#and readily took the position as section leader

[seo-changbinnies]

omg 😂😂😂 that sounds hilarious and honestly i feel like i should have guessed marching bad shenanigans 😂😂😂

marching band kids (myself included obv) are a scourge on this earth ❤️

[cihrp]

Vampire Nests 

Vampire nests are very much in feel as a witch coven or a lycan pack: they’re a group of the singular species which similar ideals and beliefs that make them a stronger unit and community and provide support and loyalty to their own. In Salem, there are two prominent nests with two very different views.

San Gennaro Nest 

This is the oldest nest to exist in the USA. Founded in 1610, the supernatural appeal of Salem is what brought them to settle in the area. They have vocally stood alongside witches through their torment and offered aid in the form of safe hiding spaces within their underground lairs in exchange for a steady supply of blood. 

Witches and vampires have a very strong partnership, however, behind the scenes, this nest is not satisfied with the fruits of their labor. They expected a little more grandeur; to be up at the top and not second down the chain of command. Vampires can still be punished for hurting humans and these vampires do not appreciate having to limit themselves. 

Their ideal world is almost achieved, for they are allowed to thrive and be themselves but that’s simply not enough. They whisper of vampire superiority behind closed doors and want to make it happen. 

San Gennaro is an exclusive nest, where membership is given by invitation only. What happens within the nest is a closely guarded secret, but the truth is, they’re a hedonistic group of vampires who enjoy turning feeding into something of a sport. Whether that be organized hunts, a game of hide and seek - humans vs vampire, or indulging on fae - some who are there by choice, others perhaps not as they have a steady supply of snacks that are always available.

Here in San Gennaro is a love for all things taboo and the dream of vampire supremacy.

The Nest Leader: (Reserved for Beau) Bruno Moreno 

After the Great Revolt, when the humans were put in their place and the vampires were left out of the top spot, the founder of the nest exploded into a frenzied bloodlust and took out dozens of witches. He was subsequently captured by the Enforcers and executed. The current right-hand was expected to be the next leader. He was the new oldest member of the nest and experienced, so it was a shock when he was outvoted by Bruno. 

But Bruno rose to the top with his charm and his passion to speak out about creating a space where vampires can be who they are. Indulge in blood, be animalistic and hedonistic, enjoy a life of leisure whilst planning for the new uprising of vampires in secret. The Right Hand:  (Reserved for Crow) Name TBD

He’s cold, a little cruel and believes he should be the rightful leader of the nest. The only thing holding him back from challenging Bruno and taking it from him is Bruno’s popularity but he’s working on changing that. And besides, he has a seat in the Vampire Oversight Committee whilst Bruno doesn’t which has certainly helped settle his mood. 

He shows respect where it’s due but who knows what kind of game plan he has cooking... The Negotiator: (Reserved for Xandria) Paris Wolff

The one who strikes the deals. The one with the gift of the gab and charm, who speaks on behalf of the nest to rally allies and supporters. They make connections with those who may be useful to them in the future, via means such as charm and passion, but also through fear, blackmail and if they’re important enough, financial gain. 

Members: OPEN to all vampires who share the same ideals 

House Fledglings: OPEN to young vampires 

These are the new vampires seeking guidance and friendship amongst the vampire community. These are the future leaders; whilst they get to indulge and be part of the nest, they’re expected to offer some kind of service for their place, which should be considered an honor. This can be in the form of being part of a clean-up crew, and mostly, bringing back snacks to present to the members of the nest. 

The House Wine: OPEN to all drinkable species  

Referred to colloquially as the house wine, these are the snacks, so to speak, who are part of the nest. For those of the more delicious species, i.e fae and witches, these are sometimes offered up in return for gain, sometimes financial, sometimes to seek protection and others just really enjoy the thrill of the bite. 

However, more frequently you will find the humans who are part of the nest’s wine collection and held within the nest to be a readily available boxed beverage. 

Location: They own a fancy Victorian style house, colloquially called 'The Parlor', which is a safe space for all members to come and go as they please, where they can indulge in luxuries and appreciate the finer things in life. Such as on-tap blood, gossip and live music. This is of course, reachable via the Catacombs and can be found within the vampire district.

House of Selene 

The golden rule of this nest is to ask permission before feeding. When you do so, know your limits. They believe in living in harmony amongst all supernatural beings, and are embarrassed by the very existence of San Gennaro, who are causing havoc for their image. 

They are firm believers in the sense that vampires are now catered for in today’s society, with the introduction of bottled blood which is readily available and therefore, turning feeding into a brutal sport is unacceptable and inhumane. 

The two nests have a violent history and have clashed heads many times over their ideals and the leader of Selene is attempting to have the second-in-command of San Gennaro thrown out of the vampire council for immoral conduct. 

Despite their moral stance, House of Selene are not to be taken as gentle. They are vocal, proud vampires. This nest has some important figures, such as high council members and are held in higher-regard by the witches, despite being a newer nest, only formed in 2008. 

The Nest Leader: (Reserved for Findlay) Silas O’Connor

The first leader was found to be double-bluffing and enjoyed participating in blood sports for fun and the torment of humans. Since then, the new leader feels they are being watched very, very carefully. For this reason, they are a little on edge and have very high expectations of how the nest conduct themselves but ultimately, are a great leader. 

The Right Hand: OPEN

Fiercely loyal to the nest leader and has a very meaningful relationship with them. They are a little gentler than the leader and are there to offer support, guidance and do a lot of the leading and peacekeeping within the nest. 

Members: OPEN Location: [Up for Nest Leader decision]

------------------------------------------------------

These factions are for the two vampire nests of Salem. Not every vampire needs to belong to a nest, though many desire to if only to have a strong sense of community to an otherwise long and solitary existence. Additionally, their morals and ideals are on such opposite sides of each other that many find themselves in one of the two camp, pushing them over to be more passionate for their cause and rally around those they can aid in those efforts. Not every vampire needs to belong to a nest, however, and that is fine.

San Gennaro is ‘invitation only’ by lore or canon and does not apply in real time if you wish to have your vampire involved in this nest. Invitations can be given by IC interactions, but if you make a vampire you would like to be part of this nest, you can say they were invited just fine.

The open canons are very loose and we hope to carve out this section of Salem with those that wish to take lead on any of these nests and round them out further to their characters’ goals or desires, often times being made in their image as far as rules and comfort in location. The House of Selene canon could use a few more roles added by their nest leader if they would like; the San Gennaro canon has roles added by the nest leader.

If you would like to reserve an open spot in this canon, please send us a message on here with your reserve (nest/position + character name + alias) and we will make updates! Reserves are first come, first serve. Once your canon is reserved, we will update this post and our reserves list, and you will have two (2) weeks after the soft open to finish your character before the hold on that position is released. If a Sovereign role is reserved, we will send a message looking to make contact on discord so we can work together to get details hammered out before the site is officially released, if you’re comfortable with it! Any of these details will be updated in this post as well.

[gameshenh757]

What folders does an external hard drive need to be used for gaming files on ps4

Gaming Blogs UK Top rated ten

The Gaming sector has been the most influential and profitable organization in quite some time. What Wikipedia is to knowledge, GameSpot is to video games. From video game blogs to reviews to downloads to previews on console games. GameSpot functions each and every nook & cranny of gaming globe. The very best aspect of this gaming website is it supplies an open platform to customers to share their opinions, blogs & reviews on their forum. The website firefoxik.site gaming news is quite superior seeking and features section such as: Pc Gaming, PS4, Xbox One particular, Gametech, 3Ds, Deals & a great deal far more.

Much less developed countries like Indonesia and Philippines have drawn significantly less focus from app publishers. Style and trends in mobile gaming in these countries have been heavily influenced by Western markets, with inroads from China, Japan and South Korea. In Indonesia, globally well known games like Clash of Clans and Candy Crush Saga took 5 of the top rated ten spots by income and 7 spots by downloads in December 2014. In Philippines, global leaders took an even higher share: six of the major 10 spots by income and the complete major 7 by downloads. On the other hand, unlike in Japan or South Korea, Supercell and King did not rely on huge Tv and outside advertising campaigns to acquire users and climb up ranks. It appears that the development in these five emerging Southeast Asian markets was a lot more organic. In Indonesia and Philippines customers have been acquired far more via advertising automation channels such as Facebook.

This steady growth is partially stimulated by the influence of the Asian nations, China, South Korea, and Japan. They produce the most significant revenues from mobile games and place initially on the list of the worldwide gaming market leaders. In contrast to Europe, Asian gamers are a lot more probably to adopt smartphone games, not PCs or consoles.

If you never have a significant gaming group, you have likely noticed that two-player games are challenging to obtain, and definitely excellent ones that are just as terrific for two players are even additional uncommon. I've wracked my memory (and pestered my pals) to come up with a bunch of tabletop games that are a blast for two— not just technically playable without the need of far more.

How TOUGH Be Everyone A Better Salesperson

In the ‘90s, televisions got bigger, and gaming consoles got much more powerful. Nintendo and Sega fought for the top spot with the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, and the Sega Genesis, respectively. You will uncover all the retro games for SNES and Genesis you loved back in the day in one easy spot. From Golden Axe to Mega Man X, all your favored 16-bit titles are readily available at the Retro games retailer.

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The Tegra four SoC is a massive improvement over other options in terms of overall performance and gaming technology capabilities. With Tegra 4 on NVIDIA SHIELD transportable, you can now practical experience higher end graphical features native in Android games like sophisticated genuine time lighting effects, depth of field, soft shadows, higher res textures, genuine time smoke and particle simulation, higher polygon counts and considerably much more. This permits developers to really generate freely for Android gamers.

EDIT:I utilised to watch the Feedback video more than at G4 every single week, but it is gone down hill the last few instances I watched it and now that Adam Sessler is not on it and they have that girl from IGN that everyone hates in each and every episode I just cannot be bothered to watch it any far more. Still worth going back and watching some of the older ones though. Klepic utilized to be on that show and back then in the early days was when it was the finest. Back when they in fact talked about gaming news with some semblance of intellect as an alternative of just gushing about what ever game they are told is cool this week.

In March 2017, Green Man Gaming launched its 1st neighborhood language eCommerce site in Germany, 33 providing its customers the potential to shop in German applying their preferred payment solutions. The company also launched its brand new Community platform in March 2017, 34 giving gamers a new neighborhood to connect with every single other, view their gameplay stats, get the latest news and watch well-liked Twitch streamers - all in one particular spot.

Virtual reality is the future in all meanings of the word. The penetration of this concept in all important sectors across the globe and the ever increasing numbers are testament to the fact that this is here to keep. Factors, workings, processes, and game engines all pertaining to the virtual reality business are continuously improving each day. With the intense proliferation of gaming platforms in the previous years there are a quantity of game engines being produced readily available in the market place for the development inside this sector.

The ASTRO Gaming Headset is not your common headset that comes with a assortment of characteristics particularly made for enhancing your music listening practical experience. Instead, the ASTRO A50 is especially created and constructed for the really serious gamer specifically these who play on the Private Laptop or even the PlayStation 4 game console. The ASTRO A50 comes with 7.1 Dolby surround sound technology, providing you exceptionally loud bass and chest-thumping trebles, elegantly amplified to bring you to an out-of-this-globe adventure. The ASTRO A50 is embedded with professional top quality audio drivers in an sophisticated and stylish finish. It comes with its personal docking station, also.

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Some like it wireless. Some favor to go old-college with wires. If you come about to belong to the latter group, you may well want to give the Havit HV -MS672 Wired Mouse It may possibly not have a incredibly outstanding optical sensor that can run in the 16,000s, but its maximum of three,200 DPI should be enough to deliver you with an exceptional gaming encounter. Its DPI settings can also be adjusted to three other levels with the lowest at 800 DPI. The Havit Mouse also comes with breathing LED light effects like 7 circular LED light effects to set the mood in your game.

You initially convinced your self that you would attempt 1 or two board games, but somehow you have ended up spending a lot of cash on new board games and come to accept that board gaming is your new hobby. You spend your paychecks on regular impulse board gaming buys and kick starters. You religiously watch your favourite youtube channel and you have decided to try and obtain matching game players who have comparable tastes for you to play games. You start seeking for the ideal bargains on Amazon and you are kick-beginning each modern new board games coming out. While the huge signal that you're at this stage is that your secret birthday wishlist's for your friends now has board games on it.

Susan distinguishes herself as a gaming blogger due to the fact she emphasizes bringing positivity to the gaming sphere. As the Senior Editor for Escapist Magazine,” Susan also has an influence that some of the other gamers never have for the reason that she has the opportunity to encourage and influence some of the finest up-and-coming minds of the gaming planet.

[akar0ku]

“Do you think if we met differently, we’d be friends?” Jack and Jarvis

“Cooling off”

Their mission for the day hadn’t gone over particularly well. Not that they ever really did to begin with. Though this one was really one for the record books.

“How could you mess this up?!” Jarvis shouted as he pushed his way through the dense undergrowth that blanketed the ground of the Nowem forest. Congealing greenish fluid and chunks of spongy organic matter covered him from head to toe. “Only you could make getting some stupid fruit so complicated.”

“How was I supposed to know that that thing was alive?” Jack argued, drenched in the same sticky, putrid smelling gunk as Jarvis. Only Daniel was the clean one out of the group, choosing to stay as far away as he could without being left behind and keeping quiet as the other two argued.

“You practically climbed right into its mouth! Is that what they teach you in the knights? How to run right into things and die without thinking?”

“If you knew that was it’s mouth then why didn’t you say anything? Isn’t it your job to, you know, be a leader or something?”

Jarvis spun around, pointing a finger at Jack and opening his mouth to make a retort. He quickly clamped it shut when he realized he had no argument to make that didn’t reveal he had known just as little about the weird plant creature as Jack had.

“I should have just left you in there to get digested.” Jarvis huffed, waving a hand with finality as he returned to pressing his way through the foliage.

“Yeah about that, you got swallowed up to. Talk about running into things without thinking.”

“REALLY wish I had left you in there!”

“Hey, at least you’re both okay. And we also got the fruit that...we came...here…” Daniel attempted to lighten up the situation but was cut short by two sets of glares. Accusatory glares that; without words, berated him for standing by and doing nothing while the owners struggled to hack their way out of a creature's stomach. Daniel fell back into silence as the two carried on with their bickering.

The row didn’t last for much longer though, as the party came across a section of river.

“Finally! Now we can clean up a bit and follow this back to that dark elf village.” Jarvis said, sounding over all pleased with the situation despite Jack’s incredulous look.

“Have we been lost this whole time?”

Jarvis paid minimal attention to the accusation. Instead kneeling by the water's edge and removing his helmet so he could clean the mess from his face and hair.

“We just need to follow this upstream, use the pig statue there to get back to Radiata, and then we can be done with this day.” Jarvis explained as he finished with his face and dunked his head gear into the rushing water to try and clean the grime caked to the inside and outside.

“I think the Forest Metropolis is the other direction.” Jack disagreed, frustrated and feeling defiant against the idea of cleaning up, purely out of spite. Though that feeling was waning quickly as his skin began to itch from the mucusy feeling substance on his skin.

Jack heard the long sigh and could picture the eye roll his comment earned.

“Well it doesn’t matter what you think because I’m the one who’s in charge.” Jarvis shot a patronizing look over his shoulder at Jack, reigniting his frustration back into anger.

“I dunno, your leadership hasn’t really been very useful to us so far.” Jack didn’t have the chance to see the expression on Jarvis’ face. Before he knew it a helmet full of water was being thrown at him, forcing him back a few steps as he sputtered in shock. 

When Jack cleared the water from his eyes, he found Jarvis snickering up at him with the most punch-able smirk plastered across his face. Without missing a beat, Jack planted his boot on the older man's shoulder and shoved him with enough force to send him sprawling into the rushing water.

The self righteous smirk on Jarvis’ face was quickly replaced with rage as he scrambled back to his feet. He glared Jack down for a long moment, growling when the boy refused to back down or show any hint of subordination.

Jack didn’t move a muscle until Jarvis lunged for him. He tried to jump out of range but failed when Jarvis managed to catch him by the wrist and pull him into the water. The two grappled for a brief moment, paying no mind to Daniel as he yelled for them to stop. Though the river bed was rather muddy, Jack’s foot managed to find a slick rock which caused him to slip and lose balance. The slip caused enough of an opening for Jarvis to successfully throw the boy over his hip and into a deeper part of the river.

“There! How do you like being thrown onto YOUR ass for a change?” Jarvis waited for Jack to resurface, expecting him to have finally learned his place. As the seconds went by, Jarvis’ expression shifted to concern. He scanned the area for any hints of Jack’s body, but the shade from the trees and the sediment constantly being churned up by the current made it impossible to see anything under the surface.

“Hey, this isn’t funny kid! Knock it off.” Jarvis tried to maintain the irritated edge to his voice as he waded out into the knee deep waters, but he failed to hide his growing concern. Had Jack hit his head and was now lying unconscious at the bottom of the murky river? Was the currant stronger than it looked and had he been swept away by some river undertow? Was that even how rivers worked?

Jarvis didn’t notice the grip on his ankle until it was too late and he was being dragged down into the water as well. He thrashed around for a few moments before eventually righting himself to sit on his knees, coughing and gasping for air. He glanced over his shoulder, finding Jack sitting in the water, pouting at him a couple feet away.

“Why you manipulative little piece of…”

“Serves you right!”

“I should have just assumed you’d drowned and left you here!”

“Are you trying to say I should be grateful you bothered to come check on me after you smashed me into the water like that?!” Jack turned his head away and downward as Jarvis slapped a wave of water in his direction.

“Insolent, half-witted runt!” Jarvis raised his arms in a futile attempt to block the sheet of water Jack splashed back at him.

“Washed up, old wino!”

They continued on, hurling water and insults back and forth with no signs of stopping. They’d long forgotten their third squad member as he watched on with fading patience.

“STOOOOP!” Daniel screeched, catching both their attention. Jarvis and Jack stared in shock at him from where they still sat, chest deep in water and huffing from their shouting match.

“Sarge, you’re always scolding me and Jack whenever we start arguing with each other. You should be setting an example by not doing that ether!”

Jarvis practically bristled indignantly at being scolded by yet another subordinate.

“You don’t get to…”

“No!” Daniel cut him off with a petulant stomp of his foot. “You don’t get to have a double standard like that! And Jack, you need to stop egging him on when he gets like this!”

The smug grin Jack previously had in response to Jarvis being scolded quickly melted away, being replaced by a look akin to a scolded puppy.

“I’m so sick and tired of listening to you guys fight over the messes you both make.”

The duo remained silent for a long moment, the only sounds being the trickle of the water as it sloshed past them and the rustle of the leaves in the trees. It was this time that they realized just how late it was starting to get, with the sun no longer visible through the canopy and the light pink and orange hues in the sky alerting them to the oncoming twilight. Had they really spent that long aimlessly trudging their way through the forest, arguing the entire way?

“Hey, Sarge.” Jarvis snapped his gaze back to Jack, finding him starting sheepishly at the water. “Do you think if we met differently, we’d be friends?”

The question had caught him off guard, and he found he didn’t readily have an answer. If Jack hadn’t absolutely floored him on their first meeting, would they have gotten along better? Even then, would their personalities end up eventually  clashing anyway? Jarvis huffed and shook his head.

“Honestly, I really don’t think it matters how we first met. We’re stuck together now and I guess we really need to make the best of it.” Jarvis pushed himself to his feet, and extended a hand towards Jack to help him up.

“So are you going to get over the fact that I kicked your butt that one time?” Jack willingly took the offered hand, now smiling his usual dopey puppy smile as Jarvis hauled him to his feet.

“Tell you what, I’ll admit that I wasn’t at my 100% and accept that you were lucky. So long as you cut the attitude and at least try to follow orders.”

“Only if you don’t send me to climb up man eating plants again.”

“Fair enough.” Both men shook on their deal and started making their way back to dry land, with Jarvis pausing to collect his helmet which had luckily snagged on an exposed root.

“Soooo, is that it? Are you guys going to get along now.” Daniel asked, surprised his outburst had given positive results.

“I dunno. I guess so. At least I don’t think Sarge is going to throw me into a river again.” Jack shrugged as he busied himself with wringing out his clothes..

“Hey, at least we’re clean now. And as for you.” Daniel gulped nervously as Jarvis approached him, suspiciously holding his upturned helmet. Before he could think to run, Jarvis had already swatted off his own hat and replaced it with the piece of armor, making him shriek as cold water and mud splashed down his face and the back of his neck.

“And that’s your punishment for yelling at me.” Jarvis hummed as he patronizingly patted the boy's helmeted head. “Now come on, let’s find this stupid tree village so we can go home. I need a hot shower, dinner, and drinks.”

“Sounds really good right about now. Minus the drinks part.” Jack agreed.

“Great! Should be this way.” Jarvis pointed off in his initial direction of upstream and both he and Jack hurried off, leaving Daniel behind once again.

Daniel grumbled to himself as he wiped the mud from his face. In the process he noticed lights not far downstream from them, in the opposite direction that his two squad-mates stalked off in. Deducing it must be the Forest Metropolis, Daniel turned to call out to Jack and Jarvis, only to find them quite a distance away already. He watched after them for a moment with an unimpressed look before turning and making his way back to civilization alone.

[lordbeyron]

Stillwater’s Warning

((Adapted from RP logs))

((HINTS AT 8.2 SPOILERS AHEAD, BELOW THE CUT!))

A judgmental scoff escaped the Magister as he gazed out over the Violet City. The view from the Purple Parlor was all-encompassing, the city laid out before him in its entirety.

Dalaran.

He turned up his nose, with a mixture of disinterest and loathing. He’d spent more than enough time within the city’s walls. Between his studies at the academy, to diplomatic visits, to that unpleasant ‘Sunreaver’ nonsense… he certainly wasn’t a stranger to the city. Though simultaneously, with all the regime and policy changes over the years, he certainly felt like one. 

Now more than ever.

In truth, he almost dismissed the letter, after he’d read its contents. A summons, slipped ever-so subtly into his study while he was away, to be found when he returned. ‘Bold of her,’ he thought to himself. Bold of her to so brazenly infiltrate his home amidst all the unrest and hostilities still ever-present between the Children of Blood and Umbric’s lackeys. Acolytes? Followers, all the same. And yet, he doubted she, herself, planted the letter; one of her little pets probably slipped it inside for him to find.

Archmage Shakiena Stillwater. One of the few - if not the only - contacts in the Kirin Tor the Magister still kept. They’d met some decades back when she was merely a child, born to one of his bitter rivals,Shi'leyne Meadowhisper. Recalling the name alone made the hairs on the back of his neck bristle, ear twitching in irritation even now, long ago as it had been since the two really butt heads. He’d formed a tentative bond with Shi’leyne’s daughter, initially as a scheme to turn her against her mother. But it soon came to light that Shakiena held much more potential than being a mere pawn in the ever-ongoing game of chess between Bey’ron and her mother.

His attention was called back from reminiscing, as Kreezun let out a low growl; someone approached. A ren’dorei, clad in Kirin Tor battle garb, stepped forward. Her shadow-lit eyes looked out over the balcony of the Purple Parlor… before narrowing. A wave of unease passed over her as she peered to her right.

"Oh.. good.. you brought your dog anyway.." Shakiena said with a heavy sigh, as she approached.

Kreezun appeared none too happy to see her, either. He snarled, but held his position - he wouldn’t attack unless told. Still, his feelers remained trained on the ren’dorei, sensing the vast arcane power she commanded. His favorite snack.

"--Did I bring my bodyguard to a neutral city of mages and assassins?” Bey’ron smirked beneath his hood. “Of course."

Shakiena waved her right hand in a manner suggesting she'd cut the beast if it tried anything. She was a skilled battle-mage, after all. Bey’ron knew of the blade she concealed in her right gauntlet. Handy, for the few cases when magic would be of no use. Facing a felstalker, for example.

"Have you considered giving him a bow? Won't do anything for the stench... and…” she trailed off in a moment’s consideration, before shaking her head. “Actually no. It'd still be just as fel fucking hideous, come to think of it."

The ren’dorei flexed her right hand's fingers, momentarily conjuring void enhanced talons on her fingertips, which faded almost immediately. Another show of force on the woman’s part - going as far as to literally bare her claws to the beast holding her threatened. Neither Bey’ron nor Kreezun reacted; they weren’t here to kill her. She’d called him here, after all.

“Either way... you're here, and…” Shakiena added, regaining her composure and looking out over the city - a sight she surely appreciated more than the felhound any given day. “As much as I hate to admit it, that's the more important thing here.”

Beyron tugged his gloves up neatly and conformed over his hands, and then straightened his sleeves immediately after - muscle memory. Appearance was everything, and he hated to have even a hair out of place.

"That I am. Judging by the tone of your letter, you've something crucial to share?” he turned to face Shakiena fully, smirk tugging the corner of his lips upward ever-so-slightly. “Don't keep me in suspense..."

Shakiena inhaled and exhaled a few times... in a manner intentionally keeping the Magister in suspense for a moment. Just to spite him.

"Are any members of the Sun Council associated with the Sunreavers still?" she asked, actually turning her head to look at him - her tone decisive and to the point.

Beyron’s brow raised, curiously. Subtly, he gestured Kreezun off; entertaining as it was to watch Shakiena's discomfort around him, it was time to talk business, now. He didn’t want the demon to silence the ren’dorei, unintentionally. Kreezun padded off towards the door... tendrils still affixed in the Archamge's direction…

"Tch. A number of them. My own protege was a Battle Magus, before I converted her. Still, I imagine she retains some manner of tie to them, even now.”

He didn’t go into much more detail than that. Not about Syrielle, anyway. He knew well and good that she had been burned once before by the Kirin Tor. Literally. The Purge of Dalaran drove something of an immovable wedge between the Sunreavers and the Kirin Tor. It was a stretch that Syrielle and Shakiena knew one another, but still… it was better to leave names out of such things.

“Most who were foolish enough to follow Archmage Sunreaver still wear that as some sort of badge of honor.” he added, tone dripping with disgust at the notion - expression matching. “Why do you ask?"

“There's whispers…” Shakiena said, her tone distinctly sunken into the issue at hand. “Less of the void variety and more of the discrete variety... inferring heavily that a contingent of Sunreavers may be a part of some... plot, in the Banshee Queen's grand plan. And if her history is anything to go by, that.. cannot be good for anyone."

A sharp exhale escaped through the Magister’s nose.

"On the contrary... I imagine it would be good for the Banshee Queen." he shrugged his shoulders, lightly. "The Sunreavers may not have been built on sound principles, but they are well disciplined and organized. Whatever it is the Banshee Queen has for them to do will probably be done rather well.”

A smirk returned to his face, as he looked Shakiena over.

“If this is a problem for anyone... it'd be so for your precious Alliance."

"I've got Dalaran, if the Alliance crumbled tomorrow.” she shook her head, rubbing her thumb against her forefinger. “I'm hardly affected so long as Dalaran is safe."

She stepped back from the railing, and walked quickly around Bey’ron. A pooly shadow spilled forth from her hand, congealing into one of her subtle operatives; a void-born spider. Her sneaky eight-eyed companion manifested on the floor, before skittering away hurriedly down the tower walls… and out of sight.

"I may not know any Sunreavers that survived the Purge, or were kept out of the Hold, but you have to imagine that nothing good can come of something like this.. the Sunreavers are exclusively your people, possibly being fed to fel-knows-what at the rate the Banshee Queen is generating corpses."

"The Sunreavers are an expeditious force. They put themselves in harm's way frequently enough.” the Magister retorted, with a short, semi-irritated sigh. “What makes you think this is any different?"

"Because... it could tip Dalaran's allegiance again, and I doubt either of us would like that." the woman said, shaking her head again as her gaze fell on the city. "They're not Sunreavers of Dalaran... I don't think any who wanted to return here would want to be a part of it. But... if they were perceived in any way to be associated with the Sunreavers in Dalaran again..."

She let the words trail off… though the thought practically finished itself. She shook her head.

“...You remember what happened last time Dalaran's neutrality was taken advantage of. I think for both our sakes, neutrality must remain."

"Well, I suppose that's up to your human leaders, isn't it?" came Bey’ron’s snide retort. "You're not wrong. The Sunreavers aren't a part of Dalaran or the Kirin Tor any longer. Your Lady Proudmoore saw to the end of that. And even if they were... I hold no sway among the Sunreavers. You're in intelligence, aren't you? I'm sure the incident report of my 'dismissal' from their ranks in Northrend is floating around here, somewhere.”

His eyes glanced, reflexively, towards the section of the city formerly known as the Sunreaver’s Sanctuary - a name quickly changed after the Purge. Still, while it was known as - and served as - a sanctuary for Archmage Sunreaver’s associates, Bey’ron did briefly count himself among them. At least… until he was relieved of such associations following a rather heated argument with the Archmage himself. And yet it was hardly the first Dalaran incident, in a lengthy list of Dalaran incidents that culminated into his distaste for this place.

“I can't exactly walk up to Archmage Sunreaver himself and dissuade him."

‘Nor would I care to.’ he wanted to add. But he felt his blood boiling from the very thought enough as it was. His rant about Archmage Sunreaver could wait for another day.

"The Kirin Tor tipped into the Alliance for a number of factors. The Sunreavers took advantage of the neutrality, yes. But you know as well as I do that the real reason they leaned was because of who was leading them at the time.” he went on, folding his hands neatly into one another behind his back. “Tell me, is she on the Council of Dalaran again now? Or does her station of Lord Admiral keep her busy enough as it is?"

His fel-fire eyes flared, set to Shakiena once more.

"Not too busy to assault a sovereign nation and kill a monarch, it seems..."

Shakiena raised her left hand and pointed it into the Sin'dorei's face - gathering shadows darkening her silhouette. And yet, the snarl on her face was readily apparent. She was displeased.

"You know... what I did to defy her orders…” she all but growled. “Don't you dare paint me into her corner again... my regiment of guards and I went through great pain to spare Sunreavers from Proudmoore and the Hold!"

Her words echoed heavily of the umbral influence inherent in her ilk.

“Don't... patronize... me.”

The Magister raised his hand, in a casual, defensive manner. He recognized well enough he’d unintentionally struck a nerve.

"I implied no such thing.” he replied, calmly. “I know - and respect - what you did during that terrible time."

He bowed his head slightly, lending sincerity to his words. It was true; Shakiena and her detail of guards were among the few - if not the only - Kirin Tor-aligned officials who defied Lady Proudmoore, and worked to actually spare what Sunreavers they could during the Purge. He’d heard reports of some sin’dorei being helped by them, but didn’t believe a word of it… until her name was associated with the rumor. It both surprised him, and didn’t. There were numerous factors to their continued friendship, of course. But the role she played in helping protect his people was chief among them.

"But my point remains;” he returned to the conversation at hand. “Proudmoore was the catalyst."

"Proudmoore was a mistake!" the woman bit back - stepping to the side, however, as she pulled each of her hands up to her head and dragging her fingers through her hair and over the tendrils that protruded from her crown. “I don't want to risk another one... not again. Never again do I want to see these streets stained with elven blood..."

Bey’ron turned fully to Shakiena, peering at her both appraisingly, and with concern. She was rather shook up by this development. He knew her reason for calling him here was urgent… but he had a feeling she wasn’t telling him everything. Intentionally, unintentionally… or because she had no choice… he couldn’t say for sure. Nonetheless, seeing her like this was a sobering reminder that trauma from the Purge wasn’t sin’dorei-exclusive.

"... If you see a need for my kin to vacate the city, lest things return to that route... don't keep it to yourself, Stillwater." he spoke, tone measured and stoic. "If such is the case, I can't see the Sunreavers or their operations being much cause for that. But if you see another reason that would be a reasonable risk in the near future..."

He trailed off, still peering steadily at Shakiena. She seemed to regain her composure… if only slightly.

"I want you to speak with whomever among the Sun Council still has ties to the Sunreavers.. find out what they can, how many, and if any have ties to Dalaran still..." the woman said, her vocals on the verge of cracking. "Don't... don't vacate anyone yet. Not until we know more."

Her eyes darted over Dalaran. Expression pensive, troubled… and yet somehow, resolute all the same.

“On my mother's name.. I will do everything I can to forewarn you should your people be in any danger…” she nodded, firmly. “Just.. speak of this to your people in whispers... keep it in your Council's chambers... risk no one, if it can be at all helped."

The Magister looked Shakiena over, face devoid of his usual haughty smirk - replaced instead by sobered worry. This was bigger than he presumed. The scope was still something of a mystery… but any concern large enough for Shakiena to invoke a promise on her mother’s name was more than noteworthy. He wouldn’t take it lightly.

"... I'll see to it." he put simply and short.

Shakiena breathed a shaky sigh of relief, and nodded gratefully.

"Thank you, Bey'ron... for meeting me." she said, before she turned her head over her shoulder to peer at the felhound..."Still.. could've done without the dog.. but I digress."

Bey’ron let out a dramaticized sigh, waving his hand in dismissive fashion.

"I only came because I had other business, here.” he smirked, clearly lying. “Don't think I'm at your beck and call, Stillwater."

He, too, glanced back to Kreezun. With a scoff, he shook his head.

"And I'll leave Kreezun behind when this city's a safer place for people like me. But given our conversation here... I don't presume that will be the case anytime soon."

"The Convocation of Silvermoon came to Dalaran almost exclusively because demons were rampaging through the streets due to unchecked magic.." Shakiena said, laughing, "...And considering how many demons were hiding in our midst in the war with the Legion? I'd be pretty hard pressed to assume they'll ever be safe, but alas..."

She returned her attention to the owner of said dog for a change.

"Mother wouldn't let it down if I didn't at least make an effort to do right by your family's name... I'm sure I could convince someone to make an exception."

“Hmph! It's not the demons in your Purple city I worry about...But alas, time will tell how much more or less safe this place becomes for an elf of my import and standing, hmm?" Bey’ron grinned. "Nonetheless, set aside your worries about what it is your mother would wish of you. In my experience with that woman, there was always something she'd see done better."

He chuckled lightly, in reminiscence. Their rivalry got heated at times - he came this close to having her killed, in fact! And yet, going toe-to-toe in a battle of wit and words with Shi'leyne constituted some of his fondest memories. Water under the bridge now, anyway.

“Or at least... differently.” he conceded. “But perhaps that was just due to her ceaseless need to criticize and oppose me."

Shakiena rolled her eyes, then turned as if about to leave-- stopping rather abruptly and placing her right hand on the guardrail as she was again presented with the felhound's hideous visage before her.

"I'll be sure to pass that particular criticism along... who knows? Maybe she'll be here next time instead of me..." the Archmage suggested, peering over her shoulder back at the Magister - the smirk only present in her vocals at the implied threat.

"Hmph.” Bey’ron half-laughed. “If I even suspect she might show up... I'll be bringing another escort along with me!”

The two shared a moment of light chuckling, as the conversation concluded. Concerning as it was, Shakiena’s warning was well-received. At a minimum, it reaffirmed not allegiance, but respect at least on the Archmage’s part, for the nation of her origin. Too few elves who had branched off for one reason or another retained such respect for the High Kingdom. It was refreshing to see Shakiena remained exceptional.

"Shorel'aran, Stillwater." Bey’ron smirked, bowing his head slightly.

He gestured once more, calling Kreezun back to his side. The demon snarled a bit as it passed the Archmage by, but kept clear of her path all the same.

"Shorel'aran, Everblaze. May the sun not scorch your gloomy fucking shadow in the morning." Shakiena returned, sidestepping the felhound as she slipped through a conjured portal nearby.

"You might be surprised, by the way…” she added, voice echoing in a disembodied fashion “How much she's changed.."

With that, she left… before Bey’ron could inquire what she meant by all that.

(( @syrielle & @thesuncouncil for mentions! ))

[inkofamethyst]

November 8, 2021

Okay so about today,,, Well first of all, I skipped Songbird Bootcamp because I had actual choir rehearsal today.  I think that is acceptable especially considering yesterday’s fiasco.  I think flipping pages will be part of my villain origin story.  I also went to the choir dinner thing they hold after choir rehearsals (I didn’t buy food bc I have leftovers) and it was really nice to just chill with a few of them.

Anyway the big news of today is that I was lowkey offered an undergraduate teaching assistant position... for a class ~I’ve never taken~ and was actually going to take next semester.  So what I’m hearing is that I can gain two credits to grade papers and walk around a room with fifteen actual students and help them look at bones while still getting to learn the material myself??  IF THAT DON’T SOUND LIKE THE BEST DEAL I’VE EVER HEARD.  Also it’d kinda be funny because my dancer-friend intends to take the class legit and I’d be a whole TA knowing just barely more than her (I’m probably not giving myself enough credit but you get me).

The only “problem” is that there’s another class I’d prefer to TA for, and I’d feel icky going behind this guy’s back and asking that other prof.  That class is more in line with my actual interests, I think, and it’s something I’d be more interested in.  Wonder if I’d be able to teach a lab section?  Something to look into for sure.

I also gaslighted, gatekept, and girlbossed my way through a debate today where I was assigned the position of tuition-free college being a bad thing.  I mean some of my points were valid (and, tbh, better than the disorganized mess of one my other group members who was trying to take charge as a leader in our group despite readily admitting that they were sleep deprived and also this was a completion grade so idk why their panties were in a twist.  “winning” the debate did not matter and there were also no declared winners, so idk why they were pokin their nose up in my business (I was getting a little frustrated with them though and my cheery disposition was probably dipping into condescension which I will admit and do regret (pronouns changed for... anonymity ig))), but it still felt very Fox News-y to me.  Also this was literally the funniest thing because I literally attend the uni tuition free anyway lolllll

I realize I didn’t go into much detail about my schedule for next sem, but my classes start at 11a every day(!!!), end at 5p on Mondays (two classes with an hour in between followed by a discussion and a lab), 3:15p TuTh (three classes straight (all of them are an hour and fifteen minutes which is painful (fifty minute classes are typically my sweet spot for paying attention))), and 2p WF (two classes with an hour break in between).  It’s honestly a really lovely schedule.  This is the latest my classes have ever started consistently, and it’s also the first semester where I’m only taking one lab.

Speaking of physics,,,,, the way I have to supplement my notes for this class with notes from previous classes I’ve taken (specifically that organismal bio class I took last sem which was interesting but just poorly done, but also my anatomy notes) just to complete the homework is kind of absurd.

Today I’m thankful that I chose to attend this school.  I think I called it my choice 9 back when I was applying because it was so far down on my list (of seven schools to which I ultimately applied).  I’m thankful that I decided to go to a big school that has provided me the space to grow without being too far from home.  I’m thankful for this campus which is big enough to walk on and get a good workout.  I’m actually thankful that I didn’t go to a school with a biological anthropology major.  It has forced me into earning a double degree where I will learn more than had I simply focused on one.  I’m thankful that I chose a big school with lots of club options.  I’m thankful that I don’t feel the imposter syndrome related to my scholarship anymore.  I’m also thankful that I had to grow out of that imposter syndrome at least a little, and I’m thankful for the pandemic-induced quarantine providing me that space, despite everything the pandemic took from me.  I’m just really thankful that I ended up where I needed to be.

Last thing: Cute Campaign Nina would be proud of me, I think.  While I haven’t quite historybounded on campus yet, not really, I have managed to not wear sweatpants or leggings this entire semester so far (aside from when rock climbing at night).  Some days I spend a bit more time and effort on the ootd, but I do think I generally look nice most days, though perhaps not “nice” at the historybounding standard I want to achieve.

I wanna historybound so bad.  I could do it.  I could do it on Friday or something.  Hm.  As The Crane Wives once said, however, “I am not brave, I am not brave.”

[gravitascivics]

A MIXED BAG

The Whig story, as it was left in the last posting, has Henry Clay depriving John Tyler the nomination for president in 1844.  With that move, Clay steered the Whigs to support a national bank, but the actualization of a newer version of that institution was thwarted by his defeat at the polls in November.  Instead, a strong supporter of Andrew Jackson won; that was James Polk, a “dark horse” candidate not widely known.  Like Jackson, Polk was from Tennessee.  

Polk’s winning campaign emphasized national expansion and one first hears of “Manifest Destiny” being expressed.  That is that the US, as part of God’s plan, should extend from ocean to ocean, from the Atlantic to the Pacific.  This entailed acquiring lands from Mexico and Great Britain.  Success in the Mexican-American War secures the acquisition of Texas, California, and other areas and that can be attributed to Polk’s one term in office.  

But while in office, along with expanding the nation, Polk took up the fight against the national bank.  He in effect finished what President Jackson began.  In a previous posting, this blogger mentioned that Jackson did the bank “in,” but that was not entirely true.  What he did do was withdraw all federal government funds from the bank. He held the populist position that the bank favored the rich from the Northeast and, as a self-made man, saw this as undemocratic.  Like-minded Polk took up Jackson’s “Bank War” against the Second National Bank.

This national bank was established because the First Bank’s charter (the bank established through the leadership of Alexander Hamilton) ran out and, in the interim, without a national bank, the financing of the War of 1812 proved to be challenging.  The Second National Bank was chartered in 1814 and was still in existence through Jackson’s, Harrison’s, and Tyler’s presidencies.  In those years, the bank survived a legal attack which questioned its constitutional standing and a slew of scandals (apparently a bit of corruption was involved).

In McCulloch v. Maryland (1819), the Supreme Court ruled it was a legal entity.  Despite that support, both Jackson and Tyler vetoed efforts by Congress, through the leadership of Clay, to re-charter the bank and its charter expired in 1836.  Polk maintained a hostility to any proposal to restart a national bank and he also worked to strengthen the nation’s banking system, reduced tariffs, and negotiated a land settlement with Great Britain that resulted in the acquisition of the Oregon Territory that would become the states of Oregon and Washington.

After that four-year term, Polk, probably because of his promise to serve just one term, but one can speculate health reasons as well, decides to not run for reelection.  He would die in 1849, months after leaving office.  By some accounts, Polk’s efforts have given him, in the eyes of many historians, high marks in terms of accomplishments.

In general, he maintained the Democratic Party’s overall anti-Eastern establishment view that can be traced all the way back to Jefferson and the Democratic-Republican Party.  This by elimination and attitude made first the Federalist (mostly through the initial leadership of Alexander Hamilton and John Adams) and then mostly the Whigs, the parties of the Eastern wealthy class.  

One cannot so readily classify the Whigs in this fashion given the antagonism Tyler displayed over the Second National Bank.  There were definite divisions among their ranks between its southern and northern contingencies.  As described below, this bifurcation will extend most vibrantly in terms of slavery, but other issues stoked the internal divisions of that party.

And that leaves one with the election of 1848.  In that election, ironically, the Mexican-American War produced, as has been the case in many of the nation’s wars, a war hero that would prove unbeatable in the subsequent presidential election.  The Whigs, in ’48, nominated such a hero in Zachary Taylor for president and a party leader, Millard Fillmore, for vice-president.  The Democrats nominated Lewis Cass, a former secretary of war in Jackson’s Administration.  

While Cass had war experience (War of 1812), he did not have the notoriety Taylor had in that Taylor led US forces to victory in the Battle of Buena Vista.  He also gained national recognition in the Second Seminole War.  The election was close in terms of the popular vote, but Taylor won 163 electoral votes of a possible 290.  

His service as president lasted roughly a year and half and was taken up with the debate of how slavery was going to be expanded, if at all, in the newly acquired western territories.  In July of 1849, Taylor dies of what doctors determined was a bacterial infection. This elevated Millard Fillmore as chief executive.

During the 1840s and 1850s the Whigs generally acted to constrain slavery’s advancement and promoted a high tariff.  This latter position was seen as protection for burgeoning manufacturing businesses by raising the price of imported goods.  By this time, the incorporation of newly acquired lands to a growing US, was well institutionalized and a federalist model was generally accepted.  

The issue was not whether the new territories were to be federated polities, but who was to be included in those polities.  While the Whig Party did not take a position over slavery’s expansion, many of its leaders were strongly in favor of prohibiting its being allowed in the new territories.

Here a bit of context is helpful.  In 1820, Congress passed the Missouri Compromise.  It set up a plan to handle the expansion of slavery in limiting its expansion to those states that would be established south of Missouri’s southern border with exception of Missouri which was to be admitted as a slave state.  

As the Polk’s term came to an end in 1849 and all the newly acquired lands to the west would eventually be a number of new states, the South wanted to secure that a good number of those states be slave states.  This was not only to secure “moral” support for the “peculiar institution,” but to maintain a balance in the US Senate which, if maintained, would secure slavery’s future in the US.

This newer political landscape, therefore, became a hot area of contention between those who supported slavery and those who wanted to do away with it. In this latter group, as just mentioned, was a significant number of Whigs.  Among its leaders, President Fillmore, Clay, and Daniel Webster led the Whigs involvement in hammering out the Compromise of 1850.  They, along with the Democrat, Stephen A. Douglas, arrived at its provisions that called for:

 ·       California being admitted to the Union as a non-slave state,

·       New Mexico and Utah would be admitted without mandating its prohibition of slavery,

·       the elimination of a Texas’ claim of what will be part of New Mexico from Texas for a payment of ten million dollars,

·       the agreement to an enactment of a new law – what would become the Fugitive Slave Act – authorizing the apprehension of runaway slaves and their return to their owners, and

·       the prohibition of buying and selling of slaves in Washington, D.C.

 But the party, one should remember, was racked by sectional divisions.

         Nothing brought these divisions more prominently to the fore than the passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Act (1854).  The newer legislation undid an earlier law, the Missouri Compromise, and introduced the legal element of “popular sovereignty.”  That is, each new territory would hold a plebiscite to decide whether it would, as a state, allow slavery or not.  

By 1854, with the passage of this law, the Whigs as a party no longer held much viability and most of its anti-slavery members drifted over to the newer political party, the Republicans, including a former, one term representative in Congress, Abraham Lincoln.

The next posting will provide a timeline summarizing the major events and developments that characterized the efforts and accomplishments of the Whig Party. Admittedly, as reality tends to be, the accounts of that party, as portrayed in this blog, can be a bit confusing. Perhaps the timeline can give one a more understandable rendition of what the party meant to American history.

But here is an overview of its listed aims.  It favored an energetic economic agenda – giving it the name the American System.  Its elements were promoting a protective tariff, subsidies from the federal government for the construction of infrastructure, and a general support for a national bank.  Generally, as part of its ideology, it supported a modernized sense of meritocracy and an active antagonistic approach to privilege.  One can sense natural rights values being represented by such policy positions.

It also gave loud support for the rule of law, qualified majority rule (protecting minority rights), and for a relatively weak executive branch of the federal government – William Henry Harrison wrote a defense of a weak presidency.[1]  And probably doing much to undermine its popularity, it registered its opposition to Manifest Destiny and all the expansion that ideal promoted.

Who supported the party?  That would be businesspeople, professionals, devoted Protestants, and the rising urban middle class. They lacked the support of small farmers and unskilled labor.  And while the national party attempted to stay neutral on slavery, many of its northern supporters were against it.  

Overall, it supported the ground rules one can describe as federalist, but in terms of supporting localism, it had a mixed record.  Its presidents were against strong executives such Jackson proved to be, but it did support a strong central governmental role in terms of the economy such as in supporting infrastructure programs.  While its history was short, its role in the years leading up to the Civil War should be noted.

[1] For example, see William Freehling, “William Harrison:  Domestic Affairs,” UVA:  Miller Center (n.d.), accessed July 19, 2021, https://millercenter.org/president/harrison/domestic-affairs .

[bookofjin]

Biography of Tao Kan, Part 2

[From JS066]

Soon after, he moved to Dragon Galloping General and Grand Warden of Wuchang. At the time Under Heaven was famished and wasted, many of the mountain barbarians [yi] cut off the Jiang to rob and plunder. Kan ordered the various generals to pretend to construct merchant ships to thereby entice them. When the plunderers as a result arrived, [they] emerged and captured several people, being the left and right of the King of Xiyang, Yang.

The plunderers as a result arrived [?], [they had] captured alive several people who were the left and right of the King of Xiyang, Yang. Kan immediately dispatched troops to pressure Yang, ordering them to set out towards the traitors. Kan deployed the columns at Diaotai to be the rear connection. Yang tied up and sent off 20 people from beneath his tent. Kan beheaded them.

From this water and land was respectful and peaceful. With the roads overflowing with drifters and the lost returning home, Kan exhausted his wealth to succour and supply them. He also established barbarian markets in the east of the commandery, greatly harvesting their profits.

Then the Emperor sent Kan to strike Du Tao [JS100]. He ordered the General who Rouses Power, Zhou Fang [JS058], and the General who is Broad Martial, Zhao You [JS057] to accept Kan's rules and measures. Kan ordered the two generals to be the vanguard, and his elder brother's son Yu to be the left flank. He struck the traitors and routed them.

At the time Zhou Yi [JS69] was Inspector of Jing province. He previously headquartered at Xunshui city, the traitors plundered his Liangkou. Kan sent his section general Zhu Si [JS081] to rescue him. The traitors withdrew to defend Lingkou. Kan spoke to the various generals, saying:

These traitors will surely change to walk towards Wuchang. I ought to return to the city, [we] can arrive after travelling day and night for three days. Do you Sirs know how to be able to endure the starvation and fight?

The section general Wu Ji said:

[I] require and desire ten days to endure hunger. In daytime [I] will strike the traitors, at night disperse to catch fish. Sufficient thereby to aid each other.

Kan said:

Sir is a sturdy general.

The traitors as a results increased their troops and came to attack. Kan sent Zhu Si and others to confront and strike. They greatly routed them, captured their supply wagons, and killed and wounded a considerable multitude. He dispatched the Army Advisor Wang Gong to announce the victory to Wang Dun [JS100]. Dun said:

Suppose [we] had not Marquis Tao, [we would] readily lose Jing province. Boren just now entered the frontier, and readily was routed by the traitors. [I] do not understand how [he] became Inspector.

[Boren was Zhou Yi's courtesy name.]

Gong replied, saying:

This lowly province just now has affairs and difficulties.. Without Dragon Galloping Tao it is impossible.

Dun agreed, and promptly petitioned to designated Kan as Envoy Holding the Tally, General who Soothes the Far-off, Colonel of the Southern Man and Inspector of Jing province, to command Xiyang, Jiangxia and Wuchang, headquarter at Dunkou, and also move to enter the Mian-Jiang [region].

He dispatched Zhu Si and others to punish the traitors of Jiangxia, and killed them. The traitor Wang Chong called himself Inspector of Jing province, and occupied Jiangling. Wang Gong turned back, and came to Jingling. He fabricated Kan's instructions, and used Du Zeng [JS100] as Great Controller-Protector of the Vanguard, advanced the army to behead Chong, and comprehensively took the surrender of his multitudes.

Kan summoned Zeng but he did not come. Gong also feared [he would be] sized for the crime of fabricating instructions [?]. Thereupon he and Zeng raised troops in rebellion. They struck Kan's Controller-Protector Zheng Pan at Dunyang, routing him, and also defeated Zhu Si at Miankou. Kan desired to withdraw and enter Yunzhong. The section general Zhang Yi wanted to be second [?] to Kan, and deceptively advised, saying:

[For] the traitors to arrive and then act, [is for] the multitudes surely not possible. [?]

He misled him so hid did not advance. No matter what [?], the traitors arrived. As a result he was defeated by them. he traitors hooked the warship Kan was sailing. Kan was hard-pressed and in a critical position, and fled to enter a small boat. Zhu Si fought with all his power, and only then obtained escape. Zhang Yi in the end ran to the traitors. Kan was convicted and dismissed from office. Wang Dun petitioned to use Kan as an unranked commoner to lead his post [?].

Kan again led Zhou Fang and others to advance the army and enter the Xiang. He sent the Chief Commandant Yang Ju to spur on ahead. He struck Du Tao, greatly routed him, and garrisoned the troops to the west of the city. Kan's Accessory Clerk explained the achievements to Wang Dun, saying:

Provincial general Tao sent [me?] to you Lord to uniquely basically specially establish, accompanying unassumingly to reach visibility, merits of loyalty and fairness [?] being had as result [?]. He set out to help the Southern Xia, assisting and aiding Conquers the South Liu. First coming across Zhang Chang, later during Chen Min, Kan used sideways travel to alone take on the great bandits, without conquest and no vanquishing, the crowd of detestables were routed and exterminated.

Recently, Wang Ru made chaos to the north, Du Tao straddled the south. Two conquerors ran and fled [?], as one the province in starlight hurried, its remaining commanderies and counties, in them the ground ruptured [?]. Kan summoned and pulled along using the rites, embraced the distant using virtue. The multitudes of the sons that came, from beginning to end amassed extremely [?].

He received and inherited taking responsibility for the conferral, alone defending imperilled and endangered. People departed [but he] did not move. People left [but he] did not disperse. In past years he directed and supervised, directly preparing the cities of Xiang, with ambitions to climb the clouds and skies, divine impetus alone pass judgement.

To no avail, due to the army having few provisions [and being] isolated, he did not as a result offer up a victory. As such Du Tao was afraid and scared, he came and turned back to Xiakou. He had not yet passed through two nights in the same place, [when] drifters of Jianping welcome the traitors to rebel together. Kan immediately turned around the army and sailed upstream to weed out the barbarians and detestables. Reaching making the Western Gate unbarred, the borders of the Hua without worries, the merits of Kan.

The Enlightened General sympathized with these Jing and Chu, saved [their] fate from mire and charcoal, and sent Kan to govern and lead the the remnants of the destitute and withered, during the cold to clothe them, during famines to feed them, house by house congratulating each other, having in the same way squeezed the floss silk [?].

The Jiang's banks are uniquely dangerous [?], the ground has no major narrow points. It is not possible for a single army to alone be able to protect and solidify. For that reason [he] moved to come to Gaoji, thereby avoiding its thoroughfares. The traitors' light and rash arrived first, the great multitudes were after. Kan resisted in battle through the day, killing their famous leaders.

The traitors made use of dogs and sheep to join each other [?], and with equal strength came to attack [?]. Kan used the composure of a loyal subject, righteously without retreat or looking back, put on tough [armour] and carried sharp [weapons], personally undertook acts of war. Generals and soldiers strove to strike, and could not but obey the instructions. The dead during that time could not be counted.

The traitors' multitudes were arranged in fives, alternately resting and fighting. Kan due to the solitary army [being] a single unit, its strength not alone holding out, measured when proper to cut off or maintain [?], thereby waiting to later raise up [?].

Yet the master calls Kan to account, to honour and promote or demote and scrape off [?] Kan is by nature humble and modest, when the deed is complete he personally withdraws [?]. Now in receiving acceptance for turning back [?], [he?] only fears to delay and tarry.

As such, so-and-so and others of little account truly fear management be neglected in the interior, affairs will fail outside, the mistakes of presumption administration will be brought about in a thousand villages [?], cause the Man蠻 of Jing to turn aside and depart, the western mountain crooks undefended. With the lips gone the teeth are cold, invasion will pressure without limit.

Dun hence petitioned to restore Kan to office.

Tao's general Wang Gong with 3 000 spirited soldiers set out for the Wuling Jiang, and enticed the Five Creeks barbarians. He used a naval host to cut off official transports, and went straight towards Wuchang. Kan sent Zheng Pan and the General who Prostrates the Waves, Tao Yan, to hasten by night Baling. They hid the host to ambush them while unprepared, greatly routing them. They beheaded more than 1000 and took the surrender of more than 10 000. Gong escaped and turned back to Xiang city.

Among the traitors [they were] leaving from hopelessness. Du Tao thereupon suspected Zhang Yi and killed him. The multitude's feelings were increasingly fearful, those who surrendered grew more and more. Wang Gong again challenged for battle. Kan from afar spoke to him, saying:

When Du Tao was Inspector of Yi province he robbed and used the treasury cash, his father died [but] he did not run to mourn. Sir originally was a talented person, why are [you] following him? Rather than Under Heaven [you] would rather have white headed traitors! [?]

Gong began with sidewise feet atop the horse [?]. When Kan had finished speaking, Gong composed his features and put down his feet, his expression and appearance were considerably amiable. Kan knew he could be moved, and again ordered and explained to him, cutting off his hair as a pledge. Gong thereupon came to surrender.

Then Tao was defeated and ran. [Kan] advanced and overcame Changsha, he captured his generals Mao Bao, Gao Bao and Liang Kan, and turned back.

[vonseal]

a friendly game

some socky laser tag fun for @sassysavagesanha! happy birthday! im sorry im late with this, but i hope you enjoy it regardless!

i’m going to post it on A03 tomorrow, when i’m more awake to edit it properly!

It was supposed to be a friendly game of laser tag.

Though Sanha didn't know why he thought that he could combine the words friendly and game in a sentence when it referred back to Park Minhyuk.

Minhyuk was the bane of Sanha's existence. He was competitive to a fault, ruining even simple video games for Sanha (gloating brilliantly when he won, pouting endlessly when he lost). Sanha didn't even bother trying to bring Monopoly back into his house after Minhyuk broke a board during a casual match with Myungjun and Bin.

Bin had warned him, too: “His competitive streak is too big,” the older boy whispered as he cleaned up torn pieces of Monopoly money. “Don't get involved whenever he wants to do something.”

Sanha got involved, though. He got way too involved. Because despite that major character flaw, Minhyuk had such endearing personality traits that Sanha could honestly look past the weird, competitive streak.

Minhyuk was passionate. Maybe that's what made him so inclined to fight to the death over stupid board games, but it was also what made him dance so beautifully and sing so well. It was what made him a smart student in his academics and a kind student in his social groups.

He was tough, as well, and wouldn't hesitate to call people out if they tried to start something. Sanha cleaned up his bruises and cuts more than once, chastising him about challenging the school bullies. (“They're thugs,” Sanha had complained, “not worth your time.”

“They were hitting the new transfer kid,” Minhyuk replied, wincing as Sanha put a band-aid on his face. “I wasn't going to let them get away with it.”

And Sanha had just felt his heart beat wildly in his chest.)

He was soft, both physically and mentally.

(Sanha had mentioned that point to him one day, and Minhyuk showed off the muscles in his arms. “Soft?” he asked. “I'm full of muscle.”

“No, it's your skin,” Sanha corrected. “Your skin and...and your face, sometimes, when I get to feel that. And your hair. And your eyes. And your-”

“You felt my eyes?”

“No, but they look soft.”

“Eyes are gooey.”

“You get what I mean, Minhyuk!”)

He was perfect, with all of his traits and with all of his flaws.

So Sanha started to date him.

(Minhyuk initiated the dating. Minhyuk was shy and awkward as he stammered out his question: “D-Do you want to, um, go visit this new cafe with me? It's supposed to be delicious-”

“Is this a date, Park Minhyuk?”

Sanha enjoyed watching Minhyuk's face turn bright red.)

Their first date went extremely well, once Minhyuk loosened up. Soon enough, Myungjun declared that they might be the cutest couple in the school (much to Dongmin and Bin's chagrin).

“And cute couples play laser tag,” was the thesis of Minhyuk's half-hour-long talk. Sanha would have much preferred it in paper format.

Besides, Minhyuk did have a point; cute couples played laser tag. They were a cute couple. By all means, they should play laser tag. But Sanha wasn't going to be so easily swayed by sound logic, because he liked to actually rely on his feelings and emotions from time to time. And at the current, they tugged at his gut, reminding him of all the friendly games he had partaken with Minhyuk over the years.

“I know how you get when you play games,” Sanha rebutted, crossing his arms over his chest and refusing to back down from his position. He was going to win against Minhyuk in this argument. For once in his life, he was going to win against Minhyuk. “You always do whatever it takes to win, even when you have to trample over others to do it.”

“But never you.”

“Are you kidding me?” Sanha scoffed, “You just unplugged my controller the other day when I almost beat your high score in that stupid racing game!”

“Survival of the fittest,” was Minhyuk's defense.

Sanha was even more steadfast in his decision. “No means no.”

And Minhyuk was even more steadfast in his decision. It must have been his competitive streak taking over, because he quickly leaned into Sanha, pressing his lips up on Sanha's cheek and nuzzling his nose into Sanha's skin. “One game,” he whispered, “And I'll buy you three cartons of french fries.”

The offer was tempting. It was so tempting, and Sanha felt himself nearly drooling over the thought of having free french fries over their movie date that evening.

As a poor college student, three cartons of french fries was basically what he always dreamed his future would hold.

But as a man, a man who was steadfast in determination, he wasn't going to allow himself to lose his dignity and pride over three cartons of french fries.

Not three.

“Make it five,” he murmured, and Minhyuk readily agreed.

Sanha realized how stupid the idea was as he geared himself up for the event and stared over at the scoreboard on the large television nearby. The game hadn't started yet, and Sanha wondered if there was still time to switch sides without Minhyuk noticing.

(“I wanted to be on the same side!” Sanha had whined as he noticed that he and Minhyuk wore opposing colors.

“We didn't make reservations, and the birthday party team had one less member. Naturally, one of us had to go in.”

“And why me?”

“They're six year old kids. I think you'd fit in pretty well.”)

But before he could say anything to any of the employees, Minhyuk gave his shoulder a light shove. “We're going out first,” he mentioned, gesturing over to his team of younger teenagers. He appeared to be the oldest. Sanha wondered why the laser tag ring was only appealing to babies. “May the best man win Sanha, okay?”

And as he ran off, Sanha frowned bitterly and adjusted the armor on his chest, looking down at his beeping red dots. Minhyuk was going to be too competitive, especially when he was up against little kids. He couldn't stand to be beaten by little kids.

Poor guys, too. As Sanha looked them over, staring into their hopeful, exuberant eyes, he discovered that their youthful optimism had blinded them to what was dead ahead.

Sanha had lost his own youthful optimism when Minhyuk tripped him to win at a race. It was a miserable, sinking feeling, only made better from extensive apologies and plenty of ice cream, courtesy of Minhyuk himself.

Could he convince Minhyuk to buy ice cream for fourteen kids?

Probably not.

So he would do the next best thing. He would align with the children, sectioning himself off as their self-proclaimed leader, and explaining their game plan. They listened about as well as little children could before Sanha gave his final order: “Hide low, shoot quick. Aim to kill. Especially that stupid-looking bigger kid, alright? Destroy him.”

Then he released his army out into the wilderness that was the laser tag rink.

Kids hyped up on sugar and spirit, though, were actually useful. They were fast, darting in and out behind props, changing places with other teammates, and taking down plenty of young teenagers before they themselves would go down. Sanha cheered them on from time to time, whispering encouraging messages whenever he passed by a hiding spot.

He checked the score every so often, and grinned when he realized he was in front of Minhyuk.

“Eat that, you loser,” he muttered to himself before turning a corner.

The loser was right nearby.

Sanha held up his gun in a hurry, but Minhyuk, in all of his dancing talent, was far more quick. He dodged Sanha's first shot, then allowed his chest light to go out with the second shot.

Sanha couldn't shoot a third time, on account of Minhyuk being far too close range for Sanha's aim to reach anything of importance.

“Minhyuk, stop it,” Sanha complained as he was backed into a corner by his own boyfriend. “We're going to play this fair and square, alright?”

Minhyuk hummed out a response; it was neither yes nor no, and so Sanha rephrased his question.

“We're going to take steps back and shoot each other properly, like laser tag is done.”

“Oh, of course,” Minhyuk responded, but he didn't follow Sanha's wishes. Instead, he placed a kiss upon his boyfriend's cheek; just one kiss.

Sanha's skin tingled, and he slapped a hand over the affected area. “Minhyuk, my team is full of kids! What if they see?”

“What if they see what?” Minhyuk asked, a devious smile on his face. “It's not like cheek kisses are bad, are they? See, if I wanted to be bad, I would do this-”

He would kiss Sanha, apparently, passionately, lovingly, right on the lips. And Sanha, in all his weakness, couldn't help but to kiss back, wrapping his longer arms around Minhyuk's body and just relishing in the moment. Sure, it was in a musty laser tag rink with screaming children right nearby as they wondered where their dear leader was, but it was still a kiss, and it was a kiss initiated by Minhyuk.

If Sanha wasn't already in love, he definitely developed it right then and there.

It was a pity that Minhyuk drew back, just as Sanha was getting into the kiss.

It was also a pity that Minhyuk took the quiet opportunity to suddenly start shooting at Sanha's small, blinking lights, and before Sanha could react, none of them were lit up. He was out of the game, defeated by none other than Park Minhyuk.

Park Minhyuk, that smug bastard.

“Minhyuk!” Sanha gasped, breathless and shocked at the display of terrible sportsmanship. “That's against the rules!”

“I don't see no kissing your hot boyfriend anywhere on the list,” Minhyuk deadpanned, and he smirked, stepping away and giving Sanha a small salute. “Anyway, you'd better head back to your base. Because, you know, you're completely out of the game.”

“Minhyuk!” Sanha knew he was whining now, but Minhyuk didn't seem to care. He simply laughed and turned away, scurrying over to the front door and mumbling, “now time to ruin that pesky kid's birthday party.”

Friendly game, Sanha thought as he trudged back to the entrance of the laser tag rink.

There was no such thing as a friendly game when Minhyuk was involved.

(And, somehow, as Sanha curled up on him that night, he realized he didn't mind it so much.)

[baxtonme]

Tent of Promise Relaunch with Panorama in Wilcannia

TENT OF PROMISE Relaunch with Panorama in Wilcannia

Wilcannia NSW, Updated March 2020

Contributed by Adele Kenyon

In March 2019, Wilcannian locals entered their community hall last week expecting a devotional time and a church service as part of a mission-outreach by a visiting Queensland group to their dry and sweltering township, most of the local residents were stunned to find a gigantic 36 metre illustrated display of highlighted accounts from the Holy Bible plastered around three walls of their large hall.

On discovering this magnificent wall display several childrens’ jaws dropped and many pairs of eyes – including those of adults – were fixated on the impressive illustrations depicting key events from the Old and New Testaments of the Holy Bible, which when considered chronologically depict God’s carefully crafted plan of salvation for every person who accepts the heavenly Father’s gift of eternal life given through his precious Son, Jesus Christ.  Reflected in the closing sections of the illustrated Bible display are the joy and peace infilling Christians who have accepted God’s gracious gift of life.

The impressive Bible Panorama is a key feature of the Tent of Promise (TOP) touring ministry which was relaunched in Wilcannia in Outback New South Wales this month after almost a decade in recess. TOP leaders are confident the new outreach will generate much interest and as the touring ministry gains momentum will ultimately lead many people around Australia to discover and commit or re-commit to the Christian faith. Bishop Cunnington explained that the team’s confidence in these positive outcomes is due to the team’s collective faith in the Word of God combined with its outward expression(s) of this faith.

TOP Founders, Barry and Sandra Cunnington, have remobilised this ministry with team members from their Coolangatta Promise Faith Centre Church in response to the leading of the Holy Spirit.  They believe Australia is poised for a faith revival which will sweep the nation. TOP Founder, Senior Pastor and Bishop, Barry Cunnington, believes the power of God’s Word spoken by his righteous people will prevail.

The four participating TOP pastors are not new to this form of mobilised outback ministry. For many years they took this style of ministry outreach to various Australian townships, including eleven years on the road with an earlier Bible panorama which they hauled around Australia with help from a devoted mobile pastoral team.  Now the panorama has been digitally revamped and the mobilisation process refined so it is all more portable – this helpful to the more senior pastors and other team-members, several of whom while agile and young-at-heart are aged in their seventies. The senior pastors are assisted in this mobile ministry by their younger counterparts, Reverend(s) Timothy and Leah Knowling of Alectown, NSW. Pastor Leah, in addition to her wide range of responsibilities, ably coordinates the music ministry for the TOP team, including contributing her impressively strong and powerful vocals which were well appreciated during this Wilcannia trip.

During the TOP team’s visit Bishop Cunnington liaised with Wilcannia’s local minister, Pastor Seta, of the Australian Aboriginal Outreach Ministries (AAOM), so TOP could use some of the local facilities during its visit to the town. Pastor Seta’s worship team also contributed readily to the music ministry during the six-day TOP visit, while Pastor Seta was also a key participant in the blessing of the Darling River

Related Article: TENT OF PROMISE – Darling River Blessing

YouTube Video: TENT OF PROMISE – Blessing The River Darling, Wilcannia March 2019

The Wilcannia launch of the new TOP mission, now renamed “The Tent of Promise:- Now Mobile”, did not disappoint.

As local visitors were welcomed, not only were they fascinated by the illustrated Bible highlighted on the hall walls, they were challenged by the delivered oratory during the times of devotion and moved by the music – so much so that in the final stages of the time-of-ministry on the first evening, dozens of children and youth independently went up for prayer with the visiting team.

These same children and visiting families subsequently revisited various ministry activities springing up over the next few days and brought along friends and new folk — who were also treated to a vibrant puppet show/singalong. Outreach activities culminated in an outdoor community prayer time for the River Darling held on the final Sunday evening in The Mallee neighbourhood park. This was attended by many local residents, with music provided by the local Wilcannia pastors and other worship team members as well as by Pastor Leah, followed by a celebratory barbecue to finish — all well received and attended.  Local pastors enthusiastically participated in the music ministry during the TOP visit so a range of musical-worship styles were catered to over the period.

The TOP mobile ministry is affiliated with The Promise Faith Centre Churches International (PFCCI), with a base in Coolangatta, Queensland. Bishop Cunnington oversees the PFCCI and on its website (https://www.promisefaithcentre.org/about_us) explains how he has personally experienced transformation in his life and knowing the Grace of God “is compelled to bring the revelation of God’s Word in the Power of God’s Holy Spirit to those who have the need and Grace to receive”.

Syndicated by Baxton Media, The Market Influencers, Your Digital Marketing Agency.

Tent of Promise Relaunch with Panorama in Wilcannia was originally published on Baxton

[redcurrents]

On Revolutionary Discipline

Nestor Makhno

Pictured; The Revolutionary Military Soviet of the RIAU.

The following (very) short piece was written by Makhno in December 1925 and published in Dyelo Truda (Workers Cause), a Russian language anarchist magazine published in France.

In Makhnos typical style it is a no nonsense calling out of the erratic, incoherent nature of the common 'practice' of anarchism that is far more influenced by liberal and bourgeois ideas than revolutionary practicality.

For context; Makhno was born of a peasant family, had been a long time member of the Guilay Polye Anarcho-Communist Group, was a foundry worker, union leader, chairman of a local soviet, and spent many years in jail for revolutionary activity. But is most famously known as partisan fighter and commander in the Revolutionary Insurgent Army of the Ukraine.

The influence of anarchists in the development in the Ukrainian struggle, as compared to the Russian is not insignificant. In many cities the Anarchists were the most popular political force. For example, in the Ekaterinoslav Province the 'Nabat' (The Ukranian Anarchist Federation) even shared the same building as the Bolsheviks, with their offices next door. Perhaps one key to the influence of the Anarchists in the Ukraine is they had overcome one of the key theoretical weaknesses of the broader movement - they had already seen the need for a specifically anarchist organisation to influence events and co-ordinate efforts.

The Nabat was to play a significant role in the Ukraine, helping co-ordinate unions, the building of schools and hosptials, and running in conjunction with Maximalists and Left SRs the cultural section of the RIAU. However, the Nabat was what we would now call a 'synthesist' organisation, meaning libertarians of disparate tendencies tried to co-operate in the one political organisation. This is probably even less coherent than having Trotsyists and dedicated 'Stalinists' in the same party, and was to have severe limitations. It was in reaction to this political quagmire and general ineffectiveness of the broader Russian anarchist movement that Makhno, Arshinov and Ida Mett wrote 'The Platform', in an attempt to theoretically clarify the mistakes they had seen. Part of that obviously, to someone as dedicated a revolutionary as Makhno, who wore the scars of a revolution, (his nurse in the 1930s described his body as 'a cocoon of scar tissue') was to address questions of what makes for genuine revolutionary activity, and not just revolutionary posturing.

None of the issues addressed by Makhno, Arshinov and Mett have been fully answered today, though certain Platformist and Especifist currents around the world have made significant developments.

In a personal capacity, I would add that I feel the concept (or lack thereof) of revolutionary discipline is a plague upon the house of anarchism. In Australia today, anarchism does not play even a minor role. It is utterly insignificant. The ghosts of past political and theoretical mistakes still haunt us. Individualism, lifestyle politics and immature 'insurrectionism' predominate rather than the tendencies which have had actual historical significance (anarcho-communism and syndicalist strategy). I don't claim to be above this and in my time in anarchist organisations have made grave mistakes in the lack of discipline. I would also reflect that the broader milieu rubs off on any individual who has coherent politics, and that organisations who attempt to build something serious can be dragged down by the complaints of individuals and the general swamp of the 'anarchist scene' with no stake in organisation.

That our society is at once so individualised and that the majority of libertarian organisations draw their membership from universities (students lives are in direct contrast to the working class whos responsibilities and life being disciplined by the demands of capital make inherently for a much more serious and practical revolutionary politics) is not insignificant either. The material realities of society dictate what is possible, and shape the implementation of our ideas. However organisation and depth of theory and practice can overcome something of this shortcoming.

Breaking through this barrier will be an uphill battle, but escaping from anarchisms ghettoised form and restoring the social vector of anarchism will mean addressing the practical needs of Australias exploited classes. In turn this will help us move back towards effective conceptions of anarchist revolution and organisation.

---------------------------------------------------

"Some comrades have put the following question to me: how do I perceive revolutionary discipline? Let me answer that.

I take revolutionary discipline to mean the self-discipline of the individual, set in the context of a strictly prescribed collective activity equally incumbent upon all. This should be the responsible policy line of the members of that collective, leading to strict congruence between practice and theory.

Without discipline inside the organisation, there is no way of undertaking any consequential revolutionary activity at all. In the absence of discipline, the Revolutionary vanguard [note: 'Vanguard' was a commonly used term by anarchists in this period, it has different theoretical connotations in anarchism to Leninism] cannot exist, for in that case it would find itself in utter disarray in its practice and would be incapable of identifying the tasks of the moment or of living up to the initiator role the masses expect of it.

I envisage this question against the backdrop of observation and experience of consistent revolutionary practice. For my part, I take as my basis the experience of the Russian revolution, which bore within it a content that was essentially libertarian in many respects.

Had anarchists been closely connected in organisational terms and had they in their actions abided strictly by a well-defined discipline, they would never have suffered such a rout. But, because the anarchists "of all persuasions and tendencies" did not represent (not even in their specific groups) a homogeneous collective with a well defined policy of action, for that reason, these anarchists were unable to withstand the political and strategic scrutiny which revolutionary circumstances imposed upon them. Disorganisation reduced them to political impotence, separating them into two categories:

The first made up of those who hurled themselves into the systematic occupation of bourgeoise properties, where they set up house and lived in comfort. These are the one I term 'tourists', the various anarchists who beetled around from town to town in hope of stumbling across a place to live for a time along the way, taking their leisure and hanging around as long as possible to live in comfort and ease. [Note; isn't this ironically reminiscent of todays lifestyle anarchists and their obsession with squatting! Rather than organise side by side with the mass of workers in renters unions or tenant assosciations, they seperate themselves by bizzare lifestyle choices. The irony today being 'revolutionary' squatters rarely live in comfort, they would rather take up insecure housing in decrepit shitholes than paying rent and getting a job where they can organise.]

The other category was made up of those who severed all real connections with anarchism (although a few of them inside the USSR are now passing themselves off as the sole representatives of revolutionary anarchism) and fairly swooped upon the positions offered them by the Bolsheviks, even when the authorities were shooting anarchists who remained true to their revolutionary credentials by denouncing the Boksheviks treachery. [Note: while hardly a betrayal of the same magnitude, this is reminiscent of a certain trend in Australian anarchism of more organisationally minded anarchists to join The Greens or various socialist parties because of vague arguments around 'access to resources' or the 'absence of anarchist organisations' rather than struggle to build one.]

In light of these facts, it will be readily understood why I cannot remain indifferent to the nonchalance and negligence currently to be encountered in our circles.

For one thing, it prevents the establishment of a coherent libertarian collective that would allow anarchists to assume their rightful place in the revolution, and for another, it leads to a situation where we make do with fine words and grand ideas, whilst fading away when the time comes for action.

That is why I am speaking about a libertarian organisation that rests upon the principle of fraternal discipline. Such an organisation would lead to the crucial understanding between all of the living forces of revolutionary anarchists and would assist in its taking its rightful place in the struggle of labour against capital.

In this fashion, libertarian ideas can only gain a mass following, and not be impoverished. Only empty-headed irresponsible chatter boxes could balk at such an organisational set up.

Organisational responsibility and discipline should not be contraversial; they are the travelling companions of the practice of social anarchism."

---------------------------------------------------

Bonus content!

Makhno met with Durruti and Ascaso before the Spanish revolution. After their meeting they returned to Spain where they politics took a very obvious turn from insurrectionist-bank robber types to much more sober revolutionaries who would have siginficant impact upon the Spanish revolution. I have my suspicions that Makhnos ideas greatly influenced the two Spanish libertarians, and I believe this quote from Durruti on revolutionary discipline illustrates that well;

"I believe, as I always have, in freedom. The freedom which rests on the sense of responsibility. I consider discipline indispensable, but it must be inner discipline, motivated by a common purpose and a strong feeling of comradeship."

[ibby981blog-blog]

Why Every thing You Understand about Enjoy Is really a Lie

Top 22 Esports Blogs To Read Inked Gaming

The Gaming sector has been the most influential and lucrative enterprise in quite some time. What Wikipedia is to understanding, GameSpot is to video games. From video game blogs to critiques to downloads to previews on console games. GameSpot capabilities every single nook & cranny of gaming globe. The very best aspect of this gaming web site is it gives an open platform to customers to share their opinions, blogs & evaluations on their forum. The site is fairly great looking and options section such as: Computer Gaming, PS4, Xbox 1, Gametech, 3Ds, Deals & substantially additional.

Significantly less developed countries like Indonesia and Philippines have drawn significantly less consideration from app publishers. Fashion and trends in mobile gaming in these countries have been heavily influenced by Western markets, with inroads from China, Japan and South Korea. In Indonesia, globally well-liked games like Clash of Clans and Candy Crush Saga took 5 of the top rated ten spots by revenue and 7 spots by downloads in December 2014. In Philippines, international leaders took an even larger share: 6 of the prime ten spots by income and the complete leading 7 by downloads. Even so, unlike in Japan or South Korea, Supercell and King did not rely on enormous Television and outdoor advertising campaigns to acquire customers and climb up ranks. It appears that the growth in these 5 emerging Southeast Asian markets was a lot more organic. In Indonesia and Philippines users have been acquired far more via advertising automation channels such as Facebook.

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The Untapped Gold Mine Of MATCHING That Close to No One Learns About

In the ‘90s, televisions got larger, and gaming consoles got additional potent. Nintendo and Sega fought for the major spot with the Super Nintendo Entertainment Method, and the Sega Genesis, respectively. You are going to locate all the retro games for SNES and Genesis you loved back in the day in one practical spot. From Golden Axe to Mega Man X, all your preferred 16-bit titles are readily available at the Retro games store.

Game makers can assistance uncomplicated leaderboards effortlessly by employing DynamoDB. A single such use case is the potential to show prime scores for a game. If a gaming firm already stores players' game state in DynamoDB, like players' top rated scores, the capacity to get leading scores can be implemented by applying a international secondary index.

Bit things continue to grow up and platform was changed differently. Google and Apple changed their algorithms handful of time and this shake entire App search results. Platforms fixes their early troubles and if you bear in mind Balmer's joke "Who's gonna get $500 phone? people start out to purchased $500 phones. Also steady platform bring "BigGuys" there like EA, GameLoft in gaming market or Adobe, Autocad in graphic apps. This occurs around 2011-2012.

EDIT:I utilised to watch the Feedback video more than at G4 every single week, but it's gone down hill the final handful of times I watched it and now that Adam Sessler is not on it and they have that girl from IGN that every person hates in every single episode I just cannot be bothered to watch it any a lot more. Still worth going back and watching some of the older ones although. Klepic applied to be on that show and back then in the early days was when it was the best. Back when they really talked about gaming news with some semblance of intellect rather of just gushing about whatever game they are told is cool this week.

Yeah I would say this thread already hit on the great ones. Joystiq is a quite very good newsy kind web page. PA Report seems to be embracing the similar virtue of GB which is to say let's not be beholden to anything other than to great content. Terrific point is that Ben Kuchera posts other excellent pieces from a variety of web pages so its not just his voice which is pretty fantastic as effectively. Vox Gaming I believe needs a improved internet designer but their content seems to be going in fantastic places.

In order to make all the content material of your gaming internet site appear fantastic on smaller screen sizes, you require to make positive that your on the net project is mobile-friendly. One of the ideal strategies to build a responsive web site is https://www.internetpolyglot.com/user/359485 choosing a Bootstrap-primarily based internet theme as its foundation. Functioning with a mobile-friendly web site template, you may forget about the need to adjust your content to all devices manually.

Working in partnership with Vox Media, Polygon brings its community original content on video games and their creators. Men and women interested in the gaming culture check up on Polygon many occasions in the course of the day for the most recent and reliable news, evaluations, previews, and videos viral in the gaming planet. Their eclectic Forum homes wide-ranging discussions and opinions on games and gaming trends.

This wonderful theme is an complete package of impressive styles and web-site management tools to support you build a frontend that is positive to wow any gamer out there. With its all-potent theme alternatives panel and integration with WP Bakery web page builder, you can build breathtaking gaming forums, clan sites, news channels and game shops with minimal work.

The publisher funds the game and its release, even though the studio designs and develops the game. In the course of the 2000s, publishers began funding studios that created games of all sizes and excellent. This fostered an sector that created video games at a volume as well significant for consumer demand and with little concentrate on good quality Eventually demand for these low-good quality games faded and publishers stopped funding these studios, eliminating a massive portion of the gaming labor industry.

On the net multiplayer shooters, like CS:GO, Fortnite, and PUBG, are at present dominating the gaming planet, thanks to professional gamers, eSports tournaments, Twitch streamers , and YouTube gaming channels Some games that have been released years ago are still well-liked nowadays, like League of Legends, Minecraft, Planet of Warcraft, Dota two, and Super Smash Bros. Melee. Other great games trending now include things like Overwatch, Rocket League, Super Mario Odyssey, and Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege. Others have spawned sequels that out play and out perform their original games.

Susan distinguishes herself as a gaming blogger since she emphasizes bringing positivity to the gaming sphere. As the Senior Editor for Escapist Magazine,” Susan also has an influence that some of the other gamers don't have mainly because she has the chance to encourage and influence some of the finest up-and-coming minds of the gaming world.

[loudlytransparenttrash]

The facts of Trump’s travel delay

The media is misrepresenting President Donald Trump’s executive order on immigration and refugee admission as a “Muslim ban”.

 keep hearing the same thing by the left - “but the 9/11 hijackers weren’t from these countries!!!” True. But a lot has changed from 16 years ago. One thing we have to take seriously and remember, these seven nations were not chosen at random by "the new Hitler who has business ties in other Muslim countries”. They weren’t even chosen by Trump at all. They were all singled out as exceptional security risks in the Terrorist Prevention Act of 2015 and its 2016 extension. In fact, President Trump’s order does not even name the seven countries. It merely refers to the sections of U.S. Code that were changed by the Terrorist Prevention Act.

The list of seven nations affected by Trump’s executive order was, therefore, compiled by President Barack Obama’s Department of Homeland Security, in a series of judgments that actually goes back to Obama’s first term, circa 2011. Barack Obama made this list, not Donald Trump, and there was very little resistance from congressional Democrats at any step in the process of arriving at the final list of Iraq, Iran, Syria, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen.

Nor should there have been congressional resistance, because that list is eminently sensible. Several of these countries are disasters because of Obama’s foreign policy, while others were security nightmares long before he took office. To help you understand why these countries were selected by Obama, here is a review of current conditions in those nations:

Iraq: Of course, Iraq is currently fighting the Islamic State for control of Mosul and other captured territories. This is creating a flow of both retreating ISIS fighters and refugees from contested areas, both groups desperately trying to get into the Western world.

Many of the Iraqi refugees have been mistreated by local forces, which could easily make them targets for radicalization. The UK Guardian reported on Sunday that human rights groups are processing complaints about the outright torture of children suspected of connections to the Islamic State, which in turn has an extensive program for radicalizing children and turning them into brainwashed jihadi killers.

Shiite militia groups backed by Iran, some of which were murdering U.S. soldiers just a few years ago, are heavily involved in the fighting. There are concerns these emboldened, battle-tested, heavily armed militias will move into Syria and cause a new sectarian crisis. Many of these groups are units of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, for all intents and purposes, and would become shock troops for Syrian dictator Bashar Assad as he finishes off the last elements of the rebellion against him.

The Iraqi government, it must be said, does not have the most sterling record for honesty and efficiency. Transparency International recently rated Iraq’s government as one of the most corrupt in the entire world. The Iraqi parliament reflexively responded to Trump’s executive order with an ill-considered “reciprocity ban” that will do significant damage to the Iraqi nation if enacted, at the very moment it is fighting a desperate battle to drive out ISIS. That is not the kind of government that can be readily trusted to provide the data needed for “enhanced vetting.”

Iran: Contrary to the fictions peddled by the Obama Administration, Iran is still very much an enemy of the United States. Its government is actively involved in subversive efforts across the Middle East, and around the world.

Even in the last months of the Obama administration, long after Obama’s huge economic concessions and cash payments to Tehran, the State Department continues to classify Iran as the world’s top state sponsor of terrorism. The State Department remains concerned about “a wide range of Iranian activities to destabilize the region.”

The Iranians are still taking hostages, including U.S. citizens. They put their hostages through sham “legal proceedings” involving secret courts and lawyers who are not always permitted to speak with their clients. They store their hostages in hideous prisons that would pass inspection in no civilized country.

On Sunday, Iran continued its defiance of Barack Obama’s nuclear deal with yet another secret test of a banned ballistic missile.

Syria: It is astonishing that anyone thinks “vetting” is possible for many refugees from war-torn Syria, whose sinister central government still does not control many parts of the country.

ISIS, of course, is headquartered in Syria, and al-Qaeda is one of the strongest military forces in the rebellion. Syrian resistance groups are so difficult to screen that the Obama administration could only find tiny handfuls of reliable “moderate” fighters to arm and train; they were promptly kidnapped, killed, or forced to turn against the U.S after Obama deployed them. The “white hat rebel” program ended as a laughingstock across the Middle East.

Terrorist groups are still hunting down and destroying “moderate” rebel units to this very day, even during the “ceasefire” brokered by Russia, Turkey, and Iran. Worse, Syria has become a pressure-cooker for jihad, with groups once regarded as moderate becoming unmistakably radical over the past five years.

ISIS militants fleeing the battlefields of Iraq have been falling back into Syria, while Syrian ISIS fighters have been fleeing from their own battlefield reversals. The return of Islamic State militants, and other battle-hardened jihadis, from Syria to Western nations has long been seen as a major security concern.

The Syrian civil war is universally regarded as one of the worst humanitarian crises in history. Every party to the conflict has been blamed for causing civilian casualties, while some of them deliberately target civilians. The Assad regime has used indiscriminate conventional weapons, and weapons of mass destruction, against rebel-held districts. Civilians have been deprived of food, power, sanitation, and medicine in besieged areas for months, sometimes for years. This will create a huge population that is susceptible to radicalization by terrorists who blame Western powers for either inflicting horror upon civilians, or failing to prevent it.

Libya: Due to the U.S. media’s poor reporting on the continuing disaster of Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton’s war in Libya, most Americans probably do not realize Libya still lacks a functioning central government. The brief spate of coverage after the rise of Libyan ISIS ended with reports that a “Government of National Accord” had been installed, but in truth it only controls a portion of the country, and some observers believe it is on the verge of collapse. A Qaddafi-era general named Khalifa Haftar is working to seize power, and the Russians have been cozying up to him. The end result of Obama policy in Libya could very well be another Russian client state in the Middle East.

Haftar currently controls the government that used to be recognized by the international community as Libya’s legitimate administration. That government was chased out of the national capital, Tripoli, by a coalition of Islamist militias, widely known as Libya Dawn. They are still a force to be reckoned with, and constitute the third major Libyan government.

ISIS is still a serious problem in Libya, as demonstrated by U.S. air raids against Islamic State positions on President Obama’s very last day in office. “They have been largely marginalized but I am hesitant to say they’ve been completely eliminated in Libya,” a U.S. defense official said at the time.

Somalia: Somalia has been fighting a vicious insurgency from an Islamist terror organization called al-Shabaab, whose name means “The Youth.” It aggressively recruits young Muslims, including young Somalis living in the United States.

The group has links to both al-Qaeda and ISIS. The primary leadership decided not to swear fealty to the Islamic State, leading to something of a schism between different factions of al-Shabaab.

Al-Shabaab is not just a gang of furtive terrorists lurking in the shadows - it effectively controls large portions of rural Somalia, and has been waging war against neighboring Kenya. An attack launched just this weekend killed dozens of Kenyan troops, according to al-Shabaab claims disputed by the Kenyan government.

Al-Shabaab is one of the most savage Islamist terror organizations in the world, responsible for horrific massacres like the slaughter of 150 students at Garissa University College in April 2015, and 67 murdered at the Westgate shopping center in the Kenyan capital. An attack on the Dayah hotel in Mogadishu killed eight people just last week.

Al-Shabaab killers are notorious for asking potential victims to prove they are devout Muslims in order to spare their lives.

Somalia’s government was ranked the most corrupt in the world by Transparency International, in the same study that named Iraq one of the worst. That is not exactly news, because Somalia’s government has been listed as the most corrupt on Earth for ten years straight. For the sake of comparison, the Number Two and Three worst governments on Transparency International’s list are South Sudan and North Korea.

Somalia’s most recent elections were an absurd carnival of bribes and voter intimidation, even with U.N. oversight. The BBC declared the country “has not had a functional national government since the ousting of its former leader Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991.”

Sudan: As mentioned above, the Sudanese government is a corrupt disaster. The country actually split in half in 2011. Over 1.5 million people have been killed in the Sudanese civil war, while 2 million refugees have been displaced from the Darfur region.

The president of the Republic of Sudan is an iron-fisted Islamist dictator named Omar Hassan al-Bashir, who has been in power for over 25 years, after seizing power in a 1989 coup that came after two decades of civil war.

Bashir is wanted for genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity by the International Criminal Court. Those charges have been pending since 2009. There are actually three counts of genocide against him. He is supposedly under an international travel ban, but he travels anyway, occasionally cutting his trips short when he thinks he might be arrested.

The Sudanese government imposed sharia law on its provinces in the Nineties. Bashir has been linked to Janjaweed militias, which serve as his own personal storm troopers, noted for their scorched-earth tactics and indiscriminate use of mass-casualty weapons against civilians. Some observers fear the Janjaweed will eventually ship Bashir’s leash and overthrow the government in Khartoum.

Sudan is listed as a state sponsor of terrorism and, until recently, it was politically aligned with Iran. Sudan has proven to be friendly terrain for all sorts of gangsters and terrorists, although its political realignment over the past few years reportedly included more cooperation on counter-terrorism, in a bid to get off the American list of terrorist sponsors. Even after that realignment, Hamas terrorists seemed to have little trouble traveling through Sudan, or raising money there.

Yemen: Yemen is a horrifying bloodbath of civil war and terrorist insurrection, which ties many of the other nations on this list together. Sudan, for example, has been part of Saudi Arabia’s coalition in Yemen, ever since it turned away from Iranian patronage.

Iran and Saudi Arabia are fighting a proxy war in Yemen, where there have been over 10,000 civilian casualties. The U.S. has been providing weapons to Saudi Arabia, whose coalition is blamed for many of the civilian deaths, so Yemeni resentment of the United States is a very real factor to consider when estimating the dangers of radicalization.

The U.S. blocked an arms sale to the Saudis in December 2016 after a Saudi coalition airstrike hit a funeral in the capital of Sana’a, leading to 140 deaths. The Saudi coalition has also been criticized for bombing Doctors Without Borders hospitals.

The internationally-recognized government of President Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi was displaced by an Iran-backed Shiite insurgency from the Houthi minority, aided by forces loyal to the previous president, Ali Abdullah Saleh. Describing the state of Yemeni government as “chaotic” would be a vast understatement. Major cities like Sana’a have been subjected to violent takeovers and sieges, while the Yemeni wilderness is largely controlled by al-Qaeda.

On Sunday, a U.S. Navy SEAL was killed, and three others wounded, in a firefight with al-Qaeda forces in central Yemen. Fourteen al-Qaeda fighters were reportedly killed, including the brother-in-law of the late al-Qaeda guru, Anwar al-Awlaki. It was the first counterterrorism operation authorized by President Trump.

In October, the U.S. Navy was obliged to strike ground targets in Yemen, after missiles were fired at American ships stationed off the coast.

So the next time you hear some moaning sjw trying to say these countries are innocent and because the terrorists from 9/11 didn’t come from these countries, then they shouldn’t be part of Trump’s travel delay - which is actually Obama’s terror list - well now you have the facts.

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Libya, Harry and Meghan, SpaceX: Your Monday Briefing

(Want to get this briefing by email? Here’s the sign-up.)

Good morning.

We’re covering halting steps toward peace in Libya, Harry and Meghan’s hard break from the British royal family and a facial recognition app that’s scraping photos from Facebook.

A glimmer of hope in Libya

Gen. Khalifa Hifter, a rebel commander in Libya whose forces are laying siege to Tripoli, is due to meet in Moscow today with President Vladimir Putin of Russia, amid hopes that the general might embrace a permanent cease-fire agreement that he refused to sign last week.

The meeting comes a day after more than a dozen international powers with competing interests in Libya met in Berlin and called for a cease-fire, an arms embargo and “a Libyan-led and Libyan-owned political process” for ending a conflict that has festered for nearly nine years.

But expectations remain low: On Sunday, as General Hifter’s forces launched fresh attacks on Tripoli, he and the Libyan prime minister refused to even spend time in the same room together.

Related: As Russia and Turkey play a bigger role in trying to end the conflict, Europe is belatedly sensing the implications of “a new Great Game, this time in North Africa, that is rapidly destabilizing its backyard,” our Brussels-based correspondents write.

Russia: Our reporter in Moscow explains why Mr. Putin announced last week a surprise reorganization of the government four years before he is scheduled to step down. (Hint: An autocrat’s usual retirement package — death, jail or exile — is unappealing.)

Harry and Meghan’s hard exit

When Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan, made the bombshell announcement that they planned to “step back” from their royal duties, they said they hoped to carve out a “progressive new role” within the monarchy.

But under a severance deal announced over the weekend, the couple will lose most of the privileges and perks of royalty once they give up their full-time status and forsake Britain for an uncertain future in Canada and the United States. It’s a harsher deal than the soft exit they’d imagined.

“It brings me great sadness that it has come to this,” Harry said of the agreement, which codifies one of the most dramatic ruptures within the British royal family since King Edward VIII abdicated the throne in 1936 to marry an American, Wallis Simpson.

Details: Harry and Meghan will forgo public funding of their activities, abandon their royal designations and repay the more than $3 million they spent refurbishing their residence on the grounds of Windsor Castle. But for now, their website has retained references to “His Royal Highness” and “Her Royal Highness.”

Quotable: Penny Junor, a royal biographer, said the British royal family was “trying to prevent a half-in, half-out arrangement, which doesn’t work.”

Impeachment arguments take shape

President Trump’s high-powered legal team is expected to expand today on its earlier arguments that the case against the president is legally and constitutionally invalid, and driven by a desire to hurt him in the 2020 election.

Democrats argued in a competing legal brief on Saturday that Mr. Trump, through his pressure on Ukraine, had enlisted a foreign government to help him win re-election, then sought to conceal his actions from Congress. And with the president’s Senate impeachment trial set to open on Tuesday, Democrats are intensifying their demands for testimony and documents.

Another angle: Mr. Trump’s personal lawyer, Rudolph Giuliani, and his Ukrainian allies see people who are fighting corruption in the country as enemies. That could complicate President Volodymyr Zelensky’s battles with oligarchs and organized crime.

Related: The Times Magazine profiled Mr. Giuliani, a central player in Mr. Trump’s Ukraine pressure campaign.

From opinion: The Times’s editorial board endorsed both Elizabeth Warren and Amy Klobuchar for the Democratic presidential nomination.

The trouble with Italy’s Five Star Movement

Italy’s anti-establishment Five Star Movement, which won the largest vote in national elections two years ago, was supposed to revolutionize the country’s politics. Now it looks to be on the verge of a slow-but-irreversible collapse.

Five Star had a messy breakup with Matteo Salvini’s hard-right League party over the summer, and its governing coalition with the center-left Democratic Party hasn’t worked out. The main problem, analysts say, is that Five Star has failed to transition from a vague protest movement into a governing party that is willing to take clear positions.

What’s next: At elections in the Emilia Romagna and Calabria regions later this month, the ascendant Mr. Salvini “is hoping to put a stake in the government’s heart,” our Rome bureau chief, Jason Horowitz, writes.

Closer look: Last month Jason profiled Luigi Di Maio, Five Star’s political leader and Italy’s foreign minister.

If you have 20 minutes, this is worth it

Helping to exploit Angola’s wealth

Isabel dos Santos, above center, Africa’s richest woman and the daughter of Angola’s former president, often took cuts of her country’s wealth through decrees signed by her father. Global banks, bound by strict rules about politically connected clients, largely declined to work with her family.

But consulting companies readily embraced her business, and even agreed to take money from offshore shell companies tied to her and her associates. As a result, they both facilitated and helped legitimize her efforts to profit off diamonds, oil and banks in a country hobbled by corruption.

Here’s what else is happening

Virus in China: The authorities reported a third death and more than 130 new cases linked to a mysterious respiratory virus over the weekend, bringing the total number of reported cases to about 200. As millions in China prepare to travel home for Lunar New Year, some experts worry that the outbreak could be more severe than the government admits.

Rocket blast: SpaceX intentionally blew up a spacecraft, with NASA’s blessing, after launching it from Kennedy Space Center in Florida, as a way to test an escape feature for astronauts. The test may set the stage for SpaceX and Boeing to launch their first crewed flights.

Controversial app: Hundreds of American law enforcement agencies are using Clearview, a facial recognition app that identifies people based on photos scraped from Facebook and other websites. Clearview has shrouded itself in secrecy.

Klimt, revealed: A prosecutor said a painting by Gustav Klimt that was found last month inside the walls of the same Italian museum from which it was stolen almost 23 years ago is authentic.

Snapshot: Above, a small clothing factory that was flooded by calls from widows seeking work in Aleppo, Syria. As the country’s civil war grinds on, more women in socially and religiously conservative areas are leaving home and working for the first time.

What we’re reading: This look back at Prohibition, 100 years later, from NorthJersey.com. “It’s a perfectly mixed cocktail of history, politics and culture,” writes Gina Lamb, a Special Sections editor. “Don’t miss the video.”

Now, a break from the news

Cook: Red curry lentils with sweet potato and spinach is an aromatic meal inspired by Indian dal.

Watch: With “Star Trek: Picard,” a spinoff following Patrick Stewart’s Starfleet officer, the franchise is trying to rediscover its place in a universe that it effectively invented.

Smarter Living: If you’re a night owl tired of not getting enough sleep, here’s how to become a morning person.

And now for the Back Story on …

The Australian Open

Facing the likelihood of incoming clouds of smoke from the bushfires scorching the country, tournament officials say they may have to close the retractable roofs on three stadiums and restrict play to the eight indoor courts. Play began today.

The retractable roof on what is now Rod Laver Arena was a big attraction when it was new, in 1988. According to its designers, the point was to allow the stadium to host concerts and sports in all seasons.

It also helped the Australian Open make the transition into one of the grander of tennis’s four Grand Slam events.

When the event began in the early 20th century, travel time for Americans and Europeans could be more than a month, so play was largely limited to Australians and New Zealanders.

Even after the advent of jet travel, low prize money and dates around the Christmas holidays kept many players away. Chris Evert played the Australian Open just six times; John McEnroe five; Bjorn Borg once.

Over time, prize money and ranking points increased. The tournament shifted to the third and fourth weeks of January and moved to Melbourne Park — which has since added two more retractable roofs. Those additions now seem prescient.

That’s it for this briefing. See you next time.

— Mike

Thank you To Mark Josephson and Eleanor Stanford for the break from the news. Today’s Back Story is drawn from reporting by Ben Rothenberg, who covers the Australian Open for The Times. You can reach the team at briefing@nytimes.com.

P.S. • We’re listening to “The Daily.” Our latest episode is about Bernie Sanders’s campaign strategy. • Here’s today’s Mini Crossword puzzle, and a clue: Point of a fable (five letters). You can find all our puzzles here. • The New York Times reported from 159 countries in 2019.

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Starting a WATER IN BOTTLES Company - A Complete Guide

Are you interested in starting a bottled water company from scratch? If YES, here is a complete guidebook for starting a bottled water business with NO money and no experience. Okay, so we have provided you an in-depth sample bottled water business plan template. We also took it additional by analyzing and drafting an example bottled water marketing plan backed up by actionable guerrilla marketing tips for bottled water businesses. In this article, we will be considering all the requirements for starting a water in bottles business. So placed on your entrepreneurial let’s and hat proceed. Table of Content Bottled water Industry Overview Market Research and Feasibility Bottled Water Name ideas WATER IN BOTTLES Licenses and Permits Bottle Water Marketing Plan Cost of Starting a Bottled Water Plant Bottled Water Marketing ideas Are you an aspiring entrepreneur searching for a good and rewarding business venture to launch? If you have what it takes to begin a business, then you should consider starting a water in bottles production company in your city. Needless to say there are readily available markets for bottled water no matter the part of the world that you made the decision to start your own bottled water Production Company. This is so because every human being on the face of the planet earth drink clean and portable water to survive no matter how it is packaged. Although starting a standard bottled water production company could be capital intensive for an entrepreneur that is just getting started. But if you are able to conduct an intensive market feasibility and research studies before launching the business, you are sure going to breakeven before most businesses that are started on a same day, within same area and under similar financial conditions. The bottom line is that economic recession barely affects the rate of usage of bottled water especially during summer period. Basically what most standard bottled water production companies rely on to increase sales cum income generation is robust distribution network of their coverage areas; retailers, restaurants, sports clubs and resorts et al are a number of the essential business entities that you need to partner with if you would like to do pretty well in this occupation. Starting a Bottled Water Company - A Complete Guide Industry Overview This is no doubt an extremely lucrative industry that may make one a millionaire if everything work together for good. Water in bottles is one commodity that's consumed in all parts of the world and of course those that are in the business of producing water in bottles are recognized to generate sales season in calendar year out if the business enterprise is well - managed. As a matter of fact, economic downturn hardly affects the consumption of bottled water simply because it really is a commodity that is as important as the air we breathe in. Production companies in the bottled water industry purify water in bottles into plastic and glass bottles for consumption basically. The water in bottles are properly capped and labeled before being sold to the general public accordingly. Companies in this industry have an assortment of water offerings usually, such as for example spring water, mineral water, sparkling drinking water and flavored water in a range of prizes and sizes. Players in this industry are also mixed up in manufacturing of ice manufacturing. It's quite common to find big corporations who are into production of soft drinks and food and drinks take part in the production of water in bottles. Research conducted by IBIS World shows that in the usa of America, the known level of concentration in the Bottled Water Production industry is modest, as the top 4 players are expected to generate 65.5 percent of revenue. Given the heavy mass weight of industry items and the low value per unit sold relatively, bottled water production is normally taken on by large firms with major economies of level and heavy investments in transportation. As the majority of water in bottles production is performed as one of many actions within the corporate portfolios of international meals and beverage companies, the remaining part of the industry’s production is conducted through small-sized local players.

The Bottled Water Creation industry is a thriving sector of the economy of the United States of America plus they generates a whooping sum of more than $5 billion annually from a lot more than 565 registered and certified bottle water production companies scattered all over the United States of America. The industry is accountable for the employment of well over 14,360 people. Experts task the bottle water production sector to grow at a 4.0 percent annual rate. The Coca Cola Company, Nestle and Pepsi Co are the global globe leaders in the bottled water industry; they have the lion market share in the United States of America and in most countries of the world. Despite the known fact there are big corporations who are in to the production of bottled water, the fact remains that starting a little scale bottled water production business has minimal barriers to access, with low begin - up capital. Most players in the bottled water production industry are small- to medium-size establishments that cater to the local community. With this type or kind of business, if you want to start on a small scale, you can decide to start servicing your local community. All you would need is contacts, packaging, networking and good customer and marketing assistance skills. However, if you intend starting it on a big scale, you then should consider spreading away from local community to convey level and even nationwide level. Some of the elements and incentives that encourages aspiring entrepreneurs to venture into starting a bottled water production company may be the fact that the mandatory amount needed to begin the business especially when you decide to start a small scale servicing a small community isn't on the high side in comparison to other small scale businesses. So also, the market for water in bottles cuts across people of all races, culture, financial position and age et al. That makes it easier for loads of entrepreneur who are interested in the business to enter into the industry at any time they really want; the entry barriers are very affordable and any critical minded entrepreneur can comfortably improve the start - up capital without collecting loans from the lender. Over and above, the bottled water production industry is a profitable industry in fact it is open for just about any aspiring entrepreneur to come in and establish his / her business; you can chose to start on a small scale servicing a community or you can chose to start on a huge scale with many outlets in key metropolitan areas all around the United States of America. Starting a Bottled Water Company - GENERAL MARKET TRENDS and Feasibility Demographics and Psychographics The psychographic and demographic compositions for those who consume bottled water is all encompassing. This is therefore because there are no human on the facial skin of the earth that does not drink clean and portable water. So as a water in bottles production company, your marketplace should cut across folks of different financial standings, culture, religion, age and competition et al. All you need to do is to ensure that your bottled water is packaged is affordable and packaged in various sizes not to mention different prices. With that you will be able to appeal to all of your target market. List of Niches in the WATER IN BOTTLES Industry Basically, there are simply no niche areas in the water in bottles production industry simply because water in bottles are expected to meet up same standard in any section of the world hence the market is strictly regulated. On the other hand, water in bottles production companies are known to continue to improvise so as to continue steadily to expand their marketplace reach which is why it is now simpler to find flavored water in bottles, distilled water in bottles, sparkling water in bottles, bottled water with low PH value and water in bottles packaged in different sizes et al. As a matter of fact, most bottled water production companies are not left out when it comes to producing water that are dispense via water dispensers. Competition in the WATER IN BOTTLES Industry There are just a few businesses that lack competition. Among the good stuff about competition is the fact that it can help one sit down up and rise to the challenges generally there are. There is hardly any industry or occupation all over the world where there is absolutely no competition, as a matter of fact, it is competition that brings creativity and innovations in the continuing business world. This would go to show that if you are searching towards starting a bottled water production company, you then should brace - up for competitions in the market. The truth is that you are not expected to compete amongst bottled water production businesses in your area, but also international and top notch corporations such as The Coca Cola Company, Pepsi Nestle and Co et al. Most water in bottles company are leveraging on creativeness with regards to packaging and marketing to continue to stay afloat in the industry. One creativity approach that's common is ensuring that their water in bottles conforms to the correct PH - level. As a matter of fact it is common to find bottled water production companies especially medium level and small scale water in bottles companies specially labeling their water in bottles for particular occasions to meet the demand of their clients. For example, a client that is celebrating his or her birthday may strike an agreement with a bottled water company to specially label the water in bottles that will be served in the occasion to conform with the event. No doubt, the truth that there is stiffer competition in the bottled water production industry is not hampering the performance of fresh entrants; most of them learn how to recreate and re - strategize to attain out or attract more clients. List of Well Known WATER IN BOTTLES Brands in the usa of America In every industry, it isn’t new that there are brands that are way before others. This can be related to their long staying power, amongst other things. It is necessary to state that there are larger companies who are into bottled water production and also there are medium scale and small level business that are also into water in bottles production. This is so since the market is open for all to take part in. Here are some of the leading brands in the bottled water production industry in the United States of America; The Coca Cola Company Nestle (Nestle Pure Life) Pepsi Co. (Aquafina) Fiji Water Evian Voss Artesian Water Perrier Smart Water Arrowhead Mountain Spring Water Ice Mountain Natural Spring Water Deer Park Natural Spring Water Economic Analysis Starting a bottled water production company can’t be reported to be a difficult business enterprise but simultaneously, it is normally a business that will require thorough economic analysis - feasibility studies and market place study et al if you are searching towards making gains in the industry. Part of what you should focus on in this line of business is how to build a typical water purification and packaging plant, a robust distribution systems, branding and of course how to sustain your machinery and equipment and also to look after your overhead before your business breakeven. Other price that should be regarded as during budgeting and planning are way to obtain packaging materials, and energy and maintenance costs et al. It is important to try as much as possible to lessen overhead cost when making plans to start a food vehicle business and also to operate in cities where one can be allowed to cook and ready your food inside your truck. Well for right now it is just in Chicago that meals trucks are not allowed to cook their food inside their truck. Lastly, there are a number of permits that must run a water in bottles production business in the United State of America, not to mention additionally, there are public health codes to observe. Starting a Bottled Water Plant from the Scratch Versus Buying a Franchise? Good enough bottled water production business is one of those businesses that sell franchise; brands which have gained huge market leverage can successfully sell their franchise. Any aspiring entrepreneur who's considering starting a water in bottles production business gets the option of either beginning with the scratch or buying an existing franchise. There are plenty of factors that should be considered before choosing the choice to follow. Some of the things to consider are the cost of starting from the scratch or buying a franchise, your financial capability, your vision, as well as your business experience and skills. If your intention of starting a water in bottles creation business is to grow beyond one city, if you want to have existence in key cities in the United Canada and States, then starting your bottled water production company from the scratch is your best option. But if you just want to begin a business with the aim of just making money and you don’t possess the required finance and experience to create a business from the scratch, you then will be paid because of it to get the franchise of a successful brand in the bottled water production industry. Challenges and threats of Beginning a Bottled Water Company If you decide to start your own water in bottles production company in the United States, Canada, and Australia or in Europe, you are sure going to face some challenges and threats that are peculiar to similar business. Some of the difficulties that you are going to confront is finding your way around government regulations. There are several laws out there you are expected to follow if you would like to run your own bottled water production company in the usa of America, a few of the laws are unique to each states in the U.S. Generally, in case you are considering starting a water in bottles production company in the usa of America and in virtually any part of the world, you then should brace up to face threats such as for example unfavorable government regulations and policies, economic downturn; usually financial downturn affect the purchasing power of the average man or women on the street. Of training course the arrival of another water in bottles Production Company in same location where your target market exists. Writing a Business Plan for your Bottled Water Company Business plans are among the all-important things that you have to carry out whilst looking to start a business. When it comes to starting a continuing business, the first step you need to take is to write a good business plan. As a matter of fact, it is pretty difficult to run a business with out a good business plan on ground; it'll be tantamount to trials and mistakes and it is not what you will want to subject matter your time and wages to. A continuing business plan is the blue print of your business; it really is a business document that may aid you to successfully create a business and in addition administer / manage the business enterprise. It is not enough to write a business arrange for the sake of writing one just, your business plan will be able to pass fact check; you need to put relevant facts, figures and statistics under consideration when writing your business strategy. The truth is that, the main aim of writing a business plan is not just for the sake of having a business document in place; but to have a detail guide on how to effectively set - up, work and manage your business. Your business plan should outline and cover strategies about how you intend to work and manage your bottled water production company. When writing your business strategy, ensure that you are moderate when it comes to setting projections on income generation and sales projections et al. It is better to become on the safer side which explains why when you are calculating your future income you should utilize the lower range statistics as against the top range. These are some key factors that you need to also consider when drafting your business plan; Executive summary and Company’s descriptions: you are expected to write about the concept of your business, descriptions of your company, your company’s vision statement, and mission statement, where your company will be located, your management team, your investment philosophy and just why people should patronize your products or services perhaps. Other key components that should not be missing in your bottled water production business plan are your product offering, SWOT analysis, marketing and sales analysis / strategies, pricing, costing and financial projection, management techniques, expansion strategies, publicity and advertising strategy, budget and start - up capital generation et al. Choosing the right Location for your Bottled Water Plant When it comes to choosing a spot for a business such as for example bottled water Production Company, there are fundamental questions you should answer and key factors that must be considered. You are expected to choose a location that is easily accessible especially as it pertains to your distribution network and supply of recycleables et al. Affordability, availability of labor and safety are also some of the factors that you should consider. Regardless of the known fact that bottled water are consumed by all and sundry, it is important to choose a location that will give your economy of scales; a location which will give leverage to favorably contend in the market as a new entrant and also to make reasonable income et al. Starting a WATER IN BOTTLES Company - Technical & Manpower Details When it comes to starting a bottled water production company, you should make plans to create a standard water plant then. A standard water plant includes drinking water borehole, effective water treatment and water purifying devices, water bottling machines, a mini lab and good drainage system. Which means you are expected to put all this equipment and machine in place and also purchase standard distribution trucks. Although you may get a used brand of the above listed equipment and machines fairly, but it is recommended to choose new and latest devices and equipment that can serve you for a long period most especially if you have the mandatory money to make the purchase. Even if you don’t have the required amount, you can enter an contract with the suppliers of such bottled water production machines and devices and pass on the payment over a period. As regard acquiring a facility, when you have the required finance, it really is to your advantage to acquire a property or lease a facility to be used for your water in bottles production plant; it usually offers you the freedom to design the facility how you want to it to end up being and install safety devices as you so desire. But if you are low on cash, you then don’t have any option apart from to rent a facility. With regards to creating a workforce structure for a typical bottled water production company, you then should look towards getting qualified and qualified people to fill up the following roles; Chief Executive Officer (Owner), Plant Manager, RECRUITING and Admin Manage, Merchandize Manager, Marketing and sales Manager, Accountants / Cashiers, Production Workers / Machine Operators, Distribution Truck motorists, and Cleaners. Over and above, you will need a minimum of 15 - 20 staff members to successfully run a small scale water in bottles Production Company. Starting a WATER IN BOTTLES Company - The Marketing Plan Marketing Strategies and Suggestions for Bottled Water The actual fact that the entry barrier for starting a small scale bottled water production business is low means that there is bound to become more players in the industry regardless of the location you choose to start yours. In essence, you must develop creativity and innovations if you must carve out market for yourself within the obtainable market in your community, town, state or country. So when you are drafting your marketing ideas and strategies for your bottled water production business, ensure that you outsmart what your competition are providing. Here are some of the platforms you can use to market your bottled water production company; Introduce your bottled water brand by sending introductory letters to home, bottled water merchants and other stakeholders in your focus on and other cities Open your water in bottles production company with a party in order to capture the attention of home who are your first targets Engage in road present in targeted communities from time to time to sell your products Advertise your items in community based newspapers, local TV and radio stations List your business and items on yellow pages advertisements (local directories) Leverage on the internet to promote your bottled water brands Engage in direct sales and marketing Encourage the usage of Word of mouth marketing (referrals) Possible Competitive Approaches for Winning Your Competitors in the Bottled Water Industry When it comes to competing favorable in the bottled water production industry, you would need to be extremely creative to stay at the top. The truth is definitely that, if your customers have the opportunity to buy a well cheap and packaged bottled water from your competitors, the probability of losing them can’t be ruled out. In other to remain competitive in this industry, you must make sure that your bottled water is distributed and available in outlets within your target market places always. The truth is that if there are fluctuations in the supply of your brand of water in bottles, customers can choose to shift settle and allegiance for other options available. So also area of the creativity and innovations that will maintain you highly competitive is to make sure that you produce bottled drinking water in different sizes, flavors and deals et al. it shall give your marketplace options. Possible Ways to Increase Customer Retention for your WATER IN BOTTLES Company No doubt among the strategies that you would need to employ in order to generate repeated product sales from your own customers and also to retain them is to ensure that the quality and flavor of your water in bottles are constant and does not fluctuate. The simple truth is that if the taste and quality of your water in bottles fluctuates, you are likely likely to struggle to get your customers coming back; people go for products that are of high quality usually. You can also make uses of promotional suggestions such as loyalty schemes, direct marketing, door drops, and merchandising. Lastly, ensure that you offer your customers incentives if you want to retain them not to mention continue steadily to generate repeated sales from their website and also to attract new customers. Strategies to Increase your Brand Awareness and Create a Corporate identity for your Bottled Water Company Regardless of the industry you belong to, the truth is that the market is a dynamic and it needs constant brand awareness and brand boosting cum promotion to continue to appeal to your target market. Your corporate identity as too much to do when it comes to creating a business that is profitable and last long. Listed below are the platforms you may leverage on to boost your brand awareness and create corporate identity for your WATER IN BOTTLES Production Company; Place adverts on both print (community based newspapers and magazines) and electronic media platforms Sponsor relevant community programs Leverage on the internet and social media platforms want; Instagram, Facebook , twitter, et al to promote your bottled water brand Install your Costs Boards on strategic locations all around major metropolitan areas in the United States of America Engage in road show every once in awhile in targeted communities Distribute your fliers and handbills in target areas Position your Flexi Banners at strategic positions in the location where we intend getting clients to start patronizing your products. Ensure that your bottled water are good branded and that all of your staff members wear your customized clothes, and all your official cars and distribution vans are personalized and well branded. Tips for Owning a Starting a Bottled Water Company Successfully It is the duty of businesses to make sure that they put in place plans that will make sure that the business is successfully work well. The simple truth is that, irrespective of the type or kind of business you run, your capability to get all the members of your group on same page all the time is one of the keys you should successfully run the organization. As the principle executive officer of a water in bottles production company, it is your responsibility to give direction to the continuing business. Part of what you ought to do is to ensure that you create time for office meetings; the right time where challenges, feedback, projections and relevant problems are discussed. The meetings could possibly be daily, once in a week, twice weekly or once in per month. The bottom line is that there should end up being constant meetings in your organization. Carrying out appraisals on a regular basis and training your workers shall help you run your organization effectively. Encourage your employees to pursue certifications in their various region of specializations; it shall help your organization’s profile and of course it can help the individuals. You can decide to or partially sponsor some of the certifications fully. Finally, you should keep your doors open for suggestions from people of your team and your clients. It is crucial to reward excellent efficiency in your organization; it shall go a long way to motivate healthy competition in your organization. For more info just visit to know more รับติดตั้งโรงงานผลิตน้ำดื่ม

[jtranvisionary]

My Community, My Vision

What is your vision for the Vietnamese community? 

“Community? I don’t even know what that word means.” This was my attitude growing up as a Vietnamese Canadian, lacking a community and its support.

My vision is to establish a community and empower youth on multiple levels: locally, nationally, and continentally. My vision is to provide clarity, guidance, and unity in our cultural identity to allow for preservation of our cultural heritage.

I mentioned this in my “Growing up Vietnamese Canadian” section about my lack of community, struggles of having two cultures, and general cultural identity crisis. The future I imagine is one where first generation Vietnamese-Canadians, like myself, can show how prideful we are in showcasing our Vietnamese and Canadian roots. We will inspire the second generation to embrace both sides of our identity equally. I imagine a future where children will grow up not ashamed and torn, but rather proud and fulfilled and sure of one’s identity and roots. I talked about how growing up, I felt that I had no community because my parents were not involved in the Vietnamese community and I didn’t have any Vietnamese friends. It wasn’t until I joined VSA as a freshman in university when I started feeling a sense of community and cultural pride. However, I spent 10 years or so, feeling isolated and confused. By joining VSA when I was 18, it was only then when I started to connect to being Vietnamese and being empowered to be a leader. However, there were so many agonizing years wasted because I was in isolation.

In the future, I imagine the “VSA community” starting younger and extending through multiple generations. Through the provision of VSA-like groups for children and youth, children will not feel isolated and confused about identity. They will have peers they can rely on and talk about their struggles, joke with, and feel united as a community. I imagine the social and cultural events VSAs hold now will be completed with the assistance of youth. This will not only evoke a sense of pride and community from an early age,  but it gives opportunities for leadership and empowerment. My vision for the community is one that heavily involves youth because they are the future. If we do not let their voices be heard and give them the opportunity to become leaders, who will continue to build and strengthen our community? I imagine that leaders will be inspired not at 18, but at 8. I imagine leaders will start speaking their ideas and invoking change not at 18, but at 8. 

In the future, I imagine there are more schools in various regions where youth can be taught to speak, write, and read the beautiful Vietnamese language because once a language is lost, so is the culture. Being able to speak our native tongue will allow the community to be more connected to one another through a shared distinctive language and dual identities. 

I envision with the strengthening of our local communities, we will be able to hold larger cultural celebrations where non-Vietnamese can and will attend to learn more about our culture. I envision with the strengthening of our local communities, we will showcase our food and passionately and proudly educate others about the rich flavours and history of the food rather than assimilating into western customs. I envision with the strengthening of our local communities, we will teach youth to be prideful in being Vietnamese, passionate in showcasing our culture, and embracing the opportunities to grow within the community as a leader and as an individual. Ultimately, this stronger sense of community will build an even stronger sense of pride being Vietnamese and being Canadian.

This leads into how we can build a stronger community on the national level. In comparison to the United States where there is a greater abundance of Vietnamese people and more passionate Vietnamese individuals, Canada is lacking. I envision a future where our UVSAs for Eastern and Western Canada will hold even larger cultural, social, and professional events within our own region. In addition, I imagine a unity of VSAs across Canada where Eastern and Western Canada UVSAs can unite, forming UVCA (United Vietnamese Canadian Association). This is where we, as Vietnamese Canadians, can discuss political issues within our community, provide leadership opportunities on a national level, and build a community for individuals connected by a common dual identity. 

By creating a stronger community, the future generations will readily embrace our heritage. Instead of feeling isolated in our hardships, we will lean on each other for support in order to maintain, celebrate, and build on celebrating Vietnamese culture. By creating a stronger national Vietnamese Canadian community, we will not only educate our youth but also educate the general Canadian population through making our community presence more apparent within the multicultural mosaic of Canada. Ultimately, the community I envision is one so strong that we can make it possible to bring the UNAVSA conference to Canada where Vietnamese Canadian leaders can showcase their skills, their leadership, and their passion.

UNAVSA stands for Union of North American Vietnamese Students’ Association but often times, I feel like Vietnamese Canadians are underrepresented in this organization, our issues not spoken about, our voices unheard, and our students and youth not passionate enough to become involved. My vision is that in the future, this segregation will no longer exist and that American or Canadian, we as young leaders will be inspired, motivated, and driven by our passion for being Vietnamese and spreading our culture. My vision is a future where there will be a larger representation of Vietnamese Canadians within CORR, cabinet positions, conference family leaders, and within UNAVSA itself. I envision a future where our community is more than our division into Canada and America, but a community that crosses these “lines” and inspires, motivates, and supports each other to achieve greatness, to make a difference, and to inspire change and others. Ultimately, I envision a future where passionate individuals are not only in the American communities, but also in the Canadian communities. When that day comes, we can truly call it UNAVSA. I imagine a Vietnamese North American community that can learn from each other’s struggles and laugh at those struggles as we combat them together. Together, we can talk about the history of our country, the war and the aftermath, and the appreciation we have towards our parents moving to North America to give us a better life. In isolation, we can cross rivers, but as a community, we can cross oceans. In isolation, we can climb hills, but as a community we can climb mountains. In isolation, we can inspire a nation of individuals, but as a community, we can inspire a continent of leaders.

My vision for the future is one where when asked, “Where are you from?” the future generations will proudly stand up as a community and respond,

“I’m Vietnamese Canadian/American.”

And what role do you hope to play in achieving this vision? 

Vision and action - that is what I will provide to help achieve this vision.

My parents both wanted to move to North America to start anew and give a better life to their future children aka my brother and I. My mother was reluctant to leave though, her hesitancy fueled by her inability to envision the future. It was my dad who told her, “Trust me. If we work hard, we can make the future brighter, if not for us, at least for our children.” 23 years later, my parents are Canadian citizens with jobs, a house, and provided a brighter future to their two healthy offspring who both attend university. All this was possible because one person, my dad, had a vision and took the steps into making his vision into a reality.

I will provide the vision for change, the voice of the first generation, the bridge between older and younger generations, the passion to inspire, and the leadership to turn this vision into reality.

I’ve shared my vision with a couple of individuals including past visionaries, VSA members from the States, my VSA peers, sponsors, and older generation of the community. The more I talk about my vision, the more I am confident about it as I gain support from those I talk to. Using my experiences and struggles as a first generation Vietnamese-Canadian and my connections to other first-generation offspring, I will work to preserve our culture, educate youth about our roots, and to speak about the issues we have as first generation children. 

To help preserve and celebrate our culture, I recently became the spokesperson for Ao Dai Canada, a non-profit Toronto-based organization formed in 2017 that focuses on fostering, preserving, and celebrating the Vietnamese arts and culture. Through this organization, I wish to educate myself in order to educate others about our culture and use it as a platform to be the voice for first generation Vietnamese Canadians. Through gaining exposure from the Miss Vietnam Canada pageant, talking to Vietnamese-run businesses for sponsorship, and attending Vietnamese Canadian Professionals’ Association (VCPA) meetings, I am integrating myself into the older generation. Through these connections, I will be the liaison between the two generations to allow each generation to understand each other, learn from each other, and support each other as we all work on building and strengthening our community. Most importantly, I will provide the passion and leadership to inspire. Running for 2018-2019 UVSA Ontario President, becoming more involved in the community, being a Miss Vietnam Canada contestant, and a spokesperson for Ao Dai Canada shows my passion for the community. Through these positions of leadership, I will use this as a platform to create a stronger community by strengthening connections within Eastern Canada and establishing connections to Western Canada and other regions in the States. 

I will create opportunities for first generation youth to become leaders and be empowered. With a stronger community with more support, there will be more opportunities for leadership. I imagine in the future, there will be more female leaders. Instead of feeling oppressed, women will stand up confidently as they lead our community into the future. Growing up, I had very few female role models aside from my mom and that’s something that is lacking in our community. I see this changing in the future as we provide the support and guidance that was lacking before. We will allow females to be empowered and inspired. 

Through my struggle growing up as a Vietnamese Canadian, the past leadership positions I’ve held, and my current involvement in the community, I hope to encourage others to embrace their Vietnamese identities and contribute to the unity of our community. I stand up as a proud Vietnamese born Canadian, and I will stand out as a leader to inspire the next generation of leaders. With my vision and action plan, I will ignite a passion in others to stand up with me and to stand out as empowered leaders. With this community of empowered leaders, we can work together to make the vision into reality. In isolation, we can cross rivers, but as a community, we can cross mountains. In isolation, we can climb hills, but as a community we can climb mountains. In isolation, we can inspire a nation of individuals, but as a community, we can inspire a continent of leaders. Like my dad who had a vision for a brighter future, I have the vision, the action plan, and the “leadership… to turn vision into reality.”