#and the faction that claimed them yesterday is raiding them today

[mylordshesacactus]

[weary sigh] Do y'all wanna see possibly the most Myself TM, self-indulgent-nonsense thing I will perhaps ever write?

Literally this is more self-indulgent nonsense than the Ihz fic, and some desperate small creature is literally 7k of my Warcraft OC.

Anyway so I took the basic structure of Lady of Shalott and wrote an in-universe folk song about my fucking. mount and blade main. her name is Karik, she iconically is a horse archer who fights with a light lance, she has never raided a village or caravan and has on multiple occasions risked her life to drive third-party raids away from enemy villages.

The resulting poem is almost embarrassingly sincere but I am, unfortunately, genuinely proud of it.

Poetic structure, and then you'll also want the Loreena McKennit arrangement for the tune because it's phenomenal. (No thematic connection at all, to be clear, just the structure as a writing challenge to myself.)

[courtneytincher]

China Down But Far From Out Under U.S. Assault

(Bloomberg) -- Want to receive this post in your inbox every day? Sign up for the Balance of Power newsletter, and follow Bloomberg Politics on Twitter and Facebook for more.The last time China’s economy grew this slowly, a youthful Bill Clinton was campaigning for the presidency on the mantra, “it’s the economy, stupid!”It’s a sentiment not lost on today’s Chinese leadership, which can take solace from data beyond the headline statistics suggesting their efforts to keep the world’s second-biggest economy on course may be gaining traction. Those signs of robustness will embolden China’s negotiators as they face down trade hawks in Washington.While China’s 6.2.% growth from April to June was the slowest since quarterly data began in 1992, factory output, retail sales and investment all looked more rosy. That’s a fillip for Chinese efforts to prioritize stimulus.China’s resilience in the face of President Donald Trump’s determination to take on Beijing over trade, as well as its technological base, will also be of some relief to open economies around the world that have built up a reliance on Chinese markets.Still, economists warned the Chinese figures could be as good as it gets. And they do nothing to dispel a growing willingness among political leaders to abandon a multilateral approach and stoke tensions on trade and other issues.Taken together, the Chinese data amount to a fragile lifejacket in a raging global storm.Global HeadlinesGo home | Trump critics called him racist after he tweeted yesterday that four non-white female Democratic lawmakers should return to the “broken and crime-infested places from which they came,” even though three of them were born in the U.S. His comments on the day his administration started carrying out raids in major cities to remove illegal migrants signaled he’s sharpening his anti-immigrant message ahead of the 2020 race for the White House.Read why Democrats disagree over how to defeat Trump on immigrationClick here on NBC-WSJ Poll Matchups showing Trump's Democratic rivalsArms trade | India and Russia have agreed to settle defense contracts in rupees and rubles instead of dollars to avoid U.S. sanction risks and banking restrictions. The new mechanism would potentially release billions of dollars in contract payments to Russia, N.C. Bipindra and Evgenia Pismennaya report. Even so, it may still be dependent on India winning a waiver from Trump to avoid U.S. penalties that threaten Russian weapons buyers.Italy's Russia tape  | A scandal over possible illegal financing from Russia just keeps bothering Matteo Salvini, the EU-skeptic dominant force in Italy's populist government. Salvini and Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte are at odds over who invited Gianluca Savoini, a close ally of the League party leader, to a July 4 dinner in Rome with Vladimir Putin. Savoini sought illegal party funding last year from three Russians, according to a report by Buzzfeed news, a charge he denies.Trump’s word | The U.S. may announce a package of sanctions against Turkey for its purchase of a Russian missile-defense system as early as this week, according to people familiar with the matter. The Turkish side is betting that Trump will be lenient, disregarding those in Congress and other parts of the U.S. government calling for harsher measures.French connection | France’s admission that it owned U.S.-made missiles found at a Libyan base seized from warlord Khalifa Haftar’s forces indicates it had operatives on the ground supporting his offensive on Tripoli, the interior minister of Libya’s internationally-recognized government said in an interview. He disputed France’s claim the missiles were inoperable and said his government has asked experts from the UN and U.S. to examine the weapons to confirm they're in working order.What to WatchUrsula von der Leyen, an ally of German Chancellor Angela Merkel, has one more day to chase support among left-leaning factions in the European Parliament before facing a confirmation vote that she must survive to clinch the European Union's top policy-making job. French President Emmanuel Macron travels to Serbia today to allay concerns about the future of EU enlargement after he said the bloc can’t expand until it overhauls how it makes decisions. Former South African President Jacob Zuma is appearing before a judicial panel for the first time today to answer accusations that he consented to and benefited from widespread looting during his nine-year rule.And finally ... The Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw once said “the English are not a very spiritual people, so they invented cricket to give them some idea of eternity.” On Sunday, the English men’s side won the World Cup in a nail-biting match that rekindled a sense of pride in a Brexit-battered nation. It didn’t take long for the moment to be ruined by arch-Brexiteer Jacob Rees-Mogg writing on social media that “we clearly don’t need Europe to win.” The irony, of course, is that the captain, whose mother is English, was born in, well, Ireland. \--With assistance from Benjamin Harvey, Anthony Halpin and Flavia Krause-Jackson.To contact the author of this story: Enda Curran in Hong Kong at ecurran8@bloomberg.netTo contact the editor responsible for this story: Karl Maier at kmaier2@bloomberg.net, Michael WinfreyFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.

from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines

(Bloomberg) -- Want to receive this post in your inbox every day? Sign up for the Balance of Power newsletter, and follow Bloomberg Politics on Twitter and Facebook for more.The last time China’s economy grew this slowly, a youthful Bill Clinton was campaigning for the presidency on the mantra, “it’s the economy, stupid!”It’s a sentiment not lost on today’s Chinese leadership, which can take solace from data beyond the headline statistics suggesting their efforts to keep the world’s second-biggest economy on course may be gaining traction. Those signs of robustness will embolden China’s negotiators as they face down trade hawks in Washington.While China’s 6.2.% growth from April to June was the slowest since quarterly data began in 1992, factory output, retail sales and investment all looked more rosy. That’s a fillip for Chinese efforts to prioritize stimulus.China’s resilience in the face of President Donald Trump’s determination to take on Beijing over trade, as well as its technological base, will also be of some relief to open economies around the world that have built up a reliance on Chinese markets.Still, economists warned the Chinese figures could be as good as it gets. And they do nothing to dispel a growing willingness among political leaders to abandon a multilateral approach and stoke tensions on trade and other issues.Taken together, the Chinese data amount to a fragile lifejacket in a raging global storm.Global HeadlinesGo home | Trump critics called him racist after he tweeted yesterday that four non-white female Democratic lawmakers should return to the “broken and crime-infested places from which they came,” even though three of them were born in the U.S. His comments on the day his administration started carrying out raids in major cities to remove illegal migrants signaled he’s sharpening his anti-immigrant message ahead of the 2020 race for the White House.Read why Democrats disagree over how to defeat Trump on immigrationClick here on NBC-WSJ Poll Matchups showing Trump's Democratic rivalsArms trade | India and Russia have agreed to settle defense contracts in rupees and rubles instead of dollars to avoid U.S. sanction risks and banking restrictions. The new mechanism would potentially release billions of dollars in contract payments to Russia, N.C. Bipindra and Evgenia Pismennaya report. Even so, it may still be dependent on India winning a waiver from Trump to avoid U.S. penalties that threaten Russian weapons buyers.Italy's Russia tape  | A scandal over possible illegal financing from Russia just keeps bothering Matteo Salvini, the EU-skeptic dominant force in Italy's populist government. Salvini and Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte are at odds over who invited Gianluca Savoini, a close ally of the League party leader, to a July 4 dinner in Rome with Vladimir Putin. Savoini sought illegal party funding last year from three Russians, according to a report by Buzzfeed news, a charge he denies.Trump’s word | The U.S. may announce a package of sanctions against Turkey for its purchase of a Russian missile-defense system as early as this week, according to people familiar with the matter. The Turkish side is betting that Trump will be lenient, disregarding those in Congress and other parts of the U.S. government calling for harsher measures.French connection | France’s admission that it owned U.S.-made missiles found at a Libyan base seized from warlord Khalifa Haftar’s forces indicates it had operatives on the ground supporting his offensive on Tripoli, the interior minister of Libya’s internationally-recognized government said in an interview. He disputed France’s claim the missiles were inoperable and said his government has asked experts from the UN and U.S. to examine the weapons to confirm they're in working order.What to WatchUrsula von der Leyen, an ally of German Chancellor Angela Merkel, has one more day to chase support among left-leaning factions in the European Parliament before facing a confirmation vote that she must survive to clinch the European Union's top policy-making job. French President Emmanuel Macron travels to Serbia today to allay concerns about the future of EU enlargement after he said the bloc can’t expand until it overhauls how it makes decisions. Former South African President Jacob Zuma is appearing before a judicial panel for the first time today to answer accusations that he consented to and benefited from widespread looting during his nine-year rule.And finally ... The Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw once said “the English are not a very spiritual people, so they invented cricket to give them some idea of eternity.” On Sunday, the English men’s side won the World Cup in a nail-biting match that rekindled a sense of pride in a Brexit-battered nation. It didn’t take long for the moment to be ruined by arch-Brexiteer Jacob Rees-Mogg writing on social media that “we clearly don’t need Europe to win.” The irony, of course, is that the captain, whose mother is English, was born in, well, Ireland. \--With assistance from Benjamin Harvey, Anthony Halpin and Flavia Krause-Jackson.To contact the author of this story: Enda Curran in Hong Kong at ecurran8@bloomberg.netTo contact the editor responsible for this story: Karl Maier at kmaier2@bloomberg.net, Michael WinfreyFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.

July 15, 2019 at 11:03AM via IFTTT

[mechagalaxy]

Sten Hugo Hiller - KOTM Forty with Eman Eliforp, (955029)

Mountain Climbing Mecha Combat

Brought to you by ANN, A Newschannel for Mecha Combat

Highlighting the August 3321 Fourty

Including interview with Eman Eliforp, (955029) div 7 Gold winner

Another climb on K2, 40 tons this time. Snooze company was just left on the top to try and hold the position. This would be the third event in a row they were called up, and fatigue, both in pilots and machines were evident. To my dismay, the brackets had changed again, now the opponents could be up to 100 levels above me. Paulzilla ordered me to the compound to do some paperwork. I think those piles of paperwork is harder to master than the climbs. When I returned at T-6 minutes I had been displaced to top foothill, and I saw to my dismay that Paulzilla had claimed the top. Now, as to wether Snooze Company could have defeated his forces, the answer is possibly. But one of the rules we of Star League follow is not to attack a fellow clanmember in the Climbs. So I sat waiting for someone to dethrone him so I could have a shot at the top. But the light flashed and it was over. Those who held top positions and claimed Gold, Nephilax and tickets to more challenging climbs were:

Div 1 (19 players): Fabio Favaro, Juggernaut (11m,47s) Div 2 (13 players): Paul Knight, Star League (4h,24m) Div 3 (22 players): Bob Schlomer, HF: Mecha Pirates (16h,1m) Div 4 (34 players): Caitlyn Mainer, Star League (11m,20s) Div 5 (23 players): Joshua Bourne, Northwind Dragons (1d,9h) Div 6 (29 players): Duncan Cecil Goetz, Death`s Diciples (8h,7m) Div 7 (22 players): Eman Eliforp, Dinochrome Brigade (22s) Div 8 (29 players): Ann Kristin Hiller, today and tomorrow(50m,23s) Div 9 (34 players): Leann Robb, Heroes Ranger Raccoons (seconds) Div 10 (23 players): HongKngPhooey, Battle Force Delta (22h,53m) Div 11 (13 players): manaland, Knights of Chaos (13s) Div 12 (12 players): Dick_Dastardly, Politically Incorrect (4h,19m)

Total players: 273, Total Medals 173 (of 180 possible)

Again a Climb where participation could have been higher, Div 2, 11 and 12 were not filled up this time and a total of seven bronzes went unclaimed.

The Climb was a short one, according to my timepiece it lasted about nine minutes. Three Golds changed hands during that time, all of them the last half minute. On the other hand, six golds were held for over four hours, one of them for over a day. Best Clan this time was Star League who claimed two Golds. There were no unaligned winners this time, but both Fabio Favaro and manaland managed to repeat their Gold performance from the welterweight.

This time, a happy first time winner, beaming with pride waved me trough security. Ignoring their pleas of getting out of the area he sat down at a nearby pub and bought me some beers . Scanning my entries for Eman Eliforp (#955029) I started the interview.

Sten Hugo Hiller First entry I can find of you in the archives was when you in `06 was part of Fuster Cluck in the CW. Since then you have changed clan quite a few times, although from `10 you have been mostly in IPG clans. For those of our readers that is unfamiliar with the term, perhaps you could explain what IPG stands for?

Eman Eliforp It's `Independent Players Group'. There were a bunch of clans, mostly started by Stefano Zaccaria (AKA Bot ZAC) based on Mad Scientist & Merlino e Morgana, that were swapping members for faction wars. I suggested that we should get a faction identifieer for our clans like AFF, BHG etc, and IPG was what won the vote.

Sten Hugo Hiller Thanks for the explanation. Unlike most warriors you started in the CWs and it was not before April `15 you took your first KOTM medal in the Fire and Ice tournament. Since then you have joined quite a few climbs, but this was your first Gold?

Eman Eliforp Yes, and it was a very fortunate one. The end time for this contest was starting from 7AM local time & I woke with about 10 minutes to spare. And it's lucky I did, as the contest ended at about 7.07. I was in 3rd when I logged in, attacked the leader successfully, and it was over. I'd previously slept in & missed the end of a couple.

Sten Hugo Hiller Yes, about half of the Golds were held for 4 hours plus this time. You have participated in some challenging climbs in your career. Do you prefer the unlimited or the limited ones?

Eman Eliforp I do better with limited ones. At my level in unlimited there are many players with a lot of better Huge & BFM mechs. My Silver medals have been in either this class (1), welterweight (3), Frontline Fight or Point Mech Panic. But I have also maintained a full squad of Namtars & Anzus for their respective classes. In the recent Reverse Ratman I was in Division 7 which was really an 80 ton max contest, but I am ready for Division 6 & it's `all but 2 must be Namtars' rule.

Sten Hugo Hiller That sounds like a lot of mechs, many have mentioned a lack of ferrite and crystals, how are you doing there?

Eman Eliforp I've been hitting the circuit quite a bit, where the recent change to 3X crystal per XP used has helped. I currently have about 4.5K, but within the last month that has been down to 0. Unlike most players it was always bioptics I'd been short of. At 1 point I had over 200K ferrite but under 200 bioptics. They're now around 10K & 8K. I'm buying & selling a lot of Fury lasers.

Sten Hugo Hiller Ah, yes the bulkbuy option, many have wished for just a plain conversion, but... Now, if you could design your own KOTM, what would you set as rules?

Eman Eliforp I'd been thinking that I'd like to see a Rainbow tournament where lower divisions have to run light mechs, next divisions run mediums etc. up to the top divisions running BFMs

Sten Hugo Hiller Interesting idea, from your lips to the Developers ears. Do you have any guesses or wishes for the upcoming clan war, as to format and villain?

Eman Eliforp As 1 of the main co-ordinators of IPG & having alts leading 2 of their clans, I'm not fond of the re-shuffling required for the squad Wars. I didn't mind it for the Faction Wars, as they didn't happen all that often, but it's been difficult for us to get our lineups settle in the last few months. It makes planning a bit of a challenge

Sten Hugo Hiller Ah, the challenges and responsibilities of command, How happy I am to avoid those... As a commander and pilot of seniority and accomplishments, I am sure there are many of our readers who will be interested in your recomendations when it comes to mechs, weapons and equipment. Do you have any favorites?

Eman Eliforp Late last year I won a Frigis & Skraig in a raid. As an ice specialist I love my Frigis & it's got me past some difficult opponents. It's gotten me silver in a couple Point Mech Panics. In fact much of the 150 niodes we get for claiming the `Win KOTM Gold' quest will be spent on buying a 2nd one. I just need to buy & sell a few more Fury Lasers to get the other resources I need for it. Megazomes & Smilodons are popular due to their in-built crit-kill, as well as their versitality. There's so much equipment available in that middleweight division that they can be used for almost anything. Crit-kill weapons are always nice of course. Even all my Achilles Beams are fitted to every formation I field except for Point Mech Panic, where there's bigger crit-kill stuff filling the slots. But lately I've started spending more niodes on equipment. It's starting to make a noticable difference.

Sten Hugo Hiller Thank you for these tips. Now security seem ready to throw us into the brig unless we move. any final words?

Eman Eliforp Damn Novum security. They trashed my mech & locked me up by mistake yesterday. When I started this profile, I decided from the start that it would be an ice specialist. This was because when I scouted mechs up to 75 tons, at the time there were more crystal mechs for ice & missile than the other weapons & I already had a missile specialist profile. So I put a lot of SP into ice damage which is currently at 15.33%, and decided to make 40 ton max my speciality & bought a lot of Niftels. I have 3 Buccaneers in support but always wanted a Nephilax to help the squad. Happily I have now achieved this. What was particularly satisfying about this win was A) beating a full formation of Nephilaxs, & The fact that they belonged to Jack Wade & 1 of them he got by bumping me out of 1st place with 1 minute & 23 seconds to go while in the previous Welterweight contest while I was out of battles & hatoraides. I have been running in the 40 ton max class in the wars for about 6 months now and have got a lot of defensive wins. 1 reason for this is that there are not a lot of players that have a full field of 40 ton mechs. In 1 of the recent KOTMs I was seeing (& beating) players about 20 levels above me that had to use some 20 ton mechs to fill their formation. But with my ice damage, I'm slowly building up a collection of Wargs to play in 55 ton max. I have 3 Cindrons to go with them, but only 1 is fully levelled. The other 2 are only L1 & L2. And I have a LOT of Freons for 70 ton max. They're naturally my main workhorse until I get to the level to buy Jottuns.

And we left the pub to get back to our respective commands. Any fresh winner can try to contact me after the

Upcoming event: Missile Command Bring whatever mechs you want, but take into considerations that in this event missiles deal 80% more damage. Swapping some weapons and Shields from the normal formation might be a good idea, unless you have a dedicated missile formation saved.

Event ends April 13 between 0100 and 0200 New York Time