#Bus Services Award

[batboyblog]

Things Biden and the Democrats did, this week #24

June 21-28 2024

The US Surgeon General declared for the first time ever, firearm violence a public health crisis. The nation's top doctor recommended the banning of assault weapons and large-capacity magazines, the introduce universal background checks for purchasing guns, regulate the industry, pass laws that would restrict their use in public spaces and penalize people who fail to safely store their weapons. President Trump dismissed Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy in 2017 in part for his criticism of guns before his time in government, he was renominated for his post by President Biden in 2021. While the Surgeon General's reconstructions aren't binding a similar report on the risks of smoking in 1964 was the start of a national shift toward regulation of tobacco.

Vice-President Harris announced the first grants to be awarded through a ground breaking program to remove barriers to building more housing. Under President Biden more housing units are under construction than at any time in the last 50 years. Vice President Harris was announcing 85 million dollars in grants giving to communities in 21 states through the  Pathways to Removing Obstacles to Housing (PRO) program. The administration plans another 100 million in PRO grants at the end of the summer and has requested 100 million more for next year. The Treasury also announced it'll moved 100 million of left over Covid funds toward housing. All of this is part of plans to build 2 million affordable housing units and invest $258 billion in housing overall.

President Biden pardoned all former US service members convicted under the US Military's ban on gay sex. The pardon is believed to cover 2,000 veterans convicted of "consensual sodomy". Consensual sodomy was banned and a felony offense under the Uniform Code of Justice from 1951 till 2013. The Pardon will wipe clean those felony records and allow veterans to apply to change their discharge status.

The Department of Transportation announced $1.8 Billion in new infrastructure building across all 50 states, 4 territories and Washington DC. The program focuses on smaller, often community-oriented projects that span jurisdictions. This award saw a number of projects focused on climate and energy, like $25 million to help repair damage caused by permafrost melting amid higher temperatures in Alaska, or $23 million to help electrify the Downeast bus fleet in Maine.

The Department of Energy announced $2.7 billion to support domestic sources of nuclear fuel. The Biden administration hopes to build up America's domestic nuclear fuel to allow for greater stability and lower costs. Currently Russia is the world's top exporter of enriched uranium, supplying 24% of US nuclear fuel.

The Department of Interior awarded $127 million to 6 states to help clean up legacy pollution from orphaned oil and gas wells. The funding will help cap 600 wells in Alaska, Arizona, Indiana, New York and Ohio. So far thanks to administration efforts over 7,000 orphaned wells across the country have been capped, reduced approximately 11,530 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions

HUD announced $469 million to help remove dangerous lead from older homes. This program will focus on helping homeowners particularly low income ones remove lead paint and replace lead pipes in homes built before 1978. This represents one of the largest investments by the federal government to help private homeowners deal with a health and safety hazard.

Bonus: President Biden's efforts to forgive more student debt through his administration's SAVE plan hit a snag this week when federal courts in Kansas and Missouri blocked elements the Administration also suffered a set back at the Supreme Court as its efforts to regular smog causing pollution was rejected by the conservative majority in a 5-4 ruling that saw Amy Coney Barrett join the 3 liberals against the conservatives. This week's legal setbacks underline the importance of courts and the ability to nominate judges and Justices over the next 4 years.

[heycrymeariver]

five and many more: a timeline summary

(For legal reasons, all of this is alleged.)

Ref. links: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

1984, is the first time Neil Gaiman released a book. 

In 1985, he got married and started his career as a comic book writer and in 1986, he assaulted Julia Hobsbawm.

This took place in Chalk Farm, London, where he forcibly kissed her and shoved her down on the sofa at her own studio flat before she escaped. According to The Crown Prosecution Service, “sexual assault is where one person intentionally touches another person sexually without their consent. The touching can be done with any part of the body or with an object.” In her own words, she described it as “an aggressive, unwanted pass” and that she still remembers it even now. 

Through 1987 and 2002 he progressed his career and published the famous book Coraline. A new year happens and he is in his early-forties and is thriving off of the success of his several money-making works, at a book signing event in Sarasota, Florida. There he hits it off with a young 18 year old (K) and they start dating. Two years later, in 2005, with two more awards under his belt, he forcibly penetrated that young twenty year old who told him not to because of a painful infection.

After another two years, he and his first wife divorced.

It's 2012, five years later and one year into a new marriage and at another book signing, Neil, age 52, immediately assaulted Claire (pseudonym) with a non-consensual kiss. Throughout keeping contact Neil had escalated this with video and phone calls that had a heavy sexual connotation where he appeared to either be naked or tried to instigate something. All of this accumulated into sexually assaulting her on a tour bus. Neil’s contact with her lasted until 2014 where he had promptly accused her in a text message that she had used him for sex.

Within the same year, Neil had enough money to buy a property, and met Caroline Wallner, 55, and her at-the time current husband. With a deal to do odd jobs for Neil and his wife to live there until she could own a five-acre plot, it wasn’t long before things turned sour. A divorce in 2017 sent everything spiraling, with her former husband fired, she in a once financially stable position, was now completely dependent on Neil Gaiman who used that to his advantage. Using her lack of financial stability to get himself sexual favors, he coerced her into a sexual-only, notably uninformed BDSM-entering territory while she was emotionally vulnerable, not accepting denials. This lasted until the summer of 2021, and in December of that year she and him went to court, what awaited her was $275k of compensation and a non-disclosure agreement (nda).

It wouldn’t take long for another woman to experience Neil Gaiman’s repeated offenses as well because in February of 2022, Scarlett (a pseudonym), age 23, a newly hired nanny, was sexually assaulted in the bathtub at his house. Neil, age 61, climbed into the bathtub with her and coerced her into having sexual relations. He too, in his coercion of her, made her financially dependent on him and brought BDSM elements to an inexperienced young woman who could not say no.

Since July 3rd of this year, 2024, five women have come out with sexual assault allegations aimed at Neil Gaiman. They all have several things in common with each other: either being young and naive, a fan of his, or put in a vulnerable spot financially or emotionally. Throughout the years and according to the stories, Neil progressively gets more bold and aggressive in his attempts for sexual gain. There are many more stories out there and whispers on the internet of how predatory Neil Gaiman has been in the industry. However, focusing on the five women who came out to speak and pushing their voice is an important part of the discussion.

Staying silent will only protect his peace.

(If you want to help keep this topic alive, please check out this post by @taraljc to see what steps you can take.)

[zot3-flopped]

Reading that article from the sunday times and just gagging:

"Upstairs, in a corner room, was where she asked for three books to be read and five songs to be played to her every night",

"According to family friends they drove a Chevrolet Suburban — an SUV fit for the secret service — sent Christmas cards showing their impressive holidays and brought their daughter’s pony to school for show and tell.",

"The family would also give teachers the keys to their holiday home as a thank-you present.",

"They had a hot tub on the patio, a jetty with a boat from which they waterskiied and two jet skis. They were also members of the sailing club.",

"“When Taylor was young, the family came over for dinner and the kids were all swimming,�� Hand says. “They [Swift’s parents] asked me if I had the Disney channel and I said no. There was some country singer on that was Taylor’s idol — and so they got up and they left.”,

"Her father, Scott, now 72, grew up nearby. He was a financial adviser at the investment firm Merrill Lynch. Swift’s mother, Andrea, now 66, was a marketing executive born into a wealthy family who grew up between Singapore and Houston, Texas. Andrea’s father was the president of a construction company, her mother an opera singer.",

"A third-generation banker and former radio salesman, he updated them on which songs she had cut (I am told he spent $10,000 on building her a recording studio at their home); which singles were coming out next (by the age of 15, Taylor had a record deal with a company in which Scott had bought a 3 per cent stake); where she was touring (he had bought Cher’s former tour bus for her); and the awards for which she needed votes.",

"During the long, hot summer days Swift would walk through town, her guitar slung across her back, much to the judgment of the local girls.",

"Swift gave out wallet-sized photos of herself as Sandy to the kids in the years below her at school",

"Her notebook, he claims, was filled with pages of her own autograph.",

"Many, however, thought she was “a bit of a brat”, from the moneyed side of town and modelling clothes for Abercrombie & Fitch. At 16, Swift bought a Lexus SC430 convertible, the car driven by Regina George, the meanest girl in Mean Girls.",

"Swift made an entrance when she first arrived at Hendersonville High School, says a former classmate, telling people she was going to be a star. “We kind of rolled our eyes because, being in Nashville, we hear that a lot,” she says. “It was just such a strong statement for someone of that age.”

Underdog who??? Tbh it's not just TS being obnoxious, rich, spoiled brat flaunting her wealth left and right, it's her entire immediate family.

“There were times when, in middle school and junior high, I didn’t have a lot of friends,” she told the Great American Country network in 2008." damn, I wonder why. /s

Classic nepo baby.

[soup-mother]

it must have been so awkward trying to use the privileges that came with a hero of the soviet union award. like um excuse me bus driver, i was told i don't have to pay for local public transport on account of my heroic feats in service to the Soviet state and society 👉👈

[dandelionsresilience]

Good News - July 1-7

Like these weekly compilations? Tip me at $Kaybarr1735! And if you tip me and give me a way to contact you, at the end of the month I'll send you a link to all of the articles I found but didn't use each week!

1. Footage reveals 'miracle eagle chick' in flight

“In an unprecedented display of extended eagle parenting, the two white-tailed parents skipped this year's breeding season to continue to tend to their year-old offspring. The youngster's wing was broken when the nest fell to the ground during unseasonably wild weather last year. […] The fully-grown chick was being fed fish by its parents, caring behaviour that the eagle expert described as “unprecedented” for the birds. […] “If an immature bird was to reappear near its nesting parents or any other pair the following year [after dispersing], it would likely be aggressively chased away. That’s why this is so exceptional.””

2. Rare wild horses back on Kazakhstan’s Golden Steppe after being saved from extinction

“For the first time in at least 200 years, wild Przewalski's horses have returned to Kazakhstan’s Golden Steppe. [...] Przewalski's horses are considered the last truly wild horse left on the planet as other species like the American Mustang are descended from domesticated animals. The species were once common across the vast steppes of Central Asia. [...] The zoo will also be sending some Przewalski’s to Mongolia in 2026 where a reintroduction programme has seen their population boom to well over 850 animals.”

3. For one Austin summer camp, public transit is part of the adventure

“[... “O]ver 90% of the kids will tell you that their favorite part of ATX Kids Club is riding the bus.” That’s the program’s goal: getting kids to have fun on public transit so they’ll grow up using it. The nonprofit’s summer camp, which takes kids ages 4 to 12 on field trip “adventures” around the city, uses Capital Metro buses as its main form of transportation. [...] Before camp, [the field trip leader] said, he believed in stereotypes about transit being dirty and “scary” — but his experience with Austin’s bus system has been the opposite so far.”

4. Brazil Prevents Meta from Using People to Power Its AI

“[…P]ersonal photos of Brazilian children are used to build powerful AI tools without their knowledge or consent. In turn, others use these tools to create malicious deepfakes, putting even more children at risk of harm. […] The Brazilian government’s decision is a powerful, proactive move to protect people’s data privacy in the face of swiftly evolving uses and misuses of AI. Yesterday’s action especially helps to protect children from worrying that their personal data, shared with friends and family on Meta’s platforms, might be used to harm them in ways that are impossible to anticipate or guard against.”

5. Ambitious Living Shoreline Project Combats Coastal Land Loss in South Carolina

“Living shorelines stabilize coastlines by reducing the impacts of waves and rising sea levels. They are made of materials that promote the growth of marsh grasses and commercially important species like oysters and crabs. […C]oastal sites could offset almost 80 percent of tidal habitat loss with careful conservation and management. […] Young people in this AmeriCorps program receive training, a living stipend, an education award, and connections to potential employers.”

6. Pahranagat National Wildlife Refuge announces proposal to modernize water infrastructure

“Under the refuge’s proposal, the Service would improve 4,400 feet of an earthen water delivery ditch, rehabilitate 1,200 feet of Upper Lake Dam, develop 100 feet of new diversion channel into critical nesting habit for federally endangered southwestern willow flycatcher, modernize current water monitoring stations and improve 640 feet of the Pahranagat Ditch Drain. […] The improvements will result in significant habitat improvements for multiple bird species, [… and] also enhance flood control holding capabilities of the Upper Lake for the Pahranagat Valley.”

7. New chemical process separates textile fibers for easier recycling

“A combined team of chemical and biomolecular engineers [... have] developed a way to chemically separate fibers in textiles, allowing them to be recycled more quickly and cheaply than conventional methods. [... T]hey found they could break apart the textiles in as little as 15 minutes. They also noted that the process [breaks down polyester and spandex into] organic compound[s] that could conceivably be used to create more polyester. [... T]he material integrity of both the nylon and the cotton were retained, suggesting they could be used to make new batches of clothes.”

8. Pongamia trees grow where citrus once flourished, offering renewable energy and plant-based protein

“[Some Floridian] farmers are turning to the pongamia tree, a climate-resilient tree with the potential to produce plant-based proteins and a sustainable biofuel. […] Pongamia trees also don't need fertilizer or pesticides. They flourish in drought or rainy conditions. And they don't require teams of workers to pick the beans. […] The legume is now being used to produce several products, including Panova table oil, Kona protein bars and protein flour. The legumes also produce oil that can be used as a biofuel, largely for aviation, which leaves a very low carbon footprint[….]”

9. Trans candidate celebrates receiving more votes than anti-trans campaigner Posie Parker

“An independent trans candidate says that she hopes receiving more total votes than anti-trans campaigner Posie Parker at the general election will show trans children that they are loved. […] Bristol Central was won by Green Party’s out bisexual co-leader Carla Denyer, while Parker received just 196 votes, equal to 0.5 per cent[….] Elsewhere, trans candidate Sophie Molly secured 225 votes standing as an independent at the other end of the country, in Aberdeen South[….]”

10. Ohio zoo celebrates birth of critically endangered western lowland gorilla

“The Columbus Zoo said the gorilla was born June 29 and first-time mother Sue is "very attentive and providing excellent care to her little one, who she nuzzles and cradles closely." […] “With tiny hands and beautiful big brown eyes that melt our hearts, this baby is absolutely precious—in regard to both the cuteness factor and what the baby represents for this species’ future. We are proud of the dedication of our care teams who diligently work to provide the gorillas with top quality care and wellbeing while continuing the legacy of the Columbus Zoo’s renowned gorilla program,” said Audra Meinelt, curator of the Columbus Zoo’s Congo Expedition region.”

June 22-28 news here | (all credit for images and written material can be found at the source linked; I don’t claim credit for anything but curating.)

[osrphotography]

Tranzit Group (BusIt) №3301 [Scania K320UB/Kiwi Bus Builders] parked up at Kirikiroa Hamilton Station.

The Waikato District Council recently put various regional connectors up for tender and introduced some new ones. The result of which was Tranzit being awarded various contracts, ranging from Hamilton to Taupō.

3301 is currently assigned to the 26 Te Kūiti Connector, which was introduced in May 2023. As there are only two services per day, 3301 just lives at the railway station during the day.

[warsofasoiaf]

Do you sometimes think that you're too harsh on FDR?

No, not particularly. I think the things I criticize him for are fairly self-evident.

No one denies that the internment of Japanese-Americans was a travesty, but I am annoyed at the historical minimization of FDR's role in the entire affair. He's the one who authorized it, and more importantly, he authorized it while having credible intelligence reporting that there was no threat. In historical discussions, FDR is frequently never even mentioned, almost as if paranoia and racism just spontaneously willed EO9066 into existence, as opposed to a document which he knowingly signed.

Similarly, I don't think it's contestable that FDR favored Soviet interests over American ones in his approach to Soviet policy. He took repeated efforts to stop counter-intelligence against the Soviet Union; when the Soviets were discovered to be conducting espionage against the US, his response was to inform the Soviets via back-channels rather than arrest or PNG the offenders, to maintain the relationship and avoid political blowback (since his initial recognition of the Soviet Union was contingent on ceasing espionage activity against the US). While presidents and politicians are given great leeway in interpreting what is in American public interest and frequently conflate personal political interest with the American public interest, Obama declassifying intelligence to shore up his re-election in 2012 comes to mind, I don't think there's any way to interpret his overly-accommodating attitude toward the Soviets as anything other than counter to American interest. This can't even be explained as wartime necessity, because FDR had been doing this even before 1941.

Even something as simple as the Air Mail scandal has broader ramifications. You can say that FDR was misled by George Dern who claimed that the Army Air Service pilots could fly the airmail routes, but he threw MG Foulouis under the bus in order to preserve Dern's and his own political reputation and then gave the airmail contracts to Errett Cord, his campaign contributor. That's fairly standard corruption, but the Hoover administration's awarding of the airmail contracts to campaign contributors was the reason he rescinded the contracts in the first place! The idea that "it's okay when I do it," has been a very pernicious problem when it comes to anti-corruption efforts, and the idea that the politicians will cover up the death of servicemen to save their own careers just rankles me for personal reasons.

You can like him for any number of reasons, I just feel that the historical record largely ignores FDR's blunders in favor of a purely hagiographic approach.

Thanks for the question, Anon.

SomethingLikeALawyer, Hand of the King

[doberbutts]

And it was that bus ride that prompted someone to nominate Creed to receive the Service Dog of the Year award from UDC- 22 hours each way and in the middle a week of celebrations, kids, strangers, and more while we partied for a friend who had no family at her wedding so asked her internet friends to come instead.

Creed really was one of a kind. I will miss him, dearly, always.

[justforbooks]

The career of the actor Andre Braugher, who has died of lung cancer aged 61, was benchmarked by two performances in police dramas a generation apart. In the groundbreaking drama Homicide: Life on the Street, from 1993 until 1999, he played Detective Frank Pembleton, whose drive immediately made him the anchor of an impressive ensemble cast led by Yaphet Kotto and Ned Beatty. He drew a younger audience with the comedy Brooklyn Nine-Nine (2013-21) as Captain Ray Holt, who takes over a chaotic homicide squad and whose intensity again makes him the heart of the show.

Braugher’s deep, resonant voice and seemingly effortless control drew the respect of all he worked with. David Simon, creator of Homicide and The Wire, said: “I’ve worked with a lot of wonderful actors. I’ll never work with one better.” His classical training, at the Juilliard School in New York, made him a regular at the Public Theater’s Shakespeare in the Park, and indeed his portrayal of Henry V in 1996 won him an Obie (the off-Broadway equivalent of the Tony awards).

He brought the projection of the stage to the small screen. Pembleton was the master of “the Box”, or the interrogation room. He explained to his rookie partner in Homicide (played by Kyle Secor), it was “salesmanship … as silver tongued and thieving as ever moved used cars, Florida swamp land or Bibles. But what I am selling is a long prison sentence.” He dominated those small scenes, but the episode Subway, with Vincent D’Onofrio as a character pushed between subway trains, who will die once the trains are separated, was a two-hander whose intensity might have come from the stage of Beckett, Pinter or Mamet.

In Brooklyn Nine-Nine, as Holt, he played it straight in two senses. The adage of comedy being funniest when played straight gained resonance from Braugher’s ability to show the audience with a gesture or line-reading that he, like you, got the joke. But Holt is also gay. His gayness is never an issue, except as motivation for his progress within the police. It was as if Pembleton were stepping into Kotto’s “Gee” Giardello, a black man with an Italian father who was determined to rise in a white-dominated department.

This drive reflected Braugher’s own background. In the tough neighbourhood of Austin, on Chicago’s West Side, both his parents worked for the government; his father, Floyd, was a heavy equipment operator for the state of Illinois, and his mother, Sally, worked for the US Postal Service. He recalled he might have “pretended I was hard and tough and not square”, but he won scholarships to the Jesuit St Ignatius College prep and then to study mathematics at Stanford University, California. After walking into a student production of Hamlet, and playing Claudius, he decided he wanted to act.

Another scholarship took him to Juilliard. He graduated in 1988 and almost immediately was cast in a TV revival of Kojak, as his assistant. His first film role came in Glory (1989); he was so impressive as the educated Thomas Searles, forced to serve as a private soldier in the all-black regiment commanded by his white friend, that Hollywood came calling, but the parts were standard stereotyical roles. His father had questioned how a black actor would make a living, and Braugher later explained: “I’d rather not work than do a part I’m ashamed of.”

He played the lead in a TV movie, The Court-Martial of Jackie Robinson (1990), playing Robinson, the first African-American player in major league baseball, who earlier in the 1940s, as a US army lieutenant, had refused to ride in the back of a segregated bus; and appeared in another TV film, The Tuskegee Airmen (1995). He was an egotistical actor in Spike Lee’s Get On the Bus (1996), about the Million Man March on Washington DC the year before. In 1998 he won his first Emmy award for playing Pembleton; he was nominated 11 times, and won his second in 2006 for his role in the miniseries Thief.

After Homicide, he starred as a doctor in Gideon’s Crossing (2000-01), as a cop in Hack (2002-04), as a car dealer in the comedy-drama Men of a Certain Age (2009-11) and as the captain of a submarine which goes on the run after he refuses to obey orders to fire nuclear missiles in Last Resort (2012-13). He had another series of remarkable two-handers in a recurring role as Hugh Laurie’s psychiatrist in House, was a defense attorney in episodes of Law and Order: Special Victims Unit, and voiced Governor Woodchuck Coodchuck-Berkowitz in the animated comedy BoJack Horseman.

He made the most of supporting roles in films such as Primal Fear (as Richard Gere’s investigator), Poseidon (captain of the sinking liner), Salt (as the US secretary of defense) and most notably as a New York Times editor in She Said (2022), covering the Harvey Weinstein scandal. He also starred in 10,000 Black Men Named George (2002), the story of the unionisation of Pullman railway porters, who were always called “George” by passengers.

Braugher admitted that his career “could have been larger, but it would have been at the expense of my own life”. He lived in suburban New Jersey with his wife, the actor Ami Brabson (who played Pembleton’s wife in Homicide). He said he wanted his three sons, Michael, Isaiah and John Wesley, raised in a “true context”, away from being a movie star’s offspring in Hollywood.

He is survived by his wife and sons, his brother, Charles, and his mother.

🔔 Andre Keith Braugher, actor, born 1 July 1962; died 11 December 2023

Daily inspiration. Discover more photos at Just for Books…?

[lboogie1906]

Ethel Lois Payne (August 14, 1911 - May 29, 1991) was born in Chicago to William A. Payne and Bessie Austin. Known as the “First Lady of Black Press” for her extensive list of accomplishments as a writer, journalist, and reporter, she, according to her colleagues, asked questions no one else dared to ask.

One of her teachers encouraged her to write and helped her with her first submission to a magazine. The article was published. She was educated at Crane Junior College and Garrett Biblical Institute. The University of Chicago Law School refused to accept her application because of her race.

She responded to a Red Cross call-for-action to serve American forces in Japan and became a hostess for a military services social club. She met a reporter from the Chicago Defender and allowed him to take her journal back to his editors. The newspaper used her journal notes to formulate an article about racially discriminatory practices in the US military in Japan. The article was published on the front page of the Defender. She was hired and became the first African American woman to focus on international news coverage.

She attended the Bandung Conference. She covered the Montgomery Bus Boycott and the March on Washington. She reported from Vietnam and she covered the Biafran War. Her interviews with prominent leaders such as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Nelson Mandela, and Senator John F. Kennedy made her a prominent global reporter.

She was one of only three African American journalists to cover the White House. She asked President Dwight D. Eisenhower what he was going to do to address racial disparities in the US. His angry response made front page news the next day, but it pushed civil rights issues to the top of the agenda for his Administration.

She became the first African American woman to serve as a radio and television commentator. She reported on apartheid in South Africa and worked for the release of Nelson Mandela. Her many honors included an award from the Capital Press Club for her reporting during the Vietnam War and the TransAfrica African Freedom Award. #africanhistory365 #africanexcellence #deltasigmatheta

[ncisfranchise-source]

Endemol Shine Australia, CBS Studios, Paramount Australia and Screen Territory are excited to announce that the internationally smash-hit series, NCIS: Sydney is coming to Darwin!

Produced by Endemol Shine Australia for CBS Studios and Paramount Australia, and distributed outside Australia by Paramount Global Content Distribution, production of the special 2 x 1 hour episodes which are part of the series, will commence in Darwin and surrounding areas later this year. 

Productions filmed in the NT make a significant contribution to the local economy through jobs and goods and services. They also highlight the magnificent Northern Territory both nationally and worldwide.

The first international iteration of the global NCIS franchise outside of the US, NCIS: Sydney is a brilliant and eclectic team of U.S. NCIS Agents and the Australian Federal Police (AFP) who have been grafted into a multi-national taskforce to keep naval crimes in check.  Having only just found their feet, in season two, the agents of NCIS: Sydney square off against a much more powerful adversary, threatening the very stability of the region…and the team itself.  

NCIS: Sydney is one of the most watched local series since the launch of Paramount+ Australia and premiered on CBS US as the #1 new series in the fall of the 2023-2024 season, with the series premiere reaching over 10.2 million viewers on linear in the U.S., including an encore episode. In its first season, NCIS: Sydney averaged more than 8 million multiplatform viewers per episode across all platforms, and has been nominated for a TV Week Logie Award for Best Drama Series.

NCIS is one of the world’s most successful television franchise with more than 300 million viewers globally across all platforms, including broadcast, cable, streaming and syndication (according to Nielsen and international Television Audience Measurement companies in key territories).

Director Screen Territory, Jennie Hughes said:

“Screen Territory is thrilled to see the Top End become a part of the NCIS legacy as one of the longest running and most successful TV franchises ever.

“NCIS: Sydney has enjoyed immense success with global audiences, and we look forward to the Territory not only showcase its unique locations to this beloved series franchise, but also to contributing the talents and abilities of our local screen production crews and creative talents.”

“We look forward to welcoming the NCIS team to the Northern Territory and look forward to the building and fostering this new production relationship with Endemol Shine Australia and Paramount.”

Endemol Shine Australia, Head of Scripted, Sara Richardson said:

 “Endemol Shine Australia and the entire cast and crew are extremely excited to be bringing NCIS: Sydney to the Northern Territory.”

“The rare beauty of Australia’s Top End will be showcased to audiences both around Australia and around the globe, as it is the backdrop for some compelling storylines resulting in high action for our brilliant and eclectic team of Agents.”

Paramount Australia, Creative Advisor Drama, Rick Maier said: 

“What better way to showcase the brilliant Northern Territory to the rest of the world. We are incredibly proud to celebrate each and every new milestone for NCIS: Sydney.”

This major screen production was brought to the Northern Territory through the Territory Government’s Screen Territory Production Attraction Incentive Program (PAIP). 

Territory screen professionals will have the opportunity to work alongside some of the best in the business on NCIS: Sydney.

The Production Attraction Incentive Program is open all year round and aims to attract footloose screen productions to film in the NT which will employ Territorians and utilise Territory services and businesses.

NCIS: Sydney Season Two is set to premiere on Paramount+ Australia later this year, with season one streaming now.

[mightyflamethrower]

They tried electric buses in Connecticut. Because of their tendency to burst into flames, the entire fleet was pulled from service. They tried them in Wyoming. At last word, none works. Edmonton blew a fortune on 60 electric buses. Most of those don’t work either. Turns out electric vehicles don’t make sense in the cold. Naturally the next step was to try them in frigid Minnesota:

In 2015, Duluth received a $6.3 million federal grant for six, ultimately seven, battery-electric buses from Proterra.

Proterra has gone bankrupt, leaving customers trying to keep their vehicles running in the lurch.

In Minneapolis,

Metro Transit followed in 2017 when it received a $1.7 million federal grant to buy eight battery-electric accordion buses…

They got free money and saved the allegedly imperiled climate from harmless carbon emissions. Everyone lived happily ever after — until reality set in:

Both the Twin Cities and Duluth have had problems with their battery-electric buses. For one, they can’t go as far as their builders advertised, in part because of the cold weather.

Too bad the global warming hoax isn’t real. If temperatures would rise by more than the current insignificant fluctuations, EVs would be less insane.

Metro Transit’s battery-electric buses are also less reliable than their diesel-fueled counterparts. A September 2023 presentation to the Met Council’s Transportation Committee showed the battery-electric buses broke down twice as often.

The outlandishly expensive batteries frequently fail, as do the chargers.

Duluth also had problems with its battery-electric bus fleet. Between April 2019 and February 2020, the fleet averaged 7,717 miles between breakdowns, four times as often compared to their diesel counterparts. … The buses struggled to make it up the city’s storied steep hills and to keep riders warm in the winter.

The federal government continues to throw our money at the quixotic cause of electrifying buses in frozen Minnesota:

In August, the Federal Transit Administration awarded Metro Transit a $17.5 million grant to buy 12 battery-electric buses… Since Duluth and Metro Transit rode the electric wave, other agencies joined in on the current. With $5.4 million from two federal grants, Rochester placed into service four battery-electric buses of the exact same make and model as Metro Transit’s…

Another federal grant for electric buses in Minnesota will cost us $8.1 million.

It’s almost as if our rulers couldn’t care less how hard we have to work to create the wealth they waste.

[emmashouldbewriting]

I’m not American but I don’t think it was unreasonable from the Americans to demand that the president travels in his own vehicle(the beast) than carpooling. I don’t like Americas foreign policy (and I don’t care for it’s internal politics) but even I can admit that the president of the USA is the most important HoS. Also I don’t think anyone remembers the beast demand or they don’t care. If Biden does go to the coronation then he’ll also travel in the beast, he isn’t going to go and carpool. I doubt the secret service is going to allow a sitting president to travel with other heads of state in a bus

I do. Other Presidents rode the same bus. Kings and Queens, past, present, and future, rode on that bus. That bus was one of the safest vehicles in the world that day. (And the most important head of state was King Charles III)

It was arranged by our security services to be safe. The safest. The most protected. The last-minute demands by the secret service caused headaches at a time our country was already under immense pressure. (And I'd say this regardless of President, btw)

If our services felt the President of the USA needed more protection, he would have been awarded it from the get go. He wasn't. He didn't need it. It was nothing more than posturing and an unnecessary faff during a time of great difficulty for our country.

[hunty627]

More stories that Grant can make up with his model trains when he rebuilds his model railway layout.

Caitlyn plays Keepy-Uppy. Dorie’s little sister Caitlyn came to the docks to see Thomas was awaiting a friend of his. Fernando was coming to visit Sodor all the way from Brazil. He was gonna show Thomas and his friends how to play Keepy-Uppy, a game where the engines have to keep the beach ball in the air.

Rosie to the rescue. Rosie wants to know what it’s like to being a rescue engine. She decided to go on patrol and look around for any emergencies.

Gordon goes the extra mile. Gordon the big engine was given the extra mile award for saving the ice cream. But Philip was envious of it and wanted to know what it’s like to wear a special rosette. But a bird took Gordon’s award and flew away. Will Philip get it back before Gordon comes back from his express runs?

Dominic and the Duke and Duchess. Spencer came to visit Sodor and he was being as boastful as ever. But when he got into an accident one day, the Duke and Duchess of Boxford were worried that they wouldn’t be able to get to their important dinner at Vicarstown station. So, Dominic volunteered to take them in Spencer’s special passenger cars.

Smith and the track cleaner. Smith was very excited. A new track cleaning wagon had arrived on Sodor and he was gonna pull it along and clean the tracks. Sir Topham Hatt wants to make sure he cleans all the tracks on every part of the line.

Kayley and the mysterious critter. Kayley was taking the workmen to do some late night track maintenance in the forest. But then she saw something moving through the air. It looked like a furry creature with a bushy tail and it can fly. Kayley told the other engines, but some thought it was a load of rubbish. But Thomas told Kayley to ask zookeeper Jack from the animal park to find out what it is. And it’s actually a flying squirrel.

A spicy hot delivery. Noor Jehan the diesel engine from India came to visit Sodor with a delivery that came all the way from her home. It was a delivery of fruit and vegetables from India. Thomas saw some coconuts. But he saw a vegetable he had never seen before. It was none other than Indian dragon fire peppers, one of the hottest peppers in the world.

The little old twins reunite. Skarloey was feeling sad because for the past few years, his twin brother on the mainland, Talyllyn hasn’t ran in a long time and was worried his twin would be scrapped, as told by Diesel, as well as Splatter and Dodge. Sir Handel told Skarloey not to take any notice, but then one day, Skarloey woke up to find a huge surprise. Talyllyn was in his shed! He told him that he had been fully repaired a few weeks ago and is back in service and came to visit his twin.

Not-so-tuneful toots. Rusty the little diesel got himself into an accident at the quarry with the troublesome trucks, which ended up causing his horn to only make the low note. Will Rusty be able to cope with this before he goes to the Vicarstown Dieselworks to be fixed by Den and Dart?

Dart goes solo. After Daisy’s sister, Rose the diesel railcar broke down due to some sand getting into her engine, Sir Topham Hatt requested Dart to look after her passenger duties while Den repairs Rose. Dart was bummed that he wasn’t gonna work alongside Den, but he knew he pulled passengers before when he pulled the express with Den & Sidney. But can he handle a local train?

Stafford’s super stopped. Stafford had broken down when making a delivery of coaches full of passengers, but his battery was fully charged. But Amanda volunteered to lend him a wheel. But will she get Stafford’s passengers to the station to catch their bus before dark?

Poy and the popcorn. There was going to be an Ultratrain movie playing in the ride-in theater, and Poy was requested to deliver the popcorn there, but a flock of pigeons wanted to eat it. Poy wanted to get away from them, but pigeons are fast too. Will she get the popcorn to the ride-in before the pigeons try to eat all the popcorn in her freight cars?

[pierog]

SORRY THAT LAST ASK WAS EVIL here's a nice one what are some of your favourite memories from this year!!

LOL thank you

this got long so here's a read more

-goes w/out saying but spending 5 months travelling and cycling around europe was so cool. my fav bit was a month in italy -- particularly a workaway involving staying in a beautiful umbrian farmstead with a gaggle of gay men, so much cooking and cocktails and basking beneath the wisteria, walks thru medieval hilltop villages surrounded by golden meadows.. travelling solo is nice but i'm very much an extrovert and i felt so touched by the love and friendship i experienced here. i still talk to my boys most days. -i visited one of my best mates in cyprus and it was so fun i accidentally stayed for a whole month. loads of nature hikes, festivals, gigs, exploring abandoned cities, snorkelling in oceans so deep and blue and ancient. -later we flew to england to do brighton pride (hooked up with a lovely irish lass 😳) & visit some more expat uni pals. we went on a road trip afterwards in devon/cornwall and it was so beautiful but again the company was the main thing; i spend the whole time laughing til it hurt

-actually that reminds me of a random cute "small world" moment. on the bus from venice to rome, i saw a girl next to me reading the same book. we got chatting and it turned out she was going to brighton pride as well. we decided to meet up there, but everyone's phone service was jammed and we couldn't find each other!! so i gave up. a couple days later, i was boarding the train to london when i heard... "ASIA!!???" and it was her!!!!!!

-i cut my intercontinental cycle trip short cos i got into the final selection for an antarctica job and needed to be in the uk for the interview. as such i explored the scottish isles. my fav part was staying at a victorian manor in inverness owned by a witch who looked like stevie nicks and was hosting the scottish opera for the week. they invited me for wine and ghost stories by the fireplace and ending up giving me a ticket to the opera which was sooo silly but sweet!! so i saw carmen for free and gifted them some nice tesco roses and wine in return -i lost my phone in corfu but i couldnt be mad cos it was so fun. i went to a BEAUTIFUL grotto to snorkel which ended up being like a mamma mia beach bar. i was drinking a pina colada the size of my head when two aussie girls came over and said "do you mind if we smoke here" and i said "no go ahead" envisioning a cigarette but it ended up being an ENORMOUS doobie. they shared it with me and all the other girlies, we got crossfaded and went swimming, and i dropped my phone when trying to sensibly cross a road (it got handed into the consulate but shipping is so expensive so i'm working on that!)

-as such i've spent most of this year without a functioning phone & it's been grand. just so much more present and alive, got really into foraging, birdwatching, beachcombing, swimming in the ocean every day in the summer..

-coming back home was actually more tender than anything though. everyone goes on about post-travel blues but i've so enjoyed slipping back into mundanity; floor time with my best friend (you), parties, concerts, weekly life drawing and art club, finally feeling at home in this city. i got to illustrate a novel, animate a tv show opening, get my first poem published in a journal, work on a video game, and also win an nz game award for mine! i'm so grateful for my girlfriend and family and friends and lovely flat on the seaside. also i quit my shitty job for reals and am studying animal management next year so YAY

[winnix85]

David Theodore Dobie was born 21 October 1912 in Tynemouth, United Kingdom. He was a rugby player for Hull and East Riding R.U.F.C and worked as an insurance broker before the war.

He was a naughty boy. In 1939 he was arrested for taking away a bus without consent and spraying it with fire extinguishers (he and his friend were drunk after celebrating the victory of their rugby team).

At the outbreak of WW2, he was a Territorial officer, then he joined the paratroops and served in the North African campaign. He was awarded Distinguished Service Order (DSO) for bravery in Tunisia (see the last newspaper clip for the interview about the battle). In 1940 he was sent to France and evacuated at Dunkirk in June 1940.

In Oct 1944 when he was missing in Arnhem, his sister went to newspapers asking for his information. On 26th Oct, he succeeded in reaching the British lines and gave his sister a call when he arrived in London. "It was a marvellous surprise when he rang me up", his sister, Mrs H. Ellis of St. Catherine's Vicarage, Wigan, told a "Mail" reproter today. "But I had a feeling he would do something like that. He didn't tell me how he got away, and I don't know at the moment where he is".

On 16th Dec 1944, he married Aline Rosemary Hunter-Blair, who was a V.A.D. nurse he met in the summer of 1944. I think Strayer was invited to the wedding but he had to hurry back to Bastogne soon after the wedding.

After the war, he went to East Africa to sell Mercedes-Benz.