#President's Day Sales 2024

[crazyblondelife]

Brochu Walker Early Spring + The Best President's Day Sales

Hi Everyone! I’ve just gotten back from a quick trip to Richmond to visit my daughter and little granddaughter Stella! She’s growing so quickly and seems to change by the minute! She’s smiling and laughing and really getting quite a little personality! I got to keep her for a while yesterday while mom and dad went out and ran errands and it was the sweetest time! I feel so blessed to have 4 beautiful grandchildren!

On the way to Richmond, I met my friend Lisa Richey for lunch at an amazing restaurant in Raleigh called Bida Manda. Bida Manda is a Laotian restaurant and very delicious! I’ve never really eaten Laotian food but can’t wait to explore and learn more about this cuisine and culture. I highly recommend this restaurant if you’re in the Raleigh area! I’ll definitely be back as soon as possible!

These pictures were taken at the Proximity Hotel in Greensboro, NC…it’s one of my favorite hotels and they also have a fabulous restaurant called Print Works. The Proximity was named after the the Proximity Mill which was a cotton and sawmill in the 1800s. The restaurant was named after the Printworks Mill. These names are nods to Greensboro’s rich textile history. It’s such a pretty hotel and the food is delicious so we decided to take some pictures and then eat lunch after!

I’m wearing a gorgeous cashmere sweater and trousers from Brochu Walker. I started working with Brochu Walker last year around this time and they have truly become one of my favorite brands! The clothes are timeless, well made and elegant and pieces that I reach for again and again!

Brochu Walker makes the most luxurious cashmere and I’ll be wearing this sweater nonstop until the weather gets too warm. The camel is such a great color and it also comes in a beautiful ivory color…it’s so elegant! The pants are a linen/cotton blend and so versatile! I have the same style in a brown faux leather and I’ve worn them often! I’m such a denim girl and these pants have a denim look but a trouser style which I love! I added my favorite Veronica Beard booties (I’ll wear slingbacks when the weather gets warmer), my Louis Vuitton tote and a chunky gold chain (similar here).

Baldy and I are off to Florida on Tuesday and I’m very ready for some sunny skies and warm temperatures!

President’s Day Sales

I’m not sure what it is with President’s Day and mattresses, but there are so many great mattress sales going on now…so if you’re in the market, this is definitely time to purchase! Keep scrolling because I’ve included a boutique of some of my favorite pieces from a few of the sales!

Fashion & Beauty

Abercrombie - 25% Off All Jeans

Adidas - Savings of Up to 65% off with Code FEBRUARY

Nordstrom - Winter Sale Up to 50% Off

Stila Cometics - LIMITED TIME ONLY - Buy 3 or more Steals and enter code SAVEMORE for an EXTRA 10% OFF

Saylor Clothing - During the Friends & Family Sale, enjoy an extra 20% off sitewide with code FF24 from February 16 through February 19

ThirdLove - Take 25% off undergarments with code LONGWEEKEND between February 15 and February 19.

Natori - During the President’s Day Weekend Sale, take an extra 40% off the sale section with code PRESIDENT between February 16 and February 21.

Home

1stDibs: Up to 30% off Sitewide

Annie Selke: Extra 20% off Select Sale Items

Beautyrest Mattresses: Up to $1,100 Select Mattresses

Boll & Branch - 20% Off Sitewide

Brentwood Home - 10% Off Sitewide

Brooklinen - 20% Off Sitewide

Buffy - Up to 30% Off

Caraway - Free Cutting Board with Purchase of $825 or More

Casper - Up to 30% Off Sitewide

Castlery - Up to $450 Off Sitewide

Courant - 20% off Sitewide

Coyuchi Bedding & Bath - Up to 40% Off Select Bedding

Cozy Earth - 20 - 25% Off Sitewide

Crate & Barrel - Up to 60% off Clearance

Ettitude Bedding - Buy One Get One 50% Off Duvet Covers and Inserts

Lulu and Georgia Furniture - Up to 25% Off Sitewide

Made In Cookware - Up to 25% Off Sitewide

Mitzi Lighting - 20% Off Sitewide

Nectar Sleep - Up to 40% Off Sitewide

Our Place - Up to 25% Off Sitewide

Parachute Home - 20% Off Sitewide

Purple Bedding - Up to $800 Off Mattress Sets

Samsung - Up to 30% Off Frame Smart TV

Saatva Mattresses - Up to $600 Off Mattresses

Serta - Up to $1100 Off Mattresses and Adjustable Bases

Stearns & Foster - Up to $600 Off Select Mattresses

Target - Up to $150 Off Select Apple Products

Tempur-Pedic - Up to $500 Off Mattresses and Sets

Tuft & Needle Sleep - 20% Off Mattress

Urban Outfitters - Up to 50% Off Sale Items

Wayfair - Up to 70% Off Sitewide

West Elm - Up to 60% Off Sale Items

Williams Sonoma - Up to 50% Off Sale Items

[worksmarter4yourfuture]

President's Day Sale Worksmarter4u Editing Suite

Our Worksmarter4u Editing Suite President's Day Sale is happening now!  To Celebrate President's Day this year, we pulled out all the stops with and additional savings of up to 80% Off on all of our Artificial Intelligence powered Graphic Design and Animation apps!   Visit Worksmarter4uEditingSuite for more details 

[probablyasocialecologist]

The U.S. government’s two foremost authorities on humanitarian assistance concluded this spring that Israel had deliberately blocked deliveries of food and medicine into Gaza. The U.S. Agency for International Development delivered its assessment to Secretary of State Antony Blinken and the State Department’s refugees bureau made its stance known to top diplomats in late April. Their conclusion was explosive because U.S. law requires the government to cut off weapons shipments to countries that prevent the delivery of U.S.-backed humanitarian aid. Israel has been largely dependent on American bombs and other weapons in Gaza since Hamas’ Oct. 7 attacks. But Blinken and the administration of President Joe Biden did not accept either finding. Days later, on May 10, Blinken delivered a carefully worded statement to Congress that said, “We do not currently assess that the Israeli government is prohibiting or otherwise restricting the transport or delivery of U.S. humanitarian assistance.”

[...]

Separately, the head of the State Department’s Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration had also determined that Israel was blocking humanitarian aid and that the Foreign Assistance Act should be triggered to freeze almost $830 million in taxpayer dollars earmarked for weapons and bombs to Israel, according to emails obtained by ProPublica. The U.N. has declared a famine in parts of Gaza. The world’s leading independent panel of aid experts found that nearly half of the Palestinians in the enclave are struggling with hunger. Many go days without eating. Local authorities say dozens of children have starved to death — likely a significant undercount. Health care workers are battling a lack of immunizations compounded by a sanitation crisis. Last month, a little boy became Gaza’s first confirmed case of polio in 25 years. The USAID officials wrote that because of Israel’s behavior, the U.S. should pause additional arms sales to the country. ProPublica obtained a copy of the agency’s April memo along with the list of evidence that the officials cited to back up their findings.

24 September 2024

[arimiadev]

recommendations of visual novels on sale for the steam winter sale 2024

steam's winter sale just started and will run for the next two weeks, so if you're looking for a new visual novel to try (or want to get into them), here's a lot that I've played that are on sale on steam.

umineko when they cry

the ushiromiya family returns to the family head's home on an isolated island for their annual conference with the intention of settling how his vast amount of wealth is divided. instead, though, a letter is left from someone claiming to be a "witch". with the ushiromiyas dropping dead left and right, the mystery behind everything remains to be solved by you, the reader.

I can't make a recommendation list without mentioning umineko. it's life changing. it might even trans your gender. it's hard to describe umineko, but just know that it's absolutely deserving of the "cult classic" tag.

notes:

kinetic/linear - no choices

VERY long, 120+ hours (over all 8 episodes)

divided into two games on steam - Questions Arcs is the first 4 episodes and Answers Arcs is the last 4 episodes (8 episodes in total, play Questions Arcs first)

created by Ryukishi07, creator of Higurashi

fantasy vs mystery

ace attorney

follow phoenix wright as he embarks on his career as a lawyer to help people. meet a variety of clients and prove their innocence by collecting evidence, interviewing witnesses, and exposing lies in court.

ace attorney is a classic mystery visual novels, being a blend of point-and-click elements via investigations and visual novel storytelling. the steam port is a massive collection, combining the first 3 games (the original phoenix wright trilogy) as 1 game.

notes:

investigative gameplay segments, a good chunk of the story is point-and-click parts

pretty long for the whole trilogy- each game is around 20 hours long and the steam edition is 3 games

modern mystery with supernatural elements

ai: the somnium files

play as detective kaname date as he hunts down a serial killer using a cutting-edge technology which allows him to "psync" with a person, diving into the memories of others to solve crimes in a limited amount of time with the help of his AI assistant/eyeball Aiba.

aitsf is a lot. it's probably the raunchiest non-eroge game I've ever played and despite my low tolerance for dirty jokes I found most of it to be laughable and a fun experience, though I did play this with friends. if it's a miss for you, it's gonna miss you by a wide margin, but if it's a hit for you, you're going to be recommending it nonstop. either way you'll want to hit kaname date with a car.

notes:

long, around 25-35 hours

this game heavily relies on going back to prior choices via their branching menu to try other options in order to get the full story (and true ending). there are several endings to this game but you're meant to play through them all, not just one or two.

a lot of gameplay and interactive segments

sci-fi mystery

english voice acting

witch on the holy night

aoko aozaki is a highschooler who has to balance her class president, perfect grades life with her secret afterschool life of being a mage—a secret she has to keep at the risk of death. keeping this balance already isn’t easy but one day she gets a wrench thrown into it with the introduction of a transfer student, soujuurou shizuki, a country boy so out of touch that he’s never seen electricity before.

I love witch on the holy night so, so much. it's one of the most beautifully directed visual novels ever made with so much love and care put into each frame. the cast is wonderful (touko my beloved) and it's a must-read for anyone who likes modern-ish fantasy.

notes:

kinetic / linear - no choices

long, around 25-30 hours

originally written by kinoko nasu, one of the co-founders of type-moon and creators of fate/stay night. has some relation to tsukihime and garden of sinners but you don't need any knowledge of those going in

modern-ish (1980s) fantasy with lots of talking about magic

ghostpia

a snowy town filled with "ghosts" is where the young woman sayako finds herself trapped, feeling like she doesn't belong and wants to leave this town where no one dies.

it's hard to describe ghostpia. it's a surreal-ish story about "ghosts" where every character is quirkier than the last but every part is made with so much heart behind it. you never really know where the story is going, but unfortunately only 1 season is currently out on steam.

notes:

medium length, around 10 hours

very innovative and unique use of visuals and paneling

surreal-ish (sometimes violent) fantasy

please be happy

as a shapeshifting fox called a "gumiho", miho has traveled the world in search for a traveler who showed her kindness many years ago. afraid of sticking around in one place for too long, miho has never stayed anywhere for more than a few nights- but all of that changes when she arrives in wellington, new zealand and meets the barista/writer aspen and the vampire archivist juliet.

okay I did work on this one but hear me out. please be happy was a labor of love for our team that took over 3 years to make and is a slice of life story about love, trust, and what it means to be human. and you get to play as a gay fox girl voiced by dottovu.

notes:

medium to long, about 20 hours

2 romanceable ladies, aspen and juliet, and a plethora of side characters to meet via a map system

modern slice-of-life fantasy

english voice acting

WE KNOW THE DEVIL

find yourself back at summer camp with all the queer religious horror of it.

WE KNOW THE DEVIL is a short, atmospheric and slightly surreal story about 3 teens at a religious summer camp waiting for the devil. if you want something that feels familiar and otherworldly at the same time, this is right up your alley.

notes:

very short, about 2 hours

3 endings and 1 true ending

isolation, psychological horror

fate/stay night

seven mages known as masters summon heroic and fictional characters from the pantheon of history to fight it out over the ultimate magical item - the holy grail.

fate/stay night is one of the most well-known visual novel properties out there and it's finally not only available in english officially but on steam! this remaster is a treat and done with a lot of care put into it, it's a great way to get into the fateverse if you've never tried it before.

notes:

pretty long, 70+ hours

3 routes / heroines to be with with lots of bad endings

modern fantasy, battle royale

mamiya

the end of the world is near. what will you do in the final months? and who is this "MAMIYA" who proclaims their love for you?

MAMIYA is a dark mystery visual novel about a group of guys who meet during the funeral for a friend, a stranger, a passerby, and become entangled in the web of an entity known as "MAMIYA". the presentation and style feels fresh.

notes:

check out the content warnings before reading

medium length, but is segmented into a lot of chapters that make it easy to pick back up

dark modern mystery with supernatural elements

a date with death

the grim reaper contacts you saying he wants your soul. naturally, you respond...with flirting??

a date with death is a free game but it does have paid DLC so I'm including it here because I want to. it's a comfy chatsim romance visual novel about, well, courting the grim reaper.

notes:

short, around 8 hours for the base game

customizable protag

1 male love interest

cute modern supernatural romance

twofold

Olive has 1 last chance to graduate college - pass a filler class. when their situation comes to light, 2 club presidents agree to help them but end up dragging them in the middle of their feud...

I also worked on this one. the writing and art is truly charming and heartfelt. it's a story about romance but also relationships in general - friendships, platonic relationships, familial bonds, etc. this visual novel took several years to be completed and the final result is one made with a lot of love.

notes:

medium, around 15-20+ hours for both routes

nonbinary protagonist, 2 female love interests

modern slice-of-life, college setting

english voice acting

slay the princess

you're tasked with a simple goal - slay the princess, or else she'll destroy the world.

talk about taking a simple premise and running with it. slay the princess is a mind-bending psychological horror about love and repeating things a lot of times. after all, all you have to do is slay the princess, right?

notes:

short to medium, around 10 hours for a full run

lots and lots and lots of branching paths

psychological horror, does contain gore

english voice acting

canvas menagerie

Niko is a trans man and lifelong actor who's been down on his luck until he gets the lead role in a major TV show. there, he starts to fall for his annoying celebrity costar.

well I wrote and drew and programmed this one by myself so I can't really give an indepth recommendation for it but I think it came out pretty nice. it's a comfy gay romance about actors.

notes:

medium length, around 10-12 hours

boys love romance

modern slice-of-life, adult cast

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

note that all of the indie visual novels listed are also available on itchio as DRM-free versions. there's a ton of VNs on sale over there right now as well.

[nerdykeppie]

Important news from Cap, our Vice President of Grumbles:

Want to buy a gift but waited too long? No worries! Grab a gift card or two and get a bonus card when you buy $25 or more, now through Christmas Day 2024.

Buy $100 total in gift cards & add a $25 gift card to your purchase for free.

Buy $50+ in gift cards & add a $10 card free.

Buy $25+ in gift cards & add a $5 gift card to your purchase for - you guessed it - free!

Note that this is total value -- you can buy ten $10 gift cards or four $25 gift cards and get the free $25 gift card. :D

No code necessary. Cards deliver to you instantly via email. You must add the free card to your cart before checking out to receive it!

(Yes, you can use this sale more than once per customer, but you'll have to check out multiple times. No, this doesn't stack - you don't get a $25, a $10 AND a $5 gift card if you buy $100 in gift cards. Sorry.)

[kaibutsushidousha]

The Hundred Line - Famitsu interview June 19th 2024

What does the title Hundred Line mean?

Kodaka: The simplest way to describe this game is: student have to live together in a school while fighting to survive 100 days. This "100 days" timeframe became a major keyword, so we decided to express it through the title The Hundred Line - Last Defense Academy.

The game has been described as "a tale of extreme x despair produced by the creators of Danganronpa". This "extreme x despair" keyword reminds me of the Concept Art 1 presented September 2018 at the announcement of Too Kyo Games. Caption: Extreme x Despair. A game co-written by Kodaka and Uchikoshi!

Kodaka: As you can imagine, this is the game from Concept Art 1. We finally managed to announce, but at first, The Hundred Line was developed as Too Kyo's first original IP. However, our company isn't capable of self-publishing, so now we're working with Aniplex, on a half-half split on production costs.

When did development start?

Kodaka: Since we founded Too Kyo Games (2017), so that has been 6 or 7 years. At first, Uchikoshi and I partnered with another major publisher to release our game, but unfortunately, the project was canceled...

In a previous interview, you mentioned a title not coming out as planned, but I didn't think you mean an actual cancellation...

Kodaka: I have so much I could talk about on this one, but I don't think the first talk about this game should be about what went wrong, so how about we save it for another day? Haha. Although The Hundred Line's project was canceled for a while, now, after finding what we needed to make it a good game, we rebranded it and restarted our whole internal development cycle.

We were initially fine with it being indie-sized, but as the story and character designs were getting polished, and the concept gained a more solid form, we started thinking we couldn't make our ideal game unless we went bigger. Determined to put our hand to the test... we took a loan.

A loan!?

Kodaka: It wasn't guaranteed that we'd have the working capital to maintain our enlarged development scope even if we sold all of our stocks. We advanced the production with the phantom of debt on our necks while we searched for a new publisher, and that's where I met Aniplex and smoothly sold our pitch.

However, since this game has simulation RPG sections, they said that'd need a third-party developer. For that, they introduced us to the accomplished Media Vision and had them join the dev team. We're also cooperating with Jet Studio, who worked with us before in Danganronpa and Rain Code.

After all that it took to get this game to a presentable state, we of Too Kyo Games consider it a proud symbol of our persistence, or better yet, the culmination and conclusion to the current stage of our careers.

Staking your life on your work has never been so literal...

Kodaka: True, if this game flops, we won't be able to pay our debt. In that sense, this also provides a rare opportunity to the playerbase too. They get to witness how much a single title's sales can influence the future of a creator and company.

That's not the kind of suspense I want as a game fan, haha. Still, with six years of development, is it safe to assume you've been through a fair share of hardships?

Kodaka: I did. That was my first time dealing with a full cancellation. Also, to enable to Too Kyo to continue its work, to partner up with a new publisher, etc, we couldn't continue the development in the direction we were before. We needed to restart on our semi-complete project, and that's already painful labor in itself.

In terms of creative workload, I can't say I was much busier than I was in the Danganronpa V3 days, having to work in the game and the anime at the same time, but in this situation, aside from my directing, writing, and screen composition duties, I'm also Too Kyo Games's president and producer, meaning I have more work outside my craftsmanship... Making the game and managing the funds at the same time would have given most people a mental breakdown (laughs).

It was mentally and financially taxing, but I don't think I'll ever get another opportunity to pour this level of effort into making a game happen. Putting my life on the line was a very valuable experience.

You mean to say you can feel Too Kyo Games's entire soul in the game? On another note, I couldn't find any of the characters from the concept art in the new key visual or the screenshots. Does the restart mean that those characters got shelved?

Kodaka: The game's general concept is still the same, but to put a new, clean start on it, we changed a few things completely. One of them being the character designs. But despite their changed appearances, they maintain the characterization of their predecessors, so you'll see characters similar to what those would have been.

However, the old politician you see in the upper left corner won't be in the game (laughs). He's a character Komatsuzaki made up on the spot for this illustration, so I know as much about who he is as you do. He's doomed to disappear shrouded in mystery.

(laughs) By the way, considering how The Hundred Line is "the tale of extreme x despair", I'm curious about how this keyword "despair" relates to Danganronpa.

Kodaka: The tagline "tale of extreme x despair" is to signify that this is the first game Uchikoshi and I are directing together. It has nothing to do with Danganronpa, but it is a game made leveraging all of my previous experiences. With that plus Komatsuzaki's and Takada's involvement, I consider it a spiritual successor to Danganronpa.

Who from the main Too Kyo Games roster is working in this and what are their roles?

Kodaka: Uchikoshi and I are splitting the directing and writing work, Komatsuzaki is on the character design, Shimadrill is doing the enemy design and the backgrounds, and Takada is in charge of the soundtrack. Also, Uchikoshi and I do screen composition for the scenes we write.

I didn't think I'd have to do the screen composition job here myself, but I'm the best at handling Komatsuzaki's art and Takada's music, so that job is dumped on me. I got a lot of material to work with. Maybe more expression options than Yuma had in Rain Code.

The Danganronpa series also had me personally choosing faces and soundtrack one by one, so I hope the fans of that series enjoy the familiar vibes in the visual novel sections.

The new announcement came with a key visual. Are these characters in uniforms going to be the main cast?

Kodaka: Yes. They're the students of Last Defense Academy and are living in the school for unknown reasons. The students have special powers called Hemoanimas. They normally have their own sets of clothes, but upon activating their Hemoanima, they change into this uniform and fight against their enemies.

Is the white character a mascot?

Kodaka: Yes. He's the squad coordinator character. So his name is just SIREI, from shireikan; commander. By the way, SIREI is the reincarnation of the raccoon illustrated in the key visual. Both forms of this character were designed by Komatsuzaki. I pointed him in a general direction I wanted but overall let him do whatever he wanted. Meanwhile, the students followed the usual process going through a lot of back-and-forth until their completion.

In Danganronpa, their designs reflected their Super High School Level talents. Does The Hundred Line have any kind of keyword or characterization element that informed their designs in the same way the Super High School Level talents did?

Kodaka: Each student masters a different Unique Subject and has a different weapon of choice. That's what their designs mainly reflect. I'll talk more about Unique Subjects and weapons of choice later.

I'm looking forward to the update. Next question. Danganronpa and Rain Code had all-star casts of voice actors. I have expectations for The Hundred Line's cast.

Kodaka: Unfortunately, I can't reveal the actors at the moment, but I will say half of them have performed in previous Kodaka or Uchikoshi game and the other half is people we're both meeting for the first time. But look forward to it, it's going to be as all-star as any previous game. I know the released PV is voiced by the protagonist, but who is voicing him is still confidential.

Will the creatures depicted flying above the main characters be enemies?

Kodaka: Correct. The enemies are unknown entities attacking the school. They're called School Invaders. If you take a really close look at the key visual, you may notice the academy is protected by a pink flame. That's called the Unextinguishable Flame and that's what prevents the School Invaders from attacking 24/7.

When the School Invaders get past the Unextinguishable Flame, the students will need to repel them. The students aren't informed about the academy's or the unextinguishable flame's secrets, nor they know why the School Invaders are attacking. The story progresses as they fight School Invaders day by day unaware of their circumstances.

Do you have anything noteworthy to say about your interactions with Shimadrill regarding his work designing the enemies?

Kodaka: My priority for the character design of the weaker School Invaders was that they had venomous pop aesthetics. At my first discussion with Shimadrill, we arrived at the idea of making their designs intentionally similar to the monsters of a famous game franchise, but we changed plans along the way. Ultimately, we got likable enemies with that pop aesthetic.

Playing aggressively even on the designs, huh? That's the Too Kyo Games I know.

Kodaka: We changed our aim because copying designs was a really bad idea we took too far. Our mindset at the time is that, true to Too Kyo's name, we wanted to make a game that was indeed too crazy. Too Kyo Games is a company that prides itself on its writing, designs, and music.

However, compliance is a lot more important nowadays, so there's a lot more we need to keep in mind. We were defanged by the corporate structure of our partner for the cancelled version of the game. Depictions of violence and dirty jokes that were acceptable in our previous works weren't fine with them. We had to be on our best behavior to adhere to their compliance demands.

Now that I got to remake the game as something else, I can see that not releasing it on its previous state was for the best. Because I couldn't express my strengths in full there.

The Hundred Line was my first collaborative work with Uchikoshi and our first original IP. Making a game that's simply good wouldn't be enough. There'd be no point in starting this over if we couldn't go all-out. We developed The Hundred Line determined to make a game someone with good sense couldn't make. A title to be considered a product of deranged minds. In the sense, we were very lucky to land on a partnership with Aniplex.

Tell me more about what do you mean by "lucky" here.

Kodaka: To leverage the strengths of Too Kyo Games, we're writing a very controversial narrative. Aniplex is being thankfully quite flexible with what we're allowed to depict, as they understand our fortes and respect our vision. For that reason, Uchikoshi and I were able to depict the crazy story we wanted to.

Kodaka, in a previous interview, you expressed determination toward making this game a story that make people question your sanity. A game people wouldn't expect to be possible to make. Would you say managed to fulfill this ambition?

Kodaka: I can't comment about the gimmick without getting into spoilers, so I have no plans to reveal the answer to this before the game's release. Playing the game for yourself should be enough to convey Too Kyo Games's outlandishness. I believe my reason to pair up with Uchikoshi will be equally evident, and it'll be easy to make sense of why this game needed multiple writers and recruiting new hires.

I know perfectly well this is a tasteless request, but can you drop a hint?

Kodaka: Fine, I'll tell you some details after the interview. You're allowed to address what I'll say in your opinion post (laughs).

I appreciate the gesture, but let's see if I'm up for the challenge (laughs)

Tell us what the general gameplay loop is like.

Kodaka: The Hundred Line follows a cycle of 3 parts: a visual novel section, an exploration section, and a simulation RPG section. I already explained at the opener that it's a game where you survive 100 days of combat, but that doesn't mean time will pass uneventfully.

Like in Danganronpa, something will happen each day, and you'll get chances to talk with your schoolmates and deepen your relationships. You'll get Free Time, you'll get training sessions to increase your stats, and you'll be able to get other power ups by sharpening your weapons. The goal in the visual novel and exploration sections is to enjoy life with your schoolmates while also preparing for the enemies that can appear at any moment.

Got it. Now explain the simulation RPG section too, please.

Kodaka: The simulation RPG section has tower defense elements. It's not just about defeating the enemies, you also have to fight defending the school. Also, since the School Invaders come in large flocks, the main gimmick here is that you need to fight on multiple grids of the board at the same time instead of taking it one grid at a time.

Our developer, Media Vision, has a lot of experience in simulation RPGs. We'll disclose more details about the gameplay later, but I'm glad they were able to come up with and implement hype combat ideas (such as unique traits and ultimate moves for each character) in a way that can satisfy the fans of the genre.

You mean to say the simulation RPG sections are going to be solid?

Kodaka: Correct. That said, a lot of people who buy my games are casual gamers, so I always put emphasis on ease of play.

Then first-time simulation RPG players will have nothing to worry about.

Kodaka: Another point of interest is Takada's soundtrack. I requested the battle BGM to have the intensity of an action game. It's inspired by technical rock bands from the 90s, mainly The Chemical Brothers and Boom Boom Satellites. The visual novel sections, on the other hand, have a more sci-fi-adjacent OST to match its strong sci-fi aesthetics.

Tell us a release date and the consoles.

Kodaka: Early 2025, Switch and Steam.

Less than a year before release. Do you think the team can make it?

Kodaka: We're still working on it, but I think we won't have to delay the release. To be honest, The Hundred Line is progressing faster than Rain Code was (laughs). Besides, Too Kyo Games can't afford to delay a game our creators are staking their lives on.

Messages to players and readers usually often saying things like "We're doing our best" or "Cheer for us", but for this title, I can't bring myself to be so casual about it. I feel like I'm issuing a challenge to the players here.

I have a marketing strategy to draw attention to the game, and I'm polishing it to make anyone who buys it say it's a good game, so I'm feeling more of a "Just watch me!" or a "Wait until you see this thing released!" for a closing message.

Giant Kuroda's editorial comment

As outlandish as promised.

That's the interviewer's honest impression on what Kodaka told me about The Hundred Line's gimmick. I [Giant Kuroda] have been the Famitsu interviewer in charge of Danganronpa since Danganronpa 2. I interviewed him pre-release for a game launched in 2012, which means I've been talking to Kodaka for at least 12 years.

Kodaka and his art surprised me many times. In a good way.

Danganronpa 2's final boss. Danganronpa V3's first case culprit, finale, and the secret hidden in the title. Danganronpa 3 simultaneous broadcast of Side:Future and Side:Despair. Rain Code's first case...

The list could go on forever, but The Hundred Line's gimmick is more impactful than of those. I can't deliver a final judgement until I play the game for myself, but depending on what the game has to offer, it could be his uncontested best. That's how much potential I felt in that spoiler. I get the point of staking their lives on it now.

Also, in what's rare for a Kodaka title, the game will be allowed to be streamed relatively far into the story despite earlier spoilers (information subject to change). Kodaka's story-heavy games are a double-edged sword. It's possible for players to feel like they experienced enough by simply watching a Let's Play that spoils all the twists. However, I believe this game actually benefits from unrestricted streaming. But I can't say why. It's a spoiler...

At any rate, this game is Kodaka's and Uchikoshi's first collaborative story, and as Kodaka said, its narrative is a product of deranged minds. I wait with bated breath to the day I can finally play it, and also look forward to reading opinion posts about it online. You can get your hopes up, Kodaka and Uchikoshi fans.

[itsallpoliticsstupid]

The US Presidential Election 2024 - A mini Deep Dive into what went wrong for the Democrats

I would say this will be my last post on the US Presidential Election of 2024, but we all know it won't be.

I wanted to bring all my thoughts together as to what I perceive the biggest issues for the Democrats were, and how this needs to be rectified in 2028. Well, they won't listen to some random person on a Politics blog with *checks* 44 followers (oh hi, thanks for following), but this is my opinion.

And interestingly, it all starts with the sale of a certain social media platform.

October 2022 - Elon Musk buys Twitter

In my personal opinion the acquisition of Twitter was a major contributing factor to how the election was won. Elon Musk has never been quiet about his Political leanings being closer to the Conservative ideology and how he believed that it was wrong to silence those on the right for their views. So Trump et al. Going as far as to reinstate their accounts.

We all know that Twitter has now become a very toxic place. With extreme ideological views. I feel it was easy to use this platform to peddle a more Trump ideal for the election. It's still one of the biggest platforms out there, why wouldn't it be used to try and win an election. And without it, it would have made things significantly harder for the Republicans to reach a larger audience.

Anyway, this isn't just me twitter bashing. This is me actually analyzing what the situation is.

So back to what the Democrats did wrong.

Joe Biden confirms he will run for President

I believe the election was lost from the moment that Joe Biden made the decision to stand as President for a second term.

This is where everything fell apart, and set a tone for the remainder of the election. Joe Biden was not medically fit to run for the Presidency, and it had been so clear towards the end of his first term as President. You could see he was struggling in front of camera. Getting words wrong. Forgetting the most basic of things. It was a bad look for the Democrat's, and something that the Republican's could easily jump on.

It meant they could capitalize on it and make the Democrat's look like a party of weak leadership.

By the time he dropped out, Kamala Harris had approximately 100 days of campaigning. It wasn't enough. It didn't allow her to really put herself forward as an ideal candidate.

Which leads me to...

Kamala Harris - what did she stand for?

Outside of the right to healthcare/abortions I can't name what Kamala Harris stood for in this election. To me she was a status quo candidate at a time where American's needed assurances due to the increase in cost of living; terrible wars in the Middle East and Ukraine; and high levels of immigration.

Regardless of how bad Trump's policies were (and as we are seeing they are BAD) they were offering an alternative. One that people have been crying out for because they're struggling with the most basic things in their life.

Unfortunately the alternative is likely to make things significantly worse for the American people. But when somebody is saying they will lower costs for you, it's something you take at face value. Especially if you don't necessary understand the impact of raising tariffs or the removal of the affordable care act.

It's just sad that the Democrat campaign was so bad and didn't offer an alternative, it allowed this to happen.

Celebrity Endorsements

I was in two minds about what to put next. This or negative campaigning. But I think this one works.

Whilst Trump was backed by people like Elon Musk, I don't believe he had anywhere near the level of celebrity endorsements that Kamala had, and it very often doesn't work in a persons favor for a couple of reasons.

The first is I think there was a heavy reliance on people listening to their favorite celebrities when considering who to vote for. But in many cases, people will see an endorsement from Taylor Swift, or Misha Collins, or Bruce Springsteen and think 'well, what the hell do they know about what I am currently facing.' A lot of people will view celebrities as out of touch with the reality of today's world.

I'm not saying this is always the case. But that's what the average voter who has zero understanding of Politics will think. That somebody who has millions in the bank will never understand the struggles of having to hold down three jobs to feed your children, or pay your mortgage. And yes, there is a level of cognitive dissonance there because they don't think the same for Trump or Musk, but they seem them as a ruling elite who have the knowledge to make things better for the country. Not just a 'bleeding heart liberal' who just hates the right and has no business being in Politics.

I see the second that it took away from Kamala Harris as a candidate, and shielded a lot of the issues that she had. I think the endorsements worked for Obama because he had charisma. He offered something different. But for Harris, it was just a shield to show she had nothing.

And really, for the reasons above, it was a shield that didn't work as many people were turned off and inevitably chose not to vote.

Negative Campaigning

It never works. It's as simple as that. It never works.

And ultimately I feel that's what the Democrat campaign boiled down to. Being as negative as possible about the Republican's. About their views on abortion. About how many of them are Russian sympathisers. About Trump's health. And that always leaves people thinking 'they can't be that bad though.' And I think a lot of people got turned off by voting Democrat for that reason.

There is more. If I was to do more research I could continue for hours with this. Maybe I will come back with a part 2 when I have had more time to digest everything. But right now, these to me have been the biggest drivers behind the Democrat's losing the election.

And not the fact Kamala Harris was a woman like some people who like to believe.

It's time for the Democrats to stop burying their head in the sand and listen in time for the 2028 election.

[rjzimmerman]

Excerpt from this story from RMI:

1. Batteries Become Everybody’s Best Friend

Battery prices continue to drop and their capacity continues to rise. The cost of electric vehicle (EV) batteries are now about 60 percent what they were just five years ago. And around the world, batteries have become key components in solar-plus-storage microgrids, giving people access to reliable power and saving the day for communities this past hurricane season.

2. Americans Get Cheaper (and Cleaner) Energy

State public utility commissions and rural electric co-operatives around the country are taking steps to deliver better service for their customers that also lowers their rates. At the same time, real momentum is building to prevent vertically integrated utilities from preferencing their coal assets when there are cleaner and cheaper alternatives available.

3. A Sustainable Shipping Future Gets Closer

More than 50 leaders across the marine shipping value chain — from e-fuel producers to vessel and cargo owners, to ports and equipment manufacturers — signed a Call to Action at the UN climate change conference (COP29) to accelerate the adoption of zero-emission fuels. The joint statement calls for faster and bolder action to increase the use of zero and near-zero emissions fuel, investment in zero-emissions vessels, and global development of green hydrogen infrastructure, leaving no country behind.

4. Corporations Fly Cleaner

In April, 20 corporations, including Netflix, JPMorgan Chase, Autodesk, and more, committed to purchase about 50 million gallons of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), avoiding 500,000 tons of CO2 emissions — equivalent to the emissions of 3,000 fully loaded passenger flights from New York City to London. SAF is made with renewable or waste feedstocks and can be used in today’s aircraft without investments to upgrade existing fleets and infrastructure.

5. More and More Places Go From Coal to Clean

Around the world, coal-fired power plants are closing down as communities switch to clean energy. From Chile to the Philippines to Minnesota coal-to-clean projects are creating new jobs, improving local economic development, and generating clean electricity. In September, Britain became the first G7 nation to stop generating electricity from coal — it’s turning its last coal-fired power plant into a low-carbon energy hub. And in Indonesia, the president vowed to retire all coal plants within 15 years and install 75 gigawatts of renewable energy.

6. Methane Becomes More Visible, and Easier to Mitigate

Methane — a super-potent greenhouse gas — got much easier to track thanks to the launch of new methane tracking satellites over the past year. In March, the Environmental Defense Fund launched MethaneSAT, the first for a non-governmental organization, and the Carbon Mapper Coalition soon followed with the launch of Tanager-1. By scanning the planet many times each day and identifying major methane leaks from orbit, these new satellites will put pressure on big emitters to clean up.

7. EVs Speed By Historic Milestones

This past year was the first time any country had more fully electric cars than gas-powered cars on the roads. It’s no surprise that this happened in Norway where electric cars now make up more than 90 percent of new vehicle sales. And in October, the United States hit a milestone, with over 200,000 electric vehicle charging ports installed nationwide.

8. Consumers Continue to Shift to Energy-Efficient Heat Pumps for Heating and Cooling

Heat pumps have outsold gas furnaces consistently since 2021. And while shipments of heating and cooling equipment fell worldwide in 2023, likely due to broad economic headwinds, heat pumps held on to their market share through. And over the past 12 months, heat pumps outsold conventional furnaces by 27 percent. Shipments are expected to continue increasing as states roll out home efficiency and appliance rebate programs already funded by the Inflation Reduction Act – worth up to $10,000 per household in new incentives for heat pump installations. Link: Tracking the Heat Pump & Water Heater Market in the United States – RMI

9. China Reaches Its Renewable Energy Goal, Six Years Early

China added so much renewable energy capacity this year, that by July it had surpassed its goal of having 1,200 gigawatts (GW) of clean energy installed by 2030. Through September 2024, China installed some 161 GW of new solar capacity and 39 GW of new wind power, according to China’s National Energy Administration (NEA). China is deploying more solar, wind, and EVs than any other country, including the United States, which is — by comparison — projected to deploy a record 50 GW of solar modules by the end of 2024.

10. De-carbonizing Heavy Industry

For steel, cement, chemicals and other heavy industries, low-carbon technologies and climate-friendly solutions are not only increasingly available but growing more affordable. To speed this process, Third Derivative, RMI’s climate tech accelerator, launched the Industrial Innovation Cohorts to accelerate the decarbonization of steel, cement, and chemicals. Also on the rise: clean hydrogen hubs — powered by renewable energy — designed to supply green hydrogen to chemical, steel, and other heavy industries to help them shift to low-carbon production processes.

[mrsreinhart]

Lionsgate was another of the studios that presented its novelties on the first day of screenings of the majors in the LA Screenings 2024. The event was held at the iconic Regency Theatre Westwood and culminated with an elegant party at the Santa Monica Pier, which was attended by numerous buyers and a carefully selected foreign press.

The day was led by the main executives of Lionsgate: Kevin Beggs, Chairman of Lionsgate Television, Sandra Stern, Vice Chairman of Lionsgate TV Group, and Jim Packer, President of Worldwide TV Distribution. During the event, they presented several outstanding titles that promise to capture the attention of global audiences.

One of the dramas presented was Hal & Harper. The series of 10 episodes of 30 minutes each, tells the story of the brothers Hal and Harper, who face the arrival of a new member to the family while their childhood home is for sale. Together with his father, who is also going through difficulties, the family explores the evolution of their relationships and faces profound losses on their way to new beginnings under different roofs.

Lionsgate Screening

[magz]

Palestine summary for March 16 to March 28, 2024. (From "Lets Talk Palestine" broadcast channel). Quote.

March 16, 2024.

Day 162

• 1st aid shipment departing Cyprus arrived in Gaza yesterday carrying 200 tons of food, marking 1st Gaza sea shipment since 2005 + planned 2nd ship coordinated by US, UAE, Spain & Japan; but unclear on distribution of aid across Gaza

• Massacre in central Gaza as Israel destroys home, killing 36 Palestinians, incl. kids & pregnant women

🔻 Senior Hamas & Houthi officials hold rare meeting to discuss coordinated action against an Israeli Rafah ground invasion

• Israeli settlers attack homes in Nablus (West Bank), throwing stones & shooting the air + 20 Palestinians abducted in West Bank, incl. some released in Nov. hostage exchange deal

•⁠ ⁠Palestinian Authority (PA) president Abbas accuses Hamas of causing “return of Israeli occupation of Gaza”, essentially blaming Hamas for the ongoing genocide. Was prompted by Hamas criticism of ‘unilateral’ appointment of new PM of the PA (see our last broadcast)

• 63 Palestinians killed, 112 injured in Gaza in past 24 hours

March 17, 2024.

Day 163

🇺🇸⁠ NBC: Biden frustrated over drop in poll numbers in swing states Michigan & Georgia due to his handling of Gaza genocide. Shouting and swearing in a White House meeting, saying he’s doing what is right

•⁠ 19 aid trucks arrive in north Gaza — first convoys to reach the north without incident in 4 months. But aid remains scarce as Israel keeps blocking entry of aid as trucks pile outside Rafah crossing + rate of malnutrition among children under 2 in north doubles in past month

•⁠ 14th Palestinian dies since Oct 7 in Israeli prison following multiple allegations of extreme abusive conditions for Palestinian hostages

🇪🇺⁠ ⁠EU President condemns an Israeli Rafah invasion, joining countless nations to do so like the US & Arab countries

•⁠ Israeli forces abduct 25 Palestinians, incl. a woman with cancer from Gaza & a child in overnight raids in West Bank

•⁠ ⁠92 Palestinians killed, 130 injured in Gaza in past 24 hours

(No specific summary for March 18)

March 19, 2024.

Day 165

🇨🇦⁠ Canada to halt all further arms exports to Israel in support of ceasefire and 2-state “solution”, recognizing ICJ ruling. This came after a non-binding parliamentary resolution which called for ending arms sales. But resolution’s language was watered down during amendment, denoting Hamas as a “terror organization” + removing call to sanction Israeli officials

• 93 Palestinians killed, 142 injured in Gaza in past 24 hours

• Israel escalates attacks across Gaza with 1 attack on Rafah killing 14 Palestinians + ongoing raid of al-Shifa hospital killed & injured dozens

• Israel issued 100,000 new gun licenses to Israeli’s since Oct 7 out of the 299,354 applications

• Israel massacred aid distribution committee at Kuwaiti roundabout (north Gaza), killing at least 23 people

•⁠ ⁠Israeli settlers, w/ ongoing genocide as a distraction, accelerated building of 18 new illegal roads + 15 outposts (unauthorized settlement illegal under Israeli law) in West Bank since Oct

March 20, 2024.

Day 166

•⁠ 104 Palestinians killed, 162 injured in Gaza in past 24 hours

🇺🇸 Reuters:⁠ US Congress & White House reach deal on funding bill that includes blocking UNRWA donations until March 2025, based on Israel’s unverified allegations

🏥 IOF siege on al-Shifa hospital enters 3rd day, as forces surround the complex trapping hundreds inside & block rescue efforts

•⁠ 8 Israeli attacks kill 100+ aid workers in 1 week + IOF massacred 23 aid seekers in north Gaza

🚢 Israel Hayom: Israel plans to buy port in Cyprus amid fears of Haifa port closure from Hezbollah strikes, hindering military & commercial imports

⚓️ ⁠Israel’s Eilat port will fire half its employees due to Red Sea blockade

•⁠ Israeli High Court approves demolition of a Palestinian’s home for carrying out a non-lethal resistance operation in West Bank; marking first authorized home demolition by court for an operation without fatalities — an escalation in Israeli repression

🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia pledges $40m to UNRWA

March 21, 2024.

Day 167

• As Arabs celebrate Mother's Day today, we remember that on average 37 mothers are exterminated everyday in Gaza, meanwhile mothers from Gaza make up 28 of the 67 female detainees in Israeli prisons

• 65 Palestinians killed, 92 injured in Gaza in past 24 hours

🏥 Israel continues 4th day siege on al-Shifa Hospital, killing 140+ Palestinians & abducted 600 people, incl. medical staff. 13 patients killed as Israel cut off electricity, depriving oxygen, medicine & food

• 18-year-old Ubai Abu Maria abducted by Israeli forces in West Bank for 7th time, impeding treatment for bullet wound requiring surgery

•⁠ Poll finds 71% of Palestinians in Gaza & West Bank support Hamas's Oct 7 resistance operation; compared to poll 3 months ago, support among West Bank residents dropped by 11% but amongst Gazans rose by 14%

• Israel ordered 25 patients receiving care in West Bank to return to Gaza. They're among the 400 patients from Gaza who were left stranded in West Bank after Oct 7

March 22, 2024.

🚨Russia & China veto US UN Security Council ceasefire resolution

The resolution showed a shift: US had vetoed every ceasefire proposal, most recently Algeria’s as the US opposed language of “immediate” ceasefire, preferring “humanitarian pause”. But now the US draft states “the imperative of an immediate and sustained ceasefire”.

The problem? It’d last only 6 weeks, is conditional on release of Israeli hostages, and condemns both Hamas’ op & the Houthi naval blockade. The wording of “determines the imperative” is also weak, implying the importance of a ceasefire, not demanding one.

The result? It wouldn’t obligate Israel to end the genocide + let it continue on the pretext that there’s no “acceptable” hostage deal.

It was vetoed by 🇷🇺 & 🇨🇳 who said it’d let Israel continue attacks & invade Rafah. Algeria also voted against it.

10 states are planning alternative resolution calling for Ramadan ceasefire, including but not conditioned on release of Israeli hostages. US likely to veto.

Day 168 - IMPORTANT

•⁠ Gaza death toll surpasses 32,000 not including the thousands buried under rubble

‼️ Israel seized 1,977 acres of West Bank land for settlements, the largest land theft since 1993

🇺🇸 Congress passes bill that bans funding to UNRWA until 2025; expected for Senate to pass before midnight deadline

🏥 Israel’s siege on Shifa Hospital enters 5th day as they bomb & demolish buildings with bulldozers; abducting 240+ patients & 10 medical staff from radiology unit. IOF forces ordered trapped patients to surrender despite continuous heavy gunfire

•⁠ 50 Palestinians abducted incl. 4 kids during 60+ Israeli military raids across West Bank in 2 days. Marking March 20 “one of the deadliest nights recorded to date” in 2024 in West Bank w/ 7+ Palestinians killed. Israeli settlers also took over 20+ Palestinian residential structures

•⁠ UN aid mission to north Gaza for 7,500 people was denied by Israel

🇫🇮 Finland to resume UNRWA funding

March 24, 2024.

Day 170

🚨 Israeli forces lay siege to 3 hospitals, surrounding al-Amal Hospital forcing Palestinians to strip naked & leave; currently carpet bombing near Nasser Hospital & sniping anyone moving, while continuing aggressive 7-day seige on al-Shifa

• 84 Palestinians killed, 106 injured in Gaza in past 24 hours

• Israel denied thousands of Christians from West Bank entry to Jerusalem on Psalm Sunday, heightening military checkpoints. Israel’s apartheid system discriminates Palestinians’ freedom of movement, requiring permits for West Bank residents to enter, which is rarely granted. More info on Israeli apartheid: https://rb.gy/vjocrd + checkpoints: https://rb.gy/rabxt6;

• Israel to deny all UNRWA aid convoys to north Gaza, despite 70% of population subject to “catastrophic starvation”

• BDS launches boycott of tech company Intel due to its $25bn investment in new factory in Israel, the “largest investment ever”; on top of Intel’s $50bn+ investments in Israel in past 50 years

March 25, 2024.

UNSC CEASEFIRE MOTION PASSES

For the 1st time the Security Council managed to pass a ceasefire resolution. The US abstained while all 14 others voted yes

The US planned to veto if it didn’t mention the hostages so it “demands an immediate ceasefire for the month of Ramadan respected by all parties leading to a permanent sustainable ceasefire, and also demands the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages.”

But it doesn’t condition the ceasefire on a hostage swap the way done by the US draft that got vetoed by 🇷🇺 & 🇨🇳

It doesn’t condemn Hamas explicitly as the US wanted but it “deplores” all attacks against civilians & “all acts of terrorism” noting that it’s illegal to take hostages under int’l law. So it’s indirect condemnation

It expresses deep concern “about the catastrophic humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip,” calling for more efforts for more aid & to protect civilians. This is weak language

Better than nothing but not enough as people are slaughtered & raped.

Day 171 — Attacks on 3 hospitals

🚨 Israel escalates attacks on “safe zone” Rafah killing 30+, including women and children amid threats of looming ground invasion

• 107 Palestinians killed, 176 injured in past 24 hours

🏥 22,000 displaced Palestinians face worsening conditions in the European Hospital, one of the last functioning in Gaza, overcrowded with patients awaiting critical care

🏥 Israeli forces lay siege to further hospitals in Khan Younis forcing critically ill patients to evacuate the premises surrounded by complete destruction

🏥 Israeli forces open fire on medical staff forced to evacuate al-Amal Hospital amid continuous attacks on the premise leaving patients in critical condition, deprived of medical supervision

• Netanyahu cancels Israeli delegation trip to US over its abstention in today’s UNSC vote, calling it a departure from their long-standing support of Israel. Biden called the move “disappointing”

• Israeli assaults targeting homes in central Gaza kill 18

(No march 26 summary)

March 27, 2024

Day 172

🚨 Gaza Gov’t Media Office demands end to aerial aid drops after one today killed 6 & caused 12 to drown in north Gaza

• 81 Palestinians killed, 93 injured in the last 24 hours

🇯🇴 100+ protesters arrested & teargassed outside Jordan’s Israeli embassy amid demands to end Jordan’s military & economic ties with Israel

🇧🇪 Brussels City Council passes motion to ban council purchases of products from Israeli settlements in the West Bank on the basis of international law violations

• Israel bombs residential building in Rafah, killing 15+ displaced Palestinians incl. 4 kids. Analysts say the Rafah bombings mark the start of a “silent” invasion

🏥 Ongoing Israeli attacks on Shifa Hospital kill 30+ people incl. a family living in a residential building near the besieged complex

• IOF abducts 30 Palestinians in overnight raids in West Bank cities

🇱🇧 Israeli airstrike in eastern Lebanon kills 2 people, an escalation as the bombing was far from south Lebanon, the usual battleground

March 28, 2024.

Day 173

🇮🇪 Ireland to follow Nicaragua and join South Africa’s ICJ case against Israel

•⁠ ⁠Israeli attacks on residential homes in Rafah kill 25 displaced Palestinians, incl. multiple children

•⁠ ⁠76 Palestinians killed, 102 injured in the last 24 hours

•⁠ ⁠IOF kills 4 in central Gaza, forcefully burying them by bulldozers

🇺🇸 ⁠US state department report claims Israel is complying with international law, as US reviewed Israeli usage of US weapons in order to validate future arms exports

🇱🇧 Israeli attacks on southern Lebanon residencies kill 12 in past 24 hours with many still trapped under the rubble

•⁠ ⁠Two aid seekers remain in critical condition as Israeli snipers target the Kuwait Roundabout aid distribution point

🇺🇸 Poll: 55% of Americans disapprove of Israel’s actions in Gaza — a 10% increase from November’s poll

•⁠ ⁠Israeli drone attack kills 8 in West Bank; IOF abducts 20 Palestinians in overnight raids

[simply-ivanka]

Letitia James Turns the Screws on Trump

The inflated $464 million bond required to appeal effectively denies him due process.

By The Editorial Board

Wall Street Journal

March 18, 2024 

New York Attorney General Letitia James’s use of lawfare to take down Donald Trump is getting uglier by the day. She is now threatening to seize the former President’s assets after effectively denying him the ability to appeal the grossly inflated civil-fraud judgment against him.

Mr. Trump’s lawyers wrote Monday in a court filing that they’ve been unable to obtain a bond to guarantee last month’s $464 million judgment. Defendants are required to post bonds to appeal verdicts. Mr. Trump’s lawyers say securing the full bond would be “impossible” since most of his assets are illiquid.

One way to satisfy the bond would be to borrow against his real-estate holdings. But Mr. Trump’s lawyers say that only a handful of insurance companies have “both the financial capability and willingness to underwrite a bond of this magnitude,” and “the vast majority are unwilling to accept the risk associated with such a large bond.”

What’s more, his lawyers say that none of the insurers that Mr. Trump’s team approached “are willing to accept hard assets such as real estate as collateral for appeal bonds.” This isn’t surprising given the recent write-downs in commercial real estate and enormous uncertainty about their valuations, especially in places like New York. Insurers may also fear Ms. James’s legal retribution if they provide the bond to Mr. Trump.

Thus in order to appeal the judgment, Mr. Trump could have to unload property in a fire sale. If he were later to win on appeal, his lawyers rightly argue that he would have suffered an enormous, irreparable loss.

Ms. James no doubt knows she has Mr. Trump in a bind. She and courts have opposed his requests to reduce the bond even though a court-appointed independent monitor overseeing his businesses eliminates the risk he could dispose of or transfer his assets to make the judgment harder for the state to enforce.

As we wrote last month, the judgment is overkill. None of Mr. Trump’s business partners lost money lending to him or claimed to have been deceived by his erroneous financial statements. No witness during the trial said his alleged misrepresentations changed its loan terms or prices, and there was no evidence that he profited from his alleged deceptions.

Nonetheless, state trial judge Arthur Engoron ordered him to “disgorge” $355 million in “ill-gotten gains.” This sum was based on the interest-rate savings that a financial expert retained by Ms. James estimated Mr. Trump netted from his legerdemain. But this calculation seems dubious since banks said they didn’t alter their loan terms.

The judge also tacked on profits that Mr. Trump putatively made on properties for which he submitted false financial statements without demonstrating that the latter enable the former. He also added “pre-judgment interest” dating back to the day Ms. James launched her investigation in 2019. This makes Mr. Trump liable for alleged wrongdoings before he was even charged. All of this provides plausible grounds for appeal.

Whatever his transgressions, defendants are entitled to due process, which includes the right to appeal. Ms. James is trying to short-circuit the justice system to get Mr. Trump, as she promised she would during her 2018 campaign. Anyone who does business in New York ought to worry about how Ms. James could likewise twist the screws on them.

[nikkeisimmer]

Warning: Non-Sims Hockey Post

As most people who follow me know, I'm a hockey fan (almost required to be Canadian) and I'm a Vancouver Canucks fan which means that for most other teams' followers, they hate my guts. 🤣

July 1st for me, most always includes Free Agent Frenzy Day as well as Canada Day. And this year was no different. As of July 6, 2024, Jim Rutherford (or as I like to call him "Trader Jim" (the original Trader Jim)) will have been at the directional helm (as President of Hockey Operations) for almost two and a half years (has it been that long? - it's gone by in the blink of an eye) and two years and almost 4 1/2 months since Patrik Allvin has been hired as General Manager of the Vancouver Canucks.

Considering the sad shape that the Canucks were in in December of 2021, I did not hold hope that there was going to be such a turn around and frankly 2022-2023 season did not disappoint in my books. In fact I will go on record as stating:

Even Scotty Bowman wouldn't be able to win the

Stanley Cup with these idiots...

I meant the efforts of the on-ice team in the fact that they had absolutely no direction and that they were losing more than they were winning. With Travis Green the Canucks were losing and he got fired in December of 2021 and outside of a sudden spurt of winning effort when Bruce Boudreau was hired in December of 2021 right after Green was fired. Under Bruce the Canucks at the end half of the that 2021-2022 season went 32-15-10 and nearly made the playoffs missing it by only 5 points. And we thought that was going to be our Pacific Street Miracle. But 2022-2023 season and our fortunes did a complete 180°. In fact, not only was the winning record in the pre-season illusory, but the Canucks were on their way to a league worst opening season. It was a pretty sad effort all around. The Canucks stumbled out of the gate losing to the Edmonton Oilers in a match-up that ended 3-2. Surprisingly they won the next game against the Philadelphia Flyers 5-4; which was surprising to me which for a long-time fan, having seen the Flyers come into GM Place (now Rogers Arena - and I'm sorry, I just can't call GM Place Rogers Arena - it's too ingrained in me - Sorry, Ted) and essentially ROFLstomping the Canucks on a regular basis - the Canucks getting these infrequent wins seemed like an effing miracle.

But by the time the first ten games of the regular season were over, the Canucks had compiled a 2-6-2 record and were pretty much enroute to shitting the bed and making certain that their coach Bruce Boudreau was going to end up getting sacked. The question was when not if. In fact it looked as though the entire Jim Rutherford/Patrik Allvin experiment wasn't going to go the way that everyone had hoped and that this was all a mistake that they should rectify in a hurry. As usual our reactive fanbase was calling for their heads. It also meant that something had to be done. But it dragged on and on for the entirety of half a season while poor Bruce was trying to do everything in his power to get a team going that just wouldn't listen to him. It appeared that the team had tuned him out. In fact, I was not happy with the guys on the ice more than I was unhappy with Bruce. I kept saying to my wife that "God help the players on that team, because if I were the general manager on this team, I'd be having a fire-sale on players and try to bring in some players with a will-to-win." I'd be firing these players out the door like the slingshotted Bombbird on Angry Birds. God knows that Boudreau was trying his damndest to get something out of a team that just wasn't doing the right things to win. And of course the management was dumping all over Bruce every chance they got when they should have been questioning the work-ethic of their players. Anybody who was in Vancouver at the time knew the coaching drama that was going on in Rogers Arena. It was practically front-page news and the topic of damned near every sportsfan in Vancouver. So I wonder just how long Bruce Boudreau has, because he looks like he's a marked man.

Yeah, well, that pain lasted till January 22nd, 2023 - while the Canucks compiled a 18-25-3 record that was a hole that was seriously going to be difficult to climb out of. And fans were getting on the Tank for Bedard train. Yeah, I hate to admit it, I was one who was hoping that every loss would bring us closer to getting the coveted #1 draft pick. But I knew the NHL. They would do everything to make sure that we didn't get the number one. As a long-time Canucks fan from the very beginning (with Captain Orland Kurtenbach) I knew damned well the hockey gods would conspire to make sure we didn't or we would have had Gilbert Perrault. Instead we got Dale Tallon at #2.

Luke Schenn, one of the players that I think was actually trying on the ice, said it best "Obviously, we feel like we let him down in the room. He deserves better. I think that's on us as players," Yeah, no shit. This was entirely on the heads of the players and their "will-to-win". They were playing to get their coach fired. And that was the bottom line.

Rick Tocchet became the new Canucks Coach and a lot of fans were unhappy the way that it was presented to them. I know I wasn't too happy either, but I was one of the ones willing to give Coach Tocchet a chance. Besides...he wasn't the one that was responsible for Coach Boudreau's ignonimous departure. Frankly that was 100% to blame on the front office and the shitty way they handled things. The second Coach Tocchet took over the bench, it seemed like fortunes had turned around. The Canucks seemed to listen to Coach Rick Tocchet in a way they hadn't for Coach Boudreau. There was a new work ethic being instituted in the locker room. Coach Tocchet demanded hard work without being overbearing. We learned that he was a player's coach as he had been a players' player; that he had two ears and one mouth and used them in proportion.

He was bloody tough to play against as a player as most of the 80s and 90s players will tell you. He was a hard-nosed player who went into the corners, was gritty and tough-as-nails, was capable of throwing down the gloves and chucking knuckles and I hated him when he used to come into the Pacific Colisseum and take on my 'Nucks. But now...

Seeing him in Canucks colors on the ice helping players become the best versions of themselves they can be - I'm just glad that we have him.

Less than ten days after that, one of the main issues in the dressing room (the contention between Horvat and Miller) was addressed. I'm certain that there was friction between the two. The Canucks gambled on an older Miller and fired Horvat out the door trading him to the New York Islanders for Anthony Beauvillier (was later traded to Chicago for a fifth round pick in for in the now complete 2024 draft), Aatu Raty (now a stalwart in Abby) and a protected 2023 first-round draft pick (ended up going to the Islanders for Filip Hronek) and extending J.T. Miller instead. In retrospect, that was definitely the right decision to do, however it sure pissed off a lot of fans even more than they were already about the Boudreau firing.

Over the off-season we were thirsting for news about the Canucks. Jim Rutherford and Patrik Allvin had instituted a practical information lockdown and we could only speculate what was being done during the off-season to change the on-ice dynamics and work-ethic of the team and whether or not the Canucks players were buying in. The Canucks front office would toss us out crumbs from the draft table at the 2023 NHL Entry Draft.

Canucks drafted Jonathan Lekkerimäki at 15th overall in the 2023 draft. And Allvin did some major fine-tuning during the off-season picking up Hronek,

And then 2023-2024. HOLY SHIT!!! It's like we'd somehow acquired a whole different team with the faces of the players we'd had before. If I hadn't known better, I would have thought that humankind had perfected cloning because we now had players with familiar names that had "work-ethic" coming into games. None of this holiday resort type atmosphere, it was what we knew now as "lunch-bucket" hockey, crack-your-knuckles" and get to work.

We were seeing a lot more of these kinds of celebrations on the ice. It was a far cry from the dejection. It was fun to be a hockey fan again (not that I ever left, but those losses hurt). And the loss to the Edmonton Oilers in the 2nd round of the NHL playoffs hurt like hell, but we know that playoff hockey is back in Vancouver and that there will be more playoffs to come.

Yes, there were losses throughout the season, but somehow we knew the Canucks would dig themselves out. This was a whole different team and the man responsible, the man behind the bench.

The fact that we have Adam Foote as an Assistant Coach is incredible.

Again as a long-time Canucks fan whose young adulthood coincided with Tocchet's and Foote's time on the ice as players. Footey was an Avalanche player, again tough to play against and he was one of those players that got under your skin because he was so damned good at what he did.

This is how I remember Adam Foote - tough, gritty and basically would clear players from in front of his net and this was the skillset that he was now teaching to our Canucks players as Canucks assistant coach. These were guys with Cup winning pedigrees.

We can't miss out Sergei Gonchar who was with Crosby when they won the first of two Stanley Cups in Pittsburgh in 2009.

Sergei Gonchar is now our Defensive Development Coach and he goes into the intricacies of what constitutes how to play good defense. It's great to see him on the ice teaching our young Canucks.

And the best damned thing about these three is that THEY WANT THAT for our Canucks - in fact the coaching staff may not have been former Canucks players, but they are Canucks in the fact that they are our players' guiding lights. They're not going to be satisfied until Lord Stanley's Cup is raised in Rogers Arena and neither are Jim Rutherford and Patrik Allvin.

The 2024 offseason so far, as short a period as it's been has been tumultuous. Both Lindholm and Zadorov (is still loved in Vancouver - and he deserves his new contract, but it's a bit too pricey for us) are now Boston Bruins and we just inherited a shit-ton of new Canucks (ex-Bruins in return) that we signed in free agency.

According to Quinn Hughes. Kiefer Sherwood had pissed off the entire team while playing for Nashville

New Canucks team-mate Sherwood harassing ex-Canuck, now Bruin Elias Lindholm. "Welcome to Vancouver" Kiefer.

The Bruins stole two of our players (yeah, I know they were free agents and they wanted too much for the Canucks to pay them what they wanted but they were our players, dammit!) so Allvin returned the favour and signed Jake DeBrusk. Big Z no matter what team he plays for made an impact in Vancouver and will be a loved player here just as much as Kuzmenko was.

They will be missed.

Lindholm, well, he was just a rental.

Well, good luck in Boston, Elias.

Danton Heinen came home (He's a Langley boy) after playing with the Bruins for the past year after playing with the Penguins for the prior two years to that.

And he's so looking forward to playing for his hometown team. He gave the hometeam discount in order to come play for them. He wants to help the Canucks win and well, he remembers the 2011 playoffs too well and wants to change that outcome.

He's also an ex-Penguin so he knows the regime over here having played with them for two years recently. Heinen returned to the Bruins after being drafted by them back in 2014 becoming a regular in the lineup in the 2016-2017 season.

Derek Forbort is a monster. He may not be the most fleet of foot, but he's effective where he places himself. And evidently he can hit like a Mack truck and clear the area around the net which is what Tocchet will want him to do. 6'4" of pure unbridled aggression and "get out of my team's net".

Hopefully Tocchet will be able to help Jake DeBrusk find some consistency and the fact that Jake acknowledges that he has some work to do is nice to hear. But he's one of the most promising of the signings next to Kiefer Sherwood. He's also the "power forward" that Tocchet wanted lining up with Elias Pettersson hopefully to get him going during the playoffs. DeBrusk is a gritty player, a good two way player and able to make defensive plays as well as generate offense. And hopefully Tocc will be able to take him to the next level.

Not much is known here about Nate Smith (Nathan Smith) other than the fact that he spent most of his past two seasons in the minors and that he had a promising season back in 2021-2022. But in 4 games in 2022-2023, he had 0 points.

Hopefully he becomes a good pickup for Abby or that maybe Tocchet will be able to spark something in him during camp.

Last of the pick-ups on opening day of Free Agent Frenzy was Vincent Desharnais from the Oil who will now be plying his trade making sure that Petey is protected rather than plowing into him as seen here.

At 6'7" he's a replacement for 6'6" Big Z. And can clear the net as well as his new team-mate Derek Forbort.

Abby needs a new goalie and well, it's going to be a two-way race with Jiri Patera (Vegas Golden Knights) now possibly contending for backup position to Thatcher Demko against Arturs Silovs who played phenomenally against the Edmonton Oilers and drew them to a seven game series after Demko went down in Game 1 versus Nashville. Demko did not return for the duration of the playoffs and it was Casey DeSmith and Arturs Silovs for the rest of that series. Then it was all Silovs against the Edmonton Oilers.

My gut says that Silovs will ultimately get the nod to become the permanent back-up to Thatcher Demko and Patera will become the lead goaltender for the Abbotsford Canucks.

So in a nutshell, that's Vancouver's offseason acquisitions for you. As far as I can tell, the Canucks made some solid acquisitions early in the Free Agency Frenzy on July 1st, because it was clear that they weren't going to land the big names being floated around.

Frankly they would have shot themselves in the foot if they had gone after Jake Guentzel and we've seen that kind of thing happen before. (Hello, Mark Messier...and Oliver Ekman-Larsson).

“Other than some inexperience in Vancouver, which is probably the thing that they're lacking the most right now, you've got to look at their team as being really positioned well to play well in the playoffs.” ~Mark Messier

Yeah, Mark, thanks, do us a favour next time...and keep it to yourself.

Mark Messier with the "invisible Cup" that he was going to win for us. 🤮

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Amee Vanderpool at SHERO:

Donald Trump is now trying to claim that he knows nothing about the controversial conservative agenda that is meant to go into place on “Day One” of another Trump presidency. The extensive plan, which was developed by the prominent Trump supporting Heritage Foundation, lays out a blueprint for a complete overhaul of the federal government, detailing a strategy for immediately firing thousands of civil servants, expanding the executive powers of the president, halting all sales of the abortion pill, and much, much more. Although Trump has recently attempted to distance himself publicly from his own custom-made agenda, he has continued for months at his rallies to make dog whistle promises that include the main tenants of this conservative policy. [...]

Contrary to recent protests, Donald Trump also knows exactly who is behind Project 2025, because it was created by many of his most trusted allies and former advisors, who ultimately wrote the plan for him. The plan sets out four main policy aims to install an extreme, far-right agenda that includes: restoring the family as the center piece of American life; dismantling the administrative state; defending the nation's sovereignty and borders; and securing God-given individual rights to live freely. Look for Trump to manipulate the language of these basic tenants in his ongoing speeches, which are ultimately a signal to his support of the 2025 agenda. In January of 2018, just a year into his first term, the Heritage Foundation bragged that the Trump administration had “embraced nearly two-thirds of the policy recommendations from the “Mandate for Leadership,” which ultimately became “Project 2025.” But the team that created the project is chock full of former Trump advisers, including director Paul Dans, who was chief of staff at the Office of Personnel Management while Trump was president. Russell Vought, who was the Director of the Office of Management and Budget under Trump from July 2020 to January 2021, wrote a key chapter on future executive branch staffing for Project 2025, and also serves as the Republican National Committee’s 2024 platform policy director. The Heritage Foundation touts that “more than 350 leading conservatives” contributed to the plan, including many that would be hugely influential in Washington if Republicans take back the White House.

[...] In the last few weeks, the Biden Campaign has made a point to direct the public to the goals of the conservative plan — which is backed by more than 100 far right groups — to warn of the potential danger involved with a second Trump presidency. The increased concern over the far right agenda, which appeared to rise in tandem with Trump’s slight edge in the polls following the presidential debate, has now gone viral and is getting a lot of backlash. This has made it a little more difficult for the Republican Party to outwardly adopt Project 2025 as planned at the RNC this week. Most party platforms tend to average between 50- to 75-pages, according to historians. The Republican Party has issued a formal platform that is 16 pages long, and it makes extensive use of capital letters to somehow mirror Donald Trump’s own speaking and social media posting tone. Many of the concepts and directives seem intentionally vague, as if to be filled in by a more substantial, 900 page companion agenda that fleshes out the real intentions of the Republican Party under Trump’s continued leadership.

While it may have been the intention of RNC Director Russell Vought and other key Heritage Foundation members for the GOP to formally adopt Project 2025 at the convention this week, they might just keep the connection between the two agendas implied and forgo drawing more attention to the unpopular far right plan. Using the Project 2025 agenda as an Appendix to the Republican Platform put forth this year is the only thing that explains why anyone would put forth such a slapdash and incomprehensible official agenda like the one presented by the RNC this week. Despite Donald Trump’s attempts to distance himself from the substantial conservative opus generated by the Heritage Foundation that he has publicly praised and acknowledged in the past, nothing happens on a large scale within the GOP without Trump’s express consent. Moving forward we can expect the rhetoric to change slightly and become even more obfuscated, as Trump and JD Vance continue to sell Project 2025 under a more generic premise that they think distances them from the conservative manifesto.

DJT can claim to disavow Project 2025 all he wants, but a large part of it was influenced by Trump staffers.

See Also:

Public Notice: Project 2025 is the GOP platform

[covid-safer-hotties]

Forgive the Google Translation - Prof. Fal: we do not test, so we do not officially record an increase in infections - Published Aug 16, 2024

Full-text in Polish and a link to the original in Polish at the link above!

In Poland, practically no tests are performed for COVID-19, which is why we officially have a very low incidence, Prof. Andrzej Fal, president of the Polish Public Health Society, told PAP.

According to data provided to PAP by PEX Pharma Sequence, in July this year there was a sharp increase in sales of COVID-19 tests . Polish pharmacies sold a total of almost 187,000 of them, which is more than twice as many as in June and three times as many as in May.

The daily reports provided by the Ministry of Health also note an increase in infections, although the official numbers of new cases are still very low. At the beginning of July, they remained at 60 per day, at the end of the month - over 200, in the first days of August - about 400 per day, and on August 14, there were 834.

According to Prof. Andrzej Fal, these values ​​do not reflect the true picture of the situation at all. "The Ministry of Health relies on data coming from the sanitary-epidemiological station and hospitals. And because we are not testing almost anyone, only symptomatic people and basically only in hospitals, we have an official very low incidence," said the expert.

"However, we see significant increases in the number of cases throughout Europe. Of course, this is a mild form of COVID-19 and there is no reason to be alarmed or afraid. But there is an increase, and a large one at that. And because people know that it may be COVID-19, they buy tests on their own. That's why so many tests are being sold," he added.

He stressed that it is not true that the number of cases is so low.

According to the professor, COVID-19 has ceased to be an important topic because it is no longer associated with high mortality and severe course. Currently, the SARS-CoV-2 variant called Omikron still dominates infections , although new subvariants are constantly emerging: Kraken, Pirola, JN1 and FLiRT variants (K.1.1, KP.2, KP.3).

The most common symptoms now are: sore throat, cough, fever, conjunctivitis, diarrhea and headaches.

"I myself have diagnosed five cases of COVID-19 among my close friends in the last week. So there are infections, and many of them," concluded Prof. Fal.

Meanwhile, in the last 24 hours, 1,828 official COVID-19 tests were performed, of which 853 were positive. (PAP)

[fearsmagazine]

Sonic the Hedgehog 3 | Official Trailer 2, Images & Opening Night Fan Event!

Paramount Pictures and Sega announced a SONIC THE HEDGEHOG 3 Opening Day Fan Event in advance of the film’s nationwide theatrical release on December 20th.

Knuckles (Idris Elba), Sonic (Ben Schwartz) and Tails (Colleen O'Shaughnessey) in Sonic the Hedgehog 3 from Paramount Pictures and Sega of America, Inc.

To celebrate the cinematic experience, Paramount Pictures will give fans the opportunity to see SONIC THE HEDGEHOG 3 in theatres at an opening day movie event on Thursday, December 19th.  Fans will see it first at 3pm local time presented exclusively in premium, formats at participating locations including Dolby Cinema,4DX, DBOX, SCREENX and other premium format theatres across the country.  

Tickets for Opening Day Fan Event, and general SONIC THE HEDGEHOG 3 tickets are on sale today, Nov. 25th, 2024.

Shadow (Keanu Reeves) in Sonic the Hedgehog 3 from Paramount Pictures and Sega of America, Inc.

To purchase tickets for the SONIC THE HEDGEHOG 3 Opening Day Fan Event Screening, and to find participating theatre listings in your area, go to www.sonicthehedgehogmovie.com/seeitfirst. General tickets are also on sale at www.sonicthehedgehogmovie.com. Tickets for all shows also on sale at exhibitors’ websites & mobile apps, 3rd party ticketing platforms and at participating theatre box offices nationwide.

Ticketholders seeing SONIC THE HEDGEHOG 3 at the Fan Event screening will also see additional behind the scenes content prior to the feature for this special show and will also receive limited-edition gifts including one of four different limited edition character keychains plus an exclusive 12”x18” collector's art print created for fans attending this one-night event – while supplies last.

Lee Majdoub as Agent Stone and Jim Carrey as Ivo Robotnik in Sonic the Hedgehog 3 from Paramount Pictures and Sega of America, Inc.

Said Paramount Pictures’ President of Domestic Distribution Chris Aronson, “There is tremendous excitement from fans for the upcoming release of Sonic the Hedgehog 3. The series keeps growing from film to film, and this will be the biggest installment yet.  We’re thrilled to reward loyal fans nationwide with the chance to see Sonic first in the most immersive way on the big screen.”  

Sonic the Hedgehog returns to the big screen this holiday season in his most thrilling adventure yet. Sonic, Knuckles, and Tails reunite against a powerful new adversary, Shadow, a mysterious villain with powers unlike anything they have faced before. With their abilities outmatched in every way, Team Sonic must seek out an unlikely alliance in hopes of stopping Shadow and protecting the planet.

Director Jeff Fowler returns along with our all-star cast including Jim Carrey, Ben Schwartz, James Marsden, Tika Sumpter, Idris Elba, Colleen O’Shaughnessey, Natasha Rothwell, Shemar Moore, Adam Pally, Lee Majdoub, newcomers Alyla Browne and Krysten Ritter, with Keanu Reeves joining the franchise as Shadow the Hedgehog.

[ikram1909]

a new article on a sports newspaper today with an update on gavi: https://www.lesportiudecatalunya.cat/barca/article/2425850-gavi-a-tota-maquina.html

There are only eight days left until the start of the European Championship in Germany, but Pablo Martín Páez Gavira missed this train months ago, when on November 19, at José Zorrilla in Valladolid, the Barça footballer's knee said enough in that fateful match against Georgia, a qualifier for the European Championship, Gavi tore the cruciate ligament in his right knee, an injury that also affected the external meniscus. Six and a half months have passed since then, and on June 6, Gavi is completely focused on one thing: the return. It's getting closer every day. Its evolution is very good.

Yesterday, Barça published a video on its social media where you can see Gavi working at maximum intensity in the sports city's facilities, doing high-intensity exercises in the gym to strengthen the muscles in the affected area. The recovery is going very well, even better than expected at the start, but it is also known that with this type of injury you have to be careful. Unhurried positivism. This is the motto. But it is also true that Gavi's attitude infects anyone with optimism. His character makes him unique, and the intensity and passion he transmits in the field is the same attitude with which this recovery work has been undertaken from day one. Hansi Flick fell in love with Gavi's engagement in the first contact they both had a few days ago in the sports city. Flick also met at the Barça facilities with other injured players, such as Frenkie de Jong and Alejandro Balde, but in the specific case of Gavi he was fascinated by his positivity and his attitude towards work. It is the discipline and fighting spirit that Flick imposed on Bayern and that he will now try to instill in Barça. Gavi already has this built in as standard and is destined to be an important figure in Flick's plans when he becomes available again.

This last season 2023/24, the one from Los Palacios was only able to play a total of 15 games with the Blaugrana shirt (12 in the league and 3 in the Champions League). Xavi and Barça have missed him. Neither the player nor Flick set a date for their return, but Hansi already knows that Gavi's signing will be the big signing of the 2024/25 season. The forecasts are, if all goes well, that the culer midfielder will join training with his teammates in the month of August, and he is expected to play again around the month of October. The president Joan Laporta already warned on Tuesday that this summer the club does not intend to carry out major market operations, only the strictly necessary ones, specifically he said that there would be no major sales or major signings, and in this scenario of minimums, the return from Gavi will be the best reinforcement.

Gavi's profile fits well into Flick's football idea of ​​pressing high up. Flick's football is intensity, and Gavi's virtues fit in the advanced midfielder within the 4-2-3-1 system that Flick has always used. He would also fit in the double pivot, although in this position Flick knows that he would see one of his great virtues diminished, which is the arrival in the opponent's area.

Xavi Hernández has always described Gavi as "a heart with legs". His passion and temperament, never giving up a split ball, make him a treasure for any manager, and everything suggests he will end up being an important figure for Flick as well, even if the player starts at the clear disadvantage to miss the pre-season and the start of the season and lag behind his teammates in terms of pace of competition in the goal of securing a position in the starting eleven. The good feelings that the footballer has at the moment of his recovery phase is the best news for Hansi Flick.

As a curiosity, this coming season Gavi will have the opportunity to set foot again in the José Zorrilla, the stadium of the misfortune of his injury. Valladolid's confirmed promotion to the first division makes it possible. Everything will depend on the calendar, on which day Valladolid-Barça is set and on which Gavi's return date ends up being.

Thank you so much anon you're the best ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

So they're still insisting flick did meet Gavi already and they talked.

I love how this article is basically a live letter about Gavi and his character they're so real for that 😭😭 he's really amazing and I can't wait for him to come back ☹️