#american red cross founders

[murderousink23]

05/21/2024 is National American Red Cross Founder's Day 🇺🇸, National Memo Day 🇺🇸, National Strawberries and Cream Day 🇺🇸, National Waitstaff Day 🇺🇸, World Metrology Day 🇺🇸, Cultural Diversity Day 🇺🇳, International Tea Day 🫖🇺🇳

[apilgrimpassingby]

Coronation Dress

So, you may know that for a while now I've been designing the Kingdom of Anchorage and Kodiak, a kingdom in southwest Alaska run by a Native American Orthodox dynasty in a post-apocalyptic world. As part of that, I'm sharing the coronation dress* of its founder figure, Queen Abigail, and looking for opinions from my female followers and other women and girls here.

The base layer is a chemise, and above that are tie-on pockets, a corset (not tightlaced) and the frame for a hoop skirt, covered with a petticoat and a sleeveless smock. All of these cloth layers are made of white silk. For footwear, there are a pair of cream buckskin moccasins covered with blue and turquoise beadwork and with white fur around the tops.

The skirt is layered; the bottom layer is light blue and fringed with beadwork in the shapes of forget-me-nots and northern bluebells, the middle layer is medium blue and fringed with beadwork in the same patterns, while the top layer is dark blue and fringed with beadwork in the shapes of ravens and orcas (respectively very important to the Koyukon people Abigail comes from and the national symbol of Alaska), and alternating raven, snow goose and golden eagle feathers projecting out from the waist, which also has a cloth-of-gold sash tied around it. This layer is also made of silk

The bodice (made of dark blue silk) is decorated with beadwork patterns in the shape of a raven on the right and an orca on the left. It is fastened with buttons at the front, with buttons made of mammoth ivory and carved in the shape of various animals; descending from the top, a raven with spread wings, a leaping orca, a reindeer seen from the side, a standing bear, a moose seen from the side, a leaping salmon and an eagle with spread wings. The shoulders are large and puffed and use sleeve supports, and the arms are wholly covered between them and a pair of bicep-length white gloves made of the leather of young Dall sheep, fastened with mammoth ivory buttons.

The hair is tied back into a bun with a hairnet, and covered with a veil of dark blue silk fringed with gold, worn in the style of a mantilla. A string of pearls are wrapped tightly around the neck, and there is a shell necklace spread over the chest of the same make as this one.

There is also a long dark blue cloak which drapes along the ground, with the monarch's seal sewn into it with gold thread, fastened with silver clasps in the shape of ravens.

Instead of a crown, there is a diadem made of navy fabric, fringed with gold thread; in the centre is the national coat of arms, with the monarch’s seal (both described below) on either side. The diadem is fastened at the back with gold clasps in the shape of bears, with dark blue silken tappets embroidered with the names of family saints in gold thread. From the back and side are strings of circular beads made out of amethyst (directly against the back of the neck), fluorite (on either side of the amethyst beads) and obsidian (against the side of the head).

The coat of arms contains an orca on a Norman-style shield with a dark blue field, with a gold band above and one beneath the orca, and gold around it. Crossed behind it is a harpoon leaning left and a Russian cross leaning right, topped by a raven with spread wings with the Orthodox Christogram above it. The supporters are bears, and the dark green ground beneath it contains forget-me-nots and crowberries.

The monarch's seal consists of a Greek cross, with the corners containing (clockwise from top left) MP ΘΟΥ (the standard Orthodox abbreviation of "Mother of God"), IC XC (the standard Orthodox abbreviation of "Jesus Christ"), a ligature of βδλ (the consonants of basileia, "kingdom") above AK (Anchorage and Kodiak) and AL LD (Abigail's initials; her surname is Littlefield).

Tagging @femme-et-traditionnelle, @miss-rogers-all-american, @melisssg99, @luvchristxx and @roses-red-and-pink for your opinions! Particularly if anyone has the time, skill and inclination to draw it, please do so!

*While made for the coronation, she still wears it at other extremely formal events, namely Pascha and the final dinner of potlaches.

[humusboii2thereturnoftheking]

Israel is the low-hanging fruit Human Rights Organizations pick on for validation.

Remember these organizations operate on donations. If you were attempting to maximize donations, which topic would you discuss?

(A) The Uyghur concentration camps in China

(B) The genocide and ethnic cleansing in Sudan

(C) The genocide and ethnic cleansing in Myanmar

(D) One of the worst humanitarian crisis ongoing in Yemen

(E) The terrible human rights violations in Iran

(F) Pakistan expelling two million refugees

(G) Russia's war crimes and massacres in Ukraine

(H) The war in Gaza launched by Hamas

Obviously, the answer is G, as evident by the mind-boggling amount of attention the conflict receives. The popularity of the Israel-Palestine conflict pales in comparison to other global major events and Human Right Organizations know it.

For The Red Cross, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch It is much more profitable, popular and safer to criticize Israel than Russia, Iran, Sudan, China, Pakistan, Myanmar, Nigeria, Yemen, Syria, Lebanon, etc.

Let's summarize:

The ICRC (International Committee of the Red Cross) has made 6 times more statements to criticize Israel and has often resorted to hyperbole to cast Israel as a “limitless” destroyer to evoke sympathy for one side and demonize Israel. No statement was made speaking directly about the massacre of October 7th. Beyond language, only 2 statements condemning Hamas include videos and pictures while 38 tweets condemning Israel contain images, graphic testimonies, and videos designed to solicit greater attention and a stronger response. Through their Twitter, it is evident that the ICRC has dedicated large amounts of resources to interviewing doctors and victims in Gaza, to editing infographics and videos, and to appearing on the news to talk about the devastation in Gaza. Comparatively little to no attention was paid to Israeli victims.

Human Rights WatcH (HRW) - Is obsessed with criticizing Israel in the conflict and has been called out by their own founder for abandoning their mission and focusing on scrutinizing Israel. HRW disproportionately focuses on condemnations of Israel and that publications related to Israel often lack credibility. HRW also promotes an agenda based solely on the Palestinian narrative of victimization and Israeli aggression.

Amnesty International - Disproportionately singles out Israel for condemnation, focusing solely on the conflict with the Palestinians, misrepresenting the complexity of the conflict, and ignoring more severe human rights violations in the region. In October 2023, in the aftermath of the brutal Hamas attack on October 7, Amnesty emphasized “the root causes” of the conflict, in particular “Israel’s system of apartheid imposed on all Palestinians.” Amnesty does not identify “root causes” on the part of any other actor, including Palestinians and terror groups.

I will reiterate- these organizations follow the wishes of their donors and while their funding isn't fully transparent here are some notable moments:

• In November 2023, MEMRI leaked a document detailing a €3 million donation in 2018 to HRW from Qatar.

• In February 2020, it was revealed that HRW's Executive Director Ken Roth accepted a donation in 2012 from a Saudi real estate tycoon for $470,000 “promising not to support advocacy of the LGBT community in the Middle East and North Africa.”

• In December 2013, Amnesty International admitted to working with the Alkarama foundation, whose Qatari co-founder has been accused of financing Al Qaeda and its affiliates.

• In February 2021, Indian officials accused Amnesty International India of money laundering.

Recommended further reading:

For those complaining I'm relying on UNWatch and NGO-Monitor: Every word is backed by a source which you are encouraged to verify yourself. Anyone refusing to accept factual data because of their cognitive bias should not be discussing this topic in the first place.

Today is the 187 day since Hamas abducted men, women, elders and children from their homes. 133 of them are still in captivity. Ceasefire will only come when Hamas surrenders and releases the hostages.

[scotianostra]

On May 10th 1850 Thomas Lipton, founder of the Lipton's grocery chain was born in Glasgow.

Before the big supermarkets took over we lhad ots of wee ones, every street had a Liptons, or a Galbraith even a Templetons!

Liptons was one of the originals started by a guy from Glasgow who built an empire and the tea brand still bares his name.

Born in a tenement flat in Crown Street, the Gorbals, Liptons parents were Irish and had left the Emerald Isle during the potato famine, the smallholding their family had farmed on for generations no longer viable they settled in Glasgow. 'Tommy' Lipton was educated at St. Andrew's Parish School close to Glasgow Green and by the time Tommy was 12 his parents had a shop in the street they lived selling ham, butter, and eggs. It was with the aim of supplementing his parents' limited income that Thomas Lipton left school at the age of thirteen and found employment as a printer's errand boy, and later as a shirtcutter. He also enrolled at a night school, the Gorbals Youth's School, during this period. He then found work as a cabin boy a steamer running between Glasgow and Belfast and was captivated by life aboard the ship and the stories told by sailors who had traveled to the US After being let go by the steamer company, Lipton quickly used the wages he had saved to purchase passage on a ship bound for the U.S., where he would spend five years working and traveling all over the country.

Back in Scotland on his 21st birthday, In 1871 Lipton opened his firstown shop at 101 Stobcross Street in Glasgow. In the heart of industrial Glasgow, full of smoke and fog, the shop was said to be so brightly lit that at night it became a beacon in the street. Goods were stacked in the American fashion, not for the convenience of the proprietors, but with the purpose of catching the customers’ attention. Lipton used another selling technique learned from his time in the States and from his Mother's shop.

When his parents had opened their small shop, Mrs. Lipton, rather than deal with middlemen at the markets, dealt directly with the farmers of her homeland. Lipton followed this example. He bought his bacon, eggs, butter and other produce directly from Irish farmers. The firm traded as a supermarket until 1982 when another group bought the shops that were to become Presto’s, the decision was made as they wanted to solely concentrate on the Tea business which it does to this day, in 2009 Lipton received a Corporate Green Globe Award for its work with the Rainforest Alliance.

As well as the tea and the shops but Lipton was also a keen sailor, he holds a place in the America’s Cup heart as being the most reliably consistent and deftly congenial loser. Five times he challenged for the Cup, five times being defeated. Despite his best laid plans and momentous effort to win the cup, the tea magnate simply didn’t cut the mustard. Nonetheless, he did have a penchant for beautiful boats. His last challenger, Shamrock V, never really stood a chance of winning the race but it did win marks for pure beauty. His well-publicised efforts to win the cup, which earned him a specially designed cup for “the best of all losers”, and also made his tea famous in the United States.

During the first world war Thomas Lipton helped organisations of medical volunteers. He placed his yachts at the disposal of the Red Cross, the Scottish Women's Hospitals Committee of Dr. Elsie Inglis, the Serbian Supporting Fund, etc., for the transport of medical volunteers (doctors and nurses) and medical supplies. Not content with just allowing his boats to be used he also took a keen interest in the work of Elsie Inglis and the womans hospital, visiting Serbia, where he insisted on humble lodgings and was renowned for his humility and modesty. .In addition to visiting many hospitals, where he encouraged doctors, nurses and soldiers, he found time to attend traditional fairs and to take a part in blackberry gathering and fishing. Sir Thomas Lipton was proclaimed an honorary citizen of the city of Niš.

Lipton even made the cover of Time magazine during 1924. He was knighted in 1901. Sir Thomas Lipton passed away on 2nd October 1931 in London and is buried alongside his parents and siblings in Glasgow's Southern Necropolis, his grave, like the man himself, a humble, simple understated affair, he bequeathed the majority of his fortune to his native city of Glasgow, including his yachting trophies, which are now on display at the Kelvingrove Gallery.

[kemetic-dreams]

Dr. Riley Andrew Ransom Sr. (1886-1951)

Dr. Riley Andrew Ransom, Sr., the founder of the first hospital for African Americans in Fort Worth, Texas, was born on March 9, 1886, in Columbus, Kentucky, to parents Allen and Alice Ransom. Ransom briefly attended Lane College in Tennessee then transferred to Southern Illinois State Normal University (now Southern Illinois University at Carbondale) where he earned his undergraduate degree.

Ransom attended Pharmaceutical College in Princeton, Indiana, and Louisville National Medical College in Louisville, Kentucky, from which he graduated in 1908 as valedictorian of his class. He did post-graduate work at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota.

After receiving his medical license in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, in 1909, Ransom started his medical practice in Brooksville, Oklahoma, where he worked for five years. In 1914 Ransom moved to Gainesville, Texas, where he established the Booker T. Washington Sanitarium. At that time Ransom was one of only 16 black doctors in Texas.

On June 3, 1915, Ransom married schoolteacher and graduate nurse Ethel Blanche Wilson of Gainesville, Texas. To this union one son, Riley Andrew Ransom, Jr., was born on March 12, 1915.

In 1918, Dr. Ransom moved the hospital to Fort Worth and added a Nurses’ Training School. The hospital was the first 20-bed facility for African Americans in Texas. It was also one of only three African-American owned hospitals in the United States accredited by the American Medical Association.

Booker T. Washington Hospital was known for its state-of-the-art medical equipment, fully equipped laboratory, a dining room, onsite food preparation area, and nurses’ quarters. Between 1925 and 1928 the facility was known as the Negro Baptist Hospital. In 1928 the name was changed to the Fort Worth Negro Hospital, and in 1938 Ransom renamed it the Ethel Ransom Memorial Hospital, in memory of his deceased wife.

Dr. Ransom was a member to the Fort Worth Branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), the YMCA, Chairman of the Committee on Health and Sanitation, a Chairman of the Social Disease Committee of the Volunteer Health League, First-Aid Instructor for the American Red Cross of Tarrant County, and member of the Lone Star Medical Association. He was also a Mason.

Dr. Riley A. Ransom, Sr. died on January 4, 1951, in Houston, Texas. He was 64. His work in Fort Worth was continued by his son, Dr. Riley A. Ransom, Jr. The Ranson Memorial Hospital continued to serve the Fort Worth African American community until it closed in 1949.

[brookstonalmanac]

Holidays 8.4

Holidays

Administrative Professionals’ Day (India)

Air Force Day (Ukraine)

Assistance Dog Day

Backgammon Day

Barack Obama Day (a.k.a. Obama Day; Illinois)

Bartlett’s Quotations Day

Beirut Port Explosion Memorial Day (Lebanon)

Bhoto Jatra (Katmandu Valley, Nepal)

Bowser Day

Coast Guard Day (US)

Constitution Day (Cook Islands)

Cycle to Work Day (UK)

804 Day

Esther Day

Fiestas de la Virgen Blanca (Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain)

Founder’s Day (Ghana)

Freedom of the Press Day

Great American Outdoors Day

Hooray for Kids Day

International Clouded Jaguar Day

International Day of Solidarity with the Belarusian Civil Society

International Owl Awareness Day

Johnny Cash Day (Arkansas)

Loch-mo-Naire Pilgrimage (Scotland)

Matica Slovenská Day (Slovakia)

National Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Children’s Day (Australia)

National Architect Day (Chile)

National Day of the Dahlia (Mexico)

National I Got My Happy Back Day

National Guard Day (Venezuela)

National Journalist Day (Colombia)

National Olivia Strong Day

National Owl Day

National Parks Free Entrance Day

New Brunswick Day (Canada)

Nicole Robin Day (US Virgin Islands)

Port of Beirut Explosion Anniversary Day (Lebanon)

Psychic Day

Quotations Day

Railroad Workers’ Day (Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, Russia)

Revolution Day (Burkina Faso)

Satchmo Day

Saturday Evening Post Day

Single Working Women’s Day

Sinjska Alka (Croatia)

Skynet Online Day

Transport Workers’ Day (Kazakhstan)

Venn Diagram Day

Viking Pilgrimage (Spain)

World NTM Awareness Day

Food & Drink Celebrations

American Supermarket Day

Champagne Day

Kentucky Fried Chicken Day

National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day

National Lasagna Day

National White Wine Day

Poppin’ Fresh Day

Raisin Bran Day

Independence & Related Days

Ahmedland (Declared; 2009) [unrecognized]

Cabuyao Cityhood Day (Philippines)

Constitution Day (Cook Islands)

Corennica (Declared; 2010) [unrecognized]

Krzakacja (Declared; 2021) [unrecognized]

NZRE (Declared; 2016) [unrecognized]

Revolution Day (Burkina Faso)

1st Sunday in August

American Family Day [1st Sunday]

Blessing of the Sea [1st Sunday]

Day of the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (Ukraine) [1st Sunday]

Day of the Railway Worker (Russia)

Dé Domhnaigh Crum-Dubh (a.k.a. Crom Dubh Sunday; Celtic/Ireland) [1st Sunday]

International Forgiveness Day [1st Sunday]

International Friendship Day (India) [1st Sunday]

National Doll Day [1st Sunday]

National Friendship Day [1st Sunday]

National Kids Day [1st Sunday]

National Peacekeepers' Day (Canada) [Sunday closest to 9th]

Pilgrimage to the Llyn a Fan Fach in Dyfed (Celtic Book of Days) [1st Sunday]

Psychic Day [1st Sunday]

Reason Day (Northeastern Cross-Quarter; Aretéanism) [1st Sunday] (Independent Critical Thinking)

Selaks Wines’ National Roast Day (New Zealand) [1st Sunday]

Sisters' Day [1st Sunday]

World Meditation Day [1st Sunday of Every Month]

World Naked Kitchen Day [1st Sunday]

Weekly Holidays beginning August 4 (1st Full Week of August)

Exercise with Your Child Week (thru 8.10) [1st Full Week]

International Assistance Dog Week (thru 8.10) [Begins 1st Sunday]

Knights of Columbus Family Week (thru 8.10) [1st Full Week]

National Farmers Market Week (thru 8.10) [1st Full Week]

National Fraud Awareness Week (thru 8.10) [1st Full Week]

National Health Center Week (thru 8.10) [1st Full Week]

National Motorcycle Week (thru 8.10) [2nd Week]

National Smile Week (thru 8.10) [2nd Week]

National Stop on Red Week (thru 8.10)

Rock for Life Week (thru 8.7)

Single Working Women’s Week (thru 8.10) [Week containing 8.4]

Weird Contest Week (thru 8.10) [2nd Week]

Festivals Beginning August 4, 2024

Andorra la Vella Festival (Andorra)

Ecuadorian Food Festival (Los Angeles, California)

Folklorama (Winnipeg, Canada) [thru 8.17]

Heritage Fire (Louisville, Kentucky)

Jackson County Fair (Jackson, Michigan) [thru 8.10]

Latin Festival: Tacos & Tequila (Monmouth Park, Oceanport, New Jersey)

Medieval Week on Gotland (Visby, Sweden) [thru 8.11]

NY Now Summer Market (New York, New York) [thru 8.7]

Smukfest (Skanderborg, Denmark) [thruu 8.11]

Feast Days

Aphrodite’s Day (Starza Pagan Book of Days)

Aristarchus (Christian; Saint)

Buckwheat Day (Pagan)

Charles Addams Day (Church of the SubGenius; Saint)

Culhwich (Celtic Book of Days)

Dancing in Your Underwear Day (Pastafarian) (Writerism)

Dominic (Christian; Saint)

Dominic (Christian; Saint)

Euphronius (Christian; Saint)

Fairy Drying-Out Day (Shamanismvb

Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi (Artology)

Frédéric Janssoone (Christian; Blessed)

Hedda Sterne (Artology)

Is and Her Companions (Christian; Martyrs)

John Henry Twachtman (Artology)

John Mary Vianney (Christian; Saint)

Knut Hamsun (Writerism)

Laura Knight (Artology)

Loch-mo-Naire Magical Powers Day (Everyday Wicca)

Long Jane Silver (Muppetism)

Luanus (a.k.a. Lugud or Moles) of Ireland (Christian; Saint)

Manzoni (Positivist; Saint)

Mead Day (Pastafarian)

Molua (a.k.a. Lua; Christian; Saint)

Nicolas-Jacques Conté (Artology)

Paul McCarthy (Artology)

Percy Bysshe Shelley (Writerism)

Raynerius of Split (Christian; Saint)

Robert Hayden (Writerism)

Sithney (Christian; Saint) [mad dogs]

Vigil of Oswald (Christian; Saint)

Zuni Corn Dance begins (Native American) [thru 8.7]

Lucky & Unlucky Days

Sensho (先勝 Japan) [Good luck in the morning, bad luck in the afternoon.]

Premieres

Anaconda, by Nicki Minaj (Song; 2014)

The A-Tom-inable Snowman (Tom & Jerry Cartoon; 1966)

Babe (Film; 1995)

Barnyard (Animated Film; 2006)

Beauty is Only Skin Deep, by The Temptations (Song; 1966)

Billboard Hot 11 (Song Ranking System; 1958)

The Case of the Screaming Bishop (Phantasies; 1944)

Coyote Ugly (Film; 2000)

Dick (Film; 1999)

Galaxy Express 999 (Animated Film; 1979)

Holiday Inn (Film; 1942)

Hound Dog, by Elvis Presley (Song; 1956)

It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia (TV Series; 2005)

King Ottokar’s Sceptre, by Hergé (Graphic Novel; 1938) [Tintin #8]

Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye (Film; 1950)

Looney Tunes: Rabbits Run (WB Animated Film; 2015)

Magnificent Obsession (Film; 1954)

Pink Tuba-Dore (Pink Panther Cartoon; 1971)

Pornografia, by Witold Gombrowicz (Novel; 1960)

Rocket-Bye Baby (WB MM Cartoon; 1956)

Sex, Lies, and Videotape (Film; 1989)

Ship A’hoy Woody (Woody Woodpecker Cartoon; 1969)

Space Cowboys (Film; 2000)

Sunset Boulevard (Film; 1950)

Super Fly (Fim; 1972)

Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby (Film; 2006)

The Tao of Steve (Film; 2000)

Young Einstein (Film; 1989)

You Really Got Me, by The Kinks (Song; 1964)

Today’s Name Days

Elizabeth, Johannes, Rainer (Austria)

Ivan, Tertulijan (Croatia)

Dominik (Czech Republic)

Dominicus (Denmark)

Veera, Veronika, Veroonika (Estonia)

Veera (Finland)

Jean-Marie, Vianney (France)

Berta, Elisabeth, Else, Rainer, Ulrich (Germany)

Eskakoustodianos, Maxmilian, Violeta (Greece)

Dominika, Domonkos (Hungary)

Francesco, Nicodemo (Italy)

Edmars, Romāns, Romualds (Latvia)

Domantas, Gerimantas, Irta, Milgedė (Lithuania)

Arna, Arne, Arnhild (Norway)

Alfred, Arystarch, Dominik, Maria, Mironieg, Protazy (Poland)

Maria (Russia)

Dominik, Dominika (Slovakia)

Juan, Rubén (Spain)

Arne, Arnold (Sweden)

Bohdanna (Ukraine)

Barack, Barak, Domenic, Dominic, Dominica, Dominick, Dominique,Reuben, Ruben, Ruby (USA)

Today is Also…

Day of Year: Day 217 of 2024; 149 days remaining in the year

ISO: Day 7 of Week 31 of 2024

Celtic Tree Calendar: Coll (Hazel) [Day 2 of 28]

Chinese: Month 7 (Ren-Shen), Day 1 (Geng-Zi)

Chinese Year of the: Dragon 4722 (until January 29, 2025) [Wu-Chen]

Hebrew: 29 Tammuz 5784

Islamic: 28 Muharram 1446

J Cal: 7 Purple; Sevenday [7 of 30]

Julian: 22 July 2024

Moon: 0%: New Moon

Positivist: 20 Dante (8th Month) [Manzoni]

Runic Half Month: Thorn (Defense) [Day 12 of 15]

Season: Summer (Day 46 of 94)

Week: 1st Full Week of August

Zodiac: Leo (Day 14 of 31)

Calendar Changes

蘭月 [Lányuè] (Chinese Lunisolar Calendar) [Month 7 of 12] (Orchid Month) [Earthly Branch: Monkey Month] (Qīyuè; Seventh Month)

[bloghrexach]

🇺🇸 … as per usual, just follow the money!! What happened to ‘take care of yours before others’?

By: LaillaB, founder of ‘Reclaim the Narrative’, from LinkedIn …

“Israel is the largest recipient of US. aid in the entire world. It receives more aid than that given to all the countries of sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, put together.

Israel receives over $10 million dollars per day from the United States, and there is evidence that the total cost to American taxpayers is closer to $15 million a day.

Yet this information is almost never printed in American newspapers.

Coverage of the Middle East in general, and of Israel in particular, virtually never reports this enormous American connection with this region.

Empowered by American money, Israel is occupying land that does not belong to it, is breaking numerous international laws and conventions of which it is a signatory, and is promulgating policies of brutality that have been condemned by the United Nations, the European Union, the National Council of Churches, Amnesty International, the International Red Cross, and numerous other international bodies. This truth is also rarely reported.

Through the money and weaponry provided by the United States, Israel is imposing an ethnically discriminatory nation on land that was previously multicultural. There is ethnic and religious discrimination inherent in its national identity, and a doctrine of the supremacy of one group over all others permeates its political, financial, and military policies. This also is virtually never reported.

American support of the Israeli government is against our national interest on every level: It places us at war with populations whose desperate plight we are helping to create, and who, quite correctly, place the responsibility for their sufferings on us.

It makes us an accomplice to war crimes and an accessory to oppression.

In analysing the American media, we are increasingly discovering a cover-up of appalling proportions. Israel is being protected, the news about Palestinians in particular and Arabs in general is being distorted, and the American public is being manipulated.

We believe strongly that if Americans knew the truth about Israel and Palestine, about the massive amount of our tax money that is being given away to Israel, and about the human costs of Israel's American-financed militarism, they would demand an immediate re-thinking of our policies in this region.

We are driving the violence in this region.

We can stop it.

The mission of “If Americans Knew” is to inform and educate the American public on issues of major significance that are unreported, underreported, or misreported in the American media.

https://lnkd.in/epgrjuQN

“All our money is going to an occupation that’s slaughtering people.” — UCLA Student.

#ReclaimTheNarrative — 🍉🕊 — #FreePalestine … @hrexach

[nursing-student-guide]

Florence Nightingale, first practicing nurse epidemiologist. Developed the first organized program for training nurses, the Nightingale Training School for Nurses (St. Thomas' Hospital, London). Established the first health-maintenance-and-restoration-based nursing philosophy. Known as the "lady with the lamp" during the Crimean War (1853) where she volunteered, traveling the battlefield hospitals nightly to treat the wounded.

Clara Barton, founder of the American Red Cross (1881). She risked her life provided self-taught nursing aid to wounded soldiers on the battlefields during The Civil War (1860-1965), and became referred to as the "Angel of the Battlefield". One of the first women to work for the federal government, she made the Office of Missing Soldiers to aid in the reunion of more than 20,000 soldiers with their families. While providing aid during the Franco-Prussian War (1869), the Red Cross movement was first brought to her attention, inspiring her to bring the movement to America.

Dorothea Lynde Dix, an advocate of indigenous people and the mentally ill. She visited multiple mental institution, reporting her findings and advocated for better managed institutions, eventually establishing asylums of her own. During The Civil War (1860-1865), she aided the Union army by recruiting more than 3,000 nurses and was designated as the Superintendent of Army Nurses. She was known and respected for providing aid to the wounded soldiers from both Confederate and Union sides.

Mary Ann Ball, aka Mother Bickerdyke. She was a hospital administrator for the Union soldiers during The Civil War (1860-1865), regulating supplies and provision for the troops. Referred to as one of the best "generals" during the war for her efforts and organizations of military hospitals, following the war she remained an advocate for veterans - becoming an attorney for those who faced legal issues. 300 hospitals were built to aid the wounded over 19 different battlefields from her involvement.

Harriet Tubman, provided safe passage for slaves during the Underground Railroad movement. Known as the "Moses" of her people, her actions resulted in more than 300 slaves being lead to freedom. She provided nursing aide to the Union forces during The Civil War (1862-1865). Following the war, she played in active role in causes including the Womens Suffrage, and created the "Harriet Tubman Home for Indigent Aged Negroes" where orphans and the elderly could be taken in and care for.

Mary Mahoney, brought awareness to the cultural and racial diversity in nursing, emphasizing respect and the inclusion of all in the profession. The first African-American to receive an official education for the nursing profession (New England Hospital for Women and Children, Boston - 1874). She became the first African-American member of what is now referred to as the American Nurses Association, and helped start up the National Association for Colored Graduate Nurses in 1908.

Isabel Hampton Robb, a large influence in the advancement of the nursing social status in society. She influenced the system of nursing education by implementing a grading policy in the program to improve the quality of the students graduating from the program. She authored the comprehensive and foundational text, Nursing: Its Principles and Practice (1893), and helped to standardize the nursing education all around. She served as president of both the National League for Nursing Education and what is now referred to as the American Nurses Association.

Lillian Wald, opened the Henry Street Settlement (1893) with her fellow nurse graduate, Mary Maud Brewster. Addressed the health needs of poor immigrant families residing in tenements of New York City's Lower East Side. Coined the term "public health nurse", she fought for public health care, women's rights, and children's rights. Her and Mary Brewster started the Visiting Nursing Service of New York. During her work at the Henry Street Settlement, she established one of the earlier playgrounds and aided in paying salary to the first Public School Nurses in NYC. She had a hand in starting up the United States Children's Bureau, the National Child Labor Committee, and the National Women's Trade Union League.

Mary Adelaide Nuting, known for becoming the first nursing professor in 1906 (Columbia Teachers College), and assisted in getting nursing education in Universities across the states. She attended the first nursing training following Florence Nightingale's inflence (John Hopkins Hospital Training School - 1889). Throughout her advancement in the nursing profession working at the school, she assisted in advancing the program - brought in scholarships and on-the-field experience; her work influencing other Universities create and better their own nursing programs. Founder of the American Journal of Nursing (1900), she also became the first registered nurse in the state of Maryland. Several of her authored and coauthored books are still implemented today in nursing programs throughout the nation.

[lboogie1906]

Dr. Riley Andrew Ransom Sr. (March 9, 1886 - January 4, 1951) the founder of the first hospital for African Americans in Fort Worth, Texas, was born in Columbus, Kentucky, to parents Allen and Alice Ransom. He attended Lane College and transferred to Southern Illinois State Normal University where he earned his BA.

He attended Pharmaceutical College in Princeton, Indiana, and Louisville National Medical College, from which he graduated as valedictorian of his class. He did post-graduate work at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota.

After receiving his medical license in Oklahoma City, he started his medical practice in Brooksville, where he worked for five years. He moved to Gainesville, Texas, where he established the Booker T. Washington Sanitarium. He was one of only 16 African American doctors in Texas.

He married schoolteacher and graduate nurse Ethel Blanche Wilson (1915). They had one son.

He moved the hospital to Fort Worth and added a Nurses’ Training School. The hospital was the first 20-bed facility for African Americans. It was one of only three African American-owned hospitals in the US accredited by the American Medical Association. In 1928 the name was changed to the Fort Worth Negro Hospital, and in 1938 Ransom renamed it the Ethel Ransom Memorial Hospital, in memory of his deceased wife.

He was a member of the Fort Worth Branch of the NAACP, the YMCA, Chairman of the Committee on Health and Sanitation, Chairman of the Social Disease Committee of the Volunteer Health League, a First-Aid Instructor for the American Red Cross of Tarrant County, and member of the Lone Star Medical Association. He was a Mason.

His work in Fort Worth was continued by his son, Dr. Riley A. Ransom Jr. The Ransom Memorial Hospital continued to serve the Fort Worth African American community until it closed in 1949. #africanhistory365 #africanexcellence

[saucy-sassy-sparkly]

Pursuit of Happiness 3: Three's Company

Pairing: Chris Evans x Kat Littleman (OFC)

Summary: New England political daughter Kat Littleman is constantly showing up for her mother’s campaigns, playing the part of the perfect daughter in the perfect, American family.  When her paths cross with Chris Evans while he canvases DC to build out ASP, she’s forced to face some truths about herself, her family, and her future.  

Word Count: ~5.9k

Series Masterlist

3: Three’s Company

It had been four days since Chris stormed away from her backyard, and Kat hadn’t stopped feeling guilty. At the grocery store on Thursday afternoon, she thought she’d seen him down the cereal aisle and had taken a deep breath and started to walk towards him, mentally preparing her apology, before the man stood up and turned out to be very much not Chris. She’d scampered away before he noticed her.

She was pretty sure she’d pegged him incorrectly and with time to process, she realized she’d definitely jumped to conclusions about his appearances this week. Kat managed to get “review the company website” onto their Wednesday team meeting agenda and found that her face was not very visible; you had to click through several links to get to the founder's page and even then, it was the very last item on that page.

And her house backed up to public property. She couldn’t very well be angry with him for walking on a lakefront trail. Lots of people did that. Chris had been right, it was a public park and a public area; just because her backyard was on the trail didn’t mean she owned it, nor did it mean he’d intentionally come to her home.

None of her guilt had stopped her from feeling anxious about Chris and his sudden reappearance. She was so protective of her personal life; she’d grown up under her mother’s watchful, critical eye and then gotten dragged into every single one of said mother���s campaigns from the time she was in high school. It had started easy, just a little appearance now and then at a town event but suddenly Mallory’s sights kept getting bigger and bigger and she wanted her family with her. She threw them into interviews and photo ops and every opportunity to parade them around. One of Mallory’s favorite things to do was to deflect from a personal comment about her by offering up a personal tidbit about Kat instead.

So, the flutter in her stomach at the sight of Chris and the itch to feel his touch again made Kat more than a little apprehensive. She hadn’t been joking when she said she was suspicious of his motives. Important, wealthy guys like him could get whatever and whoever’s attention they wanted with a few phone calls- she’d watched most of the guys she went to high school with do it even then, but with Daddy’s name as their bait. Even if their run-ins this week had truly been coincidental, she couldn’t help feeling a little cynical at the idea of it all being entirely by chance.

Chris confused her and enticed her and made her head foggy for the whole week while she tried to navigate her feelings and hopefully push him entirely out of her mind. Alas, he was still on her mind Saturday morning while she got up, let Amelia out, and sat reading with her first cup of coffee from one of her HopeLives mugs– just like the ones she’d set out for everyone at the foundation. He popped into her mind as she pushed through the gate at the back of her yard and onto the path around the lake; she was picturing him stalking away from her. He was still on her mind when she planted herself on the park bench and sipped the warm coffee in her travel mug, before yanking her beanie tighter over her ears.

The November weather had turned from crisp to brisk in a matter of days. Every few minutes, a gust of seemingly Arctic wind would whip across the lake and chill Kat through her big red jacket, jeans, gloves, hat, and the ancient, crusty Uggs she refused to get rid of. They ruined almost every outfit at this point because they were so old and dirty, but she didn’t care. Every year she’d order a new set of fresh, cozy insoles and wear them all winter long to walk Amelia or do a quick run to the mailbox.

It was almost noon; she’d been sitting here for almost an hour while the sun occasionally poked out from behind the clouds. Kat killed the time making a mental list of items to pick up at the grocery store later, too cold to get out her phone and make a real one– that would require taking off her gloves. She was grateful the coffee was still warm and that Amelia was laying with her head in Kat’s lap on the park bench. It wasn’t quite freezing yet but it was cold enough with the ominous clouds lingering overhead and the air off the water.

You’d never know it was almost freezing based on Ollie.

He sat in the sandbox adjacent to the lake’s playground, digging with a tiny yellow shovel and carefully pouring his collection into a blue pail. His little brow furrowed in concentration as he moved in slow motion, reaching across his body with the shovel and dumping it with care. When he’d successfully added to the growing pile of sand in the bucket, he’d pause, look up at Kat with a proud grin, she’d return a thumbs up or a ‘great job!’ and then he’d do it all again.

If he was in charge, he’d sit out here all day, rain or shine or snow, and dig in this sandbox. He could pour sand into that bucket without interruption– it was essentially the only time he was still so Kat embraced the moment to sit down, even if it meant doing it outside on a November day in Massachusetts. She was convinced Amelia had some husky in her as she seemed to luxuriate in the cold rather than shiver as Kat was.

Kat forced herself off the bench, her bones creaking from sitting on the cold, hard surface for so long, and knelt on the edge of the sandbox. Amelia stared at her from her perch, entirely confused as to why the snuggling had ended, and then begrudgingly got down and sat dutifully next to Kat. Kat ran a gloved hand through the sand, making note of the way Ollie’s little fingers were bright red from the cold– he’d refused the mittens she brought with him and she’d decided that allowing him full dexterity was a sacrifice she’d make. “Hey bubs,” she leaned down to catch his attention, “five-minute warning, okay?”

When he nodded at her, she sat back on her haunches, continuing to watch his slow, careful activity. He’d been to the beach both of the last two summers– Mallory and Tim had a house on the Cape and had allowed Kat access to it whenever she wanted. She’d taken him once alone when he was hardly one, and then again last summer when her parents were also at the house, but he didn’t seem to remember. It wasn’t until about a month ago that they’d been on a walk around the lake with Amelia and he’d seen the sandbox as if it was the most incredible thing in the world.

His sweet little face lit up and he’d tottle towards it, crawling in without warning and dropping on his bum to run his hands through the course sand, grinning up at Kat. They’ve visited every weekend since then. Each time they came, they brought his yellow shove, his blue pail, and nothing else. He needed nothing else to get literally hours of enjoyment and Kat was not about to stop him.

Except she was about to stop him because the timer would go off any minute and she needed to start the fireplace at home and restore some feeling to her appendages. She didn’t know how she was going to explain to Ollie that the sandbox wasn’t a four-season activity in Massachusetts; at some point, she’d have to cut him off and she knew it would be devastating. Two-year-old tantrums are no joke. Not quite old enough to get it, but old enough to be pissed.

Miraculously, Ollie left the sandbox gracefully, holding his small shovel and pail in one hand and Kat’s hand in the other as they started towards the path back home. Kat kept up a running conversation with her son, babbling to him and engaging in his toddler talk– some of which was coherent, but much of which wasn’t– as Amelia tracked the path for other dogs to greet, wild animals to hunt, or new human friends to play with.

“Should we go to the grocery store before or after lunch,” Kat asked him, looking down at her favorite human and listening to him ramble off a string of words, several of which she could comprehend but many were still garbled. “Okay then, let’s go home and play, and then we can have lunch, take a nap, and go to the grocery store, sound good?”

Ollie was babbling again when Kat looked up, tugging on Amelia’s leash to get her attention and reign her back in. She was waggling frantically; Kat followed her line of vision and her eyes first hit a happy, fluffy, tan, and white pup looking equally frantic to get to Amelia. Kat’s heart thudded harder in her chest when her eyes trailed up the red leash the dog was on, up the arm of the unassuming owner, and into the eyes of Chris.

He was in tan boots, jeans, and a huge, black winter coat, and on his head was a Red Sox cap. He didn’t notice her at first, he was staring straight ahead watching his dog and trying to keep control of him just as Kat was with Amelia. When he looked around to figure out what had captured Dodger’s attention, he saw Amelia’s joyful face first. Quickly, his memory kicked in of that day almost a week ago when he’d been standing at a white picket fence, petting a sweet dog… that sweet dog… Kat Littleman’s sweet dog. His eyes moved slowly from the dog, up the leash, the arm, the shoulder, and up to Kat’s face. He was about to give Kat a curt nod when he noticed the third figure with them.

The small boy in a navy blue dinosaur winter coat and an aviator hat lined with sherpa fleece was clutching Kat’s hand and staring up at her adoringly. Kat had come to a stop on the path, looking like a deer in headlights while she stared at Chris. Amelia was entirely out of her control, stretching to the end of her leash and straining her wiggling body towards Dodger.

While Kat was still in a trance staring at Chris, her thoughts went immediately to the day at the fence and how bad she’d ended up feeling about it. In all honesty, if she’d had his number, she probably would’ve called him to apologize. Or at least sent a text. People walked by the house all the time. It was not uncommon to run into a client from the foundation, a friend from yoga, or even someone she’d been on a date with before.

She’d been a little taken aback at his comment about not being memorable– she’d thought the evening was pretty memorable. Kat had the image of herself coming undone on his hand and his cock burned into her memory. She’d also been wearing out the batteries of her vibrator trying to achieve the same intense climax she’d gotten with Chris that night.

Standing in the middle of the path, gazing right back at Kat, Chris was reminding himself of all the ways she had made it clear she wasn’t interested. He’d stalked back around the lake and to his car after leaving her yard last week and brooded about her attitude, and her bitchy demeanor, and tried to place blame. He also realized that, from her perspective, it was awfully strange that he’d shown up twice in one day seemingly by accident.

Truth be told, if he wanted to, he could’ve gotten access to her workplace or address. A few calls from his assistant to the right people, name drop in the right place, and people fell at his feet. He tried not to flex that too often, but occasionally it was helpful. So yeah, if he’d wanted to find her, he could’ve tried harder and dug deeper and actually planned to run into her. But he hadn’t done that! He’d been trying to work! He’d been trying to go for a goddamn walk with his dog! He’d just happened to stumble upon her workplace and then her home…

But no, she’d made it clear she wasn’t interested in him, so he was not about to give her the satisfaction of looking flustered. It didn’t matter that his heart was in his throat. It didn’t matter that he could still hear the pretty noises she’d made as he’d made her come. It. Didn’t. Matter.

And… there was a child with her.

Could she have a child? Was she married or had a boyfriend and that was why she was so desperate to leave what happened in DC behind?

“Chris, hi,” Kat’s breathy, nervous voice pulled at his heartstrings and made him want to move closer to her. He resisted.

“Am I allowed to walk here?” Her face looked startled at his brash response and just as quickly her face flushed and she averted her eyes. He immediately felt guilty; he was letting his emotions get the best of him. Fuck, Chris, why would you say that? “Sorry,” he mumbled.

“I probably deserved that,” she played with the dog’s leash in her hand and took a step toward Chris and Dodger. She raised her eyebrows at Chris, looking between the dogs and then back at him and he nodded, letting Dodger’s leash loosen so they could greet each other. “This is Amelia,” Kat explained, watching the dogs come together.

“Dodger.”

A silence fell between the gathered group while everyone watched Dodger and Amelia sniff at each other, their tails beating hard enough they might’ve been able to propel a small airplane. Chris’s eyes kept drifting over to the little boy who was grinning at the dogs and reaching for them. Kat kept his hand tucked into hers.

“He’s really friendly and good with kids. I have nieces and nephews.” Chris offered, looking at the boy and not Kat.

Kat looked between Chris and Ollie and then tugged on his hand to get his attention. His little face looked up at hers and she couldn’t help but grin. Chris noticed the dimples in her cheeks and his heart swelled. “You can say hi to Dodger, Ol,” she nodded toward the dogs and watched him take a step away from her and drop her hand, giggling as he reached for the dogs with his pudgy little fingers.

“Who’s this?” Chris finally asked, taking in the gentle way both dogs greeted the boy. He watched Kat’s face as she took a calming breath and then looked him dead in the eye.

“This is my son, Oliver. He’s almost two.” Her response hung in the air between them. Chris didn’t have a right to be upset if a woman he’d slept with once didn’t disclose her motherhood, but somehow he wished he’d known. He wished they’d had enough of a rapport to share that kind of information. He wanted it with her; why he did was still a mystery to him. He still couldn’t understand what drew him so strongly to Kathrine Littleman, but he found himself standing here in this park, watching her son play with his dog, and feeling a little slighted that he didn’t know. He tried to shake it off.

Chris settled on a response that every parent loved, “he’s a cutie.”

Kat’s face split into a true grin when she looked at her son lovingly, “thank you,” she paused and then bit her bottom lip. Chris could see the wheels turning as she glanced at him, then back to the dogs, then back up at him again. “Listen, Chris, I’m sorry.”

“You don’t have to tell your one night stand you have a kid,” Chris laughed even though he felt very differently, “no problem.”

“No,” Kat looked at him with an expression he couldn't place, “I mean I’m sorry about the way I spoke to you last week. It was uncalled for.”

“Oh, that,” Chris rocked on his heels, “don’t worry about it.”

“I was really rude. I’m sorry I reacted like that. It just seemed so strange and impossible to be coincidental and I realize now that I was too harsh.”

He was about to say something like ‘don’t worry about it’ but the next few moments happened in slow motion. Ollie had tottered in between the two dogs with his arms outstretched. He was rubbing both of them and giggling while the dogs leaned into him. Both Dodger and Amelia were in constant motion, twisting and turning to get access to each other and to lick Ollie’s face— still sticky with leftover syrup from breakfast.

Innocently enough, a squirrel scampered into the path a few feet ahead for a fallen nut; it froze when both dogs immediately noticed it. Dodger and Amelia moved as one towards the squirrel, their playful demeanor was gone and now on the prowl. Ollie, caught up between them and their leashes, was knocked down face-first on the asphalt.

His wail was almost instantaneous, but for a moment, both Chris and Kat had been yanked several steps forward by the dogs, who were pulling full force toward the escaping squirrel. Ollie’s sobs pulled Kat’s attention and she yelled, “Amelia!” Yanking on the leash and looking over her shoulder at Ollie, who was struggling to sit up with his big coat.

“I’ve got them,” Chris reached over and took the leash, pulling both dogs back the best he could. He was strong, but their hunter modes had been activated and they were fiercely refusing to budge.

Kat fell to her knees in front of Ollie. She was usually a patient mom, allowing him a moment before she scooped him up. But this was new. His screams and cries were different than he’d ever had before and she lifted him to her shoulder whispering, “I got you, baby. Mommy’s got you,” while she got to her feet.

She turned to Chris, reaching out for Amelia’s lead, but he shook her off, “I’ll walk back with you. Your hands are full.” Ollie’s sobs in her ears made her head ring and she just nodded, starting back around the lake at a brisk pace. For a few paces, Chris was still wrangling the dogs, but quickly they were beside her. Ollie clung to her shoulders; each time he pressed his little face into her, he wailed louder. She’d never heard him like this and she felt her anxiety rising and a prickle of sweat along the back of her neck as she picked up her speed.

The backyard was in sight and she was all but running to get to it, letting Chris take a step ahead and pull the back gate open and not stopping when she got to the back door. She crashed into it, forgetting, in her rising panic, that she’d locked it and Ollie let out another screech when he bounced off her shoulder. She fumbled in her coat, trying to flap her gloves off for better access, when Chris was again beside her asking, “Which pocket?”

“Back left.”

Any other moment she would’ve thought about the feeling of his hands moving her coat to the side and sliding into her jeans pocket, all but cupping her ass as his fingers had to reach all the way into the pocket to get the small bunch of keys, but right now, she pushed the tingle away and stepped aside to let him unlock the door.

She set Ollie on the kitchen counter and immediately noticed the blood trailing down from a cut on his forehead. Kat got him out of his jacket and then stripped off her own, plus her gloves and hat, uncharacteristically leaving them in a pile on the floor. As Kat examined the cut, Chris lightly touched her lower back, reminding her he was still in the room, and softly said, “Tell me where your first aid stuff is, and I’ll get it.”

Kat just looked at him a moment, somehow in a daze, and then she nodded, giving him directions to the laundry room with the first aid kit. Both dogs trailed him– Dodger to explore the new smells and Amelia out of curiosity at what this man was doing in her house. All three returned; Amelia got comfortable in her bed by the fireplace, Dodger making himself just as comfortable practically on top of her in the same bed, and Chris passed behind Kat, running his hand lightly along her back, and set the kit next to Ollie, opening it and starting to pull out antiseptic wipes, ointment, and bandages.

With the help of lots of hugs and a gentle chant of, “You’re safe now, I got you, baby,” his sobs had subsided and he was now only sniffling. His tears and the blood had mingled down his cheek and Kat used a wet paper towel to wipe up some of it, before getting to work bandaging up the cut. It was bigger than she’d realized, but not very deep, so she let Chris hand her supplies and then handed used items to him to discard. When Ollie would yelp or sniffle, Kat would stop to soothe him and Chris would put a hand on Kat’s shoulder or back, doing what he thought would feel comfortable at the moment.

Twenty minutes later and a cup of chocolate milk later, Kat had soothed Ollie entirely and had planted him on the comfy sofa with an episode of Bluey playing. Dodger had immediately left his spot with Amelia and joined Ollie on the sofa; Amelia, not to be outdone, settled in on his other side. Ollie grinned at both of them, his little bandaged forehead wrinkling when his face lit up. Kat turned to start cleaning up the mess she’d created in the kitchen. To her surprise, the jackets and accessories were no longer on the floor, nor were their boots, and the first aid kit was no longer on the counter. Chris came back into view as she finished processing and he smiled at her, putting his hands on his hips.

The silence stretched between them, only occasionally broken by the soft giggles that Bluey elicited from Ollie. They watched each other tentatively, neither knowing exactly how to move forward. It was certainly new territory for both of them. How often do you end up standing in a cozy kitchen and listening to a children’s cartoon with the person you had a one-night-stand with weeks before?

It felt like middle school; they kept making eye contact and then neither knew what to do or say, so they’d blush furiously and avert their eyes only to do it again seconds later. After a solid minute, Kat finally started to move across the kitchen toward the fridge. Chris was still hovering by one of the barstools with his hands shoved in his pockets. She started to pull things out of the fridge and freezer, piling them on the kitchen counter, and then moved to the pantry, gathering more items before pulling out a pot, a huge cast-iron pan, a stack of plates, and two glasses.

She filled one with water from the filter on the fridge and slid it across the island to where Chris was standing and watching her. She gave him a tentative smile and then turned back around to the gathered items and asked, “Grilled cheese?”

Chris was silent while he took a sip of water, suddenly realizing how dry his throat had become just watching her in her home… with her son… He hadn’t thought twice about making sure the three of them got home okay and that Ollie wasn’t seriously injured. It had just felt normal, natural to walk next to her with the dogs, to listen to her talk to her son, and to offer her a comforting touch. And then suddenly he’d had his hand cupping her ass while he tried not to grope for her house key. They’d moved together with surprising ease when he grabbed the first aid supplies and played nursemaid while she bandaged and soothed Ollie. Then cleaning up had been easy– he could see how nervous she’d gotten when Ollie was hurt, and cleaning up the kitchen was the least he could do.

Now she was moving around her kitchen again, heating frozen soup from a Tupperware container and melting butter in the cast iron. Her hips swayed ever so slightly with each movement and he wanted to put his hands on them, to feel the curve of her ass again.

“Chris?”

Fuuuuuck she was staring at him. No longer was she moving casually around the kitchen but she had one hip leaning against the counter, her hand resting lightly on the other, and she was staring at him with an eyebrow quirked.

“Uhh–”

“Would you like a grilled cheese sandwich? I’m going to make lunch for Ollie and me. I have some soup too if you’d like it.”

“Yeah,” he said too quickly and cleared his throat, “yeah, that would be great, thank you. Can I help?”

She shook her head, turning back to the stove, “How long have you had Dodger?”

Chris jumped into the story of meeting Dodger and Kat was glad he couldn’t see her face blushing, and even if he had, she would’ve blamed it on her face hovering over the hot pans. The silence was killing her. She was normally so comfortable in silence– she was happy in her own company or just with Ollie and Amelia. The silence was golden– especially as a toddler mom. But the silence that stretched between the two of them was… charged.

It was far from awkward.

It was the kind of silence that falls between two people who’ve fucked. And are thinking about what it would be like to do it again.

Kat could feel his eyes on her every time she turned around. She tested her theory, swinging her hips ever so slightly to the Bluey theme song from the next room and listening to the counter stool scratch on the floor as he rearranged his position. Then she “dropped” the dish towel and bent over to pick it up, followed by a grunt, covered quickly by a cough and a gulp of water.

Eventually, she was out of items to prep at the stove and had to start putting dishes in the sink, which put her face-to-face with him. She caught his eye again while he watched her push up the sleeves of her sweater and his Adam’s apple bobbed. How her exposed forearm was attractive was a mystery to Kat, but Chris was squirming from his seat. He’d finished telling her about meeting Dodger and an electric silence had fallen between them again.

“What about Amelia?”

Kat laughed, running a sponge over the spatula, “Ames found me. When I was still living in Hartford I was out for a run one morning. There was an animal adoption fair going on in the park and a pen of rescued puppies had broken. The puppies had escaped and the volunteers were frantic. I passed them while I was running and just tried to stay out of the way. Next thing I know there was this little fluffy delight keeping pace with me. She stayed with me for almost half a mile before I finally stopped laughing at her and thought about taking her back.”

“And the name?”

“Oh well, when I took her back to the adoption folks we all kept making jokes about her running away and, you know, taking flight. I have a slightly too intense fascination with Amelia Earhart… it just seemed to fit.”

Chris nodded, watching fondly as Kat spoke about Amelia. She’d pulled her attention away from Chris and was looking towards the sofa with a soft smile. Without warning she walked away from the kitchen and into the living room. He watched her lean over the back of the sofa and kiss Ollie’s head before she was ruffling Amelia’s fur. The dog craned her neck back and leaned into Kat. Chris took it all in, the tender moment with Kat’s children, the strip of skin exposed when she leaned over, her ass in the air, and then Dodger’s jealousy taking over when he sprawled across Ollie to join the snuggles. Both Ollie and Kat giggled, and Chris couldn’t stop his own grin.

Kat laughed again when she came back to the island, washing her hands and turning back to the stove. “Sorry, I can’t resist them sometimes, they’re just so cute.”

“I get it, Dodge is the love of my life.”

“Wow, that’s a pretty big sentiment,” Kat glanced over her shoulder with a smirk as she dropped bread into the heated pan with a soft sizzle.

Chris shrugged, “I’ve never had a relationship as pure as that one.” “Is he your first dog?”

“No way, I’ve had others, I’ve had girlfriends who’ve had dogs that I loved dearly, but no one has ever been quite like Dodger. He’s just… well, I had his name tattooed on me, and I’ve never had a woman I’ve come close to doing that with.”

Kat laughed, “Okay, so we’re speaking truths today I guess.”

“Sorry,” Chris laughed, “too much?”

“I’m teasing you. I get it. People don’t get it when I say similar things about Ollie or Amelia. But there are just some souls that you feel a deeper connection to. I don’t mean I want to marry my son or my dog. I just mean that they’re…” she trailed off, looking sheepish and putting her focus back on the pan in front of her.

“I know what you mean,” he said softly, moving around the island as she put two grilled cheeses on the cutting board beside her. He started to slice the first one into small pieces and Kat did a double take.

“How did you know to do that for Ollie?”

“This isn’t for Ollie, I’m just a Hollywood diva and chewing takes too much effort,” Chris held her eyes and kept a straight face for several seconds, causing Kat to stare at him and start to stutter. He broke into a grin and shook his head, returning to cut, “My sister has kids.”

“The diva thing seemed legit,” Kat smirked at him, earning her hip bump from Chris. Kat’s heart sped up at the simple, flirty move and she tried to focus on not burning the next sandwiches in the pan.

After cutting the sandwich, he plated it on a little wooden owl plate that Kat had waiting on the counter and carried it to the kitchen table where Ollie’s high chair stood. He went back and grabbed the rest of the supplies, setting the table for lunch for the three of them. Kat gathered Ollie and buckled him in while Dodger and Amelia circled like sharks under him, waiting for dropped cheese, before Kat kicked them out and back into the bed by the fireplace. Ollie’s babbling, singing, and giggling kept the adults entertained and their focus off of each other for the whole meal. Kat watched as Chris interacted with Ollie, leaning in intently and nodding along while Ollie rambled. Chris would ramble right back and they’d both roar with laughter while they made goofy faces at each other.

She finished ahead of them and sat back in her seat, watching the two of them, and thinking about the moment she’d never seen Ollie share with any other man. Her father, when they were around, was a loving grandfather but wasn’t nearly as animated– unless he was holding Ollie and explaining the football lineups. Ben and Kevin Facetimed with Ollie frequently, but it was hard for a 20-month-old to sustain his attention. He’d truly never had a man give him this kind of undivided attention. It was both endearing and terrifying to see how quickly they settled into a rapport after being perfect strangers two hours ago.

“Finished, Momma,” Ollie turned to Kat covered in tomato soup and waving his hands in sign language. She moved to get up, but Chris held a hand out to her, popping the last of his crust in his mouth.

“I got ya, little dude,” he scooped Ollie out of the high chair and onto the floor. Quick as a flash, he had his plate and Ollie’s in the dishwasher before leaning down on his knees to get on the toddler’s level. “Can you show me your favorite toy?”

Ollie grinned and nodded, grabbing Chris’s hand in his and tugging him towards the playroom. He dropped to the ground commanding, “Sit,” to Chris before starting to pull out his favorite train set. Kat sat frozen at the table, watching it all unfold in awe. Chris immediately set to work building a track and letting Ollie bark directions at him while he followed the best he could.

Kat used the moment of peace to finish cleaning up, glancing back at the two every so often to find them still amid construction with the occasional “choo chooooo” noise from one of them as a train traveled the tracks.

When she’d run out of things to clean and put away, she wandered into the adjoining living room and continued to watch them for a few minutes before she finally had to intervene. “Ol, we’ve got to go up for a nap, buddy. Can you say goodbye to Chris?”

“I should get out of your hair anyway,” Chris got to his feet as Kat scooped Ollie into his arms; he dropped his head onto her shoulder and rubbed his eyes, reminding Kat that she didn’t have too long to chat.

“Thank you,” she looked at Chris, allowing her eyes to bounce between his to capture him in a serious moment. “Seriously, for getting us back here in my panic and then for entertaining him. I appreciate it a lot.”

Chris shrugged, waving her off, “Anytime, I’m happy to hang with him,” he reached out to ruffle Ollie’s hair.

Their eyes met again and lingered, Kat unintentionally biting her lip and Chris’s eyeline following the movement. Before she could convince herself otherwise, she stepped forward and slid an arm around Chris’s waist, Ollie’s head still resting on her shoulder. She perched up on her toes and went to kiss his cheek.

Chris turned at the last moment, connecting their lips and taking the chance to hold her waist. Kat immediately reciprocated his kiss, leaning into him briefly before her brain caught up with her body; as quick as it started, it stopped and she jumped away from him.

“Shit,” he muttered, “I’m sorry– I just–”

“It’s fine. I should… I’m going to just… I need to put him down.” Chris nodded, “Dodger and I will head home.”

Kat stared at him, her mind racing, her heart thumping loudly in her chest, and forced herself to walk away and up the stairs.

[bobmccullochny]

History

December 25th - Christmas Day, commemorating the birth of Jesus of Nazareth. Although the exact date of his birth is not known, it has been celebrated on December 25th by the Western (Roman Catholic) Church since 336 A.D.

December 25, 1066 - William the Conqueror was crowned King of England after he had invaded England from France, defeated and killed King Harold at the Battle of Hastings, then marched on London.

December 25, 1776 - During the American Revolution, George Washington took 2,400 of his men across the Delaware River. Washington then conducted a surprise raid on 1,500 British-Hessians (German mercenaries) at Trenton, New Jersey. The Hessians surrendered after an hour with nearly 1,000 taken prisoner by Washington who suffered only six wounded (including future president Lt. James Monroe). The victory provided a much needed boost to American morale.

December 25, 1868 - President Andrew Johnson granted general amnesty to all those involved in the Civil War.

December 25, 1926 - Hirohito became Emperor of Japan.

December 25, 1989 - In Romania, a television broadcast of a Christmas symphony was interrupted with the announcement that Nicolae Ceausescu and his wife had been executed following a popular uprising. A pro-democracy coalition then took control. Ceausescu, a hard-line Communist, had been ousted from power after ordering his black-shirted state police to suppress a disturbance in the town of Timisorara, resulting in the deaths of an estimated 4,500 persons.

Birthday - Isaac Newton (1642-1727) was born in Woolsthorpe, Lincolnshire, England. He was a mathematician, scientist and author, best known for his work Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica on the theory of gravitation. He died in London and was the first scientist to be honored with burial in Westminster Abbey.

Birthday - American nurse and philanthropist Clara Barton (1821-1912) was born in Oxford, Massachusetts. She served as a nurse during the Civil War and in 1881 founded the American Red Cross.

Birthday - The founder of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, Mohammed Ali Jinnah (1876-1948) was born in Karachi.

Birthday - Film actor Humphrey Bogart (1899-1957) was born in New York City. Best known for The African Queen, The Maltese Falcon, Casablanca and To Have and Have Not.

[holedyke]

thinking about her (clara barton) ("angel of the battlefield" and founder of the american red cross) (self taught nurse who tended to those wounded in the american civil war) (both sides)

[papermoonloveslucy]

RED CROSS DAY

May 8th

May 8th is World Red Cross Day. The first Red Cross Day was celebrated on May 8, 1948. This date is the anniversary of the birth of Henry Dunant, who was born on 8 May 1828. He was the founder of International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the recipient of the first Nobel Peace Prize. The Red Cross is a humanitarian organization founded in 1863 to protect human life and health, to ensure respect for all human beings, and to prevent and alleviate human suffering.

On March 11, 1949, Lucy’s radio sitcom MY FAVORITE HUSBAND presented  “Charity Revue” (aka “Red Cross Benefit Revue”) in which Mr. Atterbury (Gale Gordon) asks George (Richard Denning) to work up a song and dance routine for the local Red Cross Charity Review. At the same time Liz’s (Lucy) women’s club recruits her to perform. The script was the basis for the “I Love Lucy” episode “The Benefit” (1952). 

American Red Cross posters were a favorite of the Desilu set decorators on I LOVE LUCY. 

They can be glimpsed in the subway during “Lucy and the Loving Cup” (1957), 

on the walls of the rented hall in “Ricky Has Labor Pains” (1953), 

in the butcher shop in “The Freezer” (1952),

and in the Westport train station in “Lucy Misses the Mertzes” (1957).  

On THE LUCY-DESI COMEDY HOUR “Lucy Goes To Mexico” (1958), Lucy, Ethel and Fred are stopped at the border. Trying to get released in time for Ricky’s show on an aircraft carrier, Ethel suggest contacting the Red Cross and Lucy suggests calling her mother!  

“I collect for the Red Cross. I buy savings bonds. I was with the WAVES.  How much does that man in the White House want from me?” ~ Lucy Carmichael in “Lucy Becomes an Astronaut” (1962)

On THE LUCY SHOW, Lucy Carmichael and Carol Tilford (Carol Burnett) were in a show-within-the-show in which they played World War I Red Cross nurses in France. The episode aired on December 11 1967.  

In 1979, Lucille Ball did a fundraising campaign for the American Red Cross: “Keep Red Cross Ready”. 

The second episode of LIFE WITH LUCY (1986) “Lucy Makes a Hit with John Ritter” found Lucy and Ritter in a stage play where she played a Red Cross nurse in World War One France. 

[abhishektorgalblogs]

Open Ai case study (will Ai replace humans)

*Form last few months people are talking about chat gpt but no one talking about "OpenAi" the company which made chat gpt*

After Open ai launch chat gpt, chat gpt crossed the mark of 1 million users in 5 days and 100 million at 2 month its very hard to cross thise numbers for an any other  company but Open Ai is not a like any other company it is one of game changer companies

How? You will get soon

One of the big company in the tech industry Microsoft itself invested $1billion in 2019 and On January 23, 2023, Microsoft announced a new multi-year, multi-billion doller investment in open Ai, reported to be $10 billion  . The investment is believed to be a part of Microsoft's efforts to integrate OpenAI's ChatGPT into the Bing search engine.

After thise announcement  launch of Chat gpt

even threaten the shark of the industry Google, Google is ruling this industry since 2 and half decades

But after the announcement of Microsoft

the monopoly of Google has been threaten by the direct competitor of the company

The CEO of Google sunder pichai even announced "code red" Whenever there is a major issue at Google, Google announcess"Code Red." In the company When you hear that at Google, it means "all hands on deck," thise is time to work hard

But thise is still the tip of the ice burg

Open Ai is making more project like chat gpt or better than that

*Point which I am going to cover in this post*

1.what is open ai?

2.active projects of open ai.

3.how open ai making revenue?

1.What is open ai ?

OpenAI is an American based AI research laboratory .OpenAI conducts AI research with the declared intention of promoting and developing a friendly AI. OpenAI systems run on an Azure-based supercomputing which provided by Microsoft.OpenAI was founded in 2015 by a group of high-profile figures in the tech industry, including Elon Musk,Sam Altman, Greg Brockman, Ilya Sutskever, John Schulman, and Wojciech Zaremba. Ya you heard right Elon Musk the man who says against Ai in his interviews and already invested $100million at open Ai in its initial days 

It's like saying smoking is injurious to health while smoking weed

However, Musk resigned from the board in 2018 but remained a donor

Musk in another tweet clarified that he has no control or ownership over OpenAI .

It's not because the "ai is dangerous" thing it becouse conflict between co founder and other reasons

The current CEO of Open ai is sam altman and current CTO of the company is Mira murati ya a one more Indian origin person who is running big tech company

The organization was founded with the goal of developing artificial intelligence technology that is safe and beneficial for humanity, and the founders committed $1 billion in funding to support the organization's research.

First of all you should understand that Open ai is not a company like others

It's doesn't start like others

No one made this company in their basement or something the story of open in not inspiring like others but it's valuable it's an example of

what's happens when the top tech giant's and top tech scientist create something together

2. Active projects of open ai

GPT-4: OpenAI's most recent language model, which is capable of generating human-like language and has been used for a wide range of applications, including chatbots, writing assistance, and even creative writing.

​DALL-E: a neural network capable of generating original images from textual descriptions, which has been used to create surreal and whimsical images.

CLIP: a neural network that can understand images and text together, and has been used for tasks such as image recognition, text classification, and zero-shot learning.

Robotics: OpenAI is also working on developing advanced robotics systems that can perform complex tasks in the physical world, such as manipulating objects and navigating environments.

Multi-agent AI: OpenAI is also exploring the field of multi-agent AI, which involves developing intelligent agents that can work together to achieve common goals. This has applications in fields such as game theory, economics, and social science

Developers can use the API of openAi to create apps for customer service, chatbots, and productivity, as well as tools for content creation, document searching, and more, with many providing great utility for businesses

We can Develop and deploy intelligent chatbots that can interact with customers, answer questions, and provide personalized recommendations based on user preferences.

3.how open ai making revenue ?

OpenAI is a research organization that develops artificial intelligence in a variety of fields, such as natural language processing, robotics, and deep learning. The organization is primarily funded by a combination of private investors, including Microsoft and Amazon Web Services, and research partnerships with various organizations.

OpenAI generates revenue through several means,

including: AI products and services: OpenAI offers a range of AI products and services to businesses and organizations, including language models, machine learning tools, and robotic systems.

Research partnerships: OpenAI collaborates with businesses, governments, and academic institutions on research projects and consultancies.

Licensing agreements: OpenAI licenses its technologies and patents to third-party companies and organizations, allowing them to use OpenAI's technology in their own products and services.

Investments: OpenAI has received significant investments from various companies and organizations, which have provided the organization with funds to support its research and development efforts

When the open ai started by Elon Musk and other founder in 2015 the open ai started as non profit organization

but right now open ai is not properly non profit organization

It has it's for-profit subsidiary corporation OpenAI Limited Partnership (OpenAI LP)

and it's non profit organization called OpenAI Incorporated (OpenAI Inc.)

.

If it's continuous like thise open ai will play good role in technology

but the main question is

Will Ai replace humans?

It is unlikely that AI will completely replace humans in the foreseeable future. While AI has made significant advances in recent years, there are still many areas where humans excel and where machines struggle to match human performance.

AI is particularly good at performing repetitive tasks and processing large amounts of data quickly, but it lacks the creativity, empathy, and emotional intelligence that humans possess. Additionally, AI is only as good as the data it is trained on, and biases in the data can lead to biased AI systems.

Furthermore, many jobs require human-to-human interaction, which AI cannot replicate. For example, jobs in healthcare, education, and social work require empathy, understanding, and interpersonal skills, which machines are not capable of.

Overall, it is more likely that AI will augment human abilities rather than replace them entirely. As AI technology continues to develop, we may see more and more tasks being automated, but there will always be a need for human oversight and decision-making.

But there is a chance that Ai will definitely replace you

If you did not upgrade your self

If you still in bottom of your company ai will definitely replace you and I am not just talking about company I am talking about overall in general aspects it might be artist,coder,writer, editor,content creator, labour, farmer's ect.

If you are not upgrade your self you will gona replaced by Ai and machine,s

So upgrade your self using ai and make your place in the upcoming world of Ai and machine

"Ai will never replace humans but the humans who use ai they replace humans who don't use Ai"

There is evil side of Ai also but if we can create Ai than we can also create things to deal with ai

It could be anything it could be regulation's or any terms and conditions

but the point is we can use Ai to do are thing

easy

[ranakaushal]

YRC KIIT University Celebrate Women’s Equality Day

The Youth Red Cross of KIIT DU celebrated Women’s Equality Day on August 26th, 2024. This significant day poignantly reminds us of the relentless struggle of American women for equal status in women’s suffrage. It also underscores the fundamental values of dignity, fairness, freedom, and equality of women and their pivotal role in shaping an equitable, sustainable future for women and girls.

On this auspicious occasion, the YRC volunteers of KIIT DU, a united force, gathered with posters and candles at Campus-6, near the Mahatma Gandhi Statue. They formed a human chain, a symbol of our collective strength and determination to stand in solidarity for the cause of equality and justice for women and girls. Their voices, united in purpose, echoed with slogans such as “Equality for Women,” “We Want Justice,” and “Create a Safe World for Women,” inspiring and raising awareness among the student and university community. This gathering symbolizes solidarity with victims of various forms of violence against women and girls. This event highlighted the indomitable power of women in shaping a sustainable world.

The event was a resounding success, drawing significant public attention and making a profound impact. The collective efforts of YRC participants and the support of the audience, who played a crucial role in making this event a success, made this event a moment of pride and accomplishment for all involved. The Founder of KIIT and KISS, Dr. Achyuta Samanta firmly believes women’s education ensures equality and helps to build an inclusive and progressive society. Dr. Chitralekha Jena; Dr. Junali Jasmine Jena; Dr. Ramesh Chandra Sethi, and the YRC Counsellors of KIIT DU, were present and guided the YRC volunteers in organizing this event.

[bllsbailey]

Here's the Key Line That Wrecks Newsweek's Fantastical Piece About Harris Winning Texas

If Democrats have a political unicorn regarding the Electoral College, it’s Texas. How often have we heard that Texas is turning blue, and Republicans win every time on Election Day? Wendy Davis, who led the abortion filibuster that elevated her profile in 2013, was supposed to win the 2014 gubernatorial race, remember? Democrats thought there were shy Democrats that dotted the suburbs of the state, hiding like the Viet Cong until that cycle. That was brutally wrong, as Davis barely broke 40 percent of the vote. With Kamala Harris, we’re back to these same games. 

Take this Newsweek piece with the headline, “Can Kamala Harris Turn Texas Blue?” It’s a piece that led Tom Bevan, co-founder of RealClearPolitics, to tweet “holy s**t” after reading the piece and zeroing in on the buried passages that wreck this piece of science fiction [emphasis mine]: 

Holy shit. Newsweek took this quote ("I do not think that Texas will be in play. At all") and turned it into this:https://t.co/WIugbVHE93 pic.twitter.com/JAsghYyGXU— Tom Bevan (@TomBevanRCP) August 14, 2024

Matthew Eshbaugh-Soha, a professor of American politics at the University of North Texas, suggested that even Harris' momentum and a close high-profile state level race doesn't necessarily mean the vice president will be competitive in Texas.  "I do not think that Texas will be in play. At all," Eshbaugh-Soha told Newsweek.  "This does not mean that Harris will avoid Texas. She will visit, to raise money and generate some exposure for herself and her campaign," he added. "There is nothing in the mix that indicates future performance will be any different from past performance; I don't see anything that may shake up the presidential vote in Texas."  Eshbaugh-Soha said that one issue which could harm Harris is that voters in Texas may still associate her with the record breaking levels of illegal migrant crossings seen at the border during the Biden administration.  […]  Kimi Lynn King, a University of North Texas political science professor, said that while Harris in enjoying a "bump" in her White House bid, it is unclear how that will help shift the narrative in Texas, a state where "pundits have been predicting since 2006 that there was going to be a purple wave."  "In 2022, up and down the statewide ballot, solid red candidates like Governor [Greg] Abbott and indicted and impeached, but not convicted, Attorney General Ken Paxton enjoyed double-digit victories over Democrats," King told Newsweek.  Mark Jones, professor of political science and fellow in political science at Rice University's Baker Institute for Public Policy in Texas, added: "At the present time, while Harris is likely to make the race more competitive than it would have been had Biden been the Democratic nominee, I don't see Harris doing much better than Biden did in 2020, and thus a Trump victory in the mid-to-high single digits is the most likely scenario today." 

In other words, like a longhorn, Harris is due to be politically slaughtered and devoured by Trump and the Republicans here. Yet, the GOP also has their issues on the map. Pennsylvania has long tortured the Republican Party, who have only won this state in the 1988 and 2016 elections. The Keystone State has an electorate where you’d think the GOP would perform better, but no dice. This year, it could flip. It was on its way to becoming solid Trump country until Joe Biden dropped out.