#First punishment under BNS

[rightnewshindi]

सारण में भारतीय न्याय संहिता के तहत सुनाई जाएगी सजा, 48 दिनों में ट्रिपल मर्डर केस में आएगा फैसला

Punishment in News Law: बिहार के सारण में हुए तिहरे हत्याकांड में 14 दिनों के अंदर पुलिस के आरोप पत्र समर्पित करने और 48 दिनों के अंदर नये कानून बीएनएस के तहत आरोपितों को सजा दिलाने के मामले में सारण देश का पहला जिला बना गया है। इस मामले में पांच सितंबर को कोर्ट सजा पर फैसला सुनायेगा। सारण के एसपी डॉ. कुमार आशीष ने दावा किया कि भारतीय न्याय संहिता (बीएनएस) के तहत दर्ज मामले में सजा दिलाने में…

[vixtionary]

Timeline.

This is my personal timeline for Swain's biography, based on the canon date of events which can be found in the wiki. Dated based on the Noxian calendar system, with AN= After Noxus and BN= Before Noxus was founded.

946AN — Jericho Swain is born. Noxus is under Darkwill's reign and the Noxian capital is blossoming. It is the prime of nobility & those practicing magic are especially favored by the Emperor.

947AN - 958AN — Childhood. Jericho completes the basic education required of nobleborn.

959AN - 966AN — Adolescence. Most of Jericho's teenage years are spent practicing the dark arts as an untalented but devoted warlock. As he approaches adulthood, he rebels against the House Matriarch for the first time, choosing to enlist himself in the army rather than be wed for House benefit.

967 - 971AN — Freljordian campaign. Jericho's first military endeavor. Albeit originally enrolling for western Valoran, his mother interefered to have him transferred to the Freljordian front as punishment for his disobedience. There he participated in a smaller party executing missions on the Emperor's behalf.

972 - 975AN — Parricide. Jericho returns to Prime after his party disbands. His Matron confronts him about the House future, to which he accepts her offer to stay in Prime and further his education in hopes of earning a commision. During his stay, Jericho begins to unravel the Black Rose conspiracy, lead on by the Pale Lady, until he exposes his own family along with others to the Emperor. He is rewarded with a commission in the Shuriman front.

976 - 983 AN — The Golden Years. Jericho's expedition to the desert yields unprecedented results. He becomes one of the most prominent tacticians in the Empire. His, at times, questionable methods and original thinking grant him infamy among the frontlines. He reaches the peak of his military career and gathers a lot of followers (power) This, inevitably, draws the Emperor's attention. Jericho is called back to Prime, where Boram announces that he has been deployed in the Ionian front.

984 - 986 AN — Ionian war. In a lapse of judgement, Jericho joins the eastern front. His past success had blinded him to the situation. Within 2 years what was left of his trusted veterans from the south has become annihilated by the opposition. Noxus keeps losing battles. They are dramatically outnumbered and famished for resources. Despite the odds, Jericho manages an impressive advance on the Placidium, yet is ultimately defeated by Irelia. He experiences Raum for the first time in a near-death trance, but survives. Whatever is left of his legion returns to Prime in shambles.

987 - 990 AN — Scheming. In the aftermath of his defeat, Jericho, a recluse at the time, becomes obsessed with the Rose conspiracy. The demon gradually makes its presence in his life more prominent. In increasingly desperate attempts to restore himself, he resorts to imbuing the creature in his own skin. It takes him some time to get used to its presence and learn how to manipulate its force.

990 AN — Trifarian revolution ( coup d'etat ) Read 'Proclamation of the Trifarix' for more information.

991 - present day — Trifarian period. Swain rules beside Darius & the Faceless. Noxus has changed, though its future remains to be decided.

[currenthunt]

Law panel imposes heavy fine to tackle property damage

The 22nd Law Commission has recommended significant changes in the law to deal with damage to public property on February 2, 2024.The Law Commission has submitted its report titled "Review of the Law on Prevention of Damage to Public Property" to the Government of India.Keeping in mind the seriousness of the issue and the loss it would cause to the country's revenue, the Law Commission had taken suo motu cognizance of this issue.The report suggests measures ranging from tampering with evidence to imposing fines equal to the market value of damaged public property. Highlights of 284th report - People involved in damaging public property should get bail only after recovering an amount equal to the damage caused by them. - The Commission has recommended amendments in the 'Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act, 1984'. It also recommended making new laws to deal with 'intentional damage to public property' as follows - - by making a separate law - Or by amending the Indian Penal Code, 1860 - or the newly enacted Indian Judicial Code (BNS),Amend in 2023 The Commission has based its report on the following incidents - Muzaffarnagar riots of 2013 - Jat Reservation Movement of the year, 2015 - Patidar Reservation Movement of the year, 2016 - Bhima Koregaon protest of the year, 2018 - Anti-CAA movement of the year, 2018 - Agricultural Law Movement of the Year, 2020 - Violence spread after comments made on Prophet Mohammed in the year 2020 - Clashes in Manipur in the year 2023 Highlights of 285th report - The Commission recommended retaining the offense of criminal defamation. - Open speeches need to be balanced to protect individuals from malicious falsehoods, which cause irreparable damage to a person's reputation. - The matter was referred to the legal panel by the Law Ministry in August, 2017. - This panel upheld the Supreme Court's 2016 decision in 'Subramanian Swamy vs. Union of India'. - In this decision, the Supreme Court had upheld the constitutionality of the offense of criminal defamation. - The Supreme Court had said that the right to freedom of speech and expression under Article 19(2) of the Constitution is subject to certain reasonable restrictions. - The Indian Judicial Code has protected the interests of victims by making punishment for crime a matter of community service and has also reduced the scope for abuse by providing alternative punishment. 22nd Law Commission - The 22nd Law Commission was notified on February 24, 2020. - Its tenure was to end on February 20, 2023. - On 22 February 2023, its tenure was extended till 31 August 2024. - The Commission is headed by Justice Ruturaj Awasthi, retired Chief Justice of the Karnataka High Court. Law commission - The Law Commission is a non-statutory body. - It is constituted from time to time by the Government of India. - The first Law Commission was constituted in the year 1955 for a period of three years. - It works as an advisor to the Ministry of Law and Justice. - Its main function is legal research and review of existing laws in India. - Its report helps the central government in making new laws. - The Law Commission consists of a whole-time Chairman, one Member-Secretary and four whole-time members. - The number of part-time members cannot exceed five. - A retired judge of the Supreme Court or a retired Chief Justice of a High Court is the chairman of this commission. Read the full article

[kerahlekung]

Din's grand scheme of things...

Din's grand scheme of things....

Rentetan kisah Kerajaan tebuk atap ...

Perjelasan Tun M berkaitan gambar yang viral...

In the scheme of things...

"In the scheme of things" adalah helah yang digunakan oleh Muhyiddin Mohd Yassin untuk mengkhianati mandat 9 Mei 2018. Frasa itu juga digunakan bagi memberi suapan kepada ahli Dewan Rakyat dan ahli Dewan Undangan Negeri dari parti-parti yang bergabung dalam pakatan tidak berdaftar - Perikatan Nasional. Ia juga digunakan untuk menipu ahli Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) bahawa walaupun Bersatu keluar PH ia akan terus memerintah dan mengetuai kerajaan. 

Mengapakah Muhyiddin, Presiden Parti Melayu-Bumiputera, menggunakan ungkapan bahasa Inggeris untuk meyakinkan atau mengelirukan ahli Majlis Pimpinan Tertinggi partinya sendiri? Salah satu sebabnya adalah orang Melayu mudah teruja dengan istilah dan ungkapan dalam bahasa yang mereka tidak fahami, khususnya Inggeris dan Arab. Dalam bahasa Melayu, the scheme of things bermaksud "cara bagaimana sesuatu perkara diatur atau berlaku dalam sesuatu keadaan tertentu."

Dalam pengertian Muhyiddin, ini termasuklah menyogok ahli Dewan Rakyat Umno (dan yang lain) supaya masuk Bersatu atau menyokong Perikatan Nasional dengan melantik mereka menjadi menteri atau diberikan jawatan dalam GLC.  Maka "in the scheme of things" Muhyiddin itu jelas wujud unsur sogokan yang dalam undang-undang rasuah adalah satu kesalahan.

Ia juga salah dari segi moral dan amalan demokrasi kerana telah mengkhianati dan mensabotaj mandat rakyat jelata dalam Pilihan Raya Umum ke-14 yang memberi kemenangan kepada PH-Warisan. - a.kadir jasin

"Siap, jaga kau! (You watch out!)"

Deputy Works Minister Datuk Dr Shahruddin Md Salleh yesterday confirmed his support for the Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad faction and urged the “original warriors” of Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) to also the future of the party. In a statement confirming his departure from the camp of embattled Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin to support Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and the Pakatan Harapan coalition, Shahruddin also stated that should he be required to resign from his positions should he be required to do so as a result of this. This brings to six, the number of Bersatu MPs confirmed to be on Dr Mahathir’s camp, alligned to the Pakatan Harapan opposition coalition, as rumours build up over an impending counter-coup that would see the coalition return to power. “I want to see Bersatu strong and stable. My love for Bersatu overcomes my love for Tun Dr Mahathir and Muhyiddin. Bersatu should not become irrelevant and the founding members who were genuinely with the struggle sidelined,” said Shahruddin. Shahruddin echoed a growing concerns among the Bersatu grassroots about the party’s future as part of the loose Perikatan Nasional coalition, which Umno and PAS are set to abandon come the 15th general elections. “I asked myself, does PN even exist as as a valid organisaion, complete with its own constitution and ROS (Registrar of Societies) registration? To my knowledge, Pakatan Harapan (PH) is legally certified by the ROS,” said Shahruddin. The Sri Gading member of parliament, who was also Deputy Federal Territories Minister under the previous Pakatan Harapan government, questioned the decision making of Bersatu MPs, particularly those involved in the foundation of the party, who had followed the route taken by Muhyiddin’s camp. “To me, PN is just a name of a body formed by members of parliament who agree with Muhyiddin as Prime Minister.

“It is not a coalition of parties. Moreover, I have not seen, studied or debated any PN constitution which has been brought to a general assembly or at least a leadership council. And have we agreed there for Bersatu to join PN?” quipped Shahruddin. “Dr Mahathir did not agree to this, thus can this be defined as him joining the opposition?” asked Shahruddin, pointing to the clauses by which Dr Mahathir and four other Bersatu MPs were sacked from the party last week.

Shahruddin added that he did not want to see Bersatu weaked through divisions and infighting. “We can “pengsan” (faint) if we read the ongoing debates on social media. We are exposing each other’s faults and turning them into content that goes viral, without any shame. Where did we learn this culture?” said Shahruddin. “I love Bersatu too much. How difficult it was to build Bersatu, the struggle against Barisan Nasional, going here and there with Dr Mahathir, Muhyiddin and friends in the “1.0 version”, he added, pointing to the Bersatu members prior to the 14th general election. Following Pakatan Harapan’s triumph in the 14th general elections, 15 MP had crossed over to join Bersatu in the ruling coalition from Umno, while another 10 rogue PKR MPs on the Azmin Ali camp are said to have joined the party following the crossover which resulted in the political coup which saw Muhyiddin rise to Prime Minister on March 1. “I was then Jorak assemblyman and the secretary general, going up and down carrying out party duties and in the Pagoh constituency. Sleeping in the car at RnR’s was normal. Then there was the campaigning, the roadshows, only Allah knows the joys and despairs we went through.

“Tun Dr Mahathir and Tun Dr Siti Hasmah were so committed in campaigning – here and there, to the North, South, East and West, thousands attended. We won. We formed the government! “The majority of those who joined Bersatu was because of Tun Dr Mahathir. Not because of my name, Shahruddin. Nobody knows me. Just an assemblyman, not even an EXCO. Not even remembered in BN. Tun’s contributions are as large and as hefty as the earth. Without Tun, Bersatu will be gone.” “If I have to resign as Deputy Works Minister, I shall resign, for the sake of strengthening Bersatu, so that my focus can be directed towards Bersatu.” “As the first secretary general, I know the division chiefs, Srikandi and Armada. I will urge the members down there to stop the infighting which will only weaken Bersatu. There are those who are fed up, want to leave Bersatu. I say to them, don’t do that. Unite,” Shahruddin wrote. “If I have to leave my friends in PN and return to PH and there is an assurance that Bersatu will be stronger and lives on, thus I am ready to do so. “Can any of you give me a sincere answer. I am now Sri Gading MP. Is it PN or PH that will provide an easy passage, without debate, to accept a Bersatu candidate to contest the Sri Gading parliamentary seat in GE15? That is also the answer to the basic question of whether Bersatu is safer within PN or PH.” - talkedabout

A salute to Sharuddin...

I like the statement of Sri Gading Member of Parliament, Sharuddin Md Salleh saying that he loves his party more than he loves Dr Mahathir and Muhyiddin. That's the nature of a true warrior with principles. He certainly does not like the other Bersatu MPs who like the 'lalang' weed blowing in the wind, especially those previously in Umno who then switched to Bersatu, and in Bersatu formed clicks and 501 gang. They are actually more despicable than a bad-tempered dog, or striped tailed lizard, curling up in a chair in search of one or two positions. They should be punished in the next general election. - mso

cheers.

Sumber asal: Din's grand scheme of things... Baca selebihnya di Din's grand scheme of things...

[fringenotes]

Swachh Bharat, Delhi Air Pollution, Why Govt fails big time?

It is again that time of the year in Delhi. Monsoon is over, Winter (thanks to changing climate) is yet to come, but air is slightly cold and foggy. Noise related to pollution has again started to appear on social media time lines - Posts on Paddy stub burning, trucks coming, open construction etc. But fact of the matter is that winter of 2017 is going to be as much polluted if not less than winter of 2016 which was as bad as that of 2015. Before the hidden politician amongst us jumps and starts looking at performance of rhetoric driven AAP Govt, let us look at performance of another regime which is also trying to another big problem plaguing India and that is cleanliness in India.

PM Modi launched a drive to make India clean on 15th Aug 2014. Work started on a war footing with words backed by large budgets & media campaigns.  Govt has spent/allocated more than 26000 Cr ($3.5 bn) on Swachha Bharat since 2014 but there is hardly any impact seen on the ground. Despite 'in your face' campaigns, large money spending, the situation has not improved at all. Take a stroll in any of our marquee cities like Bangalore, Mumbai, Varansi, Agra etc and landscape remains as dirty as ever. Earlier there was just garbage all over now there is garbage with hoardings of Clean India! There are campaigns and big talk of toilets being built every where but in reality, everything is as it was prior to 2014 except an addition of storage room aka a dysfunctional toilet in every rural household and this futile exercise has consumed close to $ 3.5 bn in hard cash.Now  again before we start looking at failure of BJP and its inability to move things, we need to ponder and need to look beyond parties. Its not AAP / BJP / Congress failure but a failure of Govt or rather a failure of the way the Govt thinks. 

If one look carefully and analyse the way govt acts it will come out that Indian government rarely thinks in terms of performance, end result, or NPS score of target consumers / customers but always think in terms of money being spend / allocated and scheme names. This though process has led to a scenario where whole government thought process is limited to budget / cess / allocations & vanity matrices like 100% literacy, 100% village electrification (If 10% houses get electricity, its considered electrified for the purpose of govt record) and naming all such schemes after Nehru Ji, Gandhi Ji and now on Atal ji and DeenDayal ji. 

If there is any doubt on this line of Govt thinking, kindly look at advertisements released by various Govt under various regimes. It does not matter if advertisement was released by Jayalalitha or Karunanidhi, Mayawati or Akhilesh, Manmohan Singh or Modi, the template remains same.  Some scheme name, big photo graph of the leader along with data on quantum of huge crores being spent,  so many families benefitting, blah blah. Suddenly you wonder if there was really a regime change or the same set of people are still running the government under a different set of masks!

Hence If one looks at Swach Bharat campaign from government perspective, whole campaign looks super success full with  26,000 Cr allocated, more than 52 million toilets built, India is on way to become super clean. But the reality on ground is totally different. Was there any issue on the Govt intent? NO, Govt was as determined as it can be but core issue has been thought process where Govt can only think from budget outlays. Nobody focussed on fundamental problems related to toilets/sanitation and challenges related to it. 

Fact of the matter is that India is neither ready nor can afford western model of toilets. First there are no sewage system in any of the villages or towns and on top of it there is hardly any water. In India the difference between have nots and haves is just one simple thing - access to clean running water. Only rich and middle class have access to it while rest of the India battles for few liters of potable water every day. With focus on having toilets,  a person who was using 300 ml water in open defactaion earlier,  now needs 3 liter water at his house and this house has no running water no access to sewer lines and no place to build sewage pits. The house in villages are either interconnected or clustered together having no scope to build open pit system. Even if one builds an open system, what to do during monsoon flooding or filling of tanks in 2 years as there is no manpower working in these areas? So if one looks at the constraint on the ground - no water, no waste disposal system, the idea of “Swachh Bharat” by building toilets was DOA ( dead on arrival) however the whole Govt machinery just went ahead with the plan -  as it knows one thing best which is to create a budget and collect money for it. So whole Govt went ahead with 26,000 Cr in hand even without understanding the basic problem of sanitation and challenges related to water, disposal, treatment etc.

So again before passionate hidden politicians jump and start blaming Modi govt. pause and see what happened at Delhi. 

Delhi Govt in all earnestness appointed IIT Kanpur to do study and find out the cause of pollution in Delhi. The report which has its own serious flaws in methodologies / simplistic observations / conclusions,  was still adopted by Delhi Govt but none of the simplistic solution was implemented by it. Why? Simple reason is  that solutions were like 1000 cuts war on pollution rather than any big bang budget approach and to make matter worse the improvement would have showed by 2022 (election is in 2020). Since there is no big budget allocation, no ribbon cutting and no big hoardings, the report and solutions have been conveniently parked in a cold storage. 

So what is the solution? The only solution to all such problems is one that is delinking budgets from any action. Govt needs to think in form of solutions/ results rather than in terms of budgets and big bang approach.  For example in the quoted IIT Kanpur report, road side dirt in summer had very high weightage. A small team could have taken a cluster of Delhi and implemented changes to see if vacuuming the road and covering construction is creating any localised impact and what could solve this. Lot of A/B testing in startup parlance but with focus on finding solution rather than big bang talk with focus on election!. Likewise for Swachh Bahart, It would have been better if Govt had done trials on some select cities like Agra, Varanasi, Bangalore etc and figured out what is working and what is not working. Or in villages, focus could have been on building community toilets rather than at individual homes.  

Executing small projects is not complicated and there is enough talented manpower with the Govt in addition to the large budgets, but then small projects don’t get allocation or gravitas from the top. Further these projects can’t be run by politicians as they are tied to 5 year horizon and neither by bureaucrats with transferable jobs. This project needs people with long term engagement as well as skin in the game with suitable rewards as well as accountability and punishments. Until the existing system thinks in terms of a long term model with proper accountability and life time postings, India will remain refugee to musical chair policy making and will slowly decline to a hell hole in terms of quality of life in no times as policies designed for salvery don’t work in democracy on a long term basis! The end

[release-info]

The Greek economy had fared well for much of the 20th century, with high growth rates and low public debt[192]). For over 20 years, until 2007, it featured high rates of growth, which, however, were coupled with high structural deficits, thus maintaining a (roughly unchanged throughout this period) public debt to GDP ratio of just over 100% [192]. The Greek crisis was triggered by the turmoil of the 2007-2009 Great Recession, which lead the budget deficits of several Western nations to reach or exceed 10% of GDP [192]. What was exceptional for Greece, was that the high budget deficit (which, after several corrections and revisions, was revealed that it had been allowed to reach 10.2% and 15.1% of GDP in 2008 and 2009, respectively) was simultaneously coupled with a high public debt to GDP ratio (relatively stable, at just over 100% until 2007 – as calculated after all corrections). Thus, the country appeared to lose control of its public debt to GDP ratio, which already reached 127% of GDP in 2009 [193]. In addition, being a member of the Eurozone, the country had essentially no autonomous monetary policy flexibility. Finally, there was an effect of controversies about Greek statistics (due the aforementioned drastic budget deficit revisions which lead to an increase in the calculated value of the Greek public debt by about 10%, i.e., a public debt to GDP of about 100% until 2007), while there have been arguments about a possible effect of media reports. Consequently, Greece was “punished” by the markets which increased borrowing rates, making impossible for the country to finance its debt since early 2010. The above revisions were largely connected with the fact that in the years before the crisis Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, and numerous other banks had developed financial products which enabled the governments of Greece, Italy, and many other European countries to hide their borrowing.[194][195][196][197][198][199][200][201][202] Dozens of similar agreements were concluded across Europe whereby banks supplied cash in advance in exchange for future payments by the governments involved; in turn, the liabilities of the involved countries were “kept off the books”.[202][203][204][205][206][207] These conditions had enabled Greece as well as other European governments to spend beyond their means, while meeting the deficit targets set out in the Maastricht Treaty.[207][202][208] In May 2010, the Greece’s deficit was again revised and estimated to be 13.6%[209] which was the second highest in the world relative to GDP, with Iceland in first place at 15.7% and the United Kingdom in third with 12.6%.[210] Public debt was forecast, according to some estimates, to hit 120% of GDP in the same year,[211] causing a crisis of confidence in Greece’s ability pay back loans. To avert a sovereign default, Greece, the other Eurozone members, and the International Monetary Fund agreed on a rescue package which involved giving Greece an immediate €45 billion in loans, with additional funds to follow, totaling €110 billion.[212][213] To secure the funding, Greece was required to adopt harsh austerity measures to bring its deficit under control.[214] A second bail-out amounting to €130 billion ($173 billion) was agreed in 2012, subject to strict conditions, including financial reforms and further austerity measures.[215] A debt haircut was also agreed as part of the deal.[215] Greece achieved a primary government budget surplus in 2013, while in April 2014, it returned to the global bond market. Greece returned to growth after six years of economic decline in the second quarter of 2014,[216] and was the Eurozone’s fastest-growing economy in the third quarter.[217] A third bailout was agreed in July 2015, after a confrontation with the newly-elected government of Alexis Tsipras. There was a 25% drop in Greece’s GDP, connected with the bailout programmes.[192][218] This had a critical effect: the Debt-to-GDP ratio, the key factor defining the severity of the crisis, would jump from its 2009 level of 127% to about 170%, solely due to the shrinking economy.[citation needed] In a 2013 report, the IMF admitted that it had underestimated the effects of so extensive tax hikes and budget cuts on the country’s GDP and issued an informal apology.[219][220][221] The Greek programmes imposed a very rapid improvement in structural primary balance (at least two times faster than for other Eurozone bailed-out countries [222]). The policies have been blamed for worsening the crisis,[223][224] while Greece’s President, Prokopis Pavlopoulos, stressed the creditors’ share in responsibility for the depth of the crisis.[225][226] Greek Prime Minister, Alexis Tsipras, asserted that errors in the design of the first two programmes which lead to a loss of 25% of the Greek economy due to the harsh imposition of excessive austerity.[218] Between 2009 and 2017 the Greek government debt rose from €300 bn to €318 bn, i.e. by only about 6% (thanks, in part, to the 2012 debt restructuring);[193][227] however, during the same period, the critical debt-to-GDP ratio shot up from 127% to 179%[193] basically due to the severe GDP drop during the handling of the crisis.[192] Greece’s bailouts successfully ended (as declared) on August 20, 2018.[228] Agriculture #tourism#tour#worldtour #bestplace#nature#beauty enjoy#experience#history http://bit.ly/31bxArI

[kitrocha]

Working on Deacon & Ana’s book today. Ana was introduced with a POV chapter in book #1 (links below). She’s the daughter of one of the original Riders, and the first woman to be initiated as one of them. No pressure. * * * Deacon was watching her again. Ana’s skin prickled with awareness under his gaze. She ignored it as best she could as she laced her boots, focusing on making them snug, but not too tight. Tying the knot just so, because if she tripped over her laces in her first fight as a Rider— He moved on, and she exhaled quietly and reached for the knives she kept in her boots. The temptation to look over her shoulder was intense, but she didn’t want to draw his attention again for fear he’d find a reason to make her stay behind. Because Deacon didn’t approve of her. Ana doubted anyone else could tell—maybe not even Gideon. But Ana had always been hyperaware of Deacon. She’d watched him in her teens, idolizing him more than a little. He was the quintessential Rider, everything Ana’s father was training her to be. Strong, serious. Quick to help when help was needed. Quick to protect when danger threatened. Her father had never bothered to warn her that Deacon was also a cranky, autocratic asshole who handed down orders without explanation and expected the Riders to jump if he so much as blinked. No, that wasn’t fair. Her dad had never lied to her about the chain of command, and Ana didn’t have a problem with following orders. She just hated the way Deacon snapped them at her, like he was waiting for her to balk or break down. Or change her mind and admit this life wasn’t for her, after all. Being a Rider was the only thing she’d ever wanted. It was in her bones, in her blood. Her legacy from her father, the thing that had brought them back together after her mother’s death. He’d wanted this for her as much as she had, and her biggest regret was that he hadn’t lived long enough to see her achieve it. Her biggest relief was that he wasn’t here to watch her stew under their commander’s quiet, relentless disapproval. Deacon appeared in front of her, as if she’d drawn him close with only her thoughts. He handed her a bandolier, then waited for her to drape it over her shoulder before stepping around to buckle it. “Make sure you use your stripper clip to load your magazines,” he muttered tersely. “They’ll be less likely to jam on you, and you won’t tear up your thumbs.” Her first instinct was to bristle and snap that she knew, but then she realized what the advice meant. He wasn’t going to order her to stay behind. He wasn’t keeping her out of the fight. “Okay,” she replied, hyperaware of him in a different way now. His fingers brushed her shirt. His breath tickled the back of her neck, which was left bare by the braids winding around the crown of her head—a deliberate choice to deny an enemy a convenient handhold—and she bit back the defensive need to point that out. She didn’t idolize Deacon anymore. Prolonged exposure to his grumpy-as-fuck personality had cured her of that. But he was still...Deacon. The only original Rider left. Not just a legend, but a man with one foot already planted in the realm of sainthood. Wanting to impress him was a hard habit to break. And she couldn’t stop being aware of him. He made sure the bandolier was situated before stepping away to murmur something to Zeke, probably more calm, sage wisdom. By the time Ana finished checking her weapons, he’d moved on to Reyes, and it had become obvious that he intended to make a full circle of the room. She should have expected it. Deacon was a control freak on a level that made other control freaks take a step back and reexamine their life choices. She wanted to scoff at him for it, but she couldn’t. Deacon’s methodical obsession to detail kept Riders alive, and she couldn’t afford to die. Not this fast, not flaming out in her first battle in brilliant, vivid proof that the first female Rider should be the last one. The fate of every little girl who wanted to fight for her people rested on Ana’s ability to stay alive—or, barring that, to go down in a blaze of glory so fantastic, they sainted her while her body was still warm. No pressure. Of the two options, Ana preferred living. She wasn’t Ivan, who probably daydreamed about the day he could lunge in front of a bullet meant for Maricela, like his father had for Maricela’s aunt. Some Riders joined with fantasies of a different kind of eternal life, one where people got tattoos of you and prayed to you and made your deaths a part of their faith. It wasn’t a bad dream, but it wasn’t her dream. She wanted to do some damn good before she went down. She wanted the power to fix the broken shit in the world, because God knew there was still plenty of it to go around. Even in Sector One, where life was supposed to be about love and generosity. About taking care of everyone, not just the people born already having everything. High ideals, and Ana believed in them. The problem was, people were messy. They tended to fuck shit up. Her T-shirt mostly hid the tattoo on her arm, but she slid her fingers under the sleeve to trace the outline of the skull by memory. The ink might be visible proof that she belonged, but that wasn’t what made a Rider. She would kill today. She would end lives, committing the gravest sin that existed in Sector One. And instead of putting aside her life to toil for years until she’d worked away the stain of her transgression, she’d take a little black raven on her arm and accept that her sin might never be forgiven. Right now, she could still walk away. Her soul was more or less clean. Even earning her first few ravens wouldn’t change that. She was young enough to work them off and still have time to enjoy what was left of her mortal life before joining her family in the next world. She had tried to count the ravens on Deacon’s arm once. Impossible. They twined underneath it, down past his elbow and up onto his shoulder. Dozens upon dozens of deaths. Deacon could live to two hundred and not have time to atone for so much killing. When he finally ran into something ornery enough to kill him, he’d be trapped in the stark loneliness of purgatory. Or so the legend went. Again, she brushed the empty skin where her first ravens would sit, then dropped her hand and returned to her preparations. Perhaps the possibility of damnation should have bothered her more, but Ana had too much faith. If an afterlife of punishment was the fate God handed her for trying to protect his people, she’d accept it. But the God she believed in, the one whose compassion filled the temple when the priestesses gathered everyone close, the one who urged them to love each other— He wasn’t vengeful. He wasn’t cruel. And He was wise enough to know what was in her heart when she was pulling the trigger. If her God turned out to be petty enough to punish those who had given up everything to protect His people? Well, then Ana would gladly spend eternity in purgatory. Even if she had to spend it with Deacon.  * * * 🔸 Amazon: http://krocha.link/ashwin-amz 🔸 Amazon UK: http://krocha.link/ashwin-amzuk 🔸 Apple: http://krocha.link/ashwin-ibooks 🔸 B&N: http://krocha.link/ashwin-bn 🔸 Kobo: http://krocha.link/ashwin-kobo 🔸 Google: http://krocha.link/ashwin-google

[infinitehouseofbooks]

SALE BLITZ - Through the Veil

  DISCLAIMER: This content has been provided to INFINITE HOUSE OF BOOKS by Bewitching Book Tours. No compensation was received. This information required by the Federal Trade Commission.

Through the Veil

The Aisling Chronicles

Book One

Colleen Halverson         

Genre: Urban Fantasy

Publisher: Entangled

Date of Publication: February 22, 2016

ASIN: B01B1NC29Q

Number of pages: 400 pages

Word Count: 120K

Cover Artist: Louisa Maggio

Book Description:

Where the fairy tale ends, destiny begins. Elizabeth Tanner is no Tinkerbell, and her life is no fairy tale. Broke and drowning in student loans, the one thing she wants more than anything is a scholarship from the Trinity Foundation. But after the ancient Irish text she's studying turns out to be more than just a book, she becomes their prisoner instead. And when Trinity reveals Elizabeth is half-Fae, she finds herself at the center of a plot to save the magical races of Ireland from a brutal civil war.

As Commander of Trinity's elite warriors, Finn O'Connell isn't used to having his authority challenged. He doesn't know whether to punish or protect the infuriating young woman in his custody. When he discovers the Dark Fae want to use Elizabeth's abilities to control the source of all power in the universe, he'll risk everything to help her. At the mercy of Trinity and enslaved to the Dark Fae, Elizabeth finds herself alone on the wrong side of an Irish myth thousands of years in the making. Refusing to be a pawn in their game, Elizabeth has to fight her way back to the man she loves, but to do so, she must wage her own war against the magic that binds her.

  On Sale Now .99 

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Excerpt:

Wiping the crumbs off his jeans, Finn reached into his backpack and threw an apple at me, which I caught with a deft hand.

            “Nice catch,” he said, grinning.

            I flung the apple up into the air and caught it in my other hand. “I played third base. Little League.”

            “You mean baseball?”

            I nodded.

            “Never seen a game myself.”

            I gaped at Finn. “You mean you live in Chicago, and you’ve never been to a Cubs game?”           

            He shrugged. “Not interested.” Finn’s eyes lit up, and he shoved me playfully with his shoulder. “Now hurling. That’s a good game.” “Well, they’re totally different. That’s not even a fair comparison,” I said with a sniff. “Fair enough,” Finn said, wistful. “Really, nothing can compare with hurling.”

            I laughed. “Moiré tried to explain the rules to me once, but she lost me after hurley stick.”

            “Oh, it’s simple, really.” Finn jumped down and rummaged around the rubble until he found a large branch. He swung it, the stick cutting through the air, slowly at first, but then with more force. Finn’s chest muscles rippled between the flaps of his leather jacket, and my blood pulsed in my ears at the sight of him, dancing from foot to foot as he practiced his swing.

            “Now the point of hurling,” Finn began, “is to use this stick, the hurley stick.” He raised the old branch in the air. “To get a little ball called a sliotar either over or under your opponent’s goalpost.” Finn picked up a handful of small rocks and, using his “hurley,” sent a pebble whizzing over the stone wall, inches from my head.

            “Hey, watch it!”

            Finn smiled up at me. “You with me so far?”          

            I nodded.

            “Now,” Finn said. “If the ball flies under the goalpost into the net, it’s worth three points.” Finn sent another pebble skittering against the wall, right next to my boot. “But you have to get it past the keeper, and that can be a challenge.” His eyes glittered at me as he swung his stick again. He threw a rock up in the air and with a loud thwack sent it zooming over the wall. I held out my hand and caught the stone, the look on Finn’s face making up for the sting of impact.

            “And he’s out!” I cried, jumping off the wall and doing a mock victory dance. “Cubs win!  Cubs win! Wooooooooooooo!”

            Finn stalked over to me and grabbed my fist. “Will you settle down!” he said, attempting to pry the pebble from my grip. “I’m trying to teach you a three-thousand-year-old art form and you’re nattering on about the fecking Cubs.”

            I giggled, snatching his hurley stick from his hands.

            “Technical foul!” Finn barked behind me, but I sprinted away, swinging the hurley over my head as I climbed the wall.

            “Get back here, you brat!” Finn bolted after me so quickly, he lost his footing on the stone wall and tumbled to the ground. I laughed as he came to his feet, his hair loose, chasing me. 

             “It’s the bottom of the ninth, bases are loaded!”

            Finn made a snatch for the stick, but I feigned to the right. “Tanner’s up to bat.” I climbed a set of old stairs to nowhere and tossed up the stone. I popped out my hips and, following through on the turn, sent the stone flying over the hill and down the cliffs below. I jumped down, swinging my baseball/hurley bat. “Homerun by Tanner! And the Cubs win the pennant!”

            Finn smacked into me, and I collapsed to the ground, his wide body over mine as he grasped for the stick.

            “Dammit, O’Connell!” I gasped beneath Finn, his whole weight crushing my chest.  “Now I know for a fact hurling is not a contact sport!” I laughed as I squirmed to get away, holding out the stick just beyond his reach.

            “Neither is baseball!” With a devilish grin, Finn tickled my armpit, and I curled up in a fit of giggles. He made a grab for my wrist, pinning me to the ground, and his gray eyes danced as he looked down at me. My laughter faded, and running my other hand through his hair, I pulled his face to mine. He kissed me, a low moan rumbling deep in his throat.

            Finn nipped my bottom lip with his teeth, and my back arched as our hips melded together, my better judgment forgotten. He slid his arm beneath my shoulders and pulled me close against him, kissing me long and hard, and I gasped, gulping for air as he lowered his mouth to my neck.

  About the Author:

  As a child, Colleen Halverson used to play in the woods imagining worlds and telling stories to herself. Growing up on military bases, she found solace in her local library and later decided to make a living sharing the wonders of literature to poor, unsuspecting college freshmen. After backpacking through Ireland and singing in a traditional Irish music band, she earned a PhD in English with a specialization in Irish literature. When she’s not making up stories or teaching, she can be found hiking the rolling hills of the Driftless area of Wisconsin with her husband and two children. THROUGH THE VEIL is her debut novel.

www.colleenhalverson.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/cbhalverson

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cbhalverson/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/colleen_halverson/

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/14777224.Colleen_Halverson

[bharatiyamedia-blog]

Tracing the evolution of his visible aesthetic, depiction of social issues- Leisure Information, Firstpost

http://tinyurl.com/y3wlqtec Our photos and reminiscences of Calcutta and Bengal in the present day can be incomplete with out the work of Bimal Roy, a cameraman-turned-director, whose movies have formed and contributed to a really invaluable a part of Indian cinema. Roy’s half on this historical past is akin to the roles that Rabindranath Tagore and Satyajit Ray have performed in portraying and speaking the life, occasions and tradition of India. The event of Roy’s visible aesthetic Roy began his work in cinema as a digicam assistant to Nitin Bose within the New Theatres in Calcutta. Earlier than this, as a toddler, he had already developed a liking for drawing, portray, and taking part in the violin, and was expert within the artwork of image making. He had additionally spent a while experimenting with a field digicam offered to him by his elder brother. Bose, who might be termed Roy’s first tutor, talks about his sincerity and dedication of objective, “There was one thing in Bimal, in his light method, in his silence which impressed deep confidence. I used to be completely captivated by his attachment to work. Once we had no work, he would stand subsequent to the digicam, sprucing the lens until it sparkled. Dedication to work was one among Bimal’s biggest property.” Roy was quickly working independently as a cameraman. A number of the movies photographed by him embody these of the legendary Pramathesh C Barua, corresponding to Devdas in 1935 and Mukti in 1937. He additionally labored on some well-known documentary movies; How Kerosene Tins Are Made and Grand Trunk Street are two examples. In 1943, BN Sircar was requested by the British Authorities to doc the Bengal famine, and he selected Roy for the digicam work. The crew shot throughout Calcutta, and have been in a position to seize the “gruesomely actual” and pathetic state of the folks. Sadly, this documentary footage was by no means proven, neither is it traceable. A nonetheless from Devdas. Twitter/tweetria Udayer Pathey, filmed in Bengali in 1944, was Roy’s subsequent movie as a cameraman. Its important success took town by storm and prompted a remake in Hindi, titled Humrahi (1945). In regards to the movie, director Mrinal mentioned, “What was hanging was the outstanding approach it was shot, the extremely exact second of the digicam gave the picture of a statue within the movie, a really particular distinction.” Thus, Roy was already reaching out to folks by way of the ability and language of the photographs that he made. The Tamil movie Nalla Thangal gained Bimal Roy his first award for excellence in digicam work, following which he served because the cameraman in two extra Bengali movies, Anjangarh (1948) and Mantramugdha (1949). The spirit of his movies The spirit and persona of Roy are key components that come by way of in all of the movies that he has labored on. Particularly, Roy’s digicam was virtually all the time at eye degree, very right down to earth and reasonable. The human component was foremost in them. Roy’s household had misplaced all their ancestral zamindari or land in East Bengal and had then migrated to Calcutta. So he understood the feudal set-up and felt the heart beat of the folks throughout him – each the displaced migrants within the cities, and the impoverished villagers left behind. A few of his greatest movies are about these folks, the place his perception into their lives brings a never-seen-before realism into cinema. He walked right into a world with silent footsteps and unquestionably crammed it with the efficacy of his photos. Conscious as he was of the technological implications of behind-the-lens work, he portrayed the true reaches of social, emotional and financial devastations, small and huge by way of his command over his artwork. A nonetheless from Biraj Bahu. Twitter/FilmHistoryPic In all his movies, one also can sense that Roy stayed near his roots. The rivers of Bengal, the Baul music, the closeness to nature, the landscapes — all discover expression in his work. Most significantly, he selected the works of Sarat Chandra because the tales for a lot of of his movies. Changing into a director In 1950, Roy was invited to Bombay, the place he was given a one-film contract by Bombay Talkies to direct Maa (1952), and his distinctive under-played but shifting model of film-making made it an instantaneous success, prompting Roy to proceed to remain in Bombay, as a substitute of returning to Calcutta. By now, he had put collectively a crew of technicians for this movie, which included scriptwriter Nabendu Ghosh, assistant administrators Asit Sen and Nasir Hussein, editor Hrishikesh Mukherjee and music director Salil Chowdhury, and he continued to work with this crew additional. The 1953 movie Parineeta, primarily based on Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay’s novel, adopted, and this was additionally one among Roy’s masterpieces. Its success led to the institution of Roy’s personal manufacturing unit, Bimal Roy Productions, now making him an impartial filmmaker. This was adopted by the discharge of his much-acclaimed breakthrough movie, Do Bhiga Zamin. It was impressed by Rabindranath Tagore’s poem of the identical title, and is predicated on the travails of a poor farmer and his experiences. Roy’s daughter Aparajita Sinha says concerning the movie’s story, “Industrialisation was consuming away on the livelihood of the agricultural farmer, a ache which he so sensitively portrays within the closing scene of Do Bigha Zameen. Within the movie, which gained an award at Cannes, Shambu loses his land to industrialisation; commerce wins and the peasant loses. The entire theme of migration of labour and the sense of displacement felt by migrants on shifting to the cities is depicted with feeling. Shambu and his household come again to the village, solely to see a manufacturing facility on their ‘do bigha zameen‘. The sense of loss is heart-rending. It was a landmark movie and until date stays a touchstone in Indian cinema.” A nonetheless from Do Bigha Zamin. Wikimedia Commons This movie was impressed by the neo-realistic movies of Italy, significantly Vittorio de Sica’s Bicycle Thieves. It was launched the yr after the primary Worldwide Movie Pageant held in India in 1952; this was one of many earliest occasions the place the movie world was uncovered to European classics by Roberto Rosellini, Vittorio De Sica and Lucino Visconti. When launched in India, the movie ran at Bombay’s Metro Theatre for under a month, regardless of the premiere being aired on radio and being compered by Sunil Dutt, who was then often called Balraj Dutt. Elementary to the formation of Roy’s filmmaking notion was his allegiance, and significantly, his ardour for Soviet cinema. He was a member of the primary Indian movie delegation to the previous Soviet Union; the publicity to socially conscious movies on the worldwide circuit etched itself into his experiences considerably. Roy recalled, “On the pageant, the Finest Image Prize was gained by the Russian movie Man’s Future, primarily based on the novel by Sholokhov. An fascinating truth which the pageant delivered to the discover of all collaborating nations was the progress made by Mongolia and Korea in filmmaking. One other notable function of the pageant was the appreciation of Indian movie music by the members of the jury in addition to the viewers. The music of Jalsaghar was unanimously voted one of the best.” Important acclaim Whereas it wasn’t a hit within the nation, Do Bigha Zamin gained industrial recognition overseas, underneath the title Two Acres Of Land and likewise turned a important milestone for Roy. He bagged awards at Cannes and the Karlovy Fluctuate Movie Festivals overseas, whereas additionally successful the Finest Movie and Finest Director awards on the inaugural Filmfare Awards in Bombay. Inspired by these successes, Roy started work on one other movie primarily based on one among Sarat Chandra’s tales, Biraj Bahu, which was additionally a success after which adopted this up with Devdas, one more of Sarat Chandra’s novels. In 1955, Roy felt that he may interpret Devdas in another way from the sooner PC Barua variations (Hindi and Bengali), each of which Roy himself had photographed 20 years earlier. The truth is, he devoted this movie to Barua and was assured that there was a brand new technology that had not learn the e-book or seen the Barua movie, who would come to see this story in a contemporary new setting and elegance. Whereas Roy efficiently gave this tragic story a brand new notion, even handpicking the solid to incorporate Dilip Kumar as Devdas, Suchitra Sen as Paro and Vyjayantimala as Chandramukhi, Devdas was nonetheless not a industrial victory. A nonetheless from Madhumati. Twitter/Bollywoodirect Two successes adopted, nevertheless: Madhumati written by Ritwik Ghatak and Yahudi in 1958. Madhumati, when seen in its entirety, had all the weather wanted to achieve success: a terrific script, Salil Chowdhury’s musical rating, and the tune ‘Aaja Re Pardesi,’ sung by Lata Mangeshkar. Depiction of ladies in Roy’s movies Roy’s subsequent two releases have been movies starring Nutan, which have been particular person hits – Sujata and Bandini. A facet pivotal to the success of the movie, each critically and commercially, was in Roy selecting Nutan to play the position, the place he recognised and was in a position to carry out the extraordinary realism in her efficiency, which was important to each roles. Bandini offers with a girl prisoner who’s pushed by life to homicide, after which she is punished however receives deliverance too, and is taken into account by many to be Roy’s most interesting and most full work. For the movie, Roy tailored Charuchandra Chakravarty’s brief story, coping with the finer nuances of the female thoughts and feminism. A nonetheless from Bandini. Twitter/karanbali Sujata, which offers with social ostracism, gained the President’s Certificates of Benefit in 1959, 5 Clare (Filmfare) Awards and an Indian entry to Cannes in 1960. Each these movies, whereas depicting the hardships of ladies, are additionally progressive and reformist of their message. The ladies in these movies had reached crises of their lives, but there’s a very liberal method to them and it’s not a judgmental view. It is a significantly spectacular presentation, as ladies within the nation have been dealing with a number of sorts of social prejudices. But Roy’s movies gave the feminine protagonist a really highly effective voice, even in her helpless state of affairs. Roy turned one of many first and few Indian filmmakers who created a separate area of interest and definitive identification for girls in cinema, thus additionally empowering ladies outdoors movies. Shaping lives Bimal Roy’s final manufacturing earlier than he died in 1966 was Benazir (1964) directed by S Khalil. The physique of labor that he has left behind is remembered most for its portrayal of the on a regular basis, non-sensational facets of life. His movies report the social, financial and ethical traits within the India of his day and age. One of many greatest legacies gifted to Indian cinema by Roy is the crew that he nurtured: Hrishikesh Mukherjee, Gulzar, Basu Bhattacharya, Salil Chaudhary, and lots of others. With Roy, and in a while their very own, these people made movies and music on very Indian themes, selected tales that questioned social norms and issues confronted by the post-independent society. Roy impressed and guided; in flip, they’ve additionally acknowledged that he formed the lives of everybody he met. A nonetheless from Pehla Admi. Twitter/NFAIOfficial Whereas talking of Do Bigha Zamin, Satyajit Ray mentioned, “It’s a movie that also reverberates within the minds of those that noticed it – and it stays one of many landmarks of Indian cinema. He was thus undoubtedly a pioneer.” Roy’s themes have been easy. Within the on a regular basis ordinariness of Indian life, he noticed the manifestation of his ideology. A definite sympathy for social, financial and non secular exploitation are themes that happen usually in Roy’s work. One can cite Roy as being instrumental in bridging the gulf between new cinema and that of the post-independence period. Probably the most important factor Roy did for Indian cinema, was to maintain it Indian. Up to date Date: Jun 15, 2019 15:32:08 IST !function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s) {if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function() {n.callMethod? n.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments)} ; if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version='2.0'; n.queue=[];t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0; t.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s)}(window,document,'script', 'https://connect.facebook.net/en_US/fbevents.js'); fbq('init', '259288058299626'); fbq('track', 'PageView'); (function(d, s, id) { var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0]; if (d.getElementById(id)) return; js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id; js.src = "http://connect.facebook.net/en_GB/all.js#xfbml=1&version=v2.9&appId=1117108234997285"; fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs); }(document, 'script', 'facebook-jssdk')); Source link

[the-connection]

Marginalized groups that advocated legalization struggle to compete with corporate refugees rushing on the bandwagon

Two hours north of San Francisco, in Mendocino county, orderly roadside vineyards give way to the rugged forests and murky sea-coast of the Emerald Triangle, America's most celebrated dope flourishing part. In June, more than 300 cannabis industry insiders reaped there for a weekend of bonfires, starlit hikes and river swims.

It was a lovely specifying to discuss why none of them seemed to be making money.

Americans expend roughly $40 bn annually on legal and illegal smokes. Their appetite is almost certain to increase as it becomes easier to legally access the medication and the industry continues to promote pan as consistent with a healthful adult life.

In California alone, tens of thousands of raises originate the plant, which is increasingly processed into gorgeously packaged vape writes and palatables sold to clients outside the core stoner demographic of young men. Today, majors are the fastest-growing group of smoke useds in the US.

The future appears to be very green undoubtedly. But since New Year's Day 2014, when Colorado opened the world's first adjusted recreational marijuana market, the business atmosphere for weed companionships has been demonstrated uncommonly difficult for a range of reasons, including high-pitched taxes, rapidly changing regulations and a still robust illicit market.

Besides the business defies, America's legal marijuana industry also has to reckon with an inevitable moral facet. The US has been engaged in a" war on drugs" since Richard Nixon affirmed it in 1971. While grey Americans use marijuana and other drugs at roughly equal frequencies to African Americans and Latinos, in virtually every respect, ethnic minorities have been disproportionately incarcerated and otherwise penalise for cooperation with stimulants, including exchanging marijuana.

In addition, marginalized groups- Aids cases, disabled population, ex-servicemen- who endorse legalization when it was far riskier to do so now find themselves ill-equipped to compete against well-capitalized corporate refugees looking to jump on the bandwagon.

One company, Acreage Retention, which closed on $119 m in investment capital this summer, has entered the former Republican speaker of the House John Boehner to help it steer the market. Boehner has never smoked pot-" he hasn't felt the call or tendency", according to a spokesperson- and he said himself" unalterably resisted" to legalization when he was in office.

With law dope now one of the country's fastest-growing industries, who gains is as much of a civil rights question as "whos got" punished.

The industry's moral invite is to ensure the groups who have suffered the most under the drug battle can participate in the dark-green hurry and experience the curdles of legalization.

'A classic legend of gentrification'

The story of Amber Senter, a businesswoman and activist who attended the weekend campout, dubbed Meadow Lands, exits some room to explain why racial equity will be as difficult to achieve in cannabis as it is in the rest of American life.

Senter moved to Oakland, California, in 2014. A coast guard veteran with a background in corporate market and graphic blueprint, she worked as an ministerial at Magnolia, a dispensary, and became a prominent proponent for women of hue like herself in the industry.

' If Amber Senter can't make it, who can ?' Illustration: George Wylesol for the Guardian figcaption > beginning >

Oakland, the birthplace of the Black Panther party, is well known for revolutionary politics and racial frictions. It was among the first US districts to recognise legalization as an economic possibility and has sanctioned dispensaries since 2004. More recently, it became one of the first places to create an" equity program" to support marijuana financiers "whos" locked away for pot-related piques or who come from vicinities considered disproportionately impacted by the" conflict on treats ".

Senter didn't qualify for an equity permit. But in November 2017, her business collaborator signed a memorandum of understanding to open a dispensary with Marshall Crosby, a personal trainer in his 50 s who did qualify.

A native of Oakland's impoverished east feature, Crosby has lived a hard life. One of eight children, he said he had various bullets lodged in him and had provided periods in prison." I became a statistic in the pharmaceutical life a long time ago ," he said.

On 31 January, Crosby had some good luck. Oakland kept the names of a few dozen equity hopefuls into a lottery and attracted specifies to appreciate who could engage a dispensary license. Crosby was among the four winners.

A few weeks later he wrote to Senter's partner:" I have decided not to work with you. Went another road ." Rather than work with his local partners, Crosby had decided to partner with Have a Heart, a dispensary order located 800 miles out in Seattle eyeing stretch in Oakland.

In an interview, Crosby said he felt abandoned after he had signed the memoranda with Senter's partner. And he felt an affinity for Have a Heart's COO, Ed Mitchell, who grew up in another rough part of the Bay Area. With Have a Heart, Mitchell said Crosby would also receive a payment of an undisclosed extent formerly they ensure the license.

Oakland's equity program had been laboriously developed over times to maximize not just tasks for Oaklanders but neighbourhood ownership of dope companionships. But the policy didn't stop Crosby from partnering with an outside company.

" It's a classic narration of gentrification ," Senter said following Meadow Lands. The dispensary order was " taking advantage of opportunities that were not constituted for them ". In addition to being able to boxing her out, the brand-new accumulate, she said, would compete with, and potentially undersell, lying locally owned dispensaries.

Have a Heart said it would hire Oaklanders for 90% of its employment opportunities in the city and would invest in cleaning up the area of Chinatown where it hopes to open." We believed Oakland was a arrange where we could really do some good ," Mitchell said.

Even if this applies, developments in the situation envisions same transactions which may reward a few regional individuals but extract profit out of the city for huge corporations.

" Someone was just be permitted to lunge in and sabotage fair business dealings; that's wrong ," said Anne Kelson, an Oakland cannabis attorney who is not professionally involved in the case.

Kelson said the incident had shaken Oakland's cannabis community." More than one business motorist has come to me and said:' If Amber Senter can't make it, who are in a position ?'"

Across the bay in San Francisco, another ambitious dispensary chain, MedMen, is haunting partnering with equity applicants. Likened with less sophisticated operators, MedMen produces" a certain guarantee of execution", its spokesman, Daniel Yi, said." At the end a business that's not successful wouldn't help anyone ."

Marijuana farming in California

Most attendees at the campout in June belonged to the industry's craft cohort. Many of them have been professionally involved in cannabis for decades.

Marijuana farming in California has never been easy. Those who are successful are skilled, cunning and well-versed in the law.

Today they've applied their ability to the endless intricacies of the California market. It both is compliant with and departs from stoner stereotypesthat most conversations at Meadow Lands dug into riveting topics like zoning variances, constructing the documentation and water use rules.

Of the state legalization experimentations, California is, by far, the largest and most complex. For growers who operated in California's gray and illegal markets and now just wanted to change into the law marketplace, the economics can be harsh. In the illegal market, an Emerald Triangle farmer might have sold a pound for $3,000 tax-free. Now the toll is more like $600, before taxes and compliance-related costs.

" I've never seen a aircraft cannabis label work out, because it's not cost effective ," Hilary Bricken, a Los Angeles cannabis attorney with Harris Bricken said.

" Presently , no one in legalized smoke is going rich ," Steve Schain, a major attorney with the cannabis-focused Hoban Law Group, said.

In Schain's view, even the largest and most professionally flowed business are being built to be acquired when major agriculture, alcohol and pharmaceutical companies consider it safe to revenue. Previously, gigantic originate jobs, several hundreds of thousands of square hoofs, are coming online in the desert east of Los Angeles, and across Canada.

The rigors small farmers face were anticipated. In the lead-up to legalization, California's small growers had expected a provision which would prohibit raises larger than about an acre( 43,560 sq hoofs) until 2023, applying small-time growers time to adapt.

But when relevant rules came out last-place November, a new loophole allowed mega raises immediately. The California Growers Association, which has roughly 1,000 members, is indicting the state.

At Meadow Lands, a French-born hashmaker known as Frenchy Cannoli reasoned plane cannabis should follow France's wine model and create a" hierarchy of quality" founded on the principle of terroir , the notion that environmental factors like soil and atmosphere had led to a plant's eventual relent. Today, he said, countless places produce huge wine-colored, but because France installed high standards in the 1800 s," they will always be the centre for human rights of the wine-colored industry ".

At night, Frenchy, who at 62 has a high expansive forehead and harlequin smile, stood on a picnic tablecackling as he inclined a many-armed hookah.

View this upright on Instagram div > div >

Master # hashishin @ frenchycannoli suns his cephalopodic hookah at @meadow. sf's immense #meadowlands2018 occasion. It was a trip the whole way down the rabbit pit on what the craft give order is deliberation, and too lots of entertaining. #frenchycannoli #frenchycannolitech #grasslandsaf #hash #hashish #cannabiz #cannabusiness #420girls #420 #craftcannabis #craftconcentrates #california #mendocino #mendocinofarms #mendow #getmeadow #marijuana #norcal #emeraldtriangle

A post shared by WeedWeek (@ weedweeknews) on Jun 17, 2018 at 7:36 pm PDT

Initiatives to create French-style " appellations" for northern California cannabis are under way, but they are not able to do much if the growers still have to instantly contest against large-scale industrial farms.

While California's small growers are striving, they likewise have prestige. Which explains why one of the visitors to Meadow Lands that weekend was the California state senator Kevin de Leon, an underdog US Senate candidate flowing to the left of his fellow Democrat, Senator Dianne Feinstein.

While some Democrat, such as Feinstein, have constructed their peacefulnes with legalization, De Leon pays it a full-throated blurb." For many underemployed workers and trade the unemployed, cannabis is the future ," De Leon said, speaking at a campsite one morning. Garmented in pressed slacks and a snappy lily-white shirt, he joked:" I'm not a narc ."

The audience chuckled. After a night of camping, the information was 8.30 am and the latter are surpassing joints.

Cannabis space

Canada, true-blue to structure, has moved to legalize marijuana in a more order pattern than the US, with legalization daytime given for 17 October. The industry there perhaps renders their copies in the US a see of the future.

In Canada, a handful of business once reign the cannabis grocery. And "two weeks " after Meadow Lands, a quite different smoke manufacture gleaning has just taken place at a big glass hotel in center Vancouver.

The opening party took place in a smoke-free ballroom. The keynote orator was Henry Rollins, the mythical punk rocker known for his association with the straight advantage culture, who doesn't destroy cannabis himself. His sense to the International Cannabis Business Conferencewas that service industries shouldn't be too greedy. But he wasn't fooling anybody.

" It's the dress taking over ," Carolyn Cudmore, the founder of the Vancouver craft company the Preroll Factory, said.

Canada offers a possible see of the future for cannabis businesses. Illustration: George Wylesol for the Guardian figcaption > informant >

Marijuana insiders often refer to the "cannabis space"- a word broad-minded enough to include a social right movement and unapologetic capitalism- and acknowledge no conflict between them.

In a" shark container" -style event, four startups impelled appearances before representatives of participating Canopy Rivers, the investment weapon of Canopy Growth, one of Canada's largest dope business, which sells on the N. y. stock exchange. The loot was money as up to C$ 1m( US $763,000) in seed capital, though the winner wasn't obligation anything.

After appraising a testing lab and a intelligent sensor device for indoor toilet raises, the reviewers gifted the best lurch award to the feel-good selection, Bella Vista Cannabis, an organic cannabis farm run by a hairy fifth-generation farmer. One reviewer said Bella Vista won the slope because of its commitmentto the environment and its social mission.

A few weeks after the conference, Canopy announced it itself had received a commitment from Constellation Brands, the American guzzles fellowship that owns Corona beer, for a$ 4bn investment.

As for Bella Vista, "the farmers " faces faces many of the same press crushing California's craft growers. Canopy hasn't yet said whether the government has will invest.

Read more: http :// www.theguardian.com/ us

[familydestination-blog]

The story of forgiveness

There is a very good reason why the letter Hebrew letter N comes after the letter M (the sequence handed down to the English alphabet). Not only because I believe in divine design, but because the concepts behind the letters fit very well in that sequence. Here’s some of that story…

When in a place of unknown desert in our lives, there is an opportunity for growth because it offers us the chance to grow a relationship outside of ourselves. In the last blog I talked about the letter M representing a great unknown (Like the depths of the ocean. The letter M has the numerical value of 40 which biblically links with times of testing).

After M (the great unknown testing) comes the letter N. The Hebrew name for this letter is, ‘nun’, which means, ‘sprouting seed’. It’s also drawn with the symbol of a sprouting seed. In the expanse of the unknown and uncertainty of life, we find a sign of hope with new life. The seed is the continuation of the life of a plant species. It carries all the genetic information of a room-full of encyclopaedias in one tiny spec.  It falls to the ground and may remain underground days or years before it rises to life. There’s two amazing words I want to bring to you which both use the letter N – they may well be the most important words to use this letter. They are BN ‘son’ and NSA ‘forgive’. They are very much tied together through the concept of the continuation of life.

The Hebrew word translated as, ‘forgiveness’ is spelt NSA. In ancient Hebrew script we would read that right to left ASN. The word means, ‘lift’ (verb), and ‘burden’ (noun) – lift a burden. Forgiving lifts a burden for both sides. It’s from the root NS meaning, ‘lift’ (verb), ‘standard’ (noun) and ‘refuge’ (abstract). I presume this was talking about raising a standard (perhaps a type of flag) to mark a place of refuge. So we can see that forgiving is about marking off a place which is safe from punishment or attack.

The letter N (sprouting seed) brings the concept of continuation of life, which is at the core of forgiveness – allowing a relationship to continue rather than severing it.

The letter S (the thorn) is frequently used to talk about holding onto something – much as a thorn bush would hold onto a sheep and wouldn’t let go. This brings to forgiveness the idea of holding onto the relationship.

NSA (forgiveness) contrasts sharply with and is the opposite to the word NShA (deception). The letter Sh (teeth) talks about cutting off and severing the relationship instead of holding onto it. The word NShA means, ‘debt’ and ‘deception’. It’s from the root NSh which means, ‘loan’ (verb), ‘debt’ (noun) and ‘deception’ (abstract concept). Instead of lifting a burden as forgiveness does, it places a burden on someone.

Its first use is in the context of the Serpent deceiving Eve into thinking that it would be ok to ignore God’s instruction (a relationship of trust) to not eat from the tree and to instead enjoy what was, “pleasing to the eye and desirable for gaining wisdom”.

There are perhaps two types of deception put forward by the Serpent. One is that personal gain and achievement is more important than gain of a relationship. The second is that immediate pleasure (hence the loan) and satisfaction is more important than a long-term benefit. It appears that personal gain has a tendency towards the immediate. Whereas a focus on relationship has long term benefits – and requires ongoing, long-term connection. Now we’re back to the idea of continuation.

Curiously the word, ‘Serpent’ is spelt NXSh – which contains the same letter concepts which talk about the cutting off of life. In addition, it has the letter X – which refers to something hidden. This is one of the Serpent’s most important keys to deception – his disguise of deception is invisibility – especially to modern ‘enlightened’ people who have rejected the spiritual world and will only count as reality that which they can ‘scientifically’ understand. This rings again of knowledge for personal pride – at the expense of relationship (a spiritual abstract concept).

If the Serpent is the agent of deception, then who is the agent of forgiveness? The word, ‘Son’ is spelt BN. As a word root, it means, ‘build’ (verb), ‘tent’ (noun) and ‘intelligence’ (abstract). As with the seed, BN talks about the continuation of a design. The letter B talks about the family. The letter N talks about the continuation of the design of that family. Jesus the Son of God is the proto type design for all mankind for the continuation of spiritual life (relationship). After his crucifixion, he spent 3 days under the ground as a seed and on the third day sprouted into life. That same genetic design can now be carried onto all who welcome a relationship with God using the design which Jesus gave us. Jesus is the agent of forgiveness.

Forgiveness as we’ve seen involves lifting a burden from another. This often requires taking on a burden ourselves. That may be not seeking recompense or revenge for a wrong done to myself. Jesus took on himself a great wrong which he didn’t deserve – so that he could lift a burden from anyone who would trust him.

Forgiveness is our opportunity to build and restore trust – to deliberately put the trust glue back into place purely for the sake of the relationship. This close relationship between the unknown (the letter M) and forgiveness could well be the reason why the letter M is followed immediately by the letter N in the Hebrew alphabet. The letter N is all about forgiveness.

The next blog will be about the great unknown of life on earth – the letter M…

[kerahlekung]

UMNO kena terus jilat Din dan PPBM kalu tak...

UMNO kena terus jilat Din dan PPBM kalu tak....

Saya ingin merujuk kenyataan Ahli Parlimen Bangi, Ong Kian Ming yang mengandaikan Perikatan Nasional (PN) tidak akan dapat bertahan sehingga pilihan raya umum ke-15 (PRU-15) 2 atau 3 tahun lagi. Baca di SINI dan SINI... Seperti dilaporkan beberapa portal berita, pemimpin DAP itu antara lain berhujah, Umno tidak akan membiarkan PPBM mengepalai kerajaan PN dan hanya akan bertahan dalam “gabungan tidak selesa” itu sehingga PRU kan datang. Tegasnya lagi, apa juga bentuk kerjasama antara 2 parti itu akan berakhir sebaik Parlimen dibubarkan. Beliau bersandarkan alasan, Umno tidak gembira memainkan peranan sebagai parti ke-2 kepada PPBM dalam kerajaan, sedangkan ia menyumbang jumlah kerusi paling banyak di Dewan Rakyat. Alasan lain kerana beberapa pemimpin kanan Umno diketepikan daripada jawatan dalam Kabinet dibentuk Muhyiddin Yassin 2 bulan lalu.

Ini pula hujah saya sebagai bekas ahli Umno di Ipoh dan kini bersama PPBM. Keputusan Umno menjalin kerjasama politik dengan PPBM langkah terbaik untuk parti diterajui Ahmad Zahid Hamidi itu. Saya berkata ia keputusan yang baik ketika ini kerana langkah itu membolehkan Umno mempunyai suara dalam kerajaan. Ia juga keputusan yang baik kerana membolehkan pemimpin Umno berada dalam senarai hirarki kuasa dan dilantik memegang jawatan dalam syarikat-syarikat berkaitan kerajaan (GLC). Jika bukan kerjasama dengan PPBM yang mempunyai DNA sama, parti mana lagi yang paling sesuai untuk Umno menjalin pakatan. Adakah dengan DAP? Umno tidak akan sesekali memilih DAP sebagai rakan kerjasama, juga bermakna tidak mungkin Umno akan menyertai Pakatan Harapan (PH) yang ada DAP sebagai sekutu teras. Saya percaya pendirian DAP pun begitu juga, tidak mungkin akan bekerjasama dengan Umno. Lalu, apa pilihan terbaik untuk Umno memastikan survival politiknya? Tidak lain tidak bukan bekerjasama dengan PPBM. Dalam erti kata lain, PPBM talian hayat Umno ketika ini. Saya juga percaya, jika diberi pilihan, Umno pasti mahu meneruskan kerjasama dengan PPBM bawah PN sehingga PRU akan datang dan mungkin melangkau sehingga selepas itu. Persoalan seterusnya, adakah wujud kemungkinan PPBM kembali ke pangkuan Pakatan Harapan (PH) – mengambil kira bagaimana parti itu keluar daripada pakatan berkenaan – andai Umno menarik balik sokongan kepada Muhyiddin?

Jawapan saya, mungkin tidak selagi Muhyiddin kekal sebagai perdana menteri dan mengemudi bahtera Putrajaya. Atas sebab itu, saya melihat langkah yang baik untuk Umno kekal menyokong perdana menteri, memastikan kubu kem presiden PPBM tidak runtuh dirempuh Dr Mahathir Mohamad yang masih memegang jawatan pengerusi parti serpihan Umno itu. Umno juga pastinya mahu menghalang sebarang percubaan oleh mana-mana ahli Parlimen PPBM yang dikaitkan dengan Muhyiddin daripada menyertai kem Mahathir. Ini bermakna, ada alasan yang banyak untuk Umno terus menyokong Muhyiddin berbanding membiarkan parti itu dan PN hilang kuasa pada PRU-15 nanti. Andai Putrajaya berjaya dikuasai semula oleh PH, pemimpin Umno dan parti itu akan kembali menjadi “buruan” kerajaan ditunjangi DAP seperti yang sudah terbukti sepanjang 22 bulan PH memegang kuasa. Yang pasti, tiada siapa tahu apa akan berlaku selepas PRU-15 nanti, tetapi buat masa ini, kerjasama PPBM-Umno mempunyai asas yang kukuh walaupun masing-masing mempunyai kepentingan sendiri. - Abdullah Yunos

YB Dr.Afif Bahardin ajak 

YB Batu tukaq kapai...

Anggota Parlimen Batu, P Prabakaran hari ini mengesahkan beliau diajak oleh seorang pemimpin KEADILAN yang sedang digantung, Afif Bahardin untuk meninggalkan parti itu. Bercakap kepada Malaysiakini, Prabakaran berkata beliau menolak tawaran untuk menyertai Gerakan.

Prabakaran juga mengeluarkan satu kenyataan berasingan dan menegaskan beliau akan kekal setia bersama KEADILAN. "Sememangnya telah berlaku satu pertemuan di antara saya dan Dr Afif sepertimana yang didakwa oleh (Ketua KEADILAN Perak), Farhash Wafa Salvador Rizal Mubarak. "Saya tidak mahu komen lebih berkaitan isu politik, cukuplah sekadar penjelasan bahawa pendirian dan prinsip saya adalah sama dengan prinsip Keadilan. Saya akan kekal bersama Keadilan demi kesinambungan perjuangan Saya bersama rakyat. Saya bukan pengkhianat," katanya.

Prakabaran mengulas pertanyaan media selepas Farhash mendakwa Afif 'berpura-pura' berhubung keputusan menggantungnya dari KEADILAN. Menurut Farhash, bukan lagi satu rahsia bahawa Afif mengajak Ahli Parlimen Batu itu untuk menyertai parti Gerakan sebelum ini. Ketika dihubungi, Afif berkata dia enggan melayan tuduhan itu. "Fokus saya adalah kepada pengundi saya dalam tempoh perintah kawalan pergerakan (PKP) yang sukar ini," kata Afif yang juga Adun Seberang Jaya. Prabakaran berkata sebelum pertemuan dengan Afif, terdapat juga usaha untuk mengajak beliau keluar daripada parti itu. Beliau berkata ada beberapa pertemuan diatur oleh seorang pemimpin dalam cabang KEADILAN Batu untuk tujuan berkenaan. "Semuanya bersifatkan percaturan politik. Semuanya mahu saya melompat," katanya. Prabakaran berkata beliau mahu 'politik jijik' dihentikan dan akan terus berkhidmat kepada rakyat sehingga pilihan raya umum ke-15. - mk

‘Help Me Get Out Of Here!’ 

PM Whispers To Journalists...

Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin shocked journalists last night by asking them to help him escape this job he never wanted after recording his first interview. “Once the cameras stopped, Muhyiddin spent several moments urging RTM’s Zaleha Khairene Ismail and Astro Awani’s Essan Yahya to smuggle him out of Putrajaya as quickly a possible,” a studio hand reported. Muhyiddin was overheard saying since being sworn in, his life has been a living hell as Azmin Ali, Bersatu party members, Perikatan ‘allies’ UMNO, PAS and GPS, all took turns squeezing his Prime Ministerial balls while lobbying for cabinet posts and GLC chairmanships knowing without them and their ‘wafer-thin’ parliamentary majority, this Perikatan government of convenience could collapse at any second. “Muhyiddin cant be having an easy time. We have an unprecedented Covid-19 crisis, a comatose economy, children of elites and Deputy Ministers are flouting the MCO knowing they can’t be reprimanded, and disgruntled voters can’t wait for an opportunity to punish the government for the ‘Sheraton move.’ Even Tun isn’t talking to him!” On his way out Muhyiddin grumbled what he really wanted was a nap and a chance to finish Season 4 of ‘Money Heist.' -  Editor,f/bk

 “Do we need a backdoor government?…Absolutely not!”...

Before the general elections, every political party will come out with a manifesto, which spells out their programme for the country and how the voters will benefit by electing them. The manifesto will contain a brief summary of what to expect in electing a particular political party. During the campaign, the party leaders will elaborate, explain and clarify in detail and in simple terms what their promises and pledges are for the country and voters. Based on this premise, voters cast their votes and elect a government to run the affairs of the country. When the voters cast their votes, they know exactly what they want and need. Thus, a legitimate government is elected. This transparent process reveals for all to see and understand which party has secured the majority of votes and how many parliamentarians have been elected for each party. This electoral participation forms the basis for a particular party with the majority of MPs to be called upon to form the government. This is how a democratic government enjoying electoral legitimacy is duly elected to run the country. But in the case of the backdoor government, it was not elected by the voters to run the country. It stole a government without a popular mandate – or the mandate of the people. The so-called majority that they claimed to have had to form the government is still in question. It is so because the names of MPs supporting the backdoor government had not been publicly disclosed. They had adamantly refused to convene a parliamentary session despite repeated calls following their backdoor take-over of a duly elected government to confirm their support which would have put to rest the lurking question of doubt about their so-called majority. Their refusal to convene Parliament only enhances this suspicion of their legitimacy.

The people of Malaysia did not vote for a coalition comprising the Umno-led Barisan Nasional (BN), Pas and Bersatu to form the government. In fact, the Umno-led BN was soundly rejected by the electorate, and many standing under its banner were trounced and thrashed in the general election on 9 May 2018. The Umno-led BN lost the federal and many state governments. What Malaysians voted for was the coalition under Pakatan Harapan. The plotters in this treachery subverted and frustrated the voters’ choice and perverted the democratic process. They had shamelessly foisted themselves upon a reluctant electorate that does not need them or accept them. The electorate doesn’t know what this backdoor government stands for. They had not gone to the voters to explain their programme or appeal to them why they need to be given a chance to form the government. Malaysians don’t know what this backdoor government stands for. The traitors who stole the government have yet to explain why they needed to take over a duly elected democratic government. To this day, it remains a mystery. These unscrupulous politicians have neither cared to paint a rosy picture for the voters, nor promised a bright future for the country with this takeover. Their subsequent conduct seems to suggest their greed for power and the endless opportunity available to enrich themselves – which will form material for another article on another occasion. We can only ask them why the need to take over the government through unethical means. What is the necessity? Let us be reminded of this saying [by the historian Thucydides], “Love of power, operating through greed and through personal ambition, was the cause of all these evils.” - Mariam Mohktar

cheers.

Sumber asal: UMNO kena terus jilat Din dan PPBM kalu tak... Baca selebihnya di UMNO kena terus jilat Din dan PPBM kalu tak...

[topsolarpanels]

Death, marijuana and condoms: a complete guide to US ballot questions

Besides voting for president and other elected official, there are more than 150 statewide measures on Americans votes Tuesday. Here are some key issues

American democracy is tortuously indirect. On Tuesday, citizens will not exactly cast their votes for the first female nominee of a major party or a real estate developer turned reality Tv starring, but for generally unknown candidates who are members of the electoral college: the people who will cast votes for president sometime in December.

But when it comes to the really important issues life, demise, marijuana and condoms direct republic rules the day. There are more than 150 statewide measures on the ballot on 8 November, and scores more city- and countywide initiatives for voters to decide on.

Here are some of the key issues that voters will address on election day.

Marijuana

Nine states will vote on decriminalize pot on election day. Photo: Jason Connolly/ AFP/ Getty Images

We talk a lot about red states and blue states, but arrived Tuesday, the entire western coast could go green. California, Arizona and Nevada will vote on whether to join Washington, Oregon, Colorado and Alaska in decriminalize recreational marijuana use. Maine and Massachusetts are also voting on recreational marijuana measures. Four other states will vote on whether to join the 25 states that have legalized medical marijuana.

California, the worlds sixth-largest economy, is the real prize here. Analysts already set the size of the states legal marijuana market at $2.7 bn and project it could grow to $6.4 bn by 2020.

Solar power and carbon tax

Two key climate-related vote measures with wildly different objectives will take place on the east and western coast of the US on Tuesday.

In Florida, a proposition called Amendment 1 would change the states constitution to restrict the ability of homeowners to sell electricity they generate through rooftop solar panel to the grid. The measure, backed by Floridas big utilities, has been attacked as fundamentally dishonest by green groups because it appears to be superficially pro-solar. Energy experts have predicted a serious downturn in Floridas already struggling solar industry, should the measure pass.

How does the US electoral college work ?

The idea of a national cost on carbon was shot down early in Barack Obamas presidency, but the nation of Washington may follow a different path. A measure called I-7 32 calls for the establishment of the first carbon taxation in the US, which would expense emitters $25 for each ton of carbon dioxide from 2018, rising gradually over the course of 40 years to $100 a ton. The revenue-neutral idea has, however, split the environmental movement, with some activists unhappy that it does not funnel fund to clean energy projects.

Slavery

The 13 th amendment of the US constitution abolished bondage for the most portion. As Ava DuVernay demonstrated in her new documentary 13 th, the ban on involuntary servitude does not apply to convicts.

Colorados state constitution includes a ban on bondage that mirrors the federal language: There shall never be in this nation either bondage or involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime, whereof the party ought to be duly convicted. Amendment T would remove that key exception.

Its a timely, if symbolic, measure that comes in a year that find a prison strike spread across 22 states.

Progressive experiments

Bernie Sanders may have lost the Democratic nomination, but the spirit of his political revolution lives on to an extent.

Colorado

In Colorado, proponents of a single-payer healthcare system gathered 100,000 signatures to place Amendment 69, dubbed ColoradoCare, on the ballot. The measure would create a $36 bn health system to insure every resident of the state, paid for by a new 10% payroll taxation. ColoradoCare would be designed to replace private health insurance. Opponents, including private medical providers such as Anthem and Kaiser, have expended more than$ 4m trying to defeat it.

As with Sanders campaign, the liberal reforms have faced considerable opposition from mainstream Democratic legislators, in addition to the big business interests they challenge.

Death penalty

Connie Johnson urges a voter to choose no on a referendum that would enshrine the death penalty in Oklahomas state constitution. Photo: Bobby Ross Jr/ AFP/ Getty Images

A quarter of United States death row captives are in California. On election day, voters will choose between executing them more quickly or mandating that they succumb of other causes in prison.

Two vying vote measures will address the fate of the states 741 demise row inmates. Proposition 62 would abolish the death penalty in the nation and induce life in prison without prospect of parole the maximum punishment for assassination a sentence that would be applied retroactively to current demise row inmates. Proposition 66 would keep the death penalty, and speed up the notoriously slow appeals process.

Going against the tide of the rest of the western world, Nebraska will vote on whether to reinstate the death penalty, which was repealed by the nation legislature in 2015.

Oklahoma is also voting on the death penalty to reaffirm the states commitment to it. In 2015, the states us attorney general suspended executings following a botched endeavor at a lethal injection. State Question 776 would enshrine the nation legislatures power to carry out executings by any method not prohibited by the United States constitution.

Minimum wage

Workers with Living United for Change in Arizona canvas in Phoenix to advocate for the passage of Proposition 206, which would increase the states minimum wages. Photo: Astrid Galvan/ AP

The series of work stoppages and protests known as the Fight for $15 movement set off a wave of minimum wage increases around the country either through parliaments or vote initiatives. The movement faces decisions on election day, when Arizona, Colorado, Maine and Washington will vote on whether to increase minimum wages above the $7.25 federal rate.

An outlier is South Dakota, where voters will hold a referendum on whether to lower the minimum wages for employees under age 18. In November 2014, South Dakotans voted to increase the minimum wages from $7.25 to $8.50, with an annual cost-of-living increase. State legislators then decided to pass a law taking away the wage increase for youth under 18. Opponents of the two-tiered system gathered signatures to place it on the ballot, and now voters will have another shot at addressing the question.

Of course, everyone who votes on the minimum wages is eligible for the highest one. South Dakotans under the age of 18 will not have a say on the matter.

Homelessness

A human stands outside his tent on Division Street in San Francisco. Photo: Eric Risberg/ AP

Homelessness is crisis in many western coast cities, and some are taking to the ballot to try to make a difference.

Los Angeles is hoping to make a $1.2 bn investment over 10 years in support of housing units and programs through the issuance of bonds. The measure will require a two-thirds super-majority to pass and is being supported by Mayor Eric Garcetti, who has called homelessness the greatest moral crisis we face.

Meanwhile, San Francisco, a city that have all along prided itself on being the progressive equivalent to LAs Hollywood superficiality, has a vote measure that would prohibit the tents that many homeless people sleep in. A group of tech billionaires and millionaires venture capitalist Michael Moritz, angel investor Ron Conway, and hedge fund director William Oberndorf have each donated $49,999 to the anti-tent campaign.

Though its backers refer to the proposition as Housing not Tents, the measure does not include any additional funding for housing or services.

Miscellany

Californias Proposition 60 would require pornography performers to wear condoms during cinema shoots. The proposal is broadly opposed by the performers themselves, who argue that industry testing protocols keep them safe and that a government mandate would push production underground or into Nevada.

Then theres the movement to enshrine a constitutional right to hunt and fish. Since 1996, 18 states have amended their constitutions to elevate hunting and fishing to the level of life and liberty, as far as inalienable rights go.

Indiana and Kansas hope to join their ranks this November, though many local editorial committees have advised otherwise. No sentient human being can believe that the nation of Indiana would actually ban hunting and fishing, wrote the editorial board of the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette.

The measures seem politically popular. Indianas right to hunt and fish amendment was endorsed by governor and vice-presidential nominee Mike Pence.

Read more: www.theguardian.com

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[release-info]

Greek unemployment stood at 21.7% in April 2017.[183] The youth unemployment rate (42.3% in March 2018) is extremely high compared to EU standards.[184] With an economy larger than all the other Balkan economies combined, Greece is the largest economy in the Balkans,[185][186][187] and an important regional investor.[185][186] Greece is the number-two foreign investor of capital in Albania, the number-three foreign investor in Bulgaria, at the top-three of foreign investors in Romania and Serbia and the most important trading partner and largest foreign investor of North Macedonia. Greek banks open a new branch somewhere in the Balkans on an almost weekly basis.[188][189][190] The Greek telecommunications company OTE has become a strong investor in Yugoslavia and other Balkan countries.[188] Greece was a founding member of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC). In 1979 the accession of the country in the European Communities and the single market was signed, and the process was completed in 1982. Greece was accepted into the Economic and Monetary Union of the European Union on 19 June 2000, and in January 2001 adopted the Euro as its currency, replacing the Greek drachma at an exchange rate of 340.75 drachma to the Euro.[191] Greece is also a member of the International Monetary Fund and the World Trade Organization, and is ranked 24th on the KOF Globalization Index for 2013. Debt crisis (2010–2018) Main article: Greek government-debt crisis Greece’s debt percentage since 1977, compared to the average of the Eurozone The Greek economy had fared well for much of the 20th century, with high growth rates and low public debt[192]). For over 20 years, until 2007, it featured high rates of growth, which, however, were coupled with high structural deficits, thus maintaining a (roughly unchanged throughout this period) public debt to GDP ratio of just over 100% [192]. The Greek crisis was triggered by the turmoil of the 2007-2009 Great Recession, which lead the budget deficits of several Western nations to reach or exceed 10% of GDP [192]. What was exceptional for Greece, was that the high budget deficit (which, after several corrections and revisions, was revealed that it had been allowed to reach 10.2% and 15.1% of GDP in 2008 and 2009, respectively) was simultaneously coupled with a high public debt to GDP ratio (relatively stable, at just over 100% until 2007 – as calculated after all corrections). Thus, the country appeared to lose control of its public debt to GDP ratio, which already reached 127% of GDP in 2009 [193]. In addition, being a member of the Eurozone, the country had essentially no autonomous monetary policy flexibility. Finally, there was an effect of controversies about Greek statistics (due the aforementioned drastic budget deficit revisions which lead to an increase in the calculated value of the Greek public debt by about 10%, i.e., a public debt to GDP of about 100% until 2007), while there have been arguments about a possible effect of media reports. Consequently, Greece was “punished” by the markets which increased borrowing rates, making impossible for the country to finance its debt since early 2010. The above revisions were largely connected with the fact that in the years before the crisis Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, and numerous other banks had developed financial products which enabled the governments of Greece, Italy, and many other European countries to hide their borrowing.[194][195][196][197][198][199][200][201][202] Dozens of similar agreements were concluded across Europe whereby banks supplied cash in advance in exchange for future payments by the governments involved; in turn, the liabilities of the involved countries were “kept off the books”.[202][203][204][205][206][207] These conditions had enabled Greece as well as other European governments to spend beyond their means, while meeting the deficit targets set out in the Maastricht Treaty.[207][202][208] In May 2010, the Greece’s deficit was again revised and estimated to be 13.6%[209] which was the second highest in the world relative to GDP, with Iceland in first place at 15.7% and the United Kingdom in third with 12.6%.[210] Public debt was forecast, according to some estimates, to hit 120% of GDP in the same year,[211] causing a crisis of confidence in Greece’s ability pay back loans.avert a sovereign default, Greece, the other Eurozone members, and the International Monetary Fund agreed on a rescue package which involved giving Greece an immediate €45 billion in loans, with additional funds to follow, totaling €110 billion.[212][213] To secure the funding, Greece was required to adopt harsh austerity measures to bring its deficit under control.[214] A second bail-out amounting to €130 billion ($173 billion) was agreed in 2012, subject to strict conditions, including financial reforms and further austerity measures.[215] A debt haircut was also agreed as part of the deal.[215] Greece achieved a primary government budget surplus in 2013, while in April 2014, it returned to the global bond market. Greece returned to growth after six years of economic decline in the second quarter of 2014,[216] and was the Eurozone’s fastest-growing economy in the third quarter.[217] A third bailout was agreed in July 2015, after a confrontation with the newly-elected government of Alexis Tsipras. There was a 25% drop in Greece’s GDP, connected with the bailout programmes.[192][218] This had a critical effect: the Debt-to-GDP ratio, the key factor defining the severity of the crisis, would jump from its 2009 level of 127% to about 170%, solely due to the shrinking economy.[citation needed] In a 2013 report, the IMF admitted that it had underestimated the effects of so extensive tax hikes and budget cuts on the country’s GDP and issued an informal apology.[219][220][221] The Greek programmes imposed a very rapid improvement in structural primary balance (at least two times faster than for other Eurozone bailed-out countries [222]). The policies have been blamed for worsening the crisis,[223][224] while Greece’s President, Prokopis Pavlopoulos, stressed the creditors’ share in responsibility for the depth of the crisis.[225][226] Greek Prime Minister, Alexis Tsipras, asserted that errors in the design of the first two programmes which lead to a loss of 25% of the Greek economy due to the harsh imposition of excessive austerity.[218] Between 2009 and 2017 the Greek government debt rose from €300 bn to €318 bn, i.e. by only about 6% (thanks, in part, to the 2012 debt restructuring);[193][227] however, during the same period, the critical debt-to-GDP ratio shot up from 127% to 179%[193] basically due to the severe GDP drop during the handling of the crisis.[192] Greece’s bailouts successfully ended (as declared) on August 20, 2018.[228] Agriculture Main article: Agriculture in Greece Sun-drying of Zante currant on Zakynthos In 2010, Greece was the European Union’s largest producer of cotton (183,800 tons) and pistachios (8,000 tons)[229] and ranked second in the production of rice (229,500 tons)[229] and olives (147,500 tons),[230] third in the production of figs (11,000 tons),[230] almonds (44,000 tons),[230] tomatoes (1,400,000 tons),[230] and watermelons (578,400 tons)[230] and fourth in the production of tobacco (22,000 tons).[229] Agriculture contributes 3.8% of the country’s GDP and employs 12.4% of the country’s labor force. Greece is a major beneficiary of the Common Agricultural Policy of the European Union. As a result of the country’s entry to the European Community, much of its agricultural infrastructure has been upgraded and agricultural output increased. Between 2000 and 2007 organic farming in Greece increased by 885%, the highest change percentage in the EU. http://bit.ly/2HXxPig

[mightyquillbooks-blog]

SPOTLIGHT: Justin Chasteen, Author of The Huntress of Bur

Last week, we mentioned that we're putting our Dead of Winter authors in the spotlight and highlighting one author per week.

This week, we have Justin Chasteen, author of "The Huntress of Bur". This story of a bandit raid gone terribly wrong has an awesome twist to it that we just loved. Be sure to read the excerpt we've included after the interview to get a feel for this gritty story.

How did you get started with writing?

It was just one of those things where I had read two really great books back-to-back, and I said “I’m going to give this a shot.” I sat down and wrote a short story, but that story really seemed to be just a piece of the puzzle. I felt good enough about that short story to sit down and work on a novel. I finished all 220,000 words in about nine months. I just fell in love with writing. I’m actually planning on rewriting that first novel later this year since I’m not complete shit anymore. Hopefully I can make it something special.

Do you tend to write in just one genre or do you like to write across multiple genres? And, if just one, what made you choose to focus on that particular genre?

My novels are usually fantasy fiction. Of the two completed and one nearly complete, the first was a very basic type of fantasy story that was character-focused, the second was like a new wave novel about a witch in a fantasy world, and the one I’m working to finish now is a little more linear with the characters—as in there isn’t as many as I’d like—but the world is much more in-depth since it involves two different styles of government.

With short stories I just write whatever is on my mind. My first published flash fiction was a story about a girl who was in a prison on another planet, my best-selling short story "The Old Man Next Door" is about loss and grief, my short story in the Dead of Winter anthology is just a bit weird, and my Silver Honorable Mention short story from the L. Ron Hubbard Award—which is still looking for a publishing home—is a sky pirate romance. The short story I’m working on now is a woman who has never forgiven herself for something that happened in the past, so she constantly mentally punishes herself through designed activates that she knows will damage her. It’s really sad because I’ve had to do a lot of research on mental disorders and foster care. When you write that “realistic” fiction, it’s really a different approach than the type of research you do writing fantasy. I’d rather look up the stench radius of a rotting corpse than read all those horrible stories about the downs of foster care.

I focused on fantasy for my novels because fantasy is my favorite to read—always has been. I like to write my short stories in first-person to get more practice in all forms and tenses. Plus it’s always a nice little break.

What made you decide to write "The Huntress of Bur", which appears in Dead of Winter? Is there a particular backstory to it?

This one…was a bit odd. I was finishing up my bachelor degree in Creative Writing degree and my professor wanted me to submit ‘The Old Man Next Door’ to the college’s fiction contest. The contest guidelines required a much shorter story, so I just started writing. I knew if it was a contest, I really needed to look like a real writer (which I still don’t feel like) so I started with landscape and went from there. I had no specific genre I wanted to tackle, so I just wrote: wintery forest, injured men, blood and so on. I’m kinda happy where it ended up, because it gave me a character (the Huntress) that I could probably write a novel on in the future. Although I never got to go into detail about her in the short story, I have big plans about her past that could be pretty interesting.

What do you like to do when you're not writing?

When I’m not writing, I usually spend time with my family, read, play video games, watch football—nothing too wild. My son kinda dictates what I do until he is in bed. I think writing may be my only real hobby outside of music and training boxing, but boxing has been slow since my trainer is starting a new career. I don’t actually compete

Where is the best place for readers to find out more about your work?

Right now I’m trying to finish the manuscript of that fantasy novel I had mentioned earlier. I’m also working on a short story about a woman who has never forgiven herself for something that happened in the past. She mentally punishes herself through designed activities that she knows will damage her. It’s really sad because I’ve had to do a lot of research on mental disorders and foster care. When you write that “realistic” fiction, it’s really a different approach than the type of research you do writing fantasy. I’d rather look up the stench radius of a rotting corpse than read all those horrible stories about the struggles of foster care.

Here is my Wordpress, which I rarely update, Instagram, and Twitter. Twitter probably has the most up-to-date information on my writing and such. "The Old Man Next Door" is available from Write Out Publishing, "The Shattered Galaxy" from River & South Review and "The Huntress of the Bur" is obviously through you guys and Amazon/BN.

Thanks, Justin! And, now for an excerpt from "The Huntress of Bur":

The Huntress of Bur

The sunrise glazed the woodland and biting frost swelled to a sharpened glare in his eyes. With each slick crunch of his boots, Gligk wondered if he would ever feel his toes again, unable to wiggle them since the night before. He stumbled west with dim sunlight to guide him. This, he didn’t mind, but the man he carried over his shoulders would object the moment he regained consciousness—so he headed south.

Gligk cared little about his destination, so long as he arrived with his life. For ten years, he and his comrades had raided the homes of rich widows. They stole coin, horses, innocence of daughters, and jewelry with little to no resistance. It was a good ten years—a fun ten years with full bellies and empty testicles—but Gligk and company had finally made a critical error.

Gligk turned to check his tracks—two lines in the deep snow that looked more like he’d crawled instead of stomped.

The man slung over Gligk’s shoulders grunted and yanked his head up. “Does it still follow us?”

Gligk squinted past lanky, naked oak trees stretched deep into the Marrowbone Forest. The sun was rising rapidly, covering the forest with a golden glint. They’d be more visible now if it still stalked them.

“I don’t think so, Rat,” Gligk gasped. “Haven’t heard a thing in a few hours.”

“Christ, my leg’s numb. How bad is it?”

Rattle’s thigh no longer gushed, but dripped blood along the outside of their trail.

“Do ya have any more water?”

Gligk gently propped Rattle against a thick oak, then reached inside his elbow-patched wool coat. He ripped free a leather bladder and dangled it until Rattle yanked it from his grasp. “I kept it close to my gut to keep it from freezin’.”

Rattle emptied the water skin, his Adam’s apple dancing with each gulp. “So, what the hell was that thing?”

“I dunno, Rat,” Gligk said. “We’d only been in the cabin of that huntress for a few minutes, then everything turned to shit. Somethin’ cut off Jimi’s head. When it hit the floor his eyes were still wide mouth gapin’ like a fish. Yorm charged into the darkness after whatever killed Jimi—I guess he thought he’d make quick work of it—but I’d never heard Yorm scream like that. Not ever, Rat.”

“You killed her, right? You killed that old bitch?”

“I did, Rat. Killed ’er before we even entered that cabin. Just liked we planned—she was out back cuttin’ wood and I buried my knife in ’er before she could see me comin’. But whatever was in that cabin was waitin’ for us.”

Rattle grimaced. “We rode in with four horses, and you didn’t have time to grab a single one?”

“You were out cold when I found you. I tossed you over my shoulders and ran. I never looked back. Do you remember what happened?”

“No,” Rattle gruffed.

Gligk glanced down at the gash, hidden under a crimson-soaked cloth wrapped just above Rattle’s knee. He grew weaker with each needled breath that filled his lungs. They’d not last much longer in this chill if Rattle couldn’t walk on his own.

Get your copy of Dead of Winter to find out how the story ends.

Amazon | Apple iBooks | Barnes & Noble

[kerahlekung]

Saya cuma Cina Islam bukan Cina DAP...

Saya cuma Cina Islam bukan Cina DAP....

Pendakwah bebas, Ebit Lew (gambar atas) membuat pengumuman mengejutkan beliau akan berhenti menyalurkan bantuan kepada pihak yang terkesan susulan pandemik Covid-19. Beliau berkata demikian setelah mendapat nasihat daripada pihak berkuasa kerana terdapat aduan terhadapnya susulan kegiatan yang dijalankan. “Saya minta maaf pada semua ya, atas nasihat setakat ini sahajalah saya berkhidmat pada semua secara langsung.

  “Saya cuma akan beri bantuan duit pada orang susah. Saya teruskan dari rumah sahaja. Jangan tag saya lagi kes orang susah. Nanti habis PKP (perintah kawalan pergerakan) baru saya cuba bantu,” katanya dalam satu hantaran di akaun Facebook hari ini.

Ebit bukanlah asing dengan kerja-kerja amal dan kebajikan, selain giat mengadakan seminar di merata tempat selama ini.

Pada tempoh PKP kini, beliau terlibat secara aktif menghulurkan bantuan kepada pihak termasuk petugas barisan hadapan serta orang ramai.

Ustaz Cina bagi derma..Ustaz Melayu minta derma...- f/bk

Beberapa hari lalu Ebit dibayangi kontroversi selepas melawat sebuah keluarga daif di Derga, Kedah. 

Antara lain penduduk setempat menjadi kecaman orang luar yang menyangka mereka tidak mengendahkan keluarga terbabit.

Beberapa pihak - termasuk kerajaan Kedah dan Lembaga Zakat Kedah - kemudian tampil menjelaskan keluarga berkenaan memang menjadi penerima bantuan tetap.

Menurut exco negeri, keluarga berkenaan juga sudah diminta supaya berpindah ke rumah baru yang disediakan namun gagal. Bagaimanapun, selepas dipujuk Ebit keluarga berkenaan akhirnya berpindah ke kediaman baru selepas menetap di situ lebih 15 tahun. Baca seterusnya...

Tak sampai 2 bulan, kerajaan PN 

dah jual aset negara...

“Eh tak sampai 2 bulan, kerajaan dah mula jual aset negara?” Itulah komen yang dibuat terhadap tindakan kerajaan melalui Khazanah yang dilaporkan akan menjual 74 juta sahamnya dalam Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB). Menurut laporan media, Khazanah yang dipengerusikan oleh Perdana Menteri, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin menjual 1.45% sahamnya dalam TNB dengan harga RM1.17 bilion. “Rupanya ini trend standard BN. Tahun 2015 dan tahun 2016 pun sama. “Bolehlah penyokong MN (Muafakat Nasional) teruskan meratib ‘jual aset negara, ini semua salah DAP,” tulis Liyana Marzuki, bekas pegawai kanan Kementerian Perdagangan Antarabangsa dan Industri (MITI) melalui Facebook beliau. Tulisan ini dipercayai mempersendakan tindakan penyokong Umno dan Pas sebelum ini yang sentiasa mendakwa kerajaan Pakatan Harapan (PH) sentiasa menjual harta negara. Menurut media, langkah penjualan saham TNB ini akan mengurangkan pegangan Khazanah dalam TNB sebanyak 1.3%. Harga yang diminta untuk penjualan ini adalah antara RM11.83 dan RM12.30 setiap satu. Harga saham TNB dalam niagaan terakhir semalam adalah RM12.30 setiap satu. April tahun lepas, Khazanah mempunyai 85 juta saham dalam TNB. - MD

Dilemma in Bersatu over Dr M's 'rebellion'...

History will be made on May 18 as Parliament is set to convene for only a day with one party being represented on both sides of the floor. Bersatu, which is leading the broad Perikatan Nasional coalition, will have members led by its president Muhyiddin Yassin on the government bench while a smaller group led by its chairperson Dr Mahathir Mohamad will sit with the opposition. This will likely be a perplexing and unprecedented scenario, one which many Bersatu leaders, save for Mahathir, are unwilling to go on record for when contacted by Malaysiakini. Some claimed that there was a gag order. On April 20, Mahathir made it clear that he will not join the government bench and that Bersatu - which means "to unite" or "to be one" - was essentially split in two. "So, the faction against the government cannot sit together with the faction with the government," he said. Parliament has yet to update its website with the seating arrangement. Based on the experience of Perak in 2009 - the only other incident of a change in government mid-term - the new seating arrangement will only be revealed on the day of the sitting. According to a party insider, who spoke to Malaysiakini on condition of anonymity, the party leadership cannot punish Mahathir for sitting on the opposition bench. He said the party rules stipulate that a member can only be dismissed if the person joins another party, contests in an election for public office against a Bersatu candidate, sues the party or loses Malaysian citizenship. "What is the offence (if Mahathir sits with the opposition)? There is no offence," said the source. Several party leaders were in agreement that any attempt to sanction Mahathir or other party MPs siding with the opposition would be difficult and a drawn-out process. A complaint would have to be lodged with the disciplinary committee in which an investigation would follow. The member being investigated will also have to present himself before the committee for a hearing.

Another party leader expressed doubt that Muhyiddin (above) would have the gumption to take action against Mahathir - the founding member of the party. "Do they dare to take action against party member number one? The party is already unstable as it is," said the source. Prior to the movement control order (MCO), Mahathir and his allies had been conducting roadshows to rally party members against Muhyiddin for pulling off the "Sheraton Move" in late February and installing himself as prime minister. Although the bulk of Bersatu MPs backed Muhyiddin, it has caused deep divisions within the party. Will there be negotiations? Several party leaders told Malaysiakini that the Muhyiddin faction might find ways to avoid the potential embarrassment by hiding the split. For instance, Bersatu supreme council member and long-time Mahathir loyalist Abu Bakar Yahya said the seating arrangement is controlled by PAS' Takiyuddin Hassan, who is the law minister and therefore also in charge of Parliamentary affairs. "If we really know Tun (Mahathir), he is not the type who would break the rules. "We would only know for sure when the letter informing of the seating arrangement comes," said Abu Bakar, who is also Mahathir's political secretary. At the time of writing, Malaysiakini's attempts to establish if there were any efforts by Muhyiddin's faction to extend the olive branch to Mahathir has been unsuccessful.

Meanwhile, Bersatu strategist Rais Hussin believed that Mahathir had every right as an MP not to sit on the government bench. "It is unprecedented but we are living in unprecedented times," he said. Rais added that Bersatu also needs to look at the matter carefully so as not to worsen the rift between its two top leaders and break the party further apart. "My hope is that there would be some form of reconciliation between the two top leaders in the greater interests of the nation given that we are facing a very portent pandemic." Asked if there were efforts to mend ties between Muhyiddin and Mahathir, Rais said it was a work in progress. "Muhyiddin extended the olive branch from his inaugural speech as prime minister. "They are both seasoned leaders in their own right," he said. - Hariz Mohd/Haspaizi Zain.mk

Now, what are we going to see 

of Muhyiddin's legacy?...

How will we remember Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin? Some think that he has brought Malaysia to its knees, when we moved from an era of hope, in 2018, to despair in 2020. Others claim that Muhyiddin's behaviour makes the crimes of two former prime ministers - Dr Mahathir Mohamad and disgraced Najib Abdul Razak - look like child's play. Mahathir, the Father of Modernisation, appeared eager to get back into the driving seat, and then could not wait, to leave. His legacy is defined by the seeds of racism, religious domination and cronyism, which he sowed in the 80s, during his first tenure as prime minister. Invited to form the new Pakatan Harapan government in May 2018, Mahathir started with gusto. However, after four months, his mask slipped. He could still have got himself back on track to rebuild Malaysia, but he dashed the hopes of the rakyat with his hasty resignation. A person can be tricked once, perhaps twice, but not three times. Despite what Mahathir thinks, the rakyat do not easily forget. Najib refused to leave and had to be kicked out of office. Incredibly, he is still trying to stage a comeback, albeit to save himself from prosecution. If only the former judicial system under Harapan had not dragged its feet and played along with Najib's excuses to delay the trial. The damage to young Malaysians will be felt for generations. Many feel that the road to immense wealth is to become a politician, as no skill, qualification or education is required. One only needs to be a smooth-talking Lothario. Najib created many meaningless slogans, milked the system dry and was lucky to have a good teacher in his former mentor, Mahathir (above). So, what of Muhyiddin? Ironically, Mahathir's Wawasan 2020 has morphed into Muhyiddin's Nightmare 2020, In two months, Muhyiddin managed to undo the first steps that Harapan had taken to try to heal the nation and rebuild Malaysia. Muhyiddin will continue the Umno-Baru tradition, under which cronies and family members are able to build personal fortunes and property empires with ease, while the rakyat are told to tighten their belts. He appears to suffer from middle child syndrome. Most first-borns are showered with attention, the youngest is spoilt silly, while the middle child is often neglected. Having served under Mahathir, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and later Najib, Muhyiddin was often overlooked in the prime ministerial succession list, and this must have had a part in explaining Muhyiddin's subsequent bitterness. Is it any wonder that Muhyiddin grabbed the chance to become prime minister, to prove that he is "somebody"?

Muhyiddin's tenure as education minister If one wants to mess up a country, one need only tinker with the children's education. Muhyiddin's tenure as education minister was a disaster. He declared that the Malaysian education system was among the best in the world, despite many Sarawak schools being in a terrible condition, the prevarication over the use of English and his refusal to listen to parents' groups. His close ties with PAS may have affected Muhyiddin's opinion of women. Perhaps, he is a closet misogynist. In yet another swipe at the previous administration, it is rumoured that another woman chairperson of a leading government organisation will, on May 1, be replaced with an Umno-Baru politician. The coronavirus lockdown will come to an end, one day, and the nation will emerge from hibernation. But what stimulus package will Muhyiddin and his finance minister offer to the stakeholders who are the backbone of the economy - the small- and medium-sized enterprises? Without a plan, more people will die from starvation, from poverty and from mental health issues. The damage from the coronavirus pandemic will pale in comparison. With oil revenue reduced, and beer industries being forced to shut, how will Muhyiddin reward the people whose loyalty he must return? He could get rid of Jakim, at the very least trim its budget. He could reduce the size of the civil service because they must be costing us billions of ringgits. He could get rid of his foreign minister, instead of creating Special Envoys to do the work of the foreign minister. He could trim the cabinet, instead of having 70 ministers and deputies who do little work. He could reward his loyal followers with a Datukship. It's cheaper and does less damage than wrecking an already poorly managed government-linked company by appointing a politician to head it. The problem with Muhyiddin is his pre-occupation with Malay pride. Like the true politician, he does not arm the Malays with the real tools and the mental capacity to survive and compete with others. Instead, he permits conservative Malays to cultivate the Malay fear of the three Cs: Chinese, Christianity and Communism. For a lasting legacy, Muhyiddin should have the courage to do things differently. Whip the Malays out of their self-imposed reverie, reassure them that thinking like a Malaysian is best for the country, and that the non-Malays are not their enemy and should have equal status. Malaysians need new blood, not the old, tired faces in the present government. Reversing over 60 years of brainwashing is no mean feat, just as the cleaning-up of more than 40 years of institutionalised corruption cannot be achieved in a few terms. The time to start is now, but will Muhyiddin take up the challenge to redefine his legacy? - Mariam Mokhtar.mk

Indian police drag violators inside ambulance with fake covid19 patient to teach a lesson..

Degil sangat tak nak pakai mask katanya. Sekali kena sumbat dalam ambulan 

yang ada orang yang konon2 dijangkiti covid19, menggelupoq masing2...-f/bk

Bani Melayu dok Malaysia berpuluh2 tahun apa yang depa ada?

Nak tanya Bani Melayu mana lagi bahaya DAP atau Rohingya?...

cheers.

Sumber asal: Saya cuma Cina Islam bukan Cina DAP... Baca selebihnya di Saya cuma Cina Islam bukan Cina DAP...