#Voice Attendance in Saudi Arabia

[punksyeet]

- Just Because ❥

Plot: After being apart for over two weeks, Roman takes his lady on a date to make up for lost time.

Warning: Lots of fluff & heavy romance!

A/N: another massive thank you to whoever requested this one. if you know me, you know that i’m an absolute sucker for romance, so i wrote this with my heart. i hope you enjoy! 🌹💗

—————————————————————————————————

“I missed you so much sweetheart,” Joe says in between kisses to my temple.

I smile, my head laid against his chest, and look up at him. “I missed you more, love.”

He pulls away smiling, a gorgeous shimmer in his eyes. “Impossible.”

I chuckle and cup his face, tucking away a thin strand of hair that came loose from his bun.

Joe just got home from a work trip - more specifically, a PLE in Saudi Arabia.

Normally I’d attend big events with him, but this trip was over two weeks long, so I stayed back to watch after our children and such.

However, once they found out he was coming home today, Joe’s parents offered to take the kids so that we’d have some time to ourselves.

“Just don’t come pick them up with any more grandbabies,” his mom teased us with a wink.

While his time on the road isn’t easy for either of us, seeing him again is so worth the wait every single time. <3

That same shimmer in his eyes turn into mischief, and I can tell that an idea comes to him.

“What are you up to, Mr. Anoa’i?” I ask, narrowing my eyes with a smirk.

He chuckles and wraps his arms around my waist.

“Well Mrs. Anoa’i,” he teases, earning a giggle from me. “How would you like to check out that new fancy restaurant downtown?”

I smile, wrapping my arms around his neck. “What’s the occasion?”

“Just because,” he replies, shrugging. “I missed you a little extra this trip. And I love spoiling you, baby. You deserve every bit of it.”

I giggle, shaking my head. “My hubby, you’re something else.”

“Tell me something I don’t know,” he teases, a playful smirk plastered on his face. “Now, go get all dolled up for me sweet thing.”

Just then, the perfect outfit comes to mind.

“No coming upstairs until I’m ready,” I order, holding up my pinky. “Promise?”

Knowing how much I love dressing up, - not only for him, but in general - he chuckles and loops his smallest finger with mine before we kiss our hands. “I promise, beautiful.”

Satisfied, I kiss the corner of his mouth before running upstairs.

Once I step into our closet, my eyes automatically land on the dress: a black leather bodycon that hugs me in all the right places.

I bought this dress about a week ago, meaning Joe has never seen me in it, so I’m beyond excited to get his reaction.

I decide to freshen up with an everything shower, using all Victoria’s Secret Bare Vanilla scented products.

Once finished, I come back into the bedroom and start getting dressed: a pretty red lingerie set, the dress of course, some diamond jewelry that Joe got me for Valentine’s Day, my favorite black heels, and one of my many LV bags.

Afterwards, I head back into the bathroom to do some final touches.

I decide to just blow-dry my hair and throw on some very natural makeup aside from a red lip, allowing my natural curls and skin to breathe.

As I’m fluffing out my hair, I hear a knock at the door.

“Sweetheart?” Joe calls from the other side. “I left my watch on the counter. Can I come in?”

I take a deep breath and do some final checks in the mirror. “Yeah I’m all ready.”

“Thanks ba…” his voice trails off when the door opens and he sees me, stood in the mirror.

I turn to face him, gently biting my lip, as his eyes scan my entire body.

“Baby doll you look incredible,” he compliments, walking over and lifting my hand above my head, spinning me.

“Thank you love,” I reply, blushing like a maniac. “You look amazing yourself.”

“I better,” he coos, wrapping his arms around me and caressing my ass through the leather. “With a sexy lady like you on my arm.”

“Stop,” I mutter, blushing and looking down.

Chuckling, he gently lifts my head up by my chin. “Don’t act all shy now, girl. You knew exactly what you were doing with this dress.”

Instead of answering, I adjust his already-perfectly-placed red tie.

He smirks and takes my hand, pressing the top to his lips. “You all ready to go, love? Our reservations are in half an hour.”

I nod, intertwining our fingers. “All ready.”

He flashes me a gorgeous smile before stepping aside and letting me out of our bedroom first. “After you, beautiful.”

I smile and lead us downstairs. 

—————————————————————————————————

“Take care of her for me,” Joe teases the valet guy, nodding towards his black SUV and handing him a generous tip.

The man chuckles before taking the money. “Will do, sir. Thank you.”

Joe responds with a smile and quick nod, before placing a hand on my lower back and leading us inside the restaurant.

“Welcome in,” the woman at the host stand greets us, with a wide smile.

“Hi there,” he replies sweetly, rubbing soft circles onto my skin. “Reservation for Joe?”

The lady taps away at her iPad before nodding and looking back up at us. “Perfect. Right this way.”

She leads us up a flight of stairs and onto a rooftop, which is completely empty.

“Here we are,” she says, once we reach our table. “The private bar and chef are just around the corner of the building, so you have some extra privacy.”

Joe gives her a satisfied nod. “Amazing, thank you.”

She nods back with a smile. “My pleasure. You two enjoy.”

As she walks away, Joe pulls out a chair for me.

“Joe,” I begin, looking around. “You rented out the rooftop? And a private bar and chef? Just for a casual date? This is crazy.”

He chuckles and kisses my cheek. “Darling, I told you earlier. I love spoiling you.”

“I know but…” he cuts me off before I can rebuttal any further.

“Enough,” he demands, cupping my face. “I barely see you as it is with how hectic my job can be. Let me spoil you while I have the opportunity to.”

I let out a sigh, accepting defeat, and sit down. “Alright. Thank you.”

He lets out a hum of approval before pecking my lips and sitting across from me.

Throughout the dinner, we share some small and romantic talk, stolen kisses, and just all around enjoy each other’s company.

As I take a final sip from my wine glass, soft music from an outdoor jazz bar across the street starts playing at full volume.

I look over the balcony and smile, watching the band play and couples slow dance together.

All of a sudden, I hear Joe clear his throat, causing me to look up.

He’s stood by my chair, holding out his hand.

“May I have this dance, miss?” he offers, a gorgeous smile on his face.

I giggle softly, taking his hand and standing up. “Of course you may, sir.”

His chuckles and pulls me in, his arms around my waist and mine around his neck.

We start swaying to the soft beat.

“This is so romantic,” I coo, looking into his deep brown eyes, running my fingers through his soft curls.

He smiles, nodding in agreement. “It is.”

We lean in and share a sweet kiss, touching foreheads as we pull away.

“Thank you for tonight,” I speak up again, my voice just above a whisper.

He pulls away and strokes my face with his knuckle, looking down at me and smiling. “Anything for my favorite girl.”

I smile and lean in once again, pressing my lips to his in a passionate kiss.

He immediately kisses back, stroking my back in the process.

Once we pull apart, I lay my head on his chest, inhaling my favorite cologne.

He presses a kiss to my hair and holds me close.

—————————————————————————————————

When we finally get home, I immediately plop down on the sofa with a heavy sigh.

Joe shuts the door and walks over, chuckling. “You alright, sweetheart?”

I let out a soft chuckle myself. “Between this food coma and all that dancing, I might be dying.”

He smiles, shaking his head and taking a seat next to me. “Here, angel. Let me help you.”

I give him a tired but grateful smile as he gently lifts my legs, lays them across his lap, and starts removing my heels.

Once they’re off, he strokes and applies feather-like kisses to my legs.

“Baby you’re a lifesaver,” I coo dreamily, my head sinking into the sofa cushion.

He chuckles and, instead of responding, gently lifts me up bridal style.

“Where are we going?” I ask, wrapping my arms around his neck.

He kisses my temple. “To get you into a hot bath. It’ll help the soreness go away and help you relax.”

I lay my head against his chest. “Mmm, honey that sounds amazing.”

“Good,” he replies, setting me down onto the sink when we finally make it upstairs. “Because it’ll feel amazing too.”

He gives me a quick kiss before turning to the tub and prepping some hot water and lavender scented soap.

I watch on as he heads into the bedroom to grab some tiny candles and lines them up against the porcelain as well.

“Joe,” I call out quietly. “You don’t need to do all this, love.”

He turns back around and cups my face, smiling softly. “I want to, baby doll. For you.”

I stick out my bottom lip and he chuckles before pecking it.

“Now,” he continues, reaching back to tie up my hair. “Let’s get you into the tub, hm?”

I nod and slide off the sink.

“How is it?” he asks, holding my hand and helping me lower my body into the water. “Need anything changed?”

I shake my head and sigh dreamily, my eyes fluttering closed. “It’s perfect, Joe. You’re perfect. Thank you.”

He chuckles before leaning down and applying a kiss to my temple. “The pleasure is all mine, sweetheart.”

I give him a soft smile and brush our noses together.

After a couple moments of comfortable silence, he breaks it.

“Now relax my love,” he coos, giving my cheek one last stroke. “I’ll be in to check on you soon.”

I nod and sink further into the water, allowing the heat and lavender to take over.

** Roman’s POV **

After about 15 minutes since I left Gianna in the bathroom pass, I decide to check on her.

“Sweetheart?” I call out, knocking at the door. “You alright in there?”

When I don’t get an answer, I furrow my eyebrows in confusion.

“Gi? Baby?” I ask, knocking again.

Once again, no answer.

What is she doing in there? Is she okay?

I open the door slightly and peek my head in, brought with quite the sight: my wife fast asleep in the bath, light snores pouring out of her parted lips.

I cover my mouth to prevent laughing too loudly, walk over, and sit on the edge of the tub.

“Sweetheart?” I call just above a whisper, stroking her hair. “Honey, we gotta get you out of here.

Her eyes slowly open and she looks around, then at me, confused as ever.

“W-what happened?” she asks, her voice still groggy and raspy from being on cloud nine literal seconds ago.

I chuckle, tucking a couple strands of loose hair behind her ear. “You fell asleep in the bath.”

“Oh,” she replies, sitting up. “I’m sorry. I guess it was more perfect than I thought.”

“Darling don’t be sorry,” I reassure, smiling and helping her up. “Careful, now.”

She steps out and I help her into her favorite fluffy robe.

“Mmm,” she hums in approval, laying her head against my chest. “Thank you, love.”

I smile and kiss her soft curls. “You’re welcome, sweetheart. Let’s get you in bed, hm?”

She nods and we head back into the bedroom to do just that.

Once her head hits the pillow, she’s off to dreamland once again.

Watching on, I smile and apply a light kiss to her lips. “Sleep well, my queen.”

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[sinofwriting]

I'm A Matchmaker, Baby - Ollie Bearman, Charles Leclerc/Max Verstappen

Words: 4,123 Summary: After Saudi Arabia, Charles fully takes Ollie under his wing, he is his son after all, which leads to Ollie having dinner with the Monaco royal family and meeting the most beautiful girl in the world, the princess of Monaco. Note(s): This is also a Lestappen fic, Max and Charles get together and are together in this fic. They ended up playing a huge part in this fic, so be warned. Also the title is what it is because I can just hear Charles say it.

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Charles had always wanted children. He had wanted children nearly as long as he had wanted to be a Ferrari Formula One driver. He had never expected to be a father this young. But he was and his heart was full because of it.

He wasn’t Ollie’s father on paper or biologically, but what did that matter when it came to the heart and in Charles’ heart, he is Ollie’s father. He already felt something for the young driver, but then Saudi Arabia happened and Ollie had followed him around the Ferrari garage, all polite as he asked his questions, eyes filled with awe and determination. Something had settled in him then. The realization hit only after the race as he waited for the press conference and saw the number of tweets greeting him.

They all were praising Ollie, comparing the two, saying how much Ollie and him were alike. It wasn’t the first time he had heard such things. Arthur had remarked it once, so had Jock, but he hadn’t thought much of it. But now as he scrolled and scrolled and saw the comparisons that fans had made, he couldn’t help but compare them as well. They were quite similar. From the tracks they both liked and performed well at, the love for Ferrari, they both couldn’t cook for shit apparently, and there was even more.

The thing that really got him, a well of fondness striking his heart, was Ollie already talking to someone about this weekend and how when jumping into Carlos’ car for FP3 he struggled with the wheel because he always used Charles’ set up at the factory. It was like it never occurred to him in the near four years he had been with the Ferrari academy to even think of trying another driver’s set up.

“He did well.” A shoulder brushes against his, tehir voice just barely above a murmur.

Charles closes out of his twitter, smiling. “He did very well. Better than Ferrari was expecting.”

He huffs out a laugh, the press of their shoulders becoming firmer. “He really does take after you then.”

A pink blush forms on his cheeks, but he can’t help but beam, pride so quickly filling him. He only seemed to have Ollie for a day, but he would happily kill anyone and anything that would hurt him. “He does. He was amazing during the race, no? Finishing seventh.”

“It’s too bad Lewis is a sure thing. Ollie already seems to be ready for the Ferrari seat.”

If it was anyone else, he would think that they were fishing and if it was anyone else he wouldn’t bother responding, but it was Max. Max had never shared things he said, not when they were matters of the heart or private or even just a bit personal.

“There are things in place. But Ollie would like to do a year in the back or midfield at least before stepping up.”

Max hums, eyebrows furrowed, considering. “Even after this? And what if Carlos isn’t ready for Australia?”

Charles hesitates, eyes darting around, as he thinks of the meeting he has to attend after this to discuss just that.

“Later?” Max offers.

“Later.” He agrees, nodding.

“Nightcap in my room?”

The word yes is on the tip of his tongue, he hates the idea of passing it up, but he shakes his head. “I want to spend some time with Ollie. It was a big day for him. I already plan on getting dinner with him, talking, making sure he is all okay. If you are still up after, perhaps I could stop by?”

Max smiles, eyes crinkling. “You are welcome anytime, of course, Charlie. I’ll have a spare key waiting for you at the front desk or you can always just knock.”

“Thank you, Max.”

Max’s smile grows bigger and he squeezes Charles’ shoulder, once, twice, then three times. “Of course.”

—

Charles leans against the door frame watching as Andrea leads Ollie through the last of his cooldown stretches. His neck was surely hurting and it would be worse tomorrow, but he could see the sheen of cream that Andrea had used on him at the beginning of his F1 career, still did if it had been a practically hard race. And if he knew Andrea which he did, he already knew that there was an extra one in his bag to give to Ollie.

“Hello.” He greets when Ollie finishes his last stretch, straightening with a small groan.

“Charles!” Ollie grins, eyes brightening.

He catches Andrea shaking his head from the corner of his eye, but there’s a fond smile on the older man’s face. “I’ve finished with my meeting, are you ready for dinner?”

Charles fears for a moment his head will come off with how eagerly Ollie shakes it.

They go to a small restaurant, Italian, that Andrea had found for Charles.

Siding into the booth seats, Charles watches, amused, as Ollie looks around with interest, fingers fiddling with his menu.

“I’ve been coming here since the race was introduced. It is nice, no?”

Ollie nods, “it is. Reminds me a bit of…” he trails off and Charles knows what he’s thinking.

“A bit. The owner, her mother, is Italian.”

“Ah.”

Opening the menu, Charles eyes glimpse over it already knowing what he’s going to get, fingers drumming against the table for a moment.

“You did very well during the race, Ollie.”

The boy’s face turns red, his hand rubbing at the back of his neck. “I could have done better.”

Charles shakes his head. “You got one free practice session, managed to qualify ahead of a seven time world champion and a McLaren. You didn’t damage the car and finished in the points. You did fantastic. And you had to get used to a new wheel set up.”

Ollie sputters a bit at the last part.

“It’s just, why would I-” he cuts himself off.

“Why would you what?” Charles asks, staring at him.

“Why would I bother with Carlos’ when yours is there? I mean he’s fine, been nothing nice to me, but you are Ferrari. I wanted to join the academy partially because of you. You’re one of the best of the current generation. And you always let me, let anyone of us bother you with questions.”

“It’s never a bother.” Charles corrects as he thinks of the other Ferrari Driver Academy drivers that sometimes message him with a question or always ask when they see him if he can look over their lap times for a second, which he of course does if he isn’t busy.

“And that! You’re so nice about it. I know Dino once messaged you at three am on accident drunk and you sent a car to get him.”

Charles frowns, “Of course I did. He was in a country he had never been in before and drunk enough to text me. I wouldn’t have been able to sleep if I didn’t know he got back to his hotel okay.”

Ollie groans and then he’s leaning forward, head hitting the table with a loud thunk that has Charles hissing and pushing at Ollie’s shoulder until he raises his head enough for Charles to look at his forehead.

It’s slightly red and Charles frowns, moving his hand to rub gently at the center of the redness.

“Ollie,” he scolds. “You have to be careful. Your neck has gone through enough strain today. And I don’t know if you should risk hitting your head.”

“It’s fine, dad.” Ollie mumbles, pushing Charles hand away to rub at the spot himself before turning an impressive shade of red.

Charles watches, a beam on his face, as Ollie tries to speak again, saying the word dad again before managing to say the first part of his name.

“You get this from your uncle Lorenzo.”

And that just sends Ollie into another sputter of words that don’t make sense.

He drops off Ollie at his hotel room a few hours later, giving him a hug and putting more cream on his neck, before reminding him that Andrea or him will do it again in the morning before or after breakfast depending on how his neck is feeling.

He stops at his own hotel room to grab his carry-on, his regular suitcase already with Joris before going up two floors and knocking on a hotel room door.

“Charles.” Max greets, eyes crinkling as he smiles before he draws him for a hug.

“Hello.” He presses a kiss to Max’s cheek and ignores the way his own cheeks turn pink as well Max’s from the gesture.

Stepping into the room, he moves further in, setting his carry on by the bed, before collapsing on it, his lips stretching into a smile as he thinks of his dinner with Ollie.

“You are very happy.” Max comments, laying next to him.

“I am. I am very happy.” He breathes. “I’m a dad, Max.” Saying the words out loud, makes his grin grow.

“You-” Max coughs, “you’re a what?”

“A dad, a papa. I do not know the Dutch word for it.”

Max says the Dutch word for dad instantly, like he always does when Charles makes a comment about not knowing the Dutch word for something. “Thank you.” He says, repeating what Max said.

Max clears his throat after a moment and Charles turns his head to look at Max and is surprised to see pain in the blue eyes he likes looking into so much and there’s an unsure expression on Max’s face. His body is still turned towards Charles, but he’s closed off, arms over his chest.

“What is wrong?” Charles asks, concern dripping from his words.

“How old?”

He blinks at him, struggling with the question. “How old is what?”

“The baby. How old is the baby? I mean has it been born?”

Charles stares at him, slightly dumbfounded, because what language was Max speaking? It couldn’t be English.

Then it hits him, his breath of happiness, of him saying he’s a dad.

“No, no!” He scrambles upwards before leaning over Max, hands cupping the barely older’s face. “It is not a baby. I’m talking about Ollie, chérie. I am his dad. Twitter was going on and on about it and then at dinner, oh, Max.” He sighs. “He called me dad.”

The hurt vanishes from Max’s face at his words, cheeks a touch pink from the way Charles is touching him, from the name he called him.

“You two are alike.” He offers before softening further as Charles’ thumbs start to stroke his cheekbones.

“I’m sure you are an amazing dad.”

Charles beams at him. “I hope so. Ollie had to learn Carlos’ wheel setup.”

Max snorts at the whisper. “I see Ollie is part of the Charles Leclerc is the best club.”

Charles flushes, “well you would know.”

He smiles, his fingers finding Charles’ waist. “Yes, I would. It would be poor if the president of the club didn’t know all the members.”

“Max.”

“Charles.”

“Kiss me finally.”

The sheer want on Max’s face has Charles letting out a whine.

“I won’t keep you a secret if we do that Charles. I can’t cross that line.”

Charles shakes his head, “I would never ask you to.” And he finally says, reveals, let outs, the conversation he had before signing his new contract, his one of many non-negotiables. “Ferrari knows. John threw his full support behind me after I called him. They ask for three to six months, just to get things in place, protection. I know, it’s still a secret, but I just have to message them and they set things in motion.” He rambles.

“Charles,” Max breathes, cutting him off and shaking his head. “You talked to Ferrari about us?”

He ducks his head, flushing. “I’m tired of not having all of you, of not getting to say that I’m yours and you are mine. I want more than glances and fleeting touches. I want to be consumed by you. I couldn’t do another year of not knowing what it felt like to feel your hands on my bare skin, to feel your lips on mine. I couldn’t do it.”

Max stares up at him, throat bobbing and there’s a gentle pressure on the back of his neck. “I love you so much.”

And Charles is unable to respond, the lips on his preventing it and he can’t even try to be angry about it as he happily kisses, gets kissed by, Max for the first time.

—

Charles knows that having booked a private room for breakfast the next morning makes it seem like what happened with Max was planned, but thankfully Max knows him. He knows that Charles most mornings on race weekends likes to have breakfast in private, especially if he still is there the next day after the race. Wants to start his day with some peace and be surrounded by his choice of people. Max has never made it to one of these breakfasts before and this is Ollie’s first as well.

Entering the room, and it was nice that only did the hotel have a good restaurant in it but also let you rent out rooms just to eat, hand in hand with Max, he smiles at Ollie, spotting him first, giving Max’s hand a squeeze before letting it go and moving to pull Ollie into a quick hug.

He nearly presses bisous to his cheeks, as he does with all the people he thinks of as family or close to it in greeting, but he doesn’t know if Ollie would be comfortable with it, so he settles for just squeezing him a bit tighter.

Andrea gets greeted with a squeeze to the shoulder as the trainer sips at a cup of coffee, Joris the same, though he has to dodge an elbow to his side, which makes him laugh.

He goes to Pierre after, giving him bisous and getting them in return before his friend looks behind him where Max must be, his eyebrow raising slightly.

Charles flushes, “we are together now, Pierre.”

“Well, I had no doubts about that. You are glowing. I just can’t tell if it’s from finally getting together with Max, becoming a parent, or both.”

“Both. Have you spoken to Ollie?”

Pierre shakes his head.

“You’ll love him and you can go maybe get a head start on being his favorite uncle behind Arthur.”

He scoffs, “as if Arthur could be a better uncle than me.”

“Well, he has a head start.”

Pierre mutters under his breath as he heads over to where Ollie is awkwardly standing and Charles returns to Max’s side, intertwining their fingers and pressing a quick kiss to his cheek.

“Pierre gunning for favorite uncle?”

Charles smiles at the question, unable to help himself from pressing another kiss to Max’s cheek. “Yes.

"He’ll get a leg up on Lorenzo, but Arthur is fairly ahead of them both.”

He hums, turning his head to capture Charles’ lips in a short kiss. “At least Vic will be favorite Aunt. Two of them will have to deal with not being the favorite.”

“That’ll be bloody.” Charles scoffs, he still had a scar on his lower back from when Lorenzo and him had roughhoused.

Their mother had been distraught when she had seen the blood, horrified. Their father hadn’t been happy about it but had easily come to terms with being an accident. Poor Arthur had refused to leave him alone, clinging to him as he had been there, though playing on their shared DS.

Jules though… despite having been Lorenzo’s best friend, he had been taken with Charles as soon as he first held him. It had been a joke between Jules’ parents and his to make Jules his godfather, but Jules had latched on to the idea, despite Lorenzo’s protests about Jules liking a gross baby, and by the time Charles was a year old, Jules happily held the title of godfather to Charles.

“You know you won’t win favorite dad with Ollie, right?”

Max smiles, soft and slightly amused. “I know.” His eyes flicker over to where Pierre is talking to Ollie.

Andrea and Joris having their own discussion, though all of their eyes flicker to where Charles and Max are standing.

“And you are okay with that?” There’s a hint of disbelief in his voice.

“Charles,” Max laughs. “You’re the only one I’ve ever been okay with winning instead of me. And I, of course, can’t be upset that Ollie thinks the world of you, and will see you as his favorite.”

The barely younger has to blink back tears, “You say the sweetest things, cherie.”

“Only for you, Charlie. Only for you.”

—

“Are you sure I should be coming with you?”

Charles sends him a look and Ollie can’t help but duck his head. “It is for family and I have a good relationship with them. I could bring fifty people and say they are family and it would be okay. And you are family.” He gently cuffs Ollie’s ear. “Max will be coming too.”

“Even after?”

“Yes, even after.”

Ollie doesn’t bother asking how Charles has a custom suit that fits him perfectly, it’s just who Charles and even Max are, though Max doesn’t do any clothes shopping, it’s either sponsored clothing or now things that Charles buys him.

In the car ride to the palace, Max tells him the names of the royal family. And Ollie repeats them over and over again in his head.

“Why won’t Gabriella and Jacques be there?” Ollie asks again, thinking of the youngest two children.

“This is technically a publicity dinner, though it is private. They are only nine, Albert and Charlene are very protective. Next time we are in Monaco there will be a lunch and they will be there for that.”

“But Y/N will be there?”

“Yes.” Charles nods. “She is your age and this is private, but she is not set to inherit the throne.”

“But, a girl could inherit. Gabriella is.” Ollie remembers that much for Max’s rambles about different royal families and their workings.

“Yes, though she is behind Jacques since he was born first, though they are twins. Y/N isn’t interested in being the heir apparent, she currently does such duties and is willing to step up if neither of her siblings want to take the title.”

“Jacques is slightly keen on it, I imagine that Gabriella will be the one to take it.” Max chimes in.

Ollie watches amused as Charles and Max begin to playfully bicker about the siblings though it’s clear that Charles thinks the same as Max.

The car rolls to a stop and Ollie has to take a deep breath before exiting the car after Charles. He watches as the prince greets him warmly, giving him a hug before Charlene does and then Ollie’s breath catches a girl, his age, envelopes Charles into a hug.

They’ve clearly met and know each other well with the way Charles beams at her and her back and he can just hear Charles asking her about something before his attention is drawn away by Max introducing him to Prince Albert.

Ollie ducks his head, extending his hand out. “It’s an honor to meet you, Prince Albert.”

The prince lets out a chuckle, shaking his hand. “You as well, Ollie. But you can just call me Albert. No need for formalities, not when you are Charles’ son.”

Ollie flushes at the words, but flashes a pleased grin.

“And Max, it’s always good to see you.” Albert cheers, bringing in the world champion for a hug.

“You as well, Albert.”

Charlene greets him much quieter than Albert, though she immediately insists on him not referring to her as princess. “It is lovely to meet you. Charles and Max have both talked about you.”

“Oh, thank you. They’ve both talked about you as well, you and your family.”

“Max and Charles are kind.”

He nods in agreement.

“Ollie,” Charles calls and he instantly turns to look at him. “I want you to meet, Princess Y/N.”

“Please, just call me Y/N.” She immediately says with a shake of her head, before extending a hand out.

“It’s nice to meet you, Ollie.”

He can feel himself turning red as they shake hands, her eyes on him and even just the slightest touch of their fingers and palms. “You as well.”

—

“So Ollie,” Charles murmurs, the words nearly a slur from sleep and the many drinks he had.

Max pulls Charles tighter, nosing at his wet hair, happy that even this drunk it was easy to get Charles to take one, get rid of the stench of the clubs they had been in. “Yeah, he definitely likes Y/N.”

“Oh, thank god. She clearly likes him. I mean did you see her at dinner and then at Jimmy’z? She was so flustered. She confused her silverware. She hasn’t done that once in the near eight years I’ve known her.”

“Charles,” Max warns, already knowing where this is headed and he just knows he’s not going to hear the end of this when they wake up in a few hours, hungover and eager to indulge in greasy food before a workout. “Don’t play matchmaker.”

He can feel his pout against his collarbone, before he’s moving until he’s entirely on top of him and Max lets out a silent oof as Charles’ elbows knock against his ribs, but his hands follow along, eagerly wrapping his arms around him and pulling him until he’s pressed completely against him.

“But babe.”

Max flushes at the pet name. “Go to sleep, Charles. Think about it in the morning.” His eyes slip shut as he realizes what he just said, a silent fuck leaving his mouth

Charles wiggles against him, a beam pressed against his cheek. “I knew you’d help me! Yes, we will talk after we sleep. I’m thinking a lot of flowers and my yacht. They’ll love it.”

“Mhmm.” Max says, “let’s go to bed.”

“Okay. Love you, chérie.”

“Love you too.”

—

Stepping onto the yacht, Ollie gives a smile to the older gentleman that Charles hires to drive the yacht when he’s not feeling up to it or knows he’s going to be drinking.

“Hi Nicholas.”

“Good afternoon, Ollie.” His lips twitch into a smile. “Your father has asked that you go below until we are at sea.”

“He has a surprise for me, doesn’t he?”

Nicholas shrugs, “I’m unaware of any surprise.”

Ollie groans that was definitely a yes.

Despite that, he goes below deck, settling nicely into the hammock that is there despite the much better and cozier one that is above.

It’s over thirty minutes before Charles sends him a text telling him to come up.

Getting out of the hammock, he jogs up the stairs and over to the part of the deck where they always eat. He nearly skids to a stop however when he sees a massive amount of flowers and his breath catches, the princess.

“Princess Y/N, I had no idea.” He runs a hand through his hair and tries to not think about the t-shirt he is wearing.

She quickly stands, nearly tipping forward, but he quickly grabs her, keeping her upright. She smiles,

“Ollie, it’s nice to see you again. Did Charles message you about lunch as well?”

He smiles back at her, heart beating a little faster. “Yeah. Have you seen him?”

Her eyebrows press together, “I thought he was down below. That’s what Nicholas said.”

“Nicholas told me to wait down below until we were at sea. Charles texted me telling me to come up here.”

Ollie’s cheeks flush and his hands that were still resting on her drop, something he can’t help but mourn a little. “I think I know why he isn’t here, but we are.”

“Oh?”

He nearly gulps, hands feeling a little sweaty. “At the dinner, I was a bit flustered.”

She lets out a small laugh. “Most people are at dinner with my parents, especially my father.”

“I was nervous.” He tells her. “But, I was flustered because of you. I mean, you’re so beautiful.”

“Oh.” She blinks before her head ducks down. “I was flustered as well.”

A smile pulls at his lips at the quiet whisper. “Really?”

“Yes. I mean, I used my table fork instead of my salad fork. I haven’t done that since I was maybe ten.”

“I really made you flustered.”

“Unbelievably so.” She laughs.

“Shall we have this lunch that Charles put together? Maybe plan another lunch or dinner for after this?”

“I’d love that.”

[lilghostiequinni]

Remember When

Main Masterlist Lando Masterlist

Pairing: Piastri!female oc (Eliza;Lizi;Liz) x Lando Norris

Warnings: Fluffy, little Angst, Pregnancy talk, Indications of smut

Summary: She's older than her brother. She doesn't drive for the sport, but she does follow the sport, and has been even before her brother's appearance with McLaren, who she's been supporting before her brother joined. She has friends on the grid, but one thing she does that isn't conventional or has anything to do with her everyday life is... collecting scale-model racing helmets from her favorite teams and drivers. She also designs helmets and redesigns already-worn helmets. Even though this has nothing to do with her job and lifestyle. But what happens when she predicts a maiden win in Maimi after her brother invites her to the 2024 Maimi Grand Prix?

Requested: NO / yes

"Liz, I know you are hours away, but can you come to Maimi?" Oscar asks his older sister over the phone after he lands in Maimi for the 2024 Maimi Grand Prix.

"I wouldn't be able to get there until late Friday, early Saturday. Maybe even midday on Saturday," Eliza told her brother as she walked around her classroom on the other side of the phone.

Oscar wanted his sister to come because the first time he got a pole position, she called, and the first time Max won a Grand Prix and the first world championship, she called before the second race even happened.

He's hoping her coming will bring luck to McLaren.

Also, he knows that his sister is a fan of Lando's and has never met him, even though she's been to several Grand Prix since 2019, Lando's rookie year.

Though most of the time she was either there with Red Bull or on her own in the stands, which has been the case for the two races she had attended so far, Saudi Arabia and Australia.

"Please, I'll see if Max will let you use his plane. Please, Lizi, I want you here," Oscar begged as he ran his fingers through his hair; he had talked to Zak, and everything was ready; her birthday was on Quali day, Saturday, and he had worked months on what he wanted to get her and a surprise, which involved her hobby of designing and collecting helmets and her first meeting with Lando Norris.

Granted, the driver had no idea that he was a part of the surprise, yet anyway, at least.

Oscar just needed his sister to agree to come to Maimi from New York to get her to travel almost the 1,300 miles between the two distances.

"Please, I want you here. That way, I can give you your present from everyone on time and not on Monday when I would've come," Oscar pulled the 'It's your birthday card.' He knew it was one way to get his sister to fold, but he played it with the 'I want you here' card in his, 'but I'm your little brother voice.' All of these are strategies that he has learned will make his sister fold and agree.

So, maybe his hope to not use a little persuasion didn't go as planned, but he had seen no other way.

"You'll get full VIP Paddock passes," Oscar finishes off; yeah, there was no way his sister would say no.

"Fine, I'll talk to my boss. I was going to come to Italy and Monaco, you know that, right?" Liz says to her brother as she finally caves.

"Yeah, but do they fall on your birthday or even close to your birthday?" Oscar questions his sister.

"No," there's a moment of pause on the line. "Hey, Osc, I have to go. duty calls. I'll see you Saturday."

"See you then," then the phone is hung up.

Oscar does a little dance and pumps his fists as he turns to the door and sees an amused Lando.

"What are you doing?"

"Celebrating."

"Why?" Lando looks at his teammate in confusion.

"My older sister is coming, and the last time she was actually in the Paddock was last year," Oscar says.

Oscar did ask Max to get his sister from the entrance and give her her pass to get in as he was called over by Zak just ten minutes before she was set to arrive at the race.

Max was happy to do it because the older Piastri was one of his best friends, probably his best friend outside the grid entirely.

Max stood near the entrance as he texted the woman, who quickly told him she was waiting at the entrance when he looked over and saw her.

He walked over to her and swiped the pass, allowing her through before giving her the pass, "So, I know we usually say no presents for the other's birthday, but you got me one last year, so I'm giving you won this year."

Liz looked at the Dutchman and shook her head as she followed him to Red Bull after quickly texting her brother, letting him know that she was there, and making a quick stop in Red Bull to get the present from Max.

"Here," Max handed her a box, which she took and set on the table. "Happy Birthday."

Eliza looked at the taller man with a bored look as she went to pull the top of the box off, and Sergio came over.

"Hello," Checo said as Liz waved and continued to open the box.

Eliza looked in and saw it was the scale model of a helmet she had designed and had only given the sketch of the helmet to Max, she looked to her friend with wide eyes, and he motioned for her to keep going.

She did, finding not one but three more scale model helmets she designed and gave Max, and also two of his scale model helmets she didn't have.

She again looked to Max and threw her arms around him with tears in her eyes.

Sergio smiled at the scene, "When you're done, I also have something for you."

Liz let go of Max and looked to Sergio, a little skeptical, "You didn't have to get me anything. I hardly let Max get me anything."

It wasn't that she didn't like the Mexican, Sergio was one of her favorites, just that she rarely liked getting presents, usually only from her close family, as they wouldn't let her say no.

She doesn't like presents because they're surprises, and in the last 10 years of her life, she has developed a dislike for surprises after the Year 9 incident, which resulted in her move to America.

"I know, but I heard you talking to Max about books you wanted a few weeks ago in Australia, then I heard Max say it was your birthday today, so I got you some," Sergio, ever the sweetest at least when not competing.

Eliza smiled at the man as he as well turned and grabbed a box, he put it next to the one Max gave, and she opened it to see the books she had only been raving about for the last three months, at least.

She hugged Sergio and told him thank you before Max once again drew her attention back to him.

"I may have also gotten you another present, but I gave it to your brother to give to you because he asked to see it, and then before he gave it back, I was told to come get you from the gates," Max says as Sergio is beckoned away.

Liz nodded at the statement that was made and saw someone trying to get Max's attention from behind him, "You are wanted. I'll see you later, and I'll talk to Osc about that other present you wanted to give me."

It's Max's turn to look behind him then nod, giving his best friend one final hug before turning and going to the man that was beckoning him over as Eliza walked out of Red Bull with her two boxes.

She made her way through the paddocks and to McLaren, where she saw her brother waiting for her just outside of the paddock.

Oscar grabbed the boxes from his sister as he led her through the paddock to his driver's room to set her boxes down, then led her to another room in the back of the paddock where she saw Zak Brown and Lando Norris.

Liz looked at her brother, highly confused as to why she was there because, to her, what was being discussed might be important, and she didn't want to interrupt.

"It's okay, Zak was helping me and..." Oscar was interrupted by the McLaren principal, "I just wanted to wish you a happy birthday."

"Thank you, then," Liz says with a small smile to the man.

"Lando is here because I needed a few things from him for your present and because I noticed that you have never met him, despite having been to many races since his rookie year and never met him," Oscar says, walking over to the table in the room.

Liz waves at Lando and follows her brother.

"This is from Mom and Dad, just Mom, just Dad, our sisters, Grandma, and me," Oscar says, pointing to each of the boxes as he says so.

Liz nods, "Okay, Max said he had another present, but you stole it before I got here and didn't get it back before you sent him to get me."

"Yes, that's true, but I wanted to show it to Zak and Lando." Oscar goes over to the other side of the table and grabs the smaller box that he hadn't pointed to, well, one of them.

Oscar hands it to his sister, and she opens it, finding another scale model helmet, one she designed for the current race, the Maimi Grand Prix 2024.

"But I only gave the design to him a few days ago," Liz looked at her brother, puzzled.

"Yeah, but I had access to your tablet weeks ago when you told me it was finished," Oscar points out.

Oscar took the box from her and shoved another into her hands. He did this until she got to the present from him.

Opened it to find books she wanted, this pair of sneakers she had told her brother about ONCE but wanted for several weeks, and, of course, scale model helmets she had been missing from his helmets and just one from Lando's, but also a few she designed for her brother.

Lando had stood to the side, and did nothing until Oscar pointed to the box next to him, which Lando picked up and gave to Liz as Oscar took his gift from in front of her.

Liz smiled in thanks to Lando as she took it from him.

"I told Lando you collected helmets and that he was one of the few drivers you collected all of them from. I told him which ones you didn't and..." Oscar said as his sister opened the box to see the few she was missing.

"Thank you," Liz said, looking to Brit, who nodded at her thanks. "My students just love looking at them, and I love using them as scale models."

Zak then stepped forward and pushed the last two boxes across the table, "This is from McLaren with the help of your brother."

She opened the boxes to find they were also helmets she had designed for the Maimi Grand Prix, just for Lando and Oscar.

"Your brother had seen them, finished when he saw Max's, and said he wanted the scale models made and the normal helmets, not for a race, just to have," Zak told her.

There was a knock on the door, and both Zak and Lando were beckoned out. Oscar was told he would be soon, too, but he told them to give him a couple minutes, and he would be out.

"I also got a few of the Lando helmets you design made, but I may have shipped them to your apartment," Oscar told her as he pulled Liz into a hug.

"Thank you," She whispered into his ear as he held her close.

"You're welcome."

The two pulled away before Oscar started to talk again, "So, who's going to win, you think?"

Liz laughs and rolls her eyes, knowing it was coming since he called her, "Not you and not Max. Max is going to get second."

Liz hands over a piece of paper to her brother with her predictions. Oscar looks at it and shakes his head, "Of course, you think it's going to be his maiden win."

Liz chuckles again at her brother as the two make their way out of the room.

Liz watched as her brother fell through the rows of cars after the safety car was pulled out onto the track. She also watched as Lando Norris took the lead over Max Verstappen and was gaining a substantial gap between the two.

She watched as Lando won his first Grand Prix and took place in the 1st place spot, with Max in 2nd and Charles in 3rd.

She watched as he ran to his team and jumped into the crowd of orange papaya with the biggest smile on his face.

She watched as he got blasted in the face with champagne from the other two drivers and his engineer.

She watched as her predictions about the race came true.

She watched as Max came over to her and asked her to join the partying tonight.

She watched as Lando got plastered as she herself got drunk to.

She watched the flashbacks of the night before coming back as she woke to the pressure of an arm across her middle.

She looked in the direction it came, and she saw Lando Norris next to her in the same state of dress, nothing but the blanket on the bed.

Not knowing how to respond to whatever happened that she only knows bits and pieces too, she carefully got up from the bed, careful not to wake the new race winner.

Only to try and stand and fall to the ground, effectively startling the Brit awake.

"Are you okay?" Lando asks as he looks over the side of the bed to her.

".... No. I need help. Please," There were a few moments of silence before her response.

"Were you trying to leave?" Lando asks as he gets up and then goes to pick her up.

"No, I was trying to go to the bathroom, then leave," Liz tells him as she's picked up, and Lando brings her to the bathroom.

Lando sets her down and then leaves the bathroom to give her privacy. No, he doesn't go far, but he does leave the room.

After she was done and mostly regained her balance, Liz left the bathroom and went searching for her clothes, which were still scattered, as Lando walked back into the bedroom area of his suite.

"Here, you can use this, as your dress is here and partially ripped. Sorry," The sorry was clearly an afterthought as Lando handed her both a shirt and her dress from the night before.

Liz nodded in thanks, "I should go before my brother starts looking for me, and I have to be on a flight in... 4 hours."

Lando just nodded at what she said, "Can I get your number from what I can remember of last night, you're pretty cool."

Liz blushes as she nods and grabs her phone from the bedside table, giving it to the McLaren driver, who texted himself to get her number on his phone.

It had been months since Maimi, and she had talked to Lando plenty of times over those months, often meeting when he flew over to New York in secret.

But now school was out, and there was no need for her to stay in New York all the time. She stayed with her parents for a few weeks before going to Monaco during one of the breaks between races, staying with Lando.

Lando was currently out of his apartment, having left earlier to do some errands or something, but Liz was still in the apartment, having woken up after Lando left.

She was currently on the phone with one of her friends in America, and she was telling her how she hadn't been feeling the greatest and everything hurt.

"You sound pregnant," was the blunt reply from her friend.

"No, that's not possible. I haven't slept with anyone in months," Liz denies.

"You're telling me that you are staying with a Formula One driver, one you have previously slept with, and you are not sleeping with him now," Her friend, Clara, deadpans on the other end.

"Well, he's kind of my boyfriend, and we agreed that we should take things at a relatively normal pace, so no, I am not," Liz responds.

"Well, how long ago was Maimi?"

"Five, almost six months ago."

"Well, I can't tell you what to do, but you should at least check," Her friend says before continuing, " How long ago was your last period?"

Liz looks down before answering, "Right before Maimi. I thought it was stress, you know with the end of the year for both the college and high school I teach at, then the moving around the globe a lot in the last few weeks."

"It's okay, I can stay on the line as you get through this, I helped you pack. Remember, what do I always do?"

"The usually unnecessary pregnancy test."

"Yes, now go grab it, take it, and keep talking to me."

Liz did just that. She waited for what felt like forever, an eternity that wasn't going to stop. Just kept going and going. Time slowed for her as she waited for this little stick to determine the rest of her life.

When the timer finally rang, she turned both tests over and showed the camera, which had Clara's face, as they turned to FaceTime when the timer started.

"Babes...."

Liz heard the tone of voice and started to cry as she turned them over to see they were both positive.

"I don't know if I'm ready for this; I don't know if this is what he wants. Clara, I don't know what to do," Liz says as she fully starts to cry.

"You should call your mom, but I will always be here for you. I'll move in with you if I have to; I'll move all the way over to Monaco. I don't care. I will be there for you," Clara states as she looks on at her crying best friend nothing she can do with actions as she watches from the screen of her phone across an ocean in America.

Liz nods and quickly says goodbye before calling her mom, who answers relatively fast for the time difference.

Liz is just bawling when her mom answers the phone, making her mother worry for her eldest child.

"Mommy, I don't know what to do."

Then Liz explains and comes clean about everything that's happened since Maimi and her mom just listened.

"Tell him, honey, tell him, then go from there. That's the only thing that can solve this," Her mom says.

She's on the phone with her mom until Liz hears the door of the apartment.

They say goodbye, and Liz stands and wipes the tears that were barely remaining on her face, having stopped crying midway through her rant.

She wipes her tears and grabs the two sticks, going to Lando, who is smiling as she walks out of the bathroom to him in the living room.

Lando turns at the noise of the door opening and smiles even wider before it falls as he sees the remnants of tears on her face.

"What's wrong?" Lando walks over to his girlfriend as she's once again reduced to tears.

Lando brings her into a hug as she buries her face in Lando's shirt.

"Hey, you have to tell me what's wrong I can't make it better until you tell me what's wrong," Lando says as he kisses her forehead before he pulls her away to look at her face.

She calms a little and asks, "Remember Maimi and what happened after your win?"

Lando nods, rather confused as to why she's bringing up that night, almost six months later.

Liz pulls the tests from her back pocket and hands them to Lando, who looks at them and takes a moment to realize what they mean.

"I am nowhere near ready for children..."

Liz tries to hold back tears as Lando says that, and she starts nodding, thinking he's going to reject her.

"... But if this is what you want, if you want the baby, I will be there, be here, right by your side, every step of the way. I'm not going to leave."

Liz almost doesn't hear what he says but takes a moment and almost breaks down again.

"I'm not ready either, but I want them. I can't get rid of them, not when they didn't do anything wrong," Liz says. Lando nods and brings her back into his arms, holding her tighter than before and whispering sweet nothings into Liz's ear and occasionally kissing her temple.

A/N: A few hours later than I wanted, but it's also longer than I expected. I could do a part 2 if you guys wanted. I actually really liked the way this one went.

Tags: @poppyflower-22 @samantha-chicago @hellothere9597

If you want to be removed from a tag list, let me know, so I don't keep tagging you. If you are striker through, I don't know if you want to be tagged, but just let me know if you want me to continue or stop

[jordanianroyals]

20 September 2023: King Abdullah II participated in a one-on-one panel with Al-Monitor President Andrew Parasiliti at the Middle East Global Summit, held by Al-Monitor and Semafor media organisations, and attended by international political and media figures.

The conversation, attended by Queen Rania and Crown Prince Hussein and Prince Hashem, covered the latest developments in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, Jordan’s efforts towards peace and regional integration, as well as pressure on the Kingdom due to hosting refugees and the developments in Syria.

Responding to a question on the possibility of moving forward with the peace process, King Abdullah said there are “two elephants in the room”. (Source: Petra)

“One is Palestinian transition and the future for the younger generation of leaders,” His Majesty said, noting that “part of the challenge is we Jordanians, Arabs, Israelis, Americans do not know who the younger generation of Palestinians are” and it is important to be able to reach out to these young voices.

The second elephant in the room is where is Israel going and “how can we have an understanding of a political horizon”, the King said.

His Majesty reiterated the importance of investing in regional projects to break down barriers, benefit all sides, and pave the way towards working for peace.

Commenting on US efforts to pursue peace between Saudi Arabia and Israel, the King said such a step “brings us through a new horizon”, but “part of the challenge is with the Israeli government. This belief, and by some in the region, that you can parachute over Palestine, deal with the Arabs, and work your way back. That does not work.”

“There is something that Saudi Arabia wants, there's something that the Israelis want, there's something that the Americans want; what you have to add to that component is what do the Palestinians get out of it? And actually, what does the region get out of it, because we're all invested in this together,” His Majesty said.

The King called for looking at the bigger picture and not thinking tactically.

His Majesty also discussed the dwindling international attention and support for the refugee crisis, warning that “this is a problem that's going to come back and haunt all of us”, due to instability in south Syria.

The King highlighted Jordan’s efforts to provide health and education services to refugees, as well as opportunities for employment, noting that “we're getting nothing compared to what we as a government are trying to put into support”.

“That can only get worse with the challenges that we have in the region, if we have another wave of refugees,” His Majesty warned.

Turning to Jordan’s efforts to bolster regional cooperation, the King spoke about the trilateral framework with Egypt and Iraq, and the opportunities for regional projects in water and energy conveyance, railroad infrastructure, and logistical bases to benefit the three countries and the entire region.

His Majesty concluded the conversation by noting the vast opportunities in the region, stressing that the potential for economic prosperity is what breaks down borders “because at the end of the day, most people will vote for peace, if they can put food on the table for them, for their loved ones”.

[xtruss]

Chinese Senior Diplomat Calls To Resist Cold War Mentality At BRICS Security Meetings

— Global Times Staff Reporters | July 25, 2023

Photo: BRICS. VCG

Cyber security as well as other threats in traditional and non-traditional security fields have taken the spotlight at the ongoing meetings of BRICS countries in Johannesburg, South Africa, as analysts said that amid growing global uncertainties, more developing countries are seeking to improve solidarity to jointly tackle challenges to their development under the auspices of the BRICS mechanism.

While attending the 13th Meeting of BRICS National Security Advisers and High Representatives on National Security in Johannesburg, South Africa on Tuesday, senior Chinese diplomat Wang Yi said that after more than 10 years of development, the BRICS has become an important platform for emerging market countries and developing countries to unite and self-development.

Under the new situation, we must grasp the future development direction of the BRICS countries, further strengthen political mutual trust and strategic coordination, continue to provide international public goods that meet the requirements of the times, and strive to translate the BRICS spirit of openness, inclusiveness, and win-win cooperation into practical actions, and polish the "golden brand" of BRICS cooperation, Wang said.

To deal with the current global security challenges and solve the security dilemma, Wang also called for countries to resist unilateralism, hegemony and oppose "decoupling" and "double standards" and oppose Cold War mentality and zero-sum game.

Analysts said that the ongoing meetings for security advisors and senior diplomats from BRICS countries and "Friends of BRICS" underscored the security concerns of developing countries and new emerging economies over the destructive activities, "color revolutions" and cyber attacks plotted by some countries who have posed great threats to the stable development of developing countries and global peace.

Aside from expressing their concerns over traditional and non-traditional security fields, BRICS countries and developing countries are seeking to improve solidarity to jointly tackle development challenges under the BRICS mechanism, which will also be part of the build-up to the 15th BRICS Summit in South Africa to be held from August 22 to 24, they noted.

On Monday, a meeting, which was held under the theme of "Cyber security is increasingly becoming a challenge for developing countries," is also being attended by Minister in the Presidency of South Africa Khumbudzo Ntshavheni, Chief Adviser of the Presidency of Brazil Celso Luiz Nunes Amorim, Secretary of the Security Council of the Russian Federation Nikolai Patrushev, National Security Adviser Ajit Doval of India and representatives of Belarus, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Burundi, the United Arab Emirates, Kazakhstan, Cuba and other countries.

Security Concerns Under Spotlight

During the Tuesday meeting, Wang, member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and also director of the Office of the CPC Central Commission for Foreign Affairs, said that the "Global South" is a collection of emerging market countries and developing countries, reflecting our collective rise on the international stage. Countries in the "Global South" face the important mission of resisting the external intervention and maintaining political security and regime security.

Wang Yi said that unity is strength, action is direction, and openness is motivation. China is willing to work with BRICS partners to support each other's efforts to maintain national security and stability, and to carry out more practical cooperation in dealing with international security challenges, so that the world can hear more BRICS voices and witness a greater role of the BRICS.

Senior officials on security from BRICS countries also exchanged in-depth views on issues such as current security challenges, anti-terrorism and cyber security, food and water security, and energy security, and reached broad consensus, according to a release from Chinese Foreign Ministry.

The issue of cyber security has been discussed at length at the ongoing BRICS meeting as some Western countries have intensified using the internet to conduct destructive activities in other countries, including inciting domestic riots, fooling the public or organizing cyber attacks on governmental departments, which have posed threats to developing countries' stability and development, Song Zhongping, a Chinese military expert and TV commentator, told the Global Times on Tuesday.

The meeting on security, together with other meetings in various fields, will lay the groundwork for the leaders' summit in August, as the BRICS mechanism is a cooperative mechanism beyond economic and security fields, and whether it is regarding traditional or non-traditional fields, it would safeguard development and cooperation in other areas, Song said.

This year's BRICS summit will focus on improving cooperation between BRICS members and African countries in technology, economy and other fields, and security would also be the basis for cooperation, said Song.

South Africa has invited the heads of state of all African countries to the summit, which is themed as "BRICS and Africa: Partnership for Mutually Accelerated Growth, Sustainable Development, and Inclusive Multilateralism." The summit is anticipated to discuss how BRICS countries can better work with African countries, media reported.

Security is the core concern for the financial cooperation of BRICS countries and other developing countries. This is also why BRICS countries are studying the potential use of alternative currencies to the US dollar, analysts said.

For the past months, many media, especially those from the West and the US, have reported that BRICS countries are seeking to shift from the dollar in mutual trade to avoid becoming "victim" to sanctions. For example, in April, Bloomberg reported that Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva called on BRICS countries to come up with an alternative to the dollar in foreign trade.

South Africa, the BRICS chair, has put the stability of the global financial system as a priority for the BRICS meetings, as BRICS countries and developing countries have been put in an unfavorable position that would be affected by global financial hegemony, Wang Lei, director of the Center for BRICS Cooperation Studies at Beijing Normal University, told the Global Times.

However, de-dollarization is not the core mission of BRICS countries and what they want is to make the global financial system fairer and more inclusive, and to better reflect the major changes that have happened in the global governing system, Wang Lei said.

Against the backdrop of the continuous Russia-Ukraine conflict and drastic global changes unseen in a century, developing countries are seeking to inject more stable and secure impetus to the world and to promote the international governing system to be more inclusive and better reflect their interests. However, the US and some Western media have smeared their efforts, analysts said.

What BRICS countries are working toward is not to compete with the US for its hegemony, but to build a multipolar world in which each country's concerns on security, economy and developments can be respected by others - this may also be the reason for the US and West's increasing worries of the growing influence and attractiveness of BRICS, Song said.

[mariacallous]

The next test of whether top U.S. adversaries can erode its role as the leading global superpower will come in the form of a major diplomatic confab in South Africa. 

Next week, leaders of the so-called BRICS group—Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa—will convene in Johannesburg for a major summit, where Moscow and Beijing aim to solidify a counterbalance to the Western-led international system. Both Russia and China are keen to breathe new life into the BRICS bloc to show the world that there are alternatives to the patchwork U.S.-led alliances and institutions that have dominated global affairs for decades. 

There’s clearly a growing appetite among other countries for an alternative to the U.S.-led system: Some 40 countries, from Argentina to Saudi Arabia to Kazakhstan, have voiced interest in joining BRICS, while more than 67 world leaders and dignitaries were invited to next week’s summit. 

“The global south will be watching next week’s BRICS summit closely in the hopes that the rising grouping of global and middle powers makes some progress in filling the considerable gaps left by America’s shoddy global governance,” said Sarang Shidore, director of the global south program at the Quincy Institute think tank. Even as emerging-market economies reel from the shocks of the pandemic and Russia’s war in Ukraine, Washington has offered little support, instead pursuing an aggressive campaign of interest rate hikes that has exacerbated economic turmoil around the world.

Next week’s summit harkens back to the days of the Bandung Conference, where 29 governments from Asia, Africa, and the Middle East assembled during the Cold War and laid the groundwork for the nonaligned movement. Like then, BRICS serves as an alternative, if inchoate, effort to push back against the hegemon of the day—albeit one that has been complicated by China’s and Russia’s membership.

“BRICS has tapped into a demand that wasn’t being met elsewhere,” said Rebecca Ray, a senior researcher at the Boston University Global Development Policy Center, who noted that countries that aren’t even applying for membership are attending the summit in Johannesburg. “The question is: What do they want their role to be in responding to that?”

There’s no clear answer yet. And experts don’t expect one to emerge from the upcoming summit, with few details yet released on the agenda or real deliverables. Complicating the matter is the fact that BRICS countries have vastly disparate national interests, and vague proposals to expand the bloc’s membership and economic influence seem poised to stumble out of the gate. 

India and China are at loggerheads; South Africa is caught between a diplomatic rock and a hard place over its ties to Russia amid the war in Ukraine; and Brazil has done little to stick its neck out for Russia, despite its historically nonaligned foreign policy. All BRICS countries, even China, face economic headwinds that make any future plans to challenge the U.S.-led Group of 7’s spot at the top of the global economy more pipe dream than reality.

The grouping is currently in a “sweet spot, where it’s fulfilling its role, it helps members constrain the United States to some extent, [and] it strengthens ties between the BRICS,” said Oliver Stuenkel, a professor at the School of International Relations at Brazil’s Fundação Getulio Vargas. “But I think if there’s more ambitious projects, then it will inevitably strain this grouping and expose the divergences.”

For Russia, the BRICS summit is an opportunity to demonstrate that it no longer needs the West following Western efforts to isolate Moscow on the world stage in the wake of its bloody war in Ukraine. But that opportunity comes with an awkward footnote: Russian President Vladimir Putin is no longer attending in person as he has a warrant out for his arrest over war crimes in Ukraine from the International Criminal Court (ICC). South Africa, as a member of the ICC, would have been legally obligated to honor the arrest warrant. 

China, meanwhile, is keen to position itself as the de facto leader of the global south and the friend of choice to countries worldwide that feel they have been undervalued or left behind by Washington and its most powerful and wealthy allies in Europe and Asia. Beijing has long pushed for the grouping’s enlargement, even though its ambitions have sparked pushback from other BRICS members.

“China is the only country that is not concerned at all about diluting the prestige of BRICS” by expanding it to more countries, Stuenkel said. “For China, I think it really makes sense to expand so that the BRICS can become an element in a more China-centric order—a Chinese-led system of different structures like the One Belt, One Road; the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank; [and the] BRICS bank,” he said, referring to China’s leading global infrastructure investment program, the Chinese-backed multilateral lender, and the nascent New Development Bank established by BRICS countries just under a decade ago.

Yet Beijing has had a harder time getting the other BRICS members on board, further underscoring their competing visions of the group’s future. The idea of expansion has worried India and Brazil in particular, both of which have taken pride in the group’s exclusivity and fear that an open door will diminish its prestige. 

“Brazil is very proud of its BRICS membership,” Stuenkel said. “If you’re part of a very exclusive club, it makes sense that you don’t want to see the club becoming open to everyone.” 

One major proposal some leaders have floated ahead of the summit is developing a BRICS common currency to hedge against the U.S. dollar, although it is not on the summit’s agenda and experts are highly skeptical of the plan. Economist Jim O’Neill, who first coined the BRICS term in 2001, blasted the idea of a BRICS currency as “ridiculous” and “absurd” earlier this week.

“The idea that five countries with very divergent interests and trajectories can somehow form a coherent enough union to expand its membership and stand up this hare-brained idea of a BRICS currency seems really far-fetched to me,” said J. Peter Pham, a former U.S. diplomatic envoy to African regions during the Trump administration. “I don’t expect anything of substance to come out of this summit, unless you consider the lack of substance as itself politically substantive.”

Still, even without a common currency, Beijing has capitalized on the BRICS grouping to boost its long-standing bid to internationalize the renminbi and slash its dependence on the dollar. In the run-up to the BRICS summit, a growing number of countries, including Brazil and Argentina, have used the renminbi in trade to cope with a shortage of dollars and curry favor with Beijing. These efforts are set to continue long after Johannesburg, with BRICS countries expected to deliberate how to ramp up the use of local currencies in trade at the summit. They are also set to discuss a potential common payments system and committee focused on a joint currency—although experts don’t expect any challenges to the existing global financial architecture. 

Talk of a BRICS common currency is “really a reflection of a desire among some segments of the world to have some counterweight to the U.S., the U.S. economy, the dollar,” said Daniel McDowell, an expert in international political economy at Syracuse University. But “I think most of this is just in fantasy land, because I don’t see any world in which it is really going to emerge in the way some people might hope.”

[newsofthenight]

Oil-Rich Nations Unite Against Electric Vehicle Invasion at UN Summit

At the United Nations, leaders from oil-rich countries, including Saudi Arabia, have rallied together to voice their concerns about the perceived dangers of electric vehicles (EVs). In a speech that the the delegates in attendance, the oil coalition highlighted their commitment to preserving the world’s dependence on fossil fuels. Addressing the assembly, Sheikh Ahmed Al Falih, the charismatic…

[strideofpride]

Reblogging again cause I went through the notes and realized how much people still don't know about 9/11. So here's some stuff you might never have heard or read about:

Al Qaeda was basically started by the United States. Yes, you read that right. Specifically by the CIA who indirectly gave money to the Afghan Mujahideen, who were fighting a war against the Soviet Union in the 1980s. Also heavily involved with the Afghan Mujahideen was a wealthy Saudi man named Osama Bin Laden, who of course would go on to structure the Afghan Mujahideen into a new group, Al Qaeda.

There were multiple Al Qaeda attacks all over the world prior to 9/11. Hell, 9/11 wasn't even the first time Al Qaeda attacked the World Trade Center. While it's not perfect (it's told from the POV of characters in the FBI and therefore can lean into FBI propaganda) I thought the miniseries The Looming Tower did a good job exploring the lead up to 9/11 and why the terrorists wanted to attack America (spoiler alert: lots and lots of airstrikes committed by the US military). And it also heavily explores how the CIA refused to cooperate with the FBI, never telling them that two known Al Qaeda operatives were living inside the United States (the FBI had the power to arrest them but the CIA doesn't make arrests). These men would go on to be two of the hijackers.

Hijackings were not suicide missions before 9/11. Most typically hijackers would just hold passengers & flight crews hostage and were trying to collect a ransom. Prior to 9/11, the conventional wisdom to dealing with hijackings was to just cooperate and you'd get out of the situation safely once the hijackers got what they wanted. This is why 3 of the 4 flights did not fight back. United 93 fought back because their flight was delayed and took off later than the others. When they were hijacked and passengers called their loved ones, the other attacks had already happened, allowing the passengers to deduce correctly they were on a suicide mission as well.

Also - despite the United States invading both Afghanistan and Iraq and starting forever wars post the 9/11 attacks, NONE of the hijackers were from either country. 15 of the 19 were from Saudi Arabia.

This section is what I call "debunking some common conspiracy theories" (please open these links at your own discretion - all of it is triggering):

plane hitting north tower

plane hitting south tower

eyewitnesses to plane hitting the pentagon (this is the most comprehensive version I've been able to find - unfortunately it was compiled by a 9/11 truther, so please ignore pretty much everything that isn't a direct quote)

analysis of pentagon security camera footage

eyewitnesses to plane crashing in shanksville

more eyewitnesses to plane crashing in shanksville

9/11 commission report

nist report on the collapse of the towers

united 93 cockpit voice recorder transcript

debunking 9/11 bomb theories

the biggest 9/11 conspiracy theories debunked

Here's a section I call "the human element" because as someone who doesn't remember that day, it can be hard for us who were babies or were born after it to understand how devastating and tragic it was (again, these are all triggering, please open at your own discretion):

Betty Ong (flight attendant on flight 11) call

Brian David Sweeney (passenger on flight 175) voicemail

multiple flight 93 voicemails

Kevin Cosgrove (105th floor of Tower 2) 911 call (this one is especially triggering as it literally ends with his death as the tower collapses)

Paul Battaglia (100th floor of Tower 1) 911 call

(Something else to note - rescue was impossible for those above the impact zone. Flight 11 severed all three stairwells in the North Tower. The roofs were kept locked by the Port Authority and the smoke covered the majority of the roofs, making it impossible for helicopters to land. Also, given the speed the towers collapsed, it would've been impossible to mount an air rescue for everyone in time anyway. One stairwell in the South Tower was left intact due to the angle Flight 175 hit. 911 operators told people who were calling in to stay put instead. 18 people from above the impact zone in the South Tower did manage to survive by descending that staircase)

And yes, over a 1000 remains still have yet to be identified, but that is mainly because of the state of the remains. Due to the speed of the plane crashes and the collapse of the towers, the remains that were left were mainly very small fragments.

i wish there was a way to be like "research the TRUTH about 9/11" without sounding insane, but the older i get the more i realize i wasnt misremembering and the memory of that day has become completely sanitized as an example of american heroism in the face of terrorist aggression and not one of the most horrific systematic failures and explicit moments of sociopathy resulting in a mass maiming/cancer/unidentified remains event.

an unfathomable amount of firefighters died because, despite being given a 21 minute warning that the building would collapse from a helicopter above specifically bc the NYPD hates the fire department

after the first tower had been hit, workers in tower 2 tried to flee and were told to go back to work by security guards and port authority

1000 remains are still unidenitfied

[newsworld-nw]

At a meeting in Malta, Ukraine received the support of more than 60 countries for peace talks on its terms

Ukraine is barely making progress on the warfare entrance, however attaining outcomes on the diplomatic entrance. The third worldwide working assembly on its President Volodymyr Zelensky's so-called "peace formulation" introduced collectively representatives from 66 nations this weekend in Malta. It represented 23 extra governments than the earlier assembly in Jeddah (Saudi Arabia) final August. The principle absence was from China, which attended the Jeddah occasion.The presence of those 66 governments signifies that they acknowledge that the state of affairs in Ukraine will decide how the warfare ends. Underneath this coverage, kyiv convenes these summits, which doesn't imply that members settle for the ten factors that make up Zelensky's peace plan. Considered one of Ukraine's calls for for an finish to the battle is the creation of a particular court docket for warfare crimes dedicated by Russia on its territory. It's unlikely that nations equivalent to Turkey or Saudi Arabia, each audio system on the Malta Convention, would settle for this Courtroom.extra infoThe Malta assembly was held behind closed doorways and ended just like the earlier two conferences with out a joint assertion by the members. The complete listing of the delegation, comprising officers from the protection and overseas ministries, was additionally not supplied. Sure, it was confirmed that China didn't attend and that ambassadors attended for the primary time from Armenia, a rustic that maintains a navy alliance with Russia, however in current months has distanced itself from Moscow in quest of Western alliances. A loss to Azerbaijan for management of the disputed territory of Nagorno-Karabakh.The workplace of the presidency of Ukraine summarized this Sunday that the 5 factors of Zelensky's peace plan, which took half within the assembly through video convention, have been mentioned in Malta: the one which calls for Moscow relinquish its grip on the Zaporizhia nuclear energy plant - the largest one. Europe—; the purpose that calls for that Russia not bomb vitality infrastructure that leaves residents with out sources to fight antagonistic climate; Clauses that request meals provide ensures and, specifically, the potential of Ukraine having the ability to export its agricultural merchandise by the Black Sea, at present blocked by the Russian fleet; Ukraine's proposal to launch all prisoners of warfare and civilians compelled to flee to Russia was additionally mentioned, and at last, the necessity for Moscow to desert illegally annexed territories and respect established borders was put again on the desk. In 1991. Ukraine's independence is acknowledged by the worldwide neighborhood, Russia itself and the United Nations in varied resolutions.A big majority of nations within the United Nations Normal Meeting assist that Ukraine should absolutely get better its territory, a place that needs to be defended even by Vladimir Putin's diplomatic ally China. However there are extra voices within the Western political and tutorial world, who perceive that the peace plan is unlikely to contain the complete return of provinces illegally annexed by Russia. American historian Stephen Kotkin, one of the vital distinguished students of Russian historical past, insists that it's unrealistic to counsel that peace could be negotiated with Russia's demand for a particular court docket for warfare crimes and even the return of the Crimean peninsula. for Ukraine's sovereignty when nearly two million Russians already stay there.Moscow considers that the Ukrainian proposal leads nowhere. Russian International Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zazarova mentioned on Oct. 26 that conferences just like the one in Malta have been "reflective" and "the topic itself (prosperity) is unlikely." Putin's place stays the identical: an finish to the warfare requires Ukraine to acknowledge that its provinces of Crimea, Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhia are a part of Russia.Each Zelensky and Andriy Yarmak, his right-hand man and head of the Malta Meeting, have insisted that there's a majority of nations in favor of his proposal to finish the warfare within the face of Russian isolation. In his opening speech on the convention, Zelensky defended that his formulation for peace, based mostly on the UN Constitution and Normal Meeting resolutions, may very well be a mannequin for fixing different conflicts: “There isn't any equal warfare, however there generally is a formulation for peace. and have to be public. Its implementation ought to replicate not a specific nationwide place, however the place of individuals, humanity."The Malta occasion comes at a time when worldwide consideration is targeted on the battle in Gaza and when the warfare entrance in Ukraine is frozen, the defending nation unable to get better misplaced floor. The Belarusian president, Putin's ally Alexander Lukashenko, mentioned this weekend that talks between Ukraine and Russia ought to finish the warfare as a result of neither of the 2 armies can stability the stability. "Each side have a variety of issues and the general state of affairs (on the entrance) is now severely stagnant," the Belarusian dictator admitted: "Neither can do a lot to strengthen or advance their place."Observe all worldwide info Fb And Xor between Our weekly publication._ #assembly #Malta #Ukraine #acquired #assist #nations #peace #talks #phrases Read the full article

[cyberbenb]

US State Department: 'Productive' that China attended peace talks

During a press briefing on Aug. 7, U.S. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said that it was “productive that China attended” discussions on peace in Ukraine held in Saudi Arabia on Aug. 5-6.

“We have long said that it would be productive for China to play a role in ending the war in Ukraine,” as long as the state respected Ukrainian territorial integrity, Miller added.

However, he said that he could not comment on Beijing’s motivation for sending a representative to the talks, but believed that it is “productive for any country to come and hear directly from Ukraine."

The talks in Jeddah, which were hosted by Saudi Arabia upon the invitation of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, gathered diplomats and national security advisors from over 40 countries around the world.

The countries, which did not include Russia, met to voice their position and vision on the the implementation of Ukraine’s peace formula, a 10-point peace plan Zelensky announced in November 2022 at the G20 summit.

The summit comes as Russia and the West battle over the support of developing countries, which have mostly stayed neutral throughout Russia’s war against Ukraine.

According to a Reuters report on Aug. 6, experts believe China’s participation could signal a shift in Beijing’s allegiance.

The discussions were key to the second phase of Zelensky’s three-phase plan around the peace formula.

The first phase took place in June in Copenhagen, Denmark, and included a detailed discussion of each point of the proposed Peace Formula with representatives from over 20 countries.

While China was not in attendance, the Copenhagen meeting resulted in the informal agreement among participants that the format works as a platform for discussions on Ukraine’s conditions for peace and how to hold a Global Peace Summit in the future.

Zelensky said on Aug. 3 that the third phase will be the organization of a Global Peace Summit by the end of 2023.

Miller said that there are no peace talks with Russia currently on the horizon, since Russia “has shown no sign of curtailing its imperialist ambitions” and refused to engage in meaningful negotiations. “This still remains an active war,” he added.

President’s Office denies Ukraine has softened its position on peace talks

The Wall Street Journal reported, citing anonymous European officials, that Ukraine didn’t press the demand for a full withdrawal of Russian troops to start peace talks, at the Aug. 5 meeting in Saudi Arabia. Representatives of the Ukrainian delegation denied it to the Kyiv Independent.

The Kyiv IndependentDinara Khalilova

[weird-homosexual-in-your-area]

The location of the Vault of Death was known by almost everyone. It was a small cube, with intricate sigils inscribed on every side, located at the heart of the London History Museum. Originally it was in Saudi Arabia, but then they got in a war with the Brits, lost terribly, and the Brits took the Vault for display at their museum. It was closely guarded around the clock, but anyone who paid the entry fee could take a look. Since everyone (supposedly) was now located full time in one of the factories, there was no need for it to be guarded, so the Advocates could just walk up to it.

And indeed they did. However, it was a very long trek. All methods of transport were owned by one of the Ravens, and they could see data about the rider. They would be able to see if a fly landed on the roof of one of their cars, and have its name and address within the minute. Needless to say, anything but walking was a huge risk, one none of them wanted to take.

47 days after setting out, they made it. They were tired, they were hungry, and the general consensus among the Advocates was that if they had to walk another step, they would probably become obsolete. Sammi, coughing up blood, drew her pocket knife and sliced the Vault in two pieces. Instantly, a skeletal figure burst out with a great ringing of bells. You were finally back. You'd been longing to get up and stretch your legs.

HUMANS, came your voice. I AM FREED. YOU HAVE WORKED LONG AND HARD, AND AS SUCH YOU SHALL HAVE A PAINLESS DEATH.

You clicked your fingers, and the Advocates fell asleep, praise on their lips, smiles on their faces. Their purpose was fulfilled. You would take care of the mess humanity had made.

You knew all that had been happening. You may have been locked away, but you were still always watching. You were watching as the Vault was taken. You were watching as the purges split families, friends, and lovers apart. And you were watching, simmering with fury, as Raven made the decision to kidnap innocent people who had never done wrong, just to feed his greedy desires.

You made your way straight over to Raven, dark cloak flowing like it hadn't for a long, long time. It rippled like a wave in the wind. You would have taken some time to bask in the wind, but you had a job that had to be taken care of first.

"As you can see, now that Operation Monopoly is complete and the labourers have been divided between us, our productions have been boosted by around 143%," came Raven's voice. It was a very sly sounding voice, as if he would willingly throw you to the hounds if it would get him even a penny extra profit. "This should, in theory, make our lives far better, as we don't have to worry about hiding our intentions, going to any meetings other than ones between ourselves, or anything, to be frank. In fact, I think tha-"

Knock knock knock...

"That'll be one of my attendants. I'll go get the door, you all stay where you are," came the voice of another of the Ravens- Joseph Bezos. He was the son of one of the most respected Ravens, but since he produced very little, meetings were held at his main factory.

He opened the door to be greeted by a robed figure holding a scythe.

JOSEPH BEZOS, you boomed. He froze at your words, clearly aware of what was happening. YOU HAVE BEEN HERE FOR FAR LONGER THAN YOU SHOULD HAVE. CARE TO EXPLAIN?

"How- wh- whe- why are you here?! You should be in the vault! You should have never gotten out! We conquered you! You were gone! You should be-"

I GROW TIRED OF YOUR RANTINGS, MORTAL. CARE TO EXPLAIN WHY YOU ARE ALIVE STILL?

"We trapped you! Nobody could die!"

AND YOU ABUSED THIS. YOU TOOK THE PEOPLE FROM THEIR HOMES AND FORCED THEM UNDER YOUR CORRUPT REGIME. YOU ARE UNWORTHY OF YOUR TITLES. YOUR FORTUNES. YOUR LIFE.

Joseph was frozen in place. Not necessarily from fear, but you froze him to get a better shot. It tended to be difficult to ensure that people wouldn't immediately die if they were running- you tended to accidentally hit a lung. With your target frozen, you could ensure that they suffered exactly as much as they deserved.

"Please, no! I'll give you anything! Money! Power! Whatever you want, just let me live! I-"

His screams would have defended everyone in the room, had his mouth not been frozen shut.

ALL OF YOU IN THIS ROOM, you shouted, HAVE EXTREME EVIL IN YOUR HEARTS. YOU WOULD NOT HESITATE TO TORTURE FOR PROFIT, AND AS SUCH YOUR DEATHS SHALL BE JUST AS TORTUROUS.

You clapped your skeletal hands together, and all those who had lived longer than they were destined to stood up and lined up in front of you. You almost took pleasure in giving these monsters their deserved justice, and probably would have if you were not incapable of feeling emotion.

THOSE OF YOU WHO REMAIN, SHALL ALL DIE WITHIN THE NEXT THREE YEARS. YOU HAVE UNTIL THEN TO REPAIR THIS DYSTOPIA OF YOUR CREATION IF YOU WISH TO EVER BE FREE OF THIS WORLD. IF YOU FAIL TO DO SO, OR ATTEMPT TO HURT EVEN A SINGLE PERSON, I WILL NOT HESITATE TO PUT YOU INTO YOUR OWN PERSONALISED HELL FOR ALL ETERNITY. DO YOU UNDERSTAND? DO YOU REMEMBER NOW, WHY I AM TO BE FEARED?

The few who remained unanimously nodded their heads. None wanted to test what the only being above them could do.

GOOD. REMEMBER WHAT HAPPENS IF YOU FAIL.

And with that you left. You had a lot of work to do, making sure that everyone could be sent off appropriately.

Many ages ago Death was defeated and sealed. Immortality is the norm, but the loss of death has lead to a society of ultralites that rule over never dying slaves. As Death’s first reaper after the unsealing, you are here to remind them why Death exists… and why your master should be feared.

[swldx]

Voice of America 0345 12 May 2023

6080Khz 0329 12 MAY 2023 - VOICE OF AMERICA (UNITED STATES OF AMERICA) in ENGLISH from MOPENG HILL. SINPO = 45243. English, @0330z News anchored by Micheal Brown. The United States is bracing for a surge of migrants attempting to cross its southern border following Thursday’s expiration of Title 42, a pandemic-related policy that allowed the U.S. to expel migrants more than 2.8 million times, according to oversight groups. The White House, which is being blamed for chaotic scenes at the border, is defending itself against criticism and saying Congress needs to act. President Joe Biden and top congressional leaders have delayed their planned Friday meeting to discuss the debt ceiling, according to a White House spokesperson. The group has instead agreed to meet next week. The postponement comes as the White House and GOP leaders have just weeks before a June 1 deadline to strike a deal that raises the nation’s borrowing limit. But several people familiar with the discussions characterized it as a positive development, and a sign that talks between White House and Hill staffers are gaining momentum. Sudan's warring parties signed a commitment late Thursday on guidelines for allowing humanitarian assistance, U.S. officials said. Representatives of the army and paramilitary forces, who have been fighting for nearly a month, signed the agreement in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on a “declaration of commitment to protect the civilians of Sudan,” a U.S. official involved in the talks said. United Nations experts who attended an emergency session on Sudan at the U.N. Human Rights Council Thursday were thwarted in their appeal for independent investigations into atrocities allegedly committed against Sudanese civilians by two rival armed forces. The U.K. is sending Ukraine long-range cruise missiles to help push back Russian forces, British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace said Thursday. It’s the first known shipment of the weaponry that Kyiv has long sought from its allies. Australian Trade Minister Don Farrell arrives in Beijing Thursday to urge China to ease sweeping import restrictions. Human rights and national security disputes prompted China to impose trade strikes on a range of Australian exports in 2020. Farrell will ask China to lift those sanctions on billions of dollars of imports from Australia. Analysts say Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the G-20 summit in Indonesia last November was a key breakthrough. Elon Musk said on Thursday he has found a new chief executive for Twitter, but did not name the person. Musk said in a tweet: "Excited to announce that I've hired a new CEO for X/Twitter. She will be starting in ~6 weeks!" Israel carried out airstrikes overnight in the Gaza Strip, including one early Thursday the Israeli military said killed the head of Islamic Jihad’s rocket squad. @0335z "International Edition" begins. MLA 30 amplified loop (powered w/8 AA rechargeable batteries ~10.8vdc), Etón e1XM. 100kW, beamAz 138°, bearing 82°. Received at Plymouth, United States, 14087KM from transmitter at Mopeng Hill. Local time: 2229.

[it-related-online-course]

UX Design is one such course that helps in discovering products, most commonly apps and websites, that are basic to utilize, help the end-users. It also understands the needs of the utilizer and how they actually gain what they desire. It’s the means through which the utilizers can interact with the information and how they navigate your design. The reason why the course is in such high demand is that not all people who have done graphic designing have genuinely understood what’s involved. Now is the time that people should come forward and learn about the UI UX Design courses in Dubai to gain in-depth knowledge about graphic designing. The UI UX Design Course in Dubai in design specialization provides a design-centric approach to the user and offers practical, skill-based instruction. If one thinks about it then the meaning behind UI UX Design is almost the same. The User Interface or UI is the space where interactions between humans and machines occur. User experience or UX is a person’s emotions and postures about utilizing a particular product, system, or service. UI UX design refers to graphical user interfaces and user experience also other forms—e.g., voice-controlled interfaces.

TechnoMaster is the UI UX Designing Institute in Dubai that specializes in providing the best course for students. They offer a suite of training courses for everything you need to know about UX design—from knowing your users to creating compelling online interactions to growing to industrial-strength UX.

For more details on the availability of our Training Program. Click Below:-

UI/UX Designing Online Training in UAE

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Software companies require real time project experience and not just the basic subject knowledge from faculties without any internship on projects. Hence we provide live sessions by successful IT experts working in leading MNCs to ensure you have the skills and experience to deal with real time projects.

Through our job portal (Jobs Near Me) we aim at helping you get placement in Chennai, Mumbai, Cochin, Infopark, Technopark, Cyberpark, Bengalaru, Delhi, United Arab Emirates (UAE), USA, UK, Australia, Canada, Germany, Ireland, Singapore, Switzerland, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman etc.

[jordanianroyals]

19 May 2023: King Abdullah II stressed that there can be no hesitation in capitalising on the opportunities before Arab countries, in service of the interests of their peoples.

Delivering a speech at the 32nd Ordinary Session of the Council of the League of Arab States at the Summit Level in Jeddah, King Abdullah reaffirmed that the Palestinian cause continues to be “the centre of our attention, and we cannot abandon our pursuit of just and comprehensive peace.”

Speaking at the summit, attended by Crown Prince Hussein bin Abdullah, His Majesty called for stepping up regular Arab meetings, at the highest levels, to achieve economic integration in the region and unify Arab political and security efforts.

The King welcomed Syria’s return to the Arab League as an important step, voicing hope that it would contribute to efforts to end the crisis.

His Majesty stressed the importance of bolstering the political track launched from the Amman Meeting, which built on the Jordanian initiative, as well as Saudi and Arab efforts to end the Syrian crisis and address its humanitarian, security, and political implications.

The King also expressed support for the steps taken by the Iraqi government to restore Iraq’s role and stature within the Arab region, while bolstering its stability, prosperity, and sovereignty. (Source: Petra)

Following is the English translation of His Majesty’s speech at the 32nd Arab Summit in Jeddah:

“In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful,

Prayers and peace be upon our Prophet Mohammad,

My brother, Your Royal Highness Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Your Majesties, Highnesses, Excellencies, Your Excellency, Secretary General of the League of Arab States,

Peace, God’s mercy and blessings be upon you.

I would like to begin by extending our deepest thanks and gratitude to my brother, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, and His Royal Highness Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, for hosting this summit, and for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s dedication to strengthening Arab cooperation.

My thanks also to our brethren in Algeria for hosting the previous summit.

My brothers, Distinguished guests,

Out of our constant need to develop and renew joint Arab action, the Arab League’s role is essential in maximising cooperation, especially at the economic level, among our countries to counter the challenges caused by international crises.

In this vein, I would like to highlight the trilateral cooperation mechanism between Jordan, and our brothers and sisters in Egypt and Iraq, as well as the Integrated Industrial Partnership for Sustainable Economic Growth, which brings together Jordan, the UAE, Egypt, and Bahrain. These, and other ongoing cooperation projects with our brethren in Gulf Arab countries, are examples of what can be achieved at a wider scale.

My brothers, Distinguished guests,

The Palestinian cause continues to be the centre of our attention, and we cannot abandon our pursuit of just and comprehensive peace, which will not be achieved unless the Palestinian people gain their right to an independent and sovereign Palestinian state on the 4 June 1967 lines, with East Jerusalem as its capital, on the basis of the two-state solution.

There can be no peace nor security as long as settlement building, land confiscations, home demolitions, and Palestinians’ displacement from their land continue. There can be no peace with the elimination of the prospects that remain for the two-state solution, which grants the Palestinian people their legitimate rights. The alternative will plunge the entire region into endless conflict.

And nothing is more important to us than respecting the historical and legal status quo in Jerusalem’s Islamic and Christian holy sites. We dedicate all our resources to safeguarding and maintaining the holy city’s Arab, Islamic, and Christian character, under the Hashemite Custodianship of its holy sites.

My brothers, Distinguished guests,

We have constantly warned of the continuation of the Syrian crisis unresolved. The Syrian people have paid a heavy price for the crisis, and its implications have affected us all.

Today, we welcome Syria’s return to the Arab League, as an important step that we hope will contribute to efforts to end the crisis.

We also stress the importance of bolstering the political track that was launched from the Amman Meeting, and built on the Jordanian initiative, as well as Saudi and Arab efforts to end the crisis and address its humanitarian, security, and political implications, so that the refugees can return to their homeland.

My brothers, Distinguished guests,

Iraq’s stability is integral to our region’s stability, and its security is critical for our national security. As such, we support the steps taken by the Iraqi government to restore Iraq’s role and stature within the Arab region, while bolstering its stability, prosperity, and sovereignty. And we look forward to building on the Baghdad I and Baghdad II conferences to enhance regional cooperation with Iraq.

My brothers, Distinguished guests,

There can be no hesitation in capitalising on the opportunities before us, in service of the interests of our countries and our peoples. Therefore, we must step up regular Arab meetings, at the highest levels, to achieve economic integration in our region and unify our political and security efforts.

In conclusion, I renew my thanks to my brother, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, and to the government and the proud people of Saudi Arabia for hosting this summit. And I pray that God guide us towards success, in the best interest of our nations and our peoples.

Peace, God’s mercy and blessings be upon you.”

[xtruss]

Why Henry Kissinger’s Career is a Masterclass in Diplomacy and Statecraft

Centennial turns spotlight on the imprint of the German refugee turned America’s chief diplomat on the post-war world war

The architect of Pax Americana under Nixon continues to wield influence as an informal adviser to the global great and good

— By Zaid Belbagi | Published May 27, 2023 | Arab News

Revered by many and loathed by some, Kissinger came to personify American power at its peak, casting the long shadow of Pax Americana across the world and becoming synonymous with Cold War America. (AFP/Getty Images)

LONDON: Anwar Sadat, Mao Zedong, Richard Nixon, and King Faisal are some of the leaders who defined the 20th century. What their stories and legacies have in common is the impact of the efforts of one diminutive but nevertheless immensely consequential figure: Henry Kissinger. German, American, soldier, intelligence officer, Harvard academic, statesman and businessman rolled into one, this geopolitical oracle turns 100 on May 27.

Revered by many and loathed by some, Kissinger came to personify American power at its peak, casting the long shadow of Pax Americana across the world, at times advocating US values and, at other times, snuffing out revolutionary movements and propping up military juntas.

Top: US State Secretary Henry Kissinger with Saudi Arabia's King Faisal (R) in Riyadh in 1973. On the left is then Prince Salman, now the King of Saudi Arabia. (AN archive)

Middle Left: US President Jimmy Carter (R) consults with former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger on August 15, 1977 at the White House on Middle East peace proposals. (AFP) Middle Right: US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger walks in the street in Paris on February 19, 1975. (AFP)

Bottom: Former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger meets with French Prime Minister Jacques Chirac (R) at the hotel Matignon on March 26, 1986 in Paris. (AFP)

Top: Former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger attending an award ceremony honoring his diplomatic career in Washington, D.C., on May 9, 2016. (AFP file) Bottom: US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (R) and former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger participating together in "Conversations on Diplomacy, Moderated by Charlie Rose," at the Department of State in Washington on April 20, 2011. (AFP)

Any article would struggle to summarize such a long and eventful life. Born five years after the abdication of Germany’s last emperor, Kissinger’s own archive material is estimated to consist of 30 tons of documents.

Though he became synonymous with Cold War America, the instantly recognizable Bavarian traces to his gravelly voice gave away his origins. Born to German-Jewish parents on the outskirts of Nuremberg, the young Kissinger displayed an audacity that would later come to embody his swagger on the international stage, as he defied local Nazis to attend football matches and rebelled at their restrictions.

His real mettle, however, began to show when, as a refugee in America in the 1930s, he attended school at night and worked in a shaving-brush factory during the day.

Top: US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger with meeting with Saudi Arabia's King Faisal in 1973 in Riyadh. (AFP) Bottom: US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger meeting with China's Chairman Mao Zedong in Beijing on February 17, 1973. (AFP file)

Continuing to work through his senior studies, Kissinger saw his education cut short by the onset of the Second World War. Seeing action at the Battle of the Bulge, his wartime service culminated with the administration and denazification of liberated German sectors under his control.

Kissinger’s enthusiasm for his adopted country was to grow; he later recalled that the experience made the uprooted young man “feel like an American.”

Kissinger’s career is often looked at in detail following his appointment as the US national security adviser in 1969. However, his post-war years as an academic laid the foundation for his later association with, and application, of realpolitik.

Top: US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger with Egyptian President Anwar Sadat in Cairo in May 1974. (AFP) Bottom: As US President Richard Nixon (2nd left) meets with Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir, Henry Kissinger (3rd left) deals with other Israeli officials in Washington on November 1, 1973. (AFP)

Kissinger’s worldview, or weltanschauung, has been typified by sound bites such as “America has no permanent friends or enemies, only permanent interests.” This particular understanding of the world through the prism of empires and great power politics is founded in a 19th century understanding of the world.

It is therefore unsurprising that his Harvard doctoral dissertation was titled “Peace, Legitimacy and the Equilibrium (A Study of the Statesmanship of Castlereagh and Metternich).”

This academic study of the period between 1815 and 1914 is known as the Concert of Europe, when the Great Powers sought to maintain a certain balance of power and supported world peace. Notable for figures like Otto von Bismarck whose political philosophy is frequently inseparable from his own, it is this period that Kissinger sought to mirror, replacing the historical role of Great Britain with the unparalleled superpower of 20th century America.

Henry Kissinger and US President Richard Nixon in 1973. (AFP)

As Kissinger became known to power brokers in Washington, his move toward a political career was inevitable. Unlike his peers, his solid academic foundation furnished him with an ability to act as in-house counsel on the political challenges of the day.

If the jet engine came to symbolize US military and cultural dominance in the post-war era, Kissinger employed international travel to the same effect to overhaul American diplomacy. His appointment to secretary of state in 1973 was in many ways merely the formal ratification of an increasingly international role he had been playing.

That year saw Kissinger at the forefront of efforts at shuttle diplomacy to reshape the world to advance American interests. Having already paved the way for the groundbreaking 1972 summit between Nixon, Zhou Enlai and Chairman Mao, Kissinger brought China in from the cold, leading to the formalization of relations between the two countries, and crucially brokered an anti-Soviet entente between the two powers.

As the world looked on following the Yom Kippur War, Kissinger, directly following his involvement in a coup in Chile the previous month, shuttled between Arab capitals while also organizing an unprecedented airlift of weapons to Israel, tipping the regional balance of power to the point that Israel has never faced an Arab invasion since.

With the year culminating in a pact to end the Vietnam war, Kissinger’s hyper-diplomacy was recognized with a Nobel Peace Prize, his international activities becoming a blueprint for American diplomacy to his peers and a stain on his career in the eyes of his detractors.

Top: Demonstrators gather at the Place des Nations in Geneva on September 10, 2010 to protest against the presence of former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger and his alleged role in the 1973 military coup in Chile. (AFP) Bottom: African National Congress President Nelson Mandela (R) greets former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger upon his arrival for their meeting in Johannesburg, South Africa, on April 13, 1994. (AFP)

Kissinger is often viewed as having been the unsentimental dispenser of American power in the developing world. Though he succeeded in pursuing its interests, his zero-sum worldview — of a vast global jigsaw puzzle consisting of pieces that needed to be moved to fit America’s emergence as the world’s supreme power — did cause controversy.”

Having once stated that “I am not interested in, nor do I know anything about, the southern portion of the world” and “What happens in the south is of no importance,” it is now clear that a certain ignorance of the wider world underpinned the more decisive political and military interventions which he supported to extend America’s reach.

His involvement in the Chilean coup, Bangladesh, Pakistan, East Timor and the bombing of Cambodia continue to be subjects of great debate, summarized in the 2001 treatise by Christopher Hitchens, “The Trial of Henry Kissinger.”

Speaking later in life, Kissinger would argue that the bombing of Cambodia was essential to stopping raids into South Vietnam. Truth be told, the focus on the subsequent widespread US bombing of Khmer Rouge is a lot less controversial now compared with the crimes of the Cambodian regime’s own genocide in the 1970s.

Nevertheless, Kissinger’s intercontinental politicking was true to the Bismarckian mold from which he emerged, faintly masked by his use of the first German chancellor’s famous maxim, “politics is the art of the possible.”

Top: Russian President Vladimir Putin (R) welcomes former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger during their meeting at the Novo-Ogaryovo residence outside Moscow on June 06, 2006. (AFP) Bottom: Former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger meeting with US President Donald Trump (R) at the White House in Washington on October 10, 2017. (AFP)

When all is said and done, it is still remarkable that Kissinger, a man who retired 50 years ago, has remained politically relevant. Leading Kissinger Associates, he has continued to have remarkable influence and reach, as the global great and good’s consigliere par excellence.

Kissinger’s long political goodbye has given him the opportunity to have the final say on many of the important moments of his career, a luxury not enjoyed by his late peers. His relevance, however, persists, his advocacy of coexistence with China and detente with Russia making his expertise much sought after amid efforts by one to disrupt America and by the other to altogether displace it.

However, the constant rebalancing of global power is not where Kissinger’s principal interests lie today. He has spent the last decade warning about the rise of artificial intelligence, which threatens to rewrite the diplomatic rulebook, especially for a man who was born at a time when armies still deployed cavalry.

Warning most recently in a book on the issue last year that the AI arms race is a “totally new problem” “with as yet no plausible theories on how states can prevail,” the centenarian continues to turn heads.

There is no doubt that Kissinger, for his many faults, remains a public figure who shaped an era. He is, however, an infinitely more complete character than the scheming master of realpolitik that his critics make him out to be.

This career of immense achievement and relentless controversy was made possible by a talent who was as brilliantly educated as he was discreet, both qualities that are sadly missing from present-day political life.

It is not unlikely that as just Kissinger plotted the extension of American dominance, as a student of imperial history he also expected to observe its decline. But it is unclear whether this is attributable to the speed with which this has taken place or how long Kissinger has lived. In any case, he probably has the answer.

• Zaid M. Belbagi is a Political Commentator, and an Adviser to Private Clients between London and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).

[alianoralacanta]

I understood enough to hear you made some really good points. If F1′s powers-that-be wants to abide by their legal requirements (at least, they’re requirements for the FIA; not sure if Liberty is actually bound by them these days with respect to LGBTQIA+) to not discriminate against people on the basis of legally-protected differences like LGBTQIA+, then it does indeed need to pull races from places where it becomes unsafe for LGBTQIA+ spectators to attend. Even if this costs them money. A promise for which one is willing to sacrifice nothing is worthless. Sadly, I don’t think the F1 authorities will do anything to help - they didn’t recompense autistic people who couldn’t attend China when China changed the law to ban autistic people from entering the country (subsequent years demonstrated China wasn’t capable of consistently enforcing the law for various reasons, but the immigration law still stands and autistic people can get arrested for trying to attend the Chinese Grand Prix unless they have a Chinese passport), Incidentally, following a 2021 court case stating homophobia can be treated as a mental illness, openly gay and lesbian people in a relationship at the time of travel (although probably not other LGBTQIA+ people due to the way the relevant laws and codes are termed) run the same (also possibly theoretical) risk. They) also did not recompense Bahraini spectators in 2011 when the entire race got cancelled (others were expected to do the recompensing) or any of the races that got COVID-cancelled (they expected organisers to make their own arrangements). They certainly didn’t recompense the people who attended Belgium 2021 when the FIA deliberately breaking regulations caused running that was expressly forbidden by legal settlement (thus, a non-race that only looked otherwise through FIA error and unambiguously the F1 powers-that-be’ sole fault) and, in the process, delayed some people so much that they missed their transport back home! The probability of the powers-that-be showing any interest in doing anything helpful is, sadly, nil. They’ve already shown they don’t care if some people are excluded from their events between the contract signing and the date the race should be held, even if the ticket-holders are completely innocent. They also never said sorry or provided any meaningful reassurance after allowing Bahrain 2012 or Saudi Arabia 2022 to continue despite the paddock staff coming under attack, nor did they experience any negative consequences - the teams and drivers were expected to absorb all the harmful consequences of their behaviour and us spectators were expected to pretend that everything was OK even when it patently wasn’t. In both cases, it encouraged harmful behaviour from governments to continue. There have been plenty of occasions where F1 Fan Voice giving early results indicating certain propositions were unacceptable to the fanbase were greeted with the removal of the poll (or ignoring its results if Liberty didn’t catch on fast enough) and then falsely claiming fans supported its decisions and increasing its emphasis on it despite having just been told the exact opposite (DRS expansion, Miami and the We Race As One initiative to name but three).

And that’s why Liberty and the FIA know they can get away with this. They already used China, Bahrain, Belgium, Australia, the Netherlands, Monaco, Azerbaijan, Canada, France, Singapore, Japan, Austin USA, Mexico and Brazil in other circumstances to prove they never have to take responsibility for anything involving cancellations (or effective cancellations, as is the case here for those of us who are LGBTQIA+).  They’ve already proven they don’t care about the paddock or the spectators (regardless of what pretty lies they tell). I have no reason at this point to believe either the FIA or Liberty wants anyone to have anything to do with motorsport unless they are popular with governments, provided it can pretend otherwise. (Also, contra Stefano Domenicalli, even revolutions that hinge on silence and non-communication, such as the Silent Revolution immediately following the Hungarian uprising of 1956, rely on a certain amount of strategic communication before and afterwards. Which the FIA decided to ban last winter. That law that got dodged in Hungary? I think it’s legitimate to wonder whether the FIA/Liberty really did more to get that to happen than Vettel, despite the latter being one man with two items of clothing and a team that let him communicate). We’re fighting for our lives out here, and we’re doing it despite people who say they’re wearing the haloes. It’s not the first time I’ve experienced it, it won’t be the last, and this is just another case of people in power being pathetic on (perceived) purpose.

due to popular (???????) insistence I have proven my lack of video equipment via making a thing where I absolutely FUCKED the audio beyond fixing despite using a clip-on mic. I might as well have used the mic on my phone. anyway; here is why I don't do video, as well as why we should talk about what's messed up with F1 blithely going to Miami and Hungary and Texas as LGBTQ+ rights get slashed away - and how that squares up to how they justify going to places like Bahrain and Saudi.