#Emerging Technologies In Restaurants

[emmiedisuza]

Curious about the future of dining? Explore the 5 hottest tech trends transforming restaurants! From AI-powered experiences to next-level automation, discover how innovation is serving up a tastier future

[samirjat1221]

Explore the future of dining using IBR Infotech’s cutting-edge emerging technologies in restaurant services. As a premier provider, we help restaurants implement innovative solutions to improve their operations.

Whether it’s AI-driven menu personalization or contactless ordering, we help restaurants stay ahead in today’s digital world. Improve your guest experience and increase efficiency with our custom tailored emerging technologies in restaurant solutions.

Collaborate with us to transform your restaurant’s technology landscape and succeed in the ever-changing marketplace

[sindoshipping]

What is Haute Couture in Luxury Brand World?

Haute couture, a French term meaning “high sewing” or “high dressmaking,” epitomizes the pinnacle of luxury fashion. In the world of luxury brands, haute couture represents the epitome of bespoke fashion, characterized by meticulously handcrafted garments that cater to an elite clientele. The market for haute couture, although niche, plays a significant role in defining trends, influencing the…

[i-cant-sing]

You know it’s kinda a good thing Baldwin and Salauddin didn’t live in the modern day with Tim traveler reader. cause can you imagine those two with cell phones?

Baldwin would be non stop texting. Every minute with new things to say to her. And it’s never paragraphs. No he’s texting single sentences at her.

Salauddin would be the worst to text. Like reader texts him a long paragraph about her feelings and he just comes back with “k.” And if she sends him pictures or anything he takes half the day to respond and even then it’s a dry one word answer.

ACCURATE😭😭😭😭

Cause imagine being in class or at work and your phone's just buzzing nonstop with Baldwin's texts, and you'd think it's because he has an emergency or in danger or something, but it's just him messaging you that he saw two pigeons today and they were cannodling and it reminded him of you, but then he got too jealous of the birds so he threw bread at them to scare them away. And there's a picture of him with the birds cuddling with the the text "aww! Miss u babe!🩷🩷" And then its followed by a video of him throwing bread canon balls at them with him laughing manically in the background and he texts "hurry up and get home before I destroy more animal couples🥰"

And then there's Salauddin and he's the driest texter ever. My brother could not for the life of him, keep the convo going and you could just be telling him the JUICIEST GOSSIP and he'd respond "Ok." And you would think that he just doesn't care about you enough to read your messages but in reality, you could actually quiz him and he'd tell you every detail to the T! He reads into your body language, the way you text, your tone, he studies you obsessively which is why he doesn't need to respond the way normal people do, lest you try to read between the lines and decide you don't like him. He just doesn't wanna give himself away. It's not that he's not good with words, in fact, he's an excellent poet! Salauddin would write the most loving poems for his beloved, but that's something he's saving for a special occasion, like... a wedding anniversary.

I also think that with phones and the technology, Baldwin for sure would keep tabs on you at all times! He's good at hacking, excellent at cyber security and breaching it. Besides, it's just sooo easy to get into your accounts, be just needs to make sure no creep is taking advantage of you.

As for Salauddin, while yes, he could have someone hack into your phone, he prefers to keep you safe by actually having professional bodyguards/assassins that are excellent at hiding in the shadows and being invisible to keep you safe from all the creeps when he's not around to punch them. Even when he takes you out on dates, that fancy restaurant is actually a safehouse of sorts. All the other customers there are hired professionals and their main job is to detect anyone who could target you or him. He has snipers on nearby buildings, ready to take care of anyone who tries to enter the closed off street to the restaurant with suspicious intent.

[tomorrowusa]

Four years ago today (March 13th), then President Donald Trump got around to declaring a national state of emergency for the COVID-19 pandemic. The administration had been downplaying the danger to the United States for 51 days since the first US infection was confirmed on January 22nd.

From an ABC News article dated 25 February 2020...

CDC warns Americans of 'significant disruption' from coronavirus

Until now, health officials said they'd hoped to prevent community spread in the United States. But following community transmissions in Italy, Iran and South Korea, health officials believe the virus may not be able to be contained at the border and that Americans should prepare for a "significant disruption." This comes in contrast to statements from the Trump administration. Acting Department of Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf said Tuesday the threat to the United States from coronavirus "remains low," despite the White House seeking $1.25 billion in emergency funding to combat the virus. Larry Kudlow, director of the National Economic Council, told CNBC’s Kelly Evans on “The Exchange” Tuesday evening, "We have contained the virus very well here in the U.S." [ ... ] House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called the request "long overdue and completely inadequate to the scale of this emergency." She also accused President Trump of leaving "critical positions in charge of managing pandemics at the National Security Council and the Department of Homeland Security vacant." "The president's most recent budget called for slashing funding for the Centers for Disease Control, which is on the front lines of this emergency. And now, he is compounding our vulnerabilities by seeking to ransack funds still needed to keep Ebola in check," Pelosi said in a statement Tuesday morning. "Our state and local governments need serious funding to be ready to respond effectively to any outbreak in the United States. The president should not be raiding money that Congress has appropriated for other life-or-death public health priorities." She added that lawmakers in the House of Representatives "will swiftly advance a strong, strategic funding package that fully addresses the scale and seriousness of this public health crisis." Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer also called the Trump administration's request "too little too late." "That President Trump is trying to steal funds dedicated to fight Ebola -- which is still considered an epidemic in the Democratic Republic of the Congo -- is indicative of his towering incompetence and further proof that he and his administration aren't taking the coronavirus crisis as seriously as they need to be," Schumer said in a statement.

A reminder that Trump had been leaving many positions vacant – part of a Republican strategy to undermine the federal government.

Here's a picture from that ABC piece from a nearly empty restaurant in San Francisco's Chinatown. The screen displays a Trump tweet still downplaying COVID-19 with him seeming more concerned about the effect of the Dow Jones on his re-election bid.

People were not buying Trump's claims but they were buying PPE.

I took this picture at CVS on February 26th that year.

The stock market which Trump in his February tweet claimed looked "very good" was tanking on March 12th – the day before his state of emergency declaration.

Trump succeeded in sending the US economy into recession much faster than George W. Bush did at the end of his term – quite a feat!. (As an aside, every recession in the US since 1981 has been triggered by Republican presidents.)

Of course Trump never stopped trying to downplay the pandemic nor did he ever take responsibility for it. The US ended up with the highest per capita death rate of any technologically advanced country.

Precious time was lost while Trump dawdled. Orange on this map indicates COVID infections while red indicates COVID deaths. At the time Trump declared a state of emergency, the virus had already spread to 49 states.

The United States could have done far better and it certainly had the tools to do so.

The Obama administration had limited the number of US cases of Ebola to under one dozen during that pandemic in the 2010s. Based on their success, they compiled a guide on how the federal government could limit future pandemics.

Obama team left pandemic playbook for Trump administration, officials confirm

Of course Trump ignored it.

Unlike those boxes of nuclear secrets in Trump's bathroom, the Obama pandemic limitation document is not classified. Anybody can read it – even if Trump didn't. This copy comes from the Stanford University Libraries.

TOWARDS EPIDEMIC PREDICTION: FEDERAL EFFORTS AND OPPORTUNITIES IN OUTBREAK MODELING

Feel free to share this post with anybody who still feels nostalgic about the Trump White House years!

[so-many-ocs]

Let's Talk: Worldbuilding Small Towns & Cities

this is a request from instagram!

Research!

pick a couple of real-life small towns or non-major cities and look into them!

how, when, and why did they form? some towns or cities form around bodies of water, are created for a specific industry (such as mining or lumber), or grow in close proximity to more major cities. what is the population makeup and density? how do people make a living there?

Essentials!

there are a couple of things that your town or city will need in order to function:

housing, shop(s) for food/clothing, some kind of food source such as a farm or garden, some kind of nearby water source such as a well or river, and a place for medical supplies or treatment.

depending on how modern the setting or how small the settlement, some of these may be located outside of your town/city.

Time Period!

more modern settings may have additional locations: laundromats, auto repair shops, restaurants and cafes, libraries, hardware stores, city halls, post offices, emergency services, waste management services, etc.

a lot of it depends on how big and how current your town or city is. less essential spots may be cut or merged based on these factors. for instance, a very small town might have furniture, groceries, convenience, and a pharmacy all in one building or “store.”

Naming!

for small town/city names, keep it simple! a lot of these places are named after relevant people/cultures, geography, or descriptors; think “Littletown,” “Fairhill,” “Fresh Springs,” or “Jefferson.” some small towns or cities are named after larger towns or cities, like any one of the half dozen places called “Ithaca” in the U.S.

if you’ve built or are using another language, the same naming conventions usually apply.

Questions!

what era is this setting in? agricultural, pre-industrial, industrial, post-industrial, etc? what level of technological advancement does this setting have?

what does trade look like there? what do they import and export? how close are they to major trade routes?

what major cultures, political affiliations, and religions influence this setting? how and when did these influences come about?

what is the geographical location? island, mountain, plains, etc?

what is stopping this location from growing into a major town or city?

Stealing!

when in doubt, steal like an artist!

find an existing (or historical) small city or cities that fit the rough vibe you’re going for and swap out necessary details.

if you use multiple inspiration sources, try and keep it consistent! most things are the way they are for a reason. take climate, geography, and general location into account!

-----------------

that's all! happy writing :)

buy me a ko-fi || what's radio apocalypse?

[warningsine]

Fifty years on, the wounds left in Chilean society by the coup of 11 September 1973 are still very much open. Justice is a long way from being served, secrets remain untold, and the bodies of many of the victims are yet to be found.

Last Wednesday, the government announced a new national initiative to find the remains of 1,162 Chileans who vanished under the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet and remain unaccounted for. In most cases, the best their families can hope for are fragments or traces of DNA.

After ousting a democratically elected socialist, Salvador Allende, Pinochet rounded up opponents, social activists and students in Santiago’s national stadium and other makeshift detention centres, where nearly 30,000 were tortured and more than 2,200 were executed.

Allende’s body was pulled out of the bombed wreckage of the presidential palace, La Moneda. He is generally thought to have killed himself rather than be captured by soldiers loyal to Pinochet, the armed forces commander he had appointed a few weeks earlier.

Almost 1,500 others simply disappeared, and since the end of the junta in 1990, only 307 have been identified and their remains returned to their families. Anticipating the reckoning to come, Pinochet had ordered the bodies of the executed to be dug up and dumped at sea, or into the crater of a volcano. Investigators now hope that modern technology might help pinpoint massacre and temporary burial sites that might still yield vestiges of the dead.

Ariel Dorfman had been working as a cultural and press adviser in La Moneda, and was lucky to survive. Most of Allende’s staff were executed in the first days after the coup.

“This was a tragedy for Chile, for Latin America and for the world, because we were trying to open a way to a more just, radical society without violence,” Dorfman, a novelist, playwright and academic, told the Observer.

Trials are under way in a last-gasp effort at accountability before the perpetrators die of old age. On Monday, seven former soldiers aged between 73 and 85 were finally jailed after the criminal chamber of the Chilean supreme court upheld their convictions for the murder of Victor Jara, a celebrated folk singer and Allende supporter who was tortured and then shot 44 times.

Many of the details of the 1973 coup and the ensuing dictatorship remain unknown. Pinochet and the junta were efficient when it came to destroying evidence and the US has been grudging in declassifying its own records, which have emerged in a dribble over the years. Under pressure from Chile’s current president, Gabriel Boric – a 37-year-old former student activist – and from progressive Washington Democrats such as Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the US has declassified two new documents: presidential intelligence briefings given to Richard Nixon on the day of the coup and three days earlier.

It was hard to understand why they had been withheld for so long. They confirmed what had already been generally established: that the CIA had not directly stage-managed the 11 September coup. The presidential daily brief for 8 September contains reports of a plot by naval officers, but adds: “There is no evidence of a tri-service coup plan.”

“Should hotheads in the navy act in the belief they will automatically receive support from the other services, they could find themselves isolated,” the intelligence briefer told Nixon.

Even on the day of the coup itself, Nixon was told that, although some army units appeared to have joined the effort, “they may still lack an effectively coordinated plan that would capitalise on the widespread civilian opposition”.

Jack Devine, who was serving as a CIA clandestine officer in Chile in 1973, was eating lunch in an Italian restaurant in Santiago on 9 September when he got a message to call home. It was his wife, who told him a coup was coming.

One of Devine’s sources, a businessman and former naval officer, was leaving the country and had been unable to find the CIA man, so had gone to his house and told Mrs Devine to pass on his tipoff: “The military has decided to move. It is going to happen on September 11.”

Devine told the Observer: “That is the first clear sign that a coup was coming, just a couple of days ahead of time. We were caught by surprise. That’s the first evidence that something was coming. And many of the people still didn’t believe it in Washington and the CIA.”

There is no question, however, that the US had helped set the stage for the military takeover. From the time of Allende’s election on 4 September 1970 at the head of the Popular Unity alliance, the White House, led by Nixon’s national security adviser, Henry Kissinger, began plotting to get rid of him.

The CIA planned a putsch the following month, before Allende could even hold his inauguration. US spies found willing officers and supplied them with guns, cash and guarantees of US support for a military government. The plot led to the murder of the commander-in-chief, René Schneider, who had stood by the incoming president, but it fell short of toppling Allende when plotters in the military pulled out.

In a telephone conversation on 23 October, Kissinger told Nixon that there had been “a turn for the worse”.

“The next move should have been a government takeover, but that hasn’t happened,” he said, describing the Chilean military as “a pretty incompetent bunch”.

“They’re out of practice,” Nixon replied.

After the failure of the 1970 coup, Devine said, “Nixon sent out specific instructions to the CIA that there be no more coup plotting.” The US administration focused instead on undermining the Allende government, which had been elected by a slender margin and was facing substantial internal opposition. Washington coordinated with its allies in Latin America to block Chile’s access to international finance, persuaded US companies to leave Chile, manipulated the global price of copper, Chile’s principal export, and helped foment strikes within the country.

The Nixon administration was also quick to throw its support behind the junta. When shocked US diplomats sent reports of the slaughter that had followed the coup, Kissinger told his aides: “I think we should understand our policy – that however unpleasant they act, this government is better for us than Allende was.”

Pinochet found another powerful friend on the world stage when Margaret Thatcher was elected in Britain in 1979. She restored Chile’s export credits and dropped an arms embargo on the regime, selling it jet fighters and training its troops.

A succession of Tory ministers visited Chile, admiring the high economic growth rate and the wholehearted adoption of the absolutist monetary policy extolled by Milton Friedman at the University of Chicago. A group of Chilean economists who had studied there, known as the Chicago Boys, took top positions in Pinochet’s government, and the country became a test case for the policies of privatisation, deregulation and tight control of the money supply. Complicating social factors, such as trade unions and popular resistance, had been taken out of the picture.

“The Chilean coup was a triumph of the anti-communist movement in the United States and Latin America. You can’t get around the fact that it led to the defeat of democratic and progressive governments all over the region,” said John Dinges, who lived through the violent early years of the Pinochet era as one of the few US journalists to remain in the country after the coup.

“There was a youth-oriented revolutionary movement, which was sometimes quite extreme, advocating armed struggle, and that was also physically eliminated. So the violence was successful,” Dinges, the author of two books on the Pinochet regime, said. “More than 80% of the population of Latin America was under rightwing military dictatorships by the end of 1976.”

The Pinochet regime coordinated with fellow military-run governments in Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, Bolivia and Brazil to eliminate leftwingers and social activists in Operation Condor, a concerted slaughter across the region. It had US support, in the form of technical support, training and military aid, through the Ford, Carter and Reagan administrations, all in the name of fighting communism.

The coup’s lasting legacy around the world has been defined mostly by the international backlash to its shocking cruelty. It galvanised the human rights movement in Europe and the US. In Washington, the US’s involvement shocked politicians such as Senator Frank Church, who oversaw the first congressional hearings on the CIA’s covert activities which ultimately led to constraints on its future operations.

The martyrdom of Allende and his experiment in democratic socialism inspired a generation of leftwing political activists around the world.

The record of the Allende government is complicated. The Popular Unity alliance never commanded a parliamentary majority and was deeply split. Rapid nationalisation and blanket pay rises for workers brought with them mismanagement of state enterprises and hyperinflation. But because it was violently cut short, many different myths grew up around what might have been.

“It became like a Chilean mirror. People read into Chile what they wanted to see,” said Tanya Harmer, associate professor in Latin American international history at the London School of Economics.

“Across the world, the diverse groups on the left learned the lessons they wanted to learn from the coup. Social democrats viewed it as constitutional democracy overthrown, so it was about the rule of law. The more radical left read it as evidence that you could never have a revolution without an armed struggle.”

Dorfman argues the Allende government and its destruction changed the course of progressive politics. “There were lessons to be learned and they have endured: the need for vast coalitions to effect that structural change, and the way in which Chile’s suffering created a consciousness about human rights violations,” said Dorfman, who has written an assessment of the Allende legacy in the New York Review of Books, and a novel about Allende’s death, The Suicide Museum.

Inside Chile, the coup’s legacy is still being fought over. A recent Mori poll found only 42% of Chileans thought it had destroyed democracy, compared with 36% who said it had saved the country from Marxism.

Peter Kornbluh, a senior analyst at the National Security Archive in Washington, who has led the pressure on the US government to declassify its documents on the coup, warned that denialism about the atrocities of the Pinochet era was strengthening, along with the rise of the far right.

“It is a Rosetta Stone for the discussion over the threat of authoritarianism versus the sanctity of democracy,” said Kornbluh, who is the author of a book based on the documents declassified so far, The Pinochet File. “And Chile is having that debate about its past because it’s dealing with this threat right now – and a number of other countries including the US, and countries in Europe, are facing the same issue.

“The coup in Chile was really the repression of a lot of hopes and dreams around the world, and I think that dynamic still resonates and is still relevant today.”

[dagwolf]

Recent viral images of Southwest agents getting yelled at and crying have resurfaced a valuable lesson about the nature of our economic system that’s worth examining this holiday season: the deliberate, built-in ways corporate “customer service” is set up to not only shield those on the top of the ladder—executives, vice presidents, large shareholders—but pit low-wage workers against each other in an inherently antagonistic relationship marked by powerlessness and frustration. It’s a dynamic we discussed in “Episode 118: The Snitch Economy—How Rating Apps and Tipping Pit Working People Against Each Other,” of the Citations Needed podcast I co-host, but I feel ought to be expanded on in light of recent events. Watching video after video, reading tweet after tweet, describing frustrated stranded holiday travelers yelling at Southwest Airlines workers, and hearing, in turn, accounts of airline workers and airport staff breaking down crying, is a good opportunity to talk about how none of this is natural or inevitable. It is a choice, both in corporate policy and government regulation. 

There are three main ways capital pits workers against each other in the relationship we call “customer service”:

1. Snitch economy. As discussed in Citations Needed Ep. 118, we are provided with more and more apps, websites, and customer surveys to effectively do the job of managing for management—free of charge, of course. Under the auspices of “empowering” the consumer, we are told to spy on our low-wage servants and gauge the quality of their servitude with stars, tips, and reviews. Uber, DoorDash, Fiver, Grubhub—a new “gig economy” has emerged that not only misclassifies workers as freelancers to pay them less, but hands over the reins of management to the consumer directly. This necessarily increases the antagonism between working-class consumers and the workers they are snitching on. 

2. Automation. Increasingly, even getting to the bottom rung employee to yell at is difficult. Under the thin pretense of Covid, increased labor power has exploded the use of automated technology that creates a frustrating maze to get a simple problem solved or task accomplished. Don’t go to the register, instead download the app and order. Scan the QR code, don’t wait on hold, go to our website and engage a series of automated prompts and maybe you can solve your problem. More and more consumers are being pushed away from humans onto automated systems we are told will “save us time,” but instead exist solely to save the corporation labor costs. So, by the time the average consumer does finally work their way to seeing a human, they are annoyed, frustrated, and angry at this faceless entity and more willing to take it out on someone making $13 an hour. 

One recent visit to Houston’s George H.W. Bush airport portended our obnoxious “automated” future. To cut down on unionized airport labor, all the restaurants use QR codes and require you to order food and drinks for yourself. Per usual, it’s sold as an exciting new technology that’s somehow good for consumers, but really the basic technology is 30 years old. It’s just a screen—the same ones restaurants have had for decades. The only thing that’s changed is the social conditioning of having you do all your own ordering and menu navigation. The waiter hasn’t been replaced by an iPad, they’ve been replaced by you. Invariably, it’s clunky and annoying and reduces the union jobs that airport construction is said to provide to justify soliciting public dollars. The only winner is a faceless corporation with a Delaware LLC and its shareholders living in a few counties in Connecticut and Texas.

Automation not only annoys and adds labor burdens to the customer, there is also evidence that it is a significant contributor to income inequality. A November 2022 study published in the journal Econometrica looked at the significantly widening income gap between lesser and more educated workers over the past 40 years. It found that ​​“automation accounts for more than half of that increase,” as summarized by MIT News. “This single one variable … explains 50 to 70 percent of the changes or variation between group inequality from 1980 to about 2016,” said MIT economist Daron Acemoglu, co-author of the study. Whether or not, under a different economic system, automation could be a force for good is a debate for another day. But what is clear is that, while both consumers and workers are harmed by this trend, there is a significant want of solidarity between them. 

3. Deliberate understaffing. This is a major culprit in this week’s Southwest Airlines meltdown. In parallel with the increased use of forced automation, cost-cutting corporations, facing increased labor power, are gutting staffing to its bare bones and hoping their corporate competitors doing the same will lead to a shift in consumer’s willingness to put up with substandard service and conditions, and overall bullshit. “We apologize for the wait,” the automated phone prompt tells us. Of course a machine cannot be contrite, so the effect is both surreal and grating: You’re not fucking sorry, you don’t exist. You're a recording. But now, who am I yelling at? 

...

[the-garbanzo-annex-jr]

by Troy O. Fritzhand

Canary Mission, an antisemitism watchdog group, has made headlines since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war for its work exposing groups and individuals that support the Palestinian terror group and express hatred for the Jewish state.

Critics have accused Canary Mission of what they call unfair “doxing,” or publicizing information about a person or organization without their consent. However, that has not stopped the watchdog from calling out a wide range of entities for allegedly antisemitic behavior and spreading hateful ideology throughout North America, especially on college campuses.

The organization, which operates anonymously, spoke to The Algemeiner about its work since Hamas’ Oct. 7 massacre in southern Israel. To stay anonymous and protect the safety of staff, the group did not attribute its remarks to a specific individual.

Since the outbreak of the war, Canary Mission has been working on what it calls four “significant” developments.

“First, there has been a sharp escalation in global antisemitism, both in frequency and severity,” a representative said. “We are no longer discussing simple breaches of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism. Discourse has alarmingly shifted to overt expressions of hate, including endorsements of Hamas’ violence against Jews, coupled with a stark indifference to the suffering of kidnapped, raped, and murdered Jews.”

Antisemitic incidents have skyrocketed globally since the Hamas atrocities of Oct. 7. Most recently, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) reported a 360 percent surge in such incidents over the past three months, with about two-thirds directly related to the Israel-Hamas war.

“Second,” Canary Mission continued, “antisemites on the left and right seem even more willing to work with each other in their common cause against Jews and Israel.”

“Third, a bipartisan consensus has emerged with a clear recognition of the extreme antisemitism fostered within the anti-Israel movement,” the group added.

Lastly, Canary Mission addressed the presidents of Harvard University, the University of Pennsylvania (UPenn), and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) refusing to say at a congressional hearing last month that calling for the genocide of Jews would violate their schools’ codes of conduct against bullying and harassment.

“Fourth, despite the dismal failure of Harvard, UPenn, and MIT leadership to condemn calls for the genocide against Jews, there have been some positive campus developments,” the watchdog said. “Several universities have finally understood that Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) is essentially an incubator for hatred and have taken action against them.”

Some schools have banned or suspended SJP chapters, which have orchestrated pro-Hamas demonstrations on campuses across the US, for violating school rules.

Over the past three months, Canary Mission has, among other projects, linked US Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) to fundraisers with Hamas ties, profiled dozens of signatories of a letter denouncing Israel just one day after the Oct. 7 massacre, and exposed the organizers of a recent rally in Philadelphia that targeted a local Jewish restaurant for having a history of backing Hamas and calling for the destruction of Israel.

“Our support has significantly grown since the war began,” Canary Mission said. “The traffic to our website has substantially increased, reflecting the heightened interest in our cause … Our new support comes from across the political spectrum from individuals and organizations who understand the danger and hatred Jews are facing. Naturally, we have also received plenty of threats and abuse from neo-Nazis and anti-Israel activists alike.”

Canary Mission described its work as necessary and “far from finished” in combating “unfounded hatred towards Jews and the Jewish state.”

“Since our inception in 2015, Canary Mission has stood as a vigilant watchdog against antisemitism, with a particular focus on the spread of antisemitism in academic institutions,” the group said. “From UPenn to Harvard, our findings reveal an unsettling reality that has been simmering in American academia for years … Our work is comprehensive. We highlight instances of antisemitism across the political landscape and refuse to ignore or excuse it regardless of its source. The profiles we create are not just records but tools that hold individuals accountable for their words and actions. In doing so, we create lasting consequences for those who propagate hate against Jews and Israel.”

Canary Mission dismissed criticism that it’s doxing, saying it does not release any personal information such as home addresses, emails, or phone numbers. The watchdog added it “presents an individual’s words and actions. This enables the public to form their own opinion and decide on their own response to the content presented.”

Concluding, the group said, “Critics will continue to dislike the Canary Mission platform, and supporters will continue to recognize the vital importance of shining a light on anti-Jewish hatred during this difficult time in our history.”

“And a note to our critics: We are not going away — we have only just begun.”

[midgeo]

40+ Good Conversation Topics to Talk About With a Guy

40+ Deep Conversation Topics You Can Use to Talk to a Guy

Travel: Favorite destinations, dream trips, travel experiences.

Hobbies: What he enjoys doing in his free time.

Books: Favorite genres, recent reads, book recommendations.

Movies: Favorite films, actors, genres, recent releases.

Music: Favorite bands, genres, concerts attended.

Food: Favorite cuisines, restaurants, cooking experiences.

Sports: Favorite teams, memorable games, sports he plays.

Work/ Career: His job, aspirations, achievements, challenges.

Technology: Gadgets he likes, latest tech trends, favorite apps.

Family: Siblings, childhood memories, family traditions.

Pets: If he has any, favorite animals, funny pet stories.

Fitness/ Exercise: Workouts he enjoys, fitness goals, sports he plays.

TV Shows: Favorite series, binge-worthy recommendations.

Dreams/ Goals: Short-term and long-term aspirations.

Art: Favorite artists, art mediums, creative hobbies.

Current Events: News topics, recent developments.

Philosophy: Existential questions, life perspectives.

Funny Stories: Embarrassing or humorous experiences.

Gaming: Favorite games, gaming experiences, latest releases.

Cars/ Vehicles: Favorite models, dream cars, driving experiences.

Nature/ Outdoors: Camping experiences, favorite outdoor activities.

Fashion/ Style: Clothing preferences, fashion trends.

Languages: If he speaks multiple languages or wants to learn one.

DIY/ Home Improvement: Projects he's worked on or wants to do.

Relationships: Views on dating, friendships, or family dynamics.

Finance/ Money: Saving tips, investment interests, financial goals.

Health/ Wellness: Healthy habits, self-care routines.

Education: Favorite subjects, memorable school experiences.

Science: Fascinating scientific topics or discoveries.

Cultural Differences: Discussing diverse cultures and traditions.

Social Media: Favorite platforms, online interactions.

Volunteering/ Charity: Causes he cares about, volunteering experiences.

Conspiracy Theories: If he's into that sort of thing, it can spark some interesting conversations.

Spirituality/ Religion: Beliefs, experiences, or philosophies.

Home/ Living Situation: Decor preferences, dream homes.

Humor: Favorite comedians, types of humor.

Memorable Trips: Sharing travel stories and experiences.

Future Plans: Where he sees himself in the future.

Technology Trends: Emerging tech or gadgets he finds exciting.

Astrology/ Zodiac Signs: Whether he believes in it or not, it can be a fun topic.

Remember to gauge his interest and comfort level with each topic and keep the conversation flowing naturally!

[zethsdumpster]

I have a little Promare au that is mainly Acechiji and Zosan (qué puede que te interese @agreekdemigod)

For starters, Germa 66 is a government-allied company dedicated to studying the burnish and creating technology to counter burnish fire and to deal with and arrest the burnish.

Judge, obv, is still just a scum, he abused his children with the aim of making them burnish, an experiment to test their creation, the only one he failed with (or so he thinks) is Sanji, who he locked up with the helmet for 6 months until Zeff (who was the cook at Vinsmoke mansion, and who is not burnish) grabbed him and took him away with the help of Reiju and the brothers, who created a fire (to cover Sanji's just awakened fire) to help them escape and make Judge believe he had died or something like that.

After all, they know that having been marked as successful experiments, they have no way out. At least the experiments he performs on them are not as inhumane as those he performs on "criminals", none of which have cost them their lives. The experiments he does on his children focus more on the weaponry and chemical things they use to fight the Burnish.

Judge brings out the information that his home was attacked by burnish and that his third son is among the dead，that it was a miracle that he and his other children survived.

And he also turns them into a specialised squad to arrest especially dangerous/powerful Burnish. If some of the details look strange or unnecessary on the Vinsmoke's uniform, they are possibly the failsafes Judge put on his children's uniforms for emergency purposes, should they decide to reveal themselves or something, i.e. to better control them (under threat, at the very least), special, and rather painful, freeze dials will active and be injected in their bodies. Also their glasses and "headphones" have cameras and recording devices so Judge can more easily keep them under his thumb.

Sanji is raised by Zeff (who lost a leg due to his fire) and his restaurant becomes super popular, duh, and then he'll be frequented by the firefighter's rescue unit.

Among which are Zoro, Franky (mechanic), Nami, Usopp (mechanic), Luffy and Jinbe.

Zoro decided to become a firefighter to save lives after Kuina died in a burnish fire.

Luffy joined because his brothers are burnish and he knows what a person has to go through to become one, and then what it means to live as a burnish, so he wants to help other burnish, especially those who are just waking up, prevent them from being captured or escaping in solitude, things like that.

Ace and Sabo are the leaders of the "terrorist" group Mad Burnish, who burn things (without causing accidents, injuries, etc.) and rescue burnish.

Ace and Ichiji kind of develop a weird rivalry, but not really, the leaders of the mad burnish clash a lot with the Vinsmoke Siblings, and because of how they are, Ace and Ichiji tend to fight each other one on one a lot.

After a bad incident™, Ichiji goes temporarily away from home, farther than he usually does (he has a lake he likes to go to clear his head when the voice of the burnish gets to be too much or he simply wants to get away from home for a couple of hours) and he ends up meeting Ace, who's ready to fight, but he doesn't have his glasses or headphones on, nor is he on duty so Ichiji is like "not right now", but Ace is not taking it, they don't fiscally fight but their argument gets a tad heated and the anger frees some of Ichiji's flames, so the freeze dials in his clothes activate on response, Ichiji drops to the floor with a painful scream and Ace is like WTF yet immediately reacts to see snf try to help Ichiji, he ends up taking Ichiji to the closest hideout they have, where, after telling Sabo what happened, he gets help for the unconscious Vinsmoke.

Now, the bad incident™ in question is Zosan related, as in, the Vinsmoke's special team also responds and attends calls of people telling on burnish trying to live normal lives, and someone, reported the sous-chef of the increasingly popular restaurant Baratie, and Reiju was sent to check it out. Sanji had been having his usual flirt-argument with Zoro (who was there with his team) when Reiju arrived, being recognised and knowing what it meant for her to be there sent him into a panic attack that exposed his being burnish, and being on duty and under threat (not only her but her other brothers) Reiju jad to take Sanji with her, and then Zeff for trying to protect him and continuing on defending him even after she gave her an out.

And that's basically all I have for now (⁠☞ﾟ⁠∀ﾟ⁠)⁠☞

[icy-bluez]

Strongest You've Ever Been

Characters: Zayne

Warnings(?): Themes of pregnancy, you're a fricking warrior and you're mad strong, slight angst, lots of fluff in the beginning.

Synopsis: You're about to go to war, whilst pregnant.

A/N: Part 2 is out fellas.

| Part 2 |

Last night, you were in bed with Zayne, tangled and sweaty. Both of you touching and kissing each other with a passion. No clothes, no barriers, no shame. The night was blissful and loud.

In the morning, the both of you bid each other reluctant goodbyes and went to work.

It had been about 3 years since you and Zayne had been married. With him, Azure's Echo day would be celebrated with the both of you tangled in bed in the morning and laughing around in arcades at night. Christmas, enveloped in his coats and trying extremely spicy food in restaurants. Halloween, with you experimenting with costumes on a very reluctant Zayne.

Zayne didn't smile often, so the first time you had gotten him to laugh, you had felt so proud about it you never stopped bragging. Now a picture of both of you smiling, showing teeth stood in the living room. You admired the picture everyday before going to work. Zayne had a bright green glow in his eyes and slight crinkles around it. Sharp, canines that looked ever so cute with his smile. He had his arm around you, your head on his shoulder and his on top of yours. You were the only one he was childish with, the only one who saw his lopsided, playful smile every morning in bed.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

14 years prior.

Wanderers had appeared on Earth. This year, they swarmed in.

You and Zayne had suddenly gotten extremely busy. Akso hospital brimming with injured civilians and hunters alike. Zayne worked himself to the bone.

You, being the captain of the Z01 squad were immediately summoned to the Headquarters. 15 hunters were dead, 2 of whom belonged to the squad you loved like family. The Metaflux stabilizers had been utterly destroyed and a worm hole enabled hundreds of Wanderers to swarm somewhere farther from Bloomshore District. The area was quite desolate but the remaining residents were quickly evacuated.

A containment zone was put up with hologram technology which was slowly being broken down by repeated attacks from the mindless Wanderers. Citizens in the periphery of a couple miles were asked to evacuate. The most elite squads, including yours, were immediately dispatched into the containment zone with ample precautions. Your squad led the others and you in turn were the General in this war. You were determined to protect the city with your life and so was your army of hunters. Your resolve never faltered, determination ever burning.

"Eugene, right flank, Jennie left. Shoot wanderers on sight, do not hesitate." You say while speed walking through the formation of your soldiers on either side. Form straight, eyes bright and focused. A tight full black suit with armour on your body and two guns slinging in your hands. Your presence was revered and respected in the battlefield.

"Yes ma'am."

"Keep weapons ready, get backup ammunition at hand. Y2 squad defend East, Y1 West, Q20 at standby. Technical team, check communication connectivity again. Make sure there are no errors."

"Roger that." The static of their voice on the other side works itself into your earpiece.

The sky turns purple and blue in an instant. A bright glow of a forming and expanding worm hole emanates from the sky. The soldiers tense, the wanderers emerge. You wait with bated breath at the very front of the army and say one word.

"Charge."

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

After more than a week.

The first wave of wanderers had almost been completely wiped out. Your soldiers congratulated each other exhausted and wounded but still trying to keep team morale high. Zayne had not been able to come to the camp yet because of an immense amount of workload. Doctors milled about and you kept searching for familiar hazel eyes until two bright brown ones occupied your gaze.

"Hello I'm Rachel. I'm going to have to ask you to come with me to treat your wounds. Can you walk?"

You were too tired to talk so you shook your head instead, being honest. A wanderer had deeply wounded your leg and a tightly wound rag around your shoulders kept another's bleeding at bay.

You were helped into the infirmary.

"How are you feeling?"

"I feel like I'm in pain." You reply. Your sadness from seeing your squad in pain had morphed into anger, barely hiding the unusual whirlwind of emotions in you. After a quiet moment you oblige. "I also feel weirdly sick..."

Rachel asks you a myriad of questions after that, some a bit too personal. She also takes your blood for a blood test and cleans and bandages your wounds thoroughly. Exhausted, you fall asleep.

You wake up to news you did not expect.

Rachel declares you are 1 week pregnant. You had been pregnant the entire time you were on the battlefield. Now the Metaflux ratings were slightly more stable. HQ had ordered part of the hunters to be on standby and part of them to go back to Linkoln city. The hunters would be summoned again when Metaflux ratings started going haywire.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Cap'n you're a bit distracted..." Tyler says. Your squad of 9, earlier 11 had insisted on walking you home after noticing that you had not been feeling well. 'Captain's super strong, it's unusual to see her sick. We must protecc.' was their argument. Now you walked back home like the mama duck of 8 ducklings.

"I'm fine Tyler. Shouldn't you have been in the hospital?"

"My wounds aren't that bad Cap'n." He says bumping his chest.

"Yeah like you weren't the one screaming like a baby when your leg fractured." Eugene says.

"Oh yah, i have it recorded." Jennie cuts into the banter.

"What!? No! Give me your phone!"

"My god you lot have an immense amount of energy--" you stop mid sentence when you lock eyes with Zayne who was hurriedly walking down the stairs, still with his doctor's coat on.

"Y/N." He says, almost out of breath and envelops you in his arms, ignoring the crowd around him. Jennie squeals for a moment then her and some other responsible squad members drag the rest of the squad away to give you guys privacy.

"Are you injured? Why didn't you see me before you left?" Zayne says, gaze sharp and almost angry. He looks into your eyes like they were saying 'do you have any idea how worried i was?'

"There wasn't a chance Zayne. We were given immediate summons and you were super busy." You cup his cheek in your palm and give him a sad smile.

He tilts his face and buries it in your palm, frown still evident on his brows.

"Are you on your way to work?" You ask.

"No, I just got off. The hospital recieved the announcement that some squads we're coming back. Yours was on the list so I just...ahem, came to check."

"Walked out of work."

"I would not frame it that way. William's covering...actually, nevermind."

You burst out laughing, taking his hand and walking to your house.

"That's the first time you have done that, you workaholic! And for me! I'm honoured but also concerned." You try to flick his nose but he catches your wrist and places a kiss above the bandaged area.

You could almost feel Zayne reassuring himself that you're fine. The moonlight shone into his sad and tired eyes making guilt flare through you as you thought of the news you were going to give to him.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Zayne..." You say sadly, sitting on the edge of the bed as he returns into the bedroom with a cup of hot chocolate that you started craving.

He frowns. Setting the cup on the bedside table he kneels down in front of you and holds both your hands in his.

"What's wrong love?" He asks, concern etched in his features. You have no idea where the emotions are coming from but tears well up in your eyes as you look at him, then glance away.

"Y/N?" He asks, cupping your cheek with one hand and running his thumb over your other hand.

"We need to talk...about something..." You continue, willing yourself past the voice crack.

"I'm here love, talk to me..."

"You know I have to...go back to the frontlines the week after this right?" You continue, he nods, examining your face.

"I know and I really do not think I feel good about letting you go. But...I cannot stop them because of the emergency situation." He grits his teeth. You knew how much Zayne wanted to protect you and you knew that he would keep you safe in his arms if you wanted.

"There's also..." You hesitate, fearing what his reaction might be. Zayne had always supported you and had been open to having kids. He was an amazing husband and you knew he would also be an amazing father. He waits.

"I'm pregnant." You say as tears roll down your cheeks. When you look him in the eyes, they are wide. Surprise and horror clouds them.

You take a deep breath. "I have to go back to the frontlines next to next week."

"No. Y/N...what..." He says. You could not bear the look in his eyes. The realisation that the risk factor for you had increased ten-fold. Heart disease and pregnancy whilst being the General in the frontlines.

"I should be happy but Y/N it's too risky...there's chances of a premature delivery and fetal growth restriction given your heart condition. Being in the front lines, fighting and getting wounded during pregnancy is even worse. I support you, love but I do not want to see you hurt...or worse."

You pull Zayne into the sheets with you and just lie down, letting the words sink in, hiding your face.

"Y/N look at me please..."

"Hunters are allowed to continue working till delivery...hours are restricted to 40 per week--"

"Y/N..." You put your arms around his neck and just hug him. He returns it and kisses the top of your head.

"Zayne, I know it's risky and I know you're going to be worried sick but I can't step down now. There's too many lives dependant on me, my orders, my Evol. Without its protection, they won't be able to stand anywhere close to the wormhole."

Zayne sighs and then breathes your scent in. He detangles himself from your hug and places his forehead against yours.

"On one condition."

You move away and give him a questioning look.

"Please just, for my peace of mind, let me be posted at the military facility."

"How are you going to get permission?" You ask as Zayne wipes away your tears.

"I have qualifications from going into previous battlefields. You know about it...and also I used to be your primary care physician before we got married..." Zayne says and trails off.

You bury your face into his chest and mutter a tiny "okay".

ANTHOLOGY LIST

[uncriticalbunny]

this fandom is full of racist and idiotic asshats and the only people i see who call this shit out are sydcarmy shippers.

@currymanganese made a post about the fandom wiki entry on sydney and carmy's relationship, which you can only guess how accurate it is. here's a link to sydney's 'the bear' wiki page as it currently appears.

this is a snippet of sydney's wonderful personality and characterization.

However, she is bad at accepting 'no' or being told not right now. Her perfectionist nature does not allow her to let go of things, either. This often causes her to push for too much, too far, too fast, and then suffer the negative consequences because she did not understand why she was being told not to do something and would not let it go or wait. In times of stress, or rebounding from being treated poorly herself, she forgets her dream of making the kitchen environment safe and can abusively lash out with the worst of them. She resents that her business and administrative skills are often more highly valued at "The Bear" than her chef and cooking skills, though she excels in those areas. She tends to come across to others as young, anxious, and very insecure, wanting a lot of reassurance, until she finds her comfortable regiment and standardized process for completing a task, which allows her talent to come through. She often feels like a fish out of water with the rest of the staff, who are older, poorer, lack formal training, and have long-established ties, but is determined to make it work if it means learning under Carmy and having some control over the kitchen she works in.

this is a snippet of sydney's season 1 section.

Sydney becomes fixated on perfecting the risotto and becomes more aggrieved with every rejection. After being told her latest version is "tremendous", yet still cannot be offered on the dinner menu, Sydney, in a minor act of petty rebellion, serves the dish to a customer. With this act, Sydney is responsible for shoving The Beef down the road to its destruction. The customer, it turns out, is a famous food critic. He writes a glowing review of The Beef, and raves about risotto. The restaurant goes viral. Carmy is peeved, because the reason he wouldn't put the dish on the menu, besides it not being ready, is because risotto is very labor intensive. They do not have the staff to make it during dinner service. Additionally, the high brow dish does not fit the fast casual nature of a sandwich shop's menu. Richie rags on Sydney with suspicion, believing she knew the customer was a critic and gave him her dish to force them to put it on the menu, and to gain herself fame. The restaurant going viral coincides with Sydney's latest innovation push to use ordering tablets and accept online to go orders. Once again going too much, too fast, they begin using the new system before they're ready. Sydney makes a fatal error with the new technology by failing to set up website parameters. As a result, the second the system is turned on, the tiny restaurant is flooded with hundreds upon hundreds of to-go orders, all due for pick up shortly and even more coming in every second. In person, customers are asking for the famous risotto…which is not on the menu. Carmy explodes at Sydney and demands she get out of the way before she keeps making the catastrophe worse, Sydney, who doesn't handle feelings of rejection or inadequacy well, spirals. She lashes out at the staff, and engages in a vicious fight with Richie, who never wanted the tablet system. After saying some truly cruel things about him as a father, Sydney stabs him, whether on purpose or on accident is uncertain, and then immediately resigns amidst the chaos.

"With this act, Sydney is responsible for shoving The Beef down the road to its destruction." IJBOL

and oh look, in season 2, sydney reconnects with claire and goes to al-anon with carmy.

Throughout the process, Sydney reconnects with Claire, who is now a resident in emergency medicine. Sydney attends Al-Anon meetings along with Carmy, discussing her search for fun.

awww sydney faces a setback when ebra stops attending culinary school and sees claire as a threat. sounds about right.

As the opening of The Bear approaches, Sydney continues to work on the menu with Tina's help. She faces a setback when Ebra stops attending culinary school. Sydney also begins to see Claire as a threat to Carmy's focus. Despite these challenges, Sydney remains committed to her role in the restaurant and prepares for the soft opening.

even better, richie alone successfully handles the situation at the soft open. she and carmy even reconcile!

During the soft opening, Sydney feels the pressure to impress her father. She runs the kitchen while Richie takes charge of the front of house. Issues arise, such as running out of forks and Carmy getting trapped in the walk-in fridge. However, Richie successfully handles the situation and takes over expediting. Sydney feels fulfilled after impressing her father, and she and Carmy reconcile.

this page is full of misogynoir and shitty, incorrect OPINIONS about sydney adamu. are these things not supposed to be objective? and yet they make sydney out to be an incompetent, jealous, hysterical, aggressive overstepper. we see this frequently on social media sites when sydney is discussed. and no one ever wants to draw attention to this for some reason. where's the news and media? the hit tweets? the constant posts complaining about this issue?

all people ever want to talk about is how sydcarmy is terrible and how shippers have terrible comprehension of the show. yet this garbage slips by all the time. maybe it's because the same people focusing all their energy on shippers hold those very same opinions, but i think a lot of people simply have tunnel vision and simply do not gaf about sydney.

it's fucking exhausting watching the general fandom treat syd as less than human and have zero understanding of her character. it's like yelling into the void. and i would very much like to know how this garbage wiki can be corrected.

[beardedmrbean]

PHILADELPHIA – In the City of Brotherly Love, Gemma Levy sometimes doesn’t feel safe.

Levy decided to attend the University of Pennsylvania partly because of its long history of tolerance toward Jewish students like her. But with recent events – pro-Palestinian protests, antisemitic chants, university President Liz Magill’s perplexing remarks about genocide and her subsequent resignation – the campus hasn’t seemed all that tolerant.

“I’ve felt super unsafe at times,” Levy, a freshman cognitive science major from Brooklyn, said while hurrying to class along the tree-lined Locust Walk in the oldest part of the campus. “It’s a weird experience to feel that way.”

It’s an unsettling experience for the city, too.

Philadelphia, known as the birthplace of the United States, is where the Founding Fathers met and debated the future of the new country. Founded on the principles of religious freedom, it’s home to one of the largest Jewish populations in the country.

The University of Pennsylvania, founded primarily by Benjamin Franklin and now regarded as one of the nation’s premier schools of higher learning, kept its doors open to Jewish students when Harvard and other Ivy League colleges implemented quotas and other measures to limit their enrollment or keep them out altogether.

Today, though, Philadelphia and the university are at the epicenter of the clash over free speech and antisemitism, the Israel-Hamas war and the right to feel safe and secure.

How did that happen? In Philadelphia of all places?

“We’re a microcosm of society,” said Michael Balaban, president and chief executive officer of the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia.

Antisemitism is a virus that mutates over time and is easily spread through the prevalence of social media, Balaban said.

“We see it online in vicious ways every single second of the day,” he said.

'Vile, antisemitic messages'

Antisemitism in Philadelphia has turned up online, on campus and in the streets.

In November, the university responded to what it described as “vile, antisemitic messages” threatening violence against the Jewish community. Antisemitic emails were sent to a number of staffers, and antisemitic language was projected onto several campus buildings. The school said it planned to increase security across the campus, including at Penn Hillel, a Jewish student organization.

A month later, an off-campus protest by pro-Palestinian demonstrators was widely condemned for targeting the Jewish-owned falafel restaurant Goldie. Video posted on social media showed a large crowd gathered outside the restaurant, chanting: “Goldie, Goldie, you can’t hide. We charge you with genocide.”

The Philadelphia Inquirer reported that the restaurant was singled out because its owner, Philadelphia-based Israeli chef Michael Solomonov, had raised over $100,000 for an Israeli nonprofit that provided emergency relief services to Israeli Defense Forces soldiers after Hamas’ attack on Israel on Oct. 7.

Regardless, the White House, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and others condemned the protesters’ actions, calling them antisemitic and reminiscent of a dark time in history.

Then came Magill’s downfall.

Magill and the presidents of two other elite universities – Claudine Gay of Harvard and Sally Kornbluth of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology – already had been under scrutiny over how their institutions had responded to a rise in antisemitism on their campuses when they agreed to testify last week before a GOP-led House congressional panel.

Lawmakers lobbed a series of tough questions at the three college leaders, who hedged when Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., asked whether calls for the genocide of Jews violated their schools’ code of conduct against bullying and harassment.

Appearing to sense a trap, Magill and the other two presidents gave carefully worded responses that sounded scripted and lawyerly but failed to directly answer the question. In one exchange, Magill called those decisions “context-dependent” but conceded that calls for genocide could be considered harassment “if the speech turns into conduct.”

The backlash was fast and brutal. To some, the presidents’ responses raised questions about whether the schools would adequately protect Jewish students. The White House condemned their answers, donors threatened to withhold millions of dollars, and the House committee announced an investigation into the universities' policies and disciplinary procedures.

Magill tried to walk back her comments, but the damage was done. She resigned last Saturday but will remain at the university as a tenured law professor. Scott Bok, chairman of the university’s board of trustees, also stepped down.

Julie Platt, the trustees’ interim chair, declined requests for an interview but said in a statement after Magill’s resignation that a leadership change at the university was “necessary and appropriate.”

While Penn has made strides in addressing the rise of antisemitism on campus, “we have not made all of the progress that we should have and intend to accomplish,” she said.

Magill, who had been president for just a little over a year, was already on shaky ground even before her testimony. She had come under fire in September over a Palestinian Writers’ Festival that was held at the university and drew criticism for including speakers who have been accused of antisemitism. Magill and others had raised concerns about the program but did not stop it, citing support for “the free exchange of ideas” – even those that are controversial and “incompatible with our institutional values.”

Last week, a pair of Jewish students sued the university, claiming it has become a lab for "virulent anti-Jewish hatred, harassment and discrimination."

Author Jerome Karabel, who has written about the history of exclusion at Ivy League schools, said it is ironic that Penn is facing charges that it hasn’t done enough to quell antisemitism on campus. At some point, all of the other Ivy League schools tried to limit Jewish enrollment. Penn never had any such limitations, he said.

“You could argue that Penn, historically, has been the friendliest of the Ivy League schools for Jewish students,” Karabel said.

'An inclusive and welcoming community for all students'

On campus, there were few outward signs of turmoil this week. With final exams under way, students hurried to class on a cold, blustery late-fall morning. Stickers and fliers supporting the Palestinian people and urging a cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas war were posted on billboards and along walkways and pedestrian bridges.

At Houston Hall, which the university says is the oldest student union in the country, a small group of students has been staging a sit-in since mid-November to show support for the Palestinians. Early one afternoon this week, protesters nestled in big chairs and slept under sheets on cushions. Others painted posters and fliers listing their demands: A cease-fire in the Gaza Strip. The protection of freedom of speech on campus. “Critical thought” on the subject of Palestine. A place for Palestinian studies.

“Nobody here is calling for the genocide of Jews,” insisted Clancy Murray, who is working on a Ph.D. in political science.

Murray said several Jewish students have joined the sit-in but acknowledged that some feel unsafe in the current environment. Some Palestinian students on campus aren’t comfortable being visible either, Murray said, because of threats and the possibility of doxing, harassment and even violence and hate crimes.

As for Magill’s departure, Murray said it’s concerning “that she was driven out” and that “there are a handful of donors who are empowered to dictate what is and what is not acceptable speech on campus.”

David Donovan, who was on his way to his daughter’s graduation from Penn’s nursing school, said emotions surrounding the Israel-Hamas war are charging tensions on campus like never before.

“We are more sensitive to the feelings of other people, and that’s a net positive, I believe,” said Donovan, a history teacher from Morristown, N.J.

When it comes to deciding what constitutes free speech vs. hate speech, Donovan said, “we still have to be very apprehensive and think very carefully that our positions are backed by reason.”

“We need to err on the side of free speech,” Donovan added, acknowledging, “That’s an easy thing for me to believe as a straight, white man.”

The community at large is also grappling with issues of free speech. Some Jewish families are rethinking outward expressions of Judaism, Balaban said.

At his home in the Wynnewood suburb, Balaban flies both the Israeli and American flags in the front of his house and displays a menorah in the window. Before, “that would never have been a question in my mind to do it or not to do it,” he said. But with everything that has happened, “in my household, the question was, ‘Are we OK doing this?’” he said.

“Of course, the answer is, yes, we're going to,” Balaban said. “But did we worry that someone may do something? The answer is yes. I think we will always display an Israeli flag with pride. We will always display symbols of our Judaism. But there was a pause of what does that mean.”

'We will come through this difficult moment'

So what's next? How do the community and the university heal after the trauma of the past few months?

"This is a strong community built on a sturdy foundation.  We will come through this difficult moment," the university promised in an email message to students this week.

The university pledged to redouble its commitment to ensuring that Penn is a place where “intellectual growth is cultivated” and students are “supported as a person.”

“Initiatives recently launched to address bigotry and hatred on our campus will continue, and this will be an inclusive and welcoming community for all students,” the message said.

Levy urged school administrators to be more proactive and less reactive.

“I hope,” she said, “instead of being on the defensive and apologizing after things happen, they’ll take steps to actually stop these incidents in the first place.”

[flarree]

The Legend of Zelda: Rise of the Titans

Topic: Sheikah

The factions of Hyrule are more connected than ever after Tears of the Kingdom.

The Sheikah for example provide most of the manufacturing for the kingdoms radios and railroads, key developments that have shaped a better, more efficient world, with every stable having a radio for news, and most key characters having personal radios as well.

Not all Sheikah contribute to the technological revolution though. Others offer different types of services.

Koko (17) owns one of the most famous restaurants in the kingdom [Koko's Kitchen]. It brings many cultures together, along with a wide variety of delicious cuisine.

Meanwhile, people like her sister, Cottla (16) are providing more...unique services. Transporting more "therapeutic" goods, in the wide emergence of self-indulgent values in the kingdoms changing landscape.

[acceptccnow]

Discussing Customer Experience, GRUBBRR Self-Service Kiosks, and The Covid Effect

In today's ever-changing food service industry, keeping up with the times is essential for success. Self-service kiosks have gained traction as a means to enhance the dining experience. With the challenges brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic, the adoption of cutting-edge technologies such as GRUBBRR's self-service kiosks, which seamlessly accept credit cards and streamline payment processing, became vital for both businesses and customers.

The Transformation of the Customer Experience At the heart of any thriving business, particularly in the food service sector, is the customer experience. GRUBBRR, a prominent provider of self-service kiosks, has been a pioneer in reshaping this experience. Their kiosks are thoughtfully designed to boost efficiency, precision, and overall satisfaction.

Before the pandemic, self-service kiosks were seen as a convenient addition to the dining experience. They empowered customers to leisurely browse menus, customize their orders, and make payments using these user-friendly kiosks, creating a more personalized experience. However, with the arrival of Covid-19, the role of these kiosks transcended mere convenience.

The Pandemic's Influence on Dining The Covid-19 pandemic caused a seismic shift in how we approach dining out. Restaurants had to pivot their operations to ensure safety and compliance with social distancing guidelines. The demand for contactless solutions, including self-service kiosks that accept credit cards and streamline payment processing, surged.

Customer preferences underwent a significant shift during this period. Customers sought minimal physical contact with surfaces and staff. Businesses had to adapt to these evolving expectations. Self-service kiosks, like those offered by GRUBBRR, provided customers with a way to place orders without physically handling menus or engaging closely with waitstaff.

Enhancing Safety and Efficiency with Self-Service Kiosks For restaurants striving to provide a safe and efficient dining experience, GRUBBRR's self-service kiosks emerged as a savior. Customers gained access to full menus, the ability to customize orders, and an option to pay through these kiosks. This eliminated the need for physical menus and reduced direct interaction with staff. By accepting credit cards and optimizing payment processing, these kiosks ensured swift, secure, and contactless transactions.

The merits of self-service kiosks stretched beyond safety considerations. They elevated operational efficiency by minimizing order errors and wait times. With self-service kiosks, customers could carefully peruse menu options, ultimately leading to heightened satisfaction and improved order accuracy.

Merchant Account Processing: A Streamlined Solution An indispensable component of the self-service kiosk ecosystem is merchant account processing. GRUBBRR's kiosks are intricately linked with payment processing systems to guarantee secure, reliable, and swift transactions. This integration empowers businesses to seamlessly accept credit cards, delivering a hassle-free payment experience to customers.

By facilitating seamless payment processing, self-service kiosks ensure that customers can wrap up transactions without any glitches. This heightened level of convenience not only enriches the customer experience but also aids businesses in streamlined operations and the maintenance of a consistent cash flow.