#I was also the most senior ranking member of crew after the directors and producers

[uraharasandals]

I wonder how Unohana sometimes feel in the Gotei 13, because she's simultaneously one of the oldest (and hence senior, by age and thus by rank in default) and only women in a highly hierarchical and military organisation. She probably gets talked down to and disrespected a lot - especially given that she doesn't seem to be the type to openly advertise the fact that she was there at the beginning.

Like, Kyoraku and Ukitake knows about her past so it's likely that this was something that was known by people before she adopts her current demure demeanor. Also the fact that she seems to scare the everliving shit out of some people by her aura alone. But what if there were some idiots who weren't wise enough to keep out of her hair? And some people who looked down on her regardless?

Unohana would probably have made recovery for them as excruciating as fucking possible but still, thinking about this.

[calzona-ga]

Shondaland has always seemed like a beacon of what Hollywood could be. It’s ruled over by titular queen Shonda Rhimes and her tireless right hand woman, executive producer Betsy Beers. It's given us Grey’s Anatomy, How To Get Away With Murder, and the late, great Scandal and promises to explore everything from Anna Delvey’s infamous scammer tale to the apocalypse story we all deserve through Rhimes’ new partnership with Netflix.

Well, Shondaland took the next step in its evolution as one of entertainment’s leading matriarchies on Tuesday, September 25. “It’s incredible that we have three women directing three different episodes today,” Grey's showrunner and executive producer Krista Vernoff, who is one of those directors, told Refinery29 in between filming. “Two of us are women of color, one of us is a first-time director, all three of us were given our opportunity to direct for the first time at Grey’s Anatomy.”

On top of the three women simultaneously directing their respective episodes of the ABC series' already historic upcoming 15th season — the milestone marks the ABC series as the longest-running primetime medical drama in TV history — three women wrote the episode scripts that those directors were shooting. When those three installments wrap, two out of their three editors with also be women.

After chatting with the three women who helmed these start-of-season episodes, you realize how monumental this day was for television — and just how excited we should all be for Grey’s season 15, which premieres on Thursday, September 27.

While Vernoff, a first-time director, said the sheer level of women power on Tuesday was “incredible” as the team shot episodes 5, 6, and 7, it's even more important to realize the filming day wasn't a planned stunt. This is simply how the scheduled panned out.

“We certainly didn’t set out to design things this way,” Vernoff told Refinery29 during a filming break. “It just that we have a lot of women working on this show in very powerful positions. At any given time, the vast majority of the creatives, particularly in the senior positions, are women.”

Vernoff wasn’t kidding as she later rattled off the many women leading the ranks at Grey’s. All of the women who helmed episodes on Tuesday — Vernoff, star Chandra Wilson, and longtime crew member Nicole Rubio — were “birthed” as directors by the ABC staple, as producing director and legend Debbie Allen said. Everyone from the series’ unit production manager (Amy Schmidt) to the script supervisor (Lindsay Cohen) and line producer (Sara White) is a woman. Vernoff used her showrunning “power” to hire four entry-level, diverse women writers upon her season 14 return, only adding Shondaland's long bench of women scribes. Longtime Grey’s writer Elisabeth Finch penned Vernoff’s directorial debut, which will be the seventh episode of season 15.

Vernoff promises her soon-to-arrive installment will be the “darkest” of the first seven episodes of season 15 and, like the other two episodes shot on Tuesday, will premiere somewhere in late October or early November. “It’s brooding and it’s emotional,” the EP-showrunner teased, “It focuses on Richard and his journey this season.” Dr. Webber (James Pickens Jr.) will be tackling his history of substance abuse, which will lead him into some “dangerous” territory, according to Vernoff, who chose to direct this specific installment for her directorial coming out party.

Star Chandra Wilson, who wrapped helming episode 5 on Tuesday, is tackling some much lighter fare. “The name of my episode is ‘Everyday Angel,’” Miranda Bailey’s portrayer explained. “So I get to explore good things that happen to people. I’m the calm before the storm.”

While Wilson couldn’t spill much more about her relaxing episode, she did reveal exactly why having the kind of matriarchal environment that’s flourishing on the Grey’s Anatomy set is so vital. The actress-director announced her pregnancy towards the end of season 1, the first series regular to do so. “I specifically remember talking to Shonda and saying goodbye because I thought that my job was over. She said, ‘What are you talking about? Of course we’re going to figure this out,’” Wilson recalled. And, the team did figure it out; by season 2, Bailey ended up announcing her own pregnancy.

“I didn’t know that was possible, that you could start a job and have something natural happen, and that’s okay,” Wilson continued. That is the power of Shondaland. Now, Wilson declared, “I don’t know any other way than this.”

Fellow director Nicole Rubio, who was on set as a script supervisor when Grey’s reshot the pilot over a decade ago and has remained in the series’ orbit since, has similarly had her Hollywood perspective forever altered by her time on the medical series. The episode 6 helmer directed her first Grey’s installment in 2013, and has gone on to shoot for Madam Secretary, The Resident, and four other Shondaland shows.

“I would go on some shows and Black women would come up to me and say, ‘I’ve been doing this a long time — I have never had a Black woman direct me,’” Rubio, who learned to direct by shadowing Wilson, recalled. “They’re like, ‘It just doesn’t happen. It doesn’t happen.’” Rubio, however, is proof that it does happen now, which is a far cry from what the actress-director noticed at the very beginning of her ABC series. Back then, before Shonda Rhimes was one of the most powerful forces in entertainment, “It was a majority of men directing,” Rubio explained.

While the multi-hyphenate was fairly secretive about her episode, Rubio could confirm she had spent her morning shooting with Justin Chambers and Camilla Luddington, who play newlyweds Alex Karev and Jo Wilson(-Karev?). “They are hysterical,” Rubio said with a laugh. “They were so cute together. They are happy to be here, happy to be married.”

Although Rubio be might excited for viewers to see Alex and Jo together, producing director Debbie Allen, who directed season 15 premiere “With a Wonder and a Wild Desire,” has a few tidbits to share about leading lady Meredith Grey’s (Ellen Pompeo) romantic future. “I can only say we’re picking up right where we left off last season,” Allen teased, reminding us how many nuptials went down in the season 14 finale. “It’s the next day after the weddings. There’s a lot of fallout going on around that hospital. With Teddy (Kim Raver) coming back; oh my God, she’s having a baby. And what’s going on with Meredith? She had that innocent kiss in the finale.”

Now, previews suggest, Meredith will be doing more than just kissing her “All Of Me” smooching partner, Andrew DeLuca (Giacomo Gianniotti).

Speaking of Meredith’s portrayer, Allen has a response to the rumor Ellen Pompeo is leaving Grey-Sloan Memorial Hospital come 2020. “Girl, I have no idea. Shonda Rhimes says it best. She’s written the end of this show three times. But we can’t get to the end because the show is so strong and our fanbase just seems to expand and explode every year,” Allen explained.

“So 2020, honey? I have no idea. That’s a rumor. That’s all I can tell you.”

[stormycastles]

NPR: How A Shocking Attack Inspired India's Actresses To Fight Harassment

November 4, 2017 | NURITH AIZENMAN

Sayanora Philip (foreground), a singer in Mollywood films, takes a selfie with fellow members of the newly formed Women in Cinema Collective.

Listen here

Every day seems to bring a new high profile case of sexual harassment in American media. It began with accusations against Harvey Weinstein. This week NPR's senior vice president of news was forced to resign over allegations against him.

But this problem is hardly limited to the U.S. For the past several months one of India's major film industries has been made to face up to similar problems in its own ranks after the sexual assault of a prominent actress. In reaction, women movie stars, directors and other film professionals have formed an unprecedented coalition to fight back.

They call themselves the Women in Cinema Collective, and the group includes some of the biggest names in "Mollywood." That's the nickname for the industry that produces movies in the 35-million-strong South Indian state of Kerala in the local language of Malayalam — and which is not to be confused with "Bollywood," the better known nationwide Hindi-language film industry based in the city of Mumbai.

Launched in May, the WCC has been lobbying both the industry and political leaders for a host of reforms — ranging from setting up an official complaints system through which women could report harassment and get justice to the stipulation that production companies must provide such long-denied basics as toilets appropriate for women on set.

Perhaps no one is more surprised at their newfound activism than the women themselves.

"None of us thought we could all stand up and ask for the same thing," says Rima Kallingal, a prominent movie actress. "None of us thought of it."

That all changed on an evening last February, when a Mollywood actress got into a chauffeured car hired by the company producing a film she was working on. According to a judge's summary of allegations made by the state prosecutor, suddenly another vehicle rammed the car from behind. A gang of men jumped out of that vehicle and forced their way into the actress's car. Over the next couple hours they drove around with her as their prisoner, taking photographs and video as they sexually assaulted her.

"I can't even imagine the psychological pressure she went through when she was in that car," recalls Kallingal, who is a close friend of the actress. (As a matter of policy, NPR does not name individuals who are the alleged victims of sexual assaults unless they choose to be identified).

Kallingal believes that, whatever their aim, the assailants assumed the actress would be too traumatized or ashamed at the prospect of the photographs being made public to report the crime.

"That's where she proved everybody wrong," says Kallingal. That same night, after the actress was set free, she contacted the police.

"I still remember going to meet her the very next day," says Kallingal. "How she stood like a rock and was so clear that she was going to come down on every person who was involved in this."

Within days police had arrested several men, including one whom the actress had recognized during the attack as someone who had driven her car during a previous film shoot, according to the judge's summary of the prosecutor's allegations. (An attorney for the man told NPR his client will be pleading not guilty in the case and was not involved in the attack.)

Kallingal says that in India survivors of a sexual assault are often either blamed or pitied as somehow irreparably soiled. So the actress's defiance was a watershed moment.

"She changed the whole narrative with that single act of bravery."

She also inspired her female colleagues to start a conversation they'd never had before. At first they were simply phoning each other out of shock — and to discuss ways they could lend the actress their public support. But the fact that the attack had taken place on a work trip, and, allegedly at the hands of someone who had been employed in the film industry, soon prompted deeper conversations about how safe any of them could feel in an industry that is loosely organized and requires them to show up at all manner of odd hours to remote locations where all but a handful of their colleagues are men.

The more the woman talked, the more they confided in one another about instances of sexual abuse and even assault they had faced on the job.

"It was like we opened a can of worms," says Parvathy Thiruvothu, another top actress. "It was really shocking for everyone once we got together, about 20 of us, that we have been either assaulted or faced the casting couch in the industry over years and we've never spoken about it even with each other. We were all made to believe that it was just us, just that one incident, [that] it doesn't happen to everybody."

The stories they shared ran the gamut: Women getting slapped for expressing creative differences on set. Male actors and directors making lewd comments on set or sending suggestive texts late at night. Directors and male stars or even male crew members insisting that a woman, including not just actresses but support staff such as hair stylists, sleep with them over the weeks that a film was being shot — and docking a woman's pay or getting her blacklisted if she refused. For some women, refusal wasn't even an option.

"I was assaulted," says Thiruvothu. On one of her movies, a powerful man in the industry "would expect me to be in his room to discuss scenes and be physical with me. I was really young at the time, and for him to say 'It's okay, you know, it's very normal' and for me to try to escape — and I didn't. I was forced to be intimate."

What's more, she says, in conversations she's now had with other Mollywood women, they've told her this same man assaulted them as well — and that he's one of a few men who appear to be repeat offenders. "These men are still reigning in this industry as powerful people," she says. "We have our Weinsteins here."

But when it comes to naming them publicly, that's where the parallel with Hollywood ends. Whereas Weinstein's accusers have been greeted with virtually universal support from both their colleagues in Hollywood and the wider public, Mollywood women say they worry the reception would be very different if they were to take on major figures.

"We would be plucked out. We would be hushed down," says Thiruvothu.

And not just because of the blaming and shaming that anyone reporting sexual assault in India may face. In India, being in the movie business in particular can open a woman to accusations of having loose morals, says Bina Paul, a veteran film editor: "It's considered rather taboo to enter cinema." So much so that the first hurdle a woman often faces to joining the industry is her family's disapproval.

Thiruvothu agrees. "Even now as an actor, the way I get comments on social media is that, 'Hey, you sleep around. You're not even a pure woman, you're just a whore."

So when cases do come to light, says Paul, "it's always twisted [as] she was willing to, or she wanted to get ahead in her career."

As for the film industry itself, Mollywood's treatment of the actress who was attacked in February hasn't inspired confidence among the women of the WCC. In July police charged one of the industry's most famous actors with hiring the gang that carried out the attack. According to the judge's summary, the prosecution alleges that the actor, Gopalakrishan Padmanabhan Pillai, who goes by the stage name Dileep, bore a grudge against the actress for precipitating the breakup of his marriage by conveying information about him to his then-wife, with whom the actress was close friends.

An attorney for Dileep says he was not involved in any way. And to the dismay of the women in the WCC, some of the most prominent men in Mollywood have started speaking out in Dileep's defense.

Kallingal, the actress who is close friends with the survivor of the February assault, does not dispute these men's right to maintain Dileep's innocence until he is proven guilty. But she says that by neglecting to simultaneously express concern for the actress they have been essentially conveying that "they stand with him and not with her." Worse, she says, "there are people who are questioning [the actress's] morality, her integrity, her character even."

Thiruvothu and others say this climate explains why few women in India's other film industries — including Bollywood — have come forward through the #metoo campaign that has proven so galvanizing in Hollywood.

"I have friends in every single Indian film industry," says Thiruvothu. "This is not just an issue of [Mollywood]."

How to change the culture of silence? The women of the WCC say they concluded that the first step was to band together.

"We thought our individual voices were not strong enough," says Kallingal. "So we should voice our opinion strongly together, in one voice."

Among their key demands is the establishment of a complaints committee with the power to investigate charges of sexual harassment and other forms of discrimination and to punish the perpetrators with sanctions ranging from reprimands to dismissal — even to legal charges, if warranted.

Indian law actually already requires companies of a certain size to institute such systems. But because the film industry functions more informally — with crews coming together for film shoots for several weeks, then disbanding — the assumption has been that the law does not apply. Now the WCC is consulting legal experts to assess if that's really true, and, even if so, what legal steps would be needed to set up a complaints adjudication system for their industry.

In May members of the WCC also met with the chief minister of the state of Kerala, who agreed to their request to appoint a commission that is now studying the question.

But while addressing harassment is a top priority, the WCC also wants to find ways to remedy a host of other forms of gender discrimination that its members say contribute to making their industry inhospitable to women: unequal pay; a lack of maternity benefits; failure by management to provide bathroom facilities for women on set; contracts that permit movie producers to substitute a nude body double without an actress's consent; and just a general culture of not treating women's contributions seriously.

"In every way they belittle you," says Kallingal.

They're also exploring ways to bring more young women into the industry — state-sponsored scholarships to study at film schools, for instance, or state laws that would incentivise companies to hire more women. And not just as actresses or hair stylists. Right now says Paul, "You don't have women gaffers. You don't have women technical staff. We're so outnumbered. You go on to a film set and there are three women and 80 men."

In addition the WCC is encouraging the industry's professional associations to start training workshops on appropriate workplace behavior. For instance, says Thiruvothu, the men who comment on a woman's body on set, "they really do feel that it is normal to do that and that it's actually a compliment."

But she says it's not just the men who need educating: "The women have been taught to giggle and allow it. We all are part of the problem. We all think it's okay."

Indeed the women say their conversations have made them realize how much they had internalized the view that they should minimize inappropriate behavior by men for the sake of keeping the peace.

Thiruvothu recalls how from childhood, whenever she was pinched or groped — like the time when she was 17 and a man at a shopping mall grazed his hands over her breasts and then just walked past — adults told her it was best not to make a scene.

"That's how society has trained us — to take it all in and implode," she says. "I think we've imploded enough. It's coming out now."

Freelance writer Chhavi Sachdev contributed reporting to this story.

[bigyack-com]

Coronavirus News: Live Coverage and Updates

Communist Party ousts provincial leader at the center of the outbreak.

China’s ruling Communist Party fired the leader of the province at the center of the new coronavirus outbreak on Thursday amid widespread public anger over the handling of the epidemic. Jiang Chaoliang, the party secretary of Hubei Province, is the highest-ranking official to lose his job over the handling of the coronavirus outbreak, which has killed more than 1,100 people in recent weeks. Mr. Jiang will be replaced by Ying Yong, the mayor of Shanghai. The selection of Mr. Ying may underline the continued political control of Xi Jinping, China’s top leader. Before being transferred to Shanghai in a fairly senior role in 2008, Mr. Ying had come up through the political ranks in Zhejiang Province, which is Mr. Xi’s political base as well. After the outbreak first emerged in Wuhan, the capital of Hubei Province, the leadership came under intense scrutiny for playing down the virus and delaying reports of its spread. The province then took drastic measures that included imposing a lockdown not only on Wuhan but also on tens of millions of people in surrounding areas. For hospitals in Wuhan, already overwhelmed with patients, that cordon worsened a shortage of medical supplies that has continued.

A surge in new cases and deaths as diagnostic tools expand.

Early on Thursday, officials announced that nearly 15,000 new cases and 242 new deaths were recorded in a single day in Hubei Province, the center of the coronavirus outbreak, largely because the authorities there had expanded their diagnostic tools for counting new infections. Until now, only infections confirmed by specialized testing kits were considered accurate. But those kits have been in such short supply — and so many sick people have gone untested — that the authorities in Hubei have started counting patients whose illness have been screened and identified by doctors. The result was a sudden — and large — spike in the overall tally for the coronavirus: more than 1,300 people killed and well over 50,000 infected. The change in how cases are counted is only one factor that has made it difficult for experts to determine the true scale of the epidemic. In fact, the shifting landscape of how infections are defined and confirmed has led to significant variations in the estimates for the extent of outbreak.

Japan says it will let some people off a quarantined cruise ship, as cases rise to 218.

As Japan announced 44 new coronavirus cases on a cruise ship quarantined in the waters off Yokohama, bringing the total to 218, the country’s health minister said on Thursday that the authorities would begin allowing some passengers to disembark and serve out the remainder of the quarantine period on shore. The minister, Katsunobo Kato, said that, if they first test negative for the virus, passengers 80 or older, those with existing medical conditions and those assigned to cabins without windows or balconies would be taken to facilities for confinement until the quarantine is scheduled to end on Feb. 19. Those who test positive will be taken to hospitals. Of the newly confirmed cases, Mr. Kato said, 43 were passengers and one was a crew member. The cruise ship, the Diamond Princess, arrived in Yokohama on Feb. 3, and passengers were expecting to go home the next day. But after learning that a man who got off the ship in Hong Kong had tested positive for the coronavirus, the Japanese government quarantined all 3,700 passengers and crew members on board. The quarantine period is scheduled to last for two weeks. Separately, the Cambodian government said on Wednesday it would allow another cruise ship, the Westerdam, to dock in Sihanoukville. The ship had been denied permission to stop in Japan, Guam, Taiwan and the Philippines, despite having no diagnoses of coronavirus.

‘All engagements of His Holiness the Dalai Lama remain indefinitely postponed.’

The Dalai Lama has canceled his public events because of the coronavirus outbreak, his office says. “As a precautionary measure, in view of the coronavirus (Covid-19) outbreak, all engagements of His Holiness the Dalai Lama remain indefinitely postponed,” a statement says. On March 9, the Dalai Lama was scheduled to appear at a teaching event in Dharamsala, India. No other events appear on the schedule. Updated Feb. 10, 2020 What is a Coronavirus? It is a novel virus named for the crown-like spikes that protrude from its surface. The coronavirus can infect both animals and people, and can cause a range of respiratory illnesses from the common cold to more dangerous conditions like Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, or SARS. How contagious is the virus? According to preliminary research, it seems moderately infectious, similar to SARS, and is possibly transmitted through the air. Scientists have estimated that each infected person could spread it to somewhere between 1.5 and 3.5 people without effective containment measures. How worried should I be? While the virus is a serious public health concern, the risk to most people outside China remains very low, and seasonal flu is a more immediate threat. Who is working to contain the virus? World Health Organization officials have praised China’s aggressive response to the virus by closing transportation, schools and markets. This week, a team of experts from the W.H.O. arrived in Beijing to offer assistance. What if I’m traveling? The United States and Australia are temporarily denying entry to noncitizens who recently traveled to China and several airlines have canceled flights. How do I keep myself and others safe? Washing your hands frequently is the most important thing you can do, along with staying at home when you’re sick. The Dalai Lama’s office has also issued an appeal, urging Tibetans across the world to “collectively pray for the speedy resolution to the crisis and the well-being of humanity.” The coronavirus outbreak has infected more than 45,000 people in Asia, according to statements from health officials. India, where the Dalai Lama lives, has at least three confirmed cases so far, according to the World Health Organization.

A big tech show has been canceled.

One of the world’s biggest technology trade shows was canceled on Wednesday as the coronavirus outbreak continued to disrupt the global business calendar. Every year since 2006, Mobile World Congress has drawn representatives of major tech companies to Barcelona to gather in giant conference halls to launch products, hobnob with industry luminaries and discuss deals and partnerships. The event typically draws more than 100,000 attendees from nearly 200 countries across the world. This year’s event was scheduled to begin later this month. But on Wednesday, the industry group that organizes the trade show, the Global System for Mobile Communications Association, said it was canceling the event because of “the coronavirus outbreak, travel concern and other circumstances.” The cancellation of the show became inevitable when major companies including Nokia, Ericsson and Vodafone pulled out. The association had announced safety measures to try to keep the show on track, including not admitting people who had been to affected parts of China. Last year, Mobile World Congress carried political significance when the U.S. government sent a delegation to warn wireless companies against using equipment sold by the Chinese tech giant Huawei. Canceling the event is a blow to the city of Barcelona, which has hosted the conference for years and enjoys a strong economic boost from the thousands of attendees putting their company expense accounts to work at restaurants, hotels and corporate events.

United Airlines extends its suspension of flights to mainland China.

United Airlines said Wednesday that it would not resume flights connecting the United States with mainland China and Hong Kong until April 24, extending an earlier suspension, after a similar announcement by American Airlines. Demand for such flights declined sharply in late January as concern over the severity of the coronavirus outbreak began to take hold, according to data from the Airlines Reporting Corporation, an industry-owned transaction clearinghouse. In the first few weeks of January, sales of tickets from the United States to mainland China were down slightly compared to the same weeks the year before, but by the fourth week of January, demand was down 59 percent year over year. Ticket refunds that week were up 534 percent, according to data based on 1.8 million tickets sold in January 2019 and 2020.

The C.D.C. says some coronavirus test kits are faulty.

Some of the coronavirus testing kits sent to states have flaws and do not work properly, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Wednesday. The C.D.C. began sending the kits to states to allow them to conduct their own testing and get results faster than they would by shipping samples to the C.D.C. in Atlanta. The failure of the kits means that states still have to depend on the C.D.C., which will delay results by several days. On trial runs in some states, the kits produced results that were “inconclusive,” Dr. Nancy Messonnier, director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, said at a news conference on Wednesday. Dr. Messonnier told reporters that the kits had been sent to 30 other countries as well, but said later Wednesday that she was mistaken. There have been 13 confirmed cases of the infection in patients in the United States so far.

For one Chinese traveler, paradise is more like purgatory.

What was supposed to be a short detour on her way to begin another semester of studies in Australia has turned into an anxious limbo for one Chinese student when that country joined others in banning travelers arriving from mainland China. Now, Iris Yao must wait on Jeju Island, off the coast of South Korea. According to the current regulations, she cannot make her way to Australia until she has been out of China for at least 14 days. Alone in a foreign country and made to feel like a pariah has left Ms. Yao, 22, depressed and frustrated. She is one of tens of thousands of Chinese travelers whose plans have been upset by rapidly changing regulations thrown up across the region as the coronavirus has spread. Ms. Yao arrived on the resort island last month for a short stay on her way back to her university in Sydney, Australia, from her hometown in Zhoushan, China. Since then, she has been virtually marooned on Jeju Island, known for its white sand beaches and volcanic landscape. It might be slice of paradise, but she has not found it relaxing. Instead of the warm welcome once extended to wealthy Chinese tourists, the island’s locals have met Ms. Yao and other Chinese visitors with worry, discrimination and fear. Some restaurants on the resort island have banned Chinese citizens. Employees at one asked her not to speak Mandarin while eating there, fearing she would scare away customers. “The fear toward the virus is everywhere,” she said. “I think it’s unfair for all Chinese citizens; they are not allowed to go into restaurants or cannot speak Mandarin.”

London has its first coronavirus case.

London is experiencing its first case of coronavirus, the British authorities said on Wednesday. The patient, who is the United Kingdom’s ninth case, contracted the virus in China and is being treated at Guy’s and St Thomas’ Hospital in London. Britain has confirmed nine cases of coronavirus infections, with five believed to be linked to a British businessman who may have contracted the virus in Singapore. The man, Steve Walsh, is believed to be the cause of five additional cases in France. Steve WalshCredit...Via FTI Consulting On Wednesday, Mr. Walsh released a statement saying he has been released from the hospital and returned home, even as public health officials continue to try to trace the contacts of some of the people he is believed to have infected. The strategic incident director of Britain’s National Health Service, Prof. Keith Willett, said Mr. Walsh had developed only “mild” symptoms of the virus and had made a full recovery. “He is no longer contagious and poses no risk to the public,” Professor Willett said in a statement. “He is keen to return to his normal life and spend time with his family out of the media spotlight.”

China directed local leaders to resume production.

The Chinese authorities have approved a broad strategy for trying to bring the coronavirus outbreak under control while restarting economic production, state news outlets reported Wednesday evening. President Xi Jinping ordered that tax cuts be drafted and put into effect. Premier Li Keqiang, the country’s No. 2 official, and the country’s cabinet called for major construction projects to begin across the country as soon as possible. State-owned enterprises were told to cut rents. Banks were ordered to keep interest rates low. City governments were told to make sure that workers who went home for the Lunar New Year holiday could reach their jobs. The two most powerful political bodies in China — the Standing Committee of the Communist Party Politburo and the government’s cabinet of ministers — each issued similar orders. Both groups produced hints of the fairly broad stimulus program that many economists expect soon. None of the announcements directly addressed the difficult balancing act that China now faces: how to put more than 700 million workers back on the job without creating conditions that could allow the virus to spread. The Ministry of Education in China instructed schools on Wednesday to find ways to keep the country’s 190 million primary and secondary students busy during the suspension of the school year, but it discouraged any significant efforts to provide classes online. In a notice posted on its website, the ministry urged provincial school administrators to draw up detailed study plans for students who, like everyone else, are largely confined to their homes. The ministry encouraged reading and physical exercises and, if possible, online tutoring, though it also warned that primary-school students especially should not spend too much time online. It also announced that special programing on China’s national education television channel, CETV 4, would begin next week; the network had a similar role during the SARS epidemic in 2003. The coronavirus epidemic that began in Wuhan has now thrown the country’s schools and universities into chaos. Some provinces, including Liaoning and Sichuan, plan to reopen primary and secondary schools on Feb. 17, at least for now, while others have already postponed the school year until at least March, including Shanghai, Zhejiang and Guangdong. The delays could have the greatest impact on those students preparing for the major national exams for high school and college held at the end of spring.

The State Department is allowing some employees to leave Hong Kong.

The United States will allow nonemergency consulate employees in Hong Kong and their families to leave because of the coronavirus outbreak, a State Department official said on Wednesday. The decision to allow voluntary departures was made in response to continuing uncertainty surrounding the outbreak and practical considerations such as school closings, the official said. The consulate in Hong Kong will remain open and continue to provide regular services. A similar decision was made to allow nonemergency State Department personnel and their families to leave mainland China in late January. The State Department chartered flights and evacuated about 850 people from Wuhan, where the outbreak began late last year, including employees of the United States Consulate in the city. Hong Kong has 50 confirmed coronavirus cases and one death. The State Department’s travel advisory for the city is at Level 2, the second-lowest of four levels, and recommends that visitors to Hong Kong “exercise increased caution” because of the outbreak. This month, the warning for mainland China was raised to 4, the highest level. “Do not travel to China due to the novel coronavirus,” it said.

Disrupted supply chains are sending a ripple effect across the globe.

The coronavirus outbreak in China has generated economic waves that are rocking commodities markets and disrupting the supply networks that act as the backbone of the global economy. In Australia, after hauling hundreds of thousands of tons of iron ore to China, returning freighters can face a 14-day quarantine. One of the world’s largest copper mining companies, BHP, has been in talks to possibly delay shipments to Chinese ports. And China is turning back deliveries of liquefied natural gas, potentially disrupting shipments from Qatar to Indonesia. “We’re seeing a rippling out,” said Ed Morse, global head of commodities research at Citigroup in New York. “And we don’t see it stopping.” Prices for key industrial raw materials such as copper, iron ore, nickel, aluminum and liquid natural gas have plummeted since the virus emerged. And manufacturers, mining companies and commodity producers of all stripes are weighing whether they will be forced to cut back on production for fear of adding to a growing inventory glut.

Airbnb cancels bookings in Beijing.

Airbnb will suspend bookings in Beijing until May 1, the company said on Wednesday. The decision was made “in accordance with guidance issued by the government to all companies in the short-term rental industry,” a spokesman for the company said. He added that existing reservations would be refunded. Airbnb has also waived cancellation fees for travel to and from mainland China until the end of February. Travelers who had booked stays in Hubei, the province at the center of the outbreak, can cancel reservations without charge until April 1. The company had continued to accept reservations throughout China during the busy travel season before and after the Lunar New Year holiday, even as the government started to lock down cities and impose road restrictions to stop the spread of the virus. The company also said it would set aside $10 million “to support hosts in the next few years, during the recovery period of the local tourism industry.” Reporting and research was contributed by Amber Wang, Zoe Mou, Albee Zhang, Yiwei Wang, Claire Fu, Amy Qin, Sui-Lee Wee, Steven Lee Myers, Keith Bradsher, Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs, Matt Phillips, Austin Ramzy, Tiffany May, Elian Peltier, Yonette Joseph, Megan Specia, Heather Murphy, Iliana Magra, Niraj Chokshi and Ceylan Yeginsu. Read the full article

[phroyd]

This week’s theme was undoubtedly the continued taint of the Trump regime for their ties to Russia. For the first time since Election Day, Trump seems unable to drive the media storylines.

Trump announced he would not attend the White House Correspondent’s Association dinner, amid growing tension with the media.

Further to the stories on Priebus in Week 15 reaching out to the FBI, reports cited that Spicer made calls to the CIA, and Republican leaders Nunes and Burr, asking they discredit the NYT story about Russian ties.

Before the investigation even begins, Nunes, the House Intelligence Committee chair, said he hasn’t found evidence of the Trump team’s ties to Russia.

CREW filed under the FOIA to see communications between Priebus and the FBI.

Trump accused Obama of being behind the town hall protests: “I think [Obama] is behind it. I also think it’s politics.”

Early in the week, Trump pronounced, “I haven’t called Russia in 10 years,” a statement then thoroughly discredited by video clips of his numerous statements otherwise.

In a NBC interview, former President George W. Bush said “we need answers” on Trump ties to Russia.

Another Trump cabinet pick, Wilbur Ross, has deep ties to Russia, including investing more than $1 billion in the Bank of Cyprus, and becoming a vice chairman of the bank. Putin appointed the other vice chairman.

Rachel Maddow reported the Bank of Cyprus also has ties to a Russian oligarch who helped Trump make a $60 million profit flipping a home in Florida he owned for just two years.

As Trump continued his attacks on Sweden, O’Reilly booked a supposed Swedish ‘national security advisor’ for his Fox News show. After Swedish officials indicated this expert was not known, O’Reilly was forced to issue a watered-down apology. Since, Trump has stopped attacking Sweden.

A massive wave of anti-Semitism continued, including two more cemeteries desecrated, and 31 threats against JCC’s in one day alone. The ADL has said anti-Semitism in the US is the worst since the 1930s.

Seeming to follow David Duke’s lead, Trump said it could be Jews behind the rash of anti-Semitic attacks.

Another mosque was burned down — the fourth in seven weeks.

WAPO reported the FBI had once planned to pay the British spy behind the dossier, lending credibility to the contents.

The Senate Intelligence Committee may call the British spy who gathered the information for the infamous dossier, to testify. If they can find him (he’s in hiding).

The father of the SEAL killed in the failed Yemen raid told the Miami Herald he wants answers.

Trump sought to blame the generals for the SEAL’s death.

Trump also tried to blame Obama, saying he finished what Obama had started. This was refuted by a former aid, who said Obama had never approved the raid.

NBC reported that despite Trump claims to the contrary, senior US officials said there was no significant intel yielded from the Yemen raid.

Feinstein and other Dem senators demanded more information from the State Dept on China’s sudden decision to grant a trademark to the Trump organization. As noted in Week 14’s list, this occurred shortly after Trump declared his support of “One China” policy.

Trump WH let Conway off the hook on an ethics investigation, saying she acted “inadvertently” in promoting Ivanka’s brand — despite recommendations by the OCE for discipline.

Amid protests and ethics concerns, Donald Jr and Eric Trump cut the ribbon on a new hotel in Vancouver, built and financed by one of Malaysia’s richest families.

A businesswoman who touts access to China, purchased a $16 million penthouse at Trump Park Avenue. Trump retains an economic interest in the property.

Although an order to stay Trump’s Muslim Ban is in place, problems continued including Muhammad Ali Jr. being detained in a Florida airport, and French historian and expert on the Holocaust, Henry Russo, who was threatened with deportation while traveling to a discussion at Texas A&M.

Stories continue to describe the State Department’s diminishing role. State Dept staff are being excluded from meeting with foreign leaders, leadership posts are going unfilled, and many employees are quitting. Trump also had threatened to slash the budget by one-third.

The State Department has not held a single daily briefing under Tillerson. Daily briefings had been the norm since the 1950s. Limited daily briefings are set to begin next week.

The State Department tweeted, then deleted, a congratulatory message to an Iranian director for winning an Oscar.

Trump escalated his war on the media, telling Breitbart the NYT’s “intent is so evil and bad,” and that “they write lies.”

Trump delivered a de facto SOTU speech, read from a teleprompter. Although his manner was mild, the content continued to be nationalistic and negative. The Center for American Progress said that of Trump 61 statements, 51 were false.

Also refuting Trump’s SOTU, The Brennan Center for Justice noted, “Nationally, crime remains at the bottom of a 25-year downtrend, half of what it was at its peak in 1991. Last year, rates of overall crime fell for the 14th year in a row.”

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg did not attend Trump’s SOTU, nor did Maxine Waters.

The Democratic women of the House wore the white of the Suffragists at Trump’s SOTU to show support of women’s rights.

Trump officials fed news outlets misinformation on a shift in Trump’s immigration plans — hinting the time might be right for an immigration bill — ahead of the SOTU. CNN reported Trump misled reporters to get positive coverage.

The NYT reported that the Obama administration had rushed to preserve information on the Trump team’s ties to Russia, spreading it to government agencies.

Also reported by the NYT: American allies, including the British and the Dutch, provided the Obama administration with information on meetings between Russian officials and the Trump regime in European cities.

A bombshell story by WAPO reported that Sessions met with Russian ambassador twice, but did not disclose those meetings when asked during this Senate confirmation hearing.

Sessions first spoke with Kislyak in Cleveland on July 18 — the same day the Trump campaign gutted the GOP’s platform of its anti-Russia stance on Ukraine. On July 23, WikiLeaks released stolen emails from the DNC.

The WSJ reported that Sessions used campaign funds to pay for his trip to the RNC Convention, where he met the Russian ambassador.

At a next day press conference, Sessions recused himself from Trump investigations, but during the campaign only.

As the controversy continued, Sessions said he would submit an amended testimony to address Democratic senators’ questions.

POLITICO reported that Trump adviser Carter Page also met with Kislyak at the RNC Convention. While in office, Harry Reid had asked Comey to investigate Carter, saying he was also meeting with “high ranking sanctioned individuals” in Moscow.

Carter told MSNBC he had met with Kislyak, then seemed to backtrack on CNN to say he never spoke with him for more than 10 seconds.

Kushner and Flynn also met with Kislyak at the Trump Tower in December. Of note, given the venue and people involved, this points to Trump having direct knowledge of the meeting.

CNN reported that US Intelligence considers Kislyak to be one of Russia’s top spies and spy-recruiters in Washington.

Kislyak did not attend the DNC Convention.

Trump team forced Nikki Haley to fire career staffers who she had asked for advice on how to talk tough with Russia.

A front page story in USA Today reported that emails released under a FOIA request to The Indianapolis Star, show Pence used personal email for state business while governor, including for sensitive matters and homeland security issues, and that his personal AOL account was hacked.

The next day, Pence turned over 13 boxes of state-related emails to the Indiana statehouse — a step required by law.

Trump’s transition team canceled planned training on ethics for his staff, appointees and Cabinet members.

Rachel Maddow reported on a leaked DHS assessment document which indicates most US-based extremists radicalized years after entry into the US. These findings negate the main argument made by the Trump regime for their Muslim Ban, and may explain why they have yet to release the new version frequently promised to be coming soon.

Inhumane round-ups by ICE continued, including a father of four US-born children who has lived here for 20 years, while dropping his kids off at school.

A 22 year-old immigrant was detained by ICE moments after a press conference. She was 7 when her family moved to the US from Argentina, placing her under DACA immigration policy.

Spicer was reported to be checking his staff phones for leaks.

Reuters reported on stepped up efforts by the Trump regime to plug leaks, including Mnuchin using his first senior staff meeting to inform his aides that he would not tolerate leaks.

Top talent continues to leave the already thinly staffed executive branch over poor morale and fear of Trump.

FP reported that the Trump WH is considering using high-end security software for WH networks in an effort to stop leaks.

Schwarzenegger quit The Celebrity Apprentice, citing too much “baggage” — a clear shot at Trump. Trump continues his role as Executive Producer of the show (which we’ve normalized!).

Trump fired back via Twitter this next day claiming Schwarzenegger was fired because of low ratings. Schwarzenegger told him to hire a fact checker.

As stories continued all week about Trump and his team’s ties to Russia, offering no proof, Trump accused Obama of wiretapping phones in Trump Tower, tweeting, “This is Nixon/Watergate. Bad (or sick) guy!”

As the week closed out, Trump yet again headed to Mar-a-Lago for the weekend, after leaving the WH at 3 p.m. on Friday. Trump has yet to visit Camp David.

Some Things We’ve Already Normalized:

Trump’s sons are continuing to conduct business from which Trump has a direct economic benefit.

Our executive branch is vastly understaffed, and Trump and his regime seem to make little effort at hiring (consolidation of power).

Our media (some) continue to push the notion of a Trump “reset,” and seek to normalize Trump and his regime.

Comey continues to NOT cooperate with Congress in hearings. We also do not know the status of the DOJ inquiry into Comey and the FBI, and whether this has been allowed to continue under Sessions.

Click Here to see all of the past week’s changes which point to a more authoritarian path in The Administrative Arm of our government.

Phroyd

[lopezdorothy70-blog]

Multiple Scientists Publish Papers Suggesting The Moon Is Hollow & Artificially Made

 It is not out of the question that artifacts of these visits still exist, or even that some kind of base is maintained (possibly automatically) within the solar system to provide continuity for successive expeditions. Because of weathering and the possibility of detection and interference by the inhabitants of the Earth, it would be preferable not to erect such a base on the Earth's surface. The Moon seems one reasonable alternative. Forthcoming high resolution photographic reconnaissance of the Moon from space vehicles – particularly of the back side �� might bear these possibilities in mind. – Carl Sagan (source)

Controversy has surrounded the Moon for a very long time, we have leaks, research and information from some very credible sources who have, over a span of decades, been relaying to the public that our Moon is not what we think it is, and that there's also some type of extraterrestrial presence on the Moon.

One example would be the testimony of Colonel Ross Dedrickson, who was responsible for maintaining the inventory of the nuclear weapon stockpile for the United States, he had a long stint with the US Atomic Energy Commission, you can view his obituary here.

Shortly before his passing, he told the world that the US tried to detonate atomic weapons on the Moon for scientific purposes, measurements and whatnot and that this project was halted by extraterrestrials, who would not allow us to detonate any nuclear weapons in space.  These were some interesting comments because he is one of the hundreds of high ranking military people who have alluded to such things, and we also have a declassified report by the Air Force Nuclear Weapons Center from June 1959 that shows how seriously they were considering the plan, called Project A119.

We know for a fact that they wanted to investigate the capability of weapons in space, and if they did, we also know that we would never be told, similar to the testing that goes on here on planet Earth.

Then, we have remote viewers from the STARGATE program who have 'seen' strange structures and humanoid creatures on the Moon, like Ingo Swann (from his book, titled Penetration), for example. He wasn't the only one from the program who did, I have personally had conversations with Dr. Paul Smith, a retired army veteran who spent a decade in that program, he also relayed to me that something strange is happening on the Moon. Many from within that program have been very outspoken about an extraterrestrial presence.

You can read more about the remote viewing program here. We've published numerous articles about it.

Multiple whistleblowers have also spoken of strange structures on the Moon, and it's become so obvious that some academicians are trying to do what they can to bring attention to it. For example, a recently published a paper in the Journal of Space Exploration about certain features on the far side of the Moon that appear in the crater Paracelsus C. Titled “Image Analysis of Unusual Structures on the Far Side of the Moon in the Crater Paracelsus C,” it argues that these features might be artificial in origin, meaning someone other than a human being built them and put them there.

It's not just the Moon, a physicist from the University of Tennessee Space Institute, Dr. Horace Crater, recently published a paper in The Journal of Space Exploration that, along with the NASA Viking images, hints “strongly at artificial surface interventions.”

The list is long, and the idea that somebody else is on the moon is nothing new, even the Deputy Manager for the Clementine Mission to the moon in 1995 said it was really a photo reconnaissance mission to check out structures on the far side of the Moon that wasn't put there by humans…

But this article is not about what's on the moon, it's about what exactly the Moon is.

It's also noteworthy to mention that the United States has been criticized by Russia for concealing artifacts they collected from the Moon.

I thought it was important to provide that brief overview before we get into it, to go more in depth you can check out the articles below:

Dr. Steven Greer: “We Did Go To The Moon, But The Footage Was Fake.”

Another Interesting Leak: A Second NASA Scientist Tells Us That 'Somebody Else' Is On The Moon

A Wel Known CIA Pilot Claims That The Moon Has 250 Million Citizens

Did Neil Armstrong & His Crew Encounter Extraterrestrials On The Moon 

What is the Moon?

Perhaps strangest of all the anomalies are the many indications that the moon may be hollow. Studies of moon rocks indicate that the moon's interoior differs from the Earth's mantle in ways suggesting a very small core or none at all. A 1962 study found the interior of the moon to be less dense that the exterior. – Jim Mars, from his, Our Occulted History

Is the moon hollow? Many intellectual minds seem to think so, but despite what's really being talked about, these theories are still considered unconventional by the mainstream, who like to push their own theories and teach them as fact.

Perhaps the reason why the US has not disclosed their artefacts from the moon, including all of the rocks, is because from what we do have, studies of moon rocks have shown that the Moon's interior is far different from the Earth's mantle which suggests a very small core, or, no core at all.

In 1962 Gordon MacDonald, a NASA scientist, published a study that stated, “Indeed, it would seem that the Moon is more like a hollow than a homogeneous sphere.”

According to Sean C. Solomon, “The Lunar Orbiter experiments vastly improved our knowledge of the Moon's gravitational field…indicating the frightening possibility that the Moon might be hollow.”(Our Occulted History)

Solomon is  is the director of the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University. He is also principal investigator on the NASA MESSENGER mission to Mercury.

Here is a paper by Solomon on the topic published in 2014 discussing how, after decades of data, they still have no idea about the moons inner core and what it's comprised of. There are multiple theories out there that've developed from this supposed uncertainty, including a fluid core.

Mars elaborates in his book:

“The most startling evidence that the moon could be hollow came on November 20, 1969, when the Apollo 12 crew, after returning to their command ship, sent the lunar module (LM) ascent stage crashing back onto the moon, creating an artificial moon quake. The LM struck the surface about forty miles from the Apollo 12 landing site, where super sensitive seismic equipment recorded something both unexpected and astounding – the moon reverberated like a bell for more than an hour. Frank Press of MIT stated, “…none of us have seen anything like this on Earth. In all our experience, it is quite an extraordinary event. That this rather small impact…produced a signal which lasted 30 minutes is quite beyond the range of our experience.”

How Did The Moon Get To Where It Is?

Conventional wisdom tells us that yes, the Moon may have originated elsewhere and at some point came to orbit our planet. It tells us that it was formed from debris after a space object smashed into Earth, while another theory states that Earth captured the Moon via its gravitational pull when it was wandering through the solar system…

Despite that our current theories are accepted as fact, there is absolutely no evidence for the conventional hypothesis. According to Russian scientist Isaac Asimov,  an American writer and professor of biochemistry at Boston University,

It's too big to have been captured by the Earth. The chances of such a capture having been effected and the Moon then having taken up nearly circular orbit around our Earth are too small to make such an eventuality credible

Asimov also emphasized that,

We cannot help but come to the conclusion that the Moon, by rights, ought not to be there. The fact that it is, is one of those strokes of luck almost too good to accept

Other members of the Soviet Academy of Sciences (Vasin and Scherbakov, 1970), run by the Russian Government, published an article titled, “Is the Moon the Creation of Alien Intelligence?” This article offered another explanation for how the Moon may have been created. This seems to be a better hypothesis because there is actually a considerable amount of evidence that points towards something suspicious happening on the Moon.

It's easier to explain the non-existence for the Moon, than it's existence – NASA scientist Robin Brett

The best explanation for the Moon is observational error – the Moon doesn't exist – Irwin Shapiro, Harvard Astrophysicist

Think about it…The Moon is in a nearly perfect circle, when it comes to its origin, all the while being synchronized with its period of revolution, so one side always faces the Earth.

As Mars points out,

This circular orbit is especially odd, considering that the moon's center of mass lies more than a mile closer to the Earth than its geometric center. This fact alone should produce an unstable, wobbly orbit, much as a ball with its mass off-center will not roll in a straight line.

Were The Sumerians On To Something?

Many within this field are really into ancient Greek, and ancient Sumerian lore. Take Apollo 12 astronaut, Al Worden, for example, who made some very interesting comments about the Sumerians as well as extraterrestrial life in a live interview you can watch here.

In the late 1960's, a senior scientist from the Planetary Science Institute, William Kenneth Harmann, stated he believes that the Moon results from a collision between Earth and another body at least the size of mars. This became known at the Big Whack theory, and it correlated to the story told in ancient Sumerian tablets…

According to several interpretations of Sumerian tablets, most notably from Zacharia Sitchin, more than 4 billion years ago, a large watery world called Tiamat was in orbit between Mars and Jupiter. Nibiru, a planet that supposedly enters into our solar system once every 3,600 years, caused Tiamat to crack under gravitational stress. Tiamat was cracked in half when one of Nibiru's moon's knocked into it, which also knocked a large portion of mars.

This is very interesting because recently scientists have confirmed that Mars used to be a very watery world, an Earth-like planet. There is even large amounts of evidence for ancient life on Mars before what appears to be a dramatic climate shift. Scientists hypothesize that the climate shift was a result of a large collision…The larger chunk of Tiamat became planet Earth.

So, it's interesting to make that connection.

Back to the Moon!

It's important to remember that something had to put the moon at or near its present circular pattern around the Earth. Just as an Apollo space-craft circling  the Earth every 90 minutes while 100 miles high has to have a velocity of roughly 18,000 mies per hour to stay in orbit, so something had to give the moon the precisely required velocity for its weight and altitude…The point – and it is one seldom noted in considering the origin of the moon – is that it is extremely unlikely that any object would just stumble into the right combination of factors required to stay in orbit. 'Something' had to put the moon at its altitude, on its course and at its speed. The question is: what was that 'something?” – Mars

It's hard to believe that the precise and stationary orbit of the moon is simply a coincidence …

Is it also a coincidence that the moon is at just the right distance from Earth to completely cover the sun during an eclipse? While the diameter of the moon is a mere 2,160, miles against the sun's gigantic 864,000 miles, it is nevertheless in just the proper position to block out all but the sun's flaming corona when it moves between the sun and Earth. -Mars

According to Asimov,

There is no astronomical reason why the Moon and the sun should fit so well. It is the sheerest of coincidences, and only the Earth among all the planets is blessed in this fashion.”

With all of the evidence that has surfaced showing an extraterrestrial presence on the Moon, to me, the spaceship theory proposed by Michael Vasin and Alexander Scherbakov (mentioned above) makes the most sense.

According to Mars,

The spaceship-moon theory may come closer than any other in reconciling the contradictions inherent in the origin and amazing orbit of the moon. However, such a consideration is supposed to be outside the discussion of educated and rational people. The circular logic of conventional science regarding the origins of the moon runs something like this: We know that extraterrestrials don't exist, but we do know that the moon exists and has been mentioned throughout human history. We humans did not create it nor place it in orbit around Earth,  it must have been done by extraterrestrials. But because we know they don't exists, we will simply call it an anomaly and will not publicly say any more about.

Sources used:

Our Occulted History, Do The Global Elite Conceal Ancient Aliens? – Jim Mars

[flauntpage]

Brehanna Daniels Wants to Be the First Black Woman in a NASCAR Pit Crew

Last month, at Nashville's Fairgrounds Speedway, the Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA) held its first race of the 2017 season. Four hours before the event, under a blue sky, fans began streaming into the grandstands as the 34 drivers put their cars through inspections and qualifying drills. The pit crews, meanwhile, went through their own preparation, cleaning tires, preparing lug nuts, testing hydraulic jacks, and checking their air guns.

For 23-year-old Brehanna Daniels, the day was especially memorable because it was her first professional race as a tire changer. She walked over to her assigned driver, Dale Shearer, a friendly, white, 51-year-old Missourian, who stood beside his car in his fire suit and sunglasses. When he saw her approaching—her gear bag and helmet under her arm, an "Xcalibur Pit School" T-shirt over her muscular, compact frame—his lips stretched into a welcoming smile.

"You must be Brehanna," he said.

It's hard to mistake Brehanna Daniels for anyone else at the raceway—she's one of the only women of color in a sport that is still predominantly white and male. Should Daniels continue to rise through the ranks, from ARCA to stock-car racing's big leagues, she would become the first African-American female pit crew member in NASCAR history, and a success story for the company's Drive for Diversity program. Since it began in 2004, Drive for Diversity has produced three professional minority male drivers, and eleven professional female pit-crew members, including Daniels, the only African-American.

"A top-notch pit crew runs about 11.5 seconds." Courtesy Brehanna Daniels

"[At the Speedway], people were looking at me, like, 'What does she do? I know she does something because she has that bag,'" Daniels said from her home in Charlotte, North Carolina. "Then, when I went to the bathroom to change into my fire suit, I really had looks on me…. A photographer who was there stopped taking pictures of the drivers and started shooting me."

Still, Daniels wasn't intimidated by the stares, even though they came from a crowd of virtually all white men. The reason, she said, was that she'd already found everybody in the sport to be fully supportive, exhibiting no racism or sexism whatsoever.

Coaches from NASCAR's Drive for Diversity program recruited Daniels last year, when she was a senior at Norfolk State University, the historically black college in her home state of Virginia. She'd played Division I basketball at NSU, but had no prospects on the pro level. So when she found out that NASCAR was coming to campus, looking for female athletes and athletes of color, she decided to give it a shot.

"I didn't watch NASCAR races growing up. I always thought, Dang, there's no black people in the sport," she said. "But I'm always open to new opportunities, and I didn't have anything else to do, so I went out for the tryout."

The audition was designed to simulate the physical demands of working in the pit, where speed, agility, strength, and footwork are all necessary to perform, be it as a tire changer or carrier, jack man or gas man. Phil Horton, Drive for Diversity's director of athletic performance, realized several years ago that athletes, rather than mechanics, make the best pit crew members.

At NSU, Daniels was up against eight other student-athletes, all of whom were men, most of whom were football players. But being the lone woman in the pack only added fuel to her fire. Like most athletes, she thrives on pressure—and the adrenaline that comes it.

"We started off with a hundred jump ropes and then we moved to a cone drill," she explained. "Then we moved to a ladder drill. The ladder was so tough that we got to practice before being timed for real. Then we did rollout abs, then pushups, and then we had to finish it off with a hundred sit-ups. The guy I was next to, I was destroying him. I had him beat since the jump rope. He had to take a break. I think he caught a cramp. I was like, 'Yeah!'"

Horton couldn't help but notice Daniels as she tore through the military-style obstacle course. It was obvious she had the physical prowess and psychological makeup of a seasoned athlete. What's more, at five-foot-five, she had the ideal frame for a tire-changer, a position that requires speed and hand-eye coordination more than size.

Daniels during the national combine. Courtesy Brehanna Daniels

"We liked her skills, we liked her style, we liked her strength," he said from his office in Charlotte. "We liked the fact that she had a leadership role as a point guard on the basketball team. She just fit the template."

NASCAR invited Daniels to the national combine in Charlotte, where she competed with twenty other pit crew candidates and made the cut by placing in the top ten.

"I liked doing it because it reminded me of being an athlete," she said. "We athletes crave that feeling of knowing you're competing against someone. You just love being in situations where you're under pressure and you have to get the job done."

Daniels moved to Charlotte to begin a six-month program for pit-crew members run by the Drive for Diversity. There, she trained six hours a day, five days a week, learning to operate the tools and getting up to pit speed. Her hands were so sore after the workouts that she soaked them in ice water every night.

Daniels is now a professional tire-changer, working independently. She'll continue in the program for another two or three years, training three days a week at a track, in tandem with daily workouts at the gym, where she does bench presses, rowing exercises, weighted squats, and hundreds of sit-ups to boost her strength and performance.

That preparation came in handy at the ARCA race in Nashville. When Shearer pulled into the pit at the mandatory 45 miles an hour, Daniels jumped off the wall and ran out to the car, an air gun in hand and a fresh 65-pound tire under her arm. As cars flew by on the track at over 100 miles an hour, she dropped to her knees and hit the back tire's lug nuts with the air gun. She pulled the tire off using her index and middle fingers, and set it aside, careful to not let it roll. Then she grabbed the fresh tire, slammed it on the rim, and gunned the lug nuts. After racing to the other side of the car, she repeated the process. Her time for removing and replacing both tires: 13.5 seconds.

"A top-notch pit crew runs about 11.5 seconds," Horton said. "Right now, Brehanna is about two seconds behind. Not bad after only eight or nine months of training."

A NASCAR pit crew in action earlier this month. Photo by Jim Dedmon-USA TODAY Sports

Daniels' goal is only partly to cut her time and make history by becoming the first African-American woman in a NASCAR pit. She also wants the validation, not to mention the six-figure salary that can come with working the elite races in NASCAR's Cup Series.

"To get to the very, very top series, it will take some time," she said. "They say give it three or four years, but I'm trying to get there in under three. I'm impatient, as most athletes are."

Coach Horton says Daniels is exactly where she should be in her quest.

"She's starting in the ARCA series. That's where everybody starts. Then she'll move up to the Camping World Truck Series, which is a NASCAR series, and if she has the talent, will move up from there."

Does Horton think she has the talent?

"We selected her," he said. "We don't bring someone in if we feel they can't do it. We expect her to make it to the Cup Series. She definitely has what it takes."

Horton repeatedly pointed to Daniels's drive, which her family continues to stoke. Her father, Luxley, a hospital supervisor and NSU alum, at first was leery of having his daughter working in such a risky environment, afraid she'd be hit by a runaway car while working the pit. According to Coach Horton, when taking into account all the racing series, at least one crew member is brushed or bumped by a car every week. "It's no small feat to get the job done and survive," he said. But once Luxley saw his daughter's determination, he got fully behind her, and is thrilled that she's on the verge of breaking an historic barrier.

Daniels's mother, Kimberly, lost a battle with cancer nine years ago, but Daniels has no doubt she would have been supportive, too.

"My mother would be like, 'Brehanna, what are you thinking doing this?'" Daniels said. "But she always believed in me. My mom motivates me. Whenever I think about giving up, I always think about her."

As for the ARCA race, Dale Shearer failed to finish. He had a problem with his car and left the track after thirty laps. Before doing so, he made sure to stop in the pit twice, giving Daniels the practice she needed.

Now she can't wait for her next race. Through it all, she's grateful to the diversity program for opening NASCAR's doors for her.

"It's a great thing to get more people of different ethnicities and different races involved in the sport, and to have everyone feel that they're welcome," she said. "It's not just one face, it's multiple faces."

When asked what she would say to young girls who might think about following her into the pit, Daniels enthusiastically shared her personal philosophy. "You can do everything you put your mind to. It doesn't matter what other people think. Seize every opportunity."

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