#and from the law side of changing state intervention

[21st-century-minutiae]

In 2007, a cascade of failures caused by unethical market actions and mindless aggressive investment caused the Housing Market to burst. This drastically reduced the price of real estate, which brought the general world economy down with it, due to how incestuous the under-regulated financial industry had become. The blows of this major global recession have impacted all of the early twenty-first century for all of the world in some manner.

Sticker prices for houses in 2008, therefore, were quite low relative to the overinflated prices of any other time since. The naive interpretation would be that purchasing a home in 2008 would have been the best time to do so. This is disingenuous, as the entire market had crashed. Any individual who might have desired to buy a house at its low point in 2008 likely had some of their money tied up in investments, meaning they lost money at the same time as when prices dropped (it is important to recall that returns on investment were good so people were incentivized to place their money in riskier investments (that were illegally being referred to as safe)), leaving them unable to take advantage of the 'opportunity.' Or perhaps they might have been one of the millions of people laid off in 2007 or 2008, and lacked any sort of income security in order to make a big investment.

If a person had spontaneously emerged into existence with a stack of cash in 2008, or if they were a rare person who had a good supply of cash that wasn't invested (thus avoiding the crash) and did not fear for their job security, then 2008 would have been a great time to purchase. But for the most part, only people who had an excess of wealth, who could shoulder the financial hit of the crashing market without fear, were able to take advantage of the low prices.

Children, of course, were not in a position to purchase, and have grown up seeing housing prices get worse and worse. This is indicated in the sarcastic image macro above.

[simply-ivanka]

The U.S. Has Rights Over the Panama Canal

Marco Rubio is right. The Neutrality Treaty authorizes America to enforce a prohibition against ‘foreign operation.’

In his inauguration speech, President Trump accused Panama of violating the terms under which the U.S. handed over the Panama Canal. “We’re taking it back,” he declared. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, during a visit to Panama this week, told President José Raúl Mulino that “absent immediate changes,” the U.S. will “take measures necessary to protect its rights” in the canal. The U.S. has a serious legal basis on which to contest—including by military intervention—what it regards as impermissible foreign influence in the canal.

President Jimmy Carter signed two treaties with Panama in 1977: One provided for the gradual transfer of the strategic waterway from the U.S. to Panama by 1999, and the other established a permanent “regime of neutrality” over the canal.

The regime of neutrality mandates equal access for all nations to peaceful transit, “just, equitable and reasonable” tolls and fees, exclusive Panamanian operation of the canal, and no foreign military or defense presence in the country. American shippers have objected to the canal’s toll system, but because it applies to all countries equally, it’s hard to see it as a treaty violation.

But Messrs. Trump and Rubio are correct that there may be other violations of the neutrality regime. As Assistant Secretary of State Douglas J. Bennet Jr. testified during Senate ratification hearings in 1977, the treaty prohibits not only “the garrisoning of foreign troops” but also “foreign operation of the canal.”

A Hong Kong-based company currently operates ports on both sides of the canal. In 1997, when the company first won contracts to manage the ports, Hong Kong was still a British territory. A few months later the U.K. handed Hong Kong over to China, and two years after that the U.S. handed the canal over to Panama. In the ensuing decades, China has cemented its control over Hong Kong far beyond what was contemplated in its agreement with the U.K., eventually imposing a rigid “national security” law in 2020.

In a communist regime, distinctions between private and government-owned firms are matters of degree, not kind. China has an official strategy known as “military-civilian fusion,” aimed at integrating the country’s military and civilian sectors to advance the Chinese army. The country’s Belt and Road Initiative is a sprawling policy to strengthen its strategic influence overseas. Panama is an official signatory of the initiative, allowing China increased investment and influence.

There’s a parallel here: The Suez Canal Co., which built and operated the Egypt-controlled Suez Canal, was a private firm. But because the company’s shareholders were largely British and French, the canal was understood to be under de facto Anglo-French control. This is why Egypt’s nationalization of the company in 1956 spurred military action by Israel, Britain and France. Similarly, the Panama Canal’s facilities are under the control of companies that are subordinate to a rival authoritarian regime.

There may also be violations of the treaty’s prohibition on foreign troops or military infrastructure in the canal. This prohibition applies to naked violations like a People’s Liberation Army garrison, and to “informal forces,” as Dean Rusk, who served as secretary of state under John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson, explained in ratification hearings. Belligerent powers often seek to evade international legal limitations by disguising their actions in civilian clothes. Mr. Trump must determine if China’s civilian presence around the canal includes covert Chinese intelligence agents or security forces.

The U.S. need not wait until canal operations are disrupted, or China unfurls the five-star red flag, to intervene. A 1977 joint statement from Carter and Panama’s Brig. Gen. Omar Torrijos made clear that Washington can “defend the Canal against any threat to the regime of neutrality.” Treaties don’t interpret themselves, and under this treaty each county decides for itself whether a violation has occurred. The Senate made clear that each party may take “unilateral action.”

The treaty also authorizes the use of military force. That said, the Carter-Torrijos joint statement specifies that any use of force may not be directed at the “territorial integrity or political independence of Panama.” Military force can be used only to remove the threat to neutrality; it may not permanently retake the Canal Zone.

When Panama received the canal, it agreed to the condition that the U.S. would have considerable discretion to intervene over perceived threats to the neutrality of the waterway. Panama also knew that Carter wouldn’t always be the president. The U.S. has the right to use military force, but Mr. Trump shouldn’t resort to this option lightly.

Under diplomatic pressure from Messrs. Trump and Rubio, Mr. Mulino promised on Sunday not to renew Panama’s Belt and Road agreement with China and “study the possibility of terminating it early.” While this falls far short of addressing the Trump administration’s concerns, it may be an early sign that Panama will also be open to ending its contracts with the Chinese companies operating around the canal.

Mr. Kontorovich is a professor at George Mason University Scalia School of Law and a senior research fellow at the Heritage Foundation.

[gamer2002]

There is no Salvation outside of Christ – all religions agree

One of the dogmas of Christianity is that there is no Salvation outside of Christ, which is a bold claim. However, it is a claim that is consistent with the teachings of all other major religions. After all, no other offers Salvation on the terms and in the form that it is defined in Christianity.

The text below will present the definition of Salvation and its significance in Christianity. After that, I will show how it relates to other, both ancient and contemporary, religions.

Whoever believes in Him shall not perish

What Christianity changed in original Judaism is the introduction of Grace and Salvation. In the Old Law, sins were defined, as well as sacrifices and other actions that needed to be performed for these sins to be forgiven. In this respect, Judaism was not much different from other religions like that of ancient Egypt or those based on the concept of karma.

Christianity is different because all sins can be immediately forgiven if you believe that Jesus Christ died for them and you truly repent (J 3:16-17, Lk 18:9-14). Therefore, if you die in an accident a moment after you decide to repent, you will not be condemned. In old Judaism, if you die before making a sacrifice for your sins, you have a problem.

This is what Grace and Salvation are about. Sins and transgressions are forgiven, despite no equivalent action being performed. This is compared to the forgiveness of an unpaid debt (Mt 18:23-27).

Aside from how Grace affects your fate in the afterlife, it also has a salvific impact on society. In the old system, you can reach a point of no return, after which it is physically impossible to perform all the necessary actions for the forgiveness of your sins. This means reaching a state of certain condemnation, or at least the conviction of it. In this situation, a sinner, having nothing left to lose and nothing that can improve their state, is devoid of reasons to try to improve at all. They are left only with further sinning, further doing evil, to at least enjoy life while they can.

In Christianity, you can always convert and you can always obtain Salvation. Therefore, everyone has a reason and a source of motivation to improve, no matter how badly they acted in the past. And this is what Grace and Salvation in Christianity are about.

It should also be added about a different pathology originating from the other side. If one believes in some kind of balancing of good and bad deeds, a person who has done good deeds may consider that they can afford to do something bad. Such pathology has already been mentioned in the Old Testament (Ez 18:24)

As a side note, Salvation concerns receiving Eternal Life. The state of Sainthood is a separate issue about which I wrote in my previous text.

Weighting hearts and other karmatic things

When it comes to other religions, among those concerned with morality, they have their own systems for reconciling sin/karma/deeds. The Egyptians believed that after death your heart is weighed to determine whether good or bad deeds prevail. If your bad deeds weighed more, your heart would be devoured by Ammit. Salvation does not apply; you must ensure that your good deeds outweigh the bad.

In Zoroastrianism, the virgin-born Saoshyant will lead humanity to the final battle against evil, prevail, and make everyone immortal. This sounds similar to Christianity, but in this religion, salvation depends on the sum of thoughts, words, and deeds, which no holy intervention can change. In short, there is no Salvation in the Christian sense.

Hindu beliefs are diverse, but most believe in karma and reincarnation. If you live a holy life, after death your soul will merge with Brahma, breaking your cycle of reincarnation. If not, you will be reborn according to your karma. If you have done well in life, you may be reborn as a wealthy person. If you have done poorly, you may be reborn as an animal. Salvation does not apply; you must cleanse your own karma. And you must also do this for your previous lives. Apparently, if you are not born wealthy, you have little chance of uniting with the god Brahma.

Buddhism is similar to Hindu beliefs. Reincarnation depends on accumulated karma, and breaking the cycle of reincarnation is the reward for good karma. But there is no union with any god because Buddhists do not believe anything is eternal. Breaking the cycle of reincarnation means the end of your soul's existence, freeing you from the suffering of rebirth. There is no Salvation or even any form of Eternal Life.

The Japanese variant of Buddhism has the mythical Sanzu River, which functions similarly to the weighing of hearts in Egyptian mythology. In Shinto religion, there is a greater emphasis on earthly life than on life after death. The souls of the deceased can live after life as kami and look after their living loved ones, as long as they perform the proper post-mortem rituals and remember them. Exceptional individuals, like members of the imperial family, can achieve divinity after death. Kami do not necessarily have to be good, and the spirit world is neither a counterpart of Heaven nor Hell. Additionally, people who died a violent death, or for other reasons were overwhelmed with negative emotions at the time of death and did not receive proper post-mortem rituals, can become obake – revenge-seeking ghosts. So, there is no Salvation; the dead can become tormented ghosts if the living do not care for them.

Taoism has various versions that have different views on what happens after your death. Some believe in reincarnation, others in achieving post-mortem immortality. Zhuangzi, one of the two most important texts in Taoism, considers death a natural part of our existence, just like life, birth, and the state before all life. Generally, in Taoism, you should live a simple life, do what you are given to do, and as a result, you may receive eternity after death and the opportunity to help the living achieve your state. Additionally, there is also the concept of Cheng-Fu, which is similar to karma. It differs, however, in that you can struggle not only with bad Cheng-Fu from your previous lives but also with bad Cheng-Fu inherited from your ancestors and your society. Salvation is not available; you must work out good Cheng-Fu yourself.

In the case of Confucianism, Confucius said little about life after death, considering it, along with spirits and gods, too great an unknown. His philosophy focused on living decently in life, concluding that without mastering this, there would be no decent life after life. So, Confucius did not recognize the concept of Salvation, mainly because he claimed he could not know what awaits us after death.

Cults of material accomplishments

Besides religions focused on morality, one can also mention more primitive religions that ultimately did not stand the test of time. Here, we are talking about religions that justified the power of kings or other types of leaders. Ancient Egyptian religion also falls into this category, as the Pharaoh ruled over you because he was holy, and you knew he was holy because he ruled over you.

In Greek mythology, which was the religion of the one percent elite, most people went to Hades, while only those favored by the gods could find themselves in the Elysian Fields after death. There was no salvation, only favoritism by the gods.

As for Norse mythology, Vikings were afraid to die in their own beds. To get to Valhalla, they had to die in battle. There was no salvation; you had to go to death.

To sum it up

The idea of Salvation and Grace was introduced by Christ and is a unique element of Christianity. In other religions, at best, a system of weighing good and bad deeds is applied. However, this system is flawed, as it can lead to pathologies born from the belief in achieving a state of irrevocable damnation. It can also lead to pathologies born from the belief in having accumulated enough good deeds to afford to do evil.

In Christianity, you can always convert if you believe that Christ died for your sins and you truly regret them. You also cannot exploit the system, as God is ready to restore the requirement to repay your forgotten debt (Mt 18:32-35).

If we reject the idea of the Primordial Chaos, present in many religions, according to which even the power of the gods is not eternal or everlasting, and instead accept the idea that all creation is the work of an omnipotent and all-good God, worthy of judging our deeds, Christian Salvation and Grace better reflect this idea than what is accepted about life after death in other religions.

Considering that other religions do not offer any similar form of Salvation, it becomes undeniable that there is no Salvation outside of Christ.

[gallifreyanhotfive]

Random Doctor Who Facts You Might Not Know, Part 38: Gallifrey at War Part 6

Tw: body horror, Time War stuff, death and destruction, lots of disturbing stuff, etc etc

During the Last Great Time War, Dalek experiments included mutating humans into Daleks to be used as cannon fodder. (Novel: Engines of War)

To fight against the Daleks, the Time Lords not only used Battle TARDISes but also time scooped N Forms, Bowships, and Black Hole Carriers from their own past to add to their forces. (Novel: A Brief History of Time Lords)

Mr. Saldaamir was a friend of the Doctor's parents. He originated before the first Time Wars, which erased his entire planet and left him as the last of his kind. (Short story: Mr. Saldaamir)

Gabrielideans are a race of liquid protean bioforms. During the War in Heaven, the Time Lords allied with them but poured packets of powder into them, which altered their biodata to an extent that it changed their physical form. This was to ensure that the Gabrielideans would be able to use humanoid skinsuits. (Novel: The Book of War; Alien Bodies)

The First Law of Time broke down during the War in Heaven, causing the War to spill over into the pre-War Era. Indeed, the Eighth Doctor (and other early incarnations, notably the Third but also the Fourth, etc etc) all had interactions with a future War. (Novel: Alien Bodies; Unnatural History; The Taking of Planet 5; Interference; Verdigris; Toy Story; Audio: The Judgment of Sutekh; Television: Pyramids of Mars; I don't think I'm missing any citations, but honestly I probably am. This happened A LOT lol)

The Predator Dalek is two times the size of a normal Dalek. The interior has a seat inside of it, surrounded by monitors, dials, probes, and spikes, including a large needle which would insert in the soft tissue at the back of a humanoid skull. This was intended to house the War Doctor inside of it. (Novel: Engines of War)

During the War in Heaven, the Celestis had used a fictional generator to bring to life H.P. Lovecraft's Elder Things. A group of Time Lords purposefully regenerated into bodies resembling these Elder Things in order to blend in and complete their mission. (Novel: The Taking of Planet 5)

The Celestis were the elite members of the old Celestial Intervention Agency who removed themselves from history to escape the War in Heaven. Other Houses typically thought of them as monstrosities. (Novel: Alien Bodies; The Book of War)

Project Revenant was a project set up by the War Council during the Last Great Time War to resurrect dead Time Lords from the Matrix. (Audio: Celestial Intervention)

It was housed in a pocket dimension connect to Gallifrey through the Death Zone, but when Daleks invaded the pocket universe to use the Project for their own ends, the pocket dimension was destroyed but not before the power core was removed. This power core allowed for the resurrection of Rassilon. His Martrix projection was imprinted on Valerian, which ended in Valerian's death. (Audio: Desperate Measures)

The planet Reave in the constellation of Kasterborous was so anti-Gallifrey during the Last Great Time War that they had graffiti depicting the demise of Time Lords and would douse their streets in Praxis gas to choke out any Gallifreyan that may be hiding in their midst. This was largely because the High Council was sanctioning terrorist attacks to blow up Reave's factories, but that did not prevent Gallifreyans not responsible for the attacks - like the Eighth Doctor - from getting Praxis gassed. (Audio: A Heart on Both Sides)

Considering that events in the Last Great Time War were constantly in a state of temporal flux, it was impossible to know for sure what happened. In truth, everything "has happened, then not happened at all, then happened again but at a different time entirely." (Novel: A Brief History of Time Lords)

The Moon of Tenacity was the site of a Gallifreyan Military Moon Base. The Eighth Doctor and his companions were taken here after they were captured. His companions were locked away to convince the Doctor to fight in the Time War, and he was conscripted to the recruitment camp. (Audio: The Conscript)

The Faction Paradox members wear masks made of skulls. These skulls sometimes belonged to Time Lords from an alternate universe where they lost the Eternal War. (Novel: Alien Bodies)

Not all Faction Paradox members used these AU Time Lord skulls though. Some wore the skulls of other species, and Godfather Auteur had his actual skull exposed. This was because his skin had been ripped off, so his body was just bones held together by shadows. (Short story: A Bloody (And Public) Domain)

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[ballblender]

Could you write for KNB where gn reader has tattoos that are usually covered up with their school uniform and during the summer vacation training at the beach everyone gets to see them?

Not sure which school you wanted me to write for, so i just made a scenario with Seirin + GOM/Vorpal Swords :>

Beach Training Camp!

Kuroko No Basuke with Tattooed!Reader

Kinda long, I like writing about KNB characters a lot, they're too silly.

It’s not like the guys hadn’t noticed the way you’d slyly pull down your already-long sleeves in front of them during practice. It got to the point where the team thought you were ashamed of your body, which led to a little intervention where they sat you down and started listing things that they liked about your personality, much to your confusion. They got really into it too: tearing up by the end. It was only until Kuroko muttered "You don't have to feel insecure around us, ok?" that you realised what they were trying to do.

"Why are you laughing?"

"Because that's not the reason I wear long sleeves!" you laugh out, clutching your stomach. "I thought you guys were trying to kick me out nicely!"

"...So what is the reason?" Koganei asks, Mitobe nodding along.

You chuckle a little more, still amused thinking about how long they must've been thinking this way.

"...Don't snitch."

The moment you pull up your sleeve, their eyes widen in disbelief...

...and not long after, the questions come flooding in.

"Is that a lizard?"

"Idiot, it's a dragon."

"Does this mean you're in a gang?"

"I thought the age to get a tatoo in Japan was 20."

"How did you get that?"

"Is it real?"

You chuckle once more, used to this kind of reaction.

"I lived in America, and the state laws were pretty soft on tattoos as long as you have writte consent from an adult. Got my first one a year ago, and now we're here."

Some turned to Kagami for some kind of confirmation on those laws, but he just shrugged, equally as shocked as they were.

-

-

Anyway, the events of the big tattoo reveal were 4 months ago, and it's still funny to look back on, even in the backseat of Kagetora's car, as you talk with Riko.

"But really, I never thought you'd have an arm covered in ink."

You laugh again, before putting on a cheeky grin.

"If you thought that was unbelievable, you have more to look forward to." you snicker, reading her confused reaction. She scans your outfit for stray areas of revealed skin, but to no avail.

"The hell are you planning..."

As you turn up at the beach, helping to unload the basketball hoops from Kagetora's boot, you see some familiar faces waving in the distance.

"Y/N-chii! Over here!" yells Kise, soon met with Aomine's palm to the back of his head.

"Moron, we're in public, you know." utters Midorima, pushing up his glasses.

Akashi and Murasakibara sit at a bench; one studying the antics and dynamics of the other three, the other chomping on a box of ice pops.

"Hey, I wasn't expecting to see all of you guys here." you say, impaling the pole of the hoop into the sand.

"Kuroko invited us, I assume we can stay?" Akashi replies.

You nod, smiling. "Of course! We're just waiting on the him and the others now."

Riko grunts, "Seriously, how can you invite people and then be the person who's late!" she exclaims, kicking the sand in an animalistic manner, earning a few confused glances from the others.

You laugh a little, before turning away, bag in hand.

"I'm just going to change into my beachwear, I'll be back soon."

"MAKE IT QUICK!" Riko yells, as you nod.

-

-

During your outfit change, the Seirin team turns up, jumping off the bus.

Immediately, Kuroko is met by a slap to the back of the head.

"Kuroko! If you wanna invite guests, tell your coach first!"

Kuroko mutters a little apology, timidly side-stepping away from her.

-

-

Eventually, a match begins. The Generation of Miracles on one, the Seirin team on the other.

Aomine gets a steal early on, before realising he can't dribble.

"Aomine-chii! Pass to me, don't just stand there, what are you looking at?" yells Kise, before his eyes land on you, jogging over with a more comfortable outfit for the heat.

"Hey, have you guys already started playing?"

Everybody just stares.

"...Hello?"

Riko is the first to say something.

"Lord."

There you stand, both arms littered with tattoos, along with ink traced along you collarbone and across your back. And don't forget the thighs.

"...What?" You ask, confused by the sudden attention.

Kuroko's eyes are just a little wider than usual, as he says, "I thought you only had one tattoo." You shrug, "Well, I didn't say I only had one tattoo."

Akashi squints his eyes at you from a distance, scrutinising you with his gaze.

"They look nice."

Aomine makes a point to act unbothered, but inside, he's freaking out. "oh my god they're a gang member i'm literally gonna get my ass beat holy shit i'm not ready i haven't even won an oscar before oh jesus i can't die like this i'm too young"

Kise on the other hand is very loud, commenting on all sorts of things, “Did you get those done here? In America? I have a fellow model with a similar design to that!”

Murasakibara just stares like a confused child, just glad that you’re here so that he doesn’t have to move around as much.

Midorima is also a member of team act unbothered, but backs up a bit. Not that he thinks that there's anything explicably wrong with having tattoos, but more so that Oha Asa predicted that "Cancers, watch out! You may encounter something or somebody dangerous today!". In hindsight, it was a ridiculous action to take; you'd always been so kind and welcoming to him and his team in previous matches and practice games, but we wasn't going to take the chance.

Kiyoshi is the first, and only person to laugh; he also laughed when you showed the team your first tattoo, he just finds these kinds of situations amusing.

Hyuuga and Kagami take the scolding route, half-heartedly berating you as you look at them kind of confused, they don't really mean anything, they just don't know how to respond to this kind of thing.

Izuki finds a way to crack a joke about the whole affair, much to the surprise of absolutely nobody.

Mitobe and Koganei compare notes scrawled on a little pad.

"Ha! I predicted it! 7 tattoos!" Koganei exclaims, as Mitobe sighs softly and hands him a ¥1000 note.

You giggle and clap your hands together.

"Let's continue the match!"

--------

Thanks for the ask!! Can you tell who my favourite characters are from the amount written for each LOL

Also omg an opportunity to write about Riko I will take any chance i get i love her personality so much

[secularprolifeconspectus]

Pro-Life Rescue & Direct Action: The Importance of Invading Abortion Clinics

Non-Violent Direct Action is Proven Effective

From Ghandi’s Indian Independence Movement to the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s Civil Rights Movement, to Serbia’s student-led resistance Otpor! and more, two things are consistently linked with the success of movements: a commitment to non-violence and the necessity of risking arrest. That’s because only when people are willing to take risks and make sacrifices, can the institutional power of an oppressor be challenged and delegitimized. Seeing other people getting directly involved in a movement motivates participation. There is a science to non-violent struggle and social revolution that has been documented by political researchers such as Gene Sharpe. From privileged people interposing their bodies between Black protesters and the police who brutalize them during the Black Lives Matter movement, to tenant networks mobilizing to blockade around the homes of vulnerable neighbors at risk of eviction by their landlords, leftists have proven these tactics save lives and advance change. If we want to see success in the anti-abortion movement, then we must follow proven social science.

Rescue is Necessary to Dismantle Big Abortion

Because we will never outspend the abortion industrial complex, the only way we can win is with people power. Abortion rescue disrupts the progress of abortion violence and applies pressure to those complicit. It viscerally agitates the public to reckon with abortion's violence. It reduces violence on the fringes of the pro-life movement by providing a non-violent outlet of expression for frustrated individuals. Non-violent abortion rescue interrupts injustice against prenatal people without unjust action and disarms the abortion providers without harming them. Parents seeking abortion as a solution to an unwanted or crisis pregnancy have bought into the lies of Big Abortion, and rescue unsettles that narrative. Rescuers hope to save not only the child, but also their mothers, families, and communities. Rescue is intervention intended to free even the abortion workers from the cycle of abortion violence. During the era of the late 80’s and early 90’s, it’s estimated that 60% of mothers with appointments for abortions on the day of a rescue never rescheduled.

Rescues Challenge Unjust Laws

We can’t let the reality that the law is on the side of the oppressors dictate what we ought to do. Our goal is to change that reality, not to live with it! Opposition to rescue implicitly affirms that the choice to kill is permissible. We have no ethical obligation to follow unjust laws; in fact, we may challenge unjust laws with civil disobedience. We must use our bodies as shields to stop the main aggressors of abortion from hurting the babies because law enforcement upholds the violent status quo of the state. When a rescuer is sentenced to jail, it is an opportunity for non-rescuers to hold the entire legal system accountable each day for the murder it protects until it is as safe and legal to protect children as it is now safe and legal to kill them.

Rescuers Save Lives in Prisons

If you are pregnant and incarcerated, you are the forgotten of the forgotten. Pregnant prisoners are either pressured into abortion, mistreated into a miscarriage, or forced to suffer a dehumanizing birthing experience, and predatory adoption agencies lie in wait to take and profit from their babies. Pro-Life activists imprisoned for rescue are presented the unique opportunity to advocate for better conditions for pregnant prisoners, to defend the lives of their unborn children, to organize support for their families from the outside world, and to serve grieving post-abortive women behind bars. Even incarcerated women deserve better than abortion. Thus abortion rescuers continue to rescue even while in prison.

Rescues Affirm the Equality of the Preborn

By taking the risk to rescue, you practice solidarity with the preborn and parents who believe abortion is their only option. You have the power as a privileged born person to put your body between the powerless and their oppressors, between an abortion provider and a helpless child. How do we show the world that fetuses are the same as us when we are nothing like them? The answer is simple: we make ourselves more like them. When rescuers stand in solidarity with the preborn, they become as vulnerable as the preborn are. If we say that a woman needs to sacrifice her lifestyle, relationship, body, and future for her unborn child, then we are hypocrites if we’re not willing to do the same. When we rescue, we are willing to sacrifice the same to prison for her child, ergo rescue is solidarity with moms too. Some people will never affirm the humanity of the preborn. It’s our job to do so by being physically intolerant of abortion through rescue.

Rescue is a Direct Act of Love

The preborn deserve to have someone show up for them. An attempt to rescue a preborn child may be the only act of love they ever receive before they are murdered. They have no one else as they are taken legally to their deaths. The success of a rescue is not determined by how many babies were saved that day; it's determined by how many babies were loved. If you were facing death, wouldn’t you want someone who loves you to stand physically with you to the last possible second as well? Your presence in their moment of suffering matters. The preborn deserve to have someone witness them as full people at least once in their life.

If Abortion is Murder, then Act Like It

Do your actions reflect the reality that the preborn are people equal to ourselves? Rescue fully expresses what it means to understand that the preborn have the same humanity as us. Our sacrifice forces others to see the humanity of the preborn, because if they aren’t people, why would we risk jail and potentially worse for them? If the preborn have the right to life, then we have a responsibility to make sure their right is respected. Rescue offers a final tangible act of love to a child as they are being taken away to be exterminated. If you KNOW the preborn are people and abortion is murder, then ACT LIKE IT!

How to Support Rescue

Not every pro-life person can be an abortion rescuer. Factors like finances, family, disability, and racialized police brutality prevent many folks who support rescue from feeling confident in participating. Luckily, there are many ways the pro-life community as a whole can participate in rescue without being a rescuer!

Sponsor a rescuer financially. If you can't rescue, donate to a rescuer who will do it for you! As rescuer Herb Geraghty said, "let us be your hands and feet". Offer monetary and emotional support to the families of rescuers.

Do jail support. Demonstrate in front of police stations, courts, jails, and prisons that are holding rescuers. Write to the rescuers frequently. If you are on a legal team, offer your local rescuers pro-bono defense.

Share rescue stories on your social media in a positive light. Comment on news stories that frame rescue badly. Make videos about rescue and why you support it.

Do culture jamming around clinics frequented by rescuers. Make posters and wheatpaste them to sidewalks, sharpie pro-life messages to the backs of signs, put rescue stickers on the alley walls around the clinic.

Help organize the rescues. Do research about the clinics for the rescuers. Keep the rescuers updated about police scanners while they perform a rescue. Coordinate supplies, donations, first-aid, and legal defense. Be there with food before and after rescue.

Learn More

Quotes About Abortion Rescues Rescue and Police Violence The Rescue Movement (Documentary) The Brutal Truth Dragonslayers Defenders of the Unborn Wrath of Angels Shattering the Darkness All the Rescues Essential Roles in Social Movements Types of Abortion Rescue Historic Abortion Rescues Media Bias Against Abortion Rescue Joan Andrews

[mightdeletelater]

I spent 15 hours, across three days, watching and taking notes on the legal proceedings at the International Court of Justice, where South Africa filed a genocide case against Israel. 

South Africa's case was a temporal snapshot that lay the weight of decades of historical context. Although the specifics of the case pertained to Israel's actions in Gaza, its overarching objective reached beyond these particulars. At its core, the case sought to address the substantial disparity between the lived reality of Palestinians and the narrative propagated by dominant political forces.

Across the globe, public anger regarding the events in Gaza has manifested on the streets. However, political leaders consistently chose to overlook, dismiss, ban, or vilify this collective sentiment. Maybe it is recency bias, but in my lifetime, there has never been such a disconnect between politicians and their people than when it comes to Gaza. 

The significance of South Africa's case before the International Court of Justice is that it publically challenges the portrayal of the Palestinian cause as a fringe issue.

Beyond merely outlining the severity of events – 23,000+ killed in Gaza, the 1.9 million displaced, the 7,000+ missing under the rubble, and the thousands of bombs dropped, making this the deadliest rate of conflict of the 21st century – the case links these claims to the Geneva Conventions and human rights law. 

But where are we as a society, as a human race even, that we are at a point where the case was brought forth in the first place? Such an initiative questions the legitimacy of the international response and underscores the diminishing persuasive power of Western logic in an increasingly multipolar world. 

The case represents a broader confrontation within international institutions, raising doubts about the actual existence of the human rights infrastructure. The conflict has placed Western allies in the precarious position of undermining or neglecting their own established systems, eroding their credibility on the global stage. When you're against the United Nations and hundreds of human rights organisations and objecting to a submission in a global court (in the case of the US and UK, a court that they themselves established), you are simply pulling apart your house with the very tools that built it.

Western powers, having previously failed to support a Gaza ceasefire, will from now on be viewed in the global south as fighting on Israel's side. More so than they were already. And why wouldn't they be? These politicians have made it clear that they want to supply arms and military support to a regime, and their intervention, it seems, is contingent upon the safeguarding of goods shipment. These politicians assert that financial resources are lacking for reconstructing their nations, yet readily allocate funds for military endeavours. Why? How is any of this normal? 

After the legal proceedings, Netanyahu said, "We will continue the war in the Gaza Strip until we achieve all our objectives. The Hague and the axis of evil will not stop us." Without compelling a policy change from Israel, what hope is there that South Africa's case will avail? It was obvious that Israel would use support from the US and the UK to prosecute the real agenda that Netanyahu and hundreds of Israeli politicians have hidden in plain sight (i.e. admitted on camera constantly): the destruction of Palestine and its people.

The recurring pattern is evident. Gaza transforms from an open-air prison to an open-air slaughterhouse under Israeli actions. Iraq faces invasion and fragmentation fueled by falsehoods and lies. Libya, once somewhat stable, descends into a state of civil war. Afghanistan witnesses invasion followed by prolonged failure and abandonment. Yemen endures relentless bombing, culminating in one of the most severe humanitarian crises in recorded human history. Syria? Also bombed, resulting in the displacement of thousands of refugees.

All of this, and more, is the legacy of Western "intervention", war, and policy in the Middle East.

Strangely, I find myself distanced from all this turmoil, yet the impact remains surprisingly profound. So many people I love have been impacted, yet I still experience a sense of detachment.

I go about my life. I have family and friends. I have hobbies and a job. But multiple times a day, it will hit me. I'll remember the videos I've seen of a mother crying over her son's body. Or the father carrying the remains of his children in plastic bags. Or the doctors performing amputations in overcrowded hospitals with nothing more than a dull butter knife. A wave of deep sorrow washes over me, settling in my chest like a persistent ache, lingering until I find a sufficiently absorbing distraction. And then, the cycle restarts.

But I don't want to be distracted. And I don't want to forget. I feel like I don't deserve to forget. It feels like the least I can do. Because I, unfortunately, do not have a megaphone loud enough to shout to those in positions of authority and tell them they are cowardly individuals sitting on chairs fashioned from the bones of Gaza's children.

In 2024, you would think that we would only be quoting Martin Luther King to learn about history and not to still use his message for current happenings, but he honestly said it best: "No one is free when we are all free." 

[everydayinsightz]

Executive Orders targeting Transgender People

In the last few weeks that Trump has been in office, a number of executive orders that are harmful to transgender people have been passed. The three that I will be focusing on in this post are called Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Truth to the Federal Government, Protecting Children from Chemical and Surgical Mutilation, and Ending Radical Indoctrination in K-12 Schooling.

These three orders all have wording that targets not just transgender minors, but transgender people as a whole. Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Truth to the Federal Government essentially states that its purpose is to stop “men” who “self-identify as women” from gaining “access to intimate single-sex spaces and activities designed for women.” The primary purpose of this executive order is to push the narrative that trans women are just men who wish to use women’s bathrooms, and that the White House and the Federal Government’s policy is “to recognize two sexes, male and female. These sexes are not changeable and are grounded in fundamental and inconvertible reality.” The executive order goes on to say that the current administration plans to put forth and enforce “laws to promote this reality.” The last bit of this executive order requires that all federal forms only recognize the sexes male and female, and that the federal government ends all federal funding going to gender ideology. This order was signed on January 20th.

Protecting Children for Chemical and Surgical Mutilation’s opening paragraph claims that there are “medical professionals…maiming and sterilizing a growing number of impressionable children under the radical and false claim that adults can change a child’s sex through a series of irreversible medical interventions.” Much of this executive order seems to focus on trans men, saying that the children that are supposedly undergoing this sort of treatment, citing that once these kids grow up they may not be able to bear children or be able to breastfeed them. This order villainizes gender affirming care, and states that the government will promptly end the federal funding of said gender affirming care. It once again introduces the idea that legislation will be put forth and enforced that “prohibit or limit these destructive and life-altering procedures.” This order was signed on January 28th.

Finally, Ending Radical Indoctrination in K-12 Schooling has information pertaining to both the teaching of “anti-American ideologies” and “steering students towards surgical and chemical mutilation without parental consent or involvement,” and prohibits social transitions from taking place in schools. This order was signed on January 29th.

Despite what the administration might have you believe, Gender affirming surgeries are rarely performed on minors according to multiple sources including the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and the National Library of Medicine. I know personally the painfully slow process that starting gender affirming care is. Even at 18 and in a more liberal state, I had to see therapists, get diagnosed with gender dysphoria, undergo several blood tests and was given 2 weeks to review a packet I was given that had many side effects to starting Hormone Replacement Therapy before I was able to agree to anything. If that was the process of beginning gender affirming care as an adult, I cannot imagine how difficult that process would be as a minor. 

Sources/Executive Orders discussed:

[milkboydotnet]

Two Sides of the Same Coin - Bayan USA

What would a Harris or Trump Presidency Mean for the Philippines and the Filipino People?

This U.S. presidential election, BAYAN USA holds no illusions that either candidate will bring genuine change for the Filipino people. The first Presidential debate on September 10 proved nothing more than that the Democratic and Republican parties are two sides of the same coin: both anti-people and warmongering tools for the wealthy elite.

So what exactly can the Filipino people expect from either party? 

The Republic Party’s platform relies heavily on Project 2025, the much feared fixation of many U.S. liberals. Project 2025 is a 1,000 page document that wants to dismantle checks and balances of the Federal government and put near dictatorial power into the executive branch. Despite Trump’s distancing himself from the document, both spread hate rhetoric that is anti-Muslim, anti-immigrant, anti-LGBTQ, and anti-Communist, all of which build up Trump’s rabid and fascist mass base. 

Trump places the blame for skyrocketing unemployment on undocumented immigrants and refugees “allowed” through the border by Democrat officials, accusing them of “stealing people’s jobs and causing havoc for traditional American values.” With slogans such as “Build the Greatest Economy in History,” he also openly criticizes corporate greed despite being a blatantly greedy capitalist himself.

Trump claims that he will make the U.S. “the most modern, lethal and powerful Force in the World.” His call for an Iron Dome Defense Shield to surround the U.S. would invite wasteful and deadly military spending, similar to the death traps being built by Republican governors along the hyper-militarized U.S.-Mexico border. 

On the other side, the Democratic Party touts itself as the progressive alternative to Trump. However, their policies are just as conservative and right-wing. Whether it be gun laws or immigration, Harris’ position is not much different from the GOP’s. In terms of foreign policy, Harris has stated she is not going to change anything about U.S. intervention. This is a slap in the face to the Filipino people and all nationally oppressed people around the world — especially our Palestinian siblings who have been suffering from the U.S.-backed Israeli genocide for almost one year. Harris has promised to build “the most lethal military in the world,” and force the country into a war with China that nobody wants except for war-profiteering corporations, like Boeing and Lockheed Martin. 

Harris chooses to rely on fear-mongering and “lesser evilism” to goad the U.S. public into voting for her. Her slogan of “We Can Win This!” already gives away the skewed priorities of the Democrats, which is to win the race rather than pose any substantial policy platform that to truly alleviate the suffering of working class people in the U.S.

Whoever wins this election, the U.S. imperialist agenda will continue in the Philippines. Under both Republican and Democratic presidents alike, the Filipino people have faced violations of our national sovereignty through the installation of facto bases and military war games; U.S.-funded counterinsurgency that has resulted in war crimes against civilian communities; and economic crises spurred by foreign corporate plunder. These are made possible through unequal trade and military agreements. 

Marcos’ selling out of the Philippines to U.S. interests has forced Filipinos overseas to work even harder to send more money back home to support their families. This puts our people in more precarious work conditions, facing extreme exploitation, contract violations, and labor trafficking due to the widespread neoliberal policies found domestically in the U.S. — again, policies that both Democrats and Republicans have passed. Meanwhile, wages remain stagnant and prices continue to rise, all without any substantial support or protections from the U.S. or Philippine governments. Both states would rather spend freely on the budget for militarism and for subsidizing corporate greed rather than address the root problems of poverty and war. 

No matter the outcome of the U.S. Presidential election, the Filipino people in both the U.S. and the Philippines cannot expect to see any significant change or relief from U.S. economic, military and political intervention. Both ruling imperialist parties have thoroughly proven themselves to be anti-people and rotten to the core. In fact, both the Democratic and the Republican parties have seen right-ward shifts in their politics and are forging a roadmap towards war and fascism. 

It is the people, not these two parties, who we can rely on to make concrete changes through collective action. In the days leading up to the U.S. elections, we invite all Filipinos to join us in supporting the Filipino American Agenda, and all working and oppressed peoples to support The People’s Platform of the International League of Peoples’ Struggle. Beyond the election, and no matter the result, we must continue building the organized mass movement to win real changes for our communities at home and around the world. 

Welfare, not warfare! Rights, not repression! U.S. out of the Philippines! US out of everywhere! From Palestine to the Philippines, stop the U.S. war machine! End the genocide in Palestine!

[roydeezed]

One Piece-Mini Chapter Round-Up(Chapter 1087)

My heads not in analysis mode much right now but a new One Piece chapter came out after the most recent Void Month so I wanted to talk a little about the focus of this weeks chapter. Catch it below the cut.

Garp. That's the focus of this week's chapter. And through it, we get so much more insight into the hero of the navy than is evident at first.

A lot of my assumptions and conclusions are based on what happens next. Because the situation looks hopeless at the end of the chapter and Garp isn't smiling even though he is a D and he might die soon. SO! What does that say?

First of all, there's an assumption that Garp expects some intervention. Now, I'm gonna come out and say that I expect Coby and the other marines, as well as everyone they have rescued, to make it out. I also expect Garp to die. I also don't think Garp's death will be front page news. I don't know how it's all going to go down but I think there's a chance Garp expects Kuzan to bail them out. I don't think Kuzan will blow his cover that early. So that leaves some deus ex machina to save the new generation. Who knows what that'll be? I'm not here to speculate. What I am here to do is to talk about what all this says about Garp.

Garp is in deep denial. That's basically what his character is. At the beginning of the chapter, Commodore Brannew states that being a hero is a strength that you have to earn. And Garp has earned that. But just like Kuzan, he has also let it slip away by denying the obvious truth. The Marines are a corrupt organization that he continues to be the poster boy of by staying with them. He sees the truth of it. He also sees the truth of the matter in that those he loves and trusts choose things other than the Marines, and therefore condemn it as well. Him having to watch the execution of his adopted granson, Ace, should've been the final nail in the coffin but we see how he deals with that and all of those painful choices and decisions. He ignores it and keeps punching away. Training his body instead of confronting what all of it means. At the end of the chapter, Garp states that Justice will Prevail with a grim look on his face. Not at all like the D's we have seen in the past, smiling as they face certain doom. To me, this feels like Garp losing the way of the D's, those who challenge power. This invoking of justice at this time also brings back to mind my favourite Marine, Fujitora, and how he represents that Justice is blind. Garp wants his justice to be blind too. Thinking that if he does enough good on the side of the law that he'll tilt things in a way that'll lead to change.

It's the perfect counter to every single Marine with a strict sense of justice. Arguably they all see themselves as necessary if not even the good guys. But Garp, with his immense strength, reputation and extremely long tenure is the perfect counterpoint to them. He shows why their efforts will not pan out. Right now the only reason he's even making a dent is because he is working outside of the system. And even then, as an agent of the government, it's just senseless chaos. It's a resetting of the status quo and not real progress. To me this seems to be heading towards a tragic end for an extremely tragic character. Garp is denial and ignorance. Garp is stubbornness. Garp is one of the best foils in the series. But most of all, Garp, who's had so many of his loved ones choose a path away from him, is a tragic figure.

Being a hero is a strength that you have to earn and that justice will prevail are also concepts that link back to Luffy in a positive light. And by having Garp basically be a foil to Luffy in this sense, Oda highlights how great our protagonist is as well. A lot of people disliked the idea of Luffy being a chosen one a la the gum gum fruit/nika/gear 5. But Oda really wants to hammer in the point with this chapter that being a hero is something you earn. And something Luffy has earned with his actions as well. I'm sure Garp's end will be epic and tragic and probably somewhat heroic, but that heart of a hero that Luffy has is something Garp lost a long time ago. And Luffy shows how Justice really is blind.

Blind in that it doesn't follow laws. There's a lot that can be said about how justice is subjective, with how each admiral seems to have their own version and how Luffy's is entrenched in kindness. And how there is no cosmic right or wrong and how the law is a threat to follow rules and not at all true justice.

Garp also reminds me of so many of the older people I know and some that I dearly love and some that I wished I could love. He's stuck in his ways and because of that it's not hard to project that loved one that refuses to change onto him. He's relatble in the the way that he's someone who wants the best for you but your definition and his don't quite match up. And you see the love there but there is also the overbearingness and the expectations. I love garp. I hate garp. I love garp. He's such a great character.

One last tangent in this wildly rambling post. Garp and Koby. Koby is naive and falls for the pirates trap. But Garp realizes that it's not a fault with Koby. Koby needs to keep that innocent heart he has. It's absolutely essential that he does. And just like how Whitebeard couldn't get mad at his idiot son Squard, Garp can't let Koby take the blame and become what he has. Someone blinded to other's because they've been too busy ignoring their own pain. So Garp has only one job. And that's to get Koby off the island as the same marine he was when he got captured. He doesn't want Koby to change like Dragon or Luffy or Ace or Kuzan. More and more this becomes like Marineford and Whitebeards death. The ship splashing down. The hidden stab wound. The absolute insistence in believing in your own son. You hope that these character's learn from the past. That they change. That they aren't doomed to repeat the past because the story needs them to. You hope that this time it's different. You hope.

[religion-is-a-mental-illness]

By: Christopher F. Rufo

Published: Jun 6, 2024

A few years ago, Texas Children’s Hospital made no secret of its support for transgender medicine. Its doctors proudly administered puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and other medical interventions to children who self-identified as “trans.”

Then the tone shifted. In the face of public pressure, CEO Mark Wallace announced that he was shutting down the child gender clinic. But doctors at the hospital, including Richard Ogden Roberts, David Paul, and Kristy Rialon, never stopped.

The public would not have known if not for a courageous surgeon, Eithan Haim, who felt morally obligated to expose the subterfuge. He contacted me about how the hospital had lied about terminating the transgender medicine program, and that doctors were, in fact, continuing to perform sex-change procedures on children as young as 11.

The story rocketed across the world. The hospital immediately went on the defensive. Within a week, Texas legislators passed a bill confirming that transgender medical procedures for minors were illegal.

But the story also attracted attention from another powerful source: federal prosecutors. The Department of Justice has not shied from targeting political opponents of the Biden administration: former President Trump; conservative school board protesters; persons praying outside of abortion clinics; and now, doctors who dissent from transgender ideology.

On the morning in June 2023 that Haim was to graduate from Texas Children Hospital’s residency program, federal agents knocked on his door. They had identified him as a potential “leaker,” presumably through forensic examination of the hospital’s computer systems. Shortly thereafter, Assistant U.S. Attorney Tina Ansari began threatening Haim with prosecution.

Now, Ansari has made good on those threats. Earlier this week, U.S. marshals appeared at Haim’s home and summoned him to court to face an indictment on four felony counts of violating HIPAA. His initial appearance is next Monday, where he will learn more about the charges against him.

According to one of Haim’s attorneys, Marcella Burke, he is anxious to get to trial to get his side of the story told; she is confident that this will result in the correct decision being made. (For my own part, I can confirm that nothing in the information provided to me identified any individual; all the documents were, in fact, carefully redacted.) Nonetheless, the prosecutor has pressed forward, hoping, at the least, to intimidate other medical professionals who would consider blowing the whistle on the barbarism of “transgender medicine.”

Despite the threat to his livelihood and freedom, Haim is undeterred. He plans to mount a vigorous defense in court and is soliciting public support.

The Haim case marks an inflection point in the debate on “gender-affirming care.” If Haim prevails, other courageous doctors and medical professionals will follow his lead and speak out. We will need all their voices if we are to succeed in shutting down the child sex-change business in the United States.

--

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whistleblower_protection_in_the_United_States

A whistleblower is a person who exposes any kind of information or activity that is deemed illegal, unethical, or not correct within an organization that is either private or public. The Whistleblower Protection Act was made into federal law in the United States in 1989.

Whistleblower protection laws and regulations guarantee freedom of speech for workers and contractors in certain situations. Whistleblowers are protected from retaliation for disclosing information that the employee or applicant reasonably believes provides evidence of a violation of any law, rule, regulation, gross mismanagement, gross waste of funds, an abuse of authority, or a substantial and specific danger to public health or safety.

[liberalfinanceguy]

Is India Heading towards economic slowdown ?

The Question everybody is asking in hush -hush manner.Markets are down 10% ,Auto Sales are down 20%,Nifty FIfty Companies Agregate Results are down by 6%.But ,Hey India is till the fastest Growing Major Economy .We still have the Govenrment Blowing the trumphets !! Well, thats Bane of Weaker Opposition and Boon of Noisy Democracy where the structural debates are lost in cacophany.

The World's Global GDP has Grown by only 2% on an average in 3rd Decade of 21st Century.World has just moved on from Pandemic into 2 Regional Wars.Protectionism and Rise of of demagogic leaders is getting normal.Maybe it has to do with Other Side of Capitalism which has led to number of issues such as growing divide of rich and poor,Abuse of Resources by handful of people and countries and lack of any specific Idealogy on which capitalism germinates on .

China's remarkable growth from the 1980s to 2000s was fueled by Deng Xiaoping's visionary structural reforms, which laid the groundwork for the country's rapid expansion in the 21st century, driven by globalization.China is not democracy ,reforms can be propelled from Up to bottom whereas India is Democratic Elephant where generations pass on between reforms are thought and put to practise.

India did the very first economic reforms in 1992-93 which paved the growth prospects for next 20 years.The next set of Reforms were done between 2016-2018 which has kept the Indian economy in steady state.However this reforms came late and were far and few.As Freeman Dyson suggested that World will change faster at an accerlerating Spead in 21st Century which means governance model and economic structures will have to be evaluted and rejiged at regular intervals .

Indian Economy in 2nd Quarter has slowed down due to number of reasons .However one the major structural long term reason which needs to form part of public discourse is Lack of Capital Formation and Lack of Private Investments.Govenement in last decade has carried the burden of Investments through Public spending on Infrastructure .Short Term reaons for current phase are as follows .

1.Government Spending has been low this year on account of Elections.

2.Election handouts such as populist programmes of Direct transfer of Money has made a dent on Govenement spending of various states.

3. The GECL loans, which were interest-free for the first year during the COVID-19 pandemic, have now completed their tenure, and this has significantly impacted MSMEs, eating away at their working capital.

4.Increased Rate of Interest for new loans and Increase in Taxes and compliances were major factors that has starting shown impact on demand side .

A decent Monsoon has not "rocked the boat" which means that there has been not a major lull in Rural demand which can be seen from Volume Growth in FMCG Results.

Short Term, We need Rate cuts and make sure demand is not stiflled .Monetary as well as Fiscal Intervention at this time is very apt to avoid playing catching up game later and falling into middle income group country.Govenment should look at non-revenue sources such as disvestment ,leasing land parcels to ease fiscal burden on citizens .

Long Term We need like Niti Aayog to have Accountability Aayog which every year along with Budget provides public documents on Major Spending of the Govenement .CAG works like Internal Auditor of the Governement .We need Statutory Auditor for the Govenement in True Sense whose details are Publicly Available .

Also,Long Term We need to establish new Institutions and strenthen existing ones.We are Creating lot of Public Infrastructure ,we need seperate Institutions to overlook its maintenance,making sure they remain economically viable and avoid white elephants like Jaipur Metro.

To Conclude ,Growth after World War II were far easier for Countries who adopted the countours of capitalism like Free economy ,international Trade,Law and order and Political Stability .Growth in 21st Century will be less easier due to Faster Technological Advancements,Increased Compeition among countries for Capital and Role of Social Media for Populist Propagandas.

India has Vision however it needs to make effective use of demographic dividend and avoid wasteful expenditures.

[bourlonlawfirm]

The Role of a Corpus Christi Family Law Attorney in Navigating Complex Family Matters

Family matters are some of the most personal and emotionally charged legal issues individuals can face. Whether it's divorce, child custody, or spousal support, these situations often require not only legal expertise but also a compassionate approach. Having an experienced family law attorney by your side can help you navigate these difficult times with clarity and confidence.

At Bourlon Law Firm in Corpus Christi, our dedicated family law attorneys are here to provide personalized support and legal representation for all family-related matters. This blog explores the role of a Corpus Christi family law attorney, the services they offer, and how they can help you achieve the best outcome for your case.

Why You Need a Family Law Attorney in Corpus Christi

Family law encompasses a wide range of issues that directly impact your life, finances, and relationships. While some family-related legal matters can be resolved amicably, others require the intervention of a knowledgeable attorney to ensure that your rights and interests are protected.

A family law attorney can assist with the following:

Divorce: Ending a marriage is never easy, and it can be legally complex. An attorney can guide you through the process, from filing paperwork to negotiating settlements and representing you in court if necessary.

Child Custody and Support: When children are involved, determining custody and support arrangements is one of the most challenging aspects of family law. A family law attorney can help you reach a fair custody agreement that prioritizes the best interests of the child while ensuring appropriate financial support.

Spousal Support (Alimony): In some cases, one spouse may be entitled to financial support after a divorce. An attorney can help you negotiate or contest alimony arrangements, ensuring that your financial interests are protected.

Paternity Issues: Establishing paternity is essential for securing parental rights and responsibilities. A family law attorney can assist in filing for paternity and handling any related legal issues.

Adoption: If you’re considering adopting a child, navigating the legal requirements can be daunting. A family law attorney will ensure that all legal steps are followed, protecting the interests of both the adoptive parents and the child.

Domestic Violence Protection: Victims of domestic violence can seek legal protection through restraining orders or other legal means. An attorney can help you understand your rights and take immediate action to ensure your safety.

Modifications of Existing Orders: Life circumstances change, and sometimes existing child custody, support, or spousal support orders need to be modified. A family law attorney can help you request or contest modifications based on the new situation.

Divorce in Corpus Christi: How a Family Law Attorney Can Help

Divorce is one of the most common reasons people seek the assistance of a family law attorney. In Texas, the process of dissolving a marriage can be either contested or uncontested. Even in uncontested cases, where both parties agree on the terms, an attorney ensures that the agreement is legally binding and fair.

1. Filing for Divorce

The divorce process begins with one party filing a petition for divorce. The person who files the petition is the petitioner, while the other party becomes the respondent. The attorney’s role is to help the petitioner file the necessary paperwork, ensure proper service of process, and handle any legal challenges that arise during the case.

2. Division of Property

Texas is a community property state, meaning that all assets and debts acquired during the marriage are generally considered to be owned equally by both spouses. However, dividing property can become contentious, especially when there are high-value assets or hidden income involved. A family law attorney can help you negotiate a fair division of property or represent your interests in court if necessary.

3. Child Custody and Visitation

Determining child custody is often the most emotionally charged aspect of a divorce. In Texas, courts make custody decisions based on the best interests of the child, considering factors like the child’s physical and emotional needs, each parent’s ability to care for the child, and the stability of each home environment.

An experienced family law attorney will work with you to create a custody agreement that reflects the child’s needs while protecting your parental rights. Whether you're seeking sole custody, joint custody, or flexible visitation, your attorney will advocate for a resolution that benefits both you and your child.

4. Spousal and Child Support

Financial support is another important aspect of divorce, particularly when there are significant income disparities between spouses. In Texas, spousal support (alimony) may be awarded if one spouse is unable to support themselves after the divorce. The length and amount of spousal support depend on various factors, including the length of the marriage and each spouse’s earning potential.

Child support, on the other hand, is calculated based on the income of the non-custodial parent and is intended to cover the child’s basic needs, such as housing, food, and education. A family law attorney will ensure that child and spousal support amounts are fair and meet legal requirements.

Child Custody and Support in Corpus Christi

If you are facing a child custody battle, having an experienced attorney on your side is crucial. Courts in Corpus Christi, like those across Texas, prioritize the best interests of the child when determining custody arrangements.

1. Types of Custody

In Texas, custody is referred to as “conservatorship,” which can be joint (shared by both parents) or sole (granted to one parent). Joint custody allows both parents to make important decisions regarding the child’s upbringing, while sole custody gives one parent exclusive decision-making authority.

Visitation, or possession and access, is a related issue, and a family law attorney can help ensure that you receive a fair visitation schedule, even if you are not granted primary custody.

2. Child Support Calculations

Child support is typically paid by the non-custodial parent and is based on a percentage of their income. An attorney can help ensure that the support payments are calculated accurately and fairly, taking into account any special circumstances, such as medical needs or extracurricular activities.

Why Choose Bourlon Law Firm in Corpus Christi?

At Bourlon Law Firm, we understand the complexities of family law and are committed to providing our clients with compassionate, personalized legal services. Our family law attorneys are dedicated to helping you navigate sensitive legal matters, ensuring that your rights are protected and that the best possible outcome is achieved for you and your family.

We offer a range of family law services, including divorce, child custody and support, adoption, paternity, and domestic violence protection. With years of experience in the Corpus Christi area, we have a deep understanding of Texas family law and are prepared to advocate for your interests both in and out of the courtroom.

Family law issues can be some of the most challenging and emotional experiences you’ll face in life. Whether you’re going through a divorce, seeking custody of your children, or trying to protect your family from domestic violence, having a trusted family law attorney by your side is essential. At Bourlon Law Firm, our skilled attorneys are here to guide you through the process, protect your rights, and ensure that your family’s best interests are upheld. Contact us today to schedule a consultation and start the process of resolving your family law matters.

[antoniohenry1]

Responsibilities of family lawyer in Virginia beach

A family legal advisor in Virginia Ocean side handles a great many legitimate issues connected with family regulation. Their obligations include:

Also visit: family law lawyer in virginia beach

Beginning Gatherings: Direct counsels to figure out the client's circumstance, requirements, and objectives. Case Investigation: Assess the points of interest of the case, including lawful choices and possible results. Recording Authoritative Archives: Plan and record vital authoritative reports, like petitions, movements, and sworn statements, in family court. Court Portrayal: Address clients in trials and preliminaries, upholding for their inclinations and introducing proof. Separation and Detachment:

Legitimate Guidance: Give exhortation on the lawful ramifications of separation or partition. Settlement Exchange: Arrange settlements with respect to property division, spousal help, and different issues. Separate from Procedures: Guide clients through the separation cycle, including seeking legal separation, managing resource division, and resolving issues like provision. Kid Authority and Backing:

Guardianship Plans: Help with laying out or adjusting youngster care and appearance courses of action. Support Requests: Assist in deciding or implementing youngster with supporting requests, guaranteeing consistence with legitimate prerequisites. Intervention: Work with intercession meetings to determine questions connected with authority and backing. Reception:

Legitimate Strategies: Handle the lawful systems associated with reception, including recording petitions and guaranteeing consistence with state regulations. Individual verifications: Coordinate personal investigations and home examinations expected for reception. Prenuptial and Postnuptial Arrangements:

Drafting Arrangements: Draft prenuptial or postnuptial arrangements to address property and monetary issues if there should arise an occurrence of separation or partition. Exchange: Arrange terms of arrangements to guarantee they address the client's issues and follow Virginia regulation. Aggressive behavior at home:

Defensive Orders: Help clients in getting defensive orders or limiting requests to guarantee their security from abusive behavior at home. Lawful Assurance: Give direction on legitimate choices to casualties of abusive behavior at home and address their inclinations in court. Property Division:

Resource Valuation: Help in the valuation and division of conjugal property and obligations. Fair Division: Backer for a fair division of resources and liabilities as indicated by Virginia's impartial dissemination regulations. Authorization and Alteration:

Authorization: Help with upholding existing court orders connected with guardianship, backing, or property division. Adjustments: Assist clients with mentioning alterations to existing requests when conditions change. Lawful Guidance and Advising:

Direction: Give continuous lawful guidance and advising to clients in the meantime. Data: Keep clients informed about their privileges, lawful choices, and the probable results of their case. Intervention and Settlement:

Intervention Administrations: Offer or work with intercession administrations to assist with settling debates beyond court. Settlement Discussions: Arrange settlements to keep away from delayed prosecution and arrive at friendly goals. Family attorneys in Virginia Ocean side, as somewhere else, assume a urgent part in directing clients through complex and sincerely charged legitimate issues, guaranteeing that their freedoms are secured and assisting them with accomplishing ideal results.

[seewetter]

I think it's really important to contextualize Christianity in this way, because all the horrors and abuses that followed make a lot more sense when we realize they were committed because hopeful people gave institutions power and giving that power had side-effects.

Ancient Romans were people who were deeply religiously tolerant because their religious universe revolved not around policing people's thoughts or opinions, but maintaining stories (mythic stories) and religious customs as a local way of fulfilling spiritual needs, offering solace, and so on.

In the Roman cosmology, the Gods pursue mortals in wrath or lust but judge those same mortals by standards that the gods don't play by. So from a religious Romans point of view, the emperor, who in death becomes a god, is above the law, above moral judgment, to a certain extent.

This way of thinking was really common in the ancient world:

The Greeks (whose mythology strongly influenced the Romans and many of whom converted to early Christianity) didn't have god-emperor's, but Greek rulers would beseech the gods, consult the Oracle of Delphi, etc. and if someone like Socrates questioned how people lived and acted and how political decisions were made, he could be sentenced to death on religious charges.

The Egyptians, a big Roman trading partner and at times a Roman vassal state, also had a "son of the god Horus" as their ruler, so the laws passed by the pharaoh are divine, they reflect the will of the gods, they reflect the laws of nature, to plot treason against the state is to fight the forces that weigh the "souls" of people after death and remove the bad elements.

In Mesopotamia, across thousands of years, people in both north and south paid all their taxes to the temples and the temples made decisions for how the state would spend those taxes. Taxes and government were intimately connected to the gods in the same way. And the gods were not accountable to the same high standards that mortals were judged by: in the epic of Gilgamesh, Enkidu is sentenced to death by Inanna because (to cut a long story short) Gilgamesh refuses to date her.

In that context, gods whose domain are the mountains or fields or the seas or wartime represent the fickle forces around us. The ocean gives and takes away. So the god who rules the oceans gives and takes away. That god follows no moral law, simply guards over your actions. Polytheism almost always implies gods that don't themselves act virtuously.

To draw a comparison: as an atheist, I'm more than familiar with all the bad things god does in the bible. Such as drowning the entire world instead of using his almighty-ness to turn bad people good. But it's notable that the book doesn't portray this as "ah well, us mortals have to suffer at the hand of powers greater than ourselves, that's the way the world works, we have no right to complain" and instead it portrays it as "people absolutely sucked and then God fixed that problem." Now obviously I have some serious misgiving about how god supposedly fixed the problem, but that doesn't change that if forced to choose between stories where Zeus punishes human adulterers with zero self-awareness and the sin flood, I think in relative terms I prefer the sin flood. God is this sexless, wise old being, portrayed in terms of a genuine commitment of making the world better in the end. Do I like the Zoroastrian version (where the creator is currently unable to stop all evil but if we try hard to make the world a better place the forces of good will be all-powerful in the end) more? Absolutely. No theodicy there.

But yeah, I think we need to remember where this (horrible) religion came from. How much it did for women's rights at the time. How much it did in increasing awareness of social injustice at the time. How even invasive practices like confession served as more sophisticated forms of public surveys than what existed in Rome and allowed the church to practice certain forms of intervention to try and address social problems. When we realize that the medieval monastery protected travelers on the roads and provided all kinds of services to the public, we realize that the church back then was kind of like ...if the progressive movement with its social goals of helping people (but with some bad, toxic baggage) eventually morphed into the medieval equivalent of silicon valley (where illiterate people get to send someone a letter with the help of a monk...but why are they illiterate in the first place?...) and then eventually, the whole institution started to fall apart and have less and less interesting things to say, because the centrally positive approach towards social change (we should care how other people act and what they think, we should commit people to making the world better) had given rise to dogmatically asserting positions whose positive origin was either lost to time or the result of institutional interests or personal biases to begin with.

Perhaps one day, Orpheus and Eurydice lead each other out of every cave.

I got this while scrolling on instagram to try to convince me to join threads and I—

We did it. We finally saved her.

[alertfacts]

Missouri Governor Race 2024: Latest Updates & Candidate Profiles

The Missouri Governor Race is heating up as the 2024 election season draws nearer! With a mixture of seasoned politicians, fresh faces, and a political landscape that's anything but predictable, Missouri is set to be one of the most watched races in the country. But what’s really at stake? Who are the key players vying for the governor’s seat, and how might their platforms impact the Show-Me State? In this article, we’ll break down everything you need to know about the Missouri Governor Race, from the candidates’ backgrounds to their policy proposals, and what it all means for the future of Missouri.

A Look Back: The Political Landscape in Missouri

Missouri has always been a battleground state, swinging between Democratic and Republican control over the decades. Known for its blend of urban centers like St. Louis and Kansas City and vast rural areas, Missouri’s electorate is as diverse as its geography. The state has seen everything from razor-thin margins to landslide victories in its gubernatorial elections. So, it’s no surprise that the 2024 Missouri Governor Race is shaping up to be a real nail-biter.

The Incumbent: Governor John Smith

John Smith, the current Republican governor, is running for re-election. Smith’s tenure has been marked by a mix of successes and controversies. On one hand, he’s championed tax cuts, deregulation, and a strong stance on law and order. On the other hand, his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic and education funding has drawn criticism from both sides of the aisle.

Governor Smith's campaign is built on continuing his work to bolster Missouri's economy, protect Second Amendment rights, and maintain conservative values. However, his opponents argue that his policies have widened the gap between rural and urban Missouri, and that more inclusive governance is needed.

The Challengers: Who’s Stepping Up?

The 2024 Missouri Governor Race isn’t just about the incumbent; it’s also about the challengers who believe they can do better. Let’s take a closer look at the major contenders.

Jessica Daniels (Democrat)

Jessica Daniels, a rising star in Missouri’s Democratic Party, is the current Mayor of St. Louis. Known for her progressive stance on issues like healthcare, education, and climate change, Daniels has been vocal about her desire to bring more equitable solutions to Missouri's problems. Her campaign promises include expanding Medicaid, increasing funding for public schools, and implementing green energy initiatives.

Daniels is also focusing on uniting Missouri’s urban and rural populations, emphasizing that the state’s future depends on collaboration and understanding across these communities. However, critics argue that her policies are too liberal for Missouri’s traditionally conservative electorate.

Robert Thompson (Independent)

Robert Thompson is an interesting wildcard in this race. Running as an Independent, Thompson’s platform is centered around transparency, anti-corruption measures, and practical solutions to Missouri’s issues. A former state senator, he’s positioning himself as the “common-sense candidate” who’s not tied down by party politics.

Thompson has attracted voters from both sides of the aisle who are frustrated with the current political climate. However, the question remains: Can an Independent candidate truly break through in a state where party loyalty often dictates outcomes?

Emily Clark (Libertarian)

Emily Clark, the Libertarian candidate, is running on a platform of limited government, individual freedoms, and economic liberty. A staunch advocate for reducing government intervention, Clark’s proposals include lowering taxes, deregulating businesses, and protecting civil liberties.

While the Libertarian party has historically struggled in Missouri, Clark is hoping to tap into the growing dissatisfaction with both major parties. Whether she can gain enough traction to make a significant impact remains to be seen.

Key Issues in the 2024 Missouri Governor Race

Every election has its defining issues, and the 2024 Missouri Governor Race is no different. Here are the hot-button topics that are shaping the race:

1. Healthcare

Healthcare is a major issue in Missouri, particularly in rural areas where access to medical services is limited. Jessica Daniels is pushing for Medicaid expansion, which she argues will provide healthcare to thousands of Missourians who are currently uninsured. Governor Smith, however, opposes this expansion, citing concerns about the cost to taxpayers.

2. Education

Education is another critical issue. Missouri’s public schools have faced funding cuts in recent years, and candidates are divided on how to address this. Smith has proposed a voucher system that would allow parents to choose where their children go to school, while Daniels argues that public schools need more investment, not less. Thompson and Clark also weigh in on this issue, with Thompson advocating for local control over education decisions and Clark pushing for more school choice.

3. The Economy

Missouri’s economy is a central focus of the race. Governor Smith touts his record of tax cuts and job growth, arguing that his policies have led to a stronger economy. Daniels, on the other hand, believes that these benefits haven’t been felt by all Missourians, particularly those in low-income areas. She’s calling for a more inclusive economic policy that supports small businesses and workers.

Thompson’s economic platform is centered on transparency and efficiency in government spending, while Clark advocates for reducing the state’s involvement in the economy altogether.

4. Social Issues

Social issues are always a significant part of any gubernatorial race, and Missouri is no exception. From gun rights to LGBTQ+ rights, the candidates have starkly different views. Governor Smith has been a strong supporter of Second Amendment rights and has signed several bills into law that expand gun rights in Missouri. Daniels, however, supports more gun control measures, particularly in the wake of several high-profile shootings.

On LGBTQ+ rights, Daniels has pledged to protect and expand rights for this community, while Smith has taken a more conservative stance, emphasizing religious freedoms. Thompson and Clark offer different perspectives, with Thompson focusing on individual rights and Clark advocating for minimal government interference.

Campaign Strategies: How Are the Candidates Reaching Voters?

The 2024 Missouri Governor Race isn’t just about policies; it’s also about how the candidates are communicating with voters. Let’s take a closer look at their campaign strategies.

Governor John Smith

Governor Smith is relying heavily on his incumbency, using his record to appeal to conservative voters. His campaign is focusing on rural Missouri, where his policies have traditionally found support. Smith is also leveraging social media to reach younger voters, although his messaging remains consistent with his conservative base.

Jessica Daniels

Daniels is running a grassroots campaign, focusing on engaging with voters in urban areas as well as reaching out to rural communities that have traditionally been overlooked by the Democratic Party. She’s using a mix of social media, town hall meetings, and community events to get her message out. Her strategy also includes mobilizing young voters, who are more likely to support her progressive platform.

Robert Thompson

Thompson is using a more unconventional approach, capitalizing on his independent status to appeal to voters who are tired of the two-party system. His campaign emphasizes transparency, and he’s been hosting a series of live-streamed Q&A sessions where voters can ask him questions directly. Thompson is also using targeted digital ads to reach specific demographics.

Emily Clark

Clark’s campaign is focused on mobilizing the Libertarian base in Missouri, which is small but passionate. She’s been active on social media, particularly in Libertarian circles, and is using her platform to advocate for a limited government approach. Clark’s strategy also includes attending local events and debates to raise awareness about her candidacy.

What’s Next? The Road to Election Day

As Election Day approaches, the Missouri Governor Race is sure to become even more intense. Debates, campaign ads, and last-minute strategies will all play a role in determining the outcome. Voters in Missouri have a crucial decision to make, one that will shape the state’s future for years to come.

A Potential Runoff?

Given the number of candidates and the divided electorate, there’s a real possibility that the Missouri Governor Race could go to a runoff. If no candidate receives more than 50% of the vote, the top two candidates will face off in a runoff election. This scenario could create even more drama and uncertainty, keeping Missouri voters on the edge of their seats.

Conclusion

The 2024 Missouri Governor Race is one of the most exciting and unpredictable races in recent memory. With a mix of seasoned politicians, new challengers, and a range of issues that resonate deeply with voters, this election will be one to watch. Whether you’re a lifelong Missourian or just interested in the state’s political future, the outcome of this race will undoubtedly have a lasting impact on the Show-Me State.