#River Water Disputes Act

[scorebetter]

Interstate River Water Disputes Act, 1956

Inter-State River Water Disputes (IWRD) Act since the law is creating more disputes than resolving them

Interstate River Water Disputes Act: Karnataka’s CM has said irrigation projects are bogged down by river water sharing disputes and asked the Center to “revisit the Inter-State River Water Disputes (IWRD) Act since the law is creating more disputes than resolving them.” Interstate River Water Disputes Act, 1956 The IWRD Act, 1956 aims to resolve the water disputes that would arise in the use,…

[blueiscoool]

Remnants of a Legendary Typeface Have Been Rescued From the Thames River

Doves Type was thrown into the water a century ago, following a dispute between its creators.

The depths of the river Thames in London hold many unexpected stories, gleaned from the recovery of prehistoric tools, Roman pottery, medieval jewelry, and much more besides. Yet the tale of the lost (and since recovered) Doves typeface is surely one of the most peculiar.

A little over a century ago, the printer T.J. Cobden-Sanderson took it upon himself to surreptitiously dump every piece of this carefully honed metal letterpress type into the river. It was an act of retribution against his business partner, Emery Walker, whom he believed was attempting to swindle him.

The pair had conceived this idiosyncratic Arts and Crafts typeface when they founded the Doves Press in the London’s Hammersmith neighborhood, in 1900. They worked with draftsman Percy Tiffin and master punch-cutter Edward Prince to faithfully recall the Renaissance clarity of 15th-century Venetian fonts, designed by the revolutionary master typographer Nicolas Jensen.

With its extra-wide capital letters, diamond shaped punctuation and unique off-kilter dots on the letter “i,” Doves Type became the press’s hallmark, surpassing fussier typographic attempts by their friend and sometime collaborator, William Morris.

The letterforms only existed as a unique 16pt edition, meaning that when Cobden-Sanderson decided to “bequeath” every single piece of molded lead to the Thames, he effectively destroyed any prospect of the typeface ever being printed again. That might well have been the case, were it not for several individuals and a particularly tenacious graphic designer.

Robert Green first became fascinated with Doves Type in the mid-2000s, scouring printed editions and online facsimiles, to try and faithfully redraw and digitize every line. In 2013, he released the first downloadable version on typespec, but remained dissatisfied. In October 2014, he decided to take to the river to see if he could find any of the original pieces.

Using historical accounts and Cobden-Sanderson’s diaries, he pinpointed the exact spot where the printer had offloaded his wares, from a shadowy spot on Hammersmith bridge. “I’d only been down there 20 minutes and I found three pieces,” he said. “So, I got in touch with the Port of London Authority and they came down to search in a meticulous spiral.” The team of scuba divers used the rather low-tech tools of a bucket and a sieve to sift through the riverbed.

Green managed to recover a total of 151 sorts (the name for individual pieces of type) out of a possible 500,000. “It’s a tiny fraction, but when I was down by the river on my own, for one second it all felt very cosmic,” he said. “It was like Cobden-Sanderson had dropped the type from the bridge and straight into my hands. Time just collapsed.”

The finds have enabled him to further develop his digitized version and has also connected him with official mudlarks (people who search riverbanks for lost treasures, with special permits issued) who have uncovered even more of the type.

Jason Sandy, an architect, author and member of the Society of Thames Mudlarks, found 12 pieces, which he has donated to Emery Walker’s House at 7 Hammersmith Terrace. This private museum was once home to both business partners, and retains its stunning domestic Arts and Crafts interior.

Much like Green, Sandy was captivated by the Doves Type story, and mounted an exhibition at the house that displays hundreds of these salvaged pieces, including those discovered by Green, as well as mudlarks Lucasz Orlinski and Angus McArthur. The show was supplemented by a whole host of Sandy’s other finds, including jewelry and tools. An extant copy of the Doves English Bible is also on display.

“It is not that unusual to find pieces of type in the river,” Sandy said. “Particularly around Fleet Street, where newspaper typesetters would throw pieces in the water when they couldn’t be bothered to put them back in their cases. But this is a legendary story and we mudlarks love a good challenge.” The community is naturally secretive about exactly where and how things are found. For example, Orlinski has worked under the cover of night with a head torch, to search for treasures at his own mysterious spot on the riverbank.

For Sandy, the thrill comes from the discovery of both rare and everyday artifacts, which can lead to an entirely new line of inquiry: “The Thames is very democratic. It gives you a clear picture of what people have been wearing or using over thousands of years. And it’s not carefully curated by a museum. The river gives up these objects randomly, and you experience these amazing stories of ordinary Londoners. It creates a very tangible connection to the past. Every object leads you down a rabbit hole.”

By Holly Black.

[kemeticdevotee]

Nit, or Neith, Goddess of hunting, wisdom, and weaving.

Nit was a Goddess of many things, and of many backstories. In some myths, she gives birth to Ra (God of the sun and king of the Gods), Sobek (crocodile God), Thoth (God of Wisdom) and more.

Nit is a Goddess of war, hunting, weaving, wisdom, and a protector of the king/creator Goddess. She was one of the four protectors of the deceased, along with Isis, Serket, and Nepthys.

In many myths, she is a virgin Goddess. However, sometimes, she is said to have a husband, which is usually Set or Khnum.

The Egyptians believed that when involked, she could help the people settle arguments and disputes. In the contendings of Seth and Horus, Ra contacts her to pick one to be king. She picks Horus, but gives Seth two wives (Anath and Astarte) as a consolation prize.

She was said to be connected to bodies of water, especially rivers, ponds, and streams.

Symbols

bows and arrows

weaving utensils

shield

Nit symbol 𓋋

sycamore

spiders

spider webs

the colors gray, blue and red

sewing needles

cows

water

Offerings

Water

Arrowheads

Almonds

Depictions of spiders or cows

Weapons

Writing utensils

Milk

Frankincense and myrrh

Bread

Beer

Epithets

Mother of Mothers

Mother of Creation

Virgin

Great Goddess

Divine weaver

Warrior

Wise Woman

Devotional Acts

Learn martial arts

Weaving, sewing, or crocheting

Meditation

Self-reflection

Writing

Learn the art of weaponry or battle

Spend time by bodies of water

Write letters to her

[satoshi-mochida]

Suikoden I & II HD Remaster: Gate Rune and Dunan Unification Wars adds PS5 and Xbox Series versions, launches March 6, 2025 - Gematsu

Suikoden I & II HD Remaster: Gate Rune and Dunan Unification Wars will launch for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch, and PC via Steam on March 6, 2025, Konami announced. The PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series versions are newly announced.

Digital pre-orders are available now for all platforms except Switch, which will begin pre-orders on September 6. Physical edition pre-orders will begin on August 28.

The following downloadable content is included with pre-orders for the digital edition:

57,300 potch – In-game currency

Fortune Orb – Doubles the experience gained by the character that bears it.

Prosperity Orb – Doubles the “potch” gained when winning a battle with the character that bears it.

Here is an overview of the collection, via Konami:

About

A hero’s destiny is written in the Stars. The legendary Konami JRPGs Suikoden I and Suikoden II have now been remastered in high-definition!

The Story of Suikoden I

A once renowned hero turns into a violent tyrant, and an empire falls into decline. A Liberation Army is rising up in an act of rebellion against an oppressive rule. One by one the 108 stars of Destiny gather to shape the course of history.

The Story of Suikoden II

Our story’s hero and his friend Jowy are members of the Unicorn Youth Brigade, which participated in a drawn-out border dispute between the Highland Kingdom and the City-States of Jowstown. A few months earlier, a truth agreement was signed between the two forces, both of which were happy to see an end to the fighting. However, hidden under the momentary peace the fires of a new war continued to smolder…

Key Features

-Graphical Improvements

Pixel sprites and environment art enhanced with new screen effects including lighting, clouds, and shadow animations Flickering flames, smoldering smoke, the movement of leaves and insects, all add up to a lively in-game atmosphere!

The effects and direction have been redesigned, bringing memorable scenes back to life in more beautiful ways!

-New Character Drawings

All character portraits have been updated in HD. Junko Kawano, who designed the characters for the original version of Suikoden released in 1995, has newly re-drawn all the character portraits for Suikoden I HD Remaster: Gate Rune War.

-Sound Improvements

Field Sound – A large number of environmental sounds not found in the original version, such as the sound of running water in the river, wind, insects, and running footsteps, have been added. You can enjoy an immersive experience like never before!

Battle Sound – All sound effects are now in HD. In addition to the impact of the 3D effects, the realistic sound greatly enhances the dynamism of the battles!

-Game System Improvements

Many new features have been added, such as dialogue log, auto-battle, double-speed battles, etc.

Watch a new trailer below.

Release Date Trailer

English

Japanese

[bonefall]

the cats of the park is just frostpaw finally getting some therapy

tbh tho I feel like them being separate from clan life would help her immensely. They’re not so wrapped up in this culture of battle so they have a new and refreshing perspective (and also frost doesn’t have to worry about ulterior motives because they are STAYING AWAY from THAT trainwreck that is the clans)

RE: Nothing in BB!ASC is set in stone until the arc is done BUT

One excellent thing ASC has done with the Park cats that is commendable, is that they're treated as legitimate. Not inferior or malicious. They're just another culture that Frostpaw is going to learn from. The bar is UNDERGROUND but we've finally hopped over it.

So I'd want to keep and acknowledge that.

I think I might have an interesting idea for Frostpaw's journey. Also, side note... I'm thinking BB!ASC will rename every book because these titles are actually awful, im sorry. So I'd call this one ASC: The Source of the River

Gonna jot these down;

So, to begin with, Frostpaw calls the human. While being heavily sedated, she has her first vision of Riverstar.

FROSTPAW DOES NOT HAVE A SPECIAL CONNECTION TO STARCLAN.

She NEVER would. Screw that. Instead-- learning to connect to this vision of Riverstar, to her ancestors and their wisdom, is a SKILL she would learn.

Frame the journey less as Riverstar's Side Quest and more as Frostpaw chasing the Revelation she had while anesthetized.

So when she wakes up, she's thinking about how incomprehensibly VAST Riverstar was. She can't even imagine how there's enough space in the world to contain such a being.

Even the Lake itself... the lake is just a droplet, being suckled like a kit on the teat of the Southern Inlet river

For a second, her troubles seemed like a small flea on the nose of a great, cosmic being. But as she reconnects with the mortal plane after her dream, the flea becomes an infestation. She doesn't know where to begin, or how she can save her Clan.

She thinks back to Riverstar. The river that feeds the Lake. Was that what he was trying to tell her? That she has to follow it to the source?

STOP 1: RIVER WARD

The BB!Tribe is massively overhauled. The Tribe of Rushing Water defines themselves as three Wards (Cave, Mountain, River), connected by living on the same stretch of river.

From them, she learns about connections. They are simply able to call upon each other for all they need, there's no need to "appoint" someone to manage everything.

Families and friends hold each other accountable, networking and negotiating constantly. When the group must act as one, it casts stones.

Their Stoneteller is a religious leader, but all cats connect with their ancestors by personally interpreting omens, even without needing to go see him.

(Contrast to BB!Clans, whose Clerics are the KEEPERS of holy knowledge, and it is a sin to interpret StarClan's will on your own)

Yet, there are downsides. She can see ostracised cats who skirt at the edges of the Ward, especially the descendants of a particular group (called Flicks) that she learns once tried to invade the River Ward.

Though they welcome travellers and have a positive view of Clan cats as "family," she learns that they freeze out those who break taboo. Even for smaller offenses-- social faux pas and personal disputes have caused rifts within the Ward.

And the personal omen interpretation means that two cats can try and justify their feelings with religious commands, leveraging any "soothsayer" (particularly religious cats) connections they have like a social pissing match, unless they're both willing to get dragged to Stoneteller.

From all this, Frostpaw learns that she CAN connect to Riverstar and her ancestors, even if she can't speak to them... and that she must LISTEN. Not allow herself to twist her ancestor's words.

And all the Wards are connected, by the source of a river. Suddenly she answers her question.

"How could the world be big enough to contain a being like Riverstar?" Because water isn't all in one place. It's everywhere. It pools where it can and flows where it cannot.

And yet-- a single people is connected by its water. Three wards, one River. Five Clans, one Lake... three siblings, one belly.

Her heart aches thinking about Curlfeather.

She thinks of when quarreling Tribemates are brought to Stoneteller to arbitrate, and be taught the truth. Brought up the river, to its source at the waterfall.

That has to be it! The source, the BEGINNING.

Stop 2 would be WarriorClan as she heads south, but I'm not sure what they'd teach her yet lmao. Monkeystar says "Hi! Do you want to learn how to play a kazoo"

STOP 3... I'd want to rename the Park Cats. Maybe the New Park cats.

(evil brain: "Neopark. Make terrible petsite joke. Be reincarnated as a lotus flower)

There would also be a BIG recap of Ancient Park culture, and the River Kingdom. Frostpaw knows they had KINGS.

And a lot of aspects that modern Clan cats have-- ceremonial sparring, mentors and apprentices, the Law of the Deputy... those came out of the River Kingdom, before its collapse in the Code Era.

But these cats are NOTHING like the glorious tales of a Kingdom warrior. In fact... this is THE park!

THE park that was destroyed, which King Arc-of-Park lead his people away from. How could it have been ruined if it's still here?

(Reality: the Park was shrunk and landscaped. It was destroyed in that time to the perspective of cats. Maybe she'll have some visions of the past through meditation...)

But the survivors, and those who chose not to follow their King... they remained. And they continue to thrive.

Like canon, have them teach her the ability to meditate. Unlike Tribe cats, meditation is about SIGNS, not OMENS. Omens are physical. Signs are psychic.

(Also i like Bee so im probably gonna keep him as Frosty's yoga coach)

She sees Riverstar a few times, has details of Curlfeather's scheme revealed to her in enough chunks to piece together,

but is eventually bowled over when her best, most productive meditation yet... results in a black shadow.

He has a shining pearlstone adorning his head, and deep, wet pools for eyes. Very few other features can be made out, besides his paw, which is shockingly normal compared to his wraith-like body.

Somehow, Frostpaw understands she is looking at a Patron. But she doesn't know who he is until he tells her, he is King Arc-of-Park.

Though remembered, he is not invoked often. The details of his appearance are lost. All that remains of him is his paw-- carried on in a few expressions and the -paw suffix. The one which Frostpaw herself currently bears.

Since Riverstar, his beloved son, so rarely speaks in straightforward terms, he has come to give Frostpaw her answers.

But before she speaks, trembling with desire for finally FINALLY getting the truth, almost frozen by the sheer volume of things she needs to know, he stops and tells her,

"You have earned the truth, Frostpaw. Be not afraid to ask for what you are owed-- but we only have time for three questions, and I shall ask three in turn."

Question 1: "What did you need me to learn?"

"Many things. How to find your own answers. The perspective of the thousand eyes you've met. The wisdom that only a pilgrimage can bestow. I, too, was no leader before I brought my people up the river, and now you too must save RiverClan. Have you learned what we sought to teach?"

She feels unsure... "I don't think I can know if I have, until I go home."

Even though he has no mouth, she can hear his smile, "That is a yes, child."

Question 2: "What am I learning about RiverClan and its history, if these New Park cats are nothing like my Kingdom ancestors?"

He hums, "You have come to the source of the river, and are vexxed to not find the water that is already swirling downstream? No cat stands in the same river twice, for it is not the same river, and they are not the same cat. Are my people gone, Frostpaw, or do they live on?"

Stunned, her jaw hangs open ever so slightly. She thought she knew the answer right away, but his simple question becomes a riddle on her tongue.

He tells her not to worry. She does not need to answer his questions immediately, as they're running out of time. Ask your last.

Question 3: "...did my mom love me?"

IMMEDIATE, "she did. Child of my distant blood, she loved you like a king loves his prince. Ferociously, ambitiously... selfishly."

He cradles her face in his one, massive, silk-soft paw, like he's reaching out of the shadows, across time itself. His last question, "She put you in a terrible position, didn't she?"

A lifetime's worth of love and agony bubbles out of the kid, "SHE DID. She DID and I never did ANYTHING to deserve this, I did everything she told me, and I just wanted to make her happy, and... and i miss my mom."

When she returns from her trance, she's crying.

But her companions are here to help her unpack all of what she just learned.

Will probably end up letting her recruit a little DND party lmao... maybe one cat from each pit stop. Heartstar shouldn't be the only girlie who's allowed to get expansion packs.

Make a little found family here that Frostpaw returns home with.

RE: NOT. CONFIRMED YET. NONE of this is BB canon yet. Just thoughts I need to get down.

[gardensofthemoon]

OMG 7 FROM THE KISS PROMPT FOR CHENGXIAN IF YOU HAVEN'T ALREADY!!!?!?!?! 🫶🫶

7 - to shut them up. prompt list here

Spring arrives in Yunmeng. Mornings are marked by the call of magpies; the hatchlings cry their hunger, cry when their parents are away, ask for their mother with sorrow tinged in the almost metallic rasp of their song. And as the wind breezes through the branches, it sometimes carries the tentative sound of a dizi joining in the melody. Jiang Cheng listens with a hook in his heart, and when the flute notes turn faint he closes the door.

Wei Wuxian doesn’t make his appearance for the rest of the day. It’s become a habit. Probably lazing around in some back-alley tavern drinking until he drops—Jiang Cheng swallows back the river of hurt. Who has the time for self-indulgent misery anyway.

Building back the sect takes up all his energy these days. Unlike the war when he’d been high-strung and brimming with adrenaline, sleeping lightly and always prepared for another attack, barely eating unless sweet-talked into it by jiejie, his days are cluttered with mundane tasks from daybreak till nightfall. Overseeing training, solving petty disputes with the neighbouring sects, negotiating trade contracts, worrying where he’d produce the funds to repair the eastern docks collapsed after a flood. Without the golden core singing-spinning inside him—and what a wonder, to have it restored by Baoshan Sanren even stronger than before—he doesn’t know how he’d manage.

His back aches after spending the afternoon responding to Sect Leader Yao’s countless letters. He thinks the sun is setting soon, drowning slowly in the lotus lake.

He comes—bursts in the office as the golden light limns his eyes in red. “Jiang Cheng!”

Wei Wuxian assails him with cold fingers grazing his cheeks. “Ah, Jiang Cheng, you’re fine, thank fuck.”

He tries to push Wei Wuxian’s hands away. “Now you deign to come home?”

He’s ignored. Wei Wuxian charts his face with frantic hands. “I dreamt you were dead, I was so afraid.” His eyes are deep wells of shivering darkness.

“Dreamt?” Jiang Cheng feels a sudden spike of bitter anger. Wei Wuxian doesn’t seem to notice it.

“Fell asleep on a rooftop, you know, the wine Auntie Liu sells is some of the best stuff around.”

It’s Jiang Cheng’s fault for holding out hope that Wei Wuxian will honour his promise. Sometimes he wonders if Wei Wuxian even remembers, then chides himself for being so needy he clings to words that had no meaning behind them but a momentary comfort, when clearly Wei Wuxian can’t be bothered to be by his side and would rather be running around and away. And who wouldn’t.

“Shidi, don’t be mad,” Wei Wuxian drawls, rubbing the furrow between Jiang Cheng’s brows, “next time I’ll bring you a jar. Two, even! How does that sound?”

Like hell, that’s how. Wei Wuxian’s promises sink into him like stones at the bottom of a lake, gathering heavy in his pit.

“The fuck’s wrong with you,” he grumbles. Winces at the harshness in his voice—he doesn’t mean it, not like this, not when Wei Wuxian acts so different and he doesn’t know what’s wrong or how to help him—

Wei Wuxian stills. His smile is watery. Carefully, he releases Jiang Cheng; the absence of his touch feels like ghostly fingers caressing his face. “Nothing’s wrong, Jiang Cheng,” he says tiredly. “Just—bored. Of this. Of everything.”

“That’s not—” Jiang Cheng grabs his wrist before Wei Wuxian can retreat—run. “Do you know how you make me look, skipping your duties to fuck off somewhere else? Bored?”

Wei Wuxian’s gaze trembles, mists, then he rolls his eyes. “Not this again. Gonna go if you’re in a mood.”

“Wei Wuxian!” With each attempt to get closer, Wei Wuxian slips through his fingers, a silvery eel sliding through clear waters. “Just tell me—you’re not yourself,” he tries, “and I need to know, you have to tell me—”

Whatever else he wants to say is swallowed up by Wei Wuxian’s mouth. Warm, desperate, still tasting of cheap alcohol. Wei Wuxian cups a hand on his nape, thumb stroking his cheek, and he makes a—sound, like a whimper. “Aw, shidi,” Wei Wuxian says, and his breath brushes against Jiang Cheng’s lips, now swollen with want, “you talk too much.”

Jiang Cheng closes his eyes.

[deadpresidents]

In 1919, his work in Europe done, [Herbert] Hoover returned permanently to the United States. He had lived abroad for twenty years and was something of a stranger in his own land, yet he was so revered that he was courted as a potential Presidential candidate by both political parties. It has often been written that Hoover had been away so long that he didn't know whether he was a Republican or a Democrat. That is not actually true. He had joined the Republican Party in 1909. But it is true that he wasn't terrifically political and had never voted in a Presidential election. In March 1921, he joined Warren G. Harding's Cabinet as Secretary of Commerce. After Harding died suddenly in 1923, he continued in the same post under Calvin Coolidge.

Hoover was a diligent and industrious presence in both administrations, but he was dazzlingly short on endearing qualities. His manner was cold, vain, prickly, and snappish. He never thanked subordinates or inquired about their health or happiness. He had no visible capacity for friendliness or warmth. He did not even like shaking hands. Although Coolidge's sense of humor was that of a slightly backward schoolboy -- one of his favorite japes was to ring all the White House servant bells at once, then hide behind the drapes to savor the confusion that followed -- he did at least have one. Hoover had none. One of his closest associates remarked that in thirty years he had never heard Hoover laugh out loud.

Coolidge kept an exceedingly light hand on the tiller of state. He presided over an administration that was, in the words of one observer, "dedicated to inactivity."...By 1927, Coolidge worked no more than about four and a half hours a day -- "a far lighter schedule than most other Presidents, indeed most other people, have followed," as the political scientist Robert E. Gilbert once observed -- and napped much of the rest of the time. "No other President in my time," recalled the White House usher, "ever slept so much." When not napping, he often sat with his feet in an open desk drawer (a lifelong habit) and counted cars passing on Pennsylvania Avenue.

All this left Herbert Hoover in an ideal position to exert himself outside his areas of formal responsibility, and nothing pleased Herbert Hoover more than conquering new administrative territories. He took a hand in everything -- labor disputes, the regulation of radio, the fixing of airline routes, the supervision of foreign loans, the relief of traffic congestion, the distribution of water rights along major rivers, the price of rubber, the implementation of child hygiene regulations, and much else that often seemed only tangentially related to matters of domestic commerce. He became known to his colleagues as the Secretary of Commerce and Undersecretary of Everything Else...

Coolidge didn't like most people, but he seemed especially not to like Hoover. "That man has offered me unsolicited advice for six years, all of it bad!" Coolidge once barked when the subject of Hoover came up. In April 1927, Coolidge puzzled the world by issuing a statement proclaiming that Hoover would never be appointed Secretary of State...Why Coolidge issued the statement at all, and why with such finality, was a matter that puzzled every political commentator in the country. As Hoover had indicated no desire for the role, and the incumbent, Frank B. Kellogg, no inclination to leave it, they were as bewildered as everyone else.

With withering disdain Coolidge referred to his tireless Commerce Secretary as Wonder Boy, but though he sneered, he was glad to have someone to do so much of his work for him....(W)hen the Mississippi flooded as it never had before, it was to Herbert Hoover that President Coolidge turned. One week after making his enigmatic promise not to promote Hoover to the role of Secretary of State, Coolidge appointed him to head the relief efforts to deal with the emergency. Apart from that one act, Coolidge did nothing. He declined to visit the flooded areas. He declined to make any federal funds available or to call a special session of Congress. He declined to make a national radio broadcast appealing for private donations. He declined to provide the humorist Will Rogers with a message of hope and goodwill that Rogers could read out as part of a national broadcast. He declined to supply twelve signed photographs to be auctioned off for the relief of flood victims.

-- The weird relationship between the equally weird Calvin Coolidge and Herbert Hoover, via One Summer: America, 1927 by Bill Bryson (BOOK | KINDLE | AUDIO), courtesy Anchor Books (2014).

[lilithism1848]

Atrocities US committed against NATIVE AMERICANS

In 2016, the US army corp of engineers approved a Energy Transfer Partners’ proposal to build an oil pipeline near the Standing Rock Indian Reservation, sparking the Dakota Access Pipeline Protests, evoking a brutal response from North Dakota police aided by the National Guard, private security firms, and other law enforcement agencies from surrounding states. The Standing Rock Sioux tribe believes that the pipeline would put the Missouri River, the water source for the reservation, at risk, pointing out two recent spills, a 2010 pipeline spill into the Kalamazoo River in Michigan, which cost over billion to clean up with significant contamination remaining, and a 2015 Bakken crude oil spill into the Yellowstone River in Montana. Police repression has included dogs attacking protesters, spraying water cannons on protesters in sub-freezing temperatures, >700 arrests of Native Americans and ~200 injuries, a highly militarized police force using armored personnel carriers, concussion grenades, mace, Tasers, batons, rubber bullets, and tear gas. In November 2017, the keystone XL pipeline burst, spilling 210,000 gallons of oil in Amherst, South Dakota. 

In 1975, FBI agents attacked AIM activists on the Pine Ridge Reservation, in the ‘Pine Ridge Shootout’. Two FBI agents, and an AIM activist were killed. In two separate trials, the U.S. prosecuted participants in the firefight for the deaths of the agents. AIM members Robert Robideau and Dino Butler were acquitted after asserting that they had acted in self–defense. Leonard Peltier was extradited from Canada and tried separately because of the delay. He was convicted on two counts of first–degree murder for the deaths of the FBI agents and sentenced to two consecutive terms of life in prison, after a trial which is still contentious. He remains in prison.

In 1973, 200 Oglala Lakota and AIM activists occupied the town of Wounded Knee, South Dakota, on the Pine Ridge Reservation, called the Wounded knee incident. They were protesting the reservation’s corrupt US-backed tribal chairman, Dick Wilson, who controlled a private militia, called Guardians of the Oglala Nation (GOONs), funded by the government. FBI, US marshals, and other law enforcement cordoned off the area and attacked the activists with armored vehicles, automatic rifles, machine guns, grenade launchers, and gas shells, resulting in two killed and 13 wounded. Ray Robinson, a civil rights activist who joined the protesters, disappeared during the events and is believed to have been murdered. As food supplies became short, three planes dropped 1,200 pounds of food, but as people scrambled to gather it up, a government helicopter appeared overhead and fired down on them while groundfire came from all sides. After the siege ended in a truce, 120 occupiers were arrested. Wilson stayed in office and in 1974 was re-elected amid charges of intimidation, voter fraud, and other abuses. The rate of violence climbed on the reservation as conflict opened between political factions in the following three years; residents accused Wilson’s private militia of much of it. 

In Nov. 1969, a group of 89 Native Americans occupied Alcatraz Island for 15 months, to gauge the US’s commitment to the Treaty of Fort Laramie (1868), which stated that all abandoned federal land must be returned to native people. Eventually the government cut off all electrical power and all telephone service to the island. In June, a fire of disputed origin destroyed numerous buildings on the island. Left without power, fresh water, and in the face of diminishing public support and sympathy, the number of occupiers began to dwindle. On June 11, 1971, a large force of government officers removed the remaining 15 people from the island.

From its creation in 1968, The American Indian Movement (AIM) has been a target of repression from law enforcement agencies, and surveillance as one of the FBI’s COINTELPRO targets. This includes the wounded knee incident and the pine ridge shootout. 

In 1942 the federal government took privately held Pine Ridge Indian Reservation land owned by tribal members in order to establish the Badlands Bombing Range of 341,725 acres, evicting 125 families. Among the families evicted was that of Pat Cuny, an Oglala Sioux. He fought in World War II in the Battle of the Bulge after surviving torpedoing of his transport in the English Channel. Dewey Beard, a Miniconjou Sioux survivor of the Wounded Knee Massacre, who supported himself by raising horses on his 908-acre allotment received in 1907 was also evicted. The small federal payments were insufficient to enable such persons to buy new properties. In 1955 the 97-year-old Beard testified of earlier mistreatment at Congressional hearings about this project. He said, for “fifty years I have been kicked around. Today there is a hard winter coming. …I might starve to death.”

In 1890, US soldiers killed 150-300 people (including 65 women and 24 children) at Wounded Knee (19-26 people, including two women and eleven children.) on the Lakota Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in the U.S. state of South Dakota. Twenty-five soldiers also died, and 39 were wounded (6 of the wounded later died). At least twenty soldiers were awarded the Medal of Honor. The event was driven by local racism towards the practice of Ghost Dancing, which whites found distasteful, and the Native Americans arming up in response to repeated broken treaties, stolen land, and their bison-herds being hunted to near extinction by the whites.

In 1887, the Dawes Act, and Curtis Act, resulted in the loss of 90 million acres of native-alloted land, and the abolition of many native governments. During the ensuing decades, the Five Civilized Tribes lost 90 million acres of former communal lands, which were sold to non-Natives. In addition, many individuals, unfamiliar with land ownership, became the target of speculators and criminals, were stuck with allotments that were too small for profitable farming, and lost their household lands. Tribe members also suffered from the breakdown of the social structure of the tribes.

Starting in the 1870s, The US army, aided by settlers and private hunters, began a widespread policy of slaughtering bufallo and bison, in order to destroy many tribe’s primary food source, and to starve Native Americans into submission. By 1900, they succeeded; the bufallo population dropped from more than 30 million, to a few hundred. The country’s highest generals, politicians, and presidents including Ulysses S. Grant, saw the destruction of buffalo as solution to the country’s “Indian Problem.” By destroying the food supply of the plains natives, they could more easily move them onto reservations.

Starting in 1830-50, The Trail of Tears was a series of forced removals of Native American nations, including Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek, Seminole, Cherokee people and the African freedmen and slaves who lived among them, from their ancestral homelands in the Southeastern United States to an area west of the Mississippi River that had been designated as Native Territory. The forced relocations were carried out by various government authorities following the passage of the Indian Removal Act in 1830. “Marshaled by guards, hustled by agents, harried by contractors,they were being herded on the way to an unknown and unwelcome destination like a flock of sick sheep.” They went on ox wagons, on horses, on foot, then to be ferried across the MississippiRiver. The army was supposed to organize their trek, but it turned over its job to private contractors who charged the government as much as possible, gave the Indians as little as possible. The Cherokee removal in 1838 (the last forced removal east of the Mississippi) was brought on by the discovery of gold near Dahlonega, Georgia in 1828, resulting in the Georgia Gold Rush. Approximately 2,000-6,000 of the 16,543 relocated Cherokee perished along the way.

In 1848, the California Genocide is a term used to describe the drastic decrease in Native American population in California. The population decreased from ~300,000 in 1769, to 16,000 in 1900. 

The Second Seminole War, also known as the Florida War, was a conflict from 1835 to 1842 in Florida between various groups of Native Americans collectively known as Seminoles and the United States, part of a series of conflicts called the Seminole Wars. The Second Seminole War, often referred to as the Seminole War, is regarded as “the longest and most costly of the Indian conflicts of the United States.” ~3000 seminoles were killed, and 4000 were deported to Indian territory elsewhere. 

In 1832, the Black Hawk War, was a brief 1832 conflict between the United States and Native Americans led by Black Hawk, a Sauk leader, in Illinois. The war gave impetus to the US policy of Indian removal, in which Native American tribes were pressured to sell their lands and move west of the Mississippi River and stay there. Over 500 Native Americans were killed in the conflict.

In 1832, the Chickasaw Indians were forced by the US to sell their country in 1832 and move to Indian Territory (Oklahoma) during the era of Indian Removal in the 1830s.

In 1813, the Creek War, was a war between the US, lead by the then notorious indian-hunter Andrew Jackson, and the Creek nation, residing primarily in Alabama. Over 1,500 creeks were killed. The war effectively ended with the Treaty of Fort Jackson, where General Andrew Jackson insisted that the Creek confederacy cede more than 21 million acres of land from southern Georgia and central Alabama. These lands were taken from allied Creek as well as Red Sticks. In 1814, Andrew Jackson became famous for his role in the Battle of Horseshoe Bend, where his side killed more than 800 Creeks. Under Jackson, and the man he chose to succeed him, Martin Van Buren, 70,000 Indians east of the Mississippi were forced westward.

The Red Sticks, a faction of Muscogee Creek people in the American Southeast, led a resistance movement against European-American encroachment and assimilation; tensions culminated in the outbreak of the Creek War in 1813.

From 1785-96, the Northwest Indian War was a war between the US and a confederation of numerous Native American tribes, with support from the British, for control of the Northwest Territory. President George Washington directed the United States Army to enforce U.S. sovereignty over the territory. Over 1,000 Native Americans were killed in the bloody conflict.

In the 1800s, Indian removal was a policy of the United States government whereby Native Americans were forcibly removed from their ancestral homelands in the eastern United States to lands west of the Mississippi River, thereafter known as Indian Territory. That policy has been characterized by some scholars as part of a long-term genocide of Native Americans. 

The Texan-Indian Wars were a series of 19th-century conflicts between settlers in Texas and the Southern Plains Indians. Its hard to approximate the number of deaths from the conflicts, but the Indian population in Texas decreased from 20,000 to 8,000 by 1875.

The Indian Wars is a name given to the collection of over 40 conflicts and wars between Native Americans and US settlers. The US census bureau reports that they have cost the lives of about 19,000 white men, women and children, including those killed in individual combats, and the lives of about 30,000 Indians. The actual number of killed and wounded Indians must be very much higher than the number given… Fifty percent additional would be a safe estimate.

From 1500-1900s, European and later US colonists and authorities displaced and committed genocide on the Native American Population. Ward Churchill characterizes the reduction of the North American Indian population from an estimated 12 million in 1500 to barely 237,000 in 1900 as a “vast genocide.. the most sustained on record.

[demifiendrsa]

Suikoden I&II HD Remaster Gate Rune and Dunan Unification Wars | Release Date Trailer

Suikoden I & II HD Remaster: Gate Rune and Dunan Unification Wars will launch for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC via Steam on March 6, 2025.

Digital pre-orders are available now for all platforms except Switch, which will begin pre-orders on September 6. Physical edition pre-orders will begin on August 28.

The following downloadable content is included with pre-orders for the digital edition:

57,300 potch – In-game currency

Fortune Orb – Doubles the experience gained by the character that bears it.

Prosperity Orb – Doubles the “potch” gained when winning a battle with the character that bears it.

Overview

About

A hero’s destiny is written in the Stars.

The legendary Konami JRPGs Suikoden I and Suikoden II have now been remastered in high-definition!

The Story of Suikoden I

A once renowned hero turns into a violent tyrant, and an empire falls into decline.

A Liberation Army is rising up in an act of rebellion against an oppressive rule.

One by one the 108 stars of Destiny gather to shape the course of history.

The Story of Suikoden II

Our story’s hero and his friend Jowy are members of the Unicorn Youth Brigade, which participated in a drawn-out border dispute between the Highland Kingdom and the City-States of Jowstown.

A few months earlier, a truth agreement was signed between the two forces, both of which were happy to see an end to the fighting.

However, hidden under the momentary peace the fires of a new war continued to smolder…

Key Features

Graphical Improvements

Pixel sprites and environment art enhanced with new screen effects including lighting, clouds, and shadow animations Flickering flames, smoldering smoke, the movement of leaves and insects, all add up to a lively in-game atmosphere!

The effects and direction have been redesigned, bringing memorable scenes back to life in more beautiful ways!

New Character Drawings

All character portraits have been updated in HD. Junko Kawano, who designed the characters for the original version of Suikoden released in 1995, has newly re-drawn all the character portraits for Suikoden I HD Remaster: Gate Rune War.

Sound Improvements

Field Sound – A large number of environmental sounds not found in the original version, such as the sound of running water in the river, wind, insects, and running footsteps, have been added. You can enjoy an immersive experience like never before!

Battle Sound – All sound effects are now in HD. In addition to the impact of the 3D effects, the realistic sound greatly enhances the dynamism of the battles!

Game System Improvements

Many new features have been added, such as dialogue log, auto-battle, double-speed battles, etc.

[theprayerfulword]

May 29

Acts 5:29 Peter and the other apostles replied: "We must obey God rather than men!"

Isaiah 41:13 For I hold you by your right hand— I, the Lord your God. And I say to you, ‘Don’t be afraid. I am here to help you.

Acts 5:41 The apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name.

James 1:2 Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy.

2 Corinthians 1:20 For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us.

John 7:38 He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, 'From his innermost being shall flow rivers of living water.'

May you know that you have an Advocate with the Father, pleading your case, as the Comforter is working in your heart to bring conviction which leads to repentance, which brings hope and restoration. 2 Samuel 14

May you prefer the wisdom of God's righteousness and the reverent obedience of humility which brings beauty in God's sight to your soul, rather than the outward beauty which, for a time, may cover the deformity of a person's prideful and arrogant heart. 2 Samuel 14

May you have the grace from God to discern the insolence behind the words which come from an unrepentant heart, though couched in subservient terms, lest the bitterness it contains come to fruition with great sorrow and pain. 2 Samuel 14

May you trust in God's provision and patiently wait on God's timing to bring to you the things you need for the tasks He assigns, knowing that He will prepare your heart and make you ready, for He will not be so unloving as to give you authority or power before you are matured enough to act responsibly with it. 2 Samuel 15

May you wear the world loosely, not grasping or defending what you have in your hand, clinging only to God in all circumstances, desiring simply that others not suffer when disputes arise, preferring rather to suffer loss and indignities for a time than to bring reproach to the name of the Lord. 2 Samuel 15, 1 Corinthians 6

May you have the same mind in you as did Jesus, Who withdrew when worldly authority would have been thrust upon Him, but stepped forward when His Father's work was at hand, though it meant suffering, which He endured for the joy of the fellowship which would be attained. John 18

May you have, when needed, the Spirit in abundance so that when others do you injury unjustly, you do not respond with passionate resentment, but reason with them redemptively. John 18

I do not allow the proud or arrogant will to stand before Me, My chosen one, for that is rebellion against Me and rejection of the sovereignty of My Son. He, alone, is the One whom I have set over all kings and kingdoms, and given authority over all powers and principalities. For that cause did I cast down the portion of My angelic creation who adhered to and agreed with the aspirations of Lucifer. Though he sang My praise, he desired My place, and the impurity in his heart became evil in his thoughts and rebellion in his hands. My Son lived as a man to bring redemption to men, and those who come to Me through His blood are purged and cleansed, threshed and winnowed, so that no arrogance, no pride, no self-sufficiency will remain. Look to your heart and mind, humbling yourself lest any seed remain to take root and grow, causing harm and loss of the prize that you strive for. It is My mercy and compassion, expressed through My Son, that cleanses the temple before righteous judgment can bring My wrath. Follow My Spirit Who will lead you in the way you must go, for He knows My mind and His leading is true and sure.

May you love God's law and meditate on it all day long, for His commands make you wiser than your enemies, give you more insight than all your teachers, and grant you more understanding than the elders since you keep His promises ever with you, meditate day and night on His ways, and ever obey His precepts. Psalm 119

May you keep your feet from every evil path so that you might obey His word and not depart from His laws, for the Lord Himself has taught you. Psalm 119

May God's word be a lamp to your feet and a light for your path. Psalm 119

May you not stray from God's precepts nor forget His law, though you constantly face attack from the wicked who set a snare for you, for the Lord will preserve your life, just as He has promised, as He accepts the willing praise from your mouth in the midst of your fight. Psalm 119

May your heart be set on keeping God's statutes to the very end for they are your heritage forever and the source of joy to your heart. Psalm 119

May you walk in righteousness and godliness, though you have few possessions and little gain, rather than dishonesty and injustice, though it brings abundant income and much property. Proverbs 16:8

May what you have come to you in righteousness, be held in righteous claim, be used in a righteous manner, be invested in righteous purposes, and attended with a life of righteousness and holiness of Christ. Proverbs 16:8

May your preparation and planning of your journey and purpose give room for God to direct your steps on the way to your destination. Proverbs 16:9

[ltwilliammowett]

The Zong affair

J.M.W. Turner took up a serious incident in 1840 and expressed it in a painting. The incident was the so-called Zong Affair, which changed the attitude towards the British slave trade.

The Slave Ship, by J.M.W. Turner, 1840 (x) 

The Zong was until 1777 a Dutch slaver under the name Zorg and after her carpering she belonged to William Gregson and George Case, two well known merchants in the city of Liverpool and former mayors of the city. She sailed from the west coast of Africa on September 6, 1781 with 442 Africans bought as slaves on board, which made the ship completely overloaded and so she did not have sufficient supplies for such a large number of slaves. The poor people were chained in pairs, right leg and left leg, right hand and left hand, each of them having less space than a man in a coffin. The journey took nearly two months, and during that time most of the slaves were malnourished and suffering from disease. Captain Collingwood had lost his way in the Caribbean, which further prolonged the voyage. 60 slaves and 7 crew members had already died, and Collingwood knew that those who survived in poor condition would not fetch a high price on the slave market. He decided to use the lack of fresh water as an excuse to note that his "crew was endangered" to justify throwing 133 living slaves overboard. A reason that had a sinister background.

55 more were thrown overboard on November 29, and another 42 on November 30. A heavy rainstorm the following day provided fresh water, but another 26 slaves were thrown overboard that day, and another 10 jumped in to defy the captain, hugging each other as they sank. It was later claimed that the slaves were thrown overboard for the safety of the ship, as the ship did not have enough water to keep them alive for the rest of the voyage. This claim was later refuted as the ship still had 420 gallons (1910 liters) of water when it arrived in Jamaica on December 22. Let's move on to the reason why Captain Collingwood threw the people overboard alive. Behind it was an insurance policy. Because if a slave died on board, the insurers would not pay, seeing this as "poor cargo management." They would only pay the full sum insured if a slave went overboard alive. The owners demanded £30 per head from the insurers, which was disputed. The owners' lawyer argued, "These people are not charged with murder at all, there is not the slightest allegation”. After the insurers appealed, Lord Chief Justice Manfield upheld the shipowners: "The question left to the jury was whether it was necessary that the slaves should be thrown into the sea, for they had no doubt that the case of the slaves was the same as if horses had been thrown overboard." This ruling that removal was lawful led to a significant turning point in abolitionist campaigns.

The nondenominational Society for the Abolition of the Slave Trade was founded in 1787. The following year, Parliament passed the first law regulating the slave trade, the Slave Trade Act of 1788, to limit the number of slaves per ship. In 1791, Parliament prohibited insurance companies from compensating shipowners when enslaved Africans were murdered by being thrown overboard. A monument to enslaved Africans murdered on Zong was erected in Black River, Jamaica.

[scorebetter]

Kalasa-Banduri Nala Project

Kalasa-Banduri Nala Project: Karnataka’s decision to go ahead with a water diversion project on the river Mahadayi has escalated its long-standing dispute on the issue with neighboring Goa.

Kalasa-Banduri Nala Project: Karnataka’s decision to go ahead with a water diversion project on the river Mahadayi has escalated its long-standing dispute on the issue with neighboring Goa. What is the Kalasa-Banduri Nala Project? The Kalasa Banduri Nala project aims to divert water from Mahadayi to satisfy the drinking water needs of Belagavi, Dharwad, Bagalkot and Gadag districts. Though the…

[ir0nskin]

I read the Spirit prequel books lately and i have some thoughts;

All the main character horses are separated from their herds somehow. Bonito flees a war, Sierra was spooked by wolf and got lost, Ezperenza was separated by a tornado/a storm.

All the mares seem to become - or end up acting as - lead mares.

I kept getting confused with all the stallions called S-names. Storm, Strider, Shadow.

Paco is my favourite character by FAR. Go little donkey, go!!!

Sierra attacks a wolf and other horses join in and stamp on it until it dies.

Pretty sure Bonita is from Texas. The fighting that led to her being set loose by Maria sounds like the Texas/Mexico border dispute, so that would set the story in 1846. (Had to Google, I am not American!)

Spirit seems to know what a stillborn foal is, and has seen/known a horse carried away by water.

The horse that is whipped by the man when pulling the train (Spirit tried to bite him) is a mare.

Little Creek was washed down the river, too. He also seems to be a young adult, not quite considered an adult (by Spirit, at least.)

The canyon is the Grand Canyon.

The train line seems to be very close to Homeland. Probably closer than we realise.

The railroad was connected to Utah in 1869, and in the movie they are still building it, that with the rough date Bonita was set loose sets the events within a 20 year gap. (I don't know if the movies have an official time period.) The US cavalry was made in 1861, and spirit was taken there, so it seems to be after 1861, at least.

[mlleclaudine]

Remnants of a Legendary Typeface Have Been Rescued From the River Thames

Doves Type was thrown into the water a century ago, following a dispute between its creators.

by Holly Black - Artnet, May 5, 2024

Doves Type recovered by Robert Green, 2014. Photo Matthew Williams Ellis

The depths of the river Thames in London hold many unexpected stories, gleaned from the recovery of prehistoric tools, Roman pottery, medieval jewelry, and much more besides. Yet the tale of the lost (and since recovered) Doves typeface is surely one of the most peculiar.

A little over a century ago, the printer T.J. Cobden-Sanderson took it upon himself to surreptitiously dump every piece of this carefully honed metal letterpress type into the river. It was an act of retribution against his business partner, Emery Walker, whom he believed was attempting to swindle him.

The pair had conceived this idiosyncratic Arts and Crafts typeface when they founded the Doves Press in the London’s Hammersmith neighborhood, in 1900. They worked with draftsman Percy Tiffin and master punch-cutter Edward Prince to faithfully recall the Renaissance clarity of 15th-century Venetian fonts, designed by the revolutionary master typographer Nicolas Jensen.

Doves Type recovered by Robert Green, 2014. Photo Matthew Williams Ellis

With its extra-wide capital letters, diamond shaped punctuation and unique off-kilter dots on the letter “i,” Doves Type became the press’s hallmark, surpassing fussier typographic attempts by their friend and sometime collaborator, William Morris.

The letterforms only existed as a unique 16pt edition, meaning that when Cobden-Sanderson decided to “bequeath” every single piece of molded lead to the Thames, he effectively destroyed any prospect of the typeface ever being printed again. That might well have been the case, were it not for several individuals and a particularly tenacious graphic designer.

Robert Green first became fascinated with Doves Type in the mid-2000s, scouring printed editions and online facsimiles, to try and faithfully redraw and digitize every line. In 2013, he released the first downloadable version on typespec, but remained dissatisfied. In October 2014, he decided to take to the river to see if he could find any of the original pieces.

Doves Type recovered and held here by Lukasz Orlinski at Emery Walker’s House. Photo: Lucinda MacPherson.

Using historical accounts and Cobden-Sanderson’s diaries, he pinpointed the exact spot where the printer had offloaded his wares, from a shadowy spot on Hammersmith bridge. “I’d only been down there 20 minutes and I found three pieces,” he said. “So, I got in touch with the Port of London Authority and they came down to search in a meticulous spiral.” The team of scuba divers used the rather low-tech tools of a bucket and a sieve to sift through the riverbed.

Green managed to recover a total of 151 sorts (the name for individual pieces of type) out of a possible 500,000. “It’s a tiny fraction, but when I was down by the river on my own, for one second it all felt very cosmic,” he said. “It was like Cobden-Sanderson had dropped the type from the bridge and straight into my hands. Time just collapsed.”

The finds have enabled him to further develop his digitized version and has also connected him with official mudlarks (people who search riverbanks for lost treasures, with special permits issued) who have uncovered even more of the type.

A mudlark by the Thames with Hammersmith Bridge in background. Photo: Lucinda MacPherson.

Jason Sandy, an architect, author and member of the Society of Thames Mudlarks, found 12 pieces, which he has donated to Emery Walker’s House at 7 Hammersmith Terrace. This private museum was once home to both business partners, and retains its stunning domestic Arts and Crafts interior.

Much like Green, Sandy was captivated by the Doves Type story, and mounted an exhibition at the house that displays hundreds of these salvaged pieces, including those discovered by Green, as well as mudlarks Lucasz Orlinski and Angus McArthur. The show was supplemented by a whole host of Sandy’s other finds, including jewelry and tools. An extant copy of the Doves English Bible is also on display.

The Doves Bible returns to Emery Walker’s House. Photo: Lucinda MacPherson.

“It is not that unusual to find pieces of type in the river,” Sandy said. “Particularly around Fleet Street, where newspaper typesetters would throw pieces in the water when they couldn’t be bothered to put them back in their cases. But this is a legendary story and we mudlarks love a good challenge.” The community is naturally secretive about exactly where and how things are found. For example, Orlinski has worked under the cover of night with a head torch, to search for treasures at his own mysterious spot on the riverbank.

For Sandy, the thrill comes from the discovery of both rare and everyday artifacts, which can lead to an entirely new line of inquiry: “The Thames is very democratic. It gives you a clear picture of what people have been wearing or using over thousands of years. And it’s not carefully curated by a museum. The river gives up these objects randomly, and you experience these amazing stories of ordinary Londoners. It creates a very tangible connection to the past. Every object leads you down a rabbit hole.”

“Mudlarking: Unearthing London’s Past” is at Emery Walker’s House, 7 Hammersmith Terrace, London, through May 30.

[luciiferous]

Mau: Biology and Basics

[This is the first of a lot of these! I'll be compiling a bunch of my worldbuilding notes into a big masterpost later on, and adding more art to build off the concepts here]

Both the present-day Manticore and Sphinx ethnicities derived from the same ancestor, the Mau, on the continent of Kha.

The earliest Mau were once small, quadrupedal felines with monkey-like faces and long appendages, bearing rudimentary digits with opposable thumbs on their forepaws. Early on, they were only about three feet in length from nose to tail, with the length of the tail making up around 1/3rd of their body. Their fur was short and sleek, often tawny brown to black in colour, with few discernable patterns besides a countershaded white underbelly and facial stripes that varied between individuals.

These Mau were ambush predators, typically hunting by concealing themselves in the high tree canopies and waiting to pounce upon whatever happened by. They would use their sharp teeth to dislodge the cervical vertebrae, or to shred arteries in the necks of larger victims. Archaeological remains suggest that even early on, females and their daughters sometimes worked as a collaborative unit to take down larger prey, while males were highly solitary, prone to fighting amongst themselves.

After discovering the Waters of the Tongue, the Mau began to change quite drastically in both physical appearance and mental acuity. Their bodies began to grow larger; footprints from this time show a rapid adoption of hind-limb dominance, as their forepaws became more dexterous, allowing them to craft tools. They had started to quickly form not only languages, but simple writing systems as well.

Upon the arrival of dragons into the world, huge ecological shifts began to happen in Kha. With new apex predators to contend with, the Mau were forced out of their native jungles and towards the arid desert regions of the middle continent. By the time they had discovered the Great River which bisected the desert, they had evolved to full bipedalism.

Their contact (and immediate predator/prey dynamic) with the Aos Sí occurred sometime after the foundation of their earliest cities, but before the great cultural schism (See Mau: Cultures). Kha’ash Aos Sí in this age were undoubtedly hunter-gatherers. As they moved through the valley with the changing seasons, the Mau learned to anticipate their arrival and prey upon them in increasingly elaborate ways, as the Aos Sí rapidly advanced to counter their efforts. (See Mau: Interactions with Other Spoken)

It's likely that the Mau first understood them to be another Spoken species by eavesdropping on their camps, learning the patterns and intonations of their words, and watching their behaviour. These early phonetics were passed around, refined, and their meanings discovered by trial and error— used as lures to draw the Aos Sí away from the rest of their group. As resources became segmented and scarce in the lower half of Kha due to emerging territorial disputes, some Aos Sí groups were forced to settle closer to the Great River— and in time, with this increased rate of predation, the Mau began to take on more extreme forms of mimicry.

Their faces began to look more similar to the Aos Sí, their mannerisms more familiar. Their mastery of the language, too, took on a degree of fluency. Mau writing at this time (which had become rather complex) describes the act of speaking with “three tongues”; the “rough” which is their own, the “smooth”, and “the Divine” or magical. As the predominant Mau religion heavily prioritised a strictly binary dualism, the “smooth” languages were thought to be crass and unnecessary (See Mau: Religion). Now, Mau languages typically incorporate a naturalised mixture of “smooth” and “rough”, though records suggest that spell words may have been used almost casually in their early society.

Today, Mau appear as an almost seamless midpoint between Aos Sí and beasts (a sentiment no doubt conjured by an Aos Sí writer). They stand no taller than five-foot six-inches, with sturdy, long tails and digitigrade feet, allowing them to spring from a crouch rather quickly. Running for a sustained amount of time whilst upright is unpleasant, though, and they often fall back into a quadrupedal stance when doing so. Their ligaments are highly mobile, and their spine can flex quite a bit to sustain this posture comfortably.

While they do have five fingers, they possess only four toes on each hind foot (+ a dewclaw). Their heads are smaller and flatter than those of Aos Sí, with large muscles to move their enormous ears. Their skulls have a somewhat shifted foramen magnum and notably lack a bony structure around the orbits, resembling a feline skull more closely in this regard. Males may have a short sagittal crest. They possess fewer teeth than any other Spoken, have large auditory bullae, and their skeleton hunches with a naturally stooped posture. Their hindclaws are retractable, but their foreclaws are not.

Both sexes grow manes, and their fur ranges in length from short (common), nearly hairless (highly unusual), to long (an increasingly common mutation, though seen as undesirable). They possess whiskers (superciliary, mandibular, and carpal), and seasonally shed their undercoats. From antiquity to the modern age perfumes have been used to both cover their scent and to prevent fleas, ticks, and other parasites.

Facial markings are present from birth and may include features such as pseudo-eyebrows and facial hair, which is not delineated by sex. The colours of their coats and specific patterns often indicate a great deal of their ancestry, and the Manticore and Sphinx may immediately recognise one another from a great distance. Kittens (or cubs) are born both blind and deaf, though they age swiftly. Up to four kittens may be born at once from a typical pregnancy. It’s common for Mau to retain up to 6 nipples, though typically at least 2 are vestigial. Breast tissue does not begin to show until pregnancy, and may remain for the duration of the Mau’s life, or shrink back almost completely.

Sibling dynamics can be quite hostile among Mau of different sexes, as young males are forced out of the home by their sisters once they begin to show even the slightest hints of puberty. Even mothers may reject their sons if they linger too long within an area. This contributes to the culture of “roaming males”, who would’ve historically wandered from location to location in search of a mate, or moved into specialised roles within more sedentary societies in order to limit incidental contact with their homicidal sisters. These instincts decrease with age, but if left unchecked, fratricide is an exceptionally common cause of death.

[reasoningdaily]

Gov. Greg Abbott will have to remove the floating buoy barrier he deployed in the Rio Grande without federal permission by the end of next week, a judge ruled Wednesday.

It’s a victory for the U.S. Justice Department, which has contended that Abbott violated federal law by deploying the barriers near Eagle Pass without first getting clearance from the Army Corps of Engineers. The Army Corps has oversight of all navigable waterways in the United States.

BACKGROUND: Texas scrambles to reposition buoy barrier in Rio Grande before court hearing

Abbott said he would appeal the ruling. "Texas is prepared to take this fight all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court,” the Republican governor posted on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Just minutes after posting that message, his attorneys officially filed their appeal.

Abbott’s attorneys had argued that the barriers were not the type of structure that needed review by the Army Corps. In addition, they claimed that the Rio Grande, despite being one of the largest rivers in America, doesn't count as a navigable waterway because it doesn't include commercial shipping.

Judge David A. Ezra wasn’t moved by either argument, granting the Justice Department’s request that Abbott remove the barriers by Sept. 15.

Ezra said Congress determined long ago that the Rio Grande was navigable and no other body can change that designation.

"Once a water is found to be navigable by Congress, it remains so until Congress, not the courts, declares otherwise," Ezra wrote.

In addition, Ezra disputed the state's claim that the buoys were not subject to the federal Rivers and Harbors Act, saying the "floating barrier interferes with or diminishes the navigable capacity."

READ MORE: Republicans invoke Noah’s Ark in court to defend Greg Abbott’s border buoys

Abbott has featured the buoys as his latest phase of Operation Lone Star, the border security program that has also sent thousands of National Guard troops to the border, shipped migrants to other states, and deployed miles of razor wire along the Rio Grande to deter border crossings.

Abbott said he’s taking action along the border because of the federal government's inability to stop migrant crossings into Texas. Over the last two years, border patrol has encountered more than 4 million people along the entire southern border with Mexico. That is double the number of encounters from the previous two years.

Abbott has used those numbers to justify his border patrol program, which is costing taxpayers nearly $5 billion annually.

“I will do whatever I have to do to defend our state from the invasion of the Mexican drug cartels and others who are trying to come into our country illegally,” Abbott said last month in a speech to Republican officials. “I will protect our sovereignty.” 

While there has been a surge along the border over the last two years, federal data shows the numbers have generally been improving over the last several months. Combined June and July showed the lowest number of border encounters since 2020, when Donald Trump was still president.