#Renewed Hope Agenda

[morganablenewsmedia]

Bill Gates Solicits More Focus On Public Healthcare

Bill Gates Solicits More Focus On Public Healthcare As Nigeria Urged To Invest More In Healthcare On Wednesday, Bill Gates, American Billionaire and Philanthropist, urged the Nigeria’s government to invest more in the primary healthcare. This call was made while admitting that Nigeria’s economy is static, disclosing that the country’s GDP ratio was better fifteen years ago compared to what it is…

[my-mt-heart]

I watched the NYCC panel and I laughed. Melissa saying "ooh boy, I wish I would have known" about Daryl's story and what they were talking about in the creative/writers room, is just so perfect. Norman just looked annoyed at her response. But how did Melissa not know what the plan was? And would she still have been a part of it? She's still sticking around for S3 which also confuses me...

And I love how SG threw Norman under the bus when he said something along the lines of i the spinoff wasn't gonna be filmed in France but that Norman had a lot to say about it. Basically confirms he pushed for France.

And then Norman really deflected the question about the kiss. The man didn't want to address the kiss. I hope he realizes what a f-ed up decision that was. But the kid, Mateo, summed it up pretty good tho haha. I loved that kid. He was so real.

Melissa not knowing certain details about Daryl's arc would mean they were kept out of the script(s) and the producers' cut(s) specifically so she couldn't weigh in. I can't emphasize enough how underhanded of a move that is. Her contract was for S2 and S3 (it's standard to sign a two-season deal and then renew).

They were all throwing each other under the bus at different points. All the men have personal agendas. Gimple just happens to be the smartest about his lies.

What Mateo said and when may have been a marketing strategy, I'm not sure, but it worked either way. It's just too bad Nicotero felt the need to get defensive over an 8-year-old boy's opinions. "Is it a little manipulative of us? Yeah, but that's why you watch." No, Greg, it's not.

[blessedarethebinarybreakers]

Hey, this is going to be long and wordy but I’m kinda desperate. Lately I’ve been having doubts about whether Jesus actually said what’s recorded in the gospels and whether those accounts are true, and the uncertainty there scares me, especially since I know the gospel writers almost certainly had their own agendas and that’s why accounts of the same event can sound different, why the birth narrative was skipped over or not, etc. On top of that I’ve seen posts from Jewish users outlining why Judaism typically doesn’t accept Jesus as Messiah/why you can’t be Jewish if you believe that, and their arguments seem pretty sound. So it all boils down to this big scary question of “What if this whole Jesus-as-Messiah thing was just the result of projection onto some random guy who seemed to be the real deal because the writers were so desperate to be rescued from the Roman occupation?” It sucks cuz I’ve been enjoying my renewed interest in church (for the most part) and while I’ve tried my best to learn not to take the Bible literally all the time (yay for growing up in an inerrantist doctrinal tradition 🙄), I still want to take it seriously and I still want to believe in Jesus as savior/Lord/etc. I don’t want to just be like, “Yeah I don’t buy the whole Messiah thing but I can still follow his example!” I want there to be meat behind why I follow, if that makes sense. So inasmuch as this could be my OCD being bored and trying to take hold of whatever it thinks would bug me the most (wouldn’t be the first time!), I would really appreciate any advice you have. I know there may not be any certainty or reassurance to be found here, but I still want to hear from someone who’s been there before so I can chart a path forward, and I think this is an important question to wrestle with. Plus I remember from one of your posts you said you have seminary notes on this exact topic so I’m curious lol.

"Gospel Truth": how do we know what Jesus really said and did?

Hey again! Sorry for the long delay on this one but I wanted to do some research before responding! You're right that these are important questions, and you're absolutely not the only one to feel doubt and anxiety over them. You're also right that I can't offer you certainty, but I do hope you'll find encouragement here, and places to go as you continue your journey.

This got super long (as always lol), so let's start with aTL;DR:

In this post, you'll find that there's a lot that we can surmise is very probable about Jesus' life story, but that ultimately we can't know much for certain — and that's okay. In Evolving in Monkey Town: How a Girl Who Knew All the Answers Learned to Ask the Questions), Rachel Held Evans gets to the heart of the matter:

"I don’t know which Bible stories ought to be treated as historically accurate, scientifically provable accounts of facts and which stories are meant to be metaphorical. I don’t know if it really matters so long as those stories transform my life."

This is a time where scholarship & faith go hand-in-hand: using the minds God gifted us, we study and learn what we can; and we cultivate faith in the things we can't — a faith that doesn't deny doubt, but makes room for it, and calls us into community so that we can wrestle out meaning together.

A couple other notes before we kick off:

Please know that you don't Have To Study All The Things if you decide it's healthier for you not to go chasing those rabbit holes. You don't need to be an expert in Biblical studies to be a "good Christian" or to take scripture seriously or to get to know God deeply.

I trust you know yourself and how your OCD works better than I could. So I'm going to share the information I have, and leave it to you to determine for yourself how much information you need in order to feel reassured, without giving your mind new problems to ruminate over.

So here's a link to a Google doc that has A Lot of information — like, too much lol. But save it for after you read this post; I'm putting the most relevant & important info here! If you finish this post and feel satisfied, you never even have to look in the doc.

However deep you go, if you find yourself getting overwhelmed, know that whatever you are feeling is valid and probably pretty common, and take a break! Do a calming meditation or an activity you enjoy to help regulate your mind and body. If possible, have someone you can unpack this stuff with — or have a notebook ready to journal in. <3

Okay, all that outta the way, let's dig in!

Who wrote the Gospels?

Tradition goes that the authors of the four canonical Gospels are three of Jesus' closest disciples — Matthew, Mark, and John — plus a disciple of Paul — Luke. But academics have determine that this tradition is very improbable; it's much more likely that none of the four authors knew Jesus personally, and that the earliest of them (Mark) wasn't recorded till the 60s — decades after Jesus lived and died!

When people learn this, it often leads to something of a crisis of faith. If these writers didn't even know Jesus firsthand, where the heck did they get their information?? And come to think of it, why do their accounts differ? Is some of it made up? Is all of it made up??

The anxiety and fear that wells up is normal, and it's healthy to acknowledge that you're feeling it. But once that first shock abates, it's possible to discover a sort of freedom in the knowledge that the Gospel writers (and all the authors of the biblical texts) were human, with human biases and specific goals fitting their unique context; and that they didn't have all the answers!

This realization can free us to approach scripture without certain expectations (that it's all inerrant and prescriptive, etc.), and allows us to bring our doubts to the table with us. If something in the text seems questionable — particularly if it seems to promote bigotry and injustice rather than God's love — we can consider whether something in its author's cultural context might be responsible for that part of scripture.

So taking some time to learn the unique contexts of each writer can be quite enriching to how we engage the Gospels. For a chart that sums up the Gospel writers' unique contexts, audiences, and priorities, see this post.

For even more, you'll want a book that digs into that stuff — I recommend Raymond Brown's An Introduction to the New Testament (the abridged version!!). As you learn about the Gospel writers, I hope several things become evident:

First, that they weren't just making things up whole cloth, or relying on a game of "he said she said" telephone for their information! Each one drew from different primary or secondary sources, eyewitness testimonies or written texts (many of which no longer exist, but scholars have pieced together evidence of, like the famous "Q source" that both Matthew and Luke drew from).

Yes, each author does have an agenda in writing about Jesus, and in how they tell his story. But that's not a nefarious thing; it's true of any text, whether biography, poetry, novel, song — you don't take the time to write something without a purpose in mind! With variation between their specific goals, overall each Gospel writer's agenda was to persuade their audience that Jesus is worth following, and/or to offer encouragement to those who already believed.

Another thing that modern readers sometimes interpret as intentionally deceptive is that, yeah, the Gospels contain things that aren't strictly factual, and that the writers knew weren't strictly factual. This is because ancient ideas about history & biography are very different from our own. When we read a biography, we expect it to be all facts, with citations proving those facts. But the ancients were much less concerned with making sure every detail was accurate; instead, they were focused on making their specific point about whatever thing or person they were writing/reading about. So yes, they might embellish one detail or leave out another in order to fortify their desired message. They cared more about the Truth as they interpreted it than a purely factual account.

On a similar note, each Gospel writer understands Jesus and the meaning behind his story a little differently — hence why they all tell things in slightly different orders, and characterize Jesus differently, etc. This is also understandable — we all interpret stories differently; we all come to different conclusions even when we have the same or similar information. See the section in the google doc titled "each Gospel's essence" to learn more about the different ways each writer characterizes Jesus, and why they may have interpreted him the way they did.

On that topic, let's get to your question about...

Jesus — Messiah, or no?

If you read the Gospel of Matthew and take it as pure fact, you'll determine that Jesus is the Messiah his people were waiting for — that he did indeed fulfill various scriptures. But if you read Mark, you won't find that argument at all! To the author of Mark, Jesus clearly did not match the stipulations of the awaited-for Messiah — and for Mark, that's kinda the point: that Jesus is something new and surprising, unlike anything human beings expected, upturning our ideas of power and salvation.

...So how did they come to these vastly different views??

Well, Matthew was a Jew writing to persuade his fellow Jews that the Jesus movement was worth joining; to do so, he felt he had to "prove" that it fit into Jewish tradition. So he prioritizes showing how Jesus is a righteous Jew who abides by Torah, and that he is indeed the Messiah they've been waiting for.

(It's also worth noting that when Matthew writes, over and over, about Jesus "fulfilling" various bits of Hebrew scripture, that verb "fulfilling" doesn't mean what it might sound like to us — that a given text was always and only about Jesus, with the prophet having Jesus in mind when they wrote it. Rather, to Matthew "fulfilling" the text meant "filling it up" with more meaning — adding to its meaning, not replacing the old meaning. More on that, with citations, in the Google doc.)

Meanwhile, Mark's author was a Jew writing mostly to gentile members of the early Jesus movement. He knew they wouldn't care whether or not Jesus fit the Jewish expectations for a Messiah! (In fact, giving Jesus a bit more of a "Greek" flair would appeal to them more.) So Mark doesn't perform the mental and rhetorical gymnastics that Matthew does to try to make Jesus fit the Messiah requirements.

So which Gospel got it right?

For many matters of scripture, I say "it's open to interpretation!" or "Maybe both are right in different ways, conveying different truths!" But for this particular case, it is very important as Christians to accept that Jesus absolutely does not fit the Jewish requirements for their Messiah. To argue otherwise is antisemitic — it's supersessionist, meaning it claims that Christianity supersedes or replaces Judaism.

We might understand, as the author of Mark did, Jesus to be a messiah — which just means "anointed one" in Hebrew (the Greek counterpart is "Christ") — without making antisemitic claims that Jews "failed to recognize their own Messiah." (In fact, there are multiple messiahs in scripture, e.g. in Isaiah 45, the foreign king Cyrus is referred to as God's messiah; though later scriptures like Daniel do start talking about a specific Messiah who will usher in redemption & a new age for the Jewish people.)

We can understand why some of the biblical authors, like Matthew, interpreted Jesus as this specific Messiah as a result of their own specific context, without agreeing with their view. See this post about “Anti-Jewish Content in the New Testament: Why it’s there and what we should do about it” for more on this important topic.  (You can also find even further resources on supersessionism in this post.)

...Okay, so we've looked at the authors of the Gospels a good bit. We've learned that their idea of a "biography" is very different from ours — that they didn't consider it bad to rearrange, leave out, or embellish accounts — but what does that leave us with when it comes to knowing who Jesus "really" was?

What can we know for sure about Jesus?

Let's look at the facts. The first one is: we don't have any. Not any 100% certain ones, anyway. The guy lived before audio recorders and cameras; we're relying on written and oral accounts, which can be fabricated.

However, there are points about the Jesus story that are regarded as almost certainly historical by the vast majority of historians today, so let's look at those first:

Jesus almost 100% certainly existed. There is enough historical evidence (both inside and outside the Bible) to confirm this — even non-Christian historians almost unanimously agree that there was a historical Jesus. (Phew, am I right?)

Almost all historians also agree that several parts of Jesus' story almost definitely happened: that he was baptized in the Jordan; that he traveled around teaching and offering miracles (whether or not they agree he actually had the power to perform real miracles, of course); and that he was arrested and crucified by the occupying Roman Empire.

Some of these almost-irrefutable claims lend plausibility to others: if he traveled around teaching, what was he teaching? Why not the sermons, the parables recorded in the Gospels? And if he was crucified — the death of a criminal, an insurrectionist — what did he do to get himself crucified? He must have done something to cause Rome to see him as a threat to their Empire — why not some of the sayings and actions that are recorded in the Gospels, like his claim to be "Son of God" (a title used for Caesar); his protest march into Jerusalem satirizing Caesar; and his disruption at the Temple?

The attempt to determine which parts of scripture are "authentic," i.e. things that really happened / things Jesus really said," is often called "The Quest for the Historical Jesus."

Over the decades, scholars interested in this pursuit have developed various "criteria of authenticity," which they use to try to determine how probable any given bit of the Gospels is. In the google doc, I summarize the history of this "quest" and describe some of the most popular criteria. But what's important to understand is that these criteria have major limitations — they're often applied somewhat arbitrarily, for one thing, and ultimately they can't "prove" for sure whether something in the text is definitely historical or definitely not. So honestly, this is not a field of study that I recommend everyone go immerse themselves in! When I do, I have fun for a while, then kinda end up more overwhelmed by how much we can't know.

Still, sometimes these criteria of authenticity do yield some interesting points. For instance, the "Criteria of Embarrassment" (yes, that's what it's called lol) asserts that anything in the text that would have been embarrassing to its author is more likely to be historical fact — because why would the author have made something up that puts them in an unflattering light, or might be used to argue against their message?

For example, a lot of Gospel stories depict Jesus' disciples being kinda clueless, or saying petty things, or failing miserably (e.g. the denial of Peter). Why would the Gospel authors have wanted to make these earliest believers, who are meant to be role models for their audience, look so bad? This criterion says that wouldn't — that they must include those stories because they really happened, rather than being things the author made up to make their point.

Or take the Criterion of Multiple Attestation, which determines how many sources include a certain saying or event. The more sources contain a specific story, the more plausibly "authentic" that story is, since it means that different unconnected communities knew that story. Logical enough.

So yes, there are ways to consider the historicity of the Gospels — but not definitively. So the question becomes: is the historical knowledge we do have enough for me to feel some level of, I don't know, peace? stability in my faith?

And, at the end of the day, how important to me is it that every single thing the Gospels say is completely factual?

Back to what matters: the Good News

Facts are great — God gifted us our minds, and various scripture stories show God encourages us to wrestle with the text! — but we are called to faith as well.

Furthermore, taking the Bible seriously means accepting it for what it is — a collection of ancient texts compiled by humans, even if guided by Divinity — rather than insisting it be what it is not. For the Gospels, that means accepting that they are not biography, but story, and prioritize Truth over fact.

My pastor friend Roger puts it like this:

“For me, it isn’t about deciding which things Jesus really said or didn’t say. That’s a road that goes nowhere. As a pastoral response, I take scripture at face value and work to empathize with the people in and behind the text. Through that empathy, I can find some meaning that connects with what we’re facing here and now.”

When we acknowledge that the Bible includes human interpretations of the Divine, and that we bring our own human interpretations to our reading of it, where does that leave us?

It leaves us in need of conversation, of an expansion of our perspectives by talking through scripture in community. We do that conversing with friends, or attending Bible studies at church, or reading a variety of theological texts — getting as many unique understandings of Jesus as we can, joining our ideas together to get an ever broader glimpse of the Divine.

There's a reason Jesus taught in parables: he didn't want there to be one definitive answer to matters of life and faith! He wanted to ignite conversation, to draw us into community — because it's in community that we are the image of God, the Body of Christ.

So keep on wrestling, wondering, talking it through (taking time to rest when needed — there's no rush!). We discover scripture's meaning for us in our own place and time through the wrestling, together.

[posttexasstressdisorder]

Where we go from here...

It took me awhile last evening to get my mind in the right place to do the baking I had to do. I thought I would put on some music on my little radio station to kick my head into work mode. Tried some Glenn Gould playing Bach (always a go-to for morning coffee music), and it didn't hit right.

So I dialed up the huge mix I have titled "1969-72" and almost immediately started the long road back to feeling like myself. After about a half-hour, I was in the groove. Listened to the mix far into the night, after I'd finished working.

I managed to keep my focus and got the cookies all baked, and kiddo's mom happily packed them up and just left for her party, and I'm over here for the next couple of nights, sadly for my back. Two nights of "No Mattress For Old Men" and I'll need a week to recover, but hey...

Wanna thank all y'all for your comments and messages when I posted that I was prolly just gonna go black. Y'all loved me back off the ledge. Posted in a moment of true despair...something I haven't felt in awhile. I am hurting for all of us...and all of you. I have never in my long life been scared for the nation until now. Or at least that's what I thought. This feeling of complete despair, the emotional pain of millions of people, the hopelessness, the fear for the future...after I sat with it awhile I realized yes, that I have felt this same combination of toxic shit before.

In the 65 years I've been on this stinkin' rock, I've been through a number of particularly devastating previous elections, most notably the two Bush2(Dumbya) regimes. I remember the night of the 2004 election...Americans were posting tearful photos taken by their webcams, with them holding up signs saying "We're sorry."

I saw first-hand all the fights for rights that we have gained from the early '60s onward. To find ourselves set back to square one, 50-60 years later, when we had finally gained some footing toward fairness, is cruel. And cruelty is what they will wield as their main weapons in the coming days, as we suddenly find ourselves in the same predicament as 1963-65 when a virginal Joan Baez and little Bobby Dylan changed protest music forever.

So yes, I have felt this same way, and no, the nation didn't die or descend into complete chaos. Our lives went on, essentially as they had, with a growing pile of "things we can't do anymore" heaped atop via the collective wounding of 9/11.

This is another collective wounding--an intentional collective wounding. The next few months are going to be chaotic, they will try to push through their agenda as quickly as possible come january.

I may not post much overtly political stuff from this point on, but if I do it will be refocused on positive news. I don't know for certain how long that might last, but I can't take a 24/7 barrage of bad news and outrage bait. I'm probably gonna unfollow a few blogs, but don't think it's personal...it is Mental/Emotional Health Care.

And yes, I've been in the trenches with y'all a long time...we are all Family at this point...Brothers and Sisters in arms. I'm not leaving, but my presence/role will be different, out of the renewed sense of self-preservation this has thrust me into.

I woke up disoriented, but quickly remembered I'd gotten what I needed to get done done, and had a slow re-entry, sipping my coffee for a couple hours. I kept remembering how well the music had helped me last night, and then the beginnings of what this might turn into began to coalesce. Concepts of a plan. lulz.

As the day went on, I've been on a roller-coaster, emotionally, with seemingly hopeful leads on a roommate not materializing, on top of my craigslist ad for a roomie getting flagged and deleted. Pretty goddamn hopeless as far as this situation is going.

Looked at the huge box of cookies I'd managed to bake last night and it hit me. I've been reblogging the "Gooood Morning, TUMBLR!" graphics every morning up until the election. The image of Robin Williams being in character calling up the role of the military DJ.

Back when I did my cafe in the mountains of NM, a friend lent me a book called "Radio Venceramos", about South American rebels who had a radio transmitter and clamped the leads to the barbed-wire fences to broadcast their signal/programming to their fellow rebels.

Still not sure how the format will work out, but I've decided: my new role is going to primarily be the voice of inspiration over the air-waves to my fellow rebels. Not sure if it will be a second blog or if it will be a continuation of PTSD, but with no further ado, I will become the Voice of my fellow rebels with:

I may make a second blog out of it, but until then I guess I'll make it a series of posts. Tumblr will let you blog up to ten videos/post, and that may be how I start things out. Consider them like stacks of 45s and LP tracks from my paul-shaffer-brain...meant to help keep spirits up and keep the focus.

Made a couple of graphics, will probably try others in the course of it.

So the message today was "You did what you had to do. Heal up for what's ahead."

I will probably start this new focus in the morning...I'm still chewin'.

[haljordns]

big brother ! rooster one-shot

summary: rooster gets back from deployment and surprises you

wc: 1.3k

tags: dad!maverick, pops!iceman, big brother!rooster & gn!reader

to: @agerefandomrambles , your big brother bradley agenda has inspired me & I hope you enjoy :)

credits: x x x x x x

You hardly paid any attention to your dad when you heard him approach from below, you were perched up in your tree fort with one foot dangling down and you absolutely were not sulking. One of your untied laces blew in the wind and you kicked dejectedly at a nearby tree branch, when Maverick had climbed the ladder enough to reach he tugged at the loose lace to get your attention.

“Hey nugget,” He smiled. “Thought I’d find you here.”

“Go ‘way.” You mumbled, looking away.

Maverick wasn’t deterred in the slightest and you begrudgingly made room when he climbed the rest of the way into your tree fort. Normally it was cool having a navy pilot for a dad but at times like these, it was a little annoying – you doubted the typical 40-year-old parent was climbing up a rickety wooden ladder into a shoddy tree fort but here Mav was anyway.

“We’re making chicken and dumplings for dinner, won’t you join us?” Mav leaned into your shoulder peering at you like comfort food might persuade you down.

“‘M not hungry,” you replied. “And that's Brads favorite, we shouldn’t have it without him.”

Rooster was supposed to have come home two weeks ago. Two entire weeks and you’d been so patient but then his return had been pushed back and then delayed and now you had no clue when you’d see him again. You’d tried to call him today only to be met with a voicemail to which you’d let out an impressive string of curse words.

Ice had been less than impressed. You’d earned yourself an hour of quiet time with no TV, no cell phone, and no games. When you’d been sprung free you’d headed straight for your tree house. It wasn’t fair, you just missed your big brother was all.

“It’s comfort food, nugget,” Maverick insisted. “B wouldn’t want you to go on a hunger strike.”

He used one hand to brush some stray hair out of your eyes even though you were pointedly not meeting his gaze; though you were frustrated you supposed it was nice to have your dad around. You sighed and slumped into his side, letting his arm come around your shoulders easily.

“I miss him,” you mumbled and began to pick at a loose thread in the rip of your jeans.

Maverick was quiet for a moment as he ran a comforting hand up and down in your back. “I know, we all miss him, but he won’t be gone forever.”

“Feels like it,” you pouted.

Maverick huffed a small laugh at that and you pulled back to glare at him, this was not a laughing matter. Your dad put his hands up in a show of surrender and you eventually let up on your glowring. You were fully prepared to sit up in your treehouse all evening but eventually, your stomach rumbled disrupting the comfortable silence. Your dad was smiling fondly but didn’t laugh when a blush rose up in your cheeks.

“C’mon,” Maverick said as he began to maneuver himself back down the ladder. “Dinners almost ready.”

You moved to follow him but then paused. “You said… we’re making dinner…”

Maverick sighed and rolled his eyes. “Pops is making dinner.”

You grinned at that and nodded with a renewed vigor to get out of your tree and into the kitchen.

Though Maverick got down before you he waited for you at the bottom. When you met him there he offered his hand to you and even though you were often one to insist you were too old to hold your dad's hand you took it with a shy smile. Dad pulled you into his side and kissed the top of your head briefly before you got started towards the house.

“Love you kiddo.”

“Love you too Dad.”

The house was quiet save for the sounds of Ice moving around in the kitchen and when you got inside Maverick suggested you go clean up for dinner. You bounded up the stairs and made quick work of scrubbing your face and hands before darting back to the kitchen, following the smell of a Kazansky-Mitchell household special.

You were breathless by the time you got to your Pops side, leaning against the counter so you could peer up at him where he was tending to the food on the stove.

“First of all,” He started, turning the heat down. “Careful around the stove.”

You rolled your eyes but took a step back anyway to appease him.

“And no running in the house!” Maverick called from the living room, leaning over the back of the couch so he could point at you. “For such a tiny little thing you sound like a pack of wild bulls.”

You scrunched your nose and stuck your tongue out at him but he only mirrored you. Ice sighed but he was still smiling. “Alright children, settle down. Nugget why don’t you go set the table?”

“You’re putting me to work?” You gave him your biggest, saddest puppy dog eyes.

Ice looked unimpressed. “Consider it the price for your dinner.”

Before you could bound off Ice put a hand on the nape of your neck, looking down at you with thinly veiled concern. “You okay?”

You shrugged. “Just wish he was here, you know?”

Ice sighed and nodded before he leaned down to press a kiss to your hairline. “I know.”

The two of you stayed close for a moment before Ice nudged you off toward the dining room. “The tables not gonna set itself.”

You grinned at him leaning up to press a messy kiss to his cheek before getting plates and utensils ready. You set the table as fast as possible – you had a little game you played in your head trying to see if you could beat your time. So far the fastest you’d been able to set the table without breaking a plate was a minute and 15 seconds.

Maverick wandered into the kitchen right as you were setting down the last plate and you beamed at him showing off your work. Maverick nodded approvingly as ruffled a hand through your hair, you ducked out of the way just in time for Ice to enter the kitchen, setting dinner down in the middle of the table.

“Looks like you forgot a plate, kiddo,” Maverick commented as he rounded the table to help Ice who was bringing in a plate of rolls. “You’re losing your touch.”

“What do you mean?” You scoffed, affronted, as you did another plate count. “Three plates, three mouths!”

“You forget about me already?”

You whirled around so quickly you nearly bumped into the corner of the table, would have if Ice hadn’t caught you with a quick hand. You were staring with a mixture of awe and disbelief at where Bradley stood fighting a stupid smug smile in the dining room entryway.

“You grew a mustache!” was the first thing you could muster.

“You like it?” Rooster asked running his fingers over it and trying to look down at it even though it was attached to his face. Maverick snorted a laugh that he tried to cover with a cough.

“It looks stupid.” You settled on, crossing your arms. You were fighting your own smile but Rooster had been away for two extra weeks. You had to make him work for it.

“You look stupid,” He shot back.

The two of you stared each other down but eventually, your steely glowering dissolved into grins and you finally ran to him. He had put on more muscle than he’d had the last time and he picked you up easily holding you in a tight hug. “Hey there, monkey.”

He’d always called you that when you were younger because you had a habit of clinging and climbing him like a jungle gym. “Hi, butthead.”

Rooster laughed. “Forgot what a twerp you were.”

Rooster set you down gently but you took hold of his hand. “Better get you used to it.”

You knew that eventually, he’d have to go back. He’d be called away and you wouldn’t see him again for long months at a time, but now he was here and that was good enough for you.

“Oh and Pops made dinner, not Dad, so it’ll be really good!” You promised as you grinned up at your big brother.

“Hey!”

[viranellee]

the hate show eddie gets when he's completely justified in his anger towards billy will always be something i will never understand. his opinions, ideas, comments, views being treated as irrelevant & unimportant for years, being forced to move to bass (dare i mention that the only reason he agreed in the first place was out of his genuine desire to appease billy), having his parts literally re-recorded by billy without his knowledge or consent, not even being allowed to write said parts, his only moment to shine during the pittsburgh concert and make his grandmother proud being stolen by billy are all very understandable reasons for his deep-rooted resentment. in a cruel twist of fate watching the love of his life, who happens to be billy's wife and mother of his children, choose her marriage with billy, who eddie deems an unworthy husband and father, over him, reiterates and confirms his deepest fear - that compared to billy, he will always be the second choice. never seen, never heard, never appreciated.

the worst part is that i really don't think eddie truly hates billy the way we're led to believe. all he's ever wanted is the approval and praise of a man who couldn't care less about giving it. when billy does give him that approval at the chicago concert, albeit forced and wholly ungenuine, eddie is quick to tell him "i love you, brother", and while we inwardly cringe at his inability to read the room, it's completely logical that he can't. eddie reacts instinctively, rushing to thank billy for the praise he's been craving all his life. the fact that he has a black eye due to billy himself, who had punched him just an hour or two ago, the fact that any shred of true camaraderie and friendship that might have existed between them is completely and utterly ruined because of eddie's one-night affair with camilla doesn't occur to eddie. in that brief moment before billy brings him back to reality with a few hard-hitting words whispered in his ear, his biggest dream has come true.

of course, this isn't meant to excuse some of the things eddie has said or done. he's very flawed, as the writing is very quick to point out, and the magnitide of his flaws and wrongdoings is amplified through his bitterness and jealousy, which ultimately influences his decision to leave the band. but as a final nail in the coffin, as if eddie hasn't gone through enough already, the show, led by its surprising pro-daisybilly agenda, decides to punish eddie in a move that can only be described as "every tongue that rises against billy dunne shall fall" and strips him of his original book ending, in which he becomes a successful record producer. instead, he is given by far the most unsatisfying and saddest ending of all the band members. graham, while no longer working in the music field, gets what he wants most - a happy family. daisy and warren continue their careers and collaborate together, even having children of their own. karen becomes the frontwoman of a punk band. billy gets to enjoy a long, happy marriage with camilla, and goes on to pursue a renewed relationship with his second love daisy, aided by his late wife's blessing. eddie, on the other hand, hopelessly tries to replicate, or at least re-live, the six's success through mediocre bands, but to no avail. locked in his bubble of shame, he doesn't attend the funeral of the only woman he has ever loved, in fear that his presence there is unwanted. it's as pathetic as it is tragic.

he looks at julia dunne, a carbon copy of her mother, and talks, talks, talks to the camera, hoping that it will give him closure. it doesn't. nothing ever will.

[aysanderson]

FANFIC FEMALE VERSION ANDERPERRY !

NOTICES

* English is not my first language

*My girls Anderson and Perry in the movie and my girls Celine and Renné in real life! Double dose of sapphics!

*I would like to post daily, maybe not so long

*Probably +18 content

WELCOME TO THE TORTURED POETS SOCIETY

TAKE 01 . 

And they were roommates.

-Good morning everyone, girls, I'm Tomás, your director and I'm more than happy to announce that you're our cast! Welcome to the Tortured Poets Society!

Well, here we are.

A new movie is exploding with buzz throughout the film industry.

The remake of the famous and appreciated film 

“Dead Poets Society.” now titled Tortured Poets Society. 

For some time now, the producers have been wanting to renew, perhaps bring a new audience to the work, and also the need to finally expose the ideas that were not appropriate in 1990. 

And why not tortured poet girls!

Amazing. 

And so, here they are. The new characters and soon the newest eye candy and stars of the entire film industry. 

And not only was the film the hot news of the moment, but also Renné and Celine, rising actresses and polar opposites as the names to give life to the main characters.

The buzz quickly emerged in the media.

“Ah, but isn’t it a risky bet? A character as controversial as Celine alongside Renné?”

“Renné shouldn’t have stopped making the classics and risked this woke agenda”

“I just hope Celine is polite and doesn’t hit on Reneé, no one is forced to be gay either”

And as for the film, the rumors were even bigger and more venomous.

“It’s risky but the director gave free rein”

“It’s really sad to watch a classic appeal to the agenda.”

“It’s definitely something to make money.”

… 

-And then, I fell hard in the middle of the stage. I could barely understand what was happening. It was so embarrassing, thank goodness the spotlight soon went to the other side of the stage or I wouldn't have had the strength to get up!

Laughter could easily be heard from the lunch table of tortured poets, as the cast called themselves.

It had been a week since the start of the meetings for the beginning of the team bonding period.

The actress in the spotlight, who told a hilarious story about the time she fell in the middle of the stage, was Nancy, or rather, our girl Dalton, who was struggling to tie up her frizzy hair, while her laughter took all the breath away from her. Next to her hovered the calm redhead Sara, better known by her surname Meeks, who tried to help her colleague in her arduous mission of tying up her hair, and laughing and eating and remembering the facts of the story.

In order, the other redhead, Tayla, who was calmly sipping her apple juice and smiling at Nancy, unlike her character, who was reserved, would be and would, as is well known, at some point in the film, exchange blows with Dalton.

On the other side of the table we have the tall Suzie, who will soon be seen as our intelligent and sober Pitts, but who at the moment had a frown and serious brow, focused on her mission to discover the taste of the meat she had bought in the vegan area of the restaurant. Beside her, sharing the same mission, was Jhenny, with a white sweatshirt tied around her shoulders, even though the undeniable heat of Solarium was present without regrets, she wanted to feel the essence of the passionate overstreet.

In the distance, crossing the small street that separated the restaurant from the tables they were sitting at, Celine and Renné captured the eyes of the girls at the table, laughing at their conversation and absorbed in their bubble.

Celine dressed in a black t-shirt of the band she was in and ripped shorts with simple combat boots on her feet, contrasting perfectly with the light-colored pieces that Renné was wearing, a lace dress and small white heels, giving her a delicate and calm air. 

There couldn't have been better choices for our Anderson and Perry than them. 

The yin-yang in its perfect definition. 

Screw the critics. 

.the film will be a success

[random-xpressions]

Therapy, counselling, prayers. Yes, they all are fine. But have you ever tried writing? Spilling out the last drop of emotion that's waiting for an outlet. Have you even made an attempt to see what an euphoric experience it is to simply scribble down the pages. There's no motive, no agenda, not even the slightest clue what you are trying to put down in words, you simply move your pen, trying to assess in which direction your heart is navigating, trying to focus where your soul is flowing towards. No wonder that since times unknown man has resorted to writing. Such immense healing in it. The writer is no different from the reader. In fact, he's the first one to experience his own words. Unravelling his own unknown secrets. There comes a clarity, a relief. Whoever has experienced physical orgasm, then this is an all together different level, much more than even multiple orgasms all at once, with each letter, with each word, with even each space between two words, there are universes traversed. The exploration of our inner worlds which were otherwise impossible is now slowly unfolded right between our eyes. One could sense it, one could feel, the undressing of our own souls and here we are laying bare and naked before the world - our deepest insecurities, our greatest of fears, our wildest of hopes, our most animalistic of desires, our craziest of fantasies. The sheer pleasure of spilling it all out, like an insane painter splashing all his hundred colours one after the other on to the canvass. There is a pattern, a clear methodology to this madness. Our human civilization has survived and come this far by the sheer token of our writers, our poets - the ones who depicted our very lives into these amazing little lines, staying in our minds forever, renewing our very zeal for life, for romance, for thrill, for adventure, for risk, making us nothing less then eternal. Here's a toast of cheers to every brave soul that took to the pen, and not to the blade. Here's to every courageous writer who laid plain his very spirit before the eyes of this world...

Random Xpressions

[ohhappyday123]

Office Dynamics - Part 7: New Beginnings and New Challenges

The days at Dunder Mifflin had settled into a comfortable routine, but there was always something brewing beneath the surface. As you walked into the office one bright morning, you felt a renewed sense of excitement and curiosity about what the day might bring.

Pam greeted you with a warm smile as you approached your desk. "Morning, Y/N. Ready for another day of fun?"

You laughed, placing your bag on the floor. "Always. What’s on the agenda today?"

Before Pam could answer, Michael burst out of his office, waving a piece of paper excitedly. “Everyone, gather around! I have an announcement!”

The office slowly congregated near Michael’s desk, curiosity piqued. Jim leaned against your desk, giving you a playful nudge. “Wonder what it is this time. Another party?”

Michael cleared his throat, beaming with pride. “I have just received word that we have a new client who wants to meet with us today. This could be a huge deal for us, people!”

Dwight’s eyes lit up, clearly ready to take on the challenge. “Who’s the client, Michael?”

Michael scanned the paper. “It’s a local tech startup called ByteSize. They’re looking for a paper supplier, and we’re in the running. But we need to make a great impression.”

Pam raised an eyebrow. “Do we have a plan?”

Michael nodded vigorously. “Of course we do! Y/N, Jim, and Dwight, you’ll be in the meeting with me. We need to show them we’re the best in the business.”

You exchanged a surprised glance with Jim, who looked equally taken aback. “Uh, okay, Michael. We’ll do our best.”

Interview with Y/N: “I’m excited about this new client meeting. It’s a great opportunity for us, and I’m glad Michael trusts me to be a part of it. I just hope we can pull it off without any mishaps.”

As the office buzzed with preparation, you, Jim, and Dwight gathered in the conference room to strategize. Michael was already there, pacing nervously.

“Okay, team,” Michael said, clapping his hands. “We need to be on our A-game. Dwight, you’ll handle the product details. Y/N, you focus on client relations. Jim, you back us up with your charm.”

Dwight nodded, his eyes steely with determination. “Got it, Michael. I won’t let you down.”

Jim smirked, giving you a sidelong glance. “I’ll do my best to be charming, as always.”

You rolled your eyes playfully. “Let’s just make sure we’re prepared. I’ll handle the introductions and initial questions. Dwight, be ready to dive into specifics when needed. Jim, you can add in with any insights or anecdotes that show our value.”

Michael nodded, looking relieved. “Perfect. This is why you’re my favorite, Y/N.”

Dwight bristled slightly but kept his focus. “Let’s make this happen.”

Interview with Dwight: “I’m ready to prove myself today. This new client could be a game-changer, and I intend to show them just how efficient and dedicated we are. And maybe remind Michael that I’m still his top salesman.”

The meeting with ByteSize was set for 11 AM, and as the time approached, the four of you gathered in the conference room, nerves and excitement mingling in the air. The ByteSize representatives arrived, a young, dynamic group eager to find the right supplier.

You took charge, welcoming them warmly and starting the presentation. “Welcome to Dunder Mifflin. We’re excited about the opportunity to work with ByteSize and support your growth with our reliable paper products.”

The ByteSize team seemed impressed by your confidence and professionalism. As the meeting progressed, Dwight expertly handled their technical questions, while Jim interjected with timely humor and anecdotes that highlighted Dunder Mifflin’s exceptional customer service.

Michael, to everyone’s surprise, managed to keep his enthusiasm in check, contributing effectively without overwhelming the conversation. By the end of the meeting, the ByteSize representatives were smiling and nodding, clearly impressed.

“We’ll definitely consider Dunder Mifflin for our paper needs,” their leader said, shaking hands with each of you.

As they left, Michael let out a triumphant cheer. “We did it! Great job, team!”

Interview with Jim: “I have to admit, that went way better than expected. Y/N was fantastic, Dwight was on point, and Michael actually held it together. I think we have a real shot with ByteSize.”

Back at your desk, Pam leaned over, grinning. “You were amazing in there. Looks like we might have a new client.”

You smiled, feeling a sense of accomplishment. “Thanks, Pam. It was a team effort, though.”

Just then, Stanley walked by, giving you a rare thumbs-up. “Nice work, Y/N.”

Phyllis followed, placing a small candy on your desk. “You did great, sweetie.”

You felt a warm glow, grateful for the support of your coworkers. As you settled back into your tasks, Jim walked over, a playful smirk on his face.

“Looks like Cupid struck again,” he teased, referring to the successful meeting.

You laughed, feeling a connection between you that was growing stronger every day. “Maybe so. But I think it was a team effort.”

Interview with Y/N: “Today was a good day. We worked well together and hopefully landed a new client. It’s moments like these that make all the craziness worth it.”

The rest of the day passed in a blur of productivity and camaraderie. Michael was in high spirits, Dwight was already preparing follow-up materials for ByteSize, and Pam and you found time for a quick chat.

“So, what’s next for you and Jim?” Pam asked, a knowing smile on her face.

You shrugged, feeling a blush creep up your cheeks. “We’re taking it one day at a time. But it feels right.”

Pam nodded, her smile widening. “I’m happy for you. You deserve this.”

Interview with Pam: “Y/N and Jim are really cute together. It’s nice to see something good coming out of all this office chaos. They balance each other out.”

As the day drew to a close, you and Jim found yourselves alone in the break room, cleaning up after an impromptu celebratory snack session Michael had insisted on.

Jim glanced over at you, his eyes softening. “So, dinner tonight?”

You smiled, feeling a flutter of excitement. “Sounds perfect.”

Interview with Jim: “Y/N makes every day a little brighter. I’m looking forward to seeing where this goes. Today was a great step forward, both professionally and personally.”

As you walked out of the office together, you couldn’t help but feel hopeful about the future. With supportive friends, a challenging but rewarding job, and a blossoming relationship with Jim, life was looking pretty good.

Whatever tomorrow brought, you knew you’d face it with a smile, surrounded by the unique and wonderful people of Dunder Mifflin.

[mariacallous]

“Where are you taking Georgia?”

This is the question Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili has for Bidzina Ivanishvili, the billionaire oligarch under whose influence the Georgian government has been appeasing Moscow, to the detriment of the country’s European future.

“I’m not into conspiracy theories, but it might be a plan,” Zourabichvili, a staunch supporter of Georgia’s European Union integration, told POLITICO in an interview. “It might be that [Ivanishvili’s] ties with Moscow are still there and have gotten tighter.”

The rationale behind the ruling Georgian Dream party’s sudden U-turn on its commitment to the European path fundamentally remains perplexing, even to Zourabichvili. While pressure from Moscow is one possibility, she adds, it’s hard to speak of a master plan without proof.

“The whole history of Georgia shows that the main risk for Georgia comes from Russia. The risk of war increases when Georgia is isolated from its partners, when it’s alone, divided and weak. I don’t have a logical, rational explanation for it,” said the president.

The upcoming parliamentary elections, set for Oct. 26, will determine whether Georgian Dream cements the country’s place in the sphere of Russian influence, or whether it will be governed by the pro-Western opposition, which has promised to rebuild ties with the EU and the United States.

Although Georgia received EU membership candidate status in December 2023, its EU accession process is currently frozen due to democratic backsliding and its government’s anti-Western rhetoric.

In May, the ruling party adopted a Russian-style law on foreign agents which designates civil society groups that receive more than 20 percent of their funding from abroad as “pursuing the interests of a foreign power.”

The bill prompted widespread backlash from Georgian and international groups, with the EU warning that Tbilisi’s accession to the bloc is off-limits unless it recommits to a European path.

In turn, the Georgian Dream government has become even more hostile toward Western partners, accusing them of attempting to overthrow the government and of wanting to start a second front of the Ukraine war in Georgia.

The shift has been welcomed in Russia, with the editor-in-chief of state media outlet RT praising Ivanishvili’s government for acting “disconcertingly appropriately.” Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has also praised the Georgian government for resisting a Western agenda and adopting laws on foreign influence and LGBTQ+ propaganda.

Georgian Dream has insisted that although Ivanishvili accumulated his wealth in Russia, his ties with Moscow have long been revoked. A recent investigation by anti-corruption outlet OCCRP suggested Ivanishvili’s family still owns and profits from properties in Moscow — accusations the party has dismissed as false.

Future hanging in the balance

The October elections are “existential,” Zourabichvili has said — but remained cautious about predicting their outcome. A recent public opinion survey showed that Georgian Dream leads in the polls with 32 percent of the vote.

She is hopeful that pro-European forces will prevail and Georgian Dream will fall short of a constitutional majority, though acknowledged that it might still gain a significant share of votes, considering the possibility of election fraud.

And she is uncertain about what kind of politics Georgian Dream would pursue — whether the government will deliver on its radical promises, such as banning virtually all opposition parties, or try to rebuild relations with the EU.

“It will be quite difficult for them to renew any form of relations with the European Union and the American partners after the amounts of attacks that they have been throwing [at them],” she said.

“I don’t know whether they are in the mood of making … serious concessions to return to some form of business as usual,” she continued, citing the example of withdrawing the foreign agents law.

Ahead of the coming vote, Zourabichvili embarked on a tour of the European capitals to declare the Georgian people’s commitment to European values, despite their government’s anti-Western rhetoric.

However, because these visits were not authorized by the government, the ruling Georgian Dream party is seeking to impeach her — for a second time, after a first attempt last year failed.

The president’s office told POLITICO that she was visiting Europe in a private capacity rather than in an official one, as they didn’t expect the government to issue authorization.

Zourabichvili’s presidential term will end this year.

Asked how she feels about her legacy, she expressed pride in her efforts to unite the opposition. In May, she authored the Georgian Charter, which brings together several pro-European parties under common reform goals and commitments to free and fair elections.

Her biggest regret? “That we missed the first chance to open negotiations [with the EU].”

“If the pro-European forces and the parties behind the charter win the elections, I will probably be with them to carry this charter to the next European Council and secure the opening of negotiations, in whatever position — and that’s still to be defined,” Zourabichvili said.

[laf-outloud]

You’ve mentioned that Jared has said that the SPN set was a toxic environment in later years. Would you mind explaining please or linking to other posts if you have already? Thank you!

Oh dear, it's a Sunday night and that would be quite the research project. I really hate being that person that says, I don't have receipts, you just have to believe me, so you're welcome to take what I share with a grain of salt (or more than a grain).

And if any of my followers do have receipts, please share! A lot of what comes from Jared has been shared in convention panels, but because there are so many of them, it's hard to pinpoint where/when something specific was said.

Here's a post about a heller who got a job on SPN and tried to push their Destiel agenda through (while also being Jared haters). Jared also mentioned in a panel about people bts on SPN with specific agendas.

Jared shared that the end of Season 8 (where Sam is willing to die because he feels unworthy) very much paralleled how he also felt at the time (and since his life mainly focused around the SPN set, it's not hard to gather there may have been something more going on bts). He's also mentioned that there are things in the scripts that he doesn't always agree with (like Sam not searching for Dean in S8).

In addition, Jared talked (30:39) about retiring from acting (even if it was surrounded by a bunch of joking) after SPN and that Walker renewed his love of acting. Not to mention that he wants to improve conditions for the entire industry and also have a say in where his character goes. That's why he insisted on being an EP on Walker. He wanted creative input as well as the ability to direct set conditions.

The biggest evidence is how much happier and healthier Jared looks since SPN ended. He has a spark in his eyes again.

Obviously, the entire set wasn't toxic, otherwise Jared wouldn't have stayed around that long, but there certainly were people around with specific agendas, poor writing (trying to give Dean the primary storyline in S10, pushing Sam to the background, OOC writing for Sam, etc.), in addition to long hours and being away from his family for weeks at a time, all combined to create a work environment that didn't seem very enjoyable, at least from my perspective.

I hope that helps. I linked where I could, and if anyone else has receipts, please share!

[allthebrazilianpolitics]

Letter to President Lula on Brazil’s Candidacy for the UN Human Rights Council

Dear Mr. President,

We are writing on behalf of Human Rights Watch ahead of the October elections to the United Nations Human Rights Council (HRC) for 2024-2026. As a candidate, it is crucial that Brazil demonstrate a relentless, principled and consistent defense of human rights both at the national and international level.

In establishing the Council in 2006, the General Assembly provided that Council members “shall uphold the highest standards in the promotion and protection of human rights” and “fully cooperate with the Council.”[1] Brazil’s voluntary pledges and commitments for the upcoming elections include “strengthening and improving the international human rights system and the HRC in an integral and comprehensive manner, based on its founding principles,” among which are the aforementioned.

Since taking office in January 2023, your administration has taken a strong stance on human rights in foreign policy, including by calling out the incompatibility between democracy and racism, advocating for the right to free primary and secondary education, and committing to promoting women’s rights before the Council. You have also elevated the issues of poverty and hunger and the protection of the environment on the global agenda.

At the same time, we had hoped that you would have taken advantage of your recent interactions with Chinese authorities and of renewed diplomatic ties with Venezuela to condemn the serious human rights abuses taking place under those governments and promote non recurrence. Given that you have also repeatedly shown interest in leading peace talks to bring about an end to the Russia-Ukraine conflict, we had also hoped that you could have included in the center of your calls the need for accountability for serious crimes, in addition to having criticized United States President Joe Biden’s recent decision to send cluster munitions to Ukraine, a move that does not contribute to peace and could put more Ukrainian civilians’ lives at risk for years to come.

We would like to encourage your government to ensure that Brazil plays a greater role in the promotion of human rights worldwide, as mandated by its own constitution, addressing human rights abuses in a principled and consistent manner—regardless of the ideology of any particular government and not driven by geo-political interests—on the basis of the principles of universality and impartiality, which Brazil highlights in its voluntary pledges and commitments.

Continue reading.

[head-post]

Brussels commune suspends twinning with Israeli city, US call for 21-day ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah

Palestinian activists in Belgium are seeking the cancellation of the status of the Brussels municipality of Ixelles and the city of Antwerp as “twin cities” of the Israeli city of Megiddo.

Brussels commune suspends twinning with Israeli Megiddo

Belgian citizen Malika Hamri, the initiator of the initiative, told media that protests have been taking place in front of the Ixelles municipality since June, demanding an end to the sister city relationship established in 2012 between the municipality and Megiddo.

Hamri, originally from Morocco, said that since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas on October 7 last year, they have organised various actions in support of the Palestinians. It was during that time that an agreement to create a sister city between Ixelles – one of Brussels’ most popular communes known for its universities, cultural centres and fashion shops – and Megiddo, home to a prison notorious for torturing and abusing Palestinians, caught their attention.

She said they launched a campaign on Change.org called “Ending of the twinning between Megiddo in Israel and the municipality of Ixelles” and collected more than 1,300 signatures.

Hamri said that in the early days of their protest in front of the municipality building, the Ixel municipality decided to suspend relations with Megiddo. According to her, this was not enough for them and they wanted a complete boycott, so they continued their protest.

Hamri also added that students protesting at universities in Brussels also supported this initiative, and that last week the police wanted to stop their demonstration in front of the municipality, but they continued their silent protest, which they organised without the use of microphones or music. She added:

Sept. 26 is an important date. We will organise our 14th protest, but it will also be a day of consultation. We did request and they did put this issue on the council’s agenda to have an open discussion about which party will support the continuation and which one will end it so citizens can know exactly what the stance is of any political party.

Hezbollah destroyed an Israeli explosives factory

Hezbollah announced that its fighters bombed an explosives factory in the Zichron neighbourhood, firing a salvo of Fadi 3 rockets.

The Islamic Resistance also shelled the settlement of “Kiryat Motzkin” with a barrage of Fadi 1 rockets.

US, allies call for “immediate” ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah

The US, France and other allies on Wednesday jointly called for an “immediate” 21-day ceasefire for talks in the escalating conflict between Israel and Hezbollah that has killed more than 600 people in Lebanon in recent days.

A joint statement on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York said the recent fighting was “intolerable and poses an unacceptable risk of wider regional escalation.” The statement said:

We call for an immediate 21-day ceasefire across the Lebanon-Israel border to provide space for diplomacy. We call on all parties, including the governments of Israel and Lebanon, to endorse the temporary ceasefire immediately.

The Israeli and Lebanese governments, as well as Hezbollah, did not immediately respond, but senior US officials said all parties were aware of the call for a ceasefire. Earlier, Israeli and Lebanese officials reiterated their support for the UN resolution that ended the 2006 war between Israel and the Iranian-backed militant group.

The US hopes the new agreement could lead to long-term stability on the border between Israel and Lebanon. Months of firefights between Israel and Hezbollah have displaced tens of thousands of people, and escalating attacks over the past week have renewed fears of a wider war in the Middle East.

US officials said Hezbollah would not sign a ceasefire agreement but believed the Lebanese government would coordinate its agreement with the group. They said they expect Israel to “welcome” the proposal and possibly formally accept it when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses the General Assembly on Friday.

US hopes for release of Gaza hostages

While the agreement covers only the Israel-Lebanon border, US officials have said they want to use the three-week pause in fighting to restart stalled ceasefire and hostage release talks between Israel and Hamas after nearly a year of war in Gaza.

Countries calling for an end to the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah include the US, Australia, Canada, the European Union, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar.

Work on the proposal moved quickly this week, with President Joe Biden’s national security team, led by Secretary of State Antony Blinken and National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, meeting with world leaders in New York and lobbying other countries to support the plan, according to US officials who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss confidential diplomatic conversations.

Blinken first discussed the proposal with France’s foreign minister on Monday and then expanded on it at a dinner with the foreign ministers of all the Group of Seven industrialised democracies.

During a meeting on Wednesday morning with the foreign ministers of the Gulf Cooperation Council member states, Blinken approached Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani and Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan to ask for their approval and received it. Blinken and White House senior adviser Amos Hochstein then met with Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati, who signed the deal.

According to a US official, Sullivan, Hochstein and senior adviser Brett McGurk also spoke with Israeli officials about the proposal. McGurk and Hochstein have been the White House’s main interlocutors in dealing with Israel and Lebanon since the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel that launched the Gaza war.

Officials said the deal crystallised by late Wednesday afternoon during a conversation on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly between Biden and French President Emmanuel Macron. Blinken expects to meet Netanyahu’s top strategic adviser in New York on Thursday before the PM arrives.

Netanyahu says military will keep fighting with “full force” in Lebanon

Israel’s PM appeared to play down hopes of a quick truce with Hezbollah after the US and its allies called for an “immediate” 21-day ceasefire to “provide space for diplomacy.”

In a statement released on Thursday as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu headed to New York to attend the UN General Assembly, his office said only a proposal was on the table and that he had not yet responded to it. The statement also denied that any instruction had been given to ease the fighting on the northern border with Lebanon.

Israeli Foreign Minister Yisrael Katz earlier said the country would continue fighting “with all its strength until victory and the safe return of the people of the north to their homes.”

Hezbollah has also not yet responded to the proposal for a pause in fighting, although Lebanon’s interim Prime Minister Najib Mikati has welcomed it.

Read more HERE

[hibiki-on-the-rock]

Back in late 2023 when Redbull started posting Charles on their main, I truly believed there were some hidden agendas behind the moves. They seemed somehow calculated. Now Redbull are literally posting Charles three days in a row, I only get the feeling they are riding on Charles’ marketability.

At this stage I think it is a forgone conclusion that Charles will renew with Ferrari. However, this winter break Charles clearly shows that <quote @thearchercore> he is building his own brand and trying to distance himself from being JUST a ferrari driver </quote>. I hope this indicates he is preparing himself to break off with Ferrari if Ferrari fails to deliver. He may re-sign with Ferrari but there are enough exit clauses to protect himself.

I used to scratch my head over why Ferrari want to announce C2’s contracts together given that the duration and money are very different. Now I guess if Carols is not going to renew, at least Ferrari can soften the blow by focusing on Charles having the longest contract with Ferrari ever (shrug)

[midwestbramble]

The Harvest Moon

The Harvest moon is the full moon closest to the autumn equinox. All over the world, different cultures have celebrations for this full moon. It takes on this name because at this time (for the three days it is full) the moon rises soon after sunset, allowing farmers a longer period of light while harvesting their crop. Something to truly be thankful for right before the frost.

✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧

Content:

Full Moon in Pisces

Working with the Harvest

Putting it All Together

Conclusion

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Full Moon in Pisces

Last month I talked about looking to see how the full moon lines up with your natal chart for extra information on the energies it is bringing. This Pisces full moon is trine my natal Pluto, meaning there will be some clearing of emotional air to help us get through the rest of this lunar cycle. Pisces moons always require some self-care so it will be good to have that on the agenda to help deal with any emotional upheaval.

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Working with the Harvest

For me the harvest is very literal. I garden and forage to help sustain my family. Someday I would like to expand into keeping animals. That is neither here nor there for this post however. The harvest moon is a time to really look at the garden. I do keep some fall plants going until it gets too cold, however most of the garden is done. I will chop and drop plants that have already died, leaving them to compost in place. Clean up anything that has begun to weave its way into neighbors yards (sorry neighbors!) and bring in fresh compost to renew the depleted soil. If there's enough leaves already on the ground, I will use them as mulch (and the neighbors don't mind if I do some leaf cleanup for them). The strawberries in pots are mulched heavily and brought into the garage where they can overwinter. The last of what I harvest gets preserved over the coming days.

At night I'll hold a housel for the garden spirits. One last hurrah before most of them bed down for the winter.

You don't need a garden to work with the harvest season though. There is plenty out there plant-wise to honor even in a dense city. This may be a good time for you to give honor to the tree outside your apartment building, the bush you've watched flower and then fruit on your walk, or even the dandelion that has stubbornly fought through herbicide and mowing. Look at what's around you, you may find that the Harvest moon doesn't make sense where you are, and if not, what does?

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Putting it All Together

There's so much to do for this full moon it's hard to see how I can combine these two energies together. How can I do so much work and also focus on self-care? I still have basil, sage, lavender, and rosemary growing in the garden. Harvesting the ones with calming properties and asking them to help in a tea or incense while going about my work could be restorative. There's also the fact that working in the garden always helps to my mind to set aside any problems and decompress with my hands in the soil. I can imagine what the situation around the emotional clearing will be, as my family is going through a tough time at the moment. Getting the most out of the garden is essential right now, and should help alleviate some of the worries we have going forward.

This may be a good time for me, personally, to talk to my husband about what we need to focus on. We know when the troubles will end, we just need to get to that point. I could then do some workings to help boost us in those areas. Just one last ask of the garden.

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Conclusion

This post ended up being more of a dump on what is vaguely going on in my own life. Hopefully there was something helpful in there to inspire you. I hope everyone has a wonderful harvest season. I can't wait to see what other's here post about for their own practices.

References:

What is the Harvest Moon? - Farmer's Almanac

[arcxnumvitae]

Complicated Feelings

Silence stretched in the night, the king's room finally at peace. The winter palace remained still, devoid of most of its servants and denizens. Intentionally so, Bal had decided that absconding to the winter palace without the usual retinue would provide more cover to deliver the heir.

Or...heirs.

Mhoirbheinn sat in the chair pulled up next to Bal's bed, and though exhaustion weighed his limbs and sleep called to him he'd be loathe to disturb Bal as the other slept in his bed. After all, Mhoirbheinn's strain had only been a miniscule fraction of what his lover had endured. All to birth not one child, but two. It'd taken some convincing to even get Bal to put the new heirs down and agree to get some much needed rest.

Mhoirbheinn had seen countless battles and caused countless atrocities. The sight of blood and the screams of the pained and dying were as familiar to him as his own breath. Yet watching Bal's agony had been an excruciating misery that the man had been unprepared for. So much pain and anguish, and all for...that?

A vivid gaze rested on the crib that sat on the other side of the bed, only an arm's reach from Bal if he wished it, as he had insisted. Already, his lover had become attached to the two children, the causes of hours of unending agony. Mhoirbheinn couldn't understand it.

Raising to his feet, the man silently strode around the bed to the crib where two tightly wrapped bundles lay inside. Tiny. Fragile. For hands that had shattered bone, it would be all too easy for an accidental, errant move to snuff out their new life in but an instant. The thought unsettled him. It was difficult to believe that the security of Bal's rule of the Unseelie had lain on their shoulders. But they were sired by him as well, shouldn't he feel some sort of stirring emotion at the sight of them? Shouldn't he feel whatever instant latch there was that Bal had felt towards them? Yet there was nothing.

As a red-orange eye peered down at the sleeping heirs, Mhoirbheinn couldn't help but wonder-- what had his father thought upon seeing him for the first time, a baby just as impossibly tiny as the ones before him? Had he stared imperiously down at his bastard heir the same that Mhoirbheinn stared down at the two now? The similarities struck him, both him and his father bringing new life into the world for an agenda, the necessity of an heir. And much like his father, he would have little to do with them, as per the agreement that had been made with Bal prior. Truly, history repeated itself and a soft chuckle echoed into the night from the man.

"Truly, what an unfortunate beginning for the both of you, to be born into a cycle renewed." The words deceptively soft, a wry smile touched the fae's lips. Loose, dark hair slid over his shoulder as his head tilted. "Let's hope Bal can save you then, hm? But, I cannot complain should I ever find myself slain by your hands. It'd be fitting." With that, he turned to return to Bal's side.

It seemed the legacy of the Rathais continued in its own small, twisted way.