#The Law of Action: Success Requires Effort

[directsellingnow]

Network Marketing Tips: ये 14 नियम बदल देंगे आपकी जिंदगी; Dr. Debi Prasad Acharjya

Network Marketing Tips: जिंदगी challenges और opportunities की एक complex picture है, जो अक्सर uncertainties के साथ आती है। सफलता और happiness की हमारी खोज में, हमें countless obstacles का सामना करना पड़ता है जिनके लिए effective problem-solving, critical decision-making और personal growth की आवश्यकता होती है। पूरे इतिहास में, मनुष्य ने अपने collective knowledge को timeless laws में बदल दिया है –…

[ghostlyferrettarot]

🛸🖤Midheaven in the signs🖤🛸

❗️All the observations in this post are based on personal experience and research, it's completely fine if it doesn't resonate with everyone❗️

✨️Paid Services ✨️ (Natal charts and tarot readings) Open!

🛸If you like my work you can support me through Ko-fi. Thank you!🛸

🖤Masterlist🖤

🛸Midheaven in Aries: Self-confidence and extroversion are their main tools; self-sufficient, they seek to prove themselves at all levels. Professional careers that involve movement, individual action and proving their leadership abilities are favorable to them.

🛸Midheaven in Taurus: Their perseverance and determination help them achieve their goals. They take into account their gifts, resources and abilities and how to exploit them. Professional careers that allow them to manifest beauty and practicality are favorable to them, such as agriculture, sculpture, architecture, agronomy, painting and finance.

🛸Midheaven in Gemini: Great communication skills. Flexible, analytical, receptive, agile, versatile, adaptable, with great observational capacity, they can carry out several tasks at once without problems. Professional careers linked to the processes of communication and contact with society are favorable to them, such as journalism, commerce, diplomacy and education.

🛸Midheaven in Cancer: Planners and protectors; Individualistic, sensitive, firm and intuitive. Another point to keep in mind is to practice fluidity in your daily life. Professional careers that help channel assistance to others are favorable for you, such as psychology, gynecology, cooking and psychotherapy.

🛸Midheaven in Leo: You pursue success relentlessly, and sometimes you do not allow yourself to enjoy it. You have clear objectives and the perseverance and tenacity necessary to achieve them. Noble, generous, motivating, trustworthy, with leadership skills; you must learn to control arrogance. Professional careers with great autonomy are favorable for you, such as political positions, business management and dramaturgy.

🛸Midheaven in Virgo: You maintain a constant and methodical effort to achieve your objectives; critical, detail-oriented, positive, organized, innovative and with a great willingness to learn. You must avoid neuroses and the accumulation of objects. Professional careers oriented towards collaboration and with an appreciation of details, such as mechanics, languages, nutrition and crafts, are favorable for you.

🛸Midheaven in Libra: They plan and execute their strategy calmly, taking care of the details and feasibility. They are sociable, adaptable and diplomatic, and they like harmony. Professional careers that offer variety and where they can comfortably develop their sense of justice and balance are favorable to them. A classic example is the study of law, diplomacy, public relations and the arts.

🛸Midheaven in Scorpio: They have a tendency to manipulate others to achieve their interests. Ambitious, determined, direct, brave, skillful and capable of facing difficult transformation processes. Professional careers that privilege research and strategy are favorable to them, such as psychoanalyst, psychiatrist, private investigator, chemist and anthropologist.

🛸Midheaven in Sagittarius: They are constantly moving. Intuitive, open, creative, with strong convictions and ideals. They are favourable to professional careers that work directly by appealing to the philosophy of life of individuals, such as religion, philosophy, or spiritual guidance. They also excel in astronomy, ecology and sports.

🛸Midheaven in Capricorn: Ambitious, practical, predictable and modest. Protective, efficient, serious, concentrated, focused, they can fall into nonconformity and obstinacy, in relation to the results they obtain. They are favourable to professional careers that require their knowledge of administration and organization, such as architecture, politics, administration of companies or public institutions, and geology.

🛸Midheaven in Aquarius: They wish to build a better world for everyone, but they feel the need to constantly test the scope of their knowledge. This position indicates a constant search for wisdom. Cooperators, avant-garde, they must cultivate the freedom of spirit to achieve the awakening of consciousness they long for. They are favourable to professional careers that promote the use of technologies and the mass dissemination of ideas, such as journalist, writer, community manager, publicist and others.

🛸Midheaven in Pisces: Patient, sensitive, simple and compassionate, they seek to understand the meaning of life, so they have philosophical and religious concerns, as well as a deep desire to live with simplicity. They must learn that spirituality is not a concept at odds with success. Professional careers related to the management and expression of feelings, such as the arts, psychology, research and public relations, are favorable to them.

[bloomzone]

Ⳋ᧙ ⊹Embracing the Art of I don't chase I attract mindset :

"Best revenge? Smile, be happy and never let them know it hurt."

-goo hara from kara (rest in peace 🕊️)

The mindset of "I don't chase, I attract" revolves around the principles of self-confidence, self-worth, and the law of attraction. Instead of actively pursuing what we desire, this mindset encourages us to focus on personal growth and positivity, believing that by doing so, we naturally draw in the opportunities and experiences meant for us.

Here are 16 tips to adopt this mindset effectively:

by: 𖧷´ bloomzone 𝅄 ׂׅ

1.Focus on Self-Improvement: Invest in yourself by learning new skills, engaging in activities that fulfill you, and prioritizing your well-being. When you feel good about yourself, you radiate positive energy that attracts like-minded people and opportunities.

2. Set Clear Intentions: Be specific about what you want in life. Whether it's a new job, a meaningful relationship, or personal development, having clear intentions helps you stay focused and aligned with your goals.

3. Practice Positive Affirmations: Reinforce your self-worth and confidence through daily affirmations. Statements like "I am worthy of success" or "I attract positive opportunities" can help shift your mindset and energy (the white swan affirmations)

4.Visualize Your Goals: Spend time each day imagining your goals as if they've already been achieved. This practice helps create a positive mental image and aligns your actions with your desires.

5. Trust the Process: Have faith that what is meant for you will come to you in its own time. Avoid forcing outcomes or chasing after things. Trust that by staying true to yourself and your goals, the right opportunities will present themselves naturally.

6. Surround Yourself with Positivity: Keep positive influences around you, whether it's people, environments, or content. Positivity fosters a high vibrational state that attracts good things into your life.

7. Cultivate Gratitude: Regularly express gratitude for what you already have. This practice helps you focus on the positive aspects of your life and creates an abundance mindset, which attracts more good things to you.

8. Let Go of Fear and Doubt: Work on releasing fears and doubts that hold you back. Fear and doubt create resistance and block the flow of positive energy. Embrace a mindset of faith and trust in the process.

9. Engage in Mindfulness and Meditation: Incorporate mindfulness practices and meditation into your routine. These practices help you stay present, reduce stress, and maintain a positive outlook, making you more receptive to opportunities.

10. Take Inspired Action: While attracting involves less chasing, it doesn't mean being passive. Take actions that feel right and aligned with your goals, but do so from a place of inspiration rather than desperation.

11. Embrace Change and Adaptability: Be open to change and willing to adapt. Sometimes, the path to what you desire requires adjustments and flexibility. Embracing change can lead to unexpected and rewarding opportunities.

12. Practice Self-Compassion: Be kind to yourself. Acknowledge your efforts and progress, and don't be too hard on yourself when things don't go as planned. Self-compassion fosters a positive and resilient mindset.

13. Seek Joy and Fun: Engage in activities that bring you joy and make you feel alive. Joyful experiences raise your vibrational energy and attract more positive situations and people into your life.

14. Learn to Listen to Your Intuition: Trust your inner voice and gut feelings. Your intuition can guide you toward opportunities that align with your true self and help you avoid situations that aren't right for you.

15. Develop a Growth Mindset: Embrace challenges as opportunities to learn and grow. A growth mindset helps you stay resilient and open to new possibilities, making it easier to attract what you desire.

16. Celebrate Small Wins: Recognize and celebrate your achievements, no matter how small. Celebrating progress keeps you motivated and reinforces the positive mindset needed to attract more success.

ıllı ⠀ : This mindset encourages u to trust in ur abilities . Remember that each step taken with mindfulness and resilience brings us closer to ur dreams.❛ ⠀ ♡ ⠀ !!

[traumasurvivors]

Here's a link to a blog post on my personal website on a topic that I think is very important.

I've also put it below the read more for people that don't like external links.

When it comes to healing from trauma, there are a lot of emotions an individual may feel. One of these emotions is anger. Anger is one of the emotions I see invalidated the most. For example, I’ve been told that being angry is “letting the person who hurt me win.” I’ve been told that I’m only hurting myself with my anger and that it’s holding me back from healing. All of these assumptions were wrong.

Anger is often viewed as a bad thing because it can drive a lot of unpleasant behaviours but it can be used for good. While anger can hurt you and others, it doesn’t have to. There is a difference between destructive anger and constructive anger. Destructive anger is often expressed in a way that causes harm to yourself or others whereas constructive anger can be used to better understand your situation and figure out your needs. Constructive anger can be a way to show respect for yourself.

For example, if you’re in a situation with a friend where they do something that makes you angry (for example: cancelling plans, forgetting an important date, etc), constructive anger may involve you stepping away from the situation to figure out the cause of your anger (for example: you feel their actions imply you’re not important to them) so that you can then sit down with your friend and communicate in a calm manner. This may allow your relationship to grow and build with a better understanding of each other. Destructive anger in this situation may involve you yelling at your friend and insulting them, which will likely damage or destroy the relationship. If the hurt your friend has caused makes you want to re-evaluate your friendship, this is valid and there are still constructive ways to end a friendship that will cause the least amount of hurt for all involved. It is also important to note that ignoring the anger and bottling up is likely to cause a bigger blow up down the line or cause “overreactions” to other circumstances.

If anger is bottled up, it can end up coming out unintentionally. You might find you’re getting much angrier at everyday annoyances and disagreements than you might think reasonable. People might push you away or respond badly to your anger, because they feel they do not deserve it - and looking back later, you might feel they don’t deserve it, either. However, because of the anger you’re holding back, you can’t see that in the moment. This is why it is important to think and consider your anger, and listen to what it’s trying to tell you. I have found asking questions of myself to analyze my anger can help, such as in an anger inventory like this one.

While many people see anger as an emotion that causes people to lash out and destroy things, anger can also help to motivate people to create new things. Marches to “Take back the night”, or for “gay pride” have much of their motivation based in anger at injustice and oppression. New laws to better protect survivors of domestic abuse or otherwise help society are often driven by people feeling a huge amount of anger. Properly harnessed, anger can help to take action to change things for the better.

On a more personal level, anger can also be a motivator to improve one’s own life. Many people have used the anger they felt at those who put them down as a motivation toward success. That success might be completing schooling, winning an international athletic competition or publishing a novel. One thing all of those have in common is that they are rarely possible to do with only a little time or a little effort. They are time-consuming tasks which usually require months if not years of work. They can be easy to give up on without motivation - and for many, anger is a big help to keeping that motivation.

It took me years to feel anger. For the first while, I felt ashamed, guilty and like I deserved the abuse I’d endured. Feeling angry at the people responsible for this was a step in my healing. I began putting the blame on those responsible and not myself. I was realizing that I did not deserve to be treated in the harmful ways that I was. This was huge to me as someone that had spent years thinking I deserved my trauma and as a result, future trauma and abuse as well.

There were instances where my anger was destructive, mostly to myself. I engaged in self-harm as a way to vent my anger and it also caused problems in my relationship at the time because I held my anger in and would get really frustrated and project my anger onto my relationship which was not fair to my partner.

Over the years, I’ve learned to cope with my anger more efficiently. What works for someone is largely dependent on them and their needs. For me, it was a literal punching bag to vent out frustrations and journaling. It was sitting down with my anger and treating it like a friend trying to protect me (because it was in a way). It was listening to it and finding the cause. My true anger came from those who hurt me, and in a way, took a part of me. My anger largely came from grief and betrayal. Understanding where it came from did not make it disappear, but it did offer me perspective and allow me to better manage it.

For some, anger is a cover up for other emotions. It becomes a defense mechanism against feeling the sadness, hurt and other emotions that a person does not want to feel. The anger is just the first layer and understanding where that anger comes from, and that the anger is a cover up is a great step in moving beyond it. Feeling the emotions beneath it will play a big part in moving beyond the anger.

Anger is a valid and understandable emotion when it comes to healing from trauma, even if your trauma does not have a specific person to blame (natural disasters and death of a loved one are examples). If the person who hurt you did not mean to or did not know better (like another child), anger is still a valid emotion. You’ve been hurt and you should not have been and it is reasonable to feel angry at this.

For a lot of us, anger plays a part in our healing. And that’s okay! You’re allowed to feel angry. Anger becomes an issue when you allow it to consume you and hurt you or others. The feeling itself is not inherently bad, and it can actually be a good thing. Your anger can be used to help you. It’s what you do with your anger that decides whether it’s helpful to you or not. When I was first told that my anger was “letting the other person win,” I believed that and felt invalidated. I have since realized that my anger has been an important part in understanding my pain and my needs. My anger is not letting someone else win, but letting me win, by helping me to heal.

[dandelionsresilience]

Dandelion News - October 15-21

Like these weekly compilations? Tip me at $kaybarr1735 or check out my Dandelion Doodles on Patreon!

1. EV owners volunteer to drive voters to the polls in 11 states (and you can too)

“ChargeTheVote.org is a nonpartisan voter education and engagement initiative to enhance voter turnout in the 2024 election by providing zero-emission transportation in electric vehicles (EVs) to local polling locations. ChargeTheVote will also host a webinar for those who are interested in participating this coming Tuesday, October 22 at 7pm Eastern time.”

2. Kenya moves 50 elephants to a larger park, says it’s a sign poaching is low

“The elephant population in the […”Mwea National Reserve”…] has flourished from its capacity of 50 to a whopping 156 […] requiring the relocation of about 100 of [them…. The] overpopulation in Mwea highlighted the success of conservation efforts over the last three decades.”

3. Australian start-up secures $9m for mine-based gravity energy storage technology

““We expect to configure the gravitational storage technology [which the company “hopes to deploy in disused mines”] for mid-duration storage applications of 4 to 24 hours, deliver 80% energy efficiency and to enable reuse of critical grid infrastructure.“”

4. Africa’s little-known golden cat gets a conservation boost, with community help

“[H]unting households were given a pregnant sow [… so that they] had access to meat without needing to trap it in the wild. […] To address income needs, Embaka started […] a savings and loan co-op[… and an] incentive for the locals to give up hunting in exchange for regular dental care.”

5. 4.8M borrowers — including 1M in public service — have had student debt forgiven

“That brings the total amount of student debt relief under the administration to $175 billion[….] The Education Department said that before Biden's presidency, only 7,000 public servants had ever received student debt relief through the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program. […] "That’s an increase of more than 14,000% in less than four years.””

6. Puerto Rico closes $861M DOE loan guarantee for huge solar, battery project

“The solar plants combined will have 200 megawatts of solar capacity — enough to power 43,000 homes — while the battery systems are expected to provide up to 285 megawatts of storage capacity. [… O]ver the next 10 years, more than 90 percent of solar capacity in Puerto Rico will come from distributed resources like rooftop solar.”

7. Tim Walz Defends Queer And Trans Youth At Length In Interview With Glennon Doyle

“Walz discussed positive legislative actions, such as codifying hate crime laws and increasing education[.… “We] need to appoint judges who uphold the right to marriage, uphold the right to be who you are [… and] to get the medical care that you need.””

8. Next-Generation Geothermal Development Important Tool for Clean Energy Economy

““The newest forms of geothermal energy hold the promise of generating electricity 24 hours a day using an endlessly renewable, pollution-free resource[… that] causes less disturbance to public lands and wildlife habitat […] than many other forms of energy development[….]”

9. Sarah McBride hopes bid to be first transgender congresswoman encourages ’empathy’ for trans people

““Folks know I am personally invested in equality as an LGBTQ person. But my priorities are going to be affordable child care, paid family and medical leave, housing, health care, reproductive freedom. […] We know throughout history that the power of proximity has opened even the most-closed of hearts and minds.”“

10. At Mexico’s school for jaguars, big cats learn skills to return to the wild

“[A team of scientists] have successfully released two jaguars, and are currently working to reintroduce two other jaguars and three pumas (Puma concolor). [… “Wildlife simulation”] “keeps the jaguars active and reduces the impact of captivity and a sedentary lifestyle[….]””

October 8-14 news here | (all credit for images and written material can be found at the source linked; I don’t claim credit for anything but curating.)

[laifromthecosmos]

Why are Mercury, Jupiter, and Saturn planets that take time to achieve something?

versão em eng-pt / version in eng-pt

Mercury, Jupiter, and Saturn are planets that, for different reasons, are associated with a slower trajectory in terms of achievements. Each has a distinct approach, but in common, they symbolize processes that require patience and development over time.

Mercury is the planet of communication, intelligence, and learning. Although quick in movement, Mercury is linked to processes that demand constant adaptation and learning. Achieving something with Mercury depends on the ability to communicate, analyze, and learn from situations. Progress is incremental, as Mercury's success relies on accumulating knowledge, experience, and adapting to various scenarios.

Jupiter is the planet of expansion, wisdom, and spiritual growth. It governs generosity, ethics, and natural law, but its action is slow because it involves the search for meaning and truth. Jupiter’s achievements require long-term vision, the expansion of horizons, and internal growth. Since Jupiter also symbolizes teachers and gurus, it teaches that true success comes with patience and the gradual maturing of understanding.

Saturn is the planet of time, discipline, and restriction. It is known for testing patience and resilience, imposing challenges and obstacles that slow down progress. Saturn rules over karma and maturity through experience. Its achievements are lasting, but only come after much effort, hard work, and overcoming limitations. It rewards only those who persist and learn from difficulties over time.

These planets require a continuous process of development, patience, and persistence before delivering significant results.

Wherever these planets are in houses in your chart, something will take time to come to fruition. Mercury in the 5th house, for example, may indicate that your higher education will be necessary to achieve your goal, and this may take time. Saturn needs improvement and therefore achieves success in the course of a mature age. Jupiter needs to act in the time of the universe and be very clear in what it is doing, sometimes a person can take time to discover what they really want to do. There is no point in rushing into your career, love life or finances when these three planets are located in these respective houses.

They take the necessary time, but the result will be great.

°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°

Por que Mercúrio, Júpiter e Saturno são planetas que demoram para alcançar alguma coisa?

Mercúrio, Júpiter e Saturno são planetas que, por diferentes razões, estão associados a uma trajetória mais lenta em termos de conquistas. Cada um tem uma abordagem distinta, mas em comum, eles simbolizam processos que exigem paciência e desenvolvimento ao longo do tempo.

Mercúrio é o planeta da comunicação, inteligência e aprendizado. Embora rápido em movimento, Mercúrio está ligado a processos que exigem adaptação e aprendizado constante. Conquistar algo com Mercúrio depende da habilidade de comunicar, analisar e aprender com as situações. O progresso é incremental, pois o sucesso de Mercúrio depende de acumular conhecimento, experiência e se adaptar a diferentes cenários.

Júpiter é o planeta da expansão, sabedoria e crescimento espiritual. Ele rege a generosidade, a ética e a lei natural, mas sua ação é lenta porque envolve a busca por significado e verdade. As conquistas de Júpiter exigem uma visão de longo prazo, expansão de horizontes e crescimento interno. Como Júpiter também simboliza professores e gurus, ele ensina que o verdadeiro sucesso vem com paciência e o amadurecimento gradual da compreensão.

Saturno é o planeta do tempo, disciplina e restrição. Ele é conhecido por testar paciência e resiliência, impondo desafios e obstáculos que retardam o progresso. Saturno rege o karma e o amadurecimento através da experiência. Suas conquistas são duradouras, mas só chegam depois de muito esforço, trabalho duro e superação de limitações. Ele recompensa somente aqueles que persistem e aprendem com as dificuldades ao longo do tempo.

Esses planetas pedem um processo contínuo de desenvolvimento, paciência e persistência antes de entregar resultados significativos.

Onde quer que esses planetas estejam nas casas do seu mapa, algo levará tempo para se concretizar. Mercúrio na casa 5, por exemplo, pode indicar que sua formação superior será necessária para atingir seu objetivo, e isso pode levar tempo. Saturno precisa de melhorias e, portanto, alcança o sucesso no decorrer da idade madura. Júpiter precisa agir no tempo do universo e ter muito claro o que está fazendo, às vezes uma pessoa pode demorar para descobrir o que realmente quer fazer. Não adianta se apressar na carreira, na vida amorosa ou nas finanças quando esses três planetas estão localizados nessas respectivas casas.

Demorarão o tempo necessário, mas o resultado será ótimo.

[iamsonny-j]

This was originally going to be in reply to @glowinggreeneyes-e post about the Captain's education and career path...but then I got carried away because I'm so normal about this stuff so it's now its own post...with added angst because I have no control over any of this, my brain just goes.

So for a start the Captain would have gone to a public boarding school. I think it's worth pointing out that public schools and universities operated scholarships for students from less wealthy backgrounds. We're still talking middle class and upper middle, but not always full on wealthy and privileged in the way of someone like Julian. Cap strikes me as having the background of a family well enough off but he probably always had to work hard to prove himself for his place, maybe not so much for public school but definitely for university.

Whatever school he attended would have had an Officer Training Corps junior division. Basically cadets. This would lead to the possibility to do an exam (written and practical) to get what was called certificate A to show he had participated in the OTC.

From the Button House Archives it says Cap got to the front in WW1 at armistice and so never saw action. So I imagine he finished his studies at school in the summer, enlisted and completed basic training, and then was out to Europe just in time for things to end. Because he got his certificate A at school he had the option at university to join the OTC university division. This was a route to becoming a commissioned officer. You either needed certificate A or experience in the ranks to join. For the sake of argument, serving in the army for a couple of months wouldn't count as experience so he must have had the certificate A...

University options at that time were limited to Oxbridge, Durham or London. All of those had OTC. I think London can be ruled out...only because it was busy, loud and ugly, even then (sorry London friends!) and the Captain likes wildlife and the countryside and nature walks...I can't see him thriving in London.

Training with the OTC at university involved physical training, military strategy, history and law etc. The Captain would have had to complete 2 years training before he could have done exams for his Certificate B - practical and written. Passing the exams would have entitled him to a commission on graduation. Getting Certificate B wasn't common because of the amount of work involved and dedication required to be successful. It was hard!

Like I want to point out that to get that far would have required so much effort and dedication right from being a child. And this is where I will get sad and headcanon-y for a bit (let me have this one thing out of all this research!)

Bullying and abusive rituals were a big part of public school life at this time and any boy seen as even slightly different would have been targeted for sure, even by some of the teachers. So although Cap comes across as clever and capable at what he knows I think school would have been socially really freaking hard. For a child in that situation I could see the OTC being a respite and something the Captain would have found very comforting with the set rules, order and expectations and from there you can understand why career army would have been appealing...

And I think that's when things get a bit complicated. The army was his life but in a different way to officers who wanted to be on the front line, like Havers. Obviously Cap worked extremely hard for his commission - and he was obviously very well qualified and knowledgable in his areas of interest, but he was always ever going to be best at HQ tasks like intelligence or engineering or whatever his particular career skills were - loving the army in theory, but some of it would have always been out of his reach. And I think being in a public school during WW1 and hearing of so many former pupils (some he would have known personally as seniors, prefects or head of houses) losing their lives on a daily basis during WW1 would have had a huge effect on him and probably influenced some of the guilt about not having the opportunity to fight himself, but ultimately I think he probably knew that wasn't his part to play even with WW2.

And I think all that that shows in his interactions we see in his past as CO - he was obviously doing a good job at whatever secret little operations he had but he really didn't have the skills/personality needed to be a CO. Having someone like Havers as a second hid that (and that's also seen in Havers getting 2 promotions in 4 years...he was much more of a natural CO) and I wonder if a lot of affection that Cap had for Havers originally came from the fact that Havers not only respected him as CO but he was also just kind to him and saw a person worthy of affection - rather than the CO that everyone tolerated but secretly disrespected and laughed at (just look at how all the other officers couldn't wait to come down on him in 5.05)

And then he lost Havers. But still had to command up to 150 men and operations at Button House for the next 4 years. And it's obvious from the letters and information in the Button House Archives that he really REALLY did try and I think with considering everything it's no wonder he overcompensates a lot and that's where he's at in the first couple of seasons of Ghosts; fighting for authority and trying to do his best.

Last sad point because it does relate: When he died Havers gave Cap the swagger stick to hold - Havers still called him 'Sir' even though he outranked him at that point. I don't know if I can begin to unpick all of that, but there's definitely something in there about respect, belief and the burden of responsibility that he clearly took seriously into his afterlife not wanting to let Havers down both personally and professionally.

If you read all of this I love you and respect you and appreciate you for appreciating my level of not normal xD

[rotzaprachim]

Critical to note that the creator of the IHRA definition of antisemitism drafted it as a framework to track EUROPEAn attitudes toward antisemitism, not as a binding code of what is and isn't antisemitic at the legal and national level. full article (not long and very worthwhile) below:

 This article is more than 4 years old

I drafted the definition of antisemitism. Rightwing Jews are weaponizing it

This article is more than 4 years old

Kenneth Stern

The ‘working definition of antisemitism’ was never intended to silence speech, but that’s what Trump’s executive order accomplished this weekFri 13 Dec 2019 06.25 ESTShare

Fifteen years ago, as the American Jewish Committee’s antisemitism expert, I was the lead drafter of what was then called the “working definition of antisemitism”. It was created primarily so that European data collectors could know what to include and exclude. That way antisemitism could be monitored better over time and across borders.

It was never intended to be a campus hate speech code, but that’s what Donald Trump’s executive order accomplished this week. This order is an attack on academic freedom and free speech, and will harm not only pro-Palestinian advocates, but also Jewish students and faculty, and the academy itself.

The problem isn’t that the executive order affords protection to Jewish students under title VI of the Civil Rights Act. The Department of Education made clear in 2010 that Jews, Sikhs and Muslims (as ethnicities) could complain about intimidation, harassment and discrimination under this provision. I supported this clarification and filed a successful complaint for Jewish high school students when they were bullied, even kicked (there was a “Kick a Jew Day”).

But starting in 2010, rightwing Jewish groups took the “working definition”, which had some examples about Israel (such as holding Jews collectively responsible for the actions of Israel, and denying Jews the right to self-determination), and decided to weaponize it with title VI cases. While some allegations were about acts, mostly they complained about speakers, assigned texts and protests they said violated the definition. All these cases lost, so then these same groups asked the University of California to adopt the definition and apply it to its campuses. When that failed, they asked Congress, and when those efforts stalled, the president.

As proponents of the executive order like the Zionist Organization of America make clear, they see the application of the definition as “cover[ing] many of the anti-Jewish outrages … frequently led by … Students for Justice in Palestine, including … calls for ‘intifada’ [and] demonizing Israel”. As much as I disagree with SJP, it has the right to make “calls”. That’s called free speech.

If you think this isn’t about suppressing political speech, contemplate a parallel. There’s no definition of anti-black racism that has the force of law when evaluating a title VI case. If you were to craft one, would you include opposition to affirmative action? Opposing removal of Confederate statues?

Jared Kushner, the president’s son-in-law and special adviser, wrote in the New York Times that the definition “makes clear [that] Anti-Zionism is antisemitism”. I’m a Zionist. But on a college campus, where the purpose is to explore ideas, anti-Zionists have a right to free expression. I suspect that if Kushner or I had been born into a Palestinian family displaced in 1948, we might have a different view of Zionism, and that need not be because we vilify Jews or think they conspire to harm humanity. Further, there’s a debate inside the Jewish community whether being Jewish requires one to be a Zionist. I don’t know if this question can be resolved, but it should frighten all Jews that the government is essentially defining the answer for us.

The real purpose of the executive order isn’t to tip the scales in a few title VI cases, but rather the chilling effect. ZOA and other groups will hunt political speech with which they disagree, and threaten to bring legal cases. I’m worried administrators will now have a strong motivation to suppress, or at least condemn, political speech for fear of litigation. I’m worried that faculty, who can just as easily teach about Jewish life in 19th-century Poland or about modern Israel, will probably choose the former as safer. I’m worried that pro-Israel Jewish students and groups, who rightly complain when an occasional pro-Israel speaker is heckled, will get the reputation for using instruments of state to suppress their political opponents.

Antisemitism is a real issue, but too often people, both on the political right and political left, give it a pass if a person has the “right” view on Israel. Historically, antisemitism thrives best when leaders stoke the human capacity to define an “us” and a “them”, and where the integrity of democratic institutions and norms (such as free speech) are under assault.

Rather than champion the chilling of expressions that pro-Israel Jews find disturbing, or give the mildest criticism (if any) of a president who repeatedly uses antisemitic tropes, why weren’t those Jewish officials who were present when Trump signed the executive order reminding him that last year, when he demonized immigrants and called them “invaders”, Robert Bowers walked into a Pittsburgh synagogue because he believed Jews were behind this “invasion” of brown people as part of a plot to harm white people, and killed 11 of us?

Kenneth Stern is the director of the Bard Center for the Study of Hate, and the author of the forthcoming The Conflict Over the Conflict: The Israel/Palestine Campus Debate

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Carter Sherman at The Guardian:

Awash in soft, peach-colored light, the infant yawns, sticks her thumb in her mouth and flutters her eyes at the camera. As the camera pulls away from her, an umbilical cord and the fleshy tunnel surrounding the infant comes into focus. This isn’t a newborn baby: it’s a fetus in a disembodied womb. “This is Olivia,” a British female voice narrates. “Though she has yet to greet the outside world, she has already completed an amazing journey.” Say hello to “Meet Baby Olivia”, an animated video made by an American anti-abortion group that purports to depict humans’ embryonic and fetal development in an alleged effort to convert young people to the anti-abortion cause. The video – or something very close to it – will be required viewing for public school students in two states, with several more potentially on the way.

Last year, North Dakota became the first state in the nation to pass a law mandating that schools screen “Meet Baby Olivia” or a similar video. This year, Tennessee enacted its own “Meet Baby Olivia” law, requiring that “Meet Baby Olivia” or something like it be shown as part of schools’ sex education curriculum. So far in 2024, legislators in at least 10 other states have introduced bills that would require schools to show students “Meet Baby Olivia” or, in language that appears repeatedly throughout the bills, a similar “high-quality, computer-generated rendering or animation” that shows “every stage of human development inside the uterus, noting significant markers in cell growth and organ development for every significant marker of pregnancy until birth”. Including Tennessee’s legislation, bills in at least five of the states cite “Meet Baby Olivia” by name.

Classrooms are a burgeoning front in the post-Roe v Wade abortion wars, as conservative activists have increasingly intertwined their attacks on abortion with their distaste for sex ed that discusses alternatives to premarital abstinence. But medical professionals have accused the anti-abortion group behind “Meet Baby Olivia” of spreading propaganda and even misinformation in order to convert young people to their cause.

Seven of the 12 states where the bills have been introduced or passed ban almost all abortions. So far this year, state legislatures have considered at least 135 sex-ed bills – a record number, according to a CNN analysis. Sixty per cent of them would restrict sex ed in some way. Live Action has denied accusations that any sentence of “Meet Baby Olivia” is inaccurate. “‘Baby Olivia’ isn’t about abortion. It never says the word ‘abortion’,” said Noah Brandt, Live Action’s vice-president of communications. “‘Baby Olivia’ is an important place for states like Tennessee and North Dakota to turn to next, to continue to do work to educate on both biology and life, because they’ve already protected life so now it’s about teaching people when life begins and to respect that.”

A quiet success story

The emergence of the “Meet Baby Olivia” legislation comes at a precarious time for the anti-abortion movement. Since the overturning of Roe, support for abortion rights has mounted even in conservative states. Some Republicans have tried to downplay their opposition to the procedure or even supported efforts to protect it, in a sharp departure from decades of marching in lock step with the anti-abortion movement. But as the anti-abortion movement flounders, the “Meet Baby Olivia” bills are a quiet success story. Abortion opponents overturned Roe by spending years pushing for state-level abortion restrictions; if a restriction was successful in one state, lawmakers in other states would copy-paste its language and introduce their own versions. This strategy gnawed away access to abortion. In the “Meet Baby Olivia” bills, observers see a similar strategy at play – and evidence of mission creep.

“Anti-abortion, anti-sexual and [anti]-reproductive health movements have been focusing on other areas and expanding their scope in terms of what is relevant to them and what they’re working on,” said Kimya Forouzan, principal policy associate of state issues at the Guttmacher Institute, which supports abortion rights. Although Guttmacher tracks restrictions on sexual and reproductive health, Forouzan said that she had never before seen legislation quite like the “Meet Baby Olivia” bills.

[...] In at least two states, West Virginia and Iowa, “Meet Baby Olivia” bills passed one legislative chamber, but both state legislatures have now shuttered for the year. Most of the legislatures that introduced “Meet Baby Olivia” bills have either ended their 2024 sessions or are set to do so in the next few weeks. Compared to the rest of the country, the states that have introduced “Meet Baby Olivia” bills this year – which also include Georgia, Hawaii, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri, Pennsylvania, and South Carolina – have less comprehensive sex-ed policies, according to Siecus: Sex Ed for Social Change, a decades-old organization that issues best practice guidelines for comprehensive sex ed. (None of the states garnered more than a C grade in the Siecus ranking system.) Most states do not require public school sex ed to be medically accurate, culturally appropriate or unbiased, according to Guttmacher. Only four states say that sex ed cannot promote religion.

The Guardian reports on the disturbing trend of red states pushing new bills that require the showing of the propagandistic "Baby Olivia" video by anti-abortion extremist group Live Action in classrooms as part of the right-wing war on sex ed in schools.

[felassan]

Article: 'Exclusive: Laid-off Keywords union members set to strike outside of BioWare Edmonton'

EA and BioWare allegedly attempted to block members of Keywords Edmonton United from protesting outside of the company's office.

"Former employees of Keywords Studios who unionized under the banner of Keywords Edmonton United are planning to strike outside of BioWare's Edmonton headquarters on November 7, beginning around 11AM to 12PM local time. The striking union members—who had previously been working on Dragon Age: Dreadwolf before BioWare ended its contract with their employer—are protesting what they describe as an unfair termination by Keywords that they say was motivated by their unionization efforts. The union is continuing to contest the workers' terminations and argue that they be re-instated as Keywords employees who can be contracted to work with other Canadian clients. News of Keywords Edmonton United's strike comes with an additional twist: according to the union, Electronic Arts and BioWare appealed to the Alberta Labour Relations Board to block picketing from taking place outside EA's offices. The corporation behind the Dragon Age and Mass Effect franchises argued that this strike was a dispute between the laid-off workers and Keywords, and that they were not legally entitled to protest outside of BioWare because they had been a remote workforce. The Board has since ruled in the union's favor, and the former Dragon Age: Dreadwolf QA testers are set to strike as planned. Union spokesperson James Russwurm praised the Board's decision, calling it a win for all remote workers across the country. "We view this Labour Board ruling as a huge win for not just us, but remote workers everywhere in Canada," he said. "Workers can now go 'oh, I can picket my employer's offices downtown even though I didn't work in the office.'" The workers' planned strike and brief legal tussle with the company that contracted their former employer shine a light on the union's dispute with the prolific external development services provider. The union continues to assert that Keywords engaged in "bad-faith bargaining" during the process of negotiating a contract, and that their termination was a result of their successful unionization. Their efforts also shine a light on the nuances of Canadian labor law, and showcase useful lessons for developers hoping to unionize across the globe.

EA and BioWare tried to prevent laid-off contractors from striking at their office After members of Keywords Edmonton United unanimously voted in favor of calling a strike, the group filed a notice with the Alberta Labour Relations Board. Canadian law requires for unions to file notice with local labour boards in advance of such action. Upon receiving word of the filing however, lawyers from EA and BioWare apparently objected to the decision to picket outside of BioWare HQ. In a hearing that took place November 2, they argued that the Board should require unionized workers to picket in another location—specifically outside their own homes. A core element of EA's argument was that because the former Keywords workers worked entirely from home, the BioWare headquarters was not their place of work and they had no right to picket there. Alberta's Labour Relations board in Canada has oversight on what are called "secondary picketing" locations, which are locations that striking workers may attempt to protest at that are not their primary place of work. The union successfully argued that BioWare's headquarters did represent their former workplace even though their members did not physically go into the office. Russwurm explained that union members began working with BioWare at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, which prevented them from going into the office for at least a year. When Keywords and BioWare attempted to force the contractors to return to the office, they began their efforts to unionize. One reason the Board ruled in the union's favor was that like many remote workers in the world of game development, the former Keywords QA testers used special software to remotely access computers located inside of BioWare's office. "If the power goes out in the building, I couldn't do my work because the PC in the building would be turned off," Russwurm explained. The Board has ruled that striking Keywords Edmonton United workers cannot block access or services to the building, which is also home to other companies besides BioWare. Russwurm said the union does not dispute that decision, and that their intent was never to prevent BioWare employees from accessing the premises. He stated that BioWare employees arriving at the studio during the strike would not have to physically cross a picket line to enter the building. "We're going to be out there, getting the word out, and even talking to BioWare employees coming and out of the building that might be interested in unionization. That's more of our focus than actual disruption." Russwurm said he maintains that the video game industry as a whole needs more unionization "across the board," and particularly that his former colleagues at BioWare should have a particular interest in unionizing after this year's brutal layoffs. "They can look around say 'we've had like two rounds of cuts now—[they're] cutting people who have been here for decades.' What kind of job protection do you have?" Game Developer has reached out to Keywords Studios and Electronic Arts, and will update this story when said companies respond."

[source] [more on the Keywords topic]

[fractalmax-official]

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[thecaffeinatedwitch]

Common Misconceptions About the Law of Assumption

The Law of Assumption has become a popular tool for manifesting desires, but with its rise in popularity comes a fair share of misunderstandings. Many people mistakenly reduce it to wishful thinking or believe it's just about repeating affirmations without effort. This blog aims to clear up these misconceptions and provide clarity on what the Law of Assumption really involves.

1. Myth: The Law of Assumption Is Just Wishful Thinking

Reality: The Law of Assumption isn’t about daydreaming or hoping something will happen—it’s about living in the assumption that your desire is already fulfilled.

Instead of fantasizing about future outcomes, the Law teaches you to embody the state of having what you want now. This shift in mindset rewires your thoughts and actions to align with your desire, causing it to manifest in your reality.

Example: Instead of thinking, “I hope I’ll get a promotion,” assume: “I am already successful in my new role.” This mindset influences how you act, boosting your confidence and making you more proactive, leading to real-world changes.

2. Myth: You Must Believe Every Affirmation from the Start

Reality: Belief isn’t required right away—repetition is what makes affirmations effective.

At first, your affirmations might feel untrue. That’s normal! Over time, persistent affirmations will sink into your subconscious and gradually shift your inner beliefs. The goal is to replace old, limiting thoughts with empowering ones.

Example: Even if you don’t feel confident, saying “I am confident” repeatedly will eventually become ingrained in your mind, leading you to act with confidence.

3. Myth: The Law of Assumption Works Without Any Action

Reality: While the Law emphasizes mental shifts, these changes naturally lead to inspired action.

You don’t have to force yourself to act, but when you truly assume that something is already yours, your behavior will align with that belief. The right actions will come effortlessly, often without conscious planning.

Example: If you assume, “I am fit and healthy,” you’ll naturally find yourself drawn to exercise, healthy food, or other wellness practices.

4. Myth: The Law of Assumption Ignores Reality

Reality: The Law doesn’t ask you to ignore reality but to reshape your perspective.

It’s not about pretending that current challenges don’t exist. Instead, it’s about mentally shifting your focus from limitations to possibilities. When your mindset changes, your perception of reality changes, and your external world follows.

Example: If you're struggling financially, instead of focusing on debt, assume: “I always have more than enough money.” This shift will guide your decisions toward opportunities for financial growth.

5. Myth: If Results Don’t Come Quickly, It Means the Law Isn’t Working

Reality: The Law of Assumption works on its own timeline, not yours.

Many people give up too soon, thinking the Law isn’t working because results don’t appear instantly. However, manifesting is a process. External circumstances take time to align with your new assumptions. The key is persistence—keep assuming your desire has already come true, even if the physical evidence takes time to show up.

Example: If you assume you’re in a loving relationship, maintain that belief even if you’re currently single. Trust that the right person or circumstances will align when the time is right.

Final Thoughts:

The Law of Assumption isn’t magic, nor is it wishful thinking—it’s a mental discipline that aligns your thoughts, emotions, and actions with your desired reality. The process requires persistence, repetition, and patience, but over time, your assumptions will become your reality.

If you’ve been holding onto any of these myths, it’s time to let them go and embrace the power of assumption with clarity and confidence. Assume your desired outcome today, and watch as your world begins to transform.

Remember: It’s not about hoping. It’s about knowing. -yours, thecaffeinatedwitch 🎀

[mariacallous]

If Donald Trump returns to the White House, close allies want to dramatically change the government's interpretation of Civil Rights-era laws to focus on "anti-white racism" rather than discrimination against people of color.

Why it matters: Trump's Justice Department would push to eliminate or upend programs in government and corporate America that are designed to counter racism that has favored whites.

Targets would range from decades-old policies aimed at giving minorities economic opportunities, to more recent programs that began in response to the pandemic and the killing of George Floyd.

Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung told Axios: "As President Trump has said, all staff, offices, and initiatives connected to Biden's un-American policy will be immediately terminated."

Driving the news: Longtime aides and allies preparing for a potential second Trump administration have been laying legal groundwork with a flurry of lawsuits and legal complaints — some of which have been successful.

A central vehicle for the effort has been America First Legal, founded by former Trump aide Stephen Miller, who has called the group conservatives' "long-awaited answer to the ACLU."

America First cited the Civil Rights Act of 1964 in February in a lawsuit against CBS and Paramount Global for what the group argued was discrimination against a white, straight man who was a writer for the show "Seal Team" in 2017.

In February, the group filed a civil rights complaint against the NFL over its "Rooney Rule."

The rule — named for Dan Rooney, late owner of the Pittsburgh Steelers — was instituted in 2003 and expanded in 2022. It requires NFL teams to interview at least two minority candidates for vacant general manager, head coach and coordinator positions.

American First argued that "given the limited time frame to hire executives and coaches after the season, this results in fewer opportunities for similarly situated, well-qualified candidates who are not minorities."

In 2021, Miller's group successfully sued to block the implementation of a $29 billion pandemic-era program for women- and minority-owned restaurants, saying it discriminated against white-owned businesses.

"This ruling is the first, but crucial, step towards ending government-sponsored racial discrimination," Miller said then.

Zoom in: Other Trump-aligned groups are preparing for a future Trump Justice Department to implement — or challenge — policies on a broader scale.

The Heritage Foundation's well-funded "Project 2025" envisions a second Trump administration ending what it calls "affirmative discrimination."

Part of the plan, written by former Trump Justice Department official Gene Hamilton, argues that "advancing the interests of certain segments of American society ... comes at the expense of other Americans — and in nearly all cases violates longstanding federal law."

Hamilton is America First Legal's general counsel.

Such groups have gained momentum with the Supreme Court's turn to the right — most notably its recent rejection of affirmative action in college admissions. The court ruled that programs designed to benefit people of color and address past injustices discriminate against white and Asian Americans.

In 2021, a federal judge blocked a $4 billion program to help Black farmers.

Earlier this month, another federal judge ruled that the Commerce Department's Minority Business Development Agency was discriminating against white people and that the program had to be open to everyone.

What they're saying: The Trump campaign directed Axios to the candidate's already stated positions bashing Biden's policies promoting equity.

"Every institution in America is under attack from this Marxist concept of 'equity,' " Trump said in 2023. "I will get this extremism out of the White House, out of the military, out of the Justice Department, and out of our government."

The Trump campaign's Steven Cheung added: "President Trump is committed to weeding out discriminatory programs and racist ideology across the federal government."

The NFL and Miller declined to comment. CBS didn't respond to a request for comment.

Between the lines: A CBS poll last November found that 58% of Trump voters believe that people of color were advantaged over white people — just 9% of Biden voters said the same.

Polls also show, however, that Trump is gaining support among Black and Latino voters.

Zoom out: Trump has portrayed himself as the victim of racism amid his legal troubles.

He repeatedly has said Black women prosecutors in Georgia and New York are "racist."

His political career really began in 2011 as the chief Birther-agitator, questioning Barack Obama's eligibility to be president.

When Trump jumped into the presidential race in 2015, he accused Mexico of dumping criminals and rapists into the U.S.

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

April 24, 2024

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

APR 25, 2024

This morning, President Joe Biden signed into law the $95 billion national security supplemental bill providing military aid to Ukraine, Israel, and the Indo-Pacific, as well as humanitarian aid to Gaza and other peoples suffering humanitarian crises. The Pentagon immediately sent about a billion dollars worth of ammunition, air defense munitions, and artillery rounds, as well as weapons and armored vehicles to Ukraine. The U.S. Department of Defense had moved supplies into Poland and Germany in hopes that the measure would pass; they should move into Ukraine soon. 

The Pentagon also said today that in mid-March it provided Ukraine Army Tactical Missile Systems, or ATACMS, with a range of 185 miles (300 kilometers), twice that of previous weapons sent by the U.S. 

For many months, Ukraine has been desperately short of supplies, especially ammunition, and its war effort has suffered as it waited for the reinforcements that are finally on their way. 

In a speech after signing the law, Biden explained that the U.S. would send equipment to Ukraine from its own stockpiles and then “replenish those stockpiles with new products made by American companies here in America: Patriot missiles made in Arizona, Javelins made in Alabama, artillery shells made in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Texas. In other words, we’re helping Ukraine while at the same time investing in our own industrial base, strengthening our own national security, and supporting jobs in nearly 40 states all across America.” 

Biden emphasized that the law is “going to make America safer. It’s going to make the world safer. And it continues America’s leadership in the world, and everyone knows it.” But he called out that border security was missing from the bill, and he promised to bring that measure back. 

Biden made it a point “to thank everyone in Congress who made it possible, especially the bipartisan leadership: Speaker of the House, Mike Johnson; Leader Jeffries; Leaders Schumer and McConnell. They don’t always agree, but when it matters most, they stepped up and did the right thing. And I mean this sincerely, history will remember this time.” 

“We don’t walk away from our allies; we stand with them. We don’t let tyrants win; we oppose them. We don’t merely watch global events unfold; we shape them. That’s what it means to be the…indispensable nation. That’s what it means to be the world’s superpower and the world’s leading democracy. Some of our MAGA Republican friends reject that vision,” he said, “but this vote makes it clear: There is a bipartisan consensus for that kind of American leadership. That’s exactly what we’ll continue to deliver.” 

This morning, Arlette Saenz of CNN reported on the six months of behind-the-scenes negotiating Biden and his team engaged in to get House speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) behind Ukraine aid. Meetings, phone calls, defense briefings, and so on, laid out for Johnson just what abandoning Ukraine would mean for U.S. and global security. 

Biden urged his team to stay in close contact with Johnson, as well as House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), and Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), but to avoid attacking Johnson in order to allow room to move discussions forward. 

Counselor to the president Steve Ricchetti, a key negotiator, told Saenz: “He just kept saying, ‘Keep talking. Keep working.’ You know, keep finding ways to resolve differences. And that was his direction.”

Biden’s focus on the slow, steady work of governance is a change from the actions of Republican leaders since 1981 whose goal was not to build up successful programs that helped Americans in general, but rather to slash the government. Killing programs requires only saying no to other people’s ideas and riling up voters to endorse that anti-government program by flame-throwing on right-wing media. 

Over the years, it seems we have become accustomed to the idea that flame-throwing defines politics, but in fact, Biden’s reliance on slow, careful negotiation harks back to the eras when leaders sought to build coalitions and find common ground in order to pass legislation.   

North America’s Building Trades Unions (NABTU) acknowledged the power of Biden’s approach today when it endorsed Biden for president in 2024. The union’s president, Sean McGarvey,  noted that Trump had promised to protect pensions and to pass infrastructure laws that would help employment in the building trades, but did neither. In contrast, Biden worked to pass the American Rescue Plan, which protected pensions, and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the Chips and Science Act, and the Inflation Reduction Act, which McGarvey said “have brought life-changing, opportunity-creating, generational change focused on the working men and women of this great country who have for far too long been clamoring for a leader to finally keep their word.”

In an ad, McGarvey said: “Donald Trump is incapable of running anything, let alone the most powerful country in the history of the world.”

The NABTU has 3 million members across the country and has committed to investing heavily to organize workers to vote for Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris in the battleground states of Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin, where about 250,000 of their members live.

Trump has other problems today, as well, after an Arizona grand jury yesterday indicted 11 of the fake electors in that state with conspiracy, fraudulent schemes and artifices, fraudulent schemes and practices, and forgery for their attempt to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. 

Those charged included state senators Jake Hoffman and Anthony Kern, former Arizona Republican Party chair Kelli Ward, and Tyler Bowyer of the right-wing advocacy organization Turning Points Action. The indictment lists seven other co-conspirators, who are not yet named but who appear from descriptions to include Trump lawyers Rudy Giuliani, John Eastman, Christina Bobb, Boris Epshteyn, and Jenna Ellis; Trump campaign operative Mike Roman; and Trump’s former chief of staff Mark Meadows. Bobb is now senior counsel for “election integrity” for the Republican National Committee.

Trump is listed as an unindicted co-conspirator.   

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

[dailyanarchistposts]

Our Rage Must Not Be Contained

It is now apparent that the autonomous procession, in all its diversity, needs to use creativity to break out of the current stalemate. To accomplish this, we need to free ourselves from the defeatist rhetoric that tends to crop up in our discussions, to accept criticism, and to abandon the ritualized framework of the leading procession. We need to become unpredictable again.

Regarding the argument currently circulating to the effect that we should join forces once more with trade unions, we have some reservations. Let’s not forget that trade union leaders are the ones who negotiate with every successive government to determine the length of the chains with which we are all bound. We don’t need longer chains, but to be rid of chains once and for all! And what about the trade union service personnel who attacked students and radicals on several occasions during the demonstrations of 2016?

Let’s make it clear that we don’t want to join forces with trade unions—with an authoritarian and hierarchical political apparatus. Rather, we want to create connections with everyone—unionized or not—who is disillusioned with the presiding political hierarchies. We can form these connections during blockades, in spontaneous actions, or in the leading processions.

Here are some closing thoughts that we could discuss in hopes of opening new breaches in our struggles:

-

First, why not take law enforcement by surprise during major events like May Day? Instead of converging for the afternoon demonstration as we usually do, we could desert the demonstration. As police units would be positioned along the official route, we could seize this opportunity to carry out actions everywhere else, outside the official route of the demonstration. Certainly, such action requires a lot of preparation and organization. The goal would be that every single affinity group that would otherwise have constituted the head of the leading procession should attack a specific target, all at the same time. It might not work, of course—calls for “autonomous actions” often fall flat, and this strategy (branded as “Plan B” for the 2007 G8 summit in Germany) has failed before. People usually need to experience a certain amount of concentration to gain the morale necessary to take transformative action. But if we could decentralize our efforts, we could outmaneuver the police and draw more people into the confrontations.

-

Another solution could be to dissolve the autonomous bloc at the head of the leading procession, as the latter is now becoming too predictable and somehow too slow. In doing so, we might be able to use to our advantage the fact that the majority of the crowd in the leading procession supports our actions, so as to move through the crowd like free electrons, attacking one target after another. If they had to control the entirety of the leading procession, police forces would constantly being harassed or overtaken by events. As mentioned earlier, traditional trade unions are still eroding, and more people are joining the leading procession; therefore, we can expect more and more people on our side. Strategically, it would be a nightmare for law enforcement. How would they carry out arrests amidst thousands of uncooperative individuals? If they sought to divide the procession, they would risk being surrounded by demonstrators as they were on May Day 2016; if they charged the crowd, it would be a public image nightmare for the government. The Police Commissioner of Paris made it clear that the current strategy of the police is to avoid direct confrontations; if this continues, it means that sending undercover officers into the crowd to arrest specific individuals is not an option. Our mobility and agility would be a precious asset. Finally, distributing the confrontational black bloc throughout the rest of the leading procession would dissolve the dividing lines of identity, creating confusion for the authorities as to who to target and opening up the possibility that people who had not previously expected it of themselves might cross the threshold into action.

One thing is certain: the present situation cannot continue. As the authors of an article entitled “Ce sera tout?” (“That will be all?”) put it:

“The self-satisfied ‘leading procession’ has now been instituted as a norm of superficial radicalism to the detriment of inventiveness, effervescence, and riotous joy, thus removing all its subversive significance and opposing the savage and uncontrollable aspects that no longer find a place to express themselves within it.”

It is vital to consider every single criticism made of the leading procession, in order to find solutions to escape from this dangerous stalemate. We need to rethink everything and begin acting according to a different logic.

All of that being said, the events of that afternoon continue to fill our hearts with warmth, joy, and passion. Count on us to continue smashing every single symbol of the prevailing order until we reach its very foundations.

[fairestar]

“feeling is the secret” by neville goddard · a summary

this post is the last part of the summary. for the first chapter (how the law works) go here, and here for the second one (all about sleep and accessing the subconscious through it).

❦︎ chapter III : prayer.

the mind in prayer is in a state of relaxation and receptivity similar to the feeling attained just before drifting off to sleep.

prayer is not much about what you ask for, but about how you prepare for its reception. the only condition required is that you believe your prayers are already realized: the moment you accept the wish as an accomplished fact, the subconscious finds means for its realization.

the disciplined man knows that consciousness is the one and only reality, that ideas and feelings are as real as objects in space. therefore, he never entertains a feeling that does not contribute to his wish, because he knows that feelings are the causes of the actions and circumstances of his life.

the undisciplined man finds it difficult to believe the things that are denied by the senses and tends to accept or reject solely on appearances of the senses.

whenever you are in the state of “i should like to, but i can't,” the harder you try, the less you are able to yield to the wish. because, once again, you attract what you're conscious of being, not what you want to be. when the senses confirm the absence of your wish, all conscious effort to counteract this suggestion is futile, and tends to intensify it.

prayer is the art of yielding to the wish and not the forcing of the wish. it must be without effort, for effort is fatal. whenever the feeling is in conflict with your wish, feeling will be the victor.

· how to yield to the wish.

to persist on the wish as an accomplished fact, you must create a passive state, a kind of reverie or meditative reflection in which you are conscious and quite able to move or open your eyes, but have no desire to do so. in such a relaxed state, the mind is turned from the objective world and easily senses the reality of a subjective state.

— but how ?

lie flat on your back with your head on a level with your body, or relax in a comfortable chair, close your eyes and imagine that you are sleepy, feel that you are so very sleepy.

in a little while, a faraway feeling accompanied by a general lassitude and loss of all desire to move envelops you, you feel a pleasant, comfortable rest.

when this passive state is reached, imagine that you have realized your wish (not how it was done, but simply the wish fulfilled, think from the end of your wish, not the process of it). visualize what you desire to achieve in life, then feel yourself as having already achieved it.

when you emerge from the moment of prayer, it's as though you were shown the happy and successful end of a play, although you weren't shown how that end was achieved. however, having witnessed the end, you remain calm and secure in the knowledge that the end has been perfectly defined.

“all you can possibly need or desire is already yours” → you need no helper to give your wish to you, it is yours now. as the end is accepted, you become totally indifferent to possible failure, because acceptance of the end wills the means to that end.

❦︎ chapter IV : feeling.

there is a definite feeling associated with every idea in the mind of man. which means: everything you can think of already exists as a state you can occupy. capture the feeling associated with your realized wish by assuming the feeling you would have if you were already in possession of the thing you desire, and your wish will objectify itself.

that which you feel yourself to be, you are, and you are given that which you are.

instead of believing in god or in jesus, believe you are god or jesus. he didn't find it strange to do the works of god, because he believed himself to be god. it is natural to do the works of the one you believe yourself to be. so, live in the feeling of being the one you want to be and that you shall be.

ㅤㅤㅤㅤ© fairestar, 2023.