#Terminal Block Market

[paullui2002]

The terminal blocks market is projected to reach US$ 6,138.30 million by 2028 from US$ 4,559.97 million in 2022; it is expected to grow at a CAGR of 5.1% from 2022 to 2028.

[electronalytics]

Single-Level Feed-Through Terminal Block Market

[mostlysignssomeportents]

Zuck’s gravity-defying metaverse money-pit

Tomorrow (Oct 31) at 10hPT, the Internet Archive is livestreaming my presentation on my recent book, The Internet Con.

Think of everything that makes you miserable as being caught between two opposing, irresistible, irrefutable truths:

"Anything that can't go on forever eventually stops" (Stein's Law)

"Markets can remain irrational longer than you can remain solvent" (Keynes)

Both of these are true, even though they seemingly contradict one another, and no one embodies that contradiction more perfectly than Mark Zuckerberg.

Take the metaverse.

Zuck's "pivot" to a virtual world he ripped off from a quarter-century old cyberpunk novel (reminder: cyberpunk is a warning, not a suggestion) was born of desperation.

Zuck fancies himself an avatar of the Emperor Augustus (that's why he has that haircut) (no, really). The emperors of antiquity are infamous for getting all weepy when they run out of lands to conquer.

But the lachrymosity of emperors has little causal relationship to the anxieties of tech monopolists! Alexander weeps because he just loves a good conquest and when he finishes conquering the world, he's terminally bored. That's not Zuck's problem at all. When Zuck attains monopoly status, his company develops an autoimmune disorder, as his vicious princelings run out of enemies to destroy and begin to knife one another.

Any monopoly faces these destructive microincentives, but tech is exceptional here because tech has the realtime flexibility and speed that brick-and-mortar businesses can never match:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/02/19/twiddler/

Sociopaths with tech monopolies are worse for the same reason that road-rage would be worse in a flying car: adding new capacity to indiscriminate self-destructive urges turns ordinary car crashes into low-level airburst warfare:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/07/28/microincentives-and-enshittification/

The flexibility of digital gives tech platforms so much latitude to break things in tiny increments. A tech platform is like a Jenga tower composed of infinitely divisible blocks. The Jenga players are the product managers and executives who have run out of the ability to grow by attracting new business thanks to their monopoly dominance. Now they compete with one another to increase the yield from their respective divisions by visiting pain upon the business customers and end users their platform connects. By tiny increments, they increase the product's cost, lower its reliability, and strip it of its utility and then charge rent to restore its functionality:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/10/24/cursed-bigness/#incentives-matter

This is the terminal stage of enshittification, the unstoppable autocannibalism of platforms as they seek to harvest all the value created by business customers and end users, leaving the absolute minimum of residual value needed to keep both stuck to the platform. This is a brittle equilibrium, because the difference between "I hate this service but I just can't stop using it," and "Get me the fuck out of here" is razor-thin.

All it takes is one tiny push – a whistleblower, a livestreamed mass-shooting, a Cambridge Analytica – and people bolt for the doors. This triggers the final stage: the "pivot," which is a tech euphemism for "panic."

For Zuck, the pivot got real after a disappointing earnings call triggered a mass sell-off of Facebook stock, history's worst one-day value incineration, which lopped a quarter of a trillion dollars off the company's market cap:

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-12-19/dramatic-stock-moves-of-2022-led-by-meta-dive-nordic-flash-crash

This was when the metaverse became the company's top priority.

Now, in my theory of enshittification, the step that follows the pivot is death: "Finally, they abuse those business customers to claw back all the value for themselves. Then, they die":

https://pluralistic.net/2023/01/21/potemkin-ai/#hey-guys

Many people have asked me about the conspicuous non-death of Facebook! That's where I have to fall back on Stein's Law: "Anything that can't go on forever eventually stops." Facebook can't continue to annihilate value, alienate its workers, harm the public, hemorrhage money in support of a mediocrity's cherished folly forever. Can it?

Admittedly, it sure seems like it can. Facebook's metaverse pivot has thus far cost the company $46,500,000,000. That is: $46.5 billion. That's even more money than Uber torched, seeking to maintain the illusion that they will be able to create monopolies on both transport and the labor market for driving and recoup the billions the Saudi royal family let them use for the con:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/02/11/bezzlers-gonna-bezzle/#gryft

Don't worry: the Saudi royals are fine! They cashed out at the IPO, collecting a tidy profit at the expense of retail investors who assumed that a pile of shit as big as Uber must have a pony under it, somewhere:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/05/19/fake-it-till-you-make-it/#millennial-lifestyle-subsidy

Uber has doubled the cost of rides and halved drivers' wages, using illegal gimmicks like "algorithmic wage discrimination" to squeeze a little more juice out of the nearly exhausted husks of its workforce:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/04/12/algorithmic-wage-discrimination/#fishers-of-men

But Stein's Law hasn't been repealed. Drivers can't drive for sub-subsistence wages. Do that long enough and they'll literally starve: that's what "subsistence" means. We lost a decade of transit investment thanks to the Uber con, at the same time as traditional taxi drivers were forced out of the industry. Uber can't be profitable and still pay a living wage, and the fantasy of self-driving cars as a means of zeroing out the wage-bill altogether remains stubbornly, lethally unworkable:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/10/09/herbies-revenge/#100-billion-here-100-billion-there-pretty-soon-youre-talking-real-money

Which means we're at the point where you can get off a commuter train at a main station and find yourself stranded: no taxis at the taxi-queue, no busses due for an hour, and no Uber cars available unless you're willing to pay $95 for a ten-minute ride in a luxury SUV (why yes, this did happen to me recently, thanks for asking).

As more and more of us are exposed to these micro-crises, the political will to do something will increase. This can't go on forever. "Don't use commuter rail" isn't a viable option. "Walk three miles each way to the commuter rail station" isn't viable either. Neither is "Pay $95 for an Uber to get to the station." Something's gotta give…eventually.

"Eventually" is the key word here. Remember the corollary of Stein's Law: Keynes's maxim that "markets can remain irrational longer than you can remain solvent." Sure, anything that can't go on forever eventually stops, but that is no guarantee of a soft landing. You can't smoke two packs a day forever – but in the absence of smoking cessation, the eventual terminus of that habit is stage-four lung cancer. Keep hammering butts into your face and your last smoke will come out a crematorium chimney.

Zuckerberg hasn't merely blown a whole-ass Twitter on the metaverse with nothing to show for it – he's gotten richer while doing it! In the past year, his net worth increased by 130%, to $59 billion, thanks to an increase in Facebook's share-price, driven by investors who stubbornly remain irrational, keeping the Boy Emperor solvent long past any reasonable assessment of his performance.

What are these investors betting on? One possibility is that the rise and rise of Facebook's share-price represents a bet on technofeudalism. Since the Communist Manifesto, Marxists have been predicting the end of capitalism. That end seems to have come, but what followed capitalism wasn't socialism, it was the return of feudalism, an economic system where elites derive their wealth from rents, not profits:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/09/28/cloudalists/#cloud-capital

Profit is the income you get from investing in capital – machinery, systems, plant – and then harvesting the surplus value created by workers who mobilize this capital. Capitalism produces massive returns for its winners – in the Manifesto's first chapter, Marx and Engels just geek out about how productive and dynamic this system is.

But capitalism is also a Red Queen's Race, where the winners have to run faster and faster to stay in the same place. Capitalism drives competition, as other would-be winners pile into the sector, replicating the systems that the current winners are using and then improving on them. This is why the prophets of capitalist end-times like the FBI informant Peter Thiel say that "competition is for losers."

Capitalism's "profits" stand in contrast to the feudalist's "rents." Rents are income you get from owning something that other people need to produce things. The capitalist owns the coffee-shop, but the feudalist owns the building. When a rival capitalist opens a superior coffee-shop and drives the old shop out of business, the capitalist loses, but the rentier wins. Now they can rent out an empty storefront in the neighborhood everyone's coming to because of that hot new cafe.

Feudal and manorial lords also made their fortunes by extracting surplus value from workers, but these rentiers don't care about owning the means of production. The peasant in the field pays for their own agricultural equipment and livestock – control over the means of production is necessary for worker liberation, but it's not sufficient. The worker's co-op that owns its factory can still find the value it produces bled off by the landlord who owns the land the factory sits on.

The jury's still out on whether American workers really see themselves as "temporarily embarrassed millionaires," but America's capitalists have a palpable, undeniable loathing for capitalism. The dream of an American "entrepreneur" is *PassiveIncome: money you get from owning something capitalists and/or workers use to create value. Digital technology creates exciting new possibilities for rent-extraction: a taxi-operator had to buy and maintain a car that someone else drove. Uber can offload this hassle onto its drivers and rent out access to the chokepoint it created between drivers and riders, charging all the traffic can bear. This is feudalism in the cloud – or as Yannis Varoufakis calls it, cloudalism.

In Varoufakis's Technofeudalism, he describes Amazon as a feudal venture. From a distance, Amazon seems like a bustling marketplace of manic capitalism, with sellers avidly competing to offer more variety and lower costs in a million independently operated storefronts. But closer inspection reveals that Amazon is a planned economy, not a market.

Every one of those storefronts pays rent to the same landlord – Amazon – which determines which goods can be offered for sale. Amazon sets pricing for those goods, and extracts 45-51% of every dollar those sellers make. Amazon even controls which goods are shelved at eye-height when you enter the store, and which ones are banished to a dusty storeroom in a distant sub-basement you'll never find:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/06/14/flywheel-shyster-and-flywheel/#unfulfilled-by-amazon

Zuck's metaverse is pure-play technofeudalism, Amazon taken to the logical extreme. It's easy to get distracted by the part of Zuck's vision that will convert us all into legless, sexless, heavily surveilled low-resolution cartoon characters. But the real action isn't this digitization of our fleshy wants and needs. Zuck didn't spend $46.5B to torment us.

The cruelty isn't the point of the metaverse.

The point of the metaverse is to rent us out to capitalists.

Zuck doesn't know why we would use the metaverse, but he believes that if he can convince capitalists that we all want to live there, that they'll invest the capital to figure out how to serve us there, and then he can extract rent from those capitalists and start earning "passive income." It's an Uber for Cyberpunk Dystopias play.

Zuck's done this before. Remember the "pivot to video?" Zuckerberg wanted to compete with Youtube, but he didn't want to invest in paying for video production. Videos are really expensive to produce and the median video gets zero views. So Zuck used his captive audience to trick publishers into financing his move into video. He fraudulently told publishers that videos were blowing up on Facebook, outperforming boring old text by vast margins.

Publishers borrowed billions and raised billions more in the capital markets, financing the total conversion of newsrooms from text to video and precipitating a mass extinction event for print journalists. Zuck kept the con alive by giving away (fewer) billions to some of those publishers, falsely claiming that their videos were generating fortunes in advertising revenue. These lucky, credulous publishers became judas goats for their industry, luring others into the con, the same way that the "lucky" guy a carny lets win a giant teddy-bear at the start of the day lures others into putting down $5 to see if they can sink three balls in a rigged peach-basket.

But when we stubbornly refused to watch videos on Facebook, Zuck stopped spreading around these convincer payouts, and precipitated a second mass-extinction event in news media, as the new generation of video journalists joined their predecessors in Facebook-driven unemployment. Given this history, it's surreal to see publishers continue to insist that Facebook is stealing their content, when it is so clearly stealing their money:

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2023/04/saving-news-big-tech

Metaverse is the new Pivot to Video. Zuckerberg is building a new world, which he will own, and he wants rent it to capitalists, who will compete with one another in just the way that Amazon's sellers compete. No matter who wins that competition, Zuckerberg will win. The prize for winning will be a rent increase, as Zuckerberg leverages the fact that your "successful" business relies on Facebook's metaverse to drain off all the value your workers have produced:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/12/18/metaverse-means-pivot-to-video/

This can't last forever, but how long until Zuck's reality distortion field runs out of battery? That's the $46.5B question.

The market can certainly remain irrational for a hell of a long time. But the market isn't the only force that regulates corporate outcomes. Regulators also regulate. Europe's GDPR is now seven years old, and it plainly outlaws Facebook's surveillance.

For nearly a decade, Facebook has pretended that this wasn't true, and they got away with it. Mostly, that's thanks to the fact that Ireland is a corporate crime-haven with a worse-than-useless Data Protection Commission:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/05/15/finnegans-snooze/#dirty-old-town

But anything that can't go on forever will eventually stop. Facebook has finally been dragged into EU federal jurisdiction, where it will face exterminatory fines if it continues to spy on Europeans:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/12/07/luck-of-the-irish/#schrems-revenge

In response, Facebook has rolled out a subscription version of its main service and its anticompetitive acquisition, Instagram:

https://about.fb.com/news/2023/10/facebook-and-instagram-to-offer-subscription-for-no-ads-in-europe/

For €10/month, Facebook will give you an ad-free experience across its service offerings (it's €13/month if you pay through an app, as Facebook recoups the 30% #AdTax rents that the feudal Google/Apple mobile duopoly extracts).

But this doesn't come close to satisfying Facebook's legal obligations under the GDPR. The GDPR doesn't ban ads, it bans spying. Facebook spies on every single internet user, all the time. The apps we use are built with "free" Facebook toolkits that extract rent from the capitalists who make them by harvesting our data as we use their apps. The web-pages we visit have embedded Facebook libraries that do the same thing for web publishers. Facebook buys our data from brokers. Facebook has so many ways of spying on us that there's almost certainly no way for Facebook to stop spying on you, without radically transforming it operation.

To comply with the GDPR, Facebook must halt surveillance advertising altogether. There's no way to square "spying on users" with "you can't surveil without explicit consent, and you can't punish people for refusing."

And of course, "not spying" isn't the same as "not advertising." "Contextual advertising" – where ads are placed based on the thing you're looking at, not who you are and what you do – is hundreds of years old. Context ads underperform surveillance ads by a slim margin – about 5% – but they're vastly more profitable for publishers. That's because surveillance ads are feudal, controlled by rentiers like Facebook, who own vast troves of the surveillance data needed to run these ads. Traditional ad intermediaries (agencies, brokers) took 10-15% out of the total advertising market. Ad-tech companies – the Google/Facebook duopoly – take 51% out of every ad dollar spent.

Eliminate surveillance ads and you torch their feudal estates. Facebook will always know more about someone reading a news article than the publisher – but the publisher will always know more about the article than Facebook does:

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2023/05/save-news-we-must-ban-surveillance-advertising

There are rents under capitalism, just as there are profits under feudalism. The defining characteristic of a system is what happens when rents and profits come into conflict. If profits win – for example, if productive companies beat patent trolls, or if news publishers escape Facebook's rent-extraction – then the system is capitalist. If rents win – if investors continue to bet large on the metaverse as its losses pass $50 billion and head for the $100 billion mark – then the system is feudal.

Anything that can't go on forever will eventually stop. The question isn't whether the platforms will eventually become so enshittified that they die – the question is whether they will go down in an all-consuming fireball, or whether they'll go down in a controlled demolition that lets us evacuate the people they've trapped inside them first:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/07/09/let-the-platforms-burn/

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/10/30/markets-remaining-irrational/#steins-law

Image: Diego Delso (modified) https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Puente_de_las_cataratas_Victoria,_Zambia-Zimbabue,_2018-07-27,_DD_10.jpg

CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

[milkgemini]

Adultery

Pairing: Jake Kiszka X f!reader

Word Count: 3k

Warnings: CHEATING (if you don’t like it, don’t read 😛), smut, minors DNI, fingering (f receiving), unprotected sex, language

.

.

.

.

It’s wrong. 

Those thoughts you’ve been thinking? The made up scenarios you’ve formed in your head? It’s not right. 

There are many layers as to why this case is out of reach. Unfathomable. 

For one, it would be in your best interest to not get fired here. You work for this man. Sleeping with the one you answer to, the person who has the power to terminate you with the snap of his fingers, wouldn’t look good to your boss, huh? 

But let’s cut the shit, and get to the real problem at hand. 

Jake Kiszka is not a single man. 

He has a partner. She is a lovely woman. Whom he’s been involved with for several years. You knew this from the way he spoke of her. Many times you’ve been witness to the rushed FaceTime calls he’s shared with her before stage. 

Oh, and there was that one time you caught yourself with your ear pressed to his dressing room door, listening to the way he spoke to her on the phone. His voice soft and sultry. 

“I miss you” her voice echoed from the other side of the phone. 

“Can you do something for me tonight, babe?” He asked. 

“Anything.” Her voice was desperate. You could hear the way she yearned for him through the phone. 

“Think of me tonight when you slip your fingers below that lace and pleasure yourself. Think of me the entire time. Say my name when you cum.” 

He was taken. Unavailable. Off the market. 

But you didn’t even feel bad. That was the worst part. 

You especially didn’t feel bad that night after eavesdropping on their phone call. You did exactly what he asked of her and thought of him the entire time. Just like most nights. 

But you weren’t crazy. 

There was a reason behind the pining for Jake. Every other time, the subtle flirtatious manner was reciprocated. 

You remember the times where his touch lingered longer than it should have against your skin. 

The times he brought you things like water or a snack, when that was quite literally your job for him. 

And what about that time he specifically instructed you to “remain side stage for the entire show”? 

You weren’t crazy. 

Right?

“30 minutes ‘til stage people. Let’s get a move on.” An annoying voice rang through your radio. 

Do they really have to update us every 10 minutes?

You added some pep to your step, despite the agitation of the constant reminder. 

These places all looked the same behind the scenes. Long boring hallways with a bunch of doors to random places lining the walls. 

The echo of your footsteps reverberated from the concrete floors to the cinder block walls. 

“What’s the rush?” 

Fuck.

The door to his dressing room was cracked. He sat lazily against the couch. His left arm draped over the top of the cushion, his legs crossed. 

That curled smile. Jake had this signature smirk. It was like the Cheshire Cat. Like he knew he would forever get away with the shit he pulled. 

“It- its 25 minutes to show. Shouldn’t you be…” You’ve lost your train of thought at the sight of him rising from the couch, dusting off the imaginary lint from the thigh of his pants. 

“I’m always ready for whatever the night has in store.” He answers your unfinished question, the shit eating grin still plastered across his face. He punctuates his sentence with a pucker of his lips. 

Before you even have time to process, the bathroom door inside the room swings open. 

“Hey babe, what do you think about this dress? Too much?” 

Layla. 

Jake’s long term girlfriend was at the show tonight. Sitting with him in his dressing room before he headed to the stage. Dressing up for him. Doing everything you wished for. 

You stood awkwardly as you watched Jake pull her body into his by the grip of his fingertips on her hips. 

“You look positively radiant tonight.” He reassured her. 

He planted the softest kiss imaginable to her lips - almost as if he intended not to let them meet. 

His eyes quickly shifted to your presence before fixing back on her’s. 

“Will you…. See if you can find Sam for me, love? Got something I want to do before the show.” He tucks her hair behind her ear as if to convince her of the task. 

She nods back at him with those annoying doe eyes. You wonder if she truly is as dull as you assumed. 

“Quickly.” He smacks her ass as she walks away from him. 

You can’t help but roll your eyes as you begin to walk off. 

“Oh do that again for me will you?” Jake calls from the dressing room. 

You peek your head in once more. 

“Excuse me?” Fake annoyance lacing the tone of your voice. 

“What would Layla think if she heard that?” You bring yourself further into the room. 

“And by the way, thats fucked up sending her on a wild goose chase looking for Sam. He’s never in the same spot for more than-“ 

He cuts you off by slamming the door shut, reaching his arm dangerously close next to your head. 

The lock switches beside you. 

“You’re catching on.” 

That fucking smirk. You can hear it when he talks, even if he’s turned his back to you. 

You study the waves of his hair that fall against the back of his suit. 

“You don’t want me like that.��� His back remains to you as he fixes two drinks. 

“What?” You’re nervous. Your voice a high pitched whisper. 

“I see the way you glare at her. You’re jealous. But you don’t want me like that.” He turns back to you offering a glass of amber liquid. Your stomach turns, never being much of a drinker. 

Trying your best not to make a face, you sip at the drink. 

“And how do you know what I want?” A flirtatious edge to your tone. 

He takes a step too close to you. Angling his neck down to meet your face. 

“I know what you want, because you’re just like her. A good girl that wants a good man to treat her right. Shower her with love and reassurance.” 

He brushes the hair behind your ear, just as he did to Layla earlier. 

“But I think there’s something different with you.” He toys with the end of your hair, wrapping it around his pointer finger. 

You don’t even need to ask, he can read the question mark on your face. 

He huffs a laugh to himself with a tight lipped grin. 

Jake trails his fingertips, snaking them through to the hair at the nape of your neck. 

“I think you’re a slut.” He tugs your hair with force, causing you to expose your throat. 

He brings his mouth closer to the sensitive skin there, not letting his lips meet. 

“See, my Layla, she doesn’t have that darkness behind her eyes that I see with you sometimes.” 

The heat of his breath against you raises goosebumps to your skin. 

“She’s sheltered and shy.” He flattens his tongue before dragging it up your neck, stopping just below your earlobe. 

“But with you…” his voice is at a whisper now. 

“With you, I think I could tell you ‘Open up’ and you’d spread so well for me.” 

He kicks your feet apart, opening the space between your legs. 

With his pointer and middle finger, he rubs the inseam of your leggings that follows your slit. 

He watches your face as he starts at the front towards your clit, following the line back towards your entrance. When he reaches, he adds pressure to the circles he creates, pushing into you against the fabric. 

You try your hardest to seem unphased by his lustful actions. 

This isn’t right. Layla will be back any minute now. You think to yourself. 

As if to read your mind he answers, “Better be quick then.” 

Before you can process a response, his mouth meets yours with force. 

His kiss is a parallel opposite of what you witnessed with Layla earlier. 

His kiss with you is intense. Sloppy. Desperate with need. 

Jake licks into your mouth, his tongue sliding over yours. He’s winning the battle of dominance, and you’re surrendering with ease. 

He walks you backwards until he has you pressed against the closest wall. 

In between gasps of air, he groans softly into your mouth. 

You feel the calloused pads of his fingertips against the soft skin below your bellybutton as he tries to slip his hand beneath your leggings. 

Just as fast as he snaked them in, he pulls his hand away. 

You whimper from the loss of contact. 

He breaks the heated kiss from you, panting to catch his breath. 

“Take them off, now” he orders you. 

Immediately you bend at the waist, taking one leg out at a time. 

He studies the bare half of your body before gripping your face by your cheeks. 

With his free hand he holds your neck to angle you just the way he wants you. 

With clenched teeth he growls to you, “Do you always walk around your job with no underwear on like a fucking whore?” 

His words alone cause you to rub your thighs together, craving any sense of friction from remaining untouched to this point. 

He catches you red handed, and slaps the side of your thigh. His forceful touch leaving a sting that makes you want him even more. 

Jake adds pressure to his thumb against your throat. 

“Open.” He orders you once more. 

You obey, spreading your feet apart, inviting him in. 

He laughs softly to himself, “My girl. Such a good listener”

At last, the tip of his middle finger slides with ease through the center of your wetness. 

From the look in his eyes, you can tell he loves to watch your reaction. Loves to see the approval of his work. 

He teases the fingertip at your entrance. You buck your hips in his direction, silently pleading for more. 

“You want it?” He looks down at you. 

Your face is desperate as you nod to him. 

His jaw clenches once more, “Fucking speak up.” 

“Y-yes yes, Jake. I wan-“ 

Before you can finish your words, he shoves both his pointer and middle finger up inside of you, pumping them in and out at a steady rhythm. 

His lips meet yours again. The two of you moaning into each other's mouths in harmony. 

With each pump his fingers, he rocks his hips into you. 

“…there’s something different with you” You think back on his words. 

With your fingers wrapped around his wrist, you tug his hand from you - forcing his digits from inside of you. 

“I want you to fuck me, Jake.” Your eyes lock with his as you watch them turn a darker shade of brown. 

Without a word, he spins you around, your chest pressed against the cold white wall. He arches your hips for you to grant him better access. 

“Fucking dirty.” He pants into your ear. 

One hand is pressed to the side of your face, pushing you further against the wall, while the other fidgets with his belt. 

You hear the sound of it as it hits the floor, his pants  around his ankles. 

“Lift up.” He taps your side, motioning for you to lift your arms above your head. 

With a swift motion he pulls your shirt over your head and tosses it to the floor. 

Your back arches in hopes to close the space between you both. 

Jake swipes your hair to one side, over your shoulder, unclasping your bra with one hand. 

He leans in to press a delicate kiss upon your spine, simultaneously wrapping his arm around your hips to meet your clit with his finger. 

You whine at the sensation of the slow but steady circles he presses into you. 

He grips his length, slapping it against your ass. 

“I’m not going to be nice.” His voice a low groan as he teases you with the tip of his cock, sliding through your slick. 

“Please, Jake” your reply is muffled with your cheek pressed against the wall. 

No warning. No mercy. 

He slams his entire length inside of you to the hilt. The moans spilling out of you are closer to a scream. 

He makes his own ponytail in your hair with his fist, tugging with force. 

He grunts in unison with each pump inside of you. The tip of his cock brushing against your sweet spot with each push. 

The faster he pumps into you, the faster the circles against your clit become. With each swipe, he adds more force, pressing his finger harder against your bud. 

“And when you leave this room…” he pants. 

“Not a word. Not a suspicious look. Nothing.” He punctuates his sentence with a harsh smack to your ass. 

Unable to respond from the overstimulation to your clit, and the pressure inside of you, Jake becomes frustrated. He pulls harder on your hair than he has yet. 

“Do you hear me? Answer me.” Not once does he stop fucking into you. 

“YES, Jake. Yes. Just…” your response is nothing but a whine. 

He reaches around to pinch your nipple between his pointer finger and thumb. He twists and pulls as you feel the warmth pool between your hips. That familiar feeling of your climax approach. 

You grab his wrist again, forcing it back between your legs to your clit. 

“So close” you mumble to him, begging him to finish you off. 

Without hesitation he picks up exactly where he left off. Quick swipes against your throbbing clit. 

He pulls himself all the way out of you, slamming himself back deep inside. 

Your eyes roll to the back of your head. Unsure of how much more you can take. 

Your muscles tighten to an uncomfortable extent as you hear three knocks at his dressing room door. 

“Jake?” The door handle wiggles. 

Immediately he wraps his hand around your mouth as he continues to fuck into you. 

“Not a sound.” He whispers into your ear, his pace slows but his thrusts are deep. 

“Are you in there? Why is the door locked?” Layla whines from outside. 

Jake quickens his pace, both his cock inside of you and his fingers toying with your clit. 

“Let go for me.” His whisper is even more quiet than before. 

He feels your walls begin to tremble and constrict around him. The muscles of your abdomen tense as you prepare your release. 

“That’s it. Keep going. Your pussy feels so much better than hers.” He mumbles into your ear, chasing his own high as well. 

“Jake!!” Layla pounds on the door again, “5 minutes ‘til show. What the fuck are you doing?” 

As the sensation of pleasure washes over you, your senses slip. Your eyes clenched shut, and ears ringing… there is no Layla. There is no show. There is no job. 

Just you. And Jake. And the feeling of him inside of you. 

He pulls out from you abruptly, his release following, sliding down the inside of your thigh. 

He picks his pants up from around his ankles, and quickly fastens his belt. 

You’re left remaining pressed to the wall, unable to move or process anything and everything that just transpired in the small dressing room. 

What am I going to do? How am I going to get out of here without facing Layla? 

Your thoughts paralyze you. 

You feel his tight grip on both of your shoulders as he spins you around to plant a quick kiss to your lips. 

And just like that, he slips through a crack in the door, open just enough so she can’t see inside. 

Frozen in silence, you stand naked in the room alone as you listen to their muffled voices through the closed door. 

“I couldn’t find Sam.” Her voice, defeated. 

Jake clears his throat before responding. 

“Don’t worry about it. I took care of it.” 

Taglist: @gretasimp @writingcold @wowkakashi  @spark-my-nature @gretavanbear

[reasonsforhope]

"A trio of health care bills enshrining access in Colorado to abortion and gender-affirming procedures and medications became law Friday [April 14th] as the Democrat-led state tries to make itself a safe haven for its neighbors, whose Republican leaders are restricting care.

The main goal of the legislation signed by Democratic Gov. Jared Polis is to ensure people in surrounding states and beyond can go to Colorado to have an abortion, begin puberty blockers or receive gender-affirming surgery without fear of prosecution. Bordering states of Wyoming and Oklahoma have passed abortion bans, and Utah has severely restricted transgender care for minors...

The governor’s office was packed with lawmakers, advocates and health care providers, many of them women, for a ceremony with a celebratory feel that resembled a rally at times with loud applause and call-and-response chants.

“We see you and in Colorado, we’ve got your back,” Democratic state Sen. Julie Gonzales said during the ceremony.

With the new laws, Colorado joins Illinois as a progressive peninsula offering reproductive rights to residents of conservative states on three sides. Illinois abortion clinics now serve people living in a 1,800-mile (2,900-kilometer) stretch of 11 Southern states that have largely banned abortion...

Colorado’s southern neighbor, New Mexico, is also controlled by Democrats and signed a similar abortion protection bill earlier this year. It legally shields those who seek abortions or gender-affirming care, and those who provide the treatments, from interstate investigations...

Polis added the first layer of abortion protection a year ago, signing an executive order that bars state agencies from cooperating with out-of-state investigations regarding reproductive healthcare. One of the bills he signed Friday codifies that order into law. Like the New Mexico law, it blocks court summons, subpoenas and search warrants from states that decide to prosecute someone for having an abortion.

Colorado’s abortion law extends the protections to transgender patients dodging restrictions in their own states. Gender-affirming health care has been available for decades, but some states have recently barred minors from accessing it, even with parental consent. Hospitals in some of those states say gender-affirming surgeries are rarely recommended for minors anyway. Puberty blockers are more common.

Also on Friday, Polis signed a measure that outlaws “deceptive practices” by anti-abortion centers, which are known to market themselves as abortion clinics but don’t actually offer the procedure. Instead, they attempt to convince patients to not terminate their pregnancies. The bill also prohibits sites from offering what’s called an abortion pill reversal — and unproven practice to reverse a medical abortion...

A third bill signed Friday requires large employers to offer coverage for the total cost of an abortion, with an exception for those who object on religious grounds. It exempts public employees because Colorado’s constitution forbids the use of public funds for abortions."

-via AP News, 4/14/23

[celestiancrown]

I've seen a lot of discourse about fandoms lately. Lots of people out there being terminally online. Now, I'm just some chick with a blog, but I might offer my two cents. This post mostly concerns antishippers and booktok, but it also has broader implications about censorship as a whole.

I'll start off with a pet peeve.

To me, having a DNI list is pointless and like having a digital sign that says "Kick Me" glued to your ass. It's just a convenient list of triggers and things you don't like provided free of charge to any jackass who wants to ruin your day. Putting everything that pisses you off out as a convenient list and then saying "please don't troll me!" is such a ridiculous concept to me. It doesn't do anything favorable for you at all. Personally, I theorize it's some kind of internet purity signal you put out in hopes that people that hate the same things as you won't assume you're in the out group.

But if you're that concerned about someone you don't like potentially following you, why not either block people you don't like? It might be hard to swallow, but you should accept the fact that putting yourself out there will inevitably result in this and you can't police everything. How terminally online do you have to be to comb through your follower list making sure everyone agrees with you? Who fucking cares?

Need I remind you, the censorship a lot of these people with the big dni lists want is a foot in the door for bad actors to start censoring queer people in media as a whole. We're already seeing it with websites that run on algorithms suppressing leftist and queer opinions and spaces because it's not marketable.

If you're advocating for media to be censored because it has things in it that make you uncomfortable, you're no better than Tipper Gore and the PMRC. You're no better than people who said D&D was the devil and we should all get rid of it because won't someone PLEASE think of the children. You're no better than those religious zealots burning LGBTQ library books in Virginia. I implore everyone reading this post, regardless of your opinions, to examine their perspective on what is acceptable. Is it truly worth the long-term consequences to remove things you deem problematic if the end result is totalitarian?

Sure, I'll probably get cancelled by people for saying this. There's a lotta shit I don't want to read out there. Hell, I don't want to read or experience any of the shit antis are mad about. The difference is just that I don't read it and don't fucking look for it instead of seeking it out and demanding it be erased. Please, I beg you, stop fucking caring so much about the interests of people you're never going to meet. If they make you upset, block them. Censorship isn't worth the consequences, and fiction doesn't affect reality.

[asingularcanadian]

8, 17, and 38 for the ask game 🙂

17. name 3 things that make you happy

bread

timeless themes that make us human

the prince

38. fave song at the moment?

i posted this in the last one i answered but more than one song im loving at the moment all the time

8. recurring dream I'm putting under the cut cause it's long as hell ad i dont wanna do it to yall

man ok so I started dreaming about the city how many years ago now around 2 years ago the first time it was wonderful I used to just refer to them then as dreams about the terminal cause the first few were about interactions I had with a food terminal first time it was just answering around the food terminal buying different things from different vendors and talking and thinking about the recipes I would make with the things I bought basically the experience i have whenever I go to a foreign ingredients market the terminal was in the downtown of a city, the city resembles Toronto in many ways but none of the landmarks are there the second time I dreamed of the terminal it was closed, it was grey and cold outside, the streets were entirely empty and it was eerily quiet i walked up to the building to see if I could see i to any of the windows and inside it was just desolate and dusty

no vendors, small streams of light coming through the mostly boarded up windows I remember feeling so disappointed the third time I dreamed of the terminal it was similar but now there was a flood creeping up from the south side of it by the time I awoke I was up to my lower thighs in water now the 4th time this is where the dreams start shifting to be more about the city I have an approximate map of the layout of the dream city but basically from the left of the building about a block up there's a street that runs east west there was something similar to a trader Joe's/wholefoods, a Japanese import store, a really shitty Italian grocer/bakery, an ulta. a church. and a few other miscellaneous shops and whatnot I dreamt about trying to get to the terminal but not being able to get there cause anytime I turned a corner to try and get close to it buildings would crop up in my way so I perused the shops on that street instead

the next time I dreamed about the city it was east of the terminal, there was like a small food fest pop up restaurant carnival thing I wandered among the makeshift restaurant trailers which started to close in around me, I remember waking up when I was about nearly crushed next time I dreamed about the city was i was in yhe slums outside the city and was trying to get out but the more frantic I was the worse the conditions got

next time after that was i was walking on a railroad track back into the city but the tracks were like warped and twisted in impossible ways and seemed to stretch on nearly forever God then there was the dream about Jimmy's which is a whole side substory of the city saga and then the most recent one I had was a friend of mine and I riding the street car back into the city down the street with all the various shops on it but all of them were closed and boarded up

[religion-is-a-mental-illness]

By: Toadworrier

Published: Mar 18, 2024

As of 23 February 2024, Google’s new-model AI chatbot, Gemini, has been debarred from creating images of people, because it can’t resist drawing racist ones. It’s not that it is producing bigoted caricatures—the problem is that it is curiously reluctant to draw white people. When asked to produce images of popes, Vikings, or German soldiers from World War II, it keeps presenting figures that are black and often female. This is racist in two directions: it is erasing white people, while putting Nazis in blackface. The company has had to apologise for producing a service that is historically inaccurate and—what for an engineering company is perhaps even worse—broken.

This cock-up raises many questions, but the one that sticks in my mind is: Why didn’t anyone at Google notice this during development? At one level, the answer is obvious: this behaviour is not some bug that merely went unnoticed; it was deliberately engineered. After all, an unguided mechanical process is not going to figure out what Nazi uniforms looked like while somehow drawing the conclusion that the soldiers in them looked like Africans. Indeed, some of the texts that Gemini provides along with the images hint that it is secretly rewriting users’ prompts to request more “diversity.”

[ Source: https://www.piratewires.com/p/google-gemini-race-art ]

The real questions, then, are: Why would Google deliberately engineer a system broken enough to serve up risible lies to its users? And why did no one point out the problems with Gemini at an earlier stage? Part of the problem is clearly the culture at Google. It is a culture that discourages employees from making politically incorrect observations. And even if an employee did not fear being fired for her views, why would she take on the risk and effort of speaking out if she felt the company would pay no attention to her? Indeed, perhaps some employees did speak up about the problems with Gemini—and were quietly ignored.  

The staff at Google know that the company has a history of bowing to employee activism if—and only if—it comes from the progressive left; and that it will often do so even at the expense of the business itself or of other employees. The most infamous case is that of James Damore, who was terminated for questioning Google’s diversity policies. (Damore speculated that the paucity of women in tech might reflect statistical differences in male and female interests, rather than simply a sexist culture.) But Google also left a lot more money on the table when employee complaints caused it to pull out of a contract to provide AI to the US military’s Project Maven. (To its credit, Google has also severely limited its access to the Chinese market, rather than be complicit in CCP censorship. Yet, like all such companies, Google now happily complies with take-down demands from many countries and Gemini even refuses to draw pictures of the Tiananmen Square massacre or otherwise offend the Chinese government).

There have been other internal ructions at Google in the past. For example, in 2021, Asian Googlers complained that a rap video recommending that burglars target Chinese people’s houses was left up on YouTube. Although the company was forced to admit that the video was “highly offensive and [...] painful for many to watch,” it stayed up under an exception clause allowing greater leeway for videos “with an Educational, Documentary, Scientific or Artistic context.” Many blocked and demonetised YouTubers might be surprised that this exception exists. Asian Googlers might well suspect that the real reason the exception was applied here (and not in other cases) is that Asians rank low on the progressive stack.

Given the company’s history, it is easy to guess how awkward observations about problems with Gemini could have been batted away with corporate platitudes and woke non-sequiturs, such as “users aren’t just looking for pictures of white people” or “not all Vikings were blond and blue-eyed.” Since these rhetorical tricks are often used in public discourse as a way of twisting historical reality, why wouldn’t they also control discourse inside a famously woke company?

Even if the unfree speech culture at Google explains why the blunder wasn’t caught, there is still the question of why it was made in the first place. Right-wing media pundits have been pointing fingers at Jack Krawczyk, a senior product manager at Google who now works on “Gemini Experiences” and who has a history of banging the drum for social justice on Twitter (his Twitter account is now private). But there seems to be no deeper reason for singling him out. There is no evidence that Mr Krawczyk was the decision-maker responsible. Nor is he an example of woke incompetence—i.e., he is not someone who got a job just by saying politically correct things. Whatever his Twitter history, Krawczyk also has a strong CV as a Silicon Valley product manager. To the chagrin of many conservatives, people can be both woke and competent at the same time. 

Krawczyk is, at most, one example of the politically correct activist orthodoxy that blinds otherwise competent decision makers to the excesses of their ideology. That culture has organically permeated Silicon Valley, but it also has formal support structures within Google’s AI effort. One of these is the Responsible AI team, whose list of focus points begins with “equity and fairness” and ends with “applications for social good.” Similarly, their list of “AI Principles” is headed by the injunctions that AI should “be socially beneficial” and “avoid creating or reinforcing unfair bias.” The idea that it should truthfully reflect reality appears nowhere on the list, not even under the heading of “unfair bias” which Google elaborates in the following way: 

AI algorithms and datasets can reflect, reinforce, or reduce unfair biases. We recognize that distinguishing fair from unfair biases is not always simple, and differs across cultures and societies. We will seek to avoid unjust impacts on people, particularly those related to sensitive characteristics such as race, ethnicity, gender, nationality, income, sexual orientation, ability, and political or religious belief.

Here Google is not promising to tell the truth, but rather to adjust the results of its algorithms whenever they seem unfair to protected groups of people.  And this, of course, is exactly what Gemini has just been caught doing.

All this is a betrayal of Google’s more fundamental promises. Its stated mission has always been to “to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful”—not to doctor that information for whatever it regards as the social good. And ever since “Don’t be evil” regrettably ceased to be the company’s motto, its three official values have been to respect each other, respect the user, and respect the opportunity. The Gemini fiasco goes against all three. Let’s take them in reverse order.

Disrespecting the Opportunity 

Some would argue that Google had already squandered the opportunity it had as early pioneer of the current crop of AI technologies by letting itself be beaten to the language-model punch by OpenAI’s ChatGPT and GPT4. But on the other hand, the second-mover position might itself provide an opportunity for a tech giant like Google, with a strong culture of reliability and solid engineering, to distinguish itself in the mercurial software industry.

It’s not always good to “move fast and break things” (as Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg once recommended), so Google could argue that it was right to take its time developing Gemini in order to ensure that its behaviour was reliable and safe. But it makes no sense if Google squandered that time and effort just to make that behaviour more wrong, racist, and ridiculous than it would have been by default.

Yet that seems to be what Google has done, because its culture has absorbed the social-justice-inflected conflation of “safety” with political correctness. This culture of telling people what to think for their own safety brings us to the next betrayed value.  

Disrespecting the User

Politically correct censorship and bowdlerisation are in themselves insults to the intelligence and wisdom of Google’s users. But Gemini's misbehaviour takes this to new heights: the AI has been deliberately twisted to serve up obviously wrong answers. Google appears not to take its users seriously enough to care what they might think about being served nonsense.

Disrespecting Each Other 

Once the company had been humiliated on Twitter, Google got the message that Gemini was not working right. But why wasn’t that alarm audible internally? A culture of mutual respect should mean that Googlers can point out that a system is profoundly broken, secure in the knowledge that the observation will be heeded. Instead, it seems that the company’s culture places respect for woke orthodoxy above respect for the contributions of colleagues.

Despite all this, Google is a formidably competent company that will no doubt fix Gemini—at least to the point at which it can be allowed to show pictures of people again. The important question is whether it will learn the bigger lesson. It will be tempting to hide this failure behind a comforting narrative that this was merely a clumsy implementation of an otherwise necessary anti-bias measure. As if Gemini’s wokeness problem is merely that it got caught.

Google’s communications so far have not been encouraging. While their official apology unequivocally admits that Gemini “got it wrong,” it does not acknowledge that Gemini placed correcting “unfair biases” above the truth to such an extent that it ended up telling racist lies. A leaked internal missive from Google boss Sundar Pichai makes matters even worse: Pichai calls the results “problematic” and laments that the programme has “offended our users and shown bias”—using the language of social justice, as if the problem were that Gemini was not sufficiently woke. Lulu Cheng Maservey, Chief Communications Officer at Activision Blizzard, has been scathing about Pichai’s fuzzy, politically correct rhetoric. She writes:

The obfuscation, lack of clarity, and fundamental failure to grasp the problem are due to a failure of leadership. A poorly written email is just the means through which that failure is revealed.

It would be a costly mistake for Google’s leaders to bury their heads in the sand. The company’s stock has already tumbled by $90 billion USD in the wake of this controversy. Those who are selling their stock might not care about the culture war per se, but they do care about whether Google is seen as a reliable conduit of information.

This loss is the cost of disrespecting users, and to paper over these cracks would just add insult to injury. Users will continue to notice Gemini’s biases, even if they fall below the threshold at which Google is forced to acknowledge them. But if Google resists the temptation to ignore its wokeness problem, this crisis could be turned into an opportunity. Google has the chance to win back the respect of colleagues and dismantle the culture of orthodoxy that has been on display ever since James Damore was sacked for presenting his views.

Google rightly prides itself on analysing and learning from failure. It is possible that the company will emerge from this much stronger. At least, having had this wake-up call puts it in a better position than many of our other leading institutions, of which Google is neither the wokest nor the blindest. Let’s hope it takes the opportunity to turn around and stop sleepwalking into the darkness.

[tricktster]

i mean sure, i’ve spent hours and hours learning how to make my cheap base model 3d printer into something that:

will not catch on fire;

can be controlled using something approximating modern technology, and;

actually performs the function of a 3D printer at a reasonably high level of accuracy and with minimal catastrophic failures

it’s taken some work. like kind of a lot of work. like going from a totally blank slate re: electronics to semi-competently understanding basic circuitry and computer programming to the extent where I am no longer afraid to unscrew the damn thing and fuck around with the control board and wiring. I own a bag of fork terminals and crimping pliars now. I know what a MOSFET is and own at least three. Raspberry pis? I’ve got three now, and one of them is what I use to control the printer now.

Like I took this analog antiquity that had to be manually operated by using a single dial to navigate a bewildering maze of menus and submenus, something that was not only incapable of internet access but could only print from a SD reader so outdated that it could not communicate with 95% of the SD cards on the market… and now I can operate it entirely from my phone, including wirelessly uploading files, AND I can monitor it from an arducam stream the whole time while AI simultaneously monitors it for failures or issues.

And that’s not getting into the hardware upgrades. This thing is the ship of Theseus by this point. I’ve modded and upgraded just about every part, from the frame to the Y-carriage plate, to the heated bed, the z stop, the cooling block, the hotend and nozzle(s); the cooling fan, the extruder plate and lever, thermistor, x and y timing belts and tensioners, bed leveling wheels, bed leveling springs/columns, I popped some hardcore z braces on there, introduced a much more powerful cooling fan in the control boz, I swapped the spool holder out for a heated filament chamber, oh and of course, I built an enclosure out of plexiglass and IKEA Lack side tables with independently controlled fume venting and an IoT thermo/hygrometer sensor inside.

by this point some (perhaps most?) of you are thinking “jesus christ, why TST?? this all sounds like a massive pain in the ass???” and you’re not wrong but look listen. listen. All of that effort, all of that time and effort and all the mistakes and frustration along the way, they were all worth because now I own a machine that can just manifest stuff into existence at my command.

Like it occurred to me last night that it might be nice to own a little glow-in-the-dark model of a low poly panther, you know, just for fun.

an hour later i was holding this:

[desertfangs]

This is an excerpt from my first draft of a Valentine's fic that ended up not really going anywhere, but I think this part is sort of fun so I figured I'd share it here.

Daniel/Armand - Devil's minion years - about 600 words

-----

Daniel moved through the aisles of the drug store quickly. He’d landed in Philadelphia in the late afternoon after his flight was delayed. He’d checked into a hotel and passed out for an hour, though he’d only meant to close his eyes for a moment. Now it was dark. 

He grabbed a toothbrush and tube of toothpaste from the shelf (his had not made it into his suitcase) and tossed them into his handbasket. He scratched at the stubble on his chin and tried to remember if there was anything else he needed. 

Food. Several drinks. A week somewhere his vampire stalker couldn’t find him so he could get some restful sleep. 

None of those things were on sale at the drug store. 

He grabbed a new razor and a bottle of aftershave and then found himself in the shampoo aisle. They didn’t have his usual brand, which flummoxed him momentarily and he struggled to choose from the available options. Finally, he chose one at random and tossed it into the basket. 

He turned to go to the register and his heart leapt into his throat. Armand was standing at the end of aisle, watching him with that impassive expression of his. His auburn hair was cropped short, and he was bundled up like everyone else in layers and large coat so only his pale white face was exposed. Only Daniel wore a thin jacket. He’d flown in from the Caribbean. That was yet another thing he’d have to get. He’d had a warm winter coat at some point but it had been left behind at a train station or bus terminal somewhere along the line. 

Armand didn’t move. He just stared at him. So Daniel ignored him and went the other direction to the check out counter. The clerk rang up his purchases and added a box of cigarettes, while Daniel nervously scanned the store for Armand, who had vanished. 

Good. Maybe this was one of those times Armand’s only goal had been to spike Daniel’s blood pressure and he’d disappear until the next city. 

Daniel carried his plastic bag out of the store and practically bumped into Armand, who was waiting for him by the door. Armand immediately snatched the bag from his hands and rifled through it. He dug out the tube of toothpaste and said, “Winter Mint. Does mint grow in winter?” 

Daniel grabbed the bag back, leaving Armand holding the toothpaste. “It’s just a flavor.”

Armand frowned at the box. “What makes it taste of winter?” 

“It’s just what they call it. It’s marketing. Mint is too plain now, so they add descriptors to make it sound more appealing. It’s all the same,” Daniel said. He started to walk, trusting Armand would follow. Sure enough, the vampire fell into step beside him.

Armand shook the box of toothpaste and then opened the cardboard, the tube sliding out into his hands. He squeezed it a few times with the cap still on.

“Don’t do that! You’re going to squirt toothpaste all over the place!”  Daniel grabbed it back and shoved the tube into his plastic bag. 

Armand looked surprised and somewhat abashed, which made Daniel feel bad for snapping at him. Strange how he could transform so quickly from a preternatural monster into a chastised young man. 

“I guess vampires don’t brush their teeth, huh?” he asked, glancing over at Armand.

“There’s no need.” 

“Must be nice,” Daniel muttered. They continued down the sidewalk. Daniel’s hotel was several blocks away. “Have you ever tried it? Brushing your teeth, I mean? What would happen if you swallowed toothpaste?” 

Armand frowned. Clearly he didn’t know. 

-----

Obviously Armand is going to find out what happens, possibly by stealing the toothbrush Daniel just bought to do so.

[meandmybigmouth]

THEY CLAIM TO BUT THE GOP ACTUALLY DOESN'T!. AMERICANS ARE WELCOME TO DIE AND BE MAIMED FOR THEM AND THAT'S IT!

H.R. 466 – Wounded Veteran Job Security Act became H. R. 2875. H.R. 1168 — Veterans Retraining Act H.R. 1171 – Homeless Veterans Reintegration Program Reauthorization H.R. 1172 — Requiring List on VA Website of Organizations Providing Scholarships for Veterans H.R. 1293 — Disabled Veterans Home Improvement and Structural Alteration Grant Increase Act of 2009 H.R. 1803 — Veterans Business Center Act H.R. 2352 – Job Creation Through Entrepreneurship Act DETAILS OF BILLS REJECTED BY REPUBLICANS: H.R. 466 – Wounded Veteran Job Security Act – This bill would actually provide job security for veterans who are receiving medical treatment for injuries suffered while fighting in defense of their country. It would prohibit employers from terminating employees who miss work while receiving treatment for a service-related disability. H.R. 1168 — Veterans Retraining Act – This bill would provide for assistance to help veterans who are currently unemployed with their expenses while retraining for the current job market. H.R. 1171 – Homeless Veterans Reintegration Program Reauthorization – This bill would reauthorize programs in support of homeless veterans, to assist them with job training, counseling, and placement services through the Department of Veterans Affairs through 2014. H.R. 1172 — Requiring List on VA Website of Organizations Providing Scholarships for Veterans which does nothing more than direct the Department of Veterans Affairs to include information about scholarships for veterans. H.R. 1293 — Disabled Veterans Home Improvement and Structural Alteration Grant Increase Act of 2009 – Here’sanother bill in support of those who have fought for their country, passed by House Democrats and blocked from becoming law by Republicans. This would increase the amount paid by the VA to disabled veterans for necessary home structural improvements from $4,100 to $6,800 for those who are more than 50% disabled, and from $1,200 to $2,000 who are less than 50%, disabled. This means, if a veteran lost the use of his legs in service of his country, the country will pay for the wheelchair ramp so that he can live at home. By the way, the last time this ceiling was lifted was in 1992. There isn’t even a fiscal reason for being against this bill, as the total cost of this bill, according to CBO estimates, would be a “whopping” $20 million. That’s about a quarter (25 cents) per family of four. H.R. 1803 — Veterans Business Center Act – This bill would set up a Veterans Business Center program within the Small Business Administration, which would specialize in such programs as grants for service-disabled veterans, help them develop business plans and secure business opportunities. In other words, folks, it would create jobs and offer opportunities those who have fought in defense of our country. H.R. 2352 – Job Creation Through Entrepreneurship Act – This bill essentially combines a number of other bills that Republicans had blocked in the Senate previously, and adds a few elements. The bill would again establish a Veterans Business Center Program; …. it would establish a Military Entrepreneurs Program.

[bobbinacrossafricatake2]

Guardian Angel

June 1 & 2, 2024

We love our itinerary, but the reality is that with the three countries we chose, there’s non-trivial travel between them. We packed up and had our last, relaxing breakfast at Anjajavy. Rather than tipping guides as we went, we singled out the guides who led most of our activities and gave them individual tips the night before. It was so nice that as we hung out for a bit in the lodge waiting for our transport the the airstrip, each guide came over, thanked us, chatted a bit and urged us to come back and/or tell our friends to come visit. There’s a bit of an air of concern for the travel industry here, on which the locals depend so much!

The flight was one of the bigger little planes with the honeymooners sharing the space with us; same pilot who got us to Anjajavy in the tiny plane. On arrival, we were met by an airport escort who drove us the five minutes to the international terminal. We passed by men bringing their zebus to market and a group of dressed up folks at a church for a wedding. It’s quite limited on who can enter the terminal, so he dropped us off in front, assuring us there’s a restaurant inside. Alas, we were unable to check in yet, so were relegated to siting on a concrete block. At one point we tried to go to check in and the guard said they’re not checking in our flight yet. Jill pointed out that this board shows that indeed checking in has started and he annoyedly said no, not checking in yet. Needless to say, we went back to our concrete block. In need of water, Seb went to the little sundry shop where they wouldn’t take USD or a credit card for such a small amount. So she stood in line for currency exchange which would not change less than $5.00. That came out to 22,200 Malagasy Ariary, which got us water, crackers and chocolate. What else would we get with money we would not be able to use after leaving Madagascar?

After we could finally check in (not particularly streamlined), we arrived in a new, quite modern terminal. We had a bite at the restaurant and hung out until we boarded. While waiting, a young woman who works for the company that designed the airport asked us to complete a survey. It was a good way to pass time, although we probably were not the best targets. This flight was less comfortable and more crowded than the others we’ve had, but on arrival it seemed that most folks were connecting, so getting through immigration and customs was easy and quick.

Then, we hit our first big snag of the trip. We kept looking for our normal “Bobbin X2” sign and none was to be seen. We emerged street-side where 10-15 folks were waiting with signs. Still nothing for us. Did we miss him/her? What to do? After a few minutes, we started looking up POCs on our spiffy TravelKey app from Mike. We’ve not needed such numbers, but knew they were there. Jill tried calling Nomad Tanzania on WhatsApp (trickier than one would think) and finally raised them. We tried calling the Emakoko (our hotel for the night) and it was all a bit confusing. Jill tried to re-enter the airport to see if we’d missed our contact but she couldn’t get back in. At that point, Ruth, our guardian angel and a Raddison Blu rep, approached and took charge. She made calls, while we tried, as well. Turns out Bush & Beyond was in charge of us, whose number we didn’t have, but Ruth did. Yay. Her friend, Purity, is the airport B&B rep. Hurrah. Not only did we not have B&B’s contact info, but they hod incorrect info for our arrival. They expected us on a KLM flight (we think the flight we’re leaving on in 7 days) at almost midnight. Yikes! Thank goodness for Ruth! Purity reportedly ran across the parking lot, arranged a vehicle on the spot to take us to the entrance of Nairobi National Park, where the Emakoko driver/guide, Jackson, picked us up. It all took a few hours. If we had to have a mess up, this was the place to have it, but given Sarah has a wicked cold, it was exhausting.

Jackson drove us across the park with views to the lights of Nairobi in the distance and planes coming in overhead. The park at night seemed quite flat, but as we approached the Emakoko, the road went bumpily down into a valley, across a little bridge and to the other side.. The Emakoko is lovely! We both wished we weren’t so tuckered, but passed on a late dinner and the hotel sent soup and bread up to the room. Seb ate and colllapsed. Jill FT’ed her mom and putzed on the pad for a while before going to sleep. It was a good night’s sleep, even if short and briefly disturbed (for Jill) by creatures having a party on the roof.

In the morning, we could better appreciate the beautiful room, balcony overlooking the valley, and when coffee was delivered at 6:00 AM before our 6:30 game drive, it was pure heaven. Tempted to roll over, Seb rallied. Just as we were finalizing our packs for the morning, the power went off. No problem! There was just enough light to see the last few things we needed to pack up or stash in a locked duffel (our security SOP). We headed out to the lobby… then problem! We were in one of the upper five rooms, up a huge cliff and accessible by a funicular. With the power off, the funicular did not work. So, we took the steep steps next to the track. Jackson was ready for us when we got to the lounge. When told him about taking the steps, he seemed a little surprised and admitted to an alternate path, much longer with a shallower incline. Off we went to look for wildlife, hoping the power to be restored in the meantime.

There’s nothing like being out on a game drive early in the morning. Solitude, except for animals starting their days. Fresh air and a clear view as far as the eye can see. The Nairobi National Park was just as exhilarating, but different. It was cold… not what we have had in Namibia and Madagascar (but similar to our 2018 experience). As it is a public park, we began have lot’s of companions on the road. Sometimes it helps with more eyes to spot animals, but sometimes the groups of other cars just create a less than ideal environment for optimal viewing.

We did have a successful drive, seeing rhinos (both white and black), giraffes (even two young males necking), Thompson’s gazelles, impalas, a hartebeast, a big buffalo blocking the road, and a secretary bird. At one point, we came across several other vehicles surrounding someone’s dinner (a kill), with that someone nowhere in sight. Jackson thought it belonged to a cheetah, but the poor hungry cat was waiting for vehicles to leave before returning to his/her meal. Not ever wanting to get in the way of nature, we proceeded on the drive.

After a couple hours, we decided it was time to get back to the lodge. Our stomachs were rumbling and a little time to rest before heading back to the airport was appealing. We were so happy to see lights shining from the lodge as we drove up. Yay… hot coffee and a working funicular. We had few more wildlife sightings before the end of our stay at Emakoko. We found rock hyraxes on the funicular track and the path to the room, then baboons and vervet monkeys on our balcony roused Jill from a catnap, who then woke Seb to see the commotion.

The trip to the airport was easy on a Sunday morning, mostly highway, but then through some local streets with shanties and shops constructed of corrugated metal. Jackson helped us check-in, then a young man with Safarilink took us through emigration and security, delivering us to a small waiting area, with instructions that he would be back to get us when it was time to board. The waiting area got quite busy and we, unfortunately witnessed our first, and hopefully only, example of the ugly American. Three couples, clearly traveling together, were in the waiting room with us. Each time someone from an air service came to collect passengers, they accosted the person about when they would be able to board. When Safarilink came to get us, this group stood in the doorway blocking our way as the air service rep was beckoning us to follow. There was such a sense of entitlement and “me first.”

This first flight of the day, on which we were two of four passengers, landed in Kilimanjaro, Tanzania, which required the whole immigration process to enter the country. We were expecting to handle this ourselves, but found a “Bobbin X2” waiting for us plane-side as we disembarked. It was a lucky break, since he told us how to fill in the immigration form, then led us to the line for on-line visas, which we both had, specifically for seniors, children and special needs (do we look old? Well, maybe since make-up did not make the cut for this trip.) Somehow with all of our diligence in getting details in order before the trip, Sarah’s visa had an incorrect date (note to Seb: work on your proof-reading skills). While Jill and airport helper waited in Tanzania, Sarah bounced amongst a few more lines to get a new visa. All in all it was pretty quick, just a $100 mistake for a new visa. Our airport helper ushered us out of the international airport and through the national airport (including numerous security screenings) to check in for our flight to the Lake Manyara airstrip. Since we were the only ones on the flight, we boarded as soon as we were all reassembled from the last security check, and took off 20 minutes early for the short 30 minute flight.

On arrival, we met Anaeli, our guide driver for at least the first two legs in Tanzania. If first impressions are anything, we knew we’d be in for a great five days. The drive to Entamanu Ngorongoro Lodge was two hours. The first hour we spent getting to know Anaeli and passing through various sized towns and villages. Nearing arrival to the Ngorongoro Crater National Park, Anaeli asked Jill to roll up her window a bit on account of the baboon activity at the park entrance. Sure enough, while Anaeli paid our entrance fees, bands of baboons entertained us through the car window.

The remaining hour was on rocky dirt roads, passing Maasai villages, brightly adorned folks returning to their villages on foot, Maasai farmers returning their livestock to safe quarters and glimpses of the crater. At one point we stopped at an overlook for our first official view. From there we continued to climb and Anaeli pointed out the flat-topped acacia trees at a distance as the location of our lodge. We knew we were finally close when we entered the acacia forest. Of course, arrival was marked by 8-10 staff standing in front waving, then helping us with bags.

Standard camp arrival took place, covering safety and any other lodge-specific topics. After a quick orientation to our bungalow, we headed back to the living room/lounge for a glass of wine, where we chatted with Peter, an Africa travel specialist from London. After dinner, we retreated back to our bungalow and both promptly crashed, getting woefully behind in blogging.

[usafphantom2]

Could the United Arab Emirates buy Chinese J-20 fighters?

Fernando Valduga By Fernando Valduga 05/27/2024 - 08:48am Military

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Although Israeli approval has finally been obtained for the sale of the F-35 to the United Arab Emirates, speculations are arising about a possible Chinese choice by the United Arab Emirates, despite restrictions on the export of the J-20. The head of joint operations of the UAE Armed Forces went to Beijing at the end of April to meet with the commander of the Chinese Air Force, a meeting that symbolizes a rapprochement between the two nations that could suggest a future collaboration in the field of military aviation.

The United Arab Emirates Air Force traditionally has two types of aircraft, so far they are the F-16 sold by the US and the Mirage 2000-9 from Dassault. While the 67 Mirage 2000 jets will be replaced by the 80 standard F4 Rafale of a contract signed in 2021, the issue of the succession of the F-16 remains uncertain.

F-16 Desert Falcon.

In November 2020, the Trump administration approved the sale of 50 F-35 stealth fighters to the Emirates, for an amount of 23 billion dollars. This decision comes after the signing, on August 13, 2020, of a standardization agreement between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, followed by the recognition of the Hebrew state by the latter in September. And although the media of the time rejoiced a future regional peace, the desire of the Emirates to acquire the American F-35 stealth fighter will initially compromise the normalization of relations with Israel, which is firmly opposed to the sale of the device to the Emirates, citing the policy of "qualitative military advantage" from which it benefits.

This policy, initiated by the United States in the 1960s, aims to ensure that Israel has the most advanced military means to maintain its regional superiority, so the sale was frozen by the Biden administration in 2021. Several reasons for this: Israel in the first place, but also the conditions imposed by Washington on human rights records and, finally, China, whose approach to the Emirates is viewed unfavorably by Washington. The United States is particularly concerned about the fact that China uses Huawei's 5G technology to spy on the capabilities of the F-35, while the Emirates refused to terminate the contract with the technology giant. Last but not least, the UAE are co-financing the development of the Russian Su-75 Checkmate fighter, derived from Su-57.

Despite the abundance of petrodollars, the Emirates are struggling to reach the F-35 and, in turn, have threatened to cancel the contract. Pushed into the arms of other potential military suppliers, the Emirates' option for the J-20 then seems plausible.

Emirates/China Approach

Economically, the United Arab Emirates is the largest export market of the United States in the Middle East and North Africa. More than 1,000 American companies operate in the country and many others use it as a regional headquarters to conduct business throughout the Middle East, North Africa region and parts of Asia. The fact that the Emirates are approaching China is therefore not anecdotal. As The Hill reported last year, “the fabric of America's strategic ties with the Gulf region is tearing apart,” and it seems that the situation is only getting worse. If China is the largest non-oil trading partner of the United Arab Emirates worldwide, it is in the military domain that relations are evolving the most.

In 2021, American intelligence services discovered the existence of a Chinese military facility in a port in the United Arab Emirates. The Emirates agreed to end the project at the request of the United States, but construction would have resumed at the end of 2022. The Emirates also participated in the joint exercise "Falcon Shield 2023", with its F-16 block 60 and Mirage 2000-9 aircraft, offering several opportunities for China to learn about Western equipment.

The recent meeting between General Saleh Mohammed bin Majren Al Ameri and Lieutenant General Chang Dingqiu of the Chinese Air Force illustrates this rapprochement between the two countries. Interestingly, the photos shared by the Ministry of Defense of the United Arab Emirates after the visit to China show a painting with two J-20 Mighty Dragon fighters, the real stars of this meeting.

J-20: an export candidate?

The recent acquisition by the United Arab Emirates of the Chinese Hongdu L-15A Falcon jet coaches and speculations around the potential interest in the Chengdu J-20 stealth fighter will go in the direction of rapprochement between the Emirates and China, especially since the UAE has renounced any partnership with Russia in the field of aviation after the poor performance of Moscow fighters in Ukraine.

Chinese L-15.

The obstacles encountered in the acquisition of American F-35 fighters, despite the close ties between the two countries, led the Emirates to seriously consider other alternatives, including the Chinese J-20. Ironic when we know that the United States accuses China of having manufactured the J-20 using American technologies, acquired through espionage.

J-20 Mighty Dragon jets.

At the moment, it is still too early to say whether the United Arab Emirates will end up acquiring the J-20 from China, given that this type of aircraft would be difficult to integrate with other means within its military power and that China does not seem to have the ambition to export it (favoring the FC-31). In addition, negotiations with China could also be a way for the Emirates to put pressure on the United States, due to the blocked F-35 agreement. For now, the sale agreement remains viable according to Daniel Mouton, a former employee of the United States National Security Council.

J-35 jet, or FC-31, offered for export by China.

However, considering the regional crisis and other geopolitical reasons, the Arab countries represent a good market opportunity for China, which already maintains friendly relations with many of them and intends to become the main supplier of combat aircraft and drones in the Middle East. Unless the U.S. allows an increase in UAE power as a frontline army in the face of the Iranian regional threat, a threat shared by all states in the region, whether or not they recognize the State of Iran.

Source: Air & Cosmos

Tags: Military AviationChengdu J-20 'Mighty Dragon'F-35 Lightning IIUAEAF - United Arab Emirates Air Force/United Arab Emirates Air Force

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Fernando Valduga

Fernando Valduga

Aviation photographer and pilot since 1992, he has participated in several events and air operations, such as Cruzex, AirVenture, Dayton Airshow and FIDAE. He has works published in specialized aviation magazines in Brazil and abroad. He uses Canon equipment during his photographic work in the world of aviation.

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[mshexley]

Between Cory and RTGames having their stuff age restricted and Berleezy getting terminated. YouTube shows that they really do pick and choose when their rules matter and should be enforced.

TLDR: YouTube uses vagueness and plausible deniability to fuck people over.

Like, not to sound like a conspiracist and this is all just from observation but it feels like they leave most of the work to their “flawless” algorithm despite people proving its tendency to throw folks into an alt right pipeline (that includes Pr*ger U ads) and it’s general ineffectiveness.

however, they often seem to single out someone to strongly enforce and prove that their very advertiser-sided rules work and they choose someone with that’s big but not heavily connected to their image as YouTube, if you get what I mean. Like it’s why Cory’s Mortuary Assistant video gets age restricted while other names like Mark and Jack’s don’t. Like I don’t know how to properly explain it because it’s like even though Cory is a big YouTuber it’s this sense of he’s not intrinsically linked to YouTube identity within a general populace. Like it’s a status reserved for certain YouTubers who made it big before a certain era.

This air of enforcement is also there when RT has his 2022 Best Of video age-restricted but not any of the sole videos featured in that clip and even RT goes into detail about the changes which include that people’s videos from before certain policy changes will still be viable for flagging, age-restriction, and outright blocking even private ones.

Surprising no one, YouTube hides behind the “what about the children” arguement when it comes to this penalties but I’d like to remind folks that the reason COPPA is now a thing on YouTube is because the SITE ITSELF was founded to be targeting children for ads. Fun fact: If you upload on YouTube you can now flag your videos to say that it’s not intended for kids. This doesn’t mean shit. Because on YouTube’s end, it’s not about being child friendly but about being advertiser-friendly.

Which brings us to….YouTube KIDS. YouTube KIDS the brand of YouTube made for kids….has ads. Not in the way the you’d normally experience ads tho. These ads are soft ads. They are Videos meant to market stuff to kids. This is not even mentioning how YouTube Kids is very much like Tiktok where it provides instant dopamine. I made an account to see it for myself and I didn’t even bat an eye when I saw the Wednesday dance pop up because it went viral on TikTok and kids always wanna do the dances and it wasn’t until I saw an interview clip of Wednesday that it clicked. Both the dance and that interview was uploaded by NETFLIX Netflix but you can’t click on the uploader name to see more of their stuff. If you search Netflix in the search bar, you’ll get Netflix Jr & Netflix After School but not regular Netflix.

Of course, you can argue that it’s a way to protect kids from seeing stuff they shouldn’t on Netflix’s account which IS THE POINT. If Netflix has TWO channels on YouTube Kids where they upload clips from their child and tween friendly shows, then why are two videos from their regular channel up there in the first place? Why didn’t they upload the dance on their After School account?? We’re not gonna even go into how Wednesday by its contents shouldn’t even be featured on a site where the threshold is 12.

And I’m not saying any of this to be a prude but if YouTube is going to act like they have some moral high ground by claiming to protect kids from what they MIGHT be exposed to and age-restrict videos that the CREATORS THEMSELVES have stated and abided by YouTube’s own policy aren’t for kids, then they need to keep that same energy for ALL OF THEIR PLATFORMS.

Not only that. But they need to keep that same energy for the people they allow to advertise on their site. If a creator incorrectly flags their content, they will be penalized except for when they bring in heavy traffic to their site and bring the site money AKA the alt-right pipeline when they allow hate speech against marginalized groups because they’re skirting around the actual terms and allow for plausible deniability. Compare that to leftist creators who will receive heavy penalty for correctly stating that their videos are for political education because they say the quiet part out loud.

Another instance is through its politcal ads. I live a place where it’s common to Trump 2024 plastered over people’s lawns and as such I went in and flagged in YouTube’s ad preference to say that I don’t want ads featuring politics HOWEVER during the election, I still got political ads. RIGHT-WING political ads and Pr*ger U ads. Why? Because these groups pay to have their stuff shoved in your face. Should they pay enough, YouTube will let anything slide….how do I know? Because you know who else is on YouTube Kids???? Prager fucking U but much like Netflix….Prager U is not clickable.

have you realized the running theme tho? YouTube operates on plausible deniability. They operate on this vagueness where they can not say what’s wrong or what’s right. When creators on the site ask for transparency, they’re met with silence because being upfront means exposing that they have been letting certain people get away with breaking their rules.

I should clarify that obviously creators like Markiplier are not willing participates in this whole thing. But they are unintentionally set up through YouTube’s lack of transparency. Because creators can only speak from their own experience and will use them as points of reference, it’ll seem like creators like Mark get an unfair advantage all because YouTube doesn’t want to admit that they themselves haven’t been playing by the rules they set for everyone else.