you've a worldwide sensation of problem and excitement. Here is a starter reality - lotteries have also been used to raise resources for community structure projects.

e In the event that you see 100 persons on the street in one day, it's a pretty safe bet that about 65 of these have located a bet or built a wager before year.o By many matters, profits in gambling casinos global add up to $30 million annually. Various studies report that Indigenous American concerns host almost 300 casinos.History of gambling details: The state of Nevada legalized gambling in 1931. New Shirt was the 2nd state to create gambling appropriate (1976). South Dakota and Iowa followed in 1989.o While casinos have operated in Nevada because the 1940s, the state developed its Gambling Commission in 1959.

One fable that seems unwilling to die is that online gambling isn't good to players, due to casino get a grip on, less-than-random figures and so on. Basically, this is false. Safe-gaming application, eCommerce Online Regulation and Confidence (eCOGRA) and various certification nations have removed much of the insecurity and unfair play. The fable might shortly develop into one of the many Internet gambling facts.o Casino fashion games are undoubtedly the most used task online, outnumbering sports betting 2 to 1. Lotteries and pari-mutuel betting are much down the list in percentage of online gambling task, as are real-time online poker rooms.o The Interstate Cord Act, transferred in 1961, is a federal legislation that had the goal of reducing gambling activity. What the law states claims it is illegal in the United Claims to make use of line transmission (such as telephone) to put bets or share gambling information เว็บบอลออนไลน์.

Intriguing Gaming Facts: Sixty % of online gamblers use British as their main language. Second in line is Russian. Germany takes up place number three, in accordance with a study by Inland Activity Corporation. For age, the figures are shut, but these between 26 and 34 enjoy much more than others. One out of each and every five players is over the age of 45.o As well as online casinos, a number of the most used kinds of Web/Internet gambling are lotteries, sports publications (wager on football, rugby, baseball etc.).

e Based on a 2007 history in USA Nowadays, the Venetian Macao casino was the biggest on earth (on the southern hint of China). Foxwoods in Connecticut can also be advertised whilst the world's largest casino.Very Intriguing Gaming Facts: Video slots are often regarded the most used online casino game. Roulette is one of the toughest games to get, while casino poker is usually regarded one of the easiest (with only a little skill). If you can learn how to depend cards, you are able to move blackjack to the top of the "easier" list.

[starsailorstories]

awesomesquirrelstuff replied to your post: Hey it’s nanowrimo eve and I really wanna talk...

Number 9 pls!!

Omg so @awesomesquirrelstuff

Crime is a weird business because of the ridiculousness of what is and isn’t covered under imperial law like

Basillans have a long proud completely off-the-wall history of settling things with duels and any kind of reasonable regulation on this gets denounced as an attack on their very culture. As a result it’s a bit out of control, and they haven’t managed to make literal, actual murder 100% illegal yet. 

There’s a bunch of different little things that are charges they can get you on if you murder someone important, like, it’s illegal to attack someone unawares (which in the case of crimes of passion often leads to people trying to prove in court that she should’ve known she had it comin’1) and it’s illegal to bereave a spouse and/or children, which really just means that people try to get most of their dueling out of the way quickly before they meet the right person and also that sending your older teen/adult daughter to duel in your stead is a common practice (it’s illegal to force her to go by threat of harm or disinheritance, though that doesn’t tend to be a problem for a people who are All About Honor Duty and Loyalty). 

The most common criminal thing that actually gets actively prosecuted is, of course, piracy--with Basilea being a multi-planetary/orbiting nation, the empire being spread out over the galaxy, and the Via Galaxia...existing in all its relatively lawless glory (it’s “international waters” and way too big to really police), space is just far and away the best place to steal stuff. Entire remote moons and asteroids are populated by pirates/smugglers/the black market. Privateers and bounty hunters are also all over the place of course. (I’m definitely taking a page from the Star Wars book here but if you’re looking for the overall feel of this subculture I’d say Pirates of the Caribbean is your megamillion dollar blockbuster franchise, it’s more that feel of technology level and whatnot just...on spaceships).

A lot of planets are known for being host to one type of criminal operation in particular, but honestly, these tend to be direct results of the local culture + whatever the Aula is doing to them that’s unfair. 

Like, Caesura has a reputation for having a lot of organized crime in its cities. But those cities are directly occupied and being depleted to the point of social collapse because of the impositions of compulsory military service and heavy production quotas. So, being an extremely family oriented species where many cultures uphold an idea of being able to protect one’s own as a marker of competence/adulthood, a few of them are of course going to a) be assholes and b) take that to a desperate-times-desperate-measures sort of conclusion and more or less go to war with both the imperials and the other people trying to get the last crumbs of resources left over. (Cepheid eventually talks some of the crime families into allying with the rebels because she sort of gets where they’re coming from.)

Other dickish things the Aula has done re: law and order in the general galaxy include using their own military as an interplanetary police force to keep an eye on all their holdings and generally do cop things when they decide the planet’s myriad local law enforcements aren’t doing enough cop things (and they do tend to look at it planet wide, so the amount of tact and nuance here is about what you’d expect) and putting the Imperial Judiciary on Altamai, so if you get arrested for anything serious (whether or not you’re guilty) in the rings or in officially Basillan space (so, on any ship within the limits of the Seven Suns System) you’re responsible for getting there to have your day in court--and it has to be a legitimate booked transport, you can’t just have your friend who works in space give you a ride. Because of this a LOT of poor people are basically prisoners and are living their lives as prisoners without ever having been charged with or tried for anything...and a lot of them are put to work in space, where they have ample opportunities to get into more trouble, with or without the rebellion.

This was a RAMBLE and there’s really a lot more to say but it is My Bedtime so...more as soon as I can get to it!

1And yes there’s legal precedence for this being accepted as a defense. They’re that petty.

[surflove808]

RE:  Cockles, Bi!Bros, J2M, J2 over-the-top shipping bullshit.  Please read this.  Here goes....part 2.

UPDATED 10/10/2017 for clarity and stuff.  More examples, less whiskey.  Same potty language. 

I've seen too much bullshit misinformation and conjecture out there and I can't stay silent anymore.  So... here's the promised Part 2 of my ridiculously long rant.  Again, I'm asking that whoever reads this, really reads the whole thing, and if you agree...please reblog.  Because this "issue" affects a lot more people than just these guys.  And I know it's long, but if it starts a discussion on how to treat people better and pave the way for acceptance without fear, as well as for how internet witch hunts are NOT ok, I'm hoping we're ALL for it.

Here we we go!

This statement applies to both the actors in this show, and the characters they portray:  I think we can all agree that these men are otherworldly handsome.  And I think that some of us can agree that reading fan fiction (particularly smut, in my case), is very enjoyable. I love the smut!  I'm not here to disabuse you of the notion that seeing these guys together, apart, with you, with me, with a fucking doughnut...sexually... would be seriously hot.   I'm not here to bash fan fiction.  I'm not here to poop on your fantasies or freedom of speech, either.  But I AM asking for more social responsibility.

I am also here to shut down the mentality that we own these characters and these individuals, and that it's ok to take our fantasies (because that's what they are), and try to force feed them to the general public, and even the actors and their families (some of you no-boundary having, people) as if it's ok for our uninformed opinions about the private lives of these men to be twisted and regurgitated to reflect our own desires for them, especially in a public forum.

I'm here to inject some realism.  Via real experiences.  And actual analysis that's thought-out, and based in objective reality.  If you choose to ignore that, and carry on with your fantasy in a way that's harmful?  I can't stop you.  I'm just here to provide a counterpoint and hope that it takes hold with even 1 person, and maybe that person can tell someone else...and maybe apply reverse osmosis with some of this toxic mentality that it’s “ok if you don’t actually know them”.

*Minor, basic, psychology warning*:  Repressed individuals, for example (by example, I mean this is one instance that I'm using) who are uncomfortable with their own sexuality, and are not yet ready to address/express it, have a tendency to avoid circumstances, conversations and actions that may threaten to shatter a carefully constructed facade.  They will go to great lengths to cover-up or act against any instinct that might "out" them.*  

And by repressed individuals?  That doesn't mean GAY individuals exclusively.  That means ANYONE who feels repressed by the "norms" inflicted by their family, their friends, their classmates, their upbringing, etc. But, I just don't see that with these guys. At all.  They're as comfortable with each other as you'd expect long-time collaborators and friends would be... and that should be awesome.  It should be ok.  But for some fans, it's become their job to attempt to force these actors into roles that they've written FOR them.  And that's fucked up.

What sucks is when, much like their onscreen counterparts, these guys can't express affection, support, physical closeness, have dinner together, laugh at the same dirty jokes, defend each other, etc.... without being put under a frigging microscope and dissected.  It breaks my heart a little bit when I start to see them pulling back and being more inhibited and defensive as a result of this BS.  Being a public figure invites a whole new level of scrutiny, and I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy...some of the shit I've seen "fans" say about these guys.

And when the occasional rebel of a "fan" ignores the very limited number of things that can't be asked about anymore (**see dickheads**) at conventions, let's be honest - they are, in fact, being dickheads.  They KNOW what they're doing.  This isn't a press conference with Trump.  This is supposed to be a safe place for the actors and fans to interact about the show.  And yet.... when the occasional someone posits the very old and very, definitively answered question about Destiel - and Jensen in particular - shoots it down or tries to avoid it (and only twice that I've seen.  And very politely), suddenly, he's a homophobic asshole.  He's ALSO gay, BTW.  He just doesn't know it yet... (for those of you who take everything literally, that was sarcasm)

I'll tell you what.  He's a helluva lot nicer than I would ever be.  I'd tell the pushy shitheads that insisted on asking the same fucking DELIBERATELY INFLAMMATORY question that had already been answered, to go fuck themselves.  But Jensen hasn't done that.  Because I guess he's just a more patient person than me.  

He has been inhabiting this character for 12 years, and living with himself for much longer.  Despite that, maybe you DO know his character better than him.  Maybe YOU know him better than he knows himself.  Highly unlikely though.

The way I see it, if faced with seeing my life’s work (actor, husband, friend, father) negated and torn apart for the benefit of a few snarky gifsets, and being ambushed by inappropriate questions, after  dedicating so much of my time and energy and love towards it, I’d be pretty fucking bummed.  It'd be incredibly offensive to have someone tell me I wasn't who I said I was or not doing what I said I was doing.  Over and over and over.

 "YOU say Dean's hetero and there's no Destiel.  The writers say it.  But you're WRONG. Because reasons..."  "YOU may THINK you're fooling us with your marriage and kids, but WE know better!"  What.  The.  Fuck.  Is that all about, people??  If you're doing this, approving of this, liking posts about this?  I'm sorry to be the one to tell you... it's not cute.  It's damaging.  it's disrespectful, and you're that asshole.

I hate seeing anyone put in a position that makes them question how to go about policing their own behavior, their own truth and their own perception with regards to their **REAL** interpersonal relationships, based on the very legitimate fear that certain people won't give a second thought to making not only their life, but the lives of their families - a mockery.

For those of you who have had people snickering behind your backs or spreading gossip about you - it wasn't pleasant was it?  In WHAT situation is it ok to take your unproven hypothesis, and use it to shame, "out", poke fun at, fetishize, or attempt to force feed your theories to the world-at-large in public forums about anyone's private lives?  I really want to know. What makes this ok?

EXAMPLE TIME (using a few common examples I've seen time and time again, that people use to justify the shit that comes out of their mouths or fingertips):

1.  The male cast and their butt swatting and dick grabbing pranks that make certain, excitable people jump to conclusions: This may be just my experience, but still:  I'm a woman, and I know that my gay male friends and straight lady friends think it's not only ok, but a hoot to grab each others nethers,  brazenly flirt, and share explicit sexual info like it's NBD, primarily because we are 100% uninterested in each other, physically.  There is no perceived threat, either way, between us friends.  And no fear of rejection.  We don't view each other as potential mates.  Therefore, we're a bit more "free" with each other.

A lot of my straight guy friends that are comfortable in their own masculinity (I hate that I even have to say that), have no hang ups about swatting each other on the butt, grabbing each others dicks, performing "cup checks", etc.  *Also, see football.*  I don't know why this is a thing that they do, and I don't judge them for it.  In my observations, it's just a thing a fair amount of guys do, that they consider to be an "acceptable" display of affection among friends.  They seem to find it amusing, and frankly - it's NONE OF MY BUSINESS.  So, there's that.  Most men, (that I've known, at least), will never not be fascinated with their own junk, not to mention dicks, balls, asses and boobs in general.  I've also seen them be quite tender with, and observant of over one another when a situation arises.  You know?  Like a normal human response to someone they care about who may need some support??

And if a couple of dude friends want to act like they're 5 years old with each other, well into adulthood...I think it's rather charming, and hilarious, if I'm being honest.  I may not date men, but I absolutely adore them!  And I sure as fuck don't want to see the baby steps that they are able to take away from toxic masculinity (to quote a lovely DM I got earlier), turned against them by people who think it's ok to project their own crap on them.

2.  Sharing clothes: Again, just speaking from years of experience, and not claiming to know these guys or their reasons for (what, on 3-4 occasions, being seen with the same shirt?)... It's not just Jensen and Misha that do this, IF in fact, they do it at all.  A lot of us do this.  And if they do?  It's not a big deal, people.

I share clothes with friends for convenience and comedy's sake, quite a bit.  I own a bright orange hoodie that has been borrowed by so many friends that it's got it's own traveling backstory.   I've borrowed pants, shoes, tops, etc. on occasion, based on my immediate needs,  and vice-versa.  Especially when traveling.  Saves hassle and space to share a wardrobe, when possible.  But then, maybe Jared, Jensen and Misha do it because they are clearly boning the shit out of each other in secret.  And they're MEN.  And men can't do that without some deeper meaning ascribed to it, apparently.

**Side note:  2 weeks ago, a guy friend of mine came straight from his construction job to a bbq at my house and asked to take a shower.  But he didn't have any clean clothes of his own to change into.  As a joke - I offered him my frilliest, silkiest top.  And he LOVED it!  Wore it all night and then wore it home. Got it back, freshly laundered last week. His girlfriend (one of my best friends), especially got a kick out of it!  Lots of pics were taken and laughs were had.  But none of us even considered that this was something worth ruminating over.  It was Just. Funny.**  

Good grief...If I were subjected to the same scrutiny that these actors are, based on wardrobe swaps alone, I'd be covertly fucking or wanting to fuck 75% of my friends.  And folks, that's just not accurate.  And no, I'm not fucking the other 25%, we're just not sharing clothes.  :D

3.  Perceived jealousy: Yes, some lovers get jealous.  You know who else does?  Friends, co-workers, siblings... Does the occasional side glance from one of these men merit dissection and exposition?  Do we really have the prescient knowledge that enables us to know what these men are thinking and feeling with every glance, every movement?  I'm only asking because certain individuals seem to think that these miniscule moments are more meaningful when they can be attributed to these guys.  What makes these guys so damn special?  Sorry.... maybe I'm just jealous.  Feel free to speculate.  I really wanna know.

4.  "Longing looks", "sexy eyes", "the romantic gaze":

I'm going to tell you what I see with my own eyes, without the benefit of slowed-down gifs, conjecture, or the Cosmo Guide to Body Language and Crushes....or whatever the hell is informing opinions out there.

I'm going to focus on Jensen here because he seems to be the lynchpin that holds this whole sordid affair together.  In addition to him "eye-fucking/loving" Jared and Misha, have you also noticed the way he "gazes" at and how affectionate he is with Rob, Billy, Jim Beaver, and JDM?  If you have, you may have noticed that he has a very open, expressive face and big, gorgeous eyes.  And he seems, by all accounts, to be a very affectionate dude.  And to his credit,  despite our best efforts to call attention to every single fucking thing he does, he continues to try to be himself.  

And when he's paying attention to someone when they're speaking or performing (which is kind of a normal, respectful thing to do, as opposed to looking in boredom at the ceiling or the floor).... he seems to be 100% in the moment.  Unless he's competing to tell a story.  :D  Again...just using my eyes to observe.

He's especially oooey gooey with Rob.  Why hasn't he been linked with Rob in a torrid, secret affair?  Is Rob too short?  Not cute enough?  I wanna get to the bottom of this.  What?  Is Rob chopped liver or something??

Folks, I do the same thing.  A LOT of people do. Anyone who focuses on whoever is in front of them or next to them, really.  Or am I in the minority, in that I'm capable of holding eye contact with, and paying attention to people that I'm not attracted to when they're speaking?  If so, ya'll are some shallow fuckers.  Wait!!  Have I been eye-fucking people all along??  That would explain a lot, actually.

One buddy of mine in particular, has these big, gorgeous brown eyes and he gets this look when he's listening to people, and he looks like he's in love.  He's not.  IT'S JUST HIS FUCKING FACE.  Poor guy has gotten in some hot water over that with a few hopeful, clueless ladies thinking he was *into it* when he wasn't.

Well, you may say... WHY does Jensen always gaze that way at Jared and Misha??  (First of all - see above), but I have a theory:  Have you ever seen him do panels with anyone else?  Who are the three main characters of this show?  Who does he share all of his public appearances with, when he's not solo?  He spends the lions share of his time working on and promoting Supernatural.  Is Danneel in Supernatural?  No...she's not.  When they DO have precious little private time together, are they sitting in panels and being videotaped before a live studio audience, so that we can analyze their chemistry?  Again...NO.

I don't know what their marriage is like.  I'm gonna do the thing where I take their happiness and love at face value.  Because it's none of my damn business.  I believe what they've said and presented as a couple, because why wouldn't I?  The better question is... why wouldn't you??  What's your motivation?

Misha affection:

Misha is a bad ass.  Misha has been supported and enabled to evolve (again - going off what he's SAID in panels) Misha is not afraid of what people are gonna say about him when he wears a dress, or fakes an orgasm onstage with Jensen, kisses Jensen on the cheek, etc.   And anything that he does to convert prejudice and fear into understanding, is A-OK by me.  You can be masculine, and straight and still be open to exploration, still retain softness, and allow yourself to have your fingernails painted onstage without fear of repercussions from the peanut gallery, if you are allowed to get to that space, without people fucking with you.  I could speculate on how Jensens friendship with someone like Misha might have made it more tolerable for him to handle all the bullshit that comes his way via unfounded speculation about his sexuality, but then, I wouldn't be sticking with simple observations based on what I hear from their mouths and what I see with my eyes.  I know, it can be hard....BUT IT'S POSSIBLE, PEOPLE.

Grooming:

There's a reason why our behavior correlates to the fact that we share 99% of our DNA with chimpanzees (*also, see above for obsessing over our own genitalia*).  I've had frigging strangers reach over and pull lint off of me.  I had a guy on a busy NYC street try to pull a mole off my neck once, because he thought it was a tick.  I don't know what else to say.  From their own mouths, these guys have said it's a learned behavior from over a decade of checking each other before cameras roll.  But if you think it means that they're in love... well.  Ok, I guess.

"Checking in":

Again, I'm assuming and hoping all of us have at least one friend or family member that we're close to and care very much about, especially if they are, or have been, at risk.  If you think that this person is approaching an emotional cliff  (or any other kind of cliff for that matter), would you let them fall off, or would you let them know that you were there?  Via a song, a look, a call, a touch, a word, a pat on the back, etc?  

Or is that just a gay thing?

Conclusion:

These guys don't have to give a shit about the fans, but they go above and beyond.  They're as invested in their characters as we are.  MORE so, and rightly so.  And they're dedicated and invested in their fans in a way that I've never seen before.  And just going off written and verbal accounts that I'm sure you all have been privy to as well, these particular actors go to bat for vulnerable people and at-risk people, both personally, in situations that don't involve PR, as well as outreach through their respective campaigns.  So, I respect them very much as creative entities and as people.  I think most of us do. And I'm fucking going to bat for THEM.   For those who don't, well... here's to hoping that changes.  Or that your focus does. I am guessing the average age (intellectually/emotionally/or physically) of the people who read way too much into every gesture between these actors, and FREAK OUT...is pretty young.  And I'm not saying that's a bad thing (being young, that is), but I AM saying the constant badgering of, and attempted *outing* of anyone is pretty abhorrent behavior, regardless of your maturity level.  

Again, your words matter.  They affect lives.  They affect perception.  These aren't just your private thoughts and fantasies anymore when you're making public statements on a worldwide forum/social network, and taking things way out of context to back up your ill-informed theories about people you don't even know.  And by "affect lives", I mean that these public figures have developed a thick enough skin and enough sense to largely ignore the bullshit, but they are still human beings and deserving of our respect, no?  

And by “affect lives”, I think as a society, we have a responsibility to the young men and women coming up in this world who still see -  via these kinds of posts - that despite years of slow progress, their slightest actions can still be dissected and analyzed and gossiped about, with regards to their sexuality in particular.  I think that people who like to post real accusations about real people, based on their skewed perception of these peoples interactions, in the "interest" of supporting actual LGBTQ people, are causing FAR more harm than good.

It can be destructive.  And it can be limiting to intellectual and emotional growth, at large.  And you're kidding yourselves if you think you're being "cute" and that it's harmless to ship real people to the point of harassment on a public forum.  All you're accomplishing, is showing current and future generations of kids that if they don't stick with your definition of heteronormative behavior, that you'll do the outing for them via social media. I wish certain individuals were a bit more responsible with their online musings when it comes to real people who have real families and real children who will probably stumble upon this content one day... and try to be a bit more empathetic in general.  Get out from in front of your screens and look around you and ask yourself:  How would I feel if someone posted this kind of shit about my sister?  My Mom?  My Dad?  My GF/BF/best friend without their consent??

Or is spreading malicious gossip only ok when you're not directly affected?

I'm just hoping that the people who fuck with these guys wives and make vids and publicly try to sexualize their friendships on Tumblr and elsewhere, are too young to know better.  Here's to hoping they learn better, going forward.

If you are doing this?   It's never too late to learn how to be a better human.  Find a way to indulge your theories without harassing these very decent men, and well... anyone, right??  If these guys DO in fact have any "secrets"?  They're entitled to keep them.  But the likely reality?  They're living their lives truthfully, in the face of the shitty online perpetuation of rumors, and giving us all a lesson in what it means to behave graciously under pressure and move on with kindness, when they could just as easily shut down convention filming as well as fan interaction.  Appreciate that.  And appreciate each others right to live without shame, scrutiny or unfounded speculation.

And if I missed some tags?  Please, let me know.

************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************ A brief recap for those who couldn't glean this info from the body of this open letter:

I am not anti-LGBTQ, anti-Cockles, anti-J2M, anti-J2, anti-shippers.

I AM anti-harassment

And I AM anti-slanderous gossip in any form.

*******That being said*******

I am pro SPN actor, pro human, pro fandom, pro positivity

I am also pro education with regards to acceptance and tolerance, and just....basically, leaving people the fuck alone.  Especially when you do not know them.

[mchirichiello772]

Media Landscape of France

Pictured here is reporter Michel Soudais of the France Politis on the front lines of a protest. (Pictured by Simon Guillemin on May 26th)

Media Overview

Two substantial drivers run the French media landscape. First, print, TV, and the second is radio markets. The radio markets have also always been interdependent with politics and public administration. According to the BBC, "Television is France's most popular medium. The flagship network, TF1, is privately-owned and public broadcaster, France Televisions, is funded from the TV license fee and advertising revenue." Also, France has free press and gives the general public the option to around 100 different newspapers. The media in France covers three major segments, the national daily press of general and political news, Regional daily newspapers, and the annual press. In the early years of the French media, according to Raymond Kuhn, "In 1987 approximately 10 million daily newspapers, 69 million weekly newspapers and magazines, and 63 million monthlies were produced in France. There were 50 to 60 million radio sets in use, 27 million television sets, and more than 6 million video-recorders" (Kuhn, 2006,p.1). So, France has always been among the top leaders in the world for early advancements in media.

In addition to television, internet penetration in France is on the rise. It is one of the highest in Europe, with nearly 80% of people having access to some type of internet media source. By 2016 there were almost 56 million internet users (Internetlivestats.com). Around 56% of the French population are active on social media, according to the BBC. Some of the most popular apps used are MySpace, LinkedIn, and Instagram. These three apps are of the top leading apps used by younger generations as well as people in business to get their news. 

Recently, there has been a significant shift in where people are getting their news stories. According to Media Landscape, "More citizens forsake mainstream news media to get news to the benefit of new (alternative) online media – websites or social media – that offer unique editorial content and orientation.

Press Freedom and Challenges to Journalism

There has been some speculation to whether or not France's citizens trust the media they are shown, where it be the radio, social media, or t.v. According to the 2019 Edelman Trust Barometer, France is 7th on the list of countries that do not trust what news sources are relaying to them in the media. The Edelman Trust Barometer shows the level of trust that citizens have in the media they are exposed to.

In addition to this statistic, there is a 14 point gap between the informed public and mass population, according to the Edelman Trust Barometer. The Trust Barometer shows that the entire society as a whole in France has severe distrust of the information that the media is sharing with them. To put a definition to the informed public, these are the people who follow the news regularly, are better educated, and have higher incomes. 

While there is some speculation about whether or not France media is a trustworthy one, there is an abundance of distrust in France among these media sources. There are many reports that the overall status of the French media is free. According to the Freedom House in 2017, France scored a 22/100 regarding the freedom of the press ( 0= the most open, 100=the least). The different categories are sorted into three main categories; the legal environment hold 6/30, Political climate has 13/40, and lastly is the economic environment with 7/30. In the same context, France is ranked 33rd in the world in the World Press Freedom index. The World Freedom Index measures how free media is in the 180 countries and is updated every year. France has seen a steady increase in the freedom of their media going from 39th in the world in 2017 to 33rd in 2018, according to the World Press Freedom index. From these statistics, we can infer that the status of the freedom of the French media is going in the right direction, which is a more trustworthy society.

Freedom of the press is something that is severely taken for granted, especially in the United States. Freedom of the press is so heavily guarded in the constitution that Americans seem to take this for granted. Unfortunately for some countries this is seen as a luxury. France is recognized as one of the top leading countries for respecting freedom of the press. Sadly, France has seen a decrease in the safety of journalists in general. Since 2018, attacks and harassment that have been targeting the news media have severely increased, according to Reporters Without Borders. 

An example of such harassment of the press comes from The protest group “The Yellow Vests” (Gilets Jaunes). It was reported by Reporters Without Borders that the purpose of one protest was attributed to The Yellow Vests being “dissatisfied with the media’s coverage of their protest movement. As a result, the group “tried to blockade printing presses to prevent the distribution of newspapers.” Criticism of the media is always legitimate but has sometimes been supported by “media-bashing” and hate-filled attacks by politicians. According to Reporters Without Borders, the leader of La France Insoumise (France Unbowed), repeatedly made irresponsible comments about journalists, mainly by limiting what information is released in the media.

According to Reporters Without Borders, France’s journalists are also increasingly exposed to online harassment and are being targeted by all kinds of trolls hidden behind screens and pseudonyms. 

Currently, there are some fears of restrictions on the French media since the election of Emmanuel Macron in 2017. The European Center for Press and Media reported, 

“ Reporters sans Frontières (RSF) condemned the use of the so-called “Bloche law“ against Liberation, the left-wing national newspaper. This law makes it a crime to receive leaked information and conceal the source, and also enables the state to prosecute persons unknown for leaking.”

These changes in the press laws are making it more challenging to release leaked information to the public. Along the same lines, according to The European Center for Press and Media, there is a current reform of the broadcasting licensing laws. This reform would result in the merging of the public service radio and television channels. So far, since 2017, there have been 22 French media groups, including Le Monde, that have expressed significant concerns for the safety of newsrooms releasing information during this reform.  

Lastly, due to the recent “Yellow Vest” protests, Reporters Without Borders report, “ Reporters Without Borders (RSF) is very concerned about a surge in unlawful police violence against journalists covering protests against the government’s labor reform law and calls on France’s highest authorities to put a stop to the attacks.” To signal to the riot police they are with the press, journalists wear armbands While these protests are happening.  Recently, two reporters share that they were at the center of police attacks during the protests.

Populism in the media

Politics in the media play a massive role in swaying voters one way or another. Just like in the U.S, French politicians like to use media to their advantage to gain exposure. Marine Le Pen of the populist movement in France wants to use a different type of media exposure to gain ground during elections. Le Pen refers to her opponents as “the media-political system.” 

According to the Guardian, “ This tactic of populist martyrdom is a sort of trap, one that lures the media into the stance of an adversary, called to defend both themselves and a frequently indefensible political class.” To put some more context behind this report, in the late 90’s and early 2000’s there were many media boycotts. Because Marine Le Pen had the outlook that the media was the enemy, she saw a rise in the polls.

Although Le Pen has adopted the idea of the media being the enemy, the Front National has been using online media for many years to gain notoriety. It has been at the cutting edge of digital communication and was the first party in the country to put up a political website in the 1990’s. The Front National still aggressively updates and refines their social media web-based to campaign successfully. According to the Politico reporting website,

“Le Pen’s web-centric insurgent approach mimics methods used by other outsider campaigns. The Brexit campaign in the United Kingdom and the electioneering efforts of Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump in the U.S. all made creative use of social media to short-circuit traditional media.”

 The Front National still has a unique way of online campaigning. Though Le Pen is compared to Donald Trump for online campaigning, she has very very different social media influence than he does. Le Pen’s social media is strictly conservative. She focuses on posts of mainly photos of her campaign meetings and interview quotes. In addition to Twitter, Le Pen has a blog called “Notebooks of Hops.” Her blog gives a mix of her personal life as well as a mix of her policy views. 

Conclusion

Overall, France’s media landscape is comparable to many other countries but also still has some issues that need to be taken care of. Questions like whether or not freedom of the press is free, or why do journalists still face threats about reporting about certain subjects that may result in harmful actions against them? Specifically, the journalists that take part in informing the Yellow Vest protests face the threat of being apart of the police brutality in France. The media is also well thought out in the political atmosphere. Marine Le Pen takes a very dominant role in the online world when it comes to campaigning. She can talk freely about her personal life and also able to make modest comments about politics on her blog.

[moversdevelopment]

Client data protection tips to help you boost trust

Online data protection is still a topic very much neglected by the majority of online users. On average, one in five people that are familiar with the notion of privacy policies will bother to read them before accepting them. And with the introduction of GDPR regulations by the EU, we’ve come to understand that client data protection is only growing in importance. Today, Movers Development explores some essential ways to protect client information for moving companies to implement.

Why is client data protection so important for consumers?

With so many websites out there, more and more consumers need to feel safe with sharing their personal information on websites. And as a professional legitimate business, you need to ensure that your website offers them the trust and security to establish a lasting relationship. Not only does offering measures to protect client data for customers help you gain more trust as a brand, but it also boosts your website value in the eyes of search engines.

Modern consumers expect higher standards when it comes to securing their personal information.

Why is customer trust important for competitiveness?

We’ve already established that feeling safe with visiting a website and leaving personal information is very important for modern consumers. Even though most still don’t bother reading the privacy policy or terms and conditions before accepting them, they feel safer knowing that it exists. And this is slowly becoming a quality standard when it comes to securing your website.

By taking on this challenge and making your website more secure for customers, you are also ensuring the overall competitiveness of your website. And as you know, staying ahead of the competition is crucial for growing the online presence of your business. If you are still unsure as to how ensuring client data protection helps your business, consider the following two statistics:

More than 57 percent of consumers will refuse to conduct business with a company if they believe that it misused their personal information.

More than half of online consumers are willing to pay extra for products/services that protect their personal information.

8 ways to improve data protection in your business

There are many ways to improve client data protection on your website.

1. Improved password management

Centrify research showed that more than 80 percent of cyber attacks in 2017 occurred due to bad password protection. People are still reluctant to use a more complex password to ensure the protection of their information on websites. In turn, they are easier targets for cyber attacks due to the simple passwords they use for personal and business accounts.

As an online business, you should make sure to not only implement data protection measures but to also educate others on how to use them. Whether we are talking about training employees or offering simple tips for consumers, you can build your client data protection strategy on the foundation of all your website users.

2. Regular employee education

Ensuring the protection of client data requires that your entire team understands how to do so and what’s at stake. The more knowledge they have on the subject, the higher the chances are that they will be able to react accordingly. This is especially important for global companies that have remote teams and share drives and data. You need to make sure that everyone understands the risks of not securing the information your website gathers to protect your business and customers. Educating employees on such matters is a simple matter of establishing proper communication channels such as:

Monthly meetings on the subject of client data protection procedures.

Team briefings regarding current and upcoming security measures.

Newsletters and articles to further educate employees on the importance of website security and data protection.

3. Appoint a client data protection officer

The introduction of GDPR is one example of how influential client data protection has become in modern business and consumerism.

The introduction of GDPR by the EU severely affected the digital world and continues to do so even more as the years pass. Among the many legislations that it asks for, GDPR requires certain businesses to have an official data protection officer for their website. This officer bears the responsibility of establishing and upholding the compliance of a company to protect online data. They also have the obligation to keep up with current trends and legislation updates, to ensure that your business us up-to-date on all current protective measures.

4. Organize your data accordingly

Having a data protection officer means that having at least one person that knows all your data from start to end. You need to make sure that the data is structured and organized in a manner that others can comprehend as well. That way, if a breach were to happen at some point, you would be able to prioritize specific data and ensure that it remains secure before all other data.

An additional step here would be to establish which data is most crucial for your business. Then, you need to make sure to double your protective measure for that data. Start from limiting access to a selected number of managing staff or a single person. Once you do that, make sure to also backup those files and transfer them to a remote device from time to time. That way, even if by some miracle you happen to lose that data, you will be able to restore it from a remote drive.

5. Become certified

There are plenty of government-approved certifications that you can acquire to not only ensure that your data is secure but to also assure customers that you are taking all the necessary precautions to guarantee that. It demonstrates your commitment to cybersecurity, which creates a strong basis for building long-term relationships with consumers.

6. Put a strong firewall in place

Client data protection and securing your company data starts with the implementation of firewalls and antivirus software. Like all other tools, moving company software needs to remain protected against cyber attacks. Antivirus software helps you detect, prevent, and/or remove any potentially harmful programs from your devices. Firewalls can ensure the prevention of any unauthorized access to your data.

7. Update your software

No matter how great and perfect a piece of software appears, simply buying and installing it doesn’t solve all your problems. You need to maintain that piece of software, ensuring that it is operating at its fullest capacity. Additionally, you need to make sure to constantly update all the software that you use.

Software developers constantly search for and discover new ways for breaches or errors to happen. And when they do, updating the software with patches is the best way to protect against potential threats. As a business that uses moving company software, you need to make sure that you are using the latest version to prevent any security threats. This is one of the more obvious ways to ensure client data protection on your website.

8. The Bring Your Own Devices approach

Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) is a system that motivates employees to access company information from their personal devices. On the one hand, this helps startups and smaller businesses to reduce operational expenses and boost productivity. On the other hand, this leaves plenty of room for security breaches due to the lack of security control on personal devices. That is why educating your employees plays such an important role in protecting client data. Additionally, you can implement added measures such as:

2-step verification process for accessing company emails and drives.

Diving data access for each department by limiting access to other folders.

Requesting from employees that their devices have a lockdown and password.

Installing security software on all devices.

9. Switching from HTTPS to HTTP

Getting an SSL certificate and installing HTTPS can boost the protection of user data on your website.

By installing HTTPS, you provide your website with the safety it needs. However, this is only the beginning. For those of us that use WordPress to grow an online presence, HTTPS is a minimal precaution. Any content management system (CMS) or login where you host-specific information requires absolute online security.

After all, switching to HTTPS is not the same as using a firewall. It won’t really offer 100% protection from hacking or even spamming emails for that matter, but it is a good start. It is the foundation of online security and at the very minimum, you should offer website visitors.

The post Client data protection tips to help you boost trust appeared first on Movers Development.

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[unabashedtastemakersublime]

Gaming Issues - 6 Methods To Over come Them

A mother had finished putting on a costume her 2 kids for school by 5 in the morning. Next, she'll mind for the casino for an amount of some gaming activity.Does it sound such as a too ludicrous to be real situation? Believe againToday, gaming appears like a everyday activity that individuals ignore too easily. But, they do not realize the potential harm being caused with their lives due to gambling.Usually, gaming also called betting is a kind of sport that requires belongings and income being set at risk. All of the belongings or income are in a chance because the likelihood of wining is actually reduced or is completely dependent on chance. But, you can always use some type of evil methods to gain, but nonetheless you can never be completely certain of winning the game.

Gaming are of numerous forms: one of the types is beatable while one other is unbeatable.The games that could quickly be trampled hence creating a statistical positive chance through usage of strategy are named as beatable games. A few of them are poker, even though it could be classified as sport requesting ability; Pai Gow poker, Tiles, video poker, slot products, horse race, activities bets.

If nothing of the strategies in the overall game helps the ball player to gain the overall game, then it becomes an unbeatable game. Some common examples on this type are baccarat, roulette, keno, slot products, craps, casino war, pachinko, faro, 3card poker, 4 card poker, chart poker, red dog, Spanish 21, Caribbean stud poker.

Equally irresistible gaming and beatable gaming can be found at the casinos. You will find still additional gaming games that aren't being played in the casinos like mahjong, backgammon, lottery, cash throwing games like mind and tail, a couple of carnival games such as Hanky Pank and The Razzle.Another type of gaming sport may be the set chances gaming which is often seen in events such as football, hors race, tennis, baseball, tennis and many other activities that entice hundreds of men and women on betting on the winning team.

Still the same, these are all several types of gaming which does not have the opportunity of having constant wins.In gaming, the folks generally decide to try to get back what and all they missing through the course of the game. Some individuals continue to perform the overall game having a belief which they shouldn't slice the indifference of the luck. As a result, they hold betting and end up putting themselves at a threat of having a reduction rather than a gain.

Many people who perform gaming maintain which they perform just for satisfaction or for a recreation. Many others claim which they perform it to make some cash and gaming is just a very easy way to accomplish make money.Since gaming requires lots of forms of emotional activity, along side stress and mentality of success, it's possible to become addicted to the game. Later on, it may affect the person who is involved in the sport of gambling.

With each one of these psychedelic results due to gaming, some people even participate in betting whether a record is false or true, or whether an occasion can take position at a certain time with still another person. That happens generally on conditions where 2 persons question against each other with strong opinions against each other. Typically, The 2 persons position bets for the money or for enjoyment only to produce their level on a particular issue.

Due to the poor effects of gaming, many legitimate jurisdictions decide to not legalize the gaming activities. For this reason, all contracts which have led to debts because of any gaming activity are taken as unenforceable by law.This is the reason why gaming is just a hazardous activity. People who gamble only do not realize the harm of gaming to them.As told, never set good income soon after poor money. If by any chance you are involved in gaming, stop straight away to devoted any reduction on your own side.

If you should be one who feels gaming is just a new activity that blossomed in Las Vegas in the 20th century, you may want to comb through to your gaming facts. To get advisable of how big the gaming story is, decide to try going back a few thousand years. You'll note that games based on chance and the roll of dice have already been been part of individual history.

Not merely did the Chinese and other populations appreciate gaming and games of chance, many Native National teams employed such activities well before the present day casino. Add to this the types of gaming moved around the world by Western explorers and you have a global sensation of challenge and excitement. Here's a beginner truth - lotteries have even been applied to raise funds for public construction projects.

e If you see 100 persons on the road in one day, it's a fairly secure guess that about 65 of these have put a guess or made a wager before year.o By many counts, profits in gaming casinos worldwide amount to $30 million annually. Numerous studies report that Native National concerns sponsor almost 300 casinos.History of gaming details: The state of Nevada legalized gaming in 1931. New Hat was the next state to produce gaming legitimate (1976). South Dakota and Iowa followed in 1989.o While casinos have operated in Nevada considering that the 1940s, their state created their Gambling Commission in 1959.

One myth that looks unwilling to die is that online gaming isn't fair to participants, because of casino get a handle on, less-than-random figures and therefore on. Primarily, this is false. Safe-gaming software, eCommerce Online Regulation and Confidence (eCOGRA) and various licensing nations have removed a lot of the insecurity and unjust play. The myth may possibly shortly develop into one of the many Internet gaming facts.o Casino type games are by far typically the most popular activity online, outnumbering activities betting 2 to 1. Lotteries and pari-mutuel betting are far down the record in percentage of online gaming activity, as are real-time online poker rooms.o The Interstate Cord Behave, transferred in 1961, is just a federal legislation that had the goal of reducing gaming activity. What the law states claims that it's illegal in the United Claims to make use of cable interaction (such as telephone) to place bets or reveal gaming information เว็บบอลออนไลน์.

Intriguing Gaming Facts: Sixty % of online gamblers use British as their principal language. Second in line is Russian. Germany takes up place number 3, according to a study by Inland Amusement Corporation. As for age, the figures are close, but these between 26 and 34 perform a little more than others. One out of each and every five participants is finished age 45.o Along with online casinos, a number of typically the most popular types of Web/Internet gaming are lotteries, activities books (wager on football, rugby, baseball etc.).

e In accordance with a 2007 story in USA Nowadays, the Venetian Macao casino was the greatest on earth (on the southern suggestion of China). Foxwoods in Connecticut is also advertised because the world's biggest casino.Very Intriguing Gaming Facts: Movie slots are usually considered typically the most popular online casino game. Roulette is one of the hardest games to gain, while casino poker is frequently considered one of the easiest (with a little skill). When you can figure out how to count cards, you can transfer blackjack to the top of the "simpler" list.