#Ultimate Bias Ceo

[evilminji]

I got distracted, BUT I REMEMBERED!

The Dr.'s Fenton? Would ABSOLUTELY fight a child.

Specifically, Hatsume Mei. Future CEO of Hatsume Industries! And ENGINEERING RIVAL of their's! They may be new to this whole "support industy" business, but they are SEASONED weaponry makers! And that brilliant little upstart is good! Audacious! A THREAT!!!

COME GET SOME!!! D:<

See, they needed to Move. Things were getting a bit... spicy. They may have made so unfortunate choices, back before they knew the truth about their Son and Ghosts in general.

Ignorance, bigotry, and academic bias are curses in their house for a REASON, after all. They never thought... after all the DECADES of facing it themselves...

Well...

Needless to say, they were, are, and will always BE horrified by how they acted. There may have be a whole host of reasons behind WHY they acted that way. But those WHYs aren't good enough. They should have been better. Done better. They don't offer any excuses, but but they can give an explanation, if it's wanted.

And, together, as a family, they got through Maddie n Jack's horrifying mistakes.

God they don't deserve those kids. Love them to pieces. The things they don't warn ya about parenthood, you know? The mistakes you might make. You think you're ready. Think everything's alright. Then your life's work KILLS your son and brings him back.

And you don't notice.

......what sort of parents DONT NOTICE?

They still have nightmares. Feel sick. God, if they were working in ANY other field. With ANY other materials! If it wasn't SPECIFICALLY ectoplasm? He... he wouldn't have come back. Oh god.

........

So.... so, yeah.

They're working on some things! As a family! Seeing a therapist from the Zone. Lovely... Them? They're a tree person. Neither Jack or Maddie is quite certain what gender pronouns, if ANY, they are supposed to use. They've been defaulting to They/Them just to be safe. Still! Alien therapist! Neat!

But, of COURSE. The BABIES in White throw a FIT. "Wah, wah, wah you've been compromised blah blah blah" oh PLEASE! Just because they've had a little personal growth! And stopped shooting at Phantom in public! And in general! You shoot ONE little Goverment agent for trying to shoot your baby and suddenly YOUR the bad guy!

He didn't even die!

So, yeah, BIT spicy.

Honestly? Feels like a long time coming. They were never very popular. This ultimately just feels like the ends of a road that began in college. Them, the two "crazies" with their backs to the wall, as the government closes in, trying to tear them down for knowing the TRUTH and refusing to shut up about it. Their reputations so deep in the mud, they're tasting bedrock.

At least they are together.

And thank god they've had years to plan for the inevitable.

So? They have the kids grab their go bags and head off too stay with Danny's new celebrity friend from another dimension, Mr Wayne. Nice man, little dim, but since he's willing to open his home to the kids in case of emergency? Perfect. And frankly, as long as Mr. Pennyworth is there, everything will be fine.

Besides! Lil Damian is a very respectful and responsible young man. Tim and Danny may get up to mischief, but they can trust the youngest to put his foot down.

THEM on the other hand?

Not so lucky. THEY have to stay with the house. It's not exactky like they can move the portal after all, it's built in. And this is where the kids grew up! Where Jack and her scrimped and saved, lived out of cars and off nickle noodles, to afford! This is their HOME! And no jack booted THUG is going to take that.

So the kids go first. They go to the command center. Jack takes pot shots while she fires up... THAT machine. The one they wired into the house itself, right along with the Ectoplasmic Shielding. It was all theoretical, once. But not anymore.

Now they have The Zone.

It's been collecting energy runoff from the open gate ever since it opened. Siphoning them into the sub-basment mega batteries. Enough to run two-thirds the planet for the next half a millennia. If only the damn patent office would LET THEM PATENT THEIR WORK-!

But that doesn't matter anymore. No, what matters is checking how full the battery banks are. Decently. It HAS been a while since they've done a controlled drain. Good, that means they have more then enough.

So, with no kids to witness things getting nasty? She pulls out her keys and unlocks the parental commands, flips the the shields to "strobe-kill". Let's see you crowd us NOW fuckers. With Jack freed up to help aim the house? They set to work.

It's... not EXACTLY an exact science, as much as they'd prefer it to be. More of a controlled jump. Set preferences, power jump, hop sideways an unknown distance. Land. Look around.

Is it what you want?

Habitable?

A zombie apocalypse?

Jump again. And again. And again. Until the battery runs out. Then sit... or float...or drift, there, until the batteries refill. You have to be mindful, of course, that you don't lose Shield coverage. Because it keeps the House air tight and together. If you jump and immediately lose power to the shields because you misjudged the energy left in the batteries?

Better HOPE you land somewhere with a breathable atmosphere and no zombies!

And Fentons don't rely on HOPE! They rely on good ol firepower and hutzpa!

Also advanced ectoplasmic scientific engineering! But that was a given.

It... takes a while. They run out of canned peaches. Have to stop TWICE to help cure a zombie plague, since they are the only ones with a still working lab. They were actually sort of joking with the kids about the zombies. Oof. Good thing Ectoplasm eats EVERYTHING. One specialized ecto shot and that disease is TOAST.

Granted, the surviors are all limnal now. But they don't seem to care in the slightest.

Then there was the whole "oop! Planet's gone." Couple of worlds. The one with the crabs. The ocean one. The ice age. The robots. The cartoon horses. The inappropriately dressed high-schoolers with weapons fighting God. The boring one. The one with ninjas...

I mean, they are just NOT having any LUCK!

Okay, next moderately stable world, they are doing a groceries run! A Man can not live off freeze dried meals forever! Well, you CAN. But it's making Jack sad, and frankly that's a war crime. Plus she's run out of tea! AND coffee! A life of no caffeine? She can't endure that.

She's started to eye her son's God awful energy abominations in a can, for God sake! Desperate time's and all that...

Zyeyooom!

Thunk!

Which? Is how? The ENTIRE class of 1-H? Turns to stare in ABSOLUTE HORROR at the cackling, head thrown back, hands clawed, mad scientist "it's alive! It's aliiiiiiive" type insanity that is Hatsume Mei and her "this green goo I found from some guys Quirk" powered teleport anchor.

It MADE A HOUSE.

On SCHOOL FUCKING GROUNDS. An ENTIRE house! Is... is that a blimp? That's English right? What's it say?! What the FUCK is that sh- OH MY GOD ARE THOSE PEOPLE!? MEI!!!!!

So begins... the Fentons Beef With A Child™.

Because! Mei will forever more claim! That SHE brought them to this universe with HER magnificent machine! But Maddie and Jack? At first, trying to be nice about it, helpfully point out, actually? No. THEIR house can and does reality jump. THEY brought themselves.

Mei ignores them.

Crows about her magnificent machine. Scoffs about them thinks they haspd anything to do with it.

Oh... oh it is ON, you tiny pink haired little shit!

Does the Japanese Government want to take control of the situation? Of course they do. They want these scientists and they want that house. Local Nedzu's say? "It's nice to want things" :) *sips tea mockingly*

They landed on HIS school's grounds. Finders keepers!

You may say "threat to national security" but HE says "free support gear for the students and security for the school"! Not to MENTION all this delightful FREE clean energy! They are a delightful couple. With a portal to the fabric between realities in their basement!

Not found of the laboratory, but that's a personal issue. The ZONE however? Oooohohohohoho~☆

It? Would DRIVE THE HPSC and Japanese government BATSHIT INSANE that they can't get at the portal? That threats and stealth Heros and every other method? Just... hits a brick wall. A big ol "lol nope!" Meanwhile Nedzu and occasionally random teachers or students are popping in and out of this house they can get into?

Nedzu especially standing just on the other side of the shields going >:3 neener~ neener~ neener~ Ha ha! I could be mature about this but am CHOOSING NOT TO BE!

@legitimatesatanspawn @mutable-manifestation @hdgnj @hypewinter @babbling-babull

[the-garbanzo-annex-jr]

CRA notifies Jewish National Fund it will revoke Canadian charitable status

Story by Ari David Blaff

The Canada Revenue Agency has notified the century-old Jewish National Fund that it plans to revoke the group’s charitable status in Canada over support for military infrastructure in Israel, a decision the JNF says it will challenge in the courts.

The CRA did not respond to a request in time for publication. JNF CEO Lance Davis directed the Post to the organization’s public statement and contemporaneous newsletter to its supporters.

They added that their appeal intends to show the CRA’s findings are flawed, that the federal body’s procedures are unfair and that there “is a reasonable apprehension of bias in the audit.”

JNF had an earlier run-in with the CRA following a financial audit showing that donations from the organization were used to build military infrastructure for the Israel Defence Forces (IDF). The CRA said the move ran afoul of Canada’s Tax Code concerning supporting foreign militaries.

The CRA has cracked down on other Canadian Jewish charities in recent years, citing similar concerns. In 2019, Beth Oloth Charitable Organization had its charitable status removed for distributing funds aiding the Israeli military.

“Canadian charities are not allowed to fund foreign militaries,” Mark Blumberg, an attorney specializing in Canadian charity law, told the Post by email. “Clearly, there were previously some compliance issues,” Blumberg, creator of CharityData.ca – the largest national database of Canadian registered charities – added. He cautioned that it is difficult to draw conclusions from JNF’s announcement “without reviewing the letters from (the) CRA combined with the letters from the charity to CRA.”

Disenhouse pledged that JNF Canada had worked, and remains committed, to addressing the CRA’s earlier concerns and has strived to avoid a revocation of its charitable status.

“Similar to other charities that support the needs of children, workers, and vulnerable communities we would expect CRA to work with, not against, our charity,” Disenhouse said.

In a statement on Thursday, Shimon Koffler Fogel, CEO of the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs, said his group “is supportive of JNF.”

“CIJA remains hopeful that JNF and CRA will ultimately identify a constructive resolution, permitting JNF to continue its important work ranging from relief from poverty to environmental reclamation,” he added.

National Post

[dcllfaced]

( layout ib : @/stcpidcupid )

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ༝ ˚ ₊ ‧ ୨୧ . . . MEET THE MEMBERS OF VALLEY OF THE DOLLS !

Are you a new Toymaker who wants to learn the Valley of the Dolls members? Are you trying to pick a bias? Well, you're in luck! Here is where you can learn about the prettiest dolls of STARBORN CREATIVE and REDRUM RECORDS!

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ༝ ˚ ₊ ‧ ୨୧ . . . GWAN SUN-HUI, known professionally as SUNHUI, was born on April 27th, 1995 in Changwon, South Korea. Ever since she was little she was surrounded by music as she was raised in Seoul, South Korea since she was two years old. Both her parents are in the music and entertainment industry, her mother is a producer for one of Korea's biggest music companies, SM Entertainment, while her father is the voice of a well-known Korean music radio show. Growing up she did involuntary training from her mom in hopes that Sunhui would be able to debut and rise to stardom. She was around 15 when she had a falling out with both her parents who kept telling her she had no talent and wouldn't make it anywhere in the entertainment industry; ultimately they forced her out of the house. She then got a job at a small cafe where she met Noa who had told her about REDRUM RECORDS auditioning. The words of her parents echoed in her head as she booked an audition with the motivation to prove them wrong.

STAGE NAME › Sunhui

FULL NAME › Gwan Sun-Hui

BIRTHDAY › April 27th, 1995

BIRTHPLACE › Changwon, South Korea

NATIONALITY › Korean

ETHNICITY › Korean

TRAINING PERIOD › 7 years

POSITION ›  Sub Vocalist, Main Rapper, Sub Dancer

REPRESENTATIVE FEAR(S) › Thanatophobia (fear of death) + Aichmophobia (fear of sharp objects in general) + Trypanophobia (fear of sharp objects in a medical setting)

FACE CLAIM › Kim Bora / SuA (Dreamcatcher)

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ༝ ˚ ₊ ‧ ୨୧ . . . LEE NOA, known professionally as NOA, was born February 12th, 1996 and is the youngest of four children. Growing up, she typically got whatever she asked for as her parents are wealthy CEOs of a joint tech company in the United States and South Korea. She originally went to a prestigious arts academy in the United States as she lived there for six years to live with her father after her parents got divorced. When she turned 17, she returned to South Korea to spend a few years with her mother and brothers. During her first few months back, she had seen promotions for auditions for an entertainment company REDRUM RECORDS and decided to audition while not telling her family as she believed she wasn't going to be chosen.

STAGE NAME › Noa  

FULL NAME › Lee Noa

BIRTHDAY ›  February 12th, 1996

BIRTHPLACE ›  Busan, South Korea

NATIONALITY ›  Korean-American

ETHNICITY › Korean-American

TRAINING PERIOD ›  Seven months

POSITION ›  Main Dancer, Lead Vocalist

REPRESENTATIVE FEAR(S) › Somniphobia (fear of sleep) + Taphophobia (Fear of being buried alive / suffocation)

FACE CLAIM › Kang Seulgi (Red Velvet) 

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ༝ ˚ ₊ ‧ ୨୧ . . . SONG NINA, known professionally as NINA, was born on May 10th, 1996. As an only child born to a working class family, she was spoiled as much as her parents were able to provide for her. After seeing EXID perform Up & Down, she decided to become an idol and auditioned for STARBORN CREATIVE in 2015, despite their protests for her to take up another career instead. She trained there for three years before debuting in Valley of the Dolls. 

STAGE NAME › Nina

FULL NAME › Son Nina 

BIRTHDAY › May 10th, 1996

BIRTHPLACE › Seoul, South Korea 

NATIONALITY › Korean 

ETHNICITY › Korean 

TRAINING PERIOD › Two years 

POSITION › Main Vocalist, Main Visual 

REPRESENTATIVE FEAR(S) › Achluophobia (fear of darkness) + Claustrophobia (fear of being in constricted, confined spaces) 

FACE CLAIM › Kim Jiyeon / Bona (WJSN) 

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ༝ ˚ ₊ ‧ ୨୧ . . . YOON HYOJIN, known professionally as LILITH, was born on April 15th, 1997. As the oldest sibling of four children, and because her parents were not around much due to constantly traveling for work, she and her siblings learned to care for themselves and each other. In 2017, all four siblings traveled to New York, USA, in order to finish their studies closer to their parents. While there, Hyojin learned about STARBORN CREATIVE and auditioned for the United States branch of the company. After only one year of training, Hyojin moved back to South Korea with her siblings and soon debuted in Valley of the Dolls.

STAGE NAME › Lilith

FULL NAME › Yoon Hyojin

ENGLISH NAME › Sidney Yoon

BIRTHDAY › April 15th, 1997

BIRTHPLACE › Anyang, Gyeonggi, South Korea

NATIONALITY › Korean-American

ETHNICITY › Korean

TRAINING PERIOD › One year

POSITION ›  Leader, Main Dancer, Lead Rapper

REPRESENTATIVE FEAR(S) › Chronophobia (fear of time) + Chronomentrophobia (fear of clocks)

FACE CLAIM › Kim Hyunjung / Seola (WJSN)

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ༝ ˚ ₊ ‧ ୨୧ . . . QIAN BIYA, known professionally as BIYA, was born on November 19th, 1999. She was the only child that her parents had after years of trying. Growing up, her family was never in a good standing financially. She was homeschooled for the majority of her education as her parents couldn't afford to send her to a proper school for her education. It wasn't until she turned 15 that she started taking up small jobs around her city in order to help her family with payments. A small clip of her singing was uploaded and she was eventually contacted by BIGHIT talent scouts and trained under the company after being told she would be paid well if she joined. After three years, with no advancements, she left the company quietly and joined XECOMPANY, now named REDRUM RECORDS where she trained for a little over a year and debuted as one of the six members of Valley of the Dolls.

STAGE NAME › Biya 

FULL NAME › Qian Biya

BIRTHDAY › November 19th, 1999

BIRTHPLACE › Shanghai, China

NATIONALITY › Chinese

ETHNICITY › Chinese 

TRAINING PERIOD › Three years [BIGHIT] ; One and a half year [XECOMPANY]

POSITION ›  Lead Vocalist, Fake Maknae, Center, Sub Rapper

REPRESENTATIVE FEAR(S) › Monophobia (fear of being left alone) + Scopophobia (fear of being watched / stared at)

FACE CLAIM › Ning Yizhuo / Ningning (aespa) 

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ༝ ˚ ₊ ‧ ୨୧ . . . TATIANA JANG, known professionally as BELLA, was born on September 20th, 2001. Her father, a world-famous dance instructor who moved to Mexico just before her birth, inspired her love for dance growing up. In 2013, when she was twelve years old, her parents divorced, and she followed her father to South Korea after he received an offer to teach at a dance studio that was partnered with STARBORN CREATIVE. She ended up being scouted by a recruiter shortly after and decided to audition in 2015. She was accepted, and she trained for three years before debuting in Valley of the Dolls as the maknae and main vocalist.

T̨͈͗̌ͥHͥ̽ͣ̃̔I̍̅̀̎̊S̵̙͕̀̃ I̍̅̀̎̊S̵̙͕̀̃ A̷͙ͭͫ̕ L̸̖̽̌͂I̍̅̀̎̊Ḛͭ̉̇͟.T̨͈͗̌ͥHͥ̽ͣ̃̔Ḛͭ̉̇͟ T̨͈͗̌ͥR͉̜̎͡͠U̠҉̷̙ͦT̨͈͗̌ͥHͥ̽ͣ̃̔ Hͥ̽ͣ̃̔A̷͙ͭͫ̕S̵̙͕̀̃ B̩͎͍̾ͅḚͭ̉̇͟Ḛͭ̉̇͟N̺̻̔̆ͅ C̵͉͋̔͞O̖̼ͩ͌͐M͉̅ͮ͒ͤP̧͕̒̊͘R͉̜̎͡͠O̖̼ͩ͌͐M͉̅ͮ͒ͤI̍̅̀̎̊S̵̙͕̀̃Ḛͭ̉̇͟D̶͔̭̪̻ A̷͙ͭͫ̕N̺̻̔̆ͅD̶͔̭̪̻ Hͥ̽ͣ̃̔I̍̅̀̎̊D̶͔̭̪̻D̶͔̭̪̻Ḛͭ̉̇͟N̺̻̔̆ͅ B̩͎͍̾ͅỴ̛̖͋͢ S̵̙͕̀̃T̨͈͗̌ͥA̷͙ͭͫ̕R͉̜̎͡͠B̩͎͍̾ͅO̖̼ͩ͌͐R͉̜̎͡͠N̺̻̔̆ͅ C̵͉͋̔͞R͉̜̎͡͠Ḛͭ̉̇͟A̷͙ͭͫ̕T̨͈͗̌ͥI̍̅̀̎̊V̘̪͆̂̅Ḛͭ̉̇͟.

STAGE NAME › Bella

FULL NAME › Tatiana Jang

KOREAN NAME › Jang Aera

BIRTHDAY › September 20th, 2001

BIRTHPLACE › Mexico City, Mexico

NATIONALITY › Korean-Mexican

ETHNICITY › Korean

TRAINING PERIOD › Three years

POSITION ›  Maknae, Main Vocalist, Dancer

REPRESENTATIVE FEAR(S) › Philophobia (fear of falling in love)

FACE CLAIM › Park Sujin / Swan (Purple Kiss)

[slightlyunconventional]

PLEASE MAKE SNZCANONS FOR WRIOTHESLY AND NEUVILLETE PLEASE PLEASEEEEEE

HI ANON HI HI HI HI HI i am so excited about this ask w/rio is my FAVOURITE RIGHT NOW AKSJAJDJS

i will be so biased towards this post honestly.. the way i literally have an extremely long post in my notes app of snzcanons for this loser. i feel like its gonna put my other hc posts to shame… oh well ! w/rio and n/euvi for you lovely anon

also should preface by saying i love these two as a pairing so there might be some shippy stuff or whatever, also i have some Thoughts about potential kink!n/euvillette but theyll be right at the bottom if that isnt anyones cup of tea so you can skip :)

w/riothesley

has 100% been said before but him having spent so much time in the fortress of m/eropide away from the entire outside world he has definitely got some awful hayfever

↳ i see him as the ceo of allergy denial too. he has no problem admitting when he’s sick but as soon as it comes to allergies its like talking to a brick wall “are you sure youre okay” “*very very obviously not okay* yep”

↳ will be denying until every subsequent snz has his head spinning

unless its someone(s) he’s properly comfortable with, he will be stifling in front of people

↳ …even though stifling is kind of a Task. i imagine it starts to hurt after a few

normally he will snz in doubles exclusively unless he does stifle then that will take it up to maybe four at once, nothing too excessive

↳ not hugely loud? but definitely not quiet. theyre pretty heavy too with a decent amount of force behind them, as such: “hhuh’dDJSHhh! …’djiISHHh’uh!”

↳ stifles into a fist, regular snz into his elbow and he grips the elbow w his other hand

↳ i also have this really specific thought that after he stifles a couple of times, the next snz gears up immediately after and he has this gasping, stuttery buildup before the last snz that will be very much harsher and ultimately unstifleable: and i spelled it out too! “hh’nNGt! ‘GKKts! -ahH! h-hhaaHh’GKSHHh’uh!”

(these headcanons are literally getting princess treatment im so sorry to all the other characters. my bias is showing)

aside from above though, (and allergic snzs) his buildups are next to nonexistent. he has a few tells, if you look closely you’ll see his brows draw together, nostrils flare and maybe a fluttery blink before a single hitching breath and then he’s off

colds 💭💭💭 when he’s sick i feel like he gets tired a lot, but he kinda ignores it and wont sleep any more than he usually does (which probably isnt a lot)

↳ although if someone were to insist that he take a break, he would 100% be passed straight out the second he was horizontal

↳ think he has such a gorgeous sick voice… LMFAO - its just slightly deeper and with the tiniest gravelly quality + those kind of rounded out consonants… yeah

definitely isnt particularly kind on his nose, especially when it comes to allergies.. he knuckles at it with way too much force

↳ i think partly because being just itchy would bother him to no end, doesnt let him concentrate on anything

i have a whole thing in my head about him fighting in p/ankration or whatever and getting a bloody nose, whether it be when he’s sick or allergies are just particularly bad but hes just sneezy about it … yeah

↳ broken/injured nose = no touching, so he can’t stifle for a while. because of this he ends up hovering a hand awkwardly in front of his face like a shield (blood everywhere, most likely.) also he cant rub it in this state, so his nose will most certainly be scrunched up (which hurts just as much, but he finds being itchy is more annoying than being in pain)

↳ some other thoughts idk. he’s trying to clean up a wound on his face but the alcohol reaaallly gets to him; eyes are streaming and hes sniffling so bad and he has a three second window to get it done before he’s sneezing lmfao

something to do with the dog/wolf motifs of his character, he definitely scrunches up his nose when its irritated

↳ maybe an involuntary little head shake/twitch after a particularly harsh snz

has a habit of turning fully away to snz, obviously to be polite to anyone whos there but he also does it when hes alone. just turns around lmao

i see him as slightly photic, again just because he spends so much time in the dingy ass fortress so there’s probably a bit of light sensitivity there

↳ however i feel like its never enough to actually make him sneeze, it just tingles a bit and is generally annoying… but it DOES prove useful for coaxing out a stuck snz

probably anti-holdbacks until he has a raging headcold with an awful throat so even breathing hurts, so he’ll try his best to stave sneezes off

n/euvillette

stifles all. the. time. i know this

↳ they’re basically silent, pinched between two fingers, but occasionally the tail end will slip out so there’ll be a bit of a “kssh!” to be heard

↳ singles usually with the occasional double that honestly catches him off guard, he never expects more than one

↳ probably takes a lot of convincing to get him to Not stifle. unstifled snz i think isnt super vocal in sound, and is decently forceful and kinda wet: “ehH’tchSHHhh!” something like that

i think dust and particularly potent fragrances make him sneeze - he isnt allergic per se, just sensitive

↳ for this reason he likes to keep his space very clean and tidy and without perfume or whatever. an outsider’s perspective might see it as plain but he does it for his own benefit

↳ probably had to tell w/riothesley to stop wearing cologne when he visits

doesnt get sick very often, he probably has a good immune system and this paired with being nonhuman probably means hes not susceptible to colds

↳ HOWEVER. on the off chance he does come down with something, you absolutely know about it. it’s very clear in his face - eyes and nose both rimmed red, and he just looks pretty tired in general.

↳ colds for him are probably very sneezy too,, poor guy lmfao

↳ also, with the thing where it rains when he’s sad… being the hydro dragon and all the weather probably turns pretty foul until he’s feeling better (puts a whole new meaning on the phrase “under the weather” hahaha)

↳ obviously continues to work through it who do you think he is! even if he has a court case, he’ll stay through the whole thing even if his head is pounding and he’s stifled enough to burst a blood vessel

↳ in court if anyone notices the obvious congestion in his voice nobody dares make a comment lmfao - this makes him think he’s got away with it even though its blatant he’s unwell

↳ the people close to him finding out he’s sick for the first time definitely involves a lot of “wow, i didn’t know you could even get sick”

handkerchief user ….. he really just seems like the type

dutifully blesses other people but gets lowkey flustered if anyone else says bless you to him

alright. here’s my kink!n/euvillette thoughts with w/riothesley so skip this part if that isn’t your thing :)

- is definitely one to comment on w/riothesley’s snz, and kind of challenge him when he denies being allergic to things… such as “that was five back to back, are you quite sure it’s nothing?”/“that sounded like it hurt”/“i’ve never seen you sneeze that many times in a row”

- would have a vase of rainbow roses or something on his desk completely nonchalantly when “professionally” meeting with w/riothesley. neither of them comment on it whilst n/euvillette watches w/riothesley try his damnedest to keep composure knowing full well he’ll never admit the flowers are bothering him

- n/euvillette definitely becomes a totally different person when its anything to do w the kink,, like he’s the last person you’d expect for it but he will literally be making an absolute wreck of w/riothesley

- something about dragons and “needs” or whatever….. i have no knowledge about monsterfucking or dragons or anything but there’s probably something there right??? someone who knows more might inform me do dragons have heat

thats all i have !!! ahhhhhhh anon ur awesome thank you for requesting my favs 😭❤️ i loved making this post im so so fixated on these two so i hope you liked these hcs :) sorry the post is kinda really long uh. blame the autism for that one

[lokislytherin]

devil by the window

pairing: current canon idol!dg x gender neutral journalist!reader

summary: you’re just going to interview dg - your bias, your celebrity crush - on behalf of dispatch. what could go wrong?

chapters: one / two

a/n: dg being sus, as y’all are interested 👀👀 this fic does not have any sussy content as in dg will not be taking his pants off. tits may or may not be bared but his pants and yours will be staying firmly on! title from ‘devil by the window’ by tomorrow x together (txt)! enjoy~

warning: canon compliant violence. also reader is kind of horny but that’s the majority of tumblr dg stans so y’all should be thanking me really

there's no way around it: dg is your ultimate bias.

you've been enchanted by him since the moment he debuted - visuals, vocals, dancing, rapping, he's the epitome of talent. he's young and charismatic too, charming half the women in seoul the second he steps foot on stage for the first time. according to the news, he's only a month older than you. he'll change the idol industry, you told your boss back at the time, eyes bright. he'll change the world.

your boss looked back at you, a lowly intern fresh out of high school with nothing to your name, not even a bachelor's degree, only raw enthusiasm for hunting down the truth. okay.

it's very obvious he didn't believe you. you were a nobody, after all.

now, you're twenty-one and studying media and communications at seoul national university, the most prestigious university in south korea. you've got more experience and reference letters to boot. you're interning for dispatch, the most (in)famous entertainment news company in korea. they say they're willing to take you in as an official journalist the second you graduate. 

even if dispatch is pretty shitty to idols, your old boss can suck it. you’re working for dispatch now.

it's been four years since dg debuted, and you're still his biggest fan. if dg has a million fans, you're one of them. if dg has ten fans, you're one of them. if dg has one fan, it's you. if dg has no fans, you're probably dead.

which is why you're currently panicking, bouncing off the walls with hysteria at four in the morning. all your colleagues know you as the local dg hard stan, so as the one with the most knowledge about dg you've been scheduled to shadow a sunbae from the journalism department to interview the one and only dg for a cover article in twelve hours.

dg doesn't know who you are, but you've been to every single one of his concerts and fan meets, bought every single one of his albums and made a shrine to him out of photocards. you know him - or at least the version he shows the public - as well as you know your own skin. 

you've got yourself a nice outfit: a white blouse with flowy sleeves, a black corset to accentuate your figure, black pants that are just long enough to show off your nice legs. it's better than you've dressed for any date, which would probably explain why you've never had a romantic relationship before. you've always put dg and your studies before everything else, after all.

you’re not sure how long you sleep for, but you shoot out of bed immediately after your alarm starts screaming, and the rest of the morning passes in a similar haze. you don’t even remember getting to the interview spot, but when you do, you’re a whole fifteen minutes early. at least your make-up is looking fabulous.

“excuse me,” says a familiar voice, “are you from dispatch?”

your heart skips a beat. you turn around, and- 

“oh,” you breathe, feeling a little weak in the knees.

dg is tall.

he’s taller than he looks on television, and even though he has only the slightest of makeup on his face, the ceo of ptj entertainment is as beautiful as any renaissance painting. he looks almost unreal.

he smiles down at you, warm and friendly. he feels like someone you can trust. “i’ll take that as a yes, then.”

all you can do is nod, because you don’t trust yourself enough to speak.

“would you like to head in first?” dg gestures towards one of the rooms - there are two security guards outside, both of them shooting you dirty looks. you catch dg shooting them an even dirtier look, and they look away, like wounded dogs with their tails between their legs. “you’re the newbie, aren’t you? we can have a little chat before your colleague arrives.”

that sounds a little like a threat, now. but at the same time, dg could make you do anything he wanted and you’d probably thank him for it. “i- i-”

“be not afraid,” he says, still smiling at you, almost inhumanly beautiful. it’s almost like he knows how you joke about him being angel incarnate. well, you’re not scared of him, you’re scared of you. “i don’t bite.” he leans down, and you go cross-eyed at the proximity. “unless you want me to.”

“i- i-”

“i���m kidding, i’m kidding.” he guides you into the room, relaxing onto the couch opposite yours. you’re a rabbit who strolled into the den of a lion, timidly perched on the edge of the loveseat. dg has no shame in reclining across the back of the couch, legs splayed out so he takes up most of the sofa even though he’s only one man. you try your best not to look at the space between his toned thighs, because even if you want to know whether dg really does have the biggest cock out of all the idols, now is not the time to find out.

only then do you realize you haven’t introduced yourself. you jump up and bow, ninety-degrees. “my name is y/n! it’s a pleasure to meet you, sir, i’m a really big fan!”

that doesn’t even begin to cover how big of a fan you are, but he doesn’t have to know that.

he gestures towards your bag, and you finally notice the limited edition that’s been hanging there the whole time. you had to fight people for that. “i could tell.”

ahhhh, that’s so embarrassing! and unprofessional! 

“it’s cute. you can call me dagyeom, by the way. that’s my name, after all. no need for dg-ssi. we’re around the same age anyway. as for sir...” he smirks. “you can save that for elsewhere.”

“elsewhere? like... where?”

he spreads his legs wider, like he’s making space for something. he raises an eyebrow almost invitingly. “where do you think?”

is he... flirting? with you? oh god, he’s flirting with you.

nothing in all of your years as a journalist or a dg fan has ever prepared you for this. you’ve never heard anything about him flirting. he’s insanely good at hiding from the press and the cameras. you’ve never been assigned to professionally stalk him before (you’re much better with a frontal approach), but some of your colleagues have, and all of them were caught in the act. he barely even does aegyo for the fanservice. 

you give yourself a mental smack in the head. this is the interview of a lifetime! you are face to face with the person you’ve admired for years! you cannot let yourself be horny on main!

he laughs, amusement dancing on his lips as he watches countless emotions flicker across your face in the span of a few seconds. “cute.”

ehhhhhh?

just as that moment, your sunbae barges in. he’s huffing and puffing, clearly having run here, but he’s on time. nobody had told you which sunbae you would be shadowing, but you had been desperately hoping it wasn’t him. you’ve shown nothing but respect for him, as you should, but let’s not even talk about inches, not once has he ever shown you even a centimeter of respect. so he’s late, huh? it feels mean, but you hope he made a bad impression in front of dg. “dagyeom-ssi-”

dagyeom smiles, frigid and unamused, a stark contrast from the way he’d smiled at you. even his spread legs feels less like a calling and more like a threat, although it’s dominant and overbearing either way. “call me dg.”

your sunbae swallows and nods. “dg-ssi, we can begin the interview now.”

wow. dagyeom is really, really biased.

it looks like there’s still a lot you don’t know about him, but your heart flutters in your chest at the feeling of being able to know more.

you’re pretty experienced with interviews - you know the journalist should lead the conversation, and always ask for elaborations from the interviewee. but this time, dagyeom is the one in the lead, constantly offering you chances to speak and ask questions while blatantly ignoring your sunbae.

both of you journalists are helpless under the full force of his charisma as he drives the conversation, one hand on the wheel, the other resting on your shoulder. if this interview was a car, your sunbae would’ve been stuffed in the trunk, or tied up with a rope and dragged along behind the car. but when you ask about his past and why he became an idol, he becomes tight-lipped.

there’s probably a reason why he never talks about his past, after all. you were just trying to see if you could get a scoop out of things, or be the first to find out.

“i just thought it was neat,” he says with a shrug. “singing and dancing and making money off that.”

you ask him about his thoughts on aegyo next, and giggle when he makes a face. dagyeom has always hated acting cute for the cameras, but you think he’s cuter when he’s pouting like that and complaining about fan-service.

(you are a much bigger fan for the more… physical kind of fan-service, so to speak. but you would die of shame before admitting to his face that you got all hot and bothered when he ripped his shirt off for a show in the middle of a rap. and that time when he modelled for calvin klein, with the waistband of his boxers peeking out under his tight jeans. and the rich boy concept photos with him in the pool, smirking lavisciously. those toned pecs… the lick-able abs… hhhhnnnnnggggg~

enough, enough! you’ll die of shame right now if you don’t stop thinking about that. luckily, you’re good at multitasking, and you’re fully capable of taking notes dutifully while imagining dagyeom bending you over the table.)

the interview comes to an end all too soon, with all your questions answered except the ones about his past, or his worst fears. he’s been rather vague about some of them, but as an idol and ceo of an entertainment company, dagyeom likes to keep whatever privacy he can, and as a respectful journalist you won’t pry too deeply. even if you did, you’d find out in your own time and never tell him.

just before your sunbae drags you off, dagyeom holds you back, grabbing your hand and pulling you towards him. you gasp as he catches you gracefully when you stumble, steady hands on your waist. his hands are big enough to wrap around you entirely, and the realisation makes your cheeks heat. “i’ll keep in touch. i’ve seen your other works. you’re too good for the likes of dispatch.”

“my other…?!”

you can feel his minty breath fanning across your cheeks when he speaks. “see you soon, jagiya. don’t let me down.”

you’re not sure how you don’t faint on the spot, or collapse completely when an email from ptj entertainment pops up in your inbox half a day later, formally requesting you to join the company as part of the media and communications department.

you email them your cv, resume, all your reference letters. i’m still doing my bachelor’s degree in journalism at snu.

this time, kang dagyeom emails you back personally. that’s perfectly fine with me. you can start as soon as next week.

you terminate your internship contract at dispatch at the end of the week. good riddance to the sunbae who had disrespected you. you’ve got the job of your dreams.

[shirokokuro]

The Curious Case of Megalobox and Translation as a Form of Metacommentary

Pardon me for I must speak about the boxing show.

***Vague spoilers for Megalobox Season 1***

Background

Megalobox is a 2018 sports anime set in a futuristic Japan that is characterized by wealth-disparity and illegal immigration. The story follows Joe “Junk Dog,” a boxer who partakes in underground, rigged fights orchestrated by the mafia tycoon Fujimaki. Despite his talent, Joe’s status as an illegal alien ensures that he is doomed to throwing matches for income.

Joe’s literary foil is the champion boxer Yuri. Possessing a much higher status than Joe, Yuri is the main fighter for the Shirato Group, a tech company specializing in assistive gear for megalo-boxing matches. His passion for boxing has ultimately been stifled by the economic aspirations of the Shirato Group’s CEO, Yukiko Shirato. In a bid to display their state-of-the-art boxing gear to military investors, the Shirato Group hosts a megalo-boxing tournament. This decision sets the course for Joe and Yuri’s inevitable collision.

Themes

Megalobox explores a variety of concepts such as poverty, addiction, classism, and family. At its crux, the first season emphasizes that greed is the antithesis of passion and that personal autonomy is necessary to achieve a life well-lived.

Audience

I was unable to find any demographic information for Megalobox’s audience. The creative team elected to use line art reminiscent of 90s hand-drawn animation, and the rating is 14 and up. From this, it is clear the intended audience was meant to be young adults and older. Additionally, I think it’s safe to say given the contents of the show that it is intended to appeal to male viewers.

Thesis

Translational variances between the Japanese dub of Megalobox and the English sub and dub versions present different interpretations of the show’s core messages. In the English translation, gender is injected into the show’s text in ways absent in the original Japanese.  

Discussion

By and large, the translation team for Megalobox did a stellar job keeping true to the original intention of the Japanese dialogue. The English dub mirrors the English subtitles very closely, and I think the voice acting team did a very good job at delivering these lines. In fact, Megalobox is one of the few anime that I chose to watch in English dub instead of with subtitles, which has culminated in my current epiphany.

When watching, I couldn’t help noting some of the moments when characters would discuss “men” as a state of being. In these scenes, the word “men” was used in lieu of “human” to discuss philosophical concepts. This tendency tinted my understanding of Megalobox. I was curious if this gendered interpretation was inherent to the original Japanese as well or if this machismo patina was a result of translational bias. After performing brief comparisons of some English and Japanese scenes, I discovered it was the latter.

There are a few moments in the show where non-gendered phrases are translated as male. For instance, in episode 12, Yuri and Yukiko are discussing the irrationality of Yuri’s desire to fight Joe. In the English subtitles, Yuri explains his reasoning with the following:

“The man who taught me Megalo-boxing told me something. ‘If you’re lucky enough to run into a fighter in your generation who you want to win against from the bottom of your heart, consider yourself blessed. If you ever find someone like that, never let him out of your sight.'"

The tricky thing with translating sentences like the ones above is that Japanese often doesn’t use pronouns. There’s no need to use them because grammatical subjects aren’t required to form a complete sentence. As such, when translating Japanese to English, a pronoun often must be inferred for the translation to be effective. Translators are thus left to fill in the blanks of what the English translation should be. This freedom leads to some interesting results, like in Megalobox. For example, the above quote doesn’t actually use any gendered language at all in the original Japanese.

“The person [人 hito] who taught me Megalo-boxing told me something. ‘If, in your generation, you meet a fighter who you want to win against from the bottom of your heart, that is a blessing. If you ever meet a person like that, never take your eyes off of [them].'”

The “man” and “him” in the translation are absent from the actual Japanese. This isn’t a huge deal, especially because we see that Yuri’s trainer was a man and, Yuri being a male Megaloboxer, his opponent being male is sort of implied. In the dub, there is the additional challenge of matching the mouth movements to the VA’s lines. Again, I don’t take issue with the above English translation since the gender is implied through context. Some other translations, however, altered the text in ways that fit the original message of Megalobox into a gendered frame.

Such alterations appear in two conversations, once in episode 6 between Aragaki and Nanbu and once in episode 13 between Yuri and Joe.

(1) In the conversation between Aragaki and Nanbu, the two are discussing the finale of Aragaki’s career and his feelings surrounding it. Aragaki discloses a conversation he had with Joe:

However, the closer translation is something like, “Joe said something to me: ‘You can blame whoever, but the decision to make the call is up to you.’” The Japanese word used here isn’t “man” or even “human.” The original Japanese uses the word 手前 (temei), which is a derogatory way to say “you.” Aragaki is literally relaying the words that Joe said verbatim. In the English, the translation is generalized to humanity in general, encapsulated by the gendered term “man.” As such, the moral of Joe’s Japanese statement splits from its insular roots (“You have to make your own call”) to instead reflect a broader worldview (“A man makes his own calls”).

(2) The second time this alteration appears is during a brief internal monologue of Yuri during his fight with Joe. The main statement of interest is this one:

The closer translation, however, is, “I can’t dance on my own.” The Japanese word used here is 俺 (ore), a gruff, masculine way to say “I” instead of the “a man” used in the English dub and subtitles. Given this, what the spoken Japanese accomplishes is completely different in tone and message from the English subtitles and dub. In the Japanese, Yuri is expressing a thought that pertains only to himself and Joe; in contrast, the English translation poses this moment as if Yuri is pontificating about the nature of man and man’s dependence upon competition to achieve new heights. While both the original and translation are not entirely divorced from the core concept of Megalobox (i.e., passion makes life worthwhile), the English translation provides a societal commentary on the nature of man that is not present in the original Japanese.

Closing Thoughts

I hesitate to describe this type of translation as “dangerous." It is completely fine to have media that explores what it means to be a man in the same ways it is fine to have media that explores what it means to be a woman or to be someone of any other gender.

That being said, at its core, Megalobox discusses the human condition and the necessity of dreams—fueled through personal autonomy—to sustain meaning in life. This moral is by no means intended to be gendered in the original Japanese. In the conversation between Aragaki and Nanbu, for example, the Japanese assertion that people have to make their own choices can just as easily apply to anyone of any gender, not just men. The English takes this message and, perhaps unintentionally, restricts it to one gender. I would therefore assert that the worst outcome of gendering the theme of Megalobox is that it is disingenuous to the original material.

Fascinatingly, I think my own months-long obsession with this element of Megalobox stemmed from the fact the English highlighted that I was not the intended audience. I kept thinking while watching the dub that I understood what the text was trying to communicate to me, that the philosophical conflict was something inspiring and applicable to my own life, only to run into the brick wall of, “This media is not meant for you.”

If anything, it is very much interesting how translational decisions can have such a profound effect on a show’s delivery.

[beardedmrbean]

The episode plunged one of America’s most ubiquitous brands into crisis.

In April 2018, two Black men entered a Starbucks shop in the Rittenhouse Square neighborhood of Philadelphia for a business meeting with a white man who had not yet arrived. While they waited, and before ordering, one of the two asked to use the bathroom. He was refused. Eventually, they were asked to leave. When they did not, an employee called the police.

The subsequent arrests, captured in videos viewed millions of times online, prompted accusations of racism, protests and boycott threats. The company’s CEO apologized publicly, describing the way the men had been treated as “reprehensible.” Starbucks took the extraordinary step of temporarily closing 8,000 stores to teach workers about racial bias.

On Monday, in a surprising twist, a federal jury in New Jersey ordered Starbucks to pay $25.6 million to a former regional manager after determining that the company had fired her amid the fallout from the Rittenhouse Square episode because she was white. The jury found that Starbucks had violated the federal civil rights of the former manager, Shannon Phillips, as well as a New Jersey law that prohibits discrimination based on race, awarding her $600,000 in compensatory damages and $25 million in punitive damages.

Laura Carlin Mattiacci, a lawyer for Phillips, said she and her client were “very pleased” with the unanimous verdict, adding that “she proved by ‘clear and convincing evidence’ that punitive damages were warranted” under the New Jersey law.

A Starbucks spokesperson declined to comment.

At the time of the episode, Phillips oversaw about 100 stores in Philadelphia, southern New Jersey, Delaware and parts of Maryland. She had been promoted to the job in 2011 after what she called her “exemplary performance” in six years as a district manager in Ohio.

Phillips said in the suit that Starbucks, as part of its damage-control effort after the arrests, had sought to punish her and other white employees in and around Philadelphia even if they had not been involved in the events that led to the police being called.

Phillips said she had thrown herself into the company’s efforts to restore its credibility and had sought to support hourly workers, organizing managers to staff stores and cover for employees who were scared to run a gantlet of protesters.

Amid the image-burnishing campaign, Phillips said one of her superiors, a Black woman, told her to suspend a white manager who oversaw stores in Philadelphia, though not the one in Rittenhouse Square, because of allegations that he had engaged in discriminatory conduct — allegations that Phillips said she knew to be untrue.

In contrast, Phillips said, no action was taken against the manager who oversaw the Rittenhouse Square store, a Black man who Phillips said had promoted the employee who called the police.

Phillips said she was fired not long after balking at the order to suspend the white manager. She said that she had not been previously told that she was doing a bad job and that the only explanation she was given for the firing was that “the situation is not recoverable.”

Starbucks denied in court filings that Phillips had been fired because she was white and said she was let go because she performed poorly in response to the episode that led to the arrests.

“During this time of crisis,” a lawyer for Starbucks wrote in a court filing, the company’s “Philadelphia market needed a leader who could perform,” adding that “Ms. Phillips failed in every aspect of that role.”

Starbucks ultimately chose not to press charges against the men at the center of the episode, Donte Robinson and Rashon Nelson, both 23 at the time. Before suing over the ordeal, they reached a confidential financial settlement with the company and got a commitment from the city of Philadelphia to invest $200,000 to help young entrepreneurs.

“I want to make sure that this situation doesn’t happen again,” Robinson said in an interview at the time. “What I want is for young men to not be traumatized by this, and instead motivated, inspired.”

Efforts to reach Robinson and Nelson on Tuesday were unsuccessful.

[unethicalexperiments]

Chris McGreal

07:00 EST Sunday, 04 February 2024

CNN is facing a backlash from its own staff over editorial policies they say have led to a regurgitation of Israeli propaganda and the censoring of Palestinians perspectives in the network’s coverage of the war in Gaza.

Journalists in CNN newsrooms in the US and overseas say broadcasts have been skewed by management edicts and a story-approval process that has resulted in highly partial coverage of the Hamas massacre on 7 October and Israel’s retaliatory attack on Gaza.

“The majority of news since the war began, regardless of how accurate the initial reporting, has been skewed by a systemic and institutional bias within the network toward Israel,” said one CNN staffer. “Ultimately, CNN’s coverage of the Israel-Gaza war amounts to journalistic malpractice.”

According to accounts from six CNN staffers in multiple newsrooms, and more than a dozen internal memos and emails obtained by the Guardian, daily news decisions are shaped by a flow of directives from the CNN headquarters in Atlanta that have set strict guidelines on coverage.

They include tight restrictions on quoting Hamas and reporting other Palestinian perspectives while Israel government statements are taken at face value. In addition, every story on the conflict must be cleared by the Jerusalem bureau before broadcast or publication.

CNN journalists say the tone of coverage is set at the top by its new editor in chief and CEO, Mark Thompson, who took up his post two days after the 7 October Hamas attack. Some staff are concerned about Thompson’s willingness to withstand external attempts to influence coverage given that in a former role as the BBC’s director general he was accused of bowing to Israeli government pressure on a number of occasions, including a demand to remove one of the corporation’s most prominent correspondents from her post in Jerusalem in 2005.

CNN insiders say that has resulted, particularly in the early weeks of the war, in a greater focus on Israeli suffering and the Israeli narrative of the war as a hunt for Hamas and its tunnels, and an insufficient focus on the scale of Palestinian civilian deaths and destruction in Gaza.

One journalist described a “schism” within the network over coverage they said was at times reminiscent of the cheerleading that followed 9/11.

“There’s a lot of internal strife and dissent. Some people are looking to get out,” they said.

Another journalist in a different bureau said that they too saw pushback.

“Senior staffers who disagree with the status quo are butting heads with the executives giving orders, questioning how we can effectively tell the story with such restrictive directives in place,” they said.

“Many have been pushing for more content from Gaza to be alerted and aired. By the time these reports go through Jerusalem and make it to TV or the homepage, critical changes – from the introduction of imprecise language to an ignorance of crucial stories – ensure that nearly every report, no matter how damning, relieves Israel of wrongdoing.”

CNN staff say that some journalists with experience of reporting the conflict and region have avoided assignments in Israel because they do not believe they will be free to tell the whole story. Others speculate that they are being kept away by senior editors.

“It is clear that some who don’t belong are covering the war and some who do belong aren’t,” said one insider.

At Thompson’s first editorial meeting, two days after the 7 October Hamas attack, the new network chief described CNN’s coverage of the rapidly moving story as “basically great”.

Thompson then said he wanted viewers to understand what Hamas is, what it stands for and what it was trying to achieve with the attack. Some of those listening thought that a laudable journalistic goal. But they said that in time it became clear he had more specific expectations for how journalists should cover the group.

In late October, as the Palestinian death toll rose sharply from Israeli bombing with more than 2,700 children killed according to the Gaza health ministry, and as Israel prepared for its ground invasion, a set of guidelines landed in CNN staff inboxes.

A note at the top of the two-page memo pointed to an instruction “from Mark” to pay attention to a particular paragraph under “coverage guidance”. The paragraph said that, while CNN would report the human consequences of the Israeli assault and the historical context of the story, “we must continue always to remind our audiences of the immediate cause of this current conflict, namely the Hamas attack and mass murder and kidnap of civilians”. (Italics in the original.)

CNN staff members said the memo solidified a framework for stories in which the Hamas massacre was used to implicitly justify Israeli actions, and that other context or history was often unwelcome or marginalised.

“How else are editors going to read that other than as an instruction that no matter what the Israelis do, Hamas is ultimately to blame? Every action by Israel – dropping massive bombs that wipe out entire streets, its obliteration of whole families – the coverage ends up massaged to create a ‘they had it coming’ narrative,” said one staffer.

The same memo said that any reference to casualty figures from the Gaza health ministry must say it is “Hamas-controlled”, implying that reports of the deaths of thousands of children were unreliable even though the World Health Organization and other international bodies have said they are largely accurate. CNN staff said that edict was laid down by Thompson at an earlier editorial meeting.

Broader oversight of coverage from the CNN headquarters in Atlanta is directed by “the Triad” of three CNN departments – news standards and practices, legal, and fact checking.

David Lindsay, the senior director of news standards and practices, issued a directive in early November effectively barring the reporting of most Hamas statements, characterising them as “inflammatory rhetoric and propaganda”.

“Most of it has been said many times before and is not newsworthy. We should be careful not to give it a platform,” he wrote.

Lindsay said that if a statement was deemed editorially relevant “we can use it if it’s accompanied by greater context, preferably a package or digital write. Let’s avoid running it as a standalone soundbite or quote.”

In contrast, one CNN staffer noted that the network repeatedly aired inflammatory rhetoric and propaganda from Israeli officials and American supporters, often without challenge in interviews.

They noted that other channels have carried interviews with Hamas leaders while CNN has not, including one in which the group’s spokesman, Ghazi Hamad, cut short questions from the BBC when he was challenged about the murder of Israeli civilians. One staffer said there is a view among correspondents that it is “agony to get a Hamas interview past the Triad”.

CNN sources acknowledged there have been no interviews with Hamas since the 7 October attack, but said the network does not have a ban on such interviews.

But CNN news desks and reporters have been instructed not to use video recorded by Hamas “under any circumstances unless cleared by the Triad and senior editorial leadership”.

That position was reiterated in another instruction on 23 October that reports must not show Hamas recordings of the release of two Israeli hostages, Nurit Cooper and Yocheved Lifshitz. Two days later, Lindsay sent an additional instruction that video of the 85-year-old Lifshitz shaking hands with one of her captors “can only to be used when specifically writing about her decision to shake hands with her captor”.

In addition to the edicts from Atlanta, CNN has a longstanding policy that all copy on the Israel-Palestine situation must be approved for broadcast or publication by the Jerusalem bureau. In July, the network created a process it called “SecondEyes” to speed up those approvals.

The Jerusalem bureau chief, Richard Greene, told staff in a memo announcing SecondEyes – first reported by the Intercept – that, because coverage of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is subject to close scrutiny by partisans on both sides, the measure was created as a “safety net so we don’t use imprecise language or words that may sound impartial but can have coded meanings here”.

CNN staffers said there is nothing inherently wrong with the requirement given the huge sensitivity of covering Israel and Palestine, and the aggressive nature of Israeli authorities and well-organised pro-Israel groups in seeking to influence coverage. But some feel that a measure that was originally intended to maintain standards has become a tool of self-censorship to avoid controversy.

One result of SecondEyes is that Israeli official statements are often quickly cleared and make it on air on the principle that that they are to be trusted at face value, seemingly rubber-stamped for broadcast, while statements and claims from Palestinians, and not just Hamas, are delayed or never reported.

One CNN staffer said edits by SecondEyes often seemed aimed at avoiding criticism from pro-Israel groups. They gave the example of Greene’s intervention to change a headline, “Israel is nowhere near destroying Hamas” – a perspective widely reflected in the foreign and Israeli press. It was replaced with headline that shifted the focus from whether Israel could achieve its stated justification for killing thousands of Palestinian civilians: “Three months on, Israel is entering a new phase of the war. Is it still trying to ‘destroy’ Hamas?”

Some CNN staff fear that the result is a network acting as a surrogate censor on behalf of the Israeli government.

“The system results in chosen individuals editing any and all reporting with an institutionalised pro-Israel bias, often using passive language to absolve the [Israel Defense Forces] of responsibility, and playing down Palestinian deaths and Israeli attacks,” said one of the network’s journalists.

CNN staff who spoke to the Guardian were quick to praise thorough and hard-hitting reporting by correspondents on the ground. They said those reports are often given prominence on CNN International, seen outside the US. But on the CNN channel available in the US, they are frequently less visible and at times marginalised by hours of interviews with Israeli officials and supporters of the war in Gaza who were given free rein to make their case, often unchallenged and sometimes with presenters making supportive statements. Meanwhile, Palestinian voices and views were far less frequently heard and more rigorously challenged.

One staffer pointed to the appearance of Rami Igra, a former senior official in the Israeli intelligence service, on Anderson Cooper’s show, where he claimed that the entire Palestinian population of Gaza could be regarded as combatants.

“The non-combatant population in the Gaza Strip is really a nonexistent term because all of the Gazans voted for the Hamas and as we have seen on the 7th of October, most of the population in the Gaza Strip are Hamas,” he said.

“Nonetheless, we are treating them as non-combatants, we are treating them as regular civilians, and they are spared from the fighting.”

Cooper did not challenge him on either point. By the time the interview aired on 19 November, more than 13,000 people had been killed in Gaza, most of them civilians.

Another CNN staffer picked out anchor Jake Tapper’s programme as an example of an anchor too closely identifying with one side while the other gets only a restricted look in. In one segment, Tapper acknowledged the death and suffering of innocent Palestinians in Gaza but appeared to defend the scale of the Israeli attack on Gaza.

“What exactly did Hamas think the Israeli military would do in response to that?” he said, referring to the attack on 7 October.

A CNN spokesperson said: “We absolutely reject the notion that any of our journalists treat Israeli officials differently to other officials.”

Another presenter, Sara Sidner, drew criticism for her excitable report on unverified Israeli claims that Hamas beheaded dozens of babies on 7 October.

“We have some really disturbing new information out of Israel,” she announced four days after the attack.

“The Israeli prime minister’s spokesman just confirmed, babies and toddlers were found with their heads decapitated in Kfar Aza in southern Israel after Hamas attacks in the kibbutz over the weekend. That has been confirmed by the prime minister’s office.”

Sidner called the claim “beyond devastating”.

“For the families listening, for the people of Israel, for anyone that is a parent, who loves children, I don’t know how they get through this,” she said.

Sidner then put it to a CNN reporter in Jerusalem, Hadas Gold, that the decapitation of babies would make it impossible for Israel to make peace with Hamas.

Gold replied: “How can you when you’re dealing with people who would do such atrocities to children, to babies, to toddlers?”

Gold, who was part of the SecondEyes team approving stories, again said the report was confirmed by Netanyahu’s office and she drew parallels with the Holocaust. She responded to a Hamas denial that it had decapitated babies as unbelievable “when we literally have video of these guys, of these militants, of these terrorists doing exactly what they say they’re not doing to civilians and to children”.

Except, as a CNN journalist pointed out, the network did not have such video and, apparently, neither did anyone else.

“The problem was that yet again the Israeli government’s version of events was promoted in an emotional way with very little scrutiny by someone who is supposed to be a neutral news presenter,” they said.

By the time of Sidner’s broadcast there were already good reasons for CNN to treat the claims with caution.

Israeli journalists who toured Kfar Aza the day before said they had seen no evidence of such a crime and military officials there had made no mention of it. Instead, Tim Langmaid, the Atlanta-based CNN vice-president and senior editorial director, sent an instruction that President Biden’s claims to have seen pictures of the alleged atrocity “back up what the Israeli government said”.

Even as the questions grew, Langmaid sent out a memo saying: “It is important to cover the atrocities of the Hamas attacks and war as we learn them.”

CNN insiders said senior editors should have treated the story with caution from the beginning because the Israeli military has a track record of false or exaggerated claims that subsequently fall apart.

Other networks, such as Sky News, were considerably more sceptical in their reporting and laid out the tenuous origins of the story which began with a reporter for an Israeli news channel who said soldiers told her that 40 children were killed in the Hamas massacre and that one soldier said he had seen “bodies of babies with their heads cut off”. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) then used the claim to liken Hamas to the Islamic State.

Even after the White House admitted that neither the president nor his officials had themselves seen pictures of beheaded babies, and that they had been relying on Israeli claims, Langmaid told the newsroom it could still report the Israeli government assertions alongside a denial from Hamas.

CNN did report on the rolling back of the claims as Israeli officials backtracked, but one staffer said that by then the damage had been done, describing the coverage as a failure of journalism.

“The infamous ‘beheaded babies’ claim, attributed to the Israeli government, made it to air for roughly 18 hours – even after the White House walked back on Biden’s statement that he had seen the nonexistent photos. CNN had no access to photographic evidence, nor any ability to independently verify these claims,” they said.

A CNN spokesperson said the network accurately reported what was being said at the time.

“We took great care to attribute these claims across our reporting, and we also issued very specific guidance to this effect,” they said.

Some CNN staff raised similar issues with reporting on Hamas tunnels in Gaza and claims they led to a sprawling command centre under al-Shifa hospital.

Insiders say some journalists have pushed back against the restrictions. One pointed to Jomana Karadsheh, a London-based correspondent with a long history of reporting from the Middle East.

“Jomana has really pushed to shine a spotlight on the Palestinian victims of this war and she has had some success. She’s done some really important stories putting a human face on it all and in looking at Israeli actions and intent. But I don’t think it’s been easy for her. These stories don’t get the prominence they deserve,” one said.

The push for more balanced coverage has been complicated by Israel’s block on foreign journalists entering Gaza except under IDF control and subject to censorship. That has helped keep the full impact of the war on Palestinians off of CNN and other channels while ensuring that there is a continued focus on the Israeli perspective.

A CNN spokesperson rejected allegations of bias.

“Our reporting has confronted Israel’s response to the attacks, including some of our most detailed and high-profile investigations, interviews and reports,” they said.

CNN faced similar accusations of partiality in the wake of the 9/11 attacks in 2001 when the network’s chair, Walter Isaacson, ordered that reports on the killing of Afghan civilians by US forces be balanced with condemnation of the Taliban for its links to al-Qaida.

“As we get good reports from Taliban-controlled Afghanistan, we must redouble our efforts to make sure we do not seem to be simply reporting from their vantage or perspective. We must talk about how the Taliban are using civilian shields and how the Taliban have harbored the terrorists responsible for killing close to 5,000 innocent people,” he wrote in a memo, according to the Washington Post.

Some staffers say that after the first few weeks in which CNN reported the Hamas attack “like it was 9/11”, more space was made for the Palestinian perspective given the escalating death toll and destruction from Israel’s retaliatory attack on Gaza.

The only foreign journalist to report from Gaza without an Israeli escort has been CNN’s Clarissa Ward, who entered for two hours with a humanitarian team from the United Arab Emirates.

Ward acknowledged the challenges in the Washington Post last week. She wrote that her reporting from Israel allowed her “to create a vivid picture of the monstrosities of Oct 7” but she was being prevented from conveying a fuller picture of the tragedy unfolding in Gaza because of the Israeli block on foreign journalists, putting the burden solely on a limited number of courageous Palestinian reporters who are being killed in disproportionate numbers.

“We must now be able to report on the horrific death and destruction being meted out in Gaza in the same way – on the ground, independently – amid one of the most intense bombardments in the history of modern warfare,” she wrote.

“The response to our report on Gaza in Israeli media suggests an unspoken reason for denying access. When asked on air about our piece, one reporter from the Israeli Channel 13 replied, ‘If indeed Western reporters begin to enter Gaza, this will for sure be a big headache for Israel and Israeli hasbara.’ Hasbara is a Hebrew word for pro-Israel advocacy.”

Some at CNN fear that its coverage of the latest Gaza war is damaging a reputation built up by its reporting of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which led to a surge in viewers. But others say that the Ukraine war may be part of the problem because editorial standards grew lax as the network and many of its journalists identified clearly with one side – Ukraine – particularly at the beginning of the conflict.

One CNN staffer said that Ukraine coverage set a dangerous precedent that has come back to haunt the network because the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is far more divisive and views are much more deeply entrenched.

“The complacency in our editorial standards and journalistic integrity while reporting on Ukraine has come back to haunt us. Only this time, the stakes are higher and the consequences much more severe. Journalistic complacency is an easier pill for the world to swallow when it’s Arab lives lost instead of European,” they said.

Another CNN employee said the double standards are glaring.

“It’s OK for us to be embedded with the IDF, producing reports censored by the army, but we cannot talk to the organisation that won a majority of the votes in Gaza whether we like it or not. CNN viewers are being prevented from hearing from a central player in this story,” they said.

“It is not journalism to say we won’t talk to someone because we don’t like what they do. CNN has talked to plenty of terrorists and America’s enemies over the years. We’ve interviewed Muammar Gaddafi. We’ve even interviewed Osama bin Laden. So what’s different this time?”

Years of pressure

Journalists working at CNN have varied explanations.

Some say the problem is rooted in years of pressure from the Israeli government and allied groups in the US combined with a fear of losing advertising.

During the battle for narrative through the second Palestinian intifada in the early 2000s, Israel’s then communications minister, Reuven Rivlin, called CNN ‘‘evil, biased and unbalanced”. The Jerusalem Post likened the network’s correspondent in the city, Sheila MacVicar, to “the woman who refilled the toilet paper in the Goebbels’ commode”.

CNN’s founder, Ted Turner, caused a storm when he told the Guardian in 2002 that Israel was engaging in terrorism against the Palestinians.

“The Palestinians are fighting with human suicide bombers, that’s all they have. The Israelis … they’ve got one of the most powerful military machines in the world. The Palestinians have nothing. So who are the terrorists? I would make a case that both sides are involved in terrorism,” said Turner, who was then the vice-chairman of AOL Time Warner, which owned CNN.

The resulting storm of protest resulted in threats to the network’s revenue, including moves by Israeli cable television companies to supplant the network with Fox News.

CNN’s chair, Walter Isaacson, appeared on Israeli television to denounce Turner but that did not stem the criticism. The network’s then chief news executive, Eason Jordan, imposed a new rule that CNN would no longer show statements by suicide bombers or interview their relatives, and flew to Israel to quell the political storm.

CNN also began broadcasting a series about the victims of Palestinian suicide bombers. The network insisted that the move was not a response to pressure but some of its journalists were sceptical. CNN did not produce a similar series with the relatives of innocent Palestinians killed by Israel in bombings.

By 2021, the Columbia Journalism Review public editor for CNN, Ariana Pekary, accused the network of excluding Palestinian voices and historical context from coverage.

Thompson has his own battle scars from dealing with Israeli officials when he was director general of the BBC two decades ago.

In the spring of 2005, the BBC was embroiled in a very public row over an interview with the Israeli nuclear whistleblower Mordechai Vanunu, who was released from prison the year before.

The Israeli authorities barred Vanunu from giving interviews. When a BBC documentary team spoke to him and then smuggled the footage out of Israel, the authorities reacted by effectively expelling the acting head of the BBC’s Jerusalem bureau, Simon Wilson, who was not involved in the interview.

The dispute rolled on for months before the BBC eventually bowed to an Israeli demand that Wilson write a letter of apology before he could return to Jerusalem. The letter, which included a commitment to “obey the regulations in the future”, was to have remained confidential but the BBC unintentionally posted details online before removing them a few hours later. The climbdown angered some BBC journalists who were enduring persistent pressure and abuse for their coverage.

Later that year, Thompson visited Jerusalem and met the Israeli prime minister, Ariel Sharon, in an effort to improve relations after other incidents.

The Israeli government was particularly unhappy with the BBC’s highly experienced Jerusalem correspondent, Orla Guerin. The Israeli minister for diaspora affairs at the time, Natan Sharansky, accused her of antisemitism and “total identification with the goals and methods of the Palestinian terror groups” after a report by Guerin about the arrest of a 16-year-old Palestinian boy carrying explosives. She accused Israeli officials of turning the arrest into a propaganda opportunity because they “paraded the child in front of the international media” after forcing him to wait at a checkpoint for the arrival of photographers.

Within days of Thompson’s meeting with Sharon, the BBC announced that Guerin would be leaving Jerusalem. At the time, Thompson’s office denied he acted under pressure from Israel and said that Guerin had completed a longer than usual posting.

[hey-cringelord]

finished succession so i'm gonna ramble

twitter got the nice side of how i feel about it but i am genuinely so. so. so??? i understand. i get that the series was ultimately leading up to not a single roy kid actually getting control of the company ( # i hate tom wambsgans) but experiencing their trauma bond to almost the very end? ouch

i applaud shiv for realising the business world is a mans world and, between her brothers and maybe-loving husband, the maybe-loving husband is the way to go

but then you have kendall and roman pre-board meeting with kendalls awful, manipulative, i'm gonna grind your stitches into my shoulder like a fucked up show of tough love so i could keep my potential spot as waystar CEO move and i????

what it really comes down to, for me, is roman roy bias. you give me a fucked up, awful, no-good, ambiguously traumatised man who just about gets everything he wants before it all slips through his fingers and give him the role of the youngest brother

note: not youngest sib

and just. do that? ouch.

& yes, i was originally going to keep my thoughts to twitter however i rewatched the scene mentioned in blurb three and teared up over roman's busted stitches and snivelly "team work makes the dream work" and immediately ran here, so

[mariacallous]

A widespread assumption in political science and international relations is that cognitive biases—quirks of the brain we all share as human beings—are detrimental and responsible for policy failures, disasters, and wars. In Strategic Instincts, Dominic Johnson challenges this assumption, explaining that these nonrational behaviors can actually support favorable results in international politics and contribute to political and strategic success. By studying past examples, he considers the ways that cognitive biases act as “strategic instincts,” lending a competitive edge in policy decisions, especially under conditions of unpredictability and imperfect information.

Drawing from evolutionary theory and behavioral sciences, Johnson looks at three influential cognitive biases—overconfidence, the fundamental attribution error, and in-group/out-group bias. He then examines the advantageous as well as the detrimental effects of these biases through historical case studies of the American Revolution, the Munich Crisis, and the Pacific campaign in World War II. He acknowledges the dark side of biases—when confidence becomes hubris, when attribution errors become paranoia, and when group bias becomes prejudice. Ultimately, Johnson makes a case for a more nuanced understanding of the causes and consequences of cognitive biases and argues that in the complex world of international relations, strategic instincts can, in the right context, guide better performance.

Strategic Instincts shows how an evolutionary perspective can offer the crucial next step in bringing psychological insights to bear on foundational questions in international politics.

[obstinaterixatrix]

I’m listening to ‘stop walking on eggshells’ because I’m curious and it’s there, and I’m not too far in (like a fourth) but I feel like it does have a grounded approach to bpd—in terms of sometimes being frank to the point of perhaps sounding harsh, but ultimately still humanizing especially since the writers include accounts from folks with bpd—but I’m kind of iffy of how the writers frame npd. in general I’m not satisfied with how npd is explored or presented because it’s just so. Like That. and I get why, but I think the waters are muddied by how people will of course see narcissistic traits in people with power (celebs, politicians, ceos, etc) but while armchair psychologists will toss it around, it’s not actually ever going to be diagnosed in most of those people and it ignores a lot of context that goes into. the world of The Rich And Powerful. and on top of that, let’s be real, the dsm is mainly for insurance. like obviously some of it is helpful but it’s centered around insurance purposes. really though the core of what irks me is I don’t think a diagnosis should be a condemnation and I don’t think the presentation of a diagnosis should come with the connotation of No Chance For Healing, I think it’s irresponsible to reinforce that framing if you are going to bring up a ‘personality disorder’ even if common outcomes aren’t optimistic. like I think it’s fine to describe ways this impacts others especially in a book that is specifically for a person who is navigating someone else’s stuff, but I think that means having to be especially mindful of avoiding the presentation of Bad Person Disease yknow. and that doesn’t even go into the sociocultural factors of who Actually Officially Gets Diagnosed with npd and the bias in that diagnosis

[borathae]

Have a question for you Sibi. Which fic would you choose to live in? You have given 3 months to live there and why (fic you chose)? If you choose more than one fic, you can.

Okay damn that's such a hard question 🥴🥴 I mean :--) obviously I'd be the OC in all of those stories HAHAH I only wanna live in my stories if I get to date the boys HAHAHAH 💀

I think my top four would be:

Sanguis Universe (I mean I gotta bone my bias line and they're all into me, also vampires and magic ngngn sign me tf up)

Cocktail Trilogy (tct!kookie is my hubby, my love, my one and only. to be his wifey is a dream)

aaol (rich CEO husband!kookie who is the cutest sub and who has a mommy kink and who loves kinky sex? omfg sign me TF up)

Only Yesterday (honestly I'd wanna live in this story even if I don't get Yoongi, the setting and countryside life is ultimate comfort and my dream life, also oy!yoongi is the cutest booboo)

As far as ultimate universe I really can't choose. On one hand I fucking love the thought to live in a world where vampires & magic are real (and frekain cutie patootie yoongus is my boo). But then I love the simplicity and comfort of the other universes. They are like our world but better and more peaceful. So I really can't choose between magic or better life yk?

[papirouge]

people in the notes of that vaccine article you reblogged saying nobody ever claimed it would stop transmission...excuse me???? I didn’t spend all of 2021 banned from restaurants for you to rewrite history like that.

Period!! 📢

And here they are trying to cover their butt pulling out the thought-police "fact check" articles

What Reuters conveniently doesn't say is that there were as many contradicting data pointing out the danger these vaccine and how reckless it was to shove them onto the whole population while still on trial phase (which they still are btw). Their bias is definitely showing through them talking about "emerging data" as if it was a monolith that was unanimously pointing towards the effectiveness against transmission of the vaccine. Which is a flat out lie.

Pfizer CEO LIED by saying the vaccine stopped transmission! How could he make such statement if they never tested the transmission??? This "we been knew" is such a cope out. If they knew the transmission had yet to be tested then why did they say NOTHING when Pfizer bragged about their vaccine stopping the transmission as a selling argument when they didn't even test their own vacçine effectiveness on transmission??

Orwell said it all in 1984. How the forces in power would rewrite History to go their way and gaslight people through it. But we didn't forget! We didn't forget how we were treated like pariah, crazies and paranoids for refusing to take the vaçxine. Ultimately, History proved we were right SINCE THE BEGINING.

I just feel sorry for the countless people who naively thought this rushed inoculation was safe and useful and now have to deal with all sorts of illnesses. Some people even died bc of the vaçxine..... They are human sacrifices and I truly hope all people responsible for this will have to pay for their crime.

[leilanibradford]

Strength in the Boardroom: How to Be a Resilient Woman in Business

The Importance of Resilience in Business Leadership

Resilience is a crucial trait for anyone navigating the competitive and often challenging world of business. For women in leadership roles, resilience takes on an even greater significance. It’s not just about bouncing back from setbacks but about thriving in environments where they may face additional challenges such as gender bias, underestimation, and limited opportunities for advancement. Understanding how to cultivate and maintain resilience is key to building a successful and enduring career in business. This article explores essential strategies that resilient women can adopt to strengthen their leadership capabilities and ensure their impact is felt in the boardroom.

Embrace Challenges as Opportunities for Growth

The business world is fraught with challenges—tight deadlines, high-stakes decisions, and competitive pressures are just the beginning. For women, there are often additional hurdles, such as navigating gender bias and proving their capabilities in traditionally male-dominated spaces. However, resilient women see these challenges not as roadblocks but as opportunities for growth and development.

When faced with adversity, it’s essential to adopt a growth mindset. This involves viewing failures and setbacks as learning experiences that contribute to personal and professional growth. Resilient leaders are those who can reassess their strategies in the face of obstacles, learn from their mistakes, and apply those lessons to future endeavors. This approach not only helps in overcoming immediate challenges but also builds a strong foundation for long-term success.

For instance, consider the story of Indra Nooyi, former CEO of PepsiCo, who faced numerous challenges on her path to leadership. Rather than being deterred by setbacks, she used them as opportunities to refine her leadership style and strategic vision, ultimately leading PepsiCo through significant growth and transformation​.

Cultivate Adaptability and Flexibility

The ability to adapt to changing circumstances is a hallmark of resilience. In today’s rapidly evolving business environment, the ability to pivot strategies and approaches is more important than ever. Resilient women in business are those who can quickly assess new situations, adjust their plans accordingly, and continue moving forward without being paralyzed by the unknown.

Adaptability also means being open to new ideas and perspectives. Leaders who are flexible in their thinking are better equipped to navigate uncertainties and turn potential threats into opportunities. This flexibility is crucial not only in crisis management but also in everyday decision-making processes, where staying rigid can limit innovation and growth.

For example, during the COVID-19 pandemic, many businesses had to quickly adapt to new ways of operating, from remote work setups to shifting entire business models online. Women leaders who demonstrated adaptability were able to lead their teams through these transitions smoothly, ensuring continuity and even finding new avenues for growth in challenging times​.

Develop Strong Emotional Intelligence

Emotional intelligence (EQ) is another key component of resilience, particularly in leadership roles. EQ involves the ability to understand and manage one’s own emotions, as well as empathize with others. High emotional intelligence enables leaders to handle stress effectively, build strong relationships, and make sound decisions under pressure.

For women in business, developing strong EQ is especially important. It allows them to navigate complex interpersonal dynamics, resolve conflicts with grace, and maintain a positive work environment. Leaders with high EQ are often better at inspiring their teams, fostering collaboration, and creating a culture of trust and respect.

Moreover, emotional intelligence can help women leaders deal with the unique pressures they face, such as balancing work and family responsibilities or overcoming gender-related biases. By harnessing their emotional intelligence, they can remain composed and focused, even in the most challenging situations​.

Build a Supportive Network

No one achieves success alone, and this is especially true in the business world. Building a strong, supportive network of mentors, peers, and allies is essential for women who want to thrive in leadership roles. These connections provide invaluable advice, encouragement, and resources that can help women navigate the challenges of leadership.

Mentorship, in particular, plays a crucial role in building resilience. Mentors can offer guidance based on their own experiences, helping women leaders to avoid common pitfalls and make informed decisions. Additionally, having a network of supportive peers allows women to share their experiences, learn from others, and gain different perspectives on the challenges they face.

Women who actively seek out mentorship and build strong networks are often more resilient because they have a broader base of support to draw on when facing difficulties. These networks also provide opportunities for collaboration and partnership, which can further enhance resilience and open new doors for career advancement.

Prioritize Self-Care and Well-Being

Resilience is not just about mental toughness; it’s also about maintaining physical and emotional well-being. Women in leadership roles often juggle multiple responsibilities, which can lead to burnout if self-care is neglected. Prioritizing self-care is crucial for maintaining the energy and focus needed to lead effectively.

Self-care can take many forms, from regular exercise and healthy eating to mindfulness practices like meditation or yoga. It’s also important to set boundaries and ensure there is time for rest and recovery. By taking care of their physical and emotional health, women leaders can sustain their resilience over the long term, ensuring they are always ready to meet the demands of their roles.

Leaders who prioritize self-care are better equipped to handle stress, make clear decisions, and maintain a positive outlook, all of which are essential components of resilience. They also set a positive example for their teams, promoting a culture of well-being within their organizations.

Advocate for Yourself and Others

Resilient women are those who are not afraid to advocate for themselves and others. This means speaking up in meetings, negotiating for fair compensation, and challenging biases or injustices when they arise. Advocacy is not just about pushing for personal advancement; it’s also about creating an environment where everyone can succeed.

Advocating for oneself can be challenging, especially in environments where women may be underrepresented or undervalued. However, it is an essential part of building resilience. By asserting their own value and demanding the recognition they deserve, women leaders can break down barriers and create more opportunities for themselves and others.

Advocating for others also strengthens resilience by fostering a sense of community and shared purpose. When women support each other and work together to overcome challenges, they build a collective resilience that benefits everyone. This collective effort can also lead to broader organizational change, promoting a more inclusive and supportive workplace culture.

Embrace Lifelong Learning

The journey of resilience is ongoing, and continuous learning is a key part of staying resilient. Women leaders who embrace lifelong learning are always seeking new knowledge, skills, and experiences that can enhance their leadership capabilities. This commitment to growth ensures they remain adaptable and prepared for whatever challenges come their way.

Lifelong learning also involves staying curious and open-minded. Resilient leaders are always looking for ways to improve and innovate, whether through formal education, professional development, or simply learning from everyday experiences. By embracing a growth mindset, women leaders can continue to build their resilience throughout their careers.

For instance, leaders like Mary Barra, CEO of General Motors, have emphasized the importance of continuous learning and adaptation in their leadership journey. By staying open to new ideas and constantly seeking ways to improve, they have been able to lead their organizations through significant changes and challenges.

Conclusion: The Path to Resilience in Leadership

Building resilience as a woman in business is an ongoing process that requires dedication, self-awareness, and a strong support system. By embracing challenges, cultivating adaptability, and prioritizing well-being, women can navigate the complexities of leadership with strength and confidence. The strategies outlined in this article are designed to help women not only survive but thrive in the boardroom, leading with resilience and setting a powerful example for others to follow.

As women continue to break barriers and assume leadership roles across industries, resilience will remain a critical factor in their success. By fostering this trait within themselves and others, women leaders can create a more inclusive, innovative, and resilient business world for future generations. The journey may be challenging, but with resilience, determination, and the right strategies, women can achieve remarkable success and leave a lasting impact on the corporate landscape.

[dankusner]

The Dallas Morning News continues to bleed employees as left-wing bias is exposed

The Dallas Morning News is struggling to stay afloat.

Last year, parent company DallasNews Corp. announced that it had voluntarily bought out 6% of its workforce, which affected 40 positions at DMN.

“Today, the Company is announcing a limited voluntary staff reduction program that will be offered across all departments to eligible individuals at The News and Medium Giant.

Though the exact number of people who will take the option is unknown, it is expected that this could ultimately reduce the total workforce by about 6 percent, or 40 full-time and part-time positions,” DallasNews Corp. said in a press release.

Journalists such as Steve Brown, who had 47 years of experience, retired from DMN due to the voluntary buyout.

His reporting for DMN accounted for almost 10% of the newspaper’s digital conversions, reported The Real Deal.

Mitchell Parton, a former residential real estate reporter for DMN, left the publication at the end of last year and now covers real estate for the Dallas Business Journal.

Before that, DallasNews Corp. had losses of almost $9 million in 2022, reported The Real Deal.

Another mass layoff occurred in 2019 when DMN let go of 43 employees as a means to pivot towards a subscription-based model, according to The Wrap.

The Dallas Morning News, as a result, has been left with a majority-inexperienced staff.

As previously reported by The Dallas Express, DX CEO Chris Putnam called out DMN for its reporters’ misplaced focus and lack of knowledge.

“… [T]he only reason much of the media exists is to try and make anyone who’s not a radical like themselves look evil or ignorant.

This appears to be the objective of Dallas Morning News CEO Grant Moise and his so-called ‘journalists,’ including ‘equity’ reporter Arcelia Martin and business reporter Natalie Walters (who never actually held a job in business). They are all incompetent,” Putnam wrote.

DMN also recently admitted to left-wing bias in its reporting.

In an opinion piece titled, “Some readers think bias taints our news report. They’re right,” DMN public editor Stephen Buckley wrote:

“I do think that sometimes, when we interview sources with whom we might be sympathetic, we are not as quick to dig for other, opposing voices. We are selective about weaving in voices from all sides. In particular, conservative voices are frequently missing.”

“Executive Editor Katrice Hardy agrees that her staff is inconsistent about objectivity and fairness,” he added.

Previous DMN articles have drawn criticism, including one focused on drag queens struggling during COVID and another one about how tollway authorities are racist.

The Dallas Express contacted DMN and its publisher Moise for comment but did not receive a response by the time of publication.

UNBIASED NEWS IS UP TO WRITER AND READER

National press shake-ups point to challenges for us all

Like everything else in 21st century America, journalism has dramatically changed, and that change has not been for the better.

Substantive issues and policy ideas now get less attention while stories focused on celebrities and self-help take up more space.

Poorly vetted information and misspellings make it to publication or air without the important checks and edits once considered fundamental.

The line between commentary and opinion-free news stories grows dimmer by the day.

Even at premiere information news outlets such as The New York Times , The Washington Post and National Public Radio, such errors have become common.

Now individual voices inside those and other major newsrooms express concern about a new journalism ethic spreading through the profession.

The complaints shaking up the American press are not just about accuracy but about pervasive political bias.

A wider range of voices has been fighting to be heard around the national “campfire” of shared ideas.

It may not be clear to news consumers, but inside the craft, deep introspection is underway.

What went wrong

In an extensive column for The Economist magazine, James Bennet, at one time the editorial page editor of The New York Times, recently detailed what he sees as flaws in the practice of journalism at top-of-the-line outlets.

“The reporters’ creed,” Bennet wrote, “used to have its foundation in liberalism.”

By that he does not mean the liberalism with which most are familiar today, but classical liberalism in which the reporter acts as “a sworn witness; the readers’ role was to be judge and jury.”

In that approach to reporting, no matter what or whom reporters covered, their goal was to ask “why” and explain the reason their interviewees and sources arrived at their ideas and opinions.

In a republic, that is a journalist’s paramount mission.

Readers, listeners and viewers draw their own conclusions based on the assembled facts and opinions of the people with whom the reporter spoke.

The journalists’ personal views on the subjects they cover matter least.

That kind of dispassionate reporting develops over years as resolute journalists rise through the ranks from small news outlets to larger ones.

However, according to Bennet, even today’s best known news organizations have abandoned “their commitments to integrity and open-mindedness.”

He points to new journalists arriving at the Times and other outlets with a different mission.

Gone is the goal of exercising complete objectivity, which Bennet argues is now considered nothing more than “code for ignoring the poor and weak and cozying up to power.”

Pursuing truth, no matter where it leads, has been replaced, Bennet suspects, by journalists who see themselves as social justice crusaders.

This new breed, whom Bennet describes as “illiberal journalists,” champion group rights more than individual rights and view the exercise of free speech as a means of protecting the privilege of white men.

They believe, to Bennet’s mind, the 2016 election of Donald Trump proves their view that American citizens cannot be trusted with “potentially dangerous ideas or facts.”

During his employment at the Times, Bennet noted, “conservative arguments in the Opinion pages reliably started uproars,” among the staff.

Multiple staffers expressed their displeasure on social media and through in-house communication channels when in June 2020 the Times ran a column by Republican Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas calling for deployment of troops to protect lives and businesses following riots that erupted after the death of George Floyd.

Even the newsroom labor union weighed in, calling it a “clear threat to the health and safety of the journalists we represent.”

It is not just The New York Times where some journalists have raised questions about conservative coverage.

Writing in April in The Free Press, Uri Berliner, a 25-year senior editor at National Public Radio, said, “NPR has always had a liberal bent,” and until recently was “nerdy, but not knee-jerk, activist, or scolding.”

Now, Berliner contends, NPR has dumped its mission of providing diverse viewpoints and elevated “race and identity as ‘paramount in nearly every aspect of the workplace.’”

He has since resigned.

The Washington Post, too, is abuzz about abrupt changes in leadership and what they might mean for the paper’s coverage.

The newsroom there is revolting against new publisher Will Lewis despite the fact that change is clearly needed:

The Post lost $77 million and half its readership in 2023, according to reporting from Wall Street Journal deputy editorial features editor Matthew Hennessey.

Recently, in examining stories in The Dallas Morning News , the new Public Editor Stephen Buckley pointed to similar concerns, noting while the paper is “selective about weaving in voices from all sides,” he has noticed that “conservative voices are frequently missing.”

Culture of mistrust

Amid the disruption, news outlets must get better about showing their work — how and why they make decisions in their “gatekeeping” function.

But that’s only a part of the solution.

In the “culture of mistrust” that pervades America in 2024, it is not enough, Buckley wrote, to say that “we tried” to contact diverse voices, but they did not respond.

Readers, viewers and listeners have every right to compare journalists’ actual practices to their stated intentions.

Any distance between the two is the degree to which their stories should be called into question.

Put simply: No matter what a news provider promises in its masthead or branding slogan — whether to be a “voice for the voiceless” or “defend traditional values” or provide “both sides of every important question” — that must be the standard by which it is judged.

Market response

But journalists aren’t the only group requiring some soul-searching.

In a free market system of news delivery, the press responds to signals from the market.

And for the last few decades the market has been rewarding bad practices.

Fox News has been the most-watched television news channel for 22 years, attracting nearly half of the total cable news viewing audience, according to Nielsen Media Research.

In such a market, it’s pretty clear that what many critics of the Times , Post and NPR really want is an echo of their own opinions.

Information fabricators already abound.

With rising reliance on the internet as an information source, the rapid spread of falsehoods, especially in an election year such as this one, daily becomes a greater danger.

Last year, Pew Research Center revealed that half of U.S. adults rely on social media for news at least sometimes.

Fixing America’s journalistic landscape will require more than tacking right or left. In improving the flow of accurate information through society, there is a role for all of us.

The crusading journalist Ida B. Wells used to say, “The way to right wrongs is to turn the light of truth upon them.”

Going forward, in selecting, reporting and consuming stories, accepting only what is true must be everyone’s goal, even if it includes considering real facts with which we disagree.

For journalists, that requires making the dissemination of accurate, vetted information more important than publishing or airing it first.

And it means publishing news and opinions that are accurate and well-reasoned even if it means losing subscribers.

For news consumers it means expanding our sources of information to include perspectives that might not align with our own.

The end goal should not be to agree with or support causes, but to understand how leaders of those causes arrived at their conclusions.

That task is not an easy one.

We must all be wary of those who would distract us from it.

That requires diligence and vigilance — the obligation of every citizen in a republic.

[jcmarchi]

A snapshot of bias, the human mind, and AI

New Post has been published on https://thedigitalinsider.com/a-snapshot-of-bias-the-human-mind-and-ai/

A snapshot of bias, the human mind, and AI

Introducing bias & the human mind  

The human mind is a landscape filled with curiosity and, at times irrationality, motivation, confusion, and bias. The latter results in levels of complexity in how both the human and more recently, the artificial slant affects artificial intelligence systems from concept to scale.

Bias is something that in many cases unintentionally appears – whether it be in human decision-making or the dataset – but its impact on output can be sizeable. With several cases over the years highlighting the social, political, technological, and environmental impact of bias, this piece will explore this important topic and some thoughts on how such a phenomenon can be managed.

Whilst there’s many variations and interpretations (which in some cases themselves could be biased), let’s instead of referring to a definition explore how the human mind might work in certain scenarios. 

Imagine two friends (friend A and friend B) at school who’ve had a falling out and makeup again after apologies are exchanged. With friend A’s birthday coming up, they’re going through their invite list and land on Person B (who they fell out with).

Do they want to invite them back and risk the awkwardness if another falling out occurs, or should they take the view they should only invite those they’ve always got along with? The twist is though, Person A choosing the attendees for the party may have had minor falling outs with them in the past, but they’re interpreting it through the lens any previous falling outs are insignificant enough to be looked over. 

The follow-up from the above example turns to whether person’s A decision is fair. Now, fairness adds to the difficulty as there’s no scientific definition of what fairness really is.

However, some might align fairness with making a balanced judgment after considering the facts or doing what is right (even if that’s biased!). These are just a couple of ways in which the mind can distort, and mould the completion of tasks, whether they’re strategic or technical.

Before going into the underlying ways in which bias can be managed in AI systems, let’s start from the top: leadership. 

Leadership, bias, and Human In the Loop Systems  

The combination of leadership and bias introduces important discussions about how such a trait can be managed. “The fish rots from the head down” is a common phrase used to describe leadership styles and their impact across both the wider company and their teams, but this phrase can also be extended to how bias weaves down the chain of command.

For example, if a leader within the C-suite doesn’t get along with the CEO or has had several previous tense exchanges, they may ultimately, subconsciously have a blurred view of the company vision that then spills down, with distorted conviction, to the teams.

Leadership and bias will always remain an important conversation in the boardroom, and there’s been some fascinating studies exploring this in more depth, for example, Shaan Madhavji’s piece on the identification and management of leadership bias [1]. It’s an incredibly eye-opening subject, and one that in my view will become increasingly topical as time moves on. 

Generative Artificial Intelligence Report 2024

We’re diving deep into the world of generative artificial intelligence with our new report: Generative AI 2024, which will explore how and why companies are (or aren’t) using this technology.

As we shift from leadership styles and bias to addressing bias in artificial intelligence-based systems, an area that’ll come under further spotlight will be the effectiveness of Human In the Loop Systems (HITL).

Whilst their usefulness varies across industries, in summary, HITL systems fuse both the art of human intuition and the efficiency of machines: an incredibly valuable partnership where complex decision-making at speed is concerned.

Additionally, when linked to bias, the human link in the chain can be key in identifying bias early on to ensure adverse effects aren’t felt later on. On the other hand, HITL won’t always be a Spring cleaning companion: complexities around getting a sizeable batch of training data combined with practitioners who can effectively integrate into a HITL environment can blur the productivity vs efficiency drive the company is aiming to achieve. 

Conclusions & the future of bias  

In my view, irrespective of how much better HITL systems might (or might not) become, I don’t believe bias can be eliminated, and I don’t believe in the future – no matter how advanced and intelligent AI becomes – we’ll be able to get rid of it.

It’s very much something that’s so woven that it’s not always possible to see or even discern it. Furthermore, sometimes bias traits are only revealed when an individual points it out to someone else, and even then there can be bias on top of bias!

As we look to the future of Generative AI, its associated increasingly challenging ethical considerations, and the wide-ranging debate on how far its usefulness will stem at scale, an important thought will always remain at heart: we on occasions won’t be able to mitigate future impacts of bias until we’re right at the moment and the impact is being felt there and then. 

Bibliography  

[1] shaan-madhavji.medium.com. (n.d.). Leadership Bias: 12 cognitive biases to become a decisive leader. [online] Available at: https://hospitalityinsights.ehl.edu/leadership-bias. 

Want to read more from Ana? Check out one of her articles below:

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