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forensicated · 1 year ago

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Favourite CID Era

S4-6 also includes Don't Like Monday (Tosh's family at the bank) and Ted and Roxanne's first appearance together as officer/snout

Series 7-9 inc Viv's death, Dashers guesting after leaving, Frank disappearing without warning for a mystery job and Harry Haines arriving. Danny Pearce, Jo Morgan and Alan Woods also arrive. Jo is promoted to DS after a few eps. Jack is demoted to DCI and returns as a regular rather than guesting as part of AMIP.

Series 10-13 includes Rod being rather chauvinistic to poor Suzi who becomes CID in this series. Jo returns for a guest period and is about to move back permanently before.. ahem. The Target trilogy are a particular work of art in series 11. Don arrives in series 11 when Deakin is promoted to DI after Sally goes. John Boulton arrives not long after too and finally in series 12 Geoff and Liz arrive and Alan goes and Tom Proctor brings up the rear in S13. There is a lot of Alistair and Suzi fun however as she gently teases him throughout.

Series 14-16 brings Duncan and Kerry Holmes with Tosh leaving through sad real-life happenings and Alistair transferring as does Suzi. Series 15 brings Danny Glaze and Claire Stanton as an undercover CIB agent trying to catch Don. She doesn't expect to fall in love with another CID member, however. Unfortunately, we do lose Liz in 15 but she does pop back a few times. Series 16 is a BIG CID-focused series. Rod jumps before he's pushed and the truth about Don comes out after he and John have a fight. We lose John, Don, Kerry, Claire, Geoff, Deakin, Tom, and Tom. We gain Paul Riley, Kate Spears, Vik Singh, Alex Cullen, and Debbie McAllister. A somewhat unfair exchange. Saving the best until last however for series 16 as Mickey also arrives and is at his cheeky scamp best.

Series 17-18 Near the end of series 16 we got a whole new bunch of CID after a mass exodus due to Don being revealed as a dodgy officer. To give them a chance to bed in properly, there were no cast changes to CID in series 17. The new lot featured heavily, Mickey went undercover as a rentboy for a bit and then as a football hooligan. Debbie's snout was her lover and there was quite hoo hah about him, There's a couple of guest appearances from Liz, one of which is a multi-parter that terrifies Kate Spears, Claire follows Don over to Australia to tr catch him and bring him to justice. In series 18 we lose Vik, Paul, Kate and Alex Cullen but gain Eva, Ken Drummond, Phil Hunter, Sam Nixon and Brandon. Series 18 is also the beginning of the numbered episodes and Paul Marquess...

Series 19-21: we gain Juliet for a short time before Rae gets fed up of the sexualised bisexual obsession for her storylines and we also end up with sexist arse, Rob Thatcher whilst losing Duncan, Danny and it's the first exit of Mickey too post-rape and the death of his mother over to MIT. It's not all bad, we also get Terry, Ramani and Neil. In series 20 we lose Rob when he finishes his vengeance against The Radfords by murdering Irene and being shot by CO19. We also lose Debbie and Brandon and Eva transferred to MIT. We gain Suzie in return, however. Series 21 we lose Ken in an explosion and Jim walks away after losing June and Ken. Gary who has been playing in CID for a little while gets short and transfers to the Manchester police. Jo arrives and Mickey returns from MIT. There's a mysterious newbie when Adi Mateen pretending Zain also arrives when it turns out that he's not the annoying gangster that's been buzzing round Sun Hill but has been undercover!

Series 22-24 - In series 22 we lose Ramani and Suzie, however, we gain Stuart and Kezia. THISISNOTAFAIRSWAP. Ahem. In series 23 we gain Grace and also Max at the very very end, Zain reaches the end of his tenure after being drawn to the dark side with Kristen and Phil transfers out rather suddenly as Scott appears to have jumped very quickly over to EastEnders. Series 24 welcomes Stevie and Banksy and we don't lose anyone!

Series 25-26 - I ummed and ahhed about making the last series a stand-alone selection on its own because it's a reboot but given it's only essentially half a year long and that the character changes happen in series 25 I put the two together. So, in this series we lose Jack as DCI because he becomes Superintendent. However we don't gain a new DCI, Neil just remains DI and does both jobs. Jo gets promoted but moves to uniform. Sam, Stuart and Kezia go (Could not have taken Sam being promoted to DCI!) and no one else leaves (other than Will) from CID until the very end. We have Mickey undercover as a homeless man, Max's drug problem and Mickey and Terry confronting him. Grace and Neil get together but Neil's son is diagnosed with cancer and so much more. Finally the entire station works together to nail the rapists of poor Jasmine (Respect 1-2)!

(Yep you guessed it, I meant to post this in the sierra-Oscar comm but got distracted.)

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natk2002 · 1 year ago

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The Rookie Rewatch - 2x14 Casualties

Air Date: 15 March 2020

Written By: Bill Rinier

Directed By: Sylvain White

First Appearances:

Kojo

Norman Jangus

Last Appearances: N/A

Guest Appearances:

Grace Sawyer

Kojo - Chen’s foster dog

Nick Armstrong

Smitty

Barry Langley - Peeping Tom call

Wendy Langley - Peeping Tom call

Mitch - Bradford’s army mate

Norman Jangus - colonel, contact name for the DIA operation

Pettigrew - the man who killed Delacruz

Cold Open:

Harper and Nolan - suspected explosives, walk inside house, an explosion, turns out it was a gender reveal that used C-4 to set it off -> both covered in glitter in Grey’s office

Injuries/Deaths:

Eddie Hollenbock - suffering from bullet to the head, aphasia

Joe Delacruz - found dead

Name Drops: N/A

Police Codes and Such:

LA Clear - largest deconfliction database for law enforcement in the West. Every federal, state, and local covert operation is monitored there to prevent duplication of efforts or blue-on-blue situations. Only higher-level officers have access.

Pairings and Call Signs:

Bradford and Chen - 7-Adam-19

Harper and Nolan - 7-Adam-15

Lopez and West - 7-Adam-07

Cases/Calls:

Bradford and Chen - Peeping Tom call -> a drone has been spying over Wendy Langley as she’s beeen tanning

Lopez and West - having lunch at food truck -> stop a man they believe to be drunk -> turns out he’s been shot in the head -> take him to hospital

Harper and Nolan - chasing after robbery suspect -> find DB -> Armstrong called in -> find out victim checked in as Joe Delacruz into hotel -> go to said hotel and find cash -> call for backup -> Bradford and Chen join -> turns out Bradford knows the man running away (Mitch); they served together -> Mitch getting charged with resisting arrest amongst others -> Mitch is interrogated -> raid warehouse but it’s empty -> called back to the station and told to walk away from investigation -> Bradford calls LA Clear -> find out its DIA investigation and the contact is Jangus -> Jangus visits Nolan as he’s the weak link -> Harper, Nolan, Bradford, Chen, Lopez join an unsanctioned mission and follow Jangus -> caught by DIA -> renegotiation and Pettigrew is given up as the man who killed Joe Delacruz

Grey - Man and son come down to the station to complain about drone being shot down -> turns out this was the drone from Bradford and Chen’s Peeping Tom’s case AND the gunshot that shot down the drone is the one that injured Eddie Hollenbock

Acronyms:

TID - Technical Investigation Division

Quotes:

Grey: Do I stress you out, Officer Nolan? Nolan: No, sir. [ Beeping ] [ Beeping stops ] LA CLEAR is the largest deconfliction database for law enforcement in the West.

Bradford: At your age, I'd done two tours in Afghanistan and Iraq, the second in charge of a squad of 10 soldiers.

West: Don't freak out. They ran out of falafel. Lopez: Who the hell runs out of falafel? What'd you get me?

Bradford: Right where? Chen: My apartment. Bradford: Not unless it's a crime scene.

Bradford: I don't really have to say anything, do I? Chen: I'd rather you didn't.

Chen: He [Mitch] doesn't seem to like you very much. Bradford: I'm the reason he lost his leg.

Teddy’s Dad: There's no need. Kid's got good taste. And Wendy is hot. Grey: Sir, what your son did is actually illegal.

Grey: Look, uh -- one second. (exiting his office to catch LOPEZ and WEST) Lopez, West. I just solved two crimes sitting in my office -- Bradford and Chen's Peeping Tom and your gunshot victim. (off their look) I'm just saying.

Nolan: So, why come for me? Jangus: 'Cause you're the weak link. Bradford served two tours in country, Harper's taken on cartels, and -- and Chen survived a serial killer. You... built houses. And you always push on the weak link. So... I'm pushing on you.

Chen: Uh, screw that. You go, we go. Bradford: That's admirable, really, but if this thing goes sideways, we could face demotion, suspension, even jail. Harper: I've got a golden ticket. Bradford has an unblemished record. Odds are we can weather the storm. Rookies are at-will employees. They don't even need a reason to fire you.

Bradford: It doesn't matter what, just that I cut him a break when I shouldn't have, and because I did, he went back out on patrol, got blown up. Chen: That is the most Tim Bradford thing I've ever heard. You showed humanity. There's nothing to feel guilty about.

Bradford: Rules matter, Boot. Chen: Then what the hell are you doing out here? Bradford: Some things matter more.

Jangus: 'Cause it's a no-win situation. Your shooter turns me into mist, but my guys turn you into organ donors.

Grey: Let me get this straight. You all just happened to be taking a stroll on the docks, and Joe Delacruz's killer appears and turns himself in? All: Yes, Sir.

Character Lore:

Nolan has cut back on coffee as it was getting him too amped up

Nolan’s last physical was two (2) months ago

Armstrong has come back from vacation

Bradford was Mitch’s squad leader in Afghanistan

Mitch had a fiance in San Diego and a job lined up though Wounded Warriors

Armstrong revelas that he went into Dyer’s house without a warrant and used what he found there to get one

Notable Scenes:

Harper and Nolan covered in glitter in Grey’s office

Everyone offering Nolan advice on how to deal with stress

Barry Langston mistakenly believing Bradford is hitting on his wife

Grey solving two (2) cases from his office

The off-the-books operation against the DIA

Finding out Kojo’s new owner is Bradford

Ship Scenes:

Nolan/Sawyer

Exercising together

Sawyer tells him to wear the fitness watch for a week so she can track “how [his] pulse races”

Goat yoga

Chenford

Discussing Kojo

Chen asking Bradford how he managed to get Kojo to listen

Timeline Attempt: N/A

Locations:

Filipino Town, Alvarado between Montrose and the 101 - federal operation

Shaw Memorial

29100 Spring - foot pursuit

south down San Pedro - foot pursuit

214 Mill Street, Los Angeles - address Bradford runs by LA Clear

First Congregational - Bradford gets Mitch a job there

Callbacks/Parallels: N/A

Music:

Look at Me Now by King Flexx - Chenford at house where drone was spying on sunbather

Life of the Party (feat. Annabel Lee) by BNGRS - Nolan, Harper, Armstrong’s foot pursuit

Rolling on by Israel Nash - Bradford taking Kojo on a walk

BLS by Eye Flys - Nolan and Cox chase suspect

Applicable Ao3 Tags:

Episode: s02e14 Casualties (The Rookie)

#NatK's The Rookie Rewatch #The Rookie Episode By Episode Info #The Rookie #The Rookie s02e14

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lasenbyphoenix · 1 year ago

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Unshakable Faith (2023)

Episode 19 Breakdown

Lai Guangrun tells the police team surrounding him that the library where they are is where the Lumen massacre occurred. Officer Hongmei loses her composure at the mention of her father's death and Police Captain Chen has to hold her back. Lai Guangrun mocks her before taking cyanide and dying in front of them. Still angry, she confronts Dr Bai about Lai Guangrun visiting him and asks if he knew the truck driver was spy, but he tells her that unlike her line of work where people are either good or bad, in his line of work everyone is just a patient.

A search of Lai Guangrun's house reveals a notebook and a series of newspapers with Morse code cut into them. The police team gain a vague description of the man who delivered the papers from his neighbour, and the electrician Liu Simao watches their investigation from a distance.

The KMT bemoan their failure to impede the pool construction, and plan to increase Snow Wolf's efforts even if that might bring them closer to the surface.

Expert Chief Chu is still in hospital but cheered up by the successful build of the pool. He instructs the experts to move forward with the model testing quickly and names the pool the Heavenly Sky Pool.

Nurse Bai is taken away for questioning about Expert Chief Chu's poisoning. She is upset and defends her prescription and is shocked to learn it was tampered with. Nurse Bai cannot explain it and remembers only that she was called away from the decoction room for a few minutes while cooking the medicine.

Nurse Zhang Ling and Nurse Du Fang, who have been outspoken in their dislike of Nurse Bai, are suspects and they accuse Officer Hongmei of favouritism because she's Nurse Bai's friend. Officer Hongmei gets several traditional doctors to check the prescription in front of the whole nursing staff to be transparent in her investigation. They determine that the prescription is valid, proving that it was tampered with after the fact.

Ji Danyang is furious about Nurse Bai being detained despite Officer Hongmei explaining that they need proof and Dr Bai visits to protest her treatment as well. As the police team struggle to find conclusive evidence of who did it, Officer Hongmei suggests to Police Captain Chen to release Nurse Bai to see what response is shaken up. Officer Hongmei apologises to Nurse Bai for what rumours she may face going back to work.

..................................................

I cannot convey with screenshots how funny it is, with how their dorm rooms have windows facing each other, when everytime our math man and Hongmei are having a tiff there is a moment when they look up from their desks to see the other looking out their window at the same time, and Ji Danyang gets up and angrily shuts his curtains like he's trying to slam a door in Hongmei's face. Except the fabric of the curtains is so flimsy that they pull away from the window at the sides and he has to hastily rearrange them. It just takes the wind out of his sails so much.

Nurse Zhang Ling has been the most vocal hater of Nurse Bai, but it's Nurse Du Fang who is the most uncomfortable looking with the investigation going on. See, I knew her demotion was going to come up again.

Hongmei absolutely fucking loses it when the truck driver starts talking about the massacre, she's high strung anyway but has been funneling it into her job, but this hit personal. I can imagine her being embarrassed that all of her police team mates witnessed it, but thankfully Captain Chen understands tact and makes sure she's ok.

They've caught Security Captain Li and Lizard is dead, which is half of the known spies in their midst, but no identity for Snow Wolf yet and the electrician is still lurking about.

That photo of the KMT guy with the class of children just gives me BAD VIBES. I'm expecting Snow Wolf to be one of the older generation we've already met because we know they were active with the KMT prior to liberation, but the photo makes me worried that they were raising children as sleeper spies so now it might be one of our main crew that's been undercover this whole time. We already know that Nurse Bai was kidnapped for a time as a kid before Dr Bai found her again - was she at kiddie spy school??? Gahhhhhhhh I'm feeling betrayed already.

#unshakable faith #unshakable faith episode reviews #liu xueyi #peng xiaoran #li xinze

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androgynousbirdtale · 3 years ago

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Uvalde school police chief fired 3 months after botched response to school shooting - via Texas Public Radio

After a nearly 90 minute termination hearing held behind closed doors Wednesday evening, the Uvalde school board voted unanimously to terminate Pete Arredondo's contract effective immediately. They also found there was good cause for him not to receive pay for the time he was on unpaid administrative leave since July 19.

Arredondo's termination hearing was originally scheduled to take place a month ago, but that hearing was canceled at the request of Arredondo's attorney, who told the district the police chief was entitled to due process.

Arredondo was not present for Wednesday's meeting but his attorney released a 17-page statement to the Texas Tribune in response to the termination hearing.

"Chief Arredondo will not participate in his own illegal and unconstitutional public lynching and respectfully requests the Board immediately reinstate him, with all backpay and benefits and close the complaint as unfounded," read the statement.

The families of the 21 victims of the mass shooting at Robb Elementary have been demanding Arredondo be fired since news first broke in late May that the police chief was in charge of the law enforcement response during the shooting.

Hundreds of officers waited more than an hour to confront the gunman while children in the 4th grade classroom where he was holed up called 911.

A Texas House report found there were 376 law enforcement officers on the scene, including 150 U.S. Border Patrol Agents, 91 Texas Department of Public Safety troopers, 25 Uvalde police officers, 16 sheriff's deputies, and five Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District officers.

State lawmakers investigating the shooting found law enforcement failures at all levels. But the school district's active shooter plan — co-written by Arredondo — called for Arredondo to take command of all of the officers who responded that day. Yet, Arredondo maintains he did not know he was the incident commander.

Arredondo, a Uvalde native, was appointed as the school district's police chief in 2020. Prior to that, he worked at the Webb County Sheriff's office in South Texas. The San Antonio Express News reported that Arredondo was demoted from a high-ranking position in 2014 because he had difficulty getting along with others in the department.

Despite growing calls for action following the shooting, Uvalde Superintendent Hal Harrell waited almost two months to recommend Arredondo's termination.

At a heated school board forum in July, Brett Cross, the uncle and guardian of Uziyah Garcia, even gave the board a deadline. Uziyah is one of the 19 children killed in the shooting.

"I'll tell you this. If he's not fired by noon tomorrow, then I want your resignation and every single one of you board members because y'all do not give a damn about our children or us," Cross said. "Stand with us or against us, because we ain't going nowhere."

#uvalde #stand with uvalde #texas #it's a start #2022 #police chief #fired #justice for those kids

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what-breaks-my-heart · 5 years ago

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Here are some brief thoughts on kdrama that started airing in 2020 that I've watched. I said brief, but those who have been following me would appreciate that this is indeed, brief.

The list is in alphabetical order.

1. 365: Repeat the Year (MBC)

Disclosure: I am a HUGE Lee Joon Hyuk stan. He is second only to Hyun Bin on my list. The fact that this drama is on the top of this list is a happy coincidence 🥰🥰

I was soooooooo excited when I knew Lee Joon Hyuk was to star in a new drama. MBC made the announcement of the drama late last year, and I was literally walking to the office when I saw the announcement on ig.

The premise of the drama was pretty straightforward. 10 people were given the chance to travel back in time exactly one year prior. Mysterious things kept happening to the people who took the trip, so our Detective Ji “Fluffy-Hair” Hyung Joo and webtoon writer Shin “Self-Hater” Ga Hyun joined hands to figure out what exactly happened.

Once they finally figured out what caused the mysterious cases, they faced a great dilemma on what to do, with our Fluffy Hair detective running as a fugitive.

The ending was really sad, and I really wished it ended differently, but the main character of the story was our Fluffy Hair detective, and him having to live on and reset the whole thing from the new past was a nice touch to the ending.

This drama was full of surprises, twist and turn, and it is certainly a drama I would consider rewatching in the future.

2. Do You Like Brahms? (SBS)

Many people criticised the second half of this drama. Apparently the year 2020 is the year when kdramaland keeps being a disappointment, and many people are quick to include this drama in the list of disappointing drama, despite having a good beginning.

I beg to differ though. To me this drama feels more of a healing drama, wherein the characters are forced to deal with their issues. And anyone who has had to go through any form of therapy knows how hard healing process is.

TL;DR: The main leads are both people who have been mentally abused by the people around them, except for Cha Young In, because she was the only reason I did not throw my remote control at my 50-inch TV.

Park Joon Young is your classic example of a ‘gifted kid’ struggle. He was seen as a young, talented pianist who had a bright future ahead of him. But people started to treat him more like a trophy than a human being, so he decided to take a sabbatical, much to the criticism of people in the music industry. Park Joon Young realised that his passion in playing the piano has faded away, no thanks to his abusive piano professor who belittled him again and again, and practically brainwashed him into being a people pleaser. You could see how Park Joon Young was not himself in the beginning of the drama once you finish the drama.

Chae Song Ah took interest in violin at a later age (much later than professional musicians) and decided to pursue her dream by enrolling into a music programme. Her classmates were all younger than her, and it didn’t help that they all learnt music since much younger. I love how Song Ah did not give up on her dream easily and gave it her all, before she finally decided to let go of her dream to become a musician. The metaphor of her love for violin and Joon Young hurting her again and again and she just endured it though.. I cried like a mess well I am a mess but that’s a separate issue

Special shout out to Cha Young In who was there for both of them.

3. Flower of Evil (tvN)

If thriller is your thing, consider this drama. If you are one of those people who like to see your characters being tortured (physically and mentally), this drama is a MUST WATCH. And if you enjoy watching Lee Joon Ki playing a character who is put at a great distress because he is trying to run from his past, go watch this drama.

More importantly, if you enjoy a drama where your ML is sexy, attends to house chores and takes care of his bright young daughter while his wife goes crazy for solving violent crimes, a devoted husband who is attentive and a tender person but also a freak in the sheets, you are wasting every single of your breath not watching this drama.

I mean look at this man teasing his wife about his stamina.

Flower of Evil did not feel draggy at all. Everything that happened within the first 6 episodes could have been an entire drama if this was written by someone else. Seriously, this drama kept me at the edge of my couch!

The dynamic of HS and JW screams POWER COUPLE but at the same time it broke my heart how they were pushed into corners too many times by the people around them I do hope they had some sexy times while they were in the corners though

The focus on their wedding rings throughout the drama symbolised their unbreakable bond. The wedding rings were literally the very last thing that kept them together when JW stumbled upon evidences that pointed against HS.

JW, whose compass was only trusting what she saw, and not what she heard, tried to break the stigma of women being at a disadvantage in the police force. Heck, she was better than her entire team when it came to solving cases, her being the only woman in the team. Who said women cannot make good cops?

The plot twist though.. And the climax.. To this day, I still listen to this soundtrack from the drama and cry just thinking of the climax.

4. Into the Ring (also known as Memorials) (KBS2)

I didn’t even plan on watching this drama. I was channel surfing and saw Park Sung Hoon looking all depressed in the first episode and ran into Koo Se Ra. Girl was UNHINGED and determined to fight for her way.

Her motivation was initially on getting a stable pay check from being a district representative (it was only 60 million won which is like USD55k so it’s not that much) but she eventually became the district representative who fought for the benefit of the people and did not care for the political warfare that took place.

Came along Seo Gong Myung, a government officer in the local government office who was demoted from planning unit of the accounting department or something to be a secretariat to the district assembly. Seo Gong Myung sticks to his principle no matter what, which surprise surprise, is HATED by everyone in the district government.

Turns out our main leads were friends when they were kids so Se Ra kept teasing him and dragging him into her scheme of fighting for the people, which Gong Myung agreed to, not so much because he was a community-loving person, but because he was afraid Se Ra would get into trouble since she was as straight as a ruler.

Long story short, our leads fell for each other, and their relationship was HILAIROUS to watch. I think I speak for everyone who watched the drama that we had no reason to believe Se Ra did not peg Gong Myung for fun 😝😝

They were so cute together awwww

5. Kairos (MBC)

This is another drama that I stumbled into. Only this time, I saw Nam Gyu Ri and I remember seeing her ig post on a new drama so I decided to give it a go. She wrecked my heart in 49 Days so I decided to check this out for funsies. Hooo boy was I in for a major surprise.

The first two episodes got me hooketh!! I still cannot believe how the drama managed to keep me on my edge especially during the last 5 minutes of every episode. The pacing is even faster than Flower of Evil, and since this drama went back and forth between past and future, it keeps me guessing whether their efforts would bear fruit.

Will Kim “Sexy Brain” Seo Jin and Han “I-Know-No-Fear” Ae Ri succeed in fighting the evil, who at this point in time remains unknown? I know Chairman Yoo Seo Il is currently being hinted as the culprit behind everything but I know better that he is just a puppet who sold his soul to the real devil who most likely is in the higher ranks in politics. I mean he even hinted at his remorse for what happened with Taejung Town 19 years prior. My suspicion is he is trying to cover up whatever happened because otherwise his own family would be at risk, so his only option is to redeem himself by doing something about the Taejung Town. I could be wrong, but regardless of who turns out to be the real villain in the story, I can say I am so satisfied by how the story has progressed so far.

The time paradox still hurts my brain, but I am choosing that this drama does not assume that time is linear.

There is still not enough people watching this drama and I’m begging you all to go and catch up before it ends in two weeks time.

6. More than Friends (JTBC)

A little trivia: I reblog most of the posts from @kdramastuff even if I am not watching the show at the point of reblogging the posts. I had been following her posts on this drama for 3 weeks, and I finally decided to marathon all 6 episodes and joined the watching party.

More than Friends was another drama that many people called a disappointment but I had a different opinion on it. Yes, I used to be the nerd who had different opinions on many things in high school sue me

The drama is premised on Kyung Woo Yeon who is said to have a crush on her high school friend, Lee Soo for 10 years. Lee Soo is nowhere near to be the perfect boyfriend material. He is selfish, does not care about other people’s feelings, and was always a lone ranger.

BUUUUUUT, Lee Soo seemed to show signs of care and affection (even though it was not at all for a normal person’s standard) for Woo Yeon. Surprisingly, he seemed to only do it for Woo Yeon and gave attention to Woo Yeon alone, even though he could practically pick and choose anyone he liked from the swarm of girls who were chasing him.

One day, he told Woo Yeon that he had to leave to the US to study, which made our girl sad. She decided to confess at the airport, but he outright turned her down, saying he only wanted to be friends with her. Over the time, they kept running into each other by coincidence (note: her name Woo Yeon is a wordplay on coincidence in Korean). Later, it was revealed that he wanted her to always be by his side, but he has built a wall as tall as the Great Wall of China before the idea of love so he didn’t realise what his true feeling for Woo Yeon was all along.

Woo Yeon, who felt sick of the ten-year crush, decided to end the “curse” and kissed him by the beach, thinking of getting a closure on her crush.

Long story short, Lee Soo finally realised his feeling for her and decided to confess, but by that time, a young, handsome, rich CEO of a conglomerate has entered into the picture. Cue the game of cat and mouse between Lee Soo and Woo Yeon about resentment, regret and relationship.

This drama was promoted as a romcom, but it feels more like a slice-of-life drama with a mix of melo and romcom in there. Seriously, I cried buckets watching this drama, not something you’d expect from a romcom. The dialogues were well-written, with each episode revolving around a specific theme. This was such a good drama coming from a rookie writer.

This drama did not have that many viewers to begin with, and many of those few people dropped it along the way, including the one who was responsible in getting me hooked into this drama :p By the end of it, there were so few people talking about this drama in the tag (shout out to @dohyunsoo @have-yet-to-decide @starfire-s @thbn-anything for keeping me company to the very end of this drama)

This drama broke my record of screenshots per episode and total screenshots for any show. Until now, I have yet to finish posting them. I should probably upload more screenshots later tonight.

This drama had some AMAZING shots in the first half, with beautiful sceneries mostly in Seoul. It’s like what they said, “a daily occurrence for you, a trip for me”.

7. Oh My Baby (tvN)

I did not even remember watching this drama!! It was only after scrolling through my gallery that I saw I had shared some posts on my ig story about the drama.

It was in the middle of a lockdown when this drama aired and many of my memories from back then feel so distant to me.

The plot was not THAT good, but this drama is something you may consider if you like torturing yourself about the struggle of wanting to have a baby.

8. Once Again (KBS2)

Arguably one of the weekend family drama KBS2 in a while that kept me waiting for new episodes in front of my TV. Some people are turned off by weekend family drama because they tend to have slow pacing which makes viewers feel like they are being dragged to one of those boring corporate events that you would rather miss and wish you could be literally anywhere else.

Because this drama had more pairing than the typical weekend family drama, the story did take some time before it was on full momentum. It did feel like the drama could have been better with even one less sibling to worry about, but it was a fun watch in the middle of lockdown.

Will I watch it again? I’d rather rewatch House of Bluebird (starring Lee Joon Hyuk and Lee Sang Yeob as friends to enemies to friends again) because that drama spoke to me in a way that was more relatable. No hate to Once Again though. I just prefer House of Bluebird better.

Note: Justice for Song Ga Hee and her lovely son, Kim Ji Hoon. He had to grow up so much because of what happened to his mother, that it broke Ga Hee’s heart. And mine of course

9. Secret Forest 2 (tvN)

I watched Secret Forest once it has finished and I fell in love with the drama! Imagine my excitement when they announced Secret Forest 2 with my three main characters reprising their roles. No hate to Yoon Se Ah, I love her, but her screen time in Secret Forest was not enough to make me excited about her return. But I was pleased with her role in Secret Forest 2 and I hope if there is a third season, her character gets the redemption arc that she yearns for.

Secret Forest 2 was not as intense as the brilliant original, but I understood that it had to do with the overall theme of the season, and the theme required the script to be as such. Some people may argue me on this, but I still think what they pulled off was brilliant.

Too bad there was a severe lack of Lee Joon Hyuk on my screen though.

10. Tale of the Nine-Tailed (tvN)

Well. This drama went far beyond my expectation. The OTP was to die for. No such thing as miscommunication trope. This drama did not waste time on unnecessary drama. The pacing was incredibly fast, even faster than Kairos. Although to be fair, Kairos had to play with two different timelines and required time to establish the setting.

I’m sad about what happened to Lee Rang, but he did what he did, and he would never be able to erase that much pain from his memory even if the deities decided to be lenient on him because of his roles in killing off Imoogi. A fresh start as a human seemed like a fair reset to his life, and I hope he lives well, surrounded by people who love him.

I was never a fan of Jo Bo Ah (no hate on her, I was just indifferent) but this drama opened my eyes to what an incredible actress she is. I wish her a successful career ahead.

#365 repeat the year #365: repeat the year #do you like brahms #do you like brahms?#flower of evil #into the ring #kbs memorials #mbc kairos #more than friends #oh my baby #kbs once again #secret forest 2 #tale of the nine tailed #kdrama #kdrama review #kdrama opinion #personal #annual drama recap

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anniekoh · 4 years ago

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ambulances as activism

Jamie Ford @JamieFord Jun 14, 2020 Twitter thread. The image shows a cluster of mostly Black men posed for a group picture in front of an ambulance.

Defund the police? Here's an example that you're benefiting from right now. 1/9

Twitter thread continued:

Until the 70s, ambulance services were generally run by local police and fire departments. There was no law requiring medical training beyond basic first-aid and in many cases the assignment of ambulance duty was used as a form of punishment. 2/9

As you can imagine, throwing people with medical emergencies into the back of a paddy wagon produced less than spectacular health outcomes. Now imagine how much worse it became when disgruntled white police officers were demoted to ambulance duty in black neighborhoods. 3/92:04 PM · Jun 14, 2020

MOGADISHU (Reuters) - Somali dentist Abdikadir Adem spent all his savings on a battered van to rescue wounded people after he watched neighbors hit by bomb blasts bleed to death in wheelbarrows on a desperate five kilometer dash to hospital.

Aamin Ambulance Service to train Mogadishu residents in first aid

Dr Abdikadir says the experience of October 14 [2017] when over 300 people were killed in a deadly blast in the capital prompted him and several other doctors to organise the free first aid training for its citizenry. “We realised that apart from just being ill-equipped, our people also lacked the capacity to immediately attend to victims through first aid,” observed Dr Abdikadir. “This is not just a PR exercise; it is a long-term project and at the end of it we hope all institutions and households will have people trained in first aid skills,” he added.

Aamin Ambulance is the only semi-public ambulance service in Somalia; the team has grown to 19 ambulances and 38 nurses, paramedics and drivers.

Aamin Ambulance responds to calls ranging from minor injuries, accidents, pregnancy related complication and illnesses to explosion. Aamin is a refugee lead organization that was started on the basis of helping vulnerable communities such as refugees, IDPs, PLWD among others to be empowered and building their resilience and preparedness. The organization is a member of the Global Refugee Forum – Africa and has championed the refugee-led initiative, protection, and equality in Somalia.

Freedom House “Street Saviors” documentary

Over forty years ago, long before television ever dreamed of "Emergency", a quiet revolution was beginning in Pittsburgh PA. An audacious improbable experiment was begun. Over the ensuing years, it was to provide the national standards for pre-hospital emergency care. The experiment went by the name of "Freedom House Ambulance Service" and embodied the disparate dreams of several dozen people. In 1967 Phillip Hallen advanced the idea of high quality emergency medical service. Phillip was president of the Maurice Falk Medical Fund, a former ambulance driver, and Chairman of the OEO Health Committee. Morton Coleman, of Pitt's Graduate School of Social Work, suggested combining an ambulance service with a program to train unemployed and underemployed black men and women as medical technicians. Searching for an owner/operator Hallen approached the recently formed Freedom House Enterprises, Inc. (FHE). FHE was an outgrowth of the United Negro Protest Committee located at 2027 Centre Avenue. In an unprecedented partnership with Dr. Peter Safar, known as the Father of CPR; a world leader in resuscitation research; and other pioneers in emergency medicine, Freedom House Paramedics began. Starting from a base in Presbyterian and Mercy Hospitals in 1968, they became the first Paramedics in the United States.

youtube

#first responder #ambulance #paramedic #documentary #mogadishu #pittsburgh

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newstfionline · 4 years ago

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Sunday, September 19, 2021

In edgy Washington, police outnumber Jan. 6 protesters (AP) In a city still on edge after the Jan. 6 insurrection, law enforcement bore down in large numbers on the Capitol on Saturday over concerns that a rally in support of the jailed rioters would turn violent. It didn’t. The crowd was sparse and incidents were few. The low turnout called into question whether such rallies will have any staying power as the organizers attempt to tap into the rage of Jan. 6 without the presence of the former president. Law enforcement had prepared for a confrontation by erecting temporary fencing around the Capitol and deploying heavy dump trucks to ring the rally site. Local police departments and the U.S. National Guard were on standby.

Crews watching weather as wildfire burns near sequoias (AP) Crews were watching the weather this weekend as they battled California wildfires that have burned into some groves of gigantic ancient sequoias as they try to protect the world’s largest tree. The National Weather Service issued a weather watch for critical fire conditions in the Sequoia National Park in the Sierra Nevada, where the Colony Fire was burning about a mile from Giant Forest, a grove of 2,000 giant sequoias. Firefighters have wrapped the base of the General Sherman Tree in fire-resistant aluminum of the type used in wildland firefighter emergency shelters and to protect historic wooden buildings, fire spokeswoman Rebecca Paterson said. The General Sherman Tree is the largest in the world by volume, at 52,508 cubic feet (1,487 cubic meters), according to the National Park Service. It towers 275 feet (84 meters) high and has a circumference of 103 feet (31 meters) at ground level.

Official: US to expel Haitians from border, fly to Haiti (AP) The Biden administration plans the widescale expulsion of Haitian migrants from a small Texas border city by putting them on flights to Haiti starting Sunday, an official said Friday, representing a swift and dramatic response to thousands who suddenly crossed the border from Mexico and gathered under and around a bridge. Details are yet to be finalized but will likely involve five to eight flights a day, according to the official with direct knowledge of the plans who was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity. U.S. authorities closed traffic to vehicles and pedestrians in both directions at the only border crossing in Del Rio, Texas, after chaos unfolded Friday and presented the administration with a new and immediate challenge as it tries to manage large numbers of asylum-seekers who have been reaching U.S. soil. U.S. Customs and Border Protection said it was closing the border crossing with Ciudad Acuna, Mexico, “to respond to urgent safety and security needs.” Travelers were being directed to Eagle Pass, Texas, 57 miles (91 kilometers) away.

Argentina Crisis Deepens as Vice President Blasts Fernandez (Bloomberg) Argentina’s powerful Vice President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner slammed President Alberto Fernandez in an open letter, heightening the political crisis that has roiled the government since it lost an election Sunday. Kirchner, who governed Argentina from 2007 to 2015, published a letter Thursday blaming Fernandez for a “political catastrophe” she says was caused by his economic strategy. Their coalition’s loss in the Sept. 12 midterm primary vote was largely due to the government’s mistaken policy of fiscal austerity, she said, adding pressure on Fernandez to ramp up spending. The crisis blows open the political divide between the two factions: Kirchner and the radical Peronist officials close to her; and Fernandez’s more moderate cabinet allies. With no access to international credit markets, the government cannot easily heed Kirchner’s calls to ramp up spending without the central bank printing money and worsening one of the world’s highest inflation rates.

Dutch are world’s tallest people—but they’re shrinking, study shows (Guardian) It is, perhaps, with just a hint of satisfaction that the Dutch office for national statistics has confirmed that the men and women of the Netherlands remain the tallest people on the planet. But the government’s statisticians have had cause to report a further potentially humbling twist: the Dutch are shrinking. For the last six decades, the people of the lowlands have stood imperiously at the top of the world height league table, with the latest data suggesting the average 19-year-old man stood at just over 6ft tall (182.9cm) in 2020, while women born in the same year measured in at 5ft 6 in (169.3cm). The finding by the Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek (CBS), a government institution, means the Netherlands maintains its lofty spot, which it has held since 1958. But based on surveys of 719,000 people aged 19 to 60, the CBS has had to report that after a period of stagnation and now clear contraction, Dutch men born in 2001 are on average 1cm shorter than the generation born in the Netherlands in 1980, and Dutch women are 1.4cm smaller.

Afghan chaos leads to resignations and reshuffling—in Europe (Washington Post) After a majority of the Dutch parliament affirmed this week that the government had mishandled evacuations from Afghanistan after the Taliban takeover, Sigrid Kaag said she had only one option: resign as foreign minister. On Friday, Kaag was followed by another member of the Dutch cabinet, Ank Bijleveld. The defense minister released her own statement of resignation, noting that she could “no longer adequately take responsibility for my people” amid the criticism. The moves in the Netherlands are another sign of how the collapse of the Afghan government, preceded by the Biden administration’s decision to withdraw all remaining U.S. troops from the country, appears to be causing more disruption in European capitals than in Washington. In Britain, Prime Minister Boris Johnson reshuffled his cabinet this week—demoting ally Dominic Raab from foreign secretary, one of the highest political positions in the United Kingdom, and reassigning him as justice secretary. Much of the criticism of government action in Europe has focused on the slow and chaotic reaction to the fall of Kabul and the ensuing scenes at the city’s airport.

Fearful US residents in Afghanistan hiding out from Taliban (AP) Every night in yet another house in Afghanistan’s capital, a U.S. green card-holding couple from California take turns sleeping, with one always awake to watch over their three young children so they can flee if they hear the footsteps of the Taliban. They’ve moved seven times in two weeks, relying on relatives to take them in and feed them. Their days are an uncomfortable mix of fear and boredom, restricted to a couple of rooms where they read, watch TV and play “The Telephone Game” in which they whisper secrets and pass them on, a diversion for the children that has the added benefit of keeping them quiet. All of it goes on during the agonizing wait for a call from anybody who can help them get out. They tried and failed to get on a flight and now are talking to an international rescue organization. Through messages, emails and phone conversations with loved ones and rescue groups, AP has pieced together what day-to-day life has been like for some of those left behind after the U.S. military’s chaotic withdrawal -- that includes U.S. citizens, permanent U.S. resident green-card holders and visa applicants who aided U.S. troops during the 20-year war. Those contacted by AP -- who are not being identified for their own safety -- described a fearful, furtive existence of hiding in houses for weeks, keeping the lights off at night, moving from place to place, and donning baggy clothing and burqas to avoid detection if they absolutely must venture out.

Photos show North Korea expanding uranium enrichment plant (AP) Recent satellite images show North Korea is expanding a uranium enrichment plant at its main Yongbyon nuclear complex, a sign that it’s intent on boosting the production of bomb materials, experts say. The assessment comes after North Korea recently raised tensions with its first missile tests in six months amid long-dormant nuclear disarmament negotiations with the United States. “The expansion of the enrichment plant probably indicates that North Korea plans to increase its production of weapons-grade uranium at the Yongbyon site by as much as 25%,” Jeffrey Lewis and two other experts at Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey said in a report.

Amazon adds tuition for workers (The Week) Amazon last week became the latest large employer to offer free college as a workplace perk, said Annie Palmer at CNBC. The e-commerce giant said "it will cover the cost of tuition, fees, and textbooks for hourly employees in its operations network after 90 days of employment," with the benefit applying to "hundreds of educational institutions across the country." Amazon said it will also cover "high school diploma programs, GEDs, and English-as-a-second-language certifications." More companies are dangling educational benefits as a lure for hiring and retaining workers amid an increasingly competitive labor market. Walmart said in July it would fully subsidize tuition and books for 1.5 million part-time and full-time employees, and expanded its college partners. Target, Chipotle, and Starbucks have made similar commitments.

#headlines #news

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terrablaze514 · 4 years ago

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Allow me to be vulnerable for a few moments... this is Honesty Hour

Journalism today attacks war veterans, employees and businesses, schools and educators (including students), post-secondary education, taxpayers, protestors - most protests are peaceful and civil (compared to Antifa and BLM, which got looters and many have gotten killed/lost their businesses), seniors and pensioners, unborn children, pregnant mothers-to-be, children and youth (ages 0 - 11, ages 12 - 18), parents (especially single parent households), couples (especially those who plan to marry), scientists, first responders (police, firefighters, EMTs, city workers and contractors/skilled tradesmen), hospital patients, persons living with visible/invisible disabilities, persons who are fully vaccinated, persons who are partially vaccinated, persons who are unvaccinated, and healthcare workers in every department...

Journalism, however, protects politicians who promote tyranny against citizens, create division amongst citizens, brainwashing, walk in the footsteps of Adolf Hitler and Saddam Hussein (history is repeating itself), lies all the time, silenced many doctors, nurses and scientists during this pandemic - Citizens call them our heroes; politicians label them as villains, hence the many underreported protests, make snap elections (which costs hundreds of millions of dollars), print money (hence inflation), threaten to make asking valuable questions a sign of incompetence, more threats to make protests for our Human Rights a criminal offense in the future, introduced a social credit system, aims to destroy the economy, aims to demote healthy lifestyles (the climate change unity aka more lockdowns - they're not fighting for We, the People), and there's more...

Welcome to Canada. This is how my country looks right now. We need your prayers - and on the same token, I'm fully aware this is happening in other parts of the world too, hence I am praying for you. I've seen your protests against mandatory vax passports (required to be employed and access local businesses). Regardless of "jab status", I stand with all of you who are taking a stand against medical tyranny, no matter where you're from. Things have gotten pretty bad and it's often hard to focus. It's gotten somewhat trickier to sleep well at night. Worry won't solve anything, though.

While the first few episodes of craziness was going on, my family and I fought against Covid-19. The worst symptoms were the headaches. Rest assured we're doing fine. Now I'm trying to figure out where the polls will be in my area so I can cast my vote for a leader I trust. Who do you think I trust, though? The options are slim, but I'll see what's up when I get to a polling station.

Truth is, I'm just tired. Tired of the lies, division, the way mainstream media downplays many of us (in favor of wokeness). All I can do is stay on top of my health (the best way I can, especially when Winter arrives), and sleep better. 😪

Fight the good fight. All of you. I'll do the same in my capacity, too.

#tb514thoughts #real talk #canada #this is life #this is literally insane

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pghpoliceproblem · 5 years ago

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A list of known examples of police brutality and corruption in the Pittsburgh, PA area:

August 2019: Off duty cop drives drunk and hits a bicyclist, then drives away.

January 2020: Verona (suburb in Allegheny Country) police officer exchanged pornographic images with a 16 year old boy.

August 2017: Pittsburgh police officer aims a loaded gun at someone in a fit of “road rage”. Two years later he got his job back, plus back pay.

September 2019: A police officer in Washington County (southwest of Pittsburgh) sexually assaults a woman in a police vehicle while on duty. He lured her with promises of advice on becoming a cop and helping her loved one with addiction.

January 2010: Three undercover cops in an unmarked car brutally beat a black teenage boy for no reason besides “looking suspicious”. He was walking home from school.

September 2016: A Pittsburgh police officer brutally beats up a drunk person at a high school football game. The officer had used more force than necessary 56 times in the previous year.

June 2018: An East Pittsburgh police officer shoots unarmed black 17 year old Antwon Rose in the back three times. He is later acquitted.

November 2013: Pittsburgh police wrongfully arrest and detain a black teacher for 12 hours because he said “wow” after almost being hit by their car.

November 2012: Pittsburgh police officer leaps into 19 year old Leon Ford’s car despite Leon being innocent and complying. Police shoot Ford in the spine, permanently paralyzing him. Ford was arrested and spent months in the hospital handcuffed to the bed while recovering. None of the officers involved were convicted and they kept their jobs on the force.

February 2012: Pittsburgh Police officer Adam Skweres is charged with sexually extorting multiple women and attempting to rape at least one other woman.

2012: Pittsburgh police use excessive force on a 16 year old boy who was smashing Halloween pumpkins. As of February 2020, the police force has refused to pay the settlement which was awarded to the victim in 2017.

August 2016: Pittsburgh Police use excessive force and allow their K-9 unit to bite an innocent bystander who did not match the description of the crim they were investigating.

August 2002: The ACLU slams Pittsburgh Police and the city for deliberately delaying misconduct complaints, including the public strip search of an infant.

August 2017: Pittsburgh police are shes for terrorizing students at Woodland Hills Highschool, knocking out their teeth and tasering them while already having them pinned to the floor.

June 2018: Pittsburgh police use a stun gun on a 12 year old black child and handcuff him. This occurs on the same night that Antwon Rose is killed by police.

July 2019: Pittsburgh police initially decline to arrest a white man who assaults and forcefully detains a 13 year old black child.

2014-2017: A Mount Pleasant (suburb east of Pittsburgh) police officer is charged for raping multiple women.

2011: A Connelsville (suburb of Pittsburgh) police officer is charged for multiple instances of rape, including corruption of a minor.

2004: Cranberry Township (suburb north of Pittsburgh) police accuse a pregnant teenage rape victim of fabricating her assault and arrest her for false reporting. The attacker is later caught and confesses to the crime.

February 2020: Elizabeth borough (right outside of Pittsburgh) police officer forges another officer’s psychological exam which had expired.

December 2019: Pittsburgh police officer pulls a 15 year old black girl’s hair while restraining her on a school bus, jolting her head backward

October 2009: Pittsburgh police call on the FBI to arrest a man who simply alerted folks on twitter to a dispersal order during the 2009 G20 protests.

2016: Activists speak out because Port Authority Police are basically a shadow government that has full arrest powers and jurisdiction from city proper all the way out to Westmoreland and Butler counties. They have a high arrest rate compared to all surrounding police forces. They have no available annual reports or audits despite arresting thousands of people per year, while also killing and brutalizing folks. All investigations are done internally.

Fall 2018: Undercover Pittsburgh Police drunkenly start a huge bar fight. One officer sprays pepper spray indiscriminately around the entire bar. They were never charged and simply moved to different positions on the force.

June 2020: Pittsburgh police arrest two women who legally filmed them brutalizing peaceful protesters. Police claim the women threw water bottles at them despite no evidence proving this.

2010-2015: 57% of police use of force incidents were on black people. Only 1/4 of Pittsburgh’s population is black.

2015: The Pittsburgh Police force was sued for purposely denying black applicants jobs.

June 2020: Pittsburgh Police use excessive force and chemical weapons on hundred of peaceful protesters. The police and mayor lie about use of tear gas despite video evidence.

2019: It is discovered that The Pittsburgh VA Police utilized a law meant to discipline corrupt executives to harass and fire low-level employees, many of which were disabled veterans.

2010: Green Tree (suburb of Pittsburgh) Police Chief hires sex workers, has sex with them, then immediately arrests them.

1995: Pittsburgh area police pinned a handcuffed man to the ground, applying pressure to his head and neck, which asphyxiated him to death. This was a full 25 years before the similar death of George Floyd.

2013: Former Pittsburgh chief of police found guilty of diverting more than $70,000 into unauthorized personal accounts.

December 2002: Police in a Pittsburgh suburb shot and killed a 12 year old black boy in the back. No real explanation for the incident was released.

November 2019: Elizabeth Borough (suburb of Pittsburgh) Police Chief steals heroin from the evidence room. He only gets probation.

2011: Seven guards from the State Correctional Institution Pittsburgh are arrested for rape, assault, intimidation and more. One guard is indicted on 92 counts.

2018: Allegheny County Jail violates at least three standards of the Prison Rape Elimination Act.

August 2015: Allegheny County Jail gets audited after a high rate of inmate deaths, including refusing medication to an inmate with a seizure disorder. Despite many violations, the jail is never penalized.

May 2020: Pittsburgh Police officers are overpaid $250,000 by accident. Police Union Leader claims to be unaware and hasnt paid it back.

January 2014: Pittsburgh SWAT team enters wrong apartment, traumatizing young children and costing taxpayers $80,000 in settlement fees.

September 2007: Pittsburgh Police Union Boss refuses to implement process to address officers accused of domestic violence. Calls it “cop-bashing” even though three accused cops got promotions.

September 2013: Off duty Pittsburgh police officer shoots and kills his own friend in a drunken argument.

2008: Pittsburgh police officer drives drunk and pistol whips an innocent person, his gun going off and shooting the victim. He is also accused of pressuring his wife to file a false report against her ex husband.

January 2011: Northern Regional Police (north suburbs of Pittsburgh) unreasonably detain a legal citizen, threaten to deport her. Costing taxpayers $175k in settlement costs.

November 2016: Pittsburgh police union votes “no confidence” in police chief because he supported black lives matter and wanted to address racism in the police force.

April 2010: A jail guard at Allegheny County Jail brutally beat an inmate. Jail leaders protected the abuser but fired employees who attempted to speak out.

2019: An article about truly horrific conditions at Allegheny County Jail is released.

2012: Pittsburgh Police officer demoted and transferred because she took out a PFA on her abusive husband who was a fellow officer.

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perihelionicarus · 5 years ago

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Alright, it’s long story time. I read a whole bunch of accounts of ex-cops yesterday, and they were all TOO similar to how my experience in cadets went. I think (I hope) I can shed some light from the inside about how easily corruption happens in a space like that. While you read, think about how similarly the police system works.

If you have no idea what cadets is, think of it like a junior military (ages 12-19). You get discipline training and drill training and classes about how the military works, but there’s no obligation to go into the military after. A lot of people do, though. A lot of them also go on to become cops. I was in cadets because you could get your pilot’s license without having to pay for it.

The way a cadet squadron is organized is you have commissioned officers (COs), who are actual military members and sort of oversee the whole thing. Then reporting to them are non-commissioned officers (NCOs), who are the kids, usually in their older teens, who pass a bunch of tests and stuff and achieve the rank of sergeant. At this point you become one of the “leaders” and are in charge of cadets, who are divided into sections and aim to work their way up to NCO.

Our squadron was famously pretty hard-ass about the NCO/cadet dividing line. Once you were a NCO, the other NCOs and the COs would make you delete your friends off Facebook who were cadets, and you had the “privilege” (eyeroll) of learning the NCOs’ first names. The phrase I heard a lot was “don’t fraternize with cadets”.

My friend who I went to high school with was promoted to sergeant before me, and had to delete me off Facebook. She pulled me aside at school, though, and warned me not to become an NCO. I asked why. She wouldn’t tell me at first, but after a while she confessed there was “initiation”, yeah, a fucking hazing process and the other NCOs would treat her like garbage if they found out she told me. I later found out they didn’t like her anyway, because she had spoken out and fought back during the hazing. Also because she told one of the other guys not to smoke weed while she was in the car.

I went ahead anyway, because I wanted my pilot’s license and the higher your rank the better your chances of getting on the course. I got promoted to sergeant at 17 at the same time as two other cadets.

I honestly can’t remember too much of initiation, because I’ve long since stuck it in a trauma box in my mind. I remember it involving tying our belts around our eyes, being shoved around, forced to say things, dance, and it ended with us being herded into a car and brought to someone’s house (at which point it was over). You have to realize though that I went into it fully prepared for it because my friend had warned me. I can’t imagine how scary it was for the other two who were with me.

After that, we learned their first names. They suddenly treated us like their best friends. The worst part? It worked. We were part of the inner circle.

We were then privy to the email chains. It was so long ago I don’t remember specifics, but it got pretty fucking racist, sexist, and any other -ist you can think of. We weren’t all white or straight, not everyone outright made racist statements, and it never got n-word bad, but it was still awful and we were all complicit in that the rest of us never called it out. And if you made fun of your own groups? Your respect level shot up. (I might even still have those emails, since I rarely clear my inbox).

We also basically had a no-narc policy where if one of us did something wrong--gave a kid contradictory orders, didn’t back down if we incorrectly scolded them about uniform etiquette, singled out and humiliated someone--the rest of us would not report it to the COs. But the number one no-narc policy was about initiation.

We had another initiation in the dead of winter, when three new sergeants were promoted. Their initiation was similar to mine, but they were also forced to strip down to their t-shirts while it snowed outside. One of the boys (he was only 14!!) got fed up, ran out, and called his mom to take him home. Another boy finished initiation, but was crying. For the coming days and weeks, we treated these two like less-than, ignored them in meetings, and generally treated them like shit, until they got fed up with it and reported the whole initiation thing to the COs.

I say ‘we’ throughout this whole thing because even though only 3-4 of us (out of 15-20 of us) were the perpetrators, the rest of us were fully complicit in our silence. We knew it was wrong but still allowed for it to happen. A lot of us were “good people” and treated the two boys, not to mention other cadets, just fine. We allowed ourselves as a whole to become a corrupt body because of “one or two bad apples”. Sound familiar?

Our punishment for initiation was a stern talking-to, a couple people (the ‘most guilty’, I guess) getting demotions, our parents being called, and being told to stop excluding the two boys who had reported it to them. That’s all. We were all still NCOs, and still in charge of a whole bunch of kids. My mom, notoriously strict, didn’t even give a shit. She was proud of me for not being a weakling for once. Really, staying silent was the weakest possible thing I could have done. The strongest people among us were the boys who reported it despite the threat of being ostracized by their peers.

I aged out of cadets shortly after, so I don’t know if initiation happens anymore. It stopped for a while as the COs kept a scrutinizing eye on us. But before I had even been promoted, initiation had happened for years, so it may well have started up again. That’s a lot of corruption that went unpunished. We were told that to be an NCO is to be a leader, and that integrity was to do the right thing even when no one was looking. We passed these sayings among ourselves, all believing we were the paragons of doing right. Nothing could be further from the truth.

There is a really sinister high you get from being liked by a group of people that hates everyone else. It’s something I’ve been incredibly wary of ever since. In cadets you are given camaraderie within the NCO body, and power over other cadets. Recipe for disaster.

My point here is that I am 100% sure this is what happens with police. I don’t know if they do hazings, but I would not be surprised in the least. No matter how “good” they are, they power inevitably trip. They lose sight of what they’re supposed to be doing. Racism, sexism, homophobia, and ableism all run rampant. Their bonds with each other overshadow their supposed “sworn duty”. Every single cop is complicit in this; complicit in their actions and ESPECIALLY their lack thereof. All the ones who want to and do speak out are immediately ostracized. They’re organized by fear and not much else. There is no such thing as a good cop, just as there was no such thing as a good NCO. And it is no coincidence the sheer number of NCOs who later go on to the military or the police.

It’s been almost 10 years, but to this day I’m ashamed of the way I acted. I’ve told this to maybe one or two people in my life. I’m sharing the story now because now is the time to see how easily “a few bad apples” can fuck up a whole organization. Google some of the memoirs of ex-cops, and you’ll see just how similar this is and just how easily that happens. So let me reiterate: power corrupts. There is no such thing as a good cop.

#long post #very long post #someone let me know if i'm swerving way out of my lane here but cops are garbage and i need yall to know why #I know I'm preaching to the choir but I've seen some members of the 'some cops are good' crowd on here and mmm nah #I was on the 'some cops are good' side until a few days ago when I started reading and remembered just how easily cadets fucked me up #not that im like naturally a good person but i certainly never had bad intentions and yet. here we are #sh*t percy says

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luisa-writes · 4 years ago

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Cayetano Political Dynasty

Abstract

The People Power Revolution sparked change all over the Philippines and liberated the vast majority of Filipinos from oppression and issues of similar nature. Consequently, Filipinos were free from verbal restrainment and have played a huge factor in voicing new ideas, constructive criticism, and analytical thinking in terms of political matters over the decades. Unfortunately, the country still faces corruption and mediocrity from politicians who swore equity and justice. There has seemed to be a conspicuous pattern over the years as to the causes of political corruption and incompetence: political dynasties. The topic of political dynasties has seemed to stir controversy amongst the politically aware, principally because it demotes political competition and historically results in an abuse of powers. In the following pages, the researchers will be tackling comprehensive information about one of the most familiar political dynasties in our generation today, the Cayetano Dynasty. The family’s background, the beginning of their dynasty, their political history, programs and laws, and issues they are associated with will be introduced and discussed informatively.

Summary

The Cayetano dynasty began with Rene Cayetano, a lawyer, journalist, television presenter, and politician who gained recognition for his efforts and sincere devotion to crime prevention and improvement of the criminal justice system. Rene Cayetano was not wealthy during his early political journey as he had been a working student during the time where he was working for a law degree. Despite this, Rene Cayetano was extremely intelligent as he had studied at the University of the Philippines and had even procured a scholarship grant in the United States. Rene Cayetano married Sandra Schramm, and together they had four children. Because of Rene Cayetano’s popularity and expertise in the field of politics, his children were influenced to undergo the same path he had taken. Rene Cayetano’s intelligence was naturally passed down to his four children who have graduated from prestigious universities such as the University of the Philippines and Ateneo University. The Cayetanos are presently wealthy, but in contrast to other known politicians, they were not as rich but not entirely poor either. A study had shown that in 2013-2014, Alan Peter Cayetano was one of the poorest members of the Senate with a net worth of 23 million pesos. In 2020, it was shown that Pia Cayetano was listed 10th as one of the richest members of the Senate.

Rene Cayetano paved the way for the family’s political journey to begin when he was the Senator of the Philippines from 1998-2003. Pia Cayetano, his eldest daughter, took office after him in 2004-2016 and 2019-present day. Alan Peter Cayetano, Rene Cayetano’s eldest son, began his political journey as a member of the Municipality of Taguig from 1992-1995. He, later on, became the Vice Mayor of the Taguig Municipality, a senator from 2007-2017, and is presently a Congressman representing Pateros-Taguig. Ma. Laarni Cayetano, Alan Peter Cayetano’s wife, also became part of their family’s dynasty. She became a congresswoman of the Pateros-Taguig in 2007, later became the city’s mayor in 2010, and finally became a congresswoman in Taguig’s 2nd district. Rene Cayetano’s last two sons, Lino Edgardo Cayetano and Renren Cayetano also rose to power just like the other Cayetanos. Lino Edgardo Cayetano became a barangay chairman of Fort Bonifacio in 2010, later became a congressman of the 2nd district, and was elected mayor in 2019. Renren Cayetano was a Muntinlupa councilor in 2001 and ended his career in 2007.

The Cayetanos are well-known for their activeness in the field of politics and have even provided significant contributions to the nation. As a senator and former prosecutor, Rene Cayetano was able to legalize a number of republic acts that highlight criminal prevention and improvement. An example is Administrative Order No. 51-96 which designates special criminal courts in cities to hear cases involving heinous crimes and finish the trial within 60 days. Other than this, Rene Cayetano filed Resolution No. 579 to fight for the ban on the collection of parking fees, R.A. 8972 which aims to provide benefits to single Filipino parents, and R.A. 8975 which is an act to ensure implementation and completion of government infrastructure projects by prohibiting lower courts from issuing temporary restraining orders. In addition, Rene Cayetano provided free legal advice to television and radio listeners through a weekly television program entitled “Companero y Companera.”

Rene Cayetano’s eldest daughter, Senator Pia Cayetano, sponsored the “Bayanihan to Heal as One Act.”, alongside several other senators. Pia uploaded promotional videos and statements regarding this as a contribution. The Bayanihan to Heal as One Act is an act that outlines the government’s response to Covid19 and promoted funding for programs for 18 million poor families. Pia also sponsored the Bayanihan to Recover as One Act or “Bayanihan 2”, a measure that involves a Post-Covid recovery plan. Other than this, Senator Pia Cayetano established a program named “Pilipinas In Action” or PIA, which is to provide assistance to the vulnerable sectors in the country during the pandemic.

As chairman of the Committee on Education, Alan Peter Cayetano initiated efforts in educational loans and scholarships more accessible to Filipino students; R.A. 9500 or “University of the Philippines Charter Act of 2008”. He implemented this because he believed that, in order to fight corruption, Filipinos must be empowered and educated. Secondly, as chairman of the Committee on Public Information and Mass Media, Alan Peter Cayetano campaigned for the “Freedom of Information Act” to become law in order to increase transparency and accountability. This act provides improved access to information for the Filipinos and became a bill in 2012.

Despite the Cayetanos’ above-average intelligence and praiseworthy contributions, some of the members of the family have been repeatedly involved in national controversy and problems. One issue that had occurred years back was when Alan Peter Cayetano defended the controversial war on drugs. In an event with Asia Society, he talked about the Philippine war on drugs with a verbal justification that "The Philippines had no other choice and not acting on it will let drugs take over the Philippines." He had also stated that all the police brutality and killings were not the root effects of the war on drugs, and these issues had existed beyond the time that the war on drugs was declared. Many Filipinos were infuriated by his defense, 'blind' vigilantism, and utter confidence during this speech last 2017.

The second issue that the Cayetanos were associated with was when Alan Peter Cayetano launched a congress bloc entitled "BTS Sa Kongreso". Much like the South Korean septet that it was based on, the bloc comprised of seven members from the Congress. This bloc received backlash from BTS Fans, fellow politicians, and Filipinos. Senior Deputy Speaker Salvador said that the launching of Cayetanos' House bloc was "an obvious publicity stunt and gimmickry." BTS fans even launched the hashtag #CayetanoStopUsingBTS which trended on Twitter, with over 7,000 tweets. Other fans had decided to take a different route and decided to send an email directly to BTS' music label, Big Hit Entertainment regarding "unauthorized use of artist imagery and trademarks in publications" and spread the notice on Twitter.

Alan Peter Cayetano held up a sign “Together with doctors and frontliners, we went to work for you, so please stay home for us.” Later on, reports said that politicians and their families were receiving special treatment and getting tested for the Coronavirus despite not showing any symptoms. It was stated in one news article that Cayetano and other politicians were getting tested for COVID-19 not just once but twice despite the utter lack of test kits for the frontliners who are continually and more exposed to the virus. Because of this, #ANGKAKAPAL went viral on social media platforms.

On October 2, 2020, Velasco accused Alan Peter Cayetano of blackmailing Duterte into holding the 2021 budget hostage if his term was not extended. Velasco noted that Cayetano did not want to step down yet from the speakership post at the House of Representatives due to a “budget”. Velasco appealed to Cayetano to resign as House Speaker on October 14.

Conclusion

Isabelle The Cayetano family was able to accomplish great things despite their relatively new presence in the field of politics which contrasts the older and more well-known political dynasties. They have had their fair share of contributions to the nation, but are not entirely along the lines of what is rightfully deemed as "noble politicians". Similar to other political dynasties, the Cayetano family has been involved in issues and controversy which shape them to be disputable politicians (in terms of whenever or not they are corrupt or righteous). Personally, I commend the family for being politically active, but my doubts are placed on my own personal dilemma. It is hard to say if the Cayetanos are praiseworthy for their political activeness or their willingness to carry out a political dynasty and its deleterious effects.

Luisa The Cayetano family had their fair share of politics. They contributed both good and bad projects to our country. It was evident that they went through a lot to get where they are now, they were able to gain a reputation despite not being that well-known. Although I'm grateful for all their positive contributions to our nation, I am still hesitant to support them wholeheartedly. The negative outcomes of their projects still greatly affect their name.

Josef The entire Cayetano family started off their journey on a clean slate and successfully rose to power. They’ve been through a lot of ups and downs to gain power at a very young age. They implemented many programs for the betterment of the country although it had some flaws. Even though I highly value their services to the country, I get the feeling that I only support them a bit. When problems arise in their projects, it slowly tarnishes their name.

Raffy The Cayetano family has done many things to improve the country, things which can make you say that they are great people and see how much they care for the country. Even after the controversies, you can see that they can still do good things despite their wrongdoings, I have to get credit because they were not a well-known political family but they still made a name in that area despite being new. They did good things for sure, but those good things do not outshine their wrongdoings to our country, therefore I cannot say I fully support them. They could have been a strong family with a lot of supporters, but due to the controversy and horrible outcomes of their projects, their name is already negatively affected to the point where it is hard to support them.

Steffan Much like most other things, the Cayetano actually has it's generally good side and it's more questionable bad side. While it's actually had it's contributions, it's also had it's fair share of controversy with the whole BTS thing, the stand on the war on drugs, and others. Their contributions and the work that they've put into the country are definitely admirable and respectable, however, you cannot ignore their more questionable actions. I definitely commend them for their efforts, but that's about it. I do not personally support any individual, and hold a neutral stance towards the individuals themselves, nonetheless, I still support any movements I find reasonable and detest the more questionable decisions and actions.

Group Conclusion In conclusion, we recognize the Cayetano Family’s contributions and political efforts for the betterment of society and praise them for making a name for themselves despite being younger compared to other political dynasties. On a personal level, however, we can say that we support their reasonable decisions, but we cannot really say that we support their dynasty or political members as a whole because they are not entirely “clean” politicians.

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the-tribune · 5 years ago

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The Tribune: Chapter 1

A science fiction story The idea of the Galactic Parliament, not to mention it’s associated vast bureaucratic apparatus, would be absolutely absurd if it was not already an ancient and enduring institution. The galactic diameter was greater than 100,000 light-years, meaning even light speed communication methods took one hundred millennia to travel the galaxy’s wingspan. Half a million species of intelligent life across millions of worlds each with billions of inhabitants were governed by The Parliament. What’s more, there was no faster than light travel, for the laws of physics were strict in their regulation. The laws of biology were more lenient, however. A large proportion of the galaxy’s intelligent species were able to achieve biological immortality. This allowed for a communications infrastructure to be constructed which, while glacially slow, allowed for information to be disseminated across the galaxy within a lifespan. With the large distance between these so called “immortonations”, it is natural to ask why a structure was established to govern them. After all, if two groups of people cannot communicate without extreme effort, why bother attempting to impose a common set of laws on both? The answer lay in trade. There were certain highly useful trace compounds which were impossible for life to fabricate because they were formed in black hole accretion disks, neutron stars, or other extreme environments. These resources were not scattered uniformly throughout the galaxy, however, and existed in localized veins. Since these compounds were used in many advanced technologies, their exchange was desirable. Galactic governance thus evolved out of thousands of trade agreements, trade regulatory organs, technological sharing initiatives, and common currency deals. As cooperation intensified however, so did competition and interstellar war was born. Defense pacts and arms sales were therefore woven into the fabric of the emerging Galactic System. As species communicated — even at the slow rate afforded by physics — ideology, culture, and language mingled. Eventually people even began migrating across the void to other immortonations, driven by commerce, war, or exploration. The result was that the galaxy, while colossal beyond comprehension, began to shrink. Friction between democratic and authoritarian immortonations eventually escalated into a billion year period of violence, known simply as “The Struggle”. The Struggle was a brutal, all encompassing total war in which almost a quadrillion lives were lost. The conflict was eventually won by the Democratic Front. In the latter stage of the war, a Galactic Constitution was drafted and signed by the members of the Democratic Front. It established a democratic Galactic Commonwealth — led by the directly elected Galactic Parliament — and reorganized local governance. The independent immortonations became provinces under the new Galactic Commonwealth. In addition to codifying the structure of the government, The Galactic Constitution included a section outlining the inalienable rights and liberties of sapient beings. It also provided for the creation of an enormous Army of the Galaxy and outlawed locally controlled militaries. Because of the huge lag in communications between worlds, a system of closed party-list proportional representation was used to elect members of The Galactic Parliament. Political parties located on the capital planet Zaast created huge lists of people in the order which they would like them seated in parliament. The lists were then communicated to all the inhabited planets in the galaxy where local branches of the Galactic Commonwealth would hold an election and individuals would vote for the parties. Once the results of these elections were transmitted back to Zaast, seats would be proportionally allocated by party. Term lengths were one million years, and if an elected parliamentarian died part way through their term, they were replaced by the next person on their party’s list. Parties could also reorganize their list at any time, meaning that during a term, party leaders could promote or demote members from office at will. This system, while effective at allowing democracy to take place at a galactic scale, had the consequence of power being highly centralized in a political class ruling from Zaast. Only those who lived on Zaast could effectively become parliamentarians, and the parties controlled who was in office at any time. The ruling party could even demote the prime minister and promote someone else to their place without a vote, because the office was not legally held by individuals; it was held by the party itself. The struggle for power between the parties was a cutthroat affair. Alliances and coalitions shifted constantly due to political maneuvering and backstabbing. Competition for power was just as fierce within the political parties, as positions on the parties’ lists were fought over. The maxim of Zaast was “trust no one”. Darker still, assassinations were a normal part of political life on Zaast. Indeed, despite being the richest and most powerful class in the galaxy, the life expectancy of the parliamentarians was fairly low on average due to the murders. The one check on the powers of the Zaast based parties was the Jury of Tribunes. Every one thousand years, one thousand tribunes were selected at random from the entire immortal population of the galaxy (using a pseudorandom number generator called R-19, which had had it’s seed synced with all the planets of The Commonwealth). These tribunes were legally compelled to serve and had to make the long journey to Zaast to do so. Being selected through sortition, the tribunes were diverse in species, religion, language, culture, profession, and class but were joined together in their common duty to the galaxy. The Jury of Tribunes had extensive powers. The jury could propose legislation to be voted on by the parliament and veto and legislation which the parliament produced. In addition, the jury was able to prosecute and try members of parliament: an important role due to the parliamentarians’ immunity to prosecution in the courts. The tribunes were sacrosanct and violence against them was punishable by death. This hardly stopped the parliamentarians, however, who, as a rule, hated the tribunes. The tribunes lived in constant fear of persecution from the parliamentarians and their cronies. Cowed in this way, the tribunes were unable to effectively perform their constitutional duty to curb the parties’ power. The Army, which was usually close with the parliamentarians, would not protect the tribunes, nor would the Zaast Public Order Service (the local police force). The tribunes had to look out for each other on the cruel planet which they found themselves on. Ayr was a shepherd on the agricultural world of Ostlot IV. She lived a simple life with her husband and children moving an indigenous variety of livestock from pasture to pasture. She was content with her lot, worked hard, and loved her family. The animals were calm and easy to work with and the weather was temperate all year long. She only had one thing in her life to complain about: the annual trip to the local city: Qual. The family would bring the livestock to Qual yearly to sell some of them to local vendors and buy what they needed to survive for the year. Ayr loathed coming to Qual. The city was claustrophobic to her and, accustomed to a lifestyle of freedom in the wild, she took poorly to the city’s rules and customs. More than anything else she detested the local branch of the Army of the Galaxy, who would demand a huge sum of “protection money” on top of the taxes which were already due. This type of racketeering was just how things were done. The Army was strong, the people were weak, and there was no oversight. So once again she found herself paying the protection money at the local army office. This time, however, upon tuning to leave she was stopped by the soldier taking the money. “You should really stay in the city for a month until the jury selection happens.” The young soldier said. “Means we won’t have to track you down if you get picked.” This caused some snickers from other soldiers. “No, I’m serious!” the soldier protested. “Just because someone from Ostlot hasn’t been selected in forever doesn’t mean it couldn’t happen!” “I’ll take my chances,” Ayr said and left to find Elic, her husband, who was with the children in the bazaar. When she reached the bazaar and found Elic and the children, she looked at them from afar for just a moment before joining them. She saw her husband tenderly caring for scrape their youngest had just gotten from a little fall and had a sudden feeling like she was seeing them like that for the last time. She joined them and said to Elic “I think we should stay in the city for a month longer.” Surprised Elic looked up and asked “Why? You hate the city.” She paused for a few seconds. “Yes but Jury selection is in a month and you never know if one of us might be picked.” she replied. Elic smiled, he knew better than to question his wife when she had a feeling about something, and he knew better than to question his wife’s gut. “Ok, we’ll stay until Jury selection,” he said. One month later she was chosen. The army came to the inn the family was staying in, took her to the spaceport, and put her on a ship to Zaast. She somehow knew that it would be her. She didn’t know how, she didn’t believe in gods or fate or luck or the supernatural. But somehow she had known. Now she was leaving everything behind. Her husband, her children, her home, her life, even her place in time (for she would be put into cryosleep for the duration of the journey). But she wasn’t alone. Strangely enough, after the long drought, not one but two representatives from Oslot IV were chosen to be tribunes. The launch craft from Qual spaceport met up with the interstellar transport ship, and Mareen, the other green tribune, was waiting for her there. As soon as the airlock opened. Mareen appeared with her hand extended and a smile on her face. “Name’s Mareen, nice to meet you!” she said with a twinkle in her eye. Ayre shook her hand. “Likewise, I’m Ayre!” Ayre replied, happy to see such a friendly face. The two immediately got on well. Mareen, Ayre learned, was a farmer before being chosen. Ayre also learned that Mareen shared some of her more rebellious sensibilities. When no guards were around Mareen said “I mean it’s bullshit! They take a big fat cut of my profits on top of what I’m already paying in taxes! I’m going to give the parliament an earload when we get to Zaask. There’s no way they should let the Army rob us blind like they do.” After talking with Marreen about all manner of things for about three days, the cryopods were ready and it was time to go into suspended animation. “See you on the other side!” Mareen said as they were lowered into the pods. This was it. This was the end of Ayres old life. She would wake to an uncertain dawn on a dangerous planet. She steeled herself and felt the cold and the artificial sleep come.

#scifi #science fiction #fantasy #fiction #writing #dystopia #future

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jerzyreign · 5 years ago

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Racism is Everyone’s Problem

Since my skin color is going to have everyone rolling their eyes thinking “this white privilege bitch think she knows anything about racism?” I want to start by saying I AM PUERTO RICAN. Now for my own back story so you get to know me better.

I have seen both sides of the fence. As noted in my opening statement my skin color makes me look like I belong among the privileged. The second they learn of my last name or hear me speak my native language however, they quickly revoke all privilege and reign down on me with their hate. To the Caucasians out there who do not believe White Privilege is real: You’re wrong! If you were a minority who just happened to look white, like myself, you would be in a position to know this.

Let me show you.

Age 15: Walking off high school grounds on lunch break to get food from the deli 3 blocks over. Common thing many of us did as it was permitted to leave school grounds for lunch. Myself, a white friend we’ll call Ashley, and a Hispanic friend we’ll call Jose. Police officer drives by and sees us walking during school hours and pulls over. He asks us our names. Ashley goes first and he tells her to stand to the side, I go and he looks at me with a moment of surprise and tells me to get my ID out. Jose goes last and he ask him if he’s ever been in trouble with the law. (Jose is very tan in complexion naturally and looks every bit of his South American heritage.) He makes Jose put his hands on the trunk of the car while he pats him down, gets his ID out for him, runs his information to confirm he’s never been in trouble, and dumps his entire bookbag out onto the ground to inspect its contents. He checks my ID, asks me where I’m from with a last name like __, and proceeds to do the same thing to me. Mind you it’s illegal for a male cop to pat down a female in my state, but he didn’t want anyone privy to his racial profiling so he didn’t call a female to the scene. He asks Ashley why she’s walking with us, if we were coercing her into any bad activities and sends her back to school walking. While we get escorted back in his car and handed off to the principal after confirming students had consent to leave the property for lunch and it was indeed our scheduled lunch break.

Age 17: Working at Pizza Hut restaurant as a waitress. About 3 months in a friend stopped by to order take out and saw me working. Greeted me in Spanish and after he left I was confronted by the shift supervisor. When asked how I spoke Spanish so well since they literally failed it in school, and if there was a trick to it; I responded by informing him I was Spanish. Soon he and the rest of the crew were murmuring in the back kitchen, getting quiet when I came near, looking at me sideways and trying to avoid brushing against me at the soda machine like I had the plague or something. Next day I came in, looked at the clipboard to see what section I was working and saw my name crossed out. I asked him why ‘Karen’ was working the entire dining room alone and was told “Because you belong cleaning the bathrooms. Go find the cleaning closet and get scrubbing” I reported him to the Manager when she was on duty the next day and she said she’d talk to him, but any shift she was not in the building I was taunted by the staff and forced to work my shift scrubbing toilets. So I quit.

Age 19: Working at a Giant’s supermarket as cashier. I worked my way up to Customer Service Supervisor and then the front end Assistant Manager is like 8 months. My third day as Asst Manager I walked out through the store to shop after my shift. In line at the register the person in front of me was Spanish and having trouble understanding what the cashier was telling her about a coupon she was trying to use. I step in and explain it to the customer in Spanish because it was getting late and I wanted to go the fuck home. The cashier gave me a shell shocked look and asked how I knew Spanish. I told her I was Spanish and got this ‘ew’ look that ended our conversation. My check out was awkwardly quiet for a person that had been friendly with me since my first day on the job. Next day I was demoted without explanation to cashier. My password for the cash room was deactivated and when I found someone to let me into the office so I could start work I was told “You don’t work in this dept anymore. You’re a cashier now. Go see _ and find out what register you’ll be at today”. When I asked why I was simply told “You should know. It only just happened yesterday” None of management was kind to me again, most supervisors looked at me with disdain as I passed, and finally after a week the produce manager told me it was because I was Spanish and they didnt realize that when they promoted me. He apologized for the fact he had to ignore me in the store but that anyone caught being nice to me would face consequences. Apparently they wanted me to quit. So I did.

Age 26: I got a job at Kmart as a cashier. Worked my way up to Soft-line dept Shift Supervisor in 6 months. About 3 weeks later I started dating the Loss Prevention Manager from another store. He is an African American, Italian, German mix race man who solely looks African American. It took about 2 months for the relationship to get out around the job. It took my boss all of 5 seconds after confronting me for confirmation about the relationship to start treating me like shit. After a week I tried to go to HR and was informed that she is the daughter of a very high up corporate executive and by proxy untouchable. She made more than the store manager and basically ran the show there. After another few days I called her out in the front of the store one night at closing time asking what the stick up her ass with me was and she point blank said “I thought you were a good person. You work hard and you’re a natural leader to the girls here but you screwed up sleeping with a black man. Then I find out you’re a spic so it makes sense for you like blacks. I’m just disgusted with myself for being fooled by you” That was the end of that job.

See white folks? Not once but FOUR times in my life things were good for me while people thought I was white, but quickly soured once the truth came to light. Four times I was excelling in my place of employment thanks to the privilege my skin color bestowed upon me but lost it once it was discovered I was just a really pale brown person. White privilege is real.

I won’t bore you all with the blatant racism I’ve dealt with in my life. If you’re not Caucasian you already know the shit people spew out their hateful mouths, and what it’s like to deal with people throwing shit at you.

I want to discuss the fact that racism is everyone’s problem. Those of us being subjected to it must stand up for ourselves against racist people because we’re human too dammit. We deserve to be treated with the same dignity, respect, and considerations that our oppressors grant each other. More importantly is the fact that those of us who are not subjected to it because they have the privilege of being born white should also stand up against racist people. Use the privilege you try so hard to deny for the greater good! BE THE CHANGE that fixes our society. Don’t just turn the other cheek figuring “I’m not the target so it’s not my problem”. Step up, speak up, and help your fellow man. We have to stand together or continue to fall divided. Just because you are not the one who thinks that way or acts that way does not make you part of the solution. Your silence and complacency in allowing racism to continue to thrive and exist is just as damaging as choosing to participate in it. Get outraged that your neighbor, friend, coworker, or just plain old fellow man is being mistreated and murdered for no reason other than their skin color is different. Teach your children to stand up and speak up against racism when they witness it. Teach them how to identify racism, racial profiling, and racial disparity. We have to fix this. Together.

We are one species, one country, and one society. So lets stand as one. United in our right to life.

March your ass down to your capital buildings alongside us and tell our leaders ENOUGH WITH RACISM. Hold police accountable! No more death!

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wolfliving · 6 years ago

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Smart city smart war in the streets of Hong Kong

https://idlewords.com/talks/hk_stanford.html

(...)

...the Hong Kong police can obtain ample surveillance data without a warrant, and the lack of fear of mass surveillance may be more psychological, tying in to the absence of mass arrests. People are afraid of being individually outed, not that authorities will retrospectively identify hundreds of thousands of protesters at some future time.

So people concentrate on the threat they can defeat; they use umbrellas and masks to hide their face at events, some will use a one-time MTR card instead of the Octopus card tied to their identity (since the police can scan a card to see the journeys made).

Nearly everyone carries a working cell phone to protests; few of those phones are burners.

Technology Use

It’s important to stress that Hong Kong protesters are young people improvising under stressful conditions. They are not ubernerds as they have been portrayed in some Western media accounts, but brave, scared, stressed out ordinary people in the hundreds of thousands who are defying China. Painting them as uniquely competent does them a disservice and discounts their very real courage.

Because leaders proved a vulnerable point in 2014, the protesters in 2019 have adopted a decentralized approach to organizing. There is no formal leadership, and the whole thing is held together by social media and personal ties. The result is a kind of “twitch plays protest” process of decision-making (or for those of you too old to get that, you can think of it as leadership by Ouiji board).

The protesters make heavy use of two software tools: LIHKG (Li-dan), a Reddit-like message board, and the messaging app Telegram.

LIHKG

is a place for surfacing ideas and discussion. There are two categories of users, indicated visually, based on whether they joined the site before or after a cutoff date at the start of the protests. The site requires a Hong Kong ISP email to join. Both measures are in place to cut down on trolling.

The site is administered and run anonymously.

Discussion takes place in Cantonese, and on at least one occasion users adopted a form of written Cantonese that is impenetrable to Mandarin speakers, as a defense against online trolling. Efforts at trolling are somewhat impeded by mainland chauvinism that sees Cantonese as a dialect. This chauvinism has impeded China from taking otherwise obvious steps like mobilizing a pro-mainland Cantonese-speaking community to influence or derail discussions on this public forum.

On August 31, LIHKG was subjected to DDOS attack, taking the site offline. The site moved behind Cloudflare and has since remained up.

Telegram is the preferred messenger app among protesters. It’s used for one-on-one messaging between people, among small groups of people to coordinate, and among very large groups to amplify and disseminate information. The polls feature in Telegram is also a way of affirming consensus in group decision making.

Several features of Telegram make it attractive to protesters.

Disappearing messages. If the police force you to unlock your phone, you don’t give up your friends.

Groups with very large membership (tens of thousands, or even a hundred thousand members). This allows for quick, rapid amplification of news

Built-in polls. Since the protest is decentralized, some mechanism is needed for decisionmaking. Polls in practice are used to ratify decisions where a consensus has become clear.

Ease of use.

In late August, it was revealed that Telegram users could be identified as belonging to a group by a dictionary attack.

Telegram responded with a feature that lets users cloak their phone numbers. This does not appear to have affected people's use of Telegram, which supports the thesis that Hong Kongers are less preoccupied with the threat of mass exposure than individual targeting.

Example - Hong Kong Way

An example may help to show the way these technologies are used in practice.

On August 19, someone posted to the LIHKG forum with the idea of forming a human chain in Hong Kong on the 30th anniversary of the Baltic Way protest in the former Soviet Union. Very soon thereafter organizing groups appeared on Telegram. They came up with a map and logistics for how many people would need to be where.

Soon, Telegram groups had formed for each segment of the route, which would shadow the MTR subway system.

The day of the protests, volunteers updated real-time maps and polls showing where people were heading, and which MTR stations needed more attendees. Volunteers at the subway exits helped with staging, ensuring that when the protest started at 8 PM, everyone was already in position and there were no gaps.

A Telegram group organized the final action of the night, having each protester cover their eye and chant “give back the eye” at 9 PM (a reference to a protester who had been blinded in one eye by a police bean bag round).

This large action, which would be impressive in any organizing context, was organized in four days by volunteers who were all strangers to one another. Images of the protest were then used in fan artwork, posters and publicity materials also shared via LIHKG and Telegram.

HKmap.live

is a real-time, volunteer-run live map of protests, including markers for police presence, elite police units, tear gas, demonstrations, and warnings about police in public transit. Information on the map is crowdsourced through Telegram. It came online in early August.

Other Services

Hong Kong protesters understand that Twitter has a disproportionate impact on press coverage, and that many Western journalists use the site. Over the last few weeks, there has been an effort to increase Hong Kong’s twitter presence, but reports are that people are finding it hard to acculturate to the site.

Some Hong Kongers use WhatsApp for messaging, but the cap on group sizes makes it less appealing than Telegram. The relative preference for Telegram may also tie in to distrust of Facebook, given its deceitful record around user privacy.

Facebook has a financial relationship with Xinhua, the Chinese state news agency. Xinhua referred to the protesters as cockroaches in an infamous Facebook post (since deleted).

While Twitter blocked Xinhua from buying ads, Facebook and YouTube continue to sell ads to Xinhua even while boasting that they are de-ranking this kind of content in their algorithm. In pracitce, this means Facebook and YouTube are demoting free Xinhua content to make room for paid Xinhua content.

This ongoning relationship does little to build enthusiasm for Facebook or WhatsApp among Hong Kongers.

People to follow

As the protests continue, there are some excellent journalists and observers tweeting in English from Hong Kong. Mary Hui and Xinqi Su livetweet many of the important events in the city. @comparativist is an American social scientist settled in Hong Kong. Kong Tsung-gan is an essayist and writer. Anthony Dapiran is an Australian journalist and the author of a history of dissent in Hong Kong. Lokman Tsui is a professor of journalism and has a special focus on cybersecurity. Mike Bird is a financial journalist who gets caught in the occasional coud of tear gas. Krzysztof Pawliszak is a Polish translator and astute observer of events in Hong Kong who tweets some important events in English. The @BeWaterHK account is the English language twitter voice of an anonymous group of Hong Kong protesters. And the South China Morning Post is the official-ish voice of the Hong Kong government, while also featuring some excellent reporting.

These voices from Hong Kong are a good gateway to many others, both in the territory and in the broader diaspora, reporting on events in real time on Twitter.

—Maciej Ceglowski, 2019

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softlywithhissong · 6 years ago

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KS Meta & Ending Predictions

Let me try to address what I think provides foreshadowing and clues to the KS ending. Koogi weaved a lot of symbolism, imagery, parallels, themes, and straight-up meta style hints throughout KS. Sure, some of it might be coincidence, but all of it? I think not! Koogi loves drama and she definitely planned the story out way in advance, which allowed her to plant the foreshadowing. My thanks go out to Koogi for all of her effort and hard work. :)

There are several recurring themes I have noticed throughout KS. Themes which I think could help us predict how the story will end.

WARNING! IT’S VERY LONG! Things I Noticed, Theories, and Predictions:

The Joker and Two Face - I think KS was influenced by these famous comic characters, and also by The Dark Knight (the film, which features both characters).

Examples of The Joker theme in KS:

Both Sangwoo and Bum are associated with story elements and imagery that invokes The Joker. In chapter 9 - in the “cops and robbers” card game where the stakes are their lives and “the one who holds the Joker at the end is the robber,” note that the Joker card shown is peering through binoculars and by representing a robber, this could be a reference to Bum’s stalking, robbing possessions from those he stalks, and breaking and entering into Sangwoo’s home. “You’re going to be the masters of your own fate! What a joke! But it’ll be exciting, like a rollercoaster,” Sangwoo says, but by calling it a joke, he indicates sarcasm, a lack of sincerity, and reveals that he either finds it amusing knowing their fates are subject to him or he finds the whole idea of anyone mastering their fate (or controlling it) a joke. He turns things around in chapter 10 so even though it looks like the “cop” wins, the “Joker” actually survives/wins/”gets away” - a very Joker thing to happen. In the Summer Special (chapter between 29 and 30) there is killer clown imagery, where Sangwoo is a clown with a knife chasing Bum but instead of killing Bum, he turns back into Sangwoo. This Sangwoo as the killer clown imagery appears again in chapter 37, when Sangwoo puts on a killer clown mask - one with a gruesome smile and green hair - in the amusement park gift shop and says, “You’re supposed to scream when you’re scared. We’re here to relieve stress, not make things worse. [...] Telling you to scream on purpose feels weird.” Most of you probably know, but The Joker is also referred to as the Clown Prince. And in hindsight, the sledgehammer - a type of “mallet” - used in chapter 2 could be an incredibly subtle reference to the mallet weapons used by Joker or Harley Quinn. The abusive relationship between Sangwoo and Bum is another similarity, with the Joker and Harley Quinn’s relationship being an abusive one, as well as the fact that both relationships feature two criminals committing crimes together. The Joker is also known to laugh hysterically and maniacally and Sangwoo would often display hysterical laughter (often while crying) but Bum has also been shown to laugh hysterically at the end of chapter 66 while hiding his face (and possibly tears) in a bouquet distinctly featuring the colors purple and green (The Joker’s colors). And Bum and Sangwoo’s outfits tend to usually have an element of purple or green. Bum’s also shown getting therapy in chapter 66, which brings to mind how the Joker and Harley first met. Bum also expresses an interest in seeing Sangwoo in the hospital where he is under police custody, which if you remember in The Dark Knight, sneaking into a hospital and escape from police custody are both things the Joker does. Also prominently featured in the film is the two boats social experiment - a social experiment that KS also features at least twice (though arguably more). It’s based on game theory and the “prisoner’s dilemma.” It’s shown twice in KS where two people are pitted against each other with each having to choose between rational self-interest or what’s in the best interest of the two collectively. In the police station in chapter 34, Bum chooses the latter and even though the police lied about Sangwoo pinning a murder on Bum, Sangwoo also refused to incriminate either Bum or himself. In the film, a prisoner steps up and chooses to preserve the lives on the civilians’ boat at the risk of his own life, proving that moral choices are not limited to only the so-called “good guys” - people are complex and “bad” people can do good things and “good” people can do bad things. Both boats refused to explode the other to save their own lives, and in doing so, both boats survived. Given that as of chapter 66 in KS, Bum and Sangwoo are possibly set on a course of mutually assured destruction, they face a similar dilemma. The facial damage Sangwoo endured in chapter 65 and 66 is also a similarity with Joker, The Joker typically having facial disfigurement - his clownish visage a result of toxic chemicals, the brief stint where his face was removed before being returned, and his scars that feature significantly into his character’s story in the film. The Joker and Sangwoo are also both an intelligent psychopath with a warped sense of humor. Both are adaptive, able to create new personalities to fit the situation, and often utilizing misdirection to outsmart their opponent. This can be seen when the Joker character has a twin, or when he utilizes costumes to get his target to mistake his identity for that of someone else, or happen in card games where there are two jokers and when jokers are “wild,” they can represent other cards. Sangwoo also utilizes disguises, changing what he wears and his appearance in order to not be recognized. Remember that time in chapter 11 and 12 when Seungbae got involved in a traffic accident, only to realize much later that one of the drivers was Sangwoo whom he had met already. He observed, “The atmosphere and the way he spoke was completely different from when we first met... I didn’t even recognize him.”

Sangwoo in KS ch 41 quote: “I don’t think. I don’t plan.“

The Joker in The Dark Knight quote: “Do I really look like a guy with a plan? [...] I just do things. The cops have plans. They’re schemers. Schemers trying to control their little world. I’m not a schemer. I try to show the schemers how pathetic their attempts to control things really are. [...] I just did what I do best. I took your little plan and I turned it on itself. You know what I noticed? Nobody panics when things go ‘according to plan.’ Even if the plan is horrifying. [...] Introduce a little anarchy. Upset the established order and everything becomes chaos. I’m an agent of chaos. Oh, and you know the thing about chaos? It’s fair.”

The Joker in The Dark Knight quote: “You just couldn’t let me go, could you? This is what happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object. You truly are incorruptible, aren’t you? You won’t kill me out of some misplaced sense of self-righteousness and I won’t kill you because you’re just too much fun. I think you and I are destined to do this forever.” B: “You’ll be in a padded cell forever.” J: “Maybe we could share one. They’ll be doubling up at the rate this city’s inhabitants are losing their minds. [...] I took Gotham’s White Knight and I brought him down to our level. It wasn’t hard. You see madness, as you know, is like gravity. All it takes is a little push.”

Examples of the Two Face theme in KS:

Again both Sangwoo and Bum have imagery that associates them with Two Face. In the Summer Special (between chapter 29 and 30), Bum’s gallery image had color blocking, which at first made me think of Harley Quinn, but it’s actually more like Two Face’s typical costume. Sangwoo’s facial damage shown in chapter 66 is obviously reminiscent of Two Face’s scars, as seen in The Dark Knight. In the film, Two Face gets severe scarring over half of his face from an explosion. Also in the film, he escapes from a hospital. Similarly to Sangwoo who had an abusive father and Bum who had an abusive uncle, Two Face suffered mental health problems before he was scarred. He had an abusive father who would play a cruel game with a rigged outcome. His scarring served as a turning point, giving him more of a split personality. “Two Face” also refers to when a person lies a lot, and given that Bum’s gallery image resembled Two Face, this could be in reference to his lies - both early in KS out of self-preservation while trying to endear himself to Sangwoo and recently in chapter 66 where he lied to police. Something also worth noting is that Two Face outed a girl, thinking that with no one else to turn to, she would have no choice but to love him, which is clearly similar to what Bum did in his flashback in chapter 19. However, there is another KS character who displays an awful lot of similarities to Two Face and that’s Seungbae! He works in criminal justice - Harvey Dent (Two Face) as a district attorney and prosecutor and Seungbae as a police officer (demoted from detective based on bad behavior at a previous precinct). They both have horrible tempers, often flying into fits of rage. Seungbae displays this frequently throughout KS with his many overreactions, his use of excessive force, his horrible abuse of Bum in chapters 28, 29, and 35 - where even though he thought of Bum as “the victim” he still grabs him harshly by the wounds he himself pointed out. And then, even though he is basing all of his wild accusations on the flimsiest of coincidence, his own stalking of Sangwoo and harassment of Bum, and no real evidence, he attacks Sangwoo and physically assaults him in chapter 35, pulling him out of the van by his ankles in a disturbing reminder of how he grabbed Bum’s legs on the wounds and building a pattern of abuse and violence. One half of his face gets burned in chapter 63 and 64 like Two Face’s did. Both Seungbae and Two Face cite police negligence in the death of a loved one. Will Seungbae go bad in the end like Harvey Dent (Two Face) did? We’ll see.

Bum in KS ch 29 quote: “Ugh... LET GO!!“

“I’m saying I’ll save you!” Seungbae yells, while squeezing Bum’s clearly wounded wrist hard enough to make it start bleeding again. :(

Bum: “HA... HAHA. You’ll save me? How?”

Two Face in The Dark Knight quote: ”You think I want to escape from this? There is no escape from this. [...] I’ve done plenty wrong, Gordon. Just not quite enough. Yet. It’s not about what I want. It’s about what’s fair. You thought we could be decent men in an indecent time. You thought the rules could be bent but not break. You were wrong. The world is cruel. And the only morality in a cruel world is chance. Unbiased. Unprejudiced. Fair.”

The Bait and Switch - Misdirection! KS is filled with misdirection, a trick to get the reader to pay attention to (or believe) one thing so that they can be surprised by a different thing. A common form of misdirection shown in KS is mirroring, where many characters wear the same clothes as other people - taking on someone’s identity and leading to cases of mistaken identity. In chapter 41, a girl at the ski resort happens to be wearing the same outfit as Bum, causing Sangwoo to briefly mix up the two. Sangwoo will sometimes deliberately create this effect, though - like when he dresses up Bum in chapter 3 or when he dresses up Jieun’s corpse in chapter 22, and possibly even in this latest confrontation with Seungbae where he was wearing a very similar outfit. He also will change his demeanor and appearance sometimes with a hat and glasses, like he did in chapter 11, when Seungbae failed to recognize him.

Metamorphosis - There are several examples of symbolism in KS which represent change, a transformation that is not always for the better. Butterfly symbolism appears in chapter 34, frog symbolism shows up a couple times, and the poison apple symbolism is prevalent throughout. Acquiring a new identity could also count as metamorphosis, whether by living under a new name or adopting a new (possibly murderous) outlook on life.

Escape - This theme includes escape through mistaken identity and misdirection which could very well happen. But escape has also already been hinted at in KS. In the Christmas Special that came out before chapter 36, there are several methods of transportation that are associated with escape shown, including 2 hot air balloons, 2 (possibly 3) sailing ships, the helm wheel on the mantle (imagery of a sailing ship). Season three of KS sees Sangwoo take Bum on a vacation trip, first to an amusement park “to relieve stress” and then to a ski resort to “enjoy” the break, escaping the stress of home. In chapter 51, Sangwoo shows Bum the movie Fantastic Mr. Fox, which is about not being able to escape your nature (like in the scorpion and the frog) as an animal at heart, and embracing it to escape.

PREDICTION: I think that at least 2 of these themes will be featured in the ending of KS. Any 2. So, maybe a Bait and Switch and Escape, or Two Face and a murderous Metamorphosis? Which 2 themes do you think have the best chance of showing up in the last chapter? And who do you believe is The Joker of KS and who is the Two Face?

And if you know of any examples of these themes that I missed, feel free to share them! :) And THANK YOU for reading my incredibly long post. XD

#ks meta #ks finale #ks theory #ks analysis #killing stalking #LONG POST WARNING

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