#What is FORENSIC AUDITS

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[mostlysignssomeportents]

Microsoft put their tax-evasion in writing and now they owe $29 billion

I'm coming to Minneapolis! Oct 15: Presenting The Internet Con at Moon Palace Books. Oct 16: Keynoting the 26th ACM Conference On Computer-Supported Cooperative Work and Social Computing.

If there's one thing I took away from Propublica's explosive IRS Files, it's that "tax avoidance" (which is legal) isn't a separate phenomenon from "tax evasion" (which is not), but rather a thinly veiled euphemism for it:

https://www.propublica.org/series/the-secret-irs-files

That realization sits behind my series of noir novels about the two-fisted forensic accountant Martin Hench, which started with last April's Red Team Blues and continues with The Bezzle, this coming February:

https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250865847/red-team-blues

A typical noir hero is an unlicensed cop, who goes places the cops can't go and asks questions the cops can't ask. The noir part comes in at the end, when the hero is forced to admit that he's being going places the cops didn't want to go and asking questions the cops didn't want to ask. Marty Hench is a noir hero, but he's not an unlicensed cop, he's an unlicensed IRS inspector, and like other noir heroes, his capers are forever resulting in his realization that the questions and places the IRS won't investigate are down to their choice not to investigate, not an inability to investigate.

The IRS Files are a testimony to this proposition: that Leona Hemsley wasn't wrong when she said, "Taxes are for the little people." Helmsley's crime wasn't believing that proposition – it was stating it aloud, repeatedly, to the press. The tax-avoidance strategies revealed in the IRS Files are obviously tax evasion, and the IRS simply let it slide, focusing their auditing firepower on working people who couldn't afford to defend themselves, looking for things like minor compliance errors committed by people receiving public benefits.

Or at least, that's how it used to be. But the Biden administration poured billions into the IRS, greenlighting 30,000 new employees whose mission would be to investigate the kinds of 0.1%ers and giant multinational corporations who'd Helmsleyed their way into tax-free fortunes. The fact that these elite monsters paid no tax was hardly a secret, and the impunity with which they functioned was a constant, corrosive force that delegitimized American society as a place where the rules only applied to everyday people and not the rich and powerful who preyed on them.

The poster-child for the IRS's new anti-impunity campaign is Microsoft, who, decades ago, "sold its IP to to an 85-person factory it owned in a small Puerto Rican city," brokered a deal with the corporate friendly Puerto Rican government to pay almost no taxes, and channeled all its profits through the tiny facility:

https://www.propublica.org/article/the-irs-decided-to-get-tough-against-microsoft-microsoft-got-tougher

That was in 2005. Now, the IRS has come after Microsoft for all the taxes it evaded through the gambit, demanding that the company pay it $29 billion. What's more, the courts are taking the IRS's side in this case, consistently ruling against Microsoft as it seeks to keep its ill-gotten billions:

https://www.propublica.org/article/irs-microsoft-audit-back-taxes-puerto-rico-billions

Now, no one expects that Microsoft is going to write a check to the IRS tomorrow. The company's made it clear that they intend to tie this up in the courts for a decade if they can, claiming, for example, that Trump's amnesty for corporate tax-cheats means the company doesn't have to give up a dime.

This gambit has worked for Microsoft before. After seven years in antitrust hell in the 1990s, the company was eventually convicted of violating the Sherman Act, America's bedrock competition law. But they kept the case in court until 2001, running out the clock until GW Bush was elected and let them go free. Bush had a very selective version of being "tough on crime."

But for all that Microsoft escaped being broken up, the seven years of depositions, investigations, subpoenas and negative publicity took a toll on the company. Bill Gates was personally humiliated when he became the star of the first viral video, as grainy VHS tapes of his disastrous and belligerent deposition spread far and wide:

https://pluralistic.net/2020/09/12/whats-a-murder/#miros-tilde-1

If you really want to know who Bill Gates is beneath that sweater-vested savior persona, check out the antitrust deposition – it's still a banger, 25 years on:

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2020/09/revisiting-the-spectacular-failure-that-was-the-bill-gates-deposition/

In cases like these, the process is the punishment: Microsoft's dirty laundry was aired far and wide, its swaggering founder was brought low, and the company's conduct changed for years afterwards. Gates once told Kara Swisher that Microsoft missed its chance to buy Android because they were "distracted by the antitrust trial." But the Android acquisition came four years after the antitrust case ended. What Gates meant was that four years after he wriggled off the DoJ's hook, he was still so wounded and gunshy that he lacked the nerve to risk the regulatory scrutiny that such an anticompetitive merger would entail.

What's more, other companies got the message too. Large companies watched what happened to Microsoft and traded their reckless disregard for antitrust law for a timid respect. The effect eventually wore off, but the Microsoft antitrust case created a brief window where real competition was possible without the constant threat of being crushed by lawless monopolists. Sometimes you have to execute an admiral to encourage the others.

A decade in IRS hell will be even more painful for Microsoft than the antitrust years were. For one thing, the Puerto Rico scam was mainly a product of ex-CEO Steve Ballmer, a man possessed of so little executive function that it's a supreme irony that he was ever a corporate executive. Ballmer is a refreshingly plain-spoken corporate criminal who is so florid in his blatant admissions of guilt and shouted torrents of self-incriminating abuse that the exhibits in the Microsoft-IRS cases to come are sure to be viral sensations beyond even the Gates deposition's high-water mark.

It's not just Ballmer, either. In theory, corporate crime should be hard to prosecute because it's so hard to prove criminal intent. But tech executives can't help telling on themselves, and are very prone indeed to putting all their nefarious plans in writing (think of the FTC conspirators who hung out in a group-chat called "Wirefraud"):

https://pluralistic.net/2023/09/03/big-tech-cant-stop-telling-on-itself/

Ballmer's colleagues at Microsoft were far from circumspect on the illegitimacy of the Puerto Rico gambit. One Microsoft executive gloated – in writing – that it was a "pure tax play." That is, it was untainted by any legitimate corporate purpose other than to create a nonsensical gambit that effectively relocated Microsoft's corporate headquarters to a tiny CD-pressing plant in the Caribbean.

But if other Microsoft execs were calling this a "pure tax play," one can only imagine what Ballmer called it. Ballmer, after all, is a serial tax-cheat, the star of multiple editions of the IRS Files. For example, there's the wheeze whereby he has turned his NBA team into a bottomless sinkhole for the taxes on his vast fortune:

https://pluralistic.net/2021/07/08/tuyul-apps/#economic-substance-doctrine

Or his "tax-loss harvesting" – a ploy whereby rich people do a "wash trade," buying and selling the same asset at the same time, not so much circumventing the IRS rules against this as violating those rules while expecting the IRS to turn a blind eye:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/04/24/tax-loss-harvesting/#mego

Ballmer needs all those scams. After all, he was one of the pandemic's most successful profiteers. He was one of eight billionaires who added at least a billion more to his net worth during lockdown:

https://inequality.org/great-divide/billionaire-bonanza-2020/

Like all forms of rot, corruption spreads. Microsoft turned Washington State into a corporate tax-haven and starved the state of funds, paving the way for other tax-cheats like Amazon to establish themselves in the area. But the same anti-corruption movement that revitalized the IRS has also taken root in Washington, where reformers instituted a new capital gains tax aimed at the ultra-wealthy that has funded a renaissance in infrastructure and social spending:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/06/03/when-the-tide-goes-out/#passive-income

If the IRS does manage to drag Microsoft through the courts for the next decade, it's going to do more than air the company's dirty laundry. It'll expose more of Ballmer's habitual sleaze, and the ways that Microsoft dragged a whole state into a pit of austerity. And even more importantly, it'll expose the Puertopia conspiracy, a neocolonial project that transformed Puerto Rico into an onshore-offshore tax-haven that saw the island strip-mined and then placed under corporate management:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/07/27/boricua/#que-viva-albizu

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

https://pluralistic.net/2023/10/13/pour-encoragez-les-autres/#micros-tilde-one

My next novel is The Lost Cause, a hopeful novel of the climate emergency. Amazon won't sell the audiobook, so I made my own and I'm pre-selling it on Kickstarter!

[fieryjeannearchives]

Oshi no Ko AU Idea 🎤

AU in which Senku dies in a lab accident and reincarnates years in the future.

Funny enough, he ends up getting named “Senku” again because his name has become quite popular, being the name of the scientist that saved everyone, restored civilization, and all that.

As expected from being reincarnated with all his memories intact, Senku has several questions about how and why he wakes up again in the body of a baby, but is also excited about finding out everything there is to know about his so-called “reincarnation”. Or at least, that was his plan until he saw the news about how the “Former mentalist and diplomat of the Kingdom of Science, Gen Asagiri” was found dead.

If he’s going to keep reincarnating, then he has several lives ahead to investigate how reincarnation works. It could definitely wait. Finding out what actually happened to Gen not.

Unfortunately, being still a kid with no relationship with Gen or any of their former friends whatsoever, leaves him with little to do besides researching on the internet. He would have to wait until he’s old enough to join Suika’s “young scientists” program to actually investigate what happened.

Thus, he continues with his research and studies in the time being, focusing mainly on forensics, seeing as he might need it later. However, once again his plans get halted when a few years later he sees a new popular idol on television.

He had heard among his classmates about the self-proclaimed reincarnation of “Gen Asagiri”, a celebrity who decided to take his identity as part of his artistic persona.

Senku didn’t find the joke funny at all but there was, of course, that small hope that it was indeed Gen’s reincarnation. However, after checking one of his interviews and noticing how badly he characterised Gen, he concluded he was nothing but all talk. That guy was too flashy and exaggerated, missing completely the elegance and veil of enigma that made the original Gen Asagiri the Kingdom of Science’s first and last mentalist.

He couldn’t help but despise him after that, and intended to avoid anything related to him. He had no time for idols and gossip anyways.

And yet, when he accidentally catches a performance on live television, he sees Gen Asagiri again.

It’s not a magic show and yet his presence is almost tangible. He’s 10 billion percent sure of it.

And while he’s still too young to join Suika’s program, he is at the perfect age to become an idol.

He manages to make a pretty successful career but unfortunately, never gets close enough to talk to this Gen. And by the time he finally does, after auditioning and making it in the new idol group Dr. Stars, he finds out that the guy already hates his guts.

“Don’t take it personally, he doesn’t take kindly to anyone who tries to impersonate Senku Ishigami,” Kensho, the youngest member of the newly formed group, tells him.

“Kinda hypocritical on his part if you ask me,” Matt, the eldest member of the group, adds.

“Haha, not exactly! You see, he's a super fan of Senku Ishigami, right? And we all know about the rumors about his relationship with Asagiri, so choosing to impersonate him is another way to feel closer to his personal idol, not the other way round!”  Ryota explains with a proud smile, earning a frown from Matt who calls it “creepy”, while Kensho hums and seems to actually consider the possibility.

Senku couldn’t care less either way. He just needs to talk to this Gen and find the truth himself.

And so the chase begins and eventually, after weeks of tracking the slippery Gen Asagiri, he was finally able to get him alone on the balcony after one of their rehearsals.

“I guess this was inevitable,” the guy sighed, turning to face him with a resigned smile. “You know? I really tried to persuade the agency to fire you. You’re not idol material. You memorize the choreographies perfectly, that I can give you, but you lack a sense of rhythm, and having a good face and voice can only get you so far.”

“I know, but that along with my family’s connections was enough to get me here,” Senku smirked, not at all offended by Gen’s words. He knows every bit of it is true and he doesn’t care one millimeter about it.

“That’s not something you should feel proud about.”

“Why not? I used every resource I had at my disposal and it finally paid off.”

“You’re going to break your fans' hearts.”

“They’ll get over it,” they already did before.

“So rude.”

“Don’t you mean, ude-ray?” Gen rolled his eyes.

“There’s no need to keep the act with a colleague.”

“Even one you hate?”

“Especially one I hate,” he said, earning a chuckle from Senku’s part.

“Oh, so Kensho wasn’t joking. You really are offended about me being–”

“You’re not Senku,” Gen interrupted, finally dropping that fake smile. “In what would would Senku Ishigami abandon science to become an idol? Don’t make me laugh! You have no idea how many guys I’ve met claiming to be him just because it meant having a chance to get close to a famous idol.”

“I would never abandon science, I’m just taking a detour to find you,” Senku replied. “Besides, you kinda started it, didn’t you? What else would you have expected from publicly declaring that you’re Gen Asagiri reincarnated?”

“Pff, as if anyone takes that seriously–”

“You did make sure of that, didn’t you?” Senku interrupted. “The classic ‘hiding things in plain sight’. However, as good as your acting might be, you cannot lie you’re on stage. Quite the paradox, isn’t it? A mentalist who is incredibly honest when it comes to his craft.”

Senku didn’t expect Gen to burst out laughing then.

“You… you’re delusional! Gen Asagiri killed himself years ago! Everyone knows that!”

“First of all, do you really want me to believe that ‘Gen Asagiri, lost in despair after the death of his beloved scientist, decided to put an end to his life’?” He quoted with a frown.

“Why not? Everyone is convinced that’s what happened.”

“Maybe the general public but those who know him, know he would never do that.”

“Oh, ‘those who know him’? Don’t tell me you’re a fan,” Gen mockingly replied.

“Ugh, again with that?” Senku asked and for a second he saw actual shock in Gen’s eyes. He definitely remembered it too. “I know for a fact that you wouldn’t have abandoned everyone like that, not when they needed you the most,” Senku refused to believe that. “I can’t say I know what happened, I’m still trying to figure it out but…”

“Fi-figure it out?” Gen repeated, clearly still trying to process what was happening.

“Yeah, who murdered you.”

“You think Gen Asagiri was murdered?”

“I know for a fact you were,” and since this was Gen who he was talking to, he might as well ask him: “Don’t you remember who it was?”

Gen stared at him for a solid second before slowly sitting down.

“Give me a minute, I had already given up that you would return as well.”

“Your body might look young but you’re acting like an old man now,” Senku can’t help but snicker, earning a glare.

“How old are we? I totally lost the count by now.”

“Well… depends if you want to count the years of those times we were petrified, in that case it would be…”

“Stop, don’t say it, I believe you.”

“Good,” Senku smiled, taking a seat beside him. “So tell me, who did it?”

“I don’t know… I didn’t see how or when they poisoned me, if that’s even what they did,” Gen admitted with a sigh. “All I got is one clue.”

“And that is…?”

“It was probably the same person that murdered you, Senku-chan.”

Senku blinked at that, confused.

“That’s not right, I had an accident in the lab, I… remember the last minutes before the explosion.”

“Senku-chan, think for a moment. You, probably one of the most brilliant minds this world has ever seen, having a deadly accident while working in his lab?” Senku opened his mouth to reply but quickly closed it when Gen continued: “And no one else was around? Not even Whyman was able to reach you to save you? And with all the doors completely locked despite you never being the type to do that?”

“You were investigating… my death?”

“And that’s how they got me,” Gen nodded. “Though they weren’t kind enough to make it seem like an accident this time. Guess they feared it would become too suspicious.”

Senku had to agreed on that. However, there was still one thing that didn’t make sense.

“Why did you choose to become an idol in this life?”

There was no way he was going to believe that Gen had decided to move on from the past. Knowing him, he was up to something and he was determined to find out what it was and help him.

“You tell me, Senku-chan, why would I? Am I still aiming to have an idol harem?”

“Whoever did this, was in the industry.”

“Ding, ding, ding! We’ve a winner! Ten billion points for you~!” Gen exclaimed as Senku tried to make sense of it.

What could possibly someone within the industry have against him? And how the hell did Gen even reach that conclusion?!

The more he thought about it, the less sense it made.

“I’m pretty sure I’m starting to see smoke coming out of your ears.”

“It… it doesn’t make any sense!”

“It really doesn’t, and I would have never imagined it if it weren’t because an interview was conducted in your lab earlier that day. A lot of people came in and left… Sure, the police said that they interviewed everyone, but since everything pointed to an accident I had my doubts they did a thorough job. Of course, this was such a hunch but I must have been getting close to something considering…”

“...you were also found dead in a dressing room,” Senku remembered then from the reports. “Was it from the same station from the interview?”

“It was… and since they also happen to have an idol division…”

“...you chose that one as a way to get in,” it was probably one of the quickest paths considering Gen’s resources. “Wait, were you actually trying to provoke them by claiming to be yourself?”

“Yeah, at first that was the plan but unfortunately I doubt it has any effect now since it's been so overused, which is why I’ve been trying to be more careful. I still don’t know if they were too good at concealing their reaction or I simply haven’t crossed paths with them yet.”

It made sense, or so Senku thought, however, when he looked back to Gen again, he found that he was already staring at him as well.

“There’s something else, isn’t it?”

“I… might have hoped that you would come back too.”

“Well, at least that plan worked like a charm,” he was certainly allured like a moth to a flame.

“Sorry for not letting you enjoy your second life, Senku-chan.”

“Heh, you can always make up for it in the next one,” Senku smiled, finally standing up and offering his hand to help Gen get up as well.

“The next one? Why not this one?”

“Well, we still have a murderer to catch, don’t we?”

“You… you’re going to help me?”

“I was already working on it without you butting in, I’m not going to stop now.”

Gen stared at him for a moment and Senku had no idea what he saw before he let out a soft chuckle: “Never thought you’d have that sense of justice, Senku-chan.”

“Guess that’s a way to call it,” he laughed as well.

It certainly sounded better than what he was actually aiming for.

–

{ Silly extra }

“So that’s Ryota-chan’s little sister! She’s so cute!” Gen said, which Senku wouldn’t have minded had the girl not kept glaring daggers at him.

“Haha, don’t mind her! She heard that Gen is a fan of Senku and must be confusing you with him,” Ryota explained. “I told you already, the Senku Gen likes was a scientist, not an idol.”

“Then I’m going to become a scientist and marry Gen one day!” The girl declared, sticking out her tongue at Senku for double measure.

Of course, Gen didn’t expect that to bother the usually patient scientist. However, the evil smile on his face proved otherwise.

“Ho? You’re on, little girl.”

“The hell are you doing, Senku-chan?!”

{ Fin }

[doodle-pops]

Sugar and Spice

Modern AU!Caranthir x reader

Request: Hi! Hope you’re doing alright! Exams are killing me, I need some love and comfort and your fics always bring me that🥹Can I ask for a Christmas fic with Caranthir? A Modern!AU where Cara and reader relax under a fluffy blanket with hot chocolate and soft kisses.Thank you❤️ - anon

A/N: Your daily dose of Caranthir fluff is coming right up, anon :)

Words: 1.6k

Warnings: none, fluff

Synopsis: You finally managed to get your beloved workaholic away from his annoying business matters, and to spend some time with you.

Masterlist | Navigation

The faint glow of twinkling fairy lights wrapped around the bannister, casting a soft golden hue against the polished wooden floor. The living room smelled of pine and cinnamon, the Christmas tree standing proud in the corner, its ornaments glinting like tiny stars. A light snowfall had begun outside, flakes gathering gently on the windowsill, and all was quiet save for the occasional creak of the house settling against the chill.

You sat cross-legged on the plush sofa, wrapped in a thick, oversized cardigan, your hands cradling a mug of hot chocolate that was more marshmallow than drink. The blanket you had draped over your legs was warm and soft, but it lacked something—or rather, someone. Your eyes shifted to the figure in the adjacent room.

You had spent the better part of the evening setting the stage for what you hoped would finally coax Caranthir away from his laptop. He had been tethered to it for weeks, drowning in spreadsheets, audits, and the endless tedium of his work as a forensic accountant. You knew how much he valued precision and responsibility, but the sight of him hunched over his keyboard, his dark brows furrowed in continual concentration, had begun to weigh on you.

Tonight, though, you had decided to change that.

The sofa had been transformed into a fortress of comfort, laden with plush cushions and a ridiculously oversized, fluffy blanket you had insisted on buying earlier that month. On the table, another steaming mug of hot chocolate sat waiting, topped with whipped cream and a sprinkling of crushed candy canes. The fireplace crackled softly, casting flickering shadows that danced on the walls. The festive film you’d put on for background cheer played unnoticed, its cheery music starkly at odds with the subdued energy of the room.

Caranthir sat at the dining table, his laptop glowing faintly against the dim light of the room. His brow was furrowed in concentration, one hand tapping rhythmically against the edge of the table while the other navigated through endless spreadsheets and emails. His tie had been discarded hours ago, the top two buttons of his shirt undone, and his sleeves rolled up to reveal strong forearms. You could see the subtle tension in his shoulders, the tell-tale signs of a man who had been working far too much for far too long.

“Cara,” you called gently, trying not to startle him. He didn’t respond, his focus entirely absorbed in whatever forensic accounting puzzle he was trying to untangle.

You sighed softly, setting your mug down on the coffee table and rising to your feet. Padding over to him, you placed a hand on his shoulder, squeezing lightly. He jumped slightly, his head snapping up, his deep brown eyes meeting yours.

“Sorry,” you murmured, a small smile tugging at your lips. “Didn’t mean to frighten you.”

“It’s fine,” he said, his voice low and gravelly from hours of silence. He ran a hand through his dark hair, which was slightly dishevelled from the way he had been raking his fingers through it. “Just a bit... focused.”

“That’s an understatement.” You quirked an eyebrow, gesturing to the laptop. “How long have you been at this?”

He glanced at the clock on the wall, frowning slightly. “A few hours, maybe?”

“Try most of the day,” you countered, crossing your arms. “It’s Christmas Eve, Cara. You promised me you’d take a break.”

He sighed, leaning back in his chair and pinching the bridge of his nose. “I know, I know. I just—there’s this audit that needs sorting, and some discrepancies in—”

“No.” You shook your head, cutting him off before he could dive into another explanation. You bit back a sigh and leaned down, reaching out to gently close the lid of his laptop. That finally earned his attention. His head snapped up, and his dark eyes locked onto yours, confusion flickering across his face. “No discrepancies, no audits, no numbers. You’re officially done for tonight.”

“Love...” he began, his tone almost pleading, but you were having none of it.

“You’ve worked hard enough,” you said firmly, your hands moving to rest on your hips. “I’ve let you bury yourself in spreadsheets and ledgers for days, but not tonight. Tonight, you’re mine. And we’re going to sit on that sofa, drink hot chocolate, and pretend the only thing we have to worry about is whether we’ll run out of marshmallows before the shops open again.”

He looked up at you, a faint smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. “You’re very persuasive, you know that?”

“I’ve had to be,” you said, your expression softening. “Come on, Moryo. Just a few hours. The world won’t end if you close that laptop for one evening.”

He hesitated for a moment, glancing back at his laptop, before finally exhaling a deep breath. “Alright. You win.”

You grinned, triumphant, and reached down to gently tug him out of the chair. He rose to his full height, towering over you, his presence warm and grounding. You led him to the sofa, pulling him down beside you and wrapping the blanket around both of you. He chuckled softly, the sound deep and rich, and let you tuck him in as though he were the one in need of care.

“See?” you said, leaning back and handing him the mug of hot chocolate you had been saving for him. “This is much better, isn’t it?”

He took the mug from you, his fingers brushing against yours for a moment. “It’s definitely warmer,” he admitted, his lips quirking into a small smile.

You settled against him, your head resting on his shoulder as he sipped the drink. The tension in his body began to melt away, his arm draping over your shoulders to pull you closer. The blanket cocooned you both, the outside world fading into insignificance as the warmth of the fire crackling in the hearth enveloped the room. The film continued to play in the background, its jolly charm adding to the cosy atmosphere. You nestled against Caranthir’s side, your head resting on his shoulder. For a moment, the two of you sat in comfortable silence.

“You know,” you murmured softly, “you’re like that hot chocolate.”

Caranthir raised an eyebrow, glancing down at you. “Am I?”

“Mmhmm.” You tilted your head up to look at him. “All serious and intense at first, but underneath, you’re just sweet and comforting.”

He chuckled, the sound vibrating through his chest. “That’s quite the comparison.”

“It’s true,” you teased. “Though you’re missing the marshmallows.”

“I think I’ll survive,” he replied dryly, though the corners of his mouth twitched in amusement.

The two of you sat in comfortable silence for a while, the only sound the crackling of the fire and the soft hum of Christmas music playing from the radio—his older brother’s number one Christmas hit. You could feel the steady rise and fall of his chest beneath your cheek, his heartbeat a soothing rhythm that lulled you into a state of contentment.

“This is nice,” he said quietly, his voice breaking the silence.

“It is,” you agreed, your fingers absentmindedly tracing patterns on his arm. “We should do this more often.”

“I’d like that,” he said thoughtfully. “I know I’ve been...preoccupied lately. Work has a way of pulling me in and not letting go.”

“Hmm,” you hummed with a hint of amusement. “But I also know how hard you work, Cara. You’ve always been so dedicated, so driven. It’s one of the things I love about you.”

He looked down at you, his expression softening. “And yet you still manage to pull me away from it.”

“Because I know you need it,” you said, smiling up at him. “Even you need to rest sometimes, no matter how stubborn you are.”

He laughed quietly, pressing a kiss to your forehead. “Thank you,” he murmured.

“For what?”

“For being patient with me. For knowing when to push and when to let me be. For...this.”

You leaned into him, your heart swelling at his words. “Always,” you said softly.

The evening stretched on, the two of you exchanging quiet conversation and occasional kisses. At one point, you reached for a tin of biscuits, holding it out to him with a playful grin.

“Cookie?”

“Only if there’s gingerbread,” he stated sombre.

You rummaged through the tin, pulling out a gingerbread man and handing it to him with a flourish. He took it with a smirk, biting off the head first as you gasped in mock horror.

“Monster,” you said, shaking your head.

He shrugged, unrepentant, and continued eating. “Sugar and spice,” he said, his voice laced with amusement. “It’s a perfect combination.”

You rolled your eyes, but your smile betrayed your amusement. “Just don’t eat all the gingerbread. I’m saving some for tomorrow.”

“No promises,” he said, leaning in to steal a kiss.

The night wore on, the two of you revelling in the warmth and simplicity of the moment. Outside, the snow continued to fall, blanketing the world in silence and serenity. And for the first time in what felt like forever, Caranthir was fully present, his mind no longer tethered to numbers and deadlines but to you and the quiet joy of being together.

As the fire began to die down and the room grew darker, you found yourselves lying side by side on the sofa, the blanket pulled up to your chins. You yawned softly, your eyelids growing heavy, and Caranthir pulled you closer, his lips brushing against your temple.

“Merry Christmas,” he whispered, barely audible.

“Merry Christmas,” you murmured in return, your voice thick with sleep.

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[mypoliticalviews77]

Whether you’re a Republican, Democrat or Independent, there is a Cold, Hard Fact that you MUST be aware of, and consider. The Country is in debt to the tune of 36 TRILLION Dollars, give or take a couple of Trillion. Thats a 36, with TWELVE Zeros behind it. And it is acquiring interest every day, week and month.

That Credit Bill is comming, so how are we going to pay it? Collect more taxes, so we can spend more dollars. We could hire 80 Thousand IRS agents to help collect the extra money.

No, you don't want more taxes. OK.

Cut spending? Seems realistic. But how are you you going to cut the spending? No one wants their programs cut, so now what. You look for expendatures that you are able to cut.

The only thing that DOGE is doing is running code to see abnormalities in the system, Red Flags if you want. They then hand over the abnormalities to FORENSIC INVESTIGATORs to audit those flags. They then report their findings to the House and Senate Oversite Committees, and the Directors of the Departments. FEMA, Homeland, Interior, Defence, State Department, etc.

Take USAID. What a Cluster THAT was. If you read the reports of the audit, you need to wonder what exactly was happening, and if ANYONE was in charge.

Here's the problem. Most of what they are finding is money that's GONE, unable to be recovered. Some of it is, and has been recovered, but most of it - gone with the wind.

That my money, it's tax money. It's YOUR money, spent for ridiculous items. Don't like the reports coming out of DOGE? Read the lists coming out of the Oversite Committees, or the Department Directors.

Don't like Trump or Musk? Fine, but think sbout the last Eight years.

Russian Collusion - Proven False.

Hunters Laptop - Proven False.

Two Impeachments - Not even close. One about Ukrainian Interference, which has been proven False.

FEMA or Social Security Funds NOT going to Illegal Aliens - Proven False. (59 Million a month for swank hotels in NYC for Illegals, but a whole 750.oo dollars for American Citizens in North Carolina-Tennessee that list everything.)

I can add The Afgan Pullout, Bengazi, The COVID Lie, 20 million Chickens killed do to Bird Fluid (thus the egg shortage), and many, many more. But there's people that make statements and people rush to conclusions, such as Trump and Musk will just be putting that money in their, or other millionares pockets. Do you really think either one of them needs your, or my money?

I guess you mean people like Pelosi, Schumer, Feinstein, Obama, Biden, Gore, Kerry, AOC and Warren to name a few. Don't forget Soros, Gates, Newsome, and how many Hollywood "Stars"?

Thanks, but I think I'll wait to see what happens as this gets runs its course.

Last thing to think about. Every year Congress passes a Budget, and the President signs it into law. The Budget is for a year. So my question is this - why does Congress need to Amend the Budget Two or Three times in a year Why???

[sebastianmichaelisslander]

Any unpopular opinions/headcanons about shinigamis?

Lessgooo! I’d been waiting for this for a while!

Headcanons

• Not fully sure there’s a proper academy for Reapers, though that’s the case in a lot of fanon hcs and even the anime.

The Dispatch setup resembles a very typical one in the corporate world, though - newer Reapers are all assigned a mentor who they train under and who asses them for their capabilities in varying fields. According to this, they join a particular department and work under its head (e.g., collections, forensics, auditing, etc.).

• There are several different branches of the Dispatch spread out over major cities in England - and the same goes for branches in other countries. Headquarters will be either at the capital or in a major city (e.g, London).

• Though Reapers are all pretty much blind as bats without their glasses, younger ones would probably have it slightly better. Slightly.

• As for whether they would retain any memories of their past lives, it depends for me.

What would be worse than having memories of who or what was dear to them wiped to prevent them from straying would be remembering it all, but knowing they will not be able to return under any circumstances.

But as I’m uncertain about how to make sense of that, I’d say that I share my mutual @grimreaperauthority ‘s headcanon about their memories of their past lives being wiped and thus remaining mostly fuzzy. I’d say that’s the case, save for the day of their death or anything particularly defining which shaped or changed their beliefs, imho.

• Relationships between colleagues aren’t forbidden, but it’s expected that one adheres to decorum and keeps their liaisons under wraps. Especially if there’s a major power imbalance involved, because you’d be cooked.

Unpopular opinions

I’ll probably have several of you trying to break down my door with pitchforks and torches in hand, but here goes.

• I don’t see Eric as Scottish, lol.

I haven’t fully watched the musical so I don’t fully get where the whole headcanon about him came into being, but it’s not just that. I tried looking his last name up, and ‘Slingby’ isn’t even a real surname - closest thing is ‘Slingsby’, which is of English origin. ‘Knox’, however, is a Scottish surname, so make what you will of that. 😉 (Yes, I unapologetically write Ronnie as a Scotsman.)

• I do not ship Sascha with Ludger.

I always saw the former as a very young student figure of sorts to him, and not just because they appear rather young to me. I’ve never seen them as a couple given their interactions in the manga, and there’s also the fact that Sascha seems to be a literal teen.

Whilst Sascha’s age hasn’t been stated in canon and they could very well be an adult for all I know, which would be highly unlikely, them as a ship just isn’t for me. Ludger as their father/brother figure, though? That’s where it’s at.

• I’m mostly indifferent to Undertaker. I don’t know why, but I never paid him any special attention. Like, he do be kinda fit, but that’s about it.

• I don’t vibe with the fanon interpretation of Ronald as a player or fuckboy - and not only because I headcanon him as on the asexual spectrum. Even in the manga, he appears to be (quite a major) flirt at most - which can also be backed up by how he disappears.

• If Othello could talk to women, he’d be like a more toned-down Ronald when he’s interacting with them, but shyer too. But he can’t, lmao - he’s forgotten how to. Takes personal space and being respectful to them seriously, though.

Bi Othello is my fav headcanon for him. I can definitely see him with a woman as well as a man. And though he’s often absorbed in his work or Dispatch shenanigans and doesn’t think about girls (or guys) all that much, he definitely likes a pretty one as much as the next man.

• I don’t see William as a prick with all the emotional range of a teaspoon and little empathy whatsoever. Is he too harsh on himself and his subordinates? Yes. Can he be an asshole at times? Also yes.

But is he a terrible person with no redeeming qualities whatsoever and a rock in his chest where a heart would otherwise beat? No.

He seems like he’d be an overthinker and feel extremely strongly towards people and ideas both, but tries to suppress this as he thinks that he needs to. Not only to remain impartial for the sake of professionalism, but also because how men in general are socialised plus his tendency to withdraw when he’s overwhelmed mean it’s difficult to confront his emotions.

• I do not see Ludger as German William, but rather someone who’s similar to him yet incredibly different in a lot of ways. William is pensive, almost overly fastidious, and coldly professional. Meanwhile, Ludger is reserved, a tad rough around the edges, and focused - but he’s surprisingly patient and better with conflict than Will.

If I have more, that’ll call for another post!

[rockyp77mk3]

Say you were magically elected president, what are ten things you would do on the first day?

"Magically"? Isn't that how we got the current administration, or as many suspect by sleight of hand? :)

Just off the top of my head:

Close the borders. Stop the influx of illegal immigrants immediately. Oh, fire about 60,000 IRS agents and hire a similar number of Border Patrol agents.

Invite every former service member who was discharged for not taking the jab. Full pay and privileges to be immediately reinstated.

Empanel a large team of forensic accountants, ensure that they have the highest security clearances, and have them totally audit ever cent spent by the US government I want to see every example of waste, fraud, abuse, corruption.

Expand US Counterintelligence capability with an eye toward Chinese, Iranian, NOKO, and Russian collection efforts and their influence in US government, the tech sector, and media.

Release the Epstein client list, among other "Lists".

Have the new and hopefully unbiased and honest Attorney General look into the Federal reserve and the Soros purchase of radio stations, for a start.

Seek to abolish the Department of Education beyond an advisory board. Turn educational responsibility back to the states to increase control by residents.

Establish a policy to prioritize veterans needs over student loan forgiveness, and US citizens over illegal immigrants.

Make it against policy for the government to use propaganda on the public.

Buy some really good Kevlar and hire a few operators and operatives as an extra close protection detail. I have a feeling that I would need it. :)

Thanks for the question.

[jinruihokankeikaku]

[senjutsunade]

~ANBU Detective Agency~

#Blind Incandescence - Head Cannons Content from the collective madness that is Narnia's 3 lunatics - penned by Crazy Insomniac (CI), Finger Seizure (FS) and Typo Queen (TQ).

ANBU Structure

♦ Mr Coffee maker is the most productive agent of ANBU.

♦ The board members are Shimura Danzo, Sarutobi Hiruzen, Utatane Koharu Mitokado Homura, Uchiha Madara and Senju Tobirama. They fund the ANBU and are the cause of endless migraines. Danzo's demands for random audits may some day end with Tsunade being charged for murder.

♦ Izumo and Kotetsu are the receptionists. Izumo is incharge of filing and Kotetsu is incharge of phone calls. Which is why almost no paper gets filed and barely any calls (especially from the board members) are ever picked up.

♦ Homicide and organized crime Unit - lead by Tsunade. Itachi and Kakashi are her personal headaches/ hand-selected team members. They deal with cases no one wants to touch with a ten foot pole. 

♦ Marital Affairs Unit - members are Kurenai, Asuma and Anko. This is the unit that brings in the most money.  

♦ Insurance Fraud Unit - Genma, Raido and Gai - Gai's youthfulness is what keeps the other two sane.  

♦ Missing persons Unit: Tsume and Shibi 

♦ Cult investigation: Hidan, Sasori, Kisame - the rest of the agency tends to stay away from them.

♦ Narcotics Unit: Inoichi and Shikaku...its kind of their expertise.

♦ Forensic team: Yamato, Hayate, Yugao, Kabuto, Deidara

♦ Ibiki is in charge of interrogation. Anko assists at times. 

♦ Kakazu is the accountant - no one ever gets paid on time.

♦ Orochimaru is the Medical Examiner / resident terror of the agency. Naruto loves him.

When ever Tsunade has a mad scientist moment (she misses holding a scalpel) she tries to go to Orochimaru's lab in desperate hopes he'll let her assist him - the bastard always slaps her hand away, pushes her out of the lab and shuts the door in her face with a smug smirk as if taunting her for not finishing med school.  Naruto is the only one who has complete access to the lab. If one would dare to venture down to Orochimaru's 'dungeons' they would often find the chibi babbling the ME's ear off about what happened in school that day with said ME responding to the babbling while dissecting dead bodies. Good thing his school teachers think Naruto is just a very creative child. 

Tsunade dislikes the favoritism Orochimaru shows. She was the first blond in his life after all. She should have more privileges.

♦ Akatsuki Law - a VERY successful Law agency run by Nagato, Yahiko and Konan. They provide FORCED free services to ANBU because Tsunade insists that’s what family does and Nagato wishes he was cousins with anyone but her. 

♦ Any press conferences that require ANBU presence are dealt with either from a member of the department in question. Itachi, Tsunade and Kakashi stay in the shadows since their roles require them to keep a low profile. 

♦ Social events that require their presence are Senju And Uchiha family related and Tsuande and Itachi attend them. Itachi with a poker face and Tsuande with endless whining. 

♦ Kakashi is incharge of attending all of Naruto’s Parent/Teacher conferences. There is always a bet ongoing regarding how many dates the Hatake will have by the time he returns the next day. 

Tsunade went to one of Naru's parent teacher conferences --  It's ironically the same elementary school that Tsunade herself attended with Orochimaru and Jiraiya since Jiraiya stayed in his family home while the other two moved away.  Unfortunately, the principal remembered Tsunade. She remembered the blonde menace for that one time she had snuck toads into the classroom during recess (she was good at bullying Jiraiya and Jiraiya was good at catching toads) and had left them in the desks of all the girls that had been giving her a hard time for liking to spend all her time with boys (Jira and Oro). The screams once the students had returned and had toads leap on them had shaken the school.  Then there was the time the blonde nightmare had snuck in Orochimaru's new pet snake (without his permission or knowledge at that) and had gone around telling girls it was her new designer scarf. Suffice to say - no one was amused with her prank. Orochimaru had actually not talked to her for a week.  The principal remembered all these things -- that should have been bad enough right? But this is Tsunade we are talking about. And as her luck would have it --  While trying to act like a responsible adult...she notices the janitor and...recalls that the man is actually a suspect in one of her ongoing investigations - only they hadn't been able to find him - until now. She runs after him, tackles him, breaks furniture, swears up a storm that leaves parents, teachers and students traumatized and stumbles out of the school premises with a bleeding split lip, torn clothing, a limp and a murder suspect.  She wants to sue the school for endangering students. They want to sue her for property damage. Nagato swears he has white hair since that week. Tsuande says his hair is still blinding enough and tells him to get out of her office.  Suffice to say, Tsunade is never allowed to come back to Konoha Elementary School. .

 @konohagakurekakashi & @uchihaa-itachi.

[zilabee]

"I wasn't there because ahead of the Quarry Men's evening performance I'd gone home for a bite to eat. I only lived a ten minute walk away and hadn't eaten since breakfast, so after coming off the church field and putting my kit in place ready for the evening's performance I'd nipped home for my tea and in the process I missed that historic audition."

- - - Colin Hanton

"I must have nipped out to the toilet because I have no memory of the greatest meeting in rock n roll history."

- - - Rod Davis

"I noticed Paul while we were playing. He was standing with Ivan... but I don't remember him carrying a guitar."

- - - Eric Griffiths

Pre:Fab! - by Hanton and Hall.

-

History quietly shifting itself into place, while half the quarry men are looking the other way.

I just I love that some people are out there writing meaningful fantastic remembrances about Paul's eyelashes and electricity in the air, and then others are like 'I don't know, maybe he was there..?'

Colin Hanton (quarry man) consistently claims that Paul met John before the Quarry Men went on to play in the afternoon. Colin was in the scout hut, playing his drums with one of the scouts, getting ready for the afternoon performance:

"At the far end of the hut, I noticed John had returned by himself. [...] He was standing talking to another scout. It was at this moment that Ivan Vaughan walked in accompanied by this dark-haired lad whom I'd never seen before. I carried on jamming while the three of them stood talking. This carried on for about five or ten minutes, after which John, Ivy, and the stranger left the scout hut together."

Sounds completely like what a constructed memory of that event would seem like, but also sounds completely like something that might have happened too, and we'll never know.

Eric, meanwhile, believes that he was there for the 'historic meeting' in the church, but that Paul never played guitar for them at that point, no matter what Paul, John, Pete, Len and Ivan have to say. He thinks John first heard Paul play a few days later when John and Eric went round to Forthlin Road specially for the 'audition'. That's where he thinks Paul played Twenty Flight Rock for the first time.

Beatles fandom is an incredible study in the vagaries of memory. I love it. It's fantastic how little we will ever know.

As Colin Hall (biographer) writes:

Like most bands, they met a lot of new people every time they were booked to play. Often there'd be a lot of people hanging out with them before or after a performance. No wonder that, in the interim, exact memories faded, details disappeared. It would be many years after the event that the Quarry Men would be asked to describe this day in the forensic detail people now want from them. [...] They were not all present in the same places for some of the key moments. At the time it was a fun day, but of no great significance to most of them beyond the moment of their performance.

He also points out that an article published just one week after the fete, ("All the Fun of the Fair at Woolton" in the Liverpool Weekly News) which is an eye-witness report written while everything was still fresh... claimed that Colin wasn't there, and the Quarry Men played without a drummer. Something easily disproved by any photograph of the day.

Give up, surrender! Beatles reporting has been pure fiction from day nought. Nothing is knowable. Everything is mist. You can keep trying, you will get nowhere. Honestly it's all an imagination, so imagine wonderful things.

[beardedmrbean]

SILVER CITY, N.M. (AP) — More members of the embattled board of regents at Western New Mexico University have resigned, a confirmation that came Tuesday during roll call at a meeting scheduled to address the departure of the university's president amid fallout from wasteful spending and lax financial oversight.

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham in a year-end letter to the regents had asked for their immediate resignations, saying new leadership was needed to ensure the Silver City-based university can regain its “equilibrium and once again serve its students first and foremost.”

Only the student regent and university President Joseph Shepard were present for Tuesday’s meeting, leaving too few board members to conduct business. The chairwoman of the five-member board resigned last week along with one other regent. The other two turned in their papers Tuesday.

Lujan Grisham on Tuesday called the board “tone-deaf” for approving a lucrative severance package for Shepard, suggesting that the dollar amount could have addressed food insecurity across the entire student body for a full year.

“We must ensure that generous payouts no longer reward poor performance while maintaining our ability to attract qualified leaders,” she said, noting that she planned to work with state lawmakers to change how severance packages are structured at New Mexico's public institutions.

The shakeup on the board follows the announcement that Shepard would resign as university president after an investigation by the state auditor’s office found more than $363,000 in wasteful spending and improper use of public funds. Top state officials have said that university officials and regents failed to uphold their fiduciary responsibilities.

The case also has the attention of New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez, who on Monday filed an emergency motion in state district court seeking to put on hold a $1.9 million payout from Western New Mexico University to Shepard that is part of a severance package.

Shepard also is guaranteed a spot as a tenured faculty member, earning at least $200,000 annually for five years. He can serve remotely and was given an eight-month sabbatical with full pay.

The attorney general’s motion states that the university agreed to pay Shepard more than three times what it would have been legally required to pay had it terminated his employment without cause.

The court filing pointed to the timing and lack of transparency in the board’s negotiation of what Torrez has called an “unjustifiable golden parachute.”

A more comprehensive forensic audit still is underway. That audit was requested in December 2023 by Shepard and the regents with approval by the state auditor.

Lawmakers started raising questions in 2023 about Shepard’s spending on international travel and high-end furniture, along with wife Valerie Plame’s use of a university credit card. Plame is a former CIA operations officer who ran unsuccessfully for New Mexico’s 3rd Congressional District in the 2020 Democratic primary.

In selecting new regents for the university, Lujan Grisham said she wants to usher in a new era of accountability.

“All public universities in New Mexico must uphold their fundamental fiscal responsibility to the people of this state and the students they serve,” she said.

Backup link

[dhirenshahca]

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[mostlysignssomeportents]

Insurance companies are making climate risk worse

Tomorrow (November 29), I'm at NYC's Strand Books with my novel The Lost Cause, a solarpunk tale of hope and danger that Rebecca Solnit called "completely delightful."

Conservatives may deride the "reality-based community" as a drag on progress and commercial expansion, but even the most noxious pump-and-dump capitalism is supposed to remain tethered to reality by two unbreakable fetters: auditing and insurance:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reality-based_community

No matter how much you value profit over ethics or human thriving, you still need honest books – even if you never show those books to the taxman or the marks. Even an outright scammer needs to know what's coming in and what's going out so they don't get caught in a liquidity trap (that is, "broke"), or overleveraged ("broke," again) exposed to market changes (you guessed it: "broke").

Unfortunately for capitalism, auditing is on its deathbed. The market is sewn up by the wildly corrupt and conflicted Big Four accounting firms that are the very definition of too big to fail/too big to jail. They keep cooking books on behalf of management to the detriment of investors. These double-entry fabrications conceal rot in giant, structurally important firms until they implode spectacularly and suddenly, leaving workers, suppliers, customers and investors in a state of utter higgeldy-piggeldy:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/11/29/great-andersens-ghost/#mene-mene-bezzle

In helping corporations defraud institutional investors, auditors are facilitating mass scale millionaire-on-billionaire violence, and while that may seem like the kind of fight where you're happy to see either party lose, there are inevitably a lot of noncombatants in the blast radius. Since the Enron collapse, the entire accounting sector has turned to quicksand, which is a big deal, given that it's what industrial capitalism's foundations are anchored to. There's a reason my last novel was a thriller about forensic accounting and Big Tech:

https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250865847/red-team-blues

But accounting isn't the only bedrock that's been reduced to slurry here in capitalism's end-times. The insurance sector is meant to be an unshakably rational enterprise, imposing discipline on the rest of the economy. Sure, your company can do something stupid and reckless, but the insurance bill will be stonking, sufficient to consume the expected additional profits.

But the crash of 2008 made it clear that the largest insurance companies in the world were capable of the same wishful thinking, motivated reasoning, and short-termism that they were supposed to prevent in every other business. Without AIG – one of the largest insurers in the world – there would have been no Great Financial Crisis. The company knowingly underwrote hundreds of billions of dollars in junk bonds dressed up as AAA debt, and required a $180b bailout.

Still, many of us have nursed an ember of hope that the insurance sector would spur Big Finance and its pocket governments into taking the climate emergency seriously. When rising seas and wildfires and zoonotic plagues and famines and rolling refugee crises make cities, businesses, and homes uninsurable risks, then insurers will stop writing policies and the doom will become undeniable. Money talks, bullshit walks.

But while insurers have begun to withdraw from the most climate-endangered places (or crank up premiums), the net effect is to decrease climate resilience and increase risk, creating a "climate risk doom loop" that Advait Arun lays out brilliantly for Phenomenal World:

https://www.phenomenalworld.org/analysis/the-doom-loop/

Part of the problem is political: as people move into high-risk areas (flood-prone coastal cities, fire-threatened urban-wildlife interfaces), politicians are pulling out all the stops to keep insurers from disinvesting in these high-risk zones. They're loosening insurance regs, subsidizing policies, and imposing "disaster risk fees" on everyone in the region.

But the insurance companies themselves are simply not responding aggressively enough to the rising risk. Climate risk is correlated, after all: when everyone in a region is at flood risk, then everyone will be making a claim on the insurance company when the waters come. The insurance trick of spreading risk only works if the risks to everyone in that spread aren't correlated.

Perversely, insurance companies are heavily invested in fossil fuel companies, these being reliable money-spinners where an insurer can park and grow your premiums, on the assumption that most of the people in the risk pool won't file claims at the same time. But those same fossil-fuel assets produce the very correlated risk that could bring down the whole system.

The system is in trouble. US claims from "natural disasters" are topping $100b/year – up from $4.6b in 2000. Home insurance premiums are up (21%!), but it's not enough, especially in drowning Florida and Texas (which is also both roasting and freezing):

https://grist.org/economics/as-climate-risks-mount-the-insurance-safety-net-is-collapsing/

Insurers who put premiums up to cover this new risk run into a paradox: the higher premiums get, the more risk-tolerant customers get. When flood insurance is cheap, lots of homeowners will stump up for it and create a big, uncorrelated risk-pool. When premiums skyrocket, the only people who buy flood policies are homeowners who are dead certain their house is gonna get flooded out and soon. Now you have a risk pool consisting solely of highly correlated, high risk homes. The technical term for this in the insurance trade is: "bad."

But it gets worse: people who decide not to buy policies as prices go up may be doing their own "motivated reasoning" and "mispricing their risk." That is, they may decide, "If I can't afford to move, and I can't afford to sell my house because it's in a flood-zone, and I can't afford insurance, I guess that means I'm going to live here and be uninsured and hope for the best."

This is also bad. The amount of uninsured losses from US climate disaster "dwarfs" insured losses:

https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/hurricanes-floods-bring-120-billion-insurance-losses-2022-2023-01-09/

Here's the doom-loop in a nutshell:

As carbon emissions continue to accumulate, more people are put at risk of climate disaster, while the damages from those disasters intensifies. Vulnerability will drive disinvestment, which in turn exacerbates vulnerability.

Also: the browner and poorer you are, the worse you have it: you are impacted "first and worst":

https://www.climaterealityproject.org/frontline-fenceline-communities

As Arun writes, "Tinkering with insurance markets will not solve their real issues—we must patch the gaping holes in the financial system itself." We have to end the loop that sees the poorest places least insured, and the loss of insurance leading to abandonment by people with money and agency, which zeroes out the budget for climate remediation and resiliency where it is most needed.

The insurance sector is part of the finance industry, and it is disinvesting in climate-endagered places and instead doubling down on its bets on fossil fuels. We can't rely on the insurance sector to discipline other industries by generating "price signals" about the true underlying climate risk. And insurance doesn't just invest in fossil fuels – they're also a major buyer of municipal and state bonds, which means they're part of the "bond vigilante" investors whose decisions constrain the ability of cities to raise and spend money for climate remediation.

When American cities, territories and regions can't float bonds, they historically get taken over and handed to an unelected "control board" who represents distant creditors, not citizens. This is especially true when the people who live in those places are Black or brown – think Puerto Rico or Detroit or Flint. These control board administrators make creditors whole by tearing the people apart.

This is the real doom loop: insurers pull out of poor places threatened by climate disasters. They invest in the fossil fuels that worsen those disasters. They join with bond vigilantes to force disinvestment from infrastructure maintenance and resiliency in those places. Then, the next climate disaster creates more uninsured losses. Lather, rinse, repeat.

Finance and insurance are betting heavily on climate risk modeling – not to avert this crisis, but to ensure that their finances remain intact though it. What's more, it won't work. As climate effects get bigger, they get less predictable – and harder to avoid. The point of insurance is spreading risk, not reducing it. We shouldn't and can't rely on insurance creating price-signals to reduce our climate risk.

But the climate doom-loop can be put in reverse – not by market spending, but by public spending. As Arun writes, we need to create "a global investment architecture that is safe for spending":

https://tanjasail.wordpress.com/2023/10/06/a-world-safe-for-spending/

Public investment in emissions reduction and resiliency can offset climate risk, by reducing future global warming and by making places better prepared to endure the weather and other events that are locked in by past emissions. A just transition will "loosen liquidity constraints on investment in communities made vulnerable by the financial system."

Austerity is a bad investment strategy. Failure to maintain and improve infrastructure doesn't just shift costs into the future, it increases those costs far in excess of any rational discount based on the time value of money. Public institutions should discipline markets, not the other way around. Don't give Wall Street a veto over our climate spending. A National Investment Authority could subordinate markets to human thriving:

https://democracyjournal.org/arguments/industrial-policy-requires-public-not-just-private-equity/

Insurance need not be pitted against human survival. Saving the cities and regions whose bonds are held by insurance companies is good for those companies: "Breaking the climate risk doom loop is the best disaster insurance policy money can buy."

I found Arun's work to be especially bracing because of the book I'm touring now, The Lost Cause, a solarpunk novel set in a world in which vast public investment is being made to address the climate emergency that is everywhere and all at once:

https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250865939/the-lost-cause

There is something profoundly hopeful about the belief that we can do something about these foreseeable disasters – rather than remaining frozen in place until the disaster is upon us and it's too late. As Rebecca Solnit says, inhabiting this place in your imagination is "Completely delightful. Neither utopian nor dystopian, it portrays life in SoCal in a future woven from our successes (Green New Deal!), failures (climate chaos anyway), and unresolved conflicts (old MAGA dudes). I loved it."

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

https://pluralistic.net/2023/11/28/re-re-reinsurance/#useless-price-signals

[meandmybigmouth]

Are we ever as a country going to handcuff a political party state and federal? limit what they can spend tax dollars on? and I don't mean services that help those in need and infrastructure!. I mean political stunts and creating covert departments to track pregnancy's, building billionaire sports league stadiums, corporate subsidy's, tax breaks and bailouts? uneven tax payer dollars financial dispersal during natural catastrophes!. investigate with full forensic financial audit on anything that that raises the deficit by 1.5 trillion dollars and deaths over 100,00! it's called full accountability and not by the party(s) themselves!

[jasonrae117]

Just Another Hollywood Scene

Raven walked into the small coffee shop, looking down at her watch. Ahead of schedule, perfect. She smiled to herself. The café was quaint and it looked popular enough for her to accept this as her one stop before her big audition. She counted the customers ahead of her and the ones still waiting for their drinks, too many for her liking while she had somewhere to be but she needed a chai latte to steel her nerves. The three baristas should tackle this wait in no time, she hoped.

Today was the big audition for an upcoming blockbuster movie. Her agent, Roy Harper, from Queen Entertainment Management, got her this lucky shot. Roy also managed Kori Anders, a beautiful super model, but more importantly for her purposes, Richard Grayson’s fiancé. 

Ao3 link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/49727071/chapters/125517982

Richard Grayson was a romcom actor turned director, and the very director for the movie she was about to audition for. Though she hadn’t seen many of the movies Richard had directed she had seen almost the entire catalog of his romcoms. There was something so cheesy but endearing in his films that made her lonely heart on a weekend evening content. As it turns out, according to critics and movie goers alike, he made a better director than actor. This untitled movie was already the talk of the town and anyone would kill for a shot to be in it, much less the leading lady. Which is exactly why Raven was so stressed.

Raven Roth had done her due diligence, went to some of the best acting schools, got her degrees, starred in horrible student film after horrible student film while also waiting tables and attending acting seminars. She managed to land some simple commercials or gigs as an extra in big shot movies, but her true claim to any inkling of fame was her starring role on the hit TV drama Skulls. She played the head of the forensic team that was over analytic and unemotional. People loved her unique features and always complemented how authentic her acting was for a CSI type TV show. The backhand compliment she could live without but nonetheless people took a liking to her and as time went on she found herself with a renowned agent and a few more higher billed credits. 

As she went over her lines for the nth time today, she pulled her focus back into the real world and realized she was next in line. Another glance down at her watch though had her begin to sweat. She hadn’t realized where the time had gone, she was still guaranteed to be early but any more setbacks and that could change in an instant. She noticed the elderly woman in front of her was paying in change and was dropping coins left and right, making her lose count and have to start over again just for the same thing to happen. The cashier didn’t seem to care and simply used the time to restock some things behind the counter.

Raven exhaled in semi annoyance, it wasn’t the lady’s fault but no one was willing to lend a hand? That was unacceptable to her. “Here let me pick those up for you.” She said while bending over.

“Oh! How very kind of you miss! Thank you.” The woman smiled warmly at her, holding her hands out to take the coins back.

“May I help? I can hold these while you count what you have, it’s a lot of change to be juggling, so I totally get it.”

“That would be very helpful, miss!” As the older woman began counting her pile, Raven quickly counted her ready to add the remaining coins total in her head and end the transaction. To her dismay another coin rolled out of the woman’s hand and onto the floor rolling toward her just behind her left leg. She spun around to fetch it but instead rammed right into someone else. A very tall and solid someone else. All the coins had bounced out of her hands and scattered everywhere. When Raven regained her senses the man that was far too close barely flinched from the accident but made no attempt to help pick anything up. Instead the man pivoted around her at the edge of the counter.

Clearing his throat he said. “I’ll take a medium americano.” He pulled out his phone with one hand and began to type something on it while the cashier stood stunned and unsure of what to do. He looked back up and added, “Pronto?”

Raven stood there dumbfounded as the cashier actually began to ring up his order. The poor older woman got down and started to pick up the fallen change and nobody else said anything. She was just going to have to change that.

“Excuse me but you can’t possibly think that what you just did is okay?” When he didn’t turn to her she moved around him, stopping by the elder woman and helping her back up purposely leaving the coins on the ground. “Hey, I’m talking to you asshole!” The cashier gasped and the man stilled.

He put his phone back in his pocket and turned to meet her eyes. “Now why would you be doing that?” He smirked. Oh he was gonna fucking get it.

“Who the hell do you think you are to come into here, bypass the line that isn’t really that bad, stand way too close to a stranger to where they run into you by turning around and not do anything to help pick up the coins you caused to fall and continue to order like a big fucking oaf. You’ve got some nerve asshole.” Her hands were on her hips and she was glaring daggers, the entire cafe stopped what they were doing and were witnessing the scene unfold in front of them.

The man had the audacity to chuckle, “So you clearly don’t know who I am. Cute. But I don’t have time to waste like some people. I need to be on my way or I’ll be late so I took advantage of two women taking far too long ordering coffee. Sue me, or get over it.”  He turned back to the cashier and pulled out his wallet.

To say Raven was appalled would be an understatement. So she did the only thing she could think of. She reached across him and snatched his wallet and threw it on the ground behind him.

“What the hell-” as he took a step back to track the wallet, it left an opening for Raven to slip in front of him.

“Hi, I find it incredibly unacceptable for this man to be served before me, this woman, and the patient customers in line behind me. Nobody should walk in here and expect to be treated in such a way by another plain guest and be pushed back in line to accommodate the aggressor. Am I right? Would you want someone to treat your mother like this?” She gestured to the elderly woman behind her. The cashier shook her head.

“Just get the hell out of my way, and let me get my coffee then it will be all yours.” The man stood up straight, fire behind his eyes.

“Like hell I will.” She barely glanced at him before refocusing on the cashier. “All I want is to get my drink and pay for this kind woman since that will seem to speed up the process.” 

“Uhh..okay.”

“And to make it easier, I happen to like Americanos so I’ll take the one he ordered since it’s probably already in the works, add hers to my tab too.” The cashier nodded and began to re-ring in the woman’s order.

“Fine whatever, are you happy now? Now just get out of my way.”

“Oh, cute. You think I’m done.” She stayed in place but twisted behind her looking at the next man in line. “Hi sir, I’m feeling so generous today, what are you ordering?”

“Uhh, a large iced cold brew.” He shrugged.

“Great one of those, please.” She said turning back to the cashier who was starting to smirk, seeing the plan already. “And behind him?”

“You can’t be serious?” The rude man sputtered.

“Dead serious, everyone in line currently, your drink is on me! Besides this asshole, come up and place your order with the kind girl in front and step off to the side to wait for it. Thank you.” She made the announcement without breaking her stare at the taller man. Sure enough, everyone in line ran up, placed their order quickly, muttered a thank you and moved away.

“You really are going to spend all that money to prove a point? It would have been faster to just let me go.”

“Where would be the lesson for you in that? Now you get to wait for your fair turn, these people leave happy with their free coffee and you still look like an asshole. I can always make more 

money, but you can never get wasted time back.” She smirked smugly.

“Uhh, miss your total is $75.86, cash or card?” The cashier awkwardly interjected.

Raven didn’t mean to but the total was higher than she had anticipated and she involuntarily flinched, causing a grin to break onto the man’s face. “Still worth it?”

“Every penny.” She handed her worn credit card over and completed the transaction. She was handed her receipt and the Americano which she gladly took and strutted out of the cafe. She didn’t care to see the last look on the man’s face. That whole debacle cut into her time cushion and now she would be running late herself. Just fucking perfect. She prayed to whatever deity that she would never run into that man again.

She practically jogged in her black heels to the building around the block, dodging people the best she could. When she made it to the front doors of the Wayne Production Company she paused and took her first sip of the drink. She never ordered one before and she was glad she didn’t because it was utterly revolting. She almost gagged but swallowed the too bitter liquid before locating the nearest trash can and throwing the whole thing away, a waste? Sure, but it was still worth it.

Once inside, she smoothed her hair back and walked confidently to the receptionist. “Hi, I’m Raven Roth here for an 11:00 audition.”

“Okay, one moment Miss Roth.” The woman began typing into her computer.

Raven took a deep breath and glanced around the lobby, it was lavish but well decorated, not unwelcoming. There were people moving around her coming in and out of elevators, carrying briefcases, boxes and supplies, fabrics, and blueprints. This was their corporate office, not their studios, she didn’t expect to see so many people running around with materials.

“You must have really enjoyed my coffee, it seems to be all gone.” That voice…oh shit, she turned to see the jerk from the cafe, but instead of the branded cup, he was holding one from the lobby’s free coffee bar. 

“Relegated to the free coffee? What a shame.” She dared not back down now. 

“It isn’t my first choice but when an incredibly insufferable person ruins a perfectly good morning, it’ll have to do.”

“I wouldn’t have needed to do that if you had a tiny fraction of decency.” She almost whispered, trying to keep the receptionist from hearing. Raven felt her anger rising again, she couldn’t let that come out and cause another scene, especially at the place she needed to make the best impression at. 

The receptionist cleared her throat politely, “Miss Roth?” Raven turned back to the red haired woman. “They’re waiting in conference room 47, on the 5th floor turn left and it will be the 3rd room on the left.” The man behind her snorted.

“Thank you very much!” She spun, giving the man an annoyed glare as she walked past him. 

“Hey,” she shouldn’t have stopped but he approached her within a few steps., “I hope your acting is better than your attitude.” He leaned in and spoke the next words lowly in her ear, “Break a leg.” He pulled back with a smirk.

She was stunned in place, not by his words but by the room temperature coffee that was dripping down the front of her new white blouse. She looked down at herself and felt heat rise to her cheeks, but before she could say anything, the man pointed at his watch and shook his head. She located the nearest clock on the wall to discover that it was already eleven and she was officially late for her audition. She bolted toward the elevator and desperately tried to regain her composure. 

How could he do that to her? He knew she was auditioning, so maybe he was there for the audition too and wanted to sabotage her. It was going to work perfectly in his favor because she was a mess, she was angry, she was wet, her top had a massive brown stain, and she was late. She did the only thing she could think of, taking some deep breaths as she stepped out of the elevator, she spoke the meditation mantra her favorite acting coach, Azar, gave her, “Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos.” Raven immediately felt some of the stress release. Now she had to put some of the other teachings to use.

First, take the emotions and use them to fuel the words and actions, it will give something new to a piece that is memorized to every syllable. Second, make an impression, she was certain being late was already doing that, but combine it with the third advice, make bold choices, she was either going to blow it or nail it. She had no other choice.

The movie was a high budget superhero action movie, an installment of an already beloved franchise called The Batman. This was about a team of teen superheroes and sidekicks that have grown up and now are called The Titans. Young adults trying to live up to their mentor's standard and make a name for themselves in the world while trying to save it from major threats. Landing this role would almost ensure job security for at least three films. In the movie making market today, superhero films always crushed it, and with Grayson’s name being on the film it was practically a guaranteed success. Who else would be better to direct this new and original team than the adopted son of the actor that played the Dark Knight himself, Bruce Wayne. 

This was it, her only shot. She took one last breath and entered the room in a rush.

“This better be good, you interrupted my meditation.” She huffed. Raven looked around the large room, the wall across from her lined with objectively handsome men sitting at a long table.

Their faces shocked, some frozen in place, a coffee cup held at their lips. “Well? Garret? What’s the emergency that you had to set the alarm off spilling my tea?” She picked one of the random men to be her scene partner, since she had no time to slate and meet them, she had to purely improvise. 

“Uh…Miss Roth?” The man in the center began. She now recognized him as Richard Grayson. Her mind started to short circuit. She had no idea the director would be sitting in on the first audition, but she was already in too deep. 

Raven decided to keep going, praying to just get through this. She looked off to the side at a fake screen she imagined. If they weren’t going to give her the lines, she’d simply take them. “Deathstroke?” Her prior deadpanned tone dropped. Full seriousness overcoming her emotions. “When did we get this?” She looked back to the man she dubbed ‘Garret. “ 

That man kept looking down at the obvious stain on her shift. Raven made the choice to add that into the scene. Pulling the shirt over her head, leaving her in a lace adorned bra, she marched behind the table and pulled a random jacket from the back of an empty chair. Tossing her stained blouse on the table in front of Garret, she continued, “Is that better?” She slid the apparently leather jacket over her shoulders and spun one of the secretaries' laptops around to face her. She made a point to hit the lock key so she wouldn’t see anything she wasn't supposed to. 

As she fake typed some actions on the computer she looked back up at her fake screen, while muttering. “They want you to be normal but make a big deal when you accidentally spill something.” Blowing some loose hair from her face she marched back to the middle of the room. 

“He was seen thirteen hours ago at a dock on the east bay.” She feigned surprise. “Why are we just hearing about this now?” She begged all the gods to have someone answer. Richard leaned forward, his eyes not leaving her, throwing an arm out to the man unintentionally added to the scene and motioning him to proceed. The few people around him fumbled around to hand him the script and point out where they were.

“Robin got the alert first, I’m assuming he delayed the alarm - “ The man read.

“To give himself a head start. Damn it Drake! Where is he now?” A fierceness rising in her voice.

“We don’t know, he might be in his room going through files.” It was clear to her that this guy was at least not her potential scene partner, at least not for this role.

“Since when did Robin ever wait when it came to Deathstroke. How is it possible, we got rid…he was gone. How did he manage to come back?” She began pacing.

“Robin had his theories but I don’t think he ever expected him to actually be back.”

“We have to find Robin before he does something stupid.”

“His tracker and communicator are offline.”

“Then we’ll have to find him the hard way.” She sat on the floor in a lotus position, arms slightly to her side, middle finger and thumb touching. “Azarath, Metrion, ZINTHOS!”

She wasn’t sure why she chose to use her own mantra, much less one at all, and the pose was the very one from her own practices. There was no actual blocking on the script, but it felt in character and came obviously very natural to her. 

“Cut!” Richard yelled. Raven opened her eyes and was met with his smiling face. He hurried around the table and offered his hand out to help her up. She graciously accepted it and stood in front of the man that held her fate. 

“I..uh..I’m Raven Roth.” She nervously stuck her hand out for a handshake.

“Why yes you are!” He enthusiastically took it. “That was phenomenal! I probably shouldn’t be telling you this but wow!”

“Oh, thank you Mr. Grayson.” She chucked shyly. Everyone in the room began subtle whispers and she could tell they were all about her. “I want to apologize for being late and the uncouth start to my audition but - “

“It’s quite alright! It fueled you! That’s what I love to see in new actors! This is why I didn’t want the biggest names, there’s nothing fresh in that! But that bit with the shirt..was that planned?”

“No, some guy spilled his coffee on me in the lobby.”

“Sorry to hear that, but oh man she can improv too! It was great seeing you today. Roy was right about you! Well, we have to break for lunch, but we’ll be in touch! Just don’t be late next time.” He winked and chuckled to himself as he grabbed his notepad from the table and made his way out of the room along with the other employees. 

Most had left the room, leaving her with a few stragglers. She went to collect her things but realized that she was still wearing someone else’s jacket. She looked to the nearest worker, “Excuse me, I’m so sorry but I still have this person’s jacket, would you mind giving it back to them for me!” She began to shrug it off her shoulders but a pair of hands stopped the fabric from falling down.

“It’s fine, from what I saw today I’m sure you’ll be back and you can give it back to me then.” The smooth voice came from behind her. The other person she had directed her comment towards simply nodded to her and stepped out of the room. The voice sounded familiar but she couldn’t place it. “Besides, I think it looks better on you.”

Raven turned around and did everything in her power to not gasp in shock. The man behind her was Jason Todd. Jason fucking Todd. He was the hottest action star in the world, both literally and figuratively. He was for sure a lead role in this production, it just wasn’t confirmed which one. And here she was, shirtless, wearing his -probably- expensive leather jacket. “I’m…uh…wow, I’m sorry I just took it without asking.” She stumbled out her response. She wished she could kick herself for how stupid she sounded in front of her celebrity crush.

“It’s fine. As much as most of the men in the room would have loved for you to continue without the jacket, someone needed to get them back to reality. I’m Jason by the way.” He held out his hand and offered a devilishly handsome smile. 

“Todd, oh I know…I mean…” She felt the blush creep up her neck and rest like flames on her cheeks. “Hi, Raven.” She took his hand and shook it a bit too enthusiastically.

“Oh, we have ourselves a fan huh?” Jason smirked.

“I don’t intend to come across as a crazy fan. I just meant that I know who you are, anyone who’s anyone knows you, but I’m sure you get that enough as is, you don’t need me to do it too.” Raven rubbed her arm nervously.

“Yeah, but I’m kind of diggin’ you doing it.”

Her mouth opened slightly, was he hitting on her? “Well, I should let you get to lunch.”

“I look forward to seeing you again…Raven.” His voice dropped low on her name and had she not already been mortified by her behavior she swore she would have swooned, and she never swoons.

“Likewise, Jason.” Speaking his name made her feel fuzzy inside somewhere, but she pushed that down and moved around him, snatching her blouse off the table. She pretended to fold it and take care to place it in her bag while Jason finally left. 

Raven placed both hands on the table and released a deep breath. Her whole body tingled with nerves. She just gave the best improvised audition in her life, while facing unplanned emotions and events right before. She was proud of herself, and if what Richard Grayson and Jason Todd said held any truth, she was practically guaranteed a callback!

[modpoppy]

have you posted abt the accounting au ??? who’s in AP (that’s me ayoooo)

yeah its ace assurance au (i made it while taking audit lol)

off the top of my head i think i made most of em involved in tax but i think thats ALSO bc i was taking tax so it was all i could think of lololol

at least phoenix and apollo i wanna keep in tax bc the gavins are also in tax and dhurke is a tax attorney, i gave most of the prosecutors vague finance jobs bc i know fuckall about finance (the finance/accounting difference is the hill i will die on). i think athena was in auditing but maybe forensic accounting makes more sense for what her role was supposed to be (havent taken forensic yet but i assume thats what emas gonna be doing here)?

theres still like. murder happening. but they all just go damn thats crazy thank god thats not my job to deal with

tbh i keep forgetting and then retconning things so its all. nonsense