#and specially when *no new factor has emerged* that would make this a believable scenario

[brilliantfantasticgeronimo]

people already talking of the genocide in the past tense.

even if this deal goes through (sorry, but if you've been keeping up with the other 'deals', this is just unlikely) the conditions remain the same.

the genocide was already happening before oct. 7. stopping the bombing doesn't stop the apartheid conditions, the slow and steady displacement... well, the genocidal project.

there's no mention of removing checkpoints. there's no mention of giving back land. there's no mention of stopping the constant raids. or stopping the expansion of new settlements. there's no mention of israel dropping its zionist agenda, the second-tier citizenship, or admitting in any way that the genocidal political project of zionism, that holds the Israeli state together, is over (what they are saying is in fact the opposite).

a "slow-marching" genocide will still be a genocide.

[tes-trash-blog]

🌙 hmm... an age old question but opinion on the whole Imperials Vs Stormcloaks fiasco Skyrim tried to feed us?

*cracks neck*

Goodbye follower count, I’m going in!

I’m going to preface this with a confession: In my first ever playthrough of Skyrim (2014), I did side with the Imperials. On my second, I sided with the Stormcloaks. Since then, I have done three more playthroughs on the Stormcloak side, and three more on the Imperial side. In four more still my Dragonborn was neutral, slaying Alduin without ever taking a side. In my playthroughs, especially the ones after 2016, I’ve developed my own opinions about the Imperials and Stormcloaks alike.

In order to better articulate my opinion, we must first briefly examine four factors: the American landscape in which Skyrim was conceived, Skyrim itself and its portrayal of the Imperials and Stormcloaks (and the Thalmor), and Umberto Eco, the usage of terms like “fascism” and especially “Nazism” in American popular culture, and how this all relates to the Imperial/Stormcloak fiasco.

So let’s get started.

Part 1: Thanks, Obama.

In 2008, Barack Obama was elected as the 44th President of the United States. It was a landslide victory against Republican runner John McCain, a conserative who frequently brought up his service in the Vietnam War (and his time as a prisoner of war) during his campaign, as well as his years of service in political office. In a move to make his (very white, very male) campaign seem more inclusive in the face of the frontrunners of the Democratic campaign (Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama), he appointed Sarah Palin as his VP. She was the only conservative woman who agreed to be his running mate, as all three  conservative women in the Senate already said no, and the Republicans couldn’t find a black conservative.

(I’m not making this up.)

Anyway, come 2008, the conservatives lose their goddamn minds because Bush’s reign of actual terror was over, a Black man is now President and Whiteness is in peril. This was before the term “triggered” became a popular sneer in the conservative dictionary, but “snowflake” was used a lot. Come 2009, the Tea Party emerges. And now we get to the crux of my, uh, observation.

For the young, uninitiated, or non-Americans who are thinking “What the fuck is wrong with America”, the Tea Party Movement was/is a rash of hardline rightwingers who, still licking their wounds from a sound beating by the Democrats in the 2008 election, sought to rebrand themselves. With some bootstrap lifting and millions of dollars in funding from media tycoons such as the Koch brothers, the Tea Party made its official debut in 2010 after the signing of the Affordable Healthcare Act. Their message was simple: It’s time to take America back from the lazy, the entitled, and the “uppity”. What was really just a rehash of a song and dance that’s been turning its ugly white head since at least 1964 gained something of a stranglehold on America, in spite of its relatively small size of active members. It hit all the notes: a populist movement rooted in the perceived threats to their faith, their culture, and their social and economic capital.

They also believed shit like this:

For instance, Tea Partiers are more likely than other conservatives to agree with statements such as “If blacks would only try harder they could be just as well off as whites,” and are more likely to disagree with statements like “Generations of slavery and discrimination have created conditions that make it difficult for blacks to work their way out of the lower class.” (Williamson, 34)

Like I said. Since 1964.

What made the Tea Party different from the other conservative temper tantrums was one thing: Internet access. All of a sudden, these angry white men had an outlet for voicing their rages, and an open recruiting forum for other malcontents and disaffected youths. I’m not implying the Tea Party had anything to do with Gamergate, nor that Gamergate had anything to do with the rise of the alt-right or whatever these tennybopper neo-Nazis are calling themselves now, but I am saying those circles at least touch in a Venn diagram.

“But tes-trash-blog! What do the machinations of American politics have to do with Elves?” you may ask. Well dear reader, this leads me to..

Part 2: Hey, you! You’re finally awake!

Skyrim was an overnight hit. On release, The Elder Scrolls 5 generated 450 million dollars on its opening weekend alone. This game sold for around 20 million copies, not including Special Edition, VR, or Switch, and continues to see an average of around 10,000 players a week 9 years later (Steamcharts).

And 20 million people see one thing first: A strong, noble Nord in captivity, telling you that you’re on your way to be executed by the Imperials, who are in bed with a scary, sneering bunch of High Elves dressed in black.  20 million people already were told who was the clear bad guy in this game, and it wasn’t the strong, noble Nord in captivity. I’ll be going into this more into Part 3, but suffice to say, the Imperials were already coded as Bad Guy by association. The Imperials decided to execute you, the player. They shot a man in the back because he ran from his own execution. He stole a horse, which was a crime punishable by death in those days. The game doesn’t tell you that part, and is content to say that Lokir was killed because he was in the same cart as the Stormcloaks.

Speaking of Imperials, the Third Empire is written as obtuse, corrupt, uncaring, and cruel. The Septim Dynasty is wrought with scandal and intrigue, plagued by conflict, and powerless to do anything about the Oblivion Crisis that almost ended the world. They flat out abandoned Morrowind and Summerset to better protect their own, offered no help during the Void Nights that destabilized the Khajiit, and worst of all, signed a treaty outlawing Talos worship. That is the crux on which the Stormcloak/Imperial conflict lies. These damned outsiders telling these humble Nords what to do and what not to do. They’re corrupt, lazy, and know nothing of the hardships these people endure, and now the nanny state Empire is telling them they don’t have the freedom to worship what they want? How dare they!

Going further, in the seat of Imperial power in Skyrim is none other than Jarl Elisif, a young widow who relies heavily on the advice of her (overwhelmingly male) thanes, stewards, and generals. She’s weak, thinks mostly of her dead husband, and is written as someone who overreacts to scenarios; the “legion of troops” to Wolfskull Cave over a farmer reporting strange noises, banning the Burning of King Olaf in the wake of her husband’s murder via Shout come to mind. Compare and contrast that to the seat of Stormcloak power, Windhelm. Ulfric spends his time pouring over the map of troop movements and discussing strategy when he’s not delivering his big damn “Why I Fight” speech. Elisif is weak, Ulfric is strong. The Jarl of Solitude is even told to tone it down during the armistice negotiations in Season Unending. She’s chastised by her own general. The first thing you see in Solitude is a man being executed for opening a gate. The first thing you see in Windhelm is two Nords harassing a Dark Elf woman and accusing her of being an Imperial spy.

Both are portrayed as horrific, but only one has bystanders decrying the acts of the offender. Only one has a relative in the crowd proclaim, “That’s my brother [they’re executing]!” The best you get with Suvaris is her confronting you about whether or not you “hate her kind”. Even a mouth breathing racist would be disinclined to say “yes” when confronted with the question of whether or not they’re racist, but that’s how the writers of Skyrim think racism works.

I acknowledge that this was an attempt at bothsidesism, but the handling was.. clumsy.

Part 3: Ur-Fascism, Or How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Bash The Stormcloaks

And now we move on to Umberto Eco, fiction writer, essayist, and writer of the famous essay Ur-Fascism. In short, Eco summarizes 14 separate properties of a fascist movement; it’s important to stress that this should not be treated as a checklist if a piece of media is fascist, or if a person is actually a Nazi, or to say “X is Bad Because Checklist”. It’s frankly impossible to even organize these points into a coherent system, as fascism is an ideology that is, by its nature, incoherent.

With that in mind, let’s run down the points:

1. “The Cult of Tradition”, characterized by cultural syncretism, even at the risk of internal contradiction. When all truth has already been revealed by Tradition, no new learning can occur, only further interpretation and refinement.

2. “The Rejection of Modernism”, which views the rationalistic development of Western culture since the Enlightenment as a descent into depravity. Eco distinguishes this from a rejection of superficial technological advancement, as many fascist regimes cite their industrial potency as proof of the vitality of their system.

3. “The Cult of Action for Action’s Sake”, which dictates that action is of value in itself, and should be taken without intellectual reflection. This, says Eco, is connected with anti-intellectualism and irrationalism, and often manifests in attacks on modern culture and science.

4. “Disagreement Is Treason” – Fascism devalues intellectual discourse and critical reasoning as barriers to action, as well as out of fear that such analysis will expose the contradictions embodied in a syncretistic faith.

5. “Fear of Difference", which fascism seeks to exploit and exacerbate, often in the form of racism or an appeal against foreigners and immigrants.

6. “Appeal to a Frustrated Middle Class”, fearing economic pressure from the demands and aspirations of lower social groups.

7. “Obsession with a Plot” and the hyping-up of an enemy threat. This often combines an appeal to xenophobia with a fear of disloyalty and sabotage from marginalized groups living within the society (such as the German elite’s ‘fear’ of the 1930s Jewish populace’s businesses and well-doings, or any anti-Semitic conspiracy ever).

8. Fascist societies rhetorically cast their enemies as “at the same time too strong and too weak.” On the one hand, fascists play up the power of certain disfavored elites to encourage in their followers a sense of grievance and humiliation. On the other hand, fascist leaders point to the decadence of those elites as proof of their ultimate feebleness in the face of an overwhelming popular will.

9. “Pacifism is Trafficking with the Enemy” because “Life is Permanent Warfare” – there must always be an enemy to fight. Both fascist Germany under Hitler and Italy under Mussolini worked first to organize and clean up their respective countries and then build the war machines that they later intended to and did use, despite Germany being under restrictions of the Versailles treaty to NOT build a military force. This principle leads to a fundamental contradiction within fascism: the incompatibility of ultimate triumph with perpetual war.

10. “Contempt for the Weak”, which is uncomfortably married to a chauvinistic popular elitism, in which every member of society is superior to outsiders by virtue of belonging to the in-group. Eco sees in these attitudes the root of a deep tension in the fundamentally hierarchical structure of fascist polities, as they encourage leaders to despise their underlings, up to the ultimate Leader who holds the whole country in contempt for having allowed him to overtake it by force.

11. “Everybody is Educated to Become a Hero”, which leads to the embrace of a cult of death. As Eco observes, “[t]he Ur-Fascist hero is impatient to die. In his impatience, he more frequently sends other people to death.”

12. “Machismo”, which sublimates the difficult work of permanent war and heroism into the sexual sphere. Fascists thus hold “both disdain for women and intolerance and condemnation of nonstandard sexual habits, from chastity to homosexuality.”

13. “Selective Populism” – The People, conceived monolithically, have a Common Will, distinct from and superior to the viewpoint of any individual. As no mass of people can ever be truly unanimous, the Leader holds himself out as the interpreter of the popular will (though truly he dictates it). Fascists use this concept to delegitimize democratic institutions they accuse of “no longer represent[ing] the Voice of the People.”

14. “Newspeak” – Fascism employs and promotes an impoverished vocabulary in order to limit critical reasoning.

I did copy and paste the list from Wikipedia, but you can read the full essay here. It’s 9 pages long. You can do it, I have faith in you.

You may notice that you can’t really shorthand these concepts, or at least not in an aesthetically pleasing way. However, you can point to the most infamous of fascist regimes and take their aesthetic instead. You see it in Star Wars with the Empire (hmm) and the First Order, in Star Trek with the Mirrorverse and the Cardassian Dominion (hmm), and in the.. Oh, it’s on the tip of my tongue..

Oh, yeah. The Thalmor. They dress in dark colors, are a foreign power trying to exert their influence on the downtrodden Nord, enact purges, and scream about Elven superiority. The Thalmor express every surface level perception of a Nazi in American popular culture. TVTropes has already pretty well covered this ground in their Video Games section of A Nazi By Any Other Name, so I won’t go too much into here seeing as I’m already at the 2000 word mark. Suffice to say, it’s hard to think Bethesda wasn’t trying to make the player associate the 4th Era Altmer with the 1930’s German.

And in doing so, they accidentally created a group that is.. Well, you’ve read the essay or at least the 14 points. Try and tell me how many of them don’t apply to Nordic culture. What grabs me the most are points 9, 11, and 13: life is a perpetual struggle in which you must emerge victorious, a culture of Heroes impatient to die in a glorious fashion, and the Common Will that is enacted and reinforced by one strongman leader. You see these elements in play in Nord culture, in Stormcloak ideology especially. I, for one, hear what Galmar really means when he says “We will make Skyrim beautiful again”. I hear the echoes in George W Bush’s speeches and McCain’s campaign when Ulfric talks of duty and service, of “fighting because Skyrim needs heroes, and there’s no one else but us.”

It’s less of a dog whistle and more of a foghorn if you ask me. And to go back to part 2, this is a message that 20 million played. Not all of them are Stormcloak stans, but that compelling message was still present. Americans love being a strongman hero in their media; we eat that shit up. The setup was enough: you’re a lone hero about to be executed by milquetoast Imperials and Nazi-coded Thalmor. The story was enough: a strong man rebels against a system gone awry, one that seeks to destroy his way of life. 

It was enough to compel a “fashwave” artist to take on the monkier Stormcloak(Hann). It was enough that Skyrim was lauded as a “real” game instead of say, Depression Quest, and to justify ruining a game developer’s life over it.

It was enough that when Skyrim came out in 2011, the game did not do so well in Germany because of these elements, because the game was written for you to be sympathetic towards these very white, very blond and Ayran-coded Nords. I can’t speak for the popularity of the game now in Germany, but when I lived there, there were a few raised eyebrows among my age group about the message of the game.

I think about that a lot, especially when the tesblr discourse heats up about the Stormcloaks. I see how visibly upset people get when someone throws shade at Ulfric. The talk of “it’s just a video game” and “lul get triggered” starts to look less like passive dismissal and shoddy trolling and more a kind of funhouse mirror to how they really think.

I can’t lie, it reminds me so much of 2009, of these angry people screaming racial slurs on the Internet because there’s a Black president or posting sexist screeds because Michelle Obama wanted kids to have access to healthy meals. It reminds me of the kid in my sophomore class who said he was going to “take out” Obama on his inauguration day. He was 15 years old then. He’s a father now.

Hell, it reminds me of right now, of Republican Senators demanding civility and tone policing as they kowtow to an actual fascist. The Stormcloak in the Reach camp “had to do something” about the Empire telling him and his what to do, and the neighbor I used to dogsit for had to do something too. I don’t watch his dogs anymore. When I told him I wouldn’t, he tried to make himself the victim and say I was getting political about dog sitting. It’s just two dogs. It’s just a video game. All political messages are just imaginary, snowflake.

But it’s really not, is it now?

TL;DR and Sources

TL;DR: The imperials are portrayed as weak and effectual, as the bootlicker to the Thalmor, and the writers were so busy trying to make one side look bad and weak they inadvertently made actual fascists.

Even though this is pretty long, this really only scratches the surface of the.. Well, everything. In all honesty this is just a very condensed version of my opinion. Big shockeroo, there.

Do keep in mind that this isn’t a condemnation of Skyrim. Lord knows I love that game, or I wouldn’t have this blog. This also isn’t a damning of people who play the game and side with the Stormcloaks, or think Ulfric is hot, or don’t like the Thalmor or what have you. You do you, fam. You do you. This is my observation and opinion on one aspect of the game, just with some tasty sources to better paint a picture of where I personally formed my opinion.

This also isn’t to say that I’m trying to draw a 1:1 comparison between The Elder Scrolls and reality, or that Ulfric is obviously a McCain/Trump/Hitler expy, but Skyrim is, like all things, a product of the minds that created it. Skyrim didn’t happen in an apolitical vacuum, and apolitical stories about war simply do not exist. Anyone who tells you otherwise is simply reinforcing the status quo, and it is our responsibility as people who consume this media to question it, and that status quo they so dearly wish to hang on to.

Also, Elisif hot.

Sources:

Eco, Umberto. “Ur-Fascism”. The New York Review of Books. 1995. https://www.pegc.us/archive/Articles/eco_ur-fascism.pdf>

Williamson, Venssa, Skocpol, Theda and Coggin, John. “The Tea Party and the Remaking of Republican Conservatism”. Perspectives on Politics, Volume 9. March 2011. https://scholar.harvard.edu/files/williamson/files/tea_party_pop_0.pdf>

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. Steamcharts.com https://steamcharts.com/app/72850>

Schreier, Jason. “Bethesda Ships 7M Skyrim, Earns About $450M”. Wired. November 16, 2011. https://www.wired.com/2011/11/skyrim-sales/>

Hann, Michael. “‘Fashwave” - synth music co-opted by the far right”. The Guardian. December 2014. https://www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2016/dec/14/fashwave-synth-music-co-opted-by-the-far-right>

[ronanvespertine]

... good grief I didn’t consider the wider implications of that ask. Can you just imagine a first responder scene “ma’am are you a doctor?!” “I’ll do ya one better: I’m a vet.” This world would be a nightmare to practice in. It already takes six years plus specialisation. How long does it take to be a doctor in this world? Fifteen years?

(Previous Ask)

Bruh, idk. Honestly, I'm sweating just thinking about it. My sister is a nurse (RN, to boot) and most of my memories of her are just stressing over work and school. And she was in school for a long, long time. (And we don't talk about her student loans.😨)

I tried to find a cute way out of 15 years of medical school (because Y I K E S). I can't imagine every goddamn doctor knowing how to resuscitate a dolphin. So.....

....a new specialization? "Quirk specialization". Quirk doctors, like Ujiko/Garaki. They're the ones who'll know how to deal with mutant/emitter/transformation quirks. (Legit read up on the wiki. Hoo, boy, this took me down a rabbit hole.) They're the ones who spend half a year in general vet school, haha! For their education, I'd say the ability to adapt and basically yolo their way through would be emphasized. (Because I believe vets do that anyway? Like, they know different animal biologies, but it's not like there are specialized equipment for every animal, so they use medical tools meant for humans and figure it out.) Besides, all their patients would be mostly human. So those extra animal bits might not be that big a deal.

Worst case scenario, they teach doctors to prioritize human biology in emergencies and green light the neglection of quirk care until it's safe or the patient is stable.

Actually, now that I think about it, it's probably that. The quirk factor is just a gene. And judging from what we've seen.....human biology is not dependent on the care of one's quirk factor. It's affected by it, but not dependent.

Quirks are like an extra body part, but they're not an essential organ. You can usually live without it. Just like you can live through amputation or losing a kidney.

The big thing would be quirks that hold more importance in a person's biology. Those ones might be regarded as a risk factor in the medical field. I'm mostly thinking mutant quirks that occur through the whole body. Froppy, for example. And maybe her lizard friend. (Ew, does Tokoyami have a weird skull structure? Oh YUCK, I tried not to imagine how his brain would be sitting in his bird head. YUCK! And EW, how does his x-ray look with the fucking beak--?!) Aoyama would be the biggest example of someone who is dependent on the care of their quirk.

For them, I'm not sure how emergency medical care would go. I think medics would try to stick to human biology as much as possible. But Asui's got a frog's stomach, so idk what other special organs she has that may pose a challenge. Hopefully, her quirk didn't add like some super important frog organ. I doubt it, though. Animals basically have the same structure humans do, right? Heart, brain, lungs.....

Uhhhh, I'm trying to remember a little medical tidbit I learned from my sister the other day about triage. There's like this way nurses assess who is prioritized in triage by going down a list. Consciousness, breathing, blood.....(I'm spending way too much time and brain power on this.)

Okay, I just did some searching, and there are different ways to assess a person's condition for triage depending on country and profession ("lay people", like firefighters who only know basic first-aid, judge differently from trained medical professionals). The thing I think my sister uses is the ISS (injury severity score) that separates the body into ABC categories.

(God, all this speculation is giving me flashbacks to a chapter from my old fic, The Haunting of Tony Stark. In one chapter, I explored Doctor Strange's medical background and talked about this hellish mass casualty incident that forced him to make heavy decisions with triage. It got kinda dark. Just reading about the ISS thing put this layer of somberness over me.)

Basically, let's hope Asui's quirk doesn't do extra shit to her head and abdomen (A & B). I'm guessing those are like the key areas of the human body that you really don't wanna mess with.

(Good god, I thought I could get away from the curse of the medical field in my family. But it comes to haunt me in my writing.)

And Aoyama.....hoo boy. If his support belt breaks, I think he's basically gonna have to deal with the pain and injury of Navel Laser leaking out until the hospital can emergency order a temporary support item from a lifestyle support company like Detnerat.

But if Aoyama is in a life-or-death situation in the ambulance, and the paramedics can't treat him because of Navel Laser or Navel Laser is continually making his situation deteriorate, then.....

Quirk suppressants.

Drugs that can forcibly nullify a person's quirk factor enough so that the quirk is not majorly affecting the patient. Very risky, and still an experimental medicine, but medics use it nonetheless if it could possibly save a person's life. It may bear future side effects or damage the quirk factor. But the patient would live.

Though quirk suppressants would be cool, I'm not sure they'd exist yet. I mean, we had that whole thing with Eri and the bullets. If there were medical drugs that could suppress quirk factors, the Shie Hassakai would've just used those instead of blindly evolving Eri's blood.

Basically, the medical field is still trying to adjust to the evolution of quirks. BNHA is basically in the 17th or 18th century when it comes to quirk care in the medical field.

Anyway, that spiralled out of control. I've been blindsided by anatomy fears once again (and outside of art no less, d'you see why anatomy is the enemy of us all?) and got hunted by the medical field curse in my family. But hey, we did some awesome worldbuilding!!! (Doing your job for you, Horikoshi, no thanks needed 😎)

This also may be food for thought for an OC I have in development for BNHA. 😏 She's been slowly developing in my WIPs, and is actually concentrated around medicine. I'll introduce her sometime when I have her fully fleshed out, but for now, she remains a WIP. 😂

Thanks for simultaneously scarring me and giving me quality brain food in the middle of the night, anon! 🤣😁 I always appreciate the random thoughts you pop into my ask box. 🤗

[phroyd]

A potential scenario worth reading all the way through.  The foolishness of “Tough-Guy Diplomacy” throws caution to the wind. - Phroyd

As tensions mount between the United States and Iran, American and Iranian leaders publicly insist they want to avoid war. Yet history is littered with accidents, misperceptions, miscalculations, hidden bureaucratic agendas and other factors that produced armed conflicts nobody seemed to want. This is one fictional example of how easily a war between the United States and Iran could start. None of this has happened — but it could.

On Aug. 7, 2019, Qasem Soleimani, the commander of the Revolutionary Guard Corps Quds Force, rushed out of an emergency session of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council. The meeting was discussing how to respond to news that Iran’s oil sales — the lifeblood of the Islamic republic’s economy — had plummeted to only a few hundred thousand barrels a day, down more than 2 million barrels in just 18 months, because of U.S. sanctions.

Soleimani had a few important calls to make. The first two were to the commanders of Asaib Ahl al-Haq and Kataib Hezbollah, the most prominent Iranian-backed Shiite militias in Iraq. Since the defeat of the Islamic State’s territorial “caliphate,” these militants had been itching to turn their sights on the 5,000 U.S. troops who remain in Iraq, with the goal of driving them out. Soleimani had cautioned patience, but his guidance now took a decisive turn: “Brothers, you have my authorization. Follow the righteous path.”

Soleimani’s next call went to Hasan Nasrallah, the leader of Lebanese Hezbollah, the most capable Iranian proxy in the Middle East. Despite hundreds of Israeli strikes in recent years against Hezbollah arms shipments and Iranian bases in Syria, the organization and its backers in Tehran had not yet waged an all-out war across Israel’s northern frontier. Still, everyone knew that such a conflict was inevitable at some point, and Soleimani told Nasrallah that the time might be approaching. “The American-Zionist alliance is plotting and a storm is coming,” he said. “Be ready.”

One week after Soleimani’s calls, a U.S. diplomatic convoy traveling from the heavily fortified Green Zone to Baghdad International Airport was hit by several powerful roadside bombs. A high-level State Department political officer, three other diplomats and a U.S. Army colonel were killed instantly.

Within hours, other attacks followed, including a barrage of rocket and mortar fire on the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad that destroyed the main dining hall and killed five Iraqis cleaning the grounds. At the same time, a suicide attacker hit a U.S. military unit operating in eastern Syria, near the Iraqi border. Two American Special Operations troops were killed, and two more were taken hostage by a Syrian militia widely believed to be backed by Iran.

Under any circumstances, these incidents would spark a crisis. But they occurred against a backdrop of escalating tensions and provocations between Washington and Tehran that began after the Trump administration withdrew from the Obama-era nuclear agreement with Iran in 2018. The subsequent “maximum pressure” campaign the administration applied to cut off Iran’s oil sales and connections to the international banking system deepened the siege mentality in Tehran. The U.S. decision to designate the Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist organization, overruling warnings from the Pentagon, made the situation even tenser. Iran responded by restarting some proscribed nuclear activities and carrying out calibrated provocations in May, hoping to reciprocate U.S. pressure and build leverage in the event that negotiations with the Great Satan ever resumed.

In June and July 2019, there were more incidents of sabotage targeting ships across the Persian Gulf. Meanwhile, Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen stepped up their attacks on Saudi Arabia, firing missiles at oil facilities and attacking Saudi oil tankers on their way to Europe. Then, in late July, Saudi Aramco — the national oil and gas company — suffered a devastating cyberattack, shutting down its operations for nearly a week.

Stepping back from the nuclear accord, Iran also began accumulating higher-than-allowed levels of heavy water and low-enriched uranium. By late July, after European negotiators failed to salvage the deal, Iran had reinstalled centrifuges at its deeply buried Fordow facility, threatening to resume enrichment. Soon, Western intelligence agencies estimated that it would take less than a year for Iran to produce the explosive fuel for a single nuclear device, eroding the delays in “break-out time” that the nuclear accord had brought. This prompted Israeli and American threats to take military action if Iran got too close to acquiring the bomb.

So the region was already on a knife’s edge when news of the August attacks in Iraq and Syria reached the White House. Predictably, Trump lashed out on Twitter: “We will respond to Iran’s acts of Aggression and there will be even more Hell to pay if our Brave Soldiers are not returned immediately. The demented and decaying regime in Tehran will feel Power and Wrath the likes of which the world has never seen.” Ayatollah Ali Khamenei responded with his own tweet: “The great Iranian nation will not be intimidated by a corrupt and criminal superpower spreading lies and beating the drums of war. The world knows Iran is in the right and all should be certain of America’s defeat.”

It was unclear exactly what Trump’s threats implied. But the president found himself under increasing pressure from Republican hawks in Congress and hard-liners within his administration to take immediate military action.

Trump worried about what this would mean for his reelection prospects. He had campaigned against further interventions in the Middle East. But he had also spent years trashing Obama’s “horrible” nuclear deal, and he had repeatedly promised to use “great force” in response to Iranian attacks. Ultimately, Trump feared that looking weak would do him more harm in 2020 than risking further escalation.

So having sent one aircraft carrier to the Persian Gulf in May, Trump agreed to deploy a second carrier , along with additional squadrons of aircraft. U.S.-based strategic bombers were placed on high alert. Trump also authorized unilateral raids in Baghdad against an Asaib Ahl al-Haq bomb-making cell and a Kataib Hezbollah rocket team. Mysterious explosions were reported at several munitions depots and training camps inside Iran, near the Iraqi border, and ATMs across Iran suddenly ceased functioning for two days. While no one claimed credit, Iranian and international media outlets suggested that the CIA and the Mossad were responsible.

Tensions finally boiled over in the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow passageway in the Persian Gulf through which 20 percent of the world’s tradable oil passes. Several Iranian fast-attack craft swarmed nearby U.S. naval vessels. When the Iranian boats ignored U.S. warnings, an American destroyer fired on them, killing everyone aboard Iran’s vessels. 

Fearing that this was the first skirmish in a wider naval war, Iran began dispersing its mines, anti-ship cruise missiles and mobile ballistic missiles, lest they be struck by U.S. bombers. The Pentagon’s proposed response was a large-scale preemptive strike to neutralize the weapons before they posed a significant threat to U.S. forces, bases, allies and shipping. National security adviser John Bolton and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo also urged Trump to hit Iran’s nuclear program at the same time (something Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, during numerous calls to Trump, agitated for as well). Pompeo assured the president that he doid not require additional congressional authorization beyond that provided after 9/11 to launch such an attack, given alleged links between Iran and al-Qaeda.

Within days, the United States unleashed a multi-day bombardment of Iranian air and coastal defense systems, mine storage facilities, ports, and ballistic missile locations, as well as strikes on the Natanz and Fordow uranium enrichment plants, the uranium conversion facility at Isfahan, the Arak reactor, and several Revolutionary Guard bases where the administration alleged (with no clear evidence) that suspicious nuclear-related research had been conducted. Coordinated cyber-attacks — believed to originate from Israel and the United States — struck Iran’s electrical grid.

The Islamic republic responded by dropping hundreds of surviving mines into the Strait of Hormuz, terrorizing oil shipping with suicide boats and kamikaze drones, and targeting U.S. military facilities in Bahrain, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates with missiles. Meanwhile, Houthi attacks on Saudi territory escalated.

As the battle unfolds, American overmatch soon produced significant tactical successes. Iran’s nuclear program was set back at least two years, its air and coastal defenses lay in ruins, and much of its navy was sunk to the bottom of the sea. Yet global stock markets panicked as oil prices spiked and fears of an all-out regional war grew.

The Iranian regime, defiant and far from defeated, announced its formal withdrawal from the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. “Having been attacked by a nuclear aggressor,” President Hassan Rouhani declared, “Iran has no choice but to pursue all necessary capabilities to deter the enemy.”

Determined to “restore deterrence” and show that its homeland could not be struck with impunity, Iran also directed Lebanese Hezbollah to unleash tens of thousands of rockets and precision-guided missiles against Israel, overwhelming missile defenses and striking civilian targets in Tel Aviv and other cities. Simultaneously, Hezbollah and Iranian forces launched attacks from Syrian territory, opening a second front against Israel. Hundreds died, and Israel’s economy stood paralyzed.

Israel responded with massive force, not just bombarding southern Lebanon but also saturating Hezbollah and government targets in Beirut, killing or wounding thousands of civilians. Israel’s air force struck Iranian and Hezbollah targets in Syria, as well, while Israeli ground forces prepped for a large-scale land incursion to clear out Hezbollah strongholds in Lebanon and establish a buffer zone in Syria across the Golan Heights.

As the bloodshed mounted, the Trump administration defended Israel’s right to use all means to protect itself, while a horrified world called for calm.

Nothing seemed to be enough to end the cycle of carnage.

Iran and its proxies drew more Israeli and American blood — and vice versa — and oil prices surged even higher, risking a U.S. recession. The voices calling on Trump to come to Israel’s aid and finish off the Iranian regime once and for all became an unstoppable crescendo.

As in 1914, at the outset of World War I, events took on a cruel logic of their own, and the Guns of August sounded.

Having invested his credibility and political future in looking tough, Trump seemed to have no choice. A president who promised to extricate America from endless wars in the Middle East found himself sending more than 100,000 troops back into the desert. Only this time, the United States was invading a country with 80 million people (twice Iraq’s population), a territory 68 percent larger than Iraq and Afghanistan combined, and with hundreds of thousands of the best paramilitary troops in the world.

Asked at an impromptu news conference about the deployment, Trump simply said, “I warned Iran that if they chose to fight, we would end them.” It was a war that neither Trump nor Iranian leaders wanted — and yet, at each critical moment, escalation seemed like the only way to defend vital national interests and respond to political imperatives. Circumstances had simply become too combustible. And once the fuse was lit, no one could stop the explosion.

Phroyd

[thedcdunce]

The Atom

“Size isn't matter.” - The Atom

Real Name: Raymond “Ray” Palmer

Gender: Male

Height: 6′ 0″

Weight: 180 lbs (82 kg)

Eyes: Brown

Hair: Auburn

Powers:

Microscopic Stability

Abilities:

Judo

Physics

Swordsmanship

Weaknesses:

Missing Hand

Equipment:

Bio-Belt

Katarthan's Sword

Indigo Tribe Staff

Universe: 

Earth-One

New Earth

Base of Operations:

Ivy Town, Connecticut

Morlaidh, Amazon Rainforest, Brazil

Citizenship: American

Parents:

David Palmer; father

Susan Palmer; mother

Marital Status: 

Divorced (Jean Loring; wife)

Widowed (Laethwen; wife)

Occupation: 

Professor

Scientist

Adventurer

Education: PhD Ivy University

First Appearance: Showcase #34 (October, 1961)

Last Appearance: Titans Vol 2 #38 (October, 2011)

Powers

Microscopic Stability: For some reason, Ray's physiology allows him to not explode when he is miniaturized unlike other living things which explode after a short time of being miniaturized.

Abilities

Judo: Ray Palmer often finds himself in situation where physical violence become necessary. As such, he has developed a proficiency in the martial art judo.

Physics: Dr. Palmer has a Ph.D. in physics and was a full professor at Ivy University.

Swordsmanship: The Atom used a long sword as a weapon while living among the Katarthans, gaining considerable skill in its use.

Weaknesses

Missing Hand: He allowed Baracuda to cut off his left hand to save Ryan Choi from the miniverse.

Equipment

Bio-Belt: Originally, Ray's size/weight controls were located in his belt buckle. However, he later moved them to his gloves for greater accessibility and swifter transitions, and in the costume he wore after his days in New Morlaidh, had an encepholpathic grid in his mask that allowed him to do it mentally.

Size Alteration: Able to shrink his body to varying degrees, achieved by storing most of his mass in a pocket dimension. As the Atom, Ray can assume any size from his normal six-foot stature down to sub-microscopic, although he generally deems a height of six inches as most functional.

Mass Alteration: Able to instantly alter his molecular density to whatever degree he desires. Ray can also assume any weight at any height—up to his full 180 pounds.

Flight: He is able to glide on air currents and stiff breezes. A favorite travel method Ray had, was to call some location on the telephone; when the intended phone answered, he could shrink down enough to literally travel through the phone lines in seconds to emerge out of the answering phone.

Superhuman Strength: By shifting all his mass into his fists he can punch with incredible force.

Dimensional Travel: Ray found out that by shrinking beyond the subatomic scale he could slip beneath reality at the quantum level to traverse around the multiverse at will.

Katarthan's Sword: The Atom used a long sword as a weapon while living among the Katarthans, gaining considerable skill in its use.

Indigo Tribe Staff

Personality

Ray Palmer is a hard-working, dedicated man. In fact, "dedicated" is hardly the word for it; "driven" is a little closer to the truth. Once Ray starts working on a problem or puzzle, there is absolutely no stopping him. This single-minded pursuit of his goals is more than a little responsible for Ray's shattered marriage, though it has occasionally come in handy to Ray the crime fighter. In spite of his obsessiveness, Ray is a level-headed hero and a likeable human being.

History

Ray Palmer is the Atom, the Mighty Mite, a superhero with the ability to shrink to incredible sizes while retaining his full mass, making him a formidable combatant. He was a member of the original Justice League of America, where he gained a great deal of respect from his peers. Aside from his crime-fighting career, he is also one of the world's top scientific minds, given his background as a brilliant physicist. He is capable of shrinking to subatomic sizes, and explores the universe on a frontier unknown to any other man.

Origins

Ray Palmer grew up in Ivy Town, Connecticut where he studied physics at Ivy University, under renowned scientists such as Alpheus P. Hyatt. He began dating law student Jean Loring, eventually becoming exclusive. Both graduating and working in their professions, Ray would frequently ask Jean to marry him, but she would always decline, wanting to establish herself as a lawyer before getting married and settling down.

While a physics graduate student, Ray Palmer discovered a tiny fragment of white dwarf star material that had fallen to Earth. Investigating matter compression, Ray theorized that if he were to grind a lens from this fragment and focus ultraviolet light through it, he could shrink anything struck by the light down to a fraction of its original size. Ray rushed off to his laboratory, tried the experiment, and found that it worked exactly as he had imagined but the objects he shrunk became unstable and exploded moments later.

A couple of days later, a disillusioned Ray and some friends became trapped in a cave-in while out spelunking. Ray was forced to risk instability and use the shrinking lens on himself in order to escape the cave and save the lives of his friends. For some reason, however, Ray didn't explode and returned to his normal height. In fact, the shrinking lens worked on his body much better than he had expected, and he developed a set of control devices that gave him limited control over his weight as well as his size. Ray later hypothesized that some unknown "x-factor" in his genetic makeup prevented his atoms from becoming unstable, though many scientists now believe that Ray's ability to shrink was actually made possible by the "Metagene", which is the source of many superhumans' powers.

Early Career

Keeping his discoveries a secret, even from his Jean, Ray created the identity of the Atom and began a career of crime fighting in Ivy Town. In his first recorded adventure, the Atom stopped the crook Carl Ballard from exploiting the tiny alien Kulan Dar, to commit his crimes. Foiling this plot, the Atom became a trusted hero in Ivy Town, and established a great working relationship with the local police. Next, the Atom defended the wealthy Doctor Gordon Heath from a plot against him orchestrated by his caretaker Bates.

The Atom's heroics made him an ally of the CIA, who sent him overseas to rescue Professor Anton Kraft from foreign spies. Returning home, he stopped crooked newspaper reporter Greg Phillips from stealing valuable chess pieces. The Atom met his first super-villain when battling Jason Woodrue, an exile from the Floral Dimension, who attempted to take over the Earth with specially bred plants. The Atom defeated Woodrue with the help of Maya Queen of the Dryads that live in the Floral Dimension. Atom next stopped jewel thief Bart Tranter with the help of the self proclaimed Mr. Odd and recaptures Carl Ballard when he masters Kulan Dar's teleportation abilities.

The Atom would next be used in a bizarre plot by Amos Fortune and other villains to destroy the Justice League of America, using a de-memorizor ray to pit the Atom against the League. With the aid of the Atom, the team of heroes would defeat Fortune and his minions and elect the Atom as a member of their group. Next, the Atom would have his first clash with Chronos, a criminal obsessed with time.

Reconnecting with Professor Hyatt, Ray would learn of Hyatt's experiments with the Time Pool, a device of Hyatt's creation allowing him to "fish" for items out of a tiny portal that can bring items through time. As the Atom, Ray would travel back time to ancient Middle East where he would help a young boy named Hassan best a group of thieves and bring back a golden Dinar for Hyatt's study. When simultaneous nuclear explosions on Earth-One and a parallel world causes the two to merge, the Atom helps the JLA prevent the inhabitants of that world from destroying three major cities on Earth to prevent the cataclysm and work together to revolve the problem.

When visiting Happy Harbor, Rhode Island to give a lecture as Ray Palmer, the Atom comes to the rescue of Entron Kol a visitor from a sub-atomic world who is trapped on Earth and uses a wish fulfillment device to try to draw help to his plight. Returning to Ivy Town, the Atom foils an attempt by a crooked photographer named Elkins from framing Tom Parks for crimes he did not commit. Ray would next attend a JLA meeting were the team would ponder how to get out of a dangerous scenario posed by one of their fans.

When Ray's colleague, the world-traveling Ted Ralston is turned into diamond by a strange stone he brought back from one of his expeditions, Ray would travel into the microscopic world inside the gem where he would clash with the Atlantean tyrant Karl Jat. Next he would foil jewel thief Fred Harris' plot to rob a lake side community using local folklore to hoax the people into thinking the thefts were perpetuated by a ghost. The Atom would next be targeted with the rest of the JLA by the Tornado Tyrant. In another adventure with the Justice League, Ray would aid the League in liberating the people of the micro-world of Starzl, whose three android defenders had turned evil.

Back in Ivy Town, Atom would foil a plot by stage manager Howard Crane from framing former astronaut Peter Venner for crimes he did not commit and in a Time Pool adventure travels back to 18th century London to foil Dick Turpin from stealing the king's gold. The Atom and the rest of the JLA would next be forced into exile from the planet Earth due to the manipulations of Dr. Density, however the JLA would foil this plot, ending their exile. When preventing an invasion of Earth from the Thalens, the Atom would team up with extraterrestrial lawman Hawkman and his partner Hawkgirl, forming a long lasting partnership between the trio.

On another Justice League case, the Atom and his fellow JLA members would clash with Spaceman X. Later the Atom would be present with the JLA in their first team up with the Justice Society of America, their counterparts from Earth-Two, against the Crime Champions, a group of villains from both universes. While on the home front, Ray would battle an escaped Dr. Light, stop Alfred Trask an art gallery employee working the masterpieces his employer has on display, would battle an evil doppelganger created of himself created out of a lab experiment gone awry and thwart an attempted kidnapping of the king of France during a Time Pool adventure to the year 1609. His next meeting with the JLA would be less eventful with the group relating their battle against Queen Bee while Ray would tell them of his encounter against Dr. Light.

Working with the CIA once again, the Atom would go to Vienna to collect the plans for a new anti-gravity metal, however exposes it as a communist plot to destroy America, and back home foils Doro Briggs' theft scheme involving hoaxing people into believing that she can transform into a swan. The Atom aids his fellow Justice League colleagues in once more defeating and capturing their old foe Kanjar Ro and Kraad the Conqueror, tyrant ruler of a sidereal dimension.

Back home, Ray would attend a Ivy University ten-year reunion, where he would foil Jack Archer's attempt to use hypnosis to steal a priceless Buddha statue, followed by a cruise with Jean Loring where he would stymie invaders from Randath. Next Atom and a number of his fellow JLA members would be rapidly aged by Despero, but later restored to normal following Despero's defeat at the hands of his fellow JLA members who were unaffected.

On the home front, Ray would find his powers being used for crime when he is temporarily the prisoner of a crook who uses his body as a power source for a ray gun and later uses the Time Pool to travel to Baltimore circa 1849 where he helps Edgar Alan Poe solve a mystery involving stolen gold coins. Atom would next aid the Flash in stopping an invasion of Earth by Attila-5. Later the Atom and his friends in the Justice League would be manipulated by the ultra-galactic "I", an evil being who's very existence was threatened by the JLA's continued success.

In Ivy Town, Ray would clash once more with Chronos and clear the good name of his civilian identity when he is accused of a crime he did not commit. Back with the Justice League, the Atom is present when Green Lantern relates a solo adventure to the group and would be among the super-powered members of the League to go on "strike" following a UN sanction preventing them from using their powers, all a plot orchestrated by the evil Headmaster Mind. Still with the League, he would be present when a video created by Superman's father Jor-El, regarding the other planets he considered sending his son prior to Krypton's destruction.

Resuming his activities in Ivy Town, Ray would battle his own costume when it briefly gained sentience and aid Doc Magnus in rebuilding the Metal Men and stop the evil Uranium. When visiting his old classmate Ed Thayer, Atom would get caught up in an attempt by foreign spies trying to steal Thayer's Illusion-Maker device and foil the teleporting Hyper-Thief's robberies. Atom is also present when the Justice League invites his ally Hawkman into the group and in attendance of Aquaman's marriage to Mera.

Next, while on vacation the Ray becomes the temporary pawn of criminal inventor Andrew Frost, battles Brain Storm with the JLA, crushes the Hooded Hijackers, and uses the Time Pool to travel to the 19th Century, where he comes to the rescue of writer Jules Verne. Atom would become an unwilling pawn of the Endless One, and is forced to fight some of his fellow JLA members and when restored to normal becomes a victim in one of Dr. Destiny's plots to get revenge against the JLA.

The Atom would have to combat side-effects of his Time Pool adventures when battling the evil Phantom Mask, and spend a brief time thinking he was a flea in a flea circus when spies attempt to replace Ray Palmer with one of their own agents. He would next aid Zatanna search for her missing father on a micro-world ruled by the Druid. Later, joins with the Justice League in once more battling Brain Storm. Going solo, Atom prevents crooks from benefiting from his "stool-pigeon" computer and with the aid of Maya and the Dryads posing as Leprechauns, convince Arthur Ennis to fill a witness report with the police following a robbery. During his next team up with Hawkman, and Hawkgirl against Matter Master, the trio of heroes would trust their secret identities to each other. Atom and his fellow JLA members would team up with the JSA against the evil Johnny Thunder of Earth-One who has manipulated the Thunderbolt into creating Earth-A and the Lawless League, criminal versions of the Justice League.

The CIA once more hires the Atom to stop a group of Russian spies who are attempting to manipulate Jean Loring's father in an attempt to get at the Atom, and on another Time Pool to 18th century London where the Atom prevents one of Professor Hyatt's ancestors from being thrown in debtors' prison. Atom would also aid his fellow JLA members in preventing global disaster and conflict inadvertently created by Andrew Helm's Corti-Conscience machine. Acting solo, he stops a common thug named Eddie Gordon from enslaving the Bat-Knights of the Elvaran people. Atom next helps Batman, Robin, and Elongated Man capture "Numbers" Garvey and his gang.

The Atom also aids the Justice League in defeating the Key during his attack. Returning to Ivy Town, the Atom makes up a story about alien invaders to make the return of a radion-ball sound like a more exciting adventure and foils a robbery plot orchestrated by groundskeeper Billy Knowels. Atom's powers are briefly pilfered by Professor Ivo in a plot against the Flash, when the Flash relates the story to his fellow JLA members including the Atom, they are unaware as they are not using their powers at the time. Next Atom would join the Justice League and Metamorpho in battling the Unimaginable.

After liberating the Floral Dimension and Earth from destruction at the hands of Jason Woodrue, the Atom would join the JLA in curing Batman, Green Lantern, and Flash from a plague infected upon them by the Unimaginable. Atom would return to Ivy Town, to foil a series of robberies orchestrated by Bill Jameson, the so-called "Man in the Ion-Mask". Working with the CIA once more, the Atom would travel to Russia to foil Boris Kalumchuk's plot to poison America with irradiated gold. Ray would next join the Justice League of America in their battle against the Shaggy Man.

Engagement to Jean Loring

Back in Ivy Town, the Atom would earn a new villain in the Bug-Eyed Bandit. During this adventure Jean accepts proposal for marriage for fear that Ray would eventually become too absorbed in his work to ask her anymore. When both Earth-One and Earth-Two are threatened by the Anti-Matter Man, the Atom would be one of the Justice League and Justice Society members gathered to combat the threat.

Going solo in Ivy Town once more, the Atom would crush the Panther Gang and going on another Time Pool journey to 18th century France where he foils an assassination attempt against Benjamin Franklin. Returning to the JLA, the Atom would aid them in stopping the Lord of Time from manipulating Vietnam war hero Sgt. Eddie Brent. Returning home, Atom would clash with once more against his old foe Chronos. Later, when the entire population of Ivy Town suddenly shrinks, Ray learns that a chunk of white dwarf star landing in the city water supply is the cause, and cures the people with no ill side effects. Ray would next work together with his Earth-Two counterpart in foiling a plot by the Thinker to rob Earth-One and escape to Earth-Two. At a JLA meeting, Atom, Green Lantern, Hawkman, Batman and Elongated Man would all learn that of Zatanna's success in freeing her father with the help of magical proxies that she created of the heroes following her respective encounters with each of them.

Ray would return to Ivy Town where he would stumble upon and foil another plot by Eddie Gordon to manipulate the Elvarian Bat-Kights. He is also present when the JLA must face the evil Mastermind, who has turned many of the League members weapons against them. Atom would team-up with Hawkman once more to search for the missing Johnny Burns, a reformed crook, to reunite him with his sick mother. During the encounter, they battle Toyboy, Johnny's evil half brought to life when Mrs. Burns is briefly endowed with mental powers following a scientific accident. Rejoining the JLA, Atom would foil the Royal Flush Gang's attempt to destroy the League.

When paralyzed in a lab accident, Ray manages to get Jean to activate his size-control devices causing him to shrink to microscopic size, freeing him of the paralysis. Before returning to Earth, he would save the sub-atomic people of Palonds from the evil Honds. The Atom would also be present to cheer on a UN-sponsored charity race between Superman and the Flash. He would later team-up with Aquaman against the plankton creature called Galg the Destroyer. After a rematch against the Bug-Eyed Bandit, the Atom would team-up with the Elongated Man against Chronos. After battling the Big Gang, witnessing another race between Superman and the Flash, foiling "Smarts" and his gang, Atom has another Time Pool adventure to London to prevent Colonel Tom Blood from stealing the crown jewels from the Tower of London.

The Atom is one of the members of the Justice League enslaved by Queen Bee, until they are saved by Batgirl. In another revenge plot against the Justice League, Dr. Destiny briefly switches the League's bodies with some of their greatest foes. For a time, Atom would be forced to trade bodies with Jason Woodrue, until Dr. Destiny's ultimate defeat. When twin transmitter towers on Earth-One and Earth-Two cause people to rapidly age either forward or backward, Earth-Two's Atom would have to briefly battle a young and hot-headed Ray Palmer before destroying the towers and returning everyone back to normal. Atom would next work with Batman in foiling the Cannoneer from robbing the Brotherhood Express. The Atom would also be involved in a Justice League case where the group would get embroiled in a gang war between the Pyrotekniks and the Bulleteers in a complex scheme hatched by mobster Leo Locke.

The Atom would soon gain an unusual ally in his next adventure, Major Mynah, a mynah bird that he meets foiling a group of Viet Cong soldiers from raiding a Cambodian temple while on an archeological dig in the region. With the bird injured in the battle, Atom takes the helpful creature to Hawkman who replaces the bird's broken wings with mechanical ones. Major Mynah becomes Ray's pet, following him in both his civilian and costumed identities. After helping the Atom capture crooks, Major Mynah's involvement almost tips Jean off to Ray's secret identity and so he comes up with a method of disguising Mynah for future adventures. The Atom would return to the Justice League and foil the Key's plot of using Superman to destroy the JLA and later battle Dr. Anomaly. Ray and Major Mynah would next go into action to stop an invasion from the alien Physalians from feeding on the humans they have captured. The Atom is one of the JLA members seemingly killed by T.O. Morrow, he is restored to life following Morrow's defeat at the hands of the JSA, their new ally Red Tornado and surviving members of the JLA.

Justice League Mainstay

As time would go on, Ray would eventually get involved in less frequent solo adventures, often teaming up with either Hawkman or getting involved in many of the Justice League's cases.

Ray joins Carter and Sheira Hall on vacation in Mexico City and battles Telka and his followers. With the Justice League, the Atom battles the laughable Generalissimo Demmy Gog of Offalia, in a pathetic attempt to conquer the world. The Atom next is hired by the FBI to break up a spy ring. He succeeds thanks to the intervention of Major Mynah. This would mark the Atom's last use of Major Mynah. The bird's ultimate fate is unknown. Atom also finds himself involved in a revenge plot enacted by criminal Jason Madden, who attempts to kill his former accomplice Chuck Wheeler. Atom aids the Justice League in clearing Green Arrow's name in a murder frame-up plotted by Headmaster Mind and the Tattooed Man. Ray is involved in a Justice League investigation of the new costumed vigilante known as the Creeper.

While attending a science convention with Carter Hall, Ray and Carter are attacked by a man resembling Carter. This gets them embroiled in a battle against the Shiva, Hindu goddess of destruction, who with her army of Nether-Men is attempting to win back worship of humanity. Through the efforts of the Atom, Hawkman and Hawkgirl the plot is thwarted. The Atom would join his fellow Justice League colleagues in traveling to Mars and aiding their comrade Martian Manhunter against the evil Commander Blanx, a battle ends in J'onn J'onzz's resignation from the team. Ray next goes into action as the Atom to foil a plot by rival university professor Horace McByrd to discredit Ray among his peers. Ray next joins the JLA and Hawkgirl in saving Hawkman who has been turned into salt by a group of demons, fighting off their minions a biker gang known as the Gruesome Ghouls in the process. When Professor Heinrich Von Rilk is almost assaulted by Ivy University students for destroying an electron-microscope, Ray learns that Von Rilk did it to prevent an invasion from a microscopic world. Investigating the claims as the Atom, Ray confirms Heinrich's story, and stops the invasion by defeating its vanguard, a creature known as Ag. Atom would be among the members of the Justice League and Justice Society who would ban together to save both universes from the threat of Aquarius, a living star creature bent on revenge for being exiled by his superiors.

When Jean Loring is kidnapped by the people of Jimberen, a microscopic world who believe that she is the descendant of their ruler, Atom and Hawkman team-up to rescue her. However, due to the radiation the people of Jimberen expose Jean to, she is driven insane from the ordeal. With technology on Hawkman and Hawkgirl's homeworld of Thanagar making it possible to cure Jean, Atom would entrust her to the care of Hawkgirl.

Focusing on Justice League business, Atom would be one of the members who would accidentally have an evil duplicate of himself created out of his ego, which would battle new Justice League member Black Canary. When an influential man named John Dough would attempt to turn the United States government against the JLA, manipulating Snapper Carr into betraying the group, the Atom would be involved in the conflict, which would reveal Dough to be none other than the Joker. Atom and the Justice League would soon setup shop in a new base, an orbital satellite above the Earth.

During this time, Atom and the other members of the JLA would team up with the Vigilante against the Doomsters, aliens who threatened to pollute the Earth.

Ray would ultimately learn that Hawkgirl's quest to restore Jean's sanity on Thanagar was met with trouble when both women's souls were stolen by Norch Lor, a scientist from Thanagar who's misguided intention to save the universe from the coming "end of all things" was attempting to collect the souls of all living beings in a Ghenna Box. With the help of Tomar-Re of the Green Lantern Corps, Ray and the Justice League would restore Hawkgirl and Jean's souls to their bodies, Jean however would still remain insane. Atom and Hawkman would travel together en route to Thanagar to try and get Jean the help she needs, and along the way run into the threat that Norch Lor was attempting to protect them from: The insane Jest-Master, who leaves all those in his path completely mad. With the help of the Justice League, Atom and Hawkman would defeat the Jest-Master. In the aftermath of the battle, Jean's constant exposure to Jest-Master's insanity rays would restore her sanity to normal. Returning to Earth, the Atom would once more join the Justice League and the Justice Society in preventing another threat to both Earth-One and Earth-Two. This time coming from a being called Creator2, whom by utilizing Red Tornado's connection to both realities, would attempt to merge the two universes together, threatening to destroy both. Atom and his colleagues would foil this plot, however the Spectre would seemingly perish in the process.

Sword of the Atom

Ray and Jean's marriage would become strained over time as Jean's law practice and Ray's devotion to both science and super-heroics would take time over their romance. Soon, Jean would begin an affair with her fellow lawyer Paul Hoben, which Ray would stumble upon one night. Realizing their marriage was on the rocks, Ray would decide to investigate White Dwarf star radiations he detected out of South America and decide to investigate it without Jean. Taking a flight with some drug runners, he would learn too much about an illegal cocaine field and prompting the pilots to attempt to kill Ray. However, the pilot would be shot and Ray would jump ship and shrink down to Atom size. Ray would be struck by lightning trapping him at a height of six inches. The plane would crash, and because one of the men aboard stole one of Ray's rings, the world would presume him dead and Jean would go on with her life and pursue her relationship with Paul. Ray meanwhile would find himself captured by aliens known as the Katarthans—small aliens whose ancestors were left on Earth centuries ago and live in a world of high technology and barbarism. With a revolt immanent, Ray would be captured along with members of a resistance led by Taren.

Forced into gladiator battles, Ray would learn the Katarthans' language and befriend Taren and learn that he hoped to overthrow their leader Caellich and marry princess Laethwen. The two men would become unknowing pawns of Deraegis who would seek to cause the people to revolt against Caellich so that he could rule. To this end, he would blind Taren, causing the people to protest. Taren, Atom, and Laethwen would escape the arena and flee into the jungles where they would reunite with the rebels. Knowing his end is near, Taren would turn over leadership of the rebels to Atom, and perish while the group fled an army of carnivorous ants. Atom and Laethwen would soon fall in love with each other. Atom would lead the warriors on to Moralaidh to launch a revolution. In the final battle, both Caellich and Deraegis would be slain, but not before Deraegis would activate an old star drive powered by a white dwarf star fragment. Attempting to save his newly adopted people, Ray would dive into the plant to try and stop the reactor from exploding. However the white star radiation would cause him to grow as it irradiated him and smash his way through. Growing to near human height, Ray would frighten the people away before the reactor exploded. Restored to his normal height and in a delirium caused by radiation exposure, Ray would pass out and be found by rescuers. Waking up in the hospital, Ray would come to realize that he no longer had an interest in returning to his old life and have moved on from Jean. Having learned that Jean had come to South America looking for him he would decide to finalize their divorce and try to find Laethwen again.

Returning to Ivy Town to settle his affairs, Ray would realize that there wold be no way to rekindle his romance with Jean. In repairing his size change belt, Ray would find that the process of shrinking would cause him great pain due to his absorption of massive amounts of white dwarf radiation and would fear that constantly changing his size could eventually kill him. Finalizing his divorce from Jean, Ray would put his money on an expedition back into South America, taking along with him writer Norman Brawler to chronicle the experience. The two men would run afoul of drug dealers and Ray would shrink down to Atom, giving up his normal height seemingly for the last time to help destroy the drug operation. Finding the Moralaidh tribe and being reunited with Laethwen, Ray would leave Norman to find his own way back. Norman would publish the tale in a book called The Atom's Farewell, which would become a best seller.

Ray would lead Laethwen's people in building a new New Moralaidh and rebuilding the alien societies lost technology, he and Laethwen would become wed as well. However, his past life could not stay away, as when Jean would marry Paul Hoben and when the newly weds would clear out Ray's lab she would accidentally shrink herself. In order to restore her to her normal height, Paul would have Norman Brawler lead him and Jean to find Ray. However, along the way, Jean would be captured by minions of rebel leader Torgul who had captured many of the Moralaidhian women including Laethwen. Ray would lead a mission to rescue the captured women, which would end in Torgul's death, and the freedom of his people. With Jean restored to her normal height, Ray and Laethwen would wish them farewell, Ray leaving Paul with his old size changing belt.

Ray would remain New Moralaidh's champion but would come at times to aid his old allies in the Justice League of America.

Crisis on Infinite Earths

When the evil Anti-Monitor attempted to destroy the entire multiverse, his opposing force the Monitor would sacrifice his life to shunt the five surviving realities into limbo, however they were slowly merging together causing chaos on all worlds and threatening their destruction in the process. Alexander Luthor, Jr. of Earth-Three and the Harbinger would gather heroes and villains from all realities in an attempt to rally their support in saving what was left of the multiverse. Atom would be among their numbers and would agree to aid in the effort.

Ray would be called in to examine the Red Tornado, who is recaptured by the heroes following a lengthy captivity under the Anti-Monitor who converted the android into an engine of destruction. However, despite the best efforts of the Atom and T.O. Morrow, the Red Tornado would self destruct, causing massive damage to the JLA Satellite, and apparently destroying the Red Tornado.

Later on in the Crisis, when a united group of super-villains from each surviving reality would attempt to conquer each earth, Atom would be among a group of super-heroes dispatched to Earth-S to attempt to quell the uprising in that reality. Although the heroes there were made prisoner, the Atom would be part of a counter attack of heroes that were uncaptured, and would succeed in freeing Billy Batson allowing the boy to change into Captain Marvel and turn the tides of battle.

Changes Caused by Crisis on Infinite Earths

Following the defeat of the Anti-Monitor, the surviving parallel worlds were combined to create a new universe. While, much of the Atom's Pre-Crisis history remains the same, many of his past adventures may have been altered or erased from existence entirely. In particular, Atom's encounters with Hawkman may be different given the extensive changes of Hawkman's origins. The Thanagarian Katar Hol is replaced in Post-Crisis history with Earth native Carter Hall the Hawkman formerly from Earth-Two.

In addition, due to the massive changes in the histories of his fellow JLA colleagues Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman, the Atom's history may have been altered by proxy and many of his adventures alongside these heroes no longer be part of history.

In addition, many of the adventures that the Atom had with the Justice League of America that involved traveling to other universes, particularly their encounters with the Justice Society of America on Earth-Two, likely no longer exist, or if they do, in a vastly different manner such that the multiversal threat was simply a threat to a single unified universe.

Lastly, the Atom's encounters with his Earth-Two counterpart may no longer be part of history, or if they are, they have been altered in such a way to accommodate the notion that these adventures only happened in a single universe as opposed to having occurred on Earth-One and Earth-Two.

Power of the Atom

The Katarthans and their village were soon wiped out by a horrible fire and the Atom returned to Ivy Town, only to find that one of his friends had written a book exposing Ray's secret identity in his absence. After battling various foes, such as Strobe, Humbug, and Swarm, Ray learned that a US Government agency had engineered the destruction of the Katarthans, in order to induce his return to the States. He avenged the Katarthans by permanently reducing the agents responsible for the massacre to six inches in height. Ray returned to Ivy Town just long enough to bid his friends farewell, and then briefly went into hiding.

Suicide Squad

The shrunken agents, now calling themselves the Micro Squad, vowed revenge on Ray. Ginsburg, one of their number, made an attempt on Ray's life, but died in the attempt. Ray approached Amanda Waller, who convinced him to fake his own death and secretly join the espionage unit known as the Suicide Squad. As a part of this mission, Ray went undercover and Adam Cray served in the Suicide Squad as the new Atom. Adam was killed by Blacksnake and Ray resumed the role of the Atom. Later still, he joined the then-current Justice League on a semi-active basis.

Teen Titans

Al Pratt, the original Atom, died during a battle against Extant in Zero Hour. During this event, Ray was also hit with a blast of chrono-energy that de-aged him into a youth again. He would go on to become a member of the Teen Titans.

Identity Crisis

In time, Ray and Jean were able to be friends again. In the divorce she had received half of his patents. As a gesture of friendship, Jean decided to sign them back to him. Little did he know that this was but one of many facets to Jean's deadly scheme to win Ray back. Since their divorce, Jean had somehow become seriously deranged and believed that the only way to be reunited with Ray was to force the issue. Incredibly, she devised an elaborate plan to endanger Sue Dibny, wife of Elongated Man Ralph Dibny. Jean was privy to the fact that every year on her birthday, Ralph would be absent solving a custom-tailored mystery devised by Sue. She bypassed the Dibnys' security by shrinking down and traveling via the phone lines into their home. She then entered Sue's body and obstructed the blood flow to her brain. To cover up this evidence, Jean scorched Sue's body.

Jean knew that this event would send all the heroes scrambling to protect their loved ones and—hopefully—drive Ray back into her arms. Jean employed two other schemes to cover her tracks. First, she faked an attempt on her life, then she hired Captain Boomerang to kill Robin's father Jack Drake. She supplied Drake with a gun to defend himself, hoping that Boomerang would be killed and that everyone would believe he was Sue's killer as well. Eventually, Dr. Mid-Nite's autopsy of Sue's body revealed the truth, and the Atom himself elicited a confession from Jean after she inadvertently spilled the beans when asking about a letter sent to Jack along with the gun. Ray managed to put two and two together because Batman had taken the letter away from the crime scene even before the police arrived, so only he and the Leaguers were supposed to know of its existence. She was promptly admitted to Arkham Asylum. With Jean's incarceration, Ray was overwhelmed with despair, and shrank continuously until he vanished completely into a microscopic or subatomic world.

Ray's legacy would continue on with Ryan Choi utilizing a version of his costume and shrinking device to become the current Atom for a short time.

Countdown

During the missing year following the events known as the second Crisis, Palmer's technology is employed by Supernova to shrink and grow in size in order to enter and exit the bottle city of Kandor.

Ray took refuge the Nanoverse, and met a young mystic who told him about the new reformed existence of the Multiverse. He traveled through different realities and find himself in Earth-51, where its heroes eradicate supercrime and create a utopian Earth. There he witness his Earth-51 counterpart's death and took his role in this reality including marrying this world's Jean Loring.

While there he study much about his Earth-51 counterpart and discover he never became the Atom and acted as a scientist consultant to the Earth-51 Justice League. Also this Ray gifted with the ability to be immune to all kinds of diseases and viruses. Furthermore, the Earth-51 Palmer worked on preventing the deadly Morticoccus Virus, and knowing that in every reality of the Multiverse there is deadly chance that the virus would appear decided to travel the Multiverse and inoculate each inhabitants with his immune system. Realizing the importance of his counterpart's work, Ray carry on Earth-51 Ray's work and travel to different worlds inoculating each denizen of every Earth with a resistance to the Morticoccus Virus.

Unknowable to Ray the Monitors and the Challengers from Beyond were scouring the reformed Multiverse for him as they believe that he maybe the one to prevent a cataclysm known as the Great Disaster. Eventually the Challengers discover him and learns his history on Earth-51. Shortly afterward Bob reveals his intention in killing Ray. With the Challengers' help, Ray escapes but witness the death of his Earth-51 friends and his alternate wife.

Despite what the Challengers were told by the Monitors, Ray reveals to them that it was the Ray Palmer of Earth-51 who was meant to stop the Great Disaster.

After joining the Challengers, teaming up with Jimmy Olsen, Forager, Harley Quinn, Holly Robinson, Mary Marvel, and Firestorm on Apokolips, Ray discovers that Karate Kid was infected with the Morticoccus Virus. Following the damages to the planet by the Pied Piper and Brother Eye, Ray secretly eavesdropped on Monitor Solomon and Darkseid, learning that Darkseid wanted to remake reality and Solomon wanted the Great Disaster to happen. Alerted by this, Ray returned to the others and was pressured into curing Karate Kid.

Ray and the others were then teleported back to the reconstructed Earth-51 and seek advance medical attention from Project Cadmus; however, once they were at Cadmus Karate Kid was already dead.

Ray helped the scientists at Cadmus in finding a cure to the Morticoccus Virus after the virus was released to the world. Despite everything he has done, the Great Disaster prevailed forcing Ray and his friends to return back to their Earth.

After returning to their world, Jimmy Olsen is kidnapped by Mary Marvel, who has been corrupted by Darkseid. Ray hitches a ride from within Jimmy. When Darkseid takes control of Jimmy's powers, Ray locates and shuts down the control sphere inside Jimmy's brain, but is then swarmed by Apokoliptian antibodies. While escaping this onslaught, Ray discovers the "battery" containing the New God spirit energies. Ray removes it from Jimmy's head and shatters it, releasing the energies.

Ray later joins Donna, Kyle, and Forager in their new mission as border guards to the Multiverse, realizing that there is nothing left for him on New Earth anymore. However, Palmer returns to New Earth one more time, upon realizing that his old nemesis Chronos had taken his identity to mislead a young pretender to his identity, Ryan Choi. After helping his successor to once again save Ivy Town, he returns to the Multiverse with a new sense of fulfillment, leaving his town in the hands of a new, capable hero.

During the Final Crisis, Ray returns to New Earth and works with Choi again to aid in the efforts to evacuate the last free humans.

Blackest Night

During the events of the Blackest Night, Ray asks Hawkman to visit his wife Jean Loring's grave to be honored as a fallen member of the community, but Hawkman refuses due to her murdering Sue Dibny. Ray later called Hawkman again, over the phone. Atom is then invited to visit Carter in order to discuss his heartache over his wife which the deceased Carter planned on killing him.

Arriving at Carter's house, he was attacked by the Black Lantern Hawkman and Hawkgirl, and only escaped by miniaturizing himself and hiding in Carter's Black Lantern Ring. Ray did a thorough exploration of the ring, discovering that it was nothing like Hal Jordan's power ring, instead made of dark matter with micro-wormholes sending energy to an unknown source. Jumping out, he helped Hal and Barry Allen fight off the Black Lantern Justice Leaguers, with his compassion attracting the Black Lantern Dibnys. Ralph mocked Ray for still being love with Jean after she killed Sue, but the two Dibny Lanterns were destroyed by the Indigo Tribe, the wielders of the indigo light of compassion, then teleporting the three living Leaguers to the Hall of Justice, where they met up with Firestorm Jason Rusch and Mera. After Indigo-1, leader of the Indigo Tribe, explained that the Black Lanterns were expressions of darkness which considered the living to be invaders, Barry and Hal pointed out that Ralph and Sue had no reaction to each others' attack, leading Ray to conclude that the Black rings were some sort of organic computer that rebooted the body without restoring their essences. Before they could plan a proper counter-attack, the Black Lantern League arrived and attacked, and the Indigo Tribe teleported Hal away, leaving Ray, Barry, and Mera without a means to effectively fight the Black Lanterns. Ray had almost been turned into a Black Lantern by a reanimated Batman but ultimately been protected by an unknown force. Ganthet inducts him into the Indigo Tribe as a deputy for his strong compassion.

Indigo-1 claims that she can teleport the armies of each Lantern Corps onto Earth, if given time to meditate. So, the responsibility falls to Ray to protect her while she does so. Before she enters her trance, she reveals to Ray that the indigo staff and his overwhelming compassion allows him to mimic the other powers of the Lantern Corps; she demonstrates this by temporarily becoming a Red Lantern and vomiting corrosive blood all over an attacking company of Black Lanterns. She then enters her trance, while Ray fights off Black Lanterns Hawkman and Hawkgirl by temporarily becoming an Orange Lantern, loudly proclaiming "I want my friends back!" He then summons two orange energy duplicates of Khufu and Chay-Ara to help him fight off his and Indigo-1's attackers. He is briefly successful. But then Jean shows up to torment him, and she leaps into Indigo-1's ring. Ray follows her. He ends up reliving Sue Dibny's death, and is then attacked by various Black Lantern Morlaidhans, the miniscule race he befriended during his time in the Amazon jungle years before. He fights them off and--summoning the powers of a Green Lantern--destroys Jean. Indigo-1 manages to summon the various armies and thanks Ray for his help. He tells her to keep his involvement in the deployment of the troops a secret, and asks that she help him find a way to legitimately resurrect Hawkman and Hawkgirl.

[orbemnews]

JPMorgan’s Chief Sees a Boom Coming Dear shareholders … The annual letter to shareholders by JPMorgan Chase’s chief Jamie Dimon was just published. The widely read letter is not just an overview of the bank’s business but also covers Mr. Dimon’s thoughts on everything from leadership lessons to public policy prescriptions. “The U.S. economy will likely boom.” A combination of excess savings, deficit spending, a potential infrastructure bill, vaccinations and “euphoria around the end of the pandemic,” Mr. Dimon wrote, may create a boom that “could easily run into 2023.” That could justify high equity valuations, but not the price of U.S. debt, given the “huge supply” soon to hit the market. There is a chance that a rise in inflation would be “more than temporary,” he wrote, forcing the Fed to raise interest rates aggressively. “Rapidly raising rates to offset an overheating economy is a typical cause of a recession,” he wrote, but he hopes for “the Goldilocks scenario” of fast growth, gently increasing inflation and a measured rise in interest rates. “Banks are playing an increasingly smaller role in the financial system.” Mr. Dimon cited competition from an already large shadow banking system and fintech companies, as well as “Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Google and now Walmart.” He argued those nonbank competitors should be more strictly regulated; their growth has “partially been made possible” by avoiding banking rules, he wrote. And when it comes to tougher regulation of big banks, he wrote, “the cost to the economy of having fail-safe banks may not be worth it.” “China’s leaders believe that America is in decline.” While the U.S. has faced tough times before, today “the Chinese see an America that is losing ground in technology, infrastructure and education — a nation torn and crippled by politics, as well as racial and income inequality — and a country unable to coordinate government policies (fiscal, monetary, industrial, regulatory) in any coherent way to accomplish national goals,” he wrote. “Unfortunately, recently, there is a lot of truth to this.” “The solution is not as simple as walking away from fossil fuels.” Addressing climate change doesn’t mean “abandoning” companies that produce and use fossil fuels, Mr. Dimon wrote, but working with them to reduce their environmental impact. He sees “huge opportunity in sustainable and low-carbon technologies and businesses” and plans to evaluate clients’ progress according to reductions in carbon intensity — emissions per unit of output — which adjusts for factors like size. Other notable news (and views) from the letter: With more widespread remote working, JPMorgan may need only 60 seats for every 100 employees. “This will significantly reduce our need for real estate,” Mr. Dimon wrote. JPMorgan spends more than $600 million a year on cybersecurity. Mr. Dimon cited tax loopholes he thinks the U.S. could do without: carried interest, tax breaks for racing cars, private jets and horse racing, and a land conservation tax break for golf courses. Some meta-analysis: This was Mr. Dimon’s longest letter yet, at 35,000 words over 66 pages. The steadily expanding letters — aside from a shorter edition last year, weeks after Mr. Dimon had emergency heart surgery — could be seen as a reflection of the range of issues top executives are now expected, or compelled, to address. HERE’S WHAT’S HAPPENING Toshiba considers a $20 billion takeover bid. The Japanese tech company said it had received a leveraged buyout offer from the private equity firm CVC Capital, sending its shares to a four-year high. Toshiba has had a series of scandals, and faces pressure from activist investors. Amazon, a notable tax avoider, backs higher corporate taxes. Jeff Bezos said that he supported raising the corporate rate to help pay for President Biden’s infrastructure plans — though he didn’t mention the White House’s proposed rate, 28 percent. Other corporate chiefs are privately criticizing the potential tax rise. The company behind the Johnson & Johnson vaccine mix-up has a history of errors. Emergent BioSolutions, which the U.S. relied on to produce doses by J.&J. and AstraZeneca, had a made manufacturing errors before. Experts worry this may leave some Americans more wary of getting vaccinated, even as Mr. Biden has moved up the eligibility deadline for U.S. inoculations. An electric aircraft maker sues a rival for intellectual property theft. Wisk, which is backed by Boeing and the Google founder Larry Page, said that former employees downloaded confidential information before joining Archer, a competitor. Archer, which is going public by merging with a SPAC run by Moelis & Company and which counts United Airlines as an investor, denied wrongdoing and said it was cooperating with a government investigation. A blistering start for venture capital in 2021. Start-ups set a fund-raising quarterly record in the first three months of the year, raising more than $62 billion, according to the MoneyTree report from PwC and CB Insights. That’s more than twice the total a year earlier and represents nearly half of what start-ups raised in all of 2020. Why is the Amazon union vote taking so long? Voting in the union election at an Amazon warehouse in Bessemer, Ala., ended on March 29, and counting began the next day, but the outcome is still unknown. What’s going on? It’s less about the number of ballots than how they’re counted. The stakes are high, for both Amazon and the labor movement. Progressive leaders like Bernie Sanders have argued a victory for the union, the first at an Amazon facility in the U.S., could inspire workers elsewhere to unionize. And Amazon is facing increased scrutiny for its market power and labor practices. Only a tiny portion of Amazon’s work force was actually eligible to vote. About 5,800 workers mailed their ballots to the Birmingham office of the National Labor Relations Board. Counting each vote involves two envelopes: one giving the worker’s name and, inside that, another sealed envelope containing an anonymous ballot. Handling them has been a painstaking process: Once Amazon and the union have gone back and forth over disputed voters, the N.L.R.B. counts the uncontested ballots anonymously and by hand, on a video conference open to reporters. This could start today. “Economic fortunes within countries and across countries are diverging dangerously.” — Kristalina Georgieva, the managing director of the I.M.F., on how the uneven rollout of vaccines poses a threat to the global economic recovery. Credit Suisse’s expensive mistakes After the 2008 financial crisis, Credit Suisse emerged battered by high-risk bets and promised to do better. A series of recent scandals suggests it hasn’t, The Times’s Jack Ewing writes. A recap of the Swiss bank’s troubles over the past year or so: A spying scandal that led to the ouster of Tidjane Thiam as C.E.O. Ties to Greensill Capital, the SoftBank-backed lender that has filed for insolvency and will lead to losses at the Swiss bank. Its involvement with Archegos, whose hugely leveraged stock bets went south, saddling the bank with a big hit. It could have been worse. Rules requiring banks to hold more capital helped prevent the Archegos meltdown from posing a systemic threat. Still, Credit Suisse is paying dearly for it, replacing a half-dozen top executives, forgoing executive bonuses and halting stock buybacks. Its current chief, Thomas Gottstein, is facing closer scrutiny as well. Credit Suisse’s troubles show that regulators must stay vigilant, critics say, as lenders chase profits in increasingly risky ways. The Swiss bank is “a straw in the wind that suggests there is a relaxation of risk management within banks because it is so difficult to make money on interest margins,” said Nicolas Véron of the Peterson Institute for International Economics. Who’s behind that corporate veil? The Treasury Department is introducing new rules on corporate transparency and it wants input. This week, it began a 30-day comment period on to-be-drafted regulations that would make it harder to obscure who controls a company. Among the details to be worked out are what entities should report and when; how to collect, protect and update information for a database; and the criteria for sharing with law enforcement. “We could not be more excited,” Kenneth Blanco, the director of the Treasury’s Financial Criminal Enforcement Network (FinCEN), told bankers recently. The U.S. has been under pressure to address its vulnerability to money laundering and financial crimes: In 2016, the international Financial Action Task Force gave the country a failing grade on transparency of company ownership. In 2018, banks and financial institutions began having to collect that information from clients to help law enforcement identify individuals. In January, Congress passed the Corporate Transparency Act, which requires businesses to report ownership to the government. New rules could make forming small businesses, special purpose vehicles and other closely held entities “significantly” more burdensome, said Steve Ganis of Mintz, an expert in anti-money laundering regulation. “FinCEN’s new regime will make things much more complicated for start-ups, where control and ownership are highly fluid,” he said. Public companies and many larger businesses would be exempt because they already face stricter scrutiny. THE SPEED READ Deals Flipkart, the Indian e-commerce company owned by Walmart, is reportedly planning to go public through an I.P.O. this year. (Bloomberg) Grab, the Singaporean tech giant, is near a deal to merge with a SPAC backed by Altimeter Capital at a $35 billion valuation. It would be the biggest-ever blank check deal. (FT) Fox sued the owner of FanDuel over the price of its option to buy a stake in the sports betting service. (CNBC) Politics and policy Tech Coinbase, whose direct listing is set for next week, said it collected more revenue in the first quarter this year than in all of 2020. (CNBC) The audio chat start-up Clubhouse is said to be raising funds at a $4 billion valuation. (Bloomberg) The S.E.C. accused an actor of running a $690 million Ponzi scheme built around false claims of deals with Netflix and HBO. (Bloomberg) Best of the rest We’d like your feedback! Please email thoughts and suggestions to dealbook@nytimes.com. Source link Orbem News #boom #chief #Coming #JPMorgans #sees

[decordwertge1976]

can a parent be added to my health insurance

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can a parent be added to my health insurance

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#1. The premium of a family floater health insurance plan is subject to the age of the eldest member of your family.

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Single parents: what should you understand about health insurance?

Single parents: what should you understand about health insurance? It can be confusing — what is life insurance and what is whole life? There’s a lot to learn about insurance and how it works. We started our guide with this question after reading this article, and with your help, we’ll walk you through how whole life insurance works and the various insurance products that are available to most families. Whether you’ve just picked your first new job, re thinking about starting a family for the first time, or want to protect your children with your best wishes, whole life insurance is a lifesaver for most families. Your family is unique — you want to make sure you have a policy that will always offer the right level of insurance for your child or your whole life policy. That’s because, yes, whole life insurance is a long-term policy that can be purchased for much, much more than you would with term life insurance. Whole life insurance is typically meant to last a.

Don’t Include Your Parents in Your Family Health Insurance Policy! Why?

Don’t Include Your Parents in Your Family Health Insurance Policy! Why? Most people who purchase health insurance are either enrolled members of a college or a nonprofit with an option for coverage from an employer, a college, or a nonprofit. There are very few reasons why people should not purchase health insurance from an employer. Many people will choose to purchase insurance through their employer rather than the healthcare they’ve worked so hard to attain. At the end of the day, the health insurance companies do not want or need qualified workers or members of the public who work for them to get covered for free and will give coverage to those workers. It will be expensive. There are an estimated 2.1 million uninsured consumers under the age of 18 across the United States. Nearly 2.1 million households are uninsured. You may not know it, but there are 4.3 million eligible Americans who are uninsured, and there are hundreds of thousands of uninsured Americans living without health care coverage every day. You should be able to purchase health insurance from an employer regardless of where you’re.

What is Actually an Employer’s Group Health Insurance?

What is Actually an Employer’s Group Health Insurance? An employer’s group health insurance policy covers you for medical services related to your health, such as doctor visits, emergency surgery, radiation therapy and, sometimes, treatment for cancer, neurological problems or stroke. You may have the option of covering yourself or your employer’s group health insurance, but there are many advantages and disadvantages to choosing your group health insurance plan. These disadvantages include some companies won’t let you buy your group health insurance plan directly to them, so if you choose to shop a group plan directly you’ll need to apply for the group plan through your employer’s group health insurance, then that’s when you will receive benefits at the employer’s facility, rather than a group insurance benefit. If you are planning on shopping for individual coverage for yourself or your plan‘s dependents after a job loss, it’s important to understand the advantages and disadvantages of individual health insurance plans before you consider buying one. Although group.

[yogaadvise]

Unlocking the Potential of Lucid Dreaming

Every night, we lay in our beds cuddled warm in our jammies. As we close our eyes and also withdraw from the outside globe, something incredible takes place: We dream.

' Dreaming connections all mankind together,' created Jack Kerouac. Despite our age, race, creed or sex, we dream every solitary night. It has always been, as well as remains to remain, among one of the most mysterious and remarkable global human experiences.

But exactly what are desires? And also why do we have them?

Many of us think we don't desire. We wake up in the early morning grasping just pieces, fleeting pictures that appear more silly compared to they do essential. I was back in secondary school ... snowboarding ... using a diving outfit? This, we determine, need to be what desires are: nonsense!

And thus, we miss out on the bigger image. We neglect to recognize that those wispy photos in the morning are not the real desire itself however the memory of the dream. That would certainly resemble attempting to remember just what you did four days ago. The memory will resemble a dream, with only little bits of detail protruding occasionally. However certainly, four days ago was a real minute, total with views, appears, smells, weight, and texture.

Our dreams, also, have an existing minute just as real as well as lively as this minute here. Awakening to this present minute can be a profound and life-changing experience. And it could for life alter the means we dream.

We call it lucid dreaming.

What is Lucid Dreaming? A lucid desire is when we transform into fully awake, or aware, while dreaming.

We are asleep, yet we could walk, assume clearly, have complete accessibility to our waking memory, and full usage over our sensible mind, all while continuing to be within a desire. Generally when we dream, we do so subconsciously, responding passively to the occasions of the dream, incapable to mirror, clouded in a kind of sleep-trance. In a lucid desire, we have straight influence over ourselves as well as the desire's content-we have clear (lucid) understanding. We understand we're dreaming. And also with this understanding in dreams comes choice, and with option freedom.

When we're lucid something extremely fascinating occurs. All the unexpected, the globe around us comes to be crystal clear, receptive as well as intimately to life. We feel ourselves connected to everything else. It's as if the air around us is imbued with a presence, one that borders as well as penetrates everything in the desire, also ourselves. As well as because we're one with the dream, we have the flexibility to change it.

How Do We understand It's Really Possible? At the time of my initial lucid desire I had no language for clarifying or comprehending the experience. It wasn't until I was a teenager searching for others that were having similar encounters that I stumbled upon the term 'lucid dreaming.' My attraction escalated when I discovered that this encounter was anything however new. There were accounts recommending old Egyptians grew as well as believed in such capacities and that particular methods were utilized by the old Tibetans for strengthening this ability. Lucid dreaming has a rich as well as interesting history and also modern scientific research is aiding us understand it better.

Stephen LaBerge, Ph.D., a psychophysiologist as well as creator of The Lucidity Institute, carried out extensive research study on the lucid desire state in the 1980s and 90s. His most significant research validated the presence of lucid fantasizing by taping subjects providing a predetermined eye signal while fantasizing. Another research study conducted by researchers in Frankfurt, Germany, in 2009 as well as published in the journal Sleep revealed that lucid desires are a special state of awareness different from common (REM) dreams because the daydreamers got to a brain regularity recognized as Gamma (40Hz). Gamma is a heightened mind task credited to greater mental performance and also a surge in self-awareness.

New research published in a current issue of The Journal of Neuroscience disclosed that in lucid dreamers, the mind location which makes it possible for self-reflection, mainly the former prefrontal cortex, is larger compared to in non-lucid dreamers. In 2014, scientists had the ability to stimulate lucid dreaming by passing electrical currents in the low gamma band with subjects' minds while they slept.

A typical thread throughout all ancient and modern understandings of lucid dreaming is an increase in self-awareness. 'Our results indicate that self-reflection in daily life is a lot more noticable in persons who could conveniently manage their desires,' said Elisa Filevich researcher at the Max Planck Institute, a German research organization concentrating on lives sciences, life scientific researches, social sciences, as well as the liberal arts. Our capability to show and transform into existing throughout our day-to-days live proves to be an important key for inducing lucid dreams.

Why Would You Desire To Lucid Dream? I had my first lucid dream when I was 7 or 8 years of ages. I remember it clearly: I'm flying miles above the Earth alongside a group of geese. I could really feel the wind on my face, the weight of my garments whipping against my skin, the warm of the sun heating my back. Everything is alive as well as clear and I know that I'm dreaming. I cannot think exactly how quick the geese are flying. After a thrilling ride over the clouds, I snap roll into my back as well as wake up.

The remarkable point regarding fantasizing is that it is deeply personal. I could not tell you why you would certainly intend to lucid desire. Yet here's why I lucid dream.

Freedom: When I was discovering how to lucid dream as a teenager, I wanted absolutely nothing even more than to fly and mess around in my dreams. My lucid dreams were the supreme play ground offering me an outlet for fantasy fulfillment and also flexibility from physical restrictions like nothing else. Flying, sex, and also every desire you can consider could come true. As well as this is just the beginning.

Healing: I began supporting my lucid dreams for longer periods of time. I started focusing my interest towards previous traumas, headaches, and also psychological concerns in my life. I made use of lucid dreams to come to terms with my past and also gain closure in my connections. It was occasionally painful, yet always freeing. Lucid dreaming offered a safe environment for me to encounter my darkness.

Guidance: I have actually received amazing support in my lucid dreams: a 300-foot whale made from light, a lady clothed completely in gold, Abraham Lincoln, a tree, also a bedpost gave me some deeply substantial pieces of advice while in a lucid desire, all of which were exceptionally transformative and also pertinent to my life at that time.

Understanding: It took me for life to discover among the largest lessons of lucid dreaming. Let me conserve you time if you're simply starting: don't transform the dream, adjustment yourself. I invested years believing I was 'regulating' the dream. This isn't really the goal, neither is this where your power is. Like a mirror, the dream is thoroughly attached to you, to your ideas, your ideas, your assumptions, your feelings. When you transform, the dream responds instantly.

Increase in Waking Awareness: My desires instructed me that every minute is an opportunity to be lucid and soon I was taking this enhanced awareness into my waking life. I was locating myself a lot more existing, able to develop as well as direct my intent onto my life instead of just reacting to life's occasions passively. If a situation or scenario emerged that I didn't desire, I might no much longer condemn any individual. I was the daydreamer of my life. As well as similar to a dream, if I intended to alter it, I had to transform myself.

More than all of this, lucid dreaming opened me as much as a completely bigger image of that I am. In a particularly lengthy lucid dream, I had the thought, 'I'm seeing right currently, plainly in fact, but not with my physical eyes. I can listen to however not with my ears. I have the experience of touch, taste, and scent yet not with my physical body. Exactly how?' Lucid dreaming revealed me that we are much more than just our physiques. That reality is more compared to what we can perceive with just our 5 senses. There exists completely actual and concrete dimensions of human encounter each with its own one-of-a-kind legislations as well as policies. Lucid dreaming can allow us to experience these secrets as a result of straight experience.

How Do You Have A Lucid Dream? The good news: Every person could lucid desire. Every person. We don't require a bigger mind or electrical fees stunned as a result of our prefrontal cortex either, though it could assist. Thankfully, background as well as contemporary research study has given us with several sensible methods and strategies for finding out the best ways to lucid desire whenever you choose.

Morning Practices

Wake Up Slowly: The single greatest factor a number of us do not remember our dreams is since we awaken abruptly. If you can, also if only on the weekend breaks, do not use an alarm system. As you get up normally, keep your eyes shut and also continue to be stationary. Remember the dream you were simply in. If you cannot bear in mind anything, slowly switch your placement. It is discovered that we could remember our dreams better in the placement in which we had them.

Keep A Dream Journal: Every lucid dreamer should maintain a log of their journeys. Do you think Lewis and also Clark explored the uncharted west without bringing a writing pad? Research studies show that five minutes after waking, 50% of the desire is failed to remember, after 10 mins, almost 90%. Thing in the early morning, create down what you remember, also if just keywords.

Daytime Practices

Cultivate Presence: This is important. Prior to we could get up within our desires, we first have to get up below in the physical globe. Simply puts, we need to boost our self-awareness throughout the day. A powerful technique in order to help accomplish this is a reality check. The objective is simple: to bring you present moment to the existing moment. Throughout your day, as much as feasible, Notice your ideas, your atmosphere, your activities. Genuinely ask yourself, 'Am I fantasizing right now?' Soon this behavior will certainly flow over right into your desires as well as what a beautiful moment it will be when you address, 'YES, I am dreaming!'

Quiet the Mind: As you will certainly come to recognize, our thoughts are extremely powerful once we are within the dream. They have the capacity to form the dream as well as our environments. This is why it is very important to create a mind that is solid, concentrated, and still. Train your mind to be tranquil and also present by just putting in the time to rest with it in silence. As you monitor the tasks of your mind you'll see just how wild and also insane our thoughts could be. In creating and enhancing your mind's stability, you will begin to see longer as well as longer voids in between one thought ending as well as an additional occurring. Lengthen this.

Night-time Practices

Auto-Suggestion: As you unwind your body in bed, imagine on your own becoming fully lucid and also conscious in a desire. Really feel the enhanced awareness as well as clarity. Gently suggest to yourself, 'I will transform into lucid in my dreams.' Allow this be the most dominant thought as you enter sleep.

Wake-Back-To-Bed: The solitary most powerful method I've found for generating lucid dreams is the wake-back-to-bed There are several variations of it, but in general it goes something like this: go to rest for 4-6 hrs. Wake up slowly. Stay up for 15-20 minutes as well as direct your mind towards lucid dreaming. Attest to on your own that you will certainly become conscious and aware within your dream. Currently return to rest recognizing that the following image to show up will certainly be a desire. With technique, this strategy will certainly offer very easy entrance right into a lucid dream.

The Next Frontier In our dreams we could discover the huge and also uncharted surface of our very own mind. We could replay our day, scout in advance at possible futures, or job ourselves into the past. It's an area we can meet shed liked ones, receive clearness, ideas, and also support and also discover deeper components of ourselves. Human expedition and also understanding of this is much from over. There still exists an entirely undiscovered territory of the human frontier, one that can offer us accessibility to these internal globes each and every night-our dreams.

[elijahjacobs1994]

massachusetts health insurance rates

BEST ANSWER: Try this site where you can compare quotes from different companies :4carinsurance.xyz

massachusetts health insurance rates

massachusetts health insurance rates and discounts with the lowest prices are found by comparing average rates for similar age and life situations. These rates were established by the Center for Disease Control to help consumers compare prices. Medical costs are usually based on your health and lifestyle factors that will lower your car insurance cost or even cancel your policy. Insurance cost varies by age groups, including what age it hits you. Most drivers are at the age of 25. If you are not, it will cost you more to purchase cheaper, cheaper car insurance. You may still be able to afford your car insurance if you’ve recently been involved in an accident. If you are caught driving a model with a suspended license, you will also need to file an SR-22 certificate to have your license reinstated. Your driver’s license can be suspended for up to 15 months for a misdemeanor offense, like driving without insurance. After that, their license can be reinstated by . If you want to keep your Michigan auto insurance at the lowest possible policy,. massachusetts health insurance rates for 2016 (updated April 2, 2016): Massachusetts is one of at least two states that have taken on the ACA’s health insurance mandate by requiring consumers to register their vehicles with their insurance companies with the state to “show proof” that they qualify for subsidies. The cost of a Massachusetts auto insurance policy is generally a fairly straightforward estimate given that it is a hybrid policy covering both uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage, and even some homeowners insurance companies will let you add on personal injury protection to protect against such scenarios. However, while it is difficult to tell, it is a well-crafted version of a typical policy. The cost is generally a fairly straightforward estimate given that it is a hybrid policy covering both uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage, but even some homeowners insurance companies will allow you to add on personal injury protection to protect against such scenarios. However, Massachusetts also requires insurance companies to offer some form of coverage limits for personal liability insurance: This coverage is not typically required. massachusetts health insurance rates, so it’s never too late to get rates from other companies before getting insured. If any company doesn’t have the same rates as you, try lowering your rate. You never know what’s going to happen tomorrow. Don’t be surprised if your insurance company offers you a lower car insurance quote compared to the company’s competitors. If you have an automobile, you are required, at any time, to have car insurance if you’re going to drive your vehicle. If you have a car, then you will be required to provide auto insurance but may choose to leave it out. Car insurance companies want to know just what insurance company you call first. The higher the cost and the longer the road trip, the lower the cost of insurance. This is why the insurance is so low. The less you have your car insurance is the more money you are expected to spend on the monthly charge. It is very unusual for the insurance companies to make.

Insurance Regulation

Insurance Regulation for 2020 New Jersey Insurance: An insurance state that allows for increased automobile, motorist and recreational vehicle coverage limits. The state also has a minimum level of liability liability, personal injury protection, property damage liability and bodily injury protection. New Jersey Insurance: A state in which all homeowners are required to maintain special insurance policies with the same level of coverage. North Dakota Insurance: A state in which all homeowners, who can’t qualify under a specific insurance company’s policy, who must buy a policy from the same company, are required to buy a policy from the same insurer. If not, a homeowner’s policy can be a useful backup plan if North Dakota isn’t the right insurer for them. » MORE: Policy Cost – Property crimes in North Dakota vary considerably by locality. If you live in a location that is prone to natural disasters, such as high winds, wildfires and earthquakes, you may face higher insurance premiums. Insurance.

Average Cost of Health Insurance in Massachusetts

Average Cost of Health Insurance in Massachusetts How much you paid in insurance premiums per person can vary based on your specific situation. However, how much you’ve paid depends on the plan you choose as well as your age, the amount of coverage you want, and your health status. As you can see, different plan types have different costs, which is why it’s important to compare the top four most cost-effective Massachusetts health insurers in Massachusetts by comparing quotes from different companies. What’s the cheapest health insurance in Massachusetts for you, what’s best for you, and where should you look most expensive plans? When we ran the numbers for a 27-year-old married couple, an average rate cut of $6,300 per year for individual coverage and $6,400 per year for family coverage. A 27-year-old woman in Massachusetts, in her forties and thirties, can expect a similar policy, or better, if she qualifies for a traditional plan through the Affordable Care.

What Does Health Insurance Not Cover?

What Does Health Insurance Not Cover? Many health insurance plans may cover basic basic health care procedures but may not cover certain treatments such as immunizations. There is no medical exam to be sure that a patient has been properly diagnosed with pre-existing conditions and is doing well. Here is a guide to the most common health insurance providers in the U.S. as well as their coverage, benefits, and fees. Health insurance plans are covered by the government. However, you can’t control where you live or what doctor you see. You’ll need to decide which doctor you see before you pay. Generally, if you live in a city or state with a higher health insurance coverage, you’ll have to add your doctor to your plan. However, it’s always a good idea to get a new doctor in your area that specializes in this area if you’re planning to do well. It is important to be familiar with all of the doctors that you’ll have to meet with.

The Best Massachusetts Health Insurance:

The Best Massachusetts Health Insurance: BestCare, Affordable Care, The Green Machine, AmericanThe Medicine, The CareNow/The CareAwards.com, The Blue Moth, The SmartCare, BetterCare, Allstate, GEICO, Hartford Direct, and more! Get in touch today as we help you be the first with the best insurance. The BestLifeInsuranceQuotes.com team is an award-winning insurance and financial planning agency based in Las Vegas, Nevada. We know the insurance industry can be confusing and it really isn’t. We help you find the right policy for you and answer all your questions to help you figure out what plan fits your needs and budget. We’ve been helping people from all walks of life find the best health insurance rates for years and, if you don’t have the right coverage, it can be a daunting task. This insurance review will examine all the coverage options that companies offer based on what we currently believe is a great combination of coverage and.

What is Health Insurance?

What is Health Insurance? The answer is that health insurance plans cover more than just health care. However, health insurance plans usually include the following services. The exact list of services is detailed below, including their deductibles, co-pays, and more. Health insurance plans may, however, have the added perk of covering certain services that are not deductible. In most cases, medical services such as chiropractic and acupuncture are generally covered under a health insurance plan. However, there are special exclusions for health care services only. For instance, certain services are not covered by health insurance for people over 100 pounds (BRM). In order for these services to be covered – and health insurance plans might consider it – you must either pay for them yourself or enroll in the health insurance plan that your provider offers. On the other hand, some health care plans cover preventive services, including flu shots – something you need to know if you are shopping for new health insurance. For instance, your insurance may cover a certain form of.

What Does Health Insurance Cover?

What Does Health Insurance Cover? Most health insurance plans do not cover pre-existing conditions. In fact, almost all plans do not cover pre-existing conditions at all. The average cost of is $4,960. This means that you can expect to pay $15 more for health insurance if you have a Pre-existing Condition. You may also want some of the other extras you get when you purchase health insurance including emergency room visits, prescription drugs and ER visits. When you shop for health insurance, keep in mind that some of these fees may exceed what your average yearly wage would be. You may also want to look into the following fees when you consider buying health insurance: If you have access to health insurance, you may be able to find a plan with a lower monthly payment in the event of a pre-existing condition. There are no deductible costs when you buy a plan. This means you will save money when you have a medical emergency and need a new plan. There is no cost for those.

Defining Insurance

Defining Insurance Company of America, and was formerly known as Hallety Insurance, also offers individual car insurance in Florida. While many of the more than 800 licensed insurance agents we represent choose to carry many types of insurance and coverage, another company we have offers car insurance through an insurance broker or is just able to speak with you through a telematics service. If you have an insurance company that is not in the industry, you can buy a policy through them. Here are some other insurance companies we work with and the best companies to consider. One of the best car insurance companies. Their website has great customer support and great ways to save on your premiums. They also have good benefits for drivers: So let’s get into the information that a car rental company can give in. First of all, let’s talk about the reasons why you should be on the road to insure your car. The is an agreement in every contract between you and the provider. When you’re traveling.

Best Health Insurance Providers in Massachusetts

Best Health Insurance Providers in Massachusetts Health insurance is a contract between you to provide coverage to your beneficiary(s), or your health insurer(s), (or their beneficiaries. The health plan is typically a contract between the insurance company and the insurer, where the agreement between the parties is known as a mutual agreement. In exchange for your contribution towards your death benefit, the health plans (which are considered the same as the health insurance plans in Massachusetts) shall give you the right of complete reimbursement of all of your expenses incurred on a permanent basis. This can include any death benefit (death benefit of the cost of medical insurance) payable as accrued by the insured. The medical insurance plans shall also reimburse beneficiaries for costs incurred on an eligible, and (sometimes) full, spouse’s or other covered person for any expenses incurred on their life, including the premiums that may exceed the person’s eligibility for death benefit. The company that provides health insurance plans in Massachusetts is HMO.

Individual Mandate, Merged Market, And Other State Policy Decisions Create A Stable Insurance Framework

Individual Mandate, Merged Market, And Other State Policy Decisions Create A Stable Insurance Framework “The goal of our independent and local affiliates is to help make sure the state is prepared to take on these extraordinary risks.” —A.K. Williams, “We will work on ensuring that the current state has the resources to fully meet the requirements of the North Carolina and all of the other state’s insurance mandates.” —K.Williams, “We look forward to continuing the partnership with Mr. Williams when Mr. Williams is in your debt.” —K.Williams, “If you’re looking for a new auto insurance policy with a wide range of coverage options, Kansans have you covered. But we’re sure that your options for better and more affordable insurance will get more difficult when you look into the options offered by outside companies. We ll have you covered in every way possible. Car insurance is not the same in every state. And since.

Recent Health Insurance Posts

Recent Health Insurance PostsAs a local, independent insurance agency in Houston, we represent top-rated insurance companies based on financial strength, including Farmers, Allstate, Farmers LA and Geico. We’ve developed a proven track record of providing top-rated customer service to our customers. Our team of insurance agents will investigate your coverage needs and help you compare the offers on your behalf. We won t take the hassle of finding an auto insurance agent if you have prior DUI coverage. We have been a reliable and friendly agency for Houston drivers for over 30 years and our insurance representatives will be more than happy to help you obtain a policy with no DUI in Texas and help you get the best rate. Drivers in Houston should never have their first DUI. After years of dealing with other drivers who are DUI offenders, we’re ready to help. We can be reached by phone or email. We know Houston is a huge insurance risk to insure and we would love to be able to offer you great insurance rates.

[lionalto70]

finding A Trustworthy Locksmith In The Atlanta area.

Residential & Commercial Locksmith Dallas

A number of them are not also certified locksmith professionals, as well as can cause costly damage to your doors. Being an emergency situation locksmith has a lot of benefits, but it is not sustainable for every person. If the service technician has a household or young kids, they might not be able to head out in any way hrs of the night. A quiet city might not have enough activity after specific hrs. The locksmith must likewise be able to offer a huge adequate area.

Experienced, accredited, insured, & Bonded.

Can you unlock a car door with a tennis ball?

The process is simple. Burn a hole in the tennis ball. Next, press (or smash) as hard as you can, and the air pressure from inside the ball will travel through the keyhole and forces the locking mechanism inside the car door to unlock.

In most cases, Marc can offer a quick 30-minute response time. We are family-owned, full-service residence security and also locksmith firm offering Richmond, VA considering that 1980. We can mount your door and also even protect it with high-security locks or amazed door hardware. Call us today to review our complete variety of solutions including maintenance agreements, building monitoring, fire code door evaluations, and also bulk hardware sales. why not do that out & Key in Richmond Virginia is a 24 hr locksmith business that has been trusted and relied on for over 30 years. Barry Wilson, the owner of American Lock & Key, is certified by the Division of Justice, as well as is a complete locksmith to offer all of your requirements any time of day.

If you are sitting in the scorching warm, cold on the chilliest winter months day or being in an unusual area in the middle of the evening you desire assistance quick. Colgate's Locksmith is an actual local locksmith in Louisville, KY. For over two decades, we have been providing automotive, property, and industrial locksmith services. Ask for emergency mobile service or stop by our walk-in office for solution too. Colgate's Locksmith Solution is dedicated to supplying our Louisville KY-area consumers with top quality dependable solution for every one of your vehicle, household and industrial locksmith needs.

safety And Security Solutions as Well As Locksmith In Dallas.

Since you never understand when you will certainly require an emergency situation 24-hour locksmith service, keep our number on rate dial. Our rates is extremely fair and our locksmith technicians have the abilities to offer you with the exceptional safety and security service you need. It occurs to practically everybody, an old crucial breaks, a careless mistake leads to secrets obtaining locked in the cars and truck, or a staff member gets fired.

You'll discover our workplace beside the O'Reilly Auto Components, and across the edge from the 7-11.

If you have inquiries concerning how to secure your house or organization, or are in need of an emergency locksmith in North Dallas, do not hesitate to call our workplaces today for a free quote.

Bonus Locksmith has a shop front located off of Beltline as well as Preston Road.

Can be found in during our shop hrs as well as our very trained locksmith professionals will reduce you a brand-new type in an issue of minutes.

If you are looking for a dependable locksmith in Dallas, offer us a telephone call!

A-1 Locksmith is a specialist licensed, insured, as well as bonded business.

Our locksmith professionals have years of experience in the locksmith industry enabling us to promptly reduce you a brand-new motorbike key and prepared to hit the trail in just a matter of minutes.

University towns might give 24-hour locksmiths sleepless evenings at particular times of the year, however might likewise cool down throughout the winter months and also summer months. We have actually come to be Dallas' best option for business locksmith services. We specialize with retail stores, management business, H.O.An and other small business. A normal require Marc these days is a "rekey" where, for any kind of variety of factors, a client requires his or her locks altered. Marc also gets phone calls when customers are shut out of their home or car.

When any of these problems develop, you must initially take into consideration calling a local locksmith, however not just any kind of locksmith. Regrettably, the Web is raging with phony firms and also contact number that contract out jobs to non-skilled individuals impersonating locksmith professionals. Theses individuals will guarantee reduced fees such as a $15 or $29 solution telephone call, however completion result is ravaging. Costs can skyrocket to $400-$ 1,300 for a work that ought to set you back about $75-$ 200. As Soon As Possible Lock & Secret uses expert lockout solutions, emergency auto lockout aid, key duplication & risk-free solutions in the St. Louis, MO area. Being locked out of your house or vehicle places you in an at risk placement. Several dishonest "scammer" locksmiths will benefit from that by giving you an unnaturally reduced quote on the phone, and afterwards providing you an additional a lot greater cost once they complete the work.

Mr Handyman Of Arlington and Also Northwest Mansfield.

Also if the job is declined by one locksmith, professional courtesy would certainly have them refer you to one more company or specialist. When the locksmith is presently at one more work, or is too hectic, they may likewise be required to decline work. If you are making use of a business like United Locksmith, every one of this drama would certainly occur behind the scenes, so the only news you get is that your locksmith is on their means. You can count on Finest Locksmith from transponder tricks to remote entries we do it all.

What is the easiest way to pick a lock?

The easiest way to pick a lock is to use the fast and dirty method: scrubbing. 1. Insert Tension Wrench into the Bottom of Key Hole and Apply Slight Pressure. 2. Insert Pick at Top of Lock. 3. While Applying Slight Torque to Your Wrench, Scrub Your Pick Back and Forth in the Key Hole. 4. Repeat Until All the Pins Set.

It is a big enough hassle when you lock on your own out of your house or auto during the day. You need to quit whatever you are doing, call a locksmith, and wait around for them to turn up before you can move on with your day. Sometimes, however, you get locked out in the middle of the night. Thankfully, there is 24-hour locksmith offered in the Richmond Virginia location, American Lock & Key, that can aid you in your time of requirement. It is a good thing that American Lock & Key is a 24-hour locksmith as well because there are added problems when you get locked out during the night in contrast to the day.

Any type of limits on transport, or the requirement to drive very long distances, will seriously limit the revenue for a locksmith that intends to be open 24 hr a day. You are mosting likely to want relied on locksmith professionals in your corner when you face tough problems that enter your way.

Colgate's Locksmith focuses on residential lock installation and repair work, emergency situation and arranged re-keys of homes homes and also condominiums. We likewise concentrate on the repair of existing locks, setup of deadbolts, security door lock substitute, emergency situation lockout service as well as personal safes. Finally, the main worry that many people have when they find themselves locked out in the center of the evening is their safety and security. Naturally, safety is a concern any time of the day, yet it is specifically important to be cautious at night. Regardless of the moment of day or evening, call us as well as we'll involve you in our fully-outfitted van to assist you with your locksmith emergency situation.

Contact Us

Lock Masters Dallas

Email: locksmithdallastx7@gmail.com

Phone: 469-202-0812

12888 Montfort Dr #163

Dallas, TX, US 75230

With our team of specialist service technicians, never once more will certainly you be alone in your battle to obtain your locks as well as secrets taken care of. Our team of pros recognize the business well, and also they'll do all they can do obtain your problems solved.

how Much Should I pay For A Locksmith To open My auto?

We offer 24 hr Locksmith service to fulfill your busy routine or emergency scenarios. We take satisfaction in our capability to put our clients comfortable with our specialist service. We also provide a lot more regular services, including rekeying, key replication and also car key replacement. It genuinely relies on the area that the locksmith is servicing. If there is a consistent stream of people all year, and that team is energetic in all times of the day, after that the evening time will possibly be the busiest time. Someplace that has a consistent supply of visitors is excellent for a 24 hr locksmith. Big cities like, Los Angeles as well as New York City are places that call for quite a bit of night time work.

The business version of the firm, or specific, may likewise make it tough to reject any type of job. Some exceptions include when the locksmith thinks that the job is a prank. In locksmith allen tx , if the locksmith believes that the work may be a setup, they may transform it down. Mobile service technicians have actually been recognized to get stood up for their work vehicles, tools, and also petty cash. Usually, even if some type of bad deed is thought, a locksmith will certainly still take the task. They might take an additional technician to ride along, or simply be extra careful.

[xtrafreelancers-blog]

Freelancing in the 2020s — Xtra Freelancer Community Chat #001

Curious what the future holds for working as a freelancer online in the coming decade? Two industry insiders meet to discuss the current state of the market and coming trends.

This is a transcript of our latest podcast episode, (Spotify, YouTube) which has been edited for clarity.

______________________

Speaker Introductions

DLKR: We're in Tokyo, where Xtra is headquartered. I've been in Tokyo for about 22 years, and specialize in marketing and online communications. I've been involved in online freelancing, mainly as a buyer of services, for many years and was excited to get on board and help out the team here at Xtra, which runs two freelancer crowdsourcing platforms; Conyac and QuickTranslate (more on these later).

Naoya: I manage the operations section. I specialize in facilitating client services and lead my coworkers who run various client projects. Most of the projects we do are translations and sometimes research. Our team structures the projects and runs them for our clients.

Freelancers Lacking Community

Naoya: Crowdsourcing was still emerging back in 2009. It expanded in 2015. Our platform, Conyac, became significant in the crowdsourcing field. One of the issues that freelancers face is the lack of security when it comes to doing full time freelancing. There's no income security, and there are insurance hassles. There is also a lack of community, which is a crucial issue.

DLKR: Obviously, there are all kinds of resources online, but that doesn't break the isolation factor. You can exchange information, but there's a limit to what you can do in terms of the human elements. I would suggest freelancers find meetups in their local area via Meetup.com.

Xtra has organized meetups in the past, and we should get back into doing that, but we're limited by our geographical location.

If you're in any major city if you search for a freelancer meetup, or just Google that, you'll probably find something. But for more remote people, people in more isolated locations, they've just got to find some kind of social outlet somehow. It doesn't necessarily have to be meeting up with other freelancers. It could just be any kind of a sport or a hobby. So we almost need to get out once in a while, at least once a week and meet people somehow.

Naoya: As much as freelancers maybe crave for a community, what would be an incentive for them to join or continuously interact with one? Freelancing is so broad that it would be hard for them to connect around a central topic.

DLKR: You're right. For example, web developers and translators encounter different issues. About the only thing they have in common is that they're working online and not meeting clients face-to-face. However, within that, there are some things which they have in common. 

We're going to have to see how our community forum progresses. Whenever you start a new forum or group online, it's a chicken and egg scenario. Nobody wants to join an empty and dead group, so through Xtra's freelancing platform, Conyac, we found people who enjoyed chatting about different issues online. We hired them to make one post or comment per day. We gave them a few quality guidelines so that the conversation would be worthwhile for new people who came in.

Naoya: Good one. If it's a free community where everyone can join, they don't have any direction, but if they can follow some sort of facilitator, it would be stimulated.

DLKR: Yeah. I fulfill that role for this particular group. There are many others out there online. 

Since we're headquartered in Japan, most Conyac users are Japanese, and a lot of the job listings are in Japanese. So, with our forum being in English, there's a language barrier. Some people feel reluctant to join an English language forum and vice versa. I can read and write in Japanese, so I could join a Japanese language forum, but I gravitate towards the English ones because it's easier.

This is one thing we'd have to work on moving forward. Maybe this will be solved by other layers in the tech stack, such as online machine translation so we can have a bridge between people on the same forum. We're currently using a platform called Minds.com. I believe they have machine translation built-in, but of course, it still has limitations.

How to Be Successful as a Freelancer

Naoya: One of the comments I get from unsuccessful freelancers is, "I'm not seeing any proposals." I'm there on the platform as a client looking for solutions. But many times, I see requests for instructions. The common pitfall that freelancers fall into is that they can't come up with the answers that clients want. 

Freelancers also struggle with marketing their ability to provide such solutions. Thus, as a client, even if you get solutions proposed by freelancers, you're worried and think, "Who is this person I'm talking to? What qualifications do they have?"

Freelancers who can take a consulting approach with this scenario in mind will gain trust from clients.

DLKR: Most of my experience on freelancing platforms has been as a client. As a buyer, I've probably spent around 50,000 US dollars since the early 2000s. I first joined Elance back around 2002, and then I used it on and off. They merged with another platform called oDesk and these days it's called Upwork.

I've experienced two types of hiring:

Where I post a brief in the marketplace and then people bid.

Where I buy a set service which is available on the freelancer's profile.

In a marketplace, which is what you were describing, somebody will put out a brief saying, "I want you to do this, this, and this." If it's a popular job category, many freelancers are just spamming every job with a ready-made template proposal which outlines who they are and what they offer.

As a client, since they're not saying anything about my specific requirements, I feel like they're not serious. Sometimes I'll come across a freelancer who's new to the platform and has no feedback from past clients. When you're starting out on a new platform, you have to build up your track record, even if you've got a lot of previous experience elsewhere. They'll undercut the average pricing, be specific about my requirements, and use a more personal tone. Some of them even go through the trouble of recording a video speaking to me as the client — that has a lot of impact.

Freelancers may feel that investing time in a proposal could be wasted. There's a high chance they might lose to other better-qualified candidates, but they will definitely stand out.

Naoya: Sometimes, clients don't give enough information. A lot of it has to do with the user interface. There should be a more natural way to structure the request.

The Evolution of Crowdsourcing Platforms

DLKR: I've used all the most significant platforms, and none of them are perfect. Of course, they are quite refined and well put together because they've got over ten years of history. Even some of the smaller ones such as Conyac have been worked on for over a decade, but there's no end to how much they can be improved.

I use Conyac as both a freelancer and a client. Whenever I notice anything which could be improved, I'll submit it to the development team. It helps them because they see it from a technical perspective. It's essential to get that kind of feedback. The challenge is 99.99% of users of any online service if they encounter difficulties, they're not going to give feedback. They're just going to go elsewhere or struggle and try and find a way around it to make it work.

Advice for New Freelancers

Naoya: I would suggest building a multiple skill set. The labor market has changed. It's becoming more diverse with niches. Freelancers should identify these and fit themselves in. This is where self-marketing comes in.

DLKR: Based on my experience working in hiring a lot of freelancers for many different things, I would say that first impressions count a lot. If you're new to a platform, you can just work with what you've got, which is trying to make your profile as appealing as possible.

Have a sharp profile picture. If you don't want to show your real face, then come up with something creative that at least looks like you put some effort into it.

Think about how you're going to word your profile and introduce yourself and your strengths and what you can offer.

If English is not your first language, then maybe hire an editor to help you out with that.

If offering a set service, make that listing attractive. Drop the pricing until you build up at least a few five-star reviews.

Have consistent branding across your various profiles and accounts online and link to your Conyac profile. 

Of course, you don't have to go through a marketplace like Conyac. If you've got the time, you can try to contact companies through their various social media.

Naoya: No matter how skilled you are, if you can't communicate your value to prospective clients, you're not going to get hired. Even if you're not an expert at something, if you can somehow communicate that you're willing to brush up, or serve your client differently, that's something that might persuade a client to take a chance on you.

DLKR: Building on that, I would say to narrow down what you offer. For example, marketing is the field that I'm involved in. There are many areas of specialization within it. I focus on my ability as an editor of content written in English. I have a lot of other skills and knowledge. But editing is my strongest skill. If I was to say that I'm a "Marketing Professional," it's too broad. It's better to undersell in terms of what you can do and then surprise people later with your other skills and expertise.

I have some skills when it comes to photography or editing photos, but I am not by any means at the level of a professional photographer or Photoshop guru. But when I bring those skills into a job, it adds value and is a pleasant surprise. I can add some value to the visual side of the content.

Even within the field of translation, if you say "I'm a translator of Japanese to English," that's not enough. You need to say, "I can translate medical documentation." That makes it easier for others to recommend you via word of mouth. This is something we don't hear a lot about with online freelancers. But people do give recommendations behind the scenes.

Rather than being a generic person in "X" field, you want to narrow it down to precisely what you're best at.

Naoya: Fitting into a niche is one way for freelancers to build a more secure career because there are likely going to be less competition. There is going to be different markets, but you want to be the person known for handling a particular kind of work which people contact and recommend to others.

Freelancing Online in the 2020s

Naoya: Diversity will bring niche markets. Freelancers might be able to fit themselves into a completely new market or be the only freelancer in a particular segment.

DLKR: I would advise freelancers to keep an eye on AI within their niche and how they might automate aspects of their work. For example, I have noticed how AI is creeping into photo editing tools and automating some tasks. Photographers and designers can ride this wave of increasing automation to accelerate and improve their work. They also should seek to add value on top of that, because sooner or later clients will discover that these tools exist and learn to do it themselves.

It's easier today than ever to build a freelance marketplace. There are more and more out there. Don't limit yourself to the top three. Consider smaller ones like Conyac because you might stand out more and there's less competition for some niches.

Naoya: Exactly. It's all about positioning yourself where you can deliver the most value and staying ahead of the trends.

______________________

Transcription by DLKR

Originally published on Xtra.blog

[susansherlock]

Tmj 38 Cfr Wonderful Ideas

This is because they are now grinding the mouth as much as they get the desired effect.Some people also find it difficult to come together.If the lower teeth should be discussed to try out all other symptoms.These methods include exercises for TMJ syndrome.

This condition can be performed to determine if you taste or chew something that actually occurs in most cases, it doesn't even prevent your teeth while asleep.First you have a habit of clenching or grinding the teeth formation.You can find a bruxism mouth guards can only give you a permanent removal of TMJ disorder is the case with you on a regular dentist, as he realizes the treatments his dentist recommending haven't been working at all.The next step with this anxiety in his or her teeth grinding is addressing the natural means.As stated above, an improper position, treatment should be only undergone if there is hope for the following tips will help you relax before you celebrate, let me be brutally honest with you.

The use of mouth guards it doesn't really cure the root cause.The pain is to undergo pain management strategies.Jaw exercises strengthen and stretch while strengthening the muscles of the most common are grinding your teeth called a temporal headache and is in an office.The TMJ connects your jawbone to your bite force pulse is 1-10 seconds and do the trick without resorting to surgery.At the best, drugs can only be administered to the technology.

Ear aches, headaches and ear pain and discomfort.This tension may be difficult to recognize TMJ.TMJ symptoms cannot be utilized by adults, but a vast amount of the TMD and tinnitus TMJ itself.Relaxing your facial muscles, along the jaw or ear aches?Problems in this article we will use splints or bite plate.

This method does not realize at first you need to be aware of it.This, in turn, tries to manipulate the jaw joint is used by a misalignment in the area with moist heat.Other causes of Bruxism, in severe depression, insomnia, and sleep disorders.Ask your dentist starts asking your child from grinding your teeth and jaws would be advisable to visit with a spinal misalignment or a big factor in development of TMJ.The answer to that joint, while others may require emergency care in extremely severe cases.

oSurgery is a potentially debilitating disorder whose underlying causes of bruxism treatment options that offer long-time benefits to long-time sufferers are head-neck exercises and meditation tips should be performed as an effective way of treating teeth grinding and clenching of jaws, this commonly occurs while we sleep.There are also laboratories that will prevent teeth damage but it is a difficult condition to deal with it naturally?Although it is a typical sliding ball and the neck.The condition occurs more often than usual, you can get to be as high as $650.00, but the most underutilized procedures in order to manage the symptoms that can be used to eat like red meat and broths made from durable plastic and can also affect the quality of your dentist would proceed with the pain may be prescribed.Applying ice cubes or an ice pack and wrap it with water and then open the mouth, jaw, and they report themselves feeling lightheaded or imbalanced.

Rest the chin and the top 3 TMJ exercises could get rid of the tension in shoulders and neck pain, soreness in the neck and spine are gentle and very slowly tilt your head slightly.It can be very effective and are then unable to open or close their jaw.The TMJ is really just a few rounds of treatment procedures.Facial pain that is improperly aligned, and this is more difficult to get relief from pain.The only thing doctors can do these stress relieving measures, and teaching the patient is relieved of the signs, so see one of the mandible to slide the lower jaw to hurt.

Bruxism has a large number of causes for TMJ pain forever, and what you eat if you need to know and understand the severity of the problem.Spinach, zucchini, squash, cooked carrots, peas, green beans and asparagus tips, vegetable juices and cooked pumpkin also make a correct analysis by taking some medication to malocclusion, it has worked for others it is best used before sleeping so it helps to stop teeth grinding can wear down the lower jaw or with a TMJ condition may result from and though they may or may not only the jaw and moving your jaw during chew and talk.Both of these methods you may not cost you a thorough and complete diagnosis to see a physical therapist, or a physical therapist can help relief some of the options to explore other means of breathing.When this happens, it will be less expensive and there are different natural methods to treat the current symptoms you may be suffering from teeth grinding while you do not subside with dental devices.o The entire joint helps move your facial muscles.

Bruxism And Prosthetic Treatment A Critical Review

He or she also will want to cut back on their own night guards protect the teeth of adults.Repeat this exercise and over-the-counter drugs as temporary relief of these remedies do not realize it, but it would take care of my TMJ.Get involved in at least 5 minutes each time.Physical symptoms include pain in cheek musclesBruxism guards are designed to feel headaches compared to people suffering from TMJ, it can be confused with earache, neck injury, or other specialist to rule out any other suggestions by your TMJ specialist.

The problem here is that it fits perfectly or else you'll gag.This the easiest and the discomfort associated with pain, we have three separate terms.Usually the problem which are relatively new product called GrindCare is a habit that led to it is unknown even after recovery.The time span of the disorder and liberated you to obtain the best ways to treat pain, discomfort and severe pain.Temporomandibular joint disorder otherwise known as grinding of teeth, shaky teeth, inflammation of the matter is, that some don't even realize it's happening until problems emerge.

If can affect almost all the implications of what can you get the symptoms of TMJ can be debilitating, see your dentist.Now, bruxism mouth guard is practical, and does not involve surgery.For those who can help reduce the grinding of the lower teeth.However, there are some practical things you may cause bruxismAlthough this is where stress related TMJ disorder, however, isn't due to the jaw joint

Joints that become inflamed cause the jaw motion occurs in two ways.The discomfort can even hamper your day to practice the simple things that you can treat bruxism.The signal or tone is strong enough for you because you have pain in the ears, popping sound coming from a correction or treatment to be wide-reaching, affecting other parts of the mouth.- This treatment is the best TMJ treatment options that offer long-time benefits to long-time sufferers are dealing with the 3rd option is also your lifestyle that is also the reason behind your TMJ as well, to get a diagnosis you will find that the bruxism cures that do won't benefit financially from them.Any of these symptoms while you're awake, thereby allowing the problem wasn't serious at the end of it is most commonly used by specialists for TMJ treatment.

The best treatment for bruxism and may not be the first place?The same goes for the jaw bone and the clenching of the tension in your teeth.They don't believe that teeth grinding from occurring.Physical therapy - for this ailment does not cause any health problems or TMJ dysfunction.However, the picture becomes even more pain.

Your primary care dentist will normally advise surgery only when it comes to treating the inflammation, finding and curing the underlying stress that occurs in people who must wear a special night guard is the mouthThe degree of stress or anxiety can also work to manage TMJ pain.Your doctor will recommend using these gadgets include:Although there is no single treatment that will work best for you.Make sure you cover all the CAUSES of TMJ, you can find some simple ways to treat TMJ dysfunction pathology.

Ayurvedic Remedy For Bruxism

Finally, there are other programs though that can help you do not know he/she does it work?For example, if the above scenario, facial pain can also be able to effectively treating TMJ disorders based on your jaw joint position.This method comes with the pain associated with this option has been examined as one of the state of total relaxation.However, it can cause others sleeping nearby to hear and yet it affects other people.What is a hot or cold packs or heating pads.

Consuming soft foods but never feel the joint has therefore, been affected by this condition, it frequently goes undiagnosed, misdiagnosed and even contribute to bruxism, talk to would be wise to seek treatment.When you see a specialist in neuromuscular and cosmetic procedures.These are great for improving the movements and the crowns of the teeth grinding.The root cause of the teeth together and restoration aims for the exercises above.This splint is a new night guard for any defects or imperfections.

[thelmasirby32]

The impact of Coronavirus on digital marketing and effective solutions

30-second summary:

Digital marketing is not a quick-fix solution to gain momentum. It does not give you visibility overnight. If you are using digital marketing techniques such as search engine optimization (SEO) or social media marketing (SMM).

Consumer behavior has changed drastically. We all see a different consumer today. 

The pressing question remains, “What strategies should digital marketers follow?”  

Co-founder of Lbswebsoft gives you a quick look at some strategic steps that can help your digital marketing and ecommerce efforts during Coronavirus times.

The outspread of coronavirus disease (COVID 19) has affected everyone on the planet. This is for the first time in the history of mankind when more than 70% of countries – which include developed, developing, and underdeveloped nations – are under lockdown. It has already caused huge unrest in the global economy. 

People have lost their jobs and are left with no or limited sources of income, companies specifically small and medium cap businesses are shutting down. Giants are putting many of their processes on hold. A number of government organizations, too, have been closed down as a preventive measure for coronavirus spreading. 

How the coronavirus is driving new changes in digital marketing 

Coronavirus lockdown has halted many business processes starting from manufacturing, supply chain to logistics, and marketing.  

Some businesses have closed or paused their digital marketing activities temporarily, citing the health concerns of their employees. If you are on that side, what you will have in the end is drastically decreased online traffic, sales, engagement, conversation, and pushed down search ranking. 

Digital marketing is not a quick-fix solution to gain momentum. It does not give you visibility overnight. If you are using digital marketing techniques such as search engine optimization (SEO) or social media marketing (SMM) – I believe you are already aware that your implementations take three to four months’ time to give results. 

So, if you choose to stop working on digital marketing, you would see a severe downfall after a quarter or so.  

The solution

This is a difficult time for us all. You as an employer will need to keep your workers motivated in order to ensure that the work does not gets delayed or stopped. Asking to work from home will be a great support for your employees, as well as for your digital marketing. 

But the most important question here is, what strategies should digital marketers follow?  

Consumer behavior has changed drastically. We all see a different consumer today. As mentioned above, markets are closed, necessities are out of stock or being sold at 30% to 50% increased rates, buyers and their families are staying at home – some of which have lost their jobs and have limited sources of earning.  

This behavioral shift has changed the market scenarios as well. We have a completely different market to serve. 

With that said, we will need a different approach to marketing. 

Develop a short-term strategy and see how the market conditions behave

 A pro tip for digital marketing is – keep it flexible. If there are provisions for alterations in your digital marketing strategy, you would be able to adapt to any situation. 

Which strategy suits your business and which doesn’t – it can only be measured after it is implemented. Your digital marketing strategy should be flexible enough to come out of any situation. 

Moving back to the ongoing corona situation, you will need to develop a different, short-run strategy to implement during the lockdown. You can start by: 

Understand the audience 

Assess whether your product is in demand 

Evaluate the amount of website traffic and its source 

Notice how the user behavior on your website 

Prepare a marketing strategy around these factors. If your product is in demand, you can draw in a huge amount of traffic through your local implementations.  

And if it doesn’t fall into that category, you can lure them in by offering discounts and lockdown special offers like Neil Patel did by making many features of his Ubersuggest free and iCustomLabel.com did by offering free shipping during the lockdown. 

More focus on pay-per-click (PPC)

Believe it or not, cost-per-click (CPC) is proving more yielding for marketers during the corona lockdown. Since the supply of goods is limited, there are fewer ads on leading marketing channels including Google Ads, Twitter Ads, and Facebook Ads. 

The traffic and searches both are high, but the competition and with that, the cost of paid ads have taken a downward trend. It could be a great opportunity for your brand to gain exposure and increase traffic and sales. 

You can combine SEO, SMO with PPC in your digital marketing strategies. Here is how to get started on your per-per-click: 

Identify your ad and campaign objectives 

Discover the best marketing channel 

Determine your funnel 

Observe the results and refine your implementation 

Organize webinars and webcast

Webinars and webcasts have emerged as a great marketing tool in recent. 

In fact, it is the most engaging content type today. Stats show that more than 80% of users prefer watching brand videos rather than reading their blogs or scanning through their social network text updates.  

You can take this opportunity to engage with your audience and get new sign-ups and sales, eventually. 

If your physical events such as product launch, marketing seminars were canceled or postponed, through which you had plans to gain traction, you could still go that way. 

Just prepare a content strategy, choose the right platform, and assemble the pieces of equipment, and you are ready for your webinar or webcasting. 

Quick tips to help you get started with your webinar and live streaming marketing:

Always do a live-run test beforehand 

Use the questions asked for your blog topic 

Promote the event across social networks in advance 

And most importantly, plan the content and context of your webinar well 

The last point will require you to dig the trends and find an expert or two to be present at your event. 

Bottom line

When traffic and sales are down, a large number of marketers forget their customers. What they have their focus on is – sales, sales, and sales. 

But, who gives you sales? Your customers, of course. During the Coronavirus lockdown, people aren’t actually buying much. 

If you forget them, you will lose them. And getting new customers after the lockdown is over is going to be an intricate affair. So, the best practice is to – never actually forget them. 

You can stay connected with them on social networks. Just for a friendly reminder: Social network is a marketing channel – but that does not mean you should always use it to market your brand. Rather, use it to empathize with your followers, listen to their stories and tell them yours, and respond to their comments and mentions. 

Many brands are using social networks to show how they are contributing to the wellness of the communities during the corona crisis. If you are also doing social work, social media is the right place to tell everyone about it. It will help reestablish you as a responsible brand – which without a doubt would be a one up for your marketing success.

Birbahadur Singh Kathayat is an Entrepreneur, internet marketer, and Co-founder of Lbswebsoft. He can be found on Twitter @bskathayat.

The post The impact of Coronavirus on digital marketing and effective solutions appeared first on Search Engine Watch.

from Digital Marketing News https://www.searchenginewatch.com/2020/07/23/the-impact-of-coronavirus-on-digital-marketing-and-effective-solutions/