#26 january special offer

[plutosone]

India’s 26th January celebration is not just about flag hoisting and patriotic parades; it’s also a time to shop for incredible deals on your favorite homegrown brands! This Republic Day 2025, plutos ONE brings you a special Republic Day offers and vouchers curated just for you. Explore the vibrant collection of Indian local brands under the "Haat of India" campaign and shop with unmatched discounts and rewards.

[30dtsc]

30-Day Tatort Saarbrücken Challenge: Countdown to "Das Ende der Nacht"

Welcome to the Tatort Saarbrücken 30-Day Challenge! 🎉 As we count down to the release of the new episode, Das Ende der Nacht on January 26, we’ll be diving deep into the world of our favorite favorite sad, gay and morally gray German detectives from Tatort Saarbrücken. Whether you're a fan of fanfiction, GIFs, fanart, or just want to share your thoughts, this challenge is open to everyone!

Each day, we’ll explore a different aspect of the show. From your favorite characters and quotes to unexpected moments and underrated scenes, this is your chance to celebrate everything that makes Tatort Saarbrücken unforgettable. Feel free to interpret each prompt however you like—there’s no wrong way to participate! ✨

Here’s how it works:

Starting on December 28, you’ll post your responses to the daily prompts, leading up to the big episode release on January 26.

You can participate in any format—whether that’s writing fanfiction, creating fanart, sharing GIFs, or simply offering your thoughts and reactions in a text post.

Of course you don't have to participate every single day, heaven knows we all have lives. Feel free to share your content, even if just for one prompt!

Don’t forget to tag your posts with #30dtsc so we can all see your awesome creations! All posts with this tag will be reblogged here.

Despite the fact that this post is written in English, of course feel free to use German (or any other language, really), too! Truth is I don't know enought German to write a whole post and I also wish for non-German speakers to be able to participate in this event as well.

Here are the daily prompts:

December 28 - Day 1: Favorite episode. December 29 - Day 2: Favorite character. December 30 - Day 3: Favorite case. December 31 - Day 4: Closure. January 1 - Day 5: New beginnings. January 2 - Day 6: Favorite line(s). January 3 - Day 7: Favorite outfit(s). January 4 - Day 8: Favorite underrated moment(s). January 5 - Day 9: Favorite side character. January 6 - Day 10: Favorite bond. January 7 - Day 11: Sleeping on the job. January 8 - Day 12: Snacking on the job. January 9 - Day 13: Cleverest detail. January 10 - Day 14: Favorite location. January 11 - Day 15: Morally dubious police work. January 12 - Day 16: The squad. January 13 - Day 17: Tearjerker moment(s). January 14 - Day 18: Lighthearted moment(s). January 15 - Day 19: Love languages. January 16 - Day 20: Alternate Universe. January 17 - Day 21: Cross-over. January 18 - Day 22: Job equipment. January 19 - Day 23: The S in Saarbrücken stands for... January 20 - Day 24: Nighttime. January 21 - Day 25: Unspoken. January 22 - Day 26: Favorite character trait(s). January 23 - Day 27: Favorite actor/actress. January 24 - Day 28: Music. January 25 - Day 29: Waiting. January 26 - Day 30: Hype for Das Ende der Nacht.

Special thanks to @nichtspizzamitlinkemglitzer for helping me defining the prompts!

My spatort sideblog: @leo-woods

[batboyblog]

The budget reconciliation provision would raise eligibility requirements for low-income schools and districts to serve free meals to all students.

The House Ways and Means Committee is suggesting cutting $12 billion in school meal programs over 10 years by adjusting school qualification for the Community Eligibility Provision and requiring income verification for national K-12 breakfast and lunch programs, according to a document on the committee’s budget reconciliation options.

Specifically, the committee proposed raising the minimum threshold for low-income schools and districts to qualify for CEP, which allows low-income schools to serve free meals to all students. To participate in the program, 25% of students enrolled in a school have to be certified as eligible for free school meals. The House proposal calls for a 60% threshold. 

The proposal would strip away 24,000 schools’ ability to participate in CEP, impacting over 12 million children, according to the Food Research & Action Center, a nonprofit anti-hunger advocacy group.  

The suggested cuts offer an early glimpse into House Republicans’ priorities for school nutrition policy.

A rollback in school eligibility for the provision is being proposed just as Project 2025, a conservative policy blueprint from the Heritage Foundation, has called for the elimination of CEP altogether. The policy agenda developed in conjunction with some former Trump administration officials also recommended the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which oversees CEP,  work with lawmakers to curb any efforts in support of universal school meal programs.

The federal school lunch and breakfast programs “should be directed to serve children in need, not become an entitlement for students from middle- and upper-income homes,” Project 2025 said.

The committee’s proposals have been released ahead of an expected budget reconciliation, which is part of a special legislative process to fast-track high-priority fiscal legislation that adjusts laws regarding spending, revenues, deficits or the debt limit. 

Reconciliation bills cannot be filibustered in the Senate, “giving this process real advantages for enacting controversial budget and tax measures,” according to the nonpartisan research nonprofit Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. To pass, these bills only need a simple majority in the Senate rather than 60 votes and don’t require the president’s signature. 

The committee’s move also comes at a time when CEP participation has climbed in recent years, most recently rising 19% during the 2023-24 school year. 

As of last school year, half of all schools in the National School Lunch Program were using the provision to serve free meals to all students, according to a January FRAC report. 

“Taking away this important and effective way for local schools to offer breakfast and lunch at no charge to all of their students would increase hunger in the classroom, reintroduce unnecessary paperwork for families and schools, increase school meal debt, and bring stigma back into the cafeteria,” FRAC said in a Jan. 17 statement. 

Unpaid school meal debt has continued to increase for nearly a decade, according to a January report from the School Nutrition Association. In fact, the median unpaid school meal debt was $6,900 per district nationwide in 2024 — a 26% rise from the previous year.

When pandemic-era waivers ended in 2022 for a temporary universal school meal policy nationwide, some schools took on more meal debt. 

Meanwhile, eight states have established their own universal meal programs in lieu of federal action, according to FRAC. Other states leaders are eyeing similar measures this year, including in Alaska, Missouri, Oregon, and New York.

[wheelsgoroundincircles]

Evolution of a Legend: The Ford GT40's Origins in the Mustang-I

Before partnering with Lola on the GT Mk6 in August 1963, Ford's vision for the GT40 was heavily influenced by the sleek design of the Mustang-I. The prototype Ford GT's exterior was essentially based on the Mustang-I, showcasing a striking resemblance between the two. Notice the date on the picture.

As the project progressed, Ford opted to merge the best of both worlds. They took the redesigned Lola GT Mk6 chassis and wrapped the Mustang-I-inspired body around it, ultimately giving birth to the iconic Ford GT40. This fusion of design and engineering expertise would go on to create a racing legend.

TIMELINE:

October 7, 1962 - Mustang at Watkins Glen

October 20, 1962 - Mustang at Laguna Seca

October 26, 1962 - Lola Mk6 showed up incomplete at the London Car Show

January 1963 - Lola Mk6 first shown at UK Olympia Racing Car Show. Showed up three days late and incomplete

Feb 1963 - Enzo Ferrari sends Ford an offer

May 11, 1963 - The silver Mk6 was the first MK6 GT to be raced, entering two races in May of 1963

May 22, 1963 - Ferrari backed out of deal w/Ford

June 1963 - High Performance and Special Models Operation Unit was formed and a basic design was made

June 12, 1963 - GT Program book, circulated internally on June 12th, just 21 days after Ferrari ended deal

June 19, 1963 - the first GT40 clay model is photographed

July 1963 - Advanced Concept Department- Special Vehicle Activity (SVA) was formed

July 1963 - initially models were wind tunnel tested

July 4, 1963 - HFII was planning to be in Maranello signing a $10 million contract with Enzo Ferrari that would give Ford Motor Co. half the Italian sports car manufacturer

July 12, 1963 - full size clay model is pictured next to Corvette and Jaguar

July 17, 1963 - The decision to go with a european firm was approved

July 1963 - a selection of vendors was made by the end of July

August 1963 - a workshop was established in Broadley’s garage in Bromley, south of London

August 1963 - two Lola Mk6 were tested by Ford till early November

September 1963 - FAV opens in Slough, England

September 1963 - the center of activity was therefo removed from Dearborn to England, together with a nucleus of Ford engineers, car layouts, power pack components and full-size models.

October 4, 1963 - a Ford GT clay model is photographed outside at Ford's Design Studio in Dearborn

Oct 1963 - Design engineers were sent to England in mid October

October 23, 1963 - a Ford GT body is photographed outside with a Ford stripe on the rocker

Nov 1963 - The final shape models were sent to England in early November

Nov 1963 - Component testing was completed by the end of November

March 16, 1964 - first gt40 delivered

April 1st, 1964 the first prototype Ford GT was completed and photographed. The first 12 "prototype" vehicles carried serial numbers GT-101 to GT-112. Production GT40s Mk I and Mk II began with GT40P/1000.

April 15 , 1964 - GT40 time trials in Le Mans in mid-April,

After disappointing race results, the engineering team was moved in 1964 to Dearborn, Michigan, USA, to design and build cars by its advanced developer, Kar Kraft.

[mirai-e-jump]

TV Guide Dan Vol.50, January 2024 Issue ft. Ohsama Sentai King-Ohger Cast Members Sakai Taisei x Masato Yano Interview (translations below)

Publication: January 26, 2024

"Please introduce the character the other is playing in Ohsama Sentai King-Ohger."

Sakai: Yano-san plays Racules Husty, the big brother of Gira Husty, who I play. At first, we were led to believe that he was a bad guy who hurt his citizens, but unknown to Gira, he was carrying a huge burden on his shoulders, and was deliberately behaving in a way that made him look like that. Gira may have lost his childhood memories, but I think he respected Racules in those days, and even now is of great importance to Gira.

Yano: Gira is the younger brother of Racules, but at the same time, he's a mysterious being. Somehow, he can communicate with the Shugods…For the rest of the story, it felt like he was moving forward with innocence, but gradually, he gained leadership, moved the hearts of those around him, and became the driving force for the previously broken up Royal Sentai to become one. Furthermore, he's also been gaining more and more dignity as the new king, and now he and Racules have resolved their differences and are fighting together.

"Outside of your roles as brothers, what's the relationship between you two like?"

Yano: (with a solemn expression) We normally don't get along very well.

Sakai: (with a straight face) We fight alot.

Sakai & Yano: (laughs).

Yano: No, we're just joking. That's not the case at all.

Sakai: Yano-san takes very good care of me. He cares about me, asking, "Are you eating properly?," and also gives me advice on acting.

Yano: I'm not offering anything major. I just say, "Here's what I'm doing."

Sakai: For example, in running scenes, Yano-san breathes loudly with, "Haa, haa" to make the sound easier to pick up. Since Gira has many running scenes, I try to incorporate this in my own way.

Yano: I believe that each actor has their own way of creating emotion, so I often talk about the technical aspects. For example, it's better not to blink during important scenes, as it could distract the viewers. If there's no dialogue in a scene where you're close to a character's face, I'd suggest that you express your feelings by clenching your teeth or swallowing saliva.

Sakai: He teaches me these things in a way that's easy to understand. Furthermore, Yano-san has so many variations to his performance! He's always been a great help.

"Speaking of, what do you usually call each other?"

Sakai: I call him "Aniki."

Yano:…You've never called me that once though.

Sakai: Ahaha! Just now, I got scared~.

Yano: I immediately started thinking about the best way to respond to your joke.

Sakai: Actually, it's "Yano-san."

Yano: For me, it's "Sakai". Sometimes I call him "Taisei." Like when we go out to eat.

Sakai: It makes me happy to be called Taisei by Yano-san. From now on, I want you to call me Taisei!

Yano: You prefer Taisei?

Sakai: Yeah, but Sakai is fine too. I've been called that since I worked together with Yano-san in the drama "Shinyu wa Akujo."

Yano: Everyone called him Taisei, but I intentionally chose Sakai.

Sakai: Eh? Was it to make me feel special?! I'm so happy~!

Yano: Well…that's right! (laughs). What does Ikeda Masashi call you by?

Sakai: You mean by everyone?

Yano: Why'd you respond like that? (laughs). Sakai is like this, and sometimes I can't get through to him. The other day he asked, "What did you eat for dinner?" and when I answered, about 3 minutes later, he asked me the same question again.

Sakai: I wanted him to respond with, "How many times have you asked that?!" (*he wanted to do a bit with Yano)

Yano: Absolutely not. I could tell by your face. Sakai has a different kind of expression when he's like that.

Sakai: Eh? So you can understand such subtle changes! Yano-san is the mood maker on set. When he's on standby in front of the cameras for a monologue scene, he makes strange faces right up until the actual performance (laughs).

Yano: Hey, hey, that makes it seem like I don't take my job seriously! Well, it is true that I make strange faces (laughs).

"We've heard from your co stars that Yano-kun is lonely, and that he posts the most in the King-Ohger cast's group LINE…"

Yano: It's a misunderstanding. There's a reason for that. It's a common occurrence among actors, but even if you create a group LINE with your co stars, after filming begins or after some time passes, no one says anything. I don't like it, so I post frequently, but no one ever responds…

Sakai: I often have trouble speaking up because I'm too considerate of my seniors.

Yano: Sakai doesn't really say anything. Rather, he doesn't return private LINE messages.

Sakai: That's not true. I reply as soon as I see them!

Yano: You didn't reply the other day.

Sakai: I might've been working.

Yano: Let's just leave it at that (laughs).

"Since you play brothers in this work, we'd like to ask what kind of household chores you'd share if the two of you were to live together."

Sakai: Leave the toilet and bathtub cleaning to me!

Yano: Are you good at it?

Sakai: I'm the type of person who makes things beautiful when my "switch" is turned on. However, folding clothes and vacuuming…I don't feel like doing that.

Yano: Well then, guess I'll do it.

Sakai: Please also take care of the cooking!

Yano: How strange! (laughs). Because, Sakai, you have a rice cooker at your house, and yet you eat precooked rice packs, right?

Sakai: Cooking rice is a pain…

Yano: I really don't understand that feeling.

Sakai: Everything depends on my mood (laughs). If I feel like cooking rice, I'll cook it.

Yano: So, on days when Sakai feels like it and cooks rice for me, I'll have to say "Thank you~!" out of consideration. How annoying~ (laughs).

"(laughs). In the future, if you were to work together again as actors, what kind of production would you like to work on?"

Sakai: I'd like to play a yakuza role.

Yano: I see. Your role would be something like, "Even though his face is cute, his face is calm when he kills," does that sound good?

Sakai: That's good!

Yano: Well then, I'll play the role of the detective who hunts him down. There was a drama like that, right? It was…"Informa," featuring Morita Go-san and Kiritani Kenta-san!

Sakai: Ah!

Yano: Sakai would be in Kiritani-san's position in that drama. Or, I'll be in Kiritani-san's position and Sakai will be in Yokohama Ryusei-san's position.

Sakai: That's really good!

Yano: Personally, I'm looking forward to it. What kind of work will Sakai first appear in after he graduates from King-Ohger? I think it's really important to make that first step. What kind of production do you want to be in?

Sakai: I have almost no experience in acting, so I'd like to play any kind of role.

Yano: Then, if you had to choose between comedy, romance, or serious, which one would you prefer?

Sakai: Are they genres I can do? In that case, I'll do it.

Yano: No, don't just say "I'll do it." I just gave you choices.

Sakai: I see, my bad (laughs). If I had to pick, I'd like to do a serious one. Also, comedy.

Yano: You chose two (laughs). And they're completely opposite genres.

Sakai: I'm greedy (laughs).

[mysimsloveaffair]

Right on time for my birthday tomorrow🎉, EA has announced a special promotion period. Starting now (January 6th, 9am PDT) through January 26, 2025 (9:00 PDT)...not only will using my code earn me a 5% on the purchase, but it'll also earn you a 5% discount. After this window, the discount goes away, but I hope this is the start of many more discount offers in the future!

The discount applies to the following Sims 4 packs:

Expansion Packs

Game Packs

Stuff Packs

Pre-made bundles

And these games as well:

F1 24

FC 25

Dragon Age: The Veilguard

Dragon Age: Inquisition

Dragon Age 2

Dragon Age Origins

**It does not apply to The Sims 4 Kits or make your own bundles.

To use my code, just enter diego2memphis, where it asks you to “enter promo code.” 

Thanks so much to those who have already used my code when purchasing. Your support means the world to me!! 🥰

[demifiendrsa]

Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth | Story Trailer

Gameplay Trailer

Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth will launch both physically and digitally for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC (Steam, Microsoft Store) on January 26, 2024 worldwide.

Overview

■ About

Two larger-than-life heroes, Ichiban Kasuga and Kazuma Kiryu are brought together by the hand of fate, or perhaps something more sinister… Live it up in Japan and explore all that Hawaii has to offer in an RPG adventure so big it spans the Pacific.

Epic Emotional Drama

Two larger-than-life heroes brought together by the hand of fate, or perhaps something more sinister…

Ichiban Kasuga, an unstoppable underdog who’s no stranger to crawling up from rock bottom, and Kazuma Kiryu, a broken man facing down his last days.

Best-in-Class RPG Action

Experience one-of-a-kind combat with dynamic, fast-paced RPG battles where the battlefield becomes your weapon, and anything goes. Adapt your party’s skills to the situation with outlandish jobs and customizations to strategically subdue enemies with over-the-top moves.

Infinite Adventure

Live it up in Japan and explore all that Hawaii has to offer in an adventure so big it spans the Pacific. Unforgettable moments await at every step of the journey with a unique mix of quests and activities to enjoy at your leisure.

Locations

Explore Yokohama’s Isezaki Ijincho and the series’ first overseas region, Hawaii!

Encounter new faces, create new bonds, and enjoy minigames in these immense and vibrant environments.

Cast

Ichiban Kasuga (portrayed by Kazuhiro Nakaya)

Kazuma Kiryu (portrayed by Takaya Kuroda)

Jo Sawashiro (portrayed by Shinichi Tsutsumi)

Yu Nanba (portrayed by Ken Yasuda)

Eiji Mitamura (portrayed by Ryo Narita)

Eric Tomizawa (portrayed by Satoru Iguchi)

Koichi Adachi (portrayed by Akio Otsuka)

Saeko Mukoda (portrayed by Sumire Uesaka)

Joon-gi Han (portrayed by Yuichi Nakamura)

Tianyou Zhao (portrayed by Nobuhiko Okamoto)

Chitose Fujinomiya (portrayed by Anju Inami)

Seonhee (portrayed by Hana Takeda)

Masumi Arakawa (portrayed by Kiichi Nakai)

Masataka Ebina (portrayed by Hiroki Hasegawa)

Dwight (portrayed by Danny Trejo)

Masataka Ebina (portrayed by Daniel Dae Kim)

■ Game Editions

Standard Edition ($69.99)

Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth

Deluxe Edition ($84.99)

Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth

Master Vacation Bundle

Ultimate Edition ($109.99)

Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth game

Master Vacation Bundle

Assorted Outfit Bundle

Sujimon & Resort Bundle

Yakuza CD Collection Set

■ Pre-Order Bonus Content

Hero’s Booster Pack

This pack allows you to increase your party members’ level and job rank by 1.

Includes:

Leveling Set (Small) x 1

Gearworks Crafting Set (Small) x 1

Job Leveling Set (Small) x 1

* These consumable items grant enough EXP to raise a character’s level by 1 and enough Job EXP to raise the rank of the corresponding job by 1. * Please note that these items only grant as much EXP as needed and are therefore of greatest benefit when characters are their furthest from a level or rank up. * These items cannot be used by characters who have reached their maximum level or job rank.

Special Job Set

This set contains the special jobs of Linebacker and Tennis Ace.

Male Job: Linebacker will be available to all male party members.

Female Job: Tennis Ace will be available to all female party members.

* To unlock the Linebacker job, Kasuga’s Confidence must be level 6 or higher. * To unlock the Tennis Ace job, Kasuga’s Charisma must be level 6 or higher.

[reasoningdaily]

It’s hard to find anyone these days who looks back on the U.S.-led response to the January 12, 2010, Haiti earthquake as a success, but it wasn’t always that way. Right after the disaster, even as neighborhoods lay in rubble, their people sweltering under tarps, the consensus—outside Haiti—was that America’s “compassionate invasion” (as TIME Magazine called it) had been “largely a success” (Los Angeles Times), offering further proof that “in critical moments of the history of mankind … the United States is, in fact, the indispensable nation” (Expresso, Portugal).

As the latest release of Hillary Clinton’s personal emails by the U.S. State Department Monday revealed, that perception was not an accident. “We waged a very successful campaign against the negative stories concerning our involvement in Haiti,” Judith McHale, the under-secretary of state for public diplomacy and public affairs, wrote on February 26, 2010. A few weeks before, the public affairs chief had emailed newspaper quotations praising U.S. efforts in Haiti to Secretary Clinton with the note “Our Posts at work.” Clinton applauded. “That’s the result of your leadership and a new model of engagement w our own people,” she replied. “Onward!”

But one person even closer to the secretary of state was singing a different tune—very, very quietly. On February 22, after a four-day visit to the quake zone, Chelsea Clinton authored a seven-page memo which she addressed to “Dad, Mom,” and copied their chief aides. That informal report tells a continuing story of the unique brands of power and intelligence wielded by the Clinton family in Haiti and around the world—and of the uniquely Clinton ways they often undermine themselves.

First off, there was the secrecy. The memo—by a Clinton, with a master’s in public health from Columbia University, pursuing a doctorate in international relations from Oxford and with a prominent role at her family’s foundation—would have obliterated the public narrative of helpful outsiders saving grateful earthquake survivors that her mother’s State Department was working so hard to promote. Instead, like so much of the inner workings of the Clintons’ vast network, it was kept secret, released only in an ongoing dump of some 35,000 emails from Hillary’s private server, in response to a Freedom of Information Act Lawsuit wrapped up in the politics of the 2016 presidential election.

Chelsea Clinton was blunt in her report, confident the recipients would respect her request in the memo’s introduction to remain an “invisible soldier.” She had first come to the quake zone six days after the disaster with her father and then-fiancé, Mark Mezvinsky. Now she was returning with the medical aid group Partners in Health, whose co-founder, Dr. Paul Farmer, was her father’s deputy in his Office of the UN Special Envoy for Haiti. What she saw profoundly disturbed her.

Five weeks after the earthquake, international responders were still in relief mode: U.S. soldiers roamed Port-au-Prince streets on alert for signs of social breakdown, while aid groups held daily coordination meetings inside a heavily guarded UN compound ordinary Haitian couldn’t enter. But Haitians had long since moved on into their own recovery mode, many in displacement camps they had set up themselves, as responders who rarely even spoke the language, Kreyòl, worked around them, oblivious to their efforts.

“The incompetence is mind numbing,” she told her parents. “The UN people I encountered were frequently out of touch … anachronistic in their thinking at best and arrogant and incompetent at worst.” “There is NO accountability in the UN system or international humanitarian system.” The weak Haitian government, which had lost buildings and staff in the disaster, had something of a plan, she noted. Yet because it had failed to articulate its wishes quickly enough, foreigners rushed forward with a “proliferation of ad hoc efforts by the UN and INGOs [international nongovernmental organizations] to ‘help,’ some of which have helped … some of which have hurt … and some which have not happened at all.”

The former first daughter recognized something that scores of other foreigners had missed: that Haitians were not just sitting around waiting for others to do the work. “Haitians in the settlements are very much organizing themselves … Fairly nuanced settlement governance structures have already developed,” she wrote, giving the example of camp home to 40,000 displaced quake survivors who had established a governing committee and a series of sub-committees overseeing security, sanitation, women’s needs and other issues.

“They wanted to help themselves, and they wanted reliability and accountability from their partners,” Chelsea Clinton wrote. But that help was not coming. The aid groups had ignored requests for T-shirts, flashlights and pay for the security committee, and the U.S. military had apparently passed on the committee’s back-up plan that they provide security themselves. “The settlements’ governing bodies—as they shared with me—are beginning to experience UN/INGO fatigue given how often they articulate their needs, willingness to work—and how little is coming their way.”

That analysis went beyond what some observers have taken years to understand, and many others still haven’t: that disaster survivors are best positioned to take charge of their own recovery, yet often get pushed aside by outside authorities who think, wrongly, that they know better. Her report also had more than an echo of the philosophy of her Partners in Health tour guides. More than five years later, her candor and force of insight impress experts. “I am struck by the direct tone and the level of detail,” says Vijaya Ramachandran, a senior fellow at the Center for Global Development.

But then came the recommendations—and a second classic pitfall. Far from speaking uncomfortable truths to her parents’ power, Chelsea was largely agreeing with their own assessments. At a March UN donors’ conference for Haiti over which Bill and Hillary Clinton presided, the secretary of state would tell the assembled delegates that the global community had to start doing things differently. “It will be tempting to fall back on old habits—to work around the [Haitian] government rather than to work with them as partners, to fund a scattered array of well-meaning projects rather than making the deeper, long-term investments that Haiti needs now,” she said, nearly repeating her daughter’s dismissal of the “ad hoc efforts” that had defined the early response.

Bill Clinton had also long been scathing in his assessments of aid work there. As the Associated Press correspondent in Port-au-Prince before, during and after the quake, I’d followed him on his visits since becoming UN Special Envoy in mid-2009. In public, the former president called for better coordination between NGOs and donors. In private, after long, frustrating days in the Caribbean heat, he’d sometimes just go off, lighting into the nearest staffer about partners’ missed meetings and broken promises. The former president also loved to apologize for his own past actions—destructive food policies which flooded the Haitian market with cheap Arkansas rice, and ordering a crippling embargo that destroyed the Haitian economy during the reign of a 1990s military junta (some of whose members had been on the CIA payroll).

Yet those introspections rarely extend to the present. As anyone who’s covered the Clintons can tell you, they armor themselves with staffers who hit back against almost any hint of criticism—especially when an election is near. The one thing the Clintons never seem to question is the idea that they, personally, should remain in charge. And that is precisely what Chelsea recommended in her report:

“The Office of Special Envoy—i.e., you Dad—needs authority over the UN and all its myriad parts—which I do believe would give you effective authority over [the NGOs].” Her father, the former president, should be a “single point of authority,” she said—overseeing a replacement for the organizational system of government agencies, militaries and NGOs.

The truth is that Bill Clinton was already by far the most powerful individual in this flawed system, with Hillary close behind. She was guiding the U.S. response as secretary of state. He was already UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s Special Envoy for Haiti, head patron of the Clinton Foundation and co-leader of the newly formed Clinton-Bush Haiti Fund. Weeks later the couple would share the dais at the donors conference, where governments and aid groups pledged some $10 billion for Haiti’s recovery. Her father would soon accept the co-chairmanship of the Interim Haiti Recovery Commission, the quasi-government body charged with allocating many of the funds. (“Finally,” chief of staff Cheryl Mills wrote to the secretary in a March 29, 2010, email, when news of the appointment leaked to the Haitian press.) The irony is that, after pages of scathing analysis about the failure of international responders to understand and respect ordinary people in Haiti, Chelsea Clinton’s plan would have created an even more powerful foreigner operating at an even greater remove. She did call on this new Super Clinton-led structure to “support the Haitian government,” but noted that it could only build “local capacity and capabilities, where feasible”—a logical loophole the U.S. government would fall back on time and again as it kept to old habits after all, including refusing to provide Haiti’s government with direct budget support.

As it was, that personality-driven leadership style meant the response to the Haiti quake would focus on priorities set by those surrounding them, rather than those of majority of Haitians. The new email tranche shows how quickly the construction of low-wage garment factories and prioritizing exports to the U.S. market came to the center of the U.S.-led response in Haiti. That strategy, authored by economist Paul Collier, was what Bill Clinton had come to Haiti to promote as special envoy before the quake. Little more than two weeks after the disaster, Mills, a former Clinton White House counsel who became her point woman on Haiti, forwarded the secretary a New York Times op-ed by Collier and consultant Jean-Louis Warnholz rebranding the pre-quake strategy as a form of post-quake reconstruction.

“He now works for us,” she noted for her boss, referring to Warnholz.

The new emails also show how Hillary’s staffers brought former Liz Claiborne Inc. executive Paul Charron into the fold to collaborate with Hillary Clinton and Warnholz on helping to make the garment factories a reality. “As I communicated to Jean-Louis, I am happy to be helpful to you and the State Department on this project,” Charron wrote Mills in August 2010. Around that time, Charron made a key phone call to a former Liz Claiborne colleague now working as an advisor for the South Korean garment giant Sae-A Trading Co. Ltd., to encourage that company to come up with an investment plan in Haiti, the New York Times reported two years later.

In 2012, Bill and Hillary Clinton attended the opening of the brand-new, $300 million Caracol Industrial Park in northern Haiti, with Sae-A as the anchor tenant.

Today, there has been little reconstruction in Port-au-Prince. Most quake survivors have moved back into precarious homes, hoping another disaster doesn’t strike. The country is still being ravaged by a cholera epidemic that began nine months after the earthquake and has killed nearly 9,000 people. Both Bill and Hillary Clinton have publicly acknowledged this epidemic, unrelated to the quake, was caused by United Nations peacekeepers—who in turn, as Chelsea correctly foresaw, have been able to avoid any semblance of accountability. President Michel Martelly, who Hillary Clinton helped put in office as secretary of state, is struggling to hold the country’s first elections since he took power, with observers watching warily to see if he will leave office next spring.

As for Caracol, the northern industrial park has created just 5,479 out of a promised 60,000 jobs when I visited in the spring, as workers complain about the long hours and low pay. Farmers who once tended land on the property complain they were pushed off without proper compensation (a claim the park’s boosters deny). Many of those living around the park now see it as the embodiment of the powerful Clintons’ disconnect. “They go to the park, but they don’t come to our village, because they care more about the park,” said Cherline Pierre, a 33-year-old resident who signs up would-be laborers near her home, a few miles from the park’s high gates.

All a reader plowing through the email tranche can do is wonder, what might have gone differently had Chelsea Clinton’s insights reached more people in real time, and if the Clintons had applied more of them to themselves. “I wish this had been made public when it was sent,” Ramachandran said of the report. “It might have helped.”

[park-jaechan]

'Semantic Error: The Movie,' which became a social phenomenon in South Korea, will be released in Japan as a two-part series

After being streamed on the video streaming service 'WATCHA' in South Korea, people quickly fell into the chemistry of the two lead actors, leading to a massive response and causing a social phenomenon. The 'Semantic Error: The Movie,' which has rewritten the history of Korean boys' dramas, is set to be released in Japan as a two-part series in January 2024. Exclusive web previews and scene photos have also been revealed.

The story begins with the report of the brilliant and perfectionist university junior, Chu Sangwoo (Park Jaechan). Charismatic and carefree, Jang Jaeyoung (Park Seoham), the most popular student in the school, unintentionally misses graduation from university.

In retaliation, Jaeyoung plays pranks on Sangwoo, entangling him, and in Sangwoo's meticulously calculated daily life, much like computer programming, errors begin to occur.

The charm of this work lies in the perfect chemistry that emerges from the characters of the two protagonists, who are complete opposites, and the synchronization between the actors Park Jaechan and Park Seoham. From their worst encounter, they clash, become attracted to each other, and realize their feelings for one another, setting off a whirlwind of love.

The newly released preview reveals Sangwoo saying, 'Please don't contact me anymore' with an unhappy expression, while Jaeyoung, even when paper is thrown at him, remains calm, offering a glimpse into the completely contrasting relationship between the two.

In the latter part, there are scenes filled with 'heart-fluttering' moments, such as the two holding hands and running, capturing the moments leading up to the start of their romance. The preview leaves viewers intrigued, imagining how the completely opposite pair will deepen their relationship.

Furthermore, the released still photos depict a romantic moment between Sangwoo and Jaeyoung as they gaze at each other against the backdrop of a sparkling night view. In South Korea, a special poster based on this scene was created for the theatrical release, becoming a beloved moment among fans who showed enthusiastic support.

'Semantic Error: The Movie Part 1' will be released nationwide in Japan starting from January 12, 2024, and 'Part 2' will follow on January 26, 2024.

Source: 韓国で社会現象化「セマンティックエラー」劇場版、前・後編2部作で日本公開へ | cinemacafe.net Translated by Park Jaechan Updates

[usafphantom2]

IMAGES: USAF sends B-52 bombers to Indian Ocean base

Fernando Valduga By Fernando Valduga 03/26/2024 - 16:00 in Military, War Zones

U.S. Air Force B-52H Stratofortresses bombers were deployed on March 22 at the Diego Garcia Naval Support Center in the Indian Ocean.

The Bomber Task Force deployment offers the U.S. Air Force Global Attack Command a presence in the Indo-Pacific, with relatively easy access to the Middle East as well.

The B-52s fled to Diego Garcia from Barksdale Air Base, Louisiana, after a 30-hour direct flight. This is the first time that USAF announces a Bomber Task Force for Diego Garcia - a small island that is part of the British Indian Ocean Territory that serves as a fundamental base for the U.S. and UK military, which has hosted American troops since the 1970s. The B-1 landed there in 2021, and the last time a B-52 landed there was in 2020.

"This deployment aims to improve the readiness and training needed to respond to any potential crisis or challenge around the world, demonstrating the credibility of our forces to face a global security environment that is more diverse and uncertain than at any other time in recent history," the Pacific Air Forces Command (PACAF) said in a statement.

Although the island is in the area of responsibility of the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, the U.S. Air Force used the island in the past as a base to send bombers to the U.S. Central Command's area of operations.

This latest deployment of PACAF bombers follows in the footsteps of the B-52 of Minot Air Base, North Dakota, deployed in Guam at the end of January and operating there until March 6.

Tags: Military AviationBoeing B-52H StratofortressBTFUSAF - United States Air Force / U.S. Air ForceWar Zones - Indo-Asia-Pacific

Sharing

tweet

Fernando Valduga

Fernando Valduga

Aviation photographer and pilot since 1992, he has participated in several events and air operations, such as Cruzex, AirVenture, Dayton Airshow and FIDAE. He has works published in specialized aviation magazines in Brazil and abroad. He uses Canon equipment during his photographic work in the world of aviation.

Related news

HELICOPTERS

Boeing guarantees almost $100 million to modernize the MH-47G Special Operations Chinooks

26/03/2024 - 14:00

A SCALP-EG cruise missile in a Ukrainian Su-24.

MILITARY

Allies prepare to send 5,000 of their best cruise missiles to Ukraine

26/03/2024 - 13:00

MILITARY

USAF will receive five EA-37B Compass Call electronic attack aircraft in 2024

26/03/2024 - 11:00

INTERCEPTIONS

USAF B-1B bombers, on a mission in northern Europe, are intercepted by Russian fighters

26/03/2024 - 09:00

MILITARY

Saab receives order for Arexis sensor set for German Eurofighters

26/03/2024 - 08:21

A Stealth F-117A fighter aircraft refuels from a KC-10 Extender aircraft from the 22ª Air Refueling Wing during Operation Desert Shield.

MILITARY

"Retired" F-117 jets will be certified for REVO with the KC-46 Pegasus

25/03/2024 - 21:57

[religion-is-a-mental-illness]

By: Zachary Berman

Published: Apr 4, 2024

Latest Developments

Hamas rejected the latest Gaza ceasefire proposal on April 4, refusing to compromise on its maximalist position. “We are committed to our demands,” Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh said. Those demands include a permanent ceasefire, Israel’s complete withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, the return of Palestinians displaced from northern Gaza, and an “honorable prisoner exchange deal,” Haniyeh said. Jerusalem has repeatedly made clear that any deal that leaves Hamas intact is unacceptable.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu greenlighted the latest round of Egyptian- and Qatari-mediated talks on March 29, giving the Israeli team what his office described as “room to operate” in negotiations. Jerusalem accepted the latest proposal, which would have seen Israel temporarily pause its counteroffensive in Gaza and Hamas free the remaining hostages.

Expert Analysis

“Hamas has said that it is unwilling to back down from its outrageous demands. Since Yahya Sinwar and Mohammad Deif understand their days are numbered, their incentive to make a deal is limited or possibly nonexistent. They seem to be mercilessly dragging the hostage families through this process over and over again just to remain in the headlines.” — Enia Krivine, Senior Director of FDD’s Israel Program and National Security Network

“Israel wants to negotiate a hostage release before finishing off Hamas. Hamas wants to survive. The more Hamas leaders believe they will survive without giving up their leverage — hostages — the more they will hold out. The more they believe they have no other choice, the more seriously they will negotiate.” — Richard Goldberg, FDD Senior Advisor

Hamas Turns Down Four Ceasefire Offers

Hamas rejected previous ceasefire proposals in December and January. In February, the White House expressed hope that Hamas had scaled back its demands, but the terrorist group continued to dig in its heels. In late March, Israel agreed to pause its counteroffensive in Gaza for six weeks and release approximately 700 Palestinian prisoners in exchange for 40 Israeli hostages. Hamas rejected that offer on March 26. Israeli officials claimed that Hamas had sabotaged negotiations by trying to turn the proposed ceasefire into the restoration of the status quo ante.

Israeli officials attributed Hamas’s position to efforts by the group’s Gaza leader, Yahya Sinwar, to keep tensions high during Ramadan, with a view to provoking escalation. They also suggested that Hamas’s position hardened after the United States abstained from a UN Security Council vote on March 25, tacitly allowing the council to pass a resolution that called for a ceasefire without explicitly conditioning it on a hostage release.

130 Hostages Remain in Gaza

Hamas released 81 Israeli hostages during a week-long pause in November in exchange for 240 Palestinian prisoners. Additionally, Hamas released 23 Thai nationals, one Filipino, and three Israeli-Russian dual citizens under separate arrangements with Bangkok, Manila, and Moscow. The pause collapsed on December 1, when Hamas refused to provide a list of the remaining women and children in captivity and resumed launching rockets at Israel. On February 12, Israeli special forces rescued two hostages — Fernando Marman, 61, and Louis Har, 70 — from Rafah in southern Gaza. Approximately 130 hostages remain in Gaza, 34 of whom Israel believes are no longer alive.

==

Reminder, and particularly for the "ceasefire now" apologists, that Hamas don't want a "ceasefire," they want dead Jews. They broke the last ceasefire, and October 7 terrorist attack was itself a violation of the ceasefire in place at the time.

The only way this ends is for Hamas to be completely exterminated.

[devilsjunctionhq]

SILVER SANDS FIGHT NIGHT: NEW YEAR KNOCKOUTS

DATE: January 19-20, 2025

The Silver Sands Casino is bringing boxing back to Devil's Junction with two nights of pure adrenaline. From local heroes to international stars, we're packing the arena with the kind of fights that'll have you on the edge of your seat.

THE SETUP

The Grand Arena at Silver Sands transforms into a fighter's paradise, with the ring taking center stage under the bright lights. The buzz starts early as the casino floor fills with fight fans, betting slips in hand, mixing with the usual Saturday night crowd. Local jazz favorites The Night Owls keep the energy up between matches, while the legendary ring announcer Mike Thompson gets the crowd fired up for each bout.

THE FIGHTS

Main Event - Heavyweight Division Marcus "The Mountain" Thompson (28-0) puts his undefeated record on the line against Viktor "Ice" Petrov (26-1). Thompson's been knocking guys out left and right, but Petrov's got the kind of precision that could give him trouble. The whole city's split on who's walking away with this one. Light Heavyweight Feature James "Lightning" Carter steps up against Rico "The Beast" Martinez in what's bound to be a slugfest. Both these guys are hungry for a title shot, and neither one likes to take a step backward. Expect fireworks.

FOOD & DRINKS

The Silver Sands is rolling out special fight night menus across the casino:

Arena Bites

Loaded nachos that could feed a corner team

Wings done four ways (the ghost pepper ones are no joke)

Philly cheesesteaks that'd make Rocky proud

House-smoked BBQ platters

Bar Scene

Local craft beers on tap

Signature cocktails named after famous fights

Premium spirits for celebrating (or drowning sorrows)

Late Night Eats

Food truck favorites right inside the casino

Fresh-made pizza that hits the spot

Legendary street tacos from the Night Market crew

Burgers that'll make you forget about the betting slip in your pocket

The Winners' Circle lounge upstairs offers a more exclusive spot to catch the action if that's your speed, with private tables and personal service. But honestly? The real energy's down in the crowd.

Join us for a weekend where even the losers walk away with tales to tell. This is Devil's Junction boxing at its finest - raw, real, and unforgettable.

OOC INFORMATION

Event Duration: January 17th (6:00 PM EST) to January 25th (6:00 PM EST)

Location: Silver Sands Casino - Grand Arena

Tag your posts with: event: silver sands fight night 2025

Feel free to join in at any point during the event!

Previous threads can continue alongside this event

[coffeewithcutcaffeine]

hello my darling lin <33 missing you loads.

can you please share your favourite cătălina headcanons? i've been thinking about her way too much lately.

hope you're living your best life my beloved 💓.

My dearest Lizzie! Thank you so much for sending this precious Ask my way — it absolutely made my freaking month! I hope life is treating you with utmost kindness and generosity. I miss you and adore you so much! 🥰️❤️️

I could not really choose any of those cute little HCs I have for my modern-day female characters since life in the 15th century did not allow much space for all those hobbies and affections we have today. As I expand her story in more detail, something might come to mind with time. Instead, let me humbly offer some bits about her that I either might not get a chance to fully explore within the story or will elaborate on in more detail later on in my writings (some parts are hence more spoiler-free). ✨

Without further ado, let me introduce you to Miss Cătălina!

FAMILY:

Cătălina is born on January 26, 1432 in a small village near Târgoviște, the capital of Wallachia. She is the youngest child and only daughter of Costea and Maria.

She has Bulgarian roots from her mother’s side. Maria’s ancestors fled Veliko Tarnovo and came to the region of Dâmbovița in the early 14th century.

Cătălina’s mother tragically dies during childbirth, leaving her without the opportunity to know her. All Cătălina has of her mother are the memories shared by her father and elder brothers. Her parents’ marriage was a loving one, and Cătălina unquestionably inherits not only her mother’s beauty but also her astute mind. This resemblance to his late wife is why Costea always has a special affection for his beloved daughter.

Cătălina will always remember her father as a compassionate and honest man, the first man she truly loved. After the death of his beloved wife, he vows never to remarry. Costea strives to raise his daughter to become a respectable young woman with the right virtues but finds it difficult to refuse any of her requests — as a result, she learns to ride, practice archery, and read and write, just like her brothers. He rationalises these decisions by hoping these skills might help her secure a good marriage in the future, but the truth is that he simply struggles to say no to his daughter. He is also Cătălina’s first lesson on how to wrap a man around her finger. He is killed during the recapture of the Giurgiu fortress in 1445, and Cătălina keeps his sword as a remembrance for the rest of her life.

She has three elder brothers, two of whom die at a very young age. Her eldest brother, Stan, is killed during the Battle of Varna in 1444. The middle brother, Costea, whom Cătălina is closest to, is brutally murdered when a tragedy befalls the family in 1447. Only the youngest brother, Dumitru, lives to old age — he even outlives his sister.

Ironically, Cătălina’s family is quite closely tied to Vlad’s years before their relationship starts. At the time of her birth, Cătălina’s family belongs to the class of moșneni (i.e. freeholders who farm their own land), but after Vlad’s father becomes the voivode, and Cătălina’s father proves to be of great aid to his ruler, the status of the family is elevated to that of petty nobility. Two of the siblings even befriend two of the Drăculești.

She feels the absence of her mother most strongly when she starts transforming into a woman herself. Her menarche is a traumatic experience for the little girl — she begins to panic and fear that she is dying, and only a kind housemaid placates her and explains to her the workings of her changing body. She also grieves this loss when she becomes a mother because not only does she suddenly find herself in this new role, but she also longs for guidance and advice from her own creator.

Adjusting to motherhood initially requires more time and effort from her, and it is one of the struggles she buries deep down and never confesses to anyone. Her first son is born when she lives in a very unfamiliar environment, which leaves her feeling melancholic and helpless. She even finds herself slightly envious of Vlad, who seems to adapt to fatherhood with more ease. (He is just as terrified but helped take care of two younger siblings and was even fully responsible for his baby brother for a period of time, so he simply has more experience with children. Other than that, he also has a lot of figuring out to do.)

She is a very nurturing and loving mother but, at the same time, the stricter parent of the two (which is a reason for recurring jokes between the two brothers when they are older as they sometimes affectionately call her Spătar — the person responsible for military affairs and second in rank in the army after the voivode). She is also playful and active, ensuring her lively boys are never bored. When they mature into men, they never hesitate to defend her on any occasion.

ROMANTIC RELATIONSHIPS:

Despite a previous horrific experience, she grows to love sex and appreciate it as something through which comes pleasure, love, and new life. Her first sexual experience is with Vlad, and the way he treats her as her sexual partner significantly influences her perspective on these matters. She has the space to fully and freely explore her own preferences and pleasure, she is never shamed for her desires and needs, she feels safe and her boundaries are respected, she receives pleasure as well as gives it. Her body is appreciated for how it is and what it can achieve.

Loving Vlad wholly and selflessly does not mean she does not consider the pros and cons of their relationship. She desires to live in a certain type of security and have a certain status which her position grants her. Being a ruler’s mistress means that she always has to be watchful and careful, it is a life of danger and intrigues, and so she compensates for that with the benefits her role brings. She will never allow anyone to make her feel guilty about it.

She never blindly, wholeheartedly believes any man, be it Vlad or later her husband. Cătălina can love with all devotion and passion, yet will always try to hold onto some kind of Plan B should circumstances fail. She knows that being able to rely on herself is the only way to save her life — and rightly so, because it saves her numerous times.

The one thing Cătălina has a difficult time coming to terms with is when Vlad finally gets engaged. All her life, she has known he cannot marry her and will have to marry someone else one day, but because he is avoiding marriage most of the time, it is just some vague notion at the very back of her mind. When that moment finally comes, she cannot help but feel it will change everything. Their relationship is forcibly ended soon after he gets married.

She marries a very kind and good-natured man who loves her dearly, is very protective of her sons, and lets her keep the kind of freedom she is accustomed to, but the marriage is far from happy. She will never grow to love him the way he wishes to be loved and will always feel somehow shackled in that relationship.

PERSONALITY:

She is the type of person who brims with life. Though living in a very grim and violent world, she tries to seek out the small pleasures of life. There are things that fill her with joy and a sense of freedom, and she holds them close to her heart and protects them.

She sometimes has a tendency to resort to harmless pettiness, but those are often the occasions that grant her a feeling of having the upper hand for at least a while.

Under certain circumstances, she can become extraordinarily vindictive, even cruel. If she or her loved ones are wronged or hurt by someone, she will not rest until she sees that person punished.

At the height of her time as the Voivode’s concubine, many people perceive her as a calculating and ambitious woman. That is partly incorrect as she very rarely shows interest in political affairs. Most of the time, she tries to avoid interfering in these things and refuses to try to sway Vlad’s opinion on any matters. She is only calculating and ambitious when it comes to her personal affairs — her and her family’s well-being, or protecting something or someone dear to her. That does not mean she does not have a strong stomach to navigate through the politics of the time. She also appreciates that some people consider her to be dangerous as it brings a sense of safety.

In terms of showing anger, she is the polar opposite of Vlad. He is quite short-tempered and tends to be explosive and tempestuous, but becomes cold and detached when his anger reaches its peak which signals that things have gone too far. She tends to be more aloof and icy when angered and becomes explosive only when things become too much to bear.

She loves being a woman but despises being treated as inferior and having limited options in life because of it.

SELF:

Despite the times and circumstances not favouring women, she becomes quite educated thanks to her father. She speaks the Wallachian dialect (graiul muntenesc), can read both the Romanian Cyrillic alphabet (used to write the Romanian language until the 1860s) and Old Church Slavonic (literary language for official correspondence), and write in the Cyrillic alphabet.

Cătălina takes great pride in her long and beautiful hair and cares for it diligently. She religiously applies expensive, fragrant oils on it, even washes it with herbal extracts during warm months to lighten it a little and give her chestnut locks a reddish tinge. (Since Wallachian fashion of that period completely concealed the body, I believe hair was really the only thing a single woman could flaunt.)

She has always longed to see the sea, but never gets the opportunity in her life. That also happens to be the only promise from Vlad that has never been fulfilled.

When she feels angry or hopeless, she saddles up and rides.

She loves good food. Girlie adores it and will never not indulge in it.

[richmond-rex]

Could you please tell more about why Elizabeth went to the Tower of London in 1503 but unexpectedly gave birth to her child? And why did Henry VII go to the Tower at that time? Thank you very much!

Hi! We don't exactly know why went to the Tower in February 1503, but presumably they were there to commemorate the feast of Candlemas, the day of the Virgin Mary's purification after the birth of Jesus Christ (a ritual which medieval women replicated in their own personal churchings). It was an important holyday in the Christian liturgical year and as such the king and queen would publicly attend mass along with the rest of the court. It was a day of special solemnity because Candlemas was considered a 'major double feast' and a 'day of estate', meaning that during the ceremony the king would wear 'his sircot, his kirtille and his … ermyne' and was to have on his head 'a hat of estate and his swerd before hym'. At the beginning of the mass a courtier would carry a candle (taper) before the king and queen which would be deposited at the altar. In the evening a 'void' occurred where nobles gathered in the great chamber to take refreshments with the king (and presumably the same happened in the queen's chambers).

Although Henry and Elizabeth were not frequent residents of the Tower in the first fifteen years of his reign, they used the place for ceremonial occasions such as coronations (1485 & 1487), diplomatic visits (1496 & 1501), openings of parliament (1497), St George's feast day (1500) and tournaments (1500). Henry ordered a new tower to be built there in 1501-1502 which might indicate a growing interest in expanding their use of the Tower. Accordingly, we see Henry and Elizabeth residing there from about 13 December until 22 December 1502. At some point they left the Tower to spend Christmas at Richmond where Henry paid for Elizabeth's furs. On January 26 Elizabeth went back from Richmond to London but I don't know exactly where she stayed from 26 January to 1 February. Her expenses suggest that first she went to Westminster and then to the Tower. All we know is that she was at the Tower on the 2nd of February (Candlemas) according to two contemporary sources:

Upon Candlemas Day in the night following the day, the King and the Queen then being lodged in the Tower of London, the Queen that night was delivered of a daughter, where she intended to have been delivered at Richmond. (Vitellius A XVI manuscript)

Candlemas Day in the night, the King and Queen being then at the Tower, the Queen travailed of child suddenly and was delivered of a daughter, the which was christened in the parish church of the said Tower & named Katherine. (The Great Chronicle of London)

Besides those two reports, that Henry was also at the Tower on that day is suggested by his offering at All Hallows Barking, a church located next to the Tower. My opinion is that they meant to spend Candlemas there but not to stay too long: the chroniclers as well as Elizabeth's payments suggest not only that she had a premature birth ('travailed of child suddenly') but that her confinement had been prepared at Richmond, so I doubt Elizabeth travelled to the Tower to have her child there. Another indication is that Henry usually lodged in the same residence Elizabeth had her deliveries and his household stuff only arrived at the Tower on 3 February, the day after her delivery. He stayed there until Elizabeth passed away by which point he departed to Richmond to ‘pass his sorrows’.

[He] took with him certain of his secretest, and privately departed to a solitary place to pass his sorrows and would no man should resort to him but such his Grace appointed.

We know Elizabeth had been ill at several moments during her last pregnancy. On 18 September 1502 she authorised payment of an apothecary’s bill and on the following days Henry sent for her surgeon. In November she had been visited by two nurses: Mistress Harcourt at Westminster on the 14th and 'a French woman' at Baynard’s Castle on the 26th. In January, Henry rewarded and sent for her surgeon once more on the 20th when he was at Richmond (and according to her expenses, Elizabeth was there too). Henry would send for a physician for Elizabeth for the last time on the first days of February but the doctor arrived too late.

I wonder if the ceremonies involved with a 'day of estate' such as Candlemas proved too tiresome for Elizabeth? It might have seemed symbolic for those around Elizabeth to see the queen going into labour on Candlemas, the day of the purification of the Virgin. If they interpreted that as the sign of a blessing, her passing a few days afterwards (on her own birthday no less) might have changed their opinion.

That's all I have but I hope my answer was helpful to you! 🌹x

[satoshi-mochida]

Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth launches January 26, 2024

Gematsu Source

Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth will launch both physically and digitally for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC via Steam and Microsoft Store on January 26, 2024 worldwide, publisher SEGA and developer Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio announced. Digital pre-orders are now available.

Here is an overview of the game, via SEGA:

■ About

Two larger-than-life heroes, Ichiban Kasuga and Kazuma Kiryu are brought together by the hand of fate, or perhaps something more sinister… Live it up in Japan and explore all that Hawaii has to offer in an RPG adventure so big it spans the Pacific.

Epic Emotional Drama

Two larger-than-life heroes brought together by the hand of fate, or perhaps something more sinister… Ichiban Kasuga, an unstoppable underdog who’s no stranger to crawling up from rock bottom, and Kazuma Kiryu, a broken man facing down his last days.

Best-in-Class RPG Action

Experience one-of-a-kind combat with dynamic, fast-paced RPG battles where the battlefield becomes your weapon, and anything goes. Adapt your party’s skills to the situation with outlandish jobs and customizations to strategically subdue enemies with over-the-top moves.

Infinite Adventure

Live it up in Japan and explore all that Hawaii has to offer in an adventure so big it spans the Pacific. Unforgettable moments await at every step of the journey with a unique mix of quests and activities to enjoy at your leisure.

Locations

Explore Yokohama’s Isezaki Ijincho and the series’ first overseas region, Hawaii! Encounter new faces, create new bonds, and enjoy minigames in these immense and vibrant environments.

Cast

Ichiban Kasuga (portrayed by Kazuhiro Nakaya)

Kazuma Kiryu (portrayed by Takaya Kuroda)

Jo Sawashiro (portrayed by Shinichi Tsutsumi)

Yu Nanba (portrayed by Ken Yasuda)

Eiji Mitamura (portrayed by Ryo Narita)

Eric Tomizawa (portrayed by Satoru Iguchi)

Koichi Adachi (portrayed by Akio Otsuka)

Saeko Mukoda (portrayed by Sumire Uesaka)

Joon-gi Han (portrayed by Yuichi Nakamura)

Tianyou Zhao (portrayed by Nobuhiko Okamoto)

Chitose Fujinomiya (portrayed by Anju Inami)

Seonhee (portrayed by Hana Takeda)

Masumi Arakawa (portrayed by Kiichi Nakai)

Masataka Ebina (portrayed by Hiroki Hasegawa)

Dwight (portrayed by Danny Trejo)

Masataka Ebina (portrayed by Daniel Dae Kim)

■ Game Editions

Standard Edition ($69.99)

Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth

Deluxe Edition ($84.99)

Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth

Master Vacation Bundle

Ultimate Edition ($109.99)

Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth game

Master Vacation Bundle

Assorted Outfit Bundle

Sujimon & Resort Bundle

Yakuza CD Collection Set

■ Pre-Order Bonus Content

Hero’s Booster Pack

This pack allows you to increase your party members’ level and job rank by 1.

Includes:

* These consumable items grant enough EXP to raise a character’s level by 1 and enough Job EXP to raise the rank of the corresponding job by 1. * Please note that these items only grant as much EXP as needed and are therefore of greatest benefit when characters are their furthest from a level or rank up. * These items cannot be used by characters who have reached their maximum level or job rank.

Special Job Set

This set contains the special jobs of Linebacker and Tennis Ace.

* To unlock the Linebacker job, Kasuga’s Confidence must be level 6 or higher. * To unlock the Tennis Ace job, Kasuga’s Charisma must be level 6 or higher.

Watch a new set of trailers below. View a new set of screenshots at the gallery.

Story Trailer

English (Worldwide)

English (Asia)

Japanese

Gameplay Trailer

English (Worldwide)

English (Asia)

Japanese

[fettesans]

Top, Olbram Pavlíček, KORPSEPUNX@ABDOMEN-OF-THE-BEAST, 2023, mixed media, dimensions variable. Installation on view at Gallery of Modern Art in Hradec Králové, February 16 – May 26, 2024. Via. Bottom, screen capture from The Cremator, directed by Juraj Herz, 1969. Via.

--

"I always wanted to understand everything, both in a physical sense and in a more conceptual and intellectual sense," Zielinski told Hell Gate in a call from Woodbourne Correctional Facility, where he was sent in February of last year, after stints in other upstate prisons. "I want to take everything apart and see exactly how it works, because once you understand how things work, then you can use them to create even more new and interesting things."

That curiosity and interest in science partly explains why Zielinksi wants to be able to watch the rare total solar eclipse that is taking place on April 8, in spite of his incarceration. But earlier this month, New York’s Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (DOCCS) announced in a memo that they plan to institute a system-wide lockdown as a safety precaution during the eclipse.

In New York, the eclipse is a big deal: The path of totality sweeps across 29 counties in the state, offering a chance to catch a solar event that won't happen again for decades. Anticipating an influx of "millions of visitors," Governor Kathy Hochul recently announced that an Interagency Task Force has been meeting for the past 17 months to "ensure everyone can safely enjoy the eclipse." A DOCCS spokesperson confirmed that the department is part of this task force.

In January, Zielinski began a back and forth with prison staff at Woodbourne, asking that he be allowed to watch from the prison's main yard and be provided with eclipse glasses. Zielinski argued that the eclipse has special significance to atheists like himself, whose beliefs are grounded in a devotion to scientific discovery and achievement. In conversation with prison staff, Zielinski suggested the eclipse should be a facility-wide event open to all. Woodbourne's superintendent shot that idea down, Zielinksi told Hell Gate, but his personal request to mark the day as a religious event for his own observation was sent to DOCCS's central office. 

Rebecca McCray, from Incarcerated New Yorkers Want to See the Eclipse. The State Has Responded With a Lockdown, for Hell Gate, March 28, 2024.