#Brokers arrested

[rebel-bulletin]

रेल्वे तिकिटांसह दलालांना अटक

गोंदिया : आमगाव येथील इंदिरानगर येथून बनावटी रेल्वे तिकीट तयार करणार्‍या दलालासह २४ हजार ३३१ रुपये किमतीचे ५७ तिकीटे जप्त करण्यात आले. ही कारवाई रेल्वे सुरक्षा दलाने २ एप्रिल रोजी केली. प्रवास सुखकर व सुरक्षित व्हावा, यासाठी रेल्वेचे आरक्षण हा प्रवाशांसाठी नेहमीच चिंतेचा राहते. याचाच लाभ उचलत काही दलाल बनावटी तिकीटांची विक्री करीत असल्याच्या घटना उघडकीस आल्या आहेत. (Brokers arrested with railway…

[kerosnes]

Free drawing boker!

[fromthecageof-broker]

(he was listening)

wow..that was very brutal-

Did they really deserve that? .-. I know I have a lot of haters and their one of them, but that’s normal for famous people like me specially if I’m a idol

Don't worry about it! Everythings fine!

Hopefully....

-B

[awesome-gautam-sandesh-blog]

भ्रष्ट सब-इंस्पेक्टर दलाल सहित गिरफ्तार, एसएसपी को जिले में करनी पड़ेगी बड़ी सर्जरी

बदायूं जिले के पुलिस विभाग में एसएसपी आलोक प्रियदर्शी को बड़ी सर्जरी करना पड़ेगी वरना, राजनैतिक संबंधों और भ्रष्टाचार के बल पर तैनाती पाने वाले अधिकारी-कर्मचारी आये दिन विभाग की फजीहत कराते रहेंगे। आज फिर पुलिस विभाग के माथे पर कलंक लग गया। भ्रष्टाचार निवारण संगठन की टीम ने आज भ्रष्ट सब-इंस्पेक्टर देवेन्द्र सिंह को दलाल से ��ीस हजार रूपये की रिश्वत लेते हुये गिरफ्तार कर लिया। बताते हैं कि जरीफनगर…

[mfi-miami]

Miami Real Estate Influencer Arrested On Federal Fraud Charges

Miami Real Estate Influencer Daniela Rendon Arrested On Federal Fraud Charges For Misusing $381,000 In COVID-19 Relief Funds Federal authorities have arrested Miami real estate influencer and broker Daniela Rendon. They have accused Rendon of allegedly using COVID-19 relief funds to fund a lavish lifestyle. Rendon’s lavish lifestyle consisted of private jets and luxury yachts. In addition, they…

[darcylindbergh]

I have no idea what Harris' actual views on I/P are, but even if she is fully pro-Palestine wouldn't she still have to meet with Netanyahu? I mean realistically any change the US can possibly make would have to involve talking to Israel, right? Presidents meet with Putin even if they hate him/Russia's actions because that's how international politics works, it doesn't mean they like/agree with him

Well, theoretically, there's a bit of political game playing involved yes. But because the ICC has issued warrants for Netanyahu's arrest, if we're strictly following international law, Netanyahu shouldn't have been meeting anybody, he should have been arrested. But we're not doing that because the US currently thinks the ICC is wrong, which is a bad look for the US and which undermines the strength of international law, so I think this is bad and also wrong, but that's what's happening at present. And although US presidents etc have historically met with Putin, they would not at this point because Putin also has warrants out for his arrest. The difference between how the US has treated Putin v Netanyahu is, as it seems, pretty hypocritical.

Practically speaking, as you say, meeting with Netanyahu is a bit of a political game. The US has historically been a very strong ally to Israel and the US has historically been very much involved in the normalization of relations vis a vis Israel and the rest of the Middle East, and the US would very much like to remain involved in brokering a lasting peace, which involves not seriously alienating Netanyahu and Israel et al. Netanyahu and his far-right government are the ones holding up the ceasefire, and the US is only able to exert pressure so long as they are a valuable ally to Israel - if Israel has nothing to lose, in other words, the US loses its ability to exert pressure. And Harris wants very much to hang onto that ability, because she's setting herself up to exert more pressure than Biden has.

Harris has been critical of Israel. Harris is the highest-ranking Dem that has been critical of the situation in Gaza. She has been upfront about highlighting the suffering in Gaza. She's not oblivious to the conversations going on re: Palestine and the ongoing genocide. She's not sticking her head in the sand on it.

“The images of dead children and desperate hungry people fleeing for safety, sometimes displaced for the second, third or fourth time - we cannot look away in the face of these tragedies. We cannot allow ourselves to become numb to the suffering and I will not be silent.”

But she's trying to walk a very careful line on public sentiment re: Israel and Palestine. She's going to be very cautious to condemn anything with even a whiff of antisemitism in strong terms. She's going to be very cautious to affirm Israel's right to exist and to defend itself, which she does in the article linked above, with the caveat that "how it does so matters." But her willingness to call attention to the crisis ongoing in Gaza and her willingness to imply wrong-doing by Israel in how that crisis has been created signals to Netanyahu that her government will have stronger limits than Netanyahu has encountered previously. Will she be a perfect candidate? No. Will she always align with my moral compass? No. Will she be totally evil? Also no.

As voters, what does this mean for us and how we support Gazans and Palestinians?

To me this is very simple. Harris is a candidate who is willing and able to exert pressure on Israel to end the genocide and, ideally, to broker a long-lasting peace. Trump is a candidate who is willing and able to exert pressure on Israel to blow Gaza off the face of the earth. Between "willing to tell Netanyahu this is unacceptable" and "willing to tell Netanyahu to break out a nuke," I'm voting for the former every fucking time.

Not voting or voting third party doesn't actually tell Democrats anything except that you didn't care. They don't have a list of people who would otherwise have voted blue if only they'd taken harder pro-Palestine stance, they're not cross-checking your voting status against your social media posts and going, oh, nuts, we lost that one. Not voting or voting third party doesn't exert pressure on the Dems to go more left, you're not "teaching them a lesson," you're not making a point. It's non-information. It's not a boycott - it's a white flag. It's giving up.

You know how you exert pressure on politicians? You call. You write. You protest. Are you still calling your representatives about Gaza every day? Are you going to town halls and asking them about what they're doing to stop the genocide? Pressure is exerted through participation.

Progress is made by the people who show up.

If the Dems lose, you can pressure them all day and it won't make a difference because they don't have any power to make a difference. And the racist, anti-Muslim, anti-Middle East far right won't be listening no matter how much you shout.

I'm not giving up on Palestinians just because some greyface anon on the internet tells me I'm a bad person for choosing to vote for the candidate I can pressure to make a change.

I'm also not going to give up on people here at home who's lives are hanging in the balance. I'm a queer woman with a uterus and a pre-existing condition - I simply do not have the luxury or the privilege to stay home in November. I do not have the luxury or the privilege of being a single issue voter. I'm not going to give up on trans kids or immigrants or BIPOC or women or disabled folks or poor folks. I'm not going to give up on healthcare or on libraries or on public schools or on the environment or on the court systems. I'm not going to give up on safe workplaces and livable wages and safe products. I'm not going to give up and let corporate monopolies and censorship and AI and five rich dudes decide what the future will be.

Don't you care? Don't you look around you and care about the people in your own communities? Or are those people too real, too complicated? Do you only care when you can win points off it in someone else's inbox on tumblr dot com?

Is Kamala Harris going to be the perfect pro-Palestinian candidate? No. But I'm not inviting her to brunch. I don't need her to be my bestie. I don't need her to be my moral compass - I have one of my own, thanks.

I just need her to step forward instead of back.

Progress is made one step at a time.

[zvaigzdelasas]

Labour has announced its biggest step yet in overhauling the UK’s approach to the Middle East, dropping its opposition to an international arrest warrant against Benjamin Netanyahu despite pressure from Washington not to do so.

Downing Street announced on Friday that the government would not submit a challenge to the jurisdiction of the international criminal court, whose chief prosecutor, Karim Khan, is seeking a warrant against the Israeli prime minister.

The move makes it more likely that the ICC will now grant Khan’s request, in what would be a stunning international rebuke for Israel over the way it has conducted the war in Gaza and put Netanyahu at risk of arrest if he travels abroad.

It also reverses months of British policy after the previous government was steadfast in its support of Israel and its desire to stick closely to the US position.[...]

Israel and the US, neither of which is a signatory to the ICC, had put pressure on the UK to maintain its objection, warning that dropping it could upset peace negotiations being brokered by Washington.

26 Jul 24

[fdelopera]

America owes its independence to Haym Salomon, a Sephardic Jewish Patriot

A Jewish American Hero

by Yosef Kaufmann

October 17, 1781. An eerie silence takes hold over the battlefield outside Yorktown, Virginia. After weeks of non-stop artillery shells and rifle fire, the rhythmic pounding of a drum is all that is heard. Through the wispy smoke that floats above the battlefield, a British officer can be seen waving a white flag. General Cornwallis has surrendered Yorktown, ending the last major battle of the American Revolution. The surrender of Yorktown and the nearly 8,000 British troops convinced the British Parliament to start negotiating an end to the war. On September 3, 1783, the treaty of Paris was signed. The war was over.

If not for Haym Salomon, however, the decisive victory at Yorktown never would have happened.

Haym Salomon was born in Leszno, Poland, in 1740. In 1770, he was forced to leave Poland for London as a result of the Partition of Poland. Five years later, he left London for New York City, where he quickly established himself as a broker for international merchants.

Sympathetic to the Patriot cause, Haym joined the New York branch of the Sons of Liberty, a secret society that did what it could to undermine British interests in the colonies. In 1776, he was arrested by the British and charged with being a spy. He was pardoned on condition that he spend 18 months on a British ship serving as a translator for the Hessian mercenaries, as he was fluent in Polish, French, German, Russian, Spanish and Italian. During those 18 months, Haym used his position to help countless American prisoners escape. He also convinced many Hessian soldiers to abandon the British and join the American forces.

In 1778, he was arrested again and sentenced to death for his involvement in a plot to burn the British Royal fleet in the New York Harbour. He was sent to Provost to await execution, but he managed to bribe a guard and escape under the cover of darkness.

He fled New York, which was under the control of the British army, and moved to Philadelphia, the capital of the Revolution.

He borrowed money and started a business as a dealer of bills of exchange. His office was located near a coffee house frequented by the command of the American forces. He also became the agent to the French consul and the paymaster for the French forces in North America. Here he became friendly with Robert Morris, the newly appointed Superintendent of Finance for the 13 colonies. Records show that between 1781 and 1784, through both fundraising and personal loans, he was responsible for financing George Washington over $650,000, today worth approximately over $13 million.

By 1781, the American congress was practically broke. The huge cost of financing the war effort had taken its toll. In September of that year, George Washington decided to march on Yorktown to engage General Cornwallis. A huge French fleet was on its way from the West Indies under the command of Comte De Grasse. The fleet would only be able to stay until late October, so Washington was facing immense pressure to lead an attack on Yorktown before then.

After marching through Pennsylvania, with little in the way of food and supplies, Washington’s troops were on the verge of mutiny. They demanded a full month's pay in coins, not congressional paper money which was virtually worthless, or they would not continue their march. Washington wrote to Robert Morris saying he would need $20,000 to finance the campaign. Morris responded that there was simply no money or even credit left. Washington simply wrote, “Send for Haym Salomon.” Within days, Haym Salomon had raised the $20,000 needed for what proved to be the decisive victory of the Revolution.

Haym’s chessed continued after the war. Whenever he met someone who he felt had sacrificed during the war and needed financial assistance, he didn’t hesitate to do whatever he could to help.

He was also heavily involved in the Jewish community. He was a member of Congregation Mikveh Yisroel in Philadelphia, the fourth oldest synagogue in America, and he was responsible for the majority of the funds used to build the shul’s main building.

He also served as the treasurer to the Society for the Relief of Destitute Strangers, the first Jewish charitable organization in Philadelphia.

On January 8, 1785, Haym died suddenly at the age of 44. Due to the fact the government owed him hundreds of thousands of dollars, his family was left penniless.

His obituary in the Independent Gazetteer read:

Thursday, last, expired, after a lingering illness, Mr. Haym Salomon, an eminent broker of this city, was a native of Poland, and of the Hebrew nation. He was remarkable for his skill and integrity in his profession, and for his generous and humane deportment. His remains were yesterday deposited in the burial ground of the synagogue of this city.

Although there is little proof, many believe that when designing the American Great Seal, George Washington asked Salomon what he wanted as compensation for his generosity during the war. Salomon responded “I want nothing for myself, rather something for my people.” It is for this reason that the 13 stars are arranged in the shape of the Star of David.

[starlightshadowsworld]

I love how the government are like we need to hunt down the Agency and anyone connected to them.

And yet Katai is only put on house arrest.

I get why, he’s not a member. But he was and he also continues to work with them.

Not to mention he has a close friendship with Kunikida. The dude they all recently accused of child murder. And than later almost got murdered, did they really think his best friend wouldn’t retaliate?

Katai’s no slouch either. Kunikida himself said he’s equipped to take on military cyber warefare. And well, the ones hunting down the Agency are the militaries most elite squad.

I know they’re successful at keeping him separated and powerless (until they aren’t.) But it probably would’ve been a better idea to arrest him.

It’s not like they wouldn’t have grounds to do so, Katai by profession is an information broker. Everything he does is in a legal grey area and we’ve seen him hack into places before.

Man forget Dazai, what’s Katai’s criminal record look like? Katai also is still doing this so it’s not even old news like the others.

Depending on how much they know about his ability, they may also know he needs to feel comfortable and at home.

So why not him away from his home. Keeping him in solitary confinement without access to even a phone seems. I guess they were just that confident that Katai wouldn’t be able to do anything.

But my boy is also one of the few people to outsmart Fyodor so put some respect on his name.

As much as I love Ranpo breaking him out like the others, imagine a Katai prison break scene. He’s so full of worry but his need to protect his friends wins out.

Katai tricks someone into bringing a phone into the area and without even needing to touch it, activates his ability. He’s in the system. He’s in control.

Katai steps over a fallen guard and into the control room. If he was going to help, he needed to figure out what was going on. Why his friends were being targeted, and why now?

He smiles, somewhat sadly. He’s not a detective, not anymore but he’ll do what he can. After all, he learned from the best.

[rebel-bulletin]

रेल टिकट के साथ अवैध दलाल गिरफ्तार, 57 टिकट बरामद

गोंदिया : RPF ने टिकट दलाल के विरुद्ध धरपकड़ अभियान के दौरान आमगांव के एक ऑनलाईन सी.एस.सी. सेंटर के संचालक को दबोचा. जहां से 57 टिकट किमत 24,331. बरामद की गई. महानिरीक्षक सह प्रधान मुख्य सुरक्षा आयुक्त आर.पी.एफ. दपुमरे बिलासपुर ए. एन. सिन्हा व वरिष्ठ मंडल सुरक्षा आयुक्त रेसुब नागपुर पंकज चुघ के मार्गदर्शन में अपराध गुप्तचर शाखा गोंदिया के प्रभारी निरीक्षक अनिल पाटिल के नेतृत्व में उप निरीक्षक…

[wileycap]

THE TORCH (Headlines from the end of the Hundred Year War, as collected by the Royal Museum and the Military Historical Society)

The Torch was a newspaper founded in year four of Fire Lord Azulon's reign and shut down in year 16 of Fire Lord Zuko's reign. It had two purposes: to act as a mouthpiece of the current regime and to provide sensationalist entertainment. Due to the oft-conflicting nature of these dual purposes, examining the Torch can provide insight into Fire Nation society during the War and the spread of information within it. The Torch was occasionally permitted to gently criticize the government, leading scholars to believe that its true purpose was to alleviate public tensions and moderate criticism of the War.

Barbarians Destroy Grand Fleet At North Pole: Unnatural Powers Used, Fire Lord Ozai Vows To Protect Nation

Obituary For Admiral Zhao: "Not well-liked or particularly competent, but still mourned by 5-12 people in the nation"

Air Nomad Terrorist Sighted In The Earth Kingdom: "Possibility of Earth terrorism in the homeland", Cautions Top Official

Air Nomad Terrorist 'Oung' Sighted In A Swamp: Possible Drug Use?

Air Nomad Terrorist Kidnaps The Daughter Of EK Noble Beifong Amidst Rising Cries To Submit To The Fire Nation- "Helpless and blind"

Giant Drill Launched, Destroyed In The EK - Expert: "Definitely the best way to spend the equivalent of three years' GDP. All hail Fire Lord Ozai."

War Minister Caught In "Peace Conspiracy": Fired (Note: A correction was later printed, clarifying that the minister was burned to death.)

VICTORY! Fire Nation Covert Forces Capture Ba Sing Se, Led By Princess Azula

Disgraced Prince Spotted In Tender Moments With EK Sweetheart - "A travesty"

JUSTICE! Air Nomad Terrorist Uang Killed

Prince Zuko And Princess Azula Return To The Homeland

Prince Zuko Confirmed As Crown Prince: "Now that his official mission to strike out at our enemies is complete, the Prince will resume his duties"

The Most Eligible Bachelor? Prince Zuko Is Still Without Bethrotal

Royal Etiquette Trainer Slams Top Bachelorette Princess Azula: "Time to find a suitable match"

Renowned War Hero Princess Azula Has No Plans To Marry, And That's Okay

Former Etiquette Trainer Imprisoned For Defaming The Royal Family

East Coast School Life Disturbed By Cave Dancing

Fire Nation Factory Relocated In A Planned Way Without Any Explosions, Officials Report: "There are no river spirits in the Fire Nation"

Vicious Teen Arrested For Scamming, Destroys Part Of Peaceful Town: "This is why truancy laws are necessary"

Prince Zuko, Princess Azula Spotted Relaxing At The Beach: Six Injured, Luxury Mansion Destroyed

Spooky! Old Woman Keeps People Prisoner Under A Mountain

Two Ministers Jailed For Spreading Lies: "Prince Zuko was never banished and to claim that he was is a crime", Says Palace Spokesperson

Airship Fleet Unveiled, Thwarts Barbarian Incursion

Traitorous Former Prince Zuko, Who Was Banished For Three Years, Abandons His Nation

Front Falls Off Of Airship: "Highly unusual, I'd like to make that point"

Concerns Raised Over Fire Nation Engineer Uniforms: "Revealing and chafes my nipples"

Are Ancient Civilizations Still Here? "No", Says Expert

Escape At Boiling Rock! Two Prisoners Freed, Two Traitors Captured: "Really, the result is a net zero, if you think about it" (Note: No corrections were issued, despite a factual error in the number of escaped prisoners.)

Decorated Veteran Harrassed By Teen Girl, Own Mother

Hilarious! Ember Island Players Debut New Comedy

Fire Lord Zuko Ascends The Throne, Promises Era Of Peace

6 Reasons Why Fire Lord Ozai Is The Most Successful Ruler In History

Sozin's Comet Approaches, Officials Caution Against Firebending In Public

Four Things You Need To Do During Sozin's Comet To Ensure Prosperity For Your Family

Phoenix King Ozai Launches Surprise "Final Strike"

Ozai Of The Fire Nation Held For Crimes Against Humanity

Avatar Aang Brokers Truce

Is Fire Lord Zuko Still Single? Speculations Erupt

[the-garbanzo-annex-jr]

by Bassam Tawil

Hamas and Egypt were quick to issue statements denouncing the capture of the Rafah border crossing, claiming that the move would "threaten" the lives of the Palestinians and hinder the entry of humanitarian and relief aid into the Gaza Strip.

The Egyptians and Hamas have good reason to be angry with the presence of the IDF at the Palestinian side of the Rafah border crossing. For several years, Palestinians who wanted to exit the Gaza Strip via the terminal have alleged that they had to bribe Hamas and officials. Hamas and Egypt are now afraid of losing the Palestinian milk-cow.

"It is our right to travel without bribes and without corruption. We are living under a [Hamas] dictatorship." Abu Amr was later arrested by Hamas security officers, who confiscated her mobile phone and ordered her to delete the Facebook post. — Noha Abu Amr, Palestinian journalist, 24.ae, January 24, 2024

[A] Palestinian man in the US [said] he paid $9,000 to get his wife and children on the list. On the day of travel, he was told his children's names were not listed and he would have to pay an extra $3,000. He said the brokers were "trying to trade in the blood of Gazans".

[T]he company [Hala Consulting and Tourism Services] owned by an influential Egyptian businessman and ally of President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi] is estimated to have made a minimum of $118 million from desperate Palestinians trying to leave the Gaza Strip. "By the end of this year, if the April average continues, the company may earn well over half a billion dollars from the so-called VIP list of people Hala is transferring across the Gaza-Egypt border. " — Middle East Eye, May 1, 2024.

An international charity [that does not want to be named] with extensive experience in providing emergency aid in wars...is also being forced to pay $5,000 per truck to a company linked to Egypt's General Intelligence Service (GIS) to get aid into the Gaza Strip. — Middle East Eye, January 30, 2024.

The Palestinians actually owe Israel a huge debt of gratitude for finally driving Hamas out of the Palestinian side of the Rafah border crossing.

Egypt and Hamas are, it seems, indifferent to the pain endured by the Palestinians they are effectively imprisoning. All that matters to them is making more money off anyone desperate to leave the Gaza Strip.

[raayllum]

So. This scene. A few things:

Love the way it's almost a parallel to Viren and Callum's dark magic dreams in terms of the spotlight effect and of course potential light/dark symbolism. And of course that score tugs right on the heartstrings

Rayla is a character who places a lot of emphasis on memory in her dialogue and action, partially because memory is the biggest source and antithesis of grief, something she's experienced a lot of in various ways (and often as the sole carrier of her family's grief). Her blades are all she has to remember Runaan and Ethari by (no pictures or other people who knew them as she did, unlike Callum, Ezran, and Soren with their loved ones) as she says in 4x08; she had to remember her parents throughout most of her childhood and now her other set of parents as well, as she spent 2+ years believing she'd never see any of them again; her vow to always remember and carry Callum with her in Dear Callum; and last but not least her "Just remember me, okay?" to him in 3x08 as a parting request, particularly reinforced since the Silvergrove literally erased her. Rayla is a character who greatly struggles to actually put down anything she carries with her, emotionally. So it's heartbreaking but unsurprising that memory is a focus here as well.

And then we get to the crux of it, which is just like all three of the parents that stand before her, Rayla has always put the world above her own needs and her own family, just as they put their missions and duty ultimately above her. It also nicely sets up the contrast between her and Callum in 5x04 as his response is the opposite to hers, as well as showing that Callum and Ezran are also her Family (and have been for quite some time). And I do also think that the memory of Rayla's parents here is what's helping guide her to her own conclusion to not spend any more time on the coins (and she does a very good job at masking her pain/grief about this season, much better than she had in previous seasons) because she knows, or believes, this is what they would do in her scenario. To prioritize the good of the world over their loved ones at the cost of great personal suffering. Speaking of costs...

The "at any cost" is a great motif callback to Rayla's repeated insistence on price paying ("But I'm ready to pay that price" in 1x06 / "But if I'll die, I'll just be paying the price they should've paid a long time ago" in 3x08) as well as her statement in 3x09:

Callum: We have one objective today: protect the Dragon Prince. Rayla: At any cost.

The fact it's about her literally coined parents is just a bonus, as well as the potential set up later of Rayla saying they have to stop Aaravos, at any cost, while holding an assassin's bow... (but that's for when the possession plotline comes back around I suppose).

Last but not least, the relative warmth of the vision sequence is taken away, as the apparition of her parents and their warm smiles fade, and Rayla is left alone holding the bow, but brokered by new resolve. And then immediately arrested seconds after she finishes crying. Poor girl can't catch a break

[4kills23deaths]

My Personal Milena Lore

Okay, so we know pretty much ZILCH about Milena in canon. Some things can be inferred (like there clearly being SOME KIND of positive relationship between her and Makarov) and we do know some things in a vague fashion (her husband was murdered), but we know very little that's CONCRETE.

So, under the read-more, please enjoy my ramblings about my special interest favourite character. None of this is canon, remember! Just conjecture.

Okay, so the first thing I have to mention is really to do with Makarov, and that's the fact that there is NO WAY that man was 43 in MWIII. No. Julian does not look a whole year older than my mother, and therefore neither does Vladimir.

So it's my belief that Makarov was born Vladimir Dmitriyevich Makarov on October 4th, 1989. Almost a month before, Milena was born Milena Viktorovna Volkova on September 10th, 1989. This makes both of them 34 at the time wherein MWIII takes place.

She was born to very rich parents - Diana Yuriyevna Volkova and Viktor Mikhailevich Volkov - and grew up in Moscow, just like Makarov.

Upon finishing school with very good grades, Milena decided to attend university. This is where she met one Boris Aleksievich Romanov through mutual friends at a party. The man was rich, with a lot of connections, and the two soon began to date.

Within two years - on October 12th, 2009 - Milena and Boris married and Milena became Milena Viktorovna Romanova. Milena was 20 years old at this time.

Four years later, on Februrary 28th, 2013, Makarov and Milena meet when she comes along with Boris to a meeting.

Boris proves to be decent-ish at first, but becomes a very neglectful husband after Milena turns 25, causing Milena to quickly become incredibly bitter. He spends a lot of his time away from home, leaving his wife to attend to his actual business - which she quickly acclimates to and becomes much better than him at. Whilst her husband is gambling and cheating (which Milena can verify as he uses the same funds he's supposed to give to Makarov and his cause), Milena begins forming a plan to get rid of her shitty, boring husband. In the years between Milena and Makarov's first introduction and when she begins to plan, the two had become good friends. This is where Milena realises that having her husband killed rather than divorcing him will have many benefits - and not just for her.

During one of Boris's 'business trips' (read: gambling sprees), Milena meets with Makarov and exposes all of Boris's recent embezzlement. This both discredits her husband and makes Milena look damn good. Irreplacable, even. Makarov agrees to help her kill Boris, on the condition that Milena formally replaces her husband as a financier to the ultranationalists. Let it never be said that this woman doesn't know how to twist things in her favour.

On June 10th, 2017, during a supposed 'business dinner' between Milena, Boris, and Makarov on Plutus Island, Boris is murdered. Makarov deals with the legal side of things. Work with me here, I don't know how it'd work but it just would.

Milena decides to keep her current name, feeling that she's outgrown the name Milena Volkova at this point. She keeps her wedding ring (which can be seen in the Oligarch mission) as a 'fuck you' to the man who wasted eight years of her life.

Milena is thriving at this point. The personal and business relationship between her and Makarov grows ever more positive.

On April 6th, 2019, Vladimir Makarov is arrested during his terrorist attack on Verdansk. He's sent to Zordaya - this is canon.

During this time, Milena is able to, in Makarov's words 'build an army' - this is, of course, the PMC Konni Group. She works with Ivan Alexxeve and Andrei Nolan for the most part.

She brokers a deal between Las Almas Cartel and Konni Group to get hold of chemical weapons, as seen in (I believe) MWII. This is one of many things that I, sleep-deprived as I am, cannot remember the extent of, but I know are canon.

On November 10th, 2023, Vladimir Makarov is busted out of prison and returns to lead Konni Group.

On the evening of November 12th, 2023, Milena Romanova's island is raided by Task Force 141 in order to gain information on both Makarov's/Konni Group's finances and Makarov's whereabouts. With her security shot dead and her house shot up, Milena gives up Makarov's location.

(Side note: say what you will, but I think this was entirely reasonable of her. Milena's biggest motivation is her money, and she was scared as shit of losing it. But that's not all. As a fellow woman, I cannot begin to imagine the visceral terror I would feel if I were in her situation - alone on an island with nobody to immediately call for help, with two absolutely massive army men who don't exactly wish her well. We, the players, know that Ghost and Soap are protagonists and morally decent enough, but Milena does not. Anything could've happened, and I imagine that scared the shit out of her.)

Now, this is where we reach pure speculation.

We can infer that Makarov and Milena have a positive relationship - in the Praise and Punishment cutscene, Milena is the only one to call him by his given name. Critically, it can be noted that she's the only one in the whole game to be received well by Makarov when she does this. Makarov seems a very tactile man from what we see in this cutscene - most likely as a way to build loyalty - but there is a clear note of mutual respect in this cutscene between the two. She's clearly quite important - she stands pretty much by his side for the remainder of the cutscene.

All of that is to say this: Makarov seems to have dealt with Milena's betrayal in a manner uncommon to him. We see what happens when someone displeases Makarov - he shot Ivan in front of his soldiers to make an example. However, when Makarov speaks to Andrei after torturing one of Shadow Company's men, he mentions that (paraphrasing here) 'if [TF141] can get to Milena, they can get to any of us'.

He's giving her an awful lot of grace. Not cursing her. Not insisting she's hunted down or executed. He's making excuses.

Additionally, the mission after Oligarch (called Highrise) takes place 16 hours after. The cutscene for it takes place some point the night before Highrise begins. This means that Makarov found out about what happened (most likely from Milena herself calling) between 1 and 10 hours after. Remember - Milena was the only one allied with Konni who survived Oligarch. Only she would've known.

I believe that Milena is undoubtably still alive, and if (wishful thinking) we see her in MWIV, she and Makarov may still be allied.

I also believe, very strongly, that there is something between Vladimir Makarov and Milena Romanova. It may be romantic, it may be platonic, but he clearly gives a shit about her in a situation where it'd make a lot more sense for him to write her off as a traitor.

And I find that utterly fascinating.

[beguines]

West Virginia miners, for various reasons, were slower to unionize than their counterparts in other states. This was true not only in comparison with northern Appalachian miners in the states of Pennsylvania, Illinois, Ohio, and Indiana (labeled the Central Competitive Field), but also in comparison with those in Alabama and other parts of southern Appalachia. They gave only partial support at best to national strikes in 1894, 1897, and 1902–​1903. However, as many analysts have noted, they were eventually to become the most fervent of union supporters. There were several interrelated reasons for these two characteristics. First, a larger percentage of West Virginia miners in the early 1930s lived in small, isolated towns (93% in towns with fewer than twenty-​five hundred residents) and in company housing (75%) than in other coal mining states. Second, fear of the union led coal miner associations to hire hundreds of Baldwin-​Felts guards and "detectives," so that by 1910, there was not a coal town in West Virginia in which they were not stationed. Whereas in earlier periods, union organizers moved around relatively freely in West Virginia, by this time not only union organizers but sympathetic miners were commonly harassed, brutalized, and murdered.

The growing militancy and solidarity of West Virginia miners was on full display when, in April 1912, Paint Creek and Cabin Creek miners struck. It was objective conditions (unsafe work, cheating on pay, company control, and sheer brutality), not southern or mountaineer culture, that led them to become a model of solidarity (a class solidarity so paradigmatic that it stimulated IWW (Industrial Workers of the World or Wobblies) songwriter Ralph Chapin to write the union anthem "Solidarity Forever". The mine owners were determined to crush the 1912 strike with force. Baldwin-​Felts guards "built iron and concrete forts that they equipped with machine guns throughout the strike districts," evicting miners from company housing and destroying their furniture. They then began to murder striking miners singly and in groups. In the most celebrated instance, they drove an armored train, dubbed the "Bull Moose Special," through the mining districts, machine-​gunning strikers and their families in tent colonies near the tracks. The miners, to be sure, fought back in kind, shooting mine guards and detectives with six machine guns and one thousand high-​powered rifles supplied by the national union. Women in the company towns were equally combative, engaging in gun battles alongside the men. It was women who prevented the "Bull Moose Special" from returning by tearing up the railroad tracks and who often attacked strikebreakers, driving them away. According to Wobbly Ralph Chapin, this was the appeal of famed United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) organizer Mother Jones, "who might have been any coal miner’s wife ablaze with righteous fury". Mineworker families not only fought, but in the tent colonies sang and danced, creating a new union solidarity culture, making the union "an intense, emotional unity".

The Paint Creek/​Cabin Creek strike lasted a year and was never broken, despite the declaration of martial law and the arrest and jailing, without trial, of hundreds of miners, while the mine operator and gunmen who drove the "Bull Moose Special" were never even questioned, much less indicted. Rank-​and-​file coal miners and their local leaders rejected a settlement brokered by district officials, UMWA national president John White, and Governor Henry Hatfield, continuing to strike until all their demands were met. They then demanded the replacement of all their district leaders, finally forcing the national union to call elections.

Michael Goldfield, The Southern Key: Class, Race, and Radicalism in the 1930s and 1940s

[thatrandomblogsays]

You’re serving cunt? You’re sneaking into the city. You’re risking arrest to try and broker peace and you’re serving cunt??