#Immigration Law Firm Long Island

[wedesignyouny]

Labor Certification Requirements -  Shankar & Associates, PC

Labor Certification Requirements

Both the employer and the employee must meet certain conditions when submitting a PERM labor certification application. The petitioner is the employer, and the beneficiary is the potential employee.

Requirements of the Employer

The petitioning employer must show that the following facts are true:

The work is a full-time position in the United States.

The role is a legitimate job opportunity for Americans.

The job requirements are not suited to the qualifications of the alien worker.

In other words, unless such requirements can be proved to emerge out of business necessity, the employer must establish that the job's criteria are not overly restrictive.

The provided wage is in line with industry standards.

To meet this requirement, the wage must be equal to or greater than the prevailing wage in the intended employment region for the occupation. (Previously, the US Department of Labor (DOL) accepted a 5% deviation; however, this is no longer allowed.)

It has the financial means to pay the wage offered.

Following the recruitment process, it is found that there are insufficient qualified, willing, and able American workers to accept the job offer and fill the vacancy.

The alien's employment will not have a negative impact on American workers' pay or working conditions.

Requirements for Potential Employees

The following must be attested to by the beneficiary:

He or she met the position's educational and work experience requirements at the time the labor certification application was submitted. If the beneficiary meets or exceeds the minimum standards, there is not a problem.

He or she keeps his or her legal position (if residing in the U.S.).

Both the Department of Labor (DOL) and the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) informally allow sponsoring employers to apply for labor certification and file an immigration petition based on prospective employment, despite the fact that it is not explicitly allowed in regulations. As a result, it makes no difference whether the immigrant works for the sponsoring employer during the application process or after it is approved. Furthermore, after a labor certification is obtained, the sponsoring business is not obligated to continue employing the immigrant. However, after gaining permanent resident status, the foreign employee should work for the sponsoring firm for a fair period of time.

Costs

Sponsoring employers have been responsible for all costs related with preparing, filing, and getting a labor certification since July 16, 2007. Expenses incurred during recruitment, as well as attorney's fees, are included in this category.

Sponsoring businesses are prohibited from receiving any sort of payment as an incentive or inducement to file labor certification applications, as well as from recouping costs, such as attorney's fees, incurred while preparing for and filing an application, under DOL guidelines. Employers who file a petition are no longer allowed to pass on the costs to the alien. They also cannot claim indirect repayment by deducting expenditures from the alien's wages or benefits. Both the employer and the foreigner are responsible for their own legal bills.

Initiative of the USCIS

USCIS initiated an effort in 2011 permitting foreign entrepreneurs to apply for labor certifications under the EB-2 visa category in order to support start-up firms, decrease barriers to full employment, and expedite growth for businesses managed by job-creating entrepreneurs. The project's long-term viability has yet to be determined.

Overall, PERM labor certification is a time-consuming and complicated process. We urge that you seek the advice of an expert immigration lawyer.

Contact Us For Free Consultation

📞 : 212-461-1467, 800-461-1467

📧 : shankar@shankarlaw.com rajat.shankar@shankarlaw.com sastry@shankarlaw.com

🌎: https://shankarlaw.com/

📍 : 518 Plainview Road Plainview, NY, 11803

[mariacallous]

On June 2, four representatives from Taiwan’s ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) stood up before a packed room of journalists and, as cameras flashed, bowed in unison as a public gesture of remorse for their party’s mishandling of a series of sexual harassment allegations.

It was a scene that could have been plucked directly from an episode of Wave Makers, an eight-episode hit Netflix drama released in April that follows a group of campaign staffers during a heated present-day presidential election in Taiwan. On an island where political films and TV shows are rare, let alone pointed critiques of the upper echelons of power, the series is the first depiction of a contemporary grassroots campaign in Taiwan on TV. It also isn’t afraid to touch on sexual harassment and how it’s dealt with by people in power—a choice that has clearly struck a chord with viewers. Shortly after airing, the show triggered a wave of retaliation against political leaders, months before a decisive, real-life presidential election in Taiwan.

Generously described as Taiwan’s answer to The West Wing or House of Cards, Wave Makers lacks the witty banter of great political thrillers. But if you’re able to overlook predictable plot turns and a syrupy sweet script, the show offers a clear porthole into the unique culture of modern Taiwanese politics. At its core, it is a celebration of one of the main features of a healthy democracy: the ability of regular citizens to hold those in power accountable.

Since Taiwan transitioned to democracy in the early 1990s, two main parties have traded off power on the island: Kuomintang (KMT), a conservative party that encourages cross-strait dialogue with China, and the DPP, a liberal nationalist party that opposes Chinese involvement and advocates for a distinct Taiwanese identity. The DPP has been the ruling party since 2016, with President Tsai Ing-wen at the helm. Next year, Tsai is no longer up for reelection, and three former mayors are racing to take her spot in the January 2024 presidential election. The right to free and fair elections is a privilege Taiwanese do not take lightly, and like in the show, the presidential candidates and their campaigns have dominated headlines this year.

In Wave Makers, the roles are reversed from reality: The conservatives are the incumbents, and most of the series centers on campaign workers inside the opposing Justice Party, a stand-in for the DPP. The Justice Party’s presidential nominee, Lin Yue-chen—a progressive, no-nonsense woman with a salt-and-pepper pixie haircut—is an analog of Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen.

The direct parallels between Lin’s fictional campaign and Tsai’s past bids for president reflect hot-button domestic issues on the island today. For instance, Southeast Asians have long been a marginalized immigrant community in Taiwan, and even though half of them are naturalized citizens, politicians often overlook that potentially influential voting bloc. In one scene, Lin films a food tour video with Parrot Quack Quack—a half-Taiwanese, half-Indonesian influencer—to show solidarity for Southeast Asians in Taiwan and mobilize their support for votes. In 2019, Tsai filmed a similar video with Chien-Chien, a half-Taiwanese, half-Thai food influencer.

The series also briefly touches on capital punishment, long a deeply contested issue in Taiwan. In the 38 years that the island was under martial law, the KMT used the death penalty as a tool of oppression. While still legal today, it is highly controversial, and most politicians steer away from discussing it in public. At a student event where Lin speaks about her experience as a woman in politics, she is accosted by attendees who ask her to take a firm stance on the death penalty. Although, as we learn in another scene, Lin is personally against it, she gives an eloquent—albeit vague—answer to skirt controversy. “She doesn’t dare to express her stance,” a student grumbles after the event. Over the years, the opposition has accused Tsai of equivocating about her thoughts on capital punishment; in 2022, a high school student asked her a similar question at a school Q&A event.

Wave Makers also nods to more unusual aspects of Taiwanese politics, from supporters at rallies shouting “frozen garlic” in Mandarin—a homophone for the word “victory” in the Taiwanese Hokkien language—to candidates barreling through small towns on the back of a truck and blasting slogans on megaphones with firecrackers illuminating the way. In one episode, Chang Ya-ching, a doe-eyed junior Justice Party employee, dresses up as a turtle as part of an anti-plastic campaign skit during a press conference. While this may seem absurd, cutesy animals have been used in Taiwanese political messages for nearly a decade; cat ears were superimposed on Tsai in her past campaigns.

Yet the show misses an opportunity to tease out more complex themes. Topics such as homophobia, pollution, immigration, and the misuse of taxpayer funds add intrigue but are rarely explored in depth and feel like buzzy backdrops instead of devices that generate meaningful debate. Most of the screen time is instead devoted to the characters’ personal lives—no doubt a tactic to appeal to the average viewer.

But a riskier script could have worked. After all, the show’s treatment of sexual abuse—the one sensitive issue Wave Makers does not shy away from—ended up making actual waves. In an early episode, Chang is grabbed at the waist by a brutish coworker at the office. When she drums up the courage to lodge a formal complaint, a male colleague immediately encourages her to drop the case. A couple episodes later, Lin catches wind of the incident. Furious, Lin fires the perpetrator, tells off her colleagues, and sends Chang flowers with a handwritten letter: “I know that the things that make you uncomfortable are also happening in every corner of Taiwan. I fired the person who hurt you, but I know that what I’m doing is far from enough. Please wait for the day when this society catches up with you. I will move forward for this goal.”

Chang’s fight against sexual violence is a reoccurring theme throughout the show. She spends the entire series trying to retrieve her nude photographs from the philandering Chao Chang-tse, her former lover and the incumbent conservative party’s vice-presidential nominee. Terrified that Chao will leak the photographs as an act of revenge, she pleads for him to hand them to her, and he refuses—but she doesn’t let up.

A month after the show’s debut, Chang’s steely resolve rippled into the real world. Former DPP staffers started speaking out about superiors silencing and shaming them after they reported their abusers. In a Facebook post with a screengrab of Chang holding back tears, a former staffer claimed she was groped by a filmmaker during a work project for the DPP last year. When she reported the incident to a senior party official, she said she was stonewalled and asked why she hadn’t screamed. Another former employee alleged on Facebook that a colleague had forcibly kissed and touched her inappropriately multiple times in 2020. After she filed a complaint, she said that her boss, the former head of the DPP’s Department of Youth Development, bullied her into resigning.

It’s a reckoning that is being called Taiwan’s #MeToo movement, and over the summer, more than 150 people have come forward with allegations. The surge of accusations and resignations has swept beyond politics and reached all corners of Taiwanese civil society. As a result, many figures have stepped down, including several high-ranking DPP officials, and the DPP tanked in polls. “The Democratic Progressive Party is the largest political party and has a responsibility to lead, but we have let society down,” DPP Deputy Secretary-General Yang Yi-shan said in a June press conference—a statement that eerily mirrored Lin’s letter in the show. “We should have held ourselves to the highest standards but have fallen short. We are very sorry.”

The show even ended up triggering a major shift within the corridors of power. On Aug. 1, three months after the show’s debut, lawmakers in Taiwan amended a bundle of sexual harassment laws to make it easier for victims to come forward. The statute of limitations for victims has been extended, and employers are now subject to hefty fines if they fail to report sexual harassment complaints to local authorities. Lawmakers also increased the penalty for convicted perpetrators to three years in prison and now require workplaces to have channels in place through which victims can report harassment. It is testament to how a fictional series can have a lasting impact on actual events. The new laws have been called a “legislative milestone.”

For all the parallels between Wave Makers and real-world Taiwan, the show omits the single most important issue in Taiwanese politics for more than 70 years: cross-strait tensions with China.

“If there’s no cross-strait relations, then it’s not realistic,” one of the show’s screenwriters, Chien Li-ying, admitted to the Los Angeles Times. “But it’s also difficult because you don’t want it to become something where this side or that side doesn’t watch. And once you bring it up, whatever else you talk about, no one will care.”

Taiwanese viewers had mixed reactions on the choice to ignore the China issue. Some found it jarring and unrealistic. Others welcomed the suspension of reality. As Taiwan gears up for another presidential election, young people are yearning for an alternate world where Taiwanese politicians, without the looming shadow of Beijing, can focus on what many Taiwanese see as more pressing issues—at least in day-to-day life—such as stagnant wages and exorbitant housing prices. Early polls show that many voters between the ages of 20 and 40 support the Taiwan’s People Party (TPP)—a relatively new third party with a notoriously opaque and inconsistent China stance. While the vast majority of Taiwanese people want to preserve the status quo—neither unifying with China nor declaring independence—how to deal with China remains a point of contention. Youth support for the TPP reflects their discontent with both the DPP and KMT, who they feel have rigid, black-and-white approaches to the China issue.

At least domestically, the showrunners’ choice to avoid China paid off. The series opened to widespread acclaim and topped the Netflix charts in Taiwan for two weeks after its debut.

None of this is to say the show didn’t have an effect across the strait. Some Chinese viewers have been enthralled by the sight of a functional Mandarin-speaking democracy. “Watching Wave Makers really makes me feel like I’m living in a cage,” a Chinese netizen wrote on Weibo after watching the series, in a post that has since been scrubbed by Beijing’s censors.

Accountability is a privilege of democracy. And for the people of Taiwan, whose right to self-rule has been teetering on the edge of uncertainty for decades, it is a privilege worth celebrating.

Another Chinese commenter marveled: “It’s like a fairy tale story.”

[lawofficeofalenashautsova]

Top Immigration Attorneys in Long Island: Your Guide to the Best Legal Support

Just as you're taking a significant step towards building a new life in the United States, navigating the complex landscape of immigration law can be overwhelming. That's why finding top immigration attorneys in Long Island is crucial to ensuring your journey is smooth and successful.

The process of obtaining a visa, green card, or citizenship is fraught with legal complexities, and even the slightest misstep can lead to delays or even denials. This is where the expertise of a skilled immigration attorney comes in – to guide you through the intricacies of immigration law and provide personalized support every step of the way.

So, what sets the best immigration attorneys apart? For starters, they possess extensive expertise in both family and employment-based immigration cases. They have a proven track record of success, with a deep understanding of the ever-changing immigration landscape. Moreover, they prioritize client-centered service, taking the time to understand your unique situation and tailor their approach to meet your specific needs.

One such attorney who has earned a reputation for exceptional service is Alena Shautsova. With years of experience supporting clients on Long Island, her law office offers a comprehensive range of services designed to meet the diverse immigration needs of individuals and families. From adjustment of status and naturalization to deportation defense and asylum petitions, Alena Shautsova provides expert guidance and representation throughout the entire immigration process.

So, why choose the Law Office of Alena Shautsova? The answer lies in their reputation for dedication, compassion, and unwavering commitment to delivering results. Alena and her team take pride in building strong relationships with their clients, providing personalized attention and care that sets them apart from larger firms. By choosing the Law Office of Alena Shautsova, you can rest assured that your case is in capable hands.

If you're ready to take the first step towards securing your immigration future, book an appointment with the Law Office of Alena Shautsova today via their website. With offices located at 175 Eileen Way, Syosset, NY 11791, United States you can trust that you're in close proximity to expert legal support.

To put it briefly, when it comes to navigating the complexities of immigration law, you deserve the best. Trust your case with the experienced attorneys at the Law Office of Alena Shautsova, and take the first step towards building a brighter future in the United States. For top-notch immigration attorneys in Long Island, look no further – immigration attorneys Long Island has got you covered.

[shireensamananilaw]

Navigating Immigration Law: How a Law Office for Immigration Can Help

Introduction

Immigration is a complex and evolving area of law, and whether you're seeking a work visa, permanent residency, or citizenship, navigating the system can be daunting. This is where a law office specializing in immigration becomes invaluable. In this article, we'll explore the critical role of immigration law office for immigration, their services, and how they can help individuals and families achieve their immigration goals.

Understanding Immigration Law

Immigration law governs who can enter a country, how long they can stay, and what rights and responsibilities they hold. The process involves various legal documents, interviews, and adherence to stringent requirements. A misstep in any part of the process can result in delays or even denials, making it crucial to seek professional legal guidance.

Key Services Offered by Immigration Law Offices

Visa Applications Immigration law offices assist with various visa types, including work visas, student visas, and family-sponsored visas. Each visa type comes with specific criteria, and an experienced lawyer can guide applicants through the process, ensuring compliance with the relevant legal requirements.

Green Card and Permanent Residency Securing permanent residency, commonly known as a green card, is a significant milestone for many immigrants. Immigration lawyers help individuals understand their eligibility, whether through family sponsorship, employment, or other pathways, and assist in submitting thorough applications.

Citizenship and Naturalization For immigrants seeking to become citizens, the path to naturalization requires meeting residency, language, and civics knowledge requirements. Immigration attorneys help applicants prepare for the process, including completing the necessary paperwork and preparing for interviews and tests.

Deportation Defense Facing deportation is one of the most stressful situations an immigrant can experience. Law offices that specialize in immigration often handle deportation defense cases, advocating for clients' rights and seeking relief from deportation through appeals, waivers, or adjustments of status.

Family Reunification Reuniting families separated by borders is another essential aspect of immigration law. Whether it involves bringing spouses, children, or other relatives to a new country, an immigration lawyer ensures that the correct legal procedures are followed to facilitate family reunification.

The Importance of Hiring an Immigration Lawyer

Immigration laws are complex and vary by country, and having an experienced lawyer to navigate these complexities can make all the difference. A qualified immigration lawyer understands the nuances of immigration law, stays updated on changes, and is skilled in handling legal challenges that may arise. By hiring a specialized law office, individuals can avoid common pitfalls and increase their chances of a successful outcome.

Choosing the Right Immigration Law Office

When selecting a law office for immigration, it's essential to look for

Experience and Expertise: Lawyers should have a proven track record in immigration cases.

Client Testimonials: Positive feedback from previous clients can offer insight into a lawyer's effectiveness.

Personalized Service: Immigration matters can be deeply personal, and having a lawyer who offers personalized attention can be crucial for success.

For more info:-

Local Guide Program Rhode Island

Cla Law Firm Rhode Island USA

[outerbridgelawattorney]

Outerbridge is an excellent law firm in the New York area. A law firm is which has lawyers for all matters expert.

[destieltropecollection]

Destiel Trope Collection 2021 | Day 19: Enemies to Lovers

Pile Of Quarters | @vampamber

Rating: Teen & Up Word Count: 1,752 Main Tags/Warnings: ABO, alpha Cas, omega Dean, high school AU Summary: Somebody keeps beating Dean's high score on his favorite video game at the arcade, and he will have none of that. So when the chance to have a showdown with this CAS person comes along, of course he's gonna jump at it. He just wasn't expecting the alpha to be so nice. Or so hot.

A Bag of Richards | @ms-josephine

Rating: Mature Word Count: 4,241 Main Tags/Warnings: Human AU, Enemies to lovers, Misunderstandings, Prank wars Summary: A misunderstanding leads to an all-out prank war between Castiel and his new neighbor, Dean.

Build It Up! | @verobatto

Rating: Explicit Word Count: 5,062 Main Tags/Warnings: Architect AU, Architect!Dean, Architect!Castiel, rivalry, rivals to lovers, light angst, happy ending. Summary: Architect Dean Winchester has just one goal in his life: win contracts and defeat his biggest rival, Castiel Novak. Bad thing is, Novak is the one always winning the heated competitions. Dean hates Novak with all his heart. If only that bastard wasn't so handsome ...

Dance Real Close | @maleyah-givemetomorrow

Rating: Explicit Word Count: 5,920 Main Tags/Warnings: Alternate Universe - Spies & Secret Agents, Christmas, Yule, First Kiss, First Time, Enemies to Lovers, Flirting Dean, Sassy Castiel, Fluff and Smut, Soft Boys Summary: For the umpteenth time tonight, Castiel swallows and clenches his teeth, hard enough that he might just need a dentist appointment once this horrendous evening comes to its inevitable end and he has what he came for. Good thing the company has excellent health care. He forces his gaze into a faux-thousand yard stare, a wilful attempt to get lost among the many twinkling lights and ornaments. Just off of the shoulder of the man who is his current, last and most annoying obstacle. Dean Winchester. Dressed to the nines in a suit of snowflake white, he fits in at this high-end Yule Ball as if he hasn’t done anything else in his life. Top of his class and generation, ten years Castiel’s junior, much too skilled for his own good at nigh anything from close combat to subterfuge to extraction, his competition, who is, for some unfathomable reason, flirting with Castiel on the mission.

When Duty Calls | @verobatto

Rating: Explicit Word Count: 6,654 Main Tags/Warnings: Sci Fi AU, Commander Dean Winchester, Angel/Alien Castiel, strangers to friends to lovers, space ship, working on a mission together, top!Dean/Bottom!Castiel Summary: Angels devastated Earth 30 years ago and Dean lost his mother in that battle. Now, when his father the Ambassador John Winchester dies, Dean is assigned to a very important mission to restore the Earth. Bad thing is, Angels want to redeem themselves by providing the technology to revive the planet and by doing that, they pretend to be part of the Federation. Dean accepts, despite of his hate for them, and he meets the Angel Castiel, a Commander Scientific that will work with him in one of the labs stations placed on Earth.

Vampire Hunter! Starring Castiel Krushnic | @friendofcarlotta

Rating: Teen & Up Word Count: 13,612 Main Tags/Warnings: Alternate Universe - TV show, Actor Castiel, Production Assistant Dean Winchester, First Kiss, Enemies to Lovers, Vampires, Canon-Typical Violence, Mild Gore, Inspired by Fright Night, Garth Ships It Summary: Straight out of college, Dean gets hired to work on his favorite TV show, "Fright Night." It's a dream come true until the network orders an overhaul to boost ratings, giving the show a new name (“Vampire Hunter!”) and a new star: a grumpy bastard named Castiel, who seems determined to make Dean’s life miserable. Dean just wants to hate Castiel's guts in peace, but then an offsite shoot gets them both trapped in a creepy mansion with a very real, very angry vampire. Can they overcome their differences long enough to kill the monster?

Cheers | @notfunnydean

Rating: Explicit Word Count: 23,685 Main Tags/Warnings: inspired by the movie: the proposal, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Misunderstandings, Fluff and Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Homophobia, Homophobic John Winchester, Dean Winchester Wears Panties, First Time,First Kiss, Top Castiel/Bottom Dean Winchester, Soft!Dean, Cas blackmails Dean into the relationship at first, Past Lisa Braeden/Dean Winchester, Minor Anna Milton/Dean Winchester Summary: Dean hates his boss, after they attempted to date but failed miserably. But when Castiel suddenly has to go back to Russia because his visa expired, Dean finds himself in a very awkward situation, because Castiel blackmails him to marry him. To make it worse someone from the immigration department is already hot on their trail and they have to show off their fake relationship at the ninetieth birthday of Dean’s grandma.

Elevator Music | Aketch-22 (AO3)

Rating: Explicit Word Count: 25,017 Main Tags/Warnings: Top!Cas/Bottom!Dean, Dom/Sub Overtones, Mechanic Dean Winchester, Lawyer Castiel Summary: Sam is about to become name partner at the law firm he's worked at for years. He invites Dean to the celebration, but Dean gets trapped in the elevator with Sam's pompous, dickbag, too-good looking coworker Castiel. Stuck for hours with someone he hates and a boatload of alcohol, what could possibly go wrong?

Let Your Heart Hold Fast (WIP) | @destiel-pirate-in-middleearth

Rating: Mature Word Count: 35,857 Main Tags/Warnings: Roomates/housemates, enemies to friends to lovers, slow burn, angst and hurt/comfort, college au, mutual pining, happy ending. Summary: Castiel is a simple guy with a simple plan who enters college after a lot of hard work. He's looking forward to the new beginning and endless opportunities. After surviving the worst through high school, Castiel has a good feeling about college and thinks he is gonna do fine, but, then, his life takes an uneasy turn, which leads him into meeting Dean, who doesn't remember him and has evolved into a very flirty, obnoxious man. Castiel hates Dean. For almost a month, Castiel does a great job at avoiding Dean on the college campus. Everything is going fine until the day they have their first encounter, which is close to a nightmare because, apparently, Dean decides to shove an apple frigging pie on Castiel's face, which isn’t even the single worst thing he did to him that day. Or The one where Dean and Castiel hate each other and are forced to live together.

Angels of the Sea | @envydean

Rating: Mature Word Count: 53,616 Main Tags/Warnings: Alternate Universe - Pirate, Minor Character Deaths, a little violence, non graphic scenes of corporal punishment, sexual scene of mature nature, Hurt/Comfort, Stowaways, Angst, Happy Ending, BAMF!Cas, Pirate!Cas, Stowaway!Dean, Tattoos, Magical Elements, Fluff, Enemies to Lovers Summary: The Archangel – a pirate ship run by young Captain Castiel Novak – is unknowingly boarded by two stowaways. Sam and Dean just needed to get away from their father’s killers and are found stashed away in the storage room of the ship. Raphael is adamant they are killed but Castiel’s heart is too big to dispose of them both. Lives spared, they join the crew, Dean taking up navigation and Sam to the galley and an adventure using Dean’s amulet to find a mysteriously hidden island begins.

Unmasked | @ellis-park

Rating: Explicit Word Count: 69,348 Main Tags/Warnings: Superhero AU, enemies to lovers, secret identities, graphic depictions of violence Summary: Years ago, the infamous vigilante Halo disappeared from the public eye. The new Halo, Castiel Novak, is struggling to pick up the pieces of his own life and his mentor’s tarnished legacy as a new rival, Hellfire, arrives on the scene. It would help if Cas weren’t so distracted by pushy reporter Dean Smith, who reminds him of everything he’s lost — and the life he could have if he’d let go of the mask.

angel in black | @dothwrites

Rating: Explicit Word Count: 95,325 Main Tags/Warnings: Canon-Divergent, Enemies to Lovers, Bounty Hunter!Cas, Hunter!Dean, Canon-Typical Violence, Demonic Possession, Angst with a Happy Ending Summary: Bounty hunter Castiel Novak has simple rules for how he conducts his business. Get in, get out, deliver the fugitive, and do it all with the least amount of effort possible. Never become emotionally involved. When he takes on the job of hunting down Sam and Dean Winchester in order to bring them to justice, his rules start shifting. Threatened by supernatural forces as well as his attraction to Dean, Castiel soon has to decide what he’s willing to stand for…and what he’s willing to die for.

Wicked Game | @expectingtofly

Rating: Explicit Word Count: 104,077 Main Tags/Warnings: Western AU, Canon-Typical Violence, DubCon, Top Cas/Bottom Dean, Angst, Pining, Hurt/Comfort Summary: The year is 1889 and for the past year and a half, Dean has traveled alone from town to town, drinking to ignore his guilt and gambling to make a living. Today, he’s especially down on his luck. He’s broke, was just thrown out of a saloon for cheating at poker, and has now been woken by a blue-eyed man trying to rob him. When he learns that the thief, Castiel, is just as broke as he is, they strike a tenuous deal to help each other rob a stagecoach, share the spoils, and split up. Turns out splitting up is the most difficult task. While Castiel is cold and cruel, Dean refuses to back down from a fight. The two are at odds more often than not, but their relationship only grows more complicated the longer they travel together. They may have more in common than they thought.

[mikaelsrose]

2: Where do broken hearts grow?

Pairing: Tyril x MC (Selene) Word count: 6000 Warnings: cursing, alcohol usage, description of mental illness, mention of eating disorder, description of self-abusive behaviors. A/n: There is not even one gif of a bleeding heart flower on the Internet, and a simple picture would interfere with my aesthetic; therefore, the gif is not matching, but it's pretty, lol. Have a look at those beautiful babies, though.

If you are not in the best mental state or get triggered by the mention of things listed in the warnings, I advise you to skip this chapter altogether.

Tag list:@cashweasel @brycesgirl @sophie-summer @lazypartridge @watatsumi-island @mortemersgf

Bleeding hearts: shade-loving woodland plants that bloom in the cool of spring. Symbolize connection, sensitivity, and emotionality.

On September 15th, several hours after leaving Selene’s place, Tyril knocked on the heavy dark-wood door with a little golden number one above his head. Having walked over seven miles in the rain from her Brooklyn apartment, Tyril found himself in the district of Huston Yards, a place so well-known to him, where he had spent many hours hiding from the world. Just him and Jude. Ten years ago.

Jude, or rather Julian St. Clair, never liked his name, thus Tyril came up with a nickname for him. At first, everyone called him Jude ― for practical reasons, it was quicker and sounded better ― but as they grew up, Jude began to introduce himself as Julian again. The St. Clairs were held in high esteem, descendants of the first-wave Swedish immigrants in the 1850s, now a big family running the most prominent pharmaceutical research company in the world. ‘Julian’ was handpicked by Mrs. St. Clair, the ideal name for her youngest boy, named after kings and scientists. ‘Jude’ didn’t hold the same amount of esteem as ‘Julian.’ Now ‘Jude’ was reserved solely for Tyril.

The same Julian St. Clair, whom Mr. and Mrs. Starfury kindly advised to change schools once they had learned about his and his son’s affair, welcomed Tyril with open arms when he showed up after ten years. Soaked to the bone, tired, heartbroken, and beautiful with his shining baby blue eyes and luxuriant black hair, much longer than when they were only classmates. Now two inches taller than him and looking so devastated that Jude expected to hear about someone’s death. You look like shit, Jude, Tyril commented miserably, trying to lift the mood and failing instantly. Julian smirked. Back at you, Ty.

Despite the ten-year gap in their friendship, that visit was not uncomfortable or awkward. Neither that nor none of those to come. Tyril and Jude sat in the living room like old friends, talking nonsense deep into the night, never truly addressing the looming issue, simply enjoying each other’s presence. Tyril was impressed with Jude’s achievements, and Jude listened with concern to Tyril’s story of how he destroyed everything he’s ever worked for. Neither that nor any other night were uncomfortable because neither of them ever addressed any disturbing issues. They lived their idyllic dream for months, avoiding confrontations, burying issues, hiding within Jude’s apartment from everyone. Months of stay at home date nights, love confessions, love making, and pretending that everything’s alright. But one can pretend the issue isn't there only for so long.

In order to keep up the pretence, in the middle of December, Tyril decided to strike a deal with his ex-fiancée. They were to make several public appearances and get the press wrapped up around their fingers and eat out of their hands. This way Tyril shifted the media’s interest from Jude to Adeline, and Adeline earned free press for her family’s law firm, which just so happened to merge with the east-coast’s giant. The deal was simple – they hold hands, go on very fake and very public dates and give short and sweet interviews about them getting back together.

It was only three weeks, but more than enough to remind Tyril why he broke off their engagement. He wondered whether Adeline changed at a certain point and he didn’t notice or perhaps she’s always been self-centered, mean, materialistic, and cold. He wondered whether she ever loved him, and whether he ever loved her.

On December 25th, while searching for an old picture that Adrina asked him for, Tyril came across the image that reminded him of her. That only one picture he took during their whole trip, that one blurry, ill-lit picture of Selene on the beach. They waited since four in the morning for the sun to start its daily journey and turn the sky pink, and when the time came, they were too busy making out on the old, decayed green bench. He snapped the picture in a hurry, seconds before his phone died.

The corners of his lips lifted for a moment, seeing those windswept blonde locks, kiss-swollen lips and that beautiful, beautiful smile. Having peeked through his shoulder, Jude decided to finally address the issue for the first time.

“You’re thinking of her,” he started. Tyril apologized and interlaced their fingers, but Jude just smiled. “I’ve been following the news about you for the past ten years, Ty, and I’ve heard of your little escapade. Tell me about her.”

“There’s nothing to say, I just remembered something,” Tyril lied, putting absolutely no effort into trying to sound at least a little convincing. He sighed, then eyed his partner up as if looking for any sign of dishonesty, jealousy, perhaps reproach, but didn’t find any. He cleared his throat, and for the first time in months her name left his lips, leaving a bittersweet aftertaste. For the first time in months, he admitted the issue is there and apparently is not going anywhere.

“Selene’s just so sad, Jude. The sadness rolls off her in waves and engraves itself in your memory, and you can’t quite get rid of that thought. It’s always in the background – when she’s smiling, laughing, enjoying something, there’s this aura of boundless sadness around her,” Tyril finally spoke up. Jude’s eyebrow quirked slightly, for these words were the exact opposite of what he had expected to hear. Tyril’s words were as far from a summer love story as humanly possible. “I have an idea what could’ve broken her soul so much, but it’s just a wild guess. She never wanted to talk about herself.”

Jude squeezed Tyril’s hand reassuringly. “So, what do you think happened?”

“I think she was abused by a family member,” he sighed and looked away. It seemed plausible that Selene’s father was the one who did something to her.

First, it couldn’t have been the mother because Selene’s initial motivation for their trip was arriving in Miami and visiting her mother’s grave. Second – she had spent an entire day looking for the perfect flowers to put on the grave, so she obviously cared for her. The thing that worried him the most, though, and was in fact the incentive for this whole equation, was that Selene’s body was covered with suspicious-looking scars. But after all, it was just a guess – he could be completely wrong.

Tyril wished he was wrong.

“She cared for me. Even though she was terrified of putting a different label than friendship on it. Despite my initial inferiority, she wasn’t deterred, she still wanted to be my friend. And I must admit that she was a great friend.”

“Why isn’t she your friend any more then?”

Tyril chuckled sadly. “I wanted more. She wanted to stay friends.”

“So you left.”

Tyril nodded. “I don’t think there’s anything I regret more, Jude. I just left. Like an embittered child who was told ‘no.’ Even without the label of a relationship, we were a couple, and just because she didn’t want to call it this way I left.”

“Then call her,” the blonde proposed, but his idea was very quickly rejected. “Or text, or write her a letter. You can also visit her and apologize for being a dickhead,” he joked, but the joke seemed to get by Tyril completely. “Or you can sit here and be nostalgic, whatever floats your boat. Don’t beat yourself up, darling. You deserve a proper relationship with all those corny labels, public make outs, and rash, spontaneous trips.”

Feeling the need to cheer his boyfriend up, Jude started caressing his hand with a thumb, slowly, gently, tenderly. Tyril smiled weakly for a second. He thought that Jude’s words were ironic because he couldn’t give him all those things as well. Their relationship had no right to exist beside those four, very expensive walls.

“I just hope she’s not alone today.”

January 15th

“Took you long enough.”

“I told you the flight was delayed,” Tyril smiled at the man hovering over him. Jude smiled back and kissed him sweetly. “I love you.”

“I know.”

“Good.”

Jude nosed his way through Tyril’s cheek and then along his jaw, only to look up when he heard his lover’s chuckle. “What is it?”

Tyril shook his head dismissively, but couldn’t fight the grin on his face. Jude sighed wistfully.

“You have such a beautiful smile, Tyril. It’s a shame you try to hide it.”

“I don’t hide it,” Tyril protested, but Jude’s lips kept him from further argument. He sighed softly into the blond’s mouth and pulled him closer by the collar of his knitted turtleneck.

“I love you, too,” Jude whispered into Tyril’s mouth. “I’ve loved you all these years, Ty.”

January 24th

Tyril put away his phone once the clock displayed two in the morning and looked at the half-naked man sleeping on his stomach on the other side of the bed. He loved him, and Jude loved him back. After a decade spent in separation, they were finally together. So why do I keep thinking of others, he thought. Or a certain other, to be exact. Tyril couldn’t help but feel panic at the thought that their perfect bubble began to crack and that soon they will have to go their separate ways. They were usually in complete agreement, but not in this case. Jude preferred to live in the shadow. Nobody knew of Tyril or his previous boyfriends, and he wanted it to stay that way. Tyril was tired of hiding even as a teenager, and now he was starting to feel the exact same way, like a teenager trapped in a relationship which feels too perfect to be true.

He saw her when he closed his eyes. He would spend most weeks in California, away from his boyfriend, who due to his position as the CEO’s assistant worked very long hours and didn’t have much time for calls. At first he thought it was just a random memory, then when he caught himself thinking of her again, and again, he thought that he's simply missing his friend. Now Tyril couldn’t get Selene out of his mind – she accompanied him everywhere and in every situation, which proved to be challenging and awkward in intimate situations with Jude. He felt guilty of not thinking about Jude, but at the same time he knew why this was happening. Jude was to be only a temporary station, a short episode in his life, one he gets to finish after years. They weren’t to end up together and they both knew it.

Now he couldn’t stop thinking about the fact that for an unknown reason, Selene always smelled like water, and the summer, and comfort. A breath of fresh air, windswept waves, so intoxicating and unforgettable. Perhaps it was only the smell that he assigned to her based on the amount of time they had spent by the ocean, but he liked that thought nevertheless. Lately the sole thought of her would flood Tyril’s mind with the pictures of their early morning talks by the ocean, the nights they’ve spent together when there was an absolute downpour outside. Tyril found that metaphor quite fitting as Selene seemed to be followed everywhere by that symbolic rain cloud yet always refused to buckle under the rain, no matter how heavy it was. When the storm passed, she would grow and dazzle with her beauty. She was a flower. He remembered calling her that one night and Selene blushing upon hearing that. Fragile, free, joyous, yet ephemeral, made to be admired, not picked and put in a vase. Perhaps that was the reason for her refusal to form relationships? Would her soul die if she settled down?

In the whole of February Tyril visited Jude twice and both of those times their minds were somewhere else. Jude at least tried to keep up appearances of being there, while Tyril paid no attention to his surroundings or his boyfriend. Jude didn’t want to be the one to break Tyril’s heart again, thus he didn’t say a word and pretended everything was fine. Selfishly he also didn’t want to let him go yet, so he kept organizing small dates in his apartment.

On March 27th, however, the day after their first serious argument, Jude realized that their bubble had burst, and it was the high time to address that problem.

“I love you,” Tyril whispered before pecking Jude’s lips and proceeding to button up his shirt. He was already running late for brunch with his sister. Jude smiled sadly and looked at his boyfriend in the mirror.

“But you’re not happy with me anymore,” Jude said and threw his legs off the bed. Before Tyril could protest, he continued: “I’m not blind, Ty. You grew sad, you don’t talk to me anymore, you don’t even want to come here. Hiding with me here tires your soul, and I’d hate to be the reason for your wilting. I promised myself that I won’t do it to you again, but I can’t bear to look at your sad face. I’m afraid I need to let you go.”

Jude cupped Tyril’s cheek and caressed it with his thumb for a minute, looking into his glistening eyes. They knew this moment would finally come, that what they have is unique and perfect, soothing and comfortable, but not meant to last. Tyril swallowed, battling with himself whether he should fight or just give up.

“I don’t want to lose you again, Jude. I just got you back.”

“You won’t, darling. I’ll always be there,” the blonde gently tapped Tyril’s temple and leaned over to kiss off the salty tear. “We made great memories, we had our time. Now there is someone who needs your love more than I do and who can love you properly.”

Tyril bit his lower lip and after a painfully long minute nodded. It was time to let go. He only wished that Jude hadn’t figured out that he missed Selene. He didn’t want him to feel betrayed even if he had every right to feel that way.

“Your subconsciousness is talking to you, but you don’t notice,” Jude continued, eyes still closed and lips touching Tyril’s when he spoke. As if sensing his confusion, he added. “The first thing you told me about her was that she’s a flower. Now you give me bouquets of flowers I’ve never seen or heard of, attach notes with beautiful words, but all I see is a cipher because they’re not addressed to me. Not really.”

Tyril shook his head as if trying to wake himself up, but this time the scene was very real and final. Just minutes earlier he was planning a date for that night, and now he had to say goodbye to his best friend, partner, and confidant. But Jude was right, it was time to stop living in the bubble and face the world.

“I’m sorry, Jude-”

“Don’t be,” he interrupted and stroked Tyril’s cheeks with his thumbs. “I am not sorry. I am glad that I’m not leaving you alone this time.”

Tyril left Jude’s apartment the same way he entered it seven months before. Heartbroken, tired, and lonely. Having just lost a great friend.

“It will be a huge step back if you do that,” she said to her mirror reflection. Selene in the mirror didn’t look impressed. Or impressive, for that matter. Unhealthily pale face with eyes surrounded by dark circles, her hair demanded brushing, and her ribs were slowly starting to poke out. “Idiot.”

Dull, unremarkable, lackluster. Quiet, weird, insular, boring, prude, dumb, a solid 5. Selene chuckled ruefully, remembering the task the school counselor forced her group to do in order to integrate. It was three weeks after school started. The counselor made them take out a piece of paper, sign it and give it to everyone, so they could anonymously write what they thought of everyone.

She sighed and took another swig from the bottle gifted by Tyril. The wine tasted alright, a little too sweet for her liking, but she didn’t exactly have much expertise in that field. It made her drunk pretty fast. It could be the meds, though.

“No wonder he left, you’re not a great catch. Always so focused on yourself. Pathetic.”

She moaned pathetically when a familiar rumbling came out of her stomach — it might’ve not been the greatest idea to mix medication with wine. A few deep breaths and she’s alright. Nights were like this— cold, dark, lonely — again, not that she remembered much after drinking herself to sleep.

“I didn’t raise you to be a snitch,” the woman spluttered indistinctly while reading the last two texts her daughter forgot to delete. Eight-year-old Selene stood in the kitchen door frame with tears dripping down onto her dirty shirt and nails diving into her sweaty palms. You didn’t raise me at all, she wanted to add, but being too afraid to stand up for herself, she apologized for seeking help. In retrospect, it really seemed to have been a stupid move – father didn’t help her, and now she was in trouble.

“I’m sorry, it was stupid, I won’t do it again.”

“Daddy won’t help you. He doesn’t care about you, he’s using you to make my life miserable. He’s the reason we have to live this way.”

Selene gritted her teeth and nodded meekly. She knew that this time Audrey was right – Audrey, not “mother,” and most certainly not “mom.” Mom cared about Selene, Audrey was an alcoholic. Mom wasn’t around too often, though. Selene separated these two individuals, used dissociation as a coping mechanism to run away from her daily struggles, not knowing that this procedure will have horrible consequences in the future. To her defense, though, Selene never thought of the future – not because she was a stupid child or because she didn’t want to think that she’ll have to live with a drunkard for the next ten years, but because she knew she won’t make it that far. In a household where the only adult can’t stand straight, let alone cook dinner or go to work, it’s only a matter of time before an accident happens. Then it's all over the news and people wonder why nobody helped the family, why nobody did anything. The tragedy could be easily avoided.

Selene wanted to scream and cry so loud that the concerned neighbors would call the police, but mom wouldn’t like it, so she only dove the nails deeper into her palms. The neighbors wouldn’t do anything, though, just like father. They’ve already shown several times that it’s easier to turn the TV loud enough to muffle a child’s cry for help than to help. Her palms hurt and bled, but she didn’t make a sound. She deserved the punishment for her carelessness. The next time, she’ll know better.

Audrey gazed upon the clock for a few minutes, then all of a sudden took a long sip of her beer and addressed her daughter, too ashamed to look at her. “Go to school, you’re already late.”

Selene wrinkled her nose and looked at the clock as well, only to learn that it is nine in the evening. “But it’s the evening.”

Audrey only shrugged and knowing the woman’s body language perfectly, Selene knew she was free to go. With her eyes glued to the dirty, sticky floor, she marched towards her room and closed the door as quietly as possible.

There are only so many things a girl can do in her room quietly, and pulling her hair out didn’t do it for her anymore. Screaming into the pillow was risky, slamming doors was out of the question, and her palms were already a battleground. Selene looked around the room, desperately searching for anything that would bring her relief, that would take her fury and sorrow away. She was a prisoner in this damn room, day after day, doing homework, watching TV to kill time, praying not to wake up the next morning, going to sleep. Waking up, sneaking out of her room to see whether any food miraculously appeared in the fridge at night and finding nothing, going to school, praying that something happens to her on the way back, so she doesn’t have to live like this anymore. Nothing ever happens. She’s lucky enough not to be hit by a car, but not to live in a normal family.

“Great, now she hates me. I'm so dumb, how could I forget to delete those texts. I knew she would see them. She hates me, she was getting better, and now she won’t stop drinking for another week.”

Her head hurt from crying, she could no longer breathe through her nose, and her eyes were red and swollen. But she couldn’t go to sleep before the punishment. She wouldn't be able to fall asleep with all this tension inside her body.

“The desk will make too much noise, but what about the window sill?” She thought, wiped her face with the wet sleeve of her shirt and knocked on the plastic sill. The empty sound resonated within the small, sad room. “Too loud. The wall will have to do, then.”

One, two, crap, it hurts. Do thirteen, it’s thirteenth today. Keep the count so it's fair. Three, four, five. Someone’s coming, sit down and pretend nothing's wrong. One minute, two, three. The front door slammed. Good, Audrey will be gone for the next twenty minutes.

Selene hid behind the curtains and peeked through them to see where Audrey was going. Sunglasses, swaying from one side of the pavement to the other, walking towards the market. She’s going to get more booze.

It’s your fault. Six, seven, eight, nine, ten. This one was really painful, now turn a little, don’t forget about the other side. One, two, three. Should I make it even on both sides?

Next time, it’s time to sleep. Good girl.

Imtura stirred awake as a loud thud and a muffled profanity reached her ears. The sky was still pitch-black, the outside world quiet, lonely, and scary; her watch displayed only three minutes past two when she heard sniffling and two more thuds. Having quickly rubbed her sleep-covered eyes, she rolled off the couch, approached the bathroom door and knocked gently.

“Doll, you okay?”

Selene closed her eyes and cursed again, this time in her mind, naively praying that the lack of answer will convince Imtura that she’s not there. Unfortunately for her, Imtura had a different plan in mind – she only gave a short warning before entering the room. The sight of her friend sitting cross-legged on the white bathroom mat with scarlet red blood lazily dripping from her knuckles was the exact sight she expected to encounter.

“Well, shit,” she commented and grabbed the supplies necessary to patch the wound up. “We should talk about it, you know,” Imtura added once she plopped down in front of her friend.

Selene shrugged. The purpose of Imtura staying overnight was that she would help in case of any unwanted reactions of her mind, like panic attacks, which lately have been following the recurring nightmares. They sat on the tiled floor for about ten minutes, and while Selene watched the slow and precise movements of her friend’s hands, Imtura wondered how many times Selene’s hurt herself before because she seemed to be indifferent to the pain. Moments later they were both lying in bed under a thick duvet, Selene wrapped in a bear hug yet still trembling from the emotional turmoil.

She didn’t want to talk about it, at least not when the wound was still very fresh. In the morning she will regain her strength and mother won’t be able to hurt her, not until the evening, at least.

Selene tried to focus on the howling wind outside and the gentle patting of the rain on the windows, but the sleep wouldn’t come. She took a few deep breaths to shoo away the frustration building up inside her and having made sure that Imtura was back asleep, she snuck out of her grip and made her way towards the couch in the living room. Half past two, time as good as any to read her own journal.

Selene sighed, rubbed her left temple and focused on the furry creature snuggling up to her in order to erase the sight of the blood stains on the green wall. She wondered how it was possible that she never suffered any brain damage from banging her head against the wall for years.

Then she checked her chat with Tyril, just like she’s done several times these past five days, wishing that this time she’d find a reply. “Read,” it said. He had read it immediately after receiving it and chose to ignore her. Well then.

Desperate to fall asleep, she turned on the TV quietly to tire her eyes, but paid no attention to the tarot reading. Her mind was occupied by the thought that there is a certain consensus among people suffering from depression, a sort of unwritten agreement, that the morning is the worst time of the day. There is an exception to every rule, and of course in this case Selene was the exception – mornings were her favourite part of the day. Mornings carried the inaudible promise of betterment – not exactly more happiness, but a little less pain, and she held onto it like grim death. She found nights cursed – or, to be more exact, — cursed and blessed at the same time. Selene loved the sight of the bustling city, its colourful flickering lights contrasted with the immensity of the sky’s nothingness. She found both comfort and terror in the stars, on one hand so distant and beautiful, burning so bright just to die, on the other the vastness, darkness, and solitude of this undiscovered void. Nights brought about unwanted memories and impetuous decisions, prayers for death, tear-stained pillows, and creative schemes for punishment.

New medications were yet to fully kick in, but due to extensive therapy meetings and support group sessions unnerving flashbacks would catch her off guard also in the middle of the day, the only moment she could be certain not to be bothered. She wasn’t safe anymore. Not in the morning, not in the afternoon, not in the presence of friends, and most definitely not in the middle of the night.

The truth was that despite hundreds of dollars spent on therapy and medication, Selene didn’t matter to herself. She was good at wearing convincing masks, but there hasn’t been a day in her life when she wouldn’t think of not waking up the next day. Or ever, to be exact. It’s always somewhere in the back of her head, no longer a sad or depressing thought, but just a natural course of events.

4:35 a.m.

“You’re not going to brag about it, are you? I’m sure grandma does this too. It’s only this one.”

Selene nodded sadly, careful not to let any tear slip, fiercely fighting against the stubborn muscles of her face. Don’t make a scene, nothing’s happening yet. The suffocating smell of a cigarette combined with the bright smell of carnations, peach pink petals in a simple marble vase. Mother Day’s gift. Pungent, musty smell coming from her glass.

Selene knew she was lying. Audrey could never stop at just one. On her way back to her room, she touched her mother’s bag, unsurprised to feel it filled with more bottles. She felt stupid for thinking this time might be any different and even more so for feeling excited about this weekend.

She spent an hour in the bathroom that night, 10 minutes on showering, 20 on looking in the mirror and searching for any resemblance to her mother, 30 on rubbing her knuckles against the grout between the light blue tiles on the walls. It hurt the most on the second and third day, and she already couldn’t wait. A punishment with a delayed response and a nasty habit to shake.

There was no denying she was her mother's daughter. She had her smile, her eyes, and the same nose as her.

I must be broken. People are getting better. People who went through unspeakable horrors are flourishing, and she’s still here, making little to no progress. And it’s not like what happened to her was that traumatic. She doesn’t even remember. She doesn’t even have the right to feel this way.

What scares you are the labels, am I right?

Selene groaned, shifting uncomfortably on the couch.

“It’s four in the morning, just shut up, for god’s sake.”

The therapist’s words reverberated in her head, forcing her brain to think of all the possible answers to that questions. She could’ve lied and said no, could’ve said she didn’t want to talk about it. It was not uncommon for her to lie or omit the truth in therapy, but the current problem was that the therapist hit home. Selene didn’t like labels. She didn’t feel the need to label her relationships, political views, sexuality, not even her dietary choices. Not because she was undecided, but because she was afraid of commitment and other people’s opinion of her choices.

The thing with relationships was that she never had anything other than friendship. Yes, there was this one date with the professor, but after it ended he admitted that while he’s looking for someone to finally settle down, she’s clearly looking for a friend. Whenever someone tried to flirt with her, she either assumed they’re making fun of her and laughed at them or didn’t even notice and thought they’re just being friendly. That’s why she found the relationship with Tyril so complicated – he was her first, in all possible meanings of this word. The first friend after a long time, first who simply accepted her crazy idea of going away for some time. The first man whom she admired and felt comfortable with, her first kiss, first lover, and first romantic heartbreak, even though she didn’t really want to admit the last part. Perhaps this was the exact reason why she was missing him this much.

The sound of an incoming call almost made her fall off the couch. Quickly, in order to avoid waking up Imtura, she answered the call, only later realizing whose name she saw on the screen.

“Are you insane? It’s half past four,” she opened quietly and rubbed her tired eyes. Tyril smiled.

“Come downstairs,” he asked, and Selene frowned.

“Have you thought of the possibility that I’m not home?”

“Your room lit up when I called.”

Selene bit her lip in order to mask the smile on her face. “Stalker.”

“We’ve already agreed upon that,” he chuckled nervously. “Come on, I want to show you something.”

Having taken a deep sigh, she agreed. Curiosity took over and minutes later she exited the building, only to find a tall, expensively-dressed man sitting on a curb.

“Hey,” she welcomed him, properly this time, and watched him raise to his feet. She forgot how tall he was.

Tyril couldn’t help but smile at her. She looked different yet somehow even more beautiful with shorter and darker hair, and apparently a few kilograms lighter. “Hey.”

“What is it that you want to show me?”

Selene could pinpoint the exact second the realization downed on Tyril’s face, and she crossed her arms, accidentally touching her fresh wound a little too heavily. She winced and Tyril immediately spotted the source of her pain.

“What happened?” he asked, pointing to her bandaged hand. Selene shook her head dismissively.

“Anger management,” she explained quickly and changed the subject. “Why are you here, Tyril?”

Realizing that Selene didn’t buy his excuse, he sighed and hid his hands in the pockets of his jacket. Somehow, the rain suddenly became the most fascinating thing in the world.

Selene averted her gaze, suddenly fully aware of the emotional distance between them. She couldn’t decide whether she was happy to see him or not.

“I miss you,” Tyril mumbled, with gaze glued to the nearby puddle. “I miss you a lot, Selene, and I came here to ask you to take me back.” Then, as if confused by the words that left his mouth, his eyebrows furrowed, and he shook his head slightly. “Wait, no, that’s not what I meant to say.”

Selene bit her lip, but did not manage to stop the tiny chuckle from escaping her lips. Having cleared his throat and straightened his back, Tyril regained his composure and resumed his confession with renewed energy. Then just as he opened his mouth to say that he wants to be in her life even if he were to be only a friend, the lamp post above their heads blinked several times and died, soon followed by three others, leaving the couple in wet and windy darkness.

“It’s okay, don’t worry, Tyril,” she consoled, fighting the urge to reach for his hand by closing her own in a fist. The annoyance disappeared from Tyril’s face merely for five seconds before the sound of an incoming call pierced the silence. Selene covered her lips with her hand when Tyril mumbled a quiet and almost incomprehensible, ‘bloody hell.’ She wondered whether one of his parents was English because his accent was heavily tinged with a little of such an influence. At times Tyril sounded like a pronunciation dictionary, and it made Selene think that it might just be a weird wealthy-people thing and Tyril was forced to take phonetics class as a kid.

“I think you should pick up. If they’re calling in the middle of the night, then it could be important.”

“No, shut up. It’s late, and I’m tired, and apparently the universe is telling me that it’s a bad decision, but I’m miserable without you. I refuse to believe that we weren’t supposed to end up together.”

She was happy to see him, and even more so to hear him say that he missed her. Her mind, though, already came up with three reasons why she should reject him and don't let this situation escalate any further.

“Why didn’t you text me back?”

Tyril felt as if his heart was about to jump out of his chest and drown in the puddle he's been staring at. He came to see her and set the record straight, but when the time came, he couldn't shake the thought that she'll reject him again. Even though she texted him. She's been thinking about him and she decided that she wants him in her life as well.

Deep breath in, and out.

“Because I wanted to tell you that I am in love with you, but that’s not something you should be told over a text.”

A quiet 'oh' left her lips. Tyril could tell he caught her off guard and despite the desperate need to touch her, take her into his arms and whisper how much he missed her into her ear, he remained in his place, observing the various emotions on Selene's face. It amazed him that for someone who's this closed-off, her face was an open book. You just had to learn to read it.

“I know I shouldn’t say ‘thank you’ now, but I don’t know what to do,” she mumbled, looking at him in a way that made him realized that his feelings are not reciprocated. At least not yet.

A thunder sounded in the background.

“Don’t be afraid, Selene. Don’t overthink,” he replied, and reached for Selene’s hand, the one clenched into a fist. Delicately yet surely he opened her hand and sighed quietly upon seeing that she’s already done some damage. Tyril watched as a raindrop smudged the blood stain on her hand. “It’s very easy to fall for you, Selene.”

“I don’t know what it means,” she admitted quietly, averting her gaze, ashamed that for once she couldn’t react the way people usually do. She didn’t expect to see Tyril that night, let alone hear such a confession from him. To be frank, she never expected to hear those words from anyone because she always made sure to let people know she doesn’t want it. Tyril must’ve not listened. “We never used that word in my home.”

Selene bit her lip and sloppily took her hand out of Tyril’s grip. “You see, it’s always about me and my home and the things they did to me. I’m not worth the trouble, Tyril.”

“It’s not up to you to decide that.”

“You don’t even know me.”

“I have all the time in the world to change that. I know you’re a good person, and I know that you hate loud people with all your might. I know that you’re scared of thunderstorms, but you’re standing here with me right now, and you haven’t even flinched once. That makes you brave and that was enough for me to fall for you,” Tyril kept convincing and encouraged by her shy gaze on his face, he continued. “I want to be around you, make you smile, and make you feel better. Support you when things are great and when they’re completely hopeless. To kiss your smart-mouth and give you flowers just so I can admire the way you’re taking care of them.”

The rain was nothing but a memory now, the thunderstorm was receiding by a minute, and Selene tried to remember every word her therapist said about opening herself to new experiences and keeping around good people.

While her mind tried to convince her that she could get hurt, and that - most probably - she will get hurt by the man in front of her, she kept reminding herself that she's already survived the worst. That while Tyril could hurt her, he was also going to make her very happy.

However strangely it sounded in her mind, she did deserve to be happy.

“I missed you too,” she whispered warily. “And I don’t want you to leave me again. Right now you're tired and so am I, so can we finish this conversation in the morning?"

Feeling as if an enormous weight has been lifted off his shoulders, Tyril nodded, and a relieved smile crept up upon his lips, one quickly reciprocated by Selene.

"I hope you liked sleeping on my couch, because my bed's currently taken by a terrifying bartender lady," she chuckled and slid her hand into Tyril's. She didn't bother explaining, but simply enjoyed watching the confusion, and a little bit of terror on his face.

The mornings carry an inaudible promise of betterment, and Selene hoped to make the good decision then. In the meantime, she hoped to get some long overdue hugs and a couple of hours of sleep. She never slept as well as back then in Pittsburgh with him.

[reidio-silence]

As the Erie Canal neared completion, the Times of London predicted it would make New York “the London of the New World.” The city’s meteoric growth over the next ten or fifteen years largely bore out that prediction. Though the Hudson River town could hardly be compared with the colossus of the Thames, it had established itself as America’s preeminent seaport, emporium, and financial center. After an 1831 visit, even the hard-to-please Mrs. Trollope found herself gushing about New York that, “situated on an island, which I think it will one day cover, it rises, like Venice, from the sea, and like that fairest of cities in the days of her glory, receives into its lap tribute of all the riches of the earth.”

New York’s success owed much to the entrepreneurial daring of its businessmen, who had proven themselves more willing than counterparts in other cities to take risks in pursuit of profit. Immigrant Yankee and European capitalists, having demonstrated their feistiness in the very act of relocating, seemed more flexible, less bound by tradition. They didn’t always succeed—New York firms failed more often than did the dynastic enterprises of Boston—but their collective ambition stoked the city’s economic furnace.

Yet if New Yorkers were willing to hustle in the marketplace, it was a marketplace both cosseted and regulated by the state. Public enterprise was as much a part of New York’s civic culture as private ambition, and a raft of governmental initiatives helped the city embrace and enhance its natural advantages.

Above all, it was the state-run Erie Canal that secured New York City’s position as the nation’s entrepôt, galvanizing its commerce, its banking, its stock market, and its manufacturing sectors: in 1825, the year the Erie commenced operation, five hundred new mercantile operations opened their doors in the city. Government aided entrepreneurs in many other ways as well. Fulton and Livingston perfected their steamboat under the aegis of a state monopoly without which they would not likely have spent the time, money, and energy it took to bring the project to completion. A similar monopoly encouraged the New York Gas-Light Company to illuminate the streets—by warding off competitors, subsidizing construction, and guaranteeing an initial market. State law also undergirded the monopolistic auction system, which generated some of the largest fortunes of the era, and its Safety Fund assured local bankers of the most stable operating environment in the nation. Finally—the ultimate boon—the New York legislature dispensed, in ever-increasing numbers, the privileges of incorporation, a grant of limited liability originally intended to achieve public purposes, which now became a device to undergird private profitability.

Federal initiatives, too, provided an extensive support system for Manhattan’s risk-takers. Washington dispensed shipbuilding contracts, dispatched the navy to protect city merchants in hostile waters, maintained forts to safeguard the harbor, banned foreign vessels from the American coastal trade, and, by charging the same postage for long- as for short- haul mailings, helped New York publishers undersell their regional competitors.

— Mike Wallace and Edwin G. Burrows, Gotham: A History of New York City to 1898 (1998)

[landmarkfinancialgroup]

Why should you invest in real estate in Canada?

Buying a house or commercial space in Canada can be very beneficial for you if you understand their laws properly. To begin with, ownership of property in Canada does not need residency or citizenship. However, if you want to stay in Canada permanently, you must complete immigration requirements first. Annual tax reports are required by the CRA for non-Canadian owners of rental property in Canada (CRA).

Property Taxes

First, $200,000 is taxed at one percent, while the rest is taxed at two percent when purchasing a home in the province of Quebec. First-time homebuyers in Canada may be exempt from this program. Annual property taxes based on market value are also levied by municipalities. Schools are included in municipal levies. The data on a property's tax bill is widely available. A portion of your GST can be refunded if you're moving into a newly constructed or builder-renovated house for sale west island Montreal or in any other location. GST does not apply to resale properties.

Rental Property Taxes

Canada's Income Tax Act mandates that all rental income be taxed at a rate of 25 percent per year. Filling out Form NR6 allows non-residents to deduct 25% of their net rental revenue (after expenses). If the rental property is losing money, you can deduct the losses from your taxes. If you're a co-owner or a partner, the tax treatment of your rental or company revenue will differ. The operational and capital costs of renting a property are tax-deductible expenses. The latter option is more advantageous. Rental income cannot be reduced by the expense of renting furniture or equipment. Expenses for products that depreciate can be subtracted over time. Allowance for future costs of capital (CCA).

It is possible to deduct investment property taxes and the interest paid on mortgages, bank loans, and credit lines in Canada.

Putting commercial, residential, or Industrial real estate for sale Pointe-Claire

Non-Canadians who sell Canadian real estate face a 50% withholding tax. Those who make a profit from their investments must notify the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). A foreign tax credit can be claimed if the gain was taxed in Canada. CRA clearance certificates are required for non-residents selling Canadian property. With no proof of residency, a buyer could be held accountable for any unpaid taxes by the Canadian Revenue Agency (CRA).

If the home is your principal residence and you're a Canadian resident, you won't be subject to capital gains tax. It doesn't matter where you live, as long as it's where you spend most of your time. 3 For those who prefer a cottage or mobile home, this is an option. Each family is allowed to have only one principal residence at a time. Consequences follow from this need. As a result, you must decide which of your properties to categorize as your primary residence based on the number of capital gains. You may also consult with specific brokers in areas such as Montreal commercial real estate brokers.

Prorate capital gains if the property was not your primary residence for the whole time that you owned it. Taxable capital gains may result from moving from a rental to a primary residence. It is possible to delay this gain until the sale of the property.

Taxes on capital gains accrue when you leave Canada with appreciated Canadian assets. When a non-resident property owner dies or transfers property to a firm or a relative, this "deemed disposition" may also apply, even if no money is transferred.

Home equity

If you have equity in your Canadian home, you could benefit from a reverse mortgage or an equity line of credit (HELOC). If you're 55 or older, you can get up to 55% of your home's market value with a reverse mortgage. Tax-free and non-returnable. Long-term ownership of a home is an option for those who have saved their money and invested it wisely. Upon the death of the homeowner, or the sale of the property, the loan is paid back. 5

There is a second mortgage on your home that is used to secure your HELOCs. There is no penalty for paying down the principal at any time. However, lines of credit have a lower interest rate than unsecured loans, but higher interest rates than mortgages.

In general, property laws in Canada are fairly lax. Non-Canadian citizens can deduct property taxes and interest payments from their taxable income. Owning, inhabiting, renting, and selling property all have tax implications that should be understood before making an investment.

Source By: https://landmarkrealties12.blogspot.com/2022/06/why-should-you-invest-in-real-estate-in.html

[wearejapanese]

By Tarik Merida

Abstract: The nineteenth century saw the consolidation of a pattern: the high age of imperialism had divided the globe into two spheres, one for the colonizers and the other for the colonized. Various justifications were used to rationalize the colonial venture, one of these being the idea of racial superiority. Geopolitical and scientific developments gave birth to the idea of an unbreachable gulf between the superior “white race” and the inferior “colored races.” While circumstances in the colonies seemed to confirm that idea, Japan had, through a process of modernization, reached the civilizational level of the Western powers, thereby becoming a racial anomaly. To cope with this anomaly, the nations in the West had to devise a negotiation zone, in which the Japanese were temporarily granted privileged racial status without upsetting the racial status quo.

Negotiating Japanese Racial Identity: The American Example

The developments make Japan an interesting exception in the history of Western imperialism. Even more interesting is the way that Western powers reacted to the Japanese anomaly: it is possible to argue that by the end of the nineteenth century, a negotiation zone had been created between the Western powers and Japan—a sort of racial middle ground—in which the latter could temporarily escape the subordinate status commonly reserved for “colored people” to receive preferential treatment. This not only enabled them to uphold the racial status quo, but also to cope with the anomaly of having a “colored race” equal to “whites.”

This special status, however, did not mean that the Japanese were granted universal racial equality. Rather, their civilizational achievements enabled them to gain new relevance on the world stage, which simultaneously necessitated a reassessment of their relationship with the Western powers. This suggests that the negotiation zone was primarily a matter of diplomacy between nation states, one that could eventually, but not necessarily, grant Japanese individuals some sort of protection against abuses common for other “colored races.” As will be explained in detail below, it is necessary to distinguish between Japan as a nation and Japanese individuals as members of a different race. The relationship between Japan and the United States at the turn of the twentieth century is illustrative of this need for distinction.10

As mentioned above, Japan had been victorious in two wars, the first Sino-Japanese War (1894–1895) and the Russo-Japanese War (1904–1905). While these victories stirred up anxieties over the “yellow peril,” i.e. the fear that the “yellow race” posed a threat to the “white race,” the Western response to Japanese prowess in battle was overwhelmingly positive.11 For the Japanese people, the victories gave them much needed confidence on the international stage. Believing that it had rightfully won a place amongst the civilized nations of the West, the island country also engaged in economic expansion and human migration. Among the destinations for emigration, the United States became quite popular: the number of Japanese people entering the country doubled between 1906 and 1907, from 14,243 to 30,842.12

Despite their relatively small numbers, the immigrants were soon accused of “flooding” the west coast of the United States, and of threatening the white labor market. The Japanese immigrants who came to California became victims not only of a long history of American racism, but also of a peculiar “west coast racism”: before their arrival, the country’s west coast had been the theatre of racial conflicts between settlers of European descent and respectively, Native Americans, Mexican and Chinese immigrants. The Japanese immigrants, upon arrival, were subjected to much of the same prejudices that had been directed at other “nonwhites,” especially their Chinese counterparts. The latter, however, ceased to be an acute problem after the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, which prohibited the immigration of Chinese laborers. Despite the very limited scale of Japanese immigration, opposition to the arrival of Japanese laborers grew louder until the Japanese and Korean Exclusion League (later renamed Asiatic Exclusion League) was organized on May 7, 1905. The League’s demands were as follows: (1) laws excluding the Chinese had to be extended to the Japanese and Koreans; (2) League members should not employ or patronize Japanese people, nor persons employing Japanese people, and should boycott products coming from firms employing Japanese people; (3) a campaign to get the attention of the President and the Congress had to be launched; and lastly, (4) the cause shall be supported by all labor and civic organizations.13

Read more...

https://apjjf.org/2020/20/Merida.html

[newstfionline]

Sunday, June 20, 2021

Businesses, U.S. legislators fume as Canada extends travel ban (Reuters) Canada is extending a ban on non-essential travel with the United States and the rest of the world until July 21, officials said on Friday, prompting frustration from businesses and U.S. legislators. Canada is under pressure from companies and the tourism industry to ease the ban, which was imposed in March 2020 to help contain spread of the coronavirus and has been renewed on a monthly basis ever since. But Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stood firm, saying the border would stay largely shut until 75% of Canadians had received the first of a two-dose coronavirus vaccine and 20% had been given both shots. The Canadian Chamber of Commerce—a national group that advocates for businesses—lamented what it said was Ottawa’s excessive caution.

Many Americans resuming pre-virus activities (AP) Many Americans are relaxing precautions taken during the COVID-19 pandemic and resuming everyday activities, even as some worry that coronavirus-related restrictions were hastily lifted, a new poll shows. The poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research finds that majorities of Americans who were regularly doing so before the pandemic say they are returning to bars or restaurants, traveling and attending events such as movies or sports. Andrea Moran, a 36-year-old freelance writer and mother of two boys, said she feels both relief and joy at the chance to resume “doing the little things,” such as having drinks on a restaurant patio with her husband. “Honestly, I almost cried,” Moran said. “It’s such a feeling of having been through the wringer, and we’re finally starting to come out of it.” Still, 34% of Americans think restrictions in their area have been lifted too quickly, while somewhat fewer—27%—say they were not lifted quickly enough. About 4 in 10 rate the pace of reopening about right.

Voting debate roils Washington but leaves many voters cold (AP) Brenda Martinez, a 19-year-old community college student, thinks the government should help immigrant students more. Donald Huffman is worried about turning 50 next week with no work available because the federal government is delaying the pipelines he usually helps build. Binod Neupane, who just moved to Texas to research alternative fuels, wants action on climate change. The three Texas voters have little in common politically other than one thing—none considers voting and election reform, the issue that has dominated partisan debate this year, a top priority. As politicians from Austin to Washington battle over the practical aspects of how to run elections—clashing over details such as polling booth hours and the number of ballot drop boxes per county—many voters are disconnected from the fight. A passionate base of voters and activists on both sides may be intensely dialed in on the issue, but a disengaged middle is baffled at the attention.

Trust in government (The Spectator) Since 1958, the Gallup polling organization has periodically asked Americans how much they trust the federal government to do what is right. In 1958, 73 percent said ‘always’ or ‘most of the time’. Trust hit its high point in 1964, when that figure stood at 77 percent. Then it began to fall. By 1980, only 27 percent trusted the government to do what is right. That percentage rebounded to the low forties during the Reagan years, then fell to a new low, 19 percent, in 1994. It rebounded again, hitting a short-lived high of 54 percent just after 9/11. Then it plunged again, hitting another new low, 15 percent, in 2011. It has been in the 15- to 20 percent range ever since. A government that is distrusted by more than 80 percent of the citizens has a bipartisan legitimacy problem.

‘There’s no water,’ says California farm manager (Reuters) Salvador Parra, the manager of Burford Ranch in California’s Central Valley agricultural breadbasket, is worried about the lack of water. California’s worst drought since 1977 has forced Parra to leave fallow 2,000 of his 6,000 acres and dig deep for water to save the crops already planted. “There’s not very much being grown out there, just because there’s no water. There’s literally no water,” said Parra. In a good year, the ranch grows everything from garlic, onions, tomatoes and alfalfa to cotton. This year, Parra needs emergency water sources just to bring a reduced crop to harvest.

Mexico City shuts down classes again, enters higher COVID-19 risk tier (Reuters) Mexico City schools that had just gone back to in-person classes will be closed again starting Monday as the sprawling capital climbs into a higher tier of coronavirus risk, education authorities said on Saturday. Mexico City officials had loosened restrictions on gatherings in schools, hotels, stores and restaurants just two weeks ago as the dense urban zone moved into the lowest risk tier of the government's four-level "traffic light" model. But the federal Health Ministry on Friday evening put Mexico City, home to more than 9 million people, a step higher on the scale for June 21 to July 4.

Peru ex-military stir election tensions with appeal to Armed Forces to “remedy” poll (Reuters) A group of retired officers has suggested Peru’s military should refuse to recognize socialist candidate Pedro Castillo if he is declared winner of the country’s presidential election if fraud allegations are not investigated, according to a letter circulated widely on social media on Friday. Interim president Francisco Sagasti confirmed the letter, which was posted on Twitter and Facebook, arrived at the general headquarters of the armed forces, bearing the names of at least 80 retired military personnel. Friday’s letter appealed to military chiefs to “act rigorously” and “remedy” the “demonstrated irregularities” that took place during the vote or risk having an “illegal and illegitimate” commander in chief at the helm of the country. The tight election has deeply divided citizens of the world’s second-largest copper producer. Protest marches by supporters of both candidates take place almost daily in downtown Lima, calling for a swift resolution and respect for the popular will.

Drought in Brazil (Financial Times) The worst drought in almost a century has left millions of Brazilians facing water shortages and the risk of power blackouts, complicating the country’s efforts to recover from the devastating impact of the coronavirus pandemic. The agricultural centers in São Paulo state and Mato Grosso do Sul have been worse affected, after the November-March rainy season produced the lowest level of rainfall in 20 years. Water levels in the Cantareira system of reservoirs, which serves about 7.5m people in São Paulo city, dropped to below one-tenth of its capacity this year. Brazil’s mines and energy ministry has called it country’s worst drought in 91 years.

Paris’ tough suburbs (AP) Violent rivalries have long been part of the policing geography in the rotting high-rises of tough Paris-region neighborhoods where inequalities and hardship are often more common than good jobs and opportunities. But police say that fighting over turf or differences of race, religion and cultures wasn’t always as savage as it increasingly is now. “It’s more and more violent,” the police major said as he worked to reconstruct this week’s chain of events, from a clash in a pipe-smoking bar to a full-blown brawl between opposing groups from Pakistani and North African communities. “In a fight that perhaps 20 years ago would have been sorted out with fists or kicks, we now see people being run over with cars,” he said. “The population is increasingly violent. It’s no longer simply fighting. They absolutely have to win, even if that means leaving someone in agony on the floor.” Police are also increasingly the targets of violence. Most recently, the murders of two police officials in April and May—one in a stabbing, the other in a shooting during a drug bust—reinforced officers’ concerns that enforcing the law in France is an increasingly perilous profession.

Chips, Taiwan, and China (WSJ/The Wire China) Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. makes almost all of the world’s most sophisticated chips, and many of the simpler ones, too. They’re in billions of products with built-in electronics, including iPhones, personal computers and cars—all without any obvious sign they came from TSMC, which does the manufacturing for better-known companies that design them, like Apple and Qualcomm. TSMC has emerged over the past several years as the world’s most important semiconductor company, with enormous influence over the global economy. With a market cap of around $550 billion, it ranks as the world’s 11th most valuable company. Its dominance leaves the world in a vulnerable position, however. As more technologies require chips of mind-boggling complexity, more are coming from this one company, on an island that’s a focal point of tensions between the U.S. and China, which claims Taiwan as its own.

Hard-line judiciary head wins Iran presidency as turnout low (AP) Iran’s hard-line judiciary chief won the country’s presidential election in a landslide victory Saturday, propelling the supreme leader’s protégé into Tehran’s highest civilian position in a vote that appeared to see the lowest turnout in the Islamic Republic’s history. Initial results showed Ebrahim Raisi won 17.8 million votes in the contest, dwarfing those of the race’s sole moderate candidate. However, Raisi dominated the election only after a panel under the watch of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei disqualified his strongest competition. His candidacy, and the sense the election served more as a coronation for him, sparked widespread apathy among eligible voters in the Islamic Republic, which has held up turnout as a sign of support for the theocracy since its 1979 Islamic Revolution.

Uganda tightening measures due to virus surge (AP) Uganda is tightening its lockdown measures to try and stem a surge in coronavirus infections in the East African country that is seeing an array of variants. The measures announced late Friday by President Yoweri Museveni include a ban on private and public transportation within and across districts, including in the capital Kampala. Only vehicles carrying cargo and those transporting the sick or essential workers are permitted to operate on the roads. The normally crowded shops in downtown Kampala have also been ordered shut. An ongoing nighttime curfew will stay in place. The new measures will last 42 days.

[wedesignyouny]

Citizenship Lawyer Nassau County | Shankar & Associates, PC

CITIZENSHIP LAWYER

Achieving to Guarantee a Simple and Tranquil Process

Naturalization is considered by numerous individuals to be a definitive advantage granted by USCIS to an immigrant. Hence, it is significant that you hire an accomplished citizenship lawyer to survey and handle your case. Our firm has the experience essential to survey your immigration history and cycle your naturalization application as fast as could be expected. Reach out to a Citizenship Lawyer in Nassau County today.

When Would I be able to Apply for My Citizenship?

People may apply for Citizenship if they have met the following:

1. If you are 18 years old and ready to read, write, and talk basic English

2. Essential comprehension of U.S. history and civics

3. Been of acceptable good character throughout the time of residency

4. Complete the interview.

5. Get a decision from USCIS concerning your application

6. Get a notification to take the Oath of Allegiance.

7. Make the Oath of Allegiance at a naturalization ceremony.

8. Composed and Oral Assessments

9. Legal permanent resident for a very long time and has spent at any rate 2 ½ years in the U.S. or then again three years with 1 ½ of that time spent in the US if the green card was obtained through marriage without any trips outside the U.S. for over a half-year

When an application is documented, the screening will be scheduled. There are two tests as a component of the interview: a written assessment and an oral assessment. During the oral assessment, the questioner will ask the candidate inquiries about American history and civics. During the written assessment, the application will be tried on their capacity to read, write, speak and understand English.

Contingent upon your age and the time allotment you have lived in the U.S. as a legal permanent resident, you might have the option to take the assessments in your local language. Furthermore, there are exclusions from these tests for candidates who can show clinical documentation of mental or actual incapacity.

Our immigration lawyer at Shankar & Associates, P.C. will examine your immigration status and survey your set of experiences to be certain that you qualify before any application is submitted to USCIS. Basic errors or incidental mix-ups could have serious outcomes and result in denials or deportation.

Criminal Violation Influence Good Moral Character

Significantly, you disclose all criminal arrests paying little mind to how minor you may think they were. All captures should be unveiled to USCIS, even those erased and fixed by a Court. Convictions of gambling, prostitution, carrying and different lawful offenses may make people be considered of bad moral character and exclude them from citizenship.

Instructions to Apply for Citizenship

If you have met the requirements for applying for citizenship, you may start the application process. An experienced citizenship lawyer can manage you with the process:

1. Complete the Form N-400.

2. Submit Form N-400 and pay the expenses.

3. Go to the biometrics appointment, if applicable.

Contact Us For Free Consultation

📞 : 212-461-1467, 800-461-1467

📧 : shankar@shankarlaw.com rajat.shankar@shankarlaw.com sastry@shankarlaw.com

🌎: https://shankarlaw.com/

📍 : 518 Plainview Road Plainview, NY, 11803

[mafiablogg]

Roy Albert DeMeo,September 7, 1940[– January 10, 1983) was an Italian-American mobster in the Gambino crime family of New York City. He headed the a group referred to as the "DeMeo crew", which became notorious for the large number of alleged murders they committed and for the grisly way they disposed of the bodies, which became known as "the Gemini Method".The crew committed a very large amount of murders, with the majority of them committed by DeMeo himself. Roy Albert DeMeo was born in 1940 in Bath Beach, Brooklyn, to a working class Italian immigrant family of Neapolitan origin. Anthony Gaggi, a soldier in the Gambino crime family, noticed DeMeo and told him that he could make even more money with his successful business if he came to work directly for the Gambinos. Through the late 1960s, DeMeo's organized crime prospects increased on two fronts. He continued in the loansharking business with Gaggi, and began developing a crew of young men involved in car theft. It was this collective of criminals that would become known both in the underworld and in law enforcement circles as the DeMeo crew.

The first member of the DeMeo crew was 16-year-old Chris Rosenberg, who met DeMeo in 1966 when he was dealing marijuana at a Canarsie gas station. DeMeo helped Rosenberg increase his business and profits by loaning him money so that he could deal in larger amounts. By 1972, Rosenberg had introduced his friends to DeMeo and they began working for him as well. The members of the crew included Joseph "Dracula" Guglielmo (DeMeo's cousin), Joseph and Patrick Testa, and Anthony Senter. DeMeo joined a Brooklyn credit union that same year, gaining a position on the board of directors shortly afterward. He utilized his position to launder money earned through his illegal ventures. He also introduced colleagues at the credit union to a lucrative side-business, laundering the money of drug dealers he had become acquainted with. DeMeo also built up his loansharking business with funds stolen from credit union reserves.

DeMeo's collection of loanshark customers, while still primarily those in the car industry, soon included other businesses such as a dentist's office, an abortion clinic, restaurants and flea markets. He was also listed as an employee for a Brooklyn company named S & C Sportswear Corporation, and frequently told his neighbors he worked in construction, food retailing and the used car business.

In late 1974, a conflict that had erupted between the DeMeo crew and Andrei Katz, a young auto repair shop owner who was partners with DeMeo in a stolen car ring, had continued to escalate. In May 1975, DeMeo was informed by a police officer that, as a result of this conflict, Katz was cooperating with authorities. In June Katz was lured to a place where he could be confronted. After being abducted, he was stabbed to death and then dismembered. An accomplice who helped bait Katz confessed her role, and Joseph Testa and Henry Borelli were both arrested. They would secure an acquittal at trial in January 1976.

This was the first known murder committed by the DeMeo crew, and for years it was thought to have been the first occasion where DeMeo or members of his crew had dismembered a body for disposal. In 2003, however, new information was provided to the FBI by Bonanno underboss Salvatore Vitale, who claimed that in 1974 he was ordered to deliver the corpse of a man who had just been murdered to a garage in Queens so that it could be disposed of by DeMeo. As the 1970s continued, DeMeo cultivated his followers into a crew experienced with the process of murdering and dismembering victims. With the exception of killings intended to send a message to any who would hinder their criminal activities, or murders that presented no other alternative, a set method of execution was established by DeMeo and crew to ensure that victims would be dispatched quickly and then made to disappear. The style of execution was dubbed the "Gemini Method", after the Gemini Lounge, the primary hangout of the DeMeo crew, as well as the site where most of the crew's victims were killed.

The process of the Gemini Method, as revealed by multiple crew members and associates who became government witnesses in the early 1980s, was to lure the victim through the side door of the lounge and into the apartment in the back portion of the building. At this point, a crew member (almost always DeMeo according to crew-member-turned-government-witness Frederick DiNome) would approach with a silenced pistol in one hand and a towel in the other, shooting the victim in the head then wrapping the towel around the victim's head wound like a turban to stanch the blood flow. Immediately after, another member of the crew (originally Chris Rosenberg, up until his 1979 murder, according to government witness testimony) would stab the victim in the heart to prevent more blood from pumping out of the gunshot wound. By then, the victim would be dead, at which point the body would be stripped of clothing and dragged into the bathroom, where the remaining blood drained out or congealed within the body. This was to eliminate the messiness of the next step, when crew members would place the body onto plastic sheets laid out in the main room and proceed to dismember it, cutting off the arms, legs and head.

The body parts would then be put into bags, placed in cardboard boxes and sent to the Fountain Avenue Dump in Brooklyn, where so many tons of garbage were dropped each day that it would be nearly impossible for the bodies to be discovered. During the initial stages of an early 1980s federal/state task force targeting the DeMeo crew, a plan by authorities to excavate sections of the dump to locate remains of victims was aborted when it was deemed too costly and unlikely to locate any meaningful evidence. The landfill, opposite the Starrett City Apartment Complex on Pennsylvania Avenue in the heavily African-American East New York section of Brooklyn, across the Belt Parkway, was shut down in 1985, and capped over since, all signs (and odors) that a landfill had existed gone, replaced by a parkland.

Some victims would be killed in other ways for varying reasons. At times, suspected informants or those who committed an act of disrespect against a member of the crew or their superiors had their bodies left in the streets of New York to serve as a message and warning. There were also occasions where it would not be possible to lure the intended victim into the Gemini Lounge, in which case other locations would have to be used. A cabin cruiser owned by Richard DiNome was used on at least one occasion to dispose of bodies. In the latter half of 1975, DeMeo became a silent partner in a peep show/prostitution establishment in Bricktown, New Jersey after the owner of the business became unable to pay his loansharking debts. DeMeo also began dealing in bestiality and child pornography, which he sold to his New Jersey establishment as well as connections he had in Rhode Island. When Gaggi found out about DeMeo's involvement in such taboo films, he ordered DeMeo to stop under the threat of death. However, DeMeo defied Gaggi and continued the practice. Gaggi did not retaliate, and, according to his nephew, Dominick Montiglio, the subject was never mentioned again as long as DeMeo continued making payments to Gaggi. DeMeo also dealt in narcotics despite the Gambino family strictly forbidding such activity. In 2011, former Gambino associate Greg Bucceroni alleged that during the late 1970s and early 1980s, DeMeo utilized his henchman Richard Kuklinski on behalf of Robert "DB" DiBernardo and the Gambino family's pornography establishments in New York, New Jersey, Philadelphia, and Baltimore. Here, Kuklinski would traffic illegal pornography, collect debts, and carry out contract killings.

As 1975 drew to a close, DeMeo was the subject of IRS investigations into his income. Months earlier, the Borrough of Brooklyn Credit Union had been pushed into insolvency as a result of DeMeo and his colleagues' plundering of its finances. As a result, DeMeo quit the Credit Union. Before an indictment could be handed down against him, he utilized false affidavits from businesses owned by friends and acquaintances claiming he was on their payrolls as an employee. These affidavits served to account for some of his income, allowing him to reach a settlement with the IRS.

DeMeo's sources of income, as well as his crew, continued to grow. By July 1976, DeMeo added an automobile firm by the name of Team Auto Wholesalers to his loanshark customers. The owner of Team Auto, Matthew Rega, also purchased stolen vehicles from the crew and sold them off at a New Jersey car lot that he owned. He also involved himself with hijacking delivery trucks from John F. Kennedy International Airport. His crew now included Danny Grillo, a hijacker who had just been released from prison.

In the fall of 1976, the Gambino family went through a massive change when its boss Carlo Gambino died of natural causes. Paul Castellano was named the boss, with Aniello Dellacroce retaining the position of underboss. The implications of this were twofold for DeMeo. Gaggi was elevated to the position of caporegime, taking over the crew of men Castellano previously headed. This promotion was beneficial for DeMeo, whose mentor was now even closer to the family leadership. Another advantage was that with Gambino deceased, new associates would be eligible for membership into the family. Castellano did not immediately "open the books" for new members, opting instead to promote existing members and shuffle around the crews' leaders. He also allegedly opposed the idea of DeMeo being made. Castellano involved himself in white-collar crime and looked down on street-level members such as DeMeo. Additionally, Castellano felt DeMeo was uncontrollable. Gaggi's attempts at persuading Castellano to make DeMeo were continually rejected. By 1977, DeMeo became distraught by this situation and searched for opportunities that would ensure larger returns for his superiors. By 1982, the FBI was investigating the enormous number of missing and murdered persons who were linked to DeMeo or who had last been seen entering the Gemini Lounge. It is around this time that an FBI bug in the home of Gambino family capo Angelo Ruggiero picked up a conversation between Ruggiero and Gene Gotti, a brother of John Gotti.

In the conversation, it is discussed that Paul Castellano had put out a hit on DeMeo, but was having difficulty finding someone willing to do the job. Gene Gotti mentions that his brother, John, was wary of taking the contract, as DeMeo had an "army of killers" around him. It is also mentioned in this same secretly recorded conversation that, at that time, John had killed fewer than 10 people, while DeMeo had killed at least 38. According to mob turncoat Sammy Gravano, eventually the contract was given to Frank DeCicco, but DeCicco and his crew could not get to DeMeo either. DeCicco allegedly handed the job to DeMeo's own men. DeMeo's son Albert wrote that in his final days, DeMeo was paranoid and knew that he would be killed soon. DeMeo considered faking his own death and leaving the country. However, instead he left the house one day and never returned. Albert DeMeo later found Roy's personal belongings such as his watch, wallet, and ring in his study room, and a Catholic pamphlet. In his final days, DeMeo was seen wearing a leather jacket, with a shotgun concealed underneath. On January 10, 1983, DeMeo went to crew member Patty Testa's house for a meeting with his men. That night, he failed to attend his daughter Dione's birthday party. As it was unusual for DeMeo to miss an important family occasion, his family suspected that something had happened to him. Ten days later, on January 20, DeMeo's Cadillac was discovered in the parking lot of the Veruna Boat Club in Brooklyn. DeMeo's partially frozen body was found in the trunk with a chandelier on top of it.[11] He had been shot multiple times in the head and had a bullet wound in his hand, assumed by law enforcement to be a reflexive defensive wound caused when his killers opened fire on him. There are several accounts of DeMeo's death. The task force investigating the DeMeo crew theorized that DeMeo was set up in a similar manner to how he set up Rosenberg, and that Gaggi, Testa and Senter were present when he was killed.[12] When Lucchese family underboss Anthony "Gaspipe" Casso became an FBI informant in 1993, he said that Paul Castellano had ordered DeMeo's death, but due to the DeMeo crew's reputation as hardened killers, the Gotti and DeCicco crews had been unable or unwilling to carry out the hit. Therefore DeCicco passed the contract to Casso, who knew Anthony Senter and Joseph Testa, and ordered them to kill DeMeo. In Casso's account, DeMeo was seated and about to receive coffee, when Testa and Senter suddenly opened fire on him. Nino Gaggi was not present. In April 1984, Colombo crime family soldier Ralph Scopo was overheard explaining to an associate that DeMeo had been killed by his own family because they merely suspected that he would not be able to stand up to legal charges that resulted from his stolen car ring. Albert DeMeo believed that his father was killed by Testa and Senter. The remainder of DeMeo's crew were soon rounded up and the core members, Henry Borelli, Joseph Testa and Anthony Senter were imprisoned for life after two trials that saw them convicted of a collective total of 25 murders, in addition to extortion, car theft and drug trafficking. The convictions were secured in large part by testimony of former members Frederick DiNome and Dominick Montiglio. Paul Castellano was indicted for ordering the murder of DeMeo, as well as a host of other crimes, but was killed in December 1985 while out on bail in the middle of the first trial. The murder was allegedly ordered by John Gotti, who thus became the new boss of the Gambino family.

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